[RoSM: Clan Scholae Palatinae- Team SKAR]

Comp Link: https://www.darkjedibrotherhood.com/competitions/14297

Posting Guidelines

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Team Members:

• Darth Aeternus: Snapshot
• Kadrol Hauen: Snapshot
• Reiden Karr: Snapshot
• Shadow Nighthunter: Snapshot

Objective Chosen: Revenge Path

Phase I objectives

‘‘Phase I begins on October 14th and ends on October 28th (two (2) weeks)’’

After intercepting a transmission from the now destroyed Brotherhood Listener ship, the Psi Termina I, your team has been hand-picked and sent on a mission. You are already boarded on the Dreadnaught-class heavy cruiser Akan, arriving in an Imperial boarding craft through the auxiliary starboard hangar, only several decks below your target. The Akan’s hyperdrives and major systems have been disabled by ion cannons from escorting ships and a battle still rages outside.

The ship’s power fluctuates with every blow from turbo lasers and ion cannons and you have limited time to complete your mission. The Collective regiment typically onboard is currently deployed, but ship security is fully staffed and some elements of the regiment may still be onboard. Intel expects Soldiers and Partisans onboard.

Your team has been tasked to complete one of the following objectives in limited time (you may complete only one (1) objective):

• Revenge path: Reach the main bridge, face and eliminate Captain Brith Kayle and extract valuable information from the computer core before the fleet destroys the ship.

• Sabotage path: Reach the primary computer core behind the main bridge, extract the information and set the ship to self-destruct before extracting.

• Pacifist path: Reach the primary environmental controls on the main bridge, pacify the whole ship with Stun gas before extracting data from the computer core and calling in the cavalry.

Caution: the Captain is accompanied by an unknown number of enemy combatants.

The Phase must end with the bridge secured and the ship either pacified or destroyed. In all but the Revenge path, the Captain’s fate is up to you.

Aeternus looked at his team. Shadow, his Aedile, was already quietly going over her gear. Reiden, discussing the mission with Kadrol. This would be the first mission with this team that he’d be leading, and he was not yet sure what he could expect from them. He looked at his left hand, at the sigil of the Tarentae. Gone were the days where a mission like this would be done by several of them, with more than just a single elder. Too many had perished at the hands of this foe a year before. The Sith Lord planned to spill enough blood in their name to make them regret their earlier actions.

He shook his mind clear. Now was not the time to think of those things. He was supposed to be committed to his new clan now, as one of the last of his kind that had not succumbed to the bloodlust that many of his brethren had fallen to after their defeat.

He checked the chronometer, as the shuttle went through several hard banks, apparently avoiding close in defenses. “Final equipment check. We’ll be landing in their auxiliary hanger shortly. When we land, depending on how much opposition we face, either Shadow takes them out quietly, or I will loudly.”

At that, Shadow grinned. “What, you’re not planning on having all the fun yourself?”

He looked back blankly at her. “Scans show there are still some armed troops on board. There will be enough chance for ‘fun’.”

As he said it, he realized this would not do to improve their morale. “I’ll make sure you will all get some.”

prepare for landing! came from the speakers. we are in their hangar. Expect minimum opposition.

They felt the shuttle touch down, and Aeternus nodded at shadow. As the ramp came down, she rushed out, and he followed after her shortly. He motioned Reiden and Kadrol to a shuttle that had fallen over, and took a moment to take in the rest of his surroundings.

The hangar bay appeared to be in use for the senior staff of the vessel, the shuttles looking more taken care off, and with more creature comforts, then one would expect for regular troops. Occasionally, the lights overhead would flicker, in tune with impacts on the ship’s shields. Nearby, a member of the ship’s security force lay, clearly killed by a lightsaber. If there were any others nearby, they would already be dead, as he no longer sensed anyone but himself. However, he decided to wait until Shadow gave them the clear signal.

It didn’t take long for the assassin to clear out the hanger. Her red and silver blades danced in arch of light as she finished off the last the security force members, the man’s head rolling away on the floor. Shadow looked around for one last check before she extinguished her lightsabers and gave the all clear with a bird whistle.

“Was hoping for a welcome party,” she muttered as the others joined her. She turned her attention to her Quaestor. “Should be able to make some progress without much hindrance if they don’t already know that we’re here.”

“That’ll make things a bit easier if that’s the case,” Reiden added. “But rare is such luck.”

Aeternus nodded pensively, the Sith considering their next move. “Shadow, go on ahead. Stick to the shadows and take out whoever you have to. Keep us updated through commlink if you come across heavy resistance or anything else.”

“As you wish. I don’t mind doing all the work if I have to,” she responded in jest before she took off and exited the hanger. Those who happened to see her didn’t live long enough to shout for help as she cleaved through the first few members of security and crew she came upon before she took a side route and concealed herself with the Force. Invisible to the human eye, she was able to move at a brisk and quiet pace while remaining unseen. Keeping to the shadows as she was ordered, Shadow quickly made her way through the corridors eager to eventually reach the bridge where their objective lied ahead.

Meanwhile, Kadrol and the others remained in the hangar bay. The youngest member of the group almost instinctively went to follow Shadow. He had taken his first steps when a hand suddenly gripped his shoulder. The Hunter instinctively reached for his lightsaber, stopping just short of activating it when he heard the familiar voice of Darth Aeternus tell him “We wait here. Wait for the all clear.” Kadrol turned around and walked past the two others, clearly bored. Kadrol walked over to one of the destroyed shuttles, and climbed into the cockpit. He sat down in the pilot’s seat and proceeded to mess with the buttons and steering wheel. He would occasionally hear a muffled voice over the com link in his pocket, but he just decided to ignore it. A few minutes after the last transmission came through, he heard the thuds of boots walking on the metal walkway of the ship. “Kadrol, let’s go!” Reiden prodded. The fifteen year old stood up and followed Reiden out to the hangar bay and into the hallway Shadow had taken nearly thirteen minutes prior.

