"Crap. Orianas in a world of trouble." Sighing the Consular rose from her seat striding towards the door with urgency, her hand already sweeping down to pluck the lightsaber from her hip. "When they probed the ship I felt this Wikk creatures power. We need to get up there now."

Duran didn't argue, simply grabbed his lightsaber,"Let's go, the others are under attack and need our help." Without a sense of hesitation he surged out with the force, not sure he trusted the Sith, so tried to see if he could detect anything lurking ahead of them.

That done he said,"Let's go, I'll lead, in case we meet the Sith on the way down. Captain, if you can take the rear, you're the best shot I presume?" As soon as he had an answer he headed to the door at a run that all of them could keep up with.

18:07, Today: Duran rolled 31 using 1d20+15. Perception (Force Perception).
[Private to GM: Another telepathic message for you. A sense of patience, peace and focus as Duran's voice says,"Two Sith Force Users, 40km away, moving fast."]
This message was last edited by the player at 16:14, Wed 06 June 2012.

PM for Jedi types.

[Private to Duran; Shanda Rell: An itch at the back of your mind begins rising up again.  This Wikk is about to begin another one of his probes...]

"Damn Sith!" Seely cries to her squad, "We gotta get back to the surface, double time.  Set your weapons to kill in case this was just a ruse.  Sergeant Ryo, I'll take the rear, you're just behind the two Jedi; keep your eyes open for ambushes."

On the way back up to the surface, of course, she will make repeated attempts to warn Oriana and Hector until she gets a response on the comms.  A few seconds to prepare might save their lives...

"Dammit he's going to probe again." Gritting her teeth Shanda braced herself for the shockwave, focusing her mind towards diverting the probe. Wikk had detected two force sensitives, not three. If they could hold that advantage just a bit longer they stood a better chance...focusing her will through the force she did her best to try and form a shield around herself to deflect the incomming barbaric probing...

OOC:
13:55, Today: Shanda Rell rolled 32 using 1d20+14. Use the Force.

"Commander Komad, shall I take point with the Jedi?" EAS-05 eagerly requested new orders as the group headed back.

EAS-05 followed Seely's example in trying to contact the ship.  Messages of imminent combat were sent to X2.

"Take the back with me, so Sergeant Ryo can stay in the middle of us.  Remember, we have to be ready for them to attack from any direction..." Seely silently curses herself for forgetting about their Anti-Sith combat droid.  He could be just as much of an asset as the Jedi!

Hearing the others trying to communicate he said,"I've warned them already...." His eyes flickered to Shanda as she warned about the probe, throwing up his mental shields to deflect the probe he tried to ensure that there position so far below ground was kept a secret.

He didn't need the Sith to speed along even faster to try and finish off Oriana and Hector before they got back to the top.

18:16, Today: Duran rolled 34 using 1d20+15. Hide Self.

You storm out of the meeting room and into the hallway.  Jutnam is there on the walkway, looking out over the production area, and he takes immediate notice of your coming.  Startled, he calls out as you run past, "Wh-what's wrong?  Here, I'll get the elevator..."

[Private to Shanda Rell:  Your defenses were not as ready this time, and the waves of constricting, throbbing pain wash over your mind.  It ends as quickly as before, but you can see the Force around you writhing at the Sith's presence.  Duran appears to be fine this time, so the Sith will still only detect at most two of you.]
[Private to Duran:  You seem to ward the Sith off this time, and while you can feel the Force around you writhing, you can think clearly for the moment.  Shanda looks to be in worse shape this time.]

There hall is just as empty as before.  He gets you into the elevator and starts it on its agonizingly slow trip back up to the surface.  For some reason, there is some muzak playing this time, a stark juxtaposition to the situation at hand.

Your messages to those in the Skyfisher are not yet being answered.  Hopefully you'll get a better signal soon...

EAS-05 was silent after receiving its orders.  The order was sound.  The combat medic would be better protected and the rear better fortified.  But... It did not like the order.

"Command acknowledged.  Combat protocols initiated." EAS-05 confirmed the order and kept in place by Seely.

Serina scowls and picks her blaster pistol back out of her holster. Moving to walk behind the Jedi and ready to fire at anything that moved suspiciously.

"This whole thing stinks of betrayal I say, can either of you tell what sort of situation the others are in exactly?"

"Can't say for sure but when I felt Wikk probing us that first time incomming to the planet I felt a very strong force presence, completely undiciplined. Wild and chaotic. I like it to lighting a candle with a thermal detonator." Shaking her head as the elevator rose her head turned upwards trying to keep the calm in her mind. "If this Wikk person is throwing around so much energy he's probably a sorcerer more than a warrior. In which case when we exit the mansion, scatter. First thing I'd do against a group is slam everyone with the force, less chance of getting a bunch of us if we don't huddle together. Well to be honest I plan to pay him in kind for this headache when we reach the surface regardless."

"All right, we'll spread out once we have some space, but remember to watch out: our foe might be hoping that we open up our formation and don't pay enough attention to where our enemies are.  Don't let them separate us from each other; if we can see each other, we can stay alive." For better or worse, Seely is a leader and she's gotten less talented squads through worse situations.  Directing these elites in combat will be simple...as long as the Dark Jedi doesn't knock them away with the Force.

