SithLore

Cerea
Mid rim
Samagi Sector

Prazutis thought to himself as his unmarked delta shuttle reached the planet of Cerea, a planet full of farmland, rolling plains, and forests. A beautiful place for someone to visit, and a planet full of pure farmland that the Empire could use to aid their military and civilians through the agriculture capabilities, if they were smart about it.
"Relay point has been deployed, sir." Prazutis' droid pilot spoke as a small satellite dropped from the shuttle, just outside the range of the Alliance ships' sensors. This relay point, Prazutis thought to himself, would be the key to this operation he embarked on. It would send the information he spoke through his comm back to imperial databases for him to edit and confirm as an after action report. It also acted for longe range communications, while not requiring him to be near his ship. This way, he could quietly send any findings straight to the imperials, and if his ship was disabled, the information would still reach the Empire while he tried to find a way off-world.
"Upon them asking for security codes, tell them..." Prazutis thought a moment, remembering the codes given to Neive Undant for the mid rim worlds back when Neive had served in the Alliance. He just hoped they still worked...
"11-58-07"

***Mid Rim, Semagi Sector, Cerea - I-16***
***Orbital Monitor Station A-980***

Senior Lieutenant Marcus Hill sat quietly in his seat, half bored to death. He was on the tail end of a rotational twenty-four hour watch and nearing the bottom of his sixth cup of hot caf. Drawing back the cup he emptied its contents and slapped it down on his desk with a expression of relief as the desperate measure of caffeine fought to keep him conscious in this early hour. “M-6!” He wailed, leaning back helplessly in his chair and looking over his shoulder, almost immediately a copper plated droid started shambling its way towards the security office, “M-6, more caf! Make it quick!”

“Sir, I must protest; you’ve already exceeded the levels of intake recommended for caf. Perhaps some water or another beverage…”

“M-6 if you don’t take this cup and get back here with more caf in the next two seconds I’m going to flip out here!” Hill had now turned to face the droid and his expression was clearly serious beyond his bloodshot eyes. A blinking light chirped on behind him and he half turned to view it but he didn’t let the droid off the hook. “Caf. Now.”

Resigned, the droid accepted the cup and clanked its way off towards the kitchenette area to brew a fresh pot. Meanwhile Hill rotated his chair back to his terminal and he smacked the blinking icon. The display activated and while there was no picture of the craft, its basic data ran across the viewscreen such as speed, current trajectory, previous route path from the entry point of the system, and of course a simple text. Marcus squinted to see the fuzzy digits and he recognized the format of a request of clearance to land.

Smacking his cheek he shook his head to clear the sleepiness, pairing up the codes with the Alliance Database he simultaneously responded to the incoming craft with a text response before the codes were finished processing. [‘Clearance granted. Welcome to Cerea.’] No sooner had he sent the message had he cut the feed and canceled out the monitors, leaning back in his seat he shouted back to his droid to hurry that caf along!

The shuttle soon began its approach into Cerea's atmosphere, Prazutis giving a small sigh of relief. Whether his codes were valid or the one examining the codes was too tired or lazy to check them. Either way, they were in without incident, Prazutis thought to himself. One step down from his mission...

Upon reaching planetside, Prazutis calmed himself, trying to lower his presence in the force if he can. He didn't know how to hide it completely, but at least by calming himself and not drawing upon the dark side much, he could lower is significant presence in the force.

"Pilot, comm in if anyone begins eyeing the ship too much. I'll be back before the sun sets."
With that, Prazutis stepped off the loading ramp of the delta shuttle, a cloak covering his shoulders and the imperial insignia on his chest. The dark cloth hid his affiliation, but anyone who could recognize the helmet or his signature in the force, he would have a harder time trying to hide himself from them.

Observing the planet a moment, the droid had landed not far from the capital of the planet. It wasn't huge, but it was a large discrepancy from the rural reputation that the planet had always held. Farmland, agriculture abound, rolling plains, forests... however here, it was one of the largest villages on the planet, with large buildings making up the bigger shipping companies and most likely the Alliance's Center of operations for the planet held within this village.

"Rolling plains, a forest far east... the planet is prime agricultural land..." Prazutis thought to himself as he began relaying what he could see, along with what he could feel through the force, back to the relay and to the Empire.

Jedi Master Ben Kenobi sat cross legged in the middle of a quiet courtyard on the beautiful agri-world of Cerea. He’d been on location for what seemed like days now though it was no more than just a pair of them. After the conflict in the Mandalore Sector he had needed much in terms of recollection of self in addition to much physical healing. Going more than half way across the Galaxy to a world that didn’t know the sting of the Imperial/Alliance conflict had been a suggestion by the Jedi Council and one willingly taken.

