Dominion Aftershocks - BotM Dominion of Empty Hex

[Lucinda Anguish]

Location: Rentor, Academy Brig Interrogation Room 5
Tags: Open




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Those red eyes stared at her coldly, there was a very stern look on the man’s blue face. Lucinda looked at him and repeated for what felt like the hundredth time. “I am Alu'sinde'Ang a registered citizen of the Ascendancy. I came here to warn you I intercepted a communication that organization was going to strike the planet perhaps the same one that took out Csilla.” Even as she said it the look on the Chiss face seem contort in disbelief. Like he would know if someone was going to come to this world because they had all been on high alert since the Csilla incident. How come some girl get information before a Military Academy who was looking for exactly that those that had attacked Csilla.


He scoffed at her in disbelief and for what again felt like the hundredth time he asked for her name and reason for coming here. “Your name is not in our system.” Lucinda glared at him she knew it was in their system she had personally edited the file to give herself a squeaky-clean record. I mean if she hadn’t she probably would have been shot on site considering she once stole a bunch on Chiss ascendancy Military property.


“I’m in your system, the reason you haven’t…..” She was about to explain how she got the message before they did but then alarms started to go off. “To late, I guess.” She said as the Chiss male became distracted and agitated. He glanced at her angerly. “You, you did this!” he yelled at her.


"Is that the conclusion you came to, I told you a damn raiding party was coming.” He stalked over to her and backhanded her across the face. Had she not been cuffed to the table she probably would have hit the floor with the force of the blow. “Shut your damn mouth.” The integrator said to her. “You did this and I want to know why?”


Lucinda moved her jaw about trying stretch the pain away, she hadn’t been hit that hard since she was a child and that was saying a lot considering her various occupations. She began to sit up straight and as she did clasped her hand together and forcefully dislocated her thumbs the pop and movement covered by her once again speak and whipping her hair back so she could look the integrator right in the eyes. “Am I supposed to keep my mouth shut or answer your question?”


The interrogator became infuriated by the question, and he posed to strike again but as he came in Lucinda came up blocking his strike to his surprise as she had slipped her cuffs. “Zip ties next time.” She said quickly with wry smile crossing her face as her other hand came up shove four knuckles into the mans throat causing him to stagger back away from her gasp for breath. In that time she managed to pop her thumbs back in place and charge the man kick in the stomach cause him stumble back and crass through a one way mirror. Revealing three more Chiss officers one of which was already scream for more guards.


As that happened a buzz came over the comm bionic just behind her ear. “Not now blue, I’m busy.” She said a bit perturbed. “I just wanted to tell those people who sent the message we intercepted are already on Planet.” Lucinda smirk at the people that had been standing behind the one-way mirror. “I know blue, I’m’ kind of in the middle something at moment.” She gritted her teeth as she spoke to her annoying droid on the other side of the comm. “You killed someone already, didn’t you?” Frakking droids she thought to herself why the hell she had ever built the damn thing she will never know. Guards began to breach into the room with weapons drawn. “Not yet, but it looks like I am going to have to, So much for being a good Samaritan.”

 

[Eldervine]

"It is not your place to understand. Only to aid the harvest."

The Eldervine's attention was pulled towards a single, lone connection among the hive mind he had formed with his numerous parts and seedlings. A lone humanoid, one of meat and flesh. The one that had found them, helped to free them. Alars Keto deserved much for his assistance. If not for him, the Drengir likely would of been another enemy to the Maw, consumed by combat and forced once more to rest and slumber for thousands more years.

The grotesque yet humanoid form of the Eldervine formed before the Cyborg, it's mass of vines and teeth pulled into the ever grin as it eyelessly stared down at the raider.

"But you deserve to understand. You deserve to know the harvest. Kneel, open yourself. Become one with the Drengir, Kryll of the Mawites. Be the bridge between our understandings."

 

[Alars Keto]

​

"It is not your place to understand. Only to aid the harvest."

The cosmic horror that was the divine form of the Eldervine took shape before him, a mass of vines and plant growth that twisted into humanoid form before him. Looming over the marauder lieutenant, the Eldervine cast a terrible glare down at Alars Keto but beckoned to him to kneel and accept a reward for his great service.

"But you deserve to understand. You deserve to know the harvest. Kneel, open yourself. Become one with the Drengir, Kryll of the Mawites. Be the bridge between our understandings."

