The Night Of Terror (SSC Rakghoul Outbreak)

[Jsc]

Back of the Shuttle

Nearer the back of the vessel stood a titanium statue in the near form of a woman. Ungodly heavy, ridiculously tall, and polished to a fine chrome finish. This strange amalgamation of woman and glossy steel was Karen Roberts. Garbed in a suit of armor that had been forged in the Netherworld of Akala's Realm itself. Forged by demons, to fight demons. Fighting fire with fire. As they say. And it's tall elaborate helmet moved from side to side as the doors finally opened. Grinning. If masks made of metal and bone could grin and smile at all.

The chrome statue reached down to gasp it's weapon. A Type-8 Repeating Ionic Disruptor Cannon. An anti-ship weapon the size of large machine gun. Extremely illegal, even in most diabolical of civilizations and mostly found mounted in twin pairs on pirate raider vessels. Oh no. This little beauty had the overwhelming firepower to melt molecular bonds. And not just against starship regenerative shielding either. Mmhmm. It could dissolve the very bonds in most living creatures too. Dissolving almost all living matter into a heated inferno of burning dust, glowing goop, and a black pitch of rising, deathly fumes. Disgustingly uncivilized weapon. Naturally... It was the perfect weapon to use against Sithspawn of any nature. Though, I'll be damned if it wasn't fun to shoot too. Pew pew pew. Sploogsh sploogsh splash.

The silver form of Karen Roberts slung the heavy straps of her diabolic gun up and over her large titanium shoulders. Gripping it heavily, with two bold hands. Smiling. If statues could smile. Whistling. As if helmets could whistle. Ready. Mmm. Yes. Ready to smash some heads.

 

[Lief]

Mysa was more than grateful to have her Uncle here with her, the man she saw more as a Father if truth be told. They had recently fought another battle together, and while she did not wish to see the same sort of combat anytime soon the realization that they had come out of it alive was comforting. From one battlefield to another, she could only hope that this time she did not lose anyone else.

Losing herself within the Valkyri's embrace, Mysa murmured a quiet greeting before smiling up at [member='Thurion Heavenshield']. "Well enough, Master," she began, keeping to her formalities due to the situation, "though I can only pray to Éar for a swift fight this day."

Her smile softened as a steadfast resolve entered her expression. She had seen and experienced a lot by now, and was not as innocent as she had been the day he had come to collect her on Midvinter. They grew up too quickly, these Children of Midvinter. Théo looked like a man grown!

A familiar voice reached her hearing, and Mysa turned to find [member="Máni"] just a few steps away. "Hail, friend. It's good to see you again, though it seems the circumstances remain equally as dire as the last time we met."

It didn't take much longer for the shuttle to land alongside Master Harrison's proclamation of their arrival. Her hand fell to her belt, fingers resting over her hilt in preparation of whatever lay in wait outside the vessel. For the first time Mysa stuck close to Thurion, usually she made herself fight away from her family where possible, to avoid any conflict of interest, but today she needed the strength she felt in his presence.

As she exited the ramp alongside the others, Mysa pulled her furs tight around her body. By now her hilt was within her hand, thumb hovering over the ignition. Her sensitive Umbaran eyes were piercing through the night, watching for any sudden movements or other signs of life that the others may not notice in the dim light of dusk.

[member="Connor Harrison"]

 

[Valae Heavenshield]

Valae smiled when she felt [member="Thurion Heavenshield"]'s hand upon her shoulder, her master was always there to offer her encouragement when she needed it most. She turned and offered him a quick nod, this time her expression was not quite so uncertain.The padawan’s eyes followed her master’s form as he made his way towards [member="Mysa Snowstrider"], and she watched as they were soon joined by [member="Máni"]. She’d never seen them before and would normally have gone to make an introduction, but now was not the time for such formalities. If all went well tonight, then she was sure that she would come to know them.

She felt the shuttle set down and nerves surged through her once more, but it was a fleeting shot of anxiety this time. As the ramp lowered and gave way to the silent scene before them, Valae moved with the crowd, her steps falling timidly upon the ground. Her eyes widened slightly at the landscape that was covered with white snow, it was something that she’d never known growing upon Tatooine. She had heard about this weather phenomenon, and she always hoped that she would see it in person. At least that was one more thing checked off the bucket list. Just in case...

