At Arms Length

[Ghev Dralin]

Chiss Cruiser 'Csilla's Tears'
Orbiting Csilla
Chiss Ascendancy, Unknown Regions

"The... Yuuzhan Vong?" Mira asked, perplexed. She'd taken the liberty of sitting at a navigational console beside Verity, and was obviously having a hard time accepting the concept of something she'd never heard of.
"That's right. They haven't yet attempted to take our worlds, which struck us with the possibility that they may be friendly. At first." Verity pulled up a starchart, unfamilliar to Mira and Darryn, then highlighted various systems and marked the Chiss Ascendancy.
"So far, we've scouted these systems" she explained, turning the screen so Mira and Darryn could see. "All invaded, but that's not all. Their entire ecosystems have been, for lack of a better word, altered".

Mira glanced at Darryn, then back at the screen.
"We rescued a handful of prisoners from Nagi, at great personal cost. It was worth it for the information, though" Verity said, regret and loss shining in her red eyes.
"Can they be stopped?" Darryn asked, taking a closer look at the path of destruction - or rather, reconstruction - left in the wake of this new enemy.
"Every enemy can be stopped, Mandalorian. I am to understand that your people are warriors... I'd have thought that to be a sentiment you know too well" Verity smirked.

Mira stood up, and began to pace. Darryn put a hand out to calm her, but she shot him a look that said she'd hang him with his own intestines if he did.
"We need to warn our people" Mira said, stressing the importance of their freedom.
"And I need to wait for the permission of..." Verity started, but was cut off by the blaring alarm that suddenly shrieked throughout the ship.
"What's going on?" Darryn asked, reaching instinctively for his weapon, then realising he didn't have one.
"We're under attack" Verity said bluntly.
"The entire fleet?" Mira asked, itching to do something to help.
"The entire Ascendancy" Verity said, panic touching the edges of her voice.

Verity began bellowing orders to her crew, ordering them to action stations, and putting out a call to her aide.
"Get the Mandalorians to their shuttle" she said, much to Mira and Darryn's confusion. Verity leaned over her console, punching in commands, then handed over a fistful of flimsiplast.
"What..." Mira began, but Verity held a hand up to silence her.
"Take this information and get beyond our borders. Maybe there's still time to stop the spread of the Yuuzhan Vong and their... disease" Verity spat. Mira and Darryn hesitated.
"GO!" Verity bellowed, her slick black hair falling over her face as the ship rocked.

Mira and Darryn gave Verity a last, fleeting look of gratitude, then followed on the heels of the aide, as they were shown to their impounded shuttle.

*********************

Mandalorian Super Kyramud-class warship 'Osiris'
Orbiting Coruscant

Tracyn paced the deck, examining the Mandalorians formed before him. The hangar was sealed off, security camera's had been re-routed for 'maintenance checks', and all crew had been relieved of duty.
Only the men Tracyn could trust whole-heartedly had been brought here. Many of them had formed Black Squadron, under his command long before he'd inherited 'Osiris' from his late uncle, Goran Holtz.
"We all feel the same way, so we know why we're here" he said, carrying his helmet under one arm. His expression was morose, pained, but determined.
"It's gone on too long, sir" one of the Mandalorians agreed.
"Too long" Tracyn repeated. "Ghev needs to be watched, his actions monitored. Every day he's proving that he's no longer worthy of being our Mand'alor, but the people won't rally against him because of all he's done" Tracyn scoffed.

He let his words sink in, then dropped his helmet to the floor, and kicked it toward the formation of men and women. It slid along the smooth hangar deck, then came to a stop.
"He's militarised us. Stripped us of our individuality, our culture. Those are not my colours" he hissed, pointing at the silver and blue helmet.
"Garner, what were your colours?" he asked, pointing at a tall, slender woman in the middle of the group.
"Duty and justice, sir" she replied. Green and black.
"Instead, you wear the silver and yellow of one of Ghev's infantry" Tracyn scoffed.
"Ner vod, we got incoming" said a Mandalorian monitoring the camera's. Tracyn approached, and saw Ghev's shuttle inbound.
"Okay, scatter, and get on with your duties. We'll continue this later" Tracyn said, and ordered that the hangar be re-opened.

