Ask Vanished

[Jonathen Baize]

Entralla​

Jonathen's platoon had been on patrol on Entralla for a few weeks when they started to hear odd rumors about creatures being spotted and other strange activity in the area. At first, they had chalked it up to backwater superstition, but then his soldiers started to see some of the same things.

This escalated the night they rolled into a village they had been through a month prior. It was a small village, but now they found it completely deserted. A thick snow fell on the ground covering any tracks of what happened. As they looked around, they began to notice symbols carved into buildings, walls, and books.

Then they found the cave on the outskirts of town. It looked like it had been bathed in blood. Bones lay on the ground, but they had been as abandoned as the rest of it. Woefully out of his element, He had sent word to the only Imperial Knight he trusted. If anyone knew anything about what was happening, they might.

He hoped Kalique would be able to shed some light on the situation.

 

[Kalique Baize]

Kalique had gotten oddly used to cults that either consisted of self-proclaimed Sith or of people that either worshipped them or tried to be like them. Kalique had little patience for groups that kept causing issues on planets under Imperial rule and there was always the point in time where those cultists started acting out completely.

People vanished, died or cruel rituals began to disrupt the natural order and somehow, when she had received Jonathen's message, it sounded like she was walking right into a similar situation. The ISB immediately sent her after Lieutenant Baize and his platoon who were apparently in desperate need of a dark-side expert and had thus deployed the Knight asap.

While she had never set a foot on Entralla before, the Knight-Captain did pack enough clothing for the much colder climate and was hoping that whoever was behind the incidents would be found quickly, but as more and more details sickered though, Kalique was already starting to realize that the case seemed more complicated than that.

Kalique approached the temporary Imperial camp in her regular armor, however had an additional thermo layer beneath. The snow that muffled most sounds around created an eerie silence, but Kalique was shivering from the cold she simply wasn't used to.

She was about to meet Jonathen's at the said coordinates and expecting him just outside camp, however despite being happy to see him again, there was less warmth in her voice and a slightly concerned look on her face as she finally reached him. "Hey...it's good to see you again". Despite the genuineness of her statement, she was hoping to meet him under different circumstances.

@Raydo

 

[Jonathen Baize]

Ambience​

It had taken two days for the Knight to arrive, and while they hadn't seen anything, they had certainly all heard things in the night. The soldiers experienced night terrors whenever they tried to sleep and were growing increasingly paranoid.

Even Jonathen had felt the effects of this. She would find the Lieutenant a little worse for wear when she arrived. His eyes were sunken in, clearly needing a good night's sleep.

He met her outside the building they had made camp in. He wore winter gear but had his head uncovered at the moment. "Wished it was under better circumstances, or at least warmer ones," he said. "But, I am glad you are here. There is some seriously spooky shit going on here, and well..." he said, cutting off his joke. He was too tired. "...I am just glad you are here," he said, opening the door to their "camp", letting her go in first before following. He shook the snow from his hair and stomped the snow off of his boots before entering further.

"We took some etchings of the symbols we found, and I can show you the cave when its light out," he said. He was sure as hell not about to go out there at night.

@LadyRen

 

[Kalique Baize]

Amongst the first things Kalique noticed was this eerie atmosphere this place was bathed in. The closer she had gotten to the village the more obvious she could sense this permanent sense of dread that lingered in the air. It didn't feel like a dark force nexus or something, but it was much harder to grasp and she already knew it would probably take a while to make out its source.

Jonathen looked bad. Perhaps even a little frightened and definitely exhausted. While she was also worried for the safety of the soldiers and villagers, Kalique was quite fearless. Spooky movies didn't bother her and she had fought Sith abominations before, so it usually took a lot to shock her.

The worriedness for him was still geuine. She would have loved to say something like 'get some sleep', but she already knew the ambitious soldier well enough to tell he wouldn't just go nap. "Well same...I'm glad I'm here now though. Whatever it is, we'll deal with it", she confidently replied, happy to follow him inside.

It was much warmer inside the building and started taking off the additional layers while she listened to what he had already gathered. "Hmm...this all sounds weird" she admitted as this all sounded more like a haunting in a horror-holomovie instead of a cult's doings.

