The Cover-up(Sa’ato, Varn)

[Neive Undant]

It wasn’t too long before Prazutis and the imperials with him passed by the slain Sith troopers, lightsaber slashes and blaster marks left in their wake as the Empire’s forces pushed forward, the agent of the Empress at the front of the charge as 3 bowcaster bolts soared towards the group.

Prazutis blocked the first bolt, saving the life of one of the soldiers on his right, the second hitting a trooper on his left, and the third hitting right above Prazutis, on a circuit box that spat sparks and smoke down on Prazutis, scaring a few troopers backwards.

Prazutis turned his head up for a second, brushing a small flame off his cape and looking forward again, focusing on the force.

Two beings, one of them force adept, directly in front of them. Further down the hallway, three more, another force user and two normal beings, all three moving away from him. Perhaps a scared apprentice, or a Jedi prisoner?

Prazutis wouldn’t be patient in figuring it out. He put his hand out, sending a wave of telekinetic force down the hallway, the smoke in front of him flying down the hall with enough strength in the wave to knock a human man off his feet.

“Prazutis, we found a maintenance shaft that leads further into the tunnels. We’ll meet you down the line.” Nimbus squad’s captain spoke. The maintenance shaft would lead down past the hallways and stairwells of the facility, and the final destination of the shaft, unbeknownst to Nimbus, would be a pad for a hover tram…

Without a word from Prazutis, they continued down the shaft, as quick as they could to scout the room that the shaft led to and perhaps surround the Sith fleeing from the main force.

[Varn Badaash]

The anger continued to swell, the ‘merc’ hated the whole scenario but his best judgment prevailed. He took a step to the side to allow the leader of this contingent of Sith forces to stand at his hulking side. “We will stand strong.” The Dashade finally spoke as he prepped his rifle for the next wave.

The other ‘mercs’ who had been waiting just out of the way in the maintenance shaft filed in as the wave of smoke blasted forth unnaturally. “You two, help them secure our path to this hover tram, Tornala you stick with me!” As the two mercs headed away to secure the flank that’d allow for this Sith and their companions to escape, the next wave of hostiles started to reveal themselves. “Make every shot count!” Llanthu ordered as he himself let several controlled burst burn their way towards the oncoming assault.

Meanwhile at the maintenance entrance the rest of the unit sat in wait by the hovervan. Srid paced in the small structure listening to a report from Lunter. “Noted, we’ll secure the new exit point.” The Twi’lek turned to the rest of the company. “Change of plans, Sith have agreed to hand over Padawan Swann in exchange for assistance against the Imperial aggressors. We are to secure the new exit point east of here!”

The squad nodded and all rushed out to board their transport and before along the hovervan was soaring across the landscape towards the nearby forest.

[Professor Mors]

The Chadra Fan stared blankly at Evelyn for an uncomfortable period of time, their dark, pupiless eyes unblinking all the while. Without warning, the vile jailor hacked a viscous, opaque loogie onto the poor woman’s cheek, and erupted into a fit of shrill laughter. At the same time, the Klatoonian growled in annoyance, and tugged the captive padawan forward by her arm. It was enough raw force to add to her discomfort, but to anyone with a basic knowledge of biology, it was obvious the larger of the guards saw the wisdom in the aspiring jedi’s words. Eventually, the ill-matched duo wound their way through various tunnels, before arriving at the hovertram station.

There, the old Weequay warden regarded them with a curt nod. Evevlyn Swann had already been on the Lord Priest’s priority list even before Neti’s recent arrangement: an arrangement which, at this time, the doddering mercenary was as of yet unaware. Indeed, every nerve in the slippery rogue’s mind told him to board the tram now and abandon his Dark Side overseer to his fate. Still, he knew better. Should the Sith survive against the odds, which was not unheard, the punishment for such treachery would be fatal. Even then, it would not be easy to deceive the new Dark Lord, who could well interrogate the man over such a loss.

