Public Fate: Escape

[Tamsin Graves]

As she descended the stairs following behind Kaila and Tella behind her, both women seemed to want to ensure her safety. Whether that be because of her supposed potential to be a jedi or sith or because of some perceived demon possessing her. Both wanting to help her either through ritual or unknown mother figure who might know something. They were both pushing her to choose their side over the other claiming unseen and unforetold knowledge.

It was all too bizarre to Tamsin this tug of war over her. She made no attempt to answer if she was leaning this way or that way in truth, she really didn't know what she would do when it came time to make a choice. As Kaila tossed a few credit sticks to the establishment's owner, Tamsin took notice of the cylinder that appeared in Kaila's other hand. She had seen something similar back in the square. It drew her curiosity for a moment as they reached the door and both Tella and Kaila took a peek out into the street.

The establishment owner watched on and looked at Tamsin and then at her left wrist where the wrist restraint though detached from her right hand still dangled. They automatically recognized what she was and promptly took those credit sticks and tossed them back in her direction. They skidded across the floor and landed at her feet Tamsin looked down at them.

"I want nothing to do with the slavers guild business." The establishment owner said promptly as they reached under the counter and pushed a panic button.

Tamsin gulped a heavy gulp and swept up the credit chips and turned to push Kaila and Tella forward but stop for a second as she saw something on one of the tables which she promptly grabbed with her left hand that was also holding the credit sticks. Then she nudged the two women forward. "We need to go, now!" As two Kerestian warriors came out of the back room and the establishment owner pointed towards the three women.

The two large male Kerestian's imposing hulking figure standing well over seven feet tall came rushing towards Tamsin who pushed her way through Kaila and Tella out into the street. She looked up towards the roofs looking for the one the ship had landed on. She then looked towards the direction of the city gates which she could just make out from here they were closed off, the city was shut down to make sure no one could get out by foot or ground vehicle. That meant the only way out was indeed the ship, thankfully the ship was grounded on the roof and the city would only relegate using the wall turbolaser batteries if it was in the air to avoid lots of collateral damage but even from here, they could see they were repositioning the trubolaser batteries to focus on the ship on the roof.

Guards didn't need to be everywhere, just the square where most of them were as they had the city locked down. Yet no doubt the establishment owner after having his goons hold off the three of them was alerting the city guard or even the slavers guild who would bring its own soldiers and bounty hunters to reinforce the city but that would take time if they hadn't been alerted already. This was about to be a big old powder keg for the three of them if they didn't get the hell out of there right now. Tamsin just took off running ahead of the two women for the building the ship sat on top of.

The Two Kerestian goons came at Kaila and Tella one for each of them. The one on Tella came in with a powerful swing of its vibrosword at her backside in downward swing towards her left shoulder. The other came at Kaila with its two Darkstick's one in each hand, the right one going for left to right aiming for the back of the neck just below the helmet. The left stick went lower for the mid back in a right to left motion. The two were going for the kill immediately the prize was the slave girl and the reward the slavers guild would no doubt offer.

---

Kaila Irons | Tella Voland

 

[Kaila Irons]

"It seems okay from what I can tell, but even for Bestine they usually have some kind of countermeasures for this. And no more guards?" Tella asked, skepticism in her voice. "We should still be prepared for anything.

"Yes, that's what worries me..." She took one last peek, unable to see much from this angle without needlessly exposing herself.

"The guards are probably busy with that mess you started in the square, but the ship? maybe it's the reflec plating throwing off their defenses, not sure. Either way we should-"

Tamsin came barreling into the two and then out the door, but before she could do anything, the force whispered of danger, causing the blonde hairs on the back of her neck to stand. She turned around just in time to bat a blade away with her vambrace, a distinct ringing echoed throughout the inn. Beskar, and pure too. It had been repainted, but now a streak of it's silvery gleam had been cut free for all to see.

A second blade tore through her cloak, cutting a thin line into the surface of her new armor. Grunting in frustration, she threw the Kerestian across the room with the force.

"That was a new cloak you vermin!" She spat, tearing the now ruined fabric away and throwing it aside.

Her violet lightsaber burst to life as she stepped away from the door to deal with the mercenary, figuring they'd be after Tamsin if she didn't deal with them first.

To her surprise however, the Kerestian activated a peculiar property in his weapon which made the entire room go dark and her vision with. In response, she held her blade out in front of herself with both hands in a defensive Form 1 stance, unsure how to proceed.

"Tamsin...?"

Her saber hummed as she spun towards a random sound.

"...Jedi?"

She could surround herself with fire or lightning, but that would risk frying the gray jedi. And as much as she would like to silence the brat, Kaila would prefer that someone be available to help Tamsin in the event that she could not convince the girl of the dark side's practicality.

A sudden sharp pain alerted her to the enemy's presence as something cut into her leg, prompting her to swing in a broad arc towards strike's assumed origin, a pained hiss informing Kaila that she'd struck the foe, though he yet lived.

It was becoming clear that her rush to catch up with Tamsin could be her undoing, that and her impractical desire to leave the Gray Jedi unharmed. Patience was not natural to the dark side, but she was not incapable of exercising it as needed like any other assassin must learn. And so, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes, depriving her self of all senses but two; Hearing, and the Force.

Tella was easier to feel in this way, and so easier to avoid as well.

She heard little more than a leather scrape against the sandstone floor behind her, and spun to intercept the blow.


