Ask A New Edge

[Kalique Baize]

Columex - 1623 hours

An interesting call reached the Knight-Captain this morning as her presence was requested on Columex. While the urban, high-tech world had reached out to the Imperial soldiers as there had been some problems with a cult, there were two things about that call to duty that piqued her interest.

First of all, as a world right in technology aiding Columex was promising and many regards. Ex-Sith-Empire worlds were almost notorious for having problems with remaining cults and sects that believed in Sith supremacy, but as they had reached out to them for help, Kalique was assuming the Empire might even be capable of bargaining for much more than a little help pact.

Columex was close to the Imperial sphere of influence, so potentially they would be able to convince them to join. What was even more interesting about the mission though was that the leading Lieutenant, Max Dram, had quite some spicy history with the Sith and Kalique had surely learnt about some stuff thanks to her much more favorable position as a Captain.

While Dram had been demoted after his treason, he had been given a second chance now. The new Empire was surely much more merciful, yet the Knight-Captain had her suspicions. She had her Knight armor with her, yet joined the Lieutenant in her Imperial uniform as before they'd go hunting for the troublemakers, they were about to receive some details from the local authorities. What she already knew was how those cultists were apparently despising tech of all sort and were thus finding ways to manipulate and attack several factories.

The coordinates he had sent her were right in front of the temporary camp the platoon had set up and she had both lightsabers readily clipped to her belt. She was assuming Dram had been informed that they weren't sending a regular Knight, but a Captain over, as rumors were the cultist disciples were quite a larger force and that there were even Force users amongst them. Wanting to gain a first impression of the situation here, Kalique approached the Lieutenant, her tone rather flat as she introduced herself. "Lieutenant, I'm Knight-Captain Demici".

@Alhon

 

[Max Dram]

The landing site was a hive of activity. Max's platoon had set up in an industrial yard on the edge of the city, not far from the latest factory to be attacked by the cultists.

Max was deep in thought as he helped his men move kit and materials about the yard, pitching in and leading from the front to get them set up. On the one hand, it seemed pathetic to him that a band of grown men and woman would hide out in the wastes, agitating for a Sith Empire that had long since retreated. On the other, there had been a time when he himself was blindly loyal to the Sith. Perhaps the enemy just needed to open their eyes, as he had.

He heaved a large floodlight up into position, fixing it down and ensuring they were covered for all weathers. The Lieutenant was still leaning on the post, barking a few orders when the woman approached, introducing herself.

"Lieutenant Maximus Dram" he replied, giving her a respectful nod. The Knight-Captain was the first Imperial Knight he had ever worked with. He was intrigued by the way the remaining Sith had been reduced to a form of special ops unit, but he intended to tread very carefully.

"Glad to have you with us, Captain". He set off walking towards the command tent, motioning for her to follow. "Tell me what you know about our mission here".

@LadyRen

 

[Kalique Baize]

With her gaze relatively neutral, she still observed the man who had just recently gotten back into his old position intently. She held little love for those within the Imperial ranks who weren't fully commited and loyal to their course and his past was no testament of unrestricted commitment.

As protocols dictated though, she reciprocated his respectful not with a curt inclination of her head. "I came as fast as I could". With her hands neatly folded against the small of her back she followed him into the command tend where she immediately turned to face him again.

"From what information I've been passed and my own analysis, those so called cultists are despising tech. It doesn't comply with their view on the Force and their worshipping and glorification of the dark side. If those reports of the assault on the GrenTech facility were true, we must assume there are indeed Force users amongst them", she began to explain before she slowly began to walk, her gaze scanning the equipment that was already set up here.

"If we want to track them down, I'd suggest we visit once of the attacked factories first. As they didn't accomplish their targets they might come back or have even left any traces I can use to track them down. I've been told that we're dealing with an organized group, but I would be helpful if we could narrow it down to approximate numbers...". She came to a halt again, which was when she chose to direct her striking green eyes back at him. "What have you learnt so far?"

