Dominion Awaken The Hive | AC Dominion of Empty Hex |

[Cedric Grayson]

Elements of the 2nd Crusader fleet had moved toward open space to perform exercises in preparation for the coming conflict with the Sith. The first week went by as expected, a few ships suffering slight damage from the exercises, but the fleet otherwise continued its tasks unbothered. That was, at least, until all signals from the battlegroup went silent. The silence was written off as technical difficulties for the first day: it wasn't until forty-eight hours had passed that the brass of the Crusade began to worry.

A small naval detachment was sent to investigate in response. Composed mostly of volunteers, the strike force expected the worst. Perhaps the Sith had taken note of the breakaway fleet and launched a preemptive strike while their foes were split, or maybe the fleet had simply gotten lost amidst a nebula. Whatever the case, the marshals of the crusade were going to find out one way or the other.

What awaited them as their ships fell out of hyperspace at the lost fleet's last known coordinates was unexpected. Rather than the remains of a battlefield, or the bulbous mass of a nebula dominating that sector of space, they were greeted with the entirety of the lost detachment simply floating inert in the void. The ships were still powered, and transmitted their IF signatures normally over the D-Tek battlenet. As untouched as they seemed, they did not respond to any hails, and the marshals quickly came to the conclusion that the ships would need to be boarded to determine what had happened.

​

Objective 1: Board the lead frigate of the lost strike group, Damocles, in hopes of discovering what has led to the silence of the fleet.
Objective 2: Direct the friendly ships of the Crusade as they traverse through the void.
Objective 3: BYOO

 

[Cedric Grayson]

Objective 1

The fleet remained silent as Cedric's shuttle encroached closer and closer to the lead ship. There were smaller teams investigating each vessel in the strike force, but the majority of the investigators would be heading for the Damocles. If the entirety of the group was not responding to communications, then it was a healthy guess that the source of the problem began at the lead vessel and spread outward from there, otherwise they almost certainly would have heard something.

The shuttle was mostly silent as it rumbled into the primary hanger bay of the Damocles. Cedric could see that the light were still on through the shuttle's viewports, but he saw no one below, nor did he sense any kind of life. He'd suspected the cause of this silence might have been a pathogen, but if it had struck through the population quickly enough to stop anyone from relaying a message, surely there would have been bodies in the hangers.

Perhaps they had managed to haul off any afflicted before the infection could spread, if indeed there was any infection at all.

"Strange," he mumbled as the shuttle set down onto a docking ring. They'd find out soon enough.

 

[Elise Solsteel]

Objective 1
Location: Arriving on Damocles
Tags: Cedric Grayson E Eric Vales

Not long after the first shuttle docked, another arrived. There were a few of them making their rounds to investigate, and yet it was Lord Cedric who spearheaded the search into mysterious territory. Again. A true leader who led from the front, it seemed, no matter what he faced.

Elise knew of him. Perhaps more than he knew of her, but it was to be expected. She doubted he recognized her, given how many years it had been since they both stepped foot on Ession. Longer still, for her, as she had disappeared into the unknown regions with her former Master before their home was even lost, and never managed to return.

One of the things she deeply regretted, despite how probable it would have been that she'd have died there with the millions of others.

The Ashla had guided her down a difficult and convoluted path, but it was never wrong. After all this time, it guided her back to where she belonged. Here, she was able to do her best work for her own people, once again.

They watched for a short time, once they landed. Looking for any signs of life, friendly or otherwise. The hangar was desolate. All the lights were on, but no one was home. If this was indeed caused by an infection of some kind, then she was happy to assist as much as she could. The healing arts were what she was known for, and how she could be of most use. If the entire fleet was afflicted by such however, they were going to need a lot more than just her to reverse whatever ailed them.

When it was deemed safe, the small crew stepped out. Elise stood on the dock, listening to the sheer absence of sound, save for the shuffle of footsteps around her.