The cold touched against her skin, and she pulled her robe tight around her, she hadn’t really been expecting such a chill. The tips of Valae’s fingers moved gently by her side, and her right hand gently brushed against her saber hilt, almost as if she needed the reassurance that it was there. Her head turned as Master [member="Connor Harrison"] gave them last instructions, and she committed his words to her mind “do not run”. She knew that it would take discipline to overcome the push of instincts.

She made sure to stay near her Master, for she did not want to lose him in the crowd. Even though their surroundings seemed silent for the moment, she couldn’t even guess what the night would bring...

 

[Joza Perl]

It had been a while since Joza had gotten herself involved with the affairs of the Silver Jedi, having spent a good chunk of time out of Sanctum space recently. The pink Jedi had both expanded her skillset and regressed in the area of self-control, something that sparked a seed of worry deep down inside. Perhaps, she thought, if she rekindled a feeling of camaraderie with her fellow Sanctum Jedi she’d be able to repent and fall back into a more Jedi-like lifestyle.

There were many new faces aboard the shuttle, though a handful were familiar and brought her an odd sort of comfort. She would offer a friendly smile to both Valae and Sorel, remembering the two other women fondly from her day as an apprentice. A respectful, albeit awkward nod was given to the Master, and to those she did not recognize…she simply stared. Not in a keen or penetrating type of way, but the sort of look you’d give someone from across a crowded room. She was sizing them up, curious to see what she figured were new apprentices in action. Not that she was some sort of combat genius or even anywhere close, but the Zeltron had participated in her fair share of fighting by now. There must be something about the Sanctum that attracts blondes.

She remained relatively silent for the duration of the ride, thoughts swimming as they usually did before some sort of fight. As they landed and began to disembark, she turned to try and catch Connor’s eye. “Master Harrison,” She cleared her throat, voice cracking from the dry air. It occurred to her that she'd never actually spoken to the man before, and that gave her pause. “Are these beasts any similar to the ones Matsu Xiangu released on Dromund Kaas? Do we know if they can anything other than scratch or bite?” Thought of the zombie invasion burned at the back of her mind for nearly the entire trip, the excursion to the dark planet not something she wanted to repeat anytime soon. Especially not the exploding acid bunnies. Force, please no more exploding acid bunnies.

With a curious eye, she moved a little closer to where Matsu Ike was and tried to listen in to her explanation of her life detection ability. Advanced uses of the Force were fascinating to Joza, but not something that she felt she would ever come close to accomplishing. She was proficient in basic Force abilities, but lightsaber combat was what the pink girl felt most comfortable with.

[member="Matsu Ike"] [member="Connor Harrison"] [member="Sorel Crieff"] [member="Elara Wahia"] [member="Zephyr Carrick"] [member="Josiah Saedrin"] [member="Máni"] [member="Thurion Heavenshield"] [member="Eldaah Aderyn"] [member="Syala Daivik"] [member="Jenson Koraz"] [member="Karen Roberts"] [member="Mysa Snowstrider"]

 

[Coci Heavenshield]

Well didn't Master [member="Connor Harrison"] paint a pretty picture. It is a wonder that anyone survives in this galaxy, what with the Sith, Crime Lords, all manner of strange and dangerous creatures, plants that kill, inhospitable planets, and beings that lack the capacity for ethics and now this? Rakghoul. Abaigeal listened to the briefing the warning had been clear enough, basically, don't get scratched or bitten. She did not relish the idea of having to 'put down' a Jedi were it to occur but the consequences would be far worse .. for everyone.

So when mother hen, [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] heard Abaigeal was going on this mission, she made sure that her daughter was prepared and insisted on her wearing this. Abaigeal made sure to stand away from the group a little so not to injury anyone with the spike as it was, she looked like a creature from an unknown world, or at least she felt that way.

