Hunters become the prey. (Closed)

[Sumor Rayial]

**Two assault shuttles slipped into the atmosphere of the Sith Empire held planet of Bespin. Sitting in the rear of the lead shuttle Sith Lord Rayial looked at his wrist chrono. It was 30 minutes after sun set and the last stray rays of light were disapearing from the sky. On the seat beside him sat a data pad containing a intelligance report that had been sent to the Empire a week ago. The report had mentioned the possibility of a rebel uprising on Bespin, and after discussions with the military heads and the Empire Council it was decided that a small recon mission to verify the information was needed before the empire committed a large number of ships and troops.

Looking around the back cabin of the shuttle Sumor looked at the face of each of the other 5 men in the shuttle. Each had been hand picked by him for this mission and all were dressed in the same matte black fatigues that Sumor was dressed in. This mission would be a night op. something that he and every man on the mission exceled at.

Standing up he stuck his head through the doorway to the cockpit to find out that there was 4 minutes before they would arrive at their designate landing zone. Turning back to face his team Sumor ordered a radio and weapons check. Each man called into their light weight headsets checking that the radio's were working before each checked their personal weapons.

Turning back to the cockpit Sumor had the pilots open a channel to Assault Two

Assault Two, Assault One. Vega we have three minutes to our LZ, just a reminder to stay radio silent to my team or the shuttles unless absolutely neccissary. If there is rebel activity down there we don't want to be giving ourselves away.

"Understood Sir"

Excellent. Good luck, and good hunting.

"Thank you. You too"

Thanks. Assault One out.

**After closing the comm channel Sumor stared out of the front view port at the quickly approaching ground. His mind raced as he analyzed all the possible senarios that they could be entering into. As Assault One flared out to the left Assault Two continued on course towards it's LZ. Vega would be leading the recon on the second of two suspected staging areas. With a subdued thud the shuttle landed. Turning around Sumor looked over the 5 men once again.**

Let's move out....

[Vega Van Derveld]

“Thanks. Assault One out.”

And so came the message, the sound that the hounds of hell were about to be let loose. Sith Knight Vega Van-Derveld, dressed in – unusual – black attire, turned around in the cockpit of the Assault Two to assess his co-fighters for the mission. Just like Vega himself the whole team of 5 men were dressed in jet black clothing which covered almost every inch of bare skin. Almost as if the troops had done all of this before, which no doubt they had in training runs, they lifted their weapons, sizing them up whilst at the same time checking that their radios worked. Everything seemed in working order.

Alright, everyone, we’ll be landing on Bespin in approximately 2 minutes. Assault One should be ahead of us, with Lord Rayial and his team down on the planet surface waiting for us to arrive. Once we get down there, we will be moving out to the second staging area, one of the suspected target points.

Vega clipped a few thermal detonators to his utility belt, following them with two blasters which he placed near the hilt of his primary saber, Seraphim.

Also, no radio contact to team one. Understood?

The men all nodded almost in sync, mentally psyching themselves up as Assault Two came down to approach the surface. Within a few seconds a light thud and bump bump were heard as the shuttle landed one the surface. The hiss of the air entering as the exits open signalled the move. The 6 men stalked out into the night atmosphere, making there way down onto the ground with stealth that could have only been achieved by years of training.

With Vega in the lead, the waited for a moment, scanning the area.

This is it..

[Sumor Rayial]

**After the shuttle landed the six men slipped into the darkness before leaving the surface to move to a preplaned waiting area.

After a couple hours the team came to the top of a small hill overlooking a village. Removing a pair of micro binoculars from his belt pouch he surveyed the area. Not seeing any obvious indications of rebel activity he turned back to his team.

Crouching down near the ground he drew a map in the soft dirt.**

You two, **Sumor pointed at two of the troopers and then a point on the map.** here.

You two, **He pointed to another two troopers and then to a second spot on the map.** here.

You, **He pointed to the last trooper.** with me.

Stay off the radio unless absolutely neccissary, use hand signals.

**The five men nodded and silently the dispersed into the night moving to the points designated by Sumor.**

[Vega Van Derveld]

The Assault Two team filled into position just outside the town square of the small village, masked completely by the darkness. Vega looked around the area, trying to notice any lens flares of rifles, any torches out of place and just in general, anything suspicious.

We're going to hold this point and the surrounding area. Two of you take the town square, Another two take the streets just around the square, and you..

He turned to the last man.

You follow me, we're going to take that... as his words trailed into silence his hand rose to point at one of the larger building in the area.

Remember what I said earlier... no radio contact unless it is ABSOLUTELY necessary! Alright?

The men all nodded and began to skulk off to their positions, swiftly followed by Vega and his co-fighter heaing over towards what looked like a warehouse.

[Sumor Rayial]

**The town was quiet, and as the cliche went, Sumor thought. He looked at his wrist chrono again, 2100 local time. It was to early in the night for things to be this quiet. Signalling the trooper accompanying him with hand signals they slowed their pace making sure not to miss anything that may be a trap.

