Taur-nu-Fuin - TSE Dominion of Theta Kai (Hex AI-12)

[Lark]

While Kahlil began searching for the cultists, Lark began keeping an eye out for any suspicious beings. He drew his sword in case anything came to close and decided to attack them, and he began sensing for any signs of danger in the meantime. His search wouldn't be as thorough as his companion's, it was more for protection than anything else. "Go ahead and begin. I'll stay alert."

As he scanned the woods, pondering on if a nearby tree was actually a cultist or if a vine hanging from a pillar was an arm, he was reminded of some of the swamps back on Myrkr. They were foreboding in their own right, as a child Lark avoided them unless absolutely necessary. He could never shake the feeling that something was always watching him from somewhere unseen, ready to strike at any moment. Lark much preferred being the hunter than the hunted, but he was no idle prey.

[member="Kahlil Zambrano"]

 

[The Amalgam]

The Amalgam proceeded through musty jungle, on the lookout for the Neti. She glanced down at her masters spinning lightsaber. She had training in how to use spinning sabers...but training was not the same as mastery. Not the same at all. Give her a standard double blade and she was good. Anything else was risky at best. She didn't keep track of the blades as they spun on this motorized track she could cut herself in two.

All this work to evolve and stay alive in the process...she wasn't lazy by any means but gaining power could at times be an utter chore. And there was so much to consider in the process. After centuries of laying low, it was time to expand. Getting Uri to embrace her insanity was primary, but gaining more power in the empire was necessary until that goal was met.

The suit still channeled the darkness like a charm. She felt more powerful in it already, like a valve had been loosened. It should--she'd received most of her training in the darkness, wearing this black suit. Of course, there were certain setbacks...but they were worth it.

She had worn this very suit tearing the knowledge out of someone for the first time, as well as using life draining. Such an intoxicating experience. She'd been addicted to the horrifying act from the moment she first consumed a life force. That power, more than anything else, had eventually necessitated the need for her alchemized bodies...she'd done it so frequently and so willingly that ordinary flesh could no longer survive her rotted spirit.

Once Uri helped her evolve, however unwillingly, she would have no need to further drain life to keep even this specialized host body going. Not unless she wanted to. She often wanted to.

And yet such an act was not as satisfying as it used to be...she confessed this silently to herself out of sheer weariness as she walked through the bush, at last resorting to using one end of the staff like a machete, its purple blade, slightly lighter than her own regular ones hissing through tree limb. If she cut through a Neti by accident, well...accidents do happen, she thought with a nasty smile as she cut through the trees.

It wasn't long before she sensed the ruins she was going to, feeling the surroundings for threats. She sensed two possible threats, already very close to where she wanted to go. What she sensed, to be specific, was [member="Lark"] and [member="Kahlil Zambrano"].

The Amalgam got closer to the ruins cautiously, not sure who these two were. She couldn't cloak or hide her presence wearing this suit, so she did not try.

Instead, she stepped out boldly from the tree line, lightsaber inactive and dangling from her belt, the black suit hugging her form as she spotted Lark.

"You Sith Empire?" she called out casually, though her hand stayed close to her lightsaber in case this one chose to attack. She'd know what he was all about depending on what he did. She actually wasn't looking to fight, though she enjoyed a good scrape now and then. She didn't identify herself because there was no sense betraying her allegiance just yet. Of course, that man could decide the same.

