Event Escape From Mataou - Dead Money

[Zathria]

Form III was often faulted by its detractors for its passive and retreating footwork, but for Zathria she had never found it an issue. It was seldom the case that she found herself wanting to stay within striking distance of her opponent for long.

Although she had evaded the first strike, her own follow up narrowly missed and the creature was returning for another strike. And it was quick. It was typically a predator built of muscle, and that had only been amped up by the AMS virus. She'd studied the virus before, and she knew its effects well.

As her feet moved back and away, the creature lunged again. Claws and mouth aimed to clamp onto her, and as if the claws and teeth weren't dangerous enough, even a single slash could spell infection and certain death. Hard pass.

So she continued her retreat, each step quick and to the side... a diagonal retreat. She knew she couldn't outrun a leaping Nexu, but she could move aside as it came in, backwards diagonally as her saber swept down. With the creature in a leaping lunge through the air, hopefully it would be unable to evade a finishing strike as it would hopefully sail now slightly to her right and just short of her. An extra meter of reach on her saber was a big plus. @Nefieslab @MatureContentWarningx

 

[Drow Venn]

"Team, I've made it through the back. I'm seeing a lot of corpses and it looks like something big made its way through them." Drow reported to the Jedi on their comm frequency, all too aware of the importance of intelligence. He grabbed the dead hunter's slugthrower pistol and held it in his left hand. He had his E-11 strapped to his belt as well but with how big whatever it was seemed to be, Drow figured it was probably best to have as many weapons on hand as possible. Then, he quickened his pace, trying to do his best to sense his teammates and hone in on their location. If he couldn't, he'd just try and take what seemed to be the main path, this time running as he was cognizant of the Infected behind him.

@Nefieslab @MatureContentWarningx

 

[Kliedden Raxx]

Klied realized too late that he had miscalculated the strength of the infected Nexu, his eyes widening in shock as it bit clean through his rifle and knocked them both to the floor. The bounty hunter wheezed from the force of the impact, squinting in pain as the beast landed atop him. As the Nexu roared he used the moment to raise the shorter end of the rifle that remained in his left hand. He was aware the danger it posed to cutting his skin and causing infection, but he didn't have many options. He was operating purely on an instinctual level at this point.

As the Nexu spread it's massive jaws wide he shoved the half of the rifle inside, turning it vertical so that if the creature bit down it would be at risk of causing the metal barrel to pierce it's own palate. Simultaneously he would grip the monster's lower jaw with his right hand, straining to try and force it to bite down on the broken weapon while also attempting to keep it from engulfing his head. This would require both of his hands and every ounce of strength the Onderonian could muster, so there wasn't much more he could do then try and hold the creature back at this point. All he could do was hope the obstruction in it's jaws would be enough to force the Nexu to back off momentarily to knock the weapon loose, giving him an opportunity to retreat and reorient himself. "I... Could use a hand..." He growled through clenched teeth as he struggled with the beast, hoping beyond hope that one of the others were in a position to lend some assistance. From what it sounded like though they had their own problems to contend with. In all likelihood he was on his own.

@Nefieslab @MatureContentWarningx @Tom @Phoenix @Die Shize

 

[Laeonas Tannaras]

The clash of his blade against the Nexu's claws and teeth rang in the boy's ears, whose senses were as alert as the beast was hungry. Attack after attack came his way, hissing and snarling met with his own cries in turn.

His blade thrusted forward, narrowly missing the boy's vibrosword by a razor thin margin. That didn't deter the boy, whose singular intention was to bring the beast down.

"NghaaaAAAAAAA! HAEE, AAAAAUUGGHHHH!!" Laeo yelled, slashes practically incoherent. It was incredible that the beast had the reflexes to avoid or parry his blows-- but not impossible, all things considered. If AMS were as deadly as he'd heard, it made all to much sense.

A stumble to the side caused his blade to falter. What should have stopped the attempted decapitation on the part of the beast glanced off it's claws, and the boy found himself staring down it's maw. Adrenaline kept his heart pumping, and the force only further enhanced his senses-- but there wouldn't have been any way to escape.

Any way besides the crimson blade hacking down across the beast's leg.

As the lightsaber ignited, the girl who he'd barely paid attention to had used the force to save his brief misstep. He had no time to thank her, however, as the beast suddenly threw itself at the both of them.

He found himself prepping to slash at the beast again, but based on the time he had, and the way the beast came at them, Laeonas realized through the haze of instinct-driven rage that he would be pinned before he could attempt such an attack.

For the split second he had, and with just barely enough strength, Laeo jumped. He hung in the air for a few milliseconds, 10 feet above the hard floor. Gripping his blade, the boy angled it down, swinging in a chopping motion as he landed on the beast's right side.

The primary goal of the attack, regardless, was to prevent his and the other lightsaber'd woman (Jedi or Sith or a thief, it didn't matter) and to also attempt a killing blow.

He couldn't tell if the attempted tear to it's neck succeeded, or how effective it was had he done it. He'd pulled his blade back and began swinging it again at the figure of the rotting beasts. Red began to cloud his vision, and the near madness he'd been driven to in years of isolation on Dantooine came flooding back to him. His senses were far, far to drowned out to care for anything but this, even the others crying for help.

"GHAEEEE, HAEEE, YHAEEEEEE, NGGHHAAAAAH, YHAEEEEEE, HAEEE," He kept screeching, the force projecting the near feral hate outwards. If there was anything left of the Nexu's rotting minds, they'd feel a pulse that might overwhelm their senses-- if not all three, than the one he faced. Ofcourse, it might not matter if the beasts were already dispatched, not like Laeonas could tell anyways.

