Who doesn't love oceans? (Republic Dominion of Manaan)

[Kian Karr]

Kian Karr had arrived several days ahead of the Republic forces as had a number of Jedi Shadows. Of course, according to the vessel registration and his identification he had given over, his name wasn't Kian Karr, but rather Te'el Kand, a respectable Kel Dor business man with ties to the One Sith. It hadn't been as hard as Kian had anticipated, but then again, several Jedi Shadows had spent the better part of a fort night working around the clock to prepare all the forgeries and back story necessary for the assignment. While some of those arriving on Manaan were there to establish the lost allegiance of the Selkath and the Republic, Kian was not here as a diplomat. Kian had arrived on Manaan with a single goal.

Destroy the One Sith presence.

In the few days Kian had been present on Manaan, he had had no contact with his fellow Shadows, nor they among themselves. It was vital that they keep their covers secure while they learned all they could. Each cell worked independent, with specific objectives in mind. Kian's task was the infiltrate and destroy the One Sith embassy that had been established in the years since their invasion and conquest of Manaan. It wasn't an easy task, especially as it required Kian to do it in a way that would not harm any innocents. The Republic couldn't afford to sour their reputation in the eyes of the Selkath if they were to rise up as allies once more.

The scary part of it all.....was that Kian had a plan....

 

[Writer]

Aaralyn frowned for a moment - nothing felt right anymore.

Nothing within the Force was balanced - there was a chaotic shift between light and dark, a rippling echo that caused the pit of her stomach to knot up and feel as if she were three months pregnant again and going through the bouts with morning sickness. She sighed heavily and turned away from the group, looking at the Selkath ambassador, no, this guy was more like the leader of the local resistance but had a heavy weight in the decisions of the actual ruling Council on Manaan.

It would be interesting to say the least what he had to say and how it would play out amongst the ears of those who had lost just as much as he had - his planet wasn't the only one suffering.

"Greetings, Jedi - I see the Republic has returned to pay us another visit." He said in a tongue as slippery as his skin. "Do you bring the Sith with you as well?" One could almost hear him hissing at the mention of war being brought to the planet, to which Aaralyn shook her head.

"No, Ambassador - We are here merely to work with your people on fixing what should have been fixed..." She gestured lightly.

He seemed amused, atleast by what Aaralyn could tell at this notion and would give her a disgusted look before he waved his flippers, hands, or whatever they called them. "We have no desire to have war brought here for a third time...."

Aaralyn cut him off with a curt nod and a stern voice. "War has not been brought here, nor will we allow your people to be subjugated by the Sith...so if you allow us to properly establish defenses and correct the mistakes of poor leaders before us - then we will ensure this doesn't happen again."

He seemed to be taken aback at first by her abrupt nature but then fell silent, only nodding - "We shall see Master Jedi if what you say is true." He motioned for her to follow, as well as her comrades. "There are some One Sith held up in the remnants of outposts around what used to be Ahto City..."

"I see, we shall have them taken care of then..." She nodded softly and followed behind him. "Then we can talk about what relief the Republic can provide and how the Selkath will have representation within the Republic?"

The Selkath nodded quickly. "Yes, yes...do this and we'll talk..."

[member="Teaari Tann"] | [member="Corvus Raaf"] | [member="Kian Karr"] | [member="Kana Truden"]

 

[Kana Truden]

“It’s a pleasure to meet you as well, Teeari.” Kana bowed.

“Our objectives are pretty clear. We need to smooth things over with the government and clear out any One Sith resistance still on the planet. We all remember what happened and we need to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

She turned away from [member="Corvus Raaf"] and [member="Teaari Tann"] to follow [member="Aaralyn Gyndar"]. The talking would be a waste on Kana’s part. She wasn’t in a position to do it anyway. Or well, technically she was but in this case it was best to let those with a bit more, uhhh, ‘finesse’ take care of these things.

Aaralyn talked to the leaders and Kana listened.

