Claim the Beast [OS Dominion of Onderon]

[Preliat Mantis]

Location: Deep in the Jungle
Allies: Beasts
Enemies: Approaching People
Objective: Maintain top of the food chain



There were intruders in his home. Onderon was far away, was secluded- and supposedly, safe. Now, there were intruders. Intruders onto his new home. He was safe here, away from the hustle and bustle. But there were beasts lurking, crimson-colored beams of light hovered in the distance of his fauna retreat. He grit his teeth and leaned forward, hiding in the brush. From what he could tell, he was looking at a couple of Sith. Not very high ranking, and honestly, unimportant. They were in his jungle now. The Mandalorian Field Marshal gripped the knife in his hand tightly, and lashed out from the trail that they were on. The first one was felled with a sharp jab in the throat, and he reached for the second one, a fierce cry of rage escaping from the girl's lips. Preliat pivoted on his foot, and jabbed the knife into her chest several times. The last one, a larger man, full of muscle but lacking of brain, tackled Preliat. Preliat reached up and wrapped his hands around his throat. To say that Preliat didn't take satisfaction in crushing someone's throat with his crushgaunts, was a lie. It was a sickening sound, but somewhat satisfying to feel, knowing that your enemy was dead. The armor that the Sith was wearing helped him little, Preliat's armor was tougher than even the regular Beskar, heavier and with more weight behind it. The Sith didn't stand a chance, really. Preliat was a seasoned warrior, and had faced the Sith so many times that predicting any movement they were going to make.

Preliat could smell them. Several weeks of living in an area, out in the wild, alone, and he began to memorize smells, places. He could smell them. Smell their cloaks, their armor, their sweat- and he would track them down, and fight them. Winning, was not a thing out here in his jungle with his beastly companions. Here, he was again, a predator. Predators like him didn't care about winning. All he wanted to do, was be left alone. But whatever the reason that the Sith came, they would not be happy with the result, if one of them were to come across him in his solitude.

 

[Darth Pyrrhus]

The protection of the Galactic Republic had been ripped away, and the planet of Onderon lay exposed and at the mercy of the One Sith regime. Perhaps they had hoped that the Sith would be too drawn into their wars against their many enemies to bother with this planet. The hopeful were now proven wrong. Onderon, the former capital of the Republic, was too good of a planet to pass up on. It was a statement, a further testament to the might of the Sith that this world now lay within their influence. Though it was not the fate of this planet to be left in neither ashes nor ruin, it would all the same become another prized possession of the One Sith.

Darth Pyrrhus and his ship dropped out of hyperspace. He had upgraded since last, the Revenant corvette was far too small to contain his ambition. Now he had stepped up to something that felt more appropriate for both his rank and ambition. It was not simply flaunting the power, he intended to use it. And the ship to best suit his purpose had become the Wyyrlok Star Destroyer. Standing on the bridge of such a monster felt much better. The days where he approached with stealth and without notice seemed to have passed. There was no mistaking the challenge his mere presence bore. Darth Pyrrhus had arrived and his will would be done.

...Of course, he had been a touch late with that arrival. It was all part of the plan. That was at least what he told the people under him on his ship. Truthfully, he had been otherwise distracted. It was only now that he had managed to find the time to gather his forces and move to Onderon. Officially, he was here to oversee the final procedures and see the planet handed over into the One Sith's care. Slightly less official was the fact that Lord Pyrrhus was late and he was trying to cover it up.

Slowly, steadily, trying to draw the least amount of attention it could to itself, the Star Destroyer floated through space and towards the planet. Carefully it snuck itself into the formation of the planetary blockade, pretending as if nothing had happened. Nothing out of the ordinary here. Just another ship reporting. Totally not late. All according to standard procedures. Yup. All is well. This had absolutely nothing to do with him wanting to be able to say he had been there for the subjugation of Onderon. Nooope.

