The City of Flesh and Bone || CIS Dominion of Kinyen

[Naomi]

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[member=ToKola Bakari]​

The moment his hands wrapped around her waist the witch knew what was coming. Even though she had landed some pretty good punches she knew he wouldn’t allow that move to unpunished. In an instant she found her nails sinking into his cheeks till they broke the skin, and her thighs squeezed around his neck in a deathly grip. If he was going to remove her from his shoulders she would leave her mark, it would take all his energy to peel her away. Their struggle continued for a few moments, him tugging relentlessly at her waist, her clinging on to whatever body part she could find. Until…

In one terrifying heart beat, her grip slipped and she felt her body free falling through the air, the only guide she had being his hands wrapped around her middle This was going to hurt. Naomi cried out the moment her back slammed against the ground. Contrary to belief the fleshy ground was not as soft as it first seemed, but it did cushion the blow marginally. Immediately, she was met with searing hot pain that pulsed through her body unabashed. Though agony streaked through her every nerve, and her back cried out against her protests to stand, Naomi forced herself to her feet as quickly as she could. It was imperative that she pulled away from the giant quickly, least she allow him the chance to injure her further. The witch had no doubt in her mind that he would take the chance to crush her skull if he could, and she rather liked her skull the way it was.

Adrenaline still coursed through her system as she spun wildly on the spot to face him again, arms brought up ready to strike or defend when the situation called for it. Naomi inhaled, then winced. Her face twisted into an expression of deeply ingrained pain, every inch of her felt light and airy. The manoeuvre had stolen the very breath from her lungs, and it was refusing to come back. A cracked rib or two maybe? No matter, they would heal, and she would fight through the pain regardless. As she began to take a step forward to reinstate the battle, something caused her to pause. Her feet barely made it past their original position. Instead, they remained still. Deathly still. What was that? Something was rumbling the earth underfoot, so powerfully she could feel it rattling her legs.

An earthquake?

’Kuwa kimya, hiyo sauti ni nini?’ Of course, she had no intention of speaking to her combatant, but the words were said aloud anyway. They were distant, far off as she scanned the horizon looking for the cause of what rumbled the earth. Though she wasn’t exactly sure what she was looking for, the one thing she hadn’t expected to feel when she found it was regret. ’Kutomba…’ Naomi had found what her eyes were searching for. A swarm of grunts surging toward their position, attracted by the cries they had made or the blood they had spilled, Naomi wasn’t sure. But they were coming, teeth and all.

 

[ToKola Bakari]

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[member="Naomi"]​

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His body ached.

His muscles were swollen and torn.

He dripped with blood and sweat.

The fighting with Naomi had left him worn and battered, yet finally some manner of opening had shown itself. He had slammed the woman on the ground, leaving her as nothing more than a defeated body against the ground beside him. Yet, with the poison beginning to flow freely through out his body, he was not in much better shape. He bit down on against his own teeth, using the pain to keep his senses and nerves fresh. Even as he pushed himself to a standing position he could feel the loud pops that echoed out from his knees. He could feel the traces of fractures and cracks from the bones impacted the hard surface below.

He looked to Naomi with a sense of astonishment. How she still managed to move, how she still fought for supremacy. Truly, the gods had blessed her with arms filled with strength.

And now he was going to rip them off of her.

He moved towards her, rolling his shoulders until they moved unhindered, his sunburnt eyes told a tale of death he wished to impart on her. His hand reached out for her, but just before it could find home there was an eerie sound.

The sound of a hundred insect-like legs slapping against the fleshy ground underneath. It was sickeningly familiar and the man who called himself the War Marshal for The Confederacy let out a sigh of grave understanding. When Naomi asked just what that was, To'Kola heaved out. "Adui yangu wa kweli." He said, turning towards the sound of the approach. He growled deeply, with a sound that would be reminiscent of an angered Gundark. "They interrupted my duel." He hissed, his fists curling tightly. Among the Sandali, duels such as these were considered to be honorable, practically sacred, so when they were interrupted by mongrels such as these?

​An explosion of the Force captured the land around them. The fleshy terrain quaked as To'Kola released the anger that had welled inside of him. The mob of creatures scurried forward in a mad dash to claim the flesh of the two Sandali, but To'Kola did the unthinkable. He charged directly into them.

His body ached.

His muscles were swollen and torn.

He dripped with blood and sweat and he was pissed.

Still, a bloody smile came over his lips, just before he delved into the mob of the vicious creatures.

 

[Naomi]

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[member=ToKola Bakari]​

Everything inside her screamed that this was over. Aching bruised ribs, the pain travelling through her jaw like a shock of electricity, even her feet trembled under the attempt to keep her upright. If it weren’t for the distraction of the insects creeping ever closer across the fleshy landscape, Naomi would have likely lost the battle. She may have landed more blows, but he was stronger than her. For every one blow of hers, his equalled ten. The giant advanced, but the witch was entirely unaware. Her eyes remained trained on the hoard of nightmare beasts that came crawling toward them from the depths of hell itself. Naomi had never seen such terrifying creatures. Their forms so twisted and grotesque she wasn’t sure what race they were, or once belonged to. What Gods would permit these beings to walk the earth freely?

