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| - Retired Army Colonel Liuz Bogumil, for one, didn't believe a single bit of the news. And while he'll soon be needed in his new job, he's taken the time to attend the meeting on the Berth Deck, still more or less being an 'outgoing' Colonel and for the moment not restricted in his movements. As far as he is concerned, however, Danik is being held against his will and tortured in ways beyond anything he'd ever conceived possible. Arriving at the designated area, he silently awaits what is to come, waiting for the opportunity to volunteer himself for harm's way if the opportunity presents itself. As usual, Seifer Wolf positioned himself at the back, keeping himself out of the way of the massing crew. He didn’t know what to think about the whole Danik thing. But he didn’t want to think he had defected. Either way he was here to find out what was going on. Stepping out of his quarters after review of another holo vid of the recording of the good Admiral, Krieg walks out in his full spacesuit uniform, preparing some mental notes to himself on what all will be required of them. He knows there is probably a rescue to be mounted, and this is what probably has roused him from his quarters for the meeting. Nodding to a few of his fellow pilots as he walks out he attentively comes to where the meeting is held. As the crew proceeds into the berth deck and settles in, a new arrival proceeds in, wearing a red Imperial officer's uniform, complete with the cap. He was man from Imperial Intelligence, possibly the Bureau or perhaps the Ubiqtorate itself. He is an older man, clearly in his sixties, and from the look on his face, he's clearly in no mood. "Settle down everyone. I am Colonel Dimitri Salz. I'm sure you're all aware of the rumors, but I'm here to quickly dispel them all and get the facts straight," he says, moving to the center of the room. Behind him a holoprojector was set up, and with a nod of his head, the lights went out in the room. The holoprojector turned on and an image of Danik Kreldin and Johanna flickered on. "This is the last recording we have of Advisor Kreldin. He was on Corellia, returning to his estate, when he was intercepted by this women, who has been identified as Johanna Siri te Danaan... some of you might have seen her moving around the Dauntless a few times in the past. She is a Jedi, but not of the usual sort, from what we've gathered..." he says, pacing around the room a bit to allow the first few facts sink in for those assembled. Seating himself if chairs are available, Bogumil silently listens to the information and makes notes as though his involvement in this is a given. This wasn't just anyone that is being discussed, after all, as it was Danik Kreldin who had been taken captive. Nightmare of Athaniss, and hero to the New Order, if you don't have a deep respect for a man such as him, you're hardly a person in Liuz Bogumil's eyes. 'Jedi... no flash bangs', he silently notes, going back on information that he'd seen during his Special Operations days. Folding his arms and leaning against the wall, Wolf was in silent thought. 'Captured... That’s not good.' He shook his head, noticing Krieg enter the room. 'Well, whatever it is, I’m in.' He focused on what the man was saying, taking everything in and making notes in his head. 'Wonder if we'll need the Korriban...’ Taking his seat with the rest of the pilots, Krieg listens to the information being given. He pulls out his kneeboard and starts taking notes, making sure to copy any relevant flight information. There are a few murmurs around here and there, but he keeps quiet, making sure to get all the information down correctly. Though the Admiral is gone and they are mounting a rescue, it does not change the way he does business. "Shortly after Kreldin delivered his announcement, he made contact with the Imperial fleet and alerted us to his location: Tatooine. After that, though, we lost communications with the Advisor, and have yet to receive any further transmissions," Dimitri says, the holoprojector shifting to an image of Tatooine, and began showing various points in Mos Eisley. "It has been confirmed by Warlord Korolov that Kreldin was under a Jedi... spell... which is why he said what he did. So it seems likely he has not betrayed the Empire, and thus we are going to launch an attempt to rescue him. Tatooine is independent, but has no local police other than the Hutts. We're unsure if Johanna has any accomplices in this kidnapping, but we do know many criminal organizations operate on Tatooine, including Karrde's Organization and Aegis. So we're not taking any chances; I'm sure you all understand the seriousness of the matter. Advisor Kreldin must be reclaimed. We fear Johanna plans to hand him over to the so-called New Republic, which could set put a wrench in the military's upcoming plans." Dimitri stops pacing, and the holoprojector shows an image of the Malevolence, the Dauntless, the Nemesis and the Oppressor. "We are building a task force around the HIMS Malevolence. The Dauntless will back her up. We do not expect to meet any resistance in space, so we're going to immediately deploy our ground forces onto the planet, at Mos Eisley, Mos Espa, and Anchorhead..." Bogumil desperately wishes to stand and pledge himself to the effort, but hearing nothing in the way of a query for questions, comments, or a remark of dismissal, he infers that the briefing may well not be over. So the ex-Colonel goes back to his mental notes, with the smug satisfaction of having been right for not doubting Danik's loyalty in the slightest. 'Ah, so the fleet is going...’ Wolf thought. 'Heh, I guess I should get the squadron ready.' He thought. He stood up from the wall and looked over the pictures on the holoboard. Frowning, he stared blankly. 'Johanna?' "We're going in hard, and we're going in fast. The 501st Storm trooper Legion will be leading the way, with the 6th Army Division bringing up the rear and mopping up whatever the 501 leaves alive. The Dauntless's complement will focus on Mos Eisley, that's where we believe Kreldin is being held. We will show no mercy, and no quarter will be given to those who resist. We will do house-to-house searches, and we will need to question as many civilians as possible. Remember Johanna's face well. She is our prime target," he says, as the holoprojector shows a close-up of Johanna. "She is a Jedi. Extremely dangerous. DO NOT engage her unless you have sufficient backup, and by sufficient I mean at least an entire platoon of troops. Dimitri finally finishes his portion of the briefing, and the holoprojector turns down, with the lights turning back on. "I will take this time to accept any questions any of you may have," Dimitri says, looking around the room at the crew assembled. Seeing his opportunity, Bogumil jumps to his feet and offers as crisp a salute as a man with years of service in the officer corps can manage. In civilian attire, however, the sheer perfection of this is somewhat lessened however, the uniform somehow being a crucial part of the display. "Sir! My name is Liuz Bogumil, retiring Colonel in the Imperial Ground Forces. I wish to volunteer myself to assist in the recovery of our beloved Advisor Kreldin." Silently, Bogumil wonders if even the ISB could find a problem in those words. Beyond the fact that he isn't dead, and has clearly given up on further service to the Army, that is. Leaning forward slightly as he spoke Wolf asked, "Will the ground forces need aerial assistance? Or would you prefer everyone on the ground?" he hoped he could use this as a decent training mission for the Scimitars. "If so, my squadron is ready for anything." Dimitri glances over at the over-enthusiastic retired colonel, and nods his head at the man. "Accepted, Colonel Bogumil. The Empire is pleased to have you along for the operation," he says, folding his hands behind his back. "Due to your record, I'm sure the 501 won't mind having you with them," he says, offering the colonel a grin. He then looks over to Wolf, and rubs his chin. "Well, we doubt to meet any resistance in space, or in the air. If the engagement extends into the desert, we'll definitely need air support for recon purposes. Other than that, I doubt we'll actually need any close air support... this is Tatooine, after all. Instead, you can back up the 501 or the 6th ID on the ground, I have no objections... Anything else?" Sitting tight up until this point, Krieg awaits his turn to ask a question. He raises his hand and says when motioned to, "Excuse me, sir." He rises and comes to attention. "Lt Inrokana, War Shrike squadron. Sir, you mentioned the need for air cover should it arise. Are to we be in standby orbiting the area, or backing up the ground forces by landing our fighters on the ground should they be needed in the near future?" He keeps professional, wondering about an aspect of the mission where the pilots can get airborne fast should they be needed instead of merely being on the ground without their equipment. "You're permitted to land your fighters on the ground and take off with them. Like I said, we seriously doubt we'll need air cover, though there is the possibility that Johanna might take Danik into the dune sea, or maybe even try to escape in a starship. That's where you guys will come in. Other than that, you're free to land and help out the troops in the search & rescue," Dimitri responds, nodding to Krieg. Returning to his notes and planning for his own role in the operation, Bogumil returns to his seat, letting the flyboys have their opportunity to find out what's going on. For retiring Colonel Bogumil, however, all that needs to be known has already been revealed. Danik is being held captive, and once a proper plan is organized for his retrieval, he'll be returned to the fold. 'No frags, either.' Krieg takes a few moments on what he needs to do in the mission, in that the bomber is going out for another spin. Blitz is not far away and is making similar notes. He's going to have to equip for this one quite differently, and bust out his combat gear. He knows there will be a uniform switch, and all patches are to go off for this mission. Beyond that he simply has to prepare for bombing the planet to shooting different targets. As Bogumil continues to prepare his notes, elsewhere the Storm troopers are preparing for action as well, along with the flight crews for the shuttles to be utilized in ferrying men down to the surface. It's quite a lot of preparation for a single man, but this isn't just anyone, it's Danik Kreldin. As one Trooper is preparing his weaponry, a member of the ever-smaller group of Storm trooper NCOs approaches him, his grin completely obscured by the helmet worn over his head. "How're you feeling, Jimmy?” he asks, prompting the Trooper to raise his own helmeted head in reply. "Like a mean motherfucker, sir!" Sitting outside of her ship, Kyo is leaned up against her ship and idly watching ships come and go. Danik had absolutely nothing on him. Johanna must have had a field day. That or someone had already looted the Imperial officer. The important thing is that he had nothing of use to her and sadly, that means he is better off dead. After all, he has caused her a lot of grief in the past and would surely throw her to the predators were the roles reversed. Still, she holds some faith that his Imperial friends would provide something useful for his relatively safe return. And... If not... she has her auto-pilot set for Republic territory and her droid on board ready to go. For now, she continues to wait for signs of Imperials. They're never hard to miss on this planet and surely they have no idea where their exalted leader lay now. From the moment she pulled off her stunt the other day, Johanna has been terribly pleased with herself. All that remains now on her list is to find Leia Organa-Solo and do the same thing to her, only with a few minor adjustments regarding which government to denounce. She'll need a new placard. Nothing like some good old-fashioned revenge to get her going in the morning! She wanders through the spaceport uncharacteristically withdrawn, the feeling of accomplishment dulling her usually keen senses. The humiliation of Danik replays itself in an endless loop in her mind. Now she stops to zoom in on his battered features, now she fast-forwards to the part where he apologizes for the crimes he's committed... ah, and now she pauses right before the humiliation is complete. Her lips fix themselves into a smirk of monumental satisfaction. Huzzah, there's her ship, with Cricket already waiting. The Imperial task force had arrived over Tatooine about thirty minutes ago. Spearheaded by the Malevolence, the relatively small task force was still adequate to search the few cities on Tatooine for Danik Kreldin. Leading the ground campaign was the 501st Legion - 'Vader's Fist' as it was appropriately known, with support and rear guard assistance from the 6th Army Division. Even with such notable units on the hunt for Kreldin, it was going to be no easy task to find this Johanna, who presumably still had Kreldin locked up in her "prison" or where ever it is she played out her sick fantasies. At least that's what the Imperials were told; that Johanna was a mentally unstable psycho, a mother and a Jedi, to boot. A very nasty combination. The starport would first have to be sealed off before any house-to-house searches could be conducted. Other units would branch off and begin questioning locals, particularly at the cantinas, hot spots for information. All in all, the Imperials were ready to find their commander. Tanis Cadell is enthusiastic. Not only was this his first mission as a storm trooper in the 501, but a very important mission: the search and rescue of Danik Kreldin, and there was an insane Jedi involved, too. The 501st has a reputation for being the best Jedi-killers in the galaxy: it was they who stormed the Jedi Temple during the Clone Wars, they who were assigned to Darth Vader personally to hunt down the rebels. Tanis could not feel more proud. He's standing near the front of one of the many dropships currently descending through the atmosphere, as he was a sergeant and was pretty well experienced. He was on the Crusader mission! But this particular mission was more exciting to him, for some reason. Probably because there was a Jedi involved. He smiles behind his white helmet, and awaits the order to deploy. In charge of the medics assigned to this particular operation, Dr. Caiton speaks in a quiet voice to the medical personnel handpicked for this assignment. The orders given are precise, clear cut, expressing the role they will play in this engagement. To assist, not hinder, and to retrieve the missing Admiral at all costs. The look in Dr. Caiton's eyes is bleak and the expression grim, it's easy to see that the doctor is just as focused as any one of the troopers awaiting deployment. Stepping out of his bomber in full combat gear, Krieg is ready to rock. His last instructions to his RIO is to hold position, keep the engines hot, and if they are needed to spool up and pick him (Krieg) up from whatever situation he currently is wrapped up in. Checking the loading of his weapons and making sure they are ready to go Krieg gives his RIO a thumb up and contacts the team he is with over the commlink. "Donner team, Hawk here. Ready for search." He readies his rifle, bringing it up to bear at chest level with the barrel pointed towards the ground for the moment. Liuz Bogumil had been in the Imperial Army for a long time, and sent on countless missions, and planned still more. Yet none of that can prepare him for the daunting task of accompanying an Imperial strike force on a raid aimed at Mos Eisley. For no longer is he a member of the spearhead, no longer a flexible wing of the mailed fist that is the Imperial Military. No, he carries a hold-out blaster tucked into his jacket, and then another on the opposing side, but nothing worth fielding against a Jedi. Agent Bogumil's role is simply to observe the situation, and control a set of camera droids sitting idle elsewhere in his dropship. Somehow, the man must turn Danik's weakness into the Empire's triumph. More fortunate are the men of the 501st, however, who are sitting at the ready in their shuttles, even now streaking towards Mos Eisley and other cities across the planet. Two in particular are tasked for Mos Eisley; one filled with scout troopers that will deploy on the outskirts of the city and set up an impromptu blockade of land travel, and the other moving towards the Spaceport itself. Well over a hundred men are inside, including Bogumil, Tanis, Lynae, and Emperor only knows who else. As a rule, the weapons on the storm troopers are kept on stun for the time being, but more than a little have a degree of malice in their eyes and their hearts. The Empire had been humiliated, and it's their job to set things right. Looking much like any of the other pedestrian traffic on Tatooine; the smugglers, farm hands or locals, Jal'Dana just blends in and tries to pick up wisps of conversation. Finding Danik Kreldin was the sole focus of her being on this forsaken pit stop on the grid, and while the 501st would be doing the standard military search, Jal'Dana was one of the few intermixed with the locals to try a non-traditional approach. She herself had flown against this Jedi, and it was not a memory she was fond of. Out gunned, Johanna had out flown most of the TIE squadrons, and managed to score numerous hits on the station the Imperials were defending, before hyper spacing away. If it was true, and a person that good had grown this unstable, it would be a wonder to find Danik alive. Jal'Dana keeps her Stun rifle with in easy draw, but then again everyone on this planet does. The Rack on the Dauntless was as busy as ever. Wolf approached the airlock to his TIE. He had ordered the rest of the squadron to