A New, New Order [The Primeval Dominion of Dromund Kaas]

[Laguz Vald]

"Aren't we all, Catalys," the shifter chuckled into xir mouthpiece as xe moved to the left at the treeline. "Aren't we all."

At this point, the Trandoshans were close enough that the sniper didn't need to snipe anymore, firing at the lizards without the use of the scope. A certain stratus of society worshiped the practice with burning reverence, and were they on the battlefield in the jungles of Dromund Kaas, they would've surely appreciated the control and accuracy achieved by the shifter; the perks of being able to change your body according to your needs. Said body was doing its best to remain as steady as possible even as the hunter kept moving through the thicket, a third leg helping xem keep xir balance as xir eyes stayed trained on the slavers out in the open.

"You alright there, bud?" Laguz asked after xe downed another couple Trandoshans, hands working quickly and efficiently to reload the rifle as xe circled around the enemy group, intent on shooting them in the back.


[member="Catalys Maijora"] | [member="Vereor"] | [member="Cal'diira"] | [member="Ciara Jevnaker"]

 

[FareonW]

Cal'diira took a moment to clean his scope lens yet again, and noticed a couple shapes approaching from the corner of his vision. He looked over to them, picking up his rifle and standing as he did so. The two slavers began firing on his position, and he dove behind the cover of a tree. He weighed his options, and decided his course of action. He drew the sword that was at his side, and looked around the corner for a split second, moving back just in time for an energy bolt to blast where his head had just been. The slavers began to move up, one on each side of him, in an attempt to flank him. As they began to turn towards his side of the tree; however, Cal'diira threw his rifle at the one to his left, knocking him down. He then quickly jumped at the slaver to his right, stabbing his sword into the Trandoshan's chest. He left the sword in the Trandoshan, and ran over to the other slaver, who had just gotten himself picked up off the ground. Cal'diira quickly sent a punch into the Trandoshan's snout, and hissed. The Trandoshan spat at Cal'diira. Cal'diira began choking the Slaver by wrapping his claws around the Slaver's throat. As the slaver stopped struggling, one thing was clear: Cal'diira needed to move. He put his weapons back into their respective sheathes and holsters, and was about to jog away to a more fortified position when a barrage of energy bolts began to fire towards him. He dove behind some cover, and sent yet another ping to his newfound allies.

"I'm pinned down. A bit of help would be nice."

[member="Laguz Vald"] | [member="Catalys Maijora"] | [member="Ciara Jevnaker"]

 

[Valerie Vizsla]

[member="Malik Rodarch"]

Valerie stood quietly in place.

The jungles of Dromund Kaas were notoriously deadly. They contained beasts, horrors, and the worst of the worst. Of course, some years back they had nearly been leveled by her own people, a misguided attempt to show machismo or perhaps show the Sith that they were less than one would think. It didn't really matter, this planet was corrupted.

The Force they called it.

That ridiculous notion that something could change a world so.

Valerie shook her head. She was the leader of Clan Vizsla, one of the most hallowed and strongest clans within Mandalorian culture, and here she was standing on a Sith world surrounded by ash. Her gaze shifted to her companion, her grip tightening on the length of her spear.

“This world.” She said quietly. “I do not like it.”

It wasn't hard for her to admit that she didn't like this planet, it gave her a feeling of unease, of biting pain in her stomach. Not something she enjoyed.

 

[Malik Rodarch]

[member="Valerie Vizsla"]

Mullet agreed with that assessment.

The asharl panther scouted ahead, exercising caution that only an animal could. Beasts were always found to be more sensitive to the nature of the Force, all aspects of nature really. Like calm before the storm, the fire before the spread, right before the earthquake hits. Best kind of scout, in touch with the ground beneath their feet.

Besides, Malik was built like brick shabhouse, and moved like one too.

With Big Rhonda in his hands the man grinned beneath his helm, “It ain't so bad,” he said in his peculiar mixed accented drawl. “Spooky, I'll give ya that.” That's all the Sith were to him. Spooky. Like Jedi dressed up for Carnival Week upon Coruscant. He held them in similar regard, no single side was stronger than they other, they worked in war like they were sat upon a seesaw.

