Ask Deadzone

[Darth Tempest]

Of all the missions that Vahliri had undertaken recently as a Champion, this was certainly the strangest to date. For months now, officials all through the Empire had been left perplexed after completely losing contact with the Imperial Research Station known only as IRB-009. Situation deep within the Utegetu Nebula, the station was managed by the Imperial Research Bureau - while the work they conducted there was kept highly-classified to all but the highest ranking Imperials. Thus, it was especially alarming when the station had disappeared without a trace - all communications coming back at static as the entire station seemingly vanished into hyperspace.

For all intents and purposes, the station had erased itself from the face of the Galaxy - as if it had never even existed at all. Until less than one week ago.

Just as abruptly as it had vanished, IRB-009 had resurfaced within the Utegetu Nebula once more - its distress beacons engaged to be picked up by Imperial relay stations and near-by vessels. After numerous attempts to communicate with the station had gone unanswered, a team was finally dispatched to investigate the matter in person - consisting of Vahliri, a contingent of soldiers and the Acolyte that had been assigned to accompany her. They had no idea what they would find when they arrived, but their objective would be to report back whatever had happened to IRB-009 and its team of scientists.

Hours passed before the blur of Hyperspace finally began to still - the stars solidifying into singular points on the horizon as their shuttle dropped into the system. Vahliri was seated within the cockpit and behind the controls of the ship, manually guiding their shuttle during the last leg of their journey. The half-Annfyn was adorned in her signature black-and-red Sith robes, while her black hair was tied back into a half-up-half-down style. The curved hilt of the woman’s lightsaber hung at her hip, while the air around her was ever-so-sweetly scented with the perfume she always wore.

Almost immediately, Vahliri’s eyes were drawn towards the Gas Giant that dominated the horizon - as well as the dark silhouette of the Research Station just up ahead. From the outside, nothing appeared visible wrong with the station - no catastrophic eternal damage or critical failures to note as they previously suspected. Which, of course, made the entire situation weirder.

After a few moments, Vahliri finally glanced towards the Acolyte sitting across from her - regarding him for but a moment before speaking. “Open a transmission with the station. If we don’t get a response.. We’ll move next to board.”

@Braden

 

[Wodan]

Wodan still hated space travel, even though much of his past twelve months had been planet side, the sweet sickly smell of the inside of a floating tin can quickly brought back painful memories he would rather leave buried. He had tried to sleep for the first part of their journey hoping that slumber could pass some of the time, but he was quickly awoken by the nightmares the shuttle's scent brought on. Fire, blood and destruction, Firrerro.

The blue light of hyperspace glinted off his eyes as he looked out of the shuttles' viewport, his mind lost in the gradeouse plans of vengeance and retribution, seemingly the only thing that kept his mind clear of the depressing memories of his past. Those plans were swept aside however as the blue corridor collapsed into the black void of realspace. The light red-orange glow of the Gas Giant’s swirling surface brought a warm touch to the shuttle's interior. Wodan looked over at the Half-Annfyn, Vahliri his superior and commander of this little mission. The red and black Sith robes sat well on the woman, confidence flowed from her posture as she instructed him on their next moves.

“Yes Mamm.” He replied, turning back to the panel before him. Unlike the Sith Champion, Wodan wore more conventional armour, the Acolyte still uncomfortable with the flowing robes of the Sith Order. The helmet sat in the locker behind the co-pilot chair with his Spear and lightsaber. Reaching forward he flicked a couple of switches to activate the comms system. “Research Station IRB-009, this is Shuttle-041 of the Imperial Second Fleet please come in.” Then they waited, nothing. Flicking open the comms again. “Research Station IRB-009, this is Shuttle-041 of the Imperial Second Fleet, we are under orders of Darth Anaris herself. Reply or we will be forced to report to the Imperial Warden.” The Woman would have had jurisdiction over this research facility and beside the Empress or Dark Lord was probably the only person the Station commander was afraid of.

Still no answer.

