[ENDGAME] - Shadow's Fall

[Taeli Raaf]

Allies: [member="Darth Carnifex"] [member="Darth Prazutis"]
Enemies: [member="Coren Starchaser"] [member="Darth Tacitus"] [member="Tracyn Ordo"]

Equipment: Armor in signature (heavily damaged), lightsaber

She had a moment to collect herself, just a moment, before the dark side storm started to tear apart everything she was standing on. Falling, she felt the piece of rubble catch under her feet in the swirling maelstrom of power that the Shadow Hand was controlling as he started to level the temple. That was all she needed, injured as she was, to recover and control her descent down into the Room of a Thousand Fountains. Her injured arm flared with pain, but to a Sith, it was just another thing to fuel her, to keep her going.

She could see the Emperor himself dueling against two opponents, while Prazutis controlled the storm. Leaping from piece of rubble to piece of rubble, she made it to a point where she could leap down onto what had once been a path in the room, the gravel crunching under foot as she landed. She didn't move to engage them directly, she wanted another few moments to collect herself before rejoining the fray, to pull on the dark energies that now called this place home and rejuvenate.

Elsewhere, three of her operatives of her Order of Shadows had discovered Coren's unconscious form. Plucking the heavily injured Jedi up, his lightsaber was left wherever it had fallen, and they would take him to a waiting dropship. The Jedi Sentinel, hero of the Alliance and the light, was now a prisoner of the Sith and the Lady of Secrets.

 

[Veino Garn]

[member="Coren Starchaser"] [member="Mishel Noren"]

[SIZE=11.6667px]Veino hurled himself back against a wall, handcannon holding off one of the Sith soldiers. It didn't matter too much though. The entire building shook as rubble poured from the ceiling and slammed into the floor. Some came from the tower above. It seemed like it had collapsed, but the rest of it? Well, that came from the Vanguard as the massive super star destroyer plummeted into the temple. Or what was left it, at least. Chunks of the debris bounced off his armor, knocking him to the floor. He rolled aside as what looked like the barrel of a turbolaser speared its way through the floor. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=11.6667px]Massive chunks of durasteel slammed through the building and as Veino ducked, he felt the message from Coren. The man hmmphed. He'd been telling them that for a while now, but something was wrong. Coren's presence was fading. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=11.6667px]Worry twisted in his gut for a moment, but he let it slide into the Force. That was something he could perhaps salvage from this disaster. Lightsaber searing through the chaos, he cut his way back from where he had come. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=11.6667px]"Master-Defender?" The voice crackled through the comm. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=11.6667px]"Get who you can out. I'll find a different way." Veino leaned against a doorway as he tried to catch his breath. "Cut off." He had escaped occupied Coruscant before. He could do it again. He stumbled as the floor trembled beneath his feet. "Inform the Saarai-Kar. She has to know." [/SIZE]

[SIZE=11.6667px]The return transmission was cut off by interference, but he couldn't hear it as sweat poured down his face. Or maybe not sweat. Perhaps it was blood. That would explain the lightness in his head. A chunk of duracrete lay across the corridor and his drove the lightsaber blade into, trying to cut it apart. Glowing chunks slid to the floor and he shifted his feet, trying to maintain his footing. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=11.6667px]Hold on, Coren. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=11.6667px]Half of it slid away from the rest and toppled backwards. By comparison to the rest of the tremors, those shudders in the floor were miniscule. He jumped up, grabbed the edge, and pulled himself over, rolling onto the toppled column. His feet slid for a few moments, but he caught traction and hurried down, back towards where he had been before, at the base of the council tower. Or whatever was left of it at this point. [/SIZE]

 

[Elpsis Kerrigan]

[member="Joycelyn Zambrano"], [member="Saphir Steele"]

Phrik armour, lightsabre (both in sig), boltgun, sonic carbine, sidearm


The two combatants were at an impasse. Elpsis had the Sith woman pinned down. The bolter possessed punch and a far range. However, the large, heavy dropship was a good shield, mitigating the effect the salvoe could have. There was a very brief lull in combat. Swiftly, Elpsis removed the bolter's spent magazine and reloaded. As she gazed out of the window once more, she could perceive the dark woman's aura, though she was concealed from physical sight by the huge obstruction that was the dropship. Not from these milky-white, vacant eyes though.


The Force whispered inside Elpsis' mind, drawing her attention to the ripples of power. There was a brief moment of puzzlement written across Elpsis' features. Her confusion was fleeting. Understanding dawned upon her face, one scarred by vicious dark marks she had sustained during her fight with the dreaded Witch-Necromancer [member="Matsu Xiangu"]. That fight had taught her many things. She sensed the considerable level of care and focus the Sith was applying through the Force. All focused on something so small. But even a small rock can make a splash when you toss it into a pond.


She could feel the tiny object coming, sense it there, perceive it through the Force. Threads of power connected it with the Sith woman, as it floated over the top of the dropship and through the air. Elpsis could not quite discern its nature, but figured it had to be some sort of explosive or another implement to flush her out. Fortunately, the small object had a long way to go. A throw might have been a better tactic.


The empath made a snap decision. She could abandon her cover - or she could play as well. Fortune favoured the bold. While Joycelyn maintained her unrelenting focus on the thermal detonator, ready to contest any attempt to halt it, the energies of the Force flowed through Elpsis and she directed them outward. A powerful burst of telekinetic power erupted from the empath. Strong enough to make Mother proud.


Said telekinetic blast was directed against the dropship the Sith had sought cover behind. The aim of this eruption of power was simple: flip the dropship over with enough force to make it roll on to the Sith. Of course, this also meant that Elpsis would not be able to prevent the detonator from landing. As the flip happened, the detonator would land at its intended destination, second floor of the building, and cause a boom.


Of course, a thermal detonator destroyed only what lay within its 5 - 6 m blast radius. Unlike with a grenade, the blast could only go so far as the blast radius. The blast would come through the roof right above her and scythe quite close to the empath. It would vaporise a lot of the room above her, and cause some things on the third floor to fall into the new hole, in other words onto and around her.

 

[Vulpesen]

Location: Archival ruins
Allies: None
Enemies: Vanessa Vantai
Objective: DEVOUR!

