An End of Serenity

[Ann R. Key]

"Huh."

I poked at the hull of the ship with my finger. "Looks old."

"It is," agreed the redhead. "But fairly priced."

"Priced to move."

"Yes. Priced to move. Are you interested?"

I folded my arms and leaned against the old yacht. "Its not all put together on the inside."

"It flies."

"Hmm." I pulled my goggles down over my eyes, wiggling my nose theatrically. "All right. Deal!" I stuck my hand out, shaking the woman's hand enthusiastically. "Awesome!"

I slapped the hull, already imagining a sweet new paint job on the thing. The credit exchange was made quickly, and I signed on a datapad for the title.

The redhead took her leave. I jumped into my new ship, Serenity.

[James Prent]

"All taken care of?" James said, falling into step beside Serena.

"Yes." The Jedi was inscrutable, her expression impossibly flat. Not the usual calm peace that Serena usually exuded, but an almost tight anticipation.

"The others are safe," James added. "Distanced." Byl had helped her remove all traces of the other Jedi from the places they had been staying. What they chose to do now was up to them. Byl was probably back at her apartment, waiting for her to come home. Or, following her. He liked to do that sometimes.

"Good."

They walked in silence for a few moments more, then Serena handed her the credit chits and datapad. James tried to refuse the money. "You'll need that... in exile..?"

"I do not need it, where I will be going." Serena smiled faintly. "Please. If you can, see that Morgan and Rhianna get it. They will need a ship."

James hesitated, then took the credits. She pocketed them. "Okay."

"You should go now," said the Jedi. She kept walking. "Thank you, James."

"Thank you," managed the younger woman, clutching at the other's arm. "May the Force be with you."

"And with you."

Serena faded into the distance, and James turned and slowly walked to the nearest moving walkway.

[Serena Laran]

James would file the change of title remotely, making the sale of Serenity legal and proper for her new owner. Morgan and Rhianna... were on a new path. She'd seen it through the Force. There was little she could do for them now.

And her path...

Serena kept walking, taking a deep breath and enjoying the feel of the sun on her face.

[Ann R. Key]

"All right!" I vaulted into the pilots seat, grabbing the steering yoke and hauling up on it. It was locked into a default position because the engines were not running, but that didn't stop me from 'flying' the ship through an imaginary blockade. "Pew pew pew! Take that, you slop eating bastards!"

Bored of my game, I kicked my feet up on the console and lit a cigarette. This would be a nice addition to my collection.

[Baralai Lotus]

Baralai watched, silently from the dark corners of the street as Serena and the other Jedi walked and eventually separated. His master had given him the order to dispatch to Cloud City and to apprehend any and all Jedi. Apparently, some Imperials had found a disk containing a recording of a Knighting ceremony that took place at the Jedi Order.

A girl had been identified in the presence of other Jedi masters, and was noted as a Jedi herself. Serena Laran, with one padawan on known record. Baralai didn't care much for the padawan's name. He was simply a nuisance, and appeared to be nowhere in sight. As for now, he had a job to do.

Luckily for him, the Jedi and her padawan had been spotted in the city. All it took was a little forceful interrogation, and people were willing to cough up the information he needed. Few people could resist the threat and fear instilled by a Sith with a lightsaber at their throat. And now, it had led him here, to a point where Serena was now alone, strolling the streets.

He pulled the black hood up over his head, and the dark fabric fell around the skull he now wore as a mask. His identity had to remain a secret if he was to serve his new master well, and he would have to make sure that everything went according to plan. Apprehend the girl, kill her if necessary.

The long skull of a vulture now covered his face, the bleached white standing out strongly against the black fabric covering his body. Two lightsabers hung at either hip, dangling from his belt. The blades weren't quite what he was used too, but he could fight well enough to take down a Knight.

His new outfit bore only one sleeve, over his right arm. The heavy metal of the arm still wore down on Baralai, but with all of the new attachments he'd been given, he'd only been made even deadlier. His master had made sure that he had been given the best of Imperial Technology, and as such, he was equipped with some of the most effective ways to incapacitate and destroy living beings. Baralai had made the transition from alchemist to assassin.

