Condor Legion (Aargonar Dominion)

[Matreya]

Zaiden closed his eyes to begin resting, a small smile appearing on his lips at his masters praise. But for the most part, Zaiden sat with his eyes closed. He tapped into force, surprised by the pain radiating from his master, but began using the force energy to supplement his energy just a little more. It seemed that they were on the home stretch right now.

Being Hand of the Empress, Zaiden knew that he had to be even better then those around. He had to be able to successfully capture this planet..and at least have a big part in it.

@[member="Ashin Varanin"] @[member="Eldoc Quasat"]

 

[Falon Azrakel]

Thanking the @[member="Ashin Varanin"] briefly, Falon and Iblis quickly walked over to the walker, clambering up the boarding platform as fast as they could, given Falon's inability to run. "Iblis, you arm the weapons and prepare the walker. I'll talk to the men in the back. Good? Good." Iblis nodded, the younger man sprinting off to the cabin to activate the main power generators and prime the main guns, full of excitement and relief at the survival of the General and the opportunity to try out a new toy.

Iblis made his way into the main body of the walker, slamming a fist on the durasteel hull of the walker to gain the attention of the twenty soldiers inside. "You're going into an unknown hell from which you may never return. You may bleed out on the sands, crying for all that his good and holy. But when you go out, go out with a goddamn fireworks show, will you?" Allowing his words to sink in, he stepped past the soldiers into the cockpit.

"We ready?" Iblis smiled in glee at the array of weapons available. "There's some heavy hitting stuff here. We're clear to leave, as soon as you say so." Falon nodded, quickly heading back out of the walker to look out from the boarding platform upon the tanks available. "Are you manned and ready!?" A few shouts of affirmation confirmed the readiness of the support artillery. Spinning to return to the cockpit, he sat down in the pilot seat and grasped the controls.

"Iblis, set a course for the mountain underpass." Falon stared out of the main viewport, his assumptions confirmed as to the control layout. "As you wish."

 

[Ashin Varanin]

@[member="Falon Azrakel"]
@[member="Zaiden"]
@[member="Eldoc Quasat"]

Ashin squinted at the climbing General, and reminded herself to promote him. With her onboard once more, the shuttle lifted off and left the tanks and walkers behind. It rose out of the pass and ascended above the mountain fortress, using the gap in the air defenses -- the gap Sasha Santhe had made.

The gap wasn't good enough for this route.

The shuttle descended onto the very top of the fortress, rocking from anti-air fire. Ashin jumped out of the shuttle, blaster bolts rattling off her armor. Her sky-blue lightsabre ignited on the way down.

She hit the flat stone roof of the fortress hard enough to shatter that stone. Her lightsabre worked a circle around her as she cleared a landing zone for Eldoc and Zaiden.

"You two, take that staircase down. Find the command centre. I'll go this way."

 

[Eldoc Quasat]

Eldoc plunged down, using the force to slow his fall. It wasn't everyday you got to take a fortress with the Empress, but it was time to begin the dance yet again. He made for the staircase but soon found himself faced with a staircase full of soldiers, so he did what any sensible man would, He screamed at them, letting them see just who Eldoc was, as he proceeded to butcher those that were up. He had cleared the path, and directed the scream this time, it shouldn't of bother his allies, that much. That was the problem, he found with his abilities. learning to control them so he didn't hurt his own team.

Eldoc sprinted down the stairs into a room, a room that let him start his dance, the Dance of Death, with the Lord of Pain. They needed to finish this quickly, the longer they took the more reinforcements that could come.

 

[Allyson Locke]

Spencer had taken her own route to the fortress; Sasha had seemed to become quite busy with the droids. The gunship only had her in it, she scattered the troops where they needed to be. They needed a hole, a place so that other ground troops could head into the fortress. Spencer sat in the cockpit of the gunship and realized what she needed to do to help. Turning on the autopilot, she turned the gunship to top speed and blared towards the center of the fortress. The gunship on a direct course for contact.

She stood from her seat and used the force to shatter the cockpit glass. She climbed out and waited till the last possible moment. When it came she jumped to the roof and the explosion rocked the fortress.

Hanging by her finger tips she used the force to enhance her grip and thrust her upward landing behind Ashin. Standing straight she smirked and rubbed her soot covered face and spoke to the Empress.

“Been awhile since I’ve seen you get your hands dirty, should be fun”

Spencer patted away any stray flames on her cloak and proceeded forward.

