A hooded figure would approach Clan Vizsla and state that he had a holo recording from his master. He would pull it out slowly as to not seem a threat and allow it to play and a yellow skinned Twi'lek appeared,
“I see my message has reached the right people let me introduce myself. I am Priv Drin. I have sent a transport to pick you up and bring you to an undisclosed location on the Planet Hoth. From there we will discuss the terms of the contract I have to propose.”
The Holo recording would end just as the sound of engines were heard outside of Vizsla base of operations. With some well armed men stepping out to greet the group. The leader would look at the group assembled,
“Come to this location Master Drin is waiting for you.” a holo map of a cave system on Hoth would be shown.
He would then turn around.
“Anyone that needs a ride there come on.”
A shuttle streaked through the atmosphere of Hoth and the chill of space travel became intensified by the harsh climate of the icy world.
Lieutenant Colonel Vul'kor'on, the Coynite Captain of Juda’s flagship Basilisk stood with arms folded. His neat and tidy uniform was well maintained. Prim and proper, and his white and gold colored mane draped over the Galaar resting in the creases of his arms. The glistening golden hilt of his sith sword turned rapier was at his hip and his eyes were locked onto the hairless pilot. He scoffed in disgust at the honorless creature and tapped into the holo-lens covering his cybernetic eye.
Information scrolled through the device and he was briefed on the task at hand.
“Karkin Juda, this is beneath me” he thought to himself as the shuttle touched down.
Standing next to Vul'kor'on, the Consul of Clan Vizsla peered at the icy wasteland of Hoth. He didn’t know what was more inhospitable Hoth or Korus, the planet Deathwatch called home. Both could be your grave if you were not careful.
“At least it’s not hot.” Korvis stated so plainly that it was hard to tell if it was a joke or not.
“Hot, cold…doesn’t matter to me. The ancient Sith were damn good at making their armor; I am never uncomfortable in this. Hoth will be a cakewalk.” Malfrost chuckled as he opened and closed the palm of his hand. He was decked out in his recently acquired and repaired Sith Battle Armor and the climate controlled body glove that lined the inside of the armor was a blessing for missions like these.
“So…what brings us to this barren wasteland? Don’t think there any any Rebels holed up in ice caves that think the war is still going on.” The young man chuckled as he gazed out the window as they entered the atmosphere, thinking back to all the stories and history books he had read about the Battle of Hoth.
The cold of space was briefly interrupted by the heat of planetary reentry only to be replaced by the frigid atmosphere of an inhospitable planet. As the sheathipede transport settled on an ice field, the lone pilot stared out the viewport at the blinding white landscape.
“Are you sure these are the coordinates that the nightbrother sent us?” the blue-skinned Twi’lek inquired.
Brrrr, beep bloop, a blacked out R3 astromech replied.
“How do you know he’s from Iridonia? And why does that matter?”
Beep bop boop
“Whatever. Whether he’s Iridonian, Zabrak or a kowokian monkey-lizard, it doesn’t matter. What I want to know is if we are at the place the horny guy told us to go.”
Weeyoo weeer
“Not that kind of horny! Nevermind, I’ll just check it myself.” The exasperated Rutian snapped back at her companion.
Wooop Whoop
“Oh, KARK NO! And for your information, he is not my type. Say one more thing about it and I’ll have your memory wiped again!”
oooo
“Oh really, And how would you know? You wouldn’t remember if you had been wiped….” She gave him a stern look and opened the loading door. An icy blast chilled her to the bone as she grabbed her cloak. “Ju-just go out there and s-scan for other ships or facilities or s-something.”
The droid turned down the ramp and wheeled out onto the ice. A little dish popped out the top of its head and started scanning while they made sad noises. Oooowooo
Leaving the team Korvis went to check on his basilisk war droid. It was his pride and joy and he was glad to have enough space to bring it along. Painted black and red to match his armor the two paired together made for a formidable enemy.
“Let’s go meet this mysterious employer and see if this is worth our time.” The Ratattaki Mandalorian said into his comm link.
As Korvis finished speaking. the sound of land speeders could be heard approaching fast and if one were to look in the distance they could just barely make out 4 heading right for the group. Upon reaching them only one person obviously a pirate by the way he was dressed jumped out of the speeder, His arms held out wide to show he had no intention of harming them even though he was geared for a fight. Shouting to be heard,
“I and my group were sent to bring you lot to our employer.”
