Chapter 13: Akiva Summit
[ 55 Days before the Battle of Jakku. Inferno Squad deployment, Akiva. ]
Embroidered in blue jungles, a hot climate and surrounded by three Imperial Star Destroyers. The planet of Akiva was completely under the control of the Imperial Remnants. Wedge Antilles was being held prisoner by Rae Sloane on board the Star Destroyer 'Vigilance' through Gallius Rax's machination to eliminate members of the Ruling Council in order to bring about a New Order in his own image. He was destined to escape once the meeting was to begin.
This was the Contingency.
Gallius Rax, through Rae Sloane, had called many of the Empire's finest soldiers to the planet of Akiva. This included the self-proclaimed Grand Moff Valco Pandion and General Jylia Shale. While there were others present, these were the two who would be known to fall during the original timeline that was without Tobias Rune.
Soaring out of hyperspace, the Corvus was completely cloaked by a new system which it had been outfitted with. Standing on the bridge were Del, Iden and Kraytia. They all stared at the blue planet with anticipation.
They knew the planet had been heavily fortified, however they had a very limited amount of time to not only find their targets, but to also get off the planet before the New Republic learns of the summit.
A mechno-chair was standing in front of them, dividing them from the viewport windows. Appearing on the hologram was a singular being. Admiral Versio who had been placed in charge of this operation from afar. Just like how the Inferno Squad operated prior to the fall of the Empire they once knew.
"Inferno Squad, you have three targets and two different objectives." He said as three different faces were projected in front of himself. The face of Jylia Shale, Morna Kee and the other of Yupe Tashu. "Your Objective is to extract Jylia Shale. She had been contacted prior. Your second and third target is Morna Kee, Rae Sloane's personal shuttle pilot. You are to acquire her by force... She will likely be on the ground as the summit begins. Yupe... Is to be terminated. He was one of the Emperor's closest advisors." It was a typical debrief, somewhat sentimental for all whom were involved.
They nodded at their commanding officer, "Affirmative Admiral." Iden Versio would respond with a gleaming smile across her lips as they turned their attention to their exterior.
They hadn't been detected and their crew was leading the Corvus down onto the planet surface. The ship broke through the atmosphere unnoticed, making its way to a clearing and landing perfectly.
"Suit up!" Kraytia bounced in place, arms in the air all cheery-like before waltzing over to the lift and heading down to the cargo bay where their fighters and lockers were located.
Admiral Versio watched as the little Shadow vanished from view and focused on the other two original members. "If Sloane is present when you're taking Morna Kee, stun her, but don't let her see your face."
"Yes Sir!" Del and Iden replied in unison and saluted their commanding officer and made their way down after Kraytia. Within minutes they would be suited and ready to take on just about anything.
Del and Iden were dressed in the Imperial Commando like Armor, which was essentially Blue-Black Scout Trooper Armor with a cloaking device on the belt. They took the same weaponry they had been assigned during the raid on the Coruscant Jedi Temple.
Now it was going to get a bit hairy.
With the ship landed within the Jungles of Akiva, the Corvus' would lower its boarding ramp and allow its trio team to step outside as they activated their stealth suites.
"Humid..." Kraytia complained openly as she sarcastically wobbled around. Making little boot prints in the ground as she did so. The soil was moist, it seemed it had rained earlier.
Hearing the screaming of TIE fighters, they looked up to watch Imperial Shuttles heading towards the summit. One of them at least belonged to the General, and another belonging to their other targets.
The three of them marched through the jungle biome towards their main destination. While it initially seemed uncomfortable, their armor's bodysuits were adaptive to the heat and allowed the wearers to easily cool down.
Iden took the lead, taking a triangular formation as they began entering the main encampment. It was a grand building nonetheless. Landing pads were occupied by mainly TIE fighters and a few Lambda shuttle craft. If they needed an easy getaway, there were plenty for the time being. There was even a personal Yacht which Kraytia herself was tempted to just straight up take for herself.
The majority of the building seemed to fit the typical architectural theme of most Imperial facilities, dark and bleak yet intimidating. The outer walls were dark grey and the doors were just a bit lighter with red or green lights depending if they were locked or not.
The three of them watched from a distance. Imperial Officers came off of the shuttles, and some of them took off afterward to head back towards the Star Destroyers in orbit.
However they immediately caught a glimpse of the General, their first target. Jylia Shale was characterized by her blond hair, large smooth forehead which was revealed with her bangs parted to either side. She had hazel blue eyes, gentle chin and a lean figure.
