Sisters of the Sept

[Matatek Sel Vissica]

The Troska System


The Star Destroyer Admonisher hung in orbit over the stronghold world of Troska, far at the fringes of the Imperial Outer Rim. Its mission had brought it to the frontier of the Empire to investigate an unusually brazen marauder attack on the seat of power in the sector. The planetary capital had been raided, an unspeakable slight against Imperial authority. There was no doubt that the Empire would respond, and respond harshly to this loss of face.

Far from planetary orbit, a Delta-class T-3c shuttle broke into realspace, setting a cruising vector to intercept the Admonisher

"This is KN-110 to the Star Destroyer Admonisher. We are on approach, prepare your bay for arrival priority Aurek Three."

Lieutenant Neya Rannex maintained a steady course and speed, allowing the Admonisher's picketing sorties of TIE fighters to divert into escort formation. Two fighters matched her vector, cruising at each wing.

[Bette Davis]

"KN-110, landing bay 2-Theta is ready for your arrival." The comm officer nodded to the XO, and Commander Valtross looked to Captain Ragnus in turn.

"Go see what our visitor wants," the captain said, a little tiredly. He'd been reviewing mission briefs and personnel assignments for hours, and it showed. Commander Valtross nodded sharply, leaving the bridge as the shuttle drew even with the landing bay on the sensors.

Down in 2-Theta, a small group of commanders and stormtroopers were arranging themselves as the T-3c shuttle vented gasses on the flight deck. Commander and Shadow Leader Bette Davis was among them, the lone female face in this group of high ranking officers. A squadron commander didn't rate nearly as high as the XO, of course, but as the leader of the elite Shadow Squadron she was required to show up to things like this.

She straightened her uniform and stood as tall as her five foot five frame would allow as the shuttle opened and the ramp descended to regurgitate its passenger into the Admonisher.

[Silus Xilarian]

Silus could remember a time when he would be the one standing in a shuttle bay having to look pretty for whatever ass the head of the ship was trying to kiss. The thought of Bette down there being bored shitless and miserable made him chuckle a bit as he 'worked' on his TIE Defender. Work was a very loose term for what he was actually doing, which mainly consisted of playing games on his portable communicator and napping.

There had been a little bit of excitement when the Admonisher had weighed anchor and made the jump for the Troska System, but when they arrived it was standard operating procedure: Hurry up and wait.

It was a formula Silus wasn't entirely unfamiliar with. Someone in the galaxy misbehaves. The higher ups decide it's the greatest affront to Imperial power that has ever existed. The Shadows go there and knock a bunch of shit over. Drinks all around. All they were waiting on now was for whoever just showed up to come and tell them who was about to be erased from the galaxy.

Silus twisted a little bit in his seat and closed his eyes.

[Matatek Sel Vissica]

The Delta T-3C pitched its long wings up alongside the vertical stabilizer as it completed the last few meters of its flight under repulsor and maneuvering thrust. The black and angular craft thumped to a landing in 2-Theta just shy of an assembly of officers. Lieutenant Rannex dropped the gangplank with a release of deionized gas from the vents as the shuttle's cooldown cycle commenced. A figure walked down the gangplank on four legs, paused when cleared of the shuttle's broad nose, then rolled up to a towering height. Clad in a grey and blue metal cuirass with a matching helmet, there could be no mistaking that the Selonian was an Imperial Knight.

Matatek Sel Vissica scanned the assembled officers before her. No one wore Captain's bars on their uniform, and the Knight intuited that the destroyer's skipper was likely still on the bridge. She quickly checked down to the Commander.

"What is the status of your search for the marauders who plundered Troska?"

Vissica rested her hands at the base of her cuirass, hooking her fingers beneath the armor's seam for anchorage.

[Bette Davis]

Commander Valtross did not let his distaste for the alien nature of the Knight show on his face. They were a necessary evil, instituted by the Empress herself, and he was certainly not going to give this one an excuse to cut him in half. Unless it can read my mind.

Valtross straightened up as the creature approached and asked its question.

He cleared his throat, craning his neck to look the Knight in the eye. "When we arrived in system the marauders were long gone. Planetary defenses chased them into the nearby nebula, supported by the garrisoned TIEs of the local Moff." Whatever the fuck their name is. Moffs come and go so quickly these days, there is practically no point in learning who they are.

"The defending ships were destroyed in the nebula, mum. We were called in at that point. Admonisher dropped probes around the nebula and we have determined that the villains have likely holed up somewhere within the gas cloud.

"We are about to send in an exploratory force."

[Matatek Sel Vissica]

Vissica stayed silent for a moment, not immediately acknowledging Commander Valtross's comment. Something she could feel but could not qualify gave the Selonian pause. Her small ears perked and her whiskers splayed. Then as suddenly as it appeared, it was gone.

"What is the disposition of your exploratory force? What have your probe droids found?"

The Commander seemed unsettled. It was a feeling Vissica was unaccustomed to. No matter.

