Private Collision of powers [PM for invite.]

[Krae]

Many were in the chamber carved deep under the ground, living, breathing beings. Sentients of varying species and kinds. Alchemy made pedestools and items filled it, as well as connected all the beings to a stage in the center. The robed figure of Nexus Krae looked at the work that was done. Every piece of it carefully constructed through alchemy and further enhanced by a combination of sith magic and some of his own worlds methods. All for one purpose, to further his own power. However strong a being was, there was always a threat. They were never safe, and never free. Nexus could do a great deal with his power, he had incredible strength and skill in the force, considerable physical ability, and a world at his beck and call. But it was never enough.

Many sith fueled themselves by anger or pain, some by greed, some found other emotions to push them onwards and empower them. But the emotion that most strengthened and most governed Nexus was fear. For all his power and all his ability, he was afraid. It made him strong, it made him dangerous, and it made him as aggressive as cowardly. He found many means to strengthen himself, a nexus in the force on his own homeworld that only the very strong could even survive, teachings from sith and the Vo Ni, and fueling his powers through his own fear, use of alchemy or magic, but he needed more. He could never be safe, so he was never done.

Thus, he invested time and effort and people into today, a great study into the force and how to manipulate it. How to tear it out of one, and give it to another. The sentients were all connected to the force, at varying strengths. But there were enough of them to make a difference. He'd rip their power from them and invigorate himself with it. Not ripping a hole in himself as the use of force drain would. And on top of stealing their connection to the force he'd drench himself in the potential force nexus to come after their lives were consumed.

But in his rush for power, mistakes were made. He couldn't do it all by himself, naturally. There were just too many. And the capture of sentients can attract attention. Unfortunately not all loose ends had been tied off, and before the ritual even could get started, his location on the jungle planet No'ha'on had been discovered.

A dozen Osorae Regulars, dragonlike humanoids turned into weapons in return for potentially reduced sentences, and twenty Koroshkil (Screamers) lay within the tunnel leading to his location, and six Zhorngi, elite shapeshifters, guarding two Deni Gar nearer to the main chamber, one as the strategist and the other as the telepath, guided and monitered them all.

Nexus rubbed his hand along Darth Tsator's Blade "Shruuk", his blade. Although an alchemical weapon was common to his people, he made this more as a sith lord than as a Vo Ni. He was not out for them, they were convenient. They were able to be ruled because he was powerful and commanded their religious devotion.

Discussion thread

Spoiler: OOC

PM for invitation, here or on discord Amicus#8495.
Or if you're Eternal Empire, just find a reason to join. Not gonna be very picky on who joins, as you can take on Nexus who's the big guy, or just his underlings. Or could even just focus on the ritual itself. Do want some powerful characters to face off with Nexus himself, because he's supposed to be very powerful and skilled (also why I'm doing this, to nerf him)

But I can also only handle so much at a time. So if I get like 3 people, that'll be it for me unless you were one of the people in discord chat who maybe expressed interest and just wasn't confirmed (or you want to add in some Jkri, basically their version of a common soldier, npc sub is pretty basic. guarding the tomb so you can fight, but are willing to not have me guiding them much. Just assume the Jkri are all receiving telepathic communication with one of the Deni Gar. So if anyone vanishes or gets seen, everyone knows.)

SPOILERS…I guess?....



Nexus is meant to fail. I do want to play it out properly and not totally undersell him, but the point is that there will be a battle, and it will upset the ritual to the point that either just before he dies or to stop him, it fractures his mind and greatly damages his force abilities. How/if this affects your character is up to you.

Sorry for all the custom/little more unusual/poor npc subs. Never was good at them. I'll make a roleplay discussion thread for easier communication if I can. And link both to each other in post edit.

 

[Percival Io]

Crouched down in the underbrush some distance away from the underground compound, Percival watched and waited. If his intel was right, a group of prisoners taken from various locations within the Eternal Empire had been brought here for reasons unknown—though judging by the strange, demonic-looking creature guarding the place, it was a Dark Sider of some caliber. It was a safe bet that this Dark Sider had kidnapped people for some sort of ritual or other nefarious purpose.

Among the prisoners, Percival had reason to believe there was a young woman named Rebecca Hahn. She had disappeared on Bakura after stopping by planetside to do some holiday shopping. Not only was Rebecca a member of House Io, she was Percival’s charge. His friend.

He would not let anything happen to her.

