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crqstalite · 4 years

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SHADOW OF THE SITH, Ch. 13

HAKIOJKL._THE_THUNDERCLAP.

Fuck Leontyne Saresh.

Fuck Theron Shan.

Fuck the whole damn Republic while you were at it.

Hakio and her respective squad were being pulled off a very-well deserved leave to deal with what? Yet another SIS agent's fuck-up? A whole month, the longest time they'd had off, so she had to be grateful for what they did get. It could've been two days.

She was usually much more understanding about these situations, she did sign up for this and she would lay down her life for the Republic any day of the week, no questions asked. But at the same time, there was a point that every soldier asked themselves 'what in the blazes did I get myself into this time?'

Today seemed like it was that day for her.

Hakio wasn't about to blow it off and run. Going AWOL was never the answer and would probably result in a hefty sentence if she even managed to make it out of the core worlds. Though she did have yet to see how and why Republic SpecForces needed to get involved on an Imperial planet. Saresh had sent them some very odd places after Garza had stepped down for the time being, and all of them were getting closer and closer to being in direct offense of the Treaty of Coruscant. Now traipsing all over Imperial territory with no regard for the loss of life that would surely result? That just absolutely stunk of trying to get them off the map entirely while their faction was in shambles. While it was, yes, an opportunity to weaken the Imperials further after what had occurred on Makeb and more recently their Emperor's reawakening according to intelligence reports, it seemed poorly thought out when she ran it through simulations. Ryean often concurred with this opinion. Saresh believed that it was the prime time to cripple the Empire and in turn, the Emperor himself. No one had spoken out against her, so here they were, a few hours out of orbit of the Imperial planet.

An absolutely outstanding plan theoretically, one that she'd like to shred in real life since she was the one that had to carry it out with her own squad.

However, she also wasn't such a horrible person that she'd send the newly formed Mayhem Squad off on their own just so she could sleep a couple more hours. Ziost, from Saresh's point of view, was one of the most dangerous missions they'd handle, if not the most dangerous. Going directly onto an Imperial planet without any other SpecForce teams to back them up? Hakio could very easily see where she was coming from. A lot of the new squad that had formed under Havoc were still a little too green for her to feel comfortable about just overseeing their missions from Command even though they were all rather experienced in the field, but it was Garza's suggestion she let Jaak'lo and Vza'haria be the primary leaders of the operation. It had taking some toiling with, but eventually she gave the order.

Whatever questionable things Elin Garza had done in the past, Hakio still trusted the woman with her life. Maybe thought twice about what she said, what she advised her to do with Havoc Squad while she was on military leave (after all this time the woman still hadn't given up anything about Eclipse Squad to Command, but stepping down for some time would have to do with the current state of the galaxy), but she had yet to steer her wrong too badly just yet.

It would be good to give them a chance to shine their true colors, to see if they really were capable of leading a Republic squad with the reputation it had garnered in the past few years. Not that Hakio liked to doubt her people, but this would be a training exercise with some very real consequences if things went wrong. If they did split from Havoc in the near future, as Command would surely see fit to do, it would be nice to know which pair of hands Mayhem would be in when she wasn't overseeing them anymore.

Captain Vza'haria Atiya wasn't green -- stars she was an original member of Havoc Squad. Older than Hakio herself, for stars sake. She had years of experience that Hakio would die to get her hands on, a Mirialan sniper from the heart of Coruscant who she's sure was born with a sniper rifle in her hands. Though she was often cold, yet also calculating and easy to anger, if anyone should've been leading Havoc, it should've been Vza'haria. Yet her near-betrayal landed her with a ten year sentence and on the military blacklist until she was past her prime. The talent was surely going to go to waste in a prison cell, until Garza pulled her out only a third of the way through to rejoin the squad to track down Fuse on Tatooine. She was still technically on watch, but her service fighting Rakton gave her a chance at leading again for Havoc's sister squad, Mayhem.

Her second in command, also Lieutenant Jaak'lo Khethak was green, very green -- and it wasn't a joke at his skin color either. Yet another Mirialan, Jaak'lo had been in the military for a shorter amount of time than Hakio had been part of the original Havoc Squad before he was already being shoved promotion after promotion. He was an extremely talented covert ops soldier, and often got in and out of places that even Jonas couldn't boast about. He was actually recruited at Jonas' request, because eventually his off-the-books operations (that were, yes, successful, especially for a one man team, evidently digging up some Republic secrets that would get quite a few Colonels and Commanders in some serious trouble) were gaining the attention of the SIS and the poor kid would end up getting himself into some serious trouble if the brass found out about it. Garza had her concerns at first with his 'shoot first think later' attitude that reminded her of Aric in a way, but he'd quickly shown that his stealth generator was not just for show.

