Ask Nar Shaddaa Whispers in the Dark

[The Eclipse]

Far away from the galactic Core where a certain ranger made his home a long awaited moment finally arrived. An agent of the Eclipse had connected a portable computer to a larger system to process the data, or perhaps the dataplague had finally broke through system defenses in its own insidious fashion. But either way, Darmus would receive a message through the HoloNet to his personal console. A ping signifying where the signal originated from that rang from the console in the early morning, before most were even properly awake.

It came from Nar Shaddaa, a signal from a holonet connection tower that was routed through the surrounding structures. It was traced down into the depths of the city-moon, all the way to an ancient and ostensibly abandoned undercity complex. There the Eclipse had made a lair, buried in the metal and death of the city. The recent zombie plagues and the furious dead that still roamed the lowest levels further discouraged investigation by others and had been a perfect place.

Until a certain ranger had decided to be clever, at least. How he handled this new information was up to him. Rapid response, or slow and steady? Stealth, or find someone to kick the door down for him? Or even go at it alone and hope for the best? Regardless of the method, it would be best to be prepared for anything when Sith were involved. In some way or another, the Eclipse would be waiting.

@Eccles

 

[Darmus Onn]

Darmus sat back in his chair and felt the adrenaline surging throughout his entire body. Before him on his screen was the definite location of whoever had been inside the Sector Ranger HQ on Coruscant during the Eclipse's devastating attack. For weeks he had waited and feared that the ping would come from another ranger's apartment or indeed, it never came at all. He only knew his malware had infected a device and until now he didn't have a single clue as to who said device belonged to.

The depths of Nar Shaddaa could only mean one thing, though. The Five Syndicates were responsible. No wait, the ranger leaned in towards his screen and checked the links inside the target network. This wasn't Five Syndicate-styled chatter.. he'd been monitoring them for decades, this didn't fit their profile at all. And the location was off, too. As far as he knew no one lived so close to the moon's surface.. especially not after that zombie plagues hit those levels. "What if-" Darmus typed in some queries, hoping to find a connection that transferred data from this network to Sullust and back in a frequency that couldn't be accidental, but it needed a few moments to do its magic and the adrenaline was making all of the aging ranger's muscles restless as hell.

Getting up from his chair, Darmus grabbed his holo-communicator and walked over to his window where he dialed Lieutenant Corrant Velt (@TerranSteel), "Pick-up, Corran." He was too impatient for this, "Come to my place asap, bring Captain Rook (@Darasuum), but no one else." he hung up only leaving a holo-message to his friend. He caught himself hyperventilating and watched his own face in the reflection of his window, kriff he didn't look so good. Truth was, Darmus had starved himself of both food and sunlight for weeks. His apartment was tidy enough to host a ranger captain, but even if it wasn't he didn't care right now as he suddenly rushed back to his terminal.

What would be the result of his query? Had he infected Five Syndicate gangers or a Sith Order temple on Nar Shaddaa?

@Mr. Teatime

 

[Corran Velt]

Messages from Darmus Onn were rare. Calls from him were even more scarce. A holo-message asking Corran to bring along Captain Rook but keep it all a secret was unheard of. It had been so implausible that he watched the message a few times to see if it was the reclusive ranger trying to signal he had been kidnapped or in danger. Despite intense scrutiny, the message appeared to be genuine and sincere. "Darmus, what have you gotten yourself into this time?" Corran mused to himself, staring at the frozen holo-message. Whatever it was must have really alarmed Ranger Onn. Something that serious would certainly need to be passed up the chain of command.

So Lt. Velt did what the message ordered. Striding over to his own comm aboard his ship the [Crimson Venture, he typed in Roland's information and waited for the connection to be established. When no live-feed was picked up, the blond ranger sighed lightly and stood up to his full height and clasped his hands behind his back. Roland would hear the officialdom and seriousness in his tone. "Captain Rook, this is Lieutenant Velt. I have received a message from Ranger Onn regarding an urgent matter. We are to gather at his personal residence on Coruscant. The utmost secrecy is paramount. Bring no additional persons. I'll meet you on Coruscant Valorum Memorial Spaceport. Lt. Velt, over and out." Satisfied with that recording, he cut the connection. It wasn't the ideal solution. Corran would have preferred to physically meet Roland in person and the both of them go together. Unfortunately, Roland could have been anywhere in the galaxy. A beskar needle in a haystack. He could only hope that the Mandalorian listened to the recordings.