The boots he wore tapped softly against the ground as he headed to cut off the Knight. He stood at the opposite end of the street, and Baralai stopped, now staring at Serena. He smiled. He wanted to just take her out now, but there was no sense in that. It had been a while since he had come face to face with a Jedi, and this was an opportunity to be savored, like drinking a fine wine. It was to be cherished and enjoyed, and when you had the chance to rip their still beating heart from their chest, it was something to be reveled in.

Besides, he needed to try out the new arm. After all, no sense in letting such a good thing go to waste.

He shot a small orb past Serena's head, and it landed near the ship she had walked away from, close to the exit ramp. A contingency plan, just in case.

In a flash he ignited his sabers. The smooth, blood red color shot forward, igniting the large white skull with a tint of red. He projected his thoughts forward, speaking to Serena.

"Tell me, did you really think you'd get out of here without being noticed?"

[Serena Laran]

As the small orb flew overhead she misdirected it with a wave of her hand, leaving the ship she had sold alone. The engines started up as the new owner gained clearance to leave the City.

She faced the Sith calmly, her hands at her sides. "No." Serena kept walking towards the masked man and his twin red sabers. "You are right on time."

[Baralai Lotus]

Baralai smirked under his mask, staring the girl down.

"Cocky little thing, aren't you?"

He kept his sabers at his sides, readying himself for an attack for the Jedi, keeping his eyes open and his senses aware. Even if she was a Jedi, she was still deadly. He had to be on his toes.

Now! He thought to himself as he pushed forward, feeling the Force course through his legs and accelerating him. To the untrained eye, he was a blur, flying through the small space between himself and Serena. He lifted up the saber in his left hand, turning the one in his right hand around. As he got closer, he went to strike with the saber and instead raised his right leg and leaping, kicked Serena across the side of her face, keeping his sabers ready to block.

"Defend yourself little girl!"

[James Prent]

James hummed softly to herself as the moving walkway quickly took her far from the docks. A smile traced her lips as she thought about Byl waiting for her back at the apartment, and she was distracted by her thoughts as she stepped off the walkway in the middle of one of Cloud City's many open air courtyards.

Lined with shops, this paticular one was often filled with the scent of freshly baked bread and other delicacies. It took a moment for James to realize that odor had been supplanted with another.

Fear.

On her guard too late, she felt an armored hand close around her arm as she tried to hop back onto the automated walkway. The stormtroopers who'd seemed to her peripheral vision as just another squad walking through the City, surrounded her, blaster rifles pointing at her.

"Come with us." The sound of the troopers voice was punctuated with the click of his helmet's voder and a slight hiss of static. "Jedi sympathizer."

James let him drag her away from the walkway, her feet stumbling as her mind raced.

[Serena Laran]

The darksider moved quickly, closing the distance between himself and the nearly fifty year old Jedi with ease. She kept walking slowly forward, and as he feinted with his saber and then kicked her across the face Serena took the blow without raising a hand in defense.

She fell sideways to her knees, hands against the duracrete pavement to stop her fall. Face swelling and bleeding from a small cut on the side of her face, she looked up calmly, no fear in her eyes as the darksider taunted her to defend herself.

"I will not fight you. Your masters sent you to collect me, and I am here." Serena disregarded the deadly lengths of his twin sabers that were held at the ready, and added, "They will likely not be pleased if you dismember me."

[Byl Laprovik]

Where was she?

Byl paced in the apartment as he waited for James to arrive. This wasn't like her at all. She'd adapted very quickly to his expectations of punctuality, and as they'd been working together on the thorny issue of moving a few remaining Jedi mystics off planet, it was understood that there wasn't a margin for error.

He strode across the apartment, pulling a concealer blaster from a drawer and tucking it into a discrete holster inside his waistline, drawing his shirt over to conceal. Deep-rooted suspicions took root as he worked many contingencies in his mind. He left the apartment, locking up, and moved indirectly along the route he knew she'd be taking to come back.

Near one of the open markets, he saw the confirmation of his fears. She'd been arrested.

"Damn it." He muttered under his breath, not making any scene to draw attention to his unease with the situation. He was along a busy crosspath overhead of the market, and not close enough to effect any rescue at the moment.

