[CNS][HSD] Exodus of the Disciple - House Shar Dakhan Runon

Freighter Spectrum
Hyperspace
En Route to the Orian System

Muhkris Barcoo made his way to the galley. Grasping at the handle of the canter as if he were blind, he poured the dark liquid in his cup. Steam rose as he took in the aroma and smiled. He had been working the third shift ever since he signed on with Frontier Shipping and Delivery. “How long had it been? A year already” he thought. Muhkris sulked to the cockpit.

“2 more hours and we’ll be in the Orian System.” Mikal Odexe reported as he was being relieved. Muhkris nodded as he fell into the flight seat.

“Muhkris!” crackled over the com system startling him awake. He hadn’t realized he dozed off. Apparently, the caf didn’t help him much today. “Go ahead…” he replied while trying to rub the sleep from his eyes. “Cargo crates are prepped and ready for delivery. As well as that special cargo. What do you suppose is in there?” the voice responded. “You know we shouldn’t ask about it. We don’t get paid enough” Muhkris said trying to force a laugh. “Besides we…. Wait… something on the scanners… Sithspit! We’ve been pulled out of hyperspace!” Muhkris spat as he hit the alert button. The alarm klaxon screamed to life.

Muhkris looked in horror as a grey triangular ship estimated to be 500 to 600 meters long with four large circular gravity wells protruding from the hull in a square like formation. In the front of the gravity well arrangement of the aging Immobilizer, 418 cruiser was a black circle with three lines striking from the bottom in the direction of the top of the circle.

“The Collective….” he thought.

“Freighter Spectrum, this is the Capitol Enterprise Interdictor Cruiser Helldiver. Shut down your engines and prepare to be boarded. You’re craft, cargo, and personnel are now the property of the Disciples of Tiamat….”

LZ
Aeotheran
Orian System
5 hours later

The air was thick and heavy with moisture. Acolyte Calenhad, Novice Caius Sylvian and Corporal Silversmith struggled to breathe the humid air. The small patch of concrete that had been allocated to receive the small supply shipments was radiating heat increasing the temperature by a considerable amount. “Wasn’t this transport supposed to be here already?” Corporal Silversmith asked though he expected no answer.

“It was.” Acolyte Calenhad answered while pushing a button on the com device.

The Com unit hummed to life an image of a tall older human materialized on the device. “Battlelord Etah, the shipment has not arrived yet and attempts to contact them have not been answered,” Calenhad reported.
“Very well. Report to your master. He will give you further instructions.” Battlelord Etah replied.

House Shar Dakhan Summit Chambers
Aeotheran
Orian System

“Sithspit!” Battlelord Etah shot. Battlemaster KogaRyu sensed the Quaestor was more upset at the loss of the shipment than warranted for simple grain. “We’ve lost shipments before. What makes this one special?”

Etah sighed, “This one had a special item that was discovered on Moriband. The Captain of the Spectrum came into possession of it and it was to be transported here for examination.”

“What special item?” The Aedile asked.

“A holocron. But not much more is known.” The Quaestor responded.

The com unit squealed to life. A deep voice came over the speakers.

“House Shar Dakhan, this is Lord Jaostem of the Disciples of Tiamat. We’ve taken possession of your freighter, its cargo and the crew… most of them anyway…”

“Quick! Trace that transmission! And signal the House. It’s time we’ve had a meeting with our members,” Bloodfyre ordered.

Competition Details

Information: House Shar Dakhan is waiting the arrivals of supplies and a special holocron with untold information recorded on it. While en route to the Orian system, the freighter carrying the cargo is captured by the Disciples of Tiamat, a group of non-force sensitives that worship the ancient Krath sorceress, Tiamat and have joined Capitol Enterprises.

House Shar Dakhan must discover what became of the freighter , what was the fate of the crew and where their precious cargo is.

Prompt The runon involves all members of House Shar Dakhan during the investigation and (if located) subsequent requisition of their property.

Judging will be based on the Run-On Rubric, as well as factoring in how well a member’s posts interact with and includes other members.

To count for participation, a member must make at least two posts of at least 250 words each, and not post back to back.

Neon lights blared from the skyscrapers that pierced the dark sky of Nar Shaddaa. The moon served as refuge to criminals and scum, the worst the galaxy has to offer. It was in this moon that one Mikal Odexe currently resided. The Weequay rubbed his hands over the thick stack of credits that resided between his fingers. Odexe had never thought he would see such an amount in his life, let alone hold it within his hands. With a smile on his face and swagger in his step, Odexe entered the Corellian Corsair, a casino renowned for its high stakes gambling and wealthy clientele. Money was money at the Corsair, no matter how ill gotten it may be.

Odexe strode over to the high roller table. He smashed his pile of credits down onto the table. “Deal me in” the Weequay said smugly.

