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New Republic Military Headquarters (Rendili)
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Ares Valure
Zara


Joined: 23 Jul 2009
Posts: 16

 Post Posted: Tue, April 20th 2010 03:00pm    Post subject: New Republic Military Headquarters (Rendili)
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As Rendili's sun set into the horizon, it painted the sky with a brilliant swirl of orange and yellow, which poured into the long, metallic hallways through the windows that ran alongside them. It was a peaceful scene, made only further by the silence that accompanied it. Of course, there was always the hum of the artificial lights and the other various machinery involved in construction, but for the moment, one can simply put it into the background and enjoy a quiet few seconds for what they are. Which is exactly what Ares Valure attempted to do as he let his head fall backwards and closed his eyes. However, barely a second had passed before he heard the clack of a nearby set of shoes. A set of shoes that soon spoke.

"We should get moving," Tren noted, still looking at his datapad as he closed the distance. Ares hesitated for a brief moment, then snapped himself back to reality and turned to the boy. For whatever reason, he wondered what Tren might have had tucked away inside his datapad, since he rarely ever saw it leave his side. It was a tad strange, but nothing Ares hadn't seen before. Being close to one's work was always a good plan for the future and in his experience, there had been many other interns with the same sort of habits. They weren't as good as Tren at keeping their secret data secret, however, and somehow that made Ares proud of the boy.

"Remind me again why you insisted on dragging me out here for this—" he paused for a moment and twirled his hand slightly in the air as if searching for the word, "—meeting?" Without waiting for a reply, Ares started down the hall and didn't bother looking back. Tren finished up a thing or two with his datapad, then tucked it into his pocket hurried behind.

"Well, with CiC Ulgo dead, I figured you ought to have some say in the retaliation," he answered as quickly as ever. "Admiral Akatos is keen on organizing a task force."

Ares hummed his agreement. "You have a point. Though I'm hardly one for military advisement," he admitted before letting his head sink forward a little and putting a hand to his chin. After a moment of thought, he returned to the conversation with his newfound realization, "Probably explains why I never did receive a direct request from the Admiral to attend."

"Rumor has it he was offended when he wasn't invited to attend last year's state dinner," Tren added with a smile.

"Always a motive," said Ares, narrowing his eyes in mock suspicion as they passed through an open doorway into the meeting hall. Two guards stood rigid on either side, who gave subtle nods of recognition toward the Chief of State. While he didn't return them himself, Tren picked up the slack and offered them back with a smile. The two moved in toward the large table and took a position among the other officers as discreetly as they could, not wishing to interrupt the speech already in progress.

"...in waiting behind Selvaris' moon while the Ambition conducts the mock distess call."

"Once they take the bait, there should be enough time for the rest of the fleet to move into position and catch them off guard," came the follow-up from a nearby woman. She was young, standing rigid and professional in her flawless uniform just a few seats down from the Admiral and beaming with pride after every word she spoke.

Akatos nodded toward her assessment, then turned back to the others to continue, "Precise—" but was interrupted upon seeing Ares' entrance, to which he shot a brief look of disgust before returning to his speech, "—ly. In doing so, we hope to draw out the Mandalorian bandits that assaulted the Commander-in-Chief's vessels." His eyes then found their way back to Ares, but were this time accompanied by a diplomatic smile. "Chief of State," he noted, giving a quick glance around the room toward the other officers that they should stand.

Now feeling slightly awkward at being pointed out so blatantly in the middle of their meeting, Ares looked around for a short time, then craned his neck forward and said with a nod, "C-carry on." He never particularly liked meetings with military types. They were always too formal for him. No matter what he did, he always felt like a fish out of water. Surrounded by cats. Of course, as he rose throughout his titles, Ares began to get used to them as he would anything, but he always knew that there were certain things he would never be entirely fond of. Like Beryllian Vodka.

The Admiral returned the nod curtly, then slid his gaze to the woman from before and extended a hand for her to continue. With another acknowledging nod, she somehow straightened herself even more and cleared her throat. "We don't know exactly what we'll be dealing with," she began, letting her eyes scan over everyone in the room to ensure they were all listening. "It's well known that the Mandalorians are difficult to predict, so be prepared for any counterattacks or surprises of their own. The last thing we need is to needlessly lose any more lives at their hands. However, our fleet should be well-outfitted enough to maintain a firm hold on the situation."

Finding a break in the speech, Ares glanced back at Tren to find him fiddling with his datapad again. As he turned back to the table, he decided to take the moment to interject and at least say something worthwhile. "I'd just like to point out what an honorable thing it is you're doing. I'm sure the Commander-in-Chief would be proud."

