Extinction

[Darth Prazutis]

[media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umoFgKVqGtM[/media]​

Maena System
In Orbit

Aboard the MNV Pride of Athera...

Maena was a remote world situated deep in the outer rim close to the border of the unknown regions. But despite these shortcomings it's population swelled in the recent decades to new heights rivaling wealthy core worlds in size. Its success attributed to the Galactic Authority, the unified totalitarian government elected into power almost fourty years ago to the day. The rise of Maena as a jewel of the outer rim was quickly dammed with the frequent raids of pirates, slavers, and cartel agents. The age old democratic regime was too decrepit, too old, it wasn't able to marshal the pathetic force of naval ships it had fast enough.

Military spending wasn't a priority they said, it wasn't necessary. The peoples response brought support to the radical party declaring change and change was what they got, and the Galactic Authority was born. It's budding navy consisting of even larger frigates sent the pirates running as fast as their engines could carry them, and those unfortunate enough were hung, that was the penalty for piracy and the vengeance of the Maenian people for years of suffering. A new age was born and they've clung to nearly fourty years of bountiful economic growth and prosperity.

It was aboard the Maenian Naval Vessel (MNV) Pride of Athera, a brand new destroyer-class ship fresh out of the Galactic Authority's shipyard that Admiral Gaius Wolfe, Commander of the Home Defense Fleet stood. Gaius wore the crisp blue and black naval uniform of a full Admiral, a sheet of medals covering his left breast from countless victories during the Pirate Wars. In the grand scheme of things he knew it wasn't much, close to a dozen frigates was nothing on the galactic stage. But Maena prospered quietly in the outer rim far from the ambitious hands of intergalactic leaders, it was more than enough to handle these pirate incursions.

That was enough to satisfy the Admiral.

"How are we looking today?." The Admiral said sweeping through the bridge doors and down the command deck. "All is well sir except..I don't know you should come take a look at this." A young ensign sitting at the communications station down below chimed out. He was a young boy with blond short cut hair and a missing button on his uniform, the Admiral would chastise him later for it. Gaius swept down into pits that ran just below the command deck, it was an archaic design but it was efficient. "Give it to me."

"Sir I'm getting these strange readings just outside our system, something has kept trying to hail us three times in rapid succession, but all tha-. There!" Another one of the strange readings flared on the screen, it was all garbled together and filled with white noise. "Can you clean that up?" Gaius asked the young man. Just before the man could respond a voice rang out from the ships sensory station "Sir were getting hyperspace warnings, massive ones!" Gaius nearly tripped running to the console, who would come this far out? "How massive are we talking?"

"I'm reading at least one dreadnaught classes or larger, and over a dozen more coming in behind them." No nation or corporation in the galaxy brought a fleet of that size as an escort force, it could only mean one thing: War.

______

The Immortal-Class Dreadnaught "Harbinger" exited hyperspace first. It was one of the slowest ships in the fleet, a small sacrifice for its massive armament, powerful shields, and large complement of fighters. It was the personal flagship of Darth Prazutis. When the One Sith Empire reached its peak surviving the turmoil of the civil war, the Dark Councilor used his sweeping authority alongside his mentor and former Emperor and their vast network of connections throughout the empire to gain command of an full naval fleet of the One Sith including the pair of Dark Blades Manticore and Tyrant.

The fleet was quickly designated in secret as War Fleet Leviathan, and its ranks over time were infested with Zambrano loyalists. So when the great defection finally came the fleet remained in the system, while the loyalists were easily purged by the new majority. The massive immortal was soon flanked by both Manticore and Tyrant. The dozen or so ships including a token few wyyrloks from the larger fleet were brought in alongside smaller varying frigate and corvette sized ships. The Dark Lord of the Sith sat in the command throne aboard his ship while each element came in.

Through his heightened hearing gifted to him by his anzati heritage alone he could hear the rapid notification sound of a channel on the communications officer's station. But the rules of engagement had already been decided by the God-Prince. There would be no surrender, there would be no compromise, there would be no peace talks, there would be only war. "Are our ships in position yet?" The God-Prince asked his eyes drifting over to the commanding fleet admiral. "They are almost in position your majesty." The admiral said spinning on his heels to face him.

He looked incredibly out of place in the command bridge wearing his full set of dreadplate, the helmet sitting by his side, a sheathed runeblade leaning against the side of the throne. "Excellent. Prepare all batteries, and make sure the children are prepared."

