Dragus
The Sith Eternal
In front of the Empire, to all you Vader haters out there. We'll blow your planet up.
Posts: 1,406
Affiliation: Sith Eternal
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Post by Dragus on Feb 18, 2024 6:41:09 GMT -8
Take her up. Said Talos into his helmet comlink, instructing the LAAT/le to ascended now that the chirodactyl carcass had been secured with straps. The squad leader of Claw Epyon activated his jetpack and launched up into the air, rising up to the open troop by of the Banshee as it rose above the trees. Landing inside, he turned around and grabbed onto one of the safety handles hanging from the ceiling, peering out the door at the large bat corpse hauled beneath lifted beneath them. Thick blood drops fell from the broken creature, leaving a trail leading back towards Fort Dragmire as the gunship and crew returned to the mobile command centre. Commander Grizzwald was once again riding shotgun, studying a data-pad held in his palms, blue eyes occasionally glancing out the window as the base grew larger the closer they got. Even at a distance, Jake could hear the crack of thunder as the AV-9s inside the command centre walls pounded the jungle, chasing away rancor hunting in the leafy depths. Touching the comm-bead in his ear, Grizzwald opened a channel on his personal comlink to the artillery teams. "Commander Grizzwald to Fort Dragmire. Cease pest control efforts. We're coming in with the bait. Are the energy pens set up outside the walls?"Aye, Commander. Replied a static laced voice over the comm channel. Positioned against the outer eastern wall. "Acknowledged. We're making our delivery. Grizzwald out." Switching off the comm, Jake turned his head and nodded at the NJ3 serving as his pilot. Valentine eased back on the throttle as the gunship came in, doing a once around the spirit ichor refinery that was still drilling deep beneath the surface of the planet. The Commander could see the cyborg rat, Skaltera Brassclaw, screeching at his rodent underlings as the warlock enginseers of Clan Rustrot went about their tedious labour. Reaching into his coat, the NJX removed a pack of deathstick and slapped it on the arm of his seat, causing one narcotic stick to pop out of the top of the container. He plucked it free and plopped it in his mouth, then took out his lighter and ignited the end, taking a deep lungful of ryll spice. His gene forge physiology immediately began to combat the chemicals flooding his system, but for a brief fraction of a second, he felt a glimmer of euphoria. Then the world around him came right back and they were descending towards the ground. Beneath them, four armed ranat-ogres were waiting to receive the chirodactyl corpse. A team of the brutes unhooked the cadaver and dragged it away to be turned into chum. Once the beast carcass was delivered, the Banshee rose again, arcing over the base walls before coming in to land on the dirt inside. Grizzwald climbed out of his chair and grabbed Talos by the shoulder before the raptor claw disembarked. The two shared a nod, then went about their own business. The Claw would be headed to the mess, while the Commander's job was never done.Crossing the interior of the outpost, the Commander exited through the main doors and headed towards the energy pen. It was large enough to hold up to a dozen rancor at least. Just outside the pens was a sinister contraption, essentially a stockade designed for rancor, where their blood could be extracted and stored for whatever nefarious purpose Skaltera intended. Nearby, ranat-ogres worked with large vibro-saws to hack apart the dead chirodactyl, chumming up its guts and parts, carrying away the carrion offal in dripping buckets that were dumped at the edge of the jungle. The stink was awful, a sour note of rancid meat to sickened ones stomach, though it didn't seem to bother the ranats. In fact, many of the foul mouse-men were using their filthy tongues to clean the gorey residue off of their fur. Walking past the butchers shop, Jake reached an observation tower halfway between the walls of the base and the edge of the jungle, a hundred feet in either direction. Climbing up the ladder, he joined an NJ2 scout in the tower who was watching the eerie forest with a tranquilizer rifle. The blood was of better quality if extracted from a living specimen, hence they were attempting to sedate the rancor they lured, then drain them dry and use the leftover carcass to bait others of their kind. The energy pen was just a precaution in case they ran into equipment problems or in the event of a line up. "May I?" Grizzwald asked the scout, who turned and nodded, handing the Commander his rifle.Resting the rifle tripod on the lip of the tower, Jake stared past the scope rather than through it. His genetically engineered vision saw better than the scope. Easing his breathing, he listened to the song of Dathomir, ignoring the sounds of the base and industry. The crack of a branch a kilometer away alerted him to a creatures approach. At the edge of the jungle, a ranat-gore was dumping another bucket of gore when the foliage erupted and a monstrous bipedal reptile came charging out, roaring in bestial fury. Thump! A single trigger pull fired a tranquilizer dart from the end of the barrel, propelling it with enough force to punch straight into the rancor's thick leathery hide, pumping its bloodstream with a dose of sedative specially prepared by the Dark Apothecary. Night-venom, deadly to most human sized lifeforms, but to a rancor it would only incapacitate. The foul substance was made using a sacred herb of the night ewoks found in the darkside tainted Deep Woods of Pzob. Raising its right claw, the rancor looked like it was ready to swipe at the ranat-ogre, but as its arm came up, the beast collapsed into the ground. "Got one." Smirked Jake, straightening as he handed the rifle back to the scout. One of the Incinerator Tanks they had brought with them hovered up to the carcass, with ranats riding on its sides. The rodents leapt out as they reached the creature and chained it to the back of the hover tank, which was being used like a tow-truck.Grizzwald slid down the ladder of the observation tower as the rancor was dragged towards the extractor. He took another puff of his deathstick and flicked it away into the dirt. Headed back towards the doors of the base, the Commander's twi'lek aide came jogging towards him, her head tails swishing behind her green head. Sera Hyndulla was a loan from the Whores Eternal in cursed Kala'uun, a former Madame trained in the art of ecstasy by the pleasure pawed ewok maidens of the Famine Lord's harem, lent to the mission because of her linguistical skills. She had been serving mostly as the Commander's 'Go-For', mostly bringing him fresh cups of coffee. As she approached, however, he could tell this was something more serious. "Commander, we've detected numerous life-signs approaching from the north. It looks to be a raiding party from the natives." She fell into step with Jake, handing him a data-pad with satellite telemetry of the terrain due north Fort Dragmire's position.Without hesitation, Jake activated the ear-bead of his comlink. "All hands, button up. We've got incoming visitors. Troopers to the walls." The base doors swung closed behind them as the Commander and his aide ran inside and made their way up the ramp on the north side of the base, heading up to the ramparts overlooking the scorched terrain between the outpost and jungle. They were joined by crimson gamma-plast NJ1 Sith Troopers, marching into position along the tops of the wall, scanning the jungles edge with the J20 electroscopes of their ST-W48 rifles. Finding a spot between two soldiers, Jake swung his Imperial repeater rifle around and looked down the iron sights, waiting for the detected force to reveal itself. Thirty seconds later, the first of them began to appear, emerging from the brush. They were Zabrak judging by the spikes coming out of the tops of their heads, somewhat primitive in nature, as each was carrying a medieval-esque melee weapon. Jake counted thirty, no, forty emerging from the jungle. Not a single one was carrying a modern blaster weapon. He sneered. Savages. He turned his head and raised his voice, addressing all the troopers on the wall."Looks like we found more blood. Set blasters to stun." He then turned completely around and looked down towards the inner courtyard of the fort. He shouted down to the artillery team. "Lay down fire three hundred feet north of our position! I want their retreat cut-off." He turned back around as the first of the Night Brothers began to charge towards the walls, shouting tribal war-cries in their native language. "Fire at will!"
