Taking Tactics to Trandosha

[Andorreth Vikar]

Not even a full day had passed since I'd been appointed leader of the Silver Shadows by The Grandmaster herself. Valae had put faith in me and I planned on following through on that, as it stood there were two young women who stood a chance at making a great team. As it was we needed to have eyes and ears open to what was on the horizon for The Silver Jedi. To that end I'd spent the night in the new headquarters of The Silver Shadows setting up some generators and power gathering gathering systems. Geothermal and hydro-electric power would be what was relied on to keep this base running. I'd also done some supply runs and stored those supplies aboard The Dauntless to get the two young women set up on Trandosha now sending a transmission to both of them I said "Good evening ladies, you were both part of a meeting to decide what is to be done in regards to The Silver Shadows. If you could please meet me at the HQ in the shadowlands and we'll get you both set up to start helping out with that."

I planned to take them on The Dauntless to Trandosha and help them get set up at a safe-house there. First though I had to meet with them both...Hopefully they'd still be interested in this venture. Sometimes all it takes is two after all...

[member="Raven Sorenova"] ~ [member="Liuna Ondizi"]

 

[Liuna]

Milling about her quarters at Silver Rest, Liuna sat on the edge of her bed. Having stayed up rather late the night before, she was only just waking. Rubbing her eyes, she glanced to her communicator as it made a sound. Her hand reached out and slapped at the buttons. Upon hearing the voice of Andorreth, her brows arched slightly. It seemed that the Shadows were already calling…

Being part of this organization was still so new. However, Liuna had hopes that she would be able to do her part. Sliding off the side of the bed, Liuna felt the cold floor beneath her bare feet. The slight shock was enough to push the fog of sleep from her mind. With that, she got ready in a hurry and slid her arms into her leather jacket as she exited her room.

After borrowing a speeder from the landing, she set off towards the woods of Kashyyyk.

Though the landscape looked very different now it wasn’t covered in darkness, she still remembered the way. Driving her speeder bike quite fast, but at a speed that she could still navigate, she found herself near the ruins after a short span of time. Dismounting, Liuna stuffed her hands into her pockets as she walked further into the ruins to look for the others.

[member="Andorreth Vikar"], [member="Raven Sorenova"]

 

[Raven Sorenova]

Raven was halfway to the headquarters of the Shadow's, and she was surprised that she had gotten the transmission from Andorreth. Before she opened the communication line, she thought that it was a transmission involving her being told not to go to the Shadow's headquarters, or something of the sort. But when she listened to it, she found herself even more surprised.

A Padawan with basically zero to no training was being contacted by the leader of the Silver Shadows for a mission. The thought made her extremely nervous. Nervous enough as to where she had stopped in her tracks, considering whether or not she should even bother to continue walking forward. She took in a deep breath, and then continued walking forward to the ruins.

Once she had arrived to the ruins, Raven heard a speeder pulling up behind her. She turned around to see Liuna, one of the faces from the night before that she barely remembered. She didn't know what to think of her presence, but she could only give her a small wave before she would go in behind her.

[member="Liuna Ondizi"] | [member="Andorreth Vikar"]

 

[Andorreth Vikar]

Even had the sensors not picked up the duo approaching I'd moved from the underground section of the to an overhang that would allow me to see any people approaching. I'd begun sinking into meditation when I'd heard the speeder approaching. I was still in my Vespera Beskar'gam and I'd seen the young girl that'd been hiding in the shadows when we'd first met signal the Mirialan woman to move forward. Pragmatic too, the caution and pragmatic nature of the girl is what had made her stand out. Rolling forward I spun then dropped and caught a ledge with my fingers before letting myself down in front of the young women. Turning to look at them both I said "Good afternoon ladies, if you'll follow me please we'll head below and get some things sorted for you both. You can leave the speeder there as well it'll be waiting when we get below." Last night I'd installed quite a few new things here. The droids had helped as well with getting the vehicle elevator set up, less evidence could be left that way of this place even existing.

