Heart of Darkness (DMed Story)

[Bryce Bantam]

LOCATION: Changing plans and back to the strip mines!
CURRENT OBJECTIVE: You're on your own kids time to be a hero!
ALLIES: [member="Effie Duanna"] | [member="Karen Roberts"] | [member="Solan Charr"] | [member="Kira Vaal"]

Bryce hated to leave the slaves as they marched on to the airfield but he had felt that his friend was in danger, here her call out to him. Force speed took over as he sprinted back to the fire and confusion that was the strip mines. He could feel Kira struggling with the creature that attacked her for her connection with the force was strong and Bryce was a man of great empathy. He had already lost one he care for on this mission, he would not lose another friend, not while his heart still beat.

He found Kira standing on firey gas filled pipes. She was battling with a mechanical menace of some type, a droid of unique design with unusual speed for its' girth. As he began to scale the building he hoped to get to her in time...

 

[Tiland Kortun]

Location: Pollux Airbase
Allies: [member="Raeya Papanoida"] [member="Kira Vaal"] [member="Choli Vyn"]
@Raziel
--------------------------

The speeder made its way from the mining pits across the pitted surface of the world, poisoned by pollution and the Dark Side. Tiland sat, waiting. The rest of the slaves suddenly collapsed to their knees. Their pain radiated through the Force and the two guards looked back. Tiland dropped to his knees as well, but from a different kind of pain. He received the message from his former student and his heart broke. Even for one as old and accustomed to pain as he was, it was a knife to the gut through the back. He had failed her. And the bitterest irony was that he, an Anzati nearly nine hundred years old, a being whose race practically feasted on the Dark, had stayed true to the Light for centuries while she, such a young woman, had fallen so quickly.

But then, that was her choice. Even though every year of his ancient life weighed heavily upon his shoulders, he fashioned a reply.

No, my child. Your view of the Jedi has been corrupted. But that is for another time.

He didn't have the time now to talk to her about, and perhaps he never would. But he held hope still that such a time would come. A time when the threats to the galaxy had diminished, when they could discuss this in peace over tea. But if she had fallen so quickly of her own volition, then that would likely never come.

Then the sky pulsed. Tiland tilted his head up to stare in horror as the Omega fired. He didn't know its target or what had just happened, but it had fired. He set his teeth and steeled his resolve as he let the Force flow into his body. It could fire no more. He needed to get up there as quickly as possible.

The cargo hauler started moving again, with the airbase growing in sight. They seemed to be headed for a cargo entry in the defenses. That would be better that way. Hopefully fewer security guards and checks. He could only pass as a slave for so much longer. Things were bound to get suspicious soon. No other slaves had a quarterstaff or satchel, at least. But he would keep up the guise as long as possible.

 

[Funky Balor]

Valkorion Citadel, headed towards the gate.


[member="Cole Dagos"] [member="Ghorua the Shark"] [member="Omega"] [member="Arla Balor"] and whomever else is charging this thing.


(OOC: finaly caught up. Let's do this!)

Time. There was never enough of it. The slow mando simply moved forward, slowly but surely, adding some fire to the flanks of the sith troopers as they fell back to the gate. Well, at least this opposition brought more effort than the republic had given him. Ah, well.


The sky crack red. Thunder seemed to split it as a weapon--the largest he'd ever seen--fired across the sky. The shockwave was up in space. Well, that answered a great many questions. He smirked, watching Cole and Arla flirt with each other as he activated his own jet-pack, aiming to take flight and land on a section of wall, throwing a javelin at the enemy as he flew, laughing. "Fear the Adalur B'Balor!" he bellowed, charging as he did, spear in hand, wicked grin. As he landed, he grabbed a length of chain connected to his newest weapon--A songsteel flying guillotine. He swugn it expertly, aiming for the head of one of these troopers. With a loud noise like a gong being struck by several blades, he yank back the chain, the head now fully removed from the trooper. The others looked in shock as he spun the weapon around, opening the hatch long enough to send the head flying over the wall in a gruesome display. "Meet your end, pawns of dar'jetii!" A flair for the dramatic as always. With the happy couple landing on the other end of the structure, he hoped, a flank and surround maneuver would combine with the shock and awe to terrify the enemy.



He felt a shuddering, shaking motion against the wall. Someone was blasting down there. Nice. Every front being attacked, it'd be hard to stop this kind of crazy...

 

[Kruel Zing]

Location: Sith Chambers
Allies:None
Objective: Read datacubes and investigate Sith Chambers.

