Belsavis: Watch Your Back

[Soeht]

The light from the arcs of electricity reflected off of Darth Apparatus's metallic helmet. There was no movement. The Darth displayed no urgency in attempting to stop Ashin and her apprentice from what they desired to do.

"You̴ ̴ar͢e͜ i͘n͞c҉o̸rrec̕t," stated Darth Apparatus, "Th͠e c͟onv͠ęrs̨i̶on̨ ͘a̡n͡d̸ p̷ur͢pos̴e̢ ͘o͠f ̴the͡se pod̵ş are muc͢h ̶simp͡ler͡ ̡than y̢ǫu ̧a̛ssum̡e."

 

[Ashin Varanin]

Apparatus's words barely registered over the crackle of Spencer's lightning as the Dark Lord reached out to the Force and generated her own opposing, fine-tuned manipulation of electrical current. Their combined energies snapped between them, closer to Ashin for safety's sake, with a staggering thunderclap-

And enough of an electrostatic discharge to fill the chamber and the surrounding complex with a powerful electromagnetic pulse, perhaps enough to slow, damage or destroy some of his internal components. Ashin's normally well-shielded lightsabre sparked and died in her hand, and every electric light died. In the darkness, Ashin grinned without humor.

"I seriously doubt your skin is a Faraday cage."

Fire roared forth from her hand, not intended to kill Apparatus but to surround him and overheat his machinery.

 

[Allyson Locke]

Spencer stared with wide eyes as she watched her Master create the discharge. It was sudden and quick, the lightning from her hand faded and she was left in darkness. Blinking quickly, she did her best to let her eyes adjust. The dark was something she feared the most, her heart raced and she looked around. She heard Ashin's voice and she relaxed a little. Suddenly, a roar and a meep (mostly from Spencer). Fire appeared in the room and the young woman stood there for a minute watching.

 

[Soeht]

When Ashin unleashed her barrage of electromagnetic energy, Darth Apparatus lifted his lightsaber and pointed it at the Empress. He squared his stance, his left hand out to his side with fingers bent as if a claw. The dark side enveloped the Darth as the blast closed in on him. A touch of the strength he bestowed upon Voracitos emerged on the whim of Darth Apparatus.

As the electromagnetic pulse touched the tip of the lightsaber, all of it within a few meters seemed to be be attracted. Through the Force, Darth Apparatus gathered what he could and redirected it from what would have been a debilitating blow to him to a much safer, inert form. The rest of the room was not spared from such an ability as darkness fell upon those that gathered there. Just the lightsabers of the warriors provided a dim light.

Then, a flame rushed for Darth Apparatus. This time, he pulled back his lightsaber and threw out his left arm. The sensation of the dark side surrounding the Darth continued to grow. A loud pop blasted through the air as the inferno got within a meter of Darth Apparatus. The orange glow illuminated all of Darth Apparatus just before the fire parted before him.

"Had ͘thi̛s̡ ̶b̵laśt not be̵en ̡a̸ cóns͢truct o͠f the̸ F̵orce," the Darth said, "I̢t͝ ͜m̵ig̷ht҉ ͏h͡a͡v̷e ̧fąre̢d͠ bȩtter ag̕ainst ͟me. ͢Yet̛ ͟considering my name͡śaḱe̡, ̛y̕òu͘ m͜ùs̶t̕ ͝h́a͠ve̷ ́re̛ali͠z̨e͏d̵ ̵I҉ w̕o̴u̵l̡d ha͞v̡e be҉e҉n u̶sed͠ ̸tò ̨suc̸h ̷a̢t͢ta̢c̷k͠s?"

Once the flames subsided, the Darth's head glanced at the barely lit pods - now useless.

"The ̧m̵ác̡h̢ines҉ can͘nòt͝ b̛e ͜uşed. Suc͠h̢ ̕histo҉ry l͢òst̸ ́- ̕y̨èt I̕ am̢ ͜sure͘ an̸other͢ ͟may̢ ̨c̵om̶e͘ ̷a̴n͡d ͢r̛e҉pair ͜i͠t͠ ̵w͟i̧tḩi̶n̢ a cen͏t͡ur̸y̛ ͠o͡r҉ ̀t̡w̧o."