I began heading down the inclined stairs towards the turbolift. The Mirialan young woman had a blaster on her hip, the other quiet girl nothing notable that I could see. Even with them needing to get towards Trandosha I'd at least run them through some things before having them get their gear set up and stored aboard The Dauntless. Time to see if my instincts about them were right....

[member="Liuna Ondizi"] ~ [member="Raven Sorenova"]

 

[Liuna]

It seemed that the raven-haired girl from the night before had just beat Liuna here. She returned the other young woman’s wave with one of her own, and a small flicker of a smile. The Mirialan had to admit that it had taken some guts to walk in on a secret meeting, but it had immediately earned the other girl some respect… at least in Liuna’s book.

“Hey there,” She gave a simple and casual greeting.

Her dark eyes scanned the area; it was still quite exciting to be back here so soon. While she was still fairly new to the Order in general, she was eager to get to work. This idea of being an agent was very appealing to her; it seemed to fit her rebel background just fine. She hoped that it would be a good fit, but only time would tell.

As she was just about to inquire aloud about Andorreth, the beskar-clad man dropped down before them. Liuna held her forearm up in front of her, as if she was ready to block an incoming attack. Knees bent slightly, but she straightened up once more upon seeing that their leader had arrived. Very well, it seemed that being a Shadow must include sneaking up on folk. A smile appeared on her face.

“Oh, there you are.” She said, acting nonchalant in the face of his entrance. “So… what’s all this about?”

Liuna canted her head to the side as she looked to Andorreth.

[member="Raven Sorenova"], [member="Raven Sorenova"]

 

[Andorreth Vikar]

Ignoring the young Mirialan woman's question I said "Nice form, the bent leg would've allowed for a sweep as soon as I'd landed and the forearm block was good as well." Looking towards her I said "You Ms. Ondizi, and you Ms. Sorenova showed promise in various ways the other night with the meeting. Ms. Sorenova showed a great deal of skill with stealth and remaining still and observant which are difficult enough skills to teach. Ms. Ondizi you mentioned getting involved with people in low places and jsut now you showed me you at least some concept of martial forms. However I'm going to be teaching you both more, as per Master Valae's thoughts I'm going to be getting you both ready to be stationed on Trandosha."

Somehow part of me knew Liuna and Raven would do well together. "In regards to how I know both your names.....I may possibly have sliced into archive databases and you Ms. Ondizi are an interesting person indeed. In and out of detention facilities when you were younger for minor offenses, ran with a smuggler crowd for awhile and then due to recent events here with The Silver Jedi. There's also a note here that shows you're quite good with a blaster. I'll teach you to be silent and never leave a trace.... Ms. Sorenova you are intriguing as I wasn't able to find anything on you however I'd guess you have at least some background at lifting things quickly and quietly."

Smiling to myself I continued "If you both will follow me we'll get some gear sorted for you both and then get you ready for Trandosha."

[member="Liuna Ondizi"] ~ [member="Raven Sorenova"]

 

[Raven Sorenova]

Raven hadn't the slightest idea what Trandosha was, but she was indeed worried about the idea of her being quote unquote "stationed" there. The fact that he felt that she was ready for something of this sort was certainly worrisome, considering her lack of any formal training. She had to swallow the lump in her throat at the thought, and she tried to keep a remotely professional visage, though it was hard to keep with all of the thoughts running through her mind. She took a quiet, and inconspicuous deep breath, and let it out through her nose in attempt to calm her nerves. She felt as though she should certainly say something in regard to her lack of any combat experience, but she felt as though she were already much too deep. Simultaneously, she did not want to put Liuna's life in danger because of her inefficiency.

Nervously, she raised a hand before she spoke in a quiet voice.

"i apologize, but... I have not had any training. I don't know how to use a lightsaber, or a blaster, or... Anything of that sort..."

Her affinity with the force may have been enough to get her through, if nothing else. But still, she was uncertain of her ability. All of them.

