Log:Knights of Ren: Suffer the Children
The Knights go on the hunt on Kalarba.
OOC Date: May 25, 2021
Location: Kalarba
Participants: Leith as KS-0589, Zyrette as KS-0613, Tamsin Cas as Self/GM, Tarq Najjic, Knights of Ren
[ Tamsin Cas (Cas)]
Let us paint a picture:
Here at the base of the barrier range, the mountain peaks fly high above the heads of all; casting long shadows across the valley and the rocky lands beyond reach fiercely toward the purple skies, clawing at it with flinty claws if to pierce the distant clouds. So savage, indeed, they seem - and yet they keep away the great waters of Kalarba's vast and glittering sea and serve as a barrier against the winds. The Kalarban people revere these rocks, and those beyond the sea, as bastions of spiritual strength; they stand from the peaks, look out across the waters, and behold the lands beyond.
Just visible beyond the mountain peaks, the mammoth expanse of the Great Sea stretches like a vast lake of glittering silver; shifting currents of light and shadow play across the liquid mirror, dazzling the eye and stirring the heart as it goes through its tidal stirring. Past the glorious waters, perching upon the horizon, a ribbon of peaks that stretches as far as the distance allows.
Beyond that line of craggy peaks that the very symbol of the Kalarban strength of spirit: standing tall against the sky, the Three Peaks of Tharen embody the Kalarban inner strength that has allowed them to live and thrive here amidst the mountains of this rugged place. Fringed by a wide-winged shoal of vynocks, it is these mountains that are the soul of those who choose to call this planet home.
It is towards these Three Peaks that the Knights have taken themselves. They are a small group, tightly knit and secretive, that was true. What was also true, was that they were no strangers in the use of spies and informants. What was useful was put to use in tracking down their enemies and seeking out those artifacts which must be kept from the hands of those who would use them against the Knights. One such spy had reached out to the Knights, alerting them to the presence of a sect of the Church of the Force. The location had been passed on, along with the frequency for a tracking beacon which had been planted into a store of supplies purchased from Kala City. All that remained was to board the transport speeder which had been acquired for them and to make the approach.
That the Church of the Force was at work on Kalarba was news enough. It took no small amount of cheek to operate under the wary eye of the First Order. The rumours which were the most worrying were the whispers that this particular enclave had, in their protection, at least one sentient bearing the hallmarks of Force Sensitivity. The Knights' mission had been clear. Destroy the Enclave. Capture any and all sentients showing signs of force sensitivity for transport, debriefing, and potential indoctrination.
And now...
The transport had stopped within a short walking distance from the Church's Enclave, which appeared to be the remains of an old and disused mine. Large enough that there was room enough for shelter, with any number of possible entry and egress points. The land around, long ago stripped of trees and ground cover had begun to reclaim its hold, making the approach not entirely without its dangers.
And so...
We find ourselves here. A pair of Knights, a small clutch of storm troopers. And the prize ahead. No sign of movement outside of the old mines. What lies within? A mystery.
Tamsin Cas, robed, hooded, masked, as she always has, stepped down from the speeder, right hand reaching unconsciously towards the pack she wore beneath her robes. In her left, the hilt of her lightsaber. Her eyes were wary, though they were not visible behind her mask, her voice low, as it came across the internal comm systems. "If we can find a way to catch them unawares, we might have the chance to end this quickly." The mad Falleen might have offered a different approach, but that august personage was not in residence.
[ Tarq Najjic (T)]
A man with the build of a gymnast descends from the speeder with a little hop. He walks on, hands held out to the side, swaying side to side as though dancing to an unheard beat. He twirls once, sending his black velvet cape swirling out, and plucks his lightsaber from beneath its harness. He has his usual makeup on, emphasizing contours and giving his cheeks a bit of blush, but he also has two smeared black lines, the size of a man's thumb, running beneath his eyes. War paint, perhaps? "Tarq Najjic suspects we are too bright - fabulous! - for ambush." He gestures towards the white armor of the stormtroopers, then down his own figure, in black, purple, sparkling gemstones, and shimmering black linen. His shoulders rise and fall. "Will try, since Sebek - /is/ - absent," he agrees.
No helmet for him, he glances back at the troopers, then gazes at the mine entrance they're approaching, staring at the rocks as though he can see through them. "Do not sense anyone nearby. Use caution." His tone makes clear that he is not at all certain of his own awareness.