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"K̷̟͈̳͔û̵̯̮̝̤̖̫̱r̺̫̲͕͉s̰͝ọs̹͖̩̹ų̗̭̻͚͚̂t̫̜̻̼i̩̜̗̙ ̪̞̤k҉i̛̗̲̬̘̝ ̤̯͉͚̙͎͞ͅr̤̲͝i̤̥͖͖ ̞̦̭̭̟J̰͚͉̣̜̬̘i̳̻̬̫̰̪n̴̰̥͙̲ͅ'.͍̲̱̬̺̙̹ ̜̖̼̰̲͎̮͞K̹͇̭͍̹͉͜ͅû̖͈͙r̰̲̮͇̮͉s͈̤͈͖͔ͅo̢̹͓s̙̘̭͍û̳t͈͓̻̩͙̬̻i̱̰̥͚̻̣ ͕̖͔̮̘̀ͅk̭̺̰͕̰͟i̙͓̮̞ ̙̼̠̗͜ͅt͖̪̀s̺̟̤i̪̠͍̯̯̖͙o͈͇̟â̵̟̗̞͔̦͎ ̕d͉̘̬̯̗i̖͍u͞ ͚͕͖m̰̦̯i̙̹͡n̺t҉̟i ̩a̙͇͍n̴̠i̷̗̳͍ ̜̪̬̜s̨̝͉̣̳a̫͈̮i͓̼͈̗y̨̠̼i̸̭̼̱̪̩̞ṛ̝͍̮̹̘̮ ̩̦s̞̖͙͔̲ͅh̠i̴͇̘ͅa̦̤̬͡s̳̜ͅ ̛̣̮i̩̲̥r̢ ̡̣͕̟̪ŕ̝̰̘̝ͅi͔͍͍̼̘̣̕ ̠̘̝h͚̙̖̤̠a̼̠d̼̜͇̜̤̠̝z͔̭̠̣͙͖̜u̪̭s̫̜͓̯̠̯̕k̢̹͖͖̻a.̧̹̟̯ ̫̯͍̰D̰͔ͅu̢͍͙̜̘̱̠̥r͏̰̫s̴̘͇̬͓̪ͅi̜ ̠͘a̰̲̩̰͕͈̜n̲̮̘̘̙̞a̪̘͇̗s҉̜ ̲̮̗͙͓͇͟i̸͈̝͎̮͈̤̟ŗ̼͙͍s͇i̡͕̰r͓͞ͅͅ ̗̯̣͈̣r͈̜̮͉͚̲a̝̺͈ ̘̣̹̩̖ͅd̥̲̙̣̗is͏̖̻h҉̘͙̞͇i̳,̪ r̺̠̗̯̻̜a҉̗͇ ̡͈̹̞̭d̦̲̯͙̱̬oͅt̵̬̺͕͖̟s͜a̡͉ ͍̖͕͟a̯͚̪̳͢n̩̮͇̮̝̘͔͢a̦̥̩̙̪ş̰̞̭ͅ ̣a̸̝̙̱̭̤̳n͙̪͓̤̞̱͇i̡̙̤̼̜ s̛̳̳a̬͡ḭ̘͈̗͝ỵ̩͎̳̱̭͠ͅi̷͉̻r͔͍̬̠͞ ̱̥͈͎͙m͏̠̝̦̖̞ai̺͚̻͘y̰̬̞̻̻͉͝i̠͟r̴a͔̭̻͈̦͖ ͚͜as̪̤k̛a̦͔̟̖̝r̴͎͈ ͈a͎̞̠̣͔ǹ̺̤͔ ͕̫͢i͙̰̪̪y҉i̵̩͕̞͈ș͍͖̥̙́i̦͉̱̩ͅ ͚̜̯̫͠ki̟̺̙̤̼͞ ̵̫̗k̙̬̳̠a͓͓̻̤̗̥̭͠n̪̲̩̝̖͟ḁ̷̖̝̖͖̖̗s̥̙̫͙̪̟a͓z̠̰̖̻̟͞a̞̖̭͈̱.̞̯͠"

Kahlil muttered his spell as [member="Lark"] took the lead, his hands dancing through the air as the Dark bent to his will. Traces of red flickered around him, appearing as faint runes that'd flash on and off all around him. Slowly but surely his spell took effect, his hazel eyes glazing over to a pure black. Around him the world dimmed. No longer was there grass or vines. The bark of the trees were gone. Everything was replaced by pure aura.

Around him he could see the very essence of the Force. Most was a neutral color, the flowing of nature through the trees and other living organisms. They were all stained with the blood red of the Dark. Before him he could see the aura of his ally, a blazing red. But he wasn't alone.

Another farther down. [member="The Amalgam"] . Kahlil made his way up beside his ally, gazing ahead with his darkened gaze. "Empire."

 

[Lark]

Lark eyed the newcomer, but he wasn't as wary as he would normally be. Her question could have been a test, under other circumstances she could have been posing as a member of the Empire simply to get close and catch the Sith by surprise. But this world was essentially cut off from the rest of the galaxy, the only inhabitants were the Neti cultists that Lark and [member="Kahlil Zambrano"] hunted. The chances of [member="The Amalgam"] being an outsider that somehow managed to win the trust of the Neti were astronomically slim. And while the Neti could shapeshift, it was Lark 's understanding that whatever form they took was still somewhat treelike. There was something else odd about her, but she was trustworthy. As trustworthy as a Sith could be, at least.

"Indeed," Lark said in a mellow tone, affirming his companion's comment. "We've been tasked with discovering the Neti and ripping their secrets from their bodies, piece by piece. They've been a thorn in our side for far too long, its past time we simply let them burn."

Kahlil continued his search with a dark gaze, hopefully he'd find a hint of the Neti presence soon. "You're welcome to join us if you'd like," Lark said to the newcomer. He had realized what was odd about her, her presence in the dark was horribly strong. Lark had felt familiar sensations before, when he burned his hometown to the ground, and whenever he opened the wicked town that was nearly always chained to his hip.

Lark chuckled. This is going to be more interesting than I thought.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

Objective II
[member="Darth Carnifex"] [member="Kaine O'Doran"]

Before she answered the Emperor, her gaze moved to one of the newest in his entourage. A Gurlanin if she wasn't mistaken, and she was sure she wasn't as she had... studied a few specimens in the course of her work. He seemed to be new to this, perhaps a new disciple the Emperor was grooming for some scheme or other. While she was a close confidant, she would never presume to know everything the Emperor was up to. Just as well, as it was unlikely the Emperor knew everything she was up to.

