Smooth Operators

"Speech"

"Radio or calls"

'Thoughts'

Excavation Operation

The Vagabond descended through the atmosphere, using one of the cover transponders, the Ptolemy. It was guided down through lights on a landing pad, Anew using her code to pass by the Victory-class Star Destroyer, the defector being greeted by a friendly woman as they passed by. Lyle, dressed in a pilot's uniform, could only smirk as they snuck right into the imperial operation, Anew standing behind him, an even look on her face, though he caught the wink she gave him.

As the ship settled and the steam cleared from the boarding ramp, Anew walked down the boarding ramp, flanked by Allelujah and Tieria, both in full trooper armor. 'I hope our modifications worked.' She smoothed her uniform as she saw the familiar sight of Regene, wearing the white uniform as the purple haired woman checked off something on a tablet.

Tieria's eyes went wide as he looked at the woman. 'She looks just like me. Similar face, same hair.' The major difference was build, but the question grew in his head as he looked between Anew and Regene. 'Am I like these two? They both served Ribbons, but why was I locked up?' He couldn't help but let the thoughts settle in the back of his head, but focused up, knowing his job. He could ask Anew after this mission was done.

Allelujah could feel the same dark sensation all the other force users on the planet felt. The dark heart still beat, yet he could feel Hallelujah basking in his mind, almost purring. His voice echoed in Allelujah's head, "Ah, it feels good. So much power, so much temptation." He chuckled, "I wonder what they had to do to get this place so…corrupted."

The Jedi just kept his vision looking forward, responding to him mentally, "I will not use your power. I know you want it." He could feel Hallelujah laughing, but took a breath as the presence disappeared, though not completely disappearing.

Regene just smiled, unaware of Tieria's issue, and looked at Anew, "My, it's been a while since I've seen your face. I was wondering where you had gone. Ribbons hadn't said anything, but he seemed to be impatient."

Anew just pursed her lips, "I apologize. I was assigned to hunt a Jedi, but the trail went cold after a while." 'I hoped Ribbons's secretive orders will help me.' She continued evenly, "I almost got a step ahead of them, but they went to ground. No more leads to follow."

Lyle looked at Anew, noticing her body language. She looked like she wasn't uncomfortable with what she was doing, but just being around Regene seemed to cause her to be a bit tense. 'Wish I could comfort her, but right now is not the time.'

Regene just nodded, none of the rebels able to read anything off of her, "Well that is unfortunate. Ribbons will probably want to hear your report, assuming you haven't told him already. But seeing as he told you about this place, I assume you have." Regene looked at the ship, and then back at Anew, "I don't remember this in Ribbons's resources. Or these soldiers."

Anew just shrugged, "I managed to acquire it during my hunt. Cost a good amount of credits, but it had done well for all of us. As for these soldiers, I managed to convince Ribbons to let me keep them on after I got back, though I do have to get them back to their station soon."

Regene gave a studied look at the lavender-haired agent, as hard to read as a rock as she wrote something down on her datapad. Anew couldn't help but feel some sweat roll down her neck, taking a deep breath as her heart beat faster. 'If we can't get passed this now, then we will never get into this ruin.' Regene continued to type into the pad, then smiled, "Well, sounds like you had quite the adventure." She turned to look at Lyle, "And how has Ms. Revive been?"

Lyle just gave Regene an easy smile, "She's certainly been less boring than my normal duty. Most officers just have me shuttle them from place to place and stay put, but this time I got to see some nice places. And see some pretty faces." He flashed a smile at Anew, who barely resisted rolling her eyes and blushing.

Tieria wanted to throw up a little hearing the flirting, but he just focused his attention on the seeming female clone of him standing there. Regene just smirked, "I certainly hope you didn't tell Ribbons about this. You know how he would react."

Anew sobered up and her even expression filled her face as she responded, "We merely have a professional relationship. He is just very…flirtatious. Good pilot, but a bit too much ego." Lyle flinched at her last words, knowing the inevitable comment but still caused a pang of hurt to flash in his mind.

"Well that's good." But Regene responded quickly, gesturing to a man at the bottom of the gate, "We are going to have to scan your IDs, but once you are clear, the site is yours to explore. Feel free to relax and don't interrupt the work."

