VSD-II Covenant,
The Shroud Border,
38 ABY

The council of bridge officers, surface commanders, and special operations sergeants circle the holographic projector and mutter silent words on the tactics that could be taken for their next mission. The reason why they were forced to travel this far out was simple, the Warhost needs this Corellian Corvette. The ship was familiar with chasing corvettes and similar experiences in the past have been successful before. A portion of the group were huddled together and quite shy from the majority, their eyes shifted slightly out of their circle to peer at the others. Yet their stance was closed into their own circle, as if they felt unwelcome here, they did not speak and paranoia set in, with their shifting eyes trying to desperately focus on everyone at the same time. Before the tension could rise anymore, the Weapons Officer of the ship, a buff boyish oriental Human clad in battle armour name Nida Xiong tapped the table with her steel knuckles to gather everyone’s attention.

“Alright kids, listen up! The Command staff will be with us any moment and we need to look sharp. So get your act together! Be productive and not cowering chickens. I know some of you are new to the real ship situations…”

Her gaze peered over to the closely grouped officers opposite her, then scanned back over to the main group.

“...But our objectives are all the same, we give our all into this mission and we come out successful. Got it?”

Her question felt more like an order than a question, however the council understood her motives. Their concentration was broken quickly by the airtight doors opening in the far right corner, followed by the march of the Executive Commander. His uniform pressed and tucked neatly like the rest of his officers but that was the only professional look he gave. His stomach extended out like a full barrel of whiskey. His march was more of a duck waddle as if he had a bad leg, and his face was covered in scars, gashes and a broken nose proudly sat in front of the deep sockets that would be eyes. His officer cap sat neatly onto a bald scalp, and a fiery tangelo beard bushed from the bottom of his jaw and around his chest. The flame shaped magnificence of his beard covered the jingling medals and pips he used for years. The commander quickly trotted over to the table and gave a small jump, his boots clicked together as his whole torso rose in the air when he perked his chin up in a superior manner. The Commander coughed in a quick and husky series of repetition finally spoke out.

“Alright chaps, you know the drill and our objective. The Corvette must be taken by our special operations team within the day. The chances of running into trouble are high as this ship is packed with crew members and soldiers. Your best bet is to take the down immediately. However the people flying the ship will be useful for their knowledge of it, tranquilisers are the best bet for them…”

The commander began to slowly pace around everyone and finish his speech.

“...you will also notice that this ship is not coming with you, as the Consul has much more important tasks than a simple Corvette commandeering. So your task is to use the Lambda-class Shuttle provided and disguise your way in as allies. Hopefully they will not just shoot you down from the area and drive off with comfort, but this is why you have the Quaestor with you. His expertise in…”

The commander stopped his speech a second to shudder a little which caused his stomach to wobble by itself.

“...persuading people will most likely guarantee access into this ship. To the new bridge officers here, your mission is to fly this asset back home. Once back you ask for me, Commander Russell Bartholomew and I will give you the co-ordinates home. Any questions?”

Russell gave a soft growl as he pronounced his name, which caused Nida to crack a grin at the far side of her mouth. Closest to the Commander was a thin athletic woman with a blonde bob hair, her face was pale and her cheekbones raised high as if an air of grace was around her. She was holding her helmet loosely in a hidden hand, which moved the helmet around in fluid and quick movements. She gave off a light cough and Russell looked towards her. He motioned his head in a quick nod and mumbled under his breath several times in an unintelligent notion.

“You want me to fly the shuttle?” She questioned.

Russell nodded strongly and mumbled quietly once more.

“Without any instruments?” She replied.

“Well…” Russell stopped himself and kept mumbling as he stroked his beard uncomfortably.

“As we are approaching a well armed Corvette?”

“The Hyperion is a prize most valued by each leader of the Clan, try not to mess this up Lasandra.”

