Public Having Fun Isn't Hard... When You've Got a Library Card

[Corazona von Ascania]

SEGMENT GREEN
Adrienne Keres Aeshi Tillian Alex StormWolf

Cora didn't really see what the big deal was. She'd been walking for twenty minutes, and so far had yet to encounter any ghouls or precious artifacts. Just hallway. For such an impressive structure, the database had been poorly cared for, a fact she noted earlier while hacking her way through the jungle.

The point of entry she'd discovered was a small breach in the structures's outer layer, durasteel plating curved outwards and rusted at the edges. Something had blasted its way out of the tunnel, and that very thought made her skin crawl with nervous anticipation. After clearing the overgrowth of vines away, she'd slipped inside, careful to avoid the sharp, corroded corners.

Now she was deep within the database, meandering the narrow halls with a glowrod in hand. The idea of obtaining an ancient artifact or two had lured her to Woostri, operating under the assumption that it would help cement her as a useful apprentice among the New Jedi Order. Nearly every Jedi she'd met had questioned her reasoning for joining in the first place, figuring that her motives were largely political.

Which they are, to be fair. Cora's success as a Jedi would help buy her homeworld of Ukatis protection from the Galactic Alliance. Or at least, that was what her family had presumed by sending her to Coruscant as something of a representative of Ukatian nobility.

Clearly, retrieving a Zeison-Sha holocron or discblade would assuage all doubts.

Something skittered along the wall closest to her and Cora jumped, swinging her glowrod out in front. It cast a warm glow on a furry black spider, who scampered away shortly after. Pressing her free hand to her chest, Cora exhaled.

She started walking again. She stopped.

Are those…voices?

Her head tilted up towards the long pipe that stretched from ceiling to surface. The metal groaned from somewhere far above, and she moved back by a few paces. Specks of light filtered onto the floor. Cora swallowed thickly and bounded around a corner, peeking out to see what would become of this.

Rakghouls couldn't talk…could they? She had no idea.

 

[Adrienne Keres]

Segment Green
Aeshi Tillian | Alex StormWolf | Corazona von Ascania​

The spacer woman's hand was quick to hover by the gun on her hip – and she held the omnicutter up to defend herself, too. For some reason, seeing the startled woman made a cold smile spread across her face, though it was hidden by the mask that concealed the lower part of her face.

"Noted," she said, when the woman told her not to whistle unless she was 'fixing' to get shot. "I figured, though, you would prefer that to me jumping out of the trees."

And before she did just that, she cut a strong vine hanging from the branch she stood on. With the vine coiled around her arm, she climbed down the tree until she was a reasonable height – where she could jump onto the roof without injury (or drawing from the force). Once there, she tied the vine off and dangled it over the edge, allowing the other woman to climb up.

Now, she'd wait for her new spacer 'friend' to join her up on the roof.

 

[Desric Terassi]

WOOSTRI - GOPSTHAL
SEGMENT BLUE

Following a brief discussion with some fellow executives, Desric was looking at a map whose finer details were largely wasted on him. The hyperlanes were there, of course, but also an assessment of navigational challenges and the numerous dots that represented Globex's starfleet - the overwhelming majority of which were white for 'civilian'.

The blue dots representing the Globex Security Division were suboptimal. A Star Destroyer would be perfect for dealing with cruisers, but the nearest one was hours away and in drydock and scheduled for other duties.

Besides, even nepotism could not save him from the consequences if he lost a Star Destroyer.

Rubbing his forehead, he sighed deeply. "Any chance the GADF is feeling expeditionary today?" Alas, his lobbyism would not buy him a fleet-on-demand. "No matter. Contact the government of Woostri - let them know we are aware of the situation and willing to risk two heavy corvettes to protect them if they cover any expenses incurred."

Desric might want to help, but Globex was hardly a charity.