Taking the pilot's chair in the cockpit of the old YT-1300, the blond ranger began entering in the coordinates for his journey back to the center of the universe: Coruscant. After the fall of headquarters and his medical recovery, he had tried to avoid it. But whatever Darmus had stumbled across piqued his natural curiosity. That investigative instinct that nearly all Sector Rangers had. "Well, let's go see what the loth cat dragged in." A firm hand pushed the lever forward on the console and the blue hues of hyperspace enveloped the ship.

@Eccles @Darasuum

 

[Roland Rook]

A spark pinged against the Mandalorian's visor as he looked at the small damaged droid. It wasn't going to get fully operational but he knew the memory banks still had some uncorrupted data. Thankfully Indy had worked some magic on it, maybe literally for all he knew. The data was extracting but it would take some time. Most of the files looked to be music files but he wasn't sure what kind.

Standing back up, Roland moved away from the portable computer and other tools to head up to the cockpit of the Cobalt Viper. The vessel was darkened and was in a geosynchronous orbit over Kalevala. Powering fully back up, he noticed a message. Playing the message, it would play until the end and then begin to loop back. The Mandalorian stopped it though and sighed as he thought about it.

"This better not be a karkin' bachelor party I'm getting roped into." He might headbutt someone if they tried something like that. But Corran was a honest and Roland trusted the man. Darmus Onn was a Ranger that he had yet to meet however. Taking the ship away from the planet, Roland set a course for Coruscant. Preparing a message and then transmitting back. "Hey Lieutenant, hope everythings ok. Can you send me Ranger Onn's address? Thanks." The Mandalorian didn't know where everyone lived but that would probably reach the fellow Sector Ranger before Roland arrived at Coruscant anyways. After the message sent, the firespray would jump to hyperspace bound for the core.

@Eccles @TerranSteel @Mr. Teatime

 

[Corran Velt]

By the time the Crimson Venture had landed at Coruscant Valorum Memorial Spaceport, the Captain's message had beeped on Corran's datapad. "Send me... Ranger Onn's... address..." He mouthed to himself. An audible groan of self-chastisement came as soon as he realized. "Making a fool of myself in front of Captain Rook already. Gotta me kidding me." That grumbling went on for a bit as the blond ranger typed in a return message that included Ranger Darmus Onn's address. "Meet... me... there...sir." A thumb pressed hard onto the datapad and the message was soon on its way. Embarrassment still hung about Corran as he strode his way to the automated speeder rental. It seemed so natural that a superior officer knew everything that it hadn't even crossed his mind that Roland didn't know Darmus. One could only hope that Captain Rook was forgiving.

The drive over to Darmus's place had taken a bit longer than expected. Mostly because finding the right address and the apartment in a busy urban sprawl like Coruscant was more challenging for the young man from a less crowded world. Once parking was secured, the lieutenant didn't immediately proceed up to Ranger Onn's apartment. He leaned on the rented speeder with arms folded. If it took him a minute to find the right place, Roland might have some difficulty as well.

So there he would wait. If Captain Rook was looking for the right spot, he'd see Corran right away and know this was the place. When the superior officer did arrive, the blond youth would stand upright in a respectful greeting and together the two would knock on Ranger Onn's door. Whatever Darmus had found, it was must really have been something. Curiosity began to eat away at him. Discipline would win through. All Lt. Velt could do was wait.

@Eccles @Darasuum

 

[The Eclipse]

Darmus' dataplague took quite a bit longer than he'd expected to return search results, but it returned them all the same. His virus had almost not found anything at all. But in the end there was a one bit of information worth noting, a single source of communication that wasn't just tidbits of internal chatter.

