"Yeah, well... She succeeded. I'll be taking the mask until we can sort this out." As he steps out the door, he turns and says, "Looks like you're back in command now." He salutes with the mask, shuts the door, and leaves, wracking his mind for a "safe" place for the mask. He decides to check with Agent Briar once she's done with the interrogation. The ISB has all sorts of ideas about this sort of thing. Meanwhile, he'll keep it close.

As Hale leaves the room, Evon grabs a needle and pulls up a huge dose of colorless liquid. He closes on the subdued Queen and addresses Drogos. ,,Sir, no one questions your command and the sergeant is going to answer for insubordination, but Intelligence protocol dictates that we check her code before proceeding. I'm putting her in sleep until further..." And he moves to give her the shot.

The inquisitor sighs deeply and nods to the Doctor to proceed, “Go Ahead put her to sleep and do your research, I couldn’t continue the interrogation now if I wanted, any sense of fear the Queen was feeling is most assuredly gone.” He looks to the door where Hale had left. “She won this round, the next one will not include the Sargent, or anyone else so weak willed.” He bites back and stormed off clearly furious, searching for Hale the new target of his anger.

“ Hunting on a terrified beast wile another stomps through the Forrest..”.* Tch * the Jawa is physically irritated “ what’s next using a ion cannon to harvest fruit “

he turns

” if we see an enslaver try to take it alive, we can enquire what the heck is going on without, you know the mind torture “

he tries to find the least scared creature before asking whatever world spirit lives here to watch over them

Evon turns the Briar before she would leave the room. ,,Agent Briar, can you confirm her identity? I don't think I have the authorization for that."

,,Also" he turns down his voice and glances after the Inquisitor ,,If she really who she said she is, what's it gonna be?"

“Hkwwwhhhhhhhhhhwwwww!!

True to the wording of his orders, if not the intent, Lieutenant Ral Somar unstealths his TIE-Phantom and flies directly over the renegade walker. High enough overhead to offer no real interference, the distinctive mechanical shriek is still enough to rattle the prototype’s occupants.

Saluting the pilot, Hawk tapes down the trigger.

Hawk opens up with the auto-blasters, initially overshooting and hitting the boulders beyond, but quickly correcting and striking his intended target. The lightly armored prototype sustains heavy damage, as it mobilizes and brings its own weapons to bear.

But behind the renegade walker, the boulders are mobilizing as well! As luck would have it, they are actually Nuuno, one of Saleucami’s most dangerous creatures. Appearing as large, eroded boulders (Nuuno translates as “stone” in Pantoran), the giant crustaceans are quick to lash out with their whiplike antennae when disturbed.

The nearest of the nuuno whips out at an actual boulder, and rolls it onto one of the walker’s legs, pinning it in place, just as the traitor inside fires upon Hawk. The auto-blasters strike true, wreaking havoc upon the “Zalaaca” walker in turn; firing from the awkwardly-pinned position causes the renegade walker to shift further beneath the boulder, damaging its high-intensity power cells and sparking an electrical fire.

The Jawa takes a shell from his hat, and loads it into Betsy.. the large bore gun erupts with a jet of flame and fires at the mechanical opponent.. “ Good girl, “ the Jawa whispers as he ejects the spent shell case.

On 4/7/2020 at 12:01 AM, Rimsen said:

Evon turns the Briar before she would leave the room. ,,Agent Briar, can you confirm her identity? I don't think I have the authorization for that."

,,Also" he turns down his voice and glances after the Inquisitor ,,If she really who she said she is, what's it gonna be?"

"I can attempt to pull up the DNA from the hand that was sent to us." Briar replies "That should allow you to confirm if she is who she claims. Then... If its true, I don't know what happens, there is no protocol for a situation like this." she finishes, before heading towards a computer terminal that will allow her to acquire the information.

