Private What Goes Bump in the Day

[Kal]

"That can be arranged." A lightsaber was trivially easy for him to procure, but he was not one to deliver the minimum effort in the fulfilment of his obligations. The most plausible relics were actual relics. Albeit rigorously maintained relics.

A lightsaber might well work after millennia in a tomb, but better safe than sorry.

"It will not be difficult to acquire such a thing; I have a suitable piece in one of my collections and appropriately useful crystals in storage. Something to bolster your Force Abilities, perhaps - that would surely be a believable 'blessing'."

Scrutinising her dominant hand for a long moment, he relayed the necessary instructions to his servitors.

"If you find yourself in a position to barter something else of value, feel free to reach out. I have many boons at my disposal - a new and improved arm, perhaps? Yours seems primitive, to put it mildly."

 

[Kyriaki]

Kal

Kyriaki raised a delicate eyebrow when the Shadow casually mentioned having lightsabres in his collections. The phrasing implied acquisition of a lightsabre was no big deal for him. But he didn't seem the type to duel Jedi or Sith for their sabres. He was clearly interested in mystical pursuits, but somehow she had trouble imagining him going on a spiritual quest to obtain a kyber crystal. Besides, weren't they rare? She was quite certain she'd read the Empire had consumed a staggering number of deposits to power its superweapons.

But she made no comment. It would not do to appear ignorant, and simply gave him a polite nod before he suddenly drew attention to her crude cybernetic prothesis. As if on cue, it started to inch. The phantom pain made her wince slightly. "Eager for another transaction already?" she asked airily. "You're quite right. It's a crude, ugly thing imposed on me by an asinine tradition." But giving up a memory for a powerful weapon with arcane attributes that could raise her status was one thing, letting elusive aliens attach a body part to her was another.

"I appreciate your offer, but let's see how the first arrangement works out first, and I might take it into consideration. I would need to be appraised of all the technical details, for one. In any event, how will you contact me to let me know the sabre has been procured and we can move ahead with the...theatrics?"

 

[Kal]

"I am always eager to bargain." Kal grinned broadly again - and this time his 'teeth' resembled polished pearls in colour and luminescence. It seemed he could not be bothered to maintain a consistent appearance, even for one conversation.

"That is understandable." Without further ado, he projected the details directly into her mind - the measurements he had taken of her hand, the ergonomic modifications that would be made to the lightsaber, the properties of the crystal, and the obligatory re-examination of the lightsaber's components; it had been a collection piece to him, not a weapon.

Giving her time to sort through the information, he began gently twirling his fingers, trace quantities of iron seeping out of the earth beneath and congealing before him. "I will speak to you in your mind when it is done. A few hours, I'd say."

A skilled Nethermancer could move matter from one dimension to the other nearly instantaneously.

"This will allow you to reach me before or after, if necessary. Simply hold it and think clearly." The iron stopped moving, leaving a slim iron coin hovering above his hand. One side had a featureless face in profile and the other a symbol.

 

[Kyriaki]

Kal

Kyriaki had the distinct impression that the Shadow being was teasing her. There was no other way to explain his apparent unwillingness to maintain a consistent appearance and form. For a moment, she tensed when she felt him connect with her mind, before she relaxed. It was like the lightsabre was being made before her very eyes. Of course, it was all in her mind, but she couldn't help being impressed. It's beautiful. Like Elpsis' must be.

The fact that he was not shackled to a frail body, could seemingly form objects from nothing and traverse realspace and the Nether realm caused a stab of jealousy. Mankind is weak, she thought. She had long thought so. She'd understood for a while that the Vaderites were evil, just as she knew that their realm was a primitive mess. But she'd had no other frame of reference. Of course, undoubtedly the Shadows had their own shady practices. One wonders what happens to those too naive and foolish about their bargains, she thought. But they have access to powers beyond the Vaderites. What does glorious humanity have to show for itself?

She took the profferred iron coin, and found it was truly solid. She examined the alien symbol with an expression of curiosity, then pocketed the item. She would have to be careful it was not discovered. "Understood, that's acceptable. You'll receive the memory when the transaction has taken place." This could easily go wrong. It would not take much for the Vaderites to decide that the theatrics showed she was, in fact, tainted. But there was no gain without risk. "Until then," she extended her right hand. Did Shadows seal their bargain with a handshake? She just decided it was a valid either way.

