Invasion Total Eclipse of the Heart || Objective 1: And I Need You Now Tonight

[Quinn Varanin]

//: Mauve du Vain //: Velok Brokentusk //: Arris Windrun //:
//: Objective 1 //:
//: Ok I die. //:

The feeling of the blade sinking into the ripe flesh of the Whiphid would have brought a smile upon any attacker's face. Quinn instead remained emotionless. The blade sank as deep as the whiphid would let it.

In the corner of her eye, she registered his own blade spinning to fend her off of him so he could stand once more. Stepping back, Quinn pulled the saber from the body of the Whiphid and blocked the strikes as he moved. The party that decided to shoot her had also decided to enter the fight.

Good.

Her focus began to fray — soon, standing would no longer be an option. She fended off the flurry of strikes with her own, and in the last moment, she spat a few droplets of her blood onto the more fleshed part of the Whiphid's form. The droplets would burn on contact, and the creature would know precisely what the Varanin child did.

Bloodtrail.

If he were hunting Mauve, she'd be able to feel him drawing near — able to interfere with his hunt.

Stumbling back, she disengaged and coughed blood onto the pristine and once clean floor. Her mind focused on one thing as she turned off the saber and looked to Arris, "Tell him to scram, or kill him…I.Don't.Care."

Was she Arris' boss? No, but she hoped the woman could see past that and just finish the job. ( Cassian Abrantes )Whoever was the third or fourth person to show up, giving orders, Quinn looked at him and lifted her hand high enough to give him a disgusted look and an obscene gesture. No one would give the Princess of the Sith Empire any sort of command today.

Today, sucked.

Turning, the echo relinquished control over the Echani, and Quinn gasped with whatever air she could draw. Her brain mentally checked over her vitals, gunshot wound, a collapsed lung, and blood loss.

She chuckled the best she could over the irony of the similarities. Maybe this was how she was destined to die. Twice, these injuries.

Fate was stupid; she should be able to choose her own — her will was the Force's.

Quinn stumbled towards the second conference room. The emotional storm in the room pulled her in, but Mauve's presence stood out — warm, volatile, and familiar. The need to make things right after her stupid mistake drove her closer with each agonizing step. The world continued to spin and blur as she reached back for someone or something to take over.

The Force kept her upright till she hit the wall near the door. It was nice to have something to lean on, but Quinn started to slump. Her body sagged, and blood smeared the nice, clean walls of the hallway.

"I'm sorry," she whispered to no one in particular, "I'm tired," She tried to draw another breath. Still, it dissolved into shallow gasps — utterly futile.

"M-Mauv —"

She slid further, slumping slightly to her side, a hand resting over the gunshot wound as if trying to catch the blood to shove it back in. Sitting where she was, it seemed as if she were only asleep.

 

[Velok Brokentusk]

Arris increased her speed and rushed towards Velok and attempted to kick his hip with one of her powerful cybernetic legs before he could fully rise. They were made for strength rather than speed, and capable of stomping with bone-crushing ease.

"I'm waiting for the count--you need to stay down," she quipped smuggly.

"Stand down, I repeat stand down. In the name of the Republic."

Stepping back, Quinn pulled the saber from the body of the Whiphid and blocked the strikes as he moved. The party that decided to shoot her had also decided to enter the fight.

Good.

Her focus began to fray — soon, standing would no longer be an option. She fended off the flurry of strikes with her own, and in the last moment, she spat a few droplets of her blood onto the more fleshed part of the Whiphid's form. The droplets would burn on contact, and the creature would know precisely what the Varanin child did.

Bloodtrail.

If he were hunting Mauve, she'd be able to feel him drawing near — able to interfere with his hunt.

Stumbling back, she disengaged and coughed blood onto the pristine and once clean floor. Her mind focused on one thing as she turned off the saber and looked to Arris, "Tell him to scram, or kill him…I.Don't.Care."

Recently impaled, Velok faltered getting up, and between that uneven movement and the massive trenchcoat Arris' cyborg leg hit off-centre. No bone crushed but frell that would leave a bruise. As Quinn disengaged Velok eyed the blood-trail sizzling on his hand. Well, shavvit.

He limped back, ignoring the cop or whatever, and got his greatsaber between him and Quinn and Arris. The former looked about as wrecked as him; the latter, he recalled belatedly, had been a Kaggath finalist.

"My quarry's gone. You win today."

 

[Decarii Tithe]

CONFERENCE ROOM #2
CORPORATE COUNCIL, WIELU

Annasari | Aurelian Veruna | Dominique Vexx

Senator Vahl, always the pragmatist, disagreed that they had time to get another Councillor to sign the contract with the Wielu Corporate Council. Reports coming over the commlink were that the High Republic fleet in orbit was losing ground to the much larger Black Sun fleet, and that they would shortly need to withdraw. Hope was fading.

Decarii watched as Annasari took the matter into her own hands, picking up a shard of transparisteel. The Senator first cut slashed her face to draw blood, and before Decarii could stop her, she drove the improvised weapon into her own stomach.

“SENATOR!” Decarii screamed, covering the room in three bounding steps. She clasped her colleague by the shoulder, helping the Member for Tatoonie stay on her shaky feet. The bloodied woman quickly explained her plan to implicate the First Bank of Nar Shaddaa in the attack.

The Aargauun was no stranger to underhanded legal tactics. Lying, extortion, blackmail - she had used all of them to gain the upper hand in court. She had drawn figurative blood in cross-examinations, destroying the reputations of witnesses and the credibility of opposing counsel. Fixers acting on her behalf had followed jury members home to threaten them and collected dirt on judges. But even this was a first.

With one Black Sun representative having fled and the other outside fighting a bounty hunter, it would be the word of Annasari and Decarii against the First Bank of Nar Shaddaa. Hopefully, sufficient doubt about the bank's legality had already been sown in the minds of the Wielu decision-makers. This little piece of theatre would help seal the deal.

“Kark ma'am, I don't know if I'm impressed or horrified,” Decarii said, helping Senator Vahl toward the door. "Both, actually."

They could hear voices approaching - delegates from the other meeting were coming to investigate the attack.

“HELP! SOMEONE HELP ME!” the lawyer screamed, projecting hysteria. In her mind, she cemented the idea that Annasari had been attacked by Black Sun. A skill honed through years in the courtroom, if she believed the notion enough herself, even powerful Force users would find it a struggle to discern her true thoughts.

“The Senator, they got the Senator!” Decarii lied as others joined them in the destroyed conference room. Between the blast marks on the walls, the shattered conference table and the two blood-soaked women, it didn’t take much to imagine the fight they had survived. “Karking, Black Sun assassins. They jumped us, came from nowhere!”

“We need to get her out of here. Before they come back, we need to all get out of here. The Councillors too, they aren't safe here.”