[Bette Davis]

"The probes have found ... nothing, mum." Valtross frowned lightly. "No hyperjump traces, no ships in the periphery of the nebula. Nothing. They are deep within it.

"We did, of course, send probes inside. They stopped transmitting a few klicks into the gas cloud. Quirk of its composition, the scientists say." The XO straightened the jacket of his uniform. "Our exploratory force will be a few well shielded TIEs - Defenders. They should be able to withstand the nebula and transmit back. We haven't scrambled the pilots yet, the orders were being sent when you arrived."

He looked sideways, eyes falling upon squadron Commander Davis. Her eyes were narrowed as she stared back at him. There was little doubt which squadron he was referring to - only one on the Admonisher had access to Defenders.

[Matatek Sel Vissica]

The details, or lack thereof, only fed the gnawing sense that something was amiss in a way that should concern her. No enemy ship positioning, no details of the nebula. The Imperial forces had run their prey to ground, but that prey had found a briar patch to use.

"Adjust your plans accordingly, Commander. I will accompany your pilots on their mission. Requisition me a fighter."

[Bette Davis]

"Certainly!" Valtross clicked his heels and turned directly to Davis.

"Knight Vissica will be joining you on the mission. The details should be available to you shortly, in the meantime, find her a TIE."

"Of course, sir. Ma'am." Bette nodded to both of her superiors, and quickly made her exit to take care of the arrangements and scramble her pilots.

Valtross turned back to the Knight. "Will you require anything further from the Admonisher before the squadron is mustered?"

[Matatek Sel Vissica]

"Inform your Captain the Admonisher is to remain at alert stations in orbit of the planet. I do not want you drawn away from Troska until we have confirmation there is something to pursue. If the enemy attempts to raid again, you will repulse them."

The matter settled, the Knight turned abruptly to follow the TIE Pilot.

[Bette Davis]

Bette was suddenly aware she was being followed by the tall, Selonian Imperial Knight. Should she slow down and let her catch up, or walk faster? Would the Knight think she was dawdling if she slowed?

She focused on what was ahead of her, her commlink beeping as the orders for the mission finally came through, and walked out of the shuttle bay and into the passage that would connect to the TIE flight deck.

She paused there, bringing up the orders on a datapad just to make sure Valtross had relayed it to her correctly. As Knight Vissica exited the hangar behind her, Bette was adding a text notation to the orders. Requisition additional TIE Defender for Knight V.

Sending it off to the flight deck chief, she looked up, and up, at the looming Selonian. "Mission orders just came through, so the Shadows should be arriving shortly." Bette hesitated just for a moment, and then turned and kept walking at a brisk pace toward the flight deck.

[Silus Xilarian]

The beeping from Silus' personal communicator was offest from the beeping on his ship's mission data screen to create a weird little song that succeeded at waking him up in short order. He glanced first at the mission screen and started swiping through the mission details. The note at the very end caught his eye.

Requisition additional TIE Defender for Knight V. The true import of that sentence wasn't apparent to him at first, but as the words rolled through his mind, he was hit with a wave of clarity that brought the true importance of the note into sharp relief.

That'll take AT LEAST another twenty minutes...

He hit 'confirm' on his mission screen, adjusted his position slightly and went back to sleep.

[Matatek Sel Vissica]

Vissica again matched Bette's pace, surveying the hangar around her with indifference.

"Your squadron's full strength will not be needed on this mission. Prepare no more than two wingmates to accompany us. It is imprudent to risk any additional ships until we understand what we are facing."

[Bette Davis]

Bette raised an eyebrow, but kept walking straight to Silus’ TIE. “All due respect, but I don’t intend to tell you how to do your... Force magic stuff. Ma’am."

She made a fist and banged the side of her hand against the hull of the Hammer as they walked past it. “The eggheads say there’s nothing in the composition of the nebula that would harm or hamper a starfighter’s operation. Hell, they flew in there just fine. That means whatever’s in there is man made, and if it’s man made we can blow it up.”

Bette stopped and looked up at the Selonian. “I’d rather have the full strength of my squadron at my back, since we have no idea what we’re facing. You have heard of the Shadows, right?”

[Matatek Sel Vissica]

"The Force is not magic, Commander." Vissica countered sharply. "It is a living energy which I am attuned to sense and control and you are not."

Davis's explanations of the nebula were all rational enough, and the Selonian found no fault in what she said. It did not change the fact that the very same feelings which were attuned to the force were growing more uneasy by the minute. She glanced at the fighter in passing that Bette rapped her knuckles against.

"I am uninterested in placating or bruising the collective ego of your squadron. If you were not competent by reputation, I would not waste my time on this conversation."

Vissica's small ears pressed flush momentarily as she scratched the tuft of fur at her chin.

"Deploy the full squadron if you wish, but be wary. There is more danger than you realize."

[Silus Xilarian]

"If she doesn't realize the full danger, then someone isn't doing their damn job."

