Lord Greshh

A Galaxy in Twilight[Lord Gressh/Zarkun]

Caalin Daemon

"Good idea. But... what about the crew? And Camden and his men? You want to just leave them here?"

Millu'ci'vanda

"We don't have much choice. Bringing them along only leaves them susceptible to further influence."

Koraline Okarr

"Besides, we don't have enough space suits." I indicate the three space laying on the deck. "I never expected to take a full crew into the vacuum. I'd have packed more accordingly." I lean against the wall. "Guess that's my excuse to stay behind. I'll keep an eye on things here and make sure everyone stays relaxed." There is something in my tone that betrays how relieved I am not to have to go exploring this place.

A Galaxy in Twilight[Lord Gressh/Zarkun]

Koraline Okarr

I sigh even heavier. "Why did I agree to this mission?" Without waiting for an answer, I open a storage compartment door and begin handing out space suits. "Any plans on where to go from here?"

Millu'ci'vanda

"There must be a way inside nearby. Couldn't you feel how we were maneuvered to this spot? It wasn't by random. There has to be an access hatch or something. Perhaps if we enter through one of the ship wrecks?"

Caalin Daemon

"I don't know. The Force is strong here, though not in any particular alignment. It's powerful though, which naturally sets off a sense of dread, but it isn't malevolent, which is good. That means there is a chance." I look at Zar'kun. "What do you think? You're probably the most Force adept among us. What is your assessment?"

A Galaxy in Twilight[Lord Gressh/Zarkun]

Koraline Okarr

As the Redshifter draws close to the husk, the pull begins to decrease until it is a gentle tug. Without my control, but ship twists in space so that it's belly faces the husk. With a jolt, the Redshifter locks against the outer shell of junk ball so tightly that the landing struts can't deploy.

I sit in the pilot's chair for a few seconds, staring out at the broken and twisted hulks of ships that surround us. I dreaded to think that my ship would be a permanent addition to this place. Part of me didn't even want to bother exploring, and rather just have Zar'kun knock me out along with the others.

Millu'ci'vanda

"Come on," I prompt, rising from my seat. "It won't let us leave yet. We need to figure out what this place is and how to make it free us."

Koraline Okarr

"PLEASE stop talking about it like it's alive. I am too sleep deprived to deal with it." I also stand, and reluctantly follow Luci towards the boarding ramp. "Looks like we're on the outside of this thing. Guess that means we'll need space suits." I sigh.

Caalin Daemon

I limp out of med bay to join them. "Next time you try to force everyone to go to sleep, Zar'kun, at least warn me. It took everything I had to throw up a barrier at the last minute."

A Galaxy in Twilight[Lord Gressh/Zarkun]

Millu'ci'vanda

"There is no Death; there is the Force." I give Koraline a cheeky smile.

Koraline Okarr

"Oh, shut it." I say, suppressing a smile of my own. "Seriously though, everyone get ready for anything. I don't know whats about to happen. Zar'kun, if you want to start waking the boys up. Since we're all headed to the husk anyways, I don't see any reason for them to want to hijack the ship anymore. Just... be ready to put them back down for naps if I'm wrong."

A Galaxy in Twilight[Lord Gressh/Zarkun]

Millu'ci'vanda

"The husk is dangerous, but I sense that giving into it, at least for now, is in our best interest."

Koraline Okarr

"What gives you that sense? The voice in your head that turned our crew against us, or the Oroboro earwig nesting in your hair?" When I see the hurt expression on her face, I force myself to soften. "Sorry. You know I don't mean that. I'm just..."

Millu'ci'vanda

"Afraid, I know. This ship means a lot to you. And not to mention, we have no idea whats about that husk. But... trust me. This is the only way right now. The only other option would be to abandon ship."

Koraline Okarr

"Over my dead body. A Captain always goes down with her ship." I look down at the controls before me. I clench my teeth and curse under my breath before flipping the switches to power everything down. "You'd better be right about this, Luci. If we die, I'm going to very upset." The ship lurches backward and begins to float steadily towards the massive ball of broken ships.

A Galaxy in Twilight[Lord Gressh/Zarkun]

Koraline Okarr

"I... I mean. I..." The ship gives another grown, and warning signs continue to flair on the cockpit display. "Maybe if you... I don't know. A spray of torpedoes? A couple proton bombs tossed out the back? That... that might..." Another red light pops on, indicating that the strain on the engines is too great.

