Ending the Chaos (SSC Only)

[Vakarian]

The alarms blaring coupled with the unnaturalness of his surroundings did little to dissuade the young humanoid’s discomfort at the current situation. He was already far later than he should have been for the meeting on the bridge of the Barsen’thor, and now he was lost in the giant metal death trap. If he hadn’t been engrained with the innate ability to remain clear headed in tense situations, he highly doubted that he would be standing and not crumpled in the fetal position by the stress on his psyche at the moment.

Deep meditative breaths escape the gap between his lips as he tried to clear his mind completely and focus on the task at hand, unknowingly reaching into the Force itself, and in mere moments his senses came alive – assaulting him with both presence and feelings in a massive jumbled dagger to the mind. He cringed and leaned against the wall, immediately withdrawing from the Force and opening his eyes. He wouldn’t be trying that one again.

Not at the moment anyway.

After a few milliseconds of further deep breathing, he managed to settle himself into a calm; both in mind and body, enabling his natural senses to come alive and give him a slight advantage to other lifeforms aboard the ship, though still paling in comparison to those one who could easily connect and feel within the Force. For now, having calmed and settled himself, he began the process of attempting to find his way out of corridor that he had found himself in – unsure of where he was in the first place.

Several left turns and a few right turns led him to the turbolift and he passed under its threshold to a smaller cylindrical space and gazed at the panel that indicated the levels of the ship. His gaze lingered heavily on the buttons, eyes glancing over each description carefully trying to decide on the direction to go. The bridge was up, so he pressed one of the topmost buttons and immediately the lift began to zoom upwards. Only a few seconds later, and the lift opened to reveal another seemingly deserted corridor.

The young Valkyri stepped out of the lift and the doors immediately closed behind him, the lift shooting away from its current floor towards the lower levels. He sighed deeply in frustration but maintained his calm, his own presence in the force now doubt sending out ripples of anxiety and distress as he made is way down the corridor to see what he had gotten himself into this time.

 

[Kyrana Gould]

[member="Audren Sykes"] | [member="Nima Tann"] | [member="Coci Heavenshield"]| [member="Sorel Crieff"] | [member="Nikias"] | [member="Jonathan Hex"] | [member="Máni"] | [member="Caerys Argente"]

It was clear that the Sith attackers had been ready for a fight. What they had not been ready for was a falling bulk container, a droid with a minigun and multiple Jedi!

Combined with the onslaught from the now alerted Coalition soldiers, the Sith found themselves pinned down inside their landing craft. Though said craft were heavily armed and armoured, they were not designed to take on the enemy alone.

The Sith facing Audren, having barely escaped being squashed like a bug, now unleashed a blast of lightning at the Jedi whilst drawing his red lightsabre and moving to the attack.

The Sith facing Caerys meanwhile were more than a little afraid at this seemingly unstoppable mechanical monster. However, one of them did have the insight to produce an ion charge and to lob it at her. Normally these things would be used to disable equipment or computers, but in this case it might make a useful improvised weapon against the ERD.

Outside, the renegade corvette was being pounded, and it had little chance of escape, especially when the Barsen’Thor’s own guns came online. The Sith were trapped, and the 20 or so survivors tried to form a last stand on their transports against the counter attack.

 

[Coci Heavenshield]

Reinforcements were taking too long. More and more attackers appeared from nowhere it seemed, and out side a ship approached but that was being taken care of. A small pause in the fire was enough for Coci to move forward from cover, her saber held in a double handed grip and into the fray she charged. The unknown droid woman had been injured although still fight at this point.

Several attacker turned their attention to Coci, firing round after round of bolts which she was able to deflect either back to the gun man or to any point to be effective. Yet even for the Jedi Master it was a test and a bolt grazed her leg burning the leather to her skin. She gritted her teeth and used the force to stifle the pain but moved on them. The purple blade flashed taking down the nearest attackers slicing them in half. Time had come to engage.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw a group coming off a ship, the numbers had started to become overwhelming. More fire rained toward her, purple blade becoming a blur. There was no time to use the force, and for the moment Coci had to be patient and hold off the attackers until an opportunity revealed itself. Eventually, it did. She had moved position with semi cover in the form of one of the ships, and noticed the canisters of fuel behind the position of the attackers. Coci moved out drawing fire to her, and with a swift arc of the blade, she sent several bolts toward the fuel canisters. On impact they exploded, ripping apart the attackers. And a rather large hole in the ship.