Tella Voland Tamsin Graves

 

[Laphisto]

Alarms began to blair to life within the gunship. the side doors being opened so that the side gunners could try and get a few pot shots off at the crowd that were surrounding Spek Zhio Darth Nexion and the High commander. a lukcy shot against the port side caused to gunship to rock and jolt one way then the other, causing the right side gunner to lean to far forwardswhile firing the LO-27R causing the man to fall from the gunship crashing into a small fruitstand below sending up a cloud of dust. a voice calling after " kaldan!"

the gunship was badly damaged on its arrival by the citys gun batteries. causing Commander Tarian to speak over his commlink " ships going down sir, ill see you in the sand" grabbing onto the railing the Commander took in a deep breath fastening his helmet and locking it in place sealing the suit the alarms and sirens of the cockpit ringing within his ears before suddenly the sounds of brick and rubble breaking rung out.

the other gunner had been thrown from his position and smashed into the wall crushed and pinned under the gunships wing. the pilots dead imediatly from the impact of the crash, mixed with the broken glasssteel and splinters of stone and wood piercing into their bodys. which left only the commander standing as he hap hazardly stepped/ rolled himself out of the gunship smacking into the floor with a small thud. rumbling to himself before pulling himself to his feet. bringing up his LO-18D and flicking his visor through thermal, infered and night vision till one gave the best view.

he had expected hostiles and thats just what he found. alongside what looked to be several force sensitives, he eyed the Kerestian warriors. placing his weapon back on his back letting the meg lock hold the weapons until while he instead unlocked the LO-9M from his back, plugging in an electric LO-56E charge into the pommel.

to those force sensitives around him the commander seemed to not exist. unless of course you had your eyes on them, but one blink, one glance away and they would once again appear to have not been there to begin with. like a ghost that was only present while you looked at them. hearing them move or speak was akin to hearing a voice that wasnt supposed to be there unless you were looking directly at them.

seeing the conflict at bay and figuring that the High commander was in league with these force users, if not at least a little he opted to join in on thier side of things. rushing forwards he aimed to plunge the sword into the back of one of the warriors electricity only crackling acrossed the blade when he got within striking distance. though the armors weight gave it an audible thudding sound as he ran acrossed the floor. poised to kill the target attacking the one with the purple blade.

Tamsin Graves Kaila Irons Tella Voland

 

[Tella Voland]

As the darkstick came down towards Tella's shoulder, she simply created a small, shimmering Force barrier to interrupt it mid-swing, causing her attacker to stagger backwards. Darkness soon enveloped her as he used his unique weapon, but she was used to navigating in such with her skill in Force Sense as she regularly held shields that bent light and sound away from her. While he staggered, she simply raised both hands and blasted him with a powerful burst of white lightning that sent him flying back into one of the walls, immediately dead.

Turning to Kaila, she noted that the Sith did not appear as adept at Force Sense as she was, seeming disoriented by the darkness and taking a few small slashes from the alien, before she was able to recover and start facing him. Tella could have simply left her alone and gone after the escaped slave, but instead decided to help out the Sith, if only because she would be an extra target if they had more guards. As the Sith swung towards her opponent, Tella threw a stasis field over him, making him entirely unable to move. His fate was sealed.

Tamsin Graves Kaila Irons Tella Voland Laphisto

 

[Tamsin Graves]

Tamsin ran like her life depended on it, and in a way, it did recapture in most cases meant death. She was sure Tella and Kaila could handle their own, they had shown that to her already. Occasionally she looked up to keep sight of the roof with Kaila's ship on it. As she looked up another ship flew overhead to the square, Tamsin didn't know the markings on the ship, but she knew it wasn't a slaver's guild ship which at least was somewhat a relief.

Her short legs pumped as hard as they could sweat started to bead on her face as she neared the building the ship was on. Then she heard the shots being fired, she looked back just in time to see the ship that flew overhead get shot down. Her steps slowed as she looked back and watched in horror as the ship went into a spinning fall crashing into building and the inn that Tella and Kaila were in. Her eyes went wide as dust and debris kicked up in the air. Pieces of ship and building went flying the air at high velocity chunks of building and metal slamming into on lookers.

People started to run towards the city gates, Tamsin watched as the stampede began. People staggering for any kind of safety they could find. People were bleeding, had shrapnel in their bodies with bleeding wounds. People were torn up just scurrying for safety, it was like the war stories she had heard from people in Blougah's court. All this damage and chaos was because of her. People dead and injured all because of her. She was horrified at the thought of it, but there was something in the back of her mind that was absolutely loving watching it all unfold. It sounded like a very faint cackling of glee.

Her eyes panned towards the inn as she side stepped into an ally to avoid those running past her. She couldn't see much between the people and the dusty sand in the air the ship had kicked up. Even though she hardly knew them, and she wasn't sure of their true motives worry washed over her wondering if they had survived.

She glanced up to notice she was right beside the building with Kaila's ship on it. Then she heard some guards come up the road through the crowds of people moving for the inn to investigate. She looked behind her into the ally she was in and saw some stacked-up boxes that could get her up onto a balcony from there she could climb to the roof. She moved for the boxes and began climbing up. She didn't have time to stand around and wondered if the others were alive, once she got to the ship then she could assess what the next step was. Though she hoped they were both okay.

---

Kaila Irons | Laphisto | Tella Voland

 

[Kaila Irons]

The sudden cacophony of noise somewhere ahead was near deafening to her limited senses, but the force would guide her blade. It felt unnatural to one such as Kaila, who had spent many years training to overrule the will of the force via the dark side, to reconquer her destiny from that fickle omnipresence and shackle it's will to her own.

Allowing oneself to be completely at it's mercy, to allow it to guide rather than determine control it herself was unnatural to her personal philosophy.

And yet, the blade struck true.

She could hear the sound of metal clattering on either side of her as the lightsaber cut through the darkstick that had been levied against her. Then a sickening hiss as the energized blade quickly burnt through what must have been the foe's torso, though it felt as if she had met resistance from something much more solid, violet sparks flying as the tip glanced off of something metallic. Had the enemy been wearing armor that she'd failed to see before?

No, it found purchase in flesh, it must have. She could hear a feint gurgling, and the assassin knew it well. The sound of blood rising in the back of another's throat, their lungs or heart pierced by metal.

Soon she felt no more life in the room, save Tella, and her blade sank back into nothingness as the ambush concluded, Kaila exhaling slowly as the darkness began to recede.

And yet...

"What the hell?!"

She muttered, raising a hand to protect her eyes from the harsh tatooine suns that now crashed upon her through a large hole in the wall. A shadow fell over her, tall and wide, belonging to a man who according to all senses but the visual, did not exist... He stood there, sun at his back and sword in hand, blood dripping from it's blade.

