Let's Paint the Town....Red, Black and Gold! [OS/GA]

[Roth Tillian]

[member="Soeht"] [member="Mira Rekali"]

Roth smirked at the sight of a feared Sith and One Sith soldiers with pink painted armor. That was a sight for the Holonet. Hopefully some slicer was already broadcasting that across the galaxy. Even better was that the paint would be nearly impossible to scrub off.

"Tricks?" The Sith asked and Roth broke into a wide grin.

"Of course a trick. Do you have no flair for the dramatic?" He waved the other detonator at him like a disapproving finger. "Then you have much to learn about the Force."

Then came Mira's cry and he staggered back behind a pillar as a barrage of blaster bolts singed the air and shattered the stone in the statue. Perhaps Mandalorian armor wasn't a bucket of frying pans after all. It might actually have its uses in situations like these. So would his bolter, in fact. But it was conveniently, still on Sullust. He wished he had brought that at this point. But he didn't. As they said, it was better to have something and not need it than need it and not have it.

But he had his lightsaber, which while not his first choice, would have to do. He had the detonator still though and scrutinized it. No, not yet. That would draw far too much attention. Two knights were still only two knights on the One Sith capital. No need to blow everything up until there was no other choice.

He had to act once more. So he took a deep breath and opened himself up to the Force, letting it flow into him. The connection was not near as much as it would be in space, but it was enough. Another deep breath and he was calm.

Then he stepped out, lightsaber held horizontally for shien and let it guide him. The blade moved up and down as the bolts came inwards and he deflected them away. Some back towards the few stormtroopers and others towards the Sith.

Part of him was terrified, but another was exhilarated. His guard staggered and he barely twisted aside in time. He shoved the thoughts aside again and raised the blaster again as he advanced, now in melee range and switched to the much more aggressive djem so style, hacking through weapons to disable them and then a downward push sent them flying backward.

He stopped, surprised at how effective that had been. His lightsaber hummed in his hand still. Maybe he should use it more often.

The satchels. Roth held out his hand and pulled them to him, the charges skittering across the duracrete ground.

 

[Soeht]

After his impact into [member="Mira Rekali"], Soeht straightened himself once again. Stormtroopers behind him began to rain blaster bolts upon [member="Roth Tillian"]’s position - unable to hit him behind the pillar. Soeht approached the tomb’s entryway. He swung his lightsaber and quickly shifted his body for the few deflected blaster bolts that Roth sent back toward his direction - at least before he entered the tomb.

“I felt it, Mandalorian,” began Soeht, “When I first attacked you. A darkness within you. Yet you continue to be seduced by the light.”

Soeht came closer. He stepped on the detonator that rolled away from Mira’s hand. He began to apply pressure on it - as if to crush it.

A very noticeable, invasive sensation in Mira’s head materialized. It was according to Soeht’s will through the Force.

Just after inhaling deeply, Soeht said to Mira, “Litt̶l͢e… lam͘b̸… No. More a caged lion.”

Stretching his left hand toward Mira just as Roth picked up the satchel of charges, Soeht told Mira, “Time to release it.”

 

[The End Narrator]

‘That hurt…’ She thought to herself as she came around.

What else would it have done, felt warm and comforting? A painful expression overcame her face as she shifted against the stone, metal grinding against stone with an audible pitch that could make the skin of the most hardened individual crawl. Coral eyes gazed upon his form as he approached, shaking her head in rapid succession – attempting to jiggle free the stars that blurred her vision from the impact. She could feel the shadows surrounding her, the shackles of control within her mind being touched by the mental presence of [member="Soeht"]. A whimper of protest escaped her throat as she pulled away – the icy cold tendrils of the dark side crawling up her flesh. She felt the pain, the hatred, the sheer rage boiling over within – she wanted to lash out, it was killing her.

‘Control it, don’t let it control you.’ She hissed, trying to fight back his mental torment.