He ripped, and he tore, and he wouldn't stop until it was done.

​

@MatureContentWarningx @Phoenix @Die Shize @Nefieslab @Sreeya @Fantasy Liver @Isen @Reyn @Tulos

 

[Poffo Sauvage]

”Give me a hand with this, big guy,” Aska asked Poffo. This was quite reminiscent of Poffo's first meeting with Klied where he had to rip the ventilation piping hanging from the ceiling to prevent the advance of some other lizard species. They were Trandoshans, and they weren't roided up on AMS.

Sauvage saw what Aska had in mind and wrapped his big, massive arms around the rusted pipe and tried to get it to break free. He gave strong consideration about giving an off-color joke regarding his handling of big pipes, but didn't know if he wanted those to be his last words. "Oooh, yeaaaah....Let me show you why they call me Mr. Macho, yeah." He dug his feet and started pushing back as hard as he could with his powerful legs. He was straining and grunting so hard, and he was steadily pushing off with his feet, he couldn't tell or hear if he wa making any progress.

With any luck, the stuck up Jedi might be the straw that broke the camel's back.

@Nefieslab @MatureContentWarningx @Tulos @Sreeya

 

[Kamelle Skyler]

Spoiler: Music OOC [Recurring]

The creature was quick. She had gathered that much upon entering the room to glimpse all three of the beasts bearing down upon their prey like starved souls diving into dinner. Thus, when Kamelle had come in for her own attack, she had prepared herself to move as quickly as she could, keeping her actions tight and concise. Her lightsaber swing had been no flashy twirl; it was a simple downward chop. Yet, she had registered its failure immediately, so that even as inertia bound her blade she spotted her target evading the initial attack and adjusted accordingly. There wasn’t any time to change course outright so she would not.

Instead, as the Nexu moved to pounce, Kamelle carried herself into her swing, and now she was the one in a bit of a twirl. While beast and boy wrestled with one another as to who could scream the loudest, the woman dropped into a roll. It too would be quick and tight, seeking to evade the charging beast as she rolled toward its left flank; anything else and her near miss might become much worse.

All the while, with her lightsaber already trailing, Kamelle realigned it so that the length of its red blade would tear up and through the Nexu’s body as it bulled forward and she rolled away. If the attack landed then it was unlikely the beast would recover from the severance package, but it would not be alone.

If there was anything left of the Nexu’s rotting mind...well regardless of that Kamelle herself might have begun to feel a pulse that might overwhelm her senses—more or less. There was a deafening screech but it had not been the beast’s. That boy, he was...well he was a screamer. Enough said.


@Nefieslab @MatureContentWarningx
@Tom @Phoenix @Reyn

 

[Sevrin Valtiere]

With the hallway sufficiently padded, Sevrin turned and bolted in the other direction, keeping himself slightly slouched to avoid knocking himself out hitting the ceiling. The Jedi had to duck past a few signs before he caught up to the mercs, catching them struggling with a large pipe. He ducked under the pipe to get on the other side and next to the others.

The disturbing sounds the other man was making suggested he was perhaps close to soiling himself, and Sevrin decided he and the woman didn’t need to experience that. The Force coiled around the pipe, already loosened by the valiant efforts of… Puff? Was that his name? And the woman. With the Sephi’s aid, the entire thing fell to the ground.

But that wasn’t all that happened as a chain reaction began. While the barabel kept rushing, the portions of ceiling where the pipe had been attached began to collapse. This rumbling erupted throughout the hallway.

The pipe had burst, spilling its contents down the hallway in the opposite side of the trio as well. Aska’s shooting ignited a small fire and the pungent smell clued them in that it was oil.

Sevrin wasted no time, calling upon the Force to build on that small spark. He would then attempt to send a spiral of fire down the collapsing hallway to completely engulf the infected approaching. With the aid of the oil, he hoped that the entire length of the corridor would become an incinerator.

The Sephi didn’t wait to marvel at his handiwork, spinning on his heel and darting towards the generator room. He only hoped the others would have the sense to do the same.

@Tulos @Isen @Nefieslab

 

[The Gatekeeper]

One thing that a dozen angry Infected Barabels and their oncoming reinforcements could not have counted on was the ingenuity of scoundrels. A whirling, twirling dervish of Jedi blades? Eventually the blade would be over-extended and something would go wrong as it would only need to go wrong once in order to be salvageable. Whereas Sevrin would need to keep on being perfectly in position and ready. But the ingenuity of a scoundrel who wanted to cause mayhem?

Well that could only go right, especially when going right involved everything going wrong for someone else.

The pipe would give under the weight of their combined efforts, bringing down large segments of the ceiling and surrounding walls with it. By luck or design, the collapsing metal and masonry was concentrated down the stretch of tunnel that had allowed the Barbals entry in the first place. Atop of the rubble thrown down their way however, the oil shot out from its low pressured environment to coat the rubble and Infected both. The spark provided by Aska was enhanced by Sevrin and soon the entire half of the tunnel was aflame, leaving the "Generator Team" free to get to the room that was their original goal.

Standing in the doorway, the Mandalorian woman just stared at her newfound companions in a mixture of awe and concern. Still nursing her forearm, she shook her head.

“You people are insane – effective but insane.” She declared, pulling the door closed with some struggle and their assistance, “The voice told my group that we needed to do an emergency restart of the Generator; we start it here and the security office confirms there’s an emergency and accepts it. Sounds kark backward to me but… Hutts.”

Did more need to be said? Not so much.

