People of Our Fears [Galactic Alliance Hex Dominion of M'haeli]

[Ugohr Poof]

Location: M'haeli
Post: 4/25
Allies: Other Jedi recruiters
Enemies: Rebellious farmers
Objective: Recruiting locals as Jedi

"Wesa taken homeless, unemployed people out of da streets and into da workforce"

"Homeless? Space wizards and their wars have wrought nothing but destruction!"

"Our Queen has brought space wizards here! Down with the Queen"

"Yousa must not wish for da destruction of a system without first knowen what yousa want afterward. Mesa leaven"

Ugohr realized that he won't have much success in the countryside, and drawing upon his lightsabers would not help in the slightest. He knew that there were a truckload of movements in history that claimed to better the lives of people but ended up using that as cover for atrocities. Perhaps he will have more success in the slums of the nearest major city... maybe the Force-using homeless more gullible. He would probably get a different feel for the homeless in the slums than for the disgruntled peasants in the countryside. Perhaps other Jedi would have more success that Ugohr did, luckily he wouldn't have to face resistance quite as stiff in the slums. By that point Ugohr decided to escape through the country road in a swoop bike, not suspecting that he would be followed by other peasants, who gave chase to him in a speeder truck that Ugohr could easily outrun. All too easily.

 

[Kenrath]

Location: M'Haeli
Objective: Diplomatic Envoy to Queen [member="Geneva Wessiri"] (Objective 1)
Allies: Galactic Alliance Diplomatic Team.
Enemies: TBD
Post:3/20


Armis appreciated the gesture made by the man but instead of wandering off he stayed behind and listened to the story. Almost immediately a thought.....well more of a question popped into his mind.

"Please forgive my interruption Ambassador, your Majesty." "Why the change to begin with?" "If your people have historically been governed by a Monarchy then why and more importantly how was the change made to a Democracy?"

A few of the others in the delegation were visibly annoyed by Armis' perceived outburst all that is except for the Ambassador himself. The older gentleman seemed to have been thinking the same thing and was not the least bit disturbed by it being asked.

Armis had let the inquisitive side of his nature get the better of him and he was sure he would pay for it later but it was too late to take it back now.

 

[Geneva Wessiri]

[ 04 ]

Geneva didn't see the ambassador's companion asking such a question as an issue. She loved talking and explaining things, especially if she could enforce her own power that way. This one meeting was supposed to turn her into the benevolent queen she had promised to be.

"Oh, I myself am unfortunately not a native to this planet. As a matter of fact, I've come here only several years ago, therefore I don't know the reasoning behind why people thought the change to democracy would be a good thing," she spoke, walking along the corridors with the whole ambassador envoy. "The leader, from what I have heard, was a great supporter of Republican values. He was so amazed by the wonders of democracy that he forgot our planet's values. Our only value. He forced people to turn the planet into a democratic state."

She turned to the man who had spoken up.

"In a civilisation where the monarchs are nearly prayed to, people don't always question their leader. So even if people knew the change to democracy was bad, they did not say a word. And so the change happened. For decades, it remained that way."

She then turned around again. They were starting to near her meeting room -- a luxurious room only second to the throne room in extravagance. It was a huge room full of expensive sofas and armchairs and the queen's secondary throne.

"People got used to such freedoms, so they did not see my rise to power as too great. They doubted in me, want to kill me and so on. But what they do not understand is that every change takes time to settle in. And it's such a huge change, so I can't just make it all happen overnight."

[ [member="Armis Vindex"] ]

 

[Isha]

[ DO YOUR OWN THING ] Explore, have fun, do what you want, develop something, write a good story.
Post 4
[member="Varien Moxla"]

---

If humor could be expressed by two glowing cerulean orbs that passed as eyes, Knight Varek's would have done so then. The Lantern Bird gave a flick of it's illuminating tail, the light providing a small sphere of light to see.

"Indeed, young Moxla." the calm voice of the Maelibus rumbled from the bowels of his throat like a mighty wind through a ravine.

