The Mines of Concordia

[Soliath Devin Talith]

Soliael stepped off of the small Sicarius shuttle with practiced impatience. A droid covered it with a concealing net, hiding it from view. The massive mining pit tho their left stood abandoned and empty, a few massive construction droids sitting in pieces on the right and some equipment in similar disrepair sitting a few hundred feet away from that. He frowned slightly, gazing at the state of things all around them as he slid down the side of the massive mining pit and moved to its center.

Concordia had been a mining world for more Millenia than Soliael actually knew about. Once a rich agricultural world it had long since been turned into nothing but dust and mines when the Mandalorians discovered their rich Iron here. Of course, what one would expect from a bunch of savages. They destroyed their own world in order to gain a shiny metal, to be expected really. This particular mine had supposedly run dry, which was just as well given that doing actual work in a place like this would attract more attention than a Bantha in a glass shop.

“I've always hated places like this.” Soliael commented to his companions. “They make me feel as though the uneducated of the galaxy are ruining it for the rest of us.”

Of course one couldn't get all minerals from hellish worlds like Demonsgate, some places really had to be twisted and changed, though the least they could do was clean up their mess after they finished. Something that the Mandalorians had cleared failed to do upon this world.

Pulling a small device form his pocket Soliael tossed it into the ground. Almost immediately an antenna rose from the device, sending a signal out. Behind him a couple of droid disappeared into the nearby mines.

Looking at his chrono Soliael let out a sigh. “How long do you think it will take them to notice?”

 

[Cameron Centurion]

Cameron had disembarked the Sicarius shuttle a few steps behind Soliael. No words immediately left his mouth as his silver-green gaze surveyed the horizon. The abandoned mine represented much of the general disregard sentients had for their surroundings. However, unlike his companion, Cameron couldn't say he cared much these days. The rate at which sentients destroyed the galaxy and each other was cyclical. The question could be asked...why had the Sith Lord come? The answer was simple, he hated just about everything having even a remote amount to do with Mandalorians.

A clarification. It was not the Mandalorian culture that he found grotesque. After all, he couldn't exactly argue with the existence of a warrior race built around a set of clearly defined ideals. No, he took issue with all the roaches scurrying about the galaxy claiming to be Mandalorians. They'd contorted their government and people into something wholly unrecognizable and almost entirely pathetic. Then again...he could just be bitter about the fact they still iterned the mother of his child. The exact reasoning was mostly irrelevant.

Once he'd reached the center of the mine, Cameron sniffed the air slightly. "The uneducated will always prevail in spreading idiocy." Shifting his gaze to Soliael briefly, the Sith Lord smiled thinly. "Notice? Not long, perhaps. Form any type of coherent, effective response..." Cameron permitted himself a brief laugh. Effective... "...eternity."

[member="Soliael Devin Talith"]

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

[member="Cameron Centurion"]

Soliael smirked, looking at Cameron over his shoulder for a moment before looking down at the blinking antenna in front of him.

“I heard they've been bringing those lizards to their fights.” He made a motion of his hands that appeared to be crawling. “Ysalimri.”

Mandalorians had never shied away from fighting Force Users. He remembered finding a few of them out and about in the galaxy, most of them had ended up dead or with more than a few broken bones to carry away with after meeting him. Admittedly, a few had nearly gotten the better of him a time or two, but those he had encountered had never used Ysalimiri to fight him, not that it would matter if they did.

“After Empress Teta those things must be nearly extinct.” After all, harvesting a species for use in war likely took its toll on said species. The Mandalorians had already driven one race from the galaxy for use in their wars, he doubted they'd stop there.

As Cameron and Soliael waited, the droids filed neatly into the mineshafts bellow, happily doing as they were programmed to do.

 

[Cameron Centurion]

Cameron rolled his eyes slightly at the mention of Ysalamiri. Soliael was correct of course. The Mandalorians seemed to think that the Ysalamiri were the answer to all their problems. Funny thing - those little lizards died rather quickly when forcibly removed from the Oblio trees upon which they lived and sustained themselves. He vaguely recalled recent and distant history when individuals would try to collect infant Ysalamiri and attach them to nutrient-rich 'backpacks' that mimiced the Oblio tree. The experiments had varied results, but the Sith Lord was certain some self-proclaimed genius in the current galaxy had found a remedy to every potential problem.

