Food for Thought (Denon Dominion)

[Valiens Nantaris]

"So what are they eating if it's not people?" Tegaea asked rhetorically.

She came across the scientist who had worked with them before on the captured zombie. They now had more specimens to examine from the battle, and he was busy that. "Ah, Colonel, I wanted to discuss this with you. We've discovered something very odd. On your suggestion we ran tests on the stomachs of the zombies; none of them had anything in them. These zombies haven't been eating at all. Somehow though they are sustaining themselves for years, apparently without any nourishment."

Tegaea pondered this carefully. "It must be whatever they're infected with is repairing them...rejuvenating them. But that means there could be...millions of them down there. Can you think of a way to counter it?"
"We can try, but not without some considerable time."
"We don't have that long. Please hurry. @[member="Cira"], @[member="Anika Od'Manteiv"], be advised that there could be millions of zombies on the planet. They don't need to eat, only spread the disease. We might be stepping into something very...odd."

 

[Rebekka Brek Madak]

Rebekka had been ready for boots-to-dirt in a hotzone for about an hour now, and had dozed off to sleep on a crate. He dreamed of a parallel universe where Brek himself was female, and was living a good life of - The ship lurched out of hyperspace, and then swerved, flip-tossing Rebekka into the nearest wall, upside down, gonking him back to the harsh reality of the world. " LAITH! MADAK! GET YOUR FREKKING SHEBS IN GEAR!" The captain roared back towards the insides of the ship.

Crawling out of the pile he had been reduced to, he scooped up his rigged-up rifle (all of his better weapons were safely stored aboard the Mindy) and he passed the cockpit "Congratulations captain, we finally arrived! Now, can we hurry up and take a poke at the walking corpses we're being paid to ruin the days of ?" Brek said, giving him a somewhat subtle 'i told you so' when afew hours ago, he suggested that he thought it was a good idea that maybe they exit hyperspace abit early this time, and ride into the system on sublight power.

Brek had no idea thusfar that his choice of words about 'walking corpses' would prove to be more than abit ironic.

 

[Laith Varad*]

Dismally Ermac had been ready for action some time ago but the Jaro had been late to the battle which meant that he had passed the time by sitting in the common area cleaning his ARC-9956 in his Battle Armor. He'd ensured the barrel was clear and that the sights were adjusted appropriately at least a dozen times. Once he'd made sure the Blaster Rifle was ready for battle for the tenth time Ermac had even slid an inhaler from one of his pockets, pressed it to his mouth, and taken a quick puff that made his pupils widen momentarily before he exhaled momentarily. It paid to know when to indulge and at the moment he had enough time to ensure that he'd have a steady hand once the Jaro touched down. Around that time was when the ship jolted out of hyperspace.

As the Jaro came out of hyperspace everything jerked one way. Ermac managed to grab onto the table edge and steady himself so that he wouldn't lose his footing and be sent tumbling end over end. Despite his good fortune the ARC Blaster Rifle slid off the table and clattered across the floor where it came to a halt afterwards. Grumbling he would have snorted..."Isn't that just perfect."...before righting himself and moving over to retrieve his fallen weapon which he'd scoop up in his right hand. Inspecting the Battle Rifle quickly revealed that nothing was amiss after the brief fall it took from table to floor. Moving towards the cockpit via the access corridor of the Jaro his eyes would flash a crimson, a momentary stop by his living quarters beforehand allowing him to take his helm which he slid overhead and locked into place with the rest of his armor, and it wasn't long before Ermac was gazing out at real space somewhere behind Dred.

Lingering behind Dred he would have seen the Invicta on the sensors, if not out in real space, which caused him to chuckle beneath is helm..."Maybe we should tell them you don't know how to drive."...his left hand reached out, touched Dred on the top of his helm, and gave a bit of a shake before he started back out of the cockpit. Yelling back as he went down the cockpit access corridor..."Let the ramps down when we get close. Nothing wrong with getting started early."...there was a bit of a pun in there somewhere seeing as how Dred had gotten them there late but from the sounds of things Brek wasn't about to let him forget that either. Good.