*********************

Mandalorian shuttle
In-bound to 'Osiris'

Ghev flexed his hands, and cracked his knuckles. The meeting had gone well, in his opinion, even though Deej still wasn't talking to him. Ghev had decided to let Deej pilot the shuttle back to the 'Osiris', to give him time to reflect.
There'd be a lot of ground to cover over the next few days. First, he'd want a sitrep on the search and rescue mission. Next, he'd be ordering more ships to Coruscant, whether the Senate wished to argue or not.

If anything was to come of this meeting, it meant co-operating and co-ordinating with the New Republic. And frankly, the Jedi have their heads screwed on the right way for a change, Ghev thought to himself.

As the shuttle landed, Ghev wondered whether it was even worth it, the war with the Empire; it seemed the Galaxy was on edge, just waiting for it's next conflict, as though war were on the horizon, so close but being held at arms length.

[Roth Fenix]

Roth glanced over as Trenton left then returned his gaze back to Orla.

Roth stood in the right corner of the room, hands in the folds of his robes, watching Orla. She ignored the blood smeared on her face and stared down at the table.

Roth touched her mind with the Force; a mix of emotions hit him like a speeding podracer. Hate, remorse, envy, bloodlust, greed swirled in Orla’s mind. Roth didn’t know whether to feel sorry for his prisoner or disgust at her silence.

The Kiffar slowly walked behind her and placed his hand on her left shoulder. The crazed Mandalorian didn’t move, her gaze was set on the table that she leaned on. He spoke, his voice soft, but filled with authority and power, “it can all be over now, no pain, no suffering,” he paused, “no death, all you need to do is tell me what it is we have to fear, how we can protect those in need, and what their purpose may be.”

Orla’s gaze remained fixed on the steel table, the blood on her face was beginning to dry and her eyes were red from crying, but she remained silent.

Roth walked back to the other side of the table and sighed. He turned back and faced Orla and muttered, “so be it.”

Roth extended his arm and fingers and brought them from left to right in front of his body.

Orla’s eyes instantly widened. She looked up at the empty doorway in a blank stare.

Roth was reaching into Orla’s mind using the dark Force ability, Torture by Chagrin. Unlike the way other sentient beings tortured their prisoners, Roth had the ability to delve deep into his captive’s mind, find their worst and most embarrassing memories, and forcing them to relive them. Roth also had the rare talent of twisting their memories into an even more horrible vision by finding out their greatest fears.

Roth felt around Orla’s memory and extracted when her own people treated her like scum and her torture at the hands of Mandalore. Orla screamed and fresh tears streaked down her face. She pounded the table and gripped her jaw, crying out as if it had been shattered.

Roth delved even deeper into Orla’s memories. He filled her mind with the people of her culture staring at disgust while she was in her cage whispering the phrase, dar’manda, when they passed. Roth brought his thumb to his palm and Orla’s vision changed. Her sister stood outside of her cell, shouting insults in the Mandalorian tongue. Orla overturned the table she was leaning on and slammed herself into the wall at the back of the room.

Despite the screams, Roth felt no remorse for the deed that had to be done. He searched for the Mandalorian’s deepest fear and the events of the Battle of the Death Star replayed through her mind. TIE Fighters and X-Wings clashed all around them; both the Rebel and Imperial capital ships slugged at each other with their heavy turbolaser batteries. A short distance away, a lone Y-Wing crashed into an A-Wing and sent it spiraling out of control. Orla flew in her Syck Interceptor, avoiding the deadly green laser fire that was directed at her fighter. On her left flew a Mandalorian in purple and gold armor, who destroyed one of the Imperial fighter’s.

Roth clenched his hand into a fist and suddenly, the Mandalorian’s ship burst into flames, his life extinguished from an unseen force. Orla gasped and looked to her right as another Syck Interceptor was engulfed in a ball of flame.

All around Orla, the entire Mandalorian Fleet was destroyed, all of them consumed by fire. Orla thrashed around the room, her eyes closed shut, and tore at her chest as if trying to rip something off. Roth’s voice spoke directly into her mind, “I alone can make this happen, I have the power to destroy everything that you love, anything that you hold dear.”

