Deep Black Sea: Ghost Ship [The Kathol Outback]

[Dax Perl]

Location: OSS Ophidia Systems Control heading to the Command Deck
Nearby: [member="Nate the Bounty Hunter"], [member="Kytra Odran"]
DMs:[/color] [member="Bryce Bantam"], [member="Selka Ventus"], [member="The Great Narrator"]

The Systems Control was dimly lit, only by the light of the screens and blinking lights, quietly indicating the Ophidia imminent death as it plummeted towards the planet below. The two sabers provided their own pulsating light, illuminating the signs that indicated which systems were which. But for themselves and each others company, the Jedi were alone. Neither Starweird nor Smoke Wither had followed them.

The oppressive silence generated by the air, thick with the presence, seemed to drown our even the hum of their sabers only the barest hum reaching the pairs ears. The insanity which could be sensed grew with every step, bearing down upon them threatening to drive them to madness as well. Every shadow seemed to jump, or threatened a hidden danger ensconced within its darkness. Every light screamed of death, and the silence, of all to come after.

Upon finally reaching the turbo lift which would carry them to the Command Deck, Dax pressed the call button and nervously waited for the lift to arrive. Stepping into the lift when the door slid open he deactivated his saber and nervously and impatiently tapped his foot, awaiting the arrival, prepared to face whatever was there.

 

[John Shepherd]

Location: ​OSS Righteous Fury to OSS Ophedia
Nearby: [member="Dax Fyre"] | [member="Nate the Bounty Hunter"] | [member="Kytra Odran"] | @Veuno Garn
DMS: [member="Bryce Bantam"] | [member="Selka Ventus"] | [member="The Great Narrator"]

Signing, they had no more answers, least they got me there. Getting back on the turbo-lift going down to the main deck and running his way down to the Katana getting back into the Captains chair. Looking over at [member="Veino Garn"] , "Nice to see that you could make it to talk to the force ghosts, but what ever hoped you manage to fix some stuff while I was gone, Felix man the gun, Garn you as well. We have to board that ship. So get a move on." Felix starts moving towards the top gun spot and he starting taking off turning the ship and getting out of the hangar and flying toward the Opedia a few shots from the ship rank towards the Katana hitting it in the bulk head and sending it spinning. Grabbing the controls tight he leveled her off and slid into the hanger crashing against the other wall. Taking a deap breath as blood trickled down his face he got up checking to see if he had all his equipment. Taking his blasters out, not even thinking of Garn or Felix he kicked out the Screen and slid off the Katana and started making his way toward the bridge his dual hand cannons aimed in front of him.

 

[Leos Palle]

Location: Ophidia Bridge
Allies: [member="Dax Fyre"], [member="Nate the Bounty Hunter"], [member="Veino Garn"], [member="John Shepherd"]
DM's: [member="Bryce Bantam"], [member="Selka Ventus"], [member="The Great Narrator"]

Nothing followed them, which utterly surprised her. She stood with her back to the lift as Dax called for it, saber at the ready in case something came at them from behind. So far the officers quarters had seemed far more quiet than the rest of the ship. Perhaps that presence they had felt on the bridge, or she assumed it was on the bridge, was keeping the rest away from it, or perhaps they simply hadn't spread as far yet. Either way, she almost preferred having something to face because then she knew what was going on. The quiet was unsettling. At least she wasn't alone in enduring it as she might have been. Could certainly have been worse.

When the lift came, she entered after Dax and they shot upward. It wasn't a long ride. Turbolifts were quite fast. When they exited, they stood on the bridge. It was completely empty save for a single entity which was quickly entering information into the computer. She could see it was a woman, but that meant little to her. She could feel the presence of the woman, but it was hard to discern. Could she be certain this woman was evil? She thought not. Holding a finger to her lips, she signaled Dax and any others that followed them to be silent, and then she stalked forward. She was willing to be the guinea pig.

