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AstralProjection

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re: Peer Review - Consular Part 7

And now, here comes part 7 of the long neglected Consulars' tale...read it over when you can and give me your thoughts, as always.

Their next chapter will have them meeting up with future Gaiutus and company, who have yet to be advanced in the plot to where these folks are.

I should have the Gragus vs. Smugglers chapter, and maybe Consular Part 8 coming soon, hopefully done before the weekend.

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Tormented dreams were my only reward for my valiant efforts against Darth Interitus, and as I awoke from my brief slumber I was instantly reminded of that struggle. My chest ached and burned where the Sith’s lightning had struck me, and though I could tell Quan had done his best to heal the damage, there were some wounds that took time to heal. That thought hit home even harder as I gazed over at Aux, wearily struggling to his feet from his bed of old linens. And some wounds are carried with you your entire life, I thought despondently. He looked relieved to be back with his friends, but Aux had suffered through so much in his life already that I was certain the scars of this battle would stay with both of us for a long time.

“Rise and shine, men, the campout is over. We’ve got to be moving onward,” Quan said with a warm smile, interrupting my train of thought. The others were rising to their feet as well, stretching and looking as though they, too, wished they could sleep the entire night. T7-A4 wheeled up from behind Quan and began rocking and chirping his relief at seeing all of us on our feet again.
“It looks like you’re ready for action at least, T7,” I said with a weak smile and gave the droid a reassuring pat. He answered with an excited series of clicks and whistles that told me he was in agreement. “I take it the plan’s still the same, Quan?” I asked, and stretched and attempted to wake my sore muscles that were still trying to cling to slumber.

“Yes, while you were resting I did some brief scouting. We will continue as planned. There are a handful of guards stationed around the perimeter of WeatherNet. The nearest entrance is unguarded, most likely sealed off by security protocols. Lucky for us, we have someone that should be able to crack them,” he spoke, giving a nod toward my Astromech droid with his final comment.

“What if one of the perimeter guards notices our presence?” Amorl asked. The dim light of the apartment basement cast strange shadows across the young Jedi’s shaved head, emphasizing the tattoo on his left cheek that I had never paid much attention to before. I wondered what its meaning might be, if it was some sort of throwback to his days in slavery that I knew so little about, but quickly put an end to my wandering thoughts when Quan answered.

“Don’t worry about that. I’m going to take care of distracting the guards. I want the rest of you to move for the entrance as swiftly as possible. T7, would you do the honors, and bring us up a map?” The Astromech droid wheeled forward to stand in the center of our group and one of his lenses lit up, projecting a holographic map of the exterior of WeatherNet that cast a weak glow across the laundry room. “T7’s scans show this as the most easily accessible entrance. When we exit the building, we’ll sprint north two blocks, and then the buildings will open up. There’s not much cover crossing the plaza to the facility doors, which is why I’m going to have to run interference. These Sith troops may be driven, but they didn’t seem terribly perceptive. I was able to move past them all undetected while you slept. A few simple mind tricks should keep them occupied long enough for you to cross. I’ll draw them to the other side of the building while you all sprint to the target. From there, the show belongs to our droid friend here,” Quan told us, with his last sentence accentuated by an enthusiastic whine from the engineering droid.

“So we’re just going to cover T7 until we’re in? And what comes next once we’re inside?” Jareth asked our Korunnai leader, scratching his head, still feeling as if the plan failed to address our biggest concerns – that we were entering a facility crawling with the enemy, and that the greatest evil still lay ahead, and we could all feel it.

“I’ll be honest, Jareth. I don’t know. We’re going to try to avoid combat wherever possible and locate whatever civilians and survivors may still be inside the facility. I can only hope that the Sith haven’t gained complete control of WeatherNet, and that whoever sent the distress signal we intercepted is still alive.” The young Jedi nodded, not looking displeased, but not exactly looking confident in Quan’s answer, either. He seemed to note Jareth’s lack of faith, and continued, “I know we’re walking into the unknown here, but don’t let yourselves be distracted by the evil waiting for us in there. When I was scouting, I sensed another disturbance in the Force as well. My heart tells me there is more than evil at work inside WeatherNet this eve. Hope is not lost.” Quan’s words lingered in my head. Without thinking, I spoke up in agreement with our leader, perhaps intending to think that which I spoke aloud, but it did not matter.