 

[Kal]

"That seems reasonable." She was the one taking a risk by trusting him, after all; if she tried to double-cross him he had ways of recovering the lightsaber and penalising deceit, whereas for all she knew he could just... vanish.

Taking her hand, he gave it a firm shake - he seemed tangible enough at the moment but hardly human. The 'skin' felt more like a 'water with the consistency of rubber' than anything remotely organic. "Until then."

Kal lifted his hand to his head in a lazy salute.

When next she blinked, she would find him gone when her eyes opened an instant later.

 

[Kyriaki]

Kal

Within the span of the blank of an eye, the Shadow had dissipated. Kyriaki stared at the now vacated spot for a few moments, deep in thought, before she turned and walked away. Honna was still standing sentinel at the edge of the grove when she arrived. "M'lord got what she wanted?" she asked in her rough, gruff voice.

"Yes," Kyriaki responded simply.
"M'lord should be careful. Ya never know with the spirits. They can be good, they can be bad, but they 'ever think like mortals. Ya can't trick 'em," the large Gamorrean opined.
Especially not this sort, Kyriaki thought to herself. "I'm quite cognisant of the risk. Are you worried about me?"
"'bout myself," was all her bodyguard had to say in response. Without further ado, she opened the car door for Kyriaki, then got in herself on the driver's side. "Where to?"

"Back to Sentinel's Rest." Just as Kyriaki sat down, her comm beeped. She checked the number, frowned, and answered. "Hello, Sibylla."
The Sith's voice was the usual prolonged rasp of breath. "I heard you've been having adventures in a haunted forest all without me. Tsk, tsk."
"I promise I saved the best. I didn't get quite get to the nexus itself. There was an incident."
"Yes, all of a sudden one of our own lost his faculties and murdered his comrade. Luckily, you had your wits up. He must've been weak. Why don't you join me? I'd be eager to hear your impressions."
"Eager to turn the forest into another testing site?"
"Let's just say my Master wants this matter handled, and I'd appreciate mutually beneficial cooperation."
"Certainly. Where are you right now?"
"At the hotel. Where everyone is tripping over their heels to both fawn over me and come up with new euphemisms for our little cleansing operation. They are having trouble fawning over someone who doesn't desire creature comforts. Awfully dull. You're not dull though. Your exploits are always so interesting."

 

[Kal]

There was another player on the field, one acquainted with the first. An interesting development.

Consciousness mingling with the Nexus, Kal was vaguely aware of the forest and to a lesser degree the rest of the island - but when it came to Sibylla? She was novel enough that one of his Shades was watching her through the eyes of a KEC sycophant of young age and positively puny mental defences. Urging him to stay close was trivially easy.

If Sibylla ordered him away, the Shade could watch invisibly from the sidelines. Still, that would leave it somewhat more prone to exposure. Something to consider, if it came to it; perhaps it was best to play it safe, for now.

He would not need the Shade to watch if she entered the forest, after all.

There was only so much she could do to derail this affair from the outside unless Kyriaki slipped up.

 

[Kyriaki]

Kal

With Kyriaki on the way, Sibylla waited in the lobby room. "It's just a bit tacky, isn't it?" the cyborg Sith asked, pointing at the stucco ceiling of the lobby, which was covered in Tephriki historical motives. A crystal chandelier lit up the whole assemblage.
"It's a...change of scenery, my lord. The drinks are great," the secretly possessed KEC minion said, leaning back in his comfortable leather armchair.
"Yes, quite," the Sith said dryly. "Well, I wouldn't know about the drinks. I just hope the blackouts aren't as bad as Adlerberg. Although...," she suddenly trailed off, and fetched a primitive device that resembled a PDA. An angry red light beeped on it. She looked back at the KEC man. "Ah...curious. The phenomena has extended beyond the forest. Fascinating..." An enchanted blade was within reach.

 

[Kal]

The KEC man's eyes widened, his fearful gaze flickering from wall to wall as if expecting a ghost to poke its head through.

"Here, my lord?" His tone expressed the tenous hope that she would reply 'no, just nearby', but he still seemed ready to scoot closer for protection. His pride and proper etiquette were keeping him in place, at least for now.