Saber still held in her hand, she circled around the woman until she could see her better, but made no direct move to interfere with her as of yet. The ship was badly damaged, and she'd given orders to the Farstrider to take out weapons emplacements if possible so the ship wouldn't be too much of a danger if her crew were doing their jobs properly. No doubt she was plotting a jump course, but how the ship could do that in its current state remained to be see.

"Who are you?" she asked the woman as she looked at her. "What are you doing?"

If the others kept silent, they may get the drop on her if she proved a threat. Of course, it was ultimately up to them what they did, but she was alright being the womans only visual target if it meant they could take her down from behind should she lash out at Kytra.

 

[Dax Perl]

Location: OSS Ophidia, the Bridge
Nearby: [member="Kytra Odran"], [member="Nate the Bounty Hunter"], [member="Kimiko"], [member="John Shepherd"]
DMs: [member="Bryce Bantam"], [member="Selka Ventus"], [member="The Great Narrator"]

Dax followed Kytra slowly. He wasn't about to let an ally go in alone. He allowed her to do her thing while he did his. He kept his saber at the ready, prepared to thumb the activation switch should the need arise. Facing her as he stepped around he approached one of the navigation computers, and peered at the screen. He glanced back up as Kytra inquired who the woman was. Dax doubted she'd get through to her. She's too far gone he thought.

The fingers of one hand swiped across the screen of the navi-computer, his mind attempting to decipher what the woman was trying to do. As of yet nothing made sense. In fact nothing had been input quite yet. He'd have to wait for her to do something before he could begin attempting to correct it. A low sigh left his lungs and Dax drew his slugthrower. Time was running out as the Ophidia continued its death spiral. Sooner or later something had to happen, otherwise the dizzying circle of stars seen from the viewports would give way to fire and that would likely be the last thing anyone would see on this ship.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

THE BRIDGE
[member="Dax Fyre"][member="Kytra Odran"][member="John Shepherd"][member="Nate the Bounty Hunter"] [member="Veino Garn"][member="Bryce Bantam"]

The masked woman's gaze began at Kytra's feet and traveled up to her eyes, taking the measure of her. If she noticed the others behind her, she gave no indication.

"Simple enough, girl. Somewhere on the outer edge of the Adeline Cluster lies a breach point, a vector prime, a place where the galactic hyperspace barrier is fractured and thin. I find that point, and I can drive this ship through to the great void, where there's no life for me to consume. That's where I'll finally be able to starve to death."

A short silver lightsaber hilt hung from her belt, and a small ivory totem, and a folding knife on a chain. So far she reached for none of them.

 

[Dax Perl]

Location: OSS Ophidia, the Bridge
Nearby: [member="Kytra Odran"], [member="Nate the Bounty Hunter"]
DMs: [member="Bryce Bantam"], [member="Selka Ventus"], [member="The Great Narrator"]

"...where there's no life for me to consume. That's where I'll finally be able to starve to death." The words brought with them memories of history lessons and holo images. A cloaked figure. A skull like mask with red streaks. A body which couldn't be touched. And an endless hunger to suck the life out of those before him. The Great Hungerer. Darth Nihilus. The woman's words reminded Dax of the long dead Sith. And if the woman was anything like Nihilis, stabbing and shooting her was going to be useless.

Dax turned to the navi-computer for him. A vector prime huh? Dax had some appreciation for what the woman was trying to do. But driving a battle cruiser through a planet was definitely not an acceptable solution. Dax began to attempt to plot a course that would bring the cruiser oht of the planets gravitational pull, and at least get it to sling shot around the planet. Maybe ever lime her up to the vector. But keeping those below alive was still priority one.

 

[Leos Palle]

Location: Ophidia Bridge
Allies: [member="Dax Fyre"], [member="Nate the Bounty Hunter"], [member="Veino Garn"], [member="John Shepherd"]
DM's: [member="Bryce Bantam"], [member="Selka Ventus"], [member="The Great Narrator"]

Kytra frowned. Life to consume. Clearly she was a monster of some sort. Kytra was no stranger to what it meant to be a monster. She'd lived with the Horrors of what she'd done for a long time. Though it's hold of her had waned thanks to the efforts of Veino, she knew it was still there, waiting for her to slip up. It would come back, but she chose to try and ignore it.