"Who are you...?"

She had read stories about the force dead, how the very omnipresent will she fought so hard each day to overthrow seemed completely absent from their lives, how they were notoriously difficult for her kind to do battle with, or even detect in the first place. But she had never experienced a void of the force for herself. She had opened herself to the force, even been at harmony with it for just a brief moment, and yet even the force itself could not see this man, let alone alert her to his presence.

It was as if looking at a man who did not exist.

But there he stood.

Fascinating...


Laphisto Tella Voland Tamsin Graves

 

[Spek Zhio]

His speeder hovering into the starship's port cargo bay, Spek Zhio heard the gentle purr of the sublight drives after shutting down the land vehicle. "You did keep the engines running, good girl Alcy," he complimented his ship. "We'll be up in the sky in no time!"

As usual, the temperamental heuristic brain, and also acting ship's computer, replied in her own way of flashing lights and briefly sounding alarms.

"Oh! Er... They weren't home and won't be coming for the cargo," he answered the ship's query. "We'll come back later or just sell these vaporators on some other sarlacc's pit." The ship buzzed again, as the Zeltron pilot was making his way into the flight cabin. "What? Is anything going on in the city? I had no idea..." Taking off his coat, he hung it on the back of the pilot seat and sat down. He continued to trade words for the ship's beeps and blinking lights, while going through the preflight checklist. "No! No! I had nothing to do with it! It was some poor slave girl running away, and that Sith girl I told you about was also there... No, not that one, the other one... Not that one either. The one I went for a drink with - No! That was on a space station. This one was planetside... Dank, Alcy, that was a dude! What do you mean? Most Sith wear makeup, what's the matter with you?

"Anyways, Kaila was there, plus the slave girl - no, I never got her name, sorry - and then there was this dragon dude... I don't know what kind, a green dragon? At least his armor was green... A-ny-way! There was also another Sith and we got into a... I mean, we talked for a bit... and there weren't zombies or anything like that involved... There was a Wookiee in armor though - what do you mean, zombies are more believable than a Wookiee that's not naked in Tatooine? - Well, cut the sass girl, systems nominal, we're ready for take off!

"Huh? No, I'm sure they left a while back and are offworld as we speak - Kaila's ship, I guess? Remember last time? We immediately lost track of it due to that plating shenanigans? Yeah, I agree, looks slick! What? You wouldn't mind that kind of overhaul? I guess you're due for a makeover, so we'll see about prettying you up after unloading this cargo. Plus, dragon boy offered us a job... I think?" His disposition suddenly took a turn, at the same time that Alcyone replied with a flash of yellow lights and a short outcry of the klaxon, paired with a red flickering dot on the overhead display. "That signature... almost like a bug in the scanner's readout... Is that... her ship? It's still here? Oh, that is bad, Alcy! Bestine is going on lockdown! I just managed to exit the city before the gates closed behind me and we were lucky enough to have parked on the outskirts, but... the city's turbolasers... that won't be good for them!"

Spek took less than a second to make up his mind and decide on a course of action, performing some inputs on the console in front of him as the drives roared into compliance like a rancor. "Yes Alcy, that's not an escape vector but a direct plot to Bestine. I'm counting on those turbolasers being aimed at them, to not see us blasting them from behind..." the ship gave him a big thumbs up in the form of a green lit up console. "Glad we at least agree on something... well, the first couple of turbolasers won't see us coming at least, as for the rest... we'll just have to wing it!"

The Azure Alcyone took off, amidst blown up clouds of sand.

---

Tamsin Graves Laphisto Kaila Irons Tella Voland Darth Nexion

 

[Aculia Voland]

(MEANT TO POST AS TELLA AHHHH!)

As Tella felt the cold chill of death through the Force with Kaila's lightsaber striking true, she dropped the sight and sound shields, momentarily disoriented by the shift back to normal senses and the adjustment of the lighting as the darkness generated from the aliens' unusual technology. To her shock, much like Kaila, she stared at a burly, tall military man clad armor who seemed to her as if to appear from nowhere. Narrowing her eyes, she tried to perceive him through the Force, only for him to simply blend in the background. He did not look like a typical Force user skilled in the art of Force Stealth, although she supposed that was possible, so that left one answer, one which frustrated her.

She offered a little quiet sigh to relieve the irritation, thinking back to her encounter on Malachor with Braze and his unusual clone friend/bodyguard. It was there she first crossed the phenomena of a "Force Dead" living object as they put it…and now instead of some kind of ammunition, she met an entire person like that.

I really have to discover a way to consistently detect these kinds of people or things. Air currents, sensing energy distortions in the weapons, and work enough on it that it can eventually become passive to me. These kinds of people and things are supposed to be exceedingly rare, but I have run into them twice now.

Thankfully, she had studied up on the phenomena since running into it on Ossus in the Great Library, and she stood at the ready to channel lightning and other such countermeasures that worked should he turn out to be hostile, ready to back up the Sith against this new threat, well aware of the irony of the situation. She had started out fully prepared to fight the woman, and now she was her ally against a potentially bigger threat. They needed to quickly ascertain or deal with him if he was a foe, though, because the slave girl had slipped away during the chaos, likely terrified of the whole encounter.

"And answer quickly. Our acquaintance is gone and I do not like that one bit considering the circumstances!" She added on to the Sith's question.

It seemed Tamsin had slipped away while they were engaged, and while she could vaguely sense her and that she was still alive and not injured, she could not pinpoint her location amongst the chaos while simultaneously being ready to strike down the mysterious armed man in front of them.

Kaila Irons Tamsin Graves Spek Zhio Laphisto Darth Nexion .

 

[Laphisto]

Tarian had hit his mark though what he didn't expect was the sudden still ness of his opponent he had his blade angled as it slices through flesh, at a way where it should have either left the creature dead dying or crippled. What he was not expecting how ever was the force sensitive Infront of him to lash out in such a way.

