ic Incursion: Merciless

[Thevshi]

The appearance of the Communion's partially cyberformed mouthpiece did little to relax Paradigm's concerns about the need for the other council members to evacuate the asteroid for some other safe haven. While the Praetorian did not know much about the former space tyrant, she had learned enough over the last few months to understand he was a dangerous foe before being taken by the Communion, and was likely all the more dangerous now.

The sudden appearance of the massive rock creature and the floating blue skinned woman behind him had caused Paradigm to tense slightly as she spun in the direction of the ripped open doors. Recognizing the pair as coalition members that she had seen when she arrived for the meeting, the Naram relaxed her fists before turning back to the others. "Senator, you and the others need to be leaving. Now."

"I will take these two and do what we can to delay Star-Kahn long enough for the evacuation."

[Ecalsneerg]

Galvanic smiled gently. "Delay?" She floated past Rock to land beside the alien woman. The Tempestian shook her head. "Should evacuate, yes. Get to safer haven." Then Galvanic suddenly and loudly cracked her knuckles.

 

"No intention of stalling. We have fledran from too much." A wider, grimmer smile formed on her lips, and she gestured at the orange woman and at Rock. "If his forces capturetake this base... he does not." Galvanic turned and went to head out of the room again. "Star Khan is defeatedstopped now. Owe galaxy that much."

[Gizmo]

Rock looked between the monitor and Chlo'zel and eventually over to Paradigm before offering a somewhat less optimistic, "Rock..." By the way Star-Khan had begun striding directly toward the closest access tunnel to the underground facility it was clear that he knew exactly where his prey was hidden, however, and there was no time to argue or come up with a better plan. Instead the stoney titan simply heaved his shoulders in a massive shrug before pounding one fist into the opposite palm with a sound like a mountain cracking in half.
 
To their credit not one of the Coalition leaders looked eager to retreat while others stayed behind. Magistar Rull might have lacked compassion but the pride of the Grue Arcane had been wounded time and time again throughout the Communion's attack and he was loathe to loose yet more ground. Minister Ch'rrr's people had evolved from herd herbivores who had grown too hardy for any of their world's predators; to him sacrificing the few to save the many was anathema. Finally it was Senator Th'emme who spoke up. "Make your fortunes, Praetorian Val-Ren," she solemnly wished, shaking Amara's hand firmly. The imperious woman's eyes narrowed briefly and she allowed herself a moment's slip in decorum to add, "Tear his das't head off. Move, everyone! We've all survived enough evacuations by now to know how this is done! Don't waste a moment that's bought!" None of her fellows could argue with that and, spurned into action, they dashed out of the war room with their aides, headed for craft prepped and waiting for just such an emergency.
 
Preparations or not it seemed unlikely that their foe would simply let the escaping ships pass unmolested. "Rock," Rock summed up the situation succinctly with a glance toward Paradigm, waiting to hear her plan.

[Thevshi]

Amara glanced at the blue skinned woman a moment as she spoke about not wanting to run again. A small smile came to her face as she gave a nod. "I fully intend to try to stop Star-Khan here and now. But whether we do or do not, at least the leadership of the Coalition will have the opportunity to safely make its way from here."

The Naram turned to regarding Senator Th'emme and the other leaders with a solemn nod as she shook the senator’s hand in return. "Safe journeys to you Senator Th'emme." She then glanced at Magistar Rull and Minister Ch'rrr in turn. "And to each of you as well Magistar, Minister."

A'lan Koor gave the Praetorian a nod as well. "I believe you Praetorians have a saying, duty unto death. I sincerely hope such a sacrifice is not necessary Praetorian Val-Ren."

Amara gave the elder Space Knight a nod as well, wishing him safe travels as well before turning to regard Galvanic and Rock as the leaders left the chamber. Glancing over to the monitors that showed the section of the base that Star-Khan was nearest, she replied. "The plan is simple. I fill fly out to meet Star-Khan directly. While he is focused on me, the two of you come at him from that side tunnel there." She stated, pointing toward an auxiliary tunnel that branched off from the main and eventually wound back to it near where Star-Khan would be entering. "Then we hit him with everything we have got."

[Ecalsneerg]

Chlo'zel put a hand on the Naram's shoulder, and looked up into her face. "If sure?" She gave a grim nod to the taller woman. "Powerful foe. Not entirely comfortablesure with letting you fight alone. Even if short time. But..." The Tenpestian sighed. "Makes sense."