On 4/11/2020 at 2:20 AM, Imperial Stormtrooper said:

"I can attempt to pull up the DNA from the hand that was sent to us." Briar replies "That should allow you to confirm if she is who she claims. Then... If its true, I don't know what happens, there is no protocol for a situation like this." she finishes, before heading towards a computer terminal that will allow her to acquire the information.

On the way to the communications Evon, his curiosity built up asks Briar: ,,So agent, what's this hand about? Probably because I joined recently but I don't understand the situation yet. Could you tell me what am I gonna check when those records get here?"

"The event that triggered the creation of this task force was that the Empire was sent a hand, the hand of a Hand of the Emperor." Briar replied glancing over at Evon "If her DNA matches that of the hand then she is who she claims, and this whole thing becomes a lot more complicated."

Soft beeping sounds from the medical console. Evon checks it, and sends the result to his datapad. ,,Well, this is it. The hand is an undisputable match." He quickly sends over the results to Briar. ,,Also, I checked the girl's sample from earlier - just for fun - and she actually is the daughter of the queen. Whether or not it has significance, that I don't know."

Suddenly Evon feels his coat a lot more heavier. He let's out a heavy sigh. Their life just gets more and more complicated.

,,I mean, it can mean good, right?" - starts hopefully - ,,If it's her hand, she is not an autherized agent anymore, right? I imagine you can't just resign, than get your position back on a whim... Right?"

In the case of those agents in direct service to the Emperor himself, it would be more accurate to simply say that one could not resign. Period. And whimsy is quite against protocol.

But the circumstances surrounding the Hand turned pirate queen, the mask, do present something of a quandary...

The Inquisitor knows of The Spire, one of the Empire’s most isolated and secure prisons, which has holding facilities suitable for detaining force users. Such enemies of the state are more typically turned or executed, but incarceration would not be without precedent.

Hale knows the mask, if it is indeed some sort of force artifact, should be turned over to the Inquisitorius. His gut also tells him that he did not like what he saw, when Drogos wore it.

Colonel Wullf Yularen’s neatly-trimmed mustache matches his crisp white uniform, as he appears on the Stormcrow’s encrypted holotransceiver. “Task Force 75, report. I am aware of Ms. Sipal’s coup, and the cessation of hostilities over Saleucami, but remain largely unaware of the current status of your mission. Regale me with the tale of your successful outcome. In brief. I can digest your full report later. You have achieved your primary objective?”

“Agent Briar. It seems you have impressed a Senator sitting on the Intelligence Committee. You have been selected as an officer candidate, to be commissioned as a Lieutenant-Inspector of the Imperial Security Bureau. Congratulations.”

”And you, Doctor. One engagement with pirates, and you come back with an eyepatch? What am I to think?” The old veteran’s eyes twinkle. “Agent Veitra has been nurturing relations with a Doctor Jocinda Vos, a specialist in transplants and cybernetic replacements. She is among the best at what she does, but her file has been flagged for holding some concerning views, and being foolish enough to voice them. She does not have task force security clearance, beyond what is necessary for the procedure, but we have been feeding her some low-priority intel to see if it bears fruit. Doctor Vos will take excellent care of you, but mind your tongue, and definitely mind hers.”

”I understand there is to be an awards ceremony tomorrow, coinciding with the start of some local Pantoran festival. Governor Sipal can finish tidying things up on Saleucami, following the Carnevale. She is a snake, but she’s our snake now.”

”The celebrations continue for two weeks, I am told. You have two days. I am keeping Task Force 75 active for an indefinite period, and will have your next assignment waiting for you.”

Colonel Yularen listens attentively as the members of the task force finish briefing him on their current findings, but something catches his eye. “Sergeant-Major, what the devil is that you are attempting to conceal?”

