Private Expedition Rannon

[Vendra Vane]

A brow quirked at being called 'Venny,' a nickname she hadn't heard since childhood. While some of her officers might have referred to her as Ven, few liked to play with the fire of her mercenary heart. After all, the airlock was usually nearby. Vendra offered a wry smirk, the familiarity caught her off guard but it also offered a sense of separation from the darkness that surrounded them.

"Do not worry, Sable, these are the moments in which I thrive." Her voice indeed reflected a morbid excitement as she shed any thought except the need to push forward. Left was always right, or so a small superstition told her. This was the way to destiny.

Her feet pulled in that direction, a tight hand still around her saber, and the central chamber disappeared them as she trekked down the narrow hall. It was in much better shape than the rest of the ruin, less dusty, less murky, and with little in the way of rubble. It was a long walk, maybe three minutes or so before they approached any change in the design. Specifically when they arrived at an opening in the passage, a small chamber with a large, closed door.

Vendra stopped and looked around the room. Two small flames burned in their braziers. "Either someone has the time to keep the fires going or we're experiencing a bit of magic... Maybe tech, but I don't smell gas." She made note of the flames as if to determine their origin. This was the part where she relied on Sable's intuition and experience.

On one side of the chamber, there were raised glyphs in the wall. Buttons, a puzzle? Vendra did not know and she certainly couldn't read Sith. All too esoteric for even her. But there was something else, a growing excitement that answers must lie on the other side. A wide, visible grin annexed her serious expression from before.

Sable Varro

 

[Sable Varro]

​

Expedition Rannon

Tags: Vendra Vane

Equipment Loadout:

• Primary Weapon(s): SD-L1 Long Blaster
• Secondary Weapon(s): HG-88 Big Iron, VB-113 "Tidefall" Class Vibroblade,
• Specialized Gear: Wrist Mounted Weapons (Hekler'Kok WMMW-01), DS-102 "Aegis" Personal Energy Shield,
• Armor & Attire: Personal Armor

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​

Sable followed in Vendra's wake, her own steps measured but quiet, boots striking the stone floor with just enough weight to remind the dark hall that she wasn't afraid of what lingered within it. That nickname still hung in her mind—Venny. It hadn't belonged in a place like this, and yet it clung there like a spark of defiance against the rot and shadow. She didn't say anything about it, but there was the faintest twitch at the corner of her mouth, not quite a smirk—more like a half-forgotten memory stirring.

She did give nicknames to people she liked, didn’t she?

When they reached the chamber, Sable let her gaze sweep across the room, noting every detail with a practiced eye. The flames flickering in the braziers caught her attention first, their glow steady, too steady. She stepped closer to one, hand hovering above the flame—not close enough to burn, just enough to feel. No heat. No flicker from her movement.

"Not natural fire," she said softly. "Some kind of arcane containment. Old tech, or an illusion wrapped in a sustained Force imprint. Could be both."

Her attention drifted to the glyphs on the wall, sharp fingers trailing just above their surface without touching. Sith script. She couldn't read it fluently—but she knew enough. Symbols like these weren't written so much as etched into meaning. Every line carried intent, woven in violence, pain, power. And sometimes… protection.

Her head tilted slightly. "A puzzle or a lock. Maybe both. These kinds of glyphs are meant to respond to presence, not just pressure."

She turned her head slightly toward Vendra, then back to the wall. "You feel it too, don't you? That hum behind the stone. This room is waiting for something—someone. Maybe both of us."

She took a step closer, eyes narrowing on a central glyph. A triangular shape with curling script along its edges—something like path, or perhaps reveal. Sable didn't press it yet, but her fingers lingered near.

"You said you thrive in moments like this, Venny." A faint smirk now, just a sliver of teeth beneath her breath. "Let's hope this one doesn't bite back."

Then she looked to her. "You ready?"

She would produce a vibro dagger, and withdrew a section of her gauntlet.

“I’ll….put my blood on this, and see what happens…maybe nothing maybe something.”

 

[Vendra Vane]

Once again, Vendra relied on Sable's expertise to judge the nature of this room. Her answer regarding the fire sounded plausible, but it was far outside of her own knowledge base to answer. Though her vaguest notions of what a Sith ruin was suggested such things were possible, hence Vendra's earlier description of 'magic' as the cause.

She then resigned herself to observation duty as Sable explored the glyphs next. Her insight--while at least partly guesswork--proved more productive than what Vendra would have achieved. More than likely the Dark Jedi would have attempted brute force. First on the door, then the glyphs if that did not work. She considered this for a moment and wondered if there might be a deadly trap should someone attempt a reckless approach to this secret.

When asked whether or not she felt it too, the mercenary recalled the eerie sensation but could not put her finger on it. "Truth be told I struggle to sense anything in the Force... I think it is only the nature of this place that allows me to sense something at all." Vendra answered honestly.

It wasn't strictly true, there was a point in her youth where she could sense things, but that all ended after her first experience with a force conduit in a cave. Any attempt at sensing things, anything at all in the Force was met with a shroud of darkness, so the Dark Jedi stopped trying and eventually lost her path to those senses altogther.

Then it struck her. Vendra wondered if perhaps...

She zoned back into the question, You ready? and gave a curt nod. "I am ready," as she prepared for Sable's attempt to activate the glyph. Whatever Vendra's thought was before, she pushed it far back into her mind and kept a tight grip on her lightsaber, and faced the door. Ready for what lay ahead.

