Their Blood Runs Black

[Kay-Larr]

Kay caught the commlink that [member="Jak Sandrow"] had thrown to her, nodding at his words. It was good that he knew to keep radio silence. One never knew who was listening.

Once had had arrived at the medical wing, he was allowed entry. However he was watched very closely by the staff. Whether or not he really was sent by the Queen was anyone's guess. Yet people didn't tend to take medical supplies unless there was an urgent need. It went against their mandate to turn him away.

Meanwhile Kay was helping [member="Arabi Cordelle"] to set up. She glanced to [member="Arix Valen"] , half wondering if he was going to do anything other than supervise. Some people were sticklers to their positions and didn't do much outside of their status. Everything else was beneath them.

The voice of [member="Sol Damerin"] came into her head then. Was he...chastising her? Kay had to hide her shock, given that the others didn't know that she was telepathically linked to the man via the rings. It wasn't as though she was knowingly keeping information away from the others. Perhaps she had just hoped that Freeosk, [member="Bradshaw Ku"] and [member="Ghorua the Shark"] would get to [member="Kirie Ito"] on time. Hope was always a driving factor in her decisions. At times it led her to make bad ones, as well as good.

Now Sol had even more information. Another Controlled One protecting something, but already fighting. Perhaps it was her shadow, [member="Uigin's NPCs"] that was confronting the poor individual. More help would be needed. But who to send? There wasn't anybody left but herself and her guards. Kay was torn on what to do. Should she go? Or stay? ~Sol...I'll send my guards down. There'll be two of them coming your way. Be careful.~ With the decision made, she quit working on the set up and walked over to her pair of guards, informing them quietly if what they should do and where they should go.

***************************​

[member="Xaedrin Vondiranach"] may not have heeded the Padawan's distress call, but others did. They seemed to have come from nowhere, three Iron Knights that were elsewhere on the station and were making their way to where the bands of wannabe heroes were preparing their stand. It was their electronic communications, accompanied by the security cam footage that caught the Contingency Knights' attention. The trio moved with steps full of purpose and in perfect sync towards the storage area. They knew what lay within, what their Lord had commanded them to do. Where the Controlled Ones would fail, they would succeed. They were the back up plan while the other Knights fought elsewhere.

Rounding a corner, they each pulled out their lightsabers and ignited them in unison. No words spoken as there was no need. Death would be delivered to the filth quickly and quietly.

[member="Valjan Hon'rey"]

 

[Sol Damerin]

Sol comes into the corridor rounding the corner as quietly as he can and takes in the scene. Giant shark, green man, boy leaking black stuff, other boy being strangled by the handmaiden. For the kiffing record. Sol thinks at [member="Lady Kay"], fully aware that now was most definitely not the time for quips, yet unable to resist the sarcastic I told you so. I found the girl strangling the boy that went after her. The merc was utterly unaware of her family connection to [member="Bradshaw Ku"], so he was equally unaware just how much his reprimand might hurt. Then again he wouldn't have cared this is the kind of shit that happened when you kept key details from your people. Hope was for times of peace, this was war. You assumed the worst case scenario every time because overkill was far better than being unprepared.

Anyway, all that rolls through Sol's mind in the half second it takes him to pull his gun and fire off about half a dozen shots at [member="Kirie Ito"]'s side. It was an awkward shot to make but he is reasonably certain he won't hit the boy from the angle he'd chosen. It helped that he wasn't hiding his presence in the force which meant he was free to use it to assist his aim, so they were clean and precise. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't have shot anyone not wearing armour that many times. Then again under normal circumstances, he wouldn't have shot a girl that many times. However, he was aware that the black toxin running through her veins would let her regenerate from the wounds. He just had to hope it got her to let go of the kid and put her down long enough for them to restrain her.

[member="Jak Sandrow"] | @Xaedrin Vondiranach | [member="Ghorua the Shark"]

 

[Ghorua the Shark]

Ghorua, [member="Bradshaw Ku"], and Freeosk tore through the station at a quick pace, dodging pedestrians, charging down stairs, turning tight corners, doing whatever they could to reach their goal. The Shark noted the banter behind him, and decided not to comment.

For him, the time for humor had ended. There was work to be done.

Finally, they reached where the droid was hovering, tucked away, hiding in a corner. Ghorua and his entourage flew past it, coming within sight of two people, [member="Kirie Ito"], and a strange man Ghorua's helm quickly identified as [member="Xaedrin Vondiranach"].

Ghorua sensed something was off the moment he saw them, but he couldn't place it for a second. A vital second.

Before he could intervene, Kay's aide had thrown herself at Bradshaw, wasting no time in clamping her hands around his neck.

