Divine Restoration - Dominion of Manpha [Moross]

[Piraiba]

@[member="Evelynn Dorn"] @[member="Amorella Mae"]

Piraiba had assisted Aesir Neth and his Crusader companion with staying alive. With that objective completed the Togorian now needed to move on to making sure Aesir Inari made it out of the conflict alive. It wasn't long before the feline was jumping out of his dropship again. This time it was in Inari's settlement.

The situation was bad as soon as the cat laid eyes upon it. The Morossian soldiers had no doubt fought valiantly. The wave of Sithspawn certainly seemed to be thinned down considerably, but both sides had taken heavy losses. He could hear only seldom blaster bolts firing around him throughout the settlement.

Piraiba was a Sith Knight and had come to gain certain perceptions that regular soldiers couldn't discern. In particular he noticed large amounts of the force being focused up in the nearby bell tower. That tower seemed to be part of a community center. It made sense that that's where the bulk of the resistance would have holed up at.

The Togorian noticed a few Tuk'ata circling the building. They were no doubt waiting for the light side barrier to weaken. One of the beasts noticed him and immediately charged.

The feline simply grinned, which exposed his sharp teeth. You see Piraiba was quite a beast as well, but he was an even bigger beast. He laughed maniacally and lowered his body into a defensive stance with his hands held outward and open. The ten foot tall Togorian caught the Tuk'ata by the creature's tusks. It's momentum allowed the Sith to flip it over his shoulder. Then while still holding the horns on it's head, he promptly snapped it's neck in a quick kill.

His sensitive ears pivoted as he picked up a Morossian soldier cheering from the community center. It was time to turn the tide. Piraiba raised his maw and emitted a loud roar into the sky. Overpowering the Sithspawn with his bare clawed hands had released the endorphins needed to flood the cat in euphoria.

Still he needed to stay on task. Piraiba focused his mind and then projected his thoughts into the bell tower. He hoped to communicate to the Aesir he assumed to be within, but his skills of telepathy were poor compared to many Sith or Jedi Knights. "Piraiba is here to pull Inari out. He will kill Sithspawn for you." Of course his thoughts were as rough and deep as his voice was.

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

He understood it all now. The Rakata had done this. Maybe not on purpose but it was their technology that had triggered this evolution. He could see all the puzzle pieces fall into place now. The Rakata had used the Darkside of the force as a way to fuel their devices, droids, forges, everything. Famously they had been enslavers of thousands of species, he knew that Manpha was likely one of the worlds they had long ago conquered. A piece of their technology likely remained, did remain in fact.

This was what had caused the mutations, what had caused everything.

Soliael became giddy as a schoolgirl as he moved across the wall and read its ancient history. The Rakata were powerful, more powerful perhaps than even the ancient Sith Lords. He wanted whatever it was that created this, whether it would help him or not.

 

[Jorus Merrill]

As @[member="Vascious Relens"] struggled to his feet, Jorus caught sight of the good-sized Sith Hound making a leap for the armored Master. A double-barrelled buckshot discharge would have solved the problem heroically. Unfortunately, he had solved another problem that way about five seconds ago. Ears still ringing from the blast, gun empty, he took a long step in at the risk of filleting himself on the white lightsabre. The solid beskar double barrel slammed down into the head of the leaping tuk'ata.

That did nothing for momentum, of course. It still bowled Vascious over, but it did so with a concussion verging on brain damage. Gripping the weapon by the hot barrel with gloved hands, Jorus brought the beskar stock down on the back of the Sith Hound's neck. Moira would have called the crunch satisfying. Jorus found it dissociative and vaguely appetizing for no reason he could fathom.

 

[Garza]

(@[member="Soliael Devin Talith"] Its okay bro)

We continued to walk. What seemed like forever, the sluck sounds of my boots hitting the ground beneath my feet. With my sword out and ready, I stopped and slowed to see that Neth had started talking about how he could see something. Old symbols of some language that I could not read. Looking at them, they were alien to me.

I rushed after neth when he said that he knew what was happening. Getting closer to him, I looked between him and the glyphs. "What makes sense?"

@[member="Soliael Devin Talith"]

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

“These ruins.” Soliael said as he finally turned away from a wall and back towards the center of the now decadent hallway. He began to walk down the central line, his footsteps leading him towards the empty feeling of the cavern. They were so close now, so very close. It would only take a few more steps and then they would arrive. “They were created by a species now extinct. Thousands upon thousands of years ago. They were famous for their use of more...exotic technology.”

