Om... Wat? [Galactic Alliance Dominion of Omwat]

[Andanian Ategann]

Location: Knowhere
Objective: 3
Allies: Kinda [member="3X744"]
Enemies: N/A
Post 13/20

...What? What a wierd kid...are all rural kids this dense? Ohhh, no...he's a roughneck. His poor family probably got diseases and died before...oooh

Suddenly, Andanian felt some sympathy. "Ah, kid, yeah we do. A lot do. Maybe not here on this backwater world, but..." his voice trailed off, nervously scratching his chin.

Suddenly, he went back for his crate. Was it kindness, or was he trying to use the broken crate to take the stuff back inside? Andanian approached and checked the repulsorlift. Fried. This won't lift.

"Hey, don't load too much. I'l have to...carry it by hand now, and i'd rather not carry a hundred pound load."

 

[Jareb Kaine]

Objective: 4
Post: 6

"I'm as ready as I'll ever be sweetheart." Jareb grinned as they flew at the pirate command deck. In mid-approach, Jareb activated his targeting computer and primed his concussion missile pods. With the shields down, he surmised that a single missile would do the trick. The counter on his targeting computer ticked down as they eased closer. He thought he could almost make out faces through the transparisteel window when he fired a missile from his X-Wing. It traveled only a short distance before it sunk into the bridge's hull and imploded the command deck. The flames licked at the back of Jareb's starfighter as he pulled up at the last moment.

He hoped it would be enough to bring the capital ship down. It's shields were gone, the engine had taken a severe hit, and now the bridge was gone. Jareb knew that a lot of ships were now modified with an emergency control deck in the case of a bridge collapse, but this ship was most likely too crippled to do much of anything now.

"Great job Black 5!" Jareb congratulated. His astromech chimed in indignantly. "Okay, yeah you too Bee Dee. Thanks for monitoring my shields."

[member="Poy Luroon"]

 

[Poy Luroon]

Location: System of Omwat
Objective: 4
Allies: Jareb Kaine
Enemies: Pirate fleet flagship
Post: 11/20

~

Poy smiled at the compliment. “No worries Jareb!” she lined up alongside him, and went into attack the bridge. As soon as she locked onto the bridge, there was an escape pod being ejected from the damaged vessel, and being slowly directed to safety. She pulled up and rolled the X-Wing over, getting in behind the pod and opening fire. It exploded into a fireball, incinerating its passenger and sending hunks of hot metal and flesh into space - that was one down.

She came back alongside Jareb and re-locked on to the bridge, and fired off a proton torpedo, which found its mark. An explosion ripped through the bridge, and wiped out any survivors. Inside the ship, it must have been chaos, as they tried to get off the damaged ship via the other pods, but Poy managed to get them before their passengers had engaged the boosters and GPS system. In minutes, she had taken out half of the pods, leaving those others unusable.

Her comlink picked up garbled communications from the flagship, as its crew were in shock and all trying desperately to escape. She could hear the fear in their voices as they made their way down into the engineering section, within the bowels of the vessel and the surviving pods. They would have no chance to use them, since their lifespans were all about to be drastically cut short.

“Shall we finish it off now my comrade?” Poy said on the comlink to Jareb, as she got wingtip to wingtip with him, arming two more of her proton torpedoes.

 

[Sor-Jan Xantha]

Post 9 of 20
Objective X: Clean up on Aisle Nine!
Enemies: [member="Andanian Ategann"]
Arms & Equipment: Clone Scout (Hold Out) Blaster, DC-15S Blaster Carbine, HoloBoy Advanced

"Says the guy who's twelve!"

Okay, so that was three times older than the four year old. Seriously, no one lived to be fifty. Maybe the Kaminoans, but they were practically gods to clones.

Gathering up an armful of equipment, the small boy stood up and looked at the man, waiting. "Are we gonna put this in your ship?" the boy asked. He was going to help either way. But he was still hoping that the man would assist the villagers in learning to defend themselves.

 

[Andanian Ategann]

Location: Knowhere
Objective: 3
Allies: Kinda 3X744
Enemies: N/A
Post 14/20

Wait, the kid was helping him now? He have the child a strange, confused look. "Are we? I thought you wanted them? I thought the villagers here needed them? Also, i'm-" he stifled a chuckle. Oh, children are hilarious. "I'm...not really twelve. That was sarcasm. I'm twenty." Since the boy was a kaminoan Fett clone, even though Andanian had no idea, it would be a wonder if the kid didn't associate his name to be Twenty rather than his age. "We can put this all back in that cottage I took it from. Really. If it's all needed here, I don't mind leaving it. I can find some other crap to salvage from another old derilect outpost somewhere else." he said, still placing stuff back into the crate while cocking a head to the side at the kid.