Gunshots behind him. Ghorua turned, seeing [member="Sol Damerin"] racing to the rescue. Instead of intervening on Bradshaw's behalf, as he was fairly confident him, Freeosk, and the arriving mercenary could subdue her, he squared off against the other.

The armor-clad Shark padded forward, his large steps carrying him between his group, and Xaedrin. Then, unexpectedly, the goliath sheathed his sword. His hands were ahead of him, raised in a coiled position. A trained eye would spot it for what it was; a Teräs Käsi pose.

He had a plan.

His voice boomed out, shaking the very ground. "Get her out of here!"

Now to see if it pans out.

- [member="Lady Kay"] - [member="Jak Sandrow"] - [member="Arabi Cordelle"] - [member="Arix Valen"] - [member="Uigin's NPCs"] -

 

[Xaedrin Vondiranach]

​What an action packed series of moments.​ Xaedrin had been given little time to celebrate the restoration of the interesting one before a group of unworthy dullards moved in, the lead man immediately shouting for the deaf ​girl to move. The interesting one had an idea, apparently, sending waves of reassurance toward Xaedrin. With a final sending, she shoved him hard​ before running from him screaming. Xaedrin wasn't prepared for the push, but he quickly adapted and used it to his advantage. Stumbling, he somersaulted backward down the corridor - directly toward the turbolift to the station's second level - general quarters. Coming back up on his feet, Xaedrin grabbed hold of the turbolift doors with the Force and bent them open slightly, giving enough space for himself to escape. The lift wasn't at this level currently, leaving him with an open shaft downward into the station. He wouldn't take it just yet, however.

Surveying the corridor ahead of him, he watched as another entered the fray. ​Where did this one come from?​ He seemingly had come from nowhere, bolting around the corner and unleashing a salvo of perfectly aimed blaster shots at the interesting one. At the same time, one of the original intruders stepped forward. All of this happened in a matter of moments, leaving Xaedrin incredibly irritated at his misfortune. His brow furrowed in concentration as his mind searched for solutions. Four versus two were bad odds, and he had a grand quest to complete.

Xaedrin mentally recalled a map of the station. ​Had he memorized the map? Or was it someone else in the Contingency?​ It didn't matter - he knew exactly​ where he was. The corridor that he and the needy girl had been travelling was an exterior corridor. On the other side of the wall to his right was nothing more than the cold, hard vacuum of space. Xaedrin smiled as the massive creature put away his weapon and adopted a fighting stance of some kind. Using the Force, he called the lightsaber at his belt into his hand, it's blue-green blade thrumming to life the moment his fingers closed around it. The brightly lit corridor immediately went from sterile, white light to hues of iridescent aqua. Xaedrin lunged to his right, stabbing his blade through the bulkheads that separated the interior of the station from the void outside. The bulkheads were thick, but the blade penetrated easily, making a small puncture on the other side. Alarm klaxons immediately rang out around them, emergency lighting bathing the corridor in red. The sounds of blast doors clamping down at various intervals to contain the hull breach would sound soon. Xaedrin deactivated the blade and threw himself away from the breach with the Force, toward the Force-wrenched gap in the turbolift doors.

[member="Kirie Ito"] | [member="Lady Kay"] | [member="Ghorua the Shark"] | [member="Jak Sandrow"] | [member="Sol Damerin"] | [member="Bradshaw Ku"]​

 

[Jak Sandrow]

Once he had gained entry, he started stocking supplies in his satchel, putting in as many things as he could think of. Once the satchel was full almost to bursting, he gave his thanks to the med staff and exited, only now unable to cloak due to the satchel's additional size.

He made his way through the corridor back to the elevator, but stopped just shy of entering. Was that... blaster fire?

He turned around to the way he came; yeah that was definitely blaster fire. And lightsabers too, from the sounds of it. Well... it was only a matter of time anyway. He was needed elsewhere.

Heading up the elevator, he stopped in front of [member="Arabi Cordelle"], gently placing the satchel on the gurney and unzipping it. "Alright, I managed to get as much of what you need as I could. Will this suffice?"

[member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay clenched her jaw as one again, [member="Sol Damerin"] decided to scold her. It seemed as though that was a habit of his. Perhaps his ability to see into the future was better than most. Hearing that it was a boy being strangled could only mean that it was [member="Bradshaw Ku"] . But he wasn't alone, was he? Surely they weren't all seperated? Divide and conquer. That could be getting used right now. ~We can argue about this later! He's not alone and certainly not defenceless. Have some faith, Sol.~ She was confident both in [member="Ghorua the Shark"] and Freeosk to look after her adopted son. Surely the three of them would be able to handle [member="Kirie Ito"] ?

