Ask [Raxus] Isolation

[Nova Trent]

...Solar System of Raxus...​

A military hospital ship? Communications that have fallen silent? A team that had been sent had fallen silent, too? Oh sure. As if that wasn't ironic. That was exactly how old bad horror-holomovies started. And yet she was still somehow on her way to said hospital. Why? Because she had literally been appointed to have a look.

Cheriss had been somehow busy with other stuff again, so apparently they would send another champion to accompany her, but she had no idea whom they sent. She was just hoping that whatever was going on, could be stopped quickly so that she could return to prepare for her trials again.

She quickly looked out of the viewport with a sigh as they were getting closer. She was wearing her usual, black Sith uniform of the academy with her crimson bladed lightsaber clipped to her belt. Luckily, they had equipped her with a few grenades and an investigation kit as well.

She hadn't met her company yet because the last days had been rather sleepless and so she had used the time to catch up on some sleep for a few hours, but now that they were already approaching, she figured it would have been a good idea to introduce herself.

She left the passenger cabin and approached the unknown champion as friendly as possible. Being grumpy about having to be on such an admittedly creepy mission wouldn't help and so she pulled herself together instead. "Hi. I'm Nova...seems like you're as lucky as me" She chose to introduce herself sarcastically because it was easier to deal with that inner displeasure like that. I do hope this mission is not as bad as it sounds like", she then added with a sigh.

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Atrix]

Varyn hadn't seen his partner for the mission yet, so he had spent the whole trip poring over what he could about the station. Blueprints, transport logs, personnel, and the prior team that had been sent. None of it really told him much about what they'd be running into, but at least studying - and downloading - the schematics made him feel a bit better.

His partner made her appearance as the pilots were starting to bring the ship in for a landing.

Varyn, he said, taking her hand. Nice to meet you, he said, though he couldn't help the doubts tugging at the back of his mind. She'd spent the whole flight sleeping instead of preparing. Hopefully that wasn't a bad sign. You never could tell what you were going to get with an Acolyte, and not all of them were... dedicated to their work.

There's no telling what we're in for so we'd best be ready, he said. He grabbed the corresponding helmet for his IAC armor and slipped it over his head, making sure their comms were synced up as the ship glided into the hangar.

For all he knew this could be Jedi, resistance, pirates, or anything else in the galaxy. He reached down to feel the saber on his belt, ensuring it was there before making his way down the exit ramp.

The hangar was dark and as soon as the two Sith were off the ship, it took off again, waiting for their call to return for pickup.

Don't want to risk something happening to our ride out, he said.

He headed forward, noting that there didn't seem to be... anything. No signs of a struggle, no blaster marks, no dead bodies, just... nothing yet. Nothing except the stench of death that lingered in the Force even if he couldn't physically smell it.

Do you feel it? All the people who died here? he asked. The place was stained with the Dark Side, and he wasn't looking forward to what he would find further inside. But they were here to press on, and press on they would.

@LadyRen

 

[Nova Trent]

Their was a slight hint of nervousity on the pit of her stomach as she could literally see them getting closer. She had no idea what to expect but it hadn't been a good idea to watch all of those horror movies and series...She had even started to wonder whether this was a stupid joke after all.

The information she had received was definitely weird and didn't make much sense, but she was dearly hoping that they wouldn't encounter those terrible bugs in the middle of space.

She herself hadn't come in contact with them, and she was dearly hoping that this wouldn't happen any time soon, but after her briefing for the mission she couldn't help but to wonder whether this 'hive brain' thing could have been involved...what if this prison ship was indeed full of joined prisoners? A cold shiver ran down her spine as she stood in front of the unknown champion.

"Nice to meet you, too" she replied with a brief smile. She wasn't someone to enjoy unnecessary courtesies and empty phrases, yet so far he looked rather prepared and he was admittedly attractive, so it was easier to stay polite after all.

She nodded when he mentioned to be ready, readjusting her equiment before she started following him. "Yup...we better stay on our guard". As soon as they entered the prison ship, the atmosphere was even darker, someone oppressing even and even though there was a pin drop silence, it was as if she could perceive echoes of something dreadful that had happened here.

"I do" she replied as she cautiously followed him, each and every step tense, just like her muscles. "Let's please not split up" she sarcastically added after a while, referring to how bad such actions normally were in movies.