take Bombers except for his wingman. They needed something at least a little faster to keep up with any escaping ships. He placed his helmet on and entered the airlock, climbing down into his cockpit and sealing the top hatch, "Ready and waiting for the go ahead." He said into his commlink. He brought the TIE up on power and heated up his engines. "Go." The command from the Dauntless came through his commlink and almost immediately his TIE dropped from the rack, and sent itself hurtling towards Tatooine. "Form up, Squadron." Wolf said his wingman close on his left. "I want Darksword 2 and War Shrike 3 landing at the starport straight away, the rest of you recon and keep me updated until further orders." He said, just as his TIEs shields caught the atmosphere. He landed his TIE gently at the starport, quickly blowing the hatch and clambering out, wielding a rifle. Leaping off his TIE he handed with a crunch and straightened up, waiting for the rest of the forces to arrive. The Imperials wouldn't have to look too far. Kyo is practically waiting for them. However, she doesn't really have a plan about getting their attention, but she knows exactly what she plans to do in care they get a little /too/ demanding for their leader before proper prices are paid. Prices, as well, she has well in her mind exactly what she'll ask for. Something simple and easy. Something even a spacer could understand. Stretching her arms up over her head, Kyo yawns loudly. If they didn't get here soon, she is just going to take off. Probably get more from the Republic anyways... except that would count as helping the Republic. Kyo can't decide which is worse. Her eyes glance around, spotting.... a bunch of people walking in the starport. Grunting to herself, the tailed woman crosses her arms over her chest and sighs. "This is aggravating," she mumbles. "Cricket, we're going to Coruscant," the pilot relates to her homicidal astromech from where she stands, still outside her ship and fixing to scamper aboard, "I bet we'll find what we're looking for there." The heap of evil and metal known as Cricket merely zots an ungodly binary swearword by way of reply, finding it preferable to swear at Johanna rather than be forced to converse with her after she had gotten him kicked by Danik. One day, Bazil was going to pay with his life for having given him to Johanna. Oh yes. He would pay. For now though, the droid is reduced to beeps and whistles of dismay and ire as his interim master rakes a final gaze across her surroundings... and stops short. Why is it that they're always having company at the most inconvenient moments? "Double time, Cricket. It's going to get REAL cozy here fast." Rechecking equipment occupies a few spare moments of time. One hand passes over the blaster, checks the angle of the draw, the setting, the safety engaged, before passing over the spar energy cells tucked into a side pocket. The check moves on to the medpac, its accompanying components, before Dr. Caiton shoulder's shrug, hands moving to check the straps holding the medical backpack in place, secured tightly against the light armor worn. One hand lifts to thump against the helmet worn, settling that more firmly in place as well, before going through a channel check with the other medics to ensure that they're all on the same frequency. While the medics won't be the first on the ground, they won’t leave until everyone else is off. The operation would be short and sweet, or so the plan went. Dropship two has already set down in the outskirts, and speeder bikes zoom out to patrol the regions outside of Mos Eisley. Fortunately, however, very few vehicles seem to be moving, as it's already dark and there's some silly superstition about sand people getting you at night. As if Imperial Storm troopers would have to worry about that. Dropship one is another story, and only now is arriving to an area of the Starport large enough to accommodate it, with its bowels spilling outward in a flood of white the moment it touches down. Immediately, the soldiers shout in a partially controlled chaos, as specific teams move to cordon off the Spaceport area, and others go about trying to control local reaction. While sand people might be something that the Empire has no reason to worry about, local militia or thugs becoming organized is another thing entirely. As well, three camera droids emerge from the shuttle, and film the action, oblivious to the fact that over ninety percent of what they shoot will be edited out. "Damn, even my boys aren't this fast", Bogumil remarks, keeping out of the way for the time being. And for a man used to dealing with Special Forces operators, that's quite a thing to say. Krieg moves out into the starport area, scanning for hostiles. He radios Blitz once more. "Blitz, Ground Hawk. Make one through three active, keep targeting solutions hot and ready, standby for further information." He switches frequencies to radio Wolf. "Lead, this is 2. Standing by, ground hot. Initial area secure, scanning starport for pertinent information. It appears the surprise element has been let out of the bag." He keeps scanning, looking for people that are on the list of 'hostiles.' The heads up display verifies what he sees and coordinates whether or not it is the person they are looking for, relaying data to all ground and command elements. As she weaves through the by-standards Jal'Dana can't help but catch what might be a glimpse of the fallen Jedi, though from the distance and the angle it could just be another woman with a droid moving along in a hurry. Looking over the general populace, Dana would understand why, she would move quickly as well, if not for the mission. But still, she should check it out. Changing her direction, she moves in with the other foot traffic, picking up the pace just a touch as to not arouse many looks at her. As the Imperial Storm troopers move off in groups, and take up assigned positions Jal'Dana makes sure she stays with the crowd. The normal murmur of conversation rises to a loud buzz, many languages and phrases exploding from the mooches of the locals. People with nothing to hide as well as the many with lots to hide have a tension that can be felt. Quite a few people move in the other Direction, though Dana knows it will just lead them to even more Troopers. Sergeant Tanis Cadell runs one last equipment check just prior to the dropship's landing. Everything was satisfactory. With his ST-II blaster rifle in hand and his grenades securely tightened to his utility belt (among spare ammo packs), he was ready to go and save Kreldin. He was a bit confused, though... Captain Jarek was no where in sight, and instead Colonel Bogumil, former commander of the 988th (his former assignment) was apparently leading the overall effort. Well, he knew Bogumil to be a good, sound man, so he had no real problem with it. When the dropship touched down in the starport, Tanis was quick to follow the first few men out of the hatch. With the rest of the storm troopers he quickly dropped to his knees a few meters away, raising his ST-II up so he could gaze down its iron sight. Com chatter rang throughout his helmet, of units notifying they were in the all-clear, had set up position, and was awaiting further orders. "That's because we just landed TIEs in the starport, Lt." Wolf replied to Krieg and smiled. He drew his blaster and readied his equipment. He was just going to follow the Storm Troopers and keep an eye out. He checked around his TIE making sure everything was secure before walking out to meet the rest of the Imperials. "Krieg, come 'ere." Wolf said over his comm. He needed to Co-ordinate his Squadron, just incase hostiles decide to attack from above. The Empire finally makes its appearance in all the over-zealous glory Kyo had grown to know them by. While, she could easily step forward and make herself known, she decides to hang back and watch the circus. After all, she hasn't seen this much Imperial action on Tatooine since Malign came to abduct all the non-humans. "Keep the engines warm," she tells her droid through a comlink. "You might have to make a jump for Republic space after all." Which would be a pity cause then she'd be left to deal with the Empire... but it's better than practically handing Danik over /then/ having to deal with the Empire. She does grin to herself; watching the soldiers frantically look for their leader. Only a matter of time before one confronts her with the same undying arrogance Danik had showed her. To say that retiring Colonel Bogumil is running the operation stretches things a bit, but on paper that's exactly the case. In truth, however, the man is more of an observer as the elements of the 501st conduct the operation with complete efficiency, and pinpoint accuracy. As of yet the soldiers have found nothing, however, but they have begun to interrogate some reluctant civilians as to the Advisor's whereabouts. Needless to say, if the kidnapper doesn't come forward, it may well be some time before the land-based lockdown of Mos Eisley is lifted. And while all ships taking off will be reported to the Imperial warships high above, it stands to reason that some might even escape, provided the TIEs didn't get to them first. Agent Bogumil himself steps down from the shuttle, nothing beyond his suit and concealed weapons for defense. While theoretically in control, his role is to project a positive image for the Empire, and to do this, Danik must be recovered intact. Unfortunately for Bogumil, this expands his duties, meaning that he may well have to conduct negotiations with a Jedi and known terrorist. 'Nasty.' Is all the man has on his mind, beyond how grateful he is for having done his homework and not carried in any flash bangs. A Jedi grabbing one of those would be unfortunate. Still scanning the area he hears Wolf's call to him for a rally. Krieg acknowledges the order, but gets a different one from the troopers on the ground. The one X-Wing that his scans of the starport in conjunction with Blitz. He calls up Blitz once more and says to him, "Blitz, Ground Hawk. Target all vessels that are firing up engines, and this X-Wing here. If any other ships fire up their engines target them." He calls up his lead again, "Lead, 2. I have orders to inspect the X-Wing, suggest rally point there to investigate." He continues his scan and makes his way over to the X-Wing. He's still assured in the fact Blitz has cover for him in everything he does, and will be able to cover any retreats by any craft escaping. Allowing herself to be swept up with the crowd in order to keep her cover has left her just out of the loop. But, at least she'll be able listen more closely to the locals and see if the hushed tones between the shout yield any information. Tanis Cadell, or Catnip, as his brothers in arms jokingly call him, hears the confirmation of their primary target possibly being spotted: an X-wing. That was always a very convincing target. "Alright, the flyboys have spotted a X-wing fighter docked here. That's a juicy target, so stick close to me and keep your weapons at the ready; Jedi have a nasty tendency of popping out when you least expect it," Tanis says to his squad, and with the wave of his hand, starts running off in the direction of the X-wing star fighter, a few storm troopers following behind him. Kreldin would be found, and Tanis was going to be the one to find him. "This is TK-0121, I'm moving in on the target...” - Signaling the medics to take position with the units being deployed, Dr. Caiton gives each medic a final look over before each one steps out onto the misbegotten waste of sand known as Tatooine. Each medic carries his or her own medical backpack, just as their captain does. Dr. Caiton herself moves out with one of the deploying units, stepping down into the heat with a look of disgust. Land lubbers, who ever could understand the reasons they want to live on balls of dirt. She shakes her head and scans the area as well, searching the available motley populace with a look of alert suspicion. Nodding as he received Krieg’s reply, he looked around the starport. Noticing the nose of the X-Wing, he raised his blaster and made his way past the ships towards Krieg's location. He poked his head around each corner of the ships in between, hopefully not getting pounced on by anyone hiding behind there. Finding herself bored by the spectacle, Kyo yawns again. Idly, she watches them head in the opposite direction of her ship towards... whatever ship is that way. "Oh, for crying out loud..." she grumbles before literally crying out loud: "Hey, bucket heads! Are you playing 'super sleuths' or are you actually here on a mission?!" There. That should at least get their attention. And if it doesn't... yeah. She's making a trip to Republic space. Knocking on her bulkhead idly, Kyo shakes her head. Why do Imperials tend to lock on one target and flock to it, anyways? When the Empire floods your homeworld with troopers, it's a good idea to get as far away as is possible, especially if you're guilty of making an ass of Danik Kreldin. That thought firmly in mind, the Jedi hops into the cockpit and hopes the Imperials are blind enough not to notice an X-Wing zipping out of Mos Eisley. Of course, what are the chances of that happening? Maker only knows what kind of Fleet presence they've got floating over Tatooine! Having to blast her way into hyperspace isn't the most appealing of options as far as she's concerned, but she'll have to either contend with being shot at up there, or being shot at down here. She'd rather take her chances in space. A hot wash of mildly radioactive exhaust fills the area as the T-65B prepares to flee the area, Cricket buzzing furiously about more and more Imperials approaching. Fortunately, the Storm troopers continue their queries and efforts at herding people in the Starport into sections, with the data gathered so far being nowhere near processed. While this isn't necessarily good for the Imperials, it does cut down on the number of actions that people are forced to view, and for whatever god might be writing these actions from beyond time and space, it's simply a miracle. Yet still manages to consume a good paragraph in describing! Nonetheless, a squad of Storm troopers does hear Kyokusha's remark, and race over to her, blasters at the ready. As the squad aims a set of blasters in unison towards the woman, what is apparently the lead NCO clicks his chin against his helmet, activating the comlink. "Hands behind your head! Submit for inspection and information-gathering!" While this is terrific, it leaves Bogumil with little idea of where he should go. After a moment, though, he concludes that the X-wing can be left to the military types, and proceeds to make his way toward the events unfolding around Kyokusha. Tanis is on his way to investigate the X-wing with his fellow squad mates, currently oblivious to Kyokusha's announcement of her presence to the Imperials. "Tyrell, Stasio, break off and go around the right side. Jones, let the colonel know we know the proper equipment to keep this ship grounded indefinitely..." Tanis says over his comlink, and the various units click in their confirmation. The X-wing is before him now... and, thanks to the visual enhancement monitors in his helmet, he's able to make out what appears to be a being in the cockpit of the X-wing. "Someone's already in the cockpit! Take every precaution, boys," Tanis says, aiming his ST-II at the X-wing. But before he could demand the pilot to step down, the engines on the X-wing start up and the X-wing begins to take off. "Crap! That X-wing is taking off! Alert the fleet they're gonna have a visitor very soon." Seeing the radioactive wash that comes with a ship powering up and readying itself for takeoff Krieg takes notice and calls up Blitz for the warning procedures. Blitz opens the comm and says, "Unidentified X-Wing craft. You are locked on by several fighters and my craft. I am Lt JG of the Imperial Navy. Stand down your craft and prepare to be boarded or we will fire." Krieg quickly takes a knee and poses to fire on any occupant that is inside and whoever may exit. He calls on the general channel, "All forces, be advised. If that craft takes off we are going to fire. Be clear of all blasts should the craft not stand down." He calls up Blitz and says to him, "Ground Hawk here Blitz... you know what to do if you can't get me in time. Light that vessel like a supernova." Raising a brow, Kyo rolls her eyes and shakes her head. At least it got their attention. "Oh, stuff it," Kyo grunts aggravatingly. "Seriously. Do you think I would've called you bugs over here if wasn't willing to /give/ information? You just keep in mind whose sector you're in. You ain't in Imperial space anymore and I'm not one of your cronies. If any of you are capable of intelligent speech, send them forward and we can handle this without much of a to-do." With this, she continues to idly tap on her bulkhead and waits. Hopefully one of them in the bunch is smart enough to talk before shooting. Johanna knows they aren't lying. Even with Cricket's ridiculous shrieks and wails piping shrilly in the background at a volume loud enough to distract any operation, organic or electronic, her ship lets her know that the Imperial's words are true. She's going to be vaped here and now if she doesn't power down. Well, fine. Then play that way! In an instant the engines of the hapless X-Wing are stopped cold, its pilot climbing out to hop onto the tarmac of the starport. "Unless I'm mistaken, I believe you're in violation of Maker only knows how many traffic regulations. Isn't it illegal to shut down a spaceport simply because you took a fancy to the idea?" For now she looks perfectly normal, like an irritated and clueless civilian would, the sleeves of her ratty old duster bunched up around her elbows. While this is enough to get the Troopers ready to blow Kyo away, the arrival of outgoing