Riders on the Sand Storm [SSC Dominion of Tash-Taral]

[Ryn'Dhal]

(6/20)
Location: Between a Rock and a Sandy Place.
Objective: Resisting going Berzer.......k..... crap....

​

[member="James Justice"] | [member="Abaigeal E'ron"] | [member="Sumiko Tanaka"] | [member="Tempest"] | [member="Elpsis Kallikora"] | [member="Thurion Heavenshield"] | [member="Ultimatum"] | [member="Lady Kay"] | [member="George O Rourke"] | [member="Kixi Rajki"]​

​

​

The beast left pressure. Unseen, as if hands were wrapping about it's muscles, compressing, confining, trapping... A low, rumbling snarl was trapped, simply reverberating in its throat, as it was unable to open its maw to project it's ire. The red-maned man kept moving nearer. As the man got within reach, he'd see the terror in those golden eyes. Fear, intense fear. Of him. The feline was terrified.... of Thurion himself. Then the object of said fear touched the beast. The muscles twitched, the flinch quite noticeable against the mans hand.

Warm feelings of comfort flowed through the touch, though were not caused by the touch. The beast was still terrified, horrified even, in it's core, as the man stroked and petted him, attempting to subdue the raging monster deep in it's core. Then.... "Ryn... it's okay. It's me. You're among friends. Everything is going to be okay." The words, cause the beast to endure waves of confusion. Friends!? FRIENDS?! The beast couldn't comprehend that this man, who'd the beast had witness..... no.... Not friends.... The beast battled within itself, one voice crying out that the red-maned man spoke the truth, but that voice was stifled, losing ground swiftly to the confusion fueled rage of the furious beast. No, not friends, not safe. The beast knew better.

Mustering every last ounce of rage, fury, and will, driven by the desire for survival no matter the odds, the beast screeched. Not a roar, not a snarl, but a sound of pure feline terror, as it managed to break the hold the red-maned man held upon him. The sudden flurry of movement kicked sand up all over, inhibiting vision for a very brief moment. The man, and the woman, would see the beast now, several meters away, emitting a snarl, along with a couple of feigned swipes, as if demonstrating it's deadly natural weapons, to try to dissuade their pursuit. It was at this time a ship went screaming over-head. The still small voice, crowded out deep inside the beast stirred. Ja--HE DIED! SHUT UP! RUN! The beast shook it's head, the wonder that oh so briefly took to it's golden eyes was gone, replaced with the fear-fueled rage, as a reinforcing snarl was sent towards the red-maned man and the woman, before turning tail and bolting with all due haste into a nearby set of ruins, what was once, many MANY years ago as a barracks of some sort.

Reaching the entrance of the ruins, it saw the ship land, and people started spilling out. They seemed to be charging in it's direction. Terror gripped the beast once more. No! I don't want to go back to her! No! No more!!! The beast curled it's tail low, before turning to head down into the barracks, heading for the dark, lightless depths of the structure. Its den was in the darkest corner of the lowest level, where it felt the safest. A secret escape route, should the worst occur. The beast was ready to defend itself in these close quarters.... or so it thought.

It heard the shot a split second before it felt the point of the dart penetrate it's flesh. The impact caused the chemical compounds within the dart to eject into it's bloodstream. The piercing pain yielded a loud roar, as the tip of the dart managed to skip off of it's hip-bone. The sound would echo about the structure, before being projected out across the desert. With little to impede the sound, it'd definitely carry. Looking back, the beast would see easily a dozen set of eyes of hunters, of varying races. They were here for their quarry, and found it they did. The chemicals were already having some effect, as the beast would snarl, and attempt to flee. Movements were slightly sluggish, particularly due to the one hip losing a majority of sensation.

Fear washed over the beast anew. She's.... she's coming! She'll kill me!!!!

 

[Ryker Wylde]

Objective Do my own thing


WyldeStyle landed softly upon the permacrete docking pad moments before the young Knight disembarked. The dry heat of the planet nearly assaulting him as it caused sweat to instantly bead upon his brow, It definitely was not like Voss....He was used to the cold on Voss.

