Heavy Machinery || CIS Dominion of Shadda-Bi-Boren

[Krystal]

Objective: MachiniTree Forest
Wearing: Discreet armourweave (not her Trinity Armour)
Wielding: Danzatore, DL-44 Pistol, twin Czerka knives.
Tags: [member="Azura"]

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Krystal's eyes narrowed as she looked the blue woman up and down. She said nothing as the woman unlocked her weapon, and she did not even look at it. For Krystal did not care. "I very much could shoot you, miss, and I probably should." Even as she spoke, she still brandished her pistol -- one simple motion and the woman would indeed be flopping on the ground. Nothing Krystal wore indicated that she belonged with the Confederacy... for perhaps she believed that she did not.

"I feel, though, that enough blood has been spilled in recent times." Not by Krystal, but enough nonetheless. "These... creatures, on the other hand... they're so much more fun."

"And besides," she added, nonchalantly, "my superiors would get pretty pissy if I shot another Confederate." For who else even knew this planet still existed?

As if on cue, as soon as she stopped speaking, the wookie-like creature that Azura had shot burst into flame. That, on its own, would not have been unusual for these woods... but what was unusual was what came after.

It was not a sound, for the forest was still dead quiet, but more a feeling of suddenly being watched. As she spun around, away from the woman, to try and find the source, she quickly became aware of what seemed like hundreds of red dots in the forest... and they all seemed to be trained on them.

This...

This was about to get a lot less fun.

"I think we might be about to face much larger problems than each other."

 

[Lyra Laurs]

LOCATION: GREENHOUSE GARDENS
WIELDING: ACE OF SPADES BLASTER. CZERKA KNIFE. FURTHER CONCEALED WEAPONRY.
TAGS: [member="Ashara Evanaris"]
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The forest was... scary. There were strange creatures in there, and stranger people. Even after doing her father the favour of taking him to chocolate factories and all sorts of fun places, he insisted on dragging her back to veritable war zones. Lyra just wanted to chill, for once. Of course, @Taramaz had been rather mum about his reasons for coming here -- and he hadn't elaborated on it no matter how much she pressed the point -- but that was his problem. And hers was now finding another person on this damn planet to talk to, because goodness knows she wasn't talking to her dad just then.

As much fun as the aquarium sounded, the greenhouse seemed like the best place to potentially meet actual living, breathing people -- after all, everyone had to eat at some point. Immediately after entering, however, she began to feel a little out of place. Everyone seemed to be here with friends, or significant friends...

Trying not to think about that too much, Lyra strode over to the belt and wondered at the various plates of food. Though she recognized some, more seemed totally unfamiliar. Grabbing one that featured a sort of purple vegetable she had never seen before, she made her way over into the gardens. There! Someone who looked just as lonely as she was.

She darted over to @Ashara, and sat right next to her on the bench.

"Hello!", she said. Lyra spoke in a bubbly tone of voice to this woman. "And what's a pretty girl like you doing here, all alone?" she joked.

 

[Karlie Lynn Destat]

...and she observed.

Their given command were to scout, seek and discover what they, with their modified fluidic network processors would deem ...interesting.

Karlie had given her first wave of battle droids she deployed on the sector of the mechanized forest the freedom to explore. Explore as in the sense of scientific curiosity. Something by which she had been developing with inorganic replicants, such as droids, drones and bots. Although Karlie were a Bio-Chem engineer, she were also working to develop bio-mechanical interfaced replicate intelligence. It were why she had acquired these relics from an era thought long lost. Ancient technology that were just now recently coming back to the fold, since after the gulag plague had not only regressed much of life in the galaxy, but of the unique technology that complimented that era.
These droids had been designed and built for one sole purpose and that had been to conquer and vanish worlds and populace, of their right to resist the Eternal Empire.
Karlie had recognized the tech behind these droids, the versatility to upgrade them to not only serve as they were once meant too, but also to understand by their own accord when not to. In essence, Karlie wanted to replicate the Castan Marines from her world.
They were men and women of flesh and blood who were trained as elite soldiers who for the better part of the current century had sacrificed their lives so that Castagne could be a free system.

Karlie had dreamed of replicating these men and women in mechanical fashion. It weren't part of her IBI research and development as were bio-viral weaponry and counter measures, but more of a side project of interest, much like her Sebrix project.

"Te-he.." She couldn't help but let a chuckle slip.
"Ahem...I..uhm, don't know." She answered BOB-303, shrugging her shoulders trying to sound serious.. "What do you think it is?"

Clearly it were some kind of intricate mechanical creature that had scurried into a well designed tree cavity that were to resemble a missing limb on what was actually a perfectly manufactured and working mechanical...oak?

"Hmm, that's interesting..." Karlie then said, taking to go over to the BOB-303, who was still trying to analyse what sort of creature had scurried from it into the hole.
So there were quite a few varieties representing different species of trees... she had taken to notice.

'The subject will not expose itself for proper identification." BOB-303 finally answered as it had tried to coax the creature out, but had only seemed to manage to have frightened it more.
"Well, let me have a look."
Karlie came walking by the BOB-303 and peered inside the tree hole...on tipsy toes of course. Well as might as she tried stretching up to peer inside, she still couldn't quite see much at that angle.
So to her surprise-
"Eeek...wa....what are you doing?!" She surprisingly found herself being lifted up by the BOB-303.

"Ohh... seriously?" She then soon realized the battle droid had taken the initiative to lift her, having determined she were of too small a stature to do it on her own.