[member="Jak Sandrow"]arrived with a bundle of supplies. He was fast and obviously in some sort of rush. There was an urgency in his voice as he spoke to [member="Arabi Cordelle"] . He must have seen or heard something.

Right on cue, alarms began to ring out after [member="Xaedrin Vondiranach"] had created a breach in the corridor that had created a small vaccuum. Kay's eyes looked skyward at where the alarms were ringing from. What was she going to do? Check it out herself? No. She needed to wait for more information.

************************​

The three Iron Knights heard the alarms going off, yet ignored them. They had their objective and unless someone confronted them in a pitiful attempt to try to stop them, they pressed forward through the corridor that would lead them to the storage hall.

Minutes later they arrived at the door. One of the Controlled Ones had managed to trap the wannabe heroes in the corridor, leaving them to focus on the Padawan and what was in the storage room. They punched in the access code and stepped in, already seeing the girl in battle with [member="Uigin's NPCs"] . Lightsabers already ignited and drawn, they took their positions around the attacker and began to close in. Surely with 4-1 odds, the attacker would fall. At least that was what they thought.

[member="Arix Valen"] [member="Valjan Hon'rey"]

 

[Bradshaw Ku]

It all happened so quickly. One moment [member="Kirie Ito"] blocked him from getting off a good shot at the Controlled One behind her, the next, she hid her face in his chest and let out muffled sobs, while the Controlled One stumbled then flipped down the hall.

Too sudden, too unexpected. But at least he had her. So it was a success, right?

No.

She’d left no time, no space, for him to get off a shot before her hand moved up to his neck, delicate fingers wrapping around his throat with a new, decidedly violent strength.

What is she doing? This doesn’t make sense.

But then it did. It made all the horrible sense in the galaxy when her face lifted from his chest and her black, hollow eyes stared up into his.

She smiled.

Time slowed.

There were blaster bolts and klaxons. He thought he heard [member="Ghorua the Shark"] yell. It was all too sudden, too unexpected, too quiet.

Can’t… breathe…

Those eyes.

No, not eyes. Black holes. Blacker than space and emptier than the furthest reaches of the universe. At least the void of space still held hope. Stars glow in the background, nebulae splash vibrant colors against the dark canvas, and a near infinite number of planets filled it all with life. There were none of these things in those hopeless spheres.

So quiet.

Can’t breathe…

Now he was being lifted. Mighty, fur covered arms wrapped around his and Kirie’s torsos, lifting them both with ease. Freeosk carried them quickly past [member="Sol Damerin"], back in the direction they’d come only moments before. While he carried them, his massive arms and back bulged with effort as he worked to separate Kirie and Bradshaw.

Could her newly found strength overcome a force fuelled, muscle bound creature that dwarfed her laughably? Had Sol’s shots distracted her enough?

Bradshaw hoped so… or he would’ve if he weren’t still lost in those eyes. No, not eyes.

So quiet…

...Can’t breathe

- [member="Lady Kay"] - [member="Jak Sandrow"] - [member="Xaedrin Vondiranach"] - [member="Uigin's NPCs"] - [member="Arabi Cordelle"] - [member="Arix Valen"] -​

 

[Kirie]

Kirie yelled out involuntarily as the blaster fire hit her. 3 of the shots had connected; two in the side and one in the leg. Chunks of burning flesh and dark, black blood were flung across the crowded corridor, and Kirie was floored by the waves of agony that accompanied the shots. She stumbled back, almost losing her grip on [member="Bradshaw Ku"], yelping in pain. Even as she moved backwards, her torn flesh began to repair, replacing the damaged tissue and covering it with new, black skin.

It had distracted her, however, and she felt herself being lifted, along with the Prince, by his fuzzy companion Freeosk. Her feet left the ground, and she twisted, snarling like an animal at the beast who'd grabbed her. She thrashed in his thick arms as he carried her down the hall and past the gunman, [member="Sol Damerin"]. She forced herself to calm down, she removed her hands from the Prince's throat, it wasn't like he could do anything to her with his armed pinned.

Leaving the young man to gasp for breath she instead focused on breaking free from Freeosk. She reached out with her mind, drawing confidence from the presence of the others in the Contingency. Even in the short time since she'd been awakened her senses had grown further. She could feel the strength, the power of her brothers and sisters in the station. She let it flow through her.

Kirie placed her hands on both of Freeosk's arms, channeling all her strength into forcing them apart. Grunting with the exertion, she slowly began to shift them. She bit her lip, hard enough to draw blood, trying to stop her scream as her muscles began to tear apart from the force of the struggle.

It was enough for her to wriggle out, and she slipped under the circle of Freeosk's great arms, following up with a clumsy, sweeping kick that shattered her shinbone. In agony, and with tears running down her face, she limped away, her pulverised bones crunching as they reformed. She broke into a sprint, making for the main room, but a blast door came down in front of her, accompanied by a red flashing light and a klaxon. She slammed into it at full speed, falling to the floor. The way was blocked.

