Private The Crystal Grimoire

[Kassogtha Cthylla]

Aboard the Silent Vigil

Resting in her private quarters, Kass tried to concentrate on the book she was reading. But her numerous eyes kept getting drawn back to the holocron sitting on her desk. It was silver in color with a black core, the metal framework wrought in unusual patterns. Had she not already known where it came from, she would've been obsessed with learning more about who created it. What culture or Force tradition or individual mind had come up with those designs? What knowledge did it hold?

But there was no tantalizing mystery surrounding this particular piece. They already knew its story, and its connection to one of the most twisted galactic figures in recent memory.

Kass found it interesting regardless, if only because it was said to hold knowledge from a strange and esoteric Force tradition which was not very well-documented. But she knew better than to try and unlock its secrets. No, this holocron was due to be stored away safely in the Jedi Temple vaults, where it likely wouldn't see the light of day for some time. If she ever did get around to studying its contents, it would have to be in a much more secure environment. The corvette she was traveling in, with its crew of seasoned soldiers guarding its cargo, was good for getting from one place to another, but not for dissecting a Force User's crystal grimoire.

Unable to focus on the book, Kass moved to her hologram projector and called her husband. Perhaps a little conversation would help to clear her head. It was still early evening on Coruscant, so he should be awake...

Alessandra Io​

 

[Alessandra Io]

Location: Bridge - KNV The First and the Last
Objective: Intercept the Silent Vigil
Dialogue Legend: <<Technopathy Link>> │ “Verbal”
Tags: Kassogtha Cthylla

The engines had been pushed to their limit and beyond.

With their obsessive engineering focus on firepower and armor, House Io vessels were often incredibly slow. The First and the Last was no exception. However, by drawing power from combat shields, weapons, jammers, and life support in select, unoccupied areas of the ship, the crew had managed to get more performance out of the vessel. And yet, there was still more price to pay.

“Sister Chaplain, the engines are overheating. They won’t hold on for much longer.” Piped up one of the bridge crew, a General Purpose Nuetralizer with blazing crimson hair. Her features were set in a neutral, unreadable mask, but her technopathic aura told a far different story.

“Will they hold on long enough for us to reach our target, Ariel?” Alessandra said. The Chaplain knew the plan was risky, but the assignment had been given on extremely short notice and there hadn’t been time to procure a faster ship. They only had one chance to re-capture the Holocron of Blades, before it was locked inside the Jedi temple, protected by the largest Jedi Order in the galaxy and the full might of the Alliance military. If the holocron reached Coruscant, they might never get it back.

“The engineers are doing all they can. Matriarch willing.”

“She wills it.” Alessandra answered confidently. “Launch the Butterflies and have them push ahead to our target. We’re getting close.”

“Yes, Chaplain!”

​

The KNV The First and the Last was the sketchiest ship Chasianna Io had ever ridden through space.

“Did you hear that?” Chasianna said as she lowered herself into a split, stretching out her hips and abductor muscles. Strength and flexibility were crucial for any Butterfly, so that their bodies could better maneuver under extreme Gs. Such excruciating attention to detail was what made them the best organic soldiers in House Io, or so Chasianna believed.

“Another rattle. I agree. This ship is falling apart. Let’s hope it doesn’t go while we’re in it.” Chasianna’s wingmate—Kalenee Io—added, before casting a playful sidelong glance back towards her partner.

“It’ll be much easier when we’re flying.” Chasianna added, her gaze suddenly widening as an alert registered in her awareness. It was time to launch.

“Speak of the Moonkeeper, sister!” Kalenee squeed as she popped up from her split. With that, the propulsion system on her back roared to life, carrying her off of the floor as she rose up in an acrobatic spin.

“Crescents, we’re green for launch. Initiate formation Besh two! Loose spacing.” Bellatrix Io barked before taking to the air. “Our objective is to harass and slow down the mark so that the First and the Last can intercept. We only have one chance at this, so let’s execute it cleanly.”

With that, a squadron of Butterflies flew free from the belly of the First and the Last, emerging in a manner not dissimilar to wasps from a hive. The Zero-G troopers immediately flew ahead of the racing corvette, boost systems active as they rapidly closed the distance on the Silent Vigil.

