Open Terrain

*Five miles out from the the HWK-290's position a Sesk'vati LAAT/i bearing its crew of six and a squadron of thirteen Sesk'vati, members of Ryloth's military caste, speeds towards the location of the distress beacon that had been picked up by signal officers at Fort Tar'ree, from which the LAAT/i set out.*

*As they continue on towards what they anticipate to be a crash site, the sergeant in command of the squadron briefs his men on what they know, which is little given that all attempts to hail the ship from which the beacon originates by comm have failed, and instructs his squadron to be prepared for anything when conducting their search and rescue operation since they do not know whether the ship is civilian or something less innocuous.

The co-pilot, a blue skinned Rutian Twi'lek, keeps her eyes on her boards, watching the scanners for any sign of activity in the vicinity of the crash as there is every possibility that the downed vessel was downed by attack rather than accident.*

*Ellie sank back in her seat and began to replay the events to try and figure out what went wrong. Her thoughts were interrupted by her masters voice yelling from yelling from outside. Jumping from her seat she sprinted out of the ship. She found her master standing near the bottom of the ramp looking towards the direction in which they came from. In the distance she saw two MAAT's heading in their direction.*

"That's not a rescue party is it?"

=Master Kowen=
"Not the kind we're looking for. Ellie, get back in the ship don't come out till I tell you."

*Elli wanted to argue with her master at first, but then decided against it. She headed back up the ramp into the ship. Crouching down behind a crate, there she could watch what was going on and still remain hidden. The two transports landed a short distance away from their downed freighter, the outside of the transports had been painted with a verity of colors making them stand out more then they probably should have. She watched as a little over a dozen armed figures stepped out, many were wearing helmets and makeshift armor. A single figure stepped forward out of the group, it was a human male, equal in height to her master, with short black cropped hair. He wore the same makeshift armor as his comrades and carried to heavy blasters around his waist. He stopped a short distance away from her master and the two exchanged words that she could not hear.*

*Ellie debated about getting closer to hear but knew there was no way of getting closer without giving away her location. She watched the two men in front of her, she could not see her masters face but she feel calm radiating off of him. Without warning the man standing in front of her master opened fired, the draw was quick enough she barely had time to see it. Her masters blade ignited a split second before the man fired and deflected the blaster bolt into the ground. In an instant the area around the ship filled with the noise of blaster fire. Master Kowen deflected the bolts that came towards him, knocking many into the ground and deflecting some back at his assailants. Ellie watched in aw and for a split second believed her master had the upper hand, but that feeling was short lived when he got hit by a blaster bolt. The round merely caused him to stagger in his forward assault, the second round caused him to fail, the third brought him to the ground. Ellie watched wide eyed in horror as her master hit the ground under the barrage of blaster fire. She could feel the life leave him before he could draw his next breath.*

*She watched the leader give a nod signaling the group to storm the ship. Ellie darted further into the vessel looking for another escape route only to realize there was none. The sound of footsteps caused her to spin around and activate her lightsaber. Two of the men had already made it up the ramp and were charging at her, the first swung his blaster like a club. Bring her lightsaber down, Ellie cut through both rifle and man, bringing him down in one swing. The second attacker took a shot at her, only to have the bolt deflected back into his chest. What happened next caught Ellie off gaurd, instead of another attacker she heard something rolling across the ground to her feet. She looked down in time to see a stun grenade at her feet just as it went off. The blast tossed her backwards into a wall, before her mind succumbed to darkness, she looked up to see the man who had killed her master standing directly above her.*

*The leader of the slavers stood over Ellie's unconscious form. He could scarcely believe his luck, a Jedi in his position, the possibilities and potential buyers were endless. A thin small crossed his face at the mere thought of it.*

*The ideas were sort lived though. A Rodian hurried to his side, he was slightly out of breath.*

=Rodian=
"Sir! A ship appeared on our sensors before quickly vanishing. I believe it might be military in origin."