The lowly human felt compelled to obey, driven to kneel before the Drengir that stretched forth into his very mind with a undeniable willpower crushing his own. He felt the darkness that always touched upon him in it, just as he had with the Heathen Priests and those that lurked aboard Gehinnom. This Drengir, this Eldervine, what madness could it command? How was he to hope to hold on against such power?

"I..."

He felt one knee involuntarily drop to the floor as the other raised,

"I... can't."

His head struggled under the mental weight before falling.

"I... will.. kneel.. I will.. serve."

 

[Maestus]

Well then. A challenge at last, mechanical though it may be. Extending both arms, her lightsabers flew to her hands and ignited upon touching flesh. Purple and crimson plasma beams erupted.

She held her ground, not moving forward. Not yet, at least. As the droids began to to fire, Maestus was able to deftly redirect most of the incoming blaster fire back at the droids. She was able to take down half of them in this manner. But not unscathed, sadly. Had the droids aim been better, the blaster bolt that hit her would've been a clean head shot. Since their aim was no better than a storm trooper's, it hit her in the left wrist.

With a cry of pain, her hand spasmed and dropped the purple saber. She flexed her fingers, then tested her wrist with a slight movement. Pain flared and traveled up her arm. She flexed her fingers again, this tijme without moving her wrist, and the saber returned to her hand, although it did not ignite. Her left hand useless now, she shifted her stance to favor her right side.

As the walkers began to unload their fury, she began to move. Almost as if dancing, the crimson Twi'Lek closed the distance to the droids, hoping to draw the fire from the AT-STs with her. With any luck, the walker's fire would take out the remaining droids. Allowing Maestus to focus on the large threats without worrying about the comic relief.
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[Tu'teggacha]

Location: Rentor, Academy Outskirts
Allies: Maestus
Foes: Lucinda Anguish

Had the Taskmaster known that Lucinda Anguish had warned the Chiss of the incoming raid, only to be detained and suspected of being a participant, he would have laughed until he turned blue. As it was, he had no way of discovering this amusing fact, but it did still benefit him; the disruption Lucinda was causing in the holding area divided the attention of the Chiss defenders, forcing them to react to threats - even though one was a potential ally they had alienated - in two different areas. It might not make much difference, but any advantage helped. In turn, the Maw attack would make Luncida's escape easier.

Not that she would even have been there if she hadn't tried to help stop them.

As that bitter irony played on several icebergs away, Maestus made her stand against the primary Chiss security force at academy. Half the droids went down to her skillfully-reflected blaster bolts, and many more were caught in the crossfire as she dashed between the AT-STs, keeping ahead of their fire for now. The walkers, however, remained a significant threat even without their escorts; their gun barrels blazed, one at the walker's "mouth" and another on each side of its "head", all rapidly tracking the Twi'lek Sith. If she tired, or if she made even a moment's slip, they would surely blast her apart.

Tu'teggacha himself saw none of this. He was busy directing the push into the next iceberg. The Chiss defenders of the academy had done their best to contain the Maw within the hangar berg, filling the bridges between the floating complexes with mines and auto turrets. The Ebruchi had a simple solution. Several of his lesser overseers returned to the shuttles and broad back a hovering cage, its feral contents screaming and slamming themselves against the bars. Then he threw it open, and a pack of Moon Children scrambled across the bridge, triggering the mines with impunity as they ran.

It was good to have troops you could use without caring if they blew up.

The Taskmaster's raiders followed in the mad clones' bloody wake, smashing the auto turrets and blasting down any Chiss security officers who tried to stand against them. They were working their way around the academy clockwise, ready to secure each of the outer icebergs and push everyone into the center area before they took that, too. It was an efficient solution, but it would grow more difficult with each iceberg they seized; they would have to leave warriors behind at each of them, to ensure that no one slipped behind the point of their spear, and so each attack would have fewer raiders in it.

No matter; they would persist, and they would be victorious, with a rich crop of slaves for their trouble. Tu'teggacha's marauders blew the doors of the dormitory berg with detonite charges and stormed inside, stunning anything that moved. The overseers came behind them, clapping the dropped Chiss in irons and preparing them for transport. From maintenance worker to security guard to promising young cadet to veteran instructor, all would be made to serve the Brotherhood. Tu'teggacha's facial tendrils curled into a ghastly Ebruchi smile as he thought of it, looking forward to breaking them one by one.

