Ask [Ruusan] Pest Control

[Vossari Khaldun]

It had been years since the Kiliks announced their invasion of the galaxy from the governor's halls. The interceding civil war, and following war of the killiks against the galaxy at large, claimed countless live. Ruusan had been reduced to a pile of rubble and bones, a sad testament to the Joined who fanatically died for their hive mind ruler and to those who resisted and were obliterated. Their mission risked joining the fates of these corpses, now festering in the soil beneath the planet's surface. If they were not careful, specific, and particular in getting their prey

Vossari eased the group's Patrol Craft out of hyperspace and into Ruusan's gravity well. Scanners didn't show a defensive fleet of any kind. It seemed the killiks really had retreated - perhaps merely to the surface world itself. Perhaps deeper. Perhaps the killiks were all around them already! Now that was a scary thought.

Vossari was already feeling paranoid, chills wracking their body with fear. They wore their now-standard environmental suit, complete with an oversized orange hoodie on top. Their helmet sat strewn in the hall of the ship, allowing their long braids to drift down their shoulders. They smiled nervously at the group, brown eyes flecked with doubt: They were with two other acolytes sent by that beautiful psychopath Azar on this mission. And they knew scarcely little about each other. They couldn't help but admit their interest in this mission was, in part, motivated by an interest in the Sith Potionmaster. Perhaps this, too, was another test - just as Saleucami had been.

The patrol craft entered into atmosphere, slipping towards a massive stretch of caves in a forest filled with craters. The site of an orbital bombardment, no doubt. Vossari knew little about the customs or habits or even the biology of killiks. They felt totally unprepared. "This should be really easy, so let's just wing it and have a good time, yeah?" They spun to the other two acolytes, briefly handing controls to the autopilot. "Y'all...know anything about killiks?"

@René @spfinx

 

[Ayomi Jakarta]

Ayomi had a strong suspicion that the Potionmaster of the Umbaran Academy, Azar, had randomly picked their name from a list of available champions to assist on this mission. Sure their skills lay primarily in combat, which would be critical for the mission, but surely whatever personnel file there was on the Tiefling had to note that they didn't play well with others and didn't want to play chaperone for a pair of acolytes. Whatever the reason, they were here now and they were going to make sure the job was done right. They sat in the co-pilot's seat of the group's ship, adjusting a knob on their double-bladed lightsaber hilt. Along with it and the curved hilt lightsaber they carried as a secondary option, Ayomi wore their Sith armor and carried a collapsed electroripper staff slung over their back by a strap affixed to each end of the weapon. As the ship approached the surface, they turned to face the acolyte who was piloting as he spoke.

"Collecting a Killik, much less a live one, will be anything but easy, acolyte."

The Tiefling responded in a slightly irritated tone, rolling their red eyes at the suggestion of having fun. Did he think this was some kind of field trip? If nothing else, nothing the Sith alchemist types like Azar ever wanted for their research was easy. As such, Ayomi had made sure to do their research on the creature they'd be capturing beforehand.

"Killiks are a hive mind. Finding one alone or isolating one will be hard enough, but once we attack it'll be calling for assistance instantly. If you're exposed to their pheromones for long enough, they'll permanently alter your brain structure to absorb you into their hive mind, so we'll have to be careful. If one of you two are lost to them, I'm not saving you; only the strongest acolytes become Sith, and if nothing else you don't want the Potionmaster disecting you."

Ayomi paused for a moment, procuring a small datapad with some reference images and passing it to Vossari to look with the other acolyte before continuing.

"They're insectoid, several meters tall with four arms and a pair of legs. Their armor is tough, but not enough to stop a well-aimed lightsaber strike. Remember, we must take one alive and in good condition; if we encounter a group of them, one of them must be incapacitated only."

@Fine Dining Set @spfinx

 

[Cin’jay Sacchi]

Cin felt damn near ready to throw up.

