Big Trouble on Little Coruscant (NR Dominion of Dorsis Hex)

[Noah Corek]

​

Empty Space, Two Parsecs from Dorsis​

New Republic Staging Area​

Planetary Intervention Task Force 3​

Tenant-class Star Carrier, RNS Say My Name​

Outside the Main Briefing Room​

​

Noah peered out of the viewport and into the inky blackness of space. He had been on dozens of starships in the past and still the massive void of space still amazed him, how there could be so much just free space occupied by nothing at all. Though enamored it proved relatively easy for him to drag his gaze away from the viewport and focus on the door nearby instead, he had a job to do and he intended on doing it. Walking to the door he thumb the open switch ans strode in with confidence.

Barely three steps in and he was immediately recognized. "General on-" "At ease." Noah silenced the formality almost as soon as it came out of the offending officers mouth. That officer in question was Colonel Rotina Somua, a female twi'lek and commander of the 11th Ranger Battalion, one of the three Ranger battalions currently assigned to the task force. The task force itself was relatively small, well small compared to what the Republic could have deployed.

Planetary Intervention Task Force 3 consisted of a naval and a ground component who's mission was secret to all except Noah and Rear Admiral Serena Hood, the commanders of the ground and naval component respectively. Admiral Hood commanded a small, but respectable, fleet. The included her flagship, the Tenant-class Star Carrier RNS Say My Name, two Lightbringer-class Star Defenders, three Acclamator III-16-class Assault Transports, two Partition-class Interdiction Frigates and a dozen Vencuyot-class Heavy Frigates.

Noah commanded a just as small but also just as respectable ground force as well, all of which were currently housed in the fleets Acclamator III-16's, a new design produced by MandalArms just for the Republic. The ground force consisted of the 3rd, 11th and 21st Ranger Battalions from the Republic Army Rangers, the 123rd, 327th and 555th Infantry Regiments from The Republic Army, the 23rd, 96th and 101st Marine Infantry Regiments from the Republic Marine Corps and finally the 91st and 11th Armored Regiments from the Republic Army and Marine Corps respectively. Of course Noah also had Operational Detachment's 439 and 444 from the Republic Army Commando's, 3rd Commando Group under his command but they were already deployed planetside.


After walking to the front of the briefing room Noah took a spot at the head of the rooms massive holoprojector. "Alright listen up, I need your ears and your eyeballs, I'm not going over this briefing again." Noah announced to which he received a silent affirmation of understanding. "Now before we begin let me dispel the rumors that have been floating around for the last few days. No we are not attacking the First Order. Neither are we attack the Sith or the Mandalorians. This is our target." On cue a hologram of a planet was displayed for all of them.

"This is Dorsis, more commonly known throughout the galaxy as little Coruscant. Four months ago the commander of the Dorsis Defense Force, General Norin Gett, got it into his head that he would try and overthrow the current Chief of State Martin Buren, his own brother. General Gett relied on the assumption that Buren, a man who has tried to keep Dorsis neutral in the various conflicts over the last decade, would bow to his demands. This assumption was proven false almost immediately after the coup was enacted. Instead of cowering the Chief of State raised an army of his own. These two armies are not only extremely loyal to their leaders but complete ideological opposites. General Gett is a staunch nationalist, human supremacist and is keen on setting up a military dictatorship. Chief of State Buren on the other hand is very much a galactist, equal rights advocate and intends on stepping down once the people elect another leader."

Looking out at the sea of faces Noah tried to gauge the reactions of his subordinates to this information. Many of the non-human commanders showed disgust and Noah couldn't blame them. It had been millennia and some humans still couldn't get the arrogance out of their heads. "Sir? Why are we intervening in what's obviously a problem that the people of Dorsis need to solve themselves?" That was Colonel Niko Ghent, commander of the 91st. "Most of the time Colonel Ghent is we wouldn't be intervening but Chief of State Buren requested Republic aid and multiple NGO's and impartial observers have reported that General Gett's troop have committed various war crimes." Noah saw another had being raised. "Yes, Colonel Bestur?" Colonel Bestur was the male Duros commander of the 555th. "What exactly are our objectives sir?" Noah smiled and nodded at this. "Good, someone is finally asking the important questions."