Regene bowed and made her way down the ramp, leaving the team alone. Anew quickly took the lead, offering her ID, which cleared as she hid her nerves, presenting herself with a cool and collected face. The soldier gestured for her to continue, and Tieria presented his next, showing all green as he was gestured through. He didn't say anything as he went through, and Allelujah was being gestured to follow him.

Allelujah took a breath as he was scanned in, happy this helmet hid his expression. On top of the dark side, wearing this uniform and having to sneak through an imperial base set off memories flooding his head. 'The last time I did this, I had to pretend to be a slave.' And as he looked at the sight of clear slaves here, he had to remind himself that they had a mission, despite his urge to want to save them.

But as he was cleared and joined the rest of the group, Lyle stepped up offering his ID, which the soldier took and scanned. The device buzzed and the stormtrooper looked down, before scanning it again. He looked up at Lyle, his voice even, "Sir, your badge is out of date. I have to take you to headquarters to report you and have some questions asked of you."

Lyle put up his hands and chuckled, "We don't need to do that. I have done my job and now I have to get dragged to talk to some blowhard?" Lyle was sweating a little, looking over at Anew. 'Please help me over here. If the bureaucracy is one thing, it's thorough.'

The soldier shook his head, and Lyle could hear the apology in his voice, "I get it, but the process is the process. If everything goes well, then it should only be an hour or so."

But Anew stepped in, her voice commanding, "You don't need to do that. I can handle that on my own time. I will update his clearance when I find the time."

"But I have to-"

"Are you questioning one of the agents of Ribbons? Because I can tell him that you did."

The man shrunk back a bit, and took a deep breath, "Alright, but I'm going to blame you if someone questions why I let in someone whose clearance was bad."

Anew just glared at him, "Go ahead. Nothing will happen." Guilt filled Anew's heart as she looked at the man, knowing if he got in trouble, it would be worse than a demotion. The man cleared them and Lyle joined the rest of the group, grunting.

"Of course it had to be my ID." He looked at Anew, "Wanted to make a flyboy sweat?"

Anew just rolled her eyes, "We got through, didn't we? We won't be here long enough to worry about that causing a problem. Now let's get moving." Anew took the lead as she walked towards the ruin, keeping her eye out for Setsuna. She sent him a message stating their intention, and all she got back was a message saying he's watching and a distraction was in place.

Allelujah peeked over and saw that message, smiling under the helmet, "Yep, that sound like him." He looked around and carefully extended his senses to find Setsuna, but the overwhelming dark side presence made it impossible, like static on sensors.

Tieria just spoke in a gruff tone, "We need to get to that ruin. The faster we get out of here, the better." His mind screamed for answers, but his training kicked in. And as the group got closer to the ruin, which rose and rose, dominating the area by its very architecture. Tieria didn't look at Anew, but spoke as quiet as he could, "Who was that Regene woman? And why does she look like me?"

Anew just responded evenly, "She is the right hand of the inquisitor. Not martially, but runs the day to day of many of his operations. Whatever he knows, she probably knows. And as for why she looks like you, I have no idea." She frowned, "I have no idea of my story, beyond that I woke up as an adult. And Revive is probably the same."

Tieria looked intensely at Anew, "So you are telling me you are some sort of clone?"

"Or I had my memory wiped." He looked into Anew's eyes, and didn't see any lies. There was no confirmation, no way to prove it, but the lack of understanding filled his eyes. He certainly gained more knowledge, but only more questions filled his mind. 'Why would I be made? Why was I locked up? Why don't I remember anything?'

Lyle just looked at Tieria, "Maybe if this mission goes well, we can try to talk to this Regene about this."

Tieria just focused on the purple-haired woman in the distance, "Maybe." And anger filled him as he looked at the people forced to work, breathing a heavy breath as the group approached the monolithic ruin.

The group approached the steep stairs, being gestured inside by a guard as the stones echoed under their footfalls, each step feeling heavy as the dark side impregnated ruin filled their mind. Allelujah had to wince as it got more intense, as well as that cold darkness that sat below all of it.

The first thing they saw was a large, open hall, dark stone pillars holding up the mixed dark and light stone ceiling. Runes and old Sith marks covered the pillars, none in the group able to understand them. The marks curled up the columns, reaching all the way to the roof. Eyes were carved at the intersection of the walls and ceiling, looking down like a dark god.

