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Broka saw the droids on the monitor. At least a firefight was entertainment enough for now. He slurped the eels from the bowl in excitement.
His droids took cover where they could, and made a firing line of sorts. The firefight that ensued was relatively short. Though the droids were large and powerful, the numbers of the droids and imperials combined force managed to hold its own against the droids. Only two were taken down so far.
He then turns to the communication terminal, "<If there are more further in, then this will certainly be entertaining to watch.>" Broka lets out one of the infamous, deep Hutt laughs in excitement.
"Look there..." Arla was the first to notice the warmer patch of ground. The snow barely clung to it; and the large square shape of it gave the clear indication that it wasn't natural.
Both women approached it, however it was Lori that was relaying the info to Ingrid L'lerim
. "I think we found another way inside. The snow is pretty much melted on the side here. And it looks like....yeah, there's a door in the ground. We just gotta pry it open." She inspected the latch, frowning a little as it appeared to be frozen shut. "Any of you guys got flamethrowers? We could use the heat." She didn't want to touch on the Force to try to heat it up. The less that the Empire knew of her gifts, the better.
"He has been like that for quite some time..." The eyes of a lower officer turned to see his corresponding on the other side of a large metallic entrance, his eyebrows twisting in concern. The latter nodded slowly upon hearing the murmored voice, his gaze rimained fixed towards the dark figure whose shape has not altered since the last orders were sent an hour ago or so. Stuck like a statue, overlooking the planet through the trapezoidal windows of the room.
"He is not saying anything, no orders ... this is quite strange, he nev" The officer immediatly shut as his worried glance met the decisive one of captain Hellen Ardetzka as she was leaning towards an operative station on the lower section of the deck, checking the latest infos on the eastern continent as the showing graphics suggested. Her look didn't investigated further and quickly moved back to the black figure, walking up the ladders and reaching the shoulders of the entity.
"Five hundred thousands". Her words met the compliant silence of the figure. Her expression hesitated for a fraction of seconds before turning back again to other locations were the operatives intently kept working on updating the growing numbers of contacts.
The officer moved again to see the other one, which continued the sentence of the previous " He never behaved like this, not even during the battle on Atrisia... Something big is up ". Though his voice was barely audible the other nodded affirmely. " Do you think the captain knows? " The first asked hoping to get a clarification on the situation as he arrived later on the command deck after a missed answer from the commodore. " I think she knows as much as we do, she is... Just following the orders."
" Which are? "
A couple of seconds passed by, and before the officer could start to open his mouth again. An operative who was checking at a large stain of red overshadowing an entire continent winced in surprise and horror as the red completely desappeared. At the same time and without any warning the dark figure turned to see the operative at the communications and ordered " OPEN FIRE NOW! ". His voice roared like a tyrannical monster as the synthetized speakers trembled and twisted the sound.
The operative remained in shock, completely cought offguard, but a dark glove jumped from behind and opened the communications to the rest of the fleet " Open fire! I repeat! Open fire! ". The captain shouted.
The fleet fired a massive volley of laser projectiles, flashing towards the void aimlessly untill right infront of their course, ships... hundreds... of thousands of ships, of different size and shape appeared, like a horde of unseen vastity. A short jump, an attempt to cut the distances with the blockade and hit it with a sudden strike. The force creature tried to surprise Malleus, but infact the contrary was happening.
"To all the imperial and allied fleets, here is Commodore Malleus Valkonnen. The enemy fleet has beginned the attack, I request immediate support!"
Ingrid raised her eyebrows when she saw the robots. Interesting design, she never saw like that before. It seemed ancient design, but which faction or nation? They lived now in the wild space, which used to not really be mapped. It was also something they might never know. There were too many of these on this day, and she didn’t like that. She kept looking at the monitors, while the hutt seemed to feel great.
”Any idea what kind of droids these are?” she asked Broka. ” It seems like to ancient war droids, but I don't recognize who designed them.”
Meanwhile the girls are sent a message to her too from the surface. So they did not follow the first wave, but began private action. It was so characteristic of the rebels, but now it came in handy. Frozen door, why would there be a door outside from the pyramid? She didn’t know but they have to investigate it.
”Two soldiers and three droids will help you! And you need to hurry, the infected ships trying to break the blockade.” she said to Loreena.
After these words she turned her attention to the other channel, where Malleus asked for help. The worst case scenario has begun!
