First Reply No More Cages

[The Fateful Storyteller]

G H OR M A N , O R B I T

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With the sudden collapse of the Galactic Alliance, a tragic fate that befallen countless worlds now in chaos and disarray. Countless systems now ripe for the taking by greater powers eager to seize up territory from the criminal underworld to Empires. Planets now vulnerable to raiders and slavers navigating freely without worry of an overarching government stepping in to hinder their plunder and operations. The Core was as vulnerable as ever with the shadow of the Galactic Empire cast over the ashes of the Alliance.​

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Aboard the prison ship, The Twilight Gladius, filled with unfortunate souls and dissidents slated to be delivered to the Dark Side Elite, maintained its course, readying itself for departure into hyperspace back to an Imperial detention center where its prisoners were likely to never see the light of day again. Unbeknownst to the crew however was an extra body that had stowed themselves away aboard their ship.​

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A stormtrooper moved along his hallway, peeking into the rayshielded cells to ensure the prisoners were locked away. The tooper quietly sighed to himself, bored with his assignment as it usually was very dull. There were sounds of struggle, a shout that quickly seemed to get stifled nearby that drew the trooper's attention, causing them to run over. As the soldier rounded the corner they would spot one of their comrades struggling to break free of a masked individual's arm wrapped around their neck, blankly staring at the stormtrooper, an empty vocoded voice muttering, "No more cages..." . ​

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The stormtooper immediately radioed the bridge, "We have an intruder on B-Deck, send backu-" The stormtrooper voice over the comms was replaced by the sound of blaster fire as he watched the intruder wrench their arm swiftly, snapping his comrade's neck as the body crumpled to the floor, opening fire. Klaxons began to blare as the halls were bathed in pulsing red; A vain attempt for what would become a bloody day for those involved.​

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What part would be yours to play in all this? An officer? A warden? A prisoner? A savior? ​

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What does fate and the Galaxy have in store for you?​

[ Open ]
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Spoiler

OOC:// This is a Sith encounter. How it pans out is entirely dependent on your actions, so if you don't fancy yourself a silver-tongued negotiator or working alongside Sith isn't your thing, expect a PVP combat encounter.

 

[Zuna Vobara]

G H OR M A N , O R B I T​

Zuna had cursed her captors from the bottom of her heart and with all hr passion. Again and again. The curse had given her strength during the questioning wqhich was just a sweet euphuism for torture at the hands of the bored officers that ran the preison ship.

Someone had denounced her as a darksider. That was not a problem for the Galactic Empirw. Being a darksider not under their control was.

Abducted from a filthy spaceport hotel room where she was stuck during the turmoil that followed the fall of the Galactic Alliance her interrogators had finally considered her harmless – and useless – enough to be ferried off to a prison.

Both assessments would prove very wrong as Zuna whispered her hateful incarnations over and over again. They wanted a darksider, They shall reap what they sowed and choke on it.

Zuna could fel how the energy built with every word, became critical finally and erupted.

When the alarm klaxons started to scream, Zuna knew her petition had been heard. She was not alone in her hared nor in her thirst for freedom. Someone had taken the first step. She would be right behind.

An eerie green energy sprang from her fingertips like sickly mist gathering over a marsh in twilight. It seeped into the lock of her cell door. A fountain of bright sparks erupted outside with a bang as Dathomirian magic disrupted the marvels of technology.

The heavy door hissed open while shackles fell from her wrists.

In the corridor red alarm lights pulsed in sync with the blaring audio signal. Trampling footfalls of Stormtroopers echoed off near a junction to hewr left and turned into screams and thew sound of armored bodies crashing when Zuna´s magic lashed out powered by her hate.

She knew how to kill with a thought. Three lifeless bodies around the corner were proof of that.

Zuna wrapped herself in a spell of invisibility. Unseen she went where she heard he distinctive sound of a blaster on autofire.

This Stormtrooper died as swiftly and as ignorant as he others. He never saw the long-nailed finger pointing at him mere moments before his neck snapped.

