Private Return to Command

[ToKola Bakari]

Sweat bled down To'Kola's brow. The room he was in was dark, impossibly dark. A chamber in the west hall of the battle station's training wing. The room itself was a simple design, a large spherical room with only a few benches on either side of the center ring for onlookers. It was designed to be a dueling room for those members of the Knight's Obsidian who needed it, but To'Kola was using it in another way.

He stood in the center of the room, concentrating on the shifting of the Force. It flowed through him in thick waves. To the neverending pressure of the Force, he had become an unyielding mountain. Rather than be bent or broken by this, he took hold of it, he turned its power to his own ends and....

A lightsaber came alive with a snaphiss. The orange blade was as bright as the sun in the room clouded in shadows. It swung behind To'Kola threatening to take his head off. He shifted his body with the swing of the saber, allowing the blade to flow over his shoulder, barely grazing his shoulder as it passed by. His skin burned from the kiss of the blade, but he had not died to this stroke of the sword. Instead, he continued the maneuver, turning his body back towards the source of the lightsaber. His right hand wielded a mighty war glaive. A staff topped with a vibroblade that swung through the air with deadly intent. His lunge was true, but it stopped short of it's mark.

In the next moment, the lights to the training chamber came on, flooding his eyes and causing him to grunt in discomfort. What stood before him was a lightsaber, seemingly floating in the air. However, the sight before To'Kola bled away and a man was revealed, clad in the robes of the Knight's Obsidian. The blade of the glaive was only inches from his neck and he held up a hand in surrender. "You....how'd you catch me?" He asked, but the War Marshal merely chuckled. "You breathe like an old bantha. Just before you attack, you hold your breathe and the stillness is offsetting." To'Kola pulled his glaive back, throwing the staff over his shoulder while he turned from the man.

Petra Syreclare

 

[Petra Syreclare]

Tag: ToKola Bakari
Made for this... right?

---

​

Petra had only been to Geonosis twice in her life. First time before basic; a sort of reminder of what they fought for far from the Confederacy's core. The second time had been her promotion to first lieutenant, only a few months ago. And now, there she was, ready for another change in role. She didn't really feel that there was any other reason to be on Geonosis -- Golba was nice enough, but the rest was all sand, rock, and bugs. Not quite her pace.

Well, neither was office work, but there she was. Adjutant to the War Marshal.

It was a prestigious role, of course. They wouldn't pick just anyone for it. Petra knew she was good, even among the Confederacy's best. At least, she thought. She couldn't contend with a Knight Obsidian. That was probably why they weren't assigned to administrative roles. Still, she had to be worth something if she was to have been selected for this role. She'd heard To'Kola Bakari was a hard man to impress.

Even after all the moving around and reassignment over the past few years, the slowing of a transport as it set down always gave her a little stomach ache. It offset her attempt at appearing prepared as she shambled off the shuttle. It was certainly a new experience, getting to land on one of the private pads of the Citadel, flanked by a pair of fully-equipped marines, even as she wore her officer's uniform. Better get used to it now, she thought -- it wouldn't be that often that she'd be shelling up with the grunts anymore. Part of her missed her platoon, but if it was a service to the nation and the galaxy she would carry it out as best she could, even if that meant filling out paperwork and managing schedules all day.

Then again, anyone could do that. That left one question in her mind: Why me?

She was greeted by an ensign who led her quickly through the building -- so many hallways and offices of apparently important people. Viceroys, ministers, the like. Very few ranking officials at first, but soon enough the names changed from those of pompous government officials to those of generals and marshals. Important types. And finally... the War Marshal's office.

The door was a little taller than she expected, but Petra knew he was large in stature. The ensign directed her to leave her belongings in a locker to one side, before beckoning her away. Something about the War Marshal sparring? She followed, through to the Knights Obsidian training rooms. Only served to hammer home how powerful others in the Confederacy could be. And she... well, now she was Adjutant for one of the strongest in the nation.

