Al-Khali (pm for invite)

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Kei Amadis"] [member="Seras Goto"] [member="Connor Harrison"]

Hearing the roar and screeching of the creatures, well . . . it was unnerving. Zombies, if she really was honest with herself, were probably one of her greatest fears. Something about them just made her wake-up in the middle of the night from a nightmare, if she went to sleep at all during the time after. Even seeing a Holonet show about zombies made her have nightmares for days after, so why had she come here? It was because the Sith needed to be stopped.

Running feet brought her attention back fully to the present as a prisoner was sprinting up the stairs towards her and Connor, several of the zombies behind him. There was no delay in her mind as she activated both blades of her lightsaber and twisted the handle. The blades started spinning just as a zombie fell upon the man, teeth gnashing and screams filling the air. The poor prisoner was as good as dead, even if she and Connor tried to rescue him.

"I'm sorry," she said, throwing her lightsaber down the stairs so the blades would be spinning like a horizontal energy saw. Decapitated heads and limbs tumbled down the stairs as she used the Force to control where her lightsaber went, her plan being the full evisceration of every zombie on the stairs. "Watch my back, Connor. More might try and attack from the other side."

The prisoner was barely alive, bite marks across his body and a few pieces of his body having been torn off.

"I'm so sorry," she said, her shoto saber igniting in her hand as her normal saber continued to carve up the zombie into individual pieces. The prisoner, fear in his eyes, begging for her to finish it, started to convulse as the virus started to take control of him. A few quick flicks of her shoto and the body ceased moving, the head and limbs detached from it. To doubly make sure, she focused on the love of her sisters before unleashing Electric Judgment on the body parts.

 

[Connor Harrison]

Connor picked up the pace as he glanced up at the sound of ships in the atmosphere, something he knew meant trouble was about to make itself known. And he was right, sooner than expected. As the two moved to the stairs, the activated blades of Taeli made him skid to a halt, taken aback slightly by seeing her in action; something he’d come to forget just how skilled she was.

Looking on, hand glazing his hilt, he winced at the flurry of light from the saber as she effortlessly took down the zombies, something akin to a nightmare, and showed her judgement as a human and force of Light by helping the victim out of the pain and fear he was in.

Turning his head to avoid the glare of the Electric Judgement, it soon fell silent again as the stench of burning flesh filled the air on the stairs. Connor, for the first time, felt dangerously useless and feeling a sever lack of confidence.

”You did well, Taeli. You did well.”

Stepping down, he glanced backwards to cover their rear, and her blade hummed and illuminated the way.

”I’ve got your back.”

He just hoped he really had. He couldn’t let neither her or himself down, not now.

[member="Taeli Rae"] | [member="Kei Amadis"] | [member="Seras Goto"]

 

[Seras Goto]

[member="Connor Harrison"] [member="Kei Amadis"] [member="Taeli Rae"]

Seras was still working in the containment area, her gloved hands working the tools as she shaved some of the layers of skin off until the grey ooze of it slowly started to come out like a puss. She was collecting the ooze into vials and listening now to reports as there was mention of others moving. She looked at the screen and saw from the link the face of a jedi for a moment before it cut out and was laughing a little to herself as she turned her head back to look at the ooze in the vial as she set it into a holder to be cleaned. Another vial and she was filling it up while the computer was purging and cleaning the sides to ensure there were no traces left.

She was looking over the results and pulled her hands away as she finished with several vials and had a small casing for them. A droid removed it and took it to some of the other machines as Seras left the limb there to be disposed of in a fiery purge to eliminate trace contaminants as the machine started up and Seras was working to analyze the sickness. A small look on her face while she was working on the properties and the ooze to be made thinner. She wanted finer particles of it to be more like a mist and was slowly going to work on it as howls from outside were getting louder and louder.

Her work was continuing and the methods going partially into the realm of hygienic as she was working. Trying to find a point of it all where the blood of the infected came out as a fine mist. She was working with it as the electrosprayer was testing and there was a pink mist. Seras let it going over the tank as it clung and coated the inside for a few moments before dispersing and rolling down the sides of the glass. Generating an aerosol was the first step but she was still going to need to test it out while she stepped back and looked over the analyzer as she was checking her cartridges and sprayer.

"Well it can work and we shall see, have them bring me a prisoner for testing." There was a nod of confirmation as two soldiers went off to get her a prisoner for testing and Seras was moving down the hallways the purge troopers and droids were finishing cleaning. She looked at the blastdoor and could hear the screaming as one of the prisoners finally came to her. A girl in her teens and with a shaved head as Seras had the door opened with a rush of air coming in at them. She moved through quickly and held the girl as her hand touched the girls face before she was inserting the cartridge into the chamber.

She looked around with a quick flicking of her eyes and held the girl as she spoke. "I want you to take a message to the jedi who are here child. They have come to save you, more then that they have come to see firsthand something beautiful happening." Her hand came up as Seras for a moment held the girl but her ragged clothing and squeezed to release the mist. "I want you to tell them the ritual chamber has been opened and the sith have the heart. Get them to go there and we shall see what happens. I am certain they will take you offworld and back to your family and friends."

The mist came out as it went into the girls eyes, mouth and nostrils. Black streaks of it running down her cheeks and Seras moved back going into the blastdoor as the girl started running. She was screaming and wiping at her eyes as the sickness slowly entered through the pores into her body. Seras was running a time on her suit as they worked to clean the sprayer and prevent the sickness from being spread with it. She was using thermite to heat up the metal and replaced the tube cleaning all of it for future use before she was pushing a hand looking at one of the screen.