[member="Andorreth Vikar"] | [member="Liuna Ondizi"]

 

[Andorreth Vikar]

The young one spoke of not having skills which incidentally I could help remedy. "Ms. Sorenova, in regards to abilities that I can help you with. Trandosha is shall we say a....fringe world. In the past Wookiees and Trandoshans didn't get along and probably still have issues. The world is full of malcontents although I'd also say to sum it up your job won't be to directly interact with people. You have a quietness too you as such you can sit in a pub, or on a street corner and gather information which is a vastly useful thing. I will be running both you and Ms. Ondizi through some drills and I will be travelling with you both to help get you both started there."

Her mention of not having experience with any kind of weapons was slightly concerning though... "Raven..... the fact that you've no training with a lightsaber, blade or blaster is easily rectified. I can sense The Force in you though and it is sometimes far better to simply know how to use the weapon than not. Plus, a saber is instantly recognizable and on Trandosha you won't want that. However I can instruct you on a few things here and on the trip. For now we'll need to get you both some gear...Liuna, Raven I'll also be providing you a copy of some training methods you both should learn in holo-recording format."

We'd reached the lower levels of the Shadows headquarters and I pointed towards a wall where there were racks of weapons and tables of different tools. Gently nudging Raven I said "Raven, sometimes it's good to be small and quiet. As it is you're quiet and small enough to place micro-recorders in places that wouldn't be noticed. Your job to start will be what I started doing years ago simply to gather information. The thing is I'm not going to leave you alone Liuna will be there as well and she'll be handling more hands on things for awhile. You'll be expected to train with and against her though Raven, you may not have a saber yet, but you'll need to know other skills in order to support each other hmm?"

Bumping her shoulder gently again I headed out of the lift towards the weapons rack and tables. I wanted to see what Liuna could do with tools other than blasters...

[member="Raven Sorenova"] ~ [member="Liuna Ondizi"]

 

[Liuna]

Surprised by Andorreth’s compliment of her form, she blinked. As he mentioned that both she and Raven had shown promise, Liuna glanced to the side at her dark-haired companion. Ah, so he was taking them to the jungle world of Trandosha to get started.

Well, this was going to be interesting indeed.

Her eyebrow twitched ever slightly as Andorreth mentioned some of the events of her past, but he was right. Liuna had been a bit of a troubled youth, but now that she was getting older she was starting to straighten out… but that didn’t meant that she wouldn’t still have fun.

She nodded, signally that she would follow along to get ready.

However, her brows rose as she learned that Raven did not have any training when it came to sabers or blasters. “Now’s as good a time to learn as any.” Liuna remarked with a slight shrug. “Stick around me long enough, and you’ll be shooting in no time.” She added with an encouraging grin.

As they reached the lower levels, Liuna listened passively as Andorreth spoke to Raven. Ah, so it seemed that the other young woman was a Jedi in training. Interesting. No doubt she would have the force on her side, something that the Mirialan did not have. But still, she had sharp enough senses… she would keep up with her force-wielding colleagues.

The weapon racks were calling now. Liuna made her way over for a pair of heavy blaster pistols and stuck them on a belt around her waist. Next, she lifted a rather nice knife – one that could be concealed but remain within easy grasp. It was always good to have one on hand if push came to shove. Her fingers then hovered over a detpack, explosives were fun to use… but they were risky. Of course, it called for the right sort of situation.

“So, uh…” she started, looking back to Andorreth. “What sort of things are we expecting to find on Trandosha?”
The answer might sway her choices of equipment, but she usually did like to err on the side of being prepared for anything.

[member="Andorreth Vikar"], [member="Raven Sorenova"]

 

[Andorreth Vikar]

"Ah. yes, seems you've found the blasters...... I recommend something more discreet. We are Shadows after all..." To demonstrate my point I ejected the beskar hidden blade in my left gauntlet. "I'm all for big blades Liuna, however as you've more a dancer or athletes build sometimes big isn't always good nor are bright shiny blaster bolts. The blade is beskar, so not even a saber can cut it. Comes in varying lengths but is attached to the gauntlet and I've outfitted every single gauntlet with a poison dispersal to coat the blades upon ejecting them. Now as bodies draw attention the poison is a mix of a paralytic and bacta in order to nick or cut the person and also heal the cut leaving no traces."

