theforce.net Squadron- JOIN!!!

?Are all the Avengers aboard?? Fury asked a bridge officer.

?Yes.?

?Go to hyperspace now.?

?Where my lord?? The bridge officer looked unhappy that they were leaving the fight.

?Anywhere. Just get us away from here.?

 

My, I'm dead and so, it seems, is this thread. C'mon, post something guys!

 

The last Super Star Destroyer had fled into hyperspace and most of the Coruscant Sector Fleet had returned to Coruscant leaving a small task force to help protect Borleas. The Force.Net squad had returned to base and I was on my way to see Commander Trika about a mission.

I walked into the Commander's office and saluted. Mara Jade, our squad's intelligence officer was there already.

"Commander," I said, "I'd like to check up on that strike mission I proposed before we were so rudely interrupted."

"I was just talking that over with Mara," Commander Trika said, bringing up some data on her computer. "She has volunteered to help track down the exact location of the enemy shipyards so you and the rest of the squadron can move in and hit it."

I smiled at Mara. "Good, you line them up and we'll knock them down."

Both women looked at each other, sarcasm written all over their faces. I could just imagine them both thinking, Corellians.

Commander Trika went on to describe the mission, then dismissed Mara and I.

I went to check up on Ty.

 

Sitting by herself in the corner of the pilots lounge, Ty Jarlson wished she was anywhere but here.

Chance had made her go out and try to get some interaction with the rest of the team. She had argued with him about it, but he eventually won the war, when he threatened to destroy her lucky sabaac cards.

So here she was now, sulking with her own miseries. Pretty much ignoring everyone else who was celebrating their latest victory.

She was so into her own thoughts she jumped when she felt someone place their hands on her shoulders.

"Oh, Janus, it's you. Why did you come over to me?"

 

Darth_Invidious, you happen to be a Sith Lord, so why can't you just miraculously survive? We've got Bullwinkle defeating Sith Lords with bologna sandwiches and fish, and yet you can't somehow pop out of this predicament? You were one of our primary people that posted here, and it seems, that this thread is dying...we need a few bad guys to make the first moves...
Well, enough of my begging, onward with my post...

 

Trika Kenobi stared at the stack of papers on her desk. One more and they would topple over, she was sure of it. Letters were on one side, from the Senate, from other squadrons, and the other half was taken up by base plans, moving plans, new orders, and, on top of that, were some of the best bologna sandwiches she had ever tasted. That Bullwinkle sure had a gift...
Taking a bite of the sandwich, she picked up the first paper and studied it, making a note to update it today. She had absolutely no clue how many of her fighters had survived. She had seen them walking around, but that didn't exactly mean their ships had survived. Howlrunner would indeed be busy...
Their next objective? Find those Imps and make sure they never came back...

 

Darth Invidious had closed his eyes one second, refusing to see the end of his flagship, his fleet and, of course, himself as Borleias' sun filled the sky outside the SSD's bridge. Then he felt a strange tingle all over him. Curious, he thought. He han't thought being incinerated by a star would feel like this. Much less that he'd feel anything in the nanoseconds it'd take for his flagship to be destroyed.

But a second had passed. Then two. And he knew that somehow, he was still breathing. He was still alive. He then opened his eyes.

"Welcome my friend", said Darth Predator. "I wasn't altogether sure that would work, but I am glad it did." The other Sithlord smiled at him smuggly, obviously enjoying the other's surprise. "That, as they say, was a prety close shave."

Invidious glared at him, then blinked and looked at his surroundings. He was aboard a Star Destroyer, that was for sure. Probably Darth Predator's Avenger. But how in the world's had he gotten here?? He looked at Predator, a petulant and confused look sprawled all over his face. "How??"

Predator grinned again and waved his hand downward. "This room, the device your standing on. The ultimate escape chute: a fully functional long range teletransporter."

"A teletransporter?", repeated Invidious. "But, I thought that technology had long been lost?!"