Reading through the personal notes of whoever this Sith was reminded me of reading through Shiva’s own diary not too long after we had been together. Such a large invasion of privacy, but the diary could contain secrets that could help me found about the Sith academy. I had even gone through the process of making myself comfortable in the room. Sitting in the chair I sat back continuing to read the words drawing me in more and more. The first sentence alone sent an intense surge of fear through my body. How could one person have the power to kill a hundreds of other force users. It seemed impossible, what type of creature was waiting for us in this academy. It couldn’t be anything mortal. I had heard of rituals granting Sith insurmountable power but for the evidence to be before me should’ve been impossible.

Hands tightening on the datapad I continued reading on only glad that my theory of the woman being immortal was false. The fact that she had destroyed some of the plants that this Sith created spoke magnitudes to what could possibly harm her. But if they could harm her could the plants in the other room be harming me? What effects would they have on just the average force user that had come into contact with them? It was a miracle I had decided to keep reading as I wouldn’t have known about the plants holding negative effects if I hadn’t.

Reading the rest of the information I ejected the datacube. So the woman was the one that had sent the entire temple into silence. The amount of power for such a spell would be tremendous especially to have an effect on the other powerful Masters and knights. The more I read into this the more I thought about simply returning to known space and letting everyone else deal with what was happening. What was more pressing was that the Blood Angel plants could be having some negative effect on my body that I knew nothing about. Injecting the datacube labeled Notes- Sessions 1-25. Even if I couldn’t get information on the Blood Angels effects maybe information on the other creations would be mentioned. Perhaps there were seeds and such I could gather.

 

[Dax Perl]

Location: Castameer, outside the Control Tower
Affiliation: The New Republic and her allies
Nearby: No-one, although anyone nearby is welcome to help Dax out right now!
DM: [member="Raziel"]

For perhaps the twentieth time that day, Dax swore a long string of expletives. As the grey metal death machine circled above him, the side panel hissed imperceptibly and slid back, revealing a gunner inside the massive machine. "Oh that's just phriking great!" Dax muttered. Turning and running, a trail of dust and red flashes of light followed him, each inching closer to him, like Death's own footsteps.

With no cover near the doomed Jedi, the gunner fired relentlessly at him. With a sudden turn and flash of gold, the Jedi returned a single blaster bolt to the gunship, striking the cockpit. While the transparisteel did not shatter nor even crack, it did startle the unsuspecting pilot causing him to pull up. Taking this moment Dax sped away, out of sight of the gunner.

 

[Daxton Bane]

Location : Sith Academy
Enemies: Anyone foolish to provide resistance

With a satisfied grunt Daxton thrust foward, stabbing both Sith he was fighting through the eye. Dead even as their corpses hit the ground, he search for more victims but was disappointed to find none.

His battle armor was nicked and banged over a dozen places since the start of the assault but it still provided ample protection, as could be attested to by the pile of corpses he left in his wake.

He didn't bother to harm those who fled or accepted his offer of amnesty, those were the smart one. The ones who knew the cause was lost and wanted to live to fight another day. Those were the ones he let live.

Those blinded by hate or loyalty, stayed, fought and died. Such a waste. Daxton did not feel remorse though, it was an emotion completely alien to him. The Omega. An impressive feat he would have to admit. But he wasn't here for the Omega, he was here for something way bigger.

 

[Cadan Tazi]

Location: Moving Towards The Voracion Citadel.​

Allies: People at the Gate ​

Enemies: People at the Gate​

Equipment: Check Bio.​

The sky flash from green to red in an instance, the Omega had fired. Cadan looked to the sky, somewhat in awe of the colour scape before he was snapped back to reality as some more shots collided into his speeder.

Cadan kicked his speeder into overdrive, the engine roaring as it chewed the space between he and the maingate. Travelling at such high speeds, Cadan was an unable to break into to slow down. Instead he threw the speeder sideways, loosing some speed before he launched himself off the speeder and let it fly off and collided into the wall. Cadan hit the ground with a loud thump, the momentum causing him to continue rolling, his armour was design to stop bullets not him hitting the ground. The Duros body ragdollers all the way over until he fell flat into a trench, where he laid limp for a moment before groaning loudly and resting his arm on his ribs. "Fleck that 'urt!" Cadan shouted before reaching into his coat to grab a syringe. To his abosule horror the needles had all but smashed from the crash and spice was leaking through the coat. "KAAAARK!" His voice rang through the battlefield.

Before anything else could happen a rifle was being pointed at his head. From his daze Cadan could still hear the slight hum of the Chopper engine and in an attempt to surprise his attack he lept from the ground and grabbed the weapon. Cadan then began to hack at the poor man, his screams over pain being smuthered out by Cadan's shouting.

Cadan then began to take fire from the turrets up on the wall and made a quick decision to fall back out of the range of fire, putting himself at a disadvantage as now he couldn't attack the gate. From the corner of his eye, Cadan saw the explosion cause by [member="Ghorua the Shark"]. This would make a good entry point.