[member="Matsu Xiangu"]

 

[Matsu Xiangu]

The first time she’d seen Maena from orbit, she’d been astounded.

At first approach it had looked much like its sisters in orbit in the system, verdant and green and untouched. But as she had crossed its horizon in her one-seater, exploring the Outer Rim as she was wont to do when the Force made her wild, she had seen it wasn’t untouched at all. A city to rival Coruscant had covered one hemisphere, its organized and dizzying lights visible from space as she marveled at such an oddly placed jewel. She’d never heard of such a place, but that wasn’t remarkable - the Galaxy was huge, despite how small some events could make it feel. No doubt this strange city had cropped up around some valuable resource, some economic boon.

She’d gotten permission to land, claiming some emergency though they hadn’t seemed to care all that much (an inherent sense of safety, foolish but useful) and spent a few days learning about the place.

Gems. Valuable minerals. Alchemical ingredients from the thousands of miles of forest covering the opposite hemisphere. And she’d heard whispers of Stygium crystals, though it seemed the locals were more protective of that information. Overall it was remarkable if the way all ecumenopolis’ were - vast, seemingly never ending, and filled with an array of sights and sounds that seemed impossible to exist in one place all at once. Its people were from countless cultures though it seemed that much like Coruscant and Empress Teta, its inhabitants had adopted a new way of life inherent to their city. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason to which sections were more affluent or poor, though both demographics and all those in between were on display in Matsu’s exploration.

In truth...it was perfect. It had the space she wanted for certain ventures on the hemisphere that was less developed, and the city itself could be turned to her use in housing her...guests. She’d spent a few more days canvassing, casually observing its defenses and military presence. Both existed and she would even admit that they looked as if they could get the odd job done. Ground-to-air was present, and she’d found hangars that suggested the presence of a substantial naval fleet.

And then, she’d gotten in touch with Braxus.

_________________________________​

“My Lady, Lord Prazutis has given orders for batteries to be prepared. I thought it prudent you should know, if you would like to be on the bridge.”

Matsu trawled through the woman’s emotions as she approached the Sith Lady standing on a deck above some of the Horde housed below. Calm. As confident as it was possible to be without pressing in to a belief of invulnerability. And impeccably dressed, not a button out of place. Interesting.

“Thank you, Captain…”

“Rex, my Lady. Illyria Rex.”

Matsu pushed off the railing, turning to move back towards the bridge.

“Walk with me, Captain Rex,” she said, catching the slightest flutter of nerves from the woman. Good. Too much fear or none at all and Matsu would have mistrusted her. “Tell me, have Maena’s naval forces received our hails.”

“Yes, my Lady. They have been attempting to make contact ever since.”

“And how do you feel about our objective here today?”

“My...how do I feel?” the Captain asked, sounding confused, as if no one had ever asked her something more personal outside of naval tactics.

“Yes. Does it bother you, our plans for this planet?” She opened the thread of connection to the woman’s mind, ‘listening’ intently for some sense of treachery or lying, glossing over the truth of something Rex may not have wanted Matsu to hear. The woman took a moment or two to answer.

“I do not possess the Force, but I have worked for Sith my entire life. You’re all very different, but one thing seems to ring true of all of your order: weakness is not tolerated. Perhaps I do not have your...gift, but I do believe the strong are the ones with the right to survive. If someone on that planet is meant to live, then they will. If not, the galaxy will be made stronger for it.”

Matsu pressed, a bloodhound for lies or being told what she wanted to hear. Nothing. This Rex was truly without conscience.

Matsu liked her.

“A good answer, Captain.”

By then both of them strolled on to the bridge, Captain Rex bowing primly as she peeled off to leave Matsu as she moved to Braxus’ side. The Sith Lady was clad in her armor as well, sans helmet. As she drew even with the much larger, taller Sith, another response to their hail crackled out of the communication officer’s station. “I say again, this is Admiral Wolfe of the Pride of Athera. You have us vastly outnumbered. This force is not necessary. I am sure we can come to some sort of agreement. Please respond.”

“You have to admire their optimism.”

[member="Darth Prazutis"]​

 

[Darth Prazutis]

One Hour Later...

