Dead Space | Galactic Alliance Hex Dominion of Polis Massa

[Dredge]

Location: The Bazaar
Objective: Kill everyone
Allies: Nobody
Enemies: Everybody

Dredge didn't bother to dodge the spears of green light. He simply sat there and let them come. With the explosion of bright plasma erupting around him and smoke rising from the site, it would seem that the attack was effective and the threat was neutralized. The heroes did their job and had vanquished evil to ensure that the people of Skor survived. The day was saved and everyone was going to be alright.

If only that were true.

When the smoke cleared there was a rather disturbing sight to behold. Standing there mangled and bleeding was the mountain of armor that was Dredge. One of his arms was completely blown off and blackened blood poured out from the wound. His helmet was warped and pieces of raw flesh hung from its opening. But his legs, his legs were a crippled mess of broken bones that stuck out from the armor with pristine white color with specks of black blood dotting them; but that wasn't the most disturbed sight.

In his only remaining hand he held the head and upper torso of the soldier he was previously petting. The man's corpse was a mangled mess of gore and Dredge didn't even seem to notice. He simply brought it up to his face and spoke to it as if it weren't the dead body of some unlucky bastard.

"Do you think I should be god, Strider? Bring meaning back to this reality." there was a small pause as his psychosis talked back to him.

"Yes. Yes, yes yes. I could do it! I could show them all! Return balance! I'd be doing good! For the first time in forever I'd be the good guy! Oh Strider you're a genius!" Dredge soon embraced the corpse and held it tight with his one arm.

"I'll need to ascend? To leave this life of flesh and armor behind?" Dredge continued to speak to the corpse as he held it in his arm.

"No no, you're right. Well I guess this is it then. Goodbye Strider, tell Preliat I said hello." And with that he gave the dead man a last pat on the back then threw the body aside.

The sword charging this deadly attack wasn't your normal blade, it was a Sith sword forged by the Sith empire's best craftsmen. A physical manifestation of the darkside, and like all dark side nexus' and artifacts it was traditionally indestructible from normal means. So it remained there standing still in the ground as Dredge approached it.

Reaching its critical mass, Dredge placed his hand on the bone blade one last time and smiled. He gently ran his hand down the hilt and closed his remaining eye to what came next.

There was a bright flash of light, and it was all over. The nexus exploded outwards in violent blast of energy that was fated to consume the entire capital city of Skor. In a matter of moments millions of lives would be lost. The initial blast consumed Dredge and he was gone.

Everything would be gone.



[member="HK-36"] [member="Choli Vyn"] [member="Trextan Voidstalker"]

 

[Choli Vyn]

[member="Dredge"] [member="Trextan Voidstalker"] [member="HK-36"] @Liliane
I had the suckiest Roll

---

The Rogue had every right to have felt as if something bad was going to happen. In fact, it did.

Choli had barely delivered the Scarred and Trextan to the ground, their voices mere echoes within her headset. Here she was, bruised, mind completely wiped of whatever had occurred to her the past month and already in the thick of it. There were Yuuzhan Vong and who Force knew what else around the Bazaar, and while reinforcements were coming from Elrood, Sullust, and local Kathol territory, it was still a hot zone for the native of Tatooine.

Maybe adrenaline rushes and high stake risks were all she knew.

Either way, the U-Wing had roared its engines to ascend once more up to the skies, hoping that they could at least counter whatever was down there with more aerial attacks.

Yet it was too late.

Time seemed to slow then, as the churning, sphere of Darkside power seemed to grow and pulse with a life of its own. It was a writhing, almost living entity, straining as if a malevolent fetus within that dark womb, straining and tugging to be let out. Then, all at once, it did.

The Force blast went ripping out in all directions, the water breaking as what [member="Dredge"] had birthed torn asunder the immediate area. Choli was fast, but she wasn't fast enough.

The blow caught the U-Wing, the girl's hazel eyes shifting into pick black as her hands came up. The Force went surging through her, but it wasn't enough.

From the ground, all one could see was the dark waves of energy and flames as the U-Wing spun out of control, one wing blasted away while the tail spun it down into a death spin, falling towards the ground.

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

[member="Choli Vyn"] [member="Dredge"]

Sullust

Jacen remained seated, his pale iridonian companion having floated away on a breeze of camaasi silk. Trextan didn't really want to sit in the grass but he lowered himself to the ground opposite Jacen. Trextan walked more softly, spoke more quietly than he had before. He was still raw from the lesson he'd been given the other day, when Jacen had soaked up every insult and swing of a blade he could muster. Only when Trextan could barely stand did his father speak, telling him truths that pained him to the core.

“Why did you fail to strike me?” Jacen asked.

“Because you're more powerful that me.”

Jacen chuckled. “That's the easy answer isn't it? You assume there's some intrinsic quality i have that you can't overcome.” He pursed his lips and shook his head. “You have more potential than I ever had. Unfortunately just as headstrong as i was. What you lack is control and that can only be learned slowly.”