@Alhon

 

[Max Dram]

Max looked mostly ahead as they crossed the compound, but he listened intently to every word. Kalique seemed focused and on top of her brief, which was an excellent place to start. Her assessment of the situation broadly mirrored his own.

"This purist view is a new one to me" he said, perplexed at the hostility towards technology "we all know what the Force can do, but to take us back to the stone age just for the sake of reverence?". He had to wonder if she had any insight into if the cultists were really serious. His metal arm almost seemed to itch in protest.

"My information matches yours. We have an approximate search area for their base of operations, but we need to go to GreenTech to investigate and narrow it down. We don't have the men to search the whole wastes". Max hoped to question witnesses or review sensor logs, but he got the impression the Captain might have other methods too.

He began pulling on the last of his armour, a more lightweight Imperial Assault Corps set better suited to this mission. "We're all set here, a small detail will stay behind to hold our perimeter. You ready to move out?"

@LadyRen

 

[Kalique Baize]

Intently studying the holomap that she found in the command tent, Kalique was trying to memorize the rough outline of the premises while she listener to the Lieutenant. "Extremists tend to lose any connections to logic" she answered with a shrug, not actually questioning what those idiots were believing. Obviously, the Force couldn't fully replace tech and why not drawing perks from both?

"Good", she was pleased that he had already pinpointed an approximate search area as it would make things easier, yet she also expecting that at one point they'd have to do some actual tracking.

"I'm ready. Let's go meet the associate so that we can actually start to unveil the truth", she replied, her voice mostly lacking any warmth. She let him take the lead for now as he was much more familiar with the terrain. GreenTech wasn't far off their perimeters, but she was assuming he had transports readied.

To pass the commute time, she decided to start a conversation that was not necessarily related to their mission but about something that was still on her mind. "So is this your first mission after having earned your rank back, Lieutenant?". There was not a single hint of accusation in her voice, yet he'd obviously know she had learnt about his admittedly interesting past.

@Alhon

 

[Max Dram]

Locked and loaded, Max led the Captain out into the compound and ordered the men to assemble. A dozen of them would stay put, holding the makeshift base they had set up.

Three speeders were lined up by the gate to take them the short distance to GrenTech. Max leapt into the first, motioning for the Captain to join him and two soldiers riding up front. The rest of the men filed into the other two speeders, shoulder to shoulder for the relatively short journey.

They set off at a pace, the engines spitting dust into the air as the speeders shot forward, circling around to the northern edge of the city. The corrugated rooves of the warehouse district whipped by on their right, while the dusty ridges of the wasteland filled their view on the left.

"No" Max replied slowly, giving her another look. It was no a surprise that she had read his file, but she was not being particularly tactful raising his recent demotion so early on. "I dealt with some Sith myself recently" he said "on a space station half a galaxy away". That was to say nothing of his long service record beforehand. If Kalique thought she had been partnered with a rookie, she was sorely mistaken.

"Where have you been posted?" he asked as they skimmed the northern perimeter.

@LadyRen

 

[Kalique Baize]

Watching and scanning the streets as they started their journey towards the faculty, Kalique was searching for details that somehow stood out or seemed suspicious to her, but the mildly busy city life looked as boring and normal as she would have expected.

Maybe assuming they'd stumble upon suspicious details here was too optimistic, but sometimes the devil was literally in the details and so she stayed attentive. The same actually applied to him and she couldn't hold back the little scoff as he mentioned how he had encountered Sith recently.

"Seems to be a habit of yours" she remarked with faked amusement overshadowing her inner disdain. Maybe he was prone to running into them but as he had fallen for one once, he was susceptible to their manipulations in her eyes, so regardless of what mission he had recently accomplished, she was watching him carefully.

Still, they had a mission ahead of them and as he had apparently earned back the trust of the Empire, she knew she had to give him this chance as well. "I'm glad you've found your back though". With that, she faced him again, emerald eyes slowly shifting into a warmer one as she had to reason to be hostile.