"Sure. Show me the symbols, I'm quite versed in such matters" she added, actually being specialized and analyzing runes and Ur-Kittât to a certain extent. "What else did you all notice? Visions? As in actual mind invasions? Nightmares? Did you see something moving in the dark?". If they were dealing with Sith, they had surely already found their ways into the Imperials' minds...

@Raydo

 

[Jonathen Baize]

The winds whipped against the shutters causing them to shake as they stepped inside. He took off his gloves and stuffed them into a pocket.

"Corporal, get me that book of symbols," he told one of his soldiers. The soldier nodded and headed upstairs. Joanthen motioned to a table she could sit at. "Coffee?" he asked, already pouring himself a cup. "Its shit coffee, but it warms you up at least," he said. If she agreed, he would also pour her a cup and join her at the table.

"People can't seem to sleep; maybe its all in our heads, but...I don't know..feels like more," he said. Jonathen liked to believe he was above just spooking himself out, but he honestly didn't know. "Haven't seen anything, but people have said they have heard things moving around outside at night. Haven't found tracks though its been snowing heavily since we arrived." he offered.

The soldier brought down the book and put it on the table before backing up, clearly uncomfortable even holding it. Soldiers could get superstitious in a hurry, especially in these circumstances. Jonathen opened the book and started pointing to different symbols before sliding the book to Kalique.

"Have you seen anything like this before?" he asked curiously.

@LadyRen

 

[Kalique Baize]

The setting was truly like in one of those movies she used to love watching, only that it was real and they were right in the middle of it. She didn't let the spookiness get to her at all and tried to approach it with all the rationality she could muster, reminding herself of the fact that something, or someone had to be behind this. The Force at this place seemed wild and slightly out of control, but whether it was an natural occurrence or someone's work still had to be examined.

She could feel the shared unsettlement all around in each and every solider. It must have been much harder for them as they simply couldn't feel what else was going on, but it bothered her that she was also quite clueless in understanding whatever was happening here for now.

"Yes, that would be great, thank you". A warming beverage would help her warm up from the inside and she waved off his concerns about the coffee's quality with a smirk as this was truly the least of her concerns. She removed the gloves from her hands and warmed them on the cup before she took a sip.

"Hm.." she listened to what else he was explaining and was trying to connect the dots, but all she had so far were hypothetical assumptions."If there's a dark sider around, it could be in your head because they have gotten inside somehow" she explained, however one detail didn't fit. "It's weird that it's messing with all of you at once though".

As the soldier brought the book, she started scanning over the runes and symbols, however she couldn't immediately place them. "No...actually that's pretty weird. I see...slight resemblances to ancient Sith runes, but it's too different. I also don't see a pattern yet, but I'll keep going over it tonight".

She wasn't sure how much she should explain as not all of this knowledge would help him. "The Force here is somehow disrupted. Disharmonic. So something is going on, but I don't want to say that it's a Sith for sure". Maybe it was a disruption of a different kind.

"Okay...so we will check out that cave tomorrow, right?". It seemed like he was in desperate need of sleep and not interested in departing right away. "I'm curious whether it will haunt me tonight as well". She already had another idea on how to start tracking this thing, but for now she wanted to hear his opinion on their plan.

@Raydo

 

[Jonathen Baize]

He nodded as she spoke. He had his hangups about Force users in general, but she trusted him and her knowledge on the topic. "We could show you where we recorded those symbols, but it all seemed random," he said with a shrug.

"Anything you or we can do to let us get a good night's sleep? Everyone is kind of edge around here; I'll probably have to start breaking up fights if we continue like we have," he said, leaning in towards her. He kept his voice down so only she could hear.

"Yeah, I can show you the cave tomorrow," he said, yawning. His eyes were heavy; his muscles felt like he was pushing his body through the mud. He pushed himself up to stand. "Well, there is an extra cot upstairs in the room I have been using as an office. Have equipment set up in there if you need to make any communications," he said.

"Hopefully, you can figure out what's going on here because I don't have a damned clue," he said with another yawn. "I am gonna crash for a few hours. Let me know if you need any help with research or anything," he said, walking towards the stairs.

