One Man's Treasure is Another's Trash (Me and Sio vs whatever's left of TSC)

[Ashin Varanin]

BOSPH​

On a previous expedition, Boolon Murr and Sopher Jakobs had tracked a Confederate lead to this world. Upon finding a 'wake' of fear and ambition stemming from the minds who had interacted with the hidden Sith Council, they had adjourned. But Boolon Murr was not a man of inaction, despite his pacifism, and his former boss Ember Rekali was even less so. Besides, Ember knew how to destroy Sith artifacts with sustained Force Light, which was out of Boolon's league. And [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] was far, far better at handling overwhelming numbers of Sith Lords than Boolon was. So after measured contemplation, the Ithorian had tipped off two people who could handle the job without the Republic's fingerprints on this, so as not to further exacerbate Mandalorian/Republic tensions. Bosph's location was touchy, after all.

The Niathal-class shuttle was a common design in this area of space. Ember's Niathal, under a false telesponder, settled down near a location that his Keetael-trained Force tracking skills suggested was a good idea. He slipped on his helmet and turned to Kerrigan. She came highly recommended, and her reputation preceded her. How she'd gone this long without accumulating a bounty, he'd never know.

"Shall we?"

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Ember Rekali"]

One telekinesis master with mental stability issues who had specialised in her power to almost ridiculously high levels of destruction. One master of physical enhancement who could arm wrestle with rancors and had torn down the Citadel on Dromund Kaas, just before the Mandalorians decided it would be a swell thing to Donanyd the planet. There was such a thing as a ridiculously high level of overkill.

Or perhaps not.

In response Siobhan shrugged, looking up from having checked the ridiculously high level of firepower she had brought. Bolters, explosives, more explosives. It was not like Firemane was lacking in weapons and her own personal armoury was quite substantial. She had promised herself, this mission and then she would take a step back finally, having already been selfish enough. Of course, Siobhan was terrible at keeping her own promises. "Yes, let's go artefact hunting. I'm ready," she said, getting up and readying a boltgun.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

Ember examined her loadout with approval, and picked up his own little gun, a limited-edition BlasTech RXW-AC1 assault cannon that had been in vogue when he still served the Republic as a Jedi Master. If overkill was to be ridiculously high, there was no point in NOT carrying twenty kilograms of double-barrelled repeating blaster cannon with associated grenade launcher.

"There's something worth tracking about five klicks from here, due west and maybe underground. It's a Keetael thing." He adjusted the shoulder strap and yelled back to [member="Allyson Locke"], his mechanic and first mate on the Contruum. "Locke, keep an eye on sensors. We've got some storm to call down."

He stepped out of the shuttle's hatch, a tall Mandalorian carrying an over-under assault cannon the size of an obese child. From here, a road led through a market and then to whatever underground vault or facility he was sensing.

"...oh, and if you see a Hutt Sith, don't kill it."

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Ember Rekali"]

Clearly they were not going for stealth, which suited Siobhan just fine since she had always sucked at playing Splinter Cell. Or whatever this Galaxy's equivalent was, since they presumably did have something like video games and all that. MK1 boltgun at the ready, another of the guns likewise ready to be gripped if needed, she followed Ember out of the hatch of the shuttle. A bolter was a beautiful weapon, with perfect zombie, Bando Gora and Sith killing credentials. Who could not love such a beautiful weapon? Perhaps one day Echani warriors would compose ballads to it.

Unfortunately, Siobhan's ability at poetry was exactly zero, but then she had other qualities.

At his line about not killing a Hutt Sith she made a face. Looking just a bit like a petulant child who had been told she would not get candy and not like a woman in her mid-thirties. Who was sort of occasionally darkside, her writer can never make up their mind. Well, she should probably be experiencing the first signs of physical corruption, which should irk her since Siobhan was vain. "I'll...bludgeon it into unconsciousness," she responded, heading down from the shuttle towards the road that was paved before them. Presumably Ember would guide her with the unerring precision of a tracker down to the facility they sought. She was fine with him doing the scout thing and all that. Presumably she would get to make a door at some point.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

Ember grimaced beneath his helmet. "Do what you have to do," he said, and did not elaborate.