For now, all the hapless warrior could do was wait in the hope that his betters were as strong and consistent as legend foretold. Yet the warden was not idling for long. It started only as a whisper, then a whistle. Finally, the consistent pitch of an electric whine resounded louder, and louder. Whatever, or whomever the owner of the eerie resonance was, it was getting closer. Cursing inwardly, the warden motioned for his contingent of guards to stand at the ready, while slowly drawing his own sidearm. Desperately, he hoped the source of the commotion was some unexpected ally. His gut, which had served him well throughout the years, felt otherwise…


***

Watching the forces of the uninvited third party take defense positions gave Sa’ato a surge of relief he hadn’t realized he needed. Nodding in approval at the hulking stranger, the Neti quickly filed past, making sure to keep within visual range of the fresh troops the newcomer had assigned to aid in his task. Of course, the retired teacher had crunched the numbers, weighed the odds of voiding the agreement if feasible. Ultimately however, it seemed foolish to entertain the notion. With a Force User among the enemy, likely more experienced than the academic himself, the professor felt he would have little energy to expend on treachery if he was to fulfill his basic objectives.

Such being the case, Sa’ato hurried down the final corridor leading to the tram depot, stopping only once to divert into a side chamber dominated by a circular chasm. About the size of a small lecture hall, the non-existent floor of the earthen cavity sank down past what any eye could detect. Meanwhile, a titanic mining laser sat lodged in the ceiling above, leering down over the recently-arrived Neti, and the hunched figure of his Umbaran companion. “Status”, the academic boomed, causing his pale ward to jump with fright. “It is ready My Lord, as per your instruction”, the shaking youth eked out, forcing a hurried salute.

“Good”, the Neti announced with a gravely, sinister tone, “Activate it now, full reactor ignition”. The Umbaran could only weakly nod, before turning to do as he was bid. Within moments, the drill erupted to life with a terrible burst of energy that bathed the chamber in fierce red light, the blare of its discharge forcing the professor to holler his following commands. “Step aside”, the professor ordered, waiting only an instant for his accomplice to move before he leveled his bowcaster at the drill controls and fired indiscriminately. The control console turned to slag almost instantaneously.

Sa’ato, wasting no time, waved the Umbaran over, and foisted the oblong hand-cannon in the bewildered youth’s arms, “We make for the depot immediately– what is your name boy?”. “A-Adelphus”, the Neti’s put-upon assistant called out. The professor paused, as if to commit the word to memory, and nodded, “You have done well. Keep up if your life is of value to you”. Adelphus offered a series of vigorous nods in return, sprinting forth to stay within arms reach of his prospective benefactor. Returning to the main corridor, the academic at last unclipped the hilts of his twin blades from his belt, arming himself for the confrontation that crept ever closer.

The professor’s own troops, and now those of his unknown ally had, and were doing their job to stall the Imperials. The Neti’s trap had finally been sprung, and even before reaching the loading dock, fierce tremors had rocked the entire tunnel system. Already, Sa’ato wagered, the laser drill had punctured the planet’s mantle, and set in motion a tectonic cataclysm beyond what any conventional weapon could produce. Now, two tasks remained: to incapacitate the pursuing Imperials to such a degree that they could not give chase, and escape in the sole hovertram.

The armies of the Empire had underestimated their Sith adversary once too often. Now, Sa’ato would reward their hubris with naught but dust and a mass, hollowed-out grave…

[Neive Undant]

Prazutis and his troopers made a slow advance towards the next defensive positions, slowing down significantly to their first assault at the blaster fire came much more rigorously and often. These men weren’t quite as surprised by Prazutis’ assault and seemed better prepared. However, you could only be so prepared for a practical master of the force like the Empress’ agent.

Prazutis blocked several blaster bolts before one bolt passed his defense, slamming into his arm just below the shoulder plate and drilling inside the armor. While the expected smell of burning flesh never came, the hole soon began spitting black smoke that came not from the laser, but from the inside of the armor. Prazutis observed this for only a fraction of a second before turning back to those who had fired on him, now enraged.

Prazutis used the force to grip the larger of the pipes on the wall, ripping it free, not only on one side, but instead pulling a full section of the pipe from the wall, turning it sideways and flinging it forward with as much power as he could ball up in the second he used to push it. At the height it was at, he aimed to either decapitate or knock out a few of the men crouched and knock the wind out of those who remained.