"It's possible, my Lord," she replied. "If not, a new one could likely be fashioned from some of the crystals found on the world or brought from other parts of the galaxy. My advance team found evidence of Devros Crystals on the world, a cheap material used for teacups and other finery, but one not usually used for the purposes of the Force. My hypothesis is whoever created the weapon adapted the crystals, using the dark side, blood sacrifices, and a substance we haven't identified yet, augmenting them to contain and direct dark side energies. But..."

She trailed off, her attention shifting towards the treeline. A frown formed as she sensed... again like something was watching them and had made a decision.

"Using such improper materials, this weapon, if activated, could disintegrate every organic lifeform in the northern hemisphere of the planet from the backlash of dark side energies. This isn't something we would want to be intact."

 

[Darth Carnifex]

Though the Emperor did not turn to face the new arrival, he was nonetheless aware of his presence. He kept his full attention on Taeli, listening intently to her words with clear comprehension written across his scarred face.

"A pity. But I understand." He knelt down and plucked a loose crystal from the dirt, brushing a few clumps of sod from the smooth sheen as he regarded it in the palm of his hand. After a few seconds of prolonged silence, the Emperor let the crystal fall back where he had found it and again stood on his two feet. "Bring in a team to scan the structure, I want every piece of it analyzed and cataloged. Then tear it down, destroy everything that you believe is of no value to us. I don't want anyone other than us possessing knowledge of how the mechanism was constructed."

Carnifex then walked off to the side, both of his hands clasped behind his back as he stared intently at the treeline. Like Taeli, he could feel the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end as if he were being watched by some unseen observer that he couldn't rightfully identify. It was unsettling to a degree, and the Emperor's mouth curled in an unamused frown.

"Gurlanin," the Emperor's voice was sudden and harsh, demanding obedience. "What can you infer from these woods?"

[member="Taeli Raaf"] | [member="Kaine O'Doran"]​

 

[Fiolette Fortan]

Sometime later, the Lord Admiral found herself gesturing on a map for builders to see where new construction was to go. Roads were laid out and more bases were planned now, legionnaires and starfighters had now arrived. "There and there," Fiolette directed droids and the prefabricated buildings as they marched across Theta Kai's landscape. The installation of silkworm farms would aid in the production of what the Lord Admiral needed to help create improved products for both her own personal gain and the Sith Empire. By now the base was coming along splendidly it loomed behind her, shadows danced across the deforested area as other facilities were erected in the base's shadow. Lumber yards manned by a combination of droids and Victorian Imperials began to process the fallen timber. Galidraan would have great use for such fine pieces of wood. She walked across the repulsor plates that now lined the road checking to see that they were properly installed as TIE Fighters crested over the forest canopy rushing across the skies.

No doubt those on the planet would begin to see the pilots making their test runs. Scientific runabouts bearing cartography equipment loaded up in the base while Fiolette stopped at the intersection, looking left she could see the legionnaires walking to their outpost and to the right a pair of Sith Knights sparred. Up ahead a prefabricated village had been crafted as Galidraani colonials had just landed. Runabouts escorted by TIEs were heard overhead as the sun filtered through the trees. It was peaceful now, eeriely so however as Fiolette tried to discern what it was that made this place feel so off. It was probably the reason that this world had remained untouched.

"Admiral."

"Tarkin."

Major Tarkin had approached with caution when he noticed the Admiral standing there. Staff Sergeant Vasquez urged him forward, "we've found evidence of creatures but we've been unable to pursue them, we're requesting the aid of the Sith." Which meant he knew something was there he just couldn't find it with his senses other than just pure trooper training one-oh-one. He hated having to ask for help especially from the Force Users but he knew better than to try to guess about this on his own. Tarkin knew that there was something more here and it lurked with dangerous ambition, a hunger even at least he swore. "I don't see why not, let's forward your results to her ladyship Darth Arcanix."

Fiolette forwarded Tarkin's notes to her wife, grateful for the rather convient holocommunications pole that happened to be nearby. "Once she gives the word, you and the SIth head out toward the objective. Secure it, and follow up on any instructions she gives you."

"Of course."

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[The Amalgam]

Two fine gentlemen, both burning with the dark side. Nothing better for the shapeshifter's liking but she had gone to this planet for business as opposed to pleasure. When she spotted [member="Kahlil Zambrano"] giving his answer, she tried not to gawk at how tall he was.

"Somebody's been eating their veggies..." she remarked to him openly, intending it as a mild compliment. When [member="Lark"] confirmed they were Sith Empire the Amalgam relaxed slightly. She took a bow.

"I am a member of the Saaraishash called The Amalgam. And yes, joining you sounds like a rather fetching idea. This place is exactly where I was headed. And frankly, I've yet to meet a Neti I didn't want to use for target practice."

