What is this? (Rugs/Cad)

[Deleted]

A holograph was projected, showing the smooth metalic contours of a standard hazmat mask. Tired grey eyes peered out from behind the scuffed faceplate. The face tilted down slightly, to view unseen buttons and apparently press them in sequence, if the clicks were any indication.

" Hey, honey it's me... if you get this. If it sends... I just want to let you know that I'm still here. Still alive. I hope you're safe. In our cabin, snug and asleep. So um, sweet dreams hun. "

The mask tilts again, and more buttons are pressed. The mans demeanor changes abruptly as he begins to give his report.

". . . To whomever is still alive and my superior:
I am reporting to inform you there is a peculiar organic substance growing along the walls and floors of the Hydroponics Deck. The Refrigeration East to be more specific.

Most of my fellow horticulturists have fallen into a catatonic state; their skin appears to be infested with a form of mite. Prolonged exposure causes their skin to. . well, melt. A few have died from loss of blood. The corpses are emitting a gas, I'm still unsure if it is poisonous but it does appear that it depletes the oxygen in a certain proximity and renders the area unsafe."

The man paused briefly to glance away to the right before continuing.

" I believe I've also occasionally sighted what appear to be larger insectoid or arachnid life forms. They never seem to. . .My apologies sir.
I suggest a full quarantine of the Hydroponics floor and it's connected levels, and that you send the security
squads to -- "

The mask whipped suddenly to the right, obviously surprised.

"I. . .one moment sir." The figure moved cautiously out of frame.

#Endtransmission

OOC: Transmission written by "Kientix"

"This is why we're here" Tivari said as the holoprojector shut down.
"This is the last message recieved from this station. It was first transmitted roughly one galactic standard month ago" The Sith woman turned and looked out at the planet below her. Even from orbit it seemed a barren place. The records didn't give the planet any proper name. "There" Tivari gestured to the station as drifted into view from the far side of the planet. "It's a research facility, one of mine." In truth it was owned by her company but that wasn't important. "This stations focus was plant life. I dare say they would be interested in anything that could grow down there" Tivaris gazed drifted over to the planet.

A familiar thump echoed from behind and Tivari turned to find her mentor moving down the ramp toward the observation platform upon which Tivari was standing. "Are we here then?" the old woman asked as her cane once more thumped into the catwalk. Before Tivari could answer Hoppers voice boomed out from the ships PA system. "Inital scans detect nothing ma'am" The edges of Tivari's mouth turned down before responding.

"Hopper, prep a pair of shuttles. I want the forward team on board that station within' the hour." Too herself she muttered quietly. "More then enough time has been wasted already" Before allowing herself to sink too deeply into thought Tivari turned to her fellow Sith. "Nieraan" She said politley "Would you and your apprentice like to join the security team in their breach of the station?" Tivari couldn't help but think that there would be less chance of things going wrong if there was a force user on hand.

[Rugs]

Another summons, another mission to carry out for the Sith Order. This time the call brought Nieraan to the depth of space, to a station drifting above some planet whose name he had forgotten. The mission would be lead by, or had been called up by some woman he only had a passing knowledge of.

Tivari, her name was. Nieraan wasn't certain what he thought about her so far. The fact that he'd only had brief interactions with her over the course of the journey from Korriban to where ever tit was they were now. When he hadn't been keeping to himself, or talking to the boy he'd taken under his wing.

But he did know she intrigued him, in a way few other Sith did. She hadn't come across immediately as a blathering idiot like a particular Noghri, and while the future was ever fluid, it was a good sign she might be of some use. In fact, Nieraan had a feeling there was more to her than she , but he couldn't hazard a guess as to what.

She was one to watch, though. As was the crone that followed her around.

Presently they stood on an observation deck, watching a recording from the station that had been found or received or something of the sort. Nieraan watched it with the look of passive disinterest he'd grown accustomed to wearing on his face, but he was paying attention. The situation seemed simple enough; some researchers on the station had been playing with something they either shouldn't have been or were too incompetent to handle. And, if the falling of team members into catatonic states was anything to go by, things had gotten out of hand.

And here we are to clean their mess up. Nieraan snorted softly and made a silent wager to himself about the entirety of the crew being dead.

He snorted softly once the transmission was finished and walked casually over to one of the large observation windows stretched out around the deck. The white sash that hung from his waist swished softly as he moved, and the trio of lightsaber hilts at his hip clinked softly in time with the sound of his footfalls on the smooth metal floor.

"That's your station, huh?" he muttered with a simple look over his shoulder to Tivari. Wonder if you did checks for competence when you hired your men. He left that thought unvoiced for the moment and turned back to the window with a shrug of his shoulders. "Interesting."

The old crone decided to show herself again and someone up on the bridge announced to them all that their scans hadn't picked anything up. Nieraan kept a quiet reservation about the last. The Force was odd here; troubled, but in a way he couldn't recall ever feeling before. It was subtle. But it was there, like an assassin's knife still hidden in the sleeve.

