Private Under The Underworld

[Ko Vuto]

Objective: Quell a Bloody Feud deep within the Coruscanti Underwold
Location: Coruscant, Underworld
Tunes: X
Tags: Voxum | Loomi

​

Deep, deep, deep below the surface of the galactic capital there was a growing disturbance. It wasn’t often that something got past the many layers to Coruscant’s underworld. Bloodshed in a neighborhood within the city’s polluted bowls. Through a misunderstanding between the locals and the in town criminal element lives have been lost. This was because several thugs were found as gruesome corpses, in retailiation they took to the citizens. However, they were not responsible for the attacks on their criminal enterprises. Recent evidence has shown that attacks were first from the brutish Coruscani Ogres. Cursed semi-sentient creatures that seem to have become unnaturally hostile in the area.

This has created a three way conflict within the area between the citizens, criminals, and local “fauna”. Where neither side is willing to compromise and settle the matter. Not to mention the Ogers can’t comunitate on what has made them so hostile. Creating a violent cycle that needs to be called before it spills over into surrounding areas and spreads like a wildfire…



Traversing down to the sunless land, a trio of padawans were dispatched together. Descending via a shuttle that ferried them down one of the numerous Underworld Portals that peppered the surface and allowed for easier access to the lower levels of Coruscant. The number of levels passed rapidly, Ko looked out the window of the shuttle and spoke to his two companions. “I haven’t ever been this far down before on Coruscant.” Eventually the smog grew too thick to see out the window and he turned to the Shard and Godoan. “I hope you brought a breath mask like what was recommended. I can’t imagine the air down here is good for your lungs.” He mentioned Loomi. Being a Kel Dor he already had that covered, and Voxum had a droid’s physiology so they didn’t need to worry about it either he presumed.

Even then he felt a little concerned about her antennae as well. After some more time the Shuttle finally came to a stop along the edge of the underworld portal. The pilot droid let the trio know that they’d arrived at their destination before opening the door for them to depart.

 

[Voxum]

"The people living here need as much help as they can get. It's despicable what they have to suffer." The synthetic voice of the Iron Knight sounded off from beneath the Padawan's hood as their gaze focused on the window close by. The smog had blocked out normal sight, but they were already scanning through the various other spectrums their cybernetics could scan through. Thermals, electronics, UV.

A shame the smog had to exist to begin with.

"Let them see us so they might have hope. We will stop them from suffering any longer, of that I am certain."

Loomi | Ko Vuto

 

[Loomi]

Coruscant, Underbelly
Tags: Ko Vuto , Voxum

“I hope you brought a breath mask like what was recommended. I can’t imagine the air down here is good for your lungs.”

"I got one," Loomi assured, slipping the mask onto her face.

It certainly was getting rather hard to breathe down here. She had to agree with the Shard. These living conditions were abysmal. They seemed familiar, however. Too familiar. It sent chills down Loomi's spine as she wondered why that was the case. That didn't matter though. The mission at hand quickly took priority in her mind.

"Well, how are we going this?" the Godoan asked. "It's sort of a three way conflict, right? Golly, as much as I hate to leave criminals running a muck... we may need to assess the, er, faunal situation."

She didn't usually like leaving thugs to their own devices. Not by a long shot. Loomi had a great distaste for the criminal element for some reason that she could not explain, but she felt that this disdain was justified. Still, that wasn't going to keep her from thinking rationally.

"The Ogres don't usually come out this far," Loomi stated, recalling information she had read before they had departed. "Whaddya figure could've spooked 'em out this way?"

 

[Ko Vuto]

Coruscant, Underworld
Tags: Voxum | Loomi

​

Looking at the large Iron Knight padawan Ko nodded. “Agreed, generally from what I know people live this far down to escape the general issues that plague the levels above.” These levels were a lot less hospitable, creating something of a trade off for people down here. Choosing between a polluted environment, or the violence between here and the surface.

Exiting the shuttle Ko replied to Loomi. “That might be best, if we can figure out what is causing the Ogres to become so hostile, we can then reverse gears and mend the tensions between the locals.” The kel dor thought that was a pretty solid plan, figuring out what mystery there was behind the Ogres acting up. They tended to avoid interacting with humans and other people. But here it seemed they were actively trying to drive out the citizens. They were no simple beasts either, many of whom were clever enough to utilize basic tools.

But he too agreed with Godoan. He didn’t want to give the criminals a pass for their part in this. Where they were now almost seemed like a ghost town compared to the dizzying amount of dense urban sprawl Coruscant possessed. For Ko it was hard to imagine that this had to have once been the surface eons ago.

​

From his time on agriworlds along the outer rim Ko got a pretty family with environmental sciences. Even a planet as urban as Coruscant housed a unique ecology of its own. Generally creatures attack when hungry, provoked, or some innate predatory instinct that can’t be overcome, like a fat house cat killing a bird it doesn’t need to eat. “I think we’ll need to investigate their habitat to get a better idea of what is going on and then work from there.”

