Welcome to the Jungle (Ossus)

[Darth Carnifex]

Lord Infinitous followed the group of Knights into the village, merely content to stay on the edge of combat and observe their fighting skills in action. His emerald eyes scanned over the carnage with a detached impassioned glare, feeling the dark side flood the village like a tidal wave of emotions yet showing nothing that would indicate he took note of it. "The Hammer falls, and the Ysanna have become the anvil on which these children's bloodlust shall be sated. A feast, this is." His eyes were drawn to a familiar Twi'lek form dancing through a sea of corpses, and he crossed his arms in front of his chest and leaned back against a nearby tree and watched Anaya display her strength and speed.

 

[John Harrison]

@[member="Velok"]

"If you say so." John stumbled back onto his feet, reigniting his lightsaber and holding it by his side as he summoned the force to give him strength. His anger, but also his fear was flowing thickly, the sheer rage brought upon by battle coursing through his veins.

He had familiarised himself somewhat with the blade, and so he felt confident as he heard the battle cries of the Ysanna grow louder and fiercer. "What's your plan?" John asked nervously as he prepared his Soresu stance. "Please tell me there's a plan."

 

[Ashin Varanin]

@[member="John Harrison"]

Velok pointed at the sky. "What shall we do? We shall have faith, son."

And Sirella's gunship roared overhead, spraying the Ysanna with heavy weapons fire. Concussions thrashed those buildings which weren't burning, and the ring of Ysanna around Velok and his student died, burning. The Whiphid roared joyously, spraying the Ysanna with crimson lightning.

The violence began to die down. Finally.

"Faith in our lords and masters," he said with thick irony, breathing heavily.

 

[Nisha Decrilla]

Red light dance as the stink of burnt flesh filled Anaya's nostrils. Sirella's plants gave her new levels to fight from and she leapt form the circle she had joined and as the fighting began to die down she deactivated her blades and surveyed the carnage, lightening cracking from her fingers to immobile those that were still moving.

She felt eyes upon and lifted her sight from the writhing mass of dead and dying to find Kaine watching her. Clipping her lightsabers to her belt she stepped down from her green spot of surveillance and moved through the battle her eyes on her lover. A warrior rose to his feet staggering, breaking her line of sight, her hands snaked out wrapping around his head and kicking it a savage twist, snapping his neck and moving him from her line of sight once more.

She abandoned the battle field, what was left could be dealt with by those that remained, she had another hunger that needed filling. Closing in on Kaine she place a bloody hand on his armour and pushed him back into the tree line out of sight her other hand finding the controls to remove his helmet and lifting it free before pulling it free and kissing him passionately.

Pulling away a wicked smile appeared on her face and she replaced the helmet before bouncing away back to the battle field. She began to move among the wounded, ending them with slow force chokes so she could watch the light fade from their eyes.

 

[Lord Ghoul]

As Shorn clipped Derriphan back onto his belt, he could feel the rage leave him in a rush. Along with it, a great deal of that intoxicating power. What was this blade doing to him? He swore he could have heard it whisper in his mind, but that was nothing compared to the overwhelming sense of anger that flared to life within him like a wildfire in the brush every time he touched the dragon hilt. Rash action wasn't something Mikhail normally cared about, but he was not one to roar and rage. The Soulsaber, as he now knew it, was a nexus of the Dark Side intended to corrupt. It was a weapon of destruction. Nothing more. Mikhail should have expected some adverse reactions, but, like always, he charged ahead blindly. At what cost? Cost? Who cares about cost anymore?

Mikhail followed the group to the nearby village. He watched passively with cold, blue eyes. "Why am I still alive?" Ysanna died left and right as Mikhail walked near the village square. Blaster bolts whizzed past, but he plodded on, heedless, or simply not caring if they hit him or not. But the Ysanna were more focused on those wielding lightsabers and Force powers than a seemingly unarmed man. Blaster bolts snapped at the ground near his feet, hissing. Precognition tingled on the back of Mikhail's neck. He activated his lightsaber just in time to deflect an incoming shot. Raising a hand, he balled it into a fist, sealing the Ysanna's carotids shut. It fell unconscious seconds later. A few more and it was dead. "I persist in the struggle of life," Mikhail muttered to himself, a frown on his face. Yet, Derriphan filled him with a fire for the fight. He would fight to live, if nothing else. "I guess now I fight for the laughs."