[Baralai Lotus]

Baralai stared the girl down for a moment, looking her in the eyes as she fell to the ground. She refused to defend herself.

"Well, you have a point. There can't be any dismemberment."

Baralai walked forward and knelt down to look the girl in her eyes, the white, glossy skull of the vulture now directly in front of her.

"Fine then, if you don't want to fight, I'll save all the fun for later. My Master will be very pleased to see you."

He deactivated his sabers and clipped them back onto his belt, picking her up by the collar and raising her off the ground. He lifted his right arm and raised his wrist. There was a small puff of gas that shot directly into her face. Slowly Baralai watched as the poison took effect.

Her facial expressions began to drop and her body became heavier as she went limp, nothing deadly, merely a complete knockout. As she passed out, Baralai laid her back onto the ground, bringing her hands behind her back and clipping them with a set of Imperial restraints.

As he began his walk back to the Imperial ships, he threw the woman over his shoulder. The lack of a fight had displeased him, but as he walked to the ships his face underneath the skull began to twist and contort.

A wicked, scarred smile began to appear on Baralai's face, as he thought of all the fun he would have with Serena in his lab. It had been so long since he had a good specimen, especially a Jedi.

[James Prent]

Her feet dragged, but the trooper pulled her inexorably along. The square seemed deserted - most of the usual foot traffic finding excuses to be other places once they saw the active squad and its prisoner.

She was not cuffed, perhaps because she was so small in comparison to the stormies. James' eyes flicked around, and her breath began to come in small little gasps, the memories of the last time she'd been in Imperial custody flooding back to her. Never again...

She focused on a nearby garbage receptacle, and abruptly the metal can exploded, the majority of it slamming into one of the stormtroopers. The leader loosened his hold on her arm in surprise, and she yanked free, running as fast as she could.

[Victor Crestmere]

The black drop ships came in at a high velocity. As the lead vehicle banked into the loop, Crestmere looked out the view port to see a black figure picking up the woman, their primary target. The targeting unit in his CMC Nightmare Suit zeroed in and positively identified her as one and the same. But who was this carting her off? Everyone just wanted these blasted adepts these days.

Everyone. All of us? You and you and you? Or everyone else?

Everyone else and us.

Oh

Crestmere tilted his head to the side and popped his neck casually as the vehicle came to a halt above the Imperial ships. The doors opened and three ropes dropped from each side. The men were down in an instant and behind them followed the newly promoted Inquisitor Crestmere in his Nightmare gear and with him, two others in suits that resembled his own but were seemingly less in comparison. The two best of his Inquisitoriate team were given the new CMC Mk II gear, a less complex and far more affordable version of what Crestmere now utilized. It was like a double of vodka on the rocks whereas Crestmere was just straight up.

The Inquisitoriate troopers wore black storm trooper armor with blood red insignia on their armor. They all leveled their rifles at the black figure, carrying their target over his shoulder. The second drop ship then began to unload its men behind the target. Victor's targeting system quickly identified the light sabers hanging from the what would now appear to be force adept carrying another force adept. Crestmere cared not for the politics between them other than one was to be retrieved and the other one was... well, their orders did not cover him and given his new rank as Inquisitor... The other one was expendable.

They are both expendable, if you, I mean, we think about it, really.

Good point.

Thanks.

The third drop ship did not unload as it was supposed to. Instead, it peeled off further into the city. Channel communication buzzed in from the pilot quickly.

-- Inquisitor Crestmere, we have reports that the escort unit for another target is escaping. We are in pursuit. --

The pilot got a confirmation from Crestmere's neural implant, saving him the effort of bothering with them while he took a step forward, leveling his rifle at the dark figure.

"Put the female down and surrender, adept, by order of the Inquisitoriate of the Galactic Empire!"

Cheesy line.

Its a staple line, gotta say it.

I disagree.

The CMC Nightmare gear was formidable to say the least. The trail of light its eyes left even in day light suggested something supernatural and the armor was so monstrous as to suggest it could not contain something that was merely human. It moved with an agility that betrayed its dangerous potential as well and the synchronization it offered meant Victor could easily match this adept.

Unless this was one of those that could rain down an apocalyptic firestorm.

