On the Cusp of Annihilation

[Verlymoan]

On the Edge of Dark Space
The Sequitur Maw - Black Hole

Beyond the last habitable planet on the edge of the known galaxy was Dark Space - the region of space between galaxies filled with unknown terrors and natural, destructive phenomenon that has been explored by few within the galaxy. It was on the edge of that darkness where the Sequitur Maw sat, a large black hole that sat at the center of a once populated star system which now only consisted of a debris field so large it rivaled most asteroid belts. The black hole itself was actually quite young compared to similar anomalies; it was barely 200 years of age, having formed during the collapse of the star it now replaced.

On the edge of the black hole's accretion disc drifted an ancient, Imperial Star Destroyer. It's once white hull was brown and rusted with various plates and structures steadily peeling off as it came closer and closer--moving by just a few miles every standard galactic year--to the black hole itself. At this point, the vessel didn't look like it was going to hold up for much longer. The star destroyer was beginning to fall apart and since it appeared to have been inactive for centuries, it didn't pose any sort of value to interested parties... or at least it shouldn't have. As if it seemingly dropped out of nowhere, a strong presence in the force had started to emanate from the vessel, like a beacon to all in this sector of the galaxy...

 

[Onrai]

A soft smile crossed Circe's lips as her shuttle moved towards the ISD wreck. Reclaimer-class repair vessels flanked her in an attempt to help save this ailing warship. Such a vessel was valuable, and could easily be either rearmed, or sold to a museum. Regardless, the wreck needed to be recovered, and that was why the small group of Subach ships were here right now.

Smiling, putting on a spacesuit in order to survive in any decompressed areas, Circe landed her shuttle in what was the main hangar bay. Much had been left here in varying states of decay - old TIE Fighters, and even some other pirate fighters. Z-95s and a Belbullab-22 graced the hangar floor.

"Something's here. I'll get it. You start stabilizing the wreck and turning this thing around."

[member="Verlymoan"]

 

[Verlymoan]

The hulls creaked and the vessel groaned as the shuttle settled into the currently decompressed hangar bay. With no lighting beyond the torrential storm of ions created by the black hole outside and the torches of the shuttle itself, it gave the hangar a rather gloomy and ominous appearance. A second glance would reveal the hangar to not only be stacked to the brim with aging TIE Fighters and pirate craft, but also... bodies. They littered the floor, clinging to the floor like dust. The sight alone said something about the gravity plating--it was obviously still working, so that meant some power was still floating through the veins of the old hulk.

However, as they began to explore the hangar area just a little more, something whispered nearby. It swept through the vacuum of the hangar as if carried by air. Static from a nearby communications system? Interference? Maybe.

[member="Enigma"]

 

[Onrai]

Circe opened the hangar doors, which creaked open slowly and noisily. Stelpping into a hallway, she was surprised at the bodies everywhere - all wearing their clothing perfectly, with no damage. It was perfectly preserved in the tomb of space. Up the decks she went, going ever closer to the mysterious Force presence.

And as she moved, the ship shuddered, the Reclaimers locking onto the hull as they began to move it away from the black hole.

[member="Verlymoan"]

 

[Verlymoan]

As Circe grew closer to the source of the powerful force presence--perhaps a stash of ancient holocrons and artifacts; or even the remains of a powerful, dead Jedi or Sith master--the whisper in the radio began to grow louder. The interference that followed, a hiss of white noise, seemed to blot out all other voices except the now obvious feminine lure. "...Kill them. Consume them. Free them..." It beckoned, before a pause was given as Circe reached the 'command center' of the ISD. It was the only place on the ship that still seemed to have life support, and was even surrounded by some kind of atmospheric force-field so it could continue to support life, even should the doors to the lift open--the lift being the only way to make it to the command center without spending hours cutting through debris.

Should Circe emerge into the command center, she would find the deck strewn with the skeletons of those that came before; adventurers, pirates, defected imperial officers. Many of which were also strung up on wire in gruesome displays, as if to ward off demons like some form of superstitious totems. The floor itself was covered in filth--human and alien decay that seemed to rot the very floor. Further in however, past a second series of doors, was something else entirely. On the Bridge, surrounded by a beautiful view of the black hole, was a pristine, clean environment with an assortment of furs--Wookie and other illegal pelts--strewn to form a large, plush bed. Surrounding the pile itself was a series of seemingly defunct holocrons--all blackened and dead without any signs of stored information or even battery power to them. On the pelts themselves, however, was a mysterious and human-sized lump that had started to stir... the edge of the blankets peeling back to reveal a glowing green gaze staring forth upon the intruder to its lair.

