bellum omnium contra omnes (SWG Reboot Attn New Terminus)

[Ekilion]

Wildspace, the unmapped frontier of the galaxy, where pirates, fugitives, and others who had the resources and the need to run could go, it was this dark territory where a lone ship orbited a dead world. The crew of the vessel was comprised of those who were desperate to escape a series of planetary governments. They had only planned to lay low in the system for a few days, but as the lone ship drifted they felt an odd sense of growing unease. No one could sit still; arguments broke out, and as it grew some turned into blubbering wrecks in the corners of the ship, the wails of those poor crewmen casting a haunting mood throughout the vessel, and driving other crewmen to similar despair.

A few kept their wits about them and attempted to get the men back to their senses, but had no idea what was going on and even less of an idea of how to fix them. Worse was that they could feel it too, the feeling clawed at the backs of their minds, whispers of utter dread and horror, promising death and suffering. One of the raving crew had tried to force the ship back to the nearest system, shouting about how they had to escape before they came. The still sane crewmembers had put a stop to that, it took a blaster to the back of the head to stop him though, and two had been injured trying to restrain him. They knew that if they went back now they would be captured and killed and none wanted to go end up in the planetary governments hands. Sadly for them, they were destined to die regardless, and they probably should have taken their chances with the planetary governments.

Appearing without warning they came, dozens of them, in all shapes and sizes, appearing in space around the ship. Each one was a splash of colours, glowing all colours of the spectrum, patterns and pustules marred their skin. Long fins ending in glowing blue tips, radiating energy, sprouted from their sides and rear. At the front of each was an almost mouth like protrusion, more glowing ends hanging down from its sides, crystals of something falling away and trailing behind them like chaff. These features they shared with eachother, but other than that each thing was different from any of the others, not the least of these difference was their size. The largest of which was multiple kilometers long and wide, and the smallest of which were little more than specks against it.

The pirate ship was also in that last category, the great titan overshadowing the small vessel. Those crewmen who had kept their senses quickly lost them as the feeling of dread grew overwhelming, and now it was joined by another presence in their minds. The new presence tore at them, drove those who were already mad into gibbering wrecks and ravaged the minds of the entire crew. It spoke of their coming death, of the horrors that would await them. They could feel it sorting through their memories, tearing them out with little care and scattering their minds. A few men couldn't handle the pain and outright died, their nervous systems overloading. The rest lived long enough to watch one of the crew stand up and walk to the ships controls, his motions inherently wrong, like he was being pulled along by puppet strings. They lived long enough to watch him start driving the ship toward the titan, those that that had enough willpower left to try to stop him were struck with searing pain as the presence stripped their minds burning their nerves, their blood curdling screams echoing off the uncaring walls. They lived long enough to see their vessel engulfed by the titan, and they lived long enough to feel what came after, but they all wished they couldn’t by then.

The titan barely gave the ship any notice after it had been pulled inside, its attention turned to something even greater. Its smaller kin could feel it too, the energy of life, the power of trillions of minds. They had found what they were looking for, their long wait finally coming to an end, there fast soon to be broken. The briefest flash of their minds and they could feel them stirring, the creatures within emerging from their long slumber. Then electricity arced from the titan’s fins, along its body, collecting at its front, an action repeated by all its smaller brethren, and in the blink of an eye, with a flash of light they were gone. They were coming.

[New Terminus]

Katchan System
Planet Newport
Sandy Joes Cantina

"Look im telling you them Sussi'knaki dont lie, theres something out past the vale sitting in wild space causing whole planets to go dark." The old Spacer spoke in hushed tones looking about him as if something was after him.

Joran sighed and sat back sipping on his cold Tandorian Ale running his hand over the stubble that covered his chin. He had regretted the moment he had agreed to take the old space to Terminus as soon as the old man had stepped foot on his space ship he had begun this crazy talk about how entire civilisations in wild space where going dark. Joran put it down to the mad ramblings of an old spacer with conspiracy complex.

Wild space was wild space no one really knew what was out there, whole civilizations probably existed and warred with each other without the Holo-Net news ever getting whiff of a scent. But the old mans credits where good so no matter how much the old man ranted Joran would take him to Terminus and then hopefully go back to hauling questionable goods that didn't talk.

"Listen Kloon im telling you there is nothing out there in wild space the navy cant handle! otherwise Terminus and most of the southern outer rim by now would look very different. Just crazy Spacer stories and you've been cooped up in that outpost for far to long." Joran replied finishing off his drink. He was just another 2 days jump from the Terminus system and he hoped that he would have enough to do on his ship to ignore the crazy old spacer.

