Tauve

[Dav Man'Sell]

*Tauve is a major city on the planet Algara II located on the continent of Dysis.*

[Corr Vhett]

[The Corruption]

Tauve was once a teeming, flourishing urban cityscape set against the temperate landscape of northern Dysis. It had once been home to millions of citizens, normal people who worried about their daily routines and taking care of their families and avoiding getting caught in the Xan Civil War. But that scene of normalcy was no longer.

Now, fires raged across vast swaths of the city, blazing infernos licking at buildings and scorched flesh alike. In some areas, the fires had died down, leaving devastation in their wake. There was little that the flames had not touched: select alleyways, a building here or there, some small sections that had been successfully blocked off. Though these sections would seem consequential when compared to a small homestead on Dantooine, they were nothing in comparison to the city that was.

Yet, despite the flames and devastation, still the citizens wandered the streets. But.. they were changed. They did not care about their daily routines. They did not care about their families. They did not care about civil wars or differing species or the military. They all moved as one, their actions and intentions determined by something not visible to an outside viewer. They were citizens, former soldiers, news crews, but they all shared one thing in common: they were all infected.

A pathogen had spread across Tauve, a pathogen which ignored the flames, a pathogen which ignored the safety of its hosts in favour of securing its vast Spread. The Corruption was here on Algara II, and it had made it abundantly clear that it was in no mind to leave. It refused to relinquish its deeply-sunk claws in the face of the flames, and the starter of all of it, an Echo known as Darth Miros, smiled at the devastation that had been wrought on the city.

All for nothing.

Yes, some brave souls had come from afar to search for answers, or power, or simply to scavenge. He watched them all. He watched them through the eyes and ears of every Corrupted individual roaming the streets, the alleyways, the buildings. He watched them and judged them and found them all wanting. There was no fighting the Corruption: even if one was powerful enough to overcome the drones, sheer numbers would provide an overwhelming advantage. And if not.. well, then he may have to provide direct intervention. The only real way to survive against the Spread was to hide.

And even that would only last for a short time.

==================================

"Hide" was exactly what two young souls had opted to do. They were in the basement of a church yet untouched by the flames: a girl and a boy, scared, lightly armed, adequately supplied, and being faced down by a small squad of Mandalorian soldiers. Hector, Tarpor, Dom, and Kayleigh, they were the sole uninfected survivors of what had once been a large regiment stationed in the city, and now they were face-to-face with these two, who could only be considered children by comparison.

"Please," the girl said softly, "please don't leave us alone down here. I know the way around. We can help."