We, The People | TAE Dominion of Dredd (AM-36)

[Salij-Nekt]

Objective: Strike Team
Allies: [member="Darth Tacitus"] [member="Celeste Cavataio"] [member="Srina Talon"]
Post: 8
Loadout: Pole-axe and Modified Armor

Salij bowed to Tacitus, saluting. "Honor to be here with you" Salij said, followed by some Anubian murmurings. He held Tacitus highly in respect. The man had such overwhelming power, that the Anubian sometimes could not simply comprehend it.

Salij-Nekt followed as soon as Celeste beckoned for them to move on. Then suddenly, she put her hand up for them to stop. Salij stopped and looked about. Where were they? There did not seem to be a temple, or any structure. So then where was...this eye that had been spoken of? While deep in thought, Salij neglected to see just what Celeste was doing. So when the ground opened up, he stepped back quickly out of surprise. Like a tomb almost, the ground had opened! A secret tomb, or a temple. This had Salij overjoyed, that they had finally reached the place.

He gazed down. Down the stairs, deep into the earth of the planet. Tacitus led the way, and Salij brought up the rear, holding his pole ax in one hand. If anything came from behind, he would be ready to face it.

 

[Srina Talon]

Location: Dredd
Group: Strike Team
Tags: [member="Celeste Cavataio"] | [member="Darth Tacitus"] | [member="Asteria deWinter"] | [member="Salij-Nekt"]

The small woman paused from her partially hidden position beside [member="Darth Tacitus"] when a woman spoke. She brought up the role that she had played on Haven and the Echani nodded her head slowly, though, she had not met her then. She had been too preoccupied with the skeletal remains trying to do away with the members of the Eye that were trying to end the darkness that plagued the mountain. The monster, and then the trip down the blackest pit she had ever been, took precedence over any sort of pleasantries.

Regardless, the Force Witch, or whatever she may be seemed to approve of her offer of assistance. Srina listened quietly about what the ‘Ancient Powers’ may have required from them and tried to consider what her forte may have been. She was the Apprentice of Sith Lord, however, she had also been touched by the Spirit Ichor. Her abilities could be described as powerful, hectic at best, but powerful nonetheless.

The Overlord at her side addressed his people first in which the Echani took no offense. His smile was enough, more than words, and she returned it in her own way. She wasn’t an unfriendly woman, not exactly, but not part of her could be considered warm or kind when there was a mission on the table. Quietly, she spoke to Kainan Wolfe as she fell into step beside him, rather amused at his method of requesting her attendance. “You know…You could have just phoned over the Holo-Net.”

“Or… Were you just testing me to see if I could find you?”

It was a legitimate question, one of many, but soon enough the only other female among them stopped and the ground began to move. Srina watched the play of Force ability with careful silver orbs. There always seemed to be some sort of layer when it came to powers that masqueraded as forces of nature. She always tried to see what lay beyond, so that if it came down to it, she could understand the technique behind it.

When the staircase was revealed the white-haired woman followed the group down. She didn’t bother pulling out her lightsaber, yet, because the light that exuded from the four the Overlord wielded was more than enough. Beyond that, the Sith Apprentice used the Force to feel through the black, taking note of the uneven ground and rough-edged walls.

Forward, ever forward. Srina kept her eyes toward the front. Whatever lay before them would likely attack them head-on, verses from behind them, since there had been some sort of effort to conceal the entrance. The Echani paused when she heard something, the sound of scraping, combined with rapid movements. In the Force she could feel an energy. A pattern. Breathing.

“We are not alone.”

 

[Celeste Cavataio]

Team: Strike Team
Posts: 5
Allies: [member="Darth Tacitus"] [member="Asteria deWinter"] [member="Salij-Nekt"] [member="Srina Talon"]

"We are not," Celeste agreed. She could sense their moments; dark, moving through the soil. She was willing to bet that they would soon enough be dealing with some kind of worms of usual sizes. At least, in terms of what could burst through these walls made of sad. Down the stairs, towards where their merry group was walking, worse things could be lurking.

Celeste paused, hitting the wall with hand once before flattening her arm against it. Faint vibrations could be seen in the wall, if anyone dared look. She sent them out, pushing through all there was and as far as she could reach. If they were dealing with worms indeed, then the vibrations would mark their path, and send them the other way. Worms had no eyes to see with, and relied on other senses to know where to go. She'd considered for a moment to harden the soil, to make their advancement harder, but that would have required more energy and was not certain to work.

Only when she could sense them indeed move away and go back to the general direction they'd come from, did she release her arm, and exhale.

"There will be things lurking downstairs that I cannot remove in advance," she spoke, "but at least they will not be fortified by worms of unusual sizes."

 

[Kainan Wolfe]

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Post #5​

Attn: [member="Celeste Cavataio"] | [member="Asteria deWinter"] | [member="Srina Talon"] | [member="Salij-Nekt"]​

​

• Strike Team Mission
  Deploying From Orbit, Planet Dredd

It took some time after the Echani worded her question, before Tacitus answered her. "I did not, in fact, summon you here," he said. "I already knew you would come," the mysterious Overlord spoke, pausing for a moment to extend his senses into the darkness. "Our paths tend to converge in moments such as these and when dealing with the Force, there are never any coincidences," he explained.

