Faction The Night's Sacrament of Odacer-Faustin | Iron Wolves [ME]

[Vytal Noctura]

​

A slight narrowing of the eyes accompanied an overly friendly Cathar's voice of Talohn Atar on the link. Nightsis. Bossgal? Perhaps she would need to drill her title into his head so his reports were not so long winded when it mattered. That Lethan woman was far too accommodating of Talohn's bad habits, but then she was a former Sith Lord. Who better to invite chaos in the ranks?

>>"Tis no further intel available. Tales of Darth Scabrous' ill-advised dabbling in Sith Alchemy intended to grant 'immortality' and the fools' errand of digging into this planet to find that secret have naught to do with current events without evidence to the contrary. Tis ancient history best not repeated."<< The Pale Witch paused for a moment before she added, >>"And refer to me as Warmaster."<< When on Mandalorian duty she would use the Mandalorian title. The Empire did prefer its strict hierarchies and order even if they weren't genocidal maniacs as most other sporting the moniker 'Empire' often were in the galaxy.

The Witch soon scowled as that voice returned, only this time with a finding of some kind. Her emerald eyes fell to Sabine Delacroix . >>"Steady. Not all creatures require concealment to draw near."<< He'd uttered the word 'vents' as it might explain how a victim was taken down. Perhaps. Then again, perhaps not. There were varying kinds of monsters in the galaxy -- some more terrifying than others in how well they could blend in.

"We advance. If there is something here, perhaps the colonists rallied at the center." They could all be dead, but until they knew for certain Vytal would operate on the belief someone was still alive to answer questions.

"You are welcome to join us, as always," the Dathomiri witch extended to Sabine Delacroix . With that she'd take the fore. " Adelle Bastiel , have the fresher ones between us." No point having an obviously young warrior trailing behind the group. Well, that was a point, but Vytal hadn't begun to fish yet.

Two blocks forward of Talohn Atar , Veyla Krinn , Adonis Angelis IV and Sanguina Krev 's position, a keen eye might spy a someone as they peeked around the corner of a building, A lone, black eye, mocha skin, and black hair. Just as soon as their eyes might meet, however, the figure withdrew. Equally sharp hearing might detect the faint click of shoes on the ground.

Meanwhile, Vytal's group of Adelle Bastiel , Sabine Delacroix , Kael Varr Bastiel Skirata and Liorra would hear the groan of the dome-interconnecting corridor shielding battered by frigid winds outside. They further in they went, the more signs of a few crates or barrels strewn about on the sides of the road. Some broken chairs and knives here or there.

At this distance, the castle would be imposing by virtue of how it loomed over everything around it even at a distance. It would only tower of them all the more as they drew nearer. A few flames danced in braziers and lanterns lighting the way to its double-doors.

Meanwhile, back at the landing site ( Elian Abrantes ), a field of snow-white lilies had sprouted around the landing struts of the ships.

 

[Garo Vevut-Varkor]

​

Garo, still silent, swings his axe, sensing the presence in the Force; he is now a little closer to his Pack. He and his basilisk recognize the power of numbers when attacking an enemy.
Listening to the others and looking at the castle, he sighs.

"This looks like… either a horror movie or one of those mystery cartoons."

He even gestured to the Kayatr Ga'yusr, his basilisk

"Even a dog… sort of."

The basilisk let out an electronic huff like a dog. Garo stifled a laugh and focused again, waiting to see what the others would do.





Adelle Bastiel Vytal Noctura Liorra Sabine Delacroix Kael Varr Bastiel Skirata

 

[Veyla Krinn]

Veyla didn't argue with Adonis.

She gave a small nod at his direction, acknowledging it without hesitation as she adjusted her position within the group. The center wasn't passive, not for her. It gave her the clearest awareness of their formation, allowing her to track both the movement ahead and the vulnerabilities emerging around them as they advanced.

"Understood," she said quietly, her tone steady and without friction.

As they moved forward, her rifle angled slightly upward, her attention divided between the overhead vents and the shadowed edges of the structures ahead. The Selkath's body lingered in her mind, not as shock, but as a pattern she was still assembling. The absence of blood, the lack of struggle, the deliberate placement, all of it pointed to control rather than chaos, and that made the silence around them feel intentional in a way that didn't sit right.

It was that stillness that made the movement stand out.

Her gaze caught it just as the figure pulled back behind the corner ahead, a glimpse of mocha skin, a single dark eye, gone almost as soon as it appeared. She didn't snap her weapon up or break formation, but her focus narrowed immediately, locking onto the space where it had been.