A holonet signal to Sullust, highly encrypted, a source of constant back and forth communication. The Ranger couldn't possibly read through the contents, but he could trace it. The dataplague had determined with one-hundred percent certainty the signal went between the deep undercity and some complex on Sullust near the capital. The plague didn't reach it and could only pull a vague location, but Darmus could probably guess what it was.

The Sith fortress on Sullust, where the Eternal reigned. His hunch had been correct, they were connected. But that wasn't the only thing the program pulled up. By the time it pinged search completion, it had also flagged a piece of information as an unknown element. An unrecognized symbol it'd found buried in the data.

Three lines long lines, two curved and almost resembling a question mark, that orbited three short strokes. In the center was a single dot, hopefully uneven like the rest of it. The database had no reference for it, it wasn't in a language it recognized, and a pattern analysis would pull too many options from a variety of cultures to truly narrow it down. It clearly meant something, but what? Perhaps it was simply code for something, or a symbol the Eclipse used for identification.

Perhaps the Rangers would find out if they looked hard enough.

@Eccles @Darasuum @TerranSteel

 

[Darmus Onn]

Darmus was staring at a printed out copy of the image he found when he opened the door for Corran (@TerranSteel) and Roland (@Darasuum). "Corran!" a broad grin appeared on his face as he opened the door all the way and stepped aside, "come in, come in." He paused for a second upon seeing the Mandalorian ranger that was Captain Roland Rook. "eh, Captain Rook. Welcome to my home, I'm-" he felt stupid all of the sudden and that despite the fact he was known as a man who didn't care about others and always went his own way. Still, something about that Mandalorian inspired awe, regardless of how headstrong you were. "ranger Onn, Darmus, at your com-" nope, he couldn't do it. "welcome." Closing the door behind the captain, he invited both men to take a seat at his table while he walked over to his liquor cabinet and produced the bottle of iridonian whiskey and three glasses.

His guests would be standing in a rather neat apartment, but that was the least notable thing about it. From all power outlets in the apartment big cables ran towards the computer rig in the corner that seemed to shine so bright it could illuminate the whole apartment if it wasn't for the fact it was midday and the sun shone in. The large personav with all the local criminals he was tracking was in full sight on one screen while the other displayed a large symbol with a bunch of coordinates that a trained navigator would recognize to be in Hutt Space.

"You must be wondering why-" his eyes widened as he suddenly rushed to his rig and ran his anti-malware program on his own rig. If he traced someone to the lower levels of Nar Shaddaa, then who said the lower levels of Nar shaddaa couldn't trace him back.

With his enthusiasm and pride somewhat dented, Darmus returned to the table and finally placed the bottle and glasses on top of it. "Sorry about that, bit distracted ever since that malware pinged." Corran would immediately know what he meant with "That malware" for Darmus still had trouble discussing the events that ended the lives of dozens of his very good and oldest friends. He tossed the printed out version of the symbol he found on the table for the both of them to see and filled their glasses.

It was when he grabbed his glass and lifted it slight in his hand that the wide grin returned, "I found them." Iridonian whiskey never taste that good.


@TerranSteel @Darasuum @Mr. Teatime

 

[Roland Rook]

After landing the Cobalt Viper on Coruscant, the Mandalorian drove his balutar class swoop over to Darmus's home. Corran was arriving roughly at the same time so they went to the door together. Walking inside, he would look around at the home of the Ranger. "Thanks." He said simply at the man's awkwardness. An effort at manners was still appreciated.

The inside of the apartment was about what he could expect from a fellow Ranger. The inside of his Firespray was kept in good condition but even then he was still living out of his ship most cycles. The boots of the man carried with a patient step him around the inside of Darmus's home. His visor looked over the personal belongings and furnishings that might give Roland a better clue about him while the man collected himself.

Looking at the printed out symbol, Roland took a few steps towards it and cocked his head to the side. When Darmus exclaimed 'them', the Mandalorian's visor once again slowly panned over to Corran as if expecting him to explain. The Lieutenant hadn't revealed anything yet and the Captain was still in the dark about what it was Darmus was talking about. "Well... don't keep me in suspense." The man looked back towards the slicer specialist.