 

[Sibylla Abrantes]

​

O B J E C T I V E - 1
W I E L U

Interacting with: Aurelian Veruna Cassian Abrantes @Mauve Viktor Sylvain Arcadian Dominique Vexx
Nearby: Velok Brokentusk Decarii Tithe Annasari

Cassian knelt in the corner as he gathered what information he could. Weapons at the ready, should they decide to strike out against him. He listened attentively to the feedback he received.

Running Facial Recognition.......

Running through known databases........


Images shown over his relay as several individuals appeared. One of them no doubt, was a bounty hunter. He changed frequencies as quickly as he could to reach Sib and the rest of them.

More notifications and alerts from Cassian and their Republic escort quietly buzzed I-Sibylla's comm, pulling her focus away from the holographic display on the conference table while Aurelian confronted Arcadian and Dominique Vexx attended to Mauve du Vain . The pale blue and green lights from the array cast an otherworldly glow on her delicate features as she turned slightly to read the alert from Davik Haize .

This is Ambassador Sibylla Abrantes, how much time do we have before we need to evacuate?

They had to know what they were working with here. She then swiped to review @Casian Abrantes 's message.

With a swift flick of her thumb, Sibylla opened it, her eyes widening in alarm. Multiple hostiles were detected, including a bounty hunter.

A bounty hunter?

A rush of thoughts flooded her mind as she absorbed this critical information. Steeling herself, she quickly relayed the details to Aurelian and Dominique. Then, her fingers moved with purpose as she accessed the Holonet, quickly attempting to search the public listings to identify the bounty hunter and uncover his target.

Could it have been Councilman Dunas? What if it involved a Republican senator? Or perhaps one of Nar Shaddaa Bank's representatives? Given the prevalence of bounties placed by criminal syndicates, it was all too plausible that they were targeting each other.

She discovered the bounty hunter's licenses first, revealing images of Velok Brokentusk and Arris Windrun from the registry.

Sybilla's lips gave the subtlest purse as she quickly drew a breath and then promptly transmitted this information to Aurelian and Dominique, typing:

These are the bounty hunters Cassian has identified outside. He asserts there are multiple hostiles and is moving to engage them. I’m searching for relevant bounties.

​

BOUNTY LICENSE APPLICATION
Character Name: Velok Brokentusk
Character's Post Count: 365
Bounty Hunter Sponsor: Darth Empyrean

BOUNTY LICENSE APPLICATION
Character Name: Arris Windrun
Character's Post Count: 98
Bounty Hunter Sponsor: Allyson Locke

“HELP! SOMEONE HELP ME!”

Before she could start searching for any applicable bounties that could be relevant to the parties within, the shouts and screams of others drew Sibylla's attention.

Meanwhile, outside, House Veruna guards caught sight of the stumbling, bloody, lithe figure of Quinn Varanin .

"Hold! Do not move! Identify yourself!" The shouts would cry out, the guards holding blasters pointed at Quinn.

One of them sent a message to Aurelian Veruna and the other guards, [ We have an injured woman outside of the delegation's conference room. She has a severe gunshot injury. We need a medic! ]

They were all shocked at the amount of blood, but proceeded with caution in trying to move the weapon from Quinn to try to attend to her injuries. At the same time, another guard began to scan biometric identifying information to determine who she may be.

"Ma'dam, stay still, I am trying to identify the extent of your injuries." A guard told Quinn, taking a medpack from his hip while the rest of the guards kept post and observed for any incoming threats, only for one to hear the screams from Decarii Tithe and Annasari , sending a couple towards the conference room to check.

x | x | x | x | x | x
​

 

[Arris Windrun]

CONFERENCE CENTRE HALL
Engaging(?): Velok Brokentusk
Posturing: Cassian Abrantes and some guards Sibylla Abrantes
Helping: Quinn Varanin

Well, everything escalated quickly. Guards poured in, as did a behelmeted officer who proceeded to bark orders.

Arris backed off the assailant with her kicks and redrew her pistol. She kept it pointed at Velok even as her attention shifted to the others. The cyborg's co-processor had kept a lock on the whiphid--she trusted she could put a round somewhere in that large head of his, regardless.

"Stand down, I repeat stand down. In the name of the Republic." Cassian declared to those fighting, he would give a formal order. It would be something to attempt to control the chaos. That was just the thing though, chaos can't be controlled.

Her gaze flicked over to the man. "Yeah, sorry--not gonna happen. Be a good little soldier and let a professional do her job." She retorted.

Arris continued to back away so she could keep everyone in her periphery at least.

Her mind focused on one thing as she turned off the saber and looked to Arris, "Tell him to scram, or kill him…I.Don't.Care."

This earned a sudden glance from her. A moment ago, the platinum-haired mystery looked to be in fighting spirit. Though as Arris's eyes explored downward, she noticed the extent of the woman's wound. Feth. It was an accident! She groaned to herself.

"I'm sorry," she whispered to no one in particular, "I'm tired," She tried to draw another breath. Still, it dissolved into shallow gasps — utterly futile.

It only proceeded to get worse. Arris didn't know exactly who she was, but if she was with Mauve? A center of attention at that? Then the Black Sun's latest enforcer knew better than to ignore this pressing issue.

"My quarry's gone. You win today."

And now the Whiphid's deadly weapon held space between the two. "Oh, what?" Arris snorted. "A nice concession, I'll give you that, but what's the plan, blood boy? I let you leave, and you try this again later?" She knew it was stupid to split her attention so casually.

Still, the cyborg rounded her steps and began to pace towards the wall, where Quinn began to collapse, even as guards started to surround her. Arris's free hand reached for a hefty cocktail at her hip. Stimulant, analgesic, coagulant, and antiseptic all in one. The kind of lifesaver that any seasoned merc would carry on hand, all from a little glass vial wrapped inside of a handheld applicator.

"Hold! Do not move! Identify yourself!" The shouts would cry out, the guards holding blasters pointed at Quinn.

She made the risk of turning her gun between one of the guards and the whiphid, sacrificing a sure vector for the possibility of multiple. Or at least offering a split-second difference in distance between who she might have to shoot at next.

"I answer to Mauve du Vain and Mauve Du Vain alone." Technically untrue, but it sounded better. "So you all kark right off with this cop chit, go back to your rooms, and sit the feth down!"

"Ma'dam, stay still, I am trying to identify the extent of your injuries." A guard told Quinn, taking a medpack from his hip while the rest of the guards kept post and observed for any incoming threats, only for one to hear the screams from @Decarii Tithe and @Annasari , sending a couple towards the conference room to check.

Arris took another calculated risk as she pointed her weapon directly at the guard beside Quinn. "You especially," she seethed.

