Welcome to the Jungle (Ossus)

[Lord Ghoul]

@[member="Prince Alshor of Centares"]

Mikhail continued to constrict the princeling's neck with dark rage focused by Derriphan. The blood flow to the brain was now cut off. It required very little force - no pun intended - to squeeze shut the carotid arteries. In a matter of seconds the man would be unconscious. A few more and he would be dead from lack of blood flow to the brain. Cerebral ischemia. What a way to go.

 

[Onasius Gruwel]

@[member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""]Sirella Valkner @[member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""]Anaya Fen

The Yevetha was relieved when his master seemed less than caring about his bow, it killed the Yevetha to bow to anyone other than another Yevetha and even then it was almost a sign of disrespect, however the alien was here to learn from his master and use that knowledge so he would have to put on a good show if he didn’t want to get the life he had just started as a Sith to end abruptly. The assassin had no need to help out on the duel between the two which was just fine for Onasius, he would take his new mission and go connect with the Sith Master his own master instructed him to find.

Onasius slinked off from the ruckus; his time was to be dedicated to something else. The Yevetha’s movements were fast as he trailed a bit behind the duo of Sith, they would likely sense his presence again but he felt it was not necessary to make his presence fully known until it was opportune, until then the skeletal Sith Apprentice darted between trees and over pathways, the two Sith would have a new Apprentice to follow them around on whatever it was they were doing. Sirella and Anaya would find use for the assassin.

 

[Sirella Valkner]

Sirella turned around and shot lightning into the entire group of padawans and Knights. "Enough," she screamed. It was a warning tone. Her narrow eyes flashed at the group. "You are acting like the pathetic animals you are. I expect better from sith." Her face showed her contempt, her hatred. "You fight amongst yourselves like rabid beasts, there is a mission to accomplish."

 

[Lord Ghoul]

Uncontrollable rage filled Mikhail. He wanted this princeling dead. It didn't matter if what the man had done was petty. All Mikhail saw was a mirror image of Casperli. His father. Always disappointed. Always so harsh. Always so cruel. He had made Mikhail into this... this thing. It had been his fault. All of it. He had been the reason Mikhail joined the Army. He had left Mikhail destitute of any real teaching in self-restraint. He had been the cause for Mikhail's ultimate fall from the Army. But most of all. More than anything in the galaxy. Alexis' death was Casperli's fault. She had loved Mikhail. Loved. Now all he could see were her dying, hate filled eyes. Casperli had evicted her from her house, knowing she and her family had nowhere else to go. And why? Because she was a peasant in love with a noble? Her mother had died! Now she was dead too. And it was all. His. Fault. It burned Mikhail to his core. He had tried so hard to push down this mask of apathy. To pretend he truly didn't care. But these sudden memories flooded him with such a mix of fury he could not restrain himself.

The taint of the Soulsaber in his hand flowed into him. Its dark whispers brushed against his mind, pushing him to finish it, to destroy this apprentice. Kiiiiill Mikhail heard the voice in his head. It was not his own. But he no longer cared, for it was but an echo of the ringing in his head, urging him to obliterate this noble. He had the power. He could do it. And the man did so remind him of Casperli.

Images of Mikhail's father flashed. Stern. Overbearing. Proud. And above all... cruel. What father exiled an innocent family to death for the sake of a title? A father with nobleblood. They were a festering disease. A cancer. Just like the black mold eating away at Mikhail's heart. Rotten and sickening. Putrid to the smell. Nauseating to the point of utter disgust.

Sirella screamed at them suddenly. Her words awoke the savageness inside Mikhail. His mask broke. "Pathetic? You know what is pathetic? Nobles! They scheme and they plot, never noticing who they crush beneath their polished heels. And if they do notice, it's just to dig that heel in and make sure they are exterminated! Like vermin! He is just like them! They're all the same. Proud and cruel, only caring about their KRIFFING TITLES!" Mikhail roared. He swung his lightsaber and pointed at the Prince. "The only rabid beast here is him! You don't know the pain and suffering they cause!" Darkness overtook Mikhail's vision at the edges. Like a black fog. His vision blurred as his rage reached a crescendo. He saw Casperli's face merge with the Prince's. Suddenly, he became absolutely calm. A cold calm. Terrifying. "I will not suffer his existence."

