For your viewing pleasure, here is the playlist I described. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEPvhKHlhV0Y-TQwbSdrhKmHQbj-1KHSu

Manually added by Augur Sanguinius Tsucyra Entar

If Jax would've been able to feel the Force, he might have shivered at the emotions that would then have coursed through his mind. As he could not, all he felt was slightly damp stone as he ran his hands across the walls of the tunnel through which the Sadowan forces wandered.

Multiple status reports came in through the commlinks, as teams of 3 or 4 spread throughout the superstructure. They had chosen the largest of the ruins to explore for what the Force-gifted members called 'a disturbance'. It was unclear to many, including Jax, what this disturbance actually was, but according to the Elders, they'd know it when they see it.

Suddenly one of the status reports was interrupted by triumphant yelling and screaming, followed by a sudden comms blackout. Curiosity getting the better of them, both Sanguinius and Jax agreed to send in a vanguard group which would be armed to the teeth in both scanning equipment, weapons, and experience.

What happened next was pure chaos. The encrypted communication channel with the party remained active, though there was a lot of interference. Screaming, panicked yells, and even weapon's fire translated through the communication devices disturbing the people in charge of the expedition.

With a simple gesture of his hands, Sanguinius ordered a group of Elders to investigate, but they too never returned. Until they emerged from the tombs, attacking their own friends and even family. It was time for a new solution, to call for aid from friends.

Chaos had erupted on-site, with the scientists running away screaming and the warriors and more resilient members attempting to combat the unholy menace that had erupted from the digs. Several troopers that got separated were now surrounded by ghostly apparitions and quickly disappeared from sight only to emerge moments later to attack their former brethren.

"Fall back! Fall back!" came the call from somewhere within the fray. "They're possessed!"

The chaos was the detriment to the speed in which the Sadowans complied with the order, moving much slower than they had trained for and with far more casualties to the possessive spirits.

Suddenly, a roar erupted overhead and Tarentum assault ships emptied their bellies onto the dig site. Warrior and scholarly Tarenti alike rushed the onslaught of possessed soldiers and ghostly apparitions, while the Tarenti medical corp quickly reinforced the Sadowans treating the wounded.

As the ghostly apparitions and their possessed minions were driven back, using the techniques that had been developed by the Clan of Life and Death, there fell a calm across the field of ruins that the Sadowans had decided to start their expeditions. It would be up to these two clans to work together if they were to uncover the world's secrets, and utilize them for the struggles that the future held for the both of them.

Only time would tell if these two unlikely allies would succeed or if they would end up stabbing one another in the back like enemies of times gone by.

Power
empowering, addictive
accumulating, betraying, consuming
Tried stealing, was absolved
chasing, drinking, accepting
forgiving, eternal
Family.

*__ACC Absolution__*
*__Command deck__*

Marcus woke up feeling groggy, as if he hadn’t had enough rest for the night. In and of itself this wasn’t surprising, his workload had been increasing. He’d been given assignments by the Headmaster, the digital pile of exams was ever-increasing, and to top it off, Cethgus had left for the Dark Council. Just when he thought his work couldn’t get much worse, they had heard from Odan-Urr. The Grandmaster, Pravus, had descended upon the planet and burnt its surface to a crisp.

When he went to bed his head swam with questions, and it was probably because of them that he had been unable to rest properly. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he swung his legs from the bed and tried to stand up, only to end up on the floor as his legs completely gave way. His mind raced, *What the hell?* He tried to push himself up, but found himself faced with great difficulty, he couldn’t even push his own upper body from the floor. It was as if he had completely forgotten how to use his muscles. Instinctively he reached for the Force, to lean on it as a crutch. But instead of finding the power of the omnipresent energy field, he found nothing. He could not hear its whisper, nor grasp its strands, and straining to sense it caused him a splitting headache. What had happened? Why could he no longer sense the Force? His mind racing again, and he had to focus inward to calm himself. His breathing calm, he focused solely on getting to his feet. Slowly but surely his muscles reacted as he wanted them to, even though it took him great effort. Shambling over to the chair where his clothes lay he began to get dressed. Just as he had finished, an explosion rocked the ship. Alarms started blaring, and someone in the hall was screaming.

