United We Stand

[Nymf...]

Bail noticed the people had entered the cockpit. He rised from the chair and turned to them.

 

"William...Kevak...glad you could join me so quick. We are about to leave hyperspace and we don't know how the space around Hifta is, if it's heavily crowded with sith battleships or worse... Anyway I need you to prepare the cloaking. I don't know how it works, but I hope it will, for all our sakes."

 

"William, we have two options from here. We don't know how long the cloaking will last, so we have to make other preperations. We can let all the systems be and trust in the force that we'll be ok. But in my experience, that's not something you should depend upon." Bail paused.

 

"Have you ever heard of 'power converting'? That is the other option. We transfer the power from the gun-turrets to the speedaccelerator, so we can fly faster and perhaps increase our chances of reaching the surface before the cloak run out. Or perhaps increase the shields and gun-turrets, and lower another system incase of being discovered. I would recommend the the speedincreasing, but if we get discovered, we might have problem defending ourselves...it's up to you!"

[Rachel_Ewok]

"We're in the vicinity of Hifta now..." Erik said, checking his scanners, "Hey, I'm dectecting lots of ships..." He checked his readings again, "Lot's of... Sith ships." He sighed, "Let's just hope they don't give us any trouble. I'm sending out a signal... Hopefully they'll just think we're transporting some supplies to the miner's on Hifta now."

 

They made it through the barricade without much trouble, and The Silver Nomad was safely landed on a docking pad. "How many credits you got on you Ardana?" Shara asked, feeling inside her pockets. "Enough to cover a docking fee if that's what you wanted." Ardana grinned, rolling her eyes. She flipped a lekku over her shoulder, "When is that jedi showing up?" She asked, glancing up at the sky. "We'll find out more about their ship... Then we'll head to the docking pad... We'll see if we can find them." Shara shrugged, "They'll probably have a harder time making it through the Sith barricade than we did." Erik pointed out, "I think you're probably right... Espeically if they have that... That Force stuff they'll always bragging about, then the sith'll know they've got a jedi." Shara nodded.

 

They walked up to the dock master's office, "You got any non-cargo ships coming in from Coruscant?" Erik asked gruffly. "Yessir... Docking bay right over there." The man gestured to some huge metal doors, a landing pad was on the other side, "We'll wait around there then." Shara said, glancing at Erik. "We're meeting some friends." She said with a smile, as not to seem so conspicuous. "What brings you folks out here to Hifta?" The man said with a raised eyebrow, "Never been here before... We're hitting all the planets we've never been on our..." She grabbed Erik's arm, "Honeymoon. Right darling?" Erik got the message from Shara and played along, "Yes sugar lips." He said giving her a small peck on the cheek.

 

The man looked at them funny, "Well.. Okay then... Um, enjoy your stay on Hifta." He gave a small wave, and the trio walked out. "Sugar lips?" Shara asked Erik skeptically when they were out of earshot. "Sorry, it's what came to my mind at the moment." "Whatever, we can't blow it... I don't want any Republic officers... or Sith for that matter tracking us down... We're not doing anything illegal... But." She gave a small, wicked grin, "I'm sure we're wanted for a few other things."

 

They opened up the two large doors, and sat in a small, windowed room just off the landing pad, where they could clearly see if a ship came in. "Now we just wait." Erik said, sighing, and shrugging his jacket back around his shoulders, trying to get comfortable in the seat he had choosen. "They can't be much longer." Shara said, seating herself next to Erik.

[LordRevan123]

"William, we have two options from here. We don't know how long the cloaking will last, so we have to make other preperations. We can let all the systems be and trust in the force that we'll be ok. But in my experience, that's not something you should depend upon." Bail paused.

 

"Have you ever heard of 'power converting'? That is the other option. We transfer the power from the gun-turrets to the speedaccelerator, so we can fly faster and perhaps increase our chances of reaching the surface before the cloak run out. Or perhaps increase the shields and gun-turrets, and lower another system incase of being discovered. I would recommend the the speedincreasing, but if we get discovered, we might have problem defending ourselves...it's up to you!"