"We have three objectives. Objective one is to secure a staging ground here." Noah pointed towards a section of the planet in the northwestern hemisphere. The section magnified to show a grouping of small spaceports. "This is the Huerta Spaceport Center, it is a fairly average spaceport for Dorsis, a lot of smaller spaceports centered around a much larger main spaceport. In order to establish a major foothold on the planet we'll need to take it. Upon the securing of the spaceport we will move on to the second objective. The capture and or elimination of General Gett. After that our mission will shift to peacekeeping and mopping up what's left of Gett's force. Any questions?" Noah asked to be met with silence. "Good, dismissed." And with this everyone stood, saluted and filed out, to return to their units to begin the necessary briefing of lower ranking officers and NCO's and preparations.

 

[Kraden Dros]

A garrison? He had been stuck with some pitiful little garrison?

Kraden and his rather massive form paced in a raw irritation at the fact. It was demeaning enough being an acolyte and now being stuck rolling around with some pitiful little excuse of a garrison (in his own eye): they didn't trust him. That was the only reason, they didn't think he could stand and crush whoever dared to stand against the Empire. Of course, Kraden was never alone in his thoughts and the wispy and shadowy words in his head simply went to confirm his doubts:

"Of course they don't trust you, whelp."

The Sith that so pleasantly decided to infest his head was always keen on reminding him of that fact.

"Quiet..."

The word came out as half a snarl as he clenched his fist. Violently spinning on his heels Kraden made his way outside of the now far too suffocating confines of the base. Seething with a rage that seemed all but unquenchable now, so much to set the young and volatile Sith off. And it seemed being stuck on guard duty was one of those things, though....in the great ripples of the forces he could feel an all too familiar tingling in the organic parts of his body. And that was enough to brighten his mood some, immediately jumping to the assumption there could finally be something for him to fight.

[member="Romi Jade"]

 

[Kira]

Location: New republic Staging Area (Outside the Main Briefing room)
Mission: Civilian Medical Team from (Sasori Medical)
Command: The Triage Class Medical Super Carrier the A.C.W Lotus
Post: 1

Not being a soldier the briefing certainly was enlightening. Well more entertaining as this was the first military briefing Kira had ever been part of. It was certainly direct and straight to the point. She kind of liked that.

While she listened though there was something also clear. It had became evident to her there were no clear orders given to the Lotus and her crew.

Despite this it was clear why the Lotus was here, to provide medical support. Not just to Republic personnel. There were here to also provide relief aid once they reached their objective.

With the briefing over with there was just one awkward thing to be taken care of. She still had not met the person who was in charge of this military operation. She had no idea how [member="Noah Corek"] would feel about a bunch of civilian doctors taking along.

“Hello”, nervously she dared… to come a little closer the intimidating looking man? “I’m Doctor Kira”, she attempted to hold her hand out. Shaking hands was the polite thing to do. Was it within military protocol? Kira had no idea she was just trying to be polite.

 

[Vulpesen]

Location: Briefing room
Mission: Aid Republic Forces. Stop Tyranny
Forces: VSF Team 1 | VSF Wulren Platoon

Vulpesen, joined by his personal guard, and the leaders of Wulren Platoon sat quietly against the wall as [member="Noah Corek"] went through his briefing. In truth, what the Republic saw as a planetary operation, the Zorrens saw as just another day at the office. Deposing tyrants and freeing the people was all a part of the job description. Hell, that was its title. This in mind, the seven representatives sat with wide grins on their lips, and those with tails would have them wagging gently behind themselves in anticipation, the Valde included.

Upon the breifing being dismissed, Vulpesen turned to his own men. "Alright listen up. Republic's got us a little outmanned, so they'll be taking on the brunt of the forces. That being said, we've got a fewof our own here. I want us to be the tip of the spear, leading the charge straight to the General and breaking the defenses so that the rest of the spear can show our enemies the shaft. Captain Harlow, you're in charge of communications between us and Republic Command." After adressing the squad lead for his personal guard, he turned back ot the sargents below him. "First and Second squad, you'll be taking on the eastern Flank. Third and Fourth, hit the west. Varos Guard and myself will strike at the center. Cover us, and hopefully, we'll cut a path straight to General Gett. Tell your boy to ID their target. Move out." With a unanimous, 'Affirm.' from the professional soldeirs, Vulpesen and his men headed out, preparing to join up with the Republic Assault.

