The Infiltration of Coruscant

[Mr. Blue]

"All I'm saying is that my ship would've been better suited for this. Mine isn't listed in the Sith databanks like his is," Ryth spoke curtly to Ben Darklighter, who sat in a chair adjacent to her own.
"Well, you know what Kurs will say if you whine about it to him," laughed Ben as he propped his legs up on the control dash.
"What exactly would I say?" Kurs interrupted, as he walked into the cockpit.
"Oh, hey boss," Ben quickly replied, withdrawing his feet from the control panel upon the Jedi Master's arrival.
"Kurs, come on," spoke Ryth, as she turned her chair toward the Jedi. "I mean, it would've been so much easier to install that cloaking device on the Mav'oor. Besides, your engines are leaking who knows what, and I could swear this nav computer still had Alderaan programmed in."
"Yes Ryth," Kurs said with a smile, "The Republic would have no qualms about their brand new prototype cloaking device being installed on an illegal freighter that belongs to a smuggler who isn't even old enough to remember the battle of Kashyyyk."
Ryth stood up, Kurs taking her place in the cockpit chair. "Well I smuggled the damn thing to you. That should've shown them my ship was good enough to use it on. Besides, you were what, 5 years old when the battle of Kashyyyk went down? Don't talk, Elder Janta."
Kurs laughed, but it was cut short when the young woman plopped down on his lap.
"I don't think you'd want to take your ship to Coruscant anyway," continued the Jedi. "Hell, even I don't, but since the ship that thing was supposed to go on was in the shop, even I didn't get a choice in the matter."
"Whatever Kurs. By the way, might wanna readjust your lightsaber, Master Jedi. It's poking me again," teased Ryth.
"Ahem," Ben psuedo-grunted. "We're exiting hyperspace now, Kurs. I'll activate the cloaking device right before we enter the system."
"Sounds good," smiled Kurs, as he brushed the girl from his lap. "You know the plan, right Ben?"
"Sir yes sir I do sir," replied Ben with mocking salute.
"Good. Come on Ryth, let's go let the rest of the guys know."

Kurs and Ryth exited the bridge, and as soon as the door closed, Ben propped his legs back up with a chuckle. Ryth and Kurs made their way to common area of the ship, where three Mandolorians and a Twi'lek all sat, keeping themselves busy with various things.

"We're about to hit planet-side," Kurs spoke, gaining all of their attention. "Once we get through the atmosphere, we'll rendezvous with two Republic agents at a loading station five kilometers from the Temple. They'll provide us with transport. Any questions?"
"What happens if that cloaking device doesn't work?" inquired Thane, as he clipped a saber hilt to his belt.
"Well, I don't think we'll feel much," laughed Kurs.
"That's comforting," the Mandolorian Knight replied.

The completely invisible Praesidia IV entered the atmosphere of Coruscant. It flew several kilometers through the smoke filled skies of planet. The great metropolis-planet had seen better days; now it was more industrial than anything else, pumping out goods for the Sith war effort. With all of the pollution in the air, it was amazing any creature could survive without being choked by the fumes. Soon the freighter came to a halt, and slowly descended into a loading bay. As the ship touched the ground, the Praesidia IV de-cloaked, revealing the Calamari freighter and it's ramp dropping to the ground. All seven of its occupants exited quickly, all clothed in their own armors. A human strode forward quickly, greeting the Nautolan in front.