The Admiral tucked his sweat soaked handkerchief into his uniform pocket, the temperature never actually changed but still it felt like it was a hundred degrees on the Pride of Athera's bridge. "Have we gotten a response yet?" Wolfe said pacing nervously down the command deck. It was the fourth time they hailed the ship so far with a message broadcast personally by him and still nothing but more white noise. They opened the channel for some reason, but why wouldn't they answer? "Sir! We've got something!" The young brunette ensign at the communications station said. This time he jumped off of the command deck and moved to the station, the presence of three dreadnaught class ships made anyone nervous.

"What is it ensign?"

"Admiral, First Minister Cromwell is on the line."

"Stall him for now."

"You know I can't do that Admiral and you can't either."

"Fine. Put him through to the conference room."

First Minister Jericus Cromwell, Chancellor of the Security Council, Head of State for the Galactic Authority. The Galactic Authority held a strict and rigid hierarchy that ultimately led up to the First Minister. In ages past the First Ministers always came from the military and they were always strong willed men, capable leaders for the absolute authority that came with the title. Cromwell was the first in a long time that came from the politicians. Politician, it boiled his blood just saying the word politician. He hated the lot of them with their plotting and scheming, always doing anything to get closer to the seat of power. Everyone knew it was the Security Council that held the most power on Maena, and every branch of government and the military had seats on it, as well as any frontier worlds the galactic authority might've controlled or been colonizing at the time.

Gaius swept out of the bridge and right into the conference room just a door away. Cromwell was a snake and Gaius hated him. It was the one part of his job as the commander of the Home Defense Fleet that he hated. It put him in contact with the sniveling politician who just couldn't connect with the military mind. Cromwell with his slender almost ratty facial features, large beard, slick black hair, and overweight physique turned his stomach. The First Ministers of the past always looked sharp in the uniform. He almost turned away when the holographic visage of the First Minister came to life in a radiant blue. "Admiral what is happening? The Security Council is getting restless we need answers." Cromwell said. One thing about the man he wasn't a very good liar if that was possible being a politician, Wolfe could always tell the sound of fear in his voice and that was certainly it.

"Sir were not exactly sure. Three dreadnaught-class sized ships or larger have entered the system along with a dozen other assorted support classes. So f-" Wolfe nearly finished but the First Minister swiftly cut him off.

"Have you tried hailing them? All of this isn't necessary Admiral the people are getting worried we need to issue a statement before panic sets in, that's all you have?"

If he wouldn't be shot for treason Gaius would've given anything to slug the man right in his mouth for how incompetent he sounded. "First Minister sir we've sent them four hails so far and each time we are receiving static, white noise. But for some reason they keep hailing us with this radio silence...we can't figure it ou-"

"Sir one of the enemy dreadnaughts is hailing us, they're requesting a holo-connection to speak face to face!" One of the bridge officers ran into the conference room yelled out. Finally they would get some answers, and finally he'd have to stop staring at the First Ministers rat face. "Well First Minister duty calls, looks like you'll get your answers I'll keep you updated." Wolfe said terminating the connection. He wiped the sweat once more off his forehead before sweeping into the bridge. If he was going to take a call from them it would be in here. "Silence on the bridge! Put him through."

The bridge lights dimmed as a dead silence crept over the bridge, the same white noise that once blared through the console now surged in the bridges speakers swiftly cut off. From either side of the bridge the holographic projectors glowed to life. The Admirals eyes nearly popped right out of his skull when the gargantuan titan of a figure clad in all black plate, a hefty sword strung over his back appeared on the bridge the projection appearing well over ten feet tall. "I am Admiral Wolfe of the Pride of Athera, commander of the Maena Home Defense Fleet. This force isn't necessary we can come to an agreement, tell us what you want and we will do whatever we can to ensure and justice for all." Gaius said. For about a solid two minutes the figure didn't say anything, the sound of his breathing mechanized through his helmets annunciator booming through the bridge.

But when his voice finally did speak it was deep booming through the chamber, the annunciator only adding to how dark and intimidating it already was "You speak of justice..Admiral we will show you the justice of the grave and the true meaning of fear. Ours is the way..." The channel cut just then. Suddenly the entire hull of the massive flagship lit up glowing brighter than the sun, then the other two dreadnaught class ships, and then the entire fleet behind them. It was as if the gods swept down and brought their diving wrath through these foes, the storm of lasers like a radiant holy storm that swept down upon them.