Workers were organizing supplies or chipping away at sections of the ruin, trying to dig deeper. Covering the walls were symbols and ruined pictures, showing a dark history of bloodshed and conquest. It was a clear story of the Sith coming to the planet and conquering the natives, a human-like species. There was a representation of another ruin, which these new conquerors had demolished and built over, showing altars and people being sacrificed, their blood soaking the ground. On the back wall were large images of various species, each with what looked like a blade or lightsaber in their hands, looking up to Twi'lek man, skin orange with tattoo like marks.

Allelujah shivered looking at the sight, not recognizing any of the people, but it was clear the Sith had held this planet for centuries, if not millennia. There were only a few people here, and they drew the eyes of the soldiers and workers inside. No one approached, but the groups trained instincts could tell they were being watched by everyone.

Anew looked around, taking a long breath, "I heard rumors, but I didn't expect it to be this…grand."

Lyle let out a whistle, which echoed through the building, "When I got the job, I never expected to have to come to a place like this. Doesn't feel nice, but can't fault whoever built this for putting their money where their mouth was. Or at least the slave labor."

Allelujah spoke in a quiet whisper, "I don't know how the Jedi didn't find this place, but we need to be careful. Sith ruins can be full of things we don't expect." The team nodded and were starting to head to an open door, when they were approached by an older Bothan man.

"Hello there. I'm Doctor Visk Girrasa. Did Ribbons send you for security reasons?" Anew shook her head and the man let out a sigh of relief, "Well that's good. We didn't need more stress." He gestured to the space around them, a smile on his face, "This place has been an eye opener."

Lyle looked at him curiously, "What do you mean by that?"

The Bothan grew an excited smile, "Well, we have roughly dated this to four thousand or so years ago. It appears to have been a small outpost, but has given us a great glimpse at the culture of the ancient Sith." He gestured to the wall with the figures on it, "We haven't been able to find most of the names, but the largest man there, the orange Twi'lek, was call Darth Argos. He is supposedly the conqueror of the planet, though like with all history, we can't always be sure."

"Thank you for the information." Anew just nodded and smiled, "As much as I would like to discuss the ruin's history, I plan on do my own exploration of the place. Any things I should know besides the history?"

The doctor nodded, "Most of the ruin seems stable. My colleagues have theorized that is from the ambient power radiating from the place, created by Sith sorcerers. The left wing of the place collapsed, but that was there before we even showed up. But otherwise, the main ritual chamber is down the hall, a number of other rooms splitting off from that."

Anew nodded, "Thank you."

Allelujah spoke up, curiosity filling him, "Why did the left wing collapse?"

Visk shrugged his shoulders, "We have no way of fully knowing. Some of us think it was a natural phenomenon, like an earthquake. Others think there was some violent struggle. I personally think it was undermined, though I admit I don't have enough evidence to fully back my claims."

Tieria grunted, already done with this, touched Anew's shoulder, "I think we need to get a move on." The doctor smiled at them and walked off wordlessly. The group moved towards the smaller double doors leading to the main hall, just as ornately decorated as the rest of the room, if degraded by time.

The group moved in formation, and were about to open the door when it opened from the other side, a flash of white hair in everyone's vision. Marie stood in front of them, and her eyes looked at Anew, then Lyle, and lastly the two men in disguise. The Echani gave Anew a respectful salute, who returned it, "Greetings. I hadn't realized Ribbons had another agent."

Anew just smiled, "I just got here. So don't worry about that. Ribbons sent me to talk to Regene, who is busy at the moment."

Unknown to everyone in the group, Allelujah was sweating beneath his helmet. He could sense a tingle from their bond, but luckily the static of so much ambient force energy hid his presence. But more worrying was the fact she was here. 'Why is she putting herself at risk? She knows what Ribbons would if they caught her.' His soul begged to ask her, but he could see Tieria tapping his foot, which shook him partially out of his thoughts.

But unfortunately for him, he was unprepared for one of the laborers knocking into him. The Jedi fell forward, his helmet falling off of his head, bouncing on the ground, each impact echoing in his ears as time almost slowed down. His eyes widened as the rebels looked at him, his eyes going from person to person, Marie's concern and surprise radiating off of her.

