Public Catalyst: Resonance

[Liin Terallo]

Something is waking beneath the storm,
A song in the static, a pulse taking form.
The oceans have risen, the heavens are torn —
And the world remembers the one who was born
From silence, science… and sorrow.


I had buried it.

Hidden it beneath layers of secrecy and silence, locked behind falsified coordinates and decoy research logs. I had told myself that the reactor - my first attempt at weaving isotope-5 into a stable resonance lattice - was gone forever, lost with the broken down freighter that had become my first laboratory. It was the first to be invaded and the first for me to abandon.

But now the galaxy hums with the song of what was buried.

I first heard it in the static between hyperspace lanes. A rhythm. A pulse. Too measured to be random and too precise to be natural. The kind of signal that carries intent. Every system tuned to it's frequency reacts the same way; instruments glitch, compass readings invert, and for a heartbeat - just one - it feels like the ship is breathing.

And then I saw it for myself.

The storm covers half a hemisphere. A vast cyclone of electric light swirling around a shattered ocean. From orbit it looks almost serene; a spiral of luminous mist - but as I descended, serenity gave way to chaos. The seas below were not seas at all. Great masses of water had risen into the air, suspended in place like glass, their surfaces rippling with reflections of things that should not exist.

There were cities in those reflections.
Cities made of light and sound, built from my own equations.

Lightning slashed through the air without thunder. It was silent. Utterly silent. Yet I could feel it in my bones. The entire atmosphere seemed tuned to a frequency just beyond hearing, a constant low vibration that resonated in the marrow. The world was humming back at me.

It was not until I landed that I realized the gravity was not stable. The ground rippled underfoot, every step leaving faint trails of luminescence that drifted upward, like embers rising from coals. The soil itself was alive, motes of isotope energy moving through it like veins of light beneath translucent skin.

And through it all, the same, unrelenting rhythm: thrum… thrum… thrum.

A heartbeat.

I once called this process synthetic resonance - the attempt to reproduce the underlying pattern of the Force using isotope-5 and bioadaptive molecular chains made possible with biomolecules. But standing here, with the sky folding over itself and the planet whispering in magnetic tones, I have to wonder if I did not reproduce the Force at all.

Perhaps I gave it form.

The reactor should have been inert, buried beneath kilometers of rock. Yet the scanners insist it is active and expanding; feeding on it's environment. The ocean, the air, even the planet’s magnetic field - all of it is part of the circuit now.

I had thought the reactor would be safe, hidden away. Clearly, I was wrong.

If it keeps growing, this world will not survive.
And neither will I, if anyone else traces the signal back here.

But I have to know what it is becoming.
I have to know what I have become.

----- A Few Hours Later -----

The storm is quieter now.
Or maybe I have just learned to hear through it.

Every few minutes, the planet exhales - the ground flexing under my boots as though it were drawing in breath. When I kneel, I can see the soil pulsing with faint light; rhythmic and steady. Each pulse matches my heartbeat.

That should not be possible.

The air is thick with motes of suspended moisture, droplets hanging weightless, shimmering like glass dust in the dim light. They drift in slow, deliberate patterns, almost as if carried by invisible hands. When I pass through them, my instruments react - isotopic traces spike, and my sensors briefly register the ambient energy as sentient.

The readings fluctuate between “biological” and “mechanical.” But neither is accurate.

When I reached the ridge overlooking the valley, I realized the land itself had shifted. The map from orbit is already obsolete. Whole sections of terrain have lifted into the sky, vast slabs of stone suspended at impossible angles. Rivers now flow upward, spilling into the air before freezing into crystalline arcs that hum faintly with power.

And beneath all that, deep in the heart of the storm, the signature is unmistakable:

My reactor.

It is sending out harmonic bursts across the electromagnetic spectrum - not random, but encoded. Patterns nested within patterns. Almost… words.

I cannot be sure yet, but I think it is trying to communicate.

The ring on my finger is glowing faintly now; it's pulse in perfect synchrony with the reactor’s readings. Every time the signal strengthens, it vibrates against my skin. The isotope lattice within must still be linked to the original core - a resonance echo I never fully severed.

And that means it knows I am here.

If anyone else lands nearby, they will feel it too; a low vibration underfoot, like standing atop the chest of something vast, asleep, and slowly waking.

The storm is no longer just weather.

It is intention.

Spoiler

OOC:

The Resonance Planet is open for discovery!

A vast storm has formed around Makeb, radiating energy signatures unlike anything seen since Liin's experiments began. Starships are being pulled off-course by harmonic frequencies; some call it a beacon, others a curse. Those who survive entry speak of floating oceans, inverted rain, and islands suspended in blue light.

The source: a lost isotope-5 reactor - one of Liin’s earliest Synthetic Force experiments - now somehow active and expanding.

Everyone has a reason to invesigate:

Spoiler

Explorers chasing the anomaly’s origin.
Smugglers or mercenaries drawn by rumors of valuable isotope caches.
Force-users who can hear the planet’s call.
Scientists and scavengers seeking discovery - or containment.
Agents and hunters sent to find the woman responsible.

Open to all factions and individuals!

The world itself is evolving - and it’s listening.

 

[Edward Ashcard]

Location: Makeb — hopefully close to the eye of the storm
Equipment:

• 1x Dragon 1R SMG
• 1x Lucius-pattern Bayonet
• 4x C-22 fragmentation grenade
• 2x Class-A thermal detonator
• 1x Imperial "Hellhound" Combat Armour Mk. I
• 1x Comlink

Ship: Dragon LF1 TR 'Wyvern' Technical Research Freighter
Tags:

​

Despite the rumours of disappearing ships, the hyperspace pulse was too hard to ignore, especially considering its origin. Edward might have been able to calculate the pulse's origin given time, why do so when that data could instead be intercepted? The communications of overly eager scientists, researchers and dedicated astrophysicists were easy prey for the scanners of the Wyvern. Perhaps unironically, the ship sat in orbit of high-tech worlds claiming to be researching the strange pulse as the true data of interest was collected. Soon after Edward immersed himself in the data streaming into the intelligence centre which came together to form a clear point of origin. Makeb.

