First Reply Mystery of Residential District 39 | Tales of the Alliance

[Aliyah]

Tag: Anyone GA-alligned
Location: Corsucant, Residential District 39

Coruscant is known to have some of the most well-developed infrastructures known to sentients in the Alliance space, years upon years of budget allocation by the government, and the potent investments from the private sector created the perfect conditions for prosperity. It felt as if each and every layer was alive. And although residential sectors were known to be a touch more calm, the sense of community created through the melting pot of different cultures had emboldened and exalted what would otherwise be just an ordinary set of housing units and property into tight-knit groups that enjoyed their life in the Galaxy, and faced hardships as a collective, much like many democracies do.

Then, one must wonder what had happened to the district 39, it was an enigma to everyone, with so much investment and support from the government, the locals, and the corporations. It was meant to be successful, so the analysists said. But the streets were filled with gloom, something beautiful once been there but now it is gone, leaving behind an empty void that emits feeling of cold and desolate loneliness, pressuring and caving in. The people there are no good either. Wearing tired expressions, and evading each other like plague - District 39 stood as a complete antithesis of everything which most other residential sectors been for a good chunk of Alliance's history.

The real issue was never discovered, although it is said that a small family living in the secluded area of the district knew what was going on, but it was already too late. In the morning a report came in about one of the properties looking in utterly terrible state, as if no one had been taking care of it, such was a surprise considering the state of the entire district being in terrible shape, yet the warning signs were enough to warrant a welfare check. It is that same check which led to the discovery most horrible. Three bodies perfectly preserved, mother, father, and daughter, the son is missing, a note was left behind with a cryptic message. The local law enforcement secured the scene, yet are unconclusive in their search.

The district had been plunged into deep pits of despair - no better that the underworld yet without all the notable characteristics of rampant crime and lack of law enforcement. The investors and powers that be of the political sphere promised tons of favors and credits to those that are able to solve this mystery, but perhaps for some - simply helping people find peace would be enough.
​

 

[Tycho Arak]

Outfit: Sentinel Standard
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tags: Aliyah

Mysteries were a dime a dozen on Coruscant.

Every minute someone went missing, something was stolen, someone was beaten, someone else was killed. It never ended. Law enforcement was only capable of handling some of what happened, and had to prioritize. Whether they chose to prioritize the correct things or not was something that was outside of Tycho's control, but it was certainly something he wished he could control. Part of him wanted to move, directly, into Alliance Law Enforcement, his Sentinel's merging with that organization so that he could work on leading it.

If he was in charge, mysteries like the one he was now looking at wouldn't go unsolved or ignored. As it was, the Kage stood inside of the dilapidated home. The scene had already been secured, but it having been deemed a low priority meant that it had worked its way to his private investigative group. Someone had to figure out what it was that had happened in the building, and where the missing fourth member of the family was.

He walked carefully around the room, studying everything in detail, feeling with the Force for anything that seemed out of place. Somewhere in there was a clue that would help. There was the cryptic message, but he was looking for something further. Whenever something like this happened, the perpetrator always left some minute detail behind that would ultimately lead to a break in the case. Not everyone could always see it, but it was always there, waiting for the right person to come along.

He intended to be that person.

 

[Aliyah]

Tag: Tycho Arak
Location: Corsucant, Residential District 39

Given the low priority nature of the investigation in spite of the invisible weight it carries, a private investigator being let through was more of a professional courtesy, a tradition in the law enforcement so to speak, given that the alliance had nurtured plenty of truth hunters in form of journalists, detectives, and plenty more archetypes. The officer responsible for the scene has given him two rules. "Don't tamper with the evidence" and "Be safe." To which an addendum is added. "There's another one interested in this case, not sure where she went though."

The room wasn't anything spectacular, he's certainly seen worse in the underworld. From the scene he would be able to gather several details. Primarily that of the bodies, all three appeared to be killed in a similar fashion. Likely a bladed weapon, there's cuts and gashes on the bodies, primarily around the chest area, and there is blood around the living room, it is a grim sight to say the least. Small, hastily written note seems to say. "The curse still remains."

No murder weapon to be found, yet in spite of this - Tycho seems to find that a certain trail of blood follows elsewhere. Going the personal room of what he can assume to be the son's room, with an open window. In there, the trail abruptly ends. Yet a bout of insight brought to him by the Force hints at looking near to the closet - and upon closer examination, it does look like the closet has been moved recently. It takes minimal effort to get it out of the way, revealing a secret compartment.

In said compartment, in far older blood, a symbol is drawn, quite a weird one, it appears to be a square, with two lines, one horizontal and one vertical, meeting at the center of said square, whereas the lines themselves go slightly out of boundary. It seemed like this case might have some occultic aspect to it, just how deep does all this go?