Within the KEC officer, one of Kal's shades considered the prospect of exposure and decided to act; reaching out to the Force, the being slowly sliding through the veil between worlds, hoping to slither back to the Netherworld unnoticed. Depending on how Sibylla's instruments were calibrated, she might notice more - or less - of a disturbance.

Whatever the case, the shade's actions were likely to affect her readings.

 

[Kyriaki]

Kal

Sibylla sensed something was amiss. She didn't know the exact nature of the entity that had taken possession of the KEC man. As far as she knew, it was a spirit of the forest. But she could perceive its essence slowly dissipating. She reached out with the Force. Sorcerous tendrils attempted to grip the slithering presence, aiming to form a metaphysical net. "Ah...is the host unaware...or attempting to hide the possession? Come out, spirit, so I might look upon thee," she said conversationally, ignoring the young sycophant entirely. If her magics did harm to him...too bad. He wasn't interesting. He was just...there.

Meanwhile, Kyriaki's groundcar had come to a halt in front of the hotel. As the sign on the front gate indicated, it was only open for humans. The sign itself was a bit superfluous, since no xenos lived in Sentinel's Rest. However, sometimes outsiders who lacked a Chiosian's enlightened racial consciousness visited the hotel and brought xenos guards and servants with them instead of employing good human labour like any decent Humanist would. Regardless, while Honna waited outside, she walked into the hotel, just in time to see the next phase of Sibylla's encounter with the Shade.

 

[Kal]

Sorcery. Kal would have been able to resist, given his aptitude for that art and the insulation the meat puppet provided, but the Shade was not so lucky. It was not at all inclined to be reeled in without a fight, however.

Even as Kal took note and began to whip the Bone Forest into a frenzy, his Shade attempted something far more direct.

It would take a while for its Maker to be able to extend his tendrils - it would not to for it to be netted while waiting.

With very little advance warning, the KEC officer would rip his pistol from its holster and attempt to fire off a shot towards one of Sibylla's kneecaps; panicked and confused as he was, it was easy enough to seize direct control.

 

[Kyriaki]

Kal

Time seemed to slow. A gun was drawn, the receptionist let out a frightened shriek and ducked for cover behind her desk, guests scurried from the lobby, and guards closed in. Just as the possessed KEC squeezed the trigger, Sibylly willed the Force to deflect the gun's barrel just slightly. A shot rang out, and she felt a sharp stab of pain as the bullet scraped her side.

Her cybernetic arm swung her enchanted blade, cleaving through the possessed officer's hand that held the gun at the wrist. Even as the limb fell to the floor, she drew upon the Force, renewing her efforts to ensnare what she still suspected to be a spirit. Armed guards closed in, their weapons trained upon her victim. "I need him alive," she commanded, exerting herself.

In that moment, boots could be heard racing across the marble floor, as Kyriaki rushed, out of breath. She took one look at the man, feeling an alien presence inside him, and another at Sibylla. This was a complication. The presence felt somewhat similar to Kal...but different. Far weaker. He hadn't contacted her yet. Her lips moved while her mind was still racing. "I see you had a paranormal encounter of your own," she said dryly.
"I was missing out being attacked by possessed soldiers it seems," Sibylla quipped in response. "How about you lend me a hand? We can't let this spirit escape."

 

[Kal]

That was a complication. If Kal had a face at the moment, he would be frowning. A lost Shade would be unfortunate, whereas a captured Shade would be catastrophic. He did not for one moment think the Sith would be able to breach its memories, at least not quickly, but it could at the very least be used to trace him.

They might even be able to strike at him directly through it.

In the lobby, the KEC officer let loose an animalistic snarl, his eyes glowing a pale white. Almost without acknowledging the missing arm, he flung himself at Kyriaki, seeking to force her to strike to kill.

If she did, the Shade would almost eagerly allow itself to be destroyed.

Back in the forest, Kal drew in every bit of power he could muster and unleashed it as a directional wave - suddenly, mist surged forth with the speed of a racing speeder and the Nexus' unpleasant effects spread with it. Even as he noted his success, he felt his control beginning to fray, the spirits beginning to shake his yoke, despite the target.

It was risky to be acting this overtly, but he had little choice.

 

[Kyriaki]

Kal

Kyriaki didn't know whether the being possessing the KEC officer was a spirit from the haunted forest, a lesser Shadow or some other Nether creature. But she knew it had to be connected to Kal...and Sibylla wanted to capture it. That meant she risked exposure, which she couldn't allow.

