Tricky

[Omari Ngao]

Prakith.

Not much to do on this planet.

The Ghost was in a constant cloak on the surface of the planet, hidden from prying eyes. There was still the crew on board, but Special Agent Vyken wasn't letting any of them off of the ship. It was best to stay cloaked this far away from the Order. Sure the Alliance had collapsed but weren't entirely too sure about planetary allegiances and all that.

Remembering back from the brief he had received while en route to the planet, it had been one of the first planets claimed by the One Sith before they had torn the Galactic Republic a new one.

There was a settlement nearby, built into the mountains. Intel, or, his bosses said there was a Sith Academy embedded into that mountain range. There were also a plethora of plateaus and the Academy was built into a fairly large one at the bottom of a giant crevasse.

Feth this is gonna be an odd one.

"Specialist Vyken."

Twisting about from his position by the viewport, the former Sergeant regarded his superior with a raised corner of his lip before he remembered that he was a spook too and said, "Yes, Sir?"

"Contact hasn't updated us on whether they have taken the job or not. They should have been here yesterday. We'll move on with the previously planned mission. Go on ahead, we'll monitor your progress and alert you to any changes."

What else is new? Really should get to work on that new team.

It took a few minutes, but soon enough he was garbed in his Infiltration armour, marching down to the open ramp. The ship had moved, to the mountain range the target was said to be in. He'd have to do the descent by himself, but he had the equipment and when he stepped out of the ship, the ramp closed behind him and took off. Now, well, he was on his own.

[member="Nemo Sekh"]

 

[Nemo Sekh]

_________________________________________________________________

PRAKITH - ACADEMY RUINS
_________________________________________________________________

​

Nemo groaned. This was the last time she took a job from the First Order, that was for sure.

The credits had looked good, she couldn't deny. That was, of course, until she'd made it scarcely fifty steps inside the temple before getting trapped. A pressure plate- two of them, to be exact. Master and apprentice, she thought. Both needed to be held down, with adequate weight, or else in the case of an unsuspecting trespasser, they'd be crushed between two walls. "Rule of Two wasn't meant to be this literal..." She moaned.

She wasn't entirely the fool they'd likely anticipated- she'd tried to put weight on the plates. Unfortunately, she didn't quite have the body-weight of two Sith. "In another life, where I was a Hutt..." The heavy stones had still closed on her, but only half-way; just enough room for one Twi'lek to near-enough breathe, if not comfortably. Moving was another matter. "Maybe not, on second thought. A Hutt mightn't have been able to fit through here at all, even without the traps." Why did they always build ruins so small?

A drop of icy cave water landed on her forehead with a shudder. At least it was cold, she guessed. It couldn't have been a cold world, could it? Always had to end up trapped on one volcanic hotbed or another. Least the academy'd kept themselves warm, all those years ago. That was certainly a comforting thought. For now, she took shallow breaths- it was the only way to keep herself away from a quick and untimely death.

One hand struggled between the stones to reach for her canteen, leather catching on the stonework. Nemo felt herself grow dizzy, muscles beginning to twitch, and quite unusually, her nerves were start to play up. "Calm down... you're only trapped in a lost Sith temple. Least it's abandoned! Thanks, Supreme Leader!" She gave a scathing, sarcastic impression of a laugh, one foot uselessly kicking at the stone. Thirst was really getting to her now. Barely able to turn her head to even reach it, water spilled everywhere as she lifted the canteen to drink. "Still cold..." That was a plus. Even if she was going to die of dehydration.

Someone had to come soon though, surely? Her ribs certainly hoped so. First Order were hardly renowned for supporting their hired help. No doubt they'd known the risk- would rather pay a goon to do their dirty work.

But nobody ever seemed to realise they were that goon until... something like this. Great.

[member="Omari Vyken"]

 

[Omari Ngao]

This is a pain.

Stormtrooper training had taught him balance for fighting and firing guns, but this sort of thing... Rock climbing? That was definitely not in a lot of lessons. The ascension cable he used worked well enough. It was less about doing this alone and more that he was so high up. The armour he wore wasn't too heavy, about half of what he was used to, so the weighing down on him was less than an afterthought as he finally touched down on the Academy Plateau.

"I've reached the Academy. Entrance appears to be clear. Moving in."

There was some static, likely on account of how much stone was surrounding his position in the form of the mountains. Not too fun. But if he didn't report back in by tomorrow morning, he figured another team would come in to recover his gear, since chances were he'd be dead by then.

Muting his commline and outer commline he muttered to himself. Annoyed.

