Public From the Depths

[Placeholder 25346357]

Coruscant, level 808
​

The creatures stalk almost endlessly. There is no day here, only a cold, eternal night.
The people of 808 cannot escape the horrors of the dark side. Those creatures which cannot follow them into their homes follow them into their dreams.

Frantic, splashing footsteps echo through the darkness. The drains can barely handle the toxic rainfall from the upper levels, and any semblance of a street is covered in the wastewater. There is a cry for help, though no one with a shred of sanity would leave their hovel to offer aid. Whatever had caught up to the screaming voice in the pitch black had won long before it struck a killing blow. But this is simply how it is. No one here can argue, no one can protest. For so long their pleas have not even reached the ears of the underworld's more populated levels, let alone anyone with power enough to change the fate of this hell.

808 has been this way since the One Sith, when dark lords had descended to the darkest corners of Coruscant to breed their monstrosities. As the years went by, strange creatures gathered on the level. What was once only a slum became a hive for things that were beyond alien. When the Sith were driven from Coruscant, 808 was believed to be lost and its ghoulish residents were condemned to live out the rest of their days being hunted by sithspawn.

Yet there is a spark of hope.​

The Warlords of the Sith have begun restoring old labs and spawning pools in secret, but these efforts have not gone as unnoticed as they would like. As their new sithspawn climb to higher levels, Galactic City authorities have issued a bounty on the Sith, from sithspawn monsters to the crazed cults who create them. Intrepid adventurers, bounty hunters, and monster slayers have been encouraged to deal with this growing threat so Coruscant can be made a safer place. 808 is a horrid, treacherous place, but the tide of the Sith threatens all...

Spoiler: OOC Note

Anyone is more than welcome to join this thread, even if you aren't hunting the bounty! There's a lot of stories to be told in developing the hellscape that is the bottom of Coruscant. I'm also happy to write NPC opposition in the form of cultists or monsters for anyone who wants it. Happy horror hunting!

 

[Ashin Cardé Varanin]

CONDEMNED BRANCH 459
LEVEL 808

459 had been a spawning node under the One Sith. These halls had seen atrocities and birthed a small but disproportionate fraction of Level 808's terrors. It was now a dissection and vivisection lab where Ashin and some heavily modified surgeon droids took Sithspawn apart. The place reeked like a rotten abattoir, to the point where even Ashin had smeared a chemical under her nose that made everything smell like vanilla. Power saws shrieked their way through the armored skin of distorted specimens. Syringes extracted vital fluids with immense arcane and scientific value.

Ashin whistled as she worked, occasionally breaking into jaunty, butchered wartime song from days of yore.

Pyrrhus
Has only got one ball
The Dark Lord
Has two but rather small
Ophidya'
Is rather simla'
And the Zambranos
Have no balls
At all
BADDUM-bum-bum-bum...

 

[Kranak Vizsla]

Location: Coruscant, Level 809
Local Time: 19:43
Date: -DATA CORRUPTED-
Objective: Claim Bounties on the Sith occupants of Level 808
Equipment: See Character Bio
Tags: Ashin Cardé Varanin | Eldritch Voices



Kranak had been on Coruscant before, including some areas of the lower levels, but he never went as deep as Level 808 before. There was an interesting contract he came across not too long ago. The contractors were the Planetary Administration of the Galactic City authority, CSF officials and Corporate Security Officers of the Republic Engineering Corporation. The job was simple enough though. They were looking for capable bounty hunters and mercenaries to clear out the remnants of Sith in the lower levels, but that was easier said than done.

He did not have a lot of information to work with at the time. Only rumors he overheard while spending some time at the local Cantinas in Coruscant. Flesh eating creatures, roaming the streets in Level 808 with some cultist sightings. It was enough to send chills down some people’s spines. Admittedly, he was starting to get a little afraid himself as he approached a large manhole in Level 809. He would have to take the sewers to reach his target destination. The tram system leading to 808 was damaged and in need of repairs. As a result, conventional transportation there with a tram was out of the question. Potentially, he could gain access into Level 808 through a CSF checkpoint for mercenary work but at the time, he lacked a valid Alliance Peacekeeping Certification. He had applied remotely using his custom datapad a day ago, but his status was still pending. He assumed the CSF personnel at the checkpoint would not let him through without the necessary certification. That is why he took the sewers. Maybe he could find a few creatures from Level 808 in there to hunt, too. He would see soon enough.

Spoiler: Mood Setter

The manhole was sealed shut to prevent the creatures from escaping into the higher levels of Coruscant. It had a console for access he could slice into, which could allow him to gain access into the sewers. He took out his slicer gear and started to slice the small console. It took him a few minutes to slice into it, as he was being careful not to alert the CSF presence in the area. It was going to look bad in his records if someone found out when he got the certificate, but he could not wait. He was excited for the contract. He would most certainly get some thrill out of the job, as he thought. He managed to link the controls of the manhole to one of his wrist-link buttons so he could open it and close it when he willed it. He packed up his slicing gear and put them back into his large pouch and grabbed his Westar-M5 before he opened the manhole using his wrist-link. A foul smell hit him in the face as he approached the manhole. He activated his rebreather in response to the smell.