The bang on the outsider of his TIE succeeded in waking Silus up, but the arguing outside snapped him to attention and drew him out. He spoke as he was climbing out of his TIE, taking a few steps down the ladder before dropping to the ground, his boots hitting the floor with a thud. The sight was almost comical, Bette was one of the shortest people he knew and she was staring up at the tallest Selonian he'd ever seen. He was about to go charging past Bette when she put her arm out, signalling for him to stay, which he did. She didn't, however, signal for him to shut up.

"Now, is your 'living energy' force thing telling you something we don't know, or are you getting all vague and mysterious cause you can smell the fish we left in Jackal's TIE..."

She signaled for him to shut up.

[Matatek Sel Vissica]

Vissica's wet nose crinkled, and she momentarily broke eye contact in following the source of something pungent. She punctuated that distraction with a quick pass of her tongue over her nose before fixing the second Commander with her attention.

"Why is there a fish in your comrade's fighter?"

[Bette Davis]

"Practical joke," Bette said quickly. "Commander Xilarian did ask a good question, however, despite his best efforts. Do you know something my XO hasn't passed on to me?"

[Matatek Sel Vissica]

"Humor." Vissica labeled the thing as if it was a tumor. She glanced momentarily at Commander Xilarian, but didn't waste time in a rebuke. Instead, her attention returned to Commander Davis.

"You and Commander Valtross have all the facts that I am in possession of in this matter, but there is more to understanding than this alone. I do not expect you to understand the Force, but I do expect you to obey. Is that clear?"

[Bette Davis]

“Very clear,” replied Bette, suddenly more than aware of the position of this Selonian Knight in the food chain. She existed outside of Bette’s chain of command, and therefore could remain separate or insert herself into a position of authority whenever she wished.

”Are you accompanying my Squadron, Ma’am, or taking command of the mission?”

[Matatek Sel Vissica]

"Conduct your reconnaissance mission as you see fit, Commander. I will accompany you as an observer."

She cut a glance at Xilarian again.

"But ignore my observations at your peril. The Force can see what eyes and instruments cannot."

[Silus Xilarian]

Silus glared right back at Vissica. He wasn't about to overstep Bette's lead, but damned if he didn't want to.

I don't know if you read minds or not you overgrown bag of fur, but let her step outta my way and see if I don't snatch a knot in your big ass...

[Bette Davis]

"Commander Xilarian." Bette didn't look away from the Imperial Knight as she addressed Silus who was still standing just behind her. "Please escort Knight Vissica to her TIE Defender. The deck chief should have it ready by now. She will be joining us on the mission in an unofficial capacity."

She nodded cooly to the Selonian, and crisply turned away, walking directly to Shadow Nine's TIE to have a word with Jackal.

[Zachariah Jak'el]

The top of the Hound popped open, and Jackal emerged from the top, scrub brush in hand.

"Woo-wee, that was quite a tuss-up. Does Silus even know who that is? That's Matatek Sel Vissica. She's the most famous Imperial Knight 'cept for Baastain. I've heard she can cut five men in half with one swing. Dang, that would be a sight to see. No mistake about that! Silus better be careful. That's gonna be like poking a Stingwing nest on a hot summer afternoon right after a hard rain."

Zach had been scrubbing the insides of his cockpit, again, trying to get ride of the fishy smell that had permeated the whole thing. He wanted to be mad, but the Cascatton Flopfish that he'd found in his cockpit yesterday had been a real beauty. Eyes still clear, scales still slimy. It was stuffed in a freezer in the galley until he could figure a way to cook the dang thing without stinking up the whole ship. Between strokes of his brush he heard the exchange outside. It wasn't sinful eavesdropping when their voices were loud enough to be heard over the sound of pious cleaning, he told himself.

[Matatek Sel Vissica]

Vissica fell in with the second Commander, following alongside as he directed her to her own fighter. The feelings of animosity and aggression coming from this second officer weren't sheathed in the slightest. The Selonian was used to a certain amount of animus and unease from those she commanded. That, in her experience, was an asset. It helped her enforce her will, and kept her subordinates sharp and focused. This, however, felt considerably more piqued.

"You may speak your mind, Commander."

[Silus Xilarian]

Silus almost had the good sense to walk away. Almost.

"Everything she said back there was correct. Every word of it..."

He felt his temper getting away from him. As badly as he wanted to let it run, he had to think about the rest of his squadmates, his friends. He took a deep breath, getting some semblance of calm about himself. The fire was burning hot but he was keeping it contained.

"Look, when I served under Vice Admiral Garrett there was something he always used to tell me: The difference between a good leader and a poor one is strength of character and about five heartbeats. A good leader makes immediate decisions based on the information on hand. If they get new information, they adjust. You didn't give us any new information. There's something lurking for us in that nebula and we don't know what it is. Shoo...Commander Davis, took that into consideration and she feels it's best to go in there full bore. Then you come in here, talking to her like she's some nugget fresh out of the academy, spouting off about this mystical power you have. All you've done is dumped a shitload of doubt on her shoulders that she's going to wrestle with every time she needs to make a quick decision."

