SWRPF Archive 133 ABY - The Dark Odyssey

Mestra Field

Music - The Resistance Attacks Alpha

The Ascendancy jumped out of hyperspace, their fighters swarming out of the hangar bay. A second later and three huge Action-X Transports, the Vulture´s Talon and a damaged Yuuzhan Vong ship joined them. Captain Vayland saw on his display how perfect the had made the jump and nodded to his weapon-officer. Their turbolasers began pouring fire, just as the Asteroid belt was suddenly illuminated by hundreds of turbo-laser batteries opening fire on the imperial warship in return.

"Shields holding, fighters advance." The comm-officer reported and Zak Tak´n came through the comm-chanel. "Approaching target." Vayland folded his arms. He couldn´t win this battle. He had to stay here only long enough so someone else did win it for them.

Hopefully Tahnan knew what he was doing.

Tag: Nobody

Inside Asteroid Alpha, Center

The Heart of Darkness

Hoole left the turbolift first, Kira Romar following him into a huge dome. No if one investigated it form closely it was actually a Sphere. It´s wall consisted of humming red energy shields and their light illuminated the scene into a deep red. In the center of all this, attached to the turbolift shaft was a platform. In it´s center again an command console. It was the enter of Hoole´s power. The inner sanctum. And below it lay the kilometer long caves in which XENLY was imprisoned. Dark, winding and pulsing with the icy cold of the Dark Side.

Somewhere down there Kira could feel Si and Tenk Qatar. They were still alive.

As if he wanted to show himself, a XENLY jumped into the shields with a giant leap from the top of the cave into the energy sphere.. Screaming it died down. Burning and after a second exploding.

Except Hoole and Kira Romar nobody else was here. They were alone. Sealed away from the galaxy and the asteroid and even their friends, allies or slaves.


Tag: LordTroepfchen, SirakRomar (at your request the scene belongs to you two now)



Inside Asteroid Alpha, Above the Hive


Soundtrack - The Hive of Xenly

Azura Nephrite lead the Yuuzhan Vong deep into the facility. It was huge. Housing only few soldiers and their droids it could have rivalled most imperial Garrison bases. "Here you are." She finally said, her helmet not betraying any emotion. And her hand offered Kiar to enter, as two massive steel gates vanished in the wall. Behind it was a room half-consisting of high-powered energy walls. Four of them. Reaching from the ceiling all the way to the ground. No way through them. No way in and no way out. And inside of this cage was a rugged creature, overgrowing with chitin armor. Two stings where once had been hands. And amidst what looked like a giant Xenly was a face. Human. No. Vong. Eloa Lan.

Or whatever remained of her.

Tag: RachelTyrell, Mitth-Fisto



Inside Asteroid Alpha, Hive


Soundtrack - The Hive of Xenly

"How can we stop him? How can we make sure that he doesn't hurt them?" Tenk´s question alone made masses of XENLY become restless. They were everywhere around them. The darkness had made it look like only here and there one appeared, but if they began to move it became obvious thousands of them were everywhere. On the ceiling, in the walls . . . everywhere.

"fReEEEEEEEE mEEEEEEEE!" Was the reply of Xenly and above them a small explosion was visible, as a Xenly jumped against the shields. The shields Tenk could obviously not see, but the Professor and Si Kya could. "Free XENLY; Gentlemen, I don´t know if that is such a . . . good idea." The Professor said.

But Tenk felt . . .

 

Shaper Laaxtiin Kiar
Inside Asteroid Alpha, Above the Hive

Never could he recall such a fervor in his flesh, such a resounding in his bones echoing a tale of fire and of woe without cause except anticipation as there was now. It were as though a flood of anxiousness as brought by a donning masquer laced with bourash jelly that was boring to his bones envigorating him all to be...be...something that he was not used to being...or had never been before.

Whatever the case, whatever the cause, perchance the gods preparing him to fight a god was all it was, them bestowing their last blessings upon him for the coming fight for life.

But nothing prepared him for when that door was opened by the visionless minion that stood to the side, admitting him his first glance of a god. Stepping through that portal just far enough to be within he bowed his head, "Eloa Lan has died, now lives the god Yarong of Xenly the consumer of life."

Raising his head as he dropped to one knee, knowing the door, the excape to be shut fast upon him he looked upon the remaining aspect he could recognize within the mass from something of insect. Though he long been a believer of the Undying Flame which spoke of the Balance of the Universe and the Great Dance that keeps it, until this moment he had never thought he would become an integral part.

