Devour: A Jedi Mission

[Dutch]

The sun hung high above Ralltiir this day, the clouds in front of it wispy and thin from after a big storm. The only other visible thing near the sun was a Republic drop ship slowly lowering itself towards the walls of Baalta, one of Ralltiir’s primarily civilian cities. Within this ship was one of the Republic’s best Special Operations teams- Lima Squad. Sitting in the crash seats sat the squad, all four of them working to make sure everything was set. Loading ammo clips, checking coms, securing explosives. Captain Perry Jenkins looked up as he loaded several shells into his trusty slugthrower shotgun with the words “Business End” on the single barrel of it. He snickered at the sight of it grinning at a male Falleen sitting across from him. This Falleen had deep green skin, even for his species, his pointed teeth showing as he grinned back, his one eye glinting with excitement. His other eye glinted too, but that’s because it was covered by a polished metal eye patch.

Sitting next to Jenkins was a small, quiet blond, her purple eyes turned down into her backpack as she rustled through it, mentally checking off everything in it. And next to the Falleen, to her dismay, sat a slender and tall Firrerreo with copper streaked black hair, a look of dismay turned towards the one eyed man. Jenkins laid his shotgun on his lap and sighed, turning to look at the Jedi that accompanied them. It wasn’t his choice to bring them, Lima was very effective on their own.

”Cap, I know you ain’t happy ‘bout them, but it’d make this mission a lil’ easier if ya didn’t show it.”

Said the Falleen, laughing with a hiss as he slapped a clip into his carbine and strapped it onto his back. The other Lima’s laughed as well, except Cap. He scratched at his left eyebrow and smirked.

”I dunno Red…

Replied the Captain as he reached to the seat on his left, lifting his combat helm with a +1 Pazaak card strapped in a band around it. He put the hat on and strapped the chin guard, looking at the blonde next to him.

”Spook, make sure you bring plenty of stims- I don’t want to get caught off guard.”

The blonde known as Spook simply nodded, a usual response from her. The other woman laughed, the thought of her Captain acting so cautious was a rare sight indeed.

”Cap, you gotta relax- I hate to say it, but Red’s right, chill, I’ve never seen you so tense.”

Cap just shrugged, he knew that his team was right, and that he should just relax and try to trust their companions for this mission. After all, they were on the same side right? Not a second later the pilot chimed over the com, signaling they were about to land. Just after that the Firrerro stood and picked up her TAC-92 sniper rifle.

”Remember Blink, stay behind us, but not out of visual range, you’re our backup, but we’re yours as well. Keep your
senses peeled, and your scope clean, got it?”

The black and copper haired woman known as Blink nodded and winked at Cap, a simple ‘Don’t worry’ from her. The drop ship rapidly descended towards the ground, Blink sliding open the drop door then leaping out gracefully, landing with a roll before dashing off to find a good spot. The ship itself stopped and hovered several meters away from Blink, Red and Spook quickly leaping from the ship. Cap stood as well, cocking his shotgun as he motioned towards the door to the three Jedi that were with him.

”After you.”

[Karl the Unfettered]

Tuljima had spent most of the trip in one of the storage holds, swinging his sword in blinding patterns that didn't seem to have any particular reference to standard styles of swordsmanship. Not because it was a made-up system, though, but because he had his gun at the same time, a heavily tricked-out heavy blaster pistol. His orange robes flapped about his lanky frame as he darted and flickered about, stabbing and slashing and firing at the imaginary foes in his head.

Once they came into sublight range of Ralltiir, he went back to join the others in the crash seats, sheathing his blade (an oddly ornate weapon for a Jedi, it had in fact belonged to a traitorous Republic officer whom Tuljima had had the fortune of running into one day; he'd subdued and turned the man in, but kept the sword and had its etchings and engravings redone to match its new owner) and going over his large blaster. He knew the power cell was fresh, but he ejected it and looked it over anyway before slotting it back home with a practiced clap; the soldiers would perhaps notice this, and might wonder why a Jedi, normally disdainful of blasters, would be so proficient with such a difficult specimen. Not that a quick reload indicated anything of substance, but still.

In the final moments of the flight, he looked up at the soldiers with his muddy brown eyes, wondering how they would all get along. Blink jumped out, and he arose from his place with the others, running his free hand over his equipment to make sure it was all secured for the jump. He peered briefly out the door before taking a few steps back, nodding at Captain Jenkins, and leaping out after a brief dash.

Downward he dropped, landing with his legs bent and rolling up to his feet, whirling about with gun extended in a quick scan of the surroundings. "Aye-yah," he muttered as he jogged over to the others who had leaped out ahead of him, "gonna be an 'elluva day, eh buckos?" His robes flapped aside at the leg, giving a glimpse of Nagai electromesh armor; this, combined with his accent and his choice of weapons, explained why the tall, gaunt Knight was different from most Jedi.

[Rugs]

And here we are, Locke thought as the gunship descended down to the surface of Ralltiir. There were wisps of clouds hanging in the sky over the city of Baalta, and the air still yet smelled of rain.

