Faction Pt. 1 - Abaddon's Gate | Chaos Rising

[Kazuhira]

LOCATION: Brentaal System, Surface of Brentaal IV
TAGS: Maynard Treicolt | Loske Treicolt | Dak | Tristan Evore | Spasa | Seo Linn | Gala Geert | Leon Gallo

---

The sight and sound of the red flickering and high pitched hissing of Maynard's flare was a clear vision to Kaz as if he had been right next to it. The sound of a cerulean plasma extending from the hilt of a lightsaber, the screeching of a chaos spawn beneath its fury, the ringing in the ears of a downed pilot, it was all as if he were experiencing it for himself. The intensity of this vicarious experience only intensified as he drew closer and closer to Maynard's location. Kaz continued to sprint down this trail of emotions and concepts, led secretly by the guiding hand of the force.

As Kaz reached the apex of a small hill he could see the site of the X-Wing wreckage, and the Chaos spawn that slowly began to surround it. He raised his lightsaber over his head, and with one long arc of his arm to the side, he clicked the blade-lock mechanism in place and vaulted it through the air. The viridescent whirling death sliced through the air like a sawblade, chopping through a swath of chaos spawn. Kaz leaped off of the hill and through the air over the crash site. The whirling saber changed directory on a dime and returned to its wielder. Kaz caught it upside down, following through with his leap and landing atop a larger spawn and plunging the emerald plasmatic doom bringer into it. With a sudden jerk to the side, the blade burned itself free of the creature and the abhorrent wailing it emitted came to a halt. The old master quickly took a position beside Maynard Treicolt and wordlessly assisted him againt the horde as they waited for a response to the flare.

 

[Leon Gallo]

Leon hadn't arrived in time to help much. Only a couple of stragglers were not aboard, and they soon were. The refugees and soldiers all looked exhausted. A few sat down, leaning against walls or boxes. Leon saw one couple fall into each other's arm, only held up by the other. A child clung to her mother, and two brothers helped their elderly father to sit. This was what he had come to Brentaal IV to fight for. This is what he wanted to save. The people, who had nowhere to turn but to each other. Their lives were now changed forever. Most probably didn't have family or friends off world.Their lives would be hard, but that made them lucky. Hundreds of thousands, if not millions, lost their lives.

Even the soldiers were turning to their brothers and sisters in arms. Congratulatory words, or comforts for a lost squad mate. They were escaping this world alive, knowing they had fought for something truly good. Leon smiled to himself. The feeling of relief flooded even his mind. This scene of hope, yet also of incredible tragedy would make for quite a painting, the next chance he got to relax.

Leon was caught off guard by the wave of energy released by A Aeris and thrown to the floor. The hangar was filled with shocked screams and startled shouts. The young Jedi sat for a moment, dazed, before springing to his feet. His saber came to his hand, ready to defend the civilians. Nothing came. The corvette continued to fly, albeit rocking slightly. Leon felt the same dread he had felt before come over him again.



Dak Gala Geert Seo Linn Maynard Treicolt Kazuhira

 

[Maynard Treicolt]

// LOCATION // X-01 'Skywalker' X-Wing // Marooned and awaiting evac
// THEMATIC // The Humbling River
// FOCUS // Ryv | Loske Treicolt | Cassius Callaesar | Kazuhira | Leon Gallo | Dak

The blade sliced another of the beast's right in two before Maynard shifted his head toward the next closest on the approach, surging toward it before he diced it up with a rapid flurry of cuts through its chest before it plummeted to the ground before him.

His senses were suspended in isolation through the force. His vision only what he could reach out and touch through his tethered connection to the force. All the while his breathing grew heavy in time with his heartbeat. Which initially began as a manageable pack of the chaos spawn soon turned overwhelming until the wordless arrival of the Chiss master, Kazuhira at Outrider's flank.

To what might've been effortless to the Chiss required every fiber of the wayward adept. Each voidspawn slain wrenching a great deal of energy and will from the pilot whose aching bones and muscle was barely able to keep him upright in the chaos.

