But With A Whimper...

[Craig Locke]

The sprawling Undercity of Coruscant was truly a sight to see. Sentient beings of all shapes, sizes and colors were bathed in the glowing light of holo-advertisements, showcasing everything from new speeders and comlinks to podraces and clubs. The noise was something else as well, a never-ending chorus of talking, zooming, music, and machinery all struggling to be heard over the other competitors. It was almost an assault to the senses, but still pleasing to the eye and ear, a paradox that never ceased to amaze Craig Locke.

The man stood, hidden in a grey robe, his scarred face indistinguishable underneath the hood. The Grey Man's interest was focused on a crowded bridge, quite a distance away, that connected two walkways to each other, a means of easy access to the various clubs and entertainment venues available in the Undercity, where the sun never touched and everything was artificial. He stood on one of the walkways, right next to a club named 'The Broken Hyperdrive'. He could hear the raunchy music and the crowd having the time of their lives inside. Right now, however, the man's attention was on the bridge, scanning all the people on top of it. It was a long bridge, stretching out for at least a quarter of a mile. Life of all kinds were crammed into each other, the rush hour of the clubs about nigh. There must have been hundreds and hundreds of sentients packed on that connecting gangway, each trying to get on their way. But his mind wasn't on the people. Yes, he acknowledged them and the amount there was, but his sight and mind was focused underneath the bridge, on the support beams, where several concealed explosives sat.

Locke had just spent the last hour planting them all around the supporting structures, which he gained access to by means of a maintenance shaft. Previously disguised as a worker or engineer of some sort, he had absolutely no problem doing the job, even having time to carefully disguise and mesh the bombs into the columns of the bridge itself. But then again, who would've stopped him? There were no police or military to worry about here. At least, not yet. After tonight, well, a lot of things would probably change. He was here to send a message, and that message, so lovingly crafted into the wires and packed explosives of the grey-coloured bombs, was a giant middle finger, a spit on the face for the system, for the government, for the Republic, for the Sith, who played such a large role in Locke's creation, his transformation into the monster that he was now. He knew his actions were unforgivable, that he would be hunted down like an animal and, haunting him the most of all, that he would be responsible for his actions.

Craig's mind turned to an old poem that he read from a book once as his hand went into his robe's pockets, producing a discreetly disguised detonator, made to appear as an old comlink. No passersby at that moment paid the man in the grey hood outside the club any attention as he recited the text out loud, whispering it underneath his breath, finger prepped on the button marked 'start'.

"This is the way the world ends,
This is the way the world ends,
This is the way the world ends,
Not with a bang,
But a whimper."

 

[Craig Locke]

Locke pressed the button of the comlink, triggering the explosives. The deafening boom and the sudden white and orange glow startled many Undercity dwellers nearby him, but the Grey Man stared right into it, unflinching as the bridge began to collapse in on itself, metal damaged beyond repair. He looked at all the people, alien, human, on top of the gangway, saw their shredded bodies and burnt and mutilated corpses as the bridge finally gave in with a groan, sending any survivors that may have been there to their demise as they fell into the abyss below.

All was silent for a moment as the citizens took in the scene of violence and then fled, screaming in terror and fear. But Locke walked, walked to the sight of destruction, where the connecting passageway used to run and looked down into the darkness below. After soaking in the scene of destruction and death, the man ran into the darkness, going to the top, where his ship was docked. He needed to make a statement...something the Republic and the Sith both would understand.

 

[Darth Ferus]

"L... Lord Ferus. T.. There's a strange man walking around t.. The undercity. H.. He's been messing with the bridge a.. and.." The panicked voice of one of the patrons of "The Broken Hyperdrive" called through the holoreciver within a cloaked mans hand. It was a recording, one sent hours ago. There were many calls to the Shadow of the Dark Lord from various informants trying to get favor with him, and more often than not they were useless. Usually his droids would pick up, almost like a voice mail.

This one call was passed along to him after several more calls were placed within his office, reporting the same thing. It was unusual for there to be so many, and so the Sith decided to check it out himself. He had no qualms about dressing in his signature armor, knowing that many, if not all, the denizens of this run down area knew him. And feared him. But he was not alone. His Assassins had come.

Nearing the Broken Hyperdrive, the explosions were set off, sending a resounding bang throughout the streets. Rather than look for the explosion however, the Sith Lord looked for what he assumed was the saboteur from the call earlier. And he found him. A simple man walking in the destruction and panic of the masses stood out like a sore thumb.

"Take him. Alive preferably."

