Under 12 Parsecs [SSC Dominion of Kessel Hex]

[Barinthus E'ron]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E99o5swHUH0​

Enemies: Kessel Pirates
Allies: [member="Rasu Gan"] [member="Coci Heavenshield"] [member="Thurion Heavenshield"] [member="Connor Harrison"] [member="Théodred Heavenshield"] [member="Setzi Lunelle"]
20/38

There was a small look on his face when they were surrounded, the thrill and excitement that might come from a fight was there along with that natural rush saying it was the way to go about it when he was moving. Staying close to his master but using his speed and the lighter weight robes that had been developed for them. he could feel the force energies being radiated off of the force with him while he looked at them. The others were moving to battle them before she moved quickly with his attention on some of the bigger things. Hand coming up to pull at one of the blasters when it was pointed at him while he turned it around in his hand letting it spin for a moment before tossing it back at another pirates knees. The smacking sound with a pop before he came down firing off a shot that struck the robe and the work that was being done from it let the energy boil off across the surface of it. He was staying at it seeing the work from his master jumped into the fray for the duel and he moved to stay with her. They could clear things out pushing the force into a small blast at the ground to propel himself upwards while he kicked one of the pirates under the chin when he came down gripping and staying with his master in his line of sight but also expanding outwards to give some moments before he landed on a crate letting his saber slid to his palm as he pressed the activation stud with a snap hiss and the cyan colored blade came out deflecting a shot back at a pirate while he was drawing attention and covering the slaves his master was workign to help escape.

 

[Cathbodua]

Medical Works
21/38

There was more to do, she hadn't gotten a big chunk for herself over it all but it was providing her a few ideas when she brought out the cube. Medical tents and envirosuits for the sickness so they could be protected. She had her bodysuit to protect herself. She was directing the ones around with some medical droids and the hushed caskets designed to treat them so they could transport them on the shuttles up to a hospital ship and station. She could better work with them there where the field injectors and packs wee analyzing the sickness and sending the data to them to start synthesizing a cure or best a treatment to lessen the symptoms that were being felt so they could start to produce more in the labs.

 

[Coci Heavenshield]

Kessel Sector
On Ground - Landing Pad

Objective 1 ~ 'Into the Hornet's Nest'

[member="Thurion Heavenshield"] | [member="Connor Harrison"] | [member="Rasu Gan"] | [member="Barinthus E`ron"] | [member="Setzi Lunelle"]

(13)

Extinguishing her saber and clipping it to her belt, Coci drew the force around her, the sight and sound of her presence vanished in an instant and the cloak of concealment wrapped around her body. A shimmer of light the last of the application before completed. Within the force, she moved along the corridor with no need to search through the force to find her target, the smell was enough to guide her. A dank smell coupled with that of fear, as voices shouted and echoed along the walls. A door opened behind her, a man began to run in her direction only to pass her by, she is unseen and unmoved. He is not her target, the Rangers and Jedi will see to him soon enough. The facility is large, below in the depths are the chambers in which the 'workers' are kept when not pushed to work underground. The dank smell originates from there, waste of beings left to rot and fester along with those that are give such quarters to sleep and eat. The thought of it enough to push her forward, enough to make her blood boil with the injustice and someone would pay for such cruelty.

On the other side of the arched entrance is the Hutt, laying king on it's platform with subservient guards to protect him. Pushing away her distractions, her emotions even reducing the force bond with Thurion to a minimum, Coci enters a state of Shadow. Old instincts never fair from the surface of her being strengthen her resolve, strengthen her purpose and her body. An illusion of herself steps forward, enters the room before the Hutt and introduces herself as a representative of the Silver Sanctum. 'Master Heavenshield', asks for an audience with his highness to plea for the lives of the slaves. She stands resolute in her authority, which is met with disdain and laughter from the Hutt and his guards. All the while, Coci moves up behind the platform, behind the Hutt with saber prone in her palm of her hand.

'Master Heavenshield' speaks once more, "If you do not release the slaves to the Silver Sanctum Coalition, you leave me no choice Your Highness". The Hutt's droid interprets, "His Royal Exulted One, will not barter with Jedi nor permit you to arrest him".

"Then talks have concluded", as the barrels of rifles aimed at the Jedi Masters illusion. A simple wave of the hand from the Hutt and the guards open fire, at precisely this moment Coci ignited her saber, the blue blade biting into the flesh of the Hutt right behind the nape of his neck. The Hutt's body jerked and quivered with the spasms of death and Coci did not relent until the movement stopped. The illusion of the Jedi Master, had taken the saber and fought but eventually cut down in front of them, however, a guard looked to his master realising him dead.

"Assassin!", came the cry, but it was too late. The Silver Shadow had left.