[member="Noah Corek"]

 

[Peyton Steele]

There were only a few things that would bring a Jedi Master to not accompany his partner to another world. And liberation and protection of his home? That was one of them. Coren Starchaser was not here on Dorsis, imagine that. With [member="Romi Jade"] here, it would make sense, but Intelligence had seen the need to fill the slot and dispatched Peyton Steele to the world of Dorsis. Having worked with the leader of the mission, or one of them, General [member="Noah Corek"] between her time in the Omega Protectorate and the Galactic Alliance, it meant she had a set of skills that would work here.

One of the frigates from Battlegroup Sentinel had provided her transportation from the front o the Shattered Jedi into the front of this battle. She was going to help lead a team of Special Operations soldiers down to the planet. The goal was to land within the bounds of the Spaceport and secure it, but she also knew there was more to hunt than just the starport. There were going to be leaders of the opposition and she knew that she could find them, given enough time.

Still, the starport was the best place to begin on that. She checked her gear, she really needed to update her armor, but she had her hacking tools, and breaking into the mainframe was step one. From there? Who knew. Looking to the Jedi with her. “You think you can give me some cover?” The shuttle was shaking and launching. “Just don’t want people looking too closely, but we can cut the head off snake. Or one of them.” She grinned and ran a hand through her blonde hair before putting it up.

She grabbed her helmet and nodded to the Sergeant of the unit.

 

[National Extremist]

Playing as Brigadier General Gentery
Location: Huerta Spaceport Center
Objective: Repel New Republic Forces
Enemies: [member="Peyton Steele"] | [member="Vulpesen"] | [member="Kaine Australis"] | [member="Kira"] | [member="Noah Corek"]
Allies: Kraden Dros

-- The Socialist Party had moved in to assist the occupation of this planet. They were here in massive force with the assistance of the Nar Shadow Legion and the Commandos. This planet could not be handed over to the Republic for it would bring the terrors of the Core Worlds. Their orders from General Gett was to hold the Space Port from enemy reinforcements. He organised the many forces under his command at the Station into defenseive placements.

-- Once that was over he walked over to the Terminal and called [member="Kraden Dros"] the Imperial Aid to the planets defense. "My Lord, the defense of Huerta are strengthened, I can assure that the Republic will not be taking this Station from the People of this planet, ISIC has anwsered the call of the peoples."

-- He stood at the Air Tower of the Spaceport and looked out at the army that was protecting the station. If the Republic came here, then it would require the death of many of their men.

ISIC Army:

Spoiler

- 3 Platoons of Red Coat or Nimbii Commandos
- Legion of Sargent of the Legionnaires
- 3 Legions of Legionnaire
- 13 Artillery Tanks
- 5 Walkers

 

[Noah Corek]

Location: About to drop out of Hypersapce Aboard the RNS Say My Name
Mission: End Dorsis Civil War, One Way or the Other
Allies: [member="Kaine Australis"] - [member="Peyton Steele"] - [member="Vulpesen"] - [member="Kira"]
Enemies: [member="National Extremist "]- [member="Kraden Dros"]

Noah looked up, met Kira's eyes and smiled. Noah disliked many things but doctors willing to render aid to the both military and civilians free of charge? He couldn't dislike them. "Ah Doctor, I was wondering when we would meet. I got the dossier on you and your group before we departed. I was first surprised when you were assigned but upon reviewing the dossier I'm glad you're here." Noah greeted as he shook her hand. "Now if you'll excuse me I must prepare to deploy." Politely excusing himself Noah left the briefing room and into a nearby turbolift towards the armory where he had his gear stashed.

Fifteen Minutes Later

It had taken Noah a few minutes but he had finally gotten to the armory and get equipped but he had done it, for the first time in nearly half a year Noah was back into his armor, his rifle clipped to a retention lanyard on his side, his shotgun secured in a special holster at the small of his back, his sidearms holstered in a crossdraw on his right and left front hip and his sword sheathed on his back. If one were to not know who was under the helmet they might think he was just a common mercenary.