He shook his head and walked away.

[Matatek Sel Vissica]

Vissica could feel Silus's anger. The way it ran hot and close to his skin with righteous inflection almost made the air dance between them. It slaked the Selonian's senses and fed the wellspring. There was the moment of potential reciprocation that drew hot in her chest and yearned to lash out and strike - to break this man before her and all witnesses, but the Vissica had learned Knight General Atrapes' lessons well. Her own anger shook the cage, but she was its master. And knowing she mastered her anger was power itself.

Silus turned to disengage from the conversation, but suddenly found his limbs betraying him, holding him fast in a pivoted standing pose while the sound of blood rushed softly in his ears.

"A moment, Commander." Vissica spoke softly. "I have not dismissed you."

The Selonian Knight took a few steps until they were facing each other again. The anger she'd felt before was even sharper now.

"It is my nature to be forthright. What I know, you will know, as it pertains to our mission."

Vissica's carious breath was close enough to warm Silus's face as she spoke.

"But I expect you all to adapt to the unknown, and I will not accept something as small as a bruised ego as an excuse for falling short of my expectation."

A low rumble rattled the Selonian's chest. Her flews parted slightly, showing sharp and slightly-yellowed teeth before disappearing from view again. The rushing sound in Silus's ears ended, and the invisible tether rooting him to the spot relented.

"Thank you for your candor, Commander Xilarian. Now prepare for launch."

[Bette Davis]

1st Lieutenant Tod "Maniac" Marr was jogging past Silus and Vissica, but took a detour toward them when he caught the thunderous look on Silus' face. Catching the end of the conversation the blue haired pilot clapped his hands on Nomad's shoulders and grinned at the Imperial Knight.

"Prepare for launch! Ten-four, copy that." He pulled Xilarian backwards, muttering in his ear, "Are you looking for another Kellison situation? She won't just kick you out of the navy, Nomad, she'll eat your intestines for lunch."

Across the flight deck Bette wrinkled her nose at the faint seafood smell wafting off of Jackal. "I'd imagine that no, Xilarian has no idea who he's talking to, or if he does, he doesn't care. I'm not in the hand-holding business, however."

She looked over her shoulder at Silus, seeing Marr towing him away from the towering Knight. Get it together, Nomad. I just put my neck out for you getting you reinstated to the Shadows, don't screw it up.

Turning her attention back to Zach, she sighed. "I can't even remember why I came over here. Oh! Knight Vissica has a bad feeling about the nebula, so let's stay extra sharp, okay?"

[Zachariah Jak'el]

"It's probably the fish she's smellin'. You think she'll sign my Imperial Knights Recruitment poster? Yeah, probably not. She looks busy. And strong. Hmm, what? Oh, right. Extra sharp, dangerous nebula, got it. Can you requisition more bleach, when you've got a moment, ma'am."

Popping back down below the hatch he started gathering up his cleaning supplies, that he was going to use during what should be a pretty boring scouting mission, and instead handed it off to a passing tech and settled into his cockpit. His nose has long ago gone blind to the smell, but he was vaguely aware of a burning sensation in his eyes and nostrils from the cleaning solution. Wouldn't matter much once he got his flight helmet on. Recycled air was wonderfully stale and devoid of taste and smell. Zach was always one for following standards to the letter, but he put more effort into double and triple checking through his pre-flight. Maybe Vissica would notice. Somehow. Then she'd teach him the secret of her space magic and he could be a big, tall inspiring hero of the Empire. That's how it worked out in his dreams, at least.

[Silus Xilarian]

As the Imperial Knight held him in place, Silus barely processed her words. Instead of being intimidated, he instead found himself spiraling into a dimension of pissed off that until today was thought only theoretical. Every muscle in his body fought against her hold on him, but only succeeded in frustrating him even further. There was a point where he felt like he might actually explode until his anger finally hit some sort of upward limit and logic was able to start gaining enough ground to bring him back to a mental state where he could actually think and act like a somewhat normal person instead of the blond-headed rage monster that he was starting to turn into. There was still a part of him that was trying to figure out how to go about putting this thing on it's ass in the most efficient way possible, but the rest of him was now going over all the reasons to NOT do that exact thing.

As the hold on him suddenly fell away, he started to speak but felt hands clamp down on his shoulders. Behind him, Maniac had been overtaken by some strange sense of irony and was now the sane voice of reason. He held eye contact with the Knight for a few more seconds and as Maniac pulled him away, before finally flashing a quick grin at the knight and turning around to head to his TIE. As he walked away, he reached back and scratched the back of his head with his middle finger then gave Maniac a smack on the shoulder as they split off to head for their ships.

[Matatek Sel Vissica]

The rude gesture went unnoticed by Vissica. She pivoted, dropped to four feet, and loped towards her fighter. When she arrived, the Selonian free-climbed up the fighter's superstructure, and slinked through the dorsal hatch into the cockpit bubble. Forepaws found purchase on familiar controls as she sat on her tail, quickly flipping through pre-flight checks.

