*** Unknown Planet ***
Zuka heard Weaver's comment, and decided he needed some words of encouragement. He immediately strode over to Weaver, grabbed him by his suit, and hefted him up to look him dead in the eyes. "Listen!" He barked, his jaw-mandibles snapping wildly as he spoke, "We're all in strung-out shape! None of us asked to be here, but I'll be damned if I'm not gonna do everything possible to get off-world! So now's really not a good time to be getting cold feet! Get it together!" He dropped Weaver on his feet, paused, then added in a softer tone, "We've dealt with the monster that attacked you and Jade, we have a plan for getting off this rock; all we need do now is establish a temporary shelter and gather provisions before we rest up, then venture into that Forerunner facility and drop the dampening field." He pointed to a somewhat distant husk of a Phoenix-class Support Cruiser just as the Eclipse started to lift and everything started getting brighter. The lights were clearly visible on the ship even at the distance they all were at. Zuka leaned down to Weaver's level to say, "We made it this far - not much further to go. You survived here when the rest of your crew did not; you evaded a ravenous creature long enough to let us deal with it; this foray into a Flood-Infested Facility to get beamed out will be no different. Keep your head on straight, eyes downrange, and finger on your trigger, and you'll make it off this rock in once piece.
"Piece of advice, Weaver," the Female Spartan chimed in, "Stick by me. If I have the look of that Phoenix right, it's a Military Sub-variant; Armory there might have a portable, personal shield unit. A little tinkering might see it adapted to your current suit, give you an extra line of defense against the Flood."
"Trust me, Weaver, I feel about the same as you. But surviving this place will make you stronger; we'll get through this," Alduah assured him. He looked to Tigress. "You mentioned spotting a Recusant Destroyer not far from here, yes?"
*** Dromund Kaas ***
"Wrath was a warrior not crossed; those that did wound up broken in the worst ways," Pierce responded to Magnus as they entered the outskirts of Kaas City. "Take Wrath's former Master, for example - Darth Baras. Baras trained Wrath, sure, but made the mistake of betraying him, and in the worst way. Not only did Wrath thwart Baras' bid to become Voice of the Emperor at every turn, but he humiliated Baras in front of the Dark Council. Back in those days, that's something that'd be liable to get you killed. Lord Wrath was made the Emperor's Wrath due to his dedication to the Empire and its interests. When we joined up with Malgus and his Reformed Sith Order, Wrath had some difficulty adjusting to the new policies, but he's still Lord Wrath - the Right Hand of the Emperor. Just that now he's serving Emperor Malgus, not Valkorion." Pierce chuckled. "You can tell he hasn't changed, much - pisses off Captain Quinn, but Wrath still wades in with both fists and does what he thinks is right. But Malgus so far has never reprimanded Wrath's actions, and that's enough for me. Which reminds me, how did you track Wrath here?"
Malgus' archivist was content organizing the records, humming quietly to himself.
*** Fury-class Interceptor ***
"Have the Med-Droid patch that up, Spade," Wrath told Spade. "Vette, show her to the Med-Bay."
"Come on," Vette told Spade, motioning her head. "Follow me."
*** Sith Temple, Corneria City Outskirts ***
"It's possible that after I absorbed Nox's power, the Dark Side Aura went with him," K'Tath speculated. "And I've seen Krystal around Indari Manor a couple times; her military record, I gleaned from... anonymous sources." He looked to Fox. "And with things the way they are, these days, now's a good time to reconnect with old colleagues. Everyone needs all the support they can get these days." As they all left the Sith Temple and got back into Fox's transport, K'Tath turned to Cobalt. "Can you get a line to the GEMINI Droid aboard our ship, have them standing by to beam us up?"
"It'd actually be easier for us to get to Dragon'taan if we took your ship there, too," Fox said.
"Yeah, our new ship is still being constructed," Fara added. "And Falco could use a vacation after what he went through."
*** Indari Manor, Draco City, Dragon'taan ***
"I doubt Fox is gonna take you away from your home here," Markus said as he adjusted Malcolm's tie. Turning to fully face her, he added, "If anything, at this point, Fox will want to reconnect as a friend. You don't have to go back to Corneria, and no one is gonna make you. Ten to one, Fox has another girl, and the fallout on Corneria will have blown over by now. And I know Vitani doesn't like Kylie's fan club; she's very much in love with Kylie, and I think they're considering becoming mates."
"Admiral Thrawn! This will be a good opportunity to get in a good word with the Imperial Alliance!" Kira said. "We spoke about this last week, Kanan."
*** Draco City, Dragon'taan ***
"Yes," Thrawn and Blythe responded in unison.
"I heard there's another Tiger here on Dragon'taan - guy by the name of Tokarev?" Blythe said.
"It was my understanding there were two on Dragon'taan and New Cerinia - Lord-Admiral Tokarev, and Quartermaster Tigress Arcnon," Thrawn corrected Blythe.
*** Ruusan ***
Before Bahkriid could answer, another ship - a modified Z-95 - flew overhead and landed not far from the Mandalorians. Hopping out of the Cockpit was a human with brown hair, blue eyes, and a clear complexion putting him in his late twenties. Clipped to his belt were two Lightsabers.
Bahkriid didn't wait, heading for the meeting.
The Mandalorian with the helmet spoke to the Jedi that just landed. "Are you the Jedi we were told to meet here?"
"I'm gonna assume you are the Mandalorian crew I was told to meet," the Jedi said. "I'm Jaden Korr."
The Mandalorian nodded. "Akarkek," he introduced himself. "This is my second, Torian Cadera."
"You lot aren't the only ones," Bahkriid spoke, arriving on the scene. "I'm Darth Bahkriid, Sith Apprentice to Darth Alduah. Have any of you seen him?"
"You mean you haven't?" Akarkek asked. "I would assume, being his apprentice, you'd be with him."
"I was bid to come here by him; we were investigating a connection between the Valley of the Jedi and the Sith Covenant, but we don't yet know what. But Alduah wasn't here when I arrived," Bahkriid said.
"You're awfully candid, for a Sith," Jaden commented.
"Contrary to popular belief, not all Sith are murderous psychopaths," Bahkriid responded.
*** Stormwind Harbor, Stormwind, Azeroth ***
"What's the Horde's interest in this?" Ketorr asked.
"Wish I knew," spoke a hulking Orc from nearby. "I was hoping to not have to come back to Stormwind, after what happened on my last visit."
"Well, at least now you know not to try and go drink for drink with a Pandaren, Commander Ulfgar," Ketorr chuckled.
"I can still drink you under the table, Commander Reznov," Ulfgar shot back. He nodded to Kia. "Milady," he greeted her.