She Who Fights Monsters (Lords of the Fringe Dominion of Hebrides)

[Moira Skaldi]

@[member="Rave Merrill"], @[member="Kiyala Demont"]

Moira saw crimson everywhere. It was beautiful. Blood and gore splattered everywhere as she cleaved a path through with her Sith chainsword - thanks to Master Valik for creating such a beautifu tool of destruction. While Rave pumped the Reavers and True Reavers full with xenoboric acid and transparisteel flechettes into the savage hordes - she really needed to get one of those guns for herself, she reflected - the HRD hewed, kicked, beat a path through the hordes.

One True Reaver slammed her back with a force push, but she gripped the beast by the shoulder and thrust it back along with her, flipping it over with a loud thud. As it leapt upon her she rammed her fist, which by now had been shorn of its flesh, revealing the metal that truly formed it, into its throat. Retrieving one of her boltguns from her shoulder, she quickly loaded. "Shield your eyes," she commanded and fired, letting loose a single flare round. To creatures like the Reavers, accustomed to the shadows and darkness, the blinding light that enveloped the hoard would have a disorientating effect and chaos ensued. A hail of buckshot followed to take out the nearest, then she went on to strike with the chainsword.

 

[Velok the Younger]

@[member="Moira Skaldi"] @[member="Kiyala Demont"]

Rave shielded her eyes as the flare subdued the reavers both elegantly and temporarily. Her corkscrew vibroblade bayonet whined to life, and she braced herself for the coming charge. The spiral tip propelled the bayonet straight through armor, flesh, and armor; she swept it to the side, and the vibroblade sheared free.

A final door opened, and she beheld a dark reflection of her own alchemy facilities: A Bando Gora lab, where twisted scientists labored over Reavers in cages.

"EVERYONE PUT YOUR HANDS UP!"

It was Life Day.

 

[Jorus Merrill]

@[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] @[member="Mia Monroe"]

"Man, those Force-draining priests are kinda the best thing ever," Jorus opined phlegmatically. He slotted two fresh shells into the Mandalorian shell gun as another group of Bando Gora went for the charge. "They take everything-" The gun cracked back together at the breech. "-and then you kill them. Net result-"

WHAKKARABOOM. Concussion shell plus incendiary. Shockwave of blue-white fire.

"-squishy."

 

[Ashin Varanin]

@[member="Jared Ovmar"] @[member="Mia Monroe"] @[member="Jorus Merrill"] @[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

The turbolift terminated in a scene straight out of Corellian Hell. Three figures stood alone against a tide of reavers. A brown-haired woman-shaped battering ram did her grim telekinetic work. A Mandalorian bestowed indiscriminate death. A spacer's shotgun belched flame.

"Siobhan Kerrigan, Mia Monroe, Jorus Merrill. Only the Bando Gora could put them on our side -- or us on theirs." She shot a warning glance at Jared. "Let's keep it civil, Lord Ovmar."

Bando Gora lunged, and Ashin threw out her hands. An immense Force push slammed them back against a wall. Her yellow lightsabre ignited, and she filled her lungs.

"Welcome to free space, Kerrigan!" she roared joyfully.

 

[Moira Skaldi]

@[member="Rave Merrill"], @[member="Kiyala Demont"]

"The Butcher of Gehenna is on this vessel. If you want to live, you will coperate." Before them lay a grotesque scene that seemed like it had been spawned by the twisted mind of a mad scientist, which strictly speaking described the average Bando Gora scientist quite well.

It reminded Moira strongly of the labortaries on Gehenna. Or rather it mimicked the way the laboratory had looked on the command ship Kerrigan, HK, Jorus and Maelion had boarded years ago. On that ship Kerrigan had tossed the scientists into a cage full of Reavers after they had protested that they were 'just following orders', then calmly walked away while they were ripped to pieces by their own creations.

Unlike her Moira preferred to murder enemy captives after they were no longer useful!

Cages upon cages full of Reavers, thrashing against the bars if they were not restrained. One was lying on an operating table, restrained and in a state of half-transformation. What caught Moira's eye were a few Ozzlites in cages, then as her gaze travelled she beheld a very large, aggressive spider creature caged and bound, other cages possessing similar arachnids.