 

[Ashin Varanin]

A Force-user's bond with her lightsabre stemmed from a creation process that involved knowing each circuit intimately, smoothing away flaws during meditation. Harnessing her disappointment, Ashin poured her strength and insight into the weapon, and the damage healed itself. The sky-blue blade snapped to life once more.

"You came to me once on Dromund Kaas, in a moment that reminds me of this one. Reyven Samoth threw attack after attack at me, and I withstood everything but did not respond. My hope was to make him seem a fool, and overstretch himself, see how far he would disrespect the Emperor's authority." She smiled without humor in the light of her blade. As she spoke, she enhanced her own short-term memory -- a mild skill, but one of which she was an unparalleled master -- and began to analyze what he had done. "I think I am not wrong to see a parallel here. Even before your transformation, you were the only Master of the Sith that I could see as a full equal in strength.

"Make no mistake, Apparatus. Unless you infect me, or find a way to make Omni's gospel speak to me, I will kill you here even if I have to create a Force Storm around us and cast half this world into hyperspace.

"So tell me. The nanites we took from Kaine appeared to bend his perceptions, his opinions -- a most efficient proselytization. But what happens when the end goal is complete? When the galaxy bends its knee to Omni? Will Omni still exercise veto on our powers of choice? Is control a means or an end?"

 

[Darron Wraith]

"Are you fething kidding me?"


A few idle moments passed after the Empress and Spencer had locked him and Anaya out of the room, and the GrandMaster was a little frustrated.

"Stand back Anaya, I'll rip this open."

His lightsabers still ignited, the Jedi's brow furrowed as he extended his focus towards the doors in front of him. Using his perception, he wrapped his senses around the multiple locks on the door. As his senses extended, he reached out with the Force as he pushed his senses forward. Taking care to not press too hard, he carefully manipulated the mechanisms before him. A few seconds passed as he worked on them, taking extreme care to not damage them. A few clicks later, the doors flew open and the pair walked in to the room to join Ashin and Spencer. Rushing to join the pair, blue eyes found Appartus battling the pairs powers.

"Need my help?"

 

[Soeht]

"Y͢o̧u ̛a̵s͟s̷ume̷ ̸t͝oo much̢ ͞m͜e͞a̵ni͏n͜g͜ o͝f̧ th͟i̡s ͘c̡onf҉ro͞nt̴ati̧on̨," answered Darth Apparatus in regards to how Ashin made some sort of connection between the current moment and one that happened a while back.

When Darron entered the room, displeasure and annoyance seeped into the already poisoned sensation the Darth felt as in the Force. Without a word, Darth Apparatus deactivated his lightsaber - disappearing into the darkness surrounding him.

"Ìf ͞Om̴n͢i͏'s͡ g͘o̸al ̵i̷s͘ ̛comp̵l̨e͏ted,́ t͟h̵ere ͢w̵i̴l̸l͏ ͞be n͝o mor̢é de͠ma͏nds," Darth Apparatus informed the group, his voice apparently coming from all angles, "W͏i̕th no m̕i̢s͏s͝i͏on,́ ͡I wo̕ul̨d̵ h̛av͝e t̸o͞ ̕l͠iv͝e͜ o̡n͘ ͠my͏ o̢w̧n͞ p͟ur̕po̕s͏és̡."

Then, there was some screeching from one corner of the chamber. The primordial droid survived the electromagnetic pulse, yet it took this much time for it to recover the ability to voice its "pain". It was still out of sight.

"A̶nd̢ ̀n͞ow̴, th͞i͠s̕ ̧h̢as no͘ p͝urpo̴se͏," continued the Darth, "Th͏e ͘po͢ds are̷ ̶no ͠lo̧n̢ger of us͢e,͝ ̵an̶d I͠ am n̛e̷ed̀ed èls͏e̛w͢h͢e̛r͞e.͘ A̢t least ͏t͝he͜ ar͝my͝ I ̕h̛ad p̧lȩn̶ty ͝t͘im̸e ͞t͜o̴ ̵unl̶e̡as̴h ̷is we͡ll on͟ ìts̛ ͜way̛ offworld."