Roth probed even deeper into her mind, his voice filled her head once more, “they say you want to see the galaxy burn?” Orla’s eyes snapped open, as wide as a Kowakian Monkey Lizard Chimp. The planet of Mandalore burned, the farms and refineries for the Mandalorian Iron, beskar, collapsed upon themselves. Orla stood outside of her family’s dwelling, watching the members of her clan burn inside of the house.

Orla brought her knees up to her chest and cried out in pain. She gritted her teeth and shivered in the corner and screamed, “STOP, STOP THE PAIN, I’LL TELL YOU EVERYTHING!”

Roth broke his concentration and Orla’s thrashing ceased. She turned onto her stomach and began to cry.

Roth approached her sprawled body and stopped as she began to get up. Orla propped herself on her knees and leaned against the permacrete walls, breathing heavily. Her gaze met Roth’s and she finally spoke, “my planet is not the only one that will burn in the coming storm Jedi scum.”

Roth gazed at her, his face expressionless like a stone, “who are you talking about Mandalorian? And what are they here for.”

Orla laughed and blood sprayed out of her mouth onto the floor, “the Vong, Osii nyn ures adden.” A smirk flickered across her lips, “you and your Jedi friends will never be able to stop the infinite power of the Yuuzhan Vong.” She stopped and coughed once more, “they have no interests of peace or any type of truce, they come to annihilate everyone and conquer this galaxy as their own.”

Roth stroked his chin with his left hand, “where did they come from? There’s nothing about a species known as the Yuuzhan Vong in any of the archives.”

Orla stood up and leaned heavily on her right shoulder in the corner, her voice was raspy, “they come from beyond this galaxy Jedi, from beyond wild space. The Chiss have had small battles with them since before the Galactic Civil War, keeping them out of our galaxy.” Orla looked up at Roth’s face and let out a slow, heavy laugh at his look of concern, “not so strong now are you Jedi?”

Roth looked up at the Mandalorian and nodded at her, Orla fell to the ground, Roth had put her into a temporary coma,

Roth walked out of the interrogation room and opened a frequency to the Coruscant Security Force, “I’m done with her, detain her in one of the high-security cells and keep a close eye on her.”

Roth went back up to the Jedi Temple on the elevator. The doors opened and Trenton stood outside. Roth had an amused look on his face, “were you waiting for me this entire time?”

Trenton shook his head, “I want to know what she told you, I could feel the pain and anger that emanated from her, what did you do?”

Roth began walking down the hallway, Trenton following, “I have to report this to the Council, they have to know.”

Trenton caught up to his friend and grabbed his shoulder, turning him around he asked, “what? What’s wrong? Is it about the Brotherhood? Or the Remnant?”

Roth shook his head, “no…”his voice trailed off, “what we have to fear is a much bigger threat than the Brotherhood or the Remnant. A threat that is willing to kill everyone in the galaxy for personal gain.” Roth paused for a few more moments then muttered, “I fear this might be the beginning of the end.”

[Ghev Dralin]

Mandalorian Super Kyramud-class warship 'Osiris'
Orbiting Coruscant

Ghev hit the ground, and blood fountained from his bottom lip. The world spun, in and out of focus. Get up you di'kut. Get up and finish this, he thought to himself.
Tracyn loomed over him, a bloody mess, bouncing on his heels and smacking his knucklers together. Ghev rose, groggily, to his feet.

One Hour Earlier

"Put me through to the entire fleet" Ghev ordered, taking the comm, looking gravely at the reports coming in; the 'Galidraan' and half of the fleet had jumped into Coruscant space, and was now flying formation with the 'Osiris'. None of them reported any news on the missing Mandalorian scout ship, and none of the search and rescue ships had reported back yet.

"This is Ghev Dralin. We're staying here for a few more days, and I want us to use the remaining time of this planetary rotation to get some recreational activities in" he said, glancing at Tracyn, who seemed to be analysing his every word. "Furthermore, I'm establishing a battle circle in the rear hangar of 'Osiris', for anyone who wishes to relieve some tension or settle a dispute".