Caulder Dune
---
​

The Scions detected the incoming contractors first, as was to be expected - they were the only ones wearing sensor-baffling gear, after all. Within a second, the lead droid made a calculation; taking them out risked operational losses and alerting the opposition, whereas hiding and letting them pass risked exposing the presence of unknown operatives.

The latter was least likely to compromise the operation; an alternate egress was available.

Slithering into a side tunnel, the droids clung to the walls, waiting patiently for the opposition to pass them by. Violence was an alternative, if exposure seemed imminent, but it was undesirable if avoidable.

Especially as preliminary readings indicated organic movement patterns; unlike droids, they had to be stunned.

Oceiros; not about to tag the same writer twice, though.​

 

[Caulder Dune]

Desric Terassi​

WOOSTRI - GOPSTHAL
CAPITOL SEAT - OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

They had been speaking for several minutes - or rather, Caulder had done the majority of speaking for several minutes while Wanash, now seated, occasionally responded with one (sometimes two!) words, followed up by a glance out the wide windows to Gopsthal's cityscape. Scanning nervously for signs of Final Dawn bombers on the horizon, doubtlessly.​

​

No such luck. The real threat emerged just behind Caulder when the office doors peeled open to let an intern with a datapad through. "Mr. President."​

​

"Uh, Shiendi," Wanash stumbled, clearly relieved to have a break from the Commerce Guild, "Hello. Yes?"​

​

Caulder turned to look behind him. A younger woostoid, bald, business dress. Unremarkable, as all interns were. He trusted this would be brief.​

​

"The Globex Corporation is offering assistance with the ongoing skirmish. They have two heavy corvettes in orbit."​

​

Not so brief. Fine.​

​

Wanash swallowed, "Don't, don't call it a skirmish. We don't want to blow this out of proportion or attract any attention over a little… Scuffle."​

​

Shiendi glanced at her datapad, then back to Wanash, presumably to confirm before politely informing him, "The media are all saying it's a skirmish."​

​

The president responded by staring at her in silence. Slowly, he lowered his head until it was resting on his desk. He emitted a low, pained moan. Caulder briefly wondered if he were going to crawl back under there again.​

​

"What do they want?" Wanash eventually asked, picking his head up only a little so he could look at her.​

​

Shiendi was nonplussed. "Remuneration for potential damages."​

​

"That could be anything and everything..."​

​

If Woostri had money for fleets, they would have had money for fixing their library. And if they had money for fixing their library, they would have had money to pay Globex. And if they had money to pay Globex, they would have had… Well, any money at all.​

​

Caulder elected to get involved, clearing his throat, "If you're truly concerned for your safety, a speedy conclusion to the skirmish may be in your best interests. The Guild can arrange a loan to cover all the relevant expenses."​

​

He'd been wondering what Globex were doing, skulking around out there. Perhaps they had been waiting for this. Early intelligence on Final Dawn fleet movements? It wouldn't have surprised him.​

​

Wanash looked at him now, disbelieving. "You're offering us a loan?"​

​

"It would be cheaper to request assistance directly from the Galactic Alliance, or perhaps even the Trade League," Caulder offered, smiling weakly, "Though I understand the Senate moves rather slowly in these matters. And the League has its own problems, as I'm sure you're aware."​

​

Wanash rose again in his seat, only to recline back so he might better massage his temples, "Forget it. Just forget it. Tell Globex to go ahead - quietly. If the Final Dawn find out we're paying anything, they'll just come back."​

​

Caulder nodded, sagelike. "Very prudent, Mr. President."​

​

"Don't patronize me, Dune."​

 

[Mercy]

Adrienne Keres | Aeshi Tillian | Alex StormWolf | Corazona von Ascania

Another mosquito bit the dust when she crushed it between two calloused finger tips.

"Not into that kind of bloodletting..." Mercevelya Danton Eristo, better known as Mercy, would mutter while squinting up and down this particular section of the Green Segment. Fortune (depending on your perspective) had it she wasn't too far away from the main action. But far enough she didn't hear the discussion taking place between Adrienne and Aeshi.

