Campaign Hivemind Conquest of Koboth: The Ship Graveyard

[XaraXunia]

Image Credits: HotPot.AI.​

Spoiler: Flavor Music

The planet of Koboth was barren, rocky, and swarming with insectoids.

Xaraxunia, his tribe, and the entire force of the Koboth's Hivemind flew towards the Mamarock Coast, where the majority of lighter-skinned Kobok bug beings lived. They had come from the sun-kissed Kuurok Peninsula, which was right next to the scorching hot "Sorrowlands". It was well known on Koboth that whichever insectoid clan was trapped in the Sorrowlands during the solar flare from Koba Prime would be eliminated. The insectoids had far outgrown their planet, and they looked forward to fighting over other planets with other species.

Xaraxunia and the Hivemind had come this far to settle a matter of disrespect. Though the Kobok usually handled their problems by speaking through the insectoid / Morneau Hivemind, this time, the insult was far too great, and it came from a most disrespectful source. A foolish Triani wolf-woman hiding in the ship graveyard had said that the Aminozurzt AND the Hive were both idols; false relics; weapons without any true power at all. The Koboth Union declared that the AminoZurzt, the "Jewel of Koboth", the Fist of Ages, brought ultimate power to whomever was the one to hold it. The weapon shimmered with a strange substance that nobody understood, called "obsidian slugs". At first, the Koboth believed it was merely flesh-eating fungus, but the substance was sentient, and it could speak Hivemind. The obsidian slugs spoke of the ancient past of the planet. They were most wise. They were the only beings that the Hive and the Queen would accept inside of its chamber, other than its eggs.

Instead of listening to the obsidian slugs, the Triani scum, together with the silver carapace Kobok bug-warriors, had jointly slandered the relic which kept them alive!

It was the biggest mistake of the wolf-woman's life.

Xaraxunia would put the Triani on a pike, and march her back to the space-slugs to be devoured, defecated, and devoured again.

But it was not the Triani's slander which most concerned Xaraxunia. It was the silver carapace wasps; those dogs; those traitors! They knew the true power of the Aminozurzt, and they relied on the Power of the Hivemind, but they refused to recognize it and to fall in line. The silver carapace warriors now said that Xaraxunia was a pretender, merely because he could not summon forward "The Ancient Mystics of the Hive". Bah! Him, and every other Kobok! It made Xar no better and no worse that he could not summon the Ancient Magic. He did not need it, because he had the Aminozurzt!

Then, they began insulting his ability as a warrior, suggesting that Xaraxunia feared the Trianii warriors! It was then that Xaraxunia decided to march on the Mamarok Coast.

Image Credits: HotPot.AI.

OBJECTIVE 1: BATTLESHIP - DECIMATE THE TRIANII RANGERS​

Sub Objective - Kill All Silver Carapace Warriors: OBJECTIVE COMPLETE. Xaraxunia desires the utter destruction of all silver carapace warriors on the planet. He will head to the ship graveyard, to the wreck of the "Titan Athena" ship which is the home of the silver warriors. He and the Hivemind intends to board and raid the ship, killing all silver Kobok and Trianii that they find, before raising the battlecruiser from the dead.

[Debriefing: Upon reaching the inside of the downed Titan Athena ship, Xaraxunia and his warriors massacred all silver carapace commanders. Across the planet, other silver carapace warriors would be hunted and, if found, destroyed. The silver carapace warriors, the last "peaceful" genus of the Kobok insectoids, have been eliminated. It is a sad fact on Koboth that only the strongest, biggest bugs survive. ]

Sub Objective - Devour the Trianii Forxz Woman: The insectoids are instructed to leave the wolf-woman Trianii for Xaraxunia, who has already arrived. The wolf-woman is protected by both silver carapace warriors and Jedi Trianii Rangers. Rumors among the warriors suggest that Xaraxunia plans to kill and then devour this Trianii together with his insectoid allies, which may or may not please the Ancient Mystics of the Hive. It is possible that the Hive will receive this power that humans call the "forxz" if they rend this Trianii, who is said to have "magic" powers.

Sub Objective - Power the Bridge: The front, furthest side of the ship is the bridge. Replace the ship's power crystal, and then engage its maiden voyage into the atmosphere above Koboth. The space slugs will protect our ascent. All hail the Hivemind.

Image Credits: HotPot.AI.

OBJECTIVE 2: ATMOSPHERE - FLEET BATTLE​

Above the planet, The Hivemind's fleet moved into place. There were about a dozen large, carnivorous space slugs that were prepared to take on any ships that tried to prevent the Titan Athena from leaving the atmosphere. This was in addition to any other ships that the Hivemind brought with them. The space slugs were armed with rudimentary laser cannons, and one of them held a lance in its mouth. Xaraxunia would communicate with the space slugs using Hivemind Speech, helping his friends to coordinate the attack top-side.