=Slaver Leader=
"Ships just don't vanish, it's out there somewhere. Send a scout team to find out where. You two.." *He pointed to a Trandoshian and human.* "get her on board and fire that ship up. I want us out of here as quick as possible if not sooner."

*The Rodian darted out of the ship and quickly gather half a dozen men into a scouting party. Once gathered, they headed out in the direction of the unknown ships last whereabouts. Immediately after they left, the leader of the slaver party and the two thugs carrying Ellie exited the ship and boarded the MAAT. Within seconds the ship was fired up and lifting off the ground. The ship circled the crash site once before speeding off in the direction of Kala'uun.*

*As Seela and her team members engage the Rodian and his companions, the squad's LAAT/i, having been ordered to ensure that the remaining MAAT cannot escape as the other one had, roars overhead and hovers to train its weapons on the MAAT near the crashed ship. The LAAT/i's pilot uses the ship's loudspeaker to announce in Basic,* :: All those in the unidentified MAAT, power down your systems and disembark from the ship with your hands in the air! You have 10 seconds to comply or your vessel will be fired upon. Ten . . . Nine . . . ::

[size=85:1v91oen7][quote="Alkor Centaris":1v91oen7][color=#FF8000:1v91oen7][i:1v91oen7]Taking Dacen's offered hand gruffly and shaking it firmly only once, he let the man go quickly and set about finding a proper seat next to the flowing stream. His hood shrouded his gaze now as he felt a sudden shift in the force, and he set his attention firmly on the unshaped songsteel that glistened in the radiant sunlight. Sweat beaded on his back, mostly because of the heat of Ryloth's mostly desert climate, but it was quickly captured by the dark fabric of his cloak.

He leaned forward a bit, almost speaking, then stopped abruptly when he heard the roar of the speeder. Alkor didn't have to look up. His cerulean eyes seemed to glass over as he stared in silence at the dirt and the engine finally died, the small footfalls of the Jedi Master preluding her speech. And then she addressed him, and his eyes slowly closed.

She introduced herself as a Jedi Master- as if titles meant anything out here. Even Watchman was just a post, just a formality. His duty gave him little in the way of sway. Instead, he only ever named himself "Watchman" when he was actually performing a task that called on that necessity. Best not to stir the pot with the locals, after all.

She addressed Dacen next, before he had a chance to speak further to the man, and Alkor's eyes fell to the metalloid sitting in the water's flow, barely stirring at all despite a constant movement all around it. He reached down and moved his fingers over the Songsteel, listening, straining to hear the ancient melody at it's heart. Nothing came- it seldom did, outside a place of battle.

Alkor had to wonder if anything else existed, dark or light, besides war. It was the homeostatic nature of the gallaxy it seemed, to always be rife with conflict. As she finished speaking, Alkor grunted quietly in acknowledgement and opened his eyes, now focused on the metal.

A galaxy in peril, with me at it's heart. Funny how I go from a pawn to a king in Dejarik in the blink of an eye.[/i:1v91oen7][/color:1v91oen7]

"Master Jedi," [color=#FF8000:1v91oen7][i:1v91oen7]Alkor intoned without much reverence, not really convinced the title was more than an accolade,[/i:1v91oen7][/color:1v91oen7] "you've come to chastise me, no doubt, for reporting nothing. I assure you, there has been nothing to report."[/quote:1v91oen7][/size:1v91oen7]




[action:1v91oen7]Though clearly, there was another man present, Raven watched Alkor's motions closely. Being an Empath didn't always give one immunity to being read. But there were always ways of hiding why the words on one's soul were written. Raven sought after that 'why', not for her duty as a Jedi, but for her concern as a person. It was easy to put concern in the job description of Jedi though. Alora tended to do that quite often. She gave one small glance to the other, and then, approached Alkor further, slowly. Stopping beside him, she looked down into the water, to the glinting object caught under the flow.[/action:1v91oen7]

Perhaps [action:1v91oen7]She offered briefly.[/action:1v91oen7] that would have been something substantial to report Watchmen Centaris.