For the best.

Mercy never played well with others.

Just as the others she was having a tough time figuring out how to get inside. But unlike the others she didn't truck much with stealthy approaches or clawing around gracefully through treelines and roofs.

"Luckily they ain't paying me to preserve this particular piece of the archive."

With that self-convincing done she took a step back. Frowned a bit deeper at the wall and then took a few more steps back. She breathed out... then breathed in and touched the Darkside. As mentioned before this creature had no interest in stealth or going quietly. The moment Mercy touched the Force it was like a lighthouse erupted in the dark.

Her hand squeezed into a fist without needing a prompt.

Then Mercy rushed into the wall. Yes, into... and then through.

If the pipes above Corazona were shaking before, they were positively vibrating now. And the sound Mercy had made as she smashed a Mercy-sized hole in the wall was echoing through for miles.

Great way to attract some Rakghouls.

Probably.

 

[V01D Ω (Void Omega)]

Somewhere in SEGMENT BLUE

​

Spoiler

---

There are sounds in the distance... What?​

There is sudden light, intense. There is no physical pain. But the mind aches. Why? What happened? Where am I? Who am I?​

These thoughts swirl around in the mind of the creature. It has forgotten its name, or even the purpose for being where ever it was.​

Finally, it tries to move. There is the long, loud squeal of rusted metal rubbing against rusted metal.​

The creature stands. It takes a creaky step forward. Then another. It starts walking, each step a squeak of rusted metal.​

 

[Alex StormWolf]

WOOSTRI - GOPSTHAL
DATABASE SEGMENT GREEN

Seku poked her head out of the access door and looked back at Alex.

"There's a ladder here, but I'm not sure how solid it is. It looks like it's short of the floor below by close to two meters."

"Ah, only enough to make life interesting if you land wrong," Alex replied.

"I got this," Seku answered, uncoiling a length of rope from around her waist. Testing a protruding hand hold and finding it solid, she tied one end of the rope around it and unfurled the remainder down the ladder shaft. "You coming or not?"

"Ok, ok. Don't rush me!"

Seku slid down the rope effortlessly, as if she had been rope climbing all her life. Reaching the bottom of the shaft, something that sounded like an explosion reverberated off the walls, causing her to jump.

"What the kark was that?!"

"I don't know," Alex answered as his feet touched the floor following his own descent down the rope. "But I'm not liking it. Something tells me this neck of the woods is very popular all of a sudden."

"Well, let's at least see if we can find anything down here worth retrieving before the Commerce Guild gets here."

Aeshi Tillian
Adrienne Keres
Corazona von Ascania
Mercy

 

[Aeshi Tillian]

Mercy Alex StormWolf Adrienne Keres Corazona von Ascania

SEGMENT GREEN

Aeshi ran her eyes up and down the vine dangling down from the top of the collapsed library. "If that vine breaks, you'll be paying the medical bills."

She wrapped a length of vine around her arms and pressed her boots against the building and started pushing herself up the side of the building. The vine creaked and groaned at her weight and she bit her lip, focusing on resisting gravity, especially as she felt it stretch.

Several moments passed before she flung herself atop the library. and let the vine drop.

"Liquid-cable launcher," Aeshi muttered to herself. "Next time." She pulled the omnicutter from her belt and knelt on the room, rapping gently on the roof, looking for some of the supports. The metal was old and corroded but firm enough. She nodded and activated the omnicutter, putting the small disruption beam to the metal and dragging it carefully across the metal.

There was a bit of heat, but not a ton, as the small beam destroyed the metal's molecular bonds. After a few moments, the hole in the ceiling dropped clear and Aeshi shone a small light into the library. A sound rang and echoed along the line of the library, and she frowned.

"We're in for a party." She pulled the vine up from below and tossed it into the hole, testing the anchor before sliding down the vine to land gently on the floor.