 

[Nima Tann]

Location: At the Gates
Allies: [member="Elpsis Elaris"] | [member="Charlyra Araano"] | People around
Enemies: The superweapon

Well, when the sky turns red, you know something is going wrong. So, their time was running out. They needed to find the superweapon and destroy it fast, and by fast, it had to be super fast as she didn't like the looks of the situation, not at all. The gates seemed to have quite an endurance, as several tanks weren't enough to open a path for them, but sure as well helped reduce the defenses. She listened to both, Elpsis was saying they could explode the gate, which would be direct to the point, and would give them the surprise effect. And Charlyra said Elpsis and her could handle it with fire and saber... Well, that would work too since they defeated most of the resistance in the battlefield and she didn’t think Citadel gates had so much defense other than the almost destroyed shield, and some remaining resistance that stood inside the citadel which would be covering the gates with blasters and e-webs. She thought for a second and then turned to Elpsis. “ In case we don't have any more ideas, explosion it is. We don’t have so much time.” Then nodded to the demolition specialist. Then turned to Charlyra. “Charlyra, you have the shield. We can protect Elpsis meanwhile she prepares the explosion, buy her some time. Shouldn't be that difficult.” Gave her last instructions before they entered the final dungeon.

“If you are both ready?" She asked. Now, they have reached the absolute, there was nothing else to do but succeed. They had one mission, don’t let [member="Omega"] do any more damage than it did. And turn the sky back to normal, since red sky wasn't that pretty.

 

[Elpsis Kerrigan]

Location: At the Gates
Objective: Blow stuff up
Allies: [member="Nima Tann"], [member="Charlyra Araano"]
[member="Omega"]


The sky flashed above them. It had turned red. That immediately snapped Elpsis back to attention. This could only mean that the Omega had fired. Hopefully it had not killed anyone she liked! A selfish thought, but hey, she would not feel the least bit upset if it blew up First Order fascists, for instance.


Before them lay the imposing gates. Defenders inside could look over it with e-webs and blasters. Elpsis needed more than a moment to recover and catch her breath. Unleashing firestorms and blowing up a walker cost a lot of energy, which could not simply be recovered by sitting still for a minute, even if you were a Master.


"Y'know what, I'm doing somethin' different. Blow the gate if I crash again," Elpsis declared after looking at the dark citadel once more, taking a deep breath. "I'm real sure the jets still work. I'll drop on the roof and open the door. Try to draw their fire."


Emerging from cover, she moved across the snow-covered, debris-littered ground. As the defenders unloaded their repeaters, she conjured up a small wind, raising snow and blowing smoke in their direction to momentarily obscure herself, then she activated her jet wings and took off into the sky.


She was certain the jet wings still had enough fuel left in their tanks! The detachment of Firemane soldiers had some heavy hardware and, covered by the debris, opened up a barrage of fire at the defenders. Most would probably not hit much, but it might suppress them a bit.


Blaster bolts splashed against her beskar armour as she shot through the air, accelerating the wings as much as possible. By now the redhead was far from being in top form. The battle had depleted a lot of her energy, she also weighed down by heavy armour, along with the weight of the wings, but she was determined. A spike of adrenaline gave her fuel as she tried to weave a path.


The roof was getting closer and closer as she gained in altitude. She winced when a blaster bolt grazed her side torso. Like hail, the rounds bounced off her crimson armour, but one found a joint and sliced through her shoulder like a hot knife. Feeding on the pain, her rage growing, she sent a stream of flame towards the gunners. Her focus was split, but at least it might blind them a bit.


"Seriously?" she exclaimed in annoyance when an annoying red light flared, wincing from an unpleasant electrical shock that caused spikes of pain. The wings' fuel compartments were made from Echani Graphite, a tough lightsabre-resistant materiel, which meant that a stray blaster bolt would not rupture the fuel tank. However, it seemed one stormtrooper had been smart enough to use an ion blaster, frying the electrical components of the pack. The redhead dropped down from on high, seeking to use the Force to slow her fall as she descended onto the roof. On the bright side, it meant she had reached her target. When she finally landed, she did so without any grace, but she was on the roof and in one piece. Now she'd only need to get down and open the gate.

 

[Wolf]

Location: Sith Academy
Allies: The First Order, Knights of Ren, [member="Thresh Sken"] | [member="Samka Derith"] | [member="Kierel"] | [member="Vustia"] | [member="Darth Ophidia"] | [member="Doc"]

Their blind guide would now be taking them to a place from where they could access the Omega weapon, presumably to take a ship there. Wolf had thought he would have been some loyal servant of the one behind all this, ready to betray them at any moment. He was pleasantly surprised to find what was as close to an ally as they could get in a place such as this. He still bore some suspicion, perhaps this was all still a trap, but there was a genuineness to his expressions and his voice that Wolf found very difficult to be skeptical of.