The journey had been a rather uneventful one for the Investigator. He had slept most of the way over, wanting to be as rested up as he possible for the mission ahead. It was something to do with some special ops team going missing in Baalta while looking for a Sith scientist. Sounds simple enough, Locke thought. Go in find them, get them out. But, simple missions are the ones that usually go to hell real quick. The young Knight yawned, and scratched the stubble that coated his jaw.

As the gunship continued to move down to their landing zone, he looked at his companions that sat with him. His apprentice, Jazen Solari, of course, and another Knight by the name of Tuljima. Locke didn't really know the lanky Knight, but he had seen that he possesed a blaster pistol. That had been a surprise. Well, he can't be too bad, then, Locke thought, smirking a bit a no one in particular. He used a blaster pistol himself, and was quite fond of it; though where Tuljima's was large, and more than likely a heavy blaster, Locke's was smaller, and streamlined in look. That's not to say it couldn't kill; it had killing power in spades, though Locke usually didn't keep it on its highest setting to preserve the power cell. But even so, Locke thought it interesting to see the type of gun the Knight wielded.

Other than the Jedi, there were the soldiers of Lima Squad. Locke didn't know any of them, though he had heard of the squad before. He was sure they'd prove worthy of their reputation.

His thoughts were cut short when he saw Blink leap out of the gunship, followed by Tuljima. He made a quick check of his supplies-he had two extra power cells for his pistol, and his lightsaber was in place, of course-before standing to follow. His exit wasn't as showy as the others'; he simply stepped over the edge and fell, his cloak flapping up around him, revealing his sandy brown and cream robes underneath. He landed in a crouch, and rose to his feet slowly. After he did, he yawned, stretching his arms out to either side of him to shake of the last grogginess from his sleep during the trip to Ralltiir. He sauntered over to the others, wearing the smirk that often came to his face subconsciously. "Well, hello ladies and gents," he said amiably. "How are we this fine day?"

[Jazen]

Like his master, Jazen spent most of the trip sleeping. Unlike his master though, Jazen had a reason for being so tired. He'd been learning Twi'lek in the city when the call for the mission came and because they were leaving immediately, Jazen hadn't found the time to rest. Luckily, the trip was un-eventful and Jazen was able to get a proper rest, aside from the occasional wake-up due to the soldiers playing around. As they came upon the final approach to the planet, Jazen sleepily opened his eyes, blinked twice, then shook himself awake.

Looking around, he saw the others preparing to land. The soldiers preparing their equipment, Locke and the other Jedi doing their own form of preparations themselves. Getting to his feet, Jazen stretched his body a little, then made some equipment checks himself. His saber was where it always was, secured tightly to his left hip. His pack contained all the needed items for a search mission; food, water, medical supplies and various other needed items. Turning, Jazen was just about to ask his master how much longer till they landed when one of the soldier's motioned to them. Both Locke and the other Jedi, Tuljima, suddenly jumped from the ship, leaving Jazen to be the last.

Taking a good look at the distance from the ship to the ground, Jazen sighed. Taking a deep breath, Jazen dashed out of the ship and leapt into the air, falling towards the ground. As he came close to hitting, he did a flip forward, landing with a small thud on the ground before him. Standing up next to his master, Jazen cracked his legs, then folded his arms in his sleeves. "What part of our job description includes jumping from a hovering ship?"

[Dutch]

Jenkins watched as the Jedi leaped out one by one, his shotgun at the ready as always. After everyone but himself was left in the dropship bay. He reached into the chest section of his armor, and pulled out a chain that had a pair of rings around it. Perry brought the rings to his lips and kissed them before shoving them back into his armor. Saluting the pilot he leaped from the ship, landing with a roll, before stopping and aiming his shotgun to the left then right. Red gave the "All Clear" signal to Cap, which was responded with a nod. He walked over to the Jedi and his squad as the Jedi were all talking.

"Yeah, it is gonna be a hell of a day, especially if ya don't follow my orders when ordered, got that? This is a Spec Ops operation, not a Jedi one."

Started Cap, his look stern but focused. When the youngest one spoke, Red and Cap both laughed. Cap motioned for everyone to follow, and Red clapped the young man roughly on the shoulder while laughing still

"What? Choo Jedi afraid of heights?"

Red's obnoxious laughter continued as the squad moved, Blink clicked the com twice to acknowledge their movement. The group moved towards the massive permacrete walls, standing thirty feet high. But the walls weren't the most impressive defense. Webbed in a dome over the entire city was a violent pink shield, one of the mightiest in the Republic. Every city on this continent had perfect architecture level shields, remnants from wars past, but still employed as needed. Lima Squad and the Jedi were going to need a way in, and Cap didn't see any way in. As if Red was reading his mind, the Falleen suddenly spoke.

"Blow it up?"

Cap and Spook slowly turned exasperated looks Red's way. At this time, Lima Squad had heard that same statement so often from the metal eye-patched man, that it hardly meant anything. Cap just shook his head and motioned for the group to follow him. Keeping his right side to the wall, Cap led everyone around the circular wall, his shotgun trained at the forests surrounding the city. Jenkins felt uneasy, like a Drakna Worm riggling in his stomach since the set foot on Ralltiir. Even with the walls and the shields, there should be some sort of sound coming from the city, but all that could be heard was a deadly silence.