For the first time since laying eyes on her target, Naomi felt real fear. Growing up she was always taught fear was healthy, to have no fear was to be foolish, but not fear like this. Whatever these demons from hell were, they would spare no mercy. She didn’t need to be up close to know that. ToKola spoke. His voice grounded the witch. Like or not, to survive she would have to fight her way out of this. Her body heaved, unwilling to make any movement that might further damage it, but Naomi insisted. Creatures bold and brave enough to become the enemy of a Sandali warrior such as ToKola would require all her energy, all her concentration, ever last ounce she could force out. Once again he made his anger clear with an animalistic growl, only this time Naomi couldn’t help but agree.

Despite feeling like she could physically fight no further an interrupted duel was serious business in their shared culture. ‘We’ll just have to make them pay.’ Naomi spoke through sharp breaths that provided a little easement to the pain in her ribs. By the boon in the force that surrounded them almost instantly, Naomi knew the warrior was in the same mind. Her eyes darted to the tree she had throne her dagger against. One hand reached out into the air to call the blade back to it’s master. There was a comfort to the leather that wrapped around the handle, the comfort of knowing she was armed and dangerous. The poison on the tip of the blade might not have affected the great Sandali warrior immediately, but puny little insects like these would fall in minutes. As the flesh underneath rumbled at his might, Naomi prepared herself for an altogether different battle. One where predator and prey would have to join forces to see they both made it out alive.

The giant lead the charge, taking four steps for every one of Naomi’s, but the witch was close on his heels. The moment they began their assault it was as though the swarm knew of their movements. They turned altogether at once to face the oncoming Sandali warriors with gruesome, unfathomable expressions. Naomi felt her heart rate increase as they drew close to breaking the line of grunts apart. One step, two steps, crash. The witch came head to head with a grunt, but the feeble-minded soldier was no match for the witch. The hand free of any weapon came swinging through the air to smack the grunt side on in the head. The moment she felt the sickly, sticky slime covering its hard shell she released a burst of bright gold electricity that not only electrified the beast but lit the area up in a glow as bright as sunlight.

One down, a million and one to go.

 

[Vytal Noctura]

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Location: En route to the surface of Kinyen
Objective: 3 - Crush the Heart
Tag: [member="Credius Nargath"] | [member="Pom Stych Tivé"] | Open

Vytal looked back into the cabin and found Pom staring at her meaningfully. No doubt her Sister had some interesting idea of how to handle what was ahead. In short order the other Nightsister displayed her assorted collection, whose meaning was already made clear. The risk, however, was less so. Nevertheless, Pom toiled over potions as a conjurer did their summoning spells -- with care that you weren't the one being summoned for possession. It was dangerous either way, but where one had measurable risk the other was less certain.

The pale woman strode back toward Pom as the shuttle was in motion. "You are of a mind about the task ahead, Pom. Tell me now. Once our feet hit the planet we will need to move swiftly and with no deal before the enemy is upon us." The distraction wouldn't hold a hive's attention the second even one of their number detected intruders. Likely, if this Queen was intelligent on any level, she wouldn't leave the heart without its patrols either. A Queen needed sustenance. Protection -- being the very manifestation of their Will. If they did not strike quick and true the entire endeavor would turn into a blood bath. Preferably of the Hive's number, but she wouldn't hold any illusion about their chances if they were overwhelmed.

If they weren't Mandragora that is. Still, Vytal would rather succeed than withdrawal in failure. It was a chance to demonstrate their worth in the field, should the Confederacy need them. The more valuable they were, the more resources thrown at them.

 

[Credius]

LOCATION: Planetary Orbit - Kinyen, reaching for the planet's surface
OBJECTIVE: Objective Three || Crush the Heart | BYOO

EQUIPMENT: Personal Armor see Signature, KRONOS AI

Post: 2

Jumping into his Valkan Dagger, the Viceroy bursted out of his Large flagship's hangar bay, piloting his way to the surface while the KRONOS AI floated calmly above the dashboard of his personal vessel, undettered by the large amount of G forces that could be felt with every swoop and turn made by Credius. It appeared he was indeed not the only one to scurry for the planet's surface, though there was a high probability that not all of these visitors came with the same intentions, the same goals in mind. "KRONOS, map me the best course to the surface, as close as you can to one of those cavernous entries," It was a given that the Marquis would try to get as close as possible to one of the entries of the hive or colony of this strange anomaly festering upon and within this planet. He did after all never liked to take the long road, if there was a target, getting close, up and personal was always more suited for his style.

"You may want to adjust your point of entry a bit, Milord," The AI rather jokingly mentioned, before the ship suddenly started to tremble heavily under the stress of piercing through the atmosphere at high speed. "My sensors indicate that one such entrance to the anomaly's core is within thirteen miles, though you might be most likely to meet heavy resistance. It seems that this...Flesh...is agitated, most likely some sort of communication or order has been relayed through their hivemind. They are concerningly active compared to moments earlier."

