Taming the Icy Hell (OS Dominion of Vullain)

[Jack Mirrikh]

Location: Gurlanii, Industrial District, The Hob
Objective: Weed out the rebel leader
Post: 7/20

They walked up the steps of the derelict, small warehouse building known as the Hob. They both stood next to each other in front of the large sliding doors. They looked up at the building and then looked at each other. Jack inquired to Sarah,

"So, what'll it be, Super Cop? Guns blazing or what?" Sarah arched her eyebrows at him as if to say, lol, what? She replied,

"Super Cop, eh? Am I supposed to give you a pet name, too?" Before Jack could stutter out a response, she continued. "The Hob has been on our radar before. It's been flagged as war-time suspicious, so any civilians caught on the premises are to be taken in for questioning and likely arrested." Jack was about to ask her a question when she interrupted and kept talking. "To which you would ask the logical question, "Then why would any rebels use the building?" to which I would say that maybe they don't use The Hob anymore. Maybe they avoid it like the plague...Or, maybe they think it's the perfect place to hide, since no one would expect you to hide in plain danger. Lucky for you, I have a plan to find out whether or not they're really here..."

She stood there with her arms across her chest as though she was waiting for him to do something. He finally popped the question,

"...And what's this wonderful plan of yours?" She poked him twice with her index finger to accentuate her next words,

"Use the Force, Jack..." and then she grinned. Oh! That's right! Why did I straight up forget? I can use Force Sense just like my master taught me! Tapping into his fountain of Force, Jack slowly reached outwards until he was able to get a good grasp on the warehouse layout. Sarah soon became bored and impatient, but stayed silent. Jack sensed a lot of people inside. A LOT of people who were NOT happy.

"...Yeeah, there's a lot of angry people inside."

"Guns blazing, it is, then!" Her left hand extended from her wrist, cycled in on itself and reattached to her wrist. Her left hand was now a shotgun. A little metal grip popped out the side of her leg holding a shotgun bullet. She reached down and chambered the single shot into her "hand" just by putting her hand down against the side of her leg. The metal grip retreated and popped back out with another bullet in its grip.

"Come along, Boy Wonder. I'll show you how it's done." She grabbed the right door with her right hand and waited for him to follow suit on the left hand side. He grabbed his lightsaber with his right hand and grabbed the left door with his left hand. Jack grinned at her.

"Style's cute, but kill count's what counts at the end of the day." Sarah responded by flicking the safety off and switching the fire mode into triple-burst on her pistol.

"You're on." She countered with a flash of her own smile. It was going to be a sorry day for these rebels when this pair of mentally unstable scrappers descended upon them. They both heaved the doors open and rushed inside. The warehouse erupted with activity like a madhouse filled with fireworks and open flames...

A half hour later, Jack and Sarah found themselves sitting on the ground against some crates, breathing heavily and surrounded by many dead rebels. A dead body lay on top of Sarah's shins, her shotgun was ruined from a ammo-less, desperate scrap and the rest of her cybernetic limbs held many new notches and pit marks. Jack's armor was half gone in various places. His cape had been shredded, so the smoke effect was gone. His body was bruised and he had a black eye. Both were covered in blood and scorch marks. For such a horrific scene, the two looked like they were just a couple of kids chilling out under a tree on a hot day. Jack was the first to speak.

"You did pretty well...but I have to say that I kicked a lot of shebs. I got 25. What about you?"

"25 here too, hotshot...I guess you'll just have to let the woman win the tie---" She had started to shift around to get ready to stand up, but her legs shifted the body in front of her. Jack, thinking that the body was just a rebel playing dead, quick-snapped his lightsaber to life and stabbed the dead body...and her cybernetic leg. There was no pain for Sarah; just shock.

She looked at him dumbfoundedly as he said,

"26! I win!..." His excitement petered out when he saw her face. "...What??"

"That was my leg that moved that DEAD body, drekhole!" She tried to still stand, but the leg was unresponsive. "NOW look what you've done!"

Embarrassed at his own actions, he stood up and started to help her.

"Yeah, yeah! You win, Sarah. I'm...sorry." She got to a standing position, but then fell over and into him. He caught her and held on tight. Sarah was scared at first from falling, but found that Jack was now holding her tightly and securely. She looked up at him and he brushed the hair out of her face. She then let her head rest against his armor-less, black skin suited chest.

"Come on, Sarah," said Jack. He held her with his right and picked her up behind her knees with his left hand.

