Show Us Your Ecumenopolis - Republic Dominion of Denon

[Mariya Pyne]

Objectives:

Spoiler

• Destroy One Sith fleet blockading the hyperspace lane junction.
• Restore planetary parliament by eliminating the three regime leaders.
• Rebuild and upgrade planetary defenses

_____________________________________________

Denon. One of the most heavily populated planets in the galaxy. A former population of 500 billion sentient beings. The cataclysmic event had taken its toll even here.

The call to help was ignored by all except the Republic. The people of Denon would be heard, and order would be restored to the planet. However, in order to do so, the hyperlane at the junction of Hydian Way and the Corellian Run would need to be cleared of the One Sith blockade. Intelligence reports would indicate that while it did not appear that the One Sith were yet moving to invade the planet, they were in control of the space lane, preventing any trade to and from the planet without enforcing an insurmountable tax, or the confiscating of entire tradeships.

Due to the blockade, the people of Denon became restless, and restoring peace would soon become top priority. The city-world's government entirely collapsed following the blockade of their trade routes. Crime was at an all time high, and various regimes began to sprout up to take control of sectors of the planet, essentially splitting it into three distinct provinces each controlled by a different, warring regime that was scrambling to overthrow the other two.

The government would require stabilization by overthrowing the regimes and re-seating the planetary parliament. Once the government was stabilized, the third and final restoration objective would need to be put into action. Reconstructing, and upgrading the planetary defenses of the fortress world so that it may once again prosper, and become a shining beacon of hope for the rest of the Republic.
_____________________________________________

Kayleigh sat up with a start from her cat nap in her quarters as she heard the alert sounding off through the Caledonia as it neared the exit of hyperspace. "All crew report to your stations immediately. This is not a drill. Prepare for engagement." The alert continued, repeating itself several times as the admiral made her way to the bridge. As she entered her captain saluted her, alerting the others to her presence. "Officer on deck!" He shouted with a salute. Kayleigh returned hers as she passed by.

"As you were gentlemen. Report, captain, what is our current situation?" The bearded man lowered his hand and ushered her towards the podium, illuminating the layout as the intelligence projected. "Ma'am, intel suggests a full Sith fleet is blockading Denon. Three destroyers, each destroyer is flanked by 3 cruisers, for a total of 12 cruisers, 15 ships in total, with an unconfirmed number of fighters and bombers."

Leaning over the podium, hands gripping either side, Kayleigh let out a disappointing sigh. "Contact Admiral Stahlmann and Admiral Mollari. Inform them that we will be exiting hyperspace and engaging the enemy, but will need reinforcements ASAP. We do not have the numbers to combat this Sith fleet alone. In fact, get on the radio and try to reach Lt. Shapochka as well as that freelancer Orick T'ane. We need all the help we can get this time." The captain looked mildly concerned as he nodded, turning back and relaying the orders to the communications officer. "Yes, Ma'am."

And so the Caledonia exited hyperspace. The reports were accurate. The Sith fleet was in fact here, and in force. This would be a day of days. "Let's give 'em hell, boys!" Kayleigh shouted, as the ship began to rock, the impact of lasers carressing the shields as the enemy fleet advanced on the Caledonia and her fleet. The five cruisers in tow would adjust formation, forming a spearhead with the flagship at its center. "Focus all fire on their right flank. We must try and break their line so our dropships may land on the planet. Divert all available power to the forward shields, and keep our scanners on high alert. We don't need any surprises today."

Kayleigh sighed, a lot was riding on this battle, and this was a fight the Republic could not afford to lose.
You had better get here quickly Stahlmann, or there won't be much left of your former Lieutenant.

[member="Tålamod Shapochka"] | [member="Friedrich Stahlmann"] | [member="Alarice Mollari"] | [member="Orick T'ane"]

 

[Orick T'ane]

" Aimless ranger... This is Republic command vessel Caledonia. I have a priority message for Orick T'ane. Please respond"

Orick opened his eyes, the nap he was enjoying was interrupted by the beeping of the com unit and the persistent message that was filling his cockpit. He was in orbit around Naboo, waiting for a clearance from ground control for to allow him and his ' volatile' cargo to be allowed to land. He frowned at the politics that were keeping him from landing at all. His cargo was actually a shipment of off world exotic fish. Delicacies in several systems, Naboo customs was holding him in space, trying to keep his cargo out of the hands of the traders and merchant shops on the planet.

