EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Wonderful." Meesei answered, albeit in a rather dry tone. "Then we should not waste any time. We should take our leave of the city so that I can speak more freely, then I can take us to...where we need to go."

Just as she said, Meesei wasted no time in taking the lead towards the door. Ahnasha stood up as well, deciding that it would be best to stay with the group to help in the unlikely event that there was any trouble, but she did intend to have Meesei or Sabine bring her back sometime within the next few hours. She did not want to leave matters with her own family as they were right at the moment. She knew she needed to talk with them, and she was not going to let them leave the city without doing so.

For the moment, however, Ahnasha followed the group out of the inn, then out of the city through the nearby west gate. Meesei was on alert the entire time, watching and listening for anyone unexpected that might be around them. She made particularly sure that they were safely beyond the city, and that no guards, citizens, or anyone else was close enough to hear before she continued to speak. "Once we are somewhere that is sufficiently private, I will take us to my clan's home. It is the neutral ground on which the Empire, Dominion, and my people are staging the...final phase of this war against Vile. Once we are there, we will get you settled in with you own chambers, and I will arrange for a meeting between you, myself, the Empire's Legate General, and the Dominion's commander to determine where your skills can be put to the best use."

---

Again, the scholar was slow and nervous in his response. "Yes...well, relatively close, compared to a lot of the other ruins. It's just an hour or two walk from here, right along the road south just outside the city. It's patrolled by our automatons, so it's safe to walk."

Saras quickly interjected before Sabine could reply. "I take it you have been to the tower in question, yes?" He asked the scholar, who replied with a somewhat confused nod.

Saras turned his attention back to Sabine. "I seem to recall that the teleportation that you and the Champion use requires a...connection with the destination. And that you can use someone else's connection to make the portal as well, yes? If so, then his memories should be sufficient for you to simply teleport directly to the tower, hopefully ahead of Neesa. There is just the matter of deciding who, if anyone, you wish to bring. It is at your discretion if you wish to bring any number of warriors or mages to assist you, but if I could give you my counsel, I would like to point out that this is just as much a diplomatic concern as it is a security concern. Hal-Neesa does represent Molag Bal's interests. The vampire did brazenly spy on us, just as she has been doing from the very day she arrived here..." Saras said, revealing a hint of resentment in his voice. "...but, by his description of events, she is yet to make any sort of threat against anyone. That is a fact you may wish to consider when making your decision."

Last of the Jedi (EliteCommander and Sep)

Kresst took the clothing that Mevenn offered without any argument, and indeed, his tone was still somewhat upbeat. "What fortune for us. Perhaps, even with all that has happened, the Force is still with us. I shall go change and ready myself to act the part of diplomat. Though, thinking about it, perhaps I should not be a diplomat for Mrlsst, specifically. The planet is on the exact opposite side of the Core, after all...with a population of non-Mrlssi over five billion strong, and several universities of galaxy-wide fame. There is a non-insignificant chance that someone here might be familiar with it."

As Kresst left the cockpit, Eeruna spoke with the port authority at one of the planet's few cities, though "large town" might have been a more accurate description. The whole of the planet was only sparsely populated, especially by galactic standards. She had sent the ship's ID codes, and as of yet, there did not seem to be any unusual delays or anything else that might be considered suspicious. But, only time would tell if they were going to have problems sooner rather than later.

Eeruna looked back over her shoulder towards Mevenn. "Whatever story you go with, I need to talk with a parts trader. Luckily, all the parts we're going to need are pretty standard, but still...let's just hope this middle-of-nowhere little town actually has what we need. And that we can still spend these Republic credits we have. I mean, I certainly don't think that the Empire would go and invalidate their own currency, since that sounds like a stupid idea. But, I also wouldn't have thought that the Senate would vote to install an autocratic Empire, so what do I know?"