She by no means was new to the concept of being anxious (her upbringing in the most manipulative, back-stabbing echelon known to man left plenty of room for that) but never in her life could she remember her nerves being so high-strung to the point of inducing nausea.

Well- maybe except for that one time she wore the wrong color to the Moon Goddess festival and a gaggle of noble girls had the bright idea to “accidentally” spill pre-empire Alderann wine all over her. The consequences of that had been devastating enough -let alone humiliating- but now she couldn’t help but feel the stakes being raised the teeniest bit. This was her first official mission as an Acolyte. Hell- this was her first mission period. If her father had raised her to understand anything it was that failure was simply not a possibility. Especially not with the Sith.

It was almost comforting in a weird, twisted way. At least there was something to remind her of home. And man was she feeling homesick.

With her prosthetic hand treating the armrest of her chair like a stress ball, it wasn’t until another, older Acolyte broke the tension that Cin’jay buried the chasmic pit of unease in her stomach. She could at the very least pretend to have her shit together. The newly-minted darksider had zero intention of being dead weight. With that said, she regarded the Wrean’s stirring pep-talk with a weak smile and slightly more affirming nod. They seemed nice enough, which was definitely not the impression she’d gotten from most of the Sith she’d encountered. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad.

She was about to chirp in with whatever text-book regurgitation she’d painstakingly memorized the night before, but the accompanying champion beat her to it, dashing any glimpse of optimism. In contrast to the other Acolyte, the blue-skinned tiefling (who Cin nearly confused a fellow pantoran upon first seeing them) was exceedingly blunt… with a side of callous. Cin couldn’t help that her eyes widen a smidge at the mention of being left behind and dissected. Which, to Aymoi’s credit, was pretty substantial motivation not to fuck up.

“How do we go about isolating one then, wouldn’t we just get swarmed the moment they laid eyes on us?” the girl piped in, sounding very much like the child she was. With her gaze lingering uneasily on the datapad given to Vossari she mustered the courage to look Aymoi in their red eyes, “Do they have any weaknesses that don’t involve uh- stabbing? Maybe some way to neutralize their pheromones?”

Was she asking too many questions? Eh probably. But the kid had spent the past several nights painstakingly pouring through whatever information she could get her hands on in some anxiety-induced frenzy, so y’know- better have something to show for it. Even if it was just “I don’t want to get zombified.”

@Fine Dining Set @René

 

[Vossari Khaldun]

Vossari rolled their eyes at the comments. "You must be a good time at parties, huh? 'If anything goes wrong, I'm letting you die!' Really feeling confident about our odds here." Vossari wondered if Jedi were as doom-and-gloom as the Sith. Still, the Tiefling was right: Flying into the home of the Killik Mind was an almost-suicidal mission. They had never seen their devastation first hand, but the idea of a force composed of a united, singular mind and purpose was both awesome and terrifying. Perhaps that was why Azar wanted a sample for himself. Curious, curious, Potionmaster.

They tapped their helmet, continuing their act of false bravado to calm their nerves. Fake it till you make it, Voss! "Pheromones? This thing should probably filter it out, yeah?" They shrugged nonchalantly. To their companion's conversations of their weaknesses, Vossari thought hard. "They live in nests, right? That's like their...radio tower for their hive mind." The shuttle zipped through the atmosphere of the planet, above mass graves and craters. It had been years, now, since their invasion - the planet's ecology had started to return, closely guarded by its hive-minded overlord.

The party continued to close in on the planet, eventually approaching a grassy hill a fair distance away from a swarm of Killik mounds. "If we can just find a way to bait...one? A few?...of them away from the nest, their signal would weaken." They put their fingers to their skull, imitating the insectoid's antennas.

Vossari touched the ship down gently into the fields. They grabbed their helmet, it sealed on with a hiss, and prepared to open the landing doors. "Nothing to it but to do it." Their helmet shot towards the pantoran acolyte. "If it comes down to it, we can always let Our Fearless Champion valiantly distract the nest while we steal one." He chuckled to himself at the little quip, festooning his lightsaber and sword to his belt. He snuck a can of pink spray paint into the folds of his hoodie.