The girl was running, she could feel in it her body the cold and harsh weather of the ruined academies exterior. She slipped on a patch of ice and fell over as something moved past her and screamed for a moment and then was moving again. She didn't know what was happening but had been told there were jedi as she heard sounds coming from the stairs and saw the glowing light in the darkness from the sabers. Limbs and electric judgement playing across her face as she screamed something human and took off towards the academies library tripping over herself almost getting a scrap across her face.

The girl heard the sounds of shooting and there was an open window as she started climbing through it to get to the weapons. That was the best and safest place to be while she ran into the group of wildcards and bounded through one of the burned and broken stacks as she screamed tripping over her feet again. "Ritual pit.... sith." She was rambling and hearing whispers in her own head it felt like as her face was covered in black streaks like make up across her face while she had some bits of snot frozen on her face while she was moving off towards the center with more howling and screams.

She was mumbling to herself while trying to hold herself together and be small. With the screams getting louder and louder as she tried covering her ears and rocking back and forth. The academy students were rotting and preserved from the cold making their skin sunken and eyes hollow before they were screaming. Seras watched from motion trackers and what few sensors they had for tracking outside as she was speaking. "How are the droids proceeding with the plan?" She asked it and one of her men came near her with a datapad showing the droids were being ignored for now.

"They are planting charges and using the construction materials herr doctor. Soon we should have what you wanted set up and the academy will be sealed away from the rest of the area. Walls are being constructed at the edge of the blast zone and monitors with them. We're beginning to set up containment and sealing on the lower levels moving towards the old ruins as well as the dormitories." Seras gave a nod of her head in understanding while she kept moving now to look over the data and monitors. She was also now looking towards the stairs from a grainy camera at the light display.

"Well we can't leave our guests without something, that would be rude. See to it the ones near the stairs get a package with a comlink. I rather feel a kinship with them and they should be allowed to see this greatness." She got another nod while looking at the sprayer and centrifuge that were working on further doses of the sickness for use. Seras kept the designs going while labeling it. "Codename this project hydra and have some more prisoners brought up. We have a full load and can spare ten, we'll feed them to the sickness and let their distraction allow us to work on reinforcing our hold on the academy."

The runner she had sent for Taeli and Connor wasn't after them to kill them, that would be considered to easy, no he was after them to really mess with the pair as he brought the comlink as requested for Seras to talk with them and some anti-virals. The man charged through an infected and got a nasty gash on his face as he showed the uniform of a medical doctor and spoke when close enough before the sickness took over. "Doctor Goto wanted you to have this, she doesn't think it fair to not give you some help when dealing with the infected. If you want her she is preforming the ritual."

The man remained there for a moment before falling to his knees as the sickness was taking him, the bleeding from his side and gash where he had ripped teeth from an infected showing now as he spoke for Taeli. "The black cross will spread to ten thousand worlds and wipe away the sickness of freedom." He started salivating and gagging for a moment while pus and form came from his mouth and then convulsions on the ground as there were more howls and screams with figures moving against the black night and snow while Serases voice came from the comlink with a small mechanical laugh.

 

[Kei Amadis]

Breach sealed behind them, they smacked the metal wall with a bang against it to test how stable it was, it was thick, nobody was getting through there, so the infected outside started to look for other ways in unless something bigger came knocking.

The wildcards stopped the girl before they reached them, not being able to see much through the dark, the blip on the motion sensor was unidentified initially, “that’s close enough let’s see your face.” Am armored hand reaching ahead as she got to them, even before she was stumbling.

“It’s a girl,” they lifted their weapons pointing them away, while the girl babbled something a ritual chamber and heart, everyone was too busy checking she was okay, she looked like hell, but she was just a kid.

The infected man in the hole at the library, he was desperate and thrashing around, the signs of his infection were more pronounced, “you’ve got to take a look at this LT,” there were two medics in the group, and the first one was bending down to look at the girl, the other examining from a safe distance the obviously infected male. “You’ll be alright,” the medic said wiping her eyes and face, while the girl was obviously crying and raving, “Looks like she’s malnourished, some traces of something I can’t make out, I’ll need to take her back to the ship for a bio scan.”

“Kark you weren’t lying, this thing is real.” A trooper said looking at the man in the hole.

[member="Connor Harrison"] Calling it in, ”Master Harrison, this is LT RIxx wildcard 3rd Battalion, there is an obvious infection here, we are going to need medical ****Static**** and further ****Static**** to quarantine this place. How long till support can ****Static****?” The mountain was really interfering with communications now with the wall welded back. They had no idea of course zombies were already attacking Connor!

“Can we treat him?” Kei said to one of the medics, it was sometimes the hard reality that not everyone could be saved, harsh and horrible as it was, he’d seen too many die to not know that.

“Hard to say,” came the reply, the infected man was lashing out with his teeth and fingers.

“Sedate him?” Another wildcard asked, Kei however was already reaching out with a force stun, the zombies nervous system would begin to overload, and although the infection stopped it from understanding, it would eventually fall silent to the floor paralysed. They could double back and do what they could when the source of the infection had been stopped.

“Alright wildcards, deal back to clearance formation, double guns forward at the entrances,” The Sergeant ordered.