Hallway by hallway, room by room, the marauders cleared the dormitories.

 

[Kadann]

Onasius Gruwel The Mongrel Eliz Krayt

The dark side of the Force was here. Another shadow to envelope another world. There couldn't be any more mercy. Judgement had to fall upon the darkness until it lit every corner. Until there was no where else for it to hide.

Before that glorious purpose could even start, the tide had to be turned. They would show no mercy in trying to snuff out the light. Kadann had come to realise that he had to match that approach.

He didn't wait. The tunnel was narrow and he had caught the marauders by surprise. There were easily enough of them to bring him down, so he has to use the tunnels to avoid being surrounded. His body didn't regenerate as it once had.

Two lightsabers dropped from his belt, activated and carried by unseen hands. The Force dragged them along beside him. They didn't need precision, the two stolen red blades hacking and slashing as he carved a path forwards.

If he could kill the sith behind them, them they might just fall into disarray.

 

[Onasius Gruwel]

Allies: The Mongrel
Enemies: Kadann Eliz Krayt

The vibrations of the aerial bombardment shook the tunnel as the raiders squeezed themselves through it. Every death that saturated the already suffering planet enhanced Onasius’s grip on the Dark Side and enveloped his presence, swimming through his blood like a dark ichor. This fine tuned his rage and enhanced his senses for combat. The Sith could feel the presence of the Maw with every death they suffered, knowing full well they would take down tenfold of those who dared kill one of their own. The Brotherhood was the first group in the galaxy that seemed to understand Onasius’s definition of power and how to exhibit it. There was no room for weakness in this faction, and the needs of the galaxy were put to the side and instead as a group they would raze the galaxy to its core, leaving only the conquerors and their feast.

The main marauder horde kept pressing forward with The Mongrel, taking whatever losses they faced and shoving them back into the faces of the scared Chiss. Onasius, however, felt his prerogative shifting. The Force was very prominent with the Jedi who dared defend the helpless akk dogs from their fate at the hands of the Maw. This was a welcome challenge for Gruwel, seeing as it had been over a year since had spilled the blood of a Jedi. He could taste the coppery sweetness in his mouth, almost feel the texture of flesh being ripped between his razor sharp teeth, even the scent of fear and urine as they drew their last breaths. Onasius started gnashing his teeth together in excitement, lifting his head to smell the cold dank air around him. Yes, today would be the day he spilled another Jedi’s blood. The galaxy would fear Onasius Gruwel once again.

The Sith Knight stopped in his tracks for a moment while the rest of the horde flooded around him. He used a Force barrier to keep himself from being trampled while he located exactly where the Jedi was. The tunnels were narrow, but there likely were alternate paths to take to get around. Onasius would make sure he wasn’t going to be ambushed. Closing his eyes briefly, he could feel Kadann getting closer. It felt like someone driving a thorn deep into his side, twisting left and right the farther it went. The presence of the Light Side was getting nauseatingly close, punching a hole in the shadow of darkness the Brotherhood had cast upon Jamiron. Onasius sent a message through the Force to Mongrel. /Lead on my brother, tear these impotent gizka limb from limb. I will deal with this Jedi back here./ Even through the Force, Onasius’s tone would sound vile, like spit off a rancor’s jowl, mixed with the burn of a lightning strike.

Next, Gruwel braced himself and rejoined the ravenous crowd around him once more. It wouldn’t be too long before he would locate the Jedi, slicing through more marauders. The Jedi was roughly forty meters down the tunnel from Onasius. Getting a running start, Onasius used the Force to leap over the marauders between him and the Jedi, twisting his skeletal frame in the air to build momentum. The demonic Sith Knight landed around 8 feet from the Jedi atop a marauder, knocking him down and the two closest to him against the walls of the now war-torn tunnel.

“Jediii.” He hissed through his gritting teeth. “You mock me with red lightsabersss.” The words spit at Kadann like sulfur and poison. Onasius’s dew claws seemed to scream with the dark side as lightning enveloped the length of the two and a half foot claws. “You will have to earn your third.” With that, Onasius called upon the Force once more to bring his twin tonfa style lightsabers to his hands, the crimson blades igniting the battleground further in color. The blades went up the backside of his forearms, protecting him where his claws could not. The Sith was a ghastly sight to behold, the red glow casting grim shadows on his face, further accenting his already skeletal features. He braced himself for combat, his black chasms of eyes staring into the depths of Kadann’s soul. A veil of the dark side swirling around him.

