Faction The Iron Enclave 1: Rust and Blood

[Mazrim Caide/Taim]

Location: Metalorn
Faction: The Sith Empire


Legionnaire Caide rolled to the side to avoid another blaster shot from the dissenter group, dropping them like flies with his returning volley despite the grey and perpetually sooty conditions of the factory world. He stood up straight and cracked his neck as the last of them fell, assisting in dragging the few remaining members of his squad to the medical buildings for treatment. Another ambush, perfectly executed despite absolute secrecy in their movements. There wasn’t even a written record of the orders his unit had been assigned, word of mouth only. He checked the body of the fallen decurion in charge of his squad out of habit, but found no hidden bugs of any kind, nothing that would indicate espionage or treachery. He cursed and glanced to the former second in command, one of the few uninjured soldiers.

“Orders, decurion?”

The man blinks, the weight of the responsibility falling on him like a hammer as he looks around at all the wounded and dead men around him.

“I...we fall back for now, regroup and report.”

Caide nods. He was going to ‘suggest’ that to the fresh faced officer regardless.

“Yes sir.” It comes out as calm and professional as always as their battered and broken unit starts the long trek back to the Sith camp.

Once they finally made it back to camp and got their men to the medics, Caide’s brow furrows in thought. He and the legion he was currently assigned to had been tasked with putting down this insurrection and getting the world back up and running as soon as possible, but something was...off. The protesters were too well armed, too fast to respond, and too numerous. Something else was going on. When he voiced his concerns to the legate in charge, a stern man named Abrozza, and he shared Caide’s worries. Mazrim respected Abrozza, he was a good leader, cautious and capable, and Caide was glad to be working with him. Even if the legate’s reaction to this particular problem was somewhat less fortunate.
Caide had recommended reinforcements and the legate had requested them. Unfortunately, though Mazrim supposed he should have expected it, he also voiced his concerns of a larger and more organized supporter of the insurrection directly to the imperial offices, and they were sending both the reinforcements requested and a dispatch from the sith imperials themselves, and most likely the inquisition as well.

As Caide stared at the burning smokestack of a factory in the smog smothered twilight of Metalorn, one thought crossed his mind. What in the name of the emperor had he stumbled into?

 

[Sabella De Vrais]

The Iron Enclave 1: Rust and Blood
Sabella De Vrais

• Metalorn

Mid Rim | Command Camp
Mazrim Caide/Taim

Sabella was already passing the planet to head home when the call came through of a well armed insurgency. She wasn't the best of fighters but it was definitely an interesting situation and one that peaked her interest. On landing she was quickly approached by one of the lower ranking officers who was tasked with bringing her up to date, "One of our teams has just come back my lord, they report that the equipment of this insurgency is not typical with this calibre of organisation, hence why yourself and, most likely, a plethora of reinforcements are coming in to correct this error.." the officer said as Sabella waved him away as she entered the command tent..

 

[Mazrim Caide/Taim]

Caide saw Sabella De Vrais arrive and, seeing she was not an inquisitor, supposed he should go meet her. After all, the last thing he needed was a sith imperial dying on a planet he was stationed. He had seen the kind of investigation that went into such matters, and it was something he desperately needed to avoid. He enters the command tent on the pretense of speaking to the legate before 'noticing' the woman standing inside.
"My lady, pardon the intrusion. Legionnaire Mazrim Caide at your service." He bows before turning to the legate. "Legate Abrozza sir, we've run into a small issue with guard rotation. The 4th and 5th platoons are arguing for more off time due to heavy casualties. I thought it would be best to inform you before the matter reached the strategos." Caide keeps his air professional, both out of genuine respect for the legate and because he was in the presence of a sith, and he was always formal when he was nervous. The legate nods with a sigh.
"Thank you for informing me Caide, I will see to it that both companies do their duty. Every company has experienced heavy casualties in this cluster f-" he casts a glance at Sabella. "This difficult mission. Please stay with Lady Sabella until I get back and answer any questions she has." With that he departs the room, and Caide is left alone in the command tent with the sith sorceress.

 

[Sabella De Vrais]

The Sith let out a slight grin at Mazrim Caide/Taim , sensing his nervousness. "I find it disturbing that the soldiers here must argue with their superiors, is there something I should know about Soldier?" letting out a short chuckle as she heads to leave the tent, implying for the soldier to follow her. "Information from an officer is all well and good but soldiers tend to know the details, what can you tell me about this.. insurgency? Equipment, weapons, vehicles? is it problematic enough to involve the Saaraishash?" inquired Sabella, feeling rather curious as to what is going on as she now stood outside the command tent, observing the stationed imperial forces..