“I don’t read Huttese too well, can one of you try and locate the switch? Do you have more people at the security office?”

The inside of the generator room contained, very clearly, a massive generator and a row of terminals to operate said generator. At the far end there was a thick, heavy, locked door but otherwise the only exit was the way they had come through.

--

The defensive form suited Zathria well and suited the close confines of the corridor even more than it might have done in a more open area. With the Infected Nexu mid-pounce it did not have the ability to move as the Jedi did and that made all the difference. Backing away from the Nexu, the lightsaber flashed out and the Nexu flew through the air without a way to stop itself running itself right into the deadly weapon. It keeled over, dead once again, with half of its entire head cut clean off.

Likewise, the Nexu currently trying to wrestle with Kamelle and Laeonas found itself the victim of its own forward momentum. Kamelle went high while Laeonas went high, splitting the creature's attention and making it so it was not in a position to actually properly respond to either attack. The low attack by Kamelle tore through the Nexu's chest and stomach - due to the Infection this wouldn't actually make a difference to the Nexu but the saber cutting clean through one of the rear legs was not something that could just be ignored. The Nexu collapsed due to the leg that was no longer actually attached, causing it to tip as it tried to attack Laeonas - leaving it exposed while Laeonas hacked and carved at its upper body. Of the many screaming strikes, many landed but few were deep, instead threshing the head of the Nexu rather then ending it with a single, clean, blow.

But dead was dead, didn’t matter if it was fancy or not.

Kliedden hadn't had the same luck as his colleagues in evading the Nexu that had pounced at him but it was because of that that he had the opportunity and the impromptu weapon at hand he needed. The thrust was a near thing, the mercenary's forearm coming dangerously close to impaling itself against the Nexu's teeth as he thrust the broken remains of the rifle up into the softer roof of the creature's mouth. Infected or not, the Nexu let out a loud whimper before dying, falling limp as literal dead weight atop of the mercenary.

With the Nexu defeated, the way to the security office would be clear, allowing the crew to head on in at their leisure. The door to the security office was open, admitting the team to the small room. It wasn't a grand security office as it seemed to have been made as a secondary one rather than anything else. A bank of terminals and monitors, of sturdy Onderon make, a blast door against the opposite wall with an electronic view-screen that was currently powered and and what looked to be a worker slumped in the seat.

They wouldn't need to worry about the worker however, as it was clear from the absence of a skull above the nose. The gory display was out in the open in harsh light, showing the party that the guard had 'opted out'. Despite the gore on the screens, it was clear that some of them were still operational though they were in a very low powered state.

They were, however, blinking as they silently asked for a pass-code.

--

The dim red emergency lighting flashed in intervals, casting shadows around the room and then leaving it in eerie darkness. The wires that had been pulled from the walls sparked and hissed with electricity and the approaching horde could be heard stumbling over the corpses outside. Drow would find a narrow hall near to the control panel, crowded with more bodies, but two in particular stood out from the rest of them. The bodies belonged to two more hunters, the sigil painted on their armor suggesting that they worked together with the man who had been crushed back at the entrance. They appeared to be recently deceased, bite marks covered their arms, but not yet turned.

If Drow took his chances down the narrow hallway, he would find signs that would point him in the direction of the main security room and a secondary control panel. However, there was no telling how long it had been since the hunters had been bitten and, if they turned, he risked finding himself trapped in the small hall with them, the only other exit being the way he had come in.

@Phoenix @Tom @Reyn @Die Shize @Sreeya @Tulos @Isen @Fantasy Liver

 

[Kliedden Raxx]

Klied grunted in pain as the twice dead Nexu collapsed on his chest, knocking the wind out of him a second time. Gingerly he removed his arm from the creature's maw, thanking whatever gods existed that he'd manage to kill the thing without tearing it half to shreds. With a heave he managed to push the thing off of himself and shakily get back to his feet.

"We all still breathing?" He asked as he glanced at the others. As expected the Echani Jedi had fared well. But it looked like she wasn't the only Force sensitive around. The human woman was wielding a lightsaber too. A red one like Aska's. That didn't exactly bode well. Of course now wasn't quite the best time to be starting trouble with the living, so he chose to ignore it and moved on towards the security office. He grimaced when he saw the corpse of the guard, but tried to keep focus on looking for something useful.

"Wait... I think I recognize this..." The hunter muttered as he scanned over the terminals. It was definitely Onderonian. Of course that still didn't mean much to Klied. He was never great with computers. There was a reason his nickname was 'Caveman'. Seeing a flashing light he shrugged and decided to just go for it. Flipping the switch he was momentarily pleased to see the lights flicker to life. "And voila! Problem-" He was cut off abruptly as the alarm started blaring and the blast door started to creak open, revealing a horde of zombified humans behind it. "Exacerbated. Problem is much worse!" The hunter finished his thought as he drew his heavy blaster and immediately started moving towards the door they had come in through.

"Get to the doorway, use it as a choke point!" He shouted to the others over the alarm. He was vaguely aware some kind of warning was being played in Huttese, but he was too distracted in the moment to stop and try to decipher what was being said. As he made his way towards the door they had come in through he would fire indiscriminately into the crowd beyond the door. The one advantage he had at the moment was that accuracy didn't really matter with so many bodies to hit. And given he was firing with a heavy blaster, any hits should have been enough to down his opponents.

