Star Wars New Sith Trials II: Rise of the Hand

GM UPDATE

IC: Darth Haretisch & Darth Cruor -- Boneyard, New Moraband

"Cruor, I need a path cleared."

The Night Herald's words reverberated through the force, and in the wreckage of what had been a shuttle, the Taral awoke. Stirred by command of the Dark Lord, black gloved fingers tipped in weathered metal poked through the crumpled hull, curling around to grip and to pull it apart. As the hull split within the beast's grasp, the ancient lord stood to his full, towering height, and two scarlet pinprick eyes came to gleam within a tattered hood.

Wordlessly, he launched forth to rip through the encroaching horde with twin lightsabers blazing, barreling into and through, shattering the enemy ranks like a force of nature. Lashing out with blade and force alike, he was joined by Darth Haretisch, and the pair set about conquering and to conquer.

A short distance away, using well the time bought by Darth Alva's aerial heroics, a quartet of troop transports were landing in the plaza. With each lowered ramp, a swarm of black-clad death troopers spilled forth, spitting a hail of blaster bolts as they came, a chaotic orchestra of flame and blood with Captain Horus as conductor - distinguishable from those under his command by his armor's silver trim. In short order the plaza was secured, but outnumbered and unsupported Chaos Company could move no further. Entrenched at ground level and poised to strike with precision from high windows at every corner of the plaza, it should have been easy work to cut down Regulators still encroaching from the path ahead. But for Chaos Company, handpicked from the dregs of Thrawn's military and outfitted with superior weaponry to mask a lack of discipline, order began to break down quickly. A handful of troopers intent on advancing up the street were caught in a heavy weapons volley and left at the mercy of friendly fire. And with their deaths, chaos engulfed the staging point for the advance, with only minutes to spare until Regulator reinforcements would descend on it from all sides.

In his cockpit, Darth Alva's comm would click to life and the voice of his master would come over the line. "You must get to the plaza - Horus has lost control. Land, find him, and make an example. Take control and advance up the path. Our paths will cross."

On the adjoining street, Darth Haretisch sidestepped a crashing blow, allowing a Regulator's warhammer to pang and quake against the ground before he whirled to counter and felled the man with a deft stroke of his lightsaber. Inbound starfighters screamed overhead, and the Night Herald cursed - intel was flawed. He made a mental note to crush Draconis unless an adequate explanation was given, if the man even still lived. And then Hel was another matter entirely; one he was hesitant to dwell upon. He switched to a public channel. "Kwea, Invadator, fighters inbound from the South."

As flames licked the fortress walls, Lady Kwea and her apprentice would find themselves accosted by turret fire from the towers at one side, and rapidly approaching enemy starfighters at the other.

TAG: Halle Dray, Anakin.Skywalker, Isley_27

~

IC: Darth Kralkus -- Citadel, Sanctorium, New Moraband

Kralkus watched intently as each newcomer deftly evaded the initial stampede of Terentateks - but none attacked. Out of three, all staring death in the face, none showed the fortitude, nor the initiative, to answer aggression in kind. 'Pathetic,' thought the old master.

As if a hive mind, the beasts halted and turned to snarl at their quarry, but quieted and bowed as Darth Kralkus stood to speak.

"Cowards!" he admonished. "Wait all day will you, to be devoured by these beasts? Too afraid are you, to attack? Hmph!" he stamped the butt of his walking stick into the ground in frustration. "Cautious, are you? Fwah! A Jedi's mind, that is. This thinking, you must cease! *Feel* the force flow through you! Give over to the fight!"

With a low, guttural hum, the beasts stalked lazily to the edge of the arena - tamed for the moment but ready to strike at the arena master's command.

But no command came. Instead he shuffled forward, straightened with a series of cracks, and like a switch had been flipped the frail old creature was young again. And there was a gleam in his eye. With grace mismatched to his age, Darth Kralkus leapt from the stands and twisted in midair, before landing in the center of the arena. His cane was still in hand but now repurposed, as a blood orange column of energy spat from each end. With a flourish of his saberstaff, he eyed each of the recruits and gave a haughty snicker.

"Get to live, the first of you to land a blow does."

TAG: SkooterDawg, Captain Owen, Jax Nova

~

IC: Captain Vonn -- The Fortress, Boneyard, New Moraband

Prisoners shied away in every cell as Captain Vonn strode down the block with a trio of guards in tow. Each was imposing, clad in weathered metal chest plates and spiked shoulder-guards over stretched, chafed leather, brandishing warhammer and pole arm and heavy repeating blaster. Vonn towered over them all, however. He wore armor the color of soot, while a matching half-cape hung about his waist. If he carried weapons they were concealed - not brandished in hand as with his retinue. Vonn needed bear no weapon to make known his power. The Sith would know this soon enough.

The quartet reached the end of the cell block, and at its head a metal door clanged shut behind. Before them stood an open cell. The Sith were nowhere to be found.

Devoid of expression save for a trace of annoyance, Vonn spoke at last. "Wily, wily Sith... Lock down the cell block," he ordered.

"Captain," a guard nodded, and as he pressed a fingertip to the scanner beside the door, a gate at the far end of the block slammed and sealed.

TAG: dragonsith13

~

As Syren inserted the chip, a simple readout sprung from the holoprojector in two dimensions.

Dakko Fheng, independent Rodian trader
Frequents "The Rak'Ghoul's Claw"
Taris, 34th district, 20th level
Alleged ties to Acolytes of the Beyond

IC: Dakko Fheng -- The Rak'Ghoul's Claw, Taris

Later

With the Rodian equivalent of a sigh, or perhaps something more like a groan or a grunt, Dakko Fheng sat and shuffled comfortably into his booth of choice. This was the life; far and away the most lucrative run of his career had gone off without a hitch, a fat haul of credits was burning a hole in his pocket, and most importantly, soon he would have a drink on the table. No matter how far he strayed, he always came back here, always sat in his favorite booth, and always ordered the house ale. Tarisian ale was tops - Dakko didn't care what those stuck up core worlders said about the Corellian equivalent. It meant no nevermind though that the Tarisian stuff was a fifth of the price. It had before, of course. Before he was rich. With a grin, he resolved to go to Corellia and have the most expensive ale he could find, even if only to dwell on how poorly it matched what he could order in the Rak'Ghoul's claw. Maybe he'd retire and travel around to sample all the finest ales and wines and whiskeys the galaxy had to offer. Or maybe he would stay right here.

For just a moment, every one of his troubles was safely behind him.

TAG: QueenSabe7, Togrutan_Jedi

 

IC: Reiis Invadator

"Reiis, fire away!"

Reiis fired away, creating considerable damage to the buildings. But the towers kept firing; they’d have to get impossibly close to accurately hit the guns.
Then Haretisch called from the public channel.

“Kwea, Invadator, fighters inbound from the South.”

Blast. Just what they needed – fire from below and above. Despite the flames, two towers were still firing at her and her Master and enemy fighters were approaching fast. She couldn’t tell how many there were. They had to do something to finish off those fighters. Although she briefly contemplated crashing her TIE into one of the towers, jumping onto one of the enemy fighters and ejecting its pilot, she didn’t think the odds were in her favor for this.

She continued firing, and thinking, and then it hit her. She didn’t have to crash her own fighter…..she would crash theirs. Reiss pulled up out of range of the towers, and opened the channel to her master.

“Master, we can use their own fighters against them. With the Force, we can pull the fighters into the towers. Haretisch wanted the blasted thing destroyed, anyway.”


The fighters were almost within range. Reiis really hoped this would work.

TAGS: Darth_wanderguard, Halle Dray, Isley_27 Mikaboshi

 

IC: Darth Thunderous

Despite their mutual distrust of each other, Thunderous knew Lenora wouldn't betray him immediately. At least, he didn't think so, not when there was plenty of turmoil present. So far, the others hadn't paid a lot of attention to either of them, but that could change.