"Hear my plea if but for an amusement, if you must kill a late believer of your elevated status...For one had to choose the way of life, or way of death. Choose the way of Love or of Hate. Choose the way of caring, or the way of apathy. Choose the way of goodness, or the way of evil. It was up to me to choose, as it was you. It was our choices that brought us here, no gods, no plans, but us." Stiffening his leg he stood once more.

"The place is set, the universe waits, you are my dance partner for you are as the Yun-Txiin of Hate that you deemed dead....and I...I am your Yun-Q'aah of Love." With a twist his amphistaff lept into his waiting hand as he spoke yelling, "Let the fires burn high and Let a new Balance be Reckoned!!!" So he stood prepared for battle with his shaper's hand by his whipsting and the hidden yorrik coral handle hidden by it.

Today...today was a good day for balance. For both he and Romar would seek that here to tip the scales back, to check these that would cast them off completely in favor of false power that gave only illusion.

TAG: The One and Only Yun-Yarong!

 

ooc: I am back and I think you have over-read that I am caged between four walls of red-glowing-energy if I read the post right. I´ll retcon it into you thinking I could lower these energy walls . . . well . . . here we go . . .

This post is a homage at SirakRomar´s beautiful written Joiner Queen. I stole all the tricks from your book, Claire! And I mean ALL of them!


Yarong
The Cage

It. Was time. The pain rippled through her and through them as voices rang in her head. Or was it theirs? Who was it? Who had entered their mind? Forcefully they rejected the presence.
Hoole. Had they left Roche? Must be.

She forced herself to her feet, feeling the pain. Feeling the tension in her bones. It began. It began anew. The pain helped her focus. A pain against which any embrace was to be laughed at. It was an existential pain. One that would kill any creature that had not been specifically created to withstand it. Created. Or shaped. Shaped. Into a vessel.

A voice.

Yes there was voice. Kiar.

"KIAR!" She opened her eyes, twisting her now armored, far to heavy body in an unnatural way. As if her spine had become flexible to all sides. It actually had.

"The place is set, the universe waits, you are my dance partner for you are as the Yun-Txiin of Hate that you deemed dead....and I...I am your Yun-Q'aah of Love." Through the red fire of her cage she saw him unroll his Amphistaff. A weapon. WEAPON! They could find no joy in it. They were . . . no, no, no. She. She. I am. Yes, we are.

"Let the fires burn high and Let a new Balance be Reckoned!!!" Kiar demanded.

His anger made her strong. Angry. Leaping against the wall of energy she felt the pain as spasms filled her body. As every nerve of her vibrated with agony. Trapped. They. She. Were. Trapped.

She looked up. With no option to attack her enemy she could only hiss at him and try to clear her mind. Her thoughts. The pain was coming. Oh yes, the pain was coming.

"Ssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssszzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!" The claw hit the energy once more. She couldn´t straighten her body, as the armor had blocked her neck.

"Not. i AM. n OT!" She gasped and fell to her knees. The pain was coming.

"He." Her voice returned for a moment, becoming the voice of Eloa Lan for a few seconds. "He. Has betrayed us from the beginning. Behind it all. Kiar. Kill me. Kill me. KILL ME!" She hissed and the voices flowed back into her consciousness. It had been as if someone had talked to her. For a second. And then she simply wasn´t that person anymore. Wasn´t . . . who?

If he answered, she did not hear him. She couldn´t hear. Anymore. Her mind could not.

They were him. And he was all of them. United. Not. But one. One. Always been ONE.

"dANCE. You WILL!" She hissed and fell to the ground as the pain of dividing flashed into her body. Screaming from her shoulder she felt her bones, her very cells explode. Anger. Hatred. All of it was there and held together what had no means to life. Screaming she hit the floor with her claws as slowly from her shoulder on a Xenly dragged himself out of her body mass. A different kind of XENLY. Larger, thicker armor and hands with attached stings instead of claws. Screaming she spasmed until he had drawn himself completely out of her body, leaving her covered in drying slime and hissing at Kiar. The creature was almost his size and broader even. It had a smaller mouth then the usual Yarong and stronger limbs. And something in it had a disturbing similarity to a Yuuzhan Vong.

Did Kiar talk? No. Yes. She could not. Listen.

Eloa Lan, returning as the pain vanished lay on the ground exhausted. "Not a god and not an Avatar. Not even it´s mother. Only it´s . . . Slave." She whispered exhausted. Divided by Kiar through the bristling energy. "It´s been him, Kiar. It has been . . ." She felt the voices. The thousand voices saying th

 

IC: Tenk Qatar
Inside Asteroid Alpha, Hive

"Free XENLY; Gentlemen, I don´t know if that is such a . . . good idea."

"No...it's exactly what we want to do," Tenk replied. "To bring down Hoole, we have to take away his most valued weapon. A weapon that he has yet to gain control of. A weapon that, given the chance, may yet destroy him."