Beskar plated tarentatek leather boots thudded softly as they carried him away from the Jocasta class cruiser and into the city streets. Ryker knew that several members of the SSC were on the planet helping with various aspects, But he had no idea where they were, For now he figured he would just wander around the city for now and hopefully run into at least one of his friends.

 

[Talik Luroon]

[member="Thurion Heavenshield"]

Objective: Investigate Old Sith tombs
Post: 1/20

The young Twi'lek watched on curiously as Grandmaster Heavenshield calmed the raging beast. Oh, how she wished she would be able to do that one day, when she was much more experienced. As the beast bolted in to nearby ruins, she hoped that it would be alright. Tash-Taral was a rather deserted place, but it was good to have some time off from her training with Master Tann at the Silver Temple. This reminded her of the days she would go exploring many underground caverns and catacombs of Ryloth with her older sister Poy. When one of the group asked if they would find treasure, she giggled and remembered Poy telling her they would eventually find buried Twi'lek treasure in the caverns. They never did, but it was something that the older Poy had created to keep Talik from becoming scared and panicked as they went exploring.

"Weren't you scared of it, Grandmaster? The beast?" Talik asked, as she drew a picture of a bounty hunter in the sand with a small stick.

Talik wished Poy was here to explore with her, but the elder Luroon was currently getting back into flying military vessels. She pulled her robes up around her and felt a sense of enjoyment - this sure did beat, although she was ashamed to admit it, learning the Jedi code and lightsaber combat at the temple on Voss. The young Padawan began to daydream, imaging that she went off on an adventure with Poy deeper down in the tombs and had uncovered something greater than any treasure in the galaxy; the lightsaber a Sith Lord. Her Lekku twitched as she drifted even deeper into the daydream and imagined herself as a brave explorer, the way forward only being lit by a torch in her hand. She wanted to sneak off and to see whether her daydream would become reality, but she would have to wait for the perfect opportunity to do so.

 

[Rasu Gan]

Objective: Investigate Ruins
Location: The Great Valley
2/20

With her hand resting on the hilt of her lightsaber, Rasu continued onwards, remaining cautious as she attempted to probe at the approaching being. She recoiled her tendril of thought quickly as she discovered that her efforts were futile. As soon as she had brushed her consciousness against the other, a large amount of bottled up emotion had erupted from the secure mental prison of their mind, pushing Rasu away and blocking any further attempts of discovering the identity of this being. Realising that a physical confrontation was the only way, Rasu picked up the pace, no longer wary and striding into the clearing with confidence. She stopped suddenly, witnessing the strange scene unfolding in front of her.

A young boy lay against his speeder, looking quite flustered from his emotional outburst. Approaching with caution, Rasu made her presence known so to not startle the boy. "Is everything alright young one?" she asked, ensuring she maintained her distance. Her caution intensified as she spotted the amphistaff wrapped around the boy's wrist. Her mind flashed back to Lujo and O'reen. She had fought against similar creatures with the late Overlord Dredge being the Vong who controlled them. To see a child equipped with the creature alluded to his power and great discipline. You are a strange one indeed, she thought, placing her hand by her saber in an act of precaution.

[member="Boo Chiyo"]

 

[Coci Heavenshield]

Location: The Ruins
Objective: Find out what is going on..

[member="Elpsis Kallikora"] | [member="Thurion Heavenshield"] | [member="Tempest"] | [member="Ryn'Dhal"] | [member="Talik Luroon"] | [member="James Justice"] | [member="Lady Kay"] | [member="Ultimatum"]

(8)

Before she could answer Thurion, a ship flew over head kicking up clouds of fine dust and sand around them. The distraction seemed to have given the cat-like creature some renewed strength that give it power enough to break free from a grip of a grand master, surprising to say the least. Clearly the cat was running from something as the ships arrival spooked it.

Abaigeal was curious when Thurion called the cat Ryn'Dhal, the name was familiar to her having met someone on Tygara by that name, a padawan of the Silver Jedi who wore a mask to hide his identity, was this the same person and was this why the mask. The galaxy is full of much diversity and anything is possible. If it was the same person that Ryn would be no threat to them, in fact he is a healer and only wants to help.