Finally, Arris had slowly circled her way towards Quinn and squatted beside her. She didn't even ask before she slammed the applicator towards the woman's nasty gun wound. Unless she stopped Arris, the Echani would receive a full dose that worked to stop the pain, slow the bleeding, and provide a sudden boost to her adrenal system to keep her awake and breathing. Of course, that all assumed the Echani's body took to such things.

 

[Davik Haize]

POV: Cpl. De Cuyper,
Royal Naboo Security Forces ​

"Who in the Force taught you how to fly?!"
"You try landing a mynock-infested ship, gramps!"
"Ah, I'm too old for this chit."

And it was true. Sergeant Bruggen was a day away from retirement. A grizzled veteran of a dozen wars, transferred to the Royal Naboo Security Forces a few years back for the hefty retirement pay. A day away from Lake Country, and some ragged spacer comes in and torpedoes their shuttle off the cliff, claiming he was exfil. And they have been going at it with the Sarge for a while now.

Man, what a pain…, Corporal De Cuyper sighed, struggling to deafen the two lunatics' shouts and gather his thoughts.

How in the galaxy was he going to explain this? WHO does he tell first? Cassian or Sibylla? Chain-of-command made it clear that it would be Cassian, but going straight for Sibylla meant exposure, and he really needed some breathing room from that mortgage.

"… 'This is Ambassador Sibylla Abrantes, how much time do we have before we need to evacuate?' See?" the spacer was pointing vigorously at his datapad.

"Eh?" De Cuyper blinked, then leaned over the man's shoulder, "The Queen's writing to you—"

Thwack!!

His head swam, drowned by the heavy blow of Bruggen's fist, smacking it.

"Queen?!? She's no queen, yet!" the sergeant growled, old man's tongue strained with strongly opinionated political conviction.

***​

POV: Davik Haize​

Dull eyes watched the two Pub security officers went into a loud and lengthy tirade about Queens and Kings.

"Your security detail is sleeping on the job," Davik spoke out loud as he typed; the two officers snapped out of their bickering and engulfed him.

"Huh? Are you crazy?!" both yelled out together.

"I'm retiring tomorrow!"
"I'm barely making ends meet with this mortgage!"
"What?! Buying a house?! In this economy, kid?!"

And they went back at it again.

Shaking his head, Davik sighed and deleted the message, opting for another:

I don't know, you tell me. Nothing's wrong outside but your security won't let me in.

-Haize.

The two officers amped the decibels, drilling into his head and grinding his patience into dust.

Also, they were sleeping on the job.

Davik looked up to the sky and wondered -- how the hell did I get myself in this mess?

Sibylla Abrantes Cassian Abrantes [[trimming the tags to be more specific]]

 

[Velok Brokentusk]

Arris Windrun Quinn Varanin Cassian Abrantes

This was a very large, very loud, very complicated situation, and Velok felt like being similar. The simplest way to resolve it was to walk through the nearest wall. He did so.

Admittedly, it hurt quite a bit. He'd been stabbed by a little human-scale-lightsaber and kicked by a hydraulic prosthesis and generally was not doing great. But the wall yielded as human walls tended to do, and he started walking away from the whole affair down the slopes of the resort island. He had a Whiphid Raider on call and made that call for a pickup. The persistent ringing in his ears (much human jabber) quieted outside, and he sighed in relief, brushing wall from his hair.

ABANDONING BOUNTY ATTEMPT — EXITING UNLESS PREVENTED​

 

[Dominique Vexx]

Dominique drew a fan out from inside of her jacket and snapped it open before she began to slowly fan herself. "Truly, the amount of nonsense being thrown about in this chamber is quite dizzying. I cannot for one good moment imagine everyone in this room ascending to the level of authority and position that they have without understanding how law enforcement conducts investigations." The fan snapped shut. "Wielu's own will conduct the investigation, and we will assist as they request. Including making testimony available as a number of witnesses -- if they yet live -- are being tasked to relocate due to the illicit attempt to isolate Wielu. A matter that doesn't seem to bother the First Bank. Were we all partners with this nebulous party to avoid this needless toil."

Now the Director didn't even bother to suppress the sigh as Mauve du Vain ranted in her ear about victimhood. "We are literally arguing facts not in evidence. This is precisely why an investigation is not merely needed, but demanded. Any further arguments regarding the murder of the Councillor are a literal waste of time; and I'll not be delayed one moment longer in contacting Denon about this travesty." The Council had more than enough information to make a decision. If they wanted to tie a noose around their necks and jump off a short drop there was nothing more they could say that'd forestall that. There was nothing meaningful left to be said, and any hope for a real negotiation had long, long since passed.

Sibylla relayed something curious by the dutiful and intrepid Cassian. Bounty hunters? Well they certainly would screw up a perfectly outrageous situation. But were they directly responsible for the assassination?

Blessedly -- and it was a blessing -- someone actually shouted for help outside of the chamber. Dominique turned and strode for the door. She would much rather deal with whatever horror lay out there than listen to the next aimless, hollow prattle about how corrupt the Republic was and that Nar Shaddaa gave one passing thought for the well-being of Wielu. If it weren't for a literal threat that said they should depart immediately, Dominique would have argued for hours; as things were the criminals had brought their guns -- in space -- which left a sour taste in her mouth about indulging in their charades.

"You should be thrilled, Dear," Dominique said as she stood at the threshold to the room, a quick glance was cast toward Mauve, "there are other survivors. Now we'll have a proper investigation cross-referencing testimonies. Delightful." With a sharp smile, she stepped out into the hallway only to find a mouthy Arris Windrun threatening guards to get at Quinn Varanin .

Fan closed and held atop her left forearm, Dominique smirked. "I see we're short on etiquette everywhere today." Well, Arris seemed to have that in hand so Dominique would continue on her way to the other room. Not before fixing all those present in view, of course, to note their faces and conditions. There was going to be a criminal investigation, after all.

Dominique stepped into frame of the other, blood-soaked room. Her eyes scanned the interior, checking every corner before they settled on Decarii Tithe and Annasari . "The Councillors will need to request our assistance, Miss Tithe. No ruling body takes kindly to be abducted even for their own good." Content she'd surveyed the scene thoroughly, the Denonite was pleased to find two guards squeeze through the frame around her. They paused briefly to gawk, but once they were assured of their own safety approached the two women. "But you are correct. It is time to go. I hope you got a good look at whoever -- or whatever -- assaulted you. There seems to be some contention as to the ownership of the assassins."

Aurelian Veruna | Sibylla Abrantes | Cassian Abrantes | Mauve du Vain | Viktor Sylvain | Arcadian | Decarii Tithe | Annasari | Quinn Varanin | Arris Windrun
Velok Brokentusk | Davik Haize​

 

[Aurelian Veruna]

The air in the boardroom felt thick and poisonous, like the lingering fog of a bad decision. Aurelian stood silent amidst the tension, a misplaced statue from some long-lost throne room, simply watching the final unraveling of a farce pretending to be diplomacy. The council squirmed, Arcadian seethed, and Mauve muttered something acidic about morality, as if she'd just discovered it was a cocktail ingredient.