Tenk couldn't see, but he felt the charged air, the crackling energy that occurred when a Xenly would leap at the energy shield before bouncing off against it. He had seen it before, before Hoole had taken away his sight. To free the Xenly, they had to take down the shield. But....how?

"The shield," Tenk spoke again. "How do we take it down?"

The question was made towards Si and the Professor. Tenk couldn't see and he had not been here as long as the other two had. Perhaps they would know something that he did not? If he was lucky, maybe they already knew how and it was only the fear of being consumed by the Xenly that kept them from doing so.

Course...his luck was hardly ever that good.

TAG: Sinrebirth, DarkLordoftheFins

---

IC: Selpha Nephrite
Shuttle Alpha

Another battle and thus some place where Selpha could relieve her newfound aggression against...everything.

Sprinting down the ramp of the shuttle, wonderful adrenaline pumping through her, Selpha ignored the blaster bolts that flew past her, instead using the time that they had just gained to get into the nearest cover. Like Tahnan, the Mandalorian hid behind a pillar within the hangar. Her Iviin was already in hand, but instead it was the Nari - still in it's carbine form - that Selpha decided to use first.

A grenade had already been loaded into the weapon during their flight to the asteroid. Wanting to capitalize on their surprising entrance, Selpha fired a burst from her Iviin before her Nari came up in her other hand, the grenade pointing in the direction of the Black Lancers. Surprised and confused as they were already with a shuttle that decided to crash into the hangar, a nice little explosion probably wouldn't help with their efforts to gather up and duck into more fortified positions to form a better defense against their intruders.

And it will leave quite a few of them dead, Selpha hoped, her own bloodthirsty attitude that dominated her senses and the Mandalorians' love for battle mixing together to form a perfect mindset for outright slaughtering. Pulling the trigger, the Nari's magnetic coils launched the rifle grenade from the barrel to the nearest group of Black Lancers.

TAG: DarkLordoftheFins, blubeast

 

GM-Note: I am back and this is my 22 hours warning.

 

U'tek
Shuttle Beta

"No kriff? Tell me something else that's good." U'tek's response to Glave was quiet enough for their ears only. He hated being told the obvious, as it was only a distraction that would try to prevent him from accomplishing the task.

What a task. The six of them were supposed to retrieve Jedi Qatar in a place that was filled with the insects. Qatar better not be dead. But where to look first? That's what Kaya was for, hopefully. She proved her worth on the capture of the Ascendancy, although he hoped they didn't run into any doors that would take as long to slice. Although he brought along more power packs for his assault blaster rifle than normal, it surely wouldn't hold up against the likely millions of bugs that lived on this rock.

U'tek quickly checked over himself for the hundreth time, making sure everything was there. Of course - his silenced slughthrower pistol; a 30 cm vibroblade just in case things got too close; glowrod and torch; backup comm; too many magazines for his rifle; two concussion grenades; two frag grenades; thermal detonator tape; and a thermal detonator. A class-A detonator. U'tek realized he was playing with fire. Even the weapons detailer back on the Ascendancy was nervous giving it to him. U'tek kept that in a separate pouch, not as readily accessible as the other grenades to prevent him from reaching for it first. If he was going to go down, he was going to take as much as the enemy with him, and that class A would be a fine way to accomplish that.

He readjusted the helmet, visor, and headset comm that he scrounged from the armory and locked eyes with his team. The confidence in his voice was as strong as ever. He started believing himself when he spoke despite his own thoughts.

"Alright. Glave's in front. You - Vexedo - you're behind him. Vero-Romar, you're next, then Talia and Kaya. I'm tail twister."

He didn't say that he had his eye on the clone or Talia. He was ready to shoot them the moment they even did something slightly awkward.

"Don't shoot unless we're seen. We're trying to be discrete here. And we're gonna get out alive."

He took one last look down the hatch. He shoved away thoughts that he was stepping into his grave. He motioned to his team.

"Let's go."

TAG: fin

 

Music stays the same . . .

Asteroid Alpha
Into the Hive

Glave nodded and took lead. Vexedo only smiled, as he heard of his position. And Talia seemed to be far away with her thoughts. Dangerous when you entered the deadliest place in the galaxy. A hostile ground with millions of enemies and the hope they wouldn´t attack as their only shield.

"We should stay together. In case Mr. Romar has less aura of safety than we like to." Talia added concerned and they entered the darkness of Asteroid Alpha. The Xenly were all around them immediately. And charged towards them. Glave kept his cool, raising his repeater and waited until the very last moment to pull the trigger. Staring at the leading attacker. It stopped half a meter before them. It´s little black eyes staring at Vero-Romar. Who stared back. "I don´t know if I feel anybody better, knowing these things like me." The insect speeded away. Almost to fast to see. They appeared taller here. Stronger. With more energy than inside the Ascendancy.

