Courage and Loyalty

[Aleksandr]

TASPIR SYSTEM
OUTER RIM TERRITORIES

Although the crew of the Arrestor-class Patrol Frigate Stormbreaker are no strangers to combat, the ship itself is a new vessel showing no signs of having seen battle, recently built by Kuat Drive Yards. There is only one major difference between the Stormbreaker and other ships of the class: a small bay large enough for an assault lander or a shuttle has been built in, while standard patrol frigates do not have any hangars. Its crew of more than seven hundred men has been put together mainly from the survivors of vessels destroyed at the Battle of Manaan, along with a few that were not involved in that engagement. With them are two escorting Dagger-class corvettes, the Rage and the Titan.

Recently, the commander of the sector fleet in the remote Dynali sector, Rear Admiral Shtaaden, has reported that an important Rebel agent has been captured by his men on one of the sector's planets, Taspir III. The report stated that the man is severely wounded and thus cannot be transported. Therefore, the rear admiral has asked for a Sith to be dispatched to the sector in order to interrogate their special Rebel prisoner. The admiralty and the Sith Order responded by sending a Sith to Taspir III aboard the Stormbreaker, being one of the few ships not otherwise occupied in the region at the moment, along with its two corvettes. A squad of elite 501st Legion stormtroopers has been sent along for security.

When the trio of ships entered the Taspir system, the frigate's captain initially did not think there was anything suspicious about the Monitor-class Star Destroyer and the two Censor-class Patrol Cruisers that seemed to be waiting for them. Their frigate's computers identified the Star Destroyer as Rear Admiral Shtaaden's flagship, the Indomitable, and the two cruisers as other ships of his sector fleet. It was when those vessels did not respond to the frigate crew's attempts to hail them that the captain thought something seemed odd.

The man's thinking was interrupted by the sound of an explosion and a shudder that shook the entire ship, nearly sending everyone that was not sitting down onto the floor. Before he could ask what happened, one of the surprised crewmen exclaimed, "It's the Star Destroyer, sir! They've opened fire!"

"Captain," another one spoke up. "Their three ships are moving towards us at top speed."

Rear Admiral Shtaaden, a traitor? The captain recovered from the shock and began shouting orders. "All hands to battle stations!"

He paused for a moment to consider something before turning to his adjutant. "Call our special passenger and tell him what's going on. They have the advantage in firepower, but if he and his troopers can board the mutineers' flagship and kill the rear admiral or whoever else may be leading this, we may have a fighting chance. Tell them to get to the shuttle."

——————​

 

[Flamjetxx]

No doubt, Ark was gaining more and more influence within the Sith Order. He'd been able to gain the trust of the higher officials on more than one occasion, being able to fight loyally for his Sith. It was more than likely the reason that he'd managed to attain such an honor of leading a small squad to interrogate the wounded prisoner. However, Ark, arrogantly, couldn't rule out that it could also have been because of his experiences in interrogating. Ark had interrogated multiple prisoners, mostly on Coruscant -Before it was bombed. Ark's mind powers had grown a great deal.

However, in the midst of a Civil War and the ongoing fight against the Rebels, Ark thought it his duty to ensure that he do everything within his powers to aid the Imperium, even if it was to interrogate a Prisoner. What Ark didn't anticipate (and he really should have seen it coming) was the fall of yet another. It was beginning to become a trend within the Sith. One person doubts, and the next does, and before you know it, the Order had dropped to half of its original size due to traitors and, what the Coterie would call themselves, reformists.

The moment they entered the system, it was an ambush that took them head on. It was almost surreal that a mission that would be as simple as asking a few- Force-enhanced- questions would turn into a full scale battle. Funny thing is that Ark actually expected it to be easy. Hmph. And almost as if following a routine of urgency, Ark found himself shuttled off to the Flag Ship of the Rear Admiral Shtaaden, Indomitable. Ark's mission was easy. Kill the traitor, and yet Ark somehow felt that killing him would simply be too easy. Ark was getting fed up with these rebellious actions, the acts of treason, and the mutinies. He deserve something worse. What could drive a man to become so lowly anyway? For a Kushari like Ark, it was unfeasible to turncoat. Ark supposed that whatever the Rear Admiral turned for had to have been worth quite a bit for what Ark was going to do when he caught up to him.