Mother and the Countess were happy to supply Percival with a small army to aid him in taking the compound by force. A host of heavily armed Neutralizers, droid warriors manufactured by House Io, had come with him to Noe’ha’lon, but he had ordered most of them to hang back deeper in the forests, fearing the prisoners would be harmed if their abductors thought an army had invaded. The three droids accompanying him were a few paces behind him, hunkered down in the undergrowth. Built for battle, they looked far less human than Percival. Their bodies were like skeletons fashioned from metal, and their photoreceptors glowed red in the darkness.

But Percival’s gaze was more frightening to behold. His eyes were a paler green than the leaves that obscured his body; the color of chlorine ice, frozen and fixed on the entrance, poisoned by hatred. He was determined to get inside, no matter what it took, and no matter who or what he had to destroy.

Slowly, he began to creep out of the jungle, sheathing his machete and pulling his energy sword from his belt instead. His three droids also emerged from the undergrowth, following slightly behind him, blasters in hand.

Finding the door locked, Percival’s eyes narrowed. At a gesture, one of the droids stepped forward and began to set up an explosive charge. Once it was placed, they raced back to the tree line, and detonated it. The ground shook and a hail of smoke, dust, and debris was blasted into the air. Percival wasted no time leaping through the gap it formed in the destroyed door, rushing in with his energy sword blazing, ready to kill anything in sight.

The assault had begun.

Krae​

 

[Stone Gra'tua]

There were four of them in total, Mando'ad veterans all, led by Stone Gra'tua, all kitted out with state of the art stealth technology, selected for this unsanctioned mission to hunt down a Sith Lord, deep within one of his own fortresses. The mission had been a stellar success, from the quiet insertion, to the stealthy approach to the underground entrance. Then, a group of droids accompanied by an organic, came racing out of the tunnel, and were followed moments later by an explosive boom. Someone else had come, probably for the same reason as the Clan Gra'tua kill team. Someone else was after their prize.

The Mandalorians, unwilling to expose themselves, were not using any communications as they approached, obeying strict comm silence. With other droids present outside the tunnels, they would be spotted easily if they went loud. Risking discovery, Stone led his three companions in pursuit of the other team that had beaten them to the arrival. Quietly, methodically, the Mandalorians shadowed Percival's team into the underground complex. Careful not to alert the droids or their leader to their presence, they moved only when it was safe, and kept their discipline, waiting for their moment.

Krae Percival Io

 

[Krae]

Nexus's job continued, ensuring preperations, and preparing himself as well. This would not be some simple task, he was trying to truly steal their connection and compound it on his own, not simply feed a hunger, or grant him some temporary boost. But a true connection to his very being and body that would not be so easily broken.

One of the Denigar raised his head, and only a moment later so did the other. Their people had not noticed them until the first blast. And immediately the Osorae were the first to engage, though few, they were remarkably durable to most damage that came from handheld weapons or heat, even a lightsaber could be glanced, though their size made this less likely. They still outclassed most species in speed, strength, and maneuverability, especially when their wings were taken into account. And while lacking blasters, the brutish beings carried either grenades or large melee weapons that they wielded with great power, while breathing fire. They were not armored beyond their quite durable hides, and lacked blasters or even alchemized weapons, but their considerable physical attributes, sentient minds, and the telepaths coordinating them, would hopefully make up for that.

However, they were also few in numbers. Being only a dozen.

As the dragonlike beings attacked, the Deni-Gar prepared for a counter attack. Only so far aware of Percival Io and his droids, they might even be over-confident in victory. It wasn't common for Osorae, especially with a number advantage, to lose in tight spaces. They were of course underestimating their enemies, and their numbers.

In spite of their arrogance, the second round was prepared in moments. The Screamers, also quite durable, and most weapons merely chipping their hide outside of the few weakspots, they were semi-sentient but very aggressive and would attack very soon and in a full group, releasing a very loud screaming sound in spite of a complete lack of lungs. Like the Osorae, they were very fast, but only armed with their natural appendages for cutting and slashing. And while around as durable, their weakspots were more visible, and they were less intelligent. But while probably far easier to deal with, in spite of their larger numbers once those exploits were found, they could be the most danger to the hidden party, Stone Gra'tua , as some of their 'eyes' provided selective hearing, that could threaten their stealth should they simply move too quickly or make a little too much noise.

Spoiler: OOC

I'll probably be more specific on the Deni-Gar and the Zhorngi once y'all get there, or when numbers get really low. Their strategies and attacks will be very coordinated with each other, but not overly complicated. Just will make it almost impossible to catch someone at a blind spot, since the telepaths know reletively anything the Osorae see/know, and reletively aware of the Screamers. You're welcome to kill mostly at your leasure, or I can guide them more clearly. Though I'd appreciate any numbers of who you kill just so I know what's going on.