Kirie was unarmed, her previous self hadn't understood the value of violence, but that was fine, she knew better now. The girl stood up, and squared her shoulders. Fine, she thought, I'll just have to beat them to a pulp myself.

[member="Bradshaw Ku"] | [member="Lady Kay"] | [member="Jak Sandrow"] | [member="Xaedrin Vondiranach"] | [member="Ghorua the Shark"] | [member="Sol Damerin"] | [member="Arabi Cordelle"] | [member="Arix Valen"] | [member="Uigin's NPCs"] | [member="Valjan Hon'rey"]​

 

[Aryn Teth]

Arix Valen

---

---

​

---

Kwenn Station, Kwenn System, Kastolar Sector, The Mid Rim.​

Interacting With: [member='Lady Kay']​

​

For a time, Arix watched as Lady Kay returned. He let the Cathar discuss with the Queen what might have been needed other than what was brought down to them. He was particularly eager to get underway, and much of his silence came from his attention elsewhere, running through experiments in his mind, different outcomes and hypotheses. He simply gave the queen a quick nod as she questioned his approval on allowing his troopers to guard the room, having been in the middle of a deeply intriguing scenario in his mind at the time. It was still a short while before he did come to the end of his mental experiments, a smirk on his face as he seemed particularly pleased with the results, turning his gaze back over to Kay and Arabi, clearing his throat.

"My apologies, sometimes I do get a little... Caught up, with my thoughts." He postured with a grin, moving over to help with the setup. His eyes flashed over Jak for a moment, considering him as he clasped his hands behind his back. For the most part, Arix simply needed to wait until they had their specimens for study. A sample of the liquid itself was preferable in his mind, though Arix supposed any individual who was infected was also useful to whatever experiments he might have had in mind. Regardless, he figured that he could not truly put things to the test, until they had some kind of a subject before them.

 

[Sol Damerin]

The blaster bolts impact the girl's side and coupled with the actions of the kid's friend it looked like Bradshaw was going to not be strangled, good. The infected boy carved a small hole in the bulkhead triggering the station defences, which stopped Kirie from retreating. The atmosphere was rapidly draining from this stretch of corridor and Sol pauses, everything slowing down as he submerges himself in the force. Inhale, exhale.

The infected boy was going for the elevator, but the massive hulk was on his way to intercept. Kirie had tried to flee but she'd been thwarted and now she was heavily injured. That wouldn't last long from what he'd read. If the boy escaped he might spread the infection to the rest of the station. If the girl wasn't dealt with she'd be at their backs. What could he do? He needed to do his best to stop both of them but his priority was taking Kirie in alive.

Inhale, exhale. Let The Force flow through him and guide his actions.

To him the movements were calm, graceful, he felt almost like everyone was moving underwater and he was on dry land as he speeds up. Hitting the locks on his vibroblades he raises them and with two almost casual flicks of the wrist, he flings them both ways. One at Kirie, the other at Xaedrin. The whirring vibrating sword blades whizzing at them with passable accuracy, they might hit they might not. Both were simply distractions meant to force them both to dodge, hopefully, Xaedrin would slow down long enough for Ghorua to catch him Sol didn't know his focus was on Kirie.

The white shoto blade of the saber in his left-hand whirs to life as he spins and throws. If his battle precognition was right Kirie would jerk out of the way of the thrown vibroblade but stumble on her injured leg, she'd dodge the first throw. However, since the collective didn't know that he was a Jedi she'd shouldn't see the sudden burst of speed and the lightsaber throw that came next. Sol's goal was to literally sweep her legs as she'd tried on Freeosk, he wanted to cut them clean off with the thrown saber. From what he understood, they'd grow back slowly and once she was legless it should be a lot easier to bring her back to Lady Kay for experimentation.

Sol felt bad about what he was doing to the slip of a girl, if he hadn't known for certain that her legs would grow back he'd never have done it. Crippling someone wasn't his style, a quick clean kill if his hand was forced by the other person trying to kill him or an innocent, that was his style. Still, this small morale compromise could save countless lives so he'd do it and as he watches the saber whiz through the air he finally sends a thought back to Lady Kay. "Sorry, I get pissy when my commanding officers withhold vital information. It's a pet peeve." Alright, maybe he was just snarky in general.