@Altaris

 

[Darth Tempest]

Vahliri took a few moments to regard the Firrerreo that sat beside her - watching him as he leaned forth to open a communication channel with the research station. She didn’t know him beyond this mission, and yet it didn’t seem so long ago that the half-Annfyn had been sitting in exactly his position. While it didn’t manifest on the surface, she still hadn’t grown entirely accustomed to leading the Acolyte’s during these expeditions - and she doubted that was something she would get used to anytime soon.

She pushed the thought down when Wodan spoke - his attempts to flag the research station and subsequent warnings going completely unanswered. After months of failed attempts to reach the crew supposedly aboard, Vahliri couldn’t exactly say she was surprised by the development.

Strangely enough, however, both of the Sith would see that the lines of communication were patched through, despite the deafening silence that gripped the comms channel. Someone had answered the phone, even if no reply had come.

There was a complicated look etched into Vahliri’s face for a few moments - amber eyes lingering on the viewport ahead as she still gripped the controls. “Looks like we’re boarding, then.” She finally said, glancing over towards Wodan. “I don’t know for certain what we’ll find when we board.” Had the crew simply vanished from the station? Had they been killed? Something else? Only time would tell. “But.. Prepare yourself for anything.” She glanced back to the locker where the Firrerreo’s spear and lightsaber were stashed - giving him a nod before facing back ahead.

Within moments, Vahliri began to steer their shuttle towards one of IRB-009’s unattended landing bays. From there, they would be able to disembark and begin their investigation of the facility properly. Before they could get much closer, however, the communications channels once more lit up. Vahliri initially glanced over to Wodan - expecting to see the Acolyte trying a third time to communicate with the station. It didn’t take her more than a second or two to realize that wasn’t the case, however, and that the channel had been opened by someone on the other side.

Within moments, the cockpit was filled with the sound of static from the other line - as if some interference was blocking clear communication between the two vessels. What was audibly, however, was the distinct sound of scratching that could be heard coming from something on the research station - like the high-pitched noise of metal gouging and dragging across metal. Who - or what - was responsible for the noise didn’t immediately reveal itself, and the transmission would only last for a few moments before cutting out entirely

And once more, there was silence.

@Braden

 

[Wodan]

He gave the Champion a swift nod as she informed them their next step was to board the station. Wodan was once again glad that he was not in command of another person’s life, he had still yet to fully comprehend what had happened on Atravis. Those screams still haunted him when he closed his eyes at night, the smell of burning flesh filling his nose every time he switched on a stove. “Yes Mamm.” Wodan replied, unbuckling himself from his seat and moving to the small locker behind. He checked his gear, not for the first time this flight and probably not the last time before they would land, a habit he had picked up over the past few weeks, something to keep his mind off what was about to happen once they landed.

His back was to the comm panel, checking over a small blaster pistol when it lit up. The high pitched screech of static reverberated through the silent cockpit almost causing Wodan to drop the blaster pistol on his hand. His head spun around to look at the comm panel and Vahliri, he stared at the small green dot just below the speaker which signalled an incoming transmission as the sound of metal on metal filled the cabin. Then the light went red and silence once again filled the void between the two Sith. Every hair on the Acolytes body was standing on edge, fear coursed through his veins. What was happening on that station? Why were they heading towards it?

Wodan still held the blaster in his hand as his gaze shifted up to the slowly approaching station. His mind raced about ways to avoid whatever had caused that noise, for every fibre of his being was telling him that whatever was on that station should stay there and he should return home. His mouth was ajar, words trying to come out. ‘Lets leave, blow it up, ignore it, let's go home.’ But nothing came as they drifted slowly closer.

@Altaris

 

[Darth Tempest]

To say that Vahliri was perturbed by the weirdness coming from the station up ahead was a marked understatement. Almost at once, the half-Annfyn’s brows furrowed together and her jet set tightly - unable to quite vocalize a response to what they both had just heard. The static and interference on the channel made it impossible to even begin to discern what had made the sound - but there was something about it that made every hair on Vahliri’s body stand on edge. Every primal instinct and voice in her head told her to get the hell out of dodge.