3 hours later, Jack was walking across the duracrete shuttle launch area of the local military base. His right foot hit the ramp with a clank when he suddenly heard a familiar voice behind him say,

"Jack!" He turned around to find Sarah limp-running up to him and then stumbling to a stop in front of him as he turned around and watched her.

"Yes?..." He said. He wasn't happy in leaving like he thought he'd be earlier today, but it was time for him to go. His job was done. She looked at him and she started to say something, but emotion choked her voice. She didn't know what she wanted to say, but didn't know if she truly should say it.

"I..I...I'll miss you--" She took half a step forward, but her right leg seized up again. Once more, she tripped and fell into his arms. They stood there for a minute, pleased to be in each other's company before separating across the galaxy. He bent his head down and whispered in her ear,

"Sarah Kaitherlund. I will come back for you."

End​

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Spoiler

[member="Keira Ticon"]

 

[Iziz]

[11 // 20]
[ELIMINATE THE REBELS!]

Iziz from behind the enemy lines had managed to cut down four of the men, looking to the other forces that were in the way, the Assassin would lunge out of the darkness, still with no light-sabers in his hands as he would allow himself to have what little strength in the force he could still muster at his absolute disposal. What the rebels had failed to realize however, was that with every death the tail claimed for itself, it had become more powerful, from the three alone who were behind cover, it was the first kill which the blade of the tail had directly taken, the entechment engine ripped the life force which had now been severed from the victim into the machine which began to abruptly consume it for power. The Ssi-Ruuk were good for one thing and one thing only, their weapons were powerful...

And they were effective.

Leaping out of cover and in the direction of another rebel, the static potential energy which surrounded the blade at the end of his tail now was incredible, the blade itself was barely considered the lethal force as the beam itself had extended about a foot in length and now brimmed with phantasmal plasmic power. The rebel fired wildly at the ground at his feet to hold off the Jawa's assault, but with a single leap and a three hundred and sixty degree spin, the tip of the tail collided with the mans' chest. The blade sinking into the skin, but the kinetic power radiating from it caused the wound made by the heated blade to explode violently as not only a cauterized cut but a huge impact tear would rip through the man's chest, shattering his ribs and throwing him across the cavern in a horrifying display of power...

A display the Rebels noticed...

Iziz was no longer trying to merely fight the rebels, he was sewing fear into them, the aim was to crush their morale and make them afraid of him, and for the most part, he was succeeding. Dodging left and right with haste, jumping and kicking off a stalactite he came down with a spinning forward flip crashing that potent tail through another rebel, the concussive blade colliding with the man's shoulder and the force slamming him so hard against the ground the blood splatter from pressure tears in his torso ripped across the ground. Every kill made by the blade served only to make the blade stronger, like feeding the beast. It was at that moment Iziz saw the flash of green at his side, as a single blaster bolt was fired directly for his person, reaction time flared as he held up his hand for the blast. Telekinesis wrapping around it and holding it there as the bolt would stop in middair.

The strain of the force on his person causing his wounds to bleed a little more...

The rebel looked shocked, turning to flee back to cover only to feel tendrils of telekinesis coil around his neck as Iziz held one hand up maintaining the power on the beam, while the other extended past that to grip at the Rebel, before pulling him hard, causing him to leave his feet and crash through the blaster bolt which hung in an eerie stasis above the ground, burning a hole into the mans' chest as he crashed into the earth motionless... Taking a deep breath, the jawa managed to regain his composure back on his body... that blaster bolt was too close, and could very well have destroyed the host once and for all.

It was at that moment there was a harrowing smack as a presence fell to the earth slightly behind the possessed Jawa, looking back it seemed that Yun had been struck by the commander, an array of bodies left in the wake of the Vong. It was evident that this person was not the most well versed in the art of combat, but as a brawler, and perhaps by the merit of his race alone, he was extra-ordinary. Turning to face the commander as the last of the reinforcements stormed the room and formed a shooting gallery, Iziz could feel the presence of his other lightsaber meters to his right, tucked into the ground where he had thrown it at one of the Wyrvarian creatures they had dispatched earlier... The Sith knew there would be no surrender, so he looked to Yun for a sign of his readiness, catching a subtle upward signal. The Jawa nodded in kind... closing his eyes for but a second before he would leap into his final action...

