Peace is a Process [OSL T3 of Aikhibba Hex] Open

[Bethany Kismet]

​

“Peace is a daily, a weekly, a monthly process, gradually changing opinions, slowly eroding old barriers, quietly building new structures.” ​

​

​

​As the Order of the Sacred Lotus grew, so too did its reputation. After Mandalore, Elom, and the devolving war between The First Order and the Galactic Alliance, they were finding their presence requested more and more. Closer to home than before, the local planets had each approached the Order in turn, both inviting them to build outposts on their worlds, but also seeking help. They offered a safe place for the Lotus to work from, a space to build and grow, but also requesting specific aid with a trepidation born of too many broken promises. Too much war.

But each was greeted with the same openness that all were on Monastery. With a ready ear, a cup of tea, and the promise to do what could be done to spread the cause of peace. The white halls of Sanctuary were abuzz with activity as plans were made and people moved back and forth, all preparing for a series of missions that would bring their little corner of the galaxy, as least, greater into balance.

Objective 1: Aikhibba
The local government has been struggling with to put down an armed revolt by an unhappy faction for the last six months. The Order has been asked to step in and mediate a meeting of both sides, ostensibly to help broker a peace that is to everyone's benefit. Unfortunately, someone at the meeting does not believe peace is to their benefit. One side is being goaded on by a criminal Cartel, feeding into the continued chaos that such groups thrive on. Discover which side is being manipulated and prevent the murder of the opposition leader by the Cartel.

Objective 2: Hoylin
A local contagion has been sweeping through one of the population centers on Hoylin for the last week. No one knows what it is, or where it came from, but their primary port city is affected and people are starting to die. Establish a quarantine zone and set up in the local hospital. Discover the nature of the contagion and how to combat it. Stay safe, and follow all biological protocols necessary to keep our aid workers safe.

Objective 3: Hilo
A galactic backwater, Hilo lacks a serious centralized government or infrastructure. The leaders of various small cities have come together and asked that the Order come in and help build certain structures that will help them make greater steps into the galactic arena and help their citizens. They are looking to build hospitals and schools in the two largest cities to replace the smaller medical centers. The initial attempts have been delayed, however, due to the theft of materials and push back from certain local bureaucrats who see the arrival of OSL as a challenge to their (albeit very small) power base. Help build the hospitals and schools, while convincing the locals that the Order is there only to help them step forward, never to take control.

Objective 4: Distress Signal
A distress signal from a freighter has been detected at the edge of the Masterra System. After the initial signal was sent, the comms went silent and no hails have been returned. Pirates? Disease? Simple mechanical failure? Or something far more insidious? Bring a team and discover what happened to the ship and her crew.

Objective 5: BYOO
Wander around the nearly finished Medical Station above Monastery. Explore other parts of the Hex for a smaller scene with your BFF. Train with other members of the OSL to learn skills you lack. Find something you can sink your teeth into and have fun!


OOC Notes:

Spoiler

This is an Open Dom. Feel free to join in as either an ally of the OSL or maybe not! Come help out or make a mess, whatever sounds like fun!

 

[Vrak Nashar]

Location: Space, The Tyrant
Objective: 4, Take Freighter
Enemies: Everyone
Allies: Sith/Darksiders

Vrak stood quietly on the bridge of his Harrower, The Tyrant.

His eyes were closed, his lips were thin, and those around him had fallen into a sullen silence. Fear permeated the air around him, half a dozen men and women tried to make themselves as small as possible and most of them had vacated the area in general. One brave Lieutenant stood behind The Sith Pureblood, her face stern and impassive, though Vrak could practically smell the fear that permeated from her. The dead look in her eye told more of a story than he could ever hope to.

"My Lord."

Vrak slowly turned as she began to speak.

"We've located a distress signal only a few hundred kilometers from us, a Freighter, but their vessels signature seems to indicate we might be able to scavenge the parts we need for our hyperdr-"

Vrak cut her off. "We do not scavenge, Lieutenant."