Walking out onto the main corridor Ermac would have shouted..."Brek! East ramp is yours."...before he rounded the main corridor and moved to stand outside of the west boarding ramp. The Battle Rifle shouldered for the moment Ermac would have reached for his helm and given it a quick hit to activate the comms which were scratchy at the best of times. "If they decide not to blow us out of the sky set us down someplace fun."...innuendo for a landing zone with lots of enemies. At his full height and dressed in his Battle Armor, a composite of durasteel plating and other mix matched pieces salvaged from other compatible suits, Ermac was ready with Battle Rifle coming off his shoulder and held across his chest.

 

[Jak Sandrow]

"Reporting for duty, sir!" Jak said as he stepped onto the bridge of the Invicta, saluting to @[member="Allaina Mare"]. "Sorry for my lateness, sir, but I was having tech issues. The problem has been solved, however. How may I be of service?" Waiting for a reply, he moved over to the gunnery station, somewhat unconsciously.

 

[Rebekka Brek Madak]

"Brek! East ramp is yours." The not-nagai said. Brek still couldn't figure out how Ermac could look dead on to a nagai, and yet not be one. Brek was going for the west ramp, but then turned around to go for the east ramp like Ermac said.

Rebekka hefted a dorky-looking helmet off of the floor where he had been tossed into the wall. He had recently created it out of used pots and tape-rolls of of anti-blaster material. It fit over his entire head and had a glued in vox-box and comm-link, a rigged up 4-point harness out of thrown away belts, and eyeholes cut into it, with electro-static circle goggles glued on over the eyeholes......Oh, and internal padding. That was important, too. Unfortunately, there was no fancy HUD, but he could send and receive comms transmissions, and the goggles would clean themselves if stuff obscured his vision. Most importantly, his head would be protected, since they were quite literally going to war.

Rebekka had seen how savage a block war could get, from far away. He was sure seeing it and being in it was very different. He hoped he wouldn't freak out and do something dumb, like run away like some spineless male, or freeze up and shut down.

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

@[member="Tegaea Alcori"]

Siobhan listened to the briefing from their science officer in silence, noting the danger. If they did not need nourishment, there could be millions down there. She pondered this for a moment then spoke up.

"Could whoever's been engineering them used the Force somehow to get this effect, given them infusions? It can keep you going for a long time without food or drink. Do we know whether there were any force-users among the science team that wanted to find a cure for the plague?"

As might have become apparent, Siobhan had not been the scholarly sort of Jedi, rather the warrior sort, but it seemed logical to her. In a twisted sort of way, it seemed like the scientists had gotten their cure.

 

[Qae Shena]

@[member="Dred Varad"] @[member="Jak Sandrow"] @R. Brek Madak @[member="Ermac Laith"] @[member="Anika Od'Manteiv"] @[member="Tegaea Alcori"] @[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

"Jak, first lesson - a commanding or executive officer does not sit at a bridge console," Allaina said, reminding him of a very basic lesson. "We have to focus on all aspects of the battle and rely on our bridge crew to man their stations to give us the information we need. Your job is to stand where you can hear everyone, usually near the captain's chair - if you aren't in it - and listen carefully so you can make informed decisions that directly impact thousands of lives." He came from a smuggling background, not a military background like she had. The difference was obvious when it came to who was in what position and why. Her more studious Academy knowledge was going to come in handy here, truth told. The weapons officer nudged Jak gently out of the way with a 'sorry, sir' and resumed his station.

And then suddenly a transponder ping hit sensors and the officer turned to Allaina. "Admiral, we have a contact. Mandalorian vessel. They're on the 'invite list' by the CEO."

Allaina nodded her assent, turning her chair. "Put me through."

"Channel up!"

"This is Admiral Allaina Mare commanding the Invicta to the Jaro," she said to the Mandalorian contractors. "Welcome to the party. Be advised we have, to quote our ground teams, a 'zombie outbreak', so be careful on the ground. Please contact Agent Od'Manteiv and CEO Alcori on the following frequency for further orders. You are clear to the surface. Good hunting, Jaro." The connection closed and Allaina keyed another panel on the captain's chair. She'd kept this channel on quick access because, let's face it, Tegaea and Siobhan. "Siobhan, boss ma'am, Mandalorian ship incoming to your location. Mercs are here. Got an update for me or are we too busy to chat?"

