There Be Monsters | CIS Dominion of Monastery

[Nora Lithos]

Interacting with: [member="Nylea Apollodor"]
Post 3

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Brows furrowed at the news. Nylea had been absent part because she was searching for herself, and part because she had been kidnapped by someone who did not wish her well. Of course it would upset Nora to hear it, but she didn’t let herself linger on it. Hate much like any other feeling of anger had no place here, and in the end Nylea had survived and made it back. It would be hard if not impossible for Nora to put herself in the situation that her friend had been in, and so for that reason alone she wouldn’t.

She simply listened and nodded while she also tried to offer the support that Nylea needed. A hand placed itself on Nylea’s shoulder out of sheer instinct and a smile gleamed at her through what was evidently a hard thing for her to think about.

“Hey, you didn’t do anything wrong.” Nora said and squeezed her friend’s shoulder. “There were more people around and we are slowly regaining our numbers ever since some of the others helped pick up what Hazel didn’t have the strength to carry out.”

Eyes set on the door. As glad as she was to see Nylea, now really wasn’t the most opportune time for this reunion. There was a mountain of work that needed to be done and Nora had barely gotten started yet. The people outside needed her and all the manpower that the Lotus could spare.

The hand on Nylea’s shoulder dropped and Nora nodded at her to follow.

“Walk with me.” She said and ushered the Echani woman out of her office. “There is a mountain of work to be done and I can’t afford to be idle.”

Bringing her datapad from her pocket Nora began to pull up the checklist.

“I wondered where Karl had gone.” Nora grumbled as she scrolled through the list. “I’m glad that he could help you back home.”

“Did he tell you anything about the wildlife infestation going on? Our scouts believe that it might be a deliberate sabotage, but to what end we aren’t quite sure of yet. These species aren’t known to be this aggressive, especially not around our settlements and cities.”

“Which doesn’t make sense because…” The rant didn’t stop. Nora would probably keep going about the situation unless Nylea interrupted her.

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

Location: Approaching the North East Area of Cessna [Civilian Bunker 2-B]
Post: 2
Objective: Not Die[tm]

She was still running. Unbeknown to her, she was running pretty much parallel with [member="Srina Talon"] 's advance, far enough away for her not to immediately notice it, but not too far that she would've missed the animal attack on their squad.

Not that it would have mattered much if she had seen Srina. On that Temple, Scherezade had not seen anyone other than Katrine and the back of the Mandalorian she'd stabbed. Her rage had boiled to such a degree that words, as well as the faces of people she might have glimpsed at, had completed removed themselves from her memory. All she remembered was that she stabbed the Mandalorian, and the intense pain of the Force Lightning that had struck her Jart tattoo. The former was a bummer. The latter... Now was not the time to dwell on what it might mean.

The screams of people were reaching hear ears now. She turned her face to look and saw the reason. How such cute bats could be so deadly was slightly beyond her, but it apparently meant that her instincts were working well enough at the moment, since she didn't feel an actual need to hug any of them.

Changing directions, the girl veered to the side, running towards the massacring animals. But she didn't make it too far (or too close, depending on your point of view).

A low and throaty gurgle caused her to stop mid-run, almost falling over herself in the attempt to halt. Her eyes darted to where it had come from, falling almost immediately on it. Big, gigantic, absolutely adorable in other circumstances, cat. And the cat had its eyes on her.

Scherezade did not dare to look the other way. She had eye contact locked with the deadly kitten, and she knew one wrong move could end up with her dead. The problem was that almost any kind of a move could end up in the same way, and she could feel her heart thump in her chest, going off almost like a siren that anyone with good hearing could grab.

The bats were, for now, not focused on her.

Slowly, ever so slowly, she went down on a knee, not daring to even blink unless it was absolutely necessary.

Stories of her mother flashed through her mind. Her mother, who had wielded the ability of Animal Friendship with such finesse that many called her a Beast Master. Her mother, who had an entire friggin' zoo filled with creatures like this magnificent beast in her childhood home's back yard.