The sewers were pitch black, indicating this sector had not received maintenance in a long while as the lights were busted. He activated his built-in night vision in his helmet visor as he started his descent using the manhole’s ladder. His feet reached the floor of the sewer after a few minutes of climbing down the ladder. He closed the manhole using his wrist-link and sealed it and grabbed his rifle. He kept his Westar-M5 pointed down into the sewer and assumed a defensive stance as he travelled down to Level 808.

His surroundings were luminated thanks to his night-vision. The sight looked like pretty much what one would expect a sewer would look like, but it was not as cramped. The ceiling was high enough for him to stand straight, though he occasionally ducked his head under the pipes as he travelled. As he continued, he came across another ladder going down when he came up to a large junction section of the sewers. He climbed down the ladder as he swung his Westar-M5 to his left to descend easier. However, the ladder gave way as he was descending and sent him falling. Thankfully though, he was about to complete his descent before the ladder broke under him. He dropped down about two meters and rolled to his side when he contacted the ground to disperse the kinetic energy from the fall. The ladder falling made a loud, metallic banging noise when it hit the ground. The sound echoed through the sewers, amplifying its intensity as the sound travelled through them. Whatever or whoever was in the sewers would have heard the sound. [“Osik…”] he muttered to himself in a hushed tone, cursing. He immediately got up and brought his rifle to bear from his left side. He switched from night vision to thermals afterwards. He was not picking up any heat signatures… yet. He soldiered on to reach the surface level of 808 now as he presumed he would reach it by now. He descended a level down according to his HUD. He would need to find a way to reach the surface now.

It wouldn’t take him too long to find a hatch leading to the surface, if he kept his current pace.

 

[Ashin Cardé Varanin]

CONDEMNED BRANCH 459
LEVEL 808
EQUIPMENT: Jentaral, Dire Wolves M-114 designated marksman rifle
Kranak Vizsla

Ashin looked up from the quivering entrails of a recently deceased cthon-tatek-ata (half local cthonian, half terentatek, and a third half tuk'ata) as a little red light started blinking. One of the poorly concealed approach routes to Branch 459 had company. She wiped black blood off her hands and went over to toggle a fuzzy holocam.

The being poking around out there was a Mandalorian supercommando.

Now, Ashin had been a Mando once upon a time. At least, she'd worn beskar'gam and rode a bes'uliik down from orbit and been adopted by Jaster Ordo himself. She'd personally saved Manda'yaim two or three times. Since his death a couple decades ago, though, she'd drifted far away from the tradition and no longer identified as such. That was the cost of being converted to the person rather than the Way. But she remembered more than enough to know that a supercommando when she saw one. And he was probably pursuing one of those irritatingly comprehensive new Coruscanti bounties. A bounty that would pay serious money for Ashin, the lab, the few twisted Sithspawn still penned up for dissection...

"Osik."

A nervous tic started in her cheek. She'd sent a good few samples offworld over the past couple of weeks - things that might help in her quest to resurrect her wife, even if just through barter value - but riches abounded in this lab. She was loathe to get driven out.

Maybe the Mando wouldn't notice the big crusty smear of Sithspawn blood leading to the door.

 

[Kranak Vizsla]

Location: Coruscant, Level 808, Sewers
Local Time: 20:06
Date: -DATA CORRUPTED-
Objective: Claim Bounties on the Sith Occupants of Level 808
Equipment: See Character Bio
Tags: Ashin Cardé Varanin | Eldritch Voices

Spoiler: Mood Setter

The sewer system was large, and Kranak was practically traversing blind in the sewers with his rifle raised, looking for a hatch or a manhole or any path that led to the surface to look for Sith Cultists and Sithspawns to eliminate. He was unable to pinpoint his location in the sewers to find a way out. He crouched next to a series of pipes jutting out of the ferroconcrete walls of the sewer and reached for his large pouch with his dominant right hand to retrieve his DRK-1 Probe Droid. He activated the probe and gave it commands to reconnaissance the area to look for an exit out of the sewers into Level 808. He was not sure how long the process would take. He hoped it would not take too long. He would also monitor the probe droid’s process as he activated the droid’s live feed.

In the meantime, he considered to look for a spot to lay low until the probe finished its survey of the sewers. He had not spotted cultists or sithspawns yet. He had not picked up any thermal signatures throughout his journey, as well. He grabbed the pistol grip of his rifle as he got back up to his feet and vaulted over the large pipeline in front of him using his nondominant left hand. He continued his journey with his rifle raised and his finger on the hair trigger.

He switched back to night-vision as thermals did not provide him good visibility at the time. It was pitch black and there was nothing that emitted heat for his thermals to be useful at the time. As he continued, he occasionally gave a quick glance back at his six to make sure nothing was creeping up on him without his notice. He still had not received contact with anything or anyone yet as he continued down the sewer.

