Collaboration with [@Heat]

[right][b]Paradise
Upper-Level, The Observatory - Lounge and Observation Deck[/b][/right]

The forward observation deck of the Paradise had long since been refitted during the Golden Exchange's ownership of the ship. Most of the already sparse interior had been stripped from the ship and replaced with a relatively open floor plan lounge. Overlooking the nose of the ship, and granting an impressive view of surrounding space, the observation deck had been converted into a sort of luxury lounge and vista. Fine tiled flooring along with stricter bouncers and increased security meant that this place was relatively devoid of the scummier forms of life in Hutt Space. A single bar in the center of the lounge, along with long couches and low tables kept the sightlines clear and open, and one could see from the any point in the lounge through the large windows that were the walls of the observatory. Likewise, the lighting on the lounge was minimal, centered around the bar and few tables, allowing the glow of the nearby star and planet to illuminate the lounge with its view.

The lounge was populated with only a small number of people, most of them either diplomats passing through Hutt Space, or other well-to-do sort of folk. Here, Captain Victor Tarick spent his leave, feeling quite at home standing at one of the windows, hands clasped behind his back, staring into the black empty. Unlike most Imperial personnel, who wore imperial uniforms, those of the special operations sector weren't supposed to openly display their allegiences. Of course it was easy enough to assume one was an imperial, but it was a security risk to allow onlookers to know the extent of his position. Instead of the grey and black of the standard imperial uniform, Victor wore a bespoke suit of deep blue, impeccably tailored to his form. His hair and beard were well groomed, nails clean and manicured, and his skin, short of the long jagged scar running down the left half of his face, was smooth and umblemished. At a waist chest high counter that ringed the outer wall of the observatory sat a cigar, leaning against an ashtray, its tip smoldering a deep orange, as small wisps of smoke wafted upwards towards the vents above. 

At his place at the window, Victor stared lovingly at the Star Destroyer sitting just ahead of the Paradise. Though Victor had spent much time aboard Star Destroyers, and staring at them through the viewscreens of various imperial craft or from the bridge of another Star Destroyer, there was something different, awe inspiring, about viewing them from as spectacular a view as the Paradise's. The ISD Adamant had been Victor's home since a year after the destruction of the Death Star II, and was aptly named, for it was one of the few vessels Victor truly felt safe on. Even the Paradise, for all of its security features, didn't feel quite as secure as several meters of durasteel backed by advanced turbolasers and shielding.

A door came open on the opposite side of the observation deck, through it stepped a single dark haired woman. As Talina entered into the luxury location on he upper level of Paradise, she smirked. A bouncer eyed her for a moment, as did a bartender before she walked towards the center of the open floored lounge. She was not as finely dressed as the other people in this part of the ship. She didn't really care about that, she hated dresses, they were near impossible to move in during a fight or sprint. She was just her to find her fellow Imperial Special Forces soldier, and this is where he was said to be. 

She stood in front of the bar, one hand on her hip as she glanced around the room. The lounge was sparsely filled and devoid of the trash that wandered other part of Paradise. After a brief second, she spotted the man she was here for. He was clad in a fine blue suit towards the back of the lounge, stargazing out a window. A trail of smoke hung overhead, he seemed content with where he was at the moment. She'd be with him in a moment. She looked at the bartender and ordered the same drink she asked for in the other, less classy establishment. The man's hands danced expertly as he quickly forged her order. Then he placed it down in front of her with a nod, she scooped it up with a smile and strolled away.

"Breathtaking isn't it?" She asked Tarrick, appearing to his side, martini in hand. Talina stared out the window, a confident smile on her face. Something about the sight of an Imperial Star Destroyer sitting silently in space just stirred up the most patriotic of feelings within her. It was one of the most majestic, awe inspiring things she could set her eyes upon. 

"Quite so." Tarick replied, his voice soft, longing even, a far cry from the hard edge and steely bite his voice normally carried while on duty. His eyes remained locked on the Star Destroyer in the distance, as though he was trying to etch its form permanently into his brain; as though if he averted his eyes for but a moment, it would disappear. "Truth be told, when the second Death Star fell, I felt lost. I'm not a thinker like you. I'm not smart, at least not incredibly so. I'm just a soldier- I was, just a soldier. I fought and shot and did whatever I was told, until there was no one left to tell me what to do."

"My men and I were aimless, soldiers without a cause, drifing like common mercs, [i]filth[/i]." Tarick continued, his amber eyes hardening and his voice growing cold and bitter, almost spitting out those last shame filled words as though they were poison on his tongue. "Once proud soldiers of the Empire, forced to struggle for survival, to choose between the allegiances of petty [i]warmongers[/i] and ordered to shoot my own brothers."

"But now," Victor's voice returned to its original softness, pride swelling in both his tone and chest, his eyes releasing their lock on the destroyer, and finally turning to look at the Imperial spy, gesturing subtly with an outstretched arm towards the Adamant, hand slowly clasping into a proud fist. "Now, we are home. Now, we have purpose. Now, we are [i]strong[/i]."

"You're damn right we are. The Empire never fell, we are the backbone of the galaxy. Any man that can look upon a stunning sight as that and not feel a single chill is one without a soul." Talina extended a hand and placed it upon Tarrick's shoulder, looking the fierce soldier in the eyes with a look of pure determination. 

