{Sith Mission}Establishing Footholds

[LadyM]

After the war, most of what the Empire had as far as military and financial assets had nearly been destroyed on the planet of Belderone. The Empire along with the Dark Council agreed in order for them to hold a strong grip on their recently conquered systems, a strong military presence was needed in the Belderone System. So assets and Imperial citizens and military contractors were sent out to the system to begin construction on the newly planned out Belderone Outpost. The site that had been designated for the Outpost was surrounded in the nearby jungle and after several weeks of clearing it out, the construction began.

Several Imperial workers had just came on to the third shift to continue the construction of the Outpost just as daylight was giving into nighttime. Several Imperial Stormtroopers were checking the badges and data cards of each and every citizen as they passed through the checkout point. Rumours were flying about that the 7th Imperial Fleet was en route with not only more supplies but with more construction equipment. The timetable for the completion of the Belderone Outpost was at weeks behind schedule due to several work related injuries then an outbreak of a flu like virus the workers and military personal dubbed The Belderone Death March. Several workers had died from the virus but the Imperial doctors had at last found a cure.

As the citizens began moving through the gate, the ground began to shake and tremble all around them. Everyone, workers and military personal alike, stopped what they were doing and looked toward the heavy thick foliage of the jungles. Suddenly, a bellowing roar erupted from the jungles followed by several massive figures stepping from the cover of the jungle. A citizen raised his hand and pointed at the figures just as they emerged into full view of the floodlights.

"Rancors! That one single word erupted from the lips that sounded like a chorus of frightened singers. The Imperials were caught off guard as the Rancors charged toward them....

The next day, several workers and military were missing..the Outpost was nearly in ruins...and on the ground were several large footprints made by some large predator.


((( O.C.C. When you guys/girls get to the planet or whatever I'll NPC the Rancors in more detail. Just wanted to give you somewhat of a starting pointe and background history. )))

 

[Trebantes]

"How in Hutt Space am I going to get to Belderone?!" Thor ran through his ship's navicomputer. "Damn I need this updated." From frustration, Thor sat down in his chair and placed his head in his hands. "Damn it all!" Then Thor stood up and Force pushed one of his training droids on his ship. The droid didn't get up. "I'll need to talk to this Grima soon for a follow trip to this location." Thor patched his communications panel for Grima Volita. "Grima, Grima. Are you there? It seems my navicomputer is not updated. Care to send over the coordinates?" Then Thor stretched out in his chair as he waited for Grima to contact him. While waiting, Thor had a datapad open on his lap on the topic of the Dreadmasters from the Old Republic.

 

[Negative Blessing]

Grima sat in the meditation chamber aboard her ship the Anathema allowing the Dark Side of the Force to flow through her. She was going over the reports of what she had read in her head about this incident that had occurred on Belderone, and she found herself at a loss. She had dealt with Rancors before and even at her home on Dathomir Rancors ran unchecked through the jungles on the planet but she had never heard of Rancors openly attacking a settlement or even a military outpost. They were vicious predators but they were not stupid creatures. Had something spooked them or stirred them into action? Or where these massive predators evolving somehow?

She knew what ever answers there was to be found would only be acquired on Belderone so she cast away all her assumptions until she had the facts. Slowly returning back to reality she ended her meditation trance and stood up, adjusting her robes and returning the hood back to its place; over her head leaving only the lower half of her face exposed.

Sith Master Grima Volitu had just exited the chamber when her pilot, Grundez, announced over the speaker, "Master Volitu, the ship has picked up an incoming transmission from an unknown area. However, the ships ID is registered in the Empire and is designated as a Sith vessel. Shall I patch you through or do you wish to take the call elsewhere?" Grima thought about it for a second then responded, "No, hold the transmission until I reach the cockpit." As Grundez acknowledged the order, Grima made her way to her ship's cockpit.

Sitting down at the only other chair in the cockpit, she looked out the viewport then nodded she was ready to hear the transmission. Grundez pushed a yellow button and flipped a switch to activate the ship's speakers. "Grima, Grima. Are you there? It seems my navicomputer is not updated. Care to send over the coordinates," boomed through the speakers. Grundez whipped his head toward Master Volitu and saw the anger on her face. She is a Sith Master, a title and rank she had earned respectably, and the anger on her face betrayed she was already annoyed by whomever sent this message, who not only failed to address her properly but also failed to identify himself.

