United We Stand

[Nymf...]

Bail looked at Vynn. "Fair enough! I'm Bail by the way. If you have any question, feel free to ask..." Bail smiled. "Hmm.. I haven't been here for a long time, I wonder if the food is better nowadays." Aservice droid passed him and he grabbed it. "Hello there, droid! I would like something to eat, could you take care of this?"

 

"Yes, of course master!"

 

"Now now, off you go shoo shoo!"

 

"Oh my!" The droid said.

[Astor]

Bail. He tried to place the name, and the face, but couldn't. He didn't want to be thinking about the war again, the battles fought, the lives lost.

 

He spun on his chair to Zarena. "You know why they want you? I'll tell you. They want us to kill a Sith Lord. That's right. A Sith Lord"

 

Part of him wondered why he was still here. He wanted to see how this played out. That, and he'd things about Zeltrons. Interesting things...

[LordRevan123]

"Taking advantage of our droids I see," chuckled Revan strolling into the room. Carth Onasi followed close behind smiling at Bail. "It seems that this is all the people that showed up to your mission briefing. More may come with time."

 

Carth scanned everyone in the room and began speaking. "You have been selected based on your unique skills to hunt down the four True Sith Lords, Darth Util, Darth Morfano, Darth Auroris, and Darth Elderis."

 

"As far as we can tell, Darth Auroris is the weakest among them so he's your first target," supplied Revan. He then placed a holodisc on the table and played it. "We sent Vilad Katan or better known as the Exile to dig up some dirt on Darth Auroris."

 

A hologram appeared of a black haired man wearing dark jedi robes. "From what I have gathered about Darth Auroris," began Vilad, "he is a very powerful True Sith Lord and is not to be underestimated. He was born on Hitfa, a recently discovered planet in the Unknown Regions, and focuses mainly in lightsaber combat, but his Force powers are also incredible. He's a blue Twi'Lek, but looks more gray due to the twistings of the dark side. That's all the information I've gathered about Darth Auroris. His home planet might be a good place to start though." And with that the transmission ended.

 

"You are to leave as soon as you are ready which should be in a day or two," said Carth. "Your method of transportation and home will be The Blade Glider. She's a fast ship and was designed by the Jedi Guardian/genius mechanic Bao-Dur, and by Sith and Republic engineers alike. So far, it's the fastest ship we have, but you'll get to see that later."

 

"Now any questions?" asked Revan.

[Astor]

"Yeah, I got questions" Vynn said as he stood up, taking in Revan's appearance. He hadn't seen him in quite some time.

 

"Firstly, Why can't you do it? You taught the Mandalorians a thing or two, and you almost conquered the galaxy" Vynn was looking forward to Revan's reasoning.

 

"Secondly, Why us? And don't give me that 'only you can succeed' rubbish - It seems to me you're being cautious" He looked around the room.

 

"If a group of worthless nobodies like us - no offence, guys" It was true, after all - none of the assembled people could be known as heroes, that Vynn could tell.

 

"So if we can pull this off, then you save your best people." That was the only reason Vynn could think of for his being hired.

 

"And third" he said, after a deep breath, "How much is this worth?"

[DrPhil2501]

"Secondly, Why us? And don't give me that 'only you can succeed' rubbish - It seems to me you're being cautious"

 

"Adding to the argument, I suppose you could have hired some assassins to do the job." said the ex-Mandalorian.

 

"And third" he said, after a deep breath, "How much is this worth?"

 

"Heh, listen to yourself..." Jaq gave an amused look to Vynn. "You seem to have a fetice for credits!"

[LordRevan123]

"First off, I almost conquered the galaxy because I am a master stratigist with no equal," replied Revan Therefore out on the battlefield commanding legions of troops is my natural enviroment, not secretly completing missions though I do have a lot of experience. And how would the Sith, Republic, and Mandalorians think if the legendary Revan wasn't there to fight alongside with them?"

 

"Secondly, this mission is to be done in secret. Darth Auroris is already hard enough to find, and since I'm recognizable everywhere I go, Auroris would tighten up his security or simply flee. That's why the I came up with the plan to recruit some 'nobodies' to do the job.

 

"Thirdly, all of you will receive 200,000 credits when the job is complete. Except for Graff since he's doing this out of the goodness of his heart."

 

William tilted his head and shrugged.

 

"There is also a fourth reason however. My wife, Bastila has the powerful Battle Meditation. I assume you all know what that is. It is one of the most valuable weapons we have that deems us a threat to the True Sith Empire. If she died, hope for our survival would be very low. So who better to protect her than a former Sith Lord and trustworthy friends?

 

"Satisfied?"

[DrPhil2501]

"Satisfied?"

 

"I suppose..." Jaq spoke. "Though I kinda figured from the start that Shan won't be accompanying us."