But she also couldn't just strike him down without arousing suspicion.

She made a snap-decision as the maimed KEC man lunged at her with an animalistic snarl, eyes glowing white. Mist was starting to fill the lobby. The Force surged from her in a telekinetic push...one just a bit more forceful than needed. Slamming into the KEC man, it propelled him against the stairs. There was a crunch when his head slammed against it.

With a bit of luck, he'd break his neck. "We can still bind the spirit," Sibylla declared just as his flight ended. Already her Force energies were being redirected towards this effort. But as the invisible tendrils sprouted from her fingertips, chaos erupted in the lobby.

With the lobbdy flooded with mist, Kyriaki could barely see anything. But she heard the cries of panicking patrons, then suddenly gunshots. "Cease fire, you fools." That was Sibylla, but pandaemonium was breaking out. Kyriaki had to duck for cover to avoid bullets richochetting off the wall. As she looked up, she saw the reason.

A blood-curdling, terrible shriek rang out, forcing her to clutch her ears. Terrible voices ren the air, becoming more potent with each cry. Some guards let their weapons fall from nerveless hands, as darkness flooded their minds. The light suddenly acquired a greyscale tone, casting the lobby in dark grey. Abruptly, everything looked like it had been drained of colour.

Patrons tried to run and hide, but the doors were locked. Apparitions of alien children had manifested. All maimed, and blood-stained. A Gungan child looked down on her, dressed in bloody rags and impaled upon a spike, ectoplasmic blood leaked from the wound and dripped from his cheeks. "You murdered us, you murdered us. Now you're going to feel what it's like. You're going to feel every moment." the voices resonated across the mist-covered lobby. The temperature dropped in the lobby by a lot.

 

[Kal]

She was a stubborn one, this Sibylla. It seemed mere inconveniences would not dissuade her.

The Shade was more or less incapacitated, at this point - but its flailings had given Kal himself time to arrive and with him the unrestrained fury of the Bone Forest. Cold satisfaction filling him, he gave the order for the spirits to converge on Sibylla, only to find it ignored as they instead targetted whatever and whoever they desired, including Kyriaki.

"You do not belo-" The spirit was banished with efficiency born from experience, but it was not alone in throwing the yoke - he had effectively lost control, at this point, and yet his Shade was still being entrapped. Damnation.

So be it.

Obscured by the mists, four recently-dropped firearms would levitate off the ground, take aim, and open fire in Sibylla's direction. He needed to end this quickly if he was to regain control, or at least calm the Nexus down.

Alternatively, it would 'run out of gas' in a while, without him to empower and direct it.

 

[Kyriaki]

Kal

Chaos and pandaemonium reigned. Bullets were ricochetting off the wall, all light had been drained from the room, and blood-curdling shrieks rent the air. Four firearms unloaded upon Sibylla, bullets raining down upon her. She swung her enchanted blade, deflecting as best as she could as she drew upon her training. Some missed, others were absorbed by her power.

But then she staggered when a projectile struck the 'box' on her chest. Abruptly, she began wheezing, and her weak lungs struggled to receive oxygen. A momentary panic filled her, threatening to overwhelm her. She threw herself to the ground, trying to avoid more projectiles. A bullet struck her cybernetic arm, causing sparks to fly and denting metal.

Her first master had once told to get angry when faced with disaster. Anger should be her fuel. This was stupid. Angry people made mistakes, got impulsive, lacked focus. Don't get angry, get focused. These words hammered through her mind. The damage was...manageable. The Force would sustain her long enough. A blast of telekinesis erupted from her towards the direction she had sensed the projectiles come from. It might wreck guns, or scatter the. She started to crawl towards an...object near her seat. But then the visions hit her, and she reeled in pain. White-hot shards dug into her brain, as the nexus unleashed its fury. This might have given Kal a chance to salvage the Shade in some form.

As the mist flooded the lobby, and the apparitions manifested, the visions became more visceral. More to the point, those affected would feel as the spirits had felt, share their pain and fear, as if it had happened to them. Children cried as their parents were dragged away behind barbed wire. Some tried in vain to reach them. A few parents tried to fight, others tried to urge their children to obey...and survive.

"Mum, don't leave me..." a Togruta girl cried.
"Little Wing, you must be strong. Live..."
"They'll kill you."
"I'll always be with you. Take this," a mother handed the child a token. A pendant with a picture of herself and her father, with arcane symbols on it.