 

[Thurion Heavenshield]

Objective: 1 - 'Into the Hornet's Nest'
Location: Spice Mine of the Kessel Facility
Allies: [member="Coci Heavenshield"] | [member="Connor Harrison"] | [member="Rasu Gan"] | [member="Setzi Lunelle"] | [member="Barinthus E`ron"]
Post: 6

Chaos erupted inside the barely lit mine as guards tried their damndest to pacify the innumerable slave population now rising from the dirt and shattering their chains. What had seemed so hopeless but an hour ago was now within their grasp as hope had been rekindled in their hearts. Meanwhile Thurion made every effort to make sure the guards were focused on him and not the escaping workers by engaging them up close, the blue blade of his lightsaber barely visible due to the speed at which it worked. If even one of these people were killed during their escape, Thurion would not find it in him to forgive himself.

As a large group of slaves passed him by, Thurion shouted for them to follow the light and make for the exit, only to be told a family were being held at gunpoint further down the mine. With both Rasu and her padawan busy doing their own thing, the Grandmaster leaped down the deep chasm until reaching the bottom, letting his use of the Force break his fall. Conveniently appearing behind the guards currently pointing their blasters at the defenseless family of five, Thurion tapped the closest on the shoulder only to ram his fist into his face as he turned around, knocking him to the floor. While one of the two remaining guards shifted his focus towards the Jedi, the other found it more of a priority to open fire on the family.

Before he could let a shot off, however, the man would find that he was now missing both his hands and instead began shrieking in pain before being Force pushed into his friend, knocking them both out. "Thank you, thank you," the family rushed to grovel at Thurion's feet, clutching at his trousers. "No need for that. You're safe now," he told them as he raised the mother of the group to her feet, soon joined by her four children of varying ages. "Thank you," she let out again before practically throwing herself at him in a hasty embrace. Looking over the woman's shoulder he glanced at the children, two boys and two girls. All four of them younger than his own, and yet they'd been forced to labour away for Gods know how long.

"Come with me, we're getting everyone out of here," he said before taking the two youngest into his arms and carrying them like there were nothing, malnourished and not an inch free of dirt. The two older children held their mother's hands as all of them moved together, with Thurion taking the lead. "Rasu! Barinthus! Escort the workers to the surface and get them to safety," he called out to them, believing the vast majority of the guards to have been taken out by now.

 

[Connor Harrison]

Objective: ‘Into The Hornet’s Nest’
Location: Kessel Facility Runway
Allies Involved: [member="Setzi Lunelle"] | [member="Théodred Heavenshield"] | [member="Thurion Heavenshield"] | [member="Coci Heavenshield"] | [member="Rasu Gan"] | [member="Barinthus E`ron"] | All Silver Sanctum
Allies Involved: Kessel Pirates & Crime Lords
Post: #10 / 35

Helping Théo to his feet, Connor laughed and patted him on the back.

”Deal. But somehow I don't think your mother will believe you, but I'm all for trying.”

He warmed to the Heavenshield youth. This was the first time he'd really spent with him in battle, and passing him now and then during their time on Voss was all well and good, but he and the family had strong roots going back decades, and so seeing the son of his friends in action was nice.

As the ragged looking slaves were helped away from the facility towards the Silver Swords and their waiting gunship, the sound of blaster fire and shouts caught Connor's ear coming from inside the facility. Coci....Setzi...! He turned to Théo, determination on his face.

”We've got to get them out!” He glanced to two armed Rangers standing by. ”You two come with us, the rest of you get these slaves out and lock down the runway! And make sure Thurion is safe!”

Connor was already breaking into a run towards the nearest cargo door of the facility where shipments came in and out, hearing the fire from inside which, due to the complex build of the facility, seemed to echo around the walls and come from all areas. Connor glanced up at the high windows and domed roof, smoke billowing from inside, looking for a clue as to what was going on.

”Come on, where are you,” he muttered to himself.

It felt like the final attempt to cut down the Sanctum had begun from a desperate group of criminals now holding down the facility as best they could. The Sanctum were close...so close....

 

[Sorel Crieff]

Sorel smiled at Joza. “You took the lead and we made sure we backed you up. What’s to apologise for? It worked and we have given them plenty to think about.”

She then turned to Orihime. “And your point was entirely valid. It’s should be something that they should want to side with us over.”

Finally, looking at them both, “And I couldn’t add anything to what you said, so we’re in as good a place as we could be for sure.”

She tagged along as they walked further into the city and entered a market district. Sorel glanced at the various stalls and shops. She rarely bought anything other than food if away from her ship, but still enjoyed looking around. It gave her a unique insight into a planet’s culture. And also a view on trade. What was expensive? What was plentiful? And how did locals react to strangers. Either fruit was a luxury commodity or humans were considered ripe for over-paying for produce.

[member="Joza Perl"] [member="Orihime Ike"]

 

[Coci Heavenshield]

Kessel Sector
On Ground - Landing Pad

Objective 1 ~ 'Into the Hornet's Nest'

| [member="Thurion Heavenshield"] | [member="Connor Harrison"] | [member="Rasu Gan"] | [member="Barinthus E`ron"] |

(14)

With their leader dead, the slavers began to run out of the facility only to find themselves in custody as the Rangers waited for them outside. On her command, a unit of Rangers moved into the facility and began to sweep the place, locating any hiding slavers and guards, in some cases liberated more slaves pent up in back rooms there for the pleasure their lord. Coci was heading for the back of the facility when she felt Connor and Théo through the force, they close and looking for her. Turning about, she uncloaked and found them soon enough. "Looking for me?", she asked with a small smile.