The market scattered away from the Mandalorian and the Chaos Goddess, and Ember's head snapped around to focus on one person, outwardly the same as any other. "They're being alerted by a watcher. We have a heading." He changed course, and the crowd parted like a bloody sea. The runner was headed more or less straight for what his tracker's instincts told him was a place where his son had been. Rach Kol-Rekali, martyred outside Keldabe by a nuke, was apparently now Rasho the Hutt, if Anaya Fen was to be believed. A rumor on Etti IV -- something about an Espo brothel and a cabdriver -- had led him to Bosph. Then the Jedi Shadows had dropped him a line.

He'd already been on his way here. But Sio was more than welcome nonetheless.

Some kind of vault, he suspected, lay deep beneath a certain hill ahead of them. A high-security door stood there, beyond a fence and some automated turrets.

BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRAP

A high-security door stood there, beyond some glowing debris.

"Madame Kerrigan, make us a door."

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Ember Rekali"]

A high security door and plenty of glowing debris, courtesy of an overpowered assault cannon, stood before. Sinking into the Force Siobhan concentrated, focusing her powers upon said door. With the aphotic energy writhing within her, power being to be unleashed as she raised her bionic hand and balled it into a tight fist, her telekinetic will being exerted as power burst out of her.

The powerful high security door shook violently as it was pounded by what effectively amounted to a telekinetic battering ram, the sort that had punched open a door for Jorus Merrill when he sought to board a GTG Star Destroyer and later made a door in the hull of a Bando Gora command ship. Without subtlety, without any grace, but with overwhelmning brutality, power slammed into the door. Metal twisted and cracked against the onslaught, the the door was torn apart, exploding amidst the outburst of telekinetic energy.

BIG BANG!

"My pleasure," she said casually as she, bolter at the ready, strode through the cloud of smoke that was billowing up and past the debris.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

"I have exactly zero doubt of that," said Ember with a sharp-edged grin beneath his helmet, and marched straight ahead. His assault cannon spat two grenades through the blast door-

Grenades which paused and began accelerating back towards him and Sio. The assault cannon strafed them out of the air. "We've got Sith," he said, ejecting the mag. He dropped the empty assault cannon and drew a lightsabre, a simple one. The blade that flared to life was blue. It had belonged to his youngest son Faran, his apprentice, killed by a cultist on Ossus close to ten years back.

Beyond the broken gate, crimson lightsabres flared to life, and Ember fired his jetpack. He slammed into the Sith in a flurry of chopping blue plasma.

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Ember Rekali"]

The Sith remnant was upon them! That was always good.

Ember was leading the charge, battering ramming the Sith in his own way in a brutal flurry of blue plasma that would assuredly claim its share of heads. As he charged power rippled from the outstretched hand of Siobhan as she wrapped her telekinetic might around the throat of one of the Sith, the grip powerful, crushing, merciless, then raised him from his feet to send him crashing into a wall with such force to punch a hole through it and presumably break his jaw. She advanced, bolter put aside in favour of her lightsabre, the dazzling blue blade leaping into existence.

A large chunk of the wall of the corridor was ripped out from behind the Sith and, propelled by a whirlwind heralded by a shift in the air currents, thrown right at them. Bolter loaded with buckshot for close range, Siobhan advanced, the weapon roaring as it sprayed out rounds.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

Normally, having a semi-automatic shotgun at his back would have given Ember more than a little pause, but if there was one person alive who could claim an absolute mastery of the bolter, it was the woman currently using one to turn Sith mooks into ground long pork. Perhaps there'd be a barbeque later. He sidestepped the chunk of duracrete; others were not so lucky. They went aerial to evade it. He went aerial to correct that problem. His son's sky-blue lightsabre skewered a Sithling to the ceiling, and his AT-1 wrist slugthrower spat a 45-round mag in three seconds flat. Another Sithling turned to fine mist as Ember's beskar boots hit the ground again. Stooping, he grabbed the ankle of the fallen Sith he'd so recently impaled on the ceiling. He threw the body sidelong, spinning, into the next chamber, and followed it with lightsabre raised. The thrown Sithling had knocked down another; offhand, Ember drew a Brotherguard doubletap blaster pistol, and two super-heavy bolts punched through the new arrival.

