Following it back to the source (Corellian Confederation Dominion of Eclipse)

[Samantha Solo]

A conversation among equals that's what this was.

Ashan had all the logs dating back a few months. Ms. clickclick noise brought out assignment sheets and the list of who had access to the list. Oleg could tell her who drew what weapons, or made inquiries on what weapons were going to be used on the day in question.

Each held a piece to the puzzle that she hoped she could fit together and point a finger. Each seemed suspicious of the other as they exchanged glances.

"Mr. Ashan is it alright if I look at the log." He nodded without hesitation telling her two things either he had nothing to hide or he was secure in knowing there was nothing in the logs.

Ms. click click asked about who assigned the details that day. Ashan pointed to himself. "Needed the best that day." Yes they were all the best at what they did.

She knew others were tracing information from another direction, maybe she could find something that tied to their information. So many things to consider. Sam scanned the listing.

 

[Kian Karr]

Objective: Confront the terrorists who attacked the Andromeda Star
Involved Parties: [member="Kaleleon Seleare"] [member="Aeneis Valdemar"] [member="Atlas Kane"] [member="Nulgath Zardai"] [member="Samantha Solo"]

Kian watched the younger Jedi as he spoke, his face passive. It appeared Kaleleon did not have training in flying. Kian was surprised, given the skill of his master in the art - but not bothered by it. Kian was a capable pilot but it was not something he enjoyed. Many Jedi over the years had been exceptional pilots and truly enjoyed it. For Kian it had always been a necessary skill to learn and nothing more. Aside from dogfights, he let his droids pilot for him.

"Nothing to worry about," Kian said nodding his head, "I made an assumption - my apologies. We can have the droid take us in. Help with navigation and monitoring for anything suspicious." Striding up the loading ramp into the shuttle, Kian quickly took a seat in one of the chairs and leaned forward - instructing the droid to take them to the rendezvous point.

"Once we've gotten there," Kian said strapping in as the ship lifted off and existed the larger vessel, "We will be disembarking the ship and moving across the surface. I hope you're ready for a nice stroll in vacuum." Kian said smiling beneath his mask. He wondered if the young man had ever had to engage in such an operation before. Kian certainly had not at his age. As a Kel Dor, Kian benefited with the ability to withstand the vacuum of space for a short period of time but he wouldn't be chancing it today. "We can suit up once we are there."

Kian closed his eyes and focused his mind - stretching out across the darkness of space as they propelled toward their destination. He did not doubt that the stealth systems on the ship would do the job, but he was still worried. Kian had been a Jedi Shadow for a long time and that tended to bread paranoia. "Have you ever faced off against a darkside user Jedi Seleare?" Kian asked opening his eyes and turning his attention back toward the younger Jedi. Kian was earnestly curious, it was not a questioning of his abilities and he hoped that his presence in the force would make that clear. Turning toward the readouts on the screen, Kian was pleased to see the other forces were commencing with their attack. They would draw much attention - Kian just hoped it wasn't going to be costly in terms of losses. He always hated watching soldiers die, though having the pleasure of serving with many over the years he was aware that they did not hesitate to do so when it was called upon them.

After what felt like an eternity, the vessel settled down at its location and Kian rose to his feet. "Come," Kian said beckoning with his hand, "The suits are aft." Leading the way toward the back of the ship, Kian quickly threw a suit over his robes and attached a large helmet designed for Kel Dor use. There were other suits there for Kaleleon to use - humans were always easiest to accommodate. Kian waited until the other Jedi was ready and then pressed the button to lower the ramp. As Kian's memory reminded him, the eeriest part of vacuum was not the vastness of the space around you or the cold biting at your body despite the warmth of the suit. No, the worst part was the silence. Stepping down the ramp into the void of space, Kian steeled his will and pressed himself forward.

Spoiler

ooc: sorry for the wait on this post! Things got a bit hectic IRL!!

 

[Rimateen Riverwolf]

Location: Eclipse​

Time: Mid-afternoon​

Tags: N/A​

Objective: BYO Detective time​

Rimateen stood in the street looking over the crime scene again chewing her gum. She couldn't believe she had been hunting a serial killer who had moved from corellia and had until this point been in front of the corellian confederate forces however they had picked eclipse this time around to hit on the same day corellian forces had come to the planet to try and do something in the asteroid fields. She wasn't sure what nor why because she was corsec. wasn't her business to know what the jedi or the higher ups did or were doing.