[member="Ghorua the Shark"] | [member="Xaedrin Vondiranach"] | [member="Bradshaw Ku"] | [member="Kirie Ito"] | [member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Kirie]

Kirie dodged the vibroblade deftly, grinning even as she stepped into the path of [member="Sol Damerin"]'s white saber. Her eyes widened, the saber struck her on an angle. Halfway through its third turn it hit her left leg, cleanly separating her leg at the knee. The blade continued, not slowed by the flesh and bone it had just cut. It tore through Kirie's right thigh, severing every major artery, and cutting the leg clean off. The shoto-blade continued, carving the metal of the blast door behind her before finally clattering to the floor.

She collapsed to the floor, falling face-first into the metal paneling. She gasped in shock. One moment she'd been in control, her superior reflexes dictating the course of the conflict, the next she was on the floor. She was unable to comprehend anything, her mind was a blank slate, the shock and savagery of the attack had stupefied her.

Then the pain hit.

She rolled onto her back, writhing in pure agony. Her separated legs fell to the floor, leaking dark blood, staining the already gruesome scene. Screaming at the top of her lungs, Kirie stared in horror at the empty space where her legs had just been. The stumps bubbled with black fluid, already hard at work preventing any further blood loss. The pain was immense, and darkness hovered at the edge of Kirie's vision.

Struggling to raise her head, she levelled a look at Sol, he had done this to her. He was the one responsible. The party began to approach, or maybe they were in the same spot, she couldn't tell anymore, her body was going into shock, but the substance inside her was fighting it. Her mind was clouded, a shroud falling over it, quietening and dulling her thoughts.

The darkness inside her worked hard, but the damage was immense. She scrabbled backwards, tearing several fingernails off her hands. Pressing her back against the door, she begged for mercy. "Please!" Her voice was strangled, not used to vocalizing aloud. "You don't understand. I'm whole now. Just let me go, I beg you. Just let me go." Hot tears ran down her face, her breathing was rapid, skin clammy, heart pounding. The darkness moved across her vision, she was losing her battle with consciousness.

With a pitiful look, and a final whispered "please" she gave in, her head lolling to the side. Her ruined legs bubbling and shifting at the stumps, trying to repair even as the girl had fainted.

[member="Sol Damerin"] | [member="Bradshaw Ku"] | [member="Lady Kay"] | [member="Jak Sandrow"] | [member="Xaedrin Vondiranach"] | [member="Ghorua the Shark"]​

 

[Arabi Cordelle]

Arabi watched [member="Lady Kay"] send off someone else to get the other things she mentioned. It would not likely all be needed, but she had no idea what form this invasion of a body took and better to have as much as she could for the research. As he left, she continued setting up, garnering the help of Lady Kay for it. Within minutes, [member="Jak Sandrow"] came back with a new load of things she had asked for. The Cathar smiled warmly and nodded. "I thank you for risking danger to procure these items for me. I shall try to do my best to make use of them and end this plague."

She turned and continued her set up, finding a new set of helping hands in [member="Arix Valen"]. She extended her smile to him, inadvertently showing fang. It didn't take long to set up the equipment. Kwenn Station was not too far on the edge of the galaxy so the technology available wasn't too antiquated and dilapidated. She moved on to putting on a biohazard tunic and gloves. Now all she had to do was wait for the specimens to arrive.

"Will anyone be working with me? If so, the biohazard suit is necessary. I am not sure how this thing spreads."

Ghorua the Shark | Xaedrin Vondiranach | Bradshaw Ku | Kirie Ito |

 

[Jak Sandrow]

[member="Arabi Cordelle"]

Jak raised his hands. "I'll help you out. A few guns at your side will be critical, especially if they'll all come running when you start experimenting. Besides, I've wanted to test a few things out on my own. Like... this."

Slowly, a bark-like sheath spread under his shirt, covering his skin in rough brown scales, completely obscuring his face, except for his eyes, which were covered in a thin, translucent green coating. Smiling through the mask, he said, a bit muffled, "Got my bio suit on."

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay was glad to have the approval from [member="Arix Valen"] to have his guards watch over them. She wasn't used to ordering Imperial soldiers around. Even the legion of cloned soldiers from Kamino that she was given as a gift from the Emperor weren't given orders by her. Of course there hadn't been any real conflicts to put them to use. Veiere liked to keep them at a distance, however, just in case that gift decided to turn on them. With clones anything was possible.

She smirked a little at his apology, tilting her head to the side ever so slightly as she wondered just what it was that Arix was thinking of that caused him to lose track of things. "Credit for your thoughts?" Of course she highly doubted that he'd reveal anything. Imperials tended to hide their cards well.

Her attention soon turned to [member="Arabi Cordelle"] while she asked if any would be helping. Before Kay could answer, however, [member="Jak Sandrow"] surprised her with a bio suit of his own. Her eyes went to his face mostly, looking for any way that the black substance could get in. "I've seen video of how it enters it's victims; through the mouth, the nose. Any opening would probably be taken advantage of. However I think that the pores of our skin is too small of an opening from them. And it takes mere minutes for them to take control."