At first he’d been nigh restless, unable to eat or sleep for the action he’d seen in the last few weeks had been frantic and unmerciful. Now however he’d begun to find his peace as he neared the center of his mind. The calm control of a Jedi during exercises of clearing his mind would easily lead him towards a certain level of enlightenment or at a minimum towards a point of internal reflection. Ben needed a moment’s stillness from the never ending chaos of the day to day and he’d found that moment finally.

In truth, however, Ben had been sent by the Council for a primary purpose. His secondary being one of self mentoring. The first reason he was here was to oversee a meeting in secret. A meeting with a defector. Some weeks ago an Imperial Army Major had gotten contact with Alliance Intelligence with a desire to defect. Out here on the fringe, there was no ongoing or increasing threat of Imperial intervention and so the meeting ground had been chosen. This particular Major wasn’t anyone overly special, though any officer held a certain amount of intelligence that could be garnered through questioning and any such man that desired asylum into the Alliance was a man to be gained by the Alliance’s military and lost by the Empire’s. If anything perhaps he could grant insight on the whereabouts of his prior unit and their disposition.

In any event, the subject hadn’t yet made his arrival and as such the Alliance Intelligence personnel had remained incognito while the Jedi Master was permitted time to himself to calm the fatigue that plagued him and set him back on course for something more suitable.

Prazuis paused as he exited the main capital of Cerea. There was someone... familiar... however unlike the Verpine he had met on Cato Neimoida, this one had the pure heart of a true Jedi. Who was this being, Prazutis thought? Could it have been the youngling he had met on Junction? Or perhaps...

No, Prazutis thought. He couldn't be here.

He kept speaking to the relay device as he walked through the low grass of Cerea, thinking to himself as he examined the area around him. The disturbance in the force... could it truly be his old master, the man he rescued from Dromund kaas? Or, more accurately... the one he helped SEND to Dromund kaas?

Prazutis sighed. It did no good for him, especially in his lack of physicality, but moving the chest plate of his armor, even the intent was enough to let him gain control of himself once more. He now needed to focus on figuring out the source of this disturbance.

"A disturbance nearby... most likely from a nearby field. Avoiding engagement..."

Prazutis remembered his mission before he went off looking for trouble. He was in enemy territory, and if he was found, he would be the one trying to escape. He got to the planet surface easy enough, now he needed to focus on not blowing his cover. Though, if he felt the disturbance in the force, most likely this familiar presence felt his dark presence as well.

Quickly moving, Prazutis raced back into the capital village, letting himself fall in the crowd.If there was anywhere he could blend in, he could at least fall into the crowd and cause the Jedi to have to sort through the crowd to find him. All the while, Prazutis monitored his surroundings while quietly continuing his report.

"Security on the surface... minimal."

Prazutis saw the capital building of the planet. It wasn't much, of course, as it was an agricultural planet, but from what he could see, there was barely any security aside 2 men lazily sitting at the main entrance.

A breeze flitted by though it was not a soothing cool chill that came to greet him, instead it was coarse and hot to his skin. So sudden was it that it nearly broke his concentration though he maintained himself… he recognized the Force when it called. It had been no breeze at all. The Force had awoken him from his meditation as a familiar presence came all too dangerously close. It was swift in action and he nearly missed it entirely. If he had not already been deeply set in concentration and focused on the Force he would have never noticed the presence at all, such was the duplicitous skill of this unwelcome stranger.

Eyes closed his mind collected itself and viewed his surroundings. There was nothing amiss. No assassins, no operatives. He was alone in the glade though in this view he sensed the incoming personnel of the Alliance to this meeting place; no doubt the subject was also soon to arrive which meant Ben needed to identify this sudden unknown entry with speed and accuracy.

He got to his feet, hands folded upon the haft of his staff and he turned to face the nearby village, the last projection of the source of his urgent curiosity. For a moment he sorted through the scenarios; a Sith Warrior come to cause chaos and mayhem was not likely something here. The identity was not of just someone he’d felt in the past but it was someone he was familiar with on a far more connected level. There were no Sith he would call friend. It couldn’t have been any pirate he knew, Cerea wasn’t a lucrative enough location for the Blue Stars to even be remotely near. Another Jedi Knight? Perhaps, though the fleeting sensation he’d obtained when sensing this person wasn’t clear and for what reason did a Jedi Knight have of being so clandestine in this setting. It didn’t make sense and for that matter the Jedi were so few that the likelihood of a Knight being here on remote Cerea the same time as he was hardly a convincing option.