“Bring the girl with us?” … “Well we can’t leave her here genius.” Came the chatter.

And with that they set charges on the nearest door, ready to move when it blew.

[member="Connor Harrison"] | [member="Taeli Rae"] | [member="Seras Goto"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Kei Amadis"] [member="Seras Goto"] [member="Connor Harrison"]

"I know you do Connor, sorry if I'm hogging the enemy right now," she said, an apology in her words. "I'm just really really really not a fan of zombies, but I suspect by the end of the day, we're going to have plenty to fight for the both of us. I'm glad you're the one here with me though."

Looking forward again, her lightsaber still spinning through the air and eliminating zombies as they tried to get close, one man in a lab coat darted in, his face cut open by an infected earlier.

"Doctor Goto wanted you to have this, she doesn't think it fair to not give you some help when dealing with the infected. If you want her she is preforming the ritual." he said, confirming her suspicions on who was leading this. Seras was going way too far now, especially if she was attempting the ancient rituals to gain immortality.

As the doctor made his little speech and started to convulse and give into the Sickness, Taeli's lightsaber came spinning back and cut him in two, height wise, and landed in her outstretched hand. Electric judgment once again roared from her hand as she burned away his remains, disgust on her face at the waste of such a resource.

Summoning the comlink to her, she motioned for Connor to guard her while she spoke to their host, the mechanical laughter echoing across the line.

"Doctor Goto, you're messing with forces that are too dangerous for anyone to even possibly control," she said, firing another bolt of green electricity at a zombie that had been trying to flank them from the other side of the stairs. "We're going to stop you, and whatever else you have planned for the Sickness. I won't let you use this as a weapon of war."

In an undertone to Connor, she said, "We need to get in the library and start heading into the deeper sections. The old ritual chamber is there, and probably the final piece of the puzzle that Seras needs to complete her ritual. A special Sith sword, specifically crafted for a ritual of immortality that involves the Sickness. We get that, she can't finish her ritual. Burn and destroy every zombie we come across, we can't let her have samples to experiment with."

 

[Connor Harrison]

With a nod of confirmation to Taeli, Connor took up his com again to contact Kei and his men.

”Rixx, Kei – this is Connor. We’re inside and heading to the library to move into the deeper sections. Head there; we’re looking for a Sith sword to destroy to prevent or delay this Sith Doctor Goto we’re up against. Do NOT use your morality when dealing with the zombies; burn them or take the head regardless of what they say or do. And be careful!”

Signing off, he heard a sickening sound of what was like moist flesh landing on stone. He turned to see two of the un-dead experiments pulling themselves up from the floor towards them. Stepping back in a strong stance, he pulled his hilt from his belt and activated the blue blade with a snap-hiss, and moved forward with a clear plan.

Recoiling as one zombie was up on his feet and swung and arm, Connor turned sideways and cleaved the blade across the neck of the body on the floor, allowing the head to spin freely off from the shoulders. In a fluid motion around the back of the attacking zombie, the Silver Jedi was hit by the stench of their rotting flesh. With a sharp cry, he swung the blade back and thrust it forward into the rear of the zombies’ head, a cauterized mess of undead brain and muscle fell away.

Looking to Taeli, he hopped over the bodies and turned; holding out his hand to them and summoned that spark of Judgement from his body. It came flowing like a river, up his body and out through fingers; his eyes were closed as he maintained peace as he did his duty, and calmly cut the connection to let the energy disperse.

The zombies were smouldering, and there was no pain in his fingers.

He moved to Taeli, back to back, and glanced over his shoulder as he held his arm out to encourage her forward.

”Sounds like a plan, dear. ”

[member="Taeli Rae"] | [member="Kei Amadis"] | [member="Seras Goto"]

 

[Seras Goto]

[member="Connor Harrison"] [member="Taeli Rae"] [member="Kei Amadis"]

Seras listened to the girl Taeli with a laughed as she was speaking about the sickness. Control that was a cute notion but trying to control the sickness was like trying to control a wildfire. "Such a silly girl, do you truly believe I seek to control this? Does one control the wildfire? No one simply thinks of ways to contain it." She had gone back to working on the infected flesh in the container with the conditions while they were continuing to work. She switched the channels and spoke looking at some of the ones they had. "Make sure the lower tunnels are secured and let them unearth the ritual chamber chamber."

There were grunts of confirmation as Seras finished and had some vials filled. One getting a scalpel inserted to it and a sealed cap as she set it aside for later use and more reports of the construction were underway. More displays of where the explosives were being set up by the droids and heavy blastdoors being set to section off areas of the academy. Seras moved to the side taking in a gloved hand her vial and scalpel with the grey ooze coating the blade while she grabbed a mask for her face. The rest of it at least, sealing it with a hiss before a display came up showing her what she wanted and her shawl was covering the black metal.

"Do you though really believe Arcanix you can stop what is here? You will do what thousands of years of visitors have failed to do? You align with jedi and come here, you fight against a sickness and that which you do not understand." She had a look on her face under the masks while moving towards the screen while she was watching it. Her timebomb hadn't been seen yet by the cameras roaming around so she was guessing she was still in play while her hands went towards the computers. They were recording more data and information as she spoke to the flayed doctor who had come to her side.

