Faction Shadows in the Vein || COV

[Vren Rook]

"The void has no memory, but the Covenant does. We carve our path through the dark so our children may see the light."

​

The hyperlanes are the lifeblood of the galaxy, the silent veins that pulse with the rhythm of commerce and war. But tonight, the blue-white tunnel of hyperspace has become a scream. Across the outer-rim, the lighthouses of the stars, the hyperlane beacons, are blinking out - smothered by an ancient, predatory hunger.

The Iron Covenant does not allow its paths to be blocked. The Mythos Fleet, built for endurance and the reclamation of Mandalorian sovereignty, has dropped into real-space to find a graveyard of flickering lights and shifting shadows. The Storyfire is lit. Will you clear the path, or let the dark consume the line?

The Shadow-Mantax are jagged shards of the void, obsidian-black predators that feed on the electromagnetic "heat" of active technology. They do not merely attack; they latch onto hulls and beacons with bio-electric barbs, draining power cores until a vessel becomes a cold, drifting tomb. A massive pod has swarmed the primary beacon, threatening to collapse the lane entirely.

The Dice Mechanic:

Participants must engage in a coordinated strike to thin the swarm:

• The Tracking Roll: Roll 1d20 to isolate a Mantax.
  • 15+: You pinpoint the heart of the swarm. Your next attack roll is at +2.
  • 6-14: You isolated a single Mantax.
  • 1-5: A Mantax latches onto your hull. Your ship takes minor damage and your next roll is at -2 due to power drainage.
• The Strike Roll: Roll 1d20
  • 1 (Critical Failure): A Mantax critically damages your vessel.
  • 2-11: Your blast injured a Mantax
  • 12+ (Success): You blast a cluster of Mantax back into the void.

Spoiler: Dice bot to use

Use George in the Iron Covenant server for your roll. Prompt is !roll 20. Add either screenshot or your roll at the bottom of your post in a spoiler - list each round

Drifting near a local gravity well is the Eye of Corulag, a research vessel reduced to a hollow husk by the swarm. A single escape pod remains, broadcasting a loop of frantic distress signals. The researchers on board hold "Migration Data" - sensor logs explaining why these creatures have suddenly turned aggressive.

This data is vital to the Mythos Fleet expedition, but the survivors are paralyzed by "Void-Sickness." They are distrustful of the Mandalorians of the Iron Covenant, viewing them as raiders rather than rescuers. Players must use diplomacy, technical expertise, or firm intimidation to secure the data-core and the researchers' cooperation before the pod is crushed or drained.
​

 

[Livia Cadera]

​

Location: In space
Objective: engage the orca things
Gear: Beskar'gam, Skeleton, shotgun, Ship x12, HRNV Aurelian Veruna
Tags: OPEN

The Caderan splinter faction entered the combat zone aboard Livia's brand new (slightly second hand, mostly stolen) Republic Cruiser. She had not renamed it yet, much to the dismay of a few of the old hat spacers in the clan, but it was low on her priorities and it did have a name, naming ships after senators instead of warriors would not have bee her choice but HRNV Aurelian Veruna would have to do. It would also help to keep the remaining press ganged Republic technical crews in check if she honored their home a little while promising not to attack the republic while they still sailed with her. It was a tight bargain but with most of her group now on board and the republic marines safely deposted in a Nabooian outpost, the best chance of getting back to see their families eventually was to cooperate and assist in the smooth change of ownership. Livia appreciated when people could think in a rational manner like that.

Livia however was not on her ship, her and a dozen of her vod were deep in the void, using the much lower energy signatures to enter the pod itself to try and plant trackers to make targeting the strange creatures easier. Their skin was thick so a simple dart gun had proved Inefficient so they were approaching dangerous close to the individuals to try and mark them for her ships ordnance. With the ship not running a full capacity this style of hunting gave her the best chance. And any excuse to be in the void, she would take.

It was a mixed bag, the trackers were working it seemed, and a small clutch of Mantrax felt the wrath of mandalorian build missiles. But one of them was drawn to her ship by the firing and had latched on to its hull. She would need to address that.

Rolls
Track - 3

Strike - 17 (becomes 15)

 

[Romul Saxon]

F L A M E W A R D
Aboard the Kyr'am Gaan​

Tags: Livia Cadera

Ragged lightning bolts of ethereal plasma danced across the hull of the heavy cruiser as she lurched, inelegantly reverting to realspace as its hyperdrive lost signal of the hyperspace beacon it depended on for navigation. A hyperstorm whirled through this part of space; the name was a misnomer, as weather was not a phenomenon that occurred in space, but this concentrated cloud of charged particles, excited by the energy of uncontrolled repeat quantum states of real and hyperspace mingling, was just as dangerous to the unassuming spacer as the tales of high seas and olden ships.

The blue flashes illuminated the bridge of the cruiser as power briefly flickered. At its head stood Romul Saxon, indomitable, Alor of Clan Saxon, once Warmaster of his people. The weight of responsibility grew ever heavier on his shoulders, yet, as if constructed of beskar, they remained held high and firm. He wore his helmet, rendering his facade expressionless.

"I'm seeing power spikes across all systems. There's severe EM interference with our sensors and shields. Power fluctiations.. storm's wrecking havoc on our internal power management," Caemus Saxon, ver'alor of the ship, reported from his station. In the bridge of the Bes'drahr heavy cruiser, there were no seats; all Mandalorian crew were expected to be standing at their stations, battle-ready and alert, just as ready to pull a blaster as to manage the ship's complex systems.

"This vessel withstood the battle of Tython," Romul stated unfazed, referencing the galaxy's most destructive conflict nearly three decades ago, almost ancient history. "She will hold."

