Board the Black Talon

Why not take a minute to relax. You thank the officer but before you manage to board, he stops you for a second.

" I forgot to mention. The ship does go through dangerous territory but it should be fine. Safe travels, my lord. "

You nodded but decided to board the ship anyway. As it soon took off, you roamed the boarding area until you were met with a squadron of soldiers and a neatly looking officer woman who was giving orders. She introduced herself as Lieutenant Sylas. Her hair was tied in a neat bun on the top of her head and her voice carried itself highly. She also spoke very confidently and held her head high but you noticed something about her. The uniform that tightly clung to her body. You observed the female officer who was still fairly young but there was some grit and leadership behind that very pretty face. But to not ogle so much, you snapped yourself out of your observation as the woman welcomed you aboard.

" We are very happy to have you on board, my lord. It is an honor to serve the Sith and we will do everything we can to make your travel as comfortable as possible. While the Black Talon is a transport ship, we have arranged a room for you where we also stashed your droid. " A look of confusion appeared on your face.

" Thank you Lieutenant but you must have me mistaken for someone. I do not own any droid. "

" Oh? Then I apologize, my lord. It asked specifically for you by name so I assumed you were the owner. Maybe it is someone trying to get in contact with you. At any rate, if you wish to remove it or deal with it in anyway, let me know. In any case, I must return to the bridge. "

Lieutenant Sylas bowed her head and then turned around to leave. As she reached the door, she ordered the guard not to let anyone pass through here and if she or anyone from the deck was needed, they should call her on the holocom. So with that, intrigued by the mysterious droid that is waiting specifically for you, you made your way to the room where it waited. The droid immediately perked up as you entered as the eyes began to scan you.

The droid introduced itself as NR-02. After confirming your identity, he quickly began to mash buttons on his terminal to call his mysterious master. That master turned out to be Grand Moff Kilran, one of the most renowned and brutal Moffs of the entire Imperial army and also second to only the Minister of War. On the hologram he seemed tall and bulky but one thing very much stood out. His face was covered in scars. You left a snarky comment about his appearance but he didn't seemed phased by it at all. Instead, he had a task for you. One you could not refuse. He began to explain that a couple of hours ago, there was a brief skirmish between the Republic and the Imperial forces which left one republic ship escaping. That ship carried an important passenger and the Black Talon was the only ship in position that could still catch this escapee. It was important to capture or kill this passenger that was only known as, the General. Someone that the Republic believed had Imperial military secrets. Whether that was the truth or not, no chances could be taken so now it was your mission to retrieve him. Problem was, Captain Orzik, the man in charge of the Black Talon refused to obey Kilran's orders. So now it is your problem to either hijack the ship or convince the Captain. If you don't succeed, Kilran will make your death seem like an accident as this was no request, but an order.

So, with the droid coming along with you, the guards grew wary as they saw you approach. Your words were not getting through to the soldier standing guard and as you tried to push through, the soldiers attacked you. Having no choice, you pulled out your lightsaber and fought as best as you can while trying to minimize the damage to the soldiers. You ordered the same thing to Khem as you really did not want to have any friendly casualties on your hands. Luckily the force was on your side and with careful attacks, you managed to knock out most of the soldiers by throwing them against the wall or paralyzing them with lightning while Khem took the more literal approach and knocked them out with his fists. Quickly there after you found yourself on the bridge where one man, presumably Captain Orzik pulled the soldiers back and stopped the fighting.

After administering aid to the wounded soldiers which the Captain immediately thanked for, he explained his side of the story. He ignored the Moffs's command because the Black Talon is not suited for military action as it is a transport ship and Brentaal Star, the ship you are supposed to chase is a battleship. You sighed. The situation was more dire than you thought. You understood where the Captain was coming from. Either we all die trying to get the General or die after we return home. You were pissed off at the damn Moff but right now there was nothing you could do to that asshole. Instead you reassured the crew and the Captain that this would not be a suicide mission. Still skeptical but now a bit more brave with a Sith in his corner, you all began to think of a viable plan to attack the battleship.

