Hail to the King

[Smeg]

The Rats Nest, Floor of Coruscant​

Scrabble scrabble.

Itch itch.

Squeak.

All seemed quiet on the lowest levels of Coruscant. The vibrations from the bright world above set the scene as the constant low rumble that plagued the undercities hummed on and on. That was their backdrop. Dark, dank and another word beginning with d. Who, then are they? What destitute could possibly stand to inhabit this disgusting, this damp, this depressing?

Enter the Cthon.

Itch itch itch.

Once humans, they were cast down to these lowest of levels for crimes that are long past the statute of limitations. Pale pitiful creatures that trundled through the filth grunting and groaning all the while. Down here it paid to be tough, and that's what they were. The mindless bully-boys of lowest levels, but wait, who did they have to bully?

Scrabble.

Meet the Skraal.

You can't have a city without vermin, and you can't have vermin without the city. In a fate similar to their troglodyte enemies the Skraal were once a different kind of rodent, bigger, smarter and with a better aptitude for daylight. They were long gone however, and in their place sat the festering horde. Can't see 'em though. Why?

We iz hidin', boss...

There's one of them now, Cthon, I mean. Hunched over, dragging it's knuckles across the filth of the streets, blood of some poor rodent smeared across its face like macabre clown lipstick.

Squeak.

He stops. Turns around. Eye moving rapidly underneath that thin devolutionary layer of skin. Did he hear something? No. No. You en't hearin' nuffink. Just something leaky, something rusty. Needing oiled. He turns back around only to be faced with a rusty dagger in the gut. Ssslchh. In shock he grabs the Skraal that had suddenly appeared before him by the snout. Ssslchh. Behind him another blade jammed into his back. He grunts. Where did they come from?

We wuz hidin'...

Three more Skraal scurry out of the metalwork, latching onto the poor excuse for a humanoid, dragging him to the ground and carving him up like the Sithmas Endorian Chicken. One starts sawing into his leg with a serrated machete, looks like the blade had been gnawed to have those points. Nasty nasty. The sawing makes sounds too visceral for most to handle, squelching and crunching but eventually he gets through and carries the limb off. Not for him, it's a tribute. He'll get a handsome wedge of cheese for this. The leg is the fattest part, the best part.

A feast fit for the king.

Squeak.

[member="Tsavong Kraal"], [member="Javik Quar-Kai"], [member="Vraska Yo'gand"], [member="Ratih Lah"], [member="Nam Karakk"]

 

[Tefka]

Invited: [member="Smeg"] [member="Javik Quar-Kai"] , [member="Vraska Yo'gand"], [member="Ratih Lah"], [member="Nam Karakk"]
Location: Skraal Territory, Coruscanti Lower Levels
How you can jump in: Be a part of Tsavong's escort into the Lower Levels.

Ugh.

Tsavong hated the Skraal.

Even in all of his desperation to raise an army for Yun-Amon, these Skraal - these rat-people - were the absolute karking worst. Not once had him come down here had he enjoyed it. They scurried, they flapped their little worm tails around, they hissed and gnawed at his ankles. Even for a Yuuzhan Vong, a man who reveled in his own blood and gore, his own sacrificing of limbs - even for Tsavong, these guys were disgusting. And filthy. The Dark Tyrant had urged [member="Smeg"] to let him bring cleaning crews down here to the pits. They could have ngdin cleaning up these... festive pits... in hours.

But the Skraal wouldn't have it. Determined to lounge about in their own gluttony and disgusting habits.

Still, they had their purposes. The Skraal had an eye for many things the Yuuzhan Vong considered useful, such as biotechnology and the development of plagues and viruses. For the Skraal, however, it seemed that their genius in these fields were by mere happenstance. These creatures seemed so rabid, so disgusting, that they had inhibited many immunities to these plagues, these viruses. And this allowed them to be able to work.

Even more so, Tsavong had heard tails...er, no...tales of their destructive behavior in battle. The Tyrant couldn't wait to see. One day. When he got them out of these pits.

