The Shadow Under Corbos [TSE Dominion of Corbos Hex]

[Itash Mecetti]

[member="Cassandra Paige"] | [member="Darth Filiae"] | [member="Darth Carnifex"] | [member="Darth Prazutis"]

Oh, Itash hadn't actually expected the Dark Lord to just grant him his wish.

But as far as the Tapani was concerned you had to take a chance here and there, otherwise you never profited from anything and that wasn't exactly in his interest. He still considered his proposal to be the smart way to go for the Sith- you only had a limited amount of troops, when you were waging ambitious campaigns across the entirety of the Galaxy.

Few could forget the disaster that had been Anzat after all.

This did not mean that Itash would push. "That seems completely reasonable, my Lord." Tash agreed calmly while noting that Cass had finished her little match with Filiae, what a bother. He started to wonder about the choices that had let him here.

He hadn't ever second-guessed himself before. Itash didn't like it.

"I am certain that Didact's presence and the Empire's recent acquisition of our M1 Battle Droid together with the Imperial garrison will be enough to keep this region relatively..." An eye towards that leviathan again. Balance, these people had a way to make his life a cheap holo-flick. When had it turned into high-stakes negotiations with Dark Lords of the Sith while staring at the corpse of a soul-sucking beast?

Lord preserve him.

"...peaceful I suppose." Tash nodded again and then wondered. Did they need to discuss anything more?

This had all been quite sudden after all.

 

[Nan'eth'illa]

In Filiae's mind, she could have done twice the job in half the time whatever hack corporation had done Cassandra's fittings. It sounded like iBorg by now: Expensive, reasonable quality, but so terribly pretentious. One part of her was humoured by it, another cried for the future of her cybernetics maintenance. Then again what was more important? To promote her own company, or to compete with this stuffy reed of a woman? Choices, choices.

"If you ever want something custom, give me a call. Itash can give you my number."

She turned fully to the two Sith Lords, a confident curve on her lips, but sharpness in her eyes and attention in her every fibre. This was after all a chance to show her mettle in front of great Sith Lords. And while her act up until this point was not exemplary, she was determined to show that attention to her would be well spent.

So, when the mention of fetching eggs from the deep against the terrors of angry leviathan mothers was aired, her eyes widened noticeably.

"My Lords, Emperor," Filiae's cybernetic hand made its way to her chest as though swearing a solemn vow "Please allow me to retrieve Miss Paige's egg. It would be an honour." Her head inclined respectfully.

[member="Itash Mecetti"] [member="Cassandra Paige"] [member="Darth Prazutis"] [member="Darth Carnifex"]

 

[Onrai]

A rumble in the landscape caused her to notice a Leviathan breaking through a cleft in the ground. She stared at it and began to focus, trying to dominate its otherwise simple mind. After all, she merely needed to subdue the creature long enough to acquire what she needed from it. Such hubris went into their creation, such pride and arrogance - Sorzus Syn was amazing, from what she could tell, when it came to crafting such monsters.

"Hey there..." She slowly walked towards the creature, pacifying its mind with her darkness. "Don't mind me. I just want your servitude, as you served the darkness during the civil war."

She slowly walked around the creature, examining it from various aspects. It was in good physical condition, that was for sure - and would likely be in such a state for a long while.

"Serve me." She said, more commanding and forceful in her tone as she raised a hand, carefully touching the head of the twisted aberration. Now was the moment of truth.

 

[Mulokhai Zarandur]

Mulokhai Zarandur​

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Location: Corbos Mining City​

Objective: 1​

Post #8​

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Enough resting. He could sleep afterwards. Mulokhai pushed up to his feet again, a bit unsure on his feet as he moved to the edge. The Acolyte hopped down from window sill to sill, moving down levels until he reached the ground. As he did, he could hear the Lieutenant again, now a much more frantic tone to his voice. "My lord, respond! We need support here!" Mulokhai began moving more quickly, speaking back into his communicator.

"Show me where you are, I'm coming." Ugh. This....concern was not that befitting of him. Then again, Akk Squad had proven highly capable, and there was no sense in wasting good soldiers. Maybe there was a lesson in this, after all. Hmph. Even so, he doubted Vamin had intended it. Watching his holocommunicator, he pinpointed their location from the signal, speeding up as he realized the problem. The Leviathan had discovered them, along with the rest of a Legionnaire Platoon that was not prepared to deal with it.