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Dragus
The Sith Eternal
In front of the Empire, to all you Vader haters out there. We'll blow your planet up.
Posts: 1,406
Affiliation: Sith Eternal
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Post by Dragus on Feb 19, 2024 13:49:01 GMT -8
ST-W48 rifles cracked with red discharges, propelling bolts of energized gas at rapid speed into the charging mass of horn headed night brothers rushing towards the high walls of Fort Dragmire, filling the air with white smoke and the stench of burnt ozone. Stun bolts smacked muscular savage flesh with blunt force, arresting their charge and knocking them onto their backs. A follow flurry of shots kept them from getting back up. Commander Grizzwald was a bit more methodic in his shots, as he was carrying a slug thrower and not a standard blaster that could deliver stun bolts. His ammunition was lethal, if properly delivered. But seeing as they wanted to take prisoners, he was calculated with his aim. Each hypersonic needle punched through a knee cap or burst an elbow, disabling and dropping chest puffing primitive warriors before they even got close to the wall. "Hardly a threat." Jake muttered, moving his face away from his rifle sight as he stood straight and studied the battlefield, though perhaps 'kill-zone' would have been more appropriate if not for the fact that the all the members of the raiding party were incapacitated and not dead. Pathetic...Putting a knee up on the rampart ledge, the Commander leapt over the side, dropping towards the ground outside the wall. He landed in a forwards wall, coming up in a kneeling crouch, knees bent and hands still gripping his repeater rifle. The fall would have broken a regular humans legs, but the Commander was made of sterner stuff. An NJX from Kamino, Commander Jake Grizzwald had been gene forged to better than baseline humanity in all ways. Sometimes referred to by the Pater Mutatis as his 'Gland Hounds', the NJXs served in positions such as the Elite Praetorian Guard, where they used their master crafted physiologies to hunt down Force Sensitives. The Commander was in effect a super soldier. Standing in the Dathomiri dirt, he leered across the battlefield and walked through a scene of unconscious zabrak natives scattered across the ground, seeking any signs of further resistance. He paused as he one warrior to the rear of the raiding party's charge was rising from the ground, shaking off the affects of the stun bolts. The broad chest demon xenos was holding a crude sword of poorly forged iron in his hand, by what looked like strong and physically powerful hands. Jake raised his rifle and took aim, preparing to shoot the alien hostile, but hesitated as his finger neared the trigger. Slowly he lowered his rifle and placed it on the ground. As he straightened, his gripped the handle of a combat knife on the outside of his right leather combat boot, twirling it around in his palm before grabbing the handle in a reverse grip with the blade tip pointed down towards his elbow."A good death is its own reward." Said Jake coldly as he circled his opponent, the zabrak warrior now seeming to have gained their bearings and was turning to keep his front facing towards the Commander at all times. With a roar, the night brother raised his sword overhead and swung it down hard and fast, clearly hoping the greater reach of his weapon would give him the advantage. For the NJX, time appeared to slow as his body flooded with hormones and combat stims. He simply moved faster than his foe, easily side stepping the downwards swing, then trapping the warrior's sword arm with his right arm. Stepping in, he brought the combat knife up and across, separating layers of meat all the way down to the spine. Blood sluiced from the night brothers ruined throat, pouring wastefully into the dirt as he collapsed. The Commander stepped aside as the zabrak toppled over, drowning in blood or dying for lack of, it hardly mattered which. Jake bent down and wiped his blade off on the back of the night brother's corpse, using the zabrak's tunic as a rag. Unfortunate. That was one they wouldn't be able to use. Jake smiled, almost feral in his savouring of the kill. The chirodactyl had been more difficult.Everything on this Force forsaken world seemed hostile, even some of the plants, but thus far they had persisted, leaving their mark on Dathomir as surely as those that had come before them. A rising corpse hill of blood drained rancor carcasses was evidence of the success the outpost had made in taming the wilderness, slowly but surely building up their stockpile of precious vitae required for Chief Skaltera's 'blood fracking' project, which was the key to extracting the spirit ichor the Dark Apothecary craved so fervently. These night brothers would add their own life fluids to the effort as well, then their bloodless cadavers would be shipped to Hypori for some sort of secret operation known as Project Stalker. Storm vermin were already scurrying among the unconscious warriors, binding them before dragging them away to be drained of their vitae then packaged like meat off-world. Some of the warriors were roused by the movement, but NJ1 troopers on hand just fired another stun bolt into their backs and put them out cold. There had been no run ins yet with the night sisters he had heard of. Witches, if the stories were to be believed. He supposed nothing should surprise him, with what he had seen from his creator.Jake watched the edge of the woods, watching as the last warrior was dragged away by sinister albino furred rat-men, then looked back at the dark woods. No witches yet, but if they'd found night brothers, night sisters were only a matter of time. "I want spot lights covering no mans land up to the jungles edge." He told his aide as Sera Hyndulla appeared at his side, arriving with the rodents. "And plant mines along the north approach to the base." There would be no repeats of today. After returning inside the walls, the Commander walked over to the boot of the Dragenburg where a T4-B heavy tank was rolling down the ramp. The tracker vehicle had a black paintjob with a red trim. Its armoured hull had been artfully altered, as sinister spikes had been welded to the outside, giving the heavy tank a menacing appearance. "Have two Sovereign Guard meet me at the Dead Dulok once its been fueled and armed." Jake ordered Sera. "I'll need at least NJ3s with me where we're going."