"Klaxxi. Fought by the Atrisians at Rakata Prime and Csilla. I commend our cultists' enterprising spirit," she spoke to Rave. "Very strong, possess some ability to cloak themselves with the Force. Most interesting specimen."

 

[Velok the Younger]

@[member="Kiyala Demont"] @[member="Moira Skaldi"]

The reavers in cages -- oh, that was fine and all. The Ozzlites, sure, whatever. The scientists, worth keeping.

But she'd sought long and hard for a sample of the Klaxxi. She stared through the bars, full of feelings, heart warm, salivating.

"I didn't know about the natural cloaking ability," she managed. "Didn't know that at all. I just wanted them for their bodies. New plan. Feth the Reaver samples -- this is what we're taking."

She stretched out to the Force, half-closing her eyes, and the Klaxxi cage lifted a couple of inches off the ground. A scientist protested, and she slammed the corkscrew bayonet through his face, then picked up the cage again, with effort.

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

@[member="Ashin Varanin"], @[member="Mia Monroe"], @[member="Jared Ovmar"]

"Varanin, that's the name you go by again, isn't it? Keeping up with all the others has gotten a wee bit difficult for me!" Siobhan responded as a gesture of her hand sent a portion of the wall tumbling down to crush Reavers into a state of squishiness. Boltguns roared to fill the creatures with death in form of explosives so that they might enter the underworld in a state free of corruption of the flesh.

Varanin's presence brought conflicting feelings out in her. For a long time Siobhan had hated her - the mere presence of the Sith Empress on Naboo had driven her into a near murderous rage that had made her almost go berserk. Now...things were complicated, since the entire Galaxy had apparently wound up having alignment disorder.

Being an odd cross between a brutal cynic with little in the way of ideals, and someone who often had an extreme black and white outlook on things, she hated complicated. The only thing to make it worse would be if Velok returned as an Ithorian pacifist who helped refugees whose worlds had been ravaged by war!

"So, this the part where we give each other the 'enemy oy my enemy is my friend until one of us hits the other' speech?" she asked rhetorically as she stomped upon the throat of a Cultist.

 

[Moira Skaldi]

@[member="Kiyala Demont"], @[member="Rave Merrill"]

"It has been theorised by the Imperials in the light of the feats they displayed on Csilla. It made combating them somewhat awkward, though crushing them even more satisfying in the end," Moira said conversationally in what was probably her most human tone. Which was reserved for when she was trying to blend in and infiltrate or - as the case was here, since Rave knew what she was - when she came as close to 'liking' a person as she was capable of.

Which, might not mean that much, genocidal killer droid with a serious case of narcissism that made Saelari look humble, but nonetheless.

Some Reaver samples and vials vanished in a bag, then she gripped a cage in her strong grip and followed along Rave. The scientists, having just seen that coming between the Sith Witch of the Spacelanes and her new toys was a bad idea, followed after them, prattling pointlessly about how useful they would be.

 

[Arage Bao]

"You know me, my Lady. I am always civil." the words came with a small chuckle. It was always amusing when former enemies came together and had to work together. Once again he extended his mental web to the Reavers. "You are nothing, your cause is lost, nobody cares for you, you will die, your comrades are betraying you, kill them, KILL THEM, KILL, KILL, KILL." The messages came in rapid succession, his touch started out subtle; but gained strength as the suggestions became bolder.

Now he understood the true power of a Mentalist, as he saw the united forces descending into madness and infighting.

@[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] @[member="Ashin Varanin"] @[member="Mia Monroe"]

 

[Ashin Varanin]

@[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] @[member="Mia Monroe"] @[member="Jared Ovmar"] @[member="Jorus Merrill"]

A wooden pew rose from the floor. Slicked with blood and stained with older blood, the dense pew smashed sideways into a quartet of True Reavers, and left one as a smear on the deck. The others flew like ninepins.

"No, Kerrigan, this is the part where we both take that for granted and kill what needs to be killed. I saw a shrine to 'The Kerrigan' in the bridge. Apparently you're a Chaos God now."

Those three True Reavers regained their feet and charged. Ashin's burnt-yellow lightsabre met those immense alchemical maces and didn't flinch, didn't budge an inch in the moments when blocking took place. She moved with deceptive slowness, always winding up exactly where she needed to be. She'd been told she fought like Darth Vader.