I do kind of expect some struggle if only because both of these species are very durable and fast, but I'll just leave that difficulty mostly up to you.

Love the posts so far, and appreciate y'all helping me out lol.

 

[Percival Io]

The first wave of Osorae descended upon them almost immediately. Working in tangent with his Neutralizer companions, Percival unleashed a volley of blaster and disruptor fire upon the flying creatures. Despite this, they didn’t go down easily. Percival discovered, much to his dismay, that they could breathe fire when his robes burst into flames. He was able to put it out by dropping and rolling, but his clothes were noticeably singed.

Luckily, the creatures didn’t have any ranged weapons, only melee. One swooped down upon Percival, pinning him to the ground. The Chaplain activated his lightsaber, impaling the beast through the chest. It slumped against him as dead weight.

While he wriggled out from underneath the Osorae, his Neutralizers continued to fight. Once described by a Jedi as “quirky murderbots”, the pair shouted out action holo one-liners as they killed. They were much more durable than Percival, weathering the fiery breath, explosives, and melee strikes of the Osorae. Once they sustained enough damage, however, they’d have to stop for repairs. Percival had no intention of stopping until they had saved Rebecca.

<<<Use grenades!>>> he ordered them via technopathy.

A variety of grenades were promptly lobbed around the chamber, ranging from sonic to cryo to plasma, along with concussion and flash bangs. One Osorae was so disoriented by the flash it crashed into a wall and fell, where Percival, now on his feet, finished it off.

The Chaplain resumed the battle in earnest. Now that he better understood his foe, he fought with greater confidence and ferocity, evading their flames and diving attacks. He killed and killed until the chamber reeked of blood and burning flesh.

Then, something impaled him through the back and started to lift him up. Percival threw himself forward, not caring that the sharp appendage ripped further through him in the process. Silver blood splattered the ground, smearing as he fell in it and rolled into the shadows. But the Screamer followed him there, letting loose a shriek that would deafen a human.

A Neutralizer came to his rescue, pelting the Screamer with blaster fire. But more were on their way, crawling in mobs out of the stonework like creeping insects…

Spoiler: ”TL;DR”

2 Osorae confirmed dead, presumably more felled by explosives and blaster/disruptor fire. I’m leaving the Screamers mainly for Stone. Percival is wounded but will regenerate, and the two Neutralizers are still active.

Krae Stone Gra'tua​

 

[Stone Gra'tua]

Tags : Krae Percival Io

Well, the other party's noisy entrance had certainly attracted the wrong sort of attention. Blasts of flame, rushing aliens, and following on the heels of the attack, piercing ear-shattering screams coming from Kad knew what. Battle was joined, as the Mandalorians heard grenade detonations, and the sounds of struggle that denoted close combat between desperate foes. This was their chance. Splitting from the group was dangerous, but the opportunity couldn't be missed. Vansen and Angry took the rear which left Stone with the foul tempered Houk as his partner.

As Percival's party battled the enemy, the Droids engaging the hostile organics with the detached calm of automata, and blaster fire rocked the chamber, from their hidden position, the human and her Wookiee companion made themselves known.

Roaring, Angry leapt into the fray, his repeating grenade launcher picking out enemies and killing them with a dose of high explosive. Vansen grappled with a pair of the flying monsters, finally managing to kill one by slamming an armored arm down its throat and cutting its inside with her vibrodagger. She then turned to the other, and gave it the same treatment as it screamed in her face. She hoped the droids and the human with them didn't fire on the two of them by accident. Surprises could do that, but she didn't come here to fight these particular strangers. "We're here to help." She said, nodding at the Wookiee who was profligately blasting the aliens with his grenade launcher. Two Mandos in stealth gear weren't always a pleasant surprise, but maybe today they could be.

The battle was making a ton of noise, which was the intent. Silently as they could, the Shi'ido and the hulking Houk made their way onwards, quietly, carefully, picking their way deeper into the complex. Stone didn't dare touch the Force this close to a Sith in his own den, and with their stealth first approach, they had to move slowly, nearly blind, the only way to keep from being detected. He had to trust the others to do their job, while he did his.

Spoiler

Vansen killed 2 flying beasties, Angry killed 3 ground beasties.
Stone and Tank split off and continue sneaking, using the fight as a diversion.