Except...there just wasn't really a remedy to a Ysalamiri having its head cut off or being shot in the face. "Agreed. People have been trying to harvest Ysalamiri for centuries. It's probably good decision though...destabilizing the entire ecosystem of a planet by forcibly removing all of one of its major species because your entire existence is rife with insecurity." The Sith Lord's words were, of course, dripping with sarcasm.

[member="Soliael Devin Talith"]

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

[member="Cameron Centurion"]

“Well, they aren't really known for their conservationist efforts are they? I mean what with the Basilisks, the Mythosaur, the Strill...Force that list goes on and on.” Soliael thought about it for a moment and then realized that his mother would be horrified at how many species the Mandalorians had driven to extinction or close to it. Well perhaps horrified was the wrong word, it was difficult to horrify that woman, perhaps impossible.

“Really I'm honestly surprised they've lasted this long.” Taking another look at his chrono Soliael shifted. “You'd figure as soon as they discovered nuclear fusion they'd would have gone by the way side.”

Slowly the False God looked up into the sky, hoping to see a sign of a ship or a transport of some sort.

His straining eyes found nothing.

 

[Rhodessa]

Rhodessa got they alert, sith where after beskar, she headed out their gunship as quickly as possible. To locate and destroy them, no doubt there would be more mandalorians on the way soon. Her first job was to scan the surface of the planet, to look for their ship that got them here. Then it was to destroy it, to keep them here. That way there would be no escape for these sith scum, she blamed them for sister death, and converting ordo and aedan miles to their cause.

[member="Soliael Devin Talith"][member="Soliael Devin Talith"]

 

[Muad Dib]

Walking through the forests of Concordia Muad Dib explored the lands. Mines and homes, forges and courtyards. These mandalorians lived their culture to the fullest. Silent feet moved among the foliage. He was an observer and outsider still. Neither armor nor language did he wear yet, and still he sought a communion if not from the people then the culture. He was a warrior and loved a fight. These people called to him, an answer on his lips. War was his trade, death his calling and Muad Dib excelled at both.

On a hill he paused raising his head as if he was tasting the air. He was, though not in the traditional sense. He felt the echo in the force. Darksiders. Sith. Kindred spirits to his own dark soul. Turning in the direction of such he moved along at a trot opening himself up to the force as he closed on the multiple sources of darkness. A small grin crossed his face as he moved, two extra lightsabers bouncing on his left hip, trophies of kills.

Slowing as the forest cleared he walked into what was once an abandoned mining camp not awash in activity.

[member="Soliael Devin Talith"] [member="Cameron Centurion"]

 

[Muad Dib]

Atin Kandossii was a hard man. Long years of training and jobs forged him. Loss and pain nearly broke him once as he lost his mind to grief and a desire for vengeance he learned the one skill set he had not utilized, the force, under a sith taskmaster. He rose to the challenge. Becoming a knight he had yet to lose his soul to the darkness when he was redeemed by the love of a woman. Reborn with purpose he turned from the sith and joined his vode once more.

Yes, Atin was a hard man. And all hard men have demons. But even his demons could not stop him from the dreamless sleep of exhaustion. Laying in the bed fully armored minus his helmet he slept the sleep of the dead. But instincts honed from a life of war had him opening his eyes as he sensed the agitation, rage, and fear of one he knew closely approach his quarters and rush in the door without permission.

"Atin, Sith are on Concordia! We have orders sir", Janson wheezed out of breath. So they have come as Anija and Arrbi knew they would. Swinging his legs he sat up in the cot then planted his feet to rise. Moving to the small table he collected his weapons before hooking his buy'ce to his belt. Then he walked out the quarters heading to the hanger where his firefly class ship waited. Janson followed closely.