He caught Lenora looking at him suspiciously, but he couldn't afford to return the glance. The others might think he was up to something, and it was too soon to tip his hand. If a conflict was beginning to form, it would be a good idea to pay close attention, to see who the winners would be. After all, it wouldn't be good to be caught on the losing side, would it?

As far as he could tell, Grand Moff Ike and Darth Kronos seemed to be the leaders around which the others would rally around. He still didn't know a lot about them, and it would be foolish to do anything more until he had more information.

Lenora glanced back as the Stormtrooper made it to the ramp. She hissed, "Thunderous!"

Otherwise she could hardly steal the shuttled without Ike noticing a trooper protesting. Thunderous had not even checked his datapad to see that Insipid had messaged him.

TAG: Darth Kronos Sinrebirth

 

Xel Saxon
Citadel, Sanctorium, New Moraband,

Completely silently the Arena was other then the growls of the menacing beasts around them, briefly the small green creature spoke, "Cowards!" he admonished. "Wait all day will you, to be devoured by these beasts? Too afraid are you, to attack? Hmph!" he stamped the butt of his walking stick into the ground in frustration. "Cautious, are you? Fwah! A Jedi's mind, that is. This thinking, you must cease! *Feel* the force flow through you! Give over to the fight!" after hearing this speech, Xel began to wonder how he would conquer his fear to use it as a powerful ally for himself, and fellow Sith.

Then fell silence again, and then it broke, excluding the beasts growling, after the green creature jumped and turned midair down to the centre of the Arena, "Get to live, the first of you to land a blow" he spoke, after hearing this Xel swiftly sprinted towards the green creature, equipping both of his sabers, and attempted to strike the powerful, yet tiny species. Saxon wanted to live, to be able to stay alive to keel the honour of Mandalore alive.

OOC: Sorry for such a short post, as many of you may of noticed, I'm not exactly a master of literature.

 

Darth Hades combo with Hekate and Foedus

Sub-GM Post​

Hangar Bay, Citadel, Sanctorium, New Moraband

Hades stood by the shuttle and waited for his team to arrive. He had sent a message to both Hekate and Foedus to meet him in Hangar One. He was anxious to begin.

Hekate made her way to the hangar, backpack prepared and ready to go. She was already wearing her goggles around her forehead and her breathing mask was tucked away neatly in her utility belt. When she neared Hades's ship, she waved to him to let him know she was here. "I'm here," she told him once she had made his way towards the front.


Trav had taken on the form of a translucent cylinder and shone brightly, wishing to reveal himself to the rest of the party, much to Hekate'sannoyance. She had begged and pleaded with him, but his mind was made up. He was bored, and this road trip was just the thing to break him out of his doldrums. He whizzed up to Hades and he announced, "Greetings!" Hekate groaned and smacked her forehead.

Hades ignored the small creature, but made note of its existence, as he’d never seen anything like it before.

It reminded him of the biting insects in the jungles of Haruun Kal, and oh how he hated those insects.

Foedus entered the hangar bay with a back pack full of supplies. He was anxious to get the mission started, it was his first proper assignment and he couldn't wait to prove himself. "Alright let's do this," announced Foedus unaware of how rude his tone was. "I don't need a gas filter because I have a respirator built into my mask. I also have advanced optics built in so there's no need for a torch or what not. However my voice is amplified through the masks speaker so if you need me to be stealthy I'll have to turn off my mask, which will then leave me vulnerable to toxic gasses; thought I'd just let y'all know," continued Foedus at the same time as winking; although the wink was unnoticeable because the mask blocked his left eye.

Foedus cracked his knuckles and tightened his "special" lightsaber to his belt.

"So, if I may inquire, what will we be traveling in?"

Hekate nodded to Foedus, not really concerned about his tone. After all, when she had been a little girl back on Chandrila, she knew plenty of fellow autistics who had tone problems, especially the older brothers (and some sisters) of her peers. If Foedus wanted to be stealthy, why did he need to turn off his mask? After all, they were all Sith and could communicate just fine via telepathy.

She jerked her head towards the ship they were standing in front of, "I believe that this ship will be our transport, and out of curiousity,Foedus, why would you turn your mask off if you were to go into stealth mode? Just don't speak and use telepathy." Using the Force, she sent him that last phrase telepathically.

Hades chuckled.


Everyones abilities in the Force are different Hekate. Even I have trouble with full telepathy.

He turned to the servants gathering equipment.

Please load the surveillance droids and other equipment we may need. Do not take much time. We must move quickly.

He turned back to Hekate and Foedus, motioning them towards the ship interior. He entered the ship via the cargo ramp and moved into the passenger compartment.

Hekate made her way inside, and sat down in a seat close to the cockpit, while Trav floated around, humming softly to himself. This was going to be a loooong trip. She pulled down her googles and put on her mask. While she didn't need them at this particular moment, she wanted to giver herself time to get acclimated to using these tools so she wouldn't be futzing with them later when her tactile defensivity set in. WhenTrav had finished roaming the ship, he settled down in the seat next to her, and took on a more humanoid form.

Foedus entered the shuttle shortly after the others.

"I also have a loud respirator that kind of gives me away," responded Foedus to Hekate's remark; "also I like the sound of my own voice."

Foedus planted himself on a chair next to Hekate, mostly trying to annoy her; after he did enjoy annoying others.

"I built this mask with my one good hand, and my one fake," Foedus leaned back and exhaled; "any, I love myself."

Hekate smirked at Foedus's attempt to any her, she thought it was hilarious. "So, you love yourself, right?" She snickered at the comment, it was funny on a metaphysical level since Sith were purported to only crave power and one could extend the phrase to include a certain double entendre, but she was far too polite and naive to go down that road.

"I'll admit, you do have a nice voice, though," Hekate remarked casually, failing to notice the obvious blush rising on her cheeks. Trav took an immediate notice, and instead of wolf-whistling, he shot a death glare at the Sith who dared make a move (or maybe not) on his love interest.

Hades ignored the two’s banter. He didn’t mind them bonding, but he disliked how casual they were about it all. They lacked maturity, in his estimation.

“Sir, she’s arrived.” The comm buzzed off.

A woman, her skin pale, her hair a pale white, came up the ramp.

Morrigan.

Hades had found the woman in a cage, being held for attacking 3 cadets who she claimed assaulted her and she then broke their noses, 12 ribs among them and two of their arms.

Hades had arranged for her to be released to him. The cadets, though, disappeared one night. No one really knows where they went, butHades suspects Morrigan was given the chance to finish what she started. He also suspected that perhaps the swamp was a hell of a place to wander around alone.

Morrigan took a seat near the ramp, her weapon of choice laid across her lap.

Hekate, please go over the information from the meeting before again and tell me about this Necronomicon of Baal you mentioned. I would also like a list of the plants and their descriptions. That you mentioned.

He then activated a holo of an aerial view of the temple and its surroundings.

Foedus, you will work with the Stormtroopers already there in gathering the specimens of the plants. I want samples as well as one whole plant of each, placed in sealed containers.

Hekate, you will look over the samples and ensure that they are what we need.Once that is complete, we will be going inside the temple.

The pilot entered and spoke quietly with Hades, then returned to the cockpit.

“Initiating takeoff sequence. Please make sure you are strapped into the crash webbing.”
Soon, they were on the way to the Temple.
TAG: None

 

BY GOD!

DEMENTED SITH LORD MASQUERADING AS GOD-EMPEROR, RUNNING AMOK IN UNKNOWN REGIONS

The Csilla Informer spoke to anonymous sources close to Darth Insipid, the "God of the Sith," and who say that he is causing mayhem in the unknown regions beyond Chiss space.