He didn't see what happened but he heard it the sound of flesh burning as plasma seared through before then the metallic clink as it struck his sword and sent Kaila Irons saber off course and then subsequently up into his helmet. The blade struck him and sent him stumbling back.

By the time the smoke cleared he was standing there standing in front of the woman with a sword dripped in blood and a slash along the visor of his helmet. The damage allowing his left eye to be visible as he stared at her for a few moments

When asked who he was he pulled the sword up and attached it to the mag lock on his back before pulling his helmet off and putting it under one arm. Glancing to Tella Voland as he narrowed his eyes at the both of them. They were not of the order and so he opted to be weary.

" I am commander Tarian, Lilaste order four seventy fifth infantry." He moved to tap a finger against the emblem of the Lilaste order, the same emblem laphisto had in his armor

Pulling his arm up he spoke into his communicator

"Sir this is Tarian, ships gone down. Crashed into some hotel of sorts, keldan fell in the market streets about forty meters to your west. Blitz is dead, as are kommer and chive. Iv met some of your friends. Turning on my locator now. See you soon commander"

Looking over his helmet he opted to toss it to the floor. It was damaged and broken and to a degree out of commission

"I have the commanders transponder signal we can rendezvous with him and find your missing acquaintance."

---

Meanwhile laphisto and keldan were making slow progress through the ally ways and other back ways trying to get to the inn where commander Tarian and the others where. When laphisto heard something to his left and turned to look at Tamsin Graves with a raised brow before calling out to her "you made it? Where are the others"

Grabbing keldan he and the solder began to slowly work Thier way over to the girl the soldier at his side now dragging his left leg as he lost all function to it.

" Would you mind giving me a hand?" As laphisto said this he moved to set the man down against the wall of the building checking the soldier over

 

[Tamsin Graves]

Tamsin was making her climb up the boxes and about to make her transition to the balcony that would be her gateway to the roof and then the ship. She was startled and almost tripped back and took a tumble down the boxes as someone said

"you made it? Where are the others"

Her arms flailed in the air and the boxes started to slide beneath her feet. Her body began wobble but through she sheer luck she caught herself and managed to get her footing the box coming to an easy rest. Her heart pounding as she saw the giant man in green armor from the square. She looked down at him and then over to the balcony just a few feet away. She didn't even hesitate and took a leap over to the balcony.

As she leapt the few feet gap, she grabbed out with both of her hands forgetting for a moment that she had a broken thumb on her right hand. Both of her hands grasped out for the ledge of the balcony. Her right thumb slammed against the wooden balcony and pain shot up straight through her hand all the way up her shoulder. Her right hand instinctively pulled away leaving her left hand holding her onto the balcony. She dangled there and let out a scream of pain.

"Awwwwwwwwwwwwwww."

Tears welled up in her eyes as she hung by one arm about fifteen feet off the ground. Her left arm feeling weak as she desperately tried to pull herself up to no avail. Her fingers were starting to slip due to perspiration building up on her hand. Tears began to flow freely from her eyes.

Totally unaware, her scream had alerted the guards that were walking up the street towards the hotel to investigate. Several of them split off to go investigate the screams. Just to turn down and ally way with a giant man in green armor yelling up at a little girl dangling from a balcony. They couldn't see the binder cuffs on her left hand from where they were at so didn't know right away, she was a slave girl. They turned their attention to the giant in green armor and his companion with a broken leg.

"What the hell is going on here!" One of the guards called out as he cautiously went for the blaster at his side.

---

Kaila Irons | Spek Zhio | Tella Voland | Laphisto

 

[Kaila Irons]

"And answer quickly. Our acquaintance is gone and I do not like that one bit considering the circumstances!" She added on to the Sith's question.

"Oh she's our acquaintance now?" Kaila half muttered, half chuckled. It was ironic that the gray jedi had her back even if temporarily. Even more ironic was that they were far more similar than either of them might know. A Jedi who was not a Jedi, and a Sith trying to leave the Sith.

But they assumed too much to form a true alliance, as beings like them had done for millennia prior, and would for millennia more.

"I am commander Tarian, Lilaste order four seventy fifth infantry."

"Ah, Lilaste" She begrudgingly attached the lightsaber to her belt, realizing that Tarian would not present an immediate threat, if only because they were, like she and the Jedi, united by a common objective for the time being.

Even so, she didn't plan on sticking around for a rendezvous.

"Well tell your commander I said hello. Say it loud it enough for him to hear this time"

Kaila would jokingly salute with a pair of fingers as she stepped out onto the streets in search of Tamzin.

"Awwwwwwwwwwwwwww."

The pained scream sent her into a sudden sprint toward the source, regardless of whether the Jedi nor Tarian caught up nor the presence of any onlookers.

An approaching guard was suddenly decapitated by a thrown lightsaber that spun through the air, returning to it's master just in time to deflect incoming fire from further down the street as she ran across, gaze never turning from the origin of that sound. She took a running leap off the hood of a landspeeder and up onto a nearby wall, leading her up even further to a rooftop which she crossed, coming to a sliding halt dangerously close to the edge as she saw Tamsin.

Reaching out with the force, she tried to support the girl, perhaps even nudge her up the last bit, hoping to whatever gods might be out there that her allies could keep the guards off her back long enough to keep the girl from falling.


Tamsin Graves Tella Voland Spek Zhio Laphisto

 

[Tella Voland]

Lilaste, their purpose being here as inscrutable as ever, but at least it could be worse.

Tella was unfamiliar with the organization/mercenary group, only that they were "allies" of the Empire, but not particularly strong ones which she had heard from her mother. Rumors of tolerating TAC members and even reports that arms were being sold to them as well, all the while accepting Imperial money for their weapons and services. Loyal to themselves and who held the most credits, her mother had said of mercenaries, she would know having been one. Were they this far out for a mercenary contract? Perhaps looking for some desperate, poverty-stricken people to sign up? She did not know. Either way, they did not seem a threat-for now.

