[ENDGAME] - Shadow's Fall

[Coren Starchaser]

What he needed now was just to feel from the people around him that the Jedi were safe.

Scattered. Shattered. Thrown to the winds of the galaxy.

But safe. It was what was needed. He needed his people to get out of here, and the nice thing with this fight, he didn’t need to stall out with no intention of continuing the fight. That may happen, but for now? He could poke and prod the Sith and her creations all day. It wouldn’t slow him down, and it wouldn’t change where he was going. The grin on his face was more from falling into the battle mind, preparing for the fight, and entering that space the Jedi Battlemasters of the past were able to reach.

Coren was not a battlemaster. No, he was a Sentinel, and one who was well traveled. Channeling the Battle Masters and the Sages of the past, he was not one of these, he was both, he was a Watchman. And that was something to be feared, the dark side, and the beings who sought to bring evil to the galaxy, would not stand a chance.

As the debris exploded from Taeli, Coren ran, falling into the Force, and folding himself into he next room. Lightsaber was coming down at nothing when he was in the first room, and by the time he folded into he second, it was above Taeli Raaf.

“Leave this world.”


[member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Kaharak Hyn]

Location: Near Ground Zero.
Objective: Protect, heal and aid in evacuating civilians.
Confronting: [member="Farah"]
Nearby: [member="Aten Ramses"]

​

​

A storm of blaster fire was being centered upon a figure that was currently stood before a huddled group comprised of the young and old, human and non-human, numbering around twenty strong. However, not even one of the shots managed to reach the Togruta as whenever they got within a meter of him they stopped, hanging in midair for but a moment as a partially translucent white sphere would flare into existence around him and the group behind him before fading out of view as the bolt was redirected into a piece of rubble two meters to his right. Already the rubble was heavily scorched and smoking from the amount of blaster bolts that had been redirected into it. While the civilians flinched with every bolt that was fired their way, perhaps fearing that the sphere that was manifesting to protect them would fail to appear that time, the orange-skinned Togruta instead stood calmly, his hands clasped before him over the top of a finely carved wooden cane, as an expression of regret painted his features, his eyes closed.

When the hail of bolts came to an end, Kahark’s raised his head as his eyes flickered open, yellow and red staring out at the squad of Sith Troopers stood before him before speaking slowly, calmly - and yet, for the civilians huddled behind, they could swear that it was almost as if he was begging. “I’ll ask once more what you refused to answer before you started firing. Jedi I may be, your target I may be, but will you let me escort these innocents to safety before attempting to slake your bloodlust? Has enough innocent life not already been lost?”

The only response he got was a higher rate of blaster fire with, if he had to guess from the feeling that rippled through his connection to the bubble he was maintaining around him and the injured he had been escorted to safety, their rifles set at a higher power setting. Sighing slightly, Kaharak’s head bowed once more as he focused on his connection to the Force. As a subconscious movements to aid in said focus his right hand left the top of the cane he had continued to hold and was slowly clenched into a fist. With every exhale, his breathing slowed, the fist tightened and the sphere of pure Force around him flared brighter and brighter. Eventually, when the sphere was solid and his fist shut tight, his head snapped up, eyes flying open as they glowed with an inner light.

For a moment, he paused, and only two words were whispered by him before he threw his arms outwards. “I’m sorry.”

With Kaharak at the epicenter, the sphere that had been serving to redirect every shot fired against him seemingly shattered, exploding outwards with a rush of faint white light. Within moments the wave reached the troopers before him, consuming every blast shot that had been fired into it. When the wave touched them, every trooper froze in place, their muscles freezing as the Force-born stun permeated their body and locked them in place.

His energy draining out of him, Kahark collapsed to one knee, his chest heaving and his ribs feeling like they would shatter from the pounding of his heart. However, he knew he could not rest for long, he did not have long to regain his composure. The people behind him, innocents he had worked to free from beneath rubble and to heal from their injuries needed him to be their guardian, their protector, until they were safe.

He had come to Coruscant to ask to learn at the Jedi Temple among Master Healers, to perfect his ability to render aid to those that needed it, and, instead, he had been thrown into a war zone. Since the moment the first ships had crashed from above and risen from below and soldiers for both sides had descended on the streets, he had been out and about, pushing himself to aid any who he came across. Whether they be Sith, Jedi, soldier or civilian, he had rendered aid to them when their wounds would have meant their deaths, but, a consequence of that was that he was tired. With every step he now took, his bones ache and his muscles screamed at him to stop, to rest. But, he could not do so. It was his duty, his penance, to serve at the aid of others and so he would not stop. And now what had been so simple to perform at the beginning of the day took a level of effort and focus that he normally did not need, draining what was left of his reserves. Already he was tired and, yet, the attack did not look to be slowing at all.

However, he was to be the aegis of those he took under his care, especially while guiding them to somewhere safe, and so he would not let himself fall just yet. With a weary grunt, he pushed himself to his feet, his odd outfit of an animal hide shawl that left half of his chest (and the necklace decorated with bone shards, teeth of creatures, clay beads and feathers that he wore exposed) having to be pulled back into place as it had begun to slide off one should, Kaharak grasped his cane tightly as he limped over to the group of twenty, his face carefully steeled so as not to show his tiredness.

“Come, we’re nearly there. There’s a secure area just a few blocks from here where evacuations are taking place. Just a bit more then you’ll be safe.”

The warm smile he forced on his face, a natural looking one that only he knew to be false, he could feel the emotions wafting off of the group and took a moment to examine them. From the children there was terror and from the adults there was a fierce sense of protectiveness directed towards the children, fear for their own lives and a weak bond of trust with him. Slowly, that weak bond won out and the group got to their feet one by one to continue following him.

Before they continued on, though, he paused, tilting his head to one side as the echolocation granted upon him by his hollow montrals alerted him to the approach of two individuals from behind. Holding a hand up for silence from the civilians, Kaharak turned to where he sensed the approaching pair coming from, watching as a young zeltron woman and an older human male stepped from around a large pile of rubble and into sight. Taking a few steps forwards, flexing his connection to the Force in preparation for rapidly weaving another barrier, his voice barked out across the distance with a small echo of animalistic protectiveness stirring within it. “Who are you? More seeking to kill?”