Harmless and useless, right?


open tag, The Fateful Storyteller

 

[Xan Atropus]

X A N . A T R O P U S

| Location | The Twilight Gladius - Prisoner Block​

| Objective | Liberation​

The blaring klaxons screamed loudly echoing across the length of the ship as the corridors pulsed a steady crimson. The raucous sounds drew the attention of many prisoners aboard as they made their way to the rayshields to glimpse what was causing a commotion, while others cowered in fear, trying to obscure their bodies within their cells. ​

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Xan Atropus, a former Sith attack dog gone rogue, stood amidst the growing trail of stormtroopers that came his way to try and stop him, crimson saber in hand angrily sputtering as every new soldier that arrived was turned to a fresh corpse. Atropus growled in anger as he swung with his saber, delivering wide, vicious swings with every movement. There was a brutal, almost feral way in which he carved his way through the Stormtroopers like butter. ​

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The marauder passed by cell after cell, a quick glance into each to see who cowered and who did not shy away from him. He passed over the former without a second thought, only pausing in front of those who met his gaze through the rayshield, as if gauging their worth. Sparks flew as his saber carved through the access panels, causing the shields to sputter and fade, the freed prisoners quickly moving out to acquire the weapons of the fallen Stormtroopers, the masked stranger's vocoded voice booming, "Show me your desire for freedom and I will carve you a path to it. Show me that you were worth the effort of liberating,"​

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Those he freed did not hesitate to do what needed to be done to fight for their freedom, each proving that his decision to free were well founded. His gaze turned away from them as he sensed something else aboard the ship. While the Force did not grant him clarity that it did for most, it still whispered to him; something archaic and foreign to him was also aboard the ship. "Interesting..."He muttered quietly to himself as he turned to wander the rest of the prisoner's block. ​

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Was it friend or foe? He did not know, but its call enticed him nonetheless.​

Zuna Vobara ​

 

[Zuna Vobara]

ZUNA VOBARA
| Location | The Twilight Gladius - Prisoner Block
| Objective | Liberation (herself and others)

More Stormtroopers arrived. More spells flowed from Zuna´s lips, words of power one building on the other weaving a tapestry of intent, focused, unwavering…

.. merciless

The mercy had been beaten and electroshocked out of her. Zuna had let rage fuel as she tapped into the darkest powers, things she had learned in the dark of night not from the other witches but from the night itself.

Blaster rifles jerked wildly in gloved hands, bending wrists and fingers, turning vertical and releasing deadly bolts of energy into the armored bodies hey were supposed to keep alive.

Controlling dead matter was even easier than controlling living bodies and dead bodies was what Zuna´s craft left behind.

No mercy for her captors…

Her life was hers alone and those who had caged her and hurt her for no reason would pay. She could respect a honorable foe but these here were worse than wild animals on Dathomir. Animals never killed without reason and animals knew no cruelty.

Two more troopers fell killed by heir own weapons and Zuna walked past them without breaking stride. Her curse was unfolding with terrible beauty, working its way through the prison almost without any conscious effort on her part. Energy flowed, hatred once released always found its mark.

The magic whispered to her, half warning, half allure and promise.

Her hate was not alone. It had found company, not an enemy necessarily, not just another prisoner. It was a kindred rage, one that knew how to pull the strings of reality. It was not in the way she did but close.

Of course Zuna had heard about those who wielded magic and called it the Force. Jedi, servants of the Empire that had caught her.

More troopers fell before Zuna, caught in her curse like in a crashing wave as soon as they came in sight and then … washed away…

Death upon my enemies…

There he stood.. cloaked… armored … wielding a blade of pure crimson energy…

A lightsaber they called it. The first time Zuna saw one up close.

"Friend or foe?" she asked.

Xan Atropus

 

[Xan Atropus]

X A N . A T R O P U S

| Location | The Twilight Gladius - Prisoner Block​

| Objective | Liberation​

The renegade Sith continued his path through the corridors, making short work of those who tried to stop him. He could feel the confusion and despair amongst his victims, many mistaking him for a member of the Dark Side Elite upon seeing his blade; a short-lived and fatal mistake for many. Melted plastoid, cleaved bodies and limbs, the distinct stench of burning flesh filled the corridors as Atropus continued to follow where the Force guided him. It was not as simple as mere light or dark, it was something more archaic as its presence continued to grow stronger as he pressed onward. His curiosity piqued as he sensed subtle notes of familiarity within its song.​

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The presence of stormtroopers seemed to dwindle as he wandered the halls, the end of his saber sparking as it dragged along the metal floors, his heavy footsteps echoing until he found himself standing face to face with another individual. A simple glance was all it took for him to recognize the source of the strange presence he felt belonged to the woman before him, keeping his blade ignited at his side. She was neither Sith nor Jedi as far as he could tell, which left the only other sensible option; a witch. ​

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The silence between the two would be broken by her as she posed the question, "Friend or foe?" His saber remained active, casting its crimson glow against his figure as his vocoded voice spoke, "That remains entirely up to you... Are you a lap dog here to stand against me? Or do you seek freedom as well?" He was fully ready to engage the moment their answer dissatisfied him, but he waited as long as his patience allowed for their response.​

Zuna Vobara ​

 

[Zuna Vobara]

ZUNA VOBARA

Location: | The Twilight Gladius - Prisoner Block

Objective: | Liberation (herself and others)

"A lapdog?" Zuna's voice dripped with disdain, her piercing gaze locked on Xan as she spat the word like venom. "Hardly. I was dragged from a filthy spaceport, beaten, tortured, and caged like an animal by the sadistic bastards running this floating hell. Now? I want their blood on my hands and my freedom in my grasp."