Some big wig in the local senate owned a fishing conglomerate and his deliveries could hurt his company if the off world fish became a favorite of the locals. He had been spinning around the lush green world for almost 8 standard hours, and he decided that a nap was the only way to pass the time. That is until the Republic called him. " Caledonia, go ahead with your transmission."

" Urgent request from Admiral [member="Kayleigh Tyven"]. Your help is requested on Denon. Republic forces are engaging Sith fleets and ground personnel. the admiral personally asked for you to join the fleet. Please acknowledge receiving this message and reply with your status as soon as possible." He sighed deeply and rubbed his hand across the stubble on his face. He had no idea just how long he would be stuck waiting here on Naboo. It could be hours or it could me in the next 5 minutes. The admiral had asked for him personally. He hadn't even formally met her yet. She was only a voice on his comlink, not an unattractive sounding voice, that much was true, but a voice none the less. From what little he had gathered from working with her, he knew her to be professional and strait forward. She didn't mince words and she didn't sling Bantha shab. If she asked for him, she wanted him for something specific.

His decision was made even before he stood up, the cargo was easy enough to unstrap. A few ties here, a maglock there and the cargo was pretty much loose in the bay. He returned to the cockpit and hit the switch to the cargo bay doors, the sudden decompression of the cargo bay caused everything inside of it to jettison violently into orbit around Naboo. He began plotting a new course almost instantly, an incoming call on a local frequency being ignored in favor of communicating with the Caledonia.

" Caledonia, let the Admiral know that I'll be there in a couple of hours, but please inform her that I am just a cargo vessel. I only have anti asteroid lasers aboard the ship. Unless she plans to use The Ranger as a fire ship, my usefulness in a fleet action is about zero. Especially since I'm running no cargo."

He turned off the comlink, not waiting for a reply as he plotted the jump to hyperspace. He started thinking about what was coming. He needed to make sure he got some food and another nap before he dropped in system. He also figured a full gear check was in order. He wasn't planning another solo assault anytime in the near future, but that didn't mean it wouldn't be happening.

 

[Kian Karr]

Kian pulled the hood up on his head, obscuring his features as he stepped from the transport. Concealed beneath the loose fitting robes was his lightsaber, the telltale weapon of the Jedi obscured to help keep his cover. Kian was operating as one of several units being used to infiltrate and destabilize the criminal elements of Denon. Once they had been dealt with, the planetary government could be strengthened and once more rule the planet.

"Papers!" Said a gruff looking Weequay and thrust a hand at Kian's face.

"You don't need to see my papers." Kian said waving his hand before him. Weequay were typically easy to fool with the Jedi mind trick, but Kian could see the look on the Weequay's face indicating that he was fighting the force suggestion. It wasn't that this man was particularly strong willed, but rather the unreliable nature of the force since the vanishings.

"I'm free to go." Kian said, lacing his words even more firmly with the force. For a moment Kian thought the Weequay would protest, but finally his brow unwrinkled, at least as much as a Weequay's could, and he waved Kian through the security checkpoint. Nodding appreciatively to the man, Kian walked past, vanishing into the throng of people in front of him. In the skies above, Kian was aware that a battle would soon be brewing and that several other fights would be breaking out across the world. His was but one of several objectives that had been put in place to seize control of the world from the criminals who now controlled it.

Kian's mission was somewhat straightforward. He was assigned to capture or kill Viktor Harow, a human crime boss who was one of three that now held power. The plan was to cut off the three heads, destabilizing the criminal organizations and then cleaning house. It was perhaps a bit more complicated then Kian preferred to plan, but he'd have to work with what he had before him.

First thing he had to worry about was getting into Harow's base of operations. Luckily for him, he had drawn the weakest of the three crime lords and was therefore assigned the mission on his own.