She stood up straight as Master Thurion spoke to her. Abaigeal looked back hoping to find Elpsis coming up behind her but instead her eyes found the black spirals of smoke from the crash. "Maybe ..", she said, "Well, yes", she smiled at her old master. To change the subject away from the crashed ship, "Master what are you doing all the way out here?".

As more and more people arrived, Abaigeal began to feel under dressed, knowing the answer before hand she asked anyway, "I don't suppose you have a spare shirt I could borrow?", a small smile crossed her lips remember the first time they met in the Silver Temple.

 

[Zak Dymo]

Post 4 of 20
Objective: 2 - Investigate Old Sith Tombs
Location: The Great Valley
Arms & Equipment: Go! Mobile Comlink, Amphistaff, Vibroknuckles, Hold-out blaster, "Triple Z"

The young Pantoran looked up, even as he tucked his legs under to sit cross-legged on the ground.

A Mirialan. And not one who had the hardened look of someone who dabbled in the Sith arts or the Dark Side of the Force. In fact, the aura surrounding her presence radiated the kind of tranquility he associated with the likes of [member="Coci Heavenshield"] or [member="Teynara Jeralyr"]. It rather starkly contrasted the taint which enshrouded the environment around them, infused and permeated with the touch of the Sith.

What was a Jedi doing on Tash-Taral?

"You'll attract hssiss, you know," the boy cautioned, ignoring the woman's question. Taking hold of the amphistaff in one hand, the boy lifted and moved the loosely coiled serpent from the saddle to his lap. Gently, he cradled the triangular-shaped head as he carefully tilted the water canteen to feed the biot some water. "They're attracted to the light."

Raising the canteen back up, the child held the cap with his teeth in order to free both of his hands. Patting around the pockets of his white tunic, the tween finally came upon something. Fishing into a pocket, he found a spare water ration. Pulling that out, the boy tossed it over for the woman to catch, if she wanted.

They were out in the middle of the Great Valley. Safe to assume she'd walked a good distance, and in Tash-Taral heat.

"Why do people ask that, anyway?" the youth asked, rhetorically perhaps. And yet, curiously all the same. Looking up at the woman, the amphistaff clearly content to peacefully lay in his lap, the boy clarified, "What's supposed to all right?"

Nothing ever was. People just lied or picked up trivial parts of their day to point at and say that it was. It didn't change the fact that the Sith ruled most of the galaxy. And even on worlds like Coruscant, people starved to death. Lived their entire lives without medical care. Without enough food. Without housing or shelter.

What in this universe or lifetime was supposed to be all right?

[member="Rasu Gan"]​

 

[Noriko Ike]

Meet with traders

Noriko continued to drink with the men, making deals for Sasori and its divisions meant just this while she was showing them the benefits of places like Saori and the casino. They could go out and work on some of the things or find things the people could use for vacation, if they made things their hostesses could use them to entertain. Slowly over a few of the drinks they brought out a strange musical instrument with a look on her face as she touched it. The carved bone was beautiful but she saw how some of them were able to play it for notes. Following their directions she tried it out with a smile on her face downing another of the small bottles of mead.

 

[Leina Snowfire]

Investigate Ruins
[member="Boo Chiyo"] [member="Rasu Gan"]

Leina sensed something while she was moving through and came out in a valley. She saw something, a flash of green skin and a blue boy... oh and she was red they would be awesome as the jedi knight bounced running down the small incline into the valley shouting as lud as she could. "RASU I AM SO GLAD YOU ARE ALIVE... I MADE YOU A MUFFIN." She knew Rasu from the jedi order, she had seen the padawan while she was training herself and been there with her and Sochi in the war against the sith. They had gotten chased by hssiss dragons together, faced a gorax aand now the twi'lek was charging down while she looked over some of the things.

 

[Darth Libertas]

(10)
[member="Darth Shadow"]


Location: Ancient tomb (away from everyone else).