However, something caught his eye as he continued down his path. He saw a black puddle of… something. He proceeded with caution to inspect what it was. He would not be able to tell what it was with his helmet night vision turned on as everything was illuminated in a green hue, so he popped an orange chem-light of five-minute duration with his left hand to see what the substance was as he turned off his night-vision momentarily, as he came close enough to see what it was now. He crouched over the substance to inspect it. The substance was jet-black in color and dried out on the floor. It looked like an oil stain to him, until he saw a trail of it leading somewhere up ahead. After a brief inspection of the dried jet-black substance, he concluded the stain was something’s -or someone’s- blood. Probably a sithspawn. There was not a lot of creatures that bled black blood. He turned his night-vision back on as he stood back up, with his left hand clutching the handguard of his Westar-M5 in the meantime and started to follow the trail of dried blood. He was not sure what he would find at the end of the trail. Maybe he would find a good spot to lay low, or maybe he would find the thing that bled black. There was only one way to find out.

Instead, the trail of dried blood led him to a thick double door with a keypad on it. He slightly tilted his head to the left, showing intrigue. He approached the keypad to inspect it with his left hand as he held his rifle leaned against his right shoulder. He lifted the keypad’s cover to see if it was receiving power. The pushbuttons were illuminated with a dim blue hue. The door was powered. He was not sure what he stumbled upon now. He only overheard bits and pieces of stories about Level 808. Some of the stories included laboratories and spawning pools. Maybe he stumbled upon one of the two unknowingly. But then again, he had not come across anything or anyone guarding the place. There was no-one around here that he could see. He decided it could be worth it to check what was inside. Maybe he could find a way to the surface there, as well. He swapped hands and held his rifle on his left shoulder and reached for a scramble-key from his right back pouch. He applied the scramble key on the keypad and watched it cycle through possible codes at incredible speeds. Thirty seconds later the doors locking mechanism clicked open. He retrieved his Scramble Key and put it back into his pouch as he swapped his weapon to his right hand with haste. White lights shined through the door as it opened. His night-vision’s brightness decreased automatically as it adjusted to the light source. He was not blinded by the lights thanks to that. He turned off his night-vision as he entered what appeared to be a laboratory with his rifle raised and his trigger finger resting on the hair trigger. The doors closed behind him as he entered.

The scene surrounding him was disturbing if one was to put it mildly. There were… things on top of stainless-steel autopsy tables with their innards visible, with surgical equipment of all sorts surrounding the autopsy tables. From this angle he could not tell what they used to be before they were corrupted and assumed their current crooked physical traits. Their blood appeared to be jet-black, very similar to the blood trail he followed here, but fresh. Then, he saw a human woman in her mid-forties, standing next to one of the autopsy tables with a dissected sithspawn on top of it. Her hands were covered in its blood. He was not sure who she was or what she was doing here. She did not look like a cultist or anything. He tilted his head to his left in curiosity as he slightly lowered his rifle and spoke [“Identify yourself.”] in a neutral, emotionless tone.

 

[Ashin Cardé Varanin]

With a minute or two to prepare, she'd taken a seat behind the dissection table and leaned her rifle out of sight within easy reach. Her sword Jentaral lay on the table behind the carcass.

Instead of reaching for them, she raised her hands, one of which held a glasteel vial.

"My name is Ashin Varanin. I'm an unaligned Sith Lord. With the sorcerer and alchemist bonuses, my head is worth 8650 credits. Destroying this lab would net you another 5250. There are three living Sithspawn caged in the back room: their heads are worth 300 apiece. That's around fifteen thousand all told. But what I'm holding is a recombinant alchemical enzyme worth upwards of a thousand an ounce to the right buyer."

Kranak Vizsla

 

[Kranak Vizsla]

Location: Coruscant, Level 808, Sewers, Ashin’s Laboratory
Local Time: 20:07
Date: -DATA CORRUPTED-
Objective: Claim Bounties on the Sith Occupants of Level 808
Equipment: See Character Bio
Tags: Ashin Cardé Varanin | Eldritch Voices



The woman identified herself right after Kranak’s inquiry. “My name is Ashin Varanin. I’m an unaligned Sith Lord. With the sorcerer and alchemist bonuses, my head is worth 8650 credits. Destroying this lab would net you another 5250. There are three living Sithspawn caged in the back room: their heads are worth 300 a piece. That’s around fifteen thousand all told. But what I’m holding is a recombinant alchemical enzyme worth upwards of a thousand an ounce to the right buyer.” She spoke.

He was taken a back by all of what she said. He was not expecting her to explain the net worth of her own head and the specimens in the laboratory. Interesting. <What are you trying to do?> he thought to himself. He raised his Westar-M5 and aimed at her chest with his finger on the trigger when he heard she was an un-aligned Sith Lord. Chit, things could get nasty real fast now. But for some reason she didn’t appear to be looking for a fight at the moment. But that could’ve been a ruse. He had to play this safe if he was dealing with a Sith Lord now. According to the Alliance Peacekeeper rules (he had read them during his application) he would have to give her a chance to come in quietly. She told him she was a Sith Lord, but if she was going to be cooperative, he would take him into custody as she could have vital information for purging the Sithspawn. Would be worth a shot.

