The Things We Do for Love

[Darth Metus]

The reputation of the Confederacy of Independent Systems was excellent, and due to this neighboring systems were more than willing to conduct business. Trade and commerce were at an all-time high within the nation, and several expeditions were undertaken in order to forge and cement agreements for even more mutual benefit. However, there were certain days when agreements would require demonstrations of good faith in order to secure them. As such, initial communications between the world of Seltros and the CIS government had resulted in the revelation of concerns the planet had. Apparently, raiders had targeted the resource-rich world and had been carting away raw materials by the shuttle-load. It was now the Confederacy's duty to eradicate the raider presence on the world; and through this gain access to the precious phrikite ore they sought.

To this end, Isley Verd personally took the mission and formed a small task force for the job; consisting of individuals from the Dread Guard, Templars, and military forces. This unit's duty was to go to the Phrikite Mines and engage the raider presence before sending in the droids to pick up the first shipment of Phrikite Ore. Then, whilst the droids went to work, Isley would see about setting up a permanent, CIS affiliated mine on the world. Private property and all that joy. Upon exiting Hyperspace, the single corvette entered the orbit of the planet and Isley headed down to the hangar bay, speaking over the comlink built into his helmet to attract the attention of his subordinates. "Alright everyone, muster in the hangar, we're heading down to the surface now."

 

[Not Ordo]

@[member="Isley Verd"]

The big clone was excercising by doing crunches on the pull up bar when the call came down. He was instantly unsure if he should take the time to climb down or just fall, so to save time he just fell to the deck and jumped up to run and get his gear. The blue and grey beskar'gam wasn't really beskar but it looked the part and was just as heavy.

Quickly he donned his armor and grabbed his heavy repeater before racing to the hanger. He wondered where everyone else was. Yhe birds started chirping again and suddenly he wondered why he was in the hanger.

"Hmm is CC-114 here?" He asked himself out loud as he searched for the birds.

 

[Sanna Legra]

@[member="Oryuken CC-128P"] @[member="Isley Verd"]

To think this was Sonna's first real mission with the CIS. It was exciting to be among all these others, she only being an apprentice AND a product of her time, yet to help with what seemed a pretty great task was something she was all too happy for. The one thing Sonna had wanted to do after realizing her uses for the galaxy was to help and, in the process, learn. And in some cases, as her father would've told her, learning can happen anywhere, even in the heart of battle itself.

In her quarters she heard master Verd order for everyone in the hanger. Stretching out before leaping out of her bed she hurried over and began suiting up, putting on the necessary gear for the mission; anything would do given she had no real clothes of her own. She busied herself with getting every piece on, often needing to take a second look before seeing if it was a glove or boot she was putting on, before finally having everything set. Taking one look at herself in the mirror she gave a confident smile before walking off.

As the girl hurried on what was an odd sight was how her tail had been pushed out from the rear of the suit and was now behind her in the air as she ran off. When she finally made it she skidded to a halt to see who was already present.

"I'm not late am I?" she asked while looking around.

 

[CC-848 Jon]

Jon was already suited for combat, his favoured rifle at his back. A nice sized combat knight on his thigh, and his head tucked comfortably inside the safety of his helmet. It wasn't long before he arrived in the hangar bay, but as silence and peace settled upon the empty hangar bay. Both @[member="Oryuken CC-128P"] and @[member="Sanna Legra"] had arrived. Both asking irrelevant and pointless questions.

First he addressed his fellow Dread Guard. "Do you see him?" He asked, gesturing about the hangar bay with one suave movement. "There's your answer 128." He always referred to those outside of his team by their number. Then, his attention turned to the female with the tail. He studied her frame for a moment, her clothing revealed and uncomfortable amount of information regarding her cleavage, her tail dangling between her legs like a shamed dog. Jon closed his mind to the aesthetic appraisal and finally decided on what to say. "No, you're not late." His tone was almost mocking as she was a fool to think that she would be late considering the fact the three of them stood alone in the hangar. Jon made a few steps towards the cat, stopping a metre away from her. He watched her muscle movements, Jon considered himself to be a bit of a psychological interpreter. His own frame was larger and bulkier than the females by a few inches, however when it came to Jon. The only thing that registered him as human was his appearance, however this was hidden. You might as well guess there wasn't anything behind the armour.