 

She sighed deeply, and turned to Rock, lifting herself up and off the ground. Galvanic smiled at the big craggy alien. "Ready, Rock? Said you were tired waiting... Not sure what you had in mind, but you'll be with me and..." She inclined her head towards the Naram. "Sorry. Unsure of name." 

[Thevshi]

Amara met Chlo'zel's gaze evenly, giving the shorter woman a small nod. "I appreciate the concern, but I am willing to stand up to whatever assault he unleashes, at least for a short while. Besides, from some of what I have heard about this Star-Kahn, he may wish to gloat a bit before he tries to kill me."

That is assuming the Communion has not overridden that impulse completely. The Naram thought to herself.

As the other two prepared to start the flanking maneuver, Paradigm lifted up off the ground to glide in the air. "I am Amara Val-Ren of the Praetorians, also known as Paradigm. I am honored to have the opportunity to go into battle alongside each of you." Giving the two a small nod, she then turned gracefully, her long black cloak billowing behind her as she began to fly off through the corridors, taking the most direct route to Star-Kahn.

[Gizmo]

Though Rock's heavy footfalls down the corridor struggled to keep up with Chlo'zel's flight he waved off her offer to simply carry him as he pulled a rugged looking communicator out of the same satchel from which he'd produced the deck of Zultasian cards. "Rock! ...rock." The Tempestian could make out a high pitched chitter on the other end of the call and while she couldn't understand the specific words she gathered that its owner was in emphatic disagreement with the stoney titan's demands. "ROCK!" he shouted, jabbing a finger up into the air in a gesture away from the asteroid, away from the danger. The growl of anger in his already harsh voice gave way to faint desperation as he added, "Rock..." There was a moment of silence on the other end before the chittering voice returned, subdued and Rock nodded faintly, massive shoulders rising and falling.
 
He looked like he was about to offer Chlo'zel an explanation when the bulkhead to their left abruptly exploded, twisted pieces of metal and asteroid showering outward as two humanoid forms crashed through like wreaking balls. The atmosphere around them whipped by like a storm wind as automated force fields attempted to compensate for a trail of destruction that ran all the way from Star-Khan's landing crater to the floor right in front of them. Paradigm proved both more nimble and more durable than any mere wall, however, quickly rising to stand unbowed in the face of the surprise attack. That only seemed to make the twisted cyborg that had once called himself Star-Khan angrier. "Arrogant FOOLS! You will commune with the master!"

[Gizmo]

Glossy gunmetal grey boots floating above the debris littered floor and white hair whipped about by the escaping air, Star-Khan seethed. "This is all the resistance you can offer? The Khanat--hkk!" He stopped mid-word, the chords on his neck standing out as silver fluid sloshed through the tubing protuding from the side of his throat. "Nnnnhmy master's greatest enemies gathered under one banner and yet amounting to no more than scurrying rodents? With worlds yet to commune you. Waste. My. Time." Without warning he surged forward, a blur of movement that caught the trio opposing him by surprise. One of his fists flashed forward with impossible speed and strength, connecting with Paradigm's nose with a resounding crack. His other hand followed, digits replaced by claw-like prosthesis, grasping for the Naram's windpipe in an effort to pin her against the opposite wall.

[Thevshi]

Star Khan acted quicker than Paradigm would have expected, quickly closing the distance to her and landing a blow on the Naram's face. It was a powerful hit, but Paradigm had taken similar hits in the past, and she was able to keep her bearings. But the cyberized Star Khan also quickly grabbed Paradigm by the throat, slamming her up against the far wall which bent and cracked under the force.

Paradigm reached up to try to pull Star Khan's hand free from her throat, but his grip was like steel, closed around her throat like a vice. But the Naram did not panic. She was in no danger of suffocating, the only danger she was in was that she was vulnerable to his next attack.

Hopefully her allies would intervene before that…

[Gizmo]

Pulling the strap of his satchel over his head and tossing it unceremoniously to a far corner of the huge corridor, Rock lowered his head and charged toward the pair of grappling warriors with a bellow. "ROOOOOCK!" An arm as thick as a tree trunk led the way, stoney fingers wrapping around Star-Khan's head while the enslaved despot's attention was focused on Paradigm. Rock's momentum took them both forward, pulling Star-Khan off of the Praetorian and slamming him into the floor hard enough to leave an indent in the industrial strength metal, the full weight of the rockslide-for-hire coming down on top of him.