In the library aboard his ship, Edward set to work understanding the importance of Makeb as he read through holobooks to understand the significance of Makeb and its prized resource of isotope-5. While he could not yet say for certain that isotope-5 was at fault, from what he had read whenever Makeb was relevant isotope-5 was sure to be uncovered. Eternal Empire aside, he knew that Tygeria Dragon Armaments would greatly benefit from such a resource and its ability to influence gravity and electromagnetism. Even a small amount would allow for a prestige project or two that would raise the profile of TDA and grant Edward the opportunity to make use of his talent for design.

He was on his way to Makeb and the plan was simple but perhaps unorthodox. Instead of rushing to the planet and joining others who must surely seek the same prize, Edward would stay in reserve, watch the others, decrypt their communications and sweep in at the end to seize as much isotope-5 as possible.

Reality would be different, and Edward exited hyperspace, the Wyvern hit by intense pulses of radiation coming from Makeb. Perhaps it should have been predicted, but it was too late and the sensitive systems of the ship were scrambled and Edward had to manually pilot the unwieldy craft. Despite the risks, he decided it was better to land rather risk a critical system being fried while in space. Fearing that his ship might not take off while the pulses were occurring, Edward steered the ship to the apparent area containing the origin of the pulses.

As the Wyvern pushed through clouds and displays buzzed with radiation, Edward failed to steer around an ascending freezing river which confused him long enough and blocked his sight long enough to turn a hard but sure landing into something that may be described as a crash as the Wyvern dug into the rock as it slid into place. For a moment, there was only the sound of cooling metal and the distant rumble of thunder outside. Edward's hands trembled against the console before he steadied them.

Quickly rising to the occasion, Edward inspected the damage on the ship he had designed, and fortunately the strength of the hull had not been oversold. The landing gear had been ripped off and the ship did rest on its rear ramp, but it was nothing that would prevent the ship from functioning. The main point of concern was that the ship's relay had been disconnected from the various networks of the Galaxy, and so this time MEIPOC would be unable to provide assistance. It was up to Edward and others on the planet sane enough to work together to put an end to the pulses that still shook the ground and air.

​

 

[Liin Terallo]

The sky remembers every scar,
The ground repeats each name.
What crashes here will never leave -
The pulse will rise again.


The wind on this world never truly rested. It came from every direction at once; warm, electric, and tasting faintly of metal. Each gust carried that deep, rhythmic vibration through the soles of my boots, like the planet itself was remembering how to breathe.

I was less than a kilometer from the ridge where I had buried the reactor. The soil here was black and glittered with veins of crystal that pulsed a faint light - runoff from the Isotope-5 still bleeding into the ground, even after all this time. I could feel it now, faintly resonating in my bones, syncing to the beat of my pulse.

Then I felt him.

A presence behind me. Not the Force, but something that wanted to be. I did not turn right away. I did not have to.
“Still chasing ghosts, Eli?” I asked.

His voice came through the static of the wind. “Only the one that keeps running.”

When I finally turned, he stood half in shadow - leaner than I remembered him, eyes brighter and fevered. The same strange current ran through him that I carried within myself. Our work, mirrored and distorted.

“I buried it,” I said quietly. “It should have been safe.”

“Nothing stays buried forever, Liin.” He stepped closer, the faint glow of his veins catching the same light that leaked from the stones. “You can feel it too. The pulse is changing.”

Before I could reply, the sky split open.

A roar like thunder rolled overhead, followed by a streak of fire cutting across the clouds. A ship - small, military, smoking and spiraling - tumbled toward the horizon. For a moment I thought it might clear the ridge, but then it struck hard and fast, the shockwave rolling through the ground beneath us like a heartbeat turned violent.

Dust rained from the cliffs. My knees nearly buckled. Eli caught himself on a rock, grinning through the chaos. “That,” he said, “sounded close.”

I stared at the rising column of black smoke. It was right where the reactor was buried.
“Too close,” I whispered.

The wind howled again, carrying the smell of burning metal and ozone. And I started to run.

We reached the ridge within minutes. Below us, the crash site burned in broken silence. The ship had come down hard; its landing gear torn away with the hull half-buried in ash. It rested awkwardly on it's rear ramp, tail pointed toward the sky like a wounded creature struggling to rise. Flickers of electricity crawled across the hull where the pulse met raw circuitry, making the air shimmer with static.

Through the smoke, a figure moved inside - slow, deliberate, and very much alive.

Eli leaned forward beside me. “Well,” he murmured, “looks like your secret just found some company.”

I did not answer. I just watched the wreckage, my heartbeat syncing once more with the planet’s low, endless hum.

Tag: Edward Ashcard

 

[Edward Ashcard]

Location: Makeb — Rocky Ridge
Equipment:

• 1x Dragon 1R SMG
• 1x Lucius-pattern Bayonet
• 4x C-22 fragmentation grenade
• 2x Class-A thermal detonator
• 1x Imperial "Hellhound" Combat Armour Mk. I
• 1x Comlink

Ship: Dragon LF1 TR 'Wyvern' Technical Research Freighter
Tags: Liin Terallo

​

Looking at the state of his ship, Edward could not refuse himself a moment of frustration. He was used to operating in hostile environments, but having his ship knocked off course by a river would be hard to explain. Soon after, he snapped into action as he took in the area and tried to make sense of the strange phenomenon.