”Who can help his ship, go! But the most important thing, the blockade can't be weakened, under no circumstance! If they break our lines they will spread in the Galaxy and they will destroy everything! We can't let that happen!” she gave her orders.
Back to the planet surface, after Ingrid’s orders the mentioned soldiers and droids joined Loreena and her partner. The soldiers brought flamethrowers; with those tools they melted the ice around the door. They continued helping, and opened the door for the girls. When the door is opened, they can see the metal corridor with the metal stairway which leads them downward. It was dark, no one saw nothing, just a few meters/feet ahead.
Inside the pyramid the troops followed Broka’s droids and they took cover too. The luck still was on their side, the ancient droids were slow and they did not work perfectly. Their armours and their weapons were old and weak. When they hit Broka's droids and the troops, they are not even damaged or injured. Just felt the low heat, nothing more. But the ancient droids were vulnerable, even the smallest hit killed them. The team could move on, and after two minutes they finally found the door which led down.
In space after Ingrid’s order the ships started firing at the infected ships and two others left the formation to rush to Malleus aid.
As a combat medic, technically, Adelle hadn't been supplied with weapons but that hadn't stopped her from showing up to the armory and getting kitted out before being sent planetside. The blaster rifle and pistol, along with their powerpacks, added weight to her usual light armor and medic kit she wasn't used to. But taking cover behind the stick and dirt palisade, sandbags mixed in, the extra weight was comforting. She rose up above the wall and fired a few rounds at the husks walking towards them. The waves had been constant the past few days, as if whatever drove the infected wanted to wear them down little by little until it could sweep over them like a tidal wave.
A wild Force push flung her flat on her back and knocked the wind from her lungs. Rough hands pulled her to her feet and behind the cover the makeshift wall gave.
"Wave's not over yet, Steel!"
The familiar nickname helped ground her back in reality. She checked her rifle and went back to shooting at the incoming drones. Vaguely, she wondered how her friends were doing at the research center.
Broka heard the reports of the infested ship making its way to the blockade. Something like this spreading across the galaxy would never be good for business.
"<Order the pilots to get into their fighters. We have to do what we can.>"
He then did the order gesture soon after finishing what he said. He tolerated this distraction from the "show" on the planet's surface. When Ingrid's message came through, he turned to the communication terminal.
"<I have seen ancient droids bought and sold in my realm of Hutt Space. I never saw these in such markets. These must be unique to the planet. At least they are easy to destroy after all these years of little-to-no maintenance.>"
Lori and Arla stood back a bit as the soldiers melted the snow and ice from the newly-found door. Ingrid L'lerim
sure worked fast, which was a great thing as they were pressed for time.
Finally it was ready. The door creaked and groaned as it opened, causing Lori to wince slightly. That sound was bound to attract attention. Yet nothing came from the darkness. All was quiet.
Moments later the soldiers started to make their way through. Lori and Arla followed, with the latter keeping a hand on the former's shoulder. The darkness was thick and an odd stench hung in the air. It wasn't decay but it was....old smelling, coupled by the smell of frozen water. As they walked Lori focused on the air particles in front of her. Tapping into the Force, she manipulated them into moving rather quickly so that they'd create a small ball of light. She sent it up above them to illuminate their path through the corridor. The Empire had seen her do this on Bakura, so she didn't need to hide it from them now.
So he didn't see such a droids before, Ingrid nods at his answer. This means if it is necessary, they have to collect samples or even a whole droid if they finished their task. They have to examine those droids. Ingrid agreed with the hutt, at least they died easily. They have been here for perhaps centuries or millennia. Whoever built them could build rugged machines.
”We need to examine those droids and the building of course, after we handled the situation, and stop the plague.” she said.
After her words she turns back to the monitors to keep watching the monitors and data what she receives from the surface.
”What is that?!” she asked when she saw the frosty thing on the records.
Back to the planet surface, both groups start to move under the pyramid. Both ways led through frosty, dark and cold corridors and stairs, all the way down. The whole place could feel more and more cold and darker – in the Force too –, as if the light from the lamps was dimmer. Finally downstairs, the two roads met in a cold, frosty hall, where there was also a strangely faint bluish light. Between the lights inside the hall, something huge frosty could be seen, and the strange energy signals came from inside it, whatever it was or whatever it was inside.