But Scherezade wasn't her mother. She wasn't anywhere near to having her mother's abilities, both natural and learned.

Scherezade was trying to frantically come up with ways that would not result in her ending up as kitten shishkabab.

And so far, Scherezade was failing.

But the eyelock remained nontheless.

She'd think of something.

Hopefully.

 

[Nylea Apollodor]

With: [member="Nora Lithos"]
Post 3

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---

"I am just glad everything is alright here." Nylea could help herself but give Nora another short hug while she spoke. "I was incredibly worried. About the Lotus, about you... You have no idea how much of a relief it is everything is still standing." It had truly all been a sight for sore eyes and once more inspired the echani to be a part of the group that had given her a second chance. "And with lessons learned, I am ready to get back to work."

It seemed the newfound drive was going to put to use immediately as Nora explained there was much to do before moving to exit her office. "It was not the first time he helped me, either. I really need to return the favor someday." There wasn't much time for small talk however and Nylea's focus shifted along to what had been going on on Monastery. Meanwhile her friend began her rant, which was nothing new, so she knew that it would go on forever until she brought in her own input.

"Which doesn’t make sense because…"

"There is nothing to gain from it. Not on a planet like Monastery. No, I do not think this is sabotage." While Nora explained the situation, Nylea had immediately begun to think of potential causes and she believed sabotage was not the answer to the question. "I may have a theory, but it is very far-fetched. Not completely impossible, but definitely far-fetched." Instead of slowing Nora's thought process down, the echani decided to meet it. "What if Hazel's actions had something to do with this? I felt how the Ch'ala tree in the courtyard cried out in pain, the very Force... blackened." Her head shook for a moment, interrupting herself for a short moment. "I should probably explain what I am trying to say. Imagine throwing a pebble into a lake. That creates ripples in the water, they spread outwards-"

While speaking the woman noticed someone coming from the opposite direction, but only when they were about to crash into each other. She managed to step out of the way just in time, leaving only a tiny amount of space between them as they passed by each other. "That was too close. As I was saying..." After a few seconds she remembered where she had left off. "Let's the the lake is the Force, and Hazel's actions the pebble. Monastery isn't used to the Dark side, so when she, well, snapped that was the pebble hitting the water. The ripples are the effects of it, that burst of the Dark side, maybe that is what is affecting the wildlife. It may be nonsense, but that is all I could come up with."

 

[Kurenai Yumi]

Kurenai Yumi

---

Objective: Either 3 or 4
Allies: [member="Rex Taff"] [member="Katrine Van-Derveld"] [member="Maple Harte"]
Location: Cessna Starport --> forward defenses
Post: 2

​
The battle with the first beast continued behind her as more CIS member arrived, but there was the ever-posing threat of another beast down the street around where Rex was positioned, though that did not last long as the sound of gun fire drew them towards where she was currently crouching down. Fortunately, enough the creatures had not yet noticed Kurenai, instead going after Maple? The arrival of the bounty hunter came back to mine when they were still in space, the woman wanting to check out the mysterious signal coming from one of the nearby planets, it was kind of embarrassing that she was forgotten about it.

​Her report of an incoming bogies did not go unnoticed, ​"Roger that, don't lose your head". ​Reloading her LMG she turned it to bear on the beasts as she battled against giant bats two of the engaged beast, managing to down two of them in the process, if but having a close shave with death at the same time. Also, just like those holo net games that one would play the weak spot just so happened to be the eye, of carouse it was the eyes, the only way things could become more trope like would be if they had large veins that glowed bright like 'hey over here shoot me'.

For now, the streets had been cleared, but soon the rumbaing along the ground, herself peaking over the lip of the turned over speeder, one of the planets mutated sabre cats charging head long down the street towards maple, who aptly asked for some assistance on the matter. ​"One giant force push on the way", ​stepping out of cover Kurenai concentrated deeply, letting the dark side of the force wash around her, spreading her arms apart. Then in one gigantic movement sent a huge wave down the street, pushing back almost anything in its path, a small spell of peace engulfing the area until said beasts returned.