Meanwhile, Andanian wondered if he had begun to attract eyes around the town. Hope they don't think i'm trying to steal from them...

 

[Sor-Jan Xantha]

Post 9 of 20
Objective X: Clean up on Aisle Nine!
Enemies: [member="Andanian Ategann"]
Arms & Equipment: Clone Scout (Hold Out) Blaster, DC-15S Blaster Carbine, HoloBoy Advanced

Twenty? Was that supposed to be a joke?

Or was that his name?

Dude was fourteen at most. Maybe fifteen. Of course, the clone was a very bad judge of this sort of stuff. He was four and his best friend was an Anzat that was ancient, but didn't look much older than Three was.

"Oh," the boy responded, thoroughly confused at this point. "My name's Three," the child supplied, going with the assumption that Twenty had been the dude's name.

And, with that, the boy started carrying his arm-load of equipment back toward the cottage.

 

[Andanian Ategann]

Location: Knowhere
Objective: 3
Allies: Kinda 3X744
Enemies: N/A
Post 15/20

Andanian looked especially confused at the child now. Is he being cheeky? Little...

But when he turned to rebuttle, he was already inside. What a wierd kid... he thought once again. He began pushing the heavy, broken crate across the dirt and back inside, starting to put things back where they were before. "By the way", he said, "My name's Andanian. Not twenty. What's yours?" he asked, figuring the kid was just being a sarcastic little chit by saying his name was three. Hardy-har-harr.

He pawed at the S-5 pistol still in one of the pockets of his coat, deciding the village wouldn't miss one missing blaster. Besides, those old naboo models weren't easy to come by. Andanian practically foamed at the mouth thinking of bringing it home and fixing it up. It could be a much more reliable blaster than the junk revolver he was using. Finding the gas charges it uses, shaped like cylinders, for ammunition was a pain in the neck. The S-5 can run off of the same gas cartridges any normal blaster in the galaxy used.

 

[Adele Adonai]

Objective Four - Cuan Kunn [member="Poy Luroon"] Jareb Kaine -- Battle Meditation.
Objective Two - [member="Jacen Voidstalker"]

Ice shot down gossamer strands of diamond string. A'dele froze. A chill ran up her spine, lifting the tiny hairs at the nape of her neck. Goosebumps drew over her skin in the wake of that hair-raising shiver. It felt as if the temperature fell a few degrees, and when she gave an exhale, condensation flowed from between her lips in white, billowy streams.

Strands from her web were severed, weaving lost in the wind. It was there again. That presence. Deep inside, the weaver would give a slight tremble. Her large body would carefully test the lines of her web, and once one went slack, a bristle pad of her foot would quiver.

Focus.

From within a faint voice would thrum, as if reacting towards the aggressor. But was it in joy or was it in fear? Beads of sweat began to roll down her temples.

Picking up the strands, she would carefully travel outwards, pushing beyond her mind. She had to reconnect, she had to provide that mental boost. Repair what had been lost. Be a candle in the dark.

 

[Nubica Felidae]

[Post=7/20]

Nubica gave an abridged version of events that led up to the creation of both Death Stars. The three listening were enthralled yet didn’t seem overly concerned about its potential use.

Even when she explained its destructive power in full? Their body language seemed to suggest their only problem was that they’d under-priced the job.

So she tried a different tactic. If morality wasn’t going to do it, she had another angle. Self-preservation.

So she listed all the people that died as a result of the Death Star. Those that gave their lives just for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. And most importantly those that knew too much.

“Something like this? It’s top secret. There is a very good reason they chose an outfit like yours as opposed to their own people. Two reasons actually,” she added, realising she needed to keep them sweet. “Firstly you’ll get the job done. Your reputation says that. The second? You’re expendable. A loose end they can snip off once you complete the task. Ask for ten times the money and they’ll agree. For they’ll never expect to have to pay out.”

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

[member="Adele Adonai"]


Jacen rushed through the halls beneath the warehouse. Stretching out with all his senses and he frantically checked each room with saber in hand. Yet there was no sign of what he expected to find: the Sith opposing A’dele’s battle meditation.

They’d found a sealed off secret corridor with bunks and several children. All of them were Force sensitive. They told the Alliance Jedi that the rest had been moved somewhere else. This was all starting to paint a picture that greatly concerned the veteran.

