Public Bad Night of the Weik

[Ravenous]

Ravenous felt himself take a step in Sola's direction as she gripped her blade interrogating him about his true nature. If he were any more enticed at her comment he'd be foaming at the mouth like a feral beast, The void was gaining greater control over the Dark Jedi and Sola wasn't helping much either. Her authoritative demeanor and golden aura were like an invitation to the void inside Ravenous to raid to pillage to corrupt and to kill. Ravenous took another step this time without commanding his legs to do so.

It was happening...

The first stage was an aching pain in his head, then came voices in his head, at stage three his body began moving on its own, at stage four...

...For both their sakes Ravenous hoped it wouldn't come to that point. He still vividly recants the first time stage four was reached...it was a horrible sight indeed and it drove him to the point of madness so much so in fact that he tried to shoot himself that same week. Fortunately Ravenous was never good at charging his blasters and there was no power inside of his gun but the fact remains. "I am Ravenous the Master of Villany and a broken shell of a person. I'm dying every day and yet I persist. It's not right for a human to have to watch themselves lay on their death bed. It does things to people, HE does things to people namely me." Ravenous approached Sola and harshly planted his hands on her shoulders. "He feeds on pain, he feeds on emotions on LIFE itself. You can't ask me who I am because even I don't know the answer, Who I was who I am now...It's all become...relative. Maybe Ravenous doesn't exist and I'm still Akabane Troy. Maybe, Akabane Troy, is just an alter ego and Ravenous is who I really am." Ravenous clenched Sola's shoulders intensely his golden eyes retreating into the depths of his soul. "I-I know I'm not making much sense but that's what he does! He creates paradoxes he takes things and he warps them into...a wound. That's what I've become a wound in the force. Two force users aren't meant to share the same presence especially when one is long dead..." Ravenous leaned in closer to Sola's ear his voice converting into something distorted and raspy.

"Let me show you why...Sola Wessiri."

Out the corner of his ear, Ravenous heard two sets of footsteps coming from the forest presumably Aesro and Leea Pandac. Ravenous pushed Sola away and turned towards the forest edge more than ready to rejoin his other companions. "About time you guys showed up! It was getting boring hanging out with Ms. Law and Order over here."

Sola Wessiri | Aesro | Leea Pandac | Varlo

 

[Leea Pandac]

Leea was proud of herself; she was managing to hold a decent pace, considering the degree of her injuries. But, she was breathing heavily, and the helmet cut off quite a bit of her peripheral vision. As the Mirialan walked, she constantly kept her head moving, even though it had a dizzying effect, Last thing I need is something or someone blindsiding me.

As Aesro asked about the feeling Leea felt a bit uncertain. How can I feel conflict? But, as she slowed enough to give her other senses a chance to take in the environment, she began to feel a tension in the air. What is that? She faintly recalled Makeb's atmosphere often felt rather heavy before storms hit, something about the combination of air pressure and static electricty. But this was different, and Leea was certain she would have noticed storm clouds rolling in.

At length she managed to reply, "I feel something." Yet it seemed the sensation dispersed as soon as she cleared the underbrush and came into view of the only other two people she recognized on this planet. She gave a clipped wave as she stumbled slightly over a creeping root.

"We are doing alright," She answered the unasked question. The near-human decided it was time to swallow what pride she had, and whatever dignity might cling to it, and she requested, "Can I get some help with this, it's a bit stuck." Leea gently knocked her helmet with her knuckles. She thought there were more bodies in this clearing, but most of it was beyond her limited visual range with the broken visor throwing off quite a bit of her senses.

Sola Wessiri Ravenous Varlo

 

[Sola Wessiri]

Sola didn't move as Ravenous approached. It wasn't out of fear, but moreso out of courage. There was only a few things that she was afraid of and a messed up individual like him wasn't one of them. Still, she kept her dagger between them, even as he grabbed her shoulders.

Each sentence that he spoke, each paradox that he revealed only told her more about him. Ravenous was in need of some serious help. That was probably what drew him to Weik. Whatever was going on out in the Galaxy, it was driving the people mad. Aesro held no memories and Leea Pandac had injuries that might have been sustained before her arrival. Whatever it was, their silent cries for help were answered by Weik.

The strange voice cutting into her ear gave Sola an inner chill. Darkness and danger. That's what Ravenous brought. Yet if he sought a way to rid himself of that Darkness, it came at little wonder that he wanted inside of the Adamite Tower. There was plenty of knowledge hidden within.

