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Sevrin Valtiere

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Sevrin was pleased to see her spring to action, and relieved that she was still dressed the same. He heard the thumping against the door as he focused on cutting through the wall. This never went as quick as people expected and he pushed it along by blasting the wall with concussive blows to dent it outwards. Cracks formed and he was making quite a bit of progress.

Meanwhile, there was a disgusting belching type noise happening on the other side of the door. The beast stopped pounding on the door as it reared back and projectile vomited acid. Almost immediately, the door began to melt away. Sevrin looked over and quickly looked back, finishing up carving the wall.

The bedroom door collapsed as the creature roared, its rancid breath filling the room along with the stench of rotting corpses. It was almost enough to make Sevrin vomit right there. Sevrin harshly kicked the chunk of the wall to shove it out before looking back at her.

“Come on! Go!” He beckoned for her to step through first as the beast charged into the room. Sevrin called the Force to once again blast it back, but was surprised at how little it skidded back. It took a tremendous amount of energy to move it.

The Sephi would step through the opening only after she had, and he would have a much rougher time with his tall frame. He barely squeezed through, scrapes and cuts grazing his arms and the sides of his legs and he went. His sleeves were completely tattered.

Sevrin quickly rushed down the hall, feeling a bit of relief from being away from the beast. He paused abruptly then, silver gaze flicking down at Amariel, “Your medkit..” He mumbled quietly, thinking about how it must have been like a saber to him, “Keep going, I will catch up.”

With that, he ducked back into the apartment from where the beast had first charged through.

@Killa Ree
 

Dr Ilana Morata

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She wouldn't have minded a closer study of the creature personally, but with the high risk of being severely acid-burned, it was an opportunity that would have to pass her by. She wanted to help Sevrin in some way, but even with the sleep she had gotten, it hadn't felt like enough. Still, squeezing through the tight space made her hiss as it scratched against the armored bracers in her coat and on her legs, pushing through. She began hurriedly pacing with Sevrin, when he suddenly stopped, mentioning her medkit, and hurrying back.

"No, wait--" she was about to call out, "I have another on the---" but he was already gone.

"---Ship."

She scowled after where he had retreated.

"Why the kark are males always so damn stubborn?" she muttered, gripping her vibroblade tighter. True, he could probably handle the beast on his own, but he honestly shouldn't. And didn't he watch any horror holovideos? Splitting up the group was the absolute most terrible idea of all. Nostrils flaring in annoyance, she enhanced her senses, stalking along the corridor stealthily. Just in case he was in trouble or anything.

...Not that she cared or anything. It would just be inconvenient if he died.


@Sreeya
 

Sevrin Valtiere

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There was a whole lot of noise coming from inside the apartment. The creature’s roar resounded and there was that gurgling vomiting noise a few times. Furniture cracked and shattered, walls splintered and the floor vibrated from the massive creature thumping around everywhere. The hum of a saber flailing around resounded as well, followed by more roaring and thumping.

After a few moments, Sevrin emerged in the form of being launched like a torpedo directly through the open apartment door. He collided painfully with the corridor wall, sliding down to the ground for a moment. Sevrin quickly peeled himself up off the floor, medkit clutched firmly against his chest as he heard the beast charging towards him.

Sevrin was about to bolt when a sideways glance revealed Amariel casually hanging out in the corridor in the shadows. She held what would amount to be a plastic butter knife when it came to this thing. His eyes immediately narrowed, “What’re you doing?!” The creature roared and began to barrel towards him. The Sephi unceremoniously hurled the medkit in Amariel’s general direction, “Take your stupid kit!” He called before ducking as the creature slammed into the wall where he was standing. The beast was missing an arm and extremely angry.

The Sephi rolled on the ground to end up behind it, slashing his saber to cut into its back. To his horror, that only left a shallow cut. Sevrin ducked again when the creature whirled around, jamming his saber repeatedly into the back of its knee. This caused it to stumble and the Sephi sprang up to his feet, jumping clear over the hunched beast.

“RUN!” He shouted at Amariel as the creature began to prepare for another acid spray. The jam to the back of the knee slowed it down a bit.