It had one of them in its grasp, he could tell from the transponder, the familiar presence in the force. As he got closer, he felt his blood run cold, his heart almost push up into his throat. If that soldier died - he wouldn't even consider that possibility. Rushing forward, the Acolyte weaved through the lines of Legionnaires firing, his lightsaber ignited and ready. The Sith weaved to the right as the Leviathan leaned its massive mouth down, his Akk member wrapped in the grip of one of its tentacles.

"Pull back! Now!" Although the order rang out across the platoon, Akk was the main concern for him; their lives were connected to his. Mulokhai leaped up and forward, his saber slashing upwards and causing a roar of agony and rage to come from the Leviathan as its tendril was severed. He deactivated his weapon, putting it away and catching the soldier before they hit the ground. Holding them in his arms, he began to run off into a side street with little hesitation, the giant creature focused on him now.
He heard the colossal feet once again stomping behind him, as he'd now given the Platoon time to regroup and find a better position. That was nice for them; he now had a Leviathan to escape, while carrying a fully grown and equipped Legionnaire in his arms. He was confident in himself. He knew that he could escape this thing, but he didn't even know where the Lieutenant and the rest of his team were. How had the scout breakoff even gone this far? The others on the rooftops previously had at least held position, rather than getting caught up in this.

He was an awful babysitter.

 

[Cassandra Paige]

"Of course," Cass said, smiling widely. "I do imagine he can! Well, if I ever wish to match you in quality I will be certain to give you a call."

Which meant, of course, never.

As far as Cass was concerned, she had absolutely not idea what Tash would have seen (and she was certain something had occurred between them, even if she didn't have confirmation yet) in such a mannish blue alien. Perhaps she was an ex, in which case Cass would let it go even if she was vaguely disgusted. But something ate at her, and she suspected that was not the case. In which case....

Well, Tash had some explaining to do.

Of course, Cass's smile only widened farther. Even with threads of jealousy lurking, Cass couldn't feel threatened by this 'woman'. This blue skinned errand boy.

"I would appreciate that, ever so much, Miss Filiae," she said sweetly.

The whole situation was exceedingly gauche and Cass was tired of it.

[member="Itash Mecetti"] [member="Darth Filiae"] [member="Darth Carnifex"] [member="Darth Prazutis"]

 

[Darth Carnifex]

This was quickly becoming a holo-drama.

Carnifex blew air out of his nose in amusement to the subtle barbs and sly implications being traded back and forth between the two women, and with poor Lord Mecetti caught in the middle of it all. From what the Dark Lord could gather, the young Lord had let his loins wander too far and too early.

And now he was poised to suffer a woman's scorn.

He looked back at his uncle, "Tiss duip da ruen dui rnivepimr da Khar Delba, vi'ss emzirdebodi duip duili." Now his attention fell back on the trio, specifically Filiae and her request to be the one to retrieve the Leviathan egg for Lady Paige. He tipped his head downward, "Your request is granted, Knight Filiae, but do not forget that failure is not something to be sought willingly. I expect only the best performance from Ophidia's brood."

In other words: Don't muck it up just to be petty.

[member="Itash Mecetti"] | [member="Cassandra Paige"] | [member="Darth Prazutis"] | [member="Darth Filiae"]​

 

[Taeli Raaf]

BYOO: Collect Specimens

"My Lady, several egg clusters are loaded onto the ships and we have twenty larva in stasis," one of her Adepts reported. "The live specimen is being held under sedation until our larger transport ship arrives."

She nodded absently, her attention engrossed on the larva she was currently dissecting in the field lab. Such fascinating constructs, not really showing much deviation from what Sorzus Syn had created thousands of years ago. She did love finding specimens that had not really altered over the years.

"Keep it heavily sedated, double the dose of our bull rancor specimens," she ordered. "If it attempts to breakout of containment, coma bloom extract."

"Yes, my Lady. Our team on Maryx Minor will have the facility ready in time. They seemed... eager to begin work on the specimens."