Outside the casino a shadowed figure climbed onto the adjacent rooftop. Hunter Calenhad walked to the edge of the rooftop. A small smile formed under the Kel Dor’s facemask, for he was impressed by the view. From this position Calenhad could view the casino exit and the nearby alleyways. He unholstered his Night Sniper blaster, Absolution, and looked at the casino exit through his night vision scope. Satisfied with what he saw Calenhad knelt down then slid into a prone position. He aimed Absolution toward the casino entrance and began to wait. His patience was soon rewarded when a grumbling Weequay strode out of the casino. Calenhad kept his sight trained on the Weequay who moved into the nearby alley.

“Life is a cycle of pain and despair interrupted by brief moments of happiness. Rest assured Mikal Odexe, soon you shall receive absolution.”

Calenhad pulled the trigger on Absolution. The blaster fired a bolt that ripped through the Weequay’s left leg. Odexe fell to the ground with a howl. Calenhad left off the rooftop. He wrapped the Force around his feet to cushion his fall. He landed in a crouch that cracked the duracrete beneath him.

Calenhad walked slowly towards Odexe who squirmed in a growing pool of blood. He pulled his backpack off of his back and set it next to the Weequay. “Betraying the Brotherhood was not a smart move Mikal. Rest assured that I am a merciful being. Tell me the name of your contact with the Disciples of Tiamat and you can have these medical supplies to save your life.” The Weequay reached for the backpack with his left hand. Calenhad stomped down on the hand and ground the bones together.

“Aagghh!” the Weequay screamed in pain.

“The information first Odexe” Calenhad stated.

“I…I don’t have a name”

Calenhad raised his boot again and brought it down towards the Weequay’s hand. “Wait!” Odexe screamed. Calenhad paused in his movement. “He…he had a title of some sort. Yes, they called him the Avatar of Tiamat. Surely with the great influence of the magnificent Dark Jedi Brotherhood could find one man, yes?

Calenhad looked at the Weequay for a few moments. “Very well, let’s patch you up then.” Calenhad unzipped his medical pack and removed a few Bacta patches. He applied one to each side of Odexe’s leg then rapped a roll of gauze around the patches. “The blaster bolt burned clean through so you have no need to worry about infection. Avoid putting weight on the leg for at least a week. You should be fully healed within the next month or so.”

The Weequay nodded and struggled to stand. He wobbled slightly then began to limp out of the alleyway. Calenhad waited for the Weequay to take a few steps before he unslung Absolution. “Now I deliver you salvation from pain, for it is only in death that we can truly rest.” The blaster echoed throughout the alleyway.

The word had been spread across encrypted communications. The Avatar of Tiamat. Although there still was no face to the name it was a step in the right direction. Eric Cato contemplated on this as he walked along one of the many sky bridges of Nar Shaddaa. It had been five long years since he had cut all ties abruptly from the smuggler’s moon. The idea of returning wasn’t a pleasant one as he had made significant efforts to avoid his past obligations but with no other solutions available it was time to reach out to one of his old contacts.

A dilapidated structure stood before him, reaching up into the dark sky. He entered the building through a damaged doorway and into the interior of an old apartment complex. Recalling the dwelling from memory, the human followed a series of doors until he finally reached his destination. With a press of a button he signalled one of the apartments to his presence.

“Who is it?”

“It’s Erik.”

“Is… Is this some kind of joke?”

“Just let me in you ugly pile of scales. We need to talk.”

There was a hissing noise as one of the automatic doors drew back to reveal a trandoshan carrying a scattergun. The large, reptilian bodyguard issued Erik into the apartment with a nudge from his weapon. At the far end of the small home sat the only other occupant. A rodian named Dreegn Fyedi. The former bounty hunter turned arms dealer sat with a hand resting against the hilt of a blaster pistol.

“It is you. I don’t believe it! Everyone thinks you are dead.”

“Let’s keep it that way. I don’t really have time to catch up. I’m just passing through and I need a few things. Are you still in business?”

Credits had been a weakness of Dreegn’s. The prospect of a potential sale changed his cautious demeanor immediately. Erik was lead to a set of dusty crates stacked against a nearby wall. Opening each container, the human glanced over the various restricted items until one in particular caught his eye. He took out a MM9 wrist rocket and exchanged it for a pair of credit chips containing a large sum of untraceable funds.

“This is more than expected. You want something else?”

“I need information about someone called the Avatar of Tiamat. Since we are old friends you are going to tell me what you know.” As Erik Cato spoke in a suggestive tone, he made a subtle gesture with his hand and concentrated his thoughts. With his back to the trandoshan the movement went completely unnoticed. Dreegn succumbed to the mind trick and parroted back the request as though it were a factual statement.

