Search & Recovery (Eredenn Prime)

[Lord Ajihad]

Eredenn Prime​

16:00​

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A small team of 20 mean trekked across the frozen wastes of Eredenn Prime. It was a large icy planet just outside of Silver Sanctum territory. Back in the day the world had been used as a secret testing site for the Galactic Republic, but that was not why the team was there. They were after something much more valuable than a bit of weapons research, though that would certainly be appreciated if they were to find any. No, they wanted something much newer than Republic base. It was something that they suspected had arrived on site almost a century after the base was abandoned.​

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Something a certain Sith Lord was after.​

 

[Lord Ajihad]

The team was actually a large squad of Marines from the 21st Nova Corps, the flagship unit under the command of Lord Ajihad. They were equipped for the cold, wrapped up in thick layers of white and crimson while toting large packs on their backs. The bags were mostly empty, their size necessary in anticipation for what they might find in their travels. Their standard-issue rifles were drawn and ready to fire as they scanned the landscape in front of them for any possible threats. They would keep looking, no matter how unlikely it seemed they would encounter any other forms of life across this barren landscape. One could never be too careful when this close to enemy territory.​

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They were headed for a hidden Republic base in the mountains. Ajihad had spent weeks chasing down different leads across the galaxy. Infochants, spies, old journals. The trail eventually pointed here after quite an expensive effort. The team was tasked with infiltrating the (hopefully) abandoned base, securing the payload, and taking any other assets the Republic had left behind. A larger crew was not possible, as they did not want to risk drawing any unwanted attention from the Sanctum. They were on their own.​

 

[Lord Ajihad]

They continued to trudge in for what felt like hours. It was difficult to judge time in a place as hostile and monotonous as Eredenn. One simply became vacant-minded after staring into the glistening white snow for any substantial amount of time. They were equipped well, so the snow wouldn't get into their boots and armor and give them frostbite. It still managed to make itself quite a miserable journey though, as they grew bored of seeing the landscape unchanging for hours on end.​

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They would eventually spot a chain of mountains up ahead. The range extended for distanced beyond the eye could see, eventually disappearing behind distant clouds of falling snow. The party would stop to take a break and eat a small bit of food, knowing it was deadly to pause for any extended period of time in these unforgiving conditions. A man dressed in blue armor, differing from the Marines' typical crimson, would step forward and draw a pair of binoculars. He was Captain Nexu, the most trusted subordinate of Ajihad. Nexu had server under the Demon's Fist since he was an apprentice, the two shared a sort of understanding that fell short of friendship but hovered above normal. It was a relationship the captain certainly appreciated having with a Sith Lord.​

 

[Lord Ajihad]

The captain stared through the binoculars down towards the range. They had followed the landmarks and the secret markings left behind by the Republic many years ago to the letter. The place they were headed was one of the most well-hidden locations the captain had ever seen. The 'pubs had certainly made quite the effort to conceal it from the likes of the Separatists. Even after the droid armies had taken over the icy planet, all known reports indicated the base had remained hidden throughout the hostile occupation. That meant that the Republic tech should still be preserved there if all went well.​

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He spotted the highest immediate peak and proceeded to count seven mountains to the left. According to the journals, there should have been a slight overpass in the face of the frozen mountain. Sure enough, upon closer observation, there it was. If one looked closely enough, they would be able to spot the shaded glass windows just beneath the ridge. He couldn't help but smile to himself. It seemed they had found the base. The only question remaining was whether their prize still dwelled within the mountain, or if they would have to continue their journey to some other obscure planet in the farthest reaches of the galaxy to chase another lead. He hoped not. He would much rather prefer outright combat than boring reconnaissance missions to even more boring planets. He turned around, yelling to his men.​

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"Alright boys, let's get ready to move out!"​

 

[Lord Ajihad]

The party would continue to trudge through the snow for at least another hour before arriving at the foot of the mountain. From a distance across the open tundra the base hadn't seemed so far away, but in reality it had been a much longer hike than the men had anticipated. They would briefly sit down to rest beneath the overpass, drinking hot tea to keep their blood flowing. No one had dropped yet, but much longer in the cold and bodies would start hitting the snow.​

