The Cover-up(Sa’ato, Varn)

[Neive Undant]

Tenara

It wasn’t long after the first assault against the Sith by the Galactic Empire that a single Victory-class Star Destroyer exited the hyperspace from the direction of Kophir, weapons quickly at the ready as it approached outer orbit of the planet.

“We traced the signal back to a lane near Maridun when we lost contact. Assuming it was a Sith attack, most likely any prisoners were brought here, to Tenara. We hope your success prevents them from finding out about the new project.” A voice spoke over transmission, an ISB agent speaking with the captain of the destroyer, backed by the Empress’ personal agent, Prazutis.

“Good work, agent. Our scouting reports suggested some sort of Sith facility on the surface. We’ll bombard it with laser fire, as a majority seems to be underground, and send in Prazutis with two squads to find the surviving engineer and any other prisoners in the area. Hopefully, we can pull some of the Alliance or Jedi’s prisoners as well. They’ll be thankful they’ll have at least a chance at seeing their allies again, for the right price.” The captain said, Prazutis simply crossing his arms over his chest.

“No time to waste, then. Let’s extract who we can. On your command, captain.” Prazutis said, walking towards the front of the bridge as the captain finished talks with the ISB agent.

[Varn Badaash]

-Tenara, surface, old abandoned pirate haven-

“How many old contacts did you have to prod to get this to work Cap,” a male Twi’lek wearing the armor of a mercenary asked the large grey skinned Dashade.

“To many,” the gravelly voiced alien replied as he slid the helmet of his stalker armor on. “We made it and in one piece, let’s continue to play the part as mercs and we should have entry into the prison within a handful of weeks.”

In total there were about eight of them, all Antarian Rangers posing as mercenaries. Varn, who was their captain, was running under his old mercenary title Llanthu Sillu. It brought back memories, many of which were not pleasant. They had gotten smuggled into the Reach and made contact with some resistance movements in Sith space and were able to get themselves lightly situated in one of the many old pirate vaults that littered Tenara. Their goal, infiltrate the local Sith prison and get out as many prisoners as possible. Varn’s goal, learn all he could about the location and holding of padawans Swann and Aliclair.

“Captain!” A female Weequay yelled as she ran into the small hanger bay.

“What is it Glosa?”

“An Imperial destroyer just dropped out of hyperspace, and based on its trajectory it’s moving on the prison.” The woman reported, holding out a datapad.

Varn let out a quiet curse. “Seems our time table just got moved up!” He yelled, loud enough for the company to hear. “Everyone suit up, looks like we’re moving on the prison using the Imperials as our distraction!” The ‘mercenaries’ all began grabbing their gear and heading for the speeder bay, things were about to get chaotic.

[Professor Mors]

Sa’ato groaned quietly with contempt as the aged turbolift lurched without warning upon descent. The Neti could understand wanting to keep the prying eyes of enemy captives away from the Sith heartland: still, Tenara would not have been his first choice for a penal colony. The military outpost on the planet’s surface was generic, and built almost entirely by automated labor. What’s more, the actual prison complex was little more than a series of retrofitted mine shafts. Much to the professor’s dismay, upon exiting the questionable lift, the retired lecturer was forced to negotiate a nauseating hovercart ride down a long, winding corridor.

Indeed, the unnerving swerve of the rail-line almost disguised a greater, metaphysical sensation that swept through Sa’ato’s oaken limbs– almost. A disturbance in the Force, one strong enough to penetrate so many meters beneath the planet’s crust and fire the nerves lining the back of the scholar’s neck. From this distance, the Neti could hardly hope to determine the exact nature of the threat. Still, his instincts told him the time for last rites had not yet come. He had time– perhaps time enough to conclude his own agenda before fleeing from this wretched place. The wandering academic had an appointment to make, and he meant to keep it.