@Nefieslab @MatureContentWarningx @Tom @Phoenix @Die Shize

 

[Aska Ryun]

Watching as the oil burned away the already rotting flesh of the undead Barabel, the smirk on Aska’s lips only grew as she leaned down to let the tip of her cigarra light from the licking flames of the inferno. Taking a pull from the tabacc, she caught the eyes of one of the beasts as it lay below the rubble and fire, making eye contact with her as it slowly crossed back to the world of the dead. Winking at the beast, the woman finally turned and joined her companions as they gained entry to the power generator room.

”Coming from a Mandalorian, that’s one hell of a compliment,” Aska laughed as she aided their new ally with closing the door, the fear she had felt beginning to diminish though not fully gone. It seemed that everything this hell hole had to throw at them was just not enough. Poffo and Aska, she knew they were a good team already. Throw in the abilities of the Sephi Jedi and they seemed to be unstoppable. Maybe, just maybe, they’d make it out of this with not only their lives but a story to be told as they passed a bottle of whiskey around at the next cantina on their way to Onderon. Then again, fate had a way of stepping on the overly enthusiastic…

”Sure do. We sent another group to the security office… We haven’t heard from them though…” Turning to Sev as she worried for Klied and the remainder of the treasure hunters, Aska pointed at his communicator. ”Any word from the other space wizard yet, Stretch?” It donned on her that she had yet to learn the man’s name but judging by his demeanor, it was unlikely either of them were looking to become pen pals. Introductions could wait until they were all free of this place.

Turning her attention to the control, Aska knew it was up to her to decipher the language and get the generator operational. Like much of the facility that was serving as their prison, it seemed to be in less than desirable shape but with a bit of luck she had faith it would fire up. Luck had been with them this far, so why would it stop now? Looking over the controls and scanning over the readouts on the displays, it was clear this would be easier than anticipated. As the woman primed the fuel cells, she pointed towards the ignition switch.

”Make yourself useful, Mando. When I give you the word, flip that switch and hold it, even if it sputters. She’ll light if you keep at it,” Aska watched as the reservoir began to fill with fuel and just as it was about to reach it’s peak, she spun the valve. ”Now!”

The generator vibrated and sputtered as the Mandalorian held the switch but soon, it roared to life. Lights began to glow brightly as the previously sealed door slid open to reveal an empty corridor but they were partnered with an ear piercing alarm. Bringing her hands to shield her ears as she cringed, the clone soon spotted the speaker that blared in their current location and dropped her right hand to pull her blaster free from it’s holster before firing a shot into it, effectively silencing the alarm in their immediate vicinity though it could still be heard echoing through out the rest of the bunker.

”Oh for the love of… What the hell is that now?!” Alarm or not, they needed to press on…

Dice

@Nefieslab @MatureContentWarningx @Sreeya @Isen

 

[Drow Venn]

Drow did indeed take his chances down the narrow hallway but not without some abundance of caution first. He felt bad for those dead hunters who'd been so savagely attacked and regretted that he'd have to do what he was about to do. He already had his lightsaber and slugthrower out so it didn't take him long to swiftly behead the two corpses and slice off their feet at the ankle with his lightsaber. He was possibly being overcareful but in a situation like this, that wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

"Team, I'm heading to what looks like the security room. Let me know what good I can do there." Drow commed over to the other Jedi as he made his way down the hallway, weapons still out and still stepping carefully as he made his way through this nightmare. This treasure had better well be worth it.

@Nefieslab @MatureContentWarningx

 

[Laeonas Tannaras]

Exposed and with two non-functioning back legs, Laeonas almost looked like he was exacting a sort of animal cruelty on the previously, highly dangerous beast. The hacking blows didn't go deep, and while the Nexu cried, he persisted, continuing to scream, screech, and snarl through the entire process.

Resistance, the little offered, was no match for Laeo's reflexes, which, even dulled by an instinct-induced rage, were still quick enough to cut along the attacking claws, rending them right off-- screams of the beast not withstanding.

The hacking of the blade down upon the now completely dead nexu didn't stop for what had to be half a minute, and nobody in the party dared attempt to stop him, lest the still near-mad boy turn his aggression on them. When his arms started to grow tired, the boy's senses shifted back from a red haze and into a proper focus.

His entire lower body had been sprayed in rotting flesh and blood, and much of his torso was the same way. The vibrosword, humming along, practically cleaned itself as the flecks of flesh flew off or were cut and dispersed by the vibrations.

Dropping the sword, the boy still stood in a huff, heart thumping in his chest and eyes darting around. Searching the room, he began taking stock of the situation. He immediately checked himself for cuts; if any were on his limbs, he would've probably hacked it off without a moment's hesitation, and demanded that the Jedi-- or the other woman with the lightsaber-- cauterize the wound. If he'd found one on his torso, he would've grabbed his rifle-- which he'd managed to drop in the haze-- and fire it straight through his head.

Fortunately for every one of them, none appeared to have been cut-- a near miraculous outcome, were one to fail to consider the skills of the four present. Slowly turning to the woman with the red saber, the boy might look dangerous; until he reached out to grip the free arm of the girl and shook it.

"Ai, uh... maight've died if ya'hadn't intervened." He muttered quietly, a still half crazed look in his eyes. He'd had to many close encounters with death today, and the attack by four legged undead carnivores had forced him to relive some particularly unenjoyable memories.

Quickly turning away, Laeo noticed the exit, in which the bounty hunter-- who appeared to be the only one amongst the three not to be force sensitive-- had already begun to approach. The rage that had come with the demanded "fight" response had near entirely dissipated-- leaving only the fear and desire to escape that came with flight. He was regretting the decision to follow the signal, and at this point, the only consolation prize would be that he would get to give whoever had brought the group there a death fitting for such a deceitful prick.

