|
|
Post by Cachot Maître on Oct 6, 2009 21:10:37 GMT -5
 ALL IN ALL,
YOU'RE JUST ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -That damn girl.
She had been plaguing the Empire ever since they learned about her. So many troopers died from her lightsaber. So many more were killed after she made a fool out of them.
Now though, it was finally over.
With the ODS, every last bit of the so called Suzu was destroyed.
He couldn't help but feel bad for the FR Troopers that went out looking for her. Had it not been for FR-197's beacon, Suzu would still be out there, causing trouble for the Empire.
"At least now, we can finally end this blasted chase."
|
|
|
|
Post by ippo on Oct 6, 2009 21:28:06 GMT -5
Three days later...
The Emperor's Axe. A rather fitting name for a vessel that sets destruction upon all it gazes.
The Star Destroyer patrolled in orbit above the sandy backwoods cesspool of a rock known as Tatooine, leering on the horizon of all who look upon the sky. Standing on the upper bridge, Commander Elonious Pike, the man in charge of the Imperial presence on the planet and captain of the Axe stood in disdain of the charts before him. If all had gone to plan, he wouldn't be looking upon starcharts for locations. He'd be looking upon a charred mess of a body, a Force Sensitive deemed a priority by the Sith in charge. So, he was sent to destroy her, if not capture her. Those were his orders.
Three days later, he had nothing to show for it save an empty brig and an empty body bag. Was the ODS truly that effective? Had they wiped all life from that sector of the map? No. From the reports filtering back from the ground, the settlement they had rained destruction upon was nothing but ruins. There were still bodies to show for, however. The only identified bodies were those of a clique of troopers already on the ground. All the reports from Mos Espa and Mos Eisley, along with other settlements, were turning up spotty. He couldn't let the trail run cold, not now.
There must be something he missed.
|
|
|
|
Post by Cachot Maître on Oct 6, 2009 21:46:37 GMT -5
ALL IN ALL,
YOU'RE JUST ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - "Sir?"
Despite every bone in his body rattling and screaming at him, warning him not to do this, he did anyway.
"Shouldn't the ship be going back now? We've already done what we were ordered to do. We only came here for the ODS, right?" He, along with a few other soldiers, were beginning to feel suspicious about the whole reason they were still here. Suzu was destroyed, or so the black part of Tatooine said so.
So, why were they still here?
|
|
|
|
Post by ippo on Oct 6, 2009 21:55:45 GMT -5
Lips pursed. Eyes turned sullen. Pike's head drooped. Oh, the Sith were going to give him the gallows if he didn't come up with something. He held himself up on the windowsill as he spoke.
"Three days into the verification," he mutters, "and only now do you ask that our job is done?" He turned on his heel and faced that white chromedome with a refined fire in him, an upholding that separated him from the rabble on the planet. A temperament that made him an Imperial. "Our specific orders granted en route were to support the troopers already on the ground in their objective. Their objective was to capture a rogue Force Sensitive. Apparently, the Sith have taken a very vested interest in her. Our ODS was only one order among many. Whether she perished from the strike has yet to be confirmed." He turned back to the windowsill and looked down upon the orange rock with a new mole to speak of. "That is why we are still here, Lieutenant. We are not leaving this planet until we find out what happened to that girl. I don't care if she's escaped by now. As long as we know something for sure, it will be sufficient."
Pike fell silent, squeezing his hands behind his back. Was it anxiousness? Fear? The trooper couldn't tell.
|
|
|
|
Post by Cachot Maître on Oct 6, 2009 22:03:52 GMT -5
ALL IN ALL,
YOU'RE JUST ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - "I ask now, because several of the men think it's pointless to wait here any longer. The ODS is well known for it's destructive power. Surely, she was hit head on, and disintegrated."
It wasn't his place to argue with a commanding officer. However, it was his place to worry about his troopers. He was one of the few lieutenants on this ship, and was in charge of a small group of troopers, all assigned with their own special skills and such.