 

[Naivia Ri]

A couple of days after Risa replied to the message inviting her to join Final Dawn, she was standing next to a rather pleasant-looking man who, as she realized, was in command of the mission and who, turning to her, gave a rather easy and understandable for the average military person whether an order or a decree, in any case something that required Risa to act, which, in fact, she had expected. In her life she had never been in such conflicts, most often these were massacres, if only on distant planets of the outer ring, where the girl quenched her eternal thirst, killing thousands of small nations and tribes every day and spending only a couple of hours a day for any kind of normal sleep. At the moment she was wearing her usual black robe with the metallic teeth sewn deep into the fabric, her white hair slightly separated from the hood due to the internal temperature of the ship, and the sonic fields coming from everywhere. One hand of the girl held her light, multi-purpose blade as usual, while the other warmed in her pocket, though it made no sense at all for an always cold arm to become at this moment warm all of a sudden The girl's perpetually tired and fiery eyes looked in the direction of the approaching boarding party and, realizing that she would have to give some sort of command, smiled softly and replied in her rather typical voice, which in all things symbolized her indifference to almost everything that was going on around her except one: the ability to destroy everything in her path and then think in silence and solitude about lofty matters. "The faster the better? Quite a typical approach, Torson, but I hope you have it under control." Risa was at this point analyzing with her inner spirit the presence of force around her, trying to guess how much purely physical force she would have to expend. Raising her white hand, the girl pointed her unit in the right direction and followed them at a fairly slow pace, keeping her eyes on the outside from where the adversary team could emerge at any moment. In the girl's soul, which for a moment she did not have, there was a silent thought "How did I end up here" and another that seemed to answer it "Maybe things are not as boring as they seem at first sight".

Joseph Torson

 

[Xun of Throne]

“Docking magnets engaged,” said the pilot of the Orbalisk-class shuttle over the comms.

Tiberius held on as the craft lurched to a stop. He heard a resonant hum as ICE Peregrine disrupters created a gap in the shielding of the Raptor, then the clang as the Orbalisk attached itself to the hull of the Raptor like its proverbial namesake. Below Tiberius’ feet came another series of sounds as cryoban projectors froze the hull, then rotating plasma torches carved a circle. Another clang, then a whoosh as the exposed hole vented into the vacuum of space, taking with it any who had been standing on the other side.

“Ready,” roared Tiberius. His paladins stood up from their crash webbing.

The circular door in the center of the ship’s floor peeled open.

“Go!”

Akilles ran forward first, tossing two stun grenades into the ship’s interior before leaping inside the vessel. Tiberius and the rest of the armored paladins followed closely on his heels.

They had chosen the spot just under the bridge. It should be a short, but vicious fight up to the bridge. From there, they could seize control of the ship’s systems. Tiberius expected setbacks, which was why two of his paladins were technomancer specialists.

Across the Raptor, other orbalisk shuttles bearing Anaxian marines tried similar assaults, endeavoring to board the vessel and take key systems.

Joseph Torson Naivia Ri

 

[Joseph Torson]

---

---

---

H A V I N G_F U N_I S N'T_H A R D_W H E N_Y O U'V E_G O T_A_L I B R A R Y_C A R D
Primary Objective : Secure Segment Red
Secondary Objective : Eliminate any hostiles within Segment Red + Defeat Marshal Tiberius's Boarding Party

FINAL DAWN
WOOSTRI, EXPANSION REGION
Equipment : Modified Stormtrooper Armor | ND40 Kase Blaster Repeater [x1] | NK01 Fujita Rail Pistol [x2] | Electrostaff [x1]

---

---

---

Shortly after Naivia Ri left the bridge with her compliment of Purge Troopers, the first boarding pods made contact with the shuttle shaking the entire interior of the ship in the process. The enemy had made landfall, and now they would soon be met with the full fury of the Final Dawn. "Status report!" Torson asked once more. "A few boarding pods of managed to survive our the barrage from our Anti-Starfighter Weapons and have landed near key systems such as the engines, the shield generators, the internal security system mainframe, life support and the bridge itself." an officer cried out. As Torson had anticipated their primary target would be key systems across the Raptor.