She turn to find the droid, raising her arm and using the force she grabbed hold of anyone near her and threw them to the wall. Reinforcements finally arrived and began to make the area secure.

[member="Kyrana Gould"] | [member="Audren Sykes"] | [member="Nima Tann"] | [member="Jonathan Hex"] | [member="Caerys Argente"] | [member="Nikias"]​

 

[Kaida Taldir]

[member="Coci Heavenshield"], [member="Kyrana Gould"]


After Caerys' rampage, lots of bodies lay strewn across the hangar. Coalition soldiers poured into the docking bay to put the now badly outnumbered Sith under fire. The renegade corvette was being pounded by the warship's heavy guns and soon would be little more than scrap for salvage.


While Coci charged into battle and carved attackers apart, Caerys kept engaging goons. Even though she was damaged, limping and only had one functional eye, she persisted. After all, droids felt neither fear nor pain. Grabbing one trooper she broke his neck like it was a twig, and in the same motion used his own blaster to gun down another one. She was about to throw the corpse into an opponent when a Sith lobbed the ion charge at her.


Caerys' systems were damaged and her reflexes were not optimal. Moreover, shew as a rather old model. More than a century old, to be precise. So her reaction time was a bit off. Coci's telekinetic onslaught sent all the hostiles in Caerys' vicinity flying and this hurt them, but the ion charge landed close to the droid and detonated.


Boom. A surge of electricity crackled across her body, overloading vital systems and forcing her to her knees. Through the corner of her remaining good eye, she spied a Sith suddenly tossing aside his lightsabre and raise his hands in surrender. "Please, spare me! I have seen the Light and want to redeem myself! I was never really dark. The Dark Lord forced me..." Caerys could not let such illogicality stand and so she used the remainder of her processing power to shut him up with a barrage of blaster bolts. The Sith crumpled to the floor like a puppet whose strings had been pulled, dead, and Caerys went offline.

 

[Audren Sykes]

It might seem that the Knight was caught unprepared by the Sith, and to a degree that was true. He'd only half-expected the Sith to survive, mainly because they seem to always survive. No lightsaber in hand, no nearby cover to hide behind. Cooked, as the Sith desired. But not. The fingers on his left hand twitched, a motion memory that allowed him to put into place something he'd only theorized with until now.

Audren saw the Force as lines of energy. People were collections, events were tangles, and all were connected in one way or another, and even droids - though they had no innate connection to the Force - were connected to people through time and events. Some shined brightly, others were pure darkness, and others were dull and flat. Colors of all sorts flared, emotions typically. He was facing oncoming jagged threads of pure darkness. What better than a shield to stop it? Yet his shield could not be a simple sphere around him. It didn't work, he'd tried. It had to be threads of Force power laid out parallel to each other and tightly together. It would still be weak though...but when he added a second layer, perpendicular and woven in between the strands of the first, it became strong. And he found that he didn't need a sphere completely around himself, just a wedge. A corner of Force power that broke the concentrated lightning and splayed it around the Jedi in tumultuous color. All this was invisible but for the lightning, others might see things as they did, should they care to watch.

He closed with the Sith, getting into lightsaber range. Snarling in fury, the man left off the lightning and brought his red lightsaber around in a vicious strike that would bisect the Sephi from shoulder to hip if it hit. Big if. The Knight's own blade blazed forth in reply, intercepting the blow not at the blade but at the hand that held the hilt, destroying both. An instant later, a blaster bolt ricocheted off of something in the hangar and turned the Sith's throat to ash. Both Force users stood for a moment, shocked, then the Sith keeled over and Audren's blade moved to intercept another blaster bolt.

Coalition soldiers were swarming into the hangar now, the firepower they brought with them was forcing enemy soldiers back behind cover. The Sith themselves had been given a thoroughly stinging blow by someone with a minigun - there were paths of holes moving from body to fallen body. Yet they still remained, at least two or three of them. Their influence was focused on moving things mostly, some moved debris to give their soldiers cover, others were moving some of the ruined landing craft along the hangar, dragging them along the floor. Their emotions were a mix of anger, disappointment, fear, and resolve. Most of that made sense, they had to have suspected that this was a one way trip. But they still had objectives to complete. So, then, did Audren.