He fought many battles, and, survived all of them without a scratch. Just how many battles did his commanding officer win? He didn't look like a soldier, but, TR-882 had been mistaken before.
"If it's been this long, don't you think we would have found something by now? And, if nothing, then can't we make the assumption that she fled?"
He crossed his arms, then instantly put them at his sides again. For a moment, he forgot where he was, and the formality needed in such a situation, arguing or not.
"We've all read her record list. This isn't her first ODS."
 |
|
|
|
Post by ippo on Oct 6, 2009 22:17:18 GMT -5
A fist banged into the windowsill, muffled slightly by a glove but loud enough for the lieutenant to hear it.
"I'm well aware of her record, Lieutenant," Pike growled. Even old and wrinkled, he had the stamina to be frustrated. "That's why we're still here: to follow-up. If she hasn't left the planet, then we're not leaving until we find her. If she's already gone, then." He paused as he stood upright, taking a breath. "Then we're done here." He turned to look the stormtrooper square in the eyepiece. "Until then, we cannot leave this planet. Do you understand that, Lieutenant?" He took breaths again. Pike seemed just as frustrated as the stormtrooper across from him was.
|
|
|
|
Post by Cachot Maître on Oct 6, 2009 22:23:37 GMT -5
ALL IN ALL,
YOU'RE JUST ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - "And how, exactly, are we going to tell if she got off the planet?"
He knew he was pushing his limits. In fact, the display of frustration meant that he passed his limits a few sentences ago. He was dangling on a thread now, and it was splitting.
"I don't mean any offense, commander, but, we won't gain anything by combing the same destroyed area over and over again. I don't want to go against your better judgment by saying this, but, perhaps, we should have men moving throughout the city. She could have found a speeder, or something like that, and made her way to Mos Espa. If not, then there's no way she could have avoided the ODS."
He paused for a moment, then walked over to one of the consoles.
"Sir, who was the owner of the moisture farm? We could search purchase records for a speeder. Maybe the farmer escaped with her..."
|
|
|
|
Post by ippo on Oct 6, 2009 22:36:49 GMT -5
"Is that what I've not been doing for the past two days, Lieutenant?!"
Pike turned to look upon the stormtrooper, absolutely livid. His eyes had lost their tempered luster, falling instead to a wild flame.
"It was a moisture farm," the head Imperial recounted. "We destroyed a moisture farm when the ODS was called down. We are still combing the laughable excuse of ledgers the planet keeps to find out who lived there." His fist clenched as his chin rose up, as if looking down upon the stormtrooper. The lines were very visible on his neck and face. "As for the cities, there have been patrols in the cities ever since the first reports she was on the planet went out. Once the ODS landed, they kept vigilant for anyone remotely looking like her. Now, if you question my competence as a commanding officer again, I'll have you court-martialled for insubordination, do. You. Understand?" His lips pouted viciously. Never had the stormtrooper seen a mouth so downturned before.
|
|
|
|
Post by Cachot Maître on Oct 6, 2009 22:43:17 GMT -5
ALL IN ALL,
YOU'RE JUST ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - "N-no sir... I-I-I... I-I mean yes sir. That is to say..."
He stuttered with nearly every single word that came out of his mouth, and went through his thick helmet.
"I had just thought... maybe that... I... sorry sir."
Never before had he seen his commanding officer, out of all of his commanding officers, get so red in the face, no matter how intense the situation. He offered a quite salute, then began hastily walking from the bridge.
Each step made went quicker than the previous, until he was in a full sprint back to his quarters.
|
|
|
|
Post by ippo on Oct 6, 2009 22:51:13 GMT -5
If there's one thing Pike despised, it was criticism where it wasn't due. A stormtrooper questioning his competence. The nerve. Eyes turned back to the planet as the lieutenant disappeared down the corridors. His breaths were slow and methodical, trying to cool his blood pressure. He was not a drill sergeant like he once was in his younger days. It didn't stop him from pouting out the window. He gave the orange rock his best frown. It's not like the planet can complain about hurt feelings.
|
|
|
|
Post by Cachot Maître on Oct 6, 2009 23:19:19 GMT -5
 IN MY FIELD OF PAPER FLOWERS,
AND CANDY CLOUDS OF LULLABY.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Three days without a response.