It did not take long for Kresst to change and return to the others. He had simply selected whichever set of clothes he felt could be passed off as the most expensive, though none of them had been particularly lavish by any means. For the role he was meant to be playing, he at least needed to be able to give the appearance of being moderately well-off. He was wearing a long, blue shirt with simple red an orange patterns that looked intentionally loose-fitting and somewhat covered his comparatively plain trousers. He also wore a thin red shawl wrapped around his neck and shoulders, which looked to be more for decoration than warmth. Anything that might look out of place on him, most notably his lightsaber, he kept on the belt he was wearing under his clothes.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei stood up alongside Fendros, though with a look of considerably more calm than he. It was far from the first time that she had needed to deal with a powerful "ally", so even the palpable tension in the room was not enough to break her composure. At the very least, the fact that Rossarm was present at all should be encouraging. Meesei doubted that he would walk all the way to the city just to refuse. She had no problem breaking the silence, and being the first to address him.

"Rossarm Avarul..." Meesei began, giving a polite nod in greeting to him. She had yet been given no reason to break from formality. "...it is a pleasure to meet you. I am Meesei; I take it your wife has informed you of the...matter we came here to discuss? Have you decided to accept the offer?" She asked. They were still in a public place, so there was a need to speak discretely.

---

Following Sabine's question, Saras gestured to the scholar. "If you would, please."

It took a few seconds for the short, somewhat nervous Breton man to register Saras' request in his mind, after which he spoke at a slightly rushed pace. "Oh, sorry, I...well, yes, she did. Or, not in detail or anything but...sort of. See, I was returning to my workplace after going to retrieve some Dwemer oil. I needed it to test a theory I had about the Dwemer spiders and their...um, sorry," He interrupted once he realized he was getting sidetracked. "Anyways, when I got back, I saw the vampire there reading some of my research notes. I didn't recognize that she was the vampire at first, and I was about to start yelling at her to get away from my things, but then she turned and...looked at me."

The Breton scholar actually seemed to shiver when he recalled the memory. "I don't know what happened, but I just sort of...froze up. I couldn't speak, until she started asking me questions. She asked about the Dwemer machine we found in the Tower of Mzark: the one to the south, I think, of the Silent City. She demanded to know why she hadn't been told about it, then I told her that no one had told us to tell her about the oculory...then she berated me for about a minute straight for calling it an 'oculory'. After that, she demanded to speak to the Champion. I told her I would try to inform the Champion, but then she stormed off. I followed her outside and, I could be wrong, but I think she went ahead towards the oculory anyways. I...think there are still some scholars researching there today, so..."

Last of the Jedi (EliteCommander and Sep)

Kresst gave a concerned look towards Mach as Mevenn was voicing her opinion, to which he, regretfully, nodded in agreement. "Yes, while it would make me more comfortable if we could all stay together, I think the cautious approach may be the best one here. You may also wish to stay away from the comms, Mach. If something does go wrong, and the Empire does find us here, we don't want to risk you being given the same order that forced your comrades against us." He explained, letting out a soft sigh. "I still don't know what it is that causes it, but whatever it is, whatever implants or...psychological conditioning you have, we will do whatever we can to help free you from it once we reach safety."

Breaking up the rather severe mood of the situation they were in, Eeruna was scratching her head and giving a few, seemingly genuinely confused looks between Mevenn and Kresst. "I mean I...doubt I have anything better for him than you do. All my clothes would be a few dozen sizes too large for him. I...let's see, I'm sure there's plenty enough cloth around if you wanted to make something, but I don't know how to sew. Do you know how to sew...because I don't." She repeated, dropping her arms down to her sides and shrugging. "What would your kind even wear? Something with...feathers?" She asked, though after a few seconds, she realized that it probably sounded like a rather stupid guess.

Kresst, however, merely laughed. "I think I have plenty enough feathers on me already, I don't think I shall be needing any more. No, I don't think the people of Mrrlst wear clothes that are too different from many other places. I think bright colors are in fashion right now, if I recall correctly." The simple subject of what to wear seemed like such a trivial, or even silly matter to worry about at the moment, but perhaps that was not a bad thing. With everything else that was going on, having something that was not life-or-death to focus their energy on, even if just for a short time, might help to clear their heads.