The ensign seemed a little nervous as he waited for the warrior to emerge from the training room, but Petra kept a brave face -- this new challenge wasn't anything she couldn't handle... right?

 

[ToKola Bakari]

He stepped out of the training room, his glaive resting on his shoulder. His chest had been bare with sweat dripping from him in thick droplets. There were a number of black markings on his body, markings that seemed to ripple unnaturally, almost like disturbed water that produced tiny waves. On the other side of the door, a service droid approached him with a towel. To'Kola took the towel and wiped the sweat free from his face. When he opened his eyes, he was met with a duo of officers. One was familiar to him, an Ensign who served as one of High Command's assistant Staff Officer's.

The Ensign held out a datapad, speaking in the same rushed tone he usually held. His anxiety had always agitated To'Kola, even before he'd recovered his Sandali heritage. "Sir, this is Lieutenant Syreclare. She's a transfer from third division. She'll be taking up the-" To'Kola did not look at the datapad, instead he cut the Ensign off. "Dismissed." The Ensign had riled To'Kola's rage before so he knew better than to speak against the War Marshal. He did open his mouth, but quickly shut it without another word. His body went rigid as he snapped to attention, turning away from the two.

His eyes were like two suns, erupting into a black hole. It was the blood of the Sith that ran in him, corrupting him. Yet, his personality did not quite reflect it. "Come, Lieutenant, I'll show you where you will be staying." He said, before shrugging the Glaive a bit higher up his shoulder. He moved through the hall, speaking plainly as he did. "You were selected to be my Chief Adjutant. Your mission is to support everything I do. This includes crafting my schedule, taking my messages, preparing escorts and guard details, keeping me informed of any and all significant changes on our Core Defense Worlds, updating me on the latest fleet movements, serving as the Head Captain for my Bodyguard units, and keeping all pains in the ass away from me, understood?" He asked her. He didn't wait for a reply, before turning down the next hall.

"There will be a number of High Command Officers who will report to you over the next few weeks. They will give you all the information you need to serve as my adjutant. After that, you will receive a weekly briefing from them that you will use to turn into a weekly briefing for me."

"You've had top marks in almost every combat situation you've been in, training or operational. Keep your armor and kit up to date and prepared for deployment at all times. Also, never reveal my movements to anyone, not even the Viceroyalty. The only people allowed to know where I am at any time is the Vicelord and his Exarch's. Now, what are your questions?" His thick Sandali accent could make some worlds difficult to understand, but for the most part his Galactic Basic was perfectly fluent.

 

[Petra Syreclare]

Tag: ToKola Bakari

How perilously direct... I like him.

---

​

Petra only managed to snap a quick salute before they were moving again. Clearly the ensign knew better than to trifle with the War Marshal; she began a sort of mental profile of the man as she began to follow him. Big guy, big weapon... he seemed to be all business. She knew her responsibilities, of course, though she was no bodyguard- was that a joke at the end there? She blinked, but continued along. "Of course sir," she managed to slip in before he continued speaking.

High command officers, reporting to her. That would certainly be new. Developing a weekly briefing sounded like a lot of paperwork, but she was more reminded of the trust that had been placed in her with her appointment to this new position. Fleet movements, defense changes... she suddenly felt as if the galaxy had gotten bigger. In the past she'd really only commanded her platoon, and advised the company leader, but aside from that she was pretty hands-off. Petra was no naval commander. She'd have to learn quickly.

She was pulled out of her thoughts by the War Marshal's thick accent again addressing her. Keep her kit ready? "Will I be seeing live combat, sir?" Sure, she'd be his bodyguard, but that didn't necessarily mean actual combat. After all, he was the War Marshal. Wouldn't he mostly be staying back, in command of the rest? And yet she'd just watched him training, that long glaive still resting on his shoulder... To'Kola Bakari was not like most officers.

Perhaps this would be more interesting than she'd first thought.