Then the screams started. Real ones. Panic flared outside, blood-soaked voices crying out for help.

Aurelian's gaze flicked to Dominique. Her fan snapped shut with a mechanical finality, and she was already moving toward the hallway, ever the decisive one. Sibylla, too, had turned sharply, alerts flashing across their shared channels. He let them go first, let them lead. After all, what's the point of being royalty if you don't arrive dramatically late?

With a sigh of exasperated elegance, Aurelian followed. His six guards, bearing the plumage and matte black armor of House Veruna's ceremonial protection detail, were already at the hall's threshold, blasters drawn. They stood a wall of composure and deadly intent.

"Step away from the blonde, now," one guard barked, weapon firmly aimed at Arris Windrun . "Final warning."

The mercenary was crouched over the body, that ridiculous energy still radiating off her like she belonged in the wrong kind of opera. The guards were not amused, and neither, now, was Aurelian.

He stepped through the door, finally entering the hall of chaos. Blood smeared the pristine floor. Shattered wall fragments marked where a bounty hunter named Velok Brokentusk had apparently decided architecture was optional. An Echani by the look of her, slumped like a felled statue beneath smeared marble, lips slack. One hand pressed uselessly to her chest.

She had called out a name just before collapsing: "M-Mauv-"

"So, that's what that was," Aurelian murmured. One of the guards turned, their helmet mic modulating their voice to a sharp tone. "She called for Mauve. Was reaching for her before she collapsed."

Aurelian's eyebrow arched delicately, the corners of his mouth twitching in something almost like amusement. "Oh, Mauve," he murmured. "Your fan club is so theatrical. Do you hand out little badges?"

He waved one of his guards aside, then sauntered forward, boots clicking with maddening elegance. He crouched smoothly before the woman, eyeing the blood pattern with studied detachment. Then, as if checking a lapel pin, his sleeve slid back just enough to reveal the thin, gleaming line of a miniature vibroblade, easily concealed and intimate in the way poison is intimate.

It flicked out beneath his palm, angled unseen toward the Echani ( Quinn Varanin ). His free hand gently brushed a stray white-blonde strand from her face. He leaned closer, expression unreadable, and mouthed the words, "Behave." The blade hovered just above her ribs.

Then, louder, and with just the right amount of honeyed venom, Aurelian called back into the conference room. "Mauve, darling! There's a friend of yours bleeding all over the nice floors. Pretty little thing, platinum hair, severe injuries, and quite possibly dying. She's been calling for you with her last breaths, which, I must say, is the kind of loyalty you really can't fake. Touching, really."

Still crouched, eyes locked on Quinn, he cocked his head. "Who is she to you, Mauve?" His voice went razor-thin. "And what is she doing here?"

He turned his head slightly, eyes narrowing down the hallway where Velok had supposedly vanished through a wall. "Cassian, dear," he called back over his shoulder, his tone maddeningly casual, "would you be so kind as to retrieve the one who thought drywall was optional? Big. Furry. Some sort of interior design anarchist. I'm told he's very stabby."

Then, his attention returned to the Echani girl and Mauve du Vain . "But here's the thing," Aurelian continued, his voice still pleasant, but wrapped in implication. "I'm in a generous mood. If someone in this oh-so-honorable delegation," he glanced at Arcadian, "would simply do us all the kindness of finally telling the truth, I'd be delighted to offer this one some actual medical attention."

Thehidden blade pressed a fraction closer, invisible to the others, but Quinn would feel its cold, imminent threat. He spoke the next line softly, to no one but her. "Let's not test how committed Mauve is to reciprocity today, darling."

Sibylla Abrantes | Cassian Abrantes | Dominique Vexx | Arcadian​

 

[Mauve du Vain]

Mauve's feet hurt, glass embedded in the bare soles as she limped across the room. What she saw made her heart stop. Quinn lay slumped, soaked in blood. Arris stood nearby, looking half-chagrined, half-triumphant by the whole situation.

The Zeltron tried to formulate words.

They failed her.

All prior thoughts of the incessant vitriol pouring from the mouths of the others fled. Violet eyes focused on Aurelian Veruna , pupils dilating. They studied his curling black hair, proud chin, and haughty gaze as his lips formed syllables.

"Mauve, darling! There's a friend of yours bleeding all over the nice floors. Pretty little thing, platinum hair, severe injuries, and quite possibly dying. She's been calling for you with her last breaths, which, I must say, is the kind of loyalty you really can't fake. Touching, really."

Fury, blinding and all-consuming tore through Mauve. Adrenaline dumped into her system. She forgot about her injured feet, the terror of the giant Whiphid, the frustration with the councillors, the fear of the Underlord. It all bled away beneath the terror at seeing Quinn, dying, and the surge of rage at the aristocrat's words.

A stunning blast of pheromones washed over the Prince of Parrlay.

Then Mauve crossed the distance between them and slapped him.

In the face.

Or tried to, at least.

Aurelian Veruna

 

[Annasari]

CORPORATE COUNCIL CHAMBERS
CONFERENCE ROOM 2
ALEKIE ISLAND, WIELU
Decarii Tithe | Quinn Varanin | Mauve du Vain | Aurelian Veruna | Dominique Vexx | Sibylla Abrantes

​

Pain did not need to be wholly faked. The adrenaline from the act of harm she had inflcited on herself was already fading - and jagged glass did not a clean wound make. The lines in her face were real enough, but the limp, and clinging to Decarii like a mother her child, was entirely staged. Medics came in, fussed about her, but the senator warned them off with an icy stare.

"Let them see me as I am." Her eyes flickered to Dominque. "An affirmation as to who the intended target was."

With her trusty advisor, they endeavored forward, past the senator of Denon. The threshold gave way to further chaos. A pale gaze flickered between Quinn on the floor, a new armed stranger, the man calling for Mauve - and her instantaneous reaction, the pink woman popping out of the other room to strike. Clearly, whatever madness gnawed at the Echani ran both ways.

Then again, the hybrid glanced towards the pinned woman. Aurelian's questioning prompted something that had escaped her earlier. It should have been clear - in the nose, the chin. She had grown up, no longer a wee child. It felt like an eternity since she had fallen in love with Bastard - longer still that she had supported a plot to steal his sister's crown and place it upon his brow instead.

"I cannot speak to who they are to one another, though they seemed... intimate." Annasari said, ignoring the Mauve's outburst while blood continued to pour down her face. "But the Echani is Princess Quinn Varanin. A Sith, like her mothers, if I'm to judge."

The headlines kept writing themselves.