They drove her back, hammering her defenses, but they only drove her back slowly.

 

[Velok the Younger]

@[member="Moira Skaldi"] @[member="Kiyala Demont"]

With Rave levitating the cage a few inches above the deck, and Moira putting her immense strength into pulling the cage along, they made half-decent time, followed by a gaggle of scientists. The path back to the transport was strewn with carnage, but the bulk of the fight had converged elsewhere. The Kerrigan, a Reaver's distant voice whispered in her mind.

With a grunt, she deposited the cage inside the Sekairo stealth transport, whose turrets had kept it safe inside the hangar while crafting mounts and ramparts of dead Bando Gora. The scientists, widdling themselves in terror, proved easily manageable.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

@[member="Lady Exedō"]

Iara spat a mouthful of foul and unhygienic Reaver flesh. With a roar, the Reaver spun and brought its chainsword around. It sheared through her right thigh -- and the main appendages of the Embrace of Pain. The naked, bloody Twi'lek fell to the deck, frantically focusing on the healing aspects of the Force to stop herself from bleeding out -- and to stave off infection. She was an old Knight, in her thirties, experienced, strong, but even she couldn't fully manage this. Not in this much pain.

Then the door burst open, and the sound of deliverance thrummed to full volume.

A chainsword.

Reavers converged on Exedo; Iara was forgotten.

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

@[member="Jared Ovmar"], @[member="Mia Monroe"], @[member="Ashin Varanin"]

"Ah, good, cause time's a wasting. And call me arrogant, but I think I deserve a better class of worshippers. Where's the Eldorai Cult of the War Queen? Of Valora's Incarnation on Earth?" Siobhan asked rhetorically before her mind slipped back to battle.

As Ashin faced the True Reavers, the immovable object against their brutal ferocity, she cut a bloody swathe through the Reavers that had now been confused and driven to madness by the mentalism the Fringe Lord - she was not sure of his name, having never met him - exerted. Blood splattered her already soaked armour, guts flew at it. At a command the altar of bones, the skull of a human having been built into it, rose up from the ground and was slammed into one of the True Reavers, a portion of the floor was ripped open from behind to crash against them.

As another Reaver fell, cut from shoulder to belly by her blade, she briefly beheld a life-sized image that filled the wall in front of her. She was facing a long-haired creature of destruction and depravity, beautiful in her ferocity as she stood atop a pile of defeated enemies that had fallen before her, a blade held in her hand. But really...her breasts were not that big, otherwise she would not be able to fight! Behind the daemon of power a storm of fire rained down upon a doomed city. For a moment she was reminded of the vision she once had, then she went back to killing things.

 

[Arage Bao]

It did not take long for them to realize there source of pain and dread, sadly they could not do a lot about it. Seeing as there were four deadly warriors between them and him, strategic placement. It was an important thing in battle, Jared did not mind that he was not in the fray of battle. He did his part, confusing the enemies and made them fight against themselves. If Ashin needed more direct help, she would call out for it.

He did notice that she was slowly but steadily giving ground to her opponents, Jared was not sure if it was planned or not. But in the end he decided to push against the minds of her Reavers. There were three of them, with some effort Jared started sending images into the head of the middleman. His enemy was in front of him, but why was he fighting? Where was the glory promised to him? What was that? Did Olraq just try and stab him? No no, everything is wrong. Where am I? Whe--

The true Reaver broke just then and decided to attack his comrades. A job well done.

@[member="Ashin Varanin"] @[member="Mia Monroe"] @[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

 

[Ashin Varanin]

@[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] @[member="Jared Ovmar"] @[member="Mia Monroe"]

As the leftmost True Reaver -- a powerful but unsophisticated Force-user -- turned his ferocity on the middle one, the rightmost one took Ashin's blade through the breastplate. Her yellow lightsabre punched through, almost up to the blade emitter. She pushed him back off her blade with a Force blast from her free hand, then-

Welll, her first instinct was to crush the last two together as they fought, but a Jedi did things cleanly.

Every Force-user had an aura. That aura prevented other Forcers from stopping their hearts, ripping out their organs, inducing aneurysms, smashing their lightsabres. To overcome another's aura required a strength orders of magnitude greater than one's opponent.

