The frantic sounds of mass activity aboard the Sith freighter made Zes feel cramped. The shifty assassin had joined the mission at the request of the powerful Darth Katherion. She had personally ordered him to take part in it, feeling his skillset was ideal for the job. It was not the type of mission that he would've personally volunteered for. He was not typically one for ordering around soldiers, too much potential for risk or getting caught in a massive firefight. His fellow Sith did not strike any fear in the veteran assassin, he kept his distance from them, only keeping distance watchful eyes upon them. Two pretty human apprentices and a hulking brute of a pureblood. They would not interfere with his own mission plan, which he'd hatched in the hours before launch of assault. The dashing Falleen would slip onto the Republic vessel containing the one known as 'Selene', slice into a console. map the ship and find her location. It ran some high risk in that he would be slinking by himself through a heavily guarded enemy ship but every mission came with its own risk and yet success was quite often in the cards for the accomplished assassin.

As he walked through the bustling hangar his eyes danced through its confines at all the soldiers readying themselves for a difficult operation. He could sense the nerves in several of them, some of them were not even Sith troopers. They were freelancers who were paid to fight in the raid, from different walks of life than the rank and file trooper elite. He could feel how a group of them looked at him as he ascended the ramp of one of the boarding craft, clad in his fearsome Sith armor, helmet in hand. Some were already inside, seated and chattering among themselves while a trio stood outside having a vulgar chat about some twi'lek women. Laser beam gazes were upon him as he walked silently towards one of the empty seats in the corner of the ship. One of the freelance soldiers across from him leaned over to another, letting out a whisper and a quick laugh as both men stared at Zes. A third stood near them, a mean looking human man with an intense tribal tattoo across the right side of his face smirking widely. The group continued their chit chat as the Sith assassin sat silently, eyes towards the floor, deep in thought.

Zes wondered if he was the first falleen these mercenaries had seen, at least one within the Empire. Aliens in the Sith ranks were not a common sight, he was the only of his people that he knew of who was in the Sith order. He wagered to guess they had been expecting either a human or a pureblood, but more likely not a Force user to be accompanying them. He'd noticed that the other Sith warriors had elected to stick closer together, Ves had put in a direct request with Captain Corvinian to be aboard a more discreet ship in the boarding party entourage. Multiple Sith warriors altogether would draw all sorts of eyes, blasters and lightsabers, as would a ship emptying elite troopers onto the Republic vessel. As soon as Zes and the freelancers were aboard he would split from them, direct them to go cause mayhem in a different part then he was going. Hopefully he'd be able to sneak away and avoid any major Republic forces. Even if he did then his strength with the Force would allow him to succeed.

"So you're fighting with us, sir?" A voice broke Zes from his thoughts, as he glanced up from his seated position to find the tattooed mercenary speaking to him. The smile had gone from the man's expression, though his friends across the eisle were still smiling and watching the conversation with interest. He was surprised the man had addressed him formally, but that might've mostly been the merc not wanting to anger the 'fierce Sith warrior'.

"Briefly, yes." Zes firmly replied, placing his helmet in the empty seat beside him as he looked the man in the eyes.

"Briefly, sir?" The mercenary replied, apparently slightly confused at the assassin's reply.

"Yes. I'm not one for charging down corridors and blowing everything up. I'll leave that honor to you, you can take all the glory. All I ask is that when we get aboard the ship is that you and your, friends, cause a commotion. Any republic soldiers you see I want them gunned down immediately and brutally. Throw detonators, make them soil themselves in shock and fear. I'm going to slip away and hack into their systems." Zes stated with a nod, speaking plainly and calmly.

"What about any Jedi?" The human replied, scratching the back of his bald head.

"They're not immune to blasters or explosives. Just don't allow them to close in on you. Open fire with everything you've got and they won't be an issue." The assassin replied, staring at the man with his blazing orange eyes.

"Yes, sir." The mercenary replied.

"Excellent. I am sure you will all do a great job." He added, then stopped looking at the freelancer, eyes returning towards the floor. The mercenary took it as an abrupt sign that the conversation was over and returned to his friends.