 

"I believe us cloacking the ship would be the best cource of action," answered William. "However, I think us being prepared to transfer the power from the gun turrets to the speed accelerator should the cloack fail, is a good idea. If we cause a shoot out, we'll be fired upon by every ship out there, and draw too much attention to ourselves, and even if we did manage to land safetly, the entire planet would be looking for us."

[ForeverNight]

Thryyn eventually walked away from the Armory with five frag grenades and seven concussion grenades, all hidden from sight. Walking out of the Armory, he decided to go to the cockpit, hearing the debate that was going on.

 

I believe us cloaking the ship would be the best course of action."

 

"If you want my centi-creds," Thryyn said as he walked into the cockpit. "I have to agree with William, stealth is going to be our greatest asset on our approach to the planet. We're not going to want to fight our way through the ships that the Sith undoubtedly have sitting on this planet, since most are going to have guns that use more energy to fire than this ship uses total."

 

Thryyn smiled grimly, "so, any other ideas?"

[patient_zero]

"It looks like Bail needs to have a word with me, It's probably about getting there feel free to follow me if you want I'll tell Bail I'm going to need your help if that's what he's talking about."

 

Evelyn had nodded, but for a while remained in her room, grasping a few moments of silence. But soon enough she rose and paced through to the entrance to the cockpit, if only to determine if her abilities would be needed sooner rather than later. When she arrived, Bail had already started speaking, though she caught most of the conversation that followed.

 

But she had no new ideas save to add her approval to the recommendation of stealth. So instead she hung back in the centre room, awaiting orders.

[Cyborg Ninja]

Kevak listened to Bail's idea about power converting. It would be an excellent back up plan if he were to fail.

 

"I think I can hold it long enough Bail, however My friend Miss Evelyn will be assisting me in the cloaking. I'm quite positive with our combined power we'll be able to hold the ship long enough for us to land."

[Nymf...]

"Great! William take the controlls and prepare to leave hyperspace. Kevak and Evelyn you better get ready. I'm going to prepare the converting so it wont take long, if it's needed."

 

Bail started to talk in the microphone again. "Listen people, we are soon leaving hyperspace. Do not use the gun-turrets, I repeat, Do not use the gun-turrets!"

 

And then turned to one of the computers next to him and started running overview over the systems.

---

 

"Listen people, we are soon leaving hyperspace. Do not use the gun-turrets, I repeat, Do not use the gun-turrets!"

Jojo turned to Jaq. "Oh my...I hope he knows what he is doing. Last time I flew with him we crashed."

[Niftyeye]

Aeran had the order on not to fire the gun turrets.

 

 

"Turret 1 here, holding fire.... what if they shoot at us?"

 

He jumped out of the Gun Turret but left it active, just incase he needed to man it in a hurry, he headed down and made towards the armoury, where he saw the Republic Marine helping himself to frags, before leaving for another part of the ship.

 

"Pfft, frags are useless" He said to himself, closing to the same container the Marine used and grabbing a couple of thermal detnators.

 

"Now these are what Im talking about." He spoke with a grin, he then grabbed a few blaster power packs and put them on his belt, he felt tempted to take off his helmet just so he could breathe that little bit easier, but he kept it firmly on as he glanced around the armoury looking for anything else that packs a punch.

[DrPhil2501]

"Oh my...I hope he knows what he is doing. Last time I flew with him we crashed."

 

"Heh, crashed on a mining planet filled with hordes of feisty Sith that time?" Jaq jested. "And whats this ceasing fire of the Gun Turrets? Aw well, sure makes my job a whole lot easier..."

 

Jaq exited the security room and back into the Cockpit, where he could get a glance of Hifta once they reach out of Hyperspace.