"General Corek." Noah heard a voice speak into his ear. He wasn't going crazy though, his helmet comm was just tuned into the operation's command channel. "Yes Admiral Hood?" "We'll be dropping out of hyperspace in t-minus one minute. We'll deal with any defense fleet, though I doubt there will be any, while you take the ground." Noah chuckled, the Admiral reminded him of himself. Ah another time and another life. It was another few minutes but Noah felt the distinct shudder of leaving hyperspace followed by the just as distinctive shudder of a dropship leaving its moorings.

 

[Peyton Steele]

Having some Jedi from the Alliance was going to be helpful, if only as far as Peyton didn’t know any Republic Jedi. She heard rumor that Starchaser was standing on their council, and that wasn’t a bad thing. The Republic was growing, and Starchaser could help keep them on the path to fighting the Sith. But today? Today was a battle, and the Intelligence Agent was finding herself once again in a battle. The writer should really invest in a soldier, but well, Peyton could do. Sniper and a melee specialist. Get her in a spot where she could line up a few targets? And she’d be fine. Pull one or two away at a time? And she’d be ruining knee-caps.

The shuttle launched from the frigate after sending a coded message over to the command ship. She knew better than to bump protocol, but her team was set up for a different task than the full frontal. The shuttle stepped off and activated its cloaking systems, well, stealth systems, like the StealthX fighter that was popping up everywhere. Grabbing into the crash webbing she looked at [member="Romi Jade"] and was going to hope the Jedi did her part. The blonde had no doubt.

As soon as the shuttle was out of the shields of the frigate, it microjumped to the next system and prepared to link up with another frigate and Mon Calamari cruiser that would follow the Republic battlegroup as support. Battlegroup Sentinel was off elsewhere but they’d be jumping in to support the Republic once Corellia was secure.

Hitting atmosphere, she was getting reports that defenders were being drawn out. Mandos always lead the way in destruction, and for that she was jealous. But she had her own task. Getting in, and finding the enemy through the systems. Everyone left a trail.

Shields up and engines to full, her shuttle continued until it found the secure LZ, outside the neighorhood of the spaceport. Her pilot was ballsy but not insane That was when the doors opened and soldiers moved out.


[member="Noah Corek"]
[member="Kaine Australis"]
@National Extremist
[member="Vulpesen"]
@Kira

 

[Vulpesen]

As [member="Noah Corek"] left the armory, Vulpesen would fall in step beside the man, his own armament being seemingly light. After letting the man take his time to respond to the voices in his head, Vulpesen spoke up. "I've got a platoon of Vitae Troops ready to strike down a hard target. Any pointers on how not to get blasted into tiny bits as we move forward? Hoping to get you that general hogtied and transported in time for whiskey." In his own ear, the Valde heard the report that his captain had gotten everyone loaded into their transports. All they needed now, was the greenlight to hit the ground.

 

[Manu Xextos]

Location: Huerta Spaceport Center
Mission: Surprise the Surprisers
Allies: [member="Peyton Steele"] [member="Vulpesen"] [member="Kira"] [member="Noah Corek"] [member="Kaine Australis"]
Enemies: [member="National Extremist "][member="Kraden Dros"]

Seems my paddie-one-one got himself into a scuffle and ended up on the outer side of the Mandalorian thicket. Well, maybe that’s one of the reasons to stick my neck out, maybe it’s not.

Maybe I just miss the young bumbler and his awkward but endearing bucketheaded ways. Regardless, there are defenders which need boffing, and I had some time on my hands. Okay, maybe I was farseeing and checking up on the man. Or maybe I was in the neighbourhood.

Okay so I was twiddling my thumbs on a desert planet waiting for someone to smack and I realized it was better to go get some instead of eating a bucket of fried bird legs feeling my eternal life while away.

The Brynyar cut from hyperspace and chimed the Republic fleet under neutral colours of the Alliance of Crowns over Sabarene. It shuddered into normal space, and my atoms kept shaking in the push from hyper to space.

