The Chronicles of Zion Morviael: Operation Nightsaber

There was a loud explosion and a giant plume of black smoke where the wall of the compound had been. 4 Chiss Commando's, suited up in early versions of Prar Battle Armour, suddenly leapt free of the smoke, landing on the ground and taking off towards the tree line. It had been a long night of surveying the compound, before they had broken in and spent several hours fighting off a larger than expected force.
They now had to do their best to put as much distance between them and the compound before soldiers came after them. One of the commando's activated his comm link to the other 3
Well that was rather unexpected.... Chiss Commando #2
They all heard a heavy breathed laugh as another of the commando's activated him link
That definitely got my blood pumping! Chiss Commando #3
Of course it did, you idiot, you always like getting into fights.... Chiss Commando #2
Yeah well, you woulda had us still sitting around watching the damn place! Chiss Commando #3
Suddenly a third comm link activated from the Chiss Commando in the lead
Kraken! Phoenix! enough of your bickering, we need to concentrate on getting out of here Chiss Commando #1
Sure thing Drach! Kraken
Sorry Drach... Phonix
I really wish you two could get a long a little better Drach
Without much warning, the fourth and final Chiss Commando activated her comm link
As if that'll ever happen Drach, you know better then I do that those two are complete opposites Chiss Commando #4
Say that to my face you little brat! Kraken
Rebecca suddenly over took Kraken, gaining a couple meters on him
I will, if you can catch me old timer Rebecca
Cool it! all of you... Drach
Suddenly a barrage of laser fire hit the tree's around them, before a cannon shot toppled a tree just as they passed it
...Watch out! Drach
The tree trunk toppled over and hit the ground just a meter from where they had been as they all kept running
We have to lose these guys before getting back to the camp... Phoenix
Yeah, I'm working on it Drach
The 4 Chiss continued running through the trees, dodging the incoming shots as they went along. They suddenly broke through the tree line into a meadow where several animals were lazily eating grass. The Chiss kept running, knowing their pursuers would not be stopped by a small group of animals.
Drach then looked over to a small rise where a strangely dressed man sat, meditating of all things. Drach wondered if perhaps the stranger might help them and so veered off towards the man, activating his external comm and began to speak in basic
"Hey you! please help us!" Drach

Drach nodded back to the others as the stranger signalled them over to the tree line behind the hill. Although he was sure that wouldn't exactly approve entirely of this plan, getting help from some stranger, they didn't have much choice given the overwhelming odds. As they passed by the man, each one of them checked him out, their HUDs doing scans in the short amount of time they had, before they returned their gaze to the tree's, making sure they didn't accidentally run into one while they were distracted. Drach thanked his luck that their armour colour somewhat blended in with the surrounding forest as they all seemingly disappeared from view of the meadow, before they grouped together and took up defensive positions, drawing their weapons towards the direction they had come. Kraken's voice come over heavy and almost breathless as they stood there. He was still processing that they had accepted help from a stranger as he asked
What the hell Drach?! Kraken
We needed to get out of there and we can't just keep running like this Drach
It was then that Phoenix voiced that troubling thought that had crossed Drach's mind just moments after asking for the strangers help
Do you really think we can trust him.... Phoenix
I hope so. I don't think I've really done to badly in the past... Drach
We will see soon, won't we? Rebecca
Indeed, they would soon find out whether or not they could trust this oddly dressed stranger, whom seemed to have helped them because they just showed up. Each of the Chiss was weighing up the stranger in their own ways, although it was more true that Drach, Kraken and Phoenix were worrying about the potential threat he could cause, while Rebecca was thinking about whether he would get them out of this or not. The enemy vehicles and troops rolled into the meadow, their weapons had stopped firing when they had lost sight of the Chiss just moments ago. They slowly moved across the meadow before coming across the man standing on the hill. One of the soldiers hailed him, keeping a safe distance away, in case they had trouble
"Stranger! Have you seen 4 people pass by?" Soldier #1