"You want to die," she said, rubbing her left hand over her right arm. "I don't know what ails you, but we can help you reach your goal, provided you don't crash this ship into the world below."

Fighting hardly seemed necessary here. She glanced at Dax and noticed that he was busy with the navigational computer. He'd picked up on this before she'd said anything. Smart man. She appreciated that. She looked back at the clearly demented woman.

"Will you let us help you? If you want to die, there's no reason for violence here."

Intent fact, she now put her saber away to emphasize as much.

"We need to stop the ship from crashing to help you, though."

 

[Dax Perl]

Location: OSS Ophidia, the Bridge
Nearby: [member="Nate the Bounty Hunter"], [member="Kytra Odran"]
DMs: [member="Selka Ventus"], [member="Bryce Bantam"], [member="The Great Narrator"]

Dax squeezed his eyes shut as he attempted mental calculations. He'd never been good at this. But now was not the time to second guess...or forget to carry the four. A groan escaped his lips as he input an escape vector and his finger dragged the line of trajectory across the screen. God he hoped he got this right. If not they'd all turn to some very crispy barbecue.

Dax looked up from the screen as Kytra implored the woman to allow them to steer the ship free. He was ready to press the button, to rend the ship Ophidia from Aterka's grasp. But not unless the woman gave the all clear. If the old lady refused, he'd push it anyways and deal with the consequences.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

THE BRIDGE
[member="Dax Fyre"][member="Kytra Odran"][member="John Shepherd"][member="Nate the Bounty Hunter"] [member="Veino Garn"][member="Bryce Bantam"]
Immediate: Dax, Kytra, (Nate?)

"This is a three-thousand-metre Darr Itah-class battlecruiser. Normally it sails with a crew well into five figures. I encountered hyperspace turbulence, yes, but I've been working to stabilize course and make another jump. Understand, girl, if I die in this galaxy, there are means of survival, in a manner of speaking. I have the lore of two corpsetakers in my head. Any conventional death -- a crash, a sabre -- will just send my soul away hungering, and the whole mess will begin again. No. I have to die outside the galaxy, where there is no life to sustain me. The only thing you can do to help is to go away, and I strongly recommend doing so as soon as possible. It takes an effort of will not to consume your lives, and I would rather spend that attention elsewhere."

She turned to focus on Dax, where he sat at one of the other navigational computers.

"You have a solution? Very well, boy. Make the jump, if you're so certain. But listen to the Force, or our vector will be random, based on whatever direction the ship is pointing at the moment. Take the risk. Do it. Or go away, and let me find the breach point alone."

 

[Leos Palle]

Location: Ophidia Bridge
Allies: [member="Dax Fyre"], [member="Nate the Bounty Hunter"], [member="Veino Garn"], [member="John Shepherd"]
DM's: [member="Bryce Bantam"], [member="Selka Ventus"], [member="The Great Narrator"]

Kytra shook her head.

"You may be ancient and strong, but you are alone, just as you say. You need help. We can provide it."

A glance was offered in the direction of Dax and she nodded her head. Yes, she wanted him to continue his work in getting them a trajectory. She knew that her ship, at least, would follow them when they jumped, so when they eventually did reach the final destination of this vessel, she was certain that she could get everyone in the group off the ship and picked up, even if that meant using escape pods. Right now that wasn't her priority, though. She needed Dax to be left alone so he could keep them from crashing into the planet and wiping out a large portion of whatever populace resided below, not to mention themselves.

She turned her attention back to the woman and stared at her closely. Hungering for souls. That wasn't something she could fully understand, but she imagined it wasn't that different from a thirst for blood-letting. That was something she knew all too well; the desire to harm people, to rend them apart. It had eaten at her for a long time and even now she could feel it still in the back of her mind, though far subdued than she'd ever known it to be.