Fortunately he had all forces onboard the ship scrambled to their posts in preparation for this incursion with hundreds of lightly armed Final Dawn Fleet Technicians that made up the crew of the FDS Raptor, already within those key areas with 90 Purge Troopers and 275 Retribution Corps Operatives scrambling to meet their foes head-on and put and end to their machinations. With such a force at his disposal there was no way whoever was boarding his ship could succeed. Then the Captain of the Raptor cried out to Torson. "Sir, there is something you might want to see." he said. Torson then turned around and walked towards where the Captain was, standing Infront of a console displaying footage from one of the many internal security cameras of the Raptor.

As Torson approached, the Captain and the individual manning the console stepped aside, allowing Torson to see what they were so fixated on, and it's there that he recognized who he was dealing with, the armor, the weapons even the faces. "Tiberius." Torson muttered. The Politorate was well aware of the exploits of the so-called Marshal of Byss, who had descended upon the High Regent's throneworld with a fury in which they had never seen before. He had been responsible for the loss of a few Final Dawn agents on Byss, but had yet to fully exterminate the High Regent's network of spies within the Beshqek System as a whole. His very presence made Torson's blood boil, a man who sat on Sularen's former throne and was poisoning his homeworld by destroying the vestiges of Imperialism that had been briefly resurrected by it's former Senator Shran . If he was here then this would be the perfect opportunity to capture him, and deliver him to the High Regent personally.

"Where are these men right now?" Torson asked. "Sir, they are right underneath us." the Captain said nervously somewhat fearful of what they would do if they succeeded. But Torson knew better, they would not succeeded and Tiberius would be brought back to O'reen in chains. "Good. That means Ri and her Purge Troopers will meet them head-on soon enough and given Ri's skills and abilities, they will be dealt with in time." he said in a cold tone. Tiberius represented the type of people who had desecrated his homeworld of Byss, and if he could bring him back to O'reen it would represent a huge ideological victory for the Final Dawn, especially for Sularen and those from Byss who had followed him into the Final Dawn, who were forced to flee from Byss with their families to avoid persecution from a government that treated those associated with Sularen, with outright hostility and prejudice.

Then yet another officer cried out from behind Torson. "Sir, we're detecting two incoming craft emerging from hyperspace!" the officer said out loud. Torson then turned around to face the viewports of the bridge just as two corvettes emerged from hyperspace right infront of the pair of Judgement-Class Light Cruisers that remained in orbit of Woostri , the third having descended into the upper atmosphere of the planet to carry out the second phase of the Final Dawn's operation on Woostri. "As if things weren't bad already." Torson responded in a frustrated tone. "Call in our reserves from Adras. We're going to put down these scum once and for all and take what is ours by right. No matter what it takes, i will not allow these interlopers to deny us of our prize." he proclaimed.

---

Tags | Naivia Ri | Xun of Throne ​

---

 

[Adrienne Keres]

SEGMENT GREEN
Aeshi Tillian | Mercy | Alex StormWolf | Corazona von Ascania​

Adrienne rolled her eyes when Aeshi said that she'd be responsible for any medical bills resulting from the vine. She had an urge to snap the vine herself and let the spacer fall, but she suppressed it. It would be more worthwhile to let the other woman become fodder for the rakghouls.

As Aeshi started to cut into the roof of the archives, Adrienne turned her head slightly as if listening. It wasn't what she heard that was... curious – it was what she felt.

Someone nearby had called upon the Darkside.

While her own presence remained diminished in the force, she felt the pull of the dark. And she nearly responded in kind, to say, I'm here. It was tempting. However, her attention snapped back to the spacer when the portion of the ceiling fell free. Once more, their trusty vine came in handy. Adrienne watched as the other woman made a quick and graceful descent.