The soldier held eye contact with the stranger, as a couple of other soldiers ran off to check out the cliff. The soldier nodded as his comm link activated with the soldiers confirmation. The soldier looked around at the scattered remains of the animals
"Good luck with your.... animals...." Soldier #1
The soldier nodded towards the others to begin moving out, before turning back to the stranger
"...Let's hope for your sake, you're not lying" Soldier #1
The soldier then walked over to a vehicle and jumped in a passenger seat before the group took off back into the tree line, to go in search of a way along the river. Phoenix lowered the prototype SC-1 Rifle, before holstering it on his back and drawing the Prar Bayonet Rifle, as he talked into his comm link
It seems our new friend has managed to send them off our scent for the time being, from what I can tell... Phoenix
Drach let out a small sigh of relief, although it was entirely possible that everything Phoenix had just seen was merely for show, and they were in danger of being betrayed, They at least for the time being had a bit of time out to relax and recuperate
Seems you might have proven your skill once again Kraken
Let's not get too excited, alright Drach
Rebecca remained in thought a little longer, before speaking
Perhaps he may be still useful to us, if he hasn't betrayed us Rebecca
Drach nodded in agreement with Rebecca's comment. All they could do was wait and question this stranger when he come by

As the stranger appeared between some tree's, the 4 Chiss centred their aim on him, cocking their guns as they did so. Rebecca smiled to herself as the stranger appeared unscathed and making a little bit of a joke. Drach, Kraken and Phoenix on the other hand were a little more sceptical. Drach looked the man up and down, seeing if he could derive anything from this man's body language as he activated his external comm
I'd prefer not having to kill you..... So what did you tell them? Drach
Phoenix meanwhile did a scan for any frequencies transmitting off of the stranger to hostile parties. Kraken maintained his distrust for the stranger, ready to shoot the man should Drach give the order.
Drach awaited the man's response, hoping he would not lie to them about what had happened. In all his years of service and participating in missions, he had yet to misjudge a potential ally. Part of this he put down to his upraising, training and general outlook on life. The other part was his force sensitivity, a rare trait amongst Chiss. He could almost passively use the power of force sense, to gauge whether a person meant them harm or not.
It was this trait, that Rebecca knew Drach could easily use to tell whether this stranger was about to lie to them, or would be telling them the truth. In fact, if she was correct, Drach would already know this stranger meant them no harm, but he was instead just putting on a little bit of a show, probably more so to confirm his own judgement, as it was rare for Drach to just trust one thing without proof

Drach listened intently as the stranger told them what he had said. It seemed his senses had not failed him once again as he turned towards Phoenix, who simply gave him an affirmative nod. Drach lowered his rifle as he spoke
Yeah, we're good... Drach
Rebecca let out a sigh of relief as she lowered her rifle along with Kraken and Phoenix. Drach holstered his rifle before removing his helmet and moving towards the stranger, extending his own hand and shaking the strangers in a sign of friendship
"The name is Drach Elios.... and back there is my two brothers Kraken and Phoenix, and my sister Rebecca..." Drach
Drach nodded back towards the three others as they each holstered their weapons and removed their helmets. No doubt the stranger would notice the blue skin and red eyes that differentiated them from the rest of humanity. In fact Drach was sure this man would know they were members of the technologically advanced and rather secretive race known as the Chiss
"It's a pleasure to meet you...." Drach
He purposefully left the statement open for the stranger to introduce himself. Kraken, although holding a distaste for this man, was puzzled as to why a human would simply help them out of the blue, it made no sense to him. Phoenix was more interested in checking a small wrist mounted datapad, then worrying any more about this stranger, whom Drach, by unspoken agreement, had vouched for.
Rebecca was sure that the stranger would no doubt be somewhat surprised by her introduction, since most armies never really enlisted female's. She made no big gesture, she just smiled at the man, glad that he was on their side and not the other one, the one that would have required her to kill him