"Oh no, Sergeant Vyken. You're a really good soldier, you should definitely join the Security Bureau."

Tracing a hand down over his wrist, the embedded datapad came to life, linked to his armour and he went through the settings of his helmet's sensors and visual accessories. It'd be dark inside, that much he could see for himself. Is it considered underground if it's the inside of a mountain? Feth it. Settling for night vision settings, it took him a few moments, but suddenly he had the foreboding feeling that he was lost. Before him, there were collapsed stones about and the previously wide corridor as befit those crazy force wielders, was suddenly much smaller and his rifle came up.

Blinking in the corner of his HUD, his life-former scanner picked up on the trapped Twi'lek and although wary, he maneuvered past a few of the real big rocks and reached behind him. I swear I'm walking out if it's a Sith. In the dark, it was hard to see. The sound of someone as big as him stomping around in close proximity was likely unsettling, he imagined. Reaching behind him to unslung a large glow rod from his back, like he was holding a lightsabre, for a moment nothing happened, and then with a hard thwack against a rock, it burst to life, shining over the both of them as he held it above his head.

"..."

His helmet comm systems came back to life and the Agent's head rotated about to see the predicament she was in.

"You're the contact, aren't you?"

[member="Nemo Sekh"]

 

[Nemo Sekh]

Footsteps. Praise the Goddess. Steps wasn't the best description, however. More like stomping.

"Hello!? You wouldn't happen to be an Alderaanian prince, would you? That'd be just lovely!"

Her mind raced. They weren't likely to be friendly- who in their right mind would choose to visit this evil deathtrap for a gentle morning stroll? Besides, well, a Sith. Though right mind was a stretch where they were concerned. They were coming closer, louder, the stones ringing with what was quite certainly her impending doom. What on earth was that? It didn't sound human, or even humanoid. "If you're some kind of Sith hell-beast, I will kick you where it hurts!" The steps drew short, and her breathing hastened. "Or if you're a Hutt, and I've offended you, I sincerely apologise-"

Crack. A burst of sickly green light cut her words short. That wasn't bones, was it?

Oh. A glowstick. And... a helmet? She was almost ready to pass out on the spot, a desperate mix of anxiety and thirst poisoning her body. Her eyes searched for something human in her visitor, behind that polished visor. Nothing. But then the voice came.

"You're the contact, aren't you?"

Nemo smiled back weakly. First Order. Brilliant. Just as likely to execute her on the spot as save her skin, she thought.

"That's me. Say- you couldn't lend a hand, could you?" They tell me you need oxygen to live, but I seem to be managing just fine..." Her eyes darted back to the trap, her knuckles turning white as she pushed against the stones to she suck in another shallow breath. "Looks like this temple needs two people- the Sith are a romantic bunch, I guess. Turns out all the Bantha Platters really weren't getting to me; only two people are heavy enough not to end up, well, like this." She looked him up and down. He seemed a heavy sort, at least.

She was wincing slightly, in anticipation of the inevitable swift blaster shot to the head. "I know you First Order types aren't so merciful, but..." A single blue hand forced its way out the passage and extended itself to him. "Nemo Sekh, collector of antiquities. Pleasure to meet you."

[member="Omari Vyken"]

 

[Omari Ngao]

The rifle hanging in the front of his body was pushed around to his back to hang off of him. The tall, stygian encased Agent lowered himself to be on level with the twi'lek, his brown eyes lowering to look at the outstretched hand she stuck out to him. Ignoring it, he spotted the dampness on the floor and the nearby canteen. Reaching behind him to draw out his own canteen, he remained silent as he twisted the cap. Turning back around to set his rump on a rock, the glow rod between them as he removes the cap from the top of the container and eyeing the woman.

"Nemo Sekh," he repeated, adopting his... Special Agent voice. An attempt at sounding vague and mysterious, he poured some of the water out and let it splash at the ground by his boots. "You can have some after you answer some questions. Nothing too important, just for my own curiosity," he explains, replacing the cap for the moment just in case he accidentally spilled some of the water.

"Did you accept a contract from a separate entity other than the First Order?" If there was another person curious as to what was inside, there was a little bit more weight behind the mission he had to complete. Additionally, based off her answer it'd gauge as to whether or not there was a viable threat to the Imperial Order out there. After all, Prakith did lie within the Sith Empire's mandated territory, but this was a Security Bureau mission. I could forgive her for personal gain. She'd probably go through days of torture if she betrayed the information the Bureau offered to someone else. Maybe weeks if she could withstand the pain for long enough.