 

[Caulder Dune]

Objective: Carpe Palatium
Location: Onderon Royal Palace
Posts: [09/20]

"You're being a tad melodramatic, Susan, don't you think?" Adekos had no idea what the courtier's name was. Just the fact that her hysterical breakdown was continuing long after the lieutenant's corpse had its arm severed was a little annoying. At first it had just been sniffling and muttering, then came the full out sobbing. Followed by the 'o, woe is me, to die down here after being forced to help these vile Sith abscond with Onderon's greatest treasures.' General bemoaning, lots of dry-heaving. He didn't even intend to kill her, but she was beyond being reasoned with by this point. At one point Adekos was quite sure she was going to vomit, so he had the Lieutenant dragged out of the room. He instructed the droid to toss him in one of the palace's gardens or something, at least if someone forgot to pick it up the corpse would fertilize something.

In hindsight, he should have realized issuing those kinds of orders out loud would only increase the courtier's hysteria. What was worse was that now the adviser was starting to sob too. The maintenance officer remained as stoic as ever. Brownie points for him, truly. "I don't suppose you would like to calm your friends down, would you?" The Sithling asked, receiving no answer. Judging from that far off look in his eyes, however, the maintenance officer would be just as reluctant as his friends to engage in idle conversation. Great. This was making the wait for the Kiffar twins, Basil and Eustace, twice as unbearable. When they did finally arrive, the hysterics had died down a bit, and Adekos used the lull to explain to them as quickly as possible what they needed to do.

"That arm," Adekos pointed at the lieutenant's arm, which had been left on the floor in a small pile of drying blood, "Has input part of the combination to that safe at least once. I require the use of the unique skill you both posses to retrieve it for me. Think you can do that?"

The twins exchanged a glance. Then Basil spoke. "It would be more prudent for us to psychometry the door itself."

Adekos opened his mouth. No words came out. That was actually a fairly good point. Truly there was no knowing what else that arm had engaged in over the course of the lieutenant's life. It could have taken hours to sift through. If they just utilized the vault, however...

"Fair point." He conceded. Then he addressed his droids. "Get these people out of here, they're useless."

Obedient to the end, the droids dragged the maintenance officer, courtier, and adviser out of the hallway and abandoned them at the entrance of the palace. If they were intelligent, they would flee for their lives into the city and try not to come back. Meanwhile, the arduous process of getting that vault open was coming to an end...

 

[Isamu Baelor]

Edit: Character has received a reboot. This post is non-cannon now.

Objective: Sit and watch
Location: Hill overlooking city.
Allies: None
Enemies: None
Posts: 1/20

Atop a hill, overlooking the city, Raoh sat in his chair, and observed as the city burned. He watched as the Sith cut through the city, slaughtering innocents, tearing down Republic landmarks, and assaulting the royal palace. It was delightful. Almost like a theatre show playing out before his eyes. Raoh had little intention of joining the battle, he was content with watching.

Raoh’s eyes drifted down to his seat, and he found it staring back. Eyes, frozen in terror, of the people whose persons were used as materials for his chair. Fleshy, meaty, bodies twisted and broken, forming a terrifying throne, from where Raoh would observe.

A rather fat Onderon citizen made up the padding of the chair. His fat stomach made up a suitable cushion. Raoh shifted his weight, and moved, eventually coming to a rather comfortable position. “I must thank you for being so fat, my chubby friend.” He said in faux-admiration of the mangled, obese corpse. “Otherwise my seat may not be so comfortable!”

Raoh reached to the side of the chair, and raised a glass of wine. He pressed it against his lips, and slowly took a sip. He savoured the sweet taste, before swallowing it. The play of death-and-destruction played out before his eyes, and he enjoyed every second of it.

 

[Quietus]

Location: Over the Jungles
Nearby: [member="Cameron Centurion"]


Word quickly spread throughout the closer, local tribes and soon the Sith militia were joined by Beast Riders from every direction. They arrived by air on the backs of their skreevs and even a few drexls, cheering for the efforts made in tearing down the Onderon Academy. Their massive mounts would help in the disassembling of the structure by the use of tethered lengths of chain and rope. This was a victory they'd long been promised since the construction began all those years ago. The Beastia stayed only long enough to see they understood she would remain good on her word.