“Hayley, Reza, Mei, Hanna, activate jammers and distortion projectors! Everyone else, close in and engage!”

 

[Kassogtha Cthylla]

"I just don't know what to make of it," Kass said, her tentacles wriggling in a Pylantian shrug. "This holocron gives off... weird vibes. That's the only way I can describe it."

The hologram of Oukranos Cthylla projected onto the table looked concerned. "You haven't removed it from the nullification resin, have you?" he asked.

"No, of course not." She sighed. Somehow the conversation, which she had hoped would serve as a diversion, had circled back around to talking about the holocron anyway. "But when I first received it during the exchange, it was like nothing I'd ever handled before. Not the Dark Side, but some twisted version of the Light. It's haunted me ever since."

"Laertia Io is known for that. Or she was known as a Light Sith. I always thought it sounded dubious, but if what you're describing is true..." Oukranos trailed off, then his handsome features molded into a tender smile. "I suppose I'll find out in a few more hours. I've missed you, old doll."

Kass giggled. "I've missed you too. I—" She broke off as alarm klaxons blared. "Got to go. I'll see you soon, darling." She cut the feed, then tapped into the ship's comms. "Captain, what seems to be the problem?"

The only answer she received was static. Communications were down. The Force flared in warning, but rather than a volley of laser fire or an explosion rocking the deck, Kass began to sense several unfamiliar presences rapidly approaching. Were they being boarded?

The Silent Vigil began firing its laser turrets upon the invaders, seemingly confirming her suspicions. Approaching the direction of the blips in her psychic radar, Kass coiled a tentacle around her lightsaber, but didn't activate it yet. She needed a better assessment of the situation, and hopefully a read on just who the enemy was...

Alessandra Io

 

[Alessandra Io]

Location: Bridge - KNV The First and the Last, Space
Objective: Intercept the Silent Vigil
Dialogue Legend: <<Technopathy Link>> │ “Verbal”
Tags: Kassogtha Cthylla

“Engine four is on fire!” The flame-haired bridge officer called out. “Engine five is at risk.” She added.

“Hold course. We still have the momentum.” Alessandra directed. The Chaplain had known in advance that the ship might not survive the engagement. They were asking far too much of it, having not only placed the vessel in a mission profile that it was ill-suited for, but also doing so alone, with no reinforcements.

It was the closest thing to a suicide mission.

“Status on the Butterflies?” Alessandra asked.

“They’re engaged, but have taken casualties.” The bridge officer answered.

“Launch a shuttle to recover the wounded. Keep me updated.”

Chasianna raced ahead towards the looming mass of the Silent Vigil, her luminescent gaze widening as her senses processed the movement of the vessel’s point-defense guns, swiveling to meet their targets. One cannon in particular seized the Aetharian’s attention as it turned in her direction, compelling the Butterfly to throw her body into a sudden break to her left, before initiating a winding series of erratic, G-force-inducing spirals as she closed the distance to the corvette.

“Nice moves, sister!” Kalenee’s voice came over the comms. “Keep going, I have you cov-”

A pair of errant laser bolts flew past Chasianna before she could give warning. On impulse, the Butterfly spun around to find Kalenee’s upper half floating aimlessly through the void, her entire lower half blown off and reduced to little more than ashes scattered on the solar wind.

For a moment, time seemed to stand still. The cocktail of combat drugs working through the Aetharian’s system kicked her senses into overdrive, even as her mind briefly went blank. It was only the sudden sting of an alert in her awareness which pulled the Butterfly out of her shock—a primal, animal need to survive taking over as she willed her propulsion system’s engines to accelerate, narrowly missing a laser bolt in the maneuver.

For the moment, Kalenee was pushed into the back of her mind. Her sister would survive. She had to believe it, or else there was no point in fighting.

With blinding speed, Chasianna closed on the fleeing corvette, before activating her field disruptor to allow her to fly through the corvette's shields. Her guns didn’t stand a chance at penetrating the hull, but they would be able to defang the vessel by taking out its weapon systems. The Butterfly committing herself to doing exactly that, skimming along the hull as she unleashed a barrage of fire from the scatterblasters and micro energy torpedo launchers on her gauntlets, targeting any laser turret, ion cannon turret, or turbolaser battery in the vicinity.