Joining in on the massacre, Mikhail began to strike down the indigenous population. A numbness ran through him. He still felt impulsive anger, but no guilt. No regret. He killed without remorse, slaying primitive Ysanna left and right. They fought to defend their home from an invasion. They fought for freedom from enslavement by the Sith. They fought for their families. Mikhail slew for a continued empty existence. He knew it was wrong. He just didn't care anymore.

Mikhail grasped a nearby Ysanna, lifting her into the air. Mikhail's blade shot forward like a javelin, propelled by the Force. The violet saber impaled her through the stomach. Mikhail dropped her and the weapon snapped back into his palm. Her's would be a slow death. Mikhail whirled to see a masked Ysanna attacking with some sort of vibroweapon. He danced aside, parrying, then gave a light, answering riposte to the knee. The native fell to one knee. Shorn swung. The headless body fell. After a while, Mikhail began to lose count. When the fighting began to die down, he stood amidst a pile of scattered bodies. To an undiscerning eye, it seemed they had been eviscerated. Yet, all were neatly dissected with the efficiency of Makashi. Mikhail glanced from the dead to the wafting columns of black smoke rising from the hovels. Sith did not know mercy.

Pale eyes surveyed the village. Velok rampaged about with his apprentice. A Yevetha was annihilating the villagers. Some ways away Anaya and Kaine were kissing passionately, before the Twi'lek hopped away to dispatch natives who had not already had enough taken from them. Mikhail smirked. He wondered if Kaine had found out about Anaya's little foray with her fellow Champion. He didn't particularly care, but the reaction would be entertaining. Mikhail continued to stand where he was, surrounded by corpses....wondering why he wasn't one of them.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

MSE looked over the carnage, squealing with anticipation as his blaster cooled down. Any more of this and his precious weapon would melt down. But there were so many Ysanna to kill, even after the Sith and the gunship demolished most of the village. So, so many.

His tiny brain came up with the concept of beauty and applied it to the tableau.

"Beep beep!"*

*Let us land and go forth to eradicate the infestation, o dark mistress! If any of these Sith match the @[member="Red Queen"] for grandeur, it is you.

 

[Sirella Valkner]

Sirella smiled at the small droid understanding its binary language. She smiled at it's compliment and ordered the ship to land. The gunship swooped in low, it's weapons clearing a path for the small droid and the plant sith. Sirella jumped out of the gunship as it hovered above the ground. She looked back to see the small mouse droid pop a major wheelie as it jumped at full speed from the vessels bay. It landed and skid crossed the ground coming to a halt, blaster firing. Sirella larced lightning acros the field at a group of warriors charging the pair. "We're in this together little one," she said to the droid. It wasn't a plant, but at least it wasn't meat.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

To MSE-007, the physical realities of the situation translated to symbolic meaning -- or, in other terms, single variables. The titanic storm of lightning meant 'shelter', or 'safety', even as it crackled above MSE's equivalent of a head. He skidded under the lightning, blaster flaring.

The last major group of Ysanna fell. Though violence might continue, MSE's contamination-detection algorithms suggested that the battle was over.

 

[Allyson Locke]

Spencer watched the carnage and wondered why she had been called. The work she had done with Ashin was to keep peace and avoid the slaughter of the villages. The suffering caused her a bit of pain and she looked at Sirella with confusion. This wasn’t what she had expected; she had seen someone on their side murdered because of his lack of formalities. Taking a deep breath, Spencer closed her eyes and centered herself, she couldn’t lose it here. Seeing that her usual tactics were of no use she frowned.

"Why was I called for this...?"

After a moment she found her focus and headed into the jungle, she ran quickly using the force as if she was heading towards something. Her hand pressed on the Sith mask she wore within the Empire. A small transport waited for her, a woman stood outside and bowed to the girl. She nodded returning the sign of respect to the pilot.

“Mistress Sanctuary, I received your signal everything okay – have we taken Ossus.”

