First Order: Beyond Darkness [Dominion of Rakata Beta]

[Zmej Ren]

Location: Rakata Beta
Objective: 1
Post: 10


Boredom grew into prevalence among the company, breeding treacherous complacency. While well-trained and disciplined soldiers, after fighting for their lives two times today and attacking an enemy encampment, the rust of weariness started to weight down on everyone when adrenaline stopped pumping through their veins and action seemed eternity away. Aside from watching the dead Rakata burn on a pyre or restocking, there was little to do. All heavy repeaters slept in cover, waiting for new targets to approach, and even though the gunners remained ready, only few expected a counter attack. Time lazily dragged, minutes soon turned into hours, finally bringing dusk over the conquered camp. Lively chatter decayed into silence, one broken by nothing but the rustling forest and muffled voices here and there. Light sleep bewitched those who listened to its honeyed words of rest, finally letting the body relax and recuperate. Every little bit of energy would be needed tomorrow – another day, another march, another destination to raid.

Zmej Ren relaxed in her own way, meditating, senses peaked and searching through the surroundings. It was infinitely calming, letting her mind wander while the body regained its strength and energy. The little bits of anger and aggression left from the battle continued to slumber deep inside her heart, working like hot coals to keep the darkness warm and cozy at all times. When subtle ripples alerted her senses to a disturbance in the Force, her first thought was to alarm the oblivious company to an incoming attack. Before even having a chance to open her eyes though, a sharp, stabbing pain split her mind in half, opening a wide tunnel leading down the depths of yet unknown agony. A piercing shriek tore its way from her throat, hands clutching the head in a vain attempt to stop the crippling pain, entire body falling over into the dirt, curled up in a ball. The young woman’s screams worked well enough, although new elements have entered the battle – Force sensitives on the enemy side, their minds clashing against Zmej’s to remove her threat.

With the Ren crippled, unable to act, the soldiers barely managed to hang on when the first wave stormed their positions. Heavy losses on both sides indicated an end of the ambush, but it was merely a test of strength. More and more continued to pour in, seemingly vast numbers emerging out of nowhere, monsters coming from the pitch black night. Once the dark side flared supreme, massively fuelled by death and fear, Zmej finally escaped her torturer’s grasp. Moving in drunk-esque motions, she slowly stumbled into the battle, blood red lightsaber ignited. The attack on her mind did not cease though, robbing the teenager of focus and turning the Supreme Leader’s scalpel into a rusty knife barely capable of slaying the first Rakata to approach her. Once the alien fell, decapitated, Zmej fell with it, finding great difficulty in standing up. Now truly resembling a drunk, her moaning form dragged itself to the nearest tree, using its rough surface as a trusty friend to lean against. Grunting, she got up – only to see a Rakata about to finish its swing and cleave her head off. Awestruck and unable to act, Zmej simply stared at it with a hateful yellow glare, mouth agape.

 

[Gunther Creed]

​The blaring klaxons followed by the rocking of the Ciena Ree told him everything he needed to know. The rakatan had arranged a welcoming party for the newly arriving First Order. An attack was more of what Gunther anticipated when the First Order arrived to their world, peace in this situation wasn't normal for descendants of the Infinite Empire. War was in their blood, cruelty was their weapon and ruthlessness burned behind their eyes. There was something to admire about them and their accomplishments though, for even today the entire galaxy still knows of the famed Infinite Empire.

After hearing [member="Valessia Brentioch"]'s words they brought the Iceman from his thoughts to the present. He followed Valessia out of the room speaking to her as they moved. "Ambassador Brentioch, your going down to the combat zone?" As far as he knew she was an Ambassador not a soldier, she couldn't have had any combat training could she?

 

[Maurice Dalton]

Post Nine.
Location: Xenotech Laboratories Facility: X. Rakata Beta Moon, Centurion.

"Yes, yes, that's why I told you to stay on the ship."

"I have to unload the crates?"