The secret compartment seemed to house... Something, an item. The master can't exactly tell how he knows, the Force gives rather unclear visions, but he is certainly sure that before there was some kind of item- a posession, but now - just a symbol remains. There is a segue to the fact that the trail of blood leads into the room, clearly - but not out of it, either a cleanup took place... Or whoever been there left some other way.

​

 

[Tycho Arak]

Outfit: Sentinel Standard
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tags: Aliyah

"Curious," he said in response to the information about someone else being interested.

Tycho had connections. He wasn't just any private investigator. Sentinel Corp was starting to make a name for itself, especially with cracking the case on a plot to destroy Coruscant's population. Tycho himself had strong connections to many of the Jedi that frequented the planet, and counted their grandmaster, Valery Noble , a close personal friend. Wasn't hard for him to get access to crime scene's where the locals were unable to allocate manpower. Normally he did these one's pro bono.

He crouched near the bodies of the fallen, studying them studiously. The cut marks on their torso's were noted, and he immediately started picking up vibes of cult activity. He'd seen things like this before. His adopted daughter had markings on her own body from a dark ritual, and he'd studied many things when he was studying the ways of the Sith. The blood spattered across the living room, plus the note confirmed his suspicions.

One thing he did notice from his lower vantage point was a slight trail of blood that departed from the bodies and proceeded towards another room in the house. He followed and ended up in a bedroom. It appeared to have been occupied by a male, probably the missing child. A thorough examination of the room yielded that most things were placed where they should be, but there was something off about the wardrobe. He crouched near the bottom and felt fingers across the marks in the floor, noting the missing dust.

"Recently moved."

Rising, he stepped to the side and pushed the wardrobe, revealing a hidden compartment where something was likely kept, but now only a blood scrawled symbol remained. It looked, at least to him, like a square crosshair. He touched a fingernail to the edge of it, testing to see whether the blood was dry or fresh. It came back clean, meaning it was old blood. Someone was using blood as, likely, a means to control. Clearly something had been hidden there, but it was gone now.

Searching the room once more with his eyes, he noted the open window and moved towards it, his eyes scanning the edges and sill, looking for anything that might indicate it was used. He was suspicious that it was the means of escape for whomever had perpetrated the crime. Rather than jumping out of it himself, he walked, carefully, back through the house and out, heading to approach the same window from the exterior, which allowed him to study the ground around the outside, looking for shoe prints in the grime, or droplets of blood. Anything that might lead him onward.

 

[Aliyah]

Tag: Tycho Arak
Location: Corsucant, Residential District 39

Sentinels were one of many archetypes of truth hunters that the Alliance had nurtured. But that was getting into semantics, Tycho was de-facto leading the investigation as lack of manpower or perhaps willpower had prevented this case from getting the resources it needed to be solved. At the very least he got the whiff of it happening rather quickly, thus he was on the hot trail of the perpetrator.

After taking the safe way out and checking where the window led, it appeared to be a small alleyway, barely five feet wide, there's a sharp feeling which Tycho gets that this place is supposed to be more spacious than it looks, but before he could choose whether to mull on these thoughts, he sees something- or rather, someone, who was absent from when the sentinel looked through the windows. It was a girl clad in modest robes which made her slightly meld into the shadowy background. She had a vibrosword hanging from her belt. And at all times it seemed like she had her hand casually leaning on it, giving easy access to it should things go awry.

Her gaze is filled with something nebulous, but much like her whole being, it felt muted and hazy. No doubt there was a reason why he could not sense her presence beforehand - but the girl seemed to be occupied with looking at a wall, a hand brought up to her chin. She notices the sentinel however and turns to him, her eyes scanning and inspecting him. "...There was someone else?" The girl murmured in spite of her confident posture, caught off-guard. "I don't suppose you're a witness, are you?-... You don't look like a local." A brave accusation, neither of them looked like locals. "There's something weird about this place, just... Trying to figure out what it is." She spoke in a hushed tone, it felt defensive and cautious - as if she was trying to justify her presence next to a crime scene, her gaze flickering to the alleyway as she continued to look about, her expression changing to one of frustration as her efforts did not seem to give any results.
​

 

[Tycho Arak]

Outfit: Sentinel Standard
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tags: Aliyah

Interesting. The girl seemed to almost appear out of nowhere. But she hadn't, and he could feel, now, that she was someone steeped in the Force. The most curious part, at least to him, was that she almost didn't seem to acknowledge him, seeming so focused on what she was doing, that she spoke as if she were completely distracted and unconcerned about his presence. This must have been the other person that was interested in what happened here. She seemed far too curious to be the perpetrator, but he would be cautious towards her nonetheless.

"Not a witness, just an investigator," he said, watching her closely, noticing the positioning of her hand.