[ Leith (Le)]
Ks-0589 disembarks from the speeder transport. The stormtroopers helmed face hiding his expression as he moves to stand in formation. His blaster carbine held at the read. He cants his head to the side as Tarq describes him and the rest of the as fabulous.
[ Zyrette (Zee)]
KS-0613 stood quietly within her small cadre of fellow troopers. She remained motionless, weapon held at rest, waiting for the command to fall out. She sat with her brethren in the speeder quiet and without friendly banter that sometimes proceeds a battle. Unacceptable for a Trooper. Did she feel fear, pride, doubt? Any such feelings would have been unforgivable, regardless. Fortunately her armor and helmet prevented any such weakness to be or even individuality to be expressed or witnessed. There was so comfort in that. In her anonymity. And so she simply schooled herself to stillness, and relief heavily on her training to do so.
As the other disembark, so too does she. The trooper filed out with the rest of her unit, keeping to her ordered position. She falls in line behind the Sargent, not looking towards the knight as he spoke. Tempted? The world may never know
[ Tamsin Cas (Cas)]
As the group approaches the mine, more of the layout becomes apparent. There is the main entrance, with the remains of the rail lines which carried the carts inside straight ahead. The ground all around the old mine has been tramped down, clear sign that the mine is, indeed in use. At the outskirts of what had been the mine's 'yard' were the crumbled structured of the outbuildings which had once housed workers as well as manufacture and processing buildings. A keen eye might be able to discern where the greatest activity might be.
As the group approached, Tamsin moved with a simple grace, lacking her fellow Knight's pazazz. The helmet turned, taking in the land as they moved ahead. Still, she kept her weapon muzzled, her tones measures as she spoke, "There are clear signs of activity. There," she lifted a hand, pointing, "Towards the mine, but also, do you see, over towards the left of the entrance, near that overturned cart? The ground is churned up." She looked back to the troopers, "Comms are free, report anything you see." Some troopers were less wordy than others.
[ Tarq Najjic (T)]
Tarq keeps his eyes up, watching for movement, then crouches and examines the broken but tamped down ground. He runs the finger of his black leather glove along the grit, then rubs it off. Over the comms, he murmurs, "Much walking. Patrols, maybe? Not sure where."
"Are outbuildings /truly/ empty?" he asks, standing back up and walking towards them at a desultory pace. It will be easy for the troopers to outpace him if they choose. Actually, is inclining his head towards the mine cart an order or just a mannerism? The Knight's lack of military decorum is total, and these do not seem to run a short leash.
[ Leith (Le)]
KS-0589 follows along in Tamsin wake. His head turning this way and that as he examines the surroundings. He stops to bend down for a moment checking a track. < I cannot do more than confirm that the tracks are fresh. > He turns to look at Tarq. < Knight Najjic, do you wish for us to dispatch a fire team to search the outbuildings?>
[ Zyrette (Zee)]
<"Agreed Knight Cas. There is certainly a second entrance that seems to have seen more use."> 0613's voice crackled briefly over the comms unit in her helmet. She dared to speak! But they'd been given reign to do so. Better than she speak up, than risk failure of their mission. Otherwise she stayed in position, holding rank as the sergeant stepped forward.
[ Tamsin Cas (Cas)]
A trio of troopers peeled off at KS-0589's question and Tarq's aside. Perhaps they knew the temperature and timber of the Kuati Knight's mind, or they simply were trying to give a good impression. The outbuildings would be searched. Empty. That was a loaded word. Were the outbuildings truly empty? Of sentient life forms yes. But at least one, so their tracking would tell them, held one of the beacons which had been dropped into the supplies at Kala City. This was, at least superficially, definitely the place. The trio of troopers who had gone out that way soon returned, joining back up with the group.
"If they are using the side entry, it would make sense. Easier to escape notice. But, if that is the case, we will need to eliminate it as a point of exit." Tamsin, moving away from the group, looked back at Tarq, "I may need you assistance. Troopers, keep watch." Tamsin could not do two things at once. And so, she left the 'please help me not to die' to her troops, as she turned her focus towards second entry, helmeted head tilting just slightly as some of the disused carts began to rise from the ground, moving slowly and carefully, either out of effort or a desire not to make noise, to pile against the side entrance.
[ Tarq Najjic (T)]
When Tamsin moves to begin stopping up the side tunnel that KS-0613 noticed, Tarq raises a hand. More carts and large pieces of debris join Tamsin's efforts at blocking until it's definitively sure that no one is busting out of that entrance quickly without explosives or a bulldozer. "If left beacon outside - sounds like trap." It has gotten to the point that the Kuati expects everything to be a trap. That way he's occasionally pleasantly surprised. "Expect - prompt - resistance."