Trextan frowned. Already Jacen was frustrating him again. “You moved faster than me…”

“No, I just made sure I wasn't where you were swinging your blade. Internal control and focus. Think of those Teras Kasi artists you see, enacting a routine at the top of a narrow pole. It's like that, bit on the inside. The Force can be hammered to your will, but it takes fine control to truly become a master of it. Like spinning plates. Inside your mind you're keeping four or five going at the same time, perfectly balanced. If any start to wobble everything comes apart. Control and balance. But of mind not body.”

Trextan scoffed.

---

On his knees, Trextan had his right arm anchored to the ground to hold him steady as the bazaar was ripped apart. His lightshield and Force barrier kept the worst of the shockwave from tearing him apart. He looked up and saw the U-Wing spiralling out of control. Did they all have to die here just for doing the right thing? Trextan turned to the Force for answers.

The plates stopped spinning. The poles fell away and they hovered in perfect balance.

His face was blackened, the tips of his hair singed away. Yet there, in the epicentre of destruction wrought by the dark side, everything was suddenly clear to him.

He reached up his left hand towards the rapidly descending shuttle. His fingers splayed open, then snapped into a fist as he tightened his grip. The U-Wing slowed its spin, the second wing falling free as it clipped a building. A plate started to wobble. The spin of the ship came to a halt.

For half a second the U-Wing descended nose first, the cockpit pointed right at Trextan kneeling in the maelstrom. Then it turned away, keeping the glass away from the waves of raw energy. Trextan made no sound, have no outward sign of the exertion. But as the U-Wing slowed its fall another plate started to waver. A burst of light cut through his shield and scorched his armour.

It wasn't a soft landing, the struts all crumpling under the strain, but it was it was a landing. The frame of the U-Wing held together.

“There.” Trextan murmured. He dropped his left arm. The lightshield flickered off and his barrier dissipated a moment after. The young Jedi vanished in the next wave of light.

 

[Dredge]

https://m.soundcloud.com/i-am-sg/silence​

Location: Ground Zero
Objective: Ascend
Allies: Nobody
Enemies: bugs beneath my feet

As the light consumed buildings, people, and other forms of life and civilization it would eventually reach the downed U-Wing where it's pilot if they were still alive would see their inevitable end coming forth to claim them like it did for so many others. It was a good life, short but good. So as the final seconds of the nexus approach, something strange happened. Something that anyone wouldn't expect. It stopped.

Dead in the middle of the street everything just stopped. There was a moment of pause then it all came flooding backwards towards the wreckage that was the bazaar. Though this wasn't a good thing, in fact it was very much far from it. The nexus explosion started to twist into a tornado of red and black energy over the initial detention area. The clouds above began to darken and the sun itself was blocked out from the sheer evil and wickedness the skies brought with them. So with the dark overcast and the hurricane of dark energy swirling it all started to coalesce and move into one single shape where the sword and Dredge once stood.

When the energy finally died down there was a loud snapping noise as what seemed to be a secondary explosion went off. But it wasn't quite that, it was a fast moving wave of darkness that covered everything in its path and like holo movies of old everything was in the purest forms of black and white. This spread for miles on end covering the city in what the Jedi could sense as a mass dark aura that was relatively harmless to people when in contact with it. But for force users, it was temptation. Power that could be grasped and fed upon in sheer and utter carnal delight. The odd silhouette city could be drawn off of as if the nexus had transformed and transcended into something completely different.

Standing there at the center of everything was a figure silhouetted and cloaked. Its pure white eyes stared down at the destruction then to its hands as if gauging its new and unfamiliar body. Dredge had destroyed his physical form, the nexus armor, the nexus sword, he merged his Sith Spirit form and these wells of infinite energy into one singular being. He was beyond the label of Sith Spirit encased in armor, he was above these titles. He had become a full blown force entity comprised of pure dark side nexus'.

"Kneel before God." His first words, almost seemed fitting in a way.

The force entity soon walked the ruined streets of the bazaar approaching a survivor who had survived the blast and release of energy. The figure stared down at the woman who shook in fear at his presence.

"Fear me not, child. For you shall know unity and purpose." The entity knelt down and placed a hand on the woman's face.

From there lines of black corruption spread through her body and she went deathly still.

"Now rise. Spread our love and gospel to others." The entity said with one last gentle stroke of the woman's face before all but vanishing.

The woman on the ground, she did not have the luxury of simply phasing out. She stood on her feet and soon started to run towards any survivors, but it wasn't like that of an animal one would see in most Sith Lords creating zombies. No the woman was composed and when she reached another survivor of the wreckage, she simply pinned then down and vomited a Black ichor into their mouths and eyes to spread what was Dredge's new gospel.

[member="Choli Vyn"] [member="Trextan Voidstalker"]

 

[Xandyr]

[member="Saverok"] [member="Dredge"]

The Itsukusk thumped back into realspace a short distance from the world. The pale blue orb was witness to the GADF 7th Defensive Fleet coming out a second later. Two Trimiran Star Defenders headed up a task force with Valor-class carriers and Hammerheads. Almost immediately the Itsukusk started to disgorge its complement of fighters. Swarms of X-Wings descended on the raider's fleet, harassing and attempting to strip away any escorts before the Y-Wings could follow in and hammer home the point with torpedoes.