After gaining his breath, Vulpesen glanced up. Above him, he could dimly reach the crashing and breaking aparts of the star destroyer in the atmosphere. But the impending doom was hardly on his mind as he saw Alexandra freeze and [member="Vanessa Vantai"] moving in to grab her. Truthfully, of all the things she could have done, bringing the master level war veteran to a first class seat of 'most traumatic failing' probably wasn't the best idea. Before, Vulpesen had fought for Alexandra's life. He'd been at her side, and when she was threatened, lightning of gold and black shot from his fingertips. Half of it light half of it dark. It was the duality of his attack, the love for [member="Alexandra Feanor"] and the hatred for whoever put her in harm's way. She had been his restraint... Now, he hated her. She left him. She left their kids. He never wanted to see her on his planet again. And it had all started because of THAT WOMAN WHO WAS TRYING TO TAKE HER AGAIN!

"NO!" Vulpesen's voice boomed out from his mask as his clawed hands reached out. Although, this was not the controlled voice that had commanded his men, or the smooth tone that had sung to Alex just a little off key all those years ago. It was a feral growl. A noise that was distinctly inhuman... and very pissed off. Not again! You ruined my life! NOT AGAIN! There was no love for Alexandra. No lingering feeling that told him to protect her. What there was, was hatred. A pure tangible vitriol that pointed at Vanessa. The ashlans had informed him of this woman, and he had already known her part in Alexandra's death. Before it had been, save Alex, punish the bad guy... now it was devour the evil schutta. Vanessa would soon find herself far less free to move as she thought as the full effect of Vulpesen's hatred and power centered on her. Like the jaws of a ravenous wolf, he was doing everything he could to yank her back towards him. "YOU'RE MINE!" Tsolan had been a facade... a sheep in wolf's clothing. This was Vulpesen's true rage, caused by memories of his worst days.

 

[Laira Darkhold]

Orthus waited patiently with Amon standing over him, looming like a mother duck might over a duckling. The Dark Master found it odd how protective some of his people were of him since they revered him. Perhaps they knew of his weaknesses as well, or perhaps Amon simply wanted to prove how he could be trusted. Amon's time with the One Sith had made him murderous and sadistic, traits Orthus found to be useless and needless, and so Amon's authority was restricted for the time being. Perhaps the warlord believed that if he proved his trustworthiness, such restrictions would be lifted.

The padding of paws on durasteel sounded as the creature following Orthus finished and rejoined her master, hot breath steaming the air. Orthus felt a mane press against his hand as the invisible creature rubbed against him. "Good girl." His monotonous tone didn't seem to offer praise to the animal, but the sound of pleased canine could still be heard from alongside his frame. "Amon, have you found us a new spot?"

"Yes, though there seems to be some conflict nearby." The giant answered, heavy footfalls echoing across the catwalks. A long slender arm gestured below them where the Sith and another Force User were engaging one another beneath them. "It may soon become dangerous. We should be mindful."

"Excellent. It has been a long time since I've watched such a duel with my own eyes." The Scrying Lense, recordings, and visions weren't quite the same as watching a battle erupt between two scions of the Force in person. The Balcony Amon directed him to had been hastily abandoned, furniture turned over on itself and glass broken. "Watch your paws Megaera." The Sith said, brushing shards of glass with his feet and the unseen creature accompanying him seemed content to wait for him to clear her a path.

By the time he sat and was once again comfortable, Amon had poured his wine and was presenting him with the glass once more. "Thank you," Orthus responded as he took it, once again focusing on the endeavors and tribulations of others from the comfort of the spectators box.

[member="Elpsis Kerrigan-Alcori"]
[member="Joycelyn Zambrano"]
[member="Saphir Steele"]

 

[Kainan Wolfe]

​

Allies: Galactic Alliance (sort of), Confederacy of Independent Systems​

Enemies: The Sith Empire​

Objectives: Evacuate​

Gear: Wither (Sith Sword) | The Triad (Lightsabers) | Shrouded Blade (Lightsaber) | Obsidian Strike Armor​

Troops: 20 Barons | 30 B2 Super Battle Droids (Evacuating survivors - unavailable for battle)​

Attn: [member="Darth Carnifex"] | [member="Braith Achlys"] | [member="Taeli Raaf"] [member="Darth Prazutis"] | [member="Cairyn Midore"] Allies: [member="Srina Talon"] | [member="Darth Metus"] | [member="Adron Malvern"] | [member="Rylan Kordel"] | [member="Allyson Locke"] | [member="Jyoti Nooran"] | [member="Tanaski Yumi"] | [member="Asaraa Vaashe"] | [member="Jairdain"] | [member="Mereel Vaun"] | [member="Mishel Noren"] | [member="Coren Starchaser"]​

​

​

• Rooftop
  Jedi Temple on Coruscant

Death. He felt her touch and knew that she was close by, watching, waiting, holding her breath in anticipation for the climax, placing her loving kiss upon the lips of those who departed the stage of the great game of life. As the temple rumbled and moaned, its stones shuddering as it drew its final, dieing breaths, he knew that she would have her hands full this day.

He was a mastermind, a schemer and plotter who had honed his skills of pulling the strings of fate and subtly guiding events so that they shifted and fell into a course that matched the patterns within his plans. But not everything fell within ordered patterns for him to discern and control, for the nature of battle was often chaotic and unforeseen events could swiftly change the layout of the board upon which the game was played.

It was in such moments, that the true nature of people and things revealed itself and it was a glorious thing, one to be relished and reflected upon, after the dust had settled, for it was moments such as these that separated the wheat from the chaff and allowed the worthy to rise above the rest and truly shine. It was natural selection at its finest.

The Reaper of Lorrd had seen such moments before, he had lived through them and came out on the other side a stronger man. Perhaps, if fate would have it, he would do so again, today. A ruse, then, his mind decided. He saw his chance and seized upon it, the patterns realigning themselves in his mind's eye, like the pieces on a Dejarik board.

Reaching out with tentacles of dark, malevolent power, he seized the weapon that the Emperor had thrown at him, stopping it in mid air, the act of blocking the Dark Lord's attack soliciting more effort than he would have liked to admit. On the board, a piece had moved.

"Emperor Carnifex," he spoke, his tone collected and detached. The two had met before, so many years ago on that fateful day on Krayiss II, where once more, the great wheel of fate had turned against a nation, although he doubted the Dark Lord would remember the insignificant mercenary who had stood so defiant in the face of certain death, only to emerge on the other side as the leader of a nation. "Nothing personal," the Overlord explained. "Its just that this Jedi and I have had certain... disagreements, in the past. And I think he has yet to earn the merciful embrace of death."