And just as Sola was about to suggest something, she was pushed away when Leea arrived. The fact that her helmet was stuck on her head almost brought about an amused smile. But the fact that so many of Sola's brothers and sisters lay dead killed any sense of humour that she could have had. Resheathing her dagger, she approached the young woman. "There's quite the dent in it. How partial are you to it? It may need to be cut off." Either that or a lot of lard could be used.

 

[Leea Pandac]

At the suggestion, Leea gave an exaggerated shrug. Not like it didn't serve its purpose. Would hate to think what would have happened to my head without it... Unfortunately, her imagination ran ahead of her and the image of a battered and crushed skull entered into her mind. She spoke out, "Just get it off! Couldn't care less what state it is in."

Then, after a moment's thought, she realized she should add a little more and continued, "But please be careful, I'm rather more fragile than it."

It was at this point that the Mirialan realized she had a fairly strong voice. With this came another discernment. She had healed rapidly, the pain was still there, but it didn't seem quite so debilitating and that in itself was concerning. She had sustained injuries akin to this, albeit not quite as severe, but it usually took hours or days for the pain to subside. It had been less than a day, probably little more than an hour or two and she felt almost normal. What was in that syringe? It had to be potent stuff. Having a weird side-effect though. The pressure in her mind was still there and every now and then there was a whisper, as if a breeze moved through the leaves. She'e never had pain-killers or medicine that had this effect. Leea was uncertain about whether this would continue to get worse even as her bodily pain dissipated. She decided to ask Ravenous about what he had given her, once she had gotten the blasted helmet off.

Sola Wessiri Aesro

 

[Ravenous]

Ravenous smiled at Leea Pandac 's comical situation one she clearly wanted out of. Sola suggested cutting the helmet off but Ravenous sought a different solution one much quicker and less...dangerous. Approaching the soldier Ravenous surveyed the damage of the helmet for several seconds before finding what he assumed to be a sizeable dent. Slipping his metal-encased fingers into the crack Ravenous began to pull in both directions the already damaged status of the helmet aiding him in his struggle. He could hear the helmet begin to buckle more and more cracks forming with each second. Abruptly his hands pulled apart along with the helmet as the two halves fell to the ground shards of armor and glass following them. Her helmet gone the woman should be able to see properly which would work to their advantage.

"Problem solved. And as for that syringe...well let's just say that Nightsister isn't the only alchemist around here. Its effectiveness is one you won't find elsewhere as it was designed to heal near mortal wounds." Ravenous lifted his cloak and outshot another vial this one filled with an orange liquid. "Just one of these things will give you the strength to punch a hole in a tree." He tossed the vial towards the woman trusting she would be able to catch it. "Now to deal with these bodies..." Ravenous walked over towards one of the paladins and picked him up before ejecting an empty syringe from his back. He stabbed the needle into the man's nape the vial filling up with crimson liquid within a matter of moments. Ravenous slipped the vial into his cybernetic spine a small compartment locking it away.

His head then turned towards a lucite a rather large gash splitting his face in two. "So when your wolf finds the Lucites is he just gonna howl as he did before? That's sure to alert them as it alerted me earlier." Ravenous picked him the man and completed the same procedure as before. "If we're going to-" Ravenous was cut off mid-sentence the golden globes he calls eyes looking up towards something that didn't exist. "What? That's her name...nice. For once you actually managed to find out something useful." Ravenous rolled his shoulders audible popping satisfying to the dark figure.

"Well, Sola Wessiri as I was saying I hope you have a plan that doesn't involve alerting the enemy."

Aesro

 

[Aesro]

OOC: I feel absolutely awful for repeatedly failing to post. I am very sorry. If it happens again, just keep going. I keep seeming to have issues posting with Aesro.

Aesro sensed something off still, sensed something dark. Yet he couldn't pull the feeling further than that. His inexperience with such things making it too hard to get any real use out of such feelings. They soon saw Ravenous who greeted them. Leea Pandac had said she'd felt at least something. He wasn't sure what he thought about Ravenous still, each moment he felt more ill at ease. But he couldn't come up with enough good reasons for it, and so he did nothing about it. Yet at the same time there was a slight familiarity. Similar of something, but still very different.

Sola Wessiri offered to help Leea with her helmet, who seemed very eager about it. She was a lot more solid in voice this time. Ravenous was the first to get there however, and literally tore the thing off before comparing the syringe to what the other woman had given to him that had so rapidly healed his wounds. Memories were returning, basic ones first. Skill and common knowledge. Faces, the force, yet not detailed history.

