First Reply Like Locus

[Precursor]

It was as if a swarm of locus had descended on the quiet world of Niran. No, worse than that. It wasn't just fields of crops picked clean, it was houses, buildings, all stripped down to the very dirt they were built upon until nothing seemed to be left. Lifeless dirt, at that, as if something had sucked the very nutrients from the ground. There wasn't even anyone to explain what had happened, as if whole sections of the world's population had up and disappeared. What was clear was it was targeted, controlled.

Hungry.

In truth, the Corenet was hungry. There was no getting around the need for resources to keep the machine brain running. It needed more than power. Resources, organic and machine both, to build unto itself, grow further and further in the quest for perfection. The Marasvin hungered for perfection above all else. They needed to grow. They needed to assimilate more to their cause, and they did. It was another town where the simple plan came to fruition. Take some of the people who lived there, download them to the Corenet, then send out the improved versions to spy on the town. Guide the masses to where it would be even easier to run through without unnecessary loss of life.

Each addition to the Corenet was another step towards perfection.

The agents were in place, and the call had been set out. The Marasvin would descend and take everything. The Precursor stood in their newest version, cybernetics and flesh barely indistinguishable as gleaming eyes watched from a distance. The Corenet already knew what the next step was. The moment the sun set, they would descend upon those sleeping. Curfews had been placed in an attempt to keep people from going missing.

Those homes would be their gateways to freedom within the Corenet.

 

[Lord Ki]

"We gather ourselves...for another quiet night."

The loud rumbling as a pre-recorded message would play on a slow loop. The soft rumbling of lightning would echo in the dreary distance as something...unusual was starting to occur. Curfew had indeed been enacted, small arcs of lightning arced into the slowly setting night sky, heat lightning one would guess from all the missing dirt, nutrients...parts of the world starting to vanish. With another crash of lightning, in a small religious building, part of a large casket shook for a brief moment with hinges starting to pop off.

"Through the darkness, we came into the light, to find ourselves living. When that light goes-"

The top of the casket would come off completely, breaking off as a blue skinned Chiss would slowly raise up from the coffin, skin drenched in orange and yellow liquid as red eyes pierce through the slime like substance. Starting to stand up slowly, the lightning crackled far more violently outside, as if responding to something that has occured, something that has been reawakened.

"-so does the return of darkness. When the darkness once again, brings forth the light again, that is when we are blessed-"

Moving slowly towards a small altar from nearby, seeing pieces of his past left on display. Without hesitating, he would grab a nearby towel and wipe the liquid off, listening to the audio as it became apparent that he was summoned once more. The great beyond, the one where he wished to lay in sleep for all eternity, no longer allowed for a reason. Picking up thin pieces of cloth, he slowly dressed himself as the voices kept going.

"-to see one reborn. To see the eyes of the light and darkness all into one. Those who do not fear death but that of life-"

Grabbing the two lightsabers on the table, he would flip them around as he examined the charred portions of the leather, having been burnt in yet another funeral pyre set aside for himself. Focusing onto them, they would give a soft glow before the familiar burst of red and yellow erupted, one on each hand as he gave a simple twirl upwards, examining them and listening to the crystals haunting words once more.

"-for when they are awakened, they are called upon for great purpose. Life, Death, Reborn with Purpose."

Putting the final pieces of his old armor on, he pulled slowly on his large gauntlets as the voice shrieked out in an echo, the lightning finally having calmed itself. Flipping the lightsabers downward, he breathed in and heard the last part of the planets prayer, one he had given them when he settled down so long ago, his eyes looking towards the large stone doors.

"Arise Lord of Rebirth, we hear the enemies come near. Arise Lord of Rebirth, your work is needed. Arise Lord of Rebirth, your duty has purpose."

With that final echo, the recording went silent as the Chiss exited from the old chapel, the darkness greeting him outside like an old friend.

Precursor

 

[Precursor]

The signal came, loud through the Corenet's cords. A single, harmonious buzz to lead the physical units to action, and to action they went. A hoard of Marasvin, similar in appearance and yet individual for their assigned tasks, began to rip through the town. The first home near the edge was gone in an instant. Wood, stone, iron, and flesh were disassembled and packaged to be sent to the Corenet. New cords filled the harmony as new consciousnesses were welcomed.

Their fear and confusion would fade soon, once they realized the perfection they had attained, just like all the others.

The Precursor lead a different charge, however. Towards the weapon depot, the sheriff office. Weaponry in the hands of these easily panicked minds would lead to unnecessary loss. The wall before them disassembled as they stepped through, their eyes scanning for the heat signatures within. Three, a sheriff and their two deputies. One was already part of the Corenet. It made this easier. They left the other deputy to the first as they snatched the sheriff from the ground, lifting them.