“He’s right. Hope isn’t lost. I just faced the most dangerous opponent of my brief career as a Jedi, and somehow lived to tell the tale thanks your help, my friends. I can’t think of a more promising sign than that. Sure, I’m a little worse for wear, but our mission here is not yet complete, and we must not let fatigue pave the way for despair to enter our hearts. There is still much to be thankful for, and still much to hope for. Now that we are closer, I feel it too. There are other forces at work here tonight than those of sorrow and pain. With each step, we get closer to our destiny, my friends. Do not falter now.” As I surveyed the faces of my companions in the darkness, the young men before me already seemed older than the ones I remembered from back on Nar Shaddaa.

Quan seemed to appreciate the morale-boosting speech, and nodded approvingly. “We will not falter. We will work together until this evil is stopped. Tonight, we are fighting for more than our lives. The memories of our fallen brothers and sisters lost in the attack on the Temple will be with us. We must honor them with the gift of life that the Force has seen fit to grant us in the best way possible, by helping those in need of our aid, no matter how weary we are from battle. What say you, friends?” Our leader extended his hand, and we all joined them together in the center of our circle.

Aux caught my eye, and a hint of a smile crossed his face for the first time in what felt like ages. He knew exactly what to say. “For the Republic!” We all echoed his cry, before setting off into the night once more, the reminder of the untold losses our Order had suffered still fresh in all of our minds.

We crossed the open area between the apartment buildings and WeatherNet without much difficulty. I was in the lead and our younger companions followed closely at my heels. Quan had split off from the group first, and was using his stealth abilities to slowly lead the Sith’s perimeter guards away from the entrance we were attempting to breach. It was a simple matter of creating disturbances to draw the troops away from their posts, rustling in nearby garbage compactors, falling debris from a nearby rooftop, moving objects in their peripheral vision to slowly convince the soldiers that they were being watched. It was only a matter of time before the nearest guards had decided to investigate the racket being stirred up around the corner of the building, for fear of someone breaching the facility on their watch. Failure was not tolerated in the Sith Empire, and those guards that failed to secure their posts would pay for their mistakes with their lives. Unfortunately for these guards, their diligence was actually allowing the very thing they sought to avoid.

With the guards otherwise occupied we rushed across the square, and I hoped T7’s sensors were correct. The initial sweeps told us that there were no guards posted above ground level, but we were so easily visible to anyone with a wandering eye that my palms were sweating with anxiety. All it would’ve taken was one Sith patrol to sweep the perimeter and we would have been discovered instantly. We approached the sealed service entrance quickly, and T7 wasted no time getting his mission underway.

“Okay, everyone keep your eyes open, and try to stay low, out of sight. Keep behind these support columns if you can, that’s the closest thing we have to cover here.” I followed my own instructions, and tucked myself behind one of the columns that held up this section of the building. The massive permacrete edifice of the Weather Control Network’s headquarters towered above me, with wings sprawling out to the South and West of our position. The walls were interspersed with columns that formed small alcoves to either side of the door that T7 worked on. This branch of the Weather Control Network was laid out in a cruciform pattern, and our chosen entrance was tucked into a corner of the central hub. We would be visible to any Sith that happened to glance out the viewports in our direction, but thankfully the wings of the facility provided more cover than vulnerabilities for our little group. The odds of a Sith trooper wistfully gazing out a viewport toward the central hub of the facility were exceedingly slim.