Sable Varro

 

[Sable Varro]

​

Expedition Rannon

Tags: Vendra Vane

Equipment Loadout:

• Primary Weapon(s): SD-L1 Long Blaster
• Secondary Weapon(s): HG-88 Big Iron, VB-113 "Tidefall" Class Vibroblade,
• Specialized Gear: Wrist Mounted Weapons (Hekler'Kok WMMW-01), DS-102 "Aegis" Personal Energy Shield,
• Armor & Attire: Personal Armor

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​

Sable gave Vendra a knowing glance, her fingers tracing the ancient glyphs carved into the stone. Her senses were sharp, eyes narrowing as she observed the subtle shifts in the air around them. While Vendra's ability to sense the Force was stifled, Sable's experience told her that the disturbance wasn't just a physical presence—it was something more. The energy in the room felt alive, as though the very walls themselves were waiting for something.

"Trust me, I'm ready," Sable replied, voice calm but intense. Her hand hovered over the glyphs, the air thick with an unspoken tension as she began to decipher the ancient mechanism. The symbols glowed faintly under her touch, and the room seemed to respond in kind, the temperature shifting ever so slightly. The soft hum of energy vibrated against her fingers, and she smiled faintly.

"If it helps, I can’t sense things either. So we’ll both be in for a surprise."

She carefully pressed the glyphs in a specific sequence, with little to go off of other than sixth sense feelings. The stone beneath her fingers thrummed like a heartbeat, and she felt the tension in the air, like something waiting to be unleashed.

Vendra's readiness hadn't gone unnoticed. Sable could feel her presence, the way her lightsaber hummed with anticipation. It made Sable appreciate the mercenary's resilience, even if her ability to sense the Force was impaired. She'd handled herself well so far, and Sable was confident that, whatever came next, they'd face it together.

The door remained silent for a moment longer, as if judging whether to open—or to trap them inside. Then, with a soft grinding sound, the massive stone door began to shift, its ancient hinges creaking in protest, revealing the dark unknown beyond.

Sable stepped back slightly, eyes fixed on the opening as she gestured for Vendra to take the lead.

"After you, Venny."

Her tone was light, but there was an edge beneath it—one that suggested Sable wasn't fully trusting of what lay on the other side. Still, she'd never back down from the challenge.

The darkness beyond the door seemed to hold its breath, waiting.

 

[Vendra Vane]

Vendra allowed herself a long exhale as the door began to groan in a departure from its long slumber. The rush of new air carried with it the smell of rot, which wrinkled one's nose and invoked a sense of nausea. She gagged but did not hesitate to cross the threshold and face whatever awaited them on the other side.

It was a large chamber with rubble at its center, and in some small hope, light above that. A crack in the cavern that they must have now stumbled into. It seemed as if this ruin had been carved into the natural formation. She looked up at what appeared to be the most obvious way out and then glanced back over her shoulder to Sable with a grin. "There it is."

It was just as she said that, however, that voice added itself to the choir. A beastly groan and the shifting of stone as something began to show itself. The Dark Jedi slowly turned around to meet the new disturbance, only to spot the large and foreboding beast that made residence in this cavern. Likely what they had heard before when the two doors first appeared.

"What in the Netherworld is that?" Vendra asked, hoping once more that Sable had a suitable answer to the problem in front of them. It was big, not the biggest creature she had seen, but its overall nature seemed more threatening despite that. It was big enough that all its features combined intimidated even the headstrong Mirialan who had survived countless flirts with death.

Her initial response was to grab her blaster and fire, but the two bolts split and dissipated weakly against its thick hide. That response alone was met with a quick reholster, for Vendra didn't bother trying that again. At the very least her pistol was never going to penetrate its natural armor based on what she had witnessed. The creature didn't even react, save for the low and sinister growl as it lumbered towards them like an animal just out of hibernation.

Instead, she held her lightsaber up in a defensive stance, with a bit of defiance behind it. "If you have any tricks now's the time." She quipped at Sable.

If this beast would stand between them and their freedom, then she would have no other choice but to either outsmart or confront the beast with relentless violence. Assuming a secret third option didn't materialize.

Sable Varro

 

[Sable Varro]

​

Expedition Rannon

Tags: Vendra Vane

Equipment Loadout:

• Primary Weapon(s): SD-L1 Long Blaster
• Secondary Weapon(s): HG-88 Big Iron, VB-113 "Tidefall" Class Vibroblade,
• Specialized Gear: Wrist Mounted Weapons (Hekler'Kok WMMW-01), DS-102 "Aegis" Personal Energy Shield,
• Armor & Attire: Personal Armor

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​

Sable took a slow, measured step forward, her eyes locked on the lumbering beast. It towered in the dim light—gnarled muscle, plated hide, and eyes that glowed faintly with some unnatural intelligence. She didn't flinch as Vendra's blaster bolts fizzled harmlessly against its flesh. She'd already suspected brute firepower wouldn't cut it—not without precision, not without force.

Her visor scrolled through targeting modes, scanning for weak points. Nothing obvious. No exposed flesh. No thermal gaps. Whatever this thing was, it had been designed—or bred—to survive worse than this.

"This thing isn't just an animal," She said, voice low, steady, as her armor's systems kicked into readiness. "It was put here. Kept here. As a deterrent."