"Oh, no, I was just checking in on you. Yes! Unload the crates!" And he touched the device in his ear again, and the comm was deactivated. Turning his head to the passive appearing Chiss, he offered a helpless smile. "Good help is so hard to find these days," he said with a shrug.

Several minutes later, multiple crates were being carted into their new surroundings. The escorts had shown the pilot where to push the repulsor propelled carts to a make shift target range. Essentially crates that were already emptied and had some hastily drawn targets upon them. The range was short, a little more than ten, but less than twenty metres away from the firing line.

"Join me on the firing line," Maurice said to the man behind the Chiss technology. "Load it like this," and he removed the power pack from its position in the blaster, and then he replaced it, reversing the motions shortly after. "Easy."

 

[Dunames Lopez]

Objective: Build a spaceport in an industrial area
Allies: First Order
Enemies: Unknown
Post: 14/20

A few days later, the duracrete poured onto the cracks in the tarmac was nearly dried up; the teams assigned to the pouring of duracrete onto said tarmac could be reallocated to other areas, with the only finished part beyond the tarmac being the fitting of the white elephant sculpture. Sure Dunames would not suspect anything about the delivery of the control tower equipment, but with the additional staff freed from the tarmac team, there would be enough to speed up the work in the other areas of the spaceport. By now the discussion about the white elephants has shifted, much to the dismay of the artist that carved the white elephant statue. Poor Dunames! She must have realized that the white elephant jokes are getting old! Yet the project began to look worrisome to one Virginie. She began to talk about the pitfalls law schools face, and not simply those in First Order space, and how that is relevant to the situation at hand. Perhaps has she considered law school at some point, as many people with a good grounding in history do?

"Be lucky that Star Tours isn't a law school!"

"How so?"

"Law schools are simply... broken. There are a few exhibits for law schools in the white elephant museum; part of it is due to an effort to attract a dwindling crowd of 0L students, from whom to draw 1Ls. They are in the bursting stage of an economic bubble, which Star Tours isn't"

"I know the term 0L is thrown often in the context of law school: were you once a 0L?"

"I was lucky to have earned a JD/MBA at some school that allowed for that option straight out of undergrad at a minimal cost due to scholarships"

"To be perfectly honest, it could only have been done on the back of what you did while you sat on the Council of 22"

 

[Zmej Ren]

Location: Rakata Beta
Objective: 1
Post: 11


Although completely lost in the sounds of battle, three snaps announced three flashes of red tearing through the night’s black blanket. Three consecutive blasts ripped into the Rakata’s chest before it could finish the execution. Immediately turning after the perpetrator, Zmej’s eyes found none other than captain Greene. For the first time, she was glad to see him, almost enough to regret breaking his face to assert her own authority. No words of appreciation left her mouth though. She waged an inner war against the being tearing her mind apart, thus the silent look of her expressionless helmet remained the only thanks offered to her saviour. Not that his behaviour surprised the Supreme Leader’s Hand one bit. Greene was a soldier – personal distaste for Force sensitives had no place in heated situations, thus his soldierly ways left him with no other option than to save the disciple of Ren.

Unfortunately, the captain did not share the same fortune of having someone to watch his back. Leaving himself open to gun down Zmej’s would-be killer, Greene received a cruel reward for his loyalty. One of the aliens launched a spear-like weapon that found its target in the captain’s neck, nearly cutting it off and unleashing a fountain of blood that denied survival. Zmej passively observed as the scene unfolded, unable to act due to still suffering greatly under her attacker’s telepathic expertise. The inability to participate and turn the tides of the ongoing skirmish was most infuriating. The First Order’s faithful were getting butchered by the overwhelming numbers of their enemy and she merely watched. She, too, would become a victim of Rakatan brutality soon.

"Damn you." The disciple of Ren cursed, unable to fend off the telepathic onslaught violating her head.

It was too late to turn defeat into victory, anyway.