Oh, and I’m indecently excited about breaking some mook nose. Roaring down from the ship, intercepting a signal from below. That would be Kaine. Death squads rushing spaceports is a bit off my style, okay so I haven’t killed anyone in ages… okay so killing is sort of a moral grey area and I’m as white on my backside as I am on my cheeks.

And that’s really freaking Echani-levels of pasty arped white.

Doesn’t stop me from rushing into the deep end. Beats another bucket of fried desert hen and HoloFilms. Borghan veers into my hand, as I crash through the ceiling, blade igniting in the gun placement about to scatter down on the Australis Alor. Don’t know what Alor means, other than ‘guy I kind of want to keep alive for a while, cause he’s funny at picnics and his kids are rambunctious little nexuses of the Force we need to cure’, but maybe sometime in the next eight hundred years I’ll pick up a Mando’a dictionary and become one of them self-hating Echani, who ponders the inadvertent friendship that can happen between once cultural dichotic enemies.

I don’t say a word, deflecting blaster bolts away from the Mandalorian as I speed in and appear beside his troopers.

I wanna hear how many of them gasp at the sudden white blur.

 

[Manu Xextos]

Location: Huerta Spaceport Center
Mission: Surprise the Surprisers
Allies: [member="Peyton Steele"] [member="Vulpesen"] [member="Kira"] [member="Noah Corek"] [member="Kaine Australis"]
Enemies: [member="National Extremist "][member="Kraden Dros"]

“No shoot-shoot the Master! It’s counter intuitive!” Do Mandalorians even speak Basic? Wow. Someone get me a primer in being politically correct. A shrill on the back of my neck leaves me a split-step behind the others.

Ungodly heat. Two screams shrieking across the air. A bright, white light.

The plasma gun fired, and I couldn’t save two of Kaine’s men. Rusty, Manu. Danged thing, I should have seen it coming. Shoulder in, I take the brunt of the plasma’s heat and channel it into my body and hold it. Won’t be able to for long, just enough for a parlour trick I haven’t taught Kaine yet.

“Congrats, bucket! You fired a gun!” I wink in Kaine’s direction and keep Borghan steady, focussed on deflecting fire. I’m not stupid, far from. In a situation like this, I’m the outsider, and these are Kaine’s soldiers. It would do me well to let him lead the tactics, to save face with his men. Ahead, a turadium blast door threatens to shut us out.

“You know that move your girl does? This is what it’ll look like in a couple of years.” One hand outstretches, creating a barrier-shield to protect the Mandalorians from rivulets of crossfire.

I inhale, collect as much air into my lungs as I can, and bellow.

Anything in front of me that isn’t bolted fast to the corridor sides is flung forward at a velocity capable of snapping spines and tearing flooring panels from their moorings. The bellow bursts at the blast doors, taking the inherent weakness before they closed completely and curling the turadium back on itself, like waves crashing against a wedge-shaped cliff.

“Now that, Vevut-dude? That’s cheating.” Hand still outstretched, I grip the wreckage and bodies in front of me with my mind, and crunch them together, before flinging them like a singular projectile at the stunned defenders, who were still too busy clinging to their own bleeding heads.

 

[Peyton Steele]

The shuttle was moving as the others took off. Pushing forward to the planet wasn’t that hard on the people inside. But when they touched down? That was when the shuttle started to rock. The unit commander had nodded to Peyton as the doors opened. His men were going to go first, the Jedi could make up her own mind, but he wanted Peyton to stay near the back. The call went up the command that a special teams detachment from the Alliance in Exile were in the ray. The mission hadn’t changed. Make their way into port, steal the data, and find the location of the source.

Wasn’t so bad, right?

She hoped the firefall from the Repubic and Mandos wouldn’t slow her down, but she grabbed her rifle all the same and continued in. Making their way was slow going, frequent stops, but that was keeping them alive. She looked at her wrist mounted datapad and nodded. She knew they were getting close.

“Give a call up to draw fire harder to the south side.” She ordered the unit commander. And the request was quickly going up the chain.

