First Reply Killing The Beast Within

[Sable Varro]

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Killing The Beast Within

Tags: Open

Equipment Loadout:

• Primary Weapon(s): SD-L1 Long Blaster
• Secondary Weapon(s): HG-88 Big Iron, VB-113 "Tidefall" Class Vibroblade,
• Specialized Gear: Wrist Mounted Weapons (Hekler'Kok WMMW-01), DS-102 "Aegis" Personal Energy Shield,
• Armor & Attire: Personal Armor

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The air on Zakuul was thick with the oppressive weight of the dark side as Sable Varro ventured deeper into the planet's heart. The jungle before her was like no other she had encountered: a twisted, labyrinthine maze of blackened trees, thick vines, and unnatural vegetation. Dark energy pulsed from the very soil, each step sinking her deeper into the abyss of this cursed place. The planet's dark side corruption had seeped into everything here, transforming the once lush greenery into something far more sinister. The jungle's canopy, a dense, choking ceiling of blackened leaves, barely allowed any light to reach the ground, and the distant screeches of twisted wildlife echoed through the air.


This was no place for the faint of heart.


Sable had a job to do—collecting several Sith entities, the remnants of dark experiments, twisted biological horrors bred in the depths of Sith laboratories. The specimens she sought were more than mere people—they were biological weapons, experiments gone awry, waiting to be harvested for their materials. The mission was clear: extract their biological components, ensure they could no longer serve the Sith Empire, and return. But as always, the hunt would be more dangerous than anticipated. The Sith, in their insatiable thirst for power, had left their mark on this place, and what she was hunting was something far beyond the typical monster.


She moved carefully, her boots sinking into the soft, black soil, her armor humming with life as the exoskeleton subtly enhanced her strength and speed. Her HUD flashed, picking up faint signatures ahead—unreadable to most, but unmistakable to someone like her. These were no ordinary creatures. Her scanners displayed fluctuating readings, each one stronger than the last. She was getting close.


Through the dense foliage, she caught sight of her first target. A hulking mass of blackened muscle and glowing yellow eyes—an abomination, once human, now corrupted beyond recognition. Its skin was twisted, riddled with dark tattoos that pulsed with dark side energy. Its breathing was heavy and erratic, its mind a shattered remnant of the Sith's attempts to create the perfect weapon.


Sable raised her arm, the whipcord launcher at the ready. With a sharp snap of her wrist, the cord shot out, coiling around the abomination's arm with precision. The creature snarled, jerking toward her with unnatural speed, but Sable was already moving, leaping with the assist of her bounding boots, flipping in the air as she evaded the creature's thrashing.


In mid-air, she fired the dart launcher concealed in her knee plates, a single dart striking the creature in its throat. The paralysis toxin would take hold in seconds.


As Sable landed gracefully, she disengaged the whipcord, her magnetic-grip boots keeping her rooted to the ground as she circled her prey. The creature's limbs began to stiffen as the toxin spread, but it was still far from done. Sable's gauntlet clicked, and she drew the vibroblade from her knuckle plates. The blade hummed with lethal precision as she advanced.


The creature lunged again, but its movements were sluggish now, each step slower than the last as the toxin took full effect. With a final, calculated motion, Sable plunged the vibroblade deep into its heart, severing the life force from the twisted body. The creature slumped to the ground, lifeless.


She stood over it, her chest rising and falling with controlled breaths. But there was no time to dwell on her kill. The next target was already out there, the next creature ready to face the same fate.


Sable pressed forward through the jungle, her HUD scanning for additional threats. The air was heavy with the stench of decay, and the deep rumble of far-off creatures echoed from beyond the trees. But her focus never wavered. She had a job to do, and the next specimen was waiting.


In the distance, the jungle grew even darker, as though the very shadows themselves were waiting for her. The next target would be more formidable, a more complex mutation bred from a blend of Sith alchemy and Force corruption. Sable's senses heightened as she moved deeper into the jungle, eyes scanning for any hint of movement.


Her next target—another abomination—emerged from the underbrush, this one covered in dense, armored plating, its face obscured by a twisted helmet. It was a living weapon, its body grafted with weapons and armor, designed to slaughter and destroy. As Sable watched, the creature snarled, sensing her presence. It was faster, stronger than the last one, but it was still a product of the Sith's hubris, and it was still a hunt.


Sable smiled beneath her helmet, her fingers twitching against the controls of her whipcord launcher, before firing off her poison dart into the creature.

It gave a loud cry, before it's body began to slow, and writhe against the strain of her whipcord.

 

[Darth Imperius]

Sable Varro

"Poachers are usually detained in our prisons."