"It had", said Predator. Teletransportation technology was almost as old as hyperdrive technology. And just like the hyperdive, it's creation and origins lost in the distant past of the Old Republic. However, teletransportation had fallen out of favor some ten thousand years ago due to a series of grisly accidents atributted to renegades and terrorists. The technology had been outlawed and long since forgotten. "However, I managed to find schematics and even a fully functional model on a dead world in the Outer Rim. Installing the teleporters on my flagship and personal vehicles soon followed, just in case a speedy escape is necessary."

"But how could you lock on to me from so far away?", asked Invidious, still bewildered at the miraculous device.

Predator smiled and pointed at him. "The hem of your cloak. It is lined with a special fiber that functions as a long range homing device. My disciples and I wear similar cloaks, just in case."

"You could have told me", growled Invidious.

"I still did not fully trust you, not after the unpleasantness you caused" Predator admonished him with a warning look, Darth Fire and Darth Shadow II flanking him. But just as quickly he smiled softly, his tone congenial again. "Yet you are here talking to me instead of floating subatomically over Borleias' sun. I hope this shows you I do not abandon my partners."

"The demonstration was...effective, m'lord Predator", said Invidious, bowing softly. "I owe you my life once again". He gnashed his teeth and microscopically shook his head, not quite liking what he was about to say. "You now have my unwavering loyalty, trust and support."

"I graciously accept such gifts, Lord Invidious. Come now, and join us for dinner, we have much to discuss."

 

There was a slight rumble underneath out feet, and Stan and I reached out to steady ourselves on some nearby walls. "We just went to lightspeed," I said. "The Avenger must be retreating!"

Stan's face began to light up. "Which means..."

"We won!" we shouted together, jumping about with glee. "Even though we did absolutely nothing to help, we won!"

"But we're in hyperspace," Stan said, sobering. "Heading away from base and the New Republic."

"Yes."

"Still onboard a ship with a bunch of murdering Sith."

"Yes."

"So..." The Imp looked surprisingly calm. "As a summary of our current predicament, we're trapped on some star destroyer owned by a bunch of Sith, which is now in hyperspace, heading to a unknown destination where there are probably more Sith, none of which will be happy when they find out that we hitched a ride on their ship. They'll probably toss us out the air-lock when they discover us, if not chopping us up into itty-bitty pieces with their sabers first."

I stared. "You're taking this very well."

"Allow me to explain." Stan smiled. "You see, Avan, I am no longer the cowardly, whining Stan you once knew. That was simply a carefully constructed facade; an alter-ego, if you will. My mission demanded it."

"Mission?" I glanced at the lightsaber on his belt. "You're a Jedi Knight?"

"Indeed." The Imp nodded solemnly. "It was imperative I keep this secret from you before this. You could have compromised my identity with your brash pilot's antics."

I made a face. "Thanks for your confidence."

"Not at all, my friend. Oh, by the way, my real name is Sir Stanford Jerem Aldarich Halcyon III. But you can still call me Stan, if you wish."

"This actually helps things a lot." I looked around. "Since we're on a Sith ship, and since you're sworn to do away with all of their sort, getting off of here should be no problem. Maybe we could break something important on the way out, too."

"Ah, but why stop there?" Ever since he had confessed to being a Jedi, Stan suddenly seemed a heck of a lot more intelligent. "One of your counterparts mentioned something about tracking the enemy ships to their base before the battle. Perhaps we could remain hidden onboard the Avenger and see where it docks. Then we could transmit our coordinates back to our Theforce.net Squadron allies!"

"Assuming the Sith don't find us out and slice us into Mynock bait," I said dourly.

"Elementary, my dear Avan. There's always that chance." Stanford struck a daring pose. "But we are not afeared of such a trifling danger!"

"Speak for yourself." I peered at him. "And where did you pick up that damned English accent?"

 

See there? Nothin' to it...
Now as for the rest of you, please post!

Trika Kenobi

 

Trika's facial features dropped from the smile she wore to a completely different frown. The new role call was astonishingly short. And worst of all, some hadn't even showed up in the last couple of days. One of her best, which she would never let him know about it, RogueLead11 was missing. Several of the others hadn't checked in (aka: haven't posted in a while).
The Commander pushed her intercom button. "Kit'?"
The other's voice came through clearly. "Yes, sir?"
"I want a search to be made for those officers not checking in for the last," she paused, "two days. If the New Republic can't find the resources to do so, I'll do it myself."