"The better question would be where I haven't been posted. I spent quite some time on Raxus, but I'm usually out and about across the galaxy as there's always plenty of work" she explained, placing the helmet she still had in her hands on her lap. "Have you ever worked with a Knight before?".

@Alhon

 

[Max Dram]

He merely narrowed his eyes at her quip, as the scenery whipped by. She really had read his file.

"My habit these days tends to be putting them in the ground" he said coldly. He did not know if she remotely understand his complex past, but he was in no doubt that the Sith were the sworn enemies of the new Empire these days. He had killed more than his fair share since seeing the light. "I haven't met a Force user I can trust for a long time".

It was true. Since his return to active service, only his enemies had brought the Force to the fight. "You're my first, Captain" he smiled as the speeder slowed to a stop. "I am sure I won't be disappointed". He stood up and jumped down from the vehicle, partly glad that the end of the journey would put their little cold war on pause. They were perhaps both suspicious, for their own reasons, and it would be best to get the measure of each other on the job.

The rest of the men formed up and they headed inside the open warehouse bearing the GrenTech logo. One or two small fires still raged and it was clear the industrial complex had been the subject of a large attack. Half a dozen beleaguered officials were standing awkwardly to one side, no doubt expecting to face the Imperials' questions.

"Secure the perimeter" Max said quietly to his second. He did not trust the few security staff hanging around to watch their backs. "Captain" he motioned to Kalique, calling her close "I'll see what I can drill out of this lot" he suggested, gesturing to the officials "why don't you look around and...do your thing. We need to move on quickly if we're to catch them".

@LadyRen

 

[Kalique Baize]

Her wasn't pleased with her comment but she was actually convinced that he should be able to take it, given that he did decide to do his everything to be reqdmitted and not just executed for treason. What displeased her further was the arrogance he put in his remark which obviously made her doubt what he was saying as it was definitely not usual for soliders to put Sith down just like that.

Maybe, she assumed, he had simply dealt with those annoying non force senstive cultists who often considered themselves Sith, but then again she wasn't interested in contributing to his boosting his ego like he was going it right now. "That's a healthy attitude. I hope you do know that you'll follow my orders without objections or you might not like me either". It was no threat, but definitely a means of putting him in his place now that he was seemingly getting a little too confident.

It was officially his platoon but he was following a Captain, not commanding a Knight. He was getting even cockier when he spoke about her not disappointed him and that was when she alighted, approached him short-handedly and pushed him against the nearest wall, tightly gripping him by the collar and the Force keeping him in place. "You better cease this immature dare-devilish game right now. I don't have any patience when tracking down cultists".

She released him at once, however still warningly glaring at him. "Not sure whether those Sith you knew were turnt on by that small dick energy but I'm not tolerating it, Lieutenant". Kalique was normally not that catty, neither that hot-headed, but somehow Dram was her buttons quickly.

Deciding to stay clear of him for a moment, she started searching the area for now, looking for actual clues and traces left behind, but also trying to assess what exactly they were dealing with in the first place. It was not like there was a palpable darkness still lingering in the air but she could clearly sense that the GreenTech associates were quite distressed.

@Alhon

 

[Max Dram]

Max was setting about organising the men when something grabbed hold of him and threw him against the wall. He was momentarily stunned, unable to quite process who was holding him and what was happening.

He shook himself and tried to wrestle free, realising too late it was not hands that held him. He looked hard at Kalique as she approached and grabbed his collar. The woman had actually used the Force on him. What the hell was she playing at?

Max had spent years in the military, rubbing shoulders with so many comrades that feared the arrogance and arbitrary power of their Sith masters. He himself had never wanted to hear it. He had believed they were better, believed they were entitled to break every rule. He had nearly lost his life wrapped up in that lie. But Warmaster Din had showed him the truth and he had now seen it in the flesh so many times. The Sith had been out of control and the Empire was well rid of them.