"<Agreed. Those droids may provide insight into how this planet came to be this way. It would definitely help us both if it helps to prevent another outbreak of this.>"
For Broka, a resurgence in this plague would prove bad for any business operations on the planet. Then, as the monitor with the droid depicted the arrival into the large chamber, Broka was overcome by excitement and anticipation. He had to receive another round of the meal he had due to him feasting faster with the excitement. The "show" being presented to him on the monitor was becoming more and more entertaining by the minute.
Down and down they went through the tunnels, Lori guiding the team with her little ball of light. But the further down they went, the more oppressive, dark and cold it felt. Maybe it was the fact that they were going into a frozen underground? Or maybe it was the age of the pyramid? Regardless, they all felt it...
A glowing light soon eclipsed her own, however, causing Lori to let go of her hold of the Force and have her ball of light dissipate. As the team progresses further in the passageway, they were all taken aback with what they saw.
"Is it..glowing?" Was it alive?
Arla placed an iron grip on Lori's shoulder, holding her back. "Let them take care of it. At least until we know more." She gestured towards the rest of the team that seemed to be walking there anyways in awe and wonder.
It’s always good when they agree on something that was the same. The ancient droids maybe can tell how the plague started. Maybe this epidemic was not the first, who knows? She still hoped they will get answers when this nightmare is over. She nods again at the Hutt’s answer.
”Indeed, I thought the same. Now we just need to find out, what do we do with the ice block…” she replied.
Maybe she was a good agent, and assassin who was good with math and physics, but she still was not proficient in biology or virology. If they destroy this thing, maybe the plague will not be over, and those who were inside the pyramid will be infected too. Hard choice again. Now she regretted not going down, with the Force she might have been able to examine the ice block. Especially that:
”Is there something inside?” she asked from Broka and Loreena too.
It looked very much on the monitor, but from here she could not know all that for sure. So she hoped someone would confirm or refute all this. If someone also sees that thing inside the ice block she sent another message to those who are down on the planet.
”Anyone can examine the ice block? Example with the Force? If not, the technological method will also be appropriate.” she said.
"<Your guess is as good as mine. Maybe scan it? If we smash it now who knows would happen.>"
Broka continued to feast ravenously, but then took a break to see how the selling of "cures" was taking place in the settlements. The initiative was going according to plan. The desperate locals are completely oblivious to the nature of the "cures". The locals think it is warding off the virus, possibly due to the concentration of kolto in them. Then, since they are advertised as a "continuous treatment", the locals keep coming back annually to get another round of the glowing blue bottles.
Broka then turned to the monitor with Ingrid again. "I assume your men have better scanners than whatever my battle droids have. If not, then we can scan it using my droids. However, I am not too certain how good the scan will be. In the meantime, I'll now order my droids to establish a perimeter in the chamber.>"
As soon as he said that, the droids left the entrance of the chamber and explored the walls while the command droid stayed put with a few destroyer droids to protect it from any harm. The chamber had a strange, calming nature. Nothing except for the ambient, blue glow of the bulbous ice pillar. The room was quiet as well, extraordinarily quiet. The most noise that was being made was the clanking of the patrolling droids inspecting the chamber. All the while Broka sat on his throne, the heart of his flagship, feasting in a gluttonous manner for even Hutt standards.
Lori wasn't sure if the ice pillar or giant shard was alive or not. Yet it glowed...and it was calming. She almost felt drawn to it like a moth to a flame. Yet Arla's grip kept her grounded and in place.
To Ingrid L'lerim
's question on whether or not the thing could be scanned through the Force, Lori glanced about the chamber. Most beings in there were mechanical, save for herself and a few of the Empire's soldiers. But whether or not they could use the Force, she didn't know.
"I could try--with the Force, I mean." Exactly how, she wasn't sure. Caedyn Arenais would be far better equiped for this than she was. Maybe she should have swallowed her stubborness and stayed in the Academy.
Lori took in a deep breath and then let it out, along with her frustrations. Without moving any closer, she focused on the Force and the Force alone, feeling it, reading it, trying to get a sense of what was there, searching for life. She picked up on the soldiers, their curiosity and slight anxiety. Yet there was something more. She followed it with her mind, furrowing her brows in curiosity. There was life there, ancient life. And it was hungry, but not for food....
She tore away her focus. "It's alive! And hungry...Only droids are safe around it." Lori was glad that Arla had kept her back. Yet right now she wanted to retreat to the surface. It was much safer there.