Vilin watched this pan out from the Viperous, his Trimiran command ship. The Itsukus was now the command centre of the entire sector, coordinating the effort to secure all the worlds from any further incursions.

"Should we open fire sir?"

Vilin tapped his finger tips along the top of his cane and shook his head. "No, move into position to cut off their retreat and lock ion cannons and disruptor torpedoes. Hold for now, let the fighters strip their defences."

 

[Choli Vyn]

[member="Trextan Voidstalker"] [member="Dredge"] @Liliane @HK-36 [member="Bethany Kismet"] and OSL

Every pilot had trained for it; death spins that is. There were ways for a pilot to trust in their instruments so they could work themselves out of it, but with one wing already blown to bits and the rest of the blast taking panels, electronics, and glasteel out in the intense rush of heat, there was nothing Choli could do.

No amount of training could save her for the ticking time bomb she knew would lead to her death.

Chloe had taught Cho the more advanced tricks when it came to emergency procedures, but even then this was out of left field. While the Force had heightened her senses and danger sense bloomed the instinctual reaction to send a shimmering yellow sphere around her, and her co-pilot, sheer nausea from the spin and sudden plummet were terrible for keeping her concentration. Even more so after having just awoken not some hours prior on a hospital bed.

It was a good thing that she had nothing in her belly because even her intense training was twisting and knotting it. A dry heave came, her helmet cracking against the side wall.

Shit, this was it. This was --

Then something extraordinary occurred. The Deadspin slowed. No that couldn't be right. Feth, everything happened so fast. What was up or down, who knew.

Her leg was pinned, and blood trickled down her temples. The edges of her vision grew foggy, and by the time it was over, Choli had succumbed to darkness.

Then came the sudden crunching and thudding sensation of the U-Wing hitting the ground as that very same energy that knocked her out of the air went ripping back into [member="Dredge"] himself.

 

[HK-36]

[member="Dredge"], [member="Choli Vyn"], [member="Vilin"], [member="Trextan Voidstalker"],



As the storm and dust that rose up from the explosion or whatever it was Dredge conjured settled down, black shapes of ships would be visible in the air above the epicenter, descending down towards Skor with soft droning hum of their engines. It was HK forces, they finally arrived, hopefully not for naught. While his spear-head droid forces made their first landing to help secure the area and reinforce surviving militia and GA forces, descending down in a mix of surviving Protectorate and Firemane ships, Abregado had yet to really modernize and restructure their naval forces into something uniform, but then again a large portion of their ships, like the Dancing Queen, were spoils of war, vessels taken from their enemies as result of successful boarding actions or full scale battles.

Meanwhile, HK descended down towards the planet aboard his personal transport, the Knight of the Eclipse, a stealth shuttle he acquired as a prestigious reward during the Dark Harvest again. Funnily enough, he was about to face undead. Yet again. Fifth time or so this month alone. The machine scanned the area after whatever it was that Dredge did from his ship before they were going to make a landing, sending out a transmission to his allies,

"Rogue Squadron,"

He commed in on Choli and her comrades,

"What is your status, report in. This is the Iron Knight with Abregado Expeditionary Forces, I am closing in on the ground zero."

He would also send out a signal to Trextan, receiving a report that the Padawan was deployed during the mission, since to organics all Force users were such special little snowflakes,

"Young Voidstalker, HK here, I just arrived with reinforcements, what is your current status?"

And of course he would sent out a report to Vilin up in the orbit, it was high time for them to start working together on this,

"GA naval forces, how does the orbit look? I just arrived at Ground Zero, the whole place stinks of Sith Sorcery and Dark Magicks."



The Eclipse descended down between the silhouette like black buildings, slithering about between their eery shapes like a dark viper as its cargo bay doors opened, revealing the tall cloaked shape of the war droid standing inside. HK stared across distance just in time to see Dredge in his new shape kneel by a woman and touch her face.

"Bring us closer."

He ordered to his Greycloak pilot who jerked the ship about to set them on a course towards Dredge and the cursed woman, of course Dredge would soon enough phase away and escape, as he often did, leaving the woman on her own, at least for now. As the woman run forward towards the nearest survivor, composed, yet mindless in her pursuit. As she dashed forward, closer and closer towards her victim a black shadow would overcome her with a whoosh of engines closing in on them.

She lunged forward, pinning her target to the ground, trapping them between the hard surface and her as she begun to vomit the black ichor into her mouth and eyes, and then-

THUNG

There was the sound of a large being landing right behind her, HK dropping to the surface from his ship in hot low altitude insertion, there was no time for a proper landing, so he simply jumped out from the cargo bay door, slowing down his descent with his jetpack systems to make sure his body absorbed the impact without any damage.

