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[SWTOR] Phoenix Initiative || Prologue: Humble Beginnings || IC Thread

Started by Tys, November 19, 2011, 03:08:22 PM

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Tys

[ Please read the OOC Thread for full details on this chapter. Phoenix Initiative || Prologue: Humble Beginnings OOC Thread // PM for involvement unless you are listed on the OOC page. Thank you. ]

Carrick Station. Faint echoes of chatter could be heard from the docking bay of the shuttle that just came from Ord Mantell. The shuttle Deimos was carrying a group of passengers ranging from veterans on the Ord Mantell front to rookies who needed surgical attention. Separatist activity on Ord Mantel was being suppressed, but the process was much slower than was initially projected. After a few weeks things seemed to be shaping up into a real fight.  One of the pilots from the Deimos exited down the metal boarding ramp with a smug look on his face. "What'd I tell ya? Smooth as a baby's bottom," he said, commenting on his landing to his co-pilot -- a female Twi'lek that he was trying to impress.

"Yeah, too bad Carrick's tractor beams were guiding us the whole time," she said, waving her hand in dismissal to her fellow pilot, "Call me when she's reloaded and refueled, I'm going to get some ale from Twin Suns."

"W-wait," called out the pilot, taking a step forward to pursue the Twi'lek woman. A large gloved hand was placed on his shoulder, giving him enough resistance to cause him to pause in mid-motion. The presence was startling enough that he had to crane his neck to see who was preventing him from moving.

"Forget it, kid. She's not interested. Sometimes the chase isn't worth the reward. Save yourself the heartbreak." Digital modifications made the voice sound mechanic while leaving the inflection and emotion perfectly intact. When the pilot fully turned around, he was gazing upwards at the source of the harsh advice.

There were troopers in the Republic then there were troopers. Some of the Republic's soldiers signed up because they thought it was the right thing to do, others signed up because they felt they were made for the job. Standing at 2.03 meters (6'8") in height, not including the helmet, and weighing at least a good 127 kilograms (275 lbs), the pilot could only assume the trooper was a part of the latter group of individuals. When the pilot gave a slow nod of acceptance to the towering figure, the trooper gave the shorter man a comforting pat on the back. "Stay frosty," he said, moving past the stunned male towards the check-in station.

Several terminals were being used by new arrivals, leaving only a few open as it was a popular hour of the day for shuttles to dock. The tall trooper drew a few looks from others as they moved by, or around him, but he paid little attention to it. Years of training and conditioning made him grow accustom to the stares of women, children, and even some men. If the armor did not draw a look, his height compared to most other humans certainly did. At the terminal, he pressed a few buttons to bring up the Republic Special Forces login screen and entered his login information. A few bars zipped past the holoscreen in a matter of milliseconds before he was connected to his Commander.

"Lieutenant Noma, reporting in sir," he said, keeping the transmission completely inside of his helmet. The terminal's wireless connection patched the sound directly into the visor of his helmet. An opaque blue image of his Commander appeared floating in front of him.

"Excellent. I see you've arrived on Carrick Station. Your flight to Coruscant has been delayed for a while. Remain there until further orders. Try not to bring too much attention to yourself, not that you can help it that much. I will contact you via your personal holocommunicator when your flight has been cleared. That is all, soldier." The little blue man saluted him before disappearing into thin air.

When the connection was terminated, Noma let out a short exhale on the inside of his helmet. He had an indefinite amount of hours on his hand -- likely more than were in the rest of the standard galactic day -- and nowhere to really go. His mind reminded him of the spot they Twi'lek from the Deimos said she would be until her pilot was ready to take off.

Twin Suns, huh? he thought to himself, accessing the terminal's universal database to see where the cantina was located on the station. If he was going to have to wait a long time, at least he could have a drink or two or three.


Eshen

The bustling crowd of arrivals bunched up at the terminals, trying to follow the proper travel protocols of the station. A station official stood nearby, maintaining order as best he could but the crowd seemed to grow by the second. Soon the official was calling for aid to help sort the crowd into an orderly line. A wave of silence swept from the hangar and parted the crowd. People turning and gawking or just trying to get out of the way. The source of this was a single hooded individual. A whispered "Jedi" echoed across the lips of those making way for the humbly dressed figure to approach the front of the crowd. The lead station official paused to gawk as well before collecting himself to address the Jedi, "M-Master Jedi, please register your arrival at o-one of our t-terminals."