Or were they? He stared straight into Kalique's green eyes now, wondering if the untamed chaos of the Sith was still rife in their ranks. The Knight-Captain had struck him without a thought. The Knights did not have that kind of licence, he was sure.

She let him go after she said her piece, but the Lieutenant did not move immediately. Her words washed over him and he stood silently, considering his next move. Quite apart from the blow to his own pride, he was still reeling from how brazen Kalique had been. His men looked on, ready for anything.

"This is no game" Max said quietly, so only she could hear. "It's a mission. Let's just get it done". He turned away to begin questioning the company officials, determined to keep his distance from Kalique as far as possible. They had a job to do here, but she had crossed a line with him. When this was over, she would know it.

@LadyRen

 

[Kalique Baize]

Still fed up, she was removing herself from the whole platoon to cool off for a moment, however noticing their gazes. Wanting to focus on the task ahead as they had to act quickly in order not to loose them, she began to look around, carefully looking and reaching out, however not being very successful.

Regrets soon filled her. What she had done wasn't appropriate and she knew it. She had abused her power after having snapped, but even if he had provoked her, it hadn't been right. She had seen Vena snap and had condemned her behavior sharply, but even if she didn't remember the last time she had ever lost her patience like that, she was a little appalled that she had followed that impulse instead of swallowing it down as she always has.

Now she did swallow hard, forcing down the lump in her throat that had began to surface at the awakening realization. While she had always tried to been an agent for change by trying to build that fragile trust most Imperials held towards the Imperials, she had destroyed it right now by stepping out of line like that. It didn't matter whether it had been nothing but a human mistake of following the emotions he had triggered, she was better than that and had to have herself under control at all time.

With those thoughts actually sidetracking her a little, she spent a little time in a fully inconspicuous corner, not making any progress before she carried on and went up the stairs back towards a rather secluded area between a few shelves where she actually stumble upon some runic smears of blood. Bingo.

After taking pictures with her datapad, she started deciphering what she found and figured out how someone had attempted to adapt the ancient Sith tongue to some extent which actually added to their previously gained insights. As for an actual trace about where they were hiding, she couldn't really find anything that helped and so she went back to Dram to give him an update, carrying on as professionally as still possible now that the bridge had already been torn down though.

"Found something that proves that whoever is responsible is likely connected to the Sith in some way. I couldn't find something feasible that might lead us on though...I was hoping you found something". Never having been one of the overly proud kind, Kalique had no problems with admitting her mistake and give him an honest apology, which she added much quieter after her brief report.

"What I did earlier was wrong and I'm sorry...I'm not sure what has gotten into me but it was a display of something I've never been". Not that he understood what it meant to be an Imperial Knight, but she had never lashed out before against any Imperials and while it wasn't excusable, she couldn't really understand where it had come from. Maybe this had been the promotion getting over her head or a simple human, but not tolerable slip up. She hated that it had happened, but they did have to carry on. "I'll stay away from you, but I might go have a look around in the darker parts of the city...".

@Alhon

 

[Max Dram]

Max questioned the officials as quickly as he could, going over the facts of the attack with each for intelligence or tactical information he could use. He was a soldier, not an ISB agent, but he had quite enough experience to know how to get the details he needed if they were in there.

Most of the witnesses had little to offer but emotional babble, but the regional vice-president for the company made several remarks about how much it would cost to clear contamination from the research yard. Pressing him further turned up just what they needed.

He reconvened with Kalique, though this time fully on his guard. The Sith connection was troubling. "Well we know they are supporters, but are you saying they are in actual contact with the Sith. Could there be any here?". Sith themselves were a different ball game to cultists, however heavily armed.

He shared his own findings about their location. "It seems several of them left a certain limestone mineral behind - must be off their boots" he explained. "The foreman says its not local to the area; it can only have come from deposits at an old pumping station out in the wastes. That must be where they are hiding out".