With that, he went upstairs and fell into his cot. Falling asleep immediately.

The nightmares began again.

@LadyRen

 

[Kalique Baize]

She agreed with a nod to his suggestion about visiting the places of origin of those drawings, however as he mentioned the randomness she assumed that this might indeed be a problem.

She kept maintained eye contact while he emphasized how bad the situation really was, finding more and more wrinkles in his face that were a testament to how those night terrors kept them all awake. "I'm not capable of tapping into the Light Side, so I can't...purge this place. I might still be able to do something against those terrors". She was sounding more hopeful than, her features softening despite the concerns.

"I'll rest and meditate. Might not need that much sleep. You try to get some rest and I'll do my best to defuse tensions and soothe your men". While staying conscious and aware, maybe she would even learnt more about what every was haunting them and this place.

She still wondered whether it would try to attack her too, however she also decided to fortify her mental defenses ans barriers just in case. All in all the night would be a little exhausting, but she simply had to try. "Thank you. I'll take the cot. You have a good night".

She did actually follow him upstairs as there was no need to stay down here. Most soldiers were already in their rooms as well so this was where her work began. The temperature inside the office was actually decent, so she could change into a leggins and hoddie without any thermal underwear.

For at least half an hour nothing seemed to change, but as she laid there with her eyes close she could slowly feel the levels of panic and dread rising. She kept reaching out, searching for any sources, but ot was always just passing by. She could make out where the others where sleeping and how it was the worst there, but simply couldn't grasp what exactly caused it.

She had never seen anything like this before, but she still had an idea. Pushing herself out the bed, she went into the hallway first. It was as if something had recently passed through and it was much colder, so that a shiver went down her spine. You want to play? Fine, I'll find you.

She walked further and up to Jonathen's room where she once again closed her eyes and took it all for a moment. She could feel the nightmares and knew that a Sith would relish in these terrors, but while she drew her powers from the Dark Side as well, this was all just making her angry as it kept attacking the Imperials.

Slowly and quietly opening the door, she slipped into Jonathen's room, only whispering, "It's me, don't worry". After she had closed the door behind her. "I've been sensing...it was troubling you again. I can't track it down that easily and so far it hasn't tried its luck with me".

She spoke softly as she approached and sat down next to him. "I do have an idea though...Do you trust me?". While she felt bad for having woken him, she also knew he'd been in light sleep in a best case scenario. While she was asking a serious question her features were still a mixture of worries and sympathy.

@Raydo

 

[Jonathen Baize]

Ashes fell from the sky.

He was barefoot, walking along the dirt path leading up to his home. Ashes covered the fields on either side, vines writhing underneath the surface.

"What had happened?" he thought, confused.

The house ahead appeared abandoned, as it had always been abandoned. There were no lights, no warmth, no animals, nothing. He slowly approached the house. Each footfall kicking up some ash.

The door pushed open as he reached it. Vines had covered the inside walls, running along the floor. He then saw his parents dead across the room. Vines crept over them, choking their lifeless body.

Something moved in the shadows, something sinister.

It lunged and...

He lurched awake at the sound of the door opening, hand pulling the knife from its sheath along his leg. He froze, seeing what had caused the noise.

Jonathen slumped back down. His body ached with exhaustion. He looked at the time; it had only been an hour. His breathing started to slow once again. He forced himself to sit up, looking at Kalique through bloodshot eyes.

Did he trust her? He wanted to say he was skeptical of her, of her powers, of her order, but that was a lie. He had called her here.

"I do." he said quietly.

@LadyRen

 

[Kalique Baize]

Jonathen rose in shock, perhaps a little startled and disoriented at first, but as his blood-shot gaze met her strikingly green eyes, his breathing eased itself a little. Worriedly, she studied him for another moment before she opened her mouth again, her voice still soft and lowered, hoping his mind would stop racing from the horrors he had just faced.

She wanted to make it stop right away. He sounded honest, yet she knew there was a part of him that was scared...scared of the unpredictable nature that was part of the dark side she was drawing her powers from and misstrusting after all the years of Sith tyranny.

