A Whisper and a Clamor [Rebels vs. Ravens on Makeb]

[Corruck Kazen]

Location: Unknown OS planet
Objective: Survival
Allies: Children
Enemies: [member="Dredge"]

Corruck felt a surge of amusement as the little fox child moved around him, looking him up and down. He wasn't certain what the child was looking for, however he was fairly certain now that they were friendlies, especially compared to the flesh monsters. He could have laughed had his mind not forgotten how to thanks to the recent events. He felt a little funny, and not the laughing funny, so far this was probably one of the intense moments he had ever gone through in his life. Sure there had been times during his crime lord days when things had looked pretty hopeless, that one time on Mon Calamari especially. However, all that seemed to pale in comparison to what had just been happening.

But he had survived, that was the important part, and hopefully he would soon get out of this man, or maybe monster, made hell. Apparently the fox wanted to ask something, it seemed either they didn't know how to speak or they couldn't, he didn't know. It didn't really matter at this point, a piece of paper with almost illegible handwriting on it. He was about to respond when the rabbit faced girl was knocked over. He would have intervened, however before he could move something was sprayed on his face. Fortune was on his side, as he was blinking in that moment that the blood was splattered.

He didn't know what it was, not even when he tried to look at the hand that had touched his face. The lighting was bad enough that it made color difficult to see. What immediately gave him the answer was what happened next. His mind went through a fuzzy period where he didn't really know what was going on. He felt incredibly sick and had difficulty staying focused, however he was able to keep up with the children as they ran. He only noticed a few seconds after it was too late that the bear faced child had stayed behind. He recognized the sound all too easily and turned his attention to following the children. He didn't know if they knew where they were going, he just knew that they were the best bet at this point.

-----------------------------------------------

Karneth smiled, "That permission is not mine to give normally. However, as the circumstances seem to have deemed it necessary, yes you have permission." He lowered the rifle from his shoulder, however he did not put it away. For a moment he was not sure how to continue. He had not had to deal with these types of encounters for many, many years. One thing he was certain of was that [member="Jarven Zexxel"] was in pain and would probably require medical attention.

"You look like you could use a doctor. Follow me." Karneth turned, pushing the Vornskr with him, and began walking to the exit to the loading ramp and into the ship. A few hallways down and there would be a medical bay, they had a rudimentary setup that could take care of most injuries. Karneth intended on taking the man straight there, he would probably talk over the intercom just to let everyone else on the ship know what was going on and then make sure that the droid would be doing its job of taking care of Jarven. Of course this was all that he planned, sometimes things happened and he had to be flexible. If needed he could always debilitate Jarven then take him to the medical facility. He would prefer to avoid having to carry the man, but if he proved uncooperative that was how he would have to do it.

 

[Jarven Zexxel]

Location: The Recalcitrant
Objective: Medical Attention
Allies: Inherently, Ravens
Enemies: None (Currently)

Jarven stepped forward to follow, but glanced at his equipment. Turning back to Karneth, he said while walking, "After this blows over, I'd rather not have to re-acquire new gear..." From one fighter to another, Jarven hoped that Karneth understood. They walked the length of the ship (well, wherever med bay was). It was fine at first, but as monotony set in, his body began to take the time to list its complaints. Every bruise, ache, and pain started to chime in, until walking became a chore. He didn't let this show, but his walk wasn't exactly exuberant. By the time that they got to med bay, Jarven simply walked to a bed without any need for orders. He chose one that was partially inclined and settled down.
What am I doing here? I don't know...Sleeping, I guess...No. He couldn't sleep. Not yet. Karneth and whoever was in charge might need his attention...Besides, he wasn't going to let himself be THAT vulnerable just yet...

 

[Dredge]

Location: Unknown planet OS space
Objective: Break the rebel
Allies: None
Enemies: [member="Corruck Kazen"]


Dozens of the hunting cries rang out in a chorus of blood lust and vengeance upon the sight of their dead brethren. The creatures had finished off the boy who had stayed behind and now they wished to turn their rage on the others, upon Corruck and the children. They had lost five of their brethren and they intended to extract every last piece of pain they felt onto their bodies and minds. So once again the hunt was on for their blood.

As Corruck was dragged along by the children, he had locked himself away from the world around him. That he had just seen a small child executed before his very eyes and that the pain these kids felt for each other was very real. That this wasn't a simple game used to scare Corruck and these children were prisoners here to be hunted and killed by monsters. The field of corpses rustled and moved on all sides as the kids and creatures moved through them. The corpses seemed to eye them with dead glossy eyes and hopefully it would hit Corruck that this was just the tip of the iceberg that Dredge would bring out to get what he wanted, or to just entertain himself. Either way the torment brought on by Dredge was something he enjoyed quite deeply.

"Mmmths mmmaay!" The fox child said mumbled and muted. It sounded as if his lips had been sewn shut and he could only talk through mumbled and writing.