Looking towards both of them I said "each of you should take two. One will have the blade and holographic datapad and comm link, the other will have an electric pad in the palm in order to stun or disable attackers without needing to kill. Liuna anything you want you can take however I'd recommend a few things. Namely a pair of these....DC-15s Blaster pistols each heavily modified to illegal standards. Military flash suppressor, switches from blaster to stun. Also as you both will be wanting to keep attention from yourselves I'm going to be outfitting you both with weaponry that while it can be used in a loud and expressive way also is intended to be silent. Plus some explosives that don't go boom. Namely charges that when triggered will kill electronic security and can be placed against wall and door frames and will eat through the walls using acid."

Looking towards Liuna I gave her a devilish smile. "To answer your question Liuna, Trandosha is a place where people can acquire services. Bounty hunters, information, slaves, the list goes on. As such we as Shadows have moved from being body baggers to a more frontline preventative force. The Sith, Mercs, Mandalorians and various other parties have their own interests. We need to know what those are and stop imminent threats where we can. Sabotage, espionage, information gathering, and establishing various underworld contacts is all in both of your job description. Keep in mind not all sabotage has to be explosions, it can easily be compromising information or security systems. Bleeding them of resources, stealing information, spying on their plans."

"Being invisible is useful as well..." I cut my eyes towards Raven. "Therefore I'll be gearing you both with sound dampening stealth generators, though Raven you have the ability to do as I can." Moving behind a shelf I used The Force and cloaking myself well and truly became invisible. Then I said "Raven and Liuna your first lesson is here, specifically for you Raven. Find me, that's it simple as can be." I was doing this to illustrate that even without fancy tools you could be incredibly effective....

[member="Liuna Ondizi"] ~ [member="Raven Sorenova"]

 

[Liuna]

Liuna continued to hold a blaster until Andorreth spoke up. A brow rose curious as Andorreth seemed to question her choice, and then provided a bit of an explanation as to why. Sure, she supposed that it wasn’t the most… discreet. Setting the weapon back down, she waited for her superior to give her a better idea about what to choose. The Mirialan watched as he introduced the gauntlets that he had outfitted with beskar blades and a bit of poison. Now, maybe something like that was just her style.

“Poison, huh.” She grinned, “Well, that all sounds very interesting.”

Taking up two gauntlets as instructed, she listened as Andorreth continued. Liuna ended up taking one of the modified blaster pistols, just for fun.

“Sounds like a fun place.” Liuna chimed in. Indeed she could fit in with the rougher types, if needed. However, how would her companion do? Glancing to the side at Raven, she grinned. She had a feeling that the young woman would be able to handle herself just fine.

As their first lesson began, she watched as Andorreth’s form shimmered into nothingness. Pressing her lips together into a thin line, she stood with hands on her hips. Hmm, without the use of the force like the other two, how was she supposed to find him?

“Any ideas?” She asked, looking to Raven.

For her own part, she glanced around with eyes narrowed – watching for any small sign of Andorreth.

[member="Andorreth Vikar"], [member="Raven Sorenova"]

 

[Andorreth Vikar]

Smirking as Liuna's eyes narrowed I moved fluidly behind a column of stone. "You may not have the Force Liuna, but you can still overcome Force users. Use your mind, focus, be creative!" With that I darted in and lightly punched twice , once to the ribs and once to the right shoulder. "Come now Liuna, if you can't see me now then find a way to see me." Looking towards Raven I darted in then swept her leg guiding her to the floor before darting away into the shadows again. They'd need to adjust not all people had stealth generators or Force powers, hunters on Trandosha could and did use skills like this I needed them to be prepared...

[member="Liuna Ondizi"] ~ [member="Raven Sorenova"]