E iā mākou i Ka Hale (Make us a Home) [Closed]

[Ardgal Raxis]

"There is a real art to letting these things grow larger in the right time," Alaka'i motioned to the fresh vats for the growth chambers that had been set in their places. They were like massive, organic looking cauldrons made from dark shell-like material that looked like it had been the shells of clams or muscles. Inside massive bubbling organic semi-liquids were being poured of different colors. "This is the primordial essence. Organic substances at their most base. These are stem cells, or the organic matter they need to survive and change their growth into our own needs. This is our secret to creation and growth, this is our lifeforce and the way we make what we need from this galaxy."

They walked along the Yorik coral ramp as she spoke. He noticed the incoming call in his HUD, he raised a finger, halting her in her words before opening Myles' direct line. The words echoed through his mind, stunning him. For a brief moment the warrior was knocked flat and speechless. His dark eyes narrowed, searching for the words to say. He knew what that meant. They had no clue what Project: Madman was, in fact still most of his own living kin still had no idea what that meant or what had happened to him.

"I will be there in fifteen minutes. Extract everyone else from that position who has not seen this. I want the Gamorreans here as planned, all according to plan."

True to his word it took no more than 15 minutes for Ardgal's speeder to scream through the jungle to the hill top. His mind was going through all possible outcomes. If the cybornetic side of him had not taken over, Ardgal might have succumbed to the organic natural responses of fear, worry, anxiety, or all of the other regular responses that could have been for someone who knew what Project: Madman had done.

When he got there, Myles and Gusberg would be the only two left. Without a greeting or a word, Ardgal made his way like a bee-line to the door. He had one thing on his mind right now, and it wasn't social formality. He looked it over. The eerie air of familiarity brushed over Ardgal. He knew what this was, but at the same time, he knew this was impossible.

"Whoever you find, whatever you find," he said coldly, "Kill it. Do not let it say a word."

With that, he opened the door. A short staircase downward made of pure quadranium steel flickered before them, lit by fluorescent lights. It was a bomb shelter, or at least the entrance to something meant to withstand a direct bombing. The second door opened with an eerie creak. The dim blue lighting before them showed a laboratory. It was empty, save for the blue lit bacta tanks. Bodies floated inside them, suspended and unconscious. Several tables lay around with data scrawled on papers in chicken scratch hand writing. Antiquated computers and data terminals lay around, several opperating tables with scattered tools, both stained with blood, lay in the far corner. There was nothing but silence besides the gentle hum of a distant power generator.

"Advance carefully," he said drawing one of his pistols, "And shoot to kill."

[member="Myles Davorak"]

 

[Myles Davorak]

Myles awaited patiently for Ardgal to arrive at the scene, he didn't have to wait very long before the General arrived. His terse behavior was throwing him off. Something was.....not leveled right, or so Myles thought.

Then again, he wasn't paid to wonder or ask questions so without hesitation he followed [member="Ardgal Raxis"] down the flight of stairs. They found a bomb shelter of sorts....it was hidden very well, for the Gamorreans to not tinker or trash the place.

"Whoever you find, whatever you find," he said coldly, "Kill it. Do not let it say a word."

He was getting more curious by the minute. Raxis knew something....whether he was hiding a grim secret or knew what troubles this place could cause, Myles nodded in confirmation, acknowledging the order.

"Don't worry sir, this place will be clean"
It was too quiet in this structure....something was eerily wrong. Bodies swam almost lifeless in the bacta tanks, it was a laboratory of some kind as research papers lie askew and computer terminals stood idle, awaiting input and/or commands to be executed.

He didn't wanna know what kind of experiments were conducted here, he followed Raxis and had his Punisher pistol drawn, ready to eliminate whatever or whoever stood in their way. There were no scientists, no droids, no nothing.....unless they were elsewhere.

There was however a datapad lying on a table with a flashing notification displaying on the screen

RESULTS UPLOADED SUCCESSFULLY!
PROJECT: MADMAN PARAMETERS REVISED
-----------------------------------
QUEUE::::::
VOICE LOG RECORDED
PZOB RESEARCH PARAMETERS
FINDINGS ON PROJECT: MADMAN SPECIMEN #13

Myles didn't peruse the datapad any further but informed Raxis of the device
"Sir, datapad over there, might have useful intel on it"
He stopped and glazed over the environment, giving enough time for Ardgal to use the datapad, if he chose to do so.