 

[Voxum]

"I concur. For the Ogres to be so hostile, there must be a trigger. Find the trigger, deal with the trigger, and the Ogres leave. Then, we can look into dealing with the gangs so the civilians here might be able to live a calmer life." Living in pollution was bad enough. Those gangs couldn't be allowed to trouble these poor people any longer. He clenched a fist in a silent promise. Very visibly. And dramatically.

Just like a Hero.

"Our first stop is their habitat then. Where is their habitat?"

 

[Loomi]

Coruscant, Underworld
Tags: Ko Vuto , Voxum

"Our first stop is their habitat then. Where is their habitat?"

"Somewhere down here," Loomi shrugged. "But don't worry. I'm an expert tracker. Just need to find somethin to track..."

Force tracking was an innate skill of hers, no doubt assisted by her alien biology. Her antennae flitted about as they searched for something to latch onto in the force. Maybe a hair, or...

A drop of blood.

Loomi crouched down, assessing a small residue left on the ground that, to most, would have gone completely unnoticed. Already, the Godoan was beginning to feel a trail of the blood stretching out into the haze. Presumably, this belonged to the Ogres... Or one of their victims.

"Got something," she informed the group. "Feels like blood. It... goes out pretty far."

 

[Ko Vuto]

​

Coruscant, Underworld
Tags: Voxum | Loomi​

​

It was good to see that the three padawans were all on the same page. For one reason or another the Ogre’s started this mess, and by handling them they could work backwards and fix the delicate balance down here. At least what could be considered balance. Behind his goggles, Ko’s eyes watched the Iron Knight dramatically clench their fist. Perhaps they were theatrical by nature?

Standing next to Loomi he watched her crouch down to examine a stain on the ground. She mentioned it was blood and that it likely stretched out well past their vision, even for the shard that could see past the thick smog. “Seems like the best we have to go off of now. The direction it seems to lead is away from the town, we could deduce this will lead us to the Ogres.” It would be further into the abandoned ruins of ancient coruscant. A shadowy wasteland of garbage and decay.

“We should best be cautious, an inhospitable environment like this, creates inhospitable life.” Corucani Ogres were only one part of the greater biosphere of the planet. Many centuries ago the vong extragalactic invaders tried to shape the capital in their own image as well. There was certainly a possibility some of their terraforming efforts still lingered deep down. Ko thought it best for the expert tracker to lead the way. While the Iron Knight could be their eyes and ears, the Kel Dor wasn’t sure if he had any special skills or talents to utilize for their team. Feeling a hint of concern he was just a redundant, and tacked on addition to the team.

 

[Voxum]

"Blood?"

They moved, crouching down beside Loomi to look over the mark of red on the floor. Reached out to touch it. Not that their suit could do anything with it. But life had been spilt! Humanoids needed this liquid inside their bodies to survive, from what they read.

".. This is not a lethal amount. It is possible they yet live. We should hurry, less they do perish."

Loomi | Ko Vuto

 

[Loomi]

Coruscant, Underworld
Tags: Ko Vuto , Voxum

".. This is not a lethal amount. It is possible they yet live. We should hurry, less they do perish."

"It's okay," she assured the shard. "The blood is only surface plasma. I don't think it was from anything deeper then a small cut."

The Ogre that had sustained the injury would survive. They didn't need to worry about that. What they needed to worry about was not being torn to shreds whenever they found these creatures. Already, Loomi began to feel the force around her for threads to weave, like Auteme had taught her. She was still getting the hang of weaving, but she could attempt to weave a barrier to keep them at a distance. Or maybe a net to ensnare them. Perhaps she needed to weigh her options.

A sudden fluctuation in the force brought her out of thought. Movement. Slow, but not in an ill way, just up ahead in an abandoned pipe-way, deep enough in that it was invisible to the naked eye.

"Golly," Loomi muttered, slowing to a halt. "I think we found them. In there. I feel seven, I think. Maybe more further in past my reach..."

She turned to the others, a little more anxious.

"What do we do?" she asked. "You think we could find a way to follow them or somethin? Y'know, without being eaten alive? Well, most of us. Voxum isn't exactly edible... Wait a minute."

Now that was a good idea.

"Voxum, how durable is that suit of yours?"

 

[Ko Vuto]

Coruscant, Underworld
Tags: Voxum | Loomi

​

Ko himself didn’t think the three of them would be eaten alive. But he also didn’t want to be fighting the local fauna if he could avoid it. But then Loomi seemed to have an idea, and asked Voxum how durable they might be. The Kel Dor wondered what his fellow padawan might’ve had in mind.

Was she wondering if the Iron Knight could just walts right into the Ogre’s home and check things out for them? All the while tanking any hits they throw at them? Ko had once read about powerful Jedi who could turn themselves invisible to the naked eye. But was nowhere near skilled enough to accomplish such a technique, and couldn’t imagine other two padawans he was with could do so as well.

Thinking for a moment, if Ko’s idea about Loomi’s idea was right it could be worth a try. ”Hmm, Yeah, I could imagine that if you are made out of at least Durasteel then the Ogres should give you no trouble." Ko stepped a bit closer to the large pipe-way. I was open enough for the three of them to easily walk through. Pipes also carried fluid, and water was an important fluid. "I do think that pipe-way might lead us to the Ogre's habitat. Even down here things need plenty of water in order to survive." The thought made Ko internally question of Voxum needed water or many of the other biological needs most creatures required.