Even though retreat was an unknown word in the disciple’s vocabulary, she realized all too well that nothing could save these men, thus ensuring her own survival became a priority, deaf to screams and cries for help coming from the encampment. Zmej unstuck herself from the tree’s tempting support and released her thumb from the ignition button, killing the lightsaber’s cross shaped blades of glowing plasma. Instead of rushing to battle and sacrificing her life in the lost fight, the blonde’s body spun around, following the telekinetic bond torturing her mind. Her first steps resulted in an uncoordinated fall, landing in the dirt, the next attempt at walking more successful.

Obsessed with killing the telepathic annoyance pounding at the doors of her mind, making it her sole goal, Zmej’s black robed figure stumbled into the forest, escape covered by darkness. After several minutes, no more shots penetrated the deafening silence that settled in.

 

[Hansen]

Agent Totallex
FIV-Ciena Ree Ventral Hanger

"Very good Lowie, let's start our approach. Use the lifeform scanner and identify concentrations of lifeforms in remote locations. That should give us an idea of where these Insurgent camps are." Jaina's left-hand thrusts the engine throttle forward and steadily lowers the X-wing against Rakata Beta's atmosphere, wind splits around the nose of fighter like a slug through water. Jaina calmly orders an adjustment. "Lower, get closer to five-point-five degrees." Lowie makes the appropriate change in their angle with the planet for his master. Emerald green eyes study Rakata Beta's terrain and pallor pulls into a cringe, it would be a difficult task indeed for traditional Stormtrooper units to suppress a well-organized insurgency in terrain like this. Exactly why the Security Bureau had sent her; To strangle the insurgency in its infancy. None who opposed the First Order would live to see the dawn, Jaina would hunt them down and put either a vibroknife through their necks or a blaster bolt between their eyes. It matters not to her for the result is the same.

[member="Aran Piett"]

 

[Maurice Dalton]

Post Ten.
Location: Xenotech Laboratories Facility X.

Maurice nodded his head to the Chiss when he saw that he was ready to shoot. His form was right, his shoulders straight, probably fired before, but infrequently. Maybe he was a warrior as well as a scientist. Who knew, it was curious however. Doubtful was he, that the Chiss was elaborate on his past however.

The dark skinned Commissioner lined up with his own target, his index finger hovering over the trigger as he looked through the sights. He took in a breath and just as he was about to fire...

"I can go back to the ship right?"

It was his pilot. His annoying pilot, interrupting, once more. Still, Maurice wouldn't let him have his badly timed interruption preventing him from taking his first shot. His finger depressed upon the trigger, the purple bolt exploding out from the barrel to strike the empty crate in the centre of the target, punching a hole directly through the crate, even sending it flying backwards as visible power spread and dispersed across its metallic surface.

The Chiss had fired a moment later, his crate flipping off of the ground to land lopsided on Maurice's own target.

Straightening out, he looked back to the Chiss and nodded.

"Excellent."

 

[Soleil Ishtar]

RAKATA BETA
Location: Knights of Ren Landing Site Echo-7
Nearby: [member="Boo Chiyo"]
Equipment: Standard Ren Light Armor | One Force Pike | One standard vibroblade

Well speederbikes were a little bit more easier to swallow than a shuttle.

"That's okay!" Soleil immediately replied on the suggestion of the speeder. In fact she might have even appeared a little too eager. Her blue eyes went wide and before the Stormtrooper even gave the indication that the two should take the other speeder, the youngling was already off.

Like a young woman prone to taking charge -- or more likely due to having to handle younger siblings -- the petite little girl almost ran to the speeder. She even swung around to sit on it first before the blue boy could even catch up.

"You can sit behind me!" she told him, ordering him about like a bossy older sister in the same tone she'd taken with her younger siblings back at home.

"I can drive." well, sort of. But she wasn't going to admit that.

 

[Kriel Firin]

Objective #1
Post 4+3
Kriel was able to sense both Disciples from his position. He was no Sith. There was no aspect of the unworthy dying in his approach. He would not cosset the Disciples, but he would help them if it was necessary.