The Viceroy scoffed at this idea, if the residentsof this planet; the Gran were capable of holding on for so long and still managed to put up a resistance, he wasn't all too concerned over his own chances. After all, he was Credius, Marquis of Eriadu's greatest noble house, he was Darth Halcyon, sith lord trained in the old ways. If this flesh thing was an all devouring plague, he was the Steroids used to combat such an unsightly infection with great force and unyielding strength. "I'll be landing here, seems this is as far as we go without damaging the ship."

One mile away from one of the entry points to the core was about the closest the man could get without landing smack dab in the middle of a wave of these critters. Perhaps it was a bit of luck or just KRONOS' ability to find a less frequented spot on the surface at such a relatively close range. With the cabin of his Valkan dagger opening, the Sith lord's gloved hands caught on to the edges of the ship, before jumping out of it alongside his floating golden KRONOS AI, which remained in its dormant golden globe form, hovering precariously close to the man and as the Valken dagger's cabin closed again, Credius took some time to look around. No doubt his landing would've attracted some attention of these critters, so he knew he had not much time to be dawdling, he had to get to the caverns as fast as he could. "KRONOS, scan my surroundings at all times, I refuse to become a meal of some beast I did not pick up on whit my own sensors."

[member="Nim'Harra"] [member="Pom Stych Tivé"] [member="Vytal Noctura"]

 

[Pom Stych Tivé]

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Location: En route to the surface of Kinyen
Objective: 3 - Crush the Heart
Tag: [member="Credius Nargath"] | [member="Vytal Noctura"] | Open



Pomsty smiled when her voice of reason came to the rear of the ship to discuss Pomsty's intentions. She always held her sister in the highest regard. There never had been a moment Vytal shied away from the remarkable magickal creativity of the old ways, the ways most modern witches never even come across any need for instituting. Pomsty had been intrigued by this particular feat since she first discovered the text in the library. She had tested it. It worked under the skillset umbrella of Transformation. The Talisman of Transformation when used in combination with her potion could be utilized to transform into any imagined form. [member="Tempest Yore"] and Zak Dymo had been the first test participants, as they took their Potions without protest in their warm cup of hot cacao before the Halloween Party, which Vytal herself had hosted, where the children were awarded best costume.

Pomsty dropped her eyes down to the datapad and drew up the images of the Atiria sent by the ground forces. "Well Vytal, if we want to get deep into that underground lair to our target, we can Apparate our way inside, as far as we are able in the darkness. We can step into the Nether, and seek her out by her strong force signature. I do not know, however if the entire Hive Mind shares her signature. I suppose that it very well may. If that is the case, we may never draw near her without a trump card. Through Transformation, we may infiltrate the heart, unrealized."

Pomsty listened to herself talk and wonders only briefly what all the non-witches thought of the talk she spoke daily without a second thought...and awareness of her surroundings hit her quickly, for she knows full well what the others are thinking, in that they never speak so much as a word to her because of her oddity. She could even hand them the Draught to Eternal Life (which she does not yet possess) and they would shy away as if accusing her potion to cause the plague of utter universal annihilation!

Within moments they were brought down near the Sith [member="Credius Nargath"]'s vessel. Their ship emitting a brief electric shock akin to a stun pulse, hopefully enough to temporarily stop any of the hive beasties which might be within a close radius.

 

[Maeve Archeron]

Wearing: Dauntless Armour
Wielding: Verpine Shatter Rifle. DL-44 Pistol. Armed with Glitter Bullets. Black Bag containing Explosives and Czerka Knives, and others.
Tags: [member="Luna Terrik"] || [member="Subject 73 Red"]

Something about this planet didn't feel right for Maeve. Aside from the veritable rivers of blood and bones scattered across the planet and the aura of terror surrounding its people, something was wrong. Something was evil. Maeve had no idea of the cause or scale of the threat to the planet, and she had no way to know anything, but she could feel one thing for certain.

They should not have lasted this long.

She stepped off the shuttle and the atmosphere of the planet seemed to press down on her. It was almost claustrophobic. Shaking it off as a simple paranoia, she pulled her hood off her head and let out a sigh. Her forehead was dripping with sweat and it was so humid that even as she tried to wipe her brow, she still felt soaked. She really didn't want to think about what her hair would be doing right now, though she was sure that it was currently a ball of frizz in its loose braid along her back.

Life wasn't all bad, though. As she watched her colleagues distribute supplies amongst the frighteningly small stronghold, she fought to keep a grin from breaking over her face as she set about preparing for her assignment...

Minefields!

Maeve barely felt the weight of the black boxes that she hauled out onto the soon-to-be battlefield. As much fun as simple combat was, watching your enemies explode without raising a finger was even better. She had memorized the patterns that had been given to her by commander Terrik that morning, and spoke them softly to herself as she laid the charges. One mine, two mines, three mines -- that's one. One, two, three -- two, and a space. The HUD built into her helmet gave her notice every hundred meters, and then she would do it again. One, two, three.