She reached across her belt, pulling loose a small charge pack and slipping it into a launcher port on her wrist bracer. The faint whine of priming energy followed. Her free hand flexed, subtly adjusting the weight distribution of her stance, ready to move.

"I got a limited payload," She added grimly, mostly for Vendra's benefit. "Two wrist rockets. One concussion, one cryo. If those don't drop it, we're improvising."

The beast began to advance again—slow, methodical, each step a tectonic shift of stone under clawed feet. Dust trembled along the floor. Sable's helmet tracked the vibrations, calculating its weight, its gait, anything she could use. But it was a fortress with legs. Even if they struck hard, it might just shrug it off.

She turned slightly toward Vendra, not looking away from the beast. "Try to keep it moving. If I can get it off balance, maybe I can hit a joint or get the cryo charge into its mouth."

Then, quieter: "Or we're buried here with it."

The hum of her armor's internal systems sharpened as her targeting visor synced to the wrist launcher. The beast roared, louder now, echoing through the chamber—and Sable stepped forward again, weapon arm raised.

"Just try and push whatever I shoot, into its mouth."

She would warn, before sending herself flying at the creature via her jump servos.

Sable fired off her concussion rocket, letting it slam into the creatures head, her knee following up with little to no effect, before she flipped off the monster, using her servo to push off. The concussion rocket seemed to have dazed it a touch, allowing her to get some distance before it swiped at her.

She aimed her other hand out, firing out a cryo grenade, as she narrowly avoided the swipe of the monstrosity.

“Now!”

She called out, before smashing hard into the side of the stone walls, hoping Venny could do what needed to be done.

 

[Vendra Vane]

The circumstances of their fight seemed desperate at best, but there was no time to calculate a response. Unlike Sable, Vendra lacked any sort of fancy headgear or computerized equipment to assist in this fight. Nor did she have wrist rockets or jump servos. So she improved the best way she could to keep the lumbering beast one foot over the other.

Vendra rushed forward, grabbed a rock, and then threw it at the beast. "Hey!" She shouted to double her effort in getting its attention and flashed her lightsaber like a glowstick for good measure. "Over here you sickly Rancor!" She cried out. Though she succeeded in grabbing the beast's attention and its movements towards her, the Dark Jedi now had to survive.

That was just before Sable's addendum. Push whatever I shoot into its mouth. She wasn't incapable of telekinesis but it hadn't been a practiced element of her training in a very, very long time, and certainly not with any intent at precision. Still, she wasn't going to challenge a plan in the making when the fleshy death machine had every intention to kill her.

The Dark Jedi steeled herself in preparation, she stood still to give Sable a better target and maximize her own accuracy. If this didn't work, then Vendra was in serious frelling trouble.

Now!

The verbal command sparked Vendra into action, her arm pulled back before releasing a wave of force energy in front of her. It swept up the grenade and deflected it perfectly into the beast's jaw. A split-second explosion crystalized the surrounding air in a fog which obfuscated the results of their team action. Vendra took a step back, but she waited to see what had happened.

The scene became clear as the icy fog began to dissipate. The beast's jaw and facial flesh were visibly frostbitten, parts of it peeled off and crumpled to the stone floor, and visible chunks of ice severed portions of its jaw completely all the while a viscous green liquid poured from its open wounds. The monster tried to step forward but instead buckled with imbalance and reached up to touch its face, as if it was assessing the damage in disbelief.

There was a low, sickly growl followed by an angry roar that carried with it a dark and sinister feeling. The moment it hit Vendra's ear she felt the intrusive thoughts of her greatest fears come to light. She recalled the cave, her vision, the conversation with the seer, and her exile. The last words echoed over and over in her head.

Do not return.

Do not return.

Do not return until the veil is lifted.

Vendra let out a shriek of her own, maddened and enraged, fearful and contemptuous. The force wrapped itself around her body, granting her every amount of speed and strength her bones and muscle fibers could take. The Mirialan lunged with her blade held like a sacrificial knife and tore deep into its exposed wound, rending it like a chasm before the blade extinguished and she fell to the floor with it, the metal weapon clanking as it rolled away from her. The beast's jaw fell after her, hitting the stone with an unceremonious thunk.

But it was not dead. Wounded yes, but angry more so. The damaged monstrosity managed to put one foot forward, then the other. Its thick, venomous claws reeled back ready to strike at Vendra who lay dazed on the floor.

Sable Varro

 

[Sable Varro]

​

Expedition Rannon

Tags: Vendra Vane

Equipment Loadout:

• Primary Weapon(s): SD-L1 Long Blaster
• Secondary Weapon(s): HG-88 Big Iron, VB-113 "Tidefall" Class Vibroblade,
• Specialized Gear: Wrist Mounted Weapons (Hekler'Kok WMMW-01), DS-102 "Aegis" Personal Energy Shield,
• Armor & Attire: Personal Armor

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​

Sable's body slammed against the jagged stone wall with a sickening crunch, the sharp impact jarring every muscle in her body. Her head rang with the force of the collision, and for a moment, the world spun around her. The servos in her armor were still buzzing from the leap she had made off the creature's back, but the creature had swung out its claw at the last second, sending her off-course and sending her crashing into the unforgiving rock face.

Pain radiated through her chest, but her mind sharpened in the next breath, focusing on the task at hand. A quick, shallow breath told her everything she needed to know—nothing was broken, nothing critical. She was alive. Barely. Her armor had taken the brunt of the hit, but it didn't matter. There was no time to rest.