 

[XaraXunia]

Image Credits: HotPot.AI.

OBJECTIVE 1: BATTLESHIP - DECIMATE THE TRIANII RANGERS
Location: Ship Graveyard, Mamarok Coast, Koboth
Sub Objective: Destroy all silver carapace warriors
Tags: Kylraya | Akestos | Mr. Usher | Delila Castillon | Kas Varad | Open to Insects and Bug Hunters
​

Xaraxunia marched up the boarding ramp of the Titan Athena battlecruiser, with hundreds of his insectoid warriors following after him. The silver warriors trusted him so much that, when he arrived inside of the ship, they greeted him as an honored guest.

"ZZZZZzzzzzzt Xaraxzzzzunia! My liege, what are you do--GYARGH!!!"

The silver carapace warrior is grabbed by the neck, and then forcefully subdued by four red carapace Xaraxunia warriors, who hold the silver bug down, jaws-first, against a sterile surgery table. The boarding area seemed to be near the medical bay, in this particular battlecruiser model. The other silver carapace warriors are shocked by the sudden display of violence. Three silver Kobok lieutenants draw their weapons.

"What wazzzzzz that, that you zzzzzaid, about WEAKNESS Zzz!?!"

Xaraxunia holds his halberd up high, his four jaws inhaling a deep breath...and he brings the halberd down directly on the silver warrior's scrawny, buggy head. The warrior's noggin slides forth effortlessly from his body, as green goo spills from his neck onto the metal floor of the battlecruiser. The red carapace warriors flood into the Titan Athena, wielding swords and spears that were as large as their bodies.

A guard raises their blaster at Xaraxunia, fires, and misses. Xaraxunia swings his halberd at the guard, and he too is beheaded.

"I HAVE COME....FOR...CONNNNQUEST! ZzzzzzZZzzzzt!"

Xaraxunia seizes an E-11 blaster from the guard and then uses it to fire on another guard, who is struck in the gut.. At 10ft tall, Xaraxunia is so large that he can hold the two-handed human blaster rifle with one hand, and his halberd in the other. He shoots laser rounds into the diplomat's three silver lieutenants, who slump dead against the wall of the ship. Then, he drives his knee into one of the nearby insectoid's jaws.

Xaraxunia and his elites open fire on the silver carapace warriors, beginning to waste to the silver traitors for their betrayal.

They and their allies would press forward to the bridge of the ship; there, they would bring it back to life.

Unbeknownst to Xaraxunia and The Hivemind, the Trianii Rangers lie in wait further up the deck...

 

[Kas Varad]

OBJECTIVE 1: BATTLESHIP – BUG HUNT!
aka Rescue some Forcer in over her head, then get paid for the 'rescue'.
Location: Lower Deck, Cargo Bay of the Titan Athena battlecruiser
Tags: Open | XaraXunia
Muse Music

Kaz took a long drag from an oversized Fiorra cigarra, savoring the taste of ivory class, before stubbing it out under his metal boot with a crunch. His red-painted clan armor had seen better days—scarred, patched, and dented from one job too many—but the gear? Rough, varied, and just about as well-maintained as his liver.

A green blast from his disruptor shotgun vaporized an insectoid, leaving behind only the smell of burnt chitin and the faint hydro-oil scent from his barrel. Frak, he'd do this for free. Been too long since he'd had a good bug hunt. But never turn down credits—especially Consortium credits.

Helmet on. HUD online. The rebreather cut out whatever toxins were floating in the air while his visor fed him tracking data. He deployed a drone to scout ahead, another on rear watch—fast enough to avoid getting chomped, smart enough to shock anything that got too close. Prying open an access port, Kas dropped into the lower cargo bay, heavy boots thudding against the deck.

The Consortium wanted their money's worth. Some alien specimens bagged. A Forcer pulled out and ransomed back to the Jedi later. Maybe set the reactor to overload while he was at it. Not asking much, were they?

Kaz stomped on a smaller bug without missing a step, shotgun held loose but ready. His HUD flickered, charting the fastest route.

Time to work.

Gear:

Spoiler

Armor: Emerald-Iron with Horus FCP HUD and Bossy R-Bos1 Rebreather
Weapons: 1x DS-9K Shotgun (Hands), 1x Icebreaker (Back) 2x Mk2-Jack Knife (Hips), 1x ASH-01 Blaster (Belt)
Melee: 1 x Songsteel Sword (Thigh), 1 x Force Pike (Back), Grenade Belt: x5 Mixed.
Gear 1x Lifeform Detector, x1 Personal Shield, 1x Harris Grace Medkit, 1x Magomatics, Containers
Drones: 2x SB1 Non Lethal Drones

 

[XaraXunia]

Image Credits: HotPot.AI.