What color had remained in the womans face instantly drained away as she saw the displeasure on the Purebloods face. This whole incident had put a great amount of strain on the patience that Vrak had tried so hard to cultivate. They had been traveling through Hyperspace when something had gone wrong, the drive had malfunctioned and the ensigns had been just barely been able to avert a critical overload of the second reactor. Unfortunately The Tyrant was now stuck in the middle of nowhere with no Hyperdrive unable to repair the damage.

They could not call for assistance of course, and thus their only method of recovery was this...freighter.

"We are Sith." He reminded her. "We are not scavengers."

The Lieutenant shook, and then nodded.

 

[Andy Khor]

Location: Space in the Boomerang (Template in progress)
Objective 4: To know what happened with the freighter
Allies: OSL
Enemies: Sith/Dark Sider (Wanna f8 m8?)

"Are we close?" "Yes, and our scanners show another vessel nearby" in a moment Andy was in the pilot cabin, with the helmet linked to the ship system and looking at every piece of information that Hex deemed to be informed. The ship scanner could analize an entire or certain part of a vessel in a swift and agile way "I dont know about their engine, but i can managed to evade their weapons using the freighter as cover" "In any case, we should be fine if you leave me inside the freighter. I wanna know what happened" said sitting in the co-pilot sit, checking the ship system.

The distress signal came just when he was going to assist for a meeting, and a ship of that side would serve well for the Sacred Lotus "If you can scan the freighter for anything about ..." "Already, the information is being charge just as we speak" "Give me the communication to say hi to the over vessel. Hey there. Andy Khor talking. Are you friendly or foe?" he incline the chair waiting for any respond. He had faith that it wouldnt be the incoming missile alarm

[member='Vrak Nashar'] [member='Bethany Kismet']

 

[Kenrath]

Objective: Aikhibba Anarchy (1)
Location: Wanderign the city for information
Sub-Objective: Locate Opposition Leader
Allies: None
Enemies: Everyone
Posts: 1
[member="Bethany Kismet"]

Soryn was a man of simple tastes. At the top of that list of tastes is the sight of flowing blood. Soryn didn't know or care about Aikhibba or their plight. All he cared about was the fact he was getting paid to do something he happily and regularly did for free.

Getting on planet was easy enough.........getting into the city was just as easy. Now he had the task of locating his target and getting there before the Cartel did. The money he didn't about......if push came to shove he would give his fee to the Cartel just to leave him be. What mattered to him was the kill not the credit or even the credits.

Soryn dipped in and around the crowds listening to the chatter. Hearing something about a big meeting going on between to rival factions and some mediators. Soryn figured his target would be at that meeting. All he had to figure out was where the meeting was taking place and with any luck get there before it started. That way he could scout out weaknesses to exploit.

 

[Amun]

Location: Space; nearing Monastery
Allies: TBD
Enemies: TBD
Objective: 5
Post count: 1/20

"I am...frustrated," Uroy said to himself at the seat of his personal freighter which he had acquired from a gamble that didn't involve with cards, but with his fists. He had been nomadic for a good amount of time after the first few weeks he received visions and dreams of some unknown temple that he could care less about. He was a spiritual warrior as his mother and adopted father raised him to be and always fell back on just sparring, practicing, and meditation. But it was useless. He couldn't sleep at peace or take a thirty minute nap without seeing some magnificent architecture with unfamiliar people inhabiting its dorms and walking through its halls. He even sought counseling from his mother, relatives, and friends to cure him from this cursed feeling but nothing worked. He even went through extreme measures to rid of these unwanted images to show that he tried every trick to ease himself.

Well, almost every trick.

He had yet to confront these visions and find this temple that called out to him. And so he began a nomadic life and visited every temple that he could find, and talked with its monks and Jedi. He didn't grace any Sith temples because what type of Sith temple would have beautiful scenery? None at all. And after many weeks and months of traveling, he had come across the world of Monastery, home of the Order of the Sacred Lotus that were reputable of giving aid to those in need and not advocating for violence.

I hope it all ends here.

And made course for a station that was being built above the atmosphere of the planet, hoping to find answers to his questions.

[member="Bethany Kismet"]

 

[Jairus Starvald]

Hoylin​

[member="Evelynn"]​

She had not come to kill anyone.

