Act III: Lockdown

[Josh Dragovalor]

The barrier was strong, but the Jedi had still managed to get past it and cut through the armor. But the attack would be met with a large telekinetic force that would send the Jedi Master back, hitting the ground hard. While he was down, recovering, he could hear the Emperor's battles with Sage, [member="A. Dominion"] and even [member="Craxus"] who had gotten up. Even [member="Lady Kay"] had tossed her lightsaber at the Emperor, hoping to weaken it. No matter what had happened though, the Emperor would eventually make his way toward him, even with Mark Sage preparing to attack from the rear. When he had, though, he would find the Jedi back on his feet, his lightsaber no longer ignited and on his belt. But the big grin on his face and the two hands ignited in searing hot flames - to all but to the Jedi himself - told the story. The fire in both of his hands would turn into orbs of fire, and his intention became quite clear.

"Hi!" Josh would cry out when the Emperor would see him, and toss the fireball at the Emperor, which would fly until it hit something and explode - before tossing the other. But he wasn't waiting to see if they would hit, he quickly spawned more and started tossing them over and over, hell bent on pelting the Emperor with fireballs. Once he'd thrown a satisfactory amount, his lightsaber would fly with a motion of his hand, right back into his hands and would be ignited once again as he charged his opponent again.

 

[Dominik Borra]

Dominion took the shot, aiming straight for the Emporer's head. There was a Jedi leaping ontop of the Emporer, a lightsaber being thrown at his feet and another Jedi throwing fireballs. The only thing he could do in this situation would be to sit back and use his skills as a sniper. The rifle he had at the present wasn't anything too special. With the lightsaber only going through deep into his armor, the agent didn't think his blaster would do too much. But the more the merrier in this fight, he supposed.

 

[OriginsoftheJedi]

As Mark flew through the air toward the now seemingly unsuspecting Emperor's back, he saw [member="Joshua DragonsFlame"] rise from his injury and begin to fight once again, with flaming balls of fury interestingly enough.
"Good." he thought. "We might be outgunned if we lose him."
But there wasn't time to think now, as he was fractions of a second from landing on his target, and [member="Lady Kay"]'s lightsaber was about to hit their mark. Mark braced himself to either succeed, or probably die.
[member="Mirror Emperor"] [member="Ultimatum"] [member="A. Dominion"] [member="Craxus"]

 

[Ultimatum]

Ultimatum took his shot, firing a single blast. There was too much movement and the variables were overloading his ability to calculate potential friendly fire. There had been a single moment of free space, which he had taken advantage of. The shot was aimed to the emperor's chest plates, perhaps the most armored part, but also one of the most important. If Ultimatum's shot pierced the defenses and the armor then it could potentially be a very dangerous shot. The idea was to take advantage of his hopefully very divided attention.

[member="Mirror Emperor"] [member="Mark Sage"] [member="A. Dominion"] [member="Joshua DragonsFlame"]

 

[Mirror Emperor]

OOC/ I've taken some ‘creative interpretation’ of timing, but here we go!



[member="Craxus"] came at him first, full of burning hot rage. The Emperor missed a step as the telekinetic waves washed over him. Somehow it had dissipated to little more than a stiff gale when it struck his body. His question was directly answered when the crimson blade cut through barrier, armour and flesh. It bit deep into the upper arm, yet there was no accompanying cry of pain from the Emperor. Instead the massive figure moved with impossible speed, slamming his right fist into Craxus’ chest with enough force to launch him back across the floor.

“Do you break?” The Emperor echoed. His focus once again returned to the most powerful of his opponents, who was Co juries some form of elemental attack.

A spinning blade cut through the darkness towards his feet. He lifted his right foot and pressed down on the hilt with the Force. It was grounded and came to a halt, but not before the blade cut into the inside of his left ankle. This time the Emperor cried out in anger. The blade was sent skittering back across the floor to [member="Lady Kay"] 's prone form.

The Emperor inexorable March towards [member="Joshua DragonsFlame"] continued, this time accompanied by a limp that made his ornate armour rattle with each step. As the first fireball formed, there was a clang as his right gauntlet fell to the floor, exposing the Emperors massive, three-fingered hand. He snapped his fingers and the first fireball dissipated.