In what had been a rare sight, a reprieve had appeared in the sight of the Ashaton booming down with its trajectory centered on the desperate flare as the voidspawn overwhelmed and choked out the life of the position. Breaking from his force infused gaze his focus shifted in entirety toward the ship.

Sheathing his saber he glanced back toward Kazuhira for a moment, lurching over to tap his hand against his shoulder a few times before he broke off toward the vessel. It was then in the last moment that he stopped dead in his tracks, his gaze snapping toward the ground only to find the battered remains of his BB unit letting off a whirring and distorted series of binary beeps.

Scraping with mortality if only to scoop up the droid Maynard embarked aboard the corvette wordlessly snapping his gaze back to offer a hand for the Chiss master to climb aboard.

 

[Seo Linn]

After darkness had taken Seo Linn, that was all she knew until she was embraced in light. It seemed she was on the precipice of life and death. Her body was cold, but her mind was sharp. Almost as quickly as the light had taken her, she was once again in darkness.

Before sitting up, she just laid on what was under her. Around her was a silence so deafening that for a few moments, she was sure she was deaf. Then her own breathing reached her ears. Taking time to assess and decide just how much damage had been done to her, she wondered just how she had escaped.

Eventually, she felt confident she could stand. With her head spinning, when she did try, she fell back onto her rear end. Even though no bones had been broken, her head hurt like it had been pounded into the ground by a ten-ton monster. That is probably pretty close to what happened even if it hadn't been quite ten tons.

Making herself comfortable, she waited. Reaching out with the Force, she searched for any other life in this dark area. Where was she? Was there a way for her to return? Some of these things would have to be explained later. Right now, what she wanted to accomplish was contact. Hopefully, somebody would feel her touch through the Force. However, she also hoped it wasn't going to be anything hostile...

Patience was something the Knight had quite a lot of. All she had to do was wait, be on her guard and hope.

Spasa

 

[Dak]

Vuultin City // ISV Ashaton // Airborne
Interacting With: Leon Gallo Gala Geert Kazuhira Maynard Treicolt
Tags: Ryv Tristan Evore Spasa Seo Linn

​

"They're aboard, pull up!" the Duros captain orders, pointing a commanding finger to the helmsman. Sighs of relief escape some officers of the bridge, Jaang among them "Good work. Now get us the hell out of here -- set a course for Anaxes."

Standing on the ramp to the Ashaton's hangar, an elite squad of the SIA's special operatives rain fire down upon the voidspawn to hold them at bay while the pilot and Master Jedi board. <<Move, move,>> a vocoded voice broadcasts from the helmet of their squad leader as he waves them up the ramp. As they reach the top he gestures with a movement of his T-visored helmet to a makeshift screening area in the crammed bay <<Go with the others. Medical personal will be around in time.>>

The sound of the operatives' particle blasters fade as the corvette pulls up above the reach of the beasts, replaced by the muffled rumbling of the Ashaton's heavy rotary cannons. The fighting was over for now. The rest was in the hands of the bridge crew to ensure they made it out alive.

A doorway leading to the ship's upper levels opens, allowing Dak to step into the desperate scene for the first time. There were hundreds of people, far beyond the bay's capacity, huddled uncomfortably into barely discernible sectioned groups. Even the droid could recognize the cloud of gloom that hung over everyone. It did not take an organic mind to recognize the trauma of such an event.

"Gladio," Dak calls to the mirialan as he approaches. Coming to a stop next to her, he adds in his typical flat tone , "I am glad you survived."

He looks around them, taking a note of the few medical personnel and droids going through the groups to check for those in need of urgent care or displaying lingering signs of whatever strange ailment the planet had suffered from "Cpt. Vod has decided that we are going to travel with the naval fleet and civilian vessels to Anaxes." He looks back to her, assessing the woman for notable signs of damage himself "I think it's safe to say we're dealing with something other than the Blackwing virus."