 

[Darth Metus]

Upon entering the hangar bay, the Mandalorian immediately strode over to the LAAT/I dropship that had been designated for his usage in this operation. Then, he tarried at its door for the arrival of his subordinates. First to arrive was CC-128 Oryuken, one of the Dread Guard. He regarded the clone with a nod and answered his inquiry simply. "No, Una will not be joining us on this venture." Then, Isley motioned for the clone to enter the dropship, adding: "Mount up." As the words escaped his lips, the next arrival made her presence known. She was one of the newest members of the Templar Order, a fact that inspired the Mandalorian to strive to make this mission an opportunity for her to learn a thing or two. After all, the new guys and girls are always like sponges and seek to absorb all the information and teaching they can get.

"You're just in time." Isley said, giving her a nod. There was a warm smile offered to her as well, but it was veiled from view by his beskar helm. "Get in and take a seat." he then instructed, motioning to the dropship. Then came Jon, the leader of Squad Two. Ever since emerging from his pod, he and the Mandalorian did not have much opportunity for interactions. As such, it came as a surprise to hear one member of the Dread Guard address another by their number; and to sound sarcastic to a member of the team. Sure, @[member="Galaar CC-252"] was the designated comedian of the Dread Guard, but even he didn't pluck Isley's nerves in the first ten seconds like Jon had managed to. However, he did not voice these thoughts aloud and simply addressed him as required. "His name is Oryuken. Outside of Kamino, you are to address him as thus, understood?' he said, giving him a direct order. From there, he motioned for Jon to mount up as well and led the way inside the vessel.

He took his customary seat at the rear of the dropship and signaled the pilot to ignite the engines. The trio accompanying him down to the planet's surface simply needed to step in and strap in as well; and there was plenty of time to do so before take off. Once the flight list was checked off, the pilot closed the doors and the vessel lifted up into the hangar, then surged forth into the black of space. Now on their way, the Mandalorian posed a question to the group. "Do you all have any questions about the mission?"

@[member="CC-848 Jon"], @[member="Sanna Legra"], @[member="Oryuken CC-128P"]

 

[Not Ordo]

@[member="Sanna Legra"] @[member="CC-848 Jon"] @[member="Isley Verd"]t

"Aye, sir!" Oryuken said as he practically jumped into the drop ship and moved to his position near the door. He was designed and trained for heavy weapons and so he mounted his heavy repeater and sat at the door gunner's position.

He watched calmly as the others jumped on board and wondered why the one girl had a tail. Maybe she was a special clone.

As the Isley Verdalicious asked if they had questions. Oryuken snapped his head around to look at Isley.

"SIR! NO, SIR" he replied before snapping his head back to focus on his weapon. Soft music played in his Buy'ce and he thought he liked it here.
'Wait, what were they doing again? Hold on is this a field trip? Oh man this is gonna be so much fun? I hope there's resistance!' He thought as he stared down his sights.

 

[Sanna Legra]

With the all clear that she was on time by both the clone and the Master leading this little party, Sanna sighed with relief before taking a seat nearby. She sat down and adjusted herself so her tail was sitting on her lap. Though, as time went on, she would change her sitting position from simply sitting to getting up on the seat and squatting with her tail swinging behind her. When it came time for questions she was about to ask before the clone @[member="Oryuken CC-128P"] shouted his whole "No sir" that startled her for a minute. After that she, not sure how to better ask, raised her hand like a school student and waited until @[member="Isley Verd"] called on her for a question.

"Okay, so I know we're going after a bunch of armed guys in the mines. But what kind of weapons do they have? I mean should we just run in guns blazing or do we need a more strategic plan?"

@[member="CC-848 Jon"]

 

[Ak'lya]

OOC: If it's too late to join, feel free to reject his question.