It was understandable. It was not everyday they got to work on creatures that had been created by one of the great bio-alchemists. To study the work of Sorzus Syn... well it was certainly a treat she was not going to pass up.

 

[Nan'eth'illa]

Oh mucking it up would have been so easy, but also too short-term. No, in order for this to truly sting, she would have to present the eggs in perfect condition. Besides, the benefit of the Sith Empire came before her admittedly petty scheme. She would never betray the Empire's interest for her own amusement. After all, she was no mandalorian.

"I would not dream of it, Lord Emperor." "In the Csen'ai's words; success or death."

She bowed out a last time, then turned her back on them and put her helmet on. The additional sway of her hip was deliberate, but subtle, well executed even. She was quickly back to her speeder. The Chiss attached the lance to the clips on the vehicle's sides and climbed astride. Gave one last glance at the group, then set the bike to dart off. It cast a tail of dust behind it

Her trail curved off and down into the depths of the mines. As the maw of the tunnels began, darkness enveloped her. The lanterns wooshed past like a single string of light as the nimble vehicle weaved its way down in a continuous spiral. The howl of the engine echoed like the perpetual scream of some hellish banshee. The pitch of it changed as the tunnel opened to a cavern. Filiae weaved the vehicle to the side, sending a wave of dust off a sharp edge as she made the turn and curled the bike down into the larger cavernous area, past the corpse of a Leviathan and the workers dissecting it.

Filiae cut the engine down to a murr and hit the breaks, letting it slow down to a halt.

"The Eggs?"

One of the workers pointed over to a bend in the cavernous shapes. Light were cast against the wall and as she looked at it, she heard the rumble and roar of a Leviathan. Its giant form cast shadow against the light.

Filiae unclipped the lance and nodded to the workers.

"Aggressive indeed."

[member="Darth Prazutis"] [member="Darth Carnifex"] [member="Itash Mecetti"] [member="Cassandra Paige"]

 

[Darth Prazutis]

​Whatever it was that [member="Darth Carnifex"] said back to him elicited a nodding confirmation from the Shadow Hand who briefly turned away again to whisper something into his comlink. This meeting had turned out to be both very informative and entertaining at that. There was a subtle war of words raging beneath the surface that was easily picked up by the master of wordcraft between the gathered group. Two women of the promiscuous Lord Mecetti that through fate or something else had been put together.

No doubt the worst for the Lord would come after they'd left Corbos.

Now that their meeting had seemed to come to its conclusion the Shadow Hand spoke "It was a pleasure meeting all of you. If there's anything else you may require on your journey here you have the Sith Empires full cooperation. We are needed elsewhere. May the force be with you." ​Prazutis said looking briefly towards Kaine before he turned around and walked back towards the behemoth that was Galvanoth. Through their talks the beast had fully lowered himself to the ground, his head still on a perpetual swivel like a loyal guardian watching and silently tracking any potential threats that might've neared his master.

​The Destroyer climbed aboard the beasts great wing to a certain section. As soon as he did so the entire beast shifted into a standing position raising its master up and allowing him to jump right back into his position atop the beast, grabbing the reins with one hand. A tug on the reins the beast surged forward launching itself into the air a powerful gust of extremely hot wind and a temporary shadowy darkness covered the area beneath it as Galvanoth the Genocide took to the skies, shadow and flame seeping from its form.

Post: 6

[member="Cassandra Paige"] | [member="Darth Filiae"] | [member="Itash Mecetti"] ​

 

[Nan'eth'illa]

The power lance hummed in her hand as the head of it was charged. Filiae revved the engine of her speeder as she lifted the long weapon's tip and leaned the weight of the shaft into her side. She looked to the side as something caught her eye; a net, being pulled off the carcass.

"Preferably alive" they said

"That prissy little schutta better find something good."

The Chiss poked the head of her lance through the corner of the net and pulled it away. She whipped the lance up and down to detach it from any shrapnel, then, as the net was at its' zenith, she took off on the speeder. The net dragged behind her in the air like a banner as the bike howled away.