[action:1v91oen7]A thin smile graced her lips as she looked over at him, removing her eyes from the metallic form in the water.[/action:1v91oen7]

A report with nothing in it, is better than no report at all. Otherwise I'd be beside myself with worry.

[action:1v91oen7]The smile widened for a brief moment before fading all together, into something deeper, something showing more concern within it. Her eyes, in turn, matched the expression. He'd separated himself from most other Jedi. That was to be expected, but to be placed on a planet like this, battling one's inner demons alone was something Raven wished to never experience again. She wished no one had to experience it.[/action:1v91oen7]

It's hard, [action:1v91oen7]She said at length, turning her small brown eyes to the unfinished metal.[/action:1v91oen7] to have life bend you into what you're suppose to be. [action:1v91oen7]Pausing, she nodded toward the metal held securely in the water's flow.[/action:1v91oen7] Even that metal needs some help becoming the blade it was intended to be.

[action:1v91oen7]She knew he wasn't particularly enjoying this, and her eyes strayed back to the other man, who was probably confused by the Jedi nonsense, and Alkor had probably heard this rundown before. But Raven felt that repetition was almost always a good thing. Slowly she knelt down beside Alkor, keeping a slight distance between them. Looking at him again she spoke softer this time.[/action:1v91oen7]

I do wish you would stop running from me mister Centaris.

Avoiding her gaze came all too naturally to Alkor, content to speak plainly despite any discomfort. He did not hesitate to obscure his surface thoughts, in the event that she did seek them out, and his emotions remained behind his all-too-seasoned mask. What she might feel, since she did seek them, was a contrived, almost forced series of impulses that rang out a mesh of the most basic emotions- frustration at the situation might be gleaned out of that, but beyond that wall, Alkor was well hidden.

His arms hung limply in front of his crouched form, crossed at the wrists, and his shoulders were slumped forward comfortably. As she looked over at him, his eye twitched, almost imperceptibly. Old habits died hard, and the impulse to lash out whenever someone attempted to get close writhed beneath the surface.

Raven Alora, of all people, had felt the inner sociopath's bite before. Two cerulean orbs flickered over to her, as if in warning, but the words that followed were anything but. "You'll forgive me," he said in an almost dismissive voice, "one becomes very used to keeping silence to themselves when the mandate of their peers is 'if you have nothing substantial to report, don't.' After you see a few men vaped, adherence becomes... Lucrative."

She continued to speak, of course, talking about the metal, which he in turn ran his fingers over thoughtfully, barely listening to her at all. Repetitive speech quickly become droll, and Alkor held very little fondness for such things.

Then she said something to a different effect entirely, and his back went rigid. Both eyes fixed on her intently, and his head slowly turned in her direction, his attention glued entirely to her. The same eerie glare had found hundreds of victims over the course of Alkor's life, but it held another meaning entirely now.

This Jedi Master now prodded into Alkor's very secretive life, and he misliked this sort of back and forth. After the words fell into place, he continued to watch her in silence for a time, then finally spoke. "And yet you seek me still, as a hunter would her prey. Very well; you have me. What will you do with me?"

[quote="Arshak Petrosian":1trnw0cz][npc name=Seela'waran:1trnw0cz][narration:1trnw0cz]After relaying all that she has observed in the past moments to Cotan and being ordered to attempt to capture the beings that have begun moving towards their position, Seela relays the orders to her fellow Sesk'vati.[/narration:1trnw0cz]

[action:1trnw0cz]When the Rodian and those accompanying him are within 60 meters of her position, with her 2 fellow Sesk'vati in positions on their east and west flanks, Seela, her WESTAR-M5, which, clear to any attentive observer, has an under-barrel grenade launcher attached, shouldered and aimed towards the center of the Rodian and his companions formation, leans out from behind the sand worn rock, half buried in the sand, that she is using for cover and calls out in Basic,[/action:1trnw0cz] "Halt! You're surrounded! Drop your weapons and get down on your knees now!"