Davorak had a bad feeling about this.

 

[Ardgal Raxis]

Ardgal passed by these bodies, his eyes carefully looking over the panels indicating their medical read outs. They were alive, but barely. Their hearts beat weakly, and hardly at all, even with the help of several machines. Their lungs were barely inflating and deflating, even with assistance. Everything was hardly moving in the least. There were both men and women, and those he could barely tell suspended in the tubes. Scars from countless surgeries lined their paled flesh. Tattoos marked their skin along several points, most were hairless as the drifted nude in the tubes, covered only by countless wires and tubes that kept them alive. Unnatural muscles that looked almost grotesque under their skin rippled in the bacta. The blue lighting only made their stretch marks from muscle growth that had been too rapid for adaptation across their skin. The warrior could only imagine how hellish that had felt. In a way--he already knew.

He took the datapad without a word, partially overcome with feeling, partially trying to process what this all meant. He took the datapad carefully and looked it over. He scrolled through some of the data, it was too familiar for him to not realize what was going on here. He knew it wasn't home, but it was worse. For Ardgal there was something harrowing, hellish about all of this, something that required him to get more answers. And fast.

He tapped the datapad until he was satisfied, "There is a panic room two stories down. Be careful, sensors indicate there will be battle droids along the way, probable heavy resistance. Bring to me the person you find there. Alive, and preferably unharmed."

He stored the datapad and turned back to looking at the poor souls suspended in their bacta tanks. He folded his hands behind his back, trying to decide if it would be humane to kill them now--or let them try to find their way back to the land of the living.

[member="Myles Davorak"]

 

[Myles Davorak]

Myles looked over his shoulder at Ardgal, who was glancing over the datapad. A look of shock and wonder could only show slightly on his face.

Does he know what this is?

He wasn't going to ask, it wasn't any of his business anyways. Sometimes it's a bad trait to dig into someone's past and Myles wouldn't do that, causes more harm than good in most cases. He continued to watch the room for movement other than the subjects in the bacta tank.

"There is a panic room two stories down. Be careful, sensors indicate there will be battle droids along the way, probable heavy resistance. Bring to me the person you find there. Alive, and preferably unharmed."

Davorak listened closely to General Raxis' request. Maybe Ardgal did know something, he is staying behind; or he is going to try to find more information in this area. Myles took orders not guesses. He nodded with complete affirmation.

"Very well sir, I will see what I can find down there. You want Gusberg, or do you want me to take him?"

Battle droids weren't terribly bad, at least they were somewhat--predictable. However if there were a sizable amount, having backup may not be the worst thing in the world. This place provoked every nerve of Myles' curiosity. He had guarded a few underground installations in his lifetime, sometimes they could be the most ideal and most complex of installations to conduct research or to even just live in. You had six feet under the surface to the planet's core to work with.


Let's hope this place isn't bigger than Ardgal let on.

He slowly proceeded to the stairway that connected various floors. "Raxis? Be careful, Ill be back soon"
[member="Ardgal Raxis"]

 

[Ardgal Raxis]

"Take him with you," Ardgal said without turning his head. He had a lot to consider as he looked at these bodies.

Memories of when he had been in such a state washed over him afresh, like the warrior was once more inside, waiting to die, waiting to be cut to pieces, waiting to be dissected again, beaten down into nothing, waiting to join those who died before. He had known great decisions that were hard, but none as hard as this.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Virgil's helmet came down on the pig's head with a hard crack, sending a spray of blood and cartlidge everywhere. Her left hand was extended, sending a spray of stun rounds at the others to her left, her right hand grabbed another Gamorrean by its tusk and hurled it head first ahead of her. She had been augmented, her Fierro strength tripled during the Godkiller experiments. She twisted without even thinking, grabbing the Gammorrean that came at her from behind by its collar so the barrel of her pistol could come down on its skull with a withering smash. She did not love anything--except the sheer thrill of war itself.