[This message has been edited by Trika_Kenobi (edited 02-06-2000).]

 

Ty "Jedi-Jade" Jarlson must not have heard me calling her name because when I placed a hand on her shoulder, she jumped like a frightened mynock.

"Oh, Janus, it's you. Why did you come over to me?" Dark rings circled her bloodshot eyes.

"Well," I said taking a seat across from her, "I haven't seen my old sabaac partner in a while and frankly, Chance over there was getting a little worried." I pointed to her astromech. "He asked me to come over and see if I could help. When I talked to him a minute ago, he mentioned something about family troubles. Any chance I could get the whole story?"

She sighed and glanced sadly down at the table. It was not a good sign. She was trying to shut me out. "I'd really rather not talk about it right now," she said slowly, still looking at the table.

"That's certainly you're right," I said raising my hands in surrender. "But Chance said that if you did that then I'd have to do something with these," I held up her deck of sabaac cards.

She didn't even glance up.

"Look," I said seriously, "you are my friend. As such, if you have a problem, I want to help. You might not realize it but you have a lot of friends in the squadron and all of us want to help. But you have to tell us what is going on."

We both sat there for what seemed like an hour until, finally, Ty broke the silence. "Ok," she began softly, "my brother is a sith. He is flying with Avenger squadron. I thought he was dead, but..." she trailed off.

My heart nearly stopped. Avenger squad was responsible for much of the damage the New Republic had suffered in the last few weeks. They had killed a lot of good pilots. Now I find out that Ty was related to one of them? It was almost too much. What would I do now?

 

Trika came storming out of her office, paper in hand, raging about something else. When she entered the pilot's lounge, she saw some sitting and chatting about the days events, as for the others, well, that was why she was here...
In her best, loud, booming voice, she asked, "Has anyone seen the following officers in the past two days?" She ripped of the list quickly, looking up at those present.
Then...silence...
"Well, ladies and gentlemen, we're going after them..."

 

((Gomen, gomen, I blame by danged server *dangs it* cuz it was down for a few days.. But now it's working and I'm baaaack! *and there was much rejoicing* yaaay, horaaay. ))

Wormy sat reading over the role-call list, and wondered why it had been so quiet for the last few days. She noted those who were off the list and nodded understandingly.
"Ah, I see."


((i am so boring.))

 

Mara Jade gulped down a mouthful of rich, hot coffee and stared bleakly at her computer screen. For the last few days she'd practically lived in front of her computer, gathering intelligence for the planned mission to find the Imps' base. She'd made some progress, but it was so exceedingly boring...

She recalled the last time she'd decided to take a break and go to the pilots' lounge. It hadn't exactly turned out very well...

Well, it's not like that sort of thing happens every day, she reminded herself. This time, I'm sure there will be no bombs or Sith lords... besides, I need to talk to Flight Officer Allor about this mission...

She grimaced. And besides THAT, if I spend one more moment in this blasted room with only a voice in my head for company, I might go stark, staring mad.

Hey, I resent that!

Mara ignored it. She was beginning to suspect that there was more to this voice than an indication of some bizarre mental condition, but whatever it was, it was kriffing annoying. So she paid no attention to it.

Instead, the intelligence officer stood, stretched, and wandered down towards the pilots' lounge.

The scene was much more sedate than she would have expected after a victory such as they'd achieved, but then again, there were many pilots missing. Even though Mara thought the peace and quiet was a decent change, she was extremely worried for her missing comrades. So many had been gone without trace for so long...

She located Flight Officer Allor at a table talking to Ty Jarlson. Something told Mara that now was not a good time to butt into their conversation. She found an unoccupied table and sat down, resting her head in her hands.

She was concerned for Jarlson. She didn't know the pilot very well, but it didn't take a brain surgeon to figure out that something was troubling her. Mara was glad to see that she was, at least, talking to Allor about it.

Maybe I should just let her know, without intruding, that if she needs a sympathetic ear...

Jade watched the two pilots out of the corner of one eye. Yeah, she'd do that.