And so Sumiko surreptitiously made her way through the predictably dark chamber. It was...most unnerving to be deprived of the Force, like a sense had been deadened, but Inquisition trained its people well. As a matter of fact, if you could not survive their survival course without the Force, you were finished.


A couple mutilated bodies were lying around. The marks on them were...unusual. And then suddenly a dozen writhing tentacles burst from the water and shot at her! Without the Force, Sumiko was at an extreme disadvantage. For one, she lacked precognition and enhanced reflexes, and had to fight like a mortal. I've seen enough vids to know this is going to a creepy place.

Her shattergun fired, blowing off a tentacle, but more came as it fell to the floor. A slimy tendril grasped her leg, immobilising her and trying to pull her down, but she managed to hack at it with her sword until it was finally cut in twain. Within this chamber, even Souldrinker's power was affected, which meant that the ancient Sith sword no longer fuelled her, though at least this also meant that she wouldn't be hearing potentially distracting voices in her head!


Soon she was being pressed back as the vile tentacles attempted to grab her and pull her into the water. This isn't going to work by hacking it, she thought to herself as she found herself back into a corner. Suddenly two tentacles wrapped themselves around her body and pulled her high into the air, hovering over the creature's maw and massive eyes.


Her sword had fallen out of her grasp, but rather than look troubled her hand had enclosed around...a camera! The pressure was incredibly painful as she was pulled closer, but she managed to get a shot off. The beastie even smiled. Well, not really. See, a photo flash is very bright! To a creature so used to the dark it was like a blinding, burning supernova which illuminated its hideous, bloated body. With a loud shriek, the creature dropped Sumiko.


Ouch. Impact hurt a lot. There would be bruises. She could really use a spa weekend after today. Fortunately the camera was intact, though covered in sand. She made another photo, aiming it directly at the beast's eyes. Shrieking like mad, the beast thrashed, and finally dived back into the water, leaving several severed appendages behind. Well, that had been a bit anticlimactic.

 

[Thurion Heavenshield]

Objective: Well, that happened...
Post: 5

When suddenly the great Beast snapped out of its daze - possessing a tremendous amount of willpower, it seemed, to be able to break out of stasis on his own - Thurion quickly stepped aside and grabbed Abaigeal, holding her in his arms in an attempt to protect her from the snarling inferno furiously whipping up sand and dust as he thrashed about. Silly girl wore little more than a pair of trousers. When others appeared, people he'd never met before who were obviously the cause of [member="Ryn'Dhal"]'s fleeing, he watched with confusion as they set off after him intent on his capture. "Don't hurt him," he called out to them, but they were already hot on the Beast's heels and had left the scene.

"I don't even..." Thurion spoke unable to comprehend the events leading up to this. It sure wasn't what he'd planned when coming here looking to mentor a group of younglings. As things calmed down in their immediate area, he eased his hold of [member="Abaigeal E'ron"] and looked down at her. "I'm not even gonna ask what brings you here, Abi," he said as he picked his brown robe off the ground and dusted it off before placing it over the girl's shoulders to make her at least somewhat decent. "You're hurt," he then uttered upon noticing her injured leg.

He proceeded to sit her down upon the rock he'd meditated upon earlier, wrapped in his robes as the Grandmaster rested her injured leg on his knee. At least it was explained to him where her shirt had gone. Why was it this one was unable to hold onto her clothing for very long? It wasn't until now that the younglings would begin to appear, having sought shelter inside the tomb for the duration of his confrontation with the Beast. "W-what's going on, Master?" asked one of the children as they all huddled around the two. "Weeb, I have no earthly clue."

[member="Nagate Hei"] | [member="James Justice"] | [member="Lady Kay"] | [member="Ultimatum"] | [member="Talik Luroon"]?​

 

[Coci Heavenshield]

Location: The Ruins
Objective: Explain, don't explain what she was up to..