 

[Krae]

Nexus snarled, he felt the beginnings of death, mainly through the Deni-gar. Their connection to their soldiers and beasts were solid, it was one of their primary purposes after-all. Though generally powerful in the force, their main value was their ability to lead and coordinate people through completely silent, usually undetectable, means.

He looked to the Zhorngi, there were no outward words, but every one of them nodded. The had beastly appearances as well. One mostly replicated the Osorae, preferring the easily study able shape and abilities, however his skill with the long alchemized spear far outclassed that of the Osorae that Percival and Stone would meet in the tunnels. As would the skill of all six Zhorngi. Though the others focused more heavily on speed, adaptability, and strength than he did with defense. All carried alchemized weapons, and could shift their forms on command to match a trait they felt was necessary for the fight. Though they couldn't simply generate matter out of nothing, they could extend limbs or alter structures, joints, muscle or bone, though the Deni-Gar were no doubt stronger in the outside applications of the force. The Zhorngi were the ones to fear with greater religious dedication and their considerable physical attributes and combat training. Though not technically force sensitive, their self enhancements often made up for that difference.

The six began carefully walking the ritual chamber, two stood beside the two Deni-Gar, on the lookout for anything sneaking past or making a move. While the other four prowled, watching and listening carefully. Nexus began the ritual, preparing his mind, body, and presence in the force, his own body was being altered as he did so being a shifter himself, in a way that seemed to flow as the force itself seemed to become nearly visible even to the Zhorngi or a droids receptors. No doubt those who could sense the force, would realize something was going on even from a distance. On top of Nexus's on presence in the force, the ritual was beginning to harness that of the many victims.

The battle wasn't going as well as it should have been, seemingly with no real casualties and even one appearing to have simply moved on from a stab wound. On top of that, 4 Osorae were dead, and 4 of the Screamers. The Osorae numbers were weakening, so they were pulled back, flying in retreat while the Screamers flooded and attacked whatever they could detect that wasn't an ally. The noise of battle, especially grenade launchers, likely benefited Stone Gra'tua in sneaking past. Though aware of a stealthed force now due to some of his showing up in the battle, that wouldn't let them know where he was, nor how many there might be or their abilities.

Due to this, there was a slight change in approach. While the Screamers maintained their attacks on Percival Io and the others the same as before, one of the Deni-Gar would attempt to counter potential stragglers, or if someone simply moved too fast for the Screamers, unlikely as that would have seemed to them initially. He attempted to cloud the entire route of the entrance in a heavy mist too all but his allies. An illusion with the express purpose of attempting to draw out what someone would think to be a sneak attack, but in which he or the Zhorngi might notice first. Telekeinsis and mental powers were their main abilities, though they did carry alchemized weapons like the Zhorngi, their abilities were vastly inferior and in a close range fight they'd be forced to attempt to make distance or get an ally to attack from behind rather than go head to head.

Summary.
6 Osorae remaining. Retreating for another strategy.
16 Screamers remaining. Continued attack on Percival and those visible.
6 Zhorngi remaining. Guarding and watching (two by the Deni-Gar, 4 prowling ritual room)
2 Deni-gar remaining. 1 coordinating troops still. 1 attempting to use illusions to draw out an attack they'd see through.
Nexus has begun the ritual.

 

[Percival Io]

Two new fighters entered the arena, a human woman and a Wookiee. They charged into the fray, slaughtering Osorae and Screamers alike.

“Their joints! Aim for their joints!” One of the Neutralizers, designation Boris, shouted to them.

Now that they had figured out a weakness, the Screamers were falling two at a time, felled by blaster fire and the handiwork of the newcomers. Percival stayed behind the Neutralizers, lying on the ground. His spine was damaged, leaving him unable to stand, though luckily he couldn’t feel pain. Despite this, he still managed to occasionally fire his disruptor.

The Osorae retreated, while the semi-sentient Screamers were gradually picked off. Just minutes after their arrival at the compound, the chamber was strewn with corpses. As an eerie quiet descended upon the room, the two Neutralizers separated. Boris, his metal feet clanking against the floor, went to survey the area further ahead. Meanwhile his brother Bram administered aid to Percival, retrieving a syringe filled with green fluid and injecting it into his back.

As the injection began to take effect, Percival looked up at the woman and Wookiee. As a Chaplain of House Io, he had been programmed to despise Mandalorians. Their arrival was suspiciously convenient, but so far they had been helpful. His programming would allow him to tolerate their presence until Rebecca was safe.