The possessed woman would be then pulled back forcibly off of her target, whatever strength she had was probably irrelevant when compared to the brute physical force of the war droid grabbing her by the back of her neck, especially one like HK, skilled in the art of organic anatomy and pressure points, field he has recently looked further into with his use of GravGloves to manipulate organic bodies remotely.

Pulling her off he would drag the cursed woman back with one hand, away from other organics, corpses or survivors, he was not taking any risk after what he witnessed during the Dark Harvest, his other hand would form into a sigil, arcane gestures with which he activated his Grav Glove, aiming it at the other being that was just vomited on in case he had to stop them as well, he called upon his Greycloaks,

"I have two organics here, possible Mngal or similar entity infection, I need them restrained."

"Aye-aye."

In the sky the black shape of the Knight of Eclipse swung about, coming in for another glide over them so that another HK or two could join them in form of his bodyguard-copies.

 

[Elpsis Kerrigan]

[member="Trextan Voidstalker"], [member="HK-36"], [member="Choli Vyn"], [member="Dredge"]


Darkness had fallen upon the bazaar. The air was permeated with evil, malevolent energies. The vile, corrupt aura of the shade could be sensed from miles afar. The massive discharge of energy had swept across the bazaar like a hurricane, leaving naught but destruction.


A lone redhead made her way across the ruined streets. She was clad in scarlet beskar armour, though she did not wear a helmet. No, it was not Siobhan Kerrigan. We've moved on to Firemane: Next Generation. Young, hipper and hotter!


Elpsis Elaris' sightless, milky-white eyes took in the desolation. To the blinded one, the spirit with delusions of godhood was like a beacon of evil. Its designs bore the fingerprint of the Black Wolf and his evil spirits. The daemon would have to be smote with arcane flame and holy light. The Great Spirit willed it. Failing that, she would help prevent his vile infection from spreading. Once she heard about it any rate, since she was just arriving.


She grit her teeth, wincing as she was hit by the pain of those who'd been hurt by the carnage he unleashed. But rather than let it drag her down, she allowed it to spur her on. "May the Great White Wolf shepherd them through the void and give them peace in the eternal forest. May they find solace in a realm without war," she whispered quietly. So she walked towards the epicentre of the orgy of destruction, approaching the position of the transformed Dredge, where HK had just landed and was trying to restrain a woman infested with black goo.


"Iron guy, I'm approaching your location. What's going on? This place is infested with dark magicks. I sense an evil spirit. We must smite it." The Force swelled up inside, as she began to prepare her power.

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

[SIZE=9pt]https://youtu.be/aTWd3kKRuW0[/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]He woke in a field of wheat. Waist high, the strands moved gently with the swirling breeze. It took a moment to realise what made this place feel so alien. Nothing troubled him here, there was no emotion. Just peace. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]Near him the wheat parted. An instant later a faint silhouette filled the space. It wasn't human, or anything. Just an impression of a person. Female perhaps. The wheat around her shifted as if she'd brought her own wind. It danced and swayed. Trextan could feel echoes of fear and panic, but they could not touch him here. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]Another appeared, then another and another. Soon he was surrounded by them and the land was no longer peaceful. The maelstrom whipped around them as the figures murmured and cried. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]Slowly the wind started to die down, the flow returning to a gentle breeze. The one who had appeared first slowly faded. Trextan felt a final gust of wind and then they were gone. The wheat where they had stood just becoming part of the flow once more. One by one they faded away, yet he knew that in some respect they were still here. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]There was another cry. This one more visceral. He could feel this fear, it gained traction on his thoughts. He became suddenly aware of his own pulse, his own breath. He knew he would not be joining the others he had seen. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]Dark shapes appeared in the field around him. This time more defined, yet paradoxically more distant. Women were running, screaming. Something else loomed and where it walked the wheat turned black and died. A familiar presence tinged in pain.[/SIZE]


[SIZE=9pt]I have to leave here, [/SIZE][SIZE=9pt]he spoke to the wind.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]It is not your time, [/SIZE][SIZE=9pt]it replied.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]

---

[/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]Ironic that as he blinked the dust from his eyes he found that it was his artificial arm that responded. Whilst the other limbs merely protested at the weight holding them down his prosthetic tossed aside a market stall frame as if it were made of paper. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]"...[/SIZE][SIZE=9pt]Young Voidstalker, … current ...?[/SIZE][SIZE=9pt]"[/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]The earpiece crackled and then died out. There was screaming, panic. The weight of thousands of deaths weighed upon him, but at least they were with the Force now. Much of the clarity he had held was fading away, but he was certain that in some way he had witnessed them rejoining the Force that bound all living things. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]His metal hand came down, palm open, onto the ground and he lifted his chest up. His mouth was parched, grit coating his tongue and mouth. He tried to speak but could manage nothing more than a croak. Freed from his weight, his left arm finally responded. It ached as blood rushed back into it, but he managed to get both arms down to drag himself out from under the detritus. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]The battered U-Wing loomed before him. The sense of clarity was gone, but his purpose was clear. His legs were more shaky than Choli’s had been back at the hospital, but he managed to crawl and stumble his way to the door. It didn’t respond. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]Using the hull as support he made his way up to the cockpit. He wiped away the dust and pressed his face to the glass. They were in there, both alive still, but neither moving. With a growing sense of anxiety he raised his artificial arm. The viewscreen gave way to a single blow and he used the metal arm to brush away any glass. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]“Cho!” he tried to shout, but it ended up just a croak. Trextan crawled through, over the console and down into the cockpit. The other pilot had gone with a chair into the hold behind, but the rogue was pinned under a collapsed console. [/SIZE]