Then a KEC man tore it from her hands. "No valuables allowed," he snarled, before beating the woman with a baton. "Take her away!"
"No!" the two were separated as both were dragged away. The child tried to fight, but was easily overpowered.

Togruta, Gungan, Nautolan and other xenos children congregated in a barracks. Dark and dim, it was caked with dirt. The building would feel very familiar to the guests...for the hotel had been built on top of its ruins. Many were crying, all were dressed in rags. When the Togruta child was led in, she sat down in a corner and hugged herself, crying quietly. Eventually, a Gungan boy approached her hesitantly, stretching out his hand.

"Hi," he said awkwardly.
"I don't want to talk." A sob. "I want my mum."
"I want my brother." The boy made a circular motion with his hand, as if engulfing the whole room. "They took all our family." Hesitantly the girl took the profferred hand, and the two hugged.

Time passed, the children received little food or care and weren't allowed to leave the barracks. One tried to sneak out during the night, was caught and killed. Then suddenly a matronly human woman in a grey Amidala Corps uniform showed up. "Hello, children!" she declared with a cheerful smile. "My name is Sabé, you can call me Auntie. I'm here to look after you."
"Where are our parents?" the Gungan child demanded.
"You killed them," the Togruta declared accusingly.

"Children, please, your parents are fine. Some mistakes were made. A few KEC men got...overzealous. Bad men. They've been punished. Your parents are being put to work and learning new things. Like at school! So we can build a better Chios together."
"I don't believe you, I want to see them. Go away!" the Togruta girl snapped.
"Manners, child. You will soon, my dear...if you're a good girl. But first we need to make you presentable. You must be hungry. Who wants some cake?" As if on cue, a minion in AC uniform came in carrying a delicious looking chocolate cake. "Don't be shy, kids. Dig in. Then we'll get you some new clothes, and you can see your parents."

None of the starving children moved, staring at the cake and human woman, though their stomachs growled. "You want to see your parents, don't you?" the AC woman asked rhetorically. She cut herself a small piece and takes a bite. "See, safe! And delicious," she licked her lips.

Slowly, the children began to eat. The Gungan boy looked hesitant at first, but then helped himself to a piece. "It's...," he never finished.
The Togruta girl picked at it. "It tastes weird," she mutteredn. Then she suddenly heard a choking sound, and turned. "Meef!" she called out, grabbing and shaking him. Then she glowered at Sabé hate-filled eyes. "You...stop eating, it's poisoned!" she tried to alert her friends.
But then Sabé suddenly grabbed her by the throat. "Eat it."
"No."
She tightened her grip. "Eat it, or I'll hurt you...a lot." A KEC man stepped into the room. Menacingly, he loomed above the poor girl, holding a baton in hand.

After everyone had eaten, KEC men came in to check the bodies. While Sabé watched, children who were still breathing were bayonenetted. Some had only pretended to eat. The bodies of the children were collected. Alien prisoners and auxiliaries were being forced to do the dirty work under the watchful eyes of the KEC and the army. The bodies were dragged towards the gravesite, the feet of the dead scraped the ground beneath them.

Sabé and a KEC officer watched while they were being tossed into a pit...alongside the corpses of their parents. They saw while the head of the Gungan boy bumped up and down on the ground. "It's hard, isnt it? The kind of work we have to do," Sabé said.
Not the slightest trace remorse could be seen on her features.

"Hard on the men, yeah," the KEC officer said. "This is better. The shootings are messy. I've had men suffer breakdowns. They can handle putting down the men...but the women and children..." he gave her hand a squeeze. "You did good work."
"We're just following orders."

All this the people in the hotel lobby saw, and felt.

Kyriaki saw every moment. She felt the poison work its way into her bloodstream, she felt herself choking and in the throes of agonising, horrible pain. Every single moment. And then she was pulled into a pit by hundreds of hands, alongside the guests. Desperately, she tried to claw her way out, but the hands kept dragging her down.

Her head hit something hard and...bony. There were bones everywhere. Hotel guests and guards cried out in fear, and pain, then one by one they were silenced as they were pulled down. It was all in their mind...but felt real enough to render them catatonic. Others were still fighting, begging for mercy, or making excuses. One had gourged out her eyes.