She carried a blade, but his eyes didn't pick up blood on it. Likely not the murder weapon. She could have another blade hidden somewhere, but he wouldn't know unless he frisked her, and he wasn't about to randomly do that.

Now what she seemed confused about was the same feeling he had, that there was something off about the alley in which they stood. He lifted his gaze from her, looking upward, then each direction up and down the alley. Things like this he'd seen before. Given the ritualistic nature of what he'd seen inside, he had a strong feeling that the person behind all of this was learned in the ways of the Force. Tycho turned his attention back to the girl, who seemed frustrated by her lack of results.

"I have a hunch."

Lifting his hands, and drawing on the Force, he used dark side magick to cast a dispel on the area. It felt like an illusion, and if it was, he would break through it.

 

[Aliyah]

Tag: Tycho Arak
Location: Corsucant, Residential District 39

The girl was steeped in the force, though it seemed like she was actively hiding her presence within it. No doubt it was strong with her beneath the veil. It seemed like she wasn't too trusting of Tycho either, keeping a respectable distance between herself and the Sentinel yet at the same time so deeply curious about the mystery. His response receives acknowledgement in form of a brief nod.

When Tycho declares that he has a hunch, her gaze finally sets on him. "Sure," she mused, not the most confident in his words. "Let's see what you got." The girl was expecting an explanation, perhaps theories. But when the Magick was cast, her eyes widened slightly, looking back to the dispelled illusion, an illusion that tried to convince both of their minds that there was a wall when in fact, there was a pathway with staircase leading down. "Did you make a hole in the wall?" She queried, stunned by such display of cunning.

The Magick also dispelled the smudge which hid her. From there one could unmistakbly see that the force was indeed strong with her, it felt like a minature vergence, a trove of connection to everything that binds the Galaxy, yet it was undeveloped, untapped for the most part, the girl does not seem to notice, or perhaps she doesn't mind her camoflauge being taken away, instead she steps closer to the staircase, her expression unsure.

"...I assume you're not one behind this, since, if you're not- well... I am not good at fighting." She admits to the sentinel in a frank tone, her other hand which wasn't resting on the sword lifted ever so slightly. "I just hope there aren't any dangers waiting for us down there, looks like it goes pretty deep." She points out. Something which Tycho could tell as well. They were faced with a path to unknown location, with unknown dangers, and the fact that illusions were at work could only mean that their enemy was no small-time criminal.

​

 

[Tycho Arak]

Outfit: Sentinel Standard
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tags: Aliyah

Sure enough, the dispel worked to remove the illusion. In so doing, it also removed her hiding ability, which, although rather unique, and cunning, hadn't been quite good enough to keep him from seeing her. At least, not when he was in close proximity to her. He definitely hadn't seen her while he was inside. It was probably something related to the ability that he'd seen Valery use before, but the fact that his dispel had negated it, could also mean she was using a dark ability to conceal herself.

"No, I didn't make a hole," he said, moving closer to examine the stairs. "Someone used an illusion to hide what's actually here. Seen that a lot, recently."

Not untrue. Working on the case of the psychotic man who wanted to wipe out Coruscant had brought him into contact with a lot of illusions. That person had been more than a little skilled in their usage.

"And I have no intentions of harming you provided you have no involvement in what happened."

He moved past her, seeing as she was worried about what might be down there. Even if she was an enemy and tried to strike him in the back, she'd have a hard time in taking him down. His senses were finely tuned, and he was using the Force to monitor the area around him. He started down the steps ahead of her. There was no qualms on his part in working with someone else to solve this. The resolution might be easier to come by if more than one set of eyes was involved, anyway.

 

[Aliyah]

Tag: Tycho Arak
Location: Corsucant, Residential District 39

There were many theories to be had regarding the nature of this girl, she could very well be a foe, or a friend. So far she seemed to be neither as in spite of her having seemingly the common goal with Tycho, she certainly distrusted the Sentinel, but a touch of innate Empathy and the one that comes from connection to the living, he could tell that she behaved this way with everyone, he was no exception.

Though the ability was no doubt similar to the one that the famous Grandmaster used, the difference was that whereas Valery could use it like a second nature, the girl struggled. Her innate connection the force served as a crutch but it didn't help alleviate the fact that someone more experienced - like the sentinel in front of her, could see through it when up close.

"I knew there was something wrong." She smiles, as if trying to cheer herself up in spite of having done nothing. "You make it sound like illusions are a common occurence."

In spite of her inherent distrust towards strangers, she couldn't help but try making small talk with them, the very idea of just making small talk with someone seemed alien enough to her, but that unmistakeable feeling of genuine curiosity took over what appeared to be one of foundational parts of her personality. She didn't respond to his statement of not wishing to harm her unless she was involved in this, simply acknowledging his words with a nod.

