Ask [Raxus] Isolation

[Nova Trent]

She was admittedly close to loosing it. Her body began to betray her, an involuntary shiver running down her spine before her whole body began to shake. That was horrible and truly worse than she had expected. She felt this desperate urge to blow everything up indeed, yet it seemed like this wouldn't just happen like that.

His words barely reached her at all as her thoughts were wildly spinning. She went through a couple possible scenarios, yet none pleased her even the slightest bit. His calm tone surprised her, but it couldn't calm her at all. Nova was indeed freaking out and she hadn't done that in ages.

"Kark...Varyn no, nothing is good!" she yelled, frantically glancing around while the blade ignited in her hands. There was no focusing on the Force, there were just a thousand wild emotions within her.

She did somehow manage to nod because that core idea was still valid, yet they literally had no idea where to go. While her heartbeat was accelerating, her breath got faster as well and she got close to hyperventilating. "HOW ARE YOU SO CALM" she desperately yelled, completely losing it for a second but the yelling proved to be at least some stress relief.

There was panic, yes, but it mingled with desperation and Nova was quite good at deflected that into rage. She was angry, angry about not knowing what to do and frustrated and thus enraged that they found themselves in such a catastrophic situation. She shook her head, wiping the cold sweat from her face before she bit her lip.

"Fuck it...we need to move" she then pressed forward bluntly with some sort of new found confidence as she forced herself to move forward, yet just a few steps ahead there was literally the first adversary awaiting. To her suprise, it was no bug, but a Duros that was obviously befallen as he stood there with his vibroblade, his gaze absent, yet the weapon held in a firm grip. Without hesitation she reached out with the Force and pulled him forward, so that his body was penetrated by her blade, but that was literally just the first opponent sent their way. They literally had to fight their way out...

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Atrix]

Varyn didn't even flinch in the face of her yelling. Why was he so calm? It was a question he hadn't really thought about and the answers were myriad. Maybe it was because he'd once been a Jedi - even the verbiage he used now in his head was telling - or more likely it stemmed from two truths that he told her now.

Because I'm well acquainted with death and have made my peace with it, he said. That was a carryover from his time with the Jedi. He'd come to the Sith half-expecting to never manage to leave. Now, he made his way into battles where he may well now never come back.

She started to storm off, and the only thing that kept him from physically stopping her was the fact that they were confronted with an actual threat.

She felled the first one without any hesitation, her rage boiling over in the Force. It would make a powerful tool, there was no question of that. The Jedi tried to say that the Dark Side wasn't stronger only faster and easier, but Varyn didn't believe that. Yoda had been nine centuries old when he faced Sidious and lost. If, after that long he still wasn't strong enough, then it wasn't a matter of patience, it was a matter of power.

His own blade snapped to life as he lunged forward, sending a low cut into the next of the Joined as his feet carried him smoothly past the target and into a position where the same blow would cleave upward through the second.

The first was in a heap on the ground but still alive. Or whatever "alive" you could call it when someone was Joined. He didn't stop to finish him off now, moving on to the next with a vicious precision that was required if they were going to make it out of this alive.

@LadyRen

 

[Nova Trent]

While letting the rage guide her, she could feel the darkness pulsating inside herself. It was a familiar feeling and she had learnt to rely on that and in such precious situations, yet it definitely made her reckless. In this particular case, rather ruthless slashing wasn't wrong, but she was not paying attention to strategic thinking.

After she had dealt with the first one, Varyn took out a second Joined with ease while she was already striking the third down. The Joined aboard this ship were -judging from their clothes- apparently a mixture between workers in the medical field, patients and military members, but it made no difference to her at all.

It really seemed like they had to fight their way out and so she did. Whoever was approaching, she used pure, raw violence to deal with them. Funnily enough, the next opponent was even weaponless as he tried to grab her with outstretched arms, but she had cleanly chopped of his arms before he got a hold of her. As he didn't even flinched, the terrible feeling in the pit of her stomach intensified, especially because the corridor was still filled with that brutal stench.

Her heart was still vigorously pounding in her chest as she Force pushed two incoming maniacs backwards before charging forward to meet the staggering enemies with her lightsaber. With a quick glance she checked on Varyn, but soon realized that he was just as busy.