@Eccles @TerranSteel @Mr. Teatime

 

[Corran Velt]

Once entering the threshold to Darmus's abode, the blond ranger greeted his mentor with equal relish, "Hey Darmus!" A bit casual for the usually rigid lieutenant, but they were friends. Much like Corran was with a small circle of Rangers. After the attempted (and awkward) polite salute to Roland's rank, Lt. Velt took the invitation to proceed further into the apartment. By size alone, it was only meant for a single inhabitant. Maybe two. A total lack of dirty dishes or disorganized shelves left a good impression. Darmus wasn't some slouch who sat at a terminal all day. Corran couldn't help but smirk a little. Seems the veteran ranger had some classic discipline after all.

Cords and cables, like mechanical snakes, slithered across the floor to large viewscreens. One held data and information on a large amount of criminals and ne'er-do-wells. The blond ranger took a moment to examine that. Huh. So that's how he kept track of them all. The other terminal held something unknown altogether. A strange symbol that looked something like a diagonal bird taking flight. A sinister aura seemed to emanate from it in Corran's mind. What had Darmus stumbled upon...?

As offered, Lt. Velt took a seat at the table and followed Ranger Onn as he brought over alcohol and three glasses. Corran didn't partake in strong drink only very rarely. In the past few years only terrible sorrow or immense joy. Hopefully it was more the latter than the former. At the mention of the malware ping, he knew exactly that referenced Sector Ranger headquarters and what happened there. It was still hard to talk about for many of them, but Darmus especially. With a printed version of the odd symbol laid out on the table, the blond ranger eyed it for a long while. The he began glancing between the paper and Ranger Onn. "You didn't." He said knowingly.

He found them. Three little words elicited a scoundrel-like smirk from the normally stoic lieutenant. "You cunning genius. You found them!" After waves despair and defeat, this nugget of possibility was a breath of fresh air. In anticipation of excitement, Corran took up his glass of whisky but did not partake as Captain Rook interrupted. "Ranger Onn found a Sith base! Maybe the ones who struck...before." Better to be delicate than talk about the pyre of headquarters. Corran lifted the whisky glass up to his lips but froze as a tiny pang of doubt struck. He turned to double check with Darmus,"...Right?"

@Eccles @Darasuum @Mr. Teatime

 

[Darmus Onn]

It surprised Darmus that the captain didn't seem to be up-to-date. He was part of Sector Ranger Command, wasn't he? Surely a captain actually read the reports that the rangers were forced to write about every time they took a piss or crapped out their coffee. Corran was the older ranger's focus point, though, and for a moment he truly enjoyed to bask in his own glory. "I found the Sith base from where the attack was most likely planned." he started to explain as he knocked back the shot of Iridonian whiskey and took a seat. Maybe the brass didn't like one of their rangers to drink whiskey on midday, but Darmus had never really paid any attention to what the brass wanted anyway. "It's on Nar Shaddaa, which explains the Black Sun presence in the attack, and I've confirmed it has a direct line to the Eternal's fortress on Sullust."

He sat back, his hands folded into each other as he tried to figure out how to communicate all the options he had been mulling over ever since that signal pinged. "I want them to face trial here," he finally stated, "and if I can get inside that base I might be able to get my malware all the way to the Eternal's palace." the implications of that were of gigantic value. Tapping into the comms of the Eternal was akin to finding out who was behind the mask. But this was easily said and most likely impossible to pull off. This was the group responsible for the massacre of Sector Ranger Command, who belonged to an organization, or rather cult, that had massacred multiple ranger offices right smack in the Core. And they had done all of that with ease and minimal casualties. For the Sector Rangers to attack their base of power to try and arrest them was madness..

..but Darmus guessed they still had the element of surprise.


@Mr. Teatime @Darasuum @TerranSteel

 

[Roland Rook]

A nasal huff came from Roland's helmet. He was not excited about going to the Smuggler's Moon. "Of course it is..." In the heart of another foe's den. It made things difficult if they needed to get close without getting detected, let alone raiding a fortified location. It could just be some empty safehouse by the time they finally checked it out.