All the same, what options did they have? Their orders were to investigate and report back their findings, and the half-Annfyn wasn’t about to be deterred in her objective.

“I have a feeling we’re going to have company when we arrive.” Vahliri said eerily, her eyes narrowing ever-so-slightly. Despite the warning, she continued right along their course - guiding their Imperial shuttle directly into one of the research station’s hangar bays - the atmospheric shielding allowing the ship to slip inside without issue.

And the moment they did, Vahliri could feel a chill run up her spine. Through the viewport window, they would immediately be able to see the ruined state of the hanger bay - from the destroyed shuttles to the cargo crates that were scattered, their contents littering the floor. It looked as if something had physically torn through the bay - and the durasteel doors at the end of the room - connecting the bay to the rest of the ship - had been physically torn off their hinges - sparks of electricity jumping from the exposed mechanisms.

Once more, Vahliri felt the urge to get away from the research station as quickly as possible. All the same, she inhaled a breath through her nostrils as she rose up from the pilot’s chair. The unignited hilt of the half-Annfyn’s lightsaber snapped into her hands - fingers curling tightly around the shaft of metal. “Stay close..” She muttered, making her way towards the exit ramp.

@Braden

 

[Wodan]

Wodan didn’t reply to the Champion, there was no need, they both knew that whatever they had signed up for wasn’t this. He turned back away from the women and the viewport trying to calm himself with the task of once again checking over his gear. Blaster, helmet, spear, blaster, helmet, spear he checked them all twice as the shuttle slipped into the hanger bay. A cold shiver ran down his spine forcing him to uncontrollably shake slightly, as whatever vile presence that called the station its home slowly began to sink into the Firrerrian.

The shuttle came to a stop hovering in the centre of the hanger, the hissing from the hydraulics as the legs extended echoing through the silent cockpit as Wodan placed on his helmet. For a moment the world was black before the HUD lit up showing him details about himself and his weapon. Holstering the blaster he turned to see the carnage of the hanger bay beyond. Though he had little time to stop and stare as Vahliri moved away from the cockpit and towards the exit ramp. Grasping his spear he followed after her.

He gave the women a stiff nod as they stepped out into the half obliterated hanger bay. Sparks still radiated from the destroyed shuttles to their left and right, evidence of fires and the fire suppression system spread across the durasteel floor. The erie doors at the end of the hanger were stepped in shadow, not ominous in the slightest.

A crash from behind them almost gave the acolyte a heart attack, as in the same moment his training kicked in. Spinning to face the noise his weapon raised. A small crate tumbled off the side of one of the nearby wrecks, Wodan waited about twenty seconds waiting for someone or something to attack before he relaxed. “Probably just from the shuttle's thrust.” He said aloud more to comfort himself than Vahliri.

@Altaris

 

[Darth Tempest]

Vahliri knew that there was no turning back, but it didn’t mean the half-Annfyn was any less on edge. She tightly gripped the curved hilt of her lightsaber - her posture rigid as they stepped down into the half-destroyed hanger bay. While her eyes scanned every corner of the room, the half-Annfyn’s sensitive hearing was trained to pick up on any movement within the bay - fluted ears flicking and twitching ever-so-often.

She didn’t have to observe the state of the hanger bay for very long, feeling a chill run down the center of her spine. Whatever had happened there most definitely hadn’t been the result of human conflict. There were deep, jagged claw-marks that tore across the walls and frames of doors - while cargo-crates had been forcefully torn open and their contents scattered across the floor. Vahliri didn’t know what had caused the damage, but she wasn’t particularly keen on snooping around to find out.

“We need to head deeper into the facility.. See if we can’t find anyone, or short of that, access the computer systems. Find out what really happened here.”

Before she could, the half-Annfyn was startled half-to-death by the sound of a crash behind them. Almost by instinct, Vahliri ignited the saber in her hands and whipped around to face the direction of the noise - the crimson blade of her weapon pointed, as if expecting someone to lung out from behind the darkness and stack of cargo. When Wodan spoke, the half-Annfyn let out the smallest sigh of relief - her blade hissing out of sight once more as it appeared that there was nothing after all.

