Private Tales of the Jedi Underground: Mission to Shador

[Lorn Reingard]

Tags: Elias Edo
Mission to Shador​

Lorn moved like a shadow across the slick pylons, his boots finding grip where the swamp mist wanted everything to slide into silence. The foul air of Shador burned faintly in his lungs with each breath, but he ignored it, just another scar among the many he carried. Sweat mingled with the constant moisture, drawing pale lines down a face sharpened by weariness. His dark eyes constantly scanned, expecting a sudden turn of fortune or a hidden blade.

The Black Sun base rose from the swamps ahead, its massive pylons vanishing into the dark water below. Crimson lights glared through the mist, casting broken, twisted reflections. Armored figures patrolled the causeways, their movements precise, Mandalorian-trained, perhaps even Mandalorians themselves.

He breathed, steady, his eyes narrowing as he studied the fortress. His body was still, but inside a restless tension coiled, the memory of countless raids, ambushes, and too many innocents he hadn't reached in time. He carried that weight always, like a companion that never let him forget. He would not allow that fate here.

He glanced sideways at Elias, the Jedi moving with him through the murk. Lorn's gaze lingered, studying the man with the quiet scrutiny of one who had long since stopped trusting easily, even among his own. He valued loyalty, but only if it had been tested and proven, not just expressed in words.

"You see it," Lorn said at last. He nodded toward the base, the guards, the faint glow of the transport beyond. "They're ready for us, expecting us." His eyes searched Elias, measuring him in the dim light. "So. What do you want to do?"

He let the words hang, a test of character more than just strategy. Lorn needed to see Edo act, to prove himself through deeds. He sought evidence that the man carried more than just words and reputation, that he harbored the fire to justify the Council's trust. And so Lorn waited, still and watchful, the storm behind his eyes never far from breaking.

 

[Elias Edo]

MISSION TO SHADOR
(Soundtrack: Under Cover of Night - Halo Infinite)

If Lorn was the shadow that moved through the bog, Elias was the ripples that cascaded from the motion. Despite being their first mission together, the pair of Jedi were surprisingly fluid. Elias watched Lorn’s body with almost the same degree of interest as he was watching Elias—something the Genetian Jedi Master had noticed relatively quickly once their boots hit the muck. He assumed that the Council member was simply trying to get a better idea of what he was capable of. After all, Elias had been possessed by the Archon… it was only fair to evaluate if and how that affected him.

Elias’ line of sight followed Lorn’s nod, locking in on the impressive defenses of the Black Sun base. Armed patrols and a transport with warm engines awaited them. “You’ve made quite an impression while I was on bedrest,” Elias mused as he counted the men he could see. Twelve on and around the landing platform, plus at least three pairs of patrolling guards. Likely more.

“We need to get as close to that freighter as possible. If the slaves have been loaded, that’s where they’ll be… and if Black Sun is as cruel as Brood was, those poor souls will be quite uncomfortable.”

His mind shifted to memories of heading the Rimward Jedi against Eclipse and the Karazak Slaving Cooperative, who were backed by the Sith-aligned Haxion Brood. They used Mandalorian vaults to imprison Forcers from the League. Black Sun’s adjacency to the Mandalorian Empire left little doubt in Elias’ mind about the technology the syndicate had access to.

Elias peered through the fog. His eyes were more adjusted to the marshlands from years spent on Bogano and Dagobah. He was grateful this mission was on a wet planet and not a dustball—those were far more challenging for Elias to navigate.

“These old slaving bases used to be mining facilities,” Elias said after a moment. The duracrete smokestacks were a dead giveaway, as were the wide landing pads meant for cargo ships and freighters. “Companies put them down on dozens of planets and leave them to rot when the ore dries up. No telling what they were digging for out here, but every refinery has a disposal system.” His head turned to Lorn with a sly smirk on his face.

“Could crawl in through one of the tunnels.”

Tags: Lorn Reingard​

 

[Lorn Reingard]

Tags: Elias Edo​

Lorn watched Elias for a long moment, the Jedi's words echoing in his mind. Mist swirled around Lorn's hair and robes, blurring the sharp angles of his face, but his eyes remained keen, dissecting every detail Elias offered as if piecing together an incomplete puzzle.