Both the desire to escape, the desire for revenge, and the minute hope of possibly leaving as one of the wealthiest men in the galaxy prompted Laeonas to continue on.

Slipping the vibrosword back into it's sheathe with a trembling hand, the boy followed behind the bounty hunter into the security office. He'd finally noticed what the sign had said-- if he was still as fluent as he thought he was, it read something similar to "caution" or "danger." It could also mean beware, or any other word that could indicate to a person that the place they were in wasn't safe.

...he wasn't perfect.

The corpse of the worker was the first thing he'd noticed. Rushing forward, he had already drawn his sword before he realized that the dead man was truly dead.

A bit embarrassed, he slipped his sword back in, muttering another indecipherable curse. Glancing over at the consoles, he might have given it a crack had the hunter decided to go for it first. "Ai... er, Ai trust ya know whatcher' doi--" the boy almost began, immediately refraining once he heard a verbal response.

He was almost about to smile, almost about to say "Thank kriff, we're gettin' out of 'ere!" when he heard Klied, but that happiness died before it could go beyond conception.

With lights suddenly flashing and alarms blaring, Laeo felt a jolt as his senses were forced to process a large amount of information, all coming in at once. Glancing around, he barely stopped himself from panicking... as he focused on the now repeating words flashing on the screen.

Scrambling over, he began reading, muttering to himself. "C'mon Laeo, put this shite ta use."

He began slowly, approaching the words. "Ending...last...final? Okay, final... beware? Warning!" The boy thought to himself, grinning. "It's a final warning ta personnel!" Laeo shouted, wanting to make sure they could hear him. "Begin? Set? Soon... start soon? What's that big word?" He asked himself, trying to glean an answer.

He was only halfway through the warning when he began to gather what it meant, and if he'd looked terrified when he recognized the threat in the hall, it was incomparable to the look on his face in that moment.

Before he could manage to get the words out of his mouth, the boy heard the sliding of the opening door-- followed by the gnashing of teeth. The words that escaped the hunter's lips were slow as the boy moved with haste, adrenaline pumping through him once more. He was shaking-- he didn't want to do this... but between thousands of corpses and a couple nexu already, this couldn't pose more of a threat-- and there was no choice.

If they didn't tear through the dead, Laeonas, Klied, Zath, Kamelle-- everyone on the security team, and everyone on the generator team-- even the one who'd brought them there-- would all be dead.

Standing just in front of the corridor, the boy held blade in one hand, and blaster in another-- hip bound, it would barely be accurate, but in the mass of flesh before them it would have to hit something.

Gathering the force, he tried using a similar principle to what he usually tried whenever he'd jump or throw himself back-- only instead of amplifying force to go backwards or up, he used it to push everything in front of him forward.

As infected rushed forward, they'd have to contend with the strength of his push, and the peppering of blaster bolts (however long that would last due to the little power in the cells), and if they got close, he'd carve through them.

"WE NEED TA'GET OUT'F 'ERE AS SOON AS WE CAN!" He shouted over the alarms and attacks. "THIS PLACE IS GONNA BE A CRATER IN TEN KRIFFIN' MINUTES!"

​

@MatureContentWarningx @Phoenix @Die Shize @Nefieslab @Sreeya @Fantasy Liver @Isen @Reyn @Tulos

 

[Zathria]

A hint of fear gave way quickly to relief as her saber met just that tiny extra bit of resistance that told the story of flesh melting away. The Nexu hit the ground in front and slightly to the right of Zathria in pieces.

The remainder of the hunting trio were equally dispatched by Zathria's partners and although the entire confrontation had taken only seconds, it was enough to leave the Jedi's heart pounding hard.

There was a feral cry from one of them as the Nexu was killed, one of them looked as if he'd been half pinned by the creature that was now dead atop him, and the other... held a red lightsaber.

Zathria mentally swore her saber gripped tighter in her hand now and held in guard. The other woman could have attacked her already, but the fact that she hadn't didn't mean she hadn't been planning on it.

Is anyone injured? Scratched or bit? she asked aloud, her eyes locked on the presumed-Sith even as she spoke.

How about we don't kill each other at least until we're out of here? she asked, now directed straight at the Sith (@Die Shize). It wasn't an alliance Zathria was comfortable with, but it was driven by necessity. Assuming she received assent - not that she really trusted that - she would continue on to the security office, not fully turning her back on the Sith.

Anyone good with computers? she asked with a scowl, looking down at the gory mess covering the terminal. Technology wasn't Zathria's particular skill, but she began to look around for useful supplies.

That didn't last long. The revelation that there was a countdown to decimation made her eyes go wide and she raised her triggered her comlink to Sevrin and Drow.

Bombardment starts in ten minutes! she said (@Sreeya @Fantasy Liver). We need to... I need to go! she said, looking up to see the hallway now filled with the infected.

She leapt toward the hall, careful not to land in the fire of her allies.

Sith, help with this! she shouted (@Die Shize). Their primal screamer (@Tom) was already preparing the Force, and Zathria called on her own reserves, letting it form in her palm before unleashing it down the hall in a blast. She may have only been a Knight, but with three of them that should easily be able to output enough Force to slow or kill many of the infected. Combined with the heavy blaster fire from Mr. Huttese (@Reyn) and she hoped it would be enough to keep them all alive.

@Nefieslab

 

[Kamelle Skyler]

Spoiler: Music OOC

Kamelle had already been covered in blood and gore upon entering this hellhole of a bunker. She didn’t feel like bathing in more. That’s just not the kind of Sith she was striving to be. So, as Screamer hacked away like an awfully familiar individual, Kamelle moved the hell away.