@Killa Ree
 

Dr Ilana Morata

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The moment she heard the creature and Sevrin had launched himself from the doorway, she was already on the move. The medkit smacked into her shoulder, and she staggered, about to shout at him, and instead scooped up the kit, sprinting ahead. "Fine! I just prefer you alive is all!" she snarled back, feet pounding into the carpeting.

Kark, this thing's roaring was gonna be a snacking beacon to every creature in the building if there were more like it. The moment he would get close enough, she grabbed him by the wrist with her actual hand.

Skittering around the corner, she would tug him along with her, and though most would have been terrified, all she could feel was...

Annoyance.

Deep down, in the very heart of things, she was annoyed that this creature had disturbed her sleep. She was annoyed at his snippiness, though she knew it was irrational to be annoyed at that, and she was annoyed at whatever genius decided to unleash these things on the galaxy.

Though she felt the lingering effects of the events recently passed, her head felt clear, she could think better. She sprinted hard, first down one corridor, and then another. Hopefully, they could find some stairs or something, because she was fairly sure if they found a lift she really would get sick again, and with how awful those noodles from before were, she didn't want to experience that again.


@Sreeya
 

Sevrin Valtiere

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Sevrin had dealt with padawans that were less stubborn. At least padawans had some semblance of training and had signed up to be Jedi before throwing themselves into stupid scenarios. He landed near her from his leap just as the projectile acid spewed out. It caught the very fringes of his clothing, melting through fabric as he ran.

His eyes remained narrowed at her words, “Rest assured,” He cut in icily in spite of the crisis, “Your repulsorlift plans to stay alive and well,” Sevrin looked over his shoulder to see the status of the beast, half pondering going back to finish it. That was when Amariel grabbed his wrist. The initial effects were...nothing, as all 200 pounds of him stood there still staring at the blob, not budging a bit. He quickly looked back and was about to open his mouth but gave up. She wouldn’t listen to him if he told her to run while he fought.

Why was she so stubborn?!

Sevrin bolted with her, allowing her to tug him along with an expression on his face that was the closest it ever got to outright moody. The first two corridors were clear, but he could hear a horde approaching from the bellowing from the giant beast.

“There!” Sevrin spotted a faded exit sign above a door that likely led down some stairs. Something jammed the door from the other side and he had to step back before rushing at it with the Force to slam it open. This broke the chains from the other side and shoved aside...was that a grand piano they managed to block the path with??

Sevrin didn’t do the polite thing this time, practically shoving Amariel through the doorway as the horde charged behind them. The Sephi slammed the door shut and moved the piano back into place. Infected pounded against the door on the other side but the path down the stairs was clear, though it was dark.

He could barely see as he made his way down, already hearing some faint growling from some of the levels much further below.

“I hope you’re ready to put your bread knife to use,” Sevrin blurted out in a whisper before he could stop himself. He didn’t switch on his saber just yet due to its obnoxious brightness and unnecessarily loud humming.

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Dr Ilana Morata

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It would have been far easier to let him just face the creature alone to escape by herself. She could disappear into the myriad streets and just abandon him to the horde alone. But at his sarcastic reply, she just clenched her jaw, still tugging him along. Stubborn man, if he thought that was the reason she was dragging him along then she wasn't in the mood to correct him yet. Even though she had heard rumors that Master Grayson was also pretty good with quips. Were all Jedi this danger-thirsty?

But then again... he was going with her. That was a start, wasn't it?

She didn't have time for a charitable thought before she was shoved through the doorway. Grunting as she banged her elbow against the doorway and then her hip into the piano, she blindly flailed to brace herself against the closest wall, slamming into the wall with a hissed breath.

She blinked a few times to adjust in the gloom, and followed after Sevrin, but scowled at his back. Annoyance spiked brighter, compounded with frustration.
"Oh, I'm sorry, next time I'll just bring a sword," she snapped back in a harsh whisper, jaw clenching. Honestly, did he think she would just blindly run away screaming? Though then again, he barely knew her.

The Arkanian glowered at his back a little longer, and then she huffed quietly, squinting to peer through the gloom.

There was no point to let his words bother her, but they did. Perhaps she was just worn out, but she would have preferred being in the busy streets of Coruscant, feeling the ebb and flow of lives and emotions around her, to this bestial, hungry silence. As they would progress further, she kept her other hand free. She had watched him fight, and noted a few things about his technique. She could put them to use, perhaps, as they didn't seem taxing.