 

With a grunt that was at once enraged and scornfully dismissive the cyborg's knee came up to connect with Rock's midsection. While he may not have had any vulnerable organs to worry about Rock was no more immune to the physics of overwhelming force than anyone else and he was sent stumbling back several steps, losing his grip on his opponent as they each took a moment to regroup.

[Ecalsneerg]

Galvanic froze momentarily as Paradigm exploded through the bulkhead and was slammed into the wall by Star Khan. It had been so sudden! She wasn't a trained soldier. She was still a scientist at heart! But Rock's heroic charge to save Paradigm spurred her back into action. She watched him slam Star Khan to the floor, only to be driven back by the cyborg's immense strength.

 

Chlo'zel exploded in a cloud of motion and sparks, her skin blazing with live current as the air around her coalesced into a semi-solid cloud of ions. She tore through the air between herself and Star Khan, lifting her feet up in an attempt to deliver a crushing two-footed kick. 

[Gizmo]

Galvanic's feet came downward like a rocket glowing from reentry only to land firmly in Star-Khan's raised palm, the enhancements riddling his arm easily compensating for the girl's momentum as he rose to his feet. Silver-white light glowed down the exposed metal and into the fingers of his gauntlet, fingers still trapping the Tempestian's boots as the cosmic energy was released with a blinding flash and a roar of incineration. Chlo'zel was sent tumbling backward through the air, only her force field's tremendous resistance to energy preventing her very atoms from being torn asunder in the violent blast.
 
"So in the end, this is the best you can manage?" Star-Khan sneered, lowering his hand with clouds of super-heated plasma rising from it like steam off of a kettle. "The pitiful sacrificial beasts lain before Kinan Khan? A relic, a runt and a..."
 
"Rock," the third of the Coalition heroes supplied, squaring his shoulders and raising his fists into a ready pose.
 
The tyrant scoffed, voice and expression dripping with contempt. "Quite."

[Thevshi]

Paradigm was not disappointed, as Rock quickly pulled Star Khan off her, managing to at least injure him slightly and disorient him, although the cybernetic tyrant quickly recovered. The Tempestian quickly followed after, attacking Star Khan, who stopped the attack with seeming ease as he returned to his feet and sent the blue skinned woman flying backward as he unleashed a powerful blast of cosmic energy.

So far all the momentum seemed to be to Star Khan’s advantage, the Naram knew she needed to try to shift that.

"A relic I may be Kinan Khan, but I have seen your master turned back before, and I shall once more. Even though I have to go through you to do so!" Paradigm stated with an even voice before she shot forward toward the tyrant, delivering a powerful blow to his jaw that echoed down the tunnels of the old mine. Although Star Khan’s head snapped briefly to the side, he remained steadily in place and ready to continue his assault.

[Gizmo]

Charging behind Paradigm, Rock took advantage of his slower pace to access their chances. Outnumbering Star-Khan three-to-one meant that they could at least divide his attention between them but so far he'd proven capable of keeping up with all of their attacks with a minimum of effort. Nothing else to do but continue to pour on the punishment, then, and hope they could wear down the cyborg before he could focus on any one of them. With a bellowed, "RRROCK!" he brought both fists upward in a two-handed uppercut toward Star-Khan's chin, only to connect with empty air as the Zultasian easily dodged the comparatively cumbersome combatant.

[Ecalsneerg]

Galvanic groaned as she spun in mid-air, force fields flickering from the effects of Star Khan's attack. Her skin was dulled, sparks not flying from it. She drew one ragged breath and turned back to face Star Khan. "Runt? RUNT!?" She blurred forward, closing in just as he dodged Rock's haymaker. The tyrant didn't manage to dodge this one, one of Galvanic's fists landing a solid hit on his solar plexus, the other grasping for his throat.

 

His powerful mechanized grip stopped her hand dead a half inch from gaining purchase on him. The short Tempestian parleyed this into an upward swing, flying from his grasp and down into the hole he'd just crashed through, boots skidding through rubble and throwing up a cloud of dust. Galvanic turned in a crouch, one hand sparking with electricity.