The half-hidden face of the mysterious Jedi lifted up to look at the official with discerning eyes for a few moments, "Very well." The brown-clad figure approached a terminal which was quickly vacated by the previous user. The information he entered brought up the name Eshen Virol, classed as Jedi under the Special Clearance section. The computer approved his access and he wandered inwards, drawing his aura of silence with him. The crowd behind him regaining its hustle and bustle once more. Eshen made his way towards the elevator and indicated the main promenade as his destination. He stepped in and waited for the doors to close only to watch a gigantic trooper catch them and pry them back open. Eshen looked over the markings on the trooper's armor, scanning the engravings and patches representing the squad he serves or served. He nodded towards the large trooper and waited for the doors to close. Others who approached the elevator hoping to catch it opted to wait for the next one at the sight of the two imposing figures.

Tys

Silence permeated the elevator as it carried its two lone passengers up towards the main promenade. It was a long ride from the docking bay area to the central point of Carrack Station. Noma glanced down at the Jedi while they stood side-by-side in the elevator car. It was certain that he was being inspected, which was a common side effect of the armor that Republic troopers wore. It was definitely an intended effect, meant to form the image of a stalwart or devastating force on the battlefield.

"Nice robes," said the digitally augmented voice from Noma's helmet. It was a strange line to use to open conversation, but what else was their to saw with the two imposing figures -- for completely different reasons -- riding the same elevator. He had meant the comment as a compliment and perhaps a way to break the ice. Once he responded, Noma fell silent again and kept his hands clasped together in front of him in a relaxed position.

On the side of the elevator panel he could see the numbers of docking bays scrolling by one-by-one on their way to the main promenade. The non-response from the Jedi prompted the RSF Lieutenant to give another attempt at conversation. He had a few hours to kill, so for once his mind was not completely consumed by his next objective. This opened up a slightly lighter and inquisitive side of the usually straight-forward and serious soldier.

"I imagine they get pretty itchy on certain planets..." he semi-queried, not turning his head to bring the Knight into view this time.

They were rapidly approaching the final stop of the elevator, giving them only about a half-minute of conversation left. Noma, for one, did not mind the light-hearted monologue and a part of him did not expect for the Jedi to reply. Their encounter was easily one that could be summarized as a recently off-duty trooper being a bit facetious towards a Force-user. The final tone was left to be set by his fellow passenger.

Eshen

Eshen ignored the idle questions of the large trooper as the elevator hummed its way downwards. His exposure to Republic soldiers were limited but he could sense the fearlessness and conviction hidden behind their stoney visages wherever they went. Some let their seriousness bubble to the surface, others hid it with humour. This, he could tell, was the latter. It seemed as if he hadn't moved since the soldier stepped in. Indeed, his robes didn't seem to move but then a calm voice slipped from beneath the hood, "You would be surprised. Thousands of years of conservative Jedi fashion have weeded out many of the uncomfortable traits in these simple clothes. They keep us cool in hot weather and warm in cold. I imagine your protective gear must get pretty humid in the former though." He turned his head towards the trooper to expose a piercing grey iris then turned it back front to cover his face once more.

He could feel the elevator slow as it reached the designated floor and the doors slid open. The few people waiting for the lift waited for the two unique individuals to exit while giving them a wide berth. Eshen paused to look at the directions on the hanging signs that indicated the hangar where he would catch the next ship to Coruscant then saw in the distance behind it the arrival and departure boards that said the next ship will be a while before it departed. His eyes slid across the view in front of him while he thought of a way to waste time while he waited.

Tys

The answer provided by the Jedi was more than enough information to sate his curiosity. There was no hint of facetiousness or sarcasm in the Force-user's voice, giving him the impress that everything that was said was true. Noma gave a small nod as a sign that he acknowledged everything the Jedi said about staying cool and warm. He started to respond to the question poised to him when the elevator came to a halt, and the double sliding doors opened to allow them both to exit.

Several people waiting on the elevator at the main promenade waited for both the Jedi and the tall Republic trooper to exit before they stepped onto the ride. Lieutenant Noma looked around for some sort of general map to tell him where he could find the Twin Suns cantina. In the middle of his visual scan of the central area of the main promenade, he heard someome approaching him with a very panicked voice.

"Please! You've got to help me," begged a woman in a Republic officer's uniform. A desperate look was set on her face, indicating that whatever was wrong was a critical matter. She spotted Noma the second he stepped off of the elevator -- as would most people -- and immediately ran over to him.

"I'm listening," he responded, gazing down at the young officer as she clasped her hands together in front of her.