[“Why are you telling me all this?”] He inquired with an inquisitive and a surprised tone, as he kept his rifle still aimed at her. She somewhat appeared to be studying the Sithspawn for some reason. He did not see any birthing chambers or spawn pools in the laboratory. Just a couple of dissected Sithspawns. What was she up to?

 

[Ashin Cardé Varanin]

"Because I can print money. Fifteen thousand? Pocket change." She rolled the vial down the dissection table toward him - slowly. "That's five or six thousand right there. Give me forty-eight hours and I'll leave you significantly more when I evacuate this lab. You burn it out and turn it in for another five. All I'm asking is two days, and we both walk away happy, having done our jobs. I'll even leave you a map of where I caught my samples - there's plenty more where that came from."

Kranak Vizsla

 

[Kranak Vizsla]

Location: Coruscant, Level 808, Sewers, Ashin’s Laboratory
Local Time: 20:08
Date: -DATA CORRUPTED-
Objective: Claim Bounties on the Sith Occupants of Level 808
Equipment: See Character Bio
Tags: Ashin Cardé Varanin | Eldritch Voices



He listened to the Sith Lord respond to his inquiry. “Because I can print money. Fifteen thousand? Pocket change.” She slowly rolled a vial down the autopsy table towards him. “That’s five or six thousand right there. Give me forty-eight hours and I’ll leave you significantly more when I evacuate this lab. You burn it out and turn it in for another five. All I’m asking is two days. And we both walk away happy, having done our jobs. I’ll even leave you a map of where I caught my samples – there’s plenty more where that came from.”

She was obviously trying to buy herself some time, but why? What was her goal here? She was a Sith Lord, though. Whether she was with The Warlords of the Sith or not, she was still a Sith. He had no reason to trust her word. The Sith were mischievous to say the very least. It would not be a smart move to trust one. Moreover, he would have to honor the contract and proceed with the bounty. According to the contract, he would have to eliminate her on sight, however she appeared as someone that could be reasoned with, considering she had not drawn a lightsaber and attacked him yet. She could have sensitive information regarding Level 808’s status. Perhaps she knew more than she revealed to him. Maybe he could take her in peacefully. If not, well… he would cross that bridge when it came to that.

After digesting her response, [“I will give you the chance to come in quietly.”] he spoke with a neutral tone, keeping his rifle aimed at her upper chest still. [“No sudden moves.”] he spoke as he motioned her to stand up, as he swayed his rifle up and down slightly. He started to regulate his breathing. He could sense his heart rate rising ever so slightly from excitement. If she did not choose to come in quietly, he would be fighting a Sith Lord. He was confident in himself and with his abilities, but a Sith Lord? That would truly test him.

 

[Ashin Cardé Varanin]

"I'm giving you a good way forward," Ashin said as she stood up slowly, hands up and empty. "Let me put this another way: the official bounties on these Sithspawn and on this lab, not even counting the alchemical enzymes I'm offering you, match the price on my head. Throw in what you'd get from the Sithspawn nests I can tell you about, and it's easily double. Or you could try to take me in, things could escalate, and you'd lose all of that. No lab to turn over, no Sithspawn heads, no nest locations. For argument's sake, let's say you've got a fifty-fifty shot of eight thousand from bringing me in - or you could give me forty-eight hours and make a significantly bigger impact on the local Sithspawn situation, while reaping a significantly bigger payday."

Kranak Vizsla

 

[Kranak Vizsla]

Location: Coruscant, Level 808, Sewers, Ashin’s Laboratory
Local Time: 20:09
Date: -DATA CORRUPTED-
Objective: Claim Bounties on the Sith Occupants of Level 808
Equipment: See Character Bio
Tags: Ashin Cardé Varanin | Eldritch Voices

He scanned his surroundings by only moving his eyes. He was looking for the laboratory’s power source. After a short pause he managed to find it. It was sitting next to a bunch of crates, powering the laboratory. He saw the cables leading to and from the generator. <Sweet.> He thought to himself. He could potentially sever the cables to cause a power outage in hopes of gaining the upper hand in a possible fight with the Sith Lord. He also noted he could use the environment against her by using the laboratory equipment around them, but the same would apply to her as well.

“I’m giving you a good way forward,” she spoke as she stood up with her hands above her head. “Let me put this another way: the official bounties on these Sithspawn and on this lab, not even counting the alchemical enzymes I’m offering you, match the price on my head. Throw in what you’d get from the Sithspawn nest I can tell you about, and it’s easily double. Or you could try to take me in, things could escalate, and you’d lose all of that. No lab to turn over, no Sithspawn heads, no nest locations. For argument’s sake, let’s say you’ve got a fifty-fifty shot of eight thousand from bringing me in – or you could give me forty-eight hours and make a significantly bigger impact on the local Sithspawn situation, while reaping a significantly bigger payday.”

[“Forgive me if I’m not jumping at the opportunity to make a deal with a Sith. You could easily make yourself scarce in two days and destroy everything in the laboratory. I cannot leave that to chance.”] He retorted at the Sith Lord after a short pause. Nobody in their right mind would collaborate with the Sith. Especially his people, the Mandalorians. Not after that massacre, and not after their parting gift, the Graug invaders. [“You still have a chance to come in quietly.”] he reiterated, keeping his rifle trained on her. She would be far more resourceful alive, considering she knows the locations of other laboratories and the nests. Or maybe she was bluffing. He'd find out one way or the other.