EDIT: Added link to claws

 

[The Mongrel]

Location: Jamiron, Landing Zone
Allies: Onasius Gruwel
Foes: Eliz Krayt | Kadann

The Mongrel had faced many Jedi and survived, but he had yet to kill one. He was savage, bloodthirsty, and secure in his faith that he did the will of the Avatars, but he was also canny and cautious when he needed to be; it was the reason he had survived this long, one of only a few marauders who could claim to have lived through every major battle since the Brotherhood's return to known space. He could accept that, if he wanted this Jedi dead, he needed to send someone better suited to killing Jedi... someone with a blade that would hold up when confronted with lightsaber strikes.

He accepted that Onasius was that person.

For himself, the warleader would easily find a different role. He directed his Scar Hounds and the other Bloodsworn down different tunnels, doing his best to ensure that Onasius and the Jedi were given a wide berth; there was no sense in wasting his marauders trying to interfere in a duel between these beings who were practically demigods. There was too much other work to do, too much produce to seize and too many weak, sniveling fools to butcher. He would take all the produce of this sad little world and put it to better use. He would massacre the defenders. He would...

Next to him, a marauder's head exploded.

The Mongrel snarled in rage, whirling on the spot as he tried to trace where the shot had come from. The sniper was back... and this time, the Bloodsworn warleader did not intend to let him escape. "Come out, come out, wherever you are, little coward," he hissed, his metallic voice echoing through the tunnels even above the cacophony of howling, charging raiders and weaponsfire. His practiced eyes tracked over potential sniping spots, places he himself would have chosen if he'd been in the lone shooter's shoes. He had been on enough battlefields to recognize a good position.

As he searched, the lenses of his mask searched too, picking out traces of heat and scanning for life signs. It was clear that the sniper was using some kind of stealth technology, but there was no way to move through tunnels this narrow and leave no trace of one's passage at all. Sooner or later The Mongrel would find some hint as to where this little ambusher was lurking, and then it would all be over for the insect. The Bloodsworn marauder had no respect whatsoever for those who fought from concealment. An ambush was one thing, but fighting only from afar was base cowardice.

Ultimately he settled on a simple solution; he simply began blasting any vantage point he found with even trace heat signatures, using his heavy pistol to obliterate stalagmites and leave every overlook molten and steaming. The huge pistol bucked again and again in his hand as he systematically scoured the tunnel. A good enough stealth system would hide just about everything for its wearer, so his only solution was to be extremely thorough. There were only so many places from which the sniper could've made that shot without charging marauders literally tripping over him...

... and the Mongrel was going to blast them all.

 

[TK-818]

The Night Vulture screamed to life along the icy gales as it soared across the Rentor sky. The jet black Vornskr-class stealth transport glided from one cloud to another as it closed in on the nearby iceburg where Maestus made combat with the enemy armor let loose by the Chiss. The Knight of Ren TK-818 called over comm to his liege, the mighty Kyrel Ren , and pressed the attack at his master's word. With the push a button on the throttle, a series of missiles would release at ultrasonic speeds.

A row of devastation would rain down on the enemy armor with several well placed missiles hitting the cockpits of those so unfortunate to remain locked away chasing the Sith Lord. A boost echoed forth, the Ren transport roared off into the distance as Chiss Clawcraft appeared soon after in hot pursuit. The chase was on, the Knight of Ren could only smile in dreadful glee under the marred helm he adorned. TK-818 was a skilled pilot and a damned good shot, one wrong move and the enemy was his.

He let them give chase, narrowly missing their mark after several shots before the Knight of Ren engaged stealth systems. In a brief flash their communications would scramble and sensors go haywire, even worse still they would lose all sight of the enemy ship as it faded from view via cloaking device.

Yanking on the throttle back while engaging several emergency airbrakes, the Night Vulture slid to it's side as repulsorlifts violently charged out as the ion engines died down. Falling back behind the enemy, the sinister Ren would quickly give it his all as engines roared forth once more. Now at the rear the Knight of Ren disengaged the cloaking device and began locking onto his targets..