Imperial? He held no friends among the Empire. Doren Vassyl the Line Captain, he was familiar with though not on too friendly a term. Doren also wasn’t particularly Force Sensitive either and the presence he’d felt was most certainly that. There was no one else. But the thought of an Imperial Agent here on Cerea at the same time as the anticipated meeting meant that their cover could be blown. He didn’t put it beyond the Imperial Security Bureau to have caught wind of this meeting but the familiarity issue still plagued this theory as it had the others.

He was certain that he wasn’t mistaken but now as he looked into the village the feeling of the presence was miniscule and faint. As if the person of interest had caught wind of him first and was seeking to mislead or evade an encounter which further arose Ben’s levels of suspicion.

There was only one thing left to do; trust in the Force to guide him. It had alerted him to this man’s presence for a reason and Ben Kenobi was about to go find out exactly why.

He set off at a brisk walking pace towards the village…

Prazutis took a moment to rethink his current situation. He didn't need to leave just yet, as he had remembered a mass transmission he recieved from the ISB about a possible defector in the system. Cerea, being such a low-radar planet, would be the perfect place for someone such as this apparent Major to go in order to seek asylum. However, finding this man wasn't his primary mission. It was only something to look out for while he examined the planet's defenses. And if there was one place that he could find the most information about this planet and its defenses, it was the capital.

Prazutis passed the front of the capital building with the moving crowd around him, staying in the groups of taller individuals as to not stick out. He observed the guards at the front of the building before maneuvering his way to the edge of the crowd, and in one quiet step, darting to the side of the building, out of sight from all but those behind him who had noticed his figure move almost fast enough for them to think he simply vanished. However, in reality, he now crouched within a darker alleyway of the village, examining the capital building for a point of entry.

Soon, his opportunity rose as he saw a guard leaving his post to change shifts. Quickly, Prazutis shot into the building without a sound and immediately moved down the opposite corridor as the guard went, finding a divet in the wall to stop and examine his surroundings before continuing to observe the building. One step had been completed, now began the hard part of this operation. He was in without notice, now he had to keep it this way, and perhaps exit the same way he entered...

However, feeling the familiar presence begin to reappear as its source neared the village, Prazutis needed to move quickly.

The crowds weren’t oppressively large as this was still well within the work day and Cerea wasn’t overly known for its tourism. Though the crowds were still enough in depth to delay Ben’s pursuit, or what he supposed was a pursuit as the Force led him towards a bright spot in the din. Ben Kenobi was middle aged, his senses however had ever been sharp and keen. Even so, this person was fading in and out of his perception, it was as if he was willing himself not to be seen though which suggested a powerful Force Adept. But the true key to what was bringing Ben closer was the sense of familiarity.

It wasn’t something that could be hidden beneath layers of cloth or physical armor. It was a bond that once established it was difficult to undo. Essentially it was a finger print through the Force though not so complex that one couldn’t recognize it from a myriad of others. He bumped hard into a large man and help up a hand in apology, sighing he took a deep breath and tried to refocus. He was trying too hard to unveil this secretive individual and not paying attention to his surroundings; it was a dangerous concept and could very easily lead to an ambush.

No, it would not do to be taken unawares during such an important meeting venue. If he was isolated then it left the meeting unprotected. A sly operative would easily manage well under those circumstances. ’Patience,’ he reminded himself and exhaled slowly, he felt the calm of the Light wash over him and a soothing breeze flowed around him as he completed the short exercise.

Opening his eyes with clarity, he viewed the scene and when his eyes settled he noticed he was looking straight at the capital building. The heart of the Cerean government. With ease in his heart and an understanding of the circumstances, he set off at a generous pace, this time straight for the capital building. He was unsure of how far behind the suspect he was, but he was also certain that whoever it was they were inside the capital building.

As soon as he was in a safe area of shadow, Prazutis began to sense the area around him. through the force, he felt the multitude of guards and the few local politicians, along with a group of 4 men walking towards the back door, and one more rushing to the door from outside. He felt a faint recognition within the man. While not the bond that he suspected came from Neive Undant's old Jedi friend that he had imprisoned and freed from the clutches of the Sith, he felt what was like recognizing an old co-worker on the street. You don't have a familiarity, but you still have a recognition.

"There..." Prazutis said to himself as he examined the path between him and the back door, to the defector. He had not fully expected to see the man here, and still needed to collect the defensive data on his way through, but now he had a new target in his sights.