It was almost therapeutic.

"Commander Terrik, Archeron. Mines set. Returning to base now. No sign of anything unusual... or, more unusual than expected. Over."

 

[Tess Valnora]

Location: Kinyen, Landing Zone​

Weapons: Oathkeeper (B2) | SPG-12 | Phrik Knife | Shotosaber | SMG​

Gear: Shadow's Sting | Norris Trench Coat | PD-00 | Utility Belt​

(Contents: SOAR | Suppressor | Smoke Grenades (2) | Medi-kit)​

Tag: [member="Credius Nargath"] | [member="Pom Stych Tivé"] | Open​

The engine whined incredibly as Tess increased the speed to maximum on the speeder bike that she had “borrowed” from a man who had no more use of it. The man had been ambushed by one of those excessively fleshy monsters. She had just been close enough to nab it before the creature had attacked her. As she started the engine, she riddled the monster with bullets and took off, not checking to see if it was dead. She had been riding for a little over twenty minutes when she saw a ship drop from orbit and make for a landing zone a little way ahead and to the left of her current trajectory.

Tess changed her course and aimed the bike toward the new arrival. She had been planning on trying to find an entrance to the layer of whatever was creating these monsters and attempt to eliminate it herself. But it was never a bad idea to make friends and get some help. As she drew closer a second ship dropped lower in the sky and prepared to land, and Tess began slowing her speeder down. Suddenly the landing ship emitted an electric shock, seeing this caused her to quickly apply the brakes to her bike, almost throwing her from it. When the electricity stopped at its maximum range, she gave the throttle some power and soon was within the area of the LZ.

Pulling her bike to a more comfortable stop the climbed off and walked up to a safe distance from a man decked out in red and black armor, “Sir? I couldn’t help but notice your ship land here. You wouldn’t be attempting to head for the source of this infestation, would you?” She asked non-challengingly, the Crow splayed her hands to show she was not a threat, but kept an eye out for any more of those monsters that may have heard the ships or her speeder bike approach the area. “I was in search of an entrance to where they came from to see if I could put a stop to it. But any help I could get would be most appreciated.” Tess offered almost as if she were at a business meeting back home and offering a deal to another company to work together.

 

[Luna Terrik]

Location: BOP – Defense setup
Time: 0810 Hours
Equipment: Personal Dauntless Armor, SC4 Blaster, Tactical Recon Handguns, XZ-77 “Buster” Comms Device
Post: 02
Tags: [member="Subject 73 Red"] | [member="Maeve Archeron"]| [member="Damsy Callat"] | @All defending objective 1

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Her head turned to the sergeant who gave the general the good news on the rocket ammo front. It would certainly be needed if any of the monsters made it past the minefield, or had armor on them that was tough enough to withstand a little bit of explosiveness. Pointing that way, she made the order clear to the man as she spoke just loud enough to be heard over the cargo shuttle taking off the moment all of it’s cargo was unloaded. “Good. Get a few crates of up onto the wall. Take a few commandos with you up there. You and them will be on rocket duty. Leave the grunts to us, and focus on the heavily armored targets.” Her finger dropped and her head jerked toward the crates, uttering one last command word. “Move. And quickly.”

Luna knew that the man would follow through on the order. She trusted every one of the commandos on the ground to do the same, but it certainly seemed like the newbie was becoming someone she could trust especially. These thoughts hovered on her mind as she approached the middle of the base, where a tiny command area had been set up. A sensor tower was the most notable aspect, which was just starting to get powered up as the general received the communication from another newer specialist to the commandos, Archeron. The general was quick to respond, wanting to make sure the specialist new of her next orders. “Good work. Get back to base either help with getting the E-Webs set up on the walls, or getting my mortars ready to go.”

She decided to end the comm there, leaving the orders up to the specialist to decide what to do. Whichever the woman decided not to do, Tien could handle. He was much more of a heavy gunner focused solider than an explosive one, but the decision was up to Maeve. Luna turned to the massive Keshiri, nodding toward him then to the front of the small base. “Go meet up with the specialist. Discuss with her what the next plan of defense of those two parts are.” He gave a nod, spoke a quick, “Ma’am,” and hustled toward the front of the base to meet up with the specialist once she was back from setting up the mines.

The horde would be here soon, but they were getting ready. Seeing the final shuttle landing on surface with the witches that [member="Vytal Noctura"] had sent pouring out. In the back of her mind, Luna couldn’t help but think to herself that she really didn’t know how best to use these people. Not only did she not know the full extent of their powers, she didn’t know how to address them either. As one of them walked up to the general, she gave a little nod then a salute, looking the group over. “Well..I want y’all on inner base defense. If you can create a shield to protect the base by letting us fire out of it, but not let anything in, that would be quite nice. If not…if anything makes it into the base, kill it. Understand?” The general hoped she was using these people right, but if not, she hoped that all the other defenses that were being set up would be able to fight off the neverending horde for long enough that the other team would kill the queen.