One gets all the momentum, the victories, the territory and the other loses...time passes and then they change sides.

Way of the Galaxy, plain and simple and yet nobody had taken real advantage of it.

“'Least it ain't Ilum. Try freezin' yer shebs off."

 

[Catalys Maijora]

The fighting had been going on long enough and sooner or later Catalys would be out of shots.

Rushing from the escape pod towards one of the Slavers he grabbed a loose piece of metal and bludgeoned the Trandoshan to death before pointing one of the last few rounds of his blaster pistol towards another and fired. A perfect shot, the beast dropped dead where he stood. The chaos ensuing allowed him to slip through the cracks and escape the conflict where he took cover behind a tree. Looking from his vantage point he could see that [member="Ciara Jevnaker"] was still behind, Damn Jedi , he though to himself. Of course he understood they could handle themselves quite well.

Turning on his intercom, "We need to retreat towards Kaas City, now!", he took a pause to size up the distance between them and the city. Finding a route without drawing the attention of the slavers was going to be a difficult task. The agent sighed and took a moment to think up a course of action before speaking again, "Laguz, help our new ally... I think I can rig this pistol to explode and use it as a distraction. The rest of you get out of there and head towards the city.", he ordered. Not that he expected everyone to listen.

[member="Laguz Vald"] | [member="Cal'diira"] | [member="Malik Rodarch"] | [member="Valerie Vizsla"] | [member="Vereor"] | [member="Kael Kessler"] | [member="Zambrano the Hutt"] | [member="Bal'gul"]

 

[Armand Temi]

Location: Kaas City

With her face still hidden behind a dark hood, Perla walked around Kaas City taking in the sights. When she stopped in a cafe to rest, she heard overheard whispers of off-worlders causing a stir in the nearby jungle. Rising she thought that may be the group that Darth Metus had wanted her to meet. But on the street all she saw were government speeders and private shuttles taking off and landing. There were no public speeders to hire. Perla found a building that resembled a library. It was the Sith Academy. She wasn't sure she would be allowed entry but after inquiring she was admitted to a public space where open archives were kept. Of course there would be nothing top secret in this particular room, but she accessed some historical records, reading about the turbulent Galactic Civil War and the New Sith Wars. Of course the records were filled with propaganda - Sith Lords were described as dark saviors and any instigation of war was rationalized as the Sith trying to preserve their lineage, if not their entire species.

As she sat and read, a nearby Sith Lord who was also accessing records, eyed her suspiciously. Perla's heart beat faster as she felt his gaze on her. She was human, dressed simply and probably had an air of the unfamiliar. She hoped he wasn't sizing up her neck for a slave collar. Eventually he went back to his business but stayed close by.

[member="Catalys Maijora"]

 

[Laguz Vald]

Oh, of course xe'd be the one chosen for this sort of thing. Were the straits less dire, Laguz would've stopped to wonder if Catalys even had the authority to order xem around, but for once the sniper had to agree with the assessment of the other agent.

"Go, blow something up," the shifter growled into xir comlink before shooting out of the thick underbush of the jungle, powerful legs of the felacatian helping xem cross the distance in a matter of seconds. Xir skull sprouted long, vicious horns with which the rushing creature ruthlessly gored the pair of Trandoshans that had their newfound ally bogged down behind an outcropping of rock. "Come quick!" Laguz hissed at [member="Cal'diira"], crouching for a moment before springing out to fire off a few shots at the slavers.

The explosion went off then, and the hunter didn't waste a second more in the open, making a beeline for the protective foliage of the forest once more. Whether the man whose life xe'd just saved followed or not was not xir concern anymore; Laguz cared only to preserve xir skin, regardless of what it looked like at any given moment. As xir form melted into the green light of the jungle again, the shifter opened up communication with [member="Catalys Maijora"] once more.

