Going to Hell

[Slamdingo]

[fancybox2]--------------

--------------

The Cult of Ophiel is a religious organization of Light Side extremists who are committing acts of violence against the Brotherhood. Ophiel prey on the vulnerable and misguided in society and lure Sith Acolytes into their ranks, having built their places of worship on backwater and primitive worlds surrounding Sith space. The Ophiel cult bases its largest cathedral in the planetary capital of Florn. The Sith Brotherhood knows that several key figureheads of the cult call the cathedral their home and that the followers of the local kingdom view it as a most crucial landmark in their faith.

A Brother and Sister of the Sacred Band, alongside a Sith of the Brotherhood, have been given a simple mission.

Seize the cathedral.

Raze it to the ground.

Leave none alive.

Participants
@RedneckLoves -as- Ailsa Elva Myrna
@Apostacy -as- Drallic Vess
@Slamdingo -as- Essja Dreytila

Part of the Burning Ophiel mission-pack, as made by @Marf.
Contact the participant or Sith leadership if you wish to participate in some manner.

[/fancybox2]​

Ever since it had passed from the hands of Cassir Dreytila, normally the 'Destiny' only served to transport two entities. The first was its owner and thus de-facto captain, the Jedi hunter Essja Dreytila: the foul-mouthed, heavy-smoking, binge-drinking, and sole surviving heir of the Dreytila family name and all which that entailed . . . that being the 'Destiny'. The second occupant was an M6-series utility and astromech droid, identified in the short-hand as M6-F00, and identified in the even shorter hand as simply 'Foo': co-pilot when Essja had the helm as he did at that moment, navigator, assistant comms officer, chief engineer, and the ship's ever-faithful quarter-master all put together in one 4'7" tall sphere. And of the two, only one was complaining about the shift from status quo.

'Foo' gave a long and plaintive wail as she rolled up beside the pilot's seat. Even if a listener wasn't fluent in droidspeak, it'd be obvious that 'she' was upset or distressed by the tone. 'Tall, Dark, and Mean-looking' seemed more like he was stalking prey than traveling from point A to point B through the ship and 'Foo' just generally disapproved of anybody having something at their hip that could slice through parts of the ship's hull. And 'Party Of Three' hadn't done anything to really be a cause for alarm . . . yet. Two additional fleshy humanoids traipsing about the ship who might not notice 'her' until they bumped into her was bad enough, but she had to wonder if her Captain really had to pick these ones to go riding in to some end-of-the-galaxy backwater?

Of course it all sounded something like a hell of a lot of angry and distressed beeps, squawks, and drawn out tones. While the Jedi hunter just nodded his head.

Essja just plucked a fresh pack of cigarettes from the worn carton by his control panel and lit it up. All while waiting for 'Foo' to finish her long-winded complaint. And once 'she' was done - and Essja stopped pondering if 'long-winded' was the appropriate term for a being that had no lungs - he replied, "I know, I know, Foo. The evil bad man and the hot chick are going to take our ship and go off across the galaxy in some power-couple murder-spree. Really, its terrible. Truly. I'm just as worried as you" if dripping sarcasm was acid, he'd burn through the deck-plates "but unless you want me to take on a whole cult of homicidal Jedi-worshippers by myself, I need the extra firepower at my side. And besides, if they try anything . . . shoot 'em."

She gave another plaintive string of squeaks and tones in protest.

"Well its either we deal with blood on the deck if they try, or we lose the ship." It was obvious he had little faith in his droid's please and worries.

A tone from the control panel drew his attention away from Foo and towards the instrument panel as the curvature of Florn's horizon drew closer and closer with their descent into the planet's atmosphere. It was nothing pressing or alarming because Essja was more than enough of a competent pilot to control their speed and angle of descent to make a rather smooth and uninterrupted atmospheric entry. Of course just to be safe he deposited his still burning cigarette in the nearby ash-tray for keeping until after the harder part of the maneuver was handled. He was confident enough that the minor rattling and shakes of the 'Destiny' wouldn't disturb his fellows that he didn't even bothering to draw attention to it over the ship's PA. However once it was done and he began a steeper descent towards the capital city he keyed that PA system.