As Tycho walked down the staircase, the girl called out to him, with a touch of concern. "Hey!" If he would turn to her, a beam of heavy-duty flashlight would hit him, blindsiding the master for a moment. "We aren't walking down there without any light, what if we are going to get ambushed?" It was a very royal use of 'we', seeing as Sentinel was walking in front of her, so he'd be the receiver of any attacks in that scenario. Regardless of the semantics, she followed him closely behind, shining down the light into what appeared to be a long, long descent downwards, at the very least that gave them a little bit of interlude, a moment of peace... In spite of the fact that the stranger over here was shy, she voiced her thoughts out loud.

"Do you... Think it was the son? I mean, he's the only one who isn't with the rest of the family in there, there's high likely hood he went mad and killed them, then made his escape." She weaves her theory. "Not sure why he'd go insane though, there had to be some sort of motive..." The girl muses. "...Maybe it is related to the state of district as a whole? Something about it feels wrong, can't quite put my finger on it though..."

​

 

[Tycho Arak]

Outfit: Sentinel Standard
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tags: Aliyah

"Not that common, really," he spoke over his shoulder. "I dealt with a criminal mastermind recently who was using them, and then fought on Tython against someone also using them. Coincidence is all."

She called out to him, but he didn't turn around. He could tell by the way she spoke that she was irritated, not trying to warn him of something. Besides, through the Force, all things were visible, regardless of light and dark. He'd learned to see without the use of his eyes when he needed to. In fact, he'd fought the Force Vampire on Tython with his eyes closed most of the time because her illusions were strong enough that his eyes couldn't penetrate them. He'd had to rely on his senses to feel the pull of the Force being drawn to her direct location in order to keep track of her.

So regardless of her and her light, he continued onward. She definitely had a Force strength to her, but she didn't seem well versed in it. Given her appeared age, he estimated he had numerous years of training in the ways of the Force on her, so her reluctance to rely on it made sense. He had no reluctance. No, he walked down the steps with confidant caution, taking each smoothly, and being aware that any one of them could be laden with a trap of some kind.

"It's not wise to speculate without any clues to go off of. All we know is he's missing, and there's a hidden passage outside of his window. Whether he did it or not is yet to be determined."

He didn't like making judgments based off of so little information. It was dangerous and could prejudice your decision making going forward. He prefer to rely on the knowledge that he simply didn't know the cause of all of this, the meaning behind the note and the symbols, or the origin of the hidden passage. It was something he intended to find out. He was going to get to the bottom of it all. Literally.

 

[Aliyah]

Tag: Tycho Arak
Location: Coruscant, Underground of Residential District 39

"A lot of adventures you've had, huh?"

She sounded surprised by Tycho's feats, but ultimately the girl nodded in respect. "Can't say I'm much of investigator myself..." She softly muses. "I just like exploring the galaxy." Her intentions were a touch selfish, there was no doubt she liked seeing people happy more than she wanted to see them sad or in pain, but she was too young and too new to the notion of wider freedom and idealogical complexity, not once she had a moment to sit down and really ponder on what she believes in. "...Though I guess seeing what's wrong with this district and see if I can fix it is of interest to me as well, not sure why." She explains, pondering on it for a few good seconds. "Just... Feels right."

As they descended, and the sentinel spoke his piece on speculation, the girl responds, a little back and forth as they went down and down, the air starting to grow stale.

"There is some merit to your words, but I think you are ought to know that we always make choices based off incomplete information. It is inevitable, even if we try our best to gather as much information as possible before acting on it, there will always be minute details that can be missed, and that's not even getting to the fact that it can be... Interpreted wrongly. So, I think there's wisdom to be had in recounting what we already know. and see if we can get a new perspective on it, recounting does not necessarily mean acting or making judgement."

Granted she wasn't the best speaker. There was a stutter here and there, her cadence was not confident, bubbly. Her social skills were sorely lacking - was she some kind of shut in? Regardless, when she finished her speech. They reached what appeared to be the underground, the place was dark as pitch, which is alleviated by the girl's flashlight, it looks rather old however, far older than the district built on top of it, it is made of stone, the place looks barren save for some crates which were left emptied a long time ago.

A little bit further in, they stand before a giant stone door, almost like a gate. It has the same symbol he's seen in the back of the house. It gave off a feeling of... Cold, an omen, despite the door forged with the clear, expressed purpose of keeping that cold in, the sheer intensity of that negativity is seeping through past the barrier.