While skimming the recent reports of border skirmishes and the slow trickle of intel in the weeks after the Feswa Campaign, Sa’ato discovered evidence of enemy engineering staff that had the ill fortune to fall into Sith hands. While not traditionally versed in the art of torture, the professor had originally assumed he would have ample time to break and incentivize several or more of these individuals to aid in his own plans. Now however, it seemed that his schedule would have to be moved up. If another Imperial, or far less likely, Alliance offensive was about to commence, each minute would prove invaluable. Such were the Neti’s thoughts as he vaulted off the hovertram to seek his query.

[Neive Undant]

It was mere minutes before the first barrage of lasers slammed into the ground around the small facility, blanketing the area around the building, targeting secondary security structures, hangars, and any starships unlucky enough to have been exposed when the Star destroyer began targeting.

Prazutis was already on his way to the destroyer’s hangar, seeing two imperial transports loading up with stormtroopers as he entered his lambda shuttle. However, as he walked up the loading ramp, he paused, looking out of the hangar, barely able to see the planet around the corner of the hangar’s exit, he felt a disturbance, some sort of presence he could feel even all the way in orbit.

“Get nimbus squad ready. They’ve been preparing long enough, it’s time to see what they can do.” Prazutis said. Soon enough, he was sure the squad of primarily Jedi-hunters would join him on the surface.

The lambda shuttle, along with 3 transports, all 3 of which would hold stormtroopers while another would soon bring Nimbus squad, all headed down into the atmosphere of the planet.

Walking into the hangar, the four men of Nimbus squad approached their transport. Armed with energy whips, vibro-blades and one holding a small crate with holes in it, all loaded up into the final transport, which was soon on its way down to the surface, trailing behind the rest.

[Varn Badaash]

The ground trembled as the ‘mercenaries’ loaded up into two armored hovervans. The Imperial assault had begun and as usual it was not subtle. The two hovercraft lifted out of the old bay and zoomed across farmland towards the quite visible streaks off deadly plasma raining from space.

“Bravo team, when we reach the maintenance hatchway we’ll need you to stay and guard the entrance, we have to have a clean get away!” Varns voice spoke into the comms linking the two craft.

“Copy that Cap,” the Twi’leks voice replied.

“Lunter, I need intel, what’s going on out there?”

“The barrage is starting to lessen and scans report four ships on decent from the Imperial destroyer,” the voice of the squads Bothan intelligence officer responded. He had the pleasure of getting to stay back at the hideout where he’d monitor the situation through comms and cameras. “My data would suggest ETA no more then ten minutes.”

“Mynocks, we’ve trained for this, the Sith will be focused on the Imperials frontal assault but that doesn’t mean we won’t see resistance, stay focused, don’t let your guard down, and if at all possible avoid any engagement with the Imps, they aren’t our target.”

A series of acknowledgements chimed through the Dashade’s helmet as the troop made their last minutes preparations. “Captain,” the robotic voice of the aliens droid companion ringed through his focus. “We will find something about them.”

[Professor Mors]

First came the blare of a klaxon, then the shockwave, and out went the lights. Normally, Sa’ato’s genetics would have allowed a certain flexibility to taking a mouthful of rocks and other stalagmites. Concealed in his armor however, rough chitin hammered his features, almost threatening to render his features two dimensional: hardly a pleasant start to the afternoon. If there were any security towers still intact on the surface, the Neti pondered as he shakily stumbled back to his feet, they would not remain so for much longer. Despite the sounds of rubble and falling rocks, the professor quickly detected the shuffling of feet.

At this point, he would have welcomed a gaggle of hostiles on which to vent his frustration. Sadly, the owner of said boots turned out to be a far less desirable encounter. Chiefly, the simpering warden of the establishment and his meager guard detachment. While Sa’ato’s unexpected appointment to Sith High Priest had afforded him much-needed access to resources and autonomy, the added bureaucratic responsibility was not one he relished. He listened to the warden, an older Weequay, squeak his concerns for a few moments, before holding up a hand to silence him. “This facility is as good as lost”, the professor declared, “We must begin the evacuation”.