 

[Lucinda Anguish]

Location: Rentor, Academy Brig Interrogation Room 5
Equipment: Maser
Tags: Maestus | Tu'teggacha


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Guards stared at her their blaster rifles pointed at her. A Couple had come in through the door to the interrogation room she was in while more came into the room that had once been divided by a one-way mirror. Lucinda looked at them, wondering if she could shut down there weapons quickly with out getting shot out. Her eyes landing on one of the security forces, a young Chiss male. She could see his finger on the trigger twitching itching to fire, his eye was blinking rapidly and a bead of sweat forming on his brow. The male was clearly not that seasoned as his fellow security, green by his body language. Though every one of them was on edge due to the academy being under attack and through the waves of the force it could be felt the other security guards held their composure but not this one.


One of the Guards called out to Lucinda. “Get down on your knees slowly with your hands in the air.” Lucinda once again looked them over she knew she couldn’t disarm all of them and hope to survive, so slowly raised her hands. She began to lower herself to her knees, but she spoke out to the young nervous security guard. “What’s that?” The lead guard moved towards Lucinda but the young guard he thought he saw something out of the corner of his eye and turned. The other guards seemed confused by Lucinda’s words but before they could even figure it Lucinda moved her middle and index finger on right hand in a waving motioning.


Then all hell broke loose as the young nervous blaster rifle erupted in fire into a wall in the hallway. It caused the other guard’s attention to be turned to their fellow agent who opened fire. As that happened Lucinda charge the lead guard who had been walking towards her. He quickly spun back towards her, but she was quick knocking his blaster rifle from his hands making it slam off the ground and slide across the room. Then she came up with a full fist under his jaw knocking his head back while her other hand grabbed his arm. As his head reeled back from the punch that wasn’t meant to knock him out just knock him off Balance, she yanked on his arm twisting it behind his back as he spun trying to regain his Balance.


It happened so quickly, and the other guard were once again training their weapons in Lucinda’s direction however now she had a shield between herself and them as she ripped his side arm from its holster and pointed it at the man she was holding. However, the guards didn’t hesitate and shot their leader in the leg making him dead weight as he began to drop to the ground Lucinda shoved his body forward at the guards. As his moment went forward before, he fully hit the ground and they could open fire on she pointed the blaster at the lights and took them out causing the light in the interrogation room and the room that had been behind the one-way mirror go out. The room only being back lit by the hallway.


Still blaster fire irrupted in the direction she had been, but Lucinda dropped to the ground into a forward roll towards the door coming up between the two remaining guards there. She pushed them both away from her causing one to slam into a nearby wall, while the green young one got shoved into the room and stumbled over the fallen leader who had been shot in the leg, he himself falling to the ground. Lucinda went running into the hall pulling a fire alarm further down the hall causing the fire suppression system to trigger. Then this looked up at the lights as the remaining guards began to pour out into the hall. “Let’s make the note I haven’t killed anyone yet.” She said as she reached up with her empty left hand and shot an arch of lighting into the lights causing an electrical surge all the lights in in this building and surrounding builds all went out and the emergency lights kicked in but in that time Lucinda herself was already on the move. Trying to figure out if there was anyway to salvage this operation or if she need to find an exit plan.

 

[Maestus]

Keep moving, she repeated over and over in her head. And so she did. Weaving in between battle droids, while deflecting as many blaster shots that came her way with her remaining, crimson saber. She bobbed and slid between droids, until she was underneath the first AT-ST. She wasted no time in her attack. She clipped her deactivated saber to her belt, lifting her right hand up.

Instantly, red crackles appeared between her fingertips. She gathered the Dark Side to herself, then exploded it out and up towards the walker. With any luck, the electricity would fry the driver and gunner within. A most horrifying death, to be sure. She continued focusing the electricity on this walker, until it stopped moving and firing. Only then would she move to the next one. With a small bit of good fortune, perhaps the other walker would attempt to fire on her, even though she was right underneath the first walker. Such shooting would take out the legs on the first walker, even if its crew survived.

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[Eliz Krayt]

Tags: The Mongrel

Good. Waste more ammo.

The shots rang out in the long hallway as Eliz kept to the shadows. His armor was perfectly suited for stealth. This was his father's armor, and his father was once one of the Commando's within the CEDF. In his stead Eliz should have helped to defend Csilla, but he hadn't. Now he was here. One of the stalagmites beside him blew up, pelting him with super heated rock. His Beskar'gam didn't care in the slightest, but the fractal coating that he'd been using to stay out of sight flickered and broke.

The half Chiss stood then in his snow blue armor, rifle in hand, pointed for the marauder. He fired once. The game of cat and mouse was over. Time to show these savages it wasn't the Chiss who were the mouse.