There was some new faces since her last mission with the SSC, and some old, like [member="Karen Roberts"]. [member="Karen Roberts"] was an old friend of her mothers or at least she had been around the Silvers on and off over many many years. She keeps her age well thought, Abaigeal had to give [member="Karen Roberts"] that. But Master [member="Karen Roberts"], is a steady fast Jedi and true to her calling, there is none better then Master [member="Karen Roberts"] kicking around. And she, that is [member="Karen Roberts"], is going to kill me.

Abaigeal had not seen Master [member="Karen Roberts"] since Felucia. Not a very pleasant assignment that as they were investigating the events that surrounded Master [member="Sochi Ru"]. Now Master [member="Sochi Ru"] is another of Master E'ron old friends so the out come of that was not very joyous to say the least, after all Master [member="Sochi Ru"] had been killed but ..

"Greeting Master Roberts, good to see you again", she said to the old woman standing at the back of the shuttle.

@Mention everyone else. ​

 

[Matsu Ike]

Matsu was looking at the ones there now, more seemed to be gathering and it was going to be an interesting show as she detected someone... She detected the presence of [member="Karen Roberts"] the jedi peacock and friend. Now [member="Karen Roberts"] was the type of jedi you wanted to have around because she was all for what was needed and believed in making her own gear for everyone. A [member="Karen Roberts"] original weapon was usually big and powerful with a lot of noise but it was an amazing feat to wield one of [member="Karen Roberts"] guns to brag about it and get the [member="Karen Roberts"] seal of approval. The jedi master was gushing on and on about [member="Karen Roberts"] but she could afford to [member="Karen Roberts"] was a great person to work with on missions like this. [member="Karen Roberts"] was just that cool of a person that you could get her autoprint for your collection and [member="Karen Roberts"] memorable wall. [member="Karen Roberts"]

 

[Eldaah Aderyn]

Jedi arrival detected. Investigating outpost. Approaching capital city.

'Infect beings away from the spaceport first, then stow away aboard one of the ships heading deeper into Sanctum space,' the order read from the probe's master. With a tootle of an acknowledgement, the probe droid floated into the outskirts of the city and began observing a prime candidate for mutation.

At the outpost, the arrival of the Jedi had not gone unnoticed by the creatures lurking about. The Jedi would notice the eerie quietness of the place now, the creatures recognizing tougher prey had arrived and would require different tactics to defeat. She had access to every system in the outpost so watching the Jedi and testing them would be easy to accomplish.

If Harrison was among their number, then he would have warned them about what he had observed and been told about her rakghouls and would have passed the word on to his team. Still, she made sure that communications were back online and would broadcast the distress call from the capital once her probe had done its job.

"Not calling a quarantine of the system will be costly to them," she mumbled to herself.

[member="Connor Harrison"] [member="Matsu Ike"] [member="Abaigeal E'ron"] [member="Joza Perl"] [member="Valae Kitra"] [member="Mysa Snowstrider"] [member="Thurion Heavenshield"] [member="Sorel Crieff"] [member="Elara Wahia"] [member="Zephyr Carrick"] [member="Syala Daivik"] [member="Jenson Koraz"]

 

[Jericho]

Alert! Alert! Alert!

A deep lasting breath, followed by a groggy groan; the warriors eyes opened slowly and looked up to the metal barricade of his 'bed'. He had developed a new resting chamber one similar to that a Kolto healing chamber, to heal while one rested and one for dampen his senses while he slept. For some time now the warrior has been dabbling in scientific experiments of a young scientist and daughter of the legendary Rogue Darren Shaw, Meili Shaw, after infiltrating her lab; which was no easy task. And gathering information on a projects on the serum for super soldiers he began testing on himself. After a few experiments the warrior found his natural strength and senses increased exponentially; his hearing in particular was taking some time to getting used too. The serum was the first step on getting his limb back and re-newing more of his own potential of the force, at least that is what he had hoped.

Ring...Ring...Ring...

