A massive cataclysm has struck the universe, and destroyed most everything in its wake. The survivors are now trying to pick up the pieces, and figure out exactly what has befallen them. Gather together, lightsiders!! The darkness has shattered the peace and calm of the galaxy...and they will do anything to stop anyone from finding out exactly what has been done! This is our first sitewide RP plotline. Lightsiders, you are looking for the source of this massive event. Clues must be found, lackeys tracked down, and bits of memory discovered. Darksiders, you guys don't want that to happen....because of the one behind the whole thing is furthering his ultimate goal. Mandalorians, and non-force users, you guys can decide where you stand on this line....do you side with the Jedi, and try to discover the reasons behind the ruined universe, or will you side with the darkness, and protect those secrets. Will the secret of the cataclysmic reaping be kept under wraps? Or will the Jedi and their allies find out the truth? Your RP and writing will decide the outcome!
BATTLE ARENA
Welcome to The Saga Continues. We have a section called the Battle Arena. Here you can use your characters to fight other characters. Hone your skills and see what you are made of. Don't worry, anything that happens here, does not effect your characters in posts, so if your character dies, you can still use them over and over. Have fun and check it out!
The Saga Continues is the product of the mind of ADMIN ADI; all contents are copyright their original owners. All characters belong to their original creators, and may not be used or replicated without permission. All images are copyright their original owners. This skin Operation Mindcrime was made by pharaoh leap of Pixel Perfect and put together by ADMIN KRYSTAL
Geir didn't particularly approve of Adi's friendship with the Sith in the room, but knew the man trusted him. The partnership between the two men wasn't unknown to the Jedi Master, but even so, that didn't add any comfort to the situation. Even after motioned toward the food being offered, Geir did not move from his position in the rear of the room - choosing to continue his own observance of the situation as things continued to unfold here. He even went as far as to opening up to the Force to gain a deeper perspective of the company gathered thus far for the Force was a gateway to a great many things and allowed those trained in its craft to see more clearly through it than could be gathered through the naked eye.
Gathered within this Laboratory were a number of doctors and scientists along with the former Jedi, a youthful Force adept that spoke with a Zabrak whose aura stemmed from the reaches of the Dark Side. Kirwin's presence was familiar to him as he'd spent the last several hours with the man. Also within the room, there was another . . . a figure he didn't know, but one who seemed to be trying to go unseen for some reason. Geir wouldn't pressure the reason from her.
As the Jedi Master allowed his senses to expand further, he could sense the situation in the hall as it played out between the squad of humanoids and the security personnel. However . . . of everything he sensed, there were no signs of malcontent. No signs of aggression, nor imminent danger which allowed for him to relax a bit. He did not, however, take his gaze from the Zabrak. Where Adieumus may have trusted the jin-jedaii, no such trust existed there for him.
As the obsidian blade ignited, Geir could not help but react. It was instinct more than anything as his hand fell down to grip the hilt of the saber that hung along his right hip. He didn't pull the weapon from its place there, but carefully watched the Zabrak's next moves. Should he attempt to turn the blade on anyone in this room, it would be an action he would reap the consequences for. However, none of that occurred. Just as swiftly as the blade had been ignited, it'd been put back beneath the folds of his robes. No harm done. Geir's hand, too, fell from its spot along his weapon's hilt as he crossed arms in front of him.
It was an idea that the group here at the RDMC had not considered. It had completely gone unnoticed, and yet, it was probably a really viable means for transmission. The room was silent for a few moments as the lab crew considered what the young Tuhlute had just said. Loki, never one to sit still, gave a good example of how it could happen as well, drawing his saber for a moment, activating it, then shutting it down, placing it back inside his robes. Matango could tell that single action made several people nervous, including Geir....
...It wasn't like Loki attacked anyone...the Zabrak had been nothing but loyal to the cause since he had joined. It was the reason that Adi wasn't opposed to keeping the big man around. Bismarck spoke up nearly immediately. "We have several infected victims here at the RDMC. We have living flesh to test. In fact, those two lab stations over there are exclusively for infected tissue...from muscle and bone, to mucous membranes and organs. Problem is, as soon as the virus loses blood supply, it dies, and pretty much becomes inert, and nearly non-existent."