Reaching the last room he shook his head in frustration. Calm yourself. Think this through, he chastised himself. His saber was clipped to his belt and he made his way back to the main warehouse.

“He says his name is ‘Warrek’,” Padawan Grask called. The Acolyte was on his rump, his remaining hand tied to his ankle with terentenek leather cuffs. “Won’t tell us anymore.”

Jacen dropped down onto his haunches. The acolyte was extremely pale. That could either be because of the trauma he’d suffered or because of exposure to the darkside. The Marshal turned his head from side to side, watching the acolyte closely.

“Where is Qorbin Fal?” he asked suddenly. They’d heard the name from many of the prisoners taken on Sullust. The nefarious leader of the Final Order’s dark side cult. “He’s on this world…but he doesn’t know where,” Jacen said. Dropping the name had shocked the already fatigued acolyte and given him an opening in those mental defences. A whole planet to comb for a nest of dark side adepts. Perhaps the very last remnants of the Final Order.



Creeping around the edges of the web, he plucked at strands. Sometimes he left them buzzing to draw the weaver’s attention. Sometimes he snapped them clean, leaving gaps in the network that would need repair.

Back in the chamber Qorbin half opened his eyes. A holoprojection of the Alliance fleet hung in the air before him. That dull blue glow picked out details of the stone pillars around the edges of the room.

One of the acolytes was now on the floor, curled up in a foetal ball. Hi strength had been utterly drained. Perhaps he would survive. Perhaps not. A finger traced a line through the assembled ships. Finally it came to rest on a frigate.

“There,” he commanded.

At the base of a northern mountain range the snow started to fall in drifts. It shook and fell away as a great duracrete structure peeled back. A massive planetary grade ion cannon emerged. The secret base had been constructed by the Final Order in their early days, yet now it was barely functional with just a skeleton crew.

Ten sleek black TIE fighters emerged with a piercing shriek and headed for the skies. With a thrum that reverberated across the valley the ion cannon fired. Up in space several bolts in turned splashed across the frigate’s shielding, before striking the hull directly. Cries of alarm rang out across the bridge as the crew suddenly found themselves attempting to feed the repulsors enough power to stabilise the descent.

PILOTS:

Ten Final Order TIE fighters are heading towards the Alliance fleet rapidly. Hold them off and destroy the planetary ion cannon that is firing at the fleet!

 

[Nubica Felidae]

[Post=8/20]

Finally she believed she'd found the button to press. They were never going to be swayed by the promise of more money - everyone knew the bad guys always paid more. All she could do was to up the price they received from the other side.

But self-preservation? Once you reached a certain threat level, they took you seriously. Danger was par of the course. Risks were what dictated the price. Every smuggler and bounty hunter believed they were better than the prize. Otherwise they were in the wrong business.

But working for a client that planned to kill you? She'd tipped them over the edge. Well...nearly.

But a quick call to their contact and a return way too quick for a sensible and considered response simply proved Nubica's prognosis.

"We've increased the price ten-fold without even a murmur. No negotiation, nothing. Either they've money to burn and they think they've hired the most elite force in the galaxy, or..." she looked at Nubica. "What she says is true."

She raised her eyebrows to the others, clearly looking for their views. But the determined line of her lips said she'd already made her own mind up.

 

[Cuan Kunn]

Post: 4?

Kunn heard the call. He was lighting up some TIEs because, thats what you do in the Alliance, stop Imperials. And watching for the shuttles. He and his wingman were in that mindset where they didn't need to speak, just act. Pilots that flew together for so long were really good at that. And the Gand that he flew with? A very good pilot. Not so worried about being in vacuum, not being a breather, but definitely worried about the well being of civilians in regards to the Empire, or Final Order, or First Order. Whoever these people were.

He heard the chatter of Poy and Jareb making their way to the pirate ship.

And that was when the blasts came through. Scattering one of the local ships into pieces, Kunn and his Gand, Woggz, broke and dove.

"Kunn, you alright?"

"Yeah, got the jump on me, but I'm good. TIEs coming in. Let's shred them." He said as he turned his fighter towards them. "Give them something else to fight, instead of our fleet."

Brah.

 

[Jareb Kaine]

Objective: 4
Post: 7

“Shall we finish it off now my comrade?” Jareb heard Poy over the comms. He watched the damaged capital ship float helplessly through space. They had essentially won the battle, as the smaller pirate vessels began to break off and retreat. Other fighter squadrons harassed them as the ran.