 

[Ladybug]

With a ping followed by a red blinking light, the ship's communication system alerted the pilot of an incoming transmission. Reaching over, she depressed the button on the panel, opening the channel. The message's contents was not what she had expected. Nearby a beacon from an Sith Command post had been activated, broadcasting a message for assistance through an encrypted code. Filter out every fourth word, and the message was clear: assistance was required. Turning around in the pilot's slightly uncomfortable chair, the Initiate looked to the back of the ship. Dictated by mandate, she was required to lend aid to any Sith or forces in need of aid, overriding any direct order from a superior; minus the Emperor himself. Recalculating the navigation computer, she entered the coordinates from the broadcast, feeling the ship swap courses. The Lord Inquisitor would have to wait a bit longer for the precious cargo she had detained in the lockbox.

Orbiting around the planet Metalorn, she knew there was a kind of operation taking place. To the best of her knowledge, it was suppose to be a black-ops style mission. There were reports of an insurgency growing steam, and the powers that be felt it necessary to quell it before it's momentum grew dangerous. To any well established Empire, chaos and righteous causes were a cancer, left unchecked and it could become overly infectious.

The command tent seemed rather vaguely guarded. She half expected the whole post crawling with Legions of the Emperor's might. What she saw, or felt, was desperation. There was more to this than what her eyes took in. Stepping inside catching the end of a dialogue, she said, "The Saaraishash are already here."


Sabella De Vrais . Mazrim Caide/Taim

 

[Mazrim Caide/Taim]

Caide wished he could lie to the woman, but the situation was getting grim. He didn't give a damn about the empire's interests in this smog choked dumpster planet, but he did care about not getting shot to death by rebels.

"I believe so, ma'am. They're too well armed for plain old insurrectionists. They've got military hardware: Blaster rifles, speeder bikes, comms systems, I even swear I heard a rail gun shot at some point. They don't fight like angry factory workers either. They're accurate, ruthless, efficient, and precise...and there's something else." He really hated to peak a sith's curiosity in anything, as he wanted to be left as un-investigated as possible, but it would look worse if she found out later. "They're too smart. They hit our supply depots in the middle of guard shifts, they ambushed my unit even though we were on complete comms silence and there was no record of our orders, it was all word of mouth. This isn't some random insurrection ma'am, whatever is going on here is coordinated, and whoever is leading them is very good at what they do."

finishing his miniature rant, his one green eye glances at her from his peripherals to gauge her reaction. Would she be worried? Scared? Angry? he needed to know what she was made of to know what to do with her when the next attack happened. Overhead, a fighter flies into the makeshift landing field they had set up, providing a useful distraction.

"New arrivals miss."

Tags: Sabella De Vrais Ladybug

 

[Sabella De Vrais]

The Sith couldn't help but let out a small smile and a bit of a chuckle as the details were explained to her about the insurgency. She found the prospect of hopeless belief from these rebels and their nerve to be rather amusing. The usual thing to do would be to bring legions in to wipe them out but there was something more curious happening here, something worth investigating.. a traitor within the empire perhaps? Hm..

Rather conveniently simply uttering the word Saaraishash makes them appear out of nowhere as the inquisitor interrupted the conversation, first impressions were.. interesting. The look of curiosity and mild confusion dawned on Sabella as the inquisitor looked rather young to be an inquisitor but it wasn't her place to question such things.

Allowing a respectful bow of the head to the inquisitor, "Greetings, Inquisitor. I see the transmission brought you here as well" before letting a small grin towards the solder stood by her side, amused by the sudden, convenient arrival.

Mazrim Caide/Taim Ladybug

 

[Ladybug]

The Felacatian Sith was technically an Initiate among the Saaraishash, but her admission at such a young age through proven of worth spoke volumes of her prowess. Her Master sat on the Dark Council, and though no favors would be generated from their Master - Apprentice relationship; her success and failures where judged more harshly not just by her own Mentor, but by the Lord Inquisitor. She was young, but she studied her craft well. So when she was called Inquisitor by the other Sith, she found no need to correct her. As her Master once preached to her, titles don't create the person but the person creates the tile in their image.

