Dathomir's Open Terrain

Faina nods once Seth has lain out his plans, finding no flaws in them that require any modifications and admiring the ingenuity he has shown in adding to her proposed strategy. "Excellent thinking, Lieutenant. A distraction would be useful, but I do not want you to put yourself or your men in any more danger than necessary, so once we have successfully made our way inside, disengage from any conflict and join with the squads securing the escape routes, if and when you can do so without leading the enemy to them of course."

Turning her attention to Brock and Kortos, Faina checks to ensure they are ready to move out and, seeing that they are, tells Seth, "We are ready to move out when you are Lieutenant."

Nodding as she accepts the bag of detonators and passes it to Kortos, whose experience suggests he will know more about using the devices than she or Brock, Faina says, "Agreed," to confirm that she agrees with Seth's plan to wait for him and his men to provide the distraction before using the detonators. Motioning for Brock and Kortos to follow when Seth and his squad begin to lead the way through the forest, Faina taps her left temple to suggest that they both use their Force granted ability to sense danger, focusing on expanding her own awareness as well so that the odds of one or more of them being forewarned of any impending threats will be increased three-fold or, given the Biker Scouts' skills at moving stealthily and utilizing their own abilities or equipment to be on alert for any danger, even greater.

Her past missions having included several operations requiring that she move both quickly and stealthily through a variety of environments and terrains, Faina is able to keep pace with the Scout troopers without making any more sound than they do as they continue on towards their objective, vigilant all the while for any threats that might be lurking ahead or around them as they move ever closer towards the fortress.

Lowering her electrobinoculars, the lenses shades to prevent any flare or reflected light from betraying their position from any observant eyes, Faina hands them over to Brock as she says, "It looks like they are starting to pull their forces inside. That large blast door hasn't been lowered, yet, so we may have a bit of time before they are fully prepared for the assault." The activity overall suggests to Faina that, while the fleet activity in orbit has alerted the Nightsisters and their allies to the impending attack, they are still in the process of completing their preparations.

Turning to Seth, Faina asks, "How soon can you have that distraction ready, Lieutenant?"

Crystal accpted Adonias' hand down from the ship, partly as a show of good faith and partly because her body still wasn't healed fully. She stretched her bare toes in the grass of the feild they touched down in and inhaled deeply. She didn't mourn the loss of her shoes though this was the first time she had noticed. It let her fully enjoy one of the few things she did like about this planet.

Turning to Adonias, she looked seriously at him with a hint of censure. "someone dumped me on that planet where I met you. I don't know who but I did spend a majority of my years growing up here on Dathomir. If anyone knows what happened it would be someone on this planet, perhaps even my master. I'd rather not draw his attention." Crystal paused, choosing her words carefully. "He can be a bit eccentric." That was an understatement but she didn't want to share how cruel and capricious her master could be. "Though I'd much rather talk about why you are so desperate for control you follow someone like me across the galaxies." Crystal gestured at herself in her rumpled state.

Crystal watched the mandolorian arm himself. With her hands on her hips, she tilted her head at him thoughtfully. So many weapons, didn't he know the force would allow a well trained individual to best them all? She had more to do than she first thought, she didn't consider herself a teacher but that was what this man needed. His words forced her attention on her past, a subject she intensely disliked to dwell upon.

"I have no home. But I do have a purpose. Once that purpose is complete and I regain my memory, then I can decide where to live.  It may be my master who left me stranded but I won't know for sure until my memory comes back or I look him in the eye.  I'd prefer to focus on my memory."

Crystal turned her back on the man as she started doing basic shoulder and arm stretches. A sliver of memory popped into her mind. She was young, maybe five, and her brother took her fishing. He had taught her how to thread the wild berris on the hook and how to find the best spots where the fish liked to hide. Crystal let a smile drift across her face along with the memory. A brother. She must have had one at some point. She couldn't remember anything else about him though she tried.

"What's your sister like?" Crystal tried a different question, hoping he would open up to her.

Crystal knew she had hit a sore spot. She did as Adonias requested and moved on, there would be time to discuss his sister later. "Let's get moving. The sun will be going down soon and I'd like to cover some distance before night." Crystal started off across the clearing in the direction of the tall northern mountain ahead. She had been trained in a facility, a compound on the lower reaches of that mountain and she hoped to find her master there. Or someone she had trained with. "Keep up, Or you'll find yourself fending off rancors alone."

*Hours later*

They reached the edge of the mountain and the ground gradually began to slope. Skirting a stand of trees, she came around a bend and saw a huge silver dome ahead sunken into the mountain. There it was, the place she'd lived in for the last decade or so of her life. Suddenly, she stiffened. A warning came through the force. Something ominous felt like it was close but she must be imagining it since the area was quiet.

Darth Strife:

A shadowed being stepped from the trees, a dark haze seemingly clinging to his robes. The figure was tall, at least six feet though it was difficult to ascertain whether it was male or female. The figure cackled before throwing back their hood to reveal an older man, perhaps in his late fourties. His face was smooth, suggesting an easy life but his eyes revealed a cruel and hard quality. His dark hair was long, growing nearly to his shoulders and he was dressed in dark robes. The force clung to him in a smothering fog, ready to choke the life from whomever he turnd it against.

"Little one. You came back. And you brought a friend!" The man laughed again. "When you disappeared, I thought you had finally become one with the force, but you seem to fail at even that. Have you come for more instruction?" Sparks started to gather on the figure's fingers as he awaited the reply.