As she continued to take in the scene the coroner arrived. As the coroner finished her final results rima crossed the distance to her. "So whats the deal with this body?" The coroner shook her head as she shoved the body into it's body bag. "It's exactly what you thought ma'am. Killed with a special poison in the same way the last seven cases you sent through have. However there's a mix in this one that wasn't present in the last one."

"What's that cornie?" Rima would ask still chewing her gum looking dead into the coroners eyes. "That would be that this time theirs Devonian blood present in the poison. I would say your boy is a Devonian who's running low on his normal stuff and has resorted to using his own blood as the toxin. I can probably even get you a DNA sample from it get you a way to hunt this monster down." Rima looked surpised. "Hutt shutta no way we almost have him. Get me that data as soon as you can I will put out a bulletin out on Devonians stop them from leaving the planet at least by the space ports." As she ran of to do exactly that.

 

[Grrwunhoooll Agaburry]

Tags: [member="Rimateen Riverwolf"] [member="Kian Karr"] [member="Samantha Solo"] @#everyone else

Demands and directions shot back and forth throughout the room as Nulgath directed. With a shake the hangar room within the asteroid shook after a tremor had a erupted not too far from the surface. Cold pale eyes slowly traced the sounds and shakes. Fissures in the room ripped about the ceiling and walls, spilling asteroid dust into the already cold stale air. This was all a tad unexpected. The Corellians were too early to begin their attack.

" Where you followed?" Nulgaths slack jaw snapped at [member="Atlas Kane"]. His Pale eyes accusingly glaring at the man busy with the ritual. The question was rhetorical. The accusation was not though. It mattered little now though. " We shall continue. Those willing line up and we shall begin!" Nulgath spat while focusing on the enviorment around him. The fear, pain, worry, hate, anger and despair of the situation. It fed him and empowered him so. Red arcs of electricity sprouted from his being in wide thick beams of static energy. The rotting epicanthix unlike the sith next to him was a master of the darkside and was able to summon forces that most sith could only dream of.

" I will be back shortly.." He uttered aloud.

The cold chill within the air intensified when a sudden focus of static arcs on the walking corpses figure shot out in a flash of light. A horrid sound escaped into the air with a scream. Something very wrong had just occurred. It stained the force itself with heavy corruption. A plague. Force Travel.

And with that Nulgath had seemed to be gone from where he previously had stood!

Where did he go?

 

[Marselia Urstalis]

Some months later...

Enroute to Eclipse System

Plan had been to take leave. Well, the plan foisted upon her had been to take leave from her post as a helmswoman and navigator of one of the Republic's frigates, but what would she do? Sit on one of Lujo's beaches alone, staring out at the ocean, like a scene out of one of those innumerable chicky holoflicks? Nah, feth that. When she got wind of a team going to the nearby Eclipse asteroid field where the once-Corellian Confederation had ultimately found nothing but ghosts, on her way transiting to Lujo, she gave the assigned pilot an offer it seemed he couldn't refuse, and her seat on the transport to the beachy, sun-soaked world.

She was a more appropriate pilot for the job, at any rate, and the just in case potential bogeyman lurking amongst the rocks was exactly the kind of thing that glued her to her post in the first place. Patrolling space. And if the scene got hot, the asteroid field ultimately gave her the advantage, especially in such a small vessel as this one.

Asteroid fields were the perfect hiding place for many a thing. This one once obscured Jedi, at the station imbedded in Eclipse's crust. Maybe that was the point of this cautionary check-in?

"Dropping into realspace," Lia remarked as the streaks reformed as stars, and space became more static around them, asteroid field at the fore, "beginning close-range scans..."

She whirled around in the pilot's seat to face aft, where the only other people on this ship sat.

"...so, is this about assuaging some bigwig's fear of ghosts, or is the Order planning to do something with the station?"