_________________________

Braxus walked back from the front of the bridge and up the short flight of stairs to his massive throne, watching from there as his ships brought down their dark hammer upon the small token fleet. Already he could see ships light up like stars others virtually vaporized by the onslaught of fire that surged across the vastness of space. The Immortal-Class Bridge was buried deep inside its center rather than being exposed, but it still had a state of the art system. "Do you feel it Matsu?" Prazutis closed his eyes inhaling deeply reaching out with the force to the planet and its surrounding ships. Death. Death on a grand scale. Death, Chaos.

Fear bellowed forth from Maena like a rolling cloud laced with a healthy supply of entropy for good measure. He speculated how panic would set in once the fire started in orbit and ships started crumbling. The Home Defense Fleet was an extremely dangerous opponent for pirates and smugglers, but they were nothing but ants against the fleet he brought to bear. Frigates couldn't hold a candle to the great dreadnaughts by themselves, let alone the rest of the fleet. The Dark Lord took in all of the pain, misery, death, it was an addiction, the sigh of satisfaction escaping his lips when he felt the coarse sensation of lives being swiftly snuffed out, consumed by the force.

The devastation the two brought on Serenno was an utter addiction he longed to satisfy. It was a unique obsession with death that was deeply seated in the fabric of his being since the very first life he took all those years ago, several billion people before his reign of blood in the galaxy began. He wasn't able to feel the force then like he could now, but he felt this more than anything else. Prazutis stood up and turned to face Matsu his focus clearly split between her and the addictive sensation that rolled from the ragtag fleet. "Death comes. I can feel his scythe come down calling for the lost souls, you can almost hear them cry out when he takes them. Feel the fire consuming them..it's.."

[member="Matsu Xiangu"]

 

[Matsu Xiangu]

She’d lost track of the wars she’d participated in. Somewhere after double digits they had all started blurring together. Now it wasn’t how many wars, but the transition from fighting for something to fighting for herself. She saw the merit in throwing her power in to a cause, but this was where she was meant to be - conquering, subjugating, eradicating. And in Braxus she’d found a partner. She was no stranger to loyalty. Unlike many Sith she found companionship, when metered out selectively and with extreme precision, to be a boon. Despite craving isolation she didn’t make it a rule as so many draconian and outdated lords of old had seen fit to do. Those she considered friends would find her loyal as long as they were. And while Reverance, Ygdris, and Ovmar in all his forms were her closest bonds, she often wondered if Braxus couldn’t be someone she might call 'brother'.

It was times when he waxed poetic about death that she was quite sure it wasn’t an impossibility.

The frigate fleet bloomed as a garden beneath them, petals red and yellow and white spreading outwards in atmosphere. She always loved that sight, a sudden explosion as quick as the eye could catch it suddenly slowing in air, as if caught in its own shocked gravity.

When he stood, Braxus towered over Matsu. Had she the height she might have reached up to run her fingers over his cheek when he trailed off, a knowing smile on her face. “Beautiful,” she finished for him, tilting her head in study. To her, it all felt like nothing, some great dark hollow created by sudden absence. Life in the Force felt full and busy, natural. To pull it all from the strings at once and leave nothing behind felt like an offense to nature - wide, quiet, dark, empty. She could stay in that silence forever. Alone. Maggots wriggling. Watch them feast on lips and tongue, a hole as wide as time itself, drowning.

It was hard to tether herself to reality when ecstasy was so close.

“I was thinking we might take care of the city ourselves and leave the forested portion of the planet to your fleet. I think once it’s cleared it will make a wonderful place to keep our creations,” she said, as if speaking of organizing her closet and not how to terraform and take over a planet millions called home.

And then she felt it. It was a pinprick in the Force at first as the initial blast was seen in Maena’s skyline, and then fear ripped through the ripples Matsu was attuned to like a tsunami. No doubt from the citizenship’s vantage it seemed the sky was falling, enormous pieces of fiery shrapnel that had escaped vaporization rocketing towards the ground and destroying buildings below. She could imagine them screaming, the panic that made them all so easily manipulated, the millions of fresh bodies they had below.

“We have to be down there,” she whispered, amber eyes shot through with red crawling to her irises.

[member="Darth Prazutis"]​

 

[Darth Prazutis]

[media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmqKJfrgLkU[/media]​

​

She was right.