The kids kept going until they reached the back wall of the facility, the wall before them was cold and iron cast and was covered in blood from all kinds of different species to paint a mural upon it. As the remaining five children and Corruck hit it the strobe lights were out of view and now they were hidden in darkness. However that didn't stop the children from continuing to lose their minds. They were jumping up and down trying to reach something out of their grasp. A door that was raised into the wall a good three feet in the air. The children couldn't stand on each other's shoulders to reach it and they were too weak to drag the heavy bloated corpses to create a ladder. Dredge had brought them here and threw the door to their escape right in front of them, but made sure they had no way to reach it. But for Corruck this would be as simple as reaching up to grab something on the top shelf. He and the children could leave this nightmarish place.

The fox child pulled Corruck down by his shirt and slapped him hard across the face to get him back to reality. Afterwards he pointed his finger at the door and was silently screaming for him to open it. All around them the bodies shook and moved as the hunters grew closer with their cries of vengeance.

 

[Corruck Kazen]

Location: Unknown OS planet
Objective: Survive as a group
Allies: Children
Enemies: [member="Dredge"]

Corruck had been quiet, his mind simply trying to escape what he had seen. He had known what he had been fighting against when he joined the Rebels, what he had not realized until now was that that which he was fighting against was all too real. He had fought against incorporeal evil that was the perfect opposite of what the Jedi said was the light side of the Force. He had been fighting against the physical people that followed the almost spiritual evil. Now he realized that there were some, thankfully a select few, who were almost a perfect embodiment of that normally intangible darkness.

Now he knew what he was truly fighting against. He would turn his strength to fighting the greater evils that lay within monsters like Dredge. If he survived this, he would work until at last all the greatest evils in this galaxy had been brought to naught. Once that work was done he could perish in peace. Until then he had to work to finish what others in the past had started.

He was awoken from his reverie by a slap to the face. At first he thought it was one of the flesh monsters, but when his eyes refocused he realized it was the fox child. He was screaming mutely, pointing at a door that stood just beyond their reach. There was another sign of this place's evil intent. Corruck had an understanding of what this place was now. It was a giant death trap for these children, he was willing to bet that Dredge had set it up this way.

Without a second lost he was up and reached as high as he could. It wasn't too difficult to turn the handle and open the door. As soon as it moved, Corruck began helping the children get through the door, lifting them up and placing them up in the doorway. He heard the beasts closing, now he didn't mind if they tried to get at him. These children had been through much worse and he would help them escape first.

------------------------------------------------------

Karneth understood the man's dislike of having to get new gear. When he had been a Jedi fighting had been important, of course he had learned many things. One of those things was that as time went on a person grew to knew their weapons and gear. It took time and heart. Karneth had grown fond of his lightsaber, until it was taken away when he left the Order.

Once at the medical bay, Karneth told the medical droid what he knew and then turned to the intercom. The intercom he was using was within the medbay, allowing for everyone to hear what was being spoke. Karneth had decided that [member="Jarven Zexxel"] was at this point not a threat. He prepared to tell Sheera the information about what had happened. Before he could speak, Sheera's voice came over, "Karneth, did you get him? Is he alright? Who is he?"

Karneth let he ask the questions quickly and waited until she calmed down a little. He understood her predicament, she was currently flying a large ship away from smaller ones, that were enemies, trying to escape the planet and a definite rout for the Rebels. When she had taken a few breaths he answered, "He made it yes. He is mostly alright. And his name is Jarven."

"Is he friendly?" Sheer asked, a slight almost imperceptible tremble in her voice.

"He isn't hostile at the moment. I have him in the medbay. He took a number hits from bumping around on top of the ship."

"He's lucky Nothy didn't see him through the turret cameras, or he would have been a crisp."

"That is a possibility. Now I need to keep an eye on the door, don't want the dogs to-"

He cut himself off as Norgorth, the largest Vornskr and the only one to have a name at this point raced into the room. He jumped up onto the bed next to Jarven and began sniffing the air. He was smelling probably the new scents that were one Jarven. The animal then decided, for whatever reason, to lie down on the bed, his eyes watching the injured warrior with an intentness that most hunters would find intimidating. It didn't look like it was going to attack, it looked more curious than anything else.

 

[Jarven Zexxel]

Location: The Recalcitrant
Objective: DOGGY!

This was only the second vornskr that Jarven had seen, but that didn't bother him now. These were practically dogs, much like Ganks were mere dogs to others, albeit highly skilled bipedal dogs. The stare didn't bother him. It was a similar look that he had seen on plenty of his friends...friends...

Jarven undid his helmet and his gloves and put them on the bedside table. "Here, boy." said Jarven as he reached his hand out. The rather large vornskr cautiously moved closer and sniffed his hand. The dark brown fur on his arms made Jarven much more familiar than a normal human. The vornskr, feeling more secure, started to lick Jarven's hand. Jarven laughed quietly and pet the vornskr's head. After that, Jarven let his hand and head down, ready to fall asleep. As he drifted from consciousness, he could feel the vornskr sidle up to him. After the initial squirming, he felt it nose its head underneath Jarven's elbow and its head soon laid on his chest.

