Star Wars The Old Republic: Havoc

PESTILENTIA

Havoc Squad – [Classified]

Operation: Pestilentia [CLASSIFIED]

Mission Record: #004

Location: Tracking... Taris, Republic settlement Olaris

Objective: Find and neutralise 'Needles'.

Syncing data: Syncing... Cmdr. Opilio, J...

Synchronized.

Havoc squad landed at Olaris settlement. There was no greeting to them as per usual protocol. Nobody seemed to bat an eye at them. They shrugged to one another and followed the co-ordinates to Olaris military base. They made their way through the spaceport to find a surprising lack of activity. It was just military personnel. There was supposed to be a decent civilian population to both inhabit and participate in the Taris restoration project.

They came to the base to find that their arrival was noted, but not expected. There was something wrong. Whether it was sabotage or incompetence, someone was going to have to have some answers for them. They entered the base and asked the soldiers the whereabouts of Colonel Gaff. Told he was in a meeting and not to be disturbed, Havoc were pointed in his direction. They opened the door and interrupted the meeting as Colonel Gaff groaned.

"My apologies, Major. I have some unwanted guests." cut the holo as he gestured more of his troops in for a debrief of his own. "So, you're the 'shinies' Garza sent? Why do you look like Imperials?" Gaff mocked them.

"My bad, Gaff. I thought you actually listened to when your superiors give you orders. We're here on restricted business. You're to aid us in every capacity, understood?" Opilio ordered.

"Ha! Alright rookie. So Garza just sends you guys here on a mission I can't know about and I drop everything to help you? Fat chance. I have a duty to this planet and my operation. I'll drive the Imps off this planet without you or Garza, thank you very much. And hate to burst your bubble, but we haven't seen any unusual activity recently." Gaff explained.

"Patrol teams three, five and eight. All lost, all without explanation." A female officer said as she approached Havoc.

"Sergeant Dorne, I don't recall giving you permission to speak." Gaff shut her down.

"I wasn't speaking to you – I was speaking to the Commander, per General Garza's instructions. Are you ordering me to violate Code 72-B and ignore the general's directive, Colonel?" Dorne responded, seemingly uptight.

"Always got a regulation to quote, don't you Sergeant Dorne?"" Gaff sighed as he shook his head.

"If you have information, Sergeant, we're happy to take it." Sterling spoke up.

"The matter was settled days ago. Taris is dangerous, casualties are not uncommon on patrol teams. It's unfortunate, but not unusual. No matter what Sergeant Dorne says. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got a planet to run. Carry on with your 'secret mission' – just don't muck up anything important." Gaff huffed as he left with his officers.

"Apologies for the Colonel, Commander. Not all men are meant to lead." Dorne noted. Jorgan looked at Opilio as Dorne said that. Sterling shook his head at him.

"Colonel Gaff is disobeying a direct order." Opilio stated.

"I can assure you it's not the first time he's done so. I'm Elara Dorne, sir. Sergeant, first class, commander of search and rescue squad 204. We have three full squads, all MIA on patrols. The situation is critical." Dorne briefed them.

"Do you have any idea what happened to these men?" Jorgan asked.

"I'm afraid not, Sir. Casualties are common on swamp patrols. Rakghoul attacks account for the majority – approximately eighty seven percent. However, SAR sweeps discovered no evidence of Rakghoul activity in these instances. Someone else attacked those teams. If you're looking for unusual activity, then thus is it, Sir." Dorne explained.