"I was part of a transfer group of Separatist leaders that were captured on Ord Mantell. They were supposed to be transferred to Coruscant for trail. Well, I had two guards with me to escort four people and... and... I thought they would be enough but, well, I lost the Separatist. They... they got away from me and killed the two guards. Please, you've got to help me find these four men before my commanding office finds out about the dead guards otherwise I will get court marshaled for sure." The young woman was winded from her long explanation. She leaned forward a bit to draw in some while anxiously awaiting Noma's response.

"Normally, I don't do this but, I have some time to burn and this sounds better than getting myself drunk. Give me the information on the four men and I will track them down. Carrick Station is big so I will need to quickly sweep the general areas first. I'm going to assume they are armed and dangerous since you told me they killed your guards." Noma glanced at the lower right corner of his field of vision, watching the information on the Separatist appear after a few seconds. All of the targets looked young, and that made him wonder just how far the conflict on Ord Mantell reached. These kids were grabbing blasters and grenades younger and younger.

"Thank you! You can contact me on my communicator after you have subdued them. I will tell you which docking bay to bring them so we can continue the transfer." Officer Watts -- the name he received when she sent the transfer to his helmet -- rushed off to prepare the shuttle for the Separatist. Apparently, she had one hundred percent faith in the Vanguard's ability to apprehend the escapees.

"Now... let's see where to start," he said aloud, muttering to himself before turning the speaker system on his helmet off.

Eshen

Eshen stood nearby, inspecting the departure times for the next transport ships to Coruscant, while listening to the desperate plea of the Republic officer. He really didn't feel like coming to the rescue of another helpless individual so soon after leaving Tython. The Force seemed more ironic than normal during his training. No reason for him to humour it when he didn't have to. He also didn't intervene on suspicion that the situation was to stay a secret and was restricted a military matter. Until an alarm sounded over the station's announcement system.

"To all security personnel. Code red. I repeat, code red. Three armed individuals dressed in red Separatist uniforms have seized and closed access to Hangar 2B. All non-security personnel are requested to avoid Hangar 2B until further notification."

Eshen sighed, hanging his head slightly, trying to mentally justify his way out of aiding the station. This is not Tython. I'm no longer in training. This station has more than enough security and military officers to back them up.

Out of his peripheral hearing, he heard someone whisper, "Mommy, is that a Jedi?"

"No, honey. Come along."

"He looks like a Jedi, mommy!"

"Don't bother strangers, sweetie. I'm sure he's- Hm, he does look a little bit like a-"

Eshen grumbled and took off running in the direction of the Hangar which coincidentally was the same hangar he was to board the ship to Coruscant. He turned the corner out of sight of the mother and her child, leaving them baffled. He reached down and pulled out the buzzing holocommunicator, "T7?" A whirring beeps and bloops followed.

"Yes, I'm on my way now."

More bleeps and bloops.

"No, I'm not shirking my duty!"

Bleep, bleep, bloop.

"Don't make me dismantle you," he muttered before turning off the holocomm on approach of the hangar where a crowd had gathered expectantly after that announcement NOT to linger around the area. He stopped to survey the area, looking for an alternate way into the hangar.

Tys

"To all security personnel. Code red. I repeat, code red. Four (OOC edit.) armed individuals dressed in red Separatist uniforms have seized and closed access to Hangar 2B. All non-security personnel are requested to avoid Hangar 2B until further notification."

The announcement from the public address system snapped Noma out of his contemplation. It was completely logical for the Separatist escapees to attempt to flee Carrick Station via the same hangar that their transport ship was waiting. They would know the ship and crew were ready, and know exactly where to find it. Having the security forces of the station alarmed to the situation provided both a help and a hindrance for the Vanguard.

A small panic was bound to happen, along with people gathering to gape at the scene as it unfolded. Arriving on the scene as the security forces were trying to breach the front doors of the hangar, Noma noticed that there was a possible alternative route by coming in from above Hangar 2B. There was no way he could fit into the ventilation system that lead to the other side of the thick metal doors that sealed off the hangar from the rest of the station.

"We just keep bumpin' into each other," he said, directing his comment towards the Jedi who had run off from the elevator to the incident outside of Hangar 2B. Noma did a scan of the sealed doors and the security force trying to weld their was through it. According to his helmet's calculations it would take two hours and thirty-seven minutes to cut through the doors and breach the hangar. By then the four runaways would be long gone on a stolen shuttle with a crew as their hostages. That was completely unacceptable.