 

[Valiens Nantaris]

Tegaea was startled from her thoughts by @[member="Allaina Mare"]'s words. "What? Oh, it's vitally important that no one leaves the planet. No one. If this zombie virus gets out, it could be the Gulag Plague all over again. Direct the mercenaries down. We'll need them for our push."

Closing the link, Tegaea looked to Siobhan. "I'm not sure, but it should be. I suspect someone is behind this, and we need to find out who. When these mercs get here we're going down again, and we're going to this research station from the other side. With luck we'll meet up with @[member="Cira"] there."

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

Siobhan resisted making a lame quip about how there was no luck, there was only the Force. For one, she was not the mystically inclined sort to believe in a higher will. Moreover, she recognised that this was not the time to joke around.

"Worst case, we get super zombies with force powers. Ready to move out at your command," she said grimly. That had been Shadow's dream, an unstoppable army of undead warriors that felt no pain, obeyed every order and wielded the Force, cleansing the stars for him.

 

[Ryan]

@[member="Tegaea Alcori"], @R. Brek Madak, @[member="Ermac Laith"]

"Copy that Admiral!" Dred replied setting a course to Omega Pyre's ground HQ Location while at the same time saving their squad channels to his Heads up display with in his helmet. Dred then made sure his pilot chair's harness was strapped tight for breaking atmo was no easy ride.

Dred pressed Jaro's PA button opening the channels through out the ship " Hold on tight ladies, We got green light to play and will be breaking ATMO very soon. Enemy contacts have been described as diseased humanoids or as the Admiral said, Zombie-like." With that The Jaro throttled up and blasted toward the planet, angling to cut through the atmosphere. "Lets go earn a pay cheque"

The ancient ship rattled and heaved, vibrating as if she was going to break apart or thats what it felt like to all aboard, though that was just normal for this time of entry, a Combat drop for fast insertion was needed. Not easy on the ship but she would hold for Dred was willing it with every cuss and swear coming from his mouth, only audible to him as he was being violently jerked around in his chair.

Moments later the Jaro broke through the skies with the ruin metropolitan planet below with Dred lining the ship up towards the Drop off beacon that was lit up on his display. Didn't take long for them to be hovering over the make shift Head quarters, With both ramps on either side of the ship opening to expose Ermac and Brek to Repel down to the roof.

Dred un strapped himself grabbing his rifle and jet pack as he rushed towards the starboard side of the ship where Ermac would of repelled from. The ship would not be fully run and operated on its own accord as Dred jumped from the Starboard side, letting his jet back ignite and slow his descent to the roof. As he landed taking note that his team was grounded he would signal the Jaro to take off and be on standby.

One blink Dred was on the Omega Pyre's squad channel " Aclori! This is Dred Varad. We have arrived and awaiting further orders." It was always good to announce ones arrival as well to wait for the go ahead to approach just in case someone got trigger happy and decided to perform friendly fire.

Also gave Dred time to address another problem that he had picked up through his 360 degree view of his surroundings. It was the so called helmet that Brek was wearing. Dred Slowly turned his body to face full on with his new recruit, the slight tilt in his head was an obvious sign of anger and disappointment " Are serious?" He growled "Your embarrassing me rolling into action wearing that......" he paused again as there was familiarity to the helmets material making the mando angry......very angry " IS THAT MY FREKKING COOKING POT ON YOUR HEAD?"

"Take it off!" he commanded trying to regain control and calmness, though was hard not to put a blaster bolt through Brek's chest at that very moment " Just take it off before I let Ermac play with your intestines"

 

[Laith Varad*]

@Brek Madak, @[member="Dred Varad"]

When the call came over the intercom Ermac would raise his helmed head, pondering momentarily, while listening to Dred's voice boom throughout the ship causing him to contemplate exactly what he was hearing. Zombie-like? Didn't a person either have to be a zombie or not? It made him question exactly what was being said until the ship started to rattle and heave when Dred throttled up and took them into the atmosphere of the planet and into the midst of the combat zone.

"Zombies? Really. Well here's to hoping they move slow."

During the descent into the atmosphere of Denon Ermac could lament on this entire situation though he couldn't help but question what he heard. Naturally, and because he had just taken a steady puff from his inhaler a short time ago, he had certain curiosities that dealt with where a Zombie outbreak came from. As if the Gulag Plague hadn't been bad enough. Of course Ermac also saw the opportunity in a Zombie Plague. Viruses being the arms of terrorist bodies that no one dared consider. Opportunity was knocking and underneath the helm he wore Ermac's crimson gaze became a tad brighter.