OBJECTIVE 1: Battleship - Decimate the Trianii Rangers
Location: Ship Graveyard, Mamarok Coast, Koboth
Sub Objective: Destroy all silver carapace warriors
Tags: Kylraya | Akestos | Mr. Usher | Delila Castillon | Kas Varad | Open to Insects and Bug Hunters​

Xaraxunia has piked the head of the silver Kobok commander, and he marches it around like a macabre mannequin. He cackles with glee and sadism.

"Not zzzo tough now, Ildryzzzzargh, are you?! ZYAH ZYAH ZYAH ZYAH ZYAH!!!"

A tan-colored, smaller, five foot tall Kobok would notice the drone sent by Kas through the glass windows of the battlecruiser. It pointed frantically at the drone, gathering the other tan insectoids around it to gawk. Xaraxunia strolled over to it, too, as the tiny recon drone got a good look at the silver, black, and red carapace bugs inside of the battlecruiser. The red koboks and black koboks had utterly annihilated the silver ones, and the entire medical bay was covered in their green blood. There were silver carapace warriors slumped all over the entrance of the battlecruiser. The red carapace warriors were trying to break through the main cradle of the ship, then heading to the bridge. A Xaraxunia fire team had assembled.

The small tan Kobok was staring right into the camera feed. It engaged the airlock and opened the window.

Then, the drone gave it a non-lethal shock. The tan kobok yelped out, "AYYYYYYYAYA!" and then ran away.

Unfortunately, this alerted the entire Hivemind. The insectoids began gathering around the blast door, trying to push their way into the ship and find the source of their troubles.

A new Xaraxunia elite stood in the medical bay, aiming what looked like a grenade launcher towards the blast door leading to the main cradle. He fired a rocket-propelled grenade. BLAM! The silver carapace guards behind the blast door exploded into buggy goo, and the explosion rained shrapnel over the bugs. The blast doors held, but they bent near the middle. Unfortunately, this killed some of Xaraxunia's insectoids too.

Xaraxunia curses the elite in Koboki, and then points the launcher away from the door. "FOOOLZZZ! LET ME!"

Xaraxunia marches towards the bridge of the ship, towards the blast doors, with purpose. He takes strong, long, deliberate strides with his buggy, spiny, exoskeletal feet. Green goo splashes on the ground everywhere that he walks from his "mannequin". He kicks the blast door controls harshly with the boot of his heel, and they spring open. His guards gather near him, armed with antique slug thrower rifles.

"TRIANII RANGER SZZZCUM! Come out here and fight usszz!", Xar bellowed into the hallway. His low, gravel-like voice echoed loudly.

Xar took a laser shot to the mid-section from an attacker in hiding. He stumbled, and then strode in that direction. He swung his halberd towards the walls of the battlecruiser. The silver carapace commander's head slammed into the durasteel floor and rolled towards the bridge.

"YOUR COMMANDER, IZZ DEAD!"

This provocation brought the defenders out of hiding. Blaster fire rang out on both sides. Wolves, hyenas, silver insectoids, and all manner of defenders emerged on all sides, firing on the red carapace insectoids. Xaraxunia had found the Trianii Rangers.

He ducked behind a wall, and gestured for his lieutenant to toss him the RPG Launcher.

 

[Kas Varad]

OBJECTIVE 1: BATTLESHIP – BUG HUNT!
aka Rescue some Forcer in over her head, then get paid for the 'rescue'.
Location: Lower Deck, Ascending upward from the Cargo Bay of the Titan Athena battlecruiser
Tags: Open | XaraXunia
Muse:

Spoiler

Lots of bugs. Lots of noise. And they were fighting each other—that was a new one. The sizzling clunk of his disruptor shotgun joined the screeching din, a clinical percussion against the scuttling swarmers, not much caring which side he hit. A spent power cell clattered to the floor, and Kaz slammed a fresh one into place.

Finding a shadowed corner of the wrecked ship, he knelt, scooping up some ungodly goop into separate containers. Whatever the nethers it was, he didn't want to know. Thank frak for the helmet's filters, though it didn't stop his stomach from twisting. He cleared his throat, trying not to gag.

XaraXunia

BANG. BANG. BANG.

A nearby blast door rattled under something heavy, and Kaz instinctively leaned in—only to jolt back a step. The critters had no idea who they were messing with. He set to rigging a cryoban grenade, securing it against the frame. Anything busting through would get served a faceful of flash-frozen surprise.

Hand to his helmet, he keyed into comms. "Scylla, darlin', give me a status report."

A soft beep acknowledged the request. His HUD lit up, feeding him real-time data—bug movement patterns, attack capabilities, probable targets, and the fastest way to whatever poor bastards were still alive.

"Certainty: 95.6%," the AI responded in its clinical tone.

Kaz chuckled. "Always with the sweet talk. Bring up Ms. High-and-Mighty on the comms—see if I can't persuade her to tag along." and if she wouldn't? Well, he'd stun her and haul her out himself.