 

[Mishel Kryze]

[member="Coren Starchaser"] | [member="Taeli Raaf"] | [member="Darth Carnifex"] | [member="Darth Prazutis"] | [member="Srina Talon"] | [member="Darth Metus"] @All Jedi/Sith ​

​

[media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkV4ctqDI_c[/media]​

​

​

Master Coren Starchaser and the Lady Sith Taeli Raaf continued their monumental battle, blast for blast, strike for strike it continued on and on. All the while the Coruscanti system grew crowded, with the arrival of the Confederacy fleet an epic battle raged between the ailing Alliance, her ally and the Sith-Imperial armada. Part of this fight contained the starfighters, X-Wings and TIE Fighters screaming through the cityscape some smashed into buildings while others lost payloads into skyscrapers or freighters that seemed to come out of nowhere as streams of civilians tried to escape the now rapidly declining city. One such pair of X-Wing and TIE Fighter found their way into the bottom of the Jedi Temple's tower killing any structural integrity that the building had left.

Mishel was just a little terrified at just how fast Darth Carnifex moved. The padawan walked opposite of him and when he moved to leap toward her, she had two options slide underneath or match him in the air. She chose the latter option, the younger combatant leaped just after he did her yellow lightsaber coming in to deflect and parry. He reminded her of a bigger, angrier Kyrel so she moved as if he was. He was fast, faster than she anticipated several times his crimson blade came daringly close to her - with only well timed side step or force jump away to keep herself steady. "If I die then I become part of the force, death is but part of life." She was certain of that - everyone had to die.

Juyo.

Feth.

The one form she wasn't familiar with, caught her completely offguard. Her steps were missteps, but something beneath her began to crumble - debris scattered from what remained of the top. Mishel's lightsaber was burned away just missing her finger tips, her attention drawn back to Carnifex for a moment. Then she felt the tower shake and before she could react the floor beneath her began to give way as the fiery inferno below revealed itself. It was going to hurt that was for sure, Mishel looked up to that whole in the tower and made a force leap away and up to the crumbling tip of the tower. She looked down for the Dark Lord and figured two things he'd either fall into the pit of no tomorrow that were the archives, or he'd leap up and try to continue the fight. Either way - Mishel scrambled to another piece of debris. His shuttle. She made the run for his shuttle, didn't want it for a ride necessarily, just a stepping stone.

She reached out with the force and tried to reattempt a connection her master. We need to get out, the temple's coming down - everyone needs to go. I thought I saw some Confederacy ships here. We can get out, we just need to start running.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

Allies: [member="Darth Carnifex"] [member="Darth Prazutis"]
Enemies: [member="Coren Starchaser"] [member="Mishel Noren"]

Equipment: Armor in signature, lightsaber

She sensed his movements in the currents. She was still feigning being winded, recovering from her trip through the wall. As he reappared, saber coming down on her, her eyes flashed yellow and she sent a powerful rush of Force energy to send him crashing through the ceiling of the room they were in. The tower was beginning its final topple, the floor she was on swiftly becoming a wall as she slid onto the new floor and followed Coren into the next room. The ceiling of the temple, right above where the archives, the Room of a Thousand Fountains, and living quarters were, was rapidly approaching.

"If anyone is leaving this world, if they survive, it is whatever is left of the Alliance," she taunted. "Broken, shattered, never knowing who to trust now... you failed."

A ball of lightning formed in her hand, and much like with what she had done against his apprentice, she sent the ball flying with a flick of her wrist. When it neared him, it would explode in a rush of dark side energy and electricity.

 

[Shade of Decay]

Location: Near archives
Allies: [member="Darth Imperia"] [member="Vili Ozouf"]
Enemies: [member="Jace Khel"] [member="Quvox"] [member="Romi Jade"]

The ceiling above them groaned and cracked further as the tower that formerly held the High Council chambers slammed into the roof as it fell. A shower of dust and light rubble came down, obscuring the area, while the structure itself groaned. It was weak, and there was more yet that could be heard slamming down. It was highly likely that the fighters might even get buried in by the collapse. Somewhere within the archives, Tsisaar could hear as a large chunk of the stone ceiling fell, heralding what was to come.

Oddly, however, he didn't seem to care. It appeared that the name 'Force Insanity' for the power he had unleashed was not entirely unwarranted.

While Jace struggled momentarily, Tsisaar looked at his hand. All around, it felt as though his flesh was crawling, some strange sensation running through his nerves. As he watched, he could nearly have sworn he saw his flesh start to swell and blacken, and when he moved it felt as though it was sloughing off. It was something he knew would come eventually, of course; he was, technically, a clone. Heavily modified, yes, but a clone, and one corrupted by the Dark Side. The decay did not surprise him.

Then he noticed Jace start coming towards him, blue lightsaber held menacingly. Tsisaar's eyes were nearly uncomprehending, of course, focused as they were on the feeling of his flesh falling off into an odd little pile of degenerate clone goo, but a moment of clarity overcame him. His lightsaber flicked up and over, even as the acolyte danced off to his own left, out of the direction of Jace's strike. The blue blade was sent wide as the pale red one connected it, and Tsisaar's eyes saw perfectly clearly again in the clash.

Jace was starting to give in to the darkness within him. Tsisaar's body was still whole, and he could still fight.

Then the insanity of the shard overtook him again and he laughed, dancing away a few steps. He reached upwards with the Force, grasping onto numerous of the newly-loosened chunks of the ceiling just above Jace, even as other parts were falling all around. Then—with a titanic effort of will, uncaring for his own safety in the moment—he ripped his hands downward, and the rocks began to fall. Then, as the stranglehold the crystal held on his mind started to dissipate while the acolyte's focus was shifted, Tsisaar, for one of the first times in his life, experienced a new emotion.