Colonel Liuz Bogumil is enough to stall this, as he rushes to command the Troopers to stand down. "Leave her be! She's got a mouth, but maybe she can use that to help us." Coming to a halt just behind the lead NCO of the squad, Bogumil offers a nod to Kyokusha. "We're looking for Danik Kreldin. Any information you have regarding his location will get us out of here that much faster." Perhaps, if appealing to the woman's life wouldn't do the trick, a truthful explanation of Imperial intentions might work a little better. Maybe. Following the squad of troopers that head towards a curiously tailed alien, Dr. Caiton makes her way towards the edge of the group, keeping out of the way but surveying this noisy sample local fauna. One hand rests calmly on her medpac while the troopers surround the female, her own head turning to search for Bogumil, spotting his approach and moving to the side to put herself in a position to hear any conversation exchanged. Offering a nod to the Colonel as she takes up a nearby position, Dr. Caiton surveys the woman curiously. Seeing the engines power down he knows that Blitz has done what he does best. Krieg on the ground monitors the situation, but gives no further updates to his RIO. Still concentrating on the X-Wing, Krieg is making attempts to identify the woman that leaves the ship. He levels his blaster rifle on her, and prepares to fire. He calls out to her, "Stand down and identify yourself. Lie down completely on the ground, hands spread!" He isn't messing around with this, and knows the bomber behind him has her targeted as well. Missile fire could do her in, and in a short notice. He figures the rest of the troops can take care of anything more. Tanis is ready to duck for cover, afraid of what the engine wash could do to him, even in storm trooper armor. But fortunately for all involved, the X-wing pilot sees reason and decides to power her ship down. No rebel pilot is crazy enough to run an Imperial blockade, right? Smiling to himself behind his white helmet, Tanis aims his ST-II up at Johanna, and was ready to read the lady her rights - until the flyboy intervened. Casting a nasty glance over to Krieg (although the pilot certainly couldn't see his expression), he decides to ignore it for now and steps closer to Johanna, to get a good look at her face. She was a cute little one, Tanis muses to himself. Maybe if she wasn't rebel scum he would ask her out. But as it was, she was flying an illegal spacecraft, one that had to be impounded. But there was something about her face... she looks incredibly familiar. He pulls his palm projector out, and flicks it on. On it was the face of their primary target: Johanna. His eyes widened in disbelief as he looks from the holo to the girl standing just before him. Wolf moved into view of the woman, who was now standing beside the craft. He slid alongside the neighboring ship and raised his blaster, aiming for her head. After a few moments, listening to Krieg he clicked. Remembering back to the briefing... "Uh Oh." He said. "Krieg, that’s the Jedi!" Wolf said over his Comm-link. He flicked up his blaster setting bringing it to a dangerous level. "How noble. Yeah. I know Kreldin. Old fogey about yay high?" Of course, her hand goes close to the floor near her ankles. "Of course, where I found him, he was laying on his back beaten to a pulp. Said the Jedi got him." She grins. "But don't worry. It wasn't a Jedi that got him. It was a Dark Jedi. Drastic difference. You see, a Jedi practices pacifism first. They would never abduct another life form and beat them near to death." She pauses and looks towards the one bug that has stepped forward. "But a Dark Jedi? Pfft. Forget about it. You're lucky he's alive. Probably only because they wanted him alive, you know?" Okay, now that she's buttered them up-- "But I know where he is, yup. Left there to die, poor soul! Surely would have perished had it not been for my grace. Of course, I couldn't move him with that broken back. He will definitely need you guys to go get him." A pause. "And I can tell you where he is. End this search short for you and you can high tail it out of my sector." Well, her sector until she decides to leave again. Little does she know that her ex-husband's best friend was just across the starport being accosted by Imperials. "Identify myself?" She offers Krieg a perfunctory smile and seemingly complies with his request; dropping first to one knee and then both once she's closed some of the distance between herself and the troopers. Too late she realizes that nobody in their right mind would chance a grin like that when the Imps are pointing the business end of their rifles at them. Then again, Johanna hasn't been in her right mind in a long, long time. "I'm just a courier. No one of any importance. You can let me go, surely." It's a risky play, but it's worth a shot. The Force stirs and the pilot attempts to make inroads into the minds of those nearest her, Tanis being at the top of her list. "Just a courier," she repeats, "I finished my delivery an hour ago. You can even check my ship." "I'm not interested in the Jedi, thank you. We'll need to come aboard your ship so that you can direct us to Advisor Kreldin directly, and to verify that this isn't some wild goose chase." Presumably it's a reasonable enough demand, especially considering that there are still just about six Storm troopers aiming their weapons at anything they can, along with dozens more nearby. Not even to mention that these men didn't simply manifest here, and likely have the support of a capital ship above. "You'll of course be compensated appropriately for your cooperation, Miss, and all the more so if we hurry." As the woman describes the admiral’s state, Dr. Caiton takes a step closer, closing the space between herself and the colonel, and the suddenly willing informant. Beaten? Broken back? Lucky to be alive? All are phrases that bring a look to the doctor's eyes that are distinctly unfriendly. The expression there for the barest of moments before the look of bland neutrality slips back into place, her head tilting slightly as she waits for the next phase in the bargaining to begin. Still aiming true to target on one knee, Krieg is aiming for the Jedi’s center. It's the best place to hit her. Of course the different reports have come in at this point that she is the Jedi, and so he keeps this in mind. He doesn't know how powerful she is, but from the looks of her she is too pretty to be an evil criminal. But this is the one they were briefed on, was it not? He keeps his aim true. Blitz calls up, "Ground Hawk, Blitz. Lasers are powered up and locked on target. Our forces are moving in on another lead in the starport, monitoring that situation as well." Well, Krieg thinks, at least I have heavy fire support if this goes badly. Hopefully the troopers can take care of the rest of this, but then again, he did have to take some charge of the situation. Seeing her move to the troopers he figures this is not good. And a courier with a TIE fighter blowing up on the nose of an illegal X-Wing? Right... that just doesn't happen. Seeing the Storm troopers do nothing disconcerts the pilot, and calls up Blitz, "Blitz, one round between her and the storm troopers, blaster fire, make sure nobody gets hit." He calls to Johanna, "DO NOT FORCE ME TO FIRE. THIS IS YOUR LAST WARNING. STAND DOWN." There is no more fun and games in his voice, and for the first time he isn't seen as such a nice guy anymore. Even though he respects women, this one he feels is beginning to play them. "It's... it's...” Before Tanis could call out the identity of the female pilot, the Force reaches out to him and delves into his open mind. His defenses were poor; easily overcome by the Jedi Master. Tanis was now at the mercy of the Dark Jedi, and was but a mere puppet now. At least, more so than he was in any given time during his service in the Empire. "Excuse me, flyboy, but this one is just a courier!" Tanis says, rushing up to Krieg. "You're out of your jurisdiction, pilot! Leave this to the professionals," Tanis says, attempting to dislodge the EKX from Krieg's hands. "This is an innocent one and we should let her go." Peering through a gap in the ship at Krieg, He looks back to the Jedi. His blaster still aimed at the back of her head. He was whispering into his Comm to his wingman, making sure from the aerial side of things, all was good. Then as he looked back to Krieg, Tanis grabbed him. Straight away Wolf sighed. "Here we go" He said to himself, standing up and making his way around the ships. His blaster now switching back and forth between the Jedi and the seemed insane Trooper. "Forgive me if I trust your word as much as I would a Jawa with my packed lunch," she comments. "I'm not showing you anything until I see compensation. You want your precious Danik, you're gonna pay me for my efforts or, I assure you, he will be dead before you find him. Tick tock, bug. The longer you try to negotiate, the more he suffers." Keeping her back against her ship, the woman shrugs. "All I ask is fifty thousand credits. That's it. A drop in the bucket for you rich kids. And don't think I'm stupid enough to think you didn't bring half a fleet with you, so I'm not about to run off without giving you my end of the deal. So, don't try to stiff me, kay?" After all, this is how business is done. "If you don't want to make the deal, I will go on my merry way and Danik will die. Simple as that. This is a very big planet and he had been dehydrated and starved for several days before I even found him. Personally, one Imperial means about as much to me as... say... one Rebel. I don't really care. But I did waste my time waiting here for you guys. The least you can do is compensate me now." "On the contrary, you're going to show us where he is, and stop giving me an earful of crap. Make no mistake, Miss, the next rude remark coming from you will be your last. I'm willing to offer you a clean slate on your record in exchange for anything you can do to help us, along with additional compensation if you cut the shit right now." More or less, Bogumil's tone is firm, but he tries his best to not sound outright aggressive and, next to what the storm troopers would do if their invisible leash was suddenly removed, the man basically is. "And while he's at it," Dr Caiton says, her voice low and smooth, "he may or may not be inclined to let you keep your ship, and your life along with it. This for that, a fair exchange. You give us what we want, and we give you what you want. Keep pushing it, and the old man dies anyway, I guarantee that you will follow. But it will be slow, and long in coming. And trust me," she adds, her voice almost purring, "when I say that I can keep you alive for a very, very long time. The wonders of bacta." Before Krieg could continue his monologue further with the Jedi, Tanis jumps at him. He is able to get a hand on the rifle, but no grip as Krieg quickly moves to dodge out of the way of his grasp. Hand to hand wasn't something he excelled in, and was going to avoid it. The only thing he can think of is calling up Blitz with a frantic, "BLITZ, TAKE COMMAND." Shouting to the storm trooper he yells, "TROOPER, STAND DOWN. THAT IS AN ORDER. YOU ARE OUT OF LINE!" Not really knowing why this is happening he can only bring his rifle to bear on the trooper, as he is now the immediate threat (Krieg is an officer, no? - another thought in Krieg's mind). Blitz in the meantime calls up Wolf and says, "Lead, Blitz. Get troopers to contain that man." Over the intercom Blitz calls out, "Woman, stand down. My lasers are targeting you. The last shot was a warning. The next WILL NOT BE." He prepares to fire now, as Krieg is dealing with the trooper. Krieg knows the woman probably has something to do with Tanis, and Blitz is pretty sure something is up at this point as well, as Krieg normally wouldn't be jumped by a storm trooper. Then Blitz watches in awe as she jumps up, making for the troops. In slow motion he pulls the trigger on her position on the ground, firing his siege lasers into the spot where she is jumping, hoping that he may be able to clip her or impede her movement only a little, as there is little else that can be done. "She's just a courier! Just a courier!" Tanis continues to shout. Despite being mind controlled, he still knew Krieg had no real authority over him; he was a fly boy, Tanis was a storm trooper. "YOU'RE out of line, son!" Tanis says, deciding to take drastic measures by whipping Krieg with the butt of his ST-II rifle. "Cease and desist!" The ire that had been building up after the impact of the shot from above with the tarmac of the spaceport below dissipates as quickly as the vaporized atoms of the little crater a scant meter and a half in front of Johanna. She regards the developments between Tanis and Krieg with increasing amusement. Excellent! Her goal of throwing them into disarray is slowly being realized. As Tanis makes his dive for Krieg, the dark Jedi springs to her feet and propels herself forward, hoping to clear the area before the bombers decide to call it a night by slagging the entire docking bay into oblivion. That just wouldn't do. Her weapon blazes to life, negating any illusions she might have wished to spin in the near future. "Good," she mutters, "I like a fair fight." It seems she vacated her previous position not a moment too soon. Blitz's shot goes sizzling into the ground where she stood not two seconds prior... lucky for her she's far enough off to not be turned into molecular goo. "I'll cut the shit when you give me reason to. Hear me, I couldn't care less about what files you have on me. I really don't. Just give me the credits and I will get you Danik. How freaking hard is that? Do you really care more about waving your guns around than you do about your commander's life?" Now, the amusement has left Kyo's voice and she snaps right back to Bog. "Don't tell me out of the entire bunch of you, /I'm/ the only one that gives a pile of fodder if he lives or dies! Stop standing there with your thumbs up your asses! A man is dying and you're /still/ maintaining your Imperial arrogance! Just drop it! Pay me and you'll be on your way! This isn't a pissing contest!" By now, she's not even paying attention to any other voices chiming more Imperial bullcrap. It must be said; Johanna enjoys the way she can cut a swath of destruction through a place. Perhaps she's gone too long without a real battle, or maybe she's just perverse... either way, the retired General takes a demented pleasure in the ruckus that has befallen Mos Eisley. Now clear of the docking bay (leaving poor Cricket and the _Shady Lady_ to fend for themselves), she intends to make for the outskirts, where she knows Bazil's old speeder lies hidden to spirit her off to regions unknown. "Bet you weren't counting on THAT when I made mincemeat of your precious Danik," the Jedi snarls as she relieves a trooper of the undue burden of having a right arm, "Or THAT." Oh, the proverbial shit has really hit the fan now! "Sergeant, she's all yours. Get Danik's location at any cost", Bogumil replies, turning to leave Lynae and the Storm troopers to their business. A diplomatic approach can only work so much, given the reluctance of people to trust in the Empire's ability to keep its word. And after all, if it did always work, much of Imperial Intelligence and COMPNOR would be without a job. Just what will happen, however, is no longer his concern, as there are still quite a few other, even less successful situations to be managed elsewhere in the Spaceport. Rather in shock at what the trooper was doing, Krieg is down a little below the trooper when he brings the butt of his rifle down on his combat helmet. The impact does little to deter Krieg, except that now he is really mad this trooper has gone out of his mind. Blitz, in the meantime, sees his shots miss just as the woman jumps up and away. Her jump to activate some light against the troops puts him out of options as fare as firing solutions. He keeps the craft hot, and awaits a moment he can fire, calling in help from other sane troopers for his comrade, Krieg. "This is Blitz on Darksword 2. Ground Hawk being attacked by insane trooper, assistance required." He keeps all the action on recorded tape as he knows this is going to cause a stir when they get back to ship. As far as Krieg is concerned, blood is on his mind. This woman has manipulative powers, and this trooper seems to be dumb enough to have fallen for her beauty or whatever it was. His rifle swings around automatically and he looks at the trooper in slow motion at point blank range. He pulls the trigger, feeling rather surreal about the whole situation. He thinks to himself, why am I doing this, and what caused it? This is not right at all, really not right. It upsets him so much that a pit in his stomach forms, and perhaps if he sees that Jedi woman again that feeling may never leave him. Tanis wasn't even under Johanna's spell anymore. All he knew was that Krieg was attacking him, and for now he was the enemy. The blaster shot rings out from the EKX, and thanks to Tanis's training in close quarters combat, and Krieg's apparent lack thereof, Tanis is able to avoid being hit square in the chest. His infantry reflexes kick in, and the storm trooper is quick to respond with a whiff of laser blast, the Tibanna gas in the power pack reacting with whatever other chemicals and other technological gizmos made up the ST-II. "We have a traitorous TIE Pilot, retreat, traitorous TIE pilot." As the diplomatic part of the session seems to be over, Kyo grunts. "You /would/ do that, wouldn't you?" Grabbing her comlink, Kyo figures she has only a few seconds before the Imperials surrounding her open fire, so she turns it on quick and screams: "M-PU! Fire the engines and take off! Jump to Coruscant and send word to the Republic!" With the ship starting to activate, Kyo narrows