"I don't like this..."

Whispered Jenkins, Spook nodding silently behind him. He paused as he saw the archways that lead to the city's only ground entrance. Cap motioned for Red and Spook to keep on the lookout, Blink clicking the com to acknowledge the order. He reached into a pocket and pulled out a hand held sensor array. After punching a few keys, he grimaced suspiciously. Not only did readings say there were plenty of living beings in the city, but that the silence still was there even as they reached the entrance. When Cap was satisfied with the results, he slid the array into the same pocket before motioning for everyone to follow.

They kept moving until finally reaching the doors, two total, side by side. Cap sighed though, he recognized this metal the doors were made of.

"Blast, I hope this doesn't become a trend..."

Jenkins shook his head as he spoke, this door would be hard to breach.

"Blow it up?"

Cap and Spook completely ignored Red this time, the silent woman waiting on Cap's decision.

"Cortosis woven durasteel... even your lightsabers would have trouble with them... blasters useless, explosives pointless... There's gotta be some way past these forsaken things..."

[Karl the Unfettered]

Tuljima made room for the others, still covering the jungle with his blaster. The captain replied to his comment, and the Knight only nodded; he didn't want to get bogged down in a pissing contest with these people, after all. "Folla yer lead, gotcha," he said simply, falling into line as they set off toward the city. "Arful quiet," he muttered, gazing up at the walls with the same unease Cap felt.

They got to the doors, and the soldiers convened briefly. Curious, Tuljima watched as Cap manipulated a sensor scanner, searching for life inside the walls. What he got back was distressing, and he frowned as he regarded the walls. "Arful par'noid, en't they?" he said to no one in particular. "'o'd need such pr'tecti'n?

"If'n we 'ad time I'd say dig," he went on, "but we don' 'ave time." A pause. "Don' s'ppose we c'uld jus' knock? En't like we're in th' Rim, af'er all..." Another pause. "Mebbe Red's righ'; did'ja bring permacrete det'natahs? En't th' mos' subtle o' entrances, but it'd sure be fancy."

[Rugs]

Locke looked at the city that lay before them. Perhaps fortress would be a better word for it... He though solemnly as he looked at the wall and shielding that surrounded the city. "What could they possibly need all of that for?" he asked out loud to no one in particular. "I mean, by the gods, are they all a bunch of tiny people trying to compensate by building... that?" He motioned toward the city with his hand. But he shook his head, and listened to the captain speak.

"As you say, Cap. We'll take a backseat." As the group headed out around the walls to try to find some way in, Locke could only stare at the walls in front of them. "Something isn't right..." he said quietly. This was a city. He knew cities; they were where 95 percent of his work occurred as an Investigator, and this one had the hairs on the back of his neck standing up. There should be noise. Some noise, any noise... He shook his head ruefully. But there's nothing. What's going on in there?

As they walked, and the others looked outward with their weapons, Locke looked in to the city. Or perhaps felt would be the best way to describe it. He reached out with the Force, trying to see if he could feel any sign of life. He could, and that only unnerved him more. What's going on in there? he thought with a scowl.

When they came to the doors, the captain did a scan to see if any life could be detected, and the results only echoed that of Locke's own search. "Something's not right," he said. Locke's scowl only deepened as the captain described the materials of the walls. "Well, then, what're we going to do? Lightsabers, blasters, explosives all useless..." he looked around at the others with him. "Then what do we have?" After a moment, he slowly walked up to the gate and ran his hand over the surface of it, the captains words echoing in his head. And then it hit him.

The Force! He turned around to the rest of the group, and said "Hey! I think I know what we can do! We can try to force the doors open with the Force!" With that, he turned to face the doors, and reached out with the Force. It flowed through him, out to the doors, and he pushed, slowly, trying to make the great doors bend. But, alas, the things were thick, and heavy, and after some exertion, Locke came to realize they were more than he could move alone. "By the gods, who makes doors this damn heavy?!" He turned around to face Jazen and Tuljima. "Can one of you lend me a hand?"

[Jazen]

"What? Choo Jedi afraid of heights?"

Jazen twitched at this comment, but kept his hand's steady....and away from his lightsaber. Moving to his master's side, he kept silent as they continued on towards their objective, letting the soldiers lead the way. They were really only there to assist the soldiers if things got dicey and from the quiet, that didn't look possible at the moment. Of course, that changed when he saw the fortress they had to penetrate. It was well protected and shielded with an old but very effective shield tech. Getting in that way was not happening. "Hmmm, maybe I will get some exercise on this trip after all." Reaching down, his hand rested lightly on his saber, ready to draw it at a moment's notice.

As they reached a dual set of doors, Jazen watched as they examined the doors, trying to determine a way to get past them. The whole time, Jazen was studying the doors himself and was about to suggest something when his master beat him too it.

"Hey! I think I know what we can do! We can try to force the doors open with the Force!"

After Locke tried and failed, Jazen stood side-by-side with his master. "Master, that was a horrible pun. But we'll forget it since you thought of a good plan. Between the three of us, we should be able to get them open long enough to get us in." Raising his arm, Jazen started to focus on the door like Locke had done a minute ago. "Whenever you guys are ready."