Leaving the boy to his angsty antics, the woman inspected the scene. Even though the other two bipeds weren't lathering themselves in blood, vibrosword or no, she couldn’t help but wonder if any one of them had been hurt.

The screamer approached her just then, holding out a disgusting hand as though to grab her. He didn’t get far. Kamelle still held her hilt, the blade humming a little more menacingly than his butter knife as she planted it between him and her. “Touch me and you lose the hand.”

Screamer turned away and so did Kamelle, facing the Echani with no wounds to offer her. Daggers might have flown between their eyes but the Sith harbored no animosity, at least for now. It was all she could do to offer a pleasant smile to her Jedi counterpart. “Sure. I think enough limbs have been lost for the moment.” She thought back to her own kill before looking at a Nexu who was missing half its skull. “...Heads too…”

Before moving on, she looked to her peers, and then it was Kamelle’s turn to tighten her grip on her hilt. “Though, if anyone is scratched or injured...please speak up now.”

Spoiler: Music OOC

The fact that the group was still a group of four as they entered the security office meant that no one was going to turn on each other anytime soon. The worker with half his skull missing wasn’t going to either. What is it with these halved heads? He had taken the coward’s way out. It had not saved him.

As the bounty hunter played with the computer, Kamelle took her own look around the room. There wasn’t much of interest but she pocketed a few small goodies that could prove useful sooner or later. Hunter’s voice stole her attention. The word “problem” was problematic. A blaring alarm and groaning zombies was a problem that was much worse. “The hell did you just do, you MORON!?” Kamelle needed a bath and was no longer in the mood for games with only ten minutes on the clock.

While Screamer introduced himself as yet another Jedi-something-or-other, Kamelle acknowledged the actual Jedi's request with more than words. Lining herself up with Screamer and Echani to further align their combined Force, the Sith shot her free hand forward the same time the Jedi did, sending a threefold blast down the corridor to power into the Infected like the bite from a hurricane.




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[Sevrin Valtiere]

Sevrin remained silent as the Mandalorian complimented them, his mind still caught on questions of whether or not she had been bitten. Others in the party were far too trusting, but he couldn’t blame them given the crisis.

He was distracted from his thoughts when the mercenary woman addressed him, giving him a casual nickname. Stretch. It wasn’t as offensive as some of the other ones he had heard. He drew up his comlink to contact Zathria when he heard her comm in first very urgently. Sevrin put the comlink down and quietly stared at the three around him after the generator came to life.

“It appears,” He said smoothly and in a deadpan tone, “That this entire facility will be destroyed in ten minutes,” Silver eyes flashed to the newly revealed corridor, “I suggest we make haste.”

The Sephi began making his way over, keeping the lines open to the security group, “Zathria, status? Are you able to intercept Drow and aid him?”

@Tulos @Isen @Nefieslab @Phoenix @MatureContentWarningx

 

[Poffo Sauvage]

Poffo was puffing. He had exerted a lot of energy and those big, huge, life-saving muscles require a lot of damn oxygen when they exerted. It's science! For once, he was actually speechless for a while as he tried to catch his breath. The Coruscanti brawler was pretty much a self-taught prize fighter, but he did get one great piece of advice from an underground promoter who trained fighters before getting the entrepreneurial bug. That advice- never bend over to catch your breath. It collapses the lungs. Stand upright and place your hands on hands on your head to expand the lungs and get more oxygen. This piece of information saved Poffo in many a fight after fast and furious rounds.

So, Sauvage did as he was taught- stood upright and put his hands on the back of his head. He snarled a bit at the alarm and was quite glad when Aska shut it up, even if she did it crudely. After the Sephi Jedi spoke, Poffo leaned over to Aska and asked, "Wait a minute, yeah....Did Snowball over there just say we need to....'make haste'?"

Poffo shook his head, his breath finally caught. That said, he did agree and continued to direct his comments to Aska. "I gotta agree though, yeah, yeah, I do. No doubt about it. We should...make haste." He looked over at Sevrin and added, "Or 'hurry' as we say in the rougher neighborhoods in Coruscant."

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[The Gatekeeper]

When, by some miracle, Kliedden managed to get the computers to actually cooperate with him it was both a good thing and a bad thing. The good and the bad were both tied up in the fact that there were almost two dozen Infected humans in the next corridor that they had to get through in order to proceed; the good was that they actually had a way to proceed and they hadn't had that until this moment. His blaster barked repeatedly, blasting apart several Infected in the upper torso area, reducing their mobility without actually ending them fully. One or two did, however, drop down dead with shots from the heavy blaster clipping their skulls.

Thanks to Zathria's quick thinking, the Generator team would be alerted as quickly as possible. Laeonas was right to panic a little, of course, as the countdown had not stopped simply because they became aware of it. Amplified by his panic, feeding into the Dark Side through his fear, the Push rocketed out and slammed the first row of the Infected back into the second and third row, halting their advance and keeping them penned into the corridor they were seeking to emerge from. Zathria's own Push, that of someone with far more traditional training and focus, was equally as devastating, sending the second row flying as well. Many of the Infected landed badly, slamming into each other, the walls and the floor with enough force to snap necks and break skulls.

With Kamelle’s power and skill added to the mix, another Push was added into the confined space alongside the blaster bolts from Kliedden. The combination of that much power, that much directional force, left the Infected humans as ragdolls in a cruel and unyielding hurricane of will. Throughout the corridor the sounds of sickening cracks of bones breaking and brains oozing free sounded out, broken only by the groaning of some of the Infected too broken in body to actually come after their attackers even if they weren’t actually dead again.