[member="Elpsis Kallikora"] | [member="Thurion Heavenshield"] | [member="Tempest"] | [member="Ryn'Dhal"] | [member="Talik Luroon"] | [member="James Justice"] | [member="Lady Kay"] | [member="Ultimatum"]


(9)

As the large cat seemed to have attracted even more attention and had bolted into the ruins, Abaigeal knew the Grand Master was alright. That had been her main concern after she realised her old master was on planet, there is more Jedi in her then even she realised and this realisation was a good feeling. "It is for the best you don't ask me", she smiled at Thurion her eyes flicking back to the smoke, and as he handed her his outer robe. "Thank you", she said turning her back to the younglings beginning to come out of the tomb to see what was going on, before she climbed into his robe which promptly swallowed her up in it's folds. Thurion begin much taller and broader then most she suddenly looked like a child swamped in his clothing. It was not the first time she had worn them ..

Abaigeal turned around now presentable, and looked to the horizon to find Elpsis, there is no sign of her anywhere .. or Tempest for that matter. She searched through the force to find her, which did not take long the two are together and not in any danger at this point. Elpsis! are you ok? she asked her friend's mind, regardless.

"Master Thurion my leg is fine, or it will be", she said but knowing her master would not brook such an answer. "It's just a minor cut .. ", she grimaced as he removed the blood soaked shirt from the wound. As the wound was exposed it was now that even she had taken more notice of it, "Ok .. a major cut?", she heard a few Ewws for the younglings to which she turned and agreed with them. Weeb spoke up .. "How did you get that?, that looks nasty".

She flashed a look toward Thurion, "Ah, well that is a long story .. which err.. ", she sighed. "It got it in that crash", she pointed to the smoke column fading in the sky now. "You see some time ago, me and a friend of mine kinda took it from some pirates over Dac", her looked quickly went to Thurion, "The pirates were attacking the SSC fleet and well we got on board one of their ships and took it off them. The SSC fleet did the rest and Dac was safe once more. But with this ship we 'borrowed' we decided to get rid of it and sell it", the eyes of the younglings totally on her as she told the story of pirates and SSC fleet battles and Jedi and all that fun stuff. "So, we came here .. but I err, somehow miscalculated the co-ordinates and we got caught in the gravity well and pulled to the ground, on the way, the ship began to break up bits of it falling all over the place and totally on fire! smoke pouring out all black and toxic", suddenly the story was growing bigger by the minute as her audience held in place.

This was a good way to inform the grand master what had happened and also to skirt around what she and Elpsis where going to do with the credits from the sale. Well, she was not going to do anything dodgy but could not vouch for Elpsis however. "As the ship entered the atmosphere, a wall of flames grew around the ship! we could not see anything but we managed to pilot the ship through it, and once we broke into clear skies we worked to level it off so we could land it".

And land it they did! well it landed itself really... but that does not make for a grand story now does it ..

 

[Kay-Larr]

Post: 2/20
Location: Near Sith Ruins
Objective: Save [member="Ryn'Dhal"]
Allies: [member="James Justice"] [member="Cathbodua"] [member="Ultimatum"]


Well it was good to have Ultimatum there with them. At least he had a level head. James on the other hand was highly emotional. It was good to be emotional, but he had also been drunk recently.

Ryn was there and then he ran in a flash. Quickly Kay ran to follow, gripping the strap of her satchel as she did so. Ryn had ran into the dark ruins before they could reach them themselves and his painful cry caused her to skid to a halt. "Ryn!!!" Kay took hold of her blaster and went inside. It was set to stun like always, but she had to wait for her eyes to adjust to the dark. "Ryn!! Where are you?!! James, have you got a torch?!" Surely he was nearby and surely he had some form of light for them. Or maybe Ultimatum did.

[member="Abaigeal E'ron"] [member="Sumiko Tanaka"] [member="Tempest"] [member="Elpsis Kallikora"] [member="Thurion Heavenshield"] [member="George O Rourke"] [member="Kixi Rajki"]

 

[James Justice]

Post: 2/20
Objective: Save Ryn--crush all skulls that stop meh
Allies: [member="Ryn'Dhal"], [member="Lady Kay"] [member="Ultimatum"]

James charged headlong into the ruins. The emotions coming off his body felt like a massive electric charge in the Force. Anger. Love. Fear. Protection. Self-loathing. Yes, he was still angry at that karking Neidros scum. He would probably post a bounty on his head.