[Dutch]

Red laughed then grinned as the Jedi with the accent spoke, starting to reach into his explosive's bag before a look from Cap made him stop. Jenkins watched as the Jedi began to open the door, only taking two of them to push it. With a loud bang and a grinding whir, the doors opened slowly.

"Perfect- let's go, Blink, get your arse over here."

Cap watched as the sleek form of Blink sprinted from her hiding spot, running past everyone through the doors and quickly finding an escape ladder to climb up- obviously getting to a good sniping spot. Cap motioned for everyone to enter the city, motioning for the doors to be closed once more as soon as they all filed in. Cap looked up at the now pink sky, no weak spots in the shielding at all. After the doors were closed, an odd sensation of dread dipped into Jenkins' stomach, though he wasn't sure why, maybe the thought of now being trapped in a city irked him.

He motioned for everyone to follow him, and began to walk down the main road into the city, shotgun at the ready and his senses peeled. Even within the city, there was no sign of life- no sounds, no motions, no smells, nothing.

"Where're e'eryone?"

Grunted Red, his one eye darting everywhere to compensate for the missing one. Blink shrugged and Cap turned his face towards the building Blink clambered up.

"Blink, you see anything from up there?"

Blink clicked the com three times, a negative. Cap didn't like this, how could a whole city disappear? For twenty minutes he led the team down this wide open road, speeders lay about, like people literally just jumped off of them. It wasn't long before blood stains could be seen, getting more and more frequent as they got closer.

Cap's first thought was that the city had been invaded, and the people taken for slave labor- but if that was the case, there would still be bodies of the dead about. Red grunted, an indication of his displeasure. He obviously felt as Cap did- uneasy about this whole thing. It would take the group another hour before finally reaching the heart of the city- Sligk Square.

Bright lights and flashes from ads barraged everyone as they stepped into it, a large open space where people could congregate in the middle. However, there were no full people there, but plenty of what looked like severed limbs, and a fresh new coat of red all over everything.

"What the..."

Spook covered her mouth and Red's jaw dropped. Cap simply looked on at the carnage with a blank look. They had seen the worst, natural disasters, pirates, raiders, battles- but none with this much blood and limbs.

"There ain't no bodies..."

Cap nodded, that did strike him odd as well, limbs, but no torsos. Not a second later, several loud gunshots cracked the silence. The group spun around, facing the very road they just came from- back towards Blink. Cap knew the sound of that weapon, it was her rifle. Without another word, Cap gripped his weapon tight and began running back the way they came- praying that Blink wouldn't be anything more than a smear on the ground like the others they'd seen.

[Karl the Unfettered]

"This is messed up," Tuljima muttered uneasily as they walked into the city. It was so still, it may as well have been dead. What really got to him was the smell; most cities smelled in some way, good or bad or in between, of trees or exhaust or just millions of people in a confined area. This, this was nothing at all. As if they were the last living beings left.

"Yeh can't ev'n smell nothin'!" he exclaimed, blaster out in both hands as he panned from side to side, trying to watch everywhere at once. He shivered and got a grip on himself; paranoia was not the Jedi way. "There ain't no emotion, there's jus' peace," he recited under his breath in an effort to calm down. He was almost glad when they began finding blood on the ground; blood meant people, and that meant something they could latch onto.

Nevertheless, it seemed to take forever before they got anywhere interesting. That was the center of the city, and what they saw was shocking. The skinny Knight had seen the lack of bodies when Red did, though he also saw something else. "Blood's fresh," he said as he knelt down and dipped his finger in the nearest puddle. He sniffed it, and rubbed it between his fingers. "'arf a day, mebbe less." He looked up at the others. "Twelve 'ours... by th' Force... mebbe we c'n still catch up to 'em, 'oever they are!" He looked at one of the abandoned speeders, trying to recall how to hotwire the things.

That was when the gunshots rang out from the gate they'd come in from. "Th' hell?" he hissed, whirling out back the way they had come. He didn't recognize Blink's gun, but he knew the sound of a high-powered rifle and it wasn't hard to put two and two together. "Hurry!" he shouted, putting the blaster back in its holster and whipping his dragon's tooh lightsaber out without activating it. Physical Force powers were his forte, and he was fast even without them; almost immediately he outpaced Cap and the others and was rushing ahead, an orange blur racing for the far gate.

[Rugs]

A sense of uneasiness crept through Locke as the team walked into the city. The city should have been alive, with people going about their business. But it was not. Save the three Jedi and the soldiers of Lima squad, the streets of the city were barren-no, they were dead.

"I don't like this at all," Locke said uneasily as they moved on. He nodded after Tuljima spoke- the tall Knight was right. "Yeah, and we should at least be able to sense something... But I can't feel anything." Locke reached out, straining his ability to sense with the Force as far as it could go. But nothing. He sensed his comrades, and that was it. "What the hell happened here," he said incredulously, and not for the first time, he felt a bolt of fear shoot through him. What could have been done to make an entire city empty like this?