"Indeed," came her cold response. It wasn't a matter of distrust of the other Sith, or anyone currently present, that allowed for the icy tone in her voice. It was simply a by-product of her profession, dealing with those souls who confessed all manners of excuses and lies as to what brought them before her. Of all the flaws that possibly coursed through an individual; cowardice and weakness sat in the forefront of her loathing. So it was natural, to her anyway, why there was no need for long, drawn out conversations. Especially if she knew the likely outcome of the other individual involved, such as the one currently on her ship waiting to be personally delivered to the Lord Inquisitor. Her social skills, were poor. Rarely did a conversation with her bode well for the other party.

"It would seem until this matter has been resolved, I am at your disposal," she continued looking at the others, "What's the solution?"


Sabella De Vrais . Mazrim Caide/Taim

 

[Mazrim Caide/Taim]

Legionnaire Caide keeps his expression neutral and professional as an inquisitor steps out of the ship. Of course it was an inquisitor, just what he needed. A professional living lie detector. He reluctantly acknowledged the need for them, but that did not mean he wanted to be near one for longer than strictly necessary.

"Ma'am, as the signal briefed you on the situation at hand, I will not bore you with the details. The legate and the strategos should be back in the command tent soon, they were settling some internal affairs. They will likely want to speak with both of you. If you would like, I can lead you to them before going on my way." He can't quite hide that he is eager to be away from Ladybug . He awaits their answers for a few seconds before his instincts scream at him...

"GET DOWN!" Caide lunges at them both and bowls them to the ground as a resounding BOOM explodes in the air and he grunts as a slug grazes his back. Rolling to his feet off the women, he turns to survey, but he is disoriented and slow, he doesn't see the man running away. Right now, he is looking for threats, not retreating assassins.

Tags: Ladybug Sabella De Vrais

 

[Sabella De Vrais]

BOOM

This just became personal. After being tossed to the ground by the soldier she picked herself up, brushing the dust off herself, "Well done, soldier", looking around the sky or landscape for any forms of aircraft or movement. "Hopefully we'll be able to trace it.. I am starting to suspect someone within Imperial ranks are to blame for this.." as she then looked around, assessing any damage caused..

Mazrim Caide/Taim Ladybug

 

[Ladybug]

The unexpected explosion rocked the tent, and if not for the fast actions of the soldier, there would have been casualties. Instead of concerning herself with the safety of herself or the others, her mind went elsewhere as she tried to disentangle herself from the others in hopes of catching this assailant, but to no avail. In the confusion, the would-be assassin managed to escape. But what struck her odd was how, despite the attack, the other soldiers stationed here failed to react properly. Standing up and after rearranging her clothes and weapons, she agreed with the other Sith.

"Or someone familiar with the operations," she said glancing at the soldier whose name she had not yet acquired. She had several questions for the soldier, but something else caught her attention instead; two somethings in fact. Moving to the ruined entrance of the command tent, she squatted down retrieving a piece of silver and black slug. Turning it over and over in her hand, she never seen the small intricate designs of the slug's remnants before today. Most assassins, illegal bounty hunters, and hired criminal underground hitmen, took pleasure in decorating certain tools of their trade, not out of leaving evidence to be traced, but to show their compatriots in a twisted display of pride they were the culprit behind the eventful attacks or murder or assassination. Most tools employed by such characters never truly left evidence behind, so this slug was a product of a faulty manufacturing flaw.

The other 'shiny object' that caught her attention was a lone boot mark left behind when the attacker stepped through a small puddle of oil, but it was only the mark left behind; for after that step the hired gun managed to step in a small pool of water, washing away the oil on the boot before the attacker then stepped on blackened concrete. Examining the mark, two pieces of evidence presented itself to her.

"Judging by what I can decipher from the boot mark is this. Our suspect possess a slight limp in the left leg. You can see it in how the boot mark is not properly flat, slightly angled to the one side meaning they suffer pain when they fully step down on the leg, so they try to compensate for that but running has no compensations," she said still examining the slug in her hand. "Another piece of evidence is that this attacker is either female or a very petite male. The length of the boot mark is narrow and is less sizable than the majority of the human males average foot length. Unless, and this is clearly speculation, our attacker may be of the alien species."



Sabella De Vrais . Mazrim Caide/Taim

 

[Nica Dakkar]

Once more, Lady Luck smiled upon Auspex Dakkar, what was meant to be a routine patrol turning into something so much more exciting.

"Who's ready to vaporize some rebels!" For a moment there was silence, then the pained voice of her second-in-command entered her ear. "Ma'am... with all due respect, our orders were recon only, no? Since it's possible they've acquired anti-air weaponry?"