So far he’d not encountered anything of note. This was the challenge with such missions – there was never a guarantee that they would be able to find anything of note. They were so often a wild-Bantha chase – but a necessary one. For to turn down the chance of finding a temple would be foolhardy in the extreme.

At the pace they were progressing, he was able to see what was ahead of him and monitor the two Disciples.

Which is when he spotted others present in the woods. Here to find what they were searching for or protecting something? Or maybe they were simply here for another reason – or perhaps were hunting the First Order? The reason mattered little right now, the lives of the troopers and Disciples was most pressing.

Kriel sent a quick mental signal to Perth. He didn’t have time for niceties or to have a Telepathic conversation, instead he simply shared the mental image of the ‘blips’ on his mental radar. She ought to get the point.

By the time Kriel reached the clearing, there were no more enemies to face. At least not here. He was aware that Ara was striding ahead, looking to face the remainder of the locals. He paused and once Perth reached him, he gave a short instruction then moved to catch up with Ara. “Exit the forest and see if you can flank them. Leave your troopers with me, you’ll move quicker and be less obvious alone.”

[member="Ara Ren"]

 

[Perth Levov]

Objective #1
Post 4+4

This was becoming a tedious journey, but Perth had endured many of those in her relatively short life. So many of the leads from her notebook were dead-ends. Cults had died out, buildings had been demolished and sometimes there was simply nothing to find – or she’d given up after weeks of searching.

When she was by herself, she managed to pass the time usefully – but here she had company and so practising with the Force was not an option. Plus she had to be alert to any requests from the Knight who was clearly their chaperone.

She travelled carefully, matching pace with the troopers who were remarkably silent but had to sacrifice pace to maintain that level of quiet. Her Force Sense warned her of something, but what she was unsure and seconds later she received a mental image of Force Auras. Given it was not her own thought, she presumed it had been shared with her and she presumed it was the Knight. So she signalled for the troopers to follow her and she headed to where he was.

She found him in a clearing – with dead bodies littering the ground. As she took in the scene, he gave her an instruction and she nodded her understanding before jogging outside of the woods and then quickly but stealthily she skirted the trees, looking to flank whoever her two fellow Ren were about to engage.

[member="Ara Ren"]

 

[Dunames Lopez]

Objective: Build a spaceport in an industrial area
Allies: First Order
Enemies: Unknown
Post: 15/20

What kind of university would allow people to earn a JD/MBA straight out of undergrad, and provide great scholarships to those who do? Pending conditions, of course. She used to work in the legal department, and then Hoth occurred. I'll never understand why she even made a bid to even be part of the ski resort project on Hoth, she thought. She knew that, oftentimes, graduate school in any shape or form was a "once-in-a-lifetime" thing. But, for someone that won the Caladon Trophy (or Prize, she can't quite remember the exact denomination) before she could even sit on the Council of 22, one would think that someone who gave up on a sport because it was disbanded at a high level would mean that they would give it their all as an undergraduate to turn their lives around, if only to live up to the expectations of a sports school valedictorian. Yet, there were only a few scholarships that matched the description Virginie gave, the most likely of which was the Arectaris Scholarship at Lipsec. Meanwhile, the rubble was nearly cleared from the derelict areas of the spaceport...

"Rubble is now cleared" the demolition foreman announced.

"May the construction of the white elephant museum begin!"

"Deploy excavation equipment!"

 

[Maurice Dalton]

Post Eleven.
Location: Xenotech Laboratories Facility X.

"No." Maurice said, turning his head to look at his pilot. "No, you can't go anywhere. You're going to clean up this room when we're done here." Maurice looked back to the Chiss scientist. "We shoot again. I suspect there is enough firepower to still shove the crates back, even if magnetized to the floor."

"It is fine to assume that the same would happen to armoured personnel."

"My exact thinking."

From where the two had struck the crates, there were smoking holes as the metal crates were bent inwards at the point of impact. Although these were more or less prototype weapons, and a gas that had yet to be used in an actual simulation setting, the results were better than what the Commissioner could've hoped for.

