A Grave for Slavers: Raid on Boz Pity

[Minuteman75]

Despite all that he had been through lately Cristo felt good to be out in the field again. Of course the reason why is because this mission wasn't about conquering a world or suppressing local insurgents. No this involved hunting down a slaver ring that been kidnapping Imperial citizens around the Empire's edge in the Halla sector. Imperial intelligence had located where the slavers were based, on the wilderness planet of Boz Pity. Staring at what's before him through his helmet's HUB, Morrell examined in detail. In front of him was ancient ruins, that once was the homes of a gaint race called the Gargantelles. The species who have been extinct for many a millennia due to a past conflict with the Hutts.

Even so seeing the vast size of the rubble meters away told Morrell that it's former inhabitants were truly titans in their former days. It was unfortunate that now a band of criminals were using this graveyard as their hideout. The morning sun had been up since an hour and Cristo took a moment to inspect his blaster rifle for the fifth time.

Then the trooper look around at the squad he had with him. There were a total of twelve members in this unit, some of them were new blooded replacements while most were battle harden veterans he had the honor of fighting beside with on several engagements.

They were all hidding beneath grassy field awaiting the word to advance. Yet Cristo withheld the order, because he had received a message eariler to wait for the arrival of one Sith who will reinforce them at this rendezvous point. Having a force user can be quite useful, assuming this acolyte was not a fool or a monster. His experience in working with Sith had showed him the benefits and risks involving them. Also it opened his eyes to the truth about their corrupting influence over the Empire but he had cleverly kept that opinion to himself from public knowledge, especially any would-be informants.

Suddenly Morrell heard his chief scout Aydan speak up in the comms.

"Sergeant there a figure approaching our rear."

"Is a slaver?"

There was a moment's slience before the Kaleeish scout replied.

"Negative, doesn't match the description, probbaly our Sith ally, he seems to be aware of our presence but not making any hostile moves at us."

Yes that cofirms it, Cristo thought. He acknowledged Aydan's last message and then proceed to the rear standing up. Then he finally spotted the figure, who definably letting them know he or she was here.

 

[Prazutis]

The feelings of fatigue and dread were strong and ever present in the mind of Prazutis. He was recovering from the ordeal of being possessed by the ghost of some evil sith lady, and the subsequent aftermath of... Viole coming to his rescue. He felt awful. Guilty. Very uncharacteristic of him. But then again, he hadn't really been as close with anyone before. It was weird talking to Viole now, knowing the demon witch was in him.

It didn't help his nightmares either. His ordeal hadn't really helped to face his fears. Rather then inhibit, they exacerbated the current circumstances. His nightmares would appear more and more distorted. Blood would appear in random places where it had no business of being, and many other bizarre occurrences.

He needed to blow off steam. Which is why without telling Viole, he volunteered to accompany a strike team in the process of hunting down rogue slavers. His favourite pastime.

Praz was brought to Boz Pity by a military shuttle pilot, at the orders of one of the crusaders. The fact that his higher ups were encouraging the young boy to risk his life on a killing spree was a bit odd. Perhaps this was to be a learning experience? Maybe. They touched down approximately 2 Kilometres away from the squad's current position. Praz assured he had everything; his blaster, his lightsaber (stolen), his knife. He secured these all on holsters on his clothing. He was wearing simple training garb for acolytes, but they did provide some protection.

Praz didn't need help finding his way. He never was directionally challenged, even before he begun training with the Sith. But the force helped tremendously with looking for people. After a few minutes, he made it to what he assumed was the squad's location. In the distance loomed a large structure, obviously derelict. He approached slowly, showing he was no hostile. He had no contact with the squad to this point, so this could be crucial to their mission.

