Deadlines are over YES! Now I can finally moving onto Chapter One of the Sith Warrior storyline. This will be separated into two separate arcs: Securing the Spy Network and Hunting Down the Padawan. Anyway hope you enjoy the new chapter after the month long hiatus and as always constructive criticism is more than welcome.
Chapter Eighteen – A War Torn World.
Balmorra had been seized by the Empire during the Great Galactic War, their military manufacturing plants and close location to the Galactic Core making the world an important strategic asset. The perfect staging ground for what would have been their invasion of the Core Worlds. Both powers had fought tooth and nail over the world and it showed.
War was carved onto the planet's surface like an ugly tattoo, ravaging both land and the people who lived, and stationed there.
From space, the planet looked look a blue and green marble, white swirls of cloud moving slowly across its atmosphere. But as Fury, which after increasingly ridiculous suggestions by Vette, was named the Crimson Lodestar, passed through Balmorra's atmosphere they could see the land pockmarked with craters and wreckage.
Followed by soft footfalls as Vette descended the ramp behind her, Aindri could feel the aura of desperation and hopelessness infusing the air as she stepped foot on the polished floors of their assigned hanger in Sobrik Spaceport. Faces of the soldiers passing her, tired and downtrodden, mirrored what she felt in the Force, everyone one of them looking like they would rather be elsewhere.
Resentment was prominent in both heart and mind.
Emerging from the spaceport and into the muggy-heat of a late Balmorran morning, it seemed little changed, few civilian faces visible amongst quads of troopers and officers. The smell of burnt earth and powdered duracrete drifted on the breeze, cannon bolts pounded ominously against the orange energy shield covering the city, Sobrik's own guns thundering in retaliation.
To Vette, it seemed that while the rest of the galaxy knew about the ceasefire, Balmorra clearly didn't get the memo.
"So who's this contact we're meeting?" She asked, turning her gaze away from the solemn and rigid architecture and anti-aircraft guns, "Some Imperial officer right?"
"Lieutenant Quinn," Aindri answered, once again having donned her mask, armour and cloak, "One of Baras's people. We will be meeting him in the militaries headquarters."
Vette gave a long groan at the idea of having to deal with more of the Imperial military and officers who likely had a large stick up his butt. Speaking of…
"My Lord!" A stocky man wearing an officer's uniform with captain stripes jogged up to them, eyes flicking to her before sketching a quick but respectful bow to Aindri, "Apologies for shouting, my Lord. Captain Rigel, Imperial Conquest Consolidation Corps. I'm here to conduct you to Sobrik Headquarters."
There was a split-second of silence as the Sith did her near-instantaneous analysis thing, before inclining her head in acknowledgment, "Very well, lead the way."
"I hope you like bombed-to-pieces mudholes, my Lord," Commented Rigel, keeping up a steady stream of one-sided conversation as he led them through Sobrik, "We may have succeed in our invasion during the last war but imperial forces have been spinning their heels in the mud ever since. It's nothing less than war, bloody and limitless."
He paused as they passed through an imposing barbed wire fence surrounding a tall imposing building, once some corporate office tower, decked out in crimson imperial banners.
"If you would give us the privilege of your support, you would have our heartfelt appreciation my Lord."
From the small shift in her body language Vette could tell Aindri was amused by the request, "We shall see."
Picking up on the dismissal in the Sith's voice Rigel bowed, "If you need anything, please do not hesitate to ask my second-in-command, Lieutenant Davrill,"
His job of escorting the Sith complete, Rigel headed for his own office and the ever growing stacks of paperwork. He swore up and down papers always somehow managed to find a way to breed because there was always more just when he thought he's finally finished.
How it was war generated more of the blasted stuff was a mystery he didn't think anyone would ever solve.
Quinn tried to suppress his irritation as he listened to the soldier in front of him stammering excuses for his units' failure. Months that operation had taken to be put together.
Months.
It hadn't been helped by his predecessor's pathetic excuse for pre-planning. Now the fool's actions had earned the death of his entire patrol as they passed through a sector which, should have been secure.
And all because he relied on outdated information.
His people were well-accustomed to conducting covert operations behind enemy lines, so there was no excuse for such a mistake.
What was worse, they failed in their side objective, which was to retrieve an exact amount of the forces guarding a satellite control tower. The exact tower which Darth Baras, who'd contacted him a day ago to inform him his apprentice would be arriving, had said would need to be destroyed.
He had hoped to give the Sith accurate intel so as to maximise their chances but now he was lucky if they didn't kill out-of-hand for the inaccuracy. Even without an exact number the tower's defences were formidable.
"Sir, I apologize, sir! It was the best I could do," Corporal Jillins snivelled, interrupting his internal tirade at incompetency.
