Populate Expedition Kashyyyk | TSC Populate of Xa Fel

[Astra Sadow]

As Zorath observed, Astra's movements were timed, measured, and with a casualness that belied a lack of concentration necessary to engage Thorne in battle. To many he likely would have been regarded as formidable. Lethal even. Astra, however, had a lifetime of experience all her own. A familiarity with the struggle between life and death she'd set aside to be a plain, simple merchant. When the galaxy allowed it.

Today it did not, but she refrained from flashier demonstrations.

His blade was knocked away far enough she was free to sweep the length of her weapon down against the side of his knee. For his part, the man didn't fall flat to the ground. Hardly mattered. She'd brought the end of the extension up in a lazy arc from where the knee had been to where his temple now was -- at just the right height. The wet sound of the metal bouncing off his skull sounded. No excess force. No gore for miles. Just a simple strike.

"I have candidates," Astra admitted as she turned to look at the man that'd joined her. "No foregone conclusions. Are you applying? If you are, I'd like to know more about you. Much as I appreciate you not complicating matters there's more to being an effective leader than staying out of trouble." The wrist of her free hand rolled as she gestured to the man on the floor. He'd stayed out of trouble. The entire place was rotting all around him as a result of the lack of interest in the goings on.

 

[Zorath]

PORT MERCY

Astra Sadow

Zorath watched Thorne hit the floor without comment. The man’s breathing was still there, shallow but present. Useful enough as a lesson to the others.

It was almost a shame he had demonstrated almost no use as a leader.

He stayed where he was for a moment longer, cybernetic fingers flexing once at his side as his montrals registered the shift in the room. The remaining guards had gone still. The tension had not left, but it had changed its shape.

Zorath finally stepped forward, just far enough to be clearly in Astra’s line of sight. He did not look at the man on the floor again.

"I’m not applying," he said.

"I have no interest in the chair. Someone has to sit in it and it needs to be someone who can keep the place running without needing constant correction."

A small pause. The faint smirk remained.

"I have candidates of my own. I had plans before I decided it would be more interesting to watch yours play out.

"A few names worth considering."

He tilted his head slightly, studying her.

"We should discuss it properly. Away from the floor and the audience. I can help make the transition clean and profitable."

Zorath waited patiently, the offer left open between them. He didn't do anything even remotely threatening, but his confidence carried that all on its own.

 

[Astra Sadow]

Astra smiled as she contemplated whether to accept Zorath 's proposition, or shut down the mere notion. Did she need him? How much trouble would he stir up if he were rejected? What were his specialties? Smart move seemed to be to learn more.

"Very well." The length collapsed until it disappeared in the palm of her hand. Astra turned to face the Togruta. She gestured for the two that accompanied her to remove the remainder of Thorne's thugs from the room. The transparent crate with its liquid content forgotten on the floor off to the side.

Once they were gone, she introduced herself, "Astra Sadow of Sanguine Enterprises." There were several subsidiaries with their own foci spread throughout the Core. An Enterprise that engaged in legal and illegal activities alike. A contract was a contract, but Astra had never signed the 'Social Contract' or one with the legal branches of every galactic world. A slight raise of the brows over her strong smile awaited his name in turn.

 

[Kaelyr]

Varin Mortifer Seris Velmora Nysa Veilwalker Mercy

⚙​

Pillars of cosmic flame would erupt in the path of the beast at the request of Varin Mortifer as he wished for it to be corralled closer to him. I was impressed at our combined coordination as each one of us played our part perfectly. Seris Velmora and her hammer pummeling it to weaken the beast. Nysa Veilwalker and her shadow illusion causing it confusion, and Varin Mortifer giving direction. This simply showed me who I could rely on and what they were capable of if I were ever in need of their aid for future endeavors.

Without burning the forest, I created a curtain of fire to halt it from going anywhere other than towards Varin. I couldnt help but ponder why it was taking all this effort. I knew I could easily just engulf the beast in flame and be done with it, and the same could be said for Varin. Unlike the other two, we were more than capable of taking the beast down, but I could only assume this was because it would prove better to work for it. In any case, I would play my role, though I was starting to see why Yggdrakses was so upset.