The PA crackled as he first keyed, "Ladies and gentleman, if you look out your windows now you will see the verdant green landscape of Florn below us now. Its home to the lovable and cuddly Lamproid, dangerous and varied wildlife, and goody-two-shoe space-wizards with a mad-on for the Brotherhood." He retrieved his cigarette, "I'm touching us down outside the city. Be ready inside of fifteen minutes."

 

[Ailsa Elva Myrna]

Ailsa Elva hadn't felt the need to done her UAI combat armor for a few weeks, so it was mildly uncomfortable. So bulky and clingy compared to the loose, flowing garments she much preferred to wear. Alas, they were going into hostile enemy territory to wipe out a clan of lightside zealots, so it wouldn't exactly be wise to go in unarmored. One might end up in a very unfortunate situation if they weren't very careful.

Myrna didn't know either of her companions on this trip, but they both were handsome young men. She'd spent most of the trip in a small room on her own, feigning sleep. Really she'd been studying the schematics of the church to which they were bound for murder. She knew that there was never too much research that could be done before a mission. If she got in a hairy situation, she wanted to know every potential exit out of the building without having to figure it out by guessing.

After a while, she figured they would be getting close and so she left the room. She stretched and yawned in a convincing manner, leaving neither of the men to guess that she'd been doing anything but sleeping since they'd taken off. Elva gave the Sith, Drallic, a sweet smile as she passed him on her way to the front of the ship to check on their progress. On her way there, she heard the announcement from her SBZ Brother indicating that she was right and they were almost at their destination.

Ailsa paused for a moment, since there was no longer a reason to go into the cockpit, but ended up shrugging to herself and going in anyway. She was already fully prepared for landing, having loaded up her weaponry and activating her drone before leaving the room she'd been tucked away in. Today she was packing thermal dets and Firespray canisters, her MD-12 Shotgun Blaster as well as the MP-FRAB set up as an assault rifle. Her Razor Drone was equipped with three frag grenades that she could program it to release anywhere, at any time she pleased.

"Got a light?" Elva asked her Brother as she reached the cockpit and pulled out a home rolled smoke from one pouch.

 

[Drallic Vess]

For the majority of their flight, Drallic had spent his time in silent preparation; checking and rechecking the various tools of his trade, calibrating his slicing equipment and going over the schematics that had been made available to them all. Currently sharpening his stiletto, the dull grinding of blade against whetstone seemed to fill the air as he checked for any sort of blemish or potential imperfection that could render the weapon inoperative. Withdrawing a simple vial from within the confines of the tatterdemalion that he typically won over his light armor, a steady hand began applying a viscous liquid to the blade, leaving a faintly green sheen to the edge I would hate to be on the receiving end of this particular concoction, but they did say no prisoners after-all... Placing the blade back within it's sheathe at the small of his back, he took the time to further research the layout he had been given of both Cathedral and the surrounding area If we are going for a forward assault, it may be unnecessary, but I have always preferred recon over blind assault, I will have to see what the others have in mind... All ambitions aside, Drallic had an innate need to be a team player; one could say that it had been beaten into him from an early age and that some things, no matter how much you rebelled against them, always left their mark.

With stiletto secured, the hold out blaster hidden and his saber hanging from belt and obscured by robes, he took the time to sleeve a variety of poisons and their antidotes Just in case... Satisfied that everything had been accounted for and hidden amongst his person, he permitted himself a moment to ponder the nature of the company he was keeping From the brief meeting prior to flight, I can tell that both are professionals in their own right, but she almost seems eager to hide it for some reason... Not that I can speak out about subterfuge given my own predilections . Deciding to wait before passing judgement on either of them, he was fully prepared to stay silent until the point of no return when he was suddenly acknowledged by the only other passenger on the ship. Returning her smile with a slight nod, he was about to comment when Essja's voice cracked and sparked across the Intercom:

"Ladies and gentleman, if you look out your windows now you will see the verdant green landscape of Florn below us now. Its home to the lovable and cuddly Lamproid, dangerous and varied wildlife, and goody-two-shoe space-wizards with a mad-on for the Brotherhood. I'm touching us down outside the city. Be ready inside of fifteen minutes."

"Niceties will have to wait, there's killing to be done." Said more to himself rather to anyone else, it was almost as if a switch had been flipped, as his almost nonchalant attitude of mere moments before turned into something colder and more focused. Making his way towards the cockpit, he caught the tail end of Ailsa's request before making himself known "How do the both of you want to proceed once we land?"