His sabre slashed a circle in the floor, and he and the circle fell to the next level. More red lightsabres hissed to life.

"C'mon in, Kerrigan, the water's great," he called up through the hole.

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Ember Rekali"]

"Could use less pollution," Siobhan said dryly as the master of physical enhancement leaped down, having obviously stirred up a hornet's nest. Very angry, black-robed hornets that, most unoriginally, carried red lightsabres. Did Sith use any other colour? Perhaps once upon a time. One saw the need to introduce her to a blast of lightning that swept through the air towards her as she was about to leap down, being caught upon her lightsabre as she grit her teeth, the bolts of electricity wrapping itself around it before she sent it flying back to the offending Sithy.

The Sithy resisted in vain, then got doubly cooked as a hail of buckshot knocked him off the feet for his troubles. Siobhan dropped down through the hole, gliding as she fired, a second boltgun leaping into her hand. Telekinetic reloading took care of that pesky problem of not having both hands free to reload, meaning that the semi-automatic shotgun got a decent firing rate of death dealing rounds spewing out. The result? Cooked Sith fit for the barbeque, perhaps with some ketchup and rice. A blast of telekinetic power sent Sithlings charging at her sprawling across the ground as she dropped to her feet, one was gripped tight by his arms and slammed into the ground...repeatedly until he gave up the ghost, then got thrust at another comrade of the black-robed, red glowstick wielding persuasion like an improvised scatter shot...along with plenty of other corpses.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

Using Sith as weapons against Sith was something Ember had done, in one way or another, for a very long time. As this level went silent, though, he realized that his own prior attempts had been amateurish next to the juggernautish brunette. He carved another hole in the floor, truncating an arm in the process. Duracrete circle and arm alike fell. About to jump down, he paused, then pulled up a body and dropped that feet-first. Three blasts of lightning and a thrown lightsabre converged on the body.

"Oh this is going to be fun."

A dozen lightsabres floated to him from the dead, all crimson-bladed when lit. They rotated above his hand, and moved toward Sio, deactivating.

"Care to do the honors?"

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Ember Rekali"]

This writer is a self-confessed warmonger and so their lust for inflicting carnage and slaughter in ridiculously over the top ways for reason other than sheer enjoyment knows no bounds. Yes, they went to Warmongers Anonymous, but it did not help. It is simply too addictive.

So, without further ado, they could marvel at the greatness that was telekinetic lightsabre combat. Siobhan had just about enough time to react as blasts of lightning surged towards them much like angry locusts, seeking to fry them with the fury of the Sith, her several bionics an obvious attraction to which the powerful surge of electricity would be drawn. The aforementioned salvoes of lightning hit a wall of lightsabres that formed around them. Some beads of sweat dripped down her forehead and temples, then, as the lightning coiled around the blades like a snake, she sent it all shooting back.

Lots of lightning had been shot their way, now the current came surging back. Siobhan was, it must be admitted, not a great lightsabre duellist. These days she lacked the mobility when not augmented by the Force and she did not the finesse. Presumably someone with the build and style of a tank would overpower her, but at range she was almost indomitable and that was the game she was playing now. The wall dissolved as by her mind the levitated lightsabres surged forward, homing in on the Sith, to chop off limbs, slash at them, be shot straight towards their chests much like scatter shots, a phalanx of lightsabres that was propelled by kinetic force just because. The smell of burnt flesh was in the air, it was like a barbeque. Hopefully there would be sauce somewhere.

 

[Darth Kentarch]

In the lowest depths of The Sith Council room, Darth Kentarch sat at his seat at the round table. He could hear them coming. The council was disbanded, and now their enemies descended on the weak like a bird of prey on some hapless small fur bearing creature. One of the Sith Knights approached Kentarch, and addressed him promptly. “Are assailants are through the blast doors, and cutting their way down through the floors themselves.” Kentarch nodded. He did not need an intel report, through the force he could feel what was going on. He could sense the two masters approaching with speed. “Round up everything of value, and prepare for exfil.” He stated. “They can kill the grunts, but the data must go. The knowledge must go.” His voice toneless and unaffected the situation. Then Darth Kentarch stood, and made his way slowly his way up the stairs to a next level.