"You can still ask yourself that question, that is something, is it?" Vexedo hissed and pointed deeper into the caves. "If we find anything useful then inside, near the fortress-section." He explained. Obviously the man knew the place to some extend.

Around them were the dark armored insectoids, everywhere. Silently they shifted positions on the walls, ceilings and floor. Endless the dark caves seem to expand and twist into the pitch black of the giant Asteroid.

"That way." Glave pointed suddenly. "They are that way."

"Unlikely." Vexedo added. Talia´s head shifting from one to the other.

Glave looked at U´tek. "Lt.Colonel?" He asked. His way to the right or Vexedo´s to the center was the question, now.

Tag: sprintabm

---

Small update, I´ll give missing players time to post until tomorrow. Hespar comes then, too. [i]Mitth&Rachel, Sirak&LordT[/i] tell me if you need something.

[b]-Fin-[/b]

 

ooc: I am back, my partner LordT is on vacation ´til tomorrow. LordT and me are writing the whole scene and we will post it one-by-one from the weekend on. Good luck to all hive-dwellers. I prefer to be on top of things with the old man, I must say.

 

U'tek
hive, Asteroid Alpha

U'tek continued to scan behind and above the group as he divided his thoughts between the debate and the enemy. His senses were incredibly heightened with threats everywhere. Those insects were all around them - and they sure looked different here than on all the other encounters. Were they mutating? Or was this some sort of lab, developing even "better" bugs? This place had to be destroyed, he thought as he clenched his teeth even tighter.

Thankfully the group wasn't the one being destroyed at the moment. Vero-Romar looked like he really was a lucky charm against the insects. Was he really related to Jedi Romar? He had to be. Only something like the Force could stop monsters like these.

"So, Vexedo," U'tek spoke quietly, still looking about. "The fortress-section, you say? Sounds like you know some more things that could be useful."

In a team with three that he couldn't fully trust, he found himself taking advice from the the one he trusted the least. But he was with the Vulture, and the Vulture's been involved in this whole episode ever since they were told about the Ascendancy. What a pleasant thought: The Vulture probably knew the Ascendancy was infested. How wonderful.

"We're going Vexedo's way while he tells us everything he knows about this place. Now move. Slowly. Nothing sudden."

TAG: fin

 

Shaper Laaxtiin Kiar
The Cage

It had once been said that pain did not support, it merely inlightened the way, did not guide truly, it made one choose a path, and pain did not a decission make right, it merely made one focus on the problem.

So it was to him now, though the pain was not physical he felt it all the same. Looking at it, listening to it, having to hear her somehow through it if but for a moment...for once his faith was shaken.

"Is that you?" he asked, curiosity was such a funny thing. It was what made him now a shaper and not a warrior only, one that not only stood against the beast but also yearned to understand it. For now he did not understand though his mind swirled with knowledge he felt the fool within this battle ground he found himself.

"Not a god and not an Avatar. Not even it´s mother. Only it´s . . . Slave." She whispered exhausted from the division that he had just witnessed that boggled his mind. Divided from Kiar through the bristling energy, an unnatural energy that yet set his mind in motion since he now knew she could...it could not...they could not escape it. "It´s been him, Kiar. It has been . . ."

"Gather your strength then Eloa Lan, gather your strength to stand still and I will free you with the third gift and foil Hoole. Let me bring him low...leave him to me and Hoole will not leave." he whispered, no more in anger or disgust...but pity much as he had and had shown in the mercy killing of those first attempts of shaping. They had had to die and he felt no joy or anger in their deeds and so as he looked at her in a similar light he felt...sadness...and something...something else stirred beneath his underlying layer of weariness that had given him so easily to anger as of late.

Stepping forward he pulled out that long shaft of yorrik corral, igniting the crimsom blade that hummed so similarly in its vibrancy and color to those impenatrable walls that seperated them. "Prepare." he whispered as he plunged it at an angle into the ground into the ground where the energy dividing them seemed to have it´s source from abomination was under there, keeping the energy wall between them.

They were alone now and soon with nothing between, and that emotion yet eluded his mind, occupying its focus until that wall fell.

Somewhere beneath the layer that was despair for life...just life in general, there was something stirring...something he just did not know...

Could not recognize...

no

it couldn't be?..

but yet...