 

[Valiens Nantaris]

"You don't need to see my papers." Kian said waving his hand before him.

[member="Kian Karr"]

Unfortunately, the Force was...unbalanced at the moment, and such a strong suggestion couldn't help but radiate out....

Suddenly all of the checkpoint guards had the sudden idea that all the people waiting were free to go. Why would they need to see papers?! It was clear that all these people were of lawful bearing and intent!

Once the stampede had settled down there were a lot of people on the streets who shouldn't have been there, and a lot of unemployed immigration officers!

 

[Kyrana Gould]

[member="Kayleigh Tyven"] | [member="Alarice Mollari"]
This was the moment he had been waiting for. This was no puny skirmish with pirates or a fight with a couple of disorganised Sith stragglers, this was the real thing. When he had received the summons he had already been assembling his forces, but now he doubled his efforts to put together a grand fleet. It was, probably, the largest fleet he had led for many years.
It was, without exaggeration, one of the most important battles of his career. If he could not prevail here then the momentum would stall, and the One Sith might well prevail.

And so the Admiral had gathered all his resources.
Destiny, his flagship, an MC-180 Command Ship, veteran of many battles, was in the lead.
To provide fleet support the Star of Alderaan fresh from Nubia, its hold bristling with fighters and bombers.
To provide backbone the Righteous; an Avenger Class, the Ebbing Heart; a Warhammer Class, and the Resurgent; a Noblesse Class was here. These three Destroyers were all ready for action, the first two having seen much action.
To provide support were Redoubt Cruisers Phalanx and Gladius along with no less than six carrier frigates and ten corvettes.

This massive fleet suddenly appeared and moved towards the action. It was all in.

“Admiral Tyven, Stahlmann here. I couldn’t let you win the battle on your own. My ships will be forming on your right in battle formation. What is the strength of the enemy?”

 

[The Spark]

The elements of the 7th fleet would drop from hyperspace - spearheaded by the Absolution.

A bit of an overkill to say the least but perhaps the mere presence and show of force by the Republic would give the One Sith something else to think about while they engaged the primary fleet in combat. Alarice had her orders and that was to prevent them from retreating - and so she would.

"Deploy the fleet. Defensive wedge formation....three kilometer spread, gunships center." She spoke softly as she turned to look at Lieutenant Savrin who nodded to her command and began relaying orders to the other elements within the fleet. Alarice would bring up the holo of both [member="Friedrich Stahlmann"] and [member="Kayleigh Tyven"], giving them a nod. "The 7th has your back, nothing will escape the system." She said with minimal fanfare, or perhaps it was just cause she was exhausted at this point.

Yeah, that was it. She was exhausted.

 

[Mariya Pyne]

Kayleigh rubbed the bridge of her nose in a bit of frustration as the Sith continued to approach her fleet. "Ma'am, we are outnumbered and outgunned. I advise we pull back and regroup." Kayleigh's eyes glared toward the captain. She knew logically he was right, but they couldn't afford to pull back. They couldn't afford a defeat here. This was all or nothing. This was a crucial Republic win. And there would be no retreat until death came knocking at the blast doors of her bridge. "No, captain. We will hold the line until reinforcements arrive. Continue applying pressure on their right flank. We must punch a hole in the blockade! Prep and fire the HVCs. Hold back the bombers for now. We will never get close enough. Order the fighter pilots to their ship but do not launch until the Sith fleet is closer. We cannot afford to expend any unnecessary resources."

The Caledonia and her fleet were taking substantial damage. Shields were nearing exhaustion on the capital ship, and the cruisers, despite being less concern to the Sith were not far behind. The outcome was grim, Kayleigh knew there was nothing more she could do but hope that reinforcements would arrive in time. And by the grace of the galaxy, not more than a minute after she had thought the worst, [member="Friedrich Stahlmann"] and [member="Alarice Mollari"] exited hyperspace, nearly simultaneously in fact, followed by what looked like [member="Orick T'ane"], much to the relief of admiral Tyven.