Taking care of One Sith remnants? That couldn’t be too hard, could it? Certainly didn’t feel like it. The leaders handwaved them and sent them on their errand.

“Well, it would seem negotiations were short.” Kana looked back at Corvus and smirked before turning back towards Aaralyn. “Off we go, right?”

 

[Kian Karr]

"Do you have ANY IDEA who I am!" Kian yelled at the top of his lungs, getting his face a few inches away from the young receptionists and letting out a heavy breath from his mask to increasing the intimidation factor of his alien appearance. Kian was standing in the reception hall of a small Manaan based company that supplied one of the key components in the development of the Kel Dor's antiox masks. It was a small filtration system that allowed the mask to lower the amount of oxygen and, coupled with the supply of Dorin Gas the masks provided, made it possible for the Kel Dor to leave Dorin.

"Sir, please calm down." The young female Selkath said, her hands shaking noticeably. Kian was disgusted with himself right now, but he needed to play this role in order to gain access to the One Sith embassy.

"DO NOT tell me to CALM DOWN!" Kian pressed on. "I have been waiting here for ten minutes. TEN MINUTES!" Kian raised his voice once more and the security guard in the corner shuffled nervously from one foot to the other, but the receptionist waved a hand and he settled back down.

"I'm trying to explain to you that Mr. Serab, the executive officer, is not currently on Manaan and therefore can not see you." The receptionist said, smiling to try and calm 'Te'el' down. Kian allowed his shoulders to slump slightly, and the girl appeared enthusiastic for a moment. Kian had them just where he wanted them.

"I came all the way from Dorin....after my people made an appointment with your executive officer." Kian began, his voice still seething with anger but no longer yelling. "And now you're telling me there is no one I could meet with!" Kian said, his voice threatening to rise once more. Of course, the meeting had never actually been scheduled, but thanks to a certain young Jedi Shadow with impeccable hacking abilities, Kian had had the appointment put into the system on a day they knew the exec would be off world. It wasn't him Kian wanted to see.

"I could have you sit down with Mrs. Serab....she is Mr. Serab's wife and the assistant executive officer." The receptionist said after a moment of silence, clearly hoping that this would placate the irate Kel Dor businessman. Kian let out a deep, annoyed and irate breath to show his utter disappointment and muttered a "Fine!" waving his hand in disgust as he did.

If only they could see the smile on his face beneath the mask.

[member="Kana Truden"] | [member="Corvus Raaf"] | [member="Aaralyn Gyndar"] | [member="Teaari Tann"]​

 

[Kyrana Gould]

The Sith defenders had decided to stand and fight, at least for a while. They had moved back somewhat, trying to draw the Republic away from the landing sites.

Admiral Stahlmann could see that this chase could last forever, so he paused.

“We need to draw them to battle. This long range skirmishing will not benefit us much. What news on Admiral Tyven?”
“She should be arriving soon. Current projections puts her fleet coming in behind the Sith.”
“Excellent. She will be the anvil, we the hammer. When they arrive we push forward to trap them and destroy their ships. Slacken our ‘pursuit’, make it seem like we’ve given up the chase for the moment.”

When [member="Kayleigh Tyven"] arrived she would be behind the Sith and ready to inflict some real damage in conjunction with Stahlmann’s fleet.

 

[Mariya Pyne]

"Ma'am. We will be exiting hyperspace in T-minus 30." Kayleigh rose from her chair, placing both hands atop the illuminated podium, currently displaying Friedrich's fleet positions. The young girl's face turned to a shrewd wolfish grin. "Get me Stahlmann." The communications officer nodded and patched the Caledonia in to Admiral [member="Friedrich Stahlmann"].

As the holo image raised, Kayleigh gave a warmhearted salute to the man. "Admiral. So good to see you again. I hope you don't mind us joining the party-" Stahlmann could see her image look off to the side briefly. "Now." And with perfect synergy, the Caledonia emerged from the hyperspace lane, with several more Republic cruisers in tow. "Well well, Admiral. It looks like you've scared them. How unfortunate that they're retreat will be so quickly cut off."