He had managed to keep his composure intact thus far but as of now, the familiar whisper of the Dark Side drawing nearer with each passing second, the stress of the day's events broke through and he lunged at the soldier.
"If that's your best, you're useless to me. I can shoot you dead with a clear conscience," Jillins brown eyes widened and in his peripheral vision the rest of his staff cast him nervous glances, not used to seeing the normally coolly professional Lieutenant this angry, "Is that what you want?"
"N–no, sir!" The Corporal squeaked.
"Then focus, Jillins," Quinn hissed, "Dismissed."
Jillins stood at attention before hurrying out of the room as fast as he legs could take him. He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, attempting, and thankfully succeeding to reign in his temper. Emperor save him from incompetent fools, being sent here may have saved his career but he still hated this backwater planet.
At least they were successfully managed to locate and track the recently arrived Jedi Council backed investigator.
When he didn't hear the door close he rounded to snap at whoever was standing in the doorway only for his words to die in his throat upon seeing the imposing figure leaning against the frame.
Masked and clad in light armour designed for ease of movement over defence, with a hooded blood red cloak, lightsaber hanging at her hip. She was every inch a Sith, her commanding presence drawing all eyes to her as she entered, the blue-skinned Twi'lek servant, who'd Baras mentioned in passing, following a respectful step behind her.
Cursing inwardly, this was not the first impression he wanted to make regardless of how deserved Jillins dressing down was, he sketched a quick but respectful bow, Apologies for the delay, my Lord. Lieutenant Malavai Quinn, I'm to be your liaison here on Balmorra."
Aindri examined the Lieutenant calmly, tall, dark haired, pale skin and piercing blue eyes, and what she found intrigued her. Other than the initial burst of emotion he had remarkable control, feeling like a durasteel wall was slammed down and only the faintest flicker.
Such a feat was impressive, for a non-Force sensitive.
"Darth Baras says you're capable Lieutenant. I hope he's not mistaken."
"I will endeavour to earn that distinction my Lord," Quinn promised, more than willing to give her every ounce of his effort, "Lord Baras will brief you personally, but I'm to acquaint you with the climate here on Balmorra first."
With an incline of her head, he launched into the standard planetary briefing bringing up a map of the planet, several icons of varying colours blinking to indicate previous and current locations of conflict with resistance forces.
"Even though the Empire wrestled control of Balmorra from the Republic during the war, we were never able to completely eradicate them and there is a rather sizable resistance movement," And the constant back and forth made Balmorra a dead-end posting for any Imperial officer, though Quinn refrained from voicing such aloud.
"They are well organised, well-armed and are being supported by the Balmorran government, in particular the Minister of Defence Vol Argen who is out of reach safely offworld," He suppressed a grimace, haven been more than a little irritated at the level of incompetence shown by command in regards to the Minister.
"We break his allies, we break him. Break him, we break the resistance." She said softly and he blinked once, twice, at neat summary of what command should have aimed for in the first place, before composing himself.
"That is the current thinking my Lord."
More than one Sith and officer coming from offworld, and on Balmorra itself, had suggested using an Intelligence operative to assassinate the man. It was the age old adage 'cut the head off and the body will die', except resistance movements are not the same as organisms. Removing Argen would strike a large blow, but the resistance itself would still stand, leaving way for another idealist to step in.
What followed were probing questions about the planet and the resistance's current status, Baras's apprentice clearly not satisfied with standard measures. He was more than happy to oblige, breathing an inward sigh of relief he was liaising with a Sith who, like her master, was both intelligent and rational. She even expressed interest in Rigel's 'Operation Breaking Point' which he'd been extolling the virtues of in an attempt to gain support.
"No one wants to admit it, but it's clear that the Republic is backing it." He finished, not quite able to keep the venom from his voice.
Aindri hummed low in her throat, catching the flicker of emotion in the lieutenant as he spoke of the Republic and Balmorran government, current and in-exile, "I will make sure to do some damage of my own before I leave. The Republic cannot be tolerated."
She paused a brief moment, tilting her head as an idea came to mind, "Offering my aid to Imperial forces will also serve to mask my master's intentions from the Jedi's investigator."
She didn't need to explain this to Quinn of course, but Aindri felt it necessary to make her intentions clear. After all, Baras would be keeping tabs on her since this was her first mission outside of his immediate reach and the lieutenant was in the perfect position to report on her actions.
"A sound strategy. Something tells me your presence here will leave an indelible impression on the state of things, my Lord," And it was, though he refrained from telling her he fully expected any such aide against the Republic to be futile. Still the sentiment was appreciated none the less, "And I look forward to it. I have a secure line to Lord Bara. I'll patch him through immediately."