Tieria braced for any action, and both Lyle and Anew more subtle-y prepared. The eyes on the room were around them, and a voice echoed in the main room through the silence, "Hey, that's one of those wanted Jedi!" The guards immediately raised their blasters at Allelujah, and he cursed under his breath.

Determination filled Marie, and she grabbed him as the pair entered a room in the hallway, leaving the rest of the infiltration team standing there. The guns were then trained on Anew and the rest of the team. Tieria growled under his breath, "Feth it." A blast came from him, and cries suddenly filled the room as the remaining guards scrambled for cover and the rest of the team dove for the hallway, blaster bolts filling the air.

Lyle, pushed up against the door where Marie and Allelujah went, growled as the door refused to open, "Damnit! We can't get in." He looked over at Tieria, "Why did you start shooting!?"

Tieria didn't even look at him as he peaked out and opened fire, "Would you rather them get the first shots? I'm pretty sure they picked up that something was up." A bolt hit right next to his foot, dust and rock bits scattering in the hallway.

Lyle wanted to argue back, but Anew cut him off, barely missing one of the guards, "Enough! They would have figured it out soon enough. But right, now we need a plan to get out of here." She turned to look at Tieria, "You said Setsuna had some distraction planned?" She could hear more guards heading up the stairs to the temple, and who knows if there were any behind them.

Tieria nodded, "Affirmative." He opened the comms to their band, and connected to Setsuna, "We need that distraction of yours. Now."

There was a pause, then Setsuna's voice echoed through the helmet, "Understood." Tieria nodded at the other two and hit one of the stormtroopers. The workers and scientists had fled the scene, leaving only the combatants as blaster bolts hit the columns and walls. The ancient ruin had potentially become a battleground again, and Lyle looked at the scene, pinned by enemy fire.

Anew looked between the two men, "Can we close the door?" She clipped one of the troopers, but that wave of reinforcements had arrived, four more men in their way. 'We can't go out that way.' She cooly spoke to the two, "And where is Allelujah?"

Tieria shook head, "Not until Setsuna gets here. And that bitch of an officer took him." Suddenly an explosion was heard, followed by several more behind that. The stormtroopers were also taken aback, and though they couldn't see the buildings on the ground, smoke began to rise. The blaster fire calmed for the second, a guard peeling off to check out what was going on.

The group took a breath, and Lyle opened up comms with the ship, "Chris, get the ship out of here. Get to the point we talked about. And what happened out there?"

"Got it. And it looks like Setsuna placed explosives around the area. All of the main buildings are damaged, and the slaves are attacking the guards." The trapped rebels could see their ship start to rise, and Lyle and Tieria let out a breath as their remaining crew escaped the growing blaze outside.

But the blasterfire began almost as soon as it ended, and the group could only hold as a few more guards went down before the sight of their blood covered companion appeared, stabbing one of the guards as he used force speed to reach them. Setsuna caught his breath as he ducked into the corridor, "Guards are dealing with rioting workers, but they won't hold for long."

Anew nodded, "We have to get to the ritual room. But Allelujah is still missing."

Tieria, looking at Lyle, just grunted, "Well we can't stay here. And if Allelujah has the force, then he can deal with one officer. Let's move and he can catch up with us."

Side Room in the Temple

Allelujah and Marie tumbled into the room, the pair grunting as they caught their breath. Marie stood up and locked the door, leaving the pair alone. Her voice was tense and higher pitched, "What are you doing here?! You should avoid Ribbons!"

Allelujah shook his head, "I know, but we have a mission. Ribbons is up to something. Anew said that we had to stop it." The room they were in was clearly some kind of storage room, though many of the objects had been removed, if any of them were still intact. There was a door on the other side of the room, and there weren't any decorations besides a Sith symbol on the wall.

Marie wanted to tear her hair out, "I don't want to be put in the position to have to hurt you! I can't look like I'm helping you guys." She wanted to touch him, but she stubbornly stood rigid at the door, the sounds of blaster fire muffled by the stone.

Allelujah approached her, and he couldn't help but cup her chin, "I know. I don't want to put you in danger. But I can't have you capture me. Or let him capture you."