[Gizmo]

"Pathetic. Weaklings!" Star-Khan bellowed with a snarl that cut through the restrained airs of formality he'd been adopting up until then. He threw Galvanic off in plenty of time to handily dodge Paradigm's attack, the blow instead leaving a crater the side of a small car in the deck plating of the mining base's floor. As the cyberformed conqueror spun about it the air he turned to face Rock with his feet planted, a deep red glow and heat shimmer rising from the small gaps between the uneven stones that made up his form. Hands clenched into fists tight enough the sound of metal scraping against metal could be heard, Star-Khan roared, "Well?!"
 
The mineral mercenary responded with a roar of his own but rather than mere fury his spewed forth scalding magma in an eruption that blanketed a wide swath of the hallway. "RO~O~O~O~OCK!"
 
For a split instant it looked like Star-Khan was simply going to stand in place and accept the full brunt of the wave but at the last possible moment the silvery slurry in the tubing jutting out of his neck surged and he slid nimbly out of the way of the worst of it. Where the magma still managed to splash him clothing burned with the acrid smell of synthetic fibers melting and exposed metal glowed white hot. "That cannot be the best you can offer, damn you!" he cried out, face contorting in frustration and pain. "KILL ME!"

[Ecalsneerg]

"No killing!" shouted Galvanic. Clearly the man Star Khan had been was fighting what the Communion had turned him into. But that didn't mean they should kill him. They could fix him. Figure out how to get someone out of the Communion's clutches. "Stop! Will fix this!" She extended one hand out, sparks rippling from it and coruscating out to bounce across and along and through the floor and walls, ripping back out of them again.

 

The Tempestian stopped projecting lightning, sweat beading on her forehead. As she ceased, the lightning ripped out of the conductive outlets in the room, spiralling into one semi-coherent blast of lightning, heading straight towards Star Khan's chest.

[Gizmo]

The barrage of lightning that Galvanic rained down on Star-Khan would have been enough to fuse every piece of complex electronics in a reasonably sized shuttlecraft. Whatever defenses the Communion had built into the cyborg's enhancements were evidently far beyond what one would find in a reasonably sized shuttlecraft, the electricty channeling down orderly pathways to his raised fists. The power was converted by his internal generators and released in a cascade of cosmic energy that surged through the hallway, catching all three of his attackers in its wake. Rock toppled backward from the force of the blast, hitting the deck with a deafening thud while Paradigm and Galvanic bore the brunt and stayed upright.

[Thevshi]

Paradigm had been a little taken aback as Star Khan had briefly appeared to be ready to stand still while Rock attacked him before daring the group to kill him. But before the Naram could fully consider Star Khan’s words and actions, Galvanic had unleashed a torrent of electricity down on the conqueror, only for the blast to seemingly be absorbed by Star Khan's armor.

Then Star Khan unleased a massive blast of cosmic energy, which filled the corridor, catching both Paradigm and her allies in its path. The Naram braced herself against the blast, which rippled across her, causing little harm other than rip multiple tears into her long black cape which billowed behind her from the force of the attack.

Once the attack was over, Paradigm saw Rock had been knocked off his feet, while Galvanic was still standing, and not appearing any more injured than she had already been by prior attacks. "You seem to have a death wish Kinan Khan. Perhaps you are not finding service to the Communion to your liking?" The Naram called out, before she flew over to Star Khan in the blink of an eye, unleashing a powerful uppercut that caught him right under the chin.

*WHAM!*

The powerful impact echoed down the hallway as Star Khan was knocked off his feet and onto the ground from the force of the blow. "While you may well deserve death Kinan Khan, I am no executioner. But stop you I will, to deliver you over to those whom have suffered at your hands, before and since joining the Communion, so justice may be served."

[Ecalsneerg]

Galvanic surged across the room, sparks trailing as she ploughed in. Both hands stretched ahead of her, reaching down to snatch at Star Khan, aiming to pin him down once and for all. But her clumsy swiping was easily dodged by the much more experienced warrior, leaving her spinning head over foot briefly in mid-air to compensate for the momentum lost. The Tempestian briefly scowled in frustration, before whirling back to face Star Khan.

[Thevshi]

For a moment the momentum in the fight had shifted back toward the collation heroes, when Paradigm had managed to knock Star Khan off his feet and momentarily daze the cyberntically enhanced conqueror.  However, Galvanic was unable to capitalize on the shift, attempting to make an attack that left the Tempestian quite vulnerable to a counterattack after she missed. 