The enormous form of a living leviathan was visible now. She saw it stamp down with one of its giant feet and crush four grown humanoids while its claws and giant teeth thrashed away at troops trying to keep it in check. There was a cart full of eggs behind the leviathan, which explained to her why it wouldn't move or really advance: It was protecting its spawn. It was almost a shame that Filiae needed that spawn liberated and unbroken. This creature was also much larger than the one she had fought on the surface: A young male. She had to be creative.

Terrain was key.

As the behemoth reared up, Filiae veered her speeder to the side and pushed the throttle. The velocity of it carried her speeder up along the side of the cavern. The Chiss leaned to balance herself, and extended her lance arm with the net now blazing wide. Wind caught it, spread it wide, and she pointed the lance down to make sure the end did not fall off. The leviathan's claws cut into the net as it tangled with its enormous teeth. It would not last long.

She stabbed the lance into an outcropping of rock as it passed, leaving it to pin down the end of the net. Then, she directed the speeder at the leviathan itself, or rather, between its massive legs. The massive beast leaned forward and lashed towards Filiae, but she veered out of the way of its giant limbs while catching the opposite side of the net. leaning back, she clipped it onto the back of her speeder. It shot up, diagonally, then vertically up the cavern wall before gravity became too much. The pull of it dragged the leviathan's leg out, tipped its centre of balance.

Filiae let go of the steering and focused her passion: Her will to dominate, to prove her worth, to own whatever she wanted. Sparks of electricity shot down along her hands as she grabbed the net and emptied every ounce of electricity she could summon into it. It made her swing down under the leviathan as it roared in pain. The opposing forces tripped it over on its side. Filiae herself crashed into the sand.

The leviathan lay still, but breathing. The Chiss stirred with a gasp of air. She looked at the eggs; the leviathan's ass had fallen only a meter away. She crawled to her feet and put her hands around one of the eggs, seeing her own face reflected in its shine. The speeder, as if by itself, rolled over in her direction, the basket in the back popped open. She put the egg inside. Hopefully, the ride to the surface would be less turbulent.

 

[Itash Mecetti]

[member="Darth Filiae"] | [member="Darth Prazutis"] | [member="Darth Carnifex"] | [member="Cassandra Paige"]

This was slowly starting to become a drag to him.

Most of his indignation was reserved for one particular Chiss. Oh, he didn't mind that she was smug or that she liked to parade around, but there was just a level of class that was required as far as Itash was concerned. Instead Filiae was being increasingly... pushy when it came to proper noble etiquette. A thing that Mecetti prized quite a lot, if he was being honest.

It was the main reason that his mind slowly and carefully reached out just as she moved to sit on the speeder.

"That was very rude.... Nan'eth'illa." There was power behind those words, strength subtle, it spoke of an old oak whose roots had taken shape in the earth for centuries and were not easily unrooted. Of a mountain whose weight could crush with a single breath. "We will have words."

The fact that he used her real name, the one she had not given him? Would presumably only assist with the desired effect. But he considered that matter settled for now, instead he bowed lightly to the Dark Lords, murmuring certainly.

Allowing them to depart the field.

 

[Darth Carnifex]

The Emperor crossed one hand, fingers erect and palm flat, over his chest and tilted forward in a minor bow to Filiae as she mounted her speeder and departed. His Shadow Hand would likewise depart, mounting his great beast Galvanoth and rising up into the heavens on wings of ash and soot.

That would leave only himself, Lord Mecetti, and Lady Paige.

The tension between the latter two was palpable, and all the former could do was smile his butcher's grin and wish them a fond farewell. "I will leave you two alone to discuss what you will, and I hope we meet again." Another short bow before the Dark Lord returned to Adramelech's side, and hoisted himself up the beast's massive frame. Carnifex settled into the saddle, his powerful hands gripping the reins as he willed his faithful companion to take flight.

Once they were above the clouds and out of sight, the Emperor opened communications with the forward command base. "Report, General, what news of the operation?" A small twelve inch holoprojection of a Pureblood Sith appeared in the Dark Lord's hand, the General's face grizzled by conflict and self-inflicted scarification. "The operation proceeds smoothly, my Emperor. The Leviathan population has been curtailed, most of them have been put down and their blister traps extracted. We're currently processing them for transport to Bastion, as you have commanded. Our sorcerers have managed to capture several Leviathans alive, as well as unhatched eggs and larvae."