In Cerbera's experience it was the easiest thing to kill a sentient. They were all quite fragile after all, a bunch of liquids wrapped in bone, flesh and skin, just waiting to be punctured by the least amount of interaction. It was what made it so difficult to experiment on the average sentient, but with the years the Sith had learned the path of least resistance and maximum results. All for the greater good, of course. Science was not a thing that could be mocked or played with, it was an art that needed to be attuned to perfection.

No amateur's game this.

Pathogen B-39a was quite the success already.

Evelynn and her had come to Hoylin about two weeks back under the cover of night, a shuttle of stealth and some minor equipment on hand. It did not take them a very long time to find themselves established in the main port city of Hoylin, its name escaped her even now, but that was quite alright. From there it was simply the task to find a premier source of transmission... the local water sources being the perfect sites and then the actual addition of the pathogen into the streams.

No, Cerbera had not come here to kill - in fact, the choice of the world was simple: there were rumblings of healers nearby. People who wished to help and had done so on some occasions... even assisting with wounded Ren, if the stories were correct.

"I am quite interested to see if their fabled healing will be enough to cure these people, darling." Cerbera mumbled to her companion. That was the entire point of this game, after all, pitting her own talents against theirs. To see if they could make sense of the dark alchemy at work, if they could break through the spells and then deconstruct the poison itself.

Quite interesting... quite interesting indeed.

They simply stood on the terrace of their appartement of the city.

A quarantine was going to be put in place or so everyone whispered.

Already chaos and panic was trying to take root in their spirits, as they wondered if they would be stuck and locked up with the sick. Trying to get away from the city with what they had. After all....... they weren't the ones sick, were they? It was a bright day, paradoxically, the sun was shining bright and the blue skies were stretching out as far as the eye could see.

How disrespectful.

Was the sky not aware that people were starting to suffer?

 

[Beatrice Govan]

Location: Apartment Terrace, Hoylin
Objective: 2, Pestilence
Enemies: The citizens of Hoylin, Healers, Nemene Talith (eternally)
Allies: Cerbera, general malevolence

Poison.

A word not spoken, and only thought. There was no doubt that referring to Pathogen B-39a as a poison out loud would have garnered a small scientific lesson upon the subtle differences between poison and pathogen from Cerbera. Still, a rose by any other name would garner wide-spread pestilence.

Evelynn was of two minds on the matter.

There was a beauty in various varieties of suffering, if one could embrace it. Poisons, pathogens, toxins and viruses could be engineered by those so capable to cause naught but immense agony (Devaronian blood-poison naturally being a keen favourite for the woman). A wonderful concept, of course.

On the other hand, the former Queen of Rattatak had fallen victim to such methods before. Subtle and underhanded. Hidden under the guise and lie of an illness and accompanied by such a tender display of love. I'll look after you, my pet. Anguish of a different sort. Fever. Fatigue. Atrophy. Weakness. Bed-ridden with only the company of the walls around you. Pissing yourself because you couldn't get to...

“Oh.”

A small twinge in her arm indicated that she had dug her own nails into the flesh of her arm, going hard enough to break the skin during her stroll down memory lane.

Suffering without control, the true definition of cruelty.

Upon the terrace she observed the sky in all of its ironic sunny disposition, eyes trailing upon a flock of birds in the midst of migration. Beasts always held that instinct in regards to disaster, knowing the moment before that storm would hint. A smile broke upon the woman's sharp features as she continued to observe the flying formation grow ever smaller in the distance. Death did not cease her adoration of animals, it pleasant to still take simple joy in them.

“Healers are a tenacious sort,” Evelynn replied, her voice a relatively merry tune as any thoughts of her past dissolved into the sky, “I like that.”

What would they do if they were not able to cure them? How would they react? She imagined that healers were somewhat accustomed to stains that just didn't come out. Make them comfortable. Three little words that no doubt chipped away at their spirits. When does that eventuality break a healer? The woman was keen to know. Hopefully Pathogen B-39a would provide an answer.

“I sincerely hope something happens soon,” she continued, smile slowly fading away in a harsh thin line, “I'm getting bored.”