It was true though. There was something undeniable dark and creepy about this place and that they didn't even spot any traces of potential struggles didn't make it any better. They kept pressing on and in the next corridor they already encountered a flickering light bulb that wasn't helping either.

She involuntarily held her breath, not wanting to make any sounds, yet suddenly a metal clanking echoed through the hall, making her jump back half a meter."Oh kark" she gasped breathlessly and in shock. She didn't have to ask whether he heard that, as the sound had mentioned to pierce through that dreadful silence quite well.

Her hand shot to the hilt of her lightsaber while she kept staring forward, eyes narrowed but there was literally no movement in sight and it had sounded like the noise had come from a room further off, right on the other side of the hall and perhaps even around the next right corner.

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Atrix]

No, I don't think that's a good idea, he agreed when she mentioned not splitting up. He pressed on through the hangar, head swiveling back and forth to look at the various ships within. Most were medical transports and small craft, and so far as he could see, they were all unarmed.

But still no sign of their crew.

He hit the control panel for the hall beyond and the door slid open with a hiss. As they made their way forward, he heard the same crashing sound she did, and without even thinking, his saber was in his hand and activated. The blood-red color lit the hallway around them where the flickering bulb didn't reach, and he didn't move for a long moment. He let his senses reach out and he did feel... life aboard the ship. Where and what kind, he couldn't tell, but they certainly weren't alone. He wondered if she could feel it as well. It wasn't... it wasn't really encouraging.

He forced himself to press forward, unrooting his foot from the ground forcefully with each step. I am a Jedi. I am a Sith. The Force is my ally, and it is with me, he repeated in his head, over and over.

It was only as they advanced further that windows into labs and medical areas began to appear on the sides of the hall, and what he saw just... really didn't help how he was feeling. The otherwise pristine glass had a streak down the center that could only have been made by a bloody handprint. Beyond, the room was filled with blood and what had once been innards of someone that were now outtards, and there were still no bodies to be seen.

I guess we've found some of the crew, he muttered grimly with a shake of his head.

@LadyRen

 

[Nova Trent]

She wasn't quite sure whether he had understood her horror holomovie reference, but there was no point in dwelling on that, as the deserted bay required her full attention.

The way their careful steps echoed through the empty halls was indeed uncanny and she was just dearly hoping that this was all a great misunderstanding after all, but the chances were pretty high this wouldn't end well. There were no sign of any life forms yet, but that was until that metal clanking had made her jump...

She had immediately snapped the lightsaber's hilt into her back and the blade was ignited instantaneously, protectively held in front of her body as if ready to defend herself against invisible monsters that could potentially jump at them at any time.

A shocked gasp had involuntarily escaped her lips while her blood seemed to had frozen in her veins while there was simply that impenetrable, pin drop silence again apart from the vibrant humming of their lightsabers that had been ignited in unison.

I will never watch such movies , she darkly thought to herself as she started to sense a weird presence not far off. She suddenly felt that urge to retreat and to call for reinforcements and she was barely even noticing that she had followed him like one autopilot, but her racing thoughts immediately stopped as her gaze fell on the scattered bowels.

"We should burn this whole place down...this is clearly not a good sign" she shared her thoughts with a lowered voice, not wanting to alert whatever had done that to the crew member, or the remnants of what had been a living being once. Nothing humanoid had done such a thing, right? She was not trying to let fear consume her, but that was literally the creepiest thing she had ever witnessed.

There was an inner reluctance to press on, yet there was something even slightly intriguing about that case. As grim as it was, she was somehow also curious to discover the truth, but at the same time she was convinced she wouldn't like the answer. "Let's just not end up like this" she sarcastically remarked as she swallowed the lump in her throat, trying to stay focused.

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Atrix]

She suggested burning the whole place down, and he actually thought that was a pretty good idea. At least as a backup plan. He was pretty sure she'd meant it somewhat hyperbolically, but it got his mind thinking.

Actually, it may come to that, he said. Depending on what they found, a total purge may be the only option. But it required them first to find something.

But before we can do that, we need results to bring back to command. An actual answer as to what we found, he said, and that was the tough part. No wonder so many Champions died before ever making it to the Council...

He could feel fear radiating off the Acolyte and while he could hardly say he was feeling good about this, he knew the danger of losing your head in a situation like this.

Be calm. Let the Force flow through you. We're not dead yet, and we're not going to end up like that, he agreed. We're Sith.

Maybe this was a teaching moment? Or maybe this was just something that would take his own mind off of the danger they were in.