Moments after the Jaro burst through the clouds of Denon he was ready and as the boarding ramps to the ship lowered Ermac was already walking down one. Footsteps came one after the other ensuring that he wouldn't loose his footing and fall while he attached his cable to a lock on the ramp and then seconds later Ermac was rappelling down out of the Jaro. As his feet found the roof of the headquarters he hit hard alluding to his actual weight which was heavier than it would have appeared and unhooking from the Jaro he would step away while lifting his ARC Rifle and doing a quick sweep of the surrounding area.

The Arc Rifle found the inside of Ermac's right shoulder, his right hand on the trigger, while his left hand helped to support its weight as he did a quick sweep. Aiming down the sights of the rifle with an innate target finder built into his helm Ermac only took a moment before lowering his rifle and then announcing over comms...

"Rooftop appears clear of hostiles. Brek how about your side?"

...it wasn't until moments later that Ermac heard all of the comms chatter and turned his head to see exactly what Brek was wearing. Underneath his helm Ermac blanched. Was Brek really wearing a cooking pot? This was almost embarrassing. He said nothing while Dred admonished the newest member of the crew before clearing his throat and letting it resound over the comms....

"Maybe you two could finish this later. If not I don't mind collecting a cheque on my own."

 

[Cira]

@[member="Sarge Potteiger"] @[member="Zero"] @[member="Anika Od'Manteiv"] @[member="Tegaea Alcori"]

While all the chaos went on above, down below, in the lab, Besh team carefully made their way from the transport into the bombed out shelter that was the lab. So far so good, no contacts as of yet. Earlier, she copied over the transmission from Major Od'Manteiv about key points of target to eliminate the hostiles.

"Head or heart shots." she said, her voice crackling through every head comm of Besh team. Around them, bent durasteel creaked, as if whispering warnings. "Move out, recon the area."

 

[Tilda Sai]

@[member="Jorus Merrill"] @[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] @[member="Tegaea Alcori"] @[member="Dred Varad"] @R. Brek Madak, @Ermac Laith

​

​

"Merrill, don't die. " came Anika's terse command after hearing about lift. "That's an order."

The Anaxi's lips straightened to a thin line. They needed someone to pick up Jorus. "Try to get to a safe area, we'll come get you."

​

Anika waved off the medic trying to tend to her wounds, frowning as she heard the crackle of an incoming transmission. They had Mandalorian mercs on payroll?

Fabulous.

None will know if she thought that in sarcasm or joy.



Standing, she waved for her comm officer to get one of the Mandalorian's online, "Clear sir!"

Suddenly her face went transmitting through in holographic glory.

​

"This is Major Anika Od'Manteiv, we have a vast majority of hostiles trying to overtake our homebase of operations. The containment is working to our favor, but we currently have one of our own, Lieutenant Jorus Merrill, that we need to bring back for containment to our lab techs. The future of Denon lies in the balance of this."

Another wave of her hand, and next to her, a series of information and data gathered about the zombies and the rakghouls came online.

"We have a tentative vaccine that is showing promise with the Rakghouls. The zombies, on the other hand... appear to be a mutated virus of some sort the Denon lab techs created to try and counter the Rakghouls. So far, we have our Prex along with Besh team at the point of origin to find Subect Zero. The zombies are highly hostile, smart, and retain a semblance of sentience, enough to use said weapons against you. If you need to take them down, strike the heart or the head. "

More information came streaming through.

"We see another wave of the horde making their way over. Be careful. Major Od'Mantiev out."

 

[Sarge Potteiger]

@[member="Cira"] @[member="Zero"]

Labs. He kriffin' hated labs. Especially the zombie variety. He'd seen this movie before; walk past a tank of murky fluid, dead body floats to the front as the camera pans past. Nope. Not happening this time. Using his index finger to spin a circle in the air, his team forms up around him, weapons primed.

He reaches down, adjusting the power cable leading from the magazine well of his overpowered blaster rifle to a battery pack he carried on his back. All of his team were using them. While it cut the amount of ammo per power pack in half, the shots were twice as powerful.