He kept on with his lopsided gait, clicking his fingers as he went. Each missile faded away at the sound of his fingers snapping. Yet each manifestation stubbornly kept burning for longer. The last fireball engulfed the Emperor. The hulking figure emerged from the flames, his armour charred even if he seemed undeterred.

Two blaster bolts slammed into the Emperor then. With the sound of a glass pane shattering, his barrier vanished. Two orange circles burned bright on his armour. [member="Ultimatum"] [member="A. Dominion"]

A fraction of a second later [member="Mark Sage"] landed on him.

The helmet slowly turned towards the ground. The Emperor regarded the humming blade protruding from his chest. His right hand came up, finger gently touching the tip of the saber blade. With a pop the bright blade vanished. The Emperor sagged on the spot, his shoulders slumped. A low growl emanated from his helm. His hand came up to grab Sage. As he stumbled backwards he threw the Padawan towards the nearest wall at great speed.

The Emperor's helm rolled back across the floor. He lay prone on the ground. There was a loud, wet rattle as he tried to force air into his broken lungs. In an entirely undignified manner, he swore under his breath. He managed to raise his head up off the ground to regard them all. He was an Esh-kha. Once, long ago in the Chaos Galaxy their people had tried to unleash the World Razer on the Galaxy unsuccessfully.

The Emperor managed to push his torso up from the floor. The difficulty of simply propping himself up on his elbows was clear. Through bloodstained teeth he called out. "You thought there was some secret to my control?" he shouted incredulously.

He tilted back his head and laughed. A deep guttural sound that quickly descended into hacking coughs. The Emperor spat blood across the flagstones, to join that which had already been spilt. "I know she told you I had some trick to control the World Razer. Saw it… with my own eyes. Another lie...I...am afraid. There is no easy solution, no deus ex machina to solve your problems. The World Razer simply shares an ideal of mine: total domination. You make a choice between the boot that pins you down maintains order, and your inevitable destruction. You have not chosen freedom, you have chosen to doom everyone.”

It was clear that each breath was brutal agony. His life force, so unimaginably strong at first, was gradually fading. Shards of light filtered down to Pipeworld from above. As if sensing the Emperor's doom, the World Razer accelerated its assault. It continued through the Floating City up above them all, harvesting at an ever increasing pace.

The Emperor looked up, his features contorted in pain. Perhaps there was a look of sadness too. “You have doomed…my…people. Perhaps one…last…

“Order seventy six,” he whispered, before his life force faded.

Up above the world, every vessel in the Imperial Fleet turned weapons on the World Razer. The beams of light winked out. Those citizens cowering in fear afforded a brilliant light show. The first two Star Destroyers to strike out exploded in brilliant shock waves as the World Razer struck back.

 

[Infected Drones]

Right before the start of the event:

She had no idea how Akala had found the power to send such ripples throughout the universe. All she knew was that as the barrier between their plains fractured she felt that familiar touch of madness once more.
Peering across the veil, she was relieved to find that Akala had not destroyed everything. And yet she saw something unexpected. There was nothing threatening the existence of the Galaxy. No plagues, no rogue AI… and yet the galaxy burned as it tore itself apart.

Had she been him fighting him for so long now that this didn't even upset her? It had been so very long now. He had thwarted her at every turn and she had so little left to give. Instead of falling to distress as she looked at the other side in tatters, she saw opportunity. With the veil so thin the last of her power could be used for one last roll of the dice. Was it the right thing to do? How she wished some of the others had come with her. She had always been one of the most impetuous of the Order; the others would have known what to do. Teferi, he would have known what to do. How she had desperately missed his sage advice at times when she felt she was losing the way.

It had been hundreds of years since she had stood at the helm of her ship and looked into the vortex. She had been tasked by the Order of the White Lotus to track one of Zero's most powerful lieutenants across the Galaxy. Apparently he had gone rogue and the Order saw this as an exceptional opportunity. He had found a way to reach a parallel Galaxy. She had stood there unsure of what to do. The portal had been closing, despite the fact she was using the White Lotus Stone itself to hold it open. Instead of returning to report to the Order she had gone through after him. Perhaps he had become her obsession as she chased him across her home Galaxy or perhaps it had been the moment she had arrived in the mirror Galaxy to find his face looking back at her from a hundred banners flapping in the breeze. Something had broken inside her as she had watched him crowned Emperor. Her hesitation had somehow given him enough time to subvert the entire Galaxy. She had never hesitated to act from that day on.