 

[Ravenfire]

Objective: primary 4 and secondary 3
Allies:[member="Kurenai Yumi"], [member="Maple Harte"], [member="Katrine Van-Derveld"]
Rex thought he was done for the woman would be able to slip away but the beast would have him soon enough, espically since Kurenai had just tried to call him through the radio and the beast had heard it. That was when he heard his commander's voice, Rex watched as the beast was blasted away, Turning to see both her and a another woman not fair from him "Thanks for the assistance crimson" "I was following Ceta here in an attempt to help, I think she found something that is causing these beasts."

Then tapping into the force he activates his lightsabre staff cutting from up down as soon as the beast gets close again. Getting covered in blood he spits, "That is the first time in a while I have had to kill something up close maybe I should start wearing my helmet again" as he puts his helmet on sealing his armor, "Much better." Then looking at the woman he had been following "Okay, where are we going then?" He asks splitting his lightsabre staff back into two parts, knowing that two lightsabres would be better than one at the moment.

 

[Elisea Apollodor]

​

Elisea secured the doors to the Bard's College.

"Go, go, go get the defenses to the Square," she ordered just as the sounds of creatures could be heard just south of the town. Leonasa was a mid-sized town, no more than four thousand or so souls. She hadn't been back on Monastery more than a day or two and here she was already in action. There hadn't been time to check in with [member="Nora Lithos"] or anyone else for that matter. CIS personnel were there in force moving their defenses to the square, "and yes please shut the speeder hub now, if it's not already shut down."

There was a lot to be done still, and she looked down at the square and up over at the sound of a thundering Nightshrike heading toward the square.

 

[Marek Starchaser]

So, the world had called for aid. Sure, that was a thing. But the Obsidian Order member didn’t exactly see it like that. Marek had spent too much time, since the reformat of the Techno Union back into the Confederacy working on finding where he belonged. And sometimes, it didn’t make sense. He was a Starchaser, but he wasn’t one of those flower child Starchasers like his cousin Coren. Nor the kids. He was more powerful, more passionate, and more determined than that. The quickest way to the solution was always the best.

And what Marek was seeing, was a world that had a virus. People were being attacked for no reason on the outskirts. Was it a smart move of him to go an help? Yes. Was it light? Probably. Was he going to act all high and noble?

Decidedly not.

Slipping onto the planet with most of the Confederacy ships, Marek found himself in his Obsidian Armor once again. Flanked by his trusted bodyguard Alana the pair had taken a craft from the CIS shipment and made their way out to one of the outlying villages.

People needed to stop hitting those who couldn’t defend themselves. Maybe he was a Starchaser after all. Allowing others to keep their freedom.

 

[BX-25233]

Post: 2
Allies: monastery guards, civilians, [member="Srina Talon"] , [member="Scherezade deWinter"]

BX-25233 was way out of his element in this battle as the bats had wings and he still had not fixed his bug which prevented him from operating a blaster, luckily for BX-25233 his fellow commando droids did not have the same error. After getting a lucky swing against one of the bats and chopping off one of its wings BX-25233 noticed back up had arrived quickly, he then received a warning of some bats attempting to flank the commando droids. BX-25233 instructed two of the commando droids to shoot at the bats flanking. The two commando droids did that and turned to see the bats moving in at incredible speed. The droids were able to shoot one down but could not shoot the other 2 bats down in time and got grabbed. One of the commando droids that was grabbed was able to still use his blaster and kill the bat that grabbed him but feel to his death due to the seer hight the creature went up to while the other droid lost his head too early to even attempt that.

"Thank you for the warning. It seems the hostiles use a pack mentality and not a swarm mentality a serious miscalculation on my part. Due to my miscalculation I have lost two units and probably more if you had not warned me intime Dreadqueen Srina Talon. I presume the flying hostiles got past the defences while the feline hostiles distracted them. Unknown how A saber cat or saber cats got past."