Before Ark knew it, he was in a transport, escorted by a small squadron into the Hangar Bay of the Flag ship, where they managed to land relatively safely. Relatively, giving the rather rambunctious thud that came with the haste of setting them down and getting them all out before reinforcements came to meet them. Ark, holding onto a strap from the ceiling of the drop ship was a bit to eager to get his paws onto the Hangar's floor, and was going to be the first one out the door if he could help it, but giving the circumstances, it wasn't for pleasure, but rather it was to his enemies, first hand, why they aren't to Kriffing mess with the Imperium.

After the landing, the hiss of hydraulics alerted them to the opening of the ramp, and with a partially turned face to the Soldiers that would accompany him, he said, "No one is left standing."

There was something cold in his voice. Ark was ordinarily emotionless, but there was something deeper this time, something that accompanied his words with the shear presence of the Darkside that would be able to send a chill down the spine of anyone not expecting it. Fact remains, Ark didn't intend to make this a lesson the rest of the traitors would soon forget. It was Ark's mission to fight for the Imperium, and this was no different.

The ramp fell half way before Ark's first step was already half way up the ramp and out the ship, swirling a Thunderbolt Slug thrower Rifle from his back to his paws, holding the sights to his cheek with ears pinned down to his skull. There was going to be fire, and the first Traitors he saw were going to fall. His standard armor didn't say layers about him other than that he expected combat, but the pair of lightsabers on his hip could have written books on him. More terrifyingly, it was Ark's choice to use a rifle over the preferred weapons that would show what Ark intended to do; Use every resource available to dish out as much death as he could.

Surprisingly enough though, the Hangar was empty apart from the pair of droids that were scuttling off away in a perplexing show of fear at their arrival, as if they knew what they must have been after, blood. Without mercy, Ark crushed the both of them with an outstretched paw, causing the sound of metal crunching in on itself, like crushing a tin can, as the both of the droids fell in a heap of scrap metal. Unforgiving.

Ark's paw quickly returned to his rifle, as it was still raised to his cheek and aiming at the opening door that allowed several armed men through to meet the boarding party. Two bursts from his rifle would do as much damage as he could, and what he didn't kill would hopefully allow the rest of his squad some cover for them to get off a few rounds or kill a few of them, if not all of them. They needed to get to the bridge as soon as they could, and getting caught in a firefight wasn't going to help them. They needed to be constantly moving, even if Ark had to use the Force to pummel a tunnel form Hangar to bridge, he'd try.

 

[Grizz]

A simple enough mission at first. Isn’t it always? Escort-duty for a Sith, no doubt employed for their particular Force-assisted talents in weeding out information. Byrec had the unfortunate privilege of witnessing several of these sessions over the years, and being the subject of one prior to his transfer to the 501st Legion. His stance on the Force-users was mostly apathetic, bordering on dislike given recent events. However, he was a stormtrooper, bound by duty and the oath he’d taken many years ago. Loyalty, it was a funny word these days. In much simpler times it was taken for granted, and now the Imperium was paying for it. Frankly, he had nothing but distaste for these insurrectionists. Although it was nothing like the planets he helped put down after the Core Blitz, far from it. These people were fellow cogs in the grand machine that was the Imperium—insolent, and treasonous—but citizens nonetheless. Perhaps it made it all the more bitter for Byrec because deep in the dark recesses in his mind, he harbored similar thoughts about the current state of affairs. He quenched the thought instantly. The scum had chosen their fates the moment they opened fire on him and his brothers.