"Shadow Leader, this is Knight One. Standing by for launch clearance."

Through her canopy, the Knight could see the pilots of Shadow Squadron similarly priming their ships for space. It wouldn't be lone.

[Bette Davis]

The next few minutes turned the flight deck into a hive of activity, as droids and techs raced around and pilots climbed down from the catwalks into their Defenders.

Shadow Squadron launched, joined by Knight One, and they assembled at the edges of the nebula like a swarm of insects.

"Shadows, we don't know what's in this nebula. The eggheads say our sensors should work while we're inside, but the range will be short. So we're going to split into four wings of three and stagger our positions. Each group will keep the next one in range.

"You probably noticed the new probes you have loaded into your Defender. Once dropped and activated the Admonisher should be able to recieve sensor data from inside the nebula. Starting with Shadow Twelve we will be placing these probes throughout the nebula, within range of each other, creating a sensor net.

"Don't depend entirely on your sensors. Keep your eyes open. Our job is to find out what's going on in here, and find the raiders. XO said they think there's a base of some kind hidden in here. Once we find it our orders will be updated."

Bette paused for a moment. "Knight One, you're with me, Two, and Three. Xilarian is leading the next wing - you all know your wing assignments. Let's go."

She tipped the wing panels of her Defender, and headed into the nebula.

[Silus Xilarian]

"Copy that Shadow Leader."

Silus did a little roll as Shadows four and five fell in behind him. On his radar, he could see the other wings forming up, all of them crossing into the nebula at the same time. While they'd done this routine hundreds of times, something kept nagging at Silus. It was a weird little tug in the pit of his stomach that he couldn't seem to shake. His mind wandered back briefly to the warning Vissica had given them back on the Admonisher. He shook his head to refocus. They were committed now, and the best way to meet whatever was waiting for them was to stay alert and ready.

"Everyone keep your heads on a swivel, if we die in here I lose a bet."

[Railla Cyer]

The tension since launch was almost a physical thing, strung taut throughout the squadron. Railla fell in with Shadow Leader into the right flank of their staggered diamond formation. She tried not to think about the unusual wingmate bringing up the rear, and kept her eyes forward on the massive maelstrom ahead of them. The nebula was still a good distance away, but it occupied so much space that it loomed over a vast area. If the raiders were in there, it would take a massive amount of ships to properly blockade it. That was going to be impractical save for the most dire of reasons. So it didn't surprise her that the Shadows were tapped to plunge into the soup and hopefully flush the enemy out of it.

Forward sensors were already starting to fuzz out, and Railla frowned. The nebula was a thicket of charged particles, radiation, and who-knew-what. TIE pilots trained to dance on the knife edge of trusting their instrumentation and trusting their eyes. Too much in either direction imperiled you - especially in situations where both inputs were lacking.

She stole a glance to her left and right, noting the spacing between the groupings. Then the purplish wisps of the nebula began to pass between them, turning the distant ships into ghosts and shadows.

"First prr...probe away." Shadow Twelve deployed the first beacon, which plexed with a single lonely light.

The tightbeam communications were choppy but so far, so good. Railla kept her eyes up.

[Matatek Sel Vissica]

By contrast, Lady Vissica paid only the slightest heed to her controls, allowing herself to fall into the force. The unease of unexplained peril still felt salient and near, but it had not manifested itself in a manner to which she could react. The Selonian controlled her own stoking emotions of frustration, using that anger to drive her clarity of purpose.

[Zachariah Jak'el]

"You know, if it wasn't so gosh darn dangerous, this'ed be a real purdy ride."

Zach spoke to himself a lot, especially when alone in the cockpit. He'd been disciplined officially, and unofficially, many times at the beginning for talking too much over comms. Since he hadn't gotten a handle on keeps all the words from spilling out his head, he just said them to himself instead. Jokes were funnier that way, because at least he was laughing along with them instead of having to listen to an empty comm channel that at best refused to acknowledge him or at best told him to shut up. It was okay. He knew it was because they were so serious and stuff. The Goddess makes all types in this galaxy.

After launch he immediately brought his TIE in line behind Wampa and Saber, keeping one eye on the rest of his wing to make sure he was on course, and the other on the nebula ahead. It was really pretty, with it's shifting colors and bellowing edges. It looked like magical clouds from a fairy land. The yellowish hues made him think of the gas that comes off the top of Gungan lakes. Gosh. He hoped the nebula didn't smell bad like that.

[Bette Davis]

As they progressed into the nebula Maniac dropped the first beacon. Long range sensors weren't great, as expected, but short range was doing fine. Enough to keep them all from running into each other and to get a bit of a heads up if something came at them, anyway.

Ox, and then Mutt dropped their beacons at the prescribed distances, the probes funneling telemetry to the Shadows from their positions, and communications from the Admonisher on the outside of the nebula.