"Master Janta, it is a pleasure to see you," the man spoke quickly.
"Yes, well, the trip was surprisingly uneventful. Not a single scanner picked up on us the entire way in."
"Hm, well, yes, the boys over in R&D must've done a good job on that cloaking device then."
"Something's up," spoke Ben from beneath his helmet, his voice audible only over Kurs's earpiece. "This guy's heart rate is higher than Hutt's trying to run a marathon."
Kurs offered no response to Ben, but spread out his mind with the Force, searching for anything.
"Where are they?" spoke Kurs, now glaring at the human.
The human's face twitched a little before he smiled. "What do you mean, Master Janta?"
"You know what I mean. Where are the agents we were supposed to meet?"
Aekaela, Thane, and Kurs all activated a lightsaber as the door opened behind the human and a very large Wookie entered the hangar. He wore only a black bandoleer across his shoulder, with a silver cylinder attached to it. The group backed up as the Wookie walked towards them. The human turned, his whole body shuttering as he watched the Wookie approach.
"Please, no! I'm sorry. I said everything I was tol-"
The human was interrupted as the Wookie grabbed him by the throat. Then the beast growled at the man and threw him aside, a sickening crack echoing in the hangar as the man crumbled against a wall several meters away. Then the Wookie looked at the party that stood before him, growling and exposing his teeth as they all readied their weapons. He then snatched the cylinder off of his bandoleer and from it a crimson blade ripped into existence.
"Get back on the ship," ordered Kurs. "Now!"

The Wookie charged at Kurs with a feral roar, knocking the Jedi back as he defended the first attack. The Wookie then went for a second attack, only to have Thane drive his shoulder into the Wookie's side. The Wookie then swatted at Thane, knocking him back several feet towards the ship. Kurs stood back up, engaging the Wookie with a more balanced stance, ready to take the strength he felt in the first attack. The Wookie charged again, and Kurs put all of his body behind blocking the attack. They locked swords for only a moment, before the Nautolan broke the attack and swung at the Wookie. The beast growled and blocked the attack; he then kicked the Jedi in the gut, sending Kurs flying back several feet.

Suddenly blasterfire erupted at the Wookie, who began deflecting the bolts as Ben quickly ran up and scooped up Kurs. They quickly climbed back up the ramp of the ship as it began to rise, Ryth screaming for them to hurry up from the cockpit. The Wookie sprinted towards the ship, grabbing on to the edge of the rising ramp as the ship was escaping. Aekaela quickly activated her lightsaber and attempted to slice off the Wookie's grappling hand, but the Wookie released his grip before the laser sword's blade severed his hand.

As he dropped back down to the hangar floor, a young human woman walked toward him. "Darth Lothus, I must say, your fierce reputation does you justice," spoke Darth Kyren.
The Wookie growled at her fiercely.
"Don't worry. I've already scrambled fighters. They won't be getting very far."


[Awaiting reply from nezuminokage.]

[nezuminokage]

The Praesidia IV lurched from the ground and took to the polluted Coruscant air with a lethargic grumble earning more than a few vulgarities from it’s pilot, Ryth Katarn. The young woman considered herself to be one of if not the best pilot in the entire galaxy, and had earned the right to think it, but the Sith fighters that were showing up on the scanner outmatched the vessel in almost every aspect. Despite the odds Ryth smiled, what was life without a little adventure anyways?

“Hold on to something!” Ryth called as she started a horrendously hard turn. The ship shuddered under the strain, but it held together. The Mon Calamari design wasn’t quite as graceful as her own ship, but it was better than some of the shit she had flown over the years. The truly redeeming quality of the ship was the size. It was just small enough to get away with the kinds of maneuvers that Ryth was nearly famous for.

The first of the Sith squadron pulled into firing range and let loose; the rear deflector held as Miss Katarn screeched for somebody to man the rear turrets. Ryth focused and dove the ship towards the industrial level cutting through several lanes of air traffic as she weaved around various obstacles, ships, and buildings. A loud curse came from behind her as she rolled the vessel to dodge a slow moving transport. “What the hell are you doing?” Ben demanded as he entered the cockpit.

Her entire attention devoted to the task at hand Ryth’s only reply was a very curt “Sit, stay!” and once Darklighter had strapped into the co-pilot’s seat “good boy.” She could sense the resentment to the last statement but kept her smug grin to herself; it was always in poor taste to start fights inside a ship while being chased by elite pilots.

While the Sith fighters doggedly pursued her, it seemed that they were never able to keep a lock on the Praesidia IV, but though there was a slight reprieve from the fire as Ryth plunged deeper into the darkness of the Coruscant underbelly, it was going to end very badly if she didn’t come up with a solution and fast. Then, blazing in front of her, was a solution. The woman cackled as she cranked the juice and raced ahead.