They didn't belong up here in the bridge of a dreadnaught watching the worlds devastation, they belonged down on the world. From here they saw radiant plumes of orange and white dot the surface of Maena from the fleets hailstorm of fire, but they didn't actually see the explosions. They needed to smell the fire and scent of death in the air, feel the vibrations from the orbital bombardment literally shaking the earth with its holy might. Most of all they needed to be down there to wade through rivers of the blood of their enemies, to hear the screams and howls of their children while they feasted on the flesh of the living. What always came next after the harvest of a world was a silence, almost a void in the force where nothing remained. [member="Matsu Xiangu"] had spoken to him about it in length during their long sessions of training in which he worked to master the art of Necromancy.

The void was addictive.

One of his very first experiences was during the Slaughter of Serenno where their horde butchered the capital city of Carannia leaving it in ruins, carving a path through countless more before they abruptly left their task done. In his dreams he imagined a galaxy cloaked in the same void, wiped clean of such life until the grim silence of the grave remained, none except the maggots and the dead left. There was something different about leading the annihilation of a world at the head of a horde of the undead, rather than the living. "You're right. We need to be down there. Admiral, order all ships to keep fire on the populated cityscape to a minimal. Focus all fire on the shards of this paltry fleet and then proceed with glassing the entire forested portion of this pathetic planet. Set fire to the air and tear the earth asunder." Braxus ordered, the man bowing before his God-Prince.

The Sith Lord stepped closer to Matsu then and he whispered so that only she could hear, far out of the ears of all the others. He slid the helmet back on his head and slung the runeblade on before he spoke "They hunger I can feel it. The children are getting restless Matsu, give the order and let them feast on the blood of the living. Let the people of Maena know true fear." There was a connection through death between him and Matsu. Braxus was a skillful mastermind of politics who kept pawns and assets at arms reach, and there were very few whom he truly considered companions or friends. While Kaine was his closest bond of them all, it made him wonder if she just may end up joining him as "family".

 

[Matsu Xiangu]

The Force was infinite, and yet so many of its practitioners fell to the more common arts. There was absolutely nothing wrong with telekinesis or mastering lightsaber forms. Even her chosen mentalism was becoming more common as people saw its usefulness, as the disciples of the ancient Kylo Ren unearthed more of his legend. And yet there were only a handful of those who saw the beauty and value in necromancy. Obscure though it was and requiring a connection to the Force innate enough to command sith sorcery, it was underappreciated by all. And yet more than once entire planets had fallen to the hordes.

Like much else, she expected that eventually the galaxy might learn to combat the Undead. But that just meant they needed to be more creative.

She nodded when he agreed with her, the ghost of a smile pulling at her lips as she turned to move towards the dropships that would release their creations. Separately they had subjugated peoples - combined they would control worlds.

The panic and fear from the planet below was palpable, a sense of terror that permeated the hull of the ship as if she were standing right on the surface and watching the destruction with her own eyes. It was all she could do to supervise the loading of their creatures on to their ships, guiding the hulking creatures they’d made specially for such a hostile takeover in to their transports as only they could. Such hostile, bloodthirsty creatures could only be transferred in ships piloted on auto. An unnecessary loss of warm bodies would result from living pilots. They had enough of their creatures that those lost in impact would hardly make a difference.

And in that last dropship...they would merge.

Matsu could see Prazutis over the heads of the dead roiling about them, the hiss of dead-dry skin whispering against their armor as the Children clambered around each other and their Makers in excitement. They would not harm Matsu or Braxus, but instead ran rotten fingers over armor as if in reverence. They were - of course - incapable of such a complex emotion, but they interpreted something like importance about the man and woman standing among them without fear. The Atrisian Sith closed her eyes as the dropship hummed underneath her feet, their descent swift and direct.

There was no finesse to the flight, instead moving as quickly as possible for the surface. As proximity klaxons began to blare, Matsu used her connection to her children to move enough of them towards the front of the ship to cushion the blow as the entire thing slammed in to Maena’s surface. Cushioned against rot and filth, Matsu shivered in ecstasy. She was almost loathe to follow the sliver of light that yawned large as the ramp lowered to allow the undead that had survived the crash to pour out of the ship.

And behind them - behind that screaming, burning, ravenous horde - emerged two armored Sith Lords intent on razing everything living to the ground. The city glittered only a kilometer ahead of them. The ground writhed with the thousands of Children that sprinted across it towards the lights and panicked yells of civilians.

“This is the beginning of something beautiful, Braxus…”

Darth Sicarii’s lightsaber came to life in her hand, roiling and unstable with the heat of its malfunctioning crystal. Beautiful indeed.