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Dragus
The Sith Eternal
In front of the Empire, to all you Vader haters out there. We'll blow your planet up.
Posts: 1,406
Affiliation: Sith Eternal
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Post by Dragus on Feb 25, 2024 13:51:30 GMT -8
Location: Dathomir (Dathomir System) | Southern Hempishere | Dathomiri Wilds - Fort Dragmire From his place atop the walls of the outpost, Commander Grizzwald had an excellent view of the spirit ichor refinery as he waited for the representative from Clan Rustrot, Chief Warlock Enginseer Skaltera Brassclaw, to turn the readied facility on. His twi'lek aide, Sera Hyndulla, stood next to him. The olive skinned female xeno's pressed a set of electro-binoculars to her eyes as she watched what he did, though Jake's gene forged eyes were able to see the tinker rats scurrying around the refinery just as well without the aid of technology. The verminlord sloshed through putrid green puddles of toxic kessoline runoff that pooled on the ground next to the coaxium fueled generators that powered the sophisticated extractor of trapped resources. As he reached the controls, the cybernetic rodent pulled levers and turned cranks, tapping in a rapid sequence of buttons as he removed the drill and lowered the high pressure spout into place down the hole tunneled deep beneath the surface of the planet. A long ribbed hose ran from the spout over to mildly corroded durasteel tanks next to the refinery that were full of blood, anti-coagulants, and a mix of alchemized chemicals. When the last lever was pulled, the heavy machinery began to pump the red slurry from the tanks down into the hole bored beneath Dathomir's crust. Carcinogenic smoke spewed from exhaust pipes on the generators, causing an eye searing chemical stench to exude from the refinery, then carried by the wind across the creepy woods surrounding the outpost.The screech of repulsors caught the Commander's attention, causing him to look up at the blood hued sky as a sentinel-class landing craft descended from the clouds and came in to land on a large ferrocrete landing pad built outside the eastern gate. NJ2 heavy blaster assault Sith troopers were stationed at the corners of the landing pad, kneeling behind their FWMB-10B repeating blasters, covering the fire licked woods that surrounded the mobile command centre. Commander Grizzwald walked across the top of the ramparts until he reached the eastern top of the wall. He lit a deathstick before leaning over the railing, watching the shuttle's ramp lower to the paved ground with a hydraulic whine of pistons and gears. First off the transport was a towering mountain of forest flesh stretched over an obscenely muscular physique. Based on Jake's assessment, the figure was a gamorrean boar from Pzob, one of the mutant variety that hailed from Porkswine Enclave in the darkside tainted Deep Woods region of the holy world. It was also home to Clan Morlock, a tribe of cannibal gamorreans whose bodies and minds have been corrupted by the heavy Force taint around their village. A crown of dagger length horns protruded from the war-boar's scalp, while sharp yellow tusks banded in Sith iron rings stuck out from its jowls. It carried a giant two headed war-axe that was almost as large as the tribal mutant, who had to stand at seven feet at least. The weapon was a crudely forged thing that radiated a wickedness from red runes of Pzobian blackscript chiseled into its blade face.Following the monstrous mutant pig alien off the transport were twenty of his green skinned kin, not quite as massive, but all bearing obvious signs of physical corruption. They too wielded a unique collection of primitively made axes, with a few sporting what appeared to be industrial grade vibro-saws with quadanium steel teeth. Gamorrean lumberjacks from Pzob. Commander Grizzwald had been expecting them for some time. With the near completion of the refinery, he wanted to find alternative sources of spirit ichor. On the Dragenberg's initial approach of the planet, it had performed a deep range scan of the mountains to the south of the fort. Large cavern and tunnel systems had been detected. What little information the Commander had indicated that spirit ichor tended to be concentrated in those types of environments. Thus, the lumberjacks were slated to begin clearing the jungle between the fort and the base of the mountains ten kilometers to the south. Now, if that shuttle had come from Pzob, that likely meant... Before he could finish that thought, his eyes spotted what his mind had been expecting. Exiting the shuttle behind the porcine labourers was a band of charcoal furred night ewoks from Weeping Bark Village. Like their more peaceful Endorian kin, the dark furred bears wore hoods over their fuzzy heads, crafted from tanned man-hide that had been flensed from shrieking hannites caught by their hunters. These descendants of the celestials had beady red eyes the hue of blood and mouths full of teeth filed into fangs. In clawed paws they carried spears made from Pzobian oak that were fitted with obsidian tipped spear-heads that glistened in an oily coating of poison. Strapped to their broad backs were bows with quivers of arrows fitted with rishii feathers and tipped with dragon glass arrowheads dipped in krayt dragon venom.Even from atop the wall, Jake could smell the reek of blood that permeated the fur of the night ewoks, who were quickly making themselves at home around the fort. They hung tribal fetishes of human teeth and finger bones on the outpost walls, blessing Fort Dragmire with sinister night ewok sorcery. An NJX designed to hunt Force sensitives, Commander Grizzwald's mouth tasted metal and ash, overpowering the flavour of the narcotic deathstick he was smoking. He could smell the stench of brimstone in the air, another sign from his senses that the Force was at play. In another life, Jake might have ended up as an Elite Praetorian Guard, trained exclusively to take out Force using enemies of the Sith Eternal. Instead his independent nature and ambition had led him to being utilized as a Commander of the Famine Lord's forces; however, that didn't change the fact of what he was at a genetic level. Grizzwald was an NJX, one of the Pater Mutatis' gland hounds. He grit his teeth, feeling an unnatural unease settle into his bones, an ache just beneath the surface that could only be scratched by spilling Force sensitive