The night was darker than I had ever remembered on Coruscant. I had never seen that many lights extinguished on our capital planet that never seemed to rest. As far back as my memory could grasp, Coruscant had always been a glowing, scintillating ballet of lights and sounds to me. The emergency conditions brought about by the Sith assault on Coruscant were something that few, if any alive that day had ever experienced, though. There were many firsts recorded for me and my band of young Jedi since we had landed, and the quiet, unsettling darkness of this night on our galactic capital was just another one in a long list. The air felt calm, yet it was the sort of calm that one often experienced as a prologue to a violent, passionate storm.

While contemplating the calm darkness that surrounded us I watched T7’s probe slowly turning as my droid communicated with the facility’s computer. I had no idea how long cracking the door codes might take, so I quietly whispered to the busy engineering droid, “T7, how are you making out with the computer? I’m nervous that we’re too exposed out here.” I received an exasperated series of low whines as the droid continued working that told me it was running into more difficulties than we had expected. I hadn’t worked with T7 long enough to understand all of the Astromech droid’s vocalizations, but I could always gather from the tone of its various clicks or beeps how it felt about a given situation. I could tell that we had a little more time to wait. Thankfully, there was still no sign of the nearest guards returning to their posts. I couldn’t help but wonder what Quan was up to on the other side of the building, how he was keeping their attention. As long as he returned safely, I supposed it didn’t matter.

My train of thought was interrupted as I heard strange banging sounds issuing forth from a large metal grate in the wall behind Jareth. It looked like some part of the building’s ventilation system. The grate was angled downward in a way that made peering inside difficult, but it almost sounded as if the sounds were coming closer. Through my Force sight, I could see life forms making their way down the tunnel, and I silently motioned for my companions to remain silent. I had no way of knowing who was going to emerge from the ventilation shaft, and I could feel my veil beginning to saturate from the nervous perspiration forming across my brow.

I quickly motioned for Jareth to back away from the grate, and he joined Amorl and Aux, tucking himself against the opposite wall. I stepped to the side and silently indicated to my companions to be ready for anything, and let my right hand rest on the hilt of one of my lightsabers. As the noises neared the grate, a blaster round sounded off, shattering the tense silence and blowing open the grate, sending it clattering to the ground.

I let the Force flow through me, and prepared to call upon it should the situation warrant it. Despite my apprehension, something told me that no evil awaited us inside this ventilation shaft. I would have to hope my intuition was correct. Our group was already down one member with Quan keeping the perimeter guards busy. I motioned again for my companions to hold and not draw their weapons until we were certain we were confronted with a threat. To my surprise, a Rodian and a female Sullustan emerged from the smoking orifice that had just been struck by the blaster round, wearing green jumpsuits and toting Sith repeating blasters. Though the weapons were right, these were definitely no Sith. They looked as astonished to see four Jedi arrayed about the exit to the shaft as we must have appeared to see them come bursting forth from the wall. There was a brief moment of silence before a look of relief and joy filled the Sullustan’s face, and she lunged forward and wrapped her arms around my neck, muttering prayers of thanks in her native tongue.

Her Rodian comapanion had a similar reaction, though perhaps a bit more reserved, and quickly began conversing with us in Rodian, “Oh, thank the stars! I never thought I’d be so glad to see a Jedi. We were hostages inside the building, master Jedi. There are others with us, workers that were being held prisoner. We went ahead of them to clear the exit, since we know how to use a blaster. They should be only a few minutes behind us. One of your agents freed us and set us on the path of escape. We had no idea what we would be walking into when we finally reached the end of the shaft. If I ever see another Sith, it will be too soon.” The sudden appearance of the two wildly gesticulating aliens was an overwhelming shock to all of us, to say the least, but I quickly realized that they presented us with a unique opportunity to gather intelligence about the situation inside, and my shock soon gave way to relief.

My companions still stood frozen, unsure what to make of the two newcomers, while I still tried to make sense of what they were telling me. One of my agents freed them? I thought with a puzzled look. For now I”ll play along, but I have no idea what this fellow is talking about. When you’re out in the Outer Rim, a Jedi’s garb often proves to be a hindrance more than anything else, in places where respect for the law and the Republic are in short supply, but for once it was a true relief to stand out like a sore thumb. It was good to see that even amid a planetary assault, there were still citizens of the galaxy that were pleased to see a Jedi Knight.