As he approached, one of the younger looking soldiers knelt as he walked up to the group. Another followed his lead. They didn't look much older then Praz, yet they were differing to him. "Squad 85H-2 reporting for duty, my lord." The young man who knelt first said. Praz almost found it funny. "No need for that, men. Rise. I'm your ally, not your lord" Praz chuckled. He still felt a bit uncomfortable when imperials deferred to him. Having spent the first part of his life as a slave. As the young men rose, Praz stuck out his hand to shake. Viole had been teaching him manners on formal military operations, at it was showing here. "Mind directing me over to your commanding officer?" They nodded, and pointed over to a man who was staring off at the ruins.

Praz stepped up to greet him. "Glad to meet you, I'm-". Praz stopped talking as he saw the man turn around. It was... oh kriff,

"Kriffing... Heh-heh... Whats shakin, Morrell?"

Praz devolved back into his normal speech patterns. He did that when nervous.

 

[Minuteman75]

Of all the members of the Sith he had to pair with it had to be Prazutis aka the Little Turd. It was very embarrassing when two of the new recruits, Booster and Yosaku bow to the acolyte, under the mistaken impression he was a Sith Lord. Morrell and some of the more senior troopers cringe in reaction but surely those two weren't that dense but then again newbies had surprised him before. The sergeant had to put that in the back burner for now when Praz greeted him. The teenager seem shocked to see him(Cristo) being here as well.

The force was probably screwing them both over with this situation he concluded. Huffing in aggravation Cristo mockfully added.

"Noting much little Praz just getting ready to kill some enemies of the state. It looks like command seem fit to place you with us in this venture. Alright squad gather around we're going over the plan."

As they doing so, Sergeant Morrell spoke through the helmets' comms away from Praz's ears to address the two knuckleheads who prostrated themselves earlier.

"Recruits next time when you spot a Sith make sure its one of a higher rank, like the frakking Empress before you grovel! This wise guy here is in equal status to yours, the only difference between him and you is his abilities and your training. Praztuis is your ally but don't you ever go worshipping him and the other Sith apprentices, am I understood?"

"Yes sergeant!" The duo recruits replied in unison with nervousness in their tone. Sighing, Cristo understood the tendency of the Empire's finest to kneel before the Sith as if they were gods. He himself once did that but now knowing the truth about Sith Order that habit was just another bitter reminder of the corruption these cultists had over the Empire. The troopers circle around Morrell and Praztuis awaiting to hear what the plan is.

 

[Phoenix]

Hunting slavers. Vin was actually thrilled to be on this mission. To be honest there were very few people that he held in lower regard than slavers. Contemptible was the best word he could use to describe them, and upon learning that this mission would involve tracking them down Vin actually got quite excited.

The squad of twelve men crept slowly up toward a set of massive ruins and stopped. Vin checked his surroundings, as he lay prone in the tall grass. He felt exposed out here despite the fact that he was fully concealed. Something just didn’t feel right. One of the other scouts reported to the sergeant that someone was approaching. Maybe that’s what’s got me on edge. Moments later he was relieved to learn that it was just the Sith contact approaching.

As he turned to look at the outsider he was shocked to see how young he was. He couldn’t have been more than fifteen or sixteen years old. I was definitely expecting someone older, he thought. Although he had been in the Army for several years most of his work had been with military units and he had had very little previous experience working directly with the Sith and certainly none this young. As the Acolyte approached he could see a pair of troopers bow before him. Vin rolled his eyes thankful for the concealment of his helmet where he was always free to express his opinions, particularly those that he couldn’t voice out loud. He’s a Sith not a god. As he listened to the introductions between the Sergeant and the Acolyte – Praz he thought he heard the Sergeant call him – it sounded like the two knew each other already and it didn’t sound like the Sergeant was Praz’s biggest fan but that may have just been Vin’s misinterpretation. Time would tell.