"If there is anyone here who is skilled in psychometry, it would be particularly useful now." She spoke with the hint of a smile, dark eyes roaming the vast open and seemingly lifeless space. Such a skill wasn't one she could rely on personally, but it had proven invaluable in past excursions. All she could sense for the moment was that something was clearly wrong, but she didn't know what. Though they had yet to even leave the dock, the more time she spent there, the less she believed there was a pathogen to blame for this anomaly.

 

[Brimstone]

Brimstone circled back over the lead ship in the Barbarian-4. He was not quiet or particularly skilled in investigation so he and his strike team were in reserve. His ship was well suited to dealing with any pirates that might be out to try and claim salvage on their fleet. He checked all his ship systems. Everything working and ready to go. He had locations on all of the infiltration parties. He could arrive at any of their locations fast, or provide emergency extraction as required. Right now he was flying close to the ships looking out for any damage or any other uninvited ships what might be lurking.

"Good luck in there, your guardian angel is listening in to you" he said into his communicator as he detected the first team entering the abandoned ships.

Cedric Grayson Elise Solsteel E Eric Vales

 

[Cedric Grayson]

​

Location: Damocles Hanger Bay A

The few teams inserted were relatively small. If a pathogen had spread throughout the vessels as Cedric suspected, then sending a larger force was far too risky. They would have to make do with a few dozen people spread throughout the different hanger bays.

It was only when Cedric stepped off the shuttle that he noticed just odd the silence was. He'd spent much of his life on the flight decks of ships like these, and they were nearly always bustling with some form of life. Now it seemed as if even the electronics of the ship had been silenced, even through they seemed to be working well enough.

"I'm not sure having you watch us makes me feel protected Brimstone ." Cedric mumbled over his comms as he meandered over toward the center of the bay. He reached out into the depths of the empyrean, searching for any islands amongst the Great Ocean aside from themselves, and found only the depths.

Had they all just disappeared?

"I feel nothing," He turned his gaze toward Elise Solsteel. "Ah, if only my old padawan was here. Ryv 's always had a mind for that sort of thing." Rarely did a day go by when he didn't wonder about what had happened to the boy. "We may just need to press on. I don't sense any life, but I don't feel the scars of death either. It's as if the crew has just up and vanished." He still knew little of the sage woman, but he was almost surprised she didn't possess psychometry. She seemed to have a knack for communing with the Force in ways others could not.

He keyed on his comms to Brimstone once more. "Anything happened with the fleet? Did any ships respond to our landing?"

E Eric Vales

 

[Brimstone]

He keyed on his comms to Brimstone once more. "Anything happened with the fleet? Did any ships respond to our landing?"

"Nope, not a single response, and nothing out here, its as quiet as the grave, so to speak." Replied Brimstone "I did run into a couple of probe droids, pretty beat up, old as spit tech. I doubt anything that could have threatened the fleet sent them. Probably scouts for salvaged so I popped them off and will keep a look out."

Cedric Grayson Elise Solsteel E Eric Vales

 

[Modor Khos]

Objective 1:
Location: Damocles Hangar Bay

"In times of trying... give us the light"

Modor walked into the hangar on the assault cruiser of the Holy Strikeforce. Cardinal Pietro Demici had seen fit to send Modor with a strike force of the new and improved Marines of the Ecclesiarchy. The Assault Vessels were painted a crimson red to symbolize the holy authority of the Cardinal and edged in silver and white to symbolize the purity of their ministry.

Two main assault craft landed each with two dozen heavily armed assault marines. Each strike force had with them heavy weapons, an engineer core and their chaplain. These soldiers were under oath and direct command of the church and The Icarus of the Ashla in Ession.

As Modor Khos walked outside and leading the contingency He met with the most holiest of hosts, Cedric Grayson . Here in this barren ship, casting danger away every knee bent to the blade of the light, The Son of the Sun, The Gray blade of Russan.

The Holy Host of the Cardinal and the Friar's league paid their homage in tradition here in the Damocles, Modor stood up to speak for them.