"There is life, as the Force touches all that can be seen." He explained, swiveling his powerful body towards the gaping maw of the cavern.

"Stay close, and be wary. " he advised, carrying tiny Isha in his hand as the group began to wander into the depths of the cavern.

At first glance, it was rather dark. The air was humid. Water could be heard trickling in the distant. The path was rather wide, allowing for all to be able to comfortably wander in. There were signs of animals waste here and there, perhaps a few that had decided to make this their home.

The deeper they wandered in, the more a curious light seemed to glow off the walls and the ground itself. Upon closer inspection, it was a type of cavern moss with bioluminescent properties.

 

[Saffron]

[ AGGRESSIVE ] Loyalty... - Under the unfair tax burden and several other reasons, the local farmers of the agriculture world have started to riot against the Queen and the Galactic Alliance. Try to calm the farmers down.
Arceneau Trade Company - Browncoat Industrial
5

---

"What do we know about the farmers?" Aeri asked the Togruta employee of Arceneau Trade tasked to gather intel from an earlier visit to M'Haeli.

"There has been discontent with the Queen," Viei said, turning on a holoscreen to present Saffron and Aeri with the details. There a recording of her Majesty, Queen Geneva only a month prior.


"People of M'haeli," Geneva had said only a month ago. "The galaxy is in a state of war. We are in a state of war, and there is no denying of that."


"The time has come for M'haeli to change. We have for long obeyed the unrealistic movement of a parliament. Our planet can not be torn deep into the matters of democracy. That is not the way we work. We, people of the world, are to be ruled by only one person, by only one monarch."

"M'haeli originally had a parliament. Queen Geneva changed that, moving them from a democracy to a Monarchy -- however, the transition hasn't been the smoothest. With a loss of funds and more of the farmers finding themselves with little to support their families, the population has risen against the Queen in riots."

Saffron gently tapped her chin, "What are the Alliance doing?"

"They are in the midst of negotiations, but there are still several other areas of concern throughout the planet."

Saffron gave a slight frown.

"And the Queen?"

"I have not heard of her whereabouts, Miz Saffron."

A nod.

"Well, let's find out where the Queen is... in the meantime, see if we can send Arceneau Trade security to the local riots to help calm the population. I want to hear directly what is it that they want."

 

[Alesia Rivas]

[ 05 ]
Objective 2 | M'haeli

Consulars and Guardians were not typically the people asked to recruit new members to the Order. To be honest, Alesia didn't really know why they would ever get asked to do that, but it was definitely the case at the moment. The only person really responsible for the recruitment on this mission up until now had been the Jedi Brute, Knight Poof. Not a Jedi Sentinel, not a Jedi Recruiter. But a commander of an army.

Alesia didn't know why he had been assigned to that work and why he had not been sent to work on the crazy cultists with his army of Malastare at the mission on Arrgaw, but who was she to judge? She was only a Padawan.

She was not alone, though, because she was still learning to become a Jedi Recruiter, and therefore she was on the mission with Master Balayar, who had finally taken her on as a full-time apprentice. The woman had had a Padawan before, but that one had left the Order for good due to unknown reasons.

The spot was left open, so of course Balayar had picked her favourite Padawan. Favourite because not many Padawans voluntarily wanted to become Recruiters nowadays. Especially since the life of a Guardian was much more interesting in the Alliance.

"These people are highly Force-sensitive, possibly having the highest rate of Force-sensitivity around the galaxy. We must be cautious, of course, as not all people are supportive of the Alliance on these lands. The H'drachi are peaceful, but the human civilisation on the planet? Don't even get me started," the Master spoke.

 

[Kenrath]

Location: M'Haeli
Objective: Diplomatic Envoy to Queen [member="Geneva Wessiri"] (Objective 1)
Allies: Galactic Alliance Diplomatic Team.
Enemies: TBD
Post:4/20

Armis smiled.