But there were other things to tend to - a great swathe of jungle needing cleared and a new familiar presence to be welcomed. It was the latter that she moved for, winging to the skies on her skreev, Miir.

SCRAAAAAAAWWWW!

Her arrival was unusually loud and bold this day. Where the Beastia often operated under some form of stealth, there was no need here. The history between herself and Cameron gave her no precedence to tread lightly, especially considering he was now wed to her own kin.

Miir broke through the canopy, wings pulled against his sides as he cleared the thick tangle of branches, heading for the clearing where the dark skinned Sith Lord presently stooped. With a lough screech he winged overhead, swooping in a downwards arch to catch hold on the trunk of a massive tree. He hung by his claws, great lungs bursting hot air through his nostrils.

Quietus looked down at the man from Miir's back, grinning ear to ear. She was exceedingly pleased with herself today.

I wondered if you would show up...I am not disappointed.

[member="Cameron Centurion"]

 

[Cameron Centurion]

Location: Jungles
Nearby: [member="Quietus"]

Naturally...Cameron had ensured he was not located in a less-than-ideal location when he heard the approach of Qui's skreev. Silver-green eyes watching with a thin smile of amusement as the powerful beast crushed through the canopy of the forest and clung to a tree that boasted the impressive strength required to support the creature's frame.

As his gaze met that of Quietus, Cameron could not help but allow his smile to slowly broaden. Though Cameron had varying levels of interaction with all the Shamalain women that he'd met, Quietus was the first and, certainly, most scandalous. It was her raw power and natural predilection to doing whatever she wanted that had first appealed to him. He'd been...something of quite a different person when first they'd met. However, parts of Lord Ashmedai certainly still resided within his psyche, and it was more than just a title that various individuals chose to address him.

Today, though that part of him was smaller, her mere presence certainly called to it, beckoning it forth with or without intention. "Quietus... I almost did not. I told myself tempting fate was dangerous." Taking a few steps forward, the Sith Lord was silent as past interactions flashed briefly through his mind's eye. "Then I remembered I dropped any pretense to fate long ago. I am...pleased to see you. It has been too long."

 

[Quietus]

[member="Cameron Centurion"]

Smug might best describe the growing expression on her face. Be it towards her great victories today; the high of fervor she still rode off from her interaction with Vrag; or perhaps the self-righteous pleasure of knowing that she still held an iota of charm towards this man one could not really say. Quietus leaned up to stroke a rough hand along the scaled neck of her skreev.

Miir crooned and with a sharp chirrup swiveled from his perch and moved to leap to the ground.

FOOM.

Broad wings arched and pulled back as the creature dropped to all fours. Its gait was not graceful on the ground, but a rolling, lumbering sort of stalk. Sinuous from spiked maw to tail. Quietus reined him by the lash of leather around his neck to circle Cameron, sneering down at the man as she rode by.

This is a day of 'too longs'... what are you doing on Onderon, hm? You did not come here just to see me.

 

[Cameron Centurion]

[member="Quietus"]

Cameron's expression dimmed only after Qui and her mount made the journey to the ground. The shock of the large skreev's impact into the soil sent brief shockwaves up the Sith Lord's legs. Silver-green eyes followed Quietus as she started to circle him, but they stopped doing so when it would have required Cameron to turn his head. Instead, he returned his gaze straight ahead, clasping his hands behind his back. The warm breath of the skreev teased the tiny hairs on his neck, but it was nothing compared to the reality of Quietus' presence pressing against his mind and body again after so long.

"I didn't?" Cameron thought on this moment as Quietus began to pass back into his field of vision. "Hmm. I suppose you could be right. I guess I was just yearning for the jungles of Onderon...or itching to bear witness to the Sith war machine rolling over yet another location in an effort to expand control that is largely theoretical in nature."