"Contact ahead," she said, her voice low and controlled, meant to inform rather than command. "Two blocks forward, right side. Humanoid."

She adjusted her angle slightly to cover that direction while maintaining her assigned position, careful not to overextend or shift the group's structure.

A faint sound followed, the soft, deliberate click of footsteps retreating along the ground rather than through the vents, and that detail settled into place just as quickly as the visual had.

"It saw us," she added, quieter now, her tone still even. "And it's moving."

Her gaze flicked briefly upward toward the vents, then returned to the corridor ahead, weighing the difference between where the threat had been and where it might go next.

"Doesn't match the vent movement," she continued, keeping her input concise and observational. "Different behavior."

She didn't push for action. Didn't suggest a change in pace. Instead, she held her position, letting Adonis dictate their next move while she maintained coverage where she had been placed, her attention steady and ready for whatever came next.

Adonis Angelis IV Talohn Atar Sanguina Krev

 

[Talohn Atar]

CEILING CAT​

Talohn seemed somewhat unconvinced that the two didn't coincide, but he held his tongue on the matter. An immortality experiment seemed like prime grounds for accidentally creating monsters. He wouldn't push the matter until they got anything more concrete though.. He sighs. <<"Aye, Warmaster.">>
Talohn remained knelt by the Selkath body, giving it one last lookover. While doing so, he'd respond to Veyla's words. "Could be a number of causes for why there's no sign of a struggle. Namely, he could have been knocked out before getting drained dry. He fell out of the vent head first. Hard for me to tell if there was any blunt force trauma before that. Could have been drugged. We're missing a lot of the picture. This is a dumping site, not a full fledged crime scene. I'm wagering the death happened somewhere else, he was drained in the vents...then dumped here." He purses his lips for a moment. "I'm going to rule out that this poor bastard consented since the killing was done in such a hidden spot." He sighs, taking up his rifle as he rises to his feet again. orange gaze shifting between Adonis and Veyla, responding to Adonis in particular now as his teeth grit in slight concern. "Thing may be inaccurate, I'm afraid. Whatever did this is small enough to comfortably drag a body through a vent. That leaves us...." He rubs his hand down his face as he ponders for a moment, rifle resting on his shoulder. "A lot of possibilities still, but only two that matter, one much more likely than the other. Either a single entity of a small enough size to fit through a vent has made an entire colony go quiet through nonphysical means, which I doubt. Why hide in a vent in that case? Or there's more than one. Which means we're dealing with things." He blinks a few times, displeased with the prospect.

As Adonis speaks what their formation going forward should be, Talohn nods his agreement. "Nix the running part. But keep an eye on yourself in particular. I'm almost certain whatever we're dealing with is one of many. And if there's many, they'll go for you first in an ambush. You're the biggest guy. They'll probably wager they can turn us into mincemeat if they get you first." He shrugs. "It's what I'd do, and my people have been ambush predators since before we were even considered sentie-" At that moment, one of his ears twitches as he hears the slightest sound of feet padding on the floor. He hears it before it arrives, instantly aiming his rifle at where whatever it was would turn around the corner. Mocha skin, black hair. Veyla notices the foreign presence around the same time he does, speaking on it as well.

Talohn, seeking to temper any hastiness to act that could arise from their unease at the earlier discovery, speaks up. "Careful with those trigger fingers. Civilians are still a concern." He nods to Veyla's observation, adding his own. "Wearing shoes, too. I doubt whatever is scuttling around in vents would even bother with those." He gestures for Adonis to take up position on the corner of the turn, and for Veyla to follow beside and peek out from behind his colossal armor should she choose. Should he do so, Talohn would move directly along beside him. Until they reached the corner at least. Shortly before arriving at the corner, Talohn jumps into a flip as his magnetic boots come to life, attaching him to the ceiling. He slightly leans around the corner right after doing so, getting an overhead view of the hallway to catch anything waiting by surprise, and to cover Adonis if he chooses to peek at the same moment. He also remains poised to instantly drop down should any strange noises occur in the vents.

Adonis Angelis IV Veyla Krinn Vytal Noctura

 

[Adonis Angelis IV]

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The Mandalorian didn't respond immediately to Talohn's assessment. He had already come to a similar conclusion the moment the pieces stopped fitting together cleanly. It was all messy, one body, drained and hidden, a figure moving on the ground, trails in the Force that split and coiled in different directions. It wasn't one hunter- it was a pattern, a method. And methods never existed without intent. When Talohn pointed out that they would likely go for him first, Adonis didn't protest. If anything, it confirmed what he had already assumed about their hunting style. His grip on the repeater tightened slightly, ready for whatever was thrown their way. If that was their play, then Adonis Angelis IV would be the one waiting for it.