The building seemed to shudder. And there was an echo that cut through the air.

A party indeed.

Adrienne jumped down, landing deftly. Now, she allowed her presence to grow slightly – to test the waters. As if the voices and random sounds hadn't told them there were others, this confirmed it for her. Not only were there other explorers... there was a horde.

A smile curled her lips as she crept along in the dark room, her spacer 'companion' was already fading from her thoughts as she made for a corridor.

 

[Satoshi]

Oceiros of Shor || Aro Harcrow ​

WOOSTRI - GOPSTHAL
SEGMENT BLUE - LOBBY

A blue outline almost immediately traced Aro's frame upon receiving the marker, which he did with no fuss. This was exactly why Satoshi was so fond of the Marshal. He was cooperative. And punctual.​

​

"He must do it on purpose," he politely waved the cigarette off. A few moments after Aro looked around, Satoshi did the same. Perhaps he would catch Oceiros off guard this time. It was a game of catch-me-if-you-can that the whimsical shorak had no idea he was participating in.​

​

Sato turned his lithic mask of a face forward and quietly clicked his tongue. Aro was being polite. The last assignment had been much more than a mess. Mercs liked to toss around phrases like shitshow or clusterfuck. But this had taken it a step beyond. As the party's resident shorak would have put it, it had been a tornado of ass. An ass-nado, he may have said.​

​

"Yes. Hopefully."​

​

Though late, at least Oceiros decided to arrive before they began to proceed deeper into the segment. Satoshi narrowed a single eyebrow at the man to return his greeting, then turned his attention to TD-1343. So, the motley crew was gonna tackle the task meant for a proper fireteam? Sato wanted to click his tongue again, but he'd already used his one for the day. And it was still early.​

​

"Ah, Oceiros, you still need to sync up with us," the trio moved past the fireteam formed up by the blastdoors. "For the 'vibes', I mean. As you can see, we can't completely 'vibe' without you." He gestured at the Marshal, "Even Harcrow is 'vibing'."​

 

[Desric Terassi]

Confirmation from Woostri - and just in time too, as the two Legions had made the trip in record time.

Emerging from hyperspace behind the Pride of Anaxes, the vessels responded with the eerie precision of automated vessels, sliding across perfectly diagonal vectors while disgorging their complement of drones. In all, no less than eighty Ashwings would plunge forth into the void, ready to expend themselves as necessary to fulfil the Corp's goals.

A succinct message would be broadcast to the Final Dawn vessels, a synthesised voice calmy reciting it. "A military response has been initiated in accordance with Security Directive 13-6 on behalf of the Globex Security Divison. If you believe this response to have been initiated in error, please power down your weapons and contact our customer service."

A terms of service agreement and the requisite forms to apply for damages compensation were attached as an addendum, as was contact information for the customer service department of the Globex Security Division.

Without awaiting a response, the vessels positioned themselves slightly above and behind the Pride of Anaxes, spooled up their weapons, and opened fire on the cruiser currently not being boarded by 'presumed friendlies'.

For the time being, the fighters hung back, sheltering behind the capital ships.

Joseph Torson | Xun of Throne​

 

[Naivia Ri]