"My Lord Grayson." He said, head bowed and hand in sword. "The Cardinal and The Holy Host sends their knights in this endeavor as soon as we heard. It is an honor to serve the Ashla by your command"

Modor then saw and greeted His Lord's two companions. Brimstone , Elise Solsteel and E Eric Vales . Like ancient days of adventurers the three seemed quite the pair... yet... it was dreadfully silent.

"Any clue what's up with this ship...?"​

 

[The Red of Sinner]

It was not easy for Katina to be here, the Ashlan Crusaders were considered zealots among the many at best, fanatics at worse. To her, whatever religious propaganda spewed from their mouth was just that, fanatical beings exerting their rights. But Katina had to give them credit where it was due, the Ashlan Crusade was willing to take the actions she deemed necessary to combat the evil in the galaxy, and to her, the Jedi could take a few notes from them. It wasn't easy convincing them that she was here to assist, while not interested in the faith of Ashla, Katina was much more interested in their need for soldiers willing to put their lives on the line for the safety of the galaxy. The face of the Crusade, Cedric Grayson , seemed to be something of a cult leader in her mind's eye, but he brought hard results that could not be denied as effective. Katina continued to respect their ideal, however, biting her tongue every corner, and simply following orders.


And here they were, in search for fleet element deemed MIA. She had been placed under a man, Modor Khos , but she opted to stay behind to ensure that communications and direction was kept up to standards and beyond. Katina had to admit, Modor was an impressive man, his aura demanded respected and loyalty. Regardless, the knight kept her distance, insuring that the mission was all that was on her mind.

Brimstone Elise Solsteel E Eric Vales

 

[Brimstone]

A crackle came through on Brimstone's radar just as he was about to go to investigate a mysterious new contact on his scanners.

"This is Lord Count Roosell of the Intergalactic Federation of Freelance Collectors, you are ordered under my authority to stand down. This ship has been marked as salvage by my organisation and must be treated as our property, pursuant to local bylaws"

Brimstone laughed, some pirate trying to make himself seem official no doubt. "Get lost pirates, these ships belong to the Ashlan Crusade and are under rescue status not salvage status. go find someone else to bother" He powered up his weapons and flew to approach, he could detect their own energy signatures building up. There were 4 of them, 3 small corellian freighters and an older CR70 corvette, two of the freighters pealed off and made a b-line toward the fleet.

"I say again, leave now, these ships belong to us, if you do not comply we are authorised to use force if necessary"

The Gen'dai was losing his patience now, and he did not respond well to threats, he calculated a firing solution and aimed at the next of the corvette.

"This is your last chance, you will not be warned again"

"You'll have to repeat that...." Brimstone replied, smiling to himself as he fired, the twin turbolasers of his small craft blasting straight through the neck of the corvette and severing its head "...you're breaking up"

He sped forward in his gunship, firing the turbolasers a second time, blowing apart the engine of the corvette. The freighter that had stayed close by engaged Brimstone with its own laser cannons, scoring a few decent hit, but Brimstone's ship was both shielded and armoured, so a small defensive laser was going to have to get lucky to do any serious damage. He opened up with his own laser cannons and scored a few hits of his own, he could see a plume of gas escaping from the freighter, atmosphere from the hold he suspected. He realised that he couldn't afford to lose the other two freighters so passed his current foe and headed back toward the fleet, firing another volley as the damaged freighter gave chase.

At this point he noticed something was happening in the fleet, three smaller ships had moved away from the main fleet and were intercepting the oncoming pirates. In a blast of defensive laser cannons, the pirates were obliterated, caught completely off guard by the supposedly derelict ships. Brimstone pulled into a long roll and continued firing at his pursuer, disabling the engines and leaving it on a high speed drift into deep space. With its velocity now locked it was an easy kill with one of his turbolasers.

" Cedric Grayson , there is something you need to see" he transfered the sensor logs from his ship to cedric's data pad, "the ships in this fleet arent as dead as they appear"

Cedric Grayson Elise Solsteel E Eric Vales The Red of Sinner Modor Khos

 

[Cedric Grayson]

Location: Damocles Hanger Bay A - Damocles Hallway

It seemed the church's presence was growing ever more powerful.