"WHAT IS IT NOW, SMEG?"

Tsavong bellowed and came lumbering into the lower levels of Coruscant, lowering his head and being wary of any ambush parties. He was never fully sure that the Skraal were working for him, or he was working for the Skraal.

"Why have you summoned me?" he asked into the darkness, knowing the rat was there.

 

[Josiah Saedrin]

[member="Tsavong Kraal"] | [member="Javik Quar-Kai"] | [member="Vraska Yo'gand"] | [member="Ratih Lah"] | [member="Smeg"]​

​

Loyalty is what tied the Yuuzhan Vong going by the name of Nam Karakk with the Hrosha-Gul's leader. He was not supposed to leave his group of Vong and similar, no matter what. And from the outer rim of the galaxy, Nam had followed the sect and come to the very center of the galaxy. And only because of loyalty, not because of his own desire to be with the One Sith. Even though with the Scourge, he had become Force-sensitive, he hated Sith, hated them as much as a Vong could hate. But Nam was not stupid... OK, maybe not as stupid as some thought. He was able to understand what going against the Hrosha-Gul or the One Sith meant. His little brain managed to sense danger in such behaviour, so it was better to remain silent and act like he was supposed to.

And one of such supposed actions was following Tsavong to the Lower Levels of Coruscant. Finally a place which was a bit to his liking. Coruscant was a place full of technology, and not just technology, but high-level one. Though to be honest, the lower levels of the undercity weren't as likeable as his own former home had been. It was filthy, a lot filthier than what Nam considered normal. He was able to sense some kind of a similar feeling in the lord near him.

He dared not to speak to him, just to stay safe. He had come to protect, not to talk. There was a very strict caste system and Nam knew his place in it. He was not one of the cool Elite people, but he was a Warrior, a true fighter. One who would defend the ones who needed it. And of course Kraal was one who needed it at that moment. Not that he couldn't do that by himself. Nam remembered how the monster had four hands and was one of a more powerful species of the galaxy.

At the very first moment when Nam and Tsavong met, he was already a lot weaker and now that his he had a presence in the Force, he was even more vulnerable to any kind of attacks. He had come because of but one thing...

Loyalty.​

 

[Smeg]

When Tsavong came down with his escort they would find that there were no Skraal to be found. This was their domain, they thrived in it, but even then they were cowards to the very end and hiding is what they did in the face of most problems. Of course, such a yellow-bellied nature didn't discount the rodents as a threat, no sir, they would just gather in the shadows out of mind, out of sight.

They'll be back, and in greater numbers.

Smeg himself stuck to hiding within the gloom, happily gnawing upon his tribute of Cthon leg. So juicy, so tasty. The putrid blood dribbled down and stained his furry little chin as the bellowing monster caused mildly panicked squeaks and scrabbling to erupt from various cracks and crevices. Smeg himself flinched, but had to show a certain degree of courage on behalf of his...people.

The Filth King shifted off his arse with a certain amount of difficulty. Admittedly his position at the top had left him living a rather sedentary existence. Everything was brought to him, food, does and interesting pieces of salvage. The last several months of this lifestyle had left him growing rather rotund. Not that it bothered him, being the only fat Skraal made him feel special, regal even.

He scurried out, standing before [member="Tsavong Kraal"] and [member="Nam Karakk"] his wretched half-tail wriggling behind him. "Smeg iz needin' help, boss,” Smeg tittered with a twitch of his whiskers, “derz guttamages cauzin' trubble.”

Not an issue that really called for Hrosha-Gul intervention, Skraal dealt with Skraal problems but the appearance of a meddlesome human amongst these lowest levels was causing a certain amount of difficulty, especially given that he had seemingly allied himself with the Cthon.

“Smeg'z gonna deal wif it but Smeg needz ta be stronk,” the Skraal admitted, looking up at the behemoth before him, “you get me stronk. I givez you breedahz for hordez...”