The spacer had lost so much. Rose Blade's fall to the darkside just a few weeks ago was still crushing on his mind. Sasha's disappearance had crippled his heart and soul. Thraxis' brutal treatment to the spacer just a few days before was still devouring what was left of the good in him. On top of it all the Prosecutor's endless hunting of James had left him exposed, almost paranoid.

When Lady Kay asked if he had a torch, the spacer shook his head, "I dun't carry those no more miss, I can see in the dark."

His most recent run in with his metallic enemy left James with a--unique gift. Deprived of his natural sight, the spacer's subconscious had reached deep into the Force and learned the skill of blind-sight, one the Mirilans found natural. He gripped Kay's hand and summoned the skill. Sometimes skills of this nature carried over temporarily by touch.

The whole carvern lit up before the spacer in his mind's eye. Yes, he could see, the walls were like ghosts to him as was Ultimatum. The Aura of Kay was visible, while his own gnarled and scarred grey aura seemed to bleed around. Then he could see, very faintly, Ryn's. In the distance. The man began to carefully hone in on it, setting a course. He wanted to charge in head first after the boy, but he knew what this side of him was like. He had seen it in action. It was very dangerous. Instead he took the calm approach.

"Ryn, boy its James-y," he shouted walking instead of running, "Come along, lad, ye dun't want to hurt anyone and we dun't want you hurt either!"

 

[Ultimatum]

Post: 2/20
Location: Near Sith ruins
Objective: Rescue [member="Ryn'Dhal"], keep James in check
Allies: [member="Lady Kay"], [member="James Justice"], Ryn'Dhal

Ultimatum followed the other two. The ruins most definitely were not going to be the safest place to stay. He checked his weapon as he walked forward. "Here's some light." He pulled a small light out of a compartment in his left arm. It had a magnetic clip that was meant to attach to the barrel of a blaster to keep one hand free. The light beam was red, keeping with the light that faintly emanated from his body, also to do the least amount of damage to vision in the dark. He held it out for Kay.

He was concerned for Ryn. The poor guy was in beast form which meant that he would not see everything the way that Ultimatum would have preferred. It also meant that it was unlikely that he could deal with the organic should he lose control. His weapon was not really meant for armored opponents in general, definitely not an opponent who was as strong as Ryn. It would be interesting.

As he entered the cave, Ultimatum switched to night vision and infra-red to see in the darkness of the temple. He thought he saw something and raised his pistol. He wished that his friends had some sort of HUD, he could have easily uploaded readouts from his sensors to them to allow them to easily identify immediate threats.

 

[Ryn'Dhal]

(7/20)
Location: Ruins of Sith Barracks
Objective: Not being captured by the hunters.

[member="James Justice"] | [member="Lady Kay"] | [member="Abaigeal E'ron"] | [member="Thurion Heavenshield"] | [member="Ultimatum"]​

The beast heard a voice.... A familiar voice.... "Ryn boy, it's James-y." It caused the beast to falter, the dart still embedded in it's flank, as it snapped it's head about to zero in on the voice. A second dart skipped off of the wall just by the beasts head, breaking it's focus in seeking the owner of the voice. A startled snarl was emitted, before turning and limping rapidly deeper into the ruins.

Escape! Flee! They come! Need to-

It said it was James?!

He's dead! We will join him if we don't flee!

But why would he---

FLEE! ESCAPE! WE'RE NOT DYING HERE!

The beast had faltered around a couple of corners, it's leg slowing it down dramatically, and also the confusion garnered by the familiar voice that called to it. Sniffing finally for signs of approach, it's ears pivoting about to take in the sounds, a few familiar scents mingled with the unfamiliar odors of the hunters. One was soft, feminine, and faintly reminiscent of tea. The other inorganic, metallic, but not like a ship or a weapon. No, somewhat droid like, but unique. Then there was his scent. The beast gave a low whine. Quite possibly one of the most pitiful sounds a beast that size could emit, the tone echoing about the corridors of the half-buried barracks. Then, with a shake of it's massive head, the beast snarled to itself, to focus it's mind on the task of escaping, before continuing to lumber, slightly dragging it's right rear leg, in a fervent bid for freedom from it's pursuers.