Marching down the stone corridors he opened a channel to his aliit in the complex. "Brothers. Sisters. Vode an. We have fought for money. We have fought other's causes. Now our enemy has come to our door step. They have entered our home. Now we have a choice. Are we aruetiise or are we mando'ade? Are we just sell swords or are we patriots? I say I am a child of mandalore and I WILL fight. Join me vode and let us show these dar'jetii the might we wield!"

Shouts echoed across the line as feet rang down the halls. In the hanger Atin climbed aboard his ship and behind the controls. "We're leaving in five Janson. Those who want on need to do it now. The others hitch rides." Out in the hanger dozens of mandalorians ran to ships preparing to take off.

Five minutes later seven ships took off with Atin's firefly in the lead of the formation On his radar he saw that a gunship ahead was already scanning Concordia. Opening communication he contacted the ship with [member="Rhodessa"] on it. "This is Atin Kandossii on the Werda. Six more ships are in my formation. We have received communications about sith interlopers. Have you found the insertion site?"

[member="Soliael Devin Talith"] [member="Muad Dib"] [member="Cameron Centurion"]

 

[Neskar A'toll]

Darkness had scythed across Concordia. Melodramatic thugs had appeared to had landed at a disused mining facility. Within the ragged assortment of selective fighters, rumour occurred that rather high ranking Sith had called themselves commander over these men. The still active planetary radar had lit up the system as the Sith craft came falling down from orbit, through the atmosphere and to the mining site. They were constantly tracked, for it did not seem that they had applied stealth technology. Arrogance was the nature of these creatures, after all. It did seem suspect that they hadn't anticipated that the Mandalorians had not truly left. They couldn't be that short sighted. Right?

Neskar didn't particularly care. The ruffians were assaulting the exhausted mineshafts without any particular haste. Just by chance, Neskar had been inspecting the surface of the planet for potential future mining sites. It was terribly boring, until now. Just by chance, there was a considerable cohort of soldiers along with him; as expected by his rank of Ruus'alor. It wasn't as if Neskar was drowning in luck, after all.

They had set off at once. It was quite obvious where the Sith were headed; due to old area geomapping, the Mandalorians had a concise idea of the location of the bottom dwellers.

"Right," Neskar intoned to his group, moving up to the location in near silence. "I expect they'll be expecting us. So, let's expect what they're expecting to do to us if we expect they don't know we're here. In other words, do the unexpected. We're a tad undermanned for this mission." he began again, turning his head away from his bemused underlings. Stepping forward slowly, the mining camp was over a steep ridge, which came covered their approach. Alongside this, the detachment all wore the dreaded ysalamiri, giving them a decent degree of protection.

"We should wait here for proper reinforcements. They can't detect us this far out." The detachment was around two kilometres away from the camp proper, and the ridge a kilometre away. Thick jungles encompassed the area, shrouding their location further. Still, Neskar had a nagging thought linger at the rear of his brain. He felt almost paranoid that they were walking into a trap, and so, it felt sensible to await further support in order to weave an effective pincer movement, sundering the Sith and halting their barbarism and further mutilation of Concordia.

 

[Rhodessa]

[member="Atin Kandossii"]

She heard her vod on the com line Not yet, still scanning my first sector, but in this place it should not take to long. As there will only be mandalorian tech here, anything else should not be here. She was scanning for electronic signature, given of by droids and ships. This would not be that hard to find, though if was cloaked ship then task would be harder. She then went back to comms, and suggested ​Why don't you spread your ships out, we cover more the surface that way. We then be able to find them sooner, and cut of their escape route.
[member="Neskar A'toll"] [member="Muad Dib"] [member="Soliael Devin Talith"] [member="Cameron Centurion"]

 

[Muad Dib]

"Yes ma'am. They'll be able to get us on radar before we spot them. As for locating them, do we have anyone on the ground? If we could pick up any transmissions from any vode it might make locating them easier. You're first on scene and closer to the planet. I'll designate the ships over quadrants further around Concordia."

Flicking channels he opened up to the ships flying in formation. "Vode, you will be receiving a quadrant to search. Stay in communication range, keep a channel open. Now Oya!" The formation broke up and spread out. Hand's gripped the controls as he urged a bit more speed out of the ship.