He listened as the guide asserted firmly that even for the Sith, the wanton destruction of life for the sake of it did not further their goals. Indeed this was true of many Sith, though there were others who seemed hell-bent on destruction. Those who, if armed with a weapon like the Omega, would do the same thing. Those however who shared a vision of the Sith closer to that of the legendary Emperor Palpatine would rightly see the Omega as an abhorrent threat to the galaxy. The Sith should be bringing order to the galaxy through discipline and an iron rule. But instead they chose disunity, internal conflict and chaos. It was no wonder the Sith had fallen so dramatically, their place in the galaxy collapsing from dominance to mediocrity.

There was an anticipation within Wolf, even as they walked here at what could be the end of the galaxy, to meet the person behind all of this. To see who thought themselves so great they could treat the rest of life like insects. Would her power and ability be able to justify her ego? He also hoped Omega would not carry this same wretched curse of silence. He just wanted to hear his own breath again, his own voice and his own heartbeat. It was time to ask more of their guide, and since no one had yet spoken, Wolf spoke now as they made their way to the upper hangars.

You say we may have the power to put an end to this. Does this simply mean to kill the one behind all this? Do you know how the weapon itself can be destroyed? Is there anything more can you tell us about her or Omega that could help us?

 

[Zark San Tekka]

Location: Castameer, Strip Mines, Between Control Towers and Air Base
Allies: Team Light Side, [member="Raeya Papanoida"], [member="Dax Fyre"], [member="Kira Vaal"], [member="Bryce Bantam"], Others
DM: [member="Raziel"]
Objective: Come to the Aid of Dax and Raeya


"I sense it now," Arix said, looking up and craning the cybernetic mask that covering his head around.

They had killed several of the storm commando patrol, driving the others off in a hasty retreat. Zark was almost out of breath, he had not exerted himself telekinetically like that in a long time. They couldn't be sure if it had been their extravagant use of the force that had specifically drawn them out, but at least one of the Sith was close by. Arix took off almost at once towards the source, and the Captain had no choice to follow but chose to take things more cautiously. He knew that where there is one Sith, there are often two. From his knowledge of ancient history, he knew it had been an old Sith battle tactic to send in one of their number to draw out the foe while the other lurked in the shadows, hiding his signature in the Force and waiting for the perfect time to strike at their enemy while unawares. They had not gone far before Zark sensed something else, although he didn't need to rely on the Force for very long as it made itself known to his other senses quickly enough.

The gunship roared over their head, and began firing on a target not far off that Pulsar recognized as he peered through the dust and snow and blaster fire to be one of the few Jedi that had followed him and his team towards the Air Base, before losing sight of each other. The young human Padawan, he believed, and slowed to a halt. Arix kept running several meters before he noticed that his Captain was no longer following him, and turned back and shrugged his shoulders elaborately in a gesture of confusion. Zark knew what must be done, but in the back of his mind he felt the chilling similarity to the events that had cost Arix a normal life. That once before he had faced a Sith alone, and the encounter had scarred every inch of his body.

"Find the Sith! Wait for me, don't engage!" Zark shouted, praying to the Force for the first time since that dark day, and turned to run towards the gunship.

As he moved in closer he could tell that the situation was dire indeed. The Padawan was fending off strikes admirably from the gunship's turret, but who knew if he could keep it up for much longer. Then the young Jedi angled either a very lucky or very skilled ricochet off the cockpit, and the gunship tilted upward. Zark saw his opportunity. The pilot would adjust in a matter of seconds, and attempt to reorient his craft to get the gunner a better angle on the fleeing Padawan. He would be focused on the angle of his gunship and its position relative to the Jedi, and less focused on...other aspects of his surroundings. Nearby, there was a large unoccupied excavator vehicle, and for a moment Pulsar doubted he could do what was required of him, before remembering his old teachings.

We are luminous beings, not this crude matter.

Drawing on the remaining reserves of his connection to the Force, Zark centered himself and did his best to forget the laws of physics and universal constants and abstracted the fundamentals of reality. What was the excavator next to him but a lifeless thing, only tangentially connected to the Force? In the grand scheme of the galaxy, in the eyes of the Force itself, what did its size and weight and composition really matter? It was just a piece of machinery, a collection of parts assembled years ago by automated hands, the vision and dream of a corporeal being, a sentient being, a limited being. All things considered, the excavator was nothing. So Zark picked it up like it was nothing.

He picked it up in his mind, and threw it at the gunship. Reality bent to his will.