"The Council speaks highly of you," Lorn said, his voice a low murmur that wouldn't carry beyond the pylons. "So highly, in fact, that I requested to see you in the field myself." A rare, fleeting smile touched his lips. "I hope to learn something from this."

His gaze drifted back to the fortress, the faint glow of the transport, and the disciplined patrols of the Mandalorian-trained guards. Elias' mention of the Brood stirred distant memories of grim reports Lorn had only read. "I have no experience with them," Lorn admitted. "But Black Sun is formidable. Their longevity is testament to their caution and ruthlessness. They'll anticipate an attack, but not from below."

He let out a slow breath, as if releasing a held tension. Then, with a curt nod, he decided. "Through the disposal system. As much as I dislike crawling through filth, surprise is our only real advantage. If that transport departs before we intercept it..." The unspoken threat hung heavy between them.

Pulling his cloak tighter, Lorn gestured for Elias to lead, moving with a silent grace honed by years of experience. His voice remained low, almost casual despite the gravity of the situation. "You must be relieved to be back in action. I heard about your time in the Netherworld." There was an unreadable mix of respect and caution in his tone. "I was there myself, though not in the thick of it, not where you and the others faced the worst."

His eyes met Elias's, steady and searching, yet gentle. "I can't fathom what that must have been like."

Silence fell again, broken only by the soft sound of their footsteps on the pylons and the constant, whispering breath of the swamp as they descended towards the tunnels.

 

[Elias Edo]

MISSION TO SHADOR
(Soundtrack: Under Cover of Night - Halo Infinite)

He was being watched by the Council? It made sense now, hearing that. Lorn’s words sounded flattering; but Elias patched together the Council Jedi’s interest with his mentioning of the Netherworld to form confirmation of a fear he’d had since he returned: the Jedi Order didn’t believe the effects of possession were truly gone. He walked and talked like Elias, but the Council had to know he wasn’t still under the influence of the Archon.

Elias could be completely wrong, but it wouldn’t deter his line of reasoning. He was convinced this was all an experiment.

Nevertheless, there was still a job to do. The freighter full of captives wasn’t a ruse. “Relief is not the word I’d use to describe it,” Elias said. “The pressure is gone but the phantom weight of the Netherworld against my chest remains.”

He leaped to the next pylon and turned to look sideways at Lorn. His once golden eyes were a bit dimmer, with strange flecks of purple and pink dashed through his irises like glitter.

“It’s like… jumping into a roaring sea with your clothes on. You can’t feel it when you’re swimming against the riptide. The beach feels so safe, but you feel your clothes sticking to your skin. Pulling on you. You’d take them off, but you can’t. They don’t come off.” Elias shuddered, turning to face the tunnel grate.

“There’s nothing impressive about me anymore,” he muttered bitterly. Elias wished he knew what the Council had said within their chambers. Did they speak of his enclave on Bogano? Of his tenure on the NJO Council? Or perhaps his failed Rimward Jedi Order on Dagobah?

He decided it was better to be unsure. Knowing things tended to put them at risk. Elias shook his head and moved forward. Focus on the mission, he told himself.

“Have you fought the Black Sun?” he asked lowly. The Brood were comparatively small and disorganized compared to what he saw here and read in reports. Though the Republic had bested them in the Mara Corridor and along the eastern border, Elias feared that the syndicate would learn and evolve from defeat instead of crumble and fade into obscurity.

Tags: Lorn Reingard​

 

[Lorn Reingard]

Tags: Elias Edo​

Lorn listened, his eyes fixed on Elias. The talk of the Netherworld, the weight that never lifted and the clothes that could never be shed, resonated deeply with him. A flicker of pain and recognition crossed his face, gone as quickly as a shadow passing over the swamp mist.

"I know what you mean," he said quietly. His tone was heavy with shared truth, not pity. "Maybe not as much as you, but I lost someone there. Jedi Master Kahne Porte. He was more than a mentor to me. We both went into the Netherworld. Only I came back." His voice tightened, the admission scraping against old scars. "I still feel it, like a phantom, as you said. The pull of something that's gone, but not entirely."