@Rhodessa @Neskar A'toll

 

[Cameron Centurion]

Cameron didn't have much of a response for Soliael. The simple answer was that practically nothing done by any Mandalorian tended to surprise him these days. In fact, he would be surprised if all of the sudden they reverted to the historical ways they claimed to follow with such fervent devotion. He'd fought alongside enough in the past to at least have a decent, lingering memory. After all, Cameron was here to test, to rectify their weaknesses.

For only in the face of opposition do we realize the best parts of ourselves...

Perhaps this visit would see self-discovery on both sides of the subject.

Probably not, though.

A flutter in the Force momentarily drew his silver-green gaze skyward. He did not see anything as of yet, but he could feel the shifting of emotions in the Force plain as day. "Soon..." It was the only comment he offered on the matter. His lack of verbose exchange with Soliael was not indicative of his opinion of the man. To a word, he respected his fellow False God to no end. Cameron just had a rather limited social range in most situations.

The large Sith Lord did not move as the newcomer happened upon their location. He knew the man was there...but saw little reason to give him much recognition, for now.

[member="Soliael Devin Talith"] | [member="Muad Dib"]

 

[Muad Dib]

Ass he could sense them he knew that they had sensed him. From the power of their auras and the darkside swirling around them he also knew he was out of his weight class. He chuckled as he walked toward [member="Cameron Centurion"] as he drew on the force. Dark trousers and tunic with an old cracked, brown leather jacket was his attire. On his belt hung his weapons that swayed with his gait.

"Ahh, sithies. It's been awhile since I had peers near me."

He slowed to a stop five meters from Cameron. He felt the other one near but watched the large sith master. A head shake as he laughed.

"Brothers. Good to see chaos is still around. But I have found this culture and some of these people pleasing. They will be quite unhappy to see you here, especially in light of recent events. My honor is my bond and I have allied with these warriors. So I ask you politely once to depart and leave the ore behind. From what I hear it will avail you none as only a few know the art of refining the ore and that is a closely guarded secret. But personally I'd hate for you to go. I do like a good fight and I haven't had my fill of challenge in many months."

While he spoke he drew on the force allowing his rage and anger to fuel him. He knew no self respecting sith would flee in the face of a single opponent and no warrior would pass up the chance of combat. A small grin crossed his face as his eyes glowed blue with a burning fire while he awaited response or action.

[member="Atin Kandossii"] @Rhodessa @Neskar A'toll [member="Soliael Devin Talith"]

 

[Not Ordo]

[member="Soliael Devin Talith"] [member="Rhodessa"] [member="Muad Dib"] [member="Atin Kandossii"] [member="Neskar A'toll"] [member="Rhodessa"] [member="Cameron Centurion"]

Verne rode along on his air speeder on patrol. The air screamed by the open cockpit as his MX-1 sat beside him. His twin scatter guns on v his hips and beskad on his back. He looked in the distance and noticed far too much activity in an area that was used for drop training.

He cycled through his HUD settings and enlarged the view. It appeared someone was moving around near the old mines.

"Better say hi to some gutter trash." he told himself.

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

[member="Muad Dib"] [member="Cameron Centurion"]

Soliael raised an eyebrow at the little whelp.

“You know.” He said disregarding the little man entirely and turning to his fellow False God “I once fought a Jedi...whose name I currently forget. He had been living with some tribe of natives on some random world. He had bonded with them and become friends with them or fell in love with one of them or something like that. Anyway, I came to their village one day seeking a small token. As it turns out, the Jedi thought himself the guardian of the tribe. In the end when he refused to listen to reason, so I snapped his neck.”

Turning back towards the young man, Soliael gazed down at him. “I imagine this scenario will end much the same.”

He realized that Cameron likely wouldn't respond to that little story, nor did he really expect this newcommer to really be intimidated, but his arrogance and the way he thought of himself demanded that he put down any and all who opposed him. It was really a personality trait driven by pure insatiable narcissism.

Perhaps that was because he was the son of the former Sith Emperor.