Adi scratched his chin. He was still stuck on the fact that he hadn't thought of midichlorian transmission. It was unreal how effective this plague was...whoever had unleashed it had really done their homework.... OUTSIDE IN THE HALLWAY The security guard relaxed a little when he sent a com to the main desk, and they confirmed that the one who said they were here on Adi's behest. They had arrived with Adi, and he had checked them in.
"Sorry guys, I didn't mean to jump to conclusions. However, we can't be too careful. Adieumus is just ahead in the main lab. You may proceed."
When you are attempting to maintain a guise of someone you are not, it helps if you do not run into a figure that your guise knew in life. If this cannot be avoided do your best to avoid any tells that would signal to the person in question that you are not who you claim to be.
As the one named Loki zabsplained to me,my mind went over every possible angle of what I was proposing. It occurred to me that even if my hypothesis were correct that it was auraborne, I would still need to explain how it wouldn’t be inert in a crystal. When doctor Bismarck had finished his analysis, I was sure of my course. “That is my thought Doctor. But I still see a roadblock. You say that you have confirmed that inside the body the viral cells prey on the blood supply. If the plague is spread by air, water, or aura… how would the virus survive before reaching its first host? Potentially if I could extract a crystal we would find that either the virus would draw the life force of the user through the force… or potentially the virus would be sustained by the reflective structure of the crystal’s lattice.”
When I finished, I turned my attention from Bismarck to Matango, as for all intents and purposes at that moment; HE was the highest-ranking Jedi among us, and de facto leader of our gathering.
“Master, if you would permit me… I would request permission to seek out a vein that could have potentially infected crystal. If I sent the message now, I could be ready to depart in 8 days which would give me time to research which planets have a significant Crystal deposit and overlay it with a density map of where the plague has hit the hardest. …Of course I would be able to have my findings and a list of site recommendations ready for you in as little as four days.”
With that I slunk back to my chair, a stirring in aura gave me a happy indication that Puck had awoken.
Loki realized he had made quite a number of people nervous. He frowned a little, but decided it best not to dwell on nervous Jedi. Loki listened to the young man speak of finding Crystal deposits. Loki mulled it over before speaking. "Dantooine. Low population, old Jedi order enclave, and something else, a massive cavern system..." Loki sighed deeply for their where dark secrets buried there. "The Jedi used to collect crystals from their, I have seen them. Quiet a large deposit, my saber crystals where bled from crystals there." Loki said at last. He hoped he did not offend the Jedi when he spoke of bleeding crystals, though he doubt they knew or understood the term. "That would be an ideal location to find what you're looking for." Loki finished at last.
While she looked on she noticed the Jedi have a minor muscle memory freak out at the Zabrak's lightsaber being lit for a few moments. She kind of wondered what he would do if she ignited her sabers in this area. Instead she just munched on her food and listened in on the conversation.
"Lower population reduced the infection severity doesn't it? Wouldn't that mean the caves might be less likely to have been tainted with the virus?" From what little she knew of the caves she didn't think the inhabitants of Dantooine would venture into the caves since they were most likely infested with local wildlife. Then again she wasn't sure of the state of any crystal cashes due to her sabers having been handed down to her what seemed like a long time ago now. "Adi I'm not going on suicide missions unless the pay makes it worth it, unlike you I'm not crazy."
All Knowledge is valuable, you just need to know who to offer it to.
Kirwin’s mind flashed back to the pyres of Coruscant when he heard the youth talk about collecting infected crystals from caves on Dantooine. The lightsabers Kirwin had collected from the Jedi temple may yet serve a purpose if any of their crystals had been infected during the attack on the Jedi temple or after when they lay dormant. Being in possibly the only lab that could find out, the decision was clear to him, if one of the lightsabers HAD been infected that would save the eight-day journey to Dantooine or another planet that MIGHT contain an infected crystal.
Finishing the meat covered slice of cheesy bread in his hand Kirwin made his way to the lab door. As he passed by Geir he wiped his hands together cleaning off some crumbs and grease, “Forgot something on the ship, be back before you can find the answer in the Force.” Kirwin quietly joked, hoping it gave the Jedi Master something to puzzle about before he exited the lab. This time Kirwin wasn’t going to get lost, having traipsed all over the place had given him a fairly good mental map of the building and he headed for the hanger.