Kay went over to the stretcher, grabbing the bindings from one of the supply piles and began to secure them to the bed. Her movements were slow and distracted as she too went into her own thoughts. She needed to get after [member="Sol Damerin"] a little as the man continued to chastise her. ~Well it's a good thing that I'm not your C.O. I'm just someone that asked for help. Save your issues with me until later. We've got to focus.~

Hopefully they'd have a specimen or two soon.

****************************​

Just as [member="Kirie Ito"] screamed and at the moment of her losing her legs, two of the Iron Knights turned and looked to the doorway. In unison the pair turned, leaving one Knight and the Padawan to fight [member="Uigin's NPCs"]. With the sabers still drawn, they began navigating the corridors to find her, drawn by the unheard beacon that was eminating from within her. In their collective minds, Lord Onyx would be wise to destroy all of the organics. But they were all a part of his plan. Even now, many of them were falling into his trap, doing exactly what he wanted them to do. The trick was to make them think that they thought it all up themselves. The egos of organics were easy to predict and manipulate.

But it'll all be over soon for them.

Blast doors had blocked the corridor that they were in. Just a minor inconvenience. Again the two moved in unison, as though they were of one mind and peirced the blast doors with their lightsabers. The durasteel began to melt under the intence heat. Slowly, they drew a semi circle, carving their way through. It wasn't easy, but with the two of them, the time would be cut in half.

[member="Bradshaw Ku"] [member="Ghorua the Shark"] [member="Xaedrin Vondiranach"]

 

[Bradshaw Ku]

The little woman’s animalistic fight and wiry strength surprised Freeosk when she pried herself out of his hold and slid out onto the floor. He was impressed. What she did next surprised him even more. Her kick hurt, much like bumping your shin against a coffee table in the middle of the night hurts, but it appeared the coffee table in this instance came out of the brief confrontation much worse for wear, as she was now limping down the hall.

Safely freed from her clutches, the hulk unceremoniously dropped Bradshaw. His job was to keep him alive, not baby him. He took that distinction to heart. Doing his best to fulfil the former and always staying as far away from the latter as possible. He looked at the Prince gasping on all fours.

“Stay.” He ordered before following Kirie down the hall.

Bradshaw clutched at his bruised throat. This is going to leave a mark.

“You can’t give me,” gasp, “orders. I’m your bo--“, Freeosk wasn’t there. He rolled his eyes and started to pull himself to his feet. “Don’t mind me, I’m just talking to myself.”

By the time he joined Freeosk, Kirie, and Sol, Sol’s assault had finished with its gruesome task. As if he’d been momentarily shocked, he recoiled from the mangled body of the young woman lying unconscious on the floor.

“Karking hell…!”

The worst part wasn’t even that her legs were missing. It was the pulsating and bubbling of the black ooze as it slowly grew back the missing appendages. “Sol, I know she choked me and all, but it’s an eye for an eye, not a little strangling for a pair of legs. Little over doing it, don’t you think?” He gave the man a wry smirk.

“Grab her Freeosk, we’ve got to get her back to the lab before the man’s disassembling job undoes itself.”

“How do you think we’re going to do that? All the emergency blast doors are shut.”

“I’ve got a little friend for that.” Taking out his com securely linked to his borrowed astromech/ slicer droid, he quickly gave Shorty the order to open the blast door just in front of them. He knew they weren’t supposed to be communicating over the coms but this qualified as an emergency and besides, the slicer who built the connection was no slouch.

The blast door clicked, unlocked, and then retracted after only a few moments. Freeosk picked Kirie up, this time making sure he had a firm hold on her, unconscious or not.

------ ------ ------ ------ ------​

​

A couple minutes later Bradshaw entered the makeshift observation deck lab with Freeosk holding Kirie. He looked around at all the medical equipment, “Love what you’ve done with the place. Really gives it that dreary, modern hospice feel.”

Freeosk positioned Kirie onto the gurney. Bradshaw glanced at the growing legs, “As you can see, we come bearing a gift. Some assembly required, batteries not included. Blame Sol.”

- [member="Lady Kay"] - [member="Jak Sandrow"] - [member="Arabi Cordelle"] - [member="Kirie Ito"] - [member="Sol Damerin"] - [member="Arix Valen"] - [member="Xaedrin Vondiranach"] - [member="Ghorua the Shark"] -​

 

[Sol Damerin]

The plan worked perfectly and the girl drops to the ground a double amputee. Sol looks at her and his stomach roils at the sight, not because he hadn't seen worse, but because he was the one who'd done it. At least he could see the girl's legs growing back. His hand was still raised and his saber flies back into his palm landing with a solid thump as Freeosk and Brad reach him.