---

[member="Cerbera"]

 

[Kenrath]

Objective: Aikhibba Anarchy (1)
Location: Wandering the city for information
Sub-Objective: Locate Opposition Leader
Allies: None
Enemies: Everyone
Posts: 2
[member="Bethany Kismet"]


After a few minutes Soryn began to head deeper into the city. He followed a few feet behind some sharply dress men who he figured were important. They way they walked, they way they talked, the air of superiority, and the way others reacted to the group gave good indication it was a good idea. Of course with people like these he could have been walking 3 inches behind him and they wouldn't have noticed. These types never noticed anyone they felt were beneath them which in their eyes was everyone.

He listened to them talk about a big meeting and even managed to get a detail or two about where his target could possibly be. The opposition leaders own people may be reasonably tight lipped about his movements but the average person chatted away with rumors like an early morning talk show host.


After what seemed like a half a kilometer Soryn broke off to the right down a back street. From there he looked around finding a way to the roof of a nearby building. From there he could see most of the surrounding area and gauge the flow of people. Looking in the distance he saw a stark difference in the decor between where he was and this particular area.

 

[Hazel Zanteres]

Location: Hoylin, Port City of Hylotl
Objective: [2] Assess the Situation
Enemies: [member="Cerbera"] | [member="Evelynn"]
Allies: OSL | Citizens of Hoylin
Posts: 1

Hazel let out a weathered sigh as she felt the SLV Kismet make its descent down towards the port city, settling down in one of its spaceports. It hadn't been long since the events on Monastery with the Ren, and the doctor was still wasn't quite sure if all that she had expended day had returned yet. Sure it had certainly been the most she had used her Force Healing at one point, but she had never felt so drained once it was all said and done and the Ren had departed.

Bethany had came to see her again when things had calmed down, asked how she was. Hazel had assured her she was fine, just that she would have to take some time to rest and recuperate. Hazel just in general seemed rather out of it since, and had only gradually gotten better in the past day or so. Personally, Hazel had just figured it was because this time she had healed someone who had just passed through death' veil, not on its doorstep as many soldiers in the past had been.

When the call for help came in from Hoylin, Hazel was immediately up and ready to organize a group to head there. Amongst the group was a number of other doctors and scientists, along with a few other Order members; one being [member="Bethany Kismet"]. They had a variety of equipment stored on the ship, ranging from advanced equipment down to the hazard suits and medical tents.

Once the Kismet's ramp was lowered, Hazel walked down it ready to get this underway.

 

[Jairus Starvald]

Hoylin​

[member="Bethany Kismet"]​

[member="Hazel Zanteres"]​

[member="Evelynn"]​

Cerbera followed the line of sight towards the birds.

It was true, of course.

Animals had an instinct... a reflex that caused them to recoil and eventually leave altogether. Sentients had a similar gut-feeling, but the issue with humanoids and other sentients was that this gut-feeling was overridden by other concerns. Stubbornness in the face of the uncontrollable, the fear of losing their homes and other material gains they had worked so hard for across the years or even simply the emotional feelings they experienced for those who were already sick, who couldn't simply be evacuated without being smuggled out.

Fascinating in its own way, really, but that wasn't why Cerbera had come here. The Sith could have picked any other world in the Galaxy outside the purview of the Alliance and the other nations who valued their lacking morality, she could even have simply used a world within the First Order space. Had it not been her pathogen that had allowed the First Order military to pacify those beasts of...

Hmm.

Cerbera could not actually recall the names of those powerful sentient animals, but they had been immensely strong and possessive of a split personality that-

She was getting carried away.

"I think-" The Sith was rudely interrupted when an explosion in the distance rocked the scene. Her head cocked and it was so surgical, sudden in execution that it was difficult to assign it to a human.

"Darling, did you forget to mention you have reality warping powers? We should see what the fuss is about."

It would be annoying if someone else was stealing her show from under her.

 

[Keyan Mastigar]

I
Objective: Distress Signal
Enemies: The Sacred Lotus, The Resurgent Empire

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S O M E W H E R E N E A R V O I D S T A T I O N​

8 5 0 A B Y​

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"The 52nd Fleet is being redirected to the Masterra system." Admiral Strung announced, the sullustan's shimmering blue hologram leered down at the assembled entourage of officers. "Masterra? Isn't that where those flower Jedi are located, what is our business with them?" Vice Admiral Cardan queried, gazing into the eyes of his superior. "The Moff Council realize that they are too close for comfort, and a message must be sent to keep them away from the space that we have coveted since the founding of the Remnant. A distress signal was intercepted and our long range listening stations have detected Sith activity in the system. We will be sending them both a message; Good luck, Admiral." Strung divulged, crossing his arms in front of his chest, before the holoprojector deactivated.