"Ready to go?"

@spfinx @René

 

[Ayomi Jakarta]

Ayomi could sense waves of nervousness rolling off of the other acolyte in the shuttle, a young Pantoran girl. Whatever her nerves, it didn't show in the way she spoke. Inexperience maybe, but not fear; a chip on her shoulder maybe, new to the order. As was the acolyte piloting the ship apparently; his commentary demonstrated a clear lack of respect and understanding of authority. The Tiefling's eyes flashed with yellow as they drew the Force around Vossari's neck, an invisible pressure constricting the Wrean's airways.

"Know your place, acolyte." They responded coldly, locking eyes with the boy. "We are not equals. Until such time as you prove yourself a capable Sith, you are beneath all true Sith. The weak serve the strong, and that is what you are here to do."

Ayomi finally let go of their telekinetic grasp on Vossari's throat, allowing him to catch his breath while they turned to exit the ship. Double checking their gear and armor, the Tiefling turned to face the acolytes once again with a stern gaze.

"Stealth will be our ally in this endeavor. A patrolling Killik might call for help at the sight of three of us, but likely not for one. This would allow us to lure it into a trap, attacking from behind so we can incapacitate it without giving it a chance to realize what's happening."

Ayomi's gaze shifted to Vossari now, the corner of their lip pulled up in the slightest of smirks. "Since baiting the creatures was your idea, brave acolyte, I believe you've volunteered yourself as our bait."

@Fine Dining Set @spfinx

 

[Cin’jay Sacchi]

Unlike Cin, Aymoi’s pragmatism seemed to have little to no effect on the other Acolyte. A miraculous feat to someone like herself who’d spent virtually her entire life cowering under the boot of authority. It caught her so off guard that she nearly chuckled at their quip about using Aymoi as bait, only to promptly cover her mouth and force a cough. She really didn’t need to be on their bad side.

A point which the tiefling made abundantly clear as force choked Vossari in retaliation. It was almost refreshing to see someone’s animosity not woven under layers of bureaucratic bullshit like it often was in pantoran court. At least Aymoi left no room for interpreting their actions. That simple fact Cin could appreciate…However much it scared the shit out of her.

Cin turned to regard Vossari as the tiefling voiced her suggestion, unsure of what they’d make of it. They were already at each other's throats in record time and Cin was feeling quite uncomfortable under the weight of it all.

Speaking of weight, she already felt like she wasn’t pulling her own in the slightest. Sure, they hadn't faced up against any beasts yet, but still- she should be more proactive about her role, right? It’s what her father would’ve wanted.

“I..I uh- I can.” the pantoran coughed, trying to inject some resolve in her clearly shaky voice, “I can be the bait that is. I’d be the smallest target.”

@Fine Dining Set @René

 

[Vossari Khaldun]

Pain surged as Vossari clawed at their throat. Another Sith champion with another lecture, another humiliating display. Rage festered within them like an open wound - rage they would have to use for their mission. They remained silent as the Champion scolded them, but beneath their helmet, their amber eyes smoldered in the tiefling's direction. The pantoran's offer of self-sacrifice only added to the humiliation. Vossari scoffed at her recommendation, setting his sights on the mound. It looked even larger from the ground than in the air. "No, the champion is right. I make a great target." The scars on his back seemed to be a bullseye for bullshit these days. Perhaps this was the life of the Sith.

The trio set off across the great plains towards the looming killik mound. Stealth almost impossible here, so Vossari tread slowly. Each step crunched and churned the dry grasses beneath their feet. Their helmet's speaker rattled as Vossari cleared their throat to think. "I learned of a power at the academy to conceal one's movement through the Force." Vossari was still unskilled in such subtle manipulations of the Force, so they assumed it would be impossible to manage in an open field with the sun on their backs. But maybe...with Cin'Jay's slight size & Ayomi's prowess as a champion, the two of them could cloak into their environment better?