A surge of darkness rolled from Mikhail and he squeezed his hand into a trembling fist. There was an audible crunch as the Prince's trachea caved in. Mikhail whipped the man close with a pull of the Force. The Prince levitated a few feet off the ground, Mikhail's left hand extended as he held him in the Force. A terrible wheezing came from the man as he struggled for breath that would not come through his ruined airway. Lungs heaved in futility. Pale blue eyes like chips of ice looked at the Prince's face. They were devoid of any emotion save complete and utterly consuming wrath and loathing. Mikhail's face twisted into a sneer as he envisioned Casperli's face on the man. In full view of all gathered in the village, Mikhail plunged his glowing violet blade through the chest of the Prince. It crackled and hissed as it seared through flesh and bone with ease. The violet tip jutted out the man's back. The Prince's eyes stood wide in horror, full realization of his death upon him. Then the eyes glazed over.

Mikhail's face darkened. He tossed the body to the side with a casual gesture. It fell limply. A Prince, now just a corpse. He deactivated his blade. "Not enough," he muttered to himself. It would never be enough. Not until he had Casperli before him and tore out his heart.

He turned to the rest of the group, his expression still dark as a thunderhead. "That's one infestation taken care of," he growled. "The village just lost its idiot."

 

[Darth Carnifex]

Kaine was merely content to sit back and watch them fight among themselves, keeping his overall presence hidden in the force with his control over Art of the Small as he stood, perched on a nearby hut rooftop. Once it was all good and done, he merely replied with applause and a hearty, baritone laugh, "Well done, well done, but an un-needed display of savagery." He jumped off of the hut, landing gracefully on the blood-soaked ground before striding over to the group. "This village was the first, but we still have a job to do, in case you've forgotten our primary objective..." His black robes bellowed in the wind as the light reflected off of his golden mask, which covered his face so that only the emerald green of his eyes could be seen.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

Tiny repair arms emerged from ports on the sides of the mouse droid. As Sirella's lightning crackled overhead, MSE double-checked Valik's workmanship and settled the blaster more closely against the chassis.

With great care, MSE rolled up onto the dead Prince's chest and sat there, wobbling on his wheels. He pondered all their words, stripped them down to emotionless algorithms, reduced the emotion to a single variable for analysis, and rolled off the dead Prince. His wheels slick with the blood of the guilty, he rolled in little circles around Samanthe and Valik, awaiting violence. Purposeful violence.

 

[Nisha Decrilla]

Anaya could not help but laugh as Spencer approached them, her eyes flicking to Sirella "Oh I should have guessed shouldn't I?" She watched with interest as the seeds in Spencer's hands sprouted into flowers. another power to add to her list of wants, if only she could keep Sirella's attention enough to get her to agree to teach her. She accepted the flower with a smirk "I hope you have your barriers up today Spencer, as you can see the emotions are running pretty high."

No sooner had the words left her mouth than lightening erupted from Sirella's fingers in an attempt to subdue the group. She turned to watch a light smile on her lips as Mikhail's fury overtook him. She shook her head "Dramatic." she teased him as she slotted the stem over Spencer flower into her top.

she could sense the presence of the yevetha and smirked. "The assassin and I will go ahead and instil some fear." she turned away moving towards @[member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""]Onasius Gruwel "Come Onasius, we shall deal with the scouts of the next village. I want to hear them scream before they die. I want to smell their fear." As she talked away into the trees she wrapped the force around herself concealing her from sight and in the force.