Akatos didn't reply at first, but seemed to stare down Ares for a moment that felt entirely longer than it must have taken. Once he was apparently satisfied, he licked his lips and finally said, "Thank you, Chief of State. Truth be told, much of this plan was formulated by my Vice Admiral Soler and Commodore Daast. Your admiration should rightfully go to them." He gave a thin smile and swept his hand to the side again, to indicate the two officers nearby, who both stood and answered with smiles of their own. Although the Commodore's seemed to be a little too eager.

"Well, here's hoping everything goes according to plan," Ares said with some of his confidence now restored.

However, barely a second passed before an explosion rang out through the room, causing everyone to instinctively grab their sections of the table. As quickly as it had happened, it had passed and left the meeting in silence once more. Not a word was spoken for a long time, as everyone scanned the room to try and figure out what had just happened. Admiral Akatos immediately looked toward the doorway into the main hall while Ares spun around to look in the same place. Although, the only thought going through his mind was, "I cursed it again, didn't I?" After a tense moment, it seemed that everything was back to normal, but Ares wasn't convinced.

He turned back to see the Admiral descending from his podium, giving a small chuckle as he attempted to explain. "Sorry about that. This is the kind of thing you have to expect when you conduct meetings in the same tower the hangars are—" he began, but as his eyes found their way back to the main hallway, his face immediately shifted into confusion. Something was wrong, but before anyone could even question it, the familiar sound of a firing blaster rang out and a spot on the Admial's chest burst into a small, blackened hole. Time seemed to slow as he turned down to look at his sudden wound. He raised a hand to feel it and as soon as it touched, he was already stumbling backwards while his legs gave out and collapsed into a heap.

It happened so fast that Ares barely had time to react, but at the same time it all seemed to happen so slowly. His eyes shot open at the sight of the fallen Admiral and as soon as he tried to move, he found himself completely frozen in place. The others in the room were all beginning their own frantic methods of self-preservation, grabbing for their holstered pistols or simply grabbing cover anywhere they could. After a short eternity, Ares managed to turn back to Tren, who appeared just as shocked as the rest. However, the boy apparently had better reflexes than many of the others, as he was already on his feet and reaching for Ares' arm.

"We have to get out of here!" he shouted, although it did little to snap Ares from his shock. As he was dragged out of the crowd by Tren, his eyes whipped back to where the Admiral had been, then back to the hallway, and finally back to Tren. He was still as dumbfounded as ever, but he went along with the boy nonetheless. There wasn't much of a choice, after all.

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Tren Drexel
Cray


Joined: 23 Jul 2009
Posts: 26

 Post Posted: Wed, April 21st 2010 02:16pm    Post subject:
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I moved as quickly as my reflexes allowed. I had to get Ares into the proper position. The world around us was erupting into hell. The assailants dropped their high-precision sniper guns, taking up blaster rifles and unleashing the plasma fury on the first wave of officers trying to flee the scene. I never had been in a situation like this before, but I had prepared for it for years. I knew what to do. I just had to hope my body would cooperate in tandem with my mind. I felt the adrenaline rush and my knees shaking, but I found the willpower to drag Ares towards the bottom of the room.

We approached the large transparisteel windows, away from the point of entry of the attackers. I herded Ares along, keeping him in front of myself. If they tried to fire at him, the bolt would strike me first and hopefully give Ares a better chance of escape. "Come on!" I instructed Ares. He didn't respond, speechless. The man was petrified; I could see it in his face. It put an uncomfortable pit in my stomach. He was distracted, his wide eyes focused on the masked men across the room. He wasn't looking where he was going. I had to be his sense of direction. Ushering him along was like pushing a dead body, the joints with rigor mortis, stiff and reluctant to move as a corpse. It was harrowing to feel Ares' horror, as tangible as the floor beneath our feet. It made me think twice.

Settling behind a thick support that protruded from the wall, Ares and I took cover. I looked out from behind the strut to see the status of the attack. More bodies were littering the floor, but the more daring officers were beginning to return fire at the invaders. I regretted I didn't have a blaster with me to take them down. I made a note to keep one with me at all times in the future, if I made it out of this alive.

The blonde woman, Commodore Daast, the strategist mastermind behind the future Selvaris mission, was among them. I risked a moment to watch her personal firefight play out. She was an expert with her blaster, a rarity among naval officers. She volleyed a shot off at the tallest intruder, hitting him squarely in the neck and sending him backwards onto the dais' steps, a sickening wheeze issuing from his punctured larynx and an unsettling crack sounding from his broken spine. She ducked under an adjacent table before the force returned the bolts of searing death.