"Yeah-" Jareb began, before intercepting a frequency from the crippled ship. "Wait.. They're broadcasting a distress signal. The cowards are surrendering!" Pirates definitely couldn't be trusted, and Jareb knew the Alliance wasn't necessarily in the habit of taking prisoners, but the salvaging opportunities of such a ship were probably tempting to GA fleet command. "Better hold off on that attack for now until we get word from command." Jareb replied. An alert was sent out mere seconds later, but it did not address what he expected.

"This is Alliance Command! Our fleet above Omwat is under attack by an unidentified surface to air ion cannon. All fighter groups are ordered to abort their missions and return to Omwat immediately to address the situation."

Ion cannon? Kark. Those things packed a punch.

"Everybody hear that? We need to get back to Omwat!" Jareb called out after the transmission fizzled out. One ion cannon against their fleet didn't sound that bad, but Jareb had a feeling things were about to get very complicated for the Alliance.

[member="Cuan Kunn"] [member="Poy Luroon"]

 

[Sor-Jan Xantha]

Post 10 of 20
Objective X: Clean up on Aisle Nine!
Enemies: [member="Andanian Ategann"]
Arms & Equipment: Clone Scout (Hold Out) Blaster, DC-15S Blaster Carbine, HoloBoy Advanced

So... wait.

His name was twenty, then it was Andanian. What was the deal here? Non-clones were some very confused peoples.

"Uh... Three?" the child replied, when asked for his name. Hadn't they covered this already? "It's short for Three-Ex-Seven-Four-Four," the youngling clarified, as he dropped off an armload off equipment and then started back to pick up more of the mess on the floor.

"I'm a clone trooper," the youngling supplied happily, and quite proud of the fact, as he cleaned up the mess.

 

[Adele Adonai]

[member="Jacen Voidstalker"]

A'dele was not perfect.

This was a condition she knew all too well. A sin she would struggle with day in and day out. Her imperfection is what made her weak. Made the spider cracks within her mental sanctuary flare into existence. For all of her proverbs and words of caution to Jacen Voidstalker, A'dele had been the true hypocrite.

Deep inside, A'dele fought a battle that the growing Darkside presence was snipping away at her tethers. A flair of panic shot through the weaver, and that mirrored surface would ripple, sending small waves to lap against the stone perch she sat upon.

He moved quickly, coming at her from what seemed to be all directions. Eyes would look left, right... only for it to be too late. A dark, bulbous shadow came from above the weaver.

The next instance, Jacen would sense more than hear her piercing scream. The boost of morale, of well being... gone.

The ship gave a violent shudder and lurch. The continued strikes would tear through the shielding, bursting through with tremendous firepower. Alarm klaxons would wail, and a few areas were breached. Explosions would rock all the inhabitants, and one Jedi Healer would flop to the ground unconscious.

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

[member="Adele Adonai"]

[SIZE=10pt]That web sublimated into a delicate pattern of smoky tendrils. The great obsidian arachnid found no purchase and fell through, leaving a swirling vortex of vapour it its wake. The experienced creature tucked in its legs to brace against the fall, but another tiny black spider when spinning off into the vortex alone, a final cry of terror gradually fading as it went. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]Qorbin Fal’s eyes snapped opened. He closed his hand and the flames were instantly snuffed out. He held still for a moment. He did this because he knew that drained as he was, if he tried to move he would fall. He could not display such weakness in front of the other Acolytes. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]Concentrating on that searing pain in his palm, Qorbin gathered his strength. She was still out there he knew. He had caught her, but she had retreated deep back within herself before he could fully ensnare her and sink his fangs deep. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]“The ship?” he asked suddenly. Turning on the spot he found that two Acolytes now lay quite still. Even as short as they were in numbers, it was a price worth paying if he could take that piece from the Alliance side of the board.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]“It’s coming down.”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]“Keeno, Trassk, go to the site and bring her to me,” Qorbin called. “Go quickly. If you are followed do not come here. Finish her off and go into hiding or get off world.”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]A Rodian and a Trandoshan stood forwards. The latter had a great scar that ran down the side of his face from a sparring accident with Warrek. Qorbin sighed. Another promising student was now in the hands of the New Jedi Order. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]“The rest of you lock the base down. We’re staying hidden.”[/SIZE]