He then went back and waited in his speeder. And an unintelligible argument could be heard from the group of pirates. though what they were arguing about was anyones guess.
Shimrah’s right hand slowly lowered and found the grip of his blaster pistol. Pirates we’re more often than not a pack of predictably unpredictable cretins. He locked on to each of their heat signatures on his HUD interface, ready to launch a rocket and turn each of them into a steaming mess.
“Wonderful. Pirates. At least this job will be eventful, one way or another my trigger finger will get some practice.” He said, looking at the rest of the Vizslans while repeatedly making a trigger pull motion with his left hand.
It wasn’t long before the droid returned having picked up another ship and speeders approaching. “I guess this is the place. Stay here and guard the ship. Keep it running, I don’t want to be stuck here cause it froze up.”
bleep burrr. the droid responded as it retreated to the cockpit.
Sinya’ni pulled the cloak tight and went out just in time to hear the pirate making a welcome speech.
“Well, let’s not wait out here in the cold,” she said as she climbed up into the speeder. “We can get introductions done later.”
After making sure everyone was in the speeders, they sped across the white wasteland of Hoth’s surface toward the base of operations of Priv Drin, the ride felt like hours but in reality took only 20 minutes. As they arrive, and the speeders come to a stop just outside the base, the group of pirates head into the base after ordering the group to follow, something that resembles a Holo-map falls out of one of the pirates pocket, they seem not to have noticed.
The frozen wastelands of Hoth had flown by rapidly. Occasionally a Tauntun could be seen scurrying away as the group headed towards a massive ice shelf. Korvis wondered to himself how anything survived in this bitter environment.
The group slowed and as the pirates dismounted Korvis caught something falling to the ground through his visor. The snow was fairly fresh and while it crunched under his weight the object had made no sound as it hit the white powder.
Following the pirates he feigned a slip on the snow and brought his hand down to catch himself. Grasping the item in his hand he stood back up to the gaze of the pirates.
“Not used to walking in this stuff.” He said, as he shrugged. He placed the item which appeared to be a holiday in his hip pocket.
As Malfrost stepped out into the snow, his HK unit following behind him he stretched as he seemed completely unphased by the harsh cold of Hoth as the snow crunched under his armored boots. “I swear, the Sith really thought of everything. This armor so modable. It feels like I’m wrapped up in a warm blanket under here.” Malfrost proclaimed through his comlink. When he heard they were going to Hoth he had moded in a body glove that was keeping him quite warm. His HK unit obviously cared not about the cold other than the fact that it made his servos slightly less responsive. He was hoping his flexing about being warm with distract the pirates just in case they caught on to Korvis picking up whatever they dropped.
The Twi’lek didn’t miss the obviousness of korvis’s blatant ruse, but kept quiet. The black nightsister armor didn’t do much for the cold, the cloak only helped a little, but it was the Force that she relied upon to keep warm. She glared darts at Malfrost when he exulted the ingenuity of the Sith. She mumbled to herself, “If they were all that great, they would not need fancy undergarments to stay warm. Bloodthirsty savages…”
The final speeder made its way to the meeting point, revealing the unfamiliar face of Marek Voss. The man sported a crooked grin across his face, his striking amethyst eyes digging into the soul of anyone who’d meet his gaze. Marek was one of those men who had that uncanny ability of demanding the attention of everyone in the room, sticking out like a sore thumb.
Marek silently watched Korvis’ interaction with the pirates, his gaze that of a hawk. Suddenly, the man moved ominously towards Korvis and in a mere moment…. Marek held out a hand to help the other up to his feet, standing elegantly with a hand behind his back and a warm smile. “You should probably watch your step around here, mate. Could fall right into a Wampa’s cave if ya arn’t careful.” He chuckles heartily. “It’s a pleasure to meet your acquaintance, good sir. I am Marek Voss, of Clan Visla.”
Upon close inspection, it would appear that Marek’s gear seemed very beat up and old, yet despite his raggedness, he had an aura of elegance and pride about him. On his hip was an ornate looking light foil, and on the other was a standard issue blaster pistol, this specific model found primarily among pirates.
The Pirates would ignore the fact that Korvis had just fallen and got back up. instead they would simply state,
“Let’s go, Master Priv is waiting.” Taking them through twist and turns before they came to an empty room with a Holo-projector in the middle of the room.