He paused, letting the words hang in the damp air between them, then drew a slow breath, steadying himself. "Time helps," he continued softly. "It doesn't erase or make things right, but it helps you live with them. I've made my share of mistakes, had my own failures. Time doesn't forgive them, but it does give you space to heal."

They reached the tunnel grate, its edges rusted and slick with the swamp's eternal dampness. Lorn crouched, hooking his fingers under the metal. With a controlled pull, he lifted it free. The hinges groaned in protest before silence claimed them again. A foul stench rolled up from below, thick enough to make his nose wrinkle. He sighed through it, a quiet, resigned sound, and stepped into the dark without hesitation.

"I've fought Black Sun before," he said as his boots sank onto the metal rungs of the ladder, his voice carrying low into the passage. "A handful of times. I barely walked away from each encounter. To some, they're just criminals, but I know better. They're organized, efficient, and when they want to be, utterly lethal."

He reached the bottom, his eyes narrowing against the darkness as his senses stretched outward. Turning slightly, he glanced back toward Elias. "Having you here, it helps. This Order is young, still finding its balance. Too many of us are leading without enough years behind us. Your experience matters to all of us, more than you realize."

With that, Lorn pressed deeper into the tunnel, the swamp's noise fading as the weight of shadow closed in.

 

[Elias Edo]

MISSION TO SHADOR
(Soundtrack: Under Cover of Night - Halo Infinite)

Elias nodded, not wanting Lorn’s words to go unacknowledged but not really knowing what to say in response. The things the Archon did to him in that prison were clearly the crux of the matter, but Elias could accept his moments of weakness there much easier had everyone who came to rescue him come back home. He had begun to realize that Kahne’s sacrifice was the true weight he felt. The life of a beloved man and respected Jedi laid down for someone he didn’t know.

It married Elias’ pity to his guilt in a dark matrimony that he only hoped time could heal.

The grooves in his boots bit into the metal ladder as the two descended into the waste tunnel. The dense air above them was replaced with something even heavier, laced with the scent of old chemicals and putrid water. It reminded him of the Trade League’s mission to Sullust, where they wore rebreathers to sift out the dust and sulfur; it was too bad they weren’t similarly equipped for Shador.

“Vigilance was the key to the Rimward Jedi’s success,” he said. “Against slavers, pirates, Sith, and Imperial warlords.”

“It was only after I traded them for misguided complacency that I learned just how important open eyes and ears were. Even the New Jedi Order are suffering a similar fate as the League. I pray your Grandmaster doesn’t make the same mistakes as we or Master Noble did.”

Perhaps, Elias thought, he was nearing a time when the pain of his failures could be repurposed into wisdom for the younger generation before him. That notion sparked an ember of hope deep inside. If all that he’d gone through was not for nothing, then one day, he might be able to heal.

Tags: Lorn Reingard​

 

[Lorn Reingard]

Tags: Elias Edo​

Lorn's boots made soft splashing sounds in the ankle-deep water as he moved deeper into the tunnel. The air was thick with a stench, pressing in on him.

"You're right," Lorn said after a long pause, his voice a low rumble that bounced off the concrete. "Complacency will be our undoing. It always has been." His gaze drifted ahead, drawn to a faint glow of light in the distance, but his thoughts were elsewhere. "The strength of this Order, though, lies in what you might call its curse. We are young. Untested. We still feel every wound. But that youth also means we're ready. Ready to fight, ready to protect, ready to do whatever it takes to forge a better galaxy than the one we inherited."

A quiet conviction colored his words, though his expression remained carefully guarded. "We don't possess the wisdom of the Jedi you knew. Not yet. But we are learning. The Council is learning. And Briana…" A rare note of certainty softened his tone. "She's a capable Grandmaster. She leads not with raw power, but with trust. She will guide us forward."

He turned his gaze to Elias, studying him in the dim light. "But we still need voices like yours. More experienced. Proven. We need the lessons of your life. I hope you'll consider joining us, Elias. Not just for this immediate fight."