In the first time for a long time, Jarven smiled.



OOC: Thank you, [member="Corruck Kazen"]

 

[Dredge]

Location: Unknown planet OS space
Objective: Break the rebel
Allies: None
Enemies: [member="Corruck Kazen"]

The door swung open and faint light like those of a torch hit Corruck in the face softly. The good man that he was he began to help the children through the door one by one, until only he and the fox child were left. The howls grew closer and closer and soon the little boy realized something from his time being there as Corruck was helping the last few through the door. There wasn't enough time, the creatures would be here in seconds and it was one or the other. The boy took his knife and began to tear the stitches from his mask and blood came seeping from his scalp until dirty blonde hair spattered in blood shown. Looking back at Corruck the small human child cut open the stitches on his mouth and spoke.

"GO!!" He yelled and in a split second all four remaining children pulled Corruck through the door.

The now blue eyed child slammed the door shut behind him and after the quickest of seconds a blade coated in blood pierced the other end of the door behind Corruck and red very human blood dribbled down the point of the blade. The children dropped to their knees and banged their fists on the ground, a pair held each other and tears ran down the eye holes of their masks. They were safe now, or so they thought.

*clap*

*clap*

*clap*

*clap*

When Corruck would look up he'd see something that was still quite horrible. A crowd of Graug were surrounding them and had created an isle that lead up to a stage and a throne upon it. Sitting within the throne was Dredge himself going at a slow sarcastic clap.

"Well that was quite amusing to say the least." He said with his inhuman and loud voice

The Graug began to let out amusing bouts of laughter as they maliciously grinned fang filled smiles that the children and Corruck. Above on the stage were four men hanging upside down and almost completely naked except for a pair of underwear. They were Corruck's men and they looked to be alive still.

"Let's get introduced properly Corruck. You see your men here are quite talkative and while they don't know anything of use to me they seemed to be able to give me a name as I took fingers." Dredge said and gave a wolffish grin at Corruck underneath his helmet.

"I'm Dredge. And there's no reason why we can't be civil about this, you'd hate to see me upset. Now let's make a deal"

 

[Corruck Kazen]

Location: Unknown OS planet
Objective: Survive as a group, Make deals
Allies: Children
Enemies: [member="Dredge"]

Corruck didn't want to leave the child behind, he would have preferred to stay and die rather than watch another one of these little ones fall. Apparently it was not his decision to make however, the other children dragged him up and through the doorway. He memorized the features of young boy, more a man than many people he had met. He felt a pang of remorse at the child's death. The experience seemed to have wrung him dry of tears though, he did not weep.

He felt saddened, to despair at the death. In his time here he had witnessed three deaths, three more than were necessary. He wished that there had been another way. He wished this were all a nightmare, a nightmare that he could awaken from and find himself back on the battlefield on Makeb. The fighting there was equally understood by both sides, the Ravens and Rebels were both fighting for something they believed in and were willing to die for it. These children had been young and innocent, now they innocence had been snatched from them. He wished he were a Jedi for the first time, he wished he could pull away the masks and heal what was beneath. He wished he could carry they all away, far away from this evil place.

He knew though that it was impossible, he had doubted that the door had led to true freedom. He was proved right. This was a step from one hell to another. One nightmare was traded for a worse one. His mind pleaded to simply pull within himself and forget what was around him. However, he knew that there was no choice. He had to deal with the present to ensure the future as best he could.

Corruck listened to Dredge, fires burning in his heart. If he could have, he would have charged forward and stabbed the beast until there was no more blood left in the monster's body. He knew though that it was impossible. He would never have been able to make it and he was sure that Dredge was more powerful than he. He forced himself to think logically. He tried to remove his emotions and he replied, his voice cracking, "Let's. I want release for my men and these children. What do you want?"

----------------------------------------------

Karneth looked over when the Vornskr jumped in, he had been afraid that the animal would be hostile to [member="Jarven Zexxel"] however it turned out better than he would have hoped. Now the man would get the rest that he needed and the hound would be a very good guard in case anyone on the ship decided to kill the stranger. Of course Karneth would make the medbay off-limits until the man was in a better condition.

He walked out of the room, leaving Jarven, Norgorth, and the medical droid behind. He closed the door and activated the lock, that would at least keep the other Vornskrs from getting in. He heard footsteps, light and almost silent. He turned in time to stop Nothy from getting to the door lock. She seemed upset that she was left out of whatever was going on in there. Karneth pulled her along, leading her back to the galley where he would prepare food for the evening meal. He could hear the engine make the familiar whine before the jump to lightspeed. They were safe, whether Jarven would be when they rendezvoused with the Rebel fleet was up to him in the end.