“Yes, we are old friends. I will tell you what I know. A armed group of off-worlders showed up a few weeks ago in a star courier. They seemed different from the usual scum and one of them did mention an avatar. From what I can tell they must be part of a cult or something. Just a few days ago they cleaned me out of just about every melee weapon I had here, not that I’m complaining.”

“Any idea where the ship is now?”

“They took the weapons to the Serpicom platforms, southeast of here. I’ll bet a hundred credits that’s where the ship is.”

An hour later

The Serpicom landing platforms stood out like a sore thumb. The multi-level spire was purposefully spaced farther away from the other structures to accommodate higher traffic demands. Many ships arrived and departed within minutes of each other in a never-ending stream of activity. In some ways its shape resembled a tree, each branch supporting a circular disc of varying sizes.

Erik Cato had left Dreegn’s residence and passed along the details by wristlink. It was unfortunate that his awareness training had not accounted for the subtleties of small droids. A recon unit had been perched on a nearby balcony, recording every movement and action. It would later be reported that a trandoshan and rodian were murdered. The apartment was found to be completely empty.

The Disciples of Tiamat found the cloaked warrior loitering along one of the many platforms. Three soldiers wearing leather armour approached the him with vibroswords drawn. Sensing their arrival, he turned and raised his hands toward the charging assailants. One of them rose off the ground and collided into another. They both cried out uselessly as they toppled over the platform’s railing and plunged down into the darkness below. The remaining assassin was nearly within striking distance when he stopped abruptly and clutched at his own throat. Erik held him in a force choke, channeling his anger towards his opponent until the life drained from his body.

A private lift key was recovered on the corpse that lead Erik directly to the star courier. The platform was vacant, illuminated only by a series of neon advertisements welded into edges of the disc. The warrior sensed no one. He boarded the vessel’s dark interior and headed straight to the cockpit to access the navicomputer. With a flip of a switch the computer was activated and information began to display on a small vidscreen. His gloved fingers hammered away at the console clumsily. After a few minutes of searching, a history of the ship’s jump coordinates caught his attention.

A faint hum sounded from the back of the cockpit. Startled, Erik pivoted around quickly enough to just barely evade a piercing thrust of a vibrosword. The weapon pulled back and inward, making skillful contact with his shoulder in a slicing motion. A shock of pain passed through him as the sharpened blade tore open his lightly armored body. Reacting out of pure instinct, the Dakhani battle leader released a powerful kick into his foe’s abdomen. The force of the blow sent the shadowy presence backwards over one of the bolted down chairs.

First blood?! At least that kick bought me some time, he thought to himself.

Being temporarily out of range, the sith withdrew his lightsaber from within his damaged armorweave cloak and ignited it. A wide, two-handed slash parted the chair from its base, eliminating the obstruction from his path.

“Who are you?! How is it possible that I didn’t feel your presence?” Erik shouted angrily.

The glow of the blade granted some illumination, giving a red tinted definition to the enemy as he rose and assumed an aggressive stance. This man was significantly older than the others. Long, grey hair was tightly pulled back by a band of leather. His armor was of a similar material much like the other disciples that Erik had seen.

“Your senses are useless against me, force user. I have found a way to cut myself off from that which you depend on. I am the Avatar of Tiamat!”

The vibrosword lunged out at Erik again but it was deflected away. This was followed up by a series of quick, repetitive slashes and thrusts. It took almost all of the Dakhani warrior’s concentration to defend himself. The aggressor showed a great deal of experience and the disconnection from the force made him difficult to predict. His style of combat was almost reminiscent of Makashi. It was as though he had fought an enemy wielding a lightsaber before. The avatar’s blade movements limited direct contact with the laser sword through quick strikes so that the integrity of his durasteel blade wasn’t quickly worn away into a useless chunk of durasteel.

With no easy solution available to strike back at his opponent, the sith feinted a weak point in his guarded stance instead. When the bait was taken, the avatar thrusted his vibrosword into Erik’s cloak but made no actual contact to its wearer. Instead, the deadly blade embedded itself into the cockpit’s main dashboard. Up came the lightsaber, searing flesh and bone as a diagonal cut separated the cult leader’s extended arm and head from his body.

As the surviving combatant caught his breath, he unpinned his clothing from the front of the cockpit by ripping the sword out of the machinery. It was clear from the damage that there was no way the star courier could be used any time soon for a quick escape. Erik ignored his bleeding wound for a moment and returned to the navicomputer’s console to inspect the logs again. There would be time to recover once he was in a safer place. When he finally found the information that Shar Dakhan desperately needed it was reported via wristlink en route to a warhost shuttle. The events of the last 24 hours had made him extremely paranoid and so as soon as Calenhad was aboard he fired up the engines to maximum and the two made their way off of Nar Shaddaa as quick as possible. The flight through hutt space was uneventful. Using pre-programmed coordinates, the battle leaders were able to plot a course through hyperspace back to the rest of the Shar Dakhan fleet.