Her tone seethed with barely contained fury, each word sharp as a blade. Behind Xan, a blast door slid open with a furious hiss, the grinding metal echoing through the corridor. A fresh swarm of stormtroopers poured in, their white armor gleaming under the pulsing red alarm lights, blasters raised like a pack of rabid beasts closing in on prey.

But before they could fire, Zuna's wrath unfurled. Tendrils of sickly green energy, like ghostly vines born of pure malice, lashed out from her outstretched hands. The magic coiled around the troopers, wrenching their weapons from their grips with brutal force.

Blasters clattered to the floor or hung uselessly in the air as the soldiers were slammed against the corridor walls. Pinned there, they struggled helplessly, trapped in an invisible web woven from Zuna's raw rage and the bitter sting of her humiliation.

Her voice dropped to a deceptively soft murmur, almost a purr, as she addressed Xan again, though the ferocity in her eyes betrayed the inferno raging within. "It seems I owe you for the chaos you've stirred. So, by all means, be my guest."

She gestured toward the immobilized troopers, their muffled grunts of panic barely audible over the blaring klaxons.

"I'm sure that crimson blade of yours could use the practice."

The floating blasters swayed idly in the air, tauntingly out of reach of their former owners, as if daring someone to claim them. As Xan weighed her words, Zuna tilted her head slightly, the pragmatic part of her mind already racing ahead.

"Unless you've got a ship stashed somewhere nearby, I suggest we seize control of this floating cage. There's no freedom to be found drifting in the icy void of space."

Her lips curled into a faint, predatory smirk, her intent clear—she would not be stopped, not by troopers, not by walls, and certainly not by the cold vacuum beyond. Her magic pulsed in rhythm with the alarms, a silent promise of the destruction she'd unleash until her chains were truly broken.

 

[Xan Atropus]

X A N . A T R O P U S

| Location | The Twilight Gladius - Prisoner Block​

| Objective | Liberation​

Atropus' grip shifted as his saber shifted into a reverse grip. He listened to the woman before him explain her current predicament. As it stood, she was not one of the captors that were aboard the ship. A somewhat neglectful outcome, as his blade sought out both Sith oppressors or Dark Side Elite to slake its thirst. For now, he stayed his blade lest he make an enemy of someone he did not fully comprehend. As she finished identifying herself to him, more Stormtroopers arrived. He did not move as his gaze fixated on the tendrils of energy that came from the woman as they struck out against the incoming soldiers, watching with indifference as they were thrown about. ​

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As he suspected, a witch, and a very angry one at that, though rather than tearing apart the soldiers herself, she offered them to him instead. He didn't respond to her invitation as he turned, walking slowly to the Stormtroopers as he simply raised his blade up, dragging them across their midsections, painfully slow as he bisected them from the waist down. He was for the most part still in control, no need to release his rage and anger against helpless foes. When he finished off the last of the Stormtroopers he turned back to the woman, responding to her comment.

"I do. And that was the intent. The bridge remains untouched, a problem in need of correction before they decide their ship is lost and scuttle it with us still in it."​

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He had intended to liberate the prisoners and offer the ship up as their salvation. The ones worthy of the effort at least.​

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"You are welcome to follow, or you may continue to visit your wrath on those who have wronged you."​

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Xan turned his back to the woman as he began his march towards the bridge. He would sort out the prisoner situation once the ship was under his control, satisfied that the initial group that he had released being a sufficient and capable enough distraction to draw the focus of the prison ship's guards.​

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Zuna Vobara ​

 

[Zuna Vobara]

ZUNA VOBARA


Location | The Twilight Gladius - Prisoner Block


Objective | Liberation (herself and others)



Zuna stepped over the vivisected corpses tha now littered the corridor floor after she had released the dead men from her binding. Any notion of guilty or remorse had been beaten and electroshocked out of her. All that was left to feel was rage and stisfation for a bloody work well done. He other darksider was full of it as well, controlled fury held in check – for now.