blood. It was the influence of tuk'ata DNA woven into his master crafted genome.He mustered his better senses and stepped away from the edge, turning around and quickly walking back the other way, just as a geyser of green vapour blasted into the air from the spirit ichor refinery's well. Jake hustled over to the ledge lip and looked over, watching as Chief Skaltera jumped up and down in rabbid excitement, frothing oil and spittle from its metal snout. It barely registered, but he could feel just the slightest vibration beneath his feet as the blood fracking interfered with the natural tectonics of the southern continent, creaking micro-shocks that disturbed the jungle and sent wildlife scurrying. They'd done it, they'd struck that sweet sweet green gold. Commander Grizzwald turned to his aide, taking Sera by the shoulder, his gloved hand gripping her tightly. "Prepare the holo-suit. Lord Famine will want to know about this." He told the twi'lek with a smirk. Their fortunes just went up. |
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Darth Sirona
The Sith Eternal
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Post by Darth Sirona on Oct 16, 2024 13:00:06 GMT -8
Sirona swore loudly as her ship was almost rammed into by some kind of transport. Noticing the model, she surmised that the rumors of a Sith Eternal operation on planet were true. She quickly adjusted her course to see where this ship was headed. As the destination came within sight, Sirona's temper immediately flared like an oil spill that was suddenly introduced to a lit match. Even the imperials, past or present, hadn't left this kind of... scar on Dathomir. Following in close behind, Sirona began transmitting her Sith Eternal landing codes so that any AA defenses would not shoot her down, though her anger made it hard to remember every procedure needed. The Darth would find an LZ, official or otherwise, and land. She was not waiting, she would see this ended.
As the ship underwent its landing, Sirona called over her shoulder to the women on board with her. Instructing Maywyn and Athell to gear up and join her when they disembarked. While Elonna and Tesh would stay aboard and keep an eye on the Lady of the Bog; she had seen the piles of dead Rancors on approach, only further serving to stoke her ire and rage. She was already walking down the boarding ramp as it lowered. Her lightsaber, while not ignited, was gripped tightly in her hand, and the mysterious crystal that hung on a cortosis chain around her neck was glowing faintly, responding to the powerful emotions of it's barer. Reaching the bottom of the ramp she glared around, searching for who was in charge of this opperation. She could make a guess as to who they ultimately answered to, based on the presence of the Gamorrians, Nu-Jakes, and Ewoks. Through gritted teeth: What is that damned lizard think he's doing?!
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Dragus
The Sith Eternal
In front of the Empire, to all you Vader haters out there. We'll blow your planet up.
Posts: 1,406
Affiliation: Sith Eternal
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Post by Dragus on Oct 16, 2024 15:50:46 GMT -8
The motley mix of clones and aliens were slow to respond at first, not quite sure what to make of the angry looking Witch staring daggers through them, but soon they all sprang into action and indicated the command tent at the centre of Fort Dragmire. They were all to eager to direct her with a pointing of many fingers of all colours, shapes, and sizes. Why suffer this woman's wrath when this was clearly a job for their manager. The way to the command tent was unobstructed, though before she reached the armour-weave flaps that serve as the door, she would be able to hear the last part of a conversation happening inside."No, no. I want those Nightbrother corpses staked out front, right at the edge of where we've defoliated the jungle. Trust me. I spent time on Pzob observing the Hannite Monks living in those ruins. They stake the corpses of slain savages around their fields to keep those filthy pigs away from their black corn crops." There was a pause, and then. "No offense, Porkus. I know you're one of the good ones. Point being, savages are all the same. Very superstitious and weary around the dead. Seeing the defiled bodies of their best warriors ought to put the fear of the Eye into them. We really should thank the night ewoks for that. I've never seen such precise flaying. Of course, I acknowledge it stands an equal chance of inciting the savages into attacking the walls again, but I have good news, gentlemen. A fresh shipment of proton shells just arrived for the J1s. We can start blasting away at the jungle a bit more liberally again. We won't being running short on ammunition for a while."Outside the tent, two Nu-Jakes in red gammasplast Sith trooper armour saluted as the Neptis Mutatis passed through the command tent flaps and interrupted on the base commander's meeting. Commander Jake Grizzwald turned, his hyper-attuned NJX senses drawn to the midi-chlorians in Sirona's blood like the tuk'ata DNA woven into his alchemically augmented genome. He cut a roguish figure, dressed in all black combat fatigues, his beard expertly trimmed into a neat goatee. He had the same face as many of the men around the base, but there was something distinctly different about him. His genes were just a bit better. The former member of the Elite Praetorian Guard immediately recognized the Loremaster of the Eternal, a member of the illustrious Council of Seven, a position held also but his creator. It could have been the hypno-indoctrination or just the sheer obedience written into his genetic code, but the Commander responded much like you might expect a dutiful soldier to. His back became beam straight and he gave the Sith Eternal's tried and true salute. On the opposite side of a large desk covered in maps, coffee cups, and ash trays stood a large Gamorrean boar in a pair of blue jeans and a red plaid shirt that clearly marked him as one of the lumberjacks sent from Pzob. The porcine brute snorted through its hoggish snout, crossing its muscle swollen arms across its chest. "NJX Jake Grizzwald, acting Commander of Fort Dragmire, Ma'am!" The Commander's usually commanding voice was overrode by pure genetic design. For his Nu-Jakes to be ignored, they had to be considered not a threat. Every cell in his body wanted to submit to her will. He didn't like that.