One to the chest would be more than enough to blow out the spine of any former human headed their way. Head or heart? Spine still counted.

Switching his comm unit to throat mic and lowering the volume so it wouldn't be heard outside his helmet, he scans the lab as they begin the slow path forward. Nothing so far. Beams of sunlight perforated the filmy air through a rent in the cieling, and he paused at the edge of the light to look up...

His stomach began to churn as he looked towards the light.

The churns.

A soldiers worst enemy. That sinking feeling you got when something was about to hit the fan. "Find what we need... fast. Fix bayonets."

Around him, men lifted straight silver warblades into the lugs of their blaster rifles. Stepping into the light, a shadow falls over him, and he brings his weapon up in time for a flailing body to land, skewered, on the tip of his bayonet.

Muttering a single curse word in Vong, he throws the body forward and out of the light, before putting a boot on its chest and ramming the knife into it's eye. Had they been alive... he didn't know. He didn't care. No mercy.

On edge, Besh spread out.

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

@[member="Anika Od'Manteiv"], @[member="Tegaea Alcori"]

Siobhan received the message from Od'Manteiv while in the process of stocking up on grenades and clips for her boltgun, getting ready to move down into the lower levels once the Mandalorians had assembled had gotten everything organised.

"Acknowledged, Major," she spoke into the comm as she beheld the information Anika had transmitted in all its holographic glory. A possible vaccine, that was good, very good.

"You got a cure in the works? Great!" But they had the immediate issue of a potential zombie army down there in the lower levels and the mystery of whoever was behind this. Siobhan was now inclined to believe it was force-users.

"But these zombies appear more dangerous than we thought. According to the science team they're not just smart, they don't need any nourishment. They haven't eaten anything, just spread the virus. There might be millions down there where Besh team's going, along with whoever made them this way."

She attached another grenade to her belt, then stuffed a knife in her boot. "We're thinking that if this was a cure they were deliberately engineered, perhaps infused with the Force somehow. If they wanted to counteract Rakghouls, it worked! Someone made them like this, maybe to prime an army."

One of the lead scientists might have altered the Rakghoul cure project, gone way beyond its original intention. But to what end? Breed an army? Create the perfect race that could survive anything?

 

[Valiens Nantaris]

Their mission now took them away from the base and into the depths. Tegaea wanted to find and stop the zombies and join up with Cira. She knew they'd need everyone on deck for this struggle.

Tegaea and @[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] landed in the open area where the napalm and rockets had laid waste. With them was a squad of heavily armed troops. These elite Omega Pyre soldiers were armed with bolters, grenades, and one of them even had a flamethrower.
"Remember boys and girls, aim for the head or heart. Don't let them bite you, and be wary. These things have some smarts."

They passed over the bodies of over a score of mangled and burnt zombies. Soon enough they came to where the tunnels branched around, where the fun would really start.

(If people wish I will do a summary post next time with where everyone is.)

 

[Rebekka Brek Madak]

"Rooftop appears clear of hostiles. Brek how about your side?" Brek scanned the rooftop on his side, and peering over the edge, checked the ground area for hostiles. "Looks clear on my end, roof to ground and out aways." he said over his helmet comms.

" Are you serious?" Dred growled "Your embarrassing me rolling into action wearing that......" he paused again as Brek turned around to look at Captain Dred. " IS THAT MY FREKKING COOKING POT ON YOUR HEAD !?"........"Take it off!..... Just take it off before I let Ermac play with your intestines"

"The Mindy had 4 sets of nearly everything in the kitchen. You will like the upgrade, captain." The nagai said before facing away from him on the roof, watching for any potential targets to get stupid and show their face for 3 seconds. The pot and pan set Brek was speaking of was the shiny black/silver spiral set, which was made from titanium with embedded tricopper coils. The Princess of Mindy had 4 different complete deluxe sets of pots pans, notch oven pots, colanders, griddle plates, waffle plates, and afew other things Rebekka couldn't readily identify in the kitchen.

Ermac said nothing while Dred admonished the newest member of the crew before clearing his throat and letting it resound over the comms....
"Maybe you two could finish this later. If not I don't mind collecting a cheque on my own." Ermac said

And then, a hologram of their intel came online. Brek turned and walked nearer, and then stood. "This is Major Anika Od'Manteiv, we have a vast majority of hostiles trying to overtake our homebase of operations. The containment is working to our favor, but we currently have one of our own, Lieutenant Jorus Merrill, that we need to bring back for containment to our lab techs. The future of Denon lies in the balance of this."