"Ok ok....now please let me down.." And just as it had lifted her the droid put her back down. Karlie ran her hands over her jumpsuit as to where the droid had picked her up. Amazingly she found herself not bruised or anything. BOB-303 seemed to have known to apply the right amount of pressure to grab a firm hold on her hips and lift her up gentle enough.

Then to her amazement two other units BOB-301 and 307 came over to where she were standing.
'What is the identity of the subject 303 has found?' One of the other units asked her.

"Huh?...I...I don't know.
I didn't get a chance to really look at it..." She replied looking up at the tree hole. No she hadn't, as she were taken quite by surprise at BOB-303 initiative. It were quite unexpected.

"Whoa whoa whoa..." She quickly backed up as 307 started reaching toward her to have his turn picking her up and have her take a look. "...we're not going to do that. As a matter of fact don't ever do that without asking first"

'By your command.' all three replied in union.

"Uhm...yea...
Ok...
Good." What ever else could she reply with?

"Try uhm...coaxing it out. " she suggested.

"No no no...don't reach in.
Sheesh...
Talk to it... uhm...nicely" She couldn't believe it, she were actually teaching her battle droids...manners?

 

[Taramaz Arcturus]

[SIZE=10pt]Blood of the Count[/SIZE]​

Sith Lord​

Say Hello​

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[member="Zahra Laurs"]​

​

Taramaz walked through the forest. His shining black boots crunching against the ground. He pulled his sparring saber off of his belt, igniting it, and cut a few metallic vines out of his way, the black blade seemingly absorbing the light from all around it, rather than producing it, as a lightsaber normally would. As he deactivated his saber, something landed on his shoulder, a black crow, made of metal. He allowed the machine to perch on his shoulder, and groom itself, ruffling metallic feather-plates. Taramaz stepped forward, marching through the forest.

Eventually, he spotted a colourful semi-circle on the ground ahead of him, as he strained his eyes to look closer, he saw it was, infact, made of the unmoving husks of mechanical butterflies, all arranged by colour, to form a rainbow. As he got closer, he stopped, admiring the dance of his lover. Former lover, to be correct. They had not seen each other for sixteen years, eight months, and four days according to Coruscant Standard Time, if his count was correct. It was a dance he knew all too well, it was, infact, the one he had witnessed when he first met the stunning woman, and the dance she had performed on their honey moon, under the moonlight of a beautiful planet, one he had, unfortunately, forgotten. He hoped Zahra didn't ask him about that planet. He really hoped she didn't.

He walked closer, the crow on his shoulder turning it's head, a mechanical eye looking over the elegant figure, tracking her every move. Fortunately, it seemed indifferent to the slaughter of the butterflies. The Sith Lord's red and purple eyes followed her aswell, waiting for her to take notice of him. As he waited though, something caught his eye. In the metal bushes, a red-eyed, and beautiful, rainbow coloured, mechanical feline predator was crouched ready to pounce, not as indifferent to the woman who turned the mechanical fauna into husks. Taramaz then stared at the beast, waiting. He did not wait long, the beast pounced at the black-shrouded, moving form of Zahra. It reached the apex of it's jump, then fell to the ground, slidng against the metal floor, unmoving and essentially dead.

It's eyes remained red, but it could not move. Taramaz had, at the last minute, killed the beast from the inside, using a force crush to bend the Beast's most vital gears and pistons, and eventually rip them out, causing the beast to be unable to even attempt to move. Taramaz then spoke up, the crow tracking his eye movements, matching perfectly. His voice was blended perfectly, so matched to the scenery, yet so out of place. It had a mechanical lick to the end of every vowel, almost unatural when you took into account the man himself, his dark gray, almost black hair shining in the light, as he stepped forward into it.

"Miss me, Zahra? It's been a while."

 

[ToKola Bakari]

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[member="Madalena Antares"]​

​

To'Kola's hand rested on Madalena's chin, he offered her lips a soft kiss before pressing his lips to her brow. It was a silent moment of endearment that he was not keen to give up. When she poke of not knowing how to rest, the man gave off a chuckle as he wiped his hand across his face. "You learning how to rest is as likely as me learning to enjoy this world." He gestured back towards the window, his tone holding a bit of the agitation and inability to understand the mechanical planet. When Madalena took a step back, Cardinal craned his head a bit with an intrigued expression. He could tell she was up to something, and he had a decent guess of what it was. When she stepped forward, holding the flower in her hand, he smiled a bit as his star-like eyes took in the beautiful flora.

He held his large hand out to receive the flower. It was an amazing one, with petals as blue as the sea. He smiled at the sight of it before leveling his eyes against Madalena. "I was just thinking that I need new flowers for my office." He said, before pressing a hand against the azure petals. He paused for a moment, inhaling deeply as he allowed the Force to twist and flow within him. He felt the push and pull of The God's waters. The flower, small and insignificant to most, came alive with a subtle hue. The plants stem wrapped around To'Kola's hand as if it was the body of a serpent. To'Kola's hand, that had taken Madalena's poured a wave of the Force into her. She saw as he saw, through his eyes.