Strask slipped out of the shadows of the hanger, his own equipment for the front readied. He had left his needler, as they still didn't have the formula, and the enemy armor would probably stop it anyway. His Machine Pistol was tucked away in a cross-draw holster, his blaster at his side, and his J1 in his pocket. He was here in hope of recieving something to protect from the galaxy's wizards, and a chance of showing that his loyalty was still here. His spynet had fallen apart, and so he hoped he could either rebuild it, or fully join the CIS again. This would be his only chance. Barely slipping into his Z-95 and following the gunship, he contacted @[member="Isley Verd"]. "Permition to join, Sir?"

 

[Darth Metus]

Now that was what the Mandalorian liked to hear: a strong, militant affirmation that came from a member of the Dread Guard. Isley couldn't help but crack a small smile in response to Oryuken's words, but said nothing of course. As the dropship journeyed through the black of space, however, an inquiry came from the feline Templar; who had switched her seating position a good couple times since taking off. "We don't know what sort of resistance we are up against, but we can gauge it based on the intel the government provided us. Basically, these aren't military level threats, such as the Imperial Remnants we have been facing down in the East. I'd wager that they are a rag-tag band with a few heavier weapons and vehicles; just enough to trump planetary law enforcement. However, this Latty can trump planetary law enforcement any day, so we're golden in that regard. Short version: guns blazing."

Then came a transmission from an individual that Isley had not heard from in quite some time. He responded in turn. "Permission granted. Welcome back Strask."

With that said, the Dropship began it's final descent and penetrated the atmosphere of the world. It followed the coordinates provided by the planetary government and began to hover over a rather large mining complex. Upon looking out of the viewport, Isley began formulating an entrance strategy. "Alright, here's how we'll do this. Sanna, you're to stick by my side at all times. Oryuken, you're on crowd control. You see any raiders peeking around walls and coming out of the cracks, you put them down. Strask, there's an anti-aircraft turret located on top of the facility. I want you to commandeer it whilst we've got their attention and turn it on them. Take out any and all ships they have parked on the ground. Jon, I want you on air support duty. Get on the dropship's guns and cover Sanna and I as we rush the entrance of the mines."

"You've got your orders, now let's move!"

With that said, the dropship dipped into a low descent and it's doors slid open. Isley leapt to his feet and jogged out the door, drawing forth one of his lightsabers. As anticipated, the raiders were busy at work pilfering the mines of it's Phrikite ore, and now they were going to pay for it. The resistance was not too large of a force, but there were still quite a few to attend to. Taking aim, the Mandalorian angled his wrist rocket launcher and let fly, annihilating some of the enemies immediately be off the Dropshop. "Move! Move! Move!" He called, motioning for Sanna in particular to follow whilst he began the mad dash for the entrance. Relying upon the lightsaber form Shien, he was able to deflect a hefty some of the blaster fire that came from the enemy as he ran.

@[member="Strask Ak'lya"]
@[member="Sanna Legra"]
@[member="CC-848 Jon"]
@[member="Oryuken CC-128P"]

 

[Sanna Legra]

Hearing that she'd stick close with the commander of this mission, Sanna huffed a little as she was the one eager to get in some action. Since this was obviously his way of saying he was keeping an eye on her throughout the fight she just nodded to show her agreement. When the time for drop off arrived she did as ordered and followed behind, still keeping close to @[member="Isley Verd"] while he deflected most shots given his saber form. With her little training she had for now Sanna kept an eye from behind and watched for stray attacks, often blocking one or another while others were covered by the clone troops. She was using a "borrowed" saber from the CIS armory she found, one with a purple light from it. She of course would say she had every mean of giving it back once the mission was over and it was true, she just wouldn't specify when.
@Strask Ak'lya @CC-848 Jon @Oryuken CC-128P

 

[Not Ordo]

@[member="Isley Verd"]
@[member="Strask Ak'lya"]
@[member="Sanna Legra"]
@[member="CC-848 Jon"]

Oryuken detached his heavy repeater and dropped out to take a knee and cover the others as they exited. The bigclone then moved to take a support position to cover the advance.

A head peaked out of the mine and the vchunk, chunk, chunk' of the repeater instantly began to pound at the raider.