 

[Kassogtha Cthylla]

Turning a corner, Kass nearly collided with an Alliance soldier. The Human let out a choked noise at the sight of her, backing away in shock.

"What's going on, soldier?" she demanded. There was no time to deal with his horror at her appearance. "Who is attacking us?"

"A corvette hauler. They're sending Zero-G troopers at us. Taking out our weapons. Trying to board—"

"House Io?"

He nodded. Just then, the ship was wracked by an explosion as three of the Silent Vigil's laser canons were taken out. The remaining weapons trained upon the First and the Last, concentrating their fire on the hauler.

Alessandra Io

 

[Alessandra Io]

Location: Bridge - KNV The First and the Last, Space
Objective: Intercept the Silent Vigil
Dialogue Legend: <<Technopathy Link>> │ “Verbal”
Tags: Kassogtha Cthylla

“Adjusting course, Sister Chaplain. We’re still within the envelope, but I’ve lost some maneuvering capability.” A gentle, masculine voice belonging to one Prellon Io called out from the front of the bridge, drawing Alessandra’s attention as the reports from the engineers, Butterflies, and Mercenaries streamed into her awareness. The gynoid shifted her attention to the helm, where a black-haired Pilot Nuetralizer with long dreadlocks piloted the ship. He had been given the extremely demanding task of not only ramming the corvette hauler into the Silent Vigil, but also guiding both ships down to the ice planet with a relatively smooth landing. The calculations and precision needed to carry out such a feat were beyond inhuman in their complexity. However, the task was well within the capabilities of a Pilot Nuetralizer, even one who was more accustomed to piloting fighters than capital ships.

“Good. Sevrina, shields to front. Call the Butterflies away from the Vigil. We’re closing in.” Alessandra directed.

“Aye, sister!” The flame-haired bridge officer piped up.

“All hands, brace!”

Streaking through the space with two engines aflame, the First and the Last sped on a course almost completely perpendicular to the trajectory of the Silent Vigil, attempting to ram it. All the while, the Butterflies broke off their attacks on the corvette, before forming up along the relief shuttles to await further orders.

“Five seconds to contact!” Prellon Io called out. “Five, four, three, two, one…”

Alessandra’s dovin basal heart missed a few beats. This was it.

Chasianna Io wove past a laser bolt, before pirouetting around to fire on the cannon it had come from, taking the turret out in a fiery blast. It was her third turret already, but the Aetharian was compelled to pull back after the order to break off was barked over the comms. With a sudden, G-force-inducing flip turn carried out with the grace of a swimmer and the speed of a starfighter, Chasianna shifted her heading and angled back towards the relief shuttles, willing a sudden burst of speed with the boost SLAM as she did.

In taking out the three turrets, the Butterfly had played her part—albeit a small one, in carrying out the mission. Now, their failure or success laid in the hands of others.

As was the life of Kalenee Io.

 

[Kassogtha Cthylla]

Kass' danger sense flared like an explosion in her skull. A glance out the viewport windows revealed the hauler was coming closer... "They're about to ram us!" the soldier exclaimed. "Brace for impact!"

As the hauler struck, Kass was thrown down the corridor. Reaching out with the Force, she cushioned the impact for them both as they slammed into the wall. The Silent Vigil's engines had been hit; the impact sent the vessel hurtling toward an icy world, helpless to stop its descent.

Alessandra Io

 

[Alessandra Io]

Location: Bridge, KNV The First and the Last - Ice Planet
Objective: Capture the Holocron
Dialogue Legend: <<Technopathy Link>> │ “Verbal”
Tags: Kassogtha Cthylla

The First and the Last’s hull rocked and buckled with the weight of the collision, even as the vessel’s shields dampened much of the force. Fortunately, all of the crew aboard the corvette hauler had been prepared for it, having taken steps to secure loose items, close bulkheads, and prepare any damage control systems beforehand.

However, there was still more danger to come.

“Status report?” Alessandra asked.

“Hull integrity holding. We’re pushing them into the upper layers, sister!”