A pulse exploded out from the flower. Unseen and unheard by all, except To'Kola and Madalena. With that pulse came a feeling of knowing. The small flora was thirsty, yet strong. It had many years of life left in it and it told a story decades long. The story it told was curt, yet with it came some knowledge. How long had the plant been here? Only a few months, yet it had been on the planet long before the metallic destruction took over. Curious. To'Kola said nothing as he glanced down at the plant. "So this was not brought from another planet....That is interesting." He lowered the plant before looking to Madalena with another appreciative smile. "Thank you." He nearly whispered, before turning and looking out over the plants that surrounded them. "I would not mind returning here....This planet gives me a headache, but I do like the life."

"Since my new position, I've spent most of my time traveling the border worlds. The Minister of War and Exarch demand our defenses be a priority. It's different from the Knight's...The Knights are fast and mobile. Getting anything done in the Defense Force is a task."

 

[Madalena Antares]

Tags: @To'Kola Bakari

There was little surprise in To'Kola's lack of love for this world. He had taken her to Sandala, showed her the way and the culture of his people. There was nearly no overlap between that and what they were seeing here, aside for the sun that was shining brightly. But she understood him. While the sights were beautiful indeed, she wouldn't have wanted to spend too much time there either. The entre endless machinations thing wasn't for her, though she could see why some might be utterly fascinated by them.

She beamed when To'Kola mentioned he'd been thinking about needing new flowers in his office. She knew him well, at this point. What other expectation could there be from his other half? The very first ift she had ever given him had been a small orange flower which she'd rescued from the toxic terrains of Nal Hutta. To this day she had no clue what type of flower it was exactly, where it belonged to. But she knew that something so small and precious had so much hear to fight in order to survive those wastelands – which made it a perfect fit for her Lochem.

The flower let the pulse out, and Madalena moved her gaze to To'Kola, wondering if it was something of his doing. But no, if he was behind it, he gave not a single whiff, and she just let the story enter her quietly, nodding.

"Unless you want more flowers or plants from this planet, I see little reason to ever return here," she said softly, her arms finding him again. "Why do things take so long with the Defense Forces? I would have thought that they would be just as fast as the Knights were when we all served under the same umbrella."

 

[Zahra Arcturus]

​

​

[member=Taramaz Laurs]​

​

The rainbow of death was almost complete. Every carcass that joined the others was picked with the utmost care and guided to its appropriate place with a roll of the nightmare witches wrist. With only a few left to tie off the circle of vibrant colour, Zahra lost herself in the task. So much so that she failed to notice the creeping fauna, she failed to feel the eyes of hunger closely watching every move she made. It wasn't until a boom in force cut through the quiet copper forest that Zahra was aware there was anything wrong at all. Though it was the agressive scrape of metal against metal that finally made the raven haired witch spin on her heel.

From the sparking corpse of another dead robot, to the familiar features of her former lover. Zahra could have picked that signature out in a crowd of a million, honed it till she could tell you his precise location, right down to the way the Sith Lord held himself.

'You haven't changed a bit.' Zahra spoke aloud, despite the fact that she could have done so without needing to turn around, she did regardless. Bright eyes akin to a midnight moon came to rest on his chistled features. Just the same as he had been the say she left. Taramaz had always been predictable. It was reliable and comforting to know that no matter how long she stayed away he would always remain the same. As ever, he was short spoken, but his question was placed confidently out into the open. She had always admired that about him. Never once had he had been unsure of himself, never once had she seen the shadow of doubt clouding his eyes.

An expression of glee formed on her face that pulled her cheeks up into a bright toothy smile. 'Taramaz.' She punctuated his question with a haunting laugh that carried through the forest long after her lips had closed. 'It has been longer than a while. A small lifetime I would say.' With a flurish she gestured to the aray of colours littering the floor, only pride in her face for all the hard work that had gone into it. 'Do you like my gift?' Willowy legs made a daring, but dainty step toward her old flame, hands clutched behind her back and a childish smirk on her face. 'I've missed you like day misses night. Like the light misses shadow. Like the moon misses the stars.' As she spoke her feet carried her to a standstill in front of Taramaz, just close enough for a slender finger reach out and caress his sunken cheekbones. 'I would ask the same question. But I feel I already know the answer.'

One more step drew her close enough to press against him, to feel the steady beat of his heart through the dark fabric. Once again the familar and reliable sound was a source comfort to the Mother of Nightmares. She found herself tapping the tunic encasing his chest, perfectly in time to the rhythmic thudding. 'What a treat to see you like this, whole and unchanged. As though I had never left...' Her words dropped to a whisper, littered with the sharp ticks her nails made against his chest. 'Tell me what I've missed, tell me of our daughter.' Her voice housed no guilt, the Mother of Nightmares was entirely unapologetic for her reckless abandonment of both husband and child, but there was a genuine curiosity. Was she dark and brooding? Light and bubbly? Someone who walked the fine line between both?

She was curious, yes, but for her own gain and no one elses.

 

[Karlie Lynn Destat]

It were the first time in years, she thought to wonder 'what if'. What if she had learned to master the force, rather than dissolve it?

It were dissolved, minute in existence, if at all it could substantially exist, for she no longer housed midis in her temple (body). At least not enough of symbiotic midis to be measured within her system. Karlie had been born as a force user...a potentially powerful force user. But she had also been born to die, to sacrifice her own existence so that the witch who gave her birth could take over her body...and live on for eternity, jumping each generation into a daughter's body. This vile creature had been her mother. And the only way Karlie found the means to escape her fate was to not only purge the midis from her body, but to eradicate them forever. She had found the means to live midi free through her own R&D, with the Sebrix-9 project.