Omari didn't want to leverage the womans position over her. But if his short tenure on Sump taught him anything, it was that you used whatever the circumstances were to your advantage. Any weapon, any tool. Environment included.

[member="Nemo Sekh"]

 

[Nemo Sekh]

Some kind of First Order hard-ass, then? She knew the type. Older than archaeology itself; Imperials, Sith, First Order. The same people under different names. Facists and authoritarians.

"Aw... come on." Her face fell as he poured out the water. "You know that we've only got so much of that, right?" By the looks of what he was geared up in, he'd be sweating it all out any minute too. He could play it cool all he liked. She'd probably have done the same, were she not stood flat inside the trap.

"Contract!? Who else do you think cares about this hell-hole?" She exclaimed with a bewildered half-smile. "There's a reason we're the only two idiots here. And why, in case you hadn't noticed, there are no bones in this trap." There was a first time for everything, of course. "Though a skeleton might've made better company." She grimaced as the pain in her chest began to grow again. It was hard to tell if it was getting tighter, or she was just getting weaker. Possibly both. This added complication was not helping.

"The only reason my sorry ass is here is because your bosses paid me no small amount to come here, break in, and fish out whichever freaky knick-knacks looked spookiest. Sure, I might've been tempted to take something for myself. If I hadn't gotten stuck in the blasted entrace hall." She was grimacing now. "Anyhow, the sort of shiny things I'm interested in are very different to whatever creepy poodoo your bosses want."

"Now, buckethead, are you going to help me out here? If you want in, you've either got to let me out, or you're dragging my corpse through every trap in this place. I know which alternative I certainly prefer."

[member="Omari Vyken"]

 

[Omari Ngao]

Omari wasn't worried about himself. The Order made sure their operatives were taken care of on both the battlefield, and in whatever capacity their mission took form in, at least as far as the armour went. Environmentally sealed and an ability to monitor bodily temperatures, even as he was sitting the interior of the suit was just below room temperature. Comfortable.

Satisfied with her obviously well thought out answer, he decided to skip replying to her outburst and avoiding the banter. Either she was a good enough liar, or wasn't aware that people actually paid good money for Sith artifacts. Whether for museums, or for their own personal. Even Jedi would have some use for them, if only to keep them safe. But even so, he spent enough time with professional soldiers who loved to banter, and he didn't need it in a place where an unknown death loomed in the darkness. "You were paid to help me get in here." Pushing up from the boulder, he twisted the cap of the canteen closed and crossed the distance between them in short order, analyzing her physical form and how she was stuck before his black visor rotated back down to look at her. "Can you feel your legs?" If she couldn't, well, that'd be a problem.

Extending his right arm to the woman and then rising up above her to wrap his left around her midsection, the darker than night Agent moved to pull her out of her stuck position, his grounded foot planted into the earth while his other rotated with his body to pull her out just as a multitude of rocks crashed down into the position she had just been freed from.

"How'd this trap activate?"

Reaching back down to the canteen on his hip, he handed it off to the woman.

[member="Nemo Sekh"]

 

[Nemo Sekh]

The soldier didn’t seem terribly fazed by the whole situation. Nemo supposed he didn’t really have any reason to be- as far as he was concerned, he’d just strolled into a cave and found his target literally immobilised for him. Only weight on his shoulders was systematic oppression, or something like that. He didn’t really give off an air of conscientiousness.


“Help you get in here? It’d help if you asked nicely, but…” That helmet didn’t offer much in the way of empathy. He looked to be sizing her up as much as she was him. He was, perhaps, a little taller. “Feel my legs?” She frowned. “So I can put a foot up your shiny ass? Sure, I can feel them. Just pull me out already.”


Ask and ye shall recieve. Her prayers were answered. He had a grip on him, that was for sure. Like a human can-opener. “You sure you’re not trying to give me the Hiemlich-“ The load on her sides began to lighten; she was nearly out, yes- gasping, felt herself hauled free from the trap, staggering across the antechamber in a coughing fit. “Thanks.” She wheezed in between each hack. ”You could work a little on your bedside manner though. Not much of a conversationalist, huh? You got a name, or, what do people have… a number? Or should I just stick to ‘hard ass’.”


Whether he looked unmoved because he was, or that was just his resting demeanour, she couldn’t begin to guess. “The trap works on a pressure plate. Classic rig, credit a dozen.” She pointed out two square tiles in the stone floor, distinguished only by a distinct lack of dust. “Took a little while to feel them out, but that’s why you pay me, I guess. Thing is-“ She kicked a rock onto the plate. The walls had scarcely receded from her own imprisonment, but the instant its weight came upon the tile they slammed back together with a thunderclap.