Maybe nothing would come from it, though. Maybe not. Only time would tell.

"Nieraan."

Nieraan turned to look over his shoulder at the sound of his name. "What?"

"Would you and your apprentice like to join the security team in their breach of the station?"

The Firrerreo snorted and turned to look out the window again. He saw a faint reflection of his own face, still looking like a boy barely into his twenties despite his years. "As opposed to what?" He looked at her again, sidelong over his shoulder. "Wasting time here on this ship?" Again, he snorted. "I wouldn't have come if that was all I was here for. Yeah, we'll go with them."

He rolled his shoulders and ran a hand through his shaggy, blue-streaked-black hair as he turned around. "Come on, boy," he said gruffly to Cadyren, "let's go."

He gave a parting glance to Tivari and watched the old woman from the corner of his eyes for a moment, then off he went to prepare without another word.

[Cadyren]

Cadyren stood next to Nieraan on the observation deck, listening to the recording that another Sith was showing them. He stood a few inches away from his master, his arms crossed in front of him. Cadyren wore a simple outfit, a grey shirt and brown pants. He also wore his thin black jacket, the ship they were on felt cold to the boy who had spent the last couple of months on Korriban.

The transmission started with the man talking to what seemed to be his wife. He was telling her that he was still alive, why? What was he doing that was so dangerous that he had to tell people he was still alive? Why are we listening to some man talk to his wife anyway? What does that have to do with our mission? Cadyren did not voice these questions however. He was on this mission as Nieraan’s apprentice, not as someone who was actually needed. His questions would most likely be disregarded, because he didn’t matter.

The man pressed a few buttons then spoke again, this time with a more professional tone. We could have just cut to this part.. Cadyren thought, but again he said nothing as the man continued to talk.

The man spoke of some strange organic substance that was growing upon the station, in the Hydroponics deck. Cadyren was nowhere near an expert on what went on in a Hydroponics deck, but he was fairly sure that the stuff growing in it wasn’t supposed to kill people. Cadyren wondered if the mites had gotten into one of the plants that had been placed on the deck, and if the peculiar organic material was one of those plants. Was else could it be?

The man then began to speak of larger creatures, how large were they? Cadyren began to get a bad feeling about this mission. He didn’t know if it was the Force was telling him something, or if it was because this was his first real mission as a Sith. Either way, Cadyren didn’t like this. He glanced towards Nieraan for a moment, wondering what his master thought of the mission. He didn’t seem to care, perhaps he didn’t think whatever was on that station was a threat.

Cadyren turned back to the transmission just in time to watch the man walk out of the shot, then the transmission ended. Whatever these things are, I’m assuming they can kill a man easily enough… Cadyren thought as he turned to look at the Sith who had brought him and Nieraan on the mission.

She told them that the message had been sent a month ago, it was the last one to be sent from the station. If that was the last message, then the remaining crew members had probably died shortly after it was sent. If the creatures are just carnivorous then perhaps they have starved to death by now? Cadyren thought to himself, and he felt his worry lessen.

The Sith, Cadyren had been told her name was Tivari, told them that the station was hers, they were studying some form of plant life on the planet. Cadyren didn’t care much for the details, but he listened anyway. He didn’t want to miss anything important.

An old woman entered the observation deck, asking Tivari if they had arrived yet. Just then someone activated the PA system, and informed Tivari that their scans hadn’t detected anything. So the things probably did starve then.

Tivari turned to Nieraan and asked if he could join the team that would breach the station. Cadyren had expected for them to enter the station, but he hadn’t thought that they would be the first to enter. He was a bit nervous, and a bit scared because he didn’t know that he would find in there. He hid these emotions however, buried them down inside of him. They were useless, and would only hinder him.

It seemed Nieraan wanted to go down onto the station, or at least get off of the ship. He told Tivari so, stating that he hadn't come on the mission just to waste time aboard the ship. He then turned to Cadyren and told him it was time to go. Cadyren took a final glance towards Tivari before following his master. He placed his hand around the lightsaber at his belt for a moment, to make sure it was there. He wondered df he would need it for this mission, he hoped not.

[Deleted]

Tivari's demeanor didn't flinch at Nieraans brusque manner. A slight inclination of the head. "You have command of the security forces going aboard than. I will remain here on my ship and monitor the situation."

Tivari watched him go in silence and turned back towards the large screen upon which the station had taken center stage. "I fear there is more here than we came looking for" Mien said from Tivari's right. Her eyes also upon the screen. "Perhaps it would have been best to leave the Sith out of this" the old woman mumbled more to herself than Tivari but the Tapani woman answered anyway.

"No, at the very least I am now a Sith myself. In truth there a things I can't handle on my own." Mien chuckled a bit. "Your blunders with the republic have proven that" Anger surged in Tivari but beyond her eyes flicking over towards Mien for a brief moment nothing showed outwardly.