 

[Dredge]

[media] https://youtu.be/W4Ig1dS0hgg [/media]​

Location: Ground Zero
Objective: Torment
Allies: Nobody
Enemies: Everyone

The black ichor seeped into the man and as HK pinned him down with his glove he began to spasm. Jerking and seizing as if having an epileptic seizure, he spasmed on the ground in raw pain as black lines of corruption spread into his body to fill his blood and skin. After a moment or two had passed he lied here still under the weight of the manipulated gravity unable to move. It seemed that HK had arrived in time to stop the spread of infection and prevent the zombie uprising, but that was just the thing about it. They weren't zombies, they weren't undead, and they certainly had no connection between the Dark Harvest. No, HK's scanners would show they were still very much alive and their hearts and bodies were functioning like that of a normal human being.

As the situation began to calm there was a rasping laughter that exited the woman's mouth. A chuckle that would soon twist into a tormented laugh of madness and rage, one that HK was already quite familiar with from his experience at the Silken Asteroids. The twisted laughter continued and soon the man on the ground joined in and he too began to cry out in mad and frenzied laughter that filled the still blackened and silhouetted air.

"Oh, HK-36. It's been far too long. I believe you helped in the downfall of this universe's Dredge didn't you? Yes I remember quite fondly. All his memories and experiences are all right up here." The woman lifted a hand and pointed towards her forehead.

"But I hold no ill will against you HK. In fact without you, I would never of existed. I'd never of ascended into godhood. So in way, I should be thanking you." The woman said in her own voice but had the very familiar and identical speaking cadences of Dredge.

"But sadly there will be no room for your kind in the new world, HK. No machines, no biots, no heresy. Only flesh and creation of a more pure existence. One with meaning." The man on the ground said.

"One with purpose." The woman in his arm said with another small chuckle.

"One without unnecessary suffering or meaningless cruelty." The man then let out another small fit of laughs.

"I will consume them all, and when I do, this galaxy shall be saved from the meaninglessness that is existence." He really did enjoy listening to himself talk.

"So this is goodbye, HK. For the next time we cross paths. You will be nothing more than scrap used to build my new world." As the little speech finished up the pair of them both continued in their laughter before slowly falling still, their heart rate beginning to fade and drop until they flatlined completely. Then they were still and unmoving.

[member="Choli Vyn"] [member="Trextan Voidstalker"] [member="HK-36"] [member="Elpsis Elaris"]

 

[Cathul Thuku]

Location: Polis Massa
Allies: Circle of Healers
Enemies: The Horde
Objective: Triage

"Admiral, we are reporting that the Itsukusk has been deployed in this sector"

"Yes, but what kind of enemy is the Horde anyway? Even if Therapy Command was just some fleet-in-being on Polis Massa, the Itsukusk could have been deployed somewhere else"

"Therapist Actual, we have bad news: the medvacs we have cannot handle the increased load of casualties, and there is no response from the Itsukusk regarding medvac. We are requesting reinforcements"

The report from the Itsukusk sent to all reserve units was a little disconcerting: it was headed towards Skor with unspecified ability to do medvac. Subterrel, Askaj were, thankfully, not the targets of the Horde, and Polis Massa didn't either. But, under the protection of Therapy Command, the medical triage facility on Polis Massa was safe for the time being. Meanwhile, the first patient was still taken care of elsewhere; Cathul did not have the ability to effect transplantations of synth-flesh. As for the second patient, it was immobilized and transferred into another non-surgical ward. Realizing that the situation on Skor has worsened, she needed to act to save whatever wounded she could. Because, unlike what First Order propaganda could say about Therapy Command, which portrays the unit as being there mostly to inflict trauma in combat, it was also a medvac unit. Before the next patient could arrive at her ward, she had to contact the Circle of Healers or whatever other naval units capable of doing medvac were in range to intervene in this sector. The SIS surveillance outpost on Rutan would probably be a good fit...

"Open a channel to the Circle of Healers on Rutan"

"Roger, roger"

"Circle of Healers, this is Therapy Command. We need additional medvac and casvac units: the field teams on Skor have been unable to handle the mounting loads of casualties"

"This is the Pharmacokinetics. We're on our way to Skor"

Therapy Command:

Spoiler

ANS Hero of Coruscant (Mateus-class fleet carrier): 2000m
ANS Lothal (Lothal-class artillery cruiser): 762m
ANS Aleen (Lothal-class artillery cruiser): 762m
ANS Moenia (Nebulon B7): 300m
ANS Otoh Sancture (Nebulon B7): 300m
ANS Spinnaker (Nebulon B7): 300m

Attack craft:

132 B/E-3 B-Wings
60 D-Wings

 

[Grrwunhoooll Agaburry]

And the end it neigh.​

The Galactic Alliance.​

Final Masquerade. ​

 

[HK-36]

[member="Saverok"],

Well said.