"Everything in the universe, falls into certain patterns. Mathematical chains of cause and effect that link everything and everyone that exists, organizing everything and making events follow the ordered structure of linear time," he continued, turning his head to look her straight in the eye. "Taking into account every variable is impossible, however not all variables are equally important. One can learn to find the predictable patterns and thus, see the bigger picture. From there, to calculating the probability of a certain event, is a simple enough task," the Overlord spoke, revealing the true extent of his intellect. "Time itself, is linear. Like a river, it flows ever in one direction, ever forward. And if one can learn to look into the past and find the patterns, then one can predict certain aspects of the future. It is kind of like knowing that the sun will rise again next morning. How do you know that? Because it rose each morning before that. Of course, this is on a much bigger scale," he explained to Srina and the rest of the group, before looking back into the darkness ahead of them. "What was, will be. What will be... was."

This was the great secret to his many achievements, to how he had managed to take control of the situation so many times and turn things in his favor. It was why he always managed to be three steps ahead of almost everyone. His greatest power was not his skill in combat, or his strength in the Force. It was his keen, calculating mind that could anticipate things that others could not, enabling him to take control of the situation and steer it in the direction he wanted. For, if one can predict the future, even a little part of it, then he could control it.

Sensing the witch extending her will into the rippling currents of the Force, Tacitus observed for a few moments, before nodding his appreciation. He, too, could sense the dark, twisted presence of the creatures that were even now rushing forward towards them. Celeste's trick had robbed them of a powerful advantage.

It was not long before they made their way to their destination, an ominous, moss-covered hall, carved out of stone by the fingers of countless generations, fingers that had gnawed themselves to the bone, shaping this dark chamber, this twisted temple of insanity and corruption.

A golden casket stood at the center of the room, lit by torches fixed atop human skulls, on top of a pedestal of human bones. Within the shadows, things moved. Ragged, twisted things that were no longer human or alien, but something else. Something lower, somewhere between beast and man. They darted back and forward, stopping at the edge of the light for a moment and disappearing back, like skittish bats afraid of the light. A ragged, wispy voice broke through the darkness.

"Food," it spoke, with such a hunger and malice that it would freeze any weak-willed individual on the spot. "Food... has come... to take Precious..." the voice continued, pausing, as if struggling to remember the words. Other voices echoed it from the darkness. "Food... will not take Precious... It is food..." the creature said, slowly shambling its way into the light.

It might have been human, once, or something else. Now, it was covered in a ragged garment of human and alien skin, studded here and there with fragments of bones that bore the marks of being chewed on. It wore a mask made of human skull and the creature's nose had been cut, revealing a bloody, gaping hole in its face. Its eyes were bloodshot and insane, looking at the party with glee as it raised a pale, bony finger towards them. Opening its mouth revealed a row of yellowed, broken teeth as it issued forward a command to its followers. "Eat."

The darkness exploded into motion. Creatures like the one which stood beside the pedestal, rushed forward like a tidal wave, uttering wordless screams of rage. Some held knives, some held a few decrepit blasters, while other had nothing besides their teeth and fingers, nearly tripping over the ragged forms of their own comrades in their depraved, twisted desire to reach their prey.

"Abominations," Tacitus spoke, his tone betraying the utter disgust that he felt for the insane cannibals. "Leave none alive. Kill them all," he ordered. The Wolfguards were the first ones to open fire, quickly followed by the Blackwatch death squad. Slugthrower and blaster fire from both sides lit the chamber in brief flashes, while the Overlord's lightsabers flicked this way and that, deflecting blaster bolts as he, too, advanced inexorably forward, like an unstoppable, malevolent force against the twisted tide. Before any of the cultists could get close to him, he extended his left hand into the air and grasped at the swirling currents of the Darkside, bending them to his will, forcing them to coalesce into a midnight-black shaft of crystalized Darkside energy, showing his near-mastery over the technique known as Darkshear. The weapon in his left hand, was pure death given form.

The cannibals seemed to pause for a brief moment, perhaps sensing the dark power that stood against them. Tacitus used this time to thrust his spear forward, right through the chest of the nearest cultist, before whipping it out, only to follow with a swipe of his black lightsaber, which carved three more cannibals into halves. His three red lightsabers bathed the chamber in a crimson light, casting fantastical shadows across the walls as they floated about, darting in and out seemingly of their own volition, leaving corpses in their wake.

The invading party had firepower, strength and skill on their side. The insane cultists had numbers and raw ferocity. This would be a bloody battle, but Tacitus smiled, unconcerned. He already knew what the outcome would be.

 

[Salij-Nekt]

Objective: Strike Team
Allies: [member="Darth Tacitus"] [member="Celeste Cavataio"] [member="Srina Talon"]
Post: 9
Loadout: Pole-axe and Modified Armor

Salij-Nekt stuck to the rear as they descended. They soon reached a room with a pedestal with a golden casket atop it. He could hear sounds, and sensed many presences within the area. There were many. To Tacitus' words, the Anubian responded. "They shall perish by my blade" the Anubian growled under his breath. He had no knowledge of how many of these things there were. Suddenly, movement burst from the shadows. Salij roared and swung his axe as he went at them, cutting at them. Some had old blasters that could barely fire. He cut those in front and at his sides down, whirling his axe about. They had the numbers, but he had the energy and the power and the weapon. And the allies.