"But your parents are from here?" "It some times happens that way." "My father was born on Atrisia but I was not." "Even long before Sith rule Atrisia has ruled by Emperors." "I am not unfamiliar with what you say."

The others looked towards the Ambassador their faces giving away that things had gone way off script. The Ambassador met their looks but said nothing. The Ambassador simply watched on as Armis continued.

"At the end of the day only two things matter." "First what kind of ruler you want to be." "One of the people fueled by justice and fairness, or one fueled by oppression and tyranny." "Second what exactly it is you want from the Alliance."

He paused before he continued.

"Now I don't speak for the Alliance.................that is the Ambassador's job." "But I will say this............I won't support an oppressive tyrant no matter what the Alliance does."

 

[Geneva Wessiri]

[ 06 ]
Objective 1 | M'haeli

"The wish of the people is a great deal to me. That is why I came here to become the Foreign Minister of the planet and then later on guide the planet back to the rightful way of monarchy," Geneva spoke, as surprised about the man's outbreak as everybody else seemed to be. "I want to be the best, most fair ruler I could possibly be. However, this rough start has made several people doubt in who I am and what I want to be."

She sighed.

"I wouldn't have contacted the Alliance had I not wished the best for my people. It would have been shameless of me to keep on being that failure of a leader many believe me to be, so what better way to bring us to the golden age than to join the Galactic Alliance?"

Oh how much she hoped that she didn't say anything wrong. If she ruined this meeting, everything would be going downhill. If the representatives of the Alliance saw no use of her, she might as well have just given up. This was her last chance to fix the poor leadership her first month had been.

"If our planet can do what is necessary for a member state of the Alliance, then I am sure your faction can protect us, isn't that what your faction is all about?" Geneva tried to wiggle out of an uncomfortable situation. "I believe you are able to see, my dear brethren, that our planet is left in the dark with nobody to provide any help to us. Left out by the Republic and the Silver Sanctum Coalition, no longer under the protection of the Omega Protectorate, I fear we are no longer capable of securing ourselves."

"If we got the protection of a faction such as the Galactic Alliance, we could thrive while not having to worry about our security."

Was she making any sense? Maybe. Probably. Hopefully?

[ [member="Armis Vindex"] ]

 

[Ugohr Poof]

Location: M'haeli
Post: 5/25
Allies: [member="Alesia Rivas"]
Enemies: Rebellious farmers
Objective: Recruiting locals as Jedi

By now there were three Recruiters for the price of one on that planet, one of which is still in training and had her Master in tow. What that Padawan did not know was that there were no suspicions of minefields on Arrgaw, and hence no need to deploy the Army of Malastare along with Ugohr. Operational directives dictated that the Army of Malastare was to be deployed only when there are "strong suspicions of minefields" and it was all-or-nothing deployment when such suspicions arise. All-or-nothing deployment works best for regiment-sized units at best; Ugohr could feel that said Padawan was puzzled. But Ugohr could pass for just some ordinary swoop biker in the slums and no one would notice that he is actually a Jedi Brute. Few brutes would willingly accept to take on missions outside their realm of expertise as Jedi Guardians (and likewise few juggernauts would do the same on the Sith side; Jedi Brutes and Sith Juggernauts usually seem happy in their roles as exotic weapons specialists, whatever exotic weapons actually meant) but Ugohr was one of those. One of the Force-sensitive beggars approached Ugohr, in an attempt to wring a few credits with a mind trick:

"You will give me your spare change"

"Mesa not here for given spare change; in fact yousa will rebuild yoursa life by becoming a Jedi"

"How well do the Jedi life pay? What professions would be open to me?"

"Before yousa can maken a choice, yousa will undertake a battery of tests, includen personality tests and other physical tests, and yousa will then choose professions dat seem to be da best fits for yousa"

"Hold on, Jedi, what professions are open to Jedi?"