She herself began to mumble in her high toned voice and returned back to looking over the hologram, spinning and flipping her helmet more in idle concentration. Russell gave a wave of his hand to dismiss everyone and waddled back to the door he came through. Lasandra stormed towards the young group of bridge officers and motioned her own hand quickly in an order to follow her lead.

Shuttle Bay 1,
VSD-II Covenant,
The Shroud Border,
38 ABY

All was quiet in the bay of the flagship, the life support systems hummed softly in the background, the smooth chug of the pipes into the shuttle was melodic and therapeutic, and the verpine working on the cargo management in the near corner were efficiently silent for their duties. All of this atmosphere was suddenly cracked when the slate coloured shuttle doors whooshed open, and the group of young bridge officers lead by Lasandra stormed inside. She took one glance at the Questor who was leaning next to a pipe connected to the shuttle and continued to the shuttle doors.

“I can see why you didn’t turn up for the council meeting. Cethgus was hard on you, huh?”

Galleros nodded once and waved the new officers off who looked surprised before quickly storming inside the shuttle.

“The rest of the team are meeting us there on the ship in their own shuttles, since this one is too small to fit such a large group.” The Zelosian said to them whilst Lasandra warmed up the shuttle’s electronics.

Galleros unplugged the pipe and turned off the hydraulics for refuelling, then proceeded inside the shuttle and closed the landing ramp. He sat himself at the back of the shuttle and opened up a datapad to collect his thoughts on the mission report. The information on the corvette was strong. Over one hundred members held within the ship and the majority of them were trained commandos, with less than 5% trained to fly the ship. His gut felt twisted and tense at the thought of going against so many soldiers, yet the Zelosian also felt an air of calmness around Lasandra. For some odd reason, she was the only person in the entire ship he felt he can relate to, and almost vulnerable with. It was such an odd thought for a man who spent a lot of time running from social interaction.

The doors to the hangar opened and the bay was decompressed of air as the shuttle fire up it’s engines and slowly hovered then slipped out of the hangar and into the cold of space. There, the shuttle paired with a second, much larger shuttle. Together they both lined up into a convoy of their own and flew into the deep space towards the proximity of the corvette.

Near the Hyperion,
Unknown region of space,
38 ABY

Upon coming close to the corvette, the two shuttles slowed to a cruising pace and formed a line together. Their speed slightly faster than the corvette so they could simply catch up and into contact range. Then the first shuttle, the one with Lasandra as the pilot, received communications from the corvette. It was an automated message, ordering the shuttle to declare its purpose and it’s identity. Lasandra shuffled in her chair to concentrate further and leaned into the console, she pursed her lips and gave the most aristocratic voice she could.

“Nisha Aurelis here, I am closing in on your position to drop the supply of heat batteries, rations and female clothing for the ship. You should have our docking registration on board under Queens of Nar Shaddaa, yes?”

The voice over the console stuttered in confusion, with a series of whispers towards someone else, Lasandra tried her best not to smile as the bridge officers behind her fell onto the floor in a fit of snorts and giggles. Galleros sat at the back and rolled his eyes in disappointment. The voice returned to the console once more.

“Um...yes your name is here, uh...in future please ‘privately’ contact me as this is not to be taken over public communications. Docking port 1 please.”

“Roger command.”

Lasandra turned off the communications and the entire bridge officer group belted out in laughter and tears as they sat back down, their face reddening in asphyxiation. Both of the hulls connected smoothly with the umbilical cords of the corvette, and the hissing noises filled the shuttles. Galleros quickly stood and scooped up his dagger, his eyes firmly locked onto the door and his stance firmly rooted into the metal floor. He was ready to die where he stood or to kill the enemy in front. With several seconds to spare, he gather his thoughts and focused his breathing. Galleros raised his hand and got contact from the other shuttle, the holographic pilot appeared and glanced at the Quaestor.

“Remember group…” His words projected to both shuttles and occupants. “I want only the bridge officers alive, no survivors. We go in, kill all opposition, and capture control, got it?”