Activating the comm in response to Stahlmann first, the tone of her voice could surely be interpreted as massively grateful. "You have no idea how good it is to hear your voice Admiral. The Sith fleet is comprised of three capital ships, and twelve cruisers with an unknown number of fighters and bombers in their hangars that they have yet to deploy." As Mollari came online Kayleigh felt a bit more relieved with the numbers balancing out. "Stahlmann, Mollari, the Caledonia has taken heavy fire. Our shields are nearly depleted, and our cruisers are in a bad spot as well. We'll need to fall in behind to recharge. We've focused all fire on their right flank. A gap in their blockade to get our dropships down to the surface is urgently needed, however thus far all attempts have been unsuccessful. But with your aide I believe we have a shot."

As Orick appeared out of hyperspace the blonde haired naval commander smiled, happy that the man obliged her request. "Aimless Ranger, thank you for joining us. Do you think you can dock with the Caledonia and retrieve some cargo? We need to get...something down to the planet's surface. Come see me on the bridge when you reach the hangar. I've cleared bay 7 for you. Tyven out."

 

[Kyrana Gould]

[member="Kayleigh Tyven"] | [member="Alarice Mollari"]

"Understood, Admiral Tyven, move your ships into formation with me. Admiral Mollari, keep them busy to the front and deploy a strong fighter screen, I'm going to flank them."

The One Sith warships were powerful, but they had two crucial weaknesses; they were slow and ponderous and they focussed most of their weapons on the front of their ships. In theory this allowed them to attack with all guns blazing. In practice it meant that if one could get onto their flank or rear they were helpless.

And so Stahlmann's ships moved to the right, heading down the left flank of the Sith, firing as they did. The return fire was heavy...to start with. As they moved though the Sith had to make their choice; focus on this one enemy and risk being flanked by the 7th fleet, or attempt to divide their forces. Stahlmann knew they would choose the latter, and clearly the Sith this time lacked the strategist they had at Prakith.

"Execute double column, prepare all fighters for action."
The fleet formed into two parallel columns, allowing them to rake the enemy doubly whilst taking less time to move. Already one of the Sith destroyers had begun to turn to face them. Soon it would be time for the next move.

"Activate the GAM," he ordered. This would prevent the Sith combining the dovin basals of their Vong ships, and it would also rob their Yammosks of their ability to co-ordinate their fighters.

 

[Kian Karr]

Kian exited the security checkpoint ahead of the crowd and turned back after he had walked several yards away. His eyes widened as he watched the vast horde of people begin to push out of the port and onto the streets. How had this happened? Kian thought, and for a moment he was concerned that something was happening inside the building.

But they weren't running, they weren't afraid or malicious, at least not as he could tell. It simply looked like the security personnel had let all the people through. All the people through.

Kian's eyes widened even more as he began to put it together. He had done this. He had used the force to convince the guard to let him through.....had it somehow influenced all the guards. Kian had noticed since returning to the universe from that place of darkness that the force hadn't been working right. That powers he had used without a second thought throughout his time with the Jedi were suddenly becoming....chaotic.

But this.....this was different. This was dangerous and terrifying. Kian knew he would need to stop relying so heavily on the force. He couldn't take the chance of causing ripples he couldn't foresee.

 

[Corvus Raaf]

For a Corellian native, Corvus was atypical in being ambivalent about ships. In her early days on Ossus she remembered one of the flying instructors labelling her a disgrace to her home planet for not volunteering for training.

It was a good-natured jibe - but it had stung. Corvus was well aware how many hours in the day there were and if she could study every subject she wanted there would be no time for other things. Like sleep. She'd even tried it for a while. It was not conducive to learning.

But a chance meeting with a pilot for the Republic - Silara - meant she'd undertaken some specific fighter training and with the need to travel all over the galaxy, she'd been flying more and more. And then she'd been presented with the special Jedi ship and she'd fallen in love with flying. So when the opportunity to help out the fleet came along she jumped at the chance.

She stood in the hangar bay and looked ay the nterceptors in front of her. They flew as well as they looked. And they looked awesome.