The tunnel opened ahead, leading to a vertical shaft where another grate lay, a ladder beckoning them upward. Lorn stepped aside, resting a hand on the slick wall. His voice dropped, settling into that quiet command he wore like a second skin. "Your lead," he said, nodding toward the rungs. "You take the first climb." He remained there, watching, a subtle tension coiling in his frame that belied his calm demeanor. He was always watchful, always waiting; for a hidden threat, or for the moment of truth to reveal itself.

 

[Elias Edo]

MISSION TO SHADOR
(Soundtrack: Under Cover of Night - Halo Infinite)

"Head first, ever into the maw," Elias said to himself. It was an old Genetian saying, a reference to a piece of folklore that detailed one of the people's most famous heroes and his gambit to dive into the mouth of a sea demon to slay it from the inside. In the tale, the hero was victorious, but he succumbed to his wounds in the days following... Elias preferred not to ruminate on that part too much. Just the diving alone was enough for him.

The tread of Elias' boots made scaling the ladder easy. The rungs were rusted from years of running water and corrosive rain coating the metal, but they held beneath the Jedi's weight. He move carefully nonetheless, and when he reached the top, he placed both hands against the grate that covered the manhole. It budged with a bit of pressure, and slowly, Elias slid it just enough to poke his head through.

He peered around, noting his surroundings. The tunnel exited inside the facility, in a portion reserved for cargo. Or what was left of it, at least. Even with Black Sun using the area as a slaving outpost, the old material containers looked untouched since the day this place was abandoned. He supposed any manner of mining equipment that was inside would have long since been stripped of valuable parts.

"Coast is clear," he said quietly to Lorn below. No Black Sun guards in sight, only decay and rubble.

Elias moved the grate and laid it gently on the floor. He climbed up and out, brushed off his tunic, and turned to offer Lorn a hand. Once they were both topside and ready, Elias would nod to an open auto-portal nearby. Small puffs of steam hissed out of its frame every few seconds, as if they old machinery inside were still trying to close the door despite decades of rust and grime that refused to budge.

"Looks promising," Elias said with a nod in that direction. "Unless you want to try another way?"

Tags: Lorn Reingard​

 

[Lorn Reingard]

Tags: Elias Edo​

Lorn's boots were steady on the ladder's corroded rungs as he climbed after Elias. The stench of the tunnel clung to him as he emerged into the cargo bay, his lean frame unfolding with the quiet poise of someone long accustomed to hostile ground. He accepted Elias' offered hand with a faint nod of thanks, his amber-flecked eyes sweeping the chamber as he drew his cloak back into place. He saw the decay, the abandoned containers, the skeletal remains of industry, yet none of it fooled him. Black Sun thrived in shadows like these.

His gaze followed Elias toward the hissing auto-portal. Its ancient frame exhaled steam, like a rusted beast still clinging to life. Lorn gave a brief nod. "Good enough," he murmured. His voice was low, carrying the weight of hard pragmatism. "Let's see where it leads."

They moved together across the bay, each step quiet and precise. Then, a sharp click sounded beneath Lorn's heel. He froze, but it was already too late. A muted tone pulsed through the walls, barely audible but unmistakable to a soldier's ear. Lorn's jaw tightened. "Sensor."

The response was swift. A side door slammed open, and armored figures poured in with lethal coordination. Four Mandalorians stood there, their helmets reflecting the crimson warning lights that now bathed the cargo bay in an ominous glow. Blasters rose as one, their movements drilled and merciless.

Lorn's hand fell to his saber. In an instant, the golden blade roared to life, flooding the gloom with its warm light. That light painted harsh lines across his face. "Well," he said, his voice rough but carrying a thread of dry humor, the kind worn thin by surviving battles through grit rather than hope. He glanced at Elias. "Suppose I'll finally see you in action." He then shifted forward, his body settling into the fluid stance of one who had made peace with the inevitability of combat.

 

[Elias Edo]

MISSION TO SHADOR
(Soundtrack: Under Cover of Night - Halo Infinite)

Coast was clear. Elias recognized the sound as well. Those early years as a Knight leading rebels against the New Imperial Order had afforded him a wealth of wartime experience he’d otherwise have missed had he stayed in the temples.