"Great job with the 'distraction', it worked a ..", she saw Théo's injured leg. "What happened to you my son?", she stood before him looking him over from head to toe. "Oh errr... I got in the way of the rifle bolt", he raised his hand to rub the back of his neck feeling a little awkward at the attention. Coci kneed down in front of the son's leg to examine the wound more carefully, "Who did the patch up job?", she looked at Connor stand close by with a smile, she knew the handy work enough. "Thank you Master Harrison, you took care of my boy". Naturally, Coci is very much aware of the dangers each and every time Théo and Nina walk out the front door of the Temple and it is inevitable that they will be injured in the line of duty.

Théo looked between his mother and Master Harrison, there was an unspoken message in the look, whether it was old friends able to communicate thoughts to each other or no, there is history there that will not be denied. I am afraid .. negotiations .. failed. Coci informed her fellow Shadow, and knew he would understand the message.

"Come on you two, there is still work to do and, I want to make sure your father is fine". Coci placed a hand on the shoulders of her son and Connor, a gentle caring squeeze for them both.

Coci and Théo out...

 

[Connor Harrison]

Objective: ‘Into The Hornet’s Nest’
Location: Secure The Kessel Facility
Allies Involved: [member="Setzi Lunelle"] | [member="Théodred Heavenshield"] | [member="Thurion Heavenshield"] | [member="Coci Heavenshield"] | [member="Rasu Gan"] | [member="Barinthus E`ron"] | All Silver Sanctum
Allies Involved: Kessel Pirates & Crime Lords
Post: #11 / 35

Skidding to a halt, Coci appeared out of nowhere at exactly the right time - more strength to the group pushing the crime lords into submission. Catching his breath, smiling like the Rogue he was at the concern of the mother and the awkwardness of the son.

”Glad you're safe, Coci. I'm sure we will tidy things up and leave no loose ends.”

The group started to walk from the facility as the Rangers moved in, and another two gunships flew by overhead.

”Both landing pads and the runway are out of action for us to take back, and the outer perimeter is secure. I assume things inside are...soon to be secure. And it's not like the Bearded One never to need our help.”

With a smile, he carried on towards the rest of their objective, and it felt good to be back in the company of those he once called "family", and hopefully would do again.

CONNOR FIN

 

[Naamah Aesham]

(18)


There was nothing remarkable about the bar. Indeed, it was conspicuous due to its mundanity. One of the many dives that infested the unrepentantly seedy spaceport on the planet Fwillsving. The lowest common denominator congregated here. The dregs of society. Down on their luck smugglers, pirates, spice dealers, never-do-wells and various misc. low lives who would be uncomfortable with clean glasses and bright lights. This place was perfect for them because it provided the company of kindred spirits.


The lighting was haphazard, the bartender's scowl was so deeply imprinted upon her face that it might as well be part of her uniform and she made no effort to hide her mechanical hand, the blaster pistol on her hip or the scattergun hidden beneath the counter. The music band was forgettable and the Twi'lek dancers were cute but probably would not live to see their thirtieth birthday. At least one of them consumed too much spice and had probably ended up in this profession to pay her dealer. The air was rank with spice and the smell of despair. There were still bloodstains on the floor from the last bar fight.


Naamah sat in a corner of the room, sipping her drink. As usual she was alone. Her booth was on the far end of the room and away from any windows. A bit away from her, Garhoon were plotting something heinous and cliched. It probably had something to do with drinking from virgins since for some reason vampires were obsessed with that. Maybe she'd kill them later on. Setting them on fire sounded like a good idea. A smuggler was trying to impress a potential client by bragging about how fast his ship was. Spice dealers were trying to make a killing by selling their wares since it was likely that the Kessel mines would be closed. Ergo prices would soar, for now. Doubtless other syndicates would pick up the demand. Who knew, maybe an enterprising alchemist would create a new drug and put it on the market.


Indifference wrapped itself around her heart, feeling as tight as chains. Sooner or later, you're going to get yourself killed, the inner voice told her. It was not enough to break the chains. But maybe that's what you want, right? No...I'm just not fussy either way, she shut the voice out. Her eyes narrowed slightly when she saw two vampires disappear, heading towards the backdoor. Her hand reached down to the seam of her pants, confirming that her lightsabre was still hidden and ready to put to use. Then she got up and slowly followed them out.


FIN

 

[Enyo Typhos]

(19)
[member="Valiens Nantaris"]


The battle was over. All in all, it had not been much of one. The slavers and their minions had been in disarray. Truly, the Plague had decimated their numbers as well, so this was no surprise. The onslaught of Archangel HRDs had done the rest and broken them.


Enyo watched the procession of freed slaves and capture guards as they filed out of the mine. She had taken off her helmet because it made her feel claustophobic, but kept the breath mask on. The air of Kessel was too foul to breathe freely. One of the many reasons why living on this husk was so miserable. Her armour was coated in blood, though thankfully that of her enemies'.