"You see," he spoke, advancing a few steps, mindful of the crumbling edge of the roof upon which he stood. "I have had my engineers concoct such a lovely torture implement especially for him. And it would be a terrible pity to let it go to waste." A piece on the board, had moved again. "A room, with a chair, a holographic projector and something called a neural induction device," the Overlord said, moving another piece so as the game would fall into the pattern he wanted it to go. "I intend to put him in that chair and make his every living moment one of excruciating pain. And then, I will make sure he lives, for a very, very long time, powerless as I force him to watch as I slowly destroy everyone and everything he loves," he spat the last words with every bit of venom and hatred that he felt against the Jedi, pouring into them such cruelty that, if words could kill, these would send the Jedi crashing to the floor, writhing like the worm that he was and begging for the merciful release of death.

The stage was set, the actors ready to assume their roles and play out this drama in the theater of life. His hope was now that the Jedi had enough neurons left within his brain, to catch on to what was going on and play along. And that the Dark Lord and his followers would find the Overlord's supposed plan a fitting and entertaining enough fate for the Jedi, to let him be taken by the rogue Sith Lord and move on to the other things that were on their agenda for the day. If not, then there were other options, neither of which he liked, but none that he feared in particular.

As fate would have it, the great wheel upon which the universe turned was not in the mood for what Tacitus provided. Its thirst for entertainment would only be satiated by something more violent and visceral, today.

Emboldened and reinvigorated by the Shadow Hand's column of dark energy, the betrayer ripped into the veil like a hungry Tuk'ata tearing into the jugular of its prey, calling forth tendrils of darkness from the hem of Lady Death's black dress, obliterating everything they touched as they sprouted forward, greedily claiming the very fabric of reality for the cold maiden of the void, forcing the Overlord to dodge out of their grasp, although, as he would one day learn, he could have bent them to his will, instead.

And then, the apocalypse. As the universe exploded, the betrayer's spell and Shadow Hand's storm warping the very fabric of reality, molding it into something twisted and perverted that seemed to eat away at the very heart of the planet, itself, sending the Jedi Master careening through the air and a storm of debris and dark energy racing towards the Overlord with the strength of an indomitable tidal wave of death.

The pieces and the board upon which the game was being played, had been swept away and forgotten in an instant as Taeli's wrath and the Shadow Hand's impatient, ravenous appetite for carnage, once more warped the fabric of reality, summoning forth a lady with which Tacitus was all too familiar with, one in who's embrace he had sent many and who's kiss had claimed him before. But Lady Death no longer held power over the Overlord, he no longer feared the touch of her cold lips. He had already died once before and it did not stop him. So he let himself be swept away by the shockwave, allowing the shards of bone and glass shred through his armor, embracing the pain of the lightning bolts that seared his flesh and allowed himself a grin as he was swept away from the roof of the dieing temple and into the chasm of the city-planet below.

Afterall, for those who planned accordingly, death was but a minor inconvenience.

​

 

[Jairdain]

Location: En route back to the archives
Allies: [member="Alexandra Feanor"] [member="Vulpesen"] [member="Darth Pellax"]
Enemies: [member="Vanessa Vantai"]
Objective: Rejoin the chaos of the archives

Letting out a string of very colorful curses that covered the spectrum of languages Jairdain had picked up over the years, she halted in her almost dash to meet up with the not quite Lykos she felt. The entire hallway that was between them had collapsed and blocked her entirely from that objective. Continuing to growl and curse under her breath, she turned back around.

It hadn't been that long since she had left the collapsing archives. Her role there had been finished, but now she had no other location to go. Hoping that incoming she had felt was already there, she hurried as fast as her feet could carry her.

Within minutes she was back in the mix of things. That incoming she felt earlier still a long way to go before it finished. Some ginormous ship had what appeared to be the only the tip in the archives. More would follow and that was a concern for when it did. Now however, through the Force, she felt Vanessa near. Focusing on her, she raised a hand. In her grasps was one of the few people Jairdain had start to consider a friend.

Letting out another stream of curses, that hand she raised pointed at her friend. Through the cacophony of everything, she wanted to make sure her voice was heard. It did not matter if others heard, Alexandra would not be taken by Vanessa as long as Jairdain could prevent. Once having been taken by her, she knew to keep her distance from her.

"Let her go Vanessa. Get away while you can. If you take her, nothing will stop me from hunting you down. You never saw what I can do. Allow me to show you."

She was not normally an ​offensive fighter, this time though she would be. Remembering everything that had happened to her, the good and the bad. She drew on the positive emotions to fuel her attack on Vanessa. Around her would be a barrier, a bubble of brilliance that shone with her emotions. As Jairdain focused, that barrier altered and became soft like a blanket of sun. With a motion, she threw that blanket across the room. It was not a fully focused attack on Vanessa. Something that would bathe the room and cause harm if it connected to her enemy.

On the good side of things, those that were here on the side of the Alliance should feel blessed almost. As the light passed them, she hoped they would feel invigorated. It had been used on her when she had been poisoned by Vanessa. The cure had been given to her and those this light touched would certainly feel its gentle caress on them.

 

[Quvox]

Quvox​

Jedi Temple​

With: [member="Jace Khel"], [member="Romi Jade"] and [member="Cotan Sar'andor"]​

Objective: Survive [member="Darth Imperia"] and the Jedi Temple​

Enemies: Time and Debris​

​

Ever had that one bad day at work?

Quvox was having that day. Except it was his first,and perhaps the worst day one could ever imagine; he could figure that most jobs considered the invasion of the world and everything on fire as the worst possible situation to finish at three o'clock to, but for a Jedi Padawan, that was a particularly bad situation. He'd never even imagined what learning to be a Jedi was like, but today had taught him one of his most important lessons, and in a way, so had Imperia. Life was harsh, unforgiving and cruel. The galaxy was full of ruthless, beastial monsters who cared nothing for life, nothing for anyone. Only for their own dreams, their own aspirations, their own ideals and values. All else fell to the wayside, to nothing, and for what? For it all to start again, some other time.