There could be no turning back now, she told herself. This was a path she had to follow through to the very end, no matter where it meandered. In the end, either she would stop the Emperor, or he would find and kill her. This was perhaps the very last chance she had. Touching the stone, she sensed she only had enough strength left to bring a few hundred across. It would have to be enough. He had broken the soul of this Galaxy over time, drained the people of their spirit. She had to hope there was enough left there hidden under the layers of control that those from the other side could ignite the fires of revolution.

 

[Infected Drones]

SOME TIME LATER

She'd felt his death reverberate through the Force at his last breath. It had made her happy, ecstatic even. That was the exact moment she realised what she had become, that she herself had fallen.

She watched the array of holo displays with great sadness. It was happening everywhere. The idealists were fighting back as well as other factions that had stayed in the shadows for so long. There were so many who had no interest in revolution unless it ended with them seizing power for themselves. Trillions had died on the first day of the rebellion. The remains of the World Razer could not even been recovered. It, and what remained of the Imperial Fleet, where now a cloud of detritus that surrounded the Imperial Centre

She sighed and reached for the Lotus Stone. The rippling patterns across its milky white surface reacted to her touch and started to swirl. She had thought the spirit beaten out of this Galaxy, so had brought across those bright souls who still burned with passion from the other side.

They had ignited the fires of revolution as she had hoped, but they had also set the galaxy alight. It didn't matter who won and who lost now, all that would be left in the end was ash. They had brought nothing but chaos.

It was time to send them back.


OOC / the event will be archived before the 1st of Jan. You have some time to carry on in this Galaxy before your characters are sent back to where you came from. You may keep any reward lightsabers given out by either the Empire or the Rebellion.

 

[Kay-Larr]

[member="Joshua DragonsFlame"] [member="Kyber Salurra"] [member="Raziel"] [member="Nefertari Sovint"] [member="Mark Sage"] [member="Ascendant"] [member="Craxus"] [member="Ultimatum"] [member="A. Dominion"] [member="Mirror Emperor"] [member="Infected Drones"]

It worked. She injured the Emperor. But as her lightsaber was flung back, Kay quickly rolled out of the way. That hurt. And now her burns were covered in dirt. She slowly got to her feet as the rest of them fought and watched as the Emperor fell. His words and the sounds of explosions above them, filled her with more despair. Even though they won....they lost. The Emperor may of had good intentions at the start, just like those from her Galaxy did, but each of them failed to make anything better.

Kay wanted to hug herself, but couldn't due to the burns. So she just watched and waited for it all to be over. Hopefully this was all some bad dream.

 

[Nefertari Sovint]

(Curse you OOC crap for making me miss most of the event!)

Nefertari at long last reunited with the rebels. She'd heard what hapened to @Eralam. She was ready to take it to the [member="Mirror Emperor"], but it was too late. Upon arriving, she noticed [member="Lady Kay"] along with everybody else she knew.

Nef walked over to the remains of her mirror self's "good for nothing relative" She channeled the dark energy which had been building in her to her legs and gave the emperor a solid kick in the ribs. The resulting snap was oddly satisfying.

[member="Mirror Nefertari Sovint"] appeared in front of her and filed her in on what happened. Combinedtears of joy and sadness dripped to the floor. This galaxy was doomed, which saddened Nef deeply. However, things were better if even for a few brief moments.

The Countess of Rosedge turned to Danny, Het-heru, and the ghostly princess.
"This very well might be the end for this galaxy. If any of you can escape to mine, I will welcome you with open arms. But since I feel that is unlikely..." Nef held up a datapad and activated the camera function "How about a picture? We are technically family."

"Even me?" asked the child who all his life had known no family.

"Young ones" Mirror Nef said "Search your feelings, all of you. What you each find shall be important."