They could surely handle Ziost's mission with Xev'heng, Synntai and Ryean by their sides, but it didn't still mean that Hakio wasn't going to worry about the state of her team. Something just, doesn't sit right with her about the entire operation. Landing a direct attack on an Imperial planet? Especially in a time of panic that no one even understood? Something that had the entire Imperial faction scrambling to get it together? Forget that she was pissed that Theron Shan had dragged her into to this (effectively, he'd dragged the entire Republic into his mess from her perspective, so it was totally justified), there was about zero other reports coming in from anywhere. How quick Havoc had been contacted only a day beforehand after their last mission to Belsavis to quell an uprising, it was just plain weird. Saresh hadn't checked any of her sources, all that was known (or was being released to the general public -- the military who turned a blind eye to this, and all intelligence reports were either locked to her or simply weren't being shared) was that something big was going down, and a line of Jedi was in danger. Not even a basic mission report had been forwarded to her or Aric, no briefings that held any real information to it. Only that Theron Shan had lead them there without anyone's knowledge or approval, and now he was in real danger for some reason or the other. Things were way too hush-hush for it just to be an extraction mission for a single SIS agent and a handful of Jedi and not have other factors at work.

Something just didn't add up. Hakio would never say she was the smartest out of the bunch, she rarely was and often wasn't afraid to admit it when she didn't understand something, but even Vza'haria was lost on this one. There were too many unknowns for her to be gung-ho about landing. A lot of caution was to be exercised here, yet no one lived up to that expectation.

And that was just a tad bit too terrifying, being without all the answers. Uncovering things on the field had never gone well for Hakio beforehand. The cybernetics and scars that littered her body made her living proof that one extremely brief report could be the end to a soldier as you knew them.

She had no reason to believe it would now.

Without being under someone that had history with them, it wasn't as easy to get away with things, or get out of unnecessary missions. They couldn't reject a mission from up top, which was an injustice within itself, but there also wasn't much they could do about it until they landed on Ziost. Yet again they were simply pawns in the Republic's war, and for the last few missions, they were getting way worse at chess than Hakio thought they could be.

A whole building full of people, and not one person could be bothered to stop and think, hey, this might get a lot of people unnecessarily killed! We should get more intelligence before we send our top squad onto an Imperial-occupied planet!

Stars, she fucking hated working for the brass. Since Corellia, it felt like that was all they ever did. Moral or otherwise, they followed orders and dealt with the fallout from their decisions on their own. Not like she'd have the job she did now if she didn't accept the way things were, even if it earned her a lot of questions from her parents, or from her siblings after ops that went all the way right...but still made people ask a lot of questions that legally, she couldn't answer.

With a sigh, she sits down on her bed with a huff, running a hand through her short afro. Picking up her datapad off the night table, she scrolls absentmindedly through the few reports that have been received from Command, all overridden by Saresh's new order to Ziost. The day of training she'd planned while they were en route was enough to blow off steam and get the stress of the mission out of her head for a period of time. The team was improving marginally, and it was enjoyable for most involved. Tanno and Synntai had managed to make the entire thing a competition again (though Elara reminded them both multiple times that not only were they opposite genders, that they were completely different species with different skillsets physically), but the raw power they expended was enough to let Hakio sit back and let them burn themselves out. Yuun, while often quiet, was strong in his own ways without the flashy barbells and whatnot. Elara continued to remind her that though she was a medic, that did not mean she was weak or powerless.

The crew had grown since Coruscant, when it'd just been her and Aric traipsing through government regulations and conspiracies galore for the first time. How he'd managed to make every single mission insufferable, how she would do anything to get fifteen minutes away from him, if that. All her buttons had managed to be pressed by the man in the early days, and there were a lot of times she was ready to give up the mantle of CO for just three seconds of relative peace. Then came Elara, a breath of fresh air compared to the Cathar, who she'd bonded with quicker than Aric, heritage and past with the Empire entirely forgotten for their now friendship. At that point was when the Republic sat up and took notice of Jaak'lo, and he began working covertly for Command and in turn, Havoc. Fourex had become her favorite droid in the entire galaxy after Nar Shaddaa. Vza'haria and Ryean had come in on Tatooine and Alderaan respectively. Tanno on Balmorra, Xev'heng on Hoth.

How much her family had grown since then, what she'd given up for them, and what she'd gained because of them. Yes, she'd had a family beforehand, but people she could share the military life with was simply more comforting than people she only saw once every year. With a heavy heart, Hakio fingers the ring beneath her shirt, the one that hangs on a strong golden chain around her neck, typically underneath her armor. She wasn't often able to wear it properly except for during leave, but today she'd had to forgo wearing it to keep from breaking it entirely. It was one of her most important belongings, a simple silver band that still held so much meaning all these years later. It seemed so delicate, yet it'd seen her through the Battle of Ilum without shattering in two. She smirks, her lifemate (it was still such an odd word to use, especially regarding that of her and Aric Jorgan, someone she couldn't even stand three years before hand, even if they had been married that long) had been so concerned about getting her something fancy and shiny that he hadn't even considered that maybe she didn't want anything like it until she mentioned her lack of interest in jewelry only a few months beforehand while they were camped out in the trenches of Balmorra. The look on his face, one of mild relief with that new knowledge. At the time, she hadn't even known he was thinking of marrying her, much less proposing to her.