The Amalgam did not elaborate what she was here for as she slowly slinked towards them, the suit silencing her movements. She was beautiful--currently, anyway--and she definitely knew it in how she walked, though that dark, rotting presence in her was only emphasized all the more in how it contrasted her physique. It'd taken her years to craft the face alone, hours of tweaking each muscle, shaping the skull to the correct purportions, stretching and smoothing the skin correctly to get such a face. The body had just as painstakingly shaped, the product of four lifetimes worth understanding that beauty could open doors and make even the shallowest, most selfish argument more persuasive. For those of the weak minded anyway. She'd grown to enjoy the effect she could have. How many adepts had she corrupted in this manner? Enough not care about exact numbers any longer. Too bad these two were already dark...oh, the games she'd have played with their hearts. Especially the tall one. Yum. Momma like.

She'd keep it professional though, keeping her thoughts hidden by throwing up a mental barrier. Besides, the Cult of the Brain Demon's secrets were her secrets and these ruins were very close to the old hideout she had once visited with her former master. She had kept the schutta's suit, but dared not put it on unless for the very gravest of threats. She suspected it to be alive. Even this saber she carried still contained traces of a persona even more corrupted than her own was.

Beating the Congregation had been next to impossible to do conventionally. The Amalgam knew her best chance of survival had been through trickery and surprise. Ripping the knowledge out of the witch's skull had been up to that point her finest hour, payback for years of humiliation and pain. But in the lineage of witches she descended from, you became what you overthrew. Eating the Congregation's mind had been the plan all along. And once she was in the Amalgam's head, she came with the knowledge of everyone she had torn her knowledge from, and so on and so forth.

These ruins of wood and crystal were it. She could already see certain sigils the cult used carved on scattered, disconnected parts.

"There is a whisper of power in this place..." the Shi'ido observed, purple eyes glancing at a loose shard of crystal that had fallen to the ground, picking it up. It hummed with the dark side, like everything in these ruins. It might make a good focus for a lightsaber if it could be properly cut...

"Y'know, when pilfering ruins I've always found it helpful to pay attention to whatever writings you find..." the witch spoke, inspecting a small stone pillar full of sigils...

 

[Kaine O'Doran]

[SIZE=13.5pt]Knight, Sith Warrior[/SIZE]
[SIZE=9pt]Location - Sith Temple, Theta Kai[/SIZE]
[SIZE=9pt]Allies - TSE[/SIZE]
[SIZE=9pt]Nearby Allies - [member="Darth Carnifex"] | [member="Taeli Raaf"][/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]Status - Respectful & Curious[/SIZE]
[SIZE=9pt]Armor - [/SIZE][SIZE=9pt]Lupus Venandi Raiment[/SIZE]
[SIZE=9pt]Equipment - Lupus Ferro Harpe Blade | [/SIZE][SIZE=9pt]Crimson Lightsaber (1x)[/SIZE]
[SIZE=9pt]_____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____[/SIZE]

Despite the male Gurlanin's interest in whom he was accompanying, he couldn't stop himself from looking out towards the thick forest which obscured anything that hid within it. He felt a pair of eyes staring towards his figure, he knew not if they were a beast or if they were intelligent. Though that didn't matter to him, he could care less as to whether they held any intellect within themselves or not. That wasn't [SIZE=9pt]the important[/SIZE] or pressing issue. The pressing issue was what they were doing, why they were doing it, and if they had any private, violent thoughts that they could act on in any moment. Kaine's vibrant orange eyes closed watched the treeline, trying to discern any subtle movements or rustling of leaves. Over twenty years of hunting and tracking prey had helped the male acquire such knowledge of watching and waiting for something to come out of the thicket of foliage. However, despite all of his knowledge and first-hand experience with such things...he couldn't discern specifically as to whether there was something waiting in ambush among the foliage, or, whether it was just his own imagination conjoined with the darkside presence that tainted this place that plagued his mind with far off illusions and noises which had no source.

Kaine's eyes didn't shift from their focus on the thicket of trees despite the feeling of a pair of eyes glancing in his direction and across his form. He knew that the Dark Lord and possibly one of his advisors was to his right so he naturally assumed that one of them had glanced in his direction for some odd, inexplicable reason. Despite his mental and physical focus, Kane's right eye swiveled the slightest of degrees towards the pair, specifically towards the person, who, in question, was staring at him. It was a woman, a brunette haired one at that. The [SIZE=9pt]Gurlanin[/SIZE] didn't have much to go off of to judge as to her intentions or own personal thoughts, though despite his unknowing nature as to who she was, the man assumed that she was trustworthy. The Dark Lord trusted the woman, so then why shouldn't he? And if she was talking to Darth Carnifex of all people, that meant that she was possibly a confidant of his or a personal friend. O'Doran didn't know, though he wasn't about to let some trivial thing like that distract him from watching the trees. He could figure out who she was later. Now, he needed to focus on what was in the forest...and what its intentions were if it had any.

[SIZE=9pt]“[/SIZE]Gurlanin, what can you infer from these woods?"

O'Doran had been expecting to be ignored by Carnifex. He would have been happy and contempt with a casual glance from the Dark Lord. That was all that he would have been fine with and wanted. Yet, here was the Emperor of the Sith Empire...standing at his side, speaking to him, and him directly. He wasn't speaking to anyone else, after all, nobody else, at least to the Gurlanin, was of his race. To test his theory from earlier, now in the presence of the Dark Lord, O'Doran sniffed the air. His nostrils flared and his eyes closed for just a few seconds as he tried to discern any scents from the nearby forest. There was...something out there.