 

[Thoja Arlos]

Location: Strip Mines
Objective: Free the slaves
Equipment: Wraith Class Stealth Armour MK2, Eclipse Assault Rifle, Obsidian Combat Knife, Oblivion Semi Automatic Pistol

The two of them continued on, through the fire and brimstone. Around them, slaves cried and guards yelled, so of which was directed at the two. They couldn't do anything, even if they wanted too neither knew how to defuse the collars. After some time, they came to a large tower, one of the control ones.

"Right, we're going in and taking this thing down. Stay behind me at all times and watch your corners. We make it through here we'll be in a better position to help." Arlos ordered, cocking his rifle. He'd then kick the door full force, with it cracking open enough for the two to enter. One guard saw them, but he was silenced quickly with a bullet to the head. They'd move up the tower, taking out all the guards present quickly.

[member="Lark"] [member="Raziel"]

 

[Matsu Xiangu]

LOCATION: Leaving Sith Academy Hangar - En Route to Omega
ALLIES: [member="Jude Falkrowe"]
ENEMIES: Those meddling rogue SIth.

There was a part of her, for a moment, that rejected Jay’s turn towards one of the ships. Every animal craving in her wanted the essence of the Academy’s cloying trepidation, to feel it soft and dead at her hands. She could have gone on alone and left a man she would most likely never see again to his own devices. She was right on the cusp of it without even looking back.

If someone asked her later she would have had no explanation for why, but she turned and moved with him to the ship.

She was still trying to work it out, registering his casual humor as she took a seat. The pit was bathed in a glow exactly as hellish as might be expected as the light outside the hangar washed over them. She had always been comfortable in silence, not responding even as they shot up towards the monolith orbiting above - though their silence was peculiar as she hadn’t pulled away from that shared space despite her connection severing from the Warden through distance and death. Though she didn’t speak she felt that space they both allowed, his guarded thoughts unreadable but strangely comforting like murmurs half-heard through a wall. She was overcome, the absurdity of two near-solitary souls tracking through atmosphere when battle waged on all sides curling in her gut.

“Is that your real name? Jay?” she asked quietly. He’d given her no reason to believe it wasn’t save for his almost complete denial of any information about himself at all, protected behind a wall of easy humor. But that was enough to make her curious. She doubted that if indeed he had told her a lie that he would just admit it because she asked, but it would be obvious too that she wasn’t pushing in to his head like she could have tried to do. At the end of the day she was merely curious. (And how many times has that burned you?)

Within minutes a voice filtered through the ship. Eerily robotic - close enough to a human speech pattern but marred by a metallic staccato that made the hair on the back of Matsu’s neck stand - it asked for clearance. The flight pattern to the Omega itself had been programmed, their sole job to choose the codes that would bring them to the destination of their choice.

Matsu let it stay on its normal course, transmitting the clearance codes as required. They had no idea what they would find once aboard the Omega and landing where the ship was expected to land would draw the least curious glances possible - all to the good.

 

[Dax Perl]

Location: Castameer, near the Control Tower
Affiliation: The New Republic and her allies
Nearby: [member="Zark"]

Dax's strength was waning. Any normal fight and he could've lasted longer. But standing up against a rapid fire gunner in a gunship? He'd have better luck fending off a Rancor. His body ached, his muscles screamed to take a break. Left in the open with no cover insight, Dax prepared to become one with the Force.

The, as if sent by the Force itself, a large excavator sailed through the air towards the gunship. Ironically the Force had sent the excavator, in a manner of speaking, flying through the air. The pilot noticed the hulking piece of metal flying towards his craft and began to pull. Yet it was too late for him. The excavator's claw slammed into the cockpit, shattering the transparisteel, impaling the pilot on one of the long spikes. Hanging from the gunship, the excavator pulled the ship down towards the earth, like predator who just caught a bird. Together they crashed and collided with the ground, an explosion sending shockwaves through the air, knocking Dax flat onto his back.

Rolling over Dax tried to regain his breath. His ears ringed. Touching a finger to one of his ears he was surprised to find a lack of blood. He wasn't about to test Fate though. He'd settle for intact hearing. Looking for whatever had thrown the excavator Dax was surprised to not have seen some giant creature or Leviathan circling the skies or lumbering along the Earth. Instead, to his pleasant surprise, Dax saw what looked like the Force User from earlier, the one in command of some unit or another. Picking up his saber which must have been knocked out of his hand in the blast, Dax made the trek towards his savior.

"I'm not even gonna bother asking how you pulled that one off!" he exclaimed breathlessly upon reaching the other man, "But I will thank you. You saved my skin!"

