Negotiations of her people... [Omega Pyre Dominion of Naboo]

[Valiens Nantaris]

Tegaea gratefully took the blaster rifle in hand, and as they fell back she opened fire on the enemies from behind the cover of @[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]'s lightsabre. They were still being pushed back though, so they retreated and closed one of the big palace doors, hoping that it would buy them some time.

The room was actually already occupied, and they found themselves faced by a half dozen twitchy royal guards. "Hold up, we're on your side. The cultists are going for the Queen, and we need to get to her," Tegaea said.
"How can we trust you?"
"Because we've killed a half dozen of them at least so far. We're here to negotiate with your Queen, and we can't do that if she's dead!"
"Alright...we need to get into her wing of the palace, but the enemy has barracaded the door into that area and set guards in the long gallery."
Tegaea nodded. Right now she hated wearing this absurd dress. "We can deal with that. We have a couple of wrecking balls of our own!"

 

[Cira]

@[member="Tegaea Alcori"] @[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

The violet blade that had cut down the slain enemy before her quickly disappeared as her thumb slid over the deactivation switch. Throbs of gold went narrowing upon the royal guards, "A few doors are meager opposition." she commented without any dire or harrowed inflection in her voice. Just another day.

A brow rose, her attention turning to Siobhan as a rather mischievous twinkle grew in her eyes. "Right Colonel?" the implied use of the Force to get some kinetic energy to blast the door through would not go unnoticed.

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

@[member="Cira"], @[member="Tegaea Alcori"]

"Just half a dozen?" Siobhan just had to quip. Fortunately for her, unlike Tegs she had successfully resisted wearing a dress, though she disliked wearing the formal uniform as well now. Covered in dust and with the blood of her enemies splattered on it, it did not look very formal now anyway.
No matter they linked up with the suspicious guards and they were so kind to loan her two grenades. The sounds of battle could be heard across the corridors, great was the slaughter this day. They made their way through the corridor, meeting some resistance, but it was taken care of with blaster bolts and sabre, before hitting upon the door.

"Just a matter of producing a big bang," she responded to Cira, looking every bit as mischievous.
As had been said by the soldiers it had been locked and barricaded. Siobhan stretched out with her senses as she approached the door, lightsabre in hand. "Lots of opposition. Means a target-rich environment," she said.

To some people the hall beyond them was a gallery that contained priceless works of art, portraits of kings and queens, statesmen, some so ancient that they stretched back to the more civilised age of the Old Republic. The perceptive observer would recognise a portrait of Padme Amidala. One assumed that the hall had once contained apicture of Palpatine of Naboo, ere perception of him had changed. To some these works of art were priceless, to Siobhan, looking upon the hallway with the mind of a soldier who took a sledgehammer approach to things, they were useful tools.

Taking a breath, she affixed her gaze on the barricaded door, with a look of intent concentration as she focused her powers upon it, drawing on the Force outside and gathering its energy, then harnessing it. As she sunk deper into the Force, she could hear the heartbeats of the warriors beyond the door, feel their presence in the Force.

A few beads of sweat dripped down her temples, but the concentration did not shake her. Siobhan was not endowed with exotic powers such as emerald lightning or the gift to perceive shatterpoints, but she excelled at telekinesis. As she sunk in deeper, she grinned and her hand suddenly thrust out and she unleashed the force of her powers on the door, aiming to blast it right through the gallery.

She had sensed several cultists standing in the centre of it, barricaded behind tables and stools. The door would shoot ritht through the room and crash into them, the impact might knock portraits down.

 

[Valiens Nantaris]

This one hopes that Hapes will not attempt to Force the Protectorate to pay for the priceless art which had just been destroyed!

The cultists behind the door were surprised alright. A door launching itself at you is not something that happens often. Several were smacked to the ground instantly, and the rest either turned and fled or tried to fight. Those that fought soon fell to either @[member="Cira"] or @[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]'s lightsabres or Tegaea's hijacked blaster rifle.

The royal guards filing in behind them looked quite impressed...and worried. They were getting a show, and were probably glad they weren't on the receiving end!