“Eventually, I’m leaving early to report to my Master. I do hate wasting my time.”

Nodding the woman shuffled her and the girl up into the shuttle and quickly left the planet.

**Spencer out**

 

[John Harrison]

@[member="Velok"]

"If I'm entirely honest, that was... disappointing." John remarked, still breathing heavily. "I had been rather looking forward to dismembering these primitives." Deactivating his lightsaber, he placed it back on his belt. "What now?" The cries of the remaining Ysanna as they mourned their dead and fumbled about in confusion was a satisfying one, and one he was glad to hear.

"No more lightning though, please. Not for a while."

 

[Ashin Varanin]

@[member="John Harrison"]

"Calm yourself, Iago," said the Whiphid enigmatically. "The Ysanna are not to be underestimated. We would have risked much, surrounded by Force-sensitives like them." He returned his lightsabre to his belt and walked through the carnage. "Follow me."

A certain hut, half-torn apart, sat at the edge of the village. "See how this hut is at the edge? This is what you do for your witch doctors. Keep them close, but not too close. They're dangerous, but they're the gateway to the dark, the wall against the night." He ducked into the hut and knelt beside the dying witch doctor, beckoning to John. "Now pay attention. I'll teach you this technique in more completeness later, but time is of the essence."

He began to drain knowledge from the witch doctor.

 

[Valik]

Valik, surrounded by a myriad of Ysanna with Anaya Fen and @Onasius Gruel, took his saber and cut down the Ysanna, careful not to get in the way of the Empress's Champion as she twirled her dual blades about. Valik had found a simple shock then slice combo was rather efficient, the lightning from his hands stunning the Ysanna in pain and readying them for dismemberment. He stormed from foe to foe, shocking and slicing and pushing and whirling. Lightsaber combat was by no means Valik's strength, but to the primitive unarmed Ysanna his weaker trait did not matter, as his lightsaber simply did not slow down, whether it was hitting sword, spear, armor or flesh.

He continued his trek onwards, rather easily dispatching the charging Ysanna. He was surprised they had not convereged on their beasts and began attacking them with animals, but still they came armed with sword, spear, club, mace, or any sort of melee weapon they could forge. Eventually Valik began to sense the presence of a master, and made his way towards the signature. Any who ran would be caught in the Sith Lord's wrath, so it was a win-win if the Ysanna fought or run.

Valik saw a Sith, a pale human, but even without his Force Senses he could tell the man was not the Master. He had a green and unexperienced look to him. He looked around and saw a small hut, a bit isolated from the rest of the world, and felt something . . . something. Valik couldn't determine what was happening, but something in his senses went berserk. He felt as if an old, ancient technique was at use. He turned to the apprentice @[member="John Harrison"].

"Apprentice, what was that? That shift in the air. What technique was that?"

 

[Ashin Varanin]

@[member="John Harrison"] @[member="Valik"]

"It was the holy grail," Velok murmured, draining knowledge from the Ysanna as the holy man died.

 

[Valik]

Valik looked at the huge Sith Whiphid and in his mind, knew what had happened without having to ask. The only thing that could qualify as a 'holy grail' to the Sith would be power, and there was no power to be found in some Ysanna Mystic-man. The only thing he had to offer in the ways of power was knowledge, through mastery of obscure Force techniques that would have naturally been created though the Ysanna's unique experience with the Force. Somehow the large furry man had absorbed or stolen the Ysanna's knowledge. A technique to steal the knowledge of other beings, the thought of such a thing was beautiful, almost intoxicating. But Valik had never heard of any of the Sith Lords having such a power, which meant it was either very difficult, only for the strongest of masters, or it had a price that many were unwilling to play. Perhaps even it was both. Valik pondered on what price or power was necessary, and could not dismiss it from his mind. He turned to the large Whiphid @[member="Velok"]

"What price would one have to pay to find the 'Holy Grail'?"

 

[John Harrison]

@[member="Valik"] @[member="Velok"]

Turning in confusion as he heard the Knight speak, John stepped back to allow him close access. The Whiphid spoke of a 'holy grail' but he knew not what it was, but it was likely another one of his cryptic statements that would become unravelled in time. Nevertheless, the Knight asked as to its literal description, a decision that John was thankful for, and glad to have not made himself.