The third drop ship sped over the area where the storm troopers were chasing another female. The pilot, Agent Class II Willie Balkam determined storm troopers just looked ridiculous running like they were. The white just couldn't stay clean either. The drop ship flew on past the female though and came to a sharp turn, the side doors opening. The black stormtroopers inside brought their rifles up and the announcement system came on as their leading Agent, Agent Class II Vyk Mindar spoke.

"Freeze adept! In the name of the Empire, surrender to the Inquisitoriate or suffer its wrath."

Meanwhile,

-- Sector Security, this is Agent Class II Balkam, we need you to establish a secure perimeter of our current sector so we may begin a cordon and search process. Likelihood that sympathizers are in the area is very high. --

-- Roger that, Agent Balkam, we will comply. --

[Baralai Lotus]

Baralai watched calmly as the drop ships came flying overhead, cutting off the path in front of and behind him. He knew they would show up eventually, the mission had just been too clean. He watched as Crestmere and his men landed in front of him, each in their own suits of armor.

The small implants in the mask began to activate, words and numbers began to flash over his eye as he scanned over Crestmere, feeding him information about the man and his capabilities. He listened as Crestmere demanded he hand over the girl, rifles aimed and readied, staring him down.

"I'm afraid I cannot comply."

Baralai felt his wrist pulse, and for a moment, everything stopped. Baralai saw the world move in slow motion, the drop ships over head slowed down, and Baralai let the Force flow through him, feeling the troopers behind him. As the world began to speed up again, Baralai watched as the detonator from earlier went off, exploding in the distance.

Then there was the distinct sound of bending metal, twisting against it's design as it melted from intense heat. A docking tower slowly began to lean forward, the steel foundation cracking and bending as it fell. As the last of the steel bars strained against the explosion, the tower began to fall toward the drop ship that Crestmere and his Nightmare troopers had come from.

The ships thrusters began to activate, trying to get out of the way of the falling tower. Baralai threw up his hand, and grabbed at the Force, pushing the ship back, holding it in place as the tower fell. The tower came crashing down on top of the drop ship, destroying it and tearing it to the ground.

As the ship crashed to the ground, Crestmere and his troops scattered so as to avoid the fall. He tossed Serena into the troops behind him, using her to distract them. As the troops went to catch her, Baralai had already closed the gap between him and the soldiers. As the soldiers focused on him, he used the force to cushion Serena's fall.

The familiar hiss of lightsabers went off as Baralai engaged the soldiers. At close range, their rifles would be clumsy, almost useless. Baralai had at least caused a diversion long enough to disrupt Crestmere and his men, maybe long enough to get away. Either way, Baralai just had to stay focused. The Inquisitoriate was nothing to be messed with lightly, he had learned that first hand.

As he darted between the troopers, he kept a close eye on Serena, staying aware of his surroundings. Whatever Crestmere had for him, he had to be prepared for it.

[Victor Crestmere]

-- Inquisitor Crestmere, Drop ship Alpha is down. This is Agent Class II Felmen...

Heavy breathing...

I have our target in my hands. The other adept has engaged us and is closing in.--

-- Drop ship Bravo, engage your ray shields, now. Agent Felmen, engage dampners and hold tight.--

Crestmere's voice came across the channel like a blade cutting water. He knew exactly how to stage his voice in order to command his soldiers in what would appear to be mayhem on the outside. This was nothing for one of the Judas of Alderaan.

We almost had a tower and a drop ship dropped on the lot of us.

Big deal.

We'll hear you say that when the ensuing mini-nuclear explosion occurs when we all die.

Good point.

This adept sorely disappointed Crestmere, making all of this too easy, really. The collapse of the tower and the decimation of the drop ship was an applaudable offense but what had it really done in the scheme of things? Crestmere and Agents Durendal and Kristoff had no difficulties with evading that tiny accident in their powered suits. Some of the lesser equipped Inquisitoriate soldiers had perished but such was the risk in dealing with adepts.

Crestmere had received a warning signal from the CPU unit in his helmet that the adept had attempted to scan him with his own silly device but this was a Nightmare suit. The CPU had instantly confirmed behind the report that the scanner of the adept had accepted the false data offered. A small matter as well in the scheme of things.