 

"I have a question myself; whats this Hifta like? Is it hole of a place, like some of the worlds I've been too?"

[patient_zero]

"You know why they want you? I'll tell you. They want us to kill a Sith Lord. That's right. A Sith Lord."

 

One of Zarena's eyebrows shot up, twisting her face into a perplexed expression. The sad thing is, I almost expected something like this...

 

However, before she had time to reply, they were joined by two men whose faces seemed familiar to her. Revan and Onasi, two of the darling heroes of the Republic.

 

"You have been selected based on your unique skills to hunt down the four True Sith Lords, Darth Util, Darth Morfano, Darth Auroris, and Darth Elderis."

 

Zarena leaned back in her chair and folded her arms, muttering to herself under her breath. "And I thought one Sith Lord would have been bad enough..."

 

She listened in silence to the hologram's description of Darth Auroris, and Vynn's queries, as she tried to gauge the situation.

 

"Thirdly, all of you will receive 200,000 credits when the job is complete."

 

At face value, 200,000 was a lot of credits. But considering the danger, Zarena was still in two minds about whether it matched the value of their mission. That had better be per lord.

 

She leaned forward in her chair and perched her chin on her hand. "What are we getting in the way of supplies? Equipment? You'd better not be sending us off empty handed."

[Nymf...]

While the other one's were talking Bail, sat quite and ate, he didn't even look at Revan. When he finnished eating he just said:

"Yes, I like taking advantage of droids...do you have a problem with that?" Bail smiled.

 

"To bring down a lightsaber-freak, such as myself, you would need a lightsaber, and we are one, two and even three people here who can handle a lightsaber. We are given a ship allready, so the only supplies we would need is medics, I'm no good healer myself so you might want that. And of course we need food!" Bail said and smiled.

[Astor]

"You seem to have a fetice for credits!" he heard the Mandalorian say

 

"No, I just want to make sure that this is worthwhile - I'll agree that these sith are dangerous - but I ain't doing this out of the goodness of my own heart. Hell, why not make it 400? We are going to fight past legions of kriffing Sith, after all" Vynn then turned towards Revan, to listen to his answers.

 

"First off, I almost conquered the galaxy because I am a master stratigist with no equal," Well, to Vynn, Revan was certainly the most arrogant Jedi with no equal, if that was the attitude he had. 'So that's why you almost lost a Malachor?' he thought to himself.

 

Vynn thought he heard Zarena mutter something about one sith being bad enough.

 

"Tell me about it" he retorted, whispering back.

 

"Satisfied?" He heard Revan say.

 

"For now" he said, leaning back in his chair, mulling over the task ahead.

[LordRevan123]

"...so the only supplies we would need is medics, I'm no good healer myself so you might want that. And of course we need food!"

 

William answered, "I'm a pretty good healer and I also know the basic stuff, but we'll probably want to take some medpacs just in case."

 

"If your not satisfied with the amount of credits, we'll up it to 250,000 per Sith Lord. You'll have to get the equipment on your own, by buying it or stealing it of the bodies of your enemies," said Revan. "Any other credits you earn will be yours to keep. And from what I know of Hifta, it's a bit like Tatooine. With vast deserts and dangerous wildlife. Now, are there any more questions?"

[patient_zero]

"If your not satisfied with the amount of credits, we'll up it to 250,000 per Sith Lord."

 

Two hundred and fifty thousand credits times four Sith Lords... That's one million credits! Zarena smiled, contented, and returned to sitting cross-armed.

 

"Now, are there any more questions?"

 

"I'm satisfied," Zarena stated, leaning back in her chair and crossing one leg over the other. Her usual sword and blaster had served her well for years, so with luck they'd be good enough to let her hold off most of what they would find. Besides, the rest of the group seemed tough enough. Once a Jedi stopped talking they could usually fight well enough, and she counted three in their little party.

 

So for the moment she sat in quiet contemplation, trying to gauge the reaction of the rest of her team members.

[Astor]

"...we'll up it to 250,000 per Sith Lord"

 

While it wasn't the 400,000 he'd pushed for, a million credits was a tidy sum, and he'd never make that much on any other job. That'd be enough for him to buy a ship - with enough left over for a visit to Nar Shaddaa's Red Sector.

 

"Hell, for a million credits, Rev, I'd fight you" Vynn said. He wasn't joking.

 

"So when do we leave?"

[LordRevan123]

"You will leave in two days where you can gather your equipment, train, or relax here in the temple," stated Revan. "After which, you will be shown to your ship The Blade Glider by Carth and Bao-Dur. You have dormitories which you will be using in this time on the upper levels. You can't miss them. Be ready to go at 2200 hours on the third day. Good luck." Revan then left the room with Carth leaving with him.

 

William got up from his seat and placed his mask back on before going to the training grounds.