Grima pushed the green button to open the communication link and responded, "This is Sith Master Volitu....a title you will address me by. Now, since you have not given your name I must assume you are one of the Acolytes the Dark Council has sent to accompanying me to the planet of Belderone. I find it odd you have not been given the coordinates when the mission was given to you but I understand the Dark Council are very busy of late." Grima paused for a moment deciding whether or not if she should give this Acolyte the coordinates or let him deal with the Dark Council for failing to follow their orders by arriving at Belderone.

Finally she ordered Grundez to transmit the coordinates on a secure channel then spoke to this nameless Acolyte, "The coordinates are now being transmitted to your ship." Grima pushed the button to end the transmission just as Belderone was coming into view.

 

[Trebantes]

Thor felt a rush of anger, not from him, but from Grima Volitu. "Oh...," said under his breath. Then the coordinates were received and Thor sent his ship into hyperspace. In the mean time, Thor was writing a text message for Volitu to be sent to him, it was more of an apology than anything else.
"Master Volitu, my apologies for the immature prologue that I have given you. I don't expect to be forgiven, but as an acolyte, I will be at your disposal. That and I have done you a disservice of being incomprehensible when identifying myself to a Sith Lord. I am Thor Ra Brigantes and you have my word that there won't be anymore repugnant annoyances from me.
Then Thor threw on his robes, belted his lightsaber and prepared to exit his ship once he landed on the planet after he sent the message. Then Thor went back to his ship's cockpit. "Computer, bring up a planet detail of Belderone." The computer looked through the holonet and found a planet description. Computer: Originally named Vartholium. The planet specs are terrestrial, breathable air and its coordinates are R-6. "Damnit! Why didn't I think to look first? Well this is going to be an awful day." Then Thor got into sight of the planet and was getting ready to dock. Once docked, Thor got out of his ship and awaited instruction from Master Volitu.

 

[Rasputin]

Cassus's fighter exited hyperspace, with his ship orbiting the greenish-blue sphere. In the distance, he sighted a large Imperial Star Destroyer patrolling the perimeter, hovering above his relatively tiny interceptor. After being cleared through, Cassus approached the planet to dock.

His ship flew from the dark, cloudy skies, landing down on a docking pad. Despite being rather small, the docking outpost stood out like a sore thumb. All of this durasteel and flashing lights looked very out of place in this jungle.

Cassus exited his starship and pulled his hood over his head to shield himself from the rain which almost immediately drenched him. It was uncomfortable, to be sure, but he could bear it.

The Belderone Outpost--or what was left of it--sat eastward, about 11 kilometers away. They would need to take a speeder to the site.

There was no sight of Grima nor a Sith acolyte, so Cassus stood there and waited patiently with his arms crossed.

 

[Negative Blessing]

The first thing the Sith Master felt when she stepped onto the planet's surface was the stench of desperation mingled with fear. She didn't know what to expect on this outing so she opened up her mind in the Force and let it be her warning alarm. She began trudging through the mud as the rain began to fall faster and with more thickness from the sky. She cursed under her breath at the weather but soon she came across the first Acolyte. She did not recognize him so this must be the one she spoke with through the ship's communications. "So you did find your way after all....Acolyte Brigantes. Come, we will head toward the Outpost and see if my Apprentice has already arrived."

Grima led the male Acolyte through the flooded jungles keeping her eyes open and senses on high alert for these Rancors. She had dealt with Rancors before, killing them on Dathomir and Felucia but she had never faced a pack of them. This concerned her greatly because she still had no idea what spurred them to attack a heavily fortified military outpost. As they walked she looked over at the Acolyte, here eyes looking him up and down under her hood. "So indulge me Acolyte. What brought you to the Sith Order?"

After their walk they came upon the Outpost and she felt the familiar presence of her Apprentice. Walking toward him she said, "I see you found this place with no difficulty...and I'm sure you didn't need to ask for directions." The Sith Master shot the other Acolyte a quick glance then turned back to her Apprentice. "Have you discovered anything yet Apprentice?"

Grima whipped her head to the right and raised her hand up to stop her Apprentice's words. Something massive was coming there way.