---

Captain Ben Darklighter tensed as he watched a very large building loom closer while the maniac beside him throttled up. It wasn’t that he minded danger or risks, in fact he thrived off of those sorts of things, but he had seen Ryth do things would not be considered sane by the greater galactic population. He trusted her skills as a pilot, but there was always a question of her sanity. “Ryth?” he asked as he saw the giant factory doors “you don’t mean to…” but one look at the woman’s sadistic smile said everything. Resigning himself to whatever was going to happen, Ben relaxed and commented “You know, Kurs is going to hate if you scratch the paint doing this.”

---


Sitting in one of the rear turrets Thane watched with a certain degree of fascination as the world flipped and twisted while he tried to line a shot on one of the pursuers. The movements of the ship were so jumbled and random that any attempt at targeting was practically pointless, yet the Mandalorian focused his attentions on it anyways. In contrast to the erratic motions under him the Sith fighters seemed to fly with a near grace. The pilots were obviously well trained, and managed to dodge everything fluidly. All Thane Alterran could do was watch, fire, and hope that the girl in the cockpit was half the pilot she claimed to be.

---

“Watch your fire! There is no need to be killing civilians.” Kurs chided over the intercom after watching a small shuttle explode. The shot had obviously come from the Praesidia IV and the jedi master didn’t like the idea of any unnecessary deaths. A grumble about the casualties of war came over his comlink and then he found the that there was nothing but static. The jedi wasn’t pleased, but there wasn’t much he could do in the middle of a fire fight.

Just as Master Janta was about to squeeze off a shot he saw the surroundings drastically change. Sheets of roaring flames flew all around the ship and walls appeared with reflections of fire burning on them. Kurs started to worriedly ask into the intercom “What in the name of” but found himself interrupted at the top of the ship scrapped the roof causing the ship to shudder. Bewildered he concentrated on the images in the viewing window; it was then that it dawned on him where they were.

---

“D-One to D-Four”
“D-Four here”
“Lead flight two in pursuit, the rest of us will be waiting out the other side. Just keep ’em moving, we’ll do the rest.”
“Copy D-One”
“Oh, and D-Four”
“Yes?”
“Don’t die in there.”
“I’ll do my best.”

Kalvin Ent chuckled as he pulled up away from the building with the rest of his flight behind him. The other half of Dredge squadron was waiting just outside the atmosphere awaiting orders. The way he saw it, if he could nip at their heels and force them up off the planet they would run into the rest of the squad and be caught in the gravity field of the cruisers. He just had to aim the enemy ship correctly. The pilot had done this maneuver before, it was what won him this position. Well, that and the rather inglorious death of the previous commander of Dredge squadron.

Commander Ent had, however, proven himself a rather skilled leader. His squadron was second only to the legendary Purge squadron and he was perfectly fine with that. With the affluence he had gained Kalvin had pulled a few strings to get his younger brother into Dredge. From there the kid had flown well and earned the position of flight leader and moved into the position of Dredge Four. The commander was proud, but he worried about the kid; he was, after all, his baby brother.

---

Ryth instinctively ducked as the top of the Praesidia IV scrapped the roof of the factory. She was trying to avoid the huge vats of molten durasteel and the massive furnaces that lent the whole place a pleasant atmosphere of flaming death with a hint of potential disaster. It was any pilot’s worst nightmare to fly indoors, but Ryth had flown under these kinds of pressures before and was not at all concerned. She hoped, though, that the enemy pilots would not be so calm about it and would make a fatal mistake; Katarn was also figuring on the enemy to have fighters waiting on the other end for her to exit.

The equation was simple, Sith fighters were light and maneuverable with heavy weaponry and light shields. Mon Cal’ ships were heavy, bulbous, with high power shields and relatively light weapons. In a gun fight it would come down to numbers and skill, but Ryth had no intention in letting the Sith have the opportunity to use their guns, or their skill. Without those the fight was very one-sided.