But they continued to push deeper into the city, and they were met with nothing more than the same unnerving emptiness. Until they got to the square at the heart of the city. There were body parts strewn about, and what looked like blood glistened in the sunlight. "What the hell happened here," Locke burst out before he could gain control of himself. Locke shook his head in a mix of horror and frustration as Tuljima examined the blood. So something had happened, but they didn't know what. "By the Force..." he muttered.

And then he saw it. It was just a blur at the edge of his vision, but something moved. "What the hell?!" he yelled as he turned to face where it had been, and his yellow orange blade exploded to life in his hand. But whatever it was, it had vanished; there was nothing more than abandoned speeders where he looked. Was it just a trick? Am I seeing things? He never got an answer, because the next thing he knew, a shot rang out in the distance, and the group was running. The blade slid back into its hilt, and he was off after the rest of the group, silently thanking the Force for his natural agility. Whatever was going on in this city, Locke wanted no part of it. Unfortunately, the young Knight knew that it was too late to back out.

[Jazen]

For a brief moment, Jazen felt like he was out on a barren wasteland instead of in a city. The city was quiet, no sound echoed its streets and no sign of life aside from their crew could be seen. Jazen's hand gripped tighter on his saber's hilt, his eyes darting to every nook and cranny he could spot. He reached out as far as he could with the Force, using his Force sense to examine every shadowed area in search of.....well, anything. Jazen felt something inside him slowly expand. It wasn't fear.....but anticipation....anticipation for finding the answers to this riddle.

As they reached the city center, the horrid display before him made Jazen freeze for a moment. But he quickly snapped out of it, knowing that he had to remain alert, in case whatever had done this was still around. This idea was further reinforced when the other Jedi aside from him and Locke, Tuljima, checked the bloody puddle before them.

"Blood's fresh.......arf a day, mebbe less...... Twelve 'ours... by th' Force... mebbe we c'n still catch up to 'em, 'oever they are!"

Jazen snapped both eyes shut and put all his concentration into his Force Sense, preparing to not only search for anything else, but to also be ready in case something attacked. And indeed something did, as a shot rang out from behind them. Somewhere deep inside Jazen a trigger was pulled and his saber was out before even he knew it, its blue glow illuminating his face. As the others all raced towards the source of the sound, Jazen darted through the shadows, deactivating his saber to further hide him within the shadows. No obstacle in his path slowed him, his Ataru training paying off as he leapt and slid past anything that tried to hinder his pace. He kept pace with Locke, ready to back up his master if whatever had been shot at was still there when they arrived.

[Dutch]

Lima squad said nothing as they sprinted down the road, Cap growling slightly as the orange clad Jedi blew past them. It took about twenty minutes to get back to the building where Blink had clambered up, Cap peering up as he did. All along the side of the building was a strange glistening clear paste, unmoving and seemingly stuck in place. Red made a retching sound, trying not to vomit at the site of the goo. With a grunt Cap jumped to the ladder that led to the top of the building, climbing as fast as he could, praying that Blink would be there grinning happily at a few new kills.

He would be disappointed though. When he peeked over the edge of the roof, he looked down and spat a few choice swears before clambering up the last few ladder rungs, the rest of Lima right behind him. The team didn't say a word, Spook and Red standing at the edge of the building as Cap stepped forward, moving his shotgun back into its back mounted holster as he stepped forward. Near the roof edge to their left, was Blinks giant rifle, blood soaking the butt of the gun, and the ground under it. He knelt down and picked up something soft, Cap stood up and turned around, his right hand held open and palm up. Sitting in the palm was a single pointer finger, it's bone white and obvious as it stuck out.

Red swore loudly and Spook just looked away. A slow boil filled Cap, his face a mask of no emotion. He nodded then stepped towards Spook, holding the finger out to her.

"Keep this in stasis, Blink'll want it back when we find her."

After he spoke Cap nodded to his team, he knew that it wasn't likely Blink was alive at this rate, but any form of moral was good at this point. His eyes turned to the Jedi now, his once unemotional expression now one of distrust and cold anger. Cap reached back and pulled his shotgun out once more, his eyes never leaving the trio before he pointed at them.

"Alright, this is the point where you tell me what the hell is going on here- Tell me everything, what kind of spaced insanity is this? Ya'll supposedly know everything in the 'verse, so tell me what this is."

Not a second after he spoke, something caught his eye in the building parallel to theirs, but rose a bit higher. In the window stood a shape, standing on two feet, its arms hanging limp and its posture slumped. Completely black eyes buried into his, slimy white skin glistened pink from the glow of the shield. It snarled, dagger pointed teeth pushing out from purple lips. An almost hairless head lowered as the thing growled. It turned and sprinted into the darkness of the building, disappearing as fast as it had appeared.

Cap's face went back to stern, his eyes wide with what could only be described as fear. His blood got cold and a bead of sweat dripped down his cheek.

"Cap, you OK man?"

Red asked, the Falleen now looking at the same spot Cap was, but seeing nothing. Cap had heard of what this thing almost looked like, but it was if it was a different type of the thing.

"Jedi, whaddya all know 'bout Rakghouls..."

Whispered Cap, his gaze darting to the trio. All he knew about them was that they were supposedly only found in the undercity of Taris- and that was all.