More gunfire could be heard. Some darts clattering as they narrowly missed the beast. But, other fire reached the beasts ears. Blaster fire. But no searing bolts flew past it or near it.... fighting... elsewhere... perhaps near those scents.... perhaps near....

FLEE!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Tempest]

6/20
[member="Elpsis Kallikora"]

Faced with Elpsis at close range when the latter had conveniently had most of her clothes burnt off but had been uninjured, Tempest coughed slightly.
“Yes…we definitely need to get you some more clothes,” she said. She was just looking to adjudge the size and what was needed! Not looking for titillation’s sake at all! Speaking of that…
“Did the fire also burn off your bra too?” she asked with a raised eyebrow. Perhaps it was true there were no bras in space!

The whole confusion with giant cats, grand masters and Aba was going on elsewhere and Tempest just shook her head slightly. She had no idea what was going on and was happy to just let someone else deal with it!

 

[Darth Shadow]

7/20
[member="Sumiko Tanaka"]

Battle with a giant squid ensued! There was lopping of tentacles, there were flashes and there were zombies!
Predictably the sword was not impressed afterwards.

“Is this what tomb guardians are like these days? In my day we used to have proper guardians!” it grumbled.

It cheered up a bit, enough to make a nasty comment. “First time the Light has been useful to you, hmm?”

 

[Elpsis Kerrigan]

(11)
[member="Tempest"], [member="Abaigeal E'ron"]


It did not escape Elpsis' attention where Tempest's eyes were looking! There were definitely bras in space though. The one Elpsis was wearing was, however, rather sticky with sweat. As Aba would know, wearing a soaking sweaty bra was uncomfortable. "You don't seem to mind!" she retorted, leaning forward she gave Tempest a kiss on the tip of her nose. "I know just where your eyes and thoughts are going. So come on, I need some clothes and bacta. And I've got way too much sand in places where it shouldn't be."




Meanwhile, there was confusion in the ruins. It involved a giant cat, NPC hunters, a grand master and plenty Jedi. Elpsis did not really understand any of it. Just when she was starting to feel a bit annoyed about Aba running off for this, the Black Orchid dialled her number on the Force mobile. 'Yeah, I'm ok. You dumped me for a kitty!' This one wanted to have her say another 'witty' line, but the censors might've complained. No kiddies were damaged in the writing of this post.

 

[Tempest]

[member="Elpsis Kallikora"]
8/20

Taking Elpsis as carefully in her arms as she could Tempest carried her up the slope to where a gunship had touched down.
“I was just checking your injuries,” she protested lamely.

When she got her aboard the ship started to take off.
“Should we go and help Aba? I can’t really see what’s going on down there,” she commented.

 

[Jorus Merrill]

QO'SAARAI TUK'ATA VILLAGE

"You can understand, then," said the matriarch, "how your sister is a divisive figure among us. In a sense, she created us. From another point of view, she betrayed and abandoned us."

"I'm still dealing with the news that she's alive."

"Surely you felt it in your heart."

"I don't feel much of anything, Matriarch. Nothing but hyperspace tangles, and she's not a lightspeed phenomenon."

"So it is said." The immense Tuk'ata shrugged, sipping tea from a carved-bone cup. "I had always assumed you kept your true power veiled."

Jorus mirrored the shrug. "Regardless, you get that I'm not my sister. I don't share her allegiances, her alignment, her goals, her principles-"

"Of course you do. The great explorer, come to connect us to the outside galaxy for our own good. How does your mission differ from your sister's uplift projects? You've both built empires of trade and connectivity. How is Silk Holdings different from Iron Crown and Akure? You've both invented ambitious weapons of war. How is a terentatek duster different from a lethal starfighter? You've both fostered violent irregular forces with an ideological bent. How is the Underground different from the Lords of the Fringe?"

"In intent, in desire-"

"Is benevolence enough?"