Thire surveyed the entrance of the Coruscant Guard's main headquarters as he paced back and forth, briskly. Two of his men, Jek and Rys, the same two who had accompanied him and Master Yoda, stood behind him. Two more members of the Coruscant Guard stood behind him, guarding the entrance. This was the base closest to the Senate Building, and also where leaders of different Guard units met. It had a comm network installed which ran through every Coruscant Guard base on the planet. It served as a space where all divisions of the Guard, whether it be riot control, or diplomatic escorts could come with their most high profile problems, cases, or prisoners. In the distance, a LAAT gunship descended onto the landing platform a few yards out. Thire turned around, nodding to the two guards standing at the entrance. They nodded in response, and Thire turned back to the gunship, as its doors opened.
Newly promoted Jedi Knight Eilenni Tane stepped onto the ground. She'd been assigned to the case by the request of the Jedi Council. From what Thire had read of her file, she was quite capable. He was still struck by how young the Jedi had been promoting their Padawans to Knights. A change made due to the war. And maybe it was the right call. Force knew they needed more Jedi on the front. Eilenni was not the youngest promotion that Thire had heard of, but she was still quite young for a human, only being twenty three. The Jedi Knight had long the signature tan robes of a Jedi, mixed in with some brown, and complete with a belt. She wore a cloak that billowed and flowed in the light wind. As she began to approach closer to Thire, he removed his helmet, holding it at his side, and gave her a salute. "General." he acknowledged, bowing his head slightly.
General Tane smiled, amused. She waved her hand. "At ease, Lieutenant. No need for calling me a general. I've not even led a legion into battle since my promotion."
Thire nodded stiffly. "Yes General-" he realized himself. "Ermm, sorry, ma'am." he corrected. General Tane let out a light chuckle. Now that she was closer, Thire could see that she was around his own height. Her light eyes glinted in the sunlight, highlighting a scar that ran across the left side of her face, near her eye.
"Excuse me," a voice said from behind Thire. He turned around to see Rys waving his hand, much to Thire's dismay. "Pardon my intrusion, ma'am. But is it true you got that scar during the siege of Osigar?" Thire shook his head, wanting to facepalm at Rys' interruption. He shot his trooper a glare, but thankfully, General Tane didn't seem to mind.
"Ah," she said, "so you've heard stories, I see." she raised an eyebrow and smirked.
Rys chuckled sheepishly. "Yes ma'am. Got some buddies in your old legion. Heard some real good stories. Is it true that-" Thire shot Rys another glare before he could continue. Rys coughed. "Umm, nevermind." He said, stepping back into formation. To his right, Jek let out a sigh, clearly exasperated. Thire made a mental note to talk with Rys about his behavior later. He turned his attention back to the General.
"Apologies, madam. My troops get a little excited, sometimes. Rarely get to travel outside of Coruscant, so they like hearing war stories." Thire explained.
"No trouble at all, Lieutenant. I'm happy to oblige." She replied, clasping her hands together. "Now, I believe we should get down to business, then?" Thire nodded, caught off guard by her sudden shift, but nevertheless, he withdrew his holopad to pull up the briefing. He motioned for her to follow him, and they began walking across the airfield, to where Thire knew the gunship was scheduled to land.
"To review the briefing, Republic Intelligence has reason to believe that a secret group of organized Separatist spies have taken up residence here on Coruscant. Likely for the purpose of hijacking our secrets, and handing them right back over to their leaders. You, along with one of our Urban Reconnaissance squads, have been assigned to this case in order to gather information on, and dismantle this organization. All sounds right so far?" Thire asked. General Tane nodded, so he pressed on.
"Once you've arrived at your base, it is imperative that you go dark. There will be no communication with the rest of the Guard, the CSF, or the Jedi until the operation is complete. The Jedi Council has agreed to such." Thire looked up to see that they were approaching the gunship that had landed recently. "Any other questions can be answered by the men on that gunship. Speaking of which, I should introduce you."
The gunship doors opened, revealing one of the four squads that Thire commanded. Nine men stood in the gunship, including the Sergeant, who stepped forward and saluted both General Tane and Thire. Thire gave him a nod and gestured out to him.
"Allow me to introduce you to Sergeant Fir." Thire spoke, "he's the leader of this squad, and you'll be conferring with him on any major decisions for the operation."
"Pleased to meet you, Sergeant." General Tane said kindly, smiling as she bowed her head towards Fir in recognition. Fir gave her a nod in response.
"You as well, General. Me and the men are pleased to be working with you." Fir said, gesturing back to the eight remaining men who stood at the ready on the gunship. "If you're ready, General, then I believe we are ready to depart." He turned towards Thire for confirmation. Thire gave the man a nod. General Tane and Fir stepped onto the gunship, and Thire took a few steps back, giving them a sendoff before the doors could close.
"Good luck, men!" He called out. "Ma'am." He acknowledged, giving General Tane a nod. As the gunship doors shut closed in front of his eyes, and the LAAT took off, Thire whispered once, under his breath, and under the sound of the gunship departing, "May the Force be with you."