The duo would have to deal with a few more Joined before the halls were silent for a short moment. The Joined they had striked down were mostly quiet, but a few dismembered parts were still moving and twitching slightly, which didn't make this any easier."We...have to go. But where? Where is that fucking Core?!" she growled, battling with her nausea. A rhetorical question of course, because he was still as uninformed as her, but they had to keep moving.

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Atrix]

They whirled and diced and cleaved their way through the enemy, leaving nothing but a handful of bodies or dying individuals in their wake. Varyn took a moment to put those who had fallen out of what misery they may have had left, but he had to assume now that the Killiks new exactly where they were.

At the core, he said in reply to her question. He didn't actually know that, of course, but it was what his feelings told him and it was logical. The Core had to supply the entire station with power lines running all throughout. It stood to reason that it would need to be somewhat centrally located.

Either way, their only option was to move forward at this point, so that was precisely what he did.

But if we stay here, we're going to be swarmed, he said. He didn't make a slow pace, either, instead leaning into his run, saber hilt still in hand.

It was only as he rounded a corner and saw another person that he skidded to a stop, saber rising in the air and activating. He swiped down but the man in front of him - blaster raised - managed to step back and fire all at once. Varyn only narrowly managed to twist his body to the side and the bolt passed by close enough to leave a scorch mark along his armor.

They Joined Sith! Varyn heard the man shout to someone behind him, and right as he was about to bring his blade down again, he paused, aborting the swing by sending the blade out intentionally wide.

Wait, what?! You aren't with the Killiks?! he said, skidding to a halt but bringing his saber around in front of him again though only in a defensive position.

@LadyRen

 

[Nova Trent]

His sarcastic reply made her scoff while she was still harnessing the darkness. "Genius thought" she grimly remarked after having dealt with the last twitching body before she deactivated her lightsaber for a moment.

They had to move forward, that was true, but it still seemed like they had no actual idea where to go. Yes, they were not fully disoriented since they had seen the ship from the outside, but after being confronted with all that had been, Nova's thoughts were slightly all over the place.

"Yes...let's move" she agreed with a sigh, trying to silence her racing thoughts. She followed close behind him, lightsaber still, deactivated before she slid to a halt as they ran into the other group.

The lightsaber hissed into life with a click on the button and she was about to attack right before their small, confusing exchange of words. She stopped for a moment, hesitating while she pondered on their words before she actively decided not to believe that bullshit.

"They are just as joined as the rest" she concluded through gritted teeth before she she lunged forwards, attempting to stab the first one if Varyn would not stop her in time. She was not going to risk anything with that and so she had decided to kill them too. Did it even matter in the end? She was convinced the whole ship was infiltrated.

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Atrix]

It was only the Force that let Varyn move quickly enough to stop the Acolyte from impaling their new... acquaintance. His saber flicked around like a flash, slamming into her blade from the bottom and shoving it upwards so that the stab would shoot over the man's shoulder.

Stop! he growled. The truth was, she might be right. They might be Joined, but they might not. And they just might know how to find what the two were looking for.

Keep your attack dog on a leash! the man said to which Varyn pointed his saber at the man's face.

Shut up, he spat before turning back to Nova.

A word, acolyte, he said, taking a step back from the others.

We could kill them and make sure they aren't Joined, but if they aren't Joined, they can lead us where we need to go. As you've so acutely pointed out, we don't know where we are or where the Core is. If they can lead us there then it's a risk we have to take, he said quietly so that the new blood couldn't hear.

But yes, keep your eyes open, he said. This certainly could be a trap, but he was starting to wonder if her being a loose cannon was almost as dangerous.

@LadyRen

 

[Nova Trent]

She was caught in that forward movement, determination taking over as she lunged to strike the first one down, but the blow never landed. Instead, crimson blades collided and sparks were sent flying. "You fucking idiot, don't you-" she furiously started, immediately stepping backwards to wind her blade out of its position.

She had snapped, but she immediately got back to her senses. "I'm...sorry" she muttered under her breath as he pulled her away, slightly embarrassed about having lost control like that again. She had always been the hot-headed type, but she knew she couldn't be like that if she wanted to excel in her trials...

"I'm sorry" she admitted, but it was only partially true, "But do you really believe them? There is no way we can trust them...and if they are...befallen they'll only spy on us and report our location" she grumbled, obviously not pleased with that situation.

Hazel eyes flicked over to the stranger, eyes critically narrowed as she observed him skeptically. "I know you're right...but we can't risk anything. They could lead us into a trap" her tone was still frustrated, but she kept her voice low so they wouldn't hear.