"Knock on beskar," Caemus muttered as he modulated power flow from the starship's core reactor. "There, power flux surger engaged. SAMS should be able to handle it for now. I'm manually diverting power to deflector shields and lowering thrust speeds until our sensors can map out our surroundings."

The ship whirred, then shuddered as if to groan as power arced through conduit systems, then suddenly, illumination came back on. Romul was satisfied. "If you can't trust Mandalorian engineering, you can't trust anything," he said confidently, folding his arms.

"Tactical display coming on now," Caemus reported, not paying mind to his Alor's comment. "Rilor and Julus have command of our firing systems and defense systems respectively, Alor. One second more and. . ." not a moment later, red dots began to fill up the three-dimensional holographic display. "Okay, there we go. I don't know what is what, but I'll sort it out while Rilor gets targeting solutions ready."

"Ready our dropships," Romul ordered.

"Alor?" Caemus responded.

"That wasn't a question," he barked. He wasn't used to having to explain himself. Then again, this was Caemus's ship, not his own. And then again, he was Alor, not Caemus. "All vod aboard should have their beskads ready. This is no regular hyperstorm. Prepare yourselves for company."

 

[Yuri Maji]

SPACE | EYE OF CORULAG
TAGS: OPEN
GEAR: In bio

HORIZON​

Yuri knew of the expedition departing from Kestri, it was only a matter of time before the Covenant was on the move again. He found it incredibly ironic that the people of Kestri decided on never staying in one place just as the Hound discovered the warmth of a home again.

He wasn’t planning on joining them outright, he and a few others needed to make another trip for the Ironworks. But the route was similar enough that he decided to fall into the same hyperlane as them and tag along until he reached his departure point. He wasn’t expecting to fall out of Hyperspace due to busted beacons or power fluctuations.

From the sound of the comms chatter, nobody else did either.

His scanners were useless in the “darkness”, a word he never expected to use for the void of space. All he could see was a strange “storm” disrupting everything. The fleet seemed to have the same issues.

Regardless, there wasn’t much the Hound could do in this situation from a simple freighter. Instead, he broke off from the main fleet to pursue a strange distress beacon not too far away while the fleet dealt with the anomaly.

:: Maji to Fleet, we are approaching the distress beacon. Will send updates as we move. :: He called to the fleet, slowing his ship down and turning on the spotlights. He stared into the void for a few moments and turned the beacon on again. It was a weak signal, a jumbled mess but the urgency was clear as day.

Eventually a ping came across the sensors, the spotlights revealing the derelict hull of a dead ship. ”Whoa…” He muttered, studying the wreck for a moment.

 

[Reggie Rau]

GALAAR
ABOARD KYR'AAM GAAN | HYPERLANE
TAG: Darion of Myrkr | Livia Cadera | Romul Saxon | Open

EDGE OF THE BLADE​

The Gaan lurched uncomfortably.

Reggie pulled a face from where she nearly bounced from the crate in the hangar where she'd been oiling her rifle.
"What in Haran was that flying?" she grumbled as she found her proper seat again.

They'd been mapping areas as the Fleet travelled, so most of the Iron Howlers were having downtime on the ship as they moved through known hyperspace. They all haven't been working together long - proper bonds have not yet been forged after they all pledged themselves to the cause of the Covenant. She sometimes still wondered why in Manda Yuri Maji joined the Crusaders when they were still at large. They were some broody shabuirs after spending some time with them. Thank heavens for the rest of the Saxons on the ship.

Then Caemus' voice came over the shipwide comms to deploy all of them in pods.
"Finally. Romul won't idly deploy. Oi, Darion! Get your ass on this drop!" she hollered at the ex-Crusader where he'd been brooding as the Alor got to her feet, clipping the rifle onto her back as she started walking to a dropship.

As she got aboard, her helmet hissed into place.

From the raging hyperstorm, figures became visible as the dropship travelled - much akin to Purrgil, yet smaller and darker - and they seemed to be getting closer to the bigger ships.
<Akaan'alor, I suggest evasive action. Swarm of unknown creatures heading your way.> she let Romul Saxon know. <We'll Zero-G these creatures. Keep us covered from a distance. Galaar out.>

She looked over at the broody Y-Visor.
"Come brood with your rifle and beskad, Vod." she told him before launching her jetpack into the void and moved toward the coming swarm of creatures that her HUD now recognised as Shadow-Mantax. She was glad she had warned Romul to skedaddle.

Her jetpack propelled her into the swarm as she she fired some bolts to try and isolate some of them for easier fighting. One managed to break away from the pod to turn to face her, teeth bared.

<Whenever you are ready, Brooder, you can fire> she told Darion as she took aim again.

Spoiler: Rolls

Tracking:
Round 1: 11

​

 

[Darion of Myrkr]

It felt strange without his clan. Even among fellow vode Darion still felt distant.

He sat in the corner of the hangar with the big shotgun upright in one hand. It was the kind of gun that belonged bolted to the rail of a gunship. In his grip it rested easy, like a gaffi stick in the fist of an elder sand person. His beskad hung over his back, across his shoulder, the heavy ammo pouch resting against it. The pellets inside were large enough for beasts that swam the void.

When Reggie Rau called him, he rose at once. The gun came with him as though it weighed nothing.

Darion bent his head and stepped into the pod. The hatch sealed with a hiss and they were off. Through the viewport he saw the Mandalorian ships firing pods and laser fire and the Shadow-Mantax thick in the void beyond them, moving like a storm.

The hatch opened again and they went out into space.

There was no sound. Only the tight breath in his helmet and the pull of emptiness around him. The weightlessness took hold and wrapped him as the thought of death wraps a man.

Reggie fired first. Ranging shots. A Mantax broke from the swarm and drifted alone. Darion watched it. Separated from its own.
H felt something then, a small ache that he didn't want to name.