He moved at a run, using debris as a springboard as often as cover. Rather than stopping behind cover to throw off aim, he changed direction and speed. Each time his path intersected that of an enemy, his lightsaber flashed. It intersected guns, hands, arms, even a couple heads, but the Knight simply kept moving. He performed a Force-aided leap over the last piece in his path, eyes open and free hand pulling out the baton he'd used earlier. One of the Sith opened his eyes as the Knight landed, but he was the first to go down. A lightsaber butt delivered forcefully to the forehead typically did that. The second didn't even bother with his eyes but extended a hand in the Knight's direction. That was met by a backhanded slap from the baton and a crackle of energy, which served to throw off the creature's aim and send him stumbling into the open, where no fewer than three blaster bolts met him, swiftly followed by at least six more.

The effort wasn't without cost to Audren. Though he'd not been aware of them until now, char marks from blaster grazes liberally decorated his robes. More than a few had been enough to get through the light armor. No direct hits though, otherwise he'd be one of those unfortunate ones on the ground.

[member="Kyrana Gould"] | [member="Coci Heavenshield"] | [member="Nima Tann"] | [member="Sorel Crieff"] | [member="Aldera Antilles"] | [member=Nikias] | [member="Jonathan Hex"] | [member="Caerys Argente"]

 

[Vakarian]

As Máni made his way through the maze-like corridors of the Barsen'thor, he could feel a faint tingle teasing the furthest edges of his mind. There was something going on on the flagship, that much his natural senses told him. Having the fortune of growing up on Midvinter he found that his natural senses were far more advanced than that of many others around him, no doubt a product of the necessity to rely on your instincts when traversing the icy landscape and facing the elements and beasts. It was these senses that were telling him that something was wrong, and it was his sense of survival telling him that he needed to explore the corridors more, he was meant to find something that did not belong.

Having learned to trust his instincts from past events, he gave in to their demands and took on a defensive stance as he slowly made his way through the corridors looking for whatever had set his instincts on high alert. Fortunately, it didn't take him very long to find what was off about the situation. The last couple of levels he had visited had been abandoned, but not this one. There were several beings ahead of him, nestled in a small compartment was a smaller being of the three.

"Hurry up already, Cas." came a grumbled retort by one of the taller beings, his hand set firmly on a blaster sitting on his side. Máni was careful to avoid their gazes by staying behind the wall directly down the hall from them, though he kept a steady eye on them by peeking around the corner, watching to see what they were up to. They were dressed in what appeared to be Sanctum uniforms, but something set his senses off about them. A darkness grabbing at the furthest reaches of his mind. So, he would sit and watch what was playing out. For now.

"Going as fast as I can Drax. You want to blow up with the rest of the ship?" came the sharp reply of a much younger voice. If Máni had to guess, the one inside the tiny compartment was no more than his own age. " 'course not." came the grumble from the man named Drax, "but if we fail the Sith, they'll kill us. Our track record isn't all that great with them. You remember what they did to Friz here." the man indicated with a motion of his hand to the other being with them. It was then that Máni noticed the features of the third man with the group. He had been horribly disfigured by the Sith.

The young Valkyri was disgusted by the look of the man, and even more so by the actions of the Sith. He had heard the tales of Sith brutality, but he had not yet seen evidence of it up close and personal, not like he was now. His inner thoughts were shattered as the little one spoke sharply, but Máni could not make out what was said. It didn't take him long to figure it out though, because the bigger man was charging down the hall towards his position. He had been found out. There was only one choice now.

To Fight.

Máni stepped out from his partial concealment and faced the charging man head on, planting his feet firmly on the floor and bracing himself. Taking a deep breath, he allowed the charge to connect with his body, even though it sent him off his feet and sliding down the hallway into the wall. He stood and shook of the hit, having allowed his body to absorb most of the hit, it had done little more than send a brief pain through his chest and abdomen.