Through the corridor littered with fresh corpses, the team would be able to see something shining bright at the other end of the corridor. A neon sign illuminated due to the power that now ran through the entire vault.

Grancha Pa

It is not something that anyone who has ever had the displeasure of meeting in a Hutt’s palace could ever have the pleasure of forgetting. The Grand Hall, where the Hutt in command would entertain himself.

--

The Mandalorian had certainly not meant it to be a compliment but she wasn't about to admit that to any of therm. They had succeeded in killing a small horde of Infected that had managed to best her and send her running for her life. She wasn't about to try and make an enemy of these people, no matter how foolishly they chose to dress so she assisted Aska in getting the generator up and running. Though she was just as surprised by the sudden alarms blaring as everyone else was.

"Perhaps its an alarm signalling they know the vault has been breached? Like we're common thieves or something..."

Haste would very much be required for the lot of them.

Ten minutes could either be a lot of time or it could be barely enough time or it could be nowhere close to enough time for them to escape. The simple truth of the matter was that they simply didn't know how much further they had to go to get to the hanger, to get to a reasonable amount of safety in whatever ship they could find. Thankfully for the team that had secured the generator, the corridor that pushed on ahead was empty.

If they made haste or hurried mattered little - only that they moved.

Further down the newly revealed corridor was a set of security doors at the end and a second, smaller, door set in the wall halfway down the corridor. Signs on the wall had been written alongside small symbols. The door to the side had a picture of a blaster pistol while the door at the end of the hall, once close enough, would be revealed to have a small picture of a Hutt. Due to the power flowing again, both doors would be operational as well.

From the side door, however, the sound of automated defenses could be heard. The grinding of gears against gears followed by a trio of loud blaster shots, followed by a second's pause before another trio of blaster shots rang out again beyond the side door.

--

The lighting flickered on, illuminating the narrow hall and the bodies that lined it. The scene was grotesque and worsened only by the deafening alarm that now sounded throughout the abandoned facility. Fortunately for Drow, this seemed to confuse the Infected that had followed him in, spreading their numbers thin and keeping them within the main entrance, as they were separately drawn to the speakers from which the alarm sounded.

Unfortunately, as he continued forward, a pile of bodies near the entrance to the security room began to shift and raise as though they were coming to life. Buried beneath them was a rusted turret, which now pushed them out of the way as it rose to meet him, blocking the path forward.

Drow once again found himself trapped in the narrow hall, Infected crowding the exit behind him as the turret opened fire with a short burst of three shots before it cycled up for another burst. It stood in direct opposition to his stated intentions to reach the security room. Fortunately for the man, the second burst was actually sent behind him, blasting an Infected behind him to a fine mist from the neck upward.

Despite it being a ‘security turret’ it was clear that security was meant in the Hutt sense - it was going to try and kill him.

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[Zathria]

Zathria's heart was absolutely pounding as the waves of the Force crashed against the waves of the infected. With the sound of blasterfire and the whooshing all around her she was thankful she couldn't hear the snapping and cracking of all the bones and bodies broke against one another and against the walls.

She was breathing heavily, the sounds of the infected still able to be heard as the battle subsided.

Good... work everyone, she said, a bit winded with the exertion of the effort she had just undertaken alongside the others.

She heard her comlink again and answered.

No, I haven't seen him yet, she said (@Sreeya). Assuming that Mr. Huttese would translate the words above the door she would continue.

We just cleared out a big group of infected. We're heading toward a "main hall" of some sort now, she said. What's your status? she asked. She guessed they were having as much trouble as her team was, and they didn't have long now before the orbital strike began.

Still, she grabbed a small bottle of sanitizer and additional alcohol wipes that were sitting nearby and stashed them in her bag. You just never knew when you were going to need extra sanitization!

She would continue on down the hall slowly and carefully so as not to let any surviving infected bite or scratch her. Her saber periodically came down on the survivors, leaving a smell, singed hole in their heads as she continued on toward the main hall.

@Tom @Die Shize @Reyn @Fantasy Liver

 

[Laeonas Tannaras]

The boy stood, blade in one hand, awkwardly stretched forward to simulate a physical pushing motion, and in the other was the grip of the A280, resting against his hip.

Laeonas looked out at the handiwork of the four. The peppering of both his own blaster-fire and the hunter's had brought down half a dozen, and going on for another minute, that might have been enough. However, it was his own efforts, combined with the Jedi, and the woman the silver haired warrior had called Sith, that had helped bring down the rest of the horde.

Turning, the boy still didn't look perfect. His attitude upon arriving at the base matched with the exaggerated swagger of a raven haired human teen. But, after various shocks that would've sent (barely) lesser men into soiling themselves, the boy stood looking tired, bloodshot, and wreaking of rotting flesh and body odor.

It was a wonder the other three looked any better, considering they'd all gone through the exact same circumstances, though Laeonas seriously doubted that the other three had also wound up stranded on a sparsely populated outer-rim world with no help but for a few farmers.

Laeo fired at anything still moving after a few seconds of silence, to tired out, and finding it to trivial, to use the force to dispatch them. It may have been equally trivial not to use the humming cortosis weave, as he heard a distinct beep and hissing of air as the cartridge finally gave out. "Kriffin' 'ell..." he muttered blankly, cursing himself again as he watched the Jedi simply bore holes in the few that were left.

