Faction Urban Predation | Eternal Empire and Allies

[ROSECOM]

In the wake of the sudden collapse of the First Order and the Confederacy of Independent Systems, much of the Outer Rim and parts of the Unknown Regions have been left in a state of confusion as power vacuums form across the hundreds of systems that were once under its control. With various warlords, tribes, cartels, and other upstart powers rushing to fill the vacuum, often to nefarious ends, the need for a strong, centralized power in these voided territories has become urgent as looming humanitarian crises threaten to spill over into the Eternal Empire.

On Lutrillia, the vacuum has given rise to a uniquely terrifying form of conflict and power struggle, termed municipal predation. After the fall of the First Order, the nomadic, peaceful lifestyle of the planet’s inhabitants has violently devolved to that of predator and prey. In essence, many of the planet’s mobile platform-cities have taken to hunting and consuming other cities, competing for limited resources such as fuel, food, valuable materials, and even slaves. This practice has arisen by cruel practicality, as Lutrillia’s population of burrowing, subterranean predators has exploded in recent months after being hunted to nigh-extinction by the First Imperial Armed Forces, making it all the more dangerous for Lutrillia’s mobile cities to be caught immobile.

Whether a city is predator or prey, death lurks beneath the ground itself, waiting to consume those who are idle.

Objectives​

Objective I: The Great Hulk of the Steppe
The biggest and most oppressive of the great predator cities, Sidenza was once the site of the First Order’s largest military garrison on the planet. However, with the collapse of the First Order, the garrison’s commander, Argo Rex, seized control of the city in a violent coup. Under his rule, Sidenza was one of the first to embrace the practice of municipal predation, quickly perfecting it not only as a strategy of survival, but also one of political influence. Given Sidenza’s prominence and its ties to the old regime, the Eternal Empire has set its sights on the city, initiating a multipronged offensive with the ultimate objective of taking the city, while leaving it largely intact.

To this end, the main strike force has been tasked with taking control of the engine bay and reactor chamber, while keeping these sections relatively undamaged and operational, lest Sidenza be rendered vulnerable to the subterranean predators lurking beneath the surface. Unfortunately, achieving this objective will not come without meeting heavy resistance, as the city’s exterior is bristling with anti-air batteries to ward off dropships. On the ground, formations of tanks and armored fighting vehicles move with the city in escort to prevent boarding attempts from below. Simultaneously, a small, decapitation force composed of elite units has been deployed via drop pod and various subtle means into the city’s command district, with the objective of liquidating the government and assassinating Argo Rex.

For either force to fail in their objectives would place the Empire’s entire operation on Lutrillia in grave danger.

Objective II: Seismic Conspiracy
As the Battle for Sidenza rages, the Eternal Empire has entered talks with the government of Vlinpool, a prey city long-hunted by Sidenza, pertaining to the installation of a new system which is hoped to provide a lasting solution to the issue of the Lutrillia’s subterranean predators. This technology, created by House Io to counter the Burrowers and Servitors of the Bryn'adûl, has the potential to render Lutrillia’s subterranean predators extinct within a few years, making it difficult, if not impossible for the creatures to hunt due to specialized friction fields designed to obstruct movement underground. Seeing the opportunity to create a new, more prosperous future for the Lutrillians, the Empire has sent its representatives, agents, and engineers to begin work on a network of anti-seismic generators across the planet, with the hope that one day, mobile predator cities will be a thing of the past.

However, fearing a threat to its hegemony, Sidenza’s deep cover and sleeper assets in Vlinpool have been activated to stop the project at all costs, from propagating misinformation to waging terrorist attacks, if necessary. As fears begin to mount, it is up to the Eternal Empire and her allies to uncover the conspiracy and ensure that the march of progress remains unabated.

Objective III: BYOO
Lutrillia is a vast, diverse world, with hundreds of mobile cities and settlements beyond Sidenza and Vlinpool. Explore and interact with any of these at your leisure, with the only limit being your imagination!

 

[Sasmay Cull]

WEAPONS: 4 Whimsy Knives, 1 Nastirci Combat Knife, 'FAE/M-01' Energy Blade, 1 HG-88 ‘Big Iron’ Hand Cannon, K914 SMG, (4) Elemental Grenades, (2) Impact Grenades, Phase X-E CryoSonic Heavy Pistol
EQUIPMENT: Armor with force mask atop UL-13 Corporis Skin Suit, Kirino Visual Interface
TAGS: Open
LOCATION: Sidenza, Capital Building

The singular crimson eye watched the city devour the ground in the unending search for more. As though the great hulking mass itself were starving, seeking out others of its kind to cannibalize to survive.

It hadn't been a hard thing to whisper sweet ideations of power and authority to those that believed it their right to such things. The hardest part had been keeping her presence within them. Acting as an adviser, she had not been given any ideas of her safety during the whole string of events that had led to this point.