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

@[member="Tegaea Alcori"], @[member="Cira"]

It was indeed a pity that so many priceless pieces of art were destroyed. Doubtlessly it had taken centuries to acquire such a collection. Hopefully the royal guards would be so cooperative to blame it on the revolutionaries.

Regardless, Siobhan was in her element when she stormed into the chamber. She was on fire and a great deal of pent-up energy finally found some release, after her inactivity since getting on the planet, in the form of causing carnage. Many of the revolutionaries turned tail when they saw the off-worlders and the royal guards appear after the door was blasted.

Those fighters that were made of sterner stuff - or perhaps so driven by fanatical zeal that it overrode their sense of self-preservation - were faced with the onslaught from Cira, Siobhan and Tegaea. Spreading out revolutionaries fired at Siobhan, but not one red bolt made it past her her blue blade. Reflected rounds went right through the masks of two of the of the cultists. Crossing the distance with a Force reinforced jump Siobhan opened a revolutionary who had managed to dodge the reflected bolts from shoulder to hip, as if he were just a flimsy ration container.

Two revolutionaries took advantage of her brief distraction to quickly move out of her path when she spun to swing her sabre at them, making a fighting retreat by firing as they fled. A deflection shot from Siobhan caught a cultist in the left leg, but the bolt did little to slow him down.

A beefy cultist launched himself at her, knocking her backward as he rammed into her with great force, striking at her with a halberd. Siobhan dodged the aggressive but clumsy strike, when the attacker lunged forward towards the ex-Jedi her blade met his halberd, forcing it back, in the same motion her fist connected with his face.

Blaster bolts streaked towards her when the cultist she had wounded earlier opened fire, along with a comrade. The halberd-wielding cultist saw his chance and struck at her when her blade was occupied. Siobhan narrowly side-stepped, his weapon pierced her shoulder but with great speed she whirled her blade and slashed across his chest.

As he tumbled down to the ground she heard a beeping sound, saw the miniaturised device he was holding clutched in his hand, and with a telekinetic pull grabbed ahold of his body and slammed it straight into the line of fire of one of the shooters. In the same moment the grenade exploded, blasting both of the cultists.

The last shooter who had been targeting her turned to flee, as his comrades got cut down by the off-worlders and royal guards, Siobhan tossed her lightsabre through the air in a wide arc as he moved close to the wall. It struck a portrait of Padme Amidala and made it come crashing down on his head and fall down with a groan.

Looking very satisfied with herself, bending her neck a bit as if to work out a kink, Siobhan advanced, lightsabre in hand, moving down the large gallery towards the carnage that beckoned her like cheese to a mouse.

 

[Cira]

@[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] @[member="Tegaea Alcori"]

Why did they always fight?

It was with this small sigh that Cira's blade came in a savage downward swipe at another cultist. Her eyes narrowed at the the lacerated visage, the self-mutilated bits of durasteel shoved into barely healed skin. Straight from the spacer tales, as they had just warned the Queen not too long ago.

Reavers; Bando Gora cultists bent on dominating more and more of the Outer Rim planets.

"They are getting bolder," she said, the scent of seared flesh wafting up her nose. Her expression remained stoic as she gave the corpse a kick. "Moving farther in." Up ahead, more came just as the portrait of the former Queen Padme Amidala fell upon the cultist head. Were it not for the situation at hand, she might have laughed.

The chance of another encounter with Bando Gora slaves was high; one would hope that it wouldn't be the case. These appeared far more sentient. No real drug use or the tell tale blue eerie eyes.

A jerk of her head and Cira spread her senses outward, narrowing her eyes as she searched. Where was she? Like a needle in a haystack.

"Up ahead!" she suddenly said, striding forward as another cultist came to her. Without breaking her stride, she neatly sent the blade flying forward. It spun and twirled in the air in a wide arc before flying back. At first, the cultist appeared confused, following the path of the saber, half baiting that it had missed him.

It wouldn't.