He set his feet against nothing and brought the shotgun up. He found the angle that would break the swarm and still catch the lone one in the spread.

<Whenever you are ready, Brooder, you can fire,> Reggie said over comms.

His finger rested on the trigger. It trembled once. Then he pulled.

The gun struck hard against his arm. The pellets tore through the swarm. In his helmet the sensors caught their screaming a thin shrill chorus. They scattered, wings beating wild, bodies ruptured and spilling into the dark.

At the edge of his sight he saw the lone Mantax. It beat its wings and fled, unharmed.

He could have taken it. The distance was not far. He watched it grow smaller against the black.

Darion lowered the shotgun and let it hang at his side. "Find me the next swarm, Rau," he said. "Let's finish this, then we can do something worth our time."

Reggie Rau
strike dice roll: 16

 

[Zavar Kelborn]

BLOOD, ICE, AND STEEL - CHAPTER 1
ABOARD THE KAR’TA KELBORN | HYPERLANE
TAG: Darion of Myrkr | Livia Cadera | Reggie Rau | Romul Saxon | Yuri Maji | Open
GEAR: in bio

BARRACUDA

[Continuing from: Iron Branch]​

The Kar'ta Kelborn groaned as it jumped out of hyperscpae, the stars stretching back into pinpricks of light, only to be immediately eclipsed by a churning, obsidian mass.

Zavar gripped the command rail, his knuckles red and white against his Beskar gauntlets. Through the viewport, the hyperlane beacon, once a singular point of stability, was barely visible beneath a living shroud of the obsidian behemoths. The Shadow-Mantax pulsed with a faint, bio-electric glow that seemed to ripple through the swarm like a slow-moving fire. It looked as if the void itself had grown teeth and was currently chewing on the lighthouses of the stars.

<Status on the Alpha?> Zavar's voice was a low rasp, cutting through the frantic reporting of the sensor pit. His hands, still stained with the drying blood of covenant, felt restless against the command rail.

"Sensors are bleeding, Alor," the bridge officer replied, his hands flying across the console. "The Mantax are mimicking the beacon's pulse. I can't isolate the heart of the pod."

Zavar leaned over the tactical holomap, his eyes narrowing. He was used to tracking heartbeat signatures through durasteel walls, not filtered electromagnetic ghosts across kilometers of vacuum. The sensors chirped, a false positive, then went dead as a cluster of the creatures drifted past the primary array. He couldn't find the Alpha; the swarm was a singular, undulating shadow that defied his infantry-honed instincts.

<Batteries one through four, bracket the primary beacon's northern pylon. If we can't isolate the Alpha, we'll burn the air it breathes. All forward cannons, concentrated fire on my mark.>

Zavar reached out, his gauntleted hand hovering over the fire-control override. The assault frigate shuddered as its heavy turbolasers roared to life. The beams of light were brilliant, lancing through the dark and finding purchase in the thickest part of the pod. Obsidian carapaces shattered under the heat, vaporizing into stardust as the Mythos Fleet finest proved its worth. It wasn't the surgical strike of a master admiral, but it was the crushing blow of a Kelborn warrior. A cluster of the Mantax was blasted back into the void, the bio-electric pressure on the ship's shields momentarily easing, as another Iron Covenant fleet, Ky’ram Gaan exited hyperspace.

<Ky’ram Gaan, this is Alor’ad Zavar Kelborn of the Kar’ta Kelborn. We just blasted a cluster of these creatures to the void. More are coming. We are also dispatching a unit of Kyr’kara Blade on the distressed ship. Please be advised.>

Spoiler: Rolls

Tracking Roll: 10
Striking Roll: 16

​

 

[Yael Kandar]

SHADOWS IN THE VEIN
A Brave New World - Chapter 1

GEAR: in bio
OBJECTIVE: extract the assets
TAG: Darion of Myrkr | Livia Cadera | Reggie Rau | Romul Saxon | Yuri Maji | Open

BAD REPUTATION​

HYPERLANE

The vibration of the Kar'ta Kelborn's heavy batteries echoed through the hull of the boarding shuttle, a rhythmic thrum that Yael felt in the marrow of her bones. Inside the cramped, red-lit hold, she wasn't the woman who had stood trembling in the Kestri snow, lamenting her past choices; she is a Kyr'kara Blade, an extension of the Covenant's will.

She checked the seals on her blue-tinted armor, the weight of the promise she made to Gailen Keldau heavier than the beskar itself. Through the small, reinforced viewport, the Eye of Corulag loomed like a shattered bone against the dark, drifting precariously toward the gravity well.

The shuttle banked sharply, dodging a cluster of obsidian-black shards that were once Shadow-Mantax. Yael watched as the Ky'ram Gaan entered the fray, its arrival momentarily shifting the bio-electric pressure that had been strangling their sensors.

<This is Blade-Lead, we are approaching,> Yael's voice came through the comms, directed at Yuri Maji , the vocoder stripping away any trace of her earlier exhaustion. She knows from their encounter in Kestri that the Shistavanen had a bone to pick, and that shall be solved sooner than later. But now, the focus is on the mission.

The shuttle hissed as it magnetized to the Eye's auxiliary airlock. Yael stood, her hand finding the grip of her weapon with a muscle memory that bypassed her weary mind. The goal was clear: liberate the industrial intelligence and secure the assets vital to the Mythos Fleet.

<Cycle the lock,> she commanded, her visor narrowing as the HUD highlighted the breach point. <We have a hole in the dark. Ready for extraction.>​

 

[Yolaghun]

STAR DRAGON
HYPERLANE | OPEN SPACE
TAGS: OPEN​

Spoiler: GEAR

Armor: Drahr'gam, Krayt Round Shield
Weapon: Drahr'kad​

Yolaghun had been flying through hyperspace behind the Kyr'am Gaan when the ship tore free into realspace without warning.