"Which way?"


[member="Malik Rodarch"] | [member="Valerie Vizsla"] | [member="Vereor"] | [member="Kael Kessler"] | [member="Zambrano the Hutt"] | [member="Bal'gul"]

 

[Gorba the Hutt]

Objective: Assimilate Knowledge
Location: Deserted Mandalorian Facility
Enemy: Gravity

Ten minutes later Bal'gul had managed to open the door. He moved to go inside. At last he would have access to the artifacts inside. Finally he could-

Bump.

Stalk-eyes swiveled down. His hover chair was too big for the doorframe. He tried again.

Bump.

A primal fury rose within the amorphous blob, but he felt impotent without the Force. At last, with another watery sigh, he slipped off the hover chair and dropped the ground.

Splat.

His tentacles slapped against the floor, pulling him forward. "Utterly humiliating."

Thankfully no one here was able to see him. He sluggishly moved deeper into the big cargo container.

 

[FareonW]

Cal'diira followed [member="Laguz Vald"] the best he could as he sprinted after xem. He nearly lost xem several times as xir form changed constantly, but was able to keep xem in sight as the explosion happened. He kept behind the shifter as xe asked, "Which way?" and awaited their movement.

"Thank you for saving me back there."

It was at this time that Cal'diira wished that he had a weapon he could use at mid-range, so he could do more than just run away from the slavers as they fired at them.

"Tell whoever you're talking to that they should hurry up. I think we're still being followed."

 

[Valerie Vizsla]

[member="Malik Rodarch"]

She frowned at her companion.

Ilum? She had never heard of the world.

Then again Valerie was not the most studious when it came to planets, though from the way that Malik made it sound the planet was cold. Valerie had always liked the cold. Concordia was not a world of lush warmth and rays of sunshine. It wasn't an iceball, but it definitely wasn't hot either. Cold had never much bothered her, and right now she thought she would prefer being cold than this sinking feeling within her stomach.

"I do not suggest creating an outpost here." She said quietly.

Valerie was the Siege Mistress, or at least that is what they called her within the clan. She built fortifications and tore them down. This world however, there was something about it she did not like. Her hand wrung around the Spear in her hand, and she looked over to Malik for any sort of response.

The man was quite emotive after all.

 

[Zambrano the Starweird]

Objective: B.) Dominate the Jungle, Find Your Grandson
Location: The Garden of Thorns
Allies: Maelibus?, Darth Voracitos?, and Lovey!
Enemies: Usually everyone, nobody likes the slug

He fell into the forest. It was odd, how instant it had been. One moment he had been in the ashen forests of Dromund Kaas... and now he was not. That however, was not the only thing to come of the Rift that seemed to tear his body apart, and rend a part of his soul from its place. Agonizing screams escaped the Hutts mouth as his body entered a realm he was never meant to be in. It was almost visible, the rejection the dark energy within him rejected Chaos. It moved within him, spiked through his flesh, and rumbled through his body in what appeared to be abject horror. Despite this though, a strange relief washed over the Hutt even as he wailed in pain from the hellish torment the tore apart his innards metaphysically. The turbulence he had experienced in the galaxy?

Gone. It was all gone. He felt... nothing... and it was glorious. Yet it was painful, and seemed to kill him again for every death he ever lived through... even the ones he did not experience, but rather caused. It felt like the various presence of the foliage around him was made to attack his very essence, and it was doing it at a very visceral level the Hutt could not hope to describe. He saw things in the plants... that he could not ignore... they were like knives into the deepest memories of his soul... and it was that which caused it agony, to be repulsed in this way. They appeared as creatures of despair... nightmares the Hutt did not know he had. It was strange, in how the Shades so easily assumed the form of abstract feelings present within the creature, that surely would disturb others as not being capable of being real things. It was what was expected out of a disturbed mind to find disturbed fears.