She waited patiently as Quinn opened a holochannel, Baras appearing before them, "Ah, I see you've convened with my apprentice. Very good, Lieutenant. Leave us."
Quinn bowed at the dismissal and as he left the room, she could feel Vette's smugness at being privy to the conversation between her and her master and not Quinn. Subtlety, she tapped the Twi'lek's arm in warning and she could sense the emotion ebb and subside.
It was something she had begun working on with Vette on their way to Balmorra, building mental barriers.
They would be dealing with fellow Sith on a semi-regular basis and if Vette was to be her companion and confidant she needed to learn to guard her thoughts against such. The Twi'lek's honest and largely open book nature meant it was slow going but at least she was learning.
"Quinn owes his career to me, but we should keep the details of your mission between the two of us," Aindri's curiosity stirred as she wondered why Baras had taken such an interest in a lieutenant as to save his career. It was a puzzle she could ponder later, but for now she had a spy to track down and an investigator to mislead or eradicate, tucking her arms behind her back, "We must act swiftly. My spy is Commander Rylon of the Republic resistance. He is the central contact for all my operatives in this sector."
"Unfortunately," She could hear the frown of annoyance in his voice as he paced across the holo, "Quinn is tracking an investigator the Jedi have sent. That means we have to cover our tracks before you kill Rylon. Your first mandate is to destroy evidence linking Rylon to the sabotaging of Balmorra's defence systems during the war. To do so, requires you to break into the satellite control tower. Quinn reports that the tower is a death trap of mechanical security."
She wondered how it would compare to Grathan's, though Quinn didn't seem to be the sort of man who over exaggerates, "I will succeed, Master."
"Good, this task is priority one, Apprentice," Baras stopped pacing, and if he removed his helmet would be looking at her with a piercing gaze, "The Jedi's investigator could be zeroing in the evidence as we speak. I'll summon Quinn back, he has everything you'll need. Remember he is not to know the reason for your mission. I'll be in touch."
Quinn re-entered the room, having been called to return by Baras, a hint of malice in voice which told him he really couldn't afford to fail, on his personal holo. On his datapad was a small list of what the Sith would require for her assault, "My lord, I've prepared what you need for your assault on the satellite control tower."
"Tell me about the tower."
"It is a target of high priority," He replied promptly, typing at the console to zoom into the tower, "Serving as a communications hub for the entire region. Fortunately it is not in rebel hands, unfortunately neither is it in ours. There is an Imperial outpost nearby which has tried several times to take the tower, but we've been unable to wrest control away from the droids. It is heavily fortified."
He repressed the twinge of guilt at being unable to provide her with numbers as she asked another question, "Will destroying the mainframe effect Sobrik?"
"No my Lord. Sobrik has its own communication array here in the city."
Aindri gave a pleased hum, it was one less thing to worry about, "Explosives?"
"T-4, my Lord. They can be rigged into the mainframe and be detonated remotely. By the time you have arrived I will have already sliced into the tower's security system to keep ahead of any potential threats."
"Good. Have them sent to the Markaran Plains Outpost. We will be leaving immediately."
"Of course, my Lord," Quinn bowed, "I will inform the outpost of your impending arrival."
Another officer passed them as Aindri and Vette left Quinn's office, no doubt carrying a report for the lieutenant, bowing his head before saluting Quinn, "Lieutenant…"
They passed through the headquarters, halls bustling with military personnel going about their everyday lives. Soldiers walked to and fro, some coming off duty whilst others were on their way to their posts. Through an occasional open door they could hear mission briefings and it was listening to one such briefing Vette realised something important.
"This mission will have two primary objectives. Objective one is to eliminate resistance forces and defensive emplacements in the area. The second objective is to retrieve a set of stolen Imperial power regulators that the resistance is using and destroy their main generator."
Vette peeked in the open doorway to see a group of fifteen soldiers sitting and staring at a map depicting a series of interconnected caves. The man giving the briefing was a stocky dark skinned lieutenant.
"Now remember, the Troida Military Workshop requires fresh supplies for its wartime operations and while our reconnaissance teams have finally pinpointed the location of the resistance responsible for the raids, they could just as well move again. We want to eliminate this threat once and for all so for the love of the Emperor don't screw it up. Dismissed."
Vette moved away from as the soldiers rose and when looking to the side, saw Aindri waiting for her at the end of hall. Laughing nervously and rubbing the back of her head, she jogged to catch up.
"Speaking of supplies," She piped up as she fell in step beside the Sith, "Any chance we could get some food before we leave. I'm starving and it's nearly lunch."
"If you wish to be the one to tell Baras why a Republic investigator was able to retrieve the data." Aindri replied causing Vette to blanch as she considered the implications.
"Yeah okay. We can eat on the go," She sighed. Guess it was time to break out those ration packs.