The voice echoed from between the trees. The lithic grey eyes of the man were stoic, stern and harsh, judging everything in their path. Dressed in a suit of golden armor it seemed almost impossible that he was not been spotted beforehand. His hand held a long handle, a staff it seemed but more likely to be a lightsaber pike. The insignia on his armor indicated Zakuulan origin.

"The Endless Swamp is not visited by many, nor is it welcoming those who come." His voice spoke with a clear local accent, his steps foreboding as he ignored the beast that was struggling in her extended grasp.

"Who are you that you set foot on my world?" Aurelian Sigismund asked.

He advanced further towards her, his gaze gliding towards the beast that struggled more until the toxins brought it down. It was a feat to subdue it, bravery that made her hunt it. And she was certainly apt, having hunted down one already and this being the second. The question he had was less the how though, but the why. Zakuul was going through an era of stabiltiy and peace thanks to him and with his Knights patrolling, safety and order was assured.

The Endless Swamp though harbored secrets that noone should endeavour to reveal.

 

[Sable Varro]

​

Killing The Beast Within

Tags: Darth Imperius

Equipment Loadout:

• Primary Weapon(s): SD-L1 Long Blaster
• Secondary Weapon(s): HG-88 Big Iron, VB-113 "Tidefall" Class Vibroblade,
• Specialized Gear: Wrist Mounted Weapons (Hekler'Kok WMMW-01), DS-102 "Aegis" Personal Energy Shield,
• Armor & Attire: Personal Armor

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Sable stood unmoving, her armored form barely shifting beneath the towering trees. The subtle hum of her breath was the only sound as the Zakuulan approached, his gold armor gleaming despite the shadows that enveloped the swamp. The distant struggle of the beast only heightened the tension in the air.

Her head tilted slightly as she sized him up, a faint smirk playing at the corner of her lips, hidden beneath her helmet's flash visor. "Poacher is a tad, demeaning I would say." She reached down, her gauntlet-covered fingers brushing the struggling creature's fur. "As far as I am aware, this planet has few rules, and fewer prisons for those who break them."

She stared at the stranger for a moment, unable to really do much else. She lacked the ability to sense people in the force, but something informed her that...whoever this was could represent trouble.

She straightened, letting the beast's lifeless body fall into the swamp, her gaze narrowing as she regarded Aurelian. "As for the secrets of this place," she added, her tone turning cold, "Some things aren't meant to be kept, and some things… are best left alone."

Her hand subtly brushed across her utility belt, settling her hand against it, but she didn't dare go for any weapons.

"I wasn't aware you had claimed ownership over the entire world. They should update the star maps."

 

[Darth Imperius]

Sable Varro

His heavy sabatons sunk deep into the muddy ground, a wet soaky sound audible with every step. It was not a struggle to free them, but it might if he lingered for too long at the same place, his size certainly not doing him any favors in such environment. Yet he was used to it. He knew this place, he had wandered the Endless Swamps for many, many times.

The persona of Aurelian arrived on the other side of the slain beast, easily looking past it at the female. "You must be lost then and your ship requiring overhaul. Our world has many laws and customs, even if we limit ourselves to maintaining security and order to the city spires rather then the wilderness." His grey gaze looked around, the term wilderness being said in a tone that suggested it being as much a joke to him as it was a warning to any careless dwellers.

"Who are you?" He paused, his staff moving to raise one of the talons of the felled beast. "And why do you hunt these creatures?"

 

[Sable Varro]

​

Killing The Beast Within

Tags: Darth Imperius

Equipment Loadout:

• Primary Weapon(s): SD-L1 Long Blaster
• Secondary Weapon(s): HG-88 Big Iron, VB-113 "Tidefall" Class Vibroblade,
• Specialized Gear: Wrist Mounted Weapons (Hekler'Kok WMMW-01), DS-102 "Aegis" Personal Energy Shield,
• Armor & Attire: Personal Armor

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Sable stood firm, her posture relaxed but ready, her helmet tilting slightly as she took in the man before her. The swamp around them was thick with the scent of damp earth and blood, the slain beast between them marking the space where their paths had crossed. She listened to his words, the weight behind them, the way he carried himself in this place.

"I'm no dweller," She said evenly, her voice calm, steady. "And I'm not lost."

Her gaze followed the movement of his staff as it nudged the beast's talon. She could hear the unspoken curiosity beneath his questions, the subtle edge of a man who knew this land well. He wanted answers.

She gave them.

"Well, I’m a huntress," She said, her voice carrying an unmistakable certainty. "And I'm a huntress."

The words came without hesitation, without embellishment. They spoke for themselves.

Sable took a step forward, her boots pressing into the damp earth. "I hunt because that's what I do. Whether it's beasts, men, or something else entirely." Another brief pause, measured and deliberate. "Does that clear it up?"