"Think you could fit into that duct on our right?" he asked, nonchalantly looking over to the duct with two steel grates covering it to prevent people from just wandering inside. A simple following of the duct with the eyes would show it led right into the hangar.

"You could sneak in and open the side entrance to the hangar for me. The two of us can solve this issue without involving the rest of the station. Saves lives and protects these people who should not be here. We'll have the element of surprise and can use that to get the jump on the Seps."

Lieutenant Noma, though big, was used to covert operations and gaining the upper hand on the enemy before striking. One of the main lessons he learned in the RSF was that knowing what your enemy knows is the first step to defeating them. There was a specially modified blaster rifle on Noma's back that was fresh from his ordeal on Ord Mantell. It was not a heavy modded, or illegal carbine, but it was tinkered with enough to provide a few surprises in the middle of combat.

"What do you say? he queried, letting his digitally modified voice show that he was definitely for resolving this without a huge gunfight in front of plenty of innocent travelers. 

Eshen

Eshen glanced to the side as he sensed the large and unmistakeable soldier from earlier. "Indeed. What a coincidence," his calm voice making it hard to discern between sincerity or sarcasm. One of the station's security officers approached the pair, "Master Jedi and a Republic Trooper. Both of you look like you can handle yourselves in a crisis which is what we have here. My name is Captain Arno Maner. We're not exactly sure how the pair escaped, much less take over the hangar controls."

"This is hardly a crisis, Captain. I'm not even sure if my help is absolutely needed here. This station is your home ground is it now? Aren't you able to override the hangar controls from your main security controls?"

"Normally, we would be but they've locked us out. We have our tech expert working on it right now. The crisis part is that the Republic Navy just offloaded a highly classified warhead. If they somehow acquire it or set it off, the lives on this station are going to be the least severe consequence."

Eshen's eyes narrowed as he honed in on the information the Captain was not revealing, "What aren't you telling me, Captain? What is this bomb?" Maner clenched his jaw stubbornly and stared at Eshen silently who then sliced his hand through the air horizontally in front of him, "You will tell me what this bomb is."

Captain Maner's face went blank as he spoke monotonously, "I will tell you what the bomb is. The bomb is an experimental warhead that is the core of the X3-513 codenamed "Apocalypse" planet devastator launcher fitted on Republic warships. It has a yield of 1500 Pritens and secured with a null-level military encryption, biometric scan, and confirmation codes from specific generals.

Eshen stared at him, trying not to look absolutely confused by what he just said. He turned to the soldier for a translation.

Tys

There were times where the Lieutenant was eternally grateful for his helmet: a random flash grenade from an unseen enemy, a blaster bolt pinging off the side of his head, shrapnel from an explosion flying into his face; all of them were logical reasons why he enjoyed his protective headgear. This time was to hide the expression on his face when the Captain of the Carrick Station Security Force explained why this separatist situation was so serious. It took him a few seconds to collect himself inside of the helmet, before he was able to respond to the Jedi's inquisitive gaze.

"Warhead goes off: Carrick Station goes boom, then the rest of the Republic fleet around the station goes boom. That thing can bust a planet in half without even being armed." It was clear the last part was exaggeration, but the beginning was a very short and clear description of what would happen if the rogues were able to detonate the warhead inside the hangar.

Tys turned his attention to the Captain who just finished pleading with the Jedi and pointed a gloved finger at him. "After this is over, you are going to tell me why a warhead of that class is even on this station."

If the Republic was getting antsy enough to transport materials of that magnitude through such a popular location, then the fear of a full-scale war with the Sith Empire was going to kill the Republic before the Imperials even had a chance. Somehow Noma doubted that it was just a coincidence that the X3-513 was on Carrick at the same time the separatist leaders were being transferred. However, the most important thing at the moment was getting inside of that hangar.

"Can you infiltrate or not?" he asked for a final time, deciding that if the Jedi was not able to do it then he would begin searching for more alternatives.

Eshen

Eshen turned his attention back to the Captain, the seriousness of the situation settling in on his features, "Captain, we need all the information you can get on the bomb and how we can disarm it. You might also want to see about evacuating the station just in case." A holocommunicator appeared in his hand, "T7, where are you?" Beeps and blips were heard coming from down the hall which heralded an astromech droid. "Can you get me a list of potential ways into the hangar? Non-lethal preferred. Failing that, identify the thinnest section of the wall separating us from them. And see if you can slice into the access point and get the hangar doors up."