(OOC: Your welcome)

 

[Dredge]

Location: Unknown planet OS space
Objective: Break the rebel
Allies: None
Enemies: [member="Corruck Kazen"]

Dredge and the rest of the Graug began to laugh quite evilly, almost as if they had rehearsed it. Or perhaps they had been doing it for so long they just knew, regardless it was creepy to say the least. The rounds of laughter slowly faded and Dredge remained in his throne letting everything sink in for Corruck, he could of asked for the information he wanted. Sure that would of been practical, but no. Dredge wanted to break Corruck, he wanted to make him into as much of a monster that he was. And he knew exactly how to do it. Dredge waved a hand and soon a few Graug moved forward aiming large slug throwing pistols at the children laying on the ground. He smiled and waved the other hand so that a few more Graug pointed pistols at his men.

"We're going to play a game Corruck. Do you like games?" He asked not really wanting a response.

"It's called you decide who lives and who dies. Your men, or the children." Dredge looked to the Graug and their wolffish grins grew more and more as an incoming meal was soon to be served up.

"Or." He said pausing at the end to build dramatic effect.

"You tell me everything you know about the rebel alliance and their affiliates. You tell me the members names, your bases, where they lay their heads to sleep at night. Do this and I will release everyone." He said offering a rather sweet deal

"Oh but there's a catch, you see I'm a life for a life kind of person and I'm letting go eight good torture dolls for a bit of information and little old you. So you stay right here, and I get eight lives of fun out of you." Dredge said while sitting up in his seat.

"So the choice is yours, we play the game, or you make the deal."

The Graug began to laugh again and Corruck would have to decide. This was the moment he found out what kind of man he was.

 

[Corruck Kazen]

Location: Unknown OS planet
Objective: Decisions
Allies: Children, previous soldiers
Enemies: [member="Dredge"]

Corruck was not intimidated by the laughter, not much anyways. He knew never to make the assumption that you were at a disadvantage. He felt tired, worn from the experience in that room. But they appeared to have walked out of the frying pan and right into the fire. He had been almost positive that Dredge would not give up so easily this many people to hurt and cause mental trauma to. Hence he was unsurprised when Dredge told Corruck of the little game. Corruck had been trying to figure out how to respond when the 'or' came rumbling over. He tried to focus, thinking of Dredge could possibly want.

Information, of course, and Corruck. That was not surprising, however when the decision was handed to him he did not know how to answer. His almost immediate response was to give himself up for the others. But, that part of himself that he had buried long ago returned. That brilliant crimelord who had attained a small underworld empire, who had kept his identity almost unknown. That man did not want to die. As most men he wanted to live. That side put up arguments that tempted him, the fact that if he survived he could go onto help many more people than just these few. That it was a necessary sacrifice and that their lives would save many others, whereas his own would be wasted if he surrendered.

But, in these arguments were for naught. The part of him that had grown out of the ashes of that crimelord, the side that stood for the right in the galaxy and justice, reprimanded him for such thoughts. They were self centered and long ago he had given up on such contemplations. These people had been through much as he had, just because they were of supposedly lesser value did not mean that one life could be traded for another. Lives were not bargaining chips. He had information that Dredge needed, if giving that information would save the lives of others then it was his duty to do so.

He hesitated, but one look around the room told him which side was right. "I'll take the deal." Now Corruck knew what kind of man he had become. It had been many many years since he had tried to decide what had happened to him. He knew now, he had grown. In that growth he had come to the realization that there were things larger and more important than himself and his own protection. He knew that it was a vain hope that Dredge would even stick to his promise, but it was a hope none the less. His only fear was not for himself, it was for that promise. He feared that Dredge, like so many other people he had met, would turn back on his word.

 

[Dredge]

Location: Unknown planet OS space
Objective: Break the rebel
Allies: None
Enemies: [member="Corruck Kazen"]


There was a long pause in the room and everyone was completely silent. The Graug's faces retracted into a neutral mask that could not read how they were feeling. The children were kept silent as usual and the men upon the stage were trying not to weep, were they actually going to leave this nightmare? The silence drew for a few moments that seemed to pass like hours and soon the loud voice of Dredge spoke out.

"Deal." He said with a bit of contempt in his voice.

"The children and your men will be taken off world and returned to the republic, the children to hospitals and your men to their families. You have my word that they will not be harmed in any way shape or form provided that they do not attack or make my men act in self defense." Dredge looked over to the Graug and let his voice raise a bit more

"Failure to uphold this binding will result in the immediate execution of you, your brood, and your spawn. Do I make myself clear!?" Dredge said with annoyance in his tone to which the crowd of Graug all responded in unison

"Yes Lord Dredge." The Graug sounded scared of what Dredge would do to them.

Dredge waved a hand and soon large arms scooped up the children and the men hanging upside down and all eight of them left the room to be taken home. And then it was just Dredge and Corruck. And also the hundred or so Graug still in the room, but it was as if Dredge's sheer presence dwarfed them and made them look to be nothing in the moment. The children and men were truly leaving, Dredge was a man of his word. Now it was time for Corruck to keep up the end of his bargain.