Reaching to the pouch at his back Sumor pulled out a pair of infrared goggles, slipping them over his eyes he scanned the buildings. Nothing, Sumor swore under his breath, every building in the town was cold, no heat sources what so ever. There should have been something, a stove, a fire, sleeping people, something. Alarms were going off in his head, there was something very wrong about the situation. Squeezing the button on his shoulder he spoke softly the mic around his neck picking up the faintest whisper.**

Assault One-Six to Assault Team One. Something’s not right here, everyone out of the town now, meet back at the hill.

**He listened as five clicks came over the radio signalling that all of the other men got the message. Turning he started to make his way back out of the town with the trooper following closely. Suddenly there was the sound of metal bouncing off the cement street. Sumor knew that sound all to well.**

Grenade

**Both he and the trooper dove to the ground as the sky lit up in a flash of bright light, and the air around them was filled with a loud bang as the flash-bang grenade went off. Rolling to his left Sumor crouched in the entranceway of an alleyway as blaster bolts impacted the sidewalk around him. Opening the radio again he called out to his team not so quietly this time.**

AMBUSH, Assault One the town is an ambush get out NOW.

**Switching channels Sumor called to Vega's team.**

Assault Two, Assault One. Vega it's an ambush. My team is taking fire, DO NOT enter objective two. I repeat, we have been ambushed, do not enter your objective.

[Vega Van Derveld]

The sound came over the radios of the Assault Two team loud and clear, the static enhanced sound of Sumors voice speaking in an almost roar-like tone. With a hiss of anger and discomfort Vega violently rose his hand into the air, signalling for the men to file back towards him.

They all flooded back into place, ducking down low for fear of ending up in the same situation as their co-team.

Lord Sumor has been ambushed by some form of resistance group. We're leaving our position to head over to his. Follow me..

The 6 men rose in the darkness, beginning to sprint towards the position designated for Lord Sumors team to investigate. All the while, a nagging feeling pushed at Vegas mind of the possiblity of capture...

[Sumor Rayial]

**Sumor spun around the corner and squeezed the trigger on his blast rifle sending three crimson bolts towards the enemy. They completely surrounded Sumor's position and were hitting it with everything they could.

Sumor couldn't understand how they could have ambushed them. Maybe they could have pulled it off against regular troopers, but the force should have alerted him to the presence of the men attacking them. He didn't have the answers but now wasn't the time to try and get them either. Slipping around the corner he squeezed the trigger again. He could hear them moving around, but not feel them in the force, something was blocking it, and it could only be one thing, Ysalamiri.

Suddenly something fell beside him. Looking he saw the body of the trooper that had been accompanying him, the trooper looked dead. They were behind him. Spinning around he brought his blaster to bear on what he expected to be at least one enemy soldier only to be hit by a crimson streak directly in the shoulder. The impact sent Sumor flying through the air, he landed with a hard thud on the concrete ground his head bouncing off it. The last thing he heard as he blacked out from the blow to his head was the sound of metal hitting and rolling across the ground as his saber hilt fell off his belt.**

[Vega Van Derveld]

Team Two skidded to a hault into where Sumor and his team were meant to be. A feeling of fear hinted at Vegas mind as he looked to find the area empty.

Did anyone see the team on the way her-..

His words cut short as a reflection of light caught his eye. He froze, his head only turning a little to see the object causing the reaction. It was a sleek, metallic cyclinder. A saber hilt. Crouching low with a brief scan of the area, Vega picked up the saber, holding it tightly in his hand.

They've got him... he said, his eyes looking over to the corpse on the ground a few feet away, Alright we can't risk the same thing happening... we've got to get back to the Empire..

[Dara Shadowtide]

:: Sith Lordess Dara Shadowtide paced slowly on the bridge of Sumor's ISD 3, Fire Storm as the <a href=http://pub59.ezboard.com/fthesempirefrm1.showMessage?topicID=175.topic>task force</a> made its way to retrieve her fiance, Sith Lord Sumor Rayial, who had been captured by rebels on Bespin. The Empire was once again displaying its strength and unity in working together in this mission.

Glancing out the viewport, she noted the twin Wraiths Spectre and Banshee were flanking the ISD and a small fleet of the personal ships of fellow TSE members were close behind. Dara walked over to the command desk and studied the last of the readouts from the planet's surface. This was a mission which required speed and efficiency, and the caravan of ships was within a couple of hours of its destination.

The Lordess opened a channel from the comms desk and hailed her apprentice, Sith Knight Vega Van Derveld's ship on the secure TSE channel in order for him to aprise her of any details the team needed to know before their arrival. Their departure from TSE was swift, and a plan of action still needed to be put into place once the final details from Vega were disclosed ::

[Vega Van Derveld]

The comm channel from the Fire Storm clicked open onto the deck of El Andvari. Leaning down to the mic, Vega began to speak in directing his words to his master.

Master. I believe we should prepare to the fullest upon reaching Bespin. As you will have concluded yourself, if Lord Sumor and his team can be ambushed by these rebels, then we must be on our highest guard as not to fall to the same fate.

He straightened up his posture, pausing for a moment.

My suggestion would be to split up into teams of perhaps 3 to 5 Sith, with a variety of ranks in each so that there are no weaker teams which might be picked off by the rebels.

He awaited her response eagerly, glancing around the room.

[Darth Sipharus]

He sits down in the seat as he thinks of what has transpired...He looks out the window into the area of vast space, He sees the personal ships of the TSE members...and the ISD's...He sighs as he thinks.