It took them in their power suits a breath's span in order to close their distance but all three stopped just short as the adept ignited his sabers to life and began to cut into Bravo team. The orb-like device nested in the underbelly of the drop ship made a high pitched noise that gave Crestmere his signal.

Agent Class II Felmen stared in unbridled horror as the black visage before him cut down one more of his men. He dared not back up any further, having slid the Veil over the female adept's head. The Veil was a device that dulled the senses but also in the same respect offered the protection from any sensory-affecting weapons. He was not worried about her though because Felmen knew Crestmere's plan, even amongst his panic. Hopefully it would all fall into place.

Crestmere produced a number of disc-like devices that enlarged upon contact. With almost a casual demeanor, he tossed them into the crowd of Inquisitoriate soldiers and adepts. And the ray shields fell right after. Only three of the five disks made it inside but they went to work immediately within the cone of energy that now imprisoned the small crowd. Sonic energy was unleashed in such a manner that anyone without the dampners equipped in the Inquisitoriate helmets, or the Veil, should be crippled and disabled. Not to mention, none of them could escape the ray shields.

Trapped like a bunch of sheep with a rancor.

Its not that bad, the adept should not be able to withstand the sonic pacifiers.

We'll see.

[Byl Laprovik]

He broke into a sprint, veering off the catwalk to a stairwell that descended along a building's contour, bringing him down to the level where James had broken free momentarily. He knew that he didn't have much time to work. The Stormtroopers would quickly regroup and follow her.

Pushing roughly past three stragglers on the stairs, Byl hopped the last turn and jumped four meters down to the ground, landing roughly but springing back. He was just in front of James, who he pushed to the ground while unholstering his own pistol, snapping off two quick shots that found center of mass in the nearest trooper. He lined up the second trooper, and yelled to James.

"Go!"

[James Prent]

Running like a rabbit, James shrieked in surprise as a dropship thundered overhead. Then Byl was beside her, shoving her hard enough for her to lose her balance and fall to the ground, and shooting into the troopers that were following her.

From her vantage point on the duracrete she got a good look at the contents of the dropship as it came around, side door open and full of dark armored stormtroopers.

"Freeze adept! In the name of the Empire, surrender to the Inquisitoriate or suffer its wrath."

Before she could get to her feet on her own, Byl was yelling down at her, "Go!"

James went. She scrambled perpendicularly to the two sets of troopers, running and stumbling into the midst of a group of tables and benches, each table equipped with a sun shade umbrella. At every step she was sure the next sensation she felt would be a blaster bolt between her shoulder blades.

[Baralai Lotus]

Baralai’s blades fell effortlessly through the soldiers. They were weak creatures that bore the same cursed emblem as the Inquisitoriate. The real goal, the beating heart of an Inquisitor, was within his reach.

His scanner beeped again, clarifying that the information Baralai had received about Crestmere was incorrect. It was to be expected that a Dog of the Empire would have false records. It wasn’t important. All Baralai needed to know was that Crestmere was an Inquisitor, and as such, marked for death.

Baralai had been cutting through troops leaving behind him a maze of death, and in his excitement he had lost sight of Serena.

As the soldier before him fell, Baralai caught glimpse of a figure to his right. Slowly Baralai's right foot turned at an angle, and the rest of his body followed in one distinctive step, his boots pressed perfectly together. His vision was filled by the sight of a man in Imperial armor, carrying Serena in his arms. A device had been placed over her face. Baralai's scanner went to work identifying the contraption and the soldier holding Serena.

"Product Name: The Veil. Its primary use is to dull the subjects senses. Standard Issue with Inquisitoriate Soldiers. Soldier’s Name and Class: Agent Class II Felmen, Richard."

He looked at the poor image of a man that now cowered in front of him, clinging desperately to Serena. He was shaking, and his breathing was irregular, the effects of fear were slipping up his spine and crawling into the rest of the filthy worm. The closer Baralai approached him the more the bloody wretch would struggle to pick up his feet and run away. A smile widened under Baralai’s mask and his voice fell heavy on Felmen’s thoughts.

“Fear me sinner, for I am the Black Vulture of Death himself. I’ve come to collect, Felmen.”