"Then let them try," he said quietly, not to the others, more for himself. There was no edge of ego in it, only acceptance. He shifted forward slightly as Talohn Atar gestured toward the corner, adjusting his towering stance so the bulk of his armor would take the brunt of anything that might come through first. The weapon in his hands angled upward enough to account for the vents, but not so much that he lost the line ahead. He wasn't looking for the figure Veyla Krinn had seen, not directly, at least. He was watching the space around it. The places something else would use to close the distance. He was thinking like a hunter.

He moved toward the corner with calculated steps, not rushing it, but not hesitating either. The silence grew closer, clinging like moss. It was the kind that made every movement feel louder than it should have been. He could feel it again, that faint tug at the edges of his awareness, like something darting just out of sight. Waiting for him, measuring him, studying his movements. It was the same feeling he had tried to dismiss earlier. This time, however, he didn't push it away.

"Hold," he called finally, just before they exposed themselves fully. It wasn't a command barked in urgency, more so a pause. He wanted a moment to breathe, to assess the situation, and not walk into a trap. The towering Mandalorian leaned out at the same moment as Talohn, their eyes catching the same thing, a lone figure in the distance, cowering near some wreckage. The faintest hint of weeping accented the shadowy shape. It set off every alarm in the Mandalorian's mind, every nerve tightening beneath armor and bone. Either it was a trap set by their hunter, or someone was in deep trouble. They would need to assess the situation regardless. They were not here to kill all survivors, but they were here to ensure no threats to the Mandalorian Empire persisted.

"There is a very good chance that is bait, and we are being lured into an ambush by whatever is stalking the vents." He gave the words a moment to settle between them. "But there is also a chance they are a civilian, and we will not fire unless we have to." He nodded slightly as he continued, his voice measured, controlled. "Either way, eyes forward, heads on a swivel. Don't trust anything that isn't the three of us."

His tone shifted then, quieter, colder, more focused. "Most importantly, we move as one."

With Talohn on the ceiling and Veyla locked onto the figure ahead, Adonis stepped forward, the group forming an unconventional but deadly sweep as they advanced toward whatever waited at the end of the hall.

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[Vytal Noctura]

​

A figure cloaked in silk with a shawl draped down either side stood at the end of a alleyway. Their head turned left and then right. As the group massed at the entrance, the figure darted to their right and clung to a corner of the building. A hand thrust out from around the corner toward them. "Stop. Stop," she called out clearly, but just loud enough for them to hear. "Don't. They know you're here. The more that gather, the more... They won't let us leave. Not now."

The sensation of someone watching grew stronger from rooftops on the opposite side of the street the group had followed to the alleyway. Perhaps more than one. A haunting set of eyes in the dark, perhaps? The soft hiss of anticipation from no where and every where.

Ahead, the woman that'd spoken crouched down as she drew her hand back. A smaller target. A concealed target from the Beasts.

Veyla Krinn | Talohn Atar | Sanguina Krev | Adonis Angelis IV​

 

[Veyla Krinn]

Veyla moved in perfect synchronicity with Adonis, halting the instant he called the hold. She maintained a disciplined position just off his shoulder line, close enough to provide immediate support, yet far enough to grant him unhindered movement. Her rifle remained steady as her gaze cut sharp lines between the cloaked woman ahead, the dark rooflines above, and the mouths of the vents that threaded through the colony like cold, mechanical veins.

The woman's warning sat heavy in the air. It wasn't the threat itself that unsettled Veyla, but how perfectly it aligned with the patterns she was already seeing: the gathering of prey, the driving of movement, and the deliberate effort to separate targets. This was a hunt, and they were being funneled.

Her attention lifted toward the rooftops again as the sensation of being watched thickened into a physical weight. She couldn't distinguish full forms, but she caught the unmistakable shifts of presence where there should have been nothing but shadow, the kind of movement designed to be noticed only when it was too late to react.

"She may be telling the truth," Veyla said quietly, her voice pitched low for Adonis and the immediate squad. "And if she is, they want us clustered in the open."

She stayed rooted in formation, refusing to take the bait of the open alley. Instead, she adjusted her stance to widen her coverage upward, her muzzle tracking the roofline while she kept the mouth of the alley anchored in her peripheral vision.