Such an arbitrary concern now, about whether she'd have a pretty rock on her finger and an out-of-this galaxy wedding. All the things that became meaningless in the following months.

And here they were, about to face down yet another unknown evil. She shakes her head, there were always so many in this line of work. Well, this time it was known, it was the whole Emperor of the Sith bearing down on the galaxy again. It was never fun, and she never knew whether everyone would return to the Thunderclap again because of it. Whether she'd hear the laughter of the team's demolitionists in the cargo bay, or watch as Xev'heng and Elara honed their craft in the medbay, or even share the galley with the rowdy team ever again. Whether someone's bunk would have to be stripped, whether she'd have to attend a funeral in her rarely worn formal wear. Whether someone's weapon would never leave the weapon rack again, if a room remained dark because they weren't there.

Her grip tightens on the ring, before unhooking the necklace and sliding it off the chain to admire it in the dim light. Whether she'd ever see Aric again, was always the question in her mind when she left the Thunderclap. She'd pledged her love and life to him as her lifemate until the end of her life, but that 'to death do us part' line was always hanging over their heads like a dark cloud because of just how easily it could become reality. It was striking just a tad bit too close to home every time the words crossed her mind. There were plans in place for this kind of thing, who would get what, who would be promoted, who would lead. Who's family would have to be tracked down first to ask them the hard questions about what to do now.

It wouldn't make it any easier, watching as her life unraveled, either from heaven or her empty Coruscant apartment. It would leave her with less questions about what to do when he was gone, and she wouldn't be as much of a mess after it all, but she could only imagine how her mind would twist things oh so dramatically. How it would be unbearable to be anywhere that they'd been together, as she'd been by Aric's side since she could remember. To do anything without him, after finally finding the person that loved and respected her, would destroy her from the inside out.

She was still considering dropping the mission entirely. Though, she didn't know how to, they were already too close to Ziost to just drop out now. How to tell Saresh she wasn't interested in risking her life like this for a mission with little to no intel, reliable or otherwise. They were The Havoc Squad. They were one of the most important SpecForce squads in the Republic, if not the most important. If they weren't at the frontlines of most missions, the brass was afraid people would lose hope in their war against the Imperials. Since they'd continued fighting after Corellia and won while they were at it, the brass decided they were the poster children of the military now. Stepping down, for any reason, would paint the Republic in a bad light.

And Saresh simply could not have that, now could she?

Stars she hated her.

"You're overthinking again." Aric says knowingly, and she snaps her head up from her palm, clutching the ring tightly as she swivels her head around to the doorway, dropping the datapad on the mattress in surprise. Hakio had been caught yet again, and she'd been surprised by Aric many times before, and this probably wouldn't be the last time. She was notorious for having tunnel vision when she's focused (or overthinking, as she's been accused of), metaphorically, and this wasn't any different. He'd gone to shower what felt like only a few minutes before hand, but a glance at the chrono on the wall alludes her to believing that it had gotten away from her. She, in comparison, was still sticky with cooling sweat, which was a disgusting feeling now that she focused on it, "What is it about now?"

"Nothing, everything. The usual." Hakio answers, relaxing as the blast door slides shut again, leaving them in relative privacy. Something hits the ground loudly just up the stairs from their quarters, she knows the sound rather well. She winces, though it isn't muted so she assumes it's not a body (one bad argument between -of course- Synntai and Vik that ended in a scuffle that was probably better designated as a fight between subordinates), but it did sound rather expensive, durasteel against durasteel, "Debrief didn't go well with Jaak and Viz, huh?"

"Somehow, I doubt that's it for either of them." He answers, hesitating for a moment before sitting down next her. Almost instinctively she lays her head against his shoulder, feeling the tension drain out of her muscles. It's a comforting touch that she relishes in, and a quiet but obvious purr alludes her to that he isn't exactly hiding his own enjoyment. His fur is still damp, but not wet enough for her to shy away from it, "They seem as if they're in varying states of preparation though, Viz has gotten a little too quiet, and I'm sure Jaak is on the holonet where he shouldn't be. I think it went well."

"It's like watching my younger siblings before a major exam again." She says sarcastically, and he holds out his hand for her, and she takes it, intertwining their fingers together. His own ring glints against the dim light of their quarters, silver against his auburn fur. A tingle runs through her senses as he leans back against her. She sighs, eyes flickering to the datapad next to her before closing her eyes and leaning against him, "I thought I was making the right decision, letting them lead us through Ziost. Though, more and more I think about it, don't you think something smells way too fishy about this? Like...something just isn't right? Especially with us only being contacted yesterday about everything...she can't actually expect us to be okay with this, can she?"