@[member="Ashin Varanin"]
@[member="Eldoc Quasat"]

 

[Ashin Varanin]

@[member="Spencer Jacobs"]

"You missed a spot," said Ashin, patting out a flame on Spencer's rear as her First Apprentice stalked past. "And yes, yes, it's been entirely too long."

The impact of landing had sent all manner of pains through her, and she grimaced. That was the price of being utterly broken. She ripped away a door with the Force and descended into the mountain fortress, keeping herself, her armor and her lightsabre between Spencer and harm. Spencer was one of the finest support players in the universe; Ashin in this mode was pure tank. In narrow confines like this, nobody and nothing could stop them.

The militants retreated; the women kept advancing. The militants tried to flank them through the walls; the women saw it coming.

Within about a minute and a half, they reached a choke point. An angled hallway connected to one of many layered platforms, stuck on the sides of a huge crevasse. Across the way, she saw Velok and Sasha Santhe fighting. The walls were huge, and covered with platforms. Bridges crossed the crevasse.

Sniper fire from the other side drove Ashin back into temporary cover.

 

[Lord Ghoul]

Mountain Fortress

Twisting metal screamed and the internal mechanisms holding the main gate exploded. Shocked defenders recoiled. Outside the gate stood a figure clad in armor, one hand extended toward the fortress. The mask of his helm betrayed nothing besides expressionless phrik. Behind him stood a sea of white. Stormtroopers numbering in the hundreds. They waited in hasty fighting positions, spread out across the mountain side. A storm of blasterfire raged. Lancets of red criss-crossed the rocky terrain. Stone shattered. Soldiers died.

But in the midst of it the lone figure stood, unperturbed amidst the chaos of battle. The defenders continued to open fire from their positions inside the bunkered fortress, peppering the armored figure. Blaster bolts pocked and scarred his armor as he stood. His extended hand twisted. The gates blew inward. Soldiers screamed and died as the gates crushed them.

"Knock knock," said the armored figure, who was of course, Mikhail Shorn.

Snap-hiss. A purple saber snapped to life in his right hand. He strode inside the fortress. Inside, it was a mix of rising dust, darkness, and the groans of the dying. Several of those still living opened fire on Mikhail. He raised his hand again and balled it into a fist. The soldiers dropped their weapons and voiced shrieks of agony. Mikhail's mouth twitched. They imploded in a spray of meat and bone.

Behind Shorn, hundreds of stormtroopers began pouring into the fortress, sweeping through the militia, ruthlessly cutting down those who resisted. The fall of Aargonar was near.

 

[Allyson Locke]

Spencer followed quickly covering the both of them with protection from the force. Every turn they ran into something, but it seemed they had an answer for it. Then came the crevasse, they had to cross it to get to the other side. Frowning, Spencer watched as Ashin took cover from the sniper. If anyone needed to cross it, Ashin would have to be that person. A grin swept across her face as she moved out from behind Ashin. Kneeling in front of her she tapped the side of her face.

“Guess it’s time to show you what your teacher’s have been teaching me hmm?”

Standing, she moved towards the bridge to cross. The sniper seeing this as a moment took the shot, with in instant Spencer wove the force against her hands like she had done with Velok. She had become faster and as the shot came closer to her temple she raised her hand and the fire dissipated against her hand. Waiting, she lowered her hand and her body did the same with the force. Another shot fired and this time instead of using her hand she watched and the shot dissipated against her forehead between her eyes.

“I know where he is now. I’ll keep him distracted get across and I’ll meet you over.”

The First Apprentice made her way towards the sniper as he opened fire on her each bolt either missing or being caught by the woman. Spencer felt the strain on her hands as the shots still burned her palms slightly.

@[member="Ashin Varanin"]

 

[Ashin Varanin]

@[member="Spencer Jacobs"]

Ashin's jaw dropped, just slightly.

"What the feth has Velok been teaching you? I didn't master that until...well, I'm not sure I ever mastered it. Not like that."

She followed Spencer across the bridge, deflecting fire from the sides. Stray shots and plasma efflux spattered off her armor, warming the alchemized metal.

When she got close enough, she stepped past Spencer and walked up to the sniper. The man held his ground, and Ashin knelt before his prone shape. "You held your nerve," she said. "Ice in your veins. I'm Ashin Varanin. You're mine now."

And she walked away.

And he followed her.

 

[Valik]

@[member="Mikhail Shorn"]

Valik ignited his lightsaber and deflected bolts as Mikhail opened the gates to the mountain fortress. After the events of Gand, Ossus, Gravlex, and many other worlds Valik wondered why these planetary governments still offered resistance against the Sith. Then again, it was the people of Condor's problem to fix their stupidity, not Valik's. Then the blaster fire ended as Mikhail collapsed the gates on the opposing troops, ending their lives.