Part of being a Jedi was understanding that, dealing with that, and trying to make sure that people were safe, that they didn't have to stare into the dark. People often talked of the value of letting another grow their own strength; all it did was cull the 'weak', rather than cultivate any strength, in Quvox's view. It was no different on Uba IV; so many were killed by random chance, things they could not have fought against or predicted. Death was disorganised, random, sudden. It was not glorious.

The Ubese managed to catch the saber in his hand again as it flew back to him, and all the ideas, all the trying to process the death and fire that surrounded him, were cut off as the ceiling collapsed above. There was a Star Destroyer falling through the ceiling. All Quvox could do was leap away as far as he could, and yet he was still sent flying as the impact collided with the temple floor, burying the Sith that he'd been trying to survive the onslaught of beneath tons of rubble. Part of him demanded he go back, to try and save her, make sure she wasn't another life wasted; his brain told him that he needed to run, and he listened.

So many different messages passed through the meld before it ended, and it was something that Quvox felt lucky to have even experienced, to have had a drop of the knowledge and power of all the far more experienced Jedi around him. Unfortunately, as it cut off, what was still causing him to spasm from that lightning hurt a lot more, and all he could do was run in the direction of his comrade and master. This whole place was a mess, with a storm hurling down on Jedi all over the temple unlike any of the radioactive storms he'd seen strike his homeworld. Everything was so much worse.

As he saw Jace struggling, Quvox didn't even hesitate to just deactivate his lightsaber and rush over to him, putting his head underneath Jace's arm and hooking it over his own neck, wrapping his arms around the other Padawan's abdomen to pull him along with speed, rather than comfort; he was clearly in some kind of dazed or hurt state, and the Ubese was going to be damned if he left him, following after some Knight who was yelling for others to follow, in the direction of where the ships undoubtedly were. At least, he hoped so.

By the force, he hoped so.

 

[Cambria Zadira]

Making way through ruins of Main Hall to exit
Allies: GA, SJO, CIS
Jedi Battle Meld buddies along the way [member="Romi Jade"] [member="Jace Khel"] [member="Quvox"] [member="Marcus Faust"] [member="Veino Garn"]
Enemy: SE, no one directly atm
Music
___

Golden eyes watched in horror as something huge struck the temple, ripping it apart as the steel mass cut a slice through the building. Was it part of a capital ship... Theirs?! A hastily thrown up Force Shield barely was enough to keep the debris raining down to only pelt the Twi'lek as she crouched on the floor in a protective position.

After a few moments Cambria shook off the rubble and got to her booted feet. Battered and bruised yet okay for the most part, well much better than some of her fellow Jedi brethren around her, the Guardian pushed onward helping those she could get out from under the ruins of their home. Even the Sith had taken casualties as the carnage befell indiscriminately.

The battle meld had long since broken yet Cambria could still sense those who had been in it to varying degrees. There was much anguish and pain, disbelief and anger, desperation and yes, rage... But there was still hope, diminished yet palpable in the hearts of those fighting for the Light and their very existence it seemed this day.

A young Jedi Knight hurried by calling for people to go with him now. About the same time, Cambria heard a very familiar yet ever so faint and strained voice send a message through the Force. Run! Something was very wrong with [member="Coren Starchaser"], but there was no time to contemplate the true meaning behind the Jedi Master's dire request nor his presentation of it.

The Jedi Guardian quickly motioned for the others in the vicinity to follow [member="Cotan Sar'andor"] out as he took point while she would be the rear guard of those escaping to the transports with him.

 

[Cassus Stoma]

CORUSCANT

---

---

MAIN HALL, JEDI TEMPLE

And Quvox thought he was having a bad day.

Jace was often all too hopeful. To him, the Galaxy was a place that needed to be polished- there was never anything inherently wrong bar the Sith, and they could defeated as peace was brought anew. He was wrong, though. So, so wrong. He couldn't quite help it, he was raised in a rather sheltered environment. Not once did Jace face any real struggles, you can be sure of that. Maybe he had girl trouble, something to do with his grades, or his parents being unfair in his eyes. Pfft. It was all a joke in comparison to what others were up against. Quvox killed out of necessity, even. Jace couldn't begin to imagine what that felt like, he can only say that it would be 'bad'. His environment shaped him, and so he could at least be thankful of who the man he was today.

​Flashforward to reality, however: Jace was keeled over onto all fours, struggling to get onto his feet. His mind was consumed by a metaphorical leech, or something akin to one as it attacked his brain. Not just his brain, though, but every aspect of his being. The feeling was new, and he was hoping to keep it that way. Feeling it again was certainly not on his agenda. The protection he felt was gone, and he delved further into his own madness. They claimed that the Dark Side was the easy way, the simplest route, and it appeared such a thing was true. The Padawan felt a burning rage attempting to consume him, and the only way to counter such a thing was with his own sense of anger. It allowed him onto his feet, shuffling along in a damaged and infuriated state. He could never live this down, truly. His first real mission and he tapped into the one part of himself he wasn't supposed to? For shame.

It couldn't last forever, though. It drained him further, his legs became weightless, and buckled beneath him. His Lightsaber barely lingering within his grip as the majority of his attention went to securing his 'life'. Yet, as he began to fall Quvox was underneath him, catching his weight and dragging him off. Jace couldn't be more thankful as his feet barely moved as he attempted to walk across the flooring, not putting the entirety of his weight onto the Ubese boy.

Jace was having a very bad day.

---

---

Allies: [member="Romi Jade"] - [member="Quvox"] - [member="Cotan Sar'andor"]

Enemies: The Sith Empire

 

[Cotan Sar'andor]

Location: Main Hall
Allies: [member="Romi Jade"] [member="Quvox"] [member="Jace Khel"] [member="Cambria Zadira"] @Anybody else Jedi
Enemies: Falling rocks

Cotan was somewhat surprised as more of the roof was blasted away, between Darth Prazutis's storm and the Vanguard's crash. He stopped for a moment against himself, marvelling at it, when he noticed the struggles of some of the people behind him. He looked at the hall leading to the hangar, back at the Force Storm that was still growing, and then back at the struggling Padawans. Then he cursed, and ran over to where Quvox was struggling with Jace's dazed form.