Further down, bodies shuffled in the small spaces of landings, narrow gaps where they had fallen in life, but turned their heads to the scent of blood, the shuffling of feet other than their own.

They could wait, and let their prey come to them.


@Sreeya
 

Sevrin Valtiere

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Sevrin almost winced as she got acquainted with the wall without an ounce of grace. He opened his mouth to mumble an apology when she turned to give him a searing glare. Sevrin closed his mouth, deciding she was perfectly fine.

He kept walking as he heard her quip about bringing a sword. Sevrin stayed silent, keeping his biting thoughts to himself for now. His very sharp ears could pick up the moving and growling below. Sevrin’s eyes were still adjusting to darkness and there was a thud as his forehead collided with a low hanging exit sign. He exhaled softly before ducking as he kept walking, thankful he didn’t have to catch the look on Amariel’s face.

Sevrin paused as he heard a bit of groaning much closer. He slowly kept walking down the steps, finally igniting his saber to light the way. The blue hue bathed the immediate area around them and illuminated their path. He could see there was an infected that practically fused into the wall in the corner before the steps that went down.

The infected was still wearing an old flowery dress and was quite possibly someone’s nice and sweet grandma once. Sevrin stepped forth and there were some carving noises along with a sick squelch. He drew back and turned towards Amariel, bringing up the head of the infected with his fingers clutching it by the hair. The severed head attempted to bite, but all of its protruding teeth had been cleanly carved out, leaving the gums and jaw intact for study.

“Live sample,” Sevrin said curtly as he offered it as if giving Amariel a bouquet of beautiful flowers. Granny Infected hissed and growled in protest but was largely harmless without teeth.

The Sephi turned and kept walking, preparing to fight the infected below. Sevrin, of course, had no idea that the scent of the infected often masked the smell of fresh meat. The head could serve as a potential shield against the hordes waiting below.

The stench was becoming unbearable as it was clear the infected here had been trapped for some time. Sevrin’s face scrunched up in disgust and he pointedly stepped out of Amariel’s direct path in case she decided to vomit in his direction.

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Dr Ilana Morata

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She couldn't really see all that well. With long expanses of time spent in brightly-lit offices and labs, the darkness was not her preferred lighting. Still, she could hear the faint sound of something hitting the Knight and his ducking... and not for the first time, she recalled how tall he was. Granted, she was not particularly short herself, but she found herself trying to mentally tabulate which race he could be, if he also faced any racial prejudice.

In the Core, especially, there was bias.

She flinched back slightly at the lightsaber humming to life, but at the sight of the infected head, she merely blinked owlishly for a bit. Some of the annoyance eased from her gaze, the scowl fading somewhat as she took the infected head carefully by the hair.


"...Thank you. Again."

However, the wheels began to turn in her head. Months of observation amongst the few test subjects on Thyferra, as well as other notes, remarked on the creatures' senses of smell. "Wait."

She held the head in her hand, staring at it while it gummed and snarled, even now wearing a pair of the most garish spectacles and glowering in the ambient light.

"Smells. If we smell like them, we might be able to pass through," she whispered down at him, hoping that would catch his attention. Though... her stomach churned again, as the miasmic waft of rotting, bloated bodies floated up. Something glinted on the floor... was that teeth? She kicked them away carefully with a boot, looking at the head.

...Unless he just wanted to space magic his way through walking corpses. That was fine. She just wanted out of here, back to her lab with the samples, and back to some semblance of a regular life once more. She wasn't prepared yet to even begin to process what had happened, but her life felt tossed upside down, her moral code shaken, and she wasn't sure if she was in prime fighting condition, even with the rest.


@Sreeya
 

Sevrin Valtiere

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Sevrin caught the change in expression, her features softening and her tone kinder. Apparently it took handing over an angry grandma’s severed head. The Sephi simply blinked in response, deciding he didn’t even want to touch that sentiment with a ten foot pole.

He paused when she told him to wait, turning to regard her suggestion. Sevrin couldn’t really think of an argument - it was just going to be a risk to put it to the test. The Sephi gave a vague shrug before he turned towards the rest of grandma and began to slice and dice as if he were on Space Chef. He grabbed a bunch of guts and wiped it across his body, hoping her idea had some merit.