Despite the poor landing, he was not too far off the mark, and the lack of any obvious structures suggested that whatever was to blame for the pulses might be underground. Perhaps buried by the transformation of the landscape, or perhaps it was always underground. It was hard to say. Edward had options for how to proceed as his ship's cargo bay had plenty of supplies, digging tools could be fabricated and as always his ship carried plenty of explosives that could be turned to the task of excavation if the risks were not too great.

But before he could start, Edward needed to know that the location was secure and so trying to overcome the pulse and the terrible static it introduced into his heads-up display he used the lifeform scanner built into his helmet to see if he was alone while also using infrared vision to try to detect any unusual hotspots around him.

He was unsure of what to make of it all. On hand if he did find somebody else out, there would be good reason to expect a common cause considering the undiscriminating nature of the pulse, but on the other hand Edward knew that panic and greed for a resource as valuable as isotope-5 might rob people of their reason. He needed to be careful, but it was on missions like this that he wished he had a crew or perhaps a droid or two, even if just to share the load of rock breaking that he was slowly starting to come to terms with.

​

 

[Liin Terallo]

The air remembers every spark,
Each word unspoken, each deceit.
Beneath the charge, the planet dreams -
Of minds that wake it from its sleep.

The ridge hummed beneath our boots, a low tremor that set my teeth on edge. Light rippled through the dust below, illuminating the figure cutting through the haze - a Mandalorian, his armor flickering with static like lightning caught in glass.

Eli leaned forward on his knee, eyes narrowing. “He’s heading straight for the reactor.”

“Then he is a fool,” I said. “The interference will cook his systems before he gets within fifty meters.”

“Maybe,” Eli murmured, his voice soft but threaded with amusement. “Or maybe he’s exactly what we need.”

I turned to him sharply. “What we need is for him to turn around and leave.”

He smiled faintly with that infuriatingly calm, knowing smile that I have come to know him for. “You’re always so protective of your secrets. But if the field responds to him, if it reacts the way it did to you, we could learn something. You’ve been too cautious, Liin.”

“This is not an experiment,” I responded. “It is containment.”

“Same thing, different results.” His gaze slid back to the Mandalorian. “Let me draw him in. You’ll have your data, and I’ll keep him busy.”

“You do not control this,” I said to him with my voice low. “This planet does not obey anyone.”

Eli rose, brushing the dust from his gloves. “Then let’s see who it listens to first.”

Before I could answer, he started down the slope, static curling around him like smoke, every step echoing that faint electric hum. I stayed where I was, the air thick with charge; torn between warning the stranger below and letting Eli have his test.

Eli descended the ridge like he had been waiting for this moment. Each step was deliberate, the air tightening around him with static that shimmered along his silhouette. I stayed where I was, half-hidden among the rocks, the hum of the planet thrumming through my palms.

He did not call out immediately. He let the silence stretch, let the charged wind whip around him until every spark in the air seemed to bend toward him. Then, in that easy, disarming way of his, he raised a hand.

“Careful, friend,” he said, his voice carrying low and smooth through the field. “The air here bites if you breathe it wrong.”

A pulse of light answered him; faint, but alive. The ground at his feet shimmered like the surface of deep water, rippling outward in lazy waves.

Eli did not flinch. He only smiled, his eyes catching the light glow. “Seems this place likes attention,” he murmured, more to the planet than to the armored figure. “And you’ve given it plenty.”

The static deepened around him, threads of energy crawling between the stones. I could feel it responding - not just to him, but to them, as though the world itself was curious.

“Let’s talk,” he went on, his tone calm, coaxing. “We might be after the same thing.”

He took another step forward, and the hum surged; sharp enough that it rattled the rocks beneath me. I swallowed hard, torn between shouting for him to stop and watching to see what the planet would do next.

Tag: Edward Ashcard

 

[Edward Ashcard]

Location: Makeb — Rocky Ridge
Equipment:

• 1x Dragon 1R SMG
• 1x Lucius-pattern Bayonet
• 4x C-22 fragmentation grenade
• 2x Class-A thermal detonator
• 1x Imperial "Hellhound" Combat Armour Mk. I
• 1x Comlink

Ship: Dragon LF1 TR 'Wyvern' Technical Research Freighter
Tags: Liin Terallo

​

The sensors in Edward's helmet and those attached to his wrist has clearly picked something up. It was within walking distance, but the ever-present radiation was too strong, as signalled by the glitched warning symbols and red dials that appeared in his heads-up display. His armour protected against many threats including EMPs and ion but much like his ship, his armour was easily scrambled and penetrated by the constant energy imparted by radiation.

Edward stood there for a moment, going over the possibilities. Perhaps he could craft some form of shield? Or maybe it would be best to start digging a tunnel and hope that the rock and earth would reduce the danger to acceptable levels. Then he turned and spotted something that Edward's scanners had failed to. A figure followed by static. He seemed to distort the very air around him.

Edward listened carefully as the stranger before him spoke, Edward's hands rested on the top of the slugthrower that was dangling in front of his chest. Their words were concerning if they could be believed. Had he distributed the site? Perhaps with the crash, but without knowing what he had distributed, it was difficult to think of ways to reverse it.


"We very much might have a common cause, but you speak as if you understand this place, or at least you know enough to define this place as something significant." Edward gestured to his helmet as he spoke again with a firm voice. "I am agent Edward Ashcard, and I have no place in the rivalry between the Jedi and the Sith that often defines those I meet. I aim to uncover the current mystery of this world and put an end to this ever present pulsing. But I must ask, who are you? It is not that I am unwelcome to help. I would accept aid, but you seem almost at home here, which does not put me at ease."