He started surveying the wall, nodding to the soldier, "Help me look... What's your name? I am Eshen Virol." The brown robes brushed around his feet while he looked about, his investigative instincts taking over. His eyes were drawn to the security cameras and any possible onlookers. "Captain, can your men get a look inside the hangar just so we know what they're up to?" He called back towards the officer who was in the middle of a call. The officer turned back to the call. A whirring and echoing vibration can be heard from the other side of the wall, similar to the sound of an opening hangar door.

Tys

"Tys, Tys Noma," he replied, noticing that the Jedi had several ideas of how to gain the upper hand on the separatist leaders. The RSF Lieutenant activated a scanning mode on the inside of his helmet with the press of a few buttons on the forearm area of his suit. Everything he saw turned into a faint blue color with the ventilation ducts turning a soft white with schematics and measurements popping up on the side of his viewing space.

What they needed was a method to get the drop on the hostage takers inside the hangar so that when the doors opened the innocent bystanders would not be caught in a cross fire. He eyed the actual space that Eshen would have to move around before deciding it was probably not the best idea to get the Jedi to squeeze into such a confined area. If he got stuck or was heard by one of the separatists he could be trapped in a very bad situation. Common sense struck him on the head when he glanced over to the adjacent hangar area.

"What if we blew a hole in the far wall and approached that way? It will keep these civilians safe and give us a chance to make a surprise entrance." Noma was certain that a well-placed block of detonite would rip a hole in the wall dividing Hangar 2A and 2B with no problem. Without waiting for Eshen's full response, he placed a large hand on the shoulder of the Captain they had spoken with a few times.

"Captain, I'm going to need a standard block of detonite as soon as possible. Tell your guards around Hangar 2A to clear any civilians from inside. You've got five minutes," Tys waited for the man to acknowledge and salute before he turned his attention back to Eshen.

"Think you can manage the heat once things start up? We won't be able to spot all of them without those security cameras going online, but even so they might be hiding in a ship. I'm willing to bet they've armed up nicely and may have some explosives to hurl back at us." It was exactly the type of scenario that Tys was trained for: a breach assault on a dangerous enemy with an entire station at risk. While he waited for Eshen's two credits on the plan, he did a quick weapons check to make sure he would be ready to go once the bolts started flying.

Eshen

The Captain looked practically baffled at all the orders that were being tossed his way. He was practically yelling into his holocommunicator, assigning his subordinates all the duties that were given to him by Eshen and Tys. He wouldn't dare leave the area in the middle of the emergency situation. He began directing the guards that were still around to clear the area of all civilians while Eshen followed Tys.

"That seems like the fastest way in short of T7 opening the hangar door," Eshen glanced over to the droid which was still beeping and booping to its own effort to get through the security. Unfortunately, hangar security codes were a bit more difficult to crack. More likely, the controls were disabled from the other side. "T7, forget about the door. Can you get us a look inside the hangar?" The droid beeped its positive response and motored its way towards the pair. A holo-image popped up, showing three ships still docked, a group of people being herded into what appears to be the small operations room, and two men examining what appears to be the warhead.

"We're running out of time. Where are the explosives?" Eshen called towards the Captain who gestured for them to be patient. A minute later, a soldier ran into the hangar with the bricks of detonite and handed it to Tys at the Captain's acknowledgement. The Captain looked obviously distressed that they were about to blow a hole in the hangar but it was far preferable to the experimental warhead being stolen or used on the station. Eshen's lightsabers appeared in his hands unlit while he waited for Tys to set up the detonite. Meanwhile, one of the separatist leaders displayed in the holo-image broke into one of the ships.

Tys

Tys counted five bricks of detonite that were handed to him by the station's Captain, giving him  enough to punch through the metal alloy wall and give them a nice opening to enter the hangar. He noted that the holo-vid that Eshen's droid -- he assumed it was a droid from the name -- was sending them footage of events occurring inside of Hangar 2B. If positioned right, they could breech the hangar at a point that allowed them cover behind one of the docked ships. From there they could strike quickly and decisively without worrying about involving any hostages.

The lieutenant was no demolitions expert, but he had enough training with detonite to know how to properly perform an infiltration breech. Each brick was stacked side-by-side, with a strong black band of adhesive stretched across the center. Once he was certain that the bricks would stay in place, Tys began to take a healthy amount of steps backwards. He gestured over to Eshen to do the same, unless the Jedi wanted to prove something by being the man who braved a detonite explosion.

A proper distance between being able to rush through once the wall was opened and staying safe was achieved and confirmed by the vanguard's helmet. He took the detonation device into his right hand, counting down in his head from five to zero so he would be ready for the explosion.