“We’re on course for the ice plains.” Prellon spoke up, his voice a calm rock against the tide. “I’m gonna try to land it right side up, but once we hit the ground I can’t make any guarantees.” The Pilot Nuetralizer finished.

Outside, the two vessels, now locked in a fiery embrace—tore through the upper layers of the atmosphere, dumping ionized plasma and debris in their wake. Before long, the blinding fires of reentry gave way to clear sky and serene clouds. Then, the world’s vast plains of ice and snow came into view as the vessels careened towards the ground, guided by little more than a prayer and ever-changing calculations.

“Five seconds to impact!” Prellon called out once more. “Five, four, three, two, on-”

Thooom! Wraack!

This time, Alessandra’s dovin basal heart was steady within her chest—a striking contrast to the chaotic scene transpiring outside as the two vessels crashed and slid along the snow, fires erupting from their hulls. Before the First and the Last had even come to a stop, she was out of her chair and flying through the shifting passageways, making for the nearest exit.

“Ready the Mercenaries and have the shuttles on standby. I’m disembarking right now.” The Chaplain hissed over comms.

She didn’t intend to waste a second.

 

[Kassogtha Cthylla]

The rest of the crash was a blur. Kass was flung about, eventually finding herself lying in the snow, having been thrown out of the ship altogether. The Silent Vigil was a smoldering wreck beside her, its fires not quite quenched by the bitterly cold air.

There was no sign of the soldier she had tried to protect. To Kass’ relief, she could sense life signs from within the shredded hull of the vessel. It seemed most of the crew had survived.

The holocron! She dove back inside the wreckage, determined to secure the device. If it fell back into enemy hands, even more lives would be at stake.

She quickly located what remained of her personal quarters. The room was relatively intact, though many items had been damaged. The holocron was no longer on the table where she had left it. To her alarm, she found pieces of the nullification resin which had contained it lying upon the floor, cracked at some point during the crash.

The Force warped strangely around her bed. It was not a physical manifestation, only a very, very unsettling feeling which radiated outward. Unfamiliar emotions surfaced in her mind. Doubt, frustration, and anger over how unfair it all was. How callous and cruel the galaxy they lived in… Was it her imagination, or had the holocron’s effect on her grown even stronger since she first laid eyes upon it?

Taking a deep breath, Kass steeled herself against the receptacle’s influence and reached a cephalopod underneath her bed. Her tendril curled around the pyramid, extracting it with all the care of a surgeon. More chunks of resin fell away from the crystal lattice. It was useless now, but nothing could be done until they got out of this. Tucking the holocron away, Kass headed back out. Hopefully help was already on the way, having picked up their distress signal…

Alessandra Io​

 

[Alessandra Io]

Location: Upper Engineering, Silent Vigil - Ice Planet
Objective: Capture the Holocron
Dialogue Legend: <<Technopathy Link>> │ “Verbal”
Tags: Kassogtha Cthylla

As the snow fell, Alessandra rose.

Propelled ahead as if by the Force itself, the Chaplain flew through the chilled air as she made her way towards the wreck of the Silent Vigil. The Mercenary droids still lagged behind and hopefully, it might take yet more time for any soldiers on the Alliance corvette to regain their composure.

Before long, the Chaplain arrived at her destination, at which point she landed on top of the corvette’s hull and activated the plasma blade organ in her right arm, intending to cut an opening through the nearest airlock. Soon, she was inside and almost immediately, the gynoid made for the first living being she saw within the passageway—a lone engineer working almost in futility to put out a nearby fire.

Suddenly, the man was lifted into the air by an invisible force, a cry tearing from his lips as the extinguisher fell free from his hands, before hitting the floor with a hard thud. All the while, a threatening pressure manifested around his neck as an eerily feminine voice registered from behind.

“Where is the holocron?”

Spoiler: Loadout

• Eversor Bodysuit
  
  • Energy Shield
    
    • Breshig War Forge Consolidated 'Gata'dr' Personal Energy Shield
• Eversor Rings
• Tönn Rándýrsins | Fang of the Predator (2)

 

[Kassogtha Cthylla]

A cry of pain from down the smoke-filled corridor drew Kass’ attention. She ran toward the source of the noise, spying a woman with brightly colored hair holding a man aloft. The woman had no presence in the Force. No doubt she was one of the infamous Neutralizers who served as the loyal soldiers of House Io.