As he screamed, suddenly a creature - a Maelibus he knew to be exact - appeared to him from almost nowhere... as if he had formed himself out of the thorns of the Garden that extended infinitely. Strangely however, for the Hutt, being so empty of rationality... the maze did not make itself appear as complicated as others might have seen... certainly not as complicated as it appeared to another terrible creature within the labyrinth...

Come with me... Come with me...​

The disfigured golden creature's lyrical voice called out to him, as his hands removed the Hutts from his head, and pulled him farther from the rift, pushing Shades to the side, unperturbed by the ability to cause despair in weaker souls. Despite his lack of mobility, in some manner Zambrano experienced movement, and vaguely recalled that his pet was with him. In the distance, immense trembling shook at the fabric of the Garden of Thorns...

 

[Vereor]

More slavers seemed to imperil the growing group of survivors of the destroyed starship - now floating debris to be incinerated upon atmospheric entry to the world - but while their position was being rather quickly overrun with the Trandoshans they were not without some highly talented beings, ensuring these scale-faced beasts would never see the exterior of this particular jungle.

"We need to retreat towards Kaas City, now!" [member=Catalys Maijora] boomed at those fighting for their lives. And while the plan to abandon the Trandoshans in favour of more hospitable pastures and peoples was indeed enticing, it would most certainly not be anywhere near easy.
Since the Mandalorian decimation of most of Droumund Kaas, its jungles had been swallowed by crumbling-walled, mile-deep craters. The capital city became the most prized target for complete annihilation and therefore was surrounded by such depressions in the globe. When enraged, the Mandalorian war machine resembled that of a Sith. Funny, how a people with such rage can destroy the thing they are most similar to.

He could work out the direction to Kaas with a bit of time, but it would not be without equal, if not more, danger than the Slavers posed. Four species sprung to mind as he sprinted through the bolt-storm that originated from every direction. His lightsaber poised to deflect energy back towards the source should it stray too close to his being. Although it had been a long time since he required an encounter with any of these potentially-fatal beasts, not since undergoing Sith training back many decades ago.
Wordlessly his mouth produced names. Vine cat. Yozusk. Jurgoran. Gundark.

His mind jumped to the explosion that Catalys had planned and wondered if it would be within earshot of his current position.



[member=Bal'gul], [member=Ciara Jevnaker], [member=Cal'diira], [member=Kael Kessler], [member=Laguz Vald], [member=Malik Rodarch], [member=Reclaimer], [member=Valerie Vizsla], [member=Zambrano the Hutt]

 

[Darth Voracitos]

Objective: V.) LIVE ONCE MORE
Location: The Garden of Thorns
Allies: No one
Enemies: Everyone

The "Angle" continued down its path towards the cancerous blob that had become of Voracitos within the Garden, roaring and thrashing his massive arms... but no matter how large he grew (at this point larger than life, much like his false form on Rodia) the thorns still pricked his sides. The foundations of the illusionary place continued to crack, yet remained beneath him to his complete frustration. Although Voracitos has always been considered to be of a very high mental strength, right now his enraged hungry spirit had the rational puzzle solving capabilities of a toddler tantrum, or a person who walks through life solving their problems by punching life in the face. Except that this was not life, and it didn't matter what the Darth did to solve his problems, inevitably he would fail without outside guidance.

Such "guidance" found itself amazed at the impossible form before her, yet utterly disgusted. This was why the Diatham could not stand the sight of other creatures, and why she was unfairly placed here... to wander the thorny foliage, forever determined to find its center; the Tree of Solace. Her mind cringe at the thought of a certain inhabitant here, who spoke of the tree he had the opportunity to walk through, but chose not to in order to lead other lost souls from this hell. How arrogant was he to think that he could tease her with lies! She approached the repulsive... thing, and spoke to it.

Stop struggling! You cannot break the maze! The shades will consume you into themselves! Only the center of this maze can grant you freedom! I... I have heard fables of some... Tree of Solace. The one carries upon them a hideous visage, do not trust them! They spout this lie to mislead you! Let me to help you, as I am as desperate as you to escape this place! It was true, it appeared the beautiful thing was nearly crying out to the beast that had become of the Sith Lord. After a moments of considering whether or not to swat at the fly, Voracitos sneered and lumbered forward down the path way. His spiritual flesh being carved away as he passed through the thorns...