The sudden absence of the tunnel's pressure caught him mid-beat. Instinct snapped through him. He twisted, folded his wings, and rolled his body in a tight spiral — feeling for a nearby exit vector. He tore himself sideways through the current and burst back into realspace not far from the ship.

And straight into a hyperstorm.

Static crawled across his scales. Radiation shimmered in the void like heat over stone. Dead ships drifted in silent orbit — broken hulls, torn frames, skeletal shadows lit intermittently by lightning that arced between wreckage.

That wasn't what set every instinct screaming.

There were shapes moving among the derelicts.

Smaller than purrgil. Slender. Almost solid black, swallowing what little light the storm gave. About his size. They wove through debris with predatory ease, slipping in and out of realspace distortion like they belonged there.

He didn't know their name. But he knew what they were.

Predators. Hyperspace-capable. Energy-feeders.

The knowledge wasn't learned. It was remembered — something old in his blood stirring awake.

Lingering on that instinct was enough to distract him.

He never saw the first one fully.

A ripple in the void. A distortion behind him. Then—

Impact.

A pulse of ionized force detonated across his armor. His vision fractured into static. HUD glyphs flickered and stuttered. Targeting overlays collapsed one by one. Comms cut mid-channel.

Silence.

The creature latched onto him a heartbeat later.

Teeth scraped across his scales and beskar alloy — more pressure than pain. Then he felt the tongue.

Barbed. Hungry.

Energy ripped out of his armor in violent surges. Power indicators plummeted. Internal regulators died. The suit went dark around him.

Cold. Weightless. Disconnected.

The creature clung to him, draining.

Yolaghun roared — not in fear, but fury — and twisted in the void. He seized the thing in his claws, talons punching through slick black flesh. It writhed, tightening its grip.

"You feed on energy?" he growled, voice echoing through vacuum via suit transmitters that were no longer transmitting to anyone.

"Then take this." He opened his jaws.
Superheated plasma erupted from his maw at point-blank range — not a capital-ship barrage, but a concentrated inferno born of stellar lineage. It engulfed the creature's head and torso in white-blue fire.

The void predator shrieked — not audibly, but through the distortion it caused in the storm itself. Its feeding barbs burned away. Flesh blistered. It tore free from him, smoking, half-blinded — alive, but wounded.

Alive. And there were more.

He could feel them now — a pod weaving through the wreckage. Some circling the Kyr'am Gaan. Some watching him.

Studying.

His beskar'gam was dead weight against his scales. No comms. No tactical feed. No way to warn his vode.

A design flaw in the armor.

He flexed his wings, testing them against the storm's violent currents.

Lightning split the void again.

The shapes were closer now.

Not charging. Circling. Waiting.​

Spoiler: Rolls

2
4-2

 

[Yuri Maji]

SPACE | EYE OF CORULAG
TAGS: Yael Kandar
GEAR: In bio

HORIZON​

Still studying the derelict from afar, Yuri’s comms came alive with Yael closing in. :: Copy that, Blade-lead, standing by for approach. :: He radioed back. To his dismay, however, she didn’t seem content with sharing the singular docking ring on the dead ship.

Her ship hovered past his freighter and positioned to dock by herself, earning an annoyed sigh from the Hound. :: Blade-lead, halt docking. You can’t scout alone. Dock with me, we move in together. :: He continued, sending her docking coordinates for his freighter. He kept his thoughts to himself, however, as he waited for Yael’s ship to clamp to his freighter. Once settled, he moved the two ships over and locked onto the derelict to use his ship as a bridge.

”What’s up, sis.” He greeted the girl in search of his helmet. Once locked in, he gestured to the airlock with an amused grin behind his visor. ”Ladies first?” He quipped. Regardless of who pushed through the solitary docking ring first, nothing but darkness met them.

No emergency lights, no artificial atmosphere, no life whatsoever. Apart from a corpse lifelessly drifting through the hallway, there was absolutely nothing. Yuri activated his boots’ magnets and carefully pushed forward with a pistol at the ready. ”I don’t think… the distress call is comin’ from the ship.” He muttered, inspecting the floating corpse. From the look of it, the current state of the ship was the culprit.

”Not even emergency power. Ship’s completely dead.” He deduced with a quick scan around them.

 

[Romul Saxon]

F L A M E W A R D
Aboard the Kyr'am Gaan​

Tags: Livia Cadera | Reggie Rau | Darion of Myrkr | Yuri Maji | Zavar Kelborn

<Ky’ram Gaan, this is Alor’ad Zavar Kelborn of the Kar’ta Kelborn. We just blasted a cluster of these creatures to the void. More are coming. We are also dispatching a unit of Kyr’kara Blade on the distressed ship. Please be advised.>

"Kar'ta Kelborn, this is the Ky'ram Gaan. Message received. Be advised that we are deploying assault shuttles; transferring adjusted firing solutions to you now," Caemus replied over comms to the assault frigate. The tactical display was reshaping itself as more starships entered the fray.

Around the beacon in the center was a swirling horde of the Shadow Mantax, the vacuum-acclimated interstellar creatures that defied all biological explanation. Space-dwelling creatures were not unheard of, like the purrgil, but usually their biology meant they were at best apathetic towards electronic equipment. These unstudied specimens seemed to feed off the electromagnetic radiation of technology, however, and the hyperspace beacon was like a sitting feast for their organism.

"Kelborn risks damaging the beacon with a barrage of laser-fire," Romul growled, dissatisfied. "We cannot risk destroying the beacon along with the Mantax. We must separate the horde from their prey."