"So far so good," said Bette over the comm. "Maniac, hold your wing here and spread out a bit, but stay within range of each other and the nearest probe. I don't want anyone getting lost in this soup."

"Copy that Shadow Leader."

The three Shadows dropped back as the rest progressed. They were not making good time, but they were certainly making progress. After they'd laid their breadcrumbs back to the Admonisher the plan was to light it all up, making the probes look like attractive bait to draw out the pirates.

Jackal dropped his probe.

"Uh, Shooter," came Silus' voice over the comm, on a private channel to her. "I've got a bad feeling about this."

[Matatek Sel Vissica]

Vissica's breathing slowed. The fur at the back of her neck began to stand on end.

Abruptly, she accelerated, peeling hard starboard out of formation, her Defender tumbling into a barrel roll.

"Squadron on my vector, now!"

There wasn't anything on her scopes and nothing on her visuals to respond to other than the pearlescent nothing that was the nebula. But the Selonian could feel the familiar stirrings of danger in the force, and they were screaming at her to run.

Then, lighting flashed in the deep purple, illuminating a legion of shadows.

[Silus Xilarian]

The cockpit seemed to be shrinking around Silus and he was having trouble staying comfortable in his seat. Every instinct he had was screaming at him that something wasn't right, but his senses turned up no evidence to support the feeling in his gut.

Then the entire universe seemed to come into focus.

As Vissica's voice grated over the comms, Silus found himself pushing his forward engines to max thrust as his maneuvering thrusters twisted his ship into a starboard turn. Mid-maneuver he found his vector lining up with Vissica's, and he unconsciously micro-adjusted his own to match. As his wingmates scrambled to react, he found words pouring out of his mouth before he fully realized why he was saying them.

"Enemy spotted..."

He could see shapes starting to form in the haze of the nebula. Dozens of small shapes slowly faded into view. They were definitely in a formation, too uniform to be natural, but the silhouettes didn't looking like ships of any kind.

Their vector was taking them in a long turn back toward the way they came, and Silus found calmness returning. Now that he had something to react to his senses seemed to fall in line. Even though he had no clue what he was looking at, everything began to feel familiar again.

"Shadow Leader, we have no clue what we're looking at here, permission to take a closer look?"

[Bette Davis]

Her irritation at the Knight commanding the Shadows to follow her faded as the bogeys appeared before them.

"Permission granted, Shadow Six. Nomad, keep it tight out there. Maniac -- keep your wing where we left you, we can't lose our communication line.

"Admonisher, are you still reading us?"

[Zachariah Jak'el]

There was no way to keep quiet as he snapped his yoke tight against his leg, pulling into a tight turn that put him back against his seat even as the loud "Whoo!" filled his cabin. There was no hesitation as he peeled after the rest of the wing on the quick turn-about. How could he hesitate? He was following the Knight Vissica through a low-vis nebula with certain danger just out of sight. The wide grin would not leave his face and his excitement had him bouncing in his seat.

A small fleet of unknown vessels came into view. Sensors weren't picking up any definite readings and there was no way to make out just what they were in this soup. Silus volunteered to go take a look just as Zach was about to ask to do himself. Instead he guided his Defender into the vacant space that Silus left behind, coming up beside Davis just behind the Imperial Knight.

"Looks like ghosts in the fog..." He told himself.

[Railla Cyer]

The cold crackle of dead comms filled Railla's ears as the link between the squadron and Admonisher fizzled in the soup.

"I'm not getting any comms from outs-"

A sudden flare lit up the nebula like lightning. It forked through the ether, striking one of the objects in the mist, then forking in three directions, becoming twelve others. In the blink of an eye, the nebula became a fireworks show of dangerous energy surges. Before Railla could react, one of the forked discharges lashed at her ship, causing the cockpit to erupt in a howl of warning klaxons.

"I've lost my shields!"

[Matatek Sel Vissica]

Fully open to the Force, Vissica cut her fighter sharply, moving not in a direct exit vector from the nebula but with rapid banks, barrel rolls, and timed bursts of speed to keep her out of danger. At times, her Defender dove directly towards a lethal spark that split the sky, only to pass unchallenged when the ionizing energy snaked out of her path. Other times still, she abruptly lurched from seemingly-open space - driven by her preternatural instincts as danger occupied what once seemed safe a split second later. Ahead of her and behind, the nebula had come alive in a crackling, hissing killing field of charged energy, each bolt threatening to lash a fighter from the sky with indifferent violence. The Selonian's paws gripped her yoke until the callouses creaked with the strain.

[Silus Xilarian]

One moment Silus was staring at inert chunks of metal in the cloud, the next moment tendrils of energy were snaking all around them. As energy bounced from one object to the next, he completely froze up, unable to determine what vector would give him the best chance of survival. He watched as the energy snaked its way by him, leaving him unharmed. Somewhere in the back of his mind he knew that he was alive not by his own skills, but absolutely pure luck. Well universe, I guess I owe you one, he thought to himself.