[ Leith (Le)]
Ks-0589 watches as a small team of troopers breaks off to follow the orders. 0589 though gets his own orders and he moves up to take up a position to observe the Knight of Ren do their work. His helmet scanning the area not finding anything.
[ Zyrette (Zee)]
KS-0613 falls into a quick stepping march to form up with the other troopers to keep watch. At least those that had not gone to search the out buildings. She does not look as the two Knights perform their mystic wizardry. Instead she does as commanded, and keeps watch. As she holds her position, her helmet tilted down to study the ground around her feet. Whatever followed next, she was careful where she took her next booted step.
[ Tamsin Cas (Cas)]
"Thank you." Whatever else the Knight might be, no one was ever likely to argue that Tamsin Cas was not polite. She was polite never when she was leading you down gentle to your doom. At least, between the two Knights, the side entry was properly blocked, and Tamsin returned to herself and to the present. The other troopers who had not been on guard, reported that there appeared to be no other entries into the main mine. "There is no way but forward." And then Tamsin was off, making her way towards the mine proper. She did not bunch up with the rest. One lone knight was a waste of ammunition, as they said, a cluster of bodies was a juicy opportunity. She was no master of stealth, but she managed not to trip over herself as she headed towards the main entrance, ducking in as soon as she arrived and clinging to the side.
[ Tarq Najjic (T)]
Tarq follows Tamsin into the mine but at a distance of fifteen feet or so. No clumping! He stares down the tunnel. He reports, <"Old carts, excavator in this room ahead."> He steps carefully onward into that section of tunnel with the worn-down equipment. He doesn't repeat his suspicion about an ambush. It's out there: they know. He pulls his cape carefully aside to avoid getting dust on it from the tunnel wall.
[ Leith (Le)]
0589 would never be a member of the scout troopers. He was too loud and not very good at sneaking and it became apparenat. He though on the other hand was good at listening to what. << Knight Najjic, there are also the scurrying of feet. They're staying just ahead of us. I believe they are walking on the rails. They may be leading us deeper or trying to stay one step ahead of us.>> His helmet working in the low light setting. HIs blaster scanning back and forth.
[ Zyrette (Zee)]
KS-0613 notes the Knights have finished blocking the second entrance. Then, picking her path carefully, she turns about. Falling in line with her fellow Troopers, she follows the knights inside. She keeps her riffle held in a relaxed ready position, ready to bring ti bear when the situation called for it. Which, as the sergeant speaks her riffle does lift slightly, and her stance lowers. She continues to follow and despite her full armor manages to do so quietly, even if others are not so stealthy.
[ Tamsin Cas (Cas)]
As the group moved into the main entry, the walls, long and long ago carved out around them, rose high and smooth, age and long use turning the rock into an almost liquid smooth dome. The detritus of that long ago work filled the main room, old carts, an excavator, other odds and ends of a lifetime cutting ore from stone. There were three tunnels leaving out from the main room. One, the largest, in the center, one to the right, which appeared, as the troops investigated, to be caved in, and the left hand tunnel, where KS-0589 reported noise.
Tamsin was not a warrior. Not, in many of the ways that matters, and, perhaps unlike others of the darker persuasion, she valued the stormtroopers who have given themselves into the service of the Knights. "In either case, they are either a threat to be eliminated, or a enemy to be captured for information." She headed in that direction.
[ Tarq Najjic (T)]
Tarq is a warrior, after a fashion. Perhaps more of a duelist than anything else, he has faced groups of blaster-bearing enemies and come through victorious, if in need of patching up. When he walks down the tunnel, he sees a woman wearing robes, walking in a circle in what seems to be a prayer room, glow lights in the wall. Spotting a bulge in her robes, he raises a hand, and a blaster jerks free from her and leaps into Tarq's hand. "Easy. Is no need to die." He chucks the blaster over his shoulder without looking, so that he is between the woman and her weapon. "Yield what we want - co-/operate/ - and may keep praying for years to come."
[ Leith (Le)]
0589 moves forward with his blaster, he does not get between the cleric and Tarq. << Down on your knees, hands behind your head. You are in violation of First Order Code 683 Subchapter 23.2 paragraph 238. >> Once the prisoner complies he moves to put restraints on her.
[ Tamsin Cas (Cas)]
The robed woman did not attempt to escape the Knight, or the trooper who came over to strain her. And she did, indeed, get down on her knees. But as she did, her mouth opened and she began screaming, the sound high and piercing, echoing along the hollowness of the tunnel, "Thieves! Thieves in the temple!" There was just no accounting for taste.
