Hoth: Blood and Ice

Some people enjoyed hyperspace travel, the General was not one of them. It made her anxious and to mask that anxiety she walked the hangar watching her soldiers drill, prepare, and do last minute checks before thy dropped out of hyperspace. Darth Baras had the impression this would be a fairly speedy affair but her review of the last few incidents gave her some trepidation that this could be a rather extended engagement with these White Maw.

She found a soldier, looked to be fresh out of training trying to square away his kit, she gave him stern but needed guidance to get him on the right track before she continued her impromptu inspection. One could never be too prepared.

Given his mass it was surprising how close the Sith Lord was able to get before being noticed. Clad in the armour of the First Wrath he didn’t exactly need an introduction. There were few in the Empire who did not know of the Empress' Blade, or Bane of the Jedi, or whatever the fuck they were calling him now. Lord Rath did not particularly care in any case. With the distinctive helm absent the slightest hint of a smirk was never far from his lips.

"General. Are your soldiers ready?" He could sense she was unsettled by something. Perhaps it was just his presence.

She turned and said, “My Lord, zhe troops are will be ready, come what may. Darth Baras hopes for what is zhe speedy affair. I do not hold to his optimism.”

“Pirates when cornered can be zhe worst of foes.”

There was a momentary scowl. "Hope and optimism are not words I associate with Darth Baras." The overly large shoulder shrugged. "Cornered Pirates, cornered Jedi... Everything fights harder at the end. Still, I'm sure you've drawn up some contingency plans."

He looked over the troops. They seemed to get younger every year. "What do we know about the White Maw?"

At the mention of Baras’ optimism she added, “I would say zhe man would prefer zhis to be ended quickly. I do not zhink zhis affair matters to him.”

“Yes, which is why I have kept many of our forces on alert. We will be at our most vulnerable when we come out of zhe hyperspace. Zhe White Maw, are pirates, zhey are barely an organization. Zhe strongest or craziest lead until zhey are replaced or zhey fracture.”

“My biggest concern is Zhis Captain Syrian, zhey were Imperial Navy once and Intelligence says zhey may now be with zhe White Maw. Syrian was one of zhe few Chiss to rise high enough to command his own ship. Zhe man is credited with being a tactical expert, perhaps even genius. I do not take such praise lightly, but also out of my hands. My soldiers will be ready, zhe ship captain will have a challenge on zheir hands.”

"A surgical strike would be best, sure. You're probably right though. If the pirates have got someone who knows what they're doing we'll get hit as soon as we leave hyperspace." His hands clenched in anticipation.

"A Chiss Commander? Should be something in the databases then. I'll get my attaché to analyse his past battles and send a report to you."

Jo'ren reached out with the Force, feeling the emotions coming off the soldiers. The feeling of life contemplating death was not new to him.

“Much appreciate, my lord. Zhe crew will be tested,” she said thoughtfully. The emotions were mostly anxiety, fear, and some bravado. But what was most overwhelming was a feeling that victory was assured, the mighty Empire war-machine could not possibly fall to a loose band of pirates.

“I have reviewed zhe roster and found several notable names, under normal circumstances zhis would be good news but zhis gives me pause zhat so many Sith would sign on for what is essentially a minor endeavor.”

Ashley would appreciate the challenge. She had never been quite the same since Nathema, but her Intellect was as sharp as ever. He nodded. "If we never test ourselves we can't truly know ourselves." The sense of reassurance from the soldiers was good enough for now. Time would tell if it was well-founded.

His full attention switched back to the General. There was a faint smile on his lips. "I think you already know what this implies General... The Force calls to us. You may draw your own conclusions about what that means." Probably nothing good.

“My knowledge of zhe Force from personal experience is minimal, my Lord. I know potential capabilities for combat operations, but you will have to excuse my ignorance on zhe more mystical implications. I put my trust in weapons, my soldiers, and my training.”

The General finished with, “If zhe Force is calling perhaps it could speak in zhe Basic for all of us to understand.”

There was a deep and amused chuckle. "That would make things a lot easier General, it's true." A little more darkly he added: "When you have this many notable names gathered together, well. There is trouble ahead. The only question is what form will it take."

"You focus on these pirates. I'll figure out the mystical shit." And whether it's something that can be killed.

“It is my Duty unto death. For zhe Empire,” she said with a proper salute. She continued and added, “Mysticism is zhe realm of zhe Sith and priests. I zhank you, my lord, I have a new list of concerns now.”

"Oh you're welcome General. Forewarned and so on..." His eyes scanned the troops once more. "For the Empire. If you do come across anything that seems unusual, call me. Or, you know, if you really need something killed with extreme prejudice."

They were as ready as they could be given that something was lurking out there, just beyond sight. "I have a few final preparations to make before we arrive. Carry on General."

She saluted and carried on.