Cameron permitted himself a brief laugh. "Come now, Quietus. Empires come and go through identical methods. I've seen it enough to have little interest in the mechanics. I guess the question then becomes had I merely forgotten about you until I heard word of this campaign?" The real answer was yes. Life marched on. However, the deeper reality was...had he seen cause to visit former flames on any other worlds taken over by the Sith? That answer was unequivocally no.

"But that's not really important. We are family after all." A word that held many different meanings for different people. It was...anything but a solidified concept for Cameron, Amorella excluded.

 

[Quietus]

The woman's fangs snapped in a silent bark of laughter that could be felt through waves of the Force where it wouldn't be heard. Miir gave a mirrored rumbling snarl, long tail lashing against a nearby tree and knocking loose large chunks of bark.

...of course.

As she rounded to his side again the skreev took a curling stride, looping closely around Cameron's figure. Quietus reached from her seat to trace a hand along his front, around his shoulder and up the side of his neck.

I wasn't allowed at the wedding. Can't imagine why... Miir stopped at the Sith Lord's back, the great beast's sides heaving with every breath, eyes watching the man intently as his rider leaned down over the man's shoulder. With her wafted the scents of the city, scandal, blood, sweat, and the lingering pheromones of her previous encounter. Quietus pressed a fang-baring grin into the side of his face, inhaling the man's own scent - an aroma she had always been quite fond of.

I would have loved to have given the groom away...

 

[Cameron Centurion]

[member="Quietus"]' smile was met with a smirk of his own as Cameron turned to face her fully. Whatever minuscule distance separated them was all but eliminated as the Sith Lord moved to meet her presence. The heat from the skreev still beat down intently on the side of his entire body now.

As if by some impressive feat of will, Cameron ignored the beast's presence altogether. He could appreciate the whims and subtle strength of a beast lying in wait. For that reason, there would be no sudden moves on the part of the Sith. This jungle, like the skreev upon which she sat, held loyalty only to the woman, no, the beast rider opposite Cameron. "If you had been anywhere in the vicinity of the wedding, you would have been a reminder, an admission of my own weakness. In granting me part of her strength, Amorella inevitably removes some of my own. The Cameron you once knew, though perhaps gone on the surface..." Cameron gently reached a hand forward to lightly touch the side of Quietus' face. "...yearns for freedom beneath this fleshy exterior. I've only known one to tame the beast inside without changing its nature."

And the fact that the Shamalain women held such an authority over his existence was an effing problem...

No matter how much Cameron struggled against it, he would forever be his father's son.

 

[Quietus]

A strong hand ensnared the one at her face, yanking the man bodily towards her.

You made your bed, telepathic words that snarled into his thoughts. Quietus either could not or did not care to hide the prickling look of disdain in her expression. She leaned in, lips peeled back to bare lethal fangs, her beastly mount growing tense in tandem with the exchange. Miir's claws scaled deep gouges in the ground.

and I do not abide by regrets.

Much to be considered there with the union of her family to this man. There were fine lines written into the culture of her ancestors that were forbidden to cross. Quietus always having been the black sheep of the Shamalains had never once cared for such things, so she kissed the man, fierce and brief, before releasing him again. She was not careful about her fangs.

The woman licked a smattering of blood from her lips as she leaned up, grinning like the cat that ate the canary.

Congratulations, or whatever. Smugly. Is it Centurion-Shamalain now or Shamalain-Centurion? What a fething mouthful.

 

[Cameron Centurion]

There was silence for several moments after [member="Quietus"] finished speaking. Cameron's icy silver-green gaze merely held the alluring woman's facial features as his brain reflected on their past together...perhaps even memories she would not have given a second thought to him having. They didn't engender any specific reaction...for the moment.

Eventually, the Sith Lord heralded a recollection deep within the core of his being. His uncertainty about his decision was...pointless, hardly representative of the way he lived his life. Whatever misgivings he might have had about dedicating himself to another were, ultimately, useless. Weakness was not in the connection...merely the inability to see a connection, any connection, as a strength. This was a lesson he'd thought he had learned long ago, but the hardest lessons to learn were always those that hit close to the heart.

