First Reply Wasted Away Again In Mek-Sha

[Alioth]

Location: Mek-Sha
Tag: Open
"Alioth" | "ⱫɆ₦ł₮Ⱨ" (Zenith)
Prologue: Here
​

Alioth never had a drinking problem. That is what he told himself as he downed his next shot.

The whiskey hit his throat like a speeder once again. He tried to convince himself that it was just early hyperspace sickness. Too much time spent staring out into the blue and white swirl of stars. But that voice...it sounded so real. One that he could not get out of his head, no matter how much alcohol he consumed. After passing out, his vessel's emergency protocols flew Alioth to the nearest inhabited system, which happened to be Mek-Sha. The man had spent a lot of time here as a kid after his homeworld was destroyed by the Bryn'adul. It had been many years since he had returned. Some of his childhood friends were probably still here, working just to survive. But he was in no place to visit with them.

Leaning his head down, Alioth closed his eyes, trying to silence all of the noise around him. Though as soon as it became quiet, almost as if you could hear a pin drop, a familiar voice responded from the void.

"ɎØɄ ₵₳₦₦Ø₮ ⱧłĐɆ ₣ⱤØ₥ ₥Ɇ ₣ØⱤɆVɆⱤ ⱧɄ₥₳₦."

Whipping his body around on the barstool, Alioth looked out into the dimly lit bar, trying to see who spoke. The crowd was small tonight, but they still gave him looks of unease. This was the third time this had happened tonight. Patrons were starting to notice his crazed state. He had to get out of here. Dropping a few credits on the bar counter, the man hurried out of the building and onto the streets. He only made it a few steps before collapsing onto his knees. Against his will, a blood-curdling scream escaped his mouth, frightening those around him. Three otherworldly tendrils started to protrude from his back, made up of what looked to be decaying flesh. Whoever infected his mind was slowly taking over, and unless he fought back, there would be no way to stop it.

Spoiler

The premise for this thread is the Alioth's mind and body were merged with a Starweird after a hyperspace incident. The two of them have only been merged for a few hours, so they are both fighting for control. Think like Eddie Brock/Venom (my inspiration for this character.) Feel free to help Alioth fight against the Starweird, try and subdue the man to eliminate the threat, or something different entirely!

 

[Razmir Tezhyn]

The sharp scrape of a lighter clicked as Razmir lit up a cigarette, taking a deep breath full of the tobacco. Relief flooded his system like a warm, summer breeze on Alderaan. He tried to keep the grin off his face. He'd needed that after weeks of stimcaf withdrawal.

The medtechs, well, the medtech—a member of his crew—had cleared him for stimulants again after his encounter with a crushgaunt to the face. His first order of business had been to make a cup of Corellian spike caf, but it turned out they'd run all out of caf-beans. So, he'd volunteered to make a quick supply run at the shadow port they'd been laying low at.

If memory served him right Yerda's should be just around—

A sharp scream cut through the evening air, much too close.

Razmir jumped, fumbling the cigarette between his fingers. The roll wove through his desperate attempts to catch it mid-air, trailing a thin line of smoke, and dropped right into a puddle. It winked out as it slipped beneath the surface of its watery grave.

Shavit.

Well, he'd picked up another one from the spacer earlier, though he'd hoped to save that one for the return trip.

Razmir pulled the cigarette from his suit pocket, digging for his lighter. He gave a glance in the direction of the cantina entrance, where the scream had come from. The cantina owner, a burly man with an apron that sported too many dried stains, stood in the doorway looking down at a man writhing in pain barely a few steps out the door. Something on the man's back made wild motions, and the distress in that face made Raz think he might be in his death-throes following some kind of animal attack.

Razmir lingered. The scream had rattled him right awake, and the caf beans could wait a little longer. He'd been long overdue for a misadventure.

"You're not lookin' too good there, stranger," Razmir said, walking closer.

He knelt down a few feet from the man, dropping one hand to the concealed holdout blaster while he proffered the cigarette with the other. If the fellow really was dying, better he have the last drag before he exited the mortal coil, Raz figured.

Up close it became clear the strange movement on the man's back wasn't some kind of wild animal trapped under his shirt, but a set of coiling tendrils. He couldn't see any blood mixed on them, eliminating the possibility that it was a parasite bursting from the man's back. The things actually looked like they were attached to him, growing out of his back.