[member="Darth Prazutis"]​

 

[Darth Prazutis]

[media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TW5Mm31Ebc[/media]​

​

​Athera City, Maena
​The Descent...

​Through the smoke and fire of ruined spacehulks, and ship debris came radiant, and often rapid rays of energy as bright as the sun. As destruction and ruin erupted the forested portions of Maena the wrath of angered gods who gave nothing, but took from them everything. Through the plumes of blackened smoke came the great dropships descending from the sky in numbers like water droplets in the midst of a storm. Their polished blackened hulls and breach shielding ensured they could be driven through a building and still carry their payloads to the surface. But ultimately it didn't matter how many were destroyed, how many of these ships were blown up in the atmosphere by the staunch Authority Marines who defended the surface.

​They would all die.

​The last ship came down noticeably later then the others trailing the vast falling force. These weren't just any soldiers descending from the sky, they weren't the barbarous butchers of the Blackblades. No it was far worse than that. It was the living dead, the wailing horrors of the deep darkness, the harvesters of Serenno and Dromund Kaas. When the vast loading bay doors of the dropships opened the fierce defenders would be met with a sight like never before. The billowing fog of death rolled from these defiled transports accompanied by the foul stench of putrefaction from the many decadent corpses sardined there. Next came the wails, shrieks, and roars their unified sounds so loud they even drowned out the sound of blaster and slug fire.

Then they came.

Braxus Zambrano stood a dark titan geared for war clad in a full dark iron suit of plate a rifle strung over his back, a pair of lightsabers and a runeblade at his side. All around the tall titan were the deathly creatures croaking and shrieking occasionally, their maddening voices high pitched as the delicately brushed up against him, some even reaching towards him while an dead nexu brushed up against his leg, standing on front of the great giant while [member="Matsu Xiangu"] stood a ways back. The entire dropship shook as it blasted through the wall of a parking garage before falling down the surface with a great thud. The dead arund them acted as further insulation to protect him and Matsu from the descent.

Then the doors opened.

But the horde wouldn't dare move towards the crowd trying to flee the large mall. They didn't dare step from the dropship. They cleared a path for the Sith Lord and Lady to exit in front of them, the dead nexu standing between them. Braxus drew the runeblade from its sheath and reached down, gently rubbing the dead fur on the head of the decaying feline before pointing forth, letting out a bellowing roar. The entire horde roared in unison at the command of one of its creators who subtly commanded them through their bindings. The shambling force bolted around the two like the sea around rock, turning the streets and entry into a charnel pit of blood and gore.

The Harvest of Maena has begun.

 

[Matsu Xiangu]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPQOMyyg9b8​

If she was unique in anything, it was her control. Real masochism was rare, and a true sadist perhaps even more so. But Matsu was the latter without question. But her cruelty was quiet, measured, and unreadable. She was silence incarnate, a black hole walking, a wound.

But when their Children swarmed around them once released it was nearly impossible to stay as stone.
There were some moments she couldn’t help but let the Dark Side out.

Moving alongside Prazutis, she brushed a metallic hand along his arm as they exited the garage on to the street. Screaming was rising up on all sides as Maena’s citizens tried to run. Some would make it - for a little while. Some would use the advantage of the bottlenecks happening in smaller sidestreets to their advantage and make it back to their families, attempt to pack up and leave. But the Undead would find them there too. They would break through windows and tear down doors, throw their bodies against walls until they broke from the force only to let those behind them finish the job. Some of these poor souls might even make it to their personal ships. But in the skies above they would find Prazutis’ fleet, and there was no escaping that.

Closing her eyes and raising her palms, Matsu reached out and lassoed the minds of all those hysterical living near her. In their fear and panic they were easy prey. She felt everything as if the emotions were her own: terror, panic, agony, disbelief, confusion. She felt herself ripped apart by dead fingers, bitten by gnashing teeth, drenched in rot. The Dark Side rose off her in waves, an inky black smog leaching through the part of the crowd she controlled. She fed from them. A sadist. An Eater.

She opened her eyes when she heard an unfamiliar voice. Looking up, she saw a slightly portly man staring down from dozens of huge holotrons mounted on every skyscraper on the street. What must have usually been advertisements, informercials, billboards was now a message broadcasted by the planet’s leader to the invading Sith - a plea from a comfortable man faced with an unprecedented terror.

“My name is First Minister Jericus Cromwell. Whatever it is you want, we will comply. Our citizens are innocent. Whatever you want, we will comply. Please, we beg you - stop this now, and we will give you whatever you came for.”