"Congratulation Mister Corruck, you just saved eight lives. Now let's talk about the Rebels before we get to having fun. I'd rather much like to have this information be reliable before we torture you." The remaining Graug laughed again and dredge raised a hand

"Oh and don't worry, I'm not going to kill you. I'm going to make you live with your betrayal, and every day every moment you breathe will serve as a reminder that this was the moment you sold your friends down the river for eight bags of meat! Let's start with the names of high ranking officials and leaders and move our way down to locations and assets. NOW TALK!!" Dredge said and stood up from his throne

 

[Corruck Kazen]

Location: Unknown OS planet
Objective: Living with his decision
Allies: None
Enemies: [member="Dredge"]

Corruck had the first sense of truthfulness from the monster. He got the feeling that there was at least something of a true man within the hide of that beast. He wondered how it was that the same being of evil that had created the room he had come out of also had the feeling of honor in a promise. He didn't understand how it was possible, or if it were even true. A person could be incredibly evil and pretend to be good. Corruck didn't know if he was dealing with one of those people right now. He hoped that the children would find good homes, and the men would return to their families and live full lives.

Now it came down to the truth and the information. As Intelligence Officer, Corruck had been privy to some information that most others within the Alliance had not. Of course, he had foreseen such an event as this, so he had made sure to avoid memorizing anything that would be completely lethal to the rebels. He knew the codenames back and forth, he knew their base, and he knew some of the previous operations. He looked around again, even though the room was full of beasts of great size he felt that it was incredibly empty. He guessed it was the effect of a being of such great strength as Dredge.

With thoughts of what was to come he spoke, "Helska IV is where a Rebel base is currently located. However most of the leadership is within a fleet of ships that constantly change position and separate to avoid detection." He knew that a rebel base had been on Praesitlyn, however he had his own small company there. There were also many innocents and Corruck was willing to bet that Dredge would bombard the planet. Because Helska IV was practically uninhabited and it was the position of an older Rebel base.

He sighed before continuing, "As for names, I truly know only their code names. We have been prepared for such a circumstance as this. Our leader is Benefactor or Gen to those closer to her. We have a few other members, mostly the ones I know pilots and therefore of little concern. I also know a few of our older operations, however I doubt that that matters."

He was simply passing what he believed would be important to Dredge, he was sure that Dredge would ask him for more if he wanted more.

 

[Dredge]

Location: Unknown planet OS space
Objective: Make the rebel a monster
Allies: None
Enemies: [member="Corruck Kazen"]


Dredge sat there and by his side a human slave was recording everything he said on a holocam and a signal was being sent out to be streamed directly to someone who was much scarier than Dredge. The footage was being live streamed to the Dark Lord [member="Darth Vornskr"] himself, but this was a good start to say the least, but Dredge wanted more. He was going to kill everything and everyone in the rebel alliance. He would find their leader Gen and he would kill everything that belonged to her. He would burn her home and kill the posies in her gardens, the level of death and destruction he would bring down upon Helska IV and the people on that base would be nothing compared to what the people of Makeb faced. He would peel every inch of skin off one by one until he could write messages in the sky with their flesh. So dredge sat back down in his throne and waved his hand to a nearby Graug.

"So you are saying the rebellion has only one base of operations? In the whole entire galaxy. I'm not an idiot Mister Corruck, you will tell me every location. Especially the ones close to you, now speak." Dredge looked back over to the Graug and something seemed to be going down.

The Graug began to push forward a wooden table that was spattered in dried blood. Upon the table there were three leather straps that looked like they were there to hold down and restrain arms. Another Graug came by with a welders mask on and carrying a blow torch and a sick jagged meat cleaver. The two Graug set the table up in front of Corruck and the sharp sound of the cleaver being sharpened rang out in the air. Dredge smiled under his helmet and leaned forward in his seat.

"I want names Corruck. And you are going to tell me names whether you think you are or not." Dredge waved a hand and soon the Graug behind Corruck forced him down and onto the table quickly lashing down his arm and hands to the table. The Graug holding the torch ignited it with a few clicks from the welding unit and soon the plasma torch sprung to life with a blinding white hot light that made the gates of heaven look like a low budget black and white holo film.

"Please go on." Dredge said in a very polite conversational tone as the video kept streaming and recording.

 

[Corruck Kazen]

Location: Unknown OS planet
Objective: Facing himself
Allies: None
Enemies: [member="Dredge"]

Corruck knew only of one other planet, he had intentionally avoided looking for more. As Intelligence Officer he had had to deal with enough sensitive information that he wanted to gain little beyond that. He knew ReCal was not ready to move very soon, which meant that they needed time. He couldn't give them that time, not as it was. He decided to avoid giving what he knew in that regard. He was willing to assume that the tools in front of him were not for show. Based on his earlier experience he bet that they were only the beginning.

"I know there are other bases on other worlds. I do not know them though." He kept his tone as polite and free of emotions that may have compromised him.

He tried to think, the only names that he could remember at this point were of pilots. Up until recently the rebels had been running on very tight staff. "There are pilots, again I don't know the actual names. There's Gambit and Peaches. Most of the other people that were within the Alliance were simple soldiers." To him the soldiers were more than mere numbers, he had learned many of their names, though he had given them nicknames and the sort so that he would forget their true identities. He had made it his priority to learn more about the operations rather than the people. At first his learning about the operations had been so that he could use the system for gain, but as time had gone one and he had grown out of that stage he had begun to learn to protect those around him.