"Hakio, I've learned questioning Command never got us anywhere good, or any closer to answers. If you're really concerned, couldn't you pull a few people from the mission? Eleven people anywhere is already pushing it, maybe it's better we only bring the people we need." Aric considers, before pushing a leg around her so that he has her a sort of hug instead, and she's beginning to melt into puddy at just the feeling of him around her. This, was why people didn't mix business with pleasure, she could never get anything done when he was all cuddly like this, "We don't really need two medics, do we?"

"With our crew? Aric that's like asking for a death sentence." Hakio rolls her eyes, looking up at him. He chuckles darkly, a grin on his face that matched the one that was slowly creeping up on her as well, "As 'classically trained' as our dear Alderaanian heir is, I doubt he even knows his way around a kolto injection. As for Viz, I'm pretty sure she sees medics as optional. You saw the injuries she came back with from her solo mission to Nar Shaddaa. She's a good leader, but absolutely horrid about asking for help when she needs it." Hakio groans, the Mirialan was toting around a few blaster wounds as well as a broken wrist before she'd returned to the Thunderclap during mid-morning reps, and claiming that she didn't need a med droid because here she was, standing on her own, right? That was honestly one of her many fears about Ziost, that Viz would get hurt and put everyone else above her health and stay fighting much longer than she needed to.

Elara had already told her there were plenty of injuries, such as Vza'haria's wrist (that according to records had been snapped plenty of times before and had an extended range of motion because of it), that wouldn't ever heal properly since she didn't take the downtime required for them to heal.

"Everyone comes back with a story from Nar Shaddaa. And that's something she'll have to work out for herself, just like you did." He responds, as she picks up her datapad again during the moment of silence. Just reaching over for it, she pauses to see if Aric would stop her or if he would become upset with her need for it (it felt like all she did was look at the stupid hunk of metal for the last couple of days, and now with their midnight holocall from Saresh hanging over their heads, she's sure he's even a tad bit frustrated that she hasn't had time for him). He shifts so his arms are around her waist instead, his head on her shoulder now as he looks over it, maybe curious about the contents. His purring grows louder as he gently nudges her neck with his chin, and it takes quite a bit of willpower not to drop her shoulder entirely. Hakio's getting a tad too warm to be comfortable, but that's what she got for marrying a Cathar -- entirely not about the way that he made her feel, "Besides Viz though, I'm sure some part of Havoc will get called out for something while we're on Ziost. If we don't make the decision, I'm sure someone up top will for us. And with the lack of information, we could get stuck down there and people could die across the galaxy because of it."

"We're not the only SpecForce squad in the galaxy, but I see where you're coming from. Elara or Xev'heng could be useful somewhere else instead of being on Ziost. Though I wouldn't want to seperate them, you know how Xev gets." Hakio deadpans, thinking of how irritable and quick to anger the Twi'lek medic became without his wife. It wasn't always immediately obvious, but it did quickly become difficult to handle at times. She would think that a medic would be more soft-spoken and understanding, but Xev'heng rarely was soft or understanding to anyone.

"If it's a matter of life or death, he'll wait a week to see Dorne." Aric advises, "Your call though."

"No, no you're right, as you always seem to be for some reason." Hakio affirms, rolling her eyes playfully, "I'll start thinking about team composition in a bit, get people where they need to be before we get to Ziost. Do we even have clearance to land yet?"

"Not as far as I'm concerned, and I highly doubt that we're going to get any sort of clearance to begin with. Think this was a split second decision by our favorite person in the Senate." He growls, scrolling down the list himself absentmindedly as the aurebesh drawls by in a dizzying array of blue, "Isn't the safest op to be screwing with rules and regulations either. Really think there could've been more planning involved, but isn't much we can do 'till we land."

"We'll have to get someone to hit Coruscant for resupply while we're gone anyways. I'd send C2, but he's down for repairs this week because Yuun is updating him and Fourex. Not to mention that we're already nearly there. I don't even have a comprehensive list of who else will be down here with us except a couple Jedi masters that she just happened to mention on the report." She sighs defeatedly, before looking up at him, "Swear this job is going to be the literal death of me. Is there anything we can't go without?"

"Not anything I can think of at the moment. Some of your lighter armor needs basic repairs, but I'm guessing we're going full commando so it shouldn't be a problem." Finishing the thought, he presses a kiss to her lips, and she sinks into the touch. It's as euphoric as the first time, as it often is. Staring into his emerald green eyes, she smiles tiredly, laying flush against him. Hakio can't name another person in the galaxy besides her parents who she's felt safer with than Aric, yet it feels like every moment is another opportunity to lose him. He presses another kiss to her temple before asking, "You ever wish we were normal sometimes? Home somewhere else than a ship? More stable jobs, maybe a litter of runts while we're at it?"