"Helm grant me strength." he whispered in a quick battle prayer before he himself charged the taller man. He closed in on Drax, and using the force of his motion, delivered a punch to the right side of the mans face. It connected with a satisfying crunch of the mans nose and the pouring of blood. This was what Máni was born into, Combat. It was what his people thrived in, and despite his compassionate ways, he was a warrior in the end; a member of the Valkyri people, a warrior by birth.

 

[Coci Heavenshield]

There was a toxic smell in the air from the explosion, black smoke caused Coci to cough and the ventilation systems were on overdrive. Some of the security had began to put out the fires while others detained the sith that had survived the onslaught from the droid warrior. The medical crew had entered the scene once given the signal for the all clear and began to work on the injured and evacuation them to the medical bay on board the ship. The more critical would be stablised and transported to Voss.

Coci limped over to the woman's body laying on the floor, her own wound begin to sting once more, but it was nothing a good medic could not fix in due time. She knelt down to see that the face of the woman was exposed showing wires and components covered by a thin tissue of humanoid flesh. She raised her hand and placed it over the woman's body only a few inches from touching her, through the force there was no sign of life whatsoever, of that of a living being. And it was clear the droid was 'off line'.

"Master Heavenshield!", one of the medical staff had come to her side. "This one needs to be taken to Tygara, Firemane Head Quarters", she said before the medic could say more.

The medic waved over a hoover shed and the woman's body placed upon for transport. "What about you?", the medic asked. "I'll be fine, tended to those that need you help more".

Coci left the hangar bay heading for the bridge to find the Admiral.

[member="Kyrana Gould"] | [member="Audren Sykes"] | [member="Nima Tann"] | [member="Caerys Argente"] | [member="Nikias"] | [member="Jonathan Hex"]​

 

[Zac Grayson]

[member="Nikias"]


Jonathan was taken to the medbay.....

 

[Kyrana Gould]

[member="Audren Sykes"] | [member="Nima Tann"] | [member="Coci Heavenshield"]| [member="Sorel Crieff"] | [member="Nikias"] | [member="Jonathan Hex"] | [member="Máni"] | [member="Caerys Argente"]

The incursion was over. Audren’s brave attack, combined with Caerys’ lethal skills and Coci’s heroism had kept the Sith back and then defeated them with the aid of the Coalition.

The ‘body’ of the HRD was taken away, and the survivors of both sides were being assembled. A few Sith had surrendered and were being taken to the detention level. Elsewhere, Coalition troops were tending to the wounded and dealing with the damage.

On the bridge the Admiral was waiting when Coci and whichever Jedi followed her.

“Master Heavenshield, I have seen the images from downstairs. You have my most sincere thanks. Had those Sith gotten loose in the ship they could have caused chaos. Thank you.”
She extended a hand to the Jedi Master to shake.

 

[Kaida Taldir]

[member="Kyrana Gould"], [member="Coci Heavenshield"]


Did robots dream of electric sheep? Maybe of butchering meatbags. Regardless, Caerys was offline. Her damaged body made no motion when her body was taken away. Most of the synthetic flesh covering her skull had been blown away, revealing the metal beneath it, along with wires and components.


Presumably she could be carried. Hopefully no one would force something as horrible as pacifism protocols upon her. That would be a terrible crime. For the time being, Caerys slept.

 

[Coci Heavenshield]

"I fear there is some extensive damage done to the ship, but I am sure it can be fixed", she said taking the hand extended to her and shaking it. There was a distant look on Coci's face, her mind on the future and this ship will go well in assisting in what is to come.

"With the One Sith moving toward Togoria I think it is evident that they are casting their eyes in our direction, I think that sooner rather then later, you and this ship will be tested". But in the mean time Coci would return to duty and help with whatever preparations are needed for the possibility.

For the Silver Jedi that are still within the ship, she will wait for them in the docking bay to transport them back to Voss. Master [member="Nima Tann"] and her group, the young man, [member="Jonathan Hex"] will be lifted to the medical bay in the Silver Temple, Knight [member="Audren Sykes"] is to be commended on his actions and the droid woman, well who would know what would become of her. Hopefully, some passive protocols will be in stalled, ... just a little.

Coci bowed to Admiral [member="Kyrana Gould"], "May the force be with you Admiral Gould", she turned and left the bridge for the transport.