 

[Aurelian Veruna]

The scent hit him first: jasmine, the perfume of someone who knew how to use chemistry in place of charm. Mauve came at him like a storm wrapped in silk, her bloodied feet silent on the polished stone, her fury palpable. Aurelian had barely finished noting the tremor in her hands when CRACK. The slap landed clean across his cheek.

Time seemed to pause, as if the universe needed a breath. His head jerked slightly with the blow. There was no stagger, no flinch. Just the recoil, his jaw tightening, a slow, unblinking blink, as if he'd just been touched by something far beneath him.

Then came the heat. Anger flared, bright and quick. Behind him, his guards surged forward instinctively, forming a wall between the door and the chaos unfolding. Weapons snapped up. Eyes locked on Mauve, fingers teasing triggers.

But Aurelian didn't order them to shoot. Not yet. Instead, he exhaled once through his nose and smiled. "Oh, Mauve," he said, his voice like a razor.

He turned his wrist just slightly. Enough. The blade pressed against Quinn's abdomen finally kissed the surface, piercing through the ruined fabric, a single bead of blood blooming like a flower just beneath her ribs. His face remained fixed on Mauve, watching her, watching everything unfold. That slap, the smell, the rage: they were all passion. She was growing on him. He hated it.

"He's got a blaster, you know," he said casually, nodding toward the guard behind Mauve's back, his voice now low, close, private. "And I have this…" He gave the vibroblade the faintest twist, enough for Quinn's body to flinch or convulse. Who could tell the difference anymore?

Mauve's fury was a tangible thing now, electric. That pheromone cloud was thick enough to choke a diplomat, but he didn't move away. Instead, he tilted his head, as if trying to study a particularly violent painting.

Then a voice cut through it all. "...The Echani is Princess Quinn Varanin. A Sith, like her mothers, if I'm to judge."

Aurelian blinked. Then he laughed. "Oh, my…" he said, a note of delight coiling through his tone.

He turned his attention back to Quinn. His fingers brushed another blood-matted strand from her temple, and he let out a soft, wistful sigh. "Quinn Varanin," he whispered like a lover saying a name for the first time. "Of the Varanin bloodline. Your family's reputation precedes you, and so do their crimes."

His smile twisted now, growing sharper, crueler. "And now you're here," he said, looking back to Mauve. "Bleeding out in Republic space. With a bounty hunter and a criminal at your side. That's one hell of a press release."

With a flick of his free hand, he grabbed Mauve's forearm, yanking her a step closer to him. Not violently, but not politely either. His eyes burned into hers with a glittering, too-bright intensity. "A Sith Princess in Republic space?" he echoed, his voice lowering to a menacing murmur. "You must be important to her."

He didn't let go. "You really thought you were clever, didn't you? You all did. The bribes, the 'neutrality,' the fleets waiting outside the atmosphere. You drew bounty hunters hereand then screamed 'victim' when the blood spilled on your side of the carpet."

The smell of jasmine still clung to the air, but now it was suffocating. "I am so tired of this charade," he said softly, the blade still pressed against Quinn's stomach, his grip on Mauve's wrist tight enough to pulse. "So. Here are your options, dear." He counted them off with little movements of his fingers.

"One, you keep playing your game. You prattle on about justice and commerce while pretending your blood-soaked shadow war hasn't unraveled every room it touched. We part ways. The council will debate who to trust. Probably in our favor. And while they do?" His smile vanished. "This one," he gestured down to Quinn with the blade, "comes with me. Escorted by the Republic. Maybe she gets help, maybe she doesn't. Who's to say how long she lasts on the way out? She looks so... fragile now."

Then he turned back to Mauve, eyes narrowing. "Or two, you end it. Right here, right now. The First Bank walks away from Wielu. You tell them you are done right now. No more fleets, no more lies. Call up to those ugly lucrehulks and tell them to go home. You deliver the story to your boss however you like, I don't care. Say it was sabotage, us, or a better investment opportunity on the way out. Whatever keeps your boss sleeping at night and you alive. Quinn here goes home with you and gets the care as soon as you make those orders."

And then his voice dropped, lower than it had all day, quieter. But every word weighed like durasteel. "But the caveat is... you will deliver a message for me. You will look him in the eyes and say: The future King of Naboo, King Veruna II, says no one f***s with the Republic."

With that final word, the blade pressed again, deep enough this time to matter. He didn't look down. He just watched Mauve. "Make your choice, darling," he whispered. "And make it count."

Mauve du Vain | Quinn Varanin​

 

[Quinn Varanin]

//: Mauve du Vain //: Arris Windrun //: Aurelian Veruna //:

Whispers. Muffled words. Everything blurred, slipping just out of reach.

She felt the strain from Mauve's emotions and guilt twisted in her chest. She had lost control when the bounty hunter arrived — all she saw was the gun. Knowing the bounty on Mauve's head, she just reacted.

Why didn't she think it through? She didn't know — she just struck. That wasn't her, not like this.

Suddenly, a figure was upon her, and she looked through half-lidded eyes.

A shadow loomed over her. The shape was wrong, the smell was wrong, and everything in the crouch screamed danger.

Every instinct screamed, dragging her back to another noble from her past — she'd sworn she'd never let them close again. Quinn's body tensed as she struggled to breathe; her eyes moved to see Mauve slap the man. It had to be the last of his interactions with Quinn.

It wasn't, and it only made it worse.

Pain bloomed — sharp, intimate, nothing like the gunshot. Worse, his voice followed, dripping mockery. All of his words were suddenly audible, and the Echani's rage began to burn. She looked at him while he pushed his pathetic excuse for a weapon into her.

How dare he? He was a coward. This King of Naboo is a coward.

In an instant, the force swelled, and the blade that lay at her side shot into her hand. In a fluid and swift motion, as he was distracted, Quinn pressed the tip of the emitter at his stomach. She pushed the button and the brilliant yellow blade ignited.

The Princess smiled through it all. She savored the strike against the foolish King.

"No." Quinn spoke through the pain, "The Future Empress of the Sith Empire, Darth Iraedeus, says f**k the Republic and their dead King of Naboo."

 

[Sibylla Abrantes]

​

O B J E C T I V E - 1
W I E L U

Interacting with: Aurelian Veruna Cassian Abrantes @Mauve Viktor Sylvain Arcadian Dominique Vexx
Nearby: Velok Brokentusk Decarii Tithe Annasari

I don't know, you tell me. Nothing's wrong outside but your security won't let me in.

-Haize.

Also, they were sleeping on the job.

Nothing wrong outside? But security won't let him in? Confusion lined Sibylla's thoughts as they exited the conference room, but what came next would pause the message she had been typing back as the scent of blood filled the corridor.

House Veruna guards were already at full alert with weapons raised at two figures. They were a barrier of bodies that stood between the fallen Echani girl and the strange blonde crouched beside her, but even then, Sibylla could see the smear of crimson blood that coated the wall, and as she followed it down, her breath caught at the sight of the red pool beneath the woman sprawled against the wall. She had pale skin, platinum hair, and was coated in blood.