"Normal, is overrated, sorry. What would I even be doing without the military? A housewife?" Hakio asks, chuckling. It's a question that's been thrown around for years, never with a concrete answer either. The military had been sown into her from a young age, and to just leave would be an injustice to her upbringing. Not to mention this was all she knew, she wouldn't know much better to be anything better -- because there wasn't anything better. With all the death and danger and bloodshed, yes she was sure she could acquire a job less gory but it wouldn't make her happy, not the way protecting people did. While productive, being someone like her mom or like her other siblings just didn't interest her. Of course, the idea of being a mother wasn't a horrid one, just not one she wanted to put into practice. Anyone with her and Aric for parents...she wasn't sure she wanted to see the results with all of their flaws. Not to mention that she was thirty four and still lived off rations instead of just cooking 'like a sane person' (courtesy of her older sister Quinne Hyperion, who had lived with both her and Aric while she'd been down from a concussion; the woman despised the fact that neither partner knew much about 'fine cooking'). At least hungry soldiers accepted it wholeheartedly without a second question, including her lifemate, "Think I would go mad within the week."

"Maybe." He teases, sliding the datapad out of her hands and next to them on the mattress so that her attention is on him again, "Maybe not. Never knock it 'till you try it, right?"

"I tried it for nearly twenty years. I hated every single second of it, especially because you weren't in it." She murmurs softly, a genuine, if not also softer smile crossing her features. He scoffs, Aric Jorgan was never one for affection in the pure form, but it didn't mean that he didn't appreciate it, his smile mirroring her own, "To be absolutely clear, I wouldn't want to be anywhere other than on the Thunderclap fixing things, or on Coruscant with the roar of traffic around us and waiting to hear if anyone's caused a scandal lately, or without you. So I don't wish to be normal, I never would've met the people that make me who I am now. That's the answer to your question."

"I don't know where you get all this sappiness, but it looks like it is far too late to get out of it." He snickers. She gives him a look, although the intentions are kind, so she isn't particularly offended by the comment, "Don't ever change, yeah?"

"I think I can keep that promise." Though her mood has lifted considerably since he'd arrived, her expression drops again as her com beeps with an unanswered call, her eyes darting to where it sits charging on it's port. Hopefully, not anyone that would be too pissed with her not answering when they called, "Promise me you'll be careful on Ziost, please. You said it yourself, it's a dangerous op to be playing games with and--"

"And I wouldn't know what to do without you. I know." His hand tightens on her's, trying to comfort her. He isn't exactly smiling at the thought, but she knows that he would do just about anything for her. The injuries he'd sustained while under her direction still makes her heart ache. It was all for her, it was always for her, "We're mates for life, and death doesn't exactly come easy for Jorgans, I hope you know."

"Believe me, I'm sure every medic on Coruscant can vouch for that opinion." She responds, a sad smile on her face as her thumb brushes a scar running along Aric's jaw, "Doesn't mean we're immortal though, Aric. Promise me that you'll be careful, please. It might not mean much, but it'd give me peace of mind at the very least. Know your CO actually gives a shit if you come back or not, and that your wife will miss you so very much if you don't."

He looks nearly apologetic as he tries to form his words, fumbling with his thoughts before he can compose it all, "I promise I'll come back to you, Hakio. I always will. Imps can try to take me from you, but can't promise they'll be alive after it all."

"That's...such a veiled threat, Aric. But I still appreciate it nonetheless." She's less worried now, and more amused by the idea. One that she knew was entirely true and not at all a ruse to keep her from worrying. He captures her lips again, gentle at first before she nips at his bottom lip. It was the little things that kept her going, the late nights, the brief touches disguised as bumping into each other. Coming home to him was what made it all worth it.

The comm rings incessantly again, so as disappointed as she is, she pulls away from him. Fixing her shirt and picking the blasted thing off it's charger, she waves a goodbye as she leaves their personal quarters and up the stairs to the empty cockpit.

Business before pleasure, as much as that business interrupted her pleasure, it was also the thing that lead her to the love of her life. Hell, if it lost her love, then someone would have hell to pay. She would not go quietly.

She loved him, and before she was Major Hakiojkl Hyperion, she was Hakio Jorgan.

"Major Hyperion speaking..."

"Twelve O'clock!" Hearing Aric's voice over her com, Hakio whips around just fast enough to leap out of the way of yet another Sith, sliding on the snowy duracrete. He swings his lightsaber around again, but a sniper shot knocks him backwards onto the ground. Blood pools from his shoulder, and she jacks his head with the butt of her rifle as he rises again. Knocked out cold, but not dead from the look of things. Still breathing, yet not all there. One and the same with the rest of the people they'd faced.

She's partially glad that it's an Imperial this time, they've already run into quite a few Republic soldiers. Thankfully, none she knew by name, rank or face. No one that had flown down with her, no one who's squad she could get into contact with now as far as she was concerned, but a lot of them went down easy enough so that she didn't have to watch them die. A pang hit her heart at the thought, how many orange and white uniforms were now stained by blood that they'd spilled over the last few hours. They'd all been attempting to kill them mercilessly yes, but under the influence of something vicious. She couldn't help but feel guilty, and was sure that it was something that Command would try to cover up in the mission debrief with the Senate. The few that they'd picked off through necessity (just as she predicted, Vza'haria had sustained quite a few injuries without ever telling anyone until they'd regrouped) had stopped glowing the odd, unnatural red that seemed to be the norm among those controlled by some odd force once they died. Hakio was no Jedi, and didn't even begin to understand the inner workings of the Force, but there was definitely something Jedi-ish about all of this, of not Sith. The Sith they'd just been fighting, like many other Force users they'd been unable to kill outright, continued glowing, but didn't move again.