And then she heard it.

It was faint and barely noticeable, but the sound of movement resonated clear as day for Vahliri’s sensitive hearing. Without a word, the half-Annfyn grabbed Wodan by the collar and pulled the Firrerreo with her - ducking behind an adjacent stack of crates and moving them out of sight. She purposefully didn’t ignite her weapon again, and if it looked like the Firrerreo was going to open his trap, Vahliri would promptly jam her open palm against his lips in an effort to keep him quiet.

After a few moments, Vahliri peaked her head around the corner and gestured for Wodan to do the same - finally laying eyes upon the creature that she had heard creeping into the hanger bay. It was a monstrosity of half-decayed and flayed flesh - hunched forward and crawling across the floor, despite being able to stand on its two legs. It easily dwarfed the two Sith in size, it’s multi-segmented jaw clicking as it sniffed around the room. While it hadn’t spotted the two Sith quite yet, the appearance of the ship clearly caught its attention.

 

[Wodan]

The adrenaline was slowly starting to dissipate from his system when Vahliri grabbed him by the collar and dragged him behind a nearby stack of crates. The Champion was strong, driven by a sense of urgency it seemed, considering the unnatural aura that filled the station Wodan hardly resisted depositing his ass on the floor behind their cover.

He opened his mouth to whisper what she saw or heard, but found it covered by the older womens hand. Wodan blushed for a moment at the contact from the women, before he pulled her hand away and gestured to him to look around the corner with her. His head popped up a little higher than the Champion’s around the corner of the crate, the pair looking like something out of a Holo-sitcom.

What was waiting around the corner however was something out of a Holo-Horror, its twisted and corrupted body brought a lump to the Acolyte's throat. At that moment he would have taken Atravis again in a heartbeat as the fear coursed through his body. Once again he was frozen in place, not sure how to act. So he pulled himself back behind the crates out of sight of the creature. Once Vahliti returned her own gaze he would mouth to her. “Do we wait?”

@Altaris

 

[Darth Tempest]

In that moment, Vahliri could feel her heart pound against the confines of her own chest - adrenaline coursing and flowing into every extremity of her body. Despite her suspicions of something having gone wrong, of all the things she had thought to encounter on the research station, that creature simply wasn’t one of them.

It took a few moments for the half-Annfyn to recollect herself, her mind immediately beginning to work at their next steps. The Force hummed vibrantly around them, and she could clearly feel the fear that radiated off of Wodan - her eyes fixing onto the Acolyte when his question was mouthed. A split-second decision wad made in that moment, and Vahliri knew there was no backing out of it now.

“No,” She said with a simple, whispered voice. Her fingers tightened around the curved hilt of her saber, exhaling a breath through her nostrils before jutting her chin past the crates. “It sniffed us out here, and we’ll only spend the rest of our time here trying to hide from it. And we don’t know if there are more of them.” The half-Annfyn shifted towards the opposite edge of the crate, glancing towards the creature before back to Wodan. “I am going to draw its attention and keep it occupied. Give you an opportunity to catch it off-guard.”

If they were going to do this, they would need to work together.

Without another word, the half-Annfyn rose up from behind the crate - sprinting from where she and Wodan have been ducking for cover. The crimson blade of her saber ignited once again, her weapon immediately tilting into a vertical, forty-five degree angled guard in front of her body. It didn’t take the creature more than a split second to lock onto her, and the moment it did, a bloodcurdling screech rang out through the hanger bay.

Gritting her teeth, Vahliri extended her left hand out - the Force flowing from her fingertips and coiling a vice-like hold on one of the many storage crates that filled the area around her. With a vicious pull of her arm, the half-Annfyn threw one of the crates towards the creature - colliding directly with its.. Face? As it scrambled towards her.

While it was enough to momentarily daze the creature, it didn’t look too phased - continuing to race towards the half-Annfyn with predatory intent.