“Where is the holocron?”

“Release him!” Kass ordered. Though she was only a librarian, she could certainly be commanding. The Younglings and Padawans, Knights and Masters of the Order all knew she wasn’t one to be trifled with. “He knows nothing about the holocron. He’s only an engineer.”

After all, that was what this was all about, wasn’t it? Quite a lot of effort to go through for the sake of a little pyramid made of metal and crystal. Not enough people recognized the power of knowledge; Kass had seen so many people destroy, kill, and die for the sake of it.

Now she would have to fight just to keep this receptacle of wicked knowledge in her possession. Kass activated her lightsaber, the blade burning green. “If you want it, come and take it.”

Alessandra Io​

 

[Alessandra Io]

Location: Upper Engineering, Silent Vigil - Ice Planet
Objective: Capture the Holocron
Dialogue Legend: <<Technopathy Link>> │ “Verbal”
Tags: Kassogtha Cthylla

Alessandra’s auditory receptors flared upon processing a feminine voice calling out from behind. As demanded, she let the hapless engineer go, gently setting the man down, rather than outright dropping him and potentially inflicting further injury.

An uncharacteristic mercy.

Now she would have to fight just to keep this receptacle of wicked knowledge in her possession. Kass activated her lightsaber, the blade burning green. “If you want it, come and take it.”

With that, Alessandra spun around in a balletic pirouette, only to find that the creature before her more resembled a hideously-mutated Sithspawn than a Jedi. Quickly studying her many-eyed, pseudopodic features, it took all of a few nanoseconds for the Chaplain to index her databases for a potential species match, finding nothing in the process. The gynoid could only come to the conclusion that the creature was entirely unique or that her species—whatever it was—was not in her databases.

Whatever this creature was, she would have to learn its strengths and weaknesses as she fought.

“The Jedi Order has resorted to appropriation, I see.” Alessandra hissed as raw electricity crackled into existence around her fingers. All the while, the gynoid’s dovin basal heart quickened its pace, before manifesting a gravity swell centered around the Jedi’s amorphic form, attempting to effect an inhibition field so as to compromise her opponent’s ability to move. “Long past are the days of innovation and imagination. Now, your Order must hoard knowledge from its enemies to survive.”

Suddenly, from a little more than ten meters away, a quartet of fulminating electrical discharges lashed out from the gynoid’s left and right hands, intended to strike the Jedi in four of her many eyes.

“It pains me to know that my grandfather walks among your ranks. Such wasted potential.”

Spoiler: Loadout

• Eversor Bodysuit
  
  • Energy Shield
    
    • Breshig War Forge Consolidated 'Gata'dr' Personal Energy Shield
• Eversor Rings
• Tönn Rándýrsins | Fang of the Predator (2)

 

[Kassogtha Cthylla]

Kass was used to garnering horrified reactions from strangers. The woman seemed more confused by her appearance, as though she couldn’t figure out what the Pylantian was. Her bewilderment lasted less than a second, however, before she began to attack.

“The Jedi Order has resorted to appropriation, I see. Long past are the days of innovation and imagination. Now, your Order must hoard knowledge from its enemies to survive.”

“Would Laertia Io be so effective at fighting the Jedi if she did not know their secrets?” Kass countered.

An inhibition field suddenly formed around her amorphous body. Holding her in stasis, the field also inflicted pain. Kass was trained to resist most forms of torture, but her inability to move did present a problem. Luckily, her ally was the Force—and a powerful ally it was. As the electrical charges came arcing toward her, Kass was already absorbing the energy of the inhibition field. The electricity joined it, being drained away into an orb of concentrated energy. She then sent the ball hurtling toward the woman like a blaster bolt.

"Your grandfather?" Kass echoed. Perhaps due to the fact that she spent the majority of her time in the Temple archives rather than on the battlefield, she knew nothing of Nathan Bloodscrawl. "Well, I wouldn't call it wasted..."