BX-25233 would then move back letting the magnaguards and the Dreadqueen get infront of him as they seemed more suited for fighting the beasts than him. BX-25233's attention would then turn to the only confirmed saber cat past the defences.BX-25233 had not payed much attention to it before as he was busy fighting the immediate threat but now the droid felt something strange about the cat. The cat did not look like a beast waiting for the right time to pounce on its prey but instead it looked like an officer surveying the battlefield and commanding those under it making sure its master's plans came to fruition. BX-25233 shook his head "There is no true tactical genius happening here, there are only simple beasts following their instincts" BX-25233 told himself, "and yet you got out manoeuvred by them" responded his shard companion.

"Unit BX-86-zelta you have a new assigned target. Open fire on the hostile saber cat"

Now was the time to test if the saber cat was just being lazy or infact doing something important.

 

[Nora Lithos]

Mentions: [member="Nylea Apollodor"] and [member="Elisea Korrado"]
Post 4

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“Fair enough.” Nora said and nodded as Nylea interrupted her rant with a far more reasonable theory on the matter. “You’re saying the force is the lake and-”

The sound of thuds as two bodies collided with one another. Nora stumbled for a second, her lips parting in a pained yelp and whine as pressure was applied to the side of her stomach that had once been a gaping hole. The person that had bumped into her began to apologize profusely.

“I am so sorry, Nora!” She almost screamed out of embarrassment. “I didn’t see you, are you hurt-”

“I am fine.” Nora said rubbing her wound. “Continue as you were, and watch where you are going.”

“Yes, of course. Sorry, again.” She uttered and continued to rush away around the corner.

Nora’s lips thinned and her brows furrowed. The pain in her wound was something the healers hadn’t been able to get rid of in its entirety as if something was trying to prevent it. They had been forced to resort to the classic methods, and even then it would seem that the natural healing process would simply have to take its time.

At least they had fixed her internals. That was something.

“I could kiss you, Nyls.” Nora spoke through her gritted teeth that had tried to form a smile. “It makes sense. The tranquility of the tree could for all we know have been what kept them at bay. It’s something that is worth looking into.”

“They leave us alone because this is where the tree used to be. They’re avoiding it on sheer habit rather than anything else.” The arkanian girl spoke through her teeth as her hand remained by her side to ease the pressure off of the wound. “If we can find a way to still the ripples, maybe we can still the beasts too.”

Nora got the pad out before her again. There still were no news from the smallers settlements that she sent people to in an effort to evacuate or secure them.

“I should have heard from at least Leonasa by now.” Nora grumbled with the lingering frown. “I’m starting to get worried.”

 

[Derek Dib]

Post: 1

Moving through the forests at night, with mutated creatures seeking to disembowel you and eat you, and not necessarily in that order, may not have been the wisest decision by the viceroy. Sweat glistened his forehead and stained his dark clothes as the moonlight filtered through the canopy above. The 48. Enforcer pistol was gripped in his right as he entered a clearing.

Pausing he viewed the structures in slight confusion until he remembered the Order of the Lotus. Reaching out with his senses he checked for any nearby animals and found that they were giving the location a wide berth. Holstering the weapon in the shoulder holster he walked across the clearing with hands empty clearly at his sides as he made his presence known in the force.

The curiosity was why did the creatures refrain from interesting upon the Order. And considering the scenes playing out across the planet side, the question was needing an answer.

[member="Nora Lithos"] [member="Nylea Apollodor"]

 

[Ugoto Chivaro]

Location: Monastery - Vitalii, Materium Patronae Main Warehouse
Objective: Lie, Cheat, Steal, Kill, etc.
Allies: N/A

The MAAT eventually worked up the nerve to make its approach, wing turrets swiveling around suspiciously. Hawkbats were supposed to be nocturnal, someone had said. But they were also supposed to not group into a horde with sabercats, then swarm into cities and make a feast out of the general populace. So, really, a daytime attack wouldn't actually be the strangest thing to happen. Once it came to a complete stop on the MP Warehouse's roof, the side door slid open. Out stepped the few, the proud, and the brave: Force 32. The Helix Syndicate's premier elite commando squad, renown for their skill and ruthlessness.