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Darth Sirona
The Sith Eternal
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Post by Darth Sirona on Oct 17, 2024 11:41:44 GMT -8
Sirona's rage and anger only grew as she overheard the man from inside the tent, and as she pushed apart the flaps and saw the faces responsible for the harm done to sacred Dathomir, there came a faint rumble from the ground. It was as if Dathomir herself could feel her long lost child's willingness to defend her. The Loremaster was too consumed by her roiling emotions to feel the shift in the earth, but her companions, who angry themselves, were familiar with the world, and felt the subtle shift: Dathomir was ready to fight back.
The Witch sneered as she was saluted, she had read up on the Nu-Jakes after joining the Eternal. Only a brief summary to determine the full extent of the genetic and cloning capabilities of the Eternal, which would be useful for her own planned future projects. But she knew the Jakes had been programmed for their obedience, and perhaps this would be useful, to avoid a conflict that would result in potentially her own death. Not sure if her Force power and fledgling magick would be enough to overcome the entire camp, let alone the enhanced NJXs. She took a deep breath and stepped past Commander Grizzwald and looked over the documents spread upon the table. CLosing her eyes briefly, she allowed herself to rein in her anger enough to speak, to understand what was going on here, and what Dragus hoped to gain from despoiling this world in such a filthy manor. What is the purpose of your operation here, Commander?
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Dragus
The Sith Eternal
In front of the Empire, to all you Vader haters out there. We'll blow your planet up.
Posts: 1,406
Affiliation: Sith Eternal
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Post by Dragus on Oct 18, 2024 6:00:53 GMT -8
"There are several operations currently underway, Loremaster, but perhaps I had better start from the beginning." Commander Grizzwald inhaled a slow breath, then got straight into it. "When we first arrived there was an initial effort to defoliate the jungle to clear enough space for the outpost. Soon after we had set up the walls we were beset upon by one of the local tribes. You've probably seen the spike heads staked around the perimeter. We lost a lot of soldiers repelling those first few attacks, but once we got our artillery set up and started indiscriminately raining down proton shells on the jungle, things quieted down enough for us to defoliate a no-mans land two hundred feet out from the base of the walls. Deforesting efforts really stepped up once the work teams from Pzob arrived. Gamorrean lumberjacks." He explained, indicating Porkus with an extended finger. The Gamorrean snorted by way of reply. "They've been clearing a ten kilometer stretch of jungle to the south ending in a recently uncovered archeological site, though I'll get to more about that in a moment. The savages, these Nightbrothers as they refer to themselves, tend to leave the work teams alone so we haven't had to devote resources to a security detail. We have no idea why, though a Professor Dragglestein from one of the SE's numerous science divisions visited some time ago and speculated the cause had more to do with confusion." He indicated his scalp. "They both have horns. The Nightbrothers weren't sure what to make of them. Anyways, it turns out there is a demand for hand crafted grave thorn furniture among Roon's Sith aristocracy, so we've been shipping all that lumber back to Pzob where the Hannite monks living in the ruins found there turn it into master crafted furniture. Those religious zealots may live a quaint low tech existence, but their carpentry skills are second to none. We've been making a killing on lumber exports alone."That brought him to the next operation. "The main purpose for this outpost and the reason we've been funded so generously was to create a safe zone for the tinker rats of Clan Rustrot to set up a refinery. The Office of the Dark Apothecary charged them with locating and extracting sources of spirit ichor. I don't know much about the substance myself, but I'm told its value to members of the alchemical community is immeasurable. The rats leader, a Chief Skaltera Brassclaw, came up with the current method of ichor extraction. I'm not fluent in rat-speech." He stroked his chin. "I'm not really sure anyone is, but, the closest I can translate it to basic, they call it blood-fracking. I'm sure you saw a few of those ranats in yellow rubber suits and goggles scurrying around outside. They call themselves warlock enginseers and they're pretty protective about their process, so even I don't know entirely how it works, other then that it requires a large supply of blood. We tried draining the bodies left over from when the savages have attacked, but that didn't provide nearly enough, nor were imported sources suitable for some particular reason. Fortunately the wilderness around the Fort is host to an abundance of natural resources. We found that by coordinating our artillery strikes, which had largely been random up until that point, we could lead all the rancor in the area into one big herd. Then it was just a matter of having the night ewoks pick them off, drag them back here and string them up, then drain them of their blood. One carcass can keep the Fort's mess hall stocked with meat for a week, though you get a bit tired of the taste after a while. Rancor is a bit gamey, if you ask me.""We've been packaging up what we can into special freezer C-9979s pumped full of CryoBan gas, but we frankly go through more dead rancor than we know what to do with. You probably saw the ravine where we've been dumping the left over carcasses. The smell attracts voritor lizards so the work teams have been using a pair of MTTs to dump their