"I'm not going to strike you down here. None of the others are either. We're going to help you get to where you want to go, then we'll depart the ship and let you go in peace."

She approached the woman now, stopping only a few feet in front of her.

"Let Dax do what he's doing. He's a good navigator and he'll keep us from hitting the planet. Considering most of the ship seems to be running itself, provided we don't hit anything we should be able to help you. Now, talk to me. I'm already assuming you took the souls of the crew and disposed of their bodies, so tell me who you are and how you came to be this. Even the monstrous shouldn't have their memory completely forgotten. And if you are any sort of powerful being as I think you are, then your mental fortitude can keep your hunger in check so you can reach the end that you want. Consider it a challenge."

 

[Dax Perl]

Location: OSS Ophidia, the Bridge
Nearby: [member="Kytra Odran"], [member="Nate the Bounty Hunter"]
DMs: [member="Bryce Bantam"], [member="Selka Ventus"], [member="The Great Narrator"]

"But listen to the Force..."

The words rung through Dax's soul. He'd come to rely to often on his own abilities. His own intellect. But now...perhaps the Force was exactly what he needed. Dax closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He reached out with the Force, felt everything around him. First the bridge, Kytra's own essence...and the ravaged presence of the woman. Reaching further, he could feel Nate somewhere nearby. A bit more and he herar all the whispers of the Withers aboard the ship. Reaching further still Dax's mind was bombarded by a sudden cacophony of fear, the beings below looking up the sky suddenly alight with the light of metal comet hurtling towards their planet. The pain, the fear wracked his mind. A struggling final effort. And Dax could feel the space around him. And the vector.

Dax retreated from the fabric of the Force and collapsed to his knees. Wordlessly gritting his teeth he stood, leaning against the console, and adjusted the plotted course. Nodding to Kytra, his voice came out strained and cracked, "We're ready. On your go."

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Dax Fyre"] [member="Kytra Odran"]

"Jump when the Force tells you, boy," Selka snapped. "Wait on nothing and nobody else."

She focused on Kytra, though the younger woman still stood behind her. "You want to make a lesson of me, is that it? So be it. Here is what I am. I began as a failure and a pawn. Through strange circumstances, I became a vessel for the memories of a Sith Lord named Velok and a mentalist named Olra'en. I overcame their mental imprints and made of myself a composite being, on my own terms. I never had their knacks or talents: I was only ever good at one thing. Stealing the energy of life. It's more addictive than spice.

"I've been involved in so many atrocities as a result. I helped Darth Odium kill the planet Erida. I killed the great Firaxa shark that the modern age knows as the Progenitor, to keep it from the alchemists of the One Sith. I replaced the Progenitor and saved Manaan from Odium, but no amount of penance could take my addiction. So I put my focus elsewhere and I overcame it. I was a Sith Lord who retired from the Sith. I made my own life. I became unspeakably rich. I was something like happy.

"In the last days of the One Sith, they brought this ship and others to destroy my homeworld, Metellos. Bioweapons, orbital bombardment, death squads. So I went back to what I had been, and became something intolerable in the process. What else could I do to stop the bombardment? Would you really call that monstrous?" She hunched over the console. "The Alliance never came. The Mandalorians never came. Both could have been there in hours. Instead the slaughter of my planet went on for two days before I killed this ship. Take that tale to the galaxy, girl."

 

[Leos Palle]

Location: Ophidia Bridge
Allies: [member="Dax Fyre"], [member="Nate the Bounty Hunter"], [member="Veino Garn"], [member="John Shepherd"]
DM's: [member="Bryce Bantam"], [member="Selka Ventus"], [member="The Great Narrator"]

"Yes, I do define it as such."

Monstrosity had no sides. The light could be just as monstrous as the dark, as she'd come to see it. Jedi were just as capable as Sith at committing actions one might deem as such. Take what happened at Korriban as an example. Or the actions of Matsu Ike. It really didn't matter. They were monstrous because that was what the act was. The reason behind it might have been good, as in the case of the act this woman spoke of, but that didn't change the fact that she'd killed thousands of people to make it happen. Were there other solutions? She couldn't say. Did it make her evil for killing the people that were slaughtering her world? No. But it was still monstrous.