Reach out with your senses. What do you feel? he asked.

@LadyRen

 

[Nova Trent]

His remark was unfortunately not soothing like...at all. "So you're feeling is just as shit as mine, hm?" she couldn't help but to wonder sarcastically, perhaps hoping that humor would lighten that terrible, dreadful mood somehow.

Perhaps it was indeed a good idea to keep that in mind. Whatever started slaughtering the crew, it was still here. "I know you're right...I'm pretty though we might not like what we're about to find" she replied with a sigh, still carefully following the champion.

She had involuntarily held her breath again and her eyes remained fixed on the hallway in front of them. His remark let her call down to some extent, as he was right with what he said: She couldn't loose it. She had to stay focused, and so she did.

She breathed deeply and even though she was usually quite the pessimist, she tried holding onto his words. In contrast to her, he still seemed rather calm and she admired that. Right...for the Empire, she darkly reminded herself. That was why she did it.

She followed his instruction, even closing her eyes for a few seconds while reaching out further. The presence she had felt before had moved. It was closer, yet even fainter than before and there was much more darkness that radiated from ahead.

"I sense death. And somehow still not enough to determine what lives here", she admitted as a shiver ran down her spine, her throat immediately going dry because of that dreadful mood.

As they kept pressing on, they would soon pass yet another threshold, leading them into a vast, white laboratory with samples and testing tunes of all sort, but her gaze was not examining those as something, or better somehow was in the room with them.

Again, a gasp involuntarily escaped her as her gaze landed on the bisected Echani. The upper body was still there, the lower half was completely missing while more bowels graced the floor.

There was a large puddle of thick red blood around him, the eyes stared absently, but were rolled up at the same time. Her body began to shudder while an immediate wave of nausea hit her. From what remained of his coat, they would be able to tell that he had been part of the investigation team that had been sent after them...



@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Atrix]

Varyn couldn't argue with her assertion about what she felt. It may not have been as detailed as he was looking for, but there certainly was death in the air.

Well, you're not wrong, he quipped back. As they pressed on and were eventually forced into another room - a lab of some sort - he saw the body that was mangled on the ground.

Whatever had done this, it wasn't recent. The blood had already dried, a darkened set of streaks and a rotting smell filled the room. His face scrunched up at the scent, and he paused only a moment to look at it.

Some sort of weapon, but not a lightsaber. Physical. Maybe a sword or... maybe a hatchet or axe? he said, noting the way the body was particularly cleaved through.

No choice but onward, he said. It was only as they pressed into the next hall and finally onto a lobby area that things began to get really strange.

The moderately-sized, waiting room type area was filled with people. People who weren't dead or mangled, but seemed to just be... milling about their business like nothing had happened.

For a moment, Varyn just stood there in shock, taken aback by what he was seeing and having no explanation for it.

Can I help you? a man asked, approaching the two of them. His voice sounded a bit monotonous, but it was like they had stepped out of the danger of death behind them and into... a working station again.

@LadyRen

 

[Nova Trent]

It seemed like he wasn't exactly pleased with her answer, but she didn't quite quite care as they did had other things to worry about. The atmosphere was extremely tense and the air thick with anticipation and she gripped the hilt of her lightsaber so tightly that the white of her knuckles was extremely visible.

The smell of rotten flesh strongly upset her stomach and she tried not to breathe too much, however the smell had already reached her and so not gagging right now was an achievement. She averted her gaze, searching the room for other details but there was not much too find here. 'Who...does something like that' she telepathically asked him, not wanting to breathe more, but it was more of a rhetorical question of course.

"Oh...maybe claws even" she injected with disgust, still avoiding to look at the bowels again. Nova was usually considered a badass (and she considered herself one too), but this mission was clearly getting under a skin. She already started to wonder whether her partner was a psycho or whether he was simply a good actor, yet she kept pressing onwards as well.

As they left the room and kept going, they suddenly started stumbling across something that was more than unusual...it was utter madness, if they were being honest. While there had been bowels and blood not far away, they had now found parts of the crew that were much more...complete and intact.

"Uhm..." it escaped her, completely startled at their discovery. The glance of the man was somewhat absent but other than that he seemed fairly okay. "I-" she began, but she was indeed rather speechless still. The lightsaber was still ignited and she was not moving at all for a moment.