[ Zyrette (Zee)]
Situated as she was in the back of the line, there wasn't much KC-0613 could do or see. However, all of a sudden things were happening all at once. Her brother-arms- before her got clinked in the head by a disposed Blaster. The was moving to restrain a robed woman. The robed woman called for reinforcements. Being still in the back of the group, 0613 fell into a flanking position of the door to the makeshift temple rifle held at the ready. She waited on further order.
[ Tamsin Cas (Cas)]
The screaming had its desired effect, and it was now possible to hear more movement, still too far to be seen, down the same tunnel that continued on from this prayer room. "That. Will be quite enough," was Tamsin's soft response to the woman's screaming, and her helmet turned towards the woman, whose voice choked off, breath gurgling in her throat. Any of the troopers, including KS-0589 who had a good view of the woman could see her throat clamping down, as if an unseen hand was choking the scream out of her. Once she had gurgled into silence...she was not, as yet, dead, Tamsin lifted a hand, shaking back her sleeve, "You two, free up the Sergeant, the rest, follow on." She held the saber out, at low guard, though she kept the blade as yet unsummoned. And down into the relative dark she went, her eyes adjusting to the low light so that it was no trouble for the woman.
[ Tarq Najjic (T)]
When the woman begins screaming a warning, Tarq's eyes roll skyward, and he flips the switch on his lightsaber. The blade grows, illuminating the area in red as he shrugs theatrically. "Life is forfeit if bring house down on us. Should /not/ have to spell - this - out!" He lowers it to a one-handed guard posture, tucking his right hand behind his back. "Do not shoot in back, please and thank you. Will try to stay in lane to the left." He sidesteps over to that side of the tunnel.
[ Leith (Le)]
0589 brings up his blaster, << Ackowledged. Staying to the Right side.>> Then the Storm trooper does as he's marching down the tunnel and making sure he's not getting turned into a hot plasma pin cushion. He quickly tries to figure out why his squad drew this mission.
[ Zyrette (Zee)]
KS-0613 peers around the door frame. <"Copy, not shooting Knight Najjic in the back."> After this mission she was aiming for a raise or getting reconditioned, one or the other. Otherwise she held position, ready to fire.
[ Tamsin Cas (Cas)]
There was no doubt that the hapless and foolish woman had raised the alarm, and the sounds of movement at the far end of the tunnel picked up in speed and volume as the team approached. It was not a long run, at least that was a mercy, and there was enough illumination to run would tripping over either each other or some obstacles in the floor.
It was Tarq, who drew the short straw, as he burst out of the tunnel, nearly at the same time as Tamsin, who drew her saber as soon as she was clear of the close walls of the enclosed space they had been moving in. A bolt of blue rifle fire only just missed him, the glowing energy bolt shooting back into the tunnel from whence he had come.
And now the scene was clear. This was the main living quarters. beds on the left side, a crude fire pit and eating area on the right. Supplies close to the near wall, and a cart which a trio of people were trying to move in the back. The fire came from a woman who looked in her way, not unlike the Cleric they had already captured. Robed, and hooded, but she knelt behind an overturned storage crate, rifle braced there as she fired at the incoming team.
Near the rear cart, were a pair of youngsters, looking to be, perhaps in the neighbourhood of early teens, near-human by the look of them, with ink-black hair and ruddy skin, a male and a female, but so alike in size and appearance it was unlikely that they were anything but siblings, and possibly twins. There was a male with them, a Bothan, big, and burly, helping but also shielding the pair as he could. A crystalline sword was in his hand, "Go, go!" His voice was ringing in the open air, as he turned, charging at the nearest Knight. That would also be Tarq.
[ Tarq Najjic (T)]
Out charges Tarq, undistracted by the blue fire. There is someone with a sword charging him - and he is defending /children/. "Stop the young ones from fleeing!" Then he is upon the Bothan, an upward slice and following chop down leaving burns and more on the Bothan's side, but the crystal sword prevents him from ending the fight with a single flourish.
Their blades clash. "Take children alive," he says with a half-smile at the Bothan, his words calculated for their effect on his opponent, not just the stormtroopers.
[ Leith (Le)]
0598 hears the orders of the Knights of saving the children, that means to him clearing the area of hositle adults. He raises blaster up and open fire at the Canon. THe red bolt going wild against the wall. It seems that the Sargent was indeed a product of the finest Stormtrooper schooling there was.