The trio met Shadow about two-thirds of the way to the bridge, crouched down in a corner. “There’s a squad just around the corner.” Shadow informed, gesturing around the corner with a head nod just for good measure. Everyone in the group activated their lightsabers, revealing an array of colors: blue, purple, red, and green. They all stepped around the corner and were met with a volley of blaster fire. Reiden, Shadow, and Aeternus rushed forward to slice up the enemy, and Kadrol followed, making an attempt to do the same, though not very successfully. Luckily, most of them were focused on Shadow, and not Kadrol. When the Hunter eliminated his first trooper, he looked around to find that the others had dispatched three each. The final two squaddies were fleeing, shouting for backup as the three Sith chased after them. By the time Kadrol caught up to the others in time to see two lifeless bodies laying next to the rest of the group as Reiden deactivated his green lightsaber. They continued to make their way to the bridge, sabers at the ready.

When they finally reached the bridge they were faced to see that the blast doors had been activated. “Blast it!” Shadow exclaimed in frustration.

“Now Shads, a plan isn’t a plan unless it fails.” Reiden said, attempting to calm the woman. Nobody in the group knew how to slice the access terminal to open the blast door to the bridge; one look at eachother made that immediately clear. Kadrol was just about to ask how they should get in, when a glowing blue rod passed right in front of his face and into the door, melting it. “What in Mustafar was that for?! A little warning next time?” Kadrol yelled. Soon, the blade cut a hole large enough for them to fit through. Aeternus stepped through first, followed by Reiden, Shadow, who had force-cloaked herself, and Kadrol. Blasters were already firing and lightsabers were twirling by the time Kadrol entered the bridge. As usual, the Hunter was utterly confused as to what he was supposed to do.

Right as he had finished cutting through the door, Aeternus sent the part he had cut forward with a short burst of telekinesis, throwing it right into one of the unfortunate troopers on the other side. He had expected what would be happening now: a large formation of troopers was ready for them, in firing positions.

Raising a barrier, Aeternus stepped through the breach, and let the dark side of the force flow through him. Vaguely aware of the others of his squad following behind him, he mentally grasped the tendrils of the force, and raised a hand in front of him.

Eldritch lightning sprang from his fingertips. It reached the first trooper, and from him spread to those around him. The Sith Lord walked forward, step by step, as if taking a leisurely stroll, with the blaster fire aimed at him, and those behind him, deflecting harmlessly on the barrier.

The nearest troopers began to fall, the power coursing through them overwhelming their nervous system, killing them. More fell as he came closer. When he came close enough, he let the barrier fall away, and the lightning died down.

Respite was brief for those still alive, as it only heralded the calm in the storm. Only an instant passed, and then he was among them, both his regular lightsaber, and his saberclaw on his other hand cutting through them.

His felt more than saw that while he had taken up the center of the formation, the others had flanked them. He glanced briefly around, and saw Reiden on one side, striking foe after foe down with easy precision, and Kadrol on the other, spending more time seemingly practicing his skills, and even taking the time to decapitate one trooper. Shadow was living up to her name, and he could only follow where she was by the screams and gurgles of troopers dying unexpectedly.

“Reiden,” Aeternus yelled. “Find a way to prevent more from getting behind us!”

Reiden merely nodded in affirmation. Now was the time for action, not words. He decided to let his lightsaber do the talking for him. He sank into the flow of battle as he enveloped himself in the Force, trusting it to guide him as they fought. As the enemy soldiers opened fire on them, his plasma blade was a whirlwind of viridian as he deflected blasterfire. He ran to a wall and planted a foot on it before vaulting away from it and over a couple of soldiers that had attempted to circle around and attack them from the rear. He spun in mid air to face them, quickly bringing his lightsaber to bear and slashing it across the first man’s back, watching as the enemy crumpled to the floor.

The second man spun around and tried to draw a bead on Reiden. But the action was not quickly enough. Reiden swept his blade upward, slicing through the metal of the blaster. The soldier stared at the molten end of his blaster in disbelief. Taking advantage of the shock, Reiden then plunged his saber into the man’s chest.

Suddenly, the Forced tugged at Reiden’s consciousness. Knowing that feeling all too well, he spun around to face the still-glowing hole from which he and his team had entered the bridge. Another group of soldiers was making their way down the corridor quickly. The Palatinaean dropped for cover behind the blast doors, swapped hands with his saber and pulled out his blaster. Taking a moment to draw a bead on the lead soldier, he let out a breath and squeezed the trigger, unleashing a trio of shots. His aim rang true as the bolts struck the man in center mass, dropping him before his cohorts.

The other troops hesitated. Reiden holstered his blaster and took that opportunity to summon the Force to his hand. He thrust his arm forward and sent the troops flying backward as if struck by a giant, invisible hand. He switched his lightsaber to his main hand once more. The blade sprang from the hilt and snapped to life with a sharp hiss.

“Looks like we’ve got company, guys,” he called to his teammates behind him.

The sounds of blaster fire and the fluctuating hums of lightsaber blades filled the air as Reiden, Kadrol, and their Quaestor dealt with the reinforcements. Shadow, meanwhile, cleaved through the forces and bridge crew standing between her and Captain Brith Kayle. The assassin’s lightsabers sliced and stabbed through each foe for only a few seconds before tasting flesh once again. She twisted out of the way from a crewman’s reckless blaster fire, the man desperate to bring her down. His attempt to save his skin was futile as the Aedile quickly launched herself at him, her blades effortlessly cleaving him in half.

“Stop her!” the Captain ordered as the Rodian fired his own shots from his BlasTech X-8. “Bring that filth down!”