At last I looked toward my fellow Jedi and told them, “At ease, everybody, they mean us no harm.” While my friends had probably already come to that conclusion, I wanted to get it out in the open and make our intentions clear to the new arrivals. “Please, slow down and relax, both of you. I know you must have been through much this day,” I told the two workers as I peeled the Sullustan’s arms from around my neck. “No need to call me master Jedi, you may call me Tarith. Can you tell me anything about the situation in there? As you can see, my friends and I were headed inside to respond to a distress call.”

“Thank you, Tarith. I will tell you what I can,” the Rodian replied, “Though I admit it will not be much. Nisa and I are security officers here. I have a bit of training, Tarith, but I am no soldier. Nothing ever happens at WeatherNet. This was the easiest job I’ve ever had…It pays well, with little real risk, and gives me plenty of credits for the late night Sabaac games. Yesterday, the Sith showed up…they spread here so quickly we didn’t have time to figure out the meaning of the communications disruption. When the orbital bombardments started, so did the attacks on WeatherNet. There are many Sith inside, hundreds, possibly. Like I said, we weren’t real soldiers, most of us, we were just working men and women. The ones that were and stood up for themselves were killed quickly. There are many dead inside. Our group was probably not the only group of prisoners inside. While we were being held captive, I counted at least three of those vile creatures that bore lightsabers and the markings of a true Sith. There is at least one more; they all speak of their master with a tangible dread hanging upon their every word. They call him Ravenous.”

I nodded as he spoke, grimacing at the thought of three or four more Sith warriors like Darth Interitus possibly waiting for us inside. We had been lucky to best one, even with much greater numbers. There were more, and they had more troops backing them. When the Rodian mentioned the commander’s name, a chill ran down my spine. Though I had not heard of a Darth Ravenous, from the moment he spoke his name, I knew that Ravenous was the source of the evil that consumed the building before me, a source that was far more powerful than the one that had nearly taken my life. As I grappled with despondent thoughts over the likelihood of an unhappy ending to our tale, I heard more faint banging sounds begin to issue from the shaft, slowly getting closer. T7-A4 was still locked in conversation with the WeatherNet computer, which apparently ran very stubborn operating software, judging by the exasperated whines that would periodically cut into the night and accentuate our conversation.

“I thank you, friend. All the information you have provided is most useful. Do you know who raised the distress signal that my shuttle intercepted?” I asked the Rodian.

“Negative, but the Chiss agent that interrogated us seemed to be building frustration by the minute over some sort of resistance in the West Wing. From what I pieced together, there may be some real Republic troops inside WeatherNet that are still keeping the Sith from getting their hands on the mainframe.”

“What do the Sith want with the mainframe, anyway?” Jareth piped in, still unsure why the Sith would bother with non-military targets.

“WeatherNet controls the entire planet’s atmosphere. Use your imagination, young Jedi, can you not imagine what further havoc the Sith could wreak on our planet with control of the weather? This facility is connected to databases all around the planet, with control of the mainframe the Sith could also gain access to untold public records and databanks with a skilled team of slicers. The sky, literally, is the limit,” the security officer replied in the harsh melodies of the Rodian language. I had heard tales of Dromund Kass, twisted by Sith rituals to harbor perpetual ionic storms in the atmosphere, and suddenly wasn’t finding it hard to picture Coruscant painted with a similar backdrop. The Sith had only been here for a day’s time and the ageless galactic capital was already very different from how I remembered it.

“Honestly, I don’t want to know what they hope to do with WeatherNet, and I don’t plan on giving them the chance to show me,” Amorl said with a disapproving scowl on his face. “Judging by the noises coming from that vent, it sounds like the rest of your group is coming. You all should get to safety as quickly as possible. One of our number is distracting the perimeter guards right now. Make a run for the cover of the high buildings and try to find refuge somewhere out of the way. We still know very little of the scope of the Sith assault.” Amorl was right, and it pleased me to see my young companions unafraid to step in and lead.