"Okay..." she was grateful for how he still worked through all that uncertainty and chose a positive answer, but she struggled to find the right words for a moment. "The Force allows me to dive into someone's mind. I can't just read your thoughts, don't worry, it's not like subtle telepathy, but much more complicated than that" she gently began to explain.

"When attempted by force, it can tear the target's mind into pieces. If it's consensual, not". Maybe he was already realizing where she was getting at, but as he didn't know much about the Force and her powers, she continued to elaborate.

"If you'd let me in, I might be able to see it, too...To track it down somehow. I could only sense how much it frightened you, but I have no starting point as it's not prodding at my mind". She studied his reaction intently, not wanting to scare him any further. "I told you I don't need to sleep tonight...I could still meditate and try to gain some insights while staying focused".

She swallowed, knowing damn well that this might sound terrifying to him. "It's your decision though. It's...intimate for sure. But I can promise no harm will come to you and I won't access any more than those dreams". Perhaps the idea was wild. While it made sense in theory, she had never done something like that before.

@Raydo

 

[Jonathen Baize]

He listened as she laid out her plan. He had to admit; it made his skin crawl a little bit. The thought of someone being in his mind...

No, he would do it, especially if he could help. He slid over in the cot, giving her a space to sit. As he leaned back against the wall, he tried to relax. He found himself reaching for her hand; it seemed right if anything, he found comfort in the contact.

"Don't fuck my mind up too bad," he said, keeping his voice low. "I don't have too much to lose up there," he added with a grin.

He leaned his head against the wall and let exhaustion grip him again. He felt himself get pulled back down into the inky blackness.

---

Panic gripped him.

He was running away from the house something snarled behind him. It burst out the door seconds behind him, snapping its maw.

Jonathen ran down an endless dirt path, thorns cutting into his feet.

He couldn't stop. It was so close.

He could feel the creature's breath on his neck.

---

His body stiffened as the nightmare took him. His breathing increased, as did his heart rate, and sweat beaded on his forehead despite the cold.

 

[Kalique Baize]

She breathed flatly, maybe even a little afraid of his reaction. It was fairly obvious that he wouldn't get another soldier of his platoon to volunteer for such an endeavor, but if he'd refuse, and frankly speaking, she wouldn't be mad or anything, she'd have to find another way.

"I promise I won't" she softly replied, barely more than a whisper, hoping he would even manage to drift back into sleep. He slid over and she could sit more comfortably, however as he suddenly grabbed her hand, she almost flinched a little, not having expected him to do so.

Her lips curled into a soft smile as she watched him lean back, eyes closed and his mind already beginning to wonder off. She kept herself in a seated position, however soon began to realize that it wasn't a very comfortable position to be in. Moving very carefully and slowly, she slowly slid further down, not releasing his and also avoiding to wake him, until she could stretch out her legs and lay down next to him.

As it simply was easier, she positioned her other hand at the side of his, only making contact gently so that again, she wouldn't wake him before she closed her own eyes and eased herself into his mind. She was controlling her own heartbeat by concentration and as she wasn't faced with any mental barricades, she slowly weaved her way inside.

He was already asleep by then, and as his mind entered the REM stage, she was already where she had to be. She was aware of everything that was happening outside his dream, his increased heartbeat and symptoms of panic included. She was watching as if through his eyes, the panic and this dreadful feeling of getting hunted also grasping her.

Whatever was chasing him, it was nothing humanoid. Sentient maybe, but this palpable dark aura was nothing she had ever felt before. She was breathing faster, trying hard to resist getting carried away by all those emotions that were starting to prod at her own mind, but she was trying to take it all in and analyze this terrible nightmare.

There were thorns, there was mud. No snow, but a house. His childhood home, maybe? The thing was drawing from its subconscious and it apparently seized his deepest fears, but there was only one way to find out what it was truly capable off. "Stop" she commanded, which was barely a whisper in the real world but in the realm of this dream, it was a serious threat she was posing against this sinister force.

Determined, she reached in more powerfully, not working against his natural barriers but working with him in that regard. She was fortifying his mental barriers lending him her power. As she had no idea whether it would be effective, she simply decided that she had to try and thus she was actively fighting against this predator.