"Woods hide many secrets. Something is hiding in the woods, yes. What it is, I cannot know. Its eyes watch as speak we do, I know not if it is beast or man. Does have a predatory and maliciuous behavior behind it though."

Kaine's words were broken as his spoke and harsh, lacking all eloquence that Galactic Standard normally had. The teaching that his friend, Marriskcal Lati, had done with him had helped. Now, at least, his sentenes sounded somewhat comprehensible despite his thick accent.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

Objective II
[member="Darth Carnifex"] [member="Kaine O'Doran"]

Even as she gestured for the advance team to begin cataloging and disassembling the weapon, she knew she saw movement among the trees now. Her eyes flickered around as the shadows of the trees were shifting... no... the trees themselves were shifting. Hateful eyes gazed out at them from knobbly brows as the trees grew and the dark side radiated from them.

"Desecrators! Your blood will fuel your races' extinction!" a voice rumbled from one of the Neti. "All shall perish on this world... on all worlds... and the Age of Plants will reign... forevermore..."

Well that explained how this weapon had been created, lovely. She had never seen the Neti language, so that would explain the weird sigils. But genocidal dark side corrupted Neti? Unexpected to say the least, and if they planned on killing them... oh...

Her lightsaber ignited as her Adepts dropped what they were doing to draw their own weapons.

"My Lord, I think they intend to use our blood to make a new master crystal for their weapon," she replied calmly, even in the face of the advancing forest of death.

 

[Fiolette Fortan]

Fiolette found herself with a few of the Legionnaires from another company. Theta Kai had been taking shape quite well when the static from her communications device caught her attention. She stopped in her conversation as the static occurred once again. "Tarkin?" She questioned and it was as she looked at the device that she could feel something, a shift in the trees. Fiolette proceeded with caution as she lifted the device to her ears. "Tarkin, get out of there - now."

A roar from underfoot as the roots of the trees sent her and the others backward. Midway through the air, she saw as tree bark shot across the empty space between her and the Legionnaires having narrowly missed the Lord Admiral. The Legionnaire in front of her had not been so lucky, Fio's body contorted, shifted with a hard thud on the ground knees first as she slid back. Dirt billowed in her wake as another tree's limb came sweeping across the ground. She rolled away from it but found herself caught against the holo-communications pole, there on the ground laid the bloody stump of a man and his weapon. Fiolette did not hesitate to scoop the rifle into her hands. Turbolasers fired from the base, thick whisps of crimson whooshed past her scoring against the beastial trunks as large swaths of branches came crashing down upon, Sith and Imperial alike.

"Keep FIRING!" Tarkin's voice was a welcomed one, Fiolette would have sighed with relief if she had the time.

Instead, she knelt down beside the pole and fired, covering Tarkin and his men as they retreated. "Get to the base now! Everyone! MOVE!"

The whirring sound of kinetic rotary cannons as they spun and fired off their large rounds. It only seemed to anger the beasts now, unarmored and with only a standard blaster rifle Fiolette made the most of what she had. She and the Major rushed toward the base's gates, even then the base would only provide minimal shelter at best. It was times like this that she wished for a lightsaber, something anything - to cut these bloody things down. The impact of both turbolaser and kinetic weaponry sent debris, shrapnel, and bits of the beasts this way and that. The Lord Admiral's once pristine and crisp uniform was suddenly tattered, torn and with a mix of dirt and blood along the seams.

Men and women in their alabaster armor rushed by the Lord Admiral. She would hold the line, Sith Acolytes flew forward with the aim to strike at the trees, others used their Force given abilities but it seemed they were ill-equipped - weak - as Taeli might say. These ... Neti, if Fiolette's xenobiology classes were of any use was not the typical of their species. No, something had run foul here but there was no time to investigate. It was in the Lord Admiral's push to ensure safety for each person she failed her own perception check. Tarkin shouted as he directed a turbolaser toward the large trunk size arms of the Neti, but it seemed he was too late.

The Neti's branches pierced through Fiolette's uniform with ease, puncturing skin - running through her body as easily as a kebob on a Taungsday night. In a moment's notice breath had escaped her, her vision blurred, darkened. The woman's own blood ran along the edges of the branch, lining the crevices with ease. Flashes of Fiolette's past all ran through her mind, a presentation of her life in pictures with muted sound. Taeli would no doubt feel every bit of the moment as it happened, but Fiolette refused to give in - as a spark of sulphur broke through the Galidraani's azure eyes.

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Darth Carnifex]

"Very perceptive."

Whatever words the Emperor had planned to say next were left unspoken as the woods themselves bristled at their intrusion, trees writhing as snapping roots lashed through the air. Voices exuded from the thick woodlands around them, sentient trees decrying their presence on their planet and calling for their deaths. Eyes narrowing in focus, the Sith Emperor stretched up to his full impressive height as several Neti rushed forward with their own weapons made of razor-sharp wood and bark.