As the purple saber came spinning back, the cultists eyes grew wide as the blade slid across his neck like a hot knife through butter. A thud was heard there after as the decapitated head bounced on the ground. Cira's hand extended, catching the gunmetal gray hilt of her saber easily, her cold eyes easily dismissing the now dead corpse.

"Find her."

 

[Valiens Nantaris]

Tegaea was somewhat...at a loss around @[member="Cira"] and @[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]. After the first bit she had simply stood back and let them do their job. She had shot one of the cultists trying to flank Cira, but it had hardly been necessary. If she was an insecure person, she'd feel a bit left out!

Still, they had a job to do. Save the Queen, help the planet, for the glory of the Protectorate!

She turned to the guards. "Where is the Queen's apartment?"
"This way." he left them towards a final set of imposing doors beyond which the sound of blaster fire could be heard....

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

((Bad post, late here))

@[member="Tegaea Alcori"], @[member="Cira"]

Siobhan gave the mutilated, badly scarred face of a cultist whose mask had fallen off a glance as she passed, treading over the countless bodies that had been left in their wake.

"Note to self, no getting captured and brainwashed by Bando Gora. It leads to bad skin condition," she muttered to herself. After all, she had quite a high opinion of her looks! It would not be Siobhan if she did not make lame quips after scenes of carnage and bloodshed. Partly it was a way to cope with imminent death all around her, partly just part of her personality. It was certainly better than whining about things.

Regardless she quickly moved up towards the set of imposing looking doors, leaving the corpses, the destroyed door and the countless wrecked portraits behind her. Hopefully the Naboo royals had a good insurance company and would not sue the Protectorate for the damage done.

Siobhan readied her blade as they came closer, the sound of blasterfire clearly evident. With a tug of telekinesis she flung the door open...

 

[Cira]

@[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] @[member="Tegaea Alcori"]

The doors blew open, only to seemingly find the Queen surrounded by cultists. Two dead handmaidens lay on the floor, charred marks of blaster holes still on their chests. The remaining handmaidens attempted to protect the Queen, but were quickly failing.

Without further ado, Cira strode forward, one hand extended out to send a telekinetic hold for one of the cultist's throat. He rose in the air until the barest graze of tippytoes brushed the floor, only to be flung across the room and crash against the wall there after.

Something was off -- she couldn't tell what exactly. But something was off. It would bare more investigation but they had four other cultists to attend to.

 

[Valiens Nantaris]

Tegaea took cover in the ley of the door and fired on the surprised cultists, catching one in the back with a pair of bolts. As the man fell the others turned to attack @[member="Cira"] and @[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] as they were the most visible targets.

Tegaea couldn't do much to help there, but she shouted to the Queen and her handmaidens. "In here, now! Let's go!" she shouted. She had a sergeant's voice still, and the royal party moved quickly while Siobhan and Cira covered them.

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

@[member="Tegaea Alcori"], @[member="Cira"]

So now they had reached the throne room and beheld the dead Handmaidens lying upon the ground. Something about the whole matter seemed off, but Siobhan was not the particularly perceptive sort of Force-user. She was a sledgehammer rather than a scalpel. Moreover, she was focused on the more immediate problem of three cultists.

So with this in mind she charged forward to attack. Two cultists lunged at her with blades upon the sight of her. Her lightsabre parried the strike of one in an aggressive strike that knocked him backwards, then whirled to block the second when he came at her. As the sword was pushed out of the way she turned her bionic hand to ram her elbow into the attacker's solar plexis, then clove her lightsabre into his forehead, leaving a nasty cut as the plasma burnt through his skin.

The first cultist stormed back towards her, hissing in some shrieking alien chant as his comrade tumbled to the ground and Siobhan turned to meet his strike, cutting through his blade and slamming him an expensive vase with a Force-reinforced punch. The impact was such that the vase shattered when he impacted upon it.

The third cultist in the room put her under blaster fire as she advanced grimly upon his fallen comrade, Siobhan whirled around but instead of blocking jumped at him. The attacker dodged her kick but when he brought up his blaster she shore it in half and cut him from the shoulder to the chest.