[Karl the Unfettered]

They made it to the watchtower where Blink had holed up, and Tuljima scampered up the ladder behind the others, grimacing at the slick goop that covered the building like paste. Cap pasued and swore down at them at the top, and the lanky Jedi understood that it was in reaction to whatever the man had seen over the edge; it wasn't anything pleasant therefore. Unease gripping him, he went on climbing until he was at the top.

"Damnit," he muttered when he saw what there was to be seen; Blink nowhere to be found, blood everywhere, a large sniper rifle and some little pale thing that turned out to be her trigger finger. "Sick bas'erds," he agreed with Red as Cap handed the finger to Spook. What happened next was unexpected; Tuljima's hand slipped to his blaster as Cap threatened and shouted at them, demanding answers he, for one, didn't have.

"I dunno nothin'," the thin Jedi replied steadily, looking straight at Cap as he spoke. "They sent me 'ere an' didn' tell me anythin' 'cept some folks was missin' an' we was gonna get 'em back." He was about to go on when something caught the squad leader's eye; whirling about, Tuljima caught sight of the hideous white thing as well. "Bloody 'ell..."

The thing then ran off, and he looked back at the others; Cap and Red looked ill, and Spook didn't say a word. "Rakghouls?" he replied incredulously. "Them's on'y on Taris, man; ain't no way someone'd bring 'em all th' way..." He trailed off as the realization hit: that was exactly what they had done, whoever They were. "Bloody 'ell," he repeated.

[Rugs]

Locke's face scrunched up at the sight of the building that was covered in the disgusting looking goo. He craned his head up as Lima team and Tuljima started to make their way up the ladder and grunted. "I bet something bad is gonna be up there," he muttered as he grabbed on to the cold metal ladder and followed. The Investigator wasn't very high up on the thing before he heard Cap let some choice swears fly, and he grinned in spite of himself; at least the man had good taste, as Locke had used a few of those himself.

Locke kept pushing up the ladder, though he slowed near the top, as he found himself a bit uneasy with the prospect of seeing whatever was up there. But there wasn't anything to be done about it, so he swallowed and hopped over on to the roof...

...to feel a wave of disgust roll through him at the sight of what had happened. "By the gods..." he muttered softly at the sight of the finger that Cap held. Locke slowly walked around the roof, and swore under his breath. "What's going on in this city? I've never seen anything like this."

Locke returned to his place next to Tuljima to see the captain regarding them warily, distrust plain on his face. Locke wanted to feel sorry for the man and his team's loss, but the sight of his expression and the tone of his voice made Locke's response a bit harsher than he had originally wanted it to be. "I know as much as you do, Cap. This mission was supposed to be a simple search and extraction one, not whatever the hell it's turned into at this point. But I can tell you one thing: don't go looking at us like we have som-"

Locke was cut off when Cap turned to look at something. Out of instinct, he took a look at whatever grabbed the man's attention, and let some of his own choice swears loose. "A gods-damned Rakghoul..." Locke slowly reached for his pistol, but the thing scampered away before anything could happen. He crouched down, suddenly feeling as if the world was spinning around him. "But why would someone do that," he mused out loud in response to Tuljima. "Why go through all of the trouble of bringing them from Taris to here?"

Suddenly, he heard a sound off in the distance that chilled him to the marrow. He stood, and the color drained from his face as he looked off in the direction the sound had come from: the heart of the city. What made the sound was a mystery, but what the sound was was as clear as day: a roar. "Gentlemen," he said as he turned around to face the group. "In light of recent circumstances, I would like to suggest that that sound was our cue to get the hell out of here."

But Locke knew that could not be, or at least not yet. Something terrible had happened in this city, and they were the only ones that were in a position to find out what it had been. A light breeze blew in from the direction of the city's center, ruffling Locke's cloak about him gently. The wind was oddly cold for the warmth of the day. "Wish that we could just up and leave," the young Knight muttered under his breath, as he suddenly found himself wishing that he could be awakened from whatever nightmare had been created in Baalta.

[Jazen]

Despite his best efforts, Jazen was the last of the three Jedi to arrive at the scene. He took up position at the base of the building , reactivating his lightsaber. His eyes watched everything below as he waited for the soldiers to head up to check on their teammate. As he waited, he observed the building they were investigating. There was red all over it, similar to the bloody paste they found earlier.

While Jazen wasn't up there with the others, he could hear most of the conversation through the Force connection he shared with Locke. It was getting hostile up there and although he felt that Locke and Tuljima could handle it, he tensed in case something did happen. And indeed something did. Something moved above him, causing him to turn towards it, lightsaber posed to defend. What he saw made him freeze for a moment. A white creature in the window of the building across from the one they were on, one he had only seen in archives in the Jedi temple. A Rakghoul.

Cursing, Jazen bolted up the building to join the others, urgency in his pace. As he reached the top, he overheard the others discussing the Rakghoul in question. "Rakghouls, a creature now only found on the lower level of the planet Taris. Their origins aren't well documented, but it is known that they are heavily aggressive and by biting or scratching a person, the infection can be passed to them as well. If they are here, then the odds are there will be more of them. A lot more." Jazen turned to the open city before them, the overbearing silence now mixed with a sense of dread and horror.