Another wave of her hand, and next to her, a series of information and data gathered about the zombies and the rakghouls came online.

"We have a tentative vaccine that is showing promise with the Rakghouls. The zombies, on the other hand... appear to be a mutated virus of some sort the Denon lab techs created to try and counter the Rakghouls. So far, we have our Prex along with Besh team at the point of origin to find Subect Zero. The zombies are highly hostile, smart, and retain a semblance of sentience, enough to use said weapons against you. If you need to take them down, strike the heart or the head. "

More information came streaming through.

"We see another wave of the horde making their way over. Be careful. Major Od'Mantiev out." And with that, the hologram blinked out.

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

@[member="Tegaea Alcori"]

Siobhan walked warily as they passed through the sector that had just been wrecked by their air strike, treading on burnt, charred and mangled bodies of zombies. Miraculously here and there a zombie still twitched, though the Omega mercenaries quickly put these stubborn creatures out of their misery with a gunshot or stab to the head.

Night had fallen, moreover, electric power had long died and now that they came close to the tunnels it was pitch-black. The red glow of Siobhan's cyborg eye gave her some illumination and Omega troopers carried flashlights. She gripped her boltgun, which had been loaded with buckshot, tightly as she walked, taking point at the head of the group.

The evidence of a battle was plain for all to see as they entered the tunnels. Scorch marks on the walls, discarded guns, dead bodies, though the latter seemed rather rare. Whatever one could say about the zombies, they clearly did not waste resources. Their goal was not mindless destruction or slaughter for a good feast, but conversion, mauling or killing their prey was a waste. All were meant to join the zombie collective and in turn become carriers of the virus.

But what malignant will had brought them into being? They were too precise, too calculated to be a simply accident brought about by honest scientists who had just wanted to find a cure.

But now was clearly not the time for such musings, they had to get to Cira and Company and then take the laboratory. If not contained soon, this could be a new Gulag Virus, so soon after the Galaxy had started to emerge from the dark ages. Siobhan came to a halt as they took another turn when the tunnels seemed to branch out. She reached out with her Force senses, scanning the area, giving Tegaea a brief hand signal.

Suddenly Siobhan spun around and levelled her boltgun upward to fire at the ceiling, into the cobwebs. There was a loud shriek and a zombie and his blaster tumbled to the ground with a thud. She turned again towards a corner and fired, the round had such force that the zombie was thrust backward into the wall.

Then as she turned again she suddenly came under intense laserfire, zombies were coming in from the front and the right flank, laying down salvoes of blasterfire at them.

Still armed with her boltgun Siobhan dove for cover, yanking up the boltgun to fire at her attackers, taking down two more before they started lobbing grenades into the fray. She jumped to get out of the blast radius, leaping backward and firing while she did so. The zombies advanced relentlessly, she slammed the boltgun into the neck of one of them, breaking it. But this was the distraction the creatures needed and she was struck in the stomach by what to her surprise was a stun round.

In retrospect it appeared logical. After all, they wanted to convert. She reeled and fell to the ground, trying to draw on the Force to counteract its effects. More zombies swarmed, engaging Tegaea and the Omega mercenaries. Some came at them with blades and a variety of primitive melee weapons, others fired at them, retreating into the darkness when the resistance from the Omega forces became too strong.

As Siobhan regained her bearings and dodged rounds her boltgun was kicked out of her hands, then a blade slashed into her cheek, drawing blood. She brought up her mech hand in a violent thrust to knock the weapon away, then grabbed it by the blade and turned it towards the zombie. As another of the undead lunged at her, baring his fangs, she slashed her first attacker in the heart with the blade, then rammed her forehead into the chest of the second when he moved to pounce.

Surging up as more attackers came she held out her hand and her lightsabre flared to life. She twirled the blue blade, then stormed forward to engage, reflecting blaster rounds back to their shooters before attacking in a fast, brutal flurry. In such cramped quarters, with attackers coming at them from all sides, there was little time for fancy moves or complicated lightsabre forms whose names she coud barely remember anyway.