Who knew? Though really in the end it didn't matter, Soliael was clearly unimpressed with the young man that had so gallantly stood up for the Mandalorians. So really in the end that left only one question. “Shall you kill him? Or do I have to?”

 

[Lina Djo]

The com in her ear chatted incessantly as she moved across the terrain, following the tug of the force rather than her sensors. Air forces were scrambled as the word went out and searching began to locate them. Such an overreaction for an unknown force size. Yes they were sith, but her people's uproar at the simple mention of the word was enough to annoy Mia. She'd come her to mine, not to play hunter. Still, duty calls...

She reached the top of a ridge, looking down upon the party and reached a hand to her ear to send a transmission. "Field Marshall Monroe. Intruders located at my coordinates. Engaging." She moved down the bank, feet skidding on loose soil as she dislodged a vornskr scattergun from her back. As her feet hit level ground she brought the weapon up, aiming loosely at the group. Two masters, one knight.

She closed on the group catching the last of their conversation.

So the knight was an ally? Fine, an issue to be dealt with later. Enemy of my enemy is my friend and all that. She selected one of the masters, head clean shaven and an air of something familiar about him, and aimed the gun at the backs of his knees.

CRACKBOOM.

Talking was so over rated.

[member="Soliael Devin Talith"] [member="Verne Munin"] [member="Cameron Centurion"] [member="Muad Dib"] [member="Atin Kandossii"] @Rhodessa @Neskar A'toll

 

[Vilaz Munin]

Aboard on his personal Tegaanalir class patrol ship a Redneck was on patrol duty on the moon known as Concordia, an important region and highly strict defended moon that the Mando'ade had used for their unique beskar'gam. The Rally Master obviously had his customized beskar'gam on, a Vornskr scattergun, his bowcaster, beskad, a MT-1 repulsor lift, and a domesticated Vornskr that he had picked up at the pound. An animal that his brother and him used whenever they were hunting or bounty hunting.

As he was piloting his ship, which as something he was not good at during combat, he had received transmission from the resurrected Field Marshal, Mia Monroe. Apparently, someone or some people were being smart enough to attack on Mandalorian territory. "Ima put my beskad up their asses, and I'm gonna send it to their mamas with some pink frosting on it," Vilaz had said to himself and made a new course towards Mia.

He had hoped that his brother didn't leave him with no one to kill.

 

[Sal Katarn]

The air behind [member="Muad Dib"] shimmered slightly before producing a black booted leg, followed swiftly by the rest of a towering figure. He wore a long black coat that reached below his ankles. Beneath it shone a dull-grey breastplate. The severe, ash-hued features of the newcomer were impassive, despite just stepping out of thin air. His red eyes, however, were not. They blazed like twin coals as he took in the scene with a single glance, dismissing the appearance and swift attack of Mia Monroe before coming to rest on the back of Muad Dib's neck.

A black lightsaber sat unlit in his hands. A bronze dragon coiled around the cylinder and its gaping jaws formed the blade's emitter. From this relic radiated a nexus of Dark Side energy that pulsed with continual nausea-inducing waves of aphotic energy. Animals began to emigrate from the area, sensing the vileness harbored within that as yet unlit blade.

The late arrival opened harsh lips, revealing unnaturally long canines. Those, his clawed fingers, and his long white hair would seem to mark him as an Arkanian, but his skin was too gray and his eyes stared with that infernal shade of red. Seemingly oblivious to the sound of gunfire, he reached out one of those clawed fingers and ran it along the nape of Muad Dib's neck.


"̉ͥ̽̊̚͏̙̝̯͓͇̹H͡e̢̙̘̝̯̬͙ͮͣl̠̎͌̐̋̾̇l̹̗̦̗͉̯̽̏ͩ̄͊̇o͈̅͋̆͌́̚,̀̅̏̀"̇ ̹̪̆

The very air thrummed with the power of his deep, reverberating voice.


