Not what you remember (Fett, ask)

[Lady Kota]

The imperial squad was sent to retrieve the shipment, it seemed this shipment was having issues getting to it's destination. Someone had been taking out the squad sent to retrieve it and then simply leaving the shipment. It was odd, but that is why the Grand Inquisitor was here. She followed the squad, masking her presence, she watched carefully. Her red mask and armor would make her stand out, but she would wait to see who it was causing the problem.

[Darth Fett]

The nimble fingers clicked the com switch which died with one last crackle. Radio silence, as planned. That very hand placed the com into one of a dozen pouches.

Several waves had come, summarily been taken off the board, and vanished. It had only been a matter of time before they sent someone worthwhile, and there she was.

The armorclad agent approaching the platform was no typical officer. They were in luck.

A ysalamir nuzzled along the base of its owner’s neck, nestling in one of the more convenient tufts of hair it could gather before yawning.

The individual visually traced along the path of the Grand Inquisitor without need of their sniper rifle’s scope. There was no call to give any positions away before it was necessary.

Internally, a countdown had already begun. A countdown that without open coms would not be easily aborted.

Backup was undoubtedly synchronized and ready to play their parts, each of them with their sights and sensors trained on either the payload or the newly arrived personnel.

[Lady Kota]

She knew that feeling, age and battle told her so, something was wrong. The Grand inquisitior held up her hand to stop the squad. She put a blade in her right hand. "Stay in the ship, till I say." She commanded. Her eyes scanned the upper levels, looking for something that might stand out.

However there was nothing she could see. 'I know someone is there.' She thought. She couldn't shake the feeling. She closed her eyes behind her mask. 'God damn it.' She thought. The Grand Inquisitior dropped her force mask. She needed to know what was there, she felt it, the unforgettable void. 'Ysalamiri.' She thought. Her red crimson blade ignited as she masked herself again. "I know your there, why not come out where I can see you. " She said loudly. The Grand Inquisitior was prepared to battle without the force, she had trained years without it. Though those battles were rare, she was ready.

[Darth Fett]

Silence. Dead. Not stale, though. There was a static charge on the air, a bustling of potential energy just lying in wait. Any soldier who had known combat would have known its unease.

In incredibly specific circles, rumors of this Inquisitor had circulated. Nothing that rose to the occasion of being actionable, per se. Not that the individuals in such circles would have any interest in exposing such gossip to any ears but their own ranks. Knowledge was a resource where scarcity must be artificially maintained, or else its ubiquity would diminish its value entirely.

If one possible rumor had been true, it could stand that the ysalamir would be as much a liability as it was an aide. A being so masterfully attuned that they could recognize the absence of the force and narrow in on it like a hound was increasingly rare. It was a tactic honed and adopted by certain individuals during the initial Yuuzhan Vong invasion, interestingly enough to any historian following along. If the Grand Inquisitor had in fact practiced such a taxing technique, she could have yet another in a long list of advantages. If she HAD felt one ysalamir in this rough, craggy terrain it would have potentially given away the game so soon before the opening gambit was set to be made. Had this in fact been the case, no doubt the Inquisitor would have felt quite clever.

Imagine!

Imagine how very clever she would inevitably feel when finding each of the other nineteen scattered across the board. In the nooks and crannies. Across the southern ridge. Burrowed in some of the crates on that very platform.

The silence continued, looming just as large as the relative roar of the Grand Inquisitor’s unanswered lightsaber blade.

The pregnant pause was fully gestated and ready to burst.

Rumbles erupted on the horizon.

The countdown had apparently concluded and hell rose to meet it.

What particular hell remained to be seen, but not for long.

Dust along the ground resonated with the stampeding engines.

[Lady Kota]

"Turn on the shields, start the engine, in that order. Don't want to give away the fact that the shields are active. " She whispered to the squad. "What is it Grand Inquisitior?" One of them whispered back. "A rag, tag, group of professional scum, hiding about like cockroaches." She had seen this set up one to many times. The squad did as she asked, shields were first then the engines. She wouldn't allow another squad to be taken out. "If I don't return, no one else is come here, do I make myself clear." She whispered. "Grand Inquisitior, we can't leave you here alone to deal with these fools." One of them whispered. "You forget who you're talking to, she took down Lady Kota by herself, I'm sure the champion of the Empire will dispatch these clowns and retrieve the shipment with her eyes closed. " Another whispered. "That's enough. If you're sure Grand Inquisitior. " Yet another whispered. She motioned with her free hand to signal yes.