Speaking of which, it’s exactly what rocked the shuttle as it speared towards the Indomitable. Things never worked the way you want them to, and a simple enough mission turned out differently right at the start. He supposed the welcome the Stormbreaker received—lances of turbolaser fire—was enough of an indication. The stormtroopers—himself and Private Trover—weren’t exactly numbered in sufficient strength to completely clear out such a vessel on their own, but the Sith they had was their ace in the hole. Their objective was simple enough, kill the Rear Admiral. That courtesy extended to the rest of the traitor ships’ crews, of course, but Byrec can worry about complete eradication later. Right now, he was praying the gunners of the Indomitable were incredibly rusty after an excessive amount of weapons maintenance…

Luckily for the stormtrooper, the Stormbreaker and the flotilla of fighters that surrounded the shuttle prior to its insertion had drawn most of the fire. He waited until the light in the troop bay turned green before undoing his restraints. The crusader had already been standing with undisguised anticipation, and offered only a chilling tidbit of wisdom for the day as Sith often did. No one is left standing, he said. Byrec simply replied with one word of cold affirmation, “Check”. Once that was out of the way the stormtrooper shouldered his rifle, an E-19 carbine. In the narrow corridors and hallways of the Star Destroyer, his weapon would be most useful. Aside from that, he carried the standard load-out on his Centurion armor.

Byrec spoke nothing of the two droids that was reduced to scrap. Unnecessary in his eyes, but he supposed the Sith wanted to make a statement of sorts. From what he’d seen of them, they were particularly fond of doing so in various ways. He just hoped he wasn’t going to be on the wrong end of that someday.

Interestingly enough it was the Sith that broke what homogeneity of the little ‘team’ possessed. The Kushari crusader didn’t brandish the lightsabers at his hip, but instead opted for a slugthrower rifle out of all things. Byrec wasn’t at all critical, the scout respected the Sith’s pragmatism and the underlying meaning behind was all too clear. He wasn’t too bad of a shot either. Byrec unloaded several quick bursts with his carbine to finish off the armed personnel that surged from the hangar doors. His shot selection was dead-on accurate, speaking volumes of the years of training and practice the scout trooper underwent to perfect his craft. Once the hostiles were dispatched, Byrec cleared his sectors before rolling up rear security for the group. He’d rather be the one covering their six, since the Sith was taking point and Isaac was a strike trooper. Byrec would rather let the two let rip with their considerable firepower and ordnance uncumbered.

 

[Aleksandr]

A less professional bridge crew may have panicked and lost some cohesion when the ambush began, but, as Jerek Tarandon recognized, the men and women aboard the Stormbreaker are definitely professionals. The captain seemed barely affected by the change in the situation and gave his orders quickly and precisely, while the crew spared no moment in carrying them out, scurrying about the bridge, which was mostly quiet save for the occasional sound from a computer or low-tone exchange between crewmen. Jerek himself stood near the captain at that moment, who was a recently-promoted Human male that served as a first officer aboard a Star Destroyer at Manaan. It was not long after Jerek's transfer to the frigate that the captain asked the crewman to be his adjutant, because of his efficiency and intelligence. Or, at least, that's what Jerek liked to believe, although he did not know the actual reason for the captain's decision.

"The shuttle has landed in the Star Destroyer's hangar, sir," another crewman told him and the captain, interrupting his thoughts.

Good, they safely got aboard. The captain had asked Jerek to provide whatever intelligence and assistance they could from the frigate via comlinks to the boarding party. Opening up the channel to the boarding team, he spoke.

"This is Crewman Tarandon. I've been assigned to be your liaison during this operation. According to the schematics of the Star Destroyer we have in our ship's databanks, there should be a main corridor leading away through several rooms that will eventually bring you to the turbolifts that can get you up to the bridge level. From there, you'll have to get through more halls and rooms until you reach the bridge itself."

He switched off the comlink for now and turned his attention to the battle that is unfolding in front of them. Their loyalist vessels had turned around to face the traitor's flotilla head on. Right now their task was to hold out. The enemy Star Destroyer alone outgunned all three of their ships combined. Not to mention the two cruisers that moved out ahead of the Star Destroyer towards their ships, one from the destroyer's left flank, one from the right. The cruisers also outgunned them, and carried a full wing of starfighters (under normal circumstances, at least). The fact that the rest of the fleet wasn't here suggested that not all of them were trusted by the rear admiral to take part in this, which could mean they have less pilots and are understaffed.