"Zero!" he exclaimed, hitting his thumb on the glowing red button of the detonation trigger.

The faintest of beeps came from the depressed button before the combined bricks of detonite exploded in a flash of light. Debris from the blast went outwards and into Hangar 2B, giving Tys and Eshen safety to charge forward immediately after the demolition was complete. The edges of the hole in the wall were still molten red as Tys rushed through the opening. He could already hear shouts coming from further inside.

Confusion was one of the biggest trump cards on the battlefield; it could turn a well-organized effort into total chaos. Posting up behind one of the freighter's close to the wall, Noma primed his blaster rifle for work, giving it the special cell he preferred to use in combat. Another short count rolled off in his head right before he pushed off of the freighter's protection and opened fire on the position where the two separatist leaders were holding. Most of the bolts went wide during his first burst of fire, splashing back across the shuttle that was initially intended to transport the escapees to Coruscant. Tys noted it was also the ship that the third leader had broken into, likely to gain control of it so they could flee.

Anyone watching would certainly think Tys was a terrible shot, missing around the rogues in such a manner that seemed rather wild. The R.S.F. trooper knew better than to think anything other than suppressing fire. He kept the attention drawn on him, knowing his personal shield generator would hold up fairly well against any station procured weaponry the criminals managed to obtain. With all the focus on him, it would give his Jedi partner ample amount of time to approach and neutralize without the two separatist leaders firing so much as a single shot at Eshen.


_________________________________________________

On the inside of the shuttle Ragnos the third and head separatist leader was holding everyone on board at gun point. His eyes were incredibly focused and very cold -- the type of cold that told the tale without anyone needing to ask any questions. He shoved the barrel of the blaster pistol he had in his right hand right into the face of the male pilot. The pistol in his left hand was aimed at the co-pilot, leaving them both in a very undesirable position.

"Get this damn thing started. Now." he emphasized, hearing the commotion outside and knowing they did not have much time left.

The leader did not hear a man clear his throat the fight time, but when he looked over to see what was making such a weird noise, he saw a man in all black with a hood pulled up over his head. It was apparent that he was a prisoner by the way they had him completely restrained: legs, hands, neck, and arms were bound in some sort of interconnecting contraption.

"Free me," said the prisoner, using a tone that was more commanding than someone chained down would normally use. The strangest thing about the order was that the separatist leader all of a sudden felt like it was a very good idea. One of those ideas that just had to be done.

"Yes..." he answered in a completely monotone voice.

Eshen

Eshen ducked behind one of the durasteel-enforced pillars ten meters away from the wall and clasped his hands over his ears. At the same time, he "breathed in the life of the universe" that Master Naraa often insisted upon. Know whose lives you will be changing with your actions, young padawan. He sensed two groups of individuals: one that was in a ship that was preparing to take off, another which was still outside by the warhead. He knew his hands were inadequate protection against a detonation that was strong enough to blow a hole in a one meter thick wall at a distance of 10 meters but his ears were still ringing until he let the Force overtake him like a wave of calm and invincibility.

He let the Trooper enter the fray and draw the attention of the two visible Separatists. They sprinted for the shuttle on the other side of the hangar from the warhead, believing the assailant was going to hit it and set it off. They returned fire: one shooting wildly in his desperate run, the other scoring close to Tys' position while keeping his head down. It was obvious which one of them had military training. Eshen tripped the one that was running in a panic with ease, the blaster pistol sliding free from his hand. The other Separatist looked back and continued running for the ship which had its engines halfway primed.

Eshen gestured in Tys' direction that he was going to secure the ship next. He pulled out his holo-comm once he was out of weapons range of the ship and activated its audio-only function, "T7, come in has soon as we board the ship and make sure the warhead is stable and not activated." He waited for Tys to group up with him to get ready for the breach.

Tys

Tys read the basic hand signals that Eshen gave him as they charged for the ship. None of the blaster fire really managed to phase him thanks to one of the separatists running away and the other only scoring hits on the shield projected by Tys' armor. He gave Eshen a tap on his shoulder, indicating he was ready to breech the shuttle. Counting the separatist that charged inside of the shuttle there were now two inside the ship. With the two of them working together, Tys was sure they could take them down without much of a fight.