"To be monstrous requires no side, good or evil. It is the act itself that defines it. You saved a lot of people. That's not a bad thing. But the way you did it was monstrous. Rending souls, devouring them. That is monstrous. I think no ill of you for those you killed, as they were monsters in their own right, but it doesn't change the act you committed. Still, I think more of you being willing to sacrifice yourself than to continue to do what you cannot stop yourself from doing. That should define you."

She stopped near where the woman was sitting, even though the woman was facing away from her. It was an interesting story to hear, regardless. The woman had been made into what she was, and then grown into it. Had she not been influenced by this Velok and Olra'en, she might have been something completely different. Instead she sought death because she could no longer bear to live with herself. Admirable.

"What's your name? Your story should be a lesson for those who would seek to do as was done to you."

She waved her hand at Dax to signal for him to go ahead. The woman was right. They needed to jump, and he should do it as soon as he was ready, not on her mark. She wasn't actually in charge here, after all.

 

[Dax Perl]

Location: OSS Ophidia, the Bridge
Nearby: [member="Kytra Odran"], [member="Nate the Bounty Hunter"]
DMs: [member="Bryce Bantam"], [member="Selka Ventus"], [member="The Great Narrator"]

Dax tapped the screen, confirming their course, the screen lighting up green. Walking over to another console, Dax pressed a button, engaging the hyperdrive, a sudden rumbling, barely noticable reverberating through the ship suddenly. Dax's fingers curled around the cool metal of the throttle, and pushed it forward. The Ophidia lurched forward, the damaged interior interial dampeners taking a moment to catch up to the hyperdrive. Hyperspace soared by as the Ophidia made what might be its final voyage.

Dax held his breath, hoping beyond all hope that he'd done right. The ship hadn't exploded yet. That had to be a good sign.

 

[John Shepherd]

Location: OSS Ophedia
Nearby: [member="Dax Fyre"] | [member="Kytra Odran"] | [member="Nate the Bounty Hunter"]
DMs: [member="Bryce Bantam"] | [member="Selka Ventus"] | [member="The Great Narrator"]

Making his way down the ship getting to the lift to the bridge he took a deep breath looking at his blaster pistols as he hit the button calling it back down. Looking down the hallway waiting he hears the lift land behind him and he gets in it hitting the button sending it back up to the bridge, tapping his foot his pistols aimed towards the exit of the lift. The door opens with a hiss and he walks into the room eyeing the lady in the middle his pistols drawn and aimed directly at her.

"What you done deserves punishment, you monster!" He snarled as he eyed the woman. "Those people don't deserve a fate like the one you forced upon them, you deserve to perish. Now someone better stop me from putting a nice little hole in the center of her forehead, or I will. With pleasure."

He looked over at the two Jedi his brow furrowed in determination as he looked back at the woman. He saw that Dax was trying to get them into a jump and that the woman was trying to reason with her, he doubted it but at least she was trying. The blood from their crash landing still running down his face and the wounds lining his body as he watched the woman. The adrenaline pumping through his veins was the only thing keeping the pain at bay.

 

[Dax Perl]

Location: OSS Ophidia, the Bridge
Nearby: [member="Kytra Odran"], [member="Nate the Bounty Hunter"], [member="John Shepherd"]
DMs: [member="Bryce Bantam"], [member="Selka Ventus"], [member="The Great Narrator"]

The nearby turbo lift hissed open, a Shepherd strode out pistol raised, words Dax only barely heard spewing from his mouth. "Joh-" Dax's voice cracked, his throat dry, the extreme effort of locating the vector taking its physical toll on his body. He swallowed, trying to wet his tongue, and spoke again, his voice rasping, "John, wait. Not yet...just wait."