As the enemy vessels approached, the frigate and the two corvettes opened fire.

——————​

Commodore Revek had been Rear Admiral Shtaaden's close confidante and adjutant for many years, having met him during the initial stages of the war against the Galactic Alliance, when both men had been ensigns fresh from the academy. He had come to appreciate those aspects of Shtaaden that had saved the lives of him and his fellow crewmen during the many battles they had been in together. That was why when the rear admiral decided rise up against the Sith Imperium, Revek agreed to follow him and helped spread the word among those of their men that he had considered more loyal to Shtaaden than to the Imperium. Why exactly the rear admiral decided to rise up against them he was not sure, as the commodore suspected that Shtaaden kept his true reasoning secret even from him. At least for now.

"As you predicted, the Sith has decided to board the Star Destroyer," the commodore was telling his superior. "They've landed in the aft hangar bay."

The Rear Admiral had been a lecturer in strategic theory at the Academy for a time upon reaching the rank, shortly before being assigned to the Dynali sector fleet. Not that you would need to be a genius to predict this course of action.

The man nodded. "Good. Are the stormtroopers positioned at the designated strong points leading up here?"

The only problem seemed to be that if they began taking heavy casualties they would have to divert crewmen to the task, which would force them to move the Star Destroyer out of the battle. Normally it would not be a problem, but the ship was understaffed since they had to transfer those that were not more loyal to Shtaaden than to the Imperium to Taspir III's surface. Perhaps those men would change their minds after they defeat the loyalists here.

"Yes, rear admiral."

"Excellent."

 

[Chask274]

To be honest, Isaac was feeling a bit honored. Being selected for the security detail of a Sith wasn't something that usually happened to Privates in the Imperial Army. Keeping that in mind, Isaac had made sure that his armor and equipment was clean and free of dirt and grime. He didn't buff out the scratches and dents in the plates, however, because he didn't want to be written off as just a "shiny" fresh out of the Academy. He was an experienced trooper who had seen some pretty serious s***, and he made sure his gear reflected that while still looking presentable.

When he felt the ship drop out of hyperspace, Isaac figured they would head straight for either a planet or a ship, dependant on where this prisoner was being held. So it came as a very big surprise when the ship was rocked by weapons-fire and the general quarters alarm sounded. Sliding on his helmet, the demolitionist had just slung his E98 Repeater across his back when the order to report to the hangar for a boarding action came through his comms. Reaching the hangar in just a few moments, Isaac boarded the shuttle and strapped in. Just a minute later, and the source of the attack came into Isaac's view. "What the feckin' hell?! Traitors..." He spent the rest of the short and turbulent flight processing the fact that Imperials had fired on them, and by the time the shuttle set down in the destroyer's hangar, Isaac was focused, and readily agreed to Ark's order. Exiting the shuttle with his weapon at the ready, Isaac engaged any targets he saw, while locking the IFF tags of the men who had arrived with him onto his HUD. The last thing he wanted to do was shoot a friendly. In addition to his repeater and the standard K9 sidearm pistol, Isaac carried a myriad of grenades, breaching charges, and other explosives on his person. Even without the help of the Sith's sabers, Isaac was pretty sure he had enough ordinance to level anything that stood between his team and the bridge.

 

[Flamjetxx]

Ark didn't recognize the faces that accompanies him They were all new faces, and though it wasn't particularly ideal, Ark had faith in the Force that they were fully trained and capable combatants. The few bursts he got off, took out one of the incoming Imperial traitors, and left the others ducking as they ran to simply be hit by the Imperials that Ark had assisting him.

The question of morality wrung in Ark's ears though. These traitors. What did they really know of what was going on here? Were they simply following the Orders of their commander, who'd foolishly lead them into combat with friendly forces? Did they know they were even mutinying? Or were they told that Ark and his band were in fact the traitors? Did they truly believe that they were doing right by attacking the Sith and the men that accompanied him? Or perhaps the every single one of them knew precisely what they were doing and deserved every bullet within them?