 

[Subject 73 Red]

Objective: 1
[member="Luna Terrik"] [member="Maeve Archeron"] [member="Damsy Callat"]

Red nodded to the General's new orders. "Yes ma'am. Anything approaches, we'll send it flying in hundreds of tiny pieces." He replied. He saluted, then, he walked off.

Great, now, he had to wait in that long line again to grab the crates he just got rid of. This just keeps on getting better and better.

After waiting a long time in that line, Red and two other commandos managed to grab four crates (Red had two of those 60 pound crates) and carried them up the wall. Red deposited his two crates, and opened them. Inside, there were both rockets and rocket launchers. The other two commandos deposited theirs and opened them. Red took out a rocket launcher and loaded a rocket into it. He then turned his attention to the vast landscape, watching for any attackers.

 

[ToKola Bakari]

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[member="Naomi"]​

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To'Kola could not count how many times he had nearly died. Hell, once an enemy had actually succeeding in ending his life. It had been the turning point of his life, where he realized that his own potential had not yet been shown. It had not been released.

That chapter was just now starting.

With every fist that flew towards his enemies, he would cave their bodies into a bloody mess. Their exoskeletons would cave into their flesh, causing them to fall limp. These things, the monsters that the Confederacy had identified as grunts. No matter how many of their endless horde came to challenge him, his strength never wavered. He felt as if he was a god, whose sole purpose was to destroy these beasts. The Force flowed through him in deep waves, keeping the poison in his body at bay and granting him a well to draw his power from.

However, even his strength could not counter their numbers. They descended upon him in what felt like an endless train of hell and death. His fists were growing raw from their hard exoskeletons, his knuckles long since busting open from the impact. He did not stop, nor did he slow down. However, slowly but surely they were pushing him back.

To'Kola's chest was bare, and it had been sliced a thousand times by their razor-sharp appendages.

They were making his body an even bloodier mess than it already was, but he did not yield. Instead he let out a powerful yell, that was eerily reminiscent to a laugh. He was enjoying the challenge that these beasts brought, even if it may mean his life.

However, it would not mean his life.

That bloody war cry that To'Kola had just bellowed out was being returned. It was much louder, and even more vibrant. To'Kola turned back to the fleshy tree line behind him, only to see all four of his Sandali warriors emerge from the thicket. With their spears bared, they flew over To'Kola and Naomi, having their blades slice a bloody path past the two weary warriors. Behind them were The Confederacy's B2 Super Battle Droids. A line of them formed, aiming their wrists for the line of battle, causing To'Kola to yell out. "Get down, now!" He roared to his warriors.

Each of them fell to the ground, getting as low as possible.

The Sandali man glanced over to Naomi, before leaping onto her. "Get down!" He yelled, before it occurred.

The Battle droids released a torrent of blaster fire which cut down the demonic Grunts more efficiently than any blade. The blaster fire slammed into the Grunt's bodies, wearing the horde down into nothingness, when finally it ended, all that remained was a bloody mist.

 

[Damsy Callat]

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Form: Humanoid Location: BOP hanger bay​

Equipment: Blue-detailed Dauntless armor (bottom) + blacks (top) / sidearm dartgun / sidearm ​

blaster pistol / trident electrostaff / ID10 seeker droid and docking port​

Tags: [member="Luna Terrik"], [member="Maeve Archeron"], [member="Subject 73 Red"]​

Post Count: 01​

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Shelve Mustafar.

Push down the sting of failure, worse than freshwater on her skin. The past was what is was. Focus instead on not failing here. Reaching up to her right ear, she activated her headset. "This is Tadpole. Reading you loud and clear, Rebellious Hawk," she responded to the Hellspear's hail. "Requesting status of Kinyen-bound fighter and bomber squadrons."

A technician aboard the frigate was instantaneous in her reply. "Patching you through. Standby, Tadpole."

As the next few seconds passed, nothing by static threaded through the comm from the heavens, so Damsy's mind filled the otherwise silence. She didn't want to let Luna down again, especially not in an active combat situation, but chances were she already had by requesting a coordination position behind the line. The Sithspawn was more use here, even though she had little experience guiding orbital strikes, but freezing up under direct fire due to a lack of confidence in her abilities wouldn't do anyone except the Hive good. All things considered, Damsy could only hope that Luna understood that.

"Tadpole, this is Warlord One," a new voice chirped into her ear. Warlord hosted their promised fighter squadron. "Pilots all accounted for; fuel up complete. Awaiting takeoff instructions. T-minus one and a half minutes. ETA to surface, ten additional." "Copy, Warlord One. Keep your frequency clear." "Will advise approach."

A click signaled the end of the connection and the beginning of another. "This is Gold Actual," yet another voice apprised. "Ordinance loaded and ready to deploy. Headed out as soon as Warlord squadron takes off." Damsy glanced at the wall chronometer. Any moment then, surely. "Takeoff sequence commencing." A momentary pause as the flight leader adjusted something in her cockpit. "Catch ya planetside, Tadpole." "Godspeed. Over and out." And then: "Get me the General." Someone did, patching her into Luna's helmet-integrated comm. "General Terrik, the Hawk's fighters and bombers are currently inbound. ETA nine minutes. Should I tell 'em to punch it?"