"This whole city looks like a karkin' renaissance fair," 02 immediately observed once he cleared the transport. Rifle ready, he scanned the roof. They weren't expecting any monsters or mooks, but you had to be careful about these things. If you weren't careful, you screwed up. If you screwed up, you'd be dead. Or even worse: you wouldn't get paid. "Almost makes me nostalgic."

His companions followed in short order, 01 taking the lead. They began moving towards the roof access hatch - that would at least get them inside. From there they would have to find their way to the main offices to check their records... Then get down further, find the crate, and move it to where it could be extracted. Tall order. Very tall order. But Force 32 were tall, professional people.

"What the hell is a renaissance fair?"

"Don't tell me you guys didn't have a renaissance fair where you grew up."

"Sounds stupid," 04 interposed, "So no."

Upon finding the door to be locked and rather well-fortified (by the standards of this city, anyway), the squad took up positions while 04 planted a breaching charge. For his part, 01 did not take part in the constant and unholy banter perpetrated by his subordinates. As their leader, he found it beneath him. He also found it beneath him to bother stopping them. As long as they shot at the enemy instead of each other, he didn't care. As long as they could just get through this, he did not care.

02 guffawed. "Man, you don't know anything. They were great, I used to go all the time. You got all dressed up like medieval times, walked around a park they had set up special for it. Good stuff, good times."

"Oh, really? You had to dress up for it?"

"Well, it's not like it was required. Lot of people did, though. I went as a monk one year."

"Wow. A monk," 03 said, snickering. "You put on a dress and everything?"

"It wasn't a-"

Sensing an opportunity to antagonize 02, 04 cut him off. "I bet he did. I bet it was a nice dress too, and I bet he was the prettiest lady at the whole ball. Wasn't he?"

"I'm seein' it now. I wish I weren't, but I'm seein' it now."

"You people suck, you know that?"

04 thumbed the detonator. There was a small, muted explosion that shredded the armored door and blew it inside. There was a cacophony of metal on metal as the debris tumbled down the stairs. Any manner of foul creature could have just been alerted to their presence, but that was the cost of doing business. The team entered shortly after, descending the staircase in a rigid and methodical fashion. Except, of course, from the derisive snickers that occasionally rose from 03 and 04.

 

[Maple Harte]

Maple barely got out of the way as the animals attacking were hit by a massive wave of telekinesis from the woman with great power in the Dark Side. Even at this distance the potency of it from the porcelain-skinned woman was trying to draw at Maple, and she actively had to pull away mentally, as the blast killed whatever it hit as she made another Force leap into an alley to avoid the blast. She heard a lightsaber staff activate when she exited the alley. There was a lull, and the snarls were more distant. It probably would not last long. These bastards wanted blood.

Maple stared at her new company. She gave a two finger salute to [member="Katrine Van-Derveld"]. "Hi, boss."

She looked at [member="Kurenai Yumi"], silently marveling at the exquisite woman. How the hell had she gotten those curves? Maple would have been shocked if she hadn't drawn at least one man to the Dark Side just by staring. And the pull of the darkness...

Maple shut down her curiosity and intrigue with it. She'd never admit it out loud, but it was not the first time she had been tempted to learn it. But she had not come this far, struggled so hard against the Mind-Binder, just to start using it now. But just her use of it brought the uncomfortable temptation to the surface.

Sticking to her assignment, the chaotic lies her brain invented giving her an odd distraction of sorts from the pull of the dark as she focused

"I stand ready to assist, however possible," she said. "Those things will be back. And a lot of people need help. We can try and shore up defenses, but maybe finding the source of these critters would be better. What do you three think? I'm down for whatever. I got a stick ."