He pulled up his datapad and satellite imagery, planning a route to approach the pumping station. "I say the sooner we head out there the better. Agreed?". He was in no rush to yield to her authority, given the way she had abused it, but the rules were the rules.

To his surprise, she actually offered an apology. He listened impassively. "Duly noted, Captain. If there will be no repeats, that is all the men and I need to know right now". Max turned to ready himself for the hike out.

@LadyRen

 

[Kalique Baize]

Despite not having gathered enough to find actual proof, what she had seen was alarming enough. "The evidence suggests that. Haven't there been unnatural explosions and...assaults that didn't fully add up? If the fanatics are despising tech, we can assume it was the Force". It was very likely actual dark siders were involved, but they couldn't know how many or how capable they were.

"Hmm...that's definitely a real lead" she mused after having attentively listened to what he had gathered. "Yes, let's head out". They couldn't waste any time so she let him gather his men before she moved back to the speeders.

"There won't be repetitions" she ensured him, her thoughts still circling around the issue of how she had ended up losing her patience like that anyway. He seemed to note her apology, yet reacted no further, which, however, wasn't surprising to her. She had broken the fragile trust he had had and now it was too late. They had no continue but his suspicions would prevail, but they had this trace to pursue.

@Alhon

 

[Max Dram]

Max considered Kalique's words, glancing around at the damage that had been done to the place. There was the usual blaster fire scarring and shrapnel damage from grenades, but there were indeed signs of attack that defied the laws of nature. Upturned concrete and twisted metal that could only have been warped by the energies of the Force. Perhaps at least some of these cultists had the power they idolised.

They moved out quickly this time, back in the speeders and taking an extended route around through the wastes to approach the old pumping station from the north. Max wagered that if the cultists were smart enough to lay traps or defences, they would have focused on an approach from the city, not from further out in the barren slopes.

Sadly, he was only partly right. They did not run into a full on perimeter, but cresting a final ridge near their destination set off a scattered field of landmines. A strange percussive boom was the first warning Max had, before the speeder in front of his own was thrown into the air and his swerved violently, sending him and likely Kalique too rolling out onto the ground.

The Lieutenant tried to scrabble to his feet, wary of stepping too far in any direction. There could be more mines buried anywhere. "Sweepers!" he shouted across to any men who were up. They had at least two engineers in the unit with the kit to chart a path, but it would take time. Max looked around for Kalique, perhaps she had a means of getting them through safely?

A blaster bolt lanced past his ear and Max crouched hurriedly, hunkering down by the side of his speeder. Two cultist sentries were advancing from behind a rocky outcropping nearby, hoping to chalk up some easy kills.

@LadyRen

7/20 for success of approach

 

[Kalique Baize]

Not exchanging much more words through out the little drive towards the pumping station, Kalique focused on scanning the surroundings, not only with her eyes though. She kept reaching out with the Force, pressed on picking up any kinds of movement, but as she spotted something running in the distance to the right, she did not see the mines coming.

A percussive blast was not only audible, but the sheer power of it a violent ripple in the Force. In a split second her head turned, reaching out to grab the speeder that was immediately launched into the air with the Force, but before she fully reached it, she, too, was violently hurled out of the vehicle.

With the Force still focused on the exploded speeder, Kalique couldn't cushion her own fall a lot and so she rolled before she skidded to a halt. Immediately scrambling to her meet, her emerald gaze flicked to Lieutenant Dram whom she wanted to help up, but before she reached him, blaster bolts were already set loose.

With her head slightly spinning, the first bolts zoomed across the mine laced field, fortunately not hitting anyone just yet, but Kalique already didn't like any of it. Forcing herself into full focus mode, she wasted no second before she coiled the Force around the two guards and yanked them forwards, mercilessly dragging them across the field and activating two more mines thanks to their help.

"Don't move!" her voice called back to the other soldiers, knowing they'd have to move quickly before other shooters would try to take advantage of their unlucky positioning. "Dram, there's one right to your left...come over. I'll disarm it". She was hoping everyone would stay right where there were while she'd detect them with the Force and either guide them through it or just blow them up. "Should I blow them all up or do we proceed on foot?". She'd leave this call to him.