A brief smirk crossed Shadow’s lips, her golden eyes glowing a bit brighter in wicked amusement while she dove and rolled to the right to avoid the oncoming fire. She found cover behind a console, and quickly disappeared as she manipulated the light with the Force. She carefully and silently approached the remaining crewmen and their captain, only a slight shimmer revealing her movement for anyone who might take notice.

“Come out and fight!” Kayle demanded before he gestured for one of the crewmen to move forward, not knowing the Sith was now just a few feet away from him.

The crewman sent to flush her out quickly peered around the console, only to find Shadow wasn’t there. “…She’s not there, sir.”

“What? What do you mean she’s no-”

The snap-hiss of two blades coming to life from behind him caught the captain by surprise as Shadow became visible again. She quickly reached over the shorter Rodian’s shoulders and crossed her blades right next to this throat. “Because I’m right here, dear Captain.”

Kayle instinctively tried to escape, but stopped when he felt the blade press closer to his skin. His allies looked at him helplessly, not sure what to do. It didn’t matter, however, as they were soon cut down by Reiden and Kadrol. Their deaths fueled the Captain’s anger, and he scowled with disgust as the team regrouped.

“If you’re going to kill me, then just do it now!” he demanded.

“Not so fast. We need you to do something for us first,” Aeternus informed him. “Kadrol, disarm him.”

The young Marauder nodded and quickly went and removed the Captain’s lightsaber and blaster weapons along with his explosive kit and grenades. Disarmed and no longer a major threat, Shadow uncrossed her sabers and slowly moved around to his side, keeping the tip of her silver blade under his chin. The amused glint in her eyes was gone, now replaced with a cold gaze.

“Now, Captain, we need you to open up the terminal to grant us access to the computer core,” Aeternus continued, knowing well enough that the Captain wouldn’t oblige.

“Forget it. I won’t do such a thing, and you can forget trying to get any information me.” Kayle crossed his arms. “I won’t betray the Collective.”

“You had your chance.” The Elder went over and whispered something in Shadow’s ear before he walked down the set of steps to the carnage he and his comrades had left behind.

The Rodian watched the Quaestor pensively, wondering what the Master had said to the half-Sephi. He then looked at her questioningly, her eyes catching his with a slight chill beginning to creep down his spine. There was something very dark and sinister within her gaze that unnerved him, unaware of the dark tendrils of the Force reaching out into his mind until it was too late.

A sense of fear began to take hold of the Rodian, but he did his best to fight off whatever was trying to ensnare him. Unbeknownst to him, Aeternus was in meditation amongst the bodies. With his eyes closed and his emerald dagger in his hands, he began to reach out into the Force. The blood of the fallen and the dagger became the focus of his meditation, fueling his focus and strength in the Force. He reached out towards Kayle’s mind, sensing his Aedile’s work taking place as he then did his part in weakening the captain’s morale.

The Captain wasn’t sure what was coming over him as he suddenly felt a deep fear begin to creep in. He backed away in, wanting to runaway from whatever was plaguing him. “What are you doing? Stop!”

Shadow locked her gaze with his as she lowered her lightsaber and extinguished it. His fear fueled her efforts as she put all she had into his affliction, causing the Rodian to scream and cower as he backed into a console and fell to his knees. His screams were music to her ears, bringing much delight to the Sith. With the Rodian’s resolve gone completely, they’d have no problem getting the information they required.

Not wanting to destroy his mind completely, Shadow slowly released her hold on him. Aeternus’ footsteps were heard as he rejoined his fellow Imperials and went over to the unfortunate soul. Taking note of the glazed look that veiled the Captain’s expression, the man once again made his request. “Will you now open the terminal for us, Captain?”

The Rodian nodded, and slowly got up to do as he was told. Facing the console, he set to work opening up the terminal, removing the locks that kept the computer core secured. Aeternus watched as Kayle worked, satisfied with the Rodian’s compliance.

“Well, at least that’s over,” Reiden remarked as Kadrol remained silent, his attention focused on the space battle taking place on the other side of the viewport.

“Let’s not relax yet,” the Battlelord advised before she went over to the terminal. She took out her datapad and began to extract the data once she was given the go ahead by Aeternus. It took a few minutes before the transfer was complete. “That’s it. We’ve got it all.”

“Excellent.” The Quaestor gestured towards the silent Rodian and turned away to head out.

Taking the cue, Shadow quickly took out her dagger sheathed in her boot and plunged it into the Captain’s throat. “Thank you for your assistance, Captain.”

“At least he won’t be summoning for reinforcements anymore”, Aeternus told Shadow, a hint of a smirk playing over his face. His meditation had taken some energy, but that would only slow him down temporarily.

As they headed out, he suddenly paused, tilting his head slightly, as if listening to something. The rest of the team looked at him, hesitating. After a second, he started moving again, picking up pace. “We have to move, the fleet is about to destroy this ship. We move, and don’t stop for anything.”

Reiden looked at him questioningly, but did start moving. “How…”, he started, before realizing the elder had recieved a telepathic message. “Nevermind. The hangar is 3 decks down, there is an emergency access ladder 50 meters that way”, he pointed. Aeternus nodded, and they started moving at a faster pace. Running would only let them blunder into an ambush, but this pace was enough to cover the distance fast, and still be able to notice patterns.

Covering their rear, Aeternus noticed that Kadrol’s gear was not the same as when they arrived. Noticeably, in addition to his own equipment, he was now carrying an extra lightsaber, an E-11 Blaster Rifle, and a BlasTech X-8 Night Sniper blaster pistol. “Picking up souvenirs, Kadrol?”

The Hunter grinned. “I do plan to be a Knight someday soon. I might be able to salvage the crystal from this”, he said as he latched the saber onto his utility belt.

Aeternus shook his head. “Make sure that it doesn’t have any nasty surprises before working with it. Some put traps on their sabers, to prevent just that.” He also knew Kadrol probably would’ve picked up more, had he been able to.