He listened to what Darmus said, looking him over to get a sense of the man's resolve. Depending on how things went, a trial, might not be something they could afford. Especially when they considered the options of getting access to the Eternal's palace. "What makes this base so special?" He didn't know if there were schematics, any details of if the Rangers was just assuming there was a castle or bunker on the other end. The phrasing made it sound like there was no other possible base on Nar Shaddaa.

"So we'd learn where the Eternal is if we can just get you plugged in?" He wanted to make sure he understood the Ranger's program if there was anything worth knowing or explaining. "Even if they don't know we're coming. It's not going to be easy. I assume you have a plan for that?" His eyes also looked at Corran to see how he was feeling about all of this.

@Eccles @TerranSteel @Mr. Teatime

 

[Corran Velt]

Everything Darmus was saying started out good but got harder to stomach with each passing word. Finding the Sith base, and the confidence the veteran ranger displayed, was the best news Corran had heard in awhile. But... it was located on Nar Shaddaa. Likely deep within some criminal zone like the Black Sun. At least in theory it connected to the Sith's main base on Sullust. In theory. The blond ranger lowered his drink steadily until it rested just above his belt. There would be no celebration libations today. Ranger Onn's end-goals caused Corran's eyebrows to furrow in thought.

Sneaking into a base, even a major fortress, and placing a dataplague there seemed plausible. Dangerous and likely the biggest challenge Lt. Velt had yet faced, but doable given their combined talents. Capturing the Sith there and bringing them back to trial? That was another matter entirely. Roland would see contemplation and uncertainty in the young ranger's face. Cogs were turning inside his head but any of the solutions his brain computed weren't good enough. Corran sighed lightly and gestured to Darmus with his drink, "The malware, with surprise on our side, could be done I think. Get in, get out, no problems along the way."

Then came the dejected look. "But trial here? In FWA Space? Captured Sith in the past only acted like a beacon. Remember the Coruscant prison break?" Corran turned to Roland and pointed with an index finger, "You were there. Not much was left of that place by the end of it." The lieutenant then used two fingers on his free hand to guide them along the diagonal scar on his face. "Not to mention how hard it is to capture one. Unless we caught them sleeping or something." Even with all that laid out, both men would see that there was something stirring in the lieutenant. That endurable hope that Darmus knew all to well. It was like an aura that emanated from the young man. After a few lingering moments, a grin would appear on Corran's face. "We should do it."

@Eccles @Darasuum @Mr. Teatime

 

[Darmus Onn]

The captain surprised Darmus once again and the old ranger couldn't say it was in a positive way, "No," he replied wearily, "When I first found the people responsible for the attack on us I had to identify whether they were common criminals or in league with the Eternal. I found chatter to the known location of the Eternal on Sullust," Darmus couldn't believe that a member of Ranger Command didn't know of the attack on Sullust, the sighting of the Eternal and the proclamation that Sullust was the capital of Eternal's personal patch of galaxy. "but my works in a way that once infected onto a device, said device will infect everything its plugged into." he didn't usually think he'd have to explain this further, but with the captain he just wasn't sure.. "If there's a direct line from Nar Shaddaa to Sullust, if I can transfer the malware over that line. We don't find the Eternal, we unmask him."

Then Corran spoke and for a moment Darmus feared that the two higher ups would flat out refuse to run the operation. To not sanction a posse or go outside FWA space with all the HoloNet accusations roaming around. Ofcourse, it was foolish of Darmus to doubt for Corran came through like he always did. The older ranger answered the grin with a wordless salute of his drink and took another sip. "We're no Jedi, Captain Rook-" Darmus began and with a press of a button the screens in his computer corner changed. The screens themselves were behind Darmus and thus the other two rangers had a good view of them. One showed dated blueprints of the Nar Shaddaa lower levels and the other a list of rangers, which included the three of them. "-we don't rush in without a plan. I've selected a select number of our fellow rangers to unite with us in a posse."