​

 

[Xitli Sacul]

Location: Makeb
Objective: Identify and secure the anomaly
Tags: Liin Terallo Edward Ashcard

Notable Equipment:
Tlapixqui

---

As the earth trembled a circle of scales and feathers encircled Xitli, three Satorians training their XR-98 Carbines on his flanks and rear. "Ellelquixtia (Relax)." Xitli snapped, the servos of their void armour whining down as they lowered their weapons with a confirmative trill. A slight flinch drew the immediate attention of his medical officer, Yoloti, their tail raised.

"Quen timohuica, tiacauh (Are you well, Great One)?"

Their concern would be endearing if they didn't ask it at the slightest twitch. "cualli (good)." He replied raising his spear at the crest of the horizon; ordering them forward and advancing upon the ridge. Unlike his retinue, Xitli was lightly armoured using only a armoured helmet and chestplates which fed environmental data into his HUD. Radiation was concerning but nothing his their drugs and his own constitution couldn't handle; the only condition that made him doubt was the raging headache that coincided with their arrival into the system.

"Yolistli (life)." Yoloti exclaimed, their own helmetted snout staring at the integrated computer on their wrist. The others cast a glance and again raised their weapons, crouching lower to the ground as they approached the crest of the ridge. Xitli paused to confirm the readings before following behind, it seemed he had competition. An opportunity, perhaps?

"Maca yectli yaoc (do not attack)." He commanded motioning them into cover nearby. The three of them hesitated before abiding their tiacauh's command.

Making no attempt to hide himself Xitli sliced through the rocky terrain, spotting the party of three before him. One he was familiar with the others were new to him. "Khan Terallo, what an unexpected surprise." He trilled, her presence all but assured him he would find profit here.

< > - Telepathy

Designed by Lossa Darcuhl​

 

[Liin Terallo]

The pulse beneath the surface grows,
a song the daring seldom close.
It whispers secrets, soft, untrue -
of what it wants, and what it knew.

So tread with care where echoes sleep,
for dreams awoke are dreams that keep.

I watched as Eli’s gaze lingered on the Mandalorian’s visor, his reflection bending within the tempered glass like a ghost caught mid-smile. For a moment, he simply studied the man - the weight of his silence deliberate, measured, and faintly amused.

Then he spoke. “Perhaps I do understand this place,” he said, his tone smooth and unhurried. “Enough to know that what you call a mystery is more than the ground’s pulse - it’s intent. It listens, it waits.” He stepped closer, not threateningly, but with the quiet confidence of one who belonged anywhere he chose to stand. “You want to end the hum; I want to hear the rest of the song. But even opposite aims can share a path, for a while.” A glint of charm flickered at the corner of his smile. “Besides, Edward Ashcard… a man who names himself before firing? That’s a rare courtesy in these parts. I’d hate to waste it.” He inclined his head faintly, eyes gleaming like distant stars. “Walk with me a bit. You’ll see I’m only half as unsettling as I look.”

From where I stood, the hum beneath my boots had deepened - a slow, deliberate rhythm that no longer felt like mere vibration. It was listening. Each beat seemed to wait for something, or someone, to answer.

Eli always had a way of making danger sound poetic, of dressing chaos in charm. Even from here, I could feel the confidence in his tone, the calm way he toyed with tension until it bent in his favor.

He was at home in moments like these; on the edge of understanding, where the rest of us saw only risk. And the Mandalorian, to his credit, did not flinch. Their conversation felt to me less like an exchange of words and more like the start of a duel neither had quite declared.

My old friend’s feathers rustled beside me, drawing me back from thoughts I should not have been entertaining. His voice - familiar and grounding - cut through the static. "Xitli,” I murmured in return, “you have chosen quite the storm to fly into.”

The glow of the anomaly pulsed faintly across the horizon, that same shade of light that never truly left my thoughts. I came here to quiet it, to keep this from becoming another spectacle; another race for power dressed as curiosity. Yet already others had answered it's call, drawn by its hum like insects to light.

I felt the ring on my finger stir; its gemstone faintly alive, responding to something beneath the soil. I pressed my thumb against it, willing it to still. “The ground hums with something alive,” I said softly, almost to myself. “Or pretending to be.”

And then there was a flicker. The light along the horizon flared once, quick as a heartbeat. The air rippled; the faintest shimmer bending the dust between us. My pulse stumbled in my chest as the hum rose an octave higher, just enough for me to feel it behind my eyes.

It was almost as though it heard me.

Tags: Edward Ashcard Xitli Sacul

 

[Edward Ashcard]

Location: Makeb — Rocky Ridge
Equipment:

• 1x Dragon 1R SMG
• 1x Lucius-pattern Bayonet
• 4x C-22 fragmentation grenade
• 2x Class-A thermal detonator
• 1x Imperial "Hellhound" Combat Armour Mk. I
• 1x Comlink

Ship: Dragon LF1 TR 'Wyvern' Technical Research Freighter
Tags: Liin Terallo Xitli Sacul

​

Edward was not a Mandalorian, perhaps one day soon, but much like the surrounding wind, he was still adrift, but he was soon to find a home. It was in times such as these that he could have benefited from a Mandalorian's reputation, but nothing could be done about it at that moment. In fact, he was a secret policeman, an agent with very open orders that had started to lose their meaning.

"Very well, we will see if we can work together. If this song, as you describe it, has a defined ending, I am in no rush to put an early end to these pulses. I will walk with you." Edward did just that and walked with one the one before him, hoping to find a common solution. "My ship, although it has suffered some damage, can still hopefully provide the tools needed to uncover the heart of this mystery. Everything points to something being buried here, and while I doubt it will be a grand surprise to find out what powers it, I have no idea of its function."