[ForeverNight]

"Jaq." Thryyn nodded at the Mandalorian as he stepped out of the Cockpit and made his way to the center room, there, he chose a seat at the long table and sat down. He then stood up again, and walked over to the supplies hold. Cracking the door open, he found the refrigeration unit and extracted a drink from it.

 

Bringing the drink back to the table he closed the door behind him and took a seat again.

[Rachel_Ewok]

"Here's an idea..." Ardana said, glancing at the time, "What if they don't land here. What... if... Crazy I know, they crash on the surface?" "If they don't land here in a few hours, we'll go check scanners to see where they may be." Shara shrugged, "At this point we have no leads... So." She shrugged, "We wait."

 

She heard Erik give a small snore, Ardana kicked at his leg, "Don't fall asleep... We might need to get out of here fast." Erik gave her a dirty look, the twi'lek could have a bit of a mean-streak.

[Niftyeye]

Aeran came out of the armoury and sat down at the long table in the center, he looked briefly at the others before staring back into space, he wasnt sure whether to speak or not, he didnt exactly like being the one to 'break the ice'

[LordRevan123]

"Alright," called out William. "We're about to come out of hyperspace so get ready to cloak the ship."

[patient_zero]

"We're about to come out of hyperspace so get ready to cloak the ship."

 

Evelyn nodded and sat down on the centre room floor, cross-legged. She glanced up at Kevak. "Are you ready?" she inquired, though she knew it was only a formality - even were he not ready, he'd need to help her cloak the ship.

 

She cast her eyes at the other around the room. "If anyone else here is Force sensitive and otherwise unoccupied, I would appreciate your assistance."

 

---

 

Zarena exited the armoury.

 

"We're about to come out of hyperspace so get ready to cloak the ship."

 

She wasn't entirely paying attention, having become pre-occupied with finding ways to arrange her new equipment within her pockets to make it un-noticeable. Even the most innocent face can become suspicious with a gun bulging under their shirt.

 

She looked to see the Jedi girl sitting on the floor asking for help from the other Force sensitives. At least she's not asking us to hold hands and chant with her. Zarena folded her arms and leaned back against the wall to one side of the doorway. But this should be... interesting.

[Cyborg Ninja]

"Are you ready?"

 

"I am Miss Evelyn"

 

Instead of sitting like she was, he sat on his knees. He placed both his hands on the floor of the ship and began chanting.

 

"Ieka Buddia mudia kai, Ieka buddia mudia kai, Ieka buddia mudia kai"

 

Slowly the floor began to disapear but he was still standing, it was working.

 

"Hak mai idae kai," he continued chanting.

[ForeverNight]

"So, Aeran." Thryyn said, disliking the silence being broken only by the damned spiritualist chanting. "I know you are a Sith, so, seeing as we're going to be stuck together in this mission unless somebody takes the easy way out and dies, I'd at least like to know the guy who's back I'm watching.

 

"Care to tell a Republic Marine your story?"

[DrPhil2501]

"If anyone else here is Force sensitive and otherwise unoccupied, I would appreciate your assistance."

 

Jaq felt immediate unease with those words. "Eh, heh... er..." was all he could manage to output, though it looked liked nobody cared from his perspective. He was just glad when Kevak stood up and helped with cloacking the ship, muttering what appeared to be gibberish.

 

Jaq switched his own cloaking device on, for the fun of it. "There you go, makes your job slightly more easy." he teased.

[Niftyeye]

(Aeran's history is a lie in his bio, lol)

 

Aeran felt glad to be talking to the one member of the ship he truly trusted, he knew all too well that soldiers were loyal, determined and usually ready to make new friends, especially before heading into combat.

And being Republic meant that they had never changed sides... unlike himself.

 

"Well... probably similar to your story just a few chapters behind." He began, looking at the Marine closley from behind his faceless helmet.