"Head towards the ritual chamber from the lower tunnels and make sure it is sealed, we'll let the jedi dig for us and clear out any infected but search for that sword." The man was standing there and gave a nod of her head. The synthflesh glistened a little while he stood in the medical corp black uniform with a black cross on the shoulder. Walking towards the blast doors and opening them to reveal flame droids with troopers who were now in the hallway. The door sealing before he was heading down into the lower sections of the academy and the staircase they were adding turrets to. Three more blastdoors in place at the different rooms and levels.

From the library with the wildcards the girl was still whimpering as she wiped at her eyes. the burning sensation was like ants biting across her skin as she scratched at it leaving thin red lines. The girl was being moved though and scanned but the sickness was hard to register unless you were looking closely for it spreading throughout the body. The library they were in was large and covered in fallen debris with a great deal of open space from where rotted trees were going through and window slats. The large grating in the center going down into the deep ritual chamber sealed and covered while below the medical corp moved.

Their doctors clad in black and with troopers as they were working to secure a thick turadium blastdoor with biometrics for the sith on it and echoing throughout the chamber were the sounds of them bolting it to the wall. They had rushed down the lower tunnels from the stairs to make it secure and were working to section it off while they moved throughout the smaller chambers making lights and turret mounts. Construction droids were at work as their drills and torches were working to secure it as other troopers were working to make sure everything was purged for later use.

 

[Kei Amadis]

A loud bang went off and the door was blown off its hinges, not taking the time to rewire it this time, speed was more important judging by the shrieks and howling outside. After asking Connor to repeat his orders again, Kei’s voice came on, they had heard faints words about mercy but not fully understanding what he said, “Master this is ****Static****, we are at the library ****static****, we’ve breached and we’ll setup a perimeter forward for ****Static****” the rest of the transmission went dead, the deeper they went the worse the interference was getting.

Taking the longer route, choosing not to take their chances dropping themselves blind through grating, the door ahead was down, flamer units out ahead, they advanced out of the library into the deeper sections of the academy at a steady downward slope, small steps dotted in between long dark hallways, men and women would slowly edge around corners, covering one another from different angles. Kei insisted on being out front, but he’d taken the wisdom of staying behind the flamers, reluctantly, to put him just behind the front three wildcards. Nobody liked using them on the infected that ran at them screaming, but they were proving effective at anything coming head on, once or twice a particle rifle would ring out, and take out a small grouping in explosively charged energy.

“Keep it tight, but don’t bunch up. We are here to do a job.” Ionan reminded, not that anyone needed it, trying to put the innocent lives being killed out of their minds.

Things were going fine, the radio chatter was light and all business now. They were careful but brisk, not staying in any one place too long, moving quickly and making good time, working as a well-trained unit. Too well? Yes too well, this old series of tunnels wasn’t built for the pounding it was receiving, especially as a grenades were being flung around corners, to quickly and easily take out hostiles.

That’s when they made contact with one of the first teams Seras had sent into the academy, and he was fleeing for his life straight toward their guns…. and he wasn’t stopping?

“What the frell?” The front man called.

Behind Sera's man, was a huge rush of infected, maybe three dozen howling, their noise had attracted a small horde. The front flamers squatted down, others aiming over the top of them, no problem they could bottleneck the infected… then they felt it, frak they were under the floor! Inbetween the ritual chamber and tunnels in that damned floor grating, “team one back up!” Rixx called, but too late, as the first wildcard disappeared underneath the metal, firing his pulsing tensor rifle wildly into the bodies below.

What Seras might realise or not, is that she had a breach in the vents above the ritual chamber.... Kei sure as heck was realising right about now!

[member="Connor Harrison"] | [member="Taeli Rae"] | [member="Seras Goto"]

Spoiler

You've a lot of defenses up to keep track of, can you list them at the bottom of your posts, or just let me know as I run into them, thanks Seras

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Seras Goto"] [member="Connor Harrison"] [member="Kei Amadis"]

"No, if I had my way, this place would be getting razed by turbolaser fire," Taeli replied to the Sith doctor's taunt with an even voice. "Sadly, I didn't bring anything to do that. You're messing with something that neither of the major Force orders would accept, there is a reason this world was under quarantine Seras Goto, and I understand plenty about what's going on here. I read the old tales and the archived information."

With that, she closed the link and felt Connor back up against her. Now this felt sort of right, the two of them, back to back, fighting against some insane power-crazy individual.

"So, shall we go get a sword and thwart an insane Sith doctor?" she asked, her lightsaber cleaving through another zombie that tried to attack them, the blade carving through the head and down into the chest cavity, burning everything it went through. "We should also infiltrate whatever area she has secured to see if she has any other plans in store for us and the galaxy in general."

 

[Seras Goto]

[member="Taeli Rae"] [member="Kei Amadis"] [member="Connor Harrison"]

The sudden cutting off of the comlink left the doctor a little saddened.... She had wanted to show why she was smarter and now there was no one to practice the speech she had all planned out. The look she got from the assistant was enough as he spoke. "You can say it to me herr doctor, we'll listen about your greatness." She looked at him while standing there and working on the infected things. Shaking her head while reports of what they were doing came in with more showing on the screens now. They were ready to clear he ritual chamber that was sealed from the bottom but the library was large... dangerous and open to threats.