 

[Lanik Dawnstar]

Sitting in the cockpit of his starfighter Lanik hovered between the asteroids, watching, eyes closed, senses extending out to the force. While there would be others to examine the area on the physical plane the Jedi sought to understand it on another level. On one that only other force users could feel.

Eyes closing, body relaxing Lanik’s physical body went limp in the seat. When Lanik’s eyes opened his spiritual self separated from its vessel he stared at the asteroid system through the force. The vast emptiness that was space was now filled with a crimson, malevolent aura. A sense of dread filled the belt speaking to the atrocities that had taken place. Perhaps it was when the Corellian Confederation had come? But deep down Lanik knew the truth, the Darkside was once prevalent, its horrors unable to be washed away so easily. Meer months couldn’t hide the truth from him.

The saying was that curiosity killed the Bantha, yet the Jedi needed to know just what had taken place. Giving himself over more to the sensations, he felt it. The sacrifices made, the rituals that had taken place, the sithspawn that had once inhabited the asteroid belt. In an instant, Lanik felt himself ejected back into his physical form.

Body jerking upright, a sheen of sweat covering his body Lanik gulped down mouthfuls of air. His heart hammered within his chest, his body burning. Worrying his lower lip the Jedi stared through the viewport and towards the asteroid belt. Yes, something had truly happened here.

 

[Gabriel Pryce]

Oren closed her eyes in deep thought. Ghosts...Yes. She'd read the report the first time Jedi had come to this place and knew there was more to the story than they had told the Green Jedi Council. Now the Jedi of the Republic were returning to Eclipse.

"This place is strong in the Darkside. Eclipse had potential for a Jedi outpost before the Confederation reformed into the Republic. Now something lurks." She felt it deep in his bones, a familiar presence here. She felt the presence of the tortured souls of Sithspawn. ShHe was glad Morteg didn't come along with his padawan. Despite his padawan's growth in both skill and power in the Force she didn't quite trust him to be himself around this sort of environment, nor did she trust Morteg to keep the boy in check. Reports of small freighters going missing and 'ghost ships' filled with monsters had been cropping up all over space ports in the Republic.

"We sent a scout ahead to see if things were clear before hand, let me contact him. Prepare to take us into belt." Turning from the small group she pulled a comlink out from her robes and thumbed the switch.

"Padawan Dawnstar," she said smoothly. She tried to modulate her voice to be somewhat pleasant. It was no secret among the Masters what she felt about him. Letting a Padawan roam the stars was simply irresponsible, regardless of their age, especially someone with as much failure behind him as Lanik. To abandon the Order and come crawling back this old...Maybe she was too harsh on him, but pressure built diamonds. And the Jedi needed all of the unbreakable Jedi they could muster to stem the tide of the Darkness.

"How's it looking? Myself and the other Jedi have arrived in the system. We're on approach to the belt now. Have you seen or felt anything?"

Lanik Dawnstar Marselia Urstalis

 

[Lanik Dawnstar]

Falling back on the meditation techniques that he learned as a youth Lanik tried to calm himself, tried to center himself in the force once more but he couldn’t. Instinctively he shrunk from the touch of the mystical energy, every time he sought to touch it he felt the corruption once more. It was rife in the area, there were far more than simply ghosts surrounding the asteroid belt. It would need the attention of multiple masters.

The experience almost made the padawan wish he hadn’t volunteered to go on the scouting mission. So deep in thought he almost didn’t notice the faint chirping coming from the ship’s console. A shaky hand rose to tap in the command, with that a display came to life revealing Master Oren. Things had just escalated from bad to worse, it was no secret to anyone of how Master Oren treated Lanik. She barely spoke to the padawan, and at times seemed to outright ignore him. Why couldn’t it have been Morteg or Master Khaan? Why did it have to be Oren?

Thankfully the Jedi’s apprehension wasn’t visible due to the sheer fact that terror was still etched over his features. Answering the calm Lanik wiped sweat from his brow. “Yes Master Oren I… I felt it. It’s horrible. The sacrifices, the deaths, the pure manifestations of darkness. The area is rife with them, the force itself seemingly corrupted around the Belt.” Swallowing hard Lanik’s hands grasped the controls slowly pulling his starfighter out and moving towards the base.