[action:1trnw0cz]As Seela speaks, the two Sesk'vati on either side of the Rodian and his companions position also raise themselves up or peer from around their cover points to underscore her words.[/action:1trnw0cz][/npc:1trnw0cz]


[narration:1trnw0cz]As Seela and her team members engage the Rodian and his companions, the squad's LAAT/i, having been ordered to ensure that the remaining MAAT cannot escape as the other one had, roars overhead and hovers to train its weapons on the MAAT near the crashed ship. The LAAT/i's pilot uses the ship's loudspeaker to announce in Basic,[/narration:1trnw0cz] [comlink:1trnw0cz]All those in the unidentified MAAT, power down your systems and disembark from the ship with your hands in the air! You have 10 seconds to comply or your vessel will be fired upon. Ten . . . Nine . . .[/comlink:1trnw0cz][/quote:1trnw0cz]

[color=#FFBF00:1trnw0cz]*The small group of slavers were caught off guard by the ambush. Many raised their weapons ready to fire while others looked to the Rodian for instructions. The Rodian hesitated briefly, he weighed the odds and saw they were stacked highly against him, slowly he laid his weapon down and got down on his knees. The others hesitated for a moment longer then reluctantly followed the Rodians example.*[/color:1trnw0cz]

[color=#FFBF00:1trnw0cz]*The pilot of the ship had other ideas entirely. Powering up the ship he lifted it off the ground in an attempt to make a run for it. A male Duros leaned out the side door of the ship and opened fired with a heavy blaster rifle.*[/color:1trnw0cz]

[quote="Ellie Ordo":18j4spzq][color=#FFBF00:18j4spzq]*The Rodian hesitated briefly, he weighed the odds and saw they were stacked highly against him, slowly he laid his weapon down and got down on his knees. The others hesitated for a moment longer then reluctantly followed the Rodians example.*[/color:18j4spzq][/quote:18j4spzq]

[npc name=Seela'waran:18j4spzq][action:18j4spzq]Keeping her WESTAR trained on the center of the Rodian's group's formation, Seela lifts her free hand and signals her fellow team members to move in and secure their captives.[/action:18j4spzq]

[narration:18j4spzq]By the time Seela's team has bound the Rodian and his companions with stun cuffs, Cotan and the rest of the squadron arrive to help cover the captives. Cotan, remaining in comm contact with the pilot of the squad's LAAT/i, keeps himself apprised of their progress in attempting to capture the MAAT that had not escaped.[/narration:18j4spzq][/npc:18j4spzq]

[quote="Ellie Ordo":18j4spzq][color=#FFBF00:18j4spzq]*The pilot of the ship had other ideas entirely. Powering up the ship he lifted it off the ground in an attempt to make a run for it. A male Duros leaned out the side door of the ship and opened fired with a heavy blaster rifle.*[/color:18j4spzq][/quote:18j4spzq]

[narration:18j4spzq]The LAAT/i's pilot banks to starboard and then maneuvers to stay on the tail of the fleeing MAAT in order to keep a line of fire on the ship for his gunners and, as the rifle fire begins to impact relatively harmlessly against their transport, raises the blast shields and orders his gunners to return fire to attempt to disable the MAAT.

The co-pilot opens fire with the ship's four composite-beam laser turrets, targeting the MAAT's engines, while the gunners manning the mass-driver missile launchers fire a single missile each once they have a lock on the fleeing ship.[/narration:18j4spzq]

*The pilot of the MAAT pushed the ships throttle to full and raced from the crash site. He cursed under his breath when his sensors showed and inbound enemy vessel. Banking the ship to port, he tried to shake the LAAT/i, barely avoiding laser fire from its turrets. This went on for several minutes before two new objects appeared on their sensors. Pulling hard to starboard the pilot dodged the first missile but was unable to dodge the second. The impact shook the vessel and tossed the duros out of the ship to the ground below. The burning ship quickly lost altitude and plummeted to the ground, the impact knocked the pilot out and sent the ship skidding across the ground to a stop.*