 

[Kian Karr]

One benefit to Kian's mistake with the mind trick was the fact that the crowd made it so much easier for Kian to blend in and make his way toward the objective. There were vast hordes now making their way across the streets. Everyone seemed happy by the prospect of getting through security so fast, while the locals seemed horrified by the hordes of people flooding the streets.

Kian ducked down a side alley and made his to the end. Bringing up his datapad he surveyed the location and saw it was the right place. Ducking behind a waist bin, Kian took off the outer robe and threw it in. Beneath he was dressed in black pants, a black long-sleeve tunic and his arms were covered in the dark gauntlets of the Jedi Shadow Armor. Glancing around the corner one more time to ensure no one was watching, Kian pulled the grate aside that lead into the sewer system and was thankful that his antiox mask had a smell filtration system.

Dropping down into the darkness, he landed with a splash and his stomach lurched a bit. Who ever said being a Jedi was glamorous work. Pulling a small flashlight from his utility belt, Kian turned it on and lit up the passage ahead of him and began the trek through the grim.

 

[Corvus Raaf]

She ran her hand along the sleek lines of the ship before stepping up, opening up the cockpit canopy and taking a quick look at the controls as she instructed the R-unit to complete the pre-flight checks.

So she closed up the canopy and after a double-check on the controls she fired up the engines. Receiving clearance to take-off she started slowly as this ship was faster and more responsive, quicker and more in tune to a Jedi's way of flying.

As she exited the carrier, performed a few quick acrobatics before trading vertical stabilisation for horizonatal velocity as the fighter cut a tight, low arc to a point where full power could be applied via the sublight drive and she was promptly thrown hard back into the cushions of her seat by the gravitational forces. It never failed to surprise and excite her in equal measures.

 

[Orick T'ane]

Dropping out of hyperspace into the middle of an engaged fleet action is a sight to see, and if he never got to see it again Orick would die a happy man. He could see the Caledonia moving back behind the advancing fleets, likely to give the crews a second to catch their breathes and get the shields back up to full strength.

He could see the two fleets moving and engaging the Sith in a classic pincer move. As he approached the Caledonia from the rear he watched the fleets moving, he could easily tell who was in command of each fleet by how they moved. Admiral [member="Friedrich Stahlmann"] took an overall approach, he micromanaged his ships at times to get the most out of them, but there wasn't a commander in any fleet that could take an enemy apart as efficiently as he could. Admiral [member="Alarice Mollari"] was a by the book type and her fleet deployment showed it, her fleet was perfect in every movement, they were a well oiled machine and it showed in combat.

He approached the designated hanger and signaled the Caledonia, " Caledonia command, Aimless Ranger inbound for docking bay 7. should be just a minute or so, the admiral is expecting me."

" Roger, Aimless Ranger, we have an escort waiting for you to take you to see her."

With that done he settled back and waited. Once aboard he was met by two of the Caledonia's marine compliment who promptly looked him over and tried, but failed to not to give him a dirty look. He grinned as them as they turned to lead him to the admiral. He knew what he looked like. His clothes were well worn and wrinkled. His boots fit him like a second skin but they looked like he had been walking in them for parsecs. His holster was still on, but the blaster was on his ship he knew they would never let him near a fleet officer with a weapon. His cocky swagger was evident in his walk, if they wanted to treat him like a smuggler and tramp captain, he would let them think that's all he was.

The walk to the bridge wasn't nearly as long as he figured it would be considering the size of the ship. docking bay 7 was pretty forward on the ship, which was a surprise. He had never been to the bridge of a command ship like the Caledonia and he whistled slightly at how big it was. The marines next to him snickered at him, likely thinking him some backwater captain. Without waiting for the marines to guide him, Orick stepped onto the bridge with a quick step, the swagger still evident in his walk. As soon as he got to Admiral [member="Kayleigh Tyven"] he preformed a perfect military parade ground salute, " Orick T'ane, reporting as requested, admiral" He held the salute for just long enough for her and everyone watching to see it and then it was gone again, replaced by his usual casual stance.

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus caught up with the rest of the squadron as they made almost entirely unhindered progress in the space between the two ships. “I got your six," she shared over the intercom, freeing her comrades up to engage the carrier whilst she focused on the arrival of any enemy fighters – and those nasty cannons on the carrier that would vaporise them, given half a chance.