She brought her pistol back in front of her, sweeping the area. Under her visor, the woman's lips curled in a slightly disappointed frown. They were all subdued, all too soon. Her cold self-loathing settled over her once more as the woman holstered her weapon. She held it with the best way she knew how, more strong indifference. The bodies of the Gammorrean survivors were gathered up and brought to their camp. Here the Vong were quick at work. Their shappers had their tools in hand. With a quick flick of the wrist they jabbed a Yorik-Kul into the heads of their subjects. They were quick, efficient, and surgical. They moved in mass, there were many many beings to process and not a great deal of time--this was a blitz operation based on becoming secure before the enemy could wipe them out, and the sooner they had more workers and warriors, the safer they would be. Virgil folded her arms and watched, satisfied with the labors and efficiency.

[member="Myles Davorak"]

 

[Myles Davorak]

Myles took Gusberg with him, he sure would need the extra muscle and firepower. If there are droids down here, then hopefully everything will go smooth as butter.

All power was routed to emergency systems so the elevators were shut down for the meantime. Only way down 2 levels would be the fire escape stairwell. Myles and Gusberg swept the area surrounding the stairwell and found nothing of harm....not yet. Davorak motioned for Gusberg to open the door while Myles got his rifle ready. The door opened without resistance and all they could see was pitch black give or take a few emergency lights that hummed a baby blue color. Toggling his flashlight on his rifle Myles careened down the stairs, cautious to observe the floors below them.


At the first landing he saw a body. Another scientist no doubt but this one had something around its neck. "Gusberg, cover me real quick"
Myles knelt down by the body and looked at what the item was. It was a keycard attached to a lanyard that read INSTALLATION 04--Code 5 Clearance

He yanked the lanyard from the scientist's neck and pocketed the item in his harness pocket. "Alright Gusberg let's move. The quicker we do this, the quicker we get to have a good meal" Doing all this work sure did wreak a monstrous appetite for Myles.

They came down to the final landing of the staircase which had a makeshift barricade made from lockers, shelves and chairs. Obviously someone didn't want company, whether the danger was on the other side of the door or not, they would surely find out. Moving the debris would slow them down too much and they would be noticed no matter how careful they were. Davorak motioned Gusberg to stand back. Myles had kept a 40mm grenade in the underbarrel just in case and he figured now would be the time to use it.

He aimed at the debris and all he could hear was a loud THOOP before a loud explosion followed. The debris flew like shrapnel through the air and smoke blanketed the area. The duo kept their weapons trained on the doorway in case any hostiles came at them....The suspense was rising and Myles' blood pressure was rising followed by an increase in adrenaline. It all boiled down to this.

[member="Ardgal Raxis"]

 

[Ardgal Raxis]

A few of the other officers arrived to oversee the work by the Vong. She didn't trust them yet, not fully and not in part. They were outsiders. And after what Dredge and his people had done to them, she would sooner trust a Hutt than a Vong.

The woman strode off to the armory and stored her weapons. Virgil loved that satisfying feeling of a job well done. She tapped on the timetable they had working for them, things were on schedule, that was good. Their project was a work in progress, but the base hub had been established, the Gamorrean army and work force was well underway, and a lot of the Gamorrean forces had been either destroyed or rounded up. It was time for them to prepare for the next large project. The Ship womb.

Before leaving the Lady Raxis strapped a pair of pistols and blade to her belt. She wouldn't be caught off guard working with these beings. Strolling once more across the open yard that was quickly becoming their city square, Virgil made her way to a waiting Vong ship. She climbed in and gave Alaka'i a nod. There was nothing more to be said. The Transport lifted off into the air with the humming sound of a giant flying insect. They cut across the sky over the forest bellow them at a lumbering pace for almost two hours. Alaka'i extended her hand in a sharp gesture, "Here, stop. This is the place, I can feel it."

From the belly of the transport, a single Chom-Vrone was released, it fell head first to the surface, hitting it with a hard thump before it began hungrily chewing at the ground, digging like it was intended to. Virgil watched with a sense of disgust as this massive organic beast-machine tore through the stone, more effective than any tractor ever could be.

[member="Myles Davorak"]

 

[Myles Davorak]

The smoke had cleared and the two man had emerged through the doorway that once blocked their path. Kark.

Battle droids had poured from doorways down the bright hallway. A blast door lay at the end. The panic room!
"Gusberg, hope your aim is up to par lad, we are goin' hunting." He remarked to the younger man. Myles had signaled to Gusberg to cover him while he loaded another 40mm grenade into his Punisher pistol. Gusberg was pretty good at cutting them down. General Raxis had given him good backup to say the least.