Playing out the ambush of Lord Rayail in his head he looks down to the transport's floor...he sighs as this was given to him for this specific mission. He again thinks...Lord Rayail...A great member of the empire, how could he be ambushed...but surely even this can happen to the greats...Foolish rebels, they shall pay for their foolishness...

He stands up as he begins to pace back and forth, he wonders to himself if he is ready for this mission...His master told him he was, therefore he is...With that doubt now out of the way, holding patience is now the issue as his pacing becomes more out of control, and he watches the other Crafts.

[Sumor Rayial]

**Slowly Sumor's eyes opened. Blinking a few times his eyes and mind started to clear, but his thoughts were still quite groggy. After a few seconds he could feel the cold steel around his wrists. Looking up and one he saw that he was held in the middle of a small square room by chains haning from the ceiling and ending with a steel shackle on his wrist. Softly he groaned as the pain receptors in his body started to pick up the messages from his screaming muscles and the back of his head.

What happened? he asked himself. It took a few minutes but he slowly remembered what had transpired in the town. He had to admit the rebels were ready for them. He wondered if the message had not been a set up. Why he had to wonder though. They had the perfect set up here. The livable are on the surface of Bespin was extremely small and there wasn't all that many people living on the surface, most lived in the floating cities that dotted the atmosphere. Without the message TSE would have never known about them. If it was a set up, it was their mistake, only compounded with taking him hostage and that was a mistake that would cost them dearly.

Closing his eyes Sumor tried to reach out with the force to try and get a sense for his surroundings.**

"That will do you no good. You are better off saving your strength anyways."

**Sumor swore silently in his mind. That just proved that the rebels were still using Ysalamiri, otherwise he would have instantly been alerted to his companion in the room. Out of the corner of his eye Sumor watched as the man ducked under the chain and walked around, stopping directly in front of Sumor.**

"We had hoped to capture some of your troopers Lord Sumor Rayial, but when you showed up, and then fell into our grasp, we were quite elated. Don't bother with the 'I won't tell you anything' crap because you will eventually. Everyone cracks at some point, and since noone knows where we are, we have all the time in the world."

[Lord Dagger]

Dagger stood on the bridge of the ISD 3, Fire Storm with Dara listening to the communication with Vega. Dagger turned his attention to the viewscreen and smiled, they were within an hour of their destination...soon the bloodshed would begin. He comm bleeped once and he looked down at his armpiece, a read flashed across the small screen. He smiled with evil mirth, 2 IDS's and his own personal transport the SSD Dominator where now only a few minutes behind, he transmited orders for them not to enter orbit unless called for and felt the faint irritation of his apprentice that he wouldn't get to fight. Now Dagger turned to Dara
"I believe your apprentice is right lady, small teams, all of similar strenght...in you and Master Jedah we have powerful leaders who can take at least two apprentices each, and although i am not a member of TSE i will be happy to either lead a group or asist one of the weaker groups as you see fit..."

[Dara Shadowtide]

:: Dara receives the last of Vega's transmission and turns to nod to Lord Dagger ::

"Excellent idea, Lord Dagger. I had thought along those same lines as both you and Vega as well. Vega knows the location of the city where Sumor was abducted. Now in no way does that mean that the location of the rebel base is in that same city but it is the only place we have to start, so we will work to gather information that will lead us to where Sumor is being held.

In order to best accomplish this goal, we will be splitting into task force teams.

Team R-Alpha: Dara, Vega and Rain

Team R-Beta: Rama, Razielle and Phantom

Team R-Crimson: Firebird, Varlon and Miryan

Team R-Delta: Lynch, Dagger, Sipharus and Sabre

Team R-Alpha will spear head the recon by retracing the last known whereabouts of Sumor and entering the city limits. Team R-Beta will run a perimeter check on all activity in and out of the city and do an analysis on the floating cities for unusual acitivity. Team R-Crimson will perform surface checks for the location of any underground bases or military assets, and assess the military capabilities of the floating cities. And Team R-Delta will gain access to the primary floating city and under the guise of buying supplies, identify and follow any rebels they see purchasing items.

We are approaching orbit shortly and I will be transmitting the location of our landing, which is being provided by Vega. Set all comlinks to the secure channel of the Empire, and May the Dark Side Be With Us..."

:: Dara moves to the comms desk and begins transmitting mission team assignments, objectives and the coordinates of the landing ::

[Lord Dagger]

Dagger bows low and then begins to move to the hanger bay, altering his comm frequency as he does. Once in the hanger Dagger boards his lambda and heads for the imputted co-ordinates from Vega and Dara. Once there Dagger removes his armour and conceals it in the shuttle, after all it wouldn't look right in their guise. Leaving the shuttle Dagger takes up a waiting possition and closes his eyes, reaching out with the Force he waits for the others to arrive

[Miryan no Trunks]

*MnT watched out the window of the passenger transport he rode in, his battle-armor additions making his normal clothing seem like something from one of those japanese animations.. The durasteel shoulder-covers extending out a good 6 inches from his arms, guard-plates covering the top of his forearms and hands, scale-like covers running down along his sides and back from a few inches under his armpits, and leg braces attached not only to clips on his cargos, but also the sides of his boots, covering the upper side of his feet, his shins, and extending up and out somewhat from his knees. The add-ons were fully articulated as well, his movement not hindered by them, as that would have been incredibly stupid..*

*Looking over at the comlink as Lordess Shadowtide's voice came over, explaining groups and targets to everyone.. Hearing that he was with Lord Firebird, and fellow Knight, Darth Varlon, he smiled.. He had not had the pleasure of being on a mission with either.. This would indeed be interesting..*

*He turned to the pilot, and made sure he knew where he was suppossed to go.. As the man shakily nodded his head, MnT sighed, and thought to himself..*

... I should probably one day learn to fly one of these.. Having to hijack transports whenever a situation comes up where I need a comlink is getting annoying...