It wasn't anger or rage, no; those he was used to. Those were his normal reactions to any sort of life-threatening danger. But as the ceiling above himself and Jace started to buckle inward, along with that of the archive so close by, and knowing it had been his doing, Tsisaar Taral started to know fear.

 

[Cambria Zadira]

Archives
Allies: GA, SJO, CIS
Jedi Battle Meld [member="Romi Jade"] [member="Jace Khel"] [member="Quvox"] [member="Marcus Faust"] [member="Veino Garn"] [member="Coren Starchaser"]
Enemy: SE
Engaging [member="Valeska Daeranthe"], if only briefly. Apologies for the short encounter.
___

"Come easily?" Cambria wanted to scoff at that, but answered back with a subtle shake of her head while watching with keen golden eyes as energy began to build within the palm of the female Sith's hand. Why did they always pull that tool first out of the box?

In that moment a telepathic message from Master Garn was sent out through the battle meld the Jedi held. It was time to fall back and get out. Cambria had not yet been able to attend to what she had come back to the temple for, but the Guardian knew the situation was dire if the Jensaarai Master gave the order.

"Now what would be the fun in that. Cultivating things over time is much more productive and has longer lasting prospects than to take short cuts to get instant gratification, no?" the Jedi Knight offered with a knowing twitch of her lightly tattooed lekku. The runt remark she let slide as sticks and stones will break my bones, but names will never hurt me... or however that human saying went.

The blue-hued Jedi's danger sense flared just before a rubbling began, then an even louder noise as the building seemed to be exploding down upon itself. Parts of the archive ceiling broke apart and walls began to crack. That is when she knew that the message had not be sent in vane.

"But today... " Bri said, taking a couple of steps back with her lightsaber still illuminated in hand, keeping light on her feet ready to move; maybe getting ready to strike, or not. "Is not a good day to wait around," she added. In the next second a huge block of duracrete and debris came crashing down from above in the space between them.

Cambria used this distraction to quickly exit the archives or what was left of it. Heavy dust particles filled the air in the corridor outside and it was dark. The Twi'lek put on her rebreather mask and pushed on, using her natural low light vision to help guide the way for herself and others who were scrambling to get out of the collapsing structure.

In the meantime she had felt within the meld a certain Jedi Master drawing upon the Light heavily to aid him in his battle against the Dark. Cambria sent encouragement, comfort, and what the Twi'lek Knight had most of... strength of heart.

 

[Darth Carnifex]

Location: Room of a Thousand Fountains
Allies: [member="Taeli Raaf"], [member="Darth Prazutis"], [member="Alvarex Zambrano"]
Enemies: [member="Coren Starchaser"], [member="Mishel Noren"], [member="Cotan Sar'andor"]
Gear:

• Neo-Imperator Sith Armor
• The Imperious Sword

One of the council chairs came sailing towards the Dark Lord, who scythed it in half with a single stroke of his lightsaber. The entire tower was shifting now, leaning erroneously to one side as everything inside shifted and was tossed about by the forces of gravity. Carnifex was no longer concerned about where his enemies jumped away to, he was more invested in his own self-preservation to worry about such trivial matters. If they survived the fall then he would kill them then, and if they died then that was preferable.

Risking a sneak attack, the Emperor deactivated his lightsaber and hung it from his waist as he had before the battle had begun. He then found equilibrium as the tower shifted to a forty-five-degree angle and began to make its final descent towards the lower levels of the temple. If he stayed where he was he surely ran the danger of injury or death. With his Force-imbued strength, the Emperor tore open the wall he had braced himself against, pushing aside durasteel and permacrete as he cleared himself an exit down to the temple below.

Carnifex wrapped himself in a cocoon of Force energies and took his leap of faith.

The lower temple's ceiling rose up to meet him, and the Emperor tightened himself up into a compact ball as the surface of his energy shield collided with the stone, broke through, and continued on down through several levels of the temple before he dissipated the shield and landed feet-first into the Room of a Thousand Fountains. The knee-deep water only slightly minimized the impact of his landing, the stone foundation coming apart as several fissures formed beneath him. The water began to rush out through this new opening, dropping the water level of several nearby pools dramatically as the Emperor of the Sith hauled himself up to a smaller, shallower pool.

Fighting had spread to this corner of the temple as well, and his keen eyes could detect the flash of green and blue on red in the distance. The bodies of Alliance soldiers, Jedi, and Sith littered the pools as he passed, but he paid them no mind. There was no time to contemplate the dead.

 

[Coren Starchaser]

The Jedi were out there, he knew that. He could still feel them, even if he wasn’t connected by the meld, so much had happened but he had what he needed from the meld. This battle was, at the same time, equal and out of range for him. He knew Taeli Raaf would prove to be the stronger caster than he was, but it didn’t matter. He had what the Jedi had.

Heart.

Hope.

Friends.

The feeling from Mishel was just what he needed. The safety for his people was at hand. He needed to keep the Sith focused here. People would get safe, and he knew Mishel could get out. He knew she would do the task that he asked her. Retreat, get the friendlies safe. Mishel, Veino, Cambria, Romi. The Alliance may fall today, but the dream wouldn’t die.

“You’re wrong. The Jedi will win the---”

He didn’t finish the statement, instead, his body was taking the full brunt of the explosion. The living Force, perhaps orchestrating the battle, perhaps reacting to Coren’s danger sense and need to survive. Flying up, through the floor, the Jedi created a kinetic barrier with the Force. This sent him through the wall of the temple.

Standing on the wall of the Temple. Coren gained his footing, seeing the CIS vessels Mishel had spoken of. Good. He could grab everyone’s attention. Touching the wall of the temple, on one knee, Coren summoned rubble nearby to lift up, surrounding him in a protective shield, awaiting his betrayer.