And still, Aurelian teased, having knelt forward in front of the woman, now blocking her from the view of others and doing what he did best, turning tragedy into theater. Taunting the Zeltron from Nar Shaddaa like this was some staged provocation. Taking in the attention and distractions to get a rise out of the Zeltron, no doubt.

It was a way to provoke change on the Dejarik board. What Aurelian knew what to do.

However, Sibylla had no time for it. While she would provide her support, she knew things were at a point where they needed to not only offer pressure to make their case, but not so much that the entire situation could tip over. Already, councilors had begun filing out of the first conference chamber, faces pale, expressions horrified. One gasped as they caught sight of the blood. Another froze entirely.

"Does she know her?" someone whispered regarding the taunts to Mauve and the seemingly unconscious bloody woman, "Are we in danger? Is she still alive?"

The questions stacked in the air. Questions that they had no time to answer as tension kept growing by the second.

They had to get a handle on things.

So, Sibylla forced her voice to stay calm and spoke to the remaining council members and the Direx Board mediator.

"We'll get to the bottom of this, I assure you. But it's best we continue toward a secured area."

She turned, ushering the other councilors away with a gentle sweep of her arm.

"Guard the council," she ordered two of the Veruna sentries, then scanned the chaos for Cassian Abrantes , because if one bounty hunter had made it through, the other he had identified might be waiting, not having realized that Arris Windrun had moved close to Quinn and was threatened by the guards to stay away from the injured blonde.

That was the moment the slap rang out, cracking like a blaster shot through the corridor.

Sibylla immediately spun, eyes widening as she saw Aurelian recoil slightly from the blow and Mauve, all fury and pheromones bleeding out and affecting those around her, causing a distinct, confusing sensation of both aggravation and heat.

The guards surged forward, hands twitching toward their triggers in response, also affected by the pheromones and rage, but their training at least was able to discern the singular word that cut like a blade through that fog.

"Hold!"

Sibylla's voice firmly rang out, moving to step closer to plant herself in the space between danger and disaster, knowing full well that it was time for her to level that temperance she had said she would offer Aurelian when needed. It seemed he must have also thought the same, for he didn't order the guards to fire -- Sibylla not realizing he had done so to place him close enough to Mauve for what he'd say only to her ears next.

"Stand down," Sibylla said again, her voice lower this time, doing her best to try and figure out what was going on that made her feel all the more irritated at Aurelian and at the situation at hand, while forcing herself to state as calmly as possible, unaware that it had been the cloud of phermones and rage radiating from Mauve hitting her when she drew closer.

"Not here. We will not escalate matters unless absolutely necessary," Sibylla added, steel starting to thread in her voice, turning towards the sound of approaching Wielu guards.

Finally, some additional assistance had arrived. And from the look of it, a medic as well from her earlier request when Mauve had stumbled in bloody.

"Good. We need to secure the perimeter. Inspect the injured woman for any weapons, then provide her first aid." Sibylla added, trying to do her best to keep things calm.

All the while, she hadn't heard Aurelian's whispered ultimatum to Mauve after grabbing her. She didn't know that they were dancing a step ahead of her on a knife's edge on options for the Bank of Nar Shaddaa to leave or stay; all she knew was that Mauve, official or not, had struck a senator.

It was then that the staggering, bloody figure of Senator Annasari and Decarii Tithe came stumbling from the second conference room. And with their arrival came the knowledge that the injured woman lying in a pool of her blood was none other than the Echani Princess Quinn Varanin . A Sith.

This was getting out of hand. While Sibylla had been trying to figure out her own mind regarding the Sith in the wake of recent events with Set and Vere and all that tangled between, it seemed that now she was going to have to deal with it front and center.

And while the High Republic did not persecute an individual for practicing their Sith religion within High Republic space, as confirmed by now High Chancellor Kalantha during her debate, as soon as a Sith conducted themselves in a way that would risk the lives and freedom of Republic citizens, then the Republic had to act.

And now the optics of a Zeltron representative of Nar Shaddaa Bank slapping a Naboo Prince in front of half the council, Republic representatives, a Direx Board Mediator, along with the questionable presence of an injured Sith Princess, a dead council Wielu council member, and active bounty hunters mixed into the fray... they wouldn't survive the night in the press.

While it had to be investigated, one would have to be an idiot to see that this had all been a way for the Bank of Nar Shadda to try and grab Wielu into their hold by force one way or another -- and Sibylla would not stand for it.

"But we will not ignore attacks against elected officials of the High Repub--" Sibylla added, steel threading her voice, only to be cut off at the distinct, sharp snaphiss sound. It was a sound she had heard before, back when breaking into the underground tunnels at Dee'ja Peak during the Mandalorian attack and Lysander von Ascania had ignited his saber to cut through the durasteel grate.

No...

Sibylla swung her head around to see the lightsaber hilt wrapped around Quinn's bloody hand and shoved against Aurelian's stomach, seeing the twisted, tragic, regal, and cruel curving smile curve over Quinn's lips as she painfully declared loud enough for the room to hear plainly:

"No." Quinn spoke through the pain, "The Future Empress of the Sith Empire, Darth Iraedeus, says f**k the Republic and their dead King of Naboo."

For the first time that day, Sibylla ran.

"Guards -- !"

One of them surged ahead, moving to shield Aurelian. Sibylla reached for him, too, hand outstretched to grab him.

"Aurelian!" She called out, eyes wide in searching to see if he was okay. Behind them, others moved in tandem, trying to disarm the Echani before she could strike again.

Because this wasn't a rogue act anymore.

This was an assassination attempt on a High Republic Senator. In the middle of a diplomatic negotiation. Following a comms blackout. A councilor's murder. And now, a Sith Princess declaring war.

Sibylla's face hardened, and whatever softness had been in her gaze before was gone now, burned clean by fury and cold, explicit intent.

"Arrest that woman," she ordered sharply, her voice echoing as it cut through the chaos like a vibroblade.

"For the attempted murder of Senator Veruna." She ordered, her breath hitching in her chest. Not because of the words. Not even the violence. But because somewhere, deep down, she'd known.

From the moment the chaos started. From the moment comms were jammed. From the moment people started dying. This had never been a negotiation.

This had been a trap.

x | x | x | x | x | x
​

 

[Mauve du Vain]

The slap did little but get Aurelian's blood up. She could feel his cruelness a crimson glow to her eyes, the emotion swirling about him along with the yellows of pleasure. He enjoyed this, this future King. She let out a whimper, one hand brushing across her wrist, activating the shield generator of her bracelet.

His words fell against her like a physical force, a tidal wave that went on and on and on full of demands and barbs and threats and veiled cruelty. Her own blood pounded, a roaring in hear eardrums.