Moments later the Sergeant called the squad in to discuss the operation. As they all converged his comms crackled to life, and the Sergeant’s voice filled his helmet as reprimanded the two greenies who had just bowed to Praz. Vin was happy to hear that the Sergeant was echoing what he had just been thinking, and in that moment he was quite thankful to have a sensible sergeant in command of this operation. This was the first time that he had worked with Morrell and he was glad to see that he was shaping up to be a sensible NCO. As they knelt in a circle waiting for the plan of attack Vin waited intently and checked the charge on his rifle. After all the six P’s could save your life.

 

[Prazutis]

Of all the kriffing imperials in all the kriffing galaxy it had to be the one that pissed him off the most in charge of the squadron. Cristo Morrell. Uptight jackass from what Praz recalled of his first encounter with him. Loyalist goody-two shoes. Something else that bothered him is that Cristo was an associate of Viole, his Sith Master. And right now, all he wanted to do was forget about any current business with or pertaining to Viole. Seems the force has a way of kriffing things up.

"Noting much little Praz just getting ready to kill some enemies of the state. It looks like command seem fit to place you with us in this venture." said Cristo. Contempt oozing from his tone of voice.

"Don't call me 'little', you-". Praz started.
"Alright squad gather around we're going over the plan." Cristo cried out to the squad, effectively cutting Praz off and ending the conversation in one fell swoop...

He had tact, that was for sure. Praz normally wouldn't try to instigate anything. He'd try and think his way around problems and avoiding fights if able. However, at this moment in time, he just felt angry. Provokable. His experience in the cave made him... unsettled. He had yet to fully recover.

He took this opportunity, as the squad was gathering, to examine his squad-mates for the duration of the mission. Twelve men. With varied appearances. Some young recruits, just like the two that had knelt to him. Some older and more grizzled. Perhaps this was meant as some sort of training mission for them. A first operation, or something of the sort. Only a few of the troops had visible faces. Most were currently wearing large helmets and larger suits of armour. He'd simply had to see as the mission went onward.

Praz looked inward for a short second... He never thought he'd ever be in a squad of Imps.

The troops circled around Praz and Cristo, forming a close off circle.m Each staring into the centre, evidently looking to hear something from either of the two. A plan. Praz took the opportunity to address himself.

"Not sure how often some of you work with Sith, but just know I'm your ally here. Your Equal. Not some lord coming to command you to wash his cock". He chuckled at his own joke. And heard a couple of laughs from the troops. "You can call me Praz, if you need to call me anything. 'Sith' will do in a pinch." Praz turned in to face Cristo. "I was told that this where the slavers are hiding out. We need to kill them all. No survivors. Maybe one for interrogation, you can leave that to me. Mind giving me a lay of the land?"

Praz was eager to get started

 

[Minuteman75]

It is good that the squad get a laugh in and that Praz wasn't going to pretend that he was emperor here. Still Cristo was a bit wary, Sith generally make it a way of life to deceive those around them. For all he knew Praz could believe in that the some are more equal than others routine and was just trying to impress the troops in order to use them. The sergeant remember the last time they met how this punk dismiss his comrades in arms, the stormtroopers as simply as "boys in white". The memory of those words enraged him silently as he let Prazutis finish his little speech.

"Actually we are capture one slaver alive, to make sure command can have a scumbag to squeal for intel. Doing this one raid probably won't end future incidents at the border systems unless we gain clues to how extensive or limited is this slaver ring."

Cristo stated in an matter of fact tone. The one thing he can actually say about the current Empire now is they at least have no tolerance for open slavery. Though in his mind the trooper had now concluded that the dictatorship Sith had over them was just another form of slavery, just more subtle. In the end getting rid of this sort was still the right thing to do despite whose chain of command he followed for now. After a short pause he continued.

"As for the layout it's a former city that now an oversized graveyard. The sheer size of this place has forced our targets to hold themselves up inside the central structure several yards away from here."