"There-sa dee major professional classifications: Consulars, Sentinels and Guardians. Guardians more combat-oriented than Consulars or even Sentinels; if yousa feel dat investigative policing issa more yoursa thing, yousa can contemplate becoming a Sentinel, if yousa live and die by da battlefield, da Guardian's life issa more for yousa. Each of da dee classifications further subdivided into more subclasses"

"What kind of Jedi are you?"

"Mesa? As a Jedi brute, mesa artillerist; few, very few Jedi would actually touch artillery as theirsa bread-and-butter. Mesa find dat da life on an artillerist issa for Jedi afraid of da heights and dat struggle using a lightsaber, but who nonetheless want to fight"

 

[Kenrath]

Location: M'Haeli
Objective: Diplomatic Envoy to Queen [member="Geneva Wessiri"] (Objective 1)
Allies: Galactic Alliance Diplomatic Team.
Enemies: TBD
Post:5/20

Armis listened to the Queen's response. He shook his head.

"I don't claim to know the purpose of the Alliance." "It seems to me however you are looking to the Alliance to legitimize your claim to the Throne." "Or to do your dirty work, maybe even to be the scapegoat if it fails."

He paused as if to consider his real question.

"Let me ask you something your Majesty." "When is the last time you spoke with your people?" "I don't mean made some pretty speech possibly written by somebody else on the Palace steps but actually spoke to them." "Heard their fears, heard their concerns, addressed their needs, and even heard what they think about your legacy as Queen."

When he finished a pin drop could be heard in the entire room. After a minute the Ambassador spoke.

"Please forgive Officer Vindex your Majesty." "The young can be impulsive and uncouth at times."

The Ambassador paused before he continued.

"We of course will be glad to consider your application as a member world of the Alliance but we make no guarantees." "If accepted of course we have no intentions of telling you how to govern your people so long as in doing so you do not violate the tenants the Alliance stands for." "At that times we can also discuss what resources and assistance the Alliance would be able to provide you and your people."

 

[Micah tol Powl]

Post 1 of 25
Objective: M'Haeli BYOO
Location: Ruisto-class Exploration Vessel Nadesico (Corellia Digital Fleet)

The halls of the ship were so damn familiar.

It was strange to be walking them in a business suit and a pair of black flats, as opposed to the stiff, starched feel of her FrontierCorps uniform and a pair of boots that not even comfort insoles could salvage.

She'd almost missed the sight of their guest. Smaller than she'd imagined. And with the turban on his head, the silhouette he cast made her mistake him for a droid in passing. Pausing, the lady found herself standing in the doorway to the Nadesico's observation lounge.

A H'drachi was framed against the transparisteel window, staring out into the stars of Plynn System.

Doctor Ch'urro was one of the foremost astrologists at the Royal University at N'croth. With corporate relations between the Galactic Alliance and Corellia Digital beginning to warm since the reconstruction of Coruscant, the company was looking to expand its HoloNet and subspace communications network through this area of the Expansion Region. As an added benefit, that would actually help better facilitate communication between their corporate headquarters on Drall and the subsidiary holdings on Druckenwell. And Doctor Ch'urro was seen as just the man to help the company map out the astrological phenomenon around the Majoor Sector.

Observing the man for a moment, the woman finally made her presence known. "Cold, Doctor?"

The H'drachi man turned his head to glance back at the Corellian woman, framed in the light of the doorway to the corridor beyond. For a moment, he looked homesick. Then he turned back toward the glass as he said only, "I find I prefer looking at the stars from the comfort of my own planet."

The lady smiled at that, a bemused gesture that ghosted against the lines on her aged face.

A true academic. Someone who studied space rather than lived there.

 

[Varien Moxla]

Post 3.
[member="Isha"]

The young Kiffar bobbed his head in a nod to the Maelibus.

The Fore is in everything right?

He shrugged his shoulders as the group started into the cavern. There was the faint smile of something rank, but he didn't make a face, just ignored it. It was likely animal waste and corpses. Or something. Lots of times he found that it was or something. Or at least that's what he herd from Mandalorians of Clan Kelborn and the Kiffu Guardians he met on occasion.