Moving as one, feeding off the actions of his partner, Elias ignited his own lightsaber and added an emerald glow to the walls. He didn’t get a chance to speak, however. A barrage of blaster fire erupted from the Mandalorian mercenaries.

The bolts that missed the Jedi’s blade struck the wall behind them, scorching the durasteel and raining sparks across the corridor. Elias twisted his blade in a whirl of green arcs, sending two bolts flying back-to-sender. The mercenary's vambrace flared as a shield generator absorbed the impact, but it staggered him long enough to leave an opening.

A younger Elias wouldn’t waste any time throwing his lightsaber like a boomerang, hoping it catches the Mandalorian right between beskar plates to bisect him where he stood. The wiser Elias who fought then now was content to wait for a better chance to strike. Still, if Lorn spotted the opening and made a move, Elias was ready to cover his partner.

Tags: Lorn Reingard​

 

[Lorn Reingard]

Tags: Elias Edo​

Lorn's golden blade sang through the air in precise, deliberate arcs. His eyes, keen and ever watchful, tracked the mercenaries advance as a relentless storm of blaster fire poured toward them.

Elias stood firm, his emerald saber deflecting bolt after bolt with practiced, controlled movements. For a brief moment, Lorn moved behind him, using Elias' defense as cover. The golden light at Lorn's side pulsed restlessly, like a predator coiled and ready to strike. He let out a breath, his jaw set in grim determination.

Then, he moved.

With a sudden burst of speed, Lorn vaulted past Elias, twisting through the air with the lethal precision of a warrior who understood the fatal cost of hesitation. A volley of blaster fire pursued him mid-leap, but his golden blade blurred, intercepting each bolt in a dazzling display of deflections.

He landed heavily before the staggered Mandalorian, the one whose shield had faltered under Elias' counter-fire. Lorn's saber sliced through the mercenary's rifle, sending a violent spray of sparks before the weapon clattered uselessly to the deck. A beat later, Lorn spun, the golden edge finding a gap in the warrior's beskar armor at the joint. A choked cry escaped the Mandalorian as he crumpled, his armor hissing where the glowing saber had cut through.

Lorn landed in a crouch, his expression unreadable. A flicker of old grief shadowed his focus for a fleeting moment before being buried by the instinct to fight, to survive. He rose fluidly, his voice steady despite the surrounding chaos.

"One," he stated.

His eyes met Elias' across the space, a grim spark igniting in their depths. "Three left."

He shifted his stance, the golden light of his saber hummed, a quiet counterpoint to the frantic pounding of his heart. For all his gentle demeanor, in battle Lorn was something else entirely, a blade honed by loss, ready to cut through anything that stood in his way.

 

[Elias Edo]

MISSION TO SHADOR
(Soundtrack: Under Cover of Night - Halo Infinite)

Elias knew that look in Lorn’s eyes. He’d seen it before in dozens of warriors. He saw it every time he looked in the mirror. It was the gaze of a man broken and put back together again, glued tight but forever aware of the pain. When balanced delicately with responsibility, it could become a potent fuel during combat. As a younger man, Elias relied heavily upon his pain and fears. He was a borderline master of Vaapad, though he’d never shown his acumen to the Jedi Order.

Until now.

The air glowed red with blaster fire as Elias let instinct take the lead. His saber moved like arcs of plasma, snapping with lethal precision. Every movement was a strike and a counterstrike, a deadly dance that pulled the fury of his opponents into himself, only to hurl it back amplified. A Mandalorian lunged forward with a vibroblade, armored boots pounding across the ferrocrete. Elias slid past him like a shadow and whipped his lightsaber in a low arc. The blade sheared clean through the merc's side, hitting his jetpack and setting it off to sputter uselessly as he collapsed in a smoking heap.

Two, Elias noted silently as he turned to face the next enemy, whose jetpack was roaring as he tried to rush the Jedi.

His blaster carbine spat red bolts in rapid succession, but Vaapad thrived on chaos, feeding Elias' strikes. With a single upward sweep, he split the rifle in two, and in the same fluid motion brought the saber back across, cutting a burning slash through armor and flesh alike. The Mandalorian's jetpack carried him a few feet further, but the warrior attached to it was already dead.