@Alhon

Spoiler: roll

6/20 for the initial mine reaction

 

[Max Dram]

This time the Captain turned her powers on the real enemy and not a moment too soon. Max was exposed, pinned against the speeder and unable to run. He was girding his loins to take some hits from the sentries when they were picked off their feet and pulled forward mercilessly. Max's head snapped left and he saw Kalique with her arm outstretched, dragging the men down and across the hard ground with the Force.

The poor beggars were pulled like fish on a line, yanked across the ground and setting off a trail of mines that partly cleared a tract of ground in their wake. It was enough time for Max to get up and gather himself, radioing for everyone to stand still and taking stock of his men. Despite the crash, they were all still alive.

The Lieutenant went left but stopped at Kalique's warning, stepping back with gritted teeth. "Thanks Captain" he said, tipping her a nod. He moved towards here, noticing how her green eyes flashed across the ground, stopping at different indeterminate points.

"We can't stay out here" he reasoned "and we're close enough. We advance on foot!" he shouted so his men could hear. Most of them were clambering across the upturned speeder towards him and the captain, rightly figuring it was a safe path. "We head down the slope to the lake" Max said, turning back to Kalique. He could just make out the edge of the water around a hill at the bottom. "You've made us the beginnings of a route just there, but if you take point you can steer us away from the rest?".

There was little time to waste and Max started moving out down the slope, hoping the Captain would agree or at least see the necessity. No more sentries had appeared and the first few yards went by pretty quick. The Lieutenant was just starting to hope when a blast off to the right sounded the death knell for two soldiers who had gone too wide.

"Keep it tight!" Max ordered, barking over his shoulder. The entrance to the pumping station was less than a hundred metres down the slope and they could not afford to lose people before they were even inside.

@LadyRen

12/20 for success of approach

 

[Kalique Baize]

There were quite a few mines hidden from plain side and Kalique didn't like how some seemed closed enough to trigger the next. Already starting to calculate whether they'd manage to get through, she turned back to Max, giving him a curt nod. They had been off to a rough start but seemed to get along much better now.

"Copy that. Everybody follow me, stay close!" The last part she called to all of the soldiers, keeping her position and waiting for the soldiers to approach her while she did shout directions every now and then whenever someone was getting a little too close for her liking. Finally they were all arranged in a line though and so she started leading them down.

They could take a path that zigzagged its way down the slope, but in the end they all made it down safely. The constant focus did leave her with a little headache as sensing mines wasn't as easy, but in the end they did reach the entrance of the pumping station. From the outside, the building seemed relatively deserted, but from the inside, she could already make out movement.

"We need to be careful. Someone is inside, might as well be those insurgents" she told Max, her voice lowered to a bare minimum after she had come to a halt and leaned closer. "They don't seem alerted yet. I could sneak my way in and check it out...if it's some of them, we could try an ambush", she suggested, however a little startled by the fact that the mines hadn't alerted them which actually spoke for how this might have been someone else inside.

@Alhon

 

[Max Dram]

Thankfully Kalique was able to guide the unit through the mines without further casualties and they made it to the bottom, the pumping station coming into to view off to the right, on the edge of a toxic lake.

Try as he might, Max could not quite stop his men bunching up at the foot of the hill, instinct stopping them from spreading out so soon after a minefield experience. The Captain's plan was not half bad and he was about to send her in on the sly to neutralise any sentries and at least get them in the front door.

Too late, he noticed movement by the shoreline and saw a cultist standing by a strange altar, seemingly working the Force among the poisonous fumes. The man was tattooed and feral looking, with a long necklace of serrated blades and many more hanging from his belt. He screamed, raising his arms in a violent gesture of shock and hatred.