"If you were doing that why would you bring a battalion of Storm Troopers? Do you enjoy wasting the Empire's resources? Or do you need to impress the non-Force users in order to feel better about yourself?" Valik quipped as they continued into the fortress.

 

[Lord Ghoul]

An expressionless helm swung toward @[member="Valik"]. "Oh, I don't know. Maybe because I don't like taking on entire armies by myself afterwards," came the muffled reply. Even Sith had their limits.

The ranks of stormtroopers flowed past him and into the hallways of the fortress, engaging hostile forces farther in. Shorn followed them at a slow walk. He was here for mop up, more or less. He did not lead the stormtroopers. After his debacle in the Army of the Republic, he considered himself a poor commander. Though, of course, he would never say so. Some aspects of him were indeed Sith. Arrogance, for starters. He had that in staves, as the Sabacc saying went.

"I take it you'd rather go in single handed?" A soft snort came from within the helm. "Because that's not egotistical."

 

[Allyson Locke]

Spencer covered her hand with the other, she watched as Ashin spoke to the sniper. Her hand moved to her forehead where a small red mark was forming, the skill wasn’t perfected, but it did its job. Once she was healed Ashin had seemed to convince the sniper to follow them. Quite the diplomat she was. Spencer quickly followed the pair and soon she stood beside Ashin. She kept her mind open feeling the emotions of the man behind them, if he wished to turn on them she would know sensing his intents.

“That was a lot cleaner than I expected.”

The moved farther into the Fortress, Spencer looked over her shoulder again at the sniper they seemed to have collected. Tilting her head, she scratched the side of her cheek and chuckled nervously.

“So what are we going to do about him?”

@[member="Ashin Varanin"]

 

[Ashin Varanin]

@[member="Spencer Jacobs"]

"We're going to trust him," said Ashin, well within the sniper's hearing. "He would do his duty and die for it, but something holds him back. He knows enough about us to know what we are, what we mean for this planet. He knows that we brought peace to Mon Calamari and Gand. He knows that the plethora of armed groups here is tearing Aargonar apart.

"I won't ask him to fire on his countrymen," she said, turning to face him. "Not yet, perhaps not ever. Except for this." She stepped in close to the sniper. "You know who in this outfit deserves to die. Bring me to them."

The sniper's masked face nodded, ever so slightly, and she was reminded of Sarge.

He led them down, through back access shafts and corridors, until they found themselves at the entrance to a weapons station. The sniper cleared his throat. "There's four in there that raped a boy," he said quietly.

"Spencer? Take them, please."

 

[Valik]

@[member="Mikhail Shorn"]

Valik scoffed. Single combat? Valik was confident in himself and his abilities, but he was no fool. He followed the man as the Storm Troopers stormed the fortress, lightly shooting his Imp blaster and throwing various objects to assist in the capture.

"I no fear of fighting alone, but neither do I have a death wish. If I believed I could fight an army alone I wouldn't waste the fuel and rations to bring troops, and if I brought troops I would let them do their jobs and not waste more energy than I had to. You opted for a middle path, so logically you wanted to bring an army to witness your power or you thought you could handle it yourself but you wanted back-up, just incase. Tell me then 'Champion' " Valik hung the man's title mockingly. "Are you a fool, or a coward?"

 

[Lord Ghoul]

Behind the helmet, Mikhail rolled his eyes. "Stop fishing, @[member="Valik"]. I don't do monologue explications of my thought processes."

Shorn rounded a corner and suddenly found himself face-to-face with a squad of miltiia. They raised their blasters. Mikhail raised his hand. His hand was faster. A telekinetic shockwave scattered them like leaves. Grunts came as bodies slammed into walls or skidded along the floor. A few managed to fire off some shots. Mikhail's blade intercepted them. The bolts pinged around the hallway before dissipating. Into walls, floor... or flesh. Mikhail had no skill at deflecting blaster fire. He was lucky they had only fired a few shots. But then, that was what his armor was for.

"How about you stop prodding me with your questions and start killing good guys. You've got a long way to go to earn back that governorship."

 

[Allyson Locke]

Spencer nodded and trusted Ashin’s trust of the sniper. Arriving at the room she listened hearing the voices of the men inside. Ashin and the man were talking, but Spencer caught enough of it and it caused her to snap her head towards the pair. Letting the soldiers words sink in she felt something different happening inside of her. It was her own anger and she needed an outlet for it. Ashin gave her the order and Spencer moved closer to the door and knelt down. She wasn’t one to use the blade, she was going to do this her way.