 

[Elisea Apollodor]

​

Elisea hunkered down behind the statue in the square, "we're gonna need a little help, where are those trucks from Vitalii?"

"I'll radio for them," another told her while Confederacy artillery took potshots at the creatures that flew overhead. There was nothing, either Vitalii was silent or someone had cut through, "I'll radio the CIS to investigate." [member="Srina Talon"], "Lotus Team 4 here, we're not able to reach our folks in Vitalii can you send someone to investigate? Spaceport should still be operational unless someone's gotten to it." The sound of blaster fire could be heard, just before the person disconnected the line. He worked to try and ring up the Sanctuary, "[member="Nora Lithos"], can you hear us? Lotus Team 4 in Leonasa, we're uh, we're a little busy but we need more forces from Vitalii but we're not able to reach them."

Trucks from Vitalii would be carrying some basic supplies, stock armor, and crossbows. Foodstuffs and medicine as well to help the folks in Leonasa and some of the other nearby villages.

 

[Katrine Van-Derveld]

Location: In the wilderness
Post: 2
Team Tag: [member="Rex Taff"] [member="Kurenai Yumi"] [member="Maple Harte"] [member="Daxton Bane"]

She'd been nearly run into by [member="Rex Taff"], causing her to glance by at him for a moment as he'd apologized, all before she'd sent out a response back to Srina. "Keep up if you're coming with," the blonde ordered before [member="Srina Talon"] responded, with a single advice to be careful. Katrine admittedly hadn't thought about it at all. "I'll try," Katrine told back into the device continuing her run.

As the Nightshrike had come, Katrine had been up in the tree already, using the Force to soothe the animal. There was something off about her though, she'd realized as she'd worked on the mind of the creature. As if... no, that was impossible, the Witch thought to herself as she registered the thoughts that seemed to be a little too coherent for an animal. She could sense the man at her side hiding behind the tree, the animal picking up on his closer scent which wasn't the least bit good. From where Katrine was, she could calmly remain to do what she intended but with a new prey at Nightshrike's wake, she didn't have time to process what she was getting from the creature and work on calming her down.

The create had approached the man, her Animal Friendship not working the way it was supposed to but she felt the work of the Force before the weapon had come alive, sapphire gaze focusing on the Nightshrike and her opponent just before it would be cut. "No!" Her protested quickly before she'd jumped to the ground, using the Force to slow herself down just before her feet would land on the ground. "You shouldn't have done that," Katrine told the man. There was something odd about the creature, something Katrine wanted and needed to find out. Right now, as it laid dead at his feet, she wouldn't be able to.

Spirits who were usually always nearby stayed dormant now, making Katrine wonder if it was because this wasn't Ryloth or because of what she felt that felt off about the Nightshrike. "Something isn't right here," the blonde finally said, looking at him. "We have to find what's calling out," she answered his question now. "Come on." With a quick instruction, Katrine turned and continued the path she had originally taken, letting their senses and her Sense to guide her further. Whereas she had begun at a slow walk, her feet still broke into a run soon after, feeling like she didn't have much time to wait about. Her company would come along, she assumed as she hurried, keeping herself alert for more trouble that might come their way.

As she ran, she felt the arrival of [member="Daxton Bane"], his signature unmistakable so she reached out through the Force to him. 'Coming to join us? We're off to see the wizard.' A smile crept across her face as she joked, still running.

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

Location: Approaching the North East Area of Cessna [Civilian Bunker 2-B]
Post: 3
Objective: Not Die[tm]

She was still stuck in the eye staring contest with the big purple cat. How long had it been? Hours? Days? Eternity? Probably just a few seconds. Her heart was beating much faster than it should, and worry began to creep in as she realized she would not be able to hold this long enough before other beasts showed up.

The cat, to her, seemed amused as at the situation. Or maybe she was just projecting.

Your mother was a Beast Master, crept that voice into her head. It was her own voice, of course, but sometimes, especially if you were young and inexperienced with the galaxy at large, you just needed to talk to yourself. Her mother was a Beast Master. Okay brain, what did that have to do with it? Scherezade wasn't one. She'd never as much as held an actual puppy (something that would be remedied in the future).