[Darth Sipharus]

Listening to the comm he learns that his destination is R-Delta, nodding now the wait really begins, he waits until he hears the land and he waits a few minutes then he steps out, knowing where the place ot be is, because Dagger is emitting the coordinates via the darkside.

[i]He stands up as he presses a button on a panel and the door slides up, he quickly leaves the transport quietly and his cloak trails behind him. moving silently through the industrial parts, he reaches an area, he sees Dagger but a few rebels pass, he stays their for a moment or so. he watches the 2 men pass and he waits for them to fully leave before he moves on towards where dagger is. He comes beside Dagger as he waits for the others in their small group, he nods towards the friend that is next to him as he is crouching.

[Firebird1]

*Meanwhile Lord Firebird had other conserns.*
Firebird: You told me you were finished! What is the hold up.

K9: Sir, the new arm is finished, but it will take time to install and test...

Firebird: It will have to wait until I get back from Bespin.

*With that, Lord Firebird termanated the encripted message, and headed toward the bridge of the Shuttle he was onboard. Strange, it only seems like yesterday I had one of these shuttles as my personal ship. It is amaizing how much can change given the time it needs. With that motion Firebird smooths out his cloak that covers the right side of his body. He remembers who had done this too him and what they had put him through, an that they would pay for this. And as for the Jedi, he had a fate worse then any they could come up with. But right now one of the few people he considered family were in trouble, and whoever had him should begin to pray that they did not meet up with Firebird.*

[Vega Van Derveld]

El Andvari lowered itself to just above the surface of Bespin, cutting off its engines thus allowing it to 'hover' above the planet.

Vega: Ziek, keep monitor on the ship.
Ziek: Very well, sir.

The Sith Knight rose from his position and stalked towards the door just as the message from his Master was completed. He would be part of the main team alongside Rain and Dara, which he was quite pleased about as he was eager to complete this mission and getting to do so along side Master and fellow Apprentice would be interesting.

Vega: Have the Renmauzos guarding the VSD. I'm taking Fenix, as per usual.

The door of the main deck slid open allowing Vega access into the main passage which would lead eventually down to the hanger bay. As he walked, he sent out a message via. the Darkside to all those whom he could reach.

May the force be with you..

[Lord Dagger]

Dagger nods to the apprentice as he appoaches and the turns back to waiting for the other two members of his team, he looked forward to working with Lynch as thought about the other member of the team he felt a flicker of regognition..no it couldn't be...but the more he thought about it the more he was sure. His brow furrowed in concentration for a moment the relaxed, it didn't matter either way, they were here to do a job and complete it they would everything else was secondary and would be deal with afterward...if there was an afterwards, the rebles had managed to capture a Sith Lord, what was to stop them killing at least one of the Sith on this mission he didn't care if he died, it wasn't much of a set back to him he had made arrangements, but the others? Daggedr shrugged these thoughts aside, they were not important and if the apprentices caught a hint of worry from a Sith Master it may worry them and that was unacceptable. He took a deep breath and resumed his watch for the others

[Darth Varlon]

Var nodded and turned to his fellow teammates. "Well then, what shall we use as our chariots, my friends?" The Knight asked as he started to clip and attach his rather... large assortment of weaponry on. He would be carrying his normal modified twin darksabre, a further customized version on his first, and his Scythe.

On top of the assortment of meele weaponry, he had three thermal detonators attached to his belt, a BlasTech E-11 Blaster Rifle/Carbine, and rounding it out was two spare clips for the rifle. Instead of his regular black jumpsuit and cloak, he was wearing the gauntlets, boots, and chest plate of the Dark Trooper armour over a specialized jet-black jumpsuit.

[Lord Sabre]

Sabre lands his shuttle carefully on the pad and steps outside. He takes a deep breath of the fresh air and sighs, it had been a long journey, he decided he hated space travel but that it was a nessessary evil. He walked slowly down the ramp, his hand dropped instinctivly to where his lightsabre was concealed beneath his cloak. He felt the reasuring shape and smiled slightly. Having recieved the communication from his master he knew he was on a team with two Sith Masters and another Disciple, he looked forward to working with the masters, perhaps he could pick up a few tip, from what he had heard the were both very powerful fighters, an area of the Force Sabre felt most comfortable. He began to scan the area for any sign of the other three. He did not seem them but rather sensed the Force probe Dagger had out and touched it lightly, letting the Sith Master know he was on his way. Following the probe he soo found the two of them and moved to them with a smile and a bow

[Darth Sipharus]

[i]He watched as Sabre approached, he nodded to his fellow disciple, he had watched some of his training with the Lordess, Dara Shadowtide. But now, one more was needed, Jedah Lynch, then they could begin. He brought his hand towards his saber hilt as he held it within the confines of his cloak in belt. He looked to Dagger and Sabre as he awaited their final member.