Elias spun to find Lorn amidst the carnage. The emotions he’d channeled through Vaapad were subsiding, but when he caught Lorn’s eye, there was a shadow of dangerous anger still lurking inside.

“Last one’s yours,” he said, nodding at the lone Mandalorian. Elias figured there was a 50/50 chance the man would surrender; a Mando working for Black Sun slavers wasn’t likely to find himself beholden to anything deeper than survival.

Tags: Lorn Reingard​

 

[Lorn Reingard]

Tags: Elias Edo​

The fight exploded in flashes of emerald and gold, punctuated by blaster fire. Lorn moved efficiently, his saber catching bolts that slipped past Elias' furious attack. Yet his sharp, amber-flecked eyes focused less on the incoming fire and more on Elias himself.

What he saw stirred something deep within him. Elias moved like pure lightning, each motion a seamless blend of offense and defense. He absorbed the Mandalorians' fury, only to hurl it back tenfold. It was lethally beautiful, but beneath the precision, Lorn glimpsed something darker: a sharpened anger, dangerous enough to wound its wielder as much as its enemies.

By the time Elias dropped the second mercenary into a smoking heap, Lorn had stilled. His expression was unreadable, but a tightness gripped his chest. His golden blade hummed softly, casting an otherworldly glow across his scarred features.

Elias' voice cut through the aftermath. "Last one's yours." Lorn's gaze shifted. The final Mandalorian stood frozen, his carbine trembling. His visor flicked between the two Jedi, clearly calculating odds that no longer existed. Slowly, almost sheepishly, he raised his weapon in surrender.

A low chuckle escaped Lorn, surprising even himself. His saber lowered slightly as he glanced at Elias, a wry twist tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Looks like he's reconsidered."

The moment shattered. A piercing klaxon howled through the facility, vibrating in the steel beneath their boots. From the far side of the cargo bay, a heavy hatch ground open, belching dust and steam as massive gears turned. A platform began to rise, carrying a battered shuttle, its hull scarred but engines alive with power.

Reinforcements arrived with it. Half a dozen more mercenaries spilled from the lift, rifles blazing before their boots even hit the deck. The Mandalorian who'd cowered moments before straightened, emboldened by the sudden swell of numbers. His trembling vanished as he leveled his carbine, adding his fire to the storm.

Lorn barely had time to hiss a curse. Blaster fire screamed toward them, forcing him into motion. He dove for cover behind a cargo container, sparks and smoke showering as bolts chewed through durasteel. His golden blade still glowed at his side, humming like a heartbeat against his ribs.

His jaw clenched as he peeked out, tracking the shuttle's engines roaring to life. The sound was deafening, drowning out even the klaxon. If that ship broke free with the slaves aboard, they would lose everything.

"Elias!" Lorn's voice cut through the chaos, rough with urgency. His amber gaze found his partner's across the bay. "We stop that shuttle. Now!" The weight in his tone left no room for doubt. For all the blaster fire, for all the numbers against them, there was only one objective: that ship was not leaving this place.

 

[Elias Edo]

MISSION TO SHADOR
(Soundtrack: Under Cover of Night - Halo Infinite)

“Coward,” Elias spat at the Mandalorian’s renewed confidence. Elias moved on the back foot but still managed to slap a few blaster shots back. One struck the Mandalorian’s gloved knuckles, loosening his grip on his carbine. In the split moment of reach for his holdout blaster, Elias took advantage of the injury to break away and duck behind cover.

Lasers struck the hollow metal container with a terrible, echoing thud.

Between the alarms and the roar of the Black Sun shuttle, Elias could hardly hear himself think, yet Lorn’s words cut through the noise. Elias nodded his understanding and popped his head out to scout the field. He glimpsed the ship just before a blaster impact forced him to recoil back, tucking behind the cargo container once again. Even with two lightsabers deflecting bolts, there were far too many blasters aimed at them. He and Lorn would be gunned down before they could ever make meaningful ground.

Elias eyed the space behind them, looking for anything that might help when he spotted a thick panel of rusted durasteel. It was far too heavy to lift with his bare hands, but with the Force…?

Entirely doable.