She came to a group of three sentries, talking in low voices around a fire. Mine, she sent the message to Onasius warning him off her prey. Moving into the light of the fire she revealed herself adding a few tendrils of darkness for dramatic effect, a trick she had learnt from Moridin whose entrances and exits were always of the dramatic variety. the effect was instant, all three men snapped to ateention and levelled their weapons at her.

Anaya raised her finger and waggled it at them, "Ah ah aah," she purred at them they blinked at her bewildered she sized them all up, selecting the largest of them for her prey. A low laugh escaped her and she wrapped the force around her once more, drawing shout of surprise from them as she disappeared from their sight. Already she could sense their rising fear as they span wildly looking for her.

She took several steps back and delved into the darkness that consumed her, the spell Ashin had taught her rolled off her tonugue the ancient sith words catching on the wind making them panic more. Dark tendrils of the force reached out and coiled around the larger ones mind. He resisted, but Anaya was a persistent woman and gained a hold of his mind.

He relaxed, his sudden change in posture drawing his comrades attention. They spoke to him softly nudging him but he was lost, his eyes vacant. "Kill him" she commanded. His concussion bow raised to the firsts face, the point blank range all but removing the mans head. The second screamed and leapt back his own weapon raised as he looked wildly around searching for Anaya. She moved to stand behind the retreating sentry, finally revealing herself she activated her twin sabers with a snap hiss and drove them through his chest.

"Come, my pet." she purred, as she deactivated her lightsabers and returned them to her belt, slinking away from the fire, with the native in tow. She trusted that by now the others had arrived and the rest of the sentries were dealt with and as such she found her feet back on the beaten track and moved closer to the village, her pet ahead of her, his concussion bow slipping from his finger as he went and seeking a hunting knife at her command.

She relished in the power as she made him draw it across his won throat where his villagers could see, the blood flowed as she forced him to continue walking, though eventually his legs gave out and Anaya released her grasp on his mind, allowing him to at least die as himself.

[OOC: my muse attacked me, sorry if I ran too far ahead.]

 

[Ashin Varanin]

YSANNA NOMAD VILLAGE

@[member="Anaya Fen"] @[member="John Harrison"]

As Anaya let the dead man fall, the village exploded in horror and rage. A huge Whiphid lunged out of the trees, into the outskirts of the village, his crimson lightsabre swinging. He had given a lightsabre and some basic instruction to @[member="John Harrison"] during the course of their flight here, and this massacre was about taking his Apprentice through a trial by fire.

Excitement burned in the old alien's blood. He had finally found someone who might be worthy of his skills.

A group of Ysanna with dart guns and blades came to close-quarters combat with the old Whiphid and his student. Velok roared, sending them flying, but these men were low-level Force-users, and they picked themselves up quickly. Darts flew and blades flashed. Those blades wouldn't stop a lightsabre, but that also meant a lightsabre wouldn't stop the pieces of such a blade.

 

[John Harrison]

YSANNA NOMAD VILLAGE
@[member="Velok"]

The lightsaber was an unfamiliar weapon, and John was unsure as to whether he should really be using it with such limited instruction as to protect himself -and others- from the deadly blade. Nonetheless, he decided to make slower, more deliberate strikes as opposed to the seemingly impossible flurries of death demonstrated by Velok, which would presumably become more doable as he became more accustomed to the blade.

The force was truly amazing, he mused as he watched Velok send the primitives flying. Just as that thought passed through his mind, his attention was brought back to the present, several darts skimming his cheek with a high pitched woosh. Sprinting forwards with a heart filled with exhilaration and fear, he dodged the incoming darts with reflexes impossible without the aid of the force.

