Arriving in the system, Lieutenant Commander Threxil and his team boarded their stealth shuttle and proceeded to slip past the Republic's sensors and other defenses as they headed towards the planet. The Freighter continued with its mission and to deliver trade cargo which kept the Republic from discovering the stealth shuttle.
A few minutes later and the stealth shuttle had managed to breach the atmosphere and was heading towards their target. Republic authorities were unaware of the current intrusion, allowing Threxil and his team to sneak in unnoticed.
Approaching the holding facility, the shuttle had flown above the clouds, dropping Threxil and his team into a free fall.
"Form up on me," ordered Threxil as the others used their built-in thrusters to maneuver into a diamond formation. Threxil was at the head, Lieutenant Bren behind him with the others forming the diamond shape. "Link your armor on me," the group complied and linked their armor to Threxil's which would maintain the formation as they approached their target.
A few seconds later once they cleared the clouds, Threxil could see the holding facility. Within his helmet, the current information that they had was displayed which revealed the targets' location.
"Okay, as planned I will lead Team Reaper and Lieutenant Bren will lead Team Saber. Our rules of engagements are weapons free on any armed enemies, but we must not kill any unarmed people or civilians." The team replied, acknowledging the re hash of the rules of engagement.
"Alright, on my mark, break armor link and split into two." Threxil counted in his head to 10.
Once 10 seconds passed he issued the order, "Now," Team Saber split off to the left while Team Reaper went to the right. The Republic had yet to notice them, but that would change in just a matter of seconds.
Approaching their drop point, Team Reaper encountered armed individuals near the point, so they waited till they got close enough to the ground and activated their armor's thrusters, allowing them to hover in the air. This allowed them to take good and precise shots, eliminating the security guards outside in one shot.
After eliminating any surrounding guards, they landed on one of the shuttle pads which offered a direct route into the facility and had minimal security which is why it was chosen as a drop point.
On the other side of the facility, Team Saber didn't encounter any guards and managed to land on the roof with no problems.
The technicians from both teams had got to work and set up their jamming devices which would link up with each other to create a jamming field, preventing any communications from getting out or in. This way, reinforcements would be delayed by minutes, allowing them more time to get out.
"Reaper-1 this is Saber-1 how copy?" called Lieutenant Bren over the comms.
"Saber-1 this is Reaper-1, I read you loud and clear. We encountered minimal resistance over here and have already neutralized them. How's it looking over there?" replied Lieutenant Commander Threxil.
"We encountered no resistance and are setting up the jamming device now. I will leave 3 men out here as to watch the devices and for enemy reinforcements." reported Lieutenant Bren. He wanted them to be able to know when the enemy was coming.
"Roger that, we'll do the same and move forward. Once we are inside, keep comm chatter to a minimum besides on our local channels." instructed Lieutenant Commander Threxil. He didn't want the Republic to catch on with the constant comm chatter between the two teams.
"Acknowledged, once we get back Beers are on me." This hyped up the soldiers on both teams as a nice beer after a successful mission was one of the best things ever as a soldier.
With that said, Team Saber used a breaching laser gun which cut a hole into the building allowing them to drop in. Team Reaper hacked the door from the shuttle pad and proceeded into the building, clearing their corners one hall at a time as they moved forward. The team split on both sides of the halls, providing better position as they advanced forward. Team Saber dropped down their entry point and headed inside leaving 3 members of their team on top of the building for overwatch.
The two teams advanced through the halls, killing or knocking out any armed guards they encountered. So far, the local authorities had not caught onto what was going on at the holding facility, but just a few minutes away was a Jedi shuttle carrying a few Jedi who were assigned to bring the captured Balance Keepers to the Jedi Council on Ossus.
The overwatch team couldn't detect the ship because it was outside of their radar range. Because of this, the ship continued to get closer while the two teams closed in on their objectives.
———
Holding Facility Cells:
Guardian Brennok sat in his cell not sleeping as he could sense the commotion that was going on outside. He knew that this commotion was the special forces sent to get them out. The guards had already caught on to what was going on and tried to contact the planetary government for assistance, but their comms were down, and they could only talk to each other on their local comms.
Outside his cell, he could hear the sounds of boots hitting the ground as Guards ran to cut off certain locations and prevent the invaders from reaching their objective. He could also sense their fear as they went to face the enemy which had already cut down so many of the other guards.
Veyra and Nyvara were held in nearby cells, but not within his line of sight. Every time the guards went into each of their cells, they would tap twice on the wall in a code that each of them recognized. It meant that they were unarmed, bored, and couldn't find a way out. They couldn't use the Force as the cell they were in, were built to hold Force Users and restrict their use of the Force. Though he was still able to sense things, he just couldn't muster up any power to remove the cuffs on his hand.
After a few minutes had passed, the door leading into the part where their cells were, was breached by an explosion. Brennok, Veyra, and Nyvara had ducked down due to the shockwave and listened as they heard the screams of the guards outside. A few moments later, those screams had vanished and this time they heard the voice of a Gen'Dai.
"Guardian Brennok, we've come to rescue you and your adepts." announced Lieutenant Commander Threxil as he opened Brennok's cell holding the key to release the cuffs on his hands. Two of the other members did the same with Veyra and Nyvara, releasing them from their cells and handing them their lightsaber which they managed to find as they made their way to the holding cells.