Drach nodded in agreement with Zion's suggestion to head back to the man's ship. It definitely was not the brightest idea to stick around out here, since their enemies could come back at any moment to try surprise them. Drach nodded to Kraken, Phoenix and Rebecca, causing them to fall in behind him, as they followed Zion through the thicket. As they came out into the clearing, they all stood in a line, surveying the site. Phoenix turned towards Kraken as he looked around
"It's definitely something..." Phoenix
Kraken snorted at Phoenix's joke. This was one of those few occasions that he actually agreed with his brother. It was not one of the best places he had ever seen, although it wasn't the worst either.
Rebecca regarded the site as somewhat homely, something she had never really experienced in her life. A ship, a few seats and no one around. A life of freedom to move about as one wished, stop where one wanted to. Instead she had been given a life of military routine and cryo freezing. As a result her life had been extended longer then a standard person. But this little scene affected something deep within her. She started to walk over towards the kitchen area as she muttered under her breath
"It's szép..." Rebecca
Drach smiled as Rebecca seemed to at last relax a little, as opposed to her military nature he usually saw. Yes they joked and had some fun, but it was always to relieve the pressure of the situation, or because they needed to loosen up. This Rebecca was unlike the girl he had ever known before, it was a brief moment during which she had let her guard down. Drach then turned his attention towards Zion
"I guess we could perhaps stick around for a little while.....so you said you had read about the Chiss?" Drach
Drach could not bring himself to drag Rebecca away from this place so soon, especially after the effect it had on her

Drach nodded to Zion's suggestion of taking a seat, following the man over to the kitchen area and taking a seat at the table, opposite Zion. He accepted the glass of water and sipped from it as he listened to Zion talk about his study.
Rebecca was meanwhile having a look at all the stuff set out, taking in all the items. She could feel a strange emotion attached to all of these items. The feeling of love, between family members. Rebecca walked over to a reclining seat and took the guns off her back, placing them down next to the recliner, before laying down in it.
Kraken and Phoenix walked around the outside of the YT-1300, checking it over. Although, it was far truer that Kraken was doing more work, since Phoenix was more pre-occupied in working out where their camp was and how to get back there. Kraken never understood Phoenix's placidity, but that was just what differentiated their personalities.
Drach smiled at Zion as the man apologised for having gotten carried away
"There is no need to apologise, knowledge is a powerful and wonderful thing. It is quite rare to have such a passion for it. You seem inspired by it and so have every right to let others know how you feel... In fact, I too once shared such a passion for knowledge. In fact had I followed it, I possibly would not be here today.... Not that I had much choice in the matter...." Drach
Drach sort of trailed off, before shaking his head. This was neither the time, nor place to be pouring out his heart or thoughts on his childhood
"It's good though, to know that someone has such an interest in the Chiss. It's not often that outsiders study our race, but when they do, it is generally more so to use as a means of attacking us.... But you seem unlike someone who would do that" Drach
Drach half smiled at Zion, as he took another sip from his own glass. It was then that he noticed Kraken and Phoenix walking around the ship. He could tell Phoenix was clearly having some sort of difficulty with something technical, since Kraken had not already "fixed" it.
Phoenix noticed Drach's gaze on him, causing him to walk over to the table where Drach and Zion sat, Kraken close in tow
"Having some trouble?" Drach
"Indeed. I think the datapad was damaged during the chase. I haven't been able to establish communications or get a fix on our position..." Phoenix
Drach returned his gaze back to Zion, as he wondered if perhaps their new friend might be able to lend a hand
"Do you think you could lend Phoenix a hand?" Drach

Phoenix looked to Drach, who simply nodded to him, indicating he was meant to follow Zion. He wondered what his brother was up to as along with Kraken, he followed Zion up into the YT-1300. It was an odd ship, typical of human standards, but what was not typical, was the communications and navigation array's. It was something out of a dream for him. This Zion might not be a Chiss, but he sure had enough brains to match one.

Kraken saw the small gleam appear in his brother's eye as he spied the equipment before them. To him, most of it was all just flashing lights and displays. It was rare Kraken had a need to know how to operate one of these, outside of pressing a button to talk
"So can you work it Phoenix?" Kraken
"Of course! just give me a second..." Phoenix
Phoenix sat down in a seat and started working away on the control panels. Kraken sat down in a seat behind Phoenix, knowing he would be of no real use to his brother here. As he did so, Zion would no doubt notice the House Emblem on the chest of Kraken's armour, that of the Prar House, a golden shield and maroon phoenix.