[member="Javik Quar-Kai"], [member="Vraska Yo'gand"], [member="Ratih Lah"]

 

[Grrwunhoooll Agaburry]

Javik the massive 9'8ft beast followed behind [member="Tsavong Kraal"] loosly. The Beast was jagged all over and his chitin like scales almost made his body a weapon alone. Javik's blue marks glew in the dark settings and his small white eyes did too, though blind Javik's thick Sensory hairs enabled him to see in the nasty place. A tap of his claws together every now and then enabled Javiks sonar. The smells in the Rats nest was horrible and with javiks enhanced smell he was not in a happy mood. He bore his large fang like teeth and walked in a gorilla like stance, His wing like features hugged his back and he wore a cloak to cover up his belt that had his Chitin Carbine and the Amphistaffs that were twisted around his arms.

Once Javik heard [member="Tsavong Kraal"] speak he walked up right exposing his 6 arms, bottem pair stayed closely against his body while the other four were out most of the time. Javik shook his head and quickly linked to everyones mind to speak telepathically.

<< " This... Place is... Revolting. The smells alone make me sick." >> Javik growled after throwing his thought to everyone, then looked at [member="Smeg"] specifically.

[member="Nam Karakk"]

 

[The Hydra Queen]

"You͏ w̴ish҉ ́f̕ǫr̀ e̛scàla͢t̀ion̶." came the husky purr of a woman, as the clipped sound of boots seemingly brought the feminine shaped figure into the midst. The twin embers of her eyes would glow brighter as she drew near, her full hips swaying as the carapace armor of the Vong biots hit the dim rays of artificial light.


"Le͢t's cu̡t ҉to ͏t̸he ̨c̷h́ase ͟and̷ gèt̨ s̨tr̴ai͢g͠ht t͠ò ͏įt, Śmeg..́." Escalation, or elevation, was a ceremony of promotion among the Yuuzhan Vong. When a Yuuzhan Vong earned the right to be escalated, they would sacrifice a limb, which the shapers would then replace with that of a creature native to Yuuzhan'tar. If the ceremony was successful, then that Yuuzhan Vong was favored by the gods, and allowed to advance. But if the priests found a flaw or the implant was rejected, the Yuuzhan Vong was then declared a Shamed One, and passed to the lowest levels of society.

 

[Tefka]

Invited: [member="Smeg"] [member="Javik Quar-Kai"] , [member="Vraska Yo'gand"], [member="Ratih Lah"], [member="Nam Karakk"] [member="The Hydra Queen"]
Location: Skraal Territory, Coruscanti Lower Levels
How you can jump in: Be a part of Tsavong's escort into the Lower Levels.

The alliance with Smeg was a particularly difficult relationship of Tsavong's.

One the one hand, a Skraal rebellion could be crushed in a matter of months, and the One Sith certainly had the resources. However, Darth Mierin and especially Darth Junra hated hearing about the Yuuzhan Vong's dealings. They found it reviling that an alliance with this species was even necessary. Tsavong wondered if anyone knew he hated it just as much, but was desperate enough to seek their aid. Smeg. What a worthless waste of space... but, thankfully, the two of them had worked out a mutual understanding.

Tsavong would give a display of strength to keep the Skraal in line, but would cave in to Smeg's wishes every once in a while. Skraal were easy to control. They responded to strength, and only fought back when they either knew victory was certain ....or death was. Back during the days of their first meetings, it was Smeg who deigned Tsavong would be his "alpha predator", and his alliance with this predator would give Smeg strength over the other Skraal. Forming a unity, a centralized leadership, an organization where before they had been nothing but chaos.

And so, the despotic Smeg had called Tsavong down here for another display.

"Let's not stand on ceremony here," the Dark Tyrant growled at [member="The Hydra Queen"]. "Yun-Amon accepts your request, Smeg."

Tsavong grabbed the fat rat by his neck and pulled him up in the air, pulling a black creature from his pouch.

"Eat, King of Filth."

He attempted to force the Gila Stomach into Smeg's mouth.