(((O.C.C. NPCER, go ahead and post again after the others post)))

 

[Trebantes]

Following in the Sith Lord's shadow, Thor thought it would be poignant and prudent to answer to this Lord. "Well, you can say I was raised in the Order long into my childhood, shortly after my travels and mere troublesome acts in the jungles of Dromund Kaas. My parents also worked for the Empire as agents, no more than low ranking lackies, but they did do their best to live up to the Imperium's cause." Then Thor took a few steps before realizing his answer wasn't good enough. "Knowledge. Knowledge was the real stimulant that kept me going in the Sith Order. I loved the histories and the chronicles, my favorite eras of study would be the Old Sith Empire of the Old Republic and the Infinite Empire of the Rakatans." Thor stopped himself as he saw a new arrival, then Thor pulled out his lightsaber, but didn't ignite it. Shooting the question to Volitu, "My Lord, friend or foe?" Thor was being too cautious and it showed on his face but another sign showed on Thor's face, he too felt something else but couldn't put a pin on it.

 

[Rasputin]

Cassus raised an eyebrow at Thor. Obviously, this acolyte was here for the size of his muscles rather than his intellect. It did make sense, though; fight fire with fire. True, Sith were not as grand in size as rancors, but one powerful in the Force could be a match for a rancor. Obviously this acolyte must be quite powerful to be picked for this task.

"Do I look like a rancor?," Cassus replied to Thor. He turned to Volitu. The Togruta stood at about as tall as him, but only because of her monotails. Without them, she would be considered rather short. Grima was known to be from Dathomir, where rancors were known to be domesticated by the Nightsister witch clans. It came to no surprise that she was selected to lead the mission.

Just as he opened his mouth to speak, his master stopped him there. She sensed something, as did Cassus. The ground rumbled and the sound of great stomps could be heard from the forest. Something was coming--something big.

 

[LadyM]

His scarred face moved back and forth as his impressive smell picked up the scent of fresh meat. His black eyes began to glaze with delight as the smells began to tease his hungry stomach, so the apex predator of the planet began to move toward the source of food. When he began to step forward, he was followed by his mate, a smaller female Rancor but just as dangerous. She allowed her life mate to lead her through the jungles, her stomach raging to be filled with food as well.

The two Rancors were on the outskirts of the jungle, their hungry eyes fixated on the food, three small creatures. With a bellow of rage, the Bull Rancor charged from the confines of the jungle, his mate in tow. With a low rumble in his throat, the pair split up in a technique to surround their prey....

Further Away

The sounds echoed throughout the jungle and the sounds of their comrades fell on the ears of three Rancors who had just finished consuming a large furry creature. Though their hunger was temporary sated, a Rancor's appetite is only matched by its size. With gore from the masticated body of the creature dangling in her massive jaws, she whipped her head around allowing her tracking sense guide her through the jungle, the other two Rancors, juveniles followed their mother.

Though she had no sense of distance, she knew from the sounds that the others were far away...

 

[Negative Blessing]

The moment the two Rancors appeared from the cover of the jungle's foliage, Grima produced her two lightsabers and ignited them. It had been some time since she killed a Rancor and now the opportunity presented her with two of the massive creatures. "Cassus and Thor...you two work together to take down the smaller of the two. The hind legs are ther weakest pointe and that is where you should focus your attacks," the Sith Master bellowed as she then charged the Bull Rancor filling herself up with the Dark Side energy.

The monster swiped down at her but she had anticipated the attack and dodged to her right to avoid the sharpened claws then leaped into the air, swinging her two lightsabers below her, blinding the beast when her blades slid across its bulbous eyes. Grima slowed her flight through the air and landed on the beast's back and sliding down from behind, she drove her blades into the Rancor's thick skin cutting a line down its back. The creature screamed with a mixture of rage and pain. When her feet touched the ground she powerd down her left lightsaber and began to utter the spell word, "Itsu Hyal Hask" and from her fingertips erupted a green web of energy from the Sith spell Odojinya that entangled the Rancor's legs, dropping him to the ground with a loud crash.

Grima powered up her left lightsaber and in four quick slashes severed the tendons on the Rancor's legs making him completely immobile. Then running up its scarred back she jumped up into the air, turned her two blades downward and as she landed on the beast's head, she drove the two blades into his head, piercing flesh, skull, and finally its brain.

Grima front flipped off the dead Rancor and after touching the ground with her feet, spun around to check on her apprentice and Thor.

 

[Trebantes]

Quickly igniting his saber, Thor took into thought of Lord Volitu's order and turned to Cassus. "I'll draw the small rancor's attention if you're willing to cut it at the knee caps." But before letting Cassus respond, Thor then turned to the rancor delivering a Force push at the rancor's face to not so much as to topple the beast, but for it to act like a slap so the beast can respond with anger and head towards Thor. Thor waited for the rancor to respond and do as Thor planned.

(Short post. Sorry)