Ashin closed her eyes, and the two remaining True Reavers' necks simply broke.

Silence fell, and she looked up at the pulchritudinous image of The Kerrigan.

"I'm going to get this framed," she said, deadpan. "Nobody touch it."

She pulled a small, high-rez camera from a pocket and took an image.

 

[Moira Skaldi]

@[member="Rave Merrill"], @Kiayala Demont

Bodies upon bodies lined the path back to the transport, for they had cut a bloody swathe through the ranks of the Bando Gora, though the attention of the bulk of the Cultists lay elsewhere. What Reavers were foolish enough to come their way were cut down.

The scientists did not do much, though she could smell their fear, and here and there could hear them mutter nonsense, mostly in the Dark Tongue, though she picked up mentions along the lines of 'She has come to judge us! The Reaping has begun.' Of course, Moira did not pay attention.

Their cargo loaded up, more test subjects for the laboratories of the Sith Witch, another contract successfully fulfilled for Archangel, the stealth transport, cloaked once more and thus invisible to sensors, could take off into space for the Chimaera. The space battle seemed to be going well, Imperial forces had popped up to lend a hand for the purge.

 

[Arage Bao]

Now with a sudden break in the fighting, Jared casually walked up next to Ashin and looked at the Kerrigan. "You sure we can pull that off? I do not really think it would fit our interior design." There was a distant smile on his face, as his mind tried to process the feel of death. Staying in contact with someone through the Force while they are dying.. there is a level of intimacy in that bond. It is hard to avoid of sharing their feelings, hopes and dreams in those last seconds. It takes a strong mind to stay sane after such a thing, not even speaking about just shrugging it off like it was nothing.

Still the images of the human sacrifices made it a little bit easier, they were animals.

@[member="Ashin Varanin"] @[member="Mia Monroe"] @[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

@[member="Mia Monroe"], @[member="Jared Ovmar"], @[member="Ashin Varanin"]

The last True Reavers fell and then there was peace. Of course, that was fleeting, for there is no peace, there is only the Force. Before them lay a scene of epic carnage that would please Illyria, Goddess of Death, for a bountiful feast of twisted souls had been put to the sword, gotten its necks broken and bones crushed and would feed her well.

"Get your own cult of maniacal death worshippers! Sure there's one somewhere in the unknown regions. Like Vong. They have the whole blood and gore thing, too," Siobhan insisted in a deadpan voice because she was totally claiming that one as a trophy. Even if those balloons on her chest looked...ridiculous.

"Heard you won at O'reen. Not so long ago I'd be pissed about you not getting thrashed, still wouldn't mind that happening. But as it is I'm not unhappy about the Jedi being beaten. 'Freedom train' got annoying," Siobhan responded, probably coming as close as she could to delivering congratulations as her eyes fell upon Ashin.

The irony was that the Jedi-Sith-Empress-Master-Knight probably had more of a light side aura than she had. How that worked out with all the Sithies - or a cannibal - in Fringe was a question Siobhan could not answer. Her own aura radiated energies of a barely tamed predator, or contained wildfire, just as likely to help as pounce you. However, she was not looking for a fight today. The ship probably would not survive it.

 

[Velok the Younger]

@[member="Moira Skaldi"] @[member="Kiyala Demont"]

"Thanks for helping us get in there, Kiyala," said Rave quietly and sincerely, stripping off her gas mask. She closed her eyes and leaned back against the stealth transport's wall.

Sooner than expected, they touched down in the Chimaera's hangar. Fringe troopers processed the Bando Gora scientists, samples were conveyed, everything got decontaminated. Hovertransports let the exhausted young Nightsister convey the Klaxxi up to the Chimaera's alchemy labs.

Time to show them the genuine article.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

@[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

"If there's one thing I can't abide, Kerrigan, it's people who claim their righteousness based on ideology without the actions to back it up. We're defined by what we do, not by who we say we are."

She deactivated her lightsabre -- a signal that no violence was forthcoming.

"You're welcome anytime in Fringe space. Force knows we've had our disagreements with the galaxy, but our primary purpose has always been to kill monsters. Even the Butcher of Gehenna, the Chaos Goddess, is just fine by us. Force knows we've got worse in our ranks, fighting for the same cause."