Marie sighed, and she gestured to him, pulling him close, "I need you to make it looks like you managed to get away. Use the force on me. Knock me into the wall."

Allelujah struggled for words, and Hallelujah was jumping at the chance of him hurting someone he cared for. Silent breaths left Allelujah and he swallowed heavily, "But what if I can't?"

Marie pleaded with him, "You need to. More guards will be on their way, and they will find us." An explosion echoed in the distance, and she looked at the closed door, "I don't know what that was, but we don't have time." She surged forward for a kiss, stealing his heart all over again. His breath hitched as she broke it, "Please."

Allelujah took a few seconds to let his heart calm down, and took a few steps back, "I'm sorry." She stood away from the door, preparing to be thrown into the wall. He focused his mind, and shoved her into wall with the release of raw force energy. Marie had the wind knocked out of her, grunting heavily as she collapsed against the wall.

Marie just smiled sadly, and watched Allelujah run out the other door. 'Stay safe.' She stood back up, moving back to the main room, hearing more boots clattering up the steps to the temple, breathing hard as her back was going to pay for this later.

Main Hallway

The group had reached the main door as Allelujah stumbled out of another door. Without any hesitation, Setsuna tossed Allelujah his lightsaber, who skillfully grabbed it, activating it. Allelujah began to speak, but Lyle just looked at the Jedi, "Listen, I don't care what happened in there. We have to find a way out of here. These ancient places always have secret tunnels in the holos."

Allelujah just nodded as the main door opened. Setsuna gestured for the group to go inside and as they entered, he smashed the access console, closing the door using the internal controls. The group took a breath as the thick stone doors closed behind them, the sounds of imperial boots muffled. And as they collected themselves, they took in the room, the Jedi turning off his lightsaber.

It was similar to the main foyer, but the roof soared even higher than the main entrance. The stones were even more ominous, only a few slits in the stone showing light from the outside, which was not tinged by orange from the fire. More people were carved into the walls, but instead of history, blood rituals were recorded in very vibrant colors.

Time had obviously worn away some of it, but it was less touched than the foyer. There was an altar table on a raised platform in the center of the room, stained brown, which the group quickly connected to the sacrifices on the walls. And the sensation of the dark side was more intense here than anywhere else, and both Allelujah and Setsuna had to focus to keep it from getting into their mind.

Tieria looked at Setsuna, seeing no other way out, "So now what? We are trapped in this room, and I have no doubt they are coming to the door." The were sounds of pounding on the other side, with muffled orders being given, though they were too quiet to really hear through the thick door.

Anew looked around, her lips pursed, "Well Ribbons's notes said whatever he was looking for was linked to this main chamber. There is something about this place that Ribbons found important." Tieria rubbed his face, but he began gathering objects.

Lyle looked at him, "What are you doing?"

"Trying to make us cover for whenever they break in." Lyle couldn't help but chuckle but moved to assist him, grabbing larger objects.

Setsuna could feel that strange pull below him, much stronger than before. He looked down at the ground, and there was a pulse in the middle of his chest, wanting whatever was calling for him. Allelujah looked over at Setsuna, seeing the younger rebel almost in a trance. He walked over to him, and put a hand on his shoulder, "Setsuna, you ok?"

Setsuna just responded evenly, "Something is below us. And calling to me." His eyes intently scanned the floor, the desire to reach out to this siren call filling him.

"Below us?" Setsuna nodded, and Allelujah looked around, but saw no obvious buttons or ways to get below. He took a deep breath, and his master's words flowed into his mind. 'Trust the force and your instincts. The mind can lie.' Allelujah closed his eyes, and opened himself to the force, letting it guide him as he walked towards the back wall, his hands outstretched. It was intense, yet trusting in the force sent a pleasant shiver up his spine, his soul almost crying out at being able to be himself.

Anew looked at him, confused. Tieria and Lyle were too distracted, and Setsuna just hummed as he watched Allelujah let the force flow through himself. The Kiffar had never opened himself up like that, especially with the dark side so concentrated. Allelujah's hands traced the wall, pressing into the cold stone, and he breathed deep and steady as he knew he was doing was current, even though he could feel the dark side swirling around.