her eyes and sticks close to it. Maybe the Imperials would try to get away from thrusters if they suddenly activate and burn them to crisps. She darts through the area, hunting for a ship to take off Tatooine. Of course, knowing the Imperials, they likely had an Interdictor Cruiser up there just to make her life sad and miserable and FILLED WITH ANGER. It also seems that whenever she nears another ship it chooses just that moment to throw the engines to full and leave her in the dust. As she lets more and more rage fill her, her thoughts seem to slow and be lost in a haze. Over there!! That ship is about to take off! If she hurries, perhaps she can forcibly board and secure herself a transport. The crew might not be too happy about it, but they can be dealt with one way or another. Johanna makes a run for it and charges straight for the _Talisman_. Maybe, but it seems that isn't the case, as the Imperials simply begin to shoot. Nearby, however, one of the other Storm troopers has given up on his queries and activates his comlink. While not Jarek, he is still an officer, after all. "Malevolence, this is Signal Tango Oh-Eight-Three", the man begins, as the Storm troopers around Kyo make their attempts at apprehending the woman. "Situation is hostile. Request immediate air support and activation of the gravity wells." Bogumil, however, takes the hint and breaks into a run towards his shuttle. It's the job of Officers to command, and NCOs to lead; neither of which Liuz Bogumil can claim to be any longer. Even though at point blank range, for some reason he could not hit the trooper. Damn their training! Why of all the days does this have to happen to him? They come out to get an Admiral and in the end he's fighting off a trooper all by himself. Where the hell were the rest of the troops? Did they magically disappear? For all accounts, Krieg is a pilot! These are the last thoughts that flood his consciousness as he blacks out and falls to the ground from the mortal wound inflicted by the trooper. Of course there is a light, but it's not that close, and for the next 40 minutes he seems to have a chance at survival. Blitz is frantic and calls out for support over the radio, but is called off to pursue the Jedi as she leaves the starport. Closing the hatch as Krieg is not going to return, Blitz takes control and lifts off and tracks the woman from a higher perspective. He also sees the other ship power up for a takeoff, and begins lock and tracking of that one as well. It looks as if his objectives are lining up, as the woman is sprinting for the ship that is powering up for takeoff. Tanis smiles behind his white helmet, proud in his victory over the cocky pilot. "That'll teach him..." Tanis says, but before he could say anymore, he is struck down by stun blasts from Tyrell and Stasio, who had been distracted by the Jedi but were now able to concentrate on Krieg and Tanis. For all they knew their sergeant did indeed go insane, but Krieg was the one who fired the first shot; nevertheless, both men were deemed too risky to remain conscious, and Tanis falls to a heap on the ground next to Krieg. More storm troopers are still busy battling against the Jedi Master as she slices her way through, limbs falling to the starport as she carves her way towards the Talisman. Air support, however, is on the way, although it is likely to be of no use against the Jedi per se, but are being called in for the Talisman, which is prepping its engines for take off. And as for the Talisman, the storm troopers who had accompanied Bogumil in the "diplomatic" negotiations with Kyokusha were given their orders. She was making off with their objective: Danik. And they could not allow that. Stun blasts shoot out, aimed at the near human as the Jedi approaches ever quickly. With a fist, Kyo slams it against the bulkhead. "M-PU! Drop the ramp!" Her eyes snap back towards the troops for what seems to be like a pause in time. The sort where everything seems to slow down and the one thing that could save her is taking it's sweet time opening. "M-PU!" Another hit against the bulkhead, but this time it is caused by Kyo's body slamming into it. Blue bolts strike her all over; instantly paralyzing her as well as knocking her unconscious. However, as she falls, the ramp seems to finally lower down. And it's... Kyokusha?! Johanna doesn't have time to gawk at the tailed woman however; instead she grabs her by the scruff and half hauls, half throws her up the ramp and into the _Talisman_, whirling back around to defend against any more blaster bolts that might decide to come her way. The ramp seems to take a painfully long time to close. Great, before they know it there will be a horde of storm troopers trying to batter their way in! It doesn't take long to get to the cockpit of the freighter and before Kyokusha's unconscious form has stopped thudding against the crate lashed down towards the aft of the vessel, Johanna has gotten the craft clear of Mos Eisley and is making a darn spirited run for it. Little does she know that Danik Kreldin is the lumpy thing on top of that pile of waste bags! Some hospitality Kyo had shown HIM... Unconscious and rather helpless to what is going on; Kyo is drug onto her ship by a raging Dark Jedi. Up in the cockpit, her MSE droid is beginning the last sequences of takeoff and readying the jump for Coruscant. Thrown to the side by the hasty Johanna, Kyo hits the bulkhead with a thud that will definitely smart in the morning. Meanwhile, Danik lay in the other room on her bed. Who knows if that guy's awake or not! Surely they will escape to the safety of space! SURELY. It's what Johanna tells herself as she takes the con and zips over the dunes, trying to remain calm about the fact that she's flying a crate that's coming apart at the seams. MAKER, what has Kyokusha DONE to this thing? Rammed it into a much bigger ship like fifty times and then come back for more punishment the next day? Not only is the hull integrity likely compromised, making an entry into the vacuum of space an unwise decision, there's some kind of bizarre stench coming from the vicinity of Kyo's droid. Has it purposely fried some kind of critical system? Does it hate all of them and want them to die, like Cricket does? Who knows. Anyway, it's not helping to make Johanna's day any better as the Talisman sputters and jerks its way through the place. If they crash, she's blaming the tailed woman for all of it. Running to his TIE after the run-down ship had lifted from the ground, Wolf quickly clambered back up his TIE Interceptor, practically falling into his cockpit. As he landed in his shock chair, he slugged his helmet on and sealed it, bringing the hatch to a close he made sure the TIE was ready for flight. He had left the engines running standby just in case, as the enemy ship flew out of the starport, Wolf sent his TIE straight after her and with the speed of the TIE it would not be hard to catch up. Although he is by no means a coward, Bogumil is not the dumbest man to ever grace the galaxy with his presence, and wishes to continue to do so for some time. At his age, there's just so much left for him to do in the world without throwing his life away in an ineffectual defense against a Jedi. And so the man returns to the shuttle that he arrived in, as the storm troopers continue to bravely attempt the impossible, as they pelt the Talisman with small arms fire. Without heavy weaponry, however, it's unlikely to be of much impact. Still on the ground and unconscious from the moral wound inflicted by Tanis, Krieg is seeing all sorts of things that come at the end of life. There are memories, visions, blood, and a new found disliking for this Jedi woman named Johanna. He still cannot move, and probably has about 35 minutes before his life is over with. On the other hand, Blitz has taken off in the bomber and has the freighter already locked up. He radios up Wolf, "Lead, this is 2 Bravo. I have a targeting solution, sending you data now. Requesting orders." Hopefully Krieg will make it, Blitz thinks. The storm troopers are left to fire their blasters up at the fleeing Talisman, their ST-Is and IIs not really making much of an effect. They did not have time to set up any heavier weapons, or get the anti-aircraft missiles deployed, so it was now out of the storm trooper’s hands and in the hands of the Imperial pilots and the fleet up above. The storm troopers can only look on as the freighter accelerates upwards towards space, a few TIE Interceptors that had been flying cover nearby following suit, and were followed after by the fighters that had landed before. On the bridge of the Malevolence, the word came in to start up the gravity wells. Reports were that a freighter, a Sskale, was taking off with the Jedi target on board, and they were to intercept it at all costs. Orders were sent, and the four gravity well generators on the Oppressor went active as several TIE squadrons began preparing for take off. Lost in the shuffle of goings on for a while, Dr. Caiton waited long enough for the storm trooper to be stunned into insensibility before she takes off at a hard jog for Krieg's position. Even as she moves, her hands are freeing her medical equipment, taking the biomedical scanner out of it's pocket and readying it for instant use. She arrives, barely winded, and slides to a knee beside the pilot, operating the scanning field with the press of a button, even though she can see the wound clearly. She pulls her own blast helmet off as she rests one hand on Krieg's shoulder, "Didn't I tell you there are rules against friendly fire?" she says softly, shaking her head as she examines the wound with swift - but thorough - efficiency. Oh, good grief. "We've got company," Johanna mutters, wishing that Kyokusha were conscious and able to fully appreciate the gravity of the situation as four TIEs register with the ship. One direct hit and they're going to be done for. Somehow, the prospect of dying while being the only person aware of the danger isn't the most appealing thing in the world to her. "DID YOU HEAR THAT?!" the Jedi hollers over her shoulder, "WE'VE GOT COMPANY!" Not that Kyokusha is going to care, what with the being in la-la land and all, but still. "Just what I always wanted, crashing and burning on my own turf." From somewhere there is the sound of alloy protesting the forces it's being subjected to. Oh great. Now the ship's falling apart. Yeah, space really isn't an option anymore. Better take the Talisman back to five hundred meters! "I really wish you were awake to see this," the woman adds, "And understand why it's SO DAMN IMPORTANT TO PERFORM ROUTINE MAINTENANCE ON YOUR SHIP." As Wolf's fighter catches up to the freighter, the rest of his squadron forms up, "Darksword 2, Form up." Wolf called over his comm. By then, the TIEs were in an arrow-shaped formation. He didn’t want missiles fired at the ship, he wanted to catch this woman, not blow her apart. But if it came to it, he would not hesitate to give the order. The now 8 Strong squadron was trailing the freighter, following it closely. "Now, I want you guys to open up on her engines, we want to disable this woman. Darksword 2, be ready to fire a few missiles." Wolf said over the comm again, He squeezed the trigger off when the targeting reticule was over her engine ports, giving the 'OK' to the rest of the squadron to fire… With the expertise of Lynae, Krieg comes to, but is still unable to do anything great. The pain he feels makes it a bad day for him indeed, but at least he's alive. He groans, and looks up to see a minor space battle rage above him. Otherwise he awaits orders from the doc, who's care he is in now. Blitz on the other hand, stands by and receives orders to fire missiles, targeting the aft end of the freighter and its engines. He sees the squadron fire, but holds back, to use the missiles as a last resort option in taking the freighter to the ground, as each can do an enormous amount of damage. Instead of actually hitting the freighter, Blitz quickly reprograms the missiles to detonate 10 meters aft of the ship, in effect crippling the engines with the blast instead of a direct impact. With that in mind he loads the program and fires off a salvo, and hopefully his last for this engagement. Speaking into her comlink, Dr. Caiton calls for assistance, drawing a medic away from one of the ST units to work as her assistant. She begins removing Krieg's armor, the damage done to it extensive to the point that she takes out a vibroblade and saws away the sections surrounding the wound and peels away the remains of the armor and tosses them aside. The wound is extensive enough that for a moment she hesitates, letting her mind review the safety rating of the armor vs. the force of the direct blast before she flips open her med-kit and sets to work. Working as fast as she can, she begins to remove the larger chunks of debris in the wound, the fragments of armor, and the bits of cloth from what remains of his clothing. Working as fast as she can, she drops the bits and pieces to the side in a bloody, sodden pile. When the medic she called for reaches her side, he drops into position as well, beginning to work at the same frantic pace. "Biofoam," Lynae says tersely. To which he responds, "Too much foreign matter still." She nods, "I know. Going to have to risk it in a moment though." "Oh, my God! Johanna! What are you doing to my ship?! Just fly into space, you crack head! Get into hyperspace! No! No! We're going down!" At least, that is what Kyo /would/ be saying if she wasn't unconsciously being tossed about like a rag doll in her cargo bay. Johanna begins to wonder how Kyokusha even got this ship to Tatooine. It must have been through the divine intervention of the Maker himself, because quite suddenly the Talisman seems to take on a mind of its own. The controls become sluggish and even lock up entirely for a few seconds before returning to their largely unresponsive state. Great! She's a big fat target now and not able to do anything about it. "WHAT IN ALL HELLS IS WRONG WITH YOUR BLOODY RIDE?!" the Jedi demands, smashing an irate fist into the panel housing the controls for deploying the landing struts, "YOU SHOULD HAVE HAD THIS THING IMPOUNDED BY CUSTOMS FOR BEING A CRAPPY SHIP." As the first missile detonates near the ship and the laser fire from the other 8 TIEs vaporizes first the nacelle and then engine number two entirely, she realizes they really are going to go down here in the dunes. They'll be lucky to survive this. "Hold Fire Shrikes! Shrike one to all ground forces!" Wolf called out on his comm, "By the looks of it, we have just caused the ship to down itself, Transmitting co-ordinates of the crash momentarily." He said, flicking a few switches under his scanner panel. "Break off pursuit, Shrikes, go back to the starport. Darksword stay with me, you may need to fly cover." He said, following the now smoking freighter downwards towards the dunes. Seeing the freighter go down Blitz smiles to himself, knowing full well this is turning into a ground operation again and there is no place for them to run. He locks down on the ground target, setting the bomber into hover mode, several hundred meters in the air. He gets the comm transmission and calls back, "Lead, 2 Bravo. Understood, holding position 200meters off the deck." He does nothing else but awaits that of the ground pounders to hopefully finish up quick. Krieg on the other hand is still coming to, but staying still letting the good doctor do her work. Retrieving the can of biofoam from her medkit, Lynae exhales softly, steadying herself with one hand on the ground, not even noticing the blood that's coating her hands, caking under her nails and splattering the front of her combat gear. She scans the wound again, and then makes the hard call. She aims the can of biofoam and fires a shot of it into the chest wound that is currently bubbling with blood and other raw looking meat. Meat, that is, human blood and flesh, tendons and muscle, so fragile. The biofoam escapes the can with a hiss of sound, the stream of the foam directed into the wound and beginning to expand upon contact. Sealing the wound after a few moments, the compound designed to dull the immediate pain and sensations, laced with compounds to fight infection. Such a remarkable find. So many challenges still at hand. As the Talisman begins its largely uncontrolled descent, its pilot spares a horrible curse for the Imperials who have shot her down. The dunes loom larger on the horizon, the graceful forms arranged anew by the wind every day a spectacular sight even in a situation such as this. "Figures," Johanna sighs, white-knuckled grip relenting to accept that the ship is going down however it wants to and that she can do nothing but hang on and hope that she and her unconscious passengers are not killed. Two hundred meters... one fifty... one hundred... Ere long there is the horrible grating sound of the ship being ripped apart as it skims and then bounces across the landscape, hot chunks of alloy scraping and flying off behind the wreck of the Talisman before it comes to rest, skewed at an odd angle and smoking copiously. Have the occupants survived? Kyo is somewhere in the cargo bay lying haphazardly on the floor. While the stun may be wearing off, the concussion on her head isn't going to have her moving anytime soon. Regardless of whether or not the occupants have survived, there's a job to be done, and Sergeant Thabo Mbeki is first to respond, with a trio of other scout troopers trailing behind him on their speeder bikes. While they'll be unable to do much in the way of ensuring the survival of the occupants of the crashed starship, at the very least, maybe, they'll be able to try. Somehow, amid all the radio clutter, the fact that a Jedi is aboard hasn't even reached the group, which is reflected in just how few people are as of yet allocated to the task. From SW1ki, a Wikia wiki.