Three days too late.
A standard issue Lambda-Class T-4A Shuttle flies into sensory range, without any forewarning. It flew straight towards The Emperor's Axe, and began hailing it once commscan was alerted to the new arrival.
The ship was plainly visible from the bridge's main viewport, and after a few moments, an engineer came rushing through the bridge doors, panting, obviously out of breath. "S-Sir, it's the Sith!"
The shuttle docked inside the main hanger, and already, groups of stormtroopers were forming frantic rows for the arrival of a Sith. It wasn't uncommon for a Sith to go wherever they wanted whenever they wanted, yet it was never expected for them to choose your ship of all ships in the Galaxy.
As the entry ramp lowered, a figure could be seen emerging from the shuttle.
She was dressed in the standard black robes of the Sith. Unlike the closed cloak with long sleeves, she wore it open, revealing her outfit underneath, which was clearly chosen for comfort, rather than formality.
Nails painted, toes and fingers, and a rose resting in her hair, she looked like she was used to getting everything she wanted, and, had to do little in life to get it.
She eyed Pike up and down, as he would have to be there, out of breath or bleeding, as he was the commanding officer of the ship. "Where is your commanding officer?"
|
|
|
|
Post by ippo on Oct 6, 2009 23:25:07 GMT -5
"That would be me, madam." Of course Pike was one of the first on site for the arrival committee. Still the Sith were always picky about when they chose to show up. He took two steps forward to set himself apart, making himself presentable to the Lady. Sooner or later, the Sith were going to ask about the girl and why there was no information sent out since the ODS.
The day of reckoning, he supposed.
|
|
|
|
Post by Cachot Maître on Oct 6, 2009 23:32:28 GMT -5
IN MY FIELD OF PAPER FLOWERS,
AND CANDY CLOUDS OF LULLABY.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - These surfs thought of themselves as so important.
In the end, they were just the farmers, harvesting more and more land for the nobles, and being kicked around because of their class.
It did not matter if you owned a ship, or a planet.
In the eyes of the Sith, you were trash either way.
"You have been giving three extra days to report back after the ODS. Yet, no word has been sent."
She took a step forward, then started to prowl around him, sizing him up and down more thoroughly.
|
|
|
|
Post by ippo on Oct 6, 2009 23:39:03 GMT -5
"Our report had not been sent out," Pike responded with due diligence and an upright chin, "because we did not seek to send out an incomplete report. As it currently stands, ma'am, the Force Sensitive remains unaccounted for, though signs point that she may have escaped the Orbital Demolition Strike. Whether she is still present on Tatooine is uncertain. All of this remains inconclusive, however."
|
|
|
|
Post by Cachot Maître on Oct 6, 2009 23:47:11 GMT -5
IN MY FIELD OF PAPER FLOWERS,
AND CANDY CLOUDS OF LULLABY.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - "You admit to failing the single appointed task to you then? You were sent here to capture, or kill, this Force Sensitive. You have many ships at your disposal, yet, the only thing you decide to do is to destroy a small area, and hope that she didn't escape the radius of fire?"
She stopped circling him, and stood before him, eyes locked at his. "This is why you cannot rely upon the Empire. You do not plan ahead. You simply act out recklessly, then hope by shooting with your eyes closed, you'll manage to hit the target. Never send an old dog to do a Sith's job."
She walked around Pike, and headed for the elevator at the end of the hanger. "Remove this man from this ship. I'm taking command now."
ALL IN ALL,
YOU'RE JUST ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - "Sorry, sir."
Taking aim from a point-blank range, he holds his E-11 Blaster Rifle to the back of the commander's head. No, scratch that. Former commander.
With a slight clicking noise, he pulled the trigger, and the blaster bolt escaped the barrel.
|
|