Black cloak flowing behind him, his face shrouded by the hood only the silhouetted outline of his face visible, the Sith Lord made his way up each level, signaling soldiers and fellow Sith to fall back and prepare for the oncoming onslaught.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] [member="Darth Kentarch"]

Ember grunted in satisfaction as Kerrigan made the mooks go away. But something stirred, the Force whispered-

"My gut says the genuine article is on its way up to meet us. I seriously doubt you'll mind taking point on this. I'm going to try and slip past in case this is a delaying tactic for some kind of more powerful counterstrike. If I was them, I'd be prepping some kind of Sith amulet apocalypse, and Sith magic is something I'd rather not face if I don't have to." Pain and death continued to permeate the Force, as the broken Darksiders above suffered the consequences of Ember and Sio's actions. Amid all that, Ember vanishing from the Force would feel exactly like he had died painfully too. With his Force presence, the rest of him vanished also, a full-scale White Current immersion that could fool the eye of anything from a Grandmaster to a droid. He'd gone to the Fallanassi thirty-five years ago, and it had taken him this long to achieve Fallanassi levels of subtlety. He aimed to circumnavigate Kentarch and head down.

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Ember Rekali"], [member="Darth Kentarch"]

For her part Siobhan could do without the Sith magic apocalypse as well. After all, she remembered all too well when Velok had harnessed the ancient power to vaporise Rhommamool and Osarian, for the fun of it presumably. "Don't Force Lighten everything without me getting to watch," she said as Ember vanished, something close to envy briefly written over her features when the master of physical enhancement disappeared. In the Force it felt like he had suddenly died, much like a sense of deah permeated it amidst the corpses of Sith that lay strewn around the hall.

In theory Siobhan could mask her presence in the Force, having learned the basics from Cira. But it was very tiring for her and strongly went against her modus operandi, which was the exact opposite of subtle. Moreover, she had never actually ussed it on a serious mission, so in the light of that she stuck to what she knew. The empty buckshot magazines were exited and in their place those filled with explosive bolts, which would detonate on impact, were loaded and, taking point she moved to head down while Ember could go all invisible Metal Gear Solid without cardboard boxes. Doubtless she would have targets soon and so she remained alert, stretching out with the Force as she moved.

 

[Zz'acc]

[member="Ember Rekali"][member="Siobhan Kerrigan"][member="Darth Kentarch"]

A mountain shaking roar emanated from nearby, Zz'acc had arrived. Where as the Fringe had Faenroven, the Sith had Zz'acc, a Zillo Spawn with renowned speed. Charging head first through the wall of a nearby building, the brutish behemoth clambered over vehicles and dead bodies alike until he neared the attackers that caused such distress on the planet.

Roaring once more, the beast let the Force leak into the energy that drove his voice, the result was instantaneous. Air pressure, and current, shifted to follow where his face pointed - Siobhan. Force Roaring was beginning to becoming a cliche for the beast..maybe it would be his calling card...

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

@Zz'acc, [member="Darth Kentarch"], [member="Ember Rekali"]

They were in an underground facility that was beneath a hill of some sort, Siobhan and Ember had already made it down a couple levels. Ergo there would be no nearby building to burst through or vehicles to clamber over, though plenty of dead bodies on the levels above them. A Zillo beast was indeed powerful and with a hide that could even resist a lightsabre, however, it ought to find it very difficult to manoeuvre. Let alone simply fit in. After all, it was very unlikely that the Sith had constructed their base with the needs of a creature that was 6,7 m tall and 62 m long in mind.

Sith were not known for their belief in equal opportunities, but to be fair there were not many Zillo Beast Sith Spawn running around freely! Generally force roar was also a power that could not be forced.

Regardless, Zz'acc was somehow in the facility, but a gigantic beast like that moving was the exact opposite of subtle. He was also trying to utilise what amounted to a shockwave against Siobhan Kerrigan, apex telekinesis master, who had a habit of being concussively unkind to people. She only about three offensive force powers, but was highly specialised in them. Her most significant speciality was to throw...very heavy objects. As in grip walkers and toss them around as if they were ragdolls - or summon shockwaves of sufficient strength to punch through the hull of a Star Destroyer, grip a bridge tower and crush it with all her might.