Kayleigh once again turned to the crew. "Adjust formation 35 degrees, fire all main guns! Relay orders to all flanking ships to spread the line and box them in! Order the release of our fighters and escort bombers! Make sure they have nowhere to go!"

[member="Tålamod Shapochka"]

 

[Kyrana Gould]

[member="Kayleigh Tyven"] | [member="Tålamod Shapochka"]

The Admiral smiled as the Sith were suddenly faced with a new enemy directly behind them. It was like Prakith all over again in reverse.
“Admiral Tyven, a pleasure. I’d love to stop and chat, but these people need to be taught a lesson! Cut them off, hammer and anvil. We’ll chat more once the battle’s won.”

He turned to his crew. “All ships…engage! Commander Shapochka, if you’ll begin proceedings….”

The Destiny, now in range, opened a tremendous salvo from its guns whilst the Righteous and Ebbing Heart opened up as well, soon joined by the smaller Republic ships. The Sith seemed to have little co-ordination, and now trapped, were outgunned, outnumbered and disordered.

 

[Meeristali Peradun]

Every time he came to this world, it was either to clean up or to get used to mop the floor. To say... the Felacatian wasn't sure how he felt about Manaan, but if the Republic felt the need to bring the world back in under its protection he found he could hardly refuse to lend a hand, which was why he was standing all muscle-bound in a nondescript black suit and tie in the act of a bodyguard, one hand clasped over the wrist of the other while the Kel-Dor yelled and raged. The absence of humour on his face at the act (it was in fact entirely within the realm of hilarity to witness) was merely testament to his training, and the acid marks on that very face (which had long since ceased to be painful) joined up with his burning orange eyes to give the entirety of his expression a nonplussed yet menacing air.

He could hardly say no to Kian when the idea had been proposed, hardly seeming to care about more-or-less being typecast. At six-and-a-half feet and two-hundred-and-seventy pounds of polymorphic felinoid muscle, scarred and hardened, he looked the part easily and it actually wasn't all that often that he got to really use that to advantage. It was good knowing what he was and what he could be good for, and when a younger, fresher employee wandered in during the debacle, only his eyes shifted to find her and pin her where she stood. Intimidation wasn't exactly Jedi-like, but very little of anything that had happened to him recently allowed him to adhere to that standard.

At times, he couldn't say he minded.

[member="Kian Karr"] | [member="Kana Truden"] | [member="Corvus Raaf"] | [member="Aaralyn Gyndar"]​

 

[Orick T'ane]

Orick's ship dropped out of hyperspace into a total mess, the net was ablaze with news of people just vanishing. He saw the dozens of ships racing through space, turbo lasers and fighters streaking in between capital ships. He had to turn sharply right to avoid an errant missile as it wandered into his flight path.

Opening comms he said a silent prayer to anyone listening on the planet. " Manaan Spaceport, this is the Aimless Ranger, I'm coming in fast and hot trying to avoid the war up here. I have a cargo hold full of food stuff and would be happy to help in any way i can, as long as I can get planet side in one piece."

He repeated the broadcast several times before blasting the same broadcast towards the Republic fleet in around the planet.

[member="Friedrich Stahlmann"]

 

[Enyo Typhos]

[member="Friedrich Stahlmann"]


And so the blazing inferno again. One might throw in a comment about how massive explosions in space are unrealistic. Especially because there is no sound in space, though it is often portrayed as such, but regardless, on with the plot.


Outgunned, outnumbered and cut off, the Sith were welcome prey for the guns of the Republic ships. Within the gun batteries, where she had taken up position, Callisto devoted her processing power to coordinating the various guns as they opened up a tremendous salvoe, giving the Sith ships a brutal pounding. There was destructin, carnage and chaos as turbolaser volleys lanced across the cold void of space. Her face was, as might be expected, utterly impassive as she coordinated the onslaught, absorbing information and orders at a rapid rate as she directed the guns to the weakest points of the enemy. Such magnificient desolation.