Her emotions were the weakest part of who she was – and she was fighting against them every step of the way. She saw [member="Roth Tillian"] fighting in the distance, and then the flash of crimson from the saber – the the detonator beneath his boot. Her right hand reached out abruptly as she focused the Force around the device, feeling each and every crevice of it. The sounds of the small mechanical components whirling and twisting filled her thoughts as she searched and quickly – before she found the switch and simply tugged with the Force.

The tug would activate the detonator and in turn set of a plethora of explosives behind them and on the roof above the Tomb, quite possibly either burying them or opening an escape for her to flee through. In succession though – the paint bombs would explode in a brightened array of colors and symbols, letting the people of Coruscant know that the Galactic Alliance had been there. In turn, it would hopefully incite the flames of rebellion on the capital world.

Would they survive? Only the Force would know.

 

[Soeht]

“Bottling up your potential like that,” Soeht told [member="Mira Rekali"], “You can’t control it that way, Mandalorian.”

Click

“Hm?”

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM

Before Soeht could react, a series of explosions went off. The charges that spread out all over the duracrete ground detonated. The shockwave took out the remaining stormtroopers that were fighting [member="Roth Tillian"]. Even the young man was in mortal danger had he not discarded the satchels he grabbed in time.

A cloud of paint shot up into the air. Darth Shara’s visage was instantly tainted by bright colors. A mix of orange and pink rained down around the Valley - staining what was a hallowed ground for many Sith cultists.

The Tomb of Darth Talon suffered severe damage. The statue toppled over the entryway. The entryway itself partially collapsed. The entrance was blocked by a pile of rubble. A hole in the ceiling of the entryway showed a layer of debris covering most of the ground.

Buried beneath some rubble, Soeht remained motionless for a good moment. The only thing the light shined on was his left hand. No cracking or light from his lightsaber remained.

 

[Roth Tillian]

[member="Soeht"] [member="Mira Rekali"]

A very strong sensation through the Force hit him and he hurled the satchel at the soldiers. It landed among them has it exploded in a fiery blast, hurling him towards the towards the tomb. His own detonator fell from his hand as the charges he planted on the other side went off. As he hurtled through the air and slammed into the tomb of Talon, he had the satisfaction of Krayt himself coated in pink and orange paint. Roth fell to the ground, pain firing through every nerve in his body. So that was why people wore armor. It made sense now.

He reached for his lightsaber, but couldn't find it. It had skittered away somewhere in the blast and something rang in his head. Was that a fire alarm? He tilted his head to try and listen better. No, it appeared to be in his head. Wonderful. Roth staggered to his feet and held out his arms to balance, as best he could. Something ran down his face and he held his hand up to feel what it was. When he looked at his hand, it was covered in blood. Flames licked across the square, but he couldn't hear anything.

He swayed and dropped to the ground again. Wow, did everything hurt. He'd have to make a joke about it for Mira. Roth blanched. She had been in the tomb. He swiveled around to view it and frowned. Well, that was going to be hard to get through, but he'd give it a try.

Still off balance and swaying, he stumbled to the entrance way and fell down again, staring at the statue, trying to connect to the Force to lift it. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, although it caught several times, sending him into a searing coughing fit. He could feel the Force, but it was a trickle through everything going on in his head. He stretched out a hand to life the statue, but nothing happened. His hand dropped to one side as he stared at it dumbly.

 

[The End Narrator]

The sound of ringing filled her ears.

That was always a good thing – well atleast in this case, her vision wasn’t clouded anymore just the entire entryway was concealed in a thick layer of dust and smoke. Mira coughed loudly and the cough would turn into a low chuckle. ‘I didn’t think I had it in me…’ She thought to herself as she struggled to get up, grabbing onto the chunks of debris around her. The Force was in chaos around the area – the dark side was brimming with the flames of hatred and anger at what they had done, but somewhere she felt a trickle of light.

Roth had made it out as well.