He adjusted his course back toward the Admonisher and clicked on his comms.

"Shadow Leader, I think I got a close enough look. Permission to run home with my tail between my legs?"

[Bette Davis]

"Mines!" Bette said over the comm. "Must be proximity, back up to a safer distance."

The Shadows who were nearest to the electrical minefield scrambled neg-Z, while the Selonian seemed to be intent on flying directly into danger. Bette gritted her teeth, but she wasn't going to shout orders at the Imperial Knight.

The mines continued to flash bursts of energy, but the squadron managed to pull back with only a few singed shields. On her scope the computer was quickly marking the locations of the mines and extrapolating the data to add possible mine placements further in the nebula. "Ideas?"

Cannon's voice came over the comm, the Chiss sounding amazingly calm, as usual. "Commander Davis, I've analyzed the pattern of the electrical bursts, I think I've triangulated one of the power sources for the field. If some of us adjust our vectors we should be able to overload their shields and destroy it."

"I like it, send the data. Nomad, Rails, Rancor, Dragon -- Adjust vectors as indicated and follow Cannon's lead."

[Railla Cyer]

The shields aren't a problem. It's just like an LN, and you know how to fly an LN.

"Copy, Shadow Leader. I'm on my way up."

Shaking off the shock of the burst that lashed her ship, Railla rolled her shoulders as she accelerated ahead. Cannon appeared as a blue ping on her IFF, and she matched speed to accelerate on the nearest power node. The crackle of electric discharge speared the purple sky at random intervals. It wouldn't do to panic, the only way was through.

Railla took a weapons lock, then frowned at her targeting computer.

"I'm not getting a precise lock. It must be the ionizing radiation. Going manual."

Just like the LN. Just like the LN. You know how to do this.

Cannon loosed his blaster fire a split second before Railla was on top of it. The target flared with energy as the fighters streaked into their attack runs, then peeled away. Only when Railla was nearly on top of the mine did she see the shots coruscating just shy of their mark.

"It's heavily ray shielded, I'm coming back for another..."

Railla's defender shuddered, sparks streaking behind her in the cockpit.

"...dammit! Lateral stabilizer's been hit!"

She hurtled ahead, keeping her speed but suddenly fighting her stick to keep on vector.

[Matatek Sel Vissica]

"Commander, our avenues of escape are shrinking."

Vissica's voice was calm in the face of harrowing tension as she threaded a gap between two crisscrossing bolts of energy, pushing ever closer towards an escape from the nebula and its perilous energy mines.

"We cannot break through here. Instruct your squadron to break off their attack and escape with haste."

A surge of danger filled her senses too late, and a lash of lighting ripped the shielding from Vissica's TIE. She increased speed to compensate for her lack of added defenses.

[Bette Davis]

“You heard the Knight - Shadows let’s bug out. Fall back to where we left Maniac and we can regroup.”

[Zachariah Jak'el]

"Taking point."

It was all he could think to do as the blaring klaxons deafened out his every thought. Yanking his TIE around he accelerated as hard as he could to take the front of the retreating column. Quick jerks and sudden corrections kept him spinning about and never on the same line for long, like a gagar snake twirling through the water. He had no way of knowing if that would help him avoid the seemingly random strikes of the minefield, but it sure as heck was making him feel like it was helping somehow. And with shields already blown, readout dancing, and comms jittery, it wasn't like he could afford to take another hit and lose any of those for good.

Shields, sensors, and comms were the only lifelines you had out here in the star soup. Without those you were just a rapidly accelerating trash can.

[Silus Xilarian]

It took less than a minute for the rest of the squadron to drop off his radar. He had gone the deepest into the nebula and right after he received the order to hightail it a snaking bolt of energy had caused him to make an evasive maneuver that further separated him from the rest of the squadron. For the next few minutes, Silus' universe consisted of the cockpit around him and what he could see directly in ahead of him. Comms were gone and most of his sensors were useless. Each time the minefield lit up he felt like he could almost see the pattern of energy unfolding in front of him. His maneuvering wasn't based off any thought or calculation though, just pure instinct.

After what seemed like an eternity he realized that no storm of energy was streaking around him. His shields were completely gone, and his main engines were completely fried. The only thing carrying him out of the nebula was momentum and maneuvering thrusters. As the purple cloud gave way to the inky blackness of space, he heard the familiar voice of his squadron leader crackling in on him comms.

"....Six do you copy. Nomad, do you copy...

He breathed a deep sigh of relief.

"I read you Shadow Leader."

"What's your status Nomad?" He almost thought he could hear a bit of relief in Bette's voice, but chose not to presume.

"The Hammer's in one piece but I'm about to have to get out and push..."

Silently he found himself counting ships on his scanner and felt a huge weight lift off his shoulders when he couldn't find anyone missing.

[Railla Cyer]

Still fighting the stick to work against her damaged stabilizer, Railla formed up with the squadron as best as she could. A quick count on her scopes returned a full compliment, and she let out a breath in a rush that she didn't realize she'd been holding.