Prazutis jumped up to the rafters of the building, running along them as he watched the oblivious Alliance guards below. He noticed a single man sitting at a desk within a smaller room breaking off from the hall. Prazutis stopped for a second and observed his surroundings, making sure the halls were clear before nimbly dropping down right in front of the door.

Prazutis opened the door and without laying a hand on it, let it shut and lock behind him. The young worker looked over and stood up as he saw the crest on prazutis' shoulder, his cowl waving from the wind of the door shutting.

"An... inqui-"

Before the man could even finish his statement, Prazutis put his arm out, the body of the feeble young man flying to meet his grasp. A holo-monitor fell to the floor as the man's headset was ripped from his head. Prazutis caught him as he flew to him, his hand clasping around the man's neck before Prazutis slammed him to the floor, a quiet thud emitting before Prazutis stared into the man's eyes. He was pathetic. A defenseless boy from the day he was born. He didn't deserve to die by Prazutis' blade.

Prazutis pulled his armor's elbow back, feeling the force flowing through the armor, empowering it before he bore it down onto the head of the enemy in front of him. He watched as the stone below the man's head slightly cracked, the small cracks filling up with the crimson liquid once held within the man before Prazutis stood, shaking the blood off his hand and walking towards the main comm system. This was it, he thought to himself.

Prazutis plugged his comm into the system, connecting them and looking through the information held within the system.

"Defensive protocols for the planet... fleet descriptions for the ships in orbit..." Prazutis began uploading the information to his comm device, which sent it to the relay and back to the imperial databases.

"Meeting... the defector. He's going to the conference room before being taken to Kashyyk..." Prazutis uploaded that data just as the rest he could find, but also noted it. Now that he knew where the man was going, he didn't need to rush to take him down. However... he did need to rush for a different purpose. The familiar presence drew near. And if he didn't kill this man before Kenobi arrived... he would most likely never get the chance.

Ben arrived upon the steps of the building, it was not a vast construction and was within the humble means of Cerea as an agricultural hub. Without size the complex would not at all be complex. Up the stairs he went until he arrived at the front counter within the lobby where the receptionist beamed a smile at him that he found soothing; though it spoke leagues of the situation and the danger he sensed. She was smiling which meant specifically she was oblivious to the hostile nature lurking nearby that Ben had yet to pinpoint, this also meant Alliance Security was not or likely would not be on the prowl. Whoever this intruder was… he was good.

“May I help you Master Jedi?” Her tone was light and carried little stress in it, also telling that the situation was not lost as of yet.

Returning the smile he did not immediately respond, instead he let his senses roam. He felt out beyond the internal turbolift that carried upwards into the higher levels of the building and even lower into the double basement, into the ventilation shafts and air ducts, into the corridors and the few rooms of the upper tiers… he felt… the same unease he had before. He just could not yet pinpoint what the source was nor exactly where it was coming from; but the familiar presence was most certainly here within this very building.

“Ummm… sir?” Ben was broken from his thoughts as the expression of the receptionist had changed from welcoming to confused. Surely put, he’d just been standing there without a word.

“Sorry,” he said, “could you put me in touch with your Chief Security Officer please?”

Her look further changed to grant a measure of concern. “Of course, one moment.”

Ben awaited the CSO in the lobby, taking a few steps away from the receptionist’s desk and continuing his search through the Force. His senses were narrowing the area and getting closer. It was now being observed as an angry red blur instead of an angry red haze. But then he sensed a sudden pang of fear, the strong emotion was unmistakable and just as soon as it arrived it was gone. This he’d not been able to see clearly for it was so sudden. A shift came from the Force itself and Ben knew this feeling well.

He could feel the tear in the Force, the unmistakable disturbance caused by the cataclysmic moment a life is extinguished by unnatural means. The cry through the Force of a single voice in solitude. Alone and fading like a vanishing memory. Ben’s heart felt the wound and now he knew where to look. He reached forward and with the Force he split the turbolift doors open as he ran towards them.

At that moment the CSO was entering from a back room and he witnessed the Jedi Master sprinting towards the turbolift. Unsure of what to do he drew his sidearm and ran to the reception’s desk to try and discover what was left unsaid. Ben rushed to the turbolift, the lift itself was absent and he fell into darkness…

Having timed for the appropriate moment the lift captured his descent perfectly and with the flex of his knees he stood boldly on the roof of the lift and looking up to the next level as the lift raised him higher into the government building. Ben Kenobi was on the hunt, his keen senses as a Jedi Sentinel had caught the scent of murder and he would see this darkness expunged. He would seek out evil wherever it may deem to hide and he would root out the cancer whole.