Which suited her fine.

Those that sought to dethrone the woman had met the ground as their life bled from their throat. Or thrown as fuel to the engines that kept the heart of the great beast of a city beating. All of her efforts to divert attention away from those that now included her in their fold.

To distract the eye with one hand while the other held a dagger, someone had to step up and be the empty hand.

She breathed in the scent of Chaos that filled the air. Something was coming, and she was prepared as well as she was able. An escape craft in a discrete location. A scapegoat in the form of Argo Rex. Pieces in their proper places as she twirled the knife in her hand before sheathing it in the thigh holster.

Argo and the others watched her carefully, still untrusting of the woman that had suddenly filled a void and was brimming with ideas of how to secure their position.

Which was a healthy sign in her mind.

Though it mattered little in the end as she strode into the small private room allowed to her. Taking the mental step back from her disconnect in the force, her presence was little more detectable than those around her. Her armor donned and weapons secured, she waited for the inevitable eye of morality that floated through the galaxy to fixate on them.

To stem the tide of harm the flooded the void of authority to exert itself upon those unable to escape the coming storm.

"Rain rain go away, come again some other day." She spoke to no one as she strapped the sword to her side.

 

[Akemi Io]

Communication "verbal" <<technopathy>>

Loadout:
Loralora interceptor swoop
Gei Borugu Electro Spear
Light Saber (peony colour blade)
Laser Lance

The droid pulled the bloody end of her spear out of the chest of a man in tattered leather leather military uniform. Why did they choose death? She had trailed this town for days, its armour and Armament suited her purposes, she just needed to make some adjustments once she cleared out the original owners. Dirty scavengers and land pirates. She had offered to let the walk, but they refused and attacked her, she looked at the silver blood on thm healing wound on her arm, lucky shot, he only got one before she tore his throat out.

<<OK my new friend, let's see what we can do here>> she said mentally to the village sized walking machine, over 100m long and controlled by a central bridge that she now ruled. <<we will REND!! KILL!! DESTROY!!>> came back an aggressive metallic and grinding voice into her head.

<<oh dear, thats awful, let's fix that shall we>> the voice repeated a few times over until the griding and metallic was removed and a sweet feminine voice replaced it, not far from the voice of her favourite sister. The aggression she could keep, it would be needed.

Now was time for the real work, Akemi felt her psyche fully integrating with the machine and flowing into it's extremities, to Akemi's knowledge it was purely a mechanical take over, but for the force it was abominable as Mechu Deru twisted and warped the machine. The metal buildings that covered the upper surface and sides of the town crumpled in on themselves and curled up into a foil mimicking of a crustacean shell. Akemi had given the residents time to flee after she began slaughtering the armed guards and she saw the gathered crowds watching as she mutated their home. The mechanical legs found metallic tentacles wrapping around them and replacing the old pistons and gears with robotic articulated legs. And finally, the scavenging claws screamed as the metal twisted into horrible crab claws. A purple glow emanated from the bridge where Akemi say, wire from the new machine-monster wrapping around her beautiful female form and integrating her as a robotic pilot.

<<Now we hunt my sweet, lets turn the tables on these predatory cities and restore the balance of power here, onwards my pretty little thing>> thought Akemi to her newly mutated town sized robotic crab. <<as you wish mother>> replied Akemi's obedient machine.

 

[Lyssa Io]

Wearing: Nothing

Armed with: Outback Carbine.

With: Medical Nuetralizer Model 1 (007)

B1 Battle Droids (Upgrades, Droid Warfare Upgrade, Droid Wisdom Upgrade, Droid Anatomy Library, Droid Agility Upgrade, Droid Strength Upgrade) (42)

Equipment: Io Series Laser Carbine

Stun Grenades

Bacta Grenades

Stun Baton

"What the feth is it?" The Vlinpool Security Chief said as Lyssa Io waited in the scanning booth at one of the mobile City's many security checkpoints.

"I'm not sure. Thermal signature, electromagnetic signatures are...off..." The Scanning booth officer answered. "It's credentials check out, certainly. It's an Eternal Empire operative. But I think it's some kind of HRD."

"Like an Assassin Droid?" The Security Chief asked.

"Well, the weapon she submitted certainly isn't regulation..." The Officer answered, holding up the carbine she had submitted for inspection.

"Nasty piece of work...carbine sized sniper rifle." the officer explained. "Our scanners aren't sophisticated enough to get a read on her except as a solid mass..."

"Yet she has the proper credentials..." The Chief frowned. "Let it in but keep it quiet...I'll take full responsibility..."

"What about the others she brought with her?" The officer asked. "Because unlike Miss Silver Skin here, our scanners actually could get a better reading, and they scare the chit out of me. They claim they're medics...every thing screams combat grade HRD..."

