Now I actually understand what humans feel when they say it's cold, Nikkitis thought as she rubbed her arms in an attempt to warm up slightly.
She looked through a pair of macrobinoculars across the frozen tundra that was Hoth as she stood outside of Thesh Outpost. Ice glittered in the distance as she made a visual sweep of the area. She switched to infrared mode to verify that her own eyes weren't lying to her about the lack of life out there, other than the odd tauntaun or two. It wasn't that she couldn't rely on her own ability to see in the infrared, it was more that she couldn't zoom in with the naked eye.
I hate snow. It's so blinding, and it's loud when you walk, treacherous if you're not paying attention, and deadly if you're not prepared.
She glanced over at her two companions, Quinn and Pierce, who were bickering with one another within the confines of the base. They were too far away for her to pick up any of their conversation in the whipping wind, though she could guess from the gestures she saw that it was yet another argument about what it really meant to be a soldier for the Empire. She couldn't help but roll her eyes.
Fucking children sometimes.
Quinn had, of course, protested being forced into coming down to Hoth, much preferring to stay aboard the Fury or the docking station far above the planet's surface. Pierce, on the other hand, had all but requested he be brought along. Jaesa had as well, but Nikkitis gave her a new Sith holocron to study. Jaesa had eagerly snatched the holocron out of her hands and went to meditate on it in the med bay.
They might not always get along, but I'd rather have Quinn at the nearest base for any medical or logistical emergencies, and Pierce's brute strength alongside me.
She flipped up her collar to protect her neck from the chafing wind as she scanned the horizon once more before heading back inside the base. Compared to the sharply frigid micro-blades of ice whipping around outside, the meager heat being put off by the heating units feeling like a close brush with a star or a solar flare in comparison as she passed by them. She coughed to clear her lungs and prepare them to readjust to warmth.
Quinn seemed to take this as a warning or a rebuke, immediately snapping to attention when his eyes locked onto her presence. Pierce grumbled when he saw this, stretching slightly as he lazily turned to her, mumbling out a "m'lord" once he was fully facing her. She watched, not without some amusement, as Quinn's stoic face morphed into a nonverbal scoff, complete with a contemptuous glance that spelled out his distaste for Pierce's lack of professionalism. The corner of her mouth curled up slightly into a smile.
A soft chime sounded from Quinn's supply bag, distracting them from the tension that had begun to build once more between the two men. He pulled out the datapad that was now chirping to remind him of his message and released the scoff he had been withholding.
"My lord, it seems that Vette has been shopping on the holonet again. I've just received a notification of purchase. She appears to have used the ship's communal funds to purchase..." he checked the datapad again. "...an apron, though whatever for, I do not know. We already have the one Pierce used."
"If she wants to buy a new one, let her," Nikkitis said nonchalantly. She was still coming to terms with warmth. "Given that the last one still has remnants of someone's misadventure all over it, as well as the broken ties, it's worth it. At least if it has the apron, we won't have to give the droid weekly oil baths any more."
"A fair judgement," Quinn conceded. "Those oil baths use funds that would be best served by upgrading the ship's hyperdrive sensors."
"If you say so. Pierce," Nikkitis shrugged as she turned to the Lieutenant. "Are you ready to brave the cold?"
"Always, m'lord." Pierce gave her a half bow and gestured to the entrance of Thesh Outpost. "I've already requisitioned some speeders. They should be out there by the time we're at the pad. Let's go get some results."
Quinn looked stunned. When had he done that?
"Quinn, contact Slinte and let him know our destination's coordinates. If we need reinforcements, they'll need that information handy right away. And do what you can for the men here while you wait for my mission update holo."
"It shall be done immediately, my lord," he said, his hand already coming up to his comlink.
True to his word, the speeders Pierce had requested were waiting for them once they reached the pad. They already had some snow on them.
"Make sure you get that warming stim from the medical droid before we leave, Pierce," she shouted over the wind as she settled onto the speeder's seat. "I don't want to drag back an icicle, let alone one of your size."
Pierce made a show of wiggling a faintly glowing jade-colored stim pack at her.
"Already have five, m'lord. I'm ready."
"Very well," she said with a tinge of pride in him. He'd really been stepping up lately, taking initiative.
They rode in relative quiet to the spot that Captain Eth had pointed out. The Hailstorm Brotherhood had been disturbing supply lines and instigated quite a few skirmishes with the Imperials at Thesh Outpost, eliminating most of the men there. According to Captain Eth, a Captain Biron had gone off on "some fool errand" to find reinforcements from some "unusual allies"... whatever that means... A skeleton crew still remained at Thesh, with many men doing two or three jobs, and most of them were injured. She hoped Quinn could do something for them. They deserved better than being cut off by the weather and being battered by guerrilla tactics.
She spotted the weak glint of a half-buried speeder chassis. Captain Eth had told her that all she would need to do in order to trigger the traps the supply lines had fallen to was simply walk up to the speeders and inspect them. Then, the Brotherhood would try to ambush her. She could see them under the snow before she even approached the first speeder, so she signalled to Pierce where they were with a neck stretch. He immediately took her meaning and reached for his blaster rifle, nodding when it was safe to approach the speeder.
When they burst out of the snow, both she and Pierce were ready for them and cut them down easily. There were a number of speeders partially buried in the snow here, as well as some supply crates that had already been ransacked for their contents. She repeated the process until she couldn't see any more humanoids under the snow.