 

[Slamdingo]

Essja was already kitted up. He had made a practice of it for the last day and a half of their journey instead of wearing the simplistic and durable clothes he was so fond of otherwise. That meant when Ailsa entered the room he was already in his armor - a suit similar very much to her own - with his helmet sitting on the control console for the co-pilot's station. He regarded her with an appraising glance from over his shoulder with a brow raised. Though what he felt about what he saw didn't change his expression one iota as he looked back to the display port and held out the lighter when asked. For as ludicrously fast as he was going he seemed rather at ease. Jungles and rivers and valleys appeared and then slipped away beneath them as the freighter roared along.

When the Sith joined them in the cockpit and nobody else had elected to take a seat, suddenly it was becoming increasingly crowded. 'Foo' sat by the navigators station with the receptor stalk raised up to eye the two passengers once more. 'She' began to speak before Essja spoke up to answer their questions, "I don't know if either of you has actually seen a Lamproid, but I was being sarcastic. They're not too big, but they have enough venom to drop you flat if they get their mouths on you or get spitting, and a nasty little stinger on their asses. Apex predators in a slug body." the Jedi-hunter shook his head. "And we all know the cult is going to be drawing from the local population."

The ship was a tree-top level at this point as it drew closer and closer to his planned destination. 'Foo' was beeping out updates for him so he would know where to go as he adjusted his course. It was early morning and they were racing ahead of the sunrise as the capital city began to draw closer and closer from across the horizon. Stone and mortar and wood - old medieval construction. A large castle that loomed at the highest hill in the surrounding area, with peasantry sprawling out from outside the walls, and likely hosting proper shops and more well-to-do citizens inside. Any fans of history would recognize that save for some alterations and deviations here and there, it was a fairly typical design for a settlement for a species at such a technology level.

At their altitude the specks of natives moving about on the streets could even be made out. Lamproids who worked the fields, smitthies, and other shops and trades necessary to keep the whole place running. And of course there were very few spots where the trees had been hacked away that weren't now being used to host cattle pens or buildings. It brought a small frown to Essja's face as he lowered altitude and looked into the city-proper within the walls where it wasn't difficult to spot out the towering stone cathedral with its stained-glass windows. Near the main gate he could see a stretch of flat and open ground on one side of the - honest-to-the-Force moat that surrounded the main castle. He brought the ship in low, into a hover with the nose pointed towards the drawbridge.

"Foo, you have the stick." She beeped an affirmative as he rose from the seat.

He scooped up his helmet and made his way out of the cockpit with the cigarra still clamped between his lips, "You two: on me."

The 'Destiny' came low to the ground as its cargo bay ramp opened. Not, of course, before the three of them were in a position to make sure no particularly acrobatic locals had any ideas about jumping up to board. Of course 'Foo' knew her Captain well enough that she picked a reasonable distance - higher than normal but still possible to allow for the fact that two members of the team could supplement themselves with the Force. Essja didn't wait for any ceremony or briefing or build-up. His kit was secure and he was confident in it as he placed one hand on his heavy carbine and jumped from the ramp. Of course just before impact he fired his boosters to lift himself for a few moments and kill his momentum. Once on the ground he shouldered his carbine and swept the muzzle over the crowd of locals - some screaming and fleeing, others watching curiously from windows and around corners, but none daring to come too close.

It was when he turned and started for the drawbridge that problems arose. There was yelling in what he could only assume was the native tongue and then the sound of metal on stone as the chains for the drawbridge pulled taut. Under the mask of his suit's helmet, the Jedi-hunter frowned. He blink-clicked to key his comms for the other two, "Well now they're just being rude - trying to slam the door in our faces. Would one of you kindly blast this kriffing thing's chains?" Of course if neither of them wished to then 'Foo' would happily use the nose cannon or torpedo launcher . . . at the cost of much more significant collateral damage. But then again wasn't that always fun?


@Ailsa Elva Myrna
@Drallic Vess

 

[Drallic Vess]

As Essja essentially took charge, Drallic didn't bother with the typical 'I am Sith listen to my thoughts' rhetoric, it may make him the odd man out at times but the mission was more important than any sort of personal grandstanding. As the ramp opened up to reveal their target, he seemed to pause momentarily as the ophidian energies of the Dark Side quickly made its way across his meridian points. With his gear checked once, twice, and a third time prior to meeting up with the remainder of the ops team, he could feel his sinew and bone being strengthened by the Dark energies that he had called upon. There was no jump, no sense of concern, as he simply stepped off the ramp and into the void.