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The Captain surveyed the angle reaching up to the bay window above. The glass panel was an astonishing several hundred feet above the ground. Luckily, they had anticipated this in their planning. They had brought with them a 150 yard grappling cable to be shot from a high velocity hydraulic launch system. It would be a tricky shot to get it at just the right angle, but it was nothing the specialist couldn't handle. At least, he hoped the specialist could handle it. If they missed they would be stranded out there with no backup cable and a risky extraction plan.​

 

[Lord Ajihad]

The cannon would be hauled into position maybe 20 yards off the face of the mountain. The specialist crouched behind it, making acute adjustments the the cannon's aim that would ultimately affect the cable's trajectory. It was an unfavorably windy day, a factor sure to have some bearing on how the shot landed. Nexu wanted to yell at the man to go faster, but he knew all too well that rushing the process could have a potentially negative outcome on the mission. If they failed because of him he would likely land on Ajihad's bad side, somewhere where he did not want to be.​

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After several more moments the specialist would give Nexu the thumbs-up. The captain responded with a grave nod, permission the fire. The integrity of the mission all banked on this moment.​

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whirrrrrrrrrrrrrr​

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THUD!​

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By some miracle of God the cable had found its mark. A few muffled cheers rose up from the platoon, and even the captain let out a sigh of relief. It seemed they may be bound for success after all.​

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"Alright men, start moving up the cable. Boar and Click, stay down here for belay. First pair up break the window and secure a perimeter."​

 

[Lord Ajihad]

As soon as the line was properly secured the Marines would begin ascending the cliff face. They were all equipped with jump packs for the mission, as straight-up climbing several hundred feet is far easier said than done. They would each get a substantial head start as they rocketed into the sky with massive jet-assisted leaps. They would then climb until they reached a large enough ledge, then jump off again to conquer the climb at an impressive pace.​

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When Nexu reached the top he was met with the sight of a gaping hole where the window had been shattered with a sonic discharger. The several men who had already entered were probing the pitch-black room with their searing headlights. Rats scurried away as the the bright lights disturbed their long-had peace. It had been many a year since any of them had seen the light of day.​

 

[Lord Ajihad]

After several minutes, all of the remaining 18 men had assumed defensive position in the room by the window. Other than the mostly blind rats, they had yet to detect any other life forms in their general area. The lifeform scanners didn't give off any indicators so it seemed they were safe for the time being. However, they weren't foolish enough to let their guards down. Who knew what still lurked these forgotten halls?​

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As the captain looked around, he saw that some of the old computer systems still had blinking lights. He frowned in contemplation. How did the facility still have electricity? According to all reconnaissance reports, it had been abandoned for several centuries. He figured there must be some sort of self-sustaining power source on base, or else there would be no way it could still function.​

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Flicking on his helmet lights, he would scan the walls with scrutinizing eyes. He saw what he was looking for a few feet away, sitting on the wall above an old computer module. He walked over and flicked on the light switch, readying his weapon in case the stimulus drew unwanted attention from any remaining inhabitants of the base.​

 

[Lord Ajihad]

After a few tense minutes of staying very quiet, the captain determined nothing in the base was coming for them for the time being. He gave the signal for the group to break up the defensive formation and start exploring the room. It was imperative for them to remain as quiet and humanly possible, lest they draw the attention of any hermit creatures roaming the halls nearby.​

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The Marines would quietly search drawers and computer terminals as they made their way through the room. Given the location and the way everything was set up in the room, Nexu assumed this was the old control room. It had quite the view over the expansive tundra below, the landscape stretching for miles and miles off into the distance. It was quite the location for a base.​

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"Sir, I think you should see this." One of the Marines quietly spoke into his helmet's microphone. The captain strolled over to the computer where the man was sitting. A map seemed to be displayed across the screen. A map of the base.​