With a grumble they slid apart once more. The rock had been ground to dust. “Trick is -this is a rare mechanism, so you’ll have to forgive me- that you need to weigh down both plates, at once, not to trip it. You don’t look much like the scholarly type, so in short it looks to be symbolic of the Rule of Two. Sith could only enter the academy in pairs. Master and apprentice. Or, uh… archaeologist and hardass. It should all work.” She giggled, but her throat was burning.


He extended the canteen. Water- yes. Nemo snatched the it from his hands with a gasp. The state of her throat made Tatooine sound like her homeworld, Manaan. She gulped down what water he hadn’t spilt. How’d they still keep it cool? First Order certainly had their creature comforts in check. She certainly looked a lot less… organised. As the blood returned to each limb she shook them back to life, pacing the edge of the glowstick’s faint green circle.


”Well, I certainly feel revived.” She shot him a wide grin. “Thanks and no thanks, doc. Onwards, then? I might be able to tell you a little more about the cozy little Krayt Dragon nest we’re about to walk into, if you’re so inclined.”


[member="Omari Vyken"]

 

[Omari Ngao]

It was tough for Omari doing this kind of thing. You know, being the silent face. Sure he was really good at it when he was a Sergeant, but back then his subordinates were pretty receptive to taking things serious and when they did get out of hand, well, all he had to do was remind them of what happened to troopers that failed the Order during the invasion of Skor II. But now he was an Intelligence Operative. She shouldn't have been talking at all, but it was clear she didn't know fear, not like how he knew it.

"You talk too much," he says simply. Now, he wasn't the sort to harm civilians, not like other stormtroopers. He spared lives every time that he could, even when they were enemy lives. At least when they were surrendering. The battlefield was a different story, everybody was susceptible to being shot when he was set to kill. But this twi'lek, oh, she was asking for it. And as far as his superiors knew... She wasn't even in the Ruins with him. "I don't go by a number designation anymore."

Glad I'm getting a history lesson here.

Reaching down to collect the glow rod, he turned back to Nemo and handed it off to her. Drawing it from behind him, his rifle was left to hang against his abdomen as he reached up to activate the floodlights on either side of his helmet, flashing the light straight ahead and through the dust that wafted up into the air.

Feth I should quit while I'm ahead.

"Lead the way, Collector."

From the entrance into the Academy, it was bound to widen up into a multitude of immense arches and doorways with dozens of side rooms within them. Simplicity and easy to maneuver had never been a thing the Sith were known for. Crazy huge structures and statues of long dead beings were what they were known for, but most superpowers were so, the Sith weren't special in that regard. Still, Omari wasn't too certain on where they had to go. But Nemo appeared to be an grave-robber, so he was certain she'd sniff out the traps that he didn't notice. Though based off their first introduction... He wasn't too sure right about now.

"Your success here determines whether you'll get arrested by my boss or not."

[member="Nemo Sekh"]

 

[Nemo Sekh]

"Still don't feel like giving me a name?" First Order really were tight-lipped. Wouldn't betray their own identities, never mind their motives. "You do you, hard-ass." With one hand she took hold of the glowstick, glancing back to him with a wry smile as she traced light-paths in the air with its tip. "Am I a Jedi yet, you think?" She giggled at the steely silence his helmet exuded. "C'mon, have a little fun."

She stepped aside for a moment, holding it out in front of her to see the detailing of the stonework. "Huh. It's old, but not that old." He probably wasn't listening. "See the Rule of Two only dates back to Darth Bane- that's Jedi-Sith war, not Old Republic. Explains the fancy traps."

In anticipation of a scathing remark, she turned back to the soldier with a sideways gesture of her hand. "Essentially we're talking about... two-thousand years instead of five." Be that long before she got a laugh out of him, too.

They were closing in upon the first chamber now. Typically, in structures of the period, it would take the form of a large central nexus, and from there the academy would branch outward, wing-by-wing, for who knew how far. Her eyes darted from ceiling to floor with each step, taking long, cautious strides with the glowstick outstretched. If there were more traps, it'd be the first thing to find out. Hopefully.By this point, most of the more delicate and electronic traps should've been out of order. Only the nastier, mechanical stuff would be left. All the same, in the centre of the academy they were unlikely to find more.

If they wanted to head deeper, however? That was a different story.

"I've gotta ask- why would your boss want to arrest me? I've hardly broken the contract. Maybe come a little slow, but even the First Order surely aren't that tight-assed, right-" She paused, looking back to him with a smile. "Hold that thought. You're totally that tight-assed." As she spoke, her gaze couldn't help but drift upwards into the vast blackness above.