 

[The Upright Man]

Location: Voracion Citadel
Allies: [member="Rhan Komo"]| Mandalorians | Commonwealth
Enemies: Sith OpFor
Equipment: MM99, MM110, SD-11 (2), SpecOp

[ T H E M E ]

"They will know you fight not for yourself,
but for the people's will"​

The Omega had fired, time was running short, and the gate had yet to be breached. "Hadiyya," Dean barked over his communicator, "Sitrep?" He turned and observed as the Mandalorian forces had caught up and began to rally to breach the gates. They needed all the firepower they could get. His transponder crackled and then burst to life, "Commande -Chht!- We're ove -Chht!- Mission Abort. Ov -Chht!- Agghhh!" Blaster fire sounded across the link and then the line went dead. "Hadiyya, respond! Hadiyya.. Damn the Force!" he cursed, slamming a fist down onto the bonnet of the MARV.

There was a moment of silence on the battlefield, the eye of the storm. War raged around him, but a moment of silence was all the time he needed for clarity. There was no way he was getting over that wall, nor was he dumb enough to run straight into the kill zone the Sith had set up between the gate and the Mandalorian line. Maybe he would have if the MARV was still running, but she was dusted. All he could do now was provide suppression fire from the MARV's 50. caliber turret, it could chew through duracrete and flesh with ease, and punch a hole straight through durasteel.

Dean moved to the rear of the MARV and clambered up onto the rear tray. With his hands curling around the grips, he felt at home. He peered between the two protective plates that allowed him to aim downrange the turret, selected his targets high up on the citadels walls, and with the squeeze of the trigger the MARV's 50.cal opened up, as loud as thunder. Each shot was deafening, his entire body vibrating, teeth chattering. Intense bursts of light illuminated his face, and empty shells quickly began to pile at his feet.

 

[Omega]

Ghorua

Your detonators did the job. A hole is blasted in the wall, just big enough for you to squeeze through, and more than big enough to admit regular humanoids. However, there are a few guards on the other side waiting with blasters….

Dean Letham

The heavy calibre weapon you’re using rakes the upper walkway’s defences, cutting through the permacrete to drop several of the Sith.

This in turn allows all others in the vicinity to get close to the door and effect an entrance.

Elpsis

Due to the shield above your head no one expected anyone to make it onto the roof. However, down a level from the roof is a squad of five troopers, they are not expecting trouble.

Further down, you can see the gate controls guarded by a single Sith of Knight rank and his Acolyte. They also are not expecting attack, but likely will hear any firing from above.

All others

When the gates open there are few defenders inside. A turbolift will take you to the roof where some shuttles wait. These offer your best chance to reach the Omega.

Otherwise, you may fight and loot the Citadel if you choose, though resistance will be fierce.

Spoiler

[member="Ra Vizsla"] [member="Rhan Komo"] [member="Damien Daemon"] [member="Thraxis"] [member="Flannigan Mcnash"] [member="Cadan Tazi"] [member="Ghorua the Shark"] [member="Korro Kenyu"] [member="Ronan Vizsla"] [member="Nara Basaar"] [member="Werah Unon"] [member="Drogh"] [member="Cole Dagos"] [member="Arla Balor"] [member="Dean Letham"] [member="Funky Balor"] [member="​Nima Tann"] [member="Elpsis Elaris"] [member="Charlyra Araano"]

 

[Druchi]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydIaUx84HWs
Location: Sith Academy towards the heart of darkness
Allies: [member="Wolf"] @Thresh Sken [member="Samka Derith"] [member="Vustia"] [member="Darth Ophidia"] [member="Doc"]

The dagger that hung in the sky drew blood. The whole world bathed in the crimson slaughter of it's edge. Inside the Sith temple it was as if the Ren, the stormtroopers and other assorted misfits were priests gazing up at a God they had angered. There was no sound but all could imagine the thousands of lives burned out in but a moment. The space battle raging above its lights flickering out and consumed by the spilling of blood across the sky. She wondered if anyone she knew had died. Though she didn't know for sure the answer was yes. Many people she had known had died. Not just in the space battle above but on the ground. People she had shared jokes with in the mess. People she had passed by and not spoken a word to. People she had laughed with and people she had cried with were all being destroyed. And here she was at the centre of a raging storm and told that she could stop it all. Take a shuttle to the heart of darkness. She could see it now the flicker of life a small candle in the night and in the background a woman licked her fingers and was ready to take out the light forever.