Sighing in exasperation, Nica shook her head for no one's benefit but her own. Always so obedient, no wonder no one liked him. "Have they stopped teaching evasive action in the Academies or are you just a wimp?" Cutting him off before he could respond in a characteristically boring manner, she resigned herself to her fate - for now. "Oh whatever, recon it is. Pair up and watch each other's backs, Evans with me."

At the very least she could see if the new kid would last the week. Not many did - it must be tough being the mediocrity to her excellence.

Miko Evans | Mazrim Caide/Taim Sabella De Vrais Ladybug​

 

[Mazrim Caide/Taim]

As Caide recieves an automated notification from his ear piece that a Wing under Auspex Nica Dakkar had joined the comms uplink, he immediately activates the encrypted channel, containing a groan. He had heard of her, both her talent as a pilot and her penchant for reckless endangerment of her wing for often un necessary maneuvers.

"Auspex Dakkar, this is legionnaire Caide, recommend immediate landing and disembark on northern airfield. I have reason to suspect the rebels have deep space capable anti fighter weaponry. Repeat, recommend immediate landing."

Turning to inquisitor Ladybug and Lady Sabella De Vrais , he addresses them both.

"I share your suspicion of an internal compromise inquisitor, but I suggest we proceed with caution. you're arrivals were planned purely by word of mouth over triple encrypted channels being monitored by live security agents. If they can listen in on that, and acquire slug throwers to counteract your lightsaber training, I do not believe it would be difficult to eliminate all of us if we become too threatening too quickly. I also suggest you meet with the strategos and the Auspex landing soon."

Assuming his job is done, Caide salutes and prepares to walk away.

 

[Sabella De Vrais]

This was most certainly not Sabellas specialisation. She came to the planet to offer her assistance in dispersing rebels, not to be attacked by petty murderers with seemingly affluent benefactors. She could sense the soldier wanting to get out of the area as soon as possible, or at least away from the Sith collective that had formed on his posting. Listening in to the radio transmission, she shared the feeling about this reckless pilot though maybe for different reasons.

Allowing a small nod of respect to the soldier, "Don't stray too far soldier. You may be called on yet again shortly." before turning around, giving a slight questionable glance to the inquisitor about to display her curiosity then heading back to meet with the Strategos and Auspex when they return.

Mazrim Caide/Taim Ladybug Nica Dakkar

 

[Ladybug]

Mikilanna tossed a nod to the passing Sith as she left to meet the arriving pilot. To the soldier, she flashed a smile before addressing him, "The possession of a lightsaber or the rigorous training associated with said weapon doesn't define a Sith,, soldier. It is simply an extension of who and what I am." She couldn't fault the soldier's choice of words. Even the ones that fought alongside those wielding those legendary weapons of both Sith and Jedi never fully understood; they've heard the tales of the pros and cons of the lightsaber. And it was the same with wielding the Force. As he was a soldier, there where several ideas of his profession she didn't fully grip; the difference being she didn't put stock in soldier fables, only in what her own eyes could bear testimony too.

"If you excuse me, soldier, there are some things I need to look into," she said heading out. "If you discover anything contact me. Also, if you could forward a list of names for all those soldiers stationed here, I would very much appreciate it."

Interviewing every stationed soldier here would be both tedious and time consuming, the latter being in short supply. With the list of names at her disposal, she could run a cross check using her personal datapad; a job she wished to perform from prying eyes. As she suspected, as she was not the only one of the opinion, there was a spy in their ranks. For those that fitted the parameters from her search, they would undoubtedly find themselves deeply immersed in her investigation. Several factors could lead one to turn traitor; most often or not, it was their lack of financial standings. Or, in some rare instances, the loss of a loved one; the finger of blame always wagging at the those who failed to protect their precious heart's desire.

Then there was this mysterious slug. The Sith Empire, known for it's vast resources, have been known to employ bounty hunters, slavers, assassins outside the Sith Guild, and other unsavory characters; so there might be something in their archives regarding the designs on the flawed slug. Even still, that could be a dead-end lead. Thefts, friend to friend sells, potential black market sales, and the fact that the original owner of this slug's design could be dead; murdered and his or her lot now in possession of their killer. There seemed to be an abundance of variables encompassing this single, fractured slug.


Sabella De Vrais . Mazrim Caide/Taim . Nica Dakkar

 

[Mazrim Caide/Taim]

Caide stops in his tracks...