“Hey, Ben?” Ryth started without diverting her focus an ounce, “how much you want to bet that Sith fighters fly by ears rather than eyes?” A rather sadistic grin crossed her face as she punched in the commands for an ion burst. She could sense Ben’s confusion but she didn’t feel like explaining. All fighter pilots were trained to use exclusively visuals to fly, but most were then dumped into a luxurious cockpit filled with computers and droids that told them how to fly and what to do. Amongst some pilots this was known as flying by ear since the person was just doing what they were told. Ryth knew very well that most pilots go soft after some time spent in a cushy cockpit and visual flying was a dead art. Ion shots fry electronics and force tricky situations, it was an archaic battle-style but an effective one in certain situations.

---

Kalsius Ent led the flight of Dredge squadron through the factory carefully. The last thing he wanted was to lose a fighter to the environment. So when, in the middle of a tricky turn, he saw a blue flash of electricity flow over his shield, he became quite nervous. His screen started to crackle, his earpiece let out a piercing shriek and an explosion rocked his ship all over the course of split second after the burst. Alarms started to wail and a monitor reported the loss of several important electrical functions. A second explosion came from beside him and he felt his ship begin to veer radically off course. “I’m sorry brother…”

---

Ryth saw a black hole looming in front of her and sighed heavily; with the sounds of explosions behind her and an exit in front of her she was in a much better position than she had been a half second previous. The Praesidia IV pulled out of the factory and burst towards the skyline with resounding jubilations within. Just as things seemed to be improving, shots came from out of the shadows of several buildings and several Sith fighters moved out to attack. Ryth grinned and whispered “Let’s dance” and threw the engines on full.

The ship raced out towards the sky barely dodging traffic as it continuously accelerated. Mon Cal’ vessels weren’t well known for being fast, but they did have large engines and were capable of quite a bit more than they ever were given credit for; that aside, a certain engineer may have modified the Praesidia IV’s engine without the owner’s express permission…

---

Kurs watched with a slight bit of amazement as the Sith ships started to drop further back. Curious, he asked the computer for some numbers and found that his ship was traveling at a velocity he had never gotten out of her, and was still accelerating! “Ryth,” Kurs asked over the com “What did you do to my ship?” His tone was playful but insistent and his only reply was a giggle.

It was mere seconds before they hit the upper atmosphere and then very quickly left it. “Ryth, our mission is down there!” Master Janta pleaded but to no avail. The hot-headed pilot was hell-bent on whatever maneuver she was performing.

Then, his answer came. “Kurs… We have a problem…”

---

Ryth swallowed hard as she realized what was going on. Her intent had been to reach upper atmosphere then flip and core-dive into the Sith with full forward deflectors. It was crude but even is she didn’t get any she would be so far ahead that she would have lost them. However, as she climbed into the UA she found herself unable to change trajectories. She had been grabbed by a perfectly placed and subtly maneuvered gravity beam. Similar to the tractor-beam, gravity beams were less jarring, less insistent, and required a great deal more power to use. Hence, they didn’t see much use outside of delicate mining operations. Sith capital ships, however, were known to employ them to shift their own gravity wells when entering or exiting systems. In this case it had caught the Praesidia IV dead locked on course. Miss Katarn was effectively core-diving a capital ship!

With trepanation Ryth Katarn replied to the jedi’s question, “Kurs… We have a problem…” She could sense his muscles tense when she was struck with a horrifying, but genius solution. “How much do you love this ship?”

“Why Ryth?”
“I have a way out.”
“I’m listening.”

Ryth explained the solution quickly and got a nervous ok from Master Janta. Beside her, Ben looked at her with a mix of shock, revulsion, and admiration. She knew that if this didn’t work they had all essentially committed suicide, but she didn’t see a much better way. So she pushed the thrusters harder as the Sith capital ship grew rapidly. Over the ships intercom she explained her plan and encouraged everybody aboard to get to the cockpit. Tense seconds passed as the Sith vessel filled visual and the tiny cockpit became crammed with bodies. “Here’s to nothing!” Ryth commented as she hit the ejection sequence.

The head of the Praesidia IV unlocked and a series on tiny explosions disconnected it from the main body which continued up towards the Sith Ship. The gravity beam kept the escape pod locked on course, but the velocity had been reduced to a much more forgiving level. All looked on as the Praesidia IV’s body crashed into the docking area of the capital ship.