Her hand was scorched and sore from the lightning she'd unleashed upon them. It had felt...good. She spared the slavers a contemptuous, hate-filled look. "They're scum. Monsters," she said coldly. "Will they be processed as well?"


"Yes, but not like the Plague victims. We will correct all deviant thoughts in their minds. They will be given the Upgrade and be the better for it. They will serve Archangel as long as they are functional."


"Redeem them by turning them into drones, huh? Kill the sin, correct the sinner." Elpsis said thoughtfully, turning away from the somewhat macabre procession. "They don't even count as sentient beings with rights. They deserve it. It is for the greater good."


Many a tyrant and war criminal had justified their acts with that simple phrase. Dropships were waiting to load up the human cargo. In space, far away from Kessel, Archangel's stealth factory ship awaited them. Soon the evacuation was complete, but Archangel would continue to operate an enclave to help the downtrodden. After all, the group was devoted to aiding the less fortunate and taking out the Hutts would not magically cure the darkside rabies that were plaguing the common people.

FIN

 

[Ria Misrani]

Location: In Some Drekked Out Hole / On Rotting Fething Kessel...
Allies: [member="Audren Sykes"], [member="Nima Tann"], [member="Taiden Keth"] ; 10 Firemane Soldiers, 6 Rangers, 2 Investigators. + Ice
Enemies: Really Dead Poodoo'd Creatures
Objective: Big Trouble in Little Kessel
Post: 6?

[media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AvSKuNpfr0[/media]​

​

When Jedi Sykes had made his decision, Firemane did not hesitate. Ten of Firemane's soldiers, Charlyra and Ice made haste for their chosen target. Falling into formation three kneeled in front of her as she force leaped over withdrawing her lightsabre as she did so. She sliced through three of the creatures and then moved as the soldiers behind her fired into the oncoming horde of rabid creatures. Ice used his massive weight shaking the ground beneath him, while he worked up his own fierce some growl. Two other Firemane soldiers worked toward the front using their weapons to blast through them, it seemed that they had indeed been expected.

A skilled duelist, Charlyra sidestepped this way, parried that and riposte another few steps. Buffing herself with battle strike, she allowed her fury to collect and stack as she unleashed a fearsome force roar that was followed up with some fairly basic shii-cho moves, but moves she no doubt that her master Tempest would be quite proud of. Ice seemed to know how to dance, his teeth gripping at the creature's flesh and tossing them about, all without breaking through their fur.

The other five Firemane soldiers worked their way into the tunnels using their flamethrowers to take out any stragglers, three of them moved toward the front, as Ice took the middle with the riflemen picking up the rear guard with the other two flamers. Charlyra's lightsabre was tossed forward as she cut through a few more, "it seems we're at a crossroads, Jedi." She gestures to where the tunnel breaks into two different paths, "surely one of these leads to the other part of the cavern, and the other..."

 

[Thurion Heavenshield]

Objective: 1 - 'Into the Hornet's Nest'
Location: Kessel Facility
Allies: [member="Coci Heavenshield"] | [member="Connor Harrison"] | [member="Rasu Gan"] | [member="Barinthus E`ron"] | [member="Setzi Lunelle"]
Post: 7

Moving as fast as their legs could carry them, it was to Thurion's great relief when a squad of Rangers greeted them before reaching the exit doing a final sweep of the mines and subduing any remaining hostiles. The rest of the way they walked, the family panting from the ordeal yet relieved that the worst had passed. Once finally outside, the mother of the group had to sit down to catch her breath, and so Thurion put her two youngest down beside her, and she wrapped her arms around them both. "You'll be fine," he said while kneeling before her. "Once we're sure no-one's left behind we'll organise shuttles to take you off the planet. You'll never have to set foot here ever again, I promise you." The woman, too tired to speak her gratitude, simply nodded as joyful tears filled her eyes. Thurion offered her a warm smile and reached for her cheek to remove some of the dirt, and would then leave them for the time being.

Where a mere hour ago the facility was largely empty save for a handful of patrols, now stood a sea of people, malnourished and with newfound hope, rejoicing at their rescue at the hands of the Coalition. Some were busy searching for loved ones they'd been separated from during the course of their captivity, while others fell to the ground praying to whatever greater powers they believed in. The crowd parted as the Grandmaster moved through it, some gently clutching at his clothes and jacket to show their gratitude. Finally stumbling upon familiar faces, Thurion didn't say a word and simply walked up to Coci and Théo and wrapped his arms around them both. "I knew I'd find you," he whispered before placing his lips upon Coci's.

He would then turn to his oldest friend in Connor, and without warning he would embrace him as well. "Thank you, Connor. We've achieved a great thing this day."

Thurion out. Great job, everyone!​

 

[Joza Perl]

Objective 4: Play Diplomat
Allies: [member="Orihime Ike"] | [member="Sorel Crieff"]
Post #14

“On second thought, I’m not that hungry…” Placing the melon back down amongst the others, Joza smiled politely at the Noghri shopkeeper who seemed mildly annoyed at the indecisive Zeltron. The woman looked prepared to shoo her away before Joza slipped back to Orihime and Sorel. “Maybe eating isn’t the best idea right now, huh?”