But... But Scherezade was something her mother wasn't. Scherezade was a Mandragora. She was a Chose of Jart, and that came with some perks in the toolbox.

With the gentleness of a male rancor during breeding season, the young girl darted into the cat's brain.

The saber cat growled and leaped towards her.

Scherezade screamed in terror, her feet glued to the ground.

 

[Ravenfire]

Location: Wilderness
Objective: 4
Post: 3
Allies:[member="Katrine Van-Derveld"], [member="Daxton Bane"]
Looking at the woman a little shocked under his helmet. "I'm sorry it was going to attack me." Then waiting a little longer she mentions that something isn't right. "We know that from the briefing these animals are bigger than they should be and smarter than they should be." Then she began heading of again, "Alright I will follow." Using his comm link as they continued in a random direction "Crimison ([member="Kurenai Yumi"]), we are heading towards what ever Carn has felt, Contact me if you need me." As he continued after the woman keeping pace with her, still leaving his lightsabres active.

 

[Kurenai Yumi]

Kurenai Yumi

---

Objective: Either 3 or 4
Allies: close [member="Maple Harte"] out of range [member="Rex Taff"] [member="Katrine Van-Derveld"]
Location: Cessna Starport --> forward defenses
Post: 3

Kurenai let out a few pants after delivering such a large blast, not having used the dark side in such force before, the woman, placing her hands against her legs, attempting to calm down a bit. She was quite surprised by how much damage the push had done to the beasts, most seeming to die from blunt force trauma upon slamming into the ground, bones breaking and organs busting, perhaps she had been progressing at much faster rate than expected. Glancing around she could see Maple standing off the side, the look on her face being that of, worry? was her dark side aura becoming too strong? that was a problem, more so for her current student and children.

Taking in a deep breath the woman's dark aura slowly subsided, being less dark and more a grey, but still having a shadowy feeling to it, giving the child to her side a more calming smile. "Forgive me I got carried away th-.... what are you starring at? something on my back? did I get wounded somehow"? Following on from the woman stares Kurenai did a few twists and turns, trying to find this mystical not of interest the bounty hunter had been gazing at, but soon suddenly stopping, her face becoming a little flustered. "Ohhh right ah never mind *ahem* back to the mission at hand", it was a factor that she often forgot about, her rigid training regime and natural youthful look often turning more head then guns. Now a little more composed Kurenai walked towards Maples presenting a data pad a map of the area.

"As of now both [member="Rex Taff"] and [member="Katrine Van-Derveld"] are a few ways out of the city, could be good to group up with them and go from there... also seems that [member="Elisea Korrado"] is also headed out that way, most likely responding to the beacon in the nearby village". "As such we have two possible objective, check out the beacon regroup with Katrine and try and find ground zero of this mutation, perhaps we can go about this in a more sublet method as well". That last stunt she pulled making Kurenai realize the ever-present danger of completely slipping to the dark side, not a fate she wanted to become victim to anytime soon.

 

[Nylea Apollodor]

​

In vicinity: [member="Nora Lithos"] | [member="Elisea Korrado"] | [member="Derek Dib"]
Post 4

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---

At the gritting of Nora's teeth while trying to force a smile, Nylea couldn't help but show concern. The wound she had sustained had been nothing short of grave and from what the echani had seen from the extremely short time back so far it seemed her friend had not been resting as much as she perhaps should have. She would have to bring it up later however, the situation at hand was going to take all the manpower the Lotus could muster. Making sure things wouldn't get worse at the very least came before everything else. Still, remaining completely silent did not sit right with her either. "Just make sure not to overexert yourself, Nora. Those kinds of wounds can take a while to fully heal and you do not want to make it worse. Sorry, you have probably heard that a thousand times already, I just could not help it. I worry too much about things."