 

[Loske Treicolt]

Vuultin City // sf-58 Thunderbird Starfighter // Retreating
// A Aeris //
OH FETH!
​

​

Helplessly, Loske watched in horror as the triage of emerald plasma was suspended and diverted from its target. The gasp that she was supposed to exhale never came, it remained trapped in her throat while she remained on a collision course with the netherworld titan. It didn't stop her from firing, though. If anything, she increased the pressure on the trigger, as if sheer will itself would tear through his deflection techniques.

Energy surge detected, I can't source it--- Frank started, but the sentence was unfinished. Loske felt it too, that familiar tickle at the nape of her neck before something bad happened. Oh no.

She had no time to slam on the brakes or any sort of evasive maneuver before a telekinetic tidal wave rolled out from the centre of the chaotic maestro. Her haptic pads vibrated out of control, further overwhelming her senses while the ship shuddered and groaned at the attack. The rippling wave engulfing the entirety of the fighter and shearing the plating of her thunderbird from the nose and parts of the wings. A succession of klaxons broke out within the cockpit as reports of failing systems flashed on her screen. Frank was frantically roll calling parts of the ship that were structurally and functionally damaged. On top of all the detrimental harm, the ship's Air Scrubber combusted in a cloud of bubblegum scent that filled the cockpit.

Structural damage! The generator is failing! Advise we retreat while we still can.

Coughing through the manufactured odour, Loske had to focus on preventing that wave from coring through her and the astromech strapped within the starfighter.

"I hate running." Her thrusters struggled against the metaphysical onslaught. She'd have to redirect her shield and repulsors power to aid in the backward push, to roll with the wave rather than fight it. The systems were unresponsive. "Frank! Turn us off! Kill power and reboot."

Without hestiation, the astromech disengaged the engines, life support, and other systems that were still online. Loske drew in a deep breath and leaned back into her seat while the starfighter rolled backward, riding the wave. The one benefit from this situation, was the blast managed to knock over any buildings she would have otherwise knocked into by now.

The seconds tick-tocked by while the ship shuddered lifelessly in the push, strips of metal becoming nothing more than debris in the wake. If this went on much longer, she wouldn't have a ship to get out. Finally, the systems beeped back online.

Using the re-energized restart, Loske redirected the ion maneuvering jets to point to the front to the fighter, and revving the fusial thrusters to rocket her beyond the shockwave -- slipping out of it's control. Yanking hard on the yoke, she rerouted the jets to point parallel and rocket upward and away.

For once, Loske took Frank's advice to retreat.

 

[Ryv]

​

Once more, the world swayed in a constant blur for the downed Jedi. His eyes fluttered open, then closed once more, the world fading away into darkness as Ryv tried to regain his senses. The wave of destructive energy caused by the orbital bombardment, followed by Abaddon's telekinetic barrier, battered him both mentally and physically. He couldn't be sure how much time passed since the force took him off his feet. As much as he wanted to stay down and take a nap, Ryv forced himself to roll over onto his side and look back towards the armored titan. Loske's starfighter raced away from him, following the flow of retreating ships away from the doomed planet. The sight brought a smile to his battered and grimy face.

"Nice, dude," Ryv muttered as he crawled on his hands and knees to a nearby pile of debris. He took hold of a corner and pulled himself to his feet. "Ah man, I think I broke my entire body," he groaned out, his attention snapping to his surroundings as he looked for his lightsaber. "Shit, shit, shit, shit, I can't lose it no- oh, nice," his panic disappeared as he hurried over to the fallen weapon, hid among a smaller pile of debris a dozen feet away. He pulled the hilt to his hand and ran his gloved fingers across the surface of his late father's lightsaber. "I gotta be honest, pops, I'm really scared," once more, Ryv's attention flickered back to the monstrosity holding an orbital bombardment at bay. "I know what I have to do. I have to stop him. I have to put an end to it all but," he slowly dragged his gaze to the weapons of mass destruction floating above the planet.

Tears welled up in the kiffar's eyes as the sudden wave of raw, unchecked emotion crashed over him. Ryv swallowed hard and put one step in front of the other, forcing his body towards the greatest evil he'd ever known.