[Miryan no Trunks]

*MnT grinned at Varlon via the comlink, before speaking..*

... I might do well to just fly.. Using a vehicle would likely just provide a bigger target for their defenses, as well as a jail to be caught in if it get's damaged..

*He then began a quick look-over of his own weaponry, making sure he had what he'd need.. Damnation's Touch rested on the floor to his right, his two sabers hooked to his belt, as well as the add-ons he had devised for them in his spar with Lord Dagger, but had just recently refined. They consisted of a cap that could screw on to the bottom of his sabers, a 1 1/2 foot-long chain, and a durasteel rod about the same size as a deignit saber. With his sabers off, it worked well as a nunchaku, but when lit, it formed a weapon much more lethal.. He did not believe in guns, or explosives, and if the need arose, he could simply use ki energy to do whatever damage was neccesary..*

... So what's the ETA..?

[Jedah Lynch]

Scanning the horizion, the Sith lay down the device. This mission had unfortunately gone wrong, an ambush such as this should never have happened. The best plans never went according to plan he knew, few ever could. Turning around the Siths disguise was now complete, he had to hand it to the Yuuzhan Vong, the Ooglith Masquer was an ingenious device, able to mold a Vong it could take the shape of any human being or alien.

Having studied the Vong, making a database of them, he had been practicing duplicating the Ooglith Masquer for infiltrations or other uses. The reproduction was not as perfect as the Vong one, but it would do for now. The Sith looked in the mirror as the face that stared back at him. Brown hair, blue eyes, tan skin, not bad. The process had taken some time, now the Sith Master raced to meet up with his assigned comrades, the disguised he thought could come in handy.

They did not know what he would look like but as he made his way to where they were they certainly reconized the force presence of a Sith. With sign language he annouced who he was before he spoke. "Ready?"

[Darth Sipharus]

[i]looking to the stanger as he approached he was slightly put off guard, but then he saw severl signed words and he nodded...He was ready as he again looked back to Dagger, Sabre, and then to the disuised Jedah Lynch. He put his hand down again on his saber that was on his belt, as he awaited the go ahead from Jedah to proceed as planned.

[Rain13]

*Rain listened to the messages from the other's come in through the communication link as she sat in a chair on the bridge of the Fire Storm. A slight smile played on her face at the thought that she would be working along side her Master as well as one of the few people she actually had gotten to know at TSE. Her head had remained bowed in thought and as she looked up, she saw one of the people she had greatest respects for pacing on the bridge. Rain stood up slowly and walked over to where Dara was and placed a hand on her Master's shoulder.*

"I do not really know what to say at a time like this. However, we will find him, of that I can assure you."

[Sumor Rayial]

**His captor was right. Or at least it felt like it. Time seemed to stand still in comparison to actual time. Sumor had been hanging by the chains for almost 2 hours but it felt like days. There had only been one interuption during that time when a helmeted soldier had come in to check Sumor's bonds.

Slowly Sumor found himself drifting into a half sleep half unconcious state. Just as he was about to black out the door slammed open.**

"So have you changed your mind yet?"

**Sumor didn't respond with words but spat on the ground in front of his captor.**

"I see not. Perhaps we can change your disposition a little."

**The man held up his hand and waved his fingers slightly signaling another man to enter the room.**

"Lord Rayial may I introduce Dr. Frelnar, he is who we call on for our less responsive guests such as yourself. Doctor if you will."

**The doctor said nothing but removed a large syringe from his white lab coat. Flicking the cap off the needle Frelnar tapped the tube and released a little of the clear liquid to release the air bubbles before injecting the rest of the liquid into Sumor's neck.**

"We shall return in an hour when the drug takes effect completely. Do enjoy the effects of the drug until then."

**Sumor spat at his captor again as he left the room, a metallic click of the lock following him.

Sumor shook his head to try and clear his eyes as the hallucinogen started to take effect.**

[Dara Shadowtide]

:: Dara nodded to her loyal apprentice, unable to put her feelings into words as many thoughts about Sums ran through her mind, but Dara kept focused on the darkness within her and the objective at hand. The Lordess then moved to the comms desk and studied the latest data log. She had just received the landing coordinates from Vega, and began transmitting the locations of each team's deployment on the secure TSE channel to the various ships now just outside the orbit of Bespin.

Grabbing her satchel of supplies and donning a neutral garb, Dara readied the shuttle for she and Rain to occupy as well as Lord Dagger's shuttle to take him to his team's location. With the last of the details in order, she and Rain boarded the shuttle and descended to the planet's surface to rendezvous with Vega ::

[Vega Van Derveld]

Praetor Fenix touched down steadily on the outskirts of the town in which Vega had last seen Lord Sumor, over a mile away from the large warehouse building which stood as a tall point on the horizon. Two droids began unloading a speeder from the TIE Phantom from some unknown location which seemed to hold all sorts of wonders. As they did, the Sith Knight slid down the ramp out onto the planets surface, raising his gaze to the heavens as he awaited the arrival of the others.