Tieria finally noticed what their Jedi teammate was doing and gestured for Lyle to look at the man. Lyle called out, exasperated, "Allelujah, we need you to be ready. I can already hear the explosives being prepared." Tieria nodded, having heard the telltale signs of mining explosives being placed.

Setsuna just shook his head at the two, "No, trust him. We can find a way out." Both men frowned, and Anew just raised an eyebrow, hearing similar words from Ribbons. 'The force supposedly guided him here. So might as well give the Jedi a chance.'

The Jedi hummed under his breath, and as his hand slid over the right half of a stone, the stone to his right began to grind and move, revealing a dark, stone passage. Setsuna tried to look down it, but as he moved closer, it became obvious there was a steep drop off, going down like a slide.

The rest of the group turned and saw the opening, their eyes wide as they took in this new information. Tieria looked down, pursing his lips. 'It's too convenient. Do we even know what's down there?' He looked over at Lyle, who seemed to be contemplating this like him, "Do we go down?"

Lyle looked around at the group, his eyes moving to Anew last, who looked between the closed door behind them and the new, secret entrance they discovered, "If I had to choose between certain death and uncertain death, I would choose the latter."

The Corellian just gestured to the group, then pointed down the hole, "Well down the hole it is." The group just followed his orders, and they took a breath, with Lyle looking over them, "Who's first?" The rebel leader looked at Allelujah and Anew, who just rolled her eyes.

Setsuna pushed past him, making sure his weapons were secure, "I am." Setsuna took a trained jump, landing on the hard stone, wincing slightly as he began to pick up speed, taking a short fall onto another stone which descended below the temple. It was getting darker and darker, and he closed his eyes, trusting in the force to guide him like it had Allelujah.

Allelujah jumped down next, chanting part of the Jedi code, quickly disappearing from the view of Anew, Tieria and Lyle. They could hear the clattering of his armor, which echoed through the thick stone passage. Tieria just jumped down next, wordlessly following. Lyle gestured to Anew, "Ladies first."

She just smirked, "You just want to look at my ass." Anew could hear the imperials were quiet, and in her experience that wasn't a good thing, "We need to get moving."

Lyle rolled his eyes, "I got a good look at more than that. Now get your ass down there." He smacked her ass, and Anew just half-smiled, before sighing and following the others. Lyle was right behind her as they slid down the stone, the dust kicking up as the door above grinded closed, and then he was left in pitch black darkness, only the sound of Anew ahead of him giving him any comfort. 'And I thought I got over the fear of the dark when I was a kid. Or it could be I'm going down a steep ram to an unknown part of an already bad ruin.'

Lyle swore he nearly hit a wall, but that thought left him as he fell on his back, hitting a hard stone floor. He groaned hard as pain laced his body, and he glanced side to side to see Anew in a similar state, Tieria looking down at both of them, a hand offered to Lyle, "Are you both going to lay there? Because we don't have all day."

The Corellian groaned and took the rebel soldier's hand. Anew rose on her own, cleaning off the dust that coated the front of her uniform, "Well I don't think I'm going to be able to wear this for a while." She took a second to catch herself, spotting something, "Where is Setsuna and Allelujah?"

Lyle followed her scanning, swearing under his breath, "Shit." He pulled out a flashlight, Tieria and Anew doing the same. While it was limited, the stone down here differed from the ones above. They were a surprisingly white stone, the light bouncing off of it, though it was still covered in layers of dust and grime. He growled under his breath, "We have to find them. Search around here. They can't be far."

The walls were less decorated than the ones above, and there was a sort of emptiness that wasn't there below. Lyle and Tieria could almost feel the ancientness of the place in their bones, and turned to look at Anew, ready to ask her a question, when they saw her looking at the wall, her eyes wide. Lyle put a hand on her shoulder, "What's up?"

She pointed with slightly shaky hands at a symbol on the wall, which showed an egg-like object in the center, two smaller ones to its side. And four arrow-like objects pointed downward and upward. Lyle looked at it, confused, "So what?"

Fear and awe entered her voice, "The Infinite Empire. What Ribbons was looking for. And it was right under his feet."

Author Note

Well who would have expected the Infinite Empire would come up? Our rebels are separated and have to deal with this new situation. Where are Allelujah and Setsuna? This chapter was one I couldn't wait to write, and we got more coming up. I'll see you guys next time!