 

Kit burst into the lounge room. Everyone looked at her including commander Trika who only managed a
"and where in Sith have you been?"
"Um," Kit looked rather guilty. "I overdosed on Caffiene and I have had a major hangover. Sorry guys."

***
///sorry guys I just started school and everything has been rather hectic///

 

Darth Invidious sat on the Sith meditation chamber deep in the heart of the SSD Avenger, deep in thought and concentration. He had been sitting there for the last five hours, coalescing his thoughts on the events of the last month. It had helped him a great deal, by fueling his hate, anger and his desire for pure, unadulterated vengeance. Vengeance against those who had wronged him. Vengeance against that hideously lucky band of rebel scum known as theforce.net Squadron.

Every encounter with them had ended up in disaster. During their first entanglement, he had lost his original flagship, the Intimidator. And even though the ship's destruction should've meant the end for the rebel scum, they survived it somehow. At their second encounter, his new flagship, the SSD Annihilator had almost suffered a similar fate. However, he had managed to kill some of their number and effectively drove them out of their new base. But he had almost been stranded down on that planet, right in the middle of planetary bombardment by his fleet, if it hadn't been for Darth Predator's timely assistance.

And now, the most recent setback, when right in the middle of what should've been an Imperial masacre, the rebel scum had somehow infiltrated and infected the computer systems on most of his fleet, slaving it together and lanching it on a collision course with Borleias' sun. Seven Star Destroyers and his precious Annihilator obliterated virtually the blink of an eye. It was indeed a miracle he had survived that one.

He sighed loudly. It was not his way to be a team player. Much less, partner with another sithlord -- or 13 of them. But he owed Predator much. And he was honor bound to repay his debts.

However, he was also honor bound to remove the torn that had firmly planted itself on his side. theforce.net squadron had to die. By his own hand, if necessary. Yes, he would hunt them all down, and run each and every one of them with his lightsaber, or force grip their scrawny necks till their eyeballs popped out. Oh yesss!!!

He smiled to himself, eyes still closed, the vengeful thoughts sending ripples of warmth through his body, opening him even further to the pure power of the Dark Side. It was then when he felt it. Something very faint against the background. Very faint, and doing its best to go unnoticed. Something decidely wrong in the middle of his immediate universe. Something quite unmistakable.

Light.

The lightside of the Force.

Yes...a lightside user, right here on this ship, moving freely about and with a purpose.

A JEDI!!

He briefly wondered how this was possible, but quickly found the answer to his unspoken question. He must've snuck inside during the battle of Borleias. Him...and his little friend, yes. He sniffed softly, as if catching their scent. Yes, pure rebel scum, the both of them. Their stench tells me as much.

And quite possibly, pure theforce.net squadron rebel scum, he concluded. And these two would be the first to die by his hand.

He wondered if Predator had felt their presence before now. If he had, he should've immediately dealt with the Jedi before he did whatever he was planning to do here. But, if he hadn't felt the Jedi's presence...it would be all the sweeter. He would gleefully toss the Jedi's head in his lap, pointing out the sloppiness of his overall security. All in all, it would be quite the thrill to see the expression on the other's face.

Yes, it would be quite priceless.

And with that, he stood from his chair, draping his cloak tightly around him. Grabbing his lightsaber handle, he stepped out of the meditaton chamber and focused on the Jedi's faint scent. He then glanced at the audience and put a finger on his lips.

"Shhh. Be vewy, vewy quiet. I'm hunting Webel scum."

He walked into the dimly lit corridors, his deep chuckle resonating through the darkness.

 

As stands, here is the list I've compiled of theforce.netter's who are still here:

1. Jedi Master Gimpy (Haven't heard from you in a while, but you did kinda start this thread)
2. Padawan Lunetta (ditto)
3. Jedi Jen (Haven't heard from you in a while)
4. Jedi Jade
5. Bullwinkle
6. Leila (ditto)
7. *empty*
8. Jedi Igraine
9. Charlemagne (Haven't heard from since the start of this thread)
10. Kirana's Clone (Haven't heard from since start of thread)
11. RogueLead11
12. Idiot's Array

 

Trika looked around in dismay. So many pilots missing, so little for a search and rescue mission...
*********************

 

Laguna stalked the halls of the massive cruiser. The Sith knew he was here, he could sense the eagerness of Invidious. This time the Jedi would walk away victorious.