"For the first time in forever, I've been happy," Ryv continued speaking to the lightsaber, his voice barely above a whisper. "I like a girl, dad. You'd of been proud of me if you met her. She's so smart and understanding, never jumping to action or judging others before hearing them out. Everything you wan-" his voice cracked as he felt his movement falter. His vision blurred, not from the force of impact or the blood caking his face, but the tears beginning to flood out and run down his cheeks. "Everything you wanted me to be," he finished. "I have friends too, dad. Maynard is such a hardworking dude, probably all the damn corn in his diet growing up. He never shuts up about the stuff," a small chuckle escaped the kiffar before he tumbled to the ground, his foot caught in the uneven terrain. A broken sob escaped his body, followed by a grunt of pain more akin to a wounded animal than a kiffar.

"He says the best corn comes from Concord Dawn. Something about the texture of the soil," Ryv continued before taking hold of the dirt and steadied himself as he dragged his knees forward. He pushed off the ground once his knees were beneath him, shakily getting to his feet. "There's also Aaran and Bernard. Aaran is a real goofball," a bloodied sleeve wiped the tears from his gaze as he continued marching towards Abaddon. "Open-hearted, dude. Nothing like Bernard. He's an arkanian, though, so I guess that's normal for em."

Ryv felt himself slow to a stop as he gauged the distance between him and his foe. Ten more feet. Ten more steps before Ryv would have to face the creature who'd done nothing but beat him into the dirt since he revealed himself. The kiffar's foot shakily moved forward, taking the first of them.

"I'm sorry, Cedric," Ryv uttered weakly. "I'm sorry I couldn't save these people and get em all home."

The second step followed the first, Ryv's entire body shaking as he willed himself forward. "I'm sorry Wyatt. I know we dreamed of putting the Jedi back together, but you'll have to do it without me," his words shook, even as he set his foot down a third time. He struggled to breathe as his chest ached and every fiber of his being screamed at him to turn the other way. Three more steps put him that much closer to Abaddon.

"Fuck man," Ryv stumbled once more, barely managing to stay on his feet. "Maynard, Loske, I'm sorry I couldn't make it home with you guys today. You're gonna have to keep fighting without me," the ache intensified as the thought of his two best friends taking on the galaxy without him nearly broke his spirit. "I want to be there next to you, I really do, man. I couldn't imagine a better way to spend my days than by your sides doing the impossible," the Jedi's gaze dropped to the patch on his shoulder. It symbolized his place as a member of Saber Squadron, something they built together.

"Auteme," the kiffar began, his foot now sliding through the muck as he could nearly reach out and touch the source of his troubles. "I'm sorry I'm not gonna make it back to Peace to hang out again. I uh," Ryv closed his eyes real tight, fighting back a fresh wave of tears. "I wanted to ask you out on a date sometime," his eyes slowly opened as he stepped up behind Abaddon and took hold of his father's lightsaber in both hands. The Jedi looked up at the back of the entity's head, his world crashing inward as reality set in for the young man.

"I don't want to go! I don't want to die, dad!" Ryv's voice echoed from behind the fallen Jedi. A snap-hiss followed the decree as a green-bladed lightsaber pierced the monstrosity's back and exploded out the other side.

A Aeris ​

 

[Aeris]

"I don't want to die, dad!"​

Abaddon's helmet jolts to the right as the Knight lets out his hollering plea. The otherworldly entity's verdant gaze leers down upon Ryv in disbelief that he had pulled himself back from the dirt, but it was too late for him to react.

The kiffar's emerald blade erupts from the titan's chestpiece, forcing him to adjust his footing to avoid toppling over. His eyes turn skyward as his body jerks from the blow, then lower to observe the blade of light that had pierced him. How unexpected. His elbows buckle briefly, wavering under the crushing strength of the warheads as his body begins to lose some strength.