Raising both hands, electricity crackling between his fingertips, the Emperor extended them towards the oncoming arboreal enemies of the Sith. "An interesting theory, my Lady. But for this once, let's not give them the opportunity to elaborate on this hypothesis."

Lightning, scarlet as the lightsaber of a Sith, sprung forth from his curved fingers and arced through the air towards the Neti. Drawn in as if by magnetism, the lightning struck true against their wooden bodies, cracking the bark and setting them alight with unnatural vermillion flames. The lightning bounced around the nearby Neti as well, chaining together entire bolts of electricity and allowing the fire to spread from body to body provided they were close enough together.

[member="Taeli Raaf"] | [member="Kaine O'Doran"]​

 

[RC 212]

OBJ 1
Location: Near the initial Camp.

They walked in the woods. It was silent, as green armored Commandos searched for the remains and tracks or their fallen brothers. Karren walked with them, her Bolter Rifle slung over her right shoulder, helmet clipped to her belt. It had been a long fall from her previous life to land here. After being beaten again and again she'd fallen deep into the dark side, and abandoned her previous morals and beliefs.

After her complete fall she'd joined the reigning power in the 'verse, denigrating herself from Knight to acolyte. Now she was the head of her own Elite Infantry unit, in support of the cause.

They kept moving, silent in a wedge.

Up ahead she sensed something new, a darker presence than the men that followed her.

They came up on [member="Vaylin"] and her team.

Karren held up a gloved fist, giving the signal to stop.

She broke the silence.

"Lord Vaylin."

 

[Kaine O'Doran]

[SIZE=13.5pt]Knight, Sith Warrior[/SIZE]
[SIZE=9pt]Location - Sith Temple, Theta Kai[/SIZE]
[SIZE=9pt]Allies - TSE[/SIZE]
[SIZE=9pt]Nearby Allies - [member="[/FONT][/SIZE][FONT='courier new'][SIZE=12px]Darth Carnifex"] | [member="[/FONT]Taeli Raaf"][/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]Status - Confused[/SIZE]
[SIZE=9pt]Armor - [/SIZE][SIZE=9pt]Lupus Venandi Raiment[/SIZE]
[SIZE=9pt]Equipment - Lupus Ferro Harpe Blade | [/SIZE][SIZE=9pt]Crimson Lightsaber (1x)[/SIZE]
[SIZE=9pt]_____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____[/SIZE]

Kaine's orange eyes carefully watched the treeline. Lips which normally would have been upturned at the thought of a coming battle and bloodshed were, instead, downturned in shock and amazement as he witness what came running out of the forest. The words of the nearby woman whom Carnifex had communed with fell on deaf ears as O'Doran's instincts focused solely on whatever was charging them. They were plants, no, trees, trees which were running towards them as though they hadn't known a meal in years. The sight alone of these flora-esque creatures which stood on two legs was enough to take the male Gurlanin's breath away. Such a sight wasn't extraordinary, such a sight wasn't breathtaking, it wasn't amazing. Such a sight was...daunting and mind-boggling for the man. There were few things that made Kaine step back in fear and confusion. At first, it had been starships, then it had been that metal 'giant,' Kor Vexen, and now it was these trees. Whatever they were and however they worked he didn't know, and he didn't care to be frank. Despite his immediate confusion and fear, O'Doran reeled back his emotions and directed his thoughts to kill them, all of them.

His right hand moved quickly to his bladed weapon, calloused fingers gripping the blade and pulling it from its rudimentary scabbard which clung to the belt looped around his waist. The blade felt balanced even when held at an angle, a perfect weapon for cleaving flesh from bone. In this case, chopping through plant-like material. Before the male could do anything, the sizzling and popping of electricity came to the Gurlanin's ears. Turning his face ever so slightly to his right, the man's eyes fell upon the Emperor. His hand was outstretched and forthwith sprung crimson lightning which shot out at the running tree's, colliding with their forms and sending a good multitude of them aflame in a burst of heat and fire.

He can shoot lightning out of his fingers? And we're fighting a wave of running plant people? Tsk, and here I thought the Sith didn't adhere to fantasy...or at least, I believed that they hadn't.

Turning away from Carnifex and the woman whose name he didn't know, O'Doran's gaze fell upon an approaching group of these...things. His fingers tightened around the blade in hand, angling it downwards, awaiting their eventual arrival.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

Objective II
[member="Darth Carnifex"] [member="Kaine O'Doran"]

Her lightsaber carved through the extended limb of one of the corrupted Neti, the creature recoiling even as its limb began to regrow. The Emperor was unleashing a destructive wave of lightning, immolating several of the sentient plants. With a flick of her hand, a burst dark side energy would reduce another of the trees to little more than leaves and sawdust. But they just kept advancing... The research team had already lost two of their number, bisected by sharp branches or smashed against some surface.

Without warning, a sharp pain erupted in her abdomen. For a moment, she thought she had been unknowingly stabbed by one of the corrupted trees, but she was perfectly fine if a brief glance down didn't inform her of that. But on her arm... the mark she shared with [member="Fiolette Raaf"] was flaring...