Duran shook his head,"I managed to ward him off this time. We will need to work on him....What I don't like is his very easily 'recruitable' master...that just reeks of a plant."

He glanced at the elevator,"Can this thing go no faster?" He reached out with his mind, hoping things were going well.
[Private to GM: A questioning sense reaches out to Oriana,"Coming. Okay?"]

"The Master is not going to be easily recruitible if we can't deal with Wikk short and to the point. It's the meaning behind the words. Wikks Master likely sets alot of stock in the being, if we over power the attack akk that potentially outclasses the Master with little difficulty it'll be self preservation that forces the Master to stand down." Shanda continued to stare up at the ceiling silently willing the lift to pick up speed, "They're Sith, bullies who are quick to cower and remember thier place when you strip them of thier over glorified 'power'."

Biting her lip her face lowered, "The real question will be what to do about this Sith Lords daughter and a bunch of others."

Serina keeps a careful eye out as the elevator heads up, and making sure the elevator itself doesn't feel like it's about to drop, someone could easily cut the wires if they had a lightsaber and there would be very little they could do against it.

"Why is this girl any more special then the thousands of other force sensitives across the galaxy being taken away by the sith to Korriban. Just because her mother suddenly finds the arrangement inconvenient. If she truly wished to repent she could have come here, gotten her daughter and joined the republic and the Jedi. Instead we're going to solve her problem so she can go on being a dark lord of the sith?"

She takes a deep long breath and sighs, trying to let out some of the frustration that she's feeling.

"It feels wrong"

"I understand, Sergeant Ryo, but we don't exactly have a choice, now.  If the Sith have insiders on Corellia, we're going to need help to get off the planet alive." Seely states, distracting herself from moral and ethical quandaries to focus on battlefield planning, "We'll keep fire on this Wikk so it can't have the full run of the battlefield.  If we manage to get a good shot in and take Wikk down, then that's good luck, but I've never defeated a Dark Jedi before."

"My thoughts as well. This invasion can't suddenly be an instantaneous event. She even mentioned that they've spent ages replacing the higher ups with Imperical lapdogs. She's had plenty of time to secret her daughter away as well as secure the other force sensitives." Shandas grip tightened on the hilt of her saber running a thumb over the activator slowly, "Chances are we're to escort the lot of them to a secondary location where we can be eliminated and she can make her private powerplay with a bunch of new acloytes who were supposedly taken by the Republic. The senate gets in hot with the Sith higher ups for the snatch and grab, the Republic can't produce what they don't have and a sith lord gets her own private little sect to increase her own powerbase."
This message was last edited by the player at 18:34, Wed 06 June 2012.

Duran, moving slowly from foot to foot, lightsaber unactivated in his hand snorted,"I think we can worry about the others once we have fought off the Sith. Even if we defeat Wikk and his 'master' we will simply alert more of the Sith and they will send others after us."

He looks at Serina, remembering her flinch,"I'm going to activate my lightsaber now." When he had her attention he activated it, the buzz filling the elevator for a moment,"Captain, we are not about victory and defeat. The Force will decide this, I think it is best if we focus on Wikk and his Master but there may be others...it might be better for those with blasters to focus on them, I will try and keep the Sith Force Users at arms length till you are done with the others."

He breathed in, bringing his lightsaber up in front of him, the blade stopping an inch from his face as he looked at it and repeated the Jedi Mantra to himself.

There is no emotion, there is peace.

There is no ignorance, there is knowledge.

There is no passion, there is serenity.

There is no death, there is the Force

"Right.  We won't let them get in your way, either." The warning is enough to keep her from flinching away, too, "If it comes down to it, we can assist with the fight against the Dark Jedi, too."

Darth Imperius has every edge here.  She set the map.  She called for many of the pieces to be in place, and it's her allies who are moving ahead of schedule, not her enemies.  Seely, on the other hand, can't see half of the board, was placed by a third party who didn't know half of the board either, and doesn't have the luxury of dragging her feet if things go badly.  Worse, this is the enemy's side of the board.

Time for a hurry up offense.  If they can just secure Hector and Oriana, they'll be able to stay alive a little longer.  That leads them ahead to what to do about the daughter and others.  That, like the others said, can certainly be a trap, too.  She'll have to make her own decision about the course of action when they get there.  For now, sadly, she'll have to maintain her neutrality until she can gather more intelligence...

"Our objective, after defeating any hostiles and dealing with any Dark Jedi, is to make sure Hector and Oriana are still alive.  I don't care if we can trust them or not, they're the closest thing we've got to allies here and we're the closest thing they've got to allies here.  If they decide that they want to make lines and leave us behind, we'll find another way off of this rock, Sith daughter, Force sensitives, or none.  Understood?"

Shanda flicked the activator on her saber, the green glow of her blade humming into life as her head inclined. "Understood."

His face a mask of focus and peace he nods to Seely,"The future will take care of itself, for now we focus on the moment. We can discuss it again once we're done....they won't leave us."

He had spent too long touching minds with Oriana to believe she'd run, he wasn't sure of Hector but he was of her. These others were already committed and perhaps Hector wasn't as bad as he thought. A smile quirked his features for a moment before getting lost in the power of his discipline.

"They might have to leave us.  I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt, just this once."

Waiting for the smugglers to move forward a bit, by the way.

**bringing the group back together**