He looked at the graugs expectantly, he was sure that the torture would begin fairly soon. While he probably didn't want to know what it would be, he had some fairly gruesome ideas of what it could entail.

 

[Dredge]

Location: Unknown planet OS space
Objective: Make the rebel a monster
Allies: None
Enemies: [member="Corruck Kazen"]

Dredge sat back and laughed again. This one was tough, he respected that he didn't want to betray his comrades more than he already had. It was a good quality in a man, but it wasn't one in a monster. And that's exactly what Dredge was going to make him into. It was time to make sure Corruck knew exactly where he stood, this was the future after all. He could get the information in a multitude of other ways, this one was just the most fun really. Dredge slowly rose from his throne like a cobra about to strike on his prey, his armor flickered obsidian hues off the soft white hot light of the plasma torch as he stepped closer.

"Let's get one thing straight. I don't have to torture you to get what I want." He said as he descended the stairs.

"I can drain the knowledge from your head with the force." He said taking another few steps down the stairs

"I could load you up with truth serum." Dredge finished the stairs and began to step his way towards Corruck.


"I could have a Yammosk penetrate your brain and give me the information while he plays your worst nightmare over, and over, and over, and over again and again" he was close to Corruck and he took off his helmet to reveal a scarred face with dozens of tattoos plastered upon it. He was Yuuzhan Vong and had no hair atop his head, the monster had glowing red eyes and proceeded until he stood towering over Corruck.

"I can get any information I want from you Corruck, your past, who you love, I can scan your brain and pluck the memories it has stored that even you don't remember. But do you know why I'm doing this?" Dredge reached his hand out and the Graug with the mask chuckled and put the torch in his hands.

"I'm doing this because it's more fun. So let's save yourself some pain and you can start talking." Dredge brushed a hand gently across Corruck's face as he spoke.

Once his hand made it through his blonde hair he grabbed a fist full pulled his head up so he could look him in the eyes. And the shadow cast beyond Dredge showed the scene of the overlord taking the torch to the left side of Corruck's face laughing as he did it.

 

[Corruck Kazen]

Location: Unknown OS planet
Objective: Live with his decision
Allies: None
Enemies: [member="Dredge"]

Corruck did not take the laughter without grace. He knew that it was intended to make him unsure, or so he thought. He knew where he stood here, he knew that he was trapped for pretty much eight lives worth of torture. The strange thing was that he was at peace about it. He knew that he would deal with much pain in the near future, probably die by the end, however he had done of for others. He would find death peaceful, that would peace would come from knowing his sacrifice was the right decision.

He listened silently and when Dredge had finished his threat Corruck simply watched. He knew what was coming, somehow he knew. He guessed it was just intuition, he knew he had no connection to the Force. As he felt his hair get tugged he resigned himself to the fate.

He watched quietly until the flames burned his flesh. He let out a cry as it burned the side of his face. He felt skin burst as water evaporated. The pain was too great and he felt as if he was going to black-out, however he held on. He gripped the knife in his left hand harder than before, he wasn't going to use it, but it was something that would at least give him something to think about.

 

[Dredge]

Location: Unknown planet OS space
Objective: Make the rebel a monster
Allies: None
Enemies: [member="Corruck Kazen"]

Dredge finished his little portrait on Corruck's face and gave a soft chuckle at the pathetic sight before him. He really thought he could keep secrets from him, it was cute to say the least. Dredge fully intended to make this person talk, and hell even if he didn't he was going to get the information regardless of what they thought. The smell of burning hair and flesh filled Dredge's nostrils and he smiled savoring every last bit of the euphoric scent. He was having quite a bit of fun to say the least and he was going to make sure that this person had reverted to the monster he once was. That he could put up as many walls as he wanted and pretend that he was a good guy. But Dredge knew, he knew what he truly was. He was a hungry wolf in sheep's clothing.

Dredge lifted up the man's face and with one hand he placed the darkened helmet back on his face to cover his features in shadows. Dredge looked down at the knife Corruck held and smiled at him evilly beneath that dark tainted helmet.

"That's it. Grip the knife, it feels good doesn't it? The hatred, the want to kill. The need to end my life, that's who you really are Corruck. You're not a rebel, you are a killer and a monster who will stop at nothing to get the job done." Dredge chuckled and with a powerful thrust down he slammed Corruck's head against the wooden table hard.

It was a professional curtesy for what came next. Taking the plasma torch and the cleaver in hand Dredge began to heat the blade until it grew orange with immense amounts of heat. Dredge chuckled and with a hard slam down politely removed Corruck's fingers of the strapped down arm burning the wound closed.

"You see Corruck. I know a part of you wishes you had walked out. To cut a new deal and forsake those you let walk out of here. I know it's in there Corruck. Let it out, save yourself and make a new deal." Dredge said as he cleared the bits of meat that once belonged to Corruck off the table.