"Don't worry about it." Drez told the guard as he squeezed the guard's soldier before entering the laboratory.
"You were spared this time." Kano said with a chuckle as he bumped his shoulder into the guard's shoulder before proceeding, along with Lex and Izmar, inside the laboratory.
Midnight Squad stopped in their tracks as soon as they saw Adi and the other people there. They immediately noticed that there were Sith among them. The squad had genuine hatred towards the Sith, because of how evil they were, and because of Order 66. As if by instinct, all 4 squad members switched to their encrypted commslink channel.
"There's a Sith right there." Kano said as he slowly lifted up his blaster.
Lex drew out his blaster. "I say we take him by surprise and kill him. Right here, right now."
Drez held out his hand, ordering his squad to stand down. Sith were usually murderous, so he knew blasters wouldn't be effective in eliminating Sith. "Do not engage. He didn't even consider attacking us. Let's keep the peace, for now." Drez knew the Sith was capable of taking at least his squadmates down, but that wasn't a risk he was willing to take. Drez then spotted Adi, the Jedi who had invited them to the facility.
"Well, well, well." Drez started with his arms out. "I see we got the Jedi AND the Sith working together. Since when has that ever been compatible?" Drez questioned Adi from a distance. The Jedi and the Sith despised each other for thousands of years, so it seemed very unusual to see both cooperating with each other.
Geir smiled as Kirwin joked, pulling himself away from his Force observance of those gathered. "You'd be wise not to underestimate the Force and the mysteries that can be unraveled with it." Geir laughed after he gave his stereotypical Jedi Master like response and patted the man's shoulder as he brushed by. "Hurry back, I feel we won't remain here long."
Geir stepped away from the wall now and and circled to the other side of the room to where Adieumus stood along with the man who was obviously the lead doctor here. Lowering his head in a casual bow-like greeting to the Doctor, Geir turned his attention to the former Jedi. "It's been far too long, my old friend," Geir said, extending and arm to Adi in the form of a hand shake. "With such pain and terror in the galaxy, it's nice to see a familiar face once more." Geir's words came with a completely and heart-felt honesty as the Jedi Master meant everything he said in that moment. And . . . he genuinely was comforted in just knowing that not everyone he knew was gone.
Bismarck listened as the young Tuhlute spoke. He nodded in a few places here and there, and waited to answer the first question until the man was finished speaking. He didn't understand the full nature of kyber crystals as what the young gentleman did, but the doctor tried his best to keep up.
"While Im not quite sure how it would work in the crystals, we have found that the transmission methods are so varied because of a special capsid...it is able to survive in a near-vacuum for a short time before it finds a host. Once it does, it actually mutates, and multiplies exceedingly rapidly. Mucous membranes are hit first, hence the red eyes. It then attacks the brain, and the circulatory system.
Question is not so much about the crystal itself...but how it changes when it infects the midichlorians themselves. About the only way for the crystals to get infected is for the virus to be able to manipulate itself to cause them to be a carrier."
It wasn't the talk of going to places to find crystals that caught Adi's attention...it was the fact that the one calling himself 'Diamonte' had addressed Adieumus as 'Master'. Dia would have -never- done that...the two men were on very equal ground...and young-looking or not, it just wouldn't have been something that was said. Besides that, if it -were- really Diamonte, he would have already -had- the knowledge of the crystals needed...why would he have to 'research' anything at all??
Things just weren't adding up.
Loki offered a Dantooine location, but even though it wasn't that far away, Adi had already decided that there wasn't really time for anyone to go anywhere really...things had to be done -here- on Honoghr. Melania, too, spoke up, giving Adi a slight chuckle.
"No worries, Mel...you know I always pay well. However, I don't know if -anyone- is going on ANY suicide missions. There has been too much death already...I don't want to lose anyone else."
The hooded one made a dash for the door at the mention of crystals, saying he had forgotten something. Truthfully, the way he dashed out, it almost looked like he had to use the refresher...and he went the wrong direction for the closest one...hopefully, he didn't make a mess if he wasn't able to make it in time....
Geir too, approached Adi, holding out his hand. Taking it, and shaking it warmly, Adieumus smiled.