"GRENADE OUT!" he shouted as another grenade fired from the pistol, it proved to be effective crowd control. Droid parts went flying but more and more droids kept advancing toward them.

Holstering the pistol quickly Myles unslung his blaster rifle and peppered the droids to keep them at bay. He only had one more 40mm grenade but he wanted to save it. No telling when he would need it.

The two men dug in tight and kept hammering away at the droids. Gusberg did bring some firepower however, he had brought a couple of thermal detonators. Nodding at Gusberg, Myles provided cover fire while the Mandalorian primed and readied the device.

"GRENADE OUT!" said Gusberg as the thermal detonator went soaring, even landed behind the droids. A much louder BOOM! could be heard and even more droids went flying. The smoke cleared and it seemed to have done the trick.

Shredded droid parts lay everywhere in the hallway. The two men advanced carefully up to the curious looking blast door at the end. It wouldn't open unless the panel nearby was activated....Feth...security clearance.

Time to see if that key card Myles retrieved would be worth the hassle.
[member="Ardgal Raxis"]

 

[Ardgal Raxis]

The massive Chom-Vrone's maw delved a massive crater-like hole in the ground. Virgil's face screwed into a grimace as she watched on. It was horrible, barbaric, and filthy... but it was also cleanly efficient. The amount of work it was getting completed was more than most ground work teams could have done in days. She felt herself trying to show away the sense of admiration she felt inside. These were the same people who twisted and tortured her cousin, warping his mind and the same ones who stole away her soul in the Godkiller project. No, that would never do to give them that admiration.

"That is it, we have it," Alaka'i said extending her hand, "This is what we need."

One of the Vong placed their hands on a slimy brain-like node sticking out of the wall. The Chom-Vrone slithered out of its hole, lurching like a massive worm across the ground. Dozens of towering trees shattered under its hulking movement like matchsticks. Their transport lowered to hover over in the center of this new hole, the wind around them whipping like a hurricane. Dozens of doors opened along the large transport's side, and out of each shot dozens of biots. Each had eight legs or more grafted with claws that resembled earth working tools. They quickly went to work hammering away burrows large enough to serve as doors. The cavernous rock walls were rapidly transformed before Virgil's eyes into something of a warren-like nest with dozens and dozens of holes riddled along the walls. After some time, the Biots clambored out of their holes and rested along the rock walls.

Virgil followed Alaka'i into several of the doors. To her surprise these small holes in the rock wall had been carved out to lead to atriums crafted in the living stone. For the time spent, their work could hardly be defined as anything less than efficient, and almost magical.

"What are these for?" the warrior asked, keeping a cool, stern tone.

"For some, work spaces," Alaka'i said, with a sweeping gesture, "For some, storage, or growth chambers. A ship womb is something that takes a great deal of space to work with of course, we are crafting large biots with many beings to be grafted into it." she tilted her head in a high-handed gesture, "I am sure you understand?"

"Its highly understandable," Virgil said clasping her hands behind her back.

One of the other vong approached Alaka'i and bowed before muttering something in their native language. Virgil's T-visor tilted slightly in a questioning gesture.

"The inspection is complete, the chambers are all satisfactory," Alaka'i said with some pride, "We have begun moving long term biots and tools into their places."

"Good," Virgil said with a stiff tone, "The sooner, the better. Your efficiency is noted and appreciated."

"As is yours, Raxis," Alaka'i said with a sly smile, "As is yours."

[member="Myles Davorak"]

 

[Myles Davorak]

Gusberg and Myles inched forward to the blast doors, which appeared to have been sealed for a long time. Gusberg covered Myles as he pulled the keycard out of his pouch and waved it in front of the scanner module that rested to the left of the door.

A green light flickered twice prompted a quick beep beep. Adrenaline was building up in Myles' system, as he wasn't sure what else lay beyond that door. The lock in the middle of the door popped forward and rotated 360 degrees pulling the dead-bolts away from the doorway. A loud hissing sound could be heard as the machined door opened at a slow pace.

