Ask Invasion The Curse Of Byblos

[Darth Raze]

It was a standard shipping freighter that passed through the checkpoints easily enough. The pilot was under his will. If that wasn’t the case, the fear of his cargo alone would have forced him to comply. The massive ship had no weapons or anything remarkable about it that would warrant any extra checks. There were no explosives detected, and it would make it to the surface of the planet. The freighter landed in its designated bay. Everything was normal and the workers motioned for the cargo bay ramp to open.

However, when it did, they began to hear unnatural, guttural noises. The workers started to step back, having expected nothing more than cargo boxes of goods. When the ramp lowered, they were instead faced with a sea of unnatural beasts. There were hundreds of them packed in there. There was a single, silent command, and they all rushed out at once, a collective shrill cry erupting in the air.

The freighter unloaded its entire cargo, waves upon waves of abominations unleashed into the Byblos driveyards in the middle of Byblos City. Once the swarms dispersed out of the freighter, a lone figure slowly stepped down after them. He was accompanied by his latest experiment - the scourge of Zaa Fenn (@Versok ).

“Feast, my child,” The wraith said simply, bidding his creature to transform and destroy everything in his path.

The Anzat didn’t linger there long, teleporting out of sight to appear elsewhere to oversee the beauty of his destruction. Byblos would be the first of many to become subjugated to the will of the Dark Side. Its people would suffer and be torn apart by the Force’s most unnatural creations. Raze’s abominations - his children- would tear through the planet, destroying everything in their wake. They were difficult to kill, they were not fully alive, and they were always hungry.

Perhaps this was Raze's love letter to the Queen Mother. (@Valen Pelora )

 

[Fallen Beast of Zaa Fenn]

Amidst the many bestial creatures inside the freighter and the wraith was a man, or what remained of one. Even in his human form, he hardly could be considered one. A long time ago, the White Lion of Zaa Fenn had once been a theat to many planets in the galaxy, ruining one of them, Mon Cala, for generations to come. That was a beast that had been put away for many years, the parts of Gareth that he had decided to put away, knowing using them would've meant putting a target on himself once more. But after meeting Raze, after being transformed by him, the beast was free, and given a form of its own.

The Lion smiled before calling upon the force and letting out the feelings that fuelled the beast, the transformation both terrifying and enthralling as he became even bigger, unnatural upgrades given by the most disgusting uses of the dark side twisting and breaking his form into an even more bestial one, a loud, terryfing howl filling the air, beckoning the other monsters to feast. He was the alpha of the abominations, the herald of the Wraith, and the one that would bring down destruction to this world.

The fallen beast would surge forward, joining the abominations as if they were its pack, carnage ensuing as armed and unarmed, citizens and nearby law enforcement alike, fell to him, crushed, sliced or ripped apart for the beast to either feast or let others feast. A monster that had been locked away by the ISC years ago, crowning its return with the blood of those that came across him. One way or the other, Byblos will know death.

 

[Pellios]

Spoiler: Music

The Devaronian arms dealer was glad to be in the business of weapons. However he was not happy to be dealing with such terrifying monsters. Earlier that day Pellios was thinking the trip to Byblos was going to be a routine visit. “Come out to Byblos, we’ll get together, have a few laughs.” He mockingly muttered to himself. It was ironic he had come to both consult a local defense contractor and also to investigate rumors of a stashed cache of weapons. All that did not matter anymore.

Both the Gackling Bandara and the scoundrel’s second ship Chuckle Wagon were being powered up by their respective crews but were a distance from Pellios. Captain Reverence had been able to hire help after the latest auction. He only wished that he was transporting some of those vehicles on this trip. A few tanks or airspeeders would come in handy but that was the first of many things the aging gentleman would be wanting in vain before the day was over.

“Bandara, Wagon, power up and prepare to take off. ” He hoped Jann and Ruthless would listen because he did not hear a response. The man was bumped into by a panicked protocol droid who promptly apologized before hurriedly heading in the opposite direction of the rampaging abominations. At the same time Pellios dropped his commlink in the path of another pedestrian which was stepped on without a second thought. The man’s face tightened slightly and his expression changed to a grumpier appearance. Before the man could pull his headset off of his belt he turned back to look at the coming threat.