"I wasn't expecting you so soon," said Brennok as he estimated that it would take days or even weeks before they either released after negotiations or weeks to infiltrate the Republic and rescue them. It was nice to see that he was wrong.
"The Emperor himself made this a priority." responded Threxil.
"Does that mean we are going to war with the Republic." he asked. An action such as this would surely be used by the Republic to start a war.
"We weren't told much except to not worry about that. But enough small talk, we are on a time limit, and we need to get moving." Brennok nodded, joining Veyra and Nyvara outside his cell as they moved towards the exit of the facility. At the same time, Team Saber had successfully reached the location where the children should be, but they were nowhere to be found.
They searched the surrounding rooms and couldn't find anything. That's when Lieutenant Bren decided to break comm silence and contact Brennok to inform him of what's going on. "Saber-1 to Reaper," he called over the comm.
"This is Reaper-1," responded Threxil.
"We have arrived at our objective, but the children are nowhere in sight. Do you think they may have already been transported?" asked Lieutenant Bren.
"That's highly likely considering this is a holding facility and not a place for children. So, we won't investigate further and will just have to inform command once we are out of the system." explained Threxil.
Lieutenant Bren felt a little disappointed since he couldn't save the children, but he still had a mission to do. "Copy that Reaper-1. I will see you outside."
With that Team Saber had circled back to where they came in to wait for exfil. However, as they were heading back, they got an update from the overwatch outside. "Reaper-1, Saber-1, this is Overwatch. We have a single shuttle bearing the symbol of the Jedi Order approaching the facility. It looks like they are heading towards Northern shuttle pad."
Running through the halls, Threxil quickly replied. "Copy that Overwatch, maintain watch and keep me updated."
"Copy, maintaining watch and will keep you updated." repeated Overwatch as the three continued to monitor the situation.
That's when the shuttle changed its path and was now heading towards the same shuttle pad that Team Reaper was heading to. "Reaper-1, this is Overwatch. The shuttle has changed paths and is now heading towards your exfil location."
Threxil, who was right outside the door that led to the shuttle pad, responded. "We're already at the door. We'll deal with them, have the exfil shuttle pick up Saber first and then us after."
"Copy that" replied Overwatch as they contacted the shuttle and relayed his commands.
Meanwhile, Threxil turned towards Brennok who nodded at him. After that, they opened the door and saw a shuttle that was in the process of landing.
On the shuttle there was a Jedi Master and six Jedi Knights. Once the shuttle touched down the doors opened and the Jedi who had sensed the disturbance walked down the shuttles ramp with their lightsabers already drawn.
Team Reaper aimed their rifles at the Jedi and spread out in a loose line formation with the three Balance Keepers at the center.
The Jedi kept their lightsabers up and prepared to fight what they guessed were Imperial operatives. The Jedi Master, who was standing in front, approached with a malicious smile on his face. Unlike normal Jedi he was one of those extreme ones, radicalized by the new Jedi Order of today as a champion of light.
"Well..well..well, what do we have here. Imperial operatives on Republic soil rescuing the vile members of that retched Order who attacked my fellow Jedi. I may be mistaken, but I don't think you're supposed to be here." stated the Jedi Master as he smirked once again. "That must mean you are here illegally and from what I can sense, you have killed a few dozen guards."
"You are correct, but this was an illegal arrest in the first place. So…." Brennok couldn't finish his sentence as he was interrupted.
"I don't care for your words. You are part of the Order founded by that traitor, Daimon. You know I was part of the Warden's of Unity, but I was kicked out because I wasn't catching on the whole 'balance' part of what they were teaching. But thanks to them, I was able to develop myself as a Jedi, taking what they taught me and applying it to my everyday training. Now, here I stand in front of three members of the Balance Keepers." the Jedi Master inhaled and exhaled deeply.
"But I will not waste too much time. As the Guardians of justice, I demand you surrender and answer for your vile actions committed today." Brennok could see that there was no talking his way out of this. So, he grabbed his own lightsaber and ignited it alongside Veyra and Nyvara.
"I see, the path you have chosen is what I expected from you." he said as he motioned for the Jedi Knights to close in. They advanced forward, causing Threxil and his men to take out their vibroblades. While they weren't Force Users, they were still trained to use a Virboblade in case of missions where they would encounter Force Users such as this one.
The 6 Jedi Knights engaged in combat with Team Reaper alongside Veyra and Nyvara. Brennok and the Jedi master faced off against each other, the two observing each other before they fought.
"Can I know your name before we duel blades?" asked Brennok.
"My name is Jedi Master Visel Silven and these knights with me are my sons and daughters." This was Brennok's first time encountering a Jedi family. He had heard that some of them were powerful in terms of their ability to produce good Force Users, but he didn't know how good they were.
"My name is Guardian Brennok, a veteran of the Balance Keepers."
"A veteran you say. Well, let's tests that and see how you fare against me." Said Master Visel as he charged forward, reinforcing his speed with the Force. Brennok blocked his attack, just barely as he had moved a little faster than he expected. From this exchange alone, he could feel that this would be no easy battle for him.