She nodded to Broka, in addition to the Force, scanning can’t hurt either, so it also signaled to the soldiers that they were doing it. If the droiods do the same to Broka’s orders, it’s just better, more eyes see more in principle. At least she hoped this. As if were the Hutt thought reader, so she uttered aloud what she thought.
”More eyes see more, in this case, more scanners see more. The droids should also try to scan” she said.
Hmm, maybe the girl is Force-sensitive? At the moment, it was all perfect for them; she nodded at the girl, through her holopicture, which still stood there among the soldiers. Although she could only see what the probe droids were transmitting, at least she was visible as if she were physically there with her troops.
”Good! Try it!” she said.
Ingrid didn't have to wait too long, she had already said the answer, Alive and hungry?! She could hardly believe it, but it made sense. Well, if it was true, maybe that thing wants to eat everyone in that chamber. Their life-force or their flesh? Before she could speak one of her soldier preceded her in this:
<”The girl is right my Lord, definitely a living thing, but the scanners they perceive are something else. The energy readings. There is something with that thing” > one of the soldiers reporting.
Events accelerated, one of the officers reported to Ingrid, which Broka could hear as well.
<”My Lord, something happened, all attacks are stopped on the surface, they retreat and march to north.”>
”Karabast!” she does not usually swear. ”Whatever it is, it can sense you, they know you are here! You have to destroy it! The infected marching north. You don’t have much time!” she ordered.
Broka was becoming more excited as this unfolded. To his perspective, comfortable on his flagship, and simply eating and watching a monitor, this was more of an intense live drama for the Hutt Lord. The fact that this ice pillar showed signs of life was fascinating and frightening. Then, the reports came from the settlements. The attacks stopped, and scanners picked up signals that showed the hive-mind was marching all its thralls North.
The reports from his operations on the surface definitely coincided with such reports. The sounds of blaster fire was rarer in the transmitted reports from the droids selling the "cures" at the settlements. Attacks were becoming less and less frequent as the day went on. This just bolstered the theory that this pyramid ,and the pillar, was the location for the nexus they have been searching for.
The order was given to destroy the pillar. Broka was all to happy to oblige. Without saying a word, he pressed a button on the monitor, and all the droids that were in the chamber opened fire on the pillar. The destroyer droids, as well as the heavier models that were on patrol, launched larger ordnance than simple blaster fire on the pillar. It was hard to tell if it would do anything, but if the fire was focused on the ends of the pillars, it may help knock it out of place for easier destruction. The ends also simply looked the most vulnerable as well.
After pressing the button, Broka then sat back in the throne to watch the fireworks on the monitor.
The infected were moving north. That meant that they were coming here!! As the blaster fire began from Broka the Hutt
's droids, Lori started to make her retreat. Let them handle whatever that pillar was. She eyed Ingrid L'lerim
's soldiers as she made her way past them with Arla leading the way. "I'm going back topside. Have your units secure the perimeter outside until that thing is destroyed. If they can't....then obliterate the pyramid. It's the only way." As much as she hated ruining something ancient that could use further study by scientists, it was far too dangerous.
Lori and Arla hurried through the passageway, with the former igniting another Force ball of Light to lead them through the dark. "We're going straight to the Sparrow, Captain."
"I know...Don't worry."
"Your stubborness makes it difficult."
Lori laughed a little as she stumbled a bit but recouperated. "Tell me something I don't know."
"Later, Captain. That's a long list to read out."
All that they had to do was get topside and hope that the way to Jaster's Sparrow was still clear. Whether or not luck was on their side, they'd soon find out.
Even Ingrid was surprised at how quickly Broka and his droids responded. Since she had no choice, the woman signaled to the Ultranauts to do likewise. They started to shoot that thing too. She didn't blame the two girls for wanting to leave, she just nodded to them and after this she spoke.
”Agreed, I don’t think we have another option. If you want to leave the planet now, you may go. No one will stop you.” she said.
The hutt remained silent this time, when Ingrid checked his monitor she saw he was enjoying the show. Well Ingrid less, for her it was all just no fun. As she could not be reached by the ice or the erupting pieces either, so she continued to just watch the events, with icy gaze. She hoped this would be enough to stop the hive mind. Meanwhile the remaining soldiers report her the two girls reached the surface.
<”Don’t stop them, they can leave the planet if they want!”> she ordered.