"Cover!" Max shouted, but there was a bang like a cannon blast and two dozen of the deadly blades were thrown at them with the Force. His men had no defence against such an attack and he heard at least half of them cry out in pain. The Lieutenant threw himself sideways behind a rusting pipe, deflecting a blade coming his way with the metal of his left forearm. He was extremely lucky, but the air was filled with cries and yelps.

Max rolled, cocking his rifle and resting it on the pipe. He could see that half his unit were down and injured, those that were not scrambling for cover. The cultist was darting behind the altar and the Lieutenant could not get a clear shot. The man looked a little out of breath from his Force attack, but they were sitting ducks if he tried again.

With great reluctance, Max found himself praying Kalique had the means to take the cultist down. They had to get inside and secure their position before any more enemies sallied forth.

@LadyRen

4/20 for success of approach

 

[Kalique Baize]

The closer they got, the more tension she could sense in the air. There was something violent within the Force and that was when she realized that there were indeed dark siders involved in this. It suddenly dawned her that coming here had potentially not been the best choice as those cultists were probably well aware of how someone was investigating and together with the mines, it just made perfect sense. It was a trap.

The dark sider at the altar was a skillfully force wielder, carefully masking his presence within the Force while the Captains attention was focused on something completely different: To their left, she sensed another powerful dark presence hiding in the building, yet this one wasn't acting just yet. She couldn't yet tell what it was, but as her gaze suddenly fell on the cultist at the altar, her jaw literally dropped.

In a split second the dark sider commanded the Force in a powerful display of pure violence aimed to tackle all of them at once, but in the very last second Kalique managed to coil the Force around her and those in the near proximity to deflect the incoming blades. Still, their foul trick had worked and at least half of them were indeed injured and now she was really angry.

With gritted teeth she stormed forward, sensing the exhaustion the powerful attack had caused and intending to use that right against this fanatic. One lightsaber immediately snapped into her hand and the blade hissed into life as she simultaneously reached out with the Force and coiled it around the dark sider's neck as she violently yanked him backwards.

The sudden attack of the Knight-Captain hit him hard and unprepared and he toppled backwards, hands desperate flailing before he managed to regain composure and push her invisible grip off. He was still on the ground and she close enough to reach back into him and momentarily slow his movement by holding him in a stasis that took effect right before he mananged to push himself up, so that her blade came to meet his skull.

As the sudden and powerful force use caused her to stagger slightly as well, she pierced through his head with noticeable strain, yet this bastard was dealt with. "There's someone in the station!" she immediately called back, catching her breath, however then realizing that the presence was gone. "Don't approach the building. It's not safe" she hurried back over, switching off her lightsaber. Whatever was going on here, it was very likely it was a set-up. They had expected someone would try to find and kill them and they were ver aware of them now. "We need to get your men into safety. Report back to camp, they need to get off this place asap. Whoever is still inside is powerful".

@Alhon

 

[Max Dram]

Thankfully, Kalique stepped into the breach. While Max and his remaining men could not get a clear shot, the Captain endured the attack and countered with one of her own, closing the gap with the cultist and knocking him off his feet. Her saber flashed through the air, putting an end to him for good.

Max the men rose from their positions, coalescing around the cover closest to the building. Roughly half the unit were injured and he lost another two men to ministering to the casualties. Still, he had at least half a dozen good soldiers still with him when Kalique came back over.

"We came here to put an end to them" Max said solemnly, shaking his head. "There's no going back until they are all dead. That one we just dropped had to be the second-in-command. If the Leader is inside then I agree they are one for you, but the men and I can back you up, and clear the station of the rest". They could not afford to leave these cultists in a position to mount further attacks.

He motioned to the men and they split, peeling right and left towards the extremities of the building, out of sight of any of the windows. Creeping inwards, keeping low beneath the ledges, they met in the center and one of the men smashed a window with his entrenching tool, throwing two frag grenades in to destroy and disorientate.

"Hit them while they're down" Max called, sallying in through the main door which had been blown off its hinges, rifle cocked and ready to fire.

@LadyRen