He'd been informed by one of the cardinals that a force of their new soldiers would be joining the investigators aboard the Damocles. Whilst most of the Crusade was spiritual, it was not inherently a theocratic organization. The army had many non-believers among it, people who cared more about stopping the Sith than they did ideology. The church was certainly the Crusade's greatest influence, but mostly it had been content to fund a secular army.

Until now, it seemed.

The reverence the knights paid him almost made the exile uncomfortable. Regal as he might have claimed to be, he was unused to soldiers kneeling before him, or anyone doing so really. The exile waved a hand. "Knight Khos, it is good to see you. Your knights are most impressive, but you need not pay me veneration. I am but a servant of the Ashla, same as you." He gestured for the men to rise.

"We press forward. Time is a luxury we don't have," not awaiting any further responses, Cedric marched toward one of the airlocks leading to an adjacent hallway, waited for the doors to part as his presence, and strode into the darkness beyond. The lights that had sustained the hanger were all out now, and the halls were drenched in an inky blackness that made sight impossible.

Bogan's Lament roared to life in Cedric's hand, casting a small section of the halls in its bright blue glow. "Ashla light our way." He muttered as he would begin to lead the procession into the gloom. It was around that time that Brimstone 's voice crackled over the comms, informing Cedric of some anomaly. The Essonian checked his datapad in turn, his eyes narrowing as the reality of their situation became clear.

"I don't think these ships are abandoned."

Elise Solsteel, Modor Khos , Brimstone , The Red of Sinner

 

[Heinrich Faust]

Most of the task force had opted to approach the Damocles from the main landing bay, while Heinrich chose to take a shuttle to scout around for other potential breaches in the ship's hull. The general consensus was that the crew may have suffered from some form of pathogen, but they still wanted to explore other potential explanations for their disappearance. As he circled around the vessel, Heinrich noticed a small breach in the observation deck. He opened a channel to the other teams in the area.

<All teams, this is Heinrich Faust. I spotted a breach in the side of the bridge of the Damocles. Prepping for boarding now. I'll keep you posted. In the meantime, make sure to stay away from the bridge until I can confirm a seal on the door.>

With those words, Heinrich placed the shuttle on autopilot, locked in the helmet for his spacesuit, and opened the hatch. He made his way toward the breach, pushing himself off of the wall of the shuttle for extra momentum. From what he could see, the bridge appeared to be just as quiet as the vacuum of space. There was something unsettling in the silence, almost as if it produced its own howling, hellish cacophony. Heinrich needed answers.

He slowly entered through the breach, checking for any signs of life. The bridge had been entirely emptied, though he was unsure if it was a clue, or simply the breach that had taken the bodies. Once he was secure on the bridge, he sent another message out to the teams as he investigated the bridge.

<All teams, Faust here. I have entered the breach. Looks like the bridge is empty. No signs of life. Checking further, will report back once I confirm the seal, or if I find anything. Faust out.>

Cedric Grayson Elise Solsteel Brimstone Modor Khos The Red of Sinner E Eric Vales​

 

[Modor Khos]

"Friar" Modor corrected with the slightest curve of a smile wafting through his lips. The waves of red and white, gold and silver rose with Modor. The mighty force behind Modor was nothing less than the Elite of the churches Host, The Holy Guard. Modor turned to one of the new Knights The Red of Sinner and the Chaplain Dominarius while using the data hud on his forearm.

Katina was a Warden, along with the Chaplains and the Centurions of the unit they were the next in the chain of command. "Send off team Eon and Talas to the living quarters. From this point we scan for pathogens and any anomaly in the airlocks"

Their armor was a Marvel of technology and of the deep pockets of the magistrates of the church. Every single member of the Squad was outfitted with internal H.U.D. systems and oxygen scanners. They were able to see in real time their squadmates visors as well as cycle unclean air with high tech rebreathers. Augmented powergloves and water conditioning filtration systems were only the típ of the technology that they had available to them.