He knew what her response would be. He assumed they would have to fight this out. The Sith would not submit so easily. He would be surprised if she chose to surrender herself to him.

 

[Ashin Cardé Varanin]

A spike of hate came off Kranak Vizsla , and Ashin knew she'd played the wrong card by defaulting to honesty. After all, the Sith Empire had annihilated Mandalore - genocide, terraforming, mass industrialization. She'd felt that keenly once upon the time, but that depth of feeling hadn't lingered as much as it should have.

"Alright," she said, and stepped out from around the table.

She'd intended to follow through with the threat to burn it all down, but he clearly wasn't profit-motivated. Most of the rewired surgeon droids, having been sent away with a decent stock of enzymes and other alchemical samples, were nowhere in sight - and far off by this point.

Did she really feel like a fight today?

The question shocked her - but maybe that was age talking. So instead, without a gesture, she cast a simple illusion of invisibility over the sword and the rifle, and went along willingly as a prisoner. No tricks.

 

[Kranak Vizsla]

Location: Coruscant, Level 808, Sewers, Ashin’s Laboratory
Local Time: 20:10
Date: -DATA CORRUPTED-
Objective: Extract the Bounty out of Level 808 Sewers.
Equipment: See Character Bio
Tags: Ashin Cardé Varanin | Eldritch Voices



He was expecting her to draw her lightsabers and attack him, but instead, she willingly surrendered. Kranak was gobsmacked when he saw her surrender willingly. He was not expecting a Sith Lord to just surrender. This had to be a trick of some sort. He did not know how powerful she was, so he could be walking into her ruse now. His facial expressions hidden underneath his helmet had formed a frown, expecting her to attack him at any moment, but she was standing there with her hands above her head, a few feet in front of him. <Well then…> He thought to himself as he cautiously approached the Sith Lord. He moved to her left as he kept his rifle still trained on her and got behind her to cuff her with his zip-tie handcuffs. He slung the rifle to his left and reached for his zip-tie with his right hand. He then tied her hands at the back with the zip-tie handcuff. He adjusted the cuffs to be tight enough so she could not wiggle her hands free. He then quickly performed a body search on her, looking for anything that she could use as a weapon, but he did not find anything on her. He reached for a small bundle of rope from one of his large pouches to tie her to himself. She was coming in willingly, but he did entertain the possibility of walking into a trap of hers. He did not want to take any chances and trust her that she would just follow him in the dark. That would be unwise.

Now he would have to extract with the bounty. He remembered he had sent out his probe droid to find a way into Level 808. He checked the live feed. It opened on a small tab at the top left corner on his HUD. The probe was still in the process of finding a way into Level 808. But his plan changed now. He had to turn in the Sith Lord to CSF authorities before he continued into Level 808. His best bet would be to go back the way he came into the sewers and extract his bounty safely. He was not sure if his route was compromised though. He gave new commands to his probe droid by using his wrist-link to scope out the path he took to get to the laboratory. The probe acknowledged the new set of commands and changed its course. He assumed it would take the probe around ten or so minutes to complete its survey of his path.

After he was done giving the probe its new set of commands, he approached the laboratory’s entrance, to the door’s keypad. He used the scramble-key to get through the door again. The process took around fifteen seconds. He stored the scramble key back into his pouch and raised his Westar-M5 as the doors opened. He activated his night vision and looked out of the door, scanning his surroundings. There was nothing outside as he could see.

He reached for one of his large pouches with his left hand and retrieved an Orange Hi-Chemlight with a life span of an hour. It would emit a brighter glove than the normal ones. He snapped the chemlight with a crack and inserted the chemlight on his backpack so Ashin could follow her in the dark easier. It Would speed things up, but it would also have a draw back. He would no longer be able to use the darkness as an advantage. [“Alright. Time to move.”] He spoke as he got out of the laboratory with Ashin in tow. There was around two meters spacing between Kranak and the Sith Lord.

The doors closed shut soon after they exited the laboratory. He considered destroying the laboratory but that could have drawn the attention of Sithspawns. He would have to come back here and destroy the laboratory later. He cautiously walked back the way he came with his rifle raised, with his finger on the trigger. As he walked, he looked over his right shoulder to check up on his bounty and their rear frequently. He did not trust Ashin, as he somewhat felt as if he was walking into a trap. He tried his best to keep an eye on her. He would also check their rear to make sure nothing was creeping up on them as he moved to his insertion point in the sewers.

 

[Ashin Cardé Varanin]

Kranak Vizsla

Ashin followed, unarmed and zip-tied, the dutiful prisoner. She'd have to come back for the sword and rifle, or else one of her droids would think to take them - it wasn't like illusions affected droids, after all. And she'd given various orders that might well take care of all of that, in the course of setting up contingencies. The few minutes between his appearance on the hidden cameras and the door hissing open had been plenty of time, for the prepared.