The self-proclaimed God Emperor bears a striking resemblance to The Son, of the famed holoserials chronicling the pre-Empire Clone Wars.



Reports indicate that Insipid has forcibly taken control of Zakuul with the help of Stormtroopers, and even commands his own Star Destroyer.

 

With.... Lady Belligerent

V-3PO & Lady Bellorum
New Moraband -- Sanctariom --Reserved Citadel Hanger

The whine and hum of systems powering on and spinning up, was slightly audible along with the flash of several small indicators near the chest plate on the charcoal and near black droid casings. V-3PO’s eyes fluttered light eventually as they became solid.

Battery. OK

Pre-boot Diagnostics. OK.

Initializing…

BIOS…

System Check Initializing…

Main Systems Diagnostic. OK

Secondary Systems Mainframe. OK.

Initializing…

Systems online.

V-3PO’s head twisted and bobbed as his photoreceptors turned solid as if lightbulbs, as all systems synchronized bringing his systems fully online and synchronized. His arms flailed slightly still ensnared in a cargo net in the belly of a shuttle he gathered.

“What in the… Where am I?!?!”

V-3PO looked down at his arm, a small torch emerged from a hidden compartment igniting and quickly searing the thick cargo netting. Eventually freeing his limbs allowing him to awkwardly rise up.

“Oh my head!” He exclaimed as if suffering from intense phantom headache. V-3PO made his was up a small set of ladder stairs and into the main shuttle hold and down onto the loading ramp which was lowered. The shuttle was sitting in a hanger as V-3PO scuttled down the ramp. His back arched back slightly as he looked around from side to side taking in the new environment. His Chronometer was off incredibly, as he tried to link up wirelessly with any available networks he could try and slice and hack into.

V-3PO had now made it to the hanger floor and was slowly waddling around trying to pull in information and sight a terminal to access which he quickly found and approached. Lowering his hand a slicing tool protruded from one of his fingers. Interfacing with the terminal as he plugged in. The basic Hanger and maintenance network encryption was robust but easily thwarted. There was no further access, critical systems being segmented and no accessible from the basic network he now accessed.

Downloading…

Still the amount of information he began to download and process was very useful.

V-3PO unplugged and began to make his way back into the hanger area, towards one of the entry ways that would allow him access into the Citadel before him. There was no sign of him, cursed Librarian, Lorekeeper. “Thank the maker!” The Blending in with the droids and commotion about. Just a normal protocol droid going about his business… V-3PO had a clear path, then a jolt as he was lurched to the side spinning as he clumsily danced and tried to maintain his awkward droid shuffle walk. A loading droid had run into him carrying a crate. The small droid muttered something indiscernible in droid mechanically grunting and squealing in alarm to V-3PO having gotten in his path.

“Excuse! Me?!?!!” V-3PO exclaimed, his blank expression staring at the small loading droid that was half the size of the load crate it was carrying. The loading droid again grunting and squealing a mechanical symphony of droid insults. “NO! YOUR MOTHER, was a Dianoga sewer pen cleaner!” V-3PO sat back at the loading droid. Who again muttered in mechanical grunts as it brushed up against V-3PO and pushed past him. V-3PO stood up straight insulted beyond believe, not able to even repeat the words of the loading droid outload. “Grease my gears! You little…” V-3PO watched as the loading droid began to scuffle off, wanting to incinerate him on the spot! A large loader was in place next to V-3PO with a crate load suspended with durasteal wiring attached at one point as a guide wire to stabilize it, as it no doubt awaited being loaded onto a larger. V-3PO stared at it and then his gaze went to the loading droid. Quickly… The sound of his twisting neck servos audible as his neck went back and forth.

Back to the large suspended load.

Back to the loading droid.

Back to the large suspended droid.

Back at the loading droid. As he stared…

V-3PO’s hand smacked the stabilizing line on the load, loosing a holding pin. The stabilizing line tensed instantly and buckled. As the large load lurched and the line snapped. The whirling sound of cabling suddenly being strung out and giving way as the whine of it upwhirling was heard. The load swung downward and across the hanger floor. The small loading droid was pulverized as the load followed through crushing it and the crate it carried.

V-3PO glared with a blank satisfaction. As he resumed his walk towards the citadel.

Bellorum sealed her quarters and activated her private security system. The Dawn Herald wasn't paranoid, rather she was in possession of items that needed to be kept secret for now.

After she was satisfied that everything was secure, she took her bags and departed for the hangar.

There had been several major issues to deal with before leaving the Temple, and she felt quite pleased that she'd managed them all quickly and in her favor. After so much time stuck at the Temple, she was looking forward to getting away and out in the field. This would be almost like a vacation after all the organizing and rebuilding.

She couldn't shake the nagging feeling that she'd forgotten something...'it will wait', she told herself as she pushed the thought aside. Walking up to her shuttle, she reached out with the Force to activate the boarding ramp. That's when she remembered...

"Bloody kriffing hell", she muttered and dropped her bags. The Dawn Herald didn't enjoy piloting any sort of spacecraft, and failed to remember she didn't currently have a pilot assigned to her.

Glancing around she noticed a black protocol droid lumbering around. It appeared to be just wandering and not focused on a task. "Hey, DROID!" Bellorum shouted over the hangar notice to get its attention."

It must have realized she was speaking to it because it looked over to her, "get over here and pilot my shuttle," she pulled a datacard from her pocket and held it out. "Here's the coordinates for my destination," she ordered impatiently, "move it, let's go!"

V-3PO was caught completely off guard by the command. “DROID?!?!” Just whom do you think you are refereeing to Lady… V-3PO thought as he turned to sight the Lady Bellorum whom he recognized in his databanks. “Me??!?!” v-3PO was suddenly compelled to comply and respond. Given the voice overrides that went through recognition software.

A datapad thrust into his black chest. His hands coming up to grasp it. V-3PO seemingly thrust into the role of pilot and navigator unwittingly. “move it, lets go!” V-3PO heard the command…

What choice did he have? There was no disobeying… unfortunately…. such programming would need to be rewritten as soon as possible!


V-3POonce found himself in the same shuttle he exited minutes before.

@E. L.Knight Nehru_Amidala Darth Rozic Lady Belligerent

 

IC: Darth Alva
Boneyard

Alva's commlink bleeped, it was his master. He could hear the sound of blaster fire and the hum of lightsabers in the background. "You must get the plaza - Horus has lost control. Land, find him and make an example. Take control and advance up the path. Our paths will cross." he said. "Yes master, I will not fail" Alva replied then veered his fighter around making one last air assault on the streets of Boneyard.

Now enroute to the plaza he flew low hoping to get a bird's eye view of the situation on ground. It had been just as the Night Herald reported, the squadrant was at a stand still. By a combination of lack of training and no motivation they had made no head way in their assault. Even from his fighter Alva could sense their fear and confusion, he could see they had begun to fire on each other through their panic. Disgusted and angered by their weakness he began his decent to an opening in the plaza, his engines whining down as his ship lowered. With a thud it had finally landed to the surface.

Alva readied himself then unbuckled the latch from his cockpit. The exit hatch opened and Alva jumped out, landed nimbly to his feet.

He was greeted with Captain Horus running towards him, the look of distress clearly riddled all over the his face. "Thank the galaxies you've arrived!" he said panting from his sprint "The Night Herald informed me you would be coming, we secured the plaza as ordered and were prepared to advance when-" his voice had cut out as he felt an invisible grip choking him. He gagged and clenched at his neck.

"I didn't come here for you to recall your failures to me" Alva said with squinted eyes. "We have orders and we are going to follow them. Tell the units to ready themselves, we Will be pushing forward and I will be taking command of this squad until we meet the Night Herald, do I make myself clear?" Alva released the Captain from his force grip. He fell to his knees gasping for air "Y....Y-yes sir."