The ship shuddered as the hyperstorm whirled. Flashes of plasma lightning illuminated the ships and the swarming mass. Tiny blue flares indicated the dropships departing from the Ky'ram Gaan's hangar bay. Against the flashes, Romul could distinguish the silhouettes of several dark forms that were growing larger by the second.

"We have several creatures approaching us, Alor," Julus reported from comm-scan station.

"Rilor, target the Mantax on approach vector," Caemus ordered. "Beginning evasive action."

"Wait--" Romul started, his eyes fixed on the tactical display which Caemus had neglected, but it was too late. The cruiser rumbled as power diverted towards its thruster systems, accelerating towards its aft, but suddenly a heavy thud made the hull shake.

Klaxons blared. "One of them are attached to hull!" Julus shouted.

Caemus swore. "I don't see them on sensors. How did they make it past?"

Romul grabbed Caemus by the upper arm, his massive gauntleted hand completely wrapping around the Mandalorian's upper plate. He pulled him to face the tactical display. "Look," Romul growled. The display featured the various Mandalorian starships on the field, the hyperbeacon in the center, and the whirling mass of Mantax surrounding it. "There are several on approach, and what do you see on sensors?"

Caemus stared for a second and then swallowed. "Nothing, Alor."

"Right," Romul grunted, letting go of the Mandalorian's arm. He had grabbed him to make his point clear, nothing more. "You must be vigilant. Let this be the only time you need to learn this lesson." He turned back towards the bridge. "Our sensors cannot identify these Mantax when they are on their own. Advise our frigate," he commanded. Julus at comm-scan immediately made to transmit to the Kar'ta Kelborn.

The cruiser shuddered again. Lights flickered before emergency lighting came on. "Our power supply is being drained," Caemus muttered. "I'm trying to isolate the system that Mantax is feeding off of. Rilor, blast that damned creature off our hull!"

"Point-defense is useless," the Mandalorian at targeting reported back. "I'm switching over to manual."

Romul moved closer to the transparisteel viewports of the bridge. On the side, he could see a writhing black ray-like creature, with a hide as tough as durasteel, writhe as it bit into the Ky'ram Gaan. The nearest turbolaser swivelled towards itand lowered its cannons as Rilor at his station took aim. A moment later, it fired, a red volley impacting against the creature's side. It lashed angrily and leapt from its feeding spot to charge the turbolaser, taking out the emplacement. The bridge crew collectively swore. "Take evasive action," Romul ordered. "Try to shake that thing off our helm." He began to walk towards the bridge's exit.

"Alor?" Cameus asked.

"You have command of the bridge, Caemus," Romul growled. He hefted his war axe from where it stood against a bulkhead. "I myself will take to the stars." He began making his way to the hangar, where a dropship would still be waiting for him.

 

[Yolaghun]

STAR DRAGON
HYPERLANE | OPEN SPACE
TAGS: OPEN
Romul Saxon Reggie Rau Zavar Kelborn Darion of Myrkr Livia Cadera ​

Spoiler: GEAR

Armor: Drahr'gam, Krayt Round Shield
Weapon: Drahr'kad​

Yolaghun could see his vode engaging the shadow creatures in their own ships. Some even battling outside the ships in zero-G like him. He could not communicate with his armor out of power. Maybe he could get to a ship to recharge? But that would take a while. Still, he had no other plan, so he made his way to the Kyr'am Gaan.

He was trying to motion to the pilot through the viewport when one of the beasts lunged toward him.

He was quicker this time and able to avoid it, but three more swarmed at once. They were using pact tactics and thinking strategically.

As the three bit down on him, more swarmed in, grabbing hold where they could, whether a limb, his tail, or a wing.

They had already drained his armor. Now they were trying to absorb the very energy from his own body!

The dragon struggled against his assailants. He could feel himself getting weaker. He couldn't even muster the spark to fire his plasma breath.

That must have been their goal. Take out the beam, take out the threat.

Stubborn anger filled Yolaghun. "You're not taking me down this easy! I've taken on hundreds of Starweird at once and survived! This is nothing!" He shouted defiantly.

No sound was produced in the vacuum of space, but his emotion got across as the creatures tried even harder to rip him apart.

He calmed himself and let his very being tune itself with space-time itself, something he had learned in his near-death experience with that endless horde...

He did not like having to use it.

Everything lurched, at least to his perception.

The Mantax would only see that they were suddenly no longer holding him as space shifted.

It was only about a meter to the side, but it was enough to free him.

He fought off dizziness as he made a mad dash through the void to get away from them.

He didn't realize he had flown straight into the hyperstorm.

Plasma arced and hit his armor. It suddenly sparked to life, supercharged from the blue lightning. He stopped and roared with silent laughter as the pod of Mantax slammed into him, attempting to take him out again.

"Not his time!" Htagir'senaar Whistling Birds took the creatures by surprise as he spun, reaching behind his back between his wings and pulled out Drahr'kad.

Its blade cut deep into the creatures. Still, these things were resilient. He rolled and slashed to fend them off.

And an idea occurred to him. It was something he had never done, yet something he instinctively knew he could do.

"You're not the only ones who can feed of energy," he said as he began drawing in radiation from the storm. His strength returned.

And he could feel his plasma spark again.

His maw stretched into the draconic version of a sharp-toothed grin. And he opened it in a silent roar as plasma ripped into the Mantax with the force of a turbolaser.

As the light from the beam faded, he saw no Mantax left around him. He hadn't killed them all. He could tell several—if not all—had run off into hyperspace.

At least that cluster was gone now. But his brothers and sisters were still fighting more.

<Come in, this is Yolaghun of Krayt. Armor and comms were temporarily disabled, but I'm okay now. Does anyone need immediate assistance?>​

Spoiler: Rolls

1
17-2

 

[Reggie Rau]

GALAAR
ABOARD KYR'AAM GAAN | HYPERLANE
TAG: Darion of Myrkr

EDGE OF THE BLADE​

Well that was...something.