The trio spent roughly an hour meandering around the marketplace, exploring the different sorts of shops and seeing the various wares for sale. One could read up on the culture of Honoghr as much as they wanted, but being among the Noghri people in their daily life was something that you couldn’t quite experience from words on a page. Overall they didn’t seem hostile towards the Jedi—some gave them curious glances—a few gave them longer, suspicious looks—but many remained unconcerned. So long as the humanoids didn’t cause trouble, they would be treated fairly.

In the midst of their wandering, the representative Noghri from before approached them. He’d remained outside the Grand Dukha, content to let his spies trail the Jedi for now. After they reported back, he went to fetch the three himself and bring them back to speak with the Dynasts. After speaking with the Dynasts briefly in Honoghran, the representative bowed and left them to their discussion.

Upon seeing the Silver Jedi representative enter, the Noghri elders rearranged themselves into a semi-circle, their conversation ending with a few hisses in their native tongue.

“Silver Jedi, we’ve decided that Honoghr will join the Silver Sanctum Coalition. Your aid will be of benefit to our planet, and in return we will provide Noghri warriors to assist you.”

Inwardly breathing the biggest sigh of relief, Joza confined her giddiness within and bowed before the Dynast Council.

“We thank you for your cooperation, Great Dynasts. May the future of Honoghr be bright.”

[FIN]

 

[Nima Tann]

Objective: 2
Allies: [member="Charlyra Araano"], [member="Audren Sykes"], Firemane Troops
Enemies: The creatures
Post count: I don't even remember

The battle continued as more and more creatures were attracted by the battle and joined it, each one of them were very aggresive and if you were too careless they would tear you apart in seconds. Luckily, Firemane soldiers were battle-trained and hardened, thus they continued to burn them into nothingness with their flamethrowers. Now, thinking that they were ordinary people before, it effected her a bit, yet now the people inside them were dead, they were degraded into these creatures which will not stop until they tore you apart. So, she shook her head and shouted, after cutting one of those in half. "Push forward!" With her at the frontlines and the Firemane soldiers at the back covering her with fire, they continued to carve out a way for themselves to the cliche villain stronghold looking mines. They were almost there, and luckily no soldiers were lost. So as they arrived at the huge door, Nima realized it was locked, now breaking the lock would be the fastest way to solve this situation, yet the creatures would follow them to the mines if that happened. "Does anyone know how to pick a lock here?!" She said, then one of the Firemane soldiers ran towards the door, and she ran to her place, taking a defensive position until she managed to do it. The creatures continued to come, each second getting more and more aggresive.

The soldier was fast, to their luck and the lock was picked after only minutes. "Good job! I'll make sure to tell Sio about you." She said with a nod, and then they proceeded inside quickly and closed the door. Then as the holocomm signals came back, she sent a message to the Firemane ships above, hoping that they would catch the message. "We got a huge horde around my coordinates. Open fire!" That would make sure to distract the creatures behind the door, give them time before they were overwhelmed with the creatures coming from all sides. The sounds of ships opening fire could be heard, and then the pressure over the door decreased a bit, everything was going according to plan. Now, they would keep on. "This is awfully silent. Be careful." Well, except of the machine sounds and the general sounds that you could hear from a mine, there were no trace of creatures. But, looking at the ground she realized a blood stain. Maybe that was their researcher, who knew? "Well, blood stains often bring you to where you need to go, huh?" Besides, the mines were big, and with not knowing where to go next, they would be lost in seconds, so their best bet was to follow the stains. And if they found enemies, or any item that was essential for their mission, it meant they were in the right track. Anyway, they continued and then, the blood stains stopped moving and created a puddle just near a backpack. And then a body only a little far from them, dead, and half eaten. He didn't turn into one of them though, maybe he was damaged too much to turn.

"This is our researcher, I guess." A backpack, a person that wore clothes which looked like they were Indiana Jones's. So, according to the process of elimination, one would conclude that he was the researcher. So, whatever was in the backpack, it would bring them closer to the cure. So, she moved towards the backpack and opened it, there was a little datapad inside. It showed a machine, seemed like it was pumping something... It was a blurry image so it was a bit difficult to understand what was happening. Also the datapad looked damaged a bit, so some of the information was lost. They would have to continue with what they had in hand. She scrolled down for information. There was a diary.

"First day of the Disease

Today, a little group of animals attacked one of our citizens. Our people managed to kill the creatures. We don't know the reason why they attacked, but the citizen was saved with only minor injury.

Second day of the Disease

The citizen started to act weird. She doesn't want to drink anything, her eyes are often not focused. She doesn't want to talk, or do anything. We think it's because of the trauma. We left her alone for now.

Third day of the Disease

The citizen started to get angry. She started to shout every now and then, and pick fights with people out of nowhere. Her eye color had a slight change. It is not a case of a simple depression. I am going to look further into this subject.

Fourth day of the Disease

The citizen bit another... Her behaviour changed, we can't find a way to talk to her, she doesn't listen. She attacked one of our soldiers today, she was killed. I took the body and did a research on her, I found that there was an unusual growth in her cells, also there was foam around her mouth... If what I suspect is true...