While dream Jonathen ran, she was establishing an invisible wall of her own willpower right behind him before she actively began attempting to push this unwelcome invader out. Her muscles were all tensed up in bed next to him while she grabbed his hand more tightly as well. "I cannot hurt you. I will not let it" her voice would hopefully reach him somehow in his own mind, while she tried her best to get this thing out of there. In his nightmare, he'd realize that something was trying to protect him by squeezing itself between him and the hunter. Maybe this thing was to play with someone who knew how to challenge it...

@Raydo

 

[Jonathen Baize]

He ran, endless ran. He ran but got nowhere.

So tired.

He couldn't keep it up much longer, but it was there, always there behind him.

One of his legs gave out from exhaustion, and he fell. He skidded against rock and thorn as they tore at his skin.

Looking behind him, he was still only a few meters from the house. The formless creature crouching in the darkness. It moved on all fours but had a too-large smiling face filled with jagged teeth.

Terror gripped him, but then he felt something. It was the slow, rhythmic breathing of the woman next to him. It flowed compared to his own erratic breathing. As it slowly pulsed, his heart moved to match that beat.

The creature crouched to leap at Jonathen, but it slammed into a barrier of orange light. Confused, Jonathen's dream mind couldn't comprehend what was happening. It tried again, and the force pushed it away again.

He pushed himself to his fight, now somehow less frightened as the creature struggled. He felt a hand tighten around his, felt its strength..her strength.

No longer dealing with easy prey, the presence vanished. Jonathen's mind wandered to more peaceful things as his body relaxed.

The creature turned its attention to the Imperial Knight lying beside Jonathen. It slammed itself against her mind, trying to break through the defenses she had erected there.

This was a feral thing, throwing itself against her again and again and again.

@LadyRen

 

[Kalique Baize]

While in Jonathen's mind Kalique's heart and aura seemed all calm and strong, it looked differently for her on the inside. In an attempt to intimidate this thing, she had mustered all her strength and forced it to retreat.

It was no wonder though that the jagged teeth beast was quite displeased about what the Knight-Captain was doing though...It disappeared from Jonathen's mind at once, seemingly vanishing into thin air and leaving the Lieutenant in peace for now, but while Kalique's focus had laid protecting the soldier just like she had promised, she was offering an entrance for the dark, shapeless monster to her own mind.

For a few minutes, both Imperials appeared rather calm. They laid next to one another, seemingly peaceful asleep, but Kalique surely wasn't. It was as if she was waiting in a white, sterile room with nothing but a pitch black door she was facing.

The door wasn't closed. A clawed, however still relatively shapeless paw had breached it. She pulled her mental presence away from Jonathen and back towards herself while she knew she had its attention now. "What do you want?" she whispered calmly, as if it could understand her before it violently started to ram against that door.

Determined not to let it in, she kept pushing against it, however feeling how each and every attack drained her. She couldn't let it win. Why was it hunting them though? She had never faced anything like this before and as she couldn't draw from pervious experience, she just ferociously kept pushing back.

While her strength was slowly fading, the battle that raged inside her was slowly blending into the real world. Her heart began to race, her body was suddenly ice cold and stiff and her closed eyes darting back and forth. She was squeezing his hand by now, as if he was the focal point that still kept her in this realm where this thing couldn't hurt them...or could it?

She was breathing heavily and the strain was slowly wearing her down while the beast suddenly stopped. Panting, Kalique still had her gaze on the door...Nothing. The paw was gone and an eerie silence had set in. Careful taking one step forward, she wanted to find a way to finally seal that door, her mental defenses still on full alert, but as her left foot touched the ground, it suddenly threw itself against the door again, much more forcefully than ever before so the door came crashing down.

Kalique screamed, the panic now fully grasping her and she pushed back with all her might. If Jonathen hadn't been awake until then, he now was, as Kalique was seated, drenched in sweat and with all color faded from her face. The thing was gone, but she had no idea who had won in the end.

As absurd as it was, they'd realize that it was nearly sunrise. Somehow, much more hours had passed in one of the phases were Kalique had fought this thing. She was shaking, needing a few moments to process where she was and place what was real and what wasn't, her gaze still rather absent-mindedly staring into nowhere.