He found himself gaining resolve again. He quietly spoke while walking to a tree, "Excuse me, I need to test something." He took in a breath and cracked his neck, he heard words, and felt emotion, felt power. Ravenous's comment on punching holes in trees gave him an idea. And so he did, he raised his fist, the force increasing his strength and hardening his hand as it crashed into the trees body. He pulled it out looking at the blood on his knuckles. He'd done it wrong, but the whole remained.

He turned around chuckling slightly. "A few of the memories returned. I believe my name is Aesro, and I'm also fairly certain that I was taught to use the force...at least to an extent. Not too much left. I would like to ask though, does it really matter if they know they've been alerted? One way or another they find out. We just need to get to them in time."

 

[Sola Wessiri]

Sola watched as Ravenous tore the helmet off of Leea Pandac with his bare hands. He was a bit of a show-off, much like Varlo , and that did little to help ease any of the tensions that she held.

Vials of magik potions, she didn't want any part of that. What were the side effects? There had to be some. And surely they weren't all good. Ravenous himself seemed to be made up of mechanical parts. And he was a bit insane. The Force was strong with him, that much she could easily feel. However Weik may have made his condition worse.

She watched as Aesro felt a bit better, but then took Ravenous' suggestion and literally punched a tree. And of course he was hurt by it. Well that was certainly stupid.

Yet her attention was caught by something even wprse. Ravenous was stealing the blood from the bodies. "Hey!" Sola drew up her blade again as she started for him, her other hand reaching out, calling to the second vial to fly into her hand. "What in Weik are you doing?!" All that she could think of was blood majik; something that she was trying to prevent.

As for Shadow and what he'd do when he came upon the Lucites, Sola knew what would alert her and the others. They'd need only to follow the screams.

 

[Varlo]

Follow the screams they would not. Varlo, as recognised by Sola, was a tactical and strategical genius, mayhaps not the best in the galaxy, but definitely very well gifted in the ways of war. So one hound sent after them was not a wise move, he had prepared for it.

He had intentionally stayed just ahead of Shadow, while keeping within its sight, to lure it in. And the animal would find itself falling into a pit trap, nothing at the bottom would kill it, but all along the rim were long, downward facing spikes, any attempt to jump out would impale him, any attempt to yank the stakes out was, not only highly unlikely to succeed, but also risked impaling the thing. So until help arrived, it was stuck.

Also at the bottom of the pit, were diseased blankets, meant to bring sickness to the enemy once the dog was retrieved, of course they were dirty enough to be seen as dirt in the bottom.

Varlo smiled wickedly down at Shadow and said, "soon Sola, soon."

 

[Leea Pandac]

It appeared that the swiftest to respond to her situation was the most questionable man in this lot. Ravenous moved faster than the others and with surprising alacrity removed her helm. Leea barely had time to respond to his approach before her head was freed from its enclosure. She felt some bleeding from where shards of metal had been dragged during the effort, but nonetheless, the green-skinned humanoid was grateful. "Thanks."

The strange man continued, seemingly reading her mind as he answered her question. In a single smooth motion, he tossed her yet another of the syringes and Leea barely managed to catch it, fumbling with it as it seemed desperate to fall to the ground. She took a deep breath, tasting the clear air without the metal filter of her helmet. Earthy flavors arose, but so did the smell of death. That was a smell she was all too familiar with and as her gaze rose to the glade she had to stifle a cry. There are so many! How could this have happened? Then she whispered to herself, "Looks like a bloodbath, a slaughter."

Then came a loud crack, and her head snapped around, her body following suit a second later, all of her senses on edge. Aesro had punched a tree, hard. The branches rustled above with the severity of the impact and a few of the leaves fell from the shock. It seemed he had injured himself, but he appeared to have regained some memory of his past. His question though was interesting and although Leea was no strategist, she offered her thought in answer, "Maybe there are more of them than us? They might be able to defend themselves in a straight battle, but if we catch them unprepared, in an ambush or something, we could stand a better chance." She gestured towards the veritable sea of bodies, which it seemed Sola Wessiri was now arguing with the odd Force user over. "If whatever, or whoever, did this, maybe we don't stand much of a chance in a fair fight."