Edward retuned to high alert when what he could only describe as a green avian broke past the rocks into sight and introduced himself, and it seemed like not everybody there were strangers to each other.

"Additional parties mean additional complexity, please state your business here." Edward said, trying to hide that he was attempting to analysis the newcomer. He was of a species that Edward had never heard of, or seen before. He did not know what expressions to pay attention to or which gestures to track. There were already enough mysteries, Edward thought to himself. The fact that he seemed to know one of the others could be just the thing needed to resolve this, or it could be the sign of a trap.

​

 

[Xitli Sacul]

Location: Makeb
Objective: Identify and secure the anomaly
Tags: Liin Terallo Edward Ashcard

Notable Equipment:
Tlapixqui

---

A storm was an apt description he thought, the air, no this entire world, was buzzing with energies both subtle and persistent. It felt alive, but a world could be no more alive than it's tectonic foundations. He shouldn't. No he wouldn't complain. Complaint was a weakness unbecoming of a inheritor of the Khan.

"A storm indeed." Xitli whistled momentarily stretching his wings, "I detected the anomaly and thought my prayers answered. Like a Satorian called to its master, I answered - unaware it would ensnare me in it's glamour."

He glanced at the warrior, their armour making him hesitant to answer. It wasn't imperial but it had the same oppressive motif, it was enough to give him pause and ruffled his spinal feathers. There were only two things he hated in this galaxy. Imperials and Yuuzhan Vong.

"My objective here is plain; identify the source of this disturbance, study it and, if at all possible, glean something of value whether it be knowledge or tribute." He replied, distracting himself from the armour with his mission.

Honesty was the best policy here, he didn't stand to gain anything by lying and he already knew the value of cooperating with Khan Terallo. The strangers, he couldn't be certain.

He unfurled his anisodactyl hand exposing the emerald palms, his other tightening around his polearm. "I seek cooperation in this venture. I see no profit in us being competition." He said, almost forcing the word cooperation from his beak.

< > - Telepathy

Designed by Lossa Darcuhl​

 

[Liin Terallo]

Three notes entwined beneath a fractured sky -
One seeks reason, one seeks gain,
and one just begs the storm to quiet.
But the hum grows louder still,
a heartbeat neither can command.


I should have known the anomaly would not stay silent for long. It is as if my presence alone invites chaos - one ripple after another until the calm I once promised myself is but a distant memory.

Eli was enjoying this far too much. The faint smirk at the corner of his mouth said everything. The thrill of being seen, of watching the careful order I built begin to unravel. He had always liked to play with edges; while I had always feared the fall.

And now there was him - Edward - steady, deliberate, the kind of man who spoke like he had already weighed every consequence. He called it a song, and maybe he was right. But to me, it was not a melody. It was a warning.

I did not want anyone else drawn into this. But it is too late for that. Even Xitli; a friend from my distant past that helped with a previous mystery was brought here. The anomaly pulsed beneath my feet, each vibration felt like a heartbeat syncing with my own. It is my fault. It is my creation. And the more of them that listened, the louder it became.

The ground’s pulse had not stopped. It only shifted, almost like it was… listening. I watched Edward speak, calm and measured, his words threading through the static air like lines on a chart. His logic made sense - too much sense - and that terrified me. “I do not think we should linger here,” I said quietly, interrupting the rhythm before it could deepen. “The readings - they are unstable. Whatever’s underneath us does not want company.” That lie that I told both them and myself was hopefully enough to make them all turn back.

But Eli gave a soft laugh behind me. I did not need to turn to picture the expression on his face; that same smirk he wore whenever things began to spiral. “You’re trembling again,” he murmured. “That’s how I know you’re fascinated.”

“I am concerned,” I shot back. “There is a difference.”

The hum deepened, vibrating through my boots and up my spine. I could almost hear it breathing. I caught fragments of the others’ conversation; practical words about equipment, excavation, analysis, and my chest tightened. They did not understand what kind of danger curiosity could invite here. “This is not something that should be uncovered,” I whispered, mostly to myself. “It is a heartbeat; not a relic.”

Eli stepped closer, the glow from the fissure cutting across his face in bands of light. “And you’re the one who taught it to beat,” he said, almost tenderly. “Doesn’t that make it yours to wake?”

My throat went dry. “No. It means it is mine to bury.”

The ground trembled again - just once, hard enough to make me stumble. As if the world itself had disagreed.

I forced a breath. Focus. Numbers. Structure. Anything but the gnawing guilt curling in my chest. I reached for my datapad, though I already knew the readings would be useless this close. The interference was climbing, burning through every signal, replacing order with static.

Eli was watching me again. I could feel his eyes on me before he spoke. “You still think you can measure this?” he asked, tone quiet but laced with amusement. “You can’t catalogue a soul, Liin. Not even one you built.”

I did not look to him. Instead I held my gaze on where I knew the pulse was coming from. “I am not cataloguing it. I am containing it.”

He laughed under his breath; that soft, infuriating sound of someone who had stopped being afraid a long time ago. “Containment’s an illusion. You know that better than anyone.”

“Not if I shut it down first.”

That finally earned silence from the anomoly. For a heartbeat, I let myself believe I had won. But then another pulse rippled through the ground; sharper this time, like a warning shot. My datapad flickered, then went dead. I stared at the dark screen, feeling the world’s rhythm matching my own heartbeat again. I had said shut it down - but a part of me already knew; I did not know how.