“B-but Your Eminence-”, the older mercenary-turned-cultist started to protest, only for Sa’ato to close the gap and hover an inch from his face, “I will not repeat myself, and there will be no alteration to the plan-”. The Neti extended a gloved hand out to one of the equally dim attendants, commanding, “Datapad”. The shaken bottomfeeder quickly complied. In short order, the lecturer’s sinuous digits flashed across the display several times, before he foisted the miniature console onto the warden. “You will retrieve these prisoners and lead them to the emergency transport”, the Neti explained, “Whatever enlisted men you have stationed down here will report to me immediately”.

“Ah-eh, begging your pardon Eminence”, the timid jailer whispered, “What about the prisoners not on this list?”. Sa’ato let slip a sigh, and made sure that his displeasure was audible, “Turn their security fields up to the maximum voltage, and if you have anesthetics, you may administer them- otherwise they are no longer of any concern”. “Now, away with you”, the lecturer chided with a sweep of his hand. The party quickly moved to oblige, but one unlucky Umbaran found himself held back by a stiff, unnaturally-extended hand on the shoulder. “Not you”, the academic ticked, “You’re going to make sure I haven’t missed anything”.

“Bu- I was only transferred last cycle!”, the younger man attempted to plead in vain. “Nonsense”, Sa’ato hissed, sweeping his concerns aside, “What other defenses do we have on-hand?”. “Ah, ehm- there are a handful of lifters left over from the original mining colony”, the youth sputtered. Behind his masked helm, the Neti lifted an eyebrow, “Small enough to traverse the tunnels?”. “Yes Lord!”, the smaller man nodded profusely. “Good”, the Neti spoke with enthusiasm at last, “Send a tight-beam to your overseer, and ensure the units are armed–”. Sa’ato paused, consumed momentarily by thought.

“Is the central drill intact and operational?”, he queried. “It’s offline but undamaged”, the confused admin answered with some authority, “It remains at the maximum depth, from the time when this facility came under our dominion”. “Excellent!”, Sa’ato cried in a rare show of delight, before storming off in the direction of the nearest weapons locker, “Divert whatever power you need and activate it immediately!”. As the looming figure finally disappeared, the Umbaran attempted to latch onto a sense of relief: however, if this dark taskmaster was planning what he suspected, the youth knew the situation would only become more and more tense…

[Neive Undant]

The transports landed to utter desolation in what used to be the security structures and outside area around the prison facility. The perimeter had been practically nullified, and from what the landers could see, there would be no resistance to the troopers as they rushed out of their transports, sweeping the area around the facility before approaching the entrance.

Prazutis’ ship landed just a moment after. The Empress’ hand stepped down the boarding ramp and walked towards the entrance of the facility just as the stormtroopers busted it open, rushing inside ahead of him.

“Nimbus squad on approach. We’ll keep a look out and head inside to sweep. What’s our target?” A voice called through Prazutis’ communicator.

“I’m not sure yet, but there’s a force user here. Most likely a Sith, from how strong the disturbance was. Though, it could have been a recently captured Jedi as well. Keep your eyes peeled,” Prazutis replied, following the last troopers as they found the shaft for the lift, deciding to rappel down since the lift was on the bottom and could likely be sabotaged to fall and take the troopers with it on its descent.

Groups of 3 at a time rappelled down the shaft, magnets holding their straps attaching to the floor and holding them up as they all slowly descended down.

[Varn Badaash]

The twin hovercraft flew in, not even a mile from the main compound entrance, and came to land at a small concrete structure. As the doors slid open the smell of ash and scorched earth filled the cabin, it’d probably cause a series of uncontrollable coughs from the inhabitants if they weren’t helmeted. Varn was the first out and quickly surveyed the surrounding, fires burned just south of them and he could see the Imperial vessels landing by the large main structure.

The ‘mercenary’ captain jogged up to the durasteel door and quickly pounded on it. “Hey, open up, we need help out here, we got injured!” The gravelly voice carried with authority. Inside the small structure was a Sith security officer who was probably very relieve today that he got put on what is usually the worst assignment.

“Whats your designation!?” The officer voice came a bit shakily after a few moments.

“Are you nerfing kidding me!” Varn’s voice responded. “There are Stormtroopers out here and we need to get in before the rest of us are wiped out!”