“Lorn, cover me,” Elias said suddenly, then dashed back to the panel. His hands were outstretched as he moved, slowly lifting the metal to an upright position. He slipped behind it just as it stood, and with both arms locked forward, he began to walk. With the Force, the panel levitated above the ground, acting as a shield against enemy fire.

Elias walked it slowly but steadily to the container and grunted, “On your mark.” He would wait for Lorn to slide behind the shield and then move forward, holding it steady as the pair pushed in on the mercenaries.

Tags: Lorn Reingard​

 

[Lorn Reingard]

Tags: Elias Edo​

The cargo bay trembled with blaster fire. Lorn's golden blade deflected bolts as he leaned from cover, his face resolute. When Elias spoke, Lorn's amber eyes flicked to him, already recognizing the unspoken plan.

When Elias moved, Lorn covered him instantly. His saber blurred, intercepting the barrage as his partner tore a rusted durasteel panel from its hinges. The screech of old metal was almost lost beneath the chaos, but when the slab rose like a makeshift barricade, Lorn felt a grim satisfaction stir beneath his calm. It was a clever, if desperate, tactic.

As Elias pressed the wall forward with the Force, Lorn broke from cover, his boots slapping against the steel deck. He slid behind the panel in one smooth motion, golden blade angled out at his side, deflecting any bolts that slipped past its edges.

The mercenaries fire intensified as the slab advanced, sparks flying from the impacts like an angry storm. The clang of every strike rattled in Lorn's chest, but his steps remained steady.

A whine split the air above. Lorn's head snapped up. A Mandalorian rocketed overhead, jetpack roaring, angling to dive in behind their barricade. Lorn moved without conscious thought. He pivoted, his golden saber flashing upward in a controlled arc that cleanly sheared the blaster from the warrior's gauntlet. A twist of his body followed, a precise strike that sent the weapon spinning. Before the merc could even register the loss, Lorn slammed the hilt of his saber into the side of the helmet. The Mandalorian hit the deck with a resounding clang, lying motionless.

Lorn exhaled sharply, his eyes already tracking forward. In the distance, the lift groaned to a stop at surface level. The shuttle's engines cycled louder, hungry for launch. Steam vented in violent bursts from its underside, the deck trembling beneath their boots as systems rumbled online.

The half dozen mercenaries stood guard around the platform, their blasters carving fire across the bay. They protected the shuttle like a nest of vipers. Too many to charge blindly, and too little time to waste.

Lorn's voice cut through the hiss of the engines as he angled his body closer to Elias behind the slab.

"What's the plan, Elias?" Lorn's amber eyes flicked from the glowing shuttle to his partner. "This'll get us close, but a half dozen rifles stand between us and that ship."

 

[Elias Edo]

MISSION TO SHADOR
(Soundtrack: Under Cover of Night - Halo Infinite)

The stakes were high and they were running out of time. Elias moved a few feet further before stopping and holding his ground. There was a distinct sound of ship engines flaring, and the Black Sun blasters laid into the shield with unbearable intensity. Elias could handle the strain, a master of the Force and a font of patience, but the durasteel sheet was another matter; it’d snap long before Elias would.

An idea hatched in that moment, after seeing a Mando try and fail to jetpack overhead.

“I’m going to- clear ‘em out,” Elias groaned as he shifted his stance, feeling the pressure of preparing for what he was going to do. “Be ready- to move.”

Elias adjusted his footing, grounding himself in the Force as if rooting into the ferrocrete beneath. His posture shifted—shoulders squared, knees bent, both hands extended in quiet control. The slab hovered, trembling under the pressure of Elias’ will. With a sharp twist of his body, he turned defense into offense, whipping his arm forward. The panel shot across the chamber like a battering ram, catching the Mandalorians and slamming them into the side of the shuttle with bone-crunching force, armor screeching against steel.

A small number of them managed to dodge the debris, but several were crushed before they could react. The shuttle’s landing gear snapped from the impact, slanting it on one side. The pilot must have realized the ship was pinned; its engines flared twice and then died down, cooling from white-hot to a low amber color.

“Let’s finish this,” Elias said. For the first time all day, a smirk tugged at the corners of his mouth. It was difficult to say whether it was a sign of pride or relief that success was within sight.