He couldn’t see Kadrol’s reaction to that, as they had reached the emergency shafts, and went down as fast as their respective powers allowed them. A corridor further along the hangar deck, they gathered at the entrance. It wasn’t hard to sense that some troops had gathered near their boarding ship.

“How do you want to do this, boss?”, Shadow asked Aeternus.

“Fast and bluntly. We don’t have much time left.”

Before he had finished his sentence, he stepped through the entrance. Feeding of his anger, he rushed towards the squad guarding their boarding vessel, igniting his sabers along the way. Some fire was sent his way, his speed throwing of the aim, and missing him for the most part. One shot hit him, but did not even slow him down.

Suddenly, he was among them, saber blades cutting through armor, weapons, and body parts. By the time the others arrived, the fight was over.

“Reiden, get the ship ready. We leave now. “

**

Minutes later, they were clear of the blast zone, as the fleet destroyed their target. The data had already been sent by a secure data burst, and they were returning to their carrier. Aeternus had told them not to expect any rest, as he suspected another order to come through soon.

This Phase lasts from October 29th until November the 11th (two (2) weeks)

Request from the organizers: Please add a note to the top of the next post which path your team will choose in this Phase. Thank you.

Phase II objectives

Your team left the dreadnought Akan with information that, together with the data analysed by Clans and the Inquisitorius, has lead your to the Meridian Prime space station, a fortress, correctional facility and space dock floating in interstellar space just off the Wild Space boundary. Already under attack by Clan and Dark Council forces, dogfights light up the blackness around the behemoth, and intel suggests the shields and defenses have not yet been weakened enough for a full-scale naval assault. The station is on full alert and firefights have already started as skirmishes between Collective troops and Brotherhood assault teams pepper its three massive hangar bays.

The station houses civilian and enemy personnel, including a correctional facility that holds hundreds of Brotherhood prisoners of war, both Non-Force users and Force users alike. The prison has an isolated security system, its own power generator and life-support. Intel suggests that the prison is managed by a powerful AI (artificial intelligence) controlling the Dioxis security system, many defense blaster turrets, ray shields and a large complement of Imperial Sentry Droids acting as guards, controlled by the prison warden. The interior of the prison itself is pumped with a thin mist of Dioxis gas, preventing escape and anarchy.

You have been dropped off on the lower decks via boarding pod.

Breath masks are provided for this mission, should your team require them. Any Possessions item that prevents inhaling of poisonous gas will be effective as well.

Your team has been tasked to complete one of the following objectives in limited time (you may complete only one (1) objective):

• Revenge path: Reach the correctional facility and eliminate prison warden Rutgar-4. Caution is advised as there are Imperial Sentry Droids defending him.

• Sabotage path: Reach the prison’s AI core to recycle the life support and free the prisoners. Prepare for a riot as many prisoners are powerful Force Users and Non-Force Users.

• Pacifist path: Reach the prison’s AI core and disable the security systems to allow incoming Brotherhood troops to secure the facility.

The phase must end with the prison facility secured, one way or another. In all but the Revenge path, the prison warden’s fate is up to you.

Relevant character sheets:

• CS: Rutgar-4
• Since there are no character sheets for droids, participants will use the Possessions i9tem page as reference: Imperial Sentry Droids
• See the station wiki for other possible adversaries

Chosen path: Sabotage

Reiden glanced around the interior of the boarding pod at the members of his team. He knew Shadow well enough from their years together in Scholae Palatinae. Kadrol was more of a recent addition to the ranks and seemed mostly untested in battle, but he had done well aboard the Akan. Darth Aeternus, on the other hand, was the one that gave him pause the most. The man was a former member of Tarentum and an Elder. Furthermore, he was a Sith Lord, which called his motives into question. Normally, Reiden would have been more cautious of the man, but as with Kadrol, what he had done aboard the Collective vessel before seemed to solidify the Corellian’s opinion of him as a newfound ally.

He looked back to the datapad that had been provided for them to review their information. “This facility looks like a special kind of hell as far as the corrections level is concerned. They’ve got dioxis gas pumping throughout the space, which answers the question of why we were provided breath masks for this mission.”

“Great, that’s the last thing we need to deal with,” Kadrol spoke up as he examined the lightsaber he had claimed as a souvenir earlier, clearly annoyed by the news.

“Don’t worry, we’ve come prepared,” Aeternus assured the young Hunter.

Reiden nodded, holding up the datapad. “That we have. The facility has a civilian population as well, due to the trading hubs and its use as a refueling station. We’ll need to be careful of that, but I think we can manage. Interestingly, their prison is run by a droid, and they have both droid and organic security forces. Looks like you’ll be able to scare some people again, Shadow.”

“Oh, good. You know how I enjoy that,” the assassin replied with a smile.

Reiden gave her a nod as he continued, “So, from the looks of these schematics of the station, starting from the lowest levels, there’s the power generators, a trading hub above that, the correctional facility, and another trading hub. I assume the command center is located on the uppermost level. I think our best bet would be to gain access via the lower trading hub. The information we’ve gathered indicates that area is home to more black market dealings and such. We should fit right in. From there, we’ll work our way up through the prison, upper trading hub, and to the command center. That’s probably where we’ll find the prison’s warden and a large portion of the security forces, as I imagine the Collective would want that area heavily guarded. How does that sound to everyone?”

Aeternus merely gave a nod of his head, appearing deep in thought before speaking. “Yes, that seems like a sound plan.”

There was the sound of a dull thunk as the boarding pod made contact with the exterior of Meridian station. A faint hiss could be heard next as a vacuum seal was created before the craft cut an entrance. The door of the boarding pod slid open and Reiden extended his will outward and used the Force to move the cut metal aside, stepping out of the pod and into the station.