[Dutch]

Cap shook his head slowly, his eyes slowly gazing at the other windows around, seeing if he couldn't catch a glimpse of another creature.

"No... that was no mere Rakghoul though, the eyes were wrong, and that thing still looked mostly human..."

But Caps thoughts were cut short by the howl, all of Lima quickly turning towards the direction it came from. He nodded at Locke's words, he was right, if this was some sort of infestation, especially an infectious one, they needed to get out and quarantine the city as soon as possible. Cap moved towards Red and placed a hand on his right shoulder before saying

"Red, we need to go block up the door to the city, I want explosives planted at the bottom of three buildings, fifty feet from the building, we gotta get those planted, then get away from this forsaken place."

Red nodded and was just about to sling his pack when another ghastly howl sounded. From that very same building that they spotted the creature, there it stood, on the very rooftop, howling upwards at the pink sky. It then did something very surprising, it jumped. Flying downwards with mouth agape and drooling, it landed with a wet thud right by Red then lunged at him, teeth biting down into green flesh as it grabbed his right arm.

"Git'yer'off!"

Cried Red, the man shaking the arm the creature was biting down on. In a surprisingly swift move Cap's shotgun was at the ready, round after round firing off as bits of purpled flesh spattered off the creature, Cap marching right at the beast as he unloaded his weapon into it. When he got right next to it he brought the shotgun up and swung the butt of it down, smashing into the beast's head with a Crack! as it collided. It fell to the ground and let out a shriek that was quickly silenced by a final round from Cap's shotgun to the face.

"Spook, bandage him, Jedi, make sure there ain't any more coming while she's working."

Said Cap in an almost dead tone. He knelt with Spook next to Red, a look of concern on his face. The wound was bad, Red's flesh hung limply, and white bone shone in the pink glare. Spook worked with steady, fast hands, silent as always as she patched him up. After making sure he was fine, Cap walked over to the ghoul and prodded it with his boot. It flopped limply onto it's side, the white flesh on it glistened and gleamed in the pink light from the shield.

"Great job Per, blew up it's face, now ya can't tell what it is..."

Cap growled to himself. Just after that, Spook nodded at him, notifying she was done with Red. Red stood up, and shook his wounded arm about, grinning sheepishly but grabbing his rifle, ready to fight. Jenkins motioned for them to move out, moving to the ladder himself, but stopping almost immediately. Swarming the ground below, were what seemed like a hundred of the ghouls, each one turning their demented gazes up at Lima Squad and the Jedi.

"I think we should git outta here..."

Said Red, the Falleen slowly backing up. Cap couldn't say a thing, his eyes wide as the abominations stared up at them. One opened it's mouth impossibly wide before letting out a gut curdling howl. The others began howling too, but not before the first one jumped, grasping the building with claws and beginning to scramble up the side of the building. The others soon followed, a tide of slimy white surging up the building at them.

"MOVE!"

Shouted Cap, turning and sprinting to the other side of the building, grabbing a grappling hook from his utility belt before spinning it and tossing it to the adjacent building. He motioned for everyone to get across, Spook and Red making their way as he loaded his shotgun, just in time too, as the ghouls were now at the edge of the building, mouths salivating and eyes rabid looking. Cap cocked his weapon and began firing, knocking over ghoul after ghoul, trying to keep the tide back in time for everyone to be safe, he would follow, but first thing was first.

[Karl the Unfettered]

"If th' shield's still up, it prolly ain't spread yet," Tuljima began, his hand on his gun. But then they were attacked; the gun flew out and the lanky Jedi blasted at the rakghoul, but every shot missed. "Damnit!" he cursed, unable to keep shooting when Cap got in the way. Fortunately the man's shotgun made short work of the beast, but not without disfiguring the face.

"Hrm," Tuljima muttered, glancing out across the city while the soldiers tended to their own. "Bloody things're quiet... too damn quiet..." He should have been looking down, though, otherwise they might have had more warning than they did. As it was, Red's panicked words brought the Jedi's glance down. "Yep... way too damn quiet."

He glanced back behind him, noting the grappling line Cap launched. Then he nodded, striding back across to the other edge. "Not wi'out a fight, we ain't," he growled, taking aim as the monsters swarmed up the side of the building. He almost didn't have to; he just blasted away, knocking down rakghoul after rakghoul. Each blast took out two or three at a time as the duracrete exploded beneath their claws, but they didn't stop coming.

"Red! Gr'nades!" the skinny Knight shouted, finally turning to dash over with the others. Not waiting for the Falleen to react properly he reached through the Force, snagging a couple incendieries off the soldier's kit. "Fire in th' hole!" he shouted, throwing them one after the other and guiding each with the Force; they exploded in midair near the edge, throwing out walls of flame and giving them a few seconds at the least.

Only then did Tuljima grab the line and swing across, hand over hand faster than most people could blink. He came down in a roll, tricked out blasted held out in front; to his horror, more roars came up a narrow stairwell nearby. "Blast 'em!" he shouted, though instead of aiming down the stairs he shot for the cieling above. Three blasts brought the construction down, crushing the foremost of the monsters; one came through regardless, and he blasted that one straight through the chest.