That also was a good thing, now it was time to try to make it off planet before they got caught. First things first, get what she had come for – what she had felt through the Force inside this forsaken Tomb. Somehow – in the blast, her buy’ce had been flung inside the entranceway, ending up at her feet. With yet another choked up chuckle, she’d reach down and retrieve it. She examined the cracked visor for a moment, then pulled it over her head with a relatively satisfied sigh. It took a moment for what systems were functional to come online – limited HUD operations and a relatively functional communication system, but it worked. Amazing how Mandalorian technology could withstand such a thing.

That left only one thing.

The visor picked up the faint life sign that came from Soeht on the ground a few meters from her, his hand sticking out from beneath a pile of rubble. “Your fate is your own Sith.” She said coldly, turning away from the pile, ducking her head and entering deeper into the Tomb. Mira had to make it to the entrance – she had blown up the charges for a reason – the contingency plan. The inner portions of Darth Talon’s tomb were destroyed more than she had desired – treasures and tributes scattered about, but there was no mistaking the faint feeling of a Kaiburr crystal through the Force. It wasn’t like the bigger crystal where it held immense power and sensation – no this was very faint. Only good for a lightsaber crystal and it’s focusing components.

Mira reached out, her right hand raising slowly, shaking quite a bit as the adrenaline coursed through her veins. She would touch the pools of the Light, searching for that faint signature – and there! She found it. Mira felt the warmth of the shard – it’s soothing sensation, something completely different than she had expected. Her hand would close and she’d begin to pull her fist inwards, wrapping invisible coils about the shard. She could hear movement beneath the debris and then a small thud as a box came flying out from underneath a pile of rubble.

Her eyes opened as the box remained floating before her – her hand opening to clasp one side while the other rose up to grab the other side. She had found what she had come for – now it was time to leave. With some effort and strain, she’d run up the pile of debris – as well as climb here and there. Heading towards the top of the Tomb.

She’d emerge on the top of the tomb, looking around through a cracked visor for [member="Roth Tillian"].

“Roth, you still with me?” She spoke through the secure channel.

 

[Soeht]

As [member="Mira Rekali"] pulled herself onto the roof of the temple, Soeht’s hand slowly closed into a fist.

The explosion that rocked the Valley certainly did not go unnoticed. With the fire on Level 12 subdued, guards and security began to rush back to ground level in order to ascertain the situation. The high visibility of the explosion among the planet city would also generate interest from stormtroopers in neighboring districts. The longer it took for [member="Roth Tillian"] and Mira to disappear now, the more dangerous it would become for them.

“口̨̀͘͡͏口̡́口̶̢͟͡口̴̶口̴̷͟口́口͢͟͡∪͏͏́∪̧̛∪̷̸∪͘҉̴̀∪҉͞∪̷́∪̴͢∪̴̛̀̕∪̢̢̛͢͡∪̵̡͘∪̴͟͡͠匚̵̛͜͟͞卄̨̀̕!̨̨͡” something roared back inside the Temple of Talon.

The sound of rock and duracrete being thrown into a wall could be heard from within the Temple. The darkness inside might seem to be more of a void now than before.

“Ϛʇϋρɪɗ ɗϋʍɓ ɗϋʍɓ ʇʀɑϚɦ!” it continued with a noxious yellow voice.

Soeht’s right hand slammed onto the ledge of the hole on top of Talon’s Tomb. Blackish blood devoid of oxygen smeared on the surface. More slithered from the creases and cracks of Soeht’s armor. Soeht’s second hand shot up from the darkness and grasped the ledge. The Sith began to pull himself up.

“Ｙ͠Ｏ̶̸̡͝Ｕ̸̷͢ ̛̛̕͟͞Ｙ͡͝Ｏ͘Ｕ̷̸͞͞ ̨͟͡͡Ｙ̢́͜͟Ｏ̕͠Ｕ̨͝ ̴̶Ｙ̡͞͏҉Ｏ̸̶̵͞͡Ｕ͏̀͟ ͏̶͝͏̴Ｙ́͏͜͞Ｏ̸̴̡̀Ｕ̀͠͝Ｕ̴̸̷͞Ｕ̸̨͟͝,” it screamed as Soeht pulled his head back into the light and into Mira’s view merely a moment after touching the edge of the hole.