<We need to get these things away from the ships.> she stated to Darion. She had seen the slight hesitation before he pulled the trigger. In a way, she could relate, yet...their Vode were on those ships - those that weren't out here. She wouldn't lose even more kin. Even as a Rau, she had found some family within the Saxons among others.

"Find me the next swarm, Rau," he said. "Let's finish this, then we can do something worth our time."

Reggie smirked behind her visor. <Tihaar's on you.> she quipped before her jetpack sped off to isolate the next Mantax.

The swarm was milling in a bit of a frenzy as Mandalorians started engaging them. Reggie's red armour was no exception as she fired some standard bolts at the next Mantax that moved toward her.

The majestic black beast swerved to avoid the bolts and Reggie bolted forward to isolate it a bit more. It started to bare its teeth at her and its tentacles were gearing up to latch hold of her and the ion engines on her back, it's speckles starting to shimmer a dim blue.

She took a breadth of a second to admire the predator's profile.

Then she brought the rifle to her shoulder again, flicking to particle setting.

<Boot it, please, Myrkr.> she told Darion.

Spoiler: Rolls

Tracking:
Round 1: 11
Round 2: 7

​

 

[Darion of Myrkr]

Reggie said, "Tihaar's on you," and went off toward the next Mantax swarm without waiting for his answer.

Darion had followed her, smiling a little. "You can have mine too, if you'd like. I don't drink anyway."

Many Mandalorians could hold their drink as they held a line against an enemy. His grandfather had not. The drink had made him brittle and soft at the same time. It had taken the edge from him. And it was why Darion's father had taken the alor's mantle while still scarcely a man. He had taught Darion the principles of the strong, true warrior. A strong body. A strong mind. Keep them clean. Keep them ready. Darion had kept them so. Reggie would not change that, he thought. But he felt warmth for her then and he was grateful for the way she was accommodating toward him.

She was already firing again, harrying the swarm, breaking them apart with disciplined bursts. She was isolating one Mantax for him, drawing it off from the fleet the way a Sand Person drew a bantha from its herd.

"Boot it, please, Myrkr," she said.

He took a breath and set his eye to the iron rail of the great shotgun. He pulled the trigger, and the gun bit into his shoulder hard. The pellets flew bright in the dark and struck the Mantax square in its mass.

The Mantax carried on.

He was heaving one those hefty pellet packs from over his shoulders and sliding it over the barrel, feeling the weight of it in his hand, and closing it and firing again and the pellets were striking and were skipping away into the void and the Mantax was cleaving through space, not even altering its line. It was going straight for their droppod.

Electro-barbs lanced out from its body. They struck the drop pod and the light was running along the hull in blue veins. The glow of the power core was flickering, strong, then thin, then starving. Darion watched the light being drawn out of it, pulled in a long shuddering stream into the creature's flesh. The drop pod dimmed, then went dead and cold. A husk of metal drifting aimlessly in space.

Darion was loading again and he was sighting along the rail and firing and the pellets were striking and were bouncing away again and the Mantax was swimming past him then, brushing him aside as if he were debris.

The other Mantaxi turned now. They were converging on the first. They were following its path as it cut toward a Mandalorian frigate nearby. Was it the same Mantax he had once spared? He could not tell. In the dark they were all the same.

Darion was loading another pack. He could feel the seconds passing. He could see the distance closing between the swarm and the frigate. He was snapping the shotgun shut and firing again.

"Shoot for the eye, Reggie!" he called. "That one's skin's impenetrable."

The swarm was driving forward like a wing of gunboats under full thrust. The electro-barbs were flickering along their bodies and Darion was loading again, knowing there were only so many packs left, knowing each shot that failed was time spent and time was the one thing they did not have.

Reggie Rau
dice roll: 1 [critical failure: droppod deleted]

 

[Yael Kandar]

SHADOWS IN THE VEIN
A Brave New World - Chapter 1

GEAR: in bio
OBJECTIVE: extract the assets
TAG: Darion of Myrkr | Livia Cadera | Reggie Rau | Romul Saxon | Yuri Maji | Open

BAD REPUTATION​

HYPERLANE

The magnetized thump of Yael's boots against the deck plating was the only thing grounding her in the oppressive, freezing dark. She ignored Yuri's banter, the sis and the ladies first rolled off her blue-tinted armor like rain off a slicker. There was no room for sentiment or annoyance when the void was literally breathing down their necks.

<Save the charm for the cantina, Maji. We're on the clock,> she replied, her voice filtered into a cold, mechanical rasp by her helmet's vocoder. She raised her carbine, the tactical light cutting a sharp, clinical path through the floating debris and frozen condensation.

She stepped past the drifting corpse, her HUD already filtering the chaotic environment into a stream of data. If the ship was dead, the distress call shouldn't have been possible, unless it was a pre-programmed burst or a localized emergency beacon powered by an independent cell.

But the ship isn’t completely dead.

Her HUD flickered, the sensor suite struggling to interpret the erratic signals bouncing off the bulkheads. <Movement,> she whispered, the word barely more than a hiss of static. <Forward bulkhead. Low-frequency biosigns.>

She jammed a cylinder of coolant into the manual override's frozen joint, the hiss of escaping gas cutting through the silence. With a grunt of effort, she heaved the lever down. The door groaned open, revealing a compartment where the emergency atmospheric seals had miraculously held.

Her tactical light swept the room, resting on a huddle of figures in tattered engineering coveralls, swaying in a rhythmic, unsettling unison, their skin pale and mapped with glowing, spiderweb-thin veins of blue light, the same bio-electric hue as the Shadow-Mantax.