And that wouldn't do. Life was opportunity, freedom, chaos and most of all chance. Kierel had been a part of the Order because she had once truly believed that they could impose something of a unity to the Galaxy. She had learned the hard way how idealistic that belief was. She had confronted and bested her idealism not long ago but some of that heady optimism still remained. She knew her role in history was that of a faceless unknown soldier forgotten in the chaos and passage of time. The Galaxy had always swam in blood. But in this moment as they walked through the temple towards the hanger bay she was drowning in it. The anger Kierel had felt at the small Knight of Ren had passed, instead there was urgency. Kierel was putting aside everything if she could help in even some small way to destroy this thing she would. She wouldn't know how to fight a Sith, she couldn't take down a reactor, she wasn't a hacker or someone brilliantly clever. Maybe this Sith would help them perhaps she had so alienated her followers with her terrible plan for an endlessly quiet Galaxy like the temple. The idea of an empty soulless lifeless galaxy without laughter or love or struggle horrified Kierel.

She just had a gun and a heart that told her that she could affect the story of the Galaxy in some way. That she mattered. That this mistress might be the most powerful thing in this forgotten corner of the galaxy able to do unspeakable things with the Force and create technological monstrosities had overlooked something. Something she could never see as a threat. If she was as arrogant to believe that the chaos and vibrancy of life was just mere noise. Then Kierel already had the greatest protection against her. Insignificance. She had untied the whole Galaxy against her. Maybe it had been her plan all along to lure them into a trap but it didn't matter now. Traps worked both ways.

Her subconscious thoughts became conscious thoughts that became surface thoughts which formed into a larger question that pressed against the walls of her mind before bursting open the gate.

Does she know that we're coming?

 

[Darth Ophidia]

Location: Sith Academy. Hall, heading to the hangar.
Potential Enemies/Allies: Whoever owns the Omega.
People nearby: [member="Wolf"] [member="Mael Ren"] [member="Samka Derith"] [member="Vustia"] [member="Doc"] [member="Thresh Sken"] [member="Kierel"] [member="Doc"] ( [member="Matsu Xiangu"] and [member="Jude Falkrowe"] ).

'I think we can assume she knows, or at the very least expects it.'

If this woman could build such a weapon, not to mention silence an entire academy, then she was most likely powerful enough to sense that some had risen against her. By Darth Ophidia's estimate, there was probably a chance she was too occupied on another end to fully know how deep the betrayal had reached. Still, there was no doubt in her mind that she expected to be turned against now that her weapon was revealed.

If they wished to remain obscure, they would have to move fast. Ophidia restrained her own impatience by clenching her teeth together for a moment until the surface frustration ceased. Calmly clasping her hands behind her back, she could feel the lightsabres attached to the back of her hip under her outer cloak. The presence of the two. curved semi-cylinders pressed against the backs of her hands comforted her, allowing her to think more clearly. She felt the alien serpent that coiled around her waist like a belt shift ever so slightly in response to her new hand-position.

'And we should move.'

As soon as questions were answered and the blind man was ready to move, she was not one to linger behind. At the same time she did not take the front, but remained in the second line as an element of the group.

 

[Darth Caecus]

“I saw him open his mouth wide. . . ​

as though he had wanted to swallow all the air, all the earth, ​

all the men before him."​

​

-Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness​

The Sith Academy
Over the Edge

The Blind Storyteller

Spoiler

[member="Vustia"] [member="Samka Derith"] [member="Wolf"] [member="Mael Ren"] [member="Thresh Sken"] [member="Kierel"] [member="Darth Ophidia"] @Doc

As they hurried through the Academy, ever upward, Jareth spoke in all of their minds.

You have the potential to end this, he corrected Wolf. Whether you all have the power or not remains to be seen. I am hoping that you do, although if you do not, well, we'll have an ending one way or another, yes?

Jareth smiled, but it wasn't a pleasant one.

The Omega can be destroyed. It is huge and well protected, but like anything else, can be slain. He spoke of the Omega as though it were a living, breathing beast, and seemed to think nothing of it. Perhaps, to him it was just that. A jabberwocky. The question was only could these people wield the vorpral blade?

I suspect that the crystals that focus the energy that allows such destructive power can be harnessed against the Omega itself. If they are damaged before the Omega attempts to make another attack, the energy channeled through them may create a feedback loop. This is merely a guess, mind you. I did not take part in the creation of the Omega myself. My specialties lie.... elsewhere. And I do not envy the person attempting such an action. The crystals are situated deep in the heart of the beast. Hollow, it is, to allow the build up of energies necessary, like a cosmic resonance. There's a series of catwalks, but they are precarious and easily bottlenecked by only a few defenders.

He shrugged.

Of course, you could always just crash it in to the surface of Castameer. But I would appreciate if you utilized that as a last resort, yes?

As to the Lady. He paused then, drawing in a silent breath and letting it out slowly. Darth Molior. She is a relic. An ancient evil from a by-gone age. There are stories, in the histories, that mention a Sith from before the great Darkness. I believe her to be one in the same. Once called the Falcon, she was loosed like a hunting bird at the enemies of the Sith Order of that day. Until she brought down the temple of Korriban itself- hubris and pride, the histories claim, is the crime she leveled on the Sith of that era. But that was a long time ago.