The beast was still moving. She could hear its growls and the scrape of its claws against the floor as it tried to recover, its movements sluggish, but fueled by an undying rage.

Sable pushed herself off the wall, stumbling for a moment as her muscles screamed in protest. A quick glance confirmed that Vendra was still struggling, dazed from her own close encounter with the creature. She had made the initial strike, but she was vulnerable now—on the floor, trying to gather herself while the creature prepared to strike again.

There wasn't time for hesitation.

Sable's hands moved with military precision, one instinctively reaching for the wrist rocket on her side. Her fingers locked around the cold metal, and with a flick of her wrist, the rocket was freed and sent whistling toward the beast.

But it wasn't enough.

The explosion tore through the creature's side, but it didn't stop it. It staggered, its wounded body still standing, still lurching forward. Sable's eyes narrowed, and in the same instant, her mind shifted to another, more immediate solution.

Her other hand reached out, her grapple line firing out, and hooking around Vendra's discarded lightsaber with a practiced pull. She pulled the weapon to her as she advanced, fumbling with the weapon at first.

Sable moved, the anger and exhaustion from the crash now fueling her as she pushed through the pain. Her boots hit the ground, sliding across the stone as she regained her footing and leapt to the creature. She was quick—quicker than the beast, quicker than the beast's fury. The force pulsated into her, her speed, her body, all moving with a fluid grace that seemed nearly inhuman.

The lightsaber blared to life as she was in mid swing, slashing across the monster's vulnerable neck with surgical precision, the blade carving through the thick, scarred hide. The creature's final scream filled the air as its head fell from its shoulders, crashing to the ground with a wet thud.

The smell of blood and burnt flesh hung thick in the air, the beast's body falling limp under her. Sable landed nearby the creature in a nearly graceful fashion. Though her chest heaving as she glanced down at Vendra, still recovering on the ground.

Her voice was low, heavy with the aftertaste of the fight. "We need to work on your trash talk."

She didn't wait for a response. The danger had passed for now, but the mission wasn't over. Not by a long shot.

She deactivated the saber, settling it back before Venny, and sitting beside her.

 

[Vendra Vane]

The Dark Jedi could barely process the flurry of sequences as Sable finally felled the beast. Its jawless head was an ugly site, as was the rest of its corpse which slouched in an almost seated position. A mass of flesh and viscous blood whose smell indeed matched the whiff of rot they sensed earlier.

If such a terrible creature was kept here intentionally, the next question was Why? Followed by who did it? And then finally wrapped up with a how was it surviving all this time? Because as she glanced around in recovery there was nothing. No entrances, no crevices, certainly none large enough for it to have fit through. It was as if this place had been built around it. It was only just recently--they heard it--when the ceiling above them collapsed. It would have certainly been spotted from above if otherwise and made this whole excavation business a lot easier.

Vendra blinked at Sable's next words after it was all said and done. "I was getting its attention... I didn't have time." She nearly stuttered the words. "And some talk coming from a walking armory. All that and you still needed my lightsaber to finish the job?" It was of course a playful retort, but there was certain an air of frustration from the near-lethal dose of adrenaline now pumping through her Mirialan heart.

She grabbed the weapon as she sat up, and then placed a hand on Sable's shoulder. "We work well together, Sable." There was a hint of a smile at the edge of Vendra's lips.

However, any celebration was cut short by another disruption. A shadowy figure materialized between them and the slain beast. Their visage was too vague to make a sense of features, but they appeared to be humanoid.

It looked towards the dead monster. "A creature driven by its own torment... It knows not but a hunger for the force." The voice echoed eerily inside of their minds. "I found it here in this place long ago, and I built my temple around it... We fed each other for a while. I with my power, it with its violence."

"A twisted relationship, don't you think?" The voice's words were betrayed by no strain for remorse. "It's... It was all that remained." Now with a hint of... sorrow?

Vendra had to ask. "Where does the other door lead?" She didn't stop to even consider who or exactly what this apparition was.

"My resting place." It answered. "I think... I think I once ruled from this place. Killed here, fed on the sickness that plagues this world... But my memory is fractured, faded. I felt the vessel of my spirit shatter... not long ago."

The Mirialan wondered if it meant the Holocon, recalling what Sable had said about it earlier. Indeed she glanced sidelong towards the beast-slayer in curious fashion, then back to the figure as it spoke again.

"Everlasting life... Yes... That is what I sought, but my spirit now quickly decays... Help me become one with the Force and I will impart what little power I have left." The offer seemed sincere from Vendra's perspective, but perhaps Sable had other ideas.

Another possibility remained, whether the two of them knew it. They could strip the ghost for all it had left. It would destroy them, they would not return to the Force, but the knowledge, what little remained of its power could be theirs.

Sable Varro

 

[Sable Varro]

​

Expedition Rannon

Tags: Vendra Vane

Equipment Loadout:

• Primary Weapon(s): SD-L1 Long Blaster
• Secondary Weapon(s): HG-88 Big Iron, VB-113 "Tidefall" Class Vibroblade,
• Specialized Gear: Wrist Mounted Weapons (Hekler'Kok WMMW-01), DS-102 "Aegis" Personal Energy Shield,
• Armor & Attire: Personal Armor

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​

Sable's posture didn't relax, even as the beast's corpse slumped into a grotesque heap behind them. Her muscles were still wound tight, her senses still humming with combat adrenaline. Vendra's playful jab earned the faintest curl of a smirk at the corner of her mouth, though her eyes remained sharp, flicking over the chamber again with tactical scrutiny. She was thankful that her mask kept her emoting concealed.