After the others exited the pod, Kadrol stood up to follow suit, securing his new lightsaber to his belt, and helped R2-S1, Kadrol’s astromech, out of the pod. Kadrol was glad she was finally going to come with them on the mission. There were a few sentries patrolling the corridor, but other than that, it was empty. Kadrol instinctively reached for his saber to take out the guards, but Shadow sensed his thoughts and reached out and laid her hand on his. Kadrol looked over bewildered and Shadow explained that they would blow their cover once they took out a droid. They had transitioned to awkwardly holding hands, as Kadrol sometimes did with his mother, for a quick second before Shadow instinctively pulled her arm away. R2 then rolled right between the two, saying “Bleep bloop bweeeeoop.” This statement left her master flustered and blushing by what she said.

R2 was eager to get going, and after a quick check within her memory banks to make sure which way to go, she started down the hall, with the others trailing close behind. The group rounded the corner to a large open space with vendors selling everything from food to scrap metal to weapons and armor. The marketplace was bustling with people going each direction. The astromech pushed her way through the crowds, making her way towards the large, industrial-sized turbolifts. As the group drew near to the lift, the doors slid open. Entering the lift, two series of buttons lined the side. One set was accessible to anyone, and the others were restricted. As other people gathered within the lift, Kadrol pushed the button to the upper trading hub: the closest they could get without drawing any unwanted attention. The doors closed once the lift had been filled, and began to rise. A minute or so later, a loud ding was heard as the door opened, and a swarm of people spilled out of the lift.

“Where to now, R2?” Reiden asked.

The droid whistled and rolled to the right. The group then followed the droid in a counterclockwise motion until they reached a hallway. They continued to follow the droid down a system of adjacent corridors until R2 stopped at a stairwell. Reiden, Shadow, and Darth Aeternus all started up the stairs, not realizing that the droid couldn’t follow.

Kadrol attempted to pick up the droid, but to no avail, calling out to the others, “A little help here?”

Reiden, who hadn’t yet rounded the first flight of stairs, heard Kadrol’s cry and turned around to help. The two then carried R2 up six flights of stairs: Kadrol at the feet, Reiden at the head. It took them about five minutes to catch up with the others, who were waiting outside the doors to the control center.

“Be alert,” Aeternus cautioned, “We had to take out a few droids before you got here. The whole space station may be on red alert now.”

“Shadow, scout ahead in the location the droid wants to go.”, Aeternus ordered. He had swiftly taken care of the droids that had spotted them, but right now, setting the alarms off would not help their mission.

As they rounded the corner, he suddenly paused, and steadied himself, holding his hand out to the wall. “That… can’t be.”

Reiden looked at him, puzzled, obviously wondering if he had snapped. “What can’t be?”

“The prison… Elder Tarenti are being held there, and they are angry. I thought them lost after Yridia…”

Shadow had rejoined them. “Can you communicate with them?”

Aeternus shook his head. “No. they are not coherent, and mostly just using the force to scream out in anger. I’ve fought with many of them, I recognize some of their… Signatures. Otherwise… Their screams will only feed into the anger of the humanoids on this station, us included.”

“We should set them free, and let them destroy the station from the inside out!” Kadrol enthusiastically suggested. Aeternus unconsciously twisted his Tarentae ring, and came to a decision. While some of the more powerful Tarenti would be able manage without air, that did not go for them all. He cleared his mind with some effort, and prepared to move on.

“No. The intel is clear, the life support there is controlled from the central command hub. Even if we can stage a prison break, they would have no air to breathe. We perform our mission first, and then we will see if we can break them free. Let’s pick up the pace.”

Shadow took the lead while her three companions and the droid followed suit as they made their way towards the command center. The astromech unit had provided her the shortest path to take earlier before she had left to scout ahead. That path had also proven to be the most dangerous to which Shadow had cloaked herself to avoid detection. Resistance which was both droid and organic in nature stood between them and setting the prisoners free. The Battlelord’s hatred for the Collective only grew, but she kept her focus on the objective at hand. Revenge would have its chance another day.

“Get ready,” she whispered as she reached a corner and peered around it cautiously. She reached for her dagger sheathed in her boot, while her offhand grasped her saber from her belt. A patrol of guards was heading for them, and they were just a few feet away when the assassin quickly broke free from cover and threw the dagger into a Kiffar’s chest, the blade having been aided by the Force.

“Sound the alar-” Another guard tried to order, only he was silenced by Shadow’s crimson blade that was now joined by the blades of her brethren.

A blast of Aeternus’ lightning and screams of pain joined the singing of lightsabers slicing through flesh. The chorus of despair was soon joined by other Collective guards as they gave orders and battle cries, but they were only hushed like their earlier fellows had been. The team pushed forward with both the Aedile and her Quaestor keeping pace at the front while Kadrol and Reiden kept their flank cleared. Bolts from Reiden’s Westar-35 flashed through the air before burning into their target’s flesh or melting through the metal skin of sentry droids joining the fray. Kadrol twisted and spun out of the way from oncoming fire, and managed to barely deflect a shot now and then with his blade before attacking anyone who tried to engage the hunter up close.

“How long before we get there?” the young Pantoran inquired frustratingly as a blaster bolt barely missed him.

The droid let out a sequence of beeps and trills in reply, R2 keeping in-between the pairs for her safety. Shadow reinforced the droid’s answer with one of her own. “Just a corridor or two to get through and a lift is all that stands between us besides these wretches.”

“Just make sure R2 doesn’t get her circuits fried!” Kadrol ordered, the Marauder already doing what he could to keep his mechanical companion safe.

“Noted!”

Reiden took a moment to sink into the Force and the flow of battle around him. He fired off a quick volley of shots from his blaster before trading it out for his lightsaber, the viridian blade hissing to life as he activated it. Stretching out his senses and tuning into the battlefield, he joined the fray. He launched himself at the nearest droid, his plasma blade slicing through the blaster barrel of a droid, quickly followed up by a strike that severed the droid’s head from its body.