Gripping a nearby ladder, he started climbing up a vertical shaft toward the bridge. Tight squeeze with all his gear, but if anything came after him, they'd be fish in a barrel.

Drone ahead and behind, he was patched through to some surprised faces on his HUD. "So, Wolfy—" Kaz adjusted his grip on the ladder, shotgun in one hand, looking down. "About that ride. You needing one, or am I throwin' you over my shoulder?"

 

[XaraXunia]

Image Credits: HotPot.AI.

OBJECTIVE 1: Battleship - Decimate the Trianii Rangers
Location: Ship Graveyard, Mamarok Coast, Koboth
Sub Objective: Devour the Trianii Force User on the Bridge
Tags: Kylraya | Akestos | Mr. Usher | Delila Castillon | Kas Varad | Open to Insects and Bug Hunters
​

Xaraxunia took hold of the RPG launcher, and sent a rocket hurling at the next blast door. It punched the door in, and then blasted it off of its hinges. Four Trianii Rangers are blasted backwards by the door and the debris, and the grunts run forward to seize their fallen weapons. They raise the blaster rifles at the other Trianii in hiding, but a lion man quickly blasts two grunts and flees in the direction of the bridge.

The cryoban grenade activates. A dozen elite troops are blasted with frosty cryonic ice. Almost all of the red bugs who walk in front of the door die, and two black bugs have their sticky skeletal feet trapped on the doonium floor. This greatly delays the elites from reaching the bridge, because they have to spend time freeing their friends and trying to find out what just happened. Kas may have just bought himself some time.

The elites and tan warriors marched into the gunwale (upper-right) of the ship: a storage area and hangar, which led into the ship's cargo hangars.

The insectoids were rapidly approaching the bridge. This blast door would be the toughest one to breach, and it couldn't just be blasted off its hinges this time. Xaraxunia would have to try a new strategy...but first, he'd need some new weapons.

[...]

When Kas hailed "Wolfy" over the allied comms, the comms crackle. Almost all Kas can hear in the background is blaster fire, bangs, and explosions.

Kas hears a female voice with a growling quality. She has a funny sort of accent you haven't heard before. It must be "Wolfy".

"Hm, is that your idea of foreplay? - Yes, for the love of Trian, go to the main cradle! I'm holed up in the bridge's panic room. If--hang on-"

There was a pause. WHOOM. BLAM BLAM. Something buggy-sounding wailed. WHOOM.

"GOT ANOTHER ONE! --if the rest of them get through, you're definitely gonna be carrying me out."

[...]

The upper cradle of the ship gives Kas an excellent vantage point. It would be fairly easy now to sneak over to the bridge and to examine what is happening there. Kas's droid feeds give him a good view of the chaos happening on the main cradle and in the under-bunk. The grunts and elites are too busy now trying to eliminate the last of the silver carapace warriors in the ship graveyard, and they do not notice the cam feeds. The black, red, and tan warriors flood into the cargo bay and slaughter the last of the silver carapace warriors effortlessly. Slugs sail, and they slump dead quickly. The remaining bugs are slashed apart with melee attacks. The silvers did not see Xaraxunia's elites coming, and they were not armed or ready to be attacked.

The black carapace warriors immediately begin to devour the silver ones, opening their four jaws and bringing them down. Kas and anyone else watching the droids would likely avert their eyes. It's quite a disturbing sight.

Now, the tan warriors and elites were ransacking the cargo bay. They armed themselves with newer, fancier equipment: blaster rifles, concussion grenades, and more "modern" slugthrower rifles, ones that could fire a whole magazine in just a few seconds! About one-sixth of the insectoid warriors were in the cargo bay arming themselves with new weapons.

...and Kas had the perfect view of it all.

The rest of the bugs were working on the final blast door, trying to breach the bridge. The Trianii Rangers could hear the bugs fumbling at the door of the bridge, but they were in no position to fight back. Through the droid footage, Kas can see that the insectoid warriors had stun-cuffed the Trianii diplomats who worked for the silver bugs. The silver bugs in the bridge were dead. There was a wolf-man and a hyena-woman in there, and the bugs seemed to be trying to extract some kind of information from them. The red bugs had a stun baton, and Kas watched the hyena-woman receive a soundless zap over the droid feed. It looked pretty painful.

Kas could see the panic room area, too, where "Wolfy" said she was holed up. It was a small maintenance closet just short of the bridge. She seemed to be hiding inside of the maintenance walk and using guerilla tactics against the bugs who crawled through the vents.

Xaraxunia Sub-Objective Complete: All silver carapace commanders have been eliminated.

Xaraxunia New Sub-Objective: Devour Wolfy.​

 

[Mr. Usher]

OBJECTIVE 1: BATTLESHIP – BUG HUNT!
TAGS: XaraXunia | Kas Varad​

---

Mr. Usher wasn't the first one here - the sound of gunfire preceded his entourage as they crested a hillside, revealing the downed ship and hordes of insectoids reacting to conflict below.