[Astor]

Great

 

Two days stuck around the people he'd been trying to avoid for the last 15 years - Jedi.

 

Well, at least he wouldn't have to pay for his room at the cantina/boarding house/dive he'd been staying at. He stood up, and started for the door.

 

"Well, I'm going to a cantina. Anyone wanna come?" He was out the door before he'd even finished his sentence.

[patient_zero]

"You will leave in two days where you can gather your equipment, train, or relax here in the temple."

 

Two days...? They called us here to tell us we'd be leaving in two days? Zarena nodded and watched Revan and Onasi leave the room. Coruscant, she reminded herself, wasn't all about the Jedi temples and babbling senate meetings. If she looked in the right places there would be plenty of fun to be had.

 

"Well, I'm going to a cantina. Anyone wanna come?"

 

Vynn seemed to have the right idea, though he'd left in a hurry before waiting for anyone to answer. Zarena rose to her feet and walked to the door, pausing to cast a furtive glance at the others loitering in the briefing room. She pulled the door open and stepped out into the hallway.

 

"Hey, wait up!" she called sharply, her voice cutting across the awkward silence that seemed to forever hang in the corridors of the temple.

[Astor]

Vynn didn't turn round to acknowledge Zarena as she followed after him. They paced out of the Temple entrance hall, out into the glittering plaza of this area of Coruscant.

 

It was only a few minutes walk to more friendly, built-up areas, with glowing neon signs, and more aliens the further you walked away from the temple.

 

Vynn took a sharp turn, towards an elevator that would lead towards the true heart of Coruscant - the Entertainment District. He jumped into the elevator, fingers hovering over the control panel, ready to descend into the pulsing heart of the Galaxies busiest planet...

 

"Come on" he said "I know a place"

[patient_zero]

Even though she'd walked through it on the way to the temple, Zarena still couldn't help but be impressed with the streets of Coruscant. The sight of bright city lights and the streets bustling with all sorts of sentients was both exotic and familiar, reminding her of the homeworld she hadn't returned to in ten years.

 

Except in the streets of Zeltros, most humans are inebrated tourists. Here I'm the one gawping at the sights and asking for directions.

 

She noticed that Vynn had stopped by a crowded elevator, and had at last turned to acknowledge her.

 

"Come on," he said, "I know a place."

 

"Alright," Zarena grinned, catching up with Vynn, "Show me the best this planet has to offer. I'll see how it measures up."

[Astor]

"That depends on where you're comparing it to" He said, pressing the button so soon after she entered the door almost hit her. The elevator began a quick descent, past lots of floors, mostly containing unremarkable shops, offices and other establishments.

 

"It's a poor match to compare with your homeworld. I stopped off on Zeltros once... lost a week of travel, and all my creds" He smiled as thought of that week - certainly one of the most memorable of his life.

 

"But it's definately better than Nar Shaddaa - It's got the same atmosphere, except there aren't ryll-biting idiots on every corner trying to shake you down" Although Vynn did sometimes enjoy the local 'hospitality' of Nar Shaddaa.

 

The elevator screeched to a halt, and the doors opened into a busy thoroughfare. There was no natural light down here - only street lights and signs, but it was bright enough street.

 

Vynn strode down the street, eventually stopping at a small building at the end of the row.

 

"Now, this place isn't the roughest, or the smelliest, place on Coruscant but you might want to hold your nose. And keep those delicate fingers of yours attached to a weapon" He smiled as he opened the door, into the bustling cantina before them...

[patient_zero]

The elevator plunged down, down past shops, streets, and clubs, all the colours of the street signs blurring together as they flew past the corner of Zarena's eye.

 

"It's a poor match to compare with your homeworld. I stopped off on Zeltros once... lost a week of travel, and all my creds."

 

Zarena knew that she couldn't stay nostalgic of Zeltros. It had been a while. And yet she felt it was the sort of planet that would never change, not too much. "Zeltros might as well be a black hole, it sucks in every first-timer in the system for weeks at a time."

 

"But it's definately better than Nar Shaddaa - It's got the same atmosphere, except there aren't ryll-biting idiots on every corner trying to shake you down."

 

The elevator stopped and they stepped out into the neon underground of Coruscant. The bright lamps of signs and store fronts cast out clusters of coloured light across the street.

 

"Now, this place isn't the roughest, or the smelliest, place on Coruscant but you might want to hold your nose."

 

"I used to stay on Nar Shaddaa," she commented, "I've been in worse spots."

 

"And keep those delicate fingers of yours attached to a weapon."

 

"My blaster never leaves my fingers," she said, grinning wryly. The cantina door opened, a blast of music and chatter spilling out on to the street. Zarena stepped in after Vynn, and the door swung shut behind them.

 

Glancing around, Zarena quickly spotted the bar.