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Atrix]

She would be able to feel the anger in him flare as she swore at him, and if he had been some other Sith it probably would have been devastating for her. He thought about lashing out, but he restrained himself. The two of them couldn't afford to fight one another.

She apologized, but the air was still tense, not only for the two of them but also for these... others.

I don't trust them, he said, though whether he believed them... who knew? He didn't, that was the whole problem.

But that's a strange thing to blurt out in combat, he said. But if they were sent to convince us they weren't Joined then they probably would have presented as allies, not attacked us and randomly shouted about us being Joined, he said. Of course, it was always possible, but they had to play the odds.

But that's why we give them a test first, he said.

He turned back to the new people and spoke.

We were sent to retrieve some delicate samples, do you know where those would be kept? he asked. Not only did it not reveal that they were really looking for the Core, but it also might get them the samples she'd been so excited about. Oh yeah, he was proud of himself for that one. That was clever.

We didn't know there were any survivors.

 

[Nova Trent]

Oh yes...she had psised him off, but Nova was literally used to that from all of her instructors, from Cheriss, her parents and many more. She sighed internally, but her facial expressions remained neutral, however still annoyed.

"Good" she immediately remarked, still wondering why he was not choosing to slay them right here. "I think it's still all a trick" she still pointed out with a shrug, anger and mistrust still glistening in her eyes.

She wondered what he had planned with that text and her gaze quickly flicked over to them. She was neither asking, nor commenting on that for now and just decided to stay back and observe while simultaneously working on her anger issues.

The thoughts were not leaving her mind though. Striking them down would not only be fun, but they would he on the safe side, but if he really thought they would provide them with information, fine. Let him try, she thought.

As he mentioned the samples she reluctantly deactivated her lightsaber, but she was still eying them warily with arms crossed in front of her chest. The man that had spoken before. "Samples?" he asked with a hint of confusion in his voice, which was suspicious for Nova, but then she remembered that they couldn't even be sure whether they had sufficient and interesting samples. "I could lead you to the laboratories...but they will be swarming with the Joined" he then replied skeptically, which made Nova raise an eyebrow and curiosly glance over to Varyn again. She would let him do the talking while her hand moved towards her lightsaber's hilt again.

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Atrix]

Varyn wasn't sure what to make of the fact that the labs would be swarming with Joined. It seemed like an awful risk just for them to get samples that he didn't really care about and so that he could test these people. Maybe it'd be easier to just go straight to the Core.

Do you have schematics for the facility? he asked. They looked at each other for a moment before the man nodded.

Yes, we do, this way, he said. Varyn followed after the man, his saber hilt still in his hand as they made their way forward. There were a series of twists and turns that Varyn tried to keep track of in his mind.

It was really only for the sake of the Force that he his head wasn't taken off by the blaster bolt that came from the far end of the hall. As if on cue - synced by the hivemind, no doubt - the others turned on the two of them and began to open fire as well.

Well, it was a nice thought...

Ultimately, Varyn's saber came up swiftly and cut down the first of the Joined. He was getting real tired of this place and real tired of the Killiks.

@LadyRen coin flip said they're Joined RIP

 

[Nova Trent]

Nova had an extremely bad feeling about this...she did not trust those people at all and she was dearly hoping she wouldn't regret relying on Varyn's intuition. With her hazel eyes still narrowed, she reluctantly followed him, staying completely wary though.

She had not removed her hand from her lightsaber's hilt as she kept walking though the corridors, trying to remember the way and keep her sense of orientation, but as if on cue the group suddenly turned around and attack them. Well whoooo could have known.

"Told you so!" she furiously hissed as she ignited her blade, deflecting one of the bolts fired in her direction before she pulled one of them forward, letting him meet her lightsaber in an instance. "Let's blow this fucking ship up now!" she roared angrily, not wanting to play around with any samples and other stupid insignificancies.

After she had sliced the first one down she was shooting him an accusing glare, however knowing that he had simply tried to figure out an advantage. In the end, of course they had been full of shit though and she hated every single inch of this terrible place.

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Atrix]

Varyn was far too preoccupied with fighting off the Joined to retort to her at the moment. Instead, he focused on becoming the avatar of death, darting forward and to the side like a blur. Blaster bolts flung past him on either side and his saber batted bolts out of the way. He brought his blade around, slashing through the belly of one of the humans and cleaving him completely in half. Sai tok was a move discouraged by the Jedi, but he didn't have such limitations anymore.