Baralai turned the saber in his right hand to a reverse grip, readying himself to cut down the soldier in front of him. The saber hummed louder, eager to rip through the soldiers flesh, to have its blood thirst quenched a little longer.

The implant in his helmet spoke again. As much as Baralai hated the incessant voice that was now constantly invading his thoughts, he had to admit, the implant issued to him by the Empire had definitely improved his combat ability. He could see why the Inquisitoriate valued the device so much.

“Threat detected. Incoming sonic disruption.”

Baralai looked up as the ray shield generator on the drop ship above him hummed loudly. As he had torn through the soldiers he had become unaware of his surroundings, and hadn’t heard the hum of the generator.

He grunted disapprovingly, and watched as Crestmere threw five disks toward him, only three of which landed near Baralai. As soon as the disks began to expand, the implant spoke again.

“Activating Shroud. Prepare for sonic impact.”

Baralai felt a slight pulse through his armor as the Shroud program began to activate. The blood red armor Baralai wore under his cloak began to secrete a thick black liquid, quickly forming over his body, creating a flexible, skin-tight exoskeleton. Acting like a full body shield, the Shroud protected its wearer from extreme conditions, specifically those that could be generated by the weapons of the Empire. It was something that not even the Inquisitoriate had been given access too.

The dampeners in Baralai’s mask activated as he watched the disks begin to pulse, sending out waves of sonic energy.

The armor contained underneath the Shroud shook from the force of the impact, but kept him unharmed. Crafted from a metal inlaid with the powers of Sith Alchemy, forged and engineered by the Empire, the armor was top of the line. Equipped with all of the Empires greatest defenses, it was designed not only to protect him, but the alchemical abilities fused into the metal caused it to act as a fetish, enhancing his connection to the dark side.

The ancient Sith had imbued their armor and weapons with the power of the dark side, and it was something Baralai was intent on perfecting. He had studied about the practice when he was a Knight of the Sith Order and roamed its libraries. He had practiced in his lab, and over the years he had perfected the art.

The enhancements the alchemy gave to his armor were truly incredible. It opened doors he’d never seen before. The ancient Sith had once again proven their superiority.

What would’ve been a crippling sonic blast became nothing more than a strong vibration that pulsed along Baralai’s skin. However, the disruptors were ripping at his cloak, leaving it in tattered rags that hung loosely onto his body, exposing the dripping black exoskeleton underneath.

He watched as soldiers without the dampeners fell to their knees in anguish around him. As he reveled in the idea of their misery he decided not to destroy the generators. Baralai’s gaze drifted upward to the ray shield generator. Slowly his left arm rose, his hand opening eagerly with his fingers twisting, like strings attached to an invisible puppet that dangled above him.

Underneath his mask, his mouth opened, and a thin flap of muscle, scarred and deformed, rolled over what remained of his bottom lip. It flopped and wiggled as low growls and moans escaped from the pit of his stomach, leaking upward past his lips. His fingers twitched in anticipation, like an addict struggling to fit the needle into his already swollen veins. His body felt empowered. It felt as though his armor were a part of him, pulling dark side energy into his veins, pumping it through him.

And then he felt it, as though he had reached directly into the generator. He could feel the faint pull of wires snagging his fingers. His fingers twisted into a fist and he pulled his arm back, able to feel the wires crackling and thrashing between his fingers as they were ripped apart.

The generator hummed and sputtered as it tried to keep up the shields. A lose spark flew up and ignited on the bottom of the drop ship sending smoke billowing upwards inside. The shields fell and the deafening blow of the sonic disruptors began to cripple any of the forces not equipped with dampeners. Baralai watched as soldiers and citizens began falling all around him, crashing to their knees in pain. His words echoed across their minds as they fell.

“Bow, he pushed the words over the crowd, yelling, “Bow before the image of Death.”

The monsters face turned against the billowing smoke and Felmen watched as the intense lights of the fire and the drop ship flared and reflected off the Vulture’s skull. He stood in awe, his eyes wide with fear. It was the fear that came when a man knew that he was trapped.