Hurrying outside, as best as he could with wobbly knees, the Mystic was unprepared for what he saw next. Several administrative aids were held suspended against the ceiling, like pieces of paper sticking to a sheet of plastic. As he spun around, looking for the source of the telekinetic display of power, but saw no other Jedi. What he did see were several troopers kneeling on the floor, their heads between their hands, muttering to themselves.

“H-help,” one of the suspended crewmen chokes. Panicking slightly, Marcus reaches for the Force again, to help them down, but was quickly rewarded with a stabbing pain to the temples. Cursing loudly, he motions for them to stay put, ridiculous as it was. They were obviously not going anywhere.

“J-just stay put,” he calls to them. “I’ll get help.” Limping through the corridor he passes by the set of troopers, whose muttering he could now hear.

“The voices, the voices, make them stop, stop the voices,” one of them says. Marcus flops down in front of him, not having the strength in his legs to properly kneel. He takes the head of the trooper in his hands and looks him dead in the eye, intending to reassure the soldier, but was instead faced with a screaming man.

“AAAAAAH!” the trooper yells. “I see your past, I can feel your future. You are surrounded by death.” The trooper begins rambling and eventually faints. *What in the blazes is going on?!* Marcus thought to himself. Working himself up to his feet again, Marcus starts down the corridor again, intending to find the bridge and see if any more sense could be made of this. As he rounded a corner, instead of being faced with the access door to the bridge, he was hit squarely in the chest by something invisible. It knocked him backwards and sent him flying into the bulkhead behind him. Dazed he saw the XO of the ship, Commander Walas Sedaya, run towards him, apologizing profusely.

“Oh no, I’m sorry sir. So sorry, I-I can’t control it. I meant to wave at you, and instead you were slammed against the bulkhead. That’s twice now it happened and I just can’t expla-,” she was cut short in her ramblings by Marcus holding up his hand. His head felt like it had split open and released several rancors onto his back who were now beating it into submission.

“Ow,” he managed weakly. “Keep your hands down will you.” It was beginning to dawn on him what had happened here, and if he was right, they were in dire straights. He pushed himself to his feet for the third time that morning, and continued down the corridor, ignoring the apologizing Commander. Keying in his access code, the doors to the bridge opened, and he was met with utter chaos. Deckplates were flying around, consoles ripped from the walls, crackling electricity shot through the air, and flashes of blinding light were going off every few meters down in the pits. The upper walkways were mostly fine, and he could see the Captain standing at the end near the observatory window.

Slowly limping on, he made his way to the commanding officer standing looking out into space. But as he got closer, he could see that something was wrong. The Captain was breathing heavily, labored as if unable to catch his breath. Marcus approached further, curious to see what was happening to the woman standing there. When he got close enough, he reached out and grabbed her by the shoulder, intending to spin her around and lean on her, but when she faced him and he could see her eyes, he knew he had made a fatal mistake. Her eyes burned red in rage, the energy of the dark side clearly visible through he visage, ready to unleash the terrible power that was inherent in the Force.

Marcus merely stood there, and whispered softly. “Don’t do it. You’ll end us all.” The Captain, Madhi Jeisel, trembled in utter restraint as she choked out the two words that would seal their fates. “I-I can’t.”

With a terrible scream, her last strength slipping away over the emotional torrent that had resided in her over the years which had been born of comrades lost, caused by insane orders by mystical superiors, and the grueling rigors of war, the power of dark side came to bear. A violent storm of energy erupted from her being, shredding her body in an instant, clashed against the deckplates and tore them asunder. The plastiglass in the windows shattered and the harshness of space sucked out the atmosphere in seconds. The torrential violence of the Force-storm ripped through Marcus’ body, and he could feel himself dissolving in hatred and anger. It expanded rapidly, ripping holes in consoles, conduits and the rest of the bridge. Nothing was left whole, and eventually it reached the reactors of the massive ship. From afar, it looked like the ship was dotted with tiny pins of light, before lighting up like a match being struck.

In the end, Marcus had realized that everyone on the ship who had had no Force sensitivity had suddenly become aware of the Force and was able to wield it. It had all been outside of their control, and left powerless, Marcus had not been able to do anything to stop the destruction.

-Fin-