"Indeed. Too many have been taken from us, from all of us. Hopefully, the team here can do something to change that."
The members of Midnight Squad entered the lab....and one immediately noticed Loki. Luckily, the one who had introduced himself as "Drez" held them back.
"Relax, he's with us, guys. Right now, religions matter very little. Loki here? He believes the same as we do...the one who set this plague loose needs to atone. We need to keep that in mind....everyone here does. This plague has changed things...drastically. Why don't you guys take off your helmets, grab a few slices, and relax. Everyone here is friendly....and we are secure enough."
Grabbing another slice of pizza, the Arkanian took a big bite, savoring the many meats stacked high on the cheesy, tomato-y, crispy goodness. The only things missing were a good glass of Noghri wine, and perhaps a 'smoke'....
Maybe after things calmed down, Adi would sneak out with Geir, and catch up over one....
I pulled puck close to me and extended my aura just the slightest amount so that the little one could draw from the fringes of it to play with and absorb. Then I pulled my comm device and started taking notes. First, the Zabrak gave a suggestion as to Dantooine that should be crystal rich. Then, the lady remarked that due to the sparse population, it would be less likely that even if the plague hit …it would be less likely to have any pathogens trapped within the crystal structure.
Using these parameters I started to code a program to find a planet with the highest likelihood of holding a cache of infected Kyber crystals. Part of me wished I had a bigger workstation than just the comm device so I might play with the parameters while writing out the code instead of being stuck coding a complete scanner before running a test scan.
I looked up only briefly to notice that Master Matango was staring at me… or more truthfully he seemed to stare through me as if the my veil no longer persuaded him. Subconsciously, my hand shifted to an amulet I wore beneath my undergarment.
Loki watched the masked one leave, giving it little thought, he saw the storm troopers again and saw them react to him in an extremely negative light. He frowned, yet again he felt like an outsider, he gave a brief thought to murdering the storm troopers just to simplify things but decided not to upset Adi during another meal, Adi mentioned losing people and Loki looked down his frown deepening. "Indeed we have." He whispered quietly. They weren't dead, at least not as far as they know, but nobody could find them, he sighed deeply.
Loki then noticed Adi staring at the youngster strangely, suspiciously. Loki paced over to the tissue table and began to examine things. Bismarck protested though rather feebly as Loki was seven feet tall and muscle bound enough to make a Wookie envious. "Doctor, I have decades of lab experience, I have been killing infected for weeks now, I wish to see this virus." Loki looked at the samples and then into one of the devices on the table. Loki seemed to get lost in his musings, moving different vials and moving his hands over other things, occasionally there would be a slight glow where his hands moved, he became deaf to the rest of the room, or at least seemingly.
Kirwin promptly entered the lab upon arrival. As before he made a scan of the room with his cybernetic eye confirmed small changes, the Zabrak had moved, and Geir had joined the other Jedi, doctor and youth in their conversation of the plague and crystals. Kirwin strode over to the group of Jedi and spoke up, “I might be able to save us any crazy trip across the galaxy. You see, after I was released from the Kaminoan Medical center I made my way back to Coruscant looking for answers to my exile from the Order. But I arrived only to find death and the destruction of the Temple. I only was able to find eighteen Jedi, all dead, younglings to knights. I gave them the closest to a Jedi burial I could. I also collected these eight lightsabers.”
Upon saying this Kirwin used the force to summon all eight hilts from beneath his robes and let them revolve upright between his outstretched palms, “My conclusion had originally been ‘an attack against the Jedi,’ but by my recent observations, this plague makes the infected attack anyone they meet. The only reason I bring this up because you mentioned that crystals could contain this infection. These lightsabers had lain dormant since the time their owners had been slain and might still contain traces of this plague.” He then fell silent waiting for the input of the group of Jedi and doctor present.