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The captain squinted at the map. He knew what they were looking for, it was just a matter of where it was located. After several moments of methodical scanning he would find what he was looking for. The hangar.​

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"Alright men, we've found the hangar. Sixty seconds to finish grabbing anything that looks important before we move out." He took note of one trooper who was holding some sort of holographic blueprint. The man slipped it inside his pack, apparently deeming it worthy of note. Hopefully it would turn out to be something of value to the Sith Lord.​

 

[Lord Ajihad]

After the team had finished wrapping up their mini-raid, they would assemble at the blast doors ready to move out. A quick head count confirmed everyone was present. The captain would turn to the platoon in front of him. "Alright, you all know our target is the hangar. The objective is to get there as quickly and as quietly as possible. Don't draw attention. Put on your suppressors and let's move." The group would shuffle around for several moments as they moved to twist on the suppressors. After the movement had ceased Nexu gave a grave nod. It was all or nothing.​

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He cut the blast doors and they slid open with a hiss. The halls were illuminated by a ghostly white light, their eerie emptiness making for quite an uncomfortable environment. The team moved into a loose battle formation and began to slowly advance through the labyrinth of tunnels winding throughout the base.​

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The captain had uploaded the map to the HUDs of everyone in the platoon. It would interact with their integrated GPS systems and assist them in navigating the base. In time it became obvious that they would never find anything without the map, as the hallways seemed to span on for miles within the mountain.​

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For the most part they didn't encounter many other life forms on their way to the hangar. There were of course the rats and other such vermin, but nothing much of a threat to them. Perhaps the most intense moment was when their life form scanners picked up a rather large presence down a hall branching off to their right. The whole platoon paused for what felt like an hour as they waited for the unknown creature to go away. Only after a small left to confirm the creature was indeed gone would they resume their mission.​

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After quite some time the platoon would arrive at a massive set of blast doors, undoubtedly the entrance to the hangar. The technician would kneel down in front of the key panel and get to work on opening the door. Everyone was anxious. Ajihad had spent a lot of time and money looking for what they hoped was inside. The tech guy gave Nexu the thumbs-up, causing everyone to raise their rifles to the ready position. He would give the soldier a nod, and the blast doors would slide open smoothly.​

 

[Lord Ajihad]

Much like the rest of the base, the hangar's lights had been activated when Nexu flipped the master switch to the primary power grid. The massive room was filled with dozens of ships from ages past. All sorts of Republic starfighters could be seen scattered about, including the famed X-Wing and Y-Wing fighters from the Clone Wars. The place seemed almost like one enormous time capsule.​

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The team would disperse throughout the hangar in teams of two. What they were looking for was quite sizable, so it didn't take long to locate their quarry.​

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"Over here, sir!" One of the Marines waved from a small alcove in the corner of the hangar.​

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Nexu began to jog towards their location, followed by two other Marine vanguards. What they saw when they arrived was a ship in decently bad shape. Not flyable in its current state, it looked like something typically doomed to the scrapyard. However, it was once (and arguably still is) one of the best ships in the galaxy. It was the ship Ajihad had paid so much to apprehend, the ship they had been searching for for months now.​

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The Rogue Shadow.​

 

[Lord Ajihad]

One Hour Later​

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An entire company of Marines had now filled the hangar after the transport corvette had arrived. Over a hundred soldiers were now working on moving the Rogue Shadow into the larger ship through the use of industrial-grade turbolifts and guide ships. It was slow going, but they'd manage to get it in within the next our or so.​

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A black-clad figure approached Nexu, making the latter render the position of attention. It was Lord Ajihad himself, sponsor and commissioner of the project. "At ease, Captain. Congratulations on the recovery of the ship, a job well done. I understand much effort was put into this project, it will certainly be worth the cost. Ensure it is transported to the Time Foundry in the Chiloon Rift where I will be waiting for it. That is all." The assassin would stride off towards his personal fighter, and Nexu let out a sigh of relief. It seemed that he had done a satisfactory job.​