Marselia Urstalis | Gabriel Pryce

 

[Seela Khaan]

MUSIC

Eclipse...The asteroids held a deep dark secret.

Her fingers ran along the edge of the temple doors, the ancient durasteel panels feeling cool to the touch. She took in a deep breath and opened herself up to the Force. Brighthomes like this were rare. She had deduced that this one had been built sometime in the High Republic era. Even more ancient than Clone Wars Brighthomes they were truly treasures. But this one was different even still. Like her this place was broken, corrupted. It saddened her, the deep darkness she felt in the Force. The front door was sealed but the hangar pathway that led here was open and filled with ancient droids and vessels, many too old to ever fly again.

At her feet were two dead Rakghouls.

She glanced at them and then at her bloodied hand, still slick with the black blood of the Sith warbeasts. The low hum of her blue lightsaber filled the hangar but as she spied a ship approaching from the corner of her eyes she deactivated it and hid among the relics.

Lanik Dawnstar

 

[Lanik Dawnstar]

The starfighter landed with a slight hiss within the hangar. Upon the canopy rising Lanik’s form was assaulted by a freezing cold, his breath visible within the confines of the station. One always expected for the dark side to feel hot, yet in truth, it could be more chilling than the caves on Hoth. Very few lights remained active, those that did having gone dim from time. It was only through the lights of the starfighter that Lanik had a truly clear view of the hanger.

Droids far older than himself lingered, vessels covered in rust, on the verge of collapse lay forgotten for who knew how many decades, possibly even centuries. A part of Lanik told him to wait for back up, to wait for Master Oren but there was an odd scent on the air. A familiar scent, one of charred meat, and ozone. Either a blaster weapon had been discharged recently or some other form of weaponry. The prospect of it being a lightsaber dawned on Lanik making him even more hesitant to exit the vessel yet a Jedi did what they were bid whether they truly wanted to or not.

Each step away from the starfighter took the Jedi a step away from safety, he knew not what this station was for, nor why it held such importance to the Jedi. Whatever it was, it didn’t seem worth it to the Padawan, approaching the scent the human stood over two malformed, twisted corpses. Something ripped straight from ones nightmares, he’d seen the reports, he knew what these were. Rakghouls and something had recently killed them.

Freshly charred skin still steemed, black blood upon the floors surface still wet. Whoever had done this had done it recently. Activating the comlink Lanik reached out to Master Oren. “Padawan Dawnstar to Master Oren, I’m within the station. Two Rakghouls confirmed executed by lightsaber wound… And it wasn’t mine, the blood and wounds still fresh.”

A hand lowered to the weapon clipped at the Jedi’s waist for reassurance. “Requesting assistance.”

Seela Khaan

 

[Gabriel Pryce]

When she heard the message she sighed heavily as her fears came to pass.

Rakghouls.

The others needed to know.

"Affirmative. Thank you Padawan Dawnstar. I'll send a report back to Coronet City. Don't do anything foolish until after we've landed please?" She nodded to the other Jedi in the vessel. The frigate was filled with supplies to keep a small team going for a while, but it looked like they'd need more than that. After the Jedi had landed and set up camp they would need to wait. THEY would be the ones to hold down this Eclipse brighthome until reinforcements could arrive.

------

The days went by and she wondered if the Jedi would ever come. And then they came, not just the Green Jedi praxeum ship but star destroyer as well. That, she hadn't been prepared for. She knew Lisza Starseeker had been a friend of the Jedi but she didn't think she would send...That much firepower. The Corellian Resurgent loomed overhead and in a few hours the ragtag grouping of tents and electric fires was a fully operational military outpost. Her and the other Jedi were given lodging on the Resurgent until the briefings were over. Wandering the halls on the vessel she wondered if this would really be enough to keep the Rakghouls contained.

Passing a pair of Halcyon commandos she wondered if they were just giving the Rakghouls what they wanted. Did Rakghouls truly want anything? She didn't think so, she hoped they weren't. Either way it was out of her hands for now. She'd return to the Saber at Coronet City and if she was sent back to help deal with the Rakghouls then so be it. But for now...The Force was telling her she needed a sanisteam and a bed. The Republic and the Corellians could hold down the system until the Jedi returned, most definitely until her nap was over.

FIN

​