That was 5 years free now.
Free of her mother's force haunts. Karlie's mother had been Darth Rigor, a powerful sith witch whom had cheated death for thousands of yeas by having a daughter sired and then taking over their life.This apparently had been going on for many Millenniums. That is until her father [member="Tarssin Destat"] discovered what and whom he had fallen in love with and her ploy in taking over their daughter for her means.

Karlie had been 10 years old when her mother was defeated. Before that, she hadn't known her mother to be nothing more than a loving, caring mother. A mother she used to wish she could one day grow up to be. But unbeknownst to Karlie, her mother whom went by the identity of a Karla Linnet Deepgaze.

What followed after her mother's demise was a decade of nightmares as the force ghost of Darth Rigor started haunting Karlie in dreams..even waking dreams.
At the age of nineteen, she herself finally put an end to the haunts. But at the sacrifice of ridding herself of midis, hence of all force connections...

Why was she wondering the 'what if' now?
She shook those thoughts off, bringing her back to the now. Karlie looked down to her holo-pad. She were recording everything her battle droids were doing during this exercise of self awareness. And what better scenario or location than a mysterious wonderland of mechanical automatons? The trees she had currently discovered were more than replicants of real organic ones. They actually influenced the so called environment. It were the forest in essence that created the breeze. In turn, this powered the non-solar dependent smaller plant replicants that could not get sunlight. The breeze acted upon micro motion generators that powered the small flowers and plants in the shade of the forest.

Karlie thought it very clever and certainly seemed to comply with what existed in living nature...a cycle of life. But in this world, it were the cycle of existence.
Karlie had already recorded the fact that the replicated small creatures seemed to feed on much of the excess stored energy begotten from the smaller plants that got their energy from the breeze created by the trees who themselves got energy from the sun.
It were as fascinating to her as discovering new organic life. Here before her as her own droids were discovering was a true mechanized automaton existence. It were independent of any major energy sourse other than the system's star...just like with organic life.

And of the small critter that her BOB-303 had first discovered hours ago?
It were now scurrying about across her pad..sometimes seemingly teasing Karlie by getting in the way of her touch screen.
"Oi...come on!" She kept moving it to one side or another with the push of her finger. But the little critter would eventually keep playing with her. She for the most part had given up on it and only fingered it aside when she had to enter.save data to file.

THAT and the fact that being nice to one meant that two...three...ten... now several other dozen critters of all sizes and shapes were no longer shy or remaining reclusive. Not when her battle droids were mimicking her tolerance of the creatures too. Besides, the B.O.B.s were seemingly just as curious to this surreal forest as Karlie or anyone for that matter should have been.

In truth, what would be the difference between a large space vessel that housed many functioning droids of all sizes and caliber going about making such a ship operational?
Well that were her take on it anyway. It were what Karlie was comparing it to at this time, if it were to be compared to a mechanical synchronized cycle. Well at least for now till she came up with a real thesis over all this.

Still, it somehow stemmed her to think about what she had to sacrifice herself in order to ...exist.

 

[Luca Donskoi]

[SIZE=12pt]

[/SIZE]​

[SIZE=12pt]Equipment:[/SIZE][SIZE=12pt] [/SIZE]Asheran Armorweave[SIZE=12pt], [/SIZE]VT-Kinetic Impact Gel[SIZE=12pt], [/SIZE]KC-95 ‘Ace of Spades” Blaster Pistol[SIZE=12pt], [/SIZE]Lightsaber​

[SIZE=12pt]Post:[/SIZE][SIZE=12pt] 2[/SIZE]​

[SIZE=12pt]Tag(s):[/SIZE][SIZE=12pt] [member="Nyx N1X3"] | [member="Nathan Vance"][/SIZE]​

[SIZE=12pt]

[/SIZE]​

[SIZE=12pt]As the tower grew into view before Alden, it seemed to almost eclipse the sun that bathed the planet’s surface with intense rays. It also revealed the sheer architectural brilliance of construct, and the unimaginable resilience it showed to have stood defiant against the wrath of, both, time and the elements. The stone surface was scarred with various fractures and abrasions presenting their very own challenges to the already faltering integrity of the structure; it was seen reminiscent to what one might expect to find one of the HoloNet’s many brilliant sagas based around post-apocalyptic or horror filled action. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]Alden would be lying to himself if he said this wretched shambles that comprised this painful site among a city reborn didn’t cause him the slightest unease or discomfort.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]He’d stopped before one of the large doors that, from all appearances, seemed to serve as an entrance to the decaying structure that had been long overdue to be returned the Earthen soil from which it had been erected. His unease and discomfort hadn’t subsided, yet seemed to grow some as his mind race through a number of possible scenarios to unfold, constantly clutching to the ones of the foul nature and the mind commonly did with an innate negativity bias ingrained within the human subconscious. Even reaching out with the Force failed to alleviate his tension toward the situation. What was in store for him the moment he stepped through the threshold and into the abyss?[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]He would, however, be ripped away from his thoughts and a voice called out in his direction. It caught him by surprise as he’d never been the type to run into the spotlight or draw any unnecessary attention to himself, but at the same time, his position in regards to his rank and his connection to the Exarch, [member="Adron Malvern"], had stripped that away from him. Gone were the days of privacy and anonymity, consumed in the spotlight shown in his direction as High Marshal or the Confederate Navy, Commander of the Core Armada and apprentice to the Exarch. In some ways, he’d even usurped the attention his twin brother had once bore himself as a politician. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]His head turned and he swiveled around and anchored foot to see two people approaching his position. The two men introduced themselves as Dauntless Commandos, [member="Nathan Vance"] and Kal’Dar Dekori - a pleasant and welcome surprise. The ground was home to these men, whereas the skies and space was home to Alden. It is there that he flourished and thrive. Not here on the surface; it was still rather alien to him. He was thankful for their arrivals to be sure.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]He gave a brief, yet not informal, nod of his head to the two men before extending his own hand to reciprocate the offer of a handshake. “You would be correct,” he said, confirming the man’s assumption that he was indeed the High Marshal. “The pleasure’s all mine.”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]It was then that the doors that stood before the three men sprang skyward, disappearing among the cracked stone which housed them. They hadn’t made a sound in doing so, not even the familiar hiss of compressed air that operated the release mechanisms, and that struck an unruly nerve with the officer. Unknowingly, his right hand had retreated to rest with a cautious grip upon the pistol’s grip holstered on that hip. His gaze shot toward the two commandos to gauge if they’d gone to any state of alarm as he had. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]“It seems as though we’re expected.”[/SIZE]