[SIZE=10pt]That outburst slammed into Jacen like a wall. He took a knee heavily, his hand coming up to his temple. That scream wasn’t an audible thing, it had been a sudden wave of emotion that came crashing down over him. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]“Master?” he heard. Only once before had he sensed such emotion from A’dele. That had been when she’d sensed the danger [member="Kana Truden"] was in. That had been a shock, this was far, far worse.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]Jacen opened his eyes to see the Final Order Knight Warrek gurning right at him, a broad grin splitting his face. They were now at eye level, both on their knees. Jacen’s hand moved before he could stop it. A swift backhand sent the darksider to the ground. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]“Master!” Grask called. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]“Yeah, yeah,” Jacen acknowledge, slowly getting to his feet. Grask helped the acolyte back to his knees. Jacen took some satisfaction that the smile had been truly wiped from his face. Was A’dele already dead? He wondered. He had felt that presence seeping into the influence of the meditation. Qorbin Fal was here and he had struck back at the Iridonian. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]As he was wont to do when things were not going as planned. Jacen hooked his comm back into the main battlenet. His face blanched. The first thing he heard was that the ANS Redemption was going down, struck directly by a planetary ion cannon that had emerged. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]“Grask, get this filth back to the fleet. Make sure the sensitives are taken to a base and their families contacted.”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]“Where are you going?” called the Padawan, but Jacen was already gone. [/SIZE]



[SIZE=10pt]The noise of the LAAT reverberated around the canyon. The pilot pulled a dangerous manoeuvre to bring them to a halt over the crashed frigate. Jacen could see that the team on the bridge had done an exemplary job in bringing her down safely. Unfortunately the hammerhead shaped design was not ideal for trying to land. The whole front section was half ripped free. He sighed as he sensed lifeforms moving around within the ship. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]Without warning he dropped down out of the transport. The Force cushioned his fall as he came down on the hull. He sprinted between a pair of turbolasers and found the observation deck. She was there, he could feel her. Yet her presence was faint. Very faint. Looking back through the heavy glassteel he saw her form crumbled up against one wall. Lightsaber was unclipped from his belt and he started to cut through the viewing screen.[/SIZE]

 

[Poy Luroon]

Location: Planet of Omwat
Objective: 4
Allies: [member="Jareb Kaine"]
Enemies: Ion surface-to-air cannon
Post: 12/20

~

The Twi’lek joined Cuann, and she helped him fight off the TIE Fighters, going in with the T-85’s cannons firing. “Just karking bring it!!” this must have been a shock for all of Black Squadron to hear, since Poy never usually swore at all.

She destroyed two TIE Fighters, turning them into flaming space junk and she then turned her X-Wing around, to face off with that third one. It was coming straight for her, so she fired at point-blank range, letting all four cannons go.

The TIE Fighter was hit and clipped one of her spoilers, before it exploded in mid-air. “Oh kark yes!!” Poy saw that a TIE Fighter was behind Cuann, so she got in behind it and opened fire, watching as it dropped like a stone in water.

Her targeting computer then locked onto a pirate TIE Fighter that was trying to escape with the remainder of the fleet. He wouldn’t be getting away that easily and Poy streaked across the dark sky, finding him escorting a pirate cruiser.

She licked her lips as her finger hovered over the trigger button, twitching and sweating. “Come on baby. Do it for momma....” she cooed to her X-Wing. As she came closer, the TIE Fighter pilot had no idea what was about to hit him.

All four belly-mounted cannons roared into life and the TIE Fighter tried to get away, but it was no use. Poy hit his engines and he slowed down. Knowing it was useless to keep flying against a superior enemy, he hit the self-destruct.

The TIE Fighter exploded in a bright yellow, red and orange light, which soon fizzled out, sending pieces of spacecraft and incinerated pilot deep into space; Poy looked down at her fuel gauges. Kark!! She’d have to go and refuel now.

“I might be a bit late to the party, Jareb. Just have to go and refuel my baby. I will be back in a few minutes,” she hit the booster and headed towards one of the Galactic Alliance’s replenishment vessels, which carried fuel and ammo.

“Flight Lieutenant Luroon, Black Squadron, requesting emergency refuel,” she said over the comlink to the vessel’s captain. He acknowledged her request to refuel and sent a robotic fuel arm, which connected with the X-Wing's main and auxiliary tanks.

The entire operation was over in about 10 minutes, having completely fuelled up the two main tanks and also the two reserve tanks to capacity. The robotic refuelling arm slowly retracted back into the vessel and the captain wished her good hunting.