The Grand Inquisitior stepped off and the ship took off. If they were going to strike the ship, they would be fine. She however estimated the ysalamiri was roughly 20 feet from her. 'You will not win this game today. ' She thought to herself as she dashed behind the nearest pillar. They wanted to play a game, she was the master of games, deactivating her blade behind the pillar, she would wait. Patience was a virtual and it was another thing that she was the master of.

[Darth Fett]

The amping engine blares came seemingly from all directions, assaulting the canyon as the vibrations resonated and the resulting infrasound sang in the bone marrow of anyone within range.

Breaking the tension, two 64-Y repulsorlift sleds jettisoned off of opposing ridges with half a second between each launch.

If the pillar were represented as a clock, and the Grand Inquisitor stood at high noon, the vehicles came from ten and four.

The roar of the engines cut out as they reached the paramount of their journey, a good eighty feet above the platform. They slowed, then succumbed to gravity. Their downward arc began, two bombs dropping from the air at barely staggered times and trajectories.

Impossible to visually confirm, the repulsorlift riders’ forms were obscured by ill fitting robes that would have been reminiscent of jawas, although these riders carried themselves with a much looser physicality.

The eagle eyed observer pulled their sniper rifle up and readied it, still electing not to aim until the necessary shot was imminent.

The first of the sleds was already upon the Inquisitor, ready to make contact.

[Lady Kota]

She may not have been able to see, but she could hear, feel, and smell. The sounds of the engines and the scrapping sounds of metal gave their position away. The Grand Inquisitior moved and moved fast, using the nearby crates to gain elevation. By the time the bombs exploded, she had moved to the higher levels, going towards where the one that was at ten had been. She tossed a thermo detonator towards where they were. The Grand Inquisitior didn't care if she has hit, she just needed to kick up her own dust to cover where she went.

There was a nearby alley way that she went down. She wasn't going sit there though, as she proceeded to continue to find a way higher. She could feel the vibrations of the vehicles engines and the smell of their exhaust told her how close they were to her. The Grand Inquisitior didn't stop, till she found some new crates to hide behind.

[Darth Fett]

This Inquisitor retreating, even if temporarily, was in the best interests of the embedded parties.

The Imperial leader clearly wished for them to trip up and expose themselves unnecessarily.

They hadn’t yet. They had no plans to.

The two sleds that had descended upon the Grand Inquisitor’s previous location scattered and took off at top speeds in opposite directions, their riders still obscured by flapping canvas.
Out of sight but not out of mind.

The light was waning; shadows lengthened over the crescent shaped caverns encompassing the platform.

[Lady Kota]

A smile came across her face under the helm, her favorite time of day. Most people would wait for the light, not her. The shadows where her domain, she could move across them freely without ever being seen. Her current armor however was a hindrance, red showed no matter the time of day, she quickly went to grab some hanging laundry to cover it. She made sure to move quickly after to get to more shadows.

The Grand Inquisitor knew she had to figure out how to get to where the ysalamiri was. There was no doubt that was where the brains of this operation was. Once she felt that she was good and hidden, she slowly and carefully tried to make her way towards the brains.

[Darth Fett]

Breeding twenty ysalamiri for a single mission would in most circles be considered overkill.

Axl Fett, on the other hand, found it great fun to be confounding.

The lizards were dispersed across the wouldbe battle scene, creating a solid lattice work of nooks, crannies, and hidey holes that were suspended from the Force. Each inlet had canvas tarp across its opening, shielding it from the then fading sun.

The residents had done well as to not betray which holes they occupied or what flag was on their uniforms, if they had any.

Smart money was on mercenaries. And not cheap ones, judging by the level of discipline displayed.

The crew continued as they were, well aware of timing, the signal, or change of plan they strictly awaited, doing nothing to tip the opposition off.