The Ophidia rumbled violently suddenly, Dax falling again against the navigation console. Almost instantly the Ophidia dropped out of hyperspace into...what was this?

 

[Leos Palle]

Location: Ophidia Bridge
Allies: [member="Dax Fyre"], [member="Nate the Bounty Hunter"], [member="Veino Garn"], [member="John Shepherd"]
DM's: [member="Bryce Bantam"], [member="Selka Ventus"], [member="The Great Narrator"]

The newcomer apparently had an itchy trigger finger. That wasn't a good thing.

"Well, I know a lot of men don't use their brains, but they usually at least know how to use their ears. Shooting her will just result in thousands of more dead people. That'd be on your hands."

Still, she could tell that he wasn't going to listen well, based on the fact that he'd walked in with guns drawn and aimed at her while none of the others present had weapons drawn on the woman. Clearly he didn't take the cue he was getting from the others. Regardless, the woman wanted to die in her own way, a way that would be permanent for her and cease this never ending tirade of stolen souls, and they had a duty to see that it did end permanently. That meant that she had a duty to keep this woman alive long enough to make it happen. She did not want to see this cycle of dead continue at the hands of this monster, so she couldn't be allowed to die while still in the galaxy.

That in hand, she'd reach out with the Force towards John and attempt to wrap it around him, nullifying his senses to put him in a state of stasis in which he could do very little unless he managed to overpower her. He had to be stopped from shooting the woman and Kytra wasn't going to risk it. She didn't like the idea of having to pacify one of their own people like this, but under the circumstances it became necessary.

"I can't allow you to kill her."

She gripped a nearby chair as they exited hyperspace, wondering where they were now.

 

[John Shepherd]

Location: OSS Ophedia Unknown Space
Allies: [member="Kytra Odran"] | [member="Dax Fyre"] | [member="Nate the Bounty Hunter"]
DMs: [member="Bryce Bantam"] | [member="Selka Ventus"] | [member="The Great Narrator"]

He cast a glare at the girl as she attempted to use the force on him. Letting out a low growl he put down his guns and looked at the girl.

"Don't use that force crap on me. Just tell me the dealio and let's find the best way of killing her before we all get killed. Now I think it's time you explained to me what she is and what she is having us do to kill her? It better be something worthy of us risking it. 'Cause honestly I don't feel like dying on this ship, or today for that matter. Now let's just..."

Before he could let out his last phrase they dropped out of hyperspace and he looked out the window raising an eyebrow slightly looking at his allies reactions. Well.... this is gonna be "fun."

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="John Shepherd"][member="Kytra Odran"][member="Dax Fyre"]

OOC: Shep, if someone's using force stasis on you, even a weak Padawan version, probably best to at least acknowledge some effect.

IC:

OSS Ophidia
Deep Space

The battlecruiser dropped out of hyperspace in the void between systems, outside the Adeline Cluster. Ahead was a starscape like any other, but each pinprick was the galaxy. As the ship spun, the galaxy came into sight, then passed.

"This will do." Selka ignored the man who'd shouted at her, guns drawn. "This will do nicely. Out here I'll be able to drift forever, until all life is out of my reach. Yes, this is sufficient."

She climbed out of the crew pit and stood up against the window, palms flat on the transparisteel.

"I warned you to leave. I warned you twice. And you, boy, you with your guns, talking past me-"

She turned, and a yellow sabre snapped to life.

"-who do you think you are?"

 

[Dax Perl]

Location: OSS Ophidia the Bridge
Nearby: [member="Kytra Odran"], [member="John Shepherd"], [member="Nate the Bounty Hunter"]
DMs: [member="Bryce Bantam"], [member="Selka Ventus"], [member="The Great Narrator"]

Dax stared in awe as the galaxy he called home spun a piroutte in place, the stars beyond all watching the dancer's graceful performance. It was an image Dax wished he could capture forever. But the moment of perfect peace was interipted as the woman's yellow blade hissed to life, Dax's own orange blade roaring to life in response.

"C'mon lady. Let us go in peace."