With the lightsaber still burning through his armour and chest, a booming voice emanates from the armoured figure still standing before the Jedi. "The Force bends to me, Jedi. Understand that this is what you face," Abaddon's gauntlets rattle as his hands shake in his grapple with the bombardment "you are shortsighted -- your hopes and fears irrelevant. This action changes nothing."

His elbows finally bend and his hands collapse closer to his chest, barely able to hold off the weight of the warheads any longer. "I see your thoughts, Ryv, and feel your emotions. You are nothing more than a scared little boy with a lightsaber. You have merely delayed what is inevitable. This planet will burn, and the rest will follow in time. I will take everything from you, and those you wish to protect will die. But even then they will not escape me -- I will pluck their souls from the Mists-Beyond."

Abaddon takes a heavy step forward, pulling himself off the blade then straining to turn and stare down the boy directly, visibly struggling to keep himself standing under the mounting pressure "and you, Jedi, will watch for eternity. There will be no end. No hope. I will always survive. I am beyond death."

Finally unable to hold back the hypervelocity cannons any longer, Abaddon is forced to release his telekinetic grip. As the two warheads continue to race forward, the ground and light around the juggernaut and Jedi bends impossibly. Vibrant green light pours from the cracks and creases of Abaddon's heavy armour and the sockets of the helmet erupt into emerald fires. In the last possible moment before impact, the titan reaches out and wraps a massive hand around the kiffar's throat and shoulder, lifting him off the ground in an effortless and seamless movement. The being's touch is blistering, but beyond that of flames; like a corrupting scorch to the soul itself.

Then suddenly -- nothing.

A moment later three new mushroom clouds rise from the surface of Brentaal IV. The combination of the four powerful warheads had completely leveled Vuultin and most of the surrounding area, leaving nothing but a radiated wasteland in the wake of the blasts and resulting shockwaves.

Ryv | Spasa | Seo Linn | Maynard Treicolt | Gala Geert
Tristan Evore | Kazuhira​

 

[Spasa]

In absolute darkness…

Seo Linn would need to know that Time doesn't exactly exist here. Anything can pass outside but the moment inside here won't budge from now. Mental anguish will feel like an eternity however, if you allow it. You've got to ride the Nether like it were a beast. Don't show your fear. Don't weep for yourself or anyone else. It exists. You exist. They exist. And I am here with you. Possibly I did not save you as I intended, but I am headstrong to try my hand at it and to make amends to you.

You have the power to command them, but you have absolutely nothing if you do not believe. To believe in what your commands are capable of, is to believe not only in yourself, but likewise validate the power that passes you the authority you borrow. Spasa grew up with teachers who knew exactly what could be needed in life. She too never understood their lessons until it was all unfolded before her. Now she is not the led, she is the leader. She is not carried along by another, she is made to fight her way across the darkness.

No much at all existed that followed the rule of Physics which all in the material world have come to realize. Spasa thought long and hard to be able to determine just how she should perceive Seo Linn here. Light became devoured like a sinister offering to the haughty beast. Sound like pain, are functions which remained here as it functioned in the physical realm.

They feast upon the Light, painful as it was for them to touch, surrounding Seo in the distance, inching their way closer. How they fought off their disgust to continue towards their goal, towards her. Devour it. Fleeting footsteps would pass overhead, growing louder upon approach and then softer as they receded. This happening repeated over and over, each time the footfalls would grew louder and louder, more frantic, closing in on Seo's location a little more each time. The final time they came to pass directly over Seo, and crashed down upon her loud as thunder. At that instance Spasa extended her arms and clutched hold of Seo with a death grip sealing the other Jedi up into her caring embrace.

Her flesh was blackened, her bones broken and twisted, but Spasa would take the whole of what the Nether has to deal out to them, protecting Seo from its touch. Spasa would make it to a different place within this plane which stretched across the galaxy. She struggled to locate any possible exit in which to free Seo. The energy of this area however, seemed trapped near a great and most evil power source, and as soon as she had fled to a point where she saw freedom for them both, she would be sucked back in towards their captor. The circle continued, and she did not tire of it; she couldn't, lest she become consumed by despair.