 

[Tu'teggacha]

Location: Rentor, Academy Outskirts
Allies: Maestus | TK-818
Foes: Lucinda Anguish

AT-STs were devastating anti-infantry vehicles, capable of ripping apart entire squads with a swift advance and a few focused barrages. But when Tu’teggacha had chosen Maestus to counter the walkers, he had chosen well. She was swift and nimble, able to evade most of the incoming cannon fire and deflect what she could not. Nor did she stay on the defensive. In a display of terrifying power she gathered the Dark Side to her and unleashed it from beneath, spraying crimson electricity up into the vehicle.

The AT-STs were well-armored against small arms and even heavy weapons, but when the infamous Force Lightning struck one, it fried the pilots within in seconds. The men didn’t even have time to scream before they were cooked alive, leaving their smoking vehicle to slump to the ground. Maestus turned to face the other walker, but that one was already slumping over, too; Sinh had struck it directly in the cockpit with a missile, blowing it apart. The heaviest defensive assets of the Chiss were finished.

Their only hope now was in delaying the Maw... and it was a fleeting hope.

Level by level, slavers stormed the dormitories. The cadets had been clever, using the narrrow hallways and endless array of spartan rooms to their advantage. Every dorm held a hidden blaster, and there was a detonite tripwire around every corner. No small number of marauders paid the ultimate price as they pushed deeper. Soon, however, the Brotherhood raiders adapted to the situation. They deployed warriors with huge blast shields in front of their advance, eliminating the advantage of the surprise attackers. Scanners unveiled the explosives before they were triggered. It slowed the slavers down, but it preserved their lives so they could claim more victims. That was a worthy use of time.

Soon the dorms were secure. They moved on to the next berg: firing ranges and practice rooms.

In the meantime, however, Tu'teggacha sensed something, a fleeting prickle at the edge of his senses. Someone was here, a non-Chiss, a Force adept... someone who would be an ideal prize for the slavers. The Ebruchi enjoyed breaking Force-users most of all. He loved to watch the hope leave their eyes as they accepted the inevitability of the Maw. If they could capture this woman... The Taskmaster reached out to Maestus through the Force. "Truly your power is mighty, my lord," he began, duly impressed by her performance in taking down the entirety of the main defenses. "Perhaps there is another good use for it on this frigid planet."

"I have sensed a Force Adept on the central iceberg. She is fighting the Chiss, though I do not know why. Perhaps she, too, can be captured and made to serve the Maw. My warriors are not suited to fighting someone with the power of the Force, but with your prodigious talents in the dark arts, perhaps you can bring her down." Yes, with any luck, Maestus would soon capture Lucinda Anguish , and her talents would be broken to the Maw's service in Gehinnom's dungeons.

 

[The Mongrel]

Location: Jamiron, Landing Zone
Allies: Onasius Gruwel
Foes: Eliz Krayt | Kadann

Ruthless, relentless, methodical, The Mongrel blew apart every scrap of cover in that half-lit cave, leaving behind rivers of slagged stone. His heavy blaster barked again and again, the flash of each discharge casting harsh light across the tunnel. He did not bother to conserve ammo or to shield his position, simply standing in the open and blasting away, a challenge that could be neither ignored nor escaped. Sure enough, his brute force strategy bore fruit. Chips of superheated rock spattered against what appeared to be empty air, which suddenly flickered, revealing an armored man.

"There you are," the Mongrel hissed, tossing his spent gun aside.

Before he could take a step toward his now-revealed foe, however, the charric sniper rifle bolt slammed into him, its massive kinetic energy knocking him from his feet. The Mongrel hit the tunnel floor, his leatheris jerkin burned clean through and his breastplate smoking. A few months ago he would have wheezed and gasped, the wind knocked from his lungs... but he was beyond such limitations now. After the terrible damage that the Kainate trooper he'd faced had wreaked on his chest and the organs beneath, he had undergone painful and extensive cybernetic reconstruction.

His lungs, his ribs, his skin - none of it was organic anymore.

And so, what might have been a killshot despite The Mongrel's armor merely pushed him down, melting the top layers of his synthflesh where the heat and force had been enough to punch through his breastplate. The veteran marauder easily drew fresh breath into his augmented lungs, far stronger and more efficient than the ruined human ones they had replaced, and snarled in rage. He rolled over to his stomach and pushed himself up, ready to get back in the fight. He had taken far worse wounds than this, and with far less to protect him. His faith and augments would sustain him.