Millu'ci'vanda

I open my eyes, having briefly slipped into meditation. "Stop fighting, Koraline. It's no use."

Koraline Okarr

"What?! Are you crazy?! That husks gonna drag us in!"

Millu'ci'vanda

"Its going to get us regardless. Fighting is just going to rip the Redshifter apart. If we let it take us, we might be able to find a way to escape later."

Koraline Okarr

I give her a terrified look. "That thing is made out of the hulls of dead ships. If to drags us in, the Redshifter will just become another dead ship to add to it's mass. And we... I don't even know what that husk does to the crews of the ships it collects. And I don't want to find out."

A Galaxy in Twilight[Lord Gressh/Zarkun]

Captain Camden

From the cargo hold, I stand with my back against the door, blaster out at my men. “Stand down! All of you!” They are ignoring my command, trying to force their way out of the hold. The smugglers standing guard outside have left, likely headed towards the cockpit. “I said weapons down! Those voices are nothing but illusion!” Even as I spoke; I could hear the genderless voice crawling in my skull. Luckily, I was not so dumb as to be easily drawn in by it.

I am fully prepared to shoot my men if I have to, but thankfully I do not. Suddenly, they all begin to slip to the ground and fall asleep. I feel the same command strike me in Zar’kun’s voice, and I drop to my knees and likewise lose consciousness.

A Galaxy in Twilight[Lord Gressh/Zarkun]

Koraline Okarr

I nod absently at Zar'kun's words. I try to focus mostly on hot wiring the control panel to keep all functions online. Still, I can hear the voice becoming me to give in to allow my ship to be dragged away. I try to drowned it out by thinking about... my parents. Well, my mother figure and my father figure. Joliee the Hutt, her larger than life face caked in stage makeup and sloppy lipstick. Niko Okarr, the old smuggler whose ship I stowed away on. Who took me under his wing and gave me a place on his crew, then later gave me his hat, then his ship, then his name. "This ship is yours, Niko. I'm not gonna lose it today!"

Millu'ci'vanda

I try to focus my mind on something other than the soothing voice trying lure me away. I reach deep into my thoughts and pull up the memory of... a man. Old, with gray hair and a beard, yet still standing tall and strong. He smiles at me through a blizzard, and offers his hand to a very young Chiss girl. "Kallus Twilight... Give me the strength resist. Give me guidance on how to escape this mound of metal that holds us."

A Galaxy in Twilight[Lord Gressh/Zarkun]

Millu'ci'vanda

I feel another wave of energy go over us, and a strong urge to stop fighting pulls at my mind. I am strong enough to resist, but I look at Koraline. "You okay?"

Koraline Okarr

I shake my head, as if I could somehow shake the little voice out of my ears. "You don't get as far as me by being weak minded. I'm not turning around... not matter how much I feel like I should." I grip the yoke tighter. "But... if we don't break free soon, it'll tear this whole ship apart."

Millu'ci'vanda

My danger sense flairs, and I turn around in time to see one of Tren's crew standing in the doorway of the cockpit, a blaster in hand. "I think we have worse problems." I stand up, holding a hand out towards him. "Easy. Don't do anything stupid now."

Crewman

He speaks in an airy voice. "Turn the ship around."

Millu'ci'vanda

"Listen, you aren't thinking clearly..." before I can finish, he opens fire. I am quick enough to dodge to the side and hit the button to seal him out of the cockpit, but his bolts strike one of the control panels, causing sparks to fly everywhere.

Koraline Okarr

"Sith's Blood!" I wave away smoke with my hand. "Oh, he better not have hit anything vital! Somebody get these idiots under control before they get us all killed!"

A Galaxy in Twilight[Lord Gressh/Zarkun]

Koraline Okarr

I give the command as Zar’kun said, continuing to pull out every trick I can to break the Redshifter away from the massive junkyard of a station. “It’s got us in some type of tractor beam, but it’s stronger than anything I’ve ever seen before.”

As Zar’kun prods at the station with the Force, there comes a tremor of energy in response. It feels like an extremely concentrated burst of pure Force power. It is powerful enough to rock the ship violently, but gentle enough to slip into the thoughts of everyone aboard and whisper a command; ”Come to me”.