It All Falls Down!
Posted on Wed Jun 24th, 2020 @ 10:47am by Jedi Knight Satara' Jalran & Kurukdurzuu Va Nelem & Sergeant RC-2363 "Buzz"
Edited on on Wed Jul 8th, 2020 @ 1:38am
Mission:
Episode 1 - All Roads Lead to Nowhere
Location: Orto Plutonia
Timeline: 19 BBY, the End of the Clone War (Pt 1/3)
Satara’Jalran despised the cold, growing up in the temperate southern reaches of Ryloth, the Rutian Twi’lek had never quite adapted to freezing snow and winds; and for someone who didn’t like the cold, trudging across an ice shelf in the middle of a blizzard was not the best place to be. Still, she had little choice, there had been reports of droid communications from the deep-frozen wastes of Orto Plutonia, Satara may not have been on the front lines of the war, or a General in the Grand Army of the Republic… actually she was only a Commander by technicality… Regardless! Satara couldn’t let another system under her protection fall to the separatists, not after Tion...
Trudging through the knee-deep snow Satara pulled her heavy winter coat tight around her muscular frame. Even with the extra layers, heavy fur-lined hood, and lek sleeves, she was still freezing. Hugging her arms tight around herself, she shuddered looking around at the rest of her unit. Of course right behind her was Kurukdurzuu Va Nelem, her Talz bodyguard… she liked to call him Kuruk. And at this moment she had never been more envious of his heavy fur coat.
Letting out his signature vibrating laugh, the large Talz chuffed her on the shoulder, teasing the Jedi in his native Talzzi.
“Yeah, well let’s see how you do in the forests or deserts back on Ryloth,” Satara grumbled back, earning a chuckle from one of their Clone Troopers. “You too Buzz, you can both go bake in the sun.” She huffed continuing onward, listening to the two chuckle amongst each other.
She hadn’t liked the idea of working with the Clones, not at first. Thi-Sen didn’t either, so he’d paired her with Buzz. It took some time for everyone to start working together. Their first few missions were rocky, to say the least. But now there was a comfort there between everyone. Even Kuruk seemed to be getting along with Buzz, the squad’s technical specialist. The others were still a work in progress: Boar the Heavy Weapons specialist was about as anti-social as one came, never talking with the others besides about a mission and never treating Buzz as an equal; by comparison, Satara was a social butterfly.
Then there was the team sniper, Drifter. He was pleasant enough, never seemed quite focused on the task at hand if he wasn’t tracking a target. He was scouting out front, Satara couldn’t see the man through the harsh winds and ice, but she could feel his presence. Satara could relate to him well enough, she understood that level of focus. When in the midst of a duel, her lightsaber ready, it’s curved handle sitting comfortably in her hand. It wasn’t necessarily her element, but it was her most focused.
But speaking of focused, none of them combined compared to the Squad’s Leader, Lieutenant Gri'kii. Named for a predator that stalked the skies of Mandalore a millennia ago, he certainly lived up to the famous legends. Ferocious in combat, fluid in his movements, he was every bit the duelist Satara was, only with a blaster rather than a lightsaber. He was a good and loyal soldier, the perfect leader for his rather unorthodox team.
Speaking of the Sergeant, where did he get off to? Just behind the unit a moment ago, Satara didn’t see him bringing up the rear.
Turning to have Buzz raise him on the comm, Satara clutched at her chest… the Jedi fell to her knees her other hand holding her tchin tightly. She heard screams, hundreds of thousands all at once brings powerful in….
"No… nonononono!" Her blue skin went pale, graying as she looked up from where she kneeled, staring right down the barrel of a DC-15.
"Sorry, Commander… I, I wish it didn't have to be this way…"