She concentrated so much on her goal, she spent not one breath on commanding her authority over it which would require stopping and above all conjuring. Nor did she realize her effort in vain, for it has only been but a moment in time surely! Four thousand-nine hundred-fifty-six attempts...just a short moment!

"There it is Seo! I see a doorway out of here. We will escape here soon!" She travelled the Nether Realm all the time, walked in and then out...only not from this exact location within the Nether, so near as she was to it.

 

[Spirit of Unity]

Brentaal system // Near Brentaal IV // ISV Ashaton

​

Despite escaping Vuultin moments before the devastating blasts enveloped the city, the Nox-class corvette was far from in the clear. Above the ravaged planet the Imperium's naval forces were locked in a hopeless battle with the monstrous forces of the Beyond. Horrific voidspawn entities chase after allied starfighters as they move to assist and shred sub-capital vessels, tearing them apart with razor claws and metal-piercing fangs.

In the distance, the titanic leviathan strains as it tries to pull the last sections of it's body through the vortex and into reality, lashing out at the ships nearby with thousands of jagged, opposable tongues, pulling the unfortunate few it manages to hook into its maw. Captain Vod does his best to avoid looking at the beast of nightmares, trying to focus on the situation at hand. There was nothing he or his crew could do about something of that magnitude anyway.

"Keep those rotaries firing and direct power to the Gos Karzas," beads of sweat drip from the Duros' large, bald head. They were in the final stretch now. The Ashaton makes a series of sharp banking turns, managing to narrowly avoid contact with several creatures as they dart through the void after a starfighter squadron.

"They're all over the place," the Sensors Officer mutters to himself, clearly exasperated by the readout on his screen "they've got to be outnumbering our fighters 5 to 1."

A young Abyssian ordinance specialist slams his hand down on his console, letting out a frustrated curse, "We don't have the firepower for this, Captain! We're a stealth corvette, not a gunship!" The eerily timed sight of a Sacheen II frigate bursting into flames while a swarm of voidspawn flee the scene steals the attention of a few of the bridge's crew members.

Jaang looks down to the left crew pit, to the junior officer overseeing their Stygium systems "Would our cloaking system be effective, 2nd Lieutenant?"

The woman shakes her head in response, "Unlikely, sir. These creatures are biological -- they're not relying on sensory equipment."

"Kark! They're coming right for us!" before an evasive maneuver can even be considered, multiple squid-like creatures slam into the hull of the Ashaton, clinging to the vessel with barbed tendrils "Four of them, sir!"

With quick reflexes from the weapons specialists, one of them is eviscerated with a blip from the rotary cannon it had landed next to. The helmsman frantically keys at the corvette's control panel, throwing the ship into a spin in an attempt to disorient them. From the left-most viewport of the bridge, a spike-capped tentacle rises and poises itself to pierce the transparisteel separating the officers from the vacuum of space. Vod points to the scene, calling out as fast as his reflex allow him "Blast shielding up!"

At the last possible moment as the creature's limb launches forward to deliver the fatal blow, the impervium blast shielding drops to cover the vulnerable ports. A resounding thud from the impact echoes through the bridge and a slight dent appears in the plating where the attack would have penetrated. The Captain lets out a choked sigh -- it was far too close of a close call.

"Starfighters inbound," the Sensors Officer's eyes follow the four green markers on their display. Three green markers. Two green markers. As the last duo pass over the Ashaton's location, another one of the latched monsters vanishes from the sensors.

"They got another one," he confirms, bittersweet "there's only one more on us."

As if to mock the moment of hope and relief, the vessel rocks and sparks fly from multiple points in the bridge. A red glow illuminates the men and women as the room falls to an emergency power reserve, and the sound of klaxons can be heard ringing from the exterior halls.

"What the hell just happened?" Cpt. Vod looks nervously between the crew pits, waiting for anyone to provide an answer.

The Second Officer is quick to respond, observing a report on their datapad "Captain, that thing just knocked out a section of our main power reactor. It knew exactly where to strike. Our systems are automatically diverting to auxiliary cells."