​

[member="Kyrana Gould"]​

 

[Vakarian]

Another swift and strong punch sent the man named Drax into unconsciousness and this reprieve gave Máni the time to catch his breath before having to concern himself with the other two saboteurs on the second level of the ship, just below the bridge. The fight itself had lasted longer than he would have liked, the man had a higher pain threshold than most and it took several precision punches before the man succumbed to his wounds, but the young Valkyri had enjoyed himself as evident by the light that filled his eyes; a light of awakened spirit, the battle awareness. He bound the man drax with a leather strap from his own furs before leaning him against the wall to await his companions.The young warrior believed that the Silver officials would wish to capture these saboteurs and as such, he would capture them.

His glacial gaze turned upwards along the corridor to meet the disfigured man that had been identified as Friz by the, now unconscious, drax. It was as if time froze and Máni saw the disfigured Friz pull a blaster and aim at him. He waited a few moments and just as the man fired his gun, he rolled and came up in a standing position. His spirit was wide awake and it was as if time aided him in his quest, because his movements were far too swift for the man to get a good aim. In a matter of seconds, the young Valkyr had closed the distance between him and Friz and delivered a series of punches to the abdomen. The disfigured man grunted, but he too seemed to have endurance to withstand Máni's attacks.

It was times like this that he wished he had brought along a weapon to aid him in combat, for he was skilled with his hands but he was even better with a sword or axe. His father had trained him at a young age to use a sword, even before he began to exhibit signs of the capability to use the Force. Like most of the Valkyr race, he excelled in melee combat and exceeded his fathers expectations with the sword and axe. But, that was a long time ago, and Máni was quite out of practice.

A fact that was proven by a punch that met the side of his nose and a sickening crunch followed by streams of his own blood from his nose. It was painful, but he was able to counter the pain with a fiery anger, an anger that spread to his eyes and caused them to darken to a color akin to heavy clouds before a winter storm. The young Valkyr began the dance of death, his fists coming in swift motions and his body reacting as equally nimble, evading most of the counter attacks by the disfigured man. A swift kick to the abdomen sent the disfigured man to the adjacent wall and he slumped unconscious.

He too was bound by a leather strap before being tossed aside none too softly by the now angered Valkyri. There was no patience left in his actions as he unleashed a burst of pent up rage that managed to pull the younger, and final, saboteur from the small compartment. Only later would he realize that he had connected with the Force and pulled the man to him, causing his body to feel weaker than it had been moments ago.

"You won't kill me Jedi, your kind doesn't practice such beliefs!" came the shrill voice of the youngest saboteur as Máni closed in on him. A sentence to which the Valkyr only offered a cruel smirk before answering softly, "I'm not a Jedi yet." those words alone seemed to have the intended effect as Cas paled to the color of the whitest cloud. But, Cas was right, he wouldn't be killed by Máni. He wasn't a murder. Instead, binding the third and final saboteur and dragging him forcefully down the corridor and into the lift to the bridge.

Moments later the doors opened to reveal a bloody faced Máni and three bound humans, two beaten unconscious and the third conscious and quite pale.

"Three allies of the Sith, found below this deck attempting to plant a bomb. The bomb has not been armed, nor successfully wired, but I do not have the knowledge required to remove it from its position." he stated to no one in particular as he dragged the three into the room and threw them on the floor in front of the assembled group. Blood still streaming from his nose, though significantly less than before.

 

[Nima Tann]

After she disposed the guards in a quick manner, the main group were reunited in the middle just like they promised, without any injuries or something very severe. Yet, they weren't done, since she could sense another wave coming, and her senses were right as the ship shook by the shuttles ramming. A Sith, and several minions appeared suddenly. This wouldn't be a good thing, right? And why the fate wasn't allowing them to have a second tobreathe, no one knew. Anyway, the tides turned as another faces joined them, one being a cool cyborg, or was she a robot, she didn't know. Anyway, she was on their side and that was quite good. Their counter attack for this rude introduction was quick. Nima knew, in an environment like this she wouldn't be so much effective, Ataru didn't like close spaces, and at that point she would harm the ship than protect it, so she stood in the background and kill some minions as the main guns confronted much more important NPCs.The attack was indeed a big one, yet they were well prepared for it, so in a few minutes all the attackers were either dead, or taken prisoner. She was glad that didn't go as bad as she thought, but of course the girl's mind was full of pessimism.