"...I d-don't like this." She said, her voice cracking slightly as she tightened the grip on her sword, staring at the door. "There's danger beyond that door, not sure what kind, but.. I just feel it." The girl didn't know where that gut feeling was coming from. But Tycho on other hand could with confidence say that it was something related to the dark side, and that this feeling, it felt very similar to how the whole district felt. It drained him of energy with painful lethargy, all color grew muted. No doubt the source of people's ailing is there somewhere.
​

 

[Tycho Arak]

Outfit: Sentinel Standard
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tags: Aliyah

"I've seen much, but what I've seen only scratches the surface of what's out there," he said as they descended. "What you describe is your innate sense of morality, right and wrong. Some people know those things, but don't act on them because they're indifferent towards the outcome."

She continued on, trying to make an understanding between them on the difference between speculation and recounting of details. She wasn't wrong that there was a difference between them, but she was wrong in her approach.

"Recounting and speculation are different. When you asked if I think he did it, that was requiring me to speculate. If you want to discuss the facts of the case, you shouldn't ask if I think something, but what I know."

They reached the bottom without him saying anything further. The girl was, for lack of a better word, inexperienced in dealing with people. While her intentions were clearly good in the moment, she was awkward in conversation. What the reason for that was, he couldn't say. A variety of factors could lead to it, including medical ones. Asking would be rude, and frankly, it didn't matter in the moment. His focus wasn't on figuring out who she was, but on solving the case surrounding the triple homicide.

The room was dark. Very dark. Also very empty. He surveyed it in full, both visually and through the Force, before walking forward further. The closer he came to the door, the colder he felt. Not just cold, it was as if energy was being drained from him directly. He utilized the Force to place a barrier around himself, close to his skin, that to her would only appear to be a light sheen when her light illuminated him. It would protect him from the draining effects of whatever was going on, at least for the moment. Unfortunately, he didn't have the time to teach her to do the same.

He placed his hand upon the door and reached out through the Force, feeling outwards, and then glanced back at the girl.

"I believe what we feel is dark ritual, though I can't say which one. I'm going to open the door with the Force, but you must remain behind me as I do. As you said before, you aren't good at fighting."

Facing the door again, he began to push against it with the Force and his own weight.

"I was bred for combat."

The door would begin to crack under the strain. Stone or not, his pressure plus the pinpoint accuracy of the Force allowed him to find hidden seams within the stone, weaknesses that, when exploited, would see the stone break down into nothing more than shards of a door. Whatever was on the other side would soon be exposed to them, and they to it.

 

[Aliyah]

Tag: Tycho Arak
Location: Corsucant, ???

"I didn't know morality could be innate."

She softly mused back to Tycho, though she did not address anything else he said, seeing as they have made their arrival and were currently attempting to stop... Dark ritual, judging by her expression - the girl didn't know what that entailed, all she knew is that she had to stop it, perhaps acting on that innate sense of morality that Tycho had mentioned.

"I might not be good at fighting." The girl admits again, though in the same breath she draws her vibrosword, giving it a flourish as she tigthens her grip on it. "But I'll try to cover your back regardless."

The door slowly breaks down through the apt use of force on the Sentinel's part, it reveals a pathway to a brightly lit hall, regal and tyrannic, grey bricks accented by crimson red carpet, and furniture. Gothic, jagged shards of black nephrite stick out of the ceiling and sometimes the floor, the light that comes from chandeliers coats the entire room into vaguely red, malicious light.

That same light, shines behind hooded, robed figures with masks, their shadows outstretched and casting towards the duo that dared to invade their palace, on each mask the crosshair square is painted in blood, they do not appear to speak to one another, collectively and without a second thought they draw their weapons. Jagged ritual blades, made of black durasteel, and from what the master can tell - augmented further with alchemy, no doubt able to clash with his lightsaber for a short while, but prolonged strikes likely would cut right through it. It is clear they walked in to some kind of church, a shadow church. A nest of vice and vile deeds spreading the very essence of the Force into nothingness.

There appeared to be a dozen of them, with reinforcements coming from the different rooms of this accursed place, the cultists are hellbent on killing their invaders, with alien viciousness. Though the Sentinel wouldn't find it difficult to fight back against them, as none of them appeared to be particularly strong with the force, and only a few among the dozen could be truly conceived as force users. One certain advantage they had was the numbers, and they made apt use of them, and although Tycho likely could take on three of them effortlessly, four, five would only strain the master - these cultists were well-trained.

"Kh... G-get away from me...!"

Aliyah on the other hand, had to put far more considerable effort to take down even one of them. Although Tycho was well-apt in combat, a few cunning cultists slipped by and instead rushed to attack the weaker looking girl. Though her attunement to the Force allowed her to stand a chance against them, it is clear that the fight strained her.