 

[Corruck Kazen]

Location: Unknown OS planet
Objective: Fight the urge
Allies: None
Enemies: [member="Dredge"]

Corruck held back as much as possible his wish to yell out and scream. That would only give Dredge more satisfaction. He had never experienced such pain before, and he hoped that after this he never would. He doubted that that hope would come true, in this place of darkness there was only pain and suffering to be found. He told himself that he had to fight against his anger. It was more than anger that well up within him, it a burning hatred of Dredge. He hated these circumstances. He hated why he had been forced to come here. He hated having to be trapped here because of his higher standards. He hated damn near everything.

If he had been Force sensitive he could have wielded that hatred to do great or horrifying things. But he was no Jedi or Sith, he could not manipulate the Force, instead he was affected by from those around him. People like Dredge who could use the Force were practically gods compared to Corruck. They threw their power around not caring who was harmed on their path to ultimate strength. He had come to the realization, at one point, that one of the greatest foes that was within the galaxy was those who wielded the Force. They could do anything, could force their will upon anyone, and no one could stop them. He hated that. He hated that those who were not gifted were practically defenseless against such monsters.

Jedi, Sith, they were two sides of the same coin. Both were part of the evil that corrupted the galaxy. Without them there would have been much more peace in the galaxy. He had seen footage and information on the Clone Wars, from an expedition on Coruscant that he had been in. He knew how it was the Sith who started the war secretly, they started it because they wanted to destroy the Jedi. It did not seem to matter if the Sith were annihilated from the galaxy, as there were always some Jedi who would turn away and follow the Sith. So it was both the Jedi and Sith that were the cause of the problem. The Sith were the true evil, but the Jedi were basically accomplices.

Corruck wished he could simply wipe them from the galaxy, remove the ability for people to use the Force. He could have been happy then. He might have been able to live in peace, maybe own a small corporation on some backwater planet and be content. But the evil that was in the galaxy removed any hope of that being possible.

He had made mistakes and he was willing to accept them, but he was not willing to let them stop him. He had to make this galaxy right. How would he begin? Well there were already plans in motion towards that end... Now though, he had no hope of ever seeing that dream become reality. He hated it.

What could he do now? There was little, Corruck knew that he had no power here. He could do nothing against Dredge unless Dredge willed it. Corruck heard the monster speak, the words broke his heart.

He knew the spoken words to be true. He knew that he was a failure of humanity. He had tried to weave a life with the Rebels, he had been unable to accept what he had become back when he joined. Now though when he looked back he could see that he had lied to himself. He still had the old tendencies, he still planned and schemed. He was the worst leader that the Rebels could possibly have... And they didn't even realize it. He felt broken in spirit. The lies he had given himself were now revealed to his mind and those secrets within his heart were brought forth. What did this mean?

That was the question that was in his mind and heart when he was slammed against the table. Almost instantly he lost all sense of pain, his mind and body weary, his spirit crushed. It had been all too easy for Dredge. Corruck moaned in pain slightly when his fingers were removed, but aside from that he was silent. Those final words that Dredge spoke were ringing in his ears, echoing in his soul. He wanted to speak, wanted to obey, but his body was too weak.

 

[Jarven Zexxel]

OOC: [member="Corruck Kazen"] He hated that he had volunteered to go to Objective 3. LOL.

 

[Isaac Ideus]

Location: Landing near the Solida Hesk resort
Objectives: Say goodbye to a friend
Allies: None, today
Enemies: Ditto

[Theme]​

​

Isaac squirmed in his pilot's seat as his stomach churned. What was this feeling? Was it fear? Isaac caught his breath. No, this was dread. A cosmic feeling which affects all yet which has no scientific explanation.

As Isaac entered the atmosphere of the planet, explosive repercussions vibrated dully off the hull of his small second-hand space fighter. This was all-out war, but not one he planned on taking part in. Raven radio chatter cracked from the cockpit's comm system, both organized and chaotic, collected and desperate. Isaac tuned them out. He was heading towards the small blip on the small nav screen mounted on the dash. A small ship like his, with a bit of subterfuge, was easily capable of slipping under any suspicion.

The blip on his nav screen burned itself into his head, the yellow dot remaining an unescapable bright orb on the back of his eyelids when he blinked or closed his eyes. That orb was what he dreaded.

He had come to the planet not to fight. Not today-- he would save it for some other time, even though he knew he was needed. He had come for someone. He broke through the clouds and spotted a place to set his ship down. The area around the Solida Hesk resort was still smoldering from combat, with skirmishes taking place close by and both Rebel and Raven ships locked in combat nearby. He made some final control inputs and sat the ship down in a grassy field near 20 meters from a street near the resort. He holstered his pistol and opened the hatch. He couldn't believe he was about to step foot on Makeb. He had told himself he wouldn't get involved in this conflict which he opposed. But fate is cruel and mysterious. It wasn't more than a few days ago that Isaac and [member="Lysle of the Hydian Way"] had been scheming a way to avoid this fracas. Now, he found himself chasing after his mentor.