Poy got onto the comlink as she pulled her X-Wing up, and peeled off towards Omwat itself. “On my way now Jareb!!!” she replied, as her craft shot through the planet’s atmosphere, and then Poy began searching for this lone weapon with her computer systems.

Suddenly, there was a loud boom and a cannon shot went right past her wing, heading through the atmosphere and into space, targeting the Galactic Alliance fleet - both pilots would have to do everything in their power to destroy that damn Ion cannon.

The targeting computer picked up on a large surface-to-air weapon, down on the planet surface. “I think I’ve found it on my target computer Jareb. It’s down in the valley....” and it was like trying to find a needle in the proverbial haystack.

She formed up alongside Jareb and followed his every move, as the hunt for the cannon began; she wanted to destroy this weapon no matter what. If they could, it would take much of the heat off of the Galactic Alliance and allow them to focus on other tasks.

 

[Nubica Felidae]

[Post=9/20]

The other two weren't the smartest cookies in the jar, but Nubica had put enough dots on the page for them to be able to draw the picture. Sure, they missed a few of the numbers out - but they got it in the end.

"This sucks"

"So...we say no?"

"Don't be dumb. If we say no now, they'll know we know why we said no and kill us anyway."

All eyes turned to Nubica. She'd given them every reason to turn the job down, but in doing so had created a brand new problem. Fortunately it was one she'd predicted.

"Here's the thing. You won't turn the job down."

 

[Corvus Raaf]

[Post=[COLOR=#00ff00]9[/COLOR]+1]

Really, on the whole, I could do without the smell. It's a bit tricky trying to lose a game of pazaak on purpose without anyone working out that's what I'm doing, when all I can think of is how I'm going to stink of death-sticks for the next ... forever.

So thought Corvus Raaf, behind a carefully constructed expression of anxiety as she pretended to dither over whether or not she should draw another card from her main deck.

Sitting opposite, her opponent - a Balosar man whose scarred, shriveled antennae and prematurely wizened humanoid features betrayed a tragic and probably terminal addiction to death sticks - drummed his not-quite-clean fingernails on the gaming table, whistling tunelessly. Around them, there were growing hints of impatience from the handful of onlookers who'd abandoned their own risky pursuits to drink searingly colorful cocktails and eat illegal appetizers and gawk for a while.

With a little gasp, Corvus fluttered her outrageously enhanced eyelashes in a tell-tale sign of panic. Time to wrap this up. She'd learned all she was going to from her jittery fellow player. Plus she was here to ride shotgun for Nubica - in case the plan went south.

The Balosar waved his antennae with ill-concealed bad temper. "Come on, doll, I ain't got all day."

Mutterings from the crowd commented on his breach of manners. Shoulders drooping, Corvus shook her head. "I'm sorry." Up came her chin. "All right. I've decided. I'm going to do it!"

With breathless bravado she snatched the precise card she needed from her main deck and turned it over.

The gamblers gathered behind her, shamelessly ogling, let out an almost sympathetic groan.

"Six," said the Balosar, and revealed his chipped, stained teeth in a grin. "Pushes you to twenty-four, doll. I win."

 

[Adele Adonai]

[member="Jacen Voidstalker"]

[SIZE=13.3333px]Adele was sinking.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=13.3333px]The fabric of her robes would slowly float overhead like alabaster petals of a white orchid. They swayed, unfurling to their full length, eerie extensions of the one sinking deeper into the abyss. Tiny bubbles would float up to the surface, cutting the gray blue hue of the glacial water. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=13.3333px]The curtains of the weavers eyes slid open, a blurry underwater world her welcome to this watery purgatory. She felt light, but at the same time, so very heavy. Thoughts came to her, but they were muggy and clouded. Above her, the surface would shift and mirror, light refracting from overhead. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=13.3333px]Panic overwhelmed her, and she began to move her arms, struggling under the weight of cowl and saturated robes. That’s when the currents shifted; changed. Something slithering within the depths of that lake. A dark shadow. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=13.3333px]No...[/SIZE]

[SIZE=13.3333px]Fear ran through her veins like ice, and she seemingly struggled to swim. She was drowning. Couldn’t breathe. A hand came up, ripping and sliding the cowl off of her head. Strands of blonde hair would float like ghostly apparitions around her, instead of freeing her, spinning around her like spidersilk, binding her tightly, preventing her from reaching the surface. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=13.3333px]A single alabaster hand went reaching out, struggling with her confines, as a great gaping maw slid its translucent toothy jaw open underneath her. [/SIZE]