[member="Kaine Australis"]
[member="Manu Xextos"]
[member="Noah Corek"]

 

[Pravus Zambrano]

Location: Dorsis, underground within one of the major cities
Objective: Purify

https://youtu.be/gj4NQW23aHo​

Coruscant, Maena...ecumenopolis planets that were utterly ripe for the taking. Billions strewn about, dancing aimlessly through the rhythm of their lives, never knowing what lurked behind them. Sebastian had found these sorts of worlds as perfect cauldrons for experiments and alchemy, for the macabre acts that the less righteous might turn from. But science required doing and apotheosis was a hard path to tread. But easier for some.

Dorsis had made sense in his travels, given its standing as a metropolitan world that was claimed as a forefront for industry and development. The sort of revolution that occurred in worlds like this, it churned up the weak and no one asked questions when simpletons and vagrants didn't show up for work. The police forces were burdened and spread thin, the politicians were dabbling in the efforts of coups and overturning those in power, and everyone else was simply waiting. Waiting for Sebastian to come around.

Sebastian Toydaver...like a cadaver, but playful and whimsical before the end.

"Darron, you know I hate it when you pace...it is unnerving." Pravus was carving an image into the grimoire. It was a sacred book, bound in oiled flesh and depicting a tormented face - frozen in a moment of greatest anguish - against the front. The binding was painted sinew, roughspun gold, with fraying material that poked at unknowing fingers. The man in the shadows, moving about with a click at every other step, responded with a grunt. With each pass of the gas burning lamp ejecting from the brick wall, seven feet up, his image was revealed.

Swollen flesh, a leg replaced with a rust pocked broom stick. One arm scrapped against the wall, the other hung limply to his side - from the elbow and below, it had been replaced with a plastic device often given to the elderly to reach for items that were just a bit too far away. A reanimated figure, living far beyond his cycle, with eyes that were grey and implied blindness. In every fashion of the word, Darron was a perfect creation.

"Darling please..." Pravus uttered as he lifted his bulbous eyes from the parchment. His doodle was nearing the end, a masterpiece that required physicality. Beneath the roads of Dorsis, he had taken to the inner alcoves of underground infrastructure - using the stormwater system as a means of unabated transit. He hated the dank smell of mildew and sitting water, found the sound of engines above entirely repulsive, and felt that his demeanor and colorful nature demanded attention - not seclusion. But even Gods groveled when it was needed. "Count the bodies. Based on the confluence point, where water is pushed to the treatment center..." He licked his lips as he did the quick math. "We will need 27 bodies to carry our...gift." He lifted his hand, still holding the quill, and urged Darron on. "Go on now, your breathing is irritating me."

As soon as the ghoul was gone, the man stood and stretched. The force was pooling to him now, the gypsy runes across his arms glowed a vibrant purple and pink. The idea of corruption had never been so compelling. He couldn't wait to catalog the effects.

 

[Pravus Zambrano]

Location: Dorsis, underground within one of the major cities
Objective: Purify

Clack.

Clack...Clack.ClackClack!

Turbid water moved through the stormwater canal with a lazy sort of appeal, like it had nowhere to be! Pravus scoffed with each lap of the water at his ankles, cracking the stone against stone. Sparks shimmered to life with brief moments of light, dying as quickly as they came. A few more attempts and he would have it, he was sure.

The torch on the brick wall, set on an angle with a high arch that came to 8 feet at the center, took to a steaming life that illuminated the scum and mold growing in the mortar. Pravus scowled at the necessity of this means of travel, knowing all too well that many would not approve of his methods or demeanor. But he was resolved to the great triumphs of life, catalyzed by necessary sacrifices.

Wading through the shallow water, he used the torch to light the grimoire in his hand - latched to his body by a leather cord that ran from binding up and around his neck. "Mhm, mhm...this way then." He giggled as he closed the book, taking a right at the next confluence. There was hardly any gradient within the canals but it was enough to push the flow ownward. Miles and miles of this brickwork extended beneath this massive city, picking up the oily waste and residue of industrialization. Such waters, while could easily be discharged into larger bodies of water, were instead sent to the treatment center like common bile and excrement.

A waste, but a convenient one to be sure.