.
:
:

Two days ago

I caught a healthy animal today. Watched its movements and recorded it carefully. It looks like it has no symptoms of rabies. That's a good thing. It is drinking water now... In the evening, it started to act strange. Started to show the symptoms... Problem in water?

Yesterday

The only water supply in the planet is in the deepest mines, a machine that's pumping water for the whole planet. Maybe I should look if something's wrong there. It'll be dangerous but what other choice is there?

Today

I arrived... ... ... So many...

"

So, he arrived recently... If only they were fast enough. But, there was no time to grieve now, as they still had a mission to complete, his mission. She sighed. "We got our lead." She said, then proceeded with the Firemane troops, their journey towards the deepest mines to find the machine and find out what did this, and find a cure to ease the pain they caused to those people. "Charlyra. I found the source of our problem. If you can, meet me at the deep mines. I already hear some creatures roaming around." She sent a message to Charlyra as the signal was back again.

 

[Rasu Gan]

Objective: 'Into the Hornet's Nest'
Location: Kessel Mining Facility


Leaping from behind her cover, Rasu prepared herself for a second onslaught of blaster fire, her weapons primed and ready to deflect whatever came her way. However she was met instead by the familiar view of Sanctum Rangers, already having incapacitated the guards. Relaxing her grip, her sabers were lowered to her side, deactivated with a swift hissing. Approaching the Ranger's Rasu nodded to the troops, offering her appreciation.

"Nicely done. Great timing too." she said, smiling, patting the closest man on the shoulder. "I'm sure you can handle the rest." Joining Barinthus, she grinned, noticing the absence of injury on his form. She felt a swelling sense of pride grow within her as she patted his shoulder too, accepting his achievements as a worthy substitute for his trial of skill. The young man was on his way to becoming a superior Knight of the Sanctum, a powerful Jedi indeed. Leaving her Padawan to his own desires, Rasu joined the group of freed slaves, breaking into a sprint as she was dragged along out of the mine network. She couldn't help but laugh with joy as she witnessed the hope spread on the faces of the freed beings. Freedom was finally setting in.

As she was welcomed to the sight of natural light, Rasu shielded her face as she grew accustomed to the illumination once more. All around her, beings were being reunited, Jedi and past slaves alike. Waving to the Heavenshields, Rasu headed towards one of the passenger shuttles, leaving the group to enjoy their moment of pride. Satisfied, the woman sunk into the cushioned seat of the passenger section. Closing her eyes as the previous few hours of work carried her into a slumber.

 

[Darth Libertas]

[member="Nima Tann"]


"The night is dark and full of terrors."


Master Tann and her small contingent of Firemane soldiers would not remain alone for long. The mines were big, very dark and infested with monstrous creatures that had been twisted by foul alchemy and magicks. In other words, they were just a sort of place a certain former Inquisitor would be drawn to. Once the infected had been human, but those who lurked here were too far gone. The virus reduced both humans and animals to wild, rabid beasts that needed to be put down for their own ground. They smelt the approach of the soldiers from afar, for whatever other effects the virus had, it seemed to enhance certain senses. Their hunger aroused, the beasts pounced from the shadows.


Snap-hiss. There was a crimson light in the darkness, followed by a pained cry, when a creature that was trying to leap at Nima was suddenly stabbed in the back and impaled. The blood-red sabre sizzled through flesh and blood gurgled up from the beast's mouth before it fell, hitting the ground with a thud. Ripples resonated through the Force as a figure clad in black emerged from the shadows, as if just appearing out of thin air. A skilled mentalist could have probably sensed her presence a few moments before. The lightsabre leapt out of the infected's chest and flew back into her grasp like a boomerang.


Two rabid creatures hissed and bared their teeth, but when they charged at the attacker, she simply cocked her head slightly and drew upon the Force to crush their spinal cords, effectively ending them. She stepped over the dead bodies without giving them a further look.


"Well, well, what have we here?" Master Tann would suddenly hear a very familiar voice. Cultured, refined, with a slight Atrisian accent and a strong note of arrogance. "The noble 'defenders of peace and justice', here to help the helpless. I thought you were all occupied with swashbuckling heroics against dastardly pirates and Hutts."

 

[Audren Sykes]

Objective: 'Big Trouble in Little Kessel'
Location: Kessel
Allies Involved: [member="Taiden Keth"] | [member="Charlyra Araano"] | [member="Nima Tann"] | 6-man squad of Rangers, 2 investigators
Post: 5/35

Audren paused for all of three seconds, then nodded. The decision wasn't much of one, was simply common sense.

"Captain Sartori, clear a path. Use the heavier weapons, they won't be much use inside. But leave some breaching charges, those might be useful."

With a single command, the Rangers started pulling out heavier weapons. They weren't really needed now, now after the main onslaught had been dropped so adroitly, but they made effective cleanup weapons. That, and the closer they got to the hill the more thickly the creatures gathered. Density was almost as good as numbers...almost. As they moved, Audren donned his breath mask. The open wasn't such a risk of airborne infection, but once they walked inside the risk would be much higher. Plus it had the added benefit of using the HUD to point the Rangers to the right place instead of having them guess.