The questions were valid, and Ark could only have a single course of action, which was to believe that they were indeed knowledgeable of their actions. After all, it didn't take a genius to know you were setting up an ambush. And all they had to do was to lay down their weapons and surrender upon finding friendly Forces approaching them. Ark would be able to find it in his hearts to spare them. These one weren't so lucky, and they were killed nearly instantaneously by one gun or another.

The voice on the earpiece Ark had on suddenly jumped to life, causing Ark's ears t attempt to flatten eve more, as the voice was a bit louder than Ark had initially expected. And his directions were clear, but direct. A large hallway, turbolifts... Ark wasn't particularly fond of taking the must direct route. IN fact, the last tie he'd taken the most direct route, he and his team ended up getting captured and taken to the bridge for execution. Thankfully, he still had a few tricks up his sleeve at the time, but Ark didn't know just how many trick he could have up his sleeve this time around. After all, this was an Imperial Star Destroyer that knew they'd be coming. They would almost certainly be ready for them. The advantage they had over them was likewise the same advantage they had over Ark. They knew each others strategies and other such methods.

Taking the most direct route to the Bridge was the most obvious choice of action for them to take. Taking a rag-tag team of shooters to Force their way up... IT didn't look particularly good for them overall, considering they'd have to fight past overwhelming Forces in a relatively short period of time. They'd have to encounter enemy Forces that would undoubtedly be stationed strategically to stop their advancements directly, or t least slow them down enough. Being slowed down wasn't something they could afford. Even an indirect path would be better. And particularly a path without such dangerous choke points as lifts...

"Copy Crewman Tarandon. This is Arkteleus Krayzen of the boarding party. We've had zero casualties and are heading to the main corridor. I need you to start looking for the fastest alternate routes to the bridge. I need something less common, narrower if it has to be. Bunking quarters, through turrets through maintenance tunnels if we have to. I also need you to warn me of any choke points coming up ahead, so that we can properly deal with them. I don't care if the alternate routes are a bit longer, if they have less resistance, we'll move more freely through them. I want us to be largely out of the way of their main Forces," Ark responds into the communicator embedded into his bionic arm.

As he was talking, he'd lead his men to the main corridor, where it was suspiciously empty. Through the Force, Ark could feel a small force of spread out men approaching, though he could hear something more approaching. It was stronger than just a few men, many more footsteps. Droid likely, "Find some cover, we have company up ahead."

Ark pointed to two others, while he found his own cover, "You two. I want you to find a position where you can flank them coming in. We'll retreat, and you both come out to flank them as they reposition closer to us, got it?"

 

[Grizz]

The traitors they dispatched earlier were hardly up for the task of repelling a boarding party of this caliber. He suspected he'd start seeing plastoid soon as they progressed deeper into the ship. A cruel twist of fate indeed. Fortunately for the scout he spent enough time in the uniform to know the strengths and weaknesses of stormtrooper armor. Although frankly between the automatic weapons and explosives Isaac had and the Sith's own plethora of weapons... they were pretty much all set. Byrec realized stormtroopers could only be the beginning--who knows really what the Rear Admiral had in store for them. After all a vessel this big should be bustling with life, a crew that would more than likely wish them dead and missing plentiful of limbs. If anything the path they were taking was rather obvious to all parties involved. The long corridor was a dangerously fatal tunnel with many corners to clear: as well was open and closed doors. So far they were all empty, and the crewman's voice did not reassure him one bit. There has to be a reason why they weren't under fire yet. Plenty of opportunities so far, not to mention this 'boarding party' was rather small to begin with.

He wasn't exactly fond of clearing narrower spaces, and go through even tighter crew quarters either. Fighting through -those- routes would be more of a pain if there were sufficient personnel holed up in there to stop them. It wasn't really up to him though, and he had his own responsibilities pulling security on his end. "Check," he replied curtly to the Sith when the Kushari issued out orders. Straightforward really, just use what he's been worrying about against the opposition. The scout trooper made eye contact with Isaac and pointed at the two corners they cleared several paces ago. The scout trooper made a beeline to the one on the left side of the hallway, and pressed his side against the wall. He craned his head around the corner to see if the Imperials were coming yet and gave the other stormtrooper a thumbs up once he was all set. With Isaac and himself on either side of the corridor--hidden from the opposition as they came down--the two can overlap fields of fire when they open up for maximum effect.