"You sure weren’t using it, this hardware is expensive I’ll have you know," She replied dryly in response. "And if we're keeping score, I did the heavy lifting. You just tossed the garnish."

But when Vendra touched her shoulder and offered that soft smile—genuine, even after everything—Sable's expression softened, if only a little. She gave a brief nod in return, her voice quieter now. "Yeah. We do."

And then the temperature shifted.

The shadow coalesced, and every instinct in Sable's body screamed that this wasn't over. Her hand drifted slowly back toward her sidearm, not drawing—yet—but ready.

The voice was worse than the presence. It clawed at her thoughts in a way the beast never could. Cold. Detached. Heavy with that kind of ancient sorrow that didn't fade but curdled over time. She didn't trust it for a second.

As the spirit spoke, she stepped subtly between it and Vendra, keeping her stance low and guarded. Not hostile—but wary. Always wary.

"You built a temple around that thing?" Sable's voice was flat, almost accusatory. "Fed it? Fed off it?" Her lip curled faintly. "That can’t be a healthy diet."

But when it spoke of the other door… and its spirit… Sable's gaze narrowed further. The Holocron. That had to be it. This echo was tied to it somehow—maybe even anchored by it. The implications were ugly.

Then came the offer. Help it pass on—or take everything it had by force.

Sable's silence stretched for a moment. And then she turned slightly, just enough to glance at Vendra.

"You buyin' it?" She asked quietly. "Because I've seen Force spirits lie to protect their last secrets. Just as often as I've seen them cling to some twisted version of peace."

She looked back to the shade, stepping forward slowly now, eyes locked on the figure like a predator circling prey.

Her posture shifted, looking back to Venny.

"You make the call Venny.”

She stated, though there was a noticeable twitch to Sable’s form. The darkness that Venny had sensed before twisted within the masked huntress once again.

Eat your fill, and become the vessel you were designed to be.

It whispered to her, making Sable shift in discomfort. She could hold it in check, for now. The sensations grew stronger, but for now, she could resist.

 

[Vendra Vane]

She rose to her feet after much struggle, her head sullen and body slouched as the pain began to radiate across her muscles. She didn't respond to Sable immediately either, nor the ghost which simply waited for them to make a choice. It was quite patient, true to the dead.

Her memory of the cave echoed in her mind again. She recalled the vision, she felt the emotions like time had not passed at all. It was a quake that rose from her stomach into her chest, and then finally clawed its way out of her throat with vicious words. "It deserves rest, but the sickness ends here." Vendra's eyes snapped upward with a predator's intent as she rushed forth an outstretched hand.

There was an answer, finally, a door that opened for her in the force and allowed her to touch the secrets inside. If only for this small moment in the fabric of destiny. The Dark Jedi's hand made contact with and gripped the apparition's head, provoking a pained and blood-curdling scream from the ghost. She felt the force flow through her grip, sundering the threads that tied the Sith's spirit to this place.

It was working but the spirit was far from as weakened as it let on. "What are you doing!?" It managed a pitiful response through the scream and fought against its destruction.

"Help... Me..." Vendra strained words meant for Sable. The spirit was weak enough for several options to unfold before them, the Sith's destruction yes, but the siphoning of its power and knowledge, too. Though Vendra had already elected the former. The roots of its power would die with it if she had her way.

Sable Varro

 

[Sable Varro]

​

Expedition Rannon

Tags: Vendra Vane

Equipment Loadout:

• Primary Weapon(s): SD-L1 Long Blaster
• Secondary Weapon(s): HG-88 Big Iron, VB-113 "Tidefall" Class Vibroblade,
• Specialized Gear: Wrist Mounted Weapons (Hekler'Kok WMMW-01), DS-102 "Aegis" Personal Energy Shield,
• Armor & Attire: Personal Armor

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​

Sable didn’t move at first—not when Vendra stayed silent, not when her shoulders slumped in pain, and not even when that distant look settled into her eyes like something had reached up from the depths and seized her thoughts.

But the moment Vendra moved, Sable was already in motion. Her hand snapped to her weapon—not to stop her—but to cover her, in case the spirit struck back.

And then came the scream.

The sound of it churned through the Force like tearing flesh and shattering glass. Sable grimaced but held firm, boots planted, eyes locked on the spectacle of a dying phantom being unraveled by sheer will.

But Vendra’s voice reached her—and that tone, that tremble behind the request, was enough.

The darker side of her stirred, hungry, and eager to feast. It began to bubble to the surface, as Sable felt herself sinking.

Sable strode forward, no hesitation in her step, just grim purpose. She drew her hand out—not to pull Vendra back, but to anchor her, palm resting firmly on the Mirialan’s back just below the shoulder blades.

“I’ve got you,” She said through clenched teeth, pouring her own energy into Vendra’s effort—not to steal, not to consume, but to amplify.

“You want peace?” She growled toward the spirit, voice raw with force-fed power. “Then let us give it to you-”

She could feel the strain in her own limbs as the pull between spirit and stone began to tear apart, her voice distorting as she aided her comrade. Ghostlight crackled through the air, clawing at her senses, but Sable held the line beside her partner—until the very end.

Not for power.
Not for knowledge.
But for the choice to end the sickness, like Vendra said.