Tags: Edward Ashcard Xitli Sacul

 

[Edward Ashcard]

Location: Makeb — Rocky Ridge
Equipment:

• 1x Dragon 1R SMG
• 1x Lucius-pattern Bayonet
• 4x C-22 fragmentation grenade
• 2x Class-A thermal detonator
• 1x Imperial "Hellhound" Combat Armour Mk. I
• 1x Comlink

Ship: Dragon LF1 TR 'Wyvern' Technical Research Freighter
Tags: Liin Terallo Xitli Sacul

​

The abnormal weather reflected on the black plates of Edward's armour as he stared at the polearm held in emerald hand. A warrior? No, he spoke of study and knowledge, perhaps a scholar or merchant then? Whatever his role, Edward was glad that the one before had not claimed the site.

"It appears that we share the same goal. Everyone here appears sensible and willing to work together so I will be straightforward." Edward tried to meet the avian's eyes with the red glow of his helmet as he spoke and gestured to the patch of intense radiation. "All points that I can connect name iostope-5 as the fuel for this strange anomaly. I have come to extract a sample of it proportional to the work done to retrieve it, but the scale of this anomaly and the impact of the pulses is grander than I expected." His words were honest, but the sound of them were distorted by the harsh wind and the active filters in Edward's helmet.

Edward moved to be in front of the others, placing himself between them and his ship so he could speak to all of them at once.

"While the scale of this event is unexpected, there are near certain facts that we can use to our advantage. The longer we remain inactive, the greater the chance that this anomaly lashes out at us, but we must remain vigilant if we are all to leave here in a manner benefiting our respective duties." Edward spoke with a firm but friendly tone, as he pointed towards the epicentre. "Isotope-5 is known for its gravitational and electromagnetic effects, which explains where we find ourselves. An iostop-5 reactor or weapon appears to be buried here. I have said that I aim to recover the fuel within, but I am not blind to the possibility that containment must be our primary goal."

​

 

[Braze]

Bounty Hunter

Name: Braze
Affiliation: Independent
Bounties Claimed: [X]

#ID-45 • ACTIVE

BOUNTY: [Black Sun] Target: Liin Terallo
Target: Liin Terallo | Tags: Edward Ashcard Xitli Sacul

Braze had different plans. He didn't need more hands, nor the interference of strangers... only a clean, efficient catch. From the edge of the Ashwing, he leveled his weapon, Phantom engaged with the Entropite crsystal, and fitted with an Amplification Crystal, a 'Sparkler' emitter, and an Assassin's Point lens as he steadied his aim on Liin Terallo . The first shot was loosed, angled for mid-body mass.

Her 'work,' if it could even be called that, was an insult to everything the Force embodied. Braze held nothing but contempt for those who fancied themselves gods among men, more often mortals draped in delusion who dared to twist the sacred currents of the Force into mockeries of life. To meddle with powers one scarcely comprehends, to toy with peril as though it were casual art, was in his eyes not brilliance but desecration. Such arrogance was a macabre perversion of the Living Force, an abject and hideous defilement of the very flow that binds all life. The witless savant with no sense of consequence that was Liin stood as the embodiment of it.

This was no crusade. The contract from Black Sun was explicit: capture her alive, her intellect intact. He would end her desecration, learn from its remains, and collect his due. Two birds felled with a single shot.

Spoiler

The Phantom 's blaster bolt is completely nonlethal because it's equipped with an Entropite Crystal. The Entropite changes the usual superheated plasma of a lightsaber into what's known as a glacial void; a cold, draining energy that devours excess power instead of generating heat. When fired, the bolt doesn't burn or vaporize like a standard shot; instead, it inflicts deep lethargy upon living targets, sapping strength and focus. (It should make them sleepy) Against droids, shields, and other energy-based systems, it drains or outright disables them. Rather than deflecting blaster bolts, Entropite actually consumes them, feeding off the energy instead of sending it back.

The "Sparkler" emitter adds a second disruptive layer by projecting a localized electrostatic corona around the bolt. This creates a taser-like field with short, contact-range EMP burst that interfere with droids, shields, and cybernetics. Essentially, when the bolt or beam passes close or makes contact, it delivers a shock capable of stunning or momentarily shorting out mechanical systems, amplifying the Entropite's natural draining properties.

The Assassin's Point focusing lens integrates multiple crystal effects for precision and efficiency. It combines Dragite's shockwave resonance to produce a concussive impact that disorients on contact, Hurrikaine's cutting frequency for improved defense penetration, Pontite's tranquil resonance to stabilize the beam, and an Ossus-style convex dueling cut for enhanced accuracy and clean energy shaping. Altogether, this lens system ensures that each shot remains stable, focused, and refined, maintaining accuracy while carrying through / offering shield penetrative property.

Finally, the Amplification Crystal serves as an enhancer. It doesn't alter the base nature of the Entropite's glacial void but temporarily boosts the overall output and synergy between the crystal components and their effects. When active, it heightens the draining intensity of the Entropite, strengthens the Sparkler's electrostatic bursts, and refines the Assassin's Point's focusing precision, resulting in short, concentrated surge of greatly amplified nonlethal power.

So in short, the overall effect of the Phantom's bolt is a nonlethal, energy-draining shot that overwhelms both organic and mechanical targets through a mix of exhaustion and power disruption. When it hits a living being, the Entropite crystal's glacial void energy pulls away warmth and vitality, leaving the target weak, sluggish, and struggling to stay conscious. When it strikes droids, shields, or powered systems, it drains energy, shorts out circuits, and can disable them entirely. The Sparkler emitter adds a brief electrostatic jolt and EMP surge that further interferes with electronics and enhances the draining field. The Assassin's Point lens keeps the shot stable, accurate, and forceful enough to break through defensive barriers without causing lethal damage. The Amplification Crystal occasionally boosts all of this at once, creating short bursts of amplified drain, shock, and precision.

In simpler terms, it doesn't kill / cause great harm. It saps, stuns, and shuts things down.