Changing the ship’s trim to attack mode she started to loop around the capital ship, exercising her trigger finger as she did. She doubled up single-file, and deactivated her sensors and diverted all shields to the fore of her ship.

In hand-to-hand combat there was always a chance of sparing a life - but in space the margins were too fine to give her the choice. Wherever possible she targeted engines to at least allow the pilot the chance to hit the ejector seat - but sometimes an enemy’s evasive manoeuvres actually put them into the firing line - as her latest target did - but she managed to pull her finger off the trigger for long enough for them to miss the shots before she blasted the tail off their ship and saw the tell-tale sign of a pilot ejecting into space before she turned her attention to the next target.

 

[Mariya Pyne]

With Stahlmann and Mollari's fleets taking the advance, the Caledonia was able to fall back for a brief reprieve. The shields would take a bit of time to recharge, but they would be rejoining the fight again soon enough. This period of rest would also give the admiral the time needed to speak with her guest as he boarded the capital ship and was escorted to her bridge. "Stahlmann, Mollari, we'll be returning to the fray shortly. I must attend something while our shields replenish." The man entered, a smug look on his face, and a walk that inclined a personality of a showman. If the situation was any less dire or critical to the Republic's success she would have cracked a smile.

The perfection handled with regard to his salute though was commendable, and she returned it in kind. "Welcome aboard, Ranger. I don't believe we've met as of yet, but your presence in the past few Republic operations has been well received. I need something from you that must be handled, well, delicately. And I believe you are the most capable man here for the job. Follow me for just a moment where we may speak in private."

Leaving the bridge under the command of Captain Rovins, she lead [member="Orick T'ane"] to an empty conference room and closed the door. "I need to keep this brief. So here's the situation. I need you to get me to the surface of Denon. As we speak a crate that I will be needing is being loaded on to your ship by one of my crew. We need the planetary defenses back online, and we need them quickly. I fear that the fleet currently here is not the only one that will be arriving. I don't know if we have the necessary defenses to overcome the reinforcements if they arrive. We've had varying intel reports that suggest more are on their way."

As Kayleigh relayed this information to Orick, one of the junior lieutenants rushed into the room, interrupting them. "Ma'am, scanners indicate more vessels are exiting hyperspace." Kayleigh nodded toward the Lt. "Thank you, please relay the message to both Admiral Stahlmann and Admiral Mollari, if they have not already detected this themselves." Turning to Orick, the girl sighed. "I will meet you at the ship in 5 minutes. Go now."

Kayleigh raced back toward the bridge before heading down to the hangar where she would rendezvous with Orick. "Captain Rovins, you have command of this ship until I return or am deemed KIA/MIA. I have my comm on me. Ensure that if either admiral need to reach me they are patched through. Understood?" Without waiting for a response, Kayleigh rushed toward hangar bay 7.

[member="Friedrich Stahlmann"] | [member="Alarice Mollari"]

 

[Orick T'ane]

He was stunned for a second as her plan. She was a fleet commander, and she was going to land on a hostile planet while her fleet was actively engaging an enemy fleet. He slowly walked out of the ready room as he heard [member="Kayleigh Tyven"] give the orders to her ship captain, who looked as stunned as he did. Captain Rovins turned and looked at him and all he could do was shrug, " How do you tell a fleet commander no? " He said as he quickly dashed to the turbolift, As the door was closing he added, " I'll have her back in no time at all captain, you have my word."

He sprinted the entire way back to his ship, he turned in time to see [member="Kayleigh Tyven"] walking into his ship via the cargo ramp. He followed her in and saw a single cargo crate in the hold and her disappearing into the hallway. " Admiral... shebs!" He quickly followed her and found her sitting in the copilots chair, "Admiral, this is crazy, and just a little bit stupid.You're putting yourself in an unnecessary position. You need to be up here commanding your fleet, not running around on some mud ball. "

He was in the process of igniting the engines, knowing that she was going to blow it off as too important or too sensitive or whatever it was that officers said to justify their crazy ideas. " Well, admiral... if you're going you might as well punch in the coordinates and strap in. My baby is a rough ride at the best of times, and she can get a bit jealous."