Ghev ended the transmission, then started for the rear hangar. Along the way, more and more Mandalorians joined him, until almost the whole crew was milling around in the rear hangar and the corridors leading to it.
The battle circle was established, and it wasn't long before the first combatants were deciding terms and weapons.
He watched the proceedings, leaving his helmet on to keep his expression unreadable. He watched with interest as Alora took out her frustrations on Garner, leaving her bloodied and unconscious, before vacating the circle and letting the medics cart Garner away to her quarters.

Suddenly, Ghev was reminded of his meeting with The Ancient. A demonstration, she'd said. Pushing his way through the crowd, he entered the battle circle, and everyone fell silent. All eyes were on him as he removed his helmet, and glanced over everyone gathered there.
"Over the past months, there's been an air of dissent among the ranks. Some of you think I'm losing my grip, others think I'm tightening it too hard" he shouted, keeping their attention as he paced back and forth.
"Some of you probably harbour the desire to depose me, and have me replaced with a softer leader" he growled. "Well let me tell you this. During the war with the Empire, I was a soft leader. I became too friendly, let you get away with things. Not anymore" he said, impressing upon them that he was no longer the man he used to be.

"I defy anyone... anyone, to step in this circle and take my title, take my leadership. Prove to me that I'm not worth risking our shebse day in, day out" he snarled, looking for someone, anyone, who dared to step up.
When Tracyn stood before Ghev inside the circle, there was a clear tension rippling throughout the hangar. More people tried to force their way into the area, despite it being filled to capacity; if the blast doors weren't closed, Mandalorians would be falling into space by the handful.

"Commander Velor?" Ghev asked.
"Yes, Mand'alor" Tracyn replied.
"Lay down your first term" Ghev instructed.
"No armour" Tracyn said instantly, and both men began stripping their armour plates.
"No disqualifications" Ghev said; that meant the fight wouldn't be over until one of the men was unconscious, whether they left the circle or not.
"Knucklers only" Tracyn said, and a slight cheer went through the crowd. A Mandalorian sergeant tossed two knucklers into the ring, each one identical. Ghev and Tracyn secured them to their knuckles.
"Lets fight" Ghev said, and immediately Tracyn swung for him, burying his fist in Ghev's sternum. Ghev grunted and punched down at the back of Tracyn's head, slamming the young man face-first into the floor.

Tracyn growled out and stood up, a waterfall of blood streaming from his nose to the floor. He followed through with an uppercut, which glanced off of Ghev's cheek, and earned him a swift punch in the ribs.
"Mand'alor! Mand'alor!" went the chant, though Ghev distinctly heard other voices cheering for Tracyn. He caught sight of Deej, who was casually scanning the crowd.
His seconds distraction allowed Tracyn to sweep his legs from beneath him, and jump ontop of him, punching him furiously in the face and neck. Ghev shielded himself, then timed a quick jab in Tracyn's eye, which sent the young man reeling.
"C'mon, show me you've got the stones to take this job" Ghev roared through bloodied lips, tackling Tracyn to the ground and punching him mercilessly in the gut, before landing a hard right fist in his nose, breaking it.

That was when Ghev felt a crack in his ribs, and realised he'd left Tracyn's arms free. Staggering to his feet and clutching his side, Ghev allowed Tracyn a moment to get to his feet; a moment he needed himself, to steel himself against the pain.
The two collided, and grappled with each other, locking legs to prevent the other from gaining leverage or escaping. Ghev hooked Tracyn again in the gut, and Tracyn lashed out, hitting Ghev in the left temple.

Ghev hit the ground, and blood fountained from his bottom lip. The world spun, in and out of focus. Get up you di'kut. Get up and finish this, he thought to himself.
Tracyn loomed over him, a bloody mess, bouncing on his heels and smacking his knucklers together. Ghev rose, groggily, to his feet.

Tracyn lunged forward, and Ghev side-stepped, letting Tracyn pass him, then kicked the young man hard in the kidneys. Tracyn let out a yell of agony, and Ghev hooked a leg in front of Tracyn's, smacking him hard in the back of the skull, downing him.