It was time to move on. New Adasta, as she'd learned the name of the city that they had landed in, was littered with bodies and controlled people alike. To say the least, she was very glad that Aric had talked her into leaving the Thunderclap with Xev'heng, Tanno, Yuun, Fourex and Synntai. Leaving the ship here while they wandered around would've probably left it in the hands of some very desperate Imperials trying to get off planet.

Now that she thought about it, she hadn't heard much from anyone lately. Of course, other than the team's coms, people kept quiet as not to be caught by Imperial forces. It was standard protocol, so she didn't suspect much just yet, but their hour check-in was coming up soon. A few squads had already dropped out of contact with the rest of the strike force, Aurek, Cresh and Resh were missing as of the last periodic check up, not to mention how many squads had reported losing squadmates to the Emperor's control. To put it simply, no one could afford to swerve from the mission entirely and track them down, so for now they were simply considered MIA. It was frustrating hearing the silence as each squad called in except for them, and she winced as Krenth's CO kept asking when they'd be back. She had half a mind to think that they were looking for their sibling or loved one on the opposite team.

Hakio didn't want to come across the squads, dead or controlled. She'd never be able to get the picture out of her head, she already knew that much.

No one had managed to find anyone from the squads as they scoured the city either. Whether they'd turned and become part of the murderous populace or simply were hiding out from Imperial forces...it was anyone's guess at this point. And no one wanted to play that game of chicken either.

Not everything had to gone to shit just yet though, the intel was plentiful and she was sure Command would appreciate it. The Imperial forces who weren't controlled just yet were being pushed back, alongside the civilians who were just trying to make it to evacuation shuttles. Saresh had yet to contact any of the squads though, and for now it was just learn and return. And fight back as much of the Imperial military as they could. Civilians were off-limits for everyone, though with the bodies that littered the ground, that they'd been killed in the crossfire, not intentionally. If anything, the few with stab wounds from vibroknives were surely civilian-civilian kills. The aching grows more potent as she averts her gaze from a child who lay motionless against a building.

It was frustrating at best, disastrous at worst.

She was going to wring Theron Shan by his neck if she didn't get out of here within the next few days, or the Emperor himself. Not only had she not heard from a single Sixth Line Jedi within the time they'd landed (no other squad had managed to either, so she took that as a bad sign), it was not to mention that not many knew just how long they were supposed to be here either. With all of the similarities in armor among the snow, this wasn't supposed to be a siege on Ziost, it was a siege on the Imperial military. One that was being lost, not because of idiocy on either army, but because of this new controlled force that was eating away at the planet's population and the opposing forces.

"Viz, three O'clock!" Jaak'lo yells, another Imperial taking a shot at her that Hakio hadn't seen previously. She'd have to hand it to the Lieutenant when this was all over, he was nothing if not extremely versatile in the field, not to mention detail-oriented and precise. Before Vza'haria can even begin to react, something pushes her out of the way, surely the Force again. She hits the ground hard, smacking onto the duracrete with her armor and groaning audibly. Hakio takes a battle stance, cocking her rifle and scanning the area. A flash of a blue lightsaber leaps out of the shadows, striking down one of soldiers in the the encroaching platoon of Imperial soldiers she hadn't seen before. She can't even begin to try and land a shot anywhere in fear of hitting them, but it's very clear that they're not controlled. Which the accuracy and battle tactics, the Emperor had yet to get his hands on them.

Double green sabers follow quickly after, and in the distraction she races over to her fallen soldier, who was already picking herself back up and brushing off her armor with little more than a gentle acknowledgement that she would be okay. Jedi then, she figures as the pair finish off the attacking force. She darts a glance to Aric, who's been perched up on an apartment balcony for a while. He nods back in acknowledgement, and she starts off towards the pair. They're in Jedi robes, dark, long and brown, as she can see from where she's standing now, but there are bits of gold on the armor plating here and there that throw her off of believing that.

No one just...stole a lightsaber and got away with it, right?

For her sake, she hopes she's not walking to her death.

With that information, she treks on across the relatively empty (other than the soldiers, who she gave a wide berth as she crossed) dim street. A sign is flickering in and out, pink and blue, blue and then dark. In the light, one of the assumed Jedi turns around, a Mirialan male with a deep scar across his face, one that was still healing faces her first, "We have a visitor." Is all she can make out from reading his lips as he whispers to his companion.