Zes remained silent as the shuttle slowly filled up with gathered mercenaries. Each one trying to look more fearsome than the last one. Some of them were non-humans, aliens that had signed up to kill at the reward of credits. All that mattered to him was that they could hold their own and provide an ample distraction for him to accomplish his own battle plans. He had faith that the Empire would not have hired them if they couldn't fight. The assassin was confident in the mission, as he always was.
[hr]
The ship rumbled and rocked as it streamlined through the stars towards the formerly unsuspecting Republic convoy. As they zoomed across the emptiness of space the pilot hollered from the cockpit, screaming for everyone onboard to strap in tight and hold on. One of the mercenaries laughed with cockiness at the comment before he was bounced out of his seat and skid across the floor by an intense rumble. He embarrassingly tried to get to his feet and make his way back to his seat. Zes smirked at the sight from underneath his helmet, his hands clenching onto the straps of his seatbelts. The Sith had the element of surprise but the damn Republic were defending themselves now. There were no windows in the back of the boarding vessel to peek out of and see the chaos occurring but with every single shake of the ship Zes could feel it in his bones. He did not believe they were being directly hit by laser fire, the sounds and shaking would be even more intense. 

"We're getting close! Woah!" The pilot exclaimed, as he swiveled the controls sharply and avoided a barrage of rapid laser bolts. 

One of the freelancers lurched over and vomited, gagging as he he held onto his gut. Several of the mercenaries left as one of them sitting next to him patted the unfortunate man on the back. Zes himself was not custom to such aggressive flight, but he'd managed to keep from losing his last meal, thankfully.

"Alright we're in the clear, boarding gear deploying. Got some fighters covering our entrance, keeping anyone off our asses." The pilot shouted as their rapid flight through the stars had slowed down, the rumbling have calmed as they idled beside one of the the large Republic vessels. Then he flipped a switch as the mercenaries began to unbuckle themselves and ready for their deployment. 

"Form up on me, we're gonna tear through this ship and make those bastards bleed. We have to provide our Sith friend here a distraction so he can break off and hack into the ship's systems." The bald mercenary shouted as he removed his blaster rifle from his back, around him the others did the same. A scarred trandoshan clad in heavy armor readied a massive heavy blaster rifle, a wide smile on his face. 

"We're not gonna be the only ones boarding this vessel, if we find allies we link up with them and carry on the attack. Whoever guns down the most Republic dogs gets a cozy bonus." The freelancer added with a laugh as the side door opened, the breach about to begin. Zes was on his feet, in the back of the group.

"Go, go!" The pilot shouted from the front of the ship, as he slapped his hand against the back wall of the cockpit, emphasizing the need for everyone to pile out and start the attack.

The mercenaries charged through the boarding tube, hollering as they slammed out the otherside into the Republic ship. They nearly trampled each other over as they bull-rushed through, bloodlust in their minds. Zes was the last one to emerge, as an orgy of combat exploded around him. He ducked to avoid a shot which slammed into the ceiling, leaving a black smoulder where it crashed. Blaster bolts careened down the corridor as the freelancers pushed down the hall to their left, drawing the attention of the Republic soldiers who greeted the boarding party with returned fire. Flash grenades exploded down the alley, blinding Republic eyes caught in the blasts. The trandoshan screamed as he popped from a side wall of cover, slamming an angry stream of blaster bolts towards their enemies. The Sith assassin smiled as he dropped a smoke grenade where he emerged, expertly covering his retreat down the opposite corridor, away from the action.

As Zes paced down it the sounds of action only increased, he could hear more Republic boots storming down the opposite hallways, drawing more attention away from the one in which he moved down. The Sith had to give the mercenary band some credit, they did what he had asked of them perfectly. He only hoped they would hold their own and keep as much attention on themselves as possible. He turned his head briefly towards their direction, as he heard more screams as they pushed even more ahead. Then he glanced ahead of himself, finding several winding corridors and hallways in which he could head down. He had a momentary stealth advantage, though he was certain there were cameras which he'd have to make short work of. Thankfully Zes had made sure to pack several computer spikes, he would need to properly map the vessel so he knew where was going. As he slipped down one of the corridors he felt the Force tinge in the back of his head, as if he it called out to him. He'd bet this was the ship 'Selene' was being held on.