Any war deprives a healthy being of feelings, emotions, psyche and love for all living things and develops in him/her a terrible disease which carries the name of madness, but madness of a special kind, namely, love of death. But for those who from almost birth were deprived of such important spiritual and material barriers separating the inner world from the bottomless brutality of reality, the war was only a key to that place, which instead of the heart (in this type of figures the heart was rather inherent only as a biological mass which helped their bodies function), opened the reserves hidden earlier, where for years under the surface of frozen oceans , dark , twisted, monstrous and terrible forces were developing, waiting for their moment to release. And it was at that moment, as Risa stepped her feet on the surface of the ship, and felt the sound fields rushing in all directions from the contact of the cold material of the ship's hull with the constantly moving bodies of flesh and bone, obeying the laws of morality, virtue and military duty alien to Risa, she knew what awaited her, it was no more than a pathetic reminder of the carnage of which Risa had always been a part and which she knew better than many of the blind victims who had become part of this great game between rational logic and irrational forces. The Purge Troopers followed her, studying the face of their newly chosen commander with close attention and curiosity, trying to figure out what was on her mind and in some ways it was no less interesting than the target itself, which was moving straight in their direction. In an instant Risa came to a smooth halt and raising the same right hand she said, "ON FIGHTING POINT!!" Purge Troopers instantly hearing in these words the tone of a personality who knew the heart of war all too well at once adopted a classic stance on both sides , and the words that followed were the last the soldiers heard from Risa, still anything remotely resembling a person with a sane mind. "PREPARE!" .... A couple of miserable and unpleasant minutes passed... Risa took off her hood, exposing her true countenance, pale sore skin filled with an uncountable amount of cuts, burn marks and skin diseases left after chemical weapons, and blue veins gradually began to change colour to a more fiery yellow, causing the skin itself to peel away and fall to the floor of the ship, Risa was returning to her usual state of Satan in the flesh of a grieiving angel...
With her fiery gaze fixed forward, she silently drew her special blade from its sheath, shimmering with a strange light of mechanical runes, ready to trigger and detach from the main blade at any moment, in order to prepare for the cutting of meat proccesion that was the fight. Risa waited for her opponent to show up and greet them with honour that they're worthy of.

Xun of Throne

 

[Aro Harcrow]

Oceiros of Shor | Satoshi

"Well, you know me, Sato. I am full of vibes these days..." Aro responded absently while his mind was already several steps into the facility. Specifically the vault they were supposed to secure.

Since the Commerce Guild had no log of its contents...

Well, that presented opportunities, did it not?

The main question was if Oceiros and Sato were the kind of men who enjoyed taking advantage of opportunities. He thumbed his revolver with some trepidation and once again thanked the stars he had the presence of mind to wear body-armor this time around. "Just take the cube, O." As feth would he try and pronounce that adventurer-grade name. "Will help keep track of you, if you try to do one of your voodini tricks again."

How the lad kept appearing and disappearing was anyone's guess.

Once they were given the go-ahead Aro stepped up the plate.

This wasn't his natural setting. Usually he'd take the back and give himself an exit strategy, if things went wookie up and required a swift strategic advance in the opposite direction.

But Aro was also greedy.

"So," To his two companions once enough distance was put between them and the fire-team that would provide support. Aro remembered to turn the channel towards their own private frequency just to be sure. "-no logs, huh? so the Guild has... no idea what is gonna be in this vault we are securing..."

He didn't come out and just say it.

First dangle and see what the response would be. That was the way.

 

[Xun of Throne]

Tiberius and his platoon started to round the corner when Akilles held up a fist, bringing their force to a halt.

"Do you sense them?"

Stretching out with his senses, Tiberius could feel a cluster of presences around the corner. Each one burned with a violent intent.

"They're right in front of the blast door," Akilles looked back at one of the other paladins, "Grenades. On my count - three, two, one."

A half-dozen concussion grenades sailed through the air among the clustered Purge Troopers. Instead of waiting for them to explode, Akilles and Tiberius darted around the corner and opened fire.

Tiberius knew the foe they faced and expected them to have at least some Force users amongst their number. He would not give them the chance to send the grenades back with a Force push - a simple yet overly utilized tactic by Force users across the galaxy.

Instead, Tiberius and his son fired with the precision of Teepo-trained warriors, using the Force to guide their shots with inhuman accuracy. They each fired three shots from their blasters, striking all six of the grenades as they hung mid-air above the Purge Troopers. The detonations rocked the corridor, letting out explosive shockwaves capable of ripping apart the internal organs of those within lethal proximity simply due to the overpressure blast.