Vossari halted at a horrible burning scent and the chattering sound of insects. In the distance, smoke burned on a large pyre, where a lone Killik worker loaded decaying bodies into the makeshift crematorium. The landscape around was dotted by craters, indicating some severe artillery fire, but was otherwise remarkably clean. The disgusting pile of bodies and parts was, of course, the exception - close inspection would reveal species of all different kinds of sentient being. Human, killik, pantoran, duros...all strewn about, mouths agape, eyes wide. A horrible death in battle.

At the sight, Vossari dropped into cover in one of the craters. "Alright. It's go time." They peeked out - confirming that this was the sole Killik in sight. "You all get into position and I lure it. That sound right?"

@René @spfinx

 

[Ayomi Jakarta]

Ayomi didn't particularly appreciate Vossari's tone as he accepted their less-than-subtle order, but it seemed the acolyte had learned his lesson not to be so direct with his anger for the time being. Besides, as much as they'd like to spend their time humbling disrespectful acolytes, there was a mission to get underway and the longer the Sith stayed on this cursed planet the more dangerous it became. For all their earlier threats, it would be incredibly inconvenient to lose even an acolyte to the Killik hive mind.

The Tiefling tread lightly over the dry terrain, pointed ears and red eyes attentive to any signs of movement around the group. Ayomi was half-surprised the planet wasn't completely glassed given the threat the Killik's posed, though it was certainly halfway there. They listened to the Wrean acolyte's suggestion without much of a reaction, thinking it over in their head while continuing to remain perceptive to their surroundings. Advanced means of molding the Force wasn't exactly the champion's expertise - something they wanted to address at some point - but even subtle manipulations of the light waves around them would be beneficial in such a barren environment.

"Your suggestion is certainly no easy feat, but it's not advanced Sith alchemy. Even if it's not perfect, it's a good idea."

Ayomi eventually replied as the group came upon a field of craters, a burning mound of bodies in the distance. They followed suit as Vossari crouched down in one of the craters, motioning for the Pantoran acolyte behind them to do the same. A hill would've been nice to hide behind, but these craters were deep enough to make do. The Tiefling nodded in affirmation to Vossari as he prepared to approach the lone Killik in the distance, turning to the Pantoran girl beside them as he did so.

"Focus the Force energies around you to deflect the waves of light around us. Any camoflauge we can gererate will be useful. For now, we watch from affar and prepare to attack from behind if this all goes to plan. If something goes wrong or our bait screws things up, we'll have to jump in and pivot on the fly. Got it?"

@spfinx @Fine Dining Set

 

[Vossari Khaldun]

As Ayomi moved into position, Vossari began his 'distraction.' With no other killiks in sight, Vossari felt it safe to just announce himself. Maybe even get a chance to test a little experiment of his own. 'How does a Killik react to getting the shit beat out of it?' With Ayomi melting into shadow, Vossari rose to his feet, closing the distance between him and the killik stealthily, as he approached the pile of bodies. Lucky his visor filtered out the horrible stench. Like a game of body-jenga, Vossari used the force to fling a body out of the pile, causing the rest to topple down in a grotesque display. The worker stumbled as an errant arm struck him - which, in turn, was Vossari's time to strike. As the drone went to investigate the body pile, Vossari ambushed it from behind, wrestling it to the ground.

He drove its face into a pile of viscera, keeping their chest heavy over the killik's back to they couldn't easily get up. The scuffle would give Ayomi an opportunity to attack - Vossari hoped she would you some sith-y magic or something to knock it out. Otherwise, he'd have to do it the old fashioned way.