She promised that, this time they can leave, but not next time. Then they can’t escape, but now the entire galaxy’s fate was more important than the rebels. Priorities. The soldiers and droids continued firing, nothing left of the ice, and nothing could be seen due to the water vapour. The Ultranauts felt hunger, thirst, weakness, there was energy fluctuation in the droids. Whatever is that ancient thing, it fought for its life.
<”My Lord! All enemy units slowed down, both on the surface and in space! As if confused by something!”> she received the report.
”Jaster’s Sparrow, the enemy is slowing, you don't have to expect an attack from them either” she sent his message to Loreena Arenais-Valhoun
.
Meanwhile, the soldiers continued to shoot that something without seeing it because of the water vapour…
The messages from Ingrid L'lerim
were coming in loud and clear, making both Lori and Arla feel a bit better about their situation. They were allowed to leave. Something in Ingrid's voice suggested that she was telling the truth. Or maybe it was just Lori giving her the benefit of the doubt. Regardless, the two were still going to attempt to leave.
As they reached the surface, Lori extinguished her ball of light. There was no need for it now. The soldiers still had their perimeter around the pyramid held, which kept them safe as they made their way towards Jaster's Sparrow. Even from where they ran, they could see the affected seem to be at some sort of standstill. The air around them started to feel tense.
Arla sensed Lori slowing down, so she took hold of her arm and urged her on. Jaster's Sparrow was in sight and she'd be damned if she allowed her charge to get caught. They did what they could here. It seemed as though the Eternal Empire and Broka the Hutt
's droids had things well under control. Small victory, perhaps, but it was one that they could take advantage of later on.
Broka remained somewhat silent. There was not much for him to say. He continued to snack on the eels, and watch the "live performance" on the monitor. The droids were still opening fire. Eventually, the droids managed to burst the ice crystal into shards. It was unclear if anything was inside. The aura still remained. He ordered the droids to stop shooting, and pressed the button to speak to Ingrid.
"<I do not know what was inside the pillar, if there was anything. I will still have my droids on guard mode until something would come out of the glowing aura that is still there. Your call now L'lerim.
Ingrid really kept her word and told the truth, if Lori and her partner wanted to leave the planet, no one prevented them from doing so, they were not even targeting their ship. Sometimes smaller sacrifices have to be made for the bigger picture. This time the release of the rebels was exactly like that. Then she turned her attention back to the events in the hall. The droids stopped the attack, then she raised her arm on the ship, which, on the planet, was followed by her hologram. Ingrid’s men are stopped too.
She pondered the words of the Hutt, but they still don’t know how much time they have left. They don’t know when the undead recover and continue the attack. And at the same time they will arrive here, and kill everyone. No, they can’t risk that. Not this time, when not just the Eternal Empire, but the whole galaxy is in peril. Every single living being.
”In every other circumstance I would agree with you, Lord Broka, but not this time. I'm not like to say this, but we still don't have time. It still draws energy and vitality from its surroundings, it will regenerate. Whatever it is, it is too dangerous to be left alive. Destroy it and not just the creature, the object too!”
The soldiers are nodded at the order, and they continue the shooting. Ingrid hoped the droids would follow them. If they are, the rest ended much faster, the less ice there was, the disturbances became stronger. Finally, the last pieces were shot, burned, and reached the creature. The moment it was shot and killed everyone on the planet and on the blockade heard a deafening painful scream in their mind – those who were immune to it, of course, did not notice it all. The soldiers and hopefully the droids destroyed the creature and the ancient relic too.
When the relic was destroyed too, a strong disturbance could still be felt in the Force throughout the solar system. And that was the end of it. The victims of the Melding Plague are stopped. The hive mind was eliminated. The formerly intelligent undead without their master’s command they became only mindless corpses. They didn’t do any meaningful things anymore, they just stumbled aimlessly. If someone went near them, they were attacked, but their movement became slow and cumbersome. Now they were no longer a danger to trained soldiers not even in large numbers. Their spaceships stopped, their vehicles crashed, their units in the air felt.
The Eternal Empire and the Black Sun prevailed, with their combined strength and with the help of the rebels they saved many lives today. After the events, the remains of the creature and the relics were collected by the Empire for further investigation, and hopefully to find a cure. Complete cleansing of the planet is likely to take months or more, but at least the epidemic will not spread across the galaxy.
End.
OOC: The main storyline is over now. If you still want to close the story with something on your part, you can of course continue. But anyway, thank you so much for the game to both of you.
Ingrid L'lerim
Loreena Arenais-Valhoun