When the scream finally began to fade, Sable’s voice dropped low again, almost a whisper—icy, resolute:

“Some secrets die with their masters. And that’s a fate you earned.”

 

[Vendra Vane]

With Sable's power aiding Vendra, the spirit's form began to corrupt, its existence splitting over and over again, the scream transforming into an otherwordly hiss and countless Sith-languaged thoughts, pleas, and sorrows spun up in the vortex of energy. All of it climaxed into a whimper as its energy tore itself apart one final time and fluttered down like little specks of light that disappeared afterward.

Vendra panted, her chest heaved, her shoulders slumped again as she barely mustered the strength to stand when the connection broke. Just as quickly as that door had opened, it slammed shut. She looked down at her half-expecting there to be blood, anything, any evidence of what she had just done. Too distracted by her own grief and confusion to notice how light the energy in the room had become.

There was no longer that same presence, only a faded version of it, something that felt primeval but truly dead. The knot had been unraveled and the force once again allowed to flow naturally in this place. It wouldn't heal Rannon, but it was a start, but it was also a detail Vendra remained ignorant to. She was not here to heal Rannon. She was here to guard the excavation and collect her credits from Drex when the job was done.

"Drex..." She hissed the name. This was a disaster waiting to happen, and the ignorant slimeball of a man would have let this beast devour the workers, her guards along with it. All for what? An artifact that belonged to an insane sorcerer? It was pathetic, or so she felt. Whoever it was they just ended did not deserve to cheat death, and so Sable and Vendra put an end to all of it.

"I think..." The words trailed past her lips, an open thought, "I think it will be some time before the darkness clears. We might be safe, but I can only imagine the number of fools whose minds would be so easily corrupted by this place as that thing was."

In a moment of vulnerability, Vendra looked to Sable with kind and uncertain eyes. "Thank you." Words carried on a whisper.

Sable Varro

 

[Sable Varro]

​

Expedition Rannon

Tags: Vendra Vane

Equipment Loadout:

• Primary Weapon(s): SD-L1 Long Blaster
• Secondary Weapon(s): HG-88 Big Iron, VB-113 "Tidefall" Class Vibroblade,
• Specialized Gear: Wrist Mounted Weapons (Hekler'Kok WMMW-01), DS-102 "Aegis" Personal Energy Shield,
• Armor & Attire: Personal Armor

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Sable stood in the wake of the spirit's destruction, her body rigid, shoulders heaving faintly beneath her armor. The light had returned to the room, yes—but inside her, the shadow still writhed. That sickening echo of the ghost's voice, its countless fractured thoughts, had found places to nestle in the quiet corners of her mind.

She could still hear it whispering beneath her skin.

"Power. Knowledge. Obedience. Suffering. You could've taken it."
"You still want it. Take it from her-"

Her fist clenched involuntarily, knuckles white. The darkness that coiled in her bones didn't vanish when the ghost did—it only stirred, awakened by the fight, by the taste of death so near and thick in the air. Part of her had wanted to reach out and seize the power, rip it away and consume it—make herself stronger. Safer. Less vulnerable. That part of her hadn't died with the ghost.

It was hers.

And it was hungry.

Sable's jaw tightened, her breath coming in slow, deliberate pulls through her nose as she fought to keep herself from shaking. It wasn't fear. It was restraint. She didn't want to lose herself here—not in front of Vendra. Not after what they'd just done.

And then that voice came—gentle, real, hers.
"Thank you."

Sable turned her head toward her, and for a brief moment, her expression was unreadable—caught somewhere between conflict and clarity. She looked like she wanted to say something cold, something dismissive to keep the moment from digging too deep. But she didn't.

Instead, her shoulders softened. Not fully—but enough.

Her voice, when it came, was quiet, rough around the edges. "I didn't come here to play hero, Venny."

A pause.

"But I'm glad it was us. Not someone else."

She stepped closer, gaze lingering on Vendra's face for a moment—then downward, to the spot where the spirit had faded. The air felt clean now. Hollow, even. That ancient sickness was gone, but in its absence… the silence was sobering.

"You were right," she said, almost to herself. "The darkness doesn't just live in things like that... it lives in people. Waiting."

Her eyes narrowed faintly, lips curling downward—not in anger, but thought. "It'll find someone else. Somewhere. But not here anymore."

Then, finally, her voice dropped just a notch, laced with the weariness she tried to hide. "I guess your job is done, right?"

But as she turned to walk forward, there was a beat of hesitation—and her voice came softer, back over her shoulder.

"…And you're welcome."

 

[Vendra Vane]

Vendra read the mood, the tone in her voice, but didn't precisely know what had been going on inside of Sable. Still, she did her best to reassure. "My people had once chosen me to be their future Seer... I studied under the current one and I truly believed I was meant for it." She began to explain, unsure if this was a lesson or just making conversation.

"But it turned out I didn't have it in me. I really cannot say where darkness can be found. If it lives inside of us. If the force picks and chooses, or if it's truly all just a random load of slop fed to make us feel good." The Dark Jedi said with a meager shrug. Her eyes inspected the rubble, she saw a way up and to the outside and began to climb. Though not before she turned around and offered Sable a hand.

"That spirit fed on death and then sought every possible way to escape it. Then we came along and ended every last chance it had. Was that justice, karma, was it destiny? I wonder... But maybe all we did was just make up our own damn minds about it." The words contrasted Vendra's actual feelings on the matter, but her feelings were not the point of this. "Whatever you believe happened is all that needs to be true, same as whatever you believe will happen with every next choice you make."