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Vulpesen]

Location: In Transit to the Archives
Objective: Regroup with VSF Troops




Allies: [member="Alexandra Feanor"] [member="Mereel Vaun"] [member="Allyson Locke"], [member="Jyoti Nooran"], [member="Asaraa Vaashe"], [member="Jairdain"] [member="Yuroic Xeraic"], [member="Darth Tacitus"], [member="Tanaski Yumi"]
Enemies: [member="Xevek Rakama"] [member="Tathra Khaeus"], [member="Vanessa Vantai"], [member="Tsisaar Taral"], [member="Darth Imperia"], [member="Vili Ozouf"], [member="Darth Sabezt"], [member="Adrian Vandiir"]





Don't be dead, don't be dead, don't be dead! Having found an out from his little party, Vulpesen took to the ground and dashed away towards his men, all four of his limbs pounding against the ground in a full Zorren sprint while a small force push clicked on his coms. "How's the exfil doing, y'all?" For a moment, he could hear nothing but static through his comlink and a bit of fear touched his heart. These men had been trained to defend his life, and some of them had even grown up on Veradune, no easy task. But they were still mortals, and he had been too busy to search for their specific presences in all this chaos.

"We're all good here, boss! Ferrole took a hard hit, but he's getting to the medbay now. How was your day?" Garlan's voice popped into his skull, and past his voice, the Valde could hear a deluge of blaster fire being poured into the room. Apparently, things were either going very well, or very bad.

"Oh you know, met an old enemy. He's cool now. Met a couple of sith psychos, the usual." A red saber popped out of nowhere, slamming into the side of Vulpesen's head. The impact sent him reeling for a moment, though his coat saved him from any major damage. Lightsaber blades were after all, weightless. A secondary stab came in towards Vulpesen's chest, but was batted aside by his songsteel covered forearm. "BASTARD I'M IN A CALL!" Sweeping the sith's legs, Vulpesen ended his rude life with a quick clawed strike to the throat.

"You good boss?"

"Dandy! I'll be there soon!"

 

[Cassus Stoma]

CORUSCANT

---

---

JEDI ARCHIVES, JEDI TEMPLE

Fear leads to Anger. Anger leads to Hate. Hate leads to suffering.

It was a shame that the feelings he felt from the corruption Tsisaar Taral inflicted was in fact Fear, Anger, and Hate. The suffering? That was sure to come if this trance persisted long enough, that much anyone with a hint of knowledge could tell you. He was blinded by the dark side and could not see ahead- nothing was predicted with careful measure, it was all impromptu, radical movements that made little to no sense. The only thing on his mind was to kill Taral, and it was a shame to see. The Force Meld that connected the Jedi kept him safe in some regard, it prevented utter annihilation but he began to taint it himself. Whether or not efforts to be focused on his 'revival' were to be had, was yet to be seen. It may just prove beneficial to cut him from it entirely.

The ceiling began to cave in, rocks and rubble fell, crashing all around the Jedi and the Sith within the Archives but Jace paid it no mind other than a momentary glance. Still, he remain blinded. His teeth clenched within his mouth, a burning fire permitted in his eyes, and nothing more than an angered expression lay dormant on his face.

​Jace's blade was parried, and he found himself on the backfoot for but a moment. He watched as Taral's hand raised above his head, seemingly defenceless for the moment. The untamed force potential roamed wild throughout him, and as he leapt forwards with his Lightsaber over his shoulder as one would hold a bot, the force aided him. Thrusting him further into the air than he'd of originally intended, but in this rage thought nothing of it. The blue bladed monster intent on bisecting the Sith.

​That was the plan, however. Yet, before he could reach Taral a chunk of rubble had fallen before him. It was an obstacle in his path and he didn't quite see it coming, nor could he move it from his path. Instead, with a hearty thud, Jace collided with it. His body falling from the air, lightsaber held firmly in his grip as the blade was retracted somehow. Striking the ground with another fleshy thud, his mind fighting back against whatever corruption was there in this momentary time of utter distraction. He took note, he was aware, and he concentrated all of his efforts onto it as he attempted to stand onto his feet, leaning against the duracrete. Pained grunts and groans spat forth from his mouth, his expression entirely tense as he attempted to battle the demons within him.

---

---

Allies: [member="Romi Jade"] - @Quvox

Enemies: [member="Tsisaar Taral"] - [member="Darth Imperia"] - [member="Vili Ozouf"]

 

[Cotan Sar'andor]

Location: Temple Roof, soon to be in the Room of a Thousand Fountains
Allies: [member="Coren Starchaser"] [member="Mishel Noren"] @Force Meld Participants
Enemies: [member="Darth Carnifex"] [member="Taeli Raaf"] [member="Darth Prazutis"]
Gear: Lightsaber, Training Lightsaber, Bryar Pistol, Winning Smile, Loveable Hair

The time on the roof, jogging his way towards where the tower was falling, was a somewhat-helpful reprieve for Cotan. While Coren and Mishel had certainly been having a time fighting Taeli Raaf before the other Sith Lord jumped in, Cotan's singular battle against Carnifex had been leaving him somewhat worse for wear. But even then—distanced as he was from his past as an actual Jedi Knight—the ideals of the Judges and of the Je'daii still supported self-sacrifice. Making himself a stumbling block to the Sith Emperor, preventing the man from wreaking havoc and destruction on any less-prepared members of the Galactic Alliance or keeping him from coordinating the battle himself, seemed a valid use for Cotan's talents.

He could feel an odd pull as he jogged, as Coren pulled on him through the Force Meld. It was a hungry sort of pull, not one Cotan would normally support...but given the circumstances, he was a little more forgiving. Instead, he let himself fall into a sort of moving meditation, like he always did when exercising, jogging across the expanse to get back to his fight. With his mind getting itself slightly out of the way the Force was able to more freely flow through him, replenishing his tired muscles, drawing the pain away with the aid of the others in the Meld, and even starting to slightly knit together some of the injuries he'd been sustaining during the fight.

By the time he saw Carnifex blast through the roof and land below, jumping in after the Sith Lord, Cotan certainly wasn't perfectly refreshed.

But he'd found enough strength for round two.