TAG: RachelTyrell

 

Asteroid Alpha

The Hive - Team Beta

Music - Into the Hive

Glave shot U´tek a sharp look and then followed orders. The former imperial seemed to be convinced they took the wrong direction. Also he showed an unusual anxiety. Vexedo smiled and nodded. "This base has once served the Vulture. It was base of his operations in the Old Republic when he was a . . . silent shareholder of the old Minos-Mestra Mining Corp. Hoole took it from him within´a civil war that splitted the organisation. And made sure it would be forgotten. When we learned Hoole operated here, we knew he used this base. It has been modified, very much though. But a few things I know. The prison cells are over there." He pointed to the direction they were going. 2With a special holding facility for Jedi." He added with a smile. Talia stared at Vexedo while he talked. Only Vero-Romar seemed not to care. He stared at the legions of Xenly bagging away from them . . . from him . . . as if he was a god. While fear was all he felt.

"Anything else, Lt. Colonel?" He asked U´tek.

Tag: sprintabm

---

[color=red][i]The Center - Team Alpha[/i][/color]

[link=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0-DokExBgI&feature=related]
Music - Into the Asteroid[/link]

[b]Tahnan[/b] downed another Lancer, as he saw Lorj Danathin get hit in the shoulder. The armor took most of it, but Tahnan leaped out of cover to help him, shouting "COVER!" As he made his dive. On the other side of the hangar, another group of Lancers entered the hangar. It became obvious how bad prepared the Resistance was. The operation had been going on for about a minute and the three best commandoes were already cornered.

Tahnan pulled [b]Lorj[/b] into the cover and fired another shot. Then he took cover, ripped a class-c detonator from his belt and shouted a loud. "Fire in the hole!" Before throwing it into the direction of the lancers. Timer set on three seconds the detonator brough a brillaint light to the room as it exploded . . . but shots came to their direction still. At least one Lancer had survived behind a [i]Fury[/i]-Class fighter which shields had been activated.

[b]Tag: bluebeast, Sarge221[/b]


[i]ooc: I give RachelTyrell control over her situation, as she knows the plan and I feel I would only disturb you two. You got the control of this certain NPC you inspired, anyway. [face_wink]

Same for LordT until you leave that room. Whenever you two are ready, I am eager to read . . .

Otherwise I hope we will have good fun. I promise, this won´t be too easy [face_tongue] [/i]

 

Yarong
The Cell, inside the Asteroid

She felt only the vibrant pain of another splitting . . . of another division coming and they were complete. They were everywhere. Kiar. What needed so long for him to reach her . . . didn´t he know she was not coming . . .

"Hoole? Not Hoole. It was not Hoole. It never was Hoole." A raspy voice not entirely Eloa Lan nor Xenlys came out of her mouth. She turned her head as Kiar rammed his amphistaff into the focal-emitters of the energy shield. And watched him fail. Watched him stumble back as discharge wandered through his weapon and then saw him . . . the traitor to the gods. The shamed soul. The orik. The onimi of onimi´s. The gifted. Yun´Harla would have been proud of this one. Yet he bowed to another master. A lone god known as Yarong.

"It was HIIIIM!" She screamed out and pointed at the Yuuzhan Vong who had come up behind Kiar.

Tag: Qatlar Qat

Qat`Dor aka Qatlar Qat
The Heart of Darkness

"Indeed, it was me." Qatlar made a smile wander into his thin lips and from beneath his robes his amphistaff unrolled. A mighty breed, like only the leaders of a domain were honored with. "Hello Kiar. I had hoped you´d make it here. I had hoped you would finally see what ascension truly was. And I hoped I could show you the glory of our new god." Qatlar slowly circled Shaper Kiar. A warrior of many battles his eyes did not let his enemy escape them for a moment. "Eloa served her purpose well. As did you, Kiar. As my mother has forseen. The Yuuzhan Vong were the womb the last of all gods was to born from. And you, Kiar . . . you were such an asset in this. How you pushed Eloa right into my arms . . ." His smile grew to a grin. And his Amphistaff hissed. "I never had the chance to thank you."

Tag: Mitth-Fisto

 

ooc: Approved by LordT

Hespar Kessler
Aboard the Imperial Frigate

He took the datapad and nodded. Could it be? Had Ratep Sentarin murdered these men in cold blood? Had he probably enjoyed it? "I will consider it." He said and he knew it was a lie. He would never tell the Council. Nor anybody else. The holos. The recordings Ratep had borrowed on his names. And this . . . Hespar sighed and saw the exhaustion in the Imperial Knights face.

"Are you well?" He asked him. And Eydan Skorne smiled. "Bad dreams. Ever since I have seen these insectoid corpses they have brought me bad dreams." He said. Then gave a sad smile. "A girl killing me. I think . . . it is nothing."