[ Tamsin Cas (Cas)]
The Bothan, growling and screaming his pain and outrage at this child of the darkness who dared to invade his temple, charged in, right into Tarq's blade, and barely seemed to notice the damage that was done him. No, that was not at all true, but he had the zeal of the fanatical hatred all of the Church seemed to have for those who were not Jedi behind him, and he kept his blade up, trying to strike, no matter how futile it might be. he had none of the Kuati's grace, and his blade hacked and cut at the air as he tried to find purchase on his opponent.
Tamsin, who knew what business she was about, left Tarq and the troopers to their work, for now, as she turned to the two youngsters who were desperately trying to tug the cart out of the way of the exit. Saber still at the ready, she flicked her wrist, a wave of unseen force picking up the two bodies and slamming them into the wall behind them. Not hard enough to break bones, but hard enough to take the fight out of them, allowing two pairs of troopers to rush in to take them captive. Her work done, Tamsin turned to find the next likely target. Half of the mission was accomplished. They hoped.
[ Tarq Najjic (T)]
With a strong bash against the crystal sword, Tarq breaks the Bothan's block and lunges forward into a thrust straight into heart. He immediately turns, whirling about and pulling the blade out and throwing it towards the Amadme Minne. It hits the stone next to her but leaves her unscathed as he pulls the blade back into his hand.
[ Leith (Le)]
A blaster bolt hits 0589 in the head and his head and helmet are gone in a smokiing crater. He falls to the left for the first time invading Tarq's fireing line. He falls as his trigger finger spasms sending a couple of shots down range hitting nothing but cavern wall. It seems that KS-0613 had gotten that promotion she'd always wanted.
[ Zyrette (Zee)]
And the first shot was fired. And then a Cascade of shot. Around her light sabres whizzed through the air, much as the pair of matched younglings did. KS-0613 pais little heed. Instead, she kept firing, keeping the pressure on, even if she continued to mis... Before her, she watched as her sergeant was felled. She felt an unwelcome stirring of emotion. Loss, of a comrade. But hope at the job opening.
[ Tamsin Cas (Cas)]
The Bothan fell, the smell of burning fur and burnt blood adding insult to injury to Tarq's poor nose. He really should have worn that helmet, if only for the air filtration system. Alas. The troopers, ignoring the battle to follow orders, soon had the two youngsters in hand, shackled and under guard. Perhaps in other circumstances, or under the command of some other Knight, they might have simply disposed of them, following the Knights' more usual scorched earth policy, but today was not that day, and these two Knights needed them alive. And so, for now, they would be so.
As for Tamsin, as she usually did, she left the troopers to do their work as she closed the distance between herself and the woman who had just killed one of her troopers. Some insults were not to be borne. "You should not have done that." This, Tamsin spoke aloud, the vocorder giving her voice a harsh, grating sound, as she charged in, seeming to move between the blaster bolts, intent on eliminating the woman scrambling to escape. The first strike struck not far from the same stone that Tarq had marked, the second cutting through the rifle that the woman lifted as if it could shield her from what was coming. The third repaid the injury done poor KS-0589, as it sliced the woman's head in two. Remember that scene towards the end of Equilibrium? Just like that.
[ Tarq Najjic (T)]
His lightsaber still humming, Tarq goes to kneel next to KS-0589's mostly-headless corpse. He points to KS-0613 and another soldier. "Carry him back." A jaw in his muscle is tight. "Place the explosives near entrance. Bury them." He stands and stalks towards the entrance. The prayer room gets a few slashes through it before the Kuati makes it back to the entrance, and the speeder.
[ Zyrette (Zee)]
KS-0613 had begun to move towards the fallen body of her sergeant before even she'd received the order to do so. She froze, in the process of taking a step, when Tarq's finger swung towards her. Relief masked by armor and helmet, the private continued to the headless body. She recovered what of his helm were in large enough pieces to collect, and carefully scooped up the inert body. She then followed the others out.
[ Tamsin Cas (Cas)]
"You have your orders." Tamsin's voice was flat, as she lowered her saber, though she did not unpower it. "Anything you find that might be of value to us, bring it out with you. This is not the only cell, and there are likely to be more enclaves which need eradication." Tamsin's mind was clear. Any clues and portends that might help them on their mission would be claimed. "And secure the captives in the holding cells. We will deal with them once we are back at base."
And then, as if it were the Knight's calling card, in the wake of their departure, the mine erupted in a ball of fire and ash, and the remains of this wayward enclave of force worshippers.