How did she survive? Someone asked him in their minds.

My dear child, you mistake me, he answered, a chuckle in their minds. She did not survive. She is, assuredly, very, very dead. She died over 500 years ago. Killed, ripped apart by the very energies she used to bring down the temple. But history found her again- raised, so the story goes, by her students. Given a new body created by magicks and alchemy. Unaging. Unbreathing. Heartless, both literally and figuratively. Molior is, I assure you, dead. Which is part of what makes killing her such a difficulty, I am sure you can imagine.

They reached the upper hangar, a series of ships neatly lined up. He turned to them.

I can promise that yes, she knows you are coming. Or if she doesn't yet, will very soon. But she will not know you. His blind eyes cast over them. And she will not be expecting what I have seen thus far. Play to the strengths you have already exhibited- that of your ability to work together- to protect each other- and she will have a more difficult time. Part of the ease with which she took over the Academy was that while we all lived here and studied together, we were separate. The sith are not good at cohesion. And it is to our detriment that she took advantage of that. But perhaps Dark side users, working in tandem- well. Perhaps you stand a chance.

These ships are preprogramed to reach the Omega. My personal clearance code is Death Cap. It will allow you to enter the Omega unmolested. But I cannot promise you anything from there. If you wish to destroy the Omega, head to the center. And may the Force be with you.

Fly my pretties, fly!

Eavesdropping

Spoiler

[member="Daxton Bane"]

The unnatural silence of the Academy spread to all things. Speech, foot steps, screams. Even the sound of his own breathing was completely silent. But the mental musing of the Blind Jareth would be touchable when Daxton got close enough. Concealed, the Sith was able to "hear" everything said by Jareth and the group with him.

His quarry it seemed was on the Omega in the skies above. He could attempt to join the group of Sith and the First Order, or he could wait and take one of the other ships up alone.


What are those butterflies?

Spoiler

[member="Nomar"]

As he first popped the next data cube, there was a flickering of light at the edges of his vision. But when he turned to look, nothing was there.

Session 1
The details of my work are complex. Too much research has been done to get to this point, and I shall keep the groundwork separate from my session notes. I am starting with the Death Cap Lichen specimens collected from right here on Castameer. These are technically a symbiosis- fungi that have absorbed the photosynthetic cells of a simple blue-algae. We will work up to more complex plants in future experiments, but for now, this is a good place to start. The fungal mass is relatively stable, genetically. But there is a huge amount of plasticity in the algal cells. They naturally contain a very minor phosphorescence. We will start by increasing that.

These notes were of the beginnings of his research. Perhaps later ones would better detail the current plants in the lab.

There were those lights again. Concentrating on the notes would become difficult as the lights themselves began to form a more solid presence. Butterflies? The effects of the spores from the Angel's Blood were coming to the forefront. The hallucinations were strange- very personal, as the chemical effects mimicked a sort of waking dream. He knew, in an academic sort of way, that these images could not be real. But that did not make it any easier.

Into the Void

Spoiler

[member="Jude Falkrowe"] [member="Matsu Xiangu"]

The ship slipped smoothly in to the hangar. The sounds of battle from the hangar next door was just audible- the slight vibrations in the decking subtle but impossible to miss for someone paying attention. The hangar they had entered was empty, but for several droids working to pack a freighter. Obviously, the fighting already happening on board and the space battle raging was enough to distract the crew for the moment. And besides, this ship had come on official channels. It had, so far, tripped none of the indicators that something was amiss.

They were on the Omega. What now, was their goal?

 

[Vustia]

"Well then" Vustia thought out loud.

"It seems we have a hint of a plan growing, working as a team is the only option we have and with our determination and some sheer dumb luck we can probably make it through this. I did say the Omega would eventually destroy itself, and you seem to agree with me if you are saying we can use it's energy against it. Guess we just have to help it out. I'm assuming everybody is ready to take on this weapon, I don't care who you are, sith or trooper. Just be courageous and take down this weapon. This isn't just about us anymore, this is not just about sith honour. This isn't about glory for the First Order, it's about saving people now. And some people might not like the idea of that. But we must do this. Together."

After this mini speech Vustia realised she had just given a speech about saving lives and not preserving honour to Sith masterminds that could easily destroy her. She waited for the hate and looks of disapproval. She could even be cut down where she stood, but she knew she was right, the Omega was going down.




[member="Samka Derith"] [member="Wolf"] [member="Mael Ren"] [member="Thresh Sken"] [member="Kierel"] @Darth Opidia [member="Doc"]