Modor turned once more to Cedric Grayson and saw the troubled Brow that crossed his face. "Pirates? Plague?... Sith?"

 

[Elise Solsteel]

Objective 1
Location: Damocles hallway
Tags: Cedric Grayson Modor Khos Brimstone The Red of Sinner

Before they could venture from the hangar, two more small ships landed behind them. Modor Khos debarked with a total of...well, she couldn't count that quickly, but it was certainly dozens of soldiers. If they were as well trained as they were armed and armored, there should be little for them to be concerned about, moving forward.

Raising a curious eyebrow, she watched the soldiers follow his lead, and stand at the ready with perfect discipline. Modor was not a man she was familiar with, but she had an inkling he was destined to serve a vital role in not just their current predicament, but in battles to come. His presence was certainly as imposing as it was reverent.

She eyed Cedric's reaction to the Friar's respectful introduction. The Grandmaster faltered with discomfort. Perhaps not so openly, but she sensed a fluctuation through the Force, and his humble response brought a smile to her face.

It'd been such a long time since she last saw him-they were both practically children-and so she couldn't claim to have ever known him. The cruel trials this life has thrust upon him over the years seemed to have only shaped him into a man who was more than deserving of his position. A rare sight to see, unfortunately.

"Friar Khos..." Returning the gracious nod given to her, "Elise. It's a pleasure. You have an impressive force indeed. Ashla-willing, they won't need to be put to use here, but they are a welcomed sight nonetheless."

With that, she and the small crew from her shuttle followed Cedric's lead. The black hall they encountered beyond the airlock was anything but promising. There was much more than an electrical malfunction at play here. The green glow of her saber followed suit, reinforcing the beacon of light that buffered their surroundings. She had another idea, though. A little trick she liked to use sometimes, that served no purpose other than to produce harmless light.

Placing her hand against the wall, a small burst of white light emitted from each finger. It followed the surface of the wall to the ceiling, down the opposite wall, and along the floor at their feet within a second's time. Then it spread down the length of the corridor in a transient stripe of illumination that revealed everything before them in a pulse of racing light. It wouldn't last long, but it useful.

The first several yards were as desolate as the silent hangar they entered, but before it could touch a particular airlock, the doors could be heard with a soft hiss of movement. A large, indistinguishable object blurred just out of the light's reach, leaving the stripe to flash past the solid door left behind.

They had company.

 

[Jegy Sesara]

Objective 3:
Mission: End the Endless Night
Location: Damocles​

The Force is a true gateway to the unnatural elements of the universe. In Realspace, things are moving at a constant, changing on a dime and have its own laws and physics. Such as is with Otherspace, almost of fluid and comprised of murderous beings that seek nothing but death. Then the Nether, an area of hellish landscape and torment yet a pathway for many to and from the Force. That is what the Sullustan walked through, a storm that had surrounded him as he held his hands together, praying for protection and focusing in the Force to deflect the lightning when it came to close and the spirits roaming around him.

He had a goal in mind, something that he had to do and something he dreaded to encounter again. The Force has always been known to give him certain visions, clues as to events that would occur in the Galaxy...and one of them he was not pleased into seeing coming to fruition once again. Walking towards the middle of the storm, it started to get worse yet the Sullustan pushed forward, noticing the destination soon closing in. Lifting his left hand, he tore open a section out of the Nether and out into an unknown starship. The portal soon closing behind him, the Sullustan lowered his hood and observed his surroundings.

The Sullustan had no idea what this starship was, but he appeared to be in the main engine block area of it. Observing his surroundings, he breathed in very carefully and started to feel something foreign as he coughed rather loudly. Taking another breath, he started to hold it and focus through the Force, filtering out what was wrong as he opened his eyes slowly. The man had been through enough situations with his first wife to know when something was wrong in the air. Pulling the outside robes back carefully, he would walk forward as the doors would open and carefully, seek the target that needed to end.