Off to one side, Kadrol was engaged with another droid. The young Pantoran, though unskilled in more advanced forms, was holding his own against his opponent, for the moment at least. The droid brought an arm down to strike at Kadrol. He brought his lightsaber up in a two-handed strike, lopping off the arm. The boy then plunged his weapon through the droid’s chest before moving on.

Reiden had caught the tail end of the engagement in his periphery and couldn’t help but smile. The kid showed promise; that much was certain. Reiden turned all of his attention back to the matter at hand and deflected incoming blaster fire from a Technocrat. He stared the man down before leaping over, skewering the Collective soldier on the blade of his lightsaber. He continued on from there, moving from one opponent to the next, dispatching his enemies with brutal efficiency. This was not the time to indulge in any fancy flourishes or drawn-out battles. They had a mission to accomplish and it was critical that they succeed.

Aeternus was busy as well. Brilliant lightning flared from his fingers, leaping from one target to the next, spreading among them like a wildfire. Their anguished screams were cut short only by the stroke of his lightsaber.

Reiden had lost sight of Shadow amid the battle as she flitted from target to target. Yet he knew the assassin was there — he could still sense her presence. He had known her for years now and was well aware of her prowess. He put his faith in his teammates and their abilities as he got back to work. No sooner had one enemy fallen, than Reiden moved onto the next. Be it organic or droid, his lightsaber claimed would soon claim them as its victims.

In his periphery, Reiden caught sight of a Technocrat with an object in his hand. His head whipped around to take in further details and noted that it was a grenade. Reiden couldn’t tell what type it was from the distance, but it mattered little. The Technocrat soldier sneered with malice. Acting on instinct alone, he extended a hand and sent out tendrils of the Force across the distance. They curled around the man’s neck and squeezed, lifting him off the ground. The Technocrat coughed and choked, gasping for breath as he clawed at the invisible hand clamped there, but to no avail. Soon, the man slumped in the air. The lumpy-looking, misshapen grenade slipped out of the man’s grasp and dropped to the floor, detonating on impact with a flash of fire. Luckily, Reiden and his team were out of the blast radius.

The enemies closest to the explosion were thrown back by the force of the blast. Reiden took advantage of this fact and leapt over, using the Force to aid him in closing the distance all at once. He quickly eliminated the fallen Collective agents. He risked a glance around him and noted that most of the forces had already been taken care of.

Only three remained. Reiden turned to face the nearest one. The Technocrat looked afraid — an expression Reiden had seen often on the faces of people that had never witnessed the exploits of a Force wielder before. He stalked over with a grin on his face as the man fumbled with his blaster rifle, trying and failing to take aim as his hands were shaking too hard.

“P-please…spare me!” the man pleaded.

“Oh, I am. Only, I’m sparing you from any further stupidity forced down your throat by your bosses. Eliminating Force users won’t stop these tragedies, as Rath Oligard would have you believe, not entirely anyway. I hope you’re prepared to find out whatever awaits you next,” Reiden replied, plunging his lightsaber into the man’s chest.

Reiden looked from the man to the other two enemies that were left. One suddenly had a lightsaber poking through his chest as Shadow appeared behind him. There was a crackle of lightning and a cry of pain as Aeternus took care of the final one, walking over to strike him with his lightsaber for good measure.

“Kadrol, you’re up now. Get that droid over to the computer terminal so we can complete our mission,” Reiden instructed.

The Pantoran nodded and brought R2 over to the computer. She connected to the terminal and began to get to work.

“That should do it,” Kadrol said, as his droid beeped confirmation. “Life support on the prison deck is coming online, air systems are operational.” He looked at the security screens. “And it seems that the cells have been unlocked.”

Aeternus looked at the same images, and realized that the prison droids were still able to hold their prisoners at bay.

“I’m going to shift the balance,” he said, and held up his hand to silence them before they could voice objection. “There are Tarenti there, yes. But plenty of those aligned with Scholae Palatinae have gone missing without a body being found, not to mention those from other clans. I believe we have found them, and I do not plan to return to tell the Empress that we left them here.“

Reiden paused for a moment, weighing the options. “That makes sense. We can’t just abandon our own people here without helping them. And if we happen to help members of the other clans in the process, then so be it.”

Shadow gave a curt nod. “Agreed. I’ll be damned if we leave anyone here.”

It took them some minutes to get through to the prison facility. There was, surprisingly, no security force to stop them. As they got closer, it grew clear why that was. The noise became louder and louder, clearly that of an ongoing battle.

The entrance to the prison was only lightly guarded, the attention of the droids clearly on the ongoing fight behind them. Aeternus took out his saber in his left hand, and activated the saberclaw on his right. The others followed his lead, and they simply rushed into them.

The first few droids fell easily, but as they progressed deeper into the prison, the droids became collectively aware of them, and shifted their attention to the new threat. However, this also meant the battle with the prisoners was shifting. Gradually, their spearhead fought through the complex, coming across captives from several clans. A Naga Sadow Tattoo here, others slipping into fighting stances associated with Arcona, with most showing telltale signs of their respective clans. Those captives that could grabbed weapons from the fallen droids, turning on their jailors. With the fight gradually shifting against the guards, they came up on a group droids surrounding another group of prisoners, with one droid being a visibly different model. It seemed they had found the warden droid.

This group of prisoners was warding themselves with force barriers, occasionally other powers to attack back, but several were wounded already. Here, he recognized the patterns of those who were calling out earlier.

Without pausing, Aeternus used brief bursts of telekinesis to collide several droids against their neighbours, breaking their fire patterns. The different droid turned his attention to him.

“Command: Surrender your weapons, and prepare for incarceration.”

The droid had barely the time to go for his blade, before Aeternus’ blades were upon him. Even so, he did not last very long. It managed to block the strike with the regular saber, but was unable to block the punch with the saberclaw as he closed in. With the hip joint thoroughly ruined, the droid fell to the ground, and was swiftly disassembled with several saber strikes. By the time he was done, the rest of the team had taken care of the other droids, who now also faced the full fury of the powers of their captives.