@Braden

 

[Wodan]

If he was honest, he wasn’t expecting such a quick reaction from the women, let alone the one she chose. But her logic made sense, hiding behind this only put them at a disadvantage, a shame then that every ounce in his body told him that hiding behind these crates was the right thing to do.

He gave her a stiff nod, fear still coursing through his body as she moved away from the Firrerrian. Could he do this, flashes of Atravis appeared behind his eyes, the pure fear of failure paralysing the Acolyte for a moment. The creature's screech echoed around the empty hanger snapping Wodan from his daze. “Fuck Fear.” He said to himself before making his way quickly out from behind the crates.

The decaying mass of flesh was tearing its way across the hanger bay towards Vahliri, he had to act quickly. The thing appeared half dead already so he doubted a blaster would do much to the dead flesh, dropping the blaster he grabbed the folded spear from behind his back. Flicking the clasp open for a second he unfolded the weapon, before sealing it tight again.

The mystical energy of The Force began flowing into the Acolyte, the Dark Side feeding on the very fear Wodan just radiated. Pouring the energy into his body he watched the flying crate crash into the creature's skull, with little more than a half-step it continued charging forward. “Fuck hope this works.” He said as he released the spear.

The Magick infused blade crashed into the side of the creature's neck, severing muscle, sinew and bone. As the decorative bar just below the tip embedded itself into the side of the neck, the weight of the blow forced the creature to crash into the ground. The razor sharp tip embedding itself in the soft metal of a crate just next to Vahliri’s face.

Although the Spear had done devastating damage to the creatures neck and spine, it still viciously spat and screeched in the direction of the Sith Champion.

@Altaris

 

[Darth Tempest]

Her fluted ears flattened to the sides of her skull, and Vahliri’s entire body grew tense as the decayed creature began scrambling towards her - barely phased at all by the crate she had thrown to get its attention. At once, her left leg drew backwards in order to shift into a sideface stance, her saber tipped forward in the standard guard of a duelist as the distance was closed. She just needed to keep its attention - keep it coming right at her to give Wodan his shot.

Much to her own relief, Vahliri watched as the Firrerreo’s spear sailed through the air - piercing the creature’s neck and pinning it to the crate off to her left. For a split second, she couldn’t help but marvel at the unusual weapon - having only ever seen similar when Altair wielded his Wan-shen.

The creature immediately began to struggle against the restraint, screeches of raw agony echoing through the station as it attempted to tear its own throat open to escape. Without missing a single beat, Vahliri stepped diagonally to the right - narrowly slipping past the swing of its decayed claw as she moved onto its flank. With a rapid rotation of the half-Annfyn’s saber, she carved through the creature’s right arm, severing its single defense before driving the tip of her saber through the side of its skull.

Its screeching and squirming came to a gradual stop, and for just a moment, Vahliri allowed her eyes to linger on it. What was it? Was this what had become of the research team..? Or worse, was this what they had been sent to study in the first place - isolated entirely from the Galaxy and Empire at large.

Before she could ponder that thought further, Vahliri snapped her head back to the door where the creature had only just emerged. Her fluted ears twitched ever-so-slightly, sensitive hearing picking up on the sounds of scrambling further down the hall and moving in their direction.

“..Shit.” Vahliri muttered before reaching out with the Force, yanking the spear free from the crate and tossing it back to Wodan.

“Come on!” She called back to the Firrerreo, darting across the room as she scoured for their escape route. It wasn’t long before her gaze snapped up towards a ventilation shaft that ran across the ceiling, dipping just low enough to facilitate the plan that formulated in her mind. Without a word, the half-Annfyn coiled the Force around her still-ignited saber, thrusting the entire hilt forward in a telekinetic push. She watched as the blade, pointed vertical, stabbed through the square ventilation shaft - and the physical rotation of the half-Annfyn’s arm caused the blade to turn in a wide circle - completely cutting through and into the vent itself. A faint push of the Force caused the newly separated plate to slide inside rather than clanging to the ground, and her saberhilt promptly was pulled back into her hands and returned to her belt. “Stay close,” She muttered before bending at the knees, jumping upwards and vanishing into the ventilation shaft with a faint thud.