Or something was usually worse.

"Knight Varek," he said.

"Your planet is on the other side of the Galaxy," he said curiously. "Why come so far to be apart of the New Jedi Order?"

 

[Kahne Porte]

Location: Arrgaw
Objective: Colony(Objective 1)
Allies: Galactic Alliance
Enemiesespair
{3}

The Jedi Master stared at the woman holding the baby that was crying out for help. She was frantic, as were sever others around her. She stated several things, not caring for herself but just for the safety and welfare of her child. Kahne stood before her for a moment as she looked up him and she whispered those words again and Kahne showed a small smile. The Jedi master then knelt down before her and his hand rose to her forehead ever so gently and his hand then cupped the side of her cheek. Little did she know that Kahne was using the force, his own aura to bring her a mind to a moment of ease. The Jedi Master's other hand moved forward and he held the young baby's hand. Kahne chuckled as his hand was the size of almost her whole arm.

Alliance personal were moving in every direction possible, clearing up the area and setting up makeshift resting areas and medical tents, as Kahne had noted that in itself was well underway. The Jedi could still hear some cries from the baby, but they had soon let up as the mother's own mind was more relaxed. She looked over to Kahne with a trembling lip. "I'm so scared..."

The reassurance is what they needed, that feeling of hope...

Kahne cleared his throat as he looked down for a moment and showed her an encouraging smile. "Don't be, not anymore." The glanced over towards the medical bag that was laid next to him and someone was being treating right next to the woman. Kahne took a small towel and gently wiped the face of the woman, and then more gently than before did the same with the baby only using the other side of the towel. The Jedi felt a hand on his shoulder as another Med Personal had arrived, and Kahne looked towards the woman. "It's going to be okay." He stood up letting go of them both tending to her and her baby was taken over by the Alliances Medical side of things.

What more could he say that could help, not to much. 'It won't happen again' 'They won't be back' Kahne tried not to do that so much, he wasn't sure if it would happen again, or if those terrible people would be back. The only thing Kahne knew was that he would fight as hard as he could for as long as he could, so that something like this didn't happen again. That was a sacrifice he was willing to make, it's the sacrifice he chose when he became a Jedi. Kahne wiped his hands along another towel at his side as he placed it in the pocket on his cloak.

Kahne turned around as he heard the familiar sounds of his R2 droid Gala at his side. "Yes, it is a tragedy. You can return from tragedy though." Kahne said as he glanced around them, noting Specter and the group coming behind him. "My friends, let's get to work. There is no time to waste." The Jedi said as he moved forward and began the process of restoring and aiding the people of this colony, however best he could.

You can return from tragedy, how you do so is the bigger issue...

 

[Alesia Rivas]

[ 07 ]
Objective 2 | M'haeli

Alesia and Balayar very rather far away from Ugorh or any other Recruiter there might have been. They liked taking their own missions and adventures. Crowds of Jedi Recruiters tended to scare people and make them feel as if they were under some kind of an attack. That was definitely not what the Jedi wanted to cause, so Master Balayar hated cooperating with other Recruiters.

She and her Padawan were walking in the population of the H'drachi, the highly attuned species who were most likely not all so difficult to recruit. They already had their smaller scale orders very similar to the way of the Light, so there was no denying that they could easily brought to the New Jedi Order.

"This house over there has a huge population of these. They're meditating, I think. A great aura of the Force radiates from them," Balayar spoke. She didn't really like hurrying with these things. She wanted to keep all the recruitment work nicely paced and not too surprising. She didn't mean to make the Jedi seem as offenders or crusaders.

"How do we go about that?" Alesia asked, a little bit too eager to start the mission. She was not the patient one in the duo. All she would have wanted to do was just get on with it. If it were for her, she would have definitely just grabbed the Force sensitive people and brought them to the Order, whether they wanted or not. That was her hugest con at the moment. One she would have to get rid of by Knighthood.