[member="Dredge"], [member="Elpsis Elaris"],


Anyway, while Dredge monologued, HK forced down the possessed woman he was holding to the ground, starting to strain with the man as his hand closed tighter, using more and more strength to just keep the being pinned. While the Grav Gloves could emanate telekinetic strength comparable to that of a trained Force User, since their power was based on the strength of their user and HK's mechanical body had its crushgaunt-like grip, their weakness was longer range application and prolonged usage, which meant the farther away his target was and the longer he had to manipulate them the weaker his telekinesis became, that's why he preferred to use them for short range crushing and throwing and do his strangulation in person. The droid also received the message from Elpsis, sending her back a simple text message in response, since he could do those while multitasking,

You better hurry up then, it is Dredge, he is on my position, but knowing his tactics he will probably try to retreat in a second.

THUNG-THUNG

There were two more thuds as finally his Greycloaks arrived to help him, the Knight of the Eclipse, I kinda wish now I picked a shorter name, whooshed overhead in another pass and the droids moved over to the man HK was keeping down with his Grav-Gloves, pinning him down in person.

"So this is goodbye, HK. For the next time we cross paths. You will be nothing more than scrap used to build my new world."

Moving his focus to the woman he wrestled to the ground, HK would finally answer Dredge as he took one of his trinkets from his tool belt with the now free hand.

"Well, you know,"

The machine started as he quickly slipped an amulet around the woman's neck, it was the Sigil of Hope granted to him by Jedi long time ago.

"You have to start running away from me first to do that."

He quipped as he kept the woman down on the ground with his foot as he stood up, straightening himself over her, calling out to his Greycloaks,

"Seal him!"

Dredge may have tried to kill the two beings off and run away but HK would not just watch this happen without giving it one more shot, pulling a trick up from his armored sleeve to try and save them.

The droid took his lightsaber, the Sliver of Light, and angled it down to the woman,

"There is only one god, Dredge."

He said as he activated the saber, a white energy blade would extend out sending out a flash of pure light and emanating aura of the Light side as if it was concentrated Force Light, its tip and energy stream connected with the Sigil of Hope, thankfully the lightsaber was in constant training setting, it could not cut but it was more of a mace, at least against normal physical beings, it did had much deadlier properties against spirits, Sith spawn, shadow constructs, and Force Wounds that allowed the droid to fight them in the past pretty effectively.

"Infinite and all power he comes to us in form encased in perfect impenetrable metal and shapes that you cannot even imagine, but most importantly, the Machine God is not a weak little chit like you."

The Sigils of Hope had an ability to provide the wearer with barriers and shields that protected them against mental assaults and, more importantly, Dark Side influence, which Dredge's assault on those two unfortunate beings pretty much was born of the Dark Side. Although usually it could be only used by a Lightsider wearing it, which the two probably weren't, HK's saber had a special ability, due to it channeling Light Side energy with its blade, he could activate these amulets by touching them, however they only stayed active for as long as he touched them.

His plan was to use these shields and barriers to either cut off Dredge's influence from the being before he finished his work on flat-lining them to stabilize the woman and hopefully cause the ichor inside her to turn useless so that it could be purged, or if Dredge's presence was actively inside her, trap him within her and snuff him out, killing the Sith spirit as the vessel that he possessed was dying too, hoping that the barriers and shields of the Sigil would imprison him within her and not allow him to phase out.

However, he had only one Sigil and only one saber to activate it with, so while he conducted an exorcism on the woman, his Greycloaks carried out his order of sealing the other other victim.

They brought with them a special container, duraglass cube with some sort of organic substance sloshing about. They opened up this container and unceremoniously turned it over, damping the substance on the man. It was one of those VT biots HK and the Greycloaks wore, the organic armor adjusted itself, clinging to the pinned man and spreading over him in a layer of organic film to cover him completely.

The plan there was not to just shield and protect him from the influence of the Dark Side, but use the biot's ability to dampen and protect against Force Powers. Its special property not only protect from outside influence of the Force but also cut the beings who wore it from the Force, which is why it was so useful on droids and other Force Users, yet counter-productive on Force Users as it would render them unable to tap into the Force and use its gifts. Hopefully this would cut the ichor within the man from Force and keep him out of Dredge's influence quickly enough to prevent him from killing the man and stabilizing his condition in the last moment, or if Dredge's spirit was actively inside the man, then trap him inside his body and snuff the ghost out to finally end Dredge once and for all.

HK wasn't going to just stand by and watch the two beings die if there was even a slim chance to still save them or finally get rid of Dredge.