One foot was moved forward to advance up the boarding ramp and into the shuttle when he felt an invisible weight slam into his chest. The vanguard flew back off of the ramp, skidding along the smooth surface of the hangar until he collided with a stack of metal boxes. A loud clang rang out in the vacant area, giving away the speed at which he flew back. In the midst of recovering from the surprise attack, Tys had enough time to look and see a cloaked figure striding down the docking ramp -- one confident footstep at a time. Underneath the hooded robe, flashes of crimson could be seen, indicating that this person was definitely not human.

"I'm afraid I cannot allow either one of you to waste any more of my time." The voice was filled with a level of confidence that could only come from someone used to being in a seat of power. Molten eyes peered at both Eshen and Tys, waiting for either one of them to make a move. The telltale sign that the unknown intruder was ready for combat was his stance: feet planted partially apart with one hand resting over the silver lightsaber hilt hanging from his left hip.

Tys pushed himself back up to his feet and eyed the Sith through his helmet. This would not be the first time he went up against a Force-user, but that did not make anything easier. His custom rifle was readied as an eerie silence swept over the hangar. If they lost this confrontation then the fate of the station was not going to turn out good. Lieutenant Noma had no idea how experienced his Jedi counterpart was with fighting Sith, so they were going to need to learn how to work together extremely fast.

A silent count to three went off in Tys' head before his finger squeezed the trigger on his blaster rifle, sending a triple burst of light blue blaster bolts directly at the Sith's center. Without waiting to see the result, he began to strife run out to the Sith's right, leaving the left side open for Eshen to engage and hopefully pincer their opponent. All three bolts were deflected by a crimson blade of pure energy, scoring several dark spots on the metal containers that were previously used to stop Tys' momentum.

The Sith immediately turned to face Tys, leaving his back exposed to the lone Jedi in the hangar. He continued to block and reflect the blaster bolts of the vanguard, keeping the Dark Side of the Force flowing through him to allow his awareness to stretch beyond that of a normal person. He could feel every living thing around him as if it were touching him directly. This was not his fight to lose, only his fight to gain even more power.

Eshen

Eshen followed the large armor-clad soldier up the ramp of the ship. He briefly had enough time to become aware that the Dark Side of the Force emanated from just inside the door before he was bowled over by Tys' form flying through the air. Eshen rolled backwards into a crouch, one fist on the ground with the lightsaber unlit and the other still lit lightsaber extended to the side. Now, he knew why he was here. Now, he felt the Force's influence in his decisions. He stood back up with a precision that was unlike what he held when he tried to apprehend the prisoners. He rounded on the darkly-clad figure with controlled footsteps. The tell-tale sign that he was beset by the Force was the rippling of his loose clothes as if blown by gusts of wind.

"Tys, are you able to fight?"

His thoughts shifted between the Sith, Tys, and the warhead which T7 was still working on. He was hoping beyond all measure that the Sith was unaware of the existence of the warhead but he could not be sure. All he had to do was bar the Sith from the warhead by making sure he was either unconscious or dead. The latter, preferably. "Here, I thought I was going to have to scour the sewers for vermin. Thank you for making my job easier." A cocky smile spread across Eshen's face as his eyes grew hungry for battle. Shortly after Tys unloaded the first few shots, Eshen's form soared through the air with both golden lightsabers lit up and coming down with fiery arcs through the air.

"Say your last words to whatever gods you worship because you won't be leaving this hangar in one piece."

Tys

The Sith prisoner focused his attention on the trooper in front of him while the Jedi spouted his nonsense about vermin. Each blaster bolt from the tall trooper was deflected or reflected, shaping things into a game of reaction. When he felt aggressive intentions through the Force, the unknown Sith reached out with a hand and shoved Tys to the ground with a wave of unseen power. Red clashed against gold when he spun around, barely making it in time to guard against the dual lightsaber assault from the Jedi.

"Looks like you've got some spirit, boy. I'm eager to find out how far you can walk the line!"

Much like his opponent, the Sith warrior allowed the Force to flow through him, channeling his hatred and aggression to give him more strength and focus. Underneath his dark hood, his eyes began to take on a glow, magnifying the already eerie molten-red hue they possessed. A shove of his hands was made in an attempt to back Eshen off from the clash. He needed room so that he could back his way out of the two-pronged attack they put him in, and make his way towards the transport that had formerly been his ride to Coruscant.

Both the pilot and co-pilot managed to escape the separatist leader during the exchange between the two sides, leaving only an unconscious separatist laying on the floor in the cockpit of the shuttle. T7 would have plenty of time to deactivate the warhead, showing that either the Sith did not know about it or he was abandoning the destructive item in exchange for his safety. The other two separatist were still knocked out from their brief skirmish with Tys and Eshen.