"What can I do for you, sir?" He asks once she gets close enough to hear. His purple eyes dart to the insignia on her shoulder, "Havoc Squad was called here? Here I was thinking we were the only ones here."

"Then we'll skip the pleasantries. Good eye, and yes. Thank you for what you did, though I'm not sure I appreciate having people thrown around." He looks sheepish for a moment as she calls him out on his past actions only a few minutes ago, before recomposing himself and straightening, "Major Hyperion of Havoc Squad."

"Ah, I apologize for that. It wasn't meant to be an act of violence, though the gentle push wasn't exactly what I intended." His voice is much younger than she'd originally assumed she'd get from the scarred man, yet he's apologetic all the same so she isn't about to chew into him, "Knight Whyatt Grace. My padawan, Dhyndre Djaal." He says, motioning to the woman beside him, who glances up from her now dark holocom. A few shades lighter than she is, the woman has short blonde hair beneath the hood, and piercing blue eyes that seem to glow in the shadows. She flexes a prosthetic hand in greeting, though remains silent.

"I apologize if I assume too much, but you're Sixth Line, aren't you?" Hakio asks, taking in their small outfit. She couldn't see much past them besides a classic speeder bike, one that went out of style on Coruscant ages ago. She holds up a cease fire sign on her hand to get the rest of her squad to stand down, before turning back the two Jedi, "Haven't come across many of you yet."

"I'd be surprised if you hadn't. But we've been separated from the main group for a couple of days now. I wouldn't say that's normal but from the look of things, I'm assuming the Republic's many forces are pretty scattered as well?" He questions, as the rest of her squad crosses the street, Vza'haria rounding out the back, "Have had to hide from a couple squads I think, couldn't figure if they were Republic from a distance though."

That piece of information is enough to make her think the three missing squads had been controlled, but she pushes down the pain for the time being, "We're not exactly the entire Republic army, but yes. We're scattered across the planet, trying to push back Imperial forces. Just as Saresh requested, if you can believe." The sound of clattering boots on the ground makes her shuffle further into the shadows, the Jedi following her lead. Just as they manage to get Elara into the alley way after them, more Emperor-controlled soldiers walk down the street aimlessly. The red glowing is absolutely terrifying to watch as it wafts off of them, and she doesn't turn back to the pair until they disappear around a corner. A sigh of relief settles over the eight people once they're gone, "You haven't been turned yet?"

"I'm sure we can ask you all the same question. People have been turning out of the blue for the last two days, a lot of the Sixth Line has. Master Surro...I haven't seen her since we landed." Dhyndre adds softly, lowering her hood and brushing her hair out of her face, revealing more burn scars along the left side of her face, "Theron Shan. My master and I have tried to get into contact with him for a while, yet no one has any idea where he is. He was the whole reason we were called here."

"Only the blasted Emperor knows, I'm sure." Aric growls under his breath, though she can't even make a face because of her helmet covering her features. Turning away from him, she rolls her eyes anyways, he is right. If everyone is having the same issue with the agent, then she doesn't feel nearly as angry, "Same reason we're here, though I'm sure Saresh only sent us to save his screw up."

The pair share a look, but it's one of understanding instead of one of confusion, "We can sympathize. Though we probably aren't the best example of Jedi to begin with, we are technically black ops anyway." Dhyndre admits, wringing her hands out, "We were sent to infiltrate Ziost, but clearly things kind of went sideways. Theron's a good guy though, he's never lead me astray before. Something's really wrong with all of this, I know it. None of it makes sense."

"Can definitely see where you're coming from on that one." Hakio answers, before her com rings again. Pressing the button the side of her helmet, she listens into the static before it connects, "Go for Herf and Mern."

"Havoc, Mayhem, you're the only squad that's checked in for the last few minutes. You're late by an entire five minutes." Nern's squad CO says sternly, sighing in relief though, "Onith and Jenth are the latest squads to miss their check in, and three more have reported one or two soldiers lost to the Emperor's control. Have you been able to find any of the missing squads?"

"No. We've been alone since we landed, only a couple Imperial patrols." Hakio responds, forming a fist with her left hand as she glances over her own squad. Great, two more squads missing. Out of the thirty squads that had been brought onto Ziost, that meant twenty five were still out there. Others, she was beginning to think were really KIA. MIA was a little too hopeful for this situation if she's being entirely honest, "You?"

"We lost Rwen a couple minutes ago. They started to just...lose it. Catatonic even. Finally they just went red. During that, we just had to leave before they came after us. Multiple stories of the same thing happening to other squads are coming in by the dozen." Hakio can nearly hear Nern's CO shaking his head in disappointment, or maybe frustration, "No one from Havoc or Mayhem is showing signs? Trill mentioned being attacked by one of their squad members because they stuck around too long after the change."

"Not that I know of, no. I have all six of us here." Hakio says, flashing a look over them. No one seemed particularly out of it, so she figured they were good to continue. She gives a longer look to Vza'haria, who's armor is splattered with blood and dented in a few places, but she's keeping a lookout so the concern is dimmed, "I'll keep an eye out for them, Nern squad. Got a couple Sixth Line with us, Saresh want anything from them?"