The Mando struck her as professional, cautious, and a being of integrity. If she was being honest with herself, that had been a factor in choosing not to fight. She'd known Mandos of every stripe, and too few good ones.

Maybe today was the day that soft spot finally bit her in the ass.

She'd done plenty of talking while sounding him out. Now, as they made their way through the sewers, she only had one thing to say.

"Tion gar gai, beroya?"

 

[Placeholder 25346357]

Coruscant, level 808
Kranak Vizsla | Ashin Cardé Varanin
​

Wherever Sithspawn were to be found, there were Tuk'ata. Domesticated for millennia, easy to create if more are needed, and willing to eat the scraps of failed experiments without question. Some considered the monstrous hounds to be the old of Sithspawn. On level 808 they preyed upon the weak sentient beings who cowered in fear, and upon other Sithspawn that were slower or weaker than them. Nothing short of Beskar could stop their razor sharp rows of teeth that came in triplicate.

Their packs roamed the dilapidated streets. The buildings rose up around them like walls of a canyon on their native Korriban. They are almost unheard as they skulk through the shadows, but their howls pierce the air everywhere they go.

Three hunters prowl. The alpha takes the lead with his betas flanking. The alpha takes a quick succession of small, sharp sniffs. There is always blood on the wind here, so these hounds have learned to smell not for the wounded, but for fresh meat that this forsaken land had yet to corrupt.

The beasts could see in the dark with ease, so the hazy orange light in the distance intrigued them. The Tuk'ata were far more intelligent than the average Sithspawn, or even the average hound. They knew that this was an alien to the realm of the lower 1000 floors. With their prey in sight, they began to pick up speed. A walk turned into a run, which turned finally into leaps and bounds as the hungry animals charged towards their next meal.

They didn't care that they were alerting their prey. Nothing down here had escaped them yet.

As they came withing striking distance to the two humans that would serve as their sustenance, they abruptly stopped and began circling their prey...

 

[Kranak Vizsla]

Location: Coruscant, Level 808, Sewers
Local Time: 20:19
Date: -DATA CORRUPTED-
Objective: Extract the Bounty out of Level 808 Sewers
Equipment: See Character Bio
Tags: Ashin Cardé Varanin | Eldritch Voices



Around ten minutes had passed since their exit from the laboratory. Kranak was leading his detainee, Ashin, in tow. He was being cautious, making sure nothing crept up on them from the rear, as well as keeping an eye on the detainee in the meantime. She had been quiet for a while. Was she planning something? Was he walking into one of her traps? He did not know. He did not want to kark around and find out, so he was moving as fast as he could with the detainee.

There was a T section up ahead. They would take the path to the left to reach the larger junction and then climb up a level. After that, the extraction point would be three hundred meters away, give or take. He heard Ashin speak in Mando’a as he turned around the corner to the left. “Tion gar gai, beroya?” (What’s your name, Bounty Hunter?) So, she knew Mando’a! <You’re full of surprises, aren’t you?> He thought to himself as he stopped to look back at Ashin. He was surprised she could speak Mando'a fluently. The pronounciations and the sentence structure was spot on. He thought of revealing his name, but he knew revenge was a powerful drive for the Sith. She could come looking for him to take revenge. But then again, she was different. He was expecting her to attack him in the laboratory with a lightsaber, yet she came in quietly. Speaking of a lightsaber, he had not found the traditional weapon of the Sith or Jedi on her, or any weapons in the Laboratory from what he could see. Who was she, really? Was she truly a Sith Lord? Or did she lie to him? But who in their right mind identify themselves as a Sith Lord if they were not one? He would have to do some information gathering about her when they were out of here.

He thought it would be fair to reveal his name to her. If she truly was a Sith Lord and came looking for him for revenge, then well… so be it. As long as he was granted an honorable death.

He was about to reply to the detainee as he parted his lips to speak, but he heard a growl echoing through the sewers. He immediately turned towards the sound with his Westar-M5 raised. The growling grew in intensity, accompanied by the sound of something’s paws echoing in the sewers now. He then saw the beasts. There were three of them. Their size reminded him of the Katarn’s in Kashyyyk, but that was the only similarity between the two creatures. These things had sharp horns and long claws. He saw their triple rows of razor-sharp teeth as their maws opened, growling at him. He could not discern what their eye colors were, as they glowed in a green haze due to his night vision. They were very fast and managed to close distance very quickly. He could not react to their speed in time and shoot them. Though they abruptly stopped and began to circle around them. They were roughly four meters away from him and the detainee.

The larger beast was to his left, with the other two at the middle and towards his right. He would have to take out the lesser two beasts out of the fight first. They were eyeing the detainee. He needed her alive. In a quick action, his left hand reached for his left Kama holster to grab one of his A-180’s and point it to the beast in the middle while he pointed his Westar-M5 at the beast to the right. He knew he would not have the time to react to the attack of the larger beast when he opened fire, but he could take the heat.