She left the rest unsaid, letting the silence carry her meaning.

 

[Darth Imperius]

Sable Varro

Aurelian listened to her, his demeanour calm, in a cold, threatening way. His presence was entirely overwhelming, both physically and visually, it seemed to spread further than the shoulder plates, than the tip of his weapon. His gear was flawless, stainless, a statement of impossibility against the dirt and mud around. It was radiant.

Her response was as evasive as it was certainly considered sharp-tongued and witty by herself, answering but not answering. Bold and direct, reinforcing with reason and origin without being asked, creating an obstacle of facts that could stop further questioning in its tracks if conversation was to be maintained.

"It does not." He simply stated in response.

His gaze then moved further, towards the depths of the jungle and swamp, looking either for something specific or at nothing at all. The tall Zakuulan was entirely content with silence, bearing the will of stone.

"If you hunt without purpose, you hunt without measure and I will not allow that here. If indeed you pursue a purpose, I will propose to hunt together and you may share your purpose while I share what might kill you here."

 

[Sable Varro]

​

Killing The Beast Within

Tags: Darth Imperius

Equipment Loadout:

• Primary Weapon(s): SD-L1 Long Blaster
• Secondary Weapon(s): HG-88 Big Iron, VB-113 "Tidefall" Class Vibroblade,
• Specialized Gear: Wrist Mounted Weapons (Hekler'Kok WMMW-01), DS-102 "Aegis" Personal Energy Shield,
• Armor & Attire: Personal Armor

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Sable stood motionless for a moment, letting the silence between her and Aurelian stretch, feeling the weight of his presence. His flawless armor, gleaming against the swamp's grime, was a stark contrast to the murky environment. He radiated power, like a predator marking its territory—and in a way, he was. The jungle around them pulsed, alive with unseen dangers, but Sable knew better than to flinch under his gaze. She had been in the presence of worse, and she didn't intend to show weakness now.

Her visor scanned the immediate area, noting every detail—the shifting shadows in the trees, the low hum of something unseen, perhaps a predator or a trap. There were no real surprises here. Not for her. She had been to places darker and more hostile than this, where threats didn't just lurk in the shadows, they pounced without warning. But something about Aurelian's presence felt different. It wasn't just his size or his aura—it was the certainty with which he carried himself. A certainty that felt as oppressive as the jungle's heat, and that made Sable wary.

Sable let her lips curl into a barely-there smile beneath her helmet, though there was no humor in it. "I do hunt for a purpose," she murmured under her breath. It was a quiet declaration, not directed at him but at herself. She didn't need to justify her actions typically.

He spoke again, but his words were just noise—again offering to take the lead here. The way he offered his partnership, his implied dominance, was almost laughable. Sable wasn't someone to be corralled into another's agenda. If she chose to join him, it would be on her terms, not his. She wasn't a tool in his hand. She was a hunter, and she had her own game to play.

Her fingers brushed against the hilt of her vibro blades, hidden in the knuckle plates of her armor. It was a subtle motion, but one that carried purpose. She wasn't used to standing idle, and she certainly wasn't going to let someone make her feel small—not even Aurelian.

Sable's mind raced through the possibilities. She had no reason to trust this man, and even less reason to follow him blindly. But there was one thing she knew well: there were always dangers in the jungle—some were natural, some were manmade. And in a place like this, an alliance, however temporary, could be advantageous. Survival wasn't just about strength—it was about adaptability. And Sable was the most adaptable person she knew.

Her hand hovered near the whipcord launcher on her wrist, checking to make sure the device was still functional. She wasn't a prey animal, waiting to be hunted. No, she was the one who decided when and where the hunt would end. But this man seemed rather dedicated to focus on ensuring she wouldn’t get herself killed.

She took a step forward, letting her boots sink slightly into the wet earth, but her gaze never left him. His composure, his calmness—it was something Sable didn't trust, not completely. People who were that sure of themselves often made fatal mistakes. It wasn't arrogance that killed. It was underestimating the one they thought they had cornered.

"I don't need protection," She muttered under her breath. "But if you wish to accompany me, I will allow it."

Sable's hand drifted away from her weapon. She didn't need to draw it just yet. But the message was clear: she was not intimidated. She wasn't a fool. And she would not be underestimated. In the jungle, only the clever survived—and Sable had always been clever enough.

With a subtle tilt of her head, she adjusted her cloak, the fabric shifting slightly, revealing a glimpse of the weapons concealed beneath. Aurelian may have been the one offering to hunt together, but Sable was the one who held the power to dictate the course of this partnership.

In this game of survival, she wasn't a player—she was the game master.