“Thanks for the help,” he said, popping his neck and slowly rising to his feet. “This Dark Sider has taken people prisoner for some sort of ritual. We're here to rescue the prisoners. We don't have much time...”

Just then, Boris returned to the group. “A strange, thick mist has covered one of the passageways,” he announced. “It looks like an illusion to my photoreceptors, but it may be a trap. Do we want to continue through anyway?”

“Did you detect any other potential routes?” Percival asked, cracking his rapidly regenerating back rather loudly. “Something less obvious?”

Muffled through walls of stone, they heard a scream. It sounded human, and terrified.

Spoiler: ”TL;DR”

Screamers are pretty much all gone. Neutralizers suspect the mist is an illusion but are hesitant to proceed, fearing a trap. Percival suggests they look for an alternate route. A scream is heard as the ritual begins.

Krae Stone Gra'tua​

 

[Stone Gra'tua]

Between the party of battle droids, their leader, and the two Mando'ade now aiming for the joints, the battle in the underground chamber was ended messily but finally, giving the Mando pair a chance to converse with their erstwhile allies. It appeared they were on the same side, though they had come with differing purposes; the two were not mutually exclusive.

With the critical knowledge that the Darksider was present on site, Vansen made a command decision to break comm silence and inform Stone. She muttered quietly in Gra'tua battle cant, a language not for general conversation but for conveying information quickly and efficiently on a battlefield. Her quick monosyllabic gutturals sounded strange, but to informed ears, the words meant 'target confirmed in place recommend haste'. Not wanting to seem hostile, she then spoke to Percival.

"We're here for the same reason, or near enough. Between us we can rush them." She said, with Angry roaring an approval in Shryiwook that didn't need translating while he reloaded his grenade launcher from one of his bandoliers. He always approved of direct action.

So did his brother in arms, Tank, who was accompanying Stone, creeping through the narrow underground passages. With time of the essence, Stone trusted Vansen at her word, the two had difficulty maintaining stealth while adding speed to their careful progress. The scream was a lot closer to the two sneaking Mandos, and Stone made a decision of his own. They were close now, close enough for a risky gambit. They couldn't worry about the shabla mist, even if it was a shabla trap.

The Shi'ido Mando'ad tapped Tank hard on his left shoulder, twice, a silent signal to charge while Stone covered him. The Houk gave up his stealth, now sprinting down a cross-passage, rapidly approaching what had to be the Sith Lord's location, and swearing up a storm as he ran, making as much noise as he could, and threatening all sorts of violent mistreatment to anyone who got in his way. Stone crept quietly behind the berserk Houk as quickly as he could, hoping Vansen and the others got there soon. A rush from multiple directions would give the attackers the edge, or so he hoped.

Spoiler

Stone maintains stealth with Tank the Houk doing a Han Solo on the DS1 routine but with more swearing. Both are approaching Nexus and the ritual chamber as quickly as they can.

 

[Krae]

Nexus's body and the very room itself seemed to distort and wave as the force was tampered and manipulated for his goals. The sound of the roaring wookie reached the ears of the Deni-Gar, but even more than that, they felt the death of so many of the troops that their telpathic value had been nearly lost, the two resorted to carefully holding their weapons, but were expecting to use telekinesis more than anything else. They weren't supposed to be on the close end of battle, in truth, the closed nature of this was probably to their detriment. Nexus had much more power and control than they did, and could easily make use of it without causing the place to collapse, but they needed to be careful not to hurt their allies. They'd focus on defense, using methods like force push on people or weapons to try and keep them at a distance from themselves and in range of the few remaining Osorae, and the far more capable Zhorngi.

Unfortunately for Percival Io there were not any alternate routes made. It was one way in and one way out, at least, without making an entirely new route. Or other alternative means.

The scream didn't bother Nexus, barely even registered any more than the crack of an egg for dinner. Outside of a minor distraction. They heard and saw the Houk rushing, and all 6 of the remaining Osorae attacked together, four of them trying to encompass him in fire while the other two attempted to grab and outright tear him apart, they'd be unharmed by the fire but hoped it'd get into the armor enough, or prevent him from reacting to their attacks. The Zhorngi however maintained their positions. Two by the Deni-gar, carefully watching and waiting for the slightest thing off to defend them, the other four still stalking the room in case someone had managed to manuver their way inside already or was sneaking around. Though they focused more on anything near Nexus or exiting the tunnel.

The attack from the Houk and the following Osorae would cause the Deni-Gar to drop the illussion and simply take up a defensive position, they weren't going to be much use now but they'd provide what backup they could. Nexus's breathing was heavy as he absorbed power but his attention was being steadily drawn to the battle as it got so close, if they pushed any harder he was going to have to delay and defend himself...and he wasn't really sure what that could do.