"Would you like to keep my pilot? Sanitation duties?"

Completely bypassing the question, the Chiss replied with, "Shall we fire again?"

 

[Ara Zambrano]

Objective #1
Post: 4

Making it a short distance back into the tree line before Ara heard and felt the approach of her master and the other Disciple, she slower her pace. Signaling for the troopers accompanying her to fan out, she deactivated her blade and turned to watch [member=Kriel Firin]'s approach.

She was surprised to see not three, but six troopers accompanying him. Their blasters trained on the disciple for a moment until they recognized her as a friend, not foe. She bowed slightly to the masked figure and straightened. It was her first time in the field with his presence and for a brief moment she wondered if she should not have engaged the group on her own.

Her skills were far beyond where they had been weeks ago when she had joined the Ren, but still far below even the strengths of even her fellow disciples. "Sir." She longed to report on the group ahead, inform him of the Force-sensitives present, but held her tongue. He know doubt sensed them, hence his approach. She would just be wasting breath.

If there was one thing she had learned over the sessions with him, it was that he was not one for wasted time or idle chatter. Instead, she chose to wait and see if he chose to take lead on the progression or if he would have her continue on point.

Glancing around the clearing, she noted the absence of the other woman and raised an eyebrow in silent question.

[member="Perth Levov"]

 

[Maurice Dalton]

Post Twelve.
XL Facility X.

The Commissioner nodded his head as he placed the blaster on a table and then walked towards the crates. Maurice was a big man, a powerful man in the ways of physicality rather than position in the Imperial Government. First he placed his left hand on one end of the metal crate, and then brought his right over the top of it so that the rectangular shaped thing was between his body and arm. It was too heavy to lift completely, but not too heavy and.. Drop, not as heavily. So, that was what he did.

And when it touched the ground it almost crushed his foot underneath it, to which he sighed at being so lucky to have the presence of mind to move his foot out of the way quick enough.

Stepping back, he walked towards the table and picked up the blaster he had previously deposited as the Chiss waited those few moments.

"We'll focus fire on the front target. Crank it up to full power."

Maurice checked the dial on the side of the blaster which illustrated the contents of the blaster pack. Satisfied with what he saw, he lined up the shot again, the Chiss doing the same, and they fired. Purple bolts piercing the metal surface of the first crate, energy dissipating across its surface as the kinetic power behind the shots shoved the crate back into the second one. Undoubtedly, the second crate which was immediately behind the first was pushed back from the kinetic force, a faint screeching heard to further describe the results, and then something fell in the back.

"It went through both crates!"

"Better than what preliminary tests suggested."

 

[Zmej Ren]

Location: Rakata Beta
Objective: 1
Post: 12


Despite sensing no sentient lifeforms about to jump out of the surrounding darkness, Zmej knew she was not alone. The terrible pain refused to leave, alongside the alien presence causing it. Guided by the thin mental thread connecting her to the attacker, she continued to blindly follow the signature, attracted to it like a moth to a flame, driven by hopes of freeing herself from its claws. Often affected by the agonizing pressure eliciting inside her mind, finding it too great to bear, the Supreme Leader’s agent graced the land with her presence several times, slow to get up after every fall, yet knowing all too well the suffering could only end with the death of one of them – and she definitely had zero intention of dying by her own, or anyone else’s hand. Keeping that in mind gave her strength when even the dark side failed at shielding her thoughts.

“Come to me.”

It spoke, voice booming through her mind. For some strange reason, the disciple found herself unable to resist the calling as its presence seeped deep into her will, persuading the Ren of great wisdom and power that supposedly awaited her at the end of her trek. Logic warned of traps, suggesting caution, but Zmej heard nothing else than the beautiful, colourful voice guiding her. All the pain started to subside when she listened and worsened when the teenager’s independent thought made attempts at breaking free. Without the strength and experience to effectively resist, Zmej Ren continued to suffer, too weak to shatter the telepathic connection, too strong and stubborn to simply let it control her completely. Step by step, she advanced, gloved hand gripping the weapon tightly as if her life depended on it. Cold breeze attempted to provide a distraction by playing with her robe, but its touch went unheeded, completely ignored by the Ren.