Only once Wodan followed her inside did Vahliri cautiously glance back into the room below - just in time to watch nearly a dozen of those same creatures flood into the hanger bay. A series of angry screeches followed the moment they spotted their dead comrade, followed by panicked shuffling to find the culprit.

Vahliri had no desire to stick around long enough for them to catch their scent. Sliding the place back over the vent, the half-Annfyn turned and began crawling deeper into the tunnel and research station - moving just ahead of the Firrerreo on all fours.

“Nice throw back there,”

@Braden

 

[Wodan]

The way it clawed, scratched and screamed at Vahliri brought chills to Wodan’s spine. Picking up his blaster he was about to unleash a barrage of plasma bolts into its side before the Champion swiftly removed its limb and drove her saber into his skull. It died slowly even for wounds as grievous as the pair had given it, once more chills rolled down the Firrerrian’s back.

He spun as the sound of more of these creatures came from down the hall. Fear latched onto his soul, but luckily for him Vahliri had a little bit more about her than the Acolyte. Jumping into action, she created an out for the pair cutting smoothly into a ventilation shaft. Taking the spear he once again folded it and placed it on his back, before launching himself up into the air. Landing a little less gracefully than the Half-Annyfn in the shaft he caught just a glimpse of the Horde of similar creatures flooding into the hanger before Valhiri closed the hole behind them, enclosing them both in darkness.

Reaching up to his chest, he pressed the button on the lamp which gave them both enough light to manoeuvre. “Thanks, the adrenaline kicked in I think.” His chest was pounding from the shockwaves of fear that had flooded his system in the past few minutes. Vahliri moved ahead of him and began crawling forward, giving Wodan a perfect view of her arse as she did.

“We need to get off this station.” He said as they rounded their first corner and into the thick walls of the station. “I would also add we need to blow this thing up as well.” Wodan continued, the shaft moving into a steady climb which forced them to spider walk upwards for about twenty feet.

@Altaris

 

[Darth Tempest]

Vahliri merely smiled at his words, “Well whatever it was, thank you.” She said with a nod, reaching over to give Wodan a squeeze on the shoulder. “I wasn’t exactly excited about duking it out with that ugly fucker.” The half-Annfyn spoke a bit quieter than was probably necessary - but she wasn’t taking any risks with the swarm of creatures that flooded into the room below them. She waited for the light of Wodan’s lamp to illuminate the ventilation shaft before she turned and started moving ahead - oblivious to the Firrerreo checking out her rear as they crawled ahead.

She was silent for a few moments, following the steady incline of the ventilation shaft to the point where it was almost vertical. The half-Annfyn exhaled through her nostrils, a combination of the Force and her own athletics coming into play as she spider forced herself up the steep path. As they reached the end of the twenty feet, they would both be able to hear the hum of machinery closeby - indicating that the ventilation shaft had briefly dipped above the ceiling and was closer to some of the other components of the station.

“We will,” Vahliri finally said after a long moment, chewing on the bottom of her lips. “To both of those. But not before we get some answers,” Every bit of the half-Annfyn wanted to agree with him. To get the hell out of dodge as quickly as possible and bomb it on the way out. But she knew it wasn’t that simple. “We don’t know what even happened here, Wodan.” She paused to glance back at him. “This vessel could have been attacked by those things - some unknown entity we don’t understand. For all we know, that could be our research team,” Vahliri added with a grimace. “If this is come virus? Like AMS? We need to find out what the team here learned before it all went to shit,”

“That is the mission we were both given. And I’ll be damned if we don’t try to finish it,” She said firmly, only then starting to push deeper into the ventilation shaft.

“There should be archives somewhere aboard. Research logs, crew diaries, maintenance records. If we’re lucky, our clearances will be enough to download the files and give us an idea of what happened here. After that..” She pondered for a long moment.

“Reactor-Core provides power to the entire station. If we want to blow it to pieces.. That’ll be the way to do it.”

@Braden