"CONTACT CENTER FRONT!" He said completely relying on supperior training and not thought. He was grown for this and he was good at it.

 

[Ak'lya]

"Thank you, sir. It's good to be back." The Bothan smiled. Dropping in behind the gunship, he flew over the combat zone. The AA gun would be over here.... KIRF. He was too close, to soon. The ship pulled up, dodging most of the laser fire, but not all. "Come on girl, hold together. " He let it down, jumped out of the cockpit, and hit the dirt as the AA obliterated his ship. Well, this was fun. Drawing his pistol, he got up and ran for the base of the structure. He needed to get up there. Pulling out a grappling hook launcher, he fired it for the top and began climbing.

It was good to be back.

@[member="Isley Verd"] @[member="Sanna Legra"] @[member="CC-848 Jon"] @[member="Oryuken CC-128P"]

 

[Darth Metus]

The sound of a sizeable explosion drew the Mandalorian's attention and he turned just in time to see the Bothan narrowly avoid decimation by the destruction of his vessel. "Strask, you alright?" he called over the comm. However, Isley could not dwell on that fact for too long, as there were enemies before him in dire need of being decimated. Turning his attention to the Apprentice beside him, he called: "Alright, show me what you can do! See that fuel tank over there?" he then motioned with his free hand whilst deflecting stray blaster bolts. Where he was pointing stood a fuel tank that was not too large for an Apprentice to telekinetically hoist. "Levitate that thing over the enemy. I'll cover you, and once it's in position I'll take a shot. Burn the lot of 'em alive." This, of course, was a test to see how much aptitude the woman had for working under pressure; both from a Master and being on the field of battle.

Already, the efforts of the group were beginning to show, as the raiders were being pushed back to the mouth of the mine. Isley and Sanna's tactic, coupled with a frontal assault by both Oryuken and their dropship could clear out the resistance that remained. Then, with Strask taking over the AA gun, there would be no where for the raiders to run. It would either be total surrender or total decimation. "Keep it up Oryuken, push forward Vod!" he ordered over the comm, giving as much morale boost as he could.

@[member="Strask Ak'lya"], @[member="Oryuken CC-128P"], @[member="Sanna Legra"]

 

[Sanna Legra]

Seeing what @[member="Isley Verd"], the fuel tank, she nodded before leaping out of cover and, using her agile reflexes, was able to avoid most of the fire before reaching the tank and using her force abilities to lift. it. She closed her eyes and reached out with her thoughts, slowly picking it up for when it was ready. Slowly as her powers were working to her advantage she brought it over the heads of then enemy. She kept it there but it was starting to strain a bit, sweat going down her brow by this point.

"I've got it." she called back. "Anytime now."

@[member="Strask Ak'lya"] @[member="Oryuken CC-128P"]

 

[Darth Metus]

The Mandalorian did as he promised and provided cover for the Feline Apprentice, stepping before her and deflecting the brunt of the blaster bolts with his saber. He had to admit, she had a good grasp of the basics thus far from his estimation, as she hoisted the fuel tank into the air with no problem. Once it was in place, and drawing the eyes of the enemy, Isley lifted his arm and fired off a shot from the wrist mounted blaster. The round penetrated the side of the fuel tank and caused the desired effect: a spontaneous explosion that ingulfed the raiders below in an inferno. Only a handful made it out without being completely consumed by the fire; but all of them at least had flames eating away at their clothes. The survivors ran about and were now easy pickings for the minigun-wielding Dread Guard.

"Oryuken, Sanna, feel free to mop up the stragglers. Strask, whenever you're ready, take out their ships."

With that said, he then opened a line of communication to the corvette that had brought them in. At his signal, a handful of additional dropships, backed to the brim with labor and combat droids, began their descent to the surface below. Isley then stepped away from the scene momentarily and reached for his utility belt, producing his holoprojector, and utilized it in order to contact the leadership of the planet. "This is Colonel Isley Verd of the CIS. As per our prior discussions, the raider problem as been solved. Are we clear to purchase this mine and operate it?"

From there, the Mandalorian awaited a response; in addition to the final clean up by his teammates.