To end the Endless Night.

 

[Cedric Grayson]

​

Location: Damocles Hallway
Tags: Modor Khos , Elise Solsteel, Brimstone , E Eric Vales , The Red of Sinner . Heinrich Faust , Jegy Sesara

"Something else." Cedric replied to Modor Khos as Elise Solsteel lit up the hallway. Nothing greeted them save for empty halls and a chilled breeze, the air growing far colder the further down they went. It quickly dropped below freezing, and the walls seemed to be lined with thin sheets of ice as far as the eye could see.

Something stirred in the darkness, just on edge the edge of the light. then another, and another. Cedric peered as best he could through the darkness, but could only make out vague spindly figures shuffling through the darkness. "Hello?" He called out.

A dozen chittering voices clicked back at him in a vaguely insectoid language. Two of the things strode out of the darkness, revealing long, insectoid bodies that stood nearly as tall as a human. They carried archaic looking rifles, likely slugthrowers, and chittered at the investigators through the darkness.

That chittering rumbled from every side of the halls. The two closest creatures, Killiks Cedric now realized, raised their rifles and opened fire, the slugthrowers thundering as they sent a volley of metal bullets toward the gathering.

The exile raised a hand, forging a brief telekinetic barrier between himself and the Killiks. The bullets bounced harmlessly off the barrier, and he wasted little time in sending them back toward their source.

The creatures screamed as they fell, but nearly dozen more charged through the darkness to replaced them, and just many marched from the other end of the hallway.

"Like a shooting gallery," Cedric mumbled as he drove his blade into the ground, and began sprinting to carve a circle around the gathered knights. "Help me cut a hole below or they'll have us trapped!"

Elsewhere, Jegy Sesara and Heinrich Faust would face their own challenges. The Killiks slowly emerged from their hiding places, weapons set to kill. All communication with Brimstone and The Red of Sinner would go momentarily silent. For the moment, everyone aboard the vessel was isolated, and alone.

 

[Heinrich Faust]

Heinrich inspected the breach closely, trying to determine the cause. It was difficult to determine whether something had occurred within the craft itself, or if the bridge had been damaged from the outside. It would take more time than he would like to fully determine the cause of the breach. He had to make sure that the corridor near the bridge was safe for the teams to move in. He quickly made his way to the door, checking to see if the control panel was still functioning. Luckily, it seemed to be undamaged. The blast doors slid open, allowing him passage to the corridor. Closing the door behind him, Heinrich inspected the doors, looking for any potential weaknesses. There were none to be found, making the corridor safe for those that might not be wearing proper gear to protect against the vacuum of space. He activated his comlink, watching the corridor as he spoke.

<Faust here. The situation on the bridge remains unclear, but I have confirmed that the corridor outside is safe to traverse. Will begin my own sweep of the area, and link up where appropriate.>

He began sweeping the corridor, searching it room by room... and still, no one. Not a single sign of life. It was the most curious thing. He decided to reach out, seeking to detect through the light of Ashla what his normal senses could not. At first, nothing, but then... a sign of life. Heinrich assumed for a moment that a survivor was near, but then another signature popped up...

And another...

And another...

Suddenly, he could sense a great number... far greater than what would be expected. It wasn't until then, that the Killiks showed themselves, pouring out of the hatches and vents of the ship. They had crude weapons in hand; slugthrowers, by the look of them. Not waiting to be blasted to pieces, Heinrich immediately let loose a massive Force push, sending the first few Killiks flying back into their comrades. Not wanting to lose any advantage he may have left, Heinrich immediately ran into an adjacent room, closing the door behind him. Heinrich quickly jammed his lightsaber blade into the control panel, disabling it and locking himself in. It wouldn't hold them off indefinitely, but it would give him a chance to attempt another transmission. He had to warn the others, though he suspected that they had already made contact as well.