Her thoughts were racing. She had seen such behavior before...but she was not trying to be too prejudiced. She was usually a rather prejudiced person, however she was now relying on her company's judgement as he was basically in charge in she did not want to risk getting into trouble again, so she literally held back, even though her impulses told her to slash them all away, immediately. "Well...is everything all right here?" she asked, even though this was a fairly stupid question.


@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Atrix]

The man continued to look at them both, and he just rubbed Varyn all kinds of wrong.

Oh, no, it is not. Pirates attacked the facility and we had to drive them back. The security team was all killed, the man said with simply and still monotonous. Varyn cast a glance over at the Acolyte, knowing something weird was going on, but not entirely sure what to make of it.

We need to take a look around the facility all the same. Where is the rest of the security team? he asked. If they had been victorious then at least one of them should still be alive most likely.

No, you cannot. Please see yourselves out and have a nice day, the man said and turned to walk away.

Varyn just... kind of stood there for a minute. This was all really weird, and there was no way Varyn was going to leave now.

Is this mind control or... oh kriff, no, he realized. Was this Killiks? He didn't know exactly what the Joined were like, but he'd heard about them.

How are you at sneaking around? We might be able to bypass this room and look around. Or we could just... barge through, he said. They were Sith on official mission, after all. They had the authority.

@LadyRen

 

[Nova Trent]

Nova was extremely wary and her muscles tensed while she skeptically listened to the man. Every fiber in her tense body was screaming and it costed her every last bit of self control not to lash out right here, right now.

This was all highly suspicious and she had an extremely bad feeling about it, thus she was glad that Varyn did the talking. The wildest theories were spun in her head while she didn't even believe him a single word. This reeked of bullshit, and they would not just let that be.

When the champion tried to convince him to let them look around, he just left and Nova stood frozen in place as she watched that admittedly strange play in front of them. "Killiks" she immediately said it out aloud, sharing her uncanny assumption without wasting any time.

"This is just like...they said. I've seen that before. I'm pretty sure that's exactly what's wrong" she added, perhaps even slightly hectically. If she had been here alone, she would have locked the place down and burned them all alive at once...but unfortunately he was right. They were on a mission and they needed prove.

"I'm good at sneaking" she replied, her gaze however slightly absent as she was still critically eying the man that had just walked away. "I think bypassing is the smarter choice. They can get quite aggressive, so I'd say we avoid a fight for now" she then shared her opinion, forcing herself to breathe through.

She would carefully step back, glancing around to assess the layout before she however turned to him once again. "We just need...a bit of evidence. It's obvious he lied about the pirates...no one boarded that ship. I would have loved to find out what lie he would tell us about the comms..." she scoffed, slightly shaking her head. It seemed like,e the madness had just begun. "He wasn't even frightened in terms of the lightsabers...I don't know. Maybe we should just burn them down".

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Atrix]

Yeah, he whispered quietly as she said what he was thinking. It was far from confirmed, but it was now on his mind.

He nodded as she agreed with sneaking around for now. It was really the only logical course of action, and he, too, didn't want to face down a whole station of Killiks and Joiners. He took several steps back, retreating to a corner of the room and sitting in a chair. His eyes swept over everything, but he didn't see a great opportunity to get through the room without being seen. Particularly with how many eyes "happened" to glance in their direction.

More proof, he told himself as he pushed down the idea to call in a Star Destroyer to simply obliterate the entire station. So close to Raxus, too, it was more than a little alarming to him.

We may need to destroy this whole station. If we can get to the main power core we can detonate or overload it, he said. It was no small task, but would still have to come after they'd seen an actual Killik.

What about the maintenance corridors? They're tight and narrow, but they could give us a route around this room at least, he said.

@LadyRen

 

[Nova Trent]

If they were right about their assumptions, what would that mean? Surely there would be a few things entailed and not a single one would be good for that station, for Raxus and the Empire's sphere of influence. She followed his retreat with a sigh, her mind still on edge and her body tense.

What were they doing here? Conducting research in the Killik's name? If so, how limited was their insectoid intelligence and how skilled were hive-minded joiners? She swallowed down that lump, forcing herself not to loose it right now.

She listened to his ideas, nodding as he mentioned the power core, but there were other pressing questions to ask."I like that idea, but I wonder how we can determine that we need to exterminate all of them...also, what if there are valuable samples on board?" It was unlikely he would have an answer to that, but she wanted to share this thought as this was a hospital ship after all.