Hale brings the damaged mask around from behind his back, holding it up so the Colonel can get a good look at it. "This is the mask the pirate queen was wearing." He glances to Briar, not wanting to blurt out her part of the report. "She claims this mask possessed her. The Fourth Brother put it on, and given... certain circumstances lending credibility to the prisoner's claim, I made the call to forcibly confiscate the mask from the Inquisitor in order to safeguard the team. I figured if she was telling the truth, the consequences of not acting would be far worse than those of acting."

Briar nods her thanks as Colonel Yularen congratulates her on the promotion, while continuing to listen. After Hale's response Briar adds "The pirate queen also claims to be a Hand of the Emperor, and our files would seem to indicate this is true. She remains in custody at the moment." she pauses trying to gauge the colonel's reaction to the news. "A few of the queen's associates withdrew from the battle after their queen was captured, the Intrepid should be able to deal with the pirates if they come back... once its repaired." she continued glancing out towards the remains of battle in the hanger "And I'm certain that her other associates will turn up and be dealt with."

15 hours ago, Edgehawk said:

”And you, Doctor. One engagement with pirates, and you come back with an eyepatch? What am I to think?” The old veteran’s eyes twinkle. “Agent Veitra has been nurturing relations with a Doctor Jocinda Vos, a specialist in transplants and cybernetic replacements. She is among the best at what she does, but her file has been flagged for holding some concerning views, and being foolish enough to voice them. She does not have task force security clearance, beyond what is necessary for the procedure, but we have been feeding her some low-priority intel to see if it bears fruit. Doctor Vos will take excellent care of you, but mind your tongue, and definitely mind hers.”

Evon salutes properly to the officer. ,,Understood, Sir! Thank you, Sir! I'll be on my way to check in with Doctor Vos. I'll be aware of her "voice" and "tune" it if necessary."

The Fourth Brother of the Inquisitorius knows better than to wait. It is bad enough that the girl escaped, after demonstrating such a strong affinity to the Force, such dark potential. It will only make matters worse, if he delays in reporting in. Activating his personal holotransmitter, he too prepares to report in, for even an Inquisitor must answer to someone.

Drogos is not easily unnerved, but can scarcely suppress a shiver up his spine, a quiver in the pit of his stomach. For before him, is not the Grand Inquisitor, but rather the Dark Lord of the Sith himself. His dark visage is seemingly apparent, even in the shimmering blue of the hologram, silent but for the ever present sound of his mechanical breathing. Lord Vader waits for the Fourth Brother to speak, and he is not known for his patience.

"Lord Vader." Drogos kneels in deference to the Dark Lord, "I have captured the Pirate Queen, she only still lives to bring me to another Force Sensitive, a young girl, her daughter, who we will either turn to serve you and the Emperor, or will be dealt with." He knew better than to keep the Dark Lord Waiting Tellling him exactly what he needed to know. "Do you wish to turn the captive Pirate Queen back to the Emperor's side or would you want her executed once her purpose is filled, My Lord?"

“Daughter.. Has this self-styled Pirate Queen been unmasked? Her identity uncovered?”

"She claims to be a former hand of the Emperor, her Name is Noira" Drogos replies to the Dark Lord's Question, 'I have the Task Force looking into Imperial records on her Genetic material as we speak, My Lord."

“You will cease this line of inquiry at once. See that there is no mention of the girl in your reports, lest you invoke my displeasure.”

The connection ends abruptly, as does the communication with Colonel Yularen in the other room. Lord Vader’s dark visage presents a stark contrast to Colonel Yularen, as he appears before the task force and addresses them in his place.

”I have taken a personal interest in the girl. You will send everything you have directly to me, at once. Make no mention of her in your reports, or I shall take a personal interest in you.”

Turning his helm the smallest amount, he appears to look right through Sergeant-Major Hale. “You have something for me?”

The big stormtrooper was shocked by the sudden change in visage, and even more shocked that Lord Vader had addressed him and it takes a moment for him to respond, the mask still held up in front of him. "Yes Lord Vader." He said, hastily saluting. "This is the pirate queen's mask. She claims it possessed her."