A moment passed, Nefertari searched her feelings and saw many places at different points in her galaxy. Each one of them linked to a question she had. The next part of Nefertari's journey was beginning to unfold, she nodded in thanks to her ghost.

Nef had figured out what Danny and Het-heru would find a while back, and this was confirmed as the child embraced the actress.
"Yes, even you, my son."

A few peacekeepers who remained removed their helmets and joined the group. Nef could tell they were related somehow. Another threw down their weapon and took the datapad.

"I guess when the end is knocking at the door; boundaries, classes, borders...all of them become as nothing."

The force projections of several departed from both sides of the galaxial mirror made an appearance. Of course, only those who were sensitive would see them on the end result.

There was a flash and the datapad was handed back to Nefertari.

"Neffy, keep the armaments you found in your travels here. They would hardly serve a single purpose here."

The Jedi nodded. Het-heru passed the black hilt to her. Soon Nefertari would leave this all behind and return home; where she was supposed to be, the way she was supposed to be. She had given up on ever returning to her original time, where the Jedi were severely endangered. She'd made a new life; new friends, a new order, a new love interest. It had taken nearly Seven hundred years, but Jedi Knight Nefertari Sovint had conquered her past foe.

In an attempt to ease the despair of those around her, Nef lifted Zen'yuken and played a soothing ballad. She had numerous blast marks on her raiment from fighting the empire. Her wounds would heal, and eventually this whole experience would become merely a memory.

@Everybody​

 

[OriginsoftheJedi]

Mood Music: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RsO6B7TkbS4

Mark stood silently next to the fallen Emperor's body. The armor still gleamed in what low lighting there was, golden base and jewels glimmering. On the body of another, the armor might have been beautiful. But, this armor was now a symbol of oppression, against the general populace of an entire empire. This empire wasn't just controlling huge areas. No. The kind of control they had attempted to achieve was just not possible. They were trying to play God in so many different people's lives that it could never last, not the way that they were going about it. So many people had been brainwashed to think that the lives they led were the best they could be, that freedom meant total control. And now those people were free, for a time.

So why did he feel bad about killing this menace?

He stared off into space, thinking.

"I killed someone." he murmured. "I actually just helped end someone's life."

Sure, he'd known the day might come where he'd have to do more than defend against an enemy, keeping them alive. He'd known that since he was a youngling. He just didn't think it'd come so soon. And he'd never thought that it would weigh so much on him. An oppressive Emperor from another dimension than his own shouldn't weigh on him at all. But yet, it did. Did that make him a bad Jedi?

And that vision he'd had during his bout of unconciousness. What was it? Sure, it'd helped him realize he couldn't have simply brought down an empire soully on words, but thinking back on it, it disturbed him. Who were those people who'd felt so familiar, yet so distant? Lightning and thunder, exploding planets, and dimly lit faces with shadowy eyes didn't do much to comfort him either. It was all just so confusing.

[member="Lady Kay"] [member="Joshua DragonsFlame"] [member="Nefertari Sovint"] [member="Ultimatum"] [member="Mirror Emperor"] [member="Infected Drones"]

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

It was over.

While the Jedi Master felt bad about having to end a life, he understood that it was necessary. He wished he could have played pacifist, tried to stop as many casualties as he could... But it just wasn't an option. And unlike the old him... He understood that. He understood the fact that... This was just how the world worked. He considered now, what this meant. They had plunged this world into Chaos, that was what the Emperor had meant. But as he thought about it, he realized just how flawed that philosophy was. Yes, the fact was... There was chaos now. With the governing head knocked down, the tyrant gone... Lawlessness would take over, for a time, he knew.

But it was as they said. It gets worse before it gets better. Sure, there was a chance that another tyrant, worse even, could take the Mirror Emperor's place. But they had done one thing - and that was provide something valuable to this galaxy: Opportunity. A chance.

There was a good chance they'd end up with another tyrant, and one day, people like them would step up and reset the cycle again. That was a given. But they gave the galaxy a chance to have a governing body that would bring the peace they sought. Was it guaranteed? No. But they had given the greatest gift they could, and that was opportunity. That was what they had fought for. It was up to the galaxy and it's people now to do their part.