Mr. Usher had lost a significant amount of biomass on Mygeeto, in no small part to XaraXunia and it's forces of insectoids. The tension among the differing colors had Mr. Usher curious about what extent the leader has control of the the soldier bugs. He intended to find out - none of the biomass from Mygeeto was retrieved, but this insectoid species had new genetic avenues Mr. Usher could pursue, if he could secure enough biomass to adopt their own forms.

This time, Mr. Usher came ready for war - not balancing a 3 front defence. Several basic husks with cheap blasters and basic protective vests were overseen by quadrupedal prowlers, almost arachnid-like in shape with armored keratin shielding at the extremities and joints- these were made for leaping, not climbing. Atop the prowlers were what Mr. Usher had seemed Warriors - a denser collection of biomass than the average husk, much closer to that of a normal humanoid.each Warrior sported a hand shield - ribcage and keratin for flexibility and coverage, and a whip-of-teeth topped with a claw, a thin, flexible and prehensile weapon that was expendible enough to be destroyed when blocked without significant issues in attrition - much more efficient than the improvised spinal poleaxe.

Lastly, behind the formation, was one hulk - corpulent, immobile, and hard shelled, it almost looked like a mollusk. Inside the dense bone and chitin structure was a dense ball of biomass in reserve, a factory waiting to dispense more husks to adapt to the situation.

The numerical odds weren't great - but Mr. Usher didn't wasnt after sweeping victory, saving the planet, or killing the leader.

Mr. Usher saw the thousands of insects as shiny new toys to play with, if he could just get his hands on enough of them.

The husk squadrons split to accompany each warrior-prowler pair and charged towards the crash site.

---

 

[Kas Varad]

OBJECTIVE 1: BATTLESHIP – BUG HUNT!
aka Rescue some Forcer in over her head, then get paid for the 'rescue'.
Location: Upper cradle over the bridge of the Titan Athena battlecruiser
Tags: Open | XaraXunia | Mr. Usher
Muse:

Spoiler

Shouldering the shotgun, he climbed higher, boots scraping metal as he pulled himself over the bridge. When Terminus consumed a world, it left nothing but rot and ruin. Kaz had seen some bug-ridden hellscapes he'd rather forget, but sights like this? They stuck, no matter how many midnights he drowned in whiskey.

"It's a date. So don't go dying on me."

Low voice, open channel—just in case she needed to call back. He kept moving, eyes flicking to the feeds. Scuttlers were stocking up. Bad sign. Heat barely slowed bugs down, but cold? Cold kept 'em pinned, kept 'em dead. He'd prepped accordingly.

Couldn't ask for a better view! Moving where he could unhindered. No point in playing hero. If he wasn't getting paid for it, it wasn't his problem. He walked right over the two cuffed below, didn't even glance their way. Dropping something down the vent. No waiting. No hesitation. Click. Roll

Then—"Psst. Look up, bright eyes. Blocking you in, then hauling you out."

Rat at tat tat tat clank. The glop grenade tumbled down toward the main bulk somewhere at the bridge blast door, rattled against the floor, and stilled. A heartbeat of silence. Then—

POP. HISSS.

A thick, white wave of industrial-grade adhesive glue burst out, smothering everything in a ten-meter radius. Bugs, hostages, every damn thing it could in the blast zone, anything caught potentially stuck in the expanding sludge from floor to ceiling. Five minutes of struggling, then it'd harden and crack—unless the scuttlers unglued themselves from meters of aggravation.

Above it all, Kaz grinned—a cocky spacer with a self-satisfied smirk. He got that trick crusading against a riot.

"Hunker down, bright eyes."

Stepping over to the forcer, then way back, he raised his disruptor and started melting the ceiling above her. Molten metal dripped, sizzled, and burned—if only he could smell it. Nothing like the sweet smell of a disruptor doing its job. Only downside? One cell left in the shotgun charge—after that, he'd be running too hot. And he was already down two grenades out of five, burning through some of his best tricks.

 

[Talanis Botos]

BATTLESHIP – BUG HUNT!
Objective: Escape the Battleship
Location: Maintenance Shaft - Bridge - Titan Athena battlecruiser
Tags: Open | XaraXunia | Mr. Usher | Kas Varad | Talanis Botos

The insectoids in the cargo hold were getting ready to head to the Titan Athena's bridge now. They were armed with antique slugthrowers and blaster rifles. One of the elites gave the grunts a harsh boot to his behind. They were heading West of the gunwale now and towards the ramp leading North and up into the bridge.

The bridge, however, was now covered in gluey, sticky, nasty adhesive. The bugs would be writhing and struggling there for a while, and the two other force-user Morneaus would be able to escape during the chaos. The bugs in the cargo hold run up the ramp to the bridge, and they start trying to help the hostage-taking Koboks out of the adhesive glue. During the chaos, Talanis shot one of the bugs dead, grabbing its small blaster pistol. Then, she ducked into the bridge's maintenance shaft, knowing she hadn't been seen yet.