loads. The plus side is those pesky lizards also seem to keep the savages at bay. Admittedly its a lot of moving parts to manage, but as it turns out, there are a lot of credits to be made in spirit ichor products. DragCorp Industries for instance uses it for pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and even their new glow in the dark sports drink, Dragorade." Jake snapped his fingers at Porkus and motioned with a head nod towards a metal drum occupying a corner of the command tent. The Gamorrean grunted and picked the barrel up, before bringing it over to where the Commander and Loremaster were standing, then dropped it by their feet. Commander Grizzwald rapped his knuckles on the hollow drum. "Once the rats get the ichor out of the ground, its stored in these barrels made of a specially synthesized Sith aluminum that's able to contain the ichors...mmm, unique properties. Then its packed aboard C-9979s and shipped all over Sith Eternal space. Enough credits are been made that we've been asked by DragCorp Industries to clear a swath of jungle to the east of Fort Dragmire. Its my understanding they've recently come to acquire a lot of sand now that Tatooine has joined the empire, so they're planning on paving a five kilometer square stretch of land over with duracrete to create a landing field for C-9979s. We're just waiting on the next shipment of thermobaric shells for the defoliator and more liquid tibanna for our incinerator tanks before we can get started."He took another breath before wrapping up his long winded explanation. "Lastly..." He started then stopped, looking across at his gamorrean colleague. "...uh, Porkus, you'll need to take a walk. This next parts classified." Squealing something rude in Gamorrese, the burly boar cracked his ham sized fists and puffed out its green hairless chest, then strutted out of the room like a tusk snouted peacock. Once they were alone, the Commander continued. "Using LIDAR one of our recon birds located the remains of an ancient kwa temple. When word reached Lord Dragus, he instructed us to make every effort to secure the site. It's the reason we were sent the Gamorreans and its what they've been clear-cutting a path towards. Once we've tamed the wilderness a bit more there are plans to build a road joining the archeological site and this outpost, though in the interim I've dispatched a security detail to ensure the safety of the SE science team dispatched to study the site." He paused, looked around, then continued with some hesitancy. "I'm only saying this because your position on the Council grants you the security clearance to hear it, but they've discovered an Infinity Gate. Ancient trans-dimensional technology, you pass through one end and appear out the other half way across the galaxy, or at least that's how it was explained to me. The science team has been referring to it as the Witch Gate." Let that sink in. "To my knowledge its not active currently, but I think that's about to change. I just received an email from the Dark Apothecary an hour ago. I've been ordered to prepare for the arrival and muster of troops at the gate site for some sort of planned military action, though I don't have the details as of yet, just the name. Dad called it, Operation Spider Holocaust."Unlike the Loremaster who had some first hand experience with the Charon, Commander Grizzwald had not been made aware of the secret war being fought against a species of inter-dimensional invading arachnids, thus had no frame of reference for what the special military operation's name could mean. He shrugged, concluding his report."That about sums it up, Ma'am." He raised his right brow. "I wasn't made aware that you'd be visiting." That's when his intuition kicked in. Jake studied Sirona's garb, then raised his eyes to meet hers. "This isn't an unscheduled visit, is it?" He crossed his arms over his chest as the realization dawned on him. "You're here to take over the SE's operations on Dathomir."
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Darth Sirona
The Sith Eternal
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Post by Darth Sirona on Oct 18, 2024 12:31:53 GMT -8
Sirona listened, patiently to the long winded explanation and run down of what had been happening on Dathomir. Most of it just made her angrier, but the mention of another Infinity Gate gave her a brief pause. The goal of Dragus' intended operation were clear, but how... and if it would endanger this planet, Sirona would have to put a stop to it. But two things were certain to the Loremaster in this moment. First, she would stop this foul and discussing level of exploitation on Dathomir, and the Second was that this Witch Gate had to be contained. As Commander Grizzwald came to his epiphany about Sirona's presences here, the Witch turned her head slowly to meet his gaze and gave a slight nod. Very astute, commander. And I would rather it not need to become a hostile take over either. As of now you will be ceasing all resource "extraction" operations, and your sole focus will be securing and protecting that kwa ruin. You will restrain your impact on the local flora and fauna in the process. I will see to it that the natives give you no more trouble. Am I understood? This, Sirona knew, would be a test of the NJXs obedience programming. To see if he would yield to Sirona's demands, or if he would resist, and force Sirona to take aggressive action.
Outside the tent, in the storage tanks, the Ichor that had already been collected began to roil and churn as it reacted to the decrees of Dathomir's new guardian and master. If Dragus and the Sith Eternal wanted more of this planet's bounty, it would come through Sirona, and in the quantities and by the means of her choosing.
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Dragus
The Sith Eternal
In front of the Empire, to all you Vader haters out there. We'll blow your planet up.