 

"I think drinks are in order," she called to Vynn over the music, heading into the crowds and working her way over towards the bar.

[Astor]

It was never quiet in here - that was why Vynn liked it - too much quiet was reminiscent of the sterile silence associated with the Jedi Temple. That, and it was sometimes amazing what you could overhear in places like this.

 

He turned around to find Zarena - he could see an orange topped head making it's way to the bar. Over the music he thought he could hear something.

 

"I think drinks are in order"

 

"That's the first sensible thing i've heard all day" He shouted as he pushed people out the way to get to the bar.

 

He perched himself on a stool. He poked the bartender opposite him.

 

"Hey, Krell. A double Bantha Blaster for me, and whatever the lady wants"

[patient_zero]

Zarena swung herself on to a barstool, her elbow finding itself comfortably perched on the edge of the bar. Shortly Vynn appeared on the seat next to her.

 

"Hey, Krell. A double Bantha Blaster for me, and whatever the lady wants."

 

"Just give me a shot of fizzbrew," she said. She turned her head slightly, glancing at Vynn. Probably not still a Jedi, if he was he'd have someone tailing him, telling him not to poison his body with toxins.

 

"I don't know about you, but I'm glad to be out of that temple. It's un-nerving for a place with that many people to be so quiet all the time."

[Nymf...]

Bail also left the temple, he didn't really liked it there, ever since he left the Jedis it seemed that all that was friendly had left, but that could depend on that all kinds of enemies were there. He headed for a place called Barin's Deep , a place of gangs and gangwar going on, it was chaotic, but the Republic chose not to interfere. He saw a Zabrak in a group of other thugs, they wore the same colors from their gang.

"Kalig Ohr!" Bail said and the Zabrak turned around. "You got something that belongs to me, and I'm here to get it!". Kalig looked scared at the sight of Bail. "You do still have it, right?"

 

"Of course, I mean yes, no..."

 

"What?" Bail said, and made an appearance of himself as if he was evil...superior...

 

"I...I... It...It got stolen...a day ago or something." Kalig looked scared.

 

"Well, I would suggest you'll get it for me."

 

"Of...Ofcourse, but then you'll have to do something for me."

 

"No! You were entrusted to keep it safe, and you lost it...you owe so get it back... NOW!"

 

"Yes...yes..." Kalig ran away, said something to the other thugs and they ran off.

 

"AND I MUST HAVE TODAY!" Bail shouted. He then sighed turned around and went to the nearest cantina. 'I can't believe that's the only attitude to deal with those scums...' he thought.

[Astor]

"I don't know about you, but I'm glad to be out of that temple. It's un-nerving for a place with that many people to be so quiet all the time."

 

"You get to used to it after a time, but it's still never easy. Specially when you come from planets like Taris, where something's always going on, or your own, where you can't move without someone saying hello" He said, in between gulps the garish pink liquid that he was sampling.

 

"And despite being guardians of the Republic, Jedi aren't exactly used to talking. It ruins the whole 'mysterious' act"

[LordRevan123]

Upon arriving at the training grounds for Jedi's, William took a good look around. It was just as he remembered it, Masters and their apprentices going through katas or learning new Force techniques. Sensing someone behind him, William turned around but saw no one, but then looked down to see Master Vandar.

 

William smiled at the little alien and said, "Master Vandar, what a pleasant surprise to see you hear!"

 

Vandar rolled his eyes and replied,"Such a surprise to see a Jedi in a Jedi Temple."

 

William sheepishly replied, " Hehe... just being polite."

 

"I see you've grown into a very strong Jedi after you left the Order. Can't say I'm surprised."

 

"Your too kind Master Vandar, I'm haven't gotten that good."

 

"No need to be humble William. Let's just see how good you've become," and with that, Vandar ignited his green lightsaber on low intensity and lept at William.

 

William surprised, ignited his blue and silver lightsabers to parry Master Vandar's attack. Vandar attacked from all sides with William blocking and counter attacking with neither dueler getting the upper hand. Vandar's small size made him a small target and was therefore much harder to hit.

 

The rest of the Jedi's at the training grounds paused to watch this demonstration of skill and determination. In an unpredictable move, Vandar used his size to quickly slip under William's legs to get behind him before jumping up and grabbing a handful of William's robes with one hand. Vandar was quite literally standing on his opponent's back with a lightsaber pointed near his neck. However, William was able to bring his lightsaber backwards to the point where it was aimed over the Jedi Master's heart.

 

Sweating, Vandar said,"It seems that we are at a stalemate William. You have gotten a lot better."

 

William deactivated his lightsabers and Vandar got off his back. "Revan was right to select you for this mission, I believe you and your group will be just fine."

 

"Thank you Master Vandar, I hope so to," William and Vandar smiled to each other in a secret understanding, before they parted ways.