The bugs wasted too much time, and they had failed their second objective.

Talanis Botos, a Trianii Ranger and a continuing source of problems for Xaraxunia's bloodthirsty tribes, was freed.

INSECTOID OBJECTIVE 2 FAILED: Talanis and the Rangers have been freed!​

"Psst. Look up, bright eyes."

Talanis jumped wildly, then caught her heart in her chest. "Boy am I glad to see you", Talanis said in a low voice as Kas appeared from the catwalk.

"Blocking you in, then hauling you out."

"Haul me out! I'm not staying here another minute!", she insisted. Talanis waved her tiny pea-shooter-sized blaster pistol at him. "They left me with nothing but a holdout weapon. You've got more guns, right?"

"Hunker down, bright eyes."

Talanis heard the sound of a disruptor which, in her experience as a Trianii Ranger, was usually followed by a large clatter, and that large clatter tended to attract much larger bugs. Talanis could see the outline of the tile that was about to fall. It clung precariously to the metal, and then part of the tiling dropped down above Talanis. She outstretched her arms in preparation. Then, she caught the metal with two hands as it fell, so that it wouldn't make too loud of a clattering noise. She carefully set the tile on the ground.

Kas was inside of a maintenance shaft that was adjacent to the bridge. Kas and Talanis could see the bugs in the bridge through a small maintenance porthole. The bugs screamed and shouted, desperately trying to free the large bugs. The insectoids were furious at being delayed a second time.

Then, Talanis saw Kas coming down through the ceiling.

"There you are, Kas. Good teamwork. Now, we just have to focus on getting out."

Talanis ducked down near the porthole, trying to see what the insectoids were doing inside. She spoke in a low voice because the bugs were near.

"Let them have the ship. It's not worth it. My life's worth more than this."

"Unfortunately, I was knocked out and kidnapped, and I don't where the way out actually is..."

"This is all my fault. I insulted Xaraxunia's stupid axe again. I didn't think it would be this serious."

 

[XaraXunia]

OBJECTIVE: Battleship Bug Hunt
Location: Ship Graveyard, Mamarok Coast, Koboth
Sub Objective: Active Crystal Matrix and Take Ship into Orbit
Tags: Mr. Usher | Talanis Botos | Kas Varad | Open - last chance to get on the ship before it moves!

Spoiler: Flavor Music

Maintenance Area
Tag: Talanis Botos | Kas Varad ​

The insectoids in the cargo hold were getting ready to head to the Titan Athena's bridge and power on the crystal matrix. They were armed with antique slugthrowers and blaster rifles. Some of the ten-foot insects left with durasteel armor, which they tore apart until it fit around their rubs. Other insects that were less war-natured were getting to work flipping switches, shifting gears, and powering on the ship's generators. Xaraxunia seriously was planning to take the ship into space.

One of the elites gave the grunt a harsh boot to his behind, telling him to MOVE. Xaraxunia's warriors were heading up the cargo hold plank to the bridge, when suddenly...

CLINK. TSSSSSSS.

An adhesive grenade! The eternal enemy of insectoids everywhere!

The surprise attack ambushed the bugs, filling the room up with about five feet of sticky, disgusting foam. Xaraxunia tried to free his feet, but he needed the help of two other subordinates to move away from the yellowish-white gunk. The stuff was up to his knees now! Xaraxunia was a warrior of great strength, but he did not understand that the more he struggled, the more the adhesive bond worked into his exoskeletal hairs.

Some of the other bugs were not so lucky. Seven of the five-foot-tall grunts near the blast zone got hit around the mouth and began to suffocate, panicking and running around before falling unconscious.

The adhesive would go brittle eventually, buying Talanis Botos and Kas Varad enough time to find a way to escape.

Inside the Bridge​

Talanis and Kas would be able to see the scene unfolding inside of the bridge, if they stayed long enough for the adhesive to brittle. If not, Kas could watch from his droid cameras, which the insectoids took little notice of (seeing as how there were so many small, tan koboks present).

[...]

Xaraxunia howled with glee and laughed - "XARXARXARXAR!" - when the smart insectoids powered on the consoles on the bridge.

"IT WORKZZZ! IT ALL WORKZZZ!"

Xaraxunia rubbed his hands together. He strolled along the bridge, running his fingers along the weapons consoles. The ship was in incredible shape. The silver carapace bugs certainly were the smartest bugs to roam the planet, since the days of the Golden Bugs centuries ago.

"Coordinatezzzz, My Liege?", a female insectoid asked, pressing four arms and hands along the instrumentation.

"Nar Shaddaa" Xarxunia answered her instantly. The giant bugman assumed the captain's chair of the ship. He ran his insectoid hands over the armchair. It was comfortable. Almost too uncomfortable. He tore the leather straight off the armchair and left the sponge insides to touch his exoskeleton hands. That was much more comfortable!