Hespar Kessler looked at him and raised his brows. A girl killing an Imperial Knight. What a strange dream. Hespar turned and made his way to his Master. He had to talk to him. Before leaving the room he turned his head once more. "Master Skorne do you think . . . my master has he . . ."

Eydan Skorne turned his head. "Turned?"

Hespar nodded.

"You know he hasn´t." Eydan Skorne answered. Then folding his arms. "And you know he probably will."

Hespar gave a bitter smile. Insightful but very painful was this Imperial Knights words.

He left. Looking for Ratep Sentarin.

Tag: LordT

 

U'tek
The Hive

Vexedo was sure confident in spouting out information on this place. U'tek wasn't sure if he was lying or not, but his confidence led the cathar to believe him - for the moment. What Vexedo just said made U'tek uneasy enough to start looking towards him more. He had a nagging feeling that he was going to have to shoot this lackey of the Vulture if his confidence turned into something malicious.

"Yeah, I got another question. How the hell did the Vulture get involved in all of this? Was he funding part of this? And on top of everything, what the hell are these insects and where did they come from?"

TAG: fin

 

ooc: I´ll now, at the end, break my habit and actually do some shorter IC-posts, whereever it feels useful.

Vexedo 2.9
The Hive, Alpha

The Falleen clone looked up and smiled. "The Vulture did not get involved. Hoole did. My Master has been around a long, long time, Cathar. He recruited Hoole once and the fallen Jedi served as his right hand, for a while. Therefore my Master funded this project only in so far, as Hoole stole money from him and used it here, yes. Even since the two broke away from each other there have been hostilities. Ever since, The Vulture has kept Hoole from reaching the perfection of his Dark Designs. Concerning what these insects are? My thoughts are remarkably blank about them. I think the information was eradicated from my genetic design. Probably so I couldn´t tell you." He said with total calmness.

"We´re here." He said then. And before them a wall of energy divided the caves from a metal corridor into the depth of the Asteroid. "Explosives who can break the energy seal? Anyone?" He said and looked around.

Glave smirked and took the Class-B Detonator from his belt. He looked at U´tek and waited for permission. "They are not in there." Glave said. And Vexedo coughed. "Yes, Imperial. They are." Vexedo replied. And his grip on his own rifle tightened.

Tag: sprintabm

 

U'tek
The Hive

The continued argument between Glave and Vexedo didn't sit well with U'tek, especially after he noticed Vexedo tightening his grip on his own rifle. Was it going to come down to this? With the history that was just given, U'tek started to wonder if Vexedo wasn't that concerned about their objective or overall mission. Maybe the Vulture wanted him to settle the personal vendetta with this Hooole character, but that didn't make much sense. Wouldn't the Vulture want to do it, personally?

U'tek now put more focus on Vexedo and Glave, his rifle still in his shoulder but only pointing at the ground - for the moment.

"What makes you think they're not in there, Glave?"

TAG: fin

 

IC: Glave
The Hive, Hell

Glave did not take his eyes from Vexedo as he spoke. "A feeling." He did just reply. And stared at the Clone. Vexedo stared back. "And what´s your feeling based on?" He demanded. "I know you had basic training in this, Colonel. But in here, you cannot trust the senses the Sith have made you use. Actually you can trust very little the Sith give you." Vexedo said. Glave smirked.

"So we got an Imperial and a Criminal asking for our trust." Talia suddenly said. And looked to Vexedo. Then to U´tek. "And you got trust issues with me. If that´s your advising council, I think that´s knda weird." She sighed. "WHERE IS TENK!" She yelled then at the two men.

Vexedo turned his head to her and said with utter calmness. "In there."

Glave did not leave the Clone with his eyes. "No, he is not." He said and his own hands relaxed around his blaster. Which could be a sign for his deadly intent as clear as the tighter grip of the Falleen.

"Okay, can anybody please decide where to go? I think they get impatient with us." Vero-Romar pointed into the dark. And indeed the creature moved faster, more intense there . . .

Tag: sprintabm

 

U'tek
The Hive

The cathar let out a low growl, a sign of his frustration at the matter. Bugs were everywhere, Talia was going off with her yap as usual, and an Imp and a criminal were ready to kill each other.

U'tek knew what Glave meant by just having a feeling. He's had just a feeling on a few missions and went on them with mixed success. He also remembered that Glave was with the Sith back on the first complex weeks before, and that knowledge might be fueling part of Glave's feeling. Following Vexedo's advice didn't seem harmful, though, unless he had some underlying mischevious motive.

Kriff it all.