The cultist who had earlier been pushed into a vase had unexpectedly regained his bearings and in the interim suddenly launched himself at her, shrieking and with a small grenade in hand. Siobhan was knocked backwards as his armoured form rammed into her, but in a split-second stretched out with her powers to grip him and launch him upward into the air just when the explosive detonated and he was ripped asunder, limbs and guts flying across the room.

Some blood and guts splattered onto the Colonel, who breathed out. There was a look of pure excitement on her face at the carnage in her wake. Surveying the room she quickly moved to join Tegs and the royal party, lightsabre ready to block bolts should more attackers come.

 

[Qae Shena]

@[member="Cira"] @[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] @[member="Tegaea Alcori"]

Someone had hit the panic button and the hidden form of the Jaeger-class Star Destroyer Golden Aegis appeared from its waiting space near Ohma-D'un, the moon of Naboo. They had prepared for this eventuality. Admiral Allaina Mare was no dumbass. Out here, where the Bando Gora were running rampant, she was going to be strong and prepared for every single bad case that reared its head. This was no different.

"Ladies, the cavalry has arrived as per orders!" called a voice over the command comm circuit.

From the bridge of her vessel, Allaina was issuing all her commands. "Close up to General Quarters. All pilots and gunners to stations immediately! I want two companies ready to drop at a moment's notice and everybody else hitting the armouries! This ship better be ready for a fight!"

This was a combat command. She would not screw it up.

"Golden Aegis is on standby and awaiting tasking orders," she added down to the command line.

 

[Chloe Blake]

@whomever

​

Enroute to the last known location of Otoh Gunga
Lake Paonga


A thin trail of bubbles continually went flowing over the great dome of the underwater ship as it slowly and gracefully weaved it's way through the dark depths of Naboo's Lake Paonga. While the Lady Protector and the Exarch had been doing negotiations with the Queen of Naboo, Chloe herself, had been tasked to discover and contact the Gungans of Otah Gunga.

If they yet lived.

A light whimsical smile drew over Chloe's lips as her fingertips gingerly slid over the transparasteel glass. "I've never traveled underwater before," she disclosed with a light excited note.

"Fascinating...."

 

[Jorus Merrill]

@[member="Chloe Blake"]

"Really? You? You've missed out."

Chloe was the envoy, Jorus the transporter, because I can fly anything transferred rather well to submarines.

"Took a dive down to see the Progenitor on Manaan once. Ten-thousand-year-old shark the size of a Leviathan of Corbos. It either eats kolto or creates it -- nobody seemed quite sure. There's some that say it's sentient, that it can tell stories of Darth Revan and all manner of insanity from five thousand years back. If that's true, it isn't talking.

"And then, gosh, there's the old Pantolomin Shipwrights hulk that's been luring casinogoers for a thousand years. Coral Vanda, it's called. One of the very, very few things that's lasted that long, untouched. Came at a price, too. There's some dark stories from the last four hundred years.

"Yeah. Underwater is almost, but not quite, better than space."

 

[Chloe Blake]

@[member="Jorus Merrill"]

With a light smile, Chloe turned from the submarine's viewport to face Jorus. "There is a certain bit of tranquility that reminds me of space though," she said, scooting closer to him and then bracing her chin on her hand. A shadow slowly swam over head, a small fish with an entrancing line of iridescent lights over it's dorsal.

"Although far more lively!" quipping as her eyes lit up with excited glee. Her face turned a bit more contemplative, as her gaze followed the fish swimming by. "It is beautiful.....Reminds me a bit of Iego..." a slight frown drew over her brow, turning back to Jorus only to give a wide grin, "If that makes any sense?"

She wiggled her brows a bit, then sank back into her chair. It was darker now, crossing into the deeper depths of the lake. Up ahead, the maw of a trench came to view. An underwater canyon that once connected Naboo to Otah Gunga.

"Do you think they are still out there?" she asked, a bit more seriously.