The academy nexus was a vast empty space, a great cylindrical chamber filled with crumbling statues, ancient Sith inscriptions, and no shortage of bones. Apprentices had died in the chamber. Nasty. More importantly, how? What had befallen them, so long ago?

"If you want your spooky trinkets, we're going to have to head down into the archives. And not the Jedi kind- this won't be a glorified library, so much as a literal deathtrap. And instinct's telling me... we might find out what happened here. Sound good to you? 'Cause it doesn't to me." Not like that mattered to him, of course.

[member="Omari Vyken"]

 

[Omari Ngao]

Again, Omari still wasn't any interested in getting a history lesson about how the Sith operated. This Rule of Two nonsense was definitely not how the Sith had operated in the Core. How could you abide by a Rule of Two, but call yourself the One Sith? Now that just doesn't make any sense, he thought to himself as the embedded floodlights in his helmet passed through the deep and dark shadows that surrounded them. Imagine if we were being watched by the Sith. Now that wouldn't have been fun at all.

"I don't think anyone's been taught that kinda stuff for a long time," he said, his tone almost adopting one of sympathy, one that his helmet's microphone was incapable of transmitting and maintained its static monotone nature. It was clear she was greatly invested in history. History that nobody cared about anyway. During the Gulag Plague the vast majority of the Galaxy lost contact with each other, and over that time period history was basically... Nonexistent. Hundreds of years of no contact with anyone else because it wasn't safe to do so. Talking some nonsense about Jedi-Sith Wars... It must be one long war because they ain't never stopped fighting from the way I hear it.

"I told you. You were supposed to bring me in here. You were in violation of the contract from the start." He replied simply. Talking all this about Rules of Two and things he didn't need to know, but she skipped out on one of the first steps of what she was supposed to do. The Rendezvous. That was the only reason why she was almost turned to blood splatter and into a fine mist a few hours ago. Really, she was only still alive because Omari wasn't the sort to kill innocents. If it had been anyone else on this mission though... He couldn't say as to what would've happened. "But as far as this tight-ass is concerned, I never saw you."

In regards to her final point about moving down into the archives, there was no part of him registering that he actually cared. It was just the next part to the job. His mission like always was the preservation of his team. Since this twi'lek was his 'team' at least in this dusty old Academy, then he'd make sure she got out alive. Easy. Or so he liked to think.

[member="Nemo Sekh"]

 

[Nemo Sekh]

"Taught? You're probably right. I didn't have too much of an education myself- goddess knows what they teach you First Order types then." One hand brushed dust away from a mural. Worn runes, an icon of one Sith Lord or the other; too ancient to say now. History made ruins of them all, Nemo supposed. Best she could do was keep tally, and try not to get shot. Story of her damned life. "You don't have to spare my feelings. I know you don't care about the intricacies, hard-ass; one war or the next, it's all the same to you soldier types. But I can probably tell you what you did want to know."

She turned to him with a broad smile that shone even by the dim torch-light. "There's almost certainly one hell of a prize waiting at the bottom."

Instantly, that smile turned to mild embarrassment. "Yeah... the rendezvous. Hey, can you blame a girl for getting excited?" Going by her un-executed status, and the allowance he'd given her now, however? It might've worked out. "Thanks, anyhow. Last thing I need's the First Order up my ass. Not a lot of credits in this business as is, with or without your military-cult chasing me Rimwards for the next decade." Not for someone with her strange luck, anyway. She moved ahead a few paces, calling over her shoulder. "It doesn't exactly sound like a lot of fun, your job. Why'd you sign up?" Her voice echoed throughout the high stone arches of the hallway.

A vast grey statue projected from the ceiling overhead. A man, locked for eternity in an expression of fear, his waist suspended from the ceiling above. "Looks like we're headed the right way. Your bosses want creepy stuff? Then towards the creepy stuff we will go." All good sense be damned. Eyes fixed upon the stonework, she scampered even further ahead for a moment, taking a knee in the next chamber. An intense expression swept over her features.

"Maybe you can offer me some of your infamous wisdom." She spoke distractedly. Two grooves, a shoulder's width apart, ran the length of the next hall, lined with a dark metal. It glimmered as it sloped downwards into blackness. "Tracks? But they start here... no carts, no trains. Sith aren't exactly known to be logistical types. Doesn't look like anything I've ever seen. The hell are train-tracks doing inside an academy?"

[member="Omari Vyken"]​