I wiped a bead of nervous sweat from my forehead, taking a staccato glance to make sure Ares was alright. He was behind me, still frozen in shock. I looked from him to a door on the far side of the room; I didn't know if it led to an exit, or if it was a dead-end. It didn't matter. I knew we had to move.

I pushed Ares forward by the shoulders, just as another officer bravely and foolishly took a stand. I rushed along edge of the room, moving perpendicular to the windows, as the officer fell backwards over a desk. He was dead, but it gave us an opportunity to move without attracting too much attention. Unfortunately, it didn't last as long as I'd hoped. The attackers saw us and began to get a clear shot.

"W-what is all this?!" Ares finally yelled, his voice finally catching up with his thoughts.

"It's an attack!" I answered, exasperated. Frantically, I looked around, trying to find an opportunity. "We need to keep moving!" We reached the edge of the wall, now against the window. We now needed to cross over in front of it, exposing ourselves. I was nervous. This had to be done, I told myself.

"An attack?! Of all the timing in the galaxy..." Ares trailed off, trying to calm himself down. It wasn't working.

I took Ares between me and the window, my back facing the attackers, between him and the entryway. I couldn't delay it anymore. "We gotta go!" This was it. We ran.

"Go where?!" Ares demanded, hopelessly.

I didn't have much of an answer. "Not here!" I glanced to my left, just in time to see Commodore Daast standing in the midst of the room. Vice Admiral Soler was pinned down by gunfire behind her, and I could see the conflict on her face; to help Chief of State Valure, or Vice Admiral Soler? I saw something play on her face, her eyes going beyond me past the window. I glanced to the right, my eyes catching shadowy movement outside. Daast saw it, and I saw it. I knew something was about to happen, but there was nothing I could do to delay it.

"They have the doors blocked!" Ares reasoned, gaining some strength in his voice. "We don't have much choice aside from going out the window!"

I hesitated for a second, looking between Daast, Ares, the assailants beyond, and the shadows playing about the window. I turned to look back to the Chief of State, my eyes firmly locked with his. "Then we have to do it!"

Ares shot me a look of extreme incredulousness for agreeing with his half-hearted suggestion. Before we could do anything further, the window aside us burst into a thousand pieces, the transparisteel shattering as if it were fragile crystal. Ares turned to look, as did I, just in time to see the shadowy figures repelling down the side of the building.

I lost my grip on Ares, the surprise breaking my concentration. I was thrown backwards, separated from the Chief of State. The moment seemed to come to a standstill. A lump in my throat formed in anxious worry. I felt like an observer now, helpless, guilty for being separated from him. I couldn't do anything. I wished there was another way. I couldn't protect him any longer. I couldn't believe this was happening. I never thought it would be this hard.

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Kira Daast
Zara


Joined: 23 Jul 2009
Posts: 9

 Post Posted: Sat, May 29th 2010 09:46pm    Post subject:
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Happening faster than either of them could comprehend, a figure leaped out in front of the Chief of State and tackled him straight into the floor. The impact was heavy, but it had been enough to get him out of harm's way for the moment. A couple blaster bolts whizzed through where he had just been standing, but fizzled out against an opposite wall. Without wasting a moment, the figure had rolled off of Ares and returned the fire. One of the shots made contact with an assailant's chest, sending him slipping off the windowsill and out into the skyline. The commando's partner shot a quick glance to his fallen comrade, then opened fire once more, pushing further into the room so as to avoid the same fate. Although his shots go wide, one more from the uniformed figure reduced him to a heap on the floor.

"Stay down!" Kira demanded toward the two men as she scrambled to find cover behind a nearby column. She took a brief moment to cradle her arm, feeling the pain pulse throughout her shoulder from a blaster bolt that had been just a little too close. However, despite the injury, she quickly regained her composure and replaced both hands tightly around her pistol. She didn't have time to do anything else, since the remaining two commandos were already closing the distance, trying to pin them in front of the window. She scanned the room from her cover, quickly realizing that the three of them were the only ones left standing for the New Republic, and two were barely aware of what was happening.

Without much choice, she spun out from the column and fired a few pot-shots as the commandos continued to move up. They slid for cover as soon as they saw her, though a bolt of hers still clipped one in the leg as he moved, causing him to drop to the ground and fumble with his rifle as it slipped from his hands. The other returned fire, and Kira soon found herself in a stalemate as they each took turns shooting back and forth. As she took cover from another hail of blaster bolts, she dropped to her knees and rounded the pillar once more, taking the man by surprise and landing a solid shot to his neck.