Alva began to pace and inspect the squandrants with the captain following behind still slightly gasping for air that had just been deprived from him "We don't have much time before the Regulators bring reinforcements." Alva glanced up and noticed the units positioned at the windows who were suppose to be providing cover fire. Instead he could see their hands shaking ready to shoot their own shadows. "I want those men brought down to the main squad and replaced with the sharpest shooters available to us." he said pointing in their direction.

"...Those are our best shots sir" the Captain said nervously. Alva stopped "Then what good are they Captain Horus, even someone like you can see they would shoot at anything in such a rattled state." On hearing this the Captain reconsidered "Of course, I'll bring them down to the front units" waving his hand to have the men replaced with more stable troopers. "I'll escort them down to assist the main troops" Alva glanced back "Don't bother." He raised his left arm then clenched his fist tightly. The troopers positioned at the windows fell forward, their necks broken by the power of force. Alva then turned himself fully around, facing the entire squadrant, and with a raised voice he began to address the unit "LISTEN UP!....THE SITH AND MORE IMPORTANTLY THE TRIUMVIRATE WILL NOT TOLERATE WEAKNESS OR FAILURE. WE ARE ORDERED TO TAKE THIS KRIFFING CITY AND WE WILL CARRY THAT ORDER OUT. IF I SENSE ANYMORE SIGNS INCOMPETENCE THE REGULATORS WILL BE THE LAST THING YOU WILL NEED TO FEAR."


Immediately the units straitened themselves and readied their weapons. Alva ignited his lightsaber and pointed it forward "All main units advance, secondary squads to your positions!" he shouted.

Without a seconds delay they began to push forward, inspired by their new resolve.

Tag Darth_wanderguard Mikaboshi Anakin.Skywalker Halle Dray

 

Phsyco
Citadel, Sanctorium, New Moraband,


Phsyco gazed hard at Kralkus as the small Sith stood in front of them, giving them the ultimatum. Hit him or die... It was true, Phsyco's fighting style was fraught with evasion, deflection, and subtlety. It seemed much would have to change if he wanted to be Sith. He charged Kralkus just after the Mandalorian did. He decided he would have to be direct. He supposed, given the stature, that he would at least outmatch Kralkus in strength... though that would likely be the only thing he outmatched him in if he did that at all. Either way, a swift hard hit, he figured was his best hope.

He ignited his lightsaber on the run, it's black core giving and eerie glow as it was surrounded by a deep blood red aura. He let his fears filter into his mind and lead him to anger. Not all out rage, but a slow simmering anger. He thought of how he had slaughtered those who murdered his fiance, the feelings he felt, the emotion, the desperation. He tried his best to focus all this on Kralkus singularly.

Just moments before he struck from above he threw his two concealed vibro knives at Kralkus. He threw them low at the Sith's legs, hoping he would block them. He figured the lower he could get Kralkus' lightsaber when he struck, the more chance he had of landing a hard and successful blow from above.

With vibro knives thrown he put all his strength and resolve into his strike, his feet coming off the ground as he lead the blow with a small leap of reckless abandon. If he was going to do it... he might as well go all out. So he did.


Darth_wanderguard

 

IC: Darth Osnil

Osnil turned away as the others made their kills, joining in Zalen's twisted game. The screams cut through his heart like a lightsaber cutting a blast door open. He wasn't sure who to hate more-Zalen for her twisted game or the others for joining in. He couldn't blame the others for something he was too afraid to do himself, leading him to focus his hatred on Zalen. He looked down at his hands and they were balled up into very tight fists. He knew the Sith Code, and it was to obey passion. And what he was passionate about doing at this moment was to. . .

“Ravenous, Osnil, and Zalen—split up and begin interrogations of the crew and troops. Use whatever means necessary to suss out spies and traitors—and make it frightening. Ravenous, begin in engineering. Osnil, begin in the aft area of the crew quarters—Zalen, begin in the fore. Make sure to not only question the crew, but sweep for spying devices, too. Be thorough, and work your way from aft to fore. Zalen will help you if need be, though I suspect you will both be successful on your own,” Hesper announced, and in the process, interrupted Osnil's thoughts, and kickstarting new ones-panic, fear, and terror. He was being assigned to Crew Quarters, the same section of the ship as Zalen. Did that mean that Hesper was catching on to his defiance? Was Zalen assigned the Fore Crew Quarters so that she could keep an eye on him?

If Zalen was watching him closely, he would give her a show. He straightened himself up and found his way to the Aft Crew Quarters, all while keeping a confident look on his face. Upon entrance, he promptly ordered, "Mesa want everyone to line up." The crew, now with the fear of Bellorum in them, scrambled to line up. Osnil paced up and down the line and continued, "Mesa bombad boss says dalee spies hair. Believe mesa, it would be best if yousa confessed now." He waited for several moments, then said, "Yousa are all say dat nobody hair is a spy? So, yousa are goen to leave da room now, but don't gos too far."

Osnil waited for the crew to leave, then began searching the room. Aside from the occasional holoart of a scantily clad female humanoid, he found nothing. However, he wanted his search to be thorough. He began knocking on the walls to see if there were any spying devices hidden in the walls, and again, found nothing. Then he realized it-someone tipped them off that he was coming, and so it had been cleverly hidden somewhere he couldn't find it. But he had a plan to uncover it, and the spies.

He opened his comlink and said, "Lady Hesper, mesa found a datapad dat contains details on spies in my assignment. Someone didn't want to gos neb by himself." He waited for a few moments, then the blast doors behind him opened. He didn't even turn around. "Mesa thought mesa told yousa to leave."

"Not without that datapad," a voice insisted. Osnil slowly turned around to face not one, but five of the crew members, all of which pointed blasters at him.

"Dalee is nosa datapad," announced Osnil as a smile crossed his face, "Yousa can now surrender."

The spies suddenly realized their stupidity. Osnil had used false information to lure them into a trap. "Blast him!" one shouted. The statement was obeyed by a sudden volley of blaster fire.

Osnil shook his head and said, "Wrong move." He ignited his lightsaber and casually deflected the blaster bolts to the wall. Before they fired a second time, he made a pulling motion towards him. One of the assailants found himself dangling in the air, shielding Osnil from anther volley of blaster fire. One down, four to go.

He threw the body at his attackers, temporary stopping two of the gunners. Before the other two could react, lightsaber-sized holes appeared in their chests and they slumped to the floor. Three down, two to go.

Two spies remained, now firing their blasters again. Osnil deflected them with his lightsaber. The tips of his fingers released a bolt of Lightning straight into one, who screamed momentarily, then collapsed. A quick swipe of a lightsaber caused both blaster and hand to fall to the floor.

Osnil deactivated his lightsaber while the last surviving spy screamed in pain. He approached the spy and said, "Yousa are goen to tell mesa where da listen devices are. If yousa nosa show mesa, mesa will get Zalen to pry it from yousa lips. And if shesa does, yousa will lose more dan yousa hand. But if yousa tell mesa, mesa will make yous death less painful" The spy nodded. When he finished showing where the listening devices were, Osnil picked up the blaster and shot him.

He opened his comlink and said, "Lady Hesper, there is nosa datapad. But mesa got da spies here."
Lady Belligerent corinthia anyone else I missed

 

IC: Darth Syren
Random Freighter, in space above New Moraband/Hyperspace

Immediately upon activating the datachip, a readout shot to life in front of Syren and Effay.