They hadn’t noticed her and she closed her eyes opening her mind and feeling out with the force. Like she had done previously on other dominions especially at Gand, she connected the tendrils of her force aura to the weak auras of the men. It disgusted her that she would let her own sacred aura touch theirs, but it was the only way she could do this. Her lips moved as she whispered her influence upon them slowly over taking their weak willed minds. The four men raised their guns pointing them towards her. A smile swept her face as she continued to whisper her influence.

She was in, she had taken their minds from them. Their guns turned despite their physical struggle to do so. The weakest mind ran up and pointed his gun towards another, the man screamed in horror as his face was blown to pieces from the point blank rifle. The two other men pointed their weapons at the shooter and opened fire. Finally the last two turned their guns on themselves and finished the act. Spencer knelt there for a moment and then finally stood up. It was the first time she had gone that far with her mind control.

“You know, their last thoughts were quite sickening. I don’t enjoy seeing what they wanted to do with me. At least it’s over…”

@[member="Ashin Varanin"]

 

[Ashin Varanin]

@[member="Spencer Jacobs"]

A slow clap echoed through the chambers of the fortress.

"That was perfect. To do what needed to be done -- to do it coldly, economically, without cruelty, despite your disgust and rage -- that's the perfection of the Sith path of Lumiya, Caedus and Vectivus." The Dark Lord snorted. "And they called you unworthy."

She stepped over the bodies and kissed her First Apprentice soundly.

"And it's over in more ways than one. The fortress is falling, your childhood is over, and Aargonar is mine. And we're ready to meet the Republic in open battle at Roche."

 

[Allyson Locke]

The praise and the kiss made Spencer feel better about her kills. Everything was going according to plan with her development. There was nothing to hold her back now; she had taken a complete circle to her training. Ashin moved away from her and spoke to her, the woman was right. This was the start of something new for them. Spencer nodded.

“The galaxy shall be yours my Master and ours to change.”

Spencer pulled away and looked down at the bodies, the men were scum and she was too kind to them with their deaths. Things were over and she had things to do. Looking back at the sniper, she sensed a bit of fear in him as he watched what had happened. Smirking at the man, she kicked the bodies aside and continued to move.

“You think he’s going to stay loyal to us especially after all of that?”

 

[Valik]

Valik chuckled at @[member="Mikhail Shorn"]'s comment.

"I'm not surprised. A basic thought process such as yours couldn't properly fill a monologue." He jabbed as a squadron of troops emerged and Mikhail threw them with a telekinetic shockwave. Valik threw his saber and piloted it around the enemies as it spun around itself, making a disc of pure energy and slashing the opposition to bits.


"How about you stop prodding me with your questions and start killing good guys. You've got a long way to go to earn back that governorship." Mikhail prodded and fished ok his own. He supposed it was the best he could come up with. It would have been a good one, if Felucia was the only location he had a lab in. Valik grabbed his lightsaber as it returned and addressed Mikhail.

"Perhaps, but it is not as if Governorship is any indication of power, or even a goal to be achieved. It is merely an opportunity for another lab. But you are right, I really should get to killing more of the locals. Perhaps that will give me the intellectual stimulation I was missing from our conversation." Valik said with a smirk and began engaging another squad of soldiers.

 

[Lord Ghoul]

Shorn snorted at @[member="Valik"]'s insult. Someone really needed work in the originality department. "I'm sure you'll find some other way to stimulate yourself."

Shorn had a few suggestions.

Tendrils of thought sped from Mikhail's mind and wrapped around the spinal column of one of the guards. Mikhail pulled. The rending snap echoed through the hallway, louder even than the blasterfire. Bones ripped out through flesh and the man's back exploded in a spray of crimson and pink, splashing on walls, ceiling, and floor. Shorn tossed the vertebrae aside. The militia began to back away steadily, their fear palpable. Some Sith liked to drink it in and pleasure in the terror they inspired. Mikhail liked to kill, wash his hands, then go out for a drink. And sometimes without the middle part.

Shorn was getting bored with the routine of stumbling into squads. He raised a hand, concentration building. The life forces of six soldiers before him shone in the Force. Mikhail stretched his mind toward them, seeking. He found their brains. With telekinesis, Mikhail grabbed each of their brains and squeezed them all simultaneously. The soldiers froze, then dropped like sacks of bricks. Two died instantly, the other four lay drooling on the floor in comas. Comas from which they would likely never wake. Well that was new. I should do that more often.