Slowly, Cameron licked the remaining blood from his lips. In truth - he had enjoyed Quietus forcefulness, her reckless abandon for the whims of those around her. She was ever more a creature of pleasure than he, and he had respect for her accepting and wielding it simply as an aspect of her existence. However, Cameron had, somehow, moved beyond that...to an entirely different reality of living. How? [member="Amorella Mae"]. That was the simple, unequivocal answer. So...once again...Quietus had granted Cameron understanding, perspective, strength...just not in the same vein as she had in the past.

A broad grin crept across the Sith Lord's features as he gazed at the Beast Rider. "Does it matter? A name is nothing. The reality is that I am her, and she is me. It has been...very good to see you Quietus. I'm sure we will have occasion to interact in the future. Here's to hoping we both are able to hold to our...unspoken ideals through such discourse." For a brief moment, Cameron allowed his gaze to settle intently on that of the skreev's. Had it not been for...several prior visits to Onderon, Cameron undoubtedly would have been concerned about his ability to retreat from such a place without Quietus' blessing.

Honestly...a small part of him would always be concerned, but that was merely a matter of prudence. Despite what appearance he might give at any given time, Cameron never thought himself immortal or invincible.

 

[Caulder Dune]

Objective: Carpe Palatium
Location: Onderon Royal Palace
Posts: [10/20]

Mentioned: [member="Thalia Rist"]

There was one click, followed by a second... Then a long pause, immediately followed by two more. Adekos could hear the giant tumblers sliding out of place as the lock disengaged. The immeasurably heavy door creaked open only slightly and required five of his Sentinel Droids to pull it open farther. The hinges groaned with the effort. Clearly this vault was not one that was opened very frequently, as Adekos could soon see why. Bars of gold were lined in stacks upon durasteel shelves, stretching into the far back of the room. There was a small set of display cases in the middle, containing the one and only set of the Izizi Crown Jewels. These were the symbolic items that were involved in the coronation of the kings and queens of Iziz. Darth Adekos delighted in the fact that their successors would have to be sworn in without them. Unless, of course, they bought all the individual pieces back from the whatever collectors Adekos sold them to.

Speaking of sales... by the Force, there was so much gold in here! What would he even do with all of it? Hoard it? Fence it? Melt it down into a twenty foot tall solid gold statue of himself? The possibilities were endless. Naturally some of it would have to be donated to the One Sith. Not out of any sense of generosity or camaraderie, but there was simply too much lining the walls of this place for Adekos to deal with on his own. Logistically, it was impossible. The entire gold reserve of Iziz was down here. Technically speaking this would probably crash their economy. Technically speaking of Onderon's economy was worth saving, they would have more than one city, wouldn't they?

"We're going to need another freighter. Somebody call one." Adekos ordered, slowly meandering up to one of the shelves. Basilidies followed in, staring around in awe as the Umbaran removed one of the bars from a shelf and turned it over in his hands. Eventually he handed it to Basil. "There. For your trouble. Don't spend it all in one place or something." Adekos gave the Kiffar a patronizing pat on the head and made for the crown jewels. A lot of money had been made here today.

 

[Quietus]

A smirk.

It matters to someone, came the telepathic response, ...maybe not you.

Miir turned to slowly amble away from Cameron, his rider's figure swaying with the movement of the motion. Sentiments and hopes, Cameron? She really has become a part of you. Cute. Suppose I owe you a belated wedding gift - ask for Volden at the citadel. He'll help you pick out a new pet.

With a rumbling chuff the skreev gave a leap and latched onto the bark of massive tree, brawn of fiery-orange easily scaling its height. Quietus clung to the leather strappings of the saddle, giving one last glance down at the dark Sith Lord as she disappeared up, up, up into the canopy, pale jade eyes leering over a broad grin.

As Miir scaled the high branches the tree began to buckle. He coiled, furling his wings and with an ear-splitting screech hefted himself into the air.

But not before dropping his own present of dung. It landed with a resounding plop several feet away from Cameron.

[member="Cameron Centurion"]