 

[Thalliesin Bard]

Location: The Machini Tree Forests​

Wielding: The Mace: Morning Star, Phaser Gauntlets.​

​

Thalliesin Bard landed on the edge of the foreboding forest with his vanguard in tow.​

"Corporal scan the forest for lifeforms"​

​

After a few moments Arasha the tiny Twilek looked up from her screen.​

"Sir aside from a few humanoid lifeforms which are undoubtedly our people, there are no signs of anything living or dead."​

"I don't like it...If things go south we can't leave these people in there... we best go and find them"​

"Sir, yes, sir,"​

​

And so Thalliesin and his Vanguard went into the forest in the direction of the nearest group of people.​

​

​

[member="Daisy Americus"]​

[member="Kaden Farr"]​

​

 

[Daisy Americus]

​

​

LOCATION: Headed into the woods​

w. [member="Kaden Farr"]​

_________________________________​

Sometimes she could be a touch thick. It wasn’t a comment about her waistline but moreover her perception of the world around her and the people in it. When Kaden smiled at her, sometimes, she felt rooted where she stood. Couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe, and most certainly couldn’t string two words together. The golden-haired woman was hesitant for about a half-dozen good reasons. Most of the people that she tended to care about, often, stopped existing. As sure as she started to care and consider them dependable fixtures—They were gone.

Smoke on the wind.

“Haseria is a dust bowl and you know it.”

She knew he wasn’t talking about the place she called home. She was thick occasion. But, she wasn’t that thick. Redness crawled up her cheeks slowly but surely and her eyes darted down to the ground. She could only handle looking at him for so long. He was handsome. Charming, when he wanted to be, scars and all. Thankfully he seemed to let her off the hook. The topic changed and she released her grip on his shoulder. Breaking that connection was both a relief and almost a form of discomfort.

At least she could draw breath again.

“Armor probably would have been a better choice.”, Daisy agreed, slowly, but then again—Wasn’t armor always the better choice? They couldn’t have known what they were getting into on this mechanized planet, not really, but it was always better to be safe than sorry. She never felt right when she didn’t have at least one slugthrower hidden on her person. Her thoughts drifted after that as they often did. Yes, they moved to on War.

It meant more to her than it should have on multiple levels. Kaden had promised to come back. He had promised that he wouldn’t die. That he wouldn’t succumb to the horrors that awaited, mostly, born by their own people. Daisy felt as if she were spending too much time at home. Haseria was peaceful. Quiet. She was losing her taste for blood. It was the product of loss. Too much. Too much angst.

Too much pain.

She didn’t know how to talk about it or adapt to it. Not, anymore. As if sensing that something was wrong the man beside her took her hand. Feeling his warmth, the slight pressure, roused her from the darker things that stole her from what otherwise would have been a perfect day. “Ah’m glad you’re home..”, she started off, soft, but honest. “Ah…”

“Ah just—”

The young woman stopped talking when the world around them suddenly changed. The very world around them seemed to have changed. The atmosphere felt hostile. Instead of natural graces she saw red eyes peering at them in ways that almost seemed angry. Could droids be angry? Suspicious? Either way she felt like something had drastically gone wrong. While others may have been hunting both Kaden had Daisy hadn’t so much as harmed a fly in their explorations thus far. “…What just happened? Do you feel that?”

Awe, chit.

 

[Thalliesin Bard]

Thalliesin Bard and his Vanguard wandering through the forest noticed a sudden shift, the forest had gotten darker.​

​

"Arasha, how close are we to the first group?"​

Arasha looked up from her scanner "If we keep going at this pace we should meet them in five minutes."​

​

"well then we should pick up the pace"​

Thalliesin motioned for Theron the Mandalorian to come up beside him.​

​

"Theron, what do you make of this place?"​

The age mandalorian looked around at the darkness and shook his head.​

"I don't know what to make of it sir...my gut instinct is uneasy, people usually die when I get that feeling"​

Thalliesin peered into the darkness...was that movement? no, no it was nothing.​

​

" keep a lookout we will have to-" ​

Thalliesin was cut off by a high pitched squeal followed closely by a wookiee battle cry.​

"Aieeeeeeee"​

"Arraaaghga"​

​

Thalliesin charged towards the sounds of struggle..."Zarr, Scarr come with me, Demos,Theron, you make sure there is nothing coming around to flank us."​