Cardan and also newly-promoted Commander Praxon turned away from the holoprojector towards an ever-updating map of the galaxy. "Dark times indeed. 'Pacifist' Jedi converting entire star systems not even a sector away from our own, an all out war between the First Order and the Galactic Alliance, and Sith elements forming once more in the Tingel Arm. It's as if the entire galaxy has been in a war for the last two decades." The admiral sighed, leaning himself against the map, Praxon nodded lost for words for once.

"We ought to get on our assignment. The 52nd Fleet has several star destroyers, all of different variants of the Imperator-class, along with a dozen or so cruisers, frigates, and corvettes, alert their captains and commanders. Prepare for the jump to hyperspace and inform Void Station of our fleet movement." Gromm ordered, receiving a bow from Praxon. Cardan proceeded to move towards the viewports of his star battlecruiser to gaze out at the moving fleet before him.

 

[Beatrice Govan]

Location: Apartment Terrace, Hoylin
Objective: 2, Pestilence
Enemies: The citizens of Hoylin, [member="Hazel Zanteres"], [member="Bethany Kismet"] Nemene Talith (eternally)
Allies: [member="Cerbera"], general malevolence

Well, that was unusual. There hadn't been much mention of the pathogen being responsible for large explosions. Unintended side effect, surely. Not that the woman would be likely to complain about the sudden bloom of chaos, she had, after all, just stated her boredom.

“There are a great many things that I have forgotten to mention,” she spoke, a blonde sliver of an eyebrow piqued in curiosity, “but not this, I'm afraid.”

What could have been the cause? For a moment Evelynn merely stood, watching as black smoke began to spew ever higher into the sky. Certainly not the aid workers and healers. Seemed far too soon for civilian panic to reach this heights, but it was still a possibility. Most likely the work of the advantageous, looters perhaps, or maybe those simply invested in the maelstrom.

Nevertheless, they would find out no further detail simply standing there observing from the terrace.

“Yes, lets,” the woman replied, before a soft smile graced her features, one that was directed at Cebera herself, “I wonder if you have competition in your chaos."

It made no difference to Evelynn herself, her interests did not lay in scientific pursuits, her own selfish nature could not be denied. More carnage meant, well, more carnage and where exactly was the problem in that?

“It would be quite rude.”

 

[Bethany Kismet]

Location: Hoylin, Port City of Hylotl
Objective: 2- Assess
Enemies: [member="Cerbera"] [member="Evelynn"]
Allies: [member="Hazel Zanteres"] [member="Zip"] (?)
Post: 2

If Bethany had her way, she would never travel in the SLV Kismet. Ever. It made her uncomfortable, having a ship named after her. Unfortunately, she hadn't been given a say in the matter- neither in its naming nor in the fact that it was the ship Hazel seemed to prefer and had been chosen for the Hoylin mission. This is what happened when she delegated.

The diminutive Jedi Master, like everyone on the team arranged by the good Doctor, was ensconced in her suit before the ship even opened its doors. This was not Bethany's first time coming into contact with an unknown contagion- it likely wouldn't be the last- and she was no stranger to the biological necessities of protecting themselves while trying to discover the nature of the sickness.

The gloves of the suit were bulky, and it took a few tries to poke at the data screen she held in front of her. Looking up into the clear, blue sky, she frowned slightly, then looked back at the data pad.

"Let's get everything unloaded," she called over her shoulder. "We have permission to set up in there," she continued, pointing at the city's Civil Center. The moderately sized domed building had been set aside by the city leadership for their use.

Her frown persisted and she looked up at the sky again, then turned around slowly, emerald gaze taking in the city itself.

Frown frown frown.

"Something's wrong here."
​"Well of course Miss Kismet. We wouldn't be here otherwise," one of the porters quipped as he went past with a crate.

Frown.

No. It was something else.