Anyway, as the attackers were dealt with, the group went to the main hall. Now this required a good party, yet of course, galaxy needed to be saved and all that, so she wouldn't see it happening. She nodded to Master [member="Coci Heavenshield"], and then to Admiral [member="Kyrana Gould"], they would leave soon and let the crew work on repairs of the ship. She moved towards the Admiral, and smiled. "It was a good workout." Then added. "I would like to visit the ship and learn more about it soon, you know, without the Sith attacking all over." As the last words said and done, she prepared for a departure as well. "May the Force... ahh you know what, you have fun repairing this ship." Awkwardness intensifies. She had never been a fan of that phrase.

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Valiens Nantaris"]


Far away from the Barsen'thor, Siobhan was reading through some paperwork in her study. There was far too much of it. Admittedly she had minions, but somehow she still ended up with a mountain of it on her imposing mahogany desk. She pinched the bridge of her nose, feeling annoyed. At this rate she'd end up having to wear glasses and that was utterly unacceptable.


There was a knock on her door, and she opened it with a casual wave of her hand. While Siobhan sipped a glass of water, Maerys Medea stepped in. Her Eldorai PA was efficient and had a hot librarian look going for her, but was sadly rather prim and proper. That skirt really ought to be a bit shorter!


"Ah, Maerys, anything new?" Maybe zombies were invading a planet somewhere. That would give her something fun to do. Or the elf had finally seen the light and realised she belonged in Siobhan's bed.


"Yes, Lady. A report from the Barsen'thor. The celebrations were interrupted by a group of Sith infiltrators, but their attack was repulsed by Jedi and Coalition soldiers. That...droid we contracted was badly damaged," the PA reported smoothly, putting a datapad on Siobhan's desk.


"Oh. Well, fix her, I suppose. Maybe install a failsafe in case she turns on us," Siobhan felt complete indifference about the machine. Caerys was not a person, just a tin can. Besides, she didn't trust HRDs. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that Sith snuck in. Can we have whoever was in charge of security demoted to toiling on an Arkas plantation as a common labourer?"


"I can bring it up with the Admiral if you like," Maerys said, unsure whether the Lady was serious.


"Ah, well, leave it. At least it didn't get randomly heisted and pop up in Coruscant orbit. I'm still terribly vexed about the fact that the Nova Cannon is far weaker than I was promised. I was told it would be able to level an entire city when I was asked to fund the damn thing."


Maerys sighed. It was one of those days! The 'Lady Mistress' was in a mood again. Sometimes she was as bad as Queen Silaqui. "Yes, Lady, but projections clearly showed the power consumption would've been impractical. Besides, it would've been rather awkward on the PR front."


Siobhan huffed. "So what? Journalists complain no matter what you do. That's why I think we should get rid of the 'free press'. It's nothing but a license to spread slander, lies, subversion and sedition. The media should spread the truth and foster a healthy, loyal consciousness in the people," True Sanctum talk. Cue cult of personality.


Maerys bit down on her desire to say something scathing in response. "While it is a sorely abused right, it also acts as an important check on abuse of power. Or at least gives people the illusion that they're living in a free society. Even if it's the freedom to be an idiot. Speaking of the Fourth Estate, GNN has requested an interview with you and your wife."


"Don't tell me the interviewer is going to be al-Jilani. I like Diana Allers!"


"I know you do, Lady, but everyone knows you've been sleeping with her. So, yes, it is al-Jilani."


"I'm so going to punch the queen. I know it."


"While she is a tabloid smearing worm, I'd strongly advise against that."

​

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cenKx5hV9N4​

 

[Kyrana Gould]

The Admiral bade farewell to the Jedi who had been so helpful. She reflected on [member="Coci Heavenshield"]’s words. It was true, soon the Coalition would be tested in war.

The Barsen’Thor would soon be repaired and ready for that war, and when it entered the fray it would be the centrepiece of a new and more powerful Coalition fleet which would protect the galaxy against all attacks.

-FIN-

(Thank you all for your participation!)