The boy addresses him and for the first time, Sol's stoic expression changed in a noticeable way. His brow furrows, his eyes narrow, and his jaw tightens. Those pale blue eyes seem to go dark and for a second the mercenary seems like he is about to punch Bradshaw right in his jaw. Inhale, exhale. As the breath leaves his lungs the hallway fills with dark side force energies rolling off him in great rolling pulses, yet his expression returns to its normal neutral state.

With a complete, almost eerie level of calm Sol stalks towards Kirie and picks up her severed legs. He then marches back to Bradshaw and thrusts them into the boy's arms. "Take these just in case. I don't know that her new legs will stick around once we cure the ooze. If we get these into proper cold storage we may be able to reattach them should the worst happen." There was a fine line for Sol when it came to snark, most of the time he was fine with it but depending on the subject matter there was a limit. Turns out a joke in regards to a girl he'd just made a cripple was one of those lines.

Turning Sol heads down the corridor heading towards the docks, hopefully, he'd been in time to intervene between the sith and the last infected girl. Hopefully, Ghorua could handle the infected boy by himself. As he sprints down the corridor he sends a thought to Lady Kay. "Helped save the boy, incapacitated the girl, they should arrive shortly. You are right I'll save my issues for later and if we survive there will be a later." Then he is focusing on arriving on the scene to see what he can hopefully salvage from the next disaster.

However, he has to pull up short, both by the blast door he runs across and the sight of two lightsabers carving through it. It appears as though he'd in inadvertently intercepted the two iron knights that had been going for Kirie. That was fine he had some aggression to work out. Settling down on the floor in lotus position he sets his twin shoto sabers on either side of him and waits. Inhale, exhale. The dark side swirls around him as an aura of light side energy builds at the centre.

[member="Bradshaw Ku"] | [member="Lady Kay"] | [member="Kirie Ito"] | [member="Xaedrin Vondiranach"] | [member="Ghorua the Shark"]

 

[Xaedrin Vondiranach]

As warning klaxons blared, Xaedrin prepared himself for whatever move his opponents would make next. It would be the newcomer who fired at the interesting one, Xaedrin noted, as the man produced a pair of vibroblades. One of the blades made for the girl while the other came for him. Xaedrin stepped into the path of the blade, preparing to turn it into a far deadlier weapon once it was coated with his own blood, but the opportunity never arrived. Instead, a blast door slammed shut between he and the rest of the pack. The blade slammed harmlessly against the blast door, clattering the floor on the other side. Well, that was that. He stopped for a moment to consider his next move, but before he could act two Iron Knights came up past him and began to work their way through the blast door.

​​Rage bubbled inside of Xaedrin. They had taken the interesting one from him. He could feel her pain from the other side of the door. He could feel her despair as they worked tirelessly to destroy anything they didn't understand. He hated them. They didn't deserve to join the nexus, they deserved to die. Xaedrin knew what he had to do.

Turning, he ran and slid inside the small gap he'd created in the turbolift doors, falling the 20 meters or so to the top of the turbolift beneath. He quickly removed his lightsaber and cut a small circle under him, making his way into the turbolift. Dropping inside, he again cut out the floor of the turbolift, dragging it in a slow circle around his feet. The circle glowed as the durasteel became molten around his blade. Finally, the floor dropped out - and he with it. He fell another ten meters or so before using the Force to pull himself to the side of the turbolift shaft, grabbing hold of a ladder built into the side for maintenance and emergencies. He then reached out with the Force and pried the turbolift doors open, before jumping through and landing in a corridor on the first level of the station. The third level of the station was the entertainment level, holding restaurants and casinos. The second were the general living quarters for the station. The first held things such as the docking bays ... and system controls. Recalling his mental map, Xaedrin started down the corridor on his way to the main control hub for the station. If he couldn't have the interesting one, no one would.

[member="Lady Kay"]| [member="Kirie Ito"] | [member="Bradshaw Ku"]| [member="Ghorua the Shark"] | [member="Sol Damerin"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

[member="Sol Damerin"] 's voice came into her head again. There was almost a threat within his words, a threat that they'll certainly have words once this was all over. All that she sent him back in response was ~Thank you...~

Kay was relieved when [member="Bradshaw Ku"] and Freeosk walked in. No sign of [member="Ghorua the Shark"] though. Perhaps he went somewhere else. Her relief was short lived however as [member="Kirie Ito"] was brought in....in pieces."The poor girl..." Freeosk was already handling the little assistant onto the gurney. The straps were set in place. "Make sure those are tight, but don't cut off the circulation. Brad, put her legs on the table quickly." Already some of the black substance began dripping slowly out of it. But it didn't move like typical blood, instead it was as though it was searching for something and feeling the air as it had no eyes.