Reaching out with the Force, she just barely brushed against something when several things at once broke her concentration.

The sound of an explosion, much closer to their location than she was even remotely comfortable with, sent a shudder through the ground beneath their feet. Gaze snapped in that direction as one of the Lotus jogged up to her, following her gaze with a worried look.

"They've sent us the samples you requested, Bethany. We'll prioritize getting the equipment set up so that we can start running tests. The city is taking care of the quarantine radius themselves, so we don't have to worry about that. I don't know what that was, but we'll get the Journeymen Master Sardun sent along with us set up around our own perimeter. Best to let the city officials deal with that.... whatever it was, unless they ask for our help. We didn't come prepared for anything like that."

Bethany nodded absently. "Yes, yes of course."

But when she reached out again, whatever it was that she had felt before was gone.

Frown.

​​"I wish Michael was here," she murmured softly to herself, troubled and casting another look at the slowly rising plume of smoke, before heading toward the Civic Center.

 

[Gabriel Sionoma]

Location: Space, Jumping from Hyperspace in proximity to Masterra
Objective: 4 - Assess
Enemies: None
Allies: Not sure yet

"No, I don't really trust it."

He slipped a finger into the forearm of the armor, trying furiously to get a scratch. The boarding ship was being re purposed as an exploratory vessel for the Sulon Law Enforcement Expeditionary Group, which ran short as SLEEG. Gabe had started it a decent time ago, following his mishap running from Selvaris to Sullust. In truth, he wasn't here for anything important. He was hoping to find precious metals in a rumored asteroid field on the outskirts of Falleen. But the long range scanners put a quick end to that search.

"Maybe we could toss out a beacon - "

"No..." He leaned forward onto the dash, looking out into the depths of space. "There's a lot of space out there and a lot of directions. I don't suspect we are alone."

"Should we help?"

Gabe smirked as he shook his head. "That's a stupid question." He pressed a firm grip on the pilots shoulder. "Take us in slow. Fire up the disruptor shields and once we get close, we'll have to discern if there has been a hull breach."

"And if there hasn't."

"Well..." He took a long breath as he left the cockpit. "Guess I'll be taking a stroll outside."

 

[Elisea Apollodor]

HAVEN​

Monastery​

​

​

"It's beautiful," Elisea commented as the SLV Dawnstar arrived within Haven's view. "Remind me to give my thanks to the Corps."​

​

​

​

Haven was the most recent gift from the First Order to the Order of the Sacred Lotus. Windsor-class if Elisea had read the paper properly, meant to serve as a regional medical center and for a place like the Sacred Lotus? Perfect. Indeed it was quite a sight to see the FOCIE out here this far from home, she saw their badges reflecting in the lights as a team stood on the hull of the third tower. And for the moment, the native Avalonian was quite proud of her nation. Even if they and the Galactic Alliance were now in a state of war, as it meant that she should return home. Balance knows she's been waiting on hand and foot for the call. That was part of being FIMS, she thought to herself, waiting for the call to go home and serve her nation. In fact, she wore the familiar black jumper with the white and yellow patch, black boots and the reflective lettering of her name. KORRADO. Steadily the Dawnstar pulled into the ambulatory hangar and again there was a smile on Elisea's face as she watched the lights pour across the vessel. "Most of this section has been completed, if you'd like a tour, lass," Quith said softly with a smile.

"I'd love to," she told him and walked behind him toward the airlock as the ship secured in docking clamp gave the go-ahead to disembark. ​

​

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Post 1​

Obj 5​

 

[Jairus Starvald]

Hoylin​

[member="Bethany Kismet"]​

[member="Hazel Zanteres"]​

[member="Evelynn"]​

Before Cerbera could respond once again she found herself interrupted.

But this wasn't the interruption of an explosion or even the soft touch of a knife cutting through focus. No, this was the interruption of a presence brushing against her, before retreating just as quickly - almost as if it hadn't been there to begin with. Her head turned, snapped, in the general direction it had come from... farther away from them, but close to where the ships of the Sacred Lotus would have landed before turning their march towards the Civil Center of the Port City. The Sith had made sure to convert a few individuals to her service, before settling in for her plans.

None of the higher-ranked ones, of course.