Reaching over to either cufflink, the scoundrel rolled up his sleeves to the elbows. His right hand unholstered his R-799 and he continued to follow the flow of foot traffic away from danger. Unlike most of the civilians though, Pellios was not moving rapidly away from the front lines. Instead the dapper scoundrel knew he was one of the few people probably capable of slowing these creatures down. They would tear into him just as much as the next person. “Time to earn a few more grey hairs.”

Unless...
this might be
the end....
​

Maybe he should have told his crew to take off afterall.

@Versok @Sreeya

 

[Darth Raze]

Byblos City was in utter chaos, the waves of abominations mowing through the crowds. Innocents were torn apart, eaten and destroyed. Buildings were overrun and collapsed, panic ensuing all around. It was all music to Raze’s ears, the Anzat perched atop the roof of a diplomatic building. He watched the chaos unfold, starfighters whizzing above as klaxons blared and emergency responders reported to the scene.

The Dark Sider raised his hand and gripped one of the starfighters that began to descend, tearing it from the sky. Raze sent it hurtling into another building, a massive explosion erupting. He knew which building housed the planet’s Senator - the one that showed up on Corellia. Without a second thought, the building collapsed into dust, instantly killing Jana Kang.

He willed his abominations through the Force, dispersing the group throughout all corners of the city. Their wrath would be swift and deliberate and the entire city would fall within moments. The planet would be completely destabilized and left without leaders. It would be left in a worse state than Denon by the time the abominations were done.

The beasts weren’t easy to kill, blaster bolts and other regular weapons only giving them brief pause before they continued their rampage. They felt no pain and they were a curse in the Force, a cancer that only consumed and grew, destroying everything in their path.

@Versok @Darasuum

 

[Fallen Beast of Zaa Fenn]

Chaos and terror started to fill the streets, the abominations killing everything and everyone in their paths. And while the starfighters seemed to pose a bigger threat, there were certain abominations that were capable of taking care of them as they descended. One of them being, of course, the fallen beast of Zaa Fenn, who leaped into the sky as one of the fighters did a strafing run. The abomination managed to land on top of the star fighter unharmed, the force being used to cushion its collision against the speeding ship. The pilot could only watch in terror as the creature let out a bestial scream before thrusting one of its claws, going through the windshield and straight through the man's chest before it simply jumped off the ship, the fighter descending to the ground and hitting a crowd of people that were running away before exploding.

Of course, the carnage didn't end there, the beast of Zaa Fenn kept slaughtering everything that came its way. However, it became clear that it had the ability to prioritize targets, first it went for armed vehicles such as speeders, then armed people on foot, and when there was nothing that could pose a threat to it...It feasted on anything he could get its claws on. Its latest catch would be a young Pandoran man, who it had grabbed using its three tails. One of the tails had grabbed the man from the torso, while another one had the tail and the last one had the legs...And it started pulling.

Eventually, the Pandoran man would be split into many pieces, a leg being thrown far away and landing right in front of a Tiefling that was about to turn around the corner (@Darasuum). He would be able to take a peek just in time to witness the beast drinking the blood and gore coming out from a headless torso and a now crushed head before letting out an animalistic howl, a few abominations rallying out to its call and advancing forward. After that, however, the beast would begin sniffing...And chances are it would catch the man should he stay around any longer, the overwhelming amount of blood filling the streets being the only reason it had not charged him already.

@Sreeya

 

[Pellios]

What started as an outbreak of monsters swiftly turned into widespread chaos. The abominations were a major danger but the panic and fear were just as much of a threat to everyone's safety. The cries of terror and screams amidst crowds made the smuggler pause long enough to re-evaluate how karked he was if he did not high tail it out of there.

Holstering his weapon, Pellios turned and ran. He avoided the heavy crowds and dipped down an alley while running at full tilt. The Devaronian's heals skidded in a puddle as he heard and felt something heavy and wet splatter in front of him. The man's eyes widened at the dismembered body part. The form of the @Fallen Beast of Zaa Fenn was glimpsed for a half second before the Devaronian recoiled back into the alleyway to avoid being seen and to not be subjected to a horrific sight.

Looking around, sweat beaded on the arms-dealer's forehead. The man's undershirt was already collecting his perspiration though he rarely sweat from heat. The scoundrel's eyes flit from every corner of his surroundings to find a viable exit strategy. The way back was a no go and neither was the way forward.