The towering Zambrano came upon his ghoul in sluggish fashion, the water getting to knee deep. He approached with a lumber that denoted his monstrous gait, intensified by the shear giddy temperament that experimentation could bring. As he neared, a tower of debris came into light. But instead of driftwood and metal rebar and duracrete and stone, it was bodies. Lifeless and tethered to the one another, and doubly to the stone beneath, they were anchored by weight and effort.

"Please darling, don't hold me in suspense." The shrill voice erupted from thin lips, perched on a bony jaw beneath a hooked nose that could have served as a can opener in another life.

"32. 19 Men, 10 women, and 4 children..."

Pravus stared at the ghoul as he rattled off his numbers, the silence sweeping by in the sound of a slow current. He looked at the figure, anxiously, as he rattled his fingers against the grimoire. Leaning forward, expectantly, he waited for Darron to speak up.

"...33."

"Ah very good, very good indeed. You haven't lost your mind quite yet!" Pravus pushed passed the ghoul and approached the bodies. "Oh we have outdone ourselves, truly wonderful. Truly..." He stopped and turned half ways back, offering a hand. "The syringe, please. And be quick about it...time is of the essence!"

 

[Manu Xextos]

Location: Huerta Spaceport Center
Objective: Clean Up the Mess
Allies: [member="Peyton Steele"] [member="Vulpesen"] [member="Kira"] [member="Noah Corek"] [member="Kaine Australis"]
Enemies: [member="National Extremist "][member="Kraden Dros"] [member="Pravus Zambrano"]

“The Force is a pathway to many abilities, my young Buckethead. That’s a fun one.” I grin and flatten myself to the corridor, as Kaine shoots another mook. The cessation of life hits me across the face. A grimace and gritting of my jaw. The life of a consummate healer.

The empathic imprints of the city filter ever present through my mind, an ocean of sensation I can drown in, if I don’t hold myself back. There’s a thread of putrid shade in the bowels of the city. Something pooling, vibrant and corrupt.

“Kaine, you feel that? Someone's plying sick black arts in the city.” Someone was plying terrifying magics somewhere in the city. I set my fingers on my temple, and concentrate on the source of it, while compartmentalizing to set the enemy beings within the Spaceport asleep. “Morichro. The ability to reach into another being’s body, and set them asleep… it’s one of the ones I’m going to teach you to help your little girl if she freaks out.”

In the next corridor over, three troopers fall to the ground.

“There’s too many for me to keep them down for long.” I sheath my lightsaber and continue to push pressure on the enemies in the spaceport. “Your crew, your play, Kaine. What’s the plan?”

 

[Manu Xextos]

Location: Huerta Spaceport Center
Objective: Clean Up the Mess
Allies: [member="Peyton Steele"] [member="Vulpesen"] [member="Kira"] [member="Noah Corek"] [member="Kaine Australis"]
Enemies: [member="National Extremist "][member="Kraden Dros"] [member="Pravus Zambrano"]

As Kaine attempts to reach out with his burgeoning senses, I come alongside his mind, giving him the option to ‘piggy-back’ along my line of focus, and borrow a smaller version of my empathic abilities for a few seconds. Before his mind melts, that is.

‘Let yourself recede. Don’t hold any one thing as an anchor. Allow the Light to be your anchor and go where the Living Force sends you. There… deeper in the city. A sense of depth. Cold.’ My telepathic voice is the same as the baritone he knows, a guide.

“It’s alright, you’re getting better at this.” I grin at the helmet-clad man, and clap him on the shoulder. “Proud of you, dude.”

Looking between the soldiers the Mandalorian brought, I feel the energies of my Echani light infantry catching up. Just six of my best forming up.

“I’ll need a minute. Will be helpless while I scout it out, you got my back?” I know Kaine won’t disappoint me, nor will he leave me in a gaping mess. “I can give you direction, you’re the masters at infil and kill.”

Even the word ‘kill’ tastes bitter in my mouth. I heave out a cleansing breath and hold my thumbs to my cheels and two nearest fingers to my temples. The planet becomes a tidal wave of emotions upon which I ride, diving deep to discover the source location of the tainted energies.

Who was the sorcerer? What were they doing? I continue looking for [member="Pravus Zambrano"] and the others who seemed to be doing…. I can’t tell what.