Varlo

 

[Ravenous]

Annoying. This Sola Wessiri really ticks me off. And not just because she's supposed to 'Protect Weik.' Ravenous spun around furiously the golden glow in his eyes returning as he heard the sound of a blade. What was this the- third time she's pulled a blade out on him? Absurd, merely absurd. Being suspicious is cause to be wary not threatening especially with someone who outclasses your skill. "What's wrong? Squeamish?" Ravenous stretched out his left hand a crimson glow flowing around it. He stood like that for a while before cooling down his bloodlust subsiding. "One." His golden pupil's burnt out as well. "Draw a weapon on me one more time and I quite literally don't know what I might do." His neck spazzed violently for a moment, twisting and bending to inhuman degrees. "Trust me. I'm a much better conversationalist than...him. Now for your question."

Ravenous stroked his chin his mind deep in his thoughts. "Well. If I did tell you what I was doing you wouldn't like it." The man chuckled to himself. "You might even find the courage to follow through with one of your baseless threats."

Ravenous clenched his fists as he walked away from the scene making sure to bump Sola Wessiri on his way out. "I learned a while ago not to rely on others to get the job done. I'm going after those guys and then once they're dead I'm going after your Nexus." Shoving his hands into his pockets Ravenous vanished into the forest his eyes fixated on the paw prints marking the ground.

Leea Pandac | Aesro | Varlo

 

[Sola Wessiri]

Outnumbered. The Paladins were certainly outnumbered now. Yet as to how many Lucites there were, she couldn't guess. All that she knew was how many less there were, due to the bodies on the ground. Sola would need the help of the Outsiders. She couldn't do it alone.

Her attention was fully on Ravenous as he turned on her, threatening with that alter ego of his to not only attack her, but to try to gain the Nexus as well. Her eyes narrowed at the vile Outsider.

Over her dead body....

Sola wished that she was more than one person. She needed to deal with the dead, but also deal with Ravenous. She looked to Leea Pandac and Aesro and expressed her frustration. "Please look after their bodies. Pile them up if you can. I'll burn them after. I just need to deal with this matter."

Without waiting for an answer, Sola took off after Ravenous to catch up to him. "The Nexus is not yours to go after. Killing the Lucites will not suddenly grant you access." Nor was it his fight. He was an Outsider, they all were, and she was already missing her Paladin brothers and sisters. Calder Calistarius was too far away to be of help. Perhaps if Shadow had a moment, he could go to him.

Yet Shadow had his own problems. The trap set by Varlo caught him by surprise and he yelped on his way down to the bottom of the pit. He looked up and noticed the spikes pointing down at him.

And so he howled, the sound echoing through the trees.

Sola's blood ran a little cold at the sound. "Something's wrong..." That was all that she said before breaking into a run to follow the sound.

 

[Varlo]

They would find the mutt trapped, but ultimately unharmed. Varlo had left him alive for a reason, to show exactly how vulnerable she and her followers were, and that he was content to sit back and watch the show, namely watch Sola and Ravenous tear each other apart.

He was actually contemplating how useful Ravenous could be, he was dangerous, powerful and from what the spies he had left in the trees had told him, he wanted the Nexus. Hmm, he'd be more of a liability than an ally if he were brought into the Lucites, he'd be of more use if he remained with Sola, acting essentially as a time-bomb, ready to ravage his enemy for him and his allies to eliminate as soon as he's exhausted. Or if the Paladins managed to kill him, all the better, and they'd be naught but food for crows, waiting to be put out of their misery.

But that was but one of many strategies. And by far the most variable. He couldn't count on this. So he wouldn't.

 

[Ravenous]

Now deep into the thicket the paw prints on the ground only became more visible the closer he locked on what he hoped would be the Lucites. It wasn't long before he heard rustling in the bushes and a presence he grew tired of sensing poked at him. Sola Wessiri apparently didn't like the fact Ravenous didn't enjoy having a weapon pulled on him every thirty seconds which honestly didn't sound fair. Sola informed Ravenous that killing the Lucites wasn't enough to grant him access to the Nexus on Weik and of course this triggered another response.

"Well Sola Wessiri maybe just killing YOU might suffice. It'll at least quench my thirst for blood..." The crashing of wood was heard up ahead like a tree falling in a thunderstorm. Clearly, something was off and Sola seemed keen on figuring it out as she dashed forward. He considered ditching Sola and going off on his own but ultimately decided against it because for all his sarcasm Sola actually knew the forest and Ravenous had no interest in blinding wandering around on his own away from the trail the Lucites seemed to be taking.