A tense silence followed before the door slid open, the security officer, who was clearly young, looked out and then slowly up to the helmet of the large Dashade. Before he could say anything Varn’s wrist mounted flechette rifle spattered a fist full of shrapnel into the man’s chest.

“Alright everyone in, Srid keep this area secure and make sure this maintenance lift stays operational!” He ordered as he grabbed a key card from the now felled officer.

Varn pushed open the rickety gate that stood as the door for the lift and stepped in followed by three others of the squad and his droid. Srid gave his captain one last nod before pushing the activation button sending the team downward. “Good luck Cap.”

[Professor Mors]

Twelve men. Plus the five or so loading droids standing about, that gave Sa’ato a total of seventeen bodies with which to make a stand– not counting his own, of course. “Gentlemen–”, the Neti began with his usual gravely tone, “I will not lie, your chances of survival are slim–”. The professor paused to heft an aged bowcaster into a ready position, and concluded, “But make no mistake, this putrid mine will become a tomb for our enemies– dismissed!”. With a flurry of salutes and the pounding of boots, eight of the Neti’s retinue split off into groups of four, and filed down the two outward forks of the tunnel system.

The professor sighed inwardly as he double-checked the power pack on his adopted weapon. He had left his usual concussion rifle back on Yavin IV, foolishly believing it would not be necessary. And, while it certainly wasn’t his preference, a former Wookiee prisoner had thankfully provided a bearable alternative. Of course, both of Sa’ato’s blades were neatly secured within his cloak. For what he had planned however, melee combat had to be postponed at all costs. The meager Sith forces had all but abandoned the immediate entryways into the mining complex. Their enemies would have to traverse the main service thoroughfare for some time before reaching the three-pronged fork in the figurative road.

There, Sa’ato’s diminutive legion would unleash their first salvos, aiming to divide and delay their Imperial aggressors. The professor himself would take point with the central group, which occupied the shortest of three routes to a large maintenance antechamber. Already, steps were being taken to bring the prison’s former mining apparatus back online, and at this point, the academic was fairly convinced that even the warden had made ready for their speedy departure. Attempting on the present, Sa’ato obliged a stabilizing breath, and leveled his sights on the opening of the fork junction that lay ahead. Still, the shadow of doubt permeated the aged lecturer’s mind.

His extrasensory instincts whispered of multiple dangers, but the exact nature of the inbound threats eluded the Neti despite his best efforts. Perhaps one of the Empire’s dogged inquisitors, of whom Sa’ato had learned of in passing, or maybe a crack squad of hired Mandalorians. Too many possible variables, too little data. There was no helping it. Though it would prove frustrating to lose out on valuable enemy intel, at the least, the professor felt not a shred of fear. In a zero-sum situation, he alone would survive at any cost. As he steadied his thoughts once more and made ready to fire, Sa’ato ruminated on the impending bloodbath. In the end, he would count bodies with the same coldness as counting primes: one way or another, it was all simply numbers…

[OOC Disclaimer: Sa'ato wears a bone-plated helmet along with the rest of his getup. I'm going for the whole 'Palpy double identity' shtick so I would appreciate it if you folks didn't immediately cry 'Neti!' when he's taking steps to conceal his species- thanks!]

[Neive Undant]

The troopers moved together, sweeping the corridors of the prison facility as Prazutis walked behind, his lightsaber now in his hand.

They came to a fork in the hallways, the troopers pausing and looking to Prazutis for a moment.

“Give me a moment before we continue.” Prazutis said. His head dropped forward a bit, reaching out into the force.

He felt the doors around the prison, thinking about where they could have placed the engineer before feeling the presence of the force user down the right side, along with a small horde of life forms…

Opening as many doors as he could as close to the group as he could, he hoped the prisoners inside the cells near the group would create a distraction as Prazutis walked down the right, igniting his saber.

“With me, troopers. Weapons ready.” Prazutis said. The troopers went down the hall with him, aiming their E-11’s with two troopers in the front bearing was DLT-19 heavy rifles.

Nimbus squad landed and began running to catch up to Prazutis and the troopers, quickly running down the halls and sliding down the elevator shaft.