Limbs were amputated, heads rolled, opponents force pushed into walls. Holding her lightsabre in a one-handed grip she took ahold of the discarded vibroblade with telekinesis and sent it sailing through the air so that it cut off one of the head of an attacker, then brutally whirled around to meet a sword strike and cut the blade in half before thrusting the laser sword down and severing a zombie's right arm and shoulder.

Undeterred by this the zombie still lunged at her, its fangs moving towards her before she swung her sword and relieved it of its head. Blasterfire came her way and she moved to deflect before jumping to kick an opponent and slash downward. Blaster bolts missed her but impacted upon a loose piece of wall so that when she landed a brick hit the back of her head, knocking her down. She rolled to the side when attackers came, bringing up her blade in an angry flurry.

A zombie wielding a vibroblade slice into her shoulder and she gritted her teeth at the pain before managing to call on the Force to knock the creature into a wall. Clutching her wound she got up, as bolts whizzed past her head she sent several loose bricks flying towards the shooters.

 

[Tilda Sai]

@R. Brek Madak @[member="Sarge Potteiger"] @[member="Ermac Laith"] @[member="Dred Varad"] @[member="Cira"]

"Sir we have an incoming transmission from Major Kerrigan,"

"Patch it through." Anika ordered, giving a curt nod. Her jaw cletched tightly at the news. "Relay it to Besh and Cresh team. Send it to the Mandalorians too."

"Aye sir!"

Within seconds, the streaming data was patched through and forwarded to all Omega Pyre teams and their Mandalorian sub-contractors.

{{ These zombies appear more dangerous than we thought. According to the science team they're not just smart, they don't need any nourishment. They haven't eaten anything, just spread the virus. There might be millions down there where Besh team's going, along with whoever made them this way."

We're thinking that if this was a cure they were deliberately engineered, perhaps infused with the Force somehow. If they wanted to counteract Rakghouls, it worked! Someone made them like this, maybe to prime an army. }}

 

[Laith Varad*]

@R. Brek Madak @[member="Anika Od'Manteiv"] @[member="Dred Varad"]
Everything was going just swell. Ermac was listening when Brek informed Dred that Mindy had enough cookware in the kitchen to resupply the Jaro all over again and inwardly he groaned. Actually Ermac remained mostly quiet waiting for some kind of orders from Dred though it seemed the Captain was predisposed to chewing out Brek at the moment which left him to his own devices. Moving closer to the edge of the rooftop they were standing on Ermac balanced himself with the heel of his foot against the ledge ensuring he wouldn't fall over.

Around the time he was raising his ARC Blaster so that he could sight in and test the range of his helms internal target finders the holographic projection of a woman identifying herself as Anika Od'Manteiv came to life. Looking at the holographic projection of Major Od'Manteiv as he stepped away from the ledge of the building Ermac couldn't help himself...

"Hello, Beautiful."

...he found himself saying with as much bravado as menacing helm could project while she went on explaining that the majority of hostiles are trying to take over the Omega Pyre base of operations. Despite the fact that he was listening to what she was saying Ermac found himself much more interested in the face giving out the information than the data that materialized next to her holographic visage. Watching until she disappeared Ermac would have finally looked back over the edge of the roof while making a mental note, Anika Od'Manteiv, she had a sexy name too.

Raising the ARC Blaster Rifle into his right shoulder again Ermac would have started testing the target finder built into the helm of his battle armor. It didn't have the range of a scope but it was adequate. Zombies, smart and hostile the main things he had heard about the enemy and kept in mind, shouldn't be to hard to cue into the target finder so that it discerned them from friendlies. Actually he probably didn't even need the target finder to help him tell the difference between the two.

Around this time, not long after the first transmission, new data started streaming into the helm of Ermac which he paid a bit closer attention too before turning towards Dredd whom he hoped was done admonishing Brek by now...

"Dred I'd suggest a basic triangle pattern. Two in the lead with one bringing up our rear. Lets get this over with and kill some zombies. I have a Major to take out for a nice steak dinner when we're done."

...that was all charm in his mind and the man knew what he liked in a pretty face when he saw one. Experience told Ermac that this was a dangerous mission but ego told him it was just another walk in the park. With his ARC Blaster Rifle at the ready he waited for the order figuring they could repel off the roof and into the streets and get right to it.