It was certainly above Razmir's paygrade as a thief, but likely nothing a blaster bolt couldn't handle.

Raz nodded to the cantina owner. The man looked relieve to have someone else deal with the problem and walked back inside his establishment. The foot traffic around them started up again as well, save a few who remained to gawk at the strange sight.

"So, what's your trouble?" Raz focused on the man, extending the subtle touch of the Force to calm his emotions.

He still wasn't sure why he could do it. Every attempt to train other applications of the Force failed miserably when he attempted. He'd always guessed it was a small parting gift from his late mother, or maybe something he'd developed as a survival mechanism on the streets. But it sure came in handy, even if it was merely subtle, guiding nudges rather than the complete dominion of a mind, like he'd seen with some of the Cloaks.

Alioth

 

[Alioth]

Location: Mek-Sha
Razmir Tezhyn
"Alioth" | "ⱫɆ₦ł₮Ⱨ" (Zenith)
​

Looking up from the immense strain he was under, Alioth saw a figure approach.

There was a sort of calm demeanor that the man carried that seemed unfitting for the situation at hand. The spacer knew that if he saw someone struggling as much as he was right now, he would not be offering the same help. Nevertheless, Alioth locked eyes with the individual, trying to formulate words.

"Y-you've got to help m-me..."

The Follower of the Rapture was connected to the Force as well, so he felt the calming outreach from the man. Slowly his breathing was returning to normal, and unknown to him, the Starweird that possessed him was becoming more docile. Shifting his weight, he went from sitting on his hands and knees to resting on his hip, propped up on an elbow. The tendrils were no longer waving wildly, as if they were trying to escape. They now moved at a more methodical pace, almost rhythmically.

Reaching his hand out, Alioth graciously accepted the cigarette. While he never was a smoker, this seemed like a better time than ever to give it a shot.

"Ever since the h-hyperspace incident...my mind hasn't b-been the same..."

While not many details were offered, it would be clear to the man that Alioth had been through a lot in these past twenty-four hours. What was supposed to be a normal trip across the stars turned into disaster when a Starweird attacked the man while he was travelling through hyperspace. The man did all he could to defend himself before the creature fully took over his mind. But before the mysterious beast could complete its assault, the vessel was thrown violently from hyperspace. Unbeknownst to Alioth, the two of them had merged together - mind, body, and Force. It had something to do with the cosmic events occurring all across the galaxy.

Taking a drag from the cigarette, the man let out a deep cough, clearly new at this.

"₮ɆⱠⱠ ₥Ɇ ɎØɄⱤ ₦₳₥Ɇ."

A voice spoke from Alioth's mouth, though distinctively different from the one he was using prior. It was the Starweird trying to communicate through him, maybe even attempting to steal any Force energy he could from the stranger.

 

[Razmir Tezhyn]

Razmir recoiled, drawing the blaster half-way out of its holster.

But the stranger didn't lunge.

The echo of that voice rattled around Razmir's nervous system, beneath his skin and inside his bones. Like a discordant note clawing at the edge of his sanity. As quickly as it overwhelmed him, it was gone again. It left him feeling empty and cold. So cold.

Raz laughed nervously, sitting back on his haunches a pace or two farther from the man.

"Let's, ah, let's save the small talk for after we get you some help," Raz smiled, trying his best to keep his nerves from showing.

The tentacles--which Raz now noted were most definitely growing out of the man's back--were most likely a side effect of whatever was making this man's mind no longer 'the same'. They could belong to a parasite, but that voice had a presence significantly more unsettling than any unwanted biological hitchhiker that Razmir was familiar with could produce. Those four words alone had felt like they'd crawled under his skin and pierced his very being. Much like a Force wizard might do.

"Err, I'm no medical professional but what you have might be some kind of spiritual affliction," Raz craned his neck a little, as though changing the angle he talked from meant he was somehow reaching past the it and reaching the person.

"I figure a cloak, err, a Jedi would probably know how to fix this mess. Unfortunately for you, I'm all you've got right now," Raz said.

Alioth

 

[Alioth]

Location: Mek-Sha
Razmir Tezhyn
"Alioth" | "ⱫɆ₦ł₮Ⱨ" (Zenith)
​

When Alioth finally returned to consciousness, the stranger had backed away and held a tight grip on his blaster.