Lieutenant Noma picked himself up from the ground to see the Sith clash with his Jedi partner and attempt to back up along the ramp. Without a thought, he raised his rifle and began to lay down a stream of suppressing fire, trying to pin the dark warrior down. Even with the objective clear, Tys wanted to bring this unknown threat in and make sure the threat was neutralized.

Eshen

"Be careful what you wish for. This is not my first encounter with your kind and it won't be my last." Eshen swept in with rapid wide slashes and arcs, forcing the Sith backwards or attempt to dodge. The frequency and the strength of each swipe of the lightsaber seemed to hit gradually harder and faster. He moved forward slow step by slow step in an attempt to push the Sith back into the ship so he would have less room to defend against Eshen's attacks. When the Sith attempted to dodge the trooper's assault, he would increase the intensity of his attacks to exploit the division of his attention and if the Sith tried to Force push Eshen back, he would leap over and assault from behind. Unlike most Jedi knights, Eshen was not deterred by the intimidating aura of the Sith. Instead, he thrived on challenging the Sith at each turn. He pushed on the Sith's defenses, trying to find and exploit his weakness.

"Give up, Sith. You won't win. All the Jedi on the station have been alerted to your presence and are on their way now. You will be outnumbered and you will die from your own arrogant defiance."

T7 was still trying to slice through the security console of the warhead and it took longer than normal due to its complexity. T7 seemed to be communicating with the station's mainframe in order to override some of the warhead's security precautions but it was having difficulty bypassing the biometric security phase causing T7 to beep in frustration. It wasn't long before a group of the station's security officers spilled from the makeshift entrance into the hangar. They rounded on the situation between Eshen, Tys and the Sith then took up aim on the resisting criminal.

Tys

"Fool! I have already ready won!" The Sith slammed his fist into the ground, emitting a wave of power in a three-hundred and sixty degree radius. All he needed was enough time to turn around and board the shuttle. The boarding ramp and door quickly retracted once he was inside, giving the signal that he was about to take off. It only took a handful of seconds for the shuttle to lift off the smooth surface of the hangar. All of the authorities flooding into Hangar 2B were more concerned with helping Eshen's astromech droid disarm the extremely dangerous warhead.

Tys did not risk any potshots at the fleeing shuttle in case the shields reflected a bolt in the wrong direction -- like into the warhead while it was being diffused. The vanguard placed his custom rifle onto the slot on his back, and turned to his Jedi comrade. Despite the Sith getting away, he was relieved that they managed to save the station and surrounding fleet.

"
Looks like you made a new friend," he jested, glancing over to the scene where the station security officers were braking down the disarmed bomb.

With it split up into separate parts, the bomb could be shipped back to a much safer and private location. It still boggled the Lieutenant's mind as to why the warhead was at Carrick Station in the first place. He gave Eshen a pat on the shoulder before heading over to the group of officers, noting that a few elected officials had joined the recovery team. Maybe they could give him some answers that the Captain could not...

Eshen

Eshen crossed his arms and let his lightsabers dissipate as the Sith set out a Force wave, forcing Eshen back a considerable distance from the vehicle. He thought quickly of jumping onto the closed ramp and cutting it open with his lightsabers but knew it would probably end badly. He grudgingly accepted the result for this battle: the warhead in Republic hands and being dismantled. He looked over at Tys at his comment, "That won't be the last time our paths will cross." He then moved towards T7, "What's the status of the warhead?"

T7 beeped and booped that the warhead was never activated and that access to its control console was temporarily suspended. He nodded and turned back to Tys, "It's time to get some questions answered..." He looked over at the captain who was now flanking the commander of the station and accompanied by officials.

The commander, a grizzled Bothan, greeted them with a nod. "Good work, trooper, master Jedi. I am Sorth Loguin, Commander of Carrick station. Considering what was at stake, this outcome is acceptable to the Republic navy."

Eshen bowed his head slightly in thanks. "I am Jedi Eshen Virol. This is my comrade in arms, Tys. Apologies, I do not know your rank," he glanced towards Tys. Once Tys returned the greeting, Eshen turned back to the Loguin, "You honor us with your words Commander Loguin but if I may, we would like to inquire into specific things about this incident..." Eshen did not need to hint to indicate the exact issues that were in his mind.

"Of course, of course. These topics would be better discussed in private. This way." The commander turned and led them out of the hangar that was now accessible from the raised hangar doors. Eshen followed behind, waving T7 to follow then carefully scanned the officials that were also in attendance.