[member="Ruby Wilded"] [member="Animus Malgus"] [member="Craig Locke"]

 

[Mythos]

"Yes Master Ferus" ANimus said dropping from his high perch into the crowds of the massive chaos and annihilation. The sounds of screams and wails of death became stronger and stronger, Animus an Assassin was wearing the Sith Assassin Armor and he dashed with ferocity with the purpose of hunting this man down, and bringing his whimpering ass back to Ferus, alive preferably but a limb or two missing was not worrisome to him and he doubted the Dark Lord would mind.

Soon enough he came behind the Character that his Master [member="Darth Ferus"] had Indicated, a figure calm among the Chaos, it did stick out like a sore thumb, heading high, Animus smirked as he approached in a manner that none would ever detect but he was close to him now, he started to holster his weapon ready to attack, but he was also weary that we Assasins, work together, and nothing happens in this area without our knowledge, fool should have known better... now he would die...

The slaughter had been massive, and the very air smelled of death, Animus was focused on this Mission, his mind cleared. He was being watched, he would not fail.

 

[Armand Temi]

Bellatrix sipped her drink as she waited for her source in the Outlander Cantina. She was on her first mission for [member="Chaf’anta’natrano"] of House Chaf to find information for her employer. Based on direct evidence that tied the Coruscanti Resistance to the recent attack on Csilla, she had been put in touch with an “insider” in the Resistance. Trouble was, this man, woman or being had not shown up yet.

With her vibrant blue skin and blue-black hair, Bellatrix resembled her mistress, Lady Fantana. But her orange eyes and Balosar antennapalps would make sure that no one mistook her for a full blooded Chiss. This half-blooded mix would have made her stand out if she were, say a dancer. But here in the Underworld, she blended right in with the other curiosities of Coruscant’s crime scene.

Being a former dancer herself however, she knew that dancer clubs were rife with information, so she rose to go find one, and that’s when she heard it.

BOOM!

A loud explosion which rocked the ground underneath her feet. Her heart skipped a beat, and she suddenly scanned the cantina to see how other patrons were reacting. Some left the Cantina in a panic immediately. Others shrugged and kept drinking with the typical nonchalance of the Underworld. For an inexplicable reason, using the Force she scanned the room for any other Force signatures. Bellatrix had a sinking feeling this explosion only signaled deep trouble ahead, and although the Underworld was lawless for the most part, she hoped at least a Sith Knight or Lord was in the vicinity.

[member="Rhuza Kingpriest"]

 

[Ruby Wilded]

It was a little traumatizing for Ruby. It felt like reliving the day she met Ferus all over again. She took a moment to collect herself as her Master commanded herself and Animus to subdue the perpetrator if possible. "It will be done Master". Ruby bowed her head to Ferus. Capturing a terrorist rebel wouldn't exactly be easy. He could be packing rapid fire weaponry, or have strapped explosives to himself in order to kill anyone should he be captured. Difficult indeed. Ruby ran off towards the ramps leading to the lower levels. Jumping off a high perch like Animus wasn't in her abilities yet, rather tested anyways. It wouldn't take much time to catch up of course. Running with speed was her specialty.

[member="Darth Ferus"] [member="Bellatrix Celvina"] [member="Craig Locke"] [member="Animus Malgus"]

 

[Craig Locke]

The Grey Man sensed something familiar, almost like an itch in his brain that couldn't be scratched. It was an anger, almost a ferocity, combined with speed, stealth and power. He realized it then, and smiled. It had been a long time since he had encountered one, too long since he's killed one, he would add. "Assassins...", he muttered. The Sith had an admirable response time. He threw off his robe, barechested, revealing a heavily scarred and tattooed torso. These tattoos were of Sith origin, and although there was no way to tell just from looking, the scars were as well. He had been an assassin, almost a 'super-soldier', created to kill Jedi, Sith, soldiers, politicians, anybody his handlers wanted dead. He felt his mind transform at that moment, switching from Locke to Weapon as his stimulants and biological enhancements, a result of Sith augmentation, flooded his body with a cocktail of chemicals designed to give him the strength, agility, stamina, vitality, and intelligence needed to kill one who kills others for a profession. Producing a Mandalorian heavy blaster from his waistband, Weapon activated the repulser gauntlet strapped to his left hand, readying for a pulse of pure energy, then did a backflip, anticipating one of the assassin's attacks.
[member="Ruby Wilded"] [member="Bellatrix Celvina"] [member="Animus Malgus"] [member="Darth Ferus"]

 

[Mythos]

Animus lunged at the man seeing his opening, instead of fleeing the man wanted to fight... Good, so did Animus.
He saw the man execute a backflip and Animus took the cue and landed close to him and igniting his lightsaber. The blue hum of the saber could not even be enjoyed as Animus charged at his enemy, Juyo taking over, Juyo was his mindstate, Juyo was his Spirit at the moment, Aggression, Brutality, and Blood.