The group of heroes... They would be leaving in time, he could feel it. This galaxy would not know their names, and as besides Sage, he knew of no Jedi that had come here... He knew there would be no reward for his work, for either him or Sage. The others, it may vary, but for those two... There would be no commendation, there would be no recognition for possibly saving this alternate galaxy. He did say possibly, of course, it depended on what course it went on. But he doubted that Sage would be knighted, he doubted that Joshua himself would be put back on the Council for it. Nothing. None. Even if they were here... Would they really care? They had done nothing in their own galaxy, but in another.

No. He knew it would go un-thanked. And... He was okay with that. He hadn't joined the Jedi for glory. For recognition. He joined because he wanted to do what was right. And that was why he had fought so hard here - it was the right thing to do. They had fought, risked their lives, to give another galaxy a chance to be saved. And for that... He smiled. He was satisfied.

Speaking of Sage, once Josh had checked to make sure Lady Kay and the others were alright, he would turn to [member="Mark Sage"].

"Padawan Sage. Who is your Master?" He asked calmly.

 

[OriginsoftheJedi]

Mark dragged himself back into reality as Master Dragonsflame approached. On hearing his question, Mark's heart sank a little bit.

"Well sir," he replied, "my master was Master Avi Merron until very recently."

He could hardly believe it'd only been two weeks since she'd gone.

"Just over two weeks ago, Master Merron was on a disaster recovery mission on an outer rim frontier planet and was lost in a heavy force storm. The last contact she was able to make with home base was a holomessage she recorded and left for me. I haven't watched it yet. After that, there was nothing. She's placed on the "Missing in Action" list for now, but... I think that may be being a bit too optimistic. I felt her presence leave not long after getting the message, though they won't confirm it. I'm not all the way through my training though, and I won't be promoted to knighthood for a bit longer now. So I guess right now, I have no one really."

He knew that Jedi weren't supposed to mourn for too long. Sadness in excess was a path to the dark side. But, he still missed Master Merron. She'd always understood him, pushed him in the right directions. But now, she was gone, and he had no one to show him the right path to take.

[member="Joshua DragonsFlame"]

 

[Dominik Borra]

"I don't know much about the inner workings of the Jedi," Dominion stepped from the shadows, a hand covering his face with his eyes peaking out from his fingers. His white hair covered the rest of his head to his chin, some of his bangs were braided and pushed to the side. His damaged helmet was in the hand by his side, his rifle and handguns safely back where they belong. "But to me that sounds like you should work under Joshua. I know if I could be taught by someone who could throw fire, I would." He chuckled a little.

"The name's Agent Dominion. I know [member="Ultimatum"] , but what about the rest of you? What are your names?"

[member="Mark Sage"] [member="Joshua DragonsFlame"] [member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

[member="A. Dominion"] [member="Ultimatum"] [member="Joshua DragonsFlame"] [member="Mark Sage"]

Kay was just counting down the time before she could go back to their own Galaxy and she could receive some much needed bacta gel for her burns. And new clothes. The burned hole in her torso left her showing more skin, however burned that it was, than she was comfortable with. Her body still tingled from the electric shock that went through her system and some of her hair was sticking out.

The fighting could still be heard above them, at times intense. But at least they didn't have to worry about the Peacekeepers anymore.

"My name is Kay." She left her titles out of it. Those were just formalities anyways and weren't important in regular conversation. "...We should go now.."

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

That sealed it then. The Jedi Master had been thinking long and hard since the battle had concluded. It was clear that Sage had impressed him. It had been an incredibly long time since he had taken on a Padawan. He had refused to take on anymore after he had left the Republic. All the Padawans today wanted was power... Being promoted quickly, and being granted that without earning it. It made him sick, because he knew their future had been doomed. He refused to be a part of it.

But something about this man stuck out to him. And while he knew that if he trained another Padawan, he wouldn't make it easy for them like other Jedi may... He was worth a shot. Having just lost his Master, he was going to need direction as well. Who knew if his Master would return?

So he smiled. His decision was made.

"Well...." He began, chuckling at the comment by [member="A. Dominion"] that summed up the obvious. He held out a hand to [member="Mark Sage"]. "At least until your Master comes back... How would you feel about letting me teach you?"