"You murdered us, you murdered us! Why?! We were just kids!" the spirits thundered. More and more of her body was being swallowed by the earth. Intense pain crept through her cybernetic hand. She struggled to breathe. Her heart thundered inside her chest. She couldn't form words. All she saw was a void of blackness dragging her down. "I know," she thought. "It was wrong, it was a crime, there can be no forgiveness for it. I'm damned," she thought as loudly as she could, trying her best to broadcast it to the spirits. "And...I'll avenge you."

"You lie! You lie!"
"Look into my mind. You want to take down a few scum...or get true revenge on those responsible?" And she let them see it all. Everything she had endured; everything she had done; everything she would do. The spectral hands that had wrapped around her throat let go. "We'll be watching." And then her mind was clear.

Sibylla also struggled against the hands dragging her into the pit. She struggled against the voices. The begging, the whining and the self-righteous outrage of so many patrons filled her with scorn. Look at them, so pathetic, so unable to admit what they are. So easily cowed, she thought scornfully.

"You will pay!" the voices declared.
Pain crept into her body, visions flooded her mind. She embraced them. "Thank you for showing me what I am," she responded through her mind. "I...like it." With an act of will she pushed herself out of the pit, while others were being dragged in. The box - a device to contain spirits - was near her backpack. It resembled a music box. Moving towards it, even as her face was contorted in an expression of agony, she slammed a mechanical thumb down on the button.

 

[Kal]

The situation was spiralling out of control and quickly, but some combination of the bullets fired at her and the hateful spirits forced Sibylla to lose her metaphysical stranglehold on Kal's Shade - it was the opportunity he needed.

In an instant he was next to the fallen body, his will grabbing ahold of his creation, pulling it from the host, and all but flinging it back into the Netherworld. It was a good thing it was a spirit; moving matter back and forth was more strenuous by far.

That done, he had time to get an overview on the situation and it was not pretty.

Screaming, shouting, and weapons fire; catatonic forms, beings wounded or killed by friendly fire, and people desperately pounding on the doors. One elderly human had even procured a fire axe from somewhere and was actively chopping a way out, albeit at a pace slowed somewhat by ageing muscles. Kyriaki, at least, seemed to have freed herself.

As had Sibylla, who now moved to use... ah, how unfortunate.

A quick extension of will carved a glyph into a wall, one that would hopefully allow him to monitor the room remotely, and then he was gone; teleportation was orders of magnitudes easier when you lacked a physical form.

 

[Kyriaki]

Kal

It was complete pandaemonium. More and more spirits, both of children and adults, had manifested. By now the psychic power unleashed by them was spreading beyond the lobby towards various hotel rooms. Their psychic call rent the air, spreading fear and terror and the madness brought by the revelation of what the Vaderites had wrought.

And what the occupants of this place had been a part of, directly or indirectly. Many guests and guards had turned catatonic, their minds trapped and frozen in time, faces contorted into an expression of horror. Those who tried to reach out to these trapped minds would hear a howl of agony. Desperate fists pounded on doors, weapons fired. People bled or died from weapons fire.

And then Sibylla pressed the button. It started as a loud, booming noise. Kyriaki clutched her eyes, but then her eyes widened when she felt the surge in the Force. Realisation dawned upon her. Flee, your murderers wish to trap you again. Not in the cold ground, but with machines! Her telepathic call went to the spirits.

The box started pulling them into it. It was like draining a sink of water, but with transparent ghosts. A couple of them were seized. "No!" the Togruta girl cried out, lashing out furious and terrified power, as she was sucked into the whirlpool like vortex. "Shada!" the Gungan boy called out, desperately trying to reach his friend. The ghost boy surged forward, his spectral hand attempting to grab even as he risked being sucked in himself. "Piap!" the Togruta shrieked, spectral hands almost touching. Then she was lost in the vortex. Other ghosts grabbed their comrade, combining their powers to pull him away. "I'll come back for you, I'll get you out!" the boy shouted frantically.

Each yell sent stabs of madness into the minds of humans in the hall, like red-hot needles. Amidst the eruption of Force energies across the lobby, the energy Kyriaki willed to flow from herself towards the ghosts went unnoticed. Not a large amount. Enough to fly under the radar, but sufficient to give them a push to help them get out.