 

[Kian Karr]

Kian tugged at his boot, which came free from the slim and waste with a sucking sound. His mask's filtration system was becoming overwhelmed by the smell of the sewer system. The smells coming through were powerful and he could only imagine what it would be like without his mask. The trek through the sewers was slow, partly due to the walking conditions, but also because he had to stop constantly and check his coordinates. He didn't have far to go now.

Coming around the last bend in the path, Kian was relieved to find that the concrete was rising up and giving him a clean path to walk upon. Using a drainage section, Kian washed his boots as best he could and began to ascend upwards. The path he was on would take him directly to the compound that housed Viktor Harow and his cronies. It was one of the older government buildings which had been seized by the criminal syndicates early on after the vanishings.

Reports indicated that these pipelines would take Kian directly into the lowest levels of the complex and he would be able to work his way to the crime lord from there. Coming to the end, Kian found that there was a strong metal grate covering the end of the pipe. Glancing out, Kian was pleased to see no one in the immediate area and he pulled his lightsaber off of his belt. Igniting the yellow blade he went about making quick work of the grate. Normally Kian would have used the force to gently settle the grate down, but being unable to trust in it, he instead tied off a length of rope to it. When the grate finally came free, Kian slowly and cautiously lowered it down, settling it noiselessly on the ground below. Kian tied off the rope and used it to slide down.

 

[Sabena Shai]

Three hooded figures moved through the alleyways of Denon. Sabena was one of the three - and they had an important mission. While the rest of the Republic was busy tackling important objectives, Sabena and her two partners had to quickly find a certain Sith Lord on Denon and take him down.

The Sith was likely to make a move as soon as he heard of the Republic’s presence on the planet - and the Republic was not sure if he would retreat or fight. Either way, his capture or death had to be ensure for the future safety of the Republic. This was the justification that ran through Sabena’s mind as they made their way to the building that he resided in.

Before, the building was a high class apartment complex for many of the rich. Yet now, the Sith Lord owned it in its entirety.

Eventually, Sabena and the two other hooded figures made their way to the rooftop of a building next to the one that the Sith Lord resided in. They had yet to run into any trouble and were ready to start the hard part of their mission.

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus picked up a single fighter that had split from the group and was heading for the Republic carrier. She had it beaten for speed but his manoeuvring suggested he was a veteran and she soon realised that pace alone would bring no rewards.

So she watched and waited. Patience was a virtue she'd had since before her time as a Jedi. She thought on the journals of Darth Bane - where he'd allowed a creature to almost kill him, just to find out how it attacked. And so she applied that logic here. After a minute or so she saw it - there was a pattern to his moves. They were never truly random. There was a specific flow of moves he put together and...yes, there it was again.

As her own carrier loomed large in her vision she waited and the moment he turned right and upwards she dipped her nose. Sure enough, he then banked left and down and right into her sights. A short blast of fire later and she turned around to re-engage the fighters surrounding their capital ships.

 

[Mariya Pyne]

Kayleigh turned to the man and stared for a second, as if she were a lion about to pounce on its prey. "Captain, this is crazy. War is crazy. And those Sith don't care who is on that bridge when they fire on it. My crew are plenty capable without me to babysit them. I have complete faith in their ability to command that vessel without me, regardless of whether I return or not. Furthermore, if we do not get a number of key defenses online to support the fleet from the ground, we risk losing this battle. I will have none of it, do you hear me?"

She turned back to face forwards as he prepped the ship for launched and warned her of the ship's temperament. "So long as she gets us to the ground without dying. Once we're nearing the surface I will go back to the cargo bay and prepare what I've got in that crate. I will be needing it to secure the defenses if there is any resistance."

Strapping in she checked her comm to make sure it was active. She was hoping that she would reach the surface before whatever it was the Sith were bringing to reinforce their fleet exited hyperspace.

[member="Orick T'ane"] | [member="Friedrich Stahlmann"] | [member="Alarice Mollari"]