He would hip fire with his rifle. He would be a little inaccurate due to the recoil, but that would not matter too much within this engagement range. [“Duck!”] He instructed Ashin as rapid blaster fire split the air when he opened fire at the two lesser beasts, accompanied with their shriek. The two beasts were convulsing on the ground, heavily wounded. He was about to turn his attention to the larger beast, but it leaped at him, knocking him to the ground face down. He lost the grip of his A-180 and his Westar-M5 as he fell. He felt the larger creature’s teeth pierce his backpack as it mangled him. He had armor plating between his flesh and the backpack, but if he did not do something to fend off the creature quickly, it could bite him through a gap between his armor plates. He released the clip buckles of his backpack, setting himself free from the beast. He rolled to his left on the ground and retrieved his vibro-knife from its scabbard with his left hand and jabbed it under the beast’s jaw. The creature let out a deafening shriek as a result, but it was relentless! It doubled its efforts as it came down lunging at him again. He was trying to get up, but he was knocked down to his back as the creature leaped at him once more. The creature tried to rip out his throat now. He placed his left vambrace between him and its maw. The beast bit down hard at him. He could feel the pressure building up on his vambrace. He felt a painful sting at the unarmored upper section of his forearm. He winced from the pain as he grunted. He reached for the grip of his other A-180 on his right Kama holster with his right hand. He held his blaster pistol under the creature’s chin and fired rapidly after unholstering the blaster. His left arm was freed now, as the beast leaped back, howling in pain and anger. He raised his left vambrace at the creature and unleashed his flamethrower at the creature. His flamethrower came to life as it spewed flames at the beast, lighting up the sewers. He squinted his eyes as the light from the flames were intensified due to his night vision. The night vision automatically decreased its brightness to accommodate the bright flames, but it still was not enough. He turned off the flamethrower to see the creature as he got up, leaning against the wall behind him. But the larger beast was no longer in his sight lines.

The two lesser beasts remained, however. Convulsing on the ground helplessly. Blaster shots echoed through the sewers as he double tapped both, putting them out of their misery. He took the blaster pistol he lost grip of from the ground and holstered both of his pistols. His Westar-M5 was still slinged on him.

He checked the severity of his wound as he turned off his night vision. The light from the Orange Hi-Chemlight revealed the laceration. It was not so deep, but he had a hemorrhage he would need to control. The creature’s bite nicked his Ulnar Artery. He ripped the clothing by his upper forearm that was tattered by the creature to see the wound better. Afterwards, he retrieved a Hemosponge and a Field Cauterizer from his destroyed ECM-598 Backpack. He used the Hemosponge to soak up the blood so he could see better into the wound, minimizing visual distractions. Later, he used the Field Cauterizer to both disinfect and close the wound shut. He winced from the pain, letting out a slight groan as he closed up the nicked artery and the laceration afterwards. He took a Bacta Patch from his IFAK and wrapped the now closed wound. He was still in some moderate pain, but he could handle it.

Spoiler: Mood Setter

He turned his attention to the detainee now. He made a move to help the detainee get back up on her feet but he paused as his HUD pinged him and brought up footage from the live feed. He noticed it was a recorded footage, not the actual live feed. He saw the probe droid fall to the ground after being struck by something from the droid’s perspective. He saw multiple human-like silhouettes run past the droid before the footage ended. <Sithspawns. Great.> The probe was destroyed a few moments ago now. The exact location the probe went down was in his path, close to the junction he would have to take to go one level up. They had to move faster now.

[“Time to go. We’ve got company!”] He spoke as he picked up the detainee to carry her over his left shoulder. She didn’t weigh that much as he easily lifted her up. They would move faster that way. He clutched the pistol grip of his Westar-M5 with his right hand and placed it close to his hip and broke into a sprint, with Ashin on his left shoulder. He activated his night vision as he started sprinting. He was holding her in place on his shoulder with his left arm, making sure she would not fall off as he sprinted. He vaulted over the large pipe jutting out of the ferroconcrete walls and continued his path.

He was not sure how many Sithspawns he would face, but he would find out soon enough. If he could run fast enough, he could potentially reach the junction faster than them and engage them there, creating a choke point. If they were bunched up too close together he could potentially finish off or slow them down, using one of his Incendiary Grenades.

 

[Ashin Cardé Varanin]

Being carried over a gigantic young Mando's shoulder had never ranked among Ashin's life goals or fantasies. But - speaking of fantasies - she wanted to retain the gossamer illusion that she couldn't melt the zip-ties on her wrists or just plain Dark Lord of the Sith her way past the Tuk'ata. Seeing what her captor was made of was a priority; seeing if he'd tire was another one; and he didn't disappoint. She could bear with some indignity to achieve her goals. That was the hard part of 'my chains are broken,' when the victory looked like biding one's time. While she'd never had much interest in Darth Bane she could respect his reinterpretation of success.

All that to say, there were sound philosophical and tactical reasons to be carried over the shoulder of said gigantic Mando like a jumbo family pack of toilet paper.

Kranak Vizsla Eldritch Voices

 

[Placeholder 25346357]

Coruscant, level 808
Kranak Vizsla | Ashin Cardé Varanin
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Clawing hands scratched against the walls of the sewers to let their prey know they were coming. Fear made the meat taste better. Their prey had been weakened by the wolves. The pale beings dressed in rags, with sunken eyes and sharp teeth, more than a normal human should have. They were a testament to the nightmare of lower Coruscant, and what a fate worse than death looked like. They carried old blaster pistols and metal pipes. The howling of a Tuk'ata was bearable, normal even. The howling of one of these ghouls would chill the blood of any sentient in an instant.