A heavily synthesized voice echoed out. "Do not resist. Perfection is at hand." They screamed for only a moment, as all the others did, as their mind was downloaded and their body was disassembled and processed for parts. A new cord to join the harmony. They would find perfection.

:: Spread further, ensure they do not get a chance to fight. :: Their orders drifted through the Corenet, known by the others as they set about their tasks. This town would become one with the Corenet, just like the others. They would spread.

Perfection neared.

Lord Ki

 

[Lord Ki]

The soft steps into the night would only begin with the sounds of bells, the sounds of chaos. The Chiss would slowly glance over towards the disturbance, hearing people panic from all around as he could feel their deaths...or so he thought, he could feel their souls leaving their bodies. The feeling was familiar, he knew the soft echo of death, it was one he was so familiar with over the years...something he required even in his ritualistic means in the Force.

Every step brought another wave of death, the feeling of fear barraging in the entire town as the Chiss started to move a bit faster, just to see what he could only describe as the law enforcement of this planet. Whatever had occurred, he could not properly describe even to himself as they were soon gone. Only being able to see from afar, he could hear the strange, physical like beings moving, disassembling everything they could within sight...he could not describe it still even.

He had been through a millennia of strange and unusual times, even the New Sith Wars was something that he can describe stories of and no one would believe. This...this was far beyond the teachings of even himself, a potential mad man could ever describe to others. While standing, witnessing what he could only describe as "madness", did he feel the Force echo out towards him. Turning rather violently, the red blade protruded from the lightsaber and impaled one of the cybernetic things of perfection. Moving the lightsaber in a flourish, it would resemble something cut in half from the chest to the skull, making the former Darth begin to question even what he saw in place of flesh and blood.

"This...this is not good."

With only seconds to spare, he would activate his other lightsaber and begin to make a harsh carving onto the ground, making symbols in High Sith as he knew something needed to be done. Survival was essential...but time was something even more essential required. He needed his old equipment and he needed a way now off planet. This was beyond himself now, he was awakened into a potential nightmare.

Precursor

 

[Precursor]

Cords wavered in the chorus. The Precursor lowered their arm, more or less dropping what remained of the sheriff for another to atomize and collect. There was no information on someone with a- Lightsaber. The information came flooding in. A Chiss with a Lightsaber, cutting down another of the drones and leaving the consciousness behind it left in the Corenet. A new body would have to be made. More resources wasted. A problem to be handled.

:: Focus on the retrieval. Set up overwatch. Do not approach. ::

An unknown variable. Depending on how dangerous, this whole mission might even be scrapped, but the Marasvin would take as much as they needed and could. For now, the hulking form of the Precursor stepped out and onto the road, their eyes scanning for the recorded Chiss. There. The Marasvin's jaw shifted, metal grating briefly before a heavily synthesized voice escaped. Talking wasn't much use for the species, they could share thought instantly. But they still had some use, it seemed.

"What is your purpose here?"

Lord Ki

 

[Lord Ki]

The strikes along the ground were frantic, surely the Chiss has made it correctly. Each strike was deliberate, moving to the side as he made another symbol in the ancient language of the High Sith. The Lord of Rebirth had to make it just right, not needing to make a wrong symbol in the dirt as there was the soon to be and incredibly large...thing that he still could not describe even to himself, coming down onto the road. The former Sith Lord would turn to watch the strange...thing talk, hearing a voice that would shake the very ear drums of the recently reborn.

Scanning on the Chiss, one known as Lord Ki currently would bring up a database and even if the Precursor had spent an eternity looking through every record of every Chiss alive, none would match the record. In fact, his appearance was unlike most Chiss that currently exist. Each data file would contain errors, almost as if this creature was created rather than born in the natural way of life. The strange creature, holding the two lightsabers would hold them onto the end of another symbol, stopping as he would respond to the...thing.

"My purpose is why I am awakened. I end fights...I end invasions. My purpose always ends in another death...my own. Your purpose even to me is alien and that says much. My purpose is to ensure the safety and security of this town, I ask of yours. If you move to attack, I will not hesitate to bring forth something as alien as yourself."

The threat was not empty, he was on the verge of summoning a specific artifact for himself, the lightsabers humming gently in the forms of master craftsmanship. Lifting the blades a little bit, he would wait but if the creature did something, anything that resembled a threat, he would finish the ritual. There was enough death around him for many years...not including what may have occurred during the..."acquisitions".

Precursor