It was something of a relief not to have those limitations, and he moved on to the next without missing a beat, slashing down and cleaving another opponent in two before taking the head off of a third. A blaster shot was deflected into a fourth, and in short order the two of them had executed the entire hallway.

No argument from me, he said as she stated she wanted to blow the place up. But that still leaves us needing to find the Core, he said, starting to paw through the dead in hopes of finding any signs of schematics or passcards they might use.

After a moment, he at least came up with an ID chit that they could use for further, easier access and he held it up.

Maybe a step closer at least, he said.

@LadyRen

 

[Nova Trent]

Nova had used that rage and annoyance that had come into existence after that obvious revelation...of course they had been Joined and of course they had used such a cheap excuse even. How could the champion had fallen for that deception after all?

Instead of questioning his stupid motives though she kept on slashing, too, carefully avoiding a few bolts before stabbing one attacker right in the chest before she beheaded another one. Then, the incoming wave was finally dealt with and it seemed like they had time to focus on the rest of their plan.

She still shot him an angry glance and her narrowed eyes still yelled 'told you so' but she didn't repeat it again. "Yes...the Core" she muttered as she quickly started to rummage through the dead Joined's pockets, but she found nothing useful but another ID card.

She got back to her feet and started walking in a quick pace, not wanting to spend any more time here than necessary. After the next corner there were no steps to be heard, but on the left of the next corridor there was a door with the sign 'Controls' on it. "Bingo" she quickly moved forward, lightsaber still ignited in her hand before she held the ID card against the scanner.

The door immediately beeped and started to open, however their gazes would immediately fall onto the next terrible discovery: Actual Killiks. Two larger ones that looked as though their chitin shell would not immediately allow them to slice right through them. "Fantastic" she groaned right before they began to move forward.

What confused her was that those two specimen had apparently not expected them to burst into the room so quickly, but Nova had no idea how that stupid hive mind worked anyway. Honestly, she didn't even care. What mattered was that those bugs had to die.
@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Atrix]

Varyn could still feel her animosity toward him, and the growing tension nearly caused him to erupt at her. It was only the fact that there were more Killiks that kept him from saying more.

Oh, for kark... he sighed. He didn't give much thought to the fact that they seemed disconnected from the hivemind because at this point he just wanted to be out of this place.

The first good news he'd seen all day was that beyond the Killiks was what looked like the reactor room.

Start priming the reactor, he said. He was - one could argue - giving her the easier job as he threw himself at the Killiks. They were... quicker than most of the others, and their weapons whirred and thrust, trying to impale him on their electro-spear tips.

Still, his blade came up and around, stepping and swiping to avoid being stabbed outright. All he needed to do was keep them occupied while she destabilized the reactor... and then it struck him that she may not know how to do that... oh kark.

@LadyRen

 

[Nova Trent]

Nova immediately wanted to take out the nearest Killik, but Varyn suggested otherwise and she didn't argue with him. Anyway, she didn't have much of a choice anyway as he threw himself in front of the Killiks and knowing that they were on a tight schedule, she immediately started to do as he said.

Priming the reactor...she darted forwards and confidently moved towards the console that was controlling the Core, however after laying hand on the first switches she stopped herself from just pulling any switches or pressing any buttons. "Eh..." she glanced over her shoulder, her heart still pounding, "Varyn could you-" she stopped mid-sentence, realizing that the Champion was involved in a heated battle.

While letting out a frustrated sigh she hurried back to him, her crimson lightsaber reignited once again while she jumped right in to slash at the first Killik. "Swapsies!" she interjected hectically, throwing herself in just as he had did it before. After dodging a spear attack of the closest bug she quickly elaborated: "You better do the priming!". Admittedly, she had never done such a thing and so this was probably the better call.

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Atrix]

Varyn could see her reenter the fight, but he didn't have time to argue with her... yet. It was only as she shouted out her explanation, that he relented.

Swap! he agreed, disengaging and stepping back as she stepped in. Hopefully she wouldn't get skewered, but he couldn't really worry about that now. He deactivated his saber as he ran over to the console, poking away at it with shaking hands. He was far more nervous and pumped up on adrenaline than he would have expected, but he managed to get things started nonetheless.