 

[Vytal Noctura]

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Location: En route to the surface of Kinyen
Objective: 3 - Crush the Heart
Tag: [member="Credius Nargath"] | [member="Pom Stych Tivé"] | [member="Nim'Harra"] | [member="Tess Valnora"] | Open

Vytal studied her Sister's face for a moment. "Good. You and one other." Word they were on final approach was relayed from the cockpit. "I'll cloak myself and ride with you. If you join the Hive, you may lose yourself. If you do not, they will notice -- I will make sure they do not. I won't be able to do much else, however, so I will be relying on you Pom to get us to what lies at their core."

Even a member of a Hive was still but a receptacle of sensory organs -- the sort magick could deceive. Even the very means of communion was nothing more than a complex arrangement of chemical and neural relays. That said, it was not a simple sense to deceive, but they would not need anything elaborate. Enough to pass as 'one of us.' It would be odd to watch as a 'limb' passed by without any recognition that it was a limb -- a silent Hive member might escape notice, but would draw scrutiny. They needed to slip in and find the source. Kill it more than likely. Shame that. Vytal had nothing against this creature personal. Surely it had some driving force it felt was just.

"We're coming up on the drop." Vytal nodded. "Will a smoke screen provide enough time for the change to occur?" Throw down cover, hop out, transform, and scurry away before the smoke was gone and anyone -- or anything -- knew what had happened.

If Pom was ready and the conditions set, the shuttle would soon sweep into position, and the operation would begin.

 

[Credius]

LOCATION: Planetary Orbit - Kinyen, reaching for the planet's surface
OBJECTIVE: Objective Three || Crush the Heart | BYOO

EQUIPMENT: Personal Armor see Signature, KRONOS AI

TAG: Pom Stych Tivé | Nim'Harra | Tess Valnora | [member="Vytal Noctura"]

Post: 3

It seemingly didn't take long for others to arrive at the place where he himself had landed, as a vessel of unknown origin to him descended upon the land. However, what came after was something he had not expected and which enraged the Sith Lord considerably, as the electronic pulse which the unknown vessel let out messed up with his own KRONOS AI as well, not to mention his helmet's electronics. With the AI forced into its dormant golden orb state by the pulse and his helmet's electronic's scrampled, he no no longer had the luxury of using the direct connection to his ships in orbit through his helmet nor his cypher which he kept in his robes. "Impudent, incompetent..." Pulling off his helmet, the man's face was revealed to be that of Credius Nargath, who's eyes were now bloodred with blue veins all across his face as he seemed to be reaching his boilingpoint with how inept the ones flying that ship could be.

As if that wasn't enough, his rage had been interrupted by another arrival in the form of a young woman asking about his own goals in this endeavour. Biting his lower lip for an instant, the Sith lord managed to calm himself down, placing his hands against his face for a moment to remove the dark side taint which he always so desperately masked. His eyes now silver in color again, he looked at [member="Tess Valnora"] . "It was my intention to try and reach for the very heart of this infestation...but change of plans, these things can rot for all I care, whomever is flying THAT ship," Moving his hand angrily towards the Mandragora ship, it was obvious that Credius' priorities had shifted. "Will need to answer for their obstruction in my business."

Tapping his helmet a few times, it seemed that it was already rebooting again, so it wouldn't take long for the KRONOS to do the same. With this indicating that it wasn't all that bad, the sith lord's anger subsided slightly, nonetheless he was not keen on going towards the Hive with his AI being dormant, given that KRONOS was pretty darn expensive and as such also pretty darn good in doing things he himself couldn't do. "Miss...you can follow me and be of assistance or you can find your own path, it doesn't bother me in the slightest unless you manage to get in my way, understood?"

With that being said, he moved on at rapid pace towards the mound where he'd find the entrance to the inner layers of this hive. He HAD to find this singularity before anyone else, that was the top priority for now.

 

[Pom Stych Tivé]

Objective Three || Crush the Heart​

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Save us.​

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Tag: [member=Nim'Harra] | Open



The Mandragora Mistress Pom Stych Tivé eagerly leapt from the vessel which lifted off no sooner than it halted and all had taken the plunge. She had already studied the detailed still images, and videos of the grunts for their movements. She would reach out and listen for their language; who knows maybe its comprehendible! Maybe its emotion! [member="Vytal Noctura"] would assure Pom doesn't lose her mind's focus in the whole Transformation ordeal.

She spotted [member="Credius Nargath"] with whom she had worked with once before, in a most harrowing showdown upon Vylmira, but she did not recognize the Sith for his battle armor. She recognized the presence of the Sith by his ire, which she can sense. In fact she suspected who he could be, based upon his Force Signature. His type were amusing, not sparing on the drama. She knew other men with that disposition, one utmost grandiose, ultimately demanded attention; but for the life of her, Pom cannot even remember his name today. Thankfully so, actually. Pomsty never wore the customary uniform herself, and stuck to her own Patent Leather attire. This ordeal shall be interesting indeed, for she will transform herself into one of the grunts, and anyone else who plans to simply waltz into the tunnels of the hive and manage to get close to the Queen without being devoured.