One of the Ysanna leapt forth, blade in hand. Stepping back in momentary shock, John's combat senses kicked back in, his arm subconsciously bringing back his blade in order to build up speed as he stabbed forwards, the Ysanna skidding to a halt as he saw the blade plunge through his chest, his spluttering body slamming down upon the ground with a glowing hole in his chest. John ducked to dodge another hail of darts, relishing in the blood spilt before him. This could be... enjoyable.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

YSANNA NOMAD VILLAGE

@[member="John Harrison"]

Velok fought his way back to stand with his Apprentice. "Good, you're still alive," he growled. He leaned aside, and darts creased the fur on the side of his head. Another Ysanna came in, and he put the man through the nearest wall with a glance and a gesture. The nomad hut crumpled. Velok sprayed the building with crimson lightning, and the flimsy construction went up in flames.

"Lightning. Tell me-" He blocked a blade strike; the sword was sliced in half, and the end of the free blade slashed through his robe as it tumbled. He grunted and decapitated the Ysanna, earning them a moment's peace. "-tell me what you know of electricity. How would you call a spark without burning yourself from the inside out?"

 

[Onasius Gruwel]

The Yevetha heeded the red lady’s request, following behind her, his hood still covering his face so any guards could not make out his fangs. To any sentries watching he would look like a normal man lost in ill-fitting robes, when in fact the skeletal assassin was far from a normal man, he made normal men tremble in their boots. The Sith’s leather shoes made the lightest of footfalls against the planet’s surface, Onasius had done his best to become the epitome of the silent killer, his breaths even timed with his steps as to not create unneeded sound.

The duo appeared on the unsuspecting village, the Twi’lek Sith had chosen her targets to be the sentries around the flickering fire, that was fine with Onasius; he had other targets in mind. He made a mental nod toward Anaya and stopped dead in his tracks to watch her do her work, her form was flawless, and with any luck the three or four sentries that had spotted them on the way there were likely seconds away from their attempted capture of this Sith menace who had already killed the guards. Onasius waited behind a tree for his moment to strike, face still sheathed by his shadowed robe.

They were here, he heard their hushed tones and attempted silence as they approached the village, but Onasius was ready for them. He waited until they had passed him before he stepped from behind the tree, snapping a branch on his way out to get the vermin’s attention. Before the assassin stood three guards, each about six feet tall, each holding a blade, and each far more muscular than the Yevetha. The one in charge grunted at Onasius, probably in an attempt to get some identification. Shedding the obsidian robes and exposing his physique for what it was, frail and sickly looking; however on those skinny bones he had was a decent layer of muscle, having absolutely no fat on his body. They seemed unimpressed by his frail figure. They were soon taken aback when Onasius extended his dew claws, the three foot long blades were hungry for battle.

A unified gasp of question fell upon the group of sentries who were sent to kill the Sith, they hadn’t any idea what the demon in front of them was. Little did the soon to be deceased guards know, they were dealing with the chosen of the Yevetha, Onasius Gruwel, Sith assassin. The three of took an offensive stance, spreading out across the path. The odds were three to one but that mattered little to a Yevetha, to them you take down the weakest first and charge anything else that decides to attack you. It was hard to tell the weakest of the group so he figured he would do the next best thing and kill the stupidest first, so he waited in his defensive position until one of them dared challenge a Yevetha.

The winner and first of the three to attack was a younger looking guard, likely seeking recognition amongst his brothers for killing the Sith. He hadn’t taken three steps forward before Onasius had jumped at him, his blade sticking the mostly unarmored soldier directly in the chest. The scout’s blood poured down his body, a now bloodthirsty Gruwel shook the body clean from his dew claws they were now covered in crimson. The six foot tall assassin stood over the dead body, his usually emotionless grey eyes now burned a deep yellow.

The other two hadn’t fallen as easily as the first, their blades met with the assassin’s dew claws many times before Onasius got the upper hand by tearing a part of one of the soldier’s arm off with his teeth. With the three of them down, Onasius knew he had to regroup with the others in the village it had seemed they were causing a commotion of their own, seeing one of the huts burst into flames.