An image of a lanky Twi'lek would appear, “Ah good your here at last,” As he spoke the seven pirates spread out around the room chuckling to them selves quietly.
“Now on to business. Apologies for this but I couldn’t pass up the credits. Also don’t try to run there is a hit on your heads that only I can remove, TAKE THEM!”
At that command all the pirates drew their blaster pistols and aimed at the group, waiting to see who would make the first move. it was so quiet a pin if it was dropped could be heard.
Raist hated Hoth, beyond the cold, the desolation, the predatory fauna, it was one of the last places in the galaxy he ever wanted to be. And yet….
He approached the meeting point, and saw and heard nothing, there were vehicles parked but no signs of anyone. Using the Force, he could sense others, but stayed on guard.
Raist pressed through the base, wishing he had better intel, or better communications with anyone on the mission. The information given had been sparse, indirect, and at best to be used as a guideline. Not what he was used to on military ops.
As he turned a corner he saw several parties all with blasters drawn at one another. Raist scurried behind the corner as quickly as he had turned it and pressed himself tightly against the wall. He tried not to breathe or make a sound as he took his blaster pistol out of its holster. He had the drop, but as soon as he moved, they all would as well. For now, he waited, as cautiously as he could
just my luck… the Twi’lek thought. “I’m freezing my lekku off for this? You couldn’t pick a warmer planet?” She complained as she stretched out with the force to read her captors’ demeanors. Seven pirates, most felt nervous but a few seemed confident. Whether that was from competence, arrogance, or not expecting a struggle, she did not know. She choose one of the younger nervous ones and carefully picked at his resolve. they are going to short my cut again, why do I go along with these schemes. One of these days, one of us is going to get killed. What if it’s me? I don’t think it’s worth it anymore. She sent these thoughts to him as if they were his own. this group seems capable…maybe if I turned now, these prisoners could cover my escape? Yeah, if I attack…they would use the distraction to also fight…maybe. I should decide soon before they are disarmed…
“What do you want from us? Are we to be your slaves? Cause I am not wearing a collar again.” She bit out ensuring they all heard the fight in her voice.
The cold had begun to take effect on his equipment, frost had started to creep in at the edge of his T-visor, he hoped that was as far as it had gotten. He looked at each one of the pirates, confirming with his HUD targeting interface that they were still locked on and generating live firing sequences if combat would arise.
And it was.
Shimrah’s right hand opened, his rolled his fingers in preparation for a quickdraw contest.
Assessing the situation as the banter continued Korvis knew there would be no peaceful resolution. The pirates and their leader obviously think they have the upper hand. They were about to learn they are gravely mistaken.
Faster than someone of his size should typically be able to move Korvis spun his spear from his back. The back side caught the closest pirate square in the jaw causeing his head to turn violently to the right. Before he even had time to realize he had been hit the bladed end caught him across the throat severing his windpipe. One more quick spin and the man falling to his knees was pierced through his chest straight into his heart.
The others realizing that one of their own had fallen freak out and start shooting at random with no organization at all hoping to imobilize at least one of the people here. Their shots barely grazing anyone and not causing any real damage as they were told to take them alive.
Marek grinned, suddenly becoming aware of the pirates’ betrayal and realizing that he’d get some excitement out of this little escapade after all. Before he even had time to react, he witnessed the leader of clan Visla quickly and brutally cut down one of the pirates.
For a split second, everything seemed to go quiet before blasters began to fire off and Marek sprang forward with a leap towards the nearest pirate, his Lightfoil flying into his hand and activating before Marek swiftly ‘unarmed’ his opponent(quite literally) before pulling the man in front of him with the force and using him to block multiple blaster bolts with his body. The pirate would then be kicked forwards into another, Marek reaching for his offhand blaster before using the distraction of the now two colliding pirates to unload almost an entire magazine into the pirates, effectively killing both at once.
Now that they were down to four, the pirates calmed down but still a little worried as they were severely out numbered now. They quickly regrouped and blocked the entrance hoping to keep the ones they were told to capture contained. Their hope was quickly dwindling.
“You should all go home,” the Twi’lek in the dathomirian armor said. “we are not worth dying for.” Sinya calmly pulled the lightsaber off her belt and approached the remaining pirates.