She turned her attention to [member="Arabi Cordelle"] , one of the only people there that seemed to have medical knowledge. Kay had some, but her Force healing abilities were something that she kept secret. "Looks like you've got a few options to work with. Two legs and my assistant. Time to get to work." She glanced to [member="Arix Valen"] and wondered what he would do. But that wonder was only short lived as Kay moved over towards Kirie. The girl was still unconscious, but for how long? It was anyone's guess at this point. The black substance was already regenerating her legs, blackened stumps were growing at an easily visible rate, the bones, muscles and flesh now down to the bottom of her calves. It wouldn't be long before the ankles and feet were made. It was a horrible sight.

*************************​

The pair of Knights were alerted to the presence of [member="Xaedrin Vondiranach"] as he passed them by, yet they paid him no heed. Instead they continued cutting through the blast doors. Before they could finish, the blast doors retracted with the help of the droid bypassing the system. The Knights shut their blades off as the blast doors moved, saving them from damage.

Sol came into view while he sat there on the floor. The Darkside pooled around him and even though they were mostly machine, they could feel it eminating from him as they too were capable of tapping into the Force. "You sit. Do you surrender yourself to Lord Onyx?"

 

[Sol Damerin]

Just before the knights addressed him Sol saw a flash of what the boy planned. He had to hope that Ghorua or another would handle him or that he was finished with the knights before Xaedrin finished his plan. To help ensure someone stood against him Sol sent a thought to [member="Lady Kay"]. "Send whoever you can to the control room now, as fast as you can. Tell them to be ready for a fight." Orders given he sinks once more into The Force as the knights step forward and speak.

The question reaches Sol's ears and he considers it. Did he surrender to Lord Onyx? The question is one he considers in a single moment that stretched out for eternity within his mind. Thus far what had he seen from Lord Onyx? Pain, suffering, and death. He had not directly seen most of it but the videos and visions gave him a clear view of what Lord Onyx offered organic life. What had he felt when he saw that? Weak, helpless, and enraged. What had Lord Onyx forced him to do? Cut the legs off of a girl who had been enslaved, yet so happy to be whole again. Did he surrender to Lord Onyx?

Inhale, exhale. The Force moves through him and Sol sets himself on a path the only one he ever walked, his own. He knew his answer.

"No."

That single word seems to echo throughout the entire station. Within it is carried a single thought, a single goal, a single objective. Defiance. The desire to rise up against those who would put you down and tear them from their gilded halls. The desire to stand against fear, against hate, against tyranny. The desire to stand before a lord, a queen, or even a god, spit in their eye and tell them. "You may kill me but you will never break me." It was the path Sol chose every time, his path, the path of defiance.

Force wielders always move with unnatural speed and grace but as Sol get's to his feet his movements are odd. He moves fast, faster than any normal person, but with such fluidity and precision that it doesn't seem unnatural that he does so. He goes from sitting to standing and though it would have been almost impossible to track the motion it was obvious what motions he took. His lightsabers shoot up from the floor like it is the most natural thing in the world as the twin blades whir to life, one white the other red.

In what seems like a single step he has closed the distance between himself and the Iron Knights. His first target is the one on his left. The saber in his left-hand goes high straight for its neck with alarming speed. The other saber seeming to move almost lazily by comparison as it loops around in an arc aimed at its middle. His feet are set shoulder-width apart knees slightly bent ready to move.

 

[Arabi Cordelle]

She watched in amazement as [member="Jak Sandrow"] ... morphed? into his own version of a biosuit. Her eyesbrows shot up in surprise and her ears perked forward. Had she the time, she would have wanted to examine such a skin. For now though, her curiosity would have to wait. She had a patient inbound. No one had mentioned it yet, but she could feel the change through the Force. Something had happened and there was a sense of anticipation she could feel. Whatever happened, there would be someone infected coming soon enough. The area was as prepared as she could make it.

Arabi looked toward the door as she strapped on the last of her biohazard gear. Her eyes wandered over the woman, [member="Kirie Ito"]. Her legs had been detached, likely in the struggle to get her here. That could be rendered to at some other point. Her main focus was the ooze was dripping. Arabi quickly grabbed a sample jar and swept it in using a spatula and then placed the lid securely. "Here, why dont you get some samples from this and take a look at it in the microscope. I want to know what it is made of and that is the most likely identifier."

She didn't care who took it, but as soon as it left her hands, she started examining Kirie. Checking vitals, eye dilation, inside her mouth, finger tips and lastly, the legs where they had been severed.

Lady Kay - Sol Damerin - Arix Valen - Xaedrin Vondiranach - Ghorua the Shark - @Brandsaw Ku