Elsewhere, a creature of true guidance ran towards his location, from what seemed like miles away....

 

[Catalys Maijora]

Catalys caught up to [member="Laguz Vald"] and [member="Cal'diira"] , only two rounds left in the pistol. "Damn it!", he muttered harshly before briskly moving in front of the two. By all means he was rushing but not running, it was quite obvious he was irritated by all that happened.

"Fething world, Fething slavers, Fething---Kark!", he cursed.

The animals chimed in as agitated avian creatures chirped and cawed in reaction.

 

[Zambrano the Starweird]

Objective: B.) Dominate the Jungle, Find Your Grandson
Location: The Garden of Thorns
Allies: Maelibus?, Darth Voracitos?, and Lovey!
Enemies: Usually everyone, nobody likes the slug

Amazingly, the trembling was not quite as impressive as one with Zambrano's perception would be left to believe... however, you'd then have to consider he doesn't give a crap about that, and that he sees the maze inherently different from the waddling figure before him. A clothless, corpulent mass of fat, decay, and anger writhed in the thorny bushes of foliage. Try as he might, he could not stand. At least... that's how it appeared to the simple minded Zambrano. While Voracitos perceived himself as growing, the foliage with him also grew, so then he never actually changed his size. The other figures relative to him though, remained in the same size that they thought they were, unaffected by the shades within the Garden, as they were all focused on him... sucking him in... devouring and corrupting his spiritual flesh to become nothing but despair. They had a lot to convert a lot however, Voracitos would not go down so easily.

Something though... was triggered within the Hutt, and he simply stared at the creature in disbelief. The familiarity that radiated out of the creature assaulted every sense Zambrano possessed, the weakened presence before him did nothing but remind him... of himself. It was not this life however, that the cretin reminded him of... it was a self some time ago before this writhing body in the foliage had been born. As his eyes lulled into the back of his head, some strange Tree presented itself in blinding light behind the figure... just behind the corner. The golden Maelibus stood beside him now, witnessing his own rendition of how Voracitos appeared to him.

------------------------------​

His son collapsed upon the floor, beaten and bloody. Collapsed, and defeated it would seem. The onlookers glared at Darth Durablis with indifference, but betrayed the fear that they had felt beneath their eyes. The duel had been epic, even by Korribinian standards, a clash between father and son that could only be matched with other duels such as the one that had decided the fate of the galaxy nearly eight centuries prior... though slightly more malevolent. Though his pride had fought well, he did not reach the expectation that Darth Durablis had desired out of him. Shaking his head as he approached his son, his crown already preparing to sap the energies away from his offspring, held back only by his desire, and the Blood Whip that leaked out of his blade fell to the floor in a crimson wash of the obsidian floors. His robes were almost pristine... and it appeared that the son was incapable of fulfilling his promise to "touch" his father as he had put it.

"You have disappointed me, my son. I had expected more cunning out of you than to challenge something you could not hope to match... I had hoped at least you would have had the brawn to fight me on equal terms... I expected you to greedily claw through me to victory, as you have so often done with your other unconscionable enterprises that sicken me with their worthlessness. You have brought shame and a blight to my name child, and as my legacy ends I shall shame your name too." The father walked down the steps of his Throne in silence, carrying nothing but his jagged, bloody blade, with his crown atop his head, glowing with arcane energies. The fury within the Master of Pride radiated out of him like hungry flames, and his eyes pulsating with determined power and presence. Marble and obsidian had been smashed around his son, his clothes scorched, cut, and torn apart before him, revealing the despicable and petulant form beneath. 'Large and in charge', one could call it, but he viewed it as an ineptitude. It did not look, in charge. It did not look, imposing. It did not look, like his son. Appearance was everything to him.