Cristo pointed his finger in the direction of the ruins to the front and then he looked at his scout Aydan

"According to my scout who infiltrated the hideout eariler, the hostiles number about twenty goons and they're holding a more than a dozen captives, inculding some children in an pen. They're mostly thugs lakcing discipline but with numbers and hostages it can messy if we frak this up. There only two sentries posed at the rooftop who keeping watch but it seems like they looking at the sky more than ground like they expecting something to come, perhaps a ship. Any questions?"

 

[Phoenix]

Vin listened intently as the Sergeant explained the parameters of their mission. Twenty relatively untrained slavers vs a dozen of the Empire’s finest and a Sith. He certainly liked those odd. But he knew that Morrell had hit the nail on the head, this mission really wasn’t about winning, the real test was going to be keeping the hostages alive.

Speed and stealth would be their best weapons. From what he heard it seemed the stealth aspect would be facilitated by the fact that the guards were apparently more interested in the sky and what was coming than with what was already on the planet. As he considered this he realized that this was both a blessing and a curse. If they weren’t looking at the ground that meant easy infiltration and possibly elimination of the enemy before they even realized what was happening. The down side to that was that it might mean the slavers had allies en route. After all they would have to get their prisoners off world somehow.

“Sir do we know if they have a ship in the area currently? If there isn’t one then it’s possible that the guards are looking for a ship to pick up their prisoners. Which would mean reinforcements,” he piped up when the Sergeant asked for questions. He certainly hoped they didn’t have reinforcements show up mid-fight but if they did it was certainly better to be expecting them than to be caught with their proverbial pants down.

 

[Prazutis]

Cristo was annoying, but he sure as hell commanded the respect of his men. Praz decided it was in his best interest to listen to him.

Praz had been working lately on hiding his emotions from the public, as it betrayed different sentiments and even weaknesses, but he found it difficult to keep his composure listening to the fact that they had children in a pen. He had to clench his fists and take a deep breath to keep himself from making a bigger outburst. The troops could notice that the slavers made him angry.

"I'll make them squeal alright. The damn slavers." Praz mumbled as Cristo spoke.

As Cristo made the request for questions, Praz opened his mouth to speak, only to have one of the troops take the words right out of his mouth;
"Sir do we know if they have a ship in the area currently? If there isn’t one then it’s possible that the guards are looking for a ship to pick up their prisoners. Which would mean reinforcements,”

"He makes a good point, Cristo. If there is, we have to move fast. Good observation, man. What's your name?" Praz paused for a second, giving him time to respond if he so chose. He followed back into his conversation with Cristo. "We need to move quickly. Not one slave is to be shipped off this world... I'll take care of the rooftop scouts. They need to go if the plan is to succeed, and It'll be faster if I go by myself"

"We move quickly, efficiently and deadly... What comm frequency are you using?"

 

[Minuteman75]

Cristo could easily see the rage coming from Praz. For a second it looked like the turd was ticked off with him again. But then after listening to his murmers about the slavers made pretty much clear he despised them. The sergeant with an eye for detail could tell in Praz's expression that this hatred was very, very, personal. Had the kid known someone who suffered in slavery or no he had been the victim of it Cristo concluded.

That would explain some things about the young Sith and somewhere in the corners Morrell sympathized yet Pazutis was still very much a little turd in his book.

Knowing that it added an extra concern beside the one that Vin, had pointed out about the possible arrival of enemy reinforcements from the sky. Could Praztuis restrain himself from letting his rage make himself a liability to the mission, Morrell asked himself. Considering how the Sith had gotten so easily incensed with people calling him kid, the very presence of slavers, the objects of his hate may very well tip him over and not only endanger himself but Morrell's squad and the captives.

Yet trying to stop Praz from taking part in the raid wouldn't be productive either, the troops need to be reassured that they and the Sith were working together and not against one another. A balanced apporch to this issue will have to do. Cristo finall spoke first addressing Vin's point.

"There is no evidence of a ship's presence here private Corrin, otherwise our targets of interest would've left by now. It likely more they're expecting a pickup. I will alert the Navy they do have a patrol ship in the system, they can assist."