Yael's finger tightened on the trigger, though she didn't fire. Through her HUD, the blue veins pulsed in an erratic frequency that mirrored the interference drowning her comms.

<Stay back, Maji. Don't let them touch your suit, they might be transmitting,> she cautioned, her voice dropping to a low murmur. The air in the room felt heavy, charged with the same bio-electric static that had nearly crippled the Kar'ta Kelborn's sensors. The researchers weren't looking at her, but she could feel the collective, hollow weight of their presence; a synchronized hum that vibrated through the floorplates and into the soles of her boots.

She moved with a deliberate, sideways gait, keeping her light fixed on the huddle while angling toward the central terminal. The industrial data-core hummed with a faint, independent power source, its yellow status light a lonely island in the sea of blue ocean.

<We take the core first. If they're a conduit for the Mantax, the Alpha is already listening through them. Secure the perimeter while I pull the drives.>​

 

[Yuri Maji]

SPACE | EYE OF CORULAG
TAGS: Yael Kandar
GEAR: In bio

HORIZON​

Yael was as charming as ever, Yuri brushed her annoyed tone off with a chuckle and pushed forward alongside her into the dead ship. :: Oh, come on, Yael. Gailen ain’t here, no need to be all dark and broody. :: He quipped, his head on a swivel for any surprises.

The ship, however, wasn’t as dead as it seemed. He thought it was a glitch with his HUD at first, but Yael’s report merely confirmed that there was no mistake. :: Copy. :: Was the only response from the Hound. Stacking up against the bulkhead, Yael pried the door open and Yuri breached, but there was no immediate danger waiting for them. By some miracle, a small part of the ship’s crew was still alive… though their current state only roused more questions.

He felt it immediately, the strange static in the room breached his suit and body glove to electrify his pelt. The whole room felt off to him, all of his senses warning him that something wasn’t right. To make matters worse, they all seemed to be in some kind of trance. Faint streaks of blue shimmered over the survivors, drawing the curiosity and concern of both Mandalorians.

An involuntary shudder rippled through the Hound, he wasn’t going to argue with Yael’s observation. :: This don’t feel right. :: He remarked with another shiver. He kept his pistol trained on the survivors, set to stun just in case they tried something stupid. :: How the kriff did they survive? Oxygen’s almost out, it’s karkin’ freezin’ in here… this is weird. :: He spoke, more to himself than Yael. Still, he kept an eye on the survivors and their surroundings.

:: We… we can’t leave these guys here. :: He continued, sparing the faintest glance at Yael. He waited for Yael to pull the data core, carefully studying the survivors to see if there was any change in behaviour.

He had never seen anything like this.

 

[Reggie Rau]

GALAAR
ABOARD KYR'AAM GAAN | HYPERLANE
TAG: Darion of Myrkr

EDGE OF THE BLADE​

"You can have mine too, if you'd like. I don't drink anyway."

Her chuckle could be heard through the comms.
<We'll rectify that soon enough.> she joked.

Then all things went to Haran.

The Mantax that had been facing her, diverted at Darion's shot, yet did not show any other diversion as it headed toward their dropship.
"Shabuir of a creature." she muttered as she spurred forward with her jetpack and the rifle carried in her arms.

Darion kept firing at the creature, yet it kept on its trajectory. Before she could get a shot in, it destroyed the dropship. Then it converged on one of the frigates that was still moving out of the immediate area on Romul's order. To make matters worse, the rest of the pod had started following.

If anything was to happen, it had to happen now.

She shot forward with her jetpack, bringing the hybrid rifle to her shoulder again as she went.

"Shoot for the eye, Reggie!" he called. "That one's skin's impenetrable."

<Got it.> she said as she sighted.

Her thumb toggled the setting from standard heavy bolts to particle, silently thanking the ingenuity of Maji Ironworks. She slowly drifted in the void, but she kept the sights on the target that Darion had given her.

The shot of course could not be heard, but the golden bolt shone through the void as it flew toward the creature's eye. She could feal the vibrate as the cannister cycled within the magazine and she took aim again.

But it somehow wasn't necessary.

Sound was null and void, but she could feel the magnificent creature's pain reverberate through the silence as it recoiled, balking the rest of the pod in the process.

Reggie couldn't tell the emotions that wrought through her as the great Mantax hung in the void, pretty much lifeless despite the occasional spasm as life left it. The rest of the pod conglomerated around it, milling around, as if grieving and paying homage.

The Alor lowered her rifle, giving the creatures a moment.
<I....that...I didn't mean to.> she said as she drifted in the void for a moment, eyes burning. Somehow, she knew exactly how they felt. These weren't mindless creatures. They stopped but at what cost.

<We...> she let out a sigh. <We need to get out of here before they turn on us.>

Spoiler: Rolls

Tracking:
Round 1: 11
Round 2: 7

Strike:
Round 1: 20

​

 

[Darion of Myrkr]

Last time Darion saw a shot like this was... never.

It would've been extraordinary to pull it on the ground, practically impossible in space, Reggie said she didn't mean to, but seeing her stare at the rest of the swarm of mantax drifting around their dead leader in dazed, melancholic circles, he knew she wasn't referring to her shot. Darion moved closer to her, watching them with her in silence.

<We...> she let out a sigh. <We need to get out of here before they turn on us.>

She was right. He issued a mayday call through his comms, averting his eyes toward the nearest Mandalorian ship. He said nothing for a while.

"Come on. Let's move closer to the fleet. You can have my tihaar when we're shipboard."