"If I die for this, you're never getting any rest," he growled at Quvox, getting on the other side of Jace and helping support the Padawan. His bruised and battered body protested with pain, but Cotan shrugged it off, helping keep Jace aloft. In fact, he reached out and grabbed one of Jace's legs, letting Quvox do the same. More weight to lift, but it'd be faster and easier than partially dragging the boy along, no matter how much he'd try to actually walk. The group started to run after that, with Cotan constantly trying to push the pace higher and higher. "We've got to hurry," he urged Quvox, panting while he did so.

Behind him, he could still feel the storm Prazutis had formed raging; more importantly, he could feel as Coren's presence diminished, the Jedi Master lapsing into unconsciousness. He winced at the thought, pressing their speed even harder. "We're past time to get out."

 

[Teresa Zambrano | Darth Pellax]

Location: En route back to the archives
Allies: [member="Alexandra Feanor"] @Vulpesen @Jairdain
Enemies: [member="Vanessa Vantai"]
Objective: Into the fray

Chaos, death, pain, suffering, fear, hate, anger all emotions that filled this collapsing cityscape of Coruscant, and yet all this death was a waste of what could have been. The people died for the sith's lust for blood, the first orders desire for stroking their need to control. Sure she hated the Alliance as much as the rest and was just another government she wished the demise of but there was always better ways to decapitate the enemy and still look them in the face. No this attack was cowardice, the sith or the bucket heads could have finished the alliance alone. Yet it took both to hold hands to show they lay in the same bed.

She circled the temple as black feathered wings kept her up in the air. She clung close the the ground to stay out of the thick rolling clouds of smoke created a thick layer. The wind rushed past with the speed the woman had, every strand of hair tailing behind her as it waved in the air. Through the smoke her orange eyes locked onto a glow and felt strong presence of people below.

She came in lower and through the gigantic hole in the building. As Teresa came into land her feet would move quickly as she slowed herself down. The woman took a moment to look at the situation. "Hummmm, my my, now what do we have here ladies?" She said with amusement. She began to focus on creating a doppelgänger that loomed behind the woman who held the dead or unconscious body. "You know something about those yellowed eye's just scream sith to me." The apparition said before she let it fade. Her wings began to fold in towards her back as she took a step closer and gripped her saber firm ready to ignite it.

 

[Alexandra Feanor]

Location - Jedi Temple > Main Hall > Archive Entrance

Actively Engaged: [member="Vulpesen"] [member="Vanessa Vantai"] [member="Jairdain"]

Objective - Evac

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



Alexandra shook her head at Circe, starting to charge forward and just about to open her hand as she pushed it out infront of her. She was ready to finally confront the person who had helped her down the path that led to her death before, but in a moment she stopped. The world changed around her and she stared, hand still outstretched as she looked forward and saw the sight of her temple and the sound of young voices touched her ears. Alexandra blinked and turned, hearing the words mom and mother, her eyes falling on the two people she cared for more than anyone else in this universe. Her legs gave out and she dropped to the ground as they reached her.

"Mom! Mom! You should see what me and Vallen did." Her daughter's voice, it was so familiar, so correct. It brought tears to her face and she reached out to grab the both of them, hugging them tight in her arms and crying into their shoulders. They were hugging her back now, and holding Alexandra there. The air had stilled and everything remained still as this moment froze in time, Alexandra unable to stop herself from crying.

And outside of that mental landscape Alexandra stood there, the light in her palm vanishing and her arm dropping to her side as she stood there. Her eyes were distant, far off and tears leaked from them. Blood washed away by the tears and her legs seemed to shake and wobble. It was a swift strike from Circe, in combination with her loss of blood that dropped Alex and sent her into unconsciousness. She crumpled down and was caught by the woman, but that did not mean her mind went silent.

Inside her mind she was still hugging her kids and now they were leading her through the forest on Alderaan to show her what they had done. She wanted to see what they had done, wanted to be there for her children and be there for their successes and failures, still crying as they led her through the forest. A distant roar sounded, but Alexandra ignored it as her kids continued to drag her along, the roar had been familiar, but right now she did not care.

And when Jairdain's light reached out to grab at Circe, Alexandra felt warm on the inside, her brain creating continuing the illusion if it dropped. She had fallen into the trap of a dream she could not escape. She had lost a great deal or blood and was her heart had slowed, her breathing faint and her body limp as she dreamed. She was happy, so happy. She had seen her family, all of them today, she had seen Vulpesen, and now she was with her children. Why would she leave this and what was there for her in the other world. This dream was far more important to her now.

She had spent years, separated from her family because of the man who she loved. She had wanted to remain with her family but in the Netherworld Hel had shown her just what kind of power the woman had. They had fought for command of their mind when they were brought back and Alexandra had won, but even then it was dangerous for her to just lower her guard so quickly. She had wanted to find a way to ensure Hel could not take control without her say so and that she could yank Hel back down if she needed to take command. So she left, she knew that she would not be welcomed back, Vulpesen had told her to stay or be banished.

She had not argued with him, she knew he would not have been convinced and she knew that she would not stay no matter what he said. The tree at her temple was her best connection to the light and to the force, it was her best chance of forcing Hel into submission and she would not risk the lives of her family hoping Hel never took control. Vulpesen could have been killed in his sleep, and her children used as experiments, while Alex was caged in her own mind. She could not have let that happen.

It no longer mattered though, in her mind she had been given the one thing she wanted more than anything else. She had her family now, and she would not lose them again, she did not want to lose them again, they were her only family left.

 

[Adron Malvern]

Location: Coruscant
Allies: [member="Marakai Al'Orren"] [member="Srina Talon"] [member="Darth Tacitus"] [member="Darth Metus"]
Weapons: Primary Lightsaber, Secondary Lightsaber, Combat Sword
Objective: Repel Sithspawn, evacuate civilians
Soldiers: 30x BX-Commando Droids, 4x IG-100 Magnaguard

For a moment, Adron had abandoned the physical world, his mind taking him from the corporal world and placing him in a realm where the tethers of the Force were at their strongest. In this trance he was surrounded by darkness and shadow, yet his senses were all still tied to the burning mess of Coruscant. He took in a deep inhale, he could smell the rough scent of ash floating through the air. When he parted his lips there was the stale taste of smoke that flowed through his lips and down into his lungs. The ragged destruction that surrounded him was assaulting his senses to the point where it threatened to break his trance. Keeping his mind focused, Adron turned his attention to a noticeable anomaly in The Force.