He landed lightly, his lightsaber activating as soon as he landed. The attenuated amber blade bathed the Room of a Thousand Fountains in a new light, mingling oddly with the blood of Jedi, Sith, and various soldiers that polluted the water. All at the wish of the man currently walking away. "Darth!" Cotan yelled across the space, an open challenge. At the sight of the Sith, the roiling boil of energy deep within him begged to be let loose again, but once more Cotan controlled it as a squad of eight or nine Jedi Knights burst into the room on the opposite side, obviously following the malignant presence that the Sith Emperor left in the Force. Their lightsabers all hummed menacingly as they approached Carnifex, noticeably closer than Cotan was.

Cotan looked at them sorrowfully for a moment, knowing the skill of the Dark Lord. Knowing, as well, that the sacrifice they were making was all the more personal. Hopefully the younglings had managed to escape at least, so that the sacrifice that was likely to be made wouldn't be completely in vain.

"I don't think we were quite finished earlier, your highness."

 

[Alexandra Feanor]

Location - Jedi Temple > Main Hall > Archive Entrance

Allegiance - Help the GA people. [member="Allyson Locke"] [member="Jyoti Nooran"] [member="Asaraa Vaashe"] [member="Jairdain"] [member="Mereel Vaun"]

Enemies - [member="Tathra Khaeus"] [member="Xevek Rakama"] [member="Vanessa Vantai"] [member="Darth Sabezt"] [member="Adrian Vandiir"] (And others heading for the Archives)

Objective - Evac

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ry10a97Ge4



Alexandra ran through the sensory data she was being fed from Daeda, converting it into a better picture of what was happening around her, and then feeding that information to Hel so that the woman could operate without having to check over her shoulder. It was essentially like having eyes in the back of your head in a way, a second set of senses that were able to feed the mind information that Alexandra could not have on her own with Hel. She then got the notification about Tathra charging her back and she would have passed the information on if they weren't hit with a blast of force energy.

The blade of Tathra's was inches from striking them as their body was launched to the side, Hel cursing internally at not being warned and Alexandra just ignoring the dark spirit in command of their body. She would take over herself but right now she needed to meditate and gather strength so that when she did resume control, she would not be left powerless. Hel's taint was disgusting to her and the force around them withered because of Hel's use of the darkside. Even inside their body Alexandra could sense the taint starting to puncture and crawl into their body and Alexandra would not have that.

Hel in the meantime focused on her enemies and groaned outwardly, reaching to her side and yanking hard with the force on her staff, letting it shoot into her hand and rest there. She was losing that rage with the disappearance of her focus on Vereshin and even more so when a sharp sense of danger entered her mind. Not bothering with second thoughts as she brought her hand down to the ground and pushed all of her power into a barrier of telekinetic energy, dark tendrils crawling around her in the shape of a dome and within a few seconds her worry was proven correct. The roof caved in and stones collapsed around Hel and Alexandra, falling with such force and amount that they were buried a dozen feet under.

Hel breathed hard, blood trailing down her forehead and along her arms as the barrier had failed in places. Jagged rocks had broken through and cut their body like ribbon, no where vital but she would be visibly injured if anyone saw this. Hel had spent her energy on that defense and knew that she needed to rest, conceding the body to Alexandra and falling into their head once more as Alexandra's mind resumed command of the body. She coughed and looked around at the stone dome, her hand reaching up and trailing the inside of it until she found what she was looking for.

And like before, she surrendered herself back to the force, letting her vision fail her and be replaced. She let the force puncture into her being, coiling around her soul and latching on, her hand touching against the spot she had found and she closed her eyes. With nothing happening at first, she let out a slow calm breath, ending slowly. It was when the breath ended that force energy rushed forward and to her palm, blasting a hole in her temporary tomb to return to the world around.

Her clothing was ragged now, face marred with blood and dirt, hand holding onto the staff a bit loosely, but more in the relaxed sense as she walked out of the archway she had created. Her other hand, with one finger clearly damaged was placed against the wall of the opening she had made. All the while there was a smile on her face, a simple smile but one none the less. She looked at [member="Tathra Khaeus"] and [member="Vanessa Vantai"] and sighed a small bit.

If they could look into the force, they would see it dancing along her free hand, gathering and collecting there while she stood and waited for what came next. She wondered if [member="Taeli Raaf"] could sense her, being able to sense her old friend already and smiling a bit wider. She knew what the feeling coming from Taeli was and she was sad to feel it, but Taeli's choices were her own, she could berate the woman another time, hopefully not in Taeli's office this time considering the last time. No, she was ok with her friend turning to the Sith, even if it was a betrayal, it was that woman's choice to make.

Alexandra drew her hand away from the wall and held it out infront of her with the palm up, bringing the force in quicker and generating it quickly into a swirling mass there, shaking her head.

"I don't really have much of a chance in this situation Circe... atleast, not in the current moment. The Jedi are losing their temple brick by brick, and I recognize a lost battle." She turned her eyes on Tathra, bowing her head.

"If you would be so courteous, I would ask that you leave me to fight this woman." She waited, her eyes milky white once more, having returned to the force in order to see. Her body had returned to its more human look, though the tail and ebony black hair on her head did not match the lady of silver. She was injured and could not balance very well when in the Zorren's other form, knowing that she fought the purpose of her tail, not used to it being there.

If Tathra did back off and allow Alexandra this more personal conflict, and if neither attempted to attack Alexandra by that point, she would then focus on Circe and sighed again, anger still bubbling under her skin because of [member="Darth Sabezt"], but also because of who this woman infront of her was and the words that she had said.

"You wan't to label me a traitor, very well. But I did not stop fighting for the Sith until I was put on trial for treachery I was not committing. For the years I spent after my death and getting this new body, I imagined killing you, Taeli, and Praetor. But, killing you three wont fix my mistakes of the past, and it wont return me to the code that I had believed in until it had labeled me as its enemy." She paused and shook her head before looking up.

"To tell you the truth, that death caused by the trial, that betrayal by the followers of a code I held above any other. Even if I had started to dabble in the light, it was not the light that had turned me away. Or the damned whispers that Hel had been placing in my head ever since we merged into one form. It was that betrayal that confused me and made me question myself, and like an idiot I had thought that without it I would be useless... and so I left my home to find some way to wipe any trace of the past and ignore it ever happened. That only costed me more and made my situation worse."