​

They came upon a terrifying sight Gorgona and Garo the wookiees were holding back a gigantic metal panther.​

blood was oozing from Gorganas shoulder...​

"Scarr..."​

"right on it sir..."​

Scarr unleashed a torrent of flame from his Slugthrower rifle causing the metal creature to roar with pain.​

Zarr meanwhile decided it would be a good idea to tackle the creature tearing at it with his claws​

"haha now this is fun"​

he wasn't doing anything but as luck would have it the constant flame did happen to loosen the metal enough for the Trandoshian find an opening.​

"Heh now i got you"​

And with that most intelligent line he ripped up the panel exposing the wiring.​

Zarr waved at the Ssi-ruu trying to get his attention which of course made him fall off the angered metal monstrosity.​

"Scarr! got a target for you"​

​

Scarr pointed his weapon at the spot.​

"Skreeeeeeeet"​

the metal beast screeched with pain, jumped over the group and disappeared back into the darkness.​

The group stood in silence for a while.​

"What in the four moons of Yavin was that"​

​

Ashara finally stopped shaking.​

"That was a monster"​

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Zarr looked at her with a gleam in his eyes.​

"No... that was a warmup"​

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Thalliesin started walking back up the path.​

"Well whatever it was we better get to the group before it gets to them."​

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[Alkor Centaris]

She revolved around him almost like an object caught in a gravitational field, and perhaps that made sense. He kept the ring she was bound to on his person. There was a high likelihood that while she could exist freely in Chaos, she could only stray close to him as a spirit in the tangible world. The limits on such things were beyond the teachings he had received. He had no desire to delve in the Necromancy of House Plaga, or to perpetuate that knowledge into a new generation.

What he did know, was that a spirit not intended to remain was a spirit that deteriorated. Unless the will of the Sorceror remained under constant assertion- such was the case with his Master, and the Sith Lord Ishmael, who kept their own souls tethered to the Galaxy with binding magicks and faux bodies- the spirit tended to weaken to the point of frailty.

[member="Naedira Darcrath"] was no Sorceror, no Necromancer, no peddler of the Ancient Dark Arts of the Force. Her spirit was forcefully ripped from her dying corpse and placed in an object. If the hypothesis fit, that made her spirit even more volatile. It wanted no part of its sentence. The darkness caused imbalance when it went against nature.

Sometimes nature, in attempting to force balance, had to cause more damage in return.

But how could he tell that to her? How could he say, "I think that your struggling is making you fade faster?" How could he say "it might be safer just to let you rest?"

And if he could do that, how would he undo the spell in a way that would not harm her?

Alkor always wore that blank face, and beneath it, he was always thinking. It took being beyond life to see him struggle, because he had learned all his life to do everything for himself. When it came to the point where he needed to ask for help, did anyone expect anything different?

"I don't know what say," he finally admitted. "I don't know what to do. I'm lost."

You've always been lost. That's just the first time you've admitted it.

"What do you want, Knight Darcrath? You're the one who lives or dies based on my actions. This decision should be yours."

 

[Josiah]

Tag: [member="Mara Denko"]​

As the metallic surface of the hammerhead grazed Josiah's fingertips, the Jedi deluded himself into thinking there was hope once more. His spouse advised that Monastery was the home of her research on the Light Side Nexus - and thus it wouldn't do for her to divide her focus. At that, his lips curved into a smile...but then the smile wavered as she continued her thought. They seemed tame enough? That didn't bode well in the slightest. Before Josiah could even ask for clarification, however, Mara had retracted her hand from the water quickly. The resulting splash got water on his front but not a drenching amount.

"Well excuse me!" he said with mock indignation as she strode away. Once she got in "academic mode", there was nothing really to do except stand back and watch the fireworks. In this case, Mara had stepped over to inspect a plaque, but she did not seem satisfied with the result. She muttered on about borrowing one of the little ones to see how they operated. And, though Mara's moral compass was the epitome of Light, Josiah's Nar Shaddaa heritage leaked to the surface for a moment. He entertained the notion of how easy it would be to steal one of the smaller ones.

Creatively borrowing after all.

All it would take is a telekinetic bubble to hold the water in and one heck of a cardio display. Of course, Josiah did not voice this idea - for Mara might have actually gotten on board - but rather took a more...reasonable approach. "With all the research you do, I'm sure the Ministry of Science might convince the aquarium to let you borrow one. Later. For study...at an actually equipped facility and not our living room." Much much later as far as government bureaucracies were concerned. He hoped.

 

[Naedira Darcrath]

Tag: [member="Alkor Centaris"]​

Note: This character is a Force Ghost. Dead as dead could be. Sorry not sorry. ​

The dark-haired specter hadn’t noticed that she tended to circle him. She rarely appeared anywhere else and if she did, no one spoke of it, or, no one noticed. It wasn’t as if the entirety of the Galaxy was Force Sensitive enough to see her either. She flickered and her form winked out of existence. There and gone.

There and gone.

Naedira reappeared several feet ahead, leaning over a railing, so that she could get a better look at the metallic creatures. There was something about her that almost seemed innocent when she managed to escape the keening dark that always seemed to be calling her name. The place she went to when she left her window, when she left [member="Alkor Centaris"], was full of nothing. Nothing, and no one, until the burning cosmic horror came.

The Mountain really wouldn’t let her go. He really, really wouldn’t.