"Excellent, General. In light of these victories I have declared the operation a resounding success, and will see that the War Cabinet sees it fit to dispatch another mining expedition to Corbos." The General saluted and the Emperor severed the connection.

Corbos was securely in the Empire's hand once again.​

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[member="Itash Mecetti"] | [member="Cassandra Paige"] | [member="Darth Prazutis"] | [member="Darth Filiae"]​

 

[Darth Voracitos]

Objective A: Secure the city Leviathans
Post: 2

A huge bellowing roar erupted from the Earth, as not one but two wyrm-like Leviathan's burst through heavy rock with ease, shaking the earth the Vassals stood on. The shadow of Voracitos however did not waver within the power of his Throne. The Sith Lord's eyes light up, as immediately he sensed in each of the Wyrm Leviathan's, that one was a bull and the other a cow. A mating pair which likely had dug up the new nests that had plagued the planet, which were presently being raided by the Sith, as their more traditional cousin's (whose eggs their ancestors must have recovered) in their dormancy.

"You are beautiful..." The Sith Lord breathed, smelling the death and turmoil that surrounded them. As the gigantic beasts began to break the influence of the Relic, Voracitos levitated it into the air while his hands began to conjure sorcery derived of the Netherworld. The souls were bound to the Blister Traps, but with a little coaxing, Darth Voracitos with his experience of soul manipulation was confident in his abilities to alter the behavior of the Leviathan. Suddenly, just as the monster before them finally broke the pacification and began a renewed charge, Voracitos roared with power, as vengeful netherworld souls weaved into his cloaked sprung forth, passing through the Relic and striking the Leviathan into its mouth.

"Have a tasted of your new master, savage!" Voracitos roared with laughter. The wyrms began their attack closing down on either side of them, but the Vassals unleashed their own sorcery, Sith lightning and soul-enhanced telekinesis. It kept them at bay, but barely. One of the Wyrms buried itself into the Earth to avoid the harassment. In all likelihood, it would burrow beneath them. In moments however, the once hostile Leviathan from the city had a shadow stretching all the way back to the Relic, a shadow of the Netherworld crawling through its gullet and into its blistertraps, like a fish on a wire. The charge once directed at Voracitos and his group, was now redirected to the other Wyrm.

Nearly stepping on a couple of Vassals (and only just so, one was injured just getting out of the way), the Leviathan turned on its cousin, and sunk its claws into the Wyrm, preventing it from burrowing away as the two beasts bit at each other. The essence of the Netherworld leaked from every blister trap on the beast, and from its mouth, falling like bloody saliva to the ground, where it seems to crawl back to the Throne of Voracitos. With its mate in danger, the Leviathan he sensed would spring out from beneath them, instead erupted into the defense of its mater, to the pleasure of the Sith Lord. The tangle of Leviathan's was a beautiful sight, and he could taste the palpable fear of his Vassals who stood witness to the combat. After a moment or two of bloody combat, Voracitos was again prepared to initiate his sorcery, sufficient satisfied in their bloody combat. In their battle-weakened state, the Relic would now pacify the Leviathan's with much less coaxing.

"I think it is time for you savages to grovel..." The Sith Lord raised both of his meat fists to the air, and with delight in his eyes a storm of viridian light erupted from his hands, enveloping all three monstrosities in writhing agony and rage. The land Leviathan fell first, succumbing to all of his effects, and then the bull fell, before finally the cow Leviathan let out a shriek as it relented to his powers. Each one continued to writhe even as Lord Voracitos relented, smiling. They were not dead, wounded and comatose, but alive all the same. With some precaution, these at least would make fine additions to his collection of artifacts... though the problem of where to store them was an interesting, and favorable problem to have.

"Each of you did well my Vassals... inform the necessary Imperial Authorities to have these creatures probably transported to... Lorrd. I will see to their oversight. These creatures will not do on the Den of Decadence, and I would not endanger Imperial resources. Mustn't anger dearest Emperor." Voracitos mused with some humor. Voracitos hovered beside the cow, who remained awake despite her defeat. "You will make a fine mother again, dear, and I imagine, your children might be delicious." The fat bastard's eyes light up as his mouth salivated grossly.

The mother made a weak moan, acknowledging her fate.