Naivia Ri | Joseph Torson

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

SEGMENT GREEN

Aeshi Tillian Alex StormWolf Adrienne Keres Mercy

The belligerent sound of Mercy forcing herself through the wall echoed over and past Cora, loud enough to ruffle her hair. For a moment, the young Jedi simply stood there, frozen in place.

The pipes shuttered louder, thin durasteel plated tubes vibrating wildly against one another as if to herald Mercy's arrival. But Cora didn't know what had caused that terrible noise to begin with, and so she'd assumed it was either a Rakghoul or a ghost. It hadn't yet crossed her mind that perhaps others had decided to venture into the decommissioned data center.

Regardless, she ran.

Cora found her own footsteps irritatingly noisy as her boots clattered against a floor that hadn't been cleaned in Ashla knows how long. At one point she tripped, sending the glowrod from her grasp and tumbling down the hall. After hoisting herself upwards, Cora didn't bother to collect it—instead, she lunged for the first door that she saw.

Yanking on the handle didn't work, but it had budged the old door with a metallic groan. Steeling herself, Cora moved a few paces away, body buzzing with nervous energy as she drew the Force to her. One deep inhale later and she'd charged forward, kicking the door to the archive open. The blonde scrambled inside, hurriedly pushing the door closed before resting her back against it and sliding to the floor.

Hand to her chest, Cora tried to steady her breathing. Even though she hadn't had an actual encounter, that was...harrowing.

 

[Alex StormWolf]

WOOSTRI - GOPSTHAL
DATABASE SEGMENT GREEN

As Seku started to stride towards the entrance to the archives, Alex reached out and grabbed the Twi'lek by the arm with his left hand to stop her.

"Alex, what the?....lemme go!"

"I just sensed a disturbance in the Force. We're not alone down here."

"How many?..."

"I'm not certain," Alex answered. "One feels like it's practically around the corner. I think it could be one of the Order's Padawan learners. And there's another radiating their presence further out....feels exceptionally dark."

"Well, if there's a Padawan down here, we can't let them run into any Dark Sider or Rakghouls by themselves."

"Agreed. I have to wonder though, what's a Padawan doing down here without a senior Jedi?"

"Same thing we are, maybe?"

"Anything's possible. Let's see if we can find them."

Aeshi Tillian
Adrienne Keres
Corazona von Ascania
Mercy

 

[V01D Ω (Void Omega)]

SEGMENT BLUE​

---

The metal creature keeps walking, metallic screeching accompanying every step. It doesn't know where it is going, it simply feels it has to keep moving. It passes by other metal bodies, all in various forms of disrepair. Droids, it thinks. That's what they are. All broken. It knows things but cannot remember how it knows these things.
It turns a corner. There is another droid there, this one up and functional.

Spoiler: Droid

This droid turns at the sounds the creature is making with its movement. The droid starts making its own noise. It is odd at first, but the creature soon realizes it can understand the noise. "What are you doing here? Where did you come from?" It is communication, but to the creature it is annoying.
Shut up, it tries to say, but no sound comes out. It cannot speak.
"Did someone repair you? It looks like they didn't do a very good job." The noise really irks the creature. It instinctively draws back its right hand above its head. In that hand is a broken, cylindrical object. "Oh, cool, a lightsaber! Were you able to kill a Jedi? Most impressive! I got a fleshie myself." The droid motions to a dead human body lying at its feet. "Managed to get the drop on him before he could hit me with his Ion Blaster, which I was just about to claim as a prize!"
The creature stares down at the human corpse. You killed him... It is horrified. No, no... This is wrong! It raises its left arm toward the droid. There is some sort of device attached.
"What are you doing?" The device crackles and sputters, then lets out a violent stream of energy. The energy hits the droid, ripping it asunder. The device sparks even more, before exploding, knocking the creature to the floor. As it staggers to its knees, its left hand, slightly charred black from the explosion, comes to rest on something. It is the Ion Blaster the droid had mentioned. It grabs the blaster and stand up, the screeching getting louder. It must keep moving forward.​