Evasive maneuvers, all energy to the shields and a boarding party that would extract the General. Which meant you. And a lot of praying and trusting in the force. That is all you could think of in the very limited time you have. So with that the ensigns powered the hyperdrive as the ship violently jumped and appeared right next to the Brentaal Star. Their weapons began to fire immediately but for now your shields could hold up. Except there was no defense against an assault party. A squad of republic soldiers was already on the way to board the ship and you happily volunteered to deal with them.

The boarding deck was swarming with Republic soldiers. The ship's guards did the best they could but the numbers were on the attacker's side. That is, until you came along. You and Khem Val darted through the enemies, killing squadrons of soldiers as you pushed to the landing pad where an elite group of soldiers waited for you. They had there portable covers ready. Their rifles were pointed in your direction and the moment you approached, the fight started off. You have to say they did put up a good fight but sadly for them they encountered a newly appointed Sith apprentice that was not letting some ordinary soldiers get the better of her. With Khem's help, along with the Imperial soldier back up, you quickly rid the landing pad of the enemy soldiers as you then made your way back to the bridge.

Once you were back on the bridge, the ship was contacted by an unknown caller. What was even stranger was that the call did not come from the Brentaal Star. Instead, Jedi Grand Master Satele Shan appeared on the holocom. The woman was in her later years but that did not diminish the beauty of the Jedi Grand Master. You two extended pleasantries before Satele warned you about the Republic fleet that was coming towards your direction to assist the Brentaal Star. She wished no more violence and advised you to leave the Republic ship alone but that was something you could not do. At the same time you could not reveal the fact that you and the entire ship has been blackmailed to go on this suicide mission so instead you decided to break the call.

Captain Orzik has already began forming a boarding party of his own as you quickly prepared to leave as well. So you once again made your way to the shuttle landing bay where you, with the cover of friendly fighters, made your way onto the Brentaal Star. With the power of the force and the powerful Dashade on your heel, none could really stop you. The Republic soldiers were throwing everything they had your way but you managed to fight through and continue. That is until you reached a locked door. The terminal denied you access and soon you understood why this door was so guarded. On the other side was a room that lead towards the escape pods. That is where your target must be. You channeled the dark side of the force before releasing a huge streak of lightning energy and sending the pieces of the door scattering to the other side of the corridor. Several republic soldiers standing behind it were also flung away as they heavily impacted the walls and died.

But now, standing before you was a young Twi'lek of reddish color. The girl wore a brown robe and looked different from all the soldiers around. Was she the General, you asked yourself. But soon you learned the reality was quite different. The Twi'lek girl introduced herself as Yadira Ban. A padawan of the Jedi Order. You gasped and gritted your teeth. Your first fight with a Jedi. She reached for her weapon as the green light shined on the metal floor of the ship. You tried to negotiate with her but the Jedi could not back down. So Khem, after your command, rushed after her with his vibroblade. The young Twi'lek was fast, jumping from Khem to you in a manner of milliseconds but none could escape your lightning. It was a tough and difficult fight but the Jedi padawan did not have enough strength to fight off the two of you. With a final lightning strike, Yadira was left motionless on the ground as the path to the General was now clear.

One last squad of soldiers stood in your way. The Republic soldiers stood their ground until the very end but they could not stop you. So after cutting down the last one, there he stood covering in the corner, The General. The man was bleeding from the stomach as a rogue shrapnel managed to hit him in one of the many attacks on the ship. He explained why he defected, described the weapons of mass destruction that both sides developed. He wanted to create a stalemate in the upcoming war that was soon about to break out but alas, you stopped him. So now he was at your mercy. You could kill him and be done with him but that is not your way. You don't kill in cold blood. Instead you gave him medical help and then took him back to the Black Talon as your prisoner. After that, there was no time to dally. You returned to the ship along with your prisoner and the rest of the soldiers before quickly taking off, not risking an encounter with the Republic fleet.

Once on board, you disgruntledly gave Kilran the report as he was very pleased with the result but you quickly cut the call so that you wouldn't have to look at his ugly face anymore. Captain Orzik was also very pleased. He was alive, the ship survived as well and now it could also return back to its original course. You learned you had a couple of hours before you reached Dromund Kaas so that leaves you with some time to relax. But how? Maybe you could invite someone over to your temporary cabin?