 

[Marcus Itera]

While all hell had been let loose, there was some semblance of authority and power down on the Manaan groundside in Ahto City. Peace talks, lots of rations going around, and Republic Marines letting loose with rifle rounds into what Sith defenders still remained. As for Pappy, he had been helping the Marines clear the remnants of these poor Stormtroopers and Yuuzhan Vong. Luckily, the damned Sith hadn't decided to Vongform this planet lest it become something of a zoo for all of these mutated fish-people.

"I though you didn't like seafood."

Apparently he had been staring at that platter of shrimp laying helplessly in the abandoned restaurant for far too long. "Shut up. I don't see you running around on an empty stomach. We had to have an apocalypse just as the dinner bell rang."

Miranda shrugged. "You signed up for this job, pal. It's my job to make sure you do your job."

"And my job is to stay in a condition that would most benefit the Republic; thus me eating."

"I think we're saying 'job' too much. Get back to work, filthy organic." The cheekiness in her voice could've drowned him even more so than all of this water. Marcus merely hefted his rifle closer to his chest and departed to see if he could find that Marine platoon that had passed by minutes ago.

 

[Kian Karr]

Kian eyed Meeristali out of the corner of his goggled eyes as they were escorted out of the main reception hall and down a long corridor toward a turbolift. They had both received temporary guest passes, which now hung clipped to their outfits. While Meeristali was dressed to look like Kian's muscle for hire, Kian was in a pair of pressed pants and a long sleeved tunic covered in a dark grey vest with gold lined floral patterns. He felt he looked absurd, but it was the type of thing a well off Kel Dor merchant would wear.

The guard, to Kian's surprise, did not accompany them onto the turbolift, but waited for them both to get on before swiping his keycard and sending them down toward the lower level of the facility.

"So far, so good." Kian said and casting a sideways glance at the large Jedi beside him. Kian hadn't worked too closely with Meeristali in the past but he had heard good things about the man......not least of all his heroic services on this very planet years before when the Sith had sacked the city. He still bore the scars of that battle. Before Kian said anything further he brought his datapad up to view and hit a series of keys. After a few moments a green light indicated that the turbolift was clear of bugs and Kian continued. They wouldn't have much time before they made it to the lower level.

"We're clear on the op?" Kian asked. The plan was simple really. They would gain access to the lower level under the guise of meeting with the assistant executive officer....whose officer happens to share a ventilation system with the One Sith embassy next door. It was a flawed design, but one that had been overlooked for years. The two buildings that housed both the manufacturer and the embassy had once been a single building, redesigned to accommodate various city wide expanses. When the embassy was established, following the sacking of Manaan, the One Sith hadn't noticed the small flaw in security.

Neither had the Republic.....who had used the building as their embassy in the decades before.

​

[member="Meeristali Peradun"] | [member="Kana Truden"] | [member="Corvus Raaf"] | [member="Aaralyn Gyndar"] | [member="Teaari Tann"]​

 

[Kyrana Gould]

[member="Orick T'ane"]
Right into the heart of the battle the new ship wandered. Still, if he did indeed have supplies they might be useful for the populace below.


“Grey Squadron, send three fighters to escort this ship to Ahto City. Ensure there are no tricks on board,” he ordered them.

Next he switched to a direct line to T’ane. “Understood. You will have 3 fighters fall in with you and escort you to the surface. Do not deviate or make any threatening moves or you will be destroyed. If your offer is genuine, the Republic will well compensate you. Admiral Stahlmann out.”

 

[Mariya Pyne]

[member="Friedrich Stahlmann"] | [member="Tålamod Shapochka"]

Kayleigh gave a salute once more to Stahlmann as she nodded. "By your word, Admiral. Let's give 'em hell." Tapping the comm, she severed the communication for now and turned back towards the crew. "You heard the man, ladies and gentlemen! The Sith are attempting to force their retreat through us. Give them no satisfaction! Launch all remaining bombers with full escorts. Divert them to the east and west flanks, close to the line. If those Sith approach our line, give the order to bomb them to oblivion!