No she was looking at the other levels as reports of troop movements came in and she was looking at the others who were coming from the ship. She had some more of her doctors coming in with a small smirk on her face. "Ah Cali, so good of you to come I have a task for you." Seras was looking at the woman, stripped of humanity from the experiments and pale white from being in a lab most of the time. Her chest a mass of slashes and self inflicted injuries while she had black armorweave bindings keeping the rest of her contained. Her one eye removed and with a patch on it while she walked.

"As you commander doctor." There was the other reason she rather enjoyed it, Cali followed orders without hearing them and Seras was moving as she spoke. "I want you to lead a team through the dorms, if you encounter any of these jedi or their men allow them to capture you and get information... Well as much as they have and know. One of them is a former sith but I doubt she knows the true value in this place. She seems to only be thinking about the ritual blade and sickness. I doubt they will harm you being jedi but just in case make sure that some of the dorms at least are one or twos tombs."

There was a look on the woman's face for a moment and then a grin from sliced lips showing filed teeth while she was moving. Her fingers snapping to get a small four person squad while they exited the blastdoors. Cali standing for a moment in the large dorm some of the droids were working to secure and purge with blocks and filters being put over the vents leading into some of the lowe areas. All the buildings and warehouses she could see now clearly from the window as the chill of the night air tingled the transparent synthflesh on her skin. There was the sound of shots being fired in the adjoining hallways and she moved.

More shots coming and the four turrets they had set up with the flame unit were firing at the horde and wildcards. Cali moved grabbing a pistol and shooting the kneecaps of one of the infected as it got close and she motioned with her hands while they were beginning to take and lead off some outside. The sound of thick heavy bolts on the door bhind them sealing that dorm room from being entered without a lot of work and pain as she shouted in a raspy voice. "I'd move quickly jedi, we have a small alcove, hurry." The woman was moving and leading to the door as she looked at Kei before motioning out into the night.

Her boot crunched on another while she was going and there was the large staircase leading up to the open landing pad and training area. Some of the oldest infected students up there she was guessing reliving what they had while she was moving towards other buildings. The warehouses and old armory. She doubted anything would be of use there but motioned for her men with their grapple guns while she was was firing into the chest of another and kicked it away towards one of the wildcards to try and knock them over as the infected would get up and try to bite them. She internally smiled a little climbing up to the roof.

She was buying the time for Seras to do as she needed and that meant clearing the rooms as around them the sounds came. The explosives the droids had been planting at the edges of the academy to carve it out were detonating with strong demolition explosives. Made to carve into the rock and be just beyond the walls of the new academy. She could feel it rocking the area around them as the explosives reverberated with the lights from the towers the droids were setting up activated in the distance. To monitor and observe the newly carved crags of the academy. The doctor stood on he roof and looked down shouting.

"Get to higher ground jedi, your men are not going to want to be in the sea when they realize we've just become an island." She said it but doubted it made sense, the jedi she was guessing were here in such a small scale because no value or thought about it. Bigger plans while she was standing up there and offered a hand while looking over the different warehouses they could use. "Jedi we should be getting for the armory, the sith empire were stocking it up when they sent people here over the years. Each one trying to take it, they might have more effective weapons to handle the infected.

She said it as there were more infected crawling up to her and her men[url]. Seras was watching on the monitors they had set up as the progress was mapping the academy and she looked over the displays. More soldiers would be a waste but droids were easy to activate and send out. They were bolting up and sealing the dorm room as they made their way into the lower levels but were working to keep them secured. The vents getting purge droids in them with flame units until they were sealed and could be filtered.

The storehouses in the tunnel to the ritual chamber being loaded up with more things as the walls were being covered in resin and sealed for use. Quarantine procedures to make them perfect little cells they could keep things in. She wanted to have other things then just the infected on this world and they could keep each of them right here until the moment came while she was keeping with the display as she took a seat. They were not near the academy, the hidden tunnel between them and she was moving her eyes across the ancient animal paddock now while speaking. "Lets have a little fun."

Forces:
200 Construction Droids
100 Flame Droids
50 Flame Troopers
200 Medical Staff
7,000 Prisoners
90 deployed Auto turrets (four per secured hallway, six per room)

 

[Connor Harrison]

Turning fully to face the dangers ahead beside her, Connor nodded and guided Taeli forward gently with a hand on her back, his gleaming blue blade alive in his right hand still.

”If you can use anything you’ve got to hone in on that Sith sword, any feelings or spikes in the Force, act on it to lead us there. I don’t like this place and I feel we’re walking deeper into a trap with no way out.”

Looking around and stepping over the charred bodies of the deceased, the smell was nauseating and the warmth of the labyrinth they seemed to be traversing was getting uncomfortable – or maybe it was internal panic at having to restrain himself and watch his actions under the eye of Taeli.

He moved forward down the stairs into what looked like the main area of the Academy itself, taking his breath away as it seemed there was nothing above them now; stepping out from the archway carved into the mountain itself, they were greeted with snow around them.

”I know that Kei is already inside, so hopefully he’s keeping her busy.”

Frowning, Connor closed his eyes and let the cold wind hit his face to get a feel for what was ahead; nothing but pain, fear and bloodlust. The Dark Side was strong, like the smell of the undead, and he could feel it wrapping around him, but he couldn't feel the Sith. He turned to Taeli.

”I bet that Sword will be close to her quarters near this main Academy, not isolated away too far. Can you feel anything? I...I'm, too wary to try for fear of letting us down.”