Emerging from the underbrush Ravenous examined the primitive (but effective) trap laid by the Lucites. At the bottom stood shadow surrounded by wooden spikes that no doubt served to impede any escape attempt. "Well, I'll be...Crazy Dark side Fanatics two." He smirked behind his mask. "Conservative angry warrior lady...zilch." Ravenous took one last glance around, wary of any additional traps that may be placed nearby. Convinced he was safe from harm Ravenous shoved his hands back into his pockets before taking a long glance at the woods before him.

"Welp he's screwed. Forget him and let's go, we need to focus on the Lucites. Someone else can come and get him." A cynical and possibly despicable approach but that's just how Ravenous operates.

He doesn't get off track and he stays steady until his goals are met, if you happen to fall behind well...you'll learn why sociopathic charisma is considered mental instability.

Leea Pandac | Varlo | Aesro

 

[Leea Pandac]

Events transpired almost faster than Leea's still recovering nerves could handle it. The local, Sola, had requested that the Mirialan and Zabrak work to pile the bodies for a funeral pyre style send-off. It seemed rather barbaric to her, but then again, she didn't notice many modern weapons on the bodies and had yet to see a sign of civilization as she knew it. Perhaps this was a backward world, still developing and catching up to the rest of the galaxy. That did not bode well for leaving...

Of course, Leea attempted to accept the job as respectfully as she could before turning to it. Yet, even before she had managed to straighten one of the corpses, a dark howl had emanated from the woods. It reminded her of the vocalization she had heard soon after crashing on the world, but more mournful. Is it the same wolf? The same I saw in the forest? How can it be? It bloody creepy. It seemed to have more of an impact on Sola and Ravenous, both suddenly bolting into the forest as if they were on fire themselves.

Glancing to the bodies, Leea stood for a good ten seconds alternating gazing at the forest where they disappeared and back to the dead. Perhaps it was a trick of the fire, star, or moonlight, but the faces seemed to move and shift in the darkness. The pressure in her mind seemed to build for a moment as she came close to check on one. What is that? Her eyes refused to focus in the dying and dim light, yet as she neared the face seemed to settle into the all too expected face of pain frozen in place after death had finally taken its victim.

Looking to the only other person she recognized on the planet, Leea gave an uncertain smile as she beckoned, "Gonna need some help with this. Hardly going to accomplish this on my own now am I?" Silently she thought, Though, I really don't like the looks of this. Splitting up in the midst of unknown territory. Just asking for an ambush, maybe the attackers will come back. Her hand instinctively reached for her pistol, patting it gently as she scanned the tree line, straining to see into the pitch and darkness beyond. Hey, maybe if this is some savage world, they'll be scared of a blaster round. Maybe they'll think it's lightning or something. Yeah, right. You've hardly ever had the luck to stumble on something quite so fortunate.

"Do you think we should follow them? Are they to be trusted?" The soldier had a feeling she knew about as much as her companion did about the other two, but perhaps they had spoken at length before she had arrived.

Aesro Varlo Ravenous Sola Wessiri

 

[Sola Wessiri]

As far as Sola was aware, killing her wouldn't help anyone gain the Nexus either. She hadn't acquired a successor and therefor hadn't passed on her knowledge or secrets. Yet perhaps killing her would keep the Nexus safe. That would be one silver lining.

Seeing the trap in the dark, Sola knew that that was where Shadow had fallen. His thoughts entered her mind and she couldn't help but walk to the edge and look down at her friend. The words that Ravenous uttered was enough to give her the urge to punch him in the face. Yet she refrained and instead just clenched her hands into fists. Varlo did this, she knew. Her eyes darted to the trees as she looked around to see if she could catch a glimpse of him, yet couldn't. So she shared her own thoughts with Shadow ~I will have you out of there before morning. I just need to find Valknor before they kill him, before they learn what he knows. Just hold tight, my friend. I will return.~

She wasn't abandoning Shadow, she knew. Already she was hatching out a plan to get him out. The spikes were a problem, but also helpful. And she was resourceful. Sola continued through the forest, following the tracks in the snow. They weren't just footprints, they were more of a disturbance in the snow, one that was probably created by dragging a body. Valknor's body.

"Why is it that you want the Nexus so badly? What are you hoping to get from it?" A question spoken out of the blue, for Sola wasn't one for smalltalk. Yet she wanted to know.

Leea Pandac Aesro