Reggie Rau

 

[Zavar Kelborn]

BLOOD, ICE, AND STEEL - CHAPTER 1
ABOARD THE KAR’TA KELBORN | HYPERLANE
TAG: Darion of Myrkr | Livia Cadera | Reggie Rau | Romul Saxon | Yuri Maji | Open
GEAR: in bio

BARRACUDA ​

Zavar's hand hovered over the fire-control override, his eyes locked on the obsidian leech gnawing at the Ky'ram Gaan's flank. He was a heartbeat away from ordering a focused turbolaser burst to scrape the beast off, until he saw Romul Saxon's signature transition to the hull.

<Belay that! Power down batteries one and two!> Zavar's voice was a metallic snap.

He pivoted the tactical holomap. He couldn't help Romul without risking a fratricidal strike, but he could ensure the rest of the vein didn't collapse. A secondary Shadow-Mantax had detached from the primary swarm, drifting with predatory intent toward the hyperlane beacon's sensory array. If that went down, the Mythos Fleet would be jumping blind into a grave.

<Launch the Interceptor Corps. Tell the pilots: I want precision. Do not saturate the area. Track the bio-rhythm and pierce the core.>

Zavar's eyes narrowed, his own hunter's instincts filtering through the electromagnetic ghosts. On the tactical display, the inter-clan starfighter wing split the void with surgical grace. They utilized the 10-count tracking data Zavar fed them, weaving through the shadows to isolate the target. For a moment, it was beautiful: the Supernova in motion, three clans moving as a single, lethal hand. They had the beast cornered against the backdrop of the stars.

<Mark. Execute.>

The starfighters unleashed a coordinated volley of concussion missiles and laser fire. It should have been the end. But the void was not ready to submit.

Just as the ordnance reached the target, the Mantax let out a localized bio-electric flare; a massive, erratic scream that acted like a physical wall. The missiles detonated prematurely, and the laser fire, intended for the heart, merely raked across the creature's obsidian carapace. The heat was enough to shatter the outer plates and sear the fleshy, glowing wing beneath, but it was a glancing blow. Dark, bio-electric ichor sprayed into the vacuum, freezing into glowing shards.

The creature didn't die. It went wild.

Enraged and trailing a cloud of its own freezing blood, the Mantax began to thrash in a blind, kinetic frenzy, using its massive weight to whip-saw against the station's structural pylons. The electromagnetic wail it emitted spiked every sensor on the Kar'ta Kelborn, turning the tactical map into a blur of static.

"Alor! The target is in a frenzy! It's... it's taking the sensor pylon with it!" the flight lead shouted over a comms-channel thick with interference.

Zavar gripped the command rail, his knuckles white against his Beskar gauntlets. He had avoided hitting the beacon, but the surgical strike had only succeeded in turning a predator into a panicked, bio-electric wrecking ball. The beacon groaned under the physical stress, the hyperlane path beginning to flicker.

<Recall the fighters,> Zavar growled, his voice a low rasp that carried the weight of the deep void. <We can't risk another run while it's thrashing this close to the array.>

Spoiler: Rolls

Tracking Roll: 10
Striking Roll: 2

​

 

[Romul Saxon]

F L A M E W A R D
Aboard the Kyr'am Gaan​

Tags: Livia Cadera | Reggie Rau | Darion of Myrkr | Yuri Maji | Zavar Kelborn

Romul rocketed out of the hangar and changed his trajectory to touch down against the hull of the cruiser. His magno-lock boots engaged, and soon he was walking perpendicular to the angular surface of the ship. Sound does not transmit in space, though explosions may ring and Mantax may roar, which left the Alor encased in the silence of nothing but his own breathing and his reverberating footsteps.

His HUD monitored pressure and radiation readings as he advanced from the hull towards his target. Each step was deliberate as he moved across a plane of durasteel plates. He could feel a rhythmic feedback from the hull as he drew closer to his target. coming over one angluar plane to another, his prey finally visible.

Out here in the vacuum of space the Mantax appeared much larger than from the hull. In some way he could appreciate its ebony-black scales and glowing eyes, the faint pulses of bioluminecense that it emanated as it gorged on the Kyr'am Gaan's power supply. Romul hefted his axe in both hands as he sized up the creature, looking for a weak spot.

His comms crackled to life. "Alor, I can't stablize the ship's power supply." Caemus reported. "None of our onboard systems are meant to compensate against something like this. Reactor is spinning out of control to try and compensate."

Romul frowned but remained silent. The direness of the situation was not lost on him; stressing the ship's hypermatter reactor for too long could lead to catastrophic consequences. His eyes narrowed. He didn't need a weak spot. He wielded a great waraxe forged of beskar. And he was Romul Saxon.

He engaged his jetpack, lifting off of the hull. He rose perpendicular to the ship, angling himself 50 meters above the creature too busy feeding to notice the small energy signature of his pack. Then he began to propel himself downwards, raising his axe high above his head. There was no limit to his velocity, only rate of acceleration, and if not for the inertial dampers in his armor he wouldn't've survived the impact. He practically rammed into the Mantax, bringing down his axe with fluid precision befitting of his decades of experience, gouging it deep past its scales into soft, flesh.

The creature detached, and though Romul could not hear its scream, he could feel the deep vibration as his axe stuck in its flesh. He engaged his jetpack once more to accelerate forward, up and past the creatures gaping maw. He pivoted in zero-gravity, letting go of his axe with one hand and raising it to aim his vambrace's missile launcher directly at the creatures gaping maw as it writhed with agony. He did not waste a single moment; he fired a missile straight into it, past rows of teeth and electro-feeding tendrils, down its gullet. Against the soft inner flesh of the Mantax the misisles explosion found no resistance. It exploded, deforming the creatures corpse from the inside-out, and the dead Mantax began to drift off propelled by its own momentum.

Romul turned, his jetpack firing, to face the the horde. They were still swarming the beacon.

They needed to end this now.

Spoiler: Rolls

Tracking: 8
Strike: 19