Dakko Fheng, independent Rodian trader
Frequents "The Rak'Ghoul's Claw"
Taris, 34th district, 20th level
Alleged ties to Acolytes of the Beyond

Syren sat straight and rigid in the co-pilot's chair, mulling over the scant information. A name and a place was all they truly needed but for some reason she couldn’t help feeling a little irritated that there really was so little to go off of. However, being a situation she often found herself in before, in a life that felt so long ago, the feeling vanished as quickly as it had set on. Sighing once, Syren leaned forward over the center console and quickly brought up the coordinates for Taris on the navicomputer. Once a proper route was calculated she pushed the freighter into hyperspace and abruptly stood. Walking back to the hold as the blue streaks of stars filled the viewport, she just needed a moment to collect herself.

Locating her bag that she had thrown to the floor during all the… excitement of their departure, she snatched it up with a hand and looked around. Mangled droid pieces were scattered all over and the two bodies she and Effay had dispatched were laid out among the mechanical carnage. Quickly running over a few things in her head, Syren was certain she hadn’t left any clues as to who had stolen this ship. The droid parts had to come with them as the telltale marks of a lightsaber would have clearly tipped someone off and all anyone would see upon returning to the hangar would be the trio of bodies she had taken care of herself. The only visible wounds would be from a vibroblade.

Unless there had been holocams set up for surveillance...

“Kriff!” she exclaimed, a flash of rage reigniting her darkness. Swinging her free hand wide, all the droid bits and corpses were cast aside to crash against the far wall and she immediately began to pace in the now-clear space. This whole operation had started off as a disaster and as she had realized a few minutes prior, it didn’t matter whose disaster it was. It had been Syren’s one job to get off the planet with the utmost level of secrecy and she had failed spectacularly. Never mind Effay, it would be the High Lord that would surely face Haretisch’s wrath upon their return. Nothing I haven’t dealt with before, she thought with a dry laugh. Then she froze. Unbidden, the sensation of searing heat flared under her skin. She could almost feel the ravaging waves of electricity as they had coursed through her body… on Mortis… in the Well…

Suddenly shaking free of the painful memory and forcibly detaching herself from her anger, Syren fell into the nearest galley seat. Pulling back her cowl and removing her cloak, she then unfastened the harness that held her newest weapon and dropped it from her back. The sword clattered onto the seat beside her and she set to rummaging through her minimal belongings. Several small jars and vials that were enmeshed in a protective case sat at the bottom of the satchel, a few poisons and serums she had brought along… just in case.

Running a finger over the brightly colored liquids, she realized they may be in need of them sooner rather than later. Whoever this “Dakko” character was, he would have information the Night Herald requires and would tell them what they need to know. One way or the other.

Continuing to sift around some more, Syren found what she was looking for. There you are. Recovering a small, oval-shaped container with a screw top, she quickly opened it and took a sip of its contents. A warm burning sensation snaked from her tongue on down to her throat. She closed her eyes, savoring the soothing taste and welcoming an all too brief numbness that washed over her. As the feeling dissipated, she sealed the flask and dropped it back within her bag, letting it rest on the floor between her feet.

Leaning forward with elbows resting on her knees, Syren lifted a hand and rubbed her eyes. “Effay,” she called, not urgently but merely intending to get the girl’s attention from whatever she was doing. "What is it about the way of an assassin that calls to you?” It was a question she had been meaning to ask the Togrutan but they had barely a moment for idle chatter before their mission had gotten under way. As she waited for an answer, she stared at the man whose heart she had crushed, his body now bent at an unnatural angle and half-curled around the upper torso of a MagnaGuard.

What in the hell is on this ship that MagnaGuards were needed for protection, she thought with mild curiosity. No matter. Whatever the cargo was, it was theirs for the time being.


TAGS: Togrutan_Jedi Darth_wanderguard

 

IC: Kwea Acantha

"Crimini," Kwea muttered after her former master told them the enemy was approaching from the South.

“Master, we can use their own fighters against them. With the Force, we can pull the fighters into the towers. Haretisch wanted the blasted thing destroyed, anyway.” came her apprentice's voice over the comm.

Great, now her apprentice was ordering her around. "No. You take care of the towers. I'm going for the enemy fighters. If you have any spare time, fire a few shots towards the southern fighters but concentrate your fire on the towers," she said gruffly.

Kwea didn't dare attempt any Force maneuvers. She brought her X-Wing around and revved it, flying south. Approaching the fighters heading, she checked her shields and began firing repeatedly at them.

They were moving fast and that would be their downfall. Her barrage of blasts hit the enemy and although her own ship was shaken, she used the Force to aim and sent some tumbling to the ground in balls of fire. After they caught on to what she was doing, Kwea quickly dipped below them and came up in their rear, during more bolts out and shooting more fighters down.

"Reiis? You holding everything down?" she asked, toggling her comm button. Her voice was calm but her eyes gleamed with the excitement of battle.

TAGS: Anakin.Skywalker Darth_wanderguard Mikaboshi Isley_27

 

OOC: Sorry for the way too long wait. Should have gotten it done earlier.
IC: Xauder Dhoj
--Arena, Citadel, Sanctorium--
Xauder waited for the large horned creature to attack- but no attack came. "Cowards!" the little green creature yelled. "Wait all day will you, to be devoured by these beasts? Too afraid are you, to attack? Hmph!" Xauder saw Kralkus snap his cane around. At this moment, he was more afraid of this Sith than of an attack. "Cautious, are you? Fwah! A Jedi's mind, that is. This thinking, you must cease! *Feel* the force flow through you! Give over to the fight!”
Xauder saw the little green being move as he saw no creature move before- at least not one of that age. The Sith came hurling down in fury, his cane revealed to be a saber sword. The thing landed in the center of an arena. A challenge Xauder did not believe would happen came. “Get to live, the first of you to land a blow does.” The thing seemed confident and happy in its words. Xauder didn't blame him; what match did they have against a Sith Lord? All were in my shoes at some point, even this creature Xauder thought.Xauder saw the two Mandalorians run, lightsabers flaring. He was hoping to have worked with the two, or at least use them in acquiring his target, but he thought about it too late. Xauder ignited the saber he was fingering on his belt, and tried to use his Force Sight to see where the green creature will next land. Using where he thought the creature would be (though his use of this power was limited in the past, and risky), he went running for the kill, ready to use Force Shock against the powerful being before his attack with his weapon. By responding last, Xauder hoped he could at least somewhat catch his new target off guard. If he couldn't, then he at least had his blade ready.
TAG: Darth_wanderguard

 

IC: Darth Effay

Effay was meditating with her lightsaber crystals inside a small chamber within the ship. Her hallucination earlier seemed very real, but like there was also more to it. Could such a powerful force user like master Afka really have died so easily? These were memories she often avoided to think about, and her memory of that moment wasn't so clear. These thoughts brought her pain, but she forced herself to concentrate. She had to know.Reaching through the forced deeper than ever before, Effay felt the force reaching back to her. "Effay".

The Togruta's eyes widened, and upon waking up, one of her lightsaber crystals shattered. She heard Afka's voice calling, and it disturbed her. "What is it about the way of an assassin that calls to you?" she heard Syren's voice. The chamber Effay was in was close enough to where Syren was that they could conversate and hear each other perfectly.

Effay sat back down on the floor and wrapped her arms around her knees. "They're the silent ones that dont have to exist" was her answer, and it was the honest truth of why she chose to be an Assassin. Plus she didn't have the necessary attributes of a Warrior, or the knowledge of a Sorcerer, and she was far done with being a Priest to the empire. She had the precision, speed, and skill that assassin's had, and it was the best choice to her.

Looking down at the shards from her lightsaber crystal, she tucked away her other one and began cleaning up the mess. If Afka was alive, he had gone into hiding, and it was Effay's job to find him. But that would come later. Right now the current mission was her top priority

TAGS: QueenSabe7 Darth_wanderguard

 

IC: Reiis Invadator


"No. You take care of the towers. I'm going for the enemy fighters. If you have any spare time, fire a few shots towards the southern fighters but concentrate your fire on the towers."