Baralai stood tall as smoke plumed above his lean, muscular form. The Shroud still bled from his armor, dripping black over the jagged edges of panels that ran across the crimson metal underneath. Baralai knew that even if they made away with Serena, they would remember him. They would fear him. And every Imperial Dog who spoke his name would whisper it in well-lit rooms; for fear that the Black Vulture might lurk in dark corners.

Baralai gazed at Crestmere and then turned his attention to Felmen. His words fell calmly on their minds, invading their thoughts and probing at them.

“The Vulture has come to feast on the slaughter.”

[Victor Crestmere]

The Vulture has come to feast on the slaughter.

What? Vulture? Where?

You know who you're talking to now, right?

Which one?

You've got to be kidding us.

Ahahahahahah!

Another voice has joined the fray, welcome welcome welcome!

Please don't hurt me.

Who the dren wears a bird skull on their face and talks like that?

That is what we all would refer to as Angst.

I think its sexy.

You can read our minds? What number am I thinking of?

21?

Is it one throught ten or...?

Blue?

That's a color.

Crestmere grinned beneath his helmet. It was never his grin but someone else's that he had taken and this adept had just made a grave error by speaking into Crestmere's mind. The attempt to probe Crestmere's thoughts would have been quite an overload as the hundreds of personalities that Crestmere held within him suddenly flooded with all of their thoughts in response. Sure, Felmen was clutching his helmet with one hand, the adept held tight in his other as the voice clawed inside his head. But that was Felmen, an expendable commodity as far as Crestmere was concerned. This adept hadn't phased him or the other two beside him in their power suits. All of the Inquisitoriate soldiers had dampeners inside their helmets so they too were unphased by the sonic assault but they were still shocked by the assault before them.

-- "Alright men, he's got the gear, but I can read his vitals. Open fire." --

This was his indication that the adept's exoskeleton was missing that extra layer which the Inquisitoriate power suits had nullifying vital scans and protecting them from ion weapons. Without any hesitation, the modules switched with ease as their implants corresponded with their intent. The barrel of the rifle even adjusted itself in less than a second and the three of them pulled their respective triggers nearly in sync.

A moment later, the Inquisitoriate troopers, regaining their morale in the sight of their commander and lead Inquisitor opening fire, lifted their rifles and trained their sights on the adept. The 'Open Fire' command was not theirs to fulfill just yet, standard procedure when dealing with someone who could use light sabers to deflect laser fire. Ion bolts however would drain the light sabers, shut down the electronics of his suit and anything else the adept had on him, and would put a good jolt into his system.

The adept had just slammed a tower into a drop ship and reached into the internals of a ray shield generator, destroyed that, and then used it to set the second drop ship on fire. And if Crestmere hadn't been mistaken, he had used the Force to augment his strength and speed to cover the distance and take down as many men as he had so quickly, not to mention throwing the female adept. Anymore displays of such power and Crestmere would call the whole planetfull of Imperials down on him as they were likely up against a Sith Lord or some sort. Speaking of which, Sector Security was ringing in just as he pulled the trigger to his C-14 rifle.

-- Inquisitor Crestmere, this is Sector Security, the sector will be secured and clear for cordon and search in two minutes. Sending in reinforcements and a medevac team to handle the casualties. --

[Victor Crestmere]

Agent Class II Balkam gave his partner, Agent Class II Mindar, a thumbs up from where he sat in the pilot's position as the cables were dropped. Mindar nodded in return as his team quickly left the vehicle. He took a deep breath as he checked below to make sure the last man had cleared beneath him and he dropped. Every jump from the drop ships always felt like his stomach was coming up from his throat and Mindar was grateful that the comm system would not pick up on that kind of noise. He hit the ground with a thud.

-- Bravo team, cut her off. Charlie team, engage the male sympathizer. Alpha team, pursuit. Set for stun. --

-- Roger --

The confirmation was a chorus from all three team leaders and the black stormtroopers broke off.

-- Agent Mindar, this is Balkam. I'm taking the shuttle in pursuit of the female. Sector Security is enroute with more white tops. --

-- Roger, they've got casualties, I can see a man down from here. Their med team better be ready on site. --

Mindar watched as Alpha team approached the man who was facing down towards the storm troopers in front of him. Was this another adept? They'd find out soon enough.