Nylea then breathed out deeply through her nose as she started rubbing the back of her neck, not entirely sure how to react to what Nora had said. "And it was just a spitball suggestion. For all we know I was completely wrong and it was something different entirely. I suppose it is not too difficult to find out, though." It would at the very least be worth looking into. They had nothing else to go with, after all.

The datapad would come out once again and the frown on the arkanian's face told much of the story on its own, but the fact that people had not been reporting was the true cause for concern. "Perhaps I could see to taking a look at the Cha'ala tree while you try to get in contact with them. I am not going to be of much help with that and the quicker we find the source of the trouble the better. Once we do that, we can get to taking care of the ripples." Nylea tilted her head sideways for a moment to gauge Nora's reaction. "I'm heading to the courtyard, if you want to come along."

 

[Daxton Bane]

Objective 4
Location: The Wilderness
Team tag: [member="Rex Taff"] [member="Kurenai Yumi"] [member="Maple Harte"] [member="Katrine Van-Derveld"]

Daxton’s once pristine armor was covered in different colored stains from close combat with the beasts, his cape was muddied and torn, but it didn’t seem to bother him in the least.

One fight seemed to blend into another as a steady stream of the beasts came literally out of the woodwork. The fighting fierce and unrelenting, one barely had time to catch one’s breath when the next encounter occured. So much so that Daxton had already burned through his ammo supply but didn’t bother to retreat for a resupply.

He could sense he was getting close to the source and he could not risk pulling back now. Nodding as he spotted Katrine and her companion, he smiled at he jest. “By all means, my dear. Just try to keep up.” He tessed back as he took to the trees, leaping from branch to branch with utter most confidence, propelled by the Force, leaving only slight scratches on the wood where the barbed stabilizers dug in for the jump.

 

[Nora Lithos]

Mentions: [member="Nylea Apollodor"], [member="Elisea Korrado"], and [member="Derek Dib"]
Post 5

---

The pad beamed with life at last. Leonasa was reporting in and Nora sighed with relief. Her fingers tapped at the screen to accept the broadcast. Elisea was a welcome sight all things considered. The worry that had brewed settled and she allowed herself a moment to breathe, instinctively following Nylea as she began heading towards the courtyard.

“I can hear you, Korrado.” Nora said and put on her work face again. “I was informed by Vitalii HQ that they should have left nearly thirty minutes ago, they might have been having troubles with the nightshrikes; flying low to keep out of view. If you haven’t heard anything in fifteen get back to me.”

Her terminal beeped, someone else was on the line. Nora cursed under her breath.

“Shoot. Hold, Korrado I got someone else coming in.” She said and switched channel. “Nora.”

“We have a visitor coming.” One of the guards spoke of the approaching figure on the horizon.

“Right, I’ll activate my tracker and you can send him the details on how to find me.” Nora spoke with a nod at the guard. “Over, out.”

The channel switched back to Korrado again.

“Sorry about that.” Nora said and cleared her throat. “Like I said, if they are not there in, at most, half an hour I’ll send you what resources we can spare from HQ instead. It’s not ideal, but we do what we must. There’s a lot of fires to put out right now.”

She gave Nylea a quick look trying to apologize for phasing out of their conversation and it was only then that she realized where they were. Her jaw dropped and for a second there was a slight tinge of fear emanating from the young Arkanian. Mostly due to the shock, but the memories it brought to mind weren’t exactly pleasant. For a second she would forget the fact that she was still on the line with someone as her hand began to reach for the hole left behind from the saber blade that had once pierced her stomach and nearly killed her.

“I-...” Nora lost all words before she realized that she still held the terminal in her hand. “I need to go, Leonasa. I will get back within fifteen minutes for an update. Let me know if anything changes.”

The call ended and Nora pocketed the device. Her soft fingers dragging themselves against the oddly smooth, charred and jagged dent left in the tree’s trunk. A harsh exhale burst her lips apart before her hands clenched into fists.

It was clear that in many regards, Nora had not quite moved on from this place yet.