But a warning was in order, barely breaking from his position, and only his mouth spoke, seeming to stretch itself almost from his face along with the throat, releasing a powerful and clear message, "You have one chance to back off! Continue, and you will be facing a being bathed in the soul of a planet that's mere presence would kill the likes of you! And if you live, you will wish you had not! I know the body and the force, and I know how to make it suffer."

The ground beneath him cracked. He was angry that anyone would interupt him, let alone get this far. He was afraid, yet did not actually expect to lose. His people were capable, but he knew full well that he'd have easily dispatched them himself. The Zhorngi were the only ones who were even close to a match in physical combat, and the Deni-gar were far from his competition in the force.

Still...there was always that doubt. Always that nagging fear that somewhere, something, was going to get him.

Percival Io Stone Gra'tua

Sum:
Illussion dropped upon attack
Two Deni-Gar will resort to telekinetic counter-attacks/defenses.
All 6 osorae attacked the Houk.
The 6 Zhorngi are still on defense, waiting for anything that gets close or opportunities.

Spoiler: OOC

...so didn't realize stone posted. It didn't alert me of that. Sorry.

 

[Percival Io]

The woman spoke into her comlink in a guttural language Percival did not recognize. Presumably it was a Mandalorian dialect, perhaps one specific to a clan. It bothered him a little that he couldn’t understand what she was saying, but the content of her words might not matter.

What did was the fact that it proved these two weren’t alone. There were other Mandos nearby.

"We're here for the same reason, or near enough. Between us we can rush them."

Percival nodded. “Indeed.”

Their search for alternative routes into the ritual chamber ultimately turned up nothing. Percival, already anxious, was haunted by the scream he had heard. With no other path having revealed itself, he and his Neutralizers proceeded eagerly through the mist-covered door.

Shouting could be heard at the far end of the corridor beyond. Before they could join in on the altercation in the ritual chamber, Percival and his allies encountered the six remaining Osorae and the Zhorngi.

The Neutralizers Boris and Bram, with their ranged weaponry, focused on the flying Osorae. Percival meanwhile took on the shapeshifters. He used his disruptor to down one of the Zhorngi, but the others soon set upon him in a mass of animal parts. His reflexes and speed were able to escape the snapping jaws of a wolf and the lunging of a bird’s sharp beak, but not fast enough to evade the swipe of beastly claws or the stinger of a scorpion. He sliced off the scorpion’s tail with his sword and cut claws from the chimera’s paws, blood fleeing from his wounds.

Spoiler: ”TL;DR”

The gang charges through the mist-covered door and meets with the Osorae and Zhorngi. The Neutralizers fire upon the Osorae, while Percival takes on the Zhorngi, killing one and injuring others.

Krae Stone Gra'tua​

 

[Stone Gra'tua]

Tank had done his job, catching the enemy's attention and drawing their ire as he charged madly into their midst. The raging Houk didn't have time to notice the Sith Lord, as he was mobbed by the defenders, a flying pack of creatures that overwhelmed even his bulky mass. He took fire to his armour, and one hit caught a seam and scorched his flesh beneath, though he gave as good as he got, tearing one, then two of the flying beasts apart as they scratched at his plates. He went down hard, overwhelmed, but continued fighting, punching, stabbing, slapping at the enemies as they came at him.

Vansen and Angry moved in behind their new friends, allowing the Neutralizers to aid Tank, while they added their firepower to Percival's. A snap shot from Vansen's Amban rifle blew away another of the Zhorngi, before she used the energized forks of the rifle to stun a second. Angry took on the Deni-Gar, firing his grenade launcher in their direction, and putting a couple of rounds into the roof of the chamber above them for good measure. Maximum carnage, as the intent was. All of this noise and violence was, from the Mandos' perspective, to cover their Alor.

Patient, restrained, shut down in the Force, and in full stealth gear, Stone approached warily, looking for the moment when the battle was at its most chaotic. The Sith Lord's warning taunt, he heard but didn't allow himself to be baited. Tank was in trouble, but he had Vansen and Angry and their new friends for company. The enemy had their hands full dealing with the intruders. They might just miss the threat until it was too late, if Stone picked his moment correctly. The enemy wouldn't sense the danger in the Force as they wouldn't from a droid.