"̠̝̮̺̖̱ͤW̨͕̘̘̺̙̰̯͒o̸̅̄ͮ͊ͣͯu̡̙͕̝̪̩͓ͤ̋̍̑̍ͅl͎̣̱͒̎̈́͊́͌͞d̞̼̽͟ ̬͈̜ͦ̐̋͝y̧̼̼̭o̻̖̳͑ͧ̅̿͢u̟̤̼̞̫͔͇ͣͪ̎͌̋͝ ͙̘͈͈̯̓̊̉́̆ͅl̰̞͈̳̤̣̽ͭ̿̓ͬ̐ĩ͙͈ͬ̾̽̌ͯk̺̺͓ͣ̌ͦͣ̊̕e͇ͦͩ ̸̬̼͕̹͈̅t̮̜̜̺̩͌o͎̩̫̮͍̯͚̓̏ ̗̲̈ͫb̶͚̥̫̥ͤ́͌̈eͧ͌̀c̗̗̰ͧ̋ͩͅo̖͓̙͈̣̮̭̽͆m̰̦̠̝͕̣̐e͖̗̅ ̣̤̙̼͔̰̝̓̿͆͛i̻̻̫̪̲̕m̭m̲͗̎ͦ̏̐o̵̤̣̘̦̞̻̲ͨͣr͕̝̬͚̫͔ͣt̯͉̿͊̔͐̌̋a̷̫͓l̔̄͑̏̅̊͡?͎̜̖̳͍ͪ͌"̧ͬ́̑͑



[member="Vilaz Munin"] [member="Mia Monroe"] [member="Verne Munin"] [member="Soliael Devin Talith"] [member="Cameron Centurion"]

 

[Cameron Centurion]

Quite to the contrary of normal behavior, Soliael's anecdote brought a genuine smile to Cameron's lips. Jedi having their neck snapped as a result of their continued need to prop themselves as the defenders of the galaxy was always amusing. Definitely more amusing than the individual which had spoken prior to Soliael. For a brief moment, silver-green eyes drifted in [member="Muad Dib"]'s general direction. There was quite a bit of hostility around here for a couple of Sith just trying to have a little camping trip.

"So tense..."

Shifting his gaze back to [member="Soliael Devin Talith"], Cameron shrugged slightly. Though his attention appeared to be completely focused on his fellow False God, Cameron was more than aware of what was happening around him. Then again...[member="Mia Monroe"] sliding down from a ridge didn't exactly require phenomenal cosmic powers to notice. She appeared to focused on his companion, however. "I'll ha--"

The shot rang out just as Cameron would have ordinarily finished his statement. In the next second, two things happened. The Sith Lord erected a strong, invisible barrier of force energy around his body to prevent any errant rounds from impacting with his body. Maintaining the barrier, in the direction of [member="Mia Monroe"], he shifted his head towards Muad Dib. No words left Cameron's mouth. Another had materialized into presence, and he would hate to interrupt a conversation.

Also. Blue-eyes was definitely no brother of his. Too short.

[member="Duvain"]

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

[member="Cameron Centurion"] [member="Duvain"] [member="Mia Monroe"] [member="Muad Dib"]


The Instant the shot rang out Soliael had reacted. There was no desperate clutch for the force, no scrambling errant grasp for power, just a calm twinging of one of his digits. A barrier of the force erupted behind him, though it was not his own. Cameron was standing close enough that the mans own defense covered Soliael, though noticeably not all of him.


Blood trickled down Soliaels leg and he felt a slight annoyance as minute pain shot up his nerves.


His gaze cast to the side, then caught the arrival of Duvain. He frowned slightly, though recognized the creature and quickly half turned. There was no sign of recognition when he saw Mia, no instant knowing of who the woman was or what her father had done to her so long ago.


In an instant his arm came up, facing in the direction of the woman who had assaulted him. His palm struck outwards and his index finger and thumb came together in a violent clash. A loud snap rang throughout the mining pit. In an instant reality before Soliaels palm seemed to shift and change, the air twisting and changing, twinging into a red mist. A wave formed before his palm, and before he could blink it spun outwards towards the woman.


The wave expanded and bit into the air, it cut and sliced through tent poles and old metal sheets, disintegrating them as it crossed through them, threatening to do the same to Mia.