Tracyn didn't get back up. A medic rushed into the battle circle, declaring the match over, and Ghev peeled the knuckler from his torn fist, dropping it to the hangar floor.
"You're all too soft. Toughen up, and maybe I'll be the Mand'alor you think you deserve" Ghev groaned, blood lining his teeth and leaking from his battered face.

*********************
Lictor-class Battleship 'Hammerfall'
Search and Rescue Mission
Tingel Arm

"Do we have anything worth reporting?" asked Commander Kaden Dala, rubbing his neck and flexing his joints. He'd been sleeping, but his dreams had kept it from being peaceful.
"Negative, Commander" said the executive officer, Myles Tynan. "Nothing but comm static on all local freq's".
"Shab, they have to be somewhere out there" Kaden growled, looking out of the viewport. Tilting his head, he peered closer; something just flashed, he thought to himself.
"What's that?" he asked, wondering if he was still half-asleep.
"Picking up interference on scope.... wait..." Myles said, his eyes fixed on the scope read-outs. "It's one of ours... our missing ship!" he said, and the bridge crew cheered.

Commander Dala sighed with relief, and turned away from the viewport.
"Bring them home, Colnel" he said, taking off his helmet and smiling at his crew.
The crew didn't smile back; they were looking at him in horror, and alarm. No, he thought. Not looking at me, looking past me...
He turned, and his jaw hung open; ships that he'd never seen before were appearing in the void, pursuing the Mandalorian shuttle as it sped toward the 'Hammerfall'.
"Wh... what are those? Who the hell do they belong to?" he asked, as the crew began checking readouts and shouting at each other.
"Sir, we don't know" said the executive officer.
"Open the rear hangar doors, get that shuttle aboard, and prepare to jump" Kaden barked.
"Jump where, sir?"
"Anywhere, dammit!"

The 'Hammerfall' groaned as she began taking fire, and alarms blared throughout the corridors, drowning out Kaden's orders as his voice faltered.
The Mandalorian shuttle landed in the rear hangar, and reported in.
"Sir!" Myles shouted, stumbling over to the Commander. "Sir, the shuttle is aboard, but we lost life support in the aft section of the ship!" he called.
"Get us into hyperspace!" Kaden yelled, as the 'Hammerfall' took another critical hit.
"Hull integrity in the mid-section and crew quarters is down to 2%. Sir, they're melting straight through our armour" Myles reported, trying to make his way back to his station.
"Get us the kriff into hyperspace!" Kaden ordered. The ship shuddered, and an unhealthy rumble sounded from the engines.
"Our hyperdrive has been hit, we're not gonna make it home" Myles said, defeated.
"Get us as close as you can" Kaden said, sitting down. The 'Hammerfall' entered hyperspace, leaving behind it a cloud of debris.

Rear Hangar, Hammerfall

Mira coughed, and stumbled out of the hatchway of the shuttle, expecting to hit the ground. Instead, she floated to the deck.
"Darryn, I think the grav generators have taken a hit" she said, taking off her helmet. The air felt thick, and taking a breath was more trouble than it should have been.
"Belay that, I think life support is going down..." she corrected herself, sealing her helmet back into place.
"We have enough oxygen in the shuttle to last a day and a half" Darryn said, checking read-outs. "We took a few hits ourselves" he sighed, sitting in the pilots seat.
"Well, we're not going anywhere til the 'Hammerfall' leaves hyperspace, and even then, this area will have been sealed the moment life support began to go offline" Mira muttered, taking off her helmet once the hatch was closed.

"And once we do leave hyperspace, this ship ain't taking off, not now" Darryn said. "She's not space-worthy".
Mira groaned, and sat down in the rear hold, holding her head in her hands.
"You know what Ghev would say, if he were here?" Mira said, turning to look at Darryn, who had also removed his helmet.
"Tell me" he muttered, rubbing his eyes.
"We're fracked."

[Trenton Vinh]

((OOC: This thread is now closed. It will be locked and saved for viewing, but players will be unable to post on it. The story will be continued on the thread entitled First Contact))