"Very well, Commander, but we must hurry." Tella replied, ignoring the Sith's barb as that was just in their nature, letting him lead the way in a quick jog as Kaila struck out on her own.

They arrived just in time to watch Tamsin, whose plan to strike it out on her own had failed spectacularly dangling dangerously off the roof of a building, and Kaila pulling off impressive feats of Force-enhanced acrobatics and attempted telekinesis to help the girl, even as she left her back completely open to being attacked with blasters or, if she were so inclined, the Force.

Unusual for a Sith to lower their defenses that much, interesting.

Tella, however, did not have time to think about that point as an entire squad of guardsmen began to rush towards both the Sith and the former slave, alerted by the massacre of their comrade and the bartender's earlier call for help. Sighing, she told the Force Dead commander to stay back as the group hurried down the street, and steadied herself.

Drawing deeply on the Force, she wove various invisible silvery threads of it around the heads of each member of the squad and the commander, implanting in them the strong idea that they had, in fact, taken a wrong turn and been mistaken, that, in truth, the commotion was coming from the opposite end of the city. The trick seemed to work, with the group halting in their tracks at the command of their squad leader, then rushing off down an alley towards the other end of the city.

Easier than killing them, and I can't do what the Sith does and maintain my balance.

The sudden effort and magnitude, however, caused her to sweat heavily, even stumble a little before she regained her footing, her head throbbing slightly. Even for a Consular at a typical Knight level, that was a hard feat to pull off without much time to prepare.

Hopefully this will all be worth it in the end, she thought as she motioned for the commander to take the lead so that they could reunite with their "party" as it were.

Tamsin Graves Laphisto Kaila Irons

 

[Spek Zhio]

Whatever was going on at ground-level, whatever could be fully occupying the attention and focus of Bestine's citizens, outlaws, guards, slavers, slaves, and impromptu rescuers and escapee... "That would be sure to draw their attention!" The captain said to his ship, the Azure Alcyone. The good thing about her topside double-barreled laser cannon, was its high terawattage that packed quite a punch. The bad, was that the single weapon on the ship required manual operation.

Guided by the Force, Spek's aim was true and the laser projectiles able to rip apart one of the turbolasers, that was probably trying to get a lock on either Kaila's ship or the group. Hitting the fuel lines at the base of the power generator sent a cascade of detonations which culminated on the whole turret blowing up from within. Debris flying everywhere in the vicinity as a thick column of fire and smoke rose up from the weapon's dead husk.

"Yeah, we managed to get everyone's attention, alright!" Zhio exclaimed, as the remaining turbolasers of the city's defense grid rotated to get a lock on the Alcyone. The retrofitted YT-1930 did a flyby on the nearest turret, faster and more nimble than its kinematic pair of helical joints allowed it to give chase. Doing a 180-degree turn on the laser canon turret, Spek blasted away at the second turret as they passed it. Two were down and only a couple dozen more remained, while the ship and her sole occupant were now under crossfire.

Spiraling, like the death roll of a crocodile, as it zigzagged ever forward, Alcyone managed to dodge most of the shots and absorb the remainder with her deflector ray shields. "Kaila's ship is still grounded?" Spek asked of his own ship. In response, he received a series of beeps and bops from her. "What the dank are they waiting for? Here I am trying to buy them time," three turbolaser turrets down, "and they're taking the scenic route out!" The ship's banter buzzes and blinking lights turned to veritable warning signs, indicating an imminent failure on the starship's astarboard shield quadrant. "Don't give me sass, missie! You're the one flying, I'm the one shooting! Take care of your end and I'll take care of mine!"

Despite the single weapon on the ship requiring manual action, the flight operation could be fully carried out by the ship's heuristic brain, which once was housed inside the chrome cranium of an RX-series pilot droid. This allowed Spek to delegate the flying to her while he focused solely on shooting from within the cannon's turret. Alcyone did a good job handling herself in a way that surpassed most automated flight systems but - and Zhio would never admit it in earshot of her, for fear of reprimands - she was no match for his own piloting skills. Skills that, at present, were severely needed.

Having reached the other end of Bestine's perimeter, as the vessel performed a wide ascending arc followed by a sudden plunge and return to the firefight, it flew low, clearing the highmost rooftops by no more than one meter. The turbolasers would have to risk firing upon the city itself to hit her, and the closest turrets would be unable to even target her due to not being able to aim at such low angle. Spek fired the ship's laser cannon and blew the fourth turbolaser to smithereens. I have to try to reach out to them, he thought and, grasping with the Force, felt the now familiar maelstrom that was Kaila's impression on the fabric of it.

A sudden jolt of the Azure Alcyone snapped him out of his Force telepathy, as a turbolaser managed to scrape the starboard titanium-reinforced Durasteel. "I know, I know! An astromech would've come in handy right about now!" he stated, exasperated. "You would let me know if there's a fire somewhere, right, Alcy? Right?" The ship beeped affirmatively. "Regardless, we can't keep this up for much longer!"

Waiting just until he managed to blast the fifth turbolaser, Spek tried to get a hold of Kaila, once again. Hopefully she does not have her guard up with that fashion accessory of hers. He needed to coordinate with the group and hurry them the frack out of there!

Focusing on establishing a telepathic link with the Sith, the Padawan dropout failed to notice the warning red blips on his head-up display, informing that, from the city's docking bays, fighters were being scrambled.

---

Tamsin Graves Kaila Irons Laphisto Tella Voland

 

[Laphisto]

Commander Tarian's sharp eyes caught sight of movement ahead. His focus shifted from the distant chaos in the skies to something far more pressing: Laphisto and Keldan had managed to work their way toward Tamsin Graves precarious position. Relief washed over him, though it didn't last long as he realized the urgency of the situation.

Laphisto had already reached the alley near where Tamsin was dangling, and Keldan, though injured, was by his side. Tamsin was still struggling to hold on, her scream echoing in the streets. Kaila Irons was performing her acrobatic leaps toward the girl, but things were escalating too fast.