 

[Ashin Varanin]

"One more army to join the fight. Almost overkill, wouldn't you say?" She blotted out Spencer's emotional turmoil and Darron's arrival, for the sake of focus. For a long moment she wished for Force Light, enough to reveal whether Apparatus was still in company with his voice. But, poor Sith Sorceress though she was, her teacher had begun by teaching her how to see in the dark, and she muttered the incantation. Her eyes warped and distorted, and she gained a clearer view of the situation.

"After all," she said, "it's clear now that, if your master is to be defeated, that defeat will not come through conventional means. Even with the simplest replication facilities, a unified production command structure would be able to churn out more droids than we could possibly destroy, to say nothing of the nanite infection.

"But if this is truly a coincidence, Apparatus -- why did you tell me to come to Belsavis?"

 

[Soeht]

"A̵t̀ ҉l҉e͞a̷s҉t͏, ̵i͟t s͢et̕ ͝y̛ou and̢ ot͏h́e͢rs͝ ͠u̡po͟n͢ a fool's̀ err͏a̶n̨d ͞- ̢a͘n̶d̸ t͡h́at ̕w͏o̢rke̡d ̷co̴n̕şi̛der̸ing̴ ͜y͢o̴u ̧b͝r̶ought th̢e͠ Gr͠ańd̶m̴a҉ste҉r̡ wi͝t͠h y̴o̕u a̛s ͝w̶e͟l͠l̴," answered Darth Apparatus, "At҉ mo̶s̡t,̶ ̧your̶ ͞c͏oǹver҉s̨io͞n ͠o͏r tra̕ppȩd w҉i͘thi̸n̢ ҉the̡şe ̨p͘od͏s ҉for h͡ow̛e͟ver ͏lo̕n͏g I ͝wishe̡d.͞ ͠T̵her͡e ̷is ̕n͠o͏ m͡áǹd̸a͞te̕ fo͢r your ͢de̵at̵h, D̕a͘rth Desm̢ius ͘- aǹd ̷wh̷en͟ the͢re̸ ̛i͝s n̨o de̷mand̢, ̛I act̵ as ͞I ̶wi͠sh."

Before Ashin's eyes could find Darth Apparatus amid the darkness, the primordial droid came running from one corner of the chamber toward the group. Its screams were deafening. With its motor skills debilitated by the electromagnetic pulse, the droid's upper body spun as if a top as it awkwardly ran toward Spencer - the nearest organic. Nannites coated its body and could threaten those it managed to cut with infection and conversion.

 

[Allyson Locke]

Spencer felt the danger admit the deafening screech. Droids her biggest weakness, they didn't respond to her like organics they didn't feed her empathy like organics. She was left to whatever she could come up with. Fear surrounded her as she watched the droid make its way towards her.

"Uh oh... Get away! "

Using the force, she attempts to shove it back from where it came from.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

Ashin left off her search for Apparatus -- there was no alternative. And much as she wanted to pick apart the ancient droid, there were priorities and then there were priorities. Spencer ranked among the very highest. A touch of desperation spurred her fury as she spun away from Apparatus's last known position and threw out a hand.

As Spencer shoved the droid away, a titanic Force grip settled into place around it. Ashin's hand closed into a fist, hard enough that one of her fingernails came off. That happened from time to time, a relic of the same corruption that leached the glow from her skin and the color from her eyes. The pain, like the hint of desperation, only amplified her cold fury as she attempted to crush the droid's limbs into uselessness.

 

[Soeht]

The droid's assault ended in an instant with Spencer's telekinetic retaliation. Its wailing intensified as its metal chassis crumbled as flimsiplast due to Ashin's power. The chunk of desh the droid became crashed to the ground. Some final whimpering came from it during its dying seconds, as if the droid had genuine feelings to not wanting to perish.

Darth Apparatus said nothing more. He disappeared from the chamber, presumably escaping during the distraction under cover of the darkness. Nothing more would oppose the group while underground - at least, nothing of Omni's design.

On the surface, both in the tropical oasis above the Tomb and the frozen tundra elsewhere, star-shaped spacecraft would be seen rising to the sky. Droid fighters flew up as if to join the massive Star Destroyer-sized spaceships. As Ashin suggested, such a force would have been overkill compared to what Omni already had - yet neither the AI nor Darth Apparatus would have opposed the chance to utterly dominate their enemies.