Too protected and in general it would have made this thing far too easy. She wished for a challenge, not simply to run over these Jedi and dance with their bones. Fun... was only fun when you had to work for it at least a little bit.

"They have arrived..." The smile tugging at her lips was too large, too sharp and showing teeth, to truly be of any comfort. "Come... come, we can study their efforts later, first I want to see who is, rudely, stealing my show."

A cowl was pushed down to obscure her features, a mask for her mouth and gloves for her skin.

None of that was necessary.

Prior to their arrival of the world the Sith had ensured that the vectors of the pathogen was incompatible with her and Evelynn. They could exchange any amount of fluids or touches with the sick and there would be no difference for them at all, but you had to make the effort to blend into the crowd. Otherwise you put attention on yourself and this was not the time for that...... yet.

The brush of the people was thick as they tried to flee the site of the explosion. Cerbera was stubborn though and a little bit annoyed how much they pressed against her at any given moment.

These ones had no idea about personal space.

Every once in a while her gloved hand snaked past guards and touched a shoulder or a side or a leg or anything else. Obfuscated as simply steadying herself Evelynn would know better than that.

With those touches she gauged the development of their sickness..... and guided it where necessary.

Enhancing, strengthening, maybe pushing the disease into new and ground-breaking corners. It would be quite confusing for the Sacred Lotus, once they found out that the illness was not one strain, not one homogeneous mess.

It wouldn't be fun, if they didn't have to work for it.

 

[Hazel Zanteres]

Location: Hoylin, Port City of Hylotl
Objective: [2] Assess the Situation
Enemies: [member="Cerbera"] | [member="Evelynn"]
Allies: [member="Bethany Kismet"] | [member="Zip"]
Posts: 2

Once they had their feet firmly planted on the ground, Hazel immediately had her datapad reassessing the information they had originally received. Apparently to the city at least, the contagion had struck without warning, with the only proceeding elements being a gradual yet swift increase in general illness over a certain period. Even the time frame wasn't accurate.

The scrambled together report was a mess of information that had to be pieced together. Of which the only thing Hazel was certain of was the fact it was common for the infected to start with a minor cough, then it evolved into one illness or another. A cold, the flu, a stomach bug, and so on.

In Hazel's mind this was painting a picture, and it was missing some colours.

Following by Bethany's side, Hazel was brought out of her own musings when the Jedi Master claimed something was wrong. Of the time she had spent with and around the woman, Hazel learned that if she felt something wasn't quite right, then there was a high chance it was true.

While Hazel hadn't been trained beyond her Healing, it was almost impossible not to pick up on things through the Force. And while she couldn't reach out with it like Bethany, she could still feel something.

Like a cold breath down her back. One that made her feel tense and uncomfortable.

Then the explosion went off, close enough to rumble the ground beneath them. Hazel's attention snapped towards it, wondering what had caused it. An accident? Or maybe the unrest and chaos had hit the level of violence already.

But it was something she couldn't afford to focus on. There was much more pressing issues at hand. She gave a nod when one of the Lotus approached them about the samples. Getting the equipment up and ready tto examine them was essential to get the earliest possible chance to analyze them. Added to the fact it had already been circulating for weeks now. Before the Order member walked of, Hazel quickly chimed in.

"Could we perhaps get a message to the city's hospitals? I'd like a copy of all their reports, mainly on the patients that came in over the course of the last three weeks."

Hazel had queries she wanted answers too, and she knew those reports would likely give her a better summary of what the situation was like from the start. After that, she continued following Bethany towards the Civic Center.

 

[Beatrice Govan]

Location: Apartment Terrace, Hoylin
Objective: 2, Pestilence
Enemies: The citizens of Hoylin, Hazel Zanteres, Bethany Kismet, Nemene Talith (eternally)
Allies: Cerbera, general malevolence

They have arrived.

They.

Evelynn's real focus of interest. Eyes flashed with malice for but a moment, smile still paradoxically soft. It was no real surprise that the returned woman wasn't pack to pursue a scientific interest. Her purpose and passion was by and large very different from Cerbera's and frankly bound by simplicity. Pleasure.

