[b]Auora

Ruins outside of Garuda's Hive
[/b]
The fighting for the fault was fierce and the Covenant proved to be a powerful adversary. The Republic troop task force, small in number compared to Garuda's private army were likely the only difference in what kept the Covenant away from the vault entirely. Garuda's henchmen while capable with their weapons hardly lacked the training, tactics and the overall composure to deal with such an advanced threat. Sergeant Mason was Kavar's right hand on the operation and he did what he could but the situation was looking grim, he had no choice but to try and contact the Jedi once more.

"Master Kavar, come in" It was almost like a plea at this point.

There was a brief pause but the Jedi finally replied "Sergeant, what's the situation?"

"There's additional contacts! We're holding them off but we've taken some casualties. We are on the verge of getting swarmed!"

"Copy, I'll be there shortly. Any attempts to find the Sith?"

"Negative. If they attempted to make contact with the Destiny Ascendant we would know it but I like to think they are more concerned about the vault then the arrival of these other ships"

"Makes sense. Dragos won't negotiate, he's in no position to do so. As long as we can delay the Sith long enough from reaching the vault..."

"Sir are you implying...?"

"Dragos likely is about to or has contacted his fleet by now. It will be in Imperial code, we need to decipher it immediately to figure out what we should do with the vault. I don't care what Garuda says...I'll deal with the Hutt when I arrive, stopping the Sith is our only priority" Kavar ended communications as he was arriving with the other Republic reinforcements that were in the city. Rapidly approaching the vault from a distance, a pair of Republic tanks prepared its weapons

With various unknown hostiles among the ruins the Republic forces and Garuda's gang were forced to fall back closer to the vault. By backing towards the vault they were surrendering more room and possibly any chance to escape but they the increased amount of debris would serve as better cover while keeping their firing ranges tighter.

[b]Meanwhile[/b]

Hidden from view but close enough that they can hear the fighting in the distance, the Sith task force had gathered in full strength by the Imperial stealth craft. The small group of 20 commandos plus the Sith Lord himself were going over final preparations. 

"These other ships will be aware of our presence. They will know we exist. They will see the code, they will attempt to decipher it. Our objectives are simple. We head towards the vault, we kill Kavern, we go home. If we can destroy the vault, we will, if we cannot we'll let these other factions fight all over it." Dragos announced as he paced back and forth within the circle that consisted of his men. The men listened intently securing their weapon loads and final instructions fully knowing they were going to enter a fire fight.

"What of the others in orbit, they will likely come to investigate... maybe won't be too happy we didn't come to their little gathering." A commando questioned as he took a quick peak through the scope of his riffle before looking at the Sith in his eye, giving him his full attention. 

"That is why speed and efficiency is key to this mission. As much as I'd like to meet all these foreign commanders we are in no position to do. We are vulnerable. Whatever reinforcements comes will arrive just outside the system and make their way towards Aurora. Exiting hyperspace right on top of Aurora could be disastrous for our ships. If we need to wait, so be it. Now first things first..." Dragos gripped his helmet and placed it over his head, his voice deepening having been modified by the helmet to give the Sith a more darker and intimidating presence.

"Let's go hunt a Jedi" 

The message sent to Imperial Sith space was long and complicated to the point most other factions would assume it was gibberish or too foreign to translate. While details weren't complete, its purpose was to notify any receiving allied Sith ships that the Galactic Center was now filled with several, powerful foreign factions and that arriving in the system would likely lead to a military engagement...