[Dara Shadowtide]

:: Dara and Rain's shuttle lands on the surface near the coordinates Vega had transmitted. She spots her apprentice Vega and the two female Sith walk over to meet with him. On their way there, they see Varlon's ship land and he walks over to talk with those assembled ::

"Greetings Vega and Varlon. It's good to have you two onboard the task force. I am a bit concerned, however, since I have yet to have any other team members check in with me recently besides the three of you. So in lieu of that situation, I am making a temporary change of plans in order to achieve our mission.

I will head up Team R-Alpha, Rain you will lead Team R-Beta, Varlon you will be in charge of Team-Crimson, and Vega you are to be in command of Team R-Delta. Should the remaining task force team members arrive soon and contact me, then they will be deployed to the original team they were assigned to and you will need to guide them in achieving the objective at hand.

Alright, set your chronos to 1800 and I will expect an encrypted holotransmission from you each every 2 hours to update me on the status of your progress. Let's get going, we don't have much time to find him. And May the Dark Side Be With You, Always.."

[Lord Dagger]

Dagger bowed to Lynch, though not understanding the hand signals Daggerr knew Lynch's Force presence and smiled
"Good to have you with us, now, perhaps we should proceed with our mission..."
A thought occured to Dagger and he reached down and opened his comm to Dara
"Team R-Delta reporting in, proceeding with assigned task, out"
Dagger switched of the comm and looked at the disgusied Sith Master, a most impressive change indeed, Dagger vaguly wondered how he did it. Perhaps Lynch needed a disguse, but he did not, he was not know well in the galaxy, afterall he as an assassin so that was probebly a good thing. He waited calmly for Lynch to give the order to move out

[Darth Varlon]

"I hear ya loud and clear, Dara." Krys said with a smile while looking like some kind of walking fortress covered from head to toe with firepower.

The knight then waved his team over back to the modified Action-VI transport that had brought down their supplies. He tapped in the ramp open code and waited as the ramp came down. From there, he climbed up and mounted on one of the swoops that were inside.

"Grab a bike and lets go, guys. These will do us fine, considering they all have souped up sensor packages." The knight announced with a smirk. "And extra fuel of course."

[Vega Van Derveld]

Very well Master, said Vega with a light bow, turning to look around.

Lynch, Dagger, Sipharus and Sabre. They would be his team now. Quite formidable indeed, and with indeed, a objective and mission to match. Pondering to himself he looked over to the Fenix, wondering when his team mates would arrive.

[Darth Sipharus]

[i]He now looks to his new leader of his assigned task force, and he nods to his dear friend. He keeps his hand on his saber as he awaits what to do from his leader. Keeping in mind that they will be rescuing one of the most important assests to the TSE, and betrothed to Dara. With this mindset he was ready to go.

[Dara Shadowtide]

:: Slipping in and out of alleyways and along buildings, Dara traverses the city limits stealthily in search of Sumor. She doesn't see a single person or droid during the time she is there and her brow furrows in puzzlement, knowing her fiance must be near. The Sith Lordess glances at her chronometer and notes it is time for the first transmission check in from the various team leaders.

Vega is the first to report his findings. He had gained access and had noted a large purchase from a rebel group wearing red and black uniforms with an archaic diagonal shaped symbol on the right sleeve. He was en route to ascertain further information regarding their movement.

Rain's report follows Vega. There was a large ship docked just outside of the largest floating city but Rain had not noted any unusual activity as of yet. The Sith Knight has been running continuous planet surface perimeter checks, and for a brief moment an echo appeared near the east quadrant. She was going to make her way closer to investigate.

Varlon was going to rendezvous with Rain once she arrived because he had located a large emission of radioactivity in the same quadrant. Varlon had not found any evidence of an underground base or military assets present. He had been doing a visual check of the area for the last hour and had come up with nothing. He speculated that he was onto something and would contact Dara prior to the scheduled check in should he find anything.

Lordess Shadowtide analyzed the data and decided to travel from the city to the east quadrant on foot in order to gather any clues as to the whereabouts of Sumor ::

[Darth Varlon]

Within the span of an hour or so, Var and his team came roaring down sidestreets and alleyways as they neared Rain's position. "Crimson to Beta, We're nearly there." Var said over his comlink, which had been programmed with the latest in TSE encryption codes as everyone elses had been. "ETA five minutes."

With the swoop whipping around the next corner, a whump resounded in the distance. Var flagged it in his mind, recognizing it as the sound of a concussion weapon going off. "Stay alert, I think we may have bogies.."

[Vega Van Derveld]

Team R-Delta - sweeping across the city in a completely unsuspicious manner. The team followed close behind the rebel group, fanned out as if simple civilians browsing items. From time to time one would push up front then stop, allowing another to move into lead position.

The group turned around from the main area of the city and headed off down a less crowded area in which only a few stalls and shops were found. They would need to be extra careful now. Ah but wait, a small wooden walkway possibly even wide enough for one to fit on ran along either side of the alley way.

Perhaps a little eavesdropping could be done.