Concealed in the tunnel, the Shi'ido Mandalorian readied his weapons, a pair of decapitator disks, and loosened his beskad in its sheathe at his lower back. He'd launch the sharp, swift projectiles, and then attack in their wake, with the Force as his ally and partner. He waited, patiently, quietly, for his moment to strike. Angry the Wookiee's grenades made for outstanding cover, and they might yet give Stone his opening...

Spoiler

Tank kills two Osorae but takes a wound and goes down
Vansen kills one Zhorngi and stuns one
Angry fires grenades at the Deni-Gar and the chamber ceiling
Stone remains hidden and prepares to strike at Nexus when the chance comes

Percival Io Krae

 

[Krae]

The Osorae were dropping fast, and already one Zhorngi was down. The Deni-gar that one of Stone Gra'tua 's men had shot at had sent them back to the group, being well suited for deflecting projectiles. The other instinctively raised his hands to the cieling when it was hit and clenched them. However his attempt to hold it wouldn't be needed for long. Out of rage and realization they were falling apart, however skilled the Zhorngi were, it wasn't enough. He tore himself from the ritual, causing the flow to be noticeably slow and the distortions effects to dissipate, he waved a hand and the ceiling hardened itself.

"FOOLS!" he roared as he drew Shruuk, the alchemized blade that released a wisps of purple even before the lightsaber blade encompassed it's phrik form further enhancing his powers and his already greatly enhanced physical abilities due to being a Ven himself. Lightning flowed through the blade reaching out to anything in reach indiscriminately, "LEAVE OR DIE! ALL OF YOU!" He roared, the Deni-Gar and remaining Zhorngi only hesitated a moment before running, though naturally attempting to kill anything in their way as the lightning lashed out.

Two additional arms emerged from him as his skin seemed to harden itself to a scale like texture and additional lids formed over his eyes. Every limbs became extended and was enhanced both by the force and by superior muscular and bone structure. At the same time one of the hands reached out towards the visible mandalorians and clenched itself, intending to use to use the force to slam them together in a single swipe whether to break bones, necks, or simply knock them out. "You kill only insects as insects yourselves!" Along with the additional arms, wings outstretched from his back and he leapt into the air to view as much as he could and put them beneath him as he believed they should be, either dead or on their knees.

But the rituals interruption was not complete. While Nexus wasn't sure what would happen in this case, things were indeed still going on in spite of him no longer directly involving himself in it. The force was being yanked and tugged and though he at least knew he had control for now, he didn't know yet what the ramifications of this would be, or any further problems to the ritual either by damage to the ritual preparations, himself, or what would happen with the victims.

Percival Io Stone Gra'tua

SUM:
Deni-gar reflected grenades back at the group.
Nexus repaired the ceiling, halted the ritual but things are still happening.
Nexus drew Shruuk, from which force lightning is lashing out from without regard to ally or foe.
Nexus attempted to use the force to slam the visible Mandalorians together to do whatever damage could be accomplished that way, deadly or not, or simply knock them out.
Nexus grew arms, reinforced his body, grew wings, and leapt towards the ceiling.

 

[Percival Io]

With a roar of gunfire, another Osorae fell to the ground, wounded or dead. The Neutralizers reloaded their weapons and took aim again, shooting with surgical precision.

Vansen joined Percival in fighting the shapeshifters. The Chaplain was vaguely aware of the Mandalorians’ allies fighting elsewhere in the chamber, including one who had fallen, but the bulk of his focus was concentrated on the prisoners.

His head jerked around and his eyes went wide as he heard the sound of a grenade launcher. Angry had fired at the Deni-Gar sorcerers and at the ceiling above, apparently trying to cause it to collapse on top of them. It struck Percival as an exceedingly risky idea, given that they didn’t know how sturdy this structure was. What if the whole ceiling caved in on them? What if debris struck the prisoners they were trying to save?

But he needn’t have worried, for the head sorcerer used his power to restore the ceiling before it could fall. He roared at his henchmen to leave. They did, still taking swipes at their attackers as they went, but with nowhere near the same amount of fervor. In fact, they seemed to be in quite a hurry to escape…

As Percival turned around to face the sorcerer, the bald-headed man promptly turned into a giant monster.

The Chaplain’s gaze flicked toward the prisoners, searching for Rebecca among their ranks to no avail.

It looked like the ritual had begun to unravel. Percival didn’t have the Force, so he couldn’t even guess what might result from the disruption, but based on his experience dealing with Force Users, probably nothing good.

Grabbing his disruptor, Percival took aim at Nexus’ flying beast form and fired. The Neutralizers also concentrated their blaster fire on the sorcerer, the trio intent on bringing the madman down.