<To all teams, I have hostile contact near the bridge. Use extreme caution. I repeat, multiple hostiles near the bridge. I'll do what I can from here, but there are likely more where they came from.>

He would have said more, but was interrupted by a bang against the door to the room. The insects were trying to force their way in. Heinrich could only assume that they would find another way, should the door withstand their brute force. He had to find another way out, somewhere he could emerge behind them and catch them off guard. Furthermore, he had to find the others.

Heinrich scanned the room, which appeared to be the captain's quarters. As he looked around the room, Heinrich spotted a single vent within the wall. Rushing over to it, he pulled the cover off, staring into the darkness. It was going to be a tight fight, but he didn't have much of a choice.

"Alright, here it goes..."

With those words, he climbed into the endless black, searching for a way out.

Cedric Grayson Elise Solsteel Modor Khos Brimstone Jegy Sesara The Red of Sinner E Eric Vales​

 

[Modor Khos]

Location: The Damocles
Objective: I'm doing my part.

So forth from The King of Ession emerged beauty uncontested. Modor turned to hear Elise Solsteel and smiled candidly back as she smiled to His Lord. Modor removed his helmet, let the long and flowing golden hair land on his shoulders and stood relaxed and leaned back to converse.

"I am sure you are right Lady Solesteel. Even if there was our forward force would have long ago eliminated anything dangerous. We were just using the deployment as training for our marines in boarding oper-"

He was cut short, by Grayson himself. Modor beleived there would be nothing by the time the Guard came around as it usually was what happened. Their assigment had come as a surprise but nothing more than the usual political presence that they were intended to be. Shiny, Good looking, disciplined but not necessarily practical.

This had only recently began changing... With Modor and the Friar's league the Guard became much more active and violent in the pursuit of their goals.

Their conversation was interrupted by the rumble of skittering legs. A cold chill ran down the spine of every man in that ship. What emerged was a swarm of insect warriors bearing weapons and a horde of their brethren. It was too quick to register, am ambush too well tripped to react without first bathing the entire docks in the hellfire of blasters and slugthrowers.

Their new training, the Chaplains behind them and the centurions in front of them, It all came together to form a wall of heavy blasterfire in the docks. The deafening sound of their weapons was joined by the heavy turbolaser fire of the cruisers docked behind them.

Modor turned instinctively, donned his helmet and removed his heavy pistol from his holster. He joined the cacophony of blasterfire, hitting the wet and crunchy limbs of the carapaces of the horde that assaulted them.

"Do not let them get near the ships!"

 

[Brimstone]

The voices coming though to Brimstone suddenly stopped, briefly drowned out by what sounded like a crackling noise. The Heinrich came back in, issuing a warning about contacts at the bridge. He was there alone, as good a place as any for Brimstone's team to engage. He piloted Barbarian-4 over to the ship and looked for a docking point. There was one on a platform about 50m to from the bridge toward the bridge.

"Everybody ready, we are going in imminently." He allowed the R3 unit that he had been lent to perform the docking procedure and he joined his strike team in the cargo area. The lights on the hatch went green and he opened it. There was pressure inside the part of the ship, he was detecting movement up ahead so he pulled out his Baw-63 just in time to see the first wave of aliens approaching him. He and his heavy weapon armed strike member opened up down the corridor, hundreds of blaster bolts spilling down the corridor, blasting holes through the insectoid carapaces of the aliens as they approached, there was so many of them. At least this was a narrow corridor that they could easily defend for now. They began advancing toward the bridge. At the very least Brimstone hoped they would distract the aliens to allow Heinrich to regroup and make himself safe.

There was an explosion as one of his strike members tossed a thermal detonator down a side corridor, for a few seconds there was a lull in the advance of the aliens. Was something happening or had they broken the advance? If they had intelligence they would stop trying to assault down the corridor. "Heinrich, we are 40 meters aft ward of your position under heavy attack. We are attempting to suppress. we are approaching a junction that will lead to you.