Aeternus set to work getting the captives organized. Several of them knew who he was and enforced his commands. Since there were not enough transports to get them all off the station, and with the command hub severely hampered, the plan was to now commandeer the entire station.

“It took you long enough to get here, Korras.”

He looked up, and recognized the face. One of the Tarentae, thought lost at Yridia. He shook his head. “I have not gone by that name in a long time, and you know that.”

“Peh. I’ll always call you that, and you know that too.”

To the others, it seemed like an another confrontation was coming, until they both grinned. “It’s good to see you, even under these circumstances. Where are the others?”

Aeternus shook his head again. “There will be no others. Tarentum suffered too many losses at Yridia. The Iron Throne had no choice but to disband us, and use what was left to reinforce the other clans. I was sent to Scholae. Bloodfyre and Anshar to Plagueis. Etcetera.”

The other Tarentae cursed. “So on that, they were not lying.”

“Unfortunately not. Though there are rumours that Ciara, Telona, and some of the others have returned to Yridia, and are staging a gathering there.”

He looked thoughtful. “I will go there, then, after we take care of this station. Will you join us there?”

Aeternus saw the look on Shadow and Reiden’s faces as he was asked that question. He frowned at them, and after a moments thought answered. “No. I have been given a different task.”

Kadrol interrupted their conversation. “Quaestor, the Empress has contacted us. Apparently they noticed we had taken the main computer offline, and now want us back for the next mission.”

He nodded. “Inform her we will be back shortly.” He looked at the other Tarentae. “Can I leave this… Situation in your hands?”

“Aye, you can. The station will soon be ours. Ask that empress of yours if she can spare some ships afterwards to get us out of here.”

“Good, and I will. And if you are going to Yridia, you will need this.” Aeternus took his Tarentae ring off, and handed it to him. “It will make the passage a lot more doable. You will need it more than me. Kadrol, Shadow, Reiden, let’s go!”

With the majority of the guards on the station taken care off, none dared step in their way as they headed to the shuttle deck, leaving Aeternus with some time to think. His choice was clear to him now, it was time to forge a new legacy, and train a new crop. At the same time, that would allow him to hone new skills. Several minutes later, they had reached the shuttle, and with the droid aiding them, were soon off the station.

This Phase lasts from November 12th until November the 19th (one (1) week)

Request from the organizers: Please add a note to the top of the next post which path your team will choose in this Phase. Thank you.

Phase III objectives

The Brotherhood advances. What started as sporadic fighting in the major hangar bays of Meridian has turned into an all-out battle on all decks. Spurred by your team’s success in the prison, your Clan forces have come to support you and issue new orders for your team.

Daggo Mouk, one of the leaders of the Collective and the Guildmaster of the Technocratic Guild, has been confirmed on the station. With him he has a potent Technocratic Artifact that, if whisked away, would threaten the position of the Brotherhood in future engagements.

Daggo’s last known position was in the command center, however we have been having trouble following his movements. Wherever he is on the station, he would not leave the artifact unattended. The return of the artifact to Brotherhood hands is of absolute strategic value.

Your team has been tasked to complete one of the following objectives in limited time (you may complete only one (1) objective):

• Revenge path: Confront and eliminate Daggo Mouk. Have no mercy.

• Sabotage path: Sabotage the Collective’s future plans by stealing the artifact by any means necessary.

• Pacifist path: Capture Daggo Mouk for interrogation and trial.

The phase must end with the artifact retrieved. Daggo’s fate is open-ended and up to you.

Relevant character sheets:

• CS: Daggo Mouk.

Chosen path: Revenge

No sooner than the group had left the station to join up with the rest of the Scholae Imperial Navy, a transmission came through to Kadrol’s comlink. “Hmmm, it’s Elincia,” Kadrol said aloud, handing the steering off to his R2 unit before walking to the back of the shuttle to answer the call.

“Hello, master. What’s up?” He asked.

“Kadrol, is your group still on the Meridian? You need take out an Ithorian named Daggo Mouk. The Dark Council wants him in their possession: dead or alive. You can’t miss him. He will have two robot arms coming out from his back and he has an eyepatch on his right eye,” Elincia informed him.

“We just left. We’ll go back and get him,” the apprentice replied. The Pantoran rejoined the rest of the crew and informed them of their new mission.

“R2, we need to go back,” Shadow commanded the droid. R2 made a few beeps before making a U-turn and landing back in the hangar from which they had stolen a shuttle.

Before exiting the shuttle, Kadrol instructed his droid companion to stay put for a getaway, handing her his comlink. The group then made their way from the hangar bay and into the adjacent hallway. The fatigue from the previous missions were starting to take their toll on the fifteen year old Pantoran, as he started to fall behind the other three running through the corridor. He didn’t remember seeing an Ithorian in the command center when they were up there earlier. With this thought, his mind began to wander. At the end of the hall, he heard Reiden’s voice amidst the noise of the crowd fleeing the space station, but he could not see his clanmates.

Reiden looked around and couldn’t find Kadrol with them. Worried that he had fallen behind, he backtracked through the hallway. As he rounded a corner, two members of the station’s security force came out of a connecting room. Either they had missed the two in their prior sweep of the station, or they were reinforcements that had been elsewhere at the time.

Reiden let out an exasperated sigh, annoyed at the delay and the constant moving around finally catching up with him and taking its toll. With his lightsaber activated, he deflected a few blaster bolts before quickly closing the distance. His blade cleaved through an arm holding the blaster of the man on the right, followed up by a powerful slash across his torso. He snapped his blade up once more to deflect a bolt fired at him as the other guard had retreated a bit. Reiden leapt over and plunged his saber through the man’s chest, a gurgle escaping his lips before he slumped to the floor.