The Chief sighed. "I'll take responsibility for them also..."

The Officer blinked, flipped the comm switch.

"Okay, you can go on through..." he told them.

Lyssa was the first through the booth, most of her body morphed to look like she wore a silvery catsuit with black spikes, blinked as her carbine and it's magazines were returned.

"Thank you." Lyssa said politely.

"Thank the fact that this planet is in desperate need of that Anti-Friction tech." The Chief said. "Normally, there are so many regulations you would have never been allowed in. But I've been instructed by certain interested parties to make an exception."

"You will not find me a disruptive force among you..." Lyssa promised.

Some of the lead technicians over seeing the testing and construction of just one of these machines had been injured in a bomb attack designed to disrupt construction of critical parts to the system within the cities factories. Other Prey cities, sick of the predations of cities like Sidenza, had started collaboration efforts also.

Lyssa walked around. A mobile city. A super sand crawler...

This technology could be... useful to the House, provided it was on a planet with enough room to move...

And enough enemy cities to raze.

Mother had been fascinated by the situation on this planet, as well as the concept of Municipal Predation as a whole. That alone had been enough to make her decide to supply the EE with this tech that they had never had the chance to really deploy during the Bryn'adul wars due to the enormous logistical difficulty of transport expenses with then current resources. The Battalion was heading to Sidenza to see how it was properly practiced.

Lyssa, the Medical Nuetralizers (all of whom looked exactly alike: Copies of blonde, fair skinned women in tight fitting armorweave silver gowns with exposed shoulders) and a number of modified B1 Battle Droids with their heads painted entirely blue strode through the packed together city streets, somewhat comfortable often due to the confined spaces aboard ships they were often on.

People gave them a wide birth. They had seen the B1 units before...pretty much everyone in the Galaxy knew what those were. But too perfect looks and too smooth and precise body movements of Lyssa and the Medical Nuetralizers gave away that something was terribly off about them.

Lyssa and the B1 units were to serve as escort for the replacement Techies the EE had sent...and to hunt down any terrorists. The Medical Nuetralizers were to treat the injured from the more recent bombings.

The B1's were "converts", Droids that had been smart enough to jump ship when the CIS had croaked. As Xiphos's stance on Droids were pretty well known they had gone to her, asking for both Citizen-Ship and Upgrades and received them. Now Xiphos was having some of them tested to see how they functioned with the upgrades.

Lyssa observed with detached interest the uncertain looks people gave them as they walked by. Mother had always said that Lyssa should be proud of herself...yet why did she feel so out of place with those stares?

The Medical Nuetralizers seemed to be particularly fascinated by the moving city, open breezes flowing through blond strands of hair. One paused for a moment, observing the act of a Mother nursing her baby out in the open, wondering if it might make for a good upgrade in case she had to take in babies to care for down the road, before resuming her task at hand.

Lyssa saw a man well dressed, standing on a nearby platform.

People, listen to my words! The Anti-Seismic System is an untrustworthy machine that will devastate the environment! It is a desperate ploy by the Wretched Eternal Empire to establish permanent hegemony over all of Lutrilla! We need to start thinking, instead, of negotiating with Sidenza..."

"Why is that?" Lyssa asked. "Sidenza is a Predator City that has stalked Vlinpool for years...why would they want to negotiate when you are not on an equal footing?"

"What would you know, Outsider. What would you or any of your clone freaks know about the situation on Lutrilla.

"We are not natives..." Lyssa acknowledged. "But we have good eyesight. Argo Rex is a tyrant. His city has consumed many others. He practically invented the concept of Municipal Predation, and is arguably it's Apex Adherent. What happens when there are no cities left to consume? His way of life will die. Lutrilla will lay cold save for the predators beneath the dirt. And what evidence do you have that the Seismic System is flawed?"

"Oh c'mon, Outsider! An Anti-Friction field that prevents all movement beneath the earth? How will that not have adverse effects on the environment?"

"You have still not stated your evidence, I noticed." Lyssa commented.

"Bah! Begone with you, Outsider!"

"I think you're full of chit and you're in Sidenza's pocket." Lyssa said plainly.

"I've got better places to be than where I am being pestered by an outsider!" the man snorted.

"Go take your nose back to Rex's ass. Get it good and brown before picking up your check." Lyssa said in just as affect-less a tone.

"That...that was actually a pretty savage burn." the man said in a quiet admittance before walking off.

Lyssa turned to one of the Medical Nuetralizers, named Greta.

"Greta, how much XP was that worth?"

"Savage Burns are worth Forty Two at last internal estimate by the system Amy and Laertia set up, Older Sister."

"Log it." Lyssa replied casually, heading towards the Safe House with the B1's, the Medical Nuetralizers splitting off to the Hospital.