Zuna smirked when she realized she thought of hims as the other darksider. Back on Dathomir the other witches of th clan had always pointed fingers at Zuna and called her a Nightsister mostly behind her back but often enough in her face.

Zuna chuckled quietly, a sound as soft as it was cruel and cold-hearted.

It seemed the witches had been right. Zuna had crossed the bridge and embraced what had been patiently lurking inside her for so long.

Never again in chains, never again owerless and treated worse than an animal.

"There is a way to take the bridge without damaging the ship." Zuna proposed. She stoped at the grill of a ventilation shaft, raised her hands towards it and spread her fingers. New tendrils of green energy flowed from her fingertips and entered the ventilation shaft like bright green gas.

She did not kow the exact location of the bridge from here but she did not have to. The magic knew and the green energy mist followed her will ad intent. It would find its ways through the twists and turns of the ventilation system towards the bridge.

"Anyone there will be asleep when we arrive. A bit boring perhaps but we can deal with them later and don´t risk that anyone blows up our ship. "

More green mist flowed from her fingertips as Zuna began to sing, a sing-song as old as time and just as powerful.

"I´m casting the spell all over the ship. It will hit the troopers and officer but not the captives. "


Xan Atropus

 

[Xan Atropus]

X A N . A T R O P U S

| Location | The Twilight Gladius - Prisoner Block​

| Objective | Liberation​

Atropus's boots rang and echoed as he marched through the corridors of the ship, moving with purpose as the witch opted to follow him. He paused briefly as she made a proposition about being able to take the ship without it being damaged. It mattered not to the renegade Sith whether the ship was damaged or not, but he entertained the thought regardless as he paused his approach to the bridge. He watched as the witch cast her magic spell, the sickly green glow reflecting off his helmet and visor as it dissipated into the ventilation shaft. ​

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Mild curiosity kept his gaze fixated on the green energy, witchcraft and its practices as foreign to him as an alien language, but its effects were effective despite their arcane origins. His 'training' had coaxed the worst from within him in order to utilize the powers of the Force and strengthen his connection to the Dark Side, releasing a beast that few if any could contain. What fueled the witche's magic? he pondered briefly in silence.​

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As Vobara finished the casting of her spell he simply turned away in silence, resuming his march towards the bridge. Something other than curiosity had begun to scratch at the back of his mind. Doubt. Not in the witch's skills or powers, but her true intention. It made little sense to the renegade Sith how a woman of her prowess and abilities would find herself captured and at the mercy of mere troopers and Imperial officers. ​

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For now, he kept his doubts under lock and key until he would be able to confirm whether or not she was indeed a simple captive or a warden of the Dark Side Elite, staying on guard, and vigilant. Should his suspicions and doubts be confirmed though, his blade's thirst would be slaked.​

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Zuna Vobara ​

 

[Zuna Vobara]

Zuna Vobara
| Location | The Twilight Gladius - Prisoner Block
| Objective | Liberation

Zuna felt the magic flow and obey her will. She should have been tired by now but she wasn´t really. Partially it was her fury and pain that fueled her but there was more.

Secondly, she was more a conduit than anything else, the power that flowed through her was not really her own. It came straight out of the universe and out of this place.

And thirdly, what she did came natural to her. It seemed the witches on Dathomir had been right after all. Dark magic answered when she called, much more effortlesly than the light

She should be afraid.

She wasn´t.

It was time for others to be afraid.

She followed Atropus, a slithering black shadow, soundless almost ethereal compared to his towering armored form.

Death and destruction came in many different shapes and sizes.

Even without her witches sight Zunaq could feel a rage in the darkside warrior that easily matched hers, likely even surpassed it. He had been a captive and tortured animal too, not todays unless the guards locked up their captives armored and armed but he had been for sure.

He could become dangerous to her at one point but for now Zuna did not care. All she cared about was that he was useful, the lightsaqber blade thqat worked bide her witchcraft and dealt death to their common enemy.

So Zuna marched to the rhythm of Atropus' heavy bots following in his wake until they reached the heavy blast door that led to the bridge.

Zuna closed he eyes, listened inside then extended her senses beyond what ordinary people were capable of.

"There is life on the other side." she said quietly, "most of it dormant. Asleep as planned. But not all. I think the troopers we didn´t encounter anymore on our way here have gathered inside. Then your blade will find work again. Or some prisoners have already found the bridge before us. Ready to find out?"

Xan Atropus