Entering the village, Onasius looked for his Twi’lek friend, @[member='Anaya Fen'],

 

[Sirella Valkner]

Sirella nodded at Spencer, "Your work with Ashin of course." The flora woman turned and walked towards a gunship. Many of the local tribesmen were already on board. She slaps the ships side and watched it rise into the air. Their first trip through the skies. She smirked, they were adapting well. "Remember these nomads are savage, feral. They are hated by all the villages and are our biggest competitors. They instil fear in others, they are the big dog." A smirk crossed the woman face, "But we're the bigger dog."

The nomads village was makesift, they moved it when they pleased. Their main advantage in the past had been their riding beasts, but the jungles over took the barren plains that once dominated the planet and made the bests less effective. Sirella hopped onto a gunship which flew and darted across the sky toward the village. The first apeared on station just before her and started to strafe targets on the ground. With only a few of these vessels they could subjugate village after village, but that wasn't the plan. As Sirella's gunship moved overhead she jumped from it's large bay door and landed onto the ground with a satisfying plunk.

The savages through they could crowd her and overwhelm her. They charged and shot their primitive weapons. Sirella used the force to block the arrows and cause the trees to swarm up around the group and begin to slowly strangle them. She let out a plant warcry and charged into a group smashing into them, using Sholân Kha the plant war dance...

 

[John Harrison]

YSANNA NOMAD VILLAGE

@[member="Velok"]

"To call a spark without burning yourself out... you would need to make yourself a conduit through which the electricity could flow, to steel your veins and make yourself as solid as the hull of the starship, lest you burn." It was an educated guess, but a guess nonetheless.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

@[member="John Harrison"]

"Philosophically tidy, but if we could make ourselves invulnerable to electrical current, lightning would be useless as a weapon between Sith. What you've proposed is half the truth..."

Velok trailed. Sirella's dropship, and the Grand Marshal herself, drew Ysanna attention like a flame choked by moths. It gave him and his Apprentice a bit of breathing room. "Let's try it," he said. "You can make yourself a conduit for lightning, for charge drawn up from the ground. But that is utterly dependent on your Force aura, the thing that prevents another Apprentice or Knight from ripping your lightsabre out of your hand with telekinesis. If your aura breaks from lack of concentration, or if someone like me deliberately breaks it, your own lightning can be turned back at you."

He quickly explained the tricks of thought, rage and perspective that went into drawing electrical charge from the ground.

"Now try it. I daresay you might be able to make a good-sized spark. Set this building alight."

 

[Valik]

Valik joined the Sith in their attack on a new village. It was large, and rather makeshift, traits most likely coming from a powerful nomadic nature. He noticed their beasts of burden, most likely one of the deciding factors in their skirmishes and wars with other clans. Valik ignited his saber and joined the battle, using his telekinesis to push over their weak nomadic structures and throw rocks onto the nearby Ysanna. He watched as a young sith followed a strong whipid into battle, trying new techniques and combat methods in pure combat. Valik smiled.

That is the way of the Sith. He thought as he ceased his telekinetic display to slash at a foe in front of him. His thoughts then wandered to his own apprentice, a primitive man who opted to use claws from his body rather than a lightsaber. It would be effective here, but it wouldn't be effective if the Assassin ever had to fight a man with a lightsaber. Perhaps he could invent a way to reinforce the claws . . . no, he couldn't do it via alchemy, then the biological aspect of the blade would be gone, and his weapons could be detected through metal detectors. Perhaps though he could alter the genetics of the man to match that of another lightsaber resistant being . . . Valik made a mental note to look over some studies of the Yuuzhan Vong, as that would be the place he would be most likely to find such a creature.

Valik made his way to the alien apprentice @[member="Onasius Gruwel"], and found he had just beaten three guards, one by ripping off his arm with his teeth.

"I am glad to see you are making use of all of your resources." Valik said only mildly jokingly. It was a brutal thing, and a bit unorthodox, but having another point of attack could mean the difference between life and death in a true battle.