Kloon grunted and finished his own drink and got to his feet making his way over to the bar for another drink. For a crazy old spacer the man had a fair bit of money just sitting in his pockets. Joran pushed the through of killing him and taking his stuff back down and looked around the Cantina. Sandy Joes was Jorans favourite layover when ever he was running back and forth between the fringe systems and the Kallea Sector. I was always busy despite the fact Newport was only a newly colonised world.

Newport was a planet of great plains oceans and forests, The system had always been known to the Conglomerate but it had only been within the past 10 years any serious colonisations efforts had been made. Even now Newport was one of the few population centres that exceeded ten thousand people. Ranches dotted the single populated continent herding the local bovine's. The city had formed around the small space port that had been built to accommodate the freighters that came and went.

Joran waved away one of the local dancers as he kept an eye on the old spacer who was at the bar. As much as he could have done with a private session with one of the patrons honies he had no time to relax until he had his payment. The rising shouts from the bar area pulled Jorans attention back from the behind of the Twi'lek woman that had just recently asked him for a dance.

"Ooooh sith Spit!" Joran cursed as he watched the old space be lifted off his feat by a Trandosian with a particularly mean look on his face. Leaping up Joran quickly made his way through the crowds that where gathering putting himself in-between Kloon and the Transdosian who simply looked and snarled. "Okay what did my client do?"

The Transdosian snarled at Kloon "Sack of Poodu threatened to kill us all so im going to rip his head from his shoulders step aside"

"I wasnt threatening no one we are all going to die! There coming!" Kloon shouted the crazy building up through his eyes

Joran didnt have much time to react instinctively ducking under the huge fist that was hurtling towards him allowing it to connect with Kloon sending the old man to the floor out cold. Rising back up Joran connected an uppercut to the jaw of the Transdosian sending it toppling back into some of the attendants knocking them all over like a row of bowling pins. Joran felt another hand grab his shoulder turning him around in an instant a fist hurtling towards his face.

The sound of a blaster shot stopped it short as the room instinctively ducked some of the weaker people in the room letting out screams in shock. Three men stood in the door way dressed in the blue and grey armour of the local constabulary all of them holding blasters looking unimpressed. Joran could only smirk thanking the numerous gods for his luck.

The lead one nodded to the other two who stepped forward grabbing Joran and and Kloon and dragging them out side.

"Just what where you thinking?" the lead Officer spoke as they where dragged outside and then let go. "You think He didn't have any friends? Good job we got here in time or you might have to have gotten surgery for your pretty little nose."

Joran could only laugh and then look at the old man who had been laid on the ground. "He okay?"

The officer removed her helmet allowing her crimson red hair to flow down to her shoulders an equally mischievous smile across her face. "He should be that Transdosian was aiming for you, god Joran do I always have to save your arse each and every time you go into that place?"

The woman smiled at him and put her helmet back into the black sack she had gotten it out of only a few moments ago quickly stripping down into a skin tight black MCP suit and a utility belt. Winking Joran as she caught him staring at her body. She was Jorans 2nd hand as it where, she held down the fort when Joran was out looking for work and saved his arse when ever his work got him into trouble. Sammy smiled and pulled a small leather jacket over her shoulders before getting back into the speeder she and the two others had arrived in.

The other two quickly did the same picking up Kloon and placing him in the back of the speeder before getting onto the back blasters still in hand. Joran got into the passengers seat and nodded to Sammy who powered up the speeder and flew off just as the Transdosian burst out of the cantina with his lackies letting out a bellowing roar as he watched them fly off into the distance.

[Ekilion]

Katchan System

Life, they sensed it. Energy, vibrantly displayed before them. Food, what they wanted.

A blink, a dozen of creatures appeared in space, blink, a dozen had become dozens, blink, the giant appeared in their midst. It took only a moment for the pack to acclimatize to the system, they could sense the thoughts of food, more concentrated the the last worlds they had passed. The pustules, whiskers and everything else that could glow on the beasts lit up in anticipation, they would feast soon. The creatures re-arranged themselves, the titan at the head of the pack, in its rightful place. Its kin where arranged behind in a ragged formation that lacked any real structure.

As one the ships lit up once again, and the disappeared in a flash, a near undetectable gravitational pull from each of the vessels was the only thing that remained of them as they shot toward the life they detected. The beings inside them roared as they drew close and when the beasts they inhabited returned to space these roars were matched. The mental roars unleashed by the titan and its kin drowning out the physical ones in a deafening wave that struck at anything nearby, including the planet below.