If she didn’t struggle, if she didn’t fight, and run, the beast would take her. It would take the only thing she had left. Her memories. Her thoughts. Wishes and dreams that no longer mattered. The little things that she clung to, desperately, so that she wouldn’t fade. When she turned back toward him his emotionless features were a familiar sight. She never expected anything different but there was a modicum of comfort to be had. At least—He had not changed. “Silly.”, she breathed lightly, approaching him carefully, while pale fingers slipping along the railing.

“You’re not lost. You’re right here.”

She knew what he meant, but, her soft, sad smile, would tell him that she didn’t have any answers. Naedira was trapped in a place she couldn’t escape. Locked in a fate worse than death. She was tired, but couldn’t sleep. Hungry, but couldn’t eat. She missed being able to touch. To feel. She had never missed anything more. “I don’t want to be here. I don’t want to be in this place…”

Naedira stopped in front of him and her head tilted. Her hand rest on her hip for a moment while she considered it a little more. A breeze he wouldn’t feel stirred her hair and the hem of her dress. As much as she wanted to be free from this prison, more than anything, she wanted her life back. “I always thought I had more time.”, she murmured, trying, to keep her face from crumbling. Naedira didn’t want to break. Not in front of him. “I bet that’s why some spirits are so vengeful.”

“Everyone always thinks they have more time. Everyone has unfinished business…Everyone wants—”

To live. To breathe. To exist.

She wanted her life back. It hadn’t been glamorous, lavish, or anything to brag about—But it had been her own. It was something she had been proud of. Chocolate eyes slipped up from the imaginary point she found herself watching. He was the only shape she knew in the dark. A beacon, something solid, and real that she could hold on to. An island. The only way to the waking world. “Before…You called me by name.”

“Today—That’s what I want. I’m not your Knight if I’m dead. Just…Call me Naedira.”

 

[Kaden Farr]

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LOCATION: Heading into the woods​

w. [member="Daisy Americus"] | [member="Thalliesin Bard"]​

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Haseria was a dust bowl, but that was not the point Kaden was trying to make. The smile and blush which came from Daisy told him she had gotten his point however, and Kaden smiled. Kaden liked to make her blush. Her eyes darted to the ground and Kaden knew she was avoiding the issue. It was cute, and made Kaden like it all the more. The truth was he meant what he said when he implied she was the most beautiful thing on Haseria. Granted her point also might have been that was not hard to do. Either way the sentiment was there. Kaden and missed Daisy, and after being face with his past, and knowing that he could have been killed during the last battle, Kaden saw his relationship with Daisy differently. Life was short, and it did not need to be wasted.

"Armor would have been... sometimes I am not sure if I should be keeping the six actions or not."

The revelation was something Kaden had never vocalized before. There was doubt in how Mandalorian he truly was. According to those he had left behind upon his death his actions now would make him dar'manda. Kaden didn't feel as though he were. Did that mean Daisy was as well? Kaden did not want to imagine a world in which both of them were cut off from their heritage, and yet they were. Haseria could be there home, they could build their own heritage there and live by the six actions if they truly wanted to. Did Kaden want to though? It was a question he often wrestled with.

She was glad he was home. That was all the time there was for that part of the conversation as something around them began to change. Kaden sighed as he realized every single one of these moments they nearly shared was always stollen by something. Thyferra had seen her ingesting bad bacta. She had nearly fallen out of a sky wheel at the carnival. Now they were sharing another moment where she was about to admit something, and now they were being interrupted again. One of these days Kaden was going to freeze time so they could have the damn moment.

"Yes... I did. Now I really wish I would have suggested the armor," Kaden answered as another group seemed to catch up with them.

Kaden looked to the one who seemed to be the leader...

"Any idea what is going on here?"

 

[Nathan Vance]

Post: 02
Tags: [member="Nyx N1X3"] , [member="Alden Akaran"]
Equipment: Basic Service Pistol, Civillian attire. Armor and Blaster stashed in the ship.
Location: The Cog Tower
Objective: The Cog Tower

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The doors opened suddenly, going unnoticed by some due to there being no hiss of depressurization, and no grinding of metal on metal. It was unnaturaly quiet, to the point where it made those who noticed the doors open wonder at how this was possible. Alden Akaran, who was engaged in a small conversation with the two Dauntless noticed the doors opening and spoke.

"It seems as though we were expected."

"Let us hope that they prepared well for our arrival."- Nathan replied as he turned towards the door. He scanned it with his eyes, his gaze darting around the structure. "That was really quiet. What kind of mechanism operates it? I want that on my ship when I retire!" - He spoke with a hint of enthusiasm as he continued to gaze at the tower, which loomed above them, ominously or majestically, depending on who looked upon it. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, after all.

"Well... it's inviting us in... who am I to say no to that?"- Kal'Dar spoke impatiently, and set off for the tower, hopping two steps at a time as he neared the entrance. Nathan turned to Alden once more, and spoke to the High Marshal: "Sir, are you coming in? Or do you have other matters to attend to?"

With that, Nathan slowly began making his way towards the entrance as well. They were inside now. But what would they see?