She noticed [member="Tess Valnora"] and while everyone has their own way, and likes to make their own plans, she decided to at least inform her of what their group were planning, so as to not be shot in an instant. A bug doing Tutaminis against aggressors would be a most chilling sight indeed! "We are going in there, under the guise of the enemy. If you want in, we can cloak you with some others. I cannot say, we will succeed in our mission, but we are sure going to give it a damn good fight in our attempt." It isn't exactly a suicide mission. They have a few means of escape should things go awry. They can escape direct capture in many ways! Pom is able to Apparate herself and others away from danger, all they have to do is be touching one another; while her sister Vital is able to walk the lot right off this planet into another far safer Nether Realm altogether, where nothing in either realm can effect that of the other.

As their new acquaintance, Tess, decides factors of her own journey and who she will join, Pomsty handed over one Potion to another willing soul among her party, whoever that might be, passing along a second Talisman of Transformation as well. She downed her Potion in one vile swig. And then it happened…

The alabaster skinned woman with the raven black hair shuddered and all at once she lost control of her body as the transformation began. The sound of choking emitted from her throat as her body jerked. Her limbs twisted and her torso bubbled forth with bulk, and its superior exoskeleton of its ribs and underbelly. Her skull elongated to its new massive form. Teeth emerged, long and sharp. The Grunts are massive standing next to the humanoids. She assumed its form in its entirety. It was a physically painful transformation to undergo. Pom's heart almost taxed beyond return, but looking at Vital, and retaining her mental capacities, understanding their goal, she slowly calmed. Her Talisman a lustrous green gem, emanating the Spirit of Ichor, pulsed with the soft glow of light just under the exposed flesh of her neck under her chin.

They will be here shortly. It is time to move...

 

[Vytal Noctura]

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Location: En route to the surface of Kinyen
Objective: 3 - Crush the Heart
Tag: [member="Nim'Harra"] | Open

When they leaped out of the transport, Vytal hand signaled for them to lift back off and resume their course. If things went well the ship could pick them up. If not, the Witches had ways of returning of their own accord. The largest reason they hadn't just 'popped' into the enemy stronghold was the result of how...dynamic its structure was, and there was a certain 'aura' about it which might interfere with arriving as they intended. Perhaps lethally so. Yet again, matters they could attend to by other means; they were not slaves to their own power.

"We will succeed." Vytal looked over at [member="Tess Valnora"] for a moment. "One way or the other." A green light shone within the dark recesses of the Nightsister's eyes for a moment.

Her attention swung back in the direction Credius was headed. Slowly she drew in one breath after another. The world washed over her as the pale Witch opened herself to the life and death far and wide. There was something there. Something more than the howls of beasts.

Soon [member="Pom Stych Tivé"]'s thoughts slid across that spiritual expanse. Her possession retrieved by an idle hand of the Nightsister as they'd lain discarded in the wake of her transformation.

So it is. Vytal's body began to fade from view as she lifted her hands out to either side. Avoid close contact with them if you can. More swiftly, but not strangely. Being too eager to reach the Queen might be just as alarming as other Hive creatures trying to 'delve' too deeply into whether this phantom 'limb' was really theirs or some one else's. I will be with you, Vytal sent as reassurance despite the loss of her visual presence.

Viceroy, a woman's voice whispered in [member="Credius Nargath"]'s ear, take care not to perish here. I would not want to usher in another so quickly. Whether he recalled her presence, or her voice hardly mattered. A true enough statement; the Confederacy wouldn't 'gain' through negligent suicide. She expected he could handle himself, though she hoped that would not involve destroying the entire Hive before they had a chance to even speak to something with a modicum of intelligence.

 

[Daisy Americus]

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Location: Landing Zone outside of Atiria Nest Beta​

Gear and Armor: Armor | Slugthrower Pistols | KC-77N Hybrid Pistol | 2x Bandoleer of Thermal Detonators​

w. [member="Kaden Farr"] | [member="Ardasz Verd"]​

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Why did the Confederacy always take them to the dirtiest of places? Scratch that, why did Kaden always take her to the most horrible of places? Had she done something wrong? Was there some deity aside from the Manda that had their britches in a twist? Daisy was doing her best to be appreciative of the time that the Mandalorian had taken off, however, it was over too soon. She was always one for fighting. She would rather hold a slugthrower than anything else.

But, in all honesty? She was worth thin.

After her initial misgivings about [member="Kaden Farr"] she’d actually considered the fact that she was losing her mind. Her friends kept disappearing. Missions kept getting worse. Harder. Never easier, never run of the mill. Rarely could she simply land and simply be told where to point her weapon and choose to pull the trigger. No. Instead, she had to watch for collateral. She had to avoid becoming collateral.

Afterall—No one wanted to be a flesh-eating zombie.