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Post by Dragus on Oct 19, 2024 4:43:48 GMT -8
The corner of the Commander's lip twitched ever so slightly, the gesture so minuet it bordered on imperceptible. Her implied threat was unmistakable and it excited him. No first, second, or even third generation Nu-Jake would think themselves capable of taking on a Sith Lord in combat and surviving, but the NJXs were built different. These gland hounds, as the Pater Mutatis often referred to them, were genetically engineered to hunt Force users. Albeit, never in anything less than pairs. An NJX was a predator with a pack, they didn't hunt alone, unless you were like the Commander and your other half had been killed. His had been slain during the sacking of Kessel, after the 113th encountered a Jedi in the besieged capital of Kessendra during those events. The Dark Apothecary had ordered the Jedi's capture and Jake Grizzwald's tank brother had been the Praetorian on the ground tasked to carry out that deadly mission. From the captured video recordings taken by Raptor Claw Epyon's helmet cameras, it had looked like Jake's brother had put up a respectable fight, but was ultimately killed by the Jedi...at Lord Dragus' command. Jake had lost a brother, and the empire had gained a new Sith. It was on that day he resigned his commission with the Elite Praetorian Guard and started taking more independent roles with lucrative contracts. "Good soldiers follow orders." He replied without emotion. Of course, he was in no position to refuse. Some of these new commands contradicted with his other instructions, but the Loremaster was the highest SE authority in this star sector and her orders were fresh, overriding his previous set. He had always known the autonomy afforded by his position as a remote outpost commander was temporary at best. There were too many credits being made for his fiefdom to be forgotten for long."Perfectly understood, Ma'am." He saluted. "You won't hear any complaining from me. I'll contact the various crew chiefs and put a stop-order on all resource harvesting activities. It shouldn't take more than a few hours to shut everything down and recall the work crews." His eyes glanced down at the map covered desk. "I can have the majority of the outpost's equipment and personnel relocated to the temple site within the better part of a day. I'm not sure how you plan on dealing with the sav..." He stopped himself mid-speech, reconsidering his word choice. He coughed to clear his throat. "Excuse me. As I was saying, I don't know how you plan on handling these natives, but they've been nothing but hostile with us since we first arrived, so I would be derelict in my duties if I didn't encourage you to take a squad of Sith Troopers with you. Or at bare minimum, take a few night ewoks as scouts. They seem to have a knack for this terrain."
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Darth Sirona
The Sith Eternal
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Post by Darth Sirona on Oct 23, 2024 12:08:34 GMT -8
While Sirona still wanted to kill commander Grizzwald, his... loyalty was to be rewarded. She would not kill him... not yet. But if he and his crew stepped out of line, he would suffer dearly at her hand. But right now, he and his would be needed to protect the Which Gate until whatever mad scheme her uncle had thought up could come to pass. But for now she was going to establish her rule over the planet. The next step would be returning to the scattered Nightsisters and helping them rebuild after the Imperial backed purge.
Grizzwald seemed eager to please though, going as far and above, as to offer her protection and scouts. She made sure to lock eyes with the commander as one of her hands extended over the metal canister that had been set between them as part of the earlier explanation. Swiftly Sirona closed her hand into a fist, in the process, using the Force, crushing the sturdy container like it was a can from a vending machine. I appreciate the concern, commander, but I have brought my own guides. She then gestured to the pair of Nightsisters that accompanied her. And besides, I'm sure as a clone you can appreciate, kin recognizes kin. While the doubts she had had in orbit about her reception, she wasn't about to allow the commander to see that side of her, not when she had to protect Dathomir. Now, I believe you have a lot of work to do...
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Dragus
The Sith Eternal
In front of the Empire, to all you Vader haters out there. We'll blow your planet up.
Posts: 1,406
Affiliation: Sith Eternal
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Post by Dragus on Oct 24, 2024 6:44:16 GMT -8
As the remaining puzzle pieces fell into place, it became clear to Commander Grizzwald where he had gone awry of the new Loremaster. Everything the Sith Eternal had done since arriving on this inhospitable planet was exploitative, stripping Dathomir bare of its resources with no consideration for its indigenous peoples, whom Jake and the men under his command saw only as a hostile force to be uprooted or culled. Bred for obedience, he had never questioned his directives; after all, Dathomir was no member of the Sith Eternal, nor were its people citizens under the banner of the SE empire. However, given the SE Council woman referring to the two natives she had accompany her as 'kin', he suspected that was about to change. Despite the spike heads having been responsible for a number of his brothers deaths, the Commander didn't actually have a problem with that. While protecting the Fort from their attacks, he'd had an opportunity to face several of their warriors in battle, and found them to be brave and capable combatants who were largely hampered by their lack of modern military equipment. It took no shortage of courage to rush the walls of Fort Dragmire while an force of crimson clad faceless troopers picked them off from the safety of the battlements. If primitive xenos breeds like the night ewoks, gamorreans, and tuskens could all be brought into the fold as auxiliaries, he had no doubt the same could be done for these witches.
Commander Grizzwald's brow narrowed as he watched the barrel implode in response to Sirona's expression of power. Ah, so she was one of those Sith. He adverted his gaze from the crushed Sith aluminum cannister and locked his perfectly blue eyes with those of the Loremaster. "Message received, Ma'am. We shall double our efforts." He replied, offering one last crisp salute before excusing himself to carry out her updated instructions.
After emerging from the armour-weave flaps of the command tent, Jake walked a dozen feet from the entrance before reaching into his pocket and extracting a death stick, which he plopped into the corner of his mouth and began to light. A large porcine shadow eclipsed his own to let the Commander know Porkus was standing behind him. The gamorrean squealed something unintelligible in Gamorrese, causing the alchemy augmented clone to look over his shoulder as he exhaled a plume of purple smoke. "Recall the work crews, Porkus. We're moving everything to Beta Site. Let the rats know they have..." He looked down at the chrono on his wrist, performed a quick mental calculation, then cut it in half as he continued. "...two hours to dissemble the refinery, otherwise its getting demo'd with anything else we can't pack aboard the C-9979. Leave the walls for last. Our new resident Sith Lord seems confident she can handle the locals, which for all our sakes I hope she is right about, but I'm not about to leave our backs unguarded until everyone's safely aboard the Dragenburg." He took one last drag from his death stick before dropping it on the ground and stamping it into the mud with the toe of his boot. "Best get to it. We're under a deadline and the new boss lady doesn't seem the sort to settle for excuses."