 

"It was typical really, being one of the thousands of soldiers fighting the Mandalorian threat, it wasnt pretty, hundreds of men to my left and right, armed with swords, charging to deadlock with the line of blue Mandalorians to our front, screaming to hype themselves up and not let fear of the enemy get the better. The mandalorians were more bloodthirsty and perhaps smart, they would usually pull out hold out blasting, stopping the charge and advancing while firing into the mass line of Republic soldiers, countless fell, before we made contact and things became brutal. We tended to lose, not because of numbers, but tactics, even in victory there were more red Republic corspes dotting the ground than Mandalorian warriors." He took a breath, and leaned back slightly to get more comfy.

 

"Then Revan entered the war, things changed, instead of charging at them and getting cut down, we would obliterate their bases, charging headlong into the breach after hours of merciless artillery raining down on them, house to house, room to room, man to man. We slowly started to reduce our losses, and for a few battles the Mandalorian corspes were more frequent than ours. It was a rush, out of my company, 'Zulu', we lost around 3 quarters of the men before Revan entered the war, that remaining quarter managed to hold on until the end, only losing a few.

Victory was near, and at Malachor... fleets were lighting eachother up, every direction were fighters, explosians and ships for as far as the eye could see, it was the single most terrifying moment of my life as suddenly the planet... seemed to explode, ships became crushed in midair, nothing nearby seeming to cause it... I only survived because our ship was one of those that was protecting some sort of 'generator'." He took another breath, looking to the marine.

 

"And anyway, instead of heading back to coruscant and home, we headed out, chasing the Mandalorians, the jedi around us becoming more aggressive and reckless in tactics, some even told their squads to hold back and provide cover while the jedi advanced alone, Ill never forget the screams of the terror coming from the Mandalorians, other soldiers seemed to change, some were screaming down their mics with rage, me included. We were issued with new armour... taught new tactics, infused with the idea that we are the superiour, and that the Republic needs us in charge to stop it falling once again, we loved the Republic, and battle after battle, killing Republic soldier after Republic bloody soldier, we believed it was for the greater good. And it felt good.

Even though we were winning battles, things changed, first with Revan's flagship falling and suddenly Malak leading the way, he seemed much more desperate to get a quick victory, and would crush anyone who stood in his way, us included, we were also given trainers to further teach us to be ruthless.

My second in command was down.. the sith had crushed her... we were close, and thats why I mowed that scum down, and was promoted to a Captain for showing 'good intiative to take power' when really I was only defending her." He lets out a sigh, remembering the moment, although not regretting what he did.

 

"Things changed again, we lost the war, each ship scattering to avoid capture or defeat at the hands of the Republic, I was at Telos, being one of the ships escorting the Ravager. We suffered quite a defeat despite my unit chewing through numerous TSF Officers sent to defend against us, before I knew it we were boarding the shuttles and heading back to the interdictor, to which we warped into hyperspace....

After that, our ship drifted, soldiers preferring to call eachother by name instead of rank or surname... then a new threat appeared, and during a skirmish with a republic Hammerhead, I saw as the hammerhead was obliterated by some sort of.. I dont know... it was massive, our ship was next. The lasers of the true sith cut through our hull, and it was a frantic run to the escape pods... I only managed to get into one, I dont know how many other escapes were out there, but they all drifted into different directions." He takes another breath, getting more comfortable.

"I was picked up by a Republic cargo freighter bound for Coruscant, it didnt care that I was wearing my Sith Armour, and the soldiers didnt even bat an eye lid when I picked up my weapon and climbed aboard, I arrived at Coruscant, hearing of the 'truce' between us during that battle which resulted in 2 'Allied' ships, one Sith and one Republic, being annihilated. I spent a few months getting to grips with myself when this expedition was planned, I wanted to get back at those true sith, and I it looks like this is the only way... because that battle..." He looks to the ground briefly "we didnt stand a chance... I want to even the odds."

 

He looks back up at the Marine, and notes that they are coming out of hyperspace.

"Not bad for your bedtime reading." He said, checking his rifle was in working condition and noticing that the floor was starting to disapear.