Something. It’s hard enough to decipher negative emotions on a planet full of civil warring strife. The negativity strikes at my forehead, creasing my brow and knotting a clenched jaw.

Don’t get swarmed, Manu.

One breath at a time. Take the planet and allow my consciousness to expand. Sift through two hemispheres. Narrow to one. The throngs of emotions are growing, an outrageous cacophony thundering into my ears. My fingers slide to grab my head, hands dug in unruly silver curls.

Where are you, Sith Sorcerer?

I point in a direction, one that requires narrowing down. I don't know whether I'm guiding them to the fount of all evil, or to a bunch of bickering grandmothers, after the last pair of clearance size 7.5 orthopaedic shoes.

 

[Pravus Zambrano]

Location: Dorsis, underground within one of the major cities
Objective: Purify
Subjects: [member="Kaine Australis"] | [member="Manu Xextos"]

"I am everywhere and I am nowhere..." Thin lips curled into a sneer as he huddled forward in the shin deep waters. Oily waste and concrete overflow, he flared his nostrils to the succinct tones of fuel and detritus. Further down, at the true confluence, bile and excrement could be added to the cocktail. As a gypsy God, he had no such intent on finding his way through there.

Darron approached with confused eyes and the Zambrano behemoth waved him off, hissing when the ghoul seemed to not understand. He then began the injections of every corpse, 33 total. The viral load was minimal to cause the corruption, a millimeter of injection was it. For most, that would have been an unnoticeable blip on the syringe but for the alchemic and scientific master, precision was his bailiwick.

As quickly as he began, he played ring around the rosie with the pile of bodies, until the bloated figures were breeding grounds for the uncanny and eldritch touch of this particular Sorcerer. As the viral load took hold, the blossoming eyes of the dead opened like lovely little bird eggs - chirping free at the revelation of sentience and life. Pravus felt the giddy take over as he hopped up onto the channel bench, clapping his hands together. "Oh my, this is so exciting." His look of glee turned to outright irritation as his gaze fixed upon Darron. "Darron you idiot, get on the bench!"

With some gasps and groaning and the typical tendencies of the zombified, Darron made his way with a click and clack. Holding his arms out and sleeves rolled up, the runes across Pravus' arms lit with sinister glows of purple and pink. And incantation split his sealed lips, words of the old world. Tsaiwinokka Hoyakut. The air within the tunnels breathed insidious tones, flooding the canals with purple and black vapors.

The monsters breathed as their bones cracked and righted themselves, stirring from the waters. But Pravus had no desire for them to get up. His hands steeped together as he swiped right and then left, the canals rumbled. Suddenly the vibrations became overwhelming as water tore through the channel, encapsulating those recently reanimated. Their path was clear - the water treatment facility, washing towards the water redistribution center. There was nothing that could treat for this viral curse, it would just take one drop.

"Come now Darron...No, not now!" Pravus' hand flung out to stop the ghoul from walking into the stormwater main and drowning. "Wait for the water to recede."

The expulsion of power would cause him to be a beacon. But so would the other 33 who were brought to life, reanimated with the tendrils of the force.

 

[Manu Xextos]

Location: Huerta Spaceport Center
Objective: Clean Up the Mess
Allies: @Peyton Steel [member="Vulpesen"] [member="Kira"] @Noa Corek [member="Kaine Australis"]
Enemies: [member="Kraden Dros"] [member="Pravus Zambrano"]

The darkness I followed was not a shoe sale gone wrong.

“HNNNNGGGHH!!” The wicked energy hit me a split second before it hit Kaine. I stumble dumb and mute into the nearest hard surface, blue blood in my veins temporarily surging deep red. My skin mottled, bruise-like at the Force of the sorcerer’s magics.

I’d been focussed straight on him. Staring into it with every inch of power I had.

Another chamber in my heart fires up. Blood pumping in a separate rhythm. I sheath Nuada. Borghan veers to hand.

I run. A blur to common senses. Down. Into the mire and the muck. To the horror and his needles with an illumination of the walls.

I glow, not through Force Light, but through an inner luminance projected. Offset by the dark blood flowing in pale veins.

‘Give no quarter. This being will give you none.’ Harsh words for a Master to his student.