A flower of flame erupted within the Sith vessel eviscerating all inside of the docking bay and flowing out through the ship. The explosion caused various fuels, weapons, and gasses to chain react causing a series of explosions that would end up tearing the ship in half. The team watched with a combination of horror and satisfaction as the vessel broke apart silently. They felt the pull of the gravity beam stop and a sense of relaxation spread.

Ryth Katarn, relieved at her success, turned to the crew “At this point, we can use the debris as cover to make our way back down, then make our way to our mark without much disruption. The Sith fleet is probably going to be a bit distracted, and will, most likely, assume that we are dead.” Then, after a moment of thought she added "What a waste of a perfectly good cloaking device..."

[Awaiting reply from Stealth Muffin]

[Stealth Muffin]

Thane sat in the escape pod, wondering how exactly he let himself get dragged in to this suicide mission. He’d been on many dangerous missions before, but none as crazy as this. A smuggler kid pilot, one Jedi Master and his cocky and not-so-funny sidekick trooper, two of the last members of his own squad, the Jedi Knight Akaela, and himself: This was the squad meant to infiltrate the largest and most populated planet in the whole galaxy?

“What exactly was the plan after we jumped ship?” Thane questioned the Jedi Master.
“Ummm…. Ryth?” The Jedi deflected.
“Don’t look at me!” the smuggler snapped, “I just said I could get us out of the gravity beam!”
“Well then,” Thane replied, mumbling under his breath, “I guess it’s good that Reek squadron always has backup plans.”
Thane flashed a smug grin at the rag-tag crew and pulled on his helmet, signaling his accomplices in the process.
Talon, the female Mandalorian, stands up and hands a holocom to Thane. “Sir, we’ve collected the coordinates for all the major Sith Warships in range. Marrick and the fleet are prepared to move on your order.”
“Good,” Thane replied, “Now, I suggest the lot of you hold on to something, and try not to let go. It’s about to get rough.”

-----------------------------------------------------------

Marrick Kraton, the highest ranked pilot in the Mandalorian Army, sat in his newly modified Shaaldar transport ship, waiting for his orders. He had spent weeks modifying this trash heap, on the off chance that he might need it, and it appeared as though his work was not in vain.
A voice crackled in over the comms system, “Commander Kraton, we have been cleared for recovery.”
“About damn time!” He shouted. “All Hands to stations, lives are at stake soldiers!”
Kraton strapped into his seat, and punched in the coordinates for the FTL drive. “Commander Nykar, this is Marrick, prepare to fire on this ship’s location when it exits light speed. Is that understood?”
“Yes, sir, and we shall await orders for your extraction.”
“First time I’ve ever commanded my own troops to shoot AT me.” Marrick laughed to himself, as he punched the throttle into light speed.
Moments later, the shuttle dropped out into the middle of a massive sith war fleet. Enemy fighters began swarming in around his location. Marrick sped toward the floating pod, powering down the ship and letting it glide closer. “All hands prepare for Mag pulse, in 3…2…1…”

-------------------------------------------

“What was that?!?” shouted Ben, who was white-knuckling the overhead support bar.
“That would be our ticket out of this deathtrap,” replied Thane, “also known as an EMP Blast. This one should have been enough to disable most, if not all, enemy ships for a short period of time.”
“Wouldn’t that disable the rescue ship as well?” Inquired the Jedi master.
“It would if they were stupid enough not to shut down their power.”
Suddenly the pod crashed into something, and then lurched forward as though it was being hauled off by another ship.
“Thane, what is our plan, where exactly is this pod being taken to?”
“Planetside,” stated the Mandalorian, “Which I believe is where our mission was to begin with.”
“It’s too dangerous,” retorted the Jedi Master, “I can’t allow you to risk your lives for that Datacron: it’s not worth it.”
“If you wish to go, then Marrick will take you when we land. But be warned: If you do not come and claim it yourself, we will take it to Mandalore, and we will inform him the Jedi backed out on the deal.
If the Mandalorians recover the data, then we shall keep it, and use it for our own purpose. You know I do not wish to see that happen, but my allegiance to my people comes before my allegiance to the Order. “
Marrick hovers over a platform with the pod, slowly loosening it from the tractor beams grasp. It lands on the platform with a loud thud. The pod doors burst open and the two Mandalorian soldiers burst out and start scanning the area. Thane steps out, takes in his surroundings, and begins to walk towards commander Marrick as he lands. “So Jedi, what will it be? Risk the danger of the mission? Or risk losing that Datacron to the Mandalorian Army? We may be allies now, but do you want that to fall into Mandalore’s Hands?