Geir turned his attention away from Adi briefly as he noticed that Kirwin had returned to the laboratory. It was obvious that he carried something with him and Geir had his suspicions as to what the former Jedi Knight carried with him. Those suspicions would be confirmed as Kirwin brought the eight lightsabers to bear using the Force. Shock took the Jedi Master for a brief moment, though he quickly recomposed himself. Of those eight lightsabers, three were quite familiar to him. Two of the weapons were those of a pair a former apprentices he'd trained into knighthood, whereas the third belonged to the Jedi Master and former High Council member, Lar-wei - the very Jedi Kirwin had asked of upon his encounter with Geir on Empress Teta. How had Kirwin come across Lar'wei's blade and not known the fate of the Jedi Master himself? Could it have been recovered and brought back to the temple hoping to find answers with the council there? Nevermind that, those were questions for another time. For now, whose lightsabers they were and how they had come to be as they were, weren't important. Finding a cure for the affliction was.
Reaching out with the Force, Geir pulled the blade that had once belonged to an apprentice he once had and levitated the weapon in front of himself. Focussing more deeply, now, in the Force, Geir executed his own telekinesis of the weapon and began to disassemble. Each piece as it came apart lofted gently in the air and seemed to rotate in a very slow and controlled fashion. As he finally got to the crystal's housing, he pulled it apart and the crystal, yellow in color, floated separately from the rest.
From outward physical appearance, the crystal appeared normal, yet there seemed to be a corrupted aura to it - similar to the aura that had grown from within Kotyr while on Empress Teta. Could the crystal really house a dormant version of the plague that had overcome the galaxy in month's past, and still ravaged outlying worlds to this day? Perhaps in its dormant state, the virus would be able to be further analyzed and a cure could be erected. Or perhaps, this would prove to be fruitless in its outcome.
Neverthe less, Geir, not breaking from his concentration, moved all the pieces, to include the corrupted crystal, to a table to his left, letting them lie gently upon its sterile, white surface; the crystal was placed to the side, in a small glass tray.
"I felt this same corruption grow within my apprentice on Empress Teta. I don't know if its the infection we are looking to isolate, but something foul stirs within it." Geir paused and took a moment to gather his thoughts. "This particular weapon belonged to the Jedi Knight Aerwyn."
Midnight Squad proceeded to sit down at a table that had some pizza on it. They visually examined the pizza, as they've never seen food like it before. They've pretty much eaten ration bars their whole lives, so real food was a nice change for them. Each one of them took off their helmets and placed them on the floor between their legs to help themselves to some real food, a luxury they had barely ever experienced.
The Fett clones, Kano, Lex, and Izmar, started eating straight away. It was the first time they had this 'pizza,' but they absolutely loved it. They savored the taste. Drez, on the other hand, hadn't start eating yet. Instead, he turned to Adi. He needed answers for why they were there.
"So, Adi. We met you on Naboo, and we followed you here to Honoghr. Yet, you never told us of what use we could be to you." Drez said as he rested his arms and back on the table.
There was a lot of talk among the others about the newfound revelations about midichlorians, and the way they infected lightsaber crystals. Bismarck let the group talk, taking it all in as he scribbled notes and such on a datapad. He may be out of his element here, but there were those that studied the more 'obscure' parts of medicine and science. Hell, he didn't even know midichlorians -could- be infected.
Strange days, indeed.
The young man who had brought up the bit about the midichlorians in the first place now seemed a bit nervous. Adi was seeing through a ruse, and apparently, he didn't like it. It was odd, though...the energy surrounding the man's aura was strikingly similar to Dia's. Now wasn't the time, though...if the kid wanted to help, whoEVER he was, he was welcome to. Besides, he came accredited. There would be time to discuss who he was later.
Drez approached, and began to speak. It was a good question...they hadn't had time to discuss what exactly Adi wanted them to do....
"Well, I basically want to hire you guys on retainer. You seem to know how to handle yourselves, just from seeing how you guys act...there is no mistaking a well-trained group. You will have access to our tech and weapons, plus a pretty decent, regular paycheck." The Arkanian looked over at the rest of the group, hungrily scarfing up pizza like they hadn't eaten in a few days. "Gives you and yours a solid base of operations, plus regular meals on top of it." Adieumus grinned, and waved over to the other troopers happily munching slice after slice. Pressing a few buttons on his wrist com, Adi ordered another batch brought up. He figured whatever wasn't eaten would be munched either way by the lab crew, so it didn't matter how many were here.
"Whaddaya say? I'm quite sure it won't be long before someone comes to try and stop us from finishing this antivirus...we could use the backup."