- Retired Army Colonel Liuz Bogumil, for one, didn't believe a single bit of the news. And while he'll soon be needed in his new job, he's taken the time to attend the meeting on the Berth Deck, still more or less being an 'outgoing' Colonel and for the moment not restricted in his movements. As far as he is concerned, however, Danik is being held against his will and tortured in ways beyond anything he'd ever conceived possible. Arriving at the designated area, he silently awaits what is to come, waiting for the opportunity to volunteer himself for harm's way if the opportunity presents itself. As usual, Seifer Wolf positioned himself at the back, keeping himself out of the way of the massing crew. He didn’t know what to think about the whole Danik thing. But he didn’t want to think he had defected. Either way he was here to find out what was going on. Stepping out of his quarters after review of another holo vid of the recording of the good Admiral, Krieg walks out in his full spacesuit uniform, preparing some mental notes to himself on what all will be required of them. He knows there is probably a rescue to be mounted, and this is what probably has roused him from his quarters for the meeting. Nodding to a few of his fellow pilots as he walks out he attentively comes to where the meeting is held. As the crew proceeds into the berth deck and settles in, a new arrival proceeds in, wearing a red Imperial officer's uniform, complete with the cap. He was man from Imperial Intelligence, possibly the Bureau or perhaps the Ubiqtorate itself. He is an older man, clearly in his sixties, and from the look on his face, he's clearly in no mood. "Settle down everyone. I am Colonel Dimitri Salz. I'm sure you're all aware of the rumors, but I'm here to quickly dispel them all and get the facts straight," he says, moving to the center of the room. Behind him a holoprojector was set up, and with a nod of his head, the lights went out in the room. The holoprojector turned on and an image of Danik Kreldin and Johanna flickered on. "This is the last recording we have of Advisor Kreldin. He was on Corellia, returning to his estate, when he was intercepted by this women, who has been identified as Johanna Siri te Danaan... some of you might have seen her moving around the Dauntless a few times in the past. She is a Jedi, but not of the usual sort, from what we've gathered..." he says, pacing around the room a bit to allow the first few facts sink in for those assembled. Seating himself if chairs are available, Bogumil silently listens to the information and makes notes as though his involvement in this is a given. This wasn't just anyone that is being discussed, after all, as it was Danik Kreldin who had been taken captive. Nightmare of Athaniss, and hero to the New Order, if you don't have a deep respect for a man such as him, you're hardly a person in Liuz Bogumil's eyes. 'Jedi... no flash bangs', he silently notes, going back on information that he'd seen during his Special Operations days. Folding his arms and leaning against the wall, Wolf was in silent thought. 'Captured... That’s not good.' He shook his head, noticing Krieg enter the room. 'Well, whatever it is, I’m in.' He focused on what the man was saying, taking everything in and making notes in his head. 'Wonder if we'll need the Korriban...’ Taking his seat with the rest of the pilots, Krieg listens to the information being given. He pulls out his kneeboard and starts taking notes, making sure to copy any relevant flight information. There are a few murmurs around here and there, but he keeps quiet, making sure to get all the information down correctly. Though the Admiral is gone and they are mounting a rescue, it does not change the way he does business. "Shortly after Kreldin delivered his announcement, he made contact with the Imperial fleet and alerted us to his location: Tatooine. After that, though, we lost communications with the Advisor, and have yet to receive any further transmissions," Dimitri says, the holoprojector shifting to an image of Tatooine, and began showing various points in Mos Eisley. "It has been confirmed by Warlord Korolov that Kreldin was under a Jedi... spell... which is why he said what he did. So it seems likely he has not betrayed the Empire, and thus we are going to launch an attempt to rescue him. Tatooine is independent, but has no local police other than the Hutts. We're unsure if Johanna has any accomplices in this kidnapping, but we do know many criminal organizations operate on Tatooine, including Karrde's Organization and Aegis. So we're not taking any chances; I'm sure you all understand the seriousness of the matter. Advisor Kreldin must be reclaimed. We fear Johanna plans to hand him over to the so-called New Republic, which could set put a wrench in the military's upcoming plans." Dimitri stops pacing, and the holoprojector shows an image of the Malevolence, the Dauntless, the Nemesis and the Oppressor. "We are building a task force around the HIMS Malevolence. The Dauntless will back her up. We do not expect to meet any resistance in space, so we're going to immediately deploy our ground forces onto the planet, at Mos Eisley, Mos Espa, and Anchorhead..." Bogumil desperately wishes to stand and pledge himself to the effort, but hearing nothing in the way of a query for questions, comments, or a remark of dismissal, he infers that the briefing may well not be over. So the ex-Colonel goes back to his mental notes, with the smug satisfaction of having been right for not doubting Danik's loyalty in the slightest. 'Ah, so the fleet is going...’ Wolf thought. 'Heh, I guess I should get the squadron ready.' He thought. He stood up from the wall and looked over the pictures on the holoboard. Frowning, he stared blankly. 'Johanna?' "We're going in hard, and we're going in fast. The 501st Storm trooper Legion will be leading the way, with the 6th Army Division bringing up the rear and mopping up whatever the 501 leaves alive. The Dauntless's complement will focus on Mos Eisley, that's where we believe Kreldin is being held. We will show no mercy, and no quarter will be given to those who resist. We will do house-to-house searches, and we will need to question as many civilians as possible. Remember Johanna's face well. She is our prime target," he says, as the holoprojector shows a close-up of Johanna. "She is a Jedi. Extremely dangerous. DO NOT engage her unless you have sufficient backup, and by sufficient I mean at least an entire platoon of troops. Dimitri finally finishes his portion of the briefing, and the holoprojector turns down, with the lights turning back on. "I will take this time to accept any questions any of you may have," Dimitri says, looking around the room at the crew assembled. Seeing his opportunity, Bogumil jumps to his feet and offers as crisp a salute as a man with years of service in the officer corps can manage. In civilian attire, however, the sheer perfection of this is somewhat lessened however, the uniform somehow being a crucial part of the display. "Sir! My name is Liuz Bogumil, retiring Colonel in the Imperial Ground Forces. I wish to volunteer myself to assist in the recovery of our beloved Advisor Kreldin." Silently, Bogumil wonders if even the ISB could find a problem in those words. Beyond the fact that he isn't dead, and has clearly given up on further service to the Army, that is. Leaning forward slightly as he spoke Wolf asked, "Will the ground forces need aerial assistance? Or would you prefer everyone on the ground?" he hoped he could use this as a decent training mission for the Scimitars. "If so, my squadron is ready for anything." Dimitri glances over at the over-enthusiastic retired colonel, and nods his head at the man. "Accepted, Colonel Bogumil. The Empire is pleased to have you along for the operation," he says, folding his hands behind his back. "Due to your record, I'm sure the 501 won't mind having you with them," he says, offering the colonel a grin. He then looks over to Wolf, and rubs his chin. "Well, we doubt to meet any resistance in space, or in the air. If the engagement extends into the desert, we'll definitely need air support for recon purposes. Other than that, I doubt we'll actually need any close air support... this is Tatooine, after all. Instead, you can back up the 501 or the 6th ID on the ground, I have no objections... Anything else?" Sitting tight up until this point, Krieg awaits his turn to ask a question. He raises his hand and says when motioned to, "Excuse me, sir." He rises and comes to attention. "Lt Inrokana, War Shrike squadron. Sir, you mentioned the need for air cover should it arise. Are to we be in standby orbiting the area, or backing up the ground forces by landing our fighters on the ground should they be needed in the near future?" He keeps professional, wondering about an aspect of the mission where the pilots can get airborne fast should they be needed instead of merely being on the ground without their equipment. "You're permitted to land your fighters on the ground and take off with them. Like I said, we seriously doubt we'll need air cover, though there is the possibility that Johanna might take Danik into the dune sea, or maybe even try to escape in a starship. That's where you guys will come in. Other than that, you're free to land and help out the troops in the search & rescue," Dimitri responds, nodding to Krieg. Returning to his notes and planning for his own role in the operation, Bogumil returns to his seat, letting the flyboys have their opportunity to find out what's going on. For retiring Colonel Bogumil, however, all that needs to be known has already been revealed. Danik is being held captive, and once a proper plan is organized for his retrieval, he'll be returned to the fold. 'No frags, either.' Krieg takes a few moments on what he needs to do in the mission, in that the bomber is going out for another spin. Blitz is not far away and is making similar notes. He's going to have to equip for this one quite differently, and bust out his combat gear. He knows there will be a uniform switch, and all patches are to go off for this mission. Beyond that he simply has to prepare for bombing the planet to shooting different targets. As Bogumil continues to prepare his notes, elsewhere the Storm troopers are preparing for action as well, along with the flight crews for the shuttles to be utilized in ferrying men down to the surface. It's quite a lot of preparation for a single man, but this isn't just anyone, it's Danik Kreldin. As one Trooper is preparing his weaponry, a member of the ever-smaller group of Storm trooper NCOs approaches him, his grin completely obscured by the helmet worn over his head. "How're you feeling, Jimmy?” he asks, prompting the Trooper to raise his own helmeted head in reply. "Like a mean motherfucker, sir!" Sitting outside of her ship, Kyo is leaned up against her ship and idly watching ships come and go. Danik had absolutely nothing on him. Johanna must have had a field day. That or someone had already looted the Imperial officer. The important thing is that he had nothing of use to her and sadly, that means he is better off dead. After all, he has caused her a lot of grief in the past and would surely throw her to the predators were the roles reversed. Still, she holds some faith that his Imperial friends would provide something useful for his relatively safe return. And... If not... she has her auto-pilot set for Republic territory and her droid on board ready to go. For now, she continues to wait for signs of Imperials. They're never hard to miss on this planet and surely they have no idea where their exalted leader lay now. From the moment she pulled off her stunt the other day, Johanna has been terribly pleased with herself. All that remains now on her list is to find Leia Organa-Solo and do the same thing to her, only with a few minor adjustments regarding which government to denounce. She'll need a new placard. Nothing like some good old-fashioned revenge to get her going in the morning! She wanders through the spaceport uncharacteristically withdrawn, the feeling of accomplishment dulling her usually keen senses. The humiliation of Danik replays itself in an endless loop in her mind. Now she stops to zoom in on his battered features, now she fast-forwards to the part where he apologizes for the crimes he's committed... ah, and now she pauses right before the humiliation is complete. Her lips fix themselves into a smirk of monumental satisfaction. Huzzah, there's her ship, with Cricket already waiting. The Imperial task force had arrived over Tatooine about thirty minutes ago. Spearheaded by the Malevolence, the relatively small task force was still adequate to search the few cities on Tatooine for Danik Kreldin. Leading the ground campaign was the 501st Legion - 'Vader's Fist' as it was appropriately known, with support and rear guard assistance from the 6th Army Division. Even with such notable units on the hunt for Kreldin, it was going to be no easy task to find this Johanna, who presumably still had Kreldin locked up in her "prison" or where ever it is she played out her sick fantasies. At least that's what the Imperials were told; that Johanna was a mentally unstable psycho, a mother and a Jedi, to boot. A very nasty combination. The starport would first have to be sealed off before any house-to-house searches could be conducted. Other units would branch off and begin questioning locals, particularly at the cantinas, hot spots for information. All in all, the Imperials were ready to find their commander. Tanis Cadell is enthusiastic. Not only was this his first mission as a storm trooper in the 501, but a very important mission: the search and rescue of Danik Kreldin, and there was an insane Jedi involved, too. The 501st has a reputation for being the best Jedi-killers in the galaxy: it was they who stormed the Jedi Temple during the Clone Wars, they who were assigned to Darth Vader personally to hunt down the rebels. Tanis could not feel more proud. He's standing near the front of one of the many dropships currently descending through the atmosphere, as he was a sergeant and was pretty well experienced. He was on the Crusader mission! But this particular mission was more exciting to him, for some reason. Probably because there was a Jedi involved. He smiles behind his white helmet, and awaits the order to deploy. In charge of the medics assigned to this particular operation, Dr. Caiton speaks in a quiet voice to the medical personnel handpicked for this assignment. The orders given are precise, clear cut, expressing the role they will play in this engagement. To assist, not hinder, and to retrieve the missing Admiral at all costs. The look in Dr. Caiton's eyes is bleak and the expression grim, it's easy to see that the doctor is just as focused as any one of the troopers awaiting deployment. Stepping out of his bomber in full combat gear, Krieg is ready to rock. His last instructions to his RIO is to hold position, keep the engines hot, and if they are needed to spool up and pick him (Krieg) up from whatever situation he currently is wrapped up in. Checking the loading of his weapons and making sure they are ready to go Krieg gives his RIO a thumb up and contacts the team he is with over the commlink. "Donner team, Hawk here. Ready for search." He readies his rifle, bringing it up to bear at chest level with the barrel pointed towards the ground for the moment. Liuz Bogumil had been in the Imperial Army for a long time, and sent on countless missions, and planned still more. Yet none of that can prepare him for the daunting task of accompanying an Imperial strike force on a raid aimed at Mos Eisley. For no longer is he a member of the spearhead, no longer a flexible wing of the mailed fist that is the Imperial Military. No, he carries a hold-out blaster tucked into his jacket, and then another on the opposing side, but nothing worth fielding against a Jedi. Agent Bogumil's role is simply to observe the situation, and control a set of camera droids sitting idle elsewhere in his dropship. Somehow, the man must turn Danik's weakness into the Empire's triumph. More fortunate are the men of the 501st, however, who are sitting at the ready in their shuttles, even now streaking towards Mos Eisley and other cities across the planet. Two in particular are tasked for Mos Eisley; one filled with scout troopers that will deploy on the outskirts of the city and set up an impromptu blockade of land travel, and the other moving towards the Spaceport itself. Well over a hundred men are inside, including Bogumil, Tanis, Lynae, and Emperor only knows who else. As a rule, the weapons on the storm troopers are kept on stun for the time being, but more than a little have a degree of malice in their eyes and their hearts. The Empire had been humiliated, and it's their job to set things right. Looking much like any of the other pedestrian traffic on Tatooine; the smugglers, farm hands or locals, Jal'Dana just blends in and tries to pick up wisps of conversation. Finding Danik Kreldin was the sole focus of her being on this forsaken pit stop on the grid, and while the 501st would be doing the standard military search, Jal'Dana was one of the few intermixed with the locals to try a non-traditional approach. She herself had flown against this Jedi, and it was not a memory she was fond of. Out gunned, Johanna had out flown most of the TIE squadrons, and managed to score numerous hits on the station the Imperials were defending, before hyper spacing away. If it was true, and a person that good had grown this unstable, it would be a wonder to find Danik alive. Jal'Dana keeps her Stun rifle with in easy draw, but then again everyone on this planet does. The Rack on the Dauntless was as busy as ever. Wolf approached the airlock to his TIE. He had ordered the rest of the squadron to take Bombers except for his wingman. They