"Keep your eyes peeled Gusberg, no telling what else may show its face" He knew that Gusberg understood the risks and he knew that this mission could be life-threatening. They knew nothing of an installation here on Pzob, it was the weirdest thing.

The door opened, revealing the panic room. Metal shelved lay untouched, with non-perishable foods and other supplies. A bright white light was penetrating the room, illuminating every nook and cranny. This panic room was meant for a prolonged period of use. It reminded him of some installations he has seen in the past. The duo proceeded slowly, clearing the rooms. This place would serve as a great forward operating base, even has its own supplies. He thought, but what were the chances of Raxis using this place?

If not, maybe he could convince the general to let him use it for monitoring of course. Raxis looked spooked once they set foot in this place, so he wasn't sure what Raxis' intentions were for this installation.

"Who are you?! Have you come to rescue me?!?! Please get me outta here" said a voice in the distance.

Gusberg and Myles went opposite directions as to potentially flank if there were any hostiles present.

"Yes, we have come to clear this place and get you to safety" Myles hated lying but sometimes it was necessary. Ardgal was paying him after all, wouldn't wanna disappoint the General.

"Oh good! I was afraid my distress signal didn't go out. The droids went crazy and the subjects......well....I can't talk about that."

Myles motioned for Gusberg to secure the man while he pinged Raxis on his comms. <<HVT Secured, we found a scientist, claims that the droids went haywire but I am not sure if that was the case. We will be surface bound soon. Any special requests before we depart sir?>>

The supplies could help Raxis and his men, would prevent resources from being exhausted at the rate it was going, this would provide some cushion for his Support Team.

Myles and Gusberg, along with the scientist; proceeded back the way they came. The panic room was locked again just in case. At least I still have a keycard. Now it was back up the stairs to see what Ardgal wanted with the man.
[member="Ardgal Raxis"]

 

[Ardgal Raxis]

Any special requests before depart sir?

The words cut through Ardgal's musings like a safety rope back to reality. His hand had hovered over the "terminate" button for these fellow experiments too long. He lowered his hand with a sense of finality. They needed to live. If nothing else, they could serve as great tools for understanding what all had been done to Ardgal himself.

<<Yes, bring them to me, and do not let them say a word,>> Ardgal ordered, <<Excellent work.>>

He quickly sent word to the camp, ordering priority clean up crew to take everything in this place and store it for his eyes only. [member="Rashae"] might know something about how to best handle this, or how to understand it. He would consider asking her--much, much later when he knew she was secure and her problems with Corporate were dealt with. They both had too much on their plates right now to dig into this.

When the trio came back to the science bay, Ardgal stood unmoving in his phrik armor. The scientist, Doctor Taylor, had no idea who he was dealing with. After all, Ardgal's face couldn't have been seen.

"You should have stopped at number 13, Doctor," Ardgal said coldly.

The man's face contorted in surprise, "What are you--"

With a quick flick of his wrist Ardgal brought his pistol down on the man's face, hard enough to break his nose; but more importantly, strong enough to knock him unconscious. He grabbed the unconscious from by the collar and tossed it over his shoulder like a sack of vegetables, rather than a premiere scientist who was as good as dead to the rest of the galaxy. And as far as any record showed, dead as could be.

"Thank you for your work, gentlemen, you are more than welcome to take the day off, speak nothing of what you have seen here to anyone, and I assure you, that your loyalty to Clan Raxis and myself will be well-rewarded," he promised with a nod of his helmet, "In the morning, if you are up for it, Myles, we may begin working on your payment for the assistance you have provided here. I am afraid all that remains are rather dull affairs; the creation of infrastructure, urban development, and so on and so forth. I am sure you do not wish to stay around for that sort of thing."

[member="Myles Davorak"]

 

[Myles Davorak]

When the trio approached Raxis, he was able to handle the scientist from there. Myles stood by as he whopped the scientist hard in the face with his pistol, knocking him out.

All in a good day's work.

Looking around the eerie setting that lay before them, he knew that the lab would either be destroyed or re-purposed, either way it didn't matter to Myles. What did matter is that he completed his job successfully adding another win to his belt of accolades. I may be old, but i still got it.