The Marauder looked around and caught sight of Kardol. He hurried over, waving him onward.

“Come on, Kadrol,” he urged. “We’ve got to hurry up and get this done. The time for rest will come later. For now, we need to catch up with the others and find that Ithorian. Brotherhood forces will be continuing their assault, so we need to get in and out quickly.”

“Right,” the young Pantoran said, a tiredness creeping into his voice. “Let’s finish this.”

The two struck out down the corridors again. Reiden stretched out tendrils of the Force to extend his senses, searching out for Shadow and Aeternus. After locating them, they began winding their way through the halls. No further resistance was encountered; the station’s security personnel had been thinned and were likely engaged elsewhere with other Brotherhood forces that had boarded the station. Reiden and Kadrol caught up to the others a couple minutes later. Apparently they had run into more security while they were separated. Smoldering bodies lay in front of Aeternus, with a couple others scattered about. Shadow materialized behind the final enemy, her crimson lightsaber piercing through the man’s front.

“Sorry about that, I didn’t want us to remain separated for long.” He nodded to the corpses, “I see that you found a way to occupy your time until we got back.”

“It’s Collective hunting season, so why not?” Shadow said in response. The Aedile extinguished her saber, but kept it at the ready.

“Any idea of the direction we should head?” Kadrol asked as he prodded a corpse with his foot.

“Might want to go to the command center and see if we can access the security feed to see if we can locate him,” Aeternus answered.

“Would be a good start,” Reiden added. “But we best hurry before he escapes. I doubt he’ll be granting us a welcome party.”

With that said, the team quickly began running towards the command center. Frightened crew mates ran into them now and then as did wandering security guards that were trying to find a place to hole up. The Palatinaeans made quick work of the security forces, not wanting to give Daggo any more time to escape. An egging feeling was pulling at Shadow as they ran through the corridors. The feeling was growing until a sudden and sharp tug on her senses in the Force caused her to stop and look down the hallway at an intersection. It was there she saw an Ithorian surrounded by guards run down a parallel corridor, and she quickly knew that it was their prey.

“Stop! Daggo went this way!” she shouted before taking off down the hallway.

“Shadow, are you certain?” her Quaestor asked as he followed suit.

“Positive. Saw him and an escort take off this way,” she replied as she turned down the corridor their target had gone and caught sight of the group a few meters ahead. “Right there!”

The sight of the Ithorian quickened their pace. The assassin could feel Kadrol beginning to tire and glanced back at him to make sure he wasn’t lagging behind. Reiden was encouraging the young hunter to keep going, and his support seemed to be enough to strengthen Kadrol’s determination. This was enough assurance for Shadow to return her attention back to the hunt, and she pressed on with her the taste for bloodshed fueling her resolve.

They were nearing the group, their quarry getting closer and closer to Fate’s deadly kiss. However, the group ahead took a sharp turn down an adjacent corridor, and when the others reached it, they found themselves at one of the entrances to the trading hub. Frantic patrons and traders were running amok, though some took advantage of the chaos and stole what items they could.

“There!” Shadow pointed as she caught sight of the Ithorian before he disappeared into the crowd. His security escorts hung back, orders given for them to hold off the pursuers while the Ithorian saved his own skin.

“Kadrol and I can deal with them, Aeternus,” she quickly suggested. “You and Reiden need to go after him before he reaches a hangar and takes off.”

The guards fired in their direction, but had to change focus as Shadow quickly jumped into the fray, her saber now ignited as she decapitated the guard with the white blade. She saw Kadrol join her side as he went for a guard attempting to get revenge for his fallen comrade. The two fought together side by side, both hoping that Daggo would meet his end by the blades of their companions.

Aeternus had noticed Kadrol being on the edge of exhaustion. Ordering Reiden ahead, he grabbed the Hunter’s arm, bringing a startled expression. Not giving an explanation, he closed his eyes and focussed for a few seconds, slightly healing the journeyman’s fatigued muscles, giving him the extra strength he would need.

Turning away, he rushed after Reiden. He had made good progress through the crowd in the few seconds, but the crowd had closed around him again as he moved. Igniting his lightsaber, the Sith Lord infused his next command with the Force. While he knew it was not powerful enough to compel them automatically, it would gain their attention.

He yelled a single word. “MOVE!”

The startled crowd looked at him, and at the sight of the ignited saber, moved out of his way quick enough for him to catch up to Reiden.

“Did you see where he went?”

Reiden nodded, and pointed towards the next corridor. An Ithorian could be seen running from a console, through a blast door that was rapidly closing.

“No, you’re not.”, Aeternus said. Raising his hand, he used telekinesis to pull the ithorian back by his feet, back through towards them.

The blast door, however, was closing faster. Before he was back through entirely, the door closed, with the Ithorian still underneath it. A scream of pure terror could be heard before it was abruptly cut off.

“As I said… You’re not. Lets go.”

A few hours later they were back on board the shuttle they had stolen when they first left the station. With the aid of what had previously been the captives, the station was now thoroughly pacified, and in the hands of the Brotherhood forces. Daggo had been crushed, and the artifact handed over to the Council.

Aeternus had been in the cockpit, debriefing with Elincia, with the R2 unit piloting. As he returned to the passenger compartment, he looked furious.

“Kadrol! Kneel!” he almost yelled.

Kadrol, startled, took a moment to comply. “Kneel, I said!”, forcing him to his knees with a burst of telekinesis. A second burst sent the lightsaber he had taken earlier to the Sith Lord’s hand. “Elincia informed me she intends to promote you. She did not consult me on this.”

The lightsaber ignited, pointed at Kadrol’s face, kept perfectly still for several seconds.

The look of fury on Aeternus’ face changed into a grin. The saber was shut off, reversed, and offered back to Kadrol. “Because she knows I would agree. You performed well during the last few missions. Consider yourself promoted to Knight.”