"Multiple vantage points above us," she continued, her voice concise and controlled. "I have movement. Possibly more."

Her gaze flicked briefly toward the crouched woman, cataloging the specific way she had hunkered down. "She lowered herself the second she warned us. She isn't just guessing; she knows exactly where the strike is coming from."

To Veyla, that detail was a bright flare of intelligence. A panicked civilian would have bolted blindly, but a survivor, someone who had seen this predator work, knew that the only way to live was to make themselves a smaller target.

She let the assessment hang in the air, then looked back to Adonis, yielding the tactical decision to him with a sharp focus.

"Recommend we maintain cover at the entrance and try to bring her to us," she suggested. "If they're waiting for us to commit to that alley, we shouldn't give them the distance they need."

A sudden hiss from the darkness drew her attention back to the right, and her jaw set beneath her helmet. "They're getting excited," she added, her voice dropping to a whisper. "Which means they think the momentum is about to shift in their favor."

Holding her position beside Adonis, she kept her rifle ready and her eyes in constant motion, waiting for the first shadow to break.

Vytal Noctura Adonis Angelis IV Talohn Atar

 

[Talohn Atar]

SPARKLERS ON THE CEILING!​

The crying woman was the first thing Talohn noticed. Even before Adonis spoke on it, the fact struck him as odd. Yes, grief was an overwhelming emotion. But so was the need to survive. They had yet to see any other civillians. If there was something moving about like this, there were better places to be sobbing one's eyes out if it absolutely needed to be done. He'd expect to find someone doing that in a better hiding spot at a minimum. He hears Adonis's words, but doesn't comment. He was in agreement, but his focus was deep as he put his senses into overdrive. Footsteps approaching from an alleyway to their right draws his attention. He had the woman in his sights from his spot on the ceiling even before she arrived, his ears allowing him to practically track her position even when she hadn't stepped fully into view.

The cathar relaxes his firing stance as the woman shows she came bearing a warning. He takes a moment to unclip his helmet from his belt, putting it on his head. A faint hiss his audible as the air filters seal to his armor. He allows his gun to momentarily hang from the ceiling by it's shoulder sling as he taps a few buttons on his wristpad. Though it's not visible to the rest, he runs a series of scans on the woman. Everything seemed to be in proper shape. Her teeth seemed a little long, but not long enough to match the corpse they found further down the hall. He kept his scans running, gaze swiveling about with the overhead view he currently had. He proceeded to relay what he found over comms.

<<"There's a lotta the bastards. If they're not going to let us leave, then I'd say our next course of action is pretty much clear. But, just in case things seem vague...let me shed some light on the subject. We'll break the shadows first....I'm going to put flares on the ceiling if you aren't catching my drift. Ready yourselves. They'll either retreat further back into the dark so we get some space, or come straight at us.">>

At his current position, he was standing on the ceiling of the hallway that led into the dome of the insulated city proper. At his angle, if he looked upwards, or downwards in his case, he could peek over the edge of the hallway to see the ceiling of the dome that protected this portion of the city from the brutal cold outside. He took a few moments to remove the missile from the vambrace of his armor, carefully slotting it on his belt. He then pulls out another just as carefully from one of his pouches, slotting it into the launcher. He proceeds to do the same for his knee launchers.

Once equipped for his needs, he turns his gaze to the ceiling. he extends one arm to aim the rocket while his systems lock onto two other positions for the knee rockets. All at once, they fire. But rather than exploding on the ceiling at impact, they indent themselves into it, evenly spaced out in three different positions. Yet even after they indented in the ceiling, their ignitions don't stop. Something within the chemical mixture of the explosion within comes to live, those ignitions becoming even brighter until they look like small suns each in the sky of the dome. It wasn't enough to bathe the entire dome in light, but the general position surrounding the squad would be ripped from the shadows, and any threats along with it.

After doing this, Talohn quickly readjusts his position on the ceiling before turning off his magnet boots to allow himself into freefall he lands on the ground directly to the right of where the woman who warned them was hiding, Adonis and Veyla being to her left. He aims is rifle down the alleyway, ready to fire at whatever comes his way.

"Fill us in on what's going on here and there's a spot on our ship for you."

Talohn was a nice person, chances are he'd have gotten her a spot on the ship anyways if she proved not to be hostile, but a little offer of exchange to get intel certainly didn't hurt anything. If she did prove to be hostile, he'd just kill her. Simple logic.

Adonis Angelis IV Veyla Krinn Vytal Noctura