@René

 

[Ayomi Jakarta]

Ayomi's ability to command the Force as camouflage was half-decent at best, but it was working enough with the added cover and shadow provided by the crater they crouched in. Turns out, the upstart Wrean acolyte seemed to be handling things pretty well himself. The group had been lucky to find a lone Killik without any others in the vicinity; with any luck, they'd be able to get off this cursed planet as quickly as they'd arrived.

Ayomi watched as Vossari wrestled the Killik to the ground, pressing his weight against it. Well, that's certainly one way to do things. Then again, the speed of the acolyte's attack was hopefully preventing the overgrown bug from realizing what was going on. The Tiefling reached out with the Force, restricting the creature's airways with the intent to force it into unconsciousness rather than kill; between that and the pressure Vossari was applying to its abdomen, it might be enough to incapacitate it. Still, there was always the chance for things to go wrong. In case they did, Ayomi tensed their body and gathered up the Force beneath their feet, ready to propel themselves to the Wrean's aid if need be.

@Fine Dining Set

 

[Vossari Khaldun]

As Ayomi applied the physical force, Vossari applied the mental. Forcing all of his focus to the skull of the creature as Ayomi restrained it with a choke, they pried their fingers on the back of its skull. <GO TO SLEEP!> They choked out angrily in their native Tethysian, rage infiltrating the very mind of the creature. In between the physical and mental assault, the creature passed out promptly, without an issue.

As the drone's body lay there, Vossari rose to his feet, wiping the gore and viscera of the corpses off of his suit. These were the moments he was glad to wear a sealed environment suit on these types of missions. He couldn't imagine the stink that this area carried.

He placed hands to knees and panted, for a moment, exhaustion kicking in after the surge of adrenaline. "Well done, champion." His voice still tinged with irony, of course, but he was happy that they had worked well together when it counted. Ayomi could have very well left him hanging, to die, when he launched his ambush. And they would have been seething if they had failed such an assignment. "Like I said, nice and easy."

They hoisted the legs of the creature up, throwing their head backwards to gesture towards the creature's torso. "Mind grabbing the other end? Figure we can just...hoist 'em the way back."

Some more planning would've been nice. They could've brought like a net gun to capture the killik and a troop transport to But for now, they would celebrate the win. A long walk back, and the killik was loaded on the craft. As soon as they got out of range of the hive, Vossari knew the creature would become docile, no threat to either of them.

Mission Success.

"You wanna stop for ice cream on the way back?" Vossari popped his helmet off as he sat in the pilot's chair, beginning the take-off sequence for their craft. "Actually, on second thought, let's just get this back to Az- Potionmaster Kressh as soon as possible."

Why ruin a good thing?

/thread exit
D20: Killik Capture Roll 20/20

 

[Ayomi Jakarta]

Ayomi's telekinetic grip forced the air from the Killik's tracheae, and with Vossari's help the creature finally collapsed motionless. Well, that was surprisingly easy. They rose from their spot in the crater, approaching the acolyte and the massive insect at his feet. The whole area stank of death and charred corpses. The Tiefling wrinkled their nose, but otherwise showed no signs that the smell affected them. It was bad, yes, but death was nothing new to the Sith.

Vossari's comment had an edge to it, but he had done the harder part of the work and spared himself another restricted airpipe; at least for now. "Likewise, acolyte." Ayomi responded in kind. "Perhaps all that bark has some bite after all." The Wrean hadn't earned their full respect, but he'd performed well nonetheless. They grabbed the other end of the Killik per Vossari's suggestion, helping to carry the creature back to their ship. It was lucky that they'd managed to grab one of these things without having to go too far into Killik territory, and better yet that they'd done so without inflicting any permanent damage on it.

With the group back on the ship they'd arrived on and exiting the atmosphere on their way back to Umbara, Ayomi let out a mental sigh of relief. Turns out you didn't need friends to get the job done. Hopefully the Potionmaster's experiments yielded some results; they didn't want to have dealt with Vossari's attitude for nothing.

Fin.​