As if stepping into a new world, Zmej exited the forest and walked into a clearing dominated by a massive structure bearing strong resemblance to the old Rakata temples. Its silhouette looked especially menacing against the night's sky, a dark shadow devoid of stars. Whatever wanted her to enter awaited inside – and she didn’t know whether to feel relief or fear upon noticing the utter absence of guards of defence mechanisms.

Taking a deep breath, Zmej approached.

 

[Dunames Lopez]

Objective: Build a spaceport in an industrial area
Allies: First Order
Enemies: Unknown
Post: 16/20

Dunames had to pray that the white elephant museum turned out not to be itself a white elephant. Meanwhile, the sensor array and the tactical display have arrived at the spaceport in an AT-AT barge: while the work in the control tower was mostly complete, it could never be actually complete without these pieces of equipment that just arrived. Moreover, the Ultima being much like a Venator brought to a 2000m length, there was enough space to park several AT-AT barges at the corners of the tarmac, at least one each, if not two. While the equipment is being unloaded from the AT-AT barge (the sensor array was too big to fit into a Neimoidian Yacht), the first layer of foundations for the white elephant museum is being laid. She is now looking at a terminal that still needs some repairs done, but a hole where the more run-down wing used to be. With a bottom made out of fresh duracrete, and also the first durasteel beams are being fitted out on the foundations. Now the stakeholders are meeting on the bridge of the Ultima:

"How long until we can open the spaceport?" the Rakatan official asked.

"Perhaps two weeks or so, albeit at diminished capacity: we may be able to operate the spaceport at full capacity three or four months later"

"What's the meaning of the white elephant museum?"

"The white elephant museum is dedicated to the Infinite Empire as well as to the historically significant public works white elephants in galactic history"

 

[Hansen]

Emelie Sterren
Northern Shore Military Base.
Objective No: 2

Emelie reaches down into the cockpit and heaves out the T-7 Ion Disruptor Rifle by the sling and wraps it over the left pitch black pauldron of her special forces armour. Her gloved hands clasp the safety rails of a step ladder carefully Emelie moves down the steel frame boots make contact with blackened, fresh tarmac. Emelie's blue eyes peer around searching for other pilots, there are a few landed TIE fighters. "Where is everyone?" Emelie's ears hear not the clang or batter of construction as she'd expected and cautiously takes a few steps towards the partially constructed hanger some few dozen meters away. The Special Forces Operator's eyes keenly scan the horizon for symptoms of activity or movement, something is awfully wrong or perhaps that shiver that crawls up her spine is merely irrational. In Emelie's experience, your instincts kept you alive. Emelie's hand unclips the safety tapered around the grip of blaster pistol and claps fingers around pre-emptively.

[member="Pharazon Draken"]

 

[Valessia Brentioch]

In the Capital Building...

While the battle rages above Rakata Beta, [member="Pharazon Draken"] and his men along with the ever intrepid [member="Irajah Ven"] manage their way through the resistance. "Destroy them!" The Rakatan resistance leader shouts, just as a grenade from behind him sets off. Valessia dives behind the armored forces of Stormtroopers. "Think we should split up?" The Ambassador asks the men in white plastiod, grappling her carbine from behind her she looked at its condition. "Think I should be fine, but..."

Turning over her shoulder Valessia narrowed her gaze and the lowered her voice, "reinforcements?"

The battle to the capital building had not been easy and they had managed it this far, mostly thanks to the Stormtroopers and now as they sat behind partial cover she wondered how they would make it beyond this point. She watched as these new Rakatan forces without hesitation ripped through their own kind. "The First Order will be our path to greatness once more and you shall not interfere."

"Or that..."

Valeria nodded toward the platoon leader, signaling him to continue to lead them on as he had before.