There was no response for a moment. But then Matsu laughed, and every single person whose mind she controlled laughed with her. Hundreds of civilians having their eyes gouged from their sockets, their limbs pulled from their torsos, their bellies gorged on started laughing in unison along with the Sith Lord infiltrating their minds. It was unnatural and horror etched in to the First Minister’s features even from his cushy seat in the Capitol. He must have had probe droids watching the invasion which meant he would hear her response.

“We don’t need you to give us what we came for,” Matsu answered, all of her thralls answering at the same time. “The living are a nuisance.” And then she let them go to realize their final moments of suffering.

Four enormous Walkers came trudging in from several main thoroughfares, cannon fire ripping up the ground near pockets of Undead. Resistance. What fun.

[member="Darth Prazutis"]​

 

[Darth Prazutis]

​Galactic Authority Command
​General Alaric Greene...

​If it were any other man in charge of this poodoo they would've gone mad. Broken by the orbital bombardment setting half of the world on fire, shattered by the bone chilling reports of the living dead slaughtering the innocent. Not General Greene. General Greene was an tall elderly man with a round face, a thin layer of graying hair covered the top of his head and his face was devoid of facial hair. He was a veteran of the pirate wars, a warrior of the rebellious insurrections, a hero to the people of the Galactic Authority. As an experienced veteran he thrived on the chaos, and it was in the crowded panicked command center where he did his best work.

​The general stood at the head of a massive holotable surrounded by officers, a line of terminals manned by more soldiers clad in blue uniforms lined one wall while a set of screens projecting data, news feeds and the like hung above. The holotable held a live action map of the city with allied defenses and positions outlined in green. They were given a short notice to begin preparations and the General didn't waste any time. Kark the politicians he had a job to do, and a battle to win. However unfortunately the city being of such substantial size couldn't be evacuated quickly, and chaos ensued in the streets. "Sir were hitting massive civilian casualties in sectors 1-3! Reports coming in say these undead seem organized, almost directed. I'm hearing chatter of figures moving among them!" ​One of the analysts yelled out.

​The massive eucmenopolis was split into six sectors with twelve quadrants per sector. So far the brunt of the landings for the dead were in only three of the sectors, but with every passing moment more continued to land. "Pull the armored divisions from sector five and bring them in to reinforce our troops in in sectors one through three. The undead move fast we need to bottleneck them, block streets and direct them into our killpockets. Have them begin collapsing buildings on these side streets." ​The General said touching many areas across the holotable, each turning a bright orange. "Bring the walkers to draw some fire and let our boys regroup!"

​Walkers stomped through in groups of four down the massive streets moving right towards the hordes which gravitated together after the landings. Explosions rocked through the pockets of dead pulverizing them into red gorey stains, drawing the ire of this angry horde. To the backdrop of these walkers explosions could be heard as the soldiers worked to block the horde in.

[member="Matsu Xiangu"]

 

[Matsu Xiangu]

Maenan Government Grounds - Main Palace
First Minister Jericus Cromwell

“We don’t need you to give us what we came for. The living are a nuisance.”

The holofeed shut off only moments after the First Minister’s expression folded in to abject horror. In his tenure in government he had read thousands of reports of the evils of those who had the Force and used it for something other than good. Despite their position so far on the outer reaches of the galaxy, no leader could govern their planet in a vacuum. He had made it his business to understand the galaxy at large.

But he’d never thought it would find such evil would find them here.

“Do we have anything on these people?”

It was haunting him, the last words of Admiral Gaius Wolfe coming blared over a connection that had erased to static as the fleet above had been obliterated in the blink of an eye. Neither of them had particularly cared for the other. The Admiral despised him for his lack of military background, and he had been less than fond of the Admiral for his inability to see beyond battle. But that did not stop him from mourning the man’s loss - he had been a good person despite their differences, and had served his world faithfully. He worried he’d never sleep again, replaying those last five seconds of static of hearing another man die.

“Nothing yet, sir. We’re working on it!” replied a frazzled man attempting to flip through galactic records as quickly as possible.

Cromwell wanted names, records to help him understand exactly what he and his people were going up against. But for the moment he didn’t need specifics - he just needed to know they were Sith. That made his next move clear.

“Keep on it. And in the meantime...somebody contact the Jedi.”

[member="Darth Prazutis"]​