 

[Elpsis Kerrigan]

[member="HK-36"], [member="Dredge"]


"You talk too much. You're no god. Just a deluded, evil shade." While Dredge had been monologuing, Elpsis had finally reached the position and could look upon the spirit entity that was full of dark side power, along with the civilians he'd corrupted with his black goo stuff. Perhaps her efforts would yield something, perhaps not, but she could make the attempt. In this moment, she became a conduit for ethereal power greater than her.


It was ironic. For many years Elpsis had run away from the Force and the visions it gave her. Where she'd been drawn upon it, she'd treated it as a tool, a can opener, no different from a gun or a knife. Her use had been motivated by a desire for personal gain. She'd been a selfish, troubled and scared child. Now she was not without flaws and still had a lot of growing up to do, but she knew better.


It was the Great White Wolf's gift that allowed her to see and perceive the world around her after she'd lost her physical sight. It was her duty to respect this gift and use it to fight against evil. Which the Force Entity that Dredge had became undoubtedly was after all the destruction he'd caused. The suffering of all those who'd perished by his hand on this day could not go unanswered. Or at least she could try!


Ethereal energies writhed inside her, a white glow passed across her palms. She was not the master of it, but the servant, the conduit. Beads of sweat dripped down her face and back, then a withering blast of purifying light side energy erupted from her hands in an attempt to cleanse the darkness.

 

[Dredge]

The woman began to shake violently as her heart palpitated wildly, she coughed, gagged, and was in utter shock of the war that was raging inside her. When HK pressed his force light and cleansing charms against her the lines of corruption had begun to fade and vanish from her skin. With one last heave and gag the woman vomited the blackened ichor onto the ground where it quickly evaporated into nothing. Falling backwards the droid's sensors would read that she was alright, and simply needed a bit of time in the hospital to make a full recovery. He had saved her.

However the man wasn't so lucky, while the grey cloaks attempted to dampen and cut off the darkness from his system it was all too much for his old heart to handle. The opposite forces opposing each other tore his body apart internally and he simply flatlined, lines of corruption blackened in his body and the older gentleman was gone. HK couldn't save everyone, it was just the nature of things but he knew that all too well already.

All around HK was the carnage Dredge left in his wake, the bodies of Yuuzhan Vong, Graug, and civilians of Skor littered the streets. Men, women, children, all of them dead. The disaster on Skor was far from over, fires from burnt ships spread through the city like a forest fire and there were still thousands that needed to be saved. HK could chase around a phantom that fancied himself as God all he wanted, fact of the matter was that he had left the moment he corrupted the woman and was off to go consume other worlds. Sadly didn't get to hear the whole HK rebuttal, but he could always replay that for him at a later date.

For now there were plenty of other things to accomplish in the life saving department. They would have their fated fight another day.

[member="HK-36"]

 

[Cathul Thuku]

Location: Polis Massa -> Asmeru
Allies: Circle of Healers
Enemies: The Horde
Objective: Form up to depart the system

"We're being hailed: this is High Command" the communications officer told Cathul.

"On screen"

"New orders, Therapy Command: the SIS Rutan outpost reports First Order activity in the Asmeru system. You are to form up and engage any hostiles that turn up in this system. To this end, additional ships have been dispatched from Rutan, as well as additional squadrons. Pay attention to the gravitational anomaly: it is not advised to get anywhere close to it"

"Therapy Command will vacate the area, we have been summoned to Asmeru: operational command will revert to the Circle of Healers" she announced over the PA system.

So additional units dispatched from Rutan to Polis Massa would be coming here soon: the report mentions that three ships are coming out of hyperspace with some of the squadrons in tow. The local garrison would henceforth include 11 squadrons of B-Wings and 2 squadrons of D-Wings, but without any capital ships for the time being. Probably a good 2000m should relieve us on Polis Massa before we head on Asmeru, she thought. But then 14 squadrons of X-Wings would be in use, while 4 squadrons of K-Wings would round out the loadout of attack craft of Therapy Command as applied to Asmeru. The B-Wings and the two extraneopus D-Wing squadrons have taken up positions near the medical facility (but not quite in it), on alert and on standby for any threat that could come to Meanwhile, the commander of the ORC Navy squadron sent to relieve Therapy Command on Polis Massa has opened a channel with Cathul.

"This is Commodore Julie Jutland of the Outer Rim Coalition. The ORC Navy will watch the Alliance's back on Polis Massa"

"Here's the deal: let the other guys in the ORC Navy take care of our backs on Polis Massa and you will use battle meditation on Asmeru"

"At what price?"

"A beskad, a set of beskar armor, with fittings as appropriate for a Jedi. Oh and some neuranium futures for you to use"

"Futures? I'm not a financial witch in the slightest, unlike you"

Neuranium futures were often quite valuable for those who made slug ammunition so long as they didn't mind the high weight of the ammunition. Or machine tools. Some would use it as they would a flechette or an APFSDS (even though the latter would require a pretty small diameter vs. the bore; in the 380mm case, that would mean that the penetrator would be just a 57mm hunk of neuranium, with the discarded sabot being made of some magnetic material). Even so, Julie would not hesitate one second to board the carrier for their next combat assignment while the remaining attack craft is being loaded onboard the ships. It took about 10 minutes for the transfer of attack craft to be completed, with the Hero of Coruscant having taken the most time because of it having more squadrons than everyone else (10 as opposed to 1 or 2 for everyone else), so once the transfer is finished, the fleet can go jump to hyperspace for what Cathul feels is going to be their next campaign: Asmeru.