Then, a snap-hiss, drawing the attention of all. Mauve stumbled away as Quinn's lightsaber sprang to life in her hand.

The Zeltron's stumbling footsteps carried her with intention into Arris. One hand steadied herself on the cyborg's arm and she looked up into those eyes, knowing her own face looked a mess of bleeding mascara and crimson ichor. But Arris was a titan, even if she did not look it. Mauve had seen her fight in the arena, knew the horrific violence she was capable of, and her hand trembled on that cyborg’s arm. They couldn’t just stand there.

The guards surged forward, hands twitching toward their triggers in response, also affected by the pheromones and rage,

Most people thought pheromones could only create lust.

Not so.

The smell of jasmine became so strong that it blotted out all other scents in the room. A rich, overpowering, cloying stench that filled the nostrils in a pheromonal wash so strong that even the most stalwart being would be momentarily stunned with a sudden and horrific sadness. A pang so deep as to smote them to their core.

Sibylla's face hardened, and whatever softness had been in her gaze before was gone now, burned clean by fury and cold, explicit intent.

"Arrest that woman," she ordered sharply, her voice echoing as it cut through the chaos like a vibroblade.

The Abrantes woman was calling for Quinn’s arrest. Everything was chaos. Republic guards were shuffling forward, so were “Bank” security details.

The fingers of Mauve’s other hand found Arris' second holster, wrapping around the butt of the Tenloss Ambassador holstered there.

Through her teeth she spat venom.

"Arris. Kill them all."

Then the woman spun around, back to back with Arris, leveled the revolver at Sibylla Abrantes , and pulled the trigger.

CRACK.

Sibylla Abrantes Quinn Varanin Aurelian Veruna Arris Windrun Decarii Tithe Annasari Dominique Vexx Arcadian Rojuhr Pouihl

 

[Arris Windrun]

Arris held her gun steady as more bodies poured into the room.

Guards and nobles brandished weapons and barked orders as cyber eyes scanned the room so that her co-processor could mark 'em all. It was that snake, Aurelian Veruna , that drew her ire most. The way he paraded and skulked at the same time--it was uncanny and very shootable, or so the cyborg thought.

Then, the princess ignited her weapon, and Mauve reached for the untouched twin in Arris's other holster.

"Arris. Kill them all."

It was all the Kaggath finalist needed to hear.

An implant pumped her system full of stimulants and other hormones, and she leveled her gun across one head, then another, passing each without pulling the trigger. She heard the shot from behind her and felt the concussive force recoil through the Zeltron's body into hers, as Mauve fired at Sibylla Abrantes with every intent to kill.

The end of Arris's barrel passed a third target before finally pointing at the skull of the future king.

She slowly squeezed the trigger but adjusted her aim at the last second to fire just past his ear and into the head of a guard just behind him. The energy-wrapped slug fired close enough to burn Aurelian's ear on the pass unless he managed his way out of it.

Quinn Varanin | Mauve du Vain | Sibylla Abrantes | Aurelian Veruna | Decarii Tithe | Annasari | Dominique Vexx | Arcadian | Rojuhr Pouihl

 

[Decarii Tithe]

CONFERENCE ROOM #2
CORPORATE COUNCIL, WIELU

Annasari | Aurelian Veruna | Sibylla Abrantes | Dominique Vexx | Davik Haize
Mauve du Vain | Quinn Varanin | Arris Windrun

The retinue of High Republic representatives joined Decarii and Annasari in the battle-scarred conference room, finding the two women bloodied from the attack. Neither felt it necessary to explain that the Senator’s wounds were self-inflicted. Senator Vexx made one of the most astute observations of the negotiations, noting that it was high time the delegation departed Wielu, lest they he trapped by the Black Sun fleet in orbit overhead.

And then the impossible happened. The situation between the High Republic and First Bank of Nar Shaddaa deteriorated further.

Quickly.

Within moments, the Zeltron representative of the First Bank slapped Prince Veruna, Prince Veruna held a blade to the blonde First Bank representative, and the Zelton pulled a blast on Ambassador Abrantes. The tension was palpable as protection officers from both sides trained their blasters on each other, awaiting an order to fire. What had started as a peaceful negotiation over the financing of a resort world teetered on the edge of becoming a blood bath.

In the middle of it all, Senator Vahl dropped a bombshell, identifying the blonde First Bank representative as Princess Quinn Varanin of the Sith Order. Varanin, far from hiding her identity, announced that she was heir to the throne of the Sith Order.

Decarii’s mind was already turning over the headlines: ‘Naboo King attacked by Sith Princess’, ’Negotiators on Wielu killed by Black Sun funded Sith assassins’, ‘Black Sun allies with Sith to overthrow democratic government’. However, they spun it, whatever reputation the First Bank of Nar Shaddaa had would be tainted irretrievably. The High Republic had travelled here under the protection of diplomatic immunity, and while Black Sun likely cared little for such conventions, that still carried weight throughout the wider galaxy.

The High Republic representatives just needed to make it out alive to spin their story. The chrono was ticking.

With the number of blasters being pointed, the unarmed Aargauun could do little to deescalate the situation. Annasari’s bleeding was getting worse, and while the injury had been self-inflicted, the danger it posed was no less real.

“Alright, we’re good ma’am, we’re good, still standing. But we’ve got to get the kark out of here,” Decarii declared, flowing backing away from the standoff as she held up the injured Senator. “I don’t need to be a Jedi to see that not everyone is walking away from this, no way. And me, I’m not dying for some holiday resort CEOs, you hear me.”

I get the feeling not everyone is going to be walking away alive from this, and I don’t intend to be on that list.”

Decarii activated her comm and opened a channel to Davik Haize . “I hope you brought some heat,” she told the pilot. “Things have gone to kark. Bounty hunters, lightsabers, the whole deal. Keep your boosters warm, we’re coming to you.”

“Senator, our ride is here,” she explained Dominique, motioning toward the door as she passed the Senator for Denon. “At least one of us needs to get away. We need to tell our story, tell the galaxy what happened here.”

 

[Davik Haize]

Someone had radioed the sergeant requesting backup, and a dozen boots hammered the duracrete as the squad charged toward the building under the barking orders of the veteran.

“We’re being called to reinforce inside. You stay put, kid.” a finger jabbed Davik’s chest, and he watched them go before his gaze drifted to the Duchess: his treasured ship, inherited from his old mentor Waylon of Arkanis, lay battered on the landing platform, ghostly ribbons of smoke wafting from its engines, and this time beyond repair. He hoped she had one last flight in her.

Suddenly, an ethereal wind brushed his hair, skin, and soul. His heart skipped a beat, and blue eyes opened wide.

Danger.

The Force yanked his head around back to the building and pulled him into a run after the security detail. He could feel his dead mentor’s residual presence lingering about as his feet moved before his mind could catch up.