"This is weird." Aeran said in confusion.

[ForeverNight]

Thryyn kept the involuntary whistle that was coming out quiet and barely audible. "I'd heard some of what happened during the period after the wars were finished." He said at last. "But, I was ready to hate you for what you had done. You swore an oath, and, I guess you broke it." Thryyn's voice somehow remained level. "But, you've paid for your sins, Sergeant Drexel."

 

"This is weird." Aeran said in confusion.

 

Thryyn noticed it as soon as Aeran had spoken. "No ****?" He said in voice that seemed to barely contain his laughter. "Well, with any luck we'll be able to land in our berth soon... just have to avoid these war ships."

[Nymf...]

"You better hurry up cloaking we must leave hyperspace now!" Bail said and got ready for piloting. "Not seeing the controlls or be able to read the data. This is going to be hard."

 

Bail watched the controlling data one last time before the screen got invisible. "People we are leaving hyperspace in 3...2...1... Here goes nothing!"

 

Bail watched further away on big warships floating around the planet, but tried not to look to much on them. He had to focus on getting to Hifta as soon as possible.

[Niftyeye]

"I broke my oath? Your Republic would of been obliterated without Revan there, we wernt about to turn our backs on him, and now that he has returned on the Republic side I too am here to fight for him." Aeran retorted, he felt annoyed that the Marine said that, but hey, typical Marines, during the war they always looked down on the regular army and it wasnt any different now.

 

As the ship began to disapear Aeran looked at the warships patrolling the planet vigilantly, they were indeed similar looking to the ship he saw during the battle.

[ForeverNight]

"I broke my oath? Your Republic would of been obliterated without Revan there, we wernt about to turn our backs on him, and now that he has returned on the Republic side I too am here to fight for him."

 

"Your oath wasn't given to Revan. You swore your oath to protect and defend the Republic against all external threats." Thryyn said. "But, its all water under the bridge now, let's not get into a fight about this that will end up with one of us trying to kill the other."

 

If Revan hadn't turned traitor though... Thryyn thought to himself.

 

He looked out of the ship's hull and at the warships patrolling the system. "I wonder," he mused. "Does this cloaking just hide us from visual inspection, or are Radar and other sensors blinded as well?"

[Niftyeye]

'Us trying to kill eachother? Who the hell mentioned killing?" Aeran thought, but he knew the Marine was right in some circumstances, he never really had been told that he betrayed the Republic, it felt like the Commanders betrayed and the soldiers had no choice, otherwise they would of been shot for turning traitor to the Regiment.

 

 

"Does this cloaking just hide us from visual inspection, or are Radar and other sensors blinded as well?" Mused Thryyn.

 

"I would assume we're covered from all threats, I guess thats the force for you, I got plenty of stories of Jedi tearing up Mandalorian forces during the war. Either way, if we wernt covered, those ships would of blown us back to Coruscant by now.

[ForeverNight]

"I would assume we're covered from all threats, I guess thats the force for you, I got plenty of stories of Jedi tearing up Mandalorian forces during the war. Either way, if we [weren't] covered, those ships would of blown us back to Coruscant by now."

 

Thryyn considered this before nodding. "True, hadn't thought of that."

 

"Bail!" Thryyn called, quietly, trying to catch the pilot's attention, "what's our ETA? I'm anxious to be on the ground."

[Nymf...]

"It's hard to tell since I can't see any data. But we will enter atmosphere soon. It's going to be shaky so prepare yourself. I don't know the gravity here...but it's to risky to get visible just yet!" Bail replied.

 

The ship entered the atmosphere and it did shake. It was a quite powerful force that pulled them down, and Bail wasn't really prepared for it so the ship got in a real shake.

 

"Try to hold on to something!" he shouted "...even if you can't see" he added to himself.

 

((I hope it's ok, I'm taking this ship forward. I mean no harm in it, just that I don't want much time spent on conversations before we can get going to ground... )