He had already dropped his heavy blaster, spent after firing so many bolts to flush out his quarry, so The Mongrel drew a second vibroknife in his free hand. He was already looking forward to finishing this up close, sinking his blades into the gaps between his foe's beskar plates. "A Mandalorian?" he asked in that strange, metallic rasp, tilting his head curiously. "I would have thought that such an honor-obsessed people would be less afraid of open battle, but here you are, so fearful you attack only from stealth. Pathetic. At least your helmet will make a good trophy."

With a battle howl, the marauder charged his foe, knives out. He sought to tackle his enemy, bearing the Mandalorian to the ground so that he could stab him at will. To cover his charge, he hissed a cloud of smoke out of the vents in his durasteel mask, another new gift of the cybernetics that had bolted him back together. With any luck, that would keep the Mando from hitting him with the rifle again until he completed his tackle.

 

[Kadann]

Onasius Gruwel The Mongrel Eliz Krayt

“You mock me with red lightsabersss.” The words spit at Kadann like sulfur and poison. Onasius’s dew claws seemed to scream with the dark side as lightning enveloped the length of the two and a half foot claws. “You will have to earn your third.”

The two blades that had carved out space around Kadann deactivated. They shot back towards him, finding their places hanging from his belt. Kadann turned slowly to face the agent of the dark side. In the darkness of the tunnels his white beard was barely visible in the shadow of his hood. The slightest reflection from the red tonfa revealed his gaze.

Kadann did not even look down, stern gaze fixed firmly upon Onasius, as he turned his lightsaber around and drove it down. The blue blade barely hissed as it dove through the back of a marauder. Mercy was their weakness. Kadann knew that to be true.

"I earned more than three long ago," Kadann replied. "I expect yours will be discarded into the pile of those minor victories I barely care to remember."

His dark cloak billowed out behind him as he darted forwards. He moved with a speed and grace that didn't match his apparent age. His posture suggested he was going to strike from the side, but at the last moment he swung his blade inwards. The tip of the blue lightsaber thrust towards the foul creature's chest. Kadann would test the range of movement for those fixed claws, probing for weaknesses in his defensive patters before he truly opened up and went on the offensive.

 

[Kyrel Ren]

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Location: Rentor, Night Vulture
Nearby: TK-818 Tu'teggacha Maestus Lucinda Anguish

The destruction of Csilla was something that had changed the galaxy forever, due to the shock of Csilla's destruction The Maw had taken the chance to take care of the spread out Chiss settlements. Once Csilla was gone, it was no problem with fresh converts and emboldened by the apocalyptic revelation brought upon by the destruction. Now it was time to gain control of what the Chiss had to offer. It would a long road to the Maw system on the holy pilgrimage they all were on. And one needed to be sure that the path was stained was blood by a holy offering of sorts. Sources such as Pathfinder Adaz was kind enough to offer up the settlement of Rentor, for he himself had traveled there once before being a convert.

Now Kyrel would make sure the world was taken. Sinh had taken the controls of the Night Vulture with skill and precision. Something Kyrel himself was impressed with, for he once was an Imperial Ace, and with how Sinh had taken control of the Night Vulture was something that never ceased to amaze him. Before entering the world, he had been lost deep in meditation. The familiar voice since Csilla had now while still promising power, had told him something was coming. But what? He had found the Maw and started a bloody swathe across the stars, what else lurked? Before he could even demand answers, they had arrived to the world and the carnage had begun.

With Sinh flying like a combat veteran. Even taking too much fun out of toying with the enemy. Perhaps he could not fault Sinh for that, but Kyrel was seeking answers. As if a chill at the back of his spine hadn't left him. Regardless he sat back in his seat and watched his Knight at work. Knowing better not to interupt a pilot in the zone. He felt the signatures of those coming soon, and regardless of when Sinh was done. He would walk the halls of the academy gaining perhaps what would some say as vital military assets. Brightest minds in the Unknown Regions to pave the way for salvation.

 

[Eliz Krayt]

Tags: The Mongrel

Center mass should have been the end of it. Charrics hit so much harder than a blaster that the half Chiss expected the man to stay down and out for good. To his surprise, though, the figure got up just as he turned away. Panic filled his mind for a brief moment. All it'd take was another shot to send him on his back and even as fast as he was he wouldn't be able to turn and fire before the other did.