For the time being Byrec waited and listened as the footsteps drew closer.

 

[Aleksandr]

"Understood."

Jerek supposed that made sense, as the traitor would probably have the path to the bridge heavily guarded. The crewman turned back to the schematics showing on the screen of his computer console. He spent a few minutes looking through it to find any alternative routes, and manged to do so.

"I have found some options. Entering one of the doors on your left in the main corridor should bring you to storage rooms for starfighter spare parts and other mechanical equipment. They are all interconnected and should allow you to get through to do the main turbolift room. As far as we know, they're not guarded, but the traitor could have seen to that," Jerek told the Sith. "In any case, it's the second quickest direct route after the main corridor. They are a bit cramped due to the stored equipment, and some of it may contain explosives, so tell your men to be careful where they're shooting if you run into any opposition."

He paused for a bit to glance at the schematics before replying again. "After you get to the bridge level, you should be able to go into any direction at first, and as long as you keep heading forward from the main turbolifts, you should eventually reach the bridge. That area is mostly conference rooms and control centers, though, so plenty of areas for enemy ambushes."

After informing the Sith, Jerek turned his attention to the ongoing space battle. They had opened fire at the two enemy cruisers that were approaching, by they are returning fire and heavily outgunning them. Luckily, for whatever reason, they decided against launching their fighters. Perhaps they didn't have any pilots loyal to their little uprising. But nonetheless, at this rate they will lose within an hour. The Corellian thought about something for a minute and then turned to his captain. "Sir, I have an idea . . . "

 

[Flamjetxx]

Ark listened as he peered around the corner he took cover behind. The incoming troops were likely hoping to catch the ground off guard, and if Ark had his way, they'd be able to ambush them with the ease of knowing they were coming. That was the advantage of having a powerful enough Sith on their side. Ark could only hope that there wasn't some other Sith heading this assault. It would likely be a Coterie member, if ever such an individual existed, and oh so badly Ark wanted to picture a traitorous Sith face to carve out. Ark had never met this particular Rear Admiral, and it was hard to personalize his mission. Simply objectives, but little motivation other than to squash the bastard responsible for an ambush.

Ark growled the moment the clanking turned the corner, revealing an almost unhealthy mix of droids that outnumbered the troopers with them. Even without the droids, Ark and his squad were heavily out gunned. Almost as if a wav of red washed through the hallway, the droid's reaction time was al most instantaneous, catching even some of Ark's men by surprise. One dropped dead at Ark's side, while Ark quickly rounded the corner with his rifle raised at the group.

He let off a few bursts, and Ark could tell that his aim was actually getting better. It seemed that Ark's extended tie around firearms has improved his accuracy, though he was still outmatched by the more experienced shooters that accompanied him. So what made Ark valuable in this moment? Even as the question may, or may not, have been asked, Ark ran out of rounds of on his rifle, and he made the audible call, "Fall back!"

Ark swung the rifle around his shoulder to his back as his lightsaber was instantaneously drawn, instantly deflecting a volley of bolts back at various targets in his enemies' ranks. The droids were surprisingly smart, opting to take cover with the troopers, though Ark was able to keep them under cover with his retaliation of bolts deflected.

Noticing Ark's call for retreat, they took the bait, moving out from cover to come up through the hallway in pursuit. Patently, ark didn't want his ambush to go wasted, and so he waited until the perfect moment to strike. Welling up energy into his paw, Ark prepared a wave of telekinetic energy that would pull the majority of the group of enemies forward. Some would trip and fall, but the majority would stumble, and the moment he did so, he called out through the Force to his ambushing party, "NOW!"

Getting his response somewhere in the heat of battle, Ark didn't have the time to effectively answer, and so he simply held onto the information until he was able to respond. Ark didn't like the fact that he'd still have to go through the turbo lifts, though there were a few ways he could deal with it. All he needed were the supplies to do so.