The admiral looked down at the battlefield layout, keeping close watch on the retreating Sith fleet as they approached, as well as Stahlmann and Shapochka's fleets advancing. The enemy had nowhere left to go. Surrender or annihilation were their only options.

"Focus the Caledonia's long range ion cannons and turbolasers on the Sith capital ship. If they get close, fire the hypervelocity cannons. Order the rest of the fleet to focus long range weapons on the capital ship, all other guns are to target their cruisers. If they make the attempt to turn their vessels, they will be crushed between the three fleets. Let us see how this plays out."

 

[Orick T'ane]

" I'l hold in place until the fighters arrive." With the transmission done, Orick sat back and watched the battle unfold. The Sith were getting plastered by Republic capital ships. He whistled to himself as he witnessed the pure destructive power of the fleet. It was times like these that he wished he had stuck to smuggling in the outer rim. There was a lot less chance of wandering into a full scale invasion.

Three sleek, mean fighters banked sharply into his field of view, " Unknown freighter, you will follow us to Ahto City, if you deviate in any way, it will be considered a hostile act, and you will be shot down."

Adjusting his controls he drifted into formation behind them. " Yeah I know the drill." The flight down was much easier than he thought, considering that there's a huge battle being waged around him. The fighters stayed in perfect formation the entire time, one just behind him and one on each side. Just far enough away to maneuver if it became necessary.

landing was the easy part, even if the Ranger was bucking a bit along the way. He looked around and saw chaos, like one would expect to find when war was present. Powering down he walked to the back and popped the cargo door and unbuckled his holster, dropping it and the weapon at his feet and kicking it away a bit. He raised his hands just a bit and hoped it was enough to keep trigger happy soldiers from deciding that he was resisting.

[member="Friedrich Stahlmann"]

 

[Xion Vala]

Dropping out of hyperspace in his starfighter Xion watched as the stars blurred back into existence and before him lay a full scale battle between the Sith and Republic. Xion would usually never involve himself with such things, but with the sudden disappearance of jedi from the galaxy he had to help in any way that he could. Even if it meant participating in such a large scale battle. Opening himself to the living force Xion flinched as he was bombarded by feeling the deaths of the Sith, as well as a few republic soldiers in the process. He knew the Sith was the Republic's enemy but that didn't mean that the fight had to be won this way. Just because they followed the Sith didn't make them sith or evil themselves.

Calming himself Xion went to activating his coms to contact the Republic fleet. "This is Jedi Padawan, Xion Vala. I'm here to provide aid in anyway that I can." Xion said flying outside the battle for now. He could see as the Sith were being completely mauled by the Republic as numerous ships from the Republic fleet opened fire upon the Sith. Xion could do nothing but watch for now as he awaited orders. If he received none he would go down to the planet and aid in the capture of the Sith.

[member="Friedrich Stahlmann"]

 

[Meeristali Peradun]

"I haven't heard anything to the contrary," he replied, then nodded, "so all clear, yes."

He put on a smile that only came through in his eyes, leaving his face stoic. He couldn't deny that his thoughts strayed to when or if things would get more lively, when or if he would ever see Avalore, or Mara, or any of the others again, if... he yanked his train of thought back on the right track. He still felt just the tiniest bit off from the unannounced journey that had seen him walk, stumble and fight his way from Ossus to Alderaan by foot.

"You're quite the actor," he said, referencing the act that had gotten them into this lift, "another day, another place, I'd have been laughing."

The lift slowed and eased to a stop. The entirety of his face resumed the impenetrable look, as the doors opened to the lower level.