 

[John Harrison]

@[member="Velok"]

"I will try." Outstretching his fingers, he focused all of his anger, all of his hate upon summoning the lightning and channeling it through his veins. He could feel it as the anger consumed him, his heart a vortex of darkness. The sheer power required to generate a spark was causing him great pain, his teeth gritted under the strenuous effort. His pupils dilated, his irises shifting colour slightly as he became more immersed in the dark side.

Yes. The spark was within him. All he needed to do was release it, to force it upon the building before him. Pushing back on his foot, he dug it into the ground to steady himself. Sucking in air as he felt the agonising pain of exasperation, he called all of his power to his fingertips, letting out the lightning. Moaning in agony, he watched as the vibrant blue tongues of electricity shot forth, catching the building with a bright spark, a small flame spreading across the building and setting it ablaze.

"You lied when you said it would be less exhausting..." John gasped in pain and exhaustion, collapsing to his knees with sweat dripping down his cheeck.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

@[member="John Harrison"]

"First rule, son. The Whiphid lies. But look what you did, even when surprised by the difficulty of the task. And soon enough..."

Lightning danced around his free hand.

"Get up. You're not done yet. They're coming back to hit us again - dart guns and blades." Velok gestured with his lightning-wreathed hand. As an afterthought, a crackling bolt of red snapped over Harrison's shoulder and knocked a Ysanna tribesman flying. "Draw on the Force for endurance, for strength. You're only as beaten as your mind."

 

[Nisha Decrilla]

Anaya was a blur of red as she moved through the ysanna, her lightsabers dismembering and killing as she pushed her way through the warriors to get the centre of the village. The dance of death took over as the beats began in her mind, a light smile on her face a soft humming coming from within. Sirella's gunship drew their attention and she leapt for a roof top, spotting a whipid and his apprentice, she watched with interest as the apprentice fired lightening at the building she was own, momentarily forgetting the battle.

Al well aimed dart sliced the skin on her arm and she leapt to the next roof top with a low hiss of anger. From up here she could see the fight in its entirety, she took a moment to observe her eyes settling on Valik and his yevetha apprentice. Smirking she leapt down to join them, her lightsabers igniting as she fell and unleashing a new fury on the ysanna as she moved towards her comrades.

A battle cry from behind her made her smirk and she waited until the animal was almost upon her before Anaya ducked beneath his attack and spun to remove his legs at the knee. Smiling she moved to stand back to back with Valik and Onasiuss, still humming to herself as she did. The Ysanna had formed a hesitant circle of warriors around the three and Anaya could only laugh at them "Come little ones, I'm not done hearing you scream." she sang.

The warriors rushed forward.

 

[Sirella Valkner]

Sirella watched from the above gunship. The makeshift village was easy to set alight, it's warriors scattering and forming into small groups to attack the sith where they could. This was horror, this was carnage, this was victory. The plant smiled in her gunship as she looked down at the scene below. She threw several seeds and watched as the plants surged the moment they hit the ground constricting and destroying a portion of the hastily erected wall. The gunship let loose its awesome array of weapons raking the native warriors with fire. It was decimation, it was all part of the plan. She took special note of her large Whiphid friend, Velok, as he eviscerated natives with crimson lightning. Next to him stood his student, an impressive man by all appearances, but a man non the less. Further afield was Anaya Fen. She had potential, and an attitude matching Sirella's. She had non to subtly suggested Sirella train her, it was a prospect that the woman was now looking forward to. But it was better to make meat wait, to make them really earn the chance to learn from the plant master. She laughed as the gunship made another pass....

 

[Ashin Varanin]

By Sirella's feet, inside the gunship, MSE-007 set his treads against the edge of the open hatch. He added his blasterfire to the torrent of weapons fire descending from the gunship. Heuristic maintenance improvement algorithms adjusted his aim as he refined his programming. It was just like using a welding torch, but at range, and so much more satisfying.

Ysanna fell beneath MSE's blasterfire as the droid skidded excitedly back and forth across the edge of the hatch, careless of the long fall beneath.