"Inquisitor...is it possible there could be a force user hiding here?"

The words are quiet and subdued as he turns back to join them, his one eye alight with thought. It was a long shot, but if he was right...this wasn't just a rebellion. This was a coup.

Tags: Sabella De Vrais Ladybug Nica Dakkar

 

[Sabella De Vrais]

Overhearing the suspicion of a renegade force user, this was exactly what Sabella did not want to hear. Mysterious rebels with prominent benefactors was something she was more than happy to deal with. She knew her strengths and weaknesses, she also knew she wouldn't be able to compete in lightsaber combat against most force users though she would be more than a match in force-based combat

It was up to the inquisitor in the end however, having little experience in this area it was naturally appropriate to just offer a hand until the problem is resolved. With this in mind she turned around to face the soldier with mild frustration on her face, primarily to mask her worry on the account of pride.

"Let's hope that isn't the case. These rebels are problematic enough, it would be less than ideal for a force user to be involved." before turning around once again and heading to the command tent to meet with the Imperials.

Mazrim Caide/Taim Ladybug Nica Dakkar

 

[Miko Evans]

The Sith...Man were they a piece of work. His father had fought them in the old Sith Wars when he was a Red Legionnaire, Mandalorian conscripts and volunteers who had decided that they didn't really feel like being truly Mandalorian. Career, war hero even. He'd been even been given Jaing Eyes by Mand'alor Gilamar Skirata but all that had felt so long ago. By the time he was old enough to even start having full memories of school the Mando'ade that the Legion remembered had been long gone so when the Sith Empire came and all his father had left to defend Junction, their home, were half-decade old destroyers and cruisers, his father had given up the planet willingly. A regent was installed, and to keep his father obedient Miko had been drafted into the Sith Imperial war machine.

All these thoughts were floating in his head, how he hated it here, how he wished the Sith would just burn up in a firey ball of flame. He'd thought about abandoning the Sith but he knew that if he did his father would be killed as would his mother and two younger siblings. So here he was, flying over some backwater, hunting for rebels he wholeheartedly agreed with.

<Evans, you're with me> The voice snapped him back to reality.

"Copy Auspex," he said and pulled his interceptor into formation as her wingman.

 

[Nica Dakkar]

Chuckling slightly at the commed-in request, she shook her head - once more for no one's benefit but her own.

"I getcha, Legionnaire. Don't want to see everyone's favourite pilot get shot down? No worries, I know what I'm doing."

Arcing down towards the last position in which enemy contact had been confirmed and trusting the new kid to keep up, she smiled smugly as sensor data began to trickle in... though it turned to swearing once she spotted the incoming projectiles.

Flak missiles. Well shit.

"Incoming area-based munitions, take evasive action and prep flares." Gritting her teeth as she spun through the air, an all-but-impossible shot tearing through one of the missiles but leaving a dozen more unharmed, her flying only grew fancier...

... but there were simply too many to evade.

Miko Evans || Mazrim Caide/Taim | Sabella De Vrais | Ladybug​

 

[Ladybug]

The term Force user halted her departure. It was a theory she had not considered, mainly because of the facts already presented in the investigation. If it was a Force user, then the whole scenario just grew more complicating. Hunting a rogue Force sensitive, especially one skilled in assassination tactics, posed it's own set of problems and parameters. And if it was indeed a rogue, was it a dissident among the Sith Order? The Empire held many enemies, some revealing themselves as traitors; most fleeing Sith space aligning with others of their caustic beliefs.

"Outside us," she began, turning around to face the soldier, "Has there been anyone else who represents the Sith Order, Force user wise, that has frequented the base camp?" It was not without the realm of possibilities that if a rogue was here, they could be posing as a Sith. There was no dress code or pinned badges on outfits that identified a Sith. And if that was occurring, the whole camp from top to bottom has now been compromised. Soldiers, as it seemed to her understanding, were trained to follow a Sith's orders, never questioning it. Especially, if a said rogue was mucking about as a Sith, claimed to be a Lord of the Sith Order.

Adding quickly before the other Sith woman left, and directed to the soldier, "The soldiers know you, I need you to pass an official standing order throughout the ranks stating no soldier is to follow any direct or indirect command unless it comes from one of us here in the tent. In the event someone makes an attempt, they are to notify us immediately. And one last thing, if this is a rogue, they are to make no attempt to apprehend the suspect."


Sabella De Vrais . Mazrim Caide/Taim . Nica Dakkar . Miko Evans