A series of confirmations mixed in with rifle reloads was all he heard as he turned off his holoprojector and gripped his dagger tightly. The hiss of the doors finally stopped as they slowly ascended up into the cracks of the hull. Galleros glared out into the group of security for the corvette who stood armed with rifles directly at him in confusion. The Quaestor slowly inhaled and then leapt off the mark, cutting his way through the pack. Lasandra and the bridge officers behind her began to lay a covering fire of blasters as Galleros seamlessly dodged the blasters and stabbed into each commando from the corvette. He used the long and dark colours of his dress to surprise the security’s sight, waving it in front of them and slashing his blade into their neck. His motions were fast, but the dagger work was sloppy and imprecise. Blood and screams flooded the room of his clothing as he darted around the group, using their bodies as shields against close blaster fire, working his way carefully towards the main bridge doors. One commander calmly walked out of the bridge door unaware of the terror in front of him until he looked up. His eyes and face dropped as he saw the bloody mess of toned muscles and brain matter that represented the Zelosian, grinning and panting heavily in front of him around twenty meters distance. Using instinct, the commander quickly turned heel and sprinted back inside, with Galleros following after him. However, the closing of the door was too quick for him and he decided a new tactic. The Quaestor quickly raised his arm and fired a wave of spiked discs from his Lanvarok, which spun inside the crack of the door, followed by screams and bodies dropping.

“I want this bridge open, now!” Galleros roared out, as he threw the dagger into the ground and paced slowly.

Lasandra raced over towards him, gave him a warm smile and kneeled next to the control panel. Again, he felt some strange comforting aura about her, something he knew was familiar. He walked behind her and kneeled beside the panel, watching her work and studied her face.

“Where are you from, Lasandra?” She gave a quick smile to him and continued on the control panel.

“I am Bpfasshi, sir. Born and raised on Selen.” She replied slowly, her concentration still on the control panel.

“Some of the commandos are dead inside, others are fighting for their life and the strongest ones have blasters aimed at the door. Try not to get killed.” With a swift nod, Galleros took in her advice and readied himself by hiding on the far lip of the door. His head swirled at how she knew the current situation inside, but his personal experience led him to never question a woman’s intellect. The door swung open and he barrelled inside.

The flashes of red blaster fire, followed by the screams of the commandos echoed the entire corridor outside, with the Zelosian moving faster than their reaction. He leaped over the main navigation console, jammed his bleeding fist inside and ripped the wires out. He then landed directly in front of the man sat in the command chair and kept his dagger firmly against his neck.

“You will give me this ship, or your entire crew dies.”

In a mumble to himself, the man motioned his hand to surrender the crew left alive. The shuttle invasion party quickly moved in and began to work on repairing and controlling the bridge. Lasandra found the operations terminal and got in touch with the leader of the special operations.

“Quaestor, the commander is bogged down in the brig, but says he was rejoin us in two hours. What is your call sir?”

Galleros approached the communications terminal and furrowed his brow in confusion as he scanned over the camera feedback.

“I was told he was the best at his job, go yourself to flank them and hurry their rescue up.” He ordered her, she smiled in pleasure and quickly sprinted off down the hallway.

Two hours later,
CC Hyperion,
Unknown regions of space,
38 ABY

With the bridge repaired, the special operations slowly making their return to the main corridor and the bridge, and the corvette in Galleros’ hands, he ordered the bridge officers to turn the ship back into shroud space and for them to contact the Covenant in order to retrieve the ship. His focus once again back onto Lasandra who was working on analysing and sending the security data of the ship to the Consul. For some peculiar reason, he could not put his finger on where he had seen her before. Her warm expressions and smiles made him more comfortable than being in front of a book or in battle, her voice was incredibly familiar to him, as if it was directly from his past. His mind furrowed through his entire memory in search of a Bpfasshi he once knew, someone he knew one time on Selen or in Arcona. Then it snapped, like a clue to a murder scene.

“Scarlet.” Galleros said to her, her gaze at him was a mixture of surprise as glee as they locked eyes for quite some time.