Landing with his knees bent, he wasn't so arrogant as to risk injury even with the Force obeying his commands, a small indentation of the earth was the only sign of his passing as he took in the situation Primitive and unkempt... Nothing more then chattel, it's unfortunate that they chose the wrong side. Unclipping the saber from his belt, he didn't bother igniting it just yet as the request was made to deal with a potential delay "Certainly." His hold out blaster wasn't really going to be all that effective, so another method would have to suffice...

Extending his left hand in the shape of a claw, a moment was all it took as the chains began to stretch and contort under the pressure. The shrieking of metal being stretched and shattered filled their ears for a moment and then a brief silence.... Before the 'drawbridge' began to violently fall down towards the earth with a loud smash. Taking a deep breath, he slightly shook his head before commenting wryly "I believe I may have knocked a tad bit too hard." Igniting his saber, the blade's length was reminiscent to that of the shoto so commonly used as a parrying weapon, as the bronze colored beam of energy began to hum and crackle. Looking to the battlements for any sort of primitive defensive or siege weapons, one thing in particular caught his eye. Noting what could only be a ballistae currently being loaded for bare, he merely looked to Ailsa "Ladies have first dibs..." Motioning upwards, he simply took up a defensive position.... For now.

@Ailsa Elva Myrna
@Slamdingo

 

[Ailsa Elva Myrna]

Myrna accepted the light Essja offered, holding her smoke to its flame for a moment before standing straight and putting it between her pink lips. A few drags off the thing left her feeling pleasantly warm all over. She noticed that they were flying at a pretty insane speed for how close they were to the tree level, but her Brother seemed completely at ease. A very talented pilot, then, she noted.

Elva wasn't impressed with the large stone castle, or the medieval looking town. It was quite a primitive little place, she thought. That would make it all the easier to burn it all down. The thought put a sweet smile on her face. When Essja stood and gathered his helmet up, Ailsa knew it was time to leave. She took a last pull off her smoke, before stomping it out on the floor of the craft. The guy had a droid, after all, it would clean up after her.

She fastened her helmet on and waited the moment it took for the HUD to load up. Both the men jumped out first, and then it was her turn. Myrna jumped out and could have used any number of methods for landing safely, one of which included the Force. She didn't prefer utilizing those skills when it wasn't necessary, though, so instead she used her suit's jumpers, in much the same way as Essja had landed.

She didn't pay much attention to the drawbridge while Drallic took care of it for them. Instead, she gazed with open curiosity at the locals that were staying far back, but obviously curious about them as well. Mostly they were the odd looking Lamproids that Essja had mentioned. They were weird, segmented beasts and all were dressed in tattered clothes, little more than rags. Elva supposed that they all had to work very hard for very little gain in their lives. Such was the way of the peasant. If they lived on her world, Lafra, they'd at least be treated well. It didn't look like these people were treated with any respect from the light side zealots that ruled over this place.

The sound of metal shrieking and a loud crash drew her attention back to the drawbridge, to see its chain supports busted and the whole of it back in place across the moat. Drallic had performed his task well, now it seemed it was her turn. A large contraption was being readied not far behind the open gates. Myrna quickly tapped a few buttons on her right gauntlet, speaking corresponding commands at the same time. Her little drone had followed her out of the ship, as she'd programmed it to do, and now it set off through the gates.

The locals were too busy with the weapon they were messing with to notice as the drone flew high above them. One thermal det dropped with an impact detonator set. The drone flew fast back towards its master. By the time it made it half way, the thermal impacted and exploded. Ten meters of total destruction erupted and the people around the contraption flew in every direction. Tossing a sweet smile Drallic's way, she shouldered her MP-FRAB and gracefully loped into the main courtyard of the cathedral.