Still, they held an agreement and Evelynn Dorn may have been a lot of things, but treacherous was not one of them. No, more prone to attracting treachery. Needless to say, she would aid the green-skinned woman in any way she could.

Even if that included wrapping oneself up in far too many layers of protective clothing. The layers seemed excessive, offering discomfort and a feeling of being smothered. Exposure was excitement. It held that vulnerability that so often was a precursor to pain. Gloves. Masks. So safe, so stiff but alas, a necessity to retain some semblance of camouflage.

Pushing into a fleeing mob of people was not, perhaps the easiest of tasks. Not without creating a scene, at the very least. Evelynn was not a tall woman, nor broad. In fact she sat upon the opposite scale of that spectrum, short and so painfully thin.

Hands pushed and shoulders barged, the woman just allowing herself to be buffeted around as they made their way to the source of the excitement. Delight reflected within emerald eyes as the mask obscured the way her mouth gaped open in amazement.

Panic. Heat. Tears. Smoke. Blood. Look at their faces. Look at all of those faces. To be in the thick of it all. To be amongst them all. Oh and it had been so long.

“Oh my,” Evelynn whispered to herself, taking the time to truly breathe in the atmosphere that surrounded them, “now what has happened here?”

 

[Jairus Starvald]

Hoylin​

[member="Bethany Kismet"]​

[member="Hazel Zanteres"]​

[member="Evelynn"]​

​

Soon enough they cleared the buffeting thickness of the crowd and let the crying shouts behind them.

This was a relief to Cerbera, because the pressure on her was becoming a bit too much.

More and she probably would have started to lash out irrationally against everything she could get her hands on. It wasn't true claustrophobia or anything similar to that, but the Sith enjoyed a certain measure of privacy and personal space and it was no different here.

"Opportunists." The Alchemist responded absent-mindedly as they stuck to the fringes of the street. A few meters ahead, they could see the burning silhouette of a store.

Shadows were moving quickly away from it with booty in hand.

Nobody seemed to care about extinguishing the flames though and by the looks of it the fire would spread quickly here. Old district with plenty of wood and other flammable materials used in the construction. The entire sector would burn to the ground, if someone didn't got their crap together.

There was more activity down the streets as thugs and criminals used the lack of security forces here to get as much as they could.

No wonder the regulars were running away.

"I think we found ourselves some new test subjects, darling, would you like to see what we could turn them into?"

There were still a few vials left in her pouches. Perhaps they could create a few interesting new Sithspawn, while they were at it, it would certainly tip off their presence to the Jedi... but something told Cerbera that they were already aware something wrong was afoot here.

Might as well enjoy.

 

[Beatrice Govan]

Location: City streets, Hoylin
Objective: 2, Pestilence
Enemies: The citizens of Hoylin, Hazel Zanteres, Bethany Kismet, Nemene Talith (eternally)
Allies: Cerbera, growing chaos

“It would seem so.”

Look for the helpers. Uplifting advice given to children in times of strife. Disease. War. Famine. Natural disasters. Look for the helpers they beg. As if uplifting acts of charity could really remedy any ills of the galaxy. They wouldn't find the helpers. They would look to the news and see this.

Vandalism! Theft! Violence! Flames!

The wicked capabilities of mankind in a time of crisis, the advantageous nature of those seeking to benefit themselves in a time of crisis. This would be the focal point. Look, look at these people! People like you and I, doing such terrible, dastardly things! This is truly the downfall of our society! More headlines, more views, more credits.

Who cares about healers trying their best?

So selfless, so strong. Poor, brave unsung heroes, who do it all because it was the right thing to do. Behind the surgical mask a grin crept forth, constructed of bared eager teeth, her tongue pushing against them like the masses would push against fences to escape quarantine.

Oh, it was almost too much and in the same breath not enough. She needed more, more chaos, more depravity, more of Hoylin's worst to feed off of. Give me more of your avarice and I will show you my own.

Evelynn's head snapped in the direction of Cebera as soon as she spoke, eyes ablaze and hungry, her first foray back into the perverseness of the galaxy feeding into a frenzy. The excitement did not cease to build within her, it grew and it grew and it needed to be fed.

“Yes!” the woman hissed, no deception found within her eagerness, “Show me!”