Rage like she had not felt in a long time erupted within her. These Neti would DARE to harm.... the words would not come, just pure hatred and anger coursing through her like a dark haze. Harnessing it, her purple eyes flashed to yellow in an instant, and for the first time in a very long time, they kept going... bleeding to a horrible crimson as she harnessed the dark side to her. A dark aura rose from her, wisps of black energy rising up from around her dress. Gone was the bookish woman who only wanted to study the ruins. In her place...

"Expire!" she snarled.

Red energy streamed from her hands, bleeding darkness into the Force. The strands twined around one Neti, eliciting a long moan of agony as it was drained of all its life, its bark disintegrating into ash. The strands moved onto another... and then another...

Every single Neti on this would be destroyed, wiped from all existence both in the material and the Netherworld. There would be nothing left but their screams, their anguish, and ash...

 

[Fiolette Fortan]

Fiolette's refusal to back down from death seemed to be her beck and call in life, as her eyes flared from the Sith-like sulphur into the polarizing blue that matched the ice that now haphazardly flowed from her veins. The Neti that ran through her found its bark freezing from the inside out, he looked at her with horror and before he could speak black wisps of energy grasped the Neti where it stood. In an instant it turned to ash, and the Lord Admiral was sent to the ground whithering in pain as she looked down at her abdomen. Blood ran free from her wound and as her skin paled in color. Fiolette focused on the uneasy void colored ooze that clung to her, it burned as it healed her. She gave the now ash turned Neti a side long glance, wondering if whatever it had possessed transferred itself to her.

If it had, Taeli would be none to happy. As if her wife would be happy - or could be. Fiolette could feel the hatred seething from her but there was little she could do to ease her wife's temper now. The Lord Admiral gave another look around, troopers rushed toward her. Tarkin - she could tell by his shoulder pauldron, he and his men fired upon the remaining Neti who seemed to be within death's reach now. Medics knelt down to her just as the burning sensation sharpened, it was met with a gnashing of teeth as she did her best to withstand it. Fiolette couldn't hear Tarkin and the medics telling her to calm down. A tap to the shoulder and a look at the black eye spots on the alabaster plastoid armor, emotionless as it was. She envisioned that behind the mask were the pale blue eyes of Ranulph Tarkin.

She relaxed just as the medics got her onto the stretcher.

A medstim, she felt the needle pierce into her leg as they injected the medication.

Her hearing could now pick up the modulated voices reassuring her that she'd be fine. Another could be heard on radio making contact with other troopers to alert Darth Arcanix of what had happened as they rushed toward the base. Fio tried to raise her hand but another of Tarkin's men placed their armored hand over her forearm. "The colony will survive, Lord Admiral, as will the base. Galidraani's are holding, we've dispatched men their way along with equipment."

Black wisps darted around them Taeli's doing, Fiolette suspected as she rested her body against the stretcher relaxing as the medics halted. A three count to move her into the ambulance, and from there it was lights out. Sleep came for the Lord Admiral as the ambulance surged down the road and toward the base's infirmary.

[member="Taeli Raaf"] | [member="Darth Carnifex"]

 

[Darth Carnifex]

"Quite the fatal error on their part."

More electrical energy was discharged from the Emperor's fingertips, catching another Neti in the torso before lifting it up off the ground and setting it alight. But for every dozen or so that the Emperor incinerated, more rushed from the nearby woodlands to take its place.

If they were to stem the tide of this incursion, they would need to eradicate the Neti's sanctuaries beyond the borders of the forest refuge.

Stepping forward, the Emperor ceased his electrical barrage and instead curled his hands into balled fists. A spark was ignited and flames rushed to engulf both of his hands, burning brighter and hotter than any flame that now smoldered among the Neti corpses. Winding his arm back, the Emperor slammed a heavy fist into the nearest Neti, causing it to literally combust with flames as it reeled back from the blow. The explosion was like a shockwave, a wall of concussive energy cascading out from the impact and spreading flame to all those Neti within close proximity. The flames, unnaturally hot, seemed to possess a mind of their own as they lept from flammable material to flammable material, but leaving any Imperial personnel or equipment unmolested.

It would soon begin to spread to the treeline, the first few trees going up in flames as the fire began to spread unabated.

"Give flight to the flames, Taeli. Let it engulf the entire forest!"