Last of the Jedi (EliteCommander and Sep)

Eeruna looked back over her shoulder towards Mevenn. "You're probably right on that. It's a guarantee that the Empire is going to be tracking us. It's easy enough to lie about who we are and what we're doing, but we can't lie about the ship's ID codes. Still...this place is remote, and there are plenty of places like it we could gone to from where we jumped. Even if they've put out an alert on this ship, I doubt word of it would've gotten here yet. Best to get in and out quickly, though, unless you just love tempting fate. The ship isn't exactly in danger of falling apart or anything, but unless we at least get that engine fixed up, we're not going to be surviving another encounter like that."

Kresst, by this point, had managed to walk off any soreness from the battle. He had strapped himself in as suggested, but as with so many other things in the galaxy, his seat's restraints had not been ideal for one of his size. Nevertheless, he was unharmed and focused on their current task: survival. "You both make fair points. We likely should not plan on staying here for too long. This is a vessel for Republic diplomats, so we should follow the most reasonable explanation. We were returning from a diplomatic mission and were beset by pirates, but managed to escape with some minor damage. And I do agree that it would be wise not to associate ourselves with the Jedi Order in any way."

Pausing a moment, Kresst too looked up and down Mevenn's clone armor. "Though, I think the same might be said for the Republic military. It would not be unusual for diplomats to receive a clone escort, but to the best of my knowledge, there are not any female clones. We may both wish to disguise ourselves. Although...I do not actually have any clothing with me that are not Jedi robes. I don't suppose you have anything in my size, do you?" Kresst's beak was not exactly capable of forming a smile, but there was some recognizable humor in his tone.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Kaleeth shook her head. "She didn't say anything, but...I don't think that really matters anymore. Petty things like that don't really carry over after death, I don't think. Especially now that she understands the reasons for everything." She answered, after which she simply closed her eyes and allowed herself to relax.

---

Just as planned, Ahnasha and Fendros informed Meesei of their intentions as soon as they met up with her the next day. She did take some slight convincing that Rossarm would even be worth the trouble, but for the most part, she trusted both Fendros and Ahnasha's judgement. As such, she had wasted no time in returning to Blackreach to have Marod write up the writ Calia requested, then brought him back with them in case the personal presence of a Penitus Oculatus agent was needed. If all went to plan, none of them would be talking to Rossarm before he had agreed to help, but both Ahnasha and Meesei wanted to be prepared regardless.

All four of them were waiting in the inn for Calia to arrive. There was at least some good luck for Ahnasha in that her family had all gone back to the castle that morning for another meeting with the Count's steward, so she had, thusfar, managed to avoid any difficult conversations with her family. Though, she knew one would be coming up sooner or later. For now, it would be up to Calia to take the writ to Rossarm and convince him to help, assuming she still intended to follow through with the plan.

---

It had been calm in the scholar's loft for much of the day, aside from a few, colorful curses from Marcaiile venting her frustration. She was not usually one to be so emotional, but neither again was it common for her to have such consistent failures as she had been having the past few weeks. She had taken up study into the mysterious ore known as Aetherium that could be found all over Blackreach, but no amount of effort or creativity on her part had produced even a hint of results that would allude to the supposed power the Dwemer texts claimed it held. Needless to say, they were no closer to understanding it than they had been for years.

For Sabine, that routine would be broken when Saras came through the door into her work area, with one of the Dwemer scholars in tow. As was usual for the Dunmer when he was working, he wasted no time in getting straight to the point. "Miss Montgrave, there is an urgent matter which requires your immediate attention. It involves the vampire, Hal-Neesa. She is demanding to see the Champion right away, but as both Meesei and Mr. Avarul are currently away from Blackreach, you are currently the highest ranking lycan in the clan."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

There's one short one I have in mind right now. After it, we can pick back up with Julan. Narsi and Lorag might be best to get to just before, or as everyone else is getting back.

Shall I assume that Marod agrees to write up the writ?

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

I think it's time to skip ahead for both scenes. Though, I didn't have much else in mind for the group with Kaleeth until Julan's marks are finished, which would be about time for them to leave. There is another scene that I have in mind between different characters that is fairly important, which I could skip to.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

With Janius beside her, Kaleeth allowed her body and mind to relax more and more. Not everything that the Hist had revealed to her had been comforting for her, but at least he could be. She eventually ended up laying back, resting her head on his chest and just listening to every beat of his heart. "It's okay, I just...it is what I wanted I guess. To have answers, that is. I guess all there is left is for me to go live out the destiny the Hist chose for me. At least we'll have each other. Hopefully we don't die in the invasion."