 

[Josiah Saedrin]

[member="Smeg"] | [member="Tsavong Kraal"] | [member="Javik Quar-Kai"] | [member="The Hydra Queen"]​

​

Nam only watched the Kraal trying to force the rodent to eat something. He did not know his name, but he certainly knew what it would do. But he did not take any steps back, he only watched the more important Yuuzhan Vong do their things. It was strange to see such a non-Vong taken into their group. They allowed Vongformed and other monster creatures to join the Hrosha-Gul, but Nam, a pureblood member of the species, didn't quite like it. He wasn't supposed to be against it, but deep in his very soul, he hated other creatures.

Hated.​

​

To him, only Yuuzhan Vong were allowed to believe in the gods and have their full blessing. But his loyal nature made him not fight against all of that, at least not yet.

He looked back for a moment and then noticed the huge being right behind him. It was probably one of the most recent additions to the group, and definitely one of the strangest ones. On the other hand, there was The Hydra Queen who seemed to be new, too. But she was at least of a considerable size, unlike a few people. Nam was still kind of like... the shortest one in the group. And one of the least powerful ones. He had much strength, but it was a lot only relative to the Yuuzhan Vong. When compared to these creatures around him, he was still weak.

But hey, he had become a Force-sensitive.​

​

That was nice.​

​

But he had no wish to join the Sith.

 

[Smeg]

Tsavong's entourage wasn't exactly a crew of comfort, rather a collection of demons and monsters frightening the underworld population to no end. Even by crawling out of hiding to stand before them he earned their respect, no matter how afraid Smeg himself was, what other Skraal would leave the comfort of the shadows cast by filth to prostrate themselves before such creatures?

He shied away from the blue creature with a slight squeak.

Escalation was a word that ultimately evaded Smeg's limited vocabulary, he wanted strength, he wanted to bolster his position at the top of the grime pile. He had the status, he had the cheese but there was nothing to physically separate him from the rest of his peers, well, perhaps his expanding waistline...

“Yez, cut to da chase,” he nodded eagerly at the feminine monster. There was a split between fear and fancy when Smeg looked into those burning embers. He wanted a Queen, and no plain Skraal would do. Of course, even he knew that if he made that proposal he would get shoved into a blender and turned into one putrid smoothie.

The rodent grinned as his request went through, completely unaware of the way that the Yuuzhan Vong worked. Usually through searing agony.

He squeaked, completely panicked as Tsavong grabbed him by the scruff of his filthy neck. Of course, this squeak was the perfect opening for the beast to shove a large organic object into his mouth. His own ravenous gluttony caused him to begin devouring the peculiar matter, it was hardly a pretty sight, no, try repulsive.

Once the entirety of the black creature had been swallowed Smeg was dropped back down onto the ground where he belonged. “YOU TRY KILL SMEG!” he screeched accusingly between coughing and hacking.

A hideous growl erupted from his core, as his insides began to shift, trying to accommodate the Gila Stomach. That was the good thing about Skraal, they were very hardy in respect to eating foreign objects. Smeg curled up into the fetal position, tearing patches of matted fur from his fat gut.

Of course the Rodent was shrieking all the while, leaving the posse of monsters to either observe the show or either talk over his pain screams.

[member="Tsavong Kraal"], [member="Nam Karakk"], [member="Javik Quar-Kai"], [member="The Hydra Queen"]

 

[The Hydra Queen]

Invited: Smeg Javik Quar-Kai , Vraska Yo'gand, Ratih Lah, Nam Karakk The Hydra Queen
Location: Skraal Territory, Coruscanti Lower Levels
How you can jump in: Be a part of Tsavong's escort into the Lower Levels.

Her upper lip would curl in distaste at the sight. The glowing embers of her eyes would peer upon the critter as Smeg would writhe and scream. She would not look away.

No, her sight was completely focused upon the Rodent. Her expression was distant. Cold.

Her mind --- elsewhere for a moment.

Fragments of voices. A different scene. It took a moment before the writhing mass of Smeg would draw her attention anew from her reverie.