Slowly Soliael and Zoey entered a massive hall, the walkway they were on quickly fading away to reveal a room with thousands of computers, hundreds of tiny pods, and a central machine that seemed to be crackling and whirling with electricity. Power came from the Machine. Not of the Darkside, and not of the light, but simply power.

The False god watched it for a few moments, absolutely fascinated.
@[member="Zoey Marix"]

 

[Garza]

Following the God as he only made me more confused. Another race of people? Use of exotic items? Like the force? What were they like? how did they discover it? All of these questions I knew would probably not be answered, but then my mind changed. With the use of the old and yet still functioning pods, all leading to the center of this machine. It was covered in energy. Nether light nor Dark, I could feel how it Pulsed. In my head it pushed as though it wanted to absorb me for more energy. "By the Gods....." looking around me I could see the expansive cave that held this huge machine.

"This.....This was created thousands of years ago?"

@[member="Soliael Devin Talith"]

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

“Very likely. Then abandoned, probably because of the side effects of the machine itself.” Soliael referred to the disease that now blighted the people of Manpha. He was willing to bet that the machine itself worked off of the Darkside of the force, it spawned sithspawn and twisted life I order to form a military for the Rakata at the cost of causing misery and utter destruction to where ever it was located. That was usually the Rakata's MO and Soliael would it extremely interesting.

Suddenly a spark of lightning brewed from the machine and a massively loud whirring noise could be heard. A roar resounded throughout the hall, a scream of absolute bestial pain and horror. Soliaels head snapped to where the scream came from and noticed one of the Sithspawn in a tube. He lifted and eyebrow slightly as he noticed the unmutated nature of the creature, thus confirming his suspicion.

The False god slowly made his way over to the console on the machine, beginning to fiddle with the control. “We have to shut this off. This is the problem that blights Manpha.”
@[member="Zoey Marix"]

 

[Garza]

With the Roar from the beast after the small explanation of it. I rushed after the god to the console. The beasts in the tubes began to move and scramble. Each one first wining, and then to full out roars. I had a feeling that they might burst out, and for the god to finish with the computer, He needed time. And it was my job to provide that. By using the force, I lashed out my hand at one, Crushing its throat with the force. If they were to break out, then I wanted the fewest numbers as possible.

Doing the same thing time and time again, I ended the life of these sithspawn. I could hear scratching, and the sounds were so loud that I might have lost my mind, but I was so focused on protecting the God, that my body had become numb.

@[member="Soliael Devin Talith"]

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

Soliael paid no mind to Zoey as she began to murder the Sithspawn. He doubted that they would escape, but what she was doing was probably prudent in the end. Once the machine was off all the Sithspawn would have to die anyway, there was no setting them free.

The False god began to scan the console over and over again, reading the hieroglyph's and trying to get a sense of what was what. After a few moments he realized something as he looked at the panel. A frown settled on his face and he looked at the machine before him. “There is no off switch.”

The Machine could not be turned off, it could only go dormant. Soliael stared, the Rakata were brilliant. They had left the machine here to sow chaos, to destroy any society their slaves might eventually build, they were a vengeful species. He frowned. He wanted this Machine, more than he wanted most things, but he also knew that if this machine survived then Manpha would likely die off or become some diseased hole, something that would not please Amore.

He let out a loud Sigh. “Zoey, return to the entrance of the Cavern.”
@[member="Zoey Marix"]

The Order was a Solid one and would come as the girl finished slaying the beasts. The Machine had to be destroyed.

 

[Garza]

I still continued to kill the beasts. It seemed that there were alot of them. and that's probably why there were so many to face. I heard the dreaded words that I thought I would never hear. No off button. I could only dread what would come next. We would have to destroy the machine. Turning around to face the God I walked up to him seeing all that was happening. He frantically was trying to find some combo of turning it off. he then told me to leave. Looking at him like he was an idiot. I shook my head. "I swore my life to the Moross Crusade, My God. For you to destroy this alone could kill you."

Thinking back to how he had used the power back outside to destroy all the number of the Sith spawn I could only hold honor for the man. Even as a God, his mortal body could be torn apart from this. I wanted to leave as he asked me, but in my heart, I couldn't leave him. Ether follow his directions, and orders, or follow my gut that sometimes Even a god needed more than himself. I was conflicted and torn. and so I told him. "Neth, You may be a God of divine origins, and I only a warrior within the armies of zealots that follow you and the other Gods and Goddess. You command me, yet I have the instinct not to follow. Great God of Knowledge, you must understand one thing that will never change with Time."