[Sumor Rayial]

**The feeling of cold water being dumped over his head brought an unconcious Sumor back to realality. Opening tired eyes Sumor tried to focus, with little success, all he could make out was blury images. How long has it been since the last torture session Sumor wondered, time had become something of a mystery to him since the torture sessions had begun.**

"So how are we feeling today oh mighty Sith?"

**Sumor spat on the ground at the feet of the man who had spoken.**

"That good I see, perhaps today you will be more willing to talk, no?"

Rayial, S., Sith Lord, Overall Commander TSE Military Forces.

**It had become Sumor's only response. He answered everything with it and nothing more, nothing less. It had become his last hand hold on sanity.**

"Hook him up."

**Two men approached Sumor and placed large clips on the metal chains binding his wrists. Trailing from the clips were coloured wires, one red, one black.**

"Let's try and be more cooperative today. What is the empires intrest in Bespin?"

Rayial, S., Sith... Aaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

**The smell of burnt hair and flesh began to fill the room, as electricity ran through and over his body aided by the water still dripping off him.**

"What does the empire know of our organization?"

Rayial, S... Aaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

**Again Sumor's body was wracked with pain as electricity coursed through his body.**

"Why did you come to Bespin?"

Ray... Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

**With the last shock Sumor lapsed back into unconciousness, the one place where his mind could no longer register the pain being inflicted to his body.**

"Enough."

**As soon as the electrical shock had subsided, a doctor walked over to Sumor and lifted up his head by the chin. Looking over Sumor's face and body the doctor let go of Sumor's head and turned the leader.**

Doc: "His body needs to rest and to be nourished or he will die during your next session. He may be a Sith Lord, but his body is human, just like yours or mine."

"Very well, let him down, and leave him some food."

**Both of the guards unlatched the shackles at the same time and lowered the limp body to the cold hard floor. As all the men left one of the guards left momentarily and returned with a tray of food and a glass of water. Placing it on the ground he turned and left locking the door behind him.**

[Sumor Rayial]

**Sumor woke once again, but this time he was not awakening from unconciousness, but sleep. It had been the first time that he had been able to sleep in what he figured must have been 4 or 5 days. His body was stiff and sore and his mind ached. Though the torture that he had been undergoing for the last few days was of a physical nature it was taking all of his mental strength to not crack.

Sitting up with his back to the wall opposite the door Sumor looked around the room. For the first time he could actually see where he was being kept. The room was larger than he had originally thought, about 3 meters by 4 meters. The floor was spotted with pools of water that had been dumped over Sumor during his torture sessions. Beside him sat a now empty tray. When he had regained conciousness after the most recent session Sumor had eaten with vigor, his body accepting the nourishment and putting it to use quickly.

Taking a long deep breath Sumor tried to relax his mind and body. The smell of burnt flesh and dried blood still filled the air, and he knew that it would not be long before his captors would be back, if not for another session, at least to chain him back up. It was when they came that he would need to make his move, it was liable to be the one chance that he would get to escape the cell and find his weapons, or at least find the Ysalamiri and kill it returning his ability to use the force. Crossing his legs Sumor started to meditate, preparing for his escape by trying to focus and draw on all the strength he could manage.

It had not been long, maybe 30-45 minutes before a sound outside his cell brought Sumor back from his meditational trance. Quickly standing he pushed all the discomfort that his body was feeling to the back of his mind and focused on the task ahead. Moving to the door Sumor stood as flat as he could against the wall beside the door and waited to see who was there and how many their were. When the door swung open Sumor was relieved to hear and see only one man. Leaping into action Sumor grabbed the man around the neck and twisted it. He continued to increase the pressure until he heard the tell tale snap, and felt the man's body fall limp in his arms as his neck was broken.

Dropping the man and moving him into the corner away from the door Sumor slowly and steathily left his cell working only on instincts, trying to find his weapons, or a way out.

[Dara Shadowtide]

:: Just as she starts to depart the city limits a shadowed figure moves in the corner of her eye. Dara spins to catch a glimpse of a person dressed in black running toward the south. Engaging force speed, the Lordess begins to close the distance on the only person she has seen in this seemingly abandoned city.

Dara's target ducks in and out of buildings, slamming doors, throwing down boxes and anything else along the way to slow down the Lordess's pursuit. Dara takes a shortcut and leaps on the figure in black, tackling him to the ground. The subject lets out a scream and Dara looks down to see a young woman staring back at her.

Holding the young girl with one hand and a fiery look of determination in her own, Dara demands to know where everyone is, more importantly, where her fiance is ::

"Where are they? Where have they taken him? Answer me!"

:: The only answer Dara receives is a kick to the face and then to have the young girl slip from her grasp. The chase is on again and as they reach the southeastern edge of town, the young girl vanishes. Dara stops dead in her tracks and looks around only to find herself standing there alone. Dara then contacts Varlon and Rain on her comlink on the encrypted TSE channel ::

"Varlon, Rain, this is Dara. I think I have found something here. Meet me outside the city in the southeast quadrant once you have secured your area. Dara out."

[Darth Varlon]

"No can do, Dara!" Var shouted as he ducked back behind cover and muttered. "We're pinned down. At least a dozen of them out here."

" A doz-n -ho?"