"We wait. I think their leader is there. Once all the others leave, we will talk to the leader and ask him to kindly bring everybody to the New Jedi Order."

[ [member="Ugohr Poof"] (distant ally) ]

 

[Geneva Wessiri]

[ 08 ]
Objective 1 | M'haeli

"Would you mind yourself?" the Queen of M'haeli spoke after the sudden foolish claims the young man made. The woman had no intention of arguing with him, but she couldn't just keep taking in those blatant comments. "If you accuse me of looking to legitimize my claim to the throne by joining the Alliance, then I am sure you have no better feelings for those several others planets who join the Alliance near daily."

She couldn't just keep on being the innocent polite queen. She had to act. And if the Alliance had sent brutal snarky young men who didn't know how to interact with royalty, she had no wish of being polite with them.

But then the actual ambassador spoke up.

"Yes, indeed. Shall we pursue on to the palace's meeting chamber?"

The group would finally step into the rather huge room and take seats. The Queen would, of course, sit on her own seat - a secondary throne much smaller than the one in the throne room - and the diplomatic envoy would sit on the sofas around, where they could discuss real matters, such as what the two sides had to offer to each other.

[ [member="Armis Vindex"] ]

 

[Ugohr Poof]

Location: M'haeli
Post: 6/25
Allies: [member="Alesia Rivas"]
Enemies: Rebellious farmers
Objective: Recruiting locals as Jedi

"Jedi not paid more than NFUs doing thesa same jobs"

"The Jedi often say that they must not develop attachments. Yet many Jedi own businesses. Is there anything the Jedi Order do to help Jedi get their businesses started?"

"There-sa several ways to go on about getting seed moolah for yoursa business: yousa looky for treasure/loot and yousa use da proceeds as seed money, as mesa did, or also ask for a line of credit to da IGBC"

"You are one of those Jedi who own a business?"

"If yousa have needs for anything real estate-related, just ask for IGR Brokerage: issa da business mesa own"

[member="Sor-Jan Xantha"] with Corellia Digital, [member="Ajira Cardei"] who hold part of Theed Palace Space Vessel Engineering Corps, [member="Matsu Ike"] with Sasori Research being the main names of business-owning Jedi. Along with himself as a real estate broker; IGR may own the Malastare Narrows Business Park, after Privago successfully pressed his case for one of the economic revitalization projects launched by the Malastarian Council, and as a result IGR's headquarters on Malastare are part of the office park. Nothing innovative about office parks but IGR hopes to use the old Black Sun base for non-militant ends, upon which the Malastarian Council hopes to build a whole town around the business park. The Force-sensitive beggar seems a little intrigued by the fact that there are so many business-owning Jedi, given that the dark side of the Force is a very real temptation for business owners and executives running them.

 

[Liliane]

[ 09 ]
Do Your Own Stuff

Lilin had been kind of lucky this time. Despite the struggles and battles going on at M'haeli and Arrgaw, the Jedi Master had not been asked to provide her help there, and that for a reason the woman did definitely not enjoy. She would have wanted to be as helpful as she could and aid those who needed help. But this time, she was stuck on a completely different job that barely had anything to do with Jedi stuff. Well, guess it was somehow related to the Jedi Order, but not much.

She had for long wanted to gather her own private little fleet to help her do her thing in the galaxy, enforce the law of the Alliance and just generally have some more say in the way things were. And even though she was no high ranking official, she was still a Jedi Master. And Masters sometimes got what they wanted.

While the woman hadn't really gotten the leeway from the Alliance to mash together her fleet, she had been told it was somewhat OK if she owned a few ships up to a few hundred metres in length or so. She was pretty OK with such a deal, especially if it meant that she would be having her fleet. It was not huge fleet admirals had, but a fleet nonetheless.

She had contacted a person - a former Sith - a little bit time ago, but now she was going to do the real thing. She was asked to talk to those people around Arrgaw who would potentially be allies with the Alliance and provide either pilots or ships for the fleet Lilin was putting together.