His face contorted from the disturbance, it was something he had sensed before but he could not place it specifically. The feeling of darkness shrouded an unencumbered hunger of a bestial nature. The more Adron focused on the disturbance the more he felt a soft scratching at the back of his mind, as if this bestial presence was reaching out to him in turn.

Finally, Adron's eyes opened to reveal the horrific scene that he had abandoned for the clarity of his trance. A few rapid blinks brought his eyes into focus as one of his magnaguard made their way up the stairwell to the building' rooftop. "Minister. We have begun escorting the civilians within the building, however several units have come under attack in the past few minutes. Three have not responded from our Comm checks." The harsh metallic droid called out to the Minister.

Again, Adron's eyes took to the sky, narrowing when yet again he met nothing but shadowy clouds and distorted laser fire. Uncrossing his arms, Adron made his way to the stairwell, speaking to his robotic guardsman as he did.

"Where are these units being attacked?" He asked, moving down the staircase with a hurried pace.

"The last attack occurred on the main road, nearly two hundred meters away from our secure zone." The droid returned.

Pausing on the stairwell, Adron glanced back before racing down the stairwell once again. "That means they are about to engage our security forces. If the Sith break that line they will slaughter everyone we've gathered in the building." With his guard accompanying him, the two made their way through the access hall and down into the building's main stairwell. Making their way down they passed several of Coruscant's natives. The fear and distress on their eyes showed they were lucky to have made it as far as they did. The final floor before the ground floor was completely packed, some few hundred lifeforms stuffed into the lobby. The Battledroid units worked to calm the crowd and bring them to some manner of order, yet they were grossly outnumbered.

Adron had no time to take the situation under control, so he would turn to the Magnaguard on his flank instead. "Get these people up those stairs, and clear this lobby! If we're pushed back this will be our final holdout. Go!"

The guard would bow it's head in deference before turning back to the crowd.

On the street things were slightly less chaotic, yet even more dangerous. The buildings surrounding the evacuation check point were going through a small series of firefights. Sith infantry clashing with The Confederate relief forces. What Sith soldiers did gain some autonomy from the fighting were aiming their blasters to the main entrance of the evacuation building. Adron watched as a group of civilians sprinted towards him, yet three were immediately mowed down by a vicious hail of blaster fire.

Thought became second nature as Adron's hand fell to his waist. He pulled his lightsaber from it's place on his belt, the rapid snap-hiss of the weapon echoing out while he charged forward, holding the blade in tow. He passed what remained of the group of civilians, bringing his lightsaber up to block a few errant shots that had strayed too close to the fleeing civilians for the Minister's comfort. The blaster fire would rebound to it's source, slapping against the side of the assaulting building. Glancing back to the civilians, he cursed softly, noting their effective uselessness in combat.

Turning back to the street, Adron took notice of a collapsed building, covering a good deal of the main access road, which had no doubt been the source of so many traps for civilians, Still, they worked over and through the debris to make it to safety. As he saw from the rooftop, some were accompanied by battledroid escorts and others did not. Moving towards the debris, Adron's step faltered when he saw a series of beasts intertwined in the debris. Savage, disgusting, creatures of a reptilian nature had been attempting to cut off the retreating civilians. One of the creatures was running rampant, yet the others seemed focused on another beast which seemed to be....protecting the villagers? Adron focused on The Force, amassing a surge of power into his legs as he crouched down low to the ground.

In one explosive burst, Adron sprang into the air, clearing the debris before him and landing exactly beside the creature that had been defending the civilians. His drop had started the Sithspawn, causing them to take a few steps back in caution. Adron brushed his cloak off from his shoulders, glancing over to the lightsaber in the beasts hand. "If these things get past us these people will die. My Security Forces can't repel them for long." There wasn't time for introductions, much less conversation, Adron pulled his second blade from his belt and watched as the amber blade sprang to life.

It was his first time using two of his lightsabers in the field, but he knew he could use the extra blade. As one of the Sithspawn charged forward, bearing it's scythes at Adron, the Minister pushed both of his fists forward. There was a slow shift before a kinetic wave of The Force flew towards the creature, a loud slam occurring as it impacted the sithspawns outer shell. Forced onto it's back, Adron charge forward. Jumping onto the spawn's chest, Adron slashed over it's chest. At first his lightsaber seemed to only create a glancing blow, yet when his violet lightsaber came down it carved straight into the creature's torso. Surprise had let this one fall easy, but he knew these abominations were going to be trouble.

 

[Nine Lives]

Location: Coruscant streets

Objective: Save people, Jedi, Drink Sith.

Near: [member="Adron Malvern"]

Wearing: Obsidian Strike Armor.

Using: Million-Handed Collosus. LK Sweeper Shotgun. Shiva Knives.

I'm home, my brothers and sisters. I'm home.

She had come with other knights obsidian, dropped by Confederacy gunships. Her goal: To save as many innocent people as possible.

She had dropped in close to an evacuation zone, and on her own initiative she had scouted ahead in her new knight armor. She was no longer a Jedi. But today she could feel like one again.

Nine's heart had broken at all the death. No matter how long she slept, somehow, this sight never seemed to go away.

The Jedi had let down their guard. Hadn't watched their own closely enough. The treachery sickened her. Those ones who had waited for years were worthy of having their most precious memories consumed, and the mother of all Psy-Pires intended to show no restraint today. Today was going to be a good day. A righteous day.

For everyone who got the pleasure of killing traitors in their midst.

The details of the attack...that was what had gotten hers. These karks had been patient. More patient than the Ruler of Hell itself. They had hidden so expertly.

A paranoid thought came to Nine as she crawled on the wall of a building, using the birds eye view to get a good look at an evac site being assaulted.

These Sith. They had hidden among the order. For years. And no one had caught it. Not with the force, not with investigation. And the Order did not permit the use of knowledge tearing.

What if they had something similar going in the Confederacy?

On a practical scale, Nine knew it was...unlikely. Infiltrating not one but two major powers? That would have stretched too thin even their considerable resources. Besides, if they were going to they would have done it.

Nine spotted a number of sith troopers moving below her. She stuck to the shadows of the building that had been bombed out, and used the Force to enhance her jump, twisting in mid-air as her sword was silently drawn. She landed quietly behind the four man squad. With no need to hold back she rammed her sword through the back of one trooper.