Tarian quickly raised his hand, signaling to Tella Voland . "Change of plan The commander and Keldan are already there. We need to help clear the path for them and keep the guards off their backs."

He brought his LO-18D up, scanning the area as he positioned himself to cover their advance. "I'll lay down fire. You focus on keeping them off balance, like you did with those guards earlier."

Without wasting another moment, Tarian sprinted forward, taking up a defensive position, firing precise bursts toward any potential threats moving toward Laphisto, Keldan, and Tamsin. The sounds of blaster fire rang out as he worked to suppress any incoming guards, making sure the path stayed clear for Laphisto to help Tamsin.

"High Commander!" Tarian called out. "We've got you covered!"

His gaze flicked upward as he kept scanning the area, ready to respond to any new danger. "We don't have much time. Let's move quickly before those fighters up top come down on us"

Pausing for a moment the commander added " oh and sir, the angsty one says hello and to make sure you could hear it this time. Sir"

---

Laphisto was busy tending to keldan when he heard tamsins cry for help. with a raised brow he growled lightly to himself aiming to reach out with teh force to help set her down safely on the ground before Kaila seemed to appear out of no where. and seeing her intention he simply helped aid in the force push to lift the girl up over the edge and back onto solid ground.

upon hearing Tarian his head flicked over. the teal blue flahsing over his eyes to no avail as he tried to see the commander but he simple nodded thier way as he saw the blurry figure rush past him to cover thier rear. A chuckle rising in his throat at his discription of kaila" good to see you commander. And I'll remember that" lifting keldan up as best he could he quickly tried to make his way topwards the building where Kailas ship was at. his gaze flicking to the star fighter piloted by Spek Zhio "craft fellow you are."

 

[Tamsin Graves]

It felt like forever just dangling there feeling in the fingers of her left hand leaving and she was slipping. She glanced at the ground below, the fall would definitely break her legs if not more. This was it, the end of the escape so much for a chance at what ever freedom was she thought herself. Tears poured down her face as she closed her eyes about ready to give up and let go.

With her eyes closed she heard blaster fire, a guard yelling, and the snap hiss followed by the silencing of a guard. Off in the distance she could hear further fire from bigger guns, the city was erupting into complete chaos. "You feel that." The voice tingled in the back of her mind. Tamsin wasn't sure what it was talking about, feel what? Yet it stayed silent as her last moments dangling there she was about to let go.

Then a push seemed to come from underneath and soon it was aided and her fingers moved up and slid into a position where she was more firmly grasping the ledge. Then it wasn't long, and she felt herself aided by the push from Kaila Irons and Laphisto pulling herself up and over the ledge. Her eyes opening and look at the ship less then twenty feet away from her. Escape and a taste at freedom, something she had never envisioned herself having until this moment at arm's reach.

She glanced back across the roof to where Kaila was and mouthed the words. "Thanks." As pushed herself up to her feet and looked down into the ally way. The man in his green armor standing his ground, then she looked off into the adjacent where Tella Voland almost collapsed. Concerned washed over Tamsin's face, she didn't know these people and she wasn't sure what games they were all playing at but they were helping her. Why her of all people, all the things any of them had said to her up this point still confused her she couldn't make sense of it.

They would fight and put there lives on the line just to get her to this point. She was grateful but there was no way she would ever be able to repay a single one of them even if she was special as they all believed her to be. She looked off towards the skyline one last time of Tatooine looking up towards the double suns. She saw another ship taking on the city defenses a practical army all for her benefit. A war in her name or honor, she thought to herself she better be damn special for this not just some dumb slave girl.

"It's time to go." She told herself as she started her quick jount to Kaila's ship. She hoped the others wouldn't be to far behind her. If she had a way to help, she would have. The best she could do is hope they all made it.

---

Kaila Irons | Spek Zhio | Tella Voland | Laphisto

 

[Kaila Irons]

Kaila didn't stop pushing until Tamsin was safely atop, hand drifting down to her side once it was done, head dipping in a tired nod when the girl looked back from across the way. While irrelevant to her safety, she hoped that her actions had demonstrated her intent in lieu of words, and that a degree of trust could be had.

Then, stepping back several paces, she took another running leap to close the distance.

All the while, she could sense Spek Zhio 's desire to commune with her, and allowed their minds to be linked once more, if only by a single thread this time. Her circlet allowed them to speak even despite the alchemical wards inscribed into her mask, though it was much like a commlink in that she could cut the thread if she wished, or allow a new one to reach her.

<<We've got to stop meeting like this>>



Tamsin Graves however was "welcomed" by the metallic clatter of a BB-unit rolling to the ship's entrance.

<Bwerp woop??>

ZR-OO rolled at an angle to simulate a head tilt, it's eye- a single blue strip of lights- stared unblinking at Tamsin from atop the open boarding ramp.

<Bwooooop...?> It added, droning sadly at the shackles still hanging from the girl's wrist.

Kaila crossed the gap a moment later, to which the droid deployed a single mechanical arm with which to wave at her, receiving a simple nod from the renegade Sith as she ran up the boarding ramp.

"She's with me, got a few others behind. Prepare us for takeoff!"

The droid then rolled backwards towards the cockpit, saluting with the same arm as he rolled deeper into the ship.

"Now, where's the Jedi?"

Kaila gripped a nearby support and turned to face the city again, looking for the others. Laphisto , Tarian, and someone else where below her in the alley exchanging fire with the city guard by the look of it. The Halcyon was tying up the city's starfighters and anti-air for the time being, and people were still fleeing the square.

Bloody Hell, she thought. We've created a warzone.

Her eyes narrowed on the streets, realizing it had all gone wrong, and now the Jedi was nowhere to be seen. She could just leave. Honestly it would have been the pragmatic thing to do, and the Jedi was actually quite annoying, and less trusting than even the Alliance Jedi she had interacted with. But... When it mattered, she had helped Kaila.

"Shit,"

A blaster bolt struck the molecular shielding beside her, causing the renegade sith to duck momentarily.

"Lilaste!" She called out to the order members below.

"Where is the Jedi? We are leaving! Thirty Seconds!"