“I thought I told you to stay there! Hey!!” the sergeant’s voice echoed across the halls as Haize passed the soldiers in a force-enhanced blur.

Comms beeped.
​

Decarii activated her comm and opened a channel to Davik Haize. "I hope you brought some heat," she told the pilot. "Things have gone to kark. Bounty hunters, lightsabers, the whole deal. Keep your boosters warm, we're coming to you."​

He didn’t reply, only forwarded the message to his trusted droid - Skip - aboard the Duchess. A moment later, the Warden of the Sky could hear the muted hum of engines kickstart to life in the distance. One last time.

The psychic black hole that pulled his mind and body forward opened itself into the form of a hallway, mirred with sentients locked in a lethal scuffle: guards, dignitaries, enforcers, Kings, Queens, a hot Zeltron woman, a hot Sith Princess, a beast running through a wall in a hurry to the bathroom – the Force was pouring in the details, alas through the benighted lens of the raven-haired Warden.

A barrel spun.

A hammer clicked.

A trigger spring creaked.

CRACK.

A rugged, tattered form, bearing a worn, bloodied leather jacket over a shabby, grey jumpsuit, slid across the crimson-stained floor right in front of a woman with chestnut locks ( Sibylla Abrantes ); arms formed into a cross over his chest, shimmering with a translucent barrier. Without the deep understanding and training of the Force that the Jedi possessed, his last-ditch telekinetic barrier would simply either divert the round slightly to a less lethal part of his body or decrease its velocity, but only by a little.

That was, of course, if he arrived on time to meet the shot at all.​

Aurelian Veruna Cassian Abrantes Mauve du Vain Viktor Sylvain Arcadian Dominique Vexx Velok Brokentusk Decarii Tithe Annasari

 

[Cassian Abrantes]

OBJ:1
Dominique Vexx Decarii Tithe Annasari

The bounty hunter would be let go for the day. There were much more pressing matters going on, and evacuations that needed to take place. There was little time. The blade for blade exchange that happened between Quinn Varanin and Aurelian Veruna

And thus the move against Sibylla Abrantes by the Mauve du Vain

Cassian reacted as quickly as he could, he couldn't reach her in time. His blade could though, Cassian brandishing a blade and throwing it forward in spinning fashion intending to knock the weapon from her hand before she could fire.

No matter what happened now, he moved forward. Chivalry at this point be damned. The woman just launched an attack against a Republic representative and his sister no less. He closed the distance and would use his size to knock her down and brandish his blaster and his secondary blade upon her.

"No more warnings." Cassian delivering his line with cold in his heart. If they made another move, he would attempt to end them.

 

[Dominique Vexx]

Dominique's golden rings peered at Annasari without the Senator turning her head to track the woman's movements. A smile teased at the corners of her lips, but no words were shared between them. In a hurry, was she? The pain, obviously. Such terrible pain she needed people to witness just how much pain she was in. Well, she wasn't a Jedi, and those of Nar Shaddaa should get a kick out of it if they ever figured it out.

Which left the Denonite alone in the chamber of ill-repute with two guards. Dominique stepped forward without bothering to ask for permission. They turned and made some kind of strangled complaint, but the white-wrapped Senator rounded one end of the table and stopped to admire the view.

Not so much as admire as push down the shudder and desire to step back. One of the guards spoke again. Nearer this time. No doubt he'd followed her deeper into the conference room. She took the opportunity to turn away for a moment and regard the thin, but developed specimen. "Director Vexx of Denon. I think you'll find I have a Level Two clearance in these matters." In a different jurisdiction. "However, if you happen to have a pair of gloves I would appreciate your assistance." As if it were optional. They could very well eject her from the room.

Honestly, it didn't really appear she would need gloves. As she turned back to the scene, she took it in again. A headless body. A displaced round appendage. Yes, it was quite clear how he'd died though not precisely what had caused it. After she drew in a breath, Dominique strode forward and stopped several feet short of the body, and inches from the blood splatter. "Jagged. Not a blade or lightsaber," she notated aloud. "No other signs of penetration." So the head being missing wasn't a red herring.

She turned and pointed to the head. "Could you examine the deceased and describe what you see?" The Denonite would follow at a distance mindful of the crime scene, but aware the further she waded in alone the more 'questions' could be raised. Better Wielu's own participated.

What he described was... unpleasant. "Despite the blood and tissue damage, then, there doesn't appear to be signs of blunt, physical trauma sufficient to decapitate the Councillor," she narrated the findings once more. "Minimal scorch marks. No signs of cellular rupturing. A sonic weapon of some kind then. Likely single volley. From a crouching position given the crease at the Councillor's knee. Assailant," Dominique turned to face the way they'd come, "stood at or near the door."

The floor and walls were swept visually. It would take time to divine how many bodies, of which height, and where they might have stood given the distribution of blood. Time one of her analysts skilled at such reconstruction would perform. A Director could hardly be expected to do everyone's job.

A sudden hum rose from Dominique as she'd been turning to surveil the interior of the room. "Naughty dog," she breathed, bemused at something only she could see.

There wasn't time to crow about it, however, as Sibylla Abrantes 's voice rang out clearly through the open door. Forced to take the first few steps slowly to untangle herself from the crime scene, the Director darted toward the door where the other guard gawked.

Her manicured fingers did a short danced atop her left forearm as Dominique stepped out into the hallway.

EMERGENCY. REPUBLIC DELEGATION ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT. EMERGENCY. EXTRACT. EMERGENCY.​

The precise location was included in the message and broadcast in the open on multiple emergency frequencies.

Dominique's countenance darkened. Yes, they should have let her bring CorpSec into the proceedings. "Breach."

An ear-splitting roar filled the hallway in every direction as the ceiling just down the way erupted onto the floor. Through the newly formed hole shone light from Wielu's resplendent sun. And from it descended the Host of Heaven, or the Deprave of Hell depending on your point of view: CorpSec Special Forces.

"Secure and extract," Dominique hissed into the commlink. Now wasn't the time to mercilessly annihilate everyone as the First Bank delegation seemed inclined toward. Tempting as it was. Dominique didn't need Sibylla Abrantes and Aurelian Veruna killed while everyone just tried to murder one another. She needed them alive. Priorities.

CorpSec would spread and advance quickly with smoke grenades tossed since the hostile forces already had weapons drawn. Their job was to get in, literally grab the VIPs, and get out. Anyone or anything pointing a weapon at them got shot or shot at. Anyone standing in their way got pushed down and to the side -- or shot. Anyone that so much as looked at them funny... well, they weren't monsters.

Sibylla Abrantes | Aurelian Veruna | Annasari | Decarii Tithe | Rojuhr Pouihl | Cassian Abrantes | Davik Haize
Quinn Varanin | Arcadian | Arris Windrun | Mauve du Vain​