@Drallic Vess @Slamdingo

 

[Slamdingo]

First the drawbridge came crashing down with a gesture from the team's Sith. Then local guards atop the wall scrabbled and began to ready some medieval machinery. Maybe they thought to damage the vessel floating in front of their city, or more practically to spear one of the three intruders. Yet Essja was able to watch with a seemingly bored disinterest as the drone following his Ziost Sister zipped up into the sky before dropping a small package. It twisted and tumbled through the air but for the most part fell almost straight down just as the siege crew had begun to crank back their weapon. The blast that followed threw stones, splinters, chunks of wood, and what was left of bodies all as one over the tower parapet. It made for loud splashes in the moat and muted thuds against the ground as they fell in a shower to accompany Ailsa's advance across the draw bridge. Essja followed close behind her to make sure that none of them would wind up exposed and too far from the others.

The architecture inside didn't change much. The inner gateway was long and had a steel or possibly iron gate that remained pulled high over head - perhaps the gate guards either didn't think it worth the effort after the display outside by the Sith, or they didn't wish to attract the ire of the woman who seemed to make things explode at her will by attempting to impede them as their peers on the ballista had so done. More locals were within the walls though it'd be apparent by their dress alone that many of these citizens were better off. Their homes and places of work were made of sturdier assembled stone and wood, their clothes clearly hardier and often not as dirty as the rags of the field workers, but one thing they had in common with those out in the fields was that almost none of them seemed to have any interest in getting in the team's way. Except the sounds of metal clanking and calls of alarm in the clicks and squeals that Essja could only assume were the local language.

Five or six guards in what amounted to chain-mail and leather bracing with crude spears in hand.

The first fell with a blaster round clean through its face. The second and third, too. The fourth got its to the back of the head as the last three had sense to run.

"I see the local talent isn't too tough." Essja gave a laugh and waved for the others to follow him as he started to jog in the direction the guards had come from.

The castle's streets were compact and almost maze-like, but over the rooftops of most of the buildings they were almost always able to see the chapel up the hill from them growing closer, "So what do you all vote we do? Bar the doors and burn it down while they're inside? Detonate it to collapse it on their heads?" He chuckled again.


@Ailsa Elva Myrna
@Drallic Vess

So sorry for the delay. I've been hellishly busy.

 

[Drallic Vess]

Nodding in appreciation as Ailsa quickly brought the 'siege weapon' to heel, the muscles in his arms and legs seemed to almost twitch in excitement as the Darkside began to grow more and more insistent as battle drew closer and closer to fruition. Allowing such energies to run rampant would not only be a waste but a liability as Drallic guided it's erratic energies into something more focused, more pure then simple bloodlust. As they drew nearer to their target, Essja's running commentary seemed to illicit an almost baseline reaction from the usually stoic member of the Sith "It's simple... This is no clandestine operation and as such..." A small blade from within one of his many pockets was thrown with an almost lazy flair as it sunk into the throat of one of the few guards that dared to approach them on route to the cathedral "We wipe them all out... And according to their own faith, it is fire that purifies so fire it should be."

Noting the spires of the cathedral growing ever closer, his grip tightened upon the hilt of his saber Soon, soon one can lose oneself to the energies that even now threaten to overwhelm me... Anything else that the others may have said at this point was slowly being drowned out as the smallest of chants began to fill his mind Blood...blood... blood...blood...blood...blood...!
@Slamdingo
@Ailsa Elva Myrna

 

[RedneckLoves]

[beebox4=70%]

Myrna skipped along quite happily with her two companions. She was having much fun, blowing things up and causing havoc against the enemies of the Sith Brotherhood. A few guards ran up towards the trio at one point, and her SBZ Brother dispatched most of them. The Sith took out another with a small throwing weapon and Ailsa was happy to shoot a few rounds into the backs of each of the remaining two that were attempting to flee.

Then Essja spoke about their options and the Sith seemed quite eager to burn the inhabitants of the church alive. She easily sensed the growing power of the Dark Side within that one, and his mounting bloodlust. Elva was trained in the ways of the Dark Side, but didn't prefer to utilize it often. This time it was simply impossible to miss. An interesting, if somewhat predictable development. Sith were too often slaves of their emotions, unable to control themselves in the thick of battle.

A shrug of one thin shoulder ended her internal musing. As it had apparently been decided, she skipped off through an alleyway around to one side of the looming cathedral. It was constructed primarily of stones and bricks, but much of the connecting and supporting structures were wooden. It was likely that all furniture inside was also made of flammable materials, considering the lack of technological advancements on this planet. She would find a few doorways to chuck in some firespray canisters to start the fire on the ground floor. Fire liked to rise, after all.

[/beebox4]