Private Unlikely Enemies

[Valkren Calderon]

Unlikely Enemies

The freighter drifted gently in space- not much apparent for signs of life, at least on the outside of the ship. There wasn’t much that could be said for a description of the transport: grey, dull, boring. It lacked any symbols or labels, no colors either to help see if the cargo hauler hailed from a certain faction or location.

If there was a better description of a ‘ghost ship,’ Valkren wanted to know- because he thought they outdid themselves with this one.

Already clad in his Katarn combat plating aside from his helmet, the commander rested his hands on his hips while admiring the inner workings of the gutted cargo-hauler. Behind him a mix of rangers and few Silver Navy crewmen, hard at work to maneuver equipment and crates marked ‘rations’ around the wide corridors of the ship. Valkren glanced about at the soldiers milling about. They were hard at work to put on the best show they could.

Their audience? Pirates.

As of recent, a newly arising trend had been making itself known in the trade routes between the planets Togoria and Sarka. Pirate attacks- stealing and pillaging through all the cargo haulers that are brave enough to show their hulls in the specific sectors. The catch though; all the ships that had been attacked had just finished making pickups on Kashyyyk. Most of which had been heading directly to the front between Silver and Sith space- more than likely reinforcing allied planets and friendly positions with all sorts of supplies.

And all the crews ended up missing..

The ships had always been left empty- stripped of their cargo and crew, but nothing else.

“Commander!” A somewhat shrill and urgent voice called out, getting closer into earshot as he heard the word again- “Commander!”

He’d shift his gaze over his left shoulder plate, curious as to the source of the voice as he wasn’t entirely sure if he knew the face that went with the tone. To his surprise, it was a smaller set mirialan, intricate black tattoos or ‘markings’ across the bridge of her nose and all underneath her eyes.

With firm posture and a crisp salute, she greeted the much larger Ranger with respect. Valkren switched his positioning to face her and returned the greeting with a salute of his own.

“Sir,” It sounded as if the ranger was out of breath, more than likely from having to cross the sheer size of the ship from whatever position she was originally located at to his current location. Valkren was curious as to why she couldn't just contact him via comms.

“Still no signs of any ships in the immediate area- but the crew has just started the dummy call. They’re waiting on a response now.”

Valkren nodded, even if they were in the supposid ‘hunting grounds’ of space for the ruffians they were searching for, the added bait of a distress call from a cargo-hauler full of supplies would hopefully make the score look juicier.

His only hope is that whomever took the bait would be the group that happened to be taking all the crew members of these ships.

"Also: Our communications are getting shotty' within the ship. We think it's just some of the old tech messing with our signals. Just giving you a heads up sir but not all communications will go through first time around."

Great..

“Appreciate the report- Head back to the control room. We’ll need complete control of the doors if we want to trap these bastards.” Of course, Valkren spoke of the cargo hauler's bridge, but as derelict as the ship was- he knew there wasn’t much chance of the bridge doing much else aside from door controls. In truth they ferried the hauler here with several other smaller ships, which had now retreated as quick as possible as to not spook any potential ambushes.

"Yes sir." She snapped out another clean salute before spinning around and heading off, leading Valkren to glance over to the nearest view port. He'd sidestep a pair of rangers as they carried a heavy repeater emplacement between the two. The commander would glance out the glass-like pane to admire the peacefulness outside for a moment. There was something about space to him that always put him at ease- thinking about it atleast..Being in a tin can in the middle of deep space wasn't exactly his ideal area of expertise.

It certainly wasn't where he wished to die at.

"Sergeant Heavenshield, report." Valkren reached up to the communicator around his neck and activated it as he spoke, "How's our cargo looking?"

Valkren pictured the image while he waited to see if his transmission had reached the soldier: a dozen large crates marked in different languages.

Weapons..Ammunition..Ordinance.

All were items that he hoped these supposed pirates would go right for- and directly into their trap. With the combination of door controls from the bridge and small clusters of rangers positioned in certain positions: he hoped to direct the pirates into killing zones wherever they went to loot.

Thirdas Heavenshield | Kyra Perl

 

[Thirdas Heavenshield]

For an NCO as young as he, thus relatively new to the grand scheme of things where the military was concerned in spite of the many battles he'd already taken part in, Thirdas was greatly honoured when Commander Valkren Calderon himself had asked for him personally. The type of mission didn't really matter at that point. Up until now he'd served under captains, lieutenants, and alongside his fellow NCO's in Dorn Company.