Sevrin wasn’t going to spare her as he offered her some guts. He couldn’t help but pay her back for the earlier attitude. The Sephi wiped a bunch of guts across her face, keeping his expression completely stoic and serious to try and sell how important this was.

He was fine with coating various parts of his body, but he made a point to avoid getting any on his hair. Sevrin began to walk down the stairs, spotting an infected slowly stumbling up towards them. He began to walk towards it, prepared to launch an attack if needed.

To his surprise, the infected walked right past him, earning a genuinely surprised look from Sevrin.

A couple more steps revealed the entire bottom level of the stairs to be completely full of infected. Sevrin walked slowly, reaching back to grasp Amariel’s hand with his gut covered one so they weren’t separated. He used subtle nudges with the Force to move infected out of the way, attempting to keep perfectly calm. They were surrounded by rotting corpses, their mouths and hanging flesh brushing against the two passing through. It took a tremendous amount of willpower to push through, and he could make out a door on the other side.

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Dr Ilana Morata

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It was a pity she didn't have something better, like a bigger specimen box, but she had anticipated bringing in a whole corpse, not just the head of one. Still... this woman was once a person, a sentient. She would do her best to treat it with some modicum of respect that the sentient would have been given, had she been alive. Rummaging in the kit, she did manage to find a remaining evidence bag from her last jaunt from the Rangers. It would have to do.

Putting the head in carefully, she kept in mind to not allow the mouth to gum on her; apart from the virus, who knew what other microorganisms would be---

At the sound of squelching flesh and cauterized remains, she glanced up at Sevrin.

And immediately regretted it.

The stench was overwhelming as she was suddenly coated in cold, slimy zombie guts, and jerked her head back to avoid it getting in her own hair. He would see her go even paler if it was possible, and even slightly green. She couldn't breathe through her mouth, so she was forced to take deep inhales through her nose, but she glared. If she weren't two steps from vomiting, she would have spoken up, but instead, she swallowed hard, coating the arms of her armored coat and other areas, mindful to avoid her mouth. She wasn't going to let any of that near her mouth, ever, and even the thought made her want to duck under the nearest source of water and add bleach.

She followed after him, gripping her blade tightly. The head was now in her kit along with the fingers, and she forced herself to breathe slowly, try, and keep calm. Gaze flicking down at something touching her hand, she noted it was the Knight's, and held it, mindful of the shambling crew around them.

They were just at the doorway. They were almost there... with one problem.

The emergency lock had been put in place. Opening the door would work... but it would trigger an alarm. And with a noise risk like that, who knows what they would attract. The guts wouldn't last long either; they would run out of time soon unless they found an alternate exit or wanted to risk flight.


@Sreeya
 

Sevrin Valtiere

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Sevrin spotted the door and the problem at once. He stopped in his tracks, allowing Amariel to move up closer so she could see as well. The groaning and growling continued around them. There was one infected that bumped into him and slowly turned its head as if it noticed something.

The scent wouldn’t last long.

The Knight had to think quick - if they burst through the door, who knew what kind of horde it would call from outside. If they wasted too much time trying to find another exit here, the infected would pick up on them eventually. Sevrin grimaced as he realized they only had one choice.

He turned and began to make his way back towards where they came. Sevrin was normally a calm individual, but the empathy attack combined with their present situation left him irritated. There was also a sense of fear at the pit of his stomach as the infected began to shift and move differently, a few heads turning to regard the duo that was leaving. Sevrin slowed down his pace, tightening his grip on her hand in an effort to reassure her. It was a very tense and terrifying situation as they just barely brushed past jaws of death. The Sephi held his breath as he walked, almost afraid to exhale as he walked.

They made it back to the stairs and he slowly walked up, avoiding any sudden movements as he made his way back up. The first door back to the corridors had infected on the other side. So did the one above it. And the one above that. They had to keep going up till Sevrin finally found a hall that was quiet. He used his saber to open the door, stepping out into the empty apartment corridor.

Sevrin spotted a window and walked towards it, using his saber to cut through it to avoid any loud noises. He looked down at the great drop below and glanced at Amariel, “All right, m’am, all aboard the repulsorlift,” He said, his tone tired from everything that had happened. He couldn’t exactly do bridal style and fit them both through the window so he let her decide how she wanted to be carried.