“I͏̴̶̴̨’͜͏l̨̀́͟͞l̸͘͝ ̡͜͢͠k̷̴͠͝i̢̧̕l̴̕͞͞l̀̀͟ ̢̢́͘͜y͏̡̛͟͞o͏͜͠u͟͡,” bellowed Soeht as he ignited a new lightsaber he had taken from his belt.

The lightsaber once again had a crimson blade and was crackling and chaotic rather than a smooth hum. It also had a pair of smaller blades acting as a cross guard.

“K̸̡̡̛i̵̢̛͘͟ĺ̷̵̢l̕͝!̶̴̢҉̛ ̷̢̛͠͡P̀͘͡҉͠ą̷̀͞͡i͞͏ǹ̡͠!̶͟͏͘̕ ҉ΐ̵̡̀͝Ϯ́͜͢͠҉ ͜͏Ӈ̸͟u̧̨͜Ɍ̕Ϯ͏҉͏ϩ̶̶̀͜͠ϩ̶̸͠͞ϩ͟͢ϩ̷̸̷̡̡ϩ̷̧͝ϩ̕͜͢ϩ̨͜!” hissed Soeht with a toxic voice.

Covered in dust with scratches and dents all over his armor, the cheerful pink that had splashed on him was no more. He glared at Mira.

There was more to Soeht than Roth or Mira might know. More could certainly be learned by confronting him now instead of running - at the risk of learning too much.

 

[Roth Tillian]

[member="Soeht"] [member="Mira Rekali"]
Roth stared at the the destroyed tomb for several long, heart stabbing moments until Mira came back into view. Then he gave her a bruised and bloody smile. He hadn't been a complete failure then. She was still alive and in one piece. His comm signaled him, indicating it was the secure channel, although he had no idea what it was saying.

He thumbed the activator and spoke. Or tried to. He wasn't sure how it sounded, but it was swollen and thick.
"I can't hear anything. Suggest running."

Roth Tillian, the bold and dating fighter pilot suggest running from a fight? Of course! He'd done it before and that had been a dogfight. This was something entirely different. Something darker and more dangerous. In the heart of enemy territory at that. And they still had to get hold of a ship.

Then the Sith reappeared, with yet another lightsaber. Roth still had no idea where his was.

"Strongly suggest." He added, hoping the words were understandable.

 

[The End Narrator]

The rumbling beneath her feet caused her to shift slightly – hands extended out with the box in both hands as she rocked slightly back and forth. An eyebrow would raise as she heard the ungodly voice that belonged to [member="Soeht"] and the words he spoke – she didn’t bother to turn around, instead she took the advice that Roth spoke over the comlink, and ran she did. As soon as the tarnished pink and orange armored figure began her trek down the crushed slopes of the Tomb of Talon – the Stormtroopers would begin to fire upon her position. Stormtroopers weren’t very accurate but the sensation of burning energy passing by was enough to send adrenaline through her veins and push her into triple overtime. As she ran, she’d try to pry the box open, over and over again.

“Come on you damn thing…” She cursed loudly as she bolted across the painted debris field towards Roth. By the time she reached him – she cracked the box open wide enough to shake the shard loose and shake it she would, furiously. The Kaiburr crystal shard would fall to the ground with a soft ping, despite the heavy rain of blaster fire around them, the sound of shouting and commands being given to flank them. Mira reached down and picked up the shard, taking one quick look at it before tucking it away in a small pouch. She'd duck behind a large piece of stone and smoldering debris, looking around for the planned escape route. She spotted an opening in the eastern portion of the valley.