Even despite the metal casting and water the sounds of his code red alarm could be heard. The chamber casing began to open and poured out the water, only to be re-filtered and cleaned to be reused. As the bed sank into part of the ship, in place his his body was kept up and his cybernetic limb re-attached his body, painfully. The warrior let out a light ground. It was necessary for him to this biweekly at least for now, it made him not so fond of the cybernetic attachments one day he would have to this. After the warrior attached his three limbs he clad himself with his heavy armor and put on his white weighted Jedi robes. The warrior clipped on his black mask and raise his hood over head, always ready for a battle. After doing so went to the front of the ship to check the urgency of the matter at hand.

Code Red at Outpost GA-3

He listened the the message sent to the SSC and not long after his brother disciple, [member="Thurion Heavenshield"] sent him a message with what was going on and the recorded speech [member="Connor Harrison"] spoke of the monstrosities that they would be most likely facing. Interesting. He placed in the coordinates to the outpost in distress since he was not too far out from it and let autopilot take over. The warrior let out a sigh and took in a breath and began formulating a tactics on facing a foe that cant be allowed to touch his skin at least even once. He had to assume the beasts were strong to take over an entire outpost, how would his armor hold up, well better it than his skin, his layers would allow him to combat any. The warrior looked up the planet seeing it was a cold planet snow filled planet, he would use both his fire and ice shaping to keep any at bay. The warrior raised his hand and lightly rubbed his eyes, after hearing he was closing to the planet the man rose and bounce from foot to foot, warming up so to speak. As the ramp lowered, the warrior walked out calmly and took a look around. Nothing. It was quiet.

Jericho formed a spear of ice and a spear of flame and began walking toward the east entrance of the outpost. For once communications were loud and clear to the leading commanders of the operations, Connor and Thurion. "Master Jericho here, answering distress signal. Investigating outpost now."

[member="Matsu Ike"] [member="Abaigeal E'ron"] [member="Joza Perl"] Valae Kitra [member="Mysa Snowstrider"] [member="Sorel Crieff"] [member="Elara Wahia"] [member="Zephyr Carrick"] [member="Syala Daivik"] [member="Jenson Koraz"] [member="Eldaah Aderyn"]

 

[Jsc]

Departure

The chrome statue gave a nod to [member="Abaigeal E'ron"] and [member="Matsu Ike"] . Noting that somehow the notifications option on her suit's HUD where flickering like mad. Huh? So strange.

The tall armored suit gave a robotic reply to Abby,

"Lady E'ron. You seem so chipper given the situation? Indeed. It is pleasant to see you again as well. Though, I fear our mission may dilute our welcome."

She hefted her gun towards the door as the others disembarked,

"Perhaps we shall talk another time my dear. ...There are too many deaths lingering nearby to be anything but dangerously silent."

The iron golem pointed out towards the ramp and beyond,

"Eyes forward lass. Death becomes us."

 

[Audren Sykes]

For a last-minute gathering of Jedi on Voss, this was an impressively large turnout. Over a dozen Jedi of various rank ranging from lowly Padawan to the Grandmaster himself...this was a team to be reckoned with. And not only that, it was a team prepared for battle. Many among them wore armor, some of it flashier than strictly necessary. Likewise, many carried weapons in addition to their lightsabers, be they common blades or blasters or more esoteric Force-based weapons.

For his part, Audren had mostly chosen to stick with what he knew. He wore armor that was strong but light, and in addition to his lightsaber carried a vibroblade and his normal two blasters. There were only two differences to his normal battle attire: two grenades worn on his belt. One was a thermal detonator, the other a plasma grenade, but both designed to completely eradicate what was within their blast radius. He'd faced Sithspawn before, and he'd heard of Rakghoul. A combination of the two was not something he looked forward to.

For his part, the Sephi stayed quiet for the journey, keeping out of the way - and out of the eye - of the others. Given the risk posed by this particularly virulent strain of Sithspawn, he was extremely disappointed that they didn't have at least one capital ship to blockade the planet. No ships should be allowed to leave until the contagion was cleared in his opinion, but he wasn't going to fight with Masters. Not in public at least. He listened to the details offered, tuned out personal conversations within earshot, and descended the ramp with the others.