@Raydo

 

[Jonathen Baize]

For Jonathen, the night passed peacefully as Kalique battled the creature just inches from him. He awoke to her trembling, seated figure next to him; he had marks on his hands where her nails had dug into them sometime in the night.

As the creature faded into the abyss in Kalique's mind. She would hear crazed laughter. It fed off of terror, and tonight it had gorged itself.

"Kalique." he whispered, sitting up and shaking her slightly. "Are you okay?" he asked, tone dripping with worry. "Kalique!" he whispered more insistently.

"Do you need the medic?" he asked but still received no response. He wrapped an arm around her in preparation to help her up but paused. "You're scaring me. Please be alright.." he said, waiting for a response.

@LadyRen

 

[Kalique Baize]

Kalique had been confronted with darkness for all her life, but never had she ever dealt with the dreadful creature that wandered through the realm of dreams, turning each and every midnight thought into a nightmare and draw from its victims' fear.

Whatever it was, it was an abomination of the darkside, so vile and twisted that it had clearly mananged to freak out the Knight-Captain. Kalique was frightened even though fear to that extent was an emotion that was very uncommon for the relatively fearless woman. And yet there she was, shaking and caught in a shock-induced paralysis.

Jonathen, seemingly unsure of what to do, actually did the right thing as he wrapped an arm around her. Breathlessly, she almost collapsed, pressing her head into the Lieutenant's chest and burying in for a few moments, her right hand grasping the fabric of his shirt. "This...is not...real", still shaking she reminded herself of the thought she didn't want to lose. Before spiraling further, she actively forced herself to focus on what was here and now, not in her head.

Slowly, she withdrew her head, forcing herself to sit upright but still staring into sheer nothingness before she finally met his worried gaze. "It's okay...I'm okay. It's gone now". Mentally she added an, 'I think', not sensing it right now but also having this strange feeling that something was watching them from a distance.

Realizing that she still had her nails digging into his shirt, she released her grasp and forced herself to a few deep breaths. "Sorry...I didn't mean to scare you". She was still clearly beside herself, but slowly calming down. "Do you...remember what happened?".

She wondered how much he recalled from his dreams and whether he had felt her presence as well. Had he seen her struggle the whole time? Her frightened features shifted into worriedness as she still tried to understand what the kriff had been going on.

@Raydo

 

[Jonathen Baize]

Finally, her rigidness broke as she leaned into him. He let out a relieved breath. He held her until her trembling slowed. He had hoped they would gain some answers, but they seemed further in trouble. If she couldn't handle this, perhaps it was time to pull out and let others handle it. In the meantime, whatever this was would have a chance to spread.

He released her as she sat up. "Yeah, its gone. It has always left us alone during the day. At least for the most part." he said. He almost grinned as she apologized. He found it was something she often did, especially when it wasn't needed, but he let the moment pass. "Don't worry about that. Are you okay?" he asked as she appeared to calm slightly.

When asked, he tried to remember the previous night's events. "Its really fuzzy. Nothing really specific. There was..." he said, pausing to think. His mind resisted his memory of the dream. "...my house back home...and something chasing me.." he said, pausing again, remembering the feeling of dread before pushing forward. "Then there was a..light...Then everything faded..." he said. He didn't remember anything else; he wasn't sure he wanted to.

"Do you have any idea what this is?" he asked, concerned. "...Can we stop it?" he added.

@LadyRen

 

[Kalique Baize]

Slowly but steady, she was managing to regain composure. "It revels in the darkness..." she mumbled rather to herself than to him before meeting his gaze again. "Yes. I am now". Her reply sounded somewhat honest, but it was as if it was still hard to grasp the terror had really ceased for now.

The warmth was returning to her body, just like the color to her face. "So it was your home" she stated, vividly remembering the house they had left behind on their flight. "...it seems to draw from memories, perhaps even the repressed. This speaks for the it being a creature able to tap into the Force. I have an assumption, but it's unspecific, actually" she admitted, stretching her tense muscles.