 

[Davin Jusik]

The sound of violins filled the air, a sad slow expression of strings that built in tempo as Davin dragged a razor across his cheek. The bathroom mirror of the room he'd been assigned for his temporary mission aboard the Stormbreaker, which after yet another tenure as Montag was something Command had deemed necessary for his psychological well being. It was the sort of mission ISB Agents did once every couple years, an arbitrary investigation or two on a potential defector or two among either the Fleet or groundpounders. If evidence was found linking them to traitorous activities they were often arrested and taken for "re-education", if not the machine continued to operate as it had before. Not a terrible amount of effort on the Agent's part besides some hopefully competent Police work. His current person of interest was a rather decorated Lieutenant Watos in the Stormtrooper Corp, someone who could very well be the poster child at planetary universities to recruit other starry eyed youth into the fold. This was do to a file found during a raid on a Rebel cell operating off a island in Corellia's southern hemisphere. The file made reference of some sort of alleged meeting that had taken place between a decorated but unamed trooper and the cell. A suspicious holomail had put the Bureau onto the Lt's scent. Not suspicious enough to yank him from duty and have him executed but suspicious enough to have him followed and observed for a time. ISB had adopted a policy of sending Agents who'd just returned from field duty to such assignments, as the mere presence of an Agent seemed to make traitors commit horrible mistakes and get themselves and compatriots caught.

He tapped his razor and continued as the tempo continued it's build. It gave Davin a chill.

The most entertaining part of assignments such as these were often the looks gleamed by other members of the Imperial Military in execution of one's duty. Fear. Suspicion. Sometimes hate. Most members of the Regime had some sort of Un-Imperial thought or action from time to time and seemed to operate under the assumption that ISB Agents cared. Or even had the capabilities to sift through ever communication collected and gleam some sort of seditious material from it that was worth persecuting in the form of Military Tribunaral. The ISB liked to promote that image but in reality it would have been easier for them to build a house made of lumber on a nearby orbiting star. Mathematically impossible and impractical as hell to boot.

The music reached a sickly fever pitch as Davin completed his mundane task. Beautiful. Though it nearly led Davin to feel panicked and trapped. He looked at the mirror. Not a hint of emotional distress in his face or movements. This prompted a small narcissistic grin, he'd largely mastered what information beings could obtain from him in a glance.

A grating BWEEP BWEEP BWEEP general call overtook the music and interrupted his train of thought.

A call for boarding? Against traitors? Something way off from what the Captain had informed him the vessels assignment of "a simple pickup" was. Davin cursed loudly as he donned his uniform's blouse over his skivvies. He slung a blastervest over the top before sliding his heavy blaster pistol into it's holster on his side and slinging the E-19 he kept next to his bed over his shoulder. The Agent them beelined for the hanger, making his way to the Lt's assault ship before it rocketed towards it's target. If the man was going to show any outwardly seditious behavior it would almost definitely be in a firefight with Rebs. The Stormtroopers eyed him suspiciously as the vehicle journeyed across the dangerous expanse between themselves and the enemy. The landing went as planned and the unit made it's way a bit deeper into the vessel than they'd expected as a hold had already been established.

Davin tagged along, keeping a watchful eye on the Lieutenant who to his knowledge had yet to even see him, which if he was a traitor would certainly cause duress. Nervous men made mistakes. Nervous men got caught.

Davin kept his emotionless expression as he moved with the group.

 

[Aleksandr]

(OOC: Since Grizz isn't posting, I'll just go ahead and post next. Sorry about the long delay, I've been busy recently.)

Jerek looked on at the oncoming enemy cruisers as the loyalist and treasonous vessels exchanged fire. Occasional explosions rattled the ships, but the bridge crew remained calm, moving around and working diligently and effectively. However, it probably wouldn't be enough at this rate. Since the boarding team seemed to not need any help from him at the moment, he might as well help out with fighting the space battle. The captain had turned to him.

"Yes?"