Having a weak mind one of the 4 remaining tried to run at Sinya’s suggesstion and was quickly shot and killed by leader, of the group. “No time for cowards.” The others were too scared to run, pulled their weapons again and continued to aim at the 7 before them. Hoping to make it out but they knew they would more than likely to die here. The leader quickly fires a warning shot at the middle of the group hoping to scare them into surrendering but also he knew they would die. “ANYONE THAT DOESN’T DIE FIGHTING WILL DIE BY MY HANDS!” He shouted at the group of pirates. they all nodded to and said, “Yes sir!”
“Not if I kill you first.” Sinya stated . “Just know as I strike you down, I gave you a choice, you chose violence and death.” She pressed the activation stud on her saber and the bright green blade sprang to life as she rushed the leader.
As she approaches, the leader fires off random shots to try and slow her down. Eventually he loses both his hands, but manages to backpedal quick enough to not lose his life. He quickly runs behind the other two in hopes to put a distance between him and the seven before him. Leaving the last two to decide to run or stay and fight. Knowing that their employer would have them killed if they ran so they stayed knowing that back up was somewhere in the base.
A pair of blaster bolts had ricocheted off his armor before he had managed to get the gauntlet shield in front of himself to stop them. Shimrah rolled forward behind a stack of packing crates for cover, peering around them and unleashing a half dozen golden blaster bolts down range. A yelp let him know that his target was hit, the choking that followed indicated it was fatal. The lack of presence in the Force confirmed it, the pirate was dead.
“He can’t kill you with his own hands if he doesn’t have any…last chance to run,” the Twi’lek said to the two– one remaining pirate. The other one having been brained by her compatriot’s blaster shot.
The last pirate knowing back up was somewhere decided for the time being to run. He hostlered his blaster. And decided to try and help the group out. “Just so you know there ar…” Was all he could get out before a blaster bolt met his head from an unknown location. Priv’s voice came out of a speaker. “Now now we can’t have you telling them where the rest of the pirates or I am. After all I need the credits. Have fun trying to find me Mandolorians As I said earlier only I can remove the bounty on you.” His voice cut off here and it was eerily silent.
“I am not a Mandalorian! Do I look like a Mandalorian? But I will find you…Xaiyna. Of that, you can be certain.” Sinya’ni spoke out loud at the blank space where the holoimage had been.
After being met with silence the team turned around. Now they had to make a decision where to go, they couldn’t leave without getting the bounty taken off so they only option was to find Priv. Upon exiting the room the hallway either spilt left or went straight ahead. both ways out of ear shot was teams of enemies either way they went another fight would happen the only question was which way, If they went left there was 5 pirates and if they went straight there was 4 pirates.
Anger seethed inside of Korvis as the silence continued. They had to figure out where to go next and Korvis could hear voices coming from both hallways. Sheathing his spear the consul pulled out his repeater cannon and made ready to march.
“Either direction is fine. We are going room to room and killing anyone that so much as looks at us wrong.” Korvis stated in a way that sounded more like an order than a suggestion. “I am going to put this Priv’s head on a pike.”
Marek seemed to be completely relaxed in this situation. He calmly walked towards Korvis, a certain swagger in his walk.”Hey, no objections here. However… should we likely make haste? For all we know, he could be running away with his tail between his legs right about now. What I’m saying is… maybe killing everyone here will just slow us down, which could probably be what Priv’s plan is. Could be wrong though, again, not against your plan.” He said throwing up his hands, not trying to offend the leader of his clan.
The Twi’lek closed her eyes and opened her senses to the hidden eddies of energy surrounding her. “He has not left yet,” she said as her eyes snapped open. “Priv is somewhere in the compound to the south. We should search each room. Let’s split into two teams. One goes west and the other south.” Sinya’ni started out the only exit to the room and moved into the hallway. She unclipped her lightsaber from her belt but didn’t activate it yet. Using all her senses, she moved down the hallway letting the Force guide her.
Motioning for the rest to follow Korvis followed Sinya'ni. He never understood the force or how it works. However, he learned long ago to trust that it did. Keeping his repeating blaster at the ready he stayed a couple paces behind the Twi'lek leading point.
Sinya’ni paused at the first intersection and closed her eyes, again searching the subtle waves of energy surrounding everything. She opened her eyes and continued forward towards the exit. “Let’s get this done and be off this cursed rock,” she said with a slight shiver. “This place is worse than Tatooine.”