Jumping high, and allowing his slightly clawed hand he would dig into the roof, the sudden explosion of movement would draw their fire up as the threat from the sith would be immediate and terrible to behold, but the danger was from quite the opposite direction, activating his blade from the ground telekinetically, Iziz would activate the weapon's spin and sweep it in an arch for the barrels of the enemies' guns, catching many of them only moments after firing.

Finally, angling his body upside down and kicking off the roof just as each of those who had lost their primary weapons went for their side-arm, Iziz would vault down behind the line of foes, spinning like a figure skater with his own perfect triple axel as he would land behind them, duck to the ground and allow his tail to lash out with the spin force and its empowered tip, taking a four meter diameter bite out of their formation and setting up for a pincer attack.

[member="Rookie"]

 

[Rookie]

[12|20]
[FREEDOM]



Fortunately, Iziz got the gist. The Jawa going high would afford Yun the freedom to engage the fire team without fear of simply being gunned down immediately. He waited a few seconds after Iziz lept into the air before emerging from cover. The Vong stood and broke into a run for the distracted rebels, flaring the tendrils on his right arm, left hand firmly clutching the combat knife he lifted earlier. With his ally dutifully massacring the firing squad behind the commander, Yun engaged their leader head on. His reactions were far swifter than his comrades and he pulled his attention from Iziz, lowering the barrel of his rifle and unleashing several bursts towards the Shaper. Darting from side to side, Yun zig zagged his approach, rolling forward off his right shoulder and rising in melee range with an upper cut from the dagger, held in reverse.

Blade met rifle, sparks igniting in the frigid cold. Yun's body shifted to the left and he spun the blade in his grip, slashing in swift succession for the commander's skin. He jumped backwards, dropping his rifle, which swung around his body on its shoulder strap, and reaching to his side. Tugging at his belt, the commander produced a vibroblade and entered his stance. Yun charged him, ducking low under Rusk's initial swing and coming for his gut with the knife. Stepping quickly, Rusk moved to the Vong's left and slashed downwards. Knowing full well that a vibroblade would make short work of his mere combat knife, Yun pushed hard with his legs and rolled forward, gaining considerable distance. By the time he turned around, the commander was already near him, ready to unleash a string of blows into the Vong's body. Stepping backwards as effectively as he could, Yun took only a glancing blow into the folds of his last layer of fur, causing the coat to tumble from his body.

From the commotion to his back, the commander heard the sounds of Iziz' carnage. He turned, looking over his shoulder to inspect his men. The moment of distraction was all Yun needed and he ran for the exposed back of the commander. In a single movement, Yun's dagger plunged deep into Rusk's kidney, causing the veteran to cry out. Fighting for his life, Yun didn't stop, twisting the blade hard in his side and pushing forward to topple the man to the ground. Mounting the commander from behind, Yun pryed the blade free and stabbed down again for the spine. One after another, Yun cut vicious stab wounds into Rusk's back. With his work done, he peered towards the Sith, who's skills left him surrounded by a plethora of mangled remains. Yun stood slowly and gestured for the exit. If distress beacons brought this squad here, it was only a matter of time before more arrived.

Surely, Iziz would leap at the chance for freedom and follow the sprinting Vong through the mouth of the cave, and the two would finally find their ascent. Compared to the vast nesting grounds they had left, the tunnel to the surface felt claustrophobic. Yun said little until they passed the steepest incline, the light from the surface finally rearing itself. When they emerged to the surface, Yun's squinted, eyes hurting in the dawn-light. Hours had passed since their arrival at the initial encampment, fingers of light painting elegant strokes of amber across the colossal tundra. All the while, Yun's mind raced with the night's events. The Jawa was stronger than Yun had ever thought another being could be, lightning quick and as brutal as any creature the Shaper could breed. Plans formulated, designs for creatures inspired by the Sith's actions whirled around in his brain. At the forefront of his thoughts was a single thought, he needed armor, a creature designed after the Vonduun Skerr Kyrric of his ancestors, but inspiration drawn from the Sith's immensely powerful mechanical tail. This creature he was planning would not be a crab, but a scorpion.

"If you follow me to my ship, I can heal your wounds,"

He finally spoke, words dripping like ichor from his wounded jaw. Thankfully, the mouth to the tunnel below emerged not far from the sight of the cataclysm, a few moments walk and the two were able to overlook what their destruction had wrought. Sith ships landing in the glaciers surrounding the area, Rebel forces all but extinguished, domain of the world totally achieved. After gathering his bearings, Yun spotted the ridge he perched on before their assault on the base, and from there he could easily find the Wingtip, though it would be a few miles at least.