Her style of fighting was somewhat different, not unlike how assassins fight, she was going for minimal movement which either killed them in a single strike, left them bleeding out on the floor, or in some way neutralized them, there was aggressiveness and viciousness in her movements that is uncharacteristic of how she carried herself in conversations, but also not entirely indiffirent to that of the cultists, though she seemed to be far more tame about it, her expression showed no anger - but fear and discomfort at finding herself in that situation.

The feeling of muted colors and draining energy was slowly growing stronger, clearly they were closer to the site of this dark ritual, but they had to get through the cultists, a task with would prove to be not without peril.

​

 

[Tycho Arak]

Outfit: Sentinel Standard
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tags: Aliyah

"Partially innate," he said as he continued. "Partially learned."

Some things were hard wired into everyone. A general sense of morality was one of those. The concept itself had to be there for it to be understood. The rest came from learning from those around you. Whether that be parents or random adults, it didn't matter. Everything had an influence on people. Even babies had the ability to understand right and wrong, after all. That's why they always look to their parents for approval when they do something. They're trying to gauge their reaction as to whether it is good or bad.

He approached the hall at the end of the tunnel and took quick stock. Probably a dozen enemy combatants. Several tunnels off to the side likely leading to more. Wide open space. He could work with this.

They reached for their blades and his lightsaber jumped from its place on his belt and into his hand. Curiously, he didn't immediately activate it, choosing instead to stand and wait for them to make a move, which they obliged him on, as they rushed towards the pair, with more of them coming from the tunnels on either side. Their numbers were staggering, but their abilities were underwhelming when it came to the Force. While one or two might have slipped past him towards the girl behind, the majority would not.

See Tycho was more than just a master of the Force. From the time he was three on up he'd been trained in Kage martial arts, becoming a cunning and fierce member of the Kage Warriors before he'd departed from his home world of Quarzite. They might have numbers, and some skill in combat, but he had his own skills, and the amplification of the Force.

The latter of which he reached deeply into, pulling energy from them and their surroundings, even drawing it away from the ritual, and then blasted it outward in a violent burst designed to scatter them across the room with enough force that those who hit the wall would shatter bones, and the ones that didn't would likely be completely disoriented. In order to keep the girl from being blasted away, he grabbed her with with the Force an induced a very temporary stasis upon her, whether she liked it or not.

Sometimes it was better to ask forgiveness than permission.

 

[Aliyah]

Tag: Tycho Arak
Location: Corsucant, ???

No shortage of fanatical cultists, the wide area offered them a lot of room to execute their seemingly most preferred tactic, attacking in packs. Like wild animals, it is thanks to Tycho that Aliyah is capable of fending them off at all. But the sheer mastery over the Force allowed him to unleash a burst of violent energy which sent groups upon groups of cultists flying off into the walls, some died on impact - hitting their head or neck with such speed that it made cracks in the wall, others were paralyzed. But those few that saw it coming had the time to position themselves, reducing the sheer strength at which they were hurled away.

This opens up a small gap, allowing them to pass further, deeper inside the halls. However it felt as if the cult's reinforcements were still coming through, Aliyah, who had been put into stasis in order to be safe from the blast, seems to break through it with her sheer willpower, she slaps sentinel's hand away as she tapped into darker side of the Force, drawing upon her fear. Both hands were lifted, and with them - a few of the rocks, remnants of the door which Sentinel had destroyed.

With a groan, she threw the rocks at the entrances, as if she was plugging a hole to stop flow of water. The motion crushes some of the cultists, rending their bodies and bones with sickening crunch, it was a feat for such a young girl. And it did exhaust her somewhat, as is made evident by her labored heaving.

"W-we need to k-keep going, don't t-think we'll win this if we just blindly t-throw ourselves at all of them at once, d-divide and conquer, divide a-and conquer..."

Her voice was filled with adrenaline and stutter, she is certainly not used to those situations. But she's trying her best to push on, muttering and recalling words, some of which are tactical advice - likely gotten from her training, and others were just nonsense- at least, the kind that helped her calm down. The display of mastery by the Sentinel, and her clever use of the Force made it so that they had only fight through a handful of cultists to go deeper within the place, and although there is no chance that Aliyah alone could take on them, Tycho would likely barely break a sweat by simply swatting them with his saber or even just martial arts.

The few stragglers that remain, do charge at the duo. But most of them are disoriented and are overwhelmed by the deadly effectiveness of the duo, tipping the scales in the favor of the invaders even further.

​

 

[Tycho Arak]

Outfit: Sentinel Standard
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tags: Aliyah

It was effective. Many of them died as a result of what he did. It didn't even occur to him to take into account how she would feel about his using what most referred to as dark side abilities. In the moment it didn't seem to matter. With the numbers of their opposition so high, it was essential that they create a form of parity, and that's what he'd done. The deaths of some cultists, who were clearly involved in the murder of innocent people, were not going to weigh heavily on his mind at the end of the day. All that mattered was stopping what they were doing.