[waiting for reply from Mr. Blue]

[Mr. Blue]

"My lord, their ship has been destroyed,” spoke a man in gray, as he bowed before Darth Kyren.
“Have their remains been recovered?” Kyren’s words sliced into the young Imperial lieutenant.
“N-no, my lord.”
“Find them, now!”

The officer scurried off, before the woman decided he wasn’t of use anymore. The life expectancy of an Imperial officer serving under Darth Kyren was only longer than those serving on Purge Squadron when failure occurred. Across the room, Darth Lothus let out a low rumbling growl.
“Yes, I know they’re still alive,” responded Kyren, her voice laced with indignation.
The wookie growled again, dropping his arms from their folded position as he ceased leaning against a wall. The Imperial personnel around him began to increase their distance from him.

“This incompetence is not my fault,” Kyren spoke, turning away from Lothus to leave the room.
The wookie roared at the woman, causing all of the officers near him to scatter.
“How dare you,” she spoke, stopping, but not turning around.
The wookie chuckled and roared again.
“You dare challenge me?” she answered, turning toward him.
Darth Lothus’s growl echoed heavily throughout the room as he retrieved his lightsaber hilt from his bandolier.
“I will not suffer your petty challenges, you insignificant beast.”

Lothus roared again as his crimson blade flew from the hilt he carried. Kyren released her own lightsaber in a flash, bringing the sword up in reverse to block the wookie’s charge. Lothus attacked mercilessly at the woman while she deflected and dodged his powerful swings. The wookie was skilled, and a far better swordsman than Kyren. Within minutes, he had her pinned down, toying with her as he pushed her down, sabers locked.
Kyren smiled. “You’re powerful, but only as powerful as a beast of burden unleashed from its cage.”
The wookie thundered with feral cries as he began to overpower his opponent. Her smirk never faded, though, as she slipped out of his grasp. She slipped between the wookie’s legs and from behind him unleashed a storm of violet lightning, the attack surging through Lothus’s body as he dropped his sword. The wookie’s cries of agony were only matched by Kyren’s cackling as she continued her electric onslaught.

“You dare question me again, and your final moments will belong to me, beast,” she laughed as she continued attacking. Her storm soon faded, as the wookie laid on the floor, smoke rising from his body. He made not a sound in his defeat, but only gathered his strength, in order to rise from this moment of weakness.

“Lieutenant,” barked Kyren, as she turned away from her victory, “I want trajectories on all wreckage from that destroyed ship now.”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“We’re not giving up,” answered Jedi Master Kurs, after a moment of thinking. “There’s no way we can give it up when we’re so close. No doubt that the Temple is incredibly fortified, given their knowledge of our arrival.”
“Actually,” smiled Ben, “I think they didn’t expect us to survive this long. No doubt their defenses were entirely focused on an early clean up of this mess.”
“Like I said, we’re not giving up. I understand if some of you don’t want to go. It is a suicide mission.”
The Twi’lek responded first. “The Force will guide us. There is no death, there is the Force.”
None of the others argued, as they began to make preparations. The airdrop provided by the Mandalorian sleeper agents on Corscant would provide the entry via one of the former council towers, and an escape through the hijacking of an Imperial shuttle at the location would be their escape.

“Ryth, Ben, Talon, and Fang, you’re in charge of securing our escape. I want anyone proficient with a lightsaber on my retrieval team. I suggest you prepare you equipment now. We don’t have long for them to figure out we’re still alive.”