Elizabeth, better known as Liz the Fourth Lover, was the one she would have wanted to contact, but that was not going to work out, meaning she had to come up with a better plan.

And that better plan was to pursue the remaining vessels the criminal had to desert and join the Galactic Alliance instead. A noble plan, but it was definitely more difficult than aiding those innocent victims on the planet.

 

[Oscar Grant Paxon]

[ 10 ]
Objective 1 | Arrgaw

Death often came at the most unexpected moments. Even Jedi seers such as Oscar couldn't see these thing happening. While powerful Masters were sometimes able to sense disturbances in the Force, Oscar was only a Padawan and definitely not capable of anything to grandiose.

Along with a team of other Jedi, the Padawan had been sent to Arrgaw to treat to those who had been wounded or who had been killed by the murderous criminals who had raided the little village. Little villages didn't always matter a lot to the New Jedi Order, but they did this time. Especially if the Alliance wanted to gain more territory.

Helping the innocent was not a thing for Oscar. He had compassion and empathy for those who lost something or somebody dear to them, but he much more preferred to be useful in the Temple and not on the field. He was not really the most social type of a person, neither was he really good at healing or rebuilding. He was good at looking into the Force, though.

All the people around the village were mourning. The raiders had really struck at the village's heart and had destroyed everything. It could have been something similar to what the Padawan was feeling about the destruction of his homeworld Corellia, even though these two situations were completely different.

"Ma'am, how could I help you?" the boy asked from one crying woman. She seemed to be holding a parchment in her hands -- a brown bag or blanket of sorts. He couldn't really see what it was, but moments later he could start to guess what it may have been.

And he did not like that thought at all.

 

[Tobias Wrynn]

[04]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTI7u-2I-wI

He stepped over the corpse and into hell.

Wrynn gazed out over the killing field and saw the bloated, desiccated corpses of the altered Arrgawn people and bit into his lip. The scream of comms chatter ripped through his helm and he cut the HUD from the network knowingly. "Switch over to the hard line," he instructed. Ael quickly shifted over and balked at the greatly reduced efficiency of her HUD. "The signal is much more grave than we thought. This was part of the plan all along," he huffed angrily as they strode forward into the thick of a war zone. Both of them plowed through a mire of viscera and carrion meat toward the towering facility that appeared more evil as they inched closer.

He silently tried to get a lock on the origin as Ael fumbled with her weapon. "This feels... wrong, Wrynn," she shuddered. "Everything feels like pure chaos." His eyes moved over her and Tobias instinctively knew something was off. The unnatural sensation that Arrgaw was irradiated with washed over him as well, but it was not giving him the same utter fear that it struck into the other soldier. "I don't want to go in there," she whined. "Wrynn, don't make me-"

"Stow it, Recon Five," Wrynn replied curtly. "We have a direct order to infiltrate and eliminate. Remember your directive and steel yourself." His words were harsh, but he placed a hand on her shoulder. "Get it together, Ael. There's something foul at work here, and its getting under your skin. You're a soldier. Keep your wits about you."

Ael glanced up at him, and Wrynn saw the feral terror in her eyes. "Feth," he hissed. It's not just some Jedi Mind Trick, he took a stim from his pack and ripped the cap off the needle with his teeth. She's got some kind of wicked corruption gnawing at her mind. He tore at her armor and the woman gasped, but she did not recoil from his effort. Her eyes moved away and she let out a hushed cry of surprise as her face flushed red.

"B...be gentle, Tobias," she muttered, and he glanced up at her. This is... she's... "T-the mission," she rasped, "the mission..."

When the femoral artery was exposed, he plunged the needle into it and depressed the hammer. Her reaction was almost instantaneous. The fluid ripped through her bloodstream and burned away at the afflicted midichlorians. The hold that darkness kept over Ael sent her into convulsions as her body worked to expunge it. Her mind moved with increased alacrity and her gaze found his.