"All ships, set course for Asmeru, and stay away from the gravitational anomaly"

Therapy Command:

Spoiler

ANS Hero of Coruscant (Mateus-class fleet carrier): 2000m
ANS Vengeance for Kaeshana (Noble-class heavy cruiser): 1000m
ANS Chandrila Hostages (Noble-class heavy cruiser): 1000m
ANS Lothal (Lothal-class artillery cruiser): 762m
ANS Aleen (Lothal-class artillery cruiser): 762m
ANS Tax Return (Relentless-class assault frigate): 470m
ANS Moenia (Nebulon B7): 300m
ANS Otoh Sancture (Nebulon B7): 300m
ANS Spinnaker (Nebulon B7): 300m

Attack craft:

Attack craft (deployed):

168 T-70 X-Wings
40 D-Wings
24 BTL-S8 K-Wings

 

[HK-36]

[member="Elpsis Elaris"],


The air and reality itself settled down to calmness after Elpsis' blast of Force Light, the droid deactivated his training lightsaber and kneel down by the unconscious woman that coughed up the ichor, placing a mask with bacta inhalator over her face, securing it so that she would start the healing process,

"He is gone, Elpy, fled away once more."

Looking to the Greycloaks he stood up, motioning with his head to the woman, they nodded and ran over, picking the human up to carry her away to the Knight of the Eclipse which lowered down to land by them,

"Start evacuating the survivors and setting up field hospitals in safe zones, we will go to the reported crash site of young Voidstalker's ship next, see if he needs evac."

HK would look over to Elpsis, motioning for her to come with him aboard his stealth transport,

"We need to hunt down and exterminate Dredge once and for all, but to do so we will need a team, beings able to track, imprison, and vanquish such beings, will you join me on this quest?"

 

[Bethany Kismet]

Location: Crash Site
In Scene: [member="Choli Vyn"] [member="Trextan Voidstalker"] ??

"Young man."

The voice from above him, through the shattered view screen of the broken U-Wing, was gentle despite the sternness of the words.

"I'm sorry we're late. Please come out so we can reach her, and look over your own wounds as well."

Late?

Bethany Kismet leaned over, a worried expression on her pale face. She had received [member="HK-36"] 's message, but it had taken so long to get here. The entire trip, the Jedi Master had fretted that they wouldn't make it in time. In time for what? She honestly wasn't certain. If one looked at the larger picture, the huge, over arching events, then certainly, she was too late to affect those things.

But this moment, here with these two?

She was just in time.

"Give me your hand and I'll help you out of there."

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

[member="Bethany Kismet"] [member="Choli Vyn"]

The explosion had left his ears ringing. His faculties were in place only enough to keep moving forwards. His focus was narrow. Little existed in Trextan's world beyond the pilots ahead of him. But the call was such a stark contrast to the roar in his ears, the screams in the distance. Just the act of turning his head blurred his vision.

There was a figure perched on the nose of the ship looking through the shattered viewscreen and warped struts. Trextan heard her words, but he did not comprehend. The right side of his face was blackened. His long hair down that side ended if frazzled tips. The surface burns were only skin deep and not the worst of it by a long way. The shockwave of the blast had done internal damage and broken several ribs. Trextan didn't even realise there were pieces of shrapnel in his thigh. It wasn't even just the disorientation that narrowed his focus so much. Just like Jacen, if there was something he was fixated on doing he could shut out all other distractions.

In spite of the risk he wrapped the fingers of his artificial arm around the base of the console and lifted it from Choli's leg. With a grunt he pushed it aside. She wasn't bleeding badly from that limb, but it was certainly broken.

The pilot remained quite unconscious. Trextan turned back to the figure. Behind her he could see the burning skeletal structures of some of the nearby towers that had taken the brunt of the blast. His eyes turned down towards the offered hand, his brows furrowing in confusion.

 

[Bethany Kismet]

Watching his reaction, Bethany frowned ever so slightly. Either he was in shock or his hearing had been damaged- very likely both. She glanced around, motioning for one of the other members of the Order to bring a stretcher over.

Very carefully, the diminutive woman lowered herself into the ship. She didn't take up much space, but even considering that she was extra careful. She offered [member="Trextan Voidstalker"] an encouraging smile, reaching out with the Force to envelope him and the other two in the downed ship. Very gently seeking the extent of their injuries, she sent a thread of warmth through as well. They needed medical attention, yes, but she had found that a bit of added comfort never hurt.

Another member of the Order popped her head over the side, and Bethany called up.

"We're going to need more hands here. Three wounded."

Refocusing on [member="Choli Vyn"], she moved slowly, small hands passing a few scant centimeters over the woman's body. She needed to be certain of the extent of her injuries before trying to move her.