Nodding in satisfaction, she sheathed her lightsabers and stretched.
"Now that's some good work. The supply route should be at least temporarily clear," she yawned.
"Can't argue with results," Pierce grunted as he stabbed himself in between his armor plates with another warming stim. His discomfort was immediately visibly alleviated.
"Let's head back and see if Captain Eth has any further information about how to cripple this Brotherhood."
"Sounds good, m'lord," Pierce said, already jogging back to the speeders, eager to warm up.
As they made their way back to the base, Nikkitis followed Pierce and let her mind wander back to the men back at the base. She hoped Quinn could do something for them, even if it was just to ease the workload. He was always strangely proficient at most any job he set his mind to. She was only pulled out of her own mind when she heard Pierce shouting.
"Friendlies on the pad, m'lord!"
Sure enough, there was a pair of people prepping to hop on their own speeders. A female human and a... A female Rattataki? How odd to find one all the way out here. Rattatak was in the Outer Rim, so it wasn't unheard of to see a Rattataki roaming around there, but on Hoth was a different story. Though, if anyone that spoke Basic knew how to survive, or even thrive, on an inhospitable world, it was a Rattataki. The human had her nearly black hair wound into a tight military-style bun atop the back of her head.
As they approached, Nikkitis noticed the rank plaque of the human.
What's Intelligence doing here?
"Hey, agent," called the Rattataki. "We have incoming."
The human's head shot up, her hand going for her blaster until she realized who was coming.
"Ah, my lord. Apologies, we will be departing in just a few moments," the human said with a slight nod in Nikkitis's direction. "I hope your mission here went well."
"I don't yet believe it is over," Nikkitis stated, walking her speeder the rest of the way to the pad, still following the lead of Pierce. "Are you helping with the Brotherhood, by any chance?"
"Yes, my lord. I plan on eliminating their ability to grow food near the naturally occurring miniature volcanos found in that gorge." The agent pointed to a large canyon-like gap in the distance. "It's essentially what they've done to the men and women here. I think returning the favor is only fair."
"I heard one of the scouts in there, agent. They were saying it looked like there were munition crates there too."
"Oh, goody! A two-for! Let's destroy those while we're in the area, Kaliyo."
"Excellent thinking, both of you," Nikkitis said with a grin.
"Do you need any supporting firepower along?" Pierce offered, lifting his rifle. "I'm always ready for a fight."
"You got anything other than a normal rifle?" Kaliyo asked.
"You brought down your assault cannon, right?" Nikkitis interjected. Kaliyo looked excited, and the agent started nodding in appreciation.
"Yeah, it's inside. Didn't need that kind of firepower for taking out small groups like we just did."
"Go get it and accompany them. I'll take Quinn along for the next part of the mission."
"Copy, my lord. Glad to lend a hand."
Pierce left to go retrieve his weapon.
"I appreciate the loan of your lieutenant, my lord. I was just wondering if I needed to try to beg for some grenades off of the soldiers inside before heading out. With an assault cannon on our side, it should be child's play to take on my objectives."
"It's not a problem. He's a very capable soldier, and helping you helps me with this particular thorn. I have a captain that's also quite capable, and extremely exacting. I'll be fine without Pierce for a while."
"Where should he meet up with you, once the mission is over?"
"Have him meet me at Dorn Base, in the cantina."
"I'll relay that to him, my lord."
Nikkitis left the two Intelligence agents (at least she assumed the alien was also an agent) on the speeder pad and went inside to relay to Quinn that he'd be accompanying her to the rest of her missions. To say that Quinn was upset at that particular development was an understatement. Once she explained that loaning out Pierce would curry favor with Intelligence, as well as a favor to be paid at a later date, he begrudgingly agreed to leave the base with her and trailed behind as she went to check in with Captain Eth.
Captain Biron was apparently still gone, but had sent a recorded holo stating that scouts amongst his new temporary allies had found the base of the Hailstorm Brotherhood. It was in the middle of the gorge the Intelligence agent was going to be at, atop a giant ice plateau. There was only one entrance to the location, making it well-fortified and easily defendable: a giant naturally occurring arch.
Perfect. Time to end the majority of the troubles plaguing this outpost.
The leader of the Brotherhood was named "Master Sav," and he was, according to reports, not a Jedi. Either way, a force like the Brotherhood was causing excessive stress and strain on the outpost, and so they would be treated, collectively, like a Jedi.
Quinn acquired some of the most ridiculous cold weather gear she had ever seen, and soon they found their way to the base and made their way across the arch in what felt like no time. Nikkitis noted that she could see Pierce and the two females from Intelligence from their vantage point, the fact that he was suddenly so small making her want to laugh. The whir of proximity sensor turrets coming up and snapping into place and the sound of blasters being pulled off of safety mode stopped her and she grabbed her lightsabers, ready for a fight.
Quinn obviously meant business because he did something she'd never seen him do before: he threw a shrapnel grenade and an EMP grenade at the turrets and gunmen, grabbed her hand, yanked her down into the snow on the arch, and threw up a spring-loaded shield in front of them. If she was being honest, it was a little more than intriguing. Neither the riflemen nor the turrets had time to fire off any shots before the grenades popped, destroying any resistance at the front of the base.
They tore through like a storm into the heart of the base. Shrapnel flew, blaster bolts felt like it melted the frigid air, and blades all became a blur on their way through to Master Sav.