This time he was serving directly under the highest-ranking field officer the Rangers had to offer. His soldier's heart could not be more elated.

They were to lure a specific group of pirates into a seemingly abandoned vessel; have them take the bait and lower their guard, then spring their ambush. Simple procedure on paper, but the fact was they had no way of knowing that one band of criminals would appear. Not like there's a lack of less-than-friendly bandits roaming around the galaxy, no matter the territory.

"Commander, cargo is placed and ready for pickup. My team's taken up sniping positions along the walkways overlooking the hangar, ready to observe and pick off the enemy when they enter," he reported over comms, speaking in a hushed tone while looking down his sniper's sight. "It's a waiting game now, sir."

The sergeant glanced over at his squaddies, all handpicked. "Hope you ladies went to the bathroom, we could be here for a while."

"We placed explosives on each of the cargo in the case of a muck-up - as a last resort we'll at least take a bunch of them out while also denying them their price. There's no telling how many they'll be."

Valkren Calderon | Kyra Perl ​

 

[Kyra Perl]

Kyra's heart slammed into her chest. You ever do something without really thinking it through and then next thing you know you're way over your head?

...Yeah.

As it turned out, stalking a ranger all the way onto a freight ship? Not the best idea. Had it dawned on Kyra that the ship might actually be packing up to go somewhere, she would have gotten off it long ago. Bit too late on that front. It was all Thirdas's fault.

Speaking of the oaf, she could hear his voice ringing through the hold. It had taken her best sneaking skills to walk circles around the rangers checking the shipment, but that all seemed pointless now.

"We placed explosives on each of the cargo in the case of a muck-up--"

Kyra swallowed hard, her eyes wide and tense on a hidden explosion she had been forced to crouch around as they came through. You know she really didn't want to die. Or meet pirates. Only thing that kept her from coming out earlier out was pure ego. Alright, perhaps some embarrassment too. But all of that started to mean nothing as the little explosive light flickered on.

She squeaked, clamping a hand over her mouth.

"OK! Ok!" She burst out, standing up, hands raised. It did not surpass her that startling a bunch of rangers was no bueno. Her fingertips practically tingled in preparation for bullet dispersal tactic numeral uno-- the force. "You got me, I'm in here! Can I come join you I don't get along well with pirates," she informed them all in a rapid rattle, her voice strained.

Valkren Calderon Thurion Heavenshield

 

[Valkren Calderon]

The commander nodded to himself as he listened to the Sergeant

Valkren wasn't familiar with everyone in the rangers, that's for sure- but he had spent enough time around soldiers to be able to tell what they sound like- how they move and act. A soldier's lifestyle is portrayed in every bit of them- even in the way they spoke. The voice on the other side didn't seem like any kind of soldier to him.

Then again, the transmission was a 'bit rough around the edges, the commander only making out the words: "You got me..join you..along well with pirates.."

Someone on the other end sounded alerted, scared even. Or maybe just overwhelmed. The sudden disturbance seemed to make things quiet for a second, which Valkren didn't like since he couldn't physically see what was going on.

"Sergeant, what was that? Everything alright down there?"

Whilst the Commander reached back out to the team's NCO, back in the 'control room' of the derelict ship the smaller mirialan ranger found her way back. Two other intel operatives turned from their screens when the door slid open to reveal their returned comrade. After the brief 'welcome back' acknowledgment in the form of a 'hey' and a nod, they were moving their glances back to the screens.

The three waited and stared for something to come up on the scanners or for someone to pick up on the bait distress call- but so far it seemed like a bust. It was a long shot after all, banking everything on this one section of space- there was no way of really telling if any sort of other ship would come by this particular route. To the intelligence officers, it seemed like another wild goose chase.

That is, until a single 'blimp' came up with a bing on one of the officer's screens, prompting the other two to scuttle over their chairs quickly to look at his screen. A ship seemed to appear out of nowhere in the distance, not even in view of any of the larger ship's ports. This single blimp indicated that the ship that had just appeared was tiny- not big enough to be anything more than a shuttle more than likely.

"Hmph..Probably nothing. Still, give a shout to the commander. Let him know we aren't exactly alone." The man looked over his shoulder, nodding to the mirialan ranger. She gave a quick nod and moved to their communicators, sending a transmission- or atleast trying.

