Great Works - SW Ric Taldrya
“We will be going in to take a look around, nothing more
and nothing less,” Sith Warrior Ric Taldrya finished. He looked around for any questions
and when there were none, he sent the Sith pilots to
prepare for the operation to come. A single man stayed behind, Rics
right hand man, his Aedile.
“What’s on your mine Malik?” he asked sensing a question in
the mind of Sith Battlemaster Abel Malik. They had been flying together for a
very long time, not only as Dark Jedi but also in the Praetorian Elite
squadron.
“Why did you not mention what we were going to be doing
during all of this?” Malik asked, almost knowing the answer.
“We will be going to ground. The recon mission is nothing
other than a smokescreen to cover our insertion,” Ric
took a deep breath and slowly let it drain from his lungs. He had been told the
real plan only a few hours ago. With a summons in the middle of the night from
the Clan leadership, Ric had been filled in on what was to be expected of him
and his Aedile.
“We may have a few skills that would fit this mission I
guess,” Malik answered with a wink.
“That we do. Pack light, we’re going to be moving quite a
bit down there,” Ric rose and headed for his quarters to gather his gear.
The ride
to the small outpost world of Calinar was uneventful. The TIE Interceptors
dropped from the hanger of the Frigate Star of Hades and flew towards the
planet and its defences. They would get readings of all ships as well as any
stations in orbit of the planet. Once completed, they would return to the Star
and hyper home.
Malik
and Ric would board the small stealth shuttle and insert on
the darkside of the planet. Once down,
the shuttle would take off and jump to hyperspace as soon as they could,
leaving almost no trace of ever having been there.
Ric
checked to make sure that he had his gear all secured and then poked his head
into the cockpit of the shuttle. He spoke to the pilot and was informed that
everything was going as planned.
“Looks
like we’ll be down in about thirty minutes,” he said as he took his seat next
to Malik.
“Good,
then we can find out what’s going on and if there is any way to use it to our
advantage. I hate these small Intel shuttles… no head room,” he said as they
entered the atmosphere.
With an
almost imperceptible bump, the shuttle landed in an open field almost five
kilometres from the nearest buildings. The two Dark Jedi
slipped out of the rear hatch and entered the tree line.
They
watched as the ship rose and leapt for the starry sky. It was out of sight
quickly and they began to scan the area to make that they hadn’t been noticed.
Satisfied that they were undetected, they began to long trek to the nearest
settlement.
The
holo channels were ablaze with news of fighting. One side would take a city and
then the other side would reclaim it later that same day. There were terrorist
acts from both sides; bombings, assassinations, and thefts were common.
Thru it
all, Ric could feel that something was not right. He felt that
there was a power at work that went beyond a simple civil war. Ric
could feel that it had the stench of the Jedi all over it. He decided to
discuss his feeling with Malik at the first opportunity that he could. Right
now wasn’t the best time as they were surrounded by a transport full of people.
They
were in the city of Y’mmat, capitol of the Southern country. The planet had basically broken into two
halves, Northern and Southern. Each side was locked into the struggle to gain
dominance yet neither could gain an advantage.
Malik
and Ric left the transport and headed to the nearest inn. It
was apparent that they were happy to receive the business and the proprietor
was only too happy to thank them for staying. He gave them their keys and
wished them a nice day. Ric could hear Malik mutter Sith
obscenities under his breath at the obnoxiousness of the being. Ric
could only smile, knowing the temperament of his friend.
They
located there rooms and checked them for bugging devices and other record
keeping instruments. Satisfied that they had them all destroyed, the felt a
little more relaxed.
“I have
this feeling that there is more going on here than meets the eye,” Ric
said as they looked over the menu. Malik stopped and nodded his head in
agreement.
“There
is something going on, something elusive. We must be cautious for I believe
that it may involve the Jedi,” Malik spouted, trying to sound wise and all
knowing.
Ric
looked Malik over and shook his head with a puzzled look on his face. He
crossed his arms and finally said, “Hrmmmm…”
“What?”
Malik asked,” What are you hrmming at?”
“Well,
you’re not green, short and old. I could have sworn that you were becoming a
three foot tall muppet there for a second,” Ric
said with a touch of humor.
“I got
your muppet,” Malik replied.
“I do
sense a plot here. It’s something more than just a civil war,” Ric
went back to scan the holonet to get as much info as he could. It seemed that
the war was moving towards the city they were currently in. It would be a day
or two at the most and then they would have to decide what to do.
With a
roar, the windows blew inward. Shattered glass rained down on Ric
and Malik as they dove for cover. Outside they could here a siren begin to
sound, signalling that emergency vehicles were on the way.