That’s when the ground around them shook, and all blaster fire paused, just as the pipe rammed into three men, knocking them all to the ground in heaps. While Prazutis wasn’t sure what caused the tremor, a flood of heat from ahead made it clear what it was that caused the small quake.

Prazutis sprinted forward, using the force to propel him forward, past the defenders and into the side hallway he had seen the prisoners taken, falling to a crouch just as the mining laser cut through the end of the hall.

The laser fired down the hallway, catching Sith and Imperial troopers alike in its deadly beam and vaporizing all who were unlucky enough to be in the hallway as it shot. Prazutis looked forward and stood tall again, looking at the Neti ahead, bearing a pair of blades. Prazutis pointed the crimson blade of his lightsaber towards the man, holding it with one metallic, iron-gripped, gauntlet-braced arm.

“The engineer and the Jedi. Give them both to me, and I may spare you, Sith,” Prazutis said, distain in his voice for the mere word that he labeled the Neti with, along with the young ward he had at his side.



Nimbus Squad scouted down the shaft and saw the Sith forces ahead not very long before the forces saw them as well. However, this did give Nimbus the first shot. And while they were recruited and trained for combat with Jedi, they were still prepared for ground warfare.

The first blaster bolt zipped down the shaft towards the leader of the defenses, and Nimbus squad immediately took cover, handheld blasters at the ready and firing on the defenses, hoping to overwhelm them so they could gain access to the next area and perhaps stop this escape plan by the Sith.

[Professor Mors]

Sa’ato opened his mouth to speak- but stopped short as he probed the owner of the crimson blade with his thoughts. There was a presence in the Force, of that there could be no doubt, but it felt wrong. No, more specifically, it felt hollow. Like the Neti, this being had a clear connection to the Dark Side- arguable strongly, tempered. This was not the sort of foe the academic was hoping for, but there was no time to complain. There was perhaps, however brief, a chance to make a counteroffer. After all, whoever they were, they had at least been generous enough to attempt negotiation.

“I believe you are in an ill-suited position to make demands-”, the Neti called hoarsely in return, extending up to his full height to mirror the stranger, “I rigged the laser in the central shaft to bore right into the planet’s mantle-”. No sooner had the words left the professor’s lips before a terrible tremor shook the entire passageway, causing handball-sized chunks of rock and earth to fall from the ceiling. Yes, the academic’s plan had worked a little too well. The drill had done its job, but had overloaded so violently it exploded, vaporizing several of Sa’ato sparse and invaluable soldiers. Such was war he supposed.

“The Jedi is no longer mine to give away-”, the Neti continued, working to keep his balance, “And I have no doubt the Empire has a great surplus of engineers-”. Sa’ato paused, bringing his own lightsaber and shoto online, each crackling to life with a rough flash of orange energy. “If you elect to give chase however, we will bury you, one way or another”, he finished coldly, taking up a simple, defensive stance. Now, it was time to see if the professor’s earlier diplomacy was worth the cost. Though his threat was no bluff, the retired teacher was painfully aware of how easily he might meet the same fate. If nothing else, the shifting tectonics and threat of molten fury might just level the field…

***

Unfortunately for the aged warden, Sa’ato and his temporary allies were just out of earshot by the time the nimbus operatives began their flanking maneuver. Hardly some great leader of men, the more spineless jailor took cover via the nearest ore canister, leaving what little remained of the Neti’s original troops to mount a desperate defense against the airborne assault. Several stray blast bolt splashed at Evelyn’s feet- much too close to comfort, before one of the bulkier Sith guards dragged her and a rather diminutive Imperial tech behind a shattered durasteel crate. Rather than keep close watch over the pair, the burly warrior turned his attention to the combat above.

Secure in the knowledge his wards would be more inclined to stay put than risk being caught in the crossfire, the trooper began to return fire with his sidearm as the confrontation dragged on. One more unlucky pawn of the Dark Side took a blast to the back almost immediately, but apart from that, the dogged Sith force clung to their position for dear life. There could be no thought of escape while they were pinned-down just beyond the hovertram terminal. If they managed to hold on until their superior could rejoin them however, there was a solid chance they might live to seek vengeance another day…