"Glave, I know where you're coming from. If you're basing this off of familiarity between asteroid complex designs then tell me now. Otherwise, any choice is equally good, so blast the energy field."

fin

 

Glave
In Hell . . .


"No. I know it. I . . . " He looked away from Vexedo for a second. Not a mistake, but a calculated provocation. Vexedo did not take the bait. " . . . it is a . . ." Glave looked at Talia. Then at the bugs. Biting his teeth together he sighed. "Sith Training. I received Sith Training. I can feel Tenk Qatar." He ended his sentence and looked at Talia.

"You were among them, were you?" She spitted out. "You are a Jedi Hunter!" She screamed and her own sidearm seemed to jump into her hand, so fast she drew it. The Xenly began to whisper in the dark, awaiting the end of the situation with utter anticipation.

Vexedo smiled and prepared. The only thing Glave could do was nod. And meet Talia´s eyes. Directly.

He knew he would have to pay eventually. It had been him tracking down the Qatar´s for Darth Regentis.

Tag: sprintabm

 

U'tek
The Hive

Oh. No.

Talia's screaming accusations at Glave only made U'tek's eyes go wide and his body tense up, finding himself instinctively raising his rifle close to eye level.

Then everything happened so fast. He saw in the corner of his eye Talia drawing her blaster. He saw Vexedo in front of him smiling. Glave just stood there.

It was immediately obvious to U'tek who was working with him and who needed to die.

As quickly and efficiently as he could with every ounce of energy and dexterity going into his efforts, U'tek sidestepped towards Talia and threw his elbow at her, keeping his arms and rifle still about eye level. The attempt was to disrupt her aim. As his elbow settled back into position, he leveled his rifle at his target and pulled the trigger at his target: Vexedo.

fin

 

Glave
In Hell . . .

Music - And it begins . . .

U´tek rammed his elbow into Talia, just as Glave raised his gun to defend himself. Vexedo, in a simple move of deadly elegance raised his own rifle and pulled the trigger, just as U´teks shot hit him. Kaya screamed something through her breathing mask and Talia looked around, as she landed on the floor.

She never saw Glave sparing her, as the former Jedi Hunter passed the chance to pull the trigger. Then even he saw what everybody was screaming about and as he turned to Vexedo, the clone collapsed to his knees and then to the ground.

"We´re in trouble." Talia hissed beneath U´tek. And he saw why she looked so afraid. Instead of Glave or U´tek the Falleen clone had shot Kelson Vero-Romar. The man dropped to his knees and coughed out his agony. "It burns." He said, as his breast showed a burning hole right through his lungs. "Can´t breath."

Kaya caught him, before he hit the floor and on all four Talia crawled to him. Glave looked around and a few thousand insects began to hammer their stings against the walls. A thundering noise filled the cave that could be heard everywhere in the asteroid. Xenly prepared for war.

"Dammit." Glave only spitted. And looked at U´tek. "Orders?" He yelled, trying to get through the thundering sound of the dark awakening of Xenly.

Tag: sprintabm

 

IC: Tenk Qatar
Inside Asteroid Alpha, Hive

"We have a weapon."

If only Tenk still had his eyes. Unfortunately, it was only his closed lids - he really needed a blindfold or something - that focused on Si as the young man explained his idea.

Honestly, it made Tenk uneasy, the idea of bonding with Xenly. Pergitor, and even before then on the Ascendancy, at how powerful Xenly truly was. Some may think of him as a monster, creatures that only used the Force out of reflex, with no real control, but after Pergitor Tenk knew better. Powerful and dangerous, Xenly could possibly use the bond to take over and perform something like what had occurred on Pergitor. Even if his and Xenly's goals were the same...it was risky bond.

But I can do it, Tenk thought to himself. It wasn't arrogance that went behind the thought but rather experience. He knew the dangers of losing control, of letting emotions control him. He got that lesson clear enough on Bakura, and was reminded of it again on Pergitor. If such a bond like the one Si was suggesting required such control, he could do it. For Talia, Si, and everyone else, he could do it.

However...

"Xenly's not a weapon," Tenk corrected Si. To think of Xenly only as a weapon, a tool that could give them the edge, was to be thinking like Hoole. And that, while subtle, was a kind of reasoning that could cause him to drift back to his other self. The other self that he had spent so many years after the war to expunge or at least suppress.

Looking to the darkness to where he believed Xenly was watching - but then again, Xenly was everywhere; it was his domain after all - Tenk stretched out a hand, as if trying to mimic the offering that he now presented Xenly through his thoughts. He reached out just as his hand did, but held back from trying to make a direct link.

"If he wants to be, he can be a friend," Tenk explained. Then to the darkness, "I ask for your help Xenly, so that I may help you."