She was one of the legendary imperial strategists of the Empire. An individual marked for assassination by Rax as she believed the Empire should surrender. That and when the Republic does attack, she does surrender herself.
Soon enough they saw their second and third target. Both of them coming out of the same shuttle. Sloane stood erect, every step she took seemed superior to the last. Her eyes streaked across the field of soldiers and officers.
With the Shuttle Clear of obstruction, Kraytia approached her shuttle and walked up the ramp. She was acting nonchalant about it, completely unseen and unheard. That was until she almost tripped coming in through the airlock.
"Did you forget something, Admiral?" Morna, an Imperial female with black hair and black eyes. She had slanted almond eyes and a stern appearance. She wore a green uniform, much like many of the others who were present other than Sloane herself whom wore black.
Kraytia didn't respond and the Imperial Officer raised a brow.
Kee would get up from the pilots chair and wander out of the pilot's cabin and look around the main passenger area of the shuttle. There was nothing? "Hello?" She pursed her lips curiously and began to walk aimlessly around the hold.
It was too late for her to notice. Just as Kraytia touched the woman's arm with her hand, she collapsed. Unconsciousness induced by the use of the force, through touch. Kraytia then attached a cloaking device to the personal pilot and effortlessly used the force to tow the body back to the Corvus while Del and Iden made their way towards the waiting place of Jylia Shale.
"I noticed something," Del said as his voice was completely cancelled out by his helmet. Iden was only able to hear him over the communicator, though so could Kraytia. "She's not listening to music this time."
Iden Snickered to herself and shook her head, "She can hear you, you know."
Del paused for a moment and almost paled in the face.
"It's okay, I like Del." Kraytia said in response after several minutes of silence. This made the duo simply stop in their tracks and glance behind them in the direction of the Corvus. "That's not very nice. I'm standing right in front of you."
Del felt a dainty fist make contact with his stomach, it didn't really cause much damage, but he felt the energy from the attack go around him. It was like watching one of those Echani Martial Arts HoloMovies.
Echani are badasses. This one had the force, Del wasn't going to survive if he were to upset her. "Sorry, Kray." He gifted her a little nickname.
"Cute, you're naming our squadmates," Iden teased and rolled her eyes. Both of the girls giggling under their helmets. Even though Iden and Kraytia knew where each other were, once Kraytia moved away from him, he was essentially blind of them.
Del would use a grapple gun when no one was looking and used it to scale to the top of the building. At least so he could see within the windows. His target was going to be the Dark Side worshipper, Palpatine's advisor.
He knew that the others could take care of themselves when it came to the General. Now he had to do what he did best. Del was a sharpshooter, so he was capable of taking out the enemy from a distance.
As he got to the third level, he climbed onto the ledge and looked in through the window. He spotted his target near immediately. Yet he could also see the general who was speaking with a few lower ranked officers.
It was social time for now. Taking the window off by using the hatch, he flawlessly moved it to the side and got down into a prone position. With his disruptor weapon ready, he took aim.
Meanwhile Iden Versio and Kraytia came up to the General. Iden would brush the woman's lobe with the back of her index finger.
The strategist initially jumped before letting out a sigh of relief, seeing 'nothing' there and slowly nodded to the Officers. "Just need some space," she had reason to be jumpy. She was being an pessimist and that was bad for morale. Rax was ready to have her axed, which was the point of the summit in the first place.
Kraytia would gently take hold of the woman's hand.
Shale blinked a few times as she felt as if a young girl had taken her hand. They were soft gloves, tender to the touch, yet they had seen difficulty. This was a hand of a Jedi.
Kraytia didn't tug her along, instead walked beside her and guided her out of the build. Iden following behind. She didn't want anyone to interrupt the extraction.
"Kee, respond." Sloane was trying to call on Morna Kee through her personal communicator, yet her personal pilot wasn't picking up. She was rather furious. Their New Republic prisoner, Wedge Antilles, had escaped their hold.
It was only a matter of time before Republic forces made their way to the planet. That and the planetary denizens seemed to becoming unruly. It smelled and felt of rebellion.
Sloane watched the General turn a corner and vanish from sight. She walked over to see where they were going, but once she turned the corner herself. The Imperial General was gone? She stared as if she had seen a ghost.
Where could an Imperial Strategist just disappear to? Sloane would tap her forearm, as she had her arms crossed over one another, in contemplation. That's when she gazed down at the dirt which was at her feet. There were two sets of footprints, neither of them matching the pace nor boots of the General.