---

"Okay. I...suppose we have our plan, then. Let's just hope that he is in a good mood tomorrow." Ahnasha replied. She had never heard of the technique that Calia described, but it hardly seemed farfetched to her. Not only had she witnessed far more spectacular displays of magic, but she was intimately familiar with the life essence of living beings, and particularly how they bound the soul to the body.

Ahnasha turned her head towards the door. "I...suppose we should return to my family. I honestly have no idea how I'm going to explain everything that happened to them, once they start getting calmed down enough to start asking questions."

Last of the Jedi (EliteCommander and Sep)

Just as quickly as Eeruna had started the ambush, she hit the engines again after the remaining fighters started to disperse from their formation, and narrowly avoided the fractured hull of a Munificent-class frigate in the process. She heard Mevenn's quip, but at this point, was far to focused to give any reply. Mach was certainly a competent gunner and Mevenn could manage the shields near perfectly, but it was all just delaying until Eeruna could get them out.

Eeruna had little issue avoiding any path that would give the Venator a clear shot, but the fighters were unavoidably pounding the shields. One starfighter managed to get a long enough strafing run to partially damage the leftmost engine, forcing Eeruna to slow down from the reduction in mobility. C2 was able to redirect some extra power from engines to shields, but it would not make too much of a difference.

Fortunately, the debris field gave the starfighters just enough trouble as well that they were able to get near to its end. Eeruna glanced over to C2. "Hyperdrive ready?" She asked, which was met with a few affirmative beeps. "Good, then we'll jump from here."

The moment that Eeruna indicated the coordinates from which she planned to make the jump, the droid beeped erratically, though Eeruna's composure remained unmoved. "I know that's still inside the debris field...yes, I'm perfectly aware that I can't survive becoming 'dust'...just shut your vocabulator."

Turning the ship once more, Eeruna pulled them close to a derelict Venator, just barely managing to turn them tight enough to allow them to fly close to the dorsal side of the wrecked ship. Having the Nightfury so close to the Venator meant that the starfighters could not effectively attack from two sides, funneling them into chasing from the rear. Mach would not have the best angles on some fighters, but Mevenn could focus everything the shields had left towards one side.

The derelict Venator had nearly been split in half during the battle that had destroyed it. The massive hanger was a structural weakpoint for the vessel, so a large hole had been blown clean through the vessel, which Eeruna was heading straight towards. Just like with her ambush not a minute before, she she cut the engines and sent the ship into a slow spin while it moved forward on its own inertia. The fighters were now mostly on one side of them, and Mach again had clear angles, but her true motivation presented itself clearly through the windows of the cockpit. Through the middle of the destroyed Venator was a path into empty space, and to the hyperlane that served as their only hope of escape. However, while the breach was more than large enough for their ship to fit through, it was not a clean path. Plenty of smaller bits of debris were floating in the gap, so they only had a small window to make the jump successfully.

The Nightfury floated towards its jump point, now nearly perpendicular to the Venator. Their position needed to be nearly perfect, as just a few degrees of insufficient or extra spin would be the difference between a successful escape, and having their own debris scattered across the next light year or two. Eeruna was not navigating with the ship's sensors, the display for which she had shut off entirely, nor was she even just looking out the window, as her eyes were closed. She focused, breathing slowly with her hand over the button that would activate the hyperdrive, for good or ill.

There was hardly any sound in the cockpit when Eeruna finally pressed the button, apart from C2's quite loud and alarmed beeping. The stars ahead of them seemed to turn to lines around them as the ship made its jump, leaving their pursuers with nothing but empty space instead of a target.

It took a few seconds after the jump for Eeruna to finally open her eyes. She finally leaned back and allowed her armed to relax down by her sides, though a perceptive eye could see some shaking in her hands. "C2, please compile a damage report." She said dryly, breaking the silence.