Walking up to the side of him. I stabbed my Besakd into the ground, without meaning to. It made me look stronger than I actually was. "The warrior's heart that will never die and will fight until the bitter end." I looked at his frame for the chance of maybe seeing him for one last time. "I choose to stay." I may be no Goddess in spirit, or in body. Hell, I could be the very opposite and be Chaos itself. The never ending black ruler of the afterlife. But here and now, I had the heart that would belong to such a God.

"Forgive me Lord Neth, For I have sinned." I spoke under my breath. I had a feeling that I may die, or may lose something important to me. But that outweighed my Honor that coursed through my veins, and forced my heart to beat.

@[member="Soliael Devin Talith"]

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

Soliael took on a look of complete amusement as Zoey spoke. He was not making fun of her of course, but more so he was endlessly amused by what he now considered to be “mortals”. They were so complex, yet so simply. Zoey's defining trait was loyalty, and she would show it even to the death. He liked that about her, more than he liked anything else about anyone in fact. Loyalty was important to both Neth and Soliael, both his persona's enjoyed having loyal underlings, and even if Zoey did not serve him directly, she lived to serve Moross.

“You are now A Disciple of Moross.” Soliael didn't respond in a normal matter, instead he just promoted her on the spot. It was a simple answer of approval, and one that would give her status amongst the crusaders. “And if you wish it. I shall grant you governorship of Manpha.”

Soliael didn't say the “If we live part” but it was heavily implied. Quickly the Sith began to build energy once more, growing his power in his arm over and over again until he practically began to pulsate. “Run when it strikes.”

Those were the only words Soliael could manage. Then he lashed out. Another wave of darkside energy struck out in a path of pure destruction. It disintegrated everything in its, tearing apart the floor, tubes, consoles, and then finally the machine itself. The wave passed through the machine like a knife through butter, slicing through it and completely decimating its atoms.

As soon as the wave passed an explosion occurred, the remnants of the machine quickly overloading. Soliael turned on a dime, and then threw Zoey ahead of himself, beginning to spring down the hall.

 

[Evelynn]

Now the party don't start 'til I walk in...

NO, NO KE$HA, YOU AREN'T WELCOME HERE. You can't see it right now, but I'm brandishing a crucifix at my laptop screen. That was a blatant lie, I don't own a crucifix, I don't even own a laptop...or have hands to brandish objects for that matter. Oh, there I am. Lying once again.

No pressure here. Just making off the planet alive. You know. Not dying.

For once Evelynn didn't have fourth-wall shattering moment of doubt, which was a major plus. Although on a technical level the girl had no idea that there was a rambling narration of the major plot-points of her life happening on another planet, in another galaxy, a long time into the future. So you know, this paragraph was really of no consequence to anybody.

She was practically awed by the other woman's display of power and resolve, the barrier expanded becoming a great growing dome. The girl acknowledged within her own mind that this woman could have summoned a barrier of this magnitude by herself, perhaps at the cost of greater strain but hey, it feels good to help, you know?

Did she just hear somebody roar?

Nevertheless, Evelynn did what she deemed to be most dutiful. She focused, with a moxy of a spoon that one day dreamed of being a fork. Even if this other woman carried the lion's share of the work, the mouse of a girl was still putting the effort in, it was still a test of stamina from somebody just barely on the road of a Force user, you know? DON'T PUT HER DOWN. YOU DON'T KNOW ME. YOU DON'T KNOW ABOUT MY LIFE.

@[member="Piraiba"], @[member="Amorella Mae"]

 

[Garza]

I looked to the God as he thought for a second. All other sounds in the room seemed to fade as he spoke. Calling me a Disciple. I nodded my head and was going to speak when he also mentioned that I could be Governor of Manpha. To me that was more than enough. I nodded my head as his next words were to run after he unleashed his power on it. I looked around seeing cables that were connected to the tubes. Maybe they were flammable? With the force I pulled on a few of them letting it drain out. Picking up my Beskad, He unleashed the power on the machine.