Breathing heavily, she dropped to the ground, nose bleeding and feeling nauseous. Her skull throbbed painfully. Sibylla had arisen, in pain and gasping for breath as she pressed a button and shut the box. "Mine...now," she spoke haltingly. "Good thing I'm...," she paused, a pained gasp, "always...prepared."

 

[Kal]

That could have gone better.

Still, he had learned something valuable - this Sibylla was far more capable than most of the Vaderites he had observed. Oh, they were all good at killing and tended to exhibit some low cunning, but creativity and common sense were rarer.

Cutting off perfectly healthy limbs to replace them with subpar cybernetics was but one example of many.

Those devices of hers - self-made, no doubt. He would have to have someone take a closer look should the opportunity present itself. Someone expendable. An HRD, perhaps. He doubted the box would have been sufficiently strong to pull him in, but he could not know for sure - whatever the case, it had made short work of the 'ghostly infestation'.

<That could have gone better. No matter, your lightsaber is all but ready.>

Kyriaki would hear his words like a gentle whisper from afar, though they were purely telepathic.

 

[Kyriaki]

Kal

As she heard the gentle whisper from her Shadow ally, a skeletal, metal hand was stretched out to Kyriaki. Looking up she saw, Sibylla. "You...alright?" the Cyborg spoke haltingly, breathing strained.
"As far as the circumstances allow," Kyriaki responded, wiping away some blood dripping down her nose before she took the hand. She winced as Sibylla helped her up, feeling a painful ringing in her ears.

"We have wounded. They need medical attention. Check the rooms, too," she called to troopers who had come charging into the lobby. She glanced at Sibylla's damaged box. "You should get that looked at."
"Yes." Unlike Kyriaki's template, the Sith was not absurdly stubborn. "The nexus is," a pained gasp came from her throat, "more aggressive than anticipated. This...complicates matters."

"What the hell happened here?!" a loud, masculine voice suddenly yelled. Turning Kyriaki saw that Ralliades stood in the doorway, accompanied by KEC soldiers and police. "Explain yourself."
"The nexus happened," Kyriaki retorted, rubbing her temples. It seemed the headache was about to get worse. "I suppose this is answers the mystery of how our three KEC men perished."
"I'm not interested in mysteries, I want this matter handled. Lord Lachesis will not tolerate failure," he growled.

"No...she will not," Sibylla interjected icily. "I...report...to Lord Lachesis. I shall tell her Kyriaki helped me prevent...the situation from getting...worse. While you were no use."
"I have served Lord Lachesis for a lot longer than you, Laskaris," Ralliades retorted, jaw tight. Sibylla just stared at him, without blinking. Finally he relented, and looked at one of his minions. "Banneret, put the building under lockdown. Anyone who has been contaminated must be put in isolation." The KEC officer saluted and quickly set to work. "What are our options?"

"The nexus is too uncontrollable. A...very powerful Force blast could overwhelm and override it."
"The Darkforce Neutraliser," Ralliades surmised.
"Yes. After it's amplified. Under my direction," Sibylla emphasised, much to his annoyance, no doubt.
"Acceptable," he conceded reluctantly.
"A blast of such magnitude could've unforeseen consequences," Kyriaki interjected.
"I've made the calculations," Sibylla responded.

"And no doubt they're well thought-out," the clone said without a hint of irony, "but the nexus has steadily increased in volatility. If its energies meet the blast wave...can you be certain we can contain the fallout?" she asked rhetorically.
"We must purge these abominations now," Ralliades insisted.
Ignoring him, Kyriaki touched Sibylla's arm. "And you'd be losing an opportunity. There are few nexi with this potential in our sphere. You already made a device to contain spirits, couldn't you make one to keep them out? Large enough to shield the town. That preserves it for experimentation."
"This isn't the time or place for science experiments. Human lives are at stake. All of Chios is at risk," Ralliades declared hotly.
"I could," Sibylla said after a moment of thought. Ralliades opened his mouth, but she preempted him. "The matter's decided. Take it up with Lord Lachesis...if you wish," she spoke icily. "A shield...is more viable."

Kyriaki smiled slightly. "I can assist you with the preparations," she rubbed her temples. "Excuse me for a moment, I need some fresh air." Kal would feel Kyriaki try to respond through her mind once she'd walked out. While telepathy came naturally to him, she needed some effort over the distance. <Yes. Bring sabre and theatrics when her device is done.>