He stood now, above his son's crumpled heap, writhing about softly among the rubble. Durablis sneared at this weakness in his name. He had high hopes he would be successfully succeeded, and was instead presented with this filth. It disgusted him to no end. With an upraised palm, he lifted the organic mass that had called itself son within his presence... and have nefariously convinced him to call it his son as well. He pulled him closer so that he might look at his face as he pronounced his failure, and claim his ninth greatest victory. Placing his blade to his shoulder, he began to speak, as the blade lifted itself over his head, and back down to his opposite shoulder.

"I pronounce thee, Darth Calapsus, for you have fallen before me, and destroyed your father's legacy."

------------------------------​

How vivid these images were to him... these memories of ancient past. It was odd however, that he experienced these things, yet felt no reflection. It was if he was reliving his death all over again... piece by piece. Perhaps it was this place... this Netherworld, that tried to rip out his soul... it forced him to remember his despair in the lives that felt it greatest. It was starting with the most recent... deeply, he feared which death he would experience before Durablis... the one that started all others. Somehow though, the creature felt compelled to help this creature... legitimately help... sanely help.

"Come with me, son. Join me. Come with me..." A voice said from within him....

 

[FareonW]

Cal'diira moved to follow behind [member="Catalys Maijora"], grinning at the curses that he spewed out.

"Where are we headed?" he said as he began to put more slugs back into his rifle, effectively reloading it. "Also, I'm curious as to who you people are aligned with. You seemed to have a fairly organised group back when you were fighting, but I wasn't so sure."

He decided that it would be wise to let Catalys cool down a bit before following up on their deal and collecting his credits, due to the fact that he didn't know how they would react at the moment. He holstered his rifle after he finished reloading, and looked at the shape-shifter curiously.

"Again, thank you for saving me."

[member="Vereor"] | [member="Laguz Vald"]

 

[Catalys Maijora]

They finally made it to the outskirts of Kaas City.

"This is where we we're heading..." He said stopping only a few meters outside of the entrance. A large towering yet ruined metropolis stood covered in vines.

Turning back, "I work for the one who now owns this world. The Host Lord, that's a name you should not speak of lightly." He finally answered his second question.

After being thanked; Catalys shook his head.

"Part of the job, right? We'll deal with your transaction later -- but I'd like to think we could use you as a somewhat permanent ally."

[member="Cal'diira"]

 

[FareonW]

Catalys: "Part of the job, right? We'll deal with your transaction later -- but I'd like to think we could use you as a somewhat permanent ally."

At this, Cal'diira's eyebrows would have raised, if he had any. It was an interesting proposal, to say the least. He was unsure of what to say, and stayed silent for a moment as he considered his options. He could try to make more money off of the offer, which was certainly appealing to him, but he didn't know what the man would think of that. Cal'diira also considered that the agent might refuse payment if he refused his offer, and decided that he better ask what he wanted him for, as well as what their organisation could do for him.

"What would I be used for if I joined? Also, what would you be able to do for me in the event of my joining?"

 

[Catalys Maijora]

"You'd do what we asked: Hunt down enemies, grunt work, assassinations. Whatever your skills are suited towards." He began.

The sound of the exterior wildlife began to die down as they walked into the city itself; although new sounds of different life began to echo throughout.

"As for reward? Well, let's just say wealth is no desire of my leader. You'd be paid what you wished... So long as the job was done."

He ended on that note.

Now they really needed to figure out how to get off this rock... Well, thoughts for another day he supposed.

[member="Cal'diira"]

 

[FareonW]

Cal'diira liked the sound of picking his own reward. He absolutely adored the thought of getting rich for his work. He didn't hesitate much before saying, "Deal. I'm best for assassinations, providing cover fire, and picking off the competition at a distance. If needed, I have a sword for immediately close range. Do with this information what you will," he seemed to pause for a moment, and raised one of his few fingers. "I want a signing bonus of two thousand credits."

He grinned, and awaited [member="Catalys Maijora"] response, knowing that two thousand credits was a sizable amount.

[member="Laguz Vald"]