He knew he was in trouble, the dread had told him this. The cockpit canopy hissed open and the smell of combat flooded Isaac's nostrils. A rebel body lay near the side of the road, face down. Isaac scanned the area quickly and leaped out onto terra firma. Isaac turned off his telecomm in order to preserve some semblance of stealth as retorts from small arms fire cracked nearby. On the ride down, he had understood that [member="Cryax Bane"] was in the vicinity, which meant that there was probably little time until a larger Rebel task force came down on top of this area.

Skirting along the walls of a cantina, Isaac peeked down an alley leading to a large building. He flicked on the radio and announced his presence. A big reinforced door was one which he knew led to the area command bunker. It sprang open and Isaac ducked in, greeted by security droids who quickly ID'd him. "Bring me to him" he commanded. Dread took hold of him again, this time with an even greater strength. Isaac wasn't force sensitive, but in his mind of minds he knew the fate that had befallen his friend. Isaac and a droid took a lift down to a makeshift armory. It was cold and silent, yet the sound of dread beat like a drum in his head. Not a single soul stirred-- no, this was no armory, it was a morgue. A figure, prostrate on a table, was covered with a wool blanket. Isaac took cautious steps towards it, as if approaching something dangerous. A lifeless arm limply dangled, a familiar tattoo scrawled on it. Isaac's face was flushed, his stomach squeezed as though caught in a vice grip. He backed up to the wall and slid down it to a seated position on the floor. He ran his hands through his hair, trying to stimulate brain activity. Instead, he got zero feedback-- dead air. Dread was gone, now reality was Pain. A flood of memories cam back to him, as if it were his brain's way to trick itself that Lysle was still alive. Isaac felt his body heave, and he closed his eyes and covered his face. He wished he was back home-- he wanted to be with his family.

But he knew that in this cold room, his was with family. He stood up, and looked over the figure with blurred vision. He slowly pulled the blanket down to brow level, and then down to expose the whole face. It was serene. He turned back towards the wall and leaned against it, his arms propping him up. He reached down to his telecomm and dialed in to Cryax Bane. "Cryax," he said, holding back his emotion the best he could, "this is Isaac. I'm with Lysle. I'm taking him off this damn planet, but I'll need your help. What's the plan?"

 

[Dredge]

Location: Unknown planet OS space
Objective: Make the rebel a monster
Allies: None
Enemies: [member="Corruck Kazen"]

"Hit him with the adrenaline. We're losing him." Dredge said as he looked down at Corruck's fading form.

Dredge picked the cleaver back up and began to heat it once more with the torch, he was going to have quite the bit of fun with Corruck turning him back into what he truly was. Dredge let out a few nurturing clicking sounds as he finished superheating the cleaver once more. He gently moved his iron skinned hand to gently rub against Corruck's unburnt flesh. Grasping his hair again he made Corruck look at him dead in the eyes. Dredge's glowing beady reds connected with Corruck and even though he couldn't see it, the grin that was emanating off of Dredge could be felt a mile away.

"You see Corruck, you and I aren't so different. I can see it in your eyes. You have the eyes of a wolf, an apex predator who feeds on the weak to make themselves stronger." Dredge gave a long dry chuckle afterwards.

"THEN WHY DO YOU HIDE AMONG SHEEP!?" Bringing down the cleaver again dredge took everything in the mid forearm and screamed the question at Corruck as he looked into his dreary eyes that would no doubt be hot with pain soon.

A young male slave came swiftly by and tapped a needle and pushed out any air bubbles as he prepared a shot of adrenaline to wake up the sleepy rebel. Sinking it into his neck the man pushed the concoction into the man and soon his senses would be on fire with him returning to a fully aware state of mind.

Dredge kept Corruck's head firmly in place and set the cleaver down. Dredge smiled again and spoke to Corruck in that same dark and evil tone of voice

"You're not one of them Corruck. No matter how much you tell them and yourself you are. We both know what you truly are. A killer. You are strong and they are weak! Why should you have to die for them! Why should you have to die for the weak?! THEY HAVE DONE NOTHING FOR YOU! LOOK WHERE TRYING TO BE ONE OF THEM HAS GOTTEN YOU!! LOOK AT IT!! LOOK AT YOURSELF!!" Dredge roared at Corruck and soon the two Graug behind the male Slave grabbed the man by the arms and he began to flail as he brought him to Corruck's knife hand. Dredge lowered himself down to stare at Corruck face to face.

"Kill him Corruck, kill him and I will release you from this confinement. And you and I can go howl at the moon together." Dredge stood up and put both hands on Corruck's head.

Closing his eyes and with an effort of will Dredge began to pour the force into the man's head to use the power Drain Knowledge. But no he wasn't after the information he wanted, he was looking into his past as a crime lord. He was pulling out every sick thing Corruck had done, every kill, every life he had made miserable, and every foul thing that made him into the monster he was trying to hide in a slideshow that would dance in front of Corruck's eyes. Letting go Dredge took a step back and smiled once more.

"Do it"