“I agree, young master Jedi. I wish you luck in your battle. The road ahead of you is not easy. I have seen what awaits you inside.” As the Rodian spoke, other prisoners began to emerge from the ventilation shaft, some wearing similar jumpsuits that appeared to be some sort of standard-issue employee attire, some looking the part of scientists or executives. All of them wore the same look of shock and relief to see a group of Jedi awaiting them at the end of what must have been a very long, dark exodus from the facility. The two security officers motioned for the other prisoners to remain silent as they exited the tunnel. The warm Coruscant night must have been a welcome sensation after the chilling blackness of the ventilation system.

“Thank you, but we won’t need luck, the Force is with us,” I told them, unsure if I truly believed that, or was trying to convince myself. The incredulous looks on the faces of the prisoners exiting the shaft told me they didn’t have much confidence left in the Force, after seeing what destruction the Sith had wrought under its guidance. Something was still bothering me, and I grabbed the Rodian by his shoulder and stopped him as he began shepherding the refugees away from WeatherNet. “One last thing, friend…before you go, can you tell me more of the one who set you free? How, exactly did you escape?”

“He called himself Finx. Dressed like one of us, but I’ve never seen him here a day in my life. I assumed he was your man on the inside. Whoever he was, I’m grateful for his help. He saved all of our lives back there. He took down the Sith that were interrogating us and blasted us a way out. Said he had some unfinished business to attend to inside, whatever that meant. If you find him in there, tell him we said thanks, and we made it out safely.” Finx, never heard of him. Whoever he is, at least it sounds like we might have a few allies on the inside. Quan was right. Hope isn’t lost yet.

As I pondered the identity of this new player in the picture, it was Aux who spoke up, “We will be certain to. Thank you for all you have told us. May the Force be with you all. Go home swiftly now, find your friends and loved ones and keep them close, and be careful, whatever you do.” He had been all too quiet since slaying Darth Interitus, and I was glad to see that he hadn’t lost his focus. He could be pretty soft-spoken at times, after all, and with everything going on, I hadn’t had a chance to give much thought to his mental state. I, too, was still trying to carry on as if I was at one hundred percent, when I knew inside that the night had already taken much out of us. Every step I took sent sharp pains through my chest when I allowed myself to think about it. Quan had healed my broken rib, but I was still badly bruised, and my chest still burned where the Sith sorceror’s lightning blasts had struck me.

“Aye, Aux is right, you should move with all haste away from here. You have been a great help, and I am grateful to see that some innocent life has indeed survived this day. I am in your debt. Be safe, friends,” I told the Rodian officer with a warm smile.

“Yeah, and leave the rest to us, we’ll take it from here!” Jareth added enthusiastically. My smile widened. The undeterred courage of my young companions was a great inspiration. They were there to glean wisdom from Quan and me, and yet sometimes I felt as if I was learning just as much from them. Our spirits will not be broken so easily, Interitus. We are Jedi Knights, and the Force is more than our instrument, it is our ally.

“You won’t get any arguments from me. Now we must be on our way. Fortune has smiled upon us, and I will not question such a gift. Farewell, young Jedi.” The WeatherNet employees continued their exodus into the night, and soon we were alone again, watching a pair of humans in green jumpsuits hurrying the last of the prisoners away from the building as quickly as their feet could carry them, as we waited for a little Astromech droid to complete what was beginning to feel like a mission of sublime importance.

“How’s it going up there, T7? Do you have any good news for me?” I was answered with a few frustrated whistles and beeps. “Hey, are you angry with me or the facility’s computer? Save it for the enemy, pal.” A long, drawn out whine that sounded almost like a sigh issued from my droid, and for a second I wished I knew what was going on in his processor core. It almost seemed like he thought of me as an impatient child. Still, I was able to eventually gather that he had succeeded in coaxing what he wanted out of WeatherNet’s security system, and the door would be open in moments. I took my comlink from my belt, and whispered into it, “Quan, we’re almost in. Get back here as soon as you can.”