When they would finally arrive at Yun's vessel, Iziz would be able to see the state of the ship. The bio-mechanical freighter lingered there in the ice, a dusting of fresh snow covering the hull, entrance still open but undisturbed. The creatures guarding the ship feasted on the prey which curiously approached it during his absence. The beasts paid no attention to the Vong or Jawa as they entered the ship, instead lapping greedily at the corpses of animals and rebel troops that investigated the area. Yun would lead Iziz through the halls of the ship to the medical bay, assisting him if he needed to lay down on a long table in the center of the room. The walls of the Wingtip ran thick with fleshy constructs, each section eerily thumping in disconnected intervals. Mechanical arms, laden with bloody tendons and bone, reached from the ceiling and, should the Jawa comply, they would begin their work at repairing his body.

Finally free, Yun's body itched to get to world. He would repair his body in due time, shape new flesh and bone to replace the old. For now though, their trial was finished.

[member="Iziz"]

 

[Iziz]

[12 // 20]
[FREEDOM!]

Iziz would see only the last of the fight between Yun and the late commander Rusk as the Vong would stab the tip of his dagger repeatedly into the dying corpse of the veteran. Over and over there was a soft thud as each penetration would bring the aged man closer and closer to death. The jawa watched the light fade quickly from his eyes as he attempted to reach for a pistol at his side. The man was a fighter to the very end, he had managed in secret to unclasp the weapon and draw it from its holster, but, his life pulled away his chance for revenge as his spirit escaped through the man's final breath, leaving the terrestrial world forevermore and returning to the force. The Jawa smiled a smile void of wickedness as he gained a respect for the man, inhaling and taking in some of that life essence spiritually and devouring it, gaining some strength back from the loss of life which surrounded them all.

And with Yun's final motion, it was time to leave.

Iziz didn't need to be asked twice to make his exit with him, running behind Yun all the way out of the Cavern, he nodded thankfully at the offer of medical treatment once they reached his ship, while the Spirit within the Jawa would have hated to admit it, he did need the help, and this wasn't the first time he had bought the Jawa effectively back from the dead. Though it was going to be the last... Snikch was tired of having to drag his hosts' body around with him whenever things got bad, and the Spirit would let the mind of Iziz know it when he finally regained control. Even though the taste of freedom was within his reach, the cost of his pride was something he would have to take to the grave beyond a single attempt at life among the living world...

And that price was too high.

Entering the Vong's ship, Iziz would hit a button on his datapad, messaging the piloting droid at the helm to take the ship back to the Sith Assassins' base on Ssi-Ruu. It would be safe there and he would return to the one Sith planet of Lujo to recover with others of the Sith Assassins which would be heading there. Looking to the Vong as the Jawa would take a seat, crossing his legs and laying his hands in his lap, keeping a tight focus on the force and his own body, focusing only on maintaining the already dim life force of his host from slipping any further than it already had. Some time would pass no doubt, but after some time, the repairs to the broken body of Iziz Vei would begin. Some time would pass still while the Spirit within his body would maintain his life over the duration of the operation, the Yuuzhang Vong probing him with his shaper hand and knitting his flesh, bone, skin, veins and arteries back together again with a deep expertise.

Hours would pass, the ship they sat in long in hyperspace as finally, Iziz would stand up from the table in which he had recently been lying prone on. Standing to look at Yun, The Sith knight would bow, thanking him for all of his help. The voice of the Jawa still remained that of the ghost within the host shell, the symbol on his shoulder was getting Dim, even for a long dead spirit he had used a considerable sum of power with techniques which were not familiar with a creature who existed to extinguish life, rather than maintain it. And this, the symbol upon his shoulder and back as well as the red light of his eyes had begun to dim, the final act of the spirit was to feed the memories of the events to his host as narrative giving the true Iziz control once more as the Methuselah fell into torpor.

The Jawa swayed for a moment, orange and yellow breaking through the red blood-shot eyes which had once shone in their place, the sigil on his back loosing all luminescence. Thinking for a moment, the Jawa understood everything that had happened before looking up to Yun...

"Shaper... wait!? You're a Vong Shaper! I know this sounds like a great ask but... Could you take me to Lujo... and help me with something important that only your skills can complete?"

Iziz had been looking for a shaper for some time, he had failed to find one with Ferus, and one had fallen before him in camaraderie

The force, works in mysterious ways...

[Exit]

[member="Rookie"]