"Shadow Two checking in. Shields and stabilizer are out, but I'm...okay."

[Matatek Sel Vissica]

With little damage save her shielding, Vissica quickly closed ranks, drawing her fighter close towards the head of the formation. While no ships were lost, it was clear that Shadow Squadron had a few wounds to lick.

"It would appear that we have underestimated these raiders. We should regroup with the Admonisher, and carefully consider our next move."

Vissica accelerated her fighter on a vector to rendezvous with the Star Destroyer.

[Bette Davis]

Once outside the nebula there were a tense few minutes until Silus drifted out of the gas cloud, his ship fried but intact. Bette opened her comms again. "Admonisher, we need a tow here for Shadow Six. Rails, stick with Nomad until that tow arrives. Everyone else, continue to the docking bay."

She followed her own orders and flew toward the ISD, noting the tow shuttle as it appeared on her scopes just outside of the Admonisher. Silus continued to drift on his vector, but Rails was keeping pace.

[Matatek Sel Vissica]

One Day Later


The impasse in the Troska system had seeded a sense of frustration in its wake. While additional support ships were called up to bolster the Admonisher's vigil over the nebula, it was clear that the Imperial sector command couldn't afford to marshal enough ships to effectively blockade the huge expanse. Instead, the ships summoned were primarily for the benefit of the fortress world alone, providing effective coverage if the raiders were foolish to strike in the same direction.

But this was no real solution. As the officers of the task force debated their next step, Lady Vissica was already considering her own move. While she finished making necessary arrangements, she instructed a TIE Corps ensign to find Commanders Davis and Xilarian, and direct them two the flight briefing room.

[Zachariah Jak'el]

"Gee wiz, it sure was great having Miss Vissica along for the trip yesterday wasn't it?"

The silence between the two Shadows had grown into an uncomfortable five seconds and Zach could not help himself but to fill that awkward gap right up. The pair were sitting at platonic but separate benches in the prep room inspecting their gear. It was an important task. This life support system built into their pilot suits was the only thing keeping them from a cold, unbreathing death. He made sure to inspect them real, taking a lot of special care with the tubing. Especially after that one time. With the snake.

"I don't know if we would have gotten out so easy without her. Heck, she's something else isn't she? Y'think the brass would be okay if I got her painted on the Hound? You know, real tasteful? Would be a flick more modest than those girls Hellfire paints on their ships anyhow; what with their knickers missing and all."

[Silus Xilarian]

As Zach went on about Vissica, Silus' thoughts drifted back to the nebula. While it was happening he didn't really have time to process any of it but now the events unrolled in his mind. He saw every decision he worked not by any sort of strategy or insight, but pure dumb luck. If any one of those decisions had gone differently he would have died in the nebula. Instead he was back on the Admonisher listening to Vissica's greatest fan completely gushing with completely adoration for her. You know I bet that minefield is still out there... he thought to himself while throwing out the occasional "uh huh" or "yep" so Zach wouldn't feel the need to engage him any more directly. Mercifully, another voice broke in.

"Commander Xilarian?"

Silus looked over to find a kid about the same age as Zach, only this one wore an ensign's rank plate. Normally Silus would have met the intrusion with a healthy amount of irritation (it kept people from bothering him unnecessarily) but for some reason he was feeling a bit more agreeable than normal.

"Let me guess. I'm needed somewhere?" His voice betrayed a bit more enthusiasm than he'd meant for it to, but it couldn't be helped.

"Yes sir, the flight briefing room, your pr..." Silus cut him off in a rushed tone. "Briefing room, got it. Sorry Jackal this is probably real important though. Well, actually..." Silus looked back and forth between Zach and the ensign. "Ensign, uh, whatever. Did you know Jackal got to meet Imperial Knight Vissica? Jackal, tell Ensign Whatever here about Imperial Knight Vissica." Silus gave Ensign Whatever a friendly pat on the shoulder and grinned at Zach as he thought Yep, get it all out of your system buddy.

[Bette Davis]

Bette was on her way to the briefing room with Xilarian came up behind her. She looked over her shoulder, and then paused in the passageway so he could catch up. "What's your gut feeling about this mission? Whenever I run the numbers on those mines, and the sheer cost of them even existing..."

She made a face. "These raiders have to have a lot of money backing them up."

[Silus Xilarian]

Silus fell in stride beside Bette, his own apprehension clear on his face.

"They're set to destroy anything that comes in as well. You'd think it would be easier to rig that up to disable ships to be taken whole. Think about everything we've lost to that mess already. A TIE fighter is worth a lot more whole than it is for scrap metal."

They took a few more steps before he stopped her.

"And why send a Knight when we haven't even determined if it's worth sending a Knight? Why is this escalating so fast?"

He looked down the hallway for a second then back to Bette.

"You wanted to know my gut feeling? My gut feeling is that we're not gonna like whatever it is they're about to tell us."