Was the job done? Vendra didn't quite think so. "I need to report all of this to Drex. If you come along I think you'll be surprised at the results I deliver." She said with a hint of amusement.

Sable Varro

 

[Sable Varro]

​

Expedition Rannon

Tags: Vendra Vane

Equipment Loadout:

• Primary Weapon(s): SD-L1 Long Blaster
• Secondary Weapon(s): HG-88 Big Iron, VB-113 "Tidefall" Class Vibroblade,
• Specialized Gear: Wrist Mounted Weapons (Hekler'Kok WMMW-01), DS-102 "Aegis" Personal Energy Shield,
• Armor & Attire: Personal Armor

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Sable stared at the offered hand in silence. It hung there between them—not just an invitation to climb, but a bridge, delicate and unspoken, from everything that had happened below to whatever came next above.

For a heartbeat, her eyes lingered on it, calculating. Not the danger, but the meaning.

Trust didn't come easy for her. Nothing did. And that part of her, that other voice, was still whispering.

"She saw you falter. She felt it in the Force. She'll remember."

But Vendra hadn't pressed. She hadn't judged. She had just spoken her truth—plain, uncertain, but strangely grounding in its honesty.

"I didn't have it in me."

"Not yet."

That part stuck.

Sable's expression softened, just a touch. Enough to make the shadows in her face fall away for a second. Then she reached forward and took the hand—not with reluctance, but with a quiet resolve.

She let Vendra help her up the first ledge. Just that once. Then she climbed the rest herself.

"I don't know about destiny," She finally muttered as they moved, glancing sidelong at her companion. "But I know this—if that thing had gotten loose, Drex wouldn't just be losing workers. He'd be buried in pieces under this whole cursed hill."

She chuckled under her breath—a dry, tired sound.

"And you're right. We made our own damn minds up. That's more than most people ever do."

Sable's voice lowered as she glanced up toward the faint light breaking through the upper levels of the tunnel. The Force felt lighter now, like someone had finally opened a window in a suffocating room.

"Maybe that's all justice ever is. Someone deciding when to stop the rot."

She looked over to Vendra again, a faint smirk forming on her lips at the last remark. "You make it sound like you're about to sell him a miracle and walk out with half his damn vault. And honestly… I kind of want to see that."

Another beat passed. Her tone turned drier. "Just make sure you charge extra for exorcisms."

Then she added—quieter, and not without a sliver of sincerity beneath the sarcasm, "Lead the way, Venny."

 

[Vendra Vane]

With hand and foot, Vendra was not far behind Sable, and she listened to every word that carried back down. Having a conversation like this felt nice for a change, and Sable was the first force-sensitive she had encountered since Mahl, and thankfully she was far more colorful than the fallen warlord was on even his best days. She appreciated both the things Sable said and the thoughts that lingered unspoken in the air between them. It was a certain kinship, at least from Vendra's perspective, where they were equally good at sharing their clever thoughts and piss poor with all the rest.

After the duo had finally made their way out of the cave, she smirked at Sable's words regarding Drex. "You'll see," was all she said with a gentle wave to follow. Lead the way, Venny indeed.

When they arrived at base camp very little had changed. Drex could be seen barking orders well before either could understand him. When the crowd stopped to stare at the two, Drex's speech slurred until it was cut off and he turned to face them.

"Vane!" He snapped her name, then looked at Sable. "Who the frell is this? No. Nevermind. What happened?" He rubbed his brow as if it were he who had done all the hard work today.

The Dark Jedi placed one hand on her hip, "The missing team was dead before I arrived, this one is Sable and she and I found and killed a very large and very hungry monster deeper inside the ruin." She let the report hang in the air and watched the reactions form. She had hoped it would discourage Drex's mood, but to her surprise--a lesson she really should have learned by now--is that he didn't seem to care. At all.

"Shame, shame..." He more or less mumbled his 'misgivings' regarding the dead team. "Well, now that the monster is dead we can send the workers back in. We'll have to do double shifts to cover up for lost time. What about the equipment?" There were mixed feelings among the workers. Some seemed angry, others afraid, and the rest were just defeated or woefully apathetic about the arrangement.

Something inside of Vendra must have snapped as she audibly growled through gnashed teeth, drew her blaster in one swift motion, and shot Drex in the leg. The foreman screamed in pain as he fell over and held the flesh wound as if it were his last moments. "Gahh... Wha... Why!?" His words reflected the kaleidoscope of feelings top on his mind. All the while workers took a step back, muttered among themselves in shock, and even her own soldiers were on edge by the sudden change in tune.

Vendra looked around. First at Sable, then to Drex, and finally the workers. "It's a shame that Drex died inside the ruins, swallowed whole by a nasty beast... Unfortunately, we had no choice but to bomb the site to prevent its escape, and avoid further loss of life. I will rescind ten percent of my pay as recompense for the families of those who died here today, and in my last official act I will escort your transports off-world and file a full report with the company on what happened." Her excuse turned into a speech, and thankfully the gambit appeared to pay off.

The workers, sick and tired of Drex to no one's surprise except perhaps his own showed no small amount of relief at her words, as ugly as the decision may have been. Drex cried as he looked up at Vendra, and then at the workers. "Wait... What about me?"