needed something at least a little faster to keep up with any escaping ships. He placed his helmet on and entered the airlock, climbing down into his cockpit and sealing the top hatch, "Ready and waiting for the go ahead." He said into his commlink. He brought the TIE up on power and heated up his engines. "Go." The command from the Dauntless came through his commlink and almost immediately his TIE dropped from the rack, and sent itself hurtling towards Tatooine. "Form up, Squadron." Wolf said his wingman close on his left. "I want Darksword 2 and War Shrike 3 landing at the starport straight away, the rest of you recon and keep me updated until further orders." He said, just as his TIEs shields caught the atmosphere. He landed his TIE gently at the starport, quickly blowing the hatch and clambering out, wielding a rifle. Leaping off his TIE he handed with a crunch and straightened up, waiting for the rest of the forces to arrive. The Imperials wouldn't have to look too far. Kyo is practically waiting for them. However, she doesn't really have a plan about getting their attention, but she knows exactly what she plans to do in care they get a little /too/ demanding for their leader before proper prices are paid. Prices, as well, she has well in her mind exactly what she'll ask for. Something simple and easy. Something even a spacer could understand. Stretching her arms up over her head, Kyo yawns loudly. If they didn't get here soon, she is just going to take off. Probably get more from the Republic anyways... except that would count as helping the Republic. Kyo can't decide which is worse. Her eyes glance around, spotting.... a bunch of people walking in the starport. Grunting to herself, the tailed woman crosses her arms over her chest and sighs. "This is aggravating," she mumbles. "Cricket, we're going to Coruscant," the pilot relates to her homicidal astromech from where she stands, still outside her ship and fixing to scamper aboard, "I bet we'll find what we're looking for there." The heap of evil and metal known as Cricket merely zots an ungodly binary swearword by way of reply, finding it preferable to swear at Johanna rather than be forced to converse with her after she had gotten him kicked by Danik. One day, Bazil was going to pay with his life for having given him to Johanna. Oh yes. He would pay. For now though, the droid is reduced to beeps and whistles of dismay and ire as his interim master rakes a final gaze across her surroundings... and stops short. Why is it that they're always having company at the most inconvenient moments? "Double time, Cricket. It's going to get REAL cozy here fast." Rechecking equipment occupies a few spare moments of time. One hand passes over the blaster, checks the angle of the draw, the setting, the safety engaged, before passing over the spar energy cells tucked into a side pocket. The check moves on to the medpac, its accompanying components, before Dr. Caiton shoulder's shrug, hands moving to check the straps holding the medical backpack in place, secured tightly against the light armor worn. One hand lifts to thump against the helmet worn, settling that more firmly in place as well, before going through a channel check with the other medics to ensure that they're all on the same frequency. While the medics won't be the first on the ground, they won’t leave until everyone else is off. The operation would be short and sweet, or so the plan went. Dropship two has already set down in the outskirts, and speeder bikes zoom out to patrol the regions outside of Mos Eisley. Fortunately, however, very few vehicles seem to be moving, as it's already dark and there's some silly superstition about sand people getting you at night. As if Imperial Storm troopers would have to worry about that. Dropship one is another story, and only now is arriving to an area of the Starport large enough to accommodate it, with its bowels spilling outward in a flood of white the moment it touches down. Immediately, the soldiers shout in a partially controlled chaos, as specific teams move to cordon off the Spaceport area, and others go about trying to control local reaction. While sand people might be something that the Empire has no reason to worry about, local militia or thugs becoming organized is another thing entirely. As well, three camera droids emerge from the shuttle, and film the action, oblivious to the fact that over ninety percent of what they shoot will be edited out. "Damn, even my boys aren't this fast", Bogumil remarks, keeping out of the way for the time being. And for a man used to dealing with Special Forces operators, that's quite a thing to say. Krieg moves out into the starport area, scanning for hostiles. He radios Blitz once more. "Blitz, Ground Hawk. Make one through three active, keep targeting solutions hot and ready, standby for further information." He switches frequencies to radio Wolf. "Lead, this is 2. Standing by, ground hot. Initial area secure, scanning starport for pertinent information. It appears the surprise element has been let out of the bag." He keeps scanning, looking for people that are on the list of 'hostiles.' The heads up display verifies what he sees and coordinates whether or not it is the person they are looking for, relaying data to all ground and command elements. As she weaves through the by-standards Jal'Dana can't help but catch what might be a glimpse of the fallen Jedi, though from the distance and the angle it could just be another woman with a droid moving along in a hurry. Looking over the general populace, Dana would understand why, she would move quickly as well, if not for the mission. But still, she should check it out. Changing her direction, she moves in with the other foot traffic, picking up the pace just a touch as to not arouse many looks at her. As the Imperial Storm troopers move off in groups, and take up assigned positions Jal'Dana makes sure she stays with the crowd. The normal murmur of conversation rises to a loud buzz, many languages and phrases exploding from the mooches of the locals. People with nothing to hide as well as the many with lots to hide have a tension that can be felt. Quite a few people move in the other Direction, though Dana knows it will just lead them to even more Troopers. Sergeant Tanis Cadell runs one last equipment check just prior to the dropship's landing. Everything was satisfactory. With his ST-II blaster rifle in hand and his grenades securely tightened to his utility belt (among spare ammo packs), he was ready to go and save Kreldin. He was a bit confused, though... Captain Jarek was no where in sight, and instead Colonel Bogumil, former commander of the 988th (his former assignment) was apparently leading the overall effort. Well, he knew Bogumil to be a good, sound man, so he had no real problem with it. When the dropship touched down in the starport, Tanis was quick to follow the first few men out of the hatch. With the rest of the storm troopers he quickly dropped to his knees a few meters away, raising his ST-II up so he could gaze down its iron sight. Com chatter rang throughout his helmet, of units notifying they were in the all-clear, had set up position, and was awaiting further orders. "That's because we just landed TIEs in the starport, Lt." Wolf replied to Krieg and smiled. He drew his blaster and readied his equipment. He was just going to follow the Storm Troopers and keep an eye out. He checked around his TIE making sure everything was secure before walking out to meet the rest of the Imperials. "Krieg, come 'ere." Wolf said over his comm. He needed to Co-ordinate his Squadron, just incase hostiles decide to attack from above. The Empire finally makes its appearance in all the over-zealous glory Kyo had grown to know them by. While, she could easily step forward and make herself known, she decides to hang back and watch the circus. After all, she hasn't seen this much Imperial action on Tatooine since Malign came to abduct all the non-humans. "Keep the engines warm," she tells her droid through a comlink. "You might have to make a jump for Republic space after all." Which would be a pity cause then she'd be left to deal with the Empire... but it's better than practically handing Danik over /then/ having to deal with the Empire. She does grin to herself; watching the soldiers frantically look for their leader. Only a matter of time before one confronts her with the same undying arrogance Danik had showed her. To say that retiring Colonel Bogumil is running the operation stretches things a bit, but on paper that's exactly the case. In truth, however, the man is more of an observer as the elements of the 501st conduct the operation with complete efficiency, and pinpoint accuracy. As of yet the soldiers have found nothing, however, but they have begun to interrogate some reluctant civilians as to the Advisor's whereabouts. Needless to say, if the kidnapper doesn't come forward, it may well be some time before the land-based lockdown of Mos Eisley is lifted. And while all ships taking off will be reported to the Imperial warships high above, it stands to reason that some might even escape, provided the TIEs didn't get to them first. Agent Bogumil himself steps down from the shuttle, nothing beyond his suit and concealed weapons for defense. While theoretically in control, his role is to project a positive image for the Empire, and to do this, Danik must be recovered intact. Unfortunately for Bogumil, this expands his duties, meaning that he may well have to conduct negotiations with a Jedi and known terrorist. 'Nasty.' Is all the man has on his mind, beyond how grateful he is for having done his homework and not carried in any flash bangs. A Jedi grabbing one of those would be unfortunate. Still scanning the area he hears Wolf's call to him for a rally. Krieg acknowledges the order, but gets a different one from the troopers on the ground. The one X-Wing that his scans of the starport in conjunction with Blitz. He calls up Blitz once more and says to him, "Blitz, Ground Hawk. Target all vessels that are firing up engines, and this X-Wing here. If any other ships fire up their engines target them." He calls up his lead again, "Lead, 2. I have orders to inspect the X-Wing, suggest rally point there to investigate." He continues his scan and makes his way over to the X-Wing. He's still assured in the fact Blitz has cover for him in everything he does, and will be able to cover any retreats by any craft escaping. Allowing herself to be swept up with the crowd in order to keep her cover has left her just out of the loop. But, at least she'll be able listen more closely to the locals and see if the hushed tones between the shout yield any information. Tanis Cadell, or Catnip, as his brothers in arms jokingly call him, hears the confirmation of their primary target possibly being spotted: an X-wing. That was always a very convincing target. "Alright, the flyboys have spotted a X-wing fighter docked here. That's a juicy target, so stick close to me and keep your weapons at the ready; Jedi have a nasty tendency of popping out when you least expect it," Tanis says to his squad, and with the wave of his hand, starts running off in the direction of the X-wing star fighter, a few storm troopers following behind him. Kreldin would be found, and Tanis was going to be the one to find him. "This is TK-0121, I'm moving in on the target...” - Signaling the medics to take position with the units being deployed, Dr. Caiton gives each medic a final look over before each one steps out onto the misbegotten waste of sand known as Tatooine. Each medic carries his or her own medical backpack, just as their captain does. Dr. Caiton herself moves out with one of the deploying units, stepping down into the heat with a look of disgust. Land lubbers, who ever could understand the reasons they want to live on balls of dirt. She shakes her head and scans the area as well, searching the available motley populace with a look of alert suspicion. Nodding as he received Krieg’s reply, he looked around the starport. Noticing the nose of the X-Wing, he raised his blaster and made his way past the ships towards Krieg's location. He poked his head around each corner of the ships in between, hopefully not getting pounced on by anyone hiding behind there. Finding herself bored by the spectacle, Kyo yawns again. Idly, she watches them head in the opposite direction of her ship towards... whatever ship is that way. "Oh, for crying out loud..." she grumbles before literally crying out loud: "Hey, bucket heads! Are you playing 'super sleuths' or are you actually here on a mission?!" There. That should at least get their attention. And if it doesn't... yeah. She's making a trip to Republic space. Knocking on her bulkhead idly, Kyo shakes her head. Why do Imperials tend to lock on one target and flock to it, anyways? When the Empire floods your homeworld with troopers, it's a good idea to get as far away as is possible, especially if you're guilty of making an ass of Danik Kreldin. That thought firmly in mind, the Jedi hops into the cockpit and hopes the Imperials are blind enough not to notice an X-Wing zipping out of Mos Eisley. Of course, what are the chances of that happening? Maker only knows what kind of Fleet presence they've got floating over Tatooine! Having to blast her way into hyperspace isn't the most appealing of options as far as she's concerned, but she'll have to either contend with being shot at up there, or being shot at down here. She'd rather take her chances in space. A hot wash of mildly radioactive exhaust fills the area as the T-65B prepares to flee the area, Cricket buzzing furiously about more and more Imperials approaching. Fortunately, the Storm troopers continue their queries and efforts at herding people in the Starport into sections, with the data gathered so far being nowhere near processed. While this isn't necessarily good for the Imperials, it does cut down on the number of actions that people are forced to view, and for whatever god might be writing these actions from beyond time and space, it's simply a miracle. Yet still manages to consume a good paragraph in describing! Nonetheless, a squad of Storm troopers does hear Kyokusha's remark, and race over to her, blasters at the ready. As the squad aims a set of blasters in unison towards the woman, what is apparently the lead NCO clicks his chin against his helmet, activating the comlink. "Hands behind your head! Submit for inspection and information-gathering!" While this is terrific, it leaves Bogumil with little idea of where he should go. After a moment, though, he concludes that the X-wing can be left to the military types, and proceeds to make his way toward the events unfolding around Kyokusha. Tanis is on his way to investigate the X-wing with his fellow squad mates, currently oblivious to Kyokusha's announcement of her presence to the Imperials. "Tyrell, Stasio, break off and go around the right side. Jones, let the colonel know we know the proper equipment to keep this ship grounded indefinitely..." Tanis says over his comlink, and the various units click in their confirmation. The X-wing is before him now... and, thanks to the visual enhancement monitors in his helmet, he's able to make out what appears to be a being in the cockpit of the X-wing. "Someone's already in the cockpit! Take every precaution, boys," Tanis says, aiming his ST-II at the X-wing. But before he could demand the pilot to step down, the engines on the X-wing start up and the X-wing begins to take off. "Crap! That X-wing is taking off! Alert the fleet they're gonna have a visitor very soon." Seeing the radioactive wash that comes with a ship powering up and readying itself for takeoff Krieg takes notice and calls up Blitz for the warning procedures. Blitz opens the comm and says, "Unidentified X-Wing craft. You are locked on by several fighters and my craft. I am Lt JG of the Imperial Navy. Stand down your craft and prepare to be boarded or we will fire." Krieg quickly takes a knee and poses to fire on any occupant that is inside and whoever may exit. He calls on the general channel, "All forces, be advised. If that craft takes off we are going to fire. Be clear of all blasts should the craft not stand down." He calls up Blitz and says to him, "Ground Hawk here Blitz... you know what to do if you can't get me in time. Light that vessel like a supernova." Raising a brow, Kyo rolls her eyes and shakes her head. At least it got their attention. "Oh, stuff it," Kyo grunts aggravatingly. "Seriously. Do you think I would've called you bugs over here if wasn't willing to /give/ information? You just keep in mind whose sector you're in. You ain't in Imperial space anymore and I'm not one of your cronies. If any of you are capable of intelligent speech, send them forward and we can handle this without much of a to-do." With this, she continues to idly tap on her bulkhead and waits. Hopefully one of them in the bunch is smart enough to talk before shooting. Johanna knows they aren't lying. Even with Cricket's ridiculous shrieks and wails piping shrilly in the background at a volume loud enough to distract any operation, organic or electronic, her ship lets her know that the Imperial's words are true. She's going to be vaped here and now if she doesn't power down. Well, fine. Then play that way! In an instant the engines of the hapless X-Wing are stopped cold, its pilot climbing out to hop onto the tarmac of the starport. "Unless I'm mistaken, I believe you're in violation of Maker only knows how many traffic regulations. Isn't it illegal to shut down a spaceport simply because you took a fancy to the idea?" For now she looks perfectly normal, like an irritated and clueless civilian would, the sleeves of her ratty old duster bunched up around her elbows. While this is enough to get the Troopers ready to blow Kyo away, the arrival of outgoing Colonel Liuz Bogumil is enough to stall