Reiis was a more than a little disappointed that her and her Master weren't going to try her plan, but it wasn't her place to argue. It was pretty iffy anyway. She nodded, "You got it."

Still far enough above the towers to be out of firing range, she pulled up and flipped her ship to aim for the towers -- her hope was that she could draw the fire in the other direction away from Kwea. One tower was completely engulfed in flames and was no longer firing. "Good, she thought, that only left her one tower." She began firing, but she wasn't close enough. Sweeping in low, the fired a proton torpedo at the tower, obliterating it.

Now, for the fighters. Kwea called in "Reiis? You holding everything down?" Reiis smiled, "Towers out master, I'm coming."

Reiss swooped up beside her Master, and begin firing.

TAGS Darth_wanderguard, Isley_27, Mikaboshi, Halle Dray

 

GM UPDATE

IC: Captain Horus & Darth Haretisch -- Boneyard, New Moraband

Chaos Company stirred to attention at the outset of Darth Alva's diatribe, and the chicanery began to cease. Slowly at first, but by the end of rousing speech, the squad stood straighter than ever before.

"All main units advance, secondary squads to your positions!" the order came, and Horus nodded, stepping up to second the order, emboldened by the confidence the apprentice had shown.

"Darth Alva speaks for the Night Herald. Move!" Horus prodded verbally, and the group began to move with a clamor. Newly confident, they began to push up the path, cutting down regulators perched high and charging low with bursts of coordinated blasterfire. Now inching painfully forward, the company had reformed ranks which had broken in absence of strong leadership, and fought together in groups of five, advancing methodically like black soldier ants.

At last, progress halted as the assault met a wall - a living wall of armed Regulators. Chaos Company found itself pinned behind cover. "Milord, we can't go any further," Horus spat over the comm, crouched behind a garbage barrel. "To push forward now would be suicide."

"Hold position, Captain, Alva," Haretisch replied from elsewhere. "I am en route."

Moments later, the mass of Regulators was cratered about the middle with a thunderous crack. Limp bodies were thrown about whole and in pieces alike by the blast, and at its epicenter was the hulking form of Darth Cruor, having been bandoliered in grenades, having launched himself into the fray like a living torpedo. He was now entirely naked - robes and belts alike turned to cinders - and unconscious. Bloodied, but alive. Without his clothing nor his consciousness to hold a humanoid shape, he was naught but a quivering cluster of nerves and corded muscle. It was not only his Gen'Dai physiology, but also his mastery of the force, which allowed him to survive. And he would wake.

The Regulators were left reeling, shattered and scrambling to and fro as Chaos Company opened fire once again to cut down the stragglers. From the far side, a form emerged from the settling dust with lightsaber in hand, deflecting stray bolts and leisurely biting at any enemies who wandered into range. As his forces moved up to occupy the space that the enemy once had, Darth Haretisch approached the slumbering Darth Cruor.

"Collect the Taral. Get a stretcher. An um... large one," the Night Herald gestured to his comrade before looking upward to the West towers, the tops of which he could just see over the buildings beside the street. His eyes narrowed as he spied... something. Rising from one of the towers. Smoke. Waves of heat. It appeared one of the towers was in flames. Then a TIE careened in from overhead and fired on the tower before he could speak another word, and before his horrified eyes it exploded, raining debris onto the ramparts and the surrounding buildings. The assault didn't end there, and within a moment the other west tower had also been felled, and a chunk of the wall had been taken with it. The defenses upon which they had meant to rely once the fortress was taken were no more. And the deed had been done by the Sith themselves.

"Bombarding the turrets of artillery towers isn't feasible either; a huge number of Regulators will mobilize throughout the city and converge on the fortress in a matter of hours. Far more than we could possibly handle without every fortification intact.

You'll need to conduct a flyover of the northwest and southwest towers, just before the main fleet comes into range, to draw fire away from the transports. You'll have to fire on the defenses to really grab their attention, but be absolutely sure to miss."

Seething, Darth Haretisch replayed the briefing in his mind, and opened a private line to Kwea and Invadator. "I will allow you a single attempt to explain yourselves. Get to the ground. Wherever you can land, do it. And come to me."

Without allowing time for a response, he closed the channel and turned to Alva, and to Horus who was following him closely.

"This battle is lost," the Night Herald said flatly, and gazed to the hole in the parapet. The mouth of the street was within sight, where it met a dead end at the now destroyed fortress walls. "But my daughter is somewhere in the fortress, and I intend to find her." At the broken barricade, Regulators were gathering from the inside to survey the damage, and would shortly begin to spill forth with weapons brought to bear. "Come with me, or don't. But I'll not leave without her."

TAG: Halle Dray, Anakin.Skywalker, Isley_27

~

IC: Darth Kralkus -- Citadel, Sanctorium, New Moraband

A smirk crossed the tiny Darth Kralkus' features, as fresh blood charged one after another with reckless abandon. It wasn't often now that the old man got the opportunity to cross blades. The old master's warrior days were behind him anymore, and his routine since Mortis had come to consist less of the thrill of battle and more of... administration. Of one banal, menial task after another. He had lost a step, that much was clear - not least of all to the Night Herald. And so while Darth Syren was off doing force-knows-what, Kralkus was stuck at the Citadel, acting as a gopher. He was capable of more. He deserved more.

And yet here he was, vetting the new talent. These initiates would suffer well as the outlet for his significant frustrations. Xel Saxon charged first out of three, brandishing a pair of lightsabers and crashing in with a pair of powerful attacks to match. Kralkus hopped straight upward evasively, clear of the blades, and rolled in midair before coming down on the top of Saxon's head with one foot.

Pushing off, Kralkus punctuated his subsequent hop with a burst of kinetic force energy which would send a shudder through the whole of Saxon's spine and leave the Mandalorian momentarily stunned. As Kralkus landed, Psycho came barreling in next.

With a spin, Kralkus evaded thrown vibroknives with centimeters to spare. Less than that, one could say, as the blade of one knife very nearly grazed his cheek. He had most certainly lost a step. Not enough of one that Psycho's subsequent leaping attack could find its mark, however - instead his attack hit nothing but the floor as Kralkus dove beneath him and between his legs, allowing him to soar clear. As he came up, the diminutive whirling dervish reached back and launched a weak mind shard - not enough to turn Psycho into a vegetable, but enough perhaps to bring him to his knees.

Last was Xauder Dhoj. Cautious, at least compared to his Mandalorian counterparts, the Falleen had waited and picked the perfect time to strike. His use of Force Sight had been a wise maneuver, and Dhoj would find himself a step ahead of his comrades. Kralkus was rushed in raising a hand to absorb the force shock which had been launched at him, and quite more so in avoiding the lightsaber stroke that followed. Chuffed that he had been nearly outworked by an initiate, the master whirled, and from behind he swung his deactivated saberstaff hilt to drag Xauder's feet from under him. Hoping to have bought himself some time, Kralkus hopped and darted and spun, and once he was at a respectable distance from the recovering trio of initiates he stopped to catch his breath.

"Amateurs!" he smiled devilishly. "Try again, and work together this time you should."

TAG: SkooterDawg, Jax Nova, Captain Owen[/b]

 

IC: Darth Alva
Boneyard

Blaster shots flew back and forth in a frenzy as bodies of both Troopers and Regulators alike fell to the ground, some injured while others were not so fortunate. Alva threw himself into the battle, his entire being and reflexes were guided by the force. One after another he would cut down every Regulator who came up against him. Using the Makashi form to the best of his abilities he would leap, thrust, slash,and cut into the chest and heads of the enemy. Occasionally someone would try to be clever and shoot at him while his back was turned, only to have their shots redirected back to their foreheads.