So the Naram closed once more with their foe, looking to keep the momentum on the side of her and her allies.  Unfortunately, Star Khan had recovered from her last attack, and managed to duck underneath Paradigm's swing.  But Paradigm had not left herself as open as Galvanic had, and remained in place near Star Khan after the missed attack, hoping to draw the tyrant's attention.

[Gizmo]

"Coward!" Star-Khan seethed, regaining momentum as he avoided blow after blow, cold computational additions to his mind gradually accumulating the data necessary to predict his opponents' moves before they were even made. Molten slag still dripping from his armor sizzled into bits of exposed flesh and gradually melted wiring underneath conductive metal plating but he flicked it away the way one might an offending bit of mud. "Mercy makes you weak and that is why you will commune!" The schizophrenic bent to his ravings was taking its toll, his eyes wide and bulging and he prepared for his counter-attack.

With gravelly bravado, Rock rolled to his feet like a small avalanche and shot back, "Rrrock!" Tough words, but he was starting to wonder if they were going to be able to stop the tyrant at all, let alone putting him on trial for his crimes. There wasn't much to do but try, however and setting his jaw with a loud crunch he barreled toward Star-Khan with his shoulder down. The attack was too slow to catch his target off-guard but as long as he was paying attention to Rock he wasn't watching Galvanic...

[Ecalsneerg]

Galvanic took the opportunity, swooping low to the ground behind Rock as he barrelled forwards. Waiting for an opening, she immediately shot upwards and above Star Khan as he dodged Rock's charge. She pitied the man, almost. He hadn't asked for the Communion to do this to him, no matter how bad a person he might have been before. 

"Mercy is strength, Star Khan," she said calmly. She lifted one fist above her head, sparks flying from within her grasp as her knuckles popped. And Galvanic surged downwards, bringing both of her fists together as she went. She hit Star Khan full force in the chest, combining her momentum, immense physical might and high voltage supplementation as her hands detonated in a small explosion, the smell of ozone and burning filling the air as sparks flew and a mighty krakoom boomed from where she'd impacted him.

The blow drove Star Khan down hard, the floor splintering and cracking beneath him. Shards from it flew up, rebounding harmlessly an inch from Galvanic's skin. She raised her hands once again to deliver another blow, but Star Khan just lay unmoving beneath her. The Tempestian lowered herself to the floor, still wary of their resilient opponent. She prodded his side with one boot. No response. "He's down," reported Galvanic, leaning back against the nearest wall, wiping sweat away from her brow. "Over now."

Edited April 27, 2015 by Ecalsneerg

[Gizmo]

Star-Khan lay at Galvanic's feet, his chest armor broken and ruptured where she'd struck him, large sections having splintered and fallen away like shard of glass from a shattered pane. The mishmash of flesh and metal revealed in those gaps was disturbing to say the least. In the relative quiet that followed the chaos of battle the heroes were once again aware of the sound of atmosphere rushing out of the base's shafts and blaring alarms no one had bothered to disable in their haste to evacuate.

Rock stomped a little stiffly over to Chlo'zel and looked down at the unconscious Zultasian contemplatively. "Rooock," he observed dryly with his hands on his stoney hips before turning to Paradigm expectantly, wondering where they went from there.

[Thevshi]

Paradigm took a deep breath, relieved that they had managed to stop Star Khan, at least for the moment.  Still hovering in the air above the smashed ground, the Naram looked down at their defeated enemy, noting the changes that had been made to his body by the Communion.  A slight feeling of pity came over the Praetorian, wondering whether Star Khan’s induction to the Communion had been voluntary, or, like the vast majority of its victims, forced. 

She then looked up at her allies, noting that Galvanic at least seemed a bit drained by the fight still.  "Well done."  She stated to the pair with a small nod of appreciation.  "Keep an eye on him for the moment, I will see just how far the others have gone during our fight.  If they are too far away, we are going to have to figure a way to transport him and the rest of you out of here to where the fleet is regrouping." 

Activating her communicator and setting it to a Coalition channel, the Praetorian sent out a message to any ships that might still be in relatively close proximity.  "This is Paradigm calling Coalition forces.  Are any ships still in the area?"