At this point both Roland and Corran would notice that among the list was a non-ranger. In fact, he was flagged as a wanted criminal and member of one of the most dangerous families in the Crymorah Syndicate: the Zaa Fenn. "I'm running an undercover with the Zaa Fenn who will use his syndicate connections to help us fit in once we reach the smuggler's moon. I've selected Jaxon Clane to help him." the latter name may or may not be familiar to the pair in front of him. Sector Ranger Jaxon Clane was an experienced lawman who aside from sharing some glasses of Iridonian with Darmus over a two-decade career had accumulated significant know-how of the criminal ways in the Outer Rim. His experience would be invaluable. "The blueprints are of an old access point. Most likely abandoned now, but we'll make it our base of operations. I can connect my rig to it and scout the Eclipse base through the net while we scout and map the lower levels surrounding their base."

Darmus knocked back what remained of his whiskey and leaned forward, both elbows on the table and his hands softly tapping the table in what seemed impatience. "When the time is right we'll get ourselves inside, download all their files, plant the malware and arrest the leaders." Darmus paused, he wasn't forgotten Corran's objections, "or kill them in their sleep." he didn't look to pleased with that option. He wanted them to be brought to justice.. he wanted that closure of the families of the victims, but he too remembered the prison attack and knew the risk might be too great. "We leave some alive so they'll run back to Sullust and infect the Eternal's palace with the malware."



@TerranSteel @Darasuum

 

[Corran Velt]

As much as Ranger Onn's end-goals were rather lofty for the operation, his plans were stunningly practical. Corran had set his drink down - the possibility of this grand raid was more intoxicating - and he folded his arms musingly. As soon as the personav screens lit up with new information, the blond ranger was immediately curious and drawn in. His eyes rotated between the blueprints of the Smuggler's Moons lower levels, the list of assembled names, and Darmus himself. How long had he been working on this? At the quip of their key difference to the Jedi on Sullust, Corran couldn't help but reasonably chuckle. It was no secret he considered the Sector Rangers a superior organization than any religious cult when it came to the defense of the New Republic and FWA. Still, the names on the digital list were so curious as to recapture the lieutenant's attention. Not only because his name was there.

Anticipating the question, Darmus was quick to point out the most egregious one: a Five Syndicates criminal. The blond ranger raised a finger in protest but was quickly silenced by the assignment of Jaxon Clane, another ranger, to watch over that particular member. Undercover work, especially the long-con kind, blurred the lines a bit too much for a straight-edge like Corran. If Darmus and Ranger Clane believed they could handle it, then he could brook it. The rest of the plan was just good surveillance work. A hidden outpost among the ruins, probe the Sith locale with tech and scouts, and sneak in when ready. Once inside, confiscate anything of value, fill their base up to the eyeballs in malware, and get out of there. Only the mention of permanently handling whatever Sith they found there drew a somber nod from the lieutenant. He didn't like that possibility, nor was he looking for it, but if it came to that... it was better than letting the terrorist escape to harm another day.

Turning away from the screen, Corran finally uncrossed his arms and let his hands rest on his hips. He looked at Darmus for a moment before finally speaking, "Well, I'm convinced. You've done incredible work, Ranger Onn. We wouldn't even be having this discussion if not for your quick-thinking. I'm all in." The blond ranger then swiveled his head to look at the helmeted Mandalorian. "What do you say, Captain Rook the Sith Slayer?" Corran asked, using the famous nickname that Roland had earned years ago, "Are you won over?" If all were agreed, the gears could then be set in motion. A plan to finally and truly strike back against the worst terrorists the galaxy had seen in a generation. If the plan went forward, Corran would have to make a quick phone call.

@Eccles @Darasuum

 

[Roland Rook]

Roland listened to Darmus explain. Corran's concerns were voiced but it was good to hear what the older Ranger had in mind. The comment about the jedi, he found himself nodding. The different selected people for the taskforce were looked over by the Captain silently for a few moments. Things were always risky with these sorts of operations. But Roland had every reason to trust the man and his capabilities. This was the Ranger way of doing things. It was the right way to do this.

The cross visored helmet turned to look at Corran after he asked him the first time. A few more slain Sith might do the galaxy good. Turning to look back at Darmus he would give his answer. "Let's get this chakaar." Even with that agreement in mind, he would abstain from drinking all the same.

@Eccles @TerranSteel @Mr. Teatime