There was a clear path from where they'd landed to the front of the outpost. The watch tower was more or less destroyed. At first he considered that odd: creatures that attacked based on movement and sound shouldn't have destroyed the surroundings to this degree, even in the throes of a painful transformation or an attack on those still living. Then a gust of wind blew across the landscape causing fabric to flap and heavier items to groan and move. Targets. With that in mind, it was a wonder that the creatures weren't already here. Blaster carbine at the ready, the Knight moved with the others through the snow. The outpost it was, not that those walls would hold any more shelter.

 

[Vakarian]

A kind smile was offered to Mysa in response to her words before his attention were turned towards the sounds of the ship arriving at its objective and landing with a muted thud. His muscles roiled under his skin as he stretched slightly and took careful steps to the exit of the drop ship. He would have said goodbye to Thurion and Mysa, but he had had enough of losing people to violence, and to say goodbye meant that he would not see them again; so he just dipped his head respectfully.

He was very much aware of the power arrayed around him in the individuals that had chosen to follow Master Harrison on this mission. It was a potent feeling, bordering the equivalent of divinity. The Gods had truly favored Máni and the arrayed Jedi, each with their own gifts and talents.

While he was at odds being amongst so many not of his own race, he knew that the Silvers were a valorous and kind people, if only made evident by their actions on Midvinter. His glacial gaze met each member of the Silver Sanctum before stepping completely out of the dropship and onto the cold world that they had come to. It wasn't unlike Midvinter in his opinions, and his furs gave him some measure of warmth as they worked to repel the cold of the planet.

He only then remembered that another member of the Jedi had introduced himself, and cursed silently at his overlooking of the man.

"I am Máni, an Acolyte of Helm, Lord of Justice and War. he said to [Member=Zephyr Carrick] with a confidence and unwavering reverence to his god. His voice was soft and velvety, though it boomed with the natural oomph of the males of his race.

His glacial gaze turned to yet another man -[member=Josiah Saedrin], roughly in his late teens or early twenties, by appearance alone, before he called to him, "Would you care to join me in the Hunt?"

The Valkyr knew all to well the lonesome type of way, Gods know that for months after his parents died, that was the way that he had chosen to live before giving his life and soul to the Lord of Justice. He also knew the awkwardness one felt when in new surroundings, for he was born on Midvinter, a planet that had once been isolated for many years before kingship passed to Thrand Dawnbringer and the Valkyri set out among the stars once again.

 

[Connor Harrison]

Pulling up the collar on his crimson cowl, the tears at the bottom a nice reminder to him of struggles gone by, Connor wrapped an arm around his chest to hold it close and the other hanging free.

On his left wrist, the com crackled to life - [member=Jericho] had landed at the outpost, which meant they had to move.

"We have a Master on site – let’s move. We will use this camp as a rendezvous point. The ship will stay here but be locked down from the inside – you need entry, you signal the pilot at once. I’ll have them set a beacon and flare in case you lose direction.”

The amassing Jedi was quite a sight, one of the biggest he’d seen in responding to a distress like this. At the sound of young [member="Joza Perl"] asking a question, Connor turned against the gentle, but sharp wind to face her.

"I admit the first thing I thought about was the events at Kaas. However I don’t think they’re undead warriors like Matsu Xiangu commanded. Although, I see your point. Most of these you will face are mutated from sentient beings – they are an army of beasts made up of beings like you and me; as long as they find people like us to feed on, their numbers will be strong. Hence why it’s our duty to remind the Sith no matter what tactics you revert to, the Light will always find a way.”

He nodded to her, once.

"You’ll be alright. I promise. You survived Kaas, and you will survive this. The creatures are fast predators, but as far as I can tell their attacks are all melee. And remember, they can’t see what isn’t moving. You find yourself facing one, or feel you are surrounded, don’t move. Not an inch. You won’t be alone.”

Letting Joza find her place with the others, he gently placed reassuring hands on the shoulders of @Syala Daivki and stood behind her as he called out to the team.

"Let’s go take back our Outpost and send a message to the Sith in the meantime!”

Turning to walk forward, he exhaled, trying to piece together the events that led to this outbreak, and why he was beginning to feel he had been a carrier all the time since Kulthis and landing here days before.