@[member="Strask Ak'lya"], @[member="Sanna Legra"], @[member="Oryuken CC-128P"]

 

[Ak'lya]

"Yeah, I'm fine, sir." Strask grunted, still climbing. "I may need to hitch a ride back with you guys, though." Pulling himself over the top, he redrew his handgun and fired the first few rounds into the nearest raider before ducking under cover behind a crate of ore, which was quickly riddled with bolts. Popping out, he fired again, emptying the clip into the man. Holstering the slugthrower and drawing his KYD, he rounded the corner and fired it point- blank into the operator. "That's for blowing up my ship." Dragging the man out, but dropping his weapon in the , he turned to the enemy ships. Kaboom! The gun fired, and ship after ship went up in smoke. Climbing out, he picked up his weapon and headed down to the others.
@[member="Isley Verd"] @[member="Sanna Legra"] @[member="Oryuken CC-128P"] @[member="CC-848 Jon"]

 

[Not Ordo]

Pop pop pop

The heavy repeater laid down more fire as the cleaned up the few raiders near the big clone.

"DONE SIR!" Oryuken yelled before assuming an at ease stance.

He couldn't wait to get back to see Una and eat a lot a bit.

 

[Darth Metus]

The holoprojector within the Mandalorian's hand produced a hazy representation of the politician in charge of the affairs. He rendered a polite bow of gratitude to the Colonel, which was responded by a respectful nod of acknowledgement. <"Yes,"> he said, <"the Confederacy is welcome to purchase this mine. The pricing can be discussed between the appropriate parties. However, on behalf of the people of Seltros, I do sincerely thank you for remedying this plague upon our people. Thank you, Colonel Verd."> With this said, Isley bid the Seltrosian a fond farewell and expressed his gratitude. The transmission concluded at that very moment and Isley looked skyward just in time to see the cadre of droids descending upon the scene.

"Excellent." he breathed.

The dropships proptly deposited the automatons on the ground and the labor droids began heading for the entrance of the mine whilst the combat droids set about securing the area. In the coming days, the mine would be fenced off and additional security would be implemented in order to prevent a repeat of the sordid situation Isley's team had been dispatched to attend to. Long, confident strides bore him over to where the Dread Guard, the Apprentice, and the Bothan stood; and he raised his hands with thumbs-up. "We're all clear. Excellent work all around!" Upon coming to a halt within their midst, the labor droids began to call for cargo vessels to come and collect the most recently mined deposits of phrikite ore. At least the raiders did something right...

@[member="Oryuken CC-128P"], @[member="Strask Ak'lya"], @[member="Sanna Legra"].

 

[Sanna Legra]

With everything set and ready Sanna looked over everything with an eager smile. Her first victory. She looked back to @[member="Isley Verd"] and said "Well this was fun. Who knew battles could be this way in this time." Then she looked back and saw the burning remains of the men and, all of a sudden, something flashed in her min.

She's running through a burning area. Her mother pulls her along as they run for cover. All the time there's screaming everywhere else. Bodies lying in the streets and dark shapes descending from the air.....

Sanna stood there, almost stunned, as she kept looking at the remains. She was a stiff as a statue and her eyes were almost dull with a sense of unease. Clearly she was experiencing something for the first time and it was hitting her hard.

@[member="Oryuken CC-128P"] @[member="Strask Ak'lya"]

 

[CC-848 Jon]

"Not used to seeing charred remains girl?" Jon teased as his for was placed firmly on the throat of a burning man, the man struggled under him until a snap came from the blaster in hand. A sharp blast into the forehead of the man silenced him. Jon then removed his foot, looking about the battlefield. "Ahh, lovely." He remarked, turning on his heel he walked over to the girl, she was still, her eyes full with fear. Deep down, Jon felt a little sorry for her. A battle wasnt something everyone could stomach. "Come on, you don't have to look at this." He said, placing a hand in the girl in an attempt to move her away. He did not know what reaction to expect, but he had little to no time for the girls whining or questions.


@[member="Sanna Legra"]@[member="Isley Verd"]