Xar roared at his shanghai'd crew. "HURRY UP! GET THAT HYPERDRIVE WORKING! CLOSZE THAT BOARDING RAMPZZ!!!"

"Right away, Zzzzzir", said one of the small, tan grunts.

Not since becoming Liege of Koboth did Xaraxunia feel so much power.

"TURN ON AUTO TURRETSZZZZZ! WE ARE LEAVING!"

More commands. It felt so good to behave this badly.

A male and a female Kobok worked together, trying to figure out how to replace the pieces of the hyperdrive. While the ship was indeed grounded, it was far from non functioning. Although the Titan Athena had sat for decades in this ship graveyard, the hull was mostly intact. It was in good shape, received good shade from a mountain nearby, and it was reasonably protected from the terrestrial weather and sandstorms. But, this is where the smaller koboks came in: it was up to them to squeeze their tiny bodies into the hyperdrive and dislodge years of debris.

Then, and only then, would it spin up.

Since the insectoids did not need as much atmospherics as humans and mammal-creatures did, they would be able to survive long enough to get the battleship into "wild space", where they could repair the ship without being bothered. Mostly.

Whether Mr. Usher would allow the insectoids to leave Koboth remains to be seen.

Ship Entrance & Ship Midsection
Tag: Mr. Usher ​

As he stepped out of the desert and into the shade of the Titan Athena, Mr. Usher would see an utter field of devastation. Bugs of all shapes, sizes and colors littered the entrance of the battleship and the Ship Graveyard outside. Their blue, purple and green blood cover the rampway and the outer hangar.

Two Trianii Rangers - half-human and half-animals - tried to dart past Mr. Usher without even speaking to him. If he stopped them, they would beg Mr. Usher not to go inside of the ship.

Boarding the TItan Athena, Mr. Usher would notice that the lights are on, and that Xaraxunia's tribe is definitely inside of the ship.

When Mr. Usher's Warrior husks enter the mid-section of the ship, they encounter Xaraxunia's insectoid warriors. With a series of bloodthirsty growls and hisses, the insectoids raise their looted slugthrowers and blaster rifles. They were prepared to fire. "HOLD!" But then, one of the elite insectoids pointed the barrel of his rifle at the ground, giving Mr. Usher's warriors a close look.

The elite bug extended a buggy finger at the unexpected guests. "Dark bugz", he explained.

It was true: Mr. Usher's Warrior bio-masses and husks did appear to have black carapaces, which were kind of like the insectoids. Kind of? Didn't they? Regardless, the insectoids strangely relented. The other "dark bugs" were helping Xaraxunia. The appearance of new "dark bugs" was suspicious.

One of Xaraxunia's commanders, Leader RokThrop, stepped forward - gun barrel first.

"You. Dark bugzzzz. Are you diplomatzzz - or invaderzzz?"

When the gigantic bio-mass hulk got onto the ship, the main boarding ramp closed.

The easy way out was closed. For now.

The Atmosphere Above Koboth​

The Space Slugs lie in wait in the atmosphere above Koboth. The Space Slugs, once purple carapace insectoid Kobok warriors, became sentient insectoid ships when the "shadow flares" of the Sorrowlands of Koboth turned them into monstrosities that were ten times the size of a regular Kobok. They were so large, they acted as dropships for the insectoids. They worked for whoever fed them royal jelly, which happened to be the Red Bugs.

The Space Slugs would perk up their antennae at the presence of Mr. Usher . They felt that something was not right, and that the insectoids potentially would not make it out of the atmosphere. The Space Slugs began their slow and careful descent into Koboth, heading for the ship graveyard. Because they were fast, but not maneuverable, it would take them some time to reach the Titan Athena.

[OOC: Five corvette-sized Space Slugs will be fielded on Xaraxunia's next turn.]

 

[Mr. Usher]

ONBOARD
HUSK POINTS (HP) = 500
TAGS: XaraXunia​

---

The ravenous core buried under thousands of minds mentally salivated at the sheer size of the Space Slug. So much biomass.

Hunger was, of course, outweighed by reason. The vacuum of space was costly to resist, and the hesitation of the insectoid warriors indicated the lingering effect of recognition. They seemed to have some idea what he was (From their cultural standpoint) but Mr. Usher knew little about them.

Information shared was just as valuable as information stolen.

A single carapaced warrior - black from armor segments of chitin, bone, and coagulated, hardened blood, red muscle and pale sinew connecting each plate.

The warrior requires modification to speak, shifting the tissues to form a crude larynx and mouth underneath the "helm" of the figure.

"You. Dark bugzzzz. Are you diplomatzzz - or invaderzzz?"

"Perhaps one, perhaps both. We seem to lack true understanding of each other, the one who calls them self XaraXunia and ourselves. It is knowledge we seek, by tribute or by force."