this, as he rushes to command the Troopers to stand down. "Leave her be! She's got a mouth, but maybe she can use that to help us." Coming to a halt just behind the lead NCO of the squad, Bogumil offers a nod to Kyokusha. "We're looking for Danik Kreldin. Any information you have regarding his location will get us out of here that much faster." Perhaps, if appealing to the woman's life wouldn't do the trick, a truthful explanation of Imperial intentions might work a little better. Maybe. Following the squad of troopers that head towards a curiously tailed alien, Dr. Caiton makes her way towards the edge of the group, keeping out of the way but surveying this noisy sample local fauna. One hand rests calmly on her medpac while the troopers surround the female, her own head turning to search for Bogumil, spotting his approach and moving to the side to put herself in a position to hear any conversation exchanged. Offering a nod to the Colonel as she takes up a nearby position, Dr. Caiton surveys the woman curiously. Seeing the engines power down he knows that Blitz has done what he does best. Krieg on the ground monitors the situation, but gives no further updates to his RIO. Still concentrating on the X-Wing, Krieg is making attempts to identify the woman that leaves the ship. He levels his blaster rifle on her, and prepares to fire. He calls out to her, "Stand down and identify yourself. Lie down completely on the ground, hands spread!" He isn't messing around with this, and knows the bomber behind him has her targeted as well. Missile fire could do her in, and in a short notice. He figures the rest of the troops can take care of anything more. Tanis is ready to duck for cover, afraid of what the engine wash could do to him, even in storm trooper armor. But fortunately for all involved, the X-wing pilot sees reason and decides to power her ship down. No rebel pilot is crazy enough to run an Imperial blockade, right? Smiling to himself behind his white helmet, Tanis aims his ST-II up at Johanna, and was ready to read the lady her rights - until the flyboy intervened. Casting a nasty glance over to Krieg (although the pilot certainly couldn't see his expression), he decides to ignore it for now and steps closer to Johanna, to get a good look at her face. She was a cute little one, Tanis muses to himself. Maybe if she wasn't rebel scum he would ask her out. But as it was, she was flying an illegal spacecraft, one that had to be impounded. But there was something about her face... she looks incredibly familiar. He pulls his palm projector out, and flicks it on. On it was the face of their primary target: Johanna. His eyes widened in disbelief as he looks from the holo to the girl standing just before him. Wolf moved into view of the woman, who was now standing beside the craft. He slid alongside the neighboring ship and raised his blaster, aiming for her head. After a few moments, listening to Krieg he clicked. Remembering back to the briefing... "Uh Oh." He said. "Krieg, that’s the Jedi!" Wolf said over his Comm-link. He flicked up his blaster setting bringing it to a dangerous level. "How noble. Yeah. I know Kreldin. Old fogey about yay high?" Of course, her hand goes close to the floor near her ankles. "Of course, where I found him, he was laying on his back beaten to a pulp. Said the Jedi got him." She grins. "But don't worry. It wasn't a Jedi that got him. It was a Dark Jedi. Drastic difference. You see, a Jedi practices pacifism first. They would never abduct another life form and beat them near to death." She pauses and looks towards the one bug that has stepped forward. "But a Dark Jedi? Pfft. Forget about it. You're lucky he's alive. Probably only because they wanted him alive, you know?" Okay, now that she's buttered them up-- "But I know where he is, yup. Left there to die, poor soul! Surely would have perished had it not been for my grace. Of course, I couldn't move him with that broken back. He will definitely need you guys to go get him." A pause. "And I can tell you where he is. End this search short for you and you can high tail it out of my sector." Well, her sector until she decides to leave again. Little does she know that her ex-husband's best friend was just across the starport being accosted by Imperials. "Identify myself?" She offers Krieg a perfunctory smile and seemingly complies with his request; dropping first to one knee and then both once she's closed some of the distance between herself and the troopers. Too late she realizes that nobody in their right mind would chance a grin like that when the Imps are pointing the business end of their rifles at them. Then again, Johanna hasn't been in her right mind in a long, long time. "I'm just a courier. No one of any importance. You can let me go, surely." It's a risky play, but it's worth a shot. The Force stirs and the pilot attempts to make inroads into the minds of those nearest her, Tanis being at the top of her list. "Just a courier," she repeats, "I finished my delivery an hour ago. You can even check my ship." "I'm not interested in the Jedi, thank you. We'll need to come aboard your ship so that you can direct us to Advisor Kreldin directly, and to verify that this isn't some wild goose chase." Presumably it's a reasonable enough demand, especially considering that there are still just about six Storm troopers aiming their weapons at anything they can, along with dozens more nearby. Not even to mention that these men didn't simply manifest here, and likely have the support of a capital ship above. "You'll of course be compensated appropriately for your cooperation, Miss, and all the more so if we hurry." As the woman describes the admiral’s state, Dr. Caiton takes a step closer, closing the space between herself and the colonel, and the suddenly willing informant. Beaten? Broken back? Lucky to be alive? All are phrases that bring a look to the doctor's eyes that are distinctly unfriendly. The expression there for the barest of moments before the look of bland neutrality slips back into place, her head tilting slightly as she waits for the next phase in the bargaining to begin. Still aiming true to target on one knee, Krieg is aiming for the Jedi’s center. It's the best place to hit her. Of course the different reports have come in at this point that she is the Jedi, and so he keeps this in mind. He doesn't know how powerful she is, but from the looks of her she is too pretty to be an evil criminal. But this is the one they were briefed on, was it not? He keeps his aim true. Blitz calls up, "Ground Hawk, Blitz. Lasers are powered up and locked on target. Our forces are moving in on another lead in the starport, monitoring that situation as well." Well, Krieg thinks, at least I have heavy fire support if this goes badly. Hopefully the troopers can take care of the rest of this, but then again, he did have to take some charge of the situation. Seeing her move to the troopers he figures this is not good. And a courier with a TIE fighter blowing up on the nose of an illegal X-Wing? Right... that just doesn't happen. Seeing the Storm troopers do nothing disconcerts the pilot, and calls up Blitz, "Blitz, one round between her and the storm troopers, blaster fire, make sure nobody gets hit." He calls to Johanna, "DO NOT FORCE ME TO FIRE. THIS IS YOUR LAST WARNING. STAND DOWN." There is no more fun and games in his voice, and for the first time he isn't seen as such a nice guy anymore. Even though he respects women, this one he feels is beginning to play them. "It's... it's...” Before Tanis could call out the identity of the female pilot, the Force reaches out to him and delves into his open mind. His defenses were poor; easily overcome by the Jedi Master. Tanis was now at the mercy of the Dark Jedi, and was but a mere puppet now. At least, more so than he was in any given time during his service in the Empire. "Excuse me, flyboy, but this one is just a courier!" Tanis says, rushing up to Krieg. "You're out of your jurisdiction, pilot! Leave this to the professionals," Tanis says, attempting to dislodge the EKX from Krieg's hands. "This is an innocent one and we should let her go." Peering through a gap in the ship at Krieg, He looks back to the Jedi. His blaster still aimed at the back of her head. He was whispering into his Comm to his wingman, making sure from the aerial side of things, all was good. Then as he looked back to Krieg, Tanis grabbed him. Straight away Wolf sighed. "Here we go" He said to himself, standing up and making his way around the ships. His blaster now switching back and forth between the Jedi and the seemed insane Trooper. "Forgive me if I trust your word as much as I would a Jawa with my packed lunch," she comments. "I'm not showing you anything until I see compensation. You want your precious Danik, you're gonna pay me for my efforts or, I assure you, he will be dead before you find him. Tick tock, bug. The longer you try to negotiate, the more he suffers." Keeping her back against her ship, the woman shrugs. "All I ask is fifty thousand credits. That's it. A drop in the bucket for you rich kids. And don't think I'm stupid enough to think you didn't bring half a fleet with you, so I'm not about to run off without giving you my end of the deal. So, don't try to stiff me, kay?" After all, this is how business is done. "If you don't want to make the deal, I will go on my merry way and Danik will die. Simple as that. This is a very big planet and he had been dehydrated and starved for several days before I even found him. Personally, one Imperial means about as much to me as... say... one Rebel. I don't really care. But I did waste my time waiting here for you guys. The least you can do is compensate me now." "On the contrary, you're going to show us where he is, and stop giving me an earful of crap. Make no mistake, Miss, the next rude remark coming from you will be your last. I'm willing to offer you a clean slate on your record in exchange for anything you can do to help us, along with additional compensation if you cut the shit right now." More or less, Bogumil's tone is firm, but he tries his best to not sound outright aggressive and, next to what the storm troopers would do if their invisible leash was suddenly removed, the man basically is. "And while he's at it," Dr Caiton says, her voice low and smooth, "he may or may not be inclined to let you keep your ship, and your life along with it. This for that, a fair exchange. You give us what we want, and we give you what you want. Keep pushing it, and the old man dies anyway, I guarantee that you will follow. But it will be slow, and long in coming. And trust me," she adds, her voice almost purring, "when I say that I can keep you alive for a very, very long time. The wonders of bacta." Before Krieg could continue his monologue further with the Jedi, Tanis jumps at him. He is able to get a hand on the rifle, but no grip as Krieg quickly moves to dodge out of the way of his grasp. Hand to hand wasn't something he excelled in, and was going to avoid it. The only thing he can think of is calling up Blitz with a frantic, "BLITZ, TAKE COMMAND." Shouting to the storm trooper he yells, "TROOPER, STAND DOWN. THAT IS AN ORDER. YOU ARE OUT OF LINE!" Not really knowing why this is happening he can only bring his rifle to bear on the trooper, as he is now the immediate threat (Krieg is an officer, no? - another thought in Krieg's mind). Blitz in the meantime calls up Wolf and says, "Lead, Blitz. Get troopers to contain that man." Over the intercom Blitz calls out, "Woman, stand down. My lasers are targeting you. The last shot was a warning. The next WILL NOT BE." He prepares to fire now, as Krieg is dealing with the trooper. Krieg knows the woman probably has something to do with Tanis, and Blitz is pretty sure something is up at this point as well, as Krieg normally wouldn't be jumped by a storm trooper. Then Blitz watches in awe as she jumps up, making for the troops. In slow motion he pulls the trigger on her position on the ground, firing his siege lasers into the spot where she is jumping, hoping that he may be able to clip her or impede her movement only a little, as there is little else that can be done. "She's just a courier! Just a courier!" Tanis continues to shout. Despite being mind controlled, he still knew Krieg had no real authority over him; he was a fly boy, Tanis was a storm trooper. "YOU'RE out of line, son!" Tanis says, deciding to take drastic measures by whipping Krieg with the butt of his ST-II rifle. "Cease and desist!" The ire that had been building up after the impact of the shot from above with the tarmac of the spaceport below dissipates as quickly as the vaporized atoms of the little crater a scant meter and a half in front of Johanna. She regards the developments between Tanis and Krieg with increasing amusement. Excellent! Her goal of throwing them into disarray is slowly being realized. As Tanis makes his dive for Krieg, the dark Jedi springs to her feet and propels herself forward, hoping to clear the area before the bombers decide to call it a night by slagging the entire docking bay into oblivion. That just wouldn't do. Her weapon blazes to life, negating any illusions she might have wished to spin in the near future. "Good," she mutters, "I like a fair fight." It seems she vacated her previous position not a moment too soon. Blitz's shot goes sizzling into the ground where she stood not two seconds prior... lucky for her she's far enough off to not be turned into molecular goo. "I'll cut the shit when you give me reason to. Hear me, I couldn't care less about what files you have on me. I really don't. Just give me the credits and I will get you Danik. How freaking hard is that? Do you really care more about waving your guns around than you do about your commander's life?" Now, the amusement has left Kyo's voice and she snaps right back to Bog. "Don't tell me out of the entire bunch of you, /I'm/ the only one that gives a pile of fodder if he lives or dies! Stop standing there with your thumbs up your asses! A man is dying and you're /still/ maintaining your Imperial arrogance! Just drop it! Pay me and you'll be on your way! This isn't a pissing contest!" By now, she's not even paying attention to any other voices chiming more Imperial bullcrap. It must be said; Johanna enjoys the way she can cut a swath of destruction through a place. Perhaps she's gone too long without a real battle, or maybe she's just perverse... either way, the retired General takes a demented pleasure in the ruckus that has befallen Mos Eisley. Now clear of the docking bay (leaving poor Cricket and the _Shady Lady_ to fend for themselves), she intends to make for the outskirts, where she knows Bazil's old speeder lies hidden to spirit her off to regions unknown. "Bet you weren't counting on THAT when I made mincemeat of your precious Danik," the Jedi snarls as she relieves a trooper of the undue burden of having a right arm, "Or THAT." Oh, the proverbial shit has really hit the fan now! "Sergeant, she's all yours. Get Danik's location at any cost", Bogumil replies, turning to leave Lynae and the Storm troopers to their business. A diplomatic approach can only work so much, given the reluctance of people to trust in the Empire's ability to keep its word. And after all, if it did always work, much of Imperial Intelligence and COMPNOR would be without a job. Just what will happen, however, is no longer his concern, as there are still quite a few other, even less successful situations to be managed elsewhere in the Spaceport. Rather in shock at what the trooper was doing, Krieg is down a little below the trooper when he brings the butt of his rifle down on his combat helmet. The impact does little to deter Krieg, except that now he is really mad this trooper has gone out of his mind. Blitz, in the meantime, sees his shots miss just as the woman jumps up and away. Her jump to activate some light against the troops puts him out of options as fare as firing solutions. He keeps the craft hot, and awaits a moment he can fire, calling in help from other sane troopers for his comrade, Krieg. "This is Blitz on Darksword 2. Ground Hawk being attacked by insane trooper, assistance required." He keeps all the action on recorded tape as he knows this is going to cause a stir when they get back to ship. As far as Krieg is concerned, blood is on his mind. This woman has manipulative powers, and this trooper seems to be dumb enough to have fallen for her beauty or whatever it was. His rifle swings around automatically and he looks at the trooper in slow motion at point blank range. He pulls the trigger, feeling rather surreal about the whole situation. He thinks to himself, why am I doing this, and what caused it? This is not right at all, really not right. It upsets him so much that a pit in his stomach forms, and perhaps if he sees that Jedi woman again that feeling may never leave him. Tanis wasn't even under Johanna's spell anymore. All he knew was that Krieg was attacking him, and for now he was the enemy. The blaster shot rings out from the EKX, and thanks to Tanis's training in close quarters combat, and Krieg's apparent lack thereof, Tanis is able to avoid being hit square in the chest. His infantry reflexes kick in, and the storm trooper is quick to respond with a whiff of laser blast, the Tibanna gas in the power pack reacting with whatever other chemicals and other technological gizmos made up the ST-II. "We have a traitorous TIE Pilot, retreat, traitorous TIE pilot." As the diplomatic part of the session seems to be over, Kyo grunts. "You /would/ do that, wouldn't you?" Grabbing her comlink, Kyo figures she has only a few seconds before the Imperials surrounding her open fire, so she turns it on quick and screams: "M-PU! Fire the engines and take off! Jump to Coruscant and send word to the Republic!" With the ship starting to activate, Kyo narrows her eyes and sticks close to it. Maybe