With the Force she tore a piece of tubing from the wall and pointed it at the woman's face. Coolant blasted out of the tube, rapidly hardening upon coming into contact with the open air. She hoped it would blind or at least disorient her strange opponent.

Alessandra Io​

 

[Alessandra Io]

Location: Upper Engineering, Silent Vigil - Ice Planet
Objective: Capture the Holocron
Dialogue Legend: <<Technopathy Link>> │ “Verbal”
Tags: Kassogtha Cthylla

Not a moment of hesitation.

The maneuver was almost a programmed impulse—a ruthless act of self-preservation informed via the Chaplain’s Anti-Force databases. The orb of concentrated energy manifesting within the Jedi’s pseudopods clued the gynoid into what was transpiring—Tutaminis.

Taking mere nanoseconds to decide her next course of action, Alessandra yanked the fleeing engineer back to her via one of tractor/pressor organs, before positioning his form in front of her just as the ball of energy was sent hurtling in her direction, followed by the blast of coolant.

A human shield.

The engineer gave a terrible scream, but could do nothing as he was held in place and boiled alive with a searing orb of Force energy, followed by a blast of coolant to carbonize his horrifically charred, blackened features. Once the assault was done, Alessandra let the body fall, allowing it to hit the floor with a dense, solid thud that echoed out across the passageway.

“You forced my hand, Jedi.”

All the while, the Mercenaries were on the move, advancing on the Silent Vigil. They immediately opened fire on any Alliance personnel outside the vessel, attempting to cut them down. However, they knew it wouldn’t be long before the remaining soldiers aboard put together an armed response.

 

[Kassogtha Cthylla]

Kass blinked in shock as the engineer’s charred corpse hit the deck. His injuries must have been severe enough that he was unable to flee after the woman released him, with fatal consequences. Her many eyes turned to her opponent, saying nothing.

There was nothing to say. There was only action. Master Cthylla would do what needed to be done.

She lunged toward the woman, lightsaber stabbing forward, intending to prod her into a duel—and hopefully draw her away from other living beings whom she might seek to use as fodder. Kass could sense presences further down the hall as the survivors of the crash moved to engage the droid mercenaries descending upon the wreckage. Good, they would keep the enemy's other forces occupied.

Kass continued to use the Force to throw obstacles in her opponent's way. Panels of metal were torn from the walls, floor, and ceiling and flung at Alessandra; tubing was ripped out, the coolant and molten tibanna within sprayed in her direction. A maintenance droid slicked the floor behind her with oil in hopes of causing her to slip and fall—and if successful, would then set the spill on fire.

Alessandra Io​

 

[Alessandra Io]

Location: Upper Engineering, Silent Vigil - Ice Planet
Objective: Capture the Holocron
Dialogue Legend: <<Technopathy Link>> │ “Verbal”
Tags: Kassogtha Cthylla

The creature before Alessandra was utterly alien to her in almost every respect. And yet, the shock in her many eyes was one thing the gynoid could perceive, causing a sadistic sense of satisfaction to arise in her neuro-biological cognition systems.

Suddenly, the Jedi lunged towards her and in response, Alessandra was forced to defend herself. The plasma blade organ in her left arm sprang to life, igniting a shimmering magenta blade composed of disruptive, nonharmonic energy. Initially leveraging it to bat the Jedi’s lightsaber aside, the Chaplain leveraged the blade to slash through the panels of metal flung at her as they came, tearing them apart before her. However, the nozzles discharging tibanna and coolant compelled the gynoid to will her dovin basal heart into activity, manifesting a swell of gravity that suspended the gas in mid-air, before it could reach her.

Seeking to create more distance, Alessandra jumped 12 meters backwards in a seemingly weightless leap, pirouetting as she did.

Then, she saw the oil.

Even with the reaction time of a Nuetralizer, Alessandra processed the threat far too late. As her foot met the oil, the gynoid slipped, causing her body to hit the ground head first, with enough force to briefly stun her neuro-biological cognition systems.

By the time her cognition systems recovered from the shock, her entire body was on fire.