They pushed forward, or he did, at least, meeting their opponents with gusto. He thumbed the activation switch on his lightsaber, orange blade springing forth, and met the weapons swung against them with ferocity. Tycho cut down one, then another. One got too close for his blade to do more than parry, so he slammed his elbow into the man's solar plexus, then brought his arm up to smack him hard in the chin, sending the man out cold to the floor below.

"Keep up," he said to the girl as they moved forward.

Though he was surprised when he felt her usage of the Force. Was she like him? Someone who would use all aspects in order to do good? Or was she just the curious type, nosing into things because she couldn't help herself? He'd have to find out once they'd resolved the ordeal. At the very least, she made it harder for the cultists to get to them. It was a smart plan, so he reached out and collapsed one of the other corridors by pulling on the ceiling to yank it down. If they only kept the path forward open, they'd eventually get to where they were going, and it would be easier to defeat the enemy if they were forced into a cattle run type of situation.

 

[Aliyah]

Tag: Tycho Arak
Location: Corsucant, ???

Aliyah didn't seem to show any sign of surprise at the usage of dark side abilities, although perhaps that could be attributed to the fact that she was focused on trying to handle life or death situation she found herself in. Neither did the young girl have any qualms about killing and crushing the cultists, with labored breaths she fought alongside Tycho, perhaps made more confident by the surge of adrenaline and perhaps some of the dark side prompting her to be more aggressive.

Though her decision wasn't entirely made on emotions, after all. With the displays of the Force which the duo pulled, only a few of the cultists remained. In her mind, they had to clear the area out as soon as possible and make it to the ritual room. The first cultist she clashes with seems to be an even match, though the girl's stance appears to be more geared towards fencing, showing some actual technique in her movement, even if it was basic and barebones. She engages in a few thursts and cuts, which the cultist blocks and swats away with clean parries. It appears like he's preparing a strike of his own, an overhead slash... But the girl responds with a quick counter attack, slicing the cultist's throat open.

A small fountain of blood pours downwards, which transforms into a puddle in which the cultist lays dead. A second cultist noticed his comrade's passing, and angrily charged towards the girl, starting to practically chop at her with his blade, going for long, powerful swings. Making her arms sway into the direction of the hit as she was forced on the defensive until she finally loses the grip of her blade, preparing to finish Aliyah off, he prepares a quick thurst, but the girl makes a split-second decision to kick the cultist away - which makes them slip on the pool of blood left by her first kill. With that, she draws a vibroknife from her boots, and pounces the cultist, lifting the knife and stabbing him in the neck several times, labored breaths and groans of effort betraying her exhaustion.

Tycho, on other hand, easily handled the remaining cultists without much of an issue, making good usage of lightsaber and martial arts it seemed. The path forward was clear now, though Aliyah had to take a small breather on the way, grab her sword and hide her vibroknife behind a boot again. She looks over to the bodies and unconcious cultists left in wake of the Sentinel's own fighting, a subtle smile grazing her.

"You make it look so..." A huff escapes her. "...Easy."

With those words, they were able to make it to the next area. A large area with several locked room- though there was still a path forward, the closer they got to the general direction of the dark ritual, the more damning it felt, whatever it was - the cultists were bound to do vile things, they could make it forward without much issue, but a muffled voice from one of the doors calls out. Middle-aged man, a young girl's voice, and a young female voice.

"Hello? What's that noise outside?"
"Oh, oh, I think that might be the marshals, I told you we were going to be saved, daddy!"
"...Shh, we don't know who that is... We don't want to get electrocuted for making too much noise, again."

​

 

[Tycho Arak]

Outfit: Sentinel Standard
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tags: Aliyah

He took a deep breath to calm down the adrenaline levels that were coursing through him. Too much of that and he wouldn't think clearly going forward, which would be dangerous. These guys weren't the best fighters, but that didn't mean one of them was incapable of killing him. Anyone could kill just about anyone if the Force was on their side at just the right moment.

"Not ease," he said, his breathing calmed. "Muscle memory. I've been doing this for a long time, and I've done a lot of training."

They continued forward and entered another large area. Several doors were to either side of the room and he paused to examine each visually, though they appeared non-descript. The source of the ritualistic draw they were both subject to was still in front of them, however, and he immediately started towards that, but then the sound of voices reached his ear from within one of the rooms. The voices included a woman, a man, and a young girl. Immediately he thought this might be another family that were set to be victims.

He almost went over and ripped the door from the hinges based on that feeling.

Tycho was smarter than that, though. Emotions got the best of many people, but rarely did they get him to overcommit to something, and he wasn't about to let that happen here. There were many ways that sound could be used to play tricks on people, and there were many creatures in the galaxy with the ability to do so. A decision had to be made, however, as to whether to investigate those inside of the room, or to continue on an attempt to stop the ritual.