"GUESS WHO'S BACK!" Nine shouted at them, snapping the neck of her impaled victim, pulling the pin on his smoke grenade as she ripped her sword out, force leaping over their panicked blasterfire as the smoke grenade went off as she landed. She rammed the lightweight sword through the gap in another troopers armor behind her, yanking it forward in a vicious upward curve with Force enhanced speed, ducking the spray of bolts that hit a trooper to her left, her phrik knife being tossed into his throat. A bolt hit her square in the right shin, knocking her down, the pain very great, but her katana blocked the next two shot, bouncing one into the head of his remaining ally and the second one into his thigh, close to his...y'know....

He was screaming in agony as Nine tossed her sword into his throat. Her father's technique, again.

Nine coughed from the pain, now walking with a bit of a limp, pulled it out.

"Thanks, Father." she heaved, turning her attention to one presence that was badly wounded from her earlier upward slash. He would live. If she let him.

Nine decapitated him with a clean strike. Her wound wasn't bad, but she didn't think she would be doing any fancy jumping unless she had to.

So she sheathed her sword, retrieved her knife and got out her back-up plan. She was normally a very poor shot with most modern ranged weapons. But she had used a shotgun before. It was very hard to miss at the ranges she was going to use it.

Nine advanced on the evacuation building, feeling another, friendly adept close by. Restrained in power, but executing its use in tight bursts. The place was being assaulted by troopers and disgusting beasts that Nine could not help but compare herself to whenever they were near. Sithspawn.

Nine silently crept up on a group about to kill one of the defenders. She opened fire in a fifteen meter range on the soldiers. The rumble of the blast was deeply satisfying to her as she watched with delight as troopers were ripped open, drawing the attention of one of the scythe armed creatures. It charged, but a small knife slipped out from her left hand and slammed into its eye, detonating to her delight as its head disintegrated. She was buying more stuff from John Locke's place. Man had style to his weapons. She wished she had had stuff like this during her time as a Jedi. Would have shortened a lot of battles.

She gave a little wave to the man she had saved and then rushed forward, opening fire on other troopers, her walk getting a bit of an uncomfortable limp, she noticed, but she had to keep going. Lives actually depended on someone who'd lost theirs. More than once, in fact.

She took cover as she advanced, hitting a,straggling trooper when she could. But eventually she was very close to Malvern's position. And other knights had finally begun to reach the area also, engaging the troopers and Sithspawn trying to assault the building. But there were still a lot of enemies. Maybe too many. She hoped she could by these people more time she thought as she finally reached Malvern. And apparantly a non hostile monster in his midst. She almost shot it.

"The Knights Obsidian stand ready to assist!" she called out, blasting away the legs of another spawn before blasting its head, the pain in her leg worse.

 

[Jairus Starvald]

Location: Coruscant, Beyer's Hospital
Allies: [member="Irajah Ven"]
Opponents: [member="Ember Farseer"]
Others: [member="Anais Auraeli"] | [member="Mara Merrill-Valkner"]

Anais let go.

Jairus blinked.

But from there he put her out of his mind- dead, alive, it didn't really matter anymore. There had been a moment of interest to see what would happen between his wife and the little murderer, but apparently... it had all been quite too much for her. "You couldn't save Anais," The memory of her rubbing against his mind, the painful shards that Jairus had shattered with his own will. Causing memories, pain, coaxing out tears as it went. "So many already dead, so many more dying," Starvald continued with a bloody smirk and then.

The shockwave that had caused Irajah to fly started running through their floor. It was the only thing that saved him from having his ears punctured and karked, instead the sudden compression of air crunched his ribs, the pain flaring up and making Jai think at least one rib had been broken.

The pain made him growl between clenched teeth as he pushed himself back up.

Eyes burned bright though, the killing continued, the abductions too, today was a success regardless of Ember's possible demise. "I grow tired of you.... now-" The Sith Lord's mental focus shifted away from Ember for a moment. One second where the pain and agony was only that which the Jedi naturally possessed. But by now he should realize that any respite?

Was suspect.

It became soon clear when those same civilians he had wanted to save? Suddenly screamed out, whined and then all grew silent as their attention focused on the sole Jedi in their midst.

"Kill... or die, dear Jedi."

Then the civilians launched themselves at Ember, while Jairus? He shrugged and would move away from the fight. It was time to find Irajah and see how she was doing amidst all of this. "You know, I think there are easier ways to set up a date, don't you think?" Jai murmured through their connection, trying to find a path between the two of them that would be quickest.

 

[Jairus Starvald]

Enemies: [member="Marcus Faust"]
Allies: N/A
Objective: Be the villain.

Tai did not argue with Faust on that account.

In his eyes every sentient had a right to determine their own identity. If Marcus did not consider himself part of the Jedi than that was his business and his business alone as far as he was concerned. His wing was dashed to the side and only a violent twist of body allowed him to avoid being impaled whole by the fast movement of the Force Master before him. The tip of the blade scrapped past his torso, burning against feather and hide, but the arrested momentum allowed the Thirriken to skip past the depth of the plasma.

Otherwise he would have been dead now regardless of physical enhancement.

Just as Tai, smaller and more agile than the human, slipped into the guard of Faust the Force screamed at the back of his head. It was alarm: danger and Saarai acted accordingly. A force-supported vault, lightning fast and done within the span of a single heartbeat, launched over Faust's head and avoided having compressed air slammed into him.

Claws and razor feathers lashed out during the vault at Faust's neck, throat and face, before reappearing behind him.

"Because the Force wills it to exist, human." Saarai retorted just as the wing slashed against the lower side of his legs, trying to cut through heels and crippling him. "There is one way to do as you say.... and millennia ago someone tried to do just that. She failed, just as you would."

 

[AMCO]

Location: Jedi Temple, Archives
Allies: Sneering Imperialists & [member="Darth Sabezt"]
Immediate Threats: Self-Righteous Jedi
Equipment: Lightsaber, [2] Potion of Invisibility, [2] Blackroot Potion

---

---

---

For a moment, he soared. Power thrummed through him, focused by the lightsaber at his hip. For a moment, he felt invincible, shrouded from the chaos surrounding him by a sphere of shimmering purple energy.

It would seem, however, that in his hurry to escape the damage caused by the wreckage from the Vanguard he had been a bit too eager in his escape strategy: Flying through the air like a bullet straight from the barrel of a shattergun, Adrian shot through the next room... and the weakened wall to the room beyond that.