A deluge of warnings prodded at the gynoid’s awareness as her bodysuit heated up, the direct exposure to flame causing the material to blacken and scorch in parts. Both it and her own flesh were highly resistant, but not immune, with the searing heat inflicting burns of varying degrees across her body. The most severe were spread across her face, which was now an angry, boiling red as layers of flesh melted and peeled from her skin.

And yet, the Chaplain floated up and out the flames in the manner of a phoenix, imposing the rift of flaming oil between herself and the Jedi in the process. All the while, her photoreceptors radiated a luminescent cyan as she briefly turned towards the maintenance droid, before shifting her attention back to the Jedi.

Immediately, twinned lances of ultra-cold cryogenic energy shot forth from the gynoid’s gaze from 20 meters away in a 2-second burn, tearing over the flaming rift and towards the Jedi, intent upon striking her amorphic form and perhaps, rendering her as little more than a frozen statue.

Spoiler: Loadout

• Eversor Bodysuit
  
  • Energy Shield
    
    • Breshig War Forge Consolidated 'Gata'dr' Personal Energy Shield
• Eversor Rings
• Tönn Rándýrsins | Fang of the Predator (2)

 

[Kassogtha Cthylla]

Despite being dead in the Force, the mysterious Ioan woman clearly had abilities comparable to that of a Force User. Kass observed her rapid reaction time, superhuman strength and speed, but it was her “telekinesis” which clued the Jedi in. It was clumsy and inelegant compared to true telekinesis, more akin to a tractor beam. So—was she using some form of sophisticated yet imperfect technology to imitate the powers of a Force User?

There was little time to think too long on the subject. The woman slipped on the oil spill and was set ablaze.

Any other ordinary human would probably not have survived the inferno, let alone be able to get up and walk afterwards. Yet the woman rose to her feet, melted flesh hanging ghoulishly from her skull. Kass saw the glint of energy in her eyes, and wisely moved out of the way.

She wasn’t able to completely escape the blast. The left side of her body was hit, the stream of cryogenic energy hardening her amorphous tissue. Kass felt half of her flesh freeze and go numb, the block of flesh-ice weighing her down and slowing her movements.

The Jedi Master drew energy from the environment around her in an effort to melt the ice. But it was a time-consuming process, and the Ioan… thing was no doubt preparing for her next attack. Kass had to act first.

Previously she had manipulated the environment around her, turning it against her opponent. Now she reached for Alessandra's gear, hunting for any piece of technology she might be able to disable with the Force...

Alessandra Io​

 

[Alessandra Io]

Location: Upper Engineering, Silent Vigil - Ice Planet
Objective: Capture the Holocron
Dialogue Legend: <<Technopathy Link>> │ “Verbal”
Tags: Kassogtha Cthylla

Alessandra didn’t notice the Jedi’s application of mechu-deru, at first.

However, the Chaplain did notice the depletion of the raging inferno as it seemed to suffocate before her photoreceptors, far too quickly for an oil fire. With the gynoid’s innate, programmed knowledge of the Force, it didn’t take long for her to draw the conclusion that the Jedi was drawing energy from the fire as a means to melt the ice and thereby free her pseudopods from the obstruction. Already, Alessandra found herself growing annoyed at how skillfully the Jedi had thus far leveraged the environment to her own benefit—a begrudging respect, if anything. Nevertheless, the Chaplain didn’t intend to try and move the fight out from the ship. If anything, the Jedi might have already played all of her cards.

Just a couple seconds after her previous attack, Alessandra leveled one chakram, then a second, towards her opponent from 20 meters away in fast, direct throws, sending the bladed discs whistling through the air in an attempt to sever some of the Jedi’s frozen pseudopods.

While the Void Stone dust inside the chakrams prevented them from being disabled, other pieces of equipment on the Chaplain did not enjoy the same level of protection. Suddenly, Alessandra glanced down as the shield generator on her hip began to shoot sparks, followed by bluish-white shimmering across her body as the miniaturized shield projectors in her bodysuit and her energy projected helmet began to cut out, then fail. Before long, a litany of error warnings streamed into the gynoid’s awareness as other pieces of equipment, ranging from the sensors in her neck piece to her bodysuit’s stealth system, began to suddenly fail in turn.