They sensed the spacecraft that floated around the planet, they knew the hostile intent of the crews, even if said crews didn't know it yet themselves. Within their skin things moved, the mouths of the beasts opened and one type of their many children streamed out, their numbers many times greater than their older kin. The swarms pouring out of the beasts aligned themselves to intercept the ships of metal, and crush the planet behind them. At the same time the titan and its kin's skin rippled and spikes shot out in the hundreds, each was a meter wide, twenty four meters long, and carried enough explosives to punch through a ships armour. At the tip of the spikes a pair of eyes swiveled about faster then any eye should as each one acquired a target and then rocketed off to sacrifice their lives for the will of their parents.

The Titan and its brothers and sisters, rumbling in mirth at the joining of battle, linked their minds and drove forward. All the while they directed their combined minds at the population below and above. The food below would fear them. They would feel the dominating power of their minds, they would feel hopelessness of their situation and they would crumble just like those before did.

Life, they would end it. Energy, they would absorb it. Food, they would devour it. They where here.

[New Terminus]

Joran sat pressing buttons in the cockpit of his old freighter they had made orbit and safety at least being harried all the way by that Damn Transdosian and his lackies. Atleast now he could relax laying back into the couch he looked across to Sammy he was working away at a console keeping tabs for anyone who might be following them. When she finally pulled back from the console a smile on her face Joran new they where out of the woods.

"So... where to next?" Sammy asked leaning back placing her boots on the console as she did so.

Joran chuckled and went back to piloting the freighter. "We need to drop that old spacer off at Terminus his credits are good"

"We could just take his stuff and throw him out the air lock you know he did almost get you killed. Sammy remarked as he shuffled slightly to get comfortable knowing she was still in the corner of Jorans eye.

Sammy was league above the rest when it came to looks, a rare one to find in these parts of space. Long auburn hair fell down to her shoulders whilst her body was curvy but thin. She was smart and could fly freighter even better than Joran could,when they had met she had told him that she had grown up on a freighter running the corellian line.

Joran laughed at her suggestion leaning back himself as he watched the Newport slowly grow smaller from one of the rear view camera feeds. "Im half tempted but we arnt murderers and I have no plans on turning into one I quite enjoy being at the bottom of the authorities wanted list."

When Sammy didn't reply Joran turned around to see her huddled over her console a furrowed look over her face. "What is it that transdosian?"

"No the local defence fleet is jumping in... all of them" Sammy replied pulling the sensor feeds up on the main screen.

Newport was a small frontier world but its position had afforded it a few luxuries the traffic between wild space and the Terminus core systems had made it a prosperous world with easy access to the main galactic markets where its farmers could sell there goods to the core core worlds. The Local government hadn't spared on the defences Wild space of un-predictable the the species that inhabited could be friendly at one moment then war like the next. The World had a small defence fleet in which it could call upon to deal with pirates and other small threats. It was comprised of several Corellian Corvettes and an Acclimator Assault ship, It was a good force to take on pirates and wild space raids but if could never hope to hold against a dedicated assault on the world.

Joran looked up as his comms crackled to life, he noticed that ships where lifting off from the world and jumping out of the system as quickly as possible, after a few seconds the crackling stopped and a voice came over the speakers.

"Attention all civilian vessels this is a priority one alert, all civilian shipping is to evacuate the system immediately, I repeat all Civilian shipping is to evacuate immediately those planet side that can make it to transports are advised to do so."

The communication began repeating its self over and over only to be silenced by Joran as he switched to internal coms. Swinging the freighter around.

"What are you doing? you heard the man!" Sammy growled as she watched the planet swing back into view.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

Captain Poole looked into space his grizzled features showing no sign of fear as he stood astute in the middle of his command Ships bridge. The Tournament was the largest Ship in the Defence fleet An Acclimator Assault Cruiser fit for space combat rather than planetary invasions and Captain Poole had seen to it that the ship was as good as it could be. He had been in command of Systems defence fleet for roughly five years now and had seen numerous battles against pirates and wilding's as many on the fringe worlds like to call those across the borders.

All around him the bridge was quite except for the sounds of consoles. men, women and aliens alike moved around the bridge passing messages and working together like a well oiled machine. They had all been through the same battles as their captain and knew there duty. They where waiting for something to appear Long range sensors from the Various Listening stations along the border had picked up an energy build up on route to the Katchan System.