Slipping besides the Jedi, he picked up on her grabbing something; cocking his head, he stopped. "Ai'dunno whatcha grabbed, but as far as Ai'm concerned, regardless, we're all gettin' a share of it." He stated in a surprisingly matter-of-fact tone that would've been completely undercut by the fact that she had simply picked up wipes and sanitizer-- although, in this situation, that might have even been worth more than a crate full of spice.

Not deciding to press on it, he simply added, "Just open tha satchel when we want it."

Suddenly remembering how little time they had, the boy snapped up, turning his head as if to account for the other three still being present. "Tha hutts are about to blast this place ta'bits with a bombardment. They seem ta'be under tha'impression that they've still got people in 'ere, and that's why we know at all." The pale human explained, walking down the hallway. He stopped himself abruptly, however, before turning around. Glancing at the Sith, he added, "So th'at, er... moron, as ya put it, had nothin' ta do with it." The boy finished, eyes darting over to the hunter before turning on his heels.

It might not have been entirely wise to provoke the only other two force users in such a manner; his appearance and mannerisms hadn't been the only things eroded by the dangers they'd faced. The boy had, to an extent, was loathing the decision to come.

Maybe it wasn't fair, but he was starting to take it out on his teammates. His entire attitude had been decimated not only by the disgust and flashbacks to past traumas, but the spurning of the Sith woman to a simple gesture of mutual camaraderie; even the tall, lanky freak he'd met on Tatooine had the decency to be friendly.

Slipping further ahead, Laeonas had arrived at a larger entryway, marked by a much more... regal looking sign? Groaning in an over-exaggerated manner, he squinted, though this time, he came to the realization much quicker.

His first experience with the practical application of Huttese had occurred on Nal Hutta, just over five galactic standard years prior. He had gone to meet with a hutt-- Naldagga, if he'd remembered correctly-- and the sign emblazed outside the main doors read the exact same as the words one of the twi'lek slave girls had spouted when opening them wide.

"This is the main hall," he muttered, recognition lighting up his face as he turned.

"This is tha main bloody hall! Holy shite, Ai was startin' ta think this was all some trick-- but this place belongs to a hutt! It isn't just some bloody deathtrap!" He exclaimed, a wide grin on his face.

For a moment, at the least, he forgot all about the horrors he'd faced, and almost beckoned to his teammates like a child would to friends, so they might look at passing speeder bikes and pick which ones they'd want to ride when they grew up. "If this is real, the kriffin' treasure might be! We've only got... shite, probably nine, eight minutes tops." the boy grumbled towards the end, frowning.

Remembering... everything, Laeo grimaced as he gripped the hilt of his blade tightly. Not risking opening another chamber at the chance of another horde of infected, he impatiently beckoned the others forward. Laeo wasn't about to charge headfirst into another den of Nexu, or a horde, or a small corridor full of corpses. They would do this as they had done it just a minute prior; it would be quick, it would be clean (figuratively) and they'd all make it out of here-- treasure or not.

Maybe they'd even get lucky and find the one who'd brought them here in the next room-- and than the boy would get to see life drain from his eyes.

​

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[Poffo Sauvage]

Poffo hurried down the corridor and paused to give a look at the side door. Poffo often thought too much, and this was probably one of those times. Still, he had seen a lot of things in the bowels of Coruscant and he understood thugs. The Hutts, if nothing else, were thugs.

"Ooooh, I got to tell ya, this don't feel right...no, no it doesn't. Won't be surprised, not the teensy little bit, if we got paid by the giant slugs themselves, yeah..." Poffo stroked his beard, becoming less and less concerned with the clock. The others may not listen to him. They probably wouldn't. After all, they were very concerned with the clock. To a large degree, Poffo was talking to himself.

"Loaded Hutt vault... but the slugs themselves are going to glass it?" Poffo started to pace as he thought. "I don't think so!" he yelled out loudly, twirling around in a 260 with both hands extended, fingers flourishing and the long tassels of his super awesome jacket waving like grains of wheat on a windy day. He stopped perfectly still and spoke to himself in a near whisper as he thought to himself. "We got here too easily, yeah....let us in like the ladies of the night at Braxen's down on 5th and Tyrao Street...yeah...yeah..."

Poffo started thinking back about Jalil T'lol, the gangster thug he was most tied to back on Coruscant. A rival gang moved into some of his turf. He wasn't about to give up three blocks of extortion rackets to someone else, but he also didn't have the resources for a turf war. By moving a few pieces on the chess board, and planting some seeds of doubt, T'lol got another gang to fight the rivals that invaded his turf. The rival faction got wiped out, and T'lol moved right back into the three blocks without firing a shot or losing a man. A shrewd tactical move, and this situation had many of the same elements at play.

He looked at whoever would listen and said, "Played, brothuuuuuuuuuus. I think we're being played. I think we're getting asked to do the dirty work, yeah! We're the cleaning crew, if you dig what the seeds of knowledge I'm sowing! Bring the mop because it's cleanup on aisle 8! Blood and guts and infected nuts, yeah! Let me bust out the consiparacy theory, let me bring out the foil hats, yeah!" His voice dropped down to a whisper, and his sunk with it as well. His hand waved in front of his face with this last three fingers extended for effect. "They're running us off, yeah...they're pushing us out, and then the slugs will be right down here swimming in the treasure, yeah!"

While the odds of such an elaborate scheme were slim, Poffo had convinced himself. He was about to walk over and open the door to the sounds of whiring and blaster fire. Maybe who was firing shots could get him some damn answers. Unless Sevrin or Aska had the good sense to stop him, he was about to open up the "Madness" behind Door #2.

Spoiler: OOC Sidenote:

If Aska or Sevrin tell him not to open that door, Poffo is enough of a team player to not open the door.

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