"Commander, bridge: Another ship just jumped into the sector, looks like something small. A shuttle maybe, or a fighter..Orders?"

Silence. A clicking sound followed, then static. It seemed as if there comms were down for the moment again. She groaned, spinning in her chair to the other two and speaking in a 'matter of fact' tone.

"Well communications down again, so assuming its nothing: we'll just have to wait it out. But just for the record, I think this whole mission is-" Before she could get out another word to the other two in the bridge, a sudden 'wave' of energy passed through- surging through every corridor of the ship. The ship's immediete systems seemed to fail, every light and console sparked suddenly. The systems and lights seemed to overload as the entirety of the ship was plunged into absolute darkness.

"Well that's no good." Back in one of the corridors, the rangers made use of their flashlights and heads-up-displays to gain a bearing of their surroundings. Valkren did the same, watching as the room began to illuminate slowly- going from a pitch black dark to a dark red- the emergency power kicking in to take control of life-support, lights, and door controls.

Thirdas Heavenshield Kyra Perl

 

[Thirdas Heavenshield]

He couldn't believe who, of all people in the galaxy, had chosen to appear in his scope. The sudden movement among the cargo had just about everyone shift their aim towards it, though thankfully they were under strict rules-of-engagement for this operation. Don't fire unless told to.

"Ah, for faen's sake," Thirdas muttered under his breath. "Princess Pink herself..."

"Stand by, Commander." Every soldier's instinct in his body dialed it back, and he lowered his rifle, getting up from behind his piece of cover up on the walkways overlooking the hangar. "Everyone, hold your fire! This one is a Jedi Padawan, and she is terribly out of her depth!"

He grabbed hold of the guardrail and swung his legs over the side, his armoured boots hitting the floor below. "You," he pointed accusingly at the Zeltron girl as he marched up to her, "really should not be here, Ky-- Get those hands down, already!" Thirdas grabbed her hands and pulled them down for her.

"Now you listen to me; we're in the middle of a military operation, here. This is no place for little girls who've never seen combat before! I ought to call Nida right now and--"

At the very moment the hold turned pitch black to the sound of generators powering down, soon to be replaced with ominous red emergency lights. It was certainly enough to put an end to the sergeant's dressing-down. He turned to look up at his fellow Rangers, all of them looking around in confusion.

"Fethin' hell," he reached out to grab Kyra's wrist, tugging at her arm to follow as he sought cover behind a pair of larger crates. "You're just the worst luck to be around, aren't you." He checked his rifle in the dim light, flicking off the safety. Crap's about to get real.

Reaching into one of his numerous pockets, he produced a simple flashlight and handed it to Kyra. "Take it." For himself, his rifle was already kitted with a flashlight, and his helmet could go to nightvision in the case of another total blackout.

"You guys stay here, keep an eye on the cargo," he shouted to his fireteam on the walkways above their heads. "I'll be escorting the Padawan to the rear."

He turned to Kyra and nodded. "We're under attack. I'm taking you to the Command Center, it's the safest section of this whole vessel. They'll need to get through the rest of us first to get to you. Do you understand, Kyra?"

Once having confirmed she understood what was going on, it was time to move out. He pulled out a keycard with which he unlocked the nearest door, which then took them to the first of countless desolate corridors to come. "Stay close behind me," he told her as he kept his rifle at the ready, lighting the way wherever he aimed.

"Commander Valkren. Sir, do you copy? We've found a stow-away passenger, a Jedi Padawan. Bringing her to the Command Center for safekeeping - how copy?"

Valkren Calderon Kyra Perl ​

 

[Kyra Perl]

Oh Thirdas was absolutely frightening to be approached by. She really didn't understand what sweet, soft darling Nida saw in him. Kyra raised her chin to him as he approached, her eyes only mildly reproachful and apologetic in the presence of his frustration.

Her padawan robes were gone, replaced by a set of loose pants and a t-shirt. Training gear, clearly. Kyra didn't look like she had even showered afterwards. All paired with a surprisingly shiny set of combat boots. If there was ever a time to accuse someone of trying to look cool, it would be once one saw the bejeweled studs she had glued onto them.

Kyra yanked her hands away from him, not interested in her cool image being shattered by a manhandling. "Now excuse you!" Come the indignant follow up.

"I am not a little g-" The lights of facility dimmed, cutting off into an ominous red. Kyra glanced around wildly, then back up to Thirdas. Her eyes had gone wide. Childish. Begging answers.