"Indeed" She said with a measured coolness. "I can't deny that I made an error in acting alone. I will not make those mistakes again." The old woman thumped her cane irritably. "What you learned might be of some use if the Sith were like the Republic, but they're not. This is an entirely different animal you're dealing with Tivari. You see it already in these ones" Mien gestured in the direction in which Nieraan and his apprentice had departed.

"Would you trust them? Do you think they trust you? They are Sith, Tivari. New Sith only in the sense that they've only recently taken up the title... otherwise they are the same. The same as all those who have come before them-"

"Enough" Tivari cut her off, her voice had taken on an iron quality. "I don't need you to lecture me on this. So they are Sith? So am I." Silence fell over the pair and the moments trickled by that way. It took Tivari only a few of those moments to clear her mind and refocus on the task ahead.

After observing the rotation of the Hydroponic station for a second longer Tivari turned towards the bridge and spoke a clear voice that carried over the chatter of the bridge crew. "Captain"

"Yes ma'am?" A large man with a heavy brow responded, looking up from the terminal in front of him. "Is the boarding team ready?"
"Yes ma'am, they are awaiting the arrival of your... guests"
Tivari nodded. "Inform them they are under Nieraans command until I say otherwise." The Captain gave another affirmative but Tivari had already put him out of her mind. Turning back to the screen she gazed at the planet below them without seeing it.

Speaking so low that even Mien couldn't hear her Tivari said. "This is my show of trust Sith... lets see what you do with it"

[Rugs]

Preparation didn't take long. While the team checked their weapons and supplies, Nieraan went about picking over some things for himself. A few medical supplies that could fit in a pouch on his belt, though the team's medic would have to handle any overly severe injuries. There was armor, but he passed over it; save for some light armor, he preferred to go without and keep his mobility. He was more than capable of defending himself anyway.

As he was finishing his run, grabbing a few glowrods and hooking one of them to his belt, a man walked in. He was tall, and slender as a sword and had a crop of neatly trimmed black hair on his head. "Nieraan, sir."

Nieraan ignored him for a moment as he finished what he was doing.

The man's eyes flitted nervously. He looked at Cadyren for a heartbeat, then back to Nieraan. "Um, sir?"

"What?" Nieraan growled, looking up at the fellow with obvious annoyance. "What do you want? Do you need permission to talk now?"

"N-no sir," he stammered, "I just... uh... I was sent by the Captain with word from Tivari, sir. She says that you are to be over the boarding team and that she will keep contact with you once you leave the ship."

Nieraan shrugged and turned to look over a few more pieces of equipment. "Alright. Was that it?"

"Yes sir." The man nodded and took his leave of his own accord.

"Least I didn't have to tell him to go," Nieraan muttered under his breath as he shook his head. "Idiot."

"Keep an eye on the ones below you, boy," he said to Cadyren, who he presumed was around, if he wasn't making preparations of his own, "you can tell which ones are worth half a damn by the spine they have." He paused and turned around, done with everything, before adding a caveat. "Most of the time. There are exceptions. But that sniveling little man..." he just shook his head and snorted. "Come on. It's time to go."

---------

A little while later, they were in the boarding ship, along with the team. Tivari had been true to the word she'd sent to him, and was filling Nieraan in on things as the ship drifted along toward the now-derelict station.

Apparently the station had been a research facility. It had specialized in studying exotic forms of life--mainly plants--up until something went wrong a few weeks ago. It was good to know, he supposed. He was truthfully just ready to get out of the ship and see what was waiting on board.

Thankfully, he didn't have long to wait. The ship shook gently as it was steered into and ultimately came to rest in docking bay station. The sabers at his waist chimed lightly as they tapped against each other. A few murmurs passed around the team as the men checked their weapons.

"Do a check," he muttered to the team's technician. "See if the air's breathable." The ship they were on had a few suits for if it wasn't, and Tivari's ship had more, but for the moment they were establishing a foothold. If they could do it quicker, then all the better for them.

"We're good sir," the tech answered a little while later, looking up from one of the ship's computer panels. "Docking bay has ample oxygen, and I don't detect any toxins. We should be fine."

Nieraan just nodded, as he tended to do and hit a button to open the ramp. "Keep your head on straight," he muttered to Cadyren, and out the team went.

The docking bay was larger than he'd thought it might be. There were some shuttles on the far end, though from first glance he guessed they were the type only used for quick trips, not for long forays or jumps into hyperspace.

Some equpiment scattered about, but there weren't any other signs of life. It was empty. And quiet. Very quiet.

"Spread out and search the area," he ordered to all of them as he reached out with the Force. "Make sure it's secure so we can set up here."

Something is off, he thought, as he looked around. But what is it? "Do you feel it, boy?" His gaze fell on Cadyren as he made a subtle gesture to the air around them. "Something here is... different."

His comm pinged. "Tivari. We've landed in the docking bay. It's empty and looks like it's clear." After a moment of quiet pondering, he added, "and something feels off about this place in the Force. I don't know what, but I can feel it."