The dead
terrified Rann. They were a constant reminder of his darkest moments and the inevitable embraced that awaited every living thing.
Well,
almost every living thing.
There were more than a couple exceptions to that rule, that law of nature. Whether they died and returned, or never died at all, they circumvented that supposedly unavoidable end.
And that was wrong. Everything had to die. And once it died? It stayed dead. That was the way it was meant to be. That’s the way it should always be. And that’s the way Rann would make it. So when he was given the opportunity to strike into the Netherworld itself? He couldn’t pass it up. A state sanctioned mission to venture into hell itself. Despite his misgivings and fear at the prospect of dealing with more revenants, shades, ghosts or otherwise undead, Rann was among the first to volunteer.
He
knew that the safest hands were his own. He also knew that there were those who would use this opportunity to bring back those who were, are, and should remain dead. And he knew he would stop them.
What’s dead stays dead.
He told himself that like a mantra. He believed it on Naalol, he had to here. Now. But now he had even more of a righteous purpose.
He would destroy the Netherworld. The dead should not be afforded the chance at a life after death. All that should await was the void. And while this prospect terrified Rann, he still fervently believed it the proper course, to his dismay. Were the dead allowed a place that, apparently, was able to be accessed and traveled to, they could ‘escape’ back into the worlds of the living. It was because of this that Rann made the perhaps extreme nuclear decision to try to wipe it off the map.
If even a single soul
could return to life because of the Nether, then
no soul should be allowed to exist there.
With his goal in mind, Rann joined his former Master
Kyyrk
in establishing a beachhead for further incursions.Voph was a curious case. He had come here before and had left…changed. Visibly so. Rann wasn’t sure how he fit into the dead/not dead dichotomy, so was unclear with how to treat Voph. Yet from what he did know, Voph shared his goal somewhat of at least containing the threats from the Nether. That was a start.
Voph had led a small fire team ahead as a vanguard, leaving from the forward operating base first with Rann and a cadre of Battle Droids following close behind, with laborers and Confederate engineers following closely behind them. Upon materializing into the Land of the Dead, Rann took a double take. Examining his surroundings, he was quite surprised to note how…not hellish it was. It seemed as if this was a landscape any planet could have. No mountains of skulls, rivers of blood, lava hurricanes or big horned demons afoot. Not
yet at least.
With their immediate surroundings secured, Rann set his engineers to work. The Science Nerds would work to make this place a camp. But his Engineers would make it a
Fortress. Someplace to fall back to that could hold off against more than a rampaging Drexl. But this was a task he would have to entrust to them and the Logistic team.
“This is Thress. Initial defenses have been placed. Homebase is secured…ish. I’m taking a group of droids into the brush nearby. Hopefully whatever terrors that lurk find metal to be unappetizing.”
Yeah great. I’d be the only snack then. he thought as he ordered his droids to advance, and afterwards he pinged his comms to transmit a private message.
“Voph, Rann. Do me a favor. Keep any signs of….her. To yourself.”
He was sure Voph would know who exactly he meant. The one thing that could turn a heroic mission to save the galaxy into a selfish one of rescue. And damnation for them all. They had a job to do.
He had a job to do.
And no one. Alive
or dead would get in Ranns way.