Their inhuman screeching reverberated through the sewer tunnels, reaching the ears of their prey only moments before they beset them. They unleashed their blaster fire in all different directions around the mando, unfamiliar with the concept of aiming. The ghoulish people carrying melee weapons shrieked as they charged forward. Their skin was tight over their bony frames, and their run was awkward as if they couldn't fully utilize their legs.

When they swung their piping, they made certain not to hit the Sith Lord slung over their prey's shoulder. They did not understand why, but they felt the dark side emanating from her. No matter how hard they beat the mandalorian with their pipes, the weaker metal always bent while the beskar remained like it was untouched.

They did not understand the futility of theit attack. They only knew that underneath the armour was their next meal, and they were determined to crack it open.

 

[Kranak Vizsla]

Location: Coruscant, Level 808, Sewers.
Local Time: 20:23
Date: -DATA CORRUPTED-
Objective: Extract the Bounty out of Level 808 Sewers
Equipment: See Character Bio
Tags: Ashin Cardé Varanin | Eldritch Voices



The sound of something scratching at the walls echoed through the sewers, accompanied with an eerie screech. It was coming from up ahead, about fifty meters from the front. The junction was barely in sight. He had limited sightlines from this angle, but nevertheless he saw movement at the other end of the junction. The inhuman screeching increased in its intensity as the Sithspawn rushed at him. He could not make out how many they were. He assumed there were around fifteen of them, give or take. He could see their appearance from here. They were shells of their former selves. They wore tattered, dirty rags. Their eyes glowed menacingly in a green haze from his night vision.

They were coming in real fast. They were armed with several weapons. Some of them had pipes they ripped off from the ferroconcrete walls and some of them had blasters, their conditions in a bad shape. They looked like they came straight out of a horror holomovie. His heart was beating rapidly now. It was an eerie sight. This was a fate worse than death. [“That’s not right.”] He muttered to himself as he raised his Westar-M5 at the ghoulish wave rushing at him. They had closed the distance fast. He could not get to the junction in time to set up an ambush. They were within ten meters range now. He squeezed the trigger, firing from the hip with one hand at the Sithspawn. Some of them dropped down unmoving or convulsing as they got hit from the salvo. But some kept coming at him despite taking hits. The ones with the blasters were firing rapidly at them, but their shots barely came close to him, aside from the occasional hit to his chest plate. Beskar be praised, their shots bounced off from his armor and hit the ceiling as he was shot. They were too inaccurate to land a shot between the gaps of his armor plate.

His rifle made a distinctive sound as he fired the next salvo. It indicated that he was about to run dry with at least a dozen Sithspawns infront of him! [“Chit!”] he yelled as he let go of the grip of his rifle. It dangled tightly on his chest thanks to his rifle sling. He reached for his A-180 on the right Kama holster but he was unable to do so as the ghoulish wave hit him. He saw them rushing towards him, so he had time to assume the appropriate stance to not get knocked over. The ghouls bludgeoned him with the pipes almost non-stop. They hit hard, but not hard enough to crack his bones. It was unnerving though. The clanging of iron hitting his beskar echoed through the sewers, adding up to the irritation. He had to carve his way through. He reached for his Tactical Hatchet tucked under his War Belt and unholstered it as he punched one of the Sithspawn that was blocking him. He swung his hatchet from left to right in a high arc. The cutting edge of his hatchet came down hard at two Sithspawns to his front and right. Both of them fell to the ground unmoving as their heads rolled on the ground, decapitated. He was covered in their jet black blood now. He would continue to hack his way through them, with blaster bolts flying overhead, kicking dust and debris as they hit the ferroconcrete walls.

 

[Ashin Cardé Varanin]

Of all the sins that the One Sith had perpetrated - and there'd been one or two - the one that stuck in Ashin's craw was their gleeful penchant for alchemizing sapients into mindless ravers. Both sides of her hated it. The Sith side considered it a stupid waste. The part that still had a glimmer of conscience from time to time just knew it was needless monstrousness, evil for evil's sake.

None of that changed the necessity of putting these former people down, of course. It just meant they needed to die quickly.

They weren't attacking her. They focused instead on Kranak Vizsla , who was giving his all and making a dent. He'd tear them down soon enough, and maybe tire himself out. Ashin, no longer on the Mando dervish's shoulder, hung back and watched the fight.

In theory, by one means or another, she could just try to leave. But that seemed craven, contemptible, and if she held true to one principle it was that: don't be something you despise.

She wrapped herself in a body-hugging layer of Force protection, her overriding specialty. The heavy zip-tie snapped away from her wrists. The Dark Side thrummed in her, and she deeply desired to get in there and kill. Instead she spoke a word in a high-priestly dialect of ur-Kittat, and threw her full Sith authority into it.

The remaining Sithspawn scattered like leaves in a hurricane, leaving her and Kranak alone.