Pellios Reverance looked down and managed a one sided grin before pulling his fusion cutter from his belt and quickly got to work. In the blink of an eye, the circular manhole in the ground retracted its sliding door like a widening aperture. No doubt it would lead the way to his ship but in a far less pleasant manner than desired. More importantly, the tunnel down was far too narrow for a monster like the abominations in the streets.

The aperture closed once his horns passed the threshold. Once at the base of the maintenance ladder the man finally fished out his headset activated the flashlight on the device to see better in the dark. There were maintenance lights but the occasional flicker of light and shifting shadows kept the him on edge. "Bandara, Wagon this is Pellios. If you can read me hone in on my position. I'm in...sewewge. Get airborne and don't let any monsters onboard. Weapons are useless and fighting is NOT an option." With that said, he stiffled his gag reflex and trudged towards what he hopped was a better rendezvous point.

Exit Attempt​

@Sreeya @Versok

 

[Darth Raze]

It was glorious to behold. Chaos. Utter chaos. Within moments, the capital was overrun and his children devoured and ate their way through countless droves of civilians. The fear, the agony, the pain, the anger, all of it fed the Anzat. The wraith was perched atop a building, a smile gracing his lips as he observed his handiwork proceed unchecked.

It wasn’t long before he made his way to a formal government building. He found the local officials hiding there. He devoured two of them before the third got the idea to comply. This man would serve as a puppet figurehead to keep the planet under Raze’s control. Raze entered the man’s thoughts, eating through parts of his personality and what allowed him complete free will. Instead, he was now one of Raze’s subjects and externally a man that previously had authority over the masses.

Before long, the ‘newly elected’ governor would announce to his people the dawn of a new era. One where everyone had a purpose to work towards. One where everyone worked to serve their new god. Raze wouldn’t have to lift a finger.

The Anzat took slow steps down the stairs of the agency building, wiping his lips where some viscera was left over from his feasting. He came across his newest creation, the entity that once used to be an Imperial officer (@Braden ). The Anzat regarded the man.

“The planet is ours,” He informed the man, “Time to collect our tax,” A grin graced that demonic face, “Take 10,000 citizens, pack them into a freighter and take them to Hoth,” He stated. The humanoids would be turned into abominations to add to Raze’s ever-growing army.

You have done well, my child His voice would echo in the mind of the Exalted (@Versok) that had transformed. His work was done, so he would revert back to his humanoid form.

 

[Julius Drake]

Marcellus stood at the head of the high steps which lead into the capitol building surveying the carnage below him. The ravenous hordes of Raze’s forces had broken almost all of Byblos’ resistance; only a few pockets remained and they would be quickly mopped up now the government had officially fallen to his Master/Father. As Raze approached Marcellus was wiping up the last of the blood from around his humanoid mouth. He, like all the others, had entered his Exalted state shortly after landing, ripping through dozens of residents feasting on their flesh, blood and bone.

But now his Father needed the humanoid side of Marcellus, the one that would gather the tithe and allow the birth of more of his brothers and sisters. “I understand father. I will collect the best.” He replied, his voice silky smooth and calm amongst the carnage around him.

That slither of soul which slipped from Raze into Marcellus allowed the latter to communicate to his brethren telepathically, similar to their Father but his voice was more of an order than a command. Some would revert back to their humanoid form, taking physical control of the transport links out of the city, whilst the others would form guards for their humanoid siblings. Two Exalted close by, still in their monstrous forms were tasked with collecting one of the magistrates from the tower Raze just departed.

Once he arrived, Marcellus gave him a big smile. “You will summon all the male inhabitants of the city over eighteen and have them assembled here.” He said, pointing towards the large square at the bottom of the stairs. “I need ten thousand, no more, no less, if you do not gather the required amount you will be added to the tithe. If you gather enough you will receive my blessing. Do we have an agreement?” He asked, holding out a hand.

The bureaucrat was close to either fainting or pissing himself, Marcellus wasn’t sure, but the man, shaking as he did so, accepted the handshake and sped off to begin his assignment. One of the corrupted monstrosities approached Marcellus as the Byblos native left, its hand outstretched. “Our first Blood Tithe.” He smiled, picking up the glass the creature held out. “Here is to plenty more to come.” Marcellus toasted taking a sip from the wineglass full of fresh Byblos blood.

@Sreeya @Versok