---

Gear

Select a tab to view category links.
☑ = Equipped / At hand ▣ = Stored ■ = Used / Destroyed​

Droids Lightsabers & Melee Armor & Clothing Accessories & Jewelry Ranged Weapons & Attachments Medical & Chemical Items Vehicles & Starfighters Miscellaneous

• 
  
  

  Companions
  G.I.Z.M.O.	☑
  G.I.D.G.I.T.	☑

  Battle Droids
  FFS - B.L.A.S.T.A. FFS - MF-B FFS - MF-BO FFS - MF-F FFS - MF-FB​	☑ x6
  FFS - C.A.T.C.H. FFS - BG-MkI FFS - CES-G FFS - GLMMkI​	☑ x6
  FFS - S.P.A.R.K.	☑ x6

  
  
• 
  

  Lightsabers		Ranged Saber		Crystals		Melee
  Calypso (Hand and a Half + Board Saber) | [Image]		Phantom (Marksman Lightsaber Rifle) | [Image]	☑	Amplification	☑	Vulptex Fang Utility Survival Knife
  Corsage (Dueling Foil + Gun) | [Image]				Echos of Eternity	☑
  Mysterious Lightsaber | [Image][Image]				Frostheart	☑
  Requiem (Light Foil) | [Image]	☑			Mindshatter	☑
  Kunai Shoto Lightsaber: Nightshade	☑			Phantom Ghostfire	☑
  Echos of Eternity				Serenity's Touch	☑
  Resurgence (Two-Handed with Crossguard) | [Image]				Tiger's Fang
  Saber-Claws Gauntlet (Right Arm)	☑			Tyrian Crystal
  Sentry (Parrying Dagger) | [Image]	☑			Entropite	☑
  Training Lightsaber				Mestare	☑
  Twilight (Polearm) | [Image]				Obscura Crystal
  Whirlwind (Chain Kama) | [Image]				Starfall Crystal
  Hot 'n' Heavy Compensator | [Image]
  Troublemaker's Trickblade	☑
  Lightsaber Lightwhip: Retribution
  The Voice of the Wind - Krysteel Ninjato
  The Night Saber - Force Nexus Attuned Weapon and Force Artifact

• 
  

  Item
  ANTI-TOXIN FACE MASK	☑
  FFS Utility Belt | [Image]	☑
  Phoenix Fire Light Armor | [Image]	☑
  Force User Battle Armor
  Phantom Mist Projector	☑
  FFS Saberbreaker Gauntlets |	☑
  Saberbreaker Shin Guards / Heel Blades	☑
  Space Wizard Pattern Boots	☑
  FFS Protective Cloak	☑
  Protective Poncho
  Dueling Cape
  Too Hot to Handle - Desert PPE

• 
  

  Item
  BCA Solid State Hologram Tool Band
  Eshan Charms x3
  Iroai Amulate	☑
  Lightveil Circlet	☑
  Sunfire Signet Ring / Compass Ring	☑
  Carved Kyberite Pendant
  Echani Silver Whistle	☑
  Seer stone
  Jedi Crusader Pendant	☑

• 
  

  Raged Weapons: Fitted with: FFS Quiver Trigger (Grip or Stock)​ FFS I.S.P.Y. Scope​ FFS H.A.R.M. Shroud​
  Chiru Tranquilizer Rifle
  Czerka Ranged Ion Blaster (C.R.I.B.)
  G.O.O. Gun	☑
  GAB-34 Fang

  
  
  Throwable Devices ​

  E.G.G.S.	☑ x5
  Dye Egg
  Explosive Egg
  Psych Egg	☑ x5
  Sabotage Egg
  Smoke Egg
  BA-K177 Kamino Saberdart
  Telescopic Stun Grenade Staff
  Thermal Detonator
  C-22 Fragmentation Grenade	☑ x5
  G-20 Glop Grenade	☑ x5
  WW-41 CryoBan Grenade	☑ x5
  Serenity Flashbang Incense

• 
  

  Item
  Aspha Serum	☑
  Bota M9-A2 (Berries)	☑ x5
  Essence of Zeltros DUST Compact
  FSP Besh (Advanced Force Suppression Drug)	☑ x3
  Reanimation Serum Aurek	☑ x2
  Thermite, 5 lbs bag	☑
  S.I.N. Devaronian Blood Poison Nail Polish
  TS-N Healing Serum
  Trauma Care Package
  Trauma Kit
  Trauma Spray
  TSS-FAK First Aid Kit	☑

• 
  

  Ships Fitted with: Werlaara Stealth Suite		Vehicle Fitted with: Werlaara Stealth Suite
  Payday Class - Light Frigate - Cargo Transport Freighter : Mud Duck	☑	Deluxe W.A.R. T.O.R.T.L.E. Fitted with: Werlaara Stealth Suite
  Ashwing (Starfighter Interceptor)	☑
  Phantomray Stealth Assault Interceptor

• 
  

  Item
  FFS RIP-Cell (Power Cell)
  Survival Kit
  Vixen's Vault	☑
  A Study in Opposition: The Devouring, Feed Not the Mirror
  The Study of the Blade
  The Silent Bloom: A Guide to the Secret Language of Flowers
  FFS Lock 'n' Shock™	☑

-- This post is made in accordance with the Bounty Hunter's Code. The target's toggle was active at the time of posting. This post includes a valid license and links directly to the bounty as required by board rules. --​

 

[Xitli Sacul]

Location: Makeb
Objective: Identify and secure the anomaly
Tags: Liin Terallo Edward Ashcard Braze

Notable Equipment:
Tlapixqui

---

Edward's response washed over him like a cleansing wave, his feathers relaxing and grip softening. He allowed himself to look away, toward Khan Terallo and the company she kept. He did not know their relationship nor what design they had on this world but it assuredly be an adventure. "Agreed." He said with a bow of his head. Without complaint he fell in behind the armoured figure, if they wanted to lead and stay within his gaze he would not complain and besides, the he seemed to have a target locked in.