 

[OriginsoftheJedi]

Finale Musichttps://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cUBUlKgsNK8

Mark thought hard. He'd hoped for two weeks now that Master Avi would come back. He still didn't know what the message she'd left for him said. He wasn't sure if he wanted to know. But, somewhere off in the back of his head, he could still hear her voice. It seemed as real as it ever was, though he knew it wasn't. She was gone. Somehow he knew that. She wasn't coming back. He knew what she would've wanted him to do. He knew what he had to do, but did he have the strength to do it?

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a short moment. Yes. She would have wanted him to move on. He had to move on. Life wouldn't wait for him. Time waited for no man. It was time to move on.

He let the breath out and opened his eyes once again. Master Dragonsflame's outstretched hand waited.

Mark took the hand.

"It would be an honor sir." he said, a bit timidly.

The two shook on it. A new chapter had begun. As Mark turned to leave (The [member="Infected Drones"] had said it would be able to get them home when the Emperor was defeated), he thanked his new Master for taking him on. And as he was finishing doing so, he saw something shimmer.

Over the man's shoulder he thought he saw something, someone. No, it couldn't be.

A pale blue figure stood silently, form wavering as it looked on farther down the dark hallway. Mark blinked to make sure he was seeing right. It was still there, now giving a proud smile. He couldn't help but wonder why it looked exactly like Master Avi...

[member="Joshua DragonsFlame"]

 

[Dominik Borra]

Dominion, keeping his hand over his face suspiciously, walked over to [member="Ultimatum"] , making sure he was alright. "Kay is right. We should go." He recognized her as the politician that she was, but had left out her popular 'lady' title. She probably preferred it that way, perhaps. "It doesn't seem like we're out of this galaxy yet. We need to leave. I just wish there was some reward." He sighed.

He caught Mark staring off into the distance, but saw nothing. If he didn't know better, he would say that the young man was staring blankly. But he had been around Sith, and knew about force users manifesting themselves after death in the force. With what Sage talked about with his master, he could only imagine. The force.. unimaginable it was...

[member="Mark Sage"]
[member="Joshua DragonsFlame"]
[member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Ultimatum]

Ultimatum had been watching the interchange of fire above. The ultimate destruction of the World Razer and at least two the emperor's destroyers. It was definitely an interesting twist, Ultimatum had been surprised at the species of the deceased emperor. That it and the Razer had come to an agreement did not surprise him, from his study of history while on the other Belsavis he had found that the Esh-ka had tried once before to release the World Razer.

Ultimatum was brought back to reality by the talking of [member="A. Dominion"]. "I believe the weapons we have received are the gift. Perhaps we will keep them when we return to our galaxy." Ultimatum did not doubt that they would return or be returned to their own galaxy. This place would not be able to handle them well. He wondered whether peace and control would continue to remain, or if perhaps chaos would ensue, as their own galaxy had. If the latter were true then this place could easily become controlled by one of those who had come from the other galaxy, they all had experience dealing with lack of control and taking it.

 

[Dominik Borra]

He turned back to [member="Ultimatum"] , his eyebrows raised underneath his hand covering his face. "Well I didn't get anything. I was too busy dodging burning buildings." He scoffed. "Who gave you your weapon?" He asked, looking at each person there individually.

Out of pure curiosity, he walked over to the [member="Mirror Emperor"] 's body, checking to see if he had anything of use or anything to take back to his galaxy.

[member="Mark Sage"]
[member="Joshua DragonsFlame"]
[member="Lady Kay"]
[member="Infected Drones"]

 

[Mirror Emperor]

[member="A. Dominion"]

He would find almost nothing on the body. Yet against his belt was an old and worn golden disk. It was the Emperor's own seal. The cryptographic chip and raw materials would be of little value or use back in the Chaos Galaxy, but the engraved logo of the Imperial cog - which was shattered, supposedly to show that the original Emperor's had glues the Galaxy back together - would be a constant reminder of what they had faced.

Of course that design was a lie. There had only ever been one Emperor and he had used to World Razer to forge his Empire just a few hundred years ago.

OOC/ Oh go on then, last thing.