 

[Zmej Ren]

Location: Rakata Beta
Objective: 1
Post: 13


Old, broken steps narrowed down Zmej’s path to the entrance. Flickering lights coming from within provided a much needed illumination, revealing bare walls of stone and motionless statues guarding the creation of long dead people. The disciple’s mask hid the expression of wonder and fear imprinted on her face as the blonde haired head turned from one detail to another, searching every corner and shadow, fraught with anxiety of meeting her torturer. Everything turned big, majestic, as soft steps upon stone echoed through the silence and Zmej descended deeper into the temple, wide hallways lined by columns of fire to celebrate the Ren’s arrival. She could feel and hear her heart pounding, finally a victim of fear, afraid to reach the end of the path and witness the unknown waiting for her. The overwhelming presence beckoned her to continue nevertheless, forcing Zmej further down the journey of doom. At least the air remained fresh, lacking the staleness it often displayed in old tombs and poorly ventilated areas.

For every step, Zmej Ren was rewarded with a bit of relief. Head stopped projecting so much hurt, mind no longer promised to crumble upon itself. At last, she stood free, yet no longer alone. In front of her lied a cold, stone wall covered in engravings. Before it an object that vaguely resembled a pyramid in shape, though it felt empty, abandoned if the Force could be trusted. Nothing compared to what rested by the strange artefact though. The source of everything. Living, breathing – and destined to die by her hand. Much to the disciple’s surprise, the robed figure did not belong to a Rakata – before her stood an ordinary, bearded human, filthy robes adding to the rugged visage, but it definitely wasn’t what she expected to encounter. In spite of his human or near-human appearance, the telepathic track remained distinctly alien, a stark contrast to the physical appearance her eyes observed. Anger demanded blood, but the being’s will overpowered Zmej’s own again, commanding the woman’s petite hand into dropping the cross-shaped hilt.

“Bow, Supreme Leader’s slave – kneel and tell me everything you know about your master. How strong is the one you call Sieger Ren?” He demanded, issuing a command so strong Zmej had no other choice than to fall to her knees lest the pain in her head became unbelievable again.

“No. I won't...” Came out barely understandable words of denial, more like a gasp as the terrible pressure in her mind increased, the man’s eyes reading through the memories and tearing away all resistance.

Mental barriers have been rendered irrelevant, there was no obstacle for the man’s telepathic robbery now. All concerning the First Order and its leader poured straight into his mind, drinking all the information to quench the terrible thirst for knowledge. Broken and unable to stop the thief, the Ren’s sole focus poured into the extension of herself and her will; the extinguished lightsaber, her only hope. Inside the duraplast casing slumbered an enslaved kyber crystal, bound to her by the dark side’s might, required to listen. Heeding its master in her time of need, the hilt shook in excitement, releasing a sharp hiss that suddenly tore through the battle of minds and severed the devastating connection. As the weapon’s characteristic shape landed in Zmej’s gloved hand, last bits of terror and pain of her opponent screeched inside her mind before dying for good alongside their true owner. Exhausted, she fell, just like her enemy, his body coming apart, marking all his plans a failure.

 

[Maurice Dalton]

Post Thirteen.
XL Facility X.

"Good." Maurice turned towards the table after leaving the two metal crates as scorched and bent out of shape rectangles. Delicately placing the blaster, or rather, maser on the table, almost lovingly, or carefully so as to not trigger more spats of fire, he took a step back and then looked to his pilot. He glanced to the Chiss, who nodded his head, almost as if he were finally accepting the proposal the Commissioner had offered earlier.

"Sanitation?"

"Sanitation," Maurice said with a tone of confirmation. "But not before he cleans up this room, it was a storage room, right?"

"Indeed."

"Great. Enjoy," Maurice said before strolling out with the Chiss. "My shuttle has the cargo capacity to carry these first prototypes back to Headquarters on Yalara," he was saying as they headed back down the way they came. "Will you return with us, now that your duty here is done, I suggest you do."

"However I may best serve the Supreme Leader."

"Good."

And they continued on their way towards the hangar bay.