Animus however, was gone from the dash, he would not wait for the Man in the ground, instead taking a page from the manuals of Juyo and the sight of [member="Darth Ferus"] on their last encounter, he opted for unpredictability. He was in the air, Lightsaber in hand as he intended to execute the move he had tried on Ferus, To send ripples through the ground as he fell, concentrating on the Energy around him. It was Called Force Slam, Animus knew that the blast of the Slam could create ripples through the force that was akin to an EMP, however Animus had only tried this once before, and it was not a total success. Still his Aim was the Man on the ground and to crush him into pieces. His Grin was wide, and he wanted to taste blood as he fell from the sky.

[member="Darth Ferus"] [member="Craig Locke"] [member="Ruby Wilded"] [member="Bellatrix Celvina"]

 

[Craig Locke]

Weapon saw the blue blade of the assassin as he leapt into the air along with him, over him. This wasn't good. If he was over Locke...that was usually a position to be in for one who wishes to end a fight as soon as possible, in the most brutal way. He had to get out of there. But how?

Time slowed down as he activated the repulser blast just as he was about to hit the floor, aiming for the floor. The blast of pure energy sent him flying to the opposite side of where the bridge used to be. Weapon tucked into a ball and flipped all the way into the Broken Hyperdrive, landing on his feet while the Sith slammed into the ground. It was a good thing that he moved, or else he would've been all over the pavement.

Weapon decided to move, fast. He couldn't fight someone using Juyo toe to toe. He needed distractions, tricks, things his attacker wouldn't notice so concentrated on his swordplay and rage. He ran deeper into the cantina, shoving patrons out of the way as he holstered his blaster and pulled out a sonic pistol. If the assassin wanted to play games...well, Weapon would win. He retrieved a poison grenade from his utility belt, hefting it before priming it and throwing the ball full of death into the entrance...

Right where nearly all the bar was.
[member="Animus Malgus"] [member="Ruby Wilded"] [member="Bellatrix Celvina"] [member="Darth Ferus"]

 

[Mythos]

Animus rose from his falling position slowly and gracefully, and he watched his prey dash inside the bar, he was attempting to put a crowd between them and use his surroundings. Smart, but Animus was not about to take that bait.
Animus activated his wrist com "Lord Ferus Suspect has gone inside the Broken Hyperdrive" Just then he saw a cloud of smoke burst in the entrance causing the already insane panic to erupt into pure Chaos. Screams of people coughing and being poisoned was deafening, some dropped dead, others raced to empty the Bar.

Animus Paced... calmly as he walked up a pavement walkway to the other side of the bridge towards the cantina and Force jumped to the roof of the place. From this vantage point he could discern the chaos, he could spot anything leaving the cantina, however the smoke and darkness of the night made tracking down a single man for as obvious his displays would be, not an easy task.

From a safe distance Animus closed his physical eyes, and opened his eyes of the Force. Force Sight was Animus' favorite ability, through thin walls he could make out every single person in that cantina by their Force Signature. A single Signature did not seem like the other,s and Animus Smirked as he whispered "I see you..." as he started laughing to himself Plotting his Angle. Keeping his "Eyes" on the Signature. His blue lightsaber was off, and the Armor he wore made him very hard to detect, especially on the walkways to the side of the Bar, it was more or less a perch... about 20 feet above the Bar as he looked down focusing on the Force Signature, pacing and walking closer and closer, closing the distance between them, a distance separated by only the walls of the cantina.

[member="Craig Locke"] [member="Bellatrix Celvina"] [member="Ruby Wilded"]

 

[Sage Bane]

If the Rebel Alliance had clear goals in mind for their previous attacks on Csilla and Coruscant, they still had yet to make them clear to the general public, and this latest attack could not have confounded Coruscanti citizens more. "Why us?" lamented the horrified public whose voices immediately took to the Holoblogs. "What are they trying to accomplish?" In general, the citizens of the upper levels of Coruscant on a whole did not seem to blame their totalitarian regime for these attacks. Of course, there were pockets of resistance in the Undercity, but their activity had always ebbed and flowed with the tides. The resistance might have been lead by a few scruffy homeland opportunists, but mostly the attackers were seen as outsiders who had no idea what it was really like to live under One Sith rule.

Perhaps the general public would understand the attacks better if the resistance had clear objectives in mind, for example, imploring the One Sith to pull their military off a certain planet or remove their influence from a certain Sector. But no, sadly, the bombings and massacres seemed to be unrelated to any specific goals, other than "let's stick it to the Sith."