"That could work. Maintenance corridors or ventilation shafts...if they spot us though, I'm afraid we'll have to fight our way out" she replied with her voice still lowered in order to avoid raising suspicions, yet he would clearly quick up that she was quite displeased.

The way they watched them was overly uncanny and she wondered how long they would tolerate their presence on this ship before they would start attacking, if their theories were true after all. "How about heading back to the laboratory and looking for a way in there?" she then suggested, those various pairs of eyes clearly making her nervous.

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Atrix]

Varyn wasn't really sure what to make of her comment, and it came out in his response.

Samples?! he repeated, face contorting behind his helmet in confusion. Um, I don't know what kind of samples you want to get, he said, but he didn't love the idea. Mostly because he didn't want to become a sample for the Killiks if that was truly what this was. He reminded himself not to narrow his mind too much. Just because the Killiks were the most obvious threat didn't mean there weren't other things in the galaxy that could do this.

Maintenance corridors are a bit larger. Meant for actually passing through, he said. I don't think I'll fit in a ventilation shaft, he added. Particularly not in his armor. For that matter, she probably wouldn't either.

Yeah, let's go, he said, moving to stand and waving at the weirdoes as they left.

We're going to let command know about the pirate attack and make sure there aren't any more around here. Let us know if you need anything else, he lied smoothly, turning to head back the way they came. As the door behind them slid closed, he glanced around for any security cameras but saw none.

His hand slid down to his belt, pulling the saber gently off of it but leaving it unignited in his hand.

Next ones we see, we kill, he said without hesitation. By then their "cover" would be blown so there was no point in pretending.

He headed back to the lab and started looking around before jamming his lightsaber through a side door. Maintenance led into the back routes, and that was precisely what he now stepped into. Lit only by the dim, red backup lights, visibility wasn't great, but at least it wasn't pitch dark.

@LadyRen

 

[Nova Trent]

She was slightly confused when he didn't understand what he meant by samples. 'Yeah samples like...maybe they've been researching something important here. Or they have samples of those drinks they offered on Ruusan' she explained, using telepathy this time as she was talking about the footage of Ruusan.

What if one Joined had sneaked on board and he had made the others drink this apparent mind control juice? She had no actual idea how this whole sick shit worked, but maybe this mission would enable them to retrieve some actual evidence...perhaps they would find at least something useful.

"Okay than maintenance" she slightly grumbled as she had used air ventilation before. Sometimes those shafts were narrow indeed and yes, they were often loud, so he had a point with that anyway. When he waved at the weird behaving strangers she had to suppress a chuckle, especially after what he said next.

"Impressive" she praised him for his lying skills with a smirk after they were out of earshot again, glancing over her shoulder to determine whether they were followed, but for now everything seemed fine. She followed him back towards the lab, her lightsaber now activated, but the hilt still in her hand as she did not trust this situation at all.

They silently entered the maintenance shaft and it took her a moment to let her eyes adjust to the faint red glow. "Kark...maybe we could have gotten some blueprints of the ship before. Seems like we have to improvise now" she sighed, her voice low as she kept pressing on. Since this was a maintenance shaft after all, perhaps they would at least find any signs.

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Atrix]

Ah, so she was impressed by his lying. It was a useful skill for Sith, too. While Acolytes and Champions didn't see nearly as much of it, the Masters and above were constantly playing their games and scheming the downfall of their rivals.

Yeah, schematics would have been nice, he agreed. Not that he knew where to get them, but maybe they would end up getting lucky when they got further in.

Too bad we don't have an astromech to plug into the system either, he added. As they crept forward, he heard more banging almost as if on a different level, the sound of it reminded him of the skittering of insect legs, and that did nothing to allay his fears.

He stopped dead, body tensing and grip on his saber tightening. Without warning, a spear came down from above, through the floor - which he wouldn't have thought possible - and puncturing right next to his head.

Kriff! he shouted, taking off into a full "sprint" through the corridors, trying to get out and around before either of them were skewered.

@LadyRen

 

[Nova Trent]

Nova was still super on edge because of the weird crap that was going on, but she truly wondered why he wasn't considering those samples after all. Well...whatever, she finally thought with an internal shrug. He was in command and she would try to be obedient.

"Mhm..." she quietly agreed, wondering why the kark he hadn't brought anyone. She immediately thought back to that mission with Cheriss on that asteroid field and how she had gotten into possession of an astromech, but it was admittedly top late now anyway. She still tried to remember bringing it the next time for whatever mission.