Thank you for your work, gentlemen, you are more than welcome to take the day off, speak nothing of what you have seen here to anyone,

He knew better than to reveal client information, and revealing this would be suicide.
"I don't believe I know what you're talking about sir. No worries, it never happened"

At this point Myles was feeling cold, not temperature wise but cold as in death-dealing. Aging in his years meant that he was getting more ruthless as the days go on. He knew something awful happened here; justice wouldn't take care of it, only a pure cleansing would rid the planet of this abomination. He didn't at all feel bad for the Doctor that got cole-cocked.

"As you wish sir, I will be at my ship. If you need anything else, please don't hesitate. You have my frequency"

Aw....that means I wont see pretty Virgil anymore. Ah well, there's always a next time at least. This General still has a good amount of work to be done and I am not dead yet.

Holstering his pistol he and Gusberg slowly started to depart from the installation, not saying a word to each other. The whole scenario was weird and left a clifff-hanger so to speak. Gusberg and Myles nodded at one another for a mission well done. Disembarking back to the surface Myles could feel the cool breeze as the night air swept over him.

He walked back to his ship, not saying a word and not a thought in his mind. He was a different man that night.
[member="Ardgal Raxis"]

 

[Ardgal Raxis]

"Your discretion is appreciated," Ardgal said extending his hand in a grateful gesture. "Now I will take leave, expect your payment very soon, and of course, in untraceable credits."

The warrior wasn't hunted for yet by any large federations that he knew of, though he was certain that if the dominion had a leg left to stand on they would have chased him down at the first chance they got. He didn't know what Myles was planning on doing with his cut, and that was where discretion was key.

The warrior mounted his speeder and tore away into the distance, scientist in tow. Doctor Taylor had a lot of explaining to do, and not a lot of time to do so. When the sun set on Pzob that night, RMIA had a stronger hold than the 24 hours before, and while it was not done, the victory was clearly in their hands. Their foes had been battered down, and those that remained had been enslaved. The Shipwomb was underway, and soon the shields would be as well. Ardgal stood looked over the jungle as twilight took it over into beautiful darkness. Yes, they had a great deal now that they hadn't had before. He looked to his datapad that was in his hands, returning to the list of funds and assets allocated to Myles in return for his assistance.

• 2 Squads of Hellstorm Heavy Assault Tanks
• 1 Squad of Hardback class Troop transports
• 1 Squad of AIT Grinder Anti-Infantry Tanks
• 1 Squad of AT-LRAs
• 100 PlasmaBurst Mines
• 1 crate of Dragoon Heatbeams
• 200 Droideka Mk 2s
• 1 Naga Multi-purpose Tank
• 1 Customized Basilisk War Droid Mk 2
• 1 SF SonicGauntlet
• 1 FRG Hellion Repeater
• 500,000 Untraceable credits

His finger depressed the Send button with no small amount of certainty before tucking the datapad away in his pocket. Ardgal had enough enemies in the galaxy, it was time for him to focus on making more allies.

[member="Myles Davorak"]

 

[Myles Davorak]

"Anytime General Raxis, if you ever need my services, they will always be available to you, no matter what the task is"

After offering his hand out for a firm handshake the party went their separate ways.

Soon as the General sped away on his speeder bike. Myles contemplated and embraced the scenery, motioning to Gusberg that he might see him again.

A lot didn't add up with this situation they were faced. An abandoned facility on a backwater planet and Ardgal seemed to know what the purpose of the place was. Eh, it don't matter. Job well done. Now to find a watering hole to plan my next move. He thought to himself.

Myles returned back to where the forward operating base was and examined the horizon once more, General Raxis was upping his forces and they were working toward an end-goal that should come quick.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After climbing back into his ship, he took a brief moment to relax in the lounge when he heard his Datapad go off "Funds have been transferred to your account in the amount of 500,000 credits"

Myles was floored, 500k for an assist job? Hell, I need to work more for this guy, I will be able to retire in no time. Picking up the datapad he reviewed the transfer and saw other tangible items along with it available upon request as further payment.

Hell, with all of this, I could start a small company. Not putting RMIA out of business but to appeal to other clients perhaps. Thoughts raced through his mind of all the things he could accomplish with this payment.

He decided on heading to Rishi to purchase a small refuge and start a base of operations for his company. Laughing with excitement Myles raced up to the cockpit and fired the engines up.

Time for a new start.
[member="Ardgal Raxis"]