Things were ever changing. She had transitioned from a Mandalorian Protectors, to the Crusaders, and now she was part of something called the Guild. Would things ever slow down?

Kaden smiled at her from across the drop ship and Daisy found herself smiling back. He meant well. Sometimes, he got under her skin, like nothing else. But that was just the way of it. She was settling into a warm place where his scatter-brained work-a-holic issues were concerned.

That didn’t mean she still wouldn’t give him chit about it.

He closed the distance between them and his forehead met her own. There was a time when she used to shy away from contact that was so incredibly close. It meant more than most people would ever realize. It was intimate, without an overdone display, and ascertained a certain level of trust. Her eyes closed and she breathed him in. Safe. Heading off into a warzone, with some crazy insects, holding explosives—She felt content. Even as the drop ship shook and they separated to finish gear checks.

The helmet of her purple and white armor latched on with ease. It was the beskar that she had worn for almost all of her adult life. When she heard Kaden’s voice through the vocabulator she focused on it. Her heart skipped. This was what he would describe the Netherworld to be? She inhaled sharply. Awful. Just, awful. <<We’ll deal with it, sugar. This plague…It stops here.>>

They left the drop ship with about a half dozen other Guild Members and Knights Obsidian. Kaden landed first. Daisy was just behind him. <<Oya!>>

She had packed a vibroblade at Kaden’s behest—But for now she still had plenty of slugs to throw around. Not to mention a few new tricks that she was slowly starting to incorporate into her repertoire. The Force was, apparently, Kad help her, with her. Daisy had never really learned how to use it properly but she was making progress by studying the Knights Obsidian. <<There’s a huge wave of them to the right. More than—>>

She couldn’t count how many. Her HUD couldn’t either. They moved too fast. It was all her internal systems could do to keep up with the targeting systems so they didn’t get swarmed. Why weren’t defoliators a good idea? Couldn’t they use them to wipe our organic material in certain sectors? They had so much heavy artillery in the Confederacy—Why didn’t they use more of it?

Instead of wasting precious air she began to lay waste to as many creatures as she could. She kept her back to Kaden’s as much as possible, while relying on her HUD to keep track of other allies, so they could avoid friendly fire. At least these suckers weren’t hard to put down. One between the eyes definitely did the trick. Clean, precise, headshots.

Daisy didn't hear [member="Ardasz Verd"] because the communication was sent to Kaden directly, however, she did gun down a creature that was creeping up behind him. She gave him a brief nod and then continued on. They had some nests to blow up and some Hive to send packing.

 

[Alpha117b]

(Shhhhh!)​

 

[Tess Valnora]

[member="Vytal Noctura"] | [member="Pom Stych Tivé"] | [member="Credius Nargath"]​

Tess backed away as [member="Pom Stych Tivé"] morphed into one of the monsters that had been plaguing the planet. “Who were these people that just drank vials of liquid and changed their forms without a second thought?!” Tess wondered bewildered by the gruesome transformation she just witnessed. Taking a second she collected her wits and calmly replied to the now-monster-once-human, “No thank-you, I kind of like my body how it is. I think I’ll take my chances in my own form. With him.” She finished by pointing toward the scarlet armored man walking away from them. Unsure if the creature that now stood before her was able to even talk now, she asked, “Is there a way we will be able to identify you if we chance upon you in there?” then she noticed the soft green glow under its neck, “Never mind, I figured it out.” She dismissed her own question as she gestured at the pendant.

Tess then turned and jogged to catch up to [member="Credius Nargath"]. In an attempt to start on the man’s good side, she simply said, “Sir, how may I be of assistance to you?” She guessed by the way he had replied earlier and his current gait that he wasn’t in the greatest of moods nor was he a man willing to waste words and time on simply talking. She kept her eyes open for their enemy as she walked abreast and to the left of him. Tess kept her right hand on her SMG while they walked, hoping to not spot anything, in the good way. And by good way she hoped they didn’t run into any monsters, but heading into the "Gundark’s den" was practically asking to run into trouble.

 

[Lik Teh'Bones]

[Post I -- Dauntless Objective -- Armed for Combat with Standard Dauntless Gear] [[member="Luna Terrik"] || [member="Subject 73 Red"] || [member="Maeve Archeron"] || [member="Damsy Callat"] ]

It had been a long time since Lik had been at the bottom…

And he wasn’t sure he liked it here. The Confederacy had offered him a way out, a ticket off his planet and a place in an elite special response unit, and he was certainly not one to complain. But the ex-commander chafed nonetheless as he carted boxes of ammunition about the too-small base. For a highly trained unit, there certainly seemed to be far too much work below their paygrade. Who was this woman to give him orders, anyways? Surely the droid could handle the set up by itself, and he certainly was capable enough to be commanding this damn unit anyways.

Lik kept his dissent to himself, however, as he was finally allowed an assignment for combat. Rocket duty. She made it sound so benign, when really the explosives he was firing would be enough to destroy a small house. And quickly he could do. He ended up near the same droid as earlier -- what kind of droid even was that? -- as they both set their attention to searching the landscape and simply waiting. At least it was warm.