[Rugs]

"Well, if it isn't a Rakghoul, then what in the hells was it," Locke asked in response to the Captain's statement. A sudden chill rolled down his spine, and the feeling that it was something he didn't want to know crept through him. But, given the way these things often worked, he was sure he'd find out. And he was just as sure he wouldn't like it, whatever it was. Locke nodded as Cap told Red the plan: to use demolitions to block the way out of the city as they withdrew. That way we can call for some help or... something... Locke wasn't sure what they'd do if they got out, but he wasn't here for that.

Then the ghoul appeared. It jumped down onto Red, and Locke drew his own gun as Tuljima and Cap sprung into action. But he held off on firing--Cap got the thing off of Red and took care of it. That and Locke's angle didn't really leave a good opening to shoot through. He turned his gave from Red's wicked looking wounds. He was not a healer--if he was, he might have offered help, but as it stood, he could barely heal minor wounds of his own, and that would be of little use to Red.

He crouched down where he was as he waited for Spook to bandage up Red and once again reached out as best he could with his senses. This time, he could feel quite a things. They felt odd in the Force, ravenous as the were. That didn't really leave much doubt as to what they were. Locke furrowed his brow as he started to stand. "Hey, we might have a problem," he started just as Jenkins motioned for them to go to the ladder. And there they were, waiting.

Locke let a stream of profanity that would make a smuggler blush fly from his mouth at the sight of all of the ghouls, regardless of the fact that his padawan was a mere few feet away. Locke's pistol was in his hand, and he started firing away at the swarm of beasts as they ascended the building. He fired for their hands, getting whichever one he hit to lose its grip and go crashing down into the ones behind it. But even so, that didn't seems to do much to stem the tide the beast flooding up the building. "Dammit! They just keep coming," he yelled out to no one in particular. Locke barked a short laugh as Tuljima did his work with the grenades. "Blow it up!" he yelled out with a bit of sarcasm to his voice, poking fun at Red a bit. True, this may not have been the best time for sarcasm, but sometimes he just couldn't resist.

Locke waited a moment for Tuljima to make his way across, continuing to blast at the monsters as they flooded up the building. One did make it up, and his yellow-orange blade exploded to life as he cut off the creature's arm and hurled it back over with a blast of the Force. Locke turned back to check to see that Tuljima had made it across, and seemed to be dealing with some more ghouls on the other end, though it looked like the lanky Knight had things under control. "Jazen," he called out to his padawan as he sent of wave of the Force down the side of the building, knocking down some more of the ghouls, "go on across to the other side! I'll follow right behind you." Locke frowned to himself as he turned back to shooting at the beasts. Since when do I say things like that? He mentally shrugged, though. He'd make sure his student was safe and away before getting himself out of harm's way. Heh, how strange. Maybe this whole teacher thing will work out after all.

[Jazen]

Jazen was watching the ground below and the windows of the nearby building for any more signs of the creature they had spotted moments before, focusing all his attention to that duty. He didn't want anything sneaking up on him or the others and his skill with Force Sense made him the best for it. He payed some attention to the conversation between the others, including the part about the creature not being a Rakghoul. If it was not a Rakghoul, it had to be something similar. Jazen needed a better look at whatever it was and then time to dig through the vast library that was his brain to find out what it was.

The howl caught Jazen's attention just as he felt the presence of another being and he turned on his heel to face it with the others, saber in hand. The suddenness the creature attacked with even surprised him and he could only watch as Lima Squad handled it. That's when he felt them. All of them. Spinning to look over the edge, it took all his Jedi training to keep him from backing away out of shock. Hundreds of the things sat at the bottom of the building, eyes locked on the few of them that were staring down back at them.

"I think we should git outta here..."

followed by

"MOVE"

echoed in Jazen's ears as the creatures lurched at them, clinging to the building like a spider scaling a wall. Jazen's saber sprung to life. As Locke and Tuljima opened fire with their blasters, Jazen locked his eyes on an abandoned speeder on the ground below. Concentrating on it, he flung the speeder sideways, its large frame roadkilling a large amount of the creatures before they could even reach the wall. But there were many of them and he lacked the time to throw more items at them. Following Locke and Tuljima's retreat, Jazen spun to cut down one of the creatures as it reached the rooftop. Spying the ladder they had used to climb the building, Jazen flung his saber at it, dislodging its metal hooks. Grabbing it with the force, he snapped it sideways, knocking another fair bunch of the beasts off the wall.

"Jazen, go on across to the other side! I'll follow right behind you."

Glancing over to his master as he cut down one beast after another, he Force jumped to his master's side. "I'll go as soon as the last soldier gets across. He can run out of ammo. We cannot. Besides, isn't a padawan suppose to fight alongside his master in dire situations like this. Jazen cut down another beast and flung its body into the others, then turned back to Locke. "But if you insist. Grabbing the line with one hand, Jazen swung his legs up, putting his saber as he did. Once his saber was secure, he let go with his legs and swung across as Tuljima had done, hand by hand. As he reached the other side, he swung his body forward and landed on both feet, saber springing to life once again. They needed to hurry or these things were going to surround and overwhelm them. The presence of more coming to the new location backed that up and Jazen could only take a defensive stance as they waited for the others.