He stared at the door for a moment, and then looked back to the girl.

"I think I should continue forward and stop the ritual. This may be a trick of some kind and, even though they're currently trapped, the people on the other side of that door are safe for the moment if it isn't a trick. I want you to stay here and make sure nothing gets to them before I return. DO NOT OPEN THE DOOR."

There was a nagging suspicion in his mind that something was off here, but he had to focus on one task at a time, or risk something terrible happening as a result. Sometimes making decisions was hard, and sometimes you just had to go with where the Force was calling you. Thus, without another word, he turned and went onward in the direction of the ritual source.

 

[Aliyah]

Tag: Tycho Arak
Location: Corsucant, ???

Aliyah wasn't exactly on board of letting the people sit there, her expression sours. In spite of her lackadaisiac and awkward attitude, she did care - perhaps to a fault. Their fearful voices grafting and echoing out to the empath, much like Tycho, she wanted to bust down the door. Although as he gave her his reasoning for not opening the door, she let out a tired sigh, nodding in agreement.

"Don't die."

Her words brief, she decided to hold the position, this time also drawing a blaster of her own, by no means Aliyah was a great fighter - but having to deal with one or two cultists at a time, with maybe four or more at worst was something she could manage, at least with a little bit of cunning thinking on her part to make up for the inexperience and lack of physical strength.

The sentinel on other hand, finally breaches to the final room, unknown symbols are etched on almost every surface of the cold black stone, with maddening obsession some runes overlap with one another, in the distance of the ritual chamber, the walls are littered with mirrors, reflecting the negative energy which permeates the area, reverberating against itself, normally - Dark Side is not vile, but such extension of artificially amplifying it's presence made the area feel more like a makeshift nexus.

In the distance, a few cultists that were working on the ritual, were accompanied by a robed figure was clad in a mask made entirely out of bone, their aura felt different - they were vastly strong with the force, and their glittering yellow eyes confirmed their allegiance. This figure stood tall, casting an imposing shadow on the invader, behind it - a young man bound to the table. His skin looked bloated, and he was mutilated beyond measure but alive judging by the whimper and screams of soulsucking anguish, it was a fate worse than death. Through use of precise torture, and alchemy - the man was half-turned into a monstrosity, a brute. His entire anatomy deformed and represeting something utterly alien and wicked, he would likely be utterly unrecognizeable, should the ritual finish proper.

The strange figure, sensing the presence of the Sentinel way long before they entered the room, turned his head, arms extended as if to invite Tycho into a hug. "Oh, what a surprise! I think it's been a while since I had guests enter without knocking." In spite of the man behind him being tortured, the cultist was non-chalant, conveying vast amount of theatrics and emotions through gesturing alone, going against the very theme and darkness of the place, and the atrocities commited within. "Don't you know that is rude?.. Seems like you brought a friend with you too, mmh... Both of you seem interesting, why- perhaps you wish to be beautiful, too?"

One didn't have to guess for too long as to what the cultist meant by becoming beautiful, it does not seem like he's too keen on elaborating either, on guard and wary of the tricks that Tycho might pull.
​

 

[Tycho Arak]

Outfit: Sentinel Standard
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tags: Aliyah

Forward he went until he entered a dark room, dark in the sense that the stone that created it was dark. It was covered in runes, some of which he recognized from his studies, and others which he did not. The mirrors made it hard for him to feel comfortable in the space, the way they reflected the darkness within, the evil way in which the Force was being twisted and abused. It was absolutely soul sucking. Still, he stood his ground. He'd faced worse than this before. He'd faced creatures that feasted on the essence that gave life.

While the man in the bone mask spoke, Tycho continued to study. He didn't care about the words the man was saying. He didn't care who the man was, other than the fact he would find out once he'd apprehended him. He didn't care about the cultists, either. He did care about the victim, the one that was being mutilated by Sith alchemy on the table. He didn't know if he could reverse it, if anyone could, but at the least he could free the man from more.

"This is a violation of Alliance law and will be dealt with," he said, finally turning his eyes to the man in the mask, "with prejudice."

In the blink of an eye, he disappeared. Not in the manner of going invisible. Sure, he'd figured out how to do that thanks to Valery, but more in the sense of the fact that he had moved, instantaneously, from one position to another, by asking the Force to fold the space around him and relocate him. It was an obscure technique, but Tycho liked the obscure, especially when it proved helpful.

He reappeared behind the man, but didn't attack him, instead, reaching out with the Force to shatter all of the mirrors. The whole reverberation of the Force, the malevolence of it, associated with the mirrors needed to stop. Then he could deal with the people in front of him.

​