Jaang's massive red eyes twitch at the grim news, "W-what?"

The Second Officer leans in, speaking quieter this time "Sir. We don't be able to jump to hyperspace like this."

"Fighters are looping around for a second run!"

The Captain's eyes break away from his second-in-command to the Sensors Officer at his announcement, but quickly fall back to the Lt. Commander. "Very well. Then we only have one choice," the Duros places a hand on the senior officer's shoulder and gives him a forced smile. "Helmsman," he calls out, beginning to make his way off the command walkway and back towards the holographic projection of the battlefield being displayed at the rear of the bridge. He quickly finds the IFF tag for the flagship of their naval reinforcements; a Dictator-class Battlecruiser "get us to the Radiance. If we want to get out of here we'll have to try to dock with them before they launch."

As the Captain gives his orders, the Sensors Officer watches the last escorting starfighter fall off his display, leaving only one coming to their aid. He holds his breath anxious, watching the green marker approach until the bridge shakes from an exterior explosion. A rush of relief fills him when he sees the hostile marker vanish, but its followed immediately by the sinking realization that the friendly marker had gone with it. The pilot must have crashed into the last of the beasts, sacrificing himself knowing more lives would be saved with the corvette.

The officer's lips tremble at the thought. So much death. So many faceless heroes.

Freed from the grasp of immediate danger, the Ashaton adjusts its course for the Anaxsi-Imperial battlecruiser. Their small vessel weaves between the other vessels of the Imperium as they begin to launch into hyperspace, racing toward the Radiance before it too vanishes and leaves them marooned. Jang stares at the time readout on the holo-projector. He watches the seconds tick as he listens to the comms specialist at his side repeat himself over and over for what seemed like an eternity, "ISV Radiance, this it the ISV Ashaton. Requesting emergency docking -- please respond."

The two Shieldships flanking the massive flagship launch into hyperspace simultaneously as the Ashaton flies between them, leaving only them, the Radiance, and a field of debris around them.

"ISV Radiance, this it the ISV Ashaton. Requesting emergency docking -- please respond."

<<ISV Ashaton. We read you. Be prepared for an immediate jump.>>

A gasp escapes the Captain, only now realizing now he hadn't taken a breath while praying for a response. The comms specialist looks to him with tearful eyes, but a smile on his young face. Jaang gives him an approving nod "Affirmative, Radiance. Beginning docking procedures."

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CHAOS RISING
Pt. 1 - Abaddon's Gate
Conclusion

A planet devastated.

Nothing could have prepared the Imperium or Brentaal IV for what was to come. The sudden emergence of the gateway to an apparent demi-plane of Chaos has cost millions of lives, with countless more at risk. Although the unknown Champion was stalled, his forces remain triumphant to pillage the ravaged surface of the planet.

The Lord-Imperator lies incapacitated, gravely wounded in his efforts to save his people. Forced to engage the otherworldly being, his young apprentice has also been presumed dead. However, through the effort and sacrifices of a brave few, thousands of Brentaalans have managed to survive against overwhelming odds.

Forced to retreat, the surviving vessels have fled to the nearby fortress world of Anaxes to regroup and prepare for what is to come. Yet from the ashes of this defeat the fires of a new age spark. With the news of the Imperator's condition reaching Coruscant, the High Lords of the Imperium convene to discuss the future.

A future united.

However, in the hours immediately following the horrific event most can't help but find themselves longing for an escape -- whether in the comfort of their peers, or the temporary bliss offered in a bottle. Arriving at Anaxes Station, the survivors and newly arrived allies gather to try and come to terms with what has happened before they're forced back into the fray.

The Alliance's CHAOS RISING campaign will continue. In the meantime, all are welcome to join the follow-up thread on Anaxes Station:

Pt. 1.5 - Licking Our Wounds

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Leon Gallo Gala Geert Kazuhira Maynard Treicolt Ryv
Spasa Seo Linn
​

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