"It seems like an abomination. Sith abominations derive from dark siders who have twisted the Force and used their alchemic knowledge to corrupt or create new, dreadful life. It is obvious that it's not pleased with us being here. So maybe it's time to seek it out in its lair by day if it keeps choosing to visit you all at night". He wouldn't like the idea, she was almost certain of it, but the two of them knew they had to act, rather sooner than later.

She wondered whether the nightmares of the other soldiers had stopped when she had challenged it, but they'd surely find out soon enough. "The vines and thornes...I'd say we venture into the forest and see what we find. I can deal with it. Really", she reassured him confidently, even if the truth was she found it unpredictable.

She was assuming there was a focal point and that something terrible had happened not too long ago, as this thing was clearly drawing power from it. So their task was to find and destroy it. "I was trained for such things. I'm no Jedi, so I can't purge such places with Light, but I've got my methods". They simply had to try.

"I'll eat something to regain some strength. Maybe it's better if I go on my own". She didn't feel rested at all and was still internally unsettled, but she was also convinced he'd start arguing with her now anyway.

@Raydo

 

[Jonathen Baize]

He would have to rely on her knowledge for this. His platoon was clearly over their head, which was her job.

He expected her to want to go alone. He shook his head. "We tried that before. My platoon is ready for danger. They want to stop whatever happened to these people from happening to others." he said. She could certainly order him to stand down now; she held the rank. If she ordered, they would pull out. For now, he pushed back.

As they made their way downstairs, they found the platoon to be more restful than they had been. Proximity to Kalique seemed to correlate to the relief the soldiers had felt. Jonathen received the largest protection from his close contact with her.

"Alright, 5th Platoon!" he said when they were downstairs. "I want everyone ready to move in twenty," he said. Training took over for the weary soldiers, and they began to move and organize. He tossed a ration pack to Kalique. "It ain't much, but its beats frog," he said with a wink.

"You sure you are alright?" he asked Kalique once more, keeping his voice low. "We can pull back and wait for reinforcements." he suggested. It wasn't the best for stopping this thing. If it got away, it could hurt others. This was their best chance, even if it wasn't the smart choice.

@LadyRen

 

[Kalique Baize]

She cleared her throat before she finally managed to get up. "I know you want to help, but this might be out of your control. I won't treat you all as fodder..." she clarified, however realizing where this was going. If they stayed and she went, she would also be incapable of protecting them.

Biting her lip, she weighted the options, knowing that she'd be the one to call the shots this time. "Okay let's say you do come along and we track it together for as long as gun and men power can help...when it's time to face this abomination of the Force though, I want you to run. No objections, no discussion. I'm not endangering your life". Her tone shifted into seriousness and she was waiting for his confirmation of her terms before she'd follow him downstairs.

"I have a feeling it will only get worse over time...It knows I'm there too and it wasn't happy I fought back" she threw him an almost apologetic smile, at least allowing herself to use the spare time to relax while she still could, however wondering whether challenging this thing in the first place had been clever, but they had to do something as this village had been hunted for quite some time now. "It might be best if we just try to end this right away".

Downstairs, Jon instructed his men to assemble and while she gulped down the ration pack, she had to scoff at his comment. "Everything beats the frog. Nothing will ever change that". She was rather grateful about his attempt to slightly lighten the mood, even if it would only be for a brief time.

The soldiers were overly punctual but she could see how many weren't amused. She put on layer by layer so that she was optimally equipped for the unpleasant climate and met the others downstairs then. She took the lead, together with Jonathen and together they all waded through the new snow. It wasn't like they had any coordinates so that she was actually relying on the Force on this.

After a few hundreds meters Jonathen would notice that Kalique suddenly stopped and stiffened. Without even realizing, Kalique was suddenly mouthing 'Mrias' before she'd blink and gaze up at Jonathen, her pupils fully dilated. All of a sudden, the Knight-Captain dropped down to her knees as an immense, unbearable headache took control over, but as quickly as it had come, it vanished.

"Eile Atgal", she whispered breathlessly, however conscious this time. "Turn back...it's ancient Sith. It's warning us" she was dearly hoping that most soldiers had been too far off to witness the terrifying display of the beast reaching out once again. However what Kalique now knew was that it had found its way inside her very mind and she had no idea what this would entail...

@Raydo