 

[Voxum]

"It is quite durable, yes."

They weren't proud of it. Certainly not. Voxum glanced between the other two though. With no expression, it was hard to tell what they were thinking. But they were certainly curious about how Loomi could count them. Was it something with the Force? They really needed to work on such abilities. Right now, their only real skill was the fact they could use their droid body. Did that mean they could protect the other two, then?

"Then, I shall lead the way! Just keep an eye out for me, if you could? My scanners are useful, but they're not without fault."

And it wasn't a droid brain controlling them.

"I shall keep you both from being eaten!"

Loomi | Ko Vuto

 

[Loomi]

Coruscant, Underworld
Tags: Ko Vuto , Voxum

"I shall keep you both from being eaten!"

"Groovy," Loomi remarked. "Just be careful, yeah? I'm gonna make something that may help us out."

Almost immediately, Loomi began weaving, pulling on threads around her that were best suited for something far more resilient than the basic net. A barrier was what she was intending on creating, nothing larger than a hand-held shield. She methodically wove together radiant strands together as the made their way towards the mouth of the pipe way.

"Uh, this is gonna take a minute," she informed them. "You guys can take point."

She could jump in when she was done. That was when they would need it most.

 

[Ko Vuto]

Coruscant, Underworld
Tags: Voxum | Loomi

​

They all seemed to be working well together, Ko thought. He had no desire to see Voxum hurt, but if anyone was to take a hit it probably should be them. Listening to what they said about their scanners the Kel Dor nodded. “Understood, I can keep my senses open to the Force. As an auxiliary to our eyes and ears.” He explained, maybe through their enhanced senses the padawans could keep themselves alert.

Hearing Loomi say that she’ll be a moment Ko nodded. “Will do, and a good thing to be prepared.” With Voxum taking the lead, Ko guarded the rear. Together keeping point for Loomi doing her thing as they entered the pipeway. It was pretty dark though, and Ko wasn’t trained on how to see in the dark through the force yet. But if things took a turn for the worse, a lightsaber’s big plasma beam could make for a good lantern.

The pipeway was sort of a maze once they got into it. But with Loomi’s tracking and their wits Ko wasn’t worried about getting lost. However, Through the darkness the trio could hear movement. Coming from either side of them, towards the rear with Ko and the front with Voxum. A droning howl came from behind them. Causing Ko to turn away from Loomi and Voxum and look back towards where the howl echoed from. The soundwaves of it bouncing through the tunnel they found themselves in. Ko feared the Ogres were going to try and ambush them from either side. As the sounds of their movement’s drew closer. “Be on your guard.” He said to the other two.

 

[Voxum]

Voxum turned. Raised their metal fists and readied themselves. Their head turned on a swivel, scanning the environment to find a trace of the Ogres that were surely stalking around them. Two, three, five, ten. Their fists tightened as the groups surroundings filled with life signs. That wasn't good, right? At least for the other two?

"Whatever you're doing Loomi, now would be the time to do it. They are everywhere."

Loomi | Ko Vuto

 

[Loomi]

Coruscant, Underworld
Tags: Ko Vuto , Voxum

"Whatever you're doing Loomi, now would be the time to do it. They are everywhere."

"Just a moment..." Loomi muttered, weaving the barrier with haste. "I'm-"

Movement in the force around her caused her to pause. Her antennae twitched, flitting about as she felt the vibrations around her. It was an attack. Rather quickly, the Godoan resumed her weaving, turning to the others with a slight expression of panic in her remaining eye.

"Four ogres, around the corner," she informed. "They're moving this way. Fast."

 

[Ko Vuto]

Coruscant, Underworld
Tags: Voxum | Loomi

​

Ko listened to his companions as the situation rapidly seemed to turn more dangerous. Ogres were coming from either end of them. From the rear where he was, two pairs of eyes shone from what little light there was down here. They were being flanked by them. Had the ogres created an ambush for the trio of Padawans?

Grabbing his lightsaber hilt the pipe way rattled some as the ogres approached. Once they got close enough Ko ignited his weapon. Bathing the pipeway around him with a brilliant emerald shine from his lightsaber. Illuminating the pair of Ogre’s approaching them from the rear, one of which held a simple club-like weapon. The sudden bright light caused the semi-sentient creatures a moment of pause. "Try not to hurt them, they're only defending their home..." He remarked.

Ko had no desire to harm the rough looking primates. With a twirl of his blade he the tip of the lightsaber cut some into the inside of the metal pipe they stood in. Creating a flurry of hot sparks to dance around in front of him to scare off the Ogres in front of him. One of which fell back, the other with the club approached to swing the weapon down onto Ko. The Kel Dor deftly avoided the attack and sliced the cudgel, destroying it. Countinger with a light tap of his lightsaber to the Ogre’s arm. Searing it slightly to sting them but cause no considerable damage for the creature. The defensive yet flashy display of his bladework created concern for the pair of ogres he was dealing with causing them both now to back off from.