"Not as far as I'm concerned, no. Though with how many I've seen, keep them close. The Jedi Order in general has lost many today, and I doubt they'll want to lose many more. You got names on them?" He asks.

"Dhyndre Djaal and Whyatt Grace." Both Jedi perk up at the mention of their names, and she can hear the repeat of their names over the com to someone else on Nern's CO's side, "Think the Grandmaster will be happy to know that she hasn't lost them all. If you can, get them to an evac point. Intel is saying that no one is being controlled on the space station or the fleet, and most Force-users seem to be the most affected."

"Could I get that in writing? Hell could I get everything in writing?" She asks sarcastically, and Nern's CO chuckles offhandedly, "I've got you though. I'll keep an eye out for any squads, and I'm assuming Saresh hasn't allowed us to pull out yet, has she?"

"Someone will let you know if she does. Sure from her eyes, we're winning." He says frustratedly. He says something she can't make out, before she overhears a scream. Static takes over the com.

"Nern? Nern Squad? Narvon Squad! Sorin, status!" She can't hear anything, no matter how much she tries to get a response from them. Taking her hand from her ear, she looks up at the small group around her, "Safe to say Nern Squad is down, I think."

"Blazes, not them..." Elara murmurs, disraught. Ailast Sorin had been a close friend of Elara's since Belsavis, and had managed to become acquaintances with Hakio herself. Narvon was his pride and joy, and knowing the Rattattaki was down only makes the entire situation worse, "Major, what do we do next?" She asks, turning to her.

"Whyatt, Dhyndre. Would you be missed if we got you off planet?" Hakio asks quickly, Jaak'lo pulling out his holocom just as the though rise. A map of New Adasta appears in the projection, spinning gently as a red dot lands somewhere on the map that she doesn't focus on immediately. Surely an evac point, "Whether I'm weak-minded or not by your standards, I figure we gotta get you out of here."

"I doubt anyone would know we were missing, or care." Whyatt responds, a worried look in his eyes as Dhyndre turns to him, "I'd be more afraid that the Emperor would try to take hold of one of us. Evac ship or not, as far as I know as long as we're still on planet or in orbit we can still be controlled."

"What would you do with us gone? Wouldn't it be better for us to stay and help?" Dhyndre interjects, "We're Knights, not cowards. I don't stand down in the face of danger." She says firmly, crossing her arms even in the wake of her Master's disapproval.

"The face of danger is taking the form of the Emperor himself, Ms. Djaal. This not a face you should stand in, I'm afraid." Ryean insists, his softer voice attempting to convince the young woman. She's never been more glad to have a diplomat on the team, because she looks halfway convinced, if not less conflicted than a few moments ago, "No one should have to be here right now if they don't have to be. And with the rest of the Sixth Line down and Theron MIA, your safest place would be back on Coruscant."

"I'm helping with or without you, Havoc. Even if Theron's dead, I'm still going to do my best to finish the mission. I'll leave when the intel is solid." Not exactly a compromise, but it seems she's more open to leaving eventually rather than a solid never.

"Dhyndre--" Whyatt starts sternly, before cutting himself off. Something rumbles underneath their feet, the sound of electricity arcing through the air, "That's the power dampeners. Someone's turning them off."

Hakio can hear it herself, and intends to ask why someone would be doing that in the middle of an invasion, but not before something hits the ground behind her. Whipping around, her eyes widen as she can see Vza'haria on the ground nearby, head in her hands. Pausing for a moment, she rushes over, taking a knee to look at the woman. Hakio can't figure what's wrong at first, maybe she's hit her head or maybe she's been shot somewhere. There's no blood, so she attempts to do a once-over. She can barely get her head up when the Mirialan shrieks, causing her to cover her own ears. Bent over on all fours, the woman is heaving for breaths, struggling to do much other than even stay upright. She yanks her helmet off, damp strands of blonde hair hanging over her face. Hakio opens her mouth to call Elara over, she isn't sure whether Vza'haria is having a medical emergency and needs that attention or not, but something's odd...off about her quivering as she tries to pick herself back up off the ground.

Sorin's last words become evident in her mind as she considers what is happening. It only becomes more obvious as her hands first begin to glow red, then it moves up the rest of her armor. Scrambling up, she gives Vza'haria one last look over her shoulder before running the direction back towards her squad, "Go!" Is all she can get out as they follow after her. Pressing a hand to her ear, all she gets is static at first before someone picks up, "Go for Herf and Mern!"

"I hear you Havoc, what's going on?" Krenth's CO picks up, and she's glad as she rounds out the back of the group, keeping one eye on them and the other behind her in case her fallen squadmate -- her sister is following behind them, "Havoc?"

"Reporting a turning, we've lost Captain Vza'haria Atiya to the Emperor." She can barely choke out, willing the tears away, "One more lost."

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