"Reason I am telling you this is simple Circe, assuming you are even listening. I blame you for not saving me from that fate, I blame Taeli for putting me in that situation and letting me die, and I blame Praetor for being the one to stand by and do nothing to help the woman who was her student. I don't blame Vulpesen, or Dragonsflame, or Vael, because they would have or did help me when I had been killed that day, and they stood by me after even if I distance myself from them... Ironically, since realizing this, something has happened. Those Chains that you and the other Sith had on me, that held me back and put me under your boots with no real reason to stand by me. Those chains that let me trust you when I should have doubted every one of you... Those are Broken. And without my Chains, the Force has freed me."

If her little speech had been allowed to happen, she would end it by moving one foot back and settling into a battle stance, eyes focused on Circe and the force still being collected and condensed in her free hand as the staff was shortened in the other, resembling something more akin to the length of a vibroblade.

"So, Shall we begin you spineless queen?" She grinned wide, waiting for Circe to strike.

 

[Jairdain]

Location: Jedi Temple near the archives
Allies: GA and their allies
Companions: [member="Alexandra Feanor"] [member="Mereel Vaun"]
Enemies: Sith and eventually [member="Xevek Rakama"]
Incoming enemies and allies:
Allies: [member="Allyson Locke"], [member="Jyoti Nooran"], [member="Asaraa Vaashe"], [member="Vulpesen"], [member="Yuroic Xeraic"], [member="Darth Tacitus"], [member="Tanaski Yumi"]
Enemies: [member="Tathra Khaeus"], [member="Vanessa Vantai"], [member="Tsisaar Taral"], [member="Darth Imperia"], [member="Vili Ozouf"], [member="Darth Sabezt"], [member="Adrian Vandiir"], [member="Darth Ophidia"]
​Objective: Get away before getting crushed

The young woman was not one to usually clash with the ideals of the next person. Her gods knew she had been there before. When Kainan provided her what he went by now, she gave him a simple nod. At another time and another place, they had been unwilling allies of a sort. Now it appeared it was the same way. Allies, but not entirely so. He was here for himself and everything else be condemned, gods help anybody that got in his way. That being the case, Jairdain did not stop him and her focus moved back to what was formerly Vereshin.

They had met twice, if she remembered correctly. Worked together both times to accomplish goals each of them had set. The change within him was great and she could feel it. No longer was he the awkward sith acolyte she had met, but almost nothing more than a monster. In a way they could have been very much alike, but she had changed. She did not at all regret breaking free of the lies Krest had told her and returning to the path of her people. Having the feeling he was too far gone, she would leave Vereshin to his fate. Their meeting today was chance, the next time it wouldn't be.

Her attention drifted back to what was actually Vereshin's apprentice, but Jairdain could not have known that. When his attack had hit, her defenses she had developed as a child hit him. With her following up with the Memory Walk, he was quickly disabled. Seeing through the Force what she hoped was an ally, her focus on Adrian ended.

Since her Battle Meditation had been cancelled, Jairdain opened herself more to what was going on nearby. Fighting surrounded them and there was chaos on pretty much every level of the temple. If the woman had eyes she could control, she would have looked to the floor above. As it was she didn't but through the Force that is what she did.

Gathering some of the Force around her to project her voice.

"WE HAVE INCOMING!!!"

Not particularly wanting to be squished today, the guard duty was over for her. Jairdain was not a coward of any kind, but there was no way she could survive having the floor above come crashing down around her. Besides, there was another not quite Lykos nearby for her to deal with. After yelling out her warning, she started to leave the archives area.

She had a reunion waiting to happen...

 

[Darth Carnifex]

Location: Room of a Thousand Fountains
Allies: [member="Taeli Raaf"], [member="Darth Prazutis"], [member="Alvarex Zambrano"]
Enemies: [member="Coren Starchaser"], [member="Mishel Noren"], [member="Cotan Sar'andor"]
Gear:

• Neo-Imperator Sith Armor
• The Imperious Sword

"Darth!"

The Emperor stopped and slowly turned around to face the source of the voice. It was the very same Jedi Knight he had fought in the Council Chambers, he had survived the tower's fall and had made his way down to here to continue to fight the Dark Lord. Trailing shortly after Cotan were eight knights of the New Jedi Order, their robes singed by blaster fire and lightsaber burn. They were of mixed species, no two of them alike save for gender. They flooded ahead of Cotan, moving in a coordinated effort to surround the Dark Lord on all sides, their lightsabers ignited and angled menacingly towards the intimidating brute of a Sith Lord. Each of them wore grim expressions, their minds traumatized by the monumental betrayal that they had experienced.

But Carnifex didn't reach for his blade, he didn't bellow war cry and charge the enemy ranks with furious abandon. Instead, he stood there, still as stone, letting power course and collect within his body as he regarded Cotan with some semblance of respect. "You are nothing if not persistent, whelp. I will afford you that. But you are a fool for following me here." The other Jedi didn't say anything, they merely shared nervous glances as they adjusted their footing and inched ever closer. The tension was mounting astronomically, but the Emperor still didn't move. He kept his gaze purely fixated on Cotan, never wavering as his sulfuric eyes bore into Cotan's dark green pupils.

Impatient, and hurting from deception, the Jedi struck at once.

They lunged forward, propelling themselves towards the Dark Lord with their lightsabers raised or outstretched, ready to deliver the killing blow that would end this horror and see the Sith put to rest for good. Without worry, the Emperor adjusted his stance, bending his knees and balling both of his hands into fists as he lowered them to about waist height. Everything seemed to occur in slow motion, the Jedi flying through the air, the Emperor's calm and collected demeanor in the face of superior numbers.

And then it happened.

Carnifex swung his arms inward, crossing both of them in front of his broad chest, and then in one cruel motion, he uncrossed them in a wide sweeping arc. From the center of his being erupted forth a sphere of dark entropic energy, expanding exponentially outward from his body to catch each and every one of the attacking Jedi in its red haze.