I would maintain my control of the beast's trajectory with my flames as it came barreling back towards the others. I could see that the other members of its herd were skulking around, and decided to deal with them before they could ambush the others. Squeals of pain and death would echo as the hogs in proximity would ignite in flames.

⚙​

---

"Common Speech"

 

[Seris Velmora]

Tag: Varin Mortifer | Kaelyr | Nysa Veilwalker

The beast was slowing. Not because it wanted to. Because it had to. Seris could feel it. She wasn't reading broken branches or studying tracks like Nysa. She wasn't directing the battlefield like Kaelyr. She certainly wasn't orchestrating the hunt with calculated precision like Varin. She simply felt it.

The pulse of the Force surrounding Mother had changed. The creature no longer radiated dominance. It radiated desperation. Her crimson eyes lit with delight. "You're scared now!" The words burst from her between laughs as she continued the pursuit.

The undead sow crashed into Mother's flank, dead jaws clamping onto hide with unnatural determination. Shadowy figures emerged whenever Mother sought an opening, forcing her back into the path Seris wanted. Curtains of cosmic flame narrowed every avenue of escape until the once-proud alpha was no longer choosing where she ran. She was being chased. Good. That was how it should be.

Seris sprinted after her, boots pounding through damp earth, the heavy Mandalorian hammer gripped in both hands. She didn't swing carelessly. The weapon was too cumbersome for that. Instead she let its mere presence pressure the beast, closing the distance whenever it hesitated, forcing it to keep moving. Every stumble. Every ragged breath. Every panicked glance. She reveled in them.

The predator had become prey. Then Mother stopped running. The massive beast spun with startling speed, rage overcoming fear. A thunderous roar shook the canopy as she lowered her tusks and charged directly at the smallest member of the hunting party. Seris' grin somehow grew wider.

"There you are!" Instead of retreating, she rushed to meet the charge. The Force flooded her limbs as she planted one foot and swung the hammer in a brutal horizontal arc, not seeking finesse but impact. The weapon collided against one sweeping tusk with a deafening crack that jolted through her shoulders.

The blow threw Mother's head off line. It wasn't enough. Momentum carried the beast onward. One shoulder slammed into Seris' chest, launching her sideways through tangled brush. She crashed through a sapling that snapped beneath her weight before rolling across the forest floor, leaves and dirt scattering in every direction.

"...Ha!" The laugh came before she had even stopped moving. She sprang back to her feet with far more enthusiasm than grace, breathing hard but wearing an almost manic smile. "That was better!"

The hammer felt even heavier after the collision, dragging at her arms as she hefted it once more. It wasn't elegant. It wasn't becoming an extension of her body. It was simply a very large object for hitting very large things. Perfect.

Without waiting to see whether Mother would flee again or press the attack, Seris charged after her once more, eager to keep the pressure relentless. No rest. No mercy. If fear had finally found the alpha, Seris intended to make certain it never left.

 

[Varin Mortifer]

VARIN MORTIFER

Equipment: Durum Mantle | Black Blade of Chandrila | Eye of The Dragon | Heavy Sith Mace | Cross Guard Broadsaber | Wyrmfang​

The ghost of the creature that had been slain rose from the shadows, attacking its former pack leader. Undead shadows assaulting the very massive creature that Seris was already pummeling with her hammer. The walls of flames that jetted from the ground led the creature closer as Kaelyr maintained his concentration on driving the creature's direction just as planned. The plan was finally coming to its crescendo as the beast drew nearer towards Varin.

The thudding impacts from both the undead creature and Serris echoed through the forest. Smoke danced in the air as he stepped forward. The bone knife in one hand and the tusk of in the other. Trees splintered and snapped as the beast rampaged closer.

Finally, Varin leapt.

A hard impact upon the beast's shoulders just as it passed by where he was standing. He drove the blade into the right eye of the beast. The most fragile part of its body. Its head thrashed as a squeal of pain roared from the beast. But Varin held.

The tusk came next. The hard bone of the weapon was strong enough to pierce the hide and with enough force he drove it into the creature's throat. It reared back in a desperate attempt to throw him off, all the while he pulled the tusk back, forcing the creature to remain standing. Exposing its belly.

Ready for either of them to take the last blow.

Nysa Veilwalker | Seris Velmora | Kaelyr​