Presently, however there were other matters at hand. Laguna was deep within the bowels of the ship, near the computer core. His plan was foolhardy and dangerous, but insane enough to work. He made his way toward the control room, disguising his presence from officers and troopers through his skill in the Force.

His destination was a cramped room lit only by a dull red bulb. This was where he could remotely access the code for the ship's self destruct and procede to lock out the other teminals. It took a matter of minutes, faster than he'd anticipated. Laguna set the timer for thirty minutes with a silent count down. It would be time enough for him to met with the Sith once more and level the score.

Tricking the computer, he executed the emergency program for a radiation leak and the entire core area was locked down.

Not a soul on the ship would be aware of his actions until the moment of their deaths.

His time had come.

 

Darth Predator looked at the computer screen with disbelief. A rebel had gotten on board the ship had the core for meltdown. He had also locked down the area so no one could access the core. The rebel is intelligent. But not enough.

?Shut down the main computer.? Predator said calmly.

Darth Fury looked at him and quickly complied. Lights flickered off and red emergency lights came on. He would have to work fast. The turbo-lifts were off too. Predator however knew other ways around the ship. He sprinted down the 3-kilometer corridor that lead to the core of the ship. Not even out of breath Predator step inside the main control room for the core. Red lights flashed indicating a radiation leak. Predator felt no danger so continued forward. The rebel had triggered a core overload. Very good. The only way I can stop this is by shutting down the core.

Predator went to the control board. The entire ship was under his command. Even the core. He hit all 12 controls scattered around the control room with the Force. They were made so that a single man could not do it alone. But it did not stop the Sith Lord. The vibration in the room ceased and so did the hum. Predator reached inside his cloak and pulled out his comlink.

?Ignite the secondary core.? A voice came back from the comlink.

?Yes sir.?

His mission complete Predator stretched with the Force to find the rebel. He did not get far. JEDI!!!!


[This message has been edited by Darth Predator (edited 02-08-2000).]

 

The tech frowned, another message from General Kevin Ski came over the holonet. It actually watched it this time. The General was pleading to the Republic. A large mercenary fleet had a attacked his squadron and he needed help from those who could. The tech took a record of the message and ran to his commaning officer. As he ran about the corridors to the officer's room, he ran into Trikka Kenobi.

He started to get up but she stopped him. "What's the rush?" she asked.

And he started to tell her of General Kevin Ski.

 

"I sense another being on this ship. One of the light, as I am." Stan perked up. "He has a similar mission. But one of greater urgency."

"Oh good," I said, scanning the nearby hallway for any approaching Imperials or Sith. "We can track him down and he can help us send the location of the ship back to the others."

"I'm afraid it's not that simple." Stan shrugged. "It appears he has set the ship to self-destruct."

I jumped nearly high enough to hit the ceiling. "Is he insane?" I yelled. "He'll blow us all to smithereens!"

"He apparently is not aware that we are here," Stan said calmly, trying to placate me. "He is focused on only one purpose - to destroy the Sith, with no regard to his own safety. Admirable, but rather short-sighted. For the self-destruct has already been deactivated by a Sith."

"Can they do that?"

"Of course. Give them some credit."

"I like our plan better."

"Well, now we have a new plan. If this Languna - for that is his name - runs into trouble, it is my duty to provide support as a fellow Jedi Knight. I will go to assist him."

"Your duty?" I repeated, holding up a hand for him to stop. "Then what am I supposed to do? Sit here and twiddle my thumbs, waiting for some Sith Lord to trip over me and crush my windpipe just for fun?"

"No, I'm sure he'll find some way to horribly torture you first." Stan waved a hand. "You must go reactivate the self-destruct, then find us all a way off of here. If the ship is going to explode, we might as well not be on it when it does." As I turned around, bewildered by the winding maze of corridors around us - we had been walking around the star destroyer for some time - he pointed to my right. "The control room to the Avenger's core and engine room are that way, three and a half kilometers down. You need to bring the ship out of hyperspace before we can jump out, you know. Then take two rights, and a left. Half a klick past that is the docking bay."