Now looking to Praz the sergeant took a deep breath before he added.

"Very well Prazutis you will eliminate the lookouts. But here the catch, once you succeed in that errand you will wait at the rooftop until receiving our singal when the main assault begins. We should not endanger the lives of the captives if we can help it."

Cristo hoped that Praz would do that for the slaves, for he highly doubted that the teenager would really listen to orders without question.

"Vin you and Aydan will take point and infiltrate the structure while Prazutis deals with the sentries on top. Use speed and stealth as long as possible and mark the targets in the inner sanctum, we will have follow close behind you at a good distance. We take the oppostion swiftly and deal with any new company that may come. Alright saddle up let's move out."

Once it was all said and done, they began quiet yet fast past toward the centeral ruins using the using other ruins and the foliage to mask their apporch. Soon Praztuis left the group after Cristo gave him the squad's comms frequency as they move closer to the objective. Cristo halted the squad at a broken down wall opposite of the their building and silently directed Vin and Aydan to move on ahead.

 

[Phoenix]

“Vin Corrin,” he answered following Praz’s query but was unable to say more as the plan continued unfolding. The Sith seemed all right. Admittedly Vin hadn’t previously worked much with Sith but the kid’s heart at least seemed to be in the right place which was more than he could say about most Sith he had heard of.

He listened as Morrell answered his questions about reinforcements. It sounded like Vin had been right. Reinforcements probably were coming so it would be best to do this quickly. Hopefully a patrol ship could at least give the team a warning if it came to that. Or perhaps they would be able to execute the raid before the others even showed up. We should be so lucky, he thought to himself.

He and Aydan were assigned infiltration and scouting while Praz took the rooftop guards. Personally he was glad with his position as he enjoyed being first man into the fray, or better yet to end it before there was a fray. However, he wasn’t sure how Praz would respond to Morrell’s request for him to wait for the main assault to begin. He certainly hoped he would comply because if he didn’t it could get he and Aydan killed.

After the plan was laid out Vin went to find Aydan. After a few moments they found the best route of infiltration and Vin went to find Praz. “Aydan and I are on comms channel 7. We’re going in quick and quiet to tag targets but we’ll need those rooftop sentries taken out or we risk being spotted and then it’s bye, bye stealth. Unfortunately we don’t have the time to wait for you to take all of them but the faster you can get it done the easier it will make our job so best of luck to you. Any questions before Aydan and I take off?”

 

[Prazutis]

"...If I see any slaves being abused, I will interject. But... Alright. I'll stay put. Not for you... for the captives."

Praz nodded to Cristo. He didn't really like the man, but he did respect him, and he showed that through his gestures. He also didn't like the idea of following his orders. He never liked the idea of following orders. In fact, he had specifically pledged to himself after being freed from slavery not to follow anyone unless he knew exactly what he was getting into. Or if the orders affected him or his own goals. He would not jeopardize the safety of the slaves. But he would make the slavers bleed. No matter what.

While prepping his gear to head out; securing his lightsaber and his blaster, as well as his training gear to assure it was as tight and secure as possible, he noticed two troops approach him. He recognized one as "Vin Corrin", who he talked to as Cristo was giving his speech, and his partner for the mission. “Aydan and I are on comms channel 7. We’re going in quick and quiet to tag targets but we’ll need those rooftop sentries taken out or we risk being spotted and then it’s bye, bye stealth. Unfortunately we don’t have the time to wait for you to take all of them but the faster you can get it done the easier it will make our job so best of luck to you. Any questions before Aydan and I take off?”

"Nope. I hope you guys are good with up close stuff. Blaster fire will put them all on high alert. Only use it if you have to. Keep in touch over comms. I want updates on the squads movements, and I feel like Cristo will only let me know what I NEED to know. But good tactics are everything. Besides, you got a sexy voice. Not a bad thing." Praz said jokingly, throwing in a wink before he set off towards the ruin, switching the comm that the Imperium had lent him for the mission to channel 7.