He would ask, not take. For this, he was going to let Xenly choose.

TAG: DarkLordoftheFins, Sinrebirth

-----

IC: Selpha Nephrite
Team Alpha, The Center

Taking too long.

Selpha was impatient, and angry. She knew that, knew the dangers of being so and making decisions in such a mindset, but she was impatient. She wanted to find who was responsible for what was happening at Mandalore. She wanted to kill them. Slowly. She wanted revenge, death, and at least one Black Lancer was in the way of that bloody goal.

As Selpha's wrist blade unsheathed, she figured that the next action she was about to take was partly from impatience but partly for the mission as well. The team that she was with was supposed to go in quick and silent. Well, silence sure went out the window but they still had to move quick. Being pinned down by one Lancer right at the front door that they just made, that wasn't being quick.

So, with a quick word of, "I'm going in!" towards Tahnan and Lorj, Selpha ignited her jetpack. With her Iviin in a tight grip, Selpha rocketed forward and up, to get around that Fury-class fighter and hit that Lancer and whatever buddies he may still have with gunfire or up close and personal with her wrist blade. She made sure to watch out for that starfighter of course; if the shields were on then that meant a pilot was probably in there. Fortunately, unless there were some modifications that she could spot, the Fury only had a single laser cannon and it would be easy for the Mandalorian woman to keep out of it's line of fire and do what she had to do.

TAG: DarkLordoftheFins, blubeast

 

U'tek
in a place that mildly resembles what some would call "hell"

U'tek for a moment glared at the body of the clone. The scum. He was on a suicide mission. Now he couldn't trust this path that he was leading them on at all.

He slung his rifle across his back and stooped down with Talia and Kaya over Vero-Romar.

"Kaya, quick, get something on that wound! I'll carry him out!"

He turned to Glave.

"Quick first aid here, then we're running back to that intersection and you let your sense guide us from there to Jedi Qatar, got it? If our good luck charm here's gonna stop working, it's not gonna happen here!"

He quickly turned back and focused on Vero-Romar, placing his hands on his shoulder and face. He spoke to him as reassuringly as he could in such a dire situation.

"Vero-Romar! Kelson! Stay with us, alright? You're not gonna die! Listen, those bugs, they never got you, and they won't get you because you're strong in the Force. You have a relative here! Did anyone tell you that? Her name is Kira Romar, and she's a Jedi. She's very strong in the Force and you've shown that you got it in you, too. So you're not gonna give up! You're gonna stay alive with us!"

"Kaya," he said to their medic, "once it's good I'll pick him up and we're running!"

"And Talia, I order you to not shoot anything except the bugs!"

TAG: Fin

 

Shaper Laaxtiin Kiar
The Cell, inside the Asteroid

As the electical discharge traveled up his amphistaff, he had a brief and fleeting vision of the ambomination of the Siath doing what his amphistaff had done. A strong vision, but the results were what they were, and the words slowly sunk in as he turned with amphistaff raised to look upon the revealed...all hate left with that look as sadness stole his heart.

The gataq was turning unbidden by his hands, unbidden Eloa Lan of Xenly, but bidden by a traitor that he did not even suspect...the beatle had turned and revealed one that would have been trained from his creche by a devout of Yun-Harla. One who was also fodderly insane.

Whether it was just the one who gave him his mission in life or if it was a hereditary trait, well that one he would leave to the priests and whoever disected Qat's brain...if it was still around when this was all done. That would be a job he with some pleasure and interest read the summery off, but a task he would not want...no he would just prepare the body.

Reaching his empty shaper's hand he took his amphistaff in a two handed grip watching as Qat unleashed an amphistaff that...well..."To much amphistaff..." he sighed.

His lower three fingers of his shapers hand latched onto the highest clawed finger of his worriors hand, popping the knuckle, feeling the toxin release in his own blood stream that had been contained there. Then taking a deep breath he moved forward swinging his amphistaff in and down from the right at his foe one handed, as his shaper hand pulled out the yorrik corral lightsaber from behind his whipsting and ignited it as it roseup and in from the left. Creating a scissor maneuver with Qat in the middle, though the goal may appear the death of Qat, it was not.

The death of Qat in this manner would have merely been a bonus, no his goal was much more devious, for it was to merely lock his foe if but a moment. With both sides weapons unmoving and their bodies close to one another, and then...

Then he would release the Bo'tous in a mighty breath condeming his foe Qat to death, for he had no delusions that he could risk his life in such a battle with so much left to do merely to hold his honor and duty to not only Romar...

But to the gods as well.

For this was one god, that would not leave the birthing chamber, even if it meant he never would as well.

TAG: RachelTyrell