She sensed the shift in the air currents and exerted her telekinetic will, with aphotic energy writhing within her as power burst from her hand. With her prowess any energy directed towards her by the great beast would not be dissipated, but overridden, an overwhelmning outburst of telekinetic power that would sweep towards the Zillo beast with great force. He was strongly armoured obviously, but the shockwave was such to punch a hole through a battleship. Her telekinetic might had faced Cthulhu before after all, or rather the skyscraper-sized Lotek'k. Moreover, given his very substantial size, dodging would not be much of an option. The force blast shot towards him with a force that should send crashing into, or rather through a wall, for it would be blown up in the explosion of power as she poured her energy into harnessing the Force like a battering ram.

Beads of sweat dripped down her forehead and temples, but she persisted. Siobhan was not subtle, she was not graceful and many of the more arcane mysteries of the Force escaped her, but she had a great deal of energy and plenty of power to dish it out and her grip had torn down many a ceiling, even brought down that of a mountain. The hall would shake like struck by quakes, as if an earthquake had broken out. Then, stretching out her bionic hand, the energies of the Force flowing through her, she wrapped her telekinetic willpower around the ceiling above him, heaving with her power upon it, the roof wobbling and shaking under the stress. Fingers curled into a twist, metal twisted and cracked, then the roof of the corridor above the beast would be torn down by the brunette juggernaut, seeking to bury it.

 

[Zz'acc]

(Facepalm. Wow sorry guys. When i wrote that it was early morning and I just sped read everything and thought you all were outside. So was imagining this working different. Trapped underground though, my brute will suck so Im going to have to withdraw him at least to the surface.)

Gripping the ground beneath him as hard as he could, Zz'acc fought back against the blast as it ripped along his body. Bruising flesh, broken claws from the grip, then suddenly it slowed for the barest of seconds - the calm before the storm. For suddenly the roof caved in, and debris struck him hard.

Collapsing from the weight, Zz'acc roared out in pain for a long duration. Then, slowly, the Zillo Spawn pushed the boulder like rocks off his back. Working to keep his footing, he stood on his hind legs to slither through the whole created overhead. Then he moved further towards the roof.

Think...better than...Sith. Fight...side... Though telepathy was still relatively new, he had learned how to do a little. The basic jist he spoke? Thinkin your better than the Sith? Fight me outside.

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"][member="Ember Rekali"][member="Darth Kentarch"]

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

@Zz'acc, [member="Ember Rekali"]

Unfortunately, Siobhan had more important things to do than take timeout for yet another one-on-on duel. She had successfully fought Sith Lords, most certainly thought she was better in many things and had nothing to prove anymore. So as the beast vanished through the hole she had created - getting out of the base should still take a bit, since she had only blown up the roof of the above level - she had already swiftly moved through an adjacent corridor. Senses remained alert, bolters ready to fire, but it was not like the large creature could actually follow her.

 

[Matreya]

Being topside, the exact moment battle began, seemed to be a natural talent of Daemos'. For as always, he was on the planet, and relatively near the initial battle. Launching into action, Daemos thanked the heavens he was always ready for battle. Charging down street after street, the Czar kicked up dirt like a sandstorm on Tatooine. It took a little over 20 minutes of sprinting, something he once was ok at, but now left him without the slightest breathing issues - his lungs filtered air powerfully and his heart pumped the oxygen faster, thus his endurance and speed were enhanced equally.

Sliding to a halt, Daemos cocked his head to the left, almost seeming to listen to the sounds of battle that were to faint to possibly hear. Though it appeared such, he simply was navigating the surrounding areas with his mind. The lower he went into the nearby underground facility, the closer to the signs of recent battle he got.

Downstairs. He thought, leaping through a hole in the ground - which seemed odd and out of place, as if a massive body had burst through from within.

These Sith were not his people, but what they represented neared his Masters own ideas. Thus he moved to defend them. Until it was established that his death would be the inevitable result, he would fight.

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] [member="Ember Rekali"]