And so the public remained unconvinced.

All of this was neither here nor there for Sage Bane, the youngest Hand of the Dark Lord of the Sith. Sage was currently patrolling the streets of the Undercity helping to facilitate the training of the One Sith's new Elite Counterterrorism Units. Not only would the special enforcers be better trained on how to determine security threats and gather intelligence, but also how to better respond in the event of another attack. In addition to hiring and equipping thousands of new special forces, Sage had signed papers ordering the installation of thousands of security checkpoints installed at key locations all around the Undercity. The icing on the cake would be the added presence of thousands of Watchman Drones, purchased from the One Sith's allies at the Techno Union.

These steps would be the first in many to preempt the actions of these disgruntled brats. A bridge might have just been blown apart, but the fabric of Coruscant could not be torn that easily.

[member="Craig Locke"] [member="Ruby Wilded"] [member="Darth Ferus"] [member="Animus Malgus"] [member="Bellatrix Celvina"]

 

[Craig Locke]

Locke messed with a touchpad utility on his wrist. He hadn't planned for resistance to show up this quickly. He looked at his surroundings. A few more patrons still remained, hiding or running out of the cantina. Weapon looked up. The roof seemed generic, not too sturdy. He activated his repulser gauntlet and blasted a hole in the ceiling, then got on a table and jumped out, using his enhancements to propel himself out of the cantina, throwing a incendiary grenade to both throw off any pursuers and to finish off survivors.

The man landed on the undamaged portion of the roof, scanning the area around him with his intuition. Locke continued to type on his wristpad. Was it possible for his Infiltrator to come from the surface and pick him up here? The logistics of that were sketchy at best, but it was still worth a shot. He sent his coordinates to the navicomputer of his ship. It would come, someway, even if it had to cross through speeder paths and alternate routes. With that done, Craig continued to be on alert. He listened hard, casting away any unnatural surrounding sounds from his mind and focusing only on sounds a person would make. Then he heard it. A chuckle coming from a perch on the bar. He aimed at the spot where the sound emanated and fired his sonic blaster....
[member="Animus Malgus"] [member="Ruby Wilded"] [member="Bellatrix Celvina"] [member="Darth Ferus"]

 

[Ruby Wilded]

Ruby reached the proper level, finally. It was quite a mess down here. Lots of bodies and twisted durasteel lay all over the walkways. Things like this shouldn't happen. A fantasy of course; that would never be reality. Always sides, always faction tearing and clawing at each other for one reason or another. She was apart of this system of chaotic order too. It was inescapable, unchangeable, one could only chose a side and fight! The enemy was in sight. Standing atop the Broken Hyperdrive as Malgus had just mentioned over the comms. "Time to pay for the lives you stole". Ruby was looking ahead, plotting her moves. She was a story below him, but a path upwards with some footwork and speed was there thanks to some shipping crates. Faster she went, augmented with the Force to a great speed. Time slowed down for her. The blast wave Locke shot off seemed so weird, only for the slightly longer second it lasted before smashing in with the perch. It was Malgus he was engaging, she hoped he was alright but it gave her the perfect opportunity to attack while the man was distracted. She'd never miss her footing with such control this ability granted. She jumped up one crate, then two. On the third and final stack she pushed off with all the momentum she had right towards the terrorist. If she judged her distance right she'd be able to strike him as she came down. Ruby drew her masters sword out mid air. Pulling her elbow back so the blade pointed at her foe. 'Time to pay'!!!

[member="Animus Malgus"] [member="Darth Ferus"] [member="Sage Bane"] [member="Craig Locke"] [member="Bellatrix Celvina"]

 

[Darth Ferus]

"Lord Ferus Suspect has gone inside the Broken Hyperdrive."

The call from [member="Animus Malgus"] sounded off within Ferus's ear. As did the screams from the bar itself. Ferus had stepped in front of it some time ago, simply looking within for a possible ally to [member="Craig Locke"] . But as the people came running out, it was clear the terrorist was working alone. Slowly he looked up to where this.. Weapon, was running off to. Higher and higher he went.

A frown played out on his lips now, as it became clear to him what was going on. Reaching up to his headset, the Shadow of the Dark Lord patched right into a close ally, a private com link, to [member="Sage Bane"] .

"We have confirmation of a terrorist in my area. He's going up, and I assume that's to get to his ship. Lock down all air traffic if you would, and lets keep this man from escaping through the air."

For now the master assassin kept back, letting his fellow members do their thing unhindered.