Vendra looked down at Drex. "Oh, I'm sure you'll be fine. Think of it this way, you'll have the ruins all to yourself now." She answered with a wicked grin.

Drex continued to grasp at straws, pleading for anyone to save him, and then looked to Sable. "You! I'll pay you... I'll pay you anything, just get me off this netherforsaken planet!"

Sable Varro

 

[Sable Varro]

​

Expedition Rannon

Tags: Vendra Vane

Equipment Loadout:

• Primary Weapon(s): SD-L1 Long Blaster
• Secondary Weapon(s): HG-88 Big Iron, VB-113 "Tidefall" Class Vibroblade,
• Specialized Gear: Wrist Mounted Weapons (Hekler'Kok WMMW-01), DS-102 "Aegis" Personal Energy Shield,
• Armor & Attire: Personal Armor

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Sable watched the entire scene unfold with the same steady detachment she might use to observe a malfunctioning droid about to explode. The moment Vendra drew her blaster and dropped Drex, Sable's stance didn't shift—her hand didn't even drift toward her weapon. She merely tilted her head ever so slightly, eyes narrowing with quiet intrigue.


Now this was a new color to the woman. Not unexpected… but telling.


She waited until the dust settled, letting the workers whisper, letting Vendra's speech land, letting Drex blubber like a man freshly acquainted with his mortality. And only when Drex finally turned those desperate, bloodshot eyes toward her, voice cracking with promises of pay, did Sable finally respond.


She stepped closer, boots crunching on the dirt and broken stone, her shadow falling over the pathetic mess of a man clutching his leg. She crouched down slowly, arms resting loosely on her knees, gaze piercing beneath the brim of her cowl.


"Anything?" she echoed, voice low and razor-sharp with amusement. "That's a dangerous offer, Drex. Some people might take you up on it. Strip you of credits, name, and spine. Maybe even drag you off to sell your sobbing carcass to the nearest Hutt with a taste for pathetic little cowards."


She let the silence stretch for a breath, her tone cooling like steel settling back into the forge.


"But me?" A faint smirk curved her lips. "I already got paid in peace of mind. Knowing you won't be crawling around those ruins again like a parasite, risking lives for a trinket you don't even understand. That's worth more than credits."


She stood then, brushing the dust from her coat. "Venny's right. You died in those ruins. Try to make noise about it, and someone else might make sure you really do."


Then, casually, to Vendra:
"You've got a dramatic streak, I'll give you that. But I like your style."


And with that, she turned away from Drex, already finished with him.


"So, do you want to do the honors, Venny?" She inquired, tilting her head towards the Mirialan. Her wrist launcher primmed as she had a payload ready to help Venny with her story.

The woman was good company, it was the least Sable could do.

 

[Vendra Vane]

Vendra stood now not with one but both hands on her hips. It was a proud look, perhaps enough to diminish some of that respect she just earned from Sable, for it honestly looked more like a smug mother than a confident mercenary boss. She listened as Sable reduced Drex further, it was a pleasure to her ears, like a sip of good audio wine.

When her attention turned from Drex to the Mirialan herself, Vendra smiled earnestly at the compliment. "It's the perk of the job," she replied dryly. Then when Sable offered to help make the dream true, the Dark Jedi gently placed a hand on Sable's wrist and then looked up at the two fighter-bombers overhead. "No, they'd have a fit if I robbed them of the perks that came with their job."

However, as she said that, Vendra produced the comlink from her belt and offered it to Sable. "It's not wrist-mounted, but ever ordered a tactical proton strike before?"

When one of Vendra's officers overheard the conversation they began to bark orders at the workers to leave the equipment and get a move as they crammed into transports by the landing pad. Her soldiers, too, had every mind to be airborne before the order was given. It was only ever Vendra who enjoyed being dangerously close to the point of attack. She liked to dare them not to fark up.

Sable Varro

 

[Sable Varro]

​

Expedition Rannon

Tags: Vendra Vane

Equipment Loadout:

• Primary Weapon(s): SD-L1 Long Blaster
• Secondary Weapon(s): HG-88 Big Iron, VB-113 "Tidefall" Class Vibroblade,
• Specialized Gear: Wrist Mounted Weapons (Hekler'Kok WMMW-01), DS-102 "Aegis" Personal Energy Shield,
• Armor & Attire: Personal Armor

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Sable gave a quiet, dry huff through her nose—something between a scoff and a chuckle—as she glanced down at the comlink in Vendra's hand. Her expression betrayed no alarm, but the faintest flicker of amusement crossed her features at the sheer recklessness on display.

"Can't say I've had the pleasure," she replied, voice cool as ever, but with the faint undercurrent of dry humor. She took the comlink with one hand, turning it slightly between her fingers. "But I suppose there's a first time for everything."

Her eyes flicked back up to the bombers overhead, then down again toward Drex still writhing in the dust behind them. The angle of her head shifted, one brow arching just a little. "Tactical proton strike on a half-buried ruin and a bleeding idiot with a limp. This is how war stories get started, you know."

A beat passed, then a small smirk curled at the corner of her lips. "This is what you call the perk of the job?"

Sable's gaze returned to Vendra with a quiet glint—half impressed, half wary. "You've got a strange idea of fun, Venny."

Then, holding out the comlink again, she added, "But if you're set on fireworks… I won't steal your thunder. You light the match."

She stepped aside, gesturing toward the wide open sky and humming engines above. "Let's send this place off properly I suppose."