With a resounding crash, he tumbled through the air alongside a small cloud of debris, protection bubble flickering all the while, before coming to a screeching halt on, or rather through, an ornate reading table. Groaning in pain, he pushed himself out of the rubble, pain arcing through his bruised form, wisps of purple energy all that remained of the barrier that had surrounded him.

That was when he realized that he wasn't alone.

Two Jedi stared at him, a male Twi'lek and a female Sephi. Knight and Padawan, going by their robes. For a moment, there was silence, then both sides leapt into action.

The Knight was fast. He was fast, but he was injured. Fatigued. Demoralized. As a yellow blade shot out from the hilt of his lightsaber, Adrian had already begun to launch an attack of his own, weaving the remnants of his protective bubble into a spike of shimmering energy and propelling it towards the man's centre of mass. As it pierced the Knight's pale green skin, a look of surprise flashed across his battered features, quickly replaced by agony as the energy exploded outward with the sickening crunch of a ribcage being shattered.

As the Twi'lek fell to the floor, the Sephi propelled herself forward, green lightsaber dancing forth and forcing the young Acolyte to use his own crimson blade in combat, real combat, for the very first time. "Chaos take you and your kind! We just wanted to live in peace!"

Spoiler

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCKtOhTfOAw​

Potential Distractions/Allies:

• [member="Xevek Rakama"], [member="Tsisaar Taral"], [member="Darth Imperia"], [member="Vili Ozouf"], [member="Vanessa Vantai"], et al.

Potential Obstacles/Enemies:

• [member="Jyoti Nooran"], [member="Tathra Khaeus"], [member="Allyson Locke"], [member="Asaraa Vaashe"], [member="Yuroic Xeraic"], [member="Jairdain"], [member="Tanaski Yumi"], [member="Romi Jade"], [member="Quvox"], [member="Jace Khel"], [member="Darth Tacitus"], [member="Sky'ito Yumi"], et al.

 

[Sky'ito Yumi]

Location: Coruscant-Jedi Temple Archive Entrance
Interacting with: [member="Adrian Vandiir"]
Allies: SJO & GA, Nearby- Allies:

No sooner had Sukai healed the man had he run off with a huge force leap, jumping through one of the many cracks that had formed in the wall as ships parts rained down from the sky, impacting against the temple like old fashion catapult rounds... still very effective. "The nerve, could have at least said thank you, but he is not getting away from me that easily, no one does".

Grasping her blade the young Jin followed quickly behind Adrian, leaping out of the same crack with a just as impressive force leap, coming to land behind the Sith but not before he had changed targets, her eyes landing on nearby body of a Twi'lek, well what was left of it anyways. She had not known the man was capable of Sith magic, that just made him even more of a threat.

Before the Sephi Padawan could throw her life away Sukai steeped in, her speed something to be wowed at she she quickly put herself between the two combatants, Sukai's Katana, brashied for both to see, the sunlight shimmering off the polished edge. "Don't be haste Padawan, this man is much stronger then you, it would be best to let me handle him and for you to seek safety and help other get away".

 

[Jaius Sovv]

Rampart Town
Upper Levels
Coruscant

"If we sabotage the lift stations here and here," Jaius grunted as he leaned over to point on the map in front of him with his uninjured arm, "That would funnel even more of their Sithspawn into the lost districts, and buy your people some more time."

The irony of his present circumstances was not lost on Chief of State Sovv.

He didn't remember much after their shuttle had been hit, just a few brief frantic moments of terror while they spiraled out of control. That had been the last time he had seen Riley, Guardsman Costas alive. Somehow he had survived their crash landing, and locals had pulled him out of the wreckage and brought him here, or so he was told. As for where here was...well, given the state of affairs topside he supposed there were far worse places he could have ended up.

Still, Rampart Town's local Coruscant First chapter headquarters would not have been his first choice. It had been some time before he had been able to convince them that locating and handing him over to [member="Zeradias Mant"] for judgment was impractical given the current climate, and that the whole issue was pretty much moot at this point anyway. Naturally they blamed his government for the Sith assault, even debated handing him over to Sith forces in the hopes of a reprieve, but when Jaius had speculated aloud on their chances of getting one to stop long enough from butchering them to listen to their proposal they had reconsidered.

Eventually, with far more pressing concerns on their mind, they had finally begun to see him as a resource to be exploited rather than a prisoner only good for interrogation. Sith Imperial forces were indiscriminate in their destruction, and that wasn't even taking into account all the Sithspawn, unnatural Darkside creatures that roamed Coruscant's streets ever in search of more prey. To Jaius' disappointment, this particular branch of Coruscant First had proven far less brimming with militant radicals than his intelligence briefings would have had him believe. They had by now scavenged enough small arms to go around, and they were fiercely patriotic to a soul, but there was a short supply of tactical thinking.

Jaius was no general, but he understood basic military theory well enough. He had helped organize their militia into an effective guerilla fighting force. The Chief had served as a field medic during his tour in the Sullustan Home Guard, knowledge which was sadly becoming more and more useful as they prioritized evacuating wounded from those nearby sectors hardest hit.

"When you think you be going, Chief man?"

"Going?" he echoed with a puzzled look on his face. The question had taken him by surprise, "I assumed I would be staying to face the Mayor's justice."

"Is not safe for you here, sasa key?" Jet Nebula was the leader of this outfit. Despite his broken Coruscanti slang, the young human was far more shrewd than he let on, "The Mant is wise, he would ken the same, yeah? Maybe you Alliance guilty, maybe you deserve get kicked off our world. But you help save lives today. GC lives. You not deserve Sith 'justice', the Mant would say same. You try come back...maybe the Mant haul you off in cuffs next time, ken?"

"Ken," Jaius nodded, fairly certain that he did understand, "I have friends here, if you can believe that. People I can contact outside my government, when the time is right, people with fast and quiet ships. As far as both the Alliance and Sith are concerned, Jaius Sovv died in that shuttle crash. They'll want confirmation, but it'll take them time to find the wreck, even more to be certain my body is missing."

"Take them more than time, Chief man. Take them big Sith Life Day miracle, ken? Even in all this schutta, full sabacc says ain't none left that wreck by now. GC keep spinnin', rain or shine."