The Corellian paused, as if considering something, and then spoke. "Since we don't have the firepower to destroy them with, we could use what shuttles we have left to transfer the crews of the two corvettes here aboard the frigate."

"For what?" the captain asked.

"We could set each of the frigates on a collision course with the cruisers before the crews leave them," Jerek suggested. "Ramming them against the bridges of the enemy warships should do enough damage to take them out of the battle."

The captain didn't say anything for a bit, considering the option. "I suppose that's a better idea than what we are doing right now. We won't last long if things continue as they are."

Jerek nodded. "We should move all of our vessels closer to the cruisers first, to not make our intentions obvious until to late."

His superior agreed, and walked away to give the commands. Meanwhile, the Corellian turned to the holographic display of the enemy Star Destroyer. He took out his comlink, deciding to check on how things were going aboard the enemy flagship. "Are you making any progress?"

 

[Flamjetxx]

It seemed that a few of the men under Ark's leadership were lagging behind, either due to the previous engagement, or mere hesitance to commit to battle. Ark hoped for the former, because there was no place for hesitation under his command, and if they weren't in such a precarious position, Ark may have sent a saber into him, and been done with the liability; However, this was no such advantage Ark had for their situation, and he needed every ounce f manpower he could muster, and instead called to the man, searching into his forethoughts for only a single word, his name, Davin, "Get up here, front and center. You'll be up with me, front and center from this point on," Ark commanded him. The front line in the squad wasn't a beneficial place, as most often it meant the first to get shot at. Ark, being the adrenaline junkie he was, and being a Master of the Force and lightsaber had no such fear of the front line, but for the trooper he'd called upon, it would certainly be a jarring experience if he were to make it out alive with the rest of them. It was against human nature of self preservation to throw oneself into the first line of danger, and that's his punishment for being late to the party.

The ambush swept through the droid-trooper squad, clearing them out with ease, having flanked them the moment they came into view of the doorways. Droids or not, they still sparked as the men bled. The cool metallic floor of the hallway became smeared with blood as Ark directed his me forward in silence. They all fell in line behind Ark and Davin, and Ark pushed through the wake of dead bodies, though a disturbingly high number of droids as opposed to flesh bodies.

Getting onto the com, Ark contacted their guide, "It seems they don't have nearly as much support for this act as they cold have hoped for. A lot of their forces consist of droids." Ark updated him, not knowing whether the information was obvious or even useful, but regardless, Ark was determined to give as much as he could in hopes that it could indeed yield results in his benefit.

As they came up to one of the alternate paths, it took him and his men through bunkers for what were likely maintenance droids. They were mostly emptied, indicating that a lot of them were likely in current use, a standard for battle. It also made easy travel as it bypassed several junctions likely to be heavily guarded. However, it still left a single location for the most heavily guarded location of the ship, the lifts. It was unavoidable, but something they couldn't likely avoid in any case. Ark desperately wished he had the plans for the flag ship, but he was unfortunately to ever have omitted such information to memory, and ships were never much of a focus of his studies anyway. he'd have to rely on his contact for the necessary information, and that information said the lifts were the only way to the bridge.

Coming out of the end of the narrow hallway that made up the bunkers, the lifts were half way down a short hallway towards the left. From that angle, Ark couldn't see much more than a jumbled mess of bodies, both droid and man. Getting onto his communications device, Ark asked another task of his guide, "I need you to tell me if you can pick up any life forms at the top of the lifts. I don't want my men walking into an ambush while we're all trapped inside a confined place."

In the meantime, Ark had the task ahead of him of dispatching the current guard duty in front of the lifts. Nudging Davin forward with the butt of his rifle, Ark sent a message back through the ranks, "Every other man splits behind me, the rest behind Davin. Davin's group will go wide, while the rest of us follow the wall, using the cover Davin's squad provides to get in close."

Then, Ark files out as silently as they could, keeping close to the wall, where the jutting wall of an alcove hides half their forces from the defenders, and allowing Davin to get a good field of view of the guarding positions, where Ark cold lead the rest in close for the quick follow through.