It was Charlyra and the Firemane soldiers that were the point of the spear though. Her bladework was excellent and Firemane's weapons wreaked havoc on the creatures, the Rangers really just did cleanup and caught a few stragglers. For his part, the Sephi conserved his energy, allowing the Dark Jedi to take the lead in a near reversal of what had happened at Ruusan. Even Ice did his part, the enormous hound tossing their opposition around without seeming to break skin. Smart, since what little they did know about the disease was that it was passed by bodily fluids. Blood included.

Firemane being Firemane, the word subtle didn't fit into their tactics. Flamethrowers at the front, with rifles and more flamethrowers at the rear. Unsurprisingly effective, but surprising the cultists they came upon simply didn't happen. Not long after entering, the tunnels split.

It seems we're at a crossroads, Jedi. Surely one of these leads to the other part of the cavern, and the other..."

At that point, Nima's voice came through the comms, apparently the network was back up. The Knight weighed his options and came to another decision: without Charlyra and the Firemane troops they would have been hard-pressed to reach this far, but now that they were here they could, would do the rest. It wasn't like there could be hundreds of cultists, the place wouldn't support all that.

"Go find Master Tamm, it sounds like she needs your help. Thank you for your aid here, we'll meet again. Maybe I'll be able to return the favor."

Audren and the Rangers headed further into the hill, towards the chamber he could feel in the center. Three beings were there, and as the Sanctum team approached Audren worked to mute his Force presence. Who knew how well that worked, but they were able to drop the controllers with little trouble. That little trouble meant that all three of them were killed quite thoroughly; the team didn't have time to try and coddle those who resisted violently.

Thanks to the light amplification on his visor, the Knight could tell that the elevator shaft on the other side of the chamber descended about ten or twenty meters. After rappelling down stealthily, they could see a gathering of twelve cultists. One was clearly the head, she was the most powerful in the Force and was actively doing something to a beast. Two others were dragging the Padawan to a bacta tank. They wanted to keep her alive then, alive enough to torture further. And even the healing would be torture, electrical lines were visible in the tank. Healing would be agony, and getting out would be too...the cuts all over the body were obvious. It was a wonder the Padawan was still alive.

Most unfortunately, one of the cultists turned at an inopportune time and spotted them. He yelped, and received a blaster bolt through the chest for his trouble. Pandemonium erupted, with most of the cultists turning and drawing knives just to receive their own helping of blaster energy. Two pulled their own blasters and ducked behind cover, managing to wound three of the Rangers before themselves being taken out of the fight. For his part, Audren had immediately unleashed a telekinetic strike at the leader, slamming her against the wall. The beast lying on the experimentation table stirred, eyes glinting with malevolence before the elfin Knight sent a particle beam through its head.

The Force thickened in the room as the cult leader drew upon the Dark Side. Tendrils of power shot out at the Padawan, now lying limply on the floor, and were countered by cables of Audren's power. That caught her attention, and the Darkness became almost palpable. His own concentration deepened, his own power brightened. Invisible strands of power twisted through the empty space between them. It was a battle of pure will and Force power, the kind of battle that Audren was weakest with. Yet he couldn't spare the concentration to lift his weapon and shoot the lady. It would have been simpler dealing with Force lightning. At least that was physical.

Long before the opposing powers came close to cataclysmic levels, the Sephi applied physical combat to the mentalism. Rather than combating each thread as it was hurled at him, he slowly withdrew his defense closer and closer in, then made a mental 'wall' and angled it. For a split second, all the mental strikes shot off that block and the cultist was left open. A single thread, small and fast, pierced the woman's arm. No physical damage, but Light banished Darkness. She stumbled back in shock, her other attacks abating for another moment, and that allowed three other threads to also hit her. Then a blaster bolt took her in the stomach. She had time for a single word before dying.

"Halrarmenth..."

The mental battle had tired out the Knight, but he did his part. He helped the Rangers get the Padawan out of the cursed cave and back into the city, towards their ship. The medical centers were overloaded as it was, and they'd planned for similar eventualities. Even with bacta, the Padawan would need months to physically recover, and would likely need years at least to mentally do so. The wounded Rangers needed treatment as well, though their injuries were far less severe by comparison. The team had taken knocks, but they'd been successful. It'd been worth the effort.

exeunt

 

[Nima Tann]

Objective 2
Location: Deep Mines
Frenemies:[member="Sumiko Tanaka"]
Allies: Firemane Troops, [member="Charlyra Araano"]

As the group descended more into the depths of the mines, she felt the creatures' anger more and more, it meant they were getting nearer and nearer. But... she could feel something else, a familiar aura. She smiled for some reason, it was an aura she hasn't felt for a long time. So, by the process of elimination, she knew who else was here with the group. It was expected, as she was interested in these sorts of things. Anyway, they would meet soon enough, as they were getting near to the deepest point of the mines. The mines continued to get darker and darker as they descended, and in one point it was all pitch black. Firemane soldiers opened their flashlight, and Nima went in to Force mode to see her surroundings. Then she felt some creatures coming from behind and one jumping right on her, just about to react and cut it before it would land a bite, she saw a crimson blade then heard the painful scream of the creature, then its lifeless body dropped from the blade. Then another two followed as the attacker crushed them into nothingness, and their bodies dropped to the ground as well. And she talked, with an accent Nima knew from before. Firemane soldiers lighted the torches around so there was light once more.