Seeing his, the man stumbled back slightly, unsure of what happened. One moment he was talking about the accident which he dealt with a day ago, now he was face to face with someone who looked like they had seen a ghost. It was only then that Alioth felt an object brush against his shoulder. Turning to see what it was, he noticed a tentacle protruding from his back. Three of them to be exact. He felt connected to them somehow, like they were his own. Yet he could not control their movements.

"I don't know if a Jedi would be best."

Alioth was Force sensitive, but he did not algin himself with any particular side. He simply used it as a tool to help him travel across the stars. The man did not own a lightsaber either, making him a pretty poor excuse of a Jedi or a Sith.

The stranger mentioned covering up the tentacles before anyone noticed. Alioth was sure that people were already giving him weird looks, so he did not need to make matters worse. Acting off of the adrenaline-fueled shock that ran through his veins, the man found a nearby tarp that was laying loosely over a few boxes. Throwing it over his back, the covering did a mediocre job of hiding the protrusions, but it was better than nothing.

"₦Ø Ø₦Ɇ ₵₳₦ ₴ɆɆ ₥Ɇ Ⱡł₭Ɇ ₮Ⱨł₴. Please...help ₲Ɇ₮ ₥Ɇ ØɄ₮ Ø₣ ⱧɆⱤɆ."

The voices crossed over in an unnatural sense, but the plea was clear. Alioth needed to get out of the open and to somewhere safer so he could figure out what was going on.

 

[Razmir Tezhyn]

The stranger seemed to take the existence of those tentacles on his back remarkably well. Had it been Razmir, he'd probably be screaming for someone to get them off. Different temperaments, different reactions, what could you do.

When the stranger suddenly stood, Raz jumped to his feet with him, hand still firmly around his blaster's grip. The stranger didn't lunge for him, however. He simply grabbed a tarp to cover himself with.

Razmir relaxed his hand, but kept it by his hidden holster. His hands felt numb from the cold, even though the atmosphere on this rock was temperate. He forced a smile through all the tension coiling in his muscles.

The tarp did a servicable job in hiding the stranger's predicament. He looked a lot more like he was fighting to keep a kowaikian monkey-lizard from getting free of his tarp than he did a man with tentacles inexplicably growing out of his back.

If one squinted, at least.

"C'mon, I know a guy," Raz said, waving for the stranger to follow him.

If followed, he'd lead them through some of the back-alleys in the direction of the starport.

Alioth

 

[Alioth]

Location: Mek-Sha
Razmir Tezhyn
"Alioth" | "ⱫɆ₦ł₮Ⱨ" (Zenith)
​

A shiver ran down his spine, though he could tell it wasn't from the cold.

The tentacles seemed to calm down, no longer flailing around wildly. Overall Alioth was still emotionally numb, trying to process everything that was happening. Something told him to follow the stranger, even though their interaction had only lasted for a few minutes. Pulling the tarp higher up his back and over his head, he held the corners to ensure the covering would not fall down.

The duo made their way through various alleys and paths. The man stayed silent for the journey, a voice inside of him spoke. The stranger would not be able to hear it.

"ⱧɄ₥₳₦...ⱤɆⱠɆ₳₴Ɇ ₥Ɇ ₣ⱤØ₥ ɎØɄⱤ ₲Ɽ₳₴₱."

Alioth's heart skipped a beat at the appearance of the creature's voice. The man had concluded that somehow, he became infected and now a voice haunted him. He kept his volume low, trying to only speak to the beast inside of him, but he would not be surprised if the stranger heard him.

"Who are you? And what have you done to me?"

"ł Ⱨ₳VɆ ĐØ₦Ɇ ₦Ø₮Ⱨł₦₲ ₮Ø ɎØɄ. ɎØɄⱤ VɆ₴₴ɆⱠ ₵₳Ʉ₴ɆĐ ₮Ⱨł₴."

The hyperlane incident. That must have been what happened. The Starweird that attacked him...was it that creature that was inside of his head?

"Are you the beast that attacked me?"

"₥Ɏ ₦₳₥Ɇ ł₴ ⱫɆ₦ł₮Ⱨ."

The mentioned of his name made Alioth's heart skip a beat. He had no idea that Starweirds were this sentient, let alone had a name. What he thought he knew about the galaxy was slowly becoming unraveled. Data files and books that he had studied were being disproven. It is like all of his life he had dedicated to learning about space was now wasted. How much more was there to discover? He uneasily lifted his head and spoke again to the stranger.

"Are we getting close?"