"Isotope-5?" Xitli purred thoughtfully, "I cannot say I have ever interacted with such an exotic element, I suppose that explains the gravitational anomolies." He cocked his head sidewards giving him sight of the globes of water hovering in the air. Anything that could throw the planet into such a state of chaos would indeed be powerful and dangerous, making it all the more important they find and isolate it. Then he felt the strangest of sensations, something rippling through the heavens. Focused. Targetted. Predator?

He didn't have time to think nor consider the consquences, instinct took command and the Avali swept his tail towards Terallo and her companion, attempting to knock them aside from the perceived threat. XItli hissed, the bolt shattered against hide and scale. It was a preculiar sensation, it wasn't the warmth of his own blood or scent of scorched that struck him but the biting cold. It spread through his veins, cooling muscular tissue and throwing his synamptic system into disarray. His tail, wings and head droped towards the earth, leaving him looking at the swaying ground.

Xitli stumbled forward catching himself, the shaft of his spear bit into the rocky crags providing the much needed support, "That is, certainly something." He growled, leaning against it as he turned his attention inward focusing on fortifying his mind and pushing outwards in what he hoped would be a cleansing wave while he forced his neck to glance towards the ridge. His retinue had abandoned their position of safety, rushing in his direction.

They ignored Andrew and Terallo, their first and only concern being the safety of Xitli. Yoloti was quick to assume command of the two others, barking orders in their native tongue which wasn't much more than chirps, yips, and barks. One stowed their weapon to pull out a stimm, another leveled their weapon towards the unseen assailant and Yoloti himself inspected the supposed wound with confusion and curiousity.

< > - Telepathy

Designed by Lossa Darcuhl​

Edited to fix a mistake.

 

[Liin Terallo]

Beneath the skin of worlds we sow,
the buried pulse, the secret glow-
and when it stirs, it knows our names,
our sins, our truths, our hidden flames.


The air crackled; light and sound collapsing into one deafening instant. I did not even see it coming. But Xitli did. His tail struck my chest like a steel whip, hurling me sideways as the stunbolt seared through the air where I had stood. The shot caught him instead. For a breathless heartbeat, he did not move. Then I saw him brace his staff, trembling, wings half-open, eyes still burning faintly with life.

“Xitli-”

But one of his guards was already there, steadying him. The other leveled his weapon toward the hunter’s shadow. The world seemed to tilt under my feet; the anomaly’s hum deepening as if it were listening. I looked to Edward, whose calm was unnerving, and then to Eli; whose smile made my stomach twist.

“You didn’t check the maps before landing, did you?" he said softly, amusement curling through every word. "Black Sun took this sector weeks ago. I’m surprised they didn’t hang a Welcome Home banner for you, Liin.” He tilted his head, the faintest laugh escaping him.

I stumbled backward, dust rising around my boots, and my mind racing. If Edward could distract or suppress the bounty hunter, I could reach the entrance to where the core is buried. The old mining shaft was not far,l; disguised beneath a fractured slab of stone and half-sunk in sediment. I had marked it once with a faint Isotope signature, just enough for my ring to recognize it. If we could make it there, it could maybe buy us some time.

I glanced toward Edward. “If you want that fuel you mentioned,” I said, voice low, trembling with urgency, “help me stop him; and you can have some of it. I give you my word.”

Tags: Edward Ashcard Xitli Sacul Braze

 

[Edward Ashcard]

Location: Makeb — Rocky Ridge
Equipment:

• 1x Dragon 1R SMG
• 1x Lucius-pattern Bayonet
• 4x C-22 fragmentation grenade
• 2x Class-A thermal detonator
• 1x Imperial "Hellhound" Combat Armour Mk. I
• 1x Comlink

Ship: Dragon LF1 TR 'Wyvern' Technical Research Freighter
Tags: Liin Terallo Xitli Sacul Braze

​

"Affirmative" said Edward in a highly modulated voice as the full range of filters and systems in his helmet engaged while his mind turned to the battle ahead. He was happy to work with others, but he was not naive enough to stand around waiting for an offer while those around him were picked off by sniper fire.

He activated his shield and shoulderd his slugthrower. It was not the ideal weapon for the engagement, but it had a surprisingly long range thanks to the weapon's high muzzle velocity of 900m/s, but Edward knew that he would burn through his ammo quickly. He dived for cover behind one of the rock formations on the ridge. Hopefully, if the sniper continued to attack less-lethally, the rock would absorb the energy. If not, the visual cover and the construction of his armour, which made it hard to detect through sensors, would prevent a true centre of mass shot. At least the sniper's choice of weapon made the shot easier to track as the bolt raced across the sky.

The Multi-Frequency Targeting and Acquisition System in his helmet helped him bypass the worst of the weather blocking his vision but regardless the conditions were not ideal, meanwhile he activated the lifeform scanner and in such a desolate environment it should have been easy to find the sniper. However, long before a lifeform could be locked on to, perhaps because of the anomaly or perhaps because of the potential stealth technology used by the sniper, the infrared emissions of an unknown ship were detected. Edward raised his slugthrower and fired short bursts of titanium core slugs with the aim of unnerving the pilot or suppressing anybody bold enough to use a ship as a shooting platform.

Edward considered running to his own ship and activating its weapons, but that would have a clear escalation and his ship was at a disadvantage thanks to it being landed. Despite the disruptions from the anomaly, the Wyvern would operate if needed but Edward was cautious of pushing the sniper towards blowing up the whole ridge.

​