Spoiler: ”TL;DR”

One Osorae dead. Nexus’ henchmen retreat. Percival fires his disruptor at Nexus. The Neutralizers also begin concentrating their fire upon Nexus, hoping to bring him down.

Krae Stone Gra'tua​

 

[Stone Gra'tua]

The Mandalorians and their friends had jabbed at the beehive, and now brought down the wrath of the hive's master upon them. The Force reflection of the grenade blasts had a devastating effect on Stone's team. The Wookiee took a chest wound from the explosions, before being smashed into Vansen and Tank. Tank the Houk, as with his Wookiee companion, was knocked senseless, and unconscious. Only Vansen remained fighting, even with blood streaming down one side of her face from a near miss from shrapnel.

She fought hard, tough as reinforced beskar, and she was far from idle. Struggling in the tentacular grip, she managed to reverse her Amban rifle and jab the energized forks into the tentacle holding her. "Take that, chakaar!" She swore as she struggled to free herself, cursing bloody vengeance upon the Sith who had dared to ensnare her in his vice-like grip. He'd also hurt two of the three people she cared about in this galaxy, and that would earn him only death from her. She was so angry she would have bitten the tentacle if she wasn't wearing a helmet.

Stone narrowly avoided being trampled as Nexus' guardians fled from him. He managed to keep himself under control despite the loss of two of his four being squad. They were still alive, but it took a hell of a lot to put a Houk and a Wook down, and that couldn't be good. Vansen was still fighting and swearing up a storm. And yet the Shi'ido Alor held firm, waiting for the right opportunity. Surprise was the only chance they all had. It was down to him. He had to get this right. The comforting weight of his beskad's hilt filled his right hand, and in his left, the first of two decapitator disks he would fling at the Sith. The moment was very close now.

Spoiler

Tank, already wounded, is knocked out by tentacle slam
Angry is wounded by grenade blasts and knocked out by tentacle slam
Vansen, wounded, manages to zap Nexus' tentacle holding her with the Amban's forks
Stone avoids the fleeing foes and prepares to strike at Nexus

Percival Io Krae

 

[Krae]

Nexus saw Percival Io and his team begin to open fire and swung his weapon in front of him and moving quickly to one side, the power of a disruptor was considerable but thankfully his self enhancements and the weight of the weapon actually meant the impact of an enemies weapon was far less noticeable than it would be otherwise, still, he would not take it lightly. But he really didn't like being put on defense either. A twist of another hand and a stone the size of a man was torn from the roof and hurled at Percival and his droids as a counterattack, both to disrupt their attacks, and to issue his own in turn.

However this distraction of Percival's resulted in less attention being able to be given to the others, while his attack on the group had proven successful, one managed to jab with with electricity causing the limb to writhe momentarily though he quickly silenced the nerves to prevent any of the pain reaching him, and yanked it back to him. This, of course, further distracted him from what attack Stone Gra'tua might be intending to give.

As the ritual began to further unravel and the symbols, ground, and intangible connections between him and the victims began to glow in an unnatural wisp, Nexus tried to end it faster. He raised his sword in front of him and through the force cracked the floor outside of the circle, tearing up dust and stones that flung themselves wildly around the room in something resembling a whirlwind of considerable size and danger to anything that either couldn't protect itself or get out of the way from the many flying objects, assuming they themselves didn't get picked up in the rubble and wind. It was advantageous as it allowed him a great number of defenses that need only be moved to defend him from the nearest location. However fighting so many, especially so many who actually had good capabilities, meant that it was still a risky move to try and use imprecise techniques of that size as they were more easily disrupted.

It would be during this attempt that he'd realize how Percival Io was indeed very abnormal, though due to the current conditions, he couldn't pinpoint why and didn't have the time to figure it out without further risking leaving an opening by being distracted.

Spoiler: OOC

The grip on the mando's was meant to be from the force lol but I'll try and work with it. May have to adjust something.

SUM:
Nexus deflected blasts from Percival and his droids, and sent a sizably large rock at them from the roof.
Pulls one limb back being distracted by the change and injury but able to return properly to the fight.
Using the force to create a large whirlwind of heavy stones throughout the room. Probably safer places by the victims, or in the hallway. But could possibly be dodged or deflected, just harder.

The ritual is still unraveling and lines between the victims and Nexus are glowing, as well as many symbols.

Given the number wouldn't be too few, and the conflict going on, finding a specific victim might be troublesome. Though perhaps not entirely impossible.