 

[Thurion Heavenshield]

He pulled away from his embrace of [member="Mysa Snowstrider"] and looked her over with furrowed brows. "'Master'?" he asked aloud, as if hearing the word for the first time. "Mysa, are you--"

A fresh face approached the two, effectively ending their moment of privacy. [member="Máni"] was his name, and he suspected the young man to be Valkyri, and was immediately proven right by Mysa's response. She seemed more eager to see this mission through than he ever could, considering. One way to work out grief, he supposed. The Umbaran in her shined through, recalling Kära to behave equally frigid when it came to uncomfortable moments such as these. Thurion didn't greet the man through words, but simply bowed his head just as the shuttle touched ground. There was a lot to do - pleasantries could wait.

As people stepped off the shuttle to set foot on the planet of Galidraan, Thurion got a hold of [member="Connor Harrison"] for but a moment. "This is your operation, Connor. Take the lead - I'll hang back with the others to make sure nobody trails off." His eyes would betray his grief, no matter how hard he tried to keep up appearances. "But you call me if you need me, alright?" he added along with his fist bumping lightly against Connor's arm before rejoining [member="Valae Kitra"].

"We stick together, no matter what," he told his padawan, fussing over her equipment as if to combat his nerves. "Okay, let's move out."

 

[Connor Harrison]

Connor had only taken a few steps over the dry snow when [member="Thurion Heavenshield"] grabbed him for a moment, and in that moment his old friend looked pained. He narrowed his eyes a little, looking past the words into the man he hadn’t seen or spoken to for many months.

There was something there – was it Coci? His children? He didn’t know much about what was going on anymore, and for that he didn’t have enough time to say anything before he moved back to his Padawan.

All he did was nod, and turning back to walk out his eyes danced over the horizon a little, wondering what had happened.

The snowy ground beneath them was hard, the rocky terrain providing good support and ease of walking. The forest ahead, while not too deep, was thick enough to provide a dangerous barrier between the clearing and the Outpost.

Connor felt that uneasy feeling he’d had on Kulthis, before seeing the ambushed house and the two rakghouls preying on that poor woman. He pulled his cowl tight and his right hand rested on the hilt of the legendary lightsaber hilt at his side.

And then, as if on cue, cutting through the air like a knife and echoing out across the plains…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfDY5BsAwVg

Connor froze.

The trees ahead swayed with the gentle wind. He scanned the greenery before them.

Four rakghouls snaked out from the branches into plain view.

Connor span and dropped to the ground on his knee.

"Four ahead! Get down!”

He shouted as loud as he could without being TOO loud, but enough for the Jedi behind him to hear and cause the domino effect with the others.

All it would take would be one wrong move, one fearful Jedi, one accidental sound and the rakghouls would hone in on their victim. They began to stalk forward, as if looking for something, but not knowing what.

[member="Matsu Ike"] | [member="Abaigeal E'ron"] | [member="Valae Kitra"] | [member="Mysa Snowstrider"] | [member="Sorel Crieff"] | [member="Elara Wahia"] | [member="Zephyr Carrick"] | [member="Syala Daivik"] |[member="Jenson Koraz"] |[member="Eldaah Aderyn"] | [member=Máni]

 

[Lief]

Whatever [member="Thurion Heavenshield"] was going to ask her was lost as his attention was diverted elsewhere. Part of her was curious as to what he had to say, but in the end she knew that if it had been important he would have spoken. As a result she gave her Uncle a poor excuse of a smile, the best she had to give at this point, and turned to glance over the other Sanctum Jedi present.

Mysa had never met the illustrious [member="Connor Harrison"] before. She had heard stories, of course, and Coci spoke very highly of him, but due to her more humbler and isolated life on Midvinter these days it was rare she actually interacted with the Sanctum. She had been too busy protecting her home.

He looked and sounded very capable, and Mysa felt confident to be under his guidance for this mission. She overheard Thurion's instructions, or lack thereof, when handing over leadership. It was good to see a leader who knew when another's expertise was better placed than theirs.