Snorting, Porkus departed to carry out Jake's instructions, while the Commander got on his comlink and began coordinating a tactical withdrawal from Alpha Site.
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Darth Sirona
The Sith Eternal
Posts: 338
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Post by Darth Sirona on Oct 25, 2024 12:10:51 GMT -8
Sirona took one last look at the maps and papers upon the table, scrunched her face in disgust and turned and followed Grizzwald out of the tent. She led Maywyn and Athell back aboard the XoXaan. Once safely aboard and out of sight of the people milling about outside, Sirona let herself lean against a bulkhead and let out a breath she had felt like had been held since they landed. While her rank had afforded her a great deal of benefits and privileges, she no longer could fly below the radar. Even when she was apprenticed to the leader of the Sith Conclave, she could be overlooked, but now she was a leader of the Sith Eternal. This led her to feeling a need to overcompensate when dealing with others within the order, if nothing else than to be a deterrent to potential challenges that would lead to potential deadly confrontations. She glanced down at her hands and lifted them slightly. Shaking like leaves in the Endorian autumn. Clenching her fists and closing her eyes, she took deep breaths. Then she felt a hand tug at her tabard. Her eyes opened and she looked down to see little Tesh at her side. The youngling could tell something was troubling Sirona and wordlessly wrapped her arms around Sirona's leg. The Loremaster flinched at the sudden, and to her, overwhelming amount of physical contact. But that did not deter the young Nightsister then whispered to her one-time-savior, Maywyn told us you saved our home.
The tenseness Sirona was feeling faded slightly as she heard Tesh’s words. She reached down and put a gentle, if not still trembling hand, on the white hair of her charge. This world is ours, and I’m going to make sure no one threatens it again. With those reassuring words, Sirona managed to pry Tesh off her leg and return to the ship's controls. Taking the ship up, she piloted it away toward the Nightsister Fortress, hoping her reception would be as successful, if not less confrontational, as her meeting with Commander Jake Grizzwald.
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Dragus
The Sith Eternal
In front of the Empire, to all you Vader haters out there. We'll blow your planet up.
Posts: 1,406
Affiliation: Sith Eternal
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Post by Dragus on Oct 31, 2024 8:57:47 GMT -8
A great deal of activity was occurring within the walls of Fort Dragmire, as the remote oupost's staff were in the process of disassembling the mobile command centre and packing up all their equipment aboard a waiting C-9979, due to relocate everything including the base personnel to Beta Site where the Witch Gate was located. The tinker rats stripped whatever valuable components they could find from the refinery before the remaining structure was packed full of baradium charges. Most of the personnel stationed there were instructed to march alongside an armoured convoy of hover trucks, MTTs, and incinerator tanks following along the path through the jungle the Gamorrean lumberjacks had already cleared. The green slab of muscle serving as the Commander's advisor, Porkus, could be seen leading the convoy from the front towards its future destination. Meanwhile, Jake remained behind with Raptor Claw Epyon to see to the last few tasks as the outpost walls finally came down and were stored aboard the transport. The four clone squad of Sith Jetpack Troopers kept an eye on the surrounding jungle while the Commander hefted a hand held detonator and gave its bright red trigger a squeeze of one gloved thumb. "Fire in the hole." He barked a split second before the baradium charges detonated in a loud fiery explosion that echoed across the jungle, causing birds and winged rodents to take to the air. The blast demolished the remains of the refinery, belching black smoke from twisted carbon scored durasteel beams warped beyond any semblance of their previous self. Next to him the Claw's leader, NJ2 Jake Talos, hefted his F-11ABA heavy blaster cannon and stared through the lens of his J20 electroscope. Two seconds later his cold dispassionate voice sounded across the squad channel. Target confirmed destroyed.
The Commander nodded, hearing the Epyon Claw's leader both in person and threw the comm-bead in his ear. "Then we're done here. Exfiltrate aboard the Banshee." He instructed the squad, speaking into the microphone running alongside a jaw so perfect it might as well have been chiseled from marble. The four man team plus the Commander himself retreated to their LAAT/le, pouring into the repulsor craft's troop compartment. Commander Grizzwald entered the cockpit and slid into the co-pilots seat next to Jake Valentine. An NJ3, Valentine was probably qualified and competent enough to run a remote outpost like Fort Dragmire, but for whatever reason the clone had refused every command position offered to him, preferring instead to remain as the dedicated pilot of Raptor Claw Epyon. The engine's whined as the mechanical bird lifted off from the muddy remains of the former outpost, now just a smoking scar in the jungle, likely to become overgrown by the invasive environment around it within a years time. NJX Jake Grizzwald gave one last look out the cockpit window before turning to the pilot and giving his order. "We best get moving. Onwards, Valentine, to the Fortress of Dragmar. Keep us low and slow as we pass over the convoy. I want Porkus to know we're watching him." He told the pilot, in what might have been a very out-of-character joke. Either way, the pilot nodded and pushed forwards on the steering yoke, taking the Banshee over the jungle in the direction of the moving column of SE personnel.
Flying low above a long stretch of deforested wilderness, it wasn't long before the LAAT/le passed over the heads of the convoy, causing the diverse collection of SE staff to look up as the Banshee shrieked by. It was as they were flying that the pilot got the Commander's attention. "Sir, I'm picking up a lot of chatter on our comm networks. Judging by the sounds of it, I think the Dark Apothecary has arrived in the system." Jake sat up in his seat, muttering under his breath. "Eye have mercy." That...was unlikely. "Double time, Valentine. We got work to do." The NJ3 at the helm of the Banshee pushed all the way forwards on the accelerator stick, propelling the gunship at full speed towards the archeological ruins.
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