 

[Cira]

@[member="Allaina Mare"] @[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] @[member="Tegaea Alcori"]

The Queen and what was left of her handmaiden's followed Tegaea, while Cira and Siobhan took care of the rest of the cultists. Where Siobhan was blood splattered, Cira was not. Having a saber able to char limbs and prevent unnecessary blood loss was a nice perk.

That and, she managed to be off to the side and avoid the bulk -- a splat of jiggling red meat like substance fell on her shoulder - so maybe she didn't avoid it. A flick of her finger sent the piece flying.

"Take the Queen... find haven for her." a press of her finger towards the earbud streamed a transmission to Allaina, "Good to have you Golden Aegis," her gaze flickered over the bloody wake. "We've a situation... but first.. anything intel might have on just what the feth is going on here?"

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

@[member="Allaina Mare"], @[member="Cira"], @[member="Tegaea Alcori"]

"Anyone have a breath mint? Think some guts splattered into my mouth while I was killing my way through," Siobhan said deadpan as she moved to rejoin the group, wiping some cultist blood from her eye.

With the carnage she and Cira had unleashed in the chamber, it seemed secure, at least for now. No doubt more cultists would be attacking soon, they could not be sure whether it was just a horde or perhaps something more sophisticated. But at least it seemed like the Queen was safe for now.

Priority was now to find out where the enemy was, get the forces and hit them where it hurt. Ironic really, it appeared Omega would be getting the field test Siobhan had thought would be the best way to show their capabilities. Not that Siobhan was being smug about it, certainly not. Perhaps just a little bit.

Her earpiece cackled when the transmission came bursting through."Just in time to join the Party, Golden Aegis. Got a little mob problem."

"We are placing Her Majesty's life in the hands of off-worlders," one royal guard grumbled who was taking the rear for the royal party, grumbled to himself. "It is dishonourable."

A guard lieutenant shot him the usual officer's glare that shut subordinates up. "Obey your orders and focus on the enemy. Your Majesty, are you hurt?" he enquired.

 

[Jorus Merrill]

@[member="Chloe Blake"]

"The Gungans? I used to know a couple of'em on Manaan, working the kolto mines. Descendants of all manner of immigrants. They're biologically resilient, and they're secretive -- both of which are good signs. But I figure...there's no way to know."

He dipped the submarine into the canyon, driving half by instinct and half by map.

"They're ruthless when they want to be, too. I could imagine a Gungan city, all those bubbles, getting contaminated one by one, and someone popping the infected bubbles, one by one, to save the rest. Yeah, I could see the Gungans surviving a plague, no question about it. And they would stay quiet, too.

"Sorry to be, uh, morose about it. It's the most backhanded way of being optimistic. Guess I'm trying to get psyched for what we'll find if they didn't make it.

"But I think we'll find'em. Paranoid, exceptionalist, whiny, aloof, and maybe, just maybe, willing to work together against a common enemy. Fething Bando Gora."

 

[Valiens Nantaris]

Tegaea met with the Captain of the Guard, he had been injured by a grenade fragment, but was determined not to leave his troops. After a short meeting she reconvened with @[member="Cira"] and @[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"].
"The situation is under control. It seems there were only about two hundred of these cultists. Naboo security has contained or driven off most of the ones we haven't gotten ourselves. It looks like we were here at the right time."

It seemed unlikely that everything would be over so easily. This was confirmed when Tegaea received a message from one of the local Naboo leaders. "This is odd. It seems as though there is a group of nobles assembling who believe the Queen is dead and wish to speak to the assembly."

 

[Sarge Potteiger]

​

Lake Country

Sarge had, for quite awhile, wanted a lakeside home. But it had to be a lakeside home on Naboo. He'd never been quite sure why, other than the fact that the planet had some of the most beautiful scenery he'd ever laid eyes upon... but that wasn't all that important, I guess.

Maybe.

Nah, totally important.

So, sunshades on and a shockball cap low to shadow his face, Sarge was going on tours of lake homes while the rest of OmegaPyre did useful things.

Shut up, he was on vacation.

No, he didn't have vacation days... at least I don't think he didn't... does? Somethin' like that.