Realizing that there wasn't much left for him, the sole reminaing commando jumped to his feet and rushed for the door, despite his wounded leg. Kira took a few steps from her cover to get in as many shots as she could, but they all went wide before he rounded the corner of the doorway and disappeared from sight. With a curse under her breath, she dropped her pistol back to her side and reached for a communicator hiding in one of her pockets.

"There's a masked intruder escaping from the meeting hall! He's wounded in the leg. All units, if you see him, take him down immediately," she ordered through labored breaths. She dropped the small device slightly to take another look around the room, then quickly added, "And get all available medics up here. Now!"

A short distance away, the Chief of State remained on the ground, still shaking from the adrenaline, but slowly pushing himself back up to survey the carnage. Eventually, once he was upright on his knees, he began frantically patting himself down, as if the realization that he may have been injured had just instantly dawned on him.

"Are we... Am I alive?" he stuttered, apparently still unconvinced in his results. Kira ignored the question as she left the others to seek out any other survivors. What she came across was disappointing. Though it seemed that some were still alive, the attack had caught them off-guard too much. Most of the officers had been shot down where they stood without even so much as a second to flee.

"You— Yeah, you're... Are you all right?" the younger boy asked. Their voices were the only sounds left carrying throughout the room, aside from the wind rushing through the gaping window. The silence was almost too much.

Kira glanced back to them to see them both rising to their feet, with Ares still going over his body. "I think... I'll live," he noted before finally raising his head to look at Kira in the distance. When their eyes met, he threw out a shaky finger to point her out, then added, "You! You saved our lives!"

As she made her way back to them, the boy looked her over for a short while, then pulled out his own comm and began issuing some orders for immediate evac. She narrowed her eyes slightly, but turned her attention to the Chief of State firstly. "Just doing my job, sir," she replied before taking another look at her shoulder. Seeing that it hadn't changed much, she turned to the other boy and asked in a harsh tone, "What about you?"

He quickly spun around to meet her gaze, just as he ended his comm call. For an uncomfortable moment, he simply remained there, watching her and trying to process her words. "Err, what?" he stumbled, gesturing toward himself with a look on his face to ask if it was indeed he that she was adressing. Before giving her a chance to continue, he jumped back in, just as confused. "I'm alrigh—" he started, but immediately stopped himself to start over. "I was trying to get Mr. Valure to cover."

"But you're not injured?" she clarified, raising a curious eyebrow and craning her head forward slightly.

"I— No, I'm fine," he sighed, finally taking a second or two to actually look himself over for any injuries. Finding nothing serious, he raised his eyes to her own and gave a small nod. "You?"

It was then that Kira suddenly realized she still had her pistol drawn, her hand still gripped almost painfully around the handle. She sighed in an attempt to relax as much as she could, then replaced it to its holster. As she reached around to her side, she felt a shot of pain work its way up her shoulder again. She winced at the sudden reminder of her shallow wound, but managed to push it aside in her mind for the moment. Once the pistol was in its place, she looked back to the Chief of State's aide and finally answered his inquiry, "I'll be fine.

"We should get you out of here immediately, sir," she then stated toward Ares, though keeping her eyes trained on the boy. Ares opened his mouth to start something, though it seemed he had nothing to say, and let his aide take over for him.

"A shuttle's on its way," he explained, as if trying to reassure both Kira and Ares together. Ares gave a nod and whispered his approval as his eyes wandered back to the floor, still wide with shock. A few medics then rushed into the room and spread out among the bodies, going to work as quickly as they were able. Although things looked to be safe, Kira wasn't quite convinced.

"I suggest we go now. There's no telling if there's any more attackers on the way, or where they might be hiding," she stated, glancing between both men before finally settling her eyes on the ceiling. She seemed to stare at it as if she was looking straight through the solid building and up into orbit as she added, "You might be safer aboard one of our ships."

"Y-yes," Ares stammered, his voice cracking upon speaking. He quickly cleared his throat and made an attempt to stand up a little straighter, then repeated himself, "Yes, good idea. Safer is... Better."

Kira nodded, then turned for the door and immediately began leading the way. Just as she passed into the doorway, she glanced back to notice the aide scooping up a blaster for himself. She raised an eyebrow, but had little time to think anything more of it, so simply continued moving down the hall. Guards and medics made their way past as Ares caught up, only to stop and turn back for one last look at the scene, causing Kira to stop with him.

"This can't be Mandalorians," he muttered with a hand lightly brushing his chin. However, upon seeing the boy he snapped out of his daze and moved to continue their escape. Kira was happy to oblige, giving another nod and pushing past the quickly forming crowd toward the nearest hangar.
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