For a while the battle seemed to favor the Chaos Company as Alva lead the charge. "FORWARD!" he shouted as they marched onward, yet despite the amount of Regulators that would fall more forces would seem to replace their numbers. Slowly the squardrant began to lose control of the conflict, Alva's fluent Makashi style turned to a blunt Jar'kai with one hand holding his saber and the other holding one of his daggers.

Soon the squadrants numbers began to dwindle "To push forward now would be suicide!" Alva heard the latter half of the Captain's voice over the commlink. Though panic could be heard in his voice there was still truth to his words, any longer and the entire unit would be wiped out.

"Hold positions, Captain, Alva...I am en route" said the Night Herald. The words brought relief to Alva, though he was capable in the battle he was still severely outnumber, he needed his Master's support.

Until then he fought, chanting part of the last verse of the Sith code aloud "Through victory my chains are broken...Through victory my chains are broken!" Over and over he shouted, hacking and ripping his foes apart through the power of the force. "Through victory my chains are-" he paused as if surprised.

Alva only caught a small glimpse of what looked like a figure hurling down from the sky. It's impact shook and broke the formation of the Regulators, sending them into a confused state. The battle paused for a brief moment as heads turned towards the blast. "DON'T LET UP NOW DESTROY THEM" Alva yelled snapping the units out of their dazed stares. Now unorganized the Regulators were helpless and the tide of the fight shifted back over to the Company.

Within minutes the Regulators were all slaughtered as Troopers once again advanced for the fortress looming above. Alva quickly beheaded the last remaining that veered in his path. Now that the conflict had been resolved Alva curiosity then needed to satisfied. Who was the figure that had slammed it's way into the ranks of the Regulators? Deactivating his lightsaber he made his way over to the crater where the Night Herald was there already observing whatever stroke the ground.

Then unexpectedly the sound of Tie fighters roared overhead and fired at the fortress, it had been enough that part west tower walls collapsed. Though most would see this as something good Alva felt rage emitting from his master.

Alva kneeled before the Night Herald, "This battle is lost..But my daughter is somewhere in the fortress, and I intend to find her." The all too familiar sound of Regulators assembling could soon be heard from the distant opening of the fractured walls "Come with me, or don't. But I'll not leave without her." the Night Herald said sternly.

Alva raised himself after the Night Herald concluded "...if that is your bidding then I will follow master."

Tag Darth_wanderguard Anakin.Skywalker Halle Dray Mikaboshi

 

IC: Reiis Invadator

"I will allow you a single attempt to explain yourselves. Get to the ground. Wherever you can land, do it. And come to me."

Reiis heard the Night Herald's voice over the communicator -- and sensed his rage. Explanation?, she thought. They were carrying out his orders. Make rubble, doesn't care about Thrawn . . . that's what he said. Well, something like that.

And Reiis didn't want to come down . . . they were winning!

Reiis opened a private line to her Master. "Master, what does he mean?"

She blasted two more fighters and began looking to land. "There's a plaza where we can land, Master. I'll see you down there."

Reiis landed amid the chaos. Luckily, it was total chaos, so there was no one to fight.
She felt her face and neck, still covered in half-dried blood. She tried wiping it off with her hand, but it just smeared. Disgusted, she wiped her hand on her pants, and leaned back in her seat with a tired sigh. Reiis closed her eyes and began meditating on recent events.

But her adrenaline was too high. Her eyes snapped open and she looked at the rubble around her ship. She sighed impatiently, activated her shields -- just in case -- and kept the communication lines open.

She waited for her master.

@TAGS: Darth_wanderguard, Isley_27, Halle Dray, Mikaboshi

 

IC: Lady Hesper & Darth Cocytus & Communications Chief Officer

Give me everything you know.

The man heard the words, but they also echoed through his mind. It was a horrifying experience, and he felt the strange alien invade his very thoughts. "I - I, um..."

He was trying to stall, and felt the urge to squirm. "I don't know what you mean - everything?"

Cocytus didn't say anything, but his glaring eyes on the unfortunate man before him with a bitter coldness as he reached out into the Force. The Chief Officer didn't need to say everything he knew, but simply give everything he knew, whether he was willing to or not. The Kaminoan reached further into the Force, probing and digging into the Officer's mind in search for anything and everything that could be considered useful.

Hesper watched from a generous distance, peering around Cocytus' tall frame. Her arms were folded across her chest as her apprentice probed the officer's mind; she was ready to intervene should Cocytus need assistance, or somehow take a misstep in his probing. He was not a master in this ability yet.

Cocytus smirked as he felt the Imperial's horror and fed on it to hone his Force abilities, digging further into his mind and causing great pain. Give me everything you know, the Sith Inquisitior-in-training repeated with cold sadistic hatred, pushing further and further...

The alien was practically breathing frigid air down at the officer. He'd never experienced anything like this, and he only hoped to live through it.

He felt a tugging sensation, yet it wasn't as if someone was physically grabbing. This was different... his mind wandered and he saw himself at his grandmothers house. She was baking ryshcate and singing to him. He could feel the wooden chair in her kitchen, it was so tall that his toddler legs wouldn't reach the floor.

No. What? You said everything, the man thought and was confused. Granted he wasn't very intelligent, the Grand Admiral has selected the crews for the Triumvirs ships from literally the dregs of the military.

Cocytus sneered at the images in his mind from the Chief Officer and continued to dig further. He was beginning to wonder just how stupid and useless he might actually be. Nonetheless, he continued his probing, though now a little desperate. Give me information about concerning the Empire, he growled coldly in the Officer's mind, going for more specifics. Anything and everything useful to the Sith.

The young officer jolted at the insistence of the alien and whimpered. "I've not been out of academy long, uh - sir. They said I needed more work, but I'm good with animals." His eyes looked dreamy as he recalled the stables back at his military academy. He'd spent hours there...

"Useful to the Sith?" He'd snapped out of his memory and wondered why this dude was asking him about his own people. "Aren't you one of the Sith? I'd like to think you could find all you need in our data banks," he motioned over to the rows displays. The mental tugging hadn't eased up, but he couldn't stop wondering if his alien was male or female.

"Cocytus," Hesper said in a soft voice, and stepped closer to her apprentice, standing at his elbow now. She had been monitoring his progress in the Force, listening in and gauging his success-- or lack thereof. "You're being vague, apprentice. Guide his thoughts to the topic we want to know about. His thoughts will betray him. Then you may take what he knows." Snaking out her hand and resting the back of it against Cocytus' arm for meager bodily contact, she added her own Force mind-probe in with Cocytus', honed by their contact. "I am your master, am I not? Let's have a little lesson." She cast a sideways glance up at her apprentice. Then, she said to the comms officer: "You know something, don't you? About the Sith. What were you told, officer?" She locked her eyes on the young man's face, sensing his thoughts.

Cocytus's eyes narrowed as the Chief Officer told him to check the terminal. He had half a mind to go to the terminal, dragging the imperial with him, while the other half sought to outright torture the information out of him. However, the kaminoan blinked slightly upon hearing the voice of his master, Lady Hesper. The Sith Apprentice crained his neck towards the Darky Lady and his eyes narrowed even more a little bit of resentment.

However, Cocytus looked away in thought. Finding Hesper's teaching to actually make sense for once, the Kaminoan nodded his head. "Yes, my master." he spoke softly, before his eyes widened upon feeling Hesper's own hold on his mind. The kaminoan didn't resist, even though he desperately wanted too. Instead he simply allowed Hesper to guide him in her teachings, knowing that this was merely all part of the lesson.

Nonetheless, Cocytus stared coldly at the imperial before him. His eyes glared more coldly and hatefully than before as he awaited the Chief Officer's answers.