Tarick offered Talina a slight, almost noble nod of his head, a sign of respect to his superior. She was a well respected and powerful member of the Special Operations sector. While many troopers regarded Imperial spies with some degree of caution- Talina included- for their seeming willingness to sacrifice even other special operations lives for the sake of their missions, Tarick trusted Talina to at least sacrifice his life for something worthwhile. 

"But I'm sure you didn't come to whinge and reminisce about days past." Victor said as he reached out for the cigar on the counter and took a puff from it. "So, Miss Eriston, how might I serve?" 

He referred to her not by rank, as they were in public, and those in special operations avoided naming one another by rank if only for the sake of security. Even if there was no one within earshot, inside the confines of Paradise, someone was always listening.  

"Orders directly from Moff Orro." Talina replied, speaking softly as the moff's name exited her mouth. 

"Top secret, he told me to not speak of it until we are inside of a shuttle awaiting us in the docking bay. He was very direct about no one else knowing, I don't blame him, you never know what wandering ears are around you. Especially in a place like this. You've seen how those spacer slime glare at any uniformed Imperial in this station." Talina said, the digust obvious in her words at how her fellow Imperials tended to be treated here. 

The last thing she'd do is go against the words of a moff, even if she doubted any Rebel scum were in this high class lounge. It wasn't their kind of hangout, too fancy. They were in the dirty cantinas all around Paradise, fratenizing with all of the shifty aliens that filled their ill motivated alliance. She refused to recognize the so called, 'New Republic', they were violent usurpers with no respect for law and order. She took a long sip of her martini then glanced back towards the Adamant, calming her nerves.

"Well, I suppose we should get going then." Victor concluded, pulling a silver container out from within his jacket. Flicking the top open with his thumb, he took the still burning cigar and slid it into the container before shutting the container and extinguishing the tobacco with lack of oxygen. Sliding the container back into his jacket, he gestured for Talina to lead them. "Just as well, leave was getting boring anyway."

"Frederick told me about what happened at the dive bar," Victor commented idly as they made their way through the corridors of Paradise and towards the hangar. His otherwise even voice had a hint of teasing and amusement. "Interesting predicament, I'll have to hear about it later." 

"Two drunken spacers messed with the wrong girl. I didn't kill either of them, just kicked one between the legs and shattered a wrist. They'll live, then can tell everyone they got their asses kicked by a girl," Talina replied with a smile, holding back laughter t remembering the incident.  She didn't even realize a stormtrooper was in the bar when the 'fight' broke out. 

As they entered the hangar their designated transport was there waiting for them. Other Imperial personal were spread around it, talking amonst themselves. Talina pressed a button and the the ship's ramp descended for Victor and her. As they both entered it, the ramp closed up and she took a seat across from him, finally able to inform him of the mission.

"Now that we're in a secure place I can finally tell you about the mission. Moff Orro has put us in charge for an intriguing operation. The rebels, in their usual brillance crash landed a corvette on Dirna, an otherwise unremarkable rock within the system. We have been ordered to secure anything of importance from the corvette, eliminate anyone that survived the crash then make it back in one piece. The Moff has put his faith in us and afforded us any amount of backup for the mission." Talina said, hitting on all the key points. 

"You and I will personally be investigating the crash site, along with a squad of your finest soldiers. If we do this to the very best of our remarkable abilities, which I am most certain we will, then the rebels will not even know what hit them. They'll be corpses in the dust and we'll be in and out with no problem," She said with another confident smile, then a more serious expression appeared on her face. "Though we shouldn't try to take any unnecessary risks, I believe strongly in the intel that Orro gave us but we should properly scout the world before landing on it. Never can be too sure, those rebels can be tricky, they may know their marooned and that the Empire is in the system with them."

"As lowly as I regard rebel scum, the last thing I would do is underestimate them." Victor agreed, as their shuttle pilot took off and began ferrying them back to the Adamant. The last time the Empire underestimated the rebels, they lost the death star and two of their key leaders. Victor would not allow such a fate to befall his current commanders. He would strike his foes with sudden and overwhelming force, minimizing the chance of casualties while maximizing any possible gains from his mission. "I shall prepare probe droids to be loaded onto our vessel, they will launch shortly before we land to prevent anyone from acertaining our intentions."

"Excellent, I want a wide area around the crash site surveyed. If any unusual sights are  observed by the probe then I want to know right away." Talina replied with a nod as the shuttle rose up and made its way towards the glorious Adamant. She was highly confident about the mission, as she often seemed to be when doing anything. Tarrick was at the top of his game as well, which further rose her confidence.

With that, Victor began running through a mental list of his current special operations squads. While the Ultmara sector posessed some 20,000 stormtrooper, and the remnants of Victors 322nd Legion made up some 2,000 of that number, Victor's special operations troopers numbered less than 50, each and every one handpicked by Victor for their skill and tenacity. If it were his choice, he'd call on every single one of his troopers for such a mission, but he didn't have that luxury. Not only would it be tactically unsound to deploy the entirety of his elites on one mission, many of them were in use elsewhere in the sector.

"Dagger Squad." Victor commanded, speaking into his comm-link, his voice taking on his usual steel, "Adamant Armory, 20 minutes."

"As you command, Captain."