He had only just finished before a sharp hiss turned his attention back quickly, and a jawless female was stalking towards him from behind. Eyes wide in surprise, he pulled her sharply forward with the Force under his grip and greeted her body with the twist of his blade. Rotting flesh hit the floor, making him wince.

”Well this is just perfect! Just what I wanted to happen today.”

[member="Taeli Rae"] | [member="Kei Amadis"] | [member="Seras Goto"]

 

[Kei Amadis]

“Taking fire!” The lead units called out, though the growing horde ahead of them was keeping the turrets mostly busy, especially because more of the zombies were being attracted to the sound of gunfire as a surging horde grew.

Whoever this Cali was, nobody was leaving a man under the floorboards, even under fire. Desperate underneath the floor, the solider set the tensor rifle to beam mode, which started to pull apart the zombies on the molecular level, breaking down the closest ones into goo as more and more energy built up inside them. He was hauled back up, because the wildcards didn’t leave their men behind, something which might come back to bite them, quite literally, later.

Someone leveled a plasma rifle up and took out the nearest turret in a surge of electrical energy so they could pull back, electrical energy which chain-linked, bouncing between the zombies causing some nasty damage to them too, though sadly being zombies it didn’t do much to slow them down only fry a handful of them.

Tossing grenades behind them as the wildcards withdrew, the old tunnel from the library dropped rubble behind them after the blast, slowing the zombies, especially the cryoban grenade which froze about 10 bodies in the way of the others. Sadly it also knocked out another turret just leaving two working now in the hall behind them, which meant the horde was likely going to overrun them eventually and make their way to Seras troop's position slowly.

“What’s your name and identification,” Rixx said to Cali, while Kei was willing to move to protect anyone, even someone who might wish them harm, the LT with them wasn’t so quick to trust anyone. They didn’t just blindly follow after them, two soldiers were tasked with keeping their eye on her as her men jumped, when the infected was kicked down it did try to bite through the armor, and lost some teeth in the process, then its head was crushed under a boot.

“Hold on a minute!” Kei called, but they had to move as they had a surging horde ahead and no choice, “follow her sergeant but keep your weapons trained on them for any surprises, anyone injured?” Ionan did a quick head count as the men past him, “one bite wound, suit was breached by those darn turrets, couple of slug holes in a leg or two, other than were holding up, medics doing what she can.”

As Cali was up running into the tunnel, “hold and state your designation, what exactly is going on here.” LT Rixx had had enough, several of the wildcards took up defensive positions in cover facing Cali, weapons trained on the men with her, this was a hostile zone, they weren’t about to run headlong into anything without further orders.

“I don’t feel so good,” said the little girl next to Kei.

Meanwhile outside...

“This is the civilian salvage ship Sindown, we’ve noticed some activity on the surface, we are preparing to assist.” Unaffiliated salvagers from a private cruiser were arriving at the scene, as they smelt the chance for profit or salvage, little did they know.... and it seemed no Wildcard could reach them through all the interference, things didn’t look good, or maybe someone such as Seras was jamming them to relay her own message of welcome!

Wildcard Squad:
11 x Uninfected, LT and SGT Alive and well.
1 x Infected
Small Girl - Infected

NPC Ships Crew
Uninfected Crew: 4000
Infected: 0

[member="Connor Harrison"] | [member="Taeli Raaf"] | [member="Seras Goto"]

Spoiler

Ships crew free for everyone to use.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Connor Harrison"] [member="Kei Amadis"] [member="Seras Goto"]

"Seras won't have the sword yet," Taeli said, her lightsaber blazing out to stab a zombie through the brain, followed by a blast of green lightning from her hand to burn away the corpse. "But . . . I don't want to sense much here anyways, this place is just sick . . . completely sick . . . but . . . hold on . . . I think she's establishing a research post here. There are . . . healthy and tortured lifeforms in a large section of the academy moving around, the zombie are trying to reach them but . . . hmm . . . they must have placed blast doors in the way."

As she continued reaching with her senses, she could feel where Kei and his Wildcards were and her heart dropped a little. Two people with the Wildcards were already infected. That was not good.

"Connor, you need to warn Kei that any man or woman that he has that has been infected is as good as dead right now," she said, twirling her lightsaber felling another zombie as they neared an entrance into the actual academy near where Seras's people were fortifying it. "I don't have an anti-viral developed to deal with it, but it's looking like I'll need to develop one. Also, duck!"

A zombie leaped from a ledge above them, aiming to bite through Connor's neck . . . but it froze in midair and met a glowing disk of purple as her lightsaber streaked out and burned right through most of its body before returning to her hand.

"There are some Sith troopers and defenses ahead, living beings, so care to thin the actual Sith ranks a bit?" she asked, smiling at him. She hated zombies with a passion, but she was having a little fun since she was at least doing this mission with Connor. They would both deserve a nice vacation after this one.

 

[Seras Goto]

[member="Connor Harrison"] [member="Taeli Raaf"] [member="Kei Amadis"]

Seras could hear the sounds now outside... fighting and gunfire while they were working on the sections of the academy. She moved to the hallway they were in and the room beyond was sealed as she opened the door and came through wearing a full mask over her face while looking at the more dangerous sight before her. The zombies in the hallways leading to the doors that were thankfully reinforced into the walls. She coudl feel them pounding and clawing against the thick turadium while she spoke. "Have more troopers deploy turrets and purge units. I want those hallways incinerated."