"Oh you know, I am more of a enter the minds of a horde of zombies and put myself in danger in a rabies filled mines kind of Jedi. Pirates and Hutts aren't particularly my style." She let out a smile, then added. "It has been a long time, huh Sumiko?" Well not exactly, they recently contacted each other via holocalls for [member="Sochi Ru"] situation. But of course they didn't speak face to face since Midvinter. The fact that she contacted Sumiko was there was something wrong with Sochi as she sensed being a good mentalist but the Jedi didn't listen to her and even forgave her for the actions that she has commited. Not particularly a wise decision, but there was nothing she could do as she already said and proved them that Sochi indeed was still the murderer of Felucia by the help of Sumiko, and she was playing games. Oh well... If big names such as [member="Rasu Gan"] said that they could trust her friend...

((The thread I am talking about is Sochi's return to the SSC and the things happened afterwards. It is not a finished thread yet Nima would contact Sumiko and try to prove there is something wrong with Sochi after the return. So this event would be between her return and her recent thread of holding a conclave in Endregaad))

 

[Darth Libertas]

[member="Nima Tann"]


"It has," Sumiko said ambiguously. Her Dark Side aura was plainly evident since she was making no effort to conceal it. The Atrisian was not a good person in any sense of the word...but reliable. If you managed to maintain her interest and didn't interfere in her business.


"Speaking of which, how is my friend Sochi Ru? I imagine the 'wise' Silvers are having tea and crumpets with her, yes? Your talents are wasted among them," the former Inquisitor chuckled slightly, then shrugged.


"I was going to send you a memo, but I suppose there's no time like the present, even if it's in a gloomy tunnel infested with rabid beasts. Sochi was not suddenly brought back by the Force or whatever inane theory the Council has come up with. Nor did she walk through a conveniently placed portal. She was resurrected by Kaine. Or Darth Vornskr, or whatever his Sith title is today." Sumiko did not know he called himself Darth Carnifex now.


"Before the One Sith started to go down like a house of cards. He placed an enchantment on her that bound her to his will. She sought me out when he experienced a temporary case of death. I used dark magic to help her free herself. But make no mistake, she hasn't suddenly turned 'pure' and 'good'. She's a darksider and I believe she's opposed to both Sith and Jedi. Rambled a bit about freeing everyone and opening their eyes."


Of course, Sumiko didn't know that the Togruta wanted to pull a Kreia. One might add that creating wounds in the Force required acts of destruction of colossal proportions. Like the activation of the Mass Shadow Generator on Malachor or the Alderaan holocaust. Casualties had been staggering in both cases.

 

[Nima Tann]

"Well you can say that. They are treating her like nothing happened and she is still the same Jedi Master... " She stopped there for a second, then continued. "I was there when Assembly forgave her actions since my evidence was not enough for them. I don't understand why they act so blind as this whole return was suspicious in the first place." She was careful enough not to give too much information as she knew Sumiko was helpful but not particularly a good person, and giving too much information would be problematic. Also, she nodded to the last part of that sentence, the one thing that has been bugging her mind lately. She was conflicted about this idea, the Temple had been her home for 20+ years, but people inside it were starting to get blind, treating murderers as friends, not acting when needed and all that... She shook her head out of these thoughts for now as Sumiko went on and started to say things that shocked Nima, even though this whole situation was all shady, she didn't expect such a story behind. The shock was visible enough for Sumiko to see.

Vornskr... The name of the devil himself, if his name was involved with the resurrection, nothing good would come from it. "That's..." She said, then added. "... quite interesting. I sensed something bad but wasn't expecting this kind of bad. She is quite an actor, isn't she?" Or Jedi were easy to be fooled? Who knows? She had no reason to think Sumiko would be lying, as the two had a mutualistic relationship going on since Midvinter. One wrong move would ruin this relationship and it would be no use for the both sides. And Sumiko was a person of opportunities. Reporting to the Council of the things that she heard here would prove useless as she would have only a little proof, and it would actually be bad for her because they would start asking a lot of questions even though she was telling the truth. But it would give her the chance to tell "I told you" if they didn't believe her... "I will report this to the Council immediately." Then she added with a sigh. "But I have a feeling they'll not believe me over this as they are blinded over her acting..." Her source of information was a secret, so she wouldn't give Sumiko's name, it would be more headache for both of them. "Thank you." She added afterwards, with a nod. Then it was the time to move on to the mission at hand.

"I suppose you are here for the virus?" She said knowing Sumiko well, as the loud voices of the machine filled the mines louder and louder as they spoke. People of Firemane continued to look at each other with confusion but they still remained silent. They had a quite of journey to the machine as between them were filled with hungry creatures which would tear you apart if they caught you off guard.

[member="Sumiko Tanaka"]