[member="Kaine O'Doran"] | [member="Taeli Raaf"]​

 

[Kaine O'Doran]

Kaine O'Doran
[SIZE=9pt]Location [/SIZE][SIZE=9pt]- Sith Temple, Theta Kai[/SIZE]
[SIZE=9pt]Allies - TSE[/SIZE]
[SIZE=9pt]Nearby Allies - [member="Darth Carnifex"] | [member="Taeli Raaf"][/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]Status - Curious[/SIZE]
[SIZE=9pt]Armor - [/SIZE][SIZE=9pt]Lupus Venandi Raiment[/SIZE]
[SIZE=9pt]Equipment - Lupus Ferro Harpe Blade | [/SIZE][SIZE=9pt]Crimson Lightsaber (1x)[/SIZE]
[SIZE=9pt]_____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____[/SIZE]

Much to Kaine's own disappointment, the tree-like creatures never reached him. They had been easily cut down by fire and by dark energy before they had even reached the male Gurlanin, something which deeply annoyed him, though, it also inadvertely sparked an interest in the young man...and interest in what the Dark Lord and this woman were doing. Having never been interested in utilizing the force beforehand, he found it bizarre to be drawn to it now after witnessing its destructive capabilities. Seeing how powerful the force could be was daunting to the man, he had always thought himself an equal to any force user no matter how capable they were in the force. Now, however, he began to doubt that, he began to doubt himself something which Kaine had never done beforehand. To do it now felt sickening, though, he had no compare to Carnifex and whoever this woman was. To O'Doran, both seemed to be of equal power, especially in destructive capabilities.

His culture and upbringing forbade the usage of the force, saying that it was the instruments of the creator's which they had used to create the Galaxy and then left behind when they had mysteriously disappeared. He had always believed such tales and commands instituted by his pack and peers that the force was to be used to help the whole and not the one. And yet, now he doubted such things. Kaine's orange eyes narrowed as he watched the woman send out a tendril of some type of dark energy which ate away at the nearest Neti leaving it dust, and then it jumped from Neti to Neti which soon led to a mass collection of dust piles within the nearby field from which the Neti's were charging across. And then, there was the Dark Lord Carnifex. Kaine had thought the red lightning was surprising enough, and yet, he was proved wrong. Something which was now becoming a common occurrence as he watched the Dark Lord and this woman whose name he knew not work in conjunction with each other as those the fighting was some type of tribal dance which linked the minds to work in tangent with one another. The Emperor's hands seemed to gather heat around themselves and glow a soft orange-red which only looked to increase in color within mere seconds before erupting into red and orange flames which engulfed the man's fists. Then, the Emperor had sent his flame-engulfed fist into a tree creature which made it burst into flames...followed by a deafening shockwave which made Kaine recoil slightly.

And then it spread outwards, working in conjunction with the woman's dark energy to easily disperse and engulf the massing Neti horde. All of which happened as Kaine stood there, dumbfounded. He was at a complete loss for words as a fleeting thought of requesting a meeting with Carnifex or this woman to learn how to do such things. Despite his wanting to keep to his traditions, the male Gurlanin felt conflicted in himself and his desire to learn more of the force and to learn how to actually, properly utilize it to it's full effectivness.

 

[Djorn Bline]

Location: Theta Kai
Objective: One
Allies: [member="Vaylin"]

Of course, the special forces were tasked in taking point positions and use their advanced gear to help make a path and detect any disturbances amongst the vines of the jungles. That included wildlife, detecting any traps such as mines, and whatever sentient lifeforms that were most likely to be deemed as hostiles. They had little information on what they were dealing with, and it was best not to take any chances to try establish communication with the natives. They would end up in a similar or worse situation than the deceased Imperial Scouts.

Clearing through the fauna and leaves of the jungle they had came across a...mysterious roadblock. Every member of this group shared information with what the scouts discovered while alive. What now stood before them was a wall of trees that now somehow existed, replacing the path the scouts established.

There was definitely some Force magics occurring. Was completely unnatural for a thick group of trees to mature in a short time span. Looks like they had to detour around it. Unfortunately.

As they walked about, Djorn began picking up some tags from his sensors. Something unknown and it was nearby. Hard to tell with the tedious leaves in the way.

"I'm picking up something that is fifteen meters away from us, can't tell what it is," and brought up his rifle, looking through the down sights of the weapon in the direction the tag was coming from. They would have to stop and maybe send in a small squad to investigate, or they could all go together and hope for the best.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

Objective II - Study Ruins, Destroy Trees
[member="Darth Carnifex"] [member="Kaine O'Doran"]

As the Emperor directed his flames upon the halting horde of tree men, her dark powers surged behind it. Eyes still blazing crimson, a fell wind blew behind the fire of the Dark Lord, surging it forth into all the surrounding lands. Her robes whipped around her frame, her hair rising in the hot currents. It was one of the few times she truly desired to see everything, absolutely everything, on this planet burned to ashes. For every drop of blood Fiolette had lost, she would purge hectares and hectares of land and droves of Neti if they existed in such numbers.

"Tnika iw Jina'tis, Duroki ri Kurja!" she hissed, her hands outstretched towards the billowing inferno. The flames would turn blue as the Sith magic took hold of them, ropey tendrils of firey energy snatching hold of the retreating sentient plants, binding them in place as the inferno engulfed them, reducing them to ashes to be swept by the Force Wind conjured by the Sith, and fed by the power of the Sith Adepts and Sorcerers with the Lady of Secrets and the Dark Lord.

Thoughts of studying their strange twisted parody of the Malachor weapon forgotten for the moment, all she desired was the destruction of this enemy.