I had a hard time containing my surprise. "How can you Jedi figure all this stuff out?"

Stan wordlessly indicated a large sign on the wall above us. It read, Ship Schematic - You are Here and had a big read arrow pointing to the exact middle.

I groaned. "It's a good thing I took cross-country in high-school." I gave my partner a salute. "I take it you'll come and find me."

"That I will." Stan hesitated, taking his lightsaber from his belt. "And if I don't make it... you'll know."

"I only know that you're going to make it. So don't get me all depressed about something that's never going to happen." I drew in a deep breath, then started off at a sprint. "I guess I'll see you later!"

Stan went the other direction. His voice echoed down the hall to me. "And may the Force be with you!"

I smiled. "No. I think you might need it more."

 

As Darth Invidious made his way to the reactor rooms, he paused. He gazed up to the corridor, looking at nothing in particular as he attuned his Force senses. He felt it again, and raised an eyebrow in admiration.

He had been mistaken. It was not just one Jedi with a hapless 'norm' companion. But two! And the second one...yes, it had been the very same Jedi that had confronted Darth Talon back at Reis'Tei. He had been busy with his own battle against Darth Predator, but he had remembered the lone Jedi. He had proven a worthy opponent to Talon, even if in the end, he had been defeated. He had and Predator had assumed Talon had finished him. At least, that was what he had reported to them. It seems they would have to have a long talk with their colleague very soon.

He closed his eyes and shifted his head to the right. Darth Predator's presence in the Force was unmistakable. And his actions were even more crystal-clear. He had spotted the Jedi infiltration too, and was heading straight towards Talon's erstwhile opponent. However, so was the Jedi Knight he had spotted earlier.

And for a moment he considered his options. Either go to his colleague's help or leave him on his own against two Jedi. It would be interesting to know how good the Lord Predator was; to see if he was good enough to fend off two Jedi opponents. He then shook his head. No, stop it you fool.
Darth Predator had proven himself to be a worthy ally. And he owed the man his life twice now. No, he would suppress such baser Sith instincts and go to his side. Besides, he felt the coming battle would be exhilirating.

Still, that left one problem: the 'norm' who had been left on his own by his companion, who was now making his way towards the hangar bay. He smirked. That problem could be easily dealt with. He walked up to a nearby com terminal and flicked the comlink on. "Ship security, this is Lord Invidious."

"Yes, Lord Invidious?", replied the duty officer stiffling a yawn. Invidious grimaced, staring at the comlink. Middle of the ship's night or not, such sloppiness left a lot to be desired. He had half a mind to go 'discipline' the young officer personally. But that could wait. "We have a Rebel infiltrator making his way to the main hangar bay. Intercept and terminate on sight! That is all", he growled back, putting an edge on his voice.

The duty officer picked up his cue and quickly snapped to attention. "Yes sir!", he exclaimed.

Invidious flicked off the comlink and again threw his hood over his head, as he sprinted towards the soon-to-be-dead Jedi.

 

Trika Kenobi frowned at her options. Gosh darn it...I feel like I'm talking to a brick wall...!
She looked at her remaining pilots, eager as usual. With the help of Mara Jade, they would have the plans they need in order to eliminate the Imps from this sector of space.
"You all ready?"
******************************
*Waits for [cough]some sort of reply[/cough] from the rest...*

 

Laguna rounded the corner to be confronted by two suspicious looking characters. They appeared streangely familiar.

"RogueLead11?"

"Yeah," came the ever casual reply. "What the hell do you think you're doing here Laguna? Are you insane setting the self destruct?"

"No."

"The Sith shut it down for us anyway."

"They what?"

"Shut it down. They powered down the entire computer system."

"Well, I noticed that."

"So, you avoided my question - what are you doing here?"

"What, what am I doing here? I took a small escape craft, set an approach vector to this ship and powered down my engines. The inertia let me drift to the hull and I got in through the garbage disposal unit."

"Nice."

Laguna sighed. "At least there are two of us now. I never realised you were a Jedi."

"There's a lot about me you don't know," replied Eleven with a grin. "Let's go."