“Three...two…” He didn’t count the one before he casually stepped off the edge and dropped straight down vertically. The wind slapped against their skin and that awful weightlessness feeling would come, but it was simply exhilarating for Sevrin. Unlike before, he allowed himself a glance in her direction, knowing she would likely have her eyes squeezed shut. Their surroundings blurred and he simply took in the details of her face - covered in disgusting infected grandma guts, looking entirely furious and terrified at the same time, looking as if she were about to throw up on him, looking as if she wanted to stab him in the eye with grandma's dentures. And yet through it all..

Sevrin looked ahead again as he braced for landing, the Force cushioning them as he dropped to the ground gracefully. He gently set her down, once again stepping aside to let her vomit if needed. The Sephi didn’t wipe the guts off himself just yet, knowing they had a ways to go to find the ship.

“Are you all right?” He asked quietly, glancing over at her and then towards the direction where he vaguely recalled the ship being parked.

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Dr Ilana Morata

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Though the room felt like there was nothing there, she could feel chills rise on the back of her neck. The gazes on them, beginning to draw interest. When he lightly squeezed her hand, she glanced up. She could sense fear in him. Irritation, perhaps even the faintest hint of anxiety. It was strange to remember these religious individuals as people... she had seen them do the impossible, act calmly in the threat of battle. But to see him... she had to respect his willingness to push on.

Even though he had the effortless ability to grate on her nerves.

She only managed a full exhale once they made up the several floors, rubbing a hand over her throat. She had hoped they would avoid heights again, but it looked like the Force wanted to test her further than she already was. But if she stood there, stalling, it left them open for another assault... and she wasn't up for fighting.

So instead she just nodded, and wrapped her arms around his chest.

"All right."

It was too narrow for her to be carried the way he had last time, she knew it. The wind whistled past them and she squeezed her eyes tightly, lips clamped tight and shoulders tense. Even though he might have seemed calm, she could sense the tiredness, the exhaustion, and once they landed again she would let go again, staggering away to put her hands on her knees, gasping.

As soon as they would be off planet, she would invest in some way to scale buildings without feeling like she was going to die. At his question, she glanced over his direction, swallowing hard again.
"...That went a lot better than I had anticipated.. thank you." Her voice rasped hard, but she gave a very thin, tired smile.

Glancing about, she had to get her bearings. It hadn't been too far from where they were before, but... Nar Shaddaa days were longer. Who knew how long they had actually been there? Even she wasn't too sure. She glanced over at him, and for a moment, felt a flash of guilt. She had used him, as she hated to be used, and he didn't without complaining. The ship couldn't be far... but she wasn't entirely sure if it was still even there.

"...Are you alright?" Amber eyes tracked over to meet silver ones in a somber gaze, sheathing her vibroblade. She had to make sure... the situations as taxing as they were, were no doubt more so for him as well. "We should be close to the ship; is there any place you would want me to take you to?"

@Sreeya
 

Sevrin Valtiere

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Sevrin stared at her with eyebrows raised when she mentioned this went better than expected. He glanced down at his viscera covered torso, over to her viscera covered face, back towards the building they had to jump from and then back to her, “….What were you expecting?” He had to ask, thinking about how they barely escaped with their lives.

He gazed at her pensively when she asked if he were all right. His usual stoic demeanor was back and this was not a question he was asked often. People always assumed Jedi were all right at all times. The Sephi gave a vague shrug, “Alive and well as promised,” He said flatly before he continued, “You will need to get back to your research as quickly as possible. Back to Chateaux Vidalis is all right, I will take a shuttle from there.”

Mercifully, the rest of the journey was uneventful. Wearing the guts helped the duo navigate through the hordes that blocked the path towards the ship. Sevrin was pleased to see that his fears about the ship being stolen were unfounded.

He hadn’t forgotten about what Amariel had done to the group on Nar Shaddaa, and he made it very clear she would have to follow through on what they agreed on. However, that wouldn’t happen overnight and they would have to journey through her past.

For now, the priority was getting off the planet, and they managed that without incident. The important thing was that the doctor had her live sample and research on the preventative measures could officially begin.

/End Thread
 
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