"Personal cloaking devices?" Sloane surmised as she began to follow the tracks. Eventually she made it to an alternative exit of the building and looked out to the jungle surrounding the encampment.
Her eyes narrowed on her shuttle, the boarding ramp was still down. So this meant that her pilot hadn't left her shuttle yet? Sloane was becoming rather unhappy as they had no idea what was going on.
"Grand Admiral," Kraytia whispered quietly from around a corner. Iden and Shale had already gone to get back to the Corvus. Now Kraytia had something else in mind for the Admiral.
While she wasn't exactly a main target, it was sure a bonus if she were to acquire her for Tobias, her Master who had taken her from a casket and gave her meaning once again.
Turning her head, Sloane was half expecting to see a teenager girl awaiting her sights, but there was nothing there. Her eyes moved towards the ground, seeing three pairs of footprints diverge.
One of the people who had taken the General was a child? Looking skeptical, she began walking around the corner until she looked down at what looked like a white haired, blue eyed, teenager.
She blinked a few times seeing this pale skinned Echani and tilted her head to the side. The armor she was wearing was that of a Commando, or at least something like it. Especially the scout trooper styled helmet which accompanied it.
Kraytia had taken off her cloak and helmet. So she could momentarily stun the officer. "Would you like Gallius Rax removed from power?" She asked, sounding like some seductive Sith trying to win over a Jedi.
Sloane looked at the girl, assuming she was an Imperial whom was insightful. Also someone who knew that she was being used as a front and was willing to help. Was she a Loyal Officer of the Empire, or an interested third party? Sloane had no idea.
She nodded.
"Good. Then we're leaving." Kraytia was rather upfront, blatant and took out a spare cloaking device which she would attach to the Admiral's belt. She then reached out a hand for the admiral to take.
Sloane still rather skeptical, took the girl's hand as they both faded from view just as the New Republic Forces were about to attack. And as they did so, the firing of a disruptor rifle could be heard. Yupe disintegrated within seconds, as well as three other officers whom were extremely close to him. This allowed the disruptor beam to travel through all four of them flawlessly.
Del quickly scaled down the side of the building and darted for the direction of the Corvus. He was still cloaked and out of view. Yet the speed he was going, both Sloane and Kraytia watched as he kicked up moist dirt as he went passed them.
This prompted the two to start running themselves hearing the shouting. They even looked up to see explosions in space.
Sloane's eyes centered on the Vigilance for a moment, mentally saying goodbye to the vessel. Within minutes she heard explosions erupting from nearby. There was strafing runs and various other things going on. They even passed a New Republic troop transport as they made their way to the Corvus.
Within minutes they came out into the clearing and made their way up the ramp as it was closing. Del and Iden had brought the general to a separate quarters near the bridge. It was essentially the ready room really.
Sloane looked over the armor Iden and Del were wearing. "Inferno Squad?" She raised a brow and looked down at Kraytia as they all became visible.
Taking out a data chip from her gauntlet, Kraytia would hand it over to the Grand Admiral. "This has all the information on Gallius. As well as what he plans to do with the 'other' Imperial Remnants as well as individual officers."
Sloane blinked a few times as she felt the ship lifting from the ground and beginning to escape the surface of the Jungle world. "You couldn't have given this to me then?" She asked before noticing in the corner of her eye, she saw her personal pilot laid out on two large crates.
"What'd you do to Kee?" She flexed her jaw, almost ready to draw her pistol, only to pause as she felt an empty holster. She blinked a few times and looked down at Kraytia as her pistol began to float beside her, pointed at Sloane.
Sloane understood what she was seeing. This was a force user, and like she thought when she had touched her hand before. It was a Jedi, or something akin to it. It was nothing like the Darth Vader nor Palpatine she knew.
"What group are you with?" Sloane inquired with a passive tone, she was taking in her surroundings and possible threats. This girl was one of them should she act hostile.
"Galactic Imperium," Kraytia like her Master just gave away this information as Sloane took the data chip slowly.
Rax had not told her about the Imperium and the Imperium wasn't really big talk. Only certain select groups of the Alliance knew, let alone Imperials. They had no presence on the HoloNet and seemed isolated in the Chommell sector until the Battle of Jakku which Tobias 'foresaw' through the force.
The earthly sounds began to come to a halt as they breached the atmosphere. Explosions in the distance could be felt reverberating off the hull and echoing throughout the Corvus. Without the presence of Sloane and her personal pilot, everyone at the summit would die.
Kraytia smiled knowing this.
Weekly Power Status
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