“On my way,” was the only reply I received in hushed tones. It was good to hear Quan’s voice. Everything had went well, though now the real challenge stood before us. We knew that getting inside would be one of the easier parts of the mission, after all. It was not long before a celebratory squeal issued from T7-A4, and the entrance slid open with a groan and a hiss. Thankfully, there were no troops awaiting our entry. Quan returned shortly after, with a sly smile that made it seem as if he had enjoyed carrying out his part of the mission.

“You look pleased, Quan,” I told him with a grin. “I take it you had a bit of fun with the perimeter guards.”

“Let’s just say that they’re a bit tied up at the moment, men,” he replied, still grinning. I would have to get the details out of him when all this was over. For now, the mental image of a handful of Sith troops strung up by their ankles would suffice, until we could hear what actually happened.

As I explained our encounter with the escaped prisoners to Quan, the mysterious man they called “Finx”, and T7’s success, the little droid interrupted me once again, and began rocking back and forth. One of his lenses lit up, and he projected a complete holographic floorplan of WeatherNet, that displayed current security readouts. The hallways connecting the West Wing to the central hub of the facility had been completely collapsed by some sort of detonation. There were other areas showing significant structural damage as well. Whatever was going on inside, someone was in there giving the Sith a good fight and we were about to join them. After poring over the map for a few moments, we decided that our best bet would be to head for the entrance to the West Wing before we were spotted. The distress signal that we had intercepted from orbit was probably being broadcast by whoever had sealed it off.

“So it’s settled. The Force tells me that our destiny awaits us there, at entrance to the West Wing. There are many forces at work here tonight, I can feel it now more than ever. Let’s move, men. Be ready to defend yourselves. Now we know what awaits us inside,” Quan said to the four of us that stood before him, ready to begin the next part of our journey.

“Excellent. Shall we, then? It’s off into the unknown once more, I suppose!” I said, trying to keep positive. I did genuinely feel much more encouraged than when we had set out from the laundry processing area in the apartment building’s basement. There were signs of hope here, survivors, prisoners escaping, other operatives fighting the Sith…and yet I couldn’t get the Rodian’s words out of my head. Indeed, we did know what waited for us now…three of those vile creatures…At least one more…They call him Ravenous. As I stepped through the open doorway to WeatherNet alongside my friends, taking a very important step toward my destiny, the name was still echoing inside my skull, sending chills down my spine. There was a storm brewing, no matter who would control the planet’s weather in the end, a storm of battle. After all, hope alone would not put a stop to Darth Ravenous’ wicked plans.


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Clusterfact

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re: Peer Review - Consular Part 7

Another great addition. Some minor fixes..

“He’s right. Hope isn’t lost. I just faced the most dangerous opponent of my brief career as a Jedi, and somehow lived to tell the tale thanks to your help, my friends.

Towards the end of the same paragraph, Tarith refers to the group as "my friends" again. This isn't a big deal, but it sounds funny hearing it twice at the end of two sentences in the same paragraph.

How's the recovery coming along? Happy
AstralProjection

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re: Peer Review - Consular Part 7

Clusterfact wrote:
Another great addition. Some minor fixes..

“He’s right. Hope isn’t lost. I just faced the most dangerous opponent of my brief career as a Jedi, and somehow lived to tell the tale thanks to your help, my friends.

Towards the end of the same paragraph, Tarith refers to the group as "my friends" again. This isn't a big deal, but it sounds funny hearing it twice at the end of two sentences in the same paragraph.

How's the recovery coming along? Happy


Thanks man! I do that kind of stuff a lot in my first drafts so thanks for catching it. I try not to be redundant in how I refer to people, I'll change it.

Recovery's coming along - I haven't had poison ivy in 20 years or so, I forgot how annoying it was. I'm still itchy but no longer contagious, almost done my steroids. Last night i considered amputating my arm with a kitchen knife because the itching was unbearable, but I made the wise decision. I'm a crappy typer with one hand, and it would've stopped me from finishing the project ; )


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