They kept pressing on but as she heard those clanking noises of various pairs of legs she immediately stopped right where she was, skeptically glancing up before a spear suddenly pierced though the ceiling with full power. "WHAT THE-" she began, completely shocked about the sudden assault, but he was right with running.

Without thinking twice, she started breaking into a crouched sprint, following right behind him while her heart started pounding in her chest. "Let's blow those bastards up" she pressed forward through gritted teeth, still have panic-stricken, but half enraged as well.

They carted through the narrow, metal corridor, no real idea where the maintenance shaft lead but the skittering of bug legs continued. She fortified her spring with the Force and even without it seemed like their pursuer was slower, but she was deeply worried by the fact that they knew where they are.

The long, tight corridor continued straight on for a moment before they were forced to turn right, however once they did, they found themselves on a dead end. There was a thick metal door, almost like a vault door that blocked their way, but even if it was locked, it seemed like their sabers could melt the durasteel away at least.

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Atrix]

Varyn was starting to hate this mission. He could hear the creatures above but at least the spearing had stopped.

Can't disagree! he said as she mentioned blowing the place up. It was sounding better and better. He darted around a corner and... into the dead end.

Kriff! It's a dead end! he said, pulling to a stop and lighting his saber, preparing to plunge it into the door before stopping.

This is too thick to get through easily, he said. Vaults like this could take hours to burn through, and they didn't have that kind of time. But it did raise a question in his mind: what was in a vault like this? Was there more than met the eye with this facility?

He didn't know, and they couldn't wait around to find out. Rather than cut ahead, he cut a hole in the floor between them, the rounded cut out dropping away to reveal some sort of more open corridor below them.

He dropped down without a second thought and came face to face with... his jaw dropped open behind his helmet. Stacks of mangled corpses lined the hallway and the ground was covered in dried blood.

@LadyRen

 

[Nova Trent]

The adrenaline somehow kept her from freaking out, but at the same time her heartbeat was accelerating further. What started off as a joke sounded promising already. If the horror bugs had invaded this hospital ship - and there was now not a single doubt that they did- they were better of just blowing up everything.

The question was how though. If they headed for the power core they still had a perilous journey ahead and even reaching their ship and thereby their way to escape was difficult.

She sprinted and sprinted until sprinting wasn't possible anymore. "Oh fuck....why?!" she roared desperately as they reached the dead end, frantically glancing around. "The escape pods! They were still there!" she suddenly remembered though, a spark of hope erupting within her pessimistic heart.

Her companion, however, seemingly had a better idea and was already busy cutting the floor while she hectically pulled around on the door of the vault, which of course, didn't budge though. Thus, without hesitation she followed him downwards, but as she landed, she literally couldn't believe what her hazel eyes picked up.

"We've...we've got to get to the pods" she somehow managed to say but her voice was merely a whisper as she stared wide-eyed. She had seen dead bodies, bowels and blood a couple of times before but the prospect of ending up like that was terrifying.

They had no idea how many were after them and how fast they would be here and also not how fast they could escape this floor. Another risky idea came to her mind. "We...we have to run. Or stand or ground and...fight. Or...hide" her gaze went down back to bodies, realizing that they could potentially climb under there and hide.

Could those...creatures smell well? Would they be able to find them or would this give them a fair chance? It would be the grossest thing she had ever done, but it could buy them time if they lost track of them.

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Atrix]

Varyn was thankful that he didn't have a weak stomach because the sight that greeted them was absolutely horrifying. He took the first step forward, his feet sticking slightly to the ground as he stepped through the blood.

He could hear her starting to panic behind him, and he paused, turning to her.

We're going to be fine, he said, his voice sounding surprisingly calm. Stay focused and focus on the Force, he said.

We're going to have to fight. We're gong to fight our way to the Core, we're going to blow it and we're going to get out of here, right? he said. Despite having a helmet in place, the intensity behind his gaze was there. An intensity that she would be able to feel boring into her, but hopefully also infusing her with confidence.

We aren't doctors or scientists, wounded or ill. We are Sith, he said. The words were... surprisingly easy. He had always thought of himself as a Jedi, but that identity... it was changing. The Jedi and the Sith were two sides of the same coin, maybe he hadn't changed all that much.

We're going to fight like Sith and show these bugs that we don't die easy, he said.

@LadyRen