Poole noted the various other picket ships in his fleet that had moved into position Corellian Corvettes, seven of them had taken up positions around the larger vessel in a defensive posture. The corvettes had proved time and time again there usefulness against fighters and smaller crafts whilst his vessel went up against the larger more daring enemies. He was about to turn to head over to the tactical table when the proximity alarms began to blare out across the bridge sending the ships automatic systems into red alert. Looking out into space he saw the blinks of the enemy ships appear in space dozens of them, the sensors began spewing out all the information they could about the ships sending information to Pooles Neural link.

When the Dozen became Dozens Poole began to fleet something stir in his gut as began to bark out orders. "Launch All Fighters coordinate with Ground side orbital missile systems bring the fleet about on an intercept course."

Poole felt the the ships engines spin up as the inertia kicked in quickly disappearing as the ships systems counteracted it. He watched the vessels turbo laser banks swivel as they locked onto the enemy vessels. From the under belly of his ships fighters sprang out forming into wings around his vessel. Fighters based off an old design its origins long forgotten, it was sleek and beautiful fighter craft with immense agility and a punch that hit way above its weight.

"Captain im getting a massive energy build up! His X.O boomed out from his position to the rear of the bridge. "Something large is about to enter the system... something very large"

Just as his X.O finished in a massive blink of light the Colossal vessel appeared with many many more smaller vessels causing Poole to grit his teeth. as he watched them blink out of existence again only to appear again much closer the titan dwarfing everything around it it including his own vessel. He felt a weight descend upon him as they appeared but he pushed it back keeping himself as straight as possible, a single command leaving his lips.

"Open Fire!"

As the beings unleashed there own onslaught so did Poole's fleet. A Mix of Green and Red Lasers light up space as fighters shot forward to engage the enemy vessels, the the ships meagre point defences systems went to work at trying to swat the enemy missiles out of the sky. Quad lasers and the Corvettes nimble weapons systems began to light up the space even more as there shields flared as they where hit by the bombardment or the enemy missiles exploded before their targets. Poole held onto the rails as his vessel buffeted from multiple impacts causing pipes to burst over head and consoles to spark as enemy surged through the vessel trying to cope with the onslaught.

Around the Acclimator two Corvettes exploded violently as their shields failed and missiles impacted all across the ships ripping them apart as easily as one would rip paper. The fighters danced around the missiles shooting them down as they came as they headed to intercept the enemy fleet, fifty of them in total armed with heavy laser cannons and photon torpedoes they danced until they came itno range and them opened up on some of the smaller vessels.

As they began there defence ships scrambled to leave the system lifting up from the planet or jumping away if they where in orbit scrambling to get away from the Goliath at the gates.

[Ekilion]

A mental roar blared from the fleet as the food's space craft exploded, unable to withstand the barrage of spines. They foods vessels broke so easily it was almost dissapointing. Then the Titan took the briefest moment to observe the planet once more, and it picked up the ongoing evactuation. Bristling, quite litterally, in fury at the chance of being robbed of its next meal the Titan decided it would not play games with those food that would run. Unlike before the barrage it released was not in the hundreds, but in the tens of thousands, more missiles then the entire previous barrage, and much of its gigantic surface area remained uncovered by the spines as they fired. Streaking past the defense fleet the living missiles instead locked their eyes on the evacuating ships.

The rest of the pack meanwhile continued to engage the food defensecraft, more barrages of spikes lighting up the space between them to target the larger food vessels. The enemy fighters, few in number, would find only death waiting as they made their approach. Between being outnumbered by the smallest of the creatures spacegoing kin in the realms of hundreds to one, and the barrage of point defense missiles they would have to fly through on their attack runs, launched from the innumerable small four legged creatures that roamed the hull of the ships. This was not to say they were totally ineffective, and they took out many of the small kin sent to fight them, but for every one they killed many more took their place. They even managed to wound one of the actual vessels, a stream of blood shooting out into space before quickly crystalizing.

The larger food vessels did better though, the corvettes killed many of the smallest kin, their corpses cluttering the space around the fleet and giving cover to the ones not yet killed. The smallest made runs on all the food vessels present, more spikes, these ones of a smaller variety then their larger kins kind, launched from their undersides into the defense vessels. All the while, like their larger kin, the small kin launched similar spikes in all directions from a quartet of the four legged creatures that clung to them.

The food's laser fire also scorched into the pack, usually striking against layers of metals, shifted through the creature's bloodstream to block the shots. This was not infalliable though and scorch marks covered much of the metal, and in a few places, usually from wayward shots or crossfire, the rounds hit skin. The lasers cutting out scorched and cauterized grooves in the vessels that began to repair themselves at a brisk pace, flesh regrowing fast enough for the eye to see.