Using the brush as cover, Praz made his way towards the imposing ruins. He took looks up as he did. Protruding stones and lots of footholds. Easy climbing. Excellent. Using the force in conjunction with his strong climbing abilities, he began making his way up the ruins. This wasn't that difficult. Praz spent the last few years of his life before going to the Sith running around Mos Illis. Free-running and climbing was almost second nature to him. He eventually made it to the top of the ruins, and directly above him, stood the first sentry. Keeping diligent watch. As sneakily as he could, he walked up close to him, put his saber near the base of his neck, and ignited the blade. A column of red shot out through the Sentry's neck. Praz deactivated his saber just as soon as he had ignited it. As the sentry fell, Praz dragged the body over to the side of the ruins, and threw the body off the ledge. It wouldn't be discovered until they were long gone and the slaves were free.

Praz looked across the roof. Two other sentries were present. He cracked his fingers.

 

[Phoenix]

“Umm, ok,” he said in response to the Sith’s… come on? He didn’t really know what to call it or quite how to respond but it was irrelevant for now. He needed to get to work. Turning to Aydan, “ready?” he asked, to which Aydan nodded. That meant it was off to work. They traveled the first 100 yards to the ruins in a crouch but as they approached the final portion he began to crawl, cutting down on his chances of being seen. He was very grateful for the shrubs and bushes that covered his advance. After all, if they were seen it was over for an unacceptable number of hostages.

As he hit the perimeter of the camp he came across the first sentry, and the only one that might come across him as he lay in his position. Nothing was more boring than guard duty and unless one was truly self-disciplined it was oh so easy to be lulled into a feeling of security, which is what had happened here. As the man sat there, Vin moved like a specter, placing his hand over the man’s mouth and plunging his vibroblade through the trachea and pulling off to the side severing the carotid and jugular. Wrestling the dying man to the ground he waited until he was sure that there was no possibility he was still alive before he took up his position to look over the camp. “One target down,” he reported over the comms.

From here he could see Praz make his way up behind the first guard and with a flash of light and the movement of a shadow the roof was empty. Good, that’s two down. He looked to his right and began reporting troop movements over the comms. “South side I’ve got four tangos huddled around a fire. Mid camp there’s four men huddled in the center. One of them looks like the pack leader. Far North side I’ve got three men guarding the pens where the prisoners are being held. There seem to be five guards around the perimeter. Combined with the three rooftop sentries, I make that eighteen hostiles and fourteen prisoners. Holding position and awaiting further orders.”

 

[Minuteman75]

"Copy that Vin. You and Aydan will take out the sentries. Corporal Neferatri will take one team to handle the goons in the perimeter. I will lead the other half to eliminate the happy campers to the south. Prazutis, the ones guarding the pens are all yours, after you're done keep the prisoners safe, they will need it.

As that happen the rest of us will combine our efforts and take down the pack leader's batch in the middle. I will make the signal then we open up on our targets and Prazutis will move in to secure the pens. Am I understood?"

Once the squad acknowledged his new set of orders, Cristo took four troopers and headed south while the corporal lead the remaining bunch and set up at some covers overlooking the perimeter. So far they still haven't been spotted, good thing in Morrell's opinion. Quietly as they could Cristo's team neared the campfire then stopped, hiding on the side of a broken wall while able to see the campers. In the front, Cristo pull out an incendiary grenade and heard on the comms that everyone else was in postion. Then Segreant activate the bomb, waiting a few seconds before throwing it straight into the fire pile, surprising the group around it.

Suddenly an explosion ignited and added with the flames already present engulfed the four slavers at the site, burning them alive. Their horrid screams rang out for all to heard as they fell or around in tormented panic then death, shaking the entire camp in complete alarm but as that happen the rest of the troopers unleashed further hell upon their targets, lighting up the ruins with blasterfire.