​

[member="Kian Karr"] | [member="Kana Truden"] | [member="Corvus Raaf"] | [member="Aaralyn Gyndar"] | [member="Teaari Tann"]​

 

[Kyrana Gould]

[member="Xion Vala"]
“Padawan Vala, if you are skilled in dogfighting, we could use your skills in sector 867. The Sith are attempting to escape through the cordon. Destroy or deter them by any means. Wraith Squadron and Iron Squadron will follow your lead,” the Admiral ordered.
The area of battle being discussed was where a Sith frigate and some transports were attempting to break through and escape. Wraith was a squadron of elite fighters whilst Iron was one containing bombers, just the combination necessary to stop fleeing enemies.

Looking back to the battle the Admiral moved the Destiny and his other ships in a snake like manoeuvre, moving closer and closer to the Sith. Each pass they made the gunnery became more accurate, more lethal. Even now the Sith shields were failing and blossoming explosions could be seen appearing on their ships from the merciless bombardment.

Meanwhile, down on the surface, [member="Orick T'ane"] was looked at suspiciously by the Republic soldiers, but in the end they realised he wasn’t a threat.
“Alright, get your cargo unloaded and we’ll take you to HQ so you can be rewarded,” one said grudgingly.

 

[Orick T'ane]

Orick sighed in relief, He had been on the other side of this situation before and he knew how bad the the situation could have become. "Right. I'll just grab one of those maglev loaders." He makes a point to step over his pistol, kicking it out of the way, jumpy troops don't need any other reasons to shoot.

He walked down the ramp and turned on the loader, taking his time to get the job done, taking each crate off with care and he was careful to keep the crates in neat order, numbered shipping labels clearly visible. Maybe if i can actually account for everything they won't stick me on the payment.. His thoughts drifted to the possibility of a cantina still standing, but he stopped as he thought about the excessive amount of republic forces on the planet. Any cantina he did fine would be crowded to the max with soldiers and sailors. Orick left that life behind for a reason, he didn't need to revisit it all over again. He returned to the task at hand, taking his time to get every crate perfectly aligned.

If he was in charge there would be a blockade around the planet and no one would be lifting off anytime soon, so he might as well take his time, he was stuck here regardless. An hour later he had the last box down and lined up. He turned and closed the cargo hatch, locking it out of habit. He turned to the soldiers that were watching him work " You care if i lock it? It's not worth the fuel i put into her, but she's all i got." He wiped his hands across his pant legs and smiles, " OK gents, lets go meet the brass, you can practice your salutes on the way if you feel the need."

[member="Friedrich Stahlmann"]

 

[Writer]

Negotiations were indeed short.

Aaralyn frowned heavily and turned towards [member="Kana Truden"]. "Doesn't help us considering the fact that the One Sith are spread thin - our forces are already engaging them." She shook her head softly and turned back to the Selkath Ambassador. "Why are you so quick to have us leave?" A silly notion, but Aaralyn had a gut feeling that there was something else to his pushy behavior. She looked to the building behind him and gestured. "How about we go inside and discuss this a bit further no?"

"No, no, there is no reason..." The Selkath replied, holding his hands up in objection to Aaralyn's movement past her - he would attempt to grab her but she would pull free with little effort. A daring glare would befall him as she made her way to the small building, touching the pad before the door - causing it to open of course. It would beep with a negative tone, causing her face to go from a frown to a scowl. She turned and gestured towards the door.

"Open it, now!" She barked at the Selkath.

He nodded quickly, his behavior becoming more odd by the second - she could sense something was definitely amiss but not quite put her foot on it. He would key the door and gesture inwards, to which Aaralyn would gently push past and inside there would be a gruesome discovery. The bodies of One Sith and Selkath alike were strewn about, some bloodied and some cut clean through - as if a lightsaber had done the damage. She furrowed her eyebrows as she stepped further into the now apparent crime scene, calling for [member="Kana Truden"], [member="Corvus Raaf"] and her new Padawan - [member="Teaari Tann"] to join her. "Hey, come check this out..."