"...Leave..."

[member="Enigma"]

 

[Onrai]

Smiling, Circe moved to examine the unusual lifeform whose green eyes seemed to bore at her. Circe wasn't exactly known for her cowardice, though, and she only moved ever closer. Returning the state from the mysterious entity as she ran a hand over the fur. "Mmm... Human-like body... And you have green eyes too. Zelosian, I'm going to guess." With a chuckle, she moved back, eager to see what exactly this entity was once it chose to expose itself.

"Hello, sweetie..."

[member="Verlymoan"]

 

[Verlymoan]

"..."

The silence in which her eyes used to gaze upon Circe seemed to be her only response to the uncomfortable amount of attention she had seemingly attracted to herself aboard this derelict. For the moment, anyway. When Circe roamed a palm over the fur of her territory, she seemed to retreat slightly into the little home she had made herself. She didn't appear to be too happy with Circe's presence, even more so with the sudden rumble as the ship itself was being peeled away from the accretion disk of the black hole.

"...Why does it invade my home? " She asked with a narrowing of her eyes. Her voice was soft and pleasant to the ears, delicately drawing in the attention of any invader willing to listen. Circe would also feel... naked, to say the least. Like someone was scrying upon her and attempting to pry information from her brain. It seemed the unknown entity was trying to use the force to persuade Circe to tell the truth. Though it was a clumsy attempt; nothing short of a youngling's efforts to make his sister stop fibbing, really.

[member="Enigma"]

 

[Onrai]

[member="Verlymoan"]

"Well... This ship is about to get sucked into a black hole, taking you and everything else with it. I'd prefer you not to get crushed inside there." Sighing, she smiled.'"don't worry. The ships are on their way to turn this hulk around so we won't all die." Moving closer to the woman, she raised an eyebrow at her lack of clothing sans the sleeping bag cocoon the woman had made for herself. "Shall we go? Or do you want to just wait here?"

It was a simple question. Didn't bother Circe any way. Though she did have an urge to take her suit off...

[member="Verlymoan"]

 

[Verlymoan]

"...Goddess? Why would you take me from that which birthed me? " She asked, revealing a little more of herself as she came to sit up. With a glance over her shoulder towards the black hole seen illuminated by a nearby star, she seemed to fall to ease. Then she returned her gaze with a glare to Circe. "Why do you sit so near?" She asked with a furrow of her brow, before slowly reaching out to lay a hand upon Circe's forearm. It was there Circe would feel it; creeping death. As if the very life from her was starting to just drain away. If she didn't remove her arm immediately, Circe would start to feel tired... maybe even a bit withdrawn from the world.

Verlymoan was trying to suck the life-force from her using a rather nasty force technique; something that seemingly came naturally to the mysterious female.

[member="Enigma"]

 

[Onrai]

The drain was not entirely a new feeling to Circe. Smiling, she realized exactly what was going on, and began to focus, doing a very similar thing to the mysterious woman. They were draining energy from one another at such a rate that they were counterbalancing each other's draining capabilities. The Sith Lady already knew about this sort of thing, and was eager to help as always. "I don't think so... Force Drain. That's how you kept yourself alive. Living off the vitality of others. I'm impressed."

She chuckled, thinking to herself what uses this woman could be.

[member="Verlymoan"]

 

[Verlymoan]

She broke the connection almost immediately when she realized what was happening; her eyes narrowing all the more as her slender limbs tugged the warm furs tighter around herself. "What is it?" She asked with plenty of suspicioun in her tone. She'd seen and met other women before, many of whom had only come to plunder whatever riches her home had... but never any that could resist the hunger in her. The desire to sustain her own life had never been... circumvented before. "Is it a demon? A monster from the abyss? Thieves cannot do what it does. Not those that I have devoured." She claimed before sinking back into the rugs, only her eyes seen from the darkness of the makeshift 'hood'.

She wiggled then, perhaps nervously, that someone else that tapped into the power of what she called The Mother had suddenly shown up on her doorstep. She felt it was something akin to fate or destiny, maybe the Mother herself had sent this one to scoop her from certain oblivion. "Are we the same? It does not look like I. It is... Bigger. Like a thief with tubes for a mouth and ears, but like me. Green."

[member="Enigma"]

 

[Onrai]

[member="Verlymoan"]

The Crypticism of the woman went past the rescuer as she moved to embrace the fuzzy pelts adorning the questionably clothed woman. Considering her draining capabilities, she was a superb assassin, perfect with regards to her capabilities as a tool of mass destruction. She reminded Circe of her daughter, almost... "Come on, let's get... Oh. I only have one suit. Guess we're stuck here until the ship's easily repaired. Unless you want me to leave, that is."