There was no time for greetings, no time for words, as they took their first few steps into the fresh snow. Something in the distance moved, she counted four bodies, before Connor's voice immediately shot into action. Mysa did not have to be told twice, and so she lowered herself down in a slow motion - remembering his earlier warnings - and kept her thumb hovering over the ignition.

Would the intensity of a lightsaber blade be able to cut through their thick hide?

There would be only one way to find out. And for once Mysa did not feel bad at the prospect of what was about to happen.

She had no sympathy for monsters.

 

[Elara Amadis]

Elara pulled her coat closer for warmth, she knew as soon as they started moving that she would be warmer even sweating. This world did ont seem to offer any comforts she began scanning around them for any movement. The words etched into her mind don't get scratched or bitten.

Well thank goodness for armor and thick clothing though only a small deterrent and little protection from this design of genetics. She tilted her head listening there were sounds out there she would need to know what those they hunted sounded like before she could separate them from the other sounds of the world. She took a step just as she did alarms were sounding off and people were beginning to move.

She could hear a group to her right forming up, "Do you mind if I join you?" They all looked so young were they new to this kind of hunt, but then again she did not think anyone would be considered an old hand at it.

[member="Máni"] [member="Zephyr Carrick"] [member="Josiah Saedrin"]​

 

[Jericho]

Jericho couldn't see the other jedi, not yet anyway, his hearings tuned and unrefined could hear everyone of their step both light and heavy. The sounds made him cringed he wasn't used to such loud and constant noise for so long. It was unlike using the force to hone in on someone's voice, where as he heard only a couple and tuned out the rest; he heard everything loudly and constantly. It was then he heard heavier steps, but he couldn't pinpoint them all. There were a great many more, even more than the light steps of the Jedi, from that he already knew that this was going to be quite the fight. "Four ahead! Get down!" The voice of Connor Harrison called out. With a steady and firm but lowered volume meant for few to hear but with his now enhanced hearing he could make the assumption that already made contact. The sounds of battle were not yet made, so enemies have been spotted but not engaged and telling by Connor's low tone; the warrior had to assume that the beasts were more reliant on their sense of hearing than their sight as well. The irony.

The warrior dropped to a knee and closed his eyes and focused only on his breathing now. His focused was too spread out, one short breath in and one long exhale out. Two short breaths in and one long exhale out. Three.....As the warrior made an inhale the foul stench and hallow groan from a beast came followed by more. Jericho slowly opened his eyes and found himself fronted by another four, fairly large and humanoid in their looks. At this rate the SSC should formly known as the defenders against the undead than that of anything else. It seemed more appropriate as the last few mission the SSC as a whole have been facing off with monsters of vile origin or the undead, at least the variation of a few. Without a second though the warrior hurled his ice spear but before it could pick up momentum to smashed into the head of a beast to no effect. The hide of to dense, maybe it had adapted to the cold? It was it engineered to have such tough skin even though it form from fleshy skin? The warrior disengaged his flame sword thinking it would have no effect the beasts.

There he was wrong.

As the flames disappeared from his hand the beast suddenly became more courageous and the four instantly made a charge, lunging wildly at him. Jericho summoned his saber and the sounds of the ignited sabers attracted even more. The warrior grunted three bad moves at once. As one came at him the warrior instinctively lobbed off its hand and slice it in half and retreated deeper into the outpost being chased by numerous large beasts. After move and dodging and cutting down a few on his way he found himself surrounded by the beasts, the sounds of him running through the snow attracted even more. The warrior then whispered to himself with a sigh. "Five..." Having found himself trapped in the nest of things he counted five mistakes he had made and overly rushed himself into needless danger. Today he was distracted more than usual to put himself in such a predicament. As a couple lunged at him, he sliced one in half then decapitated another, the head let out a loud shriek of pain before the plopped onto the ground. The warrior shook his head lightly kept out his sabers to keep the beasts at bay.

"Master Harrison. Jericho here." The warrior started calmly over his comm-link. "You and your team should avoid the center of the outpost. There is a great number of them held up here."