The Chaplain gritted her teeth. Even without the bodysuit’s functions, Mother had optimized her body to kill Jedi. She didn’t intend to fail in doing so.

Spoiler: Loadout

• Eversor Bodysuit
  
  • Energy Shield
    
    • Breshig War Forge Consolidated 'Gata'dr' Personal Energy Shield
• Eversor Rings
• Tönn Rándýrsins | Fang of the Predator (2)

 

[Kassogtha Cthylla]

Preoccupied as she was with both melting the ice and sabotaging her opponent’s electronics, Kass could not expend the necessary time and effort to deflect the chakrams. She was able to dodge the first, but not the second, which struck the still-frozen pseudopods at the lower half of her body.

Kass was momentarily stunned by the horrific pain emanating outward from her shattered limbs. Still she bore down, maintaining her focus—and drawing the holocron deeper into her body, determined to keep it from the Ioan.

The mechu-deru had worked, compromising her opponent’s shielding systems. But she herself had not been impaired—evidently she wasn’t a droid, or at least not any type of construct Kass was familiar with. Still, the loss of the shield was to Kass’ benefit. Although she had to admit that running away might be the best option at this point, as she avoided looking at the melting chunks of her frozen flesh and the slime-green blood leaking across the floor.

She grasped the walls, the floor, and the ceiling of this corridor of the Silent Vigil, and began to crush them inward like a tin can, creating a durasteel barrier between her and Alessandra. It probably wouldn’t hold her for long, but it might give Kass enough time to beat a hasty escape...

Alessandra Io​

 

[Alessandra Io]

Location: En Route to Armory, Silent Vigil - Ice Planet
Objective: Capture the Holocron
Dialogue Legend: <<Technopathy Link>> │ “Verbal”
Tags: Kassogtha Cthylla

Mechu-deru was a rare power, but its danger to droids could not be overstated. It was only through her unconventional, organic construction and her body’s innate resistance to Force powers did she escape unscathed—innate defensive measures which would have made the attempt to corrupt her systems far more demanding than what could be achieved in the heat of combat. She knew that a few of her inorganic brothers and sisters carried small vials of Void Stone dust on them, as a means to protect themselves against such powers.

Alessandra was lucky enough that her body could resist such things on its own.

All the while, with the sudden, traumatic dismemberment of some of the Jedi’s pseudopods, greenish blood leaked out onto the floor. However, the gynoid had little time to assess the extent of her opponent’s injuries before the walls suddenly crumpled inward, imposing a physical barrier between Alessandra and the Jedi.

The conclusion was all too obvious—the Jedi was running.

“You won’t get far, Jedi.” The gynoid hissed. “There’s nothing but ice and blood outside. This will all go much smoother if you give up the holocron.”

The Chaplain initially thought to launch herself over what was left of the flames via her repulsor cells to pursue, but quickly decided against it. A better course of action was quickly calculated and immediately, Alessandra turned to fly towards the armory, without sparing another word to the Jedi.

<<All units, move away from the Silent Vigil, but remain engaged. We are close to achieving our objective. Be at least 70 meters away from the ship after 5 minutes.>> Alessandra transmitted to her allies via a secure, encrypted technopathic link. She needed to exercise all due caution, but couldn’t afford to tip the enemy off regarding her plan.

​

Something was coming.

A small group of shuttles suddenly translated out from hyperspace above the planet, their IFF signatures registering as neither House Io nor the Alliance, but another group, unaffiliated with either faction. Each of the vessels had a distinct insignia painted on the hull—a human skull split by a rotating gear and wearing what appeared to be a respirator mask over the mouth and jaw. Immediately, they dived down into atmosphere at close to full burn, intent upon reaching the crash site of the Silent Vigil.

The device they sought was all too conflicted. And yet, the acolytes of the cogwheel could never reject the opportunity to obtain an artifact laden with such dangerous, powerful technological secrets.

Spoiler: Loadout

• Eversor Bodysuit
  
  • Energy Shield
    
    • Breshig War Forge Consolidated 'Gata'dr' Personal Energy Shield
• Eversor Rings
• Tönn Rándýrsins | Fang of the Predator (2)