the Imperials would try to get away from thrusters if they suddenly activate and burn them to crisps. She darts through the area, hunting for a ship to take off Tatooine. Of course, knowing the Imperials, they likely had an Interdictor Cruiser up there just to make her life sad and miserable and FILLED WITH ANGER. It also seems that whenever she nears another ship it chooses just that moment to throw the engines to full and leave her in the dust. As she lets more and more rage fill her, her thoughts seem to slow and be lost in a haze. Over there!! That ship is about to take off! If she hurries, perhaps she can forcibly board and secure herself a transport. The crew might not be too happy about it, but they can be dealt with one way or another. Johanna makes a run for it and charges straight for the _Talisman_. Maybe, but it seems that isn't the case, as the Imperials simply begin to shoot. Nearby, however, one of the other Storm troopers has given up on his queries and activates his comlink. While not Jarek, he is still an officer, after all. "Malevolence, this is Signal Tango Oh-Eight-Three", the man begins, as the Storm troopers around Kyo make their attempts at apprehending the woman. "Situation is hostile. Request immediate air support and activation of the gravity wells." Bogumil, however, takes the hint and breaks into a run towards his shuttle. It's the job of Officers to command, and NCOs to lead; neither of which Liuz Bogumil can claim to be any longer. Even though at point blank range, for some reason he could not hit the trooper. Damn their training! Why of all the days does this have to happen to him? They come out to get an Admiral and in the end he's fighting off a trooper all by himself. Where the hell were the rest of the troops? Did they magically disappear? For all accounts, Krieg is a pilot! These are the last thoughts that flood his consciousness as he blacks out and falls to the ground from the mortal wound inflicted by the trooper. Of course there is a light, but it's not that close, and for the next 40 minutes he seems to have a chance at survival. Blitz is frantic and calls out for support over the radio, but is called off to pursue the Jedi as she leaves the starport. Closing the hatch as Krieg is not going to return, Blitz takes control and lifts off and tracks the woman from a higher perspective. He also sees the other ship power up for a takeoff, and begins lock and tracking of that one as well. It looks as if his objectives are lining up, as the woman is sprinting for the ship that is powering up for takeoff. Tanis smiles behind his white helmet, proud in his victory over the cocky pilot. "That'll teach him..." Tanis says, but before he could say anymore, he is struck down by stun blasts from Tyrell and Stasio, who had been distracted by the Jedi but were now able to concentrate on Krieg and Tanis. For all they knew their sergeant did indeed go insane, but Krieg was the one who fired the first shot; nevertheless, both men were deemed too risky to remain conscious, and Tanis falls to a heap on the ground next to Krieg. More storm troopers are still busy battling against the Jedi Master as she slices her way through, limbs falling to the starport as she carves her way towards the Talisman. Air support, however, is on the way, although it is likely to be of no use against the Jedi per se, but are being called in for the Talisman, which is prepping its engines for take off. And as for the Talisman, the storm troopers who had accompanied Bogumil in the "diplomatic" negotiations with Kyokusha were given their orders. She was making off with their objective: Danik. And they could not allow that. Stun blasts shoot out, aimed at the near human as the Jedi approaches ever quickly. With a fist, Kyo slams it against the bulkhead. "M-PU! Drop the ramp!" Her eyes snap back towards the troops for what seems to be like a pause in time. The sort where everything seems to slow down and the one thing that could save her is taking it's sweet time opening. "M-PU!" Another hit against the bulkhead, but this time it is caused by Kyo's body slamming into it. Blue bolts strike her all over; instantly paralyzing her as well as knocking her unconscious. However, as she falls, the ramp seems to finally lower down. And it's... Kyokusha?! Johanna doesn't have time to gawk at the tailed woman however; instead she grabs her by the scruff and half hauls, half throws her up the ramp and into the _Talisman_, whirling back around to defend against any more blaster bolts that might decide to come her way. The ramp seems to take a painfully long time to close. Great, before they know it there will be a horde of storm troopers trying to batter their way in! It doesn't take long to get to the cockpit of the freighter and before Kyokusha's unconscious form has stopped thudding against the crate lashed down towards the aft of the vessel, Johanna has gotten the craft clear of Mos Eisley and is making a darn spirited run for it. Little does she know that Danik Kreldin is the lumpy thing on top of that pile of waste bags! Some hospitality Kyo had shown HIM... Unconscious and rather helpless to what is going on; Kyo is drug onto her ship by a raging Dark Jedi. Up in the cockpit, her MSE droid is beginning the last sequences of takeoff and readying the jump for Coruscant. Thrown to the side by the hasty Johanna, Kyo hits the bulkhead with a thud that will definitely smart in the morning. Meanwhile, Danik lay in the other room on her bed. Who knows if that guy's awake or not! Surely they will escape to the safety of space! SURELY. It's what Johanna tells herself as she takes the con and zips over the dunes, trying to remain calm about the fact that she's flying a crate that's coming apart at the seams. MAKER, what has Kyokusha DONE to this thing? Rammed it into a much bigger ship like fifty times and then come back for more punishment the next day? Not only is the hull integrity likely compromised, making an entry into the vacuum of space an unwise decision, there's some kind of bizarre stench coming from the vicinity of Kyo's droid. Has it purposely fried some kind of critical system? Does it hate all of them and want them to die, like Cricket does? Who knows. Anyway, it's not helping to make Johanna's day any better as the Talisman sputters and jerks its way through the place. If they crash, she's blaming the tailed woman for all of it. Running to his TIE after the run-down ship had lifted from the ground, Wolf quickly clambered back up his TIE Interceptor, practically falling into his cockpit. As he landed in his shock chair, he slugged his helmet on and sealed it, bringing the hatch to a close he made sure the TIE was ready for flight. He had left the engines running standby just in case, as the enemy ship flew out of the starport, Wolf sent his TIE straight after her and with the speed of the TIE it would not be hard to catch up. Although he is by no means a coward, Bogumil is not the dumbest man to ever grace the galaxy with his presence, and wishes to continue to do so for some time. At his age, there's just so much left for him to do in the world without throwing his life away in an ineffectual defense against a Jedi. And so the man returns to the shuttle that he arrived in, as the storm troopers continue to bravely attempt the impossible, as they pelt the Talisman with small arms fire. Without heavy weaponry, however, it's unlikely to be of much impact. Still on the ground and unconscious from the moral wound inflicted by Tanis, Krieg is seeing all sorts of things that come at the end of life. There are memories, visions, blood, and a new found disliking for this Jedi woman named Johanna. He still cannot move, and probably has about 35 minutes before his life is over with. On the other hand, Blitz has taken off in the bomber and has the freighter already locked up. He radios up Wolf, "Lead, this is 2 Bravo. I have a targeting solution, sending you data now. Requesting orders." Hopefully Krieg will make it, Blitz thinks. The storm troopers are left to fire their blasters up at the fleeing Talisman, their ST-Is and IIs not really making much of an effect. They did not have time to set up any heavier weapons, or get the anti-aircraft missiles deployed, so it was now out of the storm trooper’s hands and in the hands of the Imperial pilots and the fleet up above. The storm troopers can only look on as the freighter accelerates upwards towards space, a few TIE Interceptors that had been flying cover nearby following suit, and were followed after by the fighters that had landed before. On the bridge of the Malevolence, the word came in to start up the gravity wells. Reports were that a freighter, a Sskale, was taking off with the Jedi target on board, and they were to intercept it at all costs. Orders were sent, and the four gravity well generators on the Oppressor went active as several TIE squadrons began preparing for take off. Lost in the shuffle of goings on for a while, Dr. Caiton waited long enough for the storm trooper to be stunned into insensibility before she takes off at a hard jog for Krieg's position. Even as she moves, her hands are freeing her medical equipment, taking the biomedical scanner out of it's pocket and readying it for instant use. She arrives, barely winded, and slides to a knee beside the pilot, operating the scanning field with the press of a button, even though she can see the wound clearly. She pulls her own blast helmet off as she rests one hand on Krieg's shoulder, "Didn't I tell you there are rules against friendly fire?" she says softly, shaking her head as she examines the wound with swift - but thorough - efficiency. Oh, good grief. "We've got company," Johanna mutters, wishing that Kyokusha were conscious and able to fully appreciate the gravity of the situation as four TIEs register with the ship. One direct hit and they're going to be done for. Somehow, the prospect of dying while being the only person aware of the danger isn't the most appealing thing in the world to her. "DID YOU HEAR THAT?!" the Jedi hollers over her shoulder, "WE'VE GOT COMPANY!" Not that Kyokusha is going to care, what with the being in la-la land and all, but still. "Just what I always wanted, crashing and burning on my own turf." From somewhere there is the sound of alloy protesting the forces it's being subjected to. Oh great. Now the ship's falling apart. Yeah, space really isn't an option anymore. Better take the Talisman back to five hundred meters! "I really wish you were awake to see this," the woman adds, "And understand why it's SO DAMN IMPORTANT TO PERFORM ROUTINE MAINTENANCE ON YOUR SHIP." As Wolf's fighter catches up to the freighter, the rest of his squadron forms up, "Darksword 2, Form up." Wolf called over his comm. By then, the TIEs were in an arrow-shaped formation. He didn’t want missiles fired at the ship, he wanted to catch this woman, not blow her apart. But if it came to it, he would not hesitate to give the order. The now 8 Strong squadron was trailing the freighter, following it closely. "Now, I want you guys to open up on her engines, we want to disable this woman. Darksword 2, be ready to fire a few missiles." Wolf said over the comm again, He squeezed the trigger off when the targeting reticule was over her engine ports, giving the 'OK' to the rest of the squadron to fire… With the expertise of Lynae, Krieg comes to, but is still unable to do anything great. The pain he feels makes it a bad day for him indeed, but at least he's alive. He groans, and looks up to see a minor space battle rage above him. Otherwise he awaits orders from the doc, who's care he is in now. Blitz on the other hand, stands by and receives orders to fire missiles, targeting the aft end of the freighter and its engines. He sees the squadron fire, but holds back, to use the missiles as a last resort option in taking the freighter to the ground, as each can do an enormous amount of damage. Instead of actually hitting the freighter, Blitz quickly reprograms the missiles to detonate 10 meters aft of the ship, in effect crippling the engines with the blast instead of a direct impact. With that in mind he loads the program and fires off a salvo, and hopefully his last for this engagement. Speaking into her comlink, Dr. Caiton calls for assistance, drawing a medic away from one of the ST units to work as her assistant. She begins removing Krieg's armor, the damage done to it extensive to the point that she takes out a vibroblade and saws away the sections surrounding the wound and peels away the remains of the armor and tosses them aside. The wound is extensive enough that for a moment she hesitates, letting her mind review the safety rating of the armor vs. the force of the direct blast before she flips open her med-kit and sets to work. Working as fast as she can, she begins to remove the larger chunks of debris in the wound, the fragments of armor, and the bits of cloth from what remains of his clothing. Working as fast as she can, she drops the bits and pieces to the side in a bloody, sodden pile. When the medic she called for reaches her side, he drops into position as well, beginning to work at the same frantic pace. "Biofoam," Lynae says tersely. To which he responds, "Too much foreign matter still." She nods, "I know. Going to have to risk it in a moment though." "Oh, my God! Johanna! What are you doing to my ship?! Just fly into space, you crack head! Get into hyperspace! No! No! We're going down!" At least, that is what Kyo /would/ be saying if she wasn't unconsciously being tossed about like a rag doll in her cargo bay. Johanna begins to wonder how Kyokusha even got this ship to Tatooine. It must have been through the divine intervention of the Maker himself, because quite suddenly the Talisman seems to take on a mind of its own. The controls become sluggish and even lock up entirely for a few seconds before returning to their largely unresponsive state. Great! She's a big fat target now and not able to do anything about it. "WHAT IN ALL HELLS IS WRONG WITH YOUR BLOODY RIDE?!" the Jedi demands, smashing an irate fist into the panel housing the controls for deploying the landing struts, "YOU SHOULD HAVE HAD THIS THING IMPOUNDED BY CUSTOMS FOR BEING A CRAPPY SHIP." As the first missile detonates near the ship and the laser fire from the other 8 TIEs vaporizes first the nacelle and then engine number two entirely, she realizes they really are going to go down here in the dunes. They'll be lucky to survive this. "Hold Fire Shrikes! Shrike one to all ground forces!" Wolf called out on his comm, "By the looks of it, we have just caused the ship to down itself, Transmitting co-ordinates of the crash momentarily." He said, flicking a few switches under his scanner panel. "Break off pursuit, Shrikes, go back to the starport. Darksword stay with me, you may need to fly cover." He said, following the now smoking freighter downwards towards the dunes. Seeing the freighter go down Blitz smiles to himself, knowing full well this is turning into a ground operation again and there is no place for them to run. He locks down on the ground target, setting the bomber into hover mode, several hundred meters in the air. He gets the comm transmission and calls back, "Lead, 2 Bravo. Understood, holding position 200meters off the deck." He does nothing else but awaits that of the ground pounders to hopefully finish up quick. Krieg on the other hand is still coming to, but staying still letting the good doctor do her work. Retrieving the can of biofoam from her medkit, Lynae exhales softly, steadying herself with one hand on the ground, not even noticing the blood that's coating her hands, caking under her nails and splattering the front of her combat gear. She scans the wound again, and then makes the hard call. She aims the can of biofoam and fires a shot of it into the chest wound that is currently bubbling with blood and other raw looking meat. Meat, that is, human blood and flesh, tendons and muscle, so fragile. The biofoam escapes the can with a hiss of sound, the stream of the foam directed into the wound and beginning to expand upon contact. Sealing the wound after a few moments, the compound designed to dull the immediate pain and sensations, laced with compounds to fight infection. Such a remarkable find. So many challenges still at hand. As the Talisman begins its largely uncontrolled descent, its pilot spares a horrible curse for the Imperials who have shot her down. The dunes loom larger on the horizon, the graceful forms arranged anew by the wind every day a spectacular sight even in a situation such as this. "Figures," Johanna sighs, white-knuckled grip relenting to accept that the ship is going down however it wants to and that she can do nothing but hang on and hope that she and her unconscious passengers are not killed. Two hundred meters... one fifty... one hundred... Ere long there is the horrible grating sound of the ship being ripped apart as it skims and then bounces across the landscape, hot chunks of alloy scraping and flying off behind the wreck of the Talisman before it comes to rest, skewed at an odd angle and smoking copiously. Have the occupants survived? Kyo is somewhere in the cargo bay lying haphazardly on the floor. While the stun may be wearing off, the concussion on her head isn't going to have her moving anytime soon. Regardless of whether or not the occupants have survived, there's a job to be done, and Sergeant Thabo Mbeki is first to respond, with a trio of other scout troopers trailing behind him on their speeder bikes. While they'll be unable to do much in the way of ensuring the survival of the occupants of the crashed starship, at the very least, maybe, they'll be able to try. Somehow, amid all the radio clutter, the fact that a Jedi is aboard hasn't even reached the group, which is reflected in just how few people are as of yet allocated to the task.
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