His mind was racing at a thousand lightyears an hour and after a moment, he stopped dead. Breath in and out. Stop. And think, he told himself. It was the hardest thing to do in a situation like this but it was the best way to survive, as paradoxical as it seemed.

He took several breaths, the calming moments only taking a second or two but feeling like an eternity, and he opened his eyes again. He flipped several dials and selected several items off the screen before it was done.

He lit his lightsaber again and buried it into the console, carving through so that no one could undo what he had just done.

Let's go! he shouted, pulling the Force to himself and letting it flow through him, thrusting out hard enough to knock back either of the Killiks that might remain.

@LadyRen

 

[Nova Trent]

Damn those stupid spears were dangerous...and definitely not the most common weapon either. She parried the one spear here, before dodging the other one there, the darker Killik angrily hissing in a disgusting tone as she ducked and thereby dodged another strike before she attempted to push both of them backwards, to split them up for a bit.

She knew she mainly had to keep them busy for quite some time, but her main goal was to slice them right open and after a short while later she had finally found a small weak spot at the one's throat area. She mercilessly brought her blade through the lightly armored skin before she directed her full attention onto the second one.

That was, however, right when Varyn was apparently finished anyway and sent the remained Killik across the hall. Without hesitation, she followed close by, using the moment of that ugly bug's confusion to take it out before if regained its footing. Heavily breathing, she quickly wiped the beads of sweat from her forehead before she nodded.

"No objection. Let us go" she hectically agreed, assuming that they literally didn't have much time to get the hell out of here and so while usingthe Force to fortify her movement, she started darting forwards, however after the first corner she slid to a halt. "Kark...where did we even enter now?", admittedly, she had her sense of orientation now and she was starting to feel quite exhausted.

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Atrix]

Varyn didn't waste any time as they turned to run. He wanted out of here and he wanted out now. He darted back out into the hall and skidded to a halt. She asked which way, and he paused, trying to remember. The trip here flashed back through his memory and he turned to the left.

This way, come on! he shouted, turning and taking off with all speed. He could hear the skittering of the bugs behind them, and it only motivated him to pick up his pace more, not even looking back to see if Nova was keeping up. It would have been the Jedi thing to do, but he wasn't a Jedi anymore. He had to be harder than that.

Unfortunately, things were going to get harder for them. The reactor was already starting to melt down, and Varyn could feel the artificial gravity becoming... fidgety. It altered and flipped so that suddenly the floor they were on gave the impression of being at a 60 degree angle. Varyn want from sprinting down the hallway to sliding down it.

Meanwhile, he could feel the rumble of explosions rocking the station and fires broke out in multiple sectors. Chaos was breaking loose, which was kind of what they'd wanted... Varyn just would have preferred to be off the station.

@LadyRen

 

[Nova Trent]

This shitty mission had been not what she had expected and also not for what she had signed up for. And yet they had no other chance than to end this madness. Whatever Varyn had done, they had to hurry and get out here or else they would have probably ended up blown up like the rest.

As Varyn mentioned he knew the way she didn't question it for now. She was just dearly hoping he would be right, especially because after they had started running there was suddenly a spear that came flying and it hurled through the air right next to her, barely missing her head.

"They will all be extinct soon" she furiously muttered under her breath, thereby reminding herself not to turn back and try to fight back, but to keep running instead. But soon there was no running anymore as the ship suddenly tilted and she had to fight hard not to lose her balance.

"Fuck fuck fuck" she muttered as she glanced over her shoulder, realizing that there pursuers were not actually happy, but since they didn't have a chance but to keep running, she tried to move forward.

"There!" she almost excitedly pointed at a metal ladder that was just around the next corner that would definitely lead them back to the main level. If they would just make it there, they could move to the docking area. The question was, however, what was expecting them up there?

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Atrix]

Varyn scrambled along, only the Force and its stabilizing balance keeping him from sprawling onto the floor. He followed the way she pointed and nodded, but at the speed they were moving it wasn't likely she'd see.

Yeah, let's go! he shouted, saber flashing out as he grabbed onto the ladder.

Atrix to shuttle, get ready for a hot landing and take off! he said into his comlink. He could still feel explosions rocking the ship but on the bright side, it seemed the Killiks were too distracted by not being blown up to cut them off.

He could see the hangar just ahead and the shuttle landing just beyond.

Go! Go! he shouted, stopping and looking back to make sure she hadn't been caught by anything before leaping into the shuttle himself if they were clear.

@LadyRen