"Eyes on the target, Five," Wrynn drawled as he turned away from her and tossed aside the used up stimpack. Ael replaced her armor plating and stood up slowly. "They've got the jamming signal spreading like wildfire. We're cut off from Alliance command until further notice, so make sure that you stick close. The short range comms only function up to 2 kilometers. After that, we're dead man walking. Communication is pivotal to getting through this alive."

"I know that," she spoke with annoyance as the helm slipped back over her head. "I'm sorry for... whatever that was," she said bitterly.

"Emotional overdrive," he replied, "it's like whatever the cultists are doing in there is letting off a miasma that plays with our thoughts and feelings. You have to actively fight it down. I've been struggling with the anger for a while now," he admitted. "Half of me wants to charge in and shoot everything that's breathing. But our orders are clear, and we need a calm mind to achieve victory."

"How are you managing that?" she asked, surprised.

"Focus on the mission," he replied, "mind over matter."

She watched as Wrynn pushed through into the outer perimeter and looked around. "Twelve reds spotted under two clicks out," she called. A sizable wall of scrap metal and the bodies of broken workers was piled ahead of them, and it took all she could muster not to vomit. "They murdered their own," she whispered. "This is insane."

"Lock it down, damn it," he jabbed a finger in her direction. "They're going to do whatever it takes to unnerve us. These bodies are not fresh. There are signs of decay that signify several days of exposure to the elements. They must have starved or killed each other when they lost their minds. The cultists are just recycling." Wrynn did not bother to mention that he found it just as sick as she did. There was no point. "They're just as prone to these effects as we are, Five. Keep that in mind. We can use it to our advantage."

"Acknowledged," came her halfhearted reply.

He stopped short when HUD flashed. Origin detected. "Found you," he muttered. The map display toggled on and shifted toward another installation, three kilometers northwest of their current position. "We need to get the word back to the Alliance Defense Fleet to rain hell on these facilities," he told her. "They're amassing these corrupted refineries with whatever is causing this twisted energy and using it to push their agenda."

"Well then this signal needs to come down," she said, "because we're not getting anything to the fleet as it stands."

"I found the point of origin," he revealed, "but it's going to be even more heavily fortified than this. It will take time to slice through the firewalls, and I need cover for that. What's the status on those reds?" Wrynn asked suddenly.

"Inbound," she asserted. "we have less than a minute to contact."

"Get ready," Wrynn hissed.

 

[Micah tol Powl]

Post 2 of 25
Objective: M'Haeli BYOO
Location: Ruisto-class Exploration Vessel Nadesico (Corellia Digital Fleet)

Professor Ch'urro was obviously a man searching for something.

Company? Conversation? She wasn't sure if she was going to be all that helpful on either fronts, but she tested the waters. "What inspired you to study space, Doctor?"

The man made his living writing and lecturing on the stars. Hard to imagine he was that put out by being among them.

The H'drachi gave a gruff, short laugh at the attempt. "Why does a man climb a mountain?"

A slim eyebrow slipped up along her well-lined brow. "Well, I don't know about a man," the lady deadpanned lightly, throwing the quip back at the man as she stated, "But a woman might say... because it's there."

She climbed Mount Meru once, on an Antarian Ranger excursion to the site of an old Jedi Enclave. It had actually been where she'd met Tal Hobis. The first time anyway. The first of many, but it had all started on Deneba.

She'd been younger of course. And in much better shape than now.

"A better question might be, why do you climb the mountain?" the woman remarked, turning the conversation back to where it had begun.

It was another swing and a miss, as the H'drachi merely gave a shake of his head.

"Philosophy is not my field," the camel-like alien said, solemnly. He held her gaze for a moment, just a moment, before he bowed his head. "Good day, Captain," he uttered, stepping past her toward the doorway out to the corridor beyond.

"Good day, Doctor," she echoed quietly, turning her head to watch him depart.