[member="Connor Harrison"]

 

[Baalagor]

Once [member="Thurion Heavenshield"] parted ways with [member="Connor Harrison"] she gently rested a hand on his upper arm in what was meant to be a calming gesture. It seemed there was still some kind of subtle enmity there, one Syala was able to pick out only due to her familiarity with Connor himself. "Leave whatever troubles you behind for now. All of us need a clear head and heart for what lies ahead. Be at peace." She gave his arm a squeeze before allowing her hand to fall, wearing that same knowing smile as she always did. He had always been one to let his feelings get the better of him in certain scenarios, and that was something she nearly always refused, reminding - or in some cases, forcing - him to think clearly instead.

When the hushed warning rang out she slowly knelt in the snow next to the man she still considered her Master, extending her senses outwards in order to obtain a firmer grasp on just what these creatures were. What she felt caused her breathing to hitch, the muscles of her jaw ticcing slightly as she forced herself to remain still, recalling the precautions listed earlier. A wave of darkness rushed forward from the four figures that had been pointed out, something far more twisted and foul than that of a typical Sith. Their aura was best described as tortured, a symphony of cries for help boiling beneath the surface, though barely detectable for the way their physical and ethereal selves had been warped beyond recognition.

In the next few seconds her form seemed to stiffen unnaturally, sightless eyes taking on the appearance of nothing more than glass as she was granted first a brief glimpse of the helmeted visage of [member="Eldaah Aderyn"], the Sith they were facing. Next came fractured and haphazard images of [member="Jericho"] as he cut his way through a nest of rakghouls, and she recognized him as one of their number inherently, despite having never once met or spoken to the man. All at once she seemed to ripple back into the physical realm, taking a few deep breaths to steady herself. "Is he going to be okay on his own?" 'He', of course, being the only Silver Jedi that wasn't currently within their band.

[member="Elara Wahia"], [member="Mysa Snowstrider"], [member="Máni"], [member="Audren Sykes"], [member="Matsu Ike"], [member="Karen Roberts"], [member="Abaigeal E'ron"], [member="Joza Perl"], [member="Valae Kitra"]

 

[Eldaah Aderyn]

Prime subject identified. Infection subroutines... initializing.

The probe floated down to a homeless human that had just pushed his meager bit of belongings into an alley, away from the hustle and bustle of the city at night. The man was just getting settled for the evening, he had found some thrown away bits of nerf steak when he looked up and saw the probe droid floating towards him.

"Since when did the authorities get probe droids?" he muttered, curious why a probe was approaching him. It didn't look like anything from the planetary autho...

"Ow," he yelled, as the droid plunged a needle apparatus into his arm and injected him with something. Swatting it away, the probe flew off and he fell back against the side of the alley. The feeling of liquid running down his cheeks made him reach up, and pulling his hand away, find blood... The convulsions started as the virus took hold in his body, changing and warping his very being. Skin paling, claws replaced hands and feet, his emancipated body shifting and stretching, eyes turning white. Within moments, all that was left was a new rakghoul... and entire city unaware of what was about to happen.

Infection begun in capital. Moving to spaceport.

"Good," she muttered, using the holocams in the outpost to watch the one Jedi Master that seemed more machine than man fighting off some of her subjects. He clearly didn't have the necessary information to fight them. How long would he holdout... when what lurked in the outpost and catacombs below fully stirred. Still, she did want all the Jedi inside. Or even better, once the city was in full crisis mode, to split up.

[member="Connor Harrison"] [member="Matsu Ike"] [member="Thurion Heavenshield"] [member="Jericho"] [member="Elara Wahia"] [member="Mysa Snowstrider"] [member="Audren Sykes"] [member="Abaigeal E'ron"] [member="Joza Perl"] [member="Valae Kitra"] [member="Syala Daivik"] @Máni

 

[Sorel Crieff]

Sorel listened to her Master. She was fascinated by the abilities her Master used. She had been a diligent Padawan and learned widely - as opposed to focusing on one area for development. But she never failed to come across new skills that amazed her and made her own learning seem shallow by comparison.

"I have learned Master," she replied, "but there is always room for more." She smiled, "As long as I can stay alive of course. So I am in your hands."

[member="Matsu Ike"] [member="Connor Harrison"]