She couldn't stay long, but maybe she could stay just long enough.


Tella Voland Laphisto Tamsin Graves Spek Zhio

 

[Tella Voland]

As the entire city erupted into a chaotic warzone, Tella focused her attention on following Tarian's suggestion, concealing herself behind a low wall to avoid stray blaster fire. Reaching into her robes and taking out a small energy drink, she downed the entire thing in one go, then tossed the container to the side. It helped a little with the headache she was getting from exerting herself a bit too much, that and with Tarian drawing most of the fire, indeed, pretty much all of the fire, she was able to regain enough concentration to pull off a more large scale feat.

Drawing deeply on the Force, she projected into the minds of the nearest squads of approaching guards a false mimicry of the battlefield with key subtle changes that made all the difference in the world. For example, Tarian's shots seeming to go awry, when they were in fact quite accurate, him appearing where he was not, fallen comrades still standing instead of lying dead or wounded on the ground, their shots hitting imaginary foes to give them the overconfidence to charge forward where they would be cut down in short order. Tarian or the others would not see any of this, only watching as multiple scores of guards seemed to naturally funnel themselves into killzones without fear. The cold chill of death washed over her in the Force as the Force Dead commander appeared akin to some holonet super commando, wracking up a kill count few in the galaxy could claim in just minutes thanks to her efforts.

The Order better repay me one day for doing this…

Glancing upwards, she noticed Tamsin finally make it onto the Sith's ship. Not her ideal plan, but as her mother had taught her, very few things in the galaxy ended up the way they wanted them to be. Calling out to Tarian to warn him to take cover, she quickly moved up the side of a nearby building, then used a combination of the wind and a telekinetic push off of it to neatly fly into Kaila's ship, which she landed in gracefully.

"Present." She replied, catching Kaila's statement as she managed to make it aboard the ship, just barely keeping the exhaustion out of her voice. Multiple quick, heavy uses of the Force with little time against so many opponents would exhaust anyone, but she knew it had been worth it to buy them time against so many foes. Hopefully the ground forces below, now actually seeing how devastated they were as the carefully crafted illusion disappitated, would be much more cautious or even retreat.


Kaila Irons Tamsin Graves Laphisto Spek Zhio

 

[Spek Zhio]

It was one thing to dodge turbolasers. Powerful as they were, they could not rotate fast enough to follow the Alcyone and also made for some nifty stationary targets. Snubfighters, were the exact opposite. With less firepower and more maneuverability, they were able to pound the ship's deflector shields into submission, which were already running low on juice, and as such could not be left for Alcyone to handle by herself. Spek left the gun turret in haste and rushed to the flight cabin. As he made his way through the fore passageway, upon steeping into the intersecting corridor that connected port and starboard holds there, he was buffeted by a sudden gust of wind. "Never mind shooting them down, we'll evade them while giving them a target to shoot at," the pilot said upon taking his seat at the cockpit. "Now's not the time to argue! We'll discuss who's a better pilot some other time! If we make it through, that is... Besides, missie, we'll have a long talk about how you were downplaying the hull breach on the main hold! I'll have to patch the durasteel before we're offworld!"

Time was of the essence and, with every second counting in a dogfight, the Zeltron was just shy of assuming control of the spacecraft in time. The ship rattled as if it was a land vehicle hitting a few bumps on the road. She complained with a few shorts bursts of a klaxon. "What do you mean, 'a busted solenoid short-circuited the entire portside hold'? We've no lights on the living quarters? Dank farrik! I'll never let you forget this! Hand them over," he gently took hold of the HOTAS.

Some half a dozen fighters were in pursuit. "Multiple bogeys," he tapped the radar feed with a finger a couple of times, the screen monetarily glitched before producing a clearer visual, "scratch that, seven bandits, two and two tally, ten and three o'clock low. Three on our tail." Spek pushed the throttle and twisted the stick. "I know what I'm doing! We'll go for a climbing maneuver. Risky, on account of the surface-to-air but we're blind here..." he flew the ship head-on towards the incoming hostiles, preparing to merge and begin a climbing spiral that they were sure to follow, but hoping to lose them post-merge with a higher rate of turn. "...for the time being, anyway!" Kaila, get your sweet ass airborne, I need a wingmate, dammit! He hoped she was still listening.

"You got this, love!" he reassured his ship. "You're faster, more nimble, more... wait! I got a better idea, who said we don't have wings up here?" The ship complained as the pilot maintained altitude and performed a displacement roll instead, flying through the incoming fighters. He managed to miss one of them by a mere hairbreadth while scrapping against a nearby building. "What? You weren't using that antenna anyway, it's been busted for how long?" A few laser shots struck and were deflected by the frontal quadrant of the shield. "I know it's about to crap on us, and that's why I'm doing this," Zhio adjusted the power balance of the deflector shields or, rather, fully unbalanced them by diverting all remaining power to the aft. They were almost flying naked, unprotected in all directions but the rear of the vessel. Having managed to fly past all the fighters that were in front, diverting all power in such a way seemed like an obvious choice. If not for the fact that Spek was flying straight towards one of the turbolaser turrets.

"Save your breath - or whatever it is that's making that buzzing noise," maintaining a fixed trajectory, in full alignment with the artillery that they were rapidly approaching, and with two flights of fighters hot on their trail, Spek closed his eyes. The Force guides my hand. Barreling out of the way at the very last moment that a couple of high-powered bolts were about to hit the Alcyone, they dodged, as two of the pursuing aircrafts behind them were blasted away by the friendly fire plasma emissions aimed at them. That frakking woman, got me all religious and shit again!

"See? I told you we had buddies up here, even if unwilling ones!"

It was too soon to claim victory though. That two were down meant there were five fighters yet to go. Not counting the remaining turrets, and assuming there were no more hostile ships inbound.