 

[Prazutis]

Praz was half listening to the comm chatter, as he was totally focused on his current objective. As far as he was concerned, in his life, saving slaves from their terrible situation was his life goal. As he was in the process of saving slaves, everything else was irrelevant. Basically, what he got from the comm chatter was that there was a constant patrol, a perimeter watch. and a few groups. Although, of course the group that was guarding the pens was the one that got his attention. Praz wanted to respond to the communications, but he was in the process of sneaking on the roof, and didn't want to tip anyone off to his location. As Cristo began to speak, he once again stuck the hilt of his lightsaber up to the sentry's neck, and igniting it for a swift death. One more to go. Cristo's address was just ending as he began sneaking up to the final sentry. Totally oblivious to the death of his comrades, due to the efficiency and speed of Praz's kills. As he approached, Praz tried to find where his next objective was... directly in front of him, to what he assumed was the northern side of the ruins, he could see a few cages filled with people. Thats where he needed to go...

Before Praz could even think about how to approach the group, he heard an immense explosion. Praz was not expecting it at all, and was totally caught off guard. As was the sentry. Praz couldn't afford to loose time on the roof. As the man turned around, Praz ignited his saber, and swiftly slashed across his neck, decapitating him. He watched as the head flew over the side of the ruins, and off in that same direction, he saw a large group of soldiers emerge from the bushes. This was bad. Why the hell would he do this while the hostages were not secured?! Well, no time for that now.

Not wasting any time, Praz leaped from the top of the ruins, utilizing the force to soften his impact to the forest floor. He instantly took off in the direction of the pens. While running, he activated his comm. "I don't know who the kriffing idiot who caused that explosion was, but the hostages are still in the hands of the slavers! I am en route to destroy them now. I hope that kriffing explosion was worth it, di'kut"

Praz emerged from the brush a minute later, coming upon the slave pens. The three guards were in a frenzy, not sure of what to do. Praz took the opportunity to find cover and take aim with his blaster. "Mind tellin' me what the hell we're supposed to do?" one of the guards said loudly. "We're waiting wamprats at this point." "They're probably here for the cargo" said the tallest of the three guards "Kill one. That'll stop them qui-"

Praz shot at the guard from cover, hitting him directly in the side of the head. It was pretty close range, so it wasn't difficult. Before Praz could ever react, another guard quickly ran over, unlocked one of the cages, and grabbed a little girl. She looked terrified, unable to process what was happening. "Come out now! Or the little one dies!"

His tone was scared, but he seemed serious. Praz didn't know what to do. But he knew one thing: No slave would die on his watch.

 

[Phoenix]

He crawled further, making his way through the thick underbrush and yet again thankful for its concealment. He made his way into firing range of one of the nearby sentries, extended the stock on his rifle, and let his sights fall on the enemy. He had his left shoulder propped on the ground to provide stability under the rifle. He fought against the adrenaline beginning to seep into his veins, threatening to throw off his aim.

Suddenly a huge explosion lit the night sky. It surprised Vin a bit, but not nearly as much as it did the sentry who he was aiming at. The man nearly fell off the tree stump that he was sitting on and barely managed to catch himself as he turned around to see what on earth had just happened. By the time he was turned around, it was too late for him.

Vin squeezed the trigger and the rifle bucked against his shoulder. The E75 was a workhorse. Put it through rain, mud, dirt, guts, and gunk and it would still fire reliably; and it did again today. The orange bolt flew out of the rifle and cut through the air. He was vaguely aware of others beginning to fire their rifles, but he wasn’t concerned with that at the moment. What mattered was his target.

His bolt struck home and the slaver crumpled to the ground, a huge burn covering his chest. As he swung his rifle over to the next scumbag he became aware of the Sith raging in his ear. This really wasn’t the time or place. Nobody needed that kind of distraction, they needed to be focused. He sprung to his feet and began making his way toward the center of the camp, firing at another slaver as he did.