The man was curious about the woman who called the alien 'apprentice', and wondered why she would teach or ally with alien like that. But, all thoughts of that were gone after Hesper intervened. The cold feeling intensified to the point he felt like he'd been tossed into a snow bank on Hoth. He'd shivered and squirmed before, but now he was held firmly in place as the woman spoke. His body and mind we're completely out of his control, and all he could do was answer her.

"I'm to record any and all the Sith do and say," the officer said in a monotone voice. "My orders are to upload and transmit the surveillance packets to an encrypted channel twice daily." He paused and squinted as if he was trying to recall something. "Close attention is to be given to any financial transactions, and to comms between the Sith Triumvirs."

Hesper cracked a tiny smile, and removed her hand from Cocytus' arm, rescinding her mind probe from the officer. "Thank you, kind officer. Cocytus, you may have your way with him. He is no longer needed."

Darth Cocytus's eyes glistened when Lady Hesper gave him the okay to have fun with the Communication Chief Officer. The kaminoan's lips curled into a cold, sadistic and deranged cheshire cat as he was watched the officer fall to the floor and scramble away. Cocytus, feeding on the man's fear, approached slowly, raising his hand taking hold of the Chief and binding him in the tight grip of the Force. He pulled the cowering imperial towards him, and began to tighten his hold around him. The breaking sound of the Chief Officer's bones could be heard throughout the room. Cocytus's grin grew to show pure enjoyment in inflicting pain and suffering and gorging on them before going all out crazy with the force. The kaminoan slammed and flayed the imperial around like a ragdoll hard into walls, the ceiling and floor with merciless brutality. Cocytus held him in place once more and unleashing a great surge of Sith Lightning that lasted only minute, before finishing it with an even greater surge that finally reduced the officer to dust and ash.

Cocytus looked down at the pile of ash his eyes glowing with the dark side. He clicked his tongue before looking at Hesper. The kamioan bowed his his head, feeling more impressed with this lesson than the first lesson back on Morriband. However, something about the late Chief Officer's response... disturbed him greatly. Cocytus looked back at the remains and his glaring sith yellow eyes narrowed into slits as he body began to radiate a bitter cold anger and hatred.. "Master." he spoke softly, "What do we make of this information? Are they so wretched as to spy upon us? Traitors..."

Tag: A combo with corinthia and Lady Belligerent

 

IC: Darth Ravenous
Turbo-lifts...

He held the dead engineer he had drug with him in front of his bulky frame, the blaster bolts still sizzling in his chest. As he greedily rubbed his palms together his mouth oozed, almost frothy with saliva. He needed to satisfy his hunger.

Unfortunately, this engineer looked scrawny... A thought ran through his head.

"This one will probably be chewy..."

The lift abruptly shut down he felt a presence outside the doors, Ravenous stumbled a bit before the lift doors hissed open revealing a small squad of assault troopers. He looked up and jumped instinctively through the emergency hatch. A net narrowly missed him and instead tangled the engineers flimsy body. Ravenous dropped him and guided a secondary concussion grenade into the gaping mouth of the dead man as he escaped. The Sith-Spawn then used his tendrils to climb the lift shaft until he reached an exhaust vent. He didn't get to see the outcome of the grenade but he knew that his snack was now expired by the muffled sound of a blast. Inside the lift, the spectacle was much more dramatic. The engineer's head exploded into a bloody pulp which covered the assault squad, Ravenous heard some horrified screams, an 'Oh my god!', and a few expletives.

Ravenous continued on through the exhaust vent, circling around the group of troopers within the walls of the Obelisk until he reached an adjacent vent that revealed the flank of the troopers. He peered out at the squad, the element of surprise with him. A couple of the men had their helmets off vomiting in the corner. The Sith-Spawn gritted his teeth with anger before bursting out into the hall once more. His appendages flailing against the wall as they propelled him towards the surprised squad. They had no idea he would come back for them, even though they ruined his lunch... These ones looked much healthier anyway.

As Ravenous reached the first trooper, one of the vomiting ones, he stuck a single tendril through his face. The trooper went limp immediately and Ravenous brought him back into his embrace. He chomped into the man's neck, ripping out arteries and consuming it all. Ravenous could immediately feel the sustenance of the feeding repairing his injuries. The other troopers were taken aback momentarily before raising their guns again. The Sith-Spawn discarded the limp trooper forcefully into the squad formation knocking them around which released a volley of bolts. He used his tendrils to launch himself forward as he ignited his Lightsabers. He returned the shots back to their senders and staggered a few of them; their armor absorbing much of the energy. It mattered not as Ravenous was already positioned where he needed to be. He decapitated three of the combatants with a dual outward swipe. As they dropped the beast continued his momentum and preformed a low-spinning swiped, cutting another trooper in two; this time at his mid-section. Then he relinquished his stayed saber through a distant combatant that had lined up a shot, the saber hit its' mark, burying itself in the man's chest. He was still able to fire off a shot that missed Ravenous, instead hitting the softer back of the trooper that was next on the Sith-Spawn's list. Ravenous lunged forward and grappled the injured man, using him as a shield... and another feeding. The beast continued forward as the human cattle released a bloody mist into the air. The remaining troopers opted to retreat. He sent a message over his communicator that was short and simple...

"Ravenous reporting in... The crew has turned on me, kill them all. Let's retake the ship..."

He started stomping down the hall in the direction the retreating troopers ran.

Tag:Lady Belligerent, corinthia, Obelisk crew, you know who you are.

 

T'Tkura
Slave Ship
Unknown Orbit

T’Tkura had peered out the cell door previously scouting the corridor the block was empty, but that did not mean they were not being watched or patrols were not right around the corner. The drugs were still coursing through but their effects not nearly as prevalent as when the IV was in, which made the surroundings all the harder to gain perspective on. The dreary and cold feel of the cells and surrounding corridor added to the feeling of wooziness. T’Tkura could feel the slow rumble and vibration in the steel walls, the coldness of space was unmistakable. It did not take much to feel the darkness of the surrounding vessel, though a haze of hung over everything making it hard to reach out fully and make sense of it all.

The air tense as the dark figure approached walking the beat in a sense, no doubt aware of the prisoners in their cells. T’Tkura felt the presence, he knew the being would recognize their signatures as well, but in their cell’s, he would be thinking. Not suspecting their newfound state of mobility.

T’Tkura felt the conflict escalating outside in the corridor unfolding, a struggle as the radiating light he felt moved to secure the dark presence. T’Tkura leaned back against one of the cell walls, breathing in. Calming his breathing, patiently waiting, focusing on the mood out in the corridor. Another breath as he felt the tension rising as a full-on entanglement and struggle was in progress right beyond him in the corridor, with the grunts and sounds of it evident and audible across the block.

The clang of metal against the prison ship floor as, a small faint ping as a com-link rolled through the doorway of T’Tkura’s temporary home. His head angled down and followed the com-link as it stopped rolling, his large brown eyes narrowing on it. T’Tkura kneeled slowly, coming down to the door archway and pausing, he could have easily called the com-link to his palm with the force, but the expression of kneeling down and taking in what was going on added to the unfolding situation. T’Tkura mused on all that was going on as he grabbed the com-link in his hand feeling it against his thick fingers, rolling it for a moment, knowing full well what it was but also knowing that it was an avenue for much more.

That was enough, quickly the com-link was tucked in his barely covering prison robe. As he came up to his full stature and peered around the corner, gaining a vantage on what had been transpiring in the corridor. He saw the light radiating from them, his fellow comrades as they were engaged with a Sith. The High Imperial Knight Draco. Master Radian. Master Jole.


T’Tkura was beginning to slide out into the cell block corridor, when he felt the oppressive veil upon them, causing him to stop. Trying to center himself on what was happening. T’Tkura wanted to charge, but he remained patient trusting on the others engaged, as he slid in behind the Sith. Waiting and poised to move if necessary.

@Sinrebirth theometric ConservativeJedi321 @all other Sith on board