Drach meanwhile got off his chair, knowing he would have some time to talk to Rebecca. He started to slowly move around the table as he talked
"You know...We are going to have to leave soon..." Drach
Rebecca was suddenly startled out of her relaxation as Drach started talking, partly snapping back to reality as his words got through to her.
Drach smiled for a second as he saw his sister almost jumped out of her skin as he startled her, before suppressing it again, taking on a very neutral look
"We can't stay here forever...We have a mission to fulfil" Drach
Rebecca laid her head back, running her hand through her hair, lifting her head slightly, before resting against back on top of her hand. Yes, they were here on a mission, which meant they would have to leave Zion and go back to base. But yet a part of her did not want to leave him behind. But why did she not want to leave him behind? was it because she liked the feeling this place gave her, this feeling of vulnerability? or was it for a different reason entirely....suddenly she sat upright, facing Drach who was at the foot of the recliner
"Why don't we bring him with us?" Rebecca
Drach suddenly looked confused at his sister, not entirely sure of her idea yet. It was this moment of momentary confusion that allowed Rebecca to form a good, if somewhat lacking, argument, whilst regaining her calm demeanour
"He could be useful. He does have a ship and he is a human. He wouldn't stand out as much as the rest of us. Besides, he did save us from being found by the soldiers..." Rebecca
"Well that is true...I just hope we are both right..." Drach
"So we don't have to leave him behind?" Rebecca
Drach grinned at Rebecca as she seemed to perk up a little. Although he was sure she would deny it, he could tell she liked Zion
"Only if he wants to come, I'm sure we can trust him enough, after all he is no idiot" Drach
Drach then walked back over to the table and sat down backwards on a seat, so he was facing the landing ramp of the YT-1300.
Rebecca laid back down as Drach went over to his seat. She was able to relax again, even if it was just for a moment, since she was sure Phoenix and Kraken would be coming back out soon with news that they could get them back to base

Kraken looked over at Zion as the man leant a little closer to him and asked about the House Emblem on his armour. He chuckled, perhaps more out of Zion's ignorance then any real amusement
"Ha, yes well our House is not exactly about advertising ourselves. We are one of the lesser known houses of the Ascendancy. But while we are a lesser known house, we are the shield that protects the Ascendancy, we rise and rise again to meet each new challenge that faces our people. We are warriors, not historians, that is why you will never see mention of us in your study" Kraken
Phoenix meanwhile got a lock on the ship's location, before making radio contact with the base. He was on the radio only a short time before cutting contact. He turned in his seat towards Kraken
"I have our orders, let's go tell Drach..." Phoenix
Kraken nodded, before the two brother's got out of their seats and exited the cockpit, making their way back out of the ship and down the ramp to where Drach and Rebecca were. Drach looked over at Phoenix, he could tell his brother had some good news for them, even if it was not already news he knew was coming
"Well have at it, what did they say?" Drach
"We are to return to base, regroup and rethink, all that stuff..." Phoenix
Rebecca got out of the recliner, re-holstering her guns. She was snapping back to reality as her preparedness to leave kicked in. Drach nodded to her before getting off the seat and approaching Zion, as he looked the man over once more
"It's not often we meet people who we can trust or who can trust us. Although my brother's have some reservations about you, both Rebecca and myself feel we can trust you enough, to ask you if you would like to join us? I know you're not exactly here to fight, nor did we give you much choice when we needed to get away, but I give you a choice now. Come with us and have a grand adventure worthy of telling your children and their children about, or have to leave here on your own because you lied to some soldiers..." Drach
Drach did his best to try and entice Zion's sense of adventure, after all, knowledge could always be expanded on an adventure and this man seemed like he enjoyed both gaining knowledge and doing something exciting. Kraken and Phoenix, he could tell, were not overly exited about the proposition, but Drach knew they would come around in time. Rebecca stood there and silently hoped he would agree, he was useful for the reason's she had given Drach, but she also wanted to know more about him, as a person and the way he lived his life, which was so different from hers