The effects were immediate.

The Jedi's skin began to shrivel as if all of the water had evaporated from his skin, pulling taught against their bones and withering muscle like weathered and cracked paper. Their eyes shriveled into nothingness, and their mouths opened inhumanly wide in a dry scream of indescribable agony before their gums broke apart and their teeth fell from their mouths, rotting as they clattered to the ground. Lightsabers tumbled from skeleton fingers as each Jedi fell short into the water, which grew stagnant as it too was affected by the horrific energies being unleashed. Wispy streams, like the tails of comets, of life energy, swam through the air from each of the Jedi before being absorbed by the Dark Lord's animus.

In the span of ten seconds, all eight Jedi Knights were dead, their bodies shriveled husks of brittle bone and paper skin. The sphere of energy dissipated as quickly as it had come, leaving only the Emperor the sole survivor of the attack. Carnifex rolled his shoulders and took several steps towards Cotan, who had fortunately been too far away to suffer the fate of his fellow Jedi, and with pure cruelty proceeded to crush the skull of one of the Jedi who had attacked him to dust.

"Pah, worthless. Let's see if you fair any better."

 

[Taeli Raaf]

Allies: [member="Darth Carnifex"] [member="Darth Prazutis"]
Enemies: [member="Coren Starchaser"] [member="Mishel Noren"] [member="Cotan Sar'andor"]

Equipment: Armor in signature, lightsaber

With apparent effortlessness, she leapt through the hole she had launched Coren through and landed lightly on the broken tower, the wind whipping at her cloak. All around them, signs of continued battle raged. Fighters dogfighting through the trenches of cities. Blaster bolts and turbolasers flying, buildings collapsing. Lightsabers flashed out in the distance, Sith and Jedi fighting even there. It was... glorious to see. Above, in orbit, the Sith armada fought against the Alliance and the allies that had rushed to save as many as they could.

"Can you hear it?" she yelled over the wind and sounds of battle. "It's beautiful."

Lightsaber reignited, coming up once more into a Makashi ready position.

"This, Coren, this is the failure of the Jedi."

 

[Hope Clarke]

Name: Hope Clarke/Kara Saunders
Location: The Jedi Temple, Third Floor
Allies: The Sith Empire
Enemies: Literally Anyone Else
Equipment:
Ascendancy Black Trooper Armor | SAB-032 Multi Purpose Sidearm | Purple and Blue Lightsabers recovered from corpses of Jedi
Objective: Renezvous with Sith Empire forces. Kill amything not Sith that moves. Survive. Don't blow your cover.
Status: Emgaging a pair of Padawans

Soundtrack​

​

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Hope and the two Padawans stared down at each other while slowly walking around in a circle. Or at least, the Echani and the human stared at a souless black visor. Hope kept his new lightsaber out in front of him ready to defend himself at any moment. This is the first time he's ever used a lightsaber. He's more familiar with vibroswords, but a lightsaber would have to do. Before he made a move, Hope tried reaching out to the Force. It was still difficult to do. Maybe he could get some training after this all done. 'Dammit. Let's get this done already', he thought. Hope charged the two Padawans swinging his lightsaber in a semi circle and swung the purple blade at the male Padawan. He parried the blade easily. The Echani dashed in with her lightsaber and swung the blade a couple of times but Hope quickly reacted and deflected both strikes. If he hadn't, he could have lost his head. The male Padawan made his move. When Hope turned to face him, he met the man's blue blade with his own purple one. For the next minute and a half, the two were locked in a barrage of lightsaber strikes. One attacking and one defending itself. This battle was going to be a test of endurance and skill. To see who is the most superior.

After that, the male Padawan broke off his assault with the Echani following in with an assault of her own. Hope's skill with the lightsaber was close to nill and he knew it. It was all he could do to keep his feet. He wouldn't lose to a Jedi. Not on his watch. In the end, the Echani's final strike battered aside the blade and struck the helmet off revealing Hope's face and the force of it knocking Hope down to the floor. The Echani faltered, shock on her face. She asked,"Hope? Is that you? What are you doing here? Why are you on the Sith Empire's side?" The male kept his lightsaber on Hope and stared at the Echani with a look of incredulity on his face. "Arya. What the kriff are you doing? The Sith scum's down. You should finish her off while you have the chance!" The Echani was still shaken. "I'm sorry Kyle. That's not happening. We're taking Hope in for questioning. Find out why a member of the Galactic Alliance is working for the Sith Empire." Hope thought,'Now', and immediately lunged for the male knocking him off balance. The two struggled, with Hope staying on top. While this Kyle may be skilled with a lightsaber, Hope is skilled in hand to hand combat. He grabbed hold of Kyle's throat and started squeezing, with the man grabbing at him and trying to pull his arms off. Hope looked for his new lightsaber, but it was a couple of feet away. So, he lifted a hand and tried to pull it to his hand. He definitelt felt something, and the hilt moved a couple of inches. Hope got punched in the gut which caused him to double over and get thrown off. Kyle stumbled to his feet and reactivated his lightsaber. Hope watched as Kyle used the Force to leap up in the air towards him. Hope threw out his hand to summon the purple lightsaber to him. As it came leaping up to his hand, Hope stood up to a crouch, caught the lightsaber, activated it, moved the hilt under a crack in his arm, and activated it. End result? A Kyle shish ke bab. Afterwhich Hope deactivated his lightsaber, and whipped it on to behead Kyle in a brutal finisher.

Hope stood up breathing heavily. Kyle's body was beside him on the floor with his head a foot away. Hope recovered the blue lightsaber and said to himself,"Guess I'm keeping this then," while tossing it in the air and catching it. Arya was standing there with a look of pure shock and horror. There was even the look of betrayal. Next thing Hope knew, Arya's face had the look of utmost rage. She charged him with her green lightsaber in hand while screaming obscenities. It makes sense since she just saw an old friend of hers seemingly turn on the GA and murder a Jedi in cold blood. However, in the words of an ancient Jedi Master,"Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering". So Hope would need to bring this girl back normal. If it means putting her in a coma to do it.