There was a nod of agreement while they started moving towards the other sections to move around slower and clear the hallways. Several construction droids were moving around outside as they were put to work on the areas. Sealing windows in several of the buildings while they closed them off and ignoring the wildcards before they were firing flame units on the legions of infected. Seras was watching it on the screens as she looked to the map of areas they had taken which in the long run was a small section of the academy. At most ten of the dozens of rooms or buildings.

She could see there there were indicators for the wildcards and the two jedi with a smile appearing on her face under the mask. She spoke sadly not being able to be heard by Taeli but as the girl was coming to do what she wanted hopefully that would serve a purpose. "Ah be careful my dear, don't want you to get infected before you clear my way for the sword." She was plotting and planning as more construction droids were going after the sensors and reinforced towers to monitor within the academy. She had at least tried to plot this retaking easier and carefully.

She could see the dangerous sections where motion trackers were blipping with a small ping. The turrets going off and then there were the sounds of flamethrowers going into one of the hallways. She crossed her arms over her chest in the arm while she was looking towards the larger sections like the outside area and the large dorm rooms. They were working to take another section while the lowest levels continued to be reinforced leading to the ritual chamber and letting the large vents get sectioned off. "What is the status of Cali and her team with the soldiers of the jedi?"

There was a look as the soldiers were working to keep reinforcing the doors and the biometric locks as their systems computers were keeping out anyone not within the sith here. "Report Cali." There was a sound of fighting over the headset and she got a location within the academy/ "We are on the rooftops of the warehouse and working to see what these republic soldiers can do. So far herr doctor... they are holding their own a little." Seras looked at the screen and towards the larger viewscreen of outside as the cameras they were setting up showed movement.

Meanwhile outside, Cali and her soldiers were moving along the rooftops of the buildings with the wildcards in view. They were picking up others who had come to stand there in the academy as they watched. Her team were getting lucky with being up high and the wildcards being lower, for now at least but the tide was turning as she lept from the roof to the ground rolling and throwing a knife itno the face of one of the infected and its head was sliced in half. The top falling away as she looked at it and was running into the ruins of the wrecked tower that showed the mangled remains of a ship.

She glanced at it, the silver jedi had been here before then it seemed as their emblem was over the side as she jumped grabbing a piece of metal and crossing a small gap down into the lower basement of the tower above the tunnel. Cali had her interest now seeing the droids that were working to make areas secured with the larger walls while lights and sensors were being used. Snow melted and cleared for several areas while she ran into one of the buildings with the old armory of the academy. Training sabers, blasters and pelko barbs for the weapons as she stood there firing off and seeing Taeli and Connor.

"You jedi better get into cover, quickly we have flame units." She stood there in the low light while she moved up with her soldiers arriving and lines of flame spat out covered several of the infected that were getting close while they set up the small auto turrets by the doors and windows. "We're all converging in the library." Her voice remained calm as she started firing a pistol into the creatures around her getting the rest in. "And bring those soldiers with you they'll need to take a breather as well." Cali kept her head on a swivel while looking out over everythign they could see while more lights were being set up.

 

[Connor Harrison]

Scrambling forward after nearly losing his head, Connor span to become pinned back against a wall, leaning his head on the stone. He looked at Taeli and offered a shake of the head.

”Who IS this Sith?”

He fished on his belt and pulled up his com, sliding the activator with his thumb as a surge of fire swept down past the wall they were using as cover, the voice of the Sith booming from behind them.

”Kei, this is Connor – what’s your status? Taeli has informed me that anyone you come across – ANYONE – is as good as dead. There is no salvation and they need to be at peace before the virus takes them totally. And don’t let your heart rule your head otherwise you’ll be as good as dead too, and I can’t have that on my conscious can I.”

He smiled a little, killing the signal and looking back to Taeli.

”Is she worth going after, this Doctor? I mean, can we try to apprehend her or take her down or what?”

[member="Seras Goto"] | [member="Taeli Raaf"] | [member="Kei Amadis"]

 

[Seras Goto]

[member="Connor Harrison"] [member="Darth Venefica"] [member="Melori Raaf"]

"Resume the construction commander." There was a look from Seras to the men there as they continued. The sounds of fighting getting louder and they were keeping at it, construction and reinforcing each section as they vent system was being secured with the biofilters. Sensors and monitors now that the facility as separated from the mountain while the droids were making thick heavy braces throughout the crags. The sith doctor saw where they were melting the snow and forming the runoff into the crags before it froze again down below. The sounds of the infected being burned and incinerated came.

That was what helped her find amusement in it all while they were finishing on some more areas, sealing a mass of infected within a tunnel and letting thermite vaporize them as the thick turadium doors were reinforced to the wall and then other sections. The sounds of screams coming through on the speakers and she could see on the scanners that more had gathered across the crags divide as she was grinning. Autoturrets targeting them while she walked more seeing on the landing pad as ships were coming in. Bringing additional soldiers to their entrance and securing it from the rest of the academy.

Well it wouldn't be an academy anymore, at least not in the way many did thought. It was a dangerous place and as they were working on the beacon to repair it and warn people away. Those who came to the world would find the desolate wasteland of the planet covered in ice and death. She didn't want to alert them from the outside and so as the ships deployed more droids for construction and soldiers into the back entrance they had secured they brought equipment in crates and better armored troopers. "Welcome, continue with the efforts and we shall have the sections secured. The droids are used first."