It would be sad to see it go. We could have used it for creating an army of sithspawn for us. But even then, I knew that it may have been more trouble than actual help. I started running before he even through the ball of energy. Somehow he had caught up and then pushed me forwards. I ran faster than I had thought, Using the force I sped myself up. As I neared the pool, I knew that it would shield us from the flames that would blow through here. Throwing my sword first, I dived in after as I could hear the machine explode.

(If you want to continue for story purposes, or just end it, ether is fine. @[member="Soliael Devin Talith"])

 

[Ereza]

The protective dome continued to pulse as waves of the Reviver's energy funneled through the girl, empowering it. Inari was well aware of the sudden rise of pain in her joints and the heat that was overcoming her. She felt faint, but willed herself to press on. In the distance the sound of engines marked the arrival of the Togorian beast, his roar echoed by the thrumming of more engines still. Inari did not see it, but their requested back up had arrived at the south of the settlement, dropping a dozen fresh warriors ready to protect their God and the citizens of Manpha.

"Aesir Inari!" Teagan's voice echoed up the stairs coupled with her frantic footsteps, "Aesir Inari, reinforcements have arrived! The town is saved!"

The words hit her ears and like a key that unlocked the door to her illness, Inari's hand slipped from Evelynn's shoulder as the Reviver crumpled to the floor. Around them the protective dome dissipated.

"You did very well," sweat beading on her brow, Inari looked to Evelynn and attempted to smile through a grimace, "you're very brave." She looked to Teagan then, "Find the Lord Crusader, Miss Jarhn, bring him to me. Send one of the drop ships,"

Teagan looked at her, concerned, and seemed to waiver on staying with the obviously ailing Aesir or doing as commanded, "...Aesir..."

"Please, Miss Jarhn, act quickly," she didn't say that time was a pressing issue, but it seemed implied.

Teagan nodded and quickly turned to head back down the stairs. Once she reached the main hall again she moved to the comm, "Crusader Jarhn to Countess, I need a location on the Lord Crusader and immediate retrieval."

"Sending coordinates to one of your drop ships now."

 

[Vascious Relens]

@[member="Jorus Merrill"] [Thanks for the help completing the dominion. I'm gonna skip around a little bit to finish up my part.]

Vascious' lightsaber deactivated when another impact from yet another Tuk'ata sent the Mandalorian to the ground once more. His battered mind moved to react as his hands came up to fend away the creature's devastating maw. Yet the Sith Hound seemed to fall limp instead of thrashing. It was simply 500 pounds of dead weight on the Lord Crusader as Jorus delivered one more swing of his double barreled bat.

Relens pushed and managed to tumble the Sithspawn off of himself before starting to get back onto his feet. Footing was a bit shaky at first, but he managed as the remaining few Tuk'ata started to flee the scene from precise shots fired down from an overhead Dropship that was new on the scene.

A sigh escaped the mans lips as he reached up and removed his helmet. With his helmet under his left arm, it was an ordinary man with short cropped gray hair that gazed at back at Jorus. A smile graced the older mans lips as he reached out to offer the Rebel a handshake. "It appears i'm in your debt today. I'm sure there will come a time when I can repay it. I wish I had more like you three."

___
@[member="Evelynn Dorn"] @[member="Amorella Mae"]

Later Vascious found himself at the settlement where Inari and Evelynn had been holding off additional waves of Sithspawn. The Morossian soldiers had taken heavy casualties, but the settlement had held and repelled the invaders. In the corner of his eye he could see a large Togorian dragging Tuk'ata corpses into a pile. It seemed his adopted son had made it to the party in his stead. At least that backup plan hadn't misfired. It was hard to keep Piraiba waiting on the ship in orbit.

Soon the Lord Crusader made it into the community center where his niece had made her stand. He followed Crusader Jarhn to Amore before lowering himself down on one knee and bowing his head. Someone with the title of Lord Crusader might have normally been quite a sight to see. However, what kneeled before her was an old Mandalorian in battered armor that was half covered in drying mud. The tattered black cloak he sported was even more ragged then when the mission started.

"Manpha has been secured, Aesir."

 

[Jorus Merrill]

@[member="Vascious Relens"]

Jorus shook the proffered hand without hesitation. As a man who'd done business with Sirella Valkner and still shared company ownership with Kaine Zambrano, it wasn't the first time he'd shaken the hand of a dubiously aligned Force Master. It was, however, the first time he'd meant it.

"Well, since your leaders are lettin' us hang our hats in your space, I'm sure we'll be seein' you around."