---

Laphisto Tamsin Graves Kaila Irons Tella Voland

 

[Laphisto]

Commander Tarian moved swiftly through the narrow alley, every movement precise and calculated. The surrounding chaos—the echoes of blaster fire and shouts of retreating guards—barely registered in his mind. With Tella Voland using her Force abilities to confuse and disorient the enemy, Tarian had free rein to focus entirely on unleashing the full force of his weapon.

His rifle spat out precise shots, each bolt finding its mark, taking down enemies with cold, efficient accuracy. Guards fell one by one, each a clean, deliberate kill. When the magazine clicked empty, Tarian didn't hesitate. In a smooth motion, he ejected the empty cartridge, slammed in a fresh magazine of slug rounds, and chambered the first round with a sharp, satisfying clack.

Then came the roar.

The first shot of the .30-06 slug round shattered the air, its ear-splitting crack cutting through the sounds of battle. Unlike the familiar whine of plasma bolts, the brutal, physical force of the slug sent a ripple of fear through the remaining guards. The first slug ripped through the chest plate of a nearby enemy, tearing a gaping hole in his armor and sending him crashing into the guard behind him. Both fell to the ground, lifeless, blood pooling around them.

The effect was immediate. The guards—already stumbling under the effects of Tella's Force-induced confusion—froze in shock. Plasma burns and blaster wounds they understood, but this? This was different. Seeing their comrades torn apart by solid slugs, their bodies crumpling lifelessly to the ground, was beyond anything they were prepared for.

"Slug thrower!" one of the guards shouted, the disbelief and fear evident in his voice.

Tarian pressed forward, each shot from his weapon a thunderous boom that echoed through the alley. The stability harness on his A.A.S.H MKII. arm absorbed the powerful recoil, allowing him to keep his aim steady, each round finding its target with lethal precision. One slug punched through a guard's helmet, sending him sprawling to the ground. Another tore through the armor of two more, dropping them before they could even react.

The remaining guards, those who hadn't yet been hit, began to break. They stumbled over each other in a blind panic, some firing wildly in every direction, others turning to flee. Their confidence, their cohesion, had been shattered by the raw, primal terror of Tarian's weapon.

Plasma blasters, the standard of modern combat, seemed almost elegant compared to the sheer brutality of a slug thrower. Slug throwers were relics, ancient weapons, but in the right hands, they were terrifyingly effective. The deafening cracks and the sight of mangled bodies were enough to unnerve even the most battle-hardened soldiers. This was not the clean, efficient death of a plasma burn; this was raw, violent destruction.

Tarian kept firing, methodical and relentless, as the guards scattered in fear, leaving nothing but chaos in his wake. he shot at the men as they fled dropping a few more before turning and immediately running to Laphistos aid grabbing Keldan. the A.A.S.H arm retracting onto Tarians back no longer in use.

---

Laphisto's ear perked at the sound of Kaila's voice as starfighters screamed overhead, their engines roaring through the smoky skies. His eyes narrowed as he glanced toward Tarian and Keldan, assessing their position. Though he couldn't see Tarian through the Force—thanks to the commander's Force-dead nature—he could still track him physically. His gaze focused on the wounded Keldan.

"Hold on tight, Commander," Laphisto growled, the words earning a confused look from Tarian.

Before Tarian could react, Laphisto surged with the Force, flinging both Tarian and Keldan upward in an arc over the roof. The sudden burst of power sent the two men flying across the rooftop, a startled grunt escaping Tarian as they landed hard but unharmed on the other side.

Laphisto, following swiftly, stretched his wings wide and with a single powerful beat, launched himself into the air. The wind rushed past him as he soared overhead, starfighters still weaving through the skies, their cannons firing at distant targets. Landing gracefully near where Tarian had already pulled Keldan to his feet, Laphisto wasted no time. He moved quickly, securing Keldan under one arm with ease, helping the wounded soldier toward Kaila's waiting ship.

The rooftop trembled as distant explosions rocked the city, stray bolts from overhead fire slamming into nearby buildings. The chaotic noise of battle reverberated all around them, and the ominous hum of the approaching starfighters grew louder by the second. Time was running out, and the window for escape was closing fast.

By the time they reached the ship's platform, Tarian was already helping Keldan onto the ramp. Laphisto joined, pushing forward with urgency, his wings folding tightly against his back. He cast a quick glance toward the sky—he could see the distant glint of starfighters circling back.

"We're here" Laphisto barked over the noise, his voice sharp with urgency. "Get him inside. We need to get off this roof now. Those fighters will lock onto us soon, and we're like a grazka on a womp-rat's trail up here" looking around the entry of the ship Laphisto looked over at Tamsin Graves noticing the slave cuffs still on the girls arm" lets get those cuffs o-" he grunted as he took a few steps forwards and almost kicked the soccer ball that was ZR-00 " what the?"

 

[Tamsin Graves]

She climbed to the top of the ramp to be great by ZR-00. "Well it's nice to meet you too, I hope the others are right behind me." Then ZR-00 Bwoooooped in a question sad tone. Tamsin lifted her wrist and looked at the shackle still hanging there. "You got a cutting tool right?" As she said it Kaila came storming aboard the ship telling the droid that Tamsin was with her.

Kaila ordered the droid to go prepare for takeoff, Kaila looked exhausted and a little flustered. Blaster shots could be heard bouncing off the hull of the ship, that threw Tamsin into a panic. Then Tella came aboard followed by a lumbering green giant with wings and his armed men. He nearly tripped over ZR-00 but thankfully the droid was already on the move for the cockpit to prepare for flight. Laphisto looked down at Tamsin's whose eyes were wide as he said let's get those cuffs off you.

Everyone was aboard, and the loading ramp began close, and the engines began to fire up. The rumble of the first ignition startled Tamsin she had only ever been on a spaceship once that she could remember. Her heart raced surrounded by the giant offering to remove her cuffs, his armed men right behind him, the engines starting, and the thought of she didn't know what happened next.

Sounds of war outside thundered as the city of Bestine erupted into complete chaos. Tasmin slowly raise her cuffed arm to the giant. It was time to be free and to escape this place once and for all.


Kaila Irons | Tella Voland | Spek Zhio | Laphisto