A soft smile crossed her lips as she moved to pull back the pelts, intending on seeing the woman's face for the first time.

 

[Verlymoan]

"What I... want? Only to live, to sing and be alone." She claimed, pulling her head away slightly but not actually preventing Circe from seeing her face... those smooth, scar-less features and delicate markings that confused her heritage. She was human, mostly. That much was clear, but her origin was not. At this point, there was probably no way to tell what kind of human she was... it was more than likely that she belonged to a fringe group, as opposed to someone in more civilized lands like Corellia. "Why does it stay? It has its treasures."

She seemed to relax a little bit more now, but her gaze turned from Circe to spy upon the starlit field beyond the bridge. Watching as the black hole itself seemed to grow ever-so-slightly smaller and smaller as the wreck of the ISD was moved further and further away towards safety.

 

[Onrai]

[member="Verlymoan"]

"Because I care about what happens to you." She smiled, giving a soft chuckle. "I'm not going to let a woman like yourself risk dying in one of these unstable wrecks." Smiling, she sat down next to the enigmatic woman, moving a corpse out of the way as she ran a hand over the soft fur. It was surprisingly soft for having been here an unknown amount of time. "My name is Cassandra Cinthra. What is your name?"

They had just met, after all. It seemed appropriate to trade names.

[member="Verlymoan"]

 

[Verlymoan]

She chuckled too, but it felt... odd somehow. "Oh, does it now? It cares about what happens to me... How sweet." She practically purred, though with her face now visible, it was clear her lips were not moving with every word that met the ears. Behind her upon the beautiful display of the black hole, it was obvious they... hadn't moved? Even with the rumbles of the reclaimers attempting to tow the ruined ship from the accretion disc, something was wrong. For a moment, Circe's radio would even squeal with worried chatter, but it wasn't about moving the ship--they were asking for permission, as if Circe had never given it.

To attempt to draw her away from that fragment of reality though, Verlymoan crept in close, drawing nimble fingers along the green-skinned hybrid's jaw line so their gazes could meet again. "It can call this one, Verlymoan. It is the only song that plays when searching for a soul..." She said cryptically, all the while Circe would feel that attempt at draining her life again. Though it was so much more subtle now...

[member="Enigma"]

 

[Onrai]

Smiling, Circe moved forward, seemingly entranced by the woman... But a burst of static cut her short. "Ma'am, can we start moving?" Shaking her head, she quickly gave the order to move as the Star Destroyer began to move. "No... I don't think so. You may be incredibly sensual, maybe even demonic, but I'm taking this ship with me to be restored." With a chuckle, she stood up, looking down on Verlymoan. "Verly Moan... I'm sure you enjoy moans, don't you. And life force as well. How about we snuggle?"

Cuddles did sound like a old idea to her. And if the woman tried draining again... She would drain back. Hard.

[member="Verlymoan"]

 

[Verlymoan]

She purred coyly a little, bringing a hand up to once again caress the edge of Circe's jaw until she stood up. She even caught a hint of that static as her crew on the other side requested permission to move the ship. She seemed to suddenly become all the more focused then, furrowing her brow just a hint as Circe seemed to fall deeper into her trap. In reality, the hybrid Falleen had been embraced--without a suit--by the hungry predator. The woman steadily draining the force from her body as she persisted to exist in the dreamy reality she had conjured for her. Her crew was still awaiting orders to move the ship, often chiming in on the comms system and sometimes even asking what her location was.

"Snuggle...?" She purred curiously within the dream, continuing to feign such innocence as she did her best to keep Circe's mind captivated. She couldn't have done this on her own, though--the woman forced to draw off the powerful, darkside energies that permeated the wreck of a ship she called home. Another rumble drew Verlymoan's attention though, her head craning as she peered around the dreamy environment curiously... were they really moving her ship? Or was that the imminent destruction thing Circe had warned her about? "Hmmnh..."

[member="Enigma"]

 

[Onrai]

The static from the radio sparked in Circe's ear. She was an illusionist, and how she fully realized the situation. " miss Savan, we're about to be pulled in!" Shaking her head and pulling free from the life-drainer, Circe shoved the radio against her mouth. "Do it!" The entire ship rumbled as the thrusters of the Reclaimers began to pull it away. "There we go. We'll be safe now." She sighed, feeling tired.

"Why did you try to drain me? I only want to save you."

[member="Verlymoan"]