Hope activated the blue lightsaber. Managed to bring the Force out if her a brief moment, and stepped in to meet her blade. The two old friends clashed blades in a relentless flurry. Neither one letting up. Arya was surprised that Hope displayed some power with the Force and his newfound skill in lightsaber combat. It wasn't actually him. It was the Force doing the work. After 3 minutes of dueling, with Arya using short Force bursts to knock Hope around and to do some Jedi acrobatics, the two stood their ground and kept up one massive barrage of strikes with Hope's two lightsabers and Arya's one. The end result? Hope disarms his friend and knocks her to the ground. Instead of actually killing her though, he put her in a coma. Arya slumped to the ground unconcious. Hope deactivated his new lightsabers, belted them, picked up Arya, and set her up so that she could be found for evacuation. Hopefully the CIS or the SJO could get to her in time. Hope activated Arya's beacon so she could be easily located by Jedi forces. In time, when everything's all over, he would explain everything to her. But now is not the time. Hope stood up and walked over to his helmet and put it on. There was the hiss as it sealed and the systems powered on. Good. It still worked even after that beating it took. Time to rendezvous with the others and finish this thing. Hope took off to the staircase that led to the second floor. He had to get to the Archives.

 

[Onrai]

[member="Alexandra Feanor"]

As Vanessa heard the shot ring out, a chunk of debris fell down from the temple, which was starting to cave into the lower levels of the archives. Eying Alexandra, she lept out of the way of the debris as she hurried to follow her antagonist. The monologue was listened to, then soon responded to.

"You blame me for not saving you from that fate?" She said. "Did you ever ask me at any point to take your soul and place it within a new body? And have you not considered that I too would end up dying, more than likely being exiled by the Sith if I in fact chose to assist you?" She said, ready to fight if push came to shove. "I personally have no grievances against you. If you submit yourself to my authority, I'm willing to give you a chance to redeem you in the Dark Side. Don't believe the Jedi lie - look at where it's got them. An alliance destroyed. An order shattered into so many pieces that it is ultimately irreparable. You sacrificed something - the ability to accept the Dark Side in its truest form - when you chose to accept their help." She thought for a bit.

"I'm hardly spineless." She popped her knuckles, looking at the weapon of the former Sith turned Jedi as she kept one hand up, another lowered and ready to go for the lightsaber if it came to that.

 

[Coren Starchaser]

Still on his knee, the stones and brick, steel, revolving around him, the Jedi Master was watching the Sith Lady as she arrived through the hole. He had a second to focus his mind, to take the second to calm himself, and recharge. The Temple was lost, he was on the remaining ruins of it. Where was his Supreme Commander? The Chief of State? He knew what he was looking for here, though, the failed Grand Marshal. From here? He would fix that mistake.

In space, he could see the Alliance fleet being routed by the Empire. The Confederacy coming in low. He needed [member="Mishel Noren"] to get their people to safety. But for now he was listening to Taeli, letting her get under his skin. Running at her, lightsaber raised above his head, he was hurling the debris cloud at the Sith without moving a hand, hurling his lightsaber at her end over end in a controlled toss as he leapt over the Sith.

Landing with an armored knee hitting the wall, he slid and rolled. Reaching for the lightsaber, he pulled it back to himself after it found whatever purchase it could. He had nothing to say, there was no reasoning with a Sith. All that could be done was fight. And he needed to know what his next move was. Waiting, he knew the Force would give him the proper attack.

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Coren Starchaser]

Double post crit fail

 

[Cotan Sar'andor]

Location: Room of a Thousand Fountains
Allies: [member="Coren Starchaser"] [member="Mishel Noren"]; Meld: [member="Romi Jade"] [member="Jace Khel"] [member="Quvox"] @Anybody I missed, sorry
Enemies: [member="Darth Carnifex"]; nearby: [member="Taeli Raaf"] [member="Darth Prazutis"]
Gear: Lightsaber, training lightsaber, Bryar pistol

Cotan warily watched as a couple more Jedi came in behind him, and the large group all went and surrounded Darth Carnifex, weapons out. He held the Dark Lord's gaze steadily, his jaw set. Carnifex's words registered, but they didn't elicit a response, as Cotan's focus shifted to the intentions of the Jedi surrounding Carnifex...and on the feeling of Carnifex drawing in his own energies. Cotan growled, running forwards, drawing in breath to shout out "Get back!"

The words went unheeded, the end of the message turning into a strangled cry as the energy ripped outwards from Carnifex, kneeling down and quickly forming a barrier around himself. The edges of the sphere of energy touched the barrier, whipping and clawing it hungrily; Cotan grit his teeth, drawing on the energies of the others in the meld much like Coren had before, just to protect himself. While he did so, he could still feel the Force Drain clawing at his barrier, but his attention grew curiously detached, picking up more deeply on the sensations of the others in the meld, managing to avoid the hungry grasps of the drain that sought to feed his spirit to Carnifex. Curiously, he noticed his own hairs were standing on end at the feeling, before his mind noticed the other; Romi and Quvox being worried, Coren's powerful determination, Mishel's compassion for her master...

Cotan shuddered, as his mind came over Jace Khel. A miasma of the Dark Side surrounded the young man's spirit and mind, not entirely of his own devising; but as he noticed it, he noticed how it hungrily reached through the meld for the others. He fended off the tendrils of madness just like he was fending off the tendrils of hunger from outside, forcing some of the attention of the others in the meld onto Jace. Break him out of this, he thought commandingly to the group, before forcing his mind back to the real world. The drain ended, the stray energies of the Dark Side dissipating harmlessly into the room. Cotan stood, releasing his barrier, and facing the smell of decay and stagnation as he looked at the Dark Lord.

It was, he thought, fitting; Kaine's presence in the Force held a similar stench.

"I strive to impress," he replied to the Dark Lord, before launching forwards at the Dark Lord with a vicious thrust, aimed at the space at Carnifex's abdomen where neither the Dark Lord's breastplate nor any of the Sith's lower armour connected.