With another whine of blaster fire, Var's cover nearly collapses on top of him. With a shout, the Knight lept over what was once cover, twin darksabre in hand, and cut down the first of his attackers with a duet of cuts, leaving the man in three parts. Another blaster shot sparked past, singing the knight's bangs.

"I have no clue!" He yelled out into the commlink as he went to fling a crate at one of his attackers, only to find he couldn't. "And they seem to be with ysalimiri."

Suddenly a ripping pain shot up his arm as a blaster bolt impacted with flesh and muscle, filling the air with the smell of burnt flesh. Cursing, the knight charged and impaled the trooper in the blink of an eye, only to take another bolt in the shoulder, causing him to cry out in pain sligh[/i]

[Rain13]

*Rain sat with her back against a pile of debris she had managed to get behind as soon as the ambush had occurred, an evil smirk on her face.*

"Oh, don't listen to him, we'll be there."

*She quickly turns around and aims her blaster, firing into the group of attackers. She cringed as a returning shot grazed her shoulder.*

"It may just take us a little bit longer than expected!"

*With that she clipped the communicator back to her belt and unclipped her darksaber. As she heard Varlon being hit again she quickly jumped over her cover and sliced the man who shot her fellow Sith into two with a cry of anger. She turned around just in time to get another shot, this one to her left wrist. Rain grimaced in pain and let out a slight growl before suddenly running to the left, taking another shot to the leg and she shoved Varlon to the side, barley missing getting hit again. Quickly, Rain yanked her friend back behind cover.*

"This is ridiculous! We need to get to where Dara is. If we stay here we aren't going to get out of here in well enough condition to help anymore on this mission."

*She glared into the braided Sith's eyes.*

"And don't even try to argue with me. Rescuing Lord Sumor is top priority here and it sounds like she had more of a lead than us with this group of ysalimiri!"

*As she spoke she reached into her pack and grabbed a thermal detonator and chucked it at the group again, smirking and ducking more into the cover as the explosion tore into the troopers and nearly toppled their cover.*

"That should buy us enough time. Now, let's go!"

[Dara Shadowtide]

:: Almost an hour had gone by until the Lordess spotted Rain and Varlon approaching from the north. They were both out of breath and quickly informed Dara about the creatures they had come in contact with ::

"I'm just glad you were both able to make it here safely. Now, I think I might be onto something here. I followed a young girl to this point and she just.. vanished. I think we are close to finding some clue about where Sumor is. Let's split up and investigate the area more thoroughly."

:: Both of her apprentices give a brisk nod and the trio splits up to cover more ground. After searching the southeastern quadrant for nearly another hour, they rendezvous back at the place Dara last saw the girl vanish ::

"Nothing. It's like she never existed. There has to be something we're missing."

[Sumor Rayial]

**Sumor moved quickly through the underground facilities tunnels... Or at least as fast as his weakened body would go. So far he hadn't heard any alarms which at least let him know that they hadn't found him missing, at least he hoped.

As he moved Sumor constantly checked any room that he found unlocked looking for anything that he could use as a weapon. Preferably he would have liked to locate his own personal weapons but he knew that was a long shot.

As he continued to move in a constant direction away from the cell that had imprisoned him Sumor began to feel stronger, not physically, but in the force. He could feel it returning slowly, and figured it was due to the increasing distance that he was putting between him, the cell and the Ysalamiri that was situated near it.

Closing his eyes Sumor tried to reach out with the force. He found that it was still being somewhat blocked but he was able to get a feel for the area imidiately around him, and what he felt brought a sense of relief to his face, his weapons. They were in a room about 20 yards ahead of him and to the right, but they were definately his.

Moving to the room he found it surprisingly unlocked. Stepping inside he was quickly able to locate his weapons and returned them to their normal spots on his belt. Retaining his black saber in his hand he left the room once again, continuing to try and put as much distance between him and the Ysalamiri as he could.**

[Dara Shadowtide]

:: Dara felt her <a href=http://www.dseverything.f2s.com/DaraSithPendant.jpg>Sith Pendant</a> become warm as she continued to search for some hidden entrance or clue to Sumor's location. The pendant was a gift from her mother and Dara was told that when a dark couple wears the pendants they will always know where the other one was.

While walking around she noticed that it was particularly warm if she stood in a certain spot. Varlon and Rain continued to search the perimeter for the young woman that Dara had described, although they had not come up with any clues yet either ::

[Sumor Rayial]

**Sumor could feel a warmth against his thigh. Stopping momentarily he fished around in his pocket and pulled out the Sith amulet that matched the one worn by his soon to be wife Dara, he had forgoten that he had put it in his pocket before the mission. The rebels must have missed it when they searched him. Putting it around his neck he watched the amulet as it's magic pointed him in the right direction. Finally he had a way of knowing which way was out.**

[Dara Shadowtide]

:: Dara continued to search the area as the pendant grew warmer against her skin. She decided to look one last place that she had not been and slowly made her way over to a rocky area. The rock location looked as if it had not been disturbed in a long while, and there was no trace of evidence of the young girl she had seen either... the girl's disappearance was still a mystery yet to be answered. She glanced over at Rain and Varlon who were finishing the last of the perimeter search before meeting back up with Dara ::