Ric
looked to make sure that Malik was ok then moved towards the door. He could
feel something fast approaching, something strong in the force. Ric
checked to make sure that his lightsaber was in easy reaching distance and
looked in the direction that the Force user was coming from.
It
seemed that the reports that the news services had been wrong about when the
enemy would arrive. They were attacking the city with all their might. First
with an air attack to destroy any artillery batteries that they could, then the
ground troops had been sent rushing in covered by armoured vehicles.
Ric
and Malik made their way to the nearest transportation terminal and looked for
an empty speeder. Not having any luck, they began to travel on foot towards the
enemy army.
Malik
froze, spotting an enemy patrol ahead. Using hand signals, he told Ric
to take cover in the shadows. Ric melted back and became one with the dark. He watched
as the patrol passed between him and Malik. The last one in the line stopped
and looked right at the alcove Ric was standing in, as if he saw him. Ric
focussed and gave a slight nudge that there was nothing strange there. The
Soldier turned and began to follow his fellows up the alley.
Ric
stepped out and they headed deeper into the enemy lines. They came across more
patrols and decided to take a prisoner. While they hid in ambush, a three man
patrol passed by.
Ric
leapt out and pushed one of the men into a brick wall with enough force to
knock him unconscious. Malik ignited his lightsaber and leapt towards his
opponent, while Ric engaged his. With a few slashes, the fight was over
and they grabbed their prisoner and moved out.
They
found and old abandoned building and decided to question the man there. Malik
had more experience with interrogation so Ric
let him work and he kept a lookout.
(The
Interrogation technique used is classified and will not be revealed here…:P)
Malik
had learned that a small cadre of Jedi had set up training camps with the goal
of getting the planet to align with the New
Republic. They had help to set up the puppet government and
even driven the two states to war. It amazed Ric
that the Jedi would do such things, but when he thought about it, it made
perfect sense. The Jedi believed that they were freeing the people of the
planet, their point of view. However, the people in the majority of the world
didn’t want any dealings with the New
Republic.
Ric
decided to try and help the Imperialist cause and try and take out the Jedi. If
he could get enough of them, then they might leave the planet alone. If not,
then they would send for more and hunt the two Dark Jedi
down.
The
Trap is Set…
Ric
and Malik had spent days preparing this trap. They were going to lure one of
the Jedi in and kill him using fake distress calls. So far, the shuttle that
the Jedi used to keep track of the battles progress seemed to ignore the
signals. With an abrupt turn, it headed straight for them.
Malik
pulled back to try and mask his presence while Ric
stayed in view. If the plan worked as it was supposed to, the Jedi would think
that Ric was another Jedi who had fallen into trouble. Once
they were close enough, he would attack and hold them long enough for Malik to
join the fight.
The
Jedi landed and made there way to the clearing that Ric
had chosen as his battlefield. Once in the square, Ric
was laying on his side, facing away from them, hoping to draw them in as close
as he could before attacking. They came closer, with each step Ric
could feel the uncertainty rolling off of them in waves.
Ric
felt a hand on his shoulder and felt it begin to turn him over. The Jedi
startled when Ric opened his red eyes and glared at him.
“Know
fear Jedi,” Ric said as he thrust his Chiss dagger into the Jedi’s
chest. The others stepped back and activated their lightsabers as Ric
jumped to his feet.
“Amateurs,”
he said as they fell into sloppy fighting stances. With a snap hiss, his
crimson blade flared into life and he advanced on them like a stalking
predator. They began to back up towards the way they had come in when another
snap hiss came from behind them. Malik stepped from the shadows.
“No
hope this way, Jedi,” he said in a low gravely voice.
They
charged the two dark Jedi, two on each. Ric
parried the first blade and blocked the second. He was a master of Form IV as well
as two others, Form II and Form V. Flipping up over his opponents; he was
facing their exposed backs. With a slashing over-handed strike, he was now down
to a single opponent.
Switching
to Form II, Ric began to relax into the duel. It had been a while since
he could fight to the death with a real live enemy on the ground. He may have
been a pilot, but he was also a competent duellist.
The
Jedi blocked an overhead strike and went for a short slash towards Rics
exposed midsection. By the time that the lightsaber arrived, Ric
had moved. He brought his saber down and cut thru the wrist of the startled
enemy using a cho mai move.
The
Jedi fell to his knees and grabbed his cauterized stump. Ric
swung around and sliced the Jedi into half at the waist. His fight over, he
watched as Malik finished off the last of his two opponents.
“I
think its time to go home. We have all the information we need now,” Ric
said. Malik nodded his head in agreement and they boarded the shuttle that the
Jedi had landed in. It was a simple matter to pilot and they headed for the
reaches of space and then to home. Something told them both that they would be
back here in the near future…
Not
quite the end…
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