 

[Craig Locke]

Time slowed for Locke after he fired his wave of sonic energy, not watching to see if his bolt hit home. His senses told him to JUMP BACK NOW!

He leapt back, narrowly dodging the new assassin's blade. "Pawns! You think you have value to the Sith. You are expendable! Weapons! When you break, they'll make a new one!" Weapon was upset now, and his rage fueled his fighting ability as he now squeezed off several shots at the female assassin, still waiting for his Infiltrator...
[member="Darth Ferus"] [member="Ruby Wilded"] [member="Sage Bane"]

 

[Ruby Wilded]

Unbelievable that he dodged her attack and didn't even look in her direction. This guy wasn't human, or more than he seemed anyways. Ruby tucked into a roll as she passed by the terrorist. He missed the first shot thanks to that move. She kept the momentum going, springing back up to her feet and carrying on forth to the edge of the building. She needed to get out of sight from that sonic weapon. The last shot caught up to her though. Its effect only managing to stun her. Ruby tripped over her feet, falling diagonally into a flat roll. Her sword slipped from her hands and clanged along with her until they both stopped just short of the ledge. Ruby groaned as her body protested to move. A terrible ringing in her ears wouldn't stop. "Shunova biccc". Instinct kicked in. Her bodies fight or flight response took over in a wave of panic. She couldn't see the terrorist from the way she ended up. Running wasn't possible until she regained function. Ruby was in quite the spot right now.

[member="Craig Locke"] [member="Darth Ferus"] [member="Sage Bane"] [member="Animus Malgus"]

 

[Mythos]

When the enemy blasted a hole to the roof of the Cantina, Animus raised and eyebrow, but when a sonic energy wave came at him, Animus was in the air aiming exactly for the Hole he had made. It was the same stance, same move, same strategy he used to initiate the combat only now, he was not trying to execute a move that as he did before did not work, his aim was the Assassin's head.

There was no hiding, Animus leaped into the air with a massive force jump that he was amazed that he could even execute and his eyes closed still drawing a bead on the force signature. The place he was standing was blasted away by the sonic energies as he twirled his blade and gravity did the rest bringing him down against his enemy.
His attack was again, Juyo incarnate, Aggression and violence in it's purest form.

The Blue hum of the lightsaber was a testament of Irony and pain, as once it dispensed justice, it was now dispensing swift and silent death.

Animus saw [member="Ruby Wilded"] close by the roof of the place and in his attack he noticed also [member="Darth Ferus"] presence. His descent was a vortex of rage and well calculated destruction. [member="Craig Locke"]

 

[Craig Locke]

Locke was outnumbered severely. He hated going from offense to defense so fast, but he could still turn this around and at least take a couple of Sith down.

The Grey Man rolled out of the way of the first assassin's devastating attack, which nearly eviscerated him in half. The woman was incapacitated for the moment, lying on the edge of the roof. She wasn't a threat at the moment, so Craig turned his back to her and activated the repulser gauntlet, sending another pure wave of energy at the user of Juyo just as he landed...

[member="Animus Malgus"] [member="Ruby Wilded"] [member="Darth Ferus"]

 

[Darth Ferus]

There was something very off about [member="Craig Locke"] , Ferus could see it as he kept up with both [member="Animus Malgus"] and [member="Ruby Wilded"] . A frown settled upon the lips of the Lord as he knew he would have to enter the fight himself. Golden eyes locked in on the target, and a hand came up. As the man brought about a repulser gauntlet to hit Animus, he would go to grip the arm with the Force, and pull it way off target with a hard tug.

At the same time however, his other hand came up, and the Force would go to tighten around the soldiers throat, to choke and distract him. And, probably the most important, to keep him still long enough for Malgus to hit, and hopefully not kill.

 

[Craig Locke]

The repulser's blast went far off target as Locke's arm was tugged away, almost as if by strings. He felt a hand choke around his throat, closing his windpipe into a narrow needle. At the same time, his wristpad informed Craig that his Infiltrator was still en route, but taking heavy damage, most likely the result of some sort of airspace lockdown. He struggled to breath for a second, then calmed down as the effect of one of the various stims implanted in his body automatically went off, bringing a sense of euphoria and summoning an adrenaline rush. Time slowed down around him as Weapon squeezed off a shot at the Juyo user again with a sonic pistol in one hand while simultaneously rapid firing on this new combatant with his Mandalorian Heavy Pistol. Unless he was very advanced, the Sith would only be able to deflect one of the attacks, probably the one heading towards him...that would break his concentration long enough for Locke to make a run for it.
[member="Darth Ferus"] [member="Animus Malgus"] [member="Ruby Wilded"]