They seemed to have some hierarchy, some societal structure beyond a mental link. Mr. Usher did not have memories from any of the insectoids to confirm this suspicion - it would be a gamble, then. He had come to claim his pound of flesh by force, but the respect shown by the drones both here and before had curiosity override vengeance.

They also seemed to think each Form was an individual being - playing into this assumption seemed beneficial to establish common ground.

" The warlord has cost us much flesh and spoke of cryptic understandings. We are willing to forgive this loss of biomass in exchange for information. Else, we shall claim flesh from your ranks."

He could not rely on body language observation with the unfamiliar biology of the insectoids. This was new ground for a mind full of myriad lives to tread.

---

Spoiler: Forms and Biomass Table

Name​	HP threshold​	Difficulty​	Notes​
Husk​	1​	Easy​	Covert,​
Warrior​	4​	Standard​	Offense,​
Prowler​	24​	Threatening​	Agile, stealthy,​
Hulk​	48​	Dangerous​	Defense, transport,​
Heart​	1000​	N/A​	Immobile, digestion​

 

[Kas Varad]

OBJECTIVE 1: BATTLESHIP – BUG HUNT!
aka Rescue some Forcer in over her head, then get paid for the 'rescue'.
Location: Maintenance shaft adjacent to the bridge.
Tags: Open | XaraXunia | Mr. Usher | Talanis Botos

"You got more guns?" What was he, a damn holostore!

Kas reached over to help her, but she was already stashing the metal shards. For a Mandalorian, his gear was a mess—needed a clean—but at least he packed enough firepower. "In's always easy. Out's always a queen." Reluctantly, he loaded one of his two Jack Knives, flipping it, grip first toward her. "Careful, kicks more than it looks." Triple-burst sonic concussive goodness in a solid package. "Keep it away from your ears."

Maintenance shafts. Could backtrack, but the cargo hold had visitors. Bugs a plenty that way, no time to wait here.

"Scylla, you got a path out?"

<Processing variables… standby… estimated 92.5% probability done.> His HUD flashed with an AI-predicted route.

Kas didn't need numbers to lie to him, or AI warning, things were going sideways. A spacer all his life, he felt the hum—systems waking up. Consoles warming. "Sorry no time to be subtle bright eyes." Not that subtle was his forte.

Rearing back and driving his armored boot into the nearest maintenance hatch. Once. Twice. A third time, and it buckled, ripping off its hinges.

"After you. Straight, right, right, left, up, right." Probably have to repeat that a few times, and she could assume he would. In every B-movie holovid bug chase, the one at the back ran out of ammo first. So, he took the rear, shouldering the last precious shotgun cell to cool, and taking out the cryboban icebreaker rifle, ready to just block the way behind them. Old design, but most of his gear looked worn.

"Out before she lifts off, or we've got a galaxy of problems." Bugs everywhere, ship out of their control. Unless this bucket had a shuttle that wasn't rusting away to its core. He glanced at her. "What's the big deal about this axe anyway?"

 

[Talanis Botos]

"Careful, kicks more than it looks. Keep it away from your ears."

"Sonic. Perfect. The bugs hate loud noises - and they're gonna hate me." Talanis smiled at him.

As soon as Kas's iron boot kicks down the maintenance grate, Talanis starts moving.

"EAT IT, BUG BOYS!"

She fires the sonic pistol at two small grunts in the maintenance shaft. They seize up, flail, and then hit the ground. An elite steps forward with a fire axe and Talanis hip-fires two rounds into him, and then roundhouse kicks him to the ground. Two more elites move towards Kas...

Kas can hear Talanis muttering the directions as they make their way through the ship. "Straight...right...right..."

Talanis gets a look at the map interface, and she sees that they are heading straight for the escape pods. But that meant heading back to the bow, the end of the ship, and then heading down into the bowels of the battlecruiser. At this point, the insectoids would be crawling all over the ship.

"Out before she lifts off, or we've got a galaxy of problems."

"I hope that AI knows what she's doing!", Talanis said nervously, looking back at Kas as they practically sprinted through the maintenance halls.

"What's the big deal about this axe anyway?"

"It's holy to them", Talanis said breathlessly as they ran. "They worship the mold on the end of his axe. It's special to them."

"Left, up, rrr--oh chit oh chit oh chit", Talanis repeated, as she and Kas maneuvered their way through the maintenance shaft. Even the maintenance shaft was infested with bugs. Talanis stomped on the very small bugs, and shot another tan Kobok grunt.

When they reached the end of the maintenance hall, Talanis and Kas would have to stop abruptly. The hallway leading to the escape pods was heavily occupied by both bugs and by some other type of creature. Talanis thought it was a disgusting-looking black ooze bug of some sort. Worse yet, the ooze-looking bug was having what looked like a parlay with the insectoid-looking bug.

They might have to fight both group of bugs, just to get out of here!