Not that it stopped him from trying. He turned on a heel, pulling free the heavy charric blaster on his hip to point at.. A cloud of smoke? Eliz blinked. Then narrowed his eyes. He couldn't see the difference of heat as well as a full blooded Chiss, but he could see enough to find the Marauder within. His blaster rang off, him sending shot after shot towards the mass of heat he could see.

 

[Eldervine]

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"No, not serve. Become one with the voice. Know the Harvest." The monstrous form of the Eldervine shifted then, the barely humanoid form turning to that of a mass of vine and bark. Then surged forward like a wave, covering and consuming Alars Keto completely. The process began immediately. Vines feeding themselves into every part of the Marauder's body. Ripping free cybernetic implants only to replace them. Consuming, only to replace them. The process would not be easy, and certainly would be painful, but it would be over fairly quickly.

The form of the Eldervine, the truest form, took shape above the Marauder, it's toothy maw stretched into a grin.

Welcome, brother.

Welcome.

Welcome to the Harvest.

A symphony of voices welcomed the newest addition to the hive as the Eldervine stood and turned his 'gaze' towards the city.

Let the Harvest begin.

 

[The Mongrel]

Location: Jamiron, Landing Zone
Allies: Onasius Gruwel
Foes: Eliz Krayt | Kadann

As smoke hissed out of the vents of his mask, filling the tunnel with a choking soot-grey cloud, The Mongrel charged forward. His chest was still steaming where the charric rifle had struck him, his gleaming durasteel ribcage visible beneath shredded armor and melted synthskin. A significant portion of his body was mechanical now, stronger and more durable than his flesh could ever have been. There were less positive differences - a heaviness in him, and a coldness, with limbs less able to feel than they once had been. But such things did not bother him. He was a weapon more than a man.

And weapons had no need of such petty things as comfort.

A second charric bolt ripped through the smoke, guided by infravision... but the warmth of the cloud, which issued thick and hot from his mask, made it difficult to pick out where the marauder was. Instead of a second dead-center shot, which might have been enough to finish even the cyber-enhanced warrior given the rifle's power, the bolt ripped through the armored pauldron on his left shoulder. It nearly threw him back to the ground. As it was, it halted his headlong charge, spinning him around unsteadily and driving him back two steps. A rivulet of liquid metal ran down his left arm.

But he had no nerves in that arm anymore. He felt no pain.

"You cannot stop the inevitable," The Mongrel shouted, with a harsh, metallic laugh. Then he charged again, bursting out of the smoke to throw himself at the Mandalorian in a full-body, knives-first tackle. He was confident that the charric wouldn't hit him again. As he recalled from his clash with the Chiss on their homeworld, such weapons were powerful, but had a low rate of fire; his foe had only been able to shoot him again because it'd taken him time to get up off the ground. Now it would all be decided in the way The Mongrel preferred. No more stealth. No more shooting from range.

He would bring this foe down and rend him apart with knives.

With any luck, the weight of his armored, cybernetic body would slam into the Mandalorian and force him to the ground, at which point it would be easy to loom over him and stab him until he stopped moving. If that should fail, though, The Mongrel was nearly as confident that he could find the chinks in his opponent's beskar while standing. Every suit of armor had to compromise some protection to allow mobility. Elbows, knees, wrists, a little strip of neck, none could be completely covered with rigid armor, or movement would be impossible. And if he could slip one of his twin knives in...

Well, he could bring this confrontation to a quick, bloody end.

 

[Maestus]

Her body was heaving as she gulped in air. Her dancing around the droids had winded her, more than it normally would have. She gnashed her teeth in frustration. Her body was on the verge of declining, due to the corruption of the Dark Side. A small price to pay for the power she gained from it. And, for now, easily offset by augmenting her body through the Dark Side as well. That would not last forever, though. At some point, the body would be too far gone for her to sustain it solely through the Force. Her Master, Darth Solipsis , had told her of ways to extend one's life. She would need to learn how.

She shook her head to clear it, and heard Tu'teggacha over the comms. Affirmative, was her response.

She closed her eyes, and stretched out her senses, strengthening them with the Force. Tu'teggacha was right. A being in the academy, fighting back. How fortuitous for them. Maestus then turned on her heel, and began trekking towards the academy and Lucinda Anguish



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