​

Cedric Grayson
Elise Solsteel
Modor Khos
Heinrich Faust
Jegy Sesara
The Red of Sinner
E Eric Vales

 

[Heinrich Faust]

Heinrich slowly crawled through the ventilation shaft, he could hear the continued banging against the door of the room he had just escaped. He attempted getting through to someone on his comlink, hoping to be able to coordinate more effectively.

<Heinrich here, anyone read? Repeat, this is Heinrich, can anyone hear me?>

No answer.

Heinrich could only assume that it was due to the shaft blocking his transmission. It was no matter, he would have to push on anyways... until he heard a very familiar skittering from ahead of him. He let out a whispered curse as he pondered his next move. If he went back, he would be completely cornered, with no way of rendezvousing with the others. No... the only way out was through.

He kept pushing his way through the cramped darkness of the shaft, getting closer and closer to the clatter of the Killiks within the vent. Finally, when he believed himself to be close enough to his foes, Heinrich ignited his lightsaber, casting its light down the shaft. As he suspected, there were several of the creatures in front of him, skittering their way toward him, slugthrowers ready to fire. Right as they shot, Heinrich pushed forward with the Force, sending the slugthrower rounds back to his enemy. The force of the attack send them flying back to a corner within the shaft. Some of the Killiks splattered against the wall, and others were crippled from the impact. Heinrich quickly shuffled his way to them, cutting them down with his lightsaber as best as he could.

Heinrich had to crawl through the remains of the dead Killiks as he turned the corner. The stench was foul, and likely something he have to get used to quickly.

"I thought they smelled bad from the outside."

Upon turning the corner, Heinrich could see the exit to the shaft. As he approached, he finally heard chatter returning to his comlink. It was Brimstone , letting Heinrich know that he had boarded the Damocles. Heinrich offered a brief thanks to Ashla before replying to the transmission.

<Heinrich here. Heard you loud and clear. There's a pack of Killiks headed your way. I am inside a ventilation shaft nearby. Draw their fire, and when they pass by, I'll jump out of the vent and take the rest from behind. Once I see your fire I'll make my move.>

After ending the transmission, he waited patiently behind the vent, waiting for the time to strike.

Cedric Grayson Elise Solsteel Modor Khos Jegy Sesara The Red of Sinner E Eric Vales​

 

[Jegy Sesara]

The pheromones were strong, he could almost taste them in his own mouth. Being with a Chadra-Fan for a few years meant sometimes adapting and learning such things...even raising a child that did it often, it required some form of idea on smell and scent. While the species of Killiks were known to use multiple different variations of communications, Chadra-Fan were known to communicate simply giving away a pheromone for fear, happiness and love. The Sullustan carefully walked into a large cargo hold as the chittering finally grew loud as his eyes wandered left and right, seeing multiple eyes start to peer over the containers. Each one was at least the size of a humanoid as they crawled over, pointing some form of ballistic weaponry towards the Sullustan as there appeared to be over two dozen of them nearby. Peering upward, the Sullustan spoke loudly as they listened to him, tilting their heads.

"I am aware of who lives among you. Let it speak to me, let me speak to the-"

Then the air started to get riddled with flying projectiles, the Sullustan quickly flinging himself behind a nearby container as multiple pinging noises can be heard. Giving a loud yet annoyed groan, he took his time to undo the staff lightsaber from behind as a loud TING noise be heard as it almost struck his head. Moving it to the side, it activated on both ends with red plasma projecting out. Breathing in, he turned from the corner and flung the staff hard as he could, then back on the other side as he focused in the Force.

The lightsaber staff might as well be a self projectile boomerang controlled through the Force, as it would start striking each Killik he felt throughout the Force. Each one giving a screech as most would try to charge forward. However that backfired as each one would be sliced in some form of fashion from the lightsaber staff, either in half, the head, or some combination of body parts flying off. When the last one finally came around the corner, the lightsaber staff stabbed it through its insectoid head and into the container beside it. Walking forward, he grabbed the lightsaber and pulled it out of the container, walking forward up the nearby staircase.

"Death it is then Endless Night."