 

[Thalliesin Bard]

Thalliesin pondered for a moment...​

"Perhaps the invitation was not what it seemed"​

He turned to the twilek holding the scanner.​

"Ashara how many more are in the forest"​

"Seven within the forest Sir, but there is a larger group outside."​

We can't go get every single one of them...and if it even looks like I could have done something then I need to have tried it.​

"Alright'​

Thalliesin looks at the two people he came in for.​

"you wouldn't happen to have a communicator on you would you?​

somehow... our crate with our communication systems in it got mixed up with a crate of spirits."​

He said the last part a little louder and looked in the direction of Lotto.​

"How do you know it was me ehh. It could have been the Mandalorian for all you know"​

Thalliesin glared at the Toydarian.​

"No-one in the ship an stomach Geonosisian nectar but you."​

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Thalliesin turned back to finish his conversation.​

"where was I...ah right, if you have a communicator we can contact the other people in the forest to tell them they need to get out of here."​

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"Yub Nub, ug guna laba"​

The grey fuzzy ewok named Rekon pointed at Theron and then at the girl wearing Mandalorian armor.​

"yes we are wearing similar clothing"​

Theron then picked up the tiny Ewok and lifted him up to sit on his shoulders.​

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[member="Kaden Farr"] | @ Daisy Americus​

 

[Nyx N1X3]

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Location: Shadda-Bi-Boren​

Objective: Locate the Creator​

Tag: [member="Alden Akaran"] | [member="Nathan Vance"] | Open​

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"How curious." The droid regarded the opening for a moment after it had slid open without a sound. Perhaps it should be of no surprise given the precision in the droid manufacturing around them. Such silence would require absolute perfection in the design; there couldn't be so much as an atom vibrating out of place to avoid contact with the frame. And the motor, hydraulics, or other means of moving the mass also without vibration of any kind... Perhaps it was a deadening material that merely contained, dispersed, or transferring the energy elsewhere. In any event, it would be useful to acquire.

She stepped through the door and strode straight into the 'foyer' of the tower. Doors surrounded them, and a spiral staircase in the center leading upward. What's more was the almost deafening quality of the room's acoustics. Ah, then perhaps it was some means of vibration isolation. One hundred percent retention would not allow the sound -- vibration of the air -- to quickly dissipate and so the echo would remain and in effect grow to an organic's ear. Even Nyx's own auditory sensors would need to rapidly adjust to avoid being overwhelmed. Conversation could prove most difficult under the circumstances.

All that from how loudly her metallic feet echoed as she moved into the room. Nyx sought to be relatively quite given her construction and weight, about the level of a humanoid, and yet every step was far louder in this chamber.

The men Nyx had seen earlier would have to endure, however, as the droid strode over to one of the doors neither party had entered. While it seemed obvious which direction they were invited to move, she did not want to blindly ignore what was already in reach. However, she only checked two of them unless something stood out.

She turned and made for the staircase next. With her vocabular turned down, Nyx pointed overhead, "We find the creator." A simple mission objective, and should explain all that was needed without filling the room with a deafening noise. That said her feet began the slow ascent that would spiral ever higher into the tower. Hopefully she could keep clang of her feet to a minimum or this might become a most unpleasant experience for the organics present.

 

[Taramaz Arcturus]

[SIZE=10pt]Blood of the Count[/SIZE]​

Sith Lord​

Say Hello​

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[member="Zahra Laurs"]​

Taramaz' face mouth curved on one side, turning upwards into a smirk as his fiery seductress of a wife advanced closer, tapping her finger against his chest. He then reached around, running a warm hand down her spine, down to her waist where one hand met another, already waiting for it. He rubbed his thumbs on the fleshy bit right above her hip bone. He then placed a genteel kiss on her pale cheek, leaning backwards ever so slightly. He let out a low chuckle, looking over to her rainbow coloured gift of death. He then reached down, his hand searching for hers.

"I do like your gift. I like it very much. How long do you think it will stay intact? And even a small life time is far, far too long to spend away from you, my dear..."

He raised his other hand up and away from her waist, and wiped a small droplet of oil off her cheek. A dot of a murky, dark brown that had been offending the beautiful black of her outfit. He then ran his hands through her hair, silently hoping she wasn't taking offense from the actions he once did so casually. He pressed another kiss to her cheek, then ran his hand all the way down, holding her by the small of her back, in the most casual way possible. Then, seemingly by it's own volition, his newly adopted metal raven, hopped off of his shoulder, and landed on a tree branch, looking down at them curiously.

"I'm not the only treat here, if you catch my meaning. Either way, our daughter has been doing just fine. She's rather competent, if I do say so myself. She definitely took her combative traits from you. She prefer the force and a dagger, over brute strength. She has a cybernetic leg now, and the smile of a Goddess. I do believe she ws a Knight's Obsidian at one point. I took her hiking on the snowy mountains of Zaadja recently, then we had to abandon that, and take a detour to Castagne, and survive a zombie infestation, aswell as not get hit by a CDF Colonel's rampant artillery fire. Then we took a needed holiday, and went to Umgu, where she shoved my head in a chocolate fountain. Pretty sure she's here too. Say, why did you leave us, anyway?"

He waved away his question a second later, realizing how awkward that question might be for her to answer, then looked over her shoulder, away from her white irises, staring at the beautiful rainbow of husks that she had made him. He then raised his gaze upwards, and looked around. The sunlight was the only real part around them, except for eachother. Yet it all felt so real. So awe-inspiring, and so tempting. He fixed his gaze back to her beautiful eyes, a thought coming to his mind. He smiled at her, his purple and red eyes sparkling briefly.

"How about we start of this reunion with a dance in the sunlight? Seeing as the last time we saw each other it was a dance in the moonlight, sixteen years ago, mind you."