Tags: Lorn Reingard​

 

[Lorn Reingard]

Tags: Elias Edo​

Elias slammed the heavy slab into the Mandalorians, sending a screech of metal through the chamber. The crash vibrated through the deck plates and Lorn's chest. He didn't hesitate. The instant Elias created the opening, Lorn surged forward, his golden blade blazing.

The remaining mercenaries scrambled. Some dove from the twisted wreckage, others struggled to raise their rifles. Lorn moved through the chaos like a shadow wielding fire. His saber carved a brutal arc, shearing the barrel from one warrior's carbine before piercing the gap in his shoulder plate. Another mercenary lunged with a vibroblade. Lorn pivoted sharply, his cloak snapping, then shoved the Mandalorian back with a Force push, slamming him against a cargo container hard enough to dent the durasteel.

Blaster bolts flashed wildly through the haze of steam and sparks. Lorn batted them aside with tight, efficient sweeps of his blade, golden light reflecting off the polished beskar helmets. He moved with silent precision, his movements never wasted. Trust fueled him, a certainty that Elias was holding his own, his partner's back covered without needing to be watched.

As the last mercenaries faltered under their combined assault, Lorn's attention locked onto the shuttle. Its massive form groaned, pinned by the slab, landing gear twisted, one side listing awkwardly. The engines coughed back to life, roaring defiantly, as if the pilot believed sheer power could wrench it free. The ship rocked against the ground, scraping forward in slow, agonizing inches.

Lorn reached the side hatch, his boots splashing through coolant and steam from the damaged systems. His hand brushed the access panel; it was locked tight. A low growl rumbled in his throat, a flicker of frustration breaking his calm. He jammed his saber into the seam. Golden plasma hissed and spat, molten metal dripping as he carved into the hull.

Behind the thick durasteel, the engines howled again, shaking the entire bay as the shuttle shuddered violently. The deck plates groaned under the strain as the ship rocked further off its ruined gear, grinding forward across the floor. Lorn set his teeth, forcing his blade deeper into the metal, sparks dancing across his face.

"The stupid bastard's going to tear the whole bay apart," Lorn muttered, his voice rough but steady. His amber-flecked eyes narrowed against the engine's flare. He pressed harder, determined to cut his way through before the ship dragged its prison of souls into the base itself.

 

[Elias Edo]

MISSION TO SHADOR
(Soundtrack: Under Cover of Night - Halo Infinite)

Sparks and the awful sound of metal-on-metal filled the air. Elias’ shield now served as a hook tethering the shuttle to the platform, but like a stubborn beast, the pilot was intent on dragging the line instead of accepting that he was caught.

Lorn cut down several mercenaries with ease while Elias relied on the Force to lift and slam a pair of Mandalorians together hard enough to crack their beskar chest plates. With them out of the way, Lorn tried carving at the ship’s hull. Effective, but time consuming—the pilot would take off or slam the shuttle into the side of the bay before Lorn cut through. Elias glanced down at his hands and shook his head at first. Force Warrior was a title bestowed upon him during his time on New Cov, but that was… before.

Moving the panel was a surprising success, but Elias wasn’t sure about holding a ship down. What if he’d lost his edge, along with so many other things, while he was imprisoned?

It was a brief moment of intense self doubt that was thankfully broken by a small shift in the Force. Elias couldn’t hear what Lorn had said, if anything at all, but he sensed the man’s frustrated effort. It was enough to push Elias to try.

He dashed off around the other side of the ship, rounding its pinned wing to reach the cockpit. Inside, an angry Black Sun pilot was frantic at the controls. The shuttle bucked and strained like a wounded beast, engines howling as its pilot fought to break free. Elias planted himself in the hangar bay, both hands raised, every muscle in his frame tight with exertion as he poured the Force into his grip. The air around him shimmered with heat-haze distortion, the deck plates rattling under the pressure of machine resisting the Living Force. The shuttle's thrusters flared, threatening to tear loose, but Elias anchored it.

"Get in there, Lorn!" he growled through gritted teeth, sweat beading at his brow.

Tags: Lorn Reingard​