That was the thing as she saw Cali moving and leading the wildcards through on a chase. She led the way towards the library but also was working with them as droids were sealing the entrances and exits. Securing it for their own use until the thick slabs were covering all but a single entrance. The ritual chamber still a dangerous place but they started to work on that sealing it from the top to match the level of security from below. Seras was sending more troopers and engineers to construct and build within the rooms they had as the lower levels were marked as theirs. The vents setup and rooms filled with the deployable turrets.

Her work on the virus was also progressing as the samples were getting put into a more secure quarantine area. The computers working to analyze and determine what they could use and allowing the sisterhood to show up should they wish to come and help setup the special place for them. [member="Darth Venefica"] had proven invaluable towards getting Seras some of the things she wanted so it only seemed fair to share with her the fruits of that labor before the garhoon watched them now. Seeing how the infection could spread in a slave quickly with more bites or slower with a smaller infection.

"Soon this place will be christened with a new name." She had been thinking about it while going down below into one of the barracks as the sisterhoods troopers were setting up. They had built and managed to set themselves up while the droids reinforced a second set of doors leading into their rooms. The box getting installed and made to work as quarantine airlocks before you got inside and she laughed seeing them. The biometrics for scanning them all creating a lock unless you past their testing several times. The purge droids and flametroopers clearing out more places. "Beautiful."

 

[Darth Timoris]

To date she’d kept quiet and hoped her presence wouldn’t be detected. Amongst the more powerful Force users and given their proximity, she hoped her own aura would be hidden – or at least masked. For she’d felt the merest of sensations recently, andd there was always a strong link between Master and Apprentice. Add in the fact they were sisters and it was almost palpable.

She was here because she was a Sister. In truth she had limited skills to help what the good Doctor was up to, or even support her new Master in the way she would need it. But she was a loyal foot-soldier and was learning each and every day the value of participation.

She was aware of the work here. It was not her forte but she understood its value. A virus could render a planet defenceless in weeks, maybe even days if potent enough. And unlike a bomb, the infrastructure would remain intact.

So she sat, with a squad of Sitherhood troopers next to her, awaiting the moment they would be called into action.

[member="Seras Goto"] | [member="Connor Harrison"] | [member="Taeli Raaf"] | [member="Kei Amadis"] | [member="Darth Venefica"]

 

[Seras Goto]

[member="Melori Raaf"] [member="Connor Harrison"] [member="Taeli Raaf"] [member="Darth Venefica"]

The arrival of more troopers and Melori Raaf brought her attention as Seras slowly rose up, her look on her face though while she heard more troopers arriving and slowly was going through the medical scans, biometrics and walking the hallways. She watched the troopers lining the halls and slowly setting up the different defenses of the hallways. The armor of the troopers gleamed prestine white and her previous troopers well Seras had to admit were not as enjoyable not being part of the elite and trained sisterhood. They were the normal ones and she was looking at the maproom they had created with Melori there.

"Welcome to Al'khali dear sister." Seras looked at the woman while she was standing there spreading her arms. "I hope the cold didn't bother you to much. Or the scanning." A mechanical laugh while she was showing the map in a holoprojector in the center console. "We have begun to isolate the academy and securing the rooms. With your help and reinforcements we will be able to move a little faster in getting sections set up as we move to finish isolating and purging the outside area. The jedi who are here have not done anything in awhile and the storms will obscure us from orbit."

Her amusement though while soldiers were loading with the engineers the sections of equipment for the lower barracks and they haf managed to get the central tower area cleared. Dome shields over the center of the wheel to protect them while setting up more walls and clearing away the debris of the tower to make an area they can seal up with walls and reinforce to seal the hole. From below they entered the hole up to it and the debris as they started sealing it and flame units were being used while on the holoprojector a section of the map flashed showing their movement and progress.

 

[Balaya Praelior Zambrano]

[member="Darth Timoris"] [member="Connor Harrison"] [member="Camellia Swift"]

The call had come out and coming from the zoo Balaya came in her ship. Letting it along with a small stopover on Rendili lead to them getting some more soldiers and supplies. The sith master had brought the ship in from the darkside and followed the transponder from the other ships. Then began to unload as the construction droids were setting up towers to protect the space port. ANti personnel and anti air before they were directing with the others. She looked towards Camellia and stood in the large thick cloak while looking everything over for the time. "We shall head inside, the Sisterhood has been securing it and..." She pointed to the tower at the back entrance that was covered in a defensive fort with the snow being melted and sections secured deep into the stone of the ground. The way towards it leading to an airlock with scanners while she was walking now. "Be careful pet the sickness can afflict all species."

 

[Camellia Swift]

[member="Darth Praelior"]

Well Camellia wasn't really going to risk getting herself infected as she quickly followed after Lady Praelior, not too fond of the location they were on now after their last bit of work. The stop by Rendili was pleasant, but in all honesty Camellia sort of wished she could have stayed behind there considering this place was rather dangerous. The Zeltron Giantess had gone into great deal as to how dangerous, not making the Rendili woman's concerns any more alleviated. "Of course Lady Praelior, I'd like to hurry where its safe then." If there was a safe place that was. After all, part of the reason they had stopped at Rendili was for more construction material, droids, boulder-dozers, and engineers to finish the work. Hopefully enough was done for now though.