And then he went and ruined it opening his mouth again. She kicked up a fuss as her wrists were grabbed, the girl actively resisting and thrashing to try and yank them free.

"Fethin' hell. You're just the worst luck to be around, aren't you."

His words stung, in the kinda a way that unexpectedly cut someone to the quick and sent them into a deadly silence. Wasn't such a bad thing for him though, the girl suddenly malleable to his efforts. She was guided and brought about the room. Her mind reeled against the quick turn of events. Her mouth worked for words that did not come.

A flashlight was place in her hand. She stared at it dumbly. "But I don't need-" Her protest was lost to Thirdas as he spoke to the other Rangers. Before she could sucker punch him in his pig nose for an answer to all this, he turned and told her.

Huh. Must be telepathic.

He took off towards the rear and she followed out of sheer confusion of it all. A few steps down the hall gave her a chance to sort herself. Her footsteps slowed, the girl unwilling to go any further.


"Heeey, you're trying to lock me up! I don't need your protection!" To provide her point, the flashlight clicked out. The girl summoned an orb of light instead, handing back the flashlight so she could access her saber. "Who's attacking us! Lemme help!" Beyond their stubborn feud was a genuine plea.

Jedi were suppose to help.

Duh.

 

[Valkren Calderon]

There was absolute silence among everyone's communications when they tried reaching out to different frequencies. For a while, only a faint clicking sound was present instead of any voices. Eventually the clicking was replaced with static- static loud enough to greatly annoy anyone with a helmet or earpiece on.

Commander Calderon grunted as he switched his headset off suddenly to avoid giving his ears any more pain. He'd pull his hand back down to stabilize his blaster, watching the end of his corridor that led off into two different directions.

“Not getting anything from the bridge or the cargo bay, sir.” another ranger found a place beside him in the middle of the corridor, updating the commander about what he already knew.

He glanced about his surroundings for a moment, watching as the rangers present in his area moved with their NCO’s to secure the other ends of the corridor. Those crewmembers that didn’t have helmets on made use of their flashlights in this emergency-lighted area, but still remained behind the armored rangers that were present obviously for the combat that was to follow.

Valk looked back to the soldier beside him before shifting his helmeted gaze back down the hallway towards the bridge.

“Take a team to the cargo bay, regroup with Heavenshield. We’ve got too many non-combatant personnel here so I’ll escort them to the command center.” The command got up from his covered position to call out a group of four rangers that were present that carried a mix of armaments. As they regrouped with the other crewmembers they’d be escorting back to the bridge, Valkren had already turned back to address the others.

“I’ll keep reaching out to the Sergeant on the way to the bridge, but if we can’t establish a connection then the objective remains the same.”

With another set of salutes and agreements, the teams separated. Valkren led his group down the further hallway, carefully letting the barrel of his weapon lead the way around the corner before letting the rest follow him. The way there was..uneventful, surprisingly enough.

-----​

Down on the cargo bay’s level, the door slid closed behind Thirdas Heavenshield and Kyra Perl . Beyond them were a series of multiple corridors with few maintenance hatches on the sides that diverted to narrow pathways alongside the corridors themselves.

As they continued in the direction of the command center, Thirdas found his transmission to the commander went unanswered. Instead, he received a series of slow clicks followed by the same violent burst of static that the others faced. Aside from the static, the ship sounded as if it was truly a derelict ship. As the hushed voices of Heavenshield's team grew further away beyond the sealed doors, the ranger and jedi plunged further into the darkness.

The only sound that greeted them now was the low hum of the emergency power working to keep the ship in place.

The pair’s sudden glow from Kyra’s determination to fight off any baddies elicited movement from up ahead. The figure might not have been discernible at first, but after the sudden appearance of a ball of light from the Jedi- the illumination from the pair reached further down the corridor. This forced what seemed to be a figure holding some kind of object into the cover of the maintenance hatch. If either of the pair had seen the slight movement then they would more than likely have a moment to react.

However, it wasn’t long before two flashlights appeared from the same area. The lights were bright, facing directly at the faces of the two Silver’s in an obvious attempt to disorient or blind them.

“Don’t move. Drop your weapons.” The voice was deep and sounded as if a voice modulator was being used. It wasn't easy to see what the two new figures held, but if it was possible to see anything- the unmarked black armor was visible in the new birth of light.

Thirdas Heavenshield | Kyra Perl