(This was a really awkward situation to post in)

 

[Ashin Varanin]

@[member="Valik"] @[member="John Harrison"]

Velok sat back on his haunches as the Ysanna holy man expired. He closed the man's eyes and stood, then claimed a certain tribal totem and slipped it into a pocket of his robes.

"The price we pay for knowledge is always high, but delayed. Honestly, the price of this power is the same as the price of any other Dark Side power. Corruption of the body. It's also not the sort of thing one does lightly, because it leaves one vulnerable in the moment. Distance, helplessness -- these things are often necessary. If I was to use this power on you, given the difference between our strengths, I could quite likely succeed -- but you might strike me down in the moments when my attention was elsewhere.

"It's also not the sort of thing one does to anyone useful. It's frequently traumatic to the non-Force-using victim, anywhere from brain damage to coma to amnesia to pain. Control over this technique is appropriate for a high-level Knight or a specialist, and even then, you may not get the results you want.

"Ultimately, though, it's only rare...because few people know the technique. It's not the sort of thing one can learn by oneself. And I only teach it rarely.

"Now, my apprentice here is a specialist in similar fields, and he has paid in patience and blood to learn this power."

He used it now on Harrison, but in reverse, and his knowledge of Drain Knowledge fountained into the skull of his Apprentice, along with significant pain.

"What price would you pay, Valik?"

 

[Valik]

(Sorry for making thins awkward Khan)

@[member="Velok"] @[member="John Harrison"]

"Any price is worth the possibility of infinite knowledge." Valik replied nearly instantly. It wasn't even a question to Valik, the abilty to absorb teaching from others, bypass weeks, even months of training to learn a new technique. Not to mention the scientific applications, or bypassing interrogation with a few drugs and some concentration. To have such a fluid method of knowledge transfer and absorption would be invigorating.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

@[member="John Harrison"] @[member="Valik"]

Velok grunted. "The last man who told me he could pay any price...well, I stabbed him and didn't let him deal with it. I turned him, bit by bit, into a Sion-esque Lord of Pain. I broke him and made him a monster. The simplest way to teach you the direct mind-to-mind acquisition of knowledge would be to scoop your brain out of your skull and put it in a jar. So think very carefully when you talk about any price.

"Something for something else. Quid pro quo. You're known as an alchemist; I could use an assistant. Come with me to Nam Chorios later, and we'll see what we can do. Once I name Harrison here a Sith Knight, he'll be coming with me to that world...to learn special, special things."

 

[John Harrison]

@[member="Velok"] @[member="Valik"]

Clutching his skull as he felt the excruciating pain brought on by Velok's impromptu use of force-drain, Harrison collapsed to the floor, rocking slowly as he regained his senses and recovered from the unexpected shock.

Crawling onto one knee, he stared up at the Whiphid, catching his words as he spoke of him learning 'special things' upon a world, the name of which he was yet to hear. "Special things...?" Fully confident that the Whiphid was filled to the brim with twisted and horrid knowledge, he asked so tentatively, hoping Velok wouldn't exercise any more unusual powers upon him.

 

[Lord Ghoul]

"So we kill off all the villagers and now it's storytime with Velok? Gold stars all around," Mikhail rolled his eyes as he strode over to the Whipid, Valik and Velok's apprentice. Sometimes, Sith could behave like children. Very, very bad children with future-psychopath burned into their foreheads. Still, it wouldn't stop him from getting involved. After all, he was aware of the problem, but it didn't stop him from being part of it.

The dark haired Sith stepped gingerly over the eviscerated bodies. Death rose in the air. Literally. The smell of burnt flesh made Mikhail sick. His wrinkled his nose in open disgust at the acrid, nauseating scent which permeated the air. He smelled vomit too, and urine and feces. Many defecated while dying, unable to control themselves. Some thought battle was glorious, but only to those who enjoyed killing. Mikhail did. In the moment. But the moment was over. Battlefields were ugly again.

Valik was not the only one who had witnessed Velok teaching his apprentice some unnatural abilities. Naturally, Mikhail wanted in. "So, do I get to be part of the cool Velok force powers club?"