Her hand would then extend to [member="Roth Tillian"], a smile on her face beneath the cracked visor. “Mission accomplished hotshot – let’s get the hell out of here.”

 

[Soeht]

As [member="Roth Tillian"] and [member="Mira Rekali"] began to leave, Soeht chanted, “Щ҉Λ͡͠I̡̡Ƭ.̀ ̴͜Щ̧Λ̴̢I͟͠͝Ƭ.͝ ̡Щ̡̢͠Λ̢̡́IƬ̢̨.̷͟ ̀͟͝Щ̸̨͟ΛI͢Ƭ̸͞͞.̀̕͡ ͏Щ̴҉Λ̵̧I͘͏Ƭ̷́.̷̕ ̀ЩΛ̡ÌƬ̸̢.̕͡͡ ́Щ͘͟͏ΛI̵Ƭ̡.͏ ͏Щ̛͞Λ̸͘I͝Ƭ.̨͡҉ ̷̀ЩΛ̴̢IƬ̡.̵ ̴̨Щ̛͢ΛI̴̶Ƭ̶.͠ ̸͞͠Щ̸͟Λ͠I҉Ƭ̕͏̡.͏̡ ̨Щ͏̴Λ͘IƬ̵̨͏. ͘͡Щ҉Λ̧I̴̸͘Ƭ͟.̴͟ Щ̷́Λ͏̕I̵͟Ƭ͠.́̀ ̵̨Щ͏́Λ͏҉͏Í̵̴Ƭ̴̛҉.̷̨ Щ̵͡Λ̷͢͝I̷͘Ƭ̸͏̛.̕ ҉͟Щ̨̢̀Λ҉͞I̧͘Ƭ̡.̷ ̶̀ЩΛ̵I̸Ƭ͜.͏ ̶҉ЩΛ̧Į͡Ƭ҉.͡ ЩΛ̨́I͝҉̴Ƭ̶̛.”

The Sith did not seem to give chase immediately. Yet eventually, he made his move. He mostly took the high ground - hopping across broken and vandalized bases of statues.

Screaming more nonsensical words, Soeht bellowed, “ι͡’͢ℓℓ ̶мα͜к͏є уσυ м͜у͟ ¢нι̢ℓ̷∂!̶ м͘у̕ ͠η͟єω͢ נυ̨ὴя̀α͏!͟”

Stormtroopers began to avoid Soeht and where he seemed to be going. Too many of the veterans among the troopers have witnessed mad Sith strike down their comrades in a rage.

Eventually, Soeht landed on the ground behind Mira and Roth at the moment Mira stretched a hand toward her partner. The path to the eastern side of the Valley was still open to them.

“ＷＨ̵Ｙ́ ̧ＤＯ̛ ͡Ｙ͏Ｏ̴Ｕ͡ ＲＵ͞Ｎ?” questioned Soeht with relatively better clarity than before.

Extending his left arm, Soeht called upon the dark side of the Force. Again, he tried to enforce his will upon his enemies with telekinesis. Yet with a yank of his hand back, his attempt at an attack manifested itself as a violent pull toward him. In addition, he attempted the Force Pull on Roth in a try to drag the man away from Mira.

 

[The End Narrator]

Mira stopped as she heard the thunderous clapping of impact after impact behind her, her heart would begin to race and adrenaline would begin to course through her veins as she turned to hear the words of [member="Soeht"] come through her visor. Although they were unintelligible at first, they began to be clearer as he continued. She took a step back as he approached. ‘Junra? His child?’ What in the feth was this Sith going on about? She wasn’t running, she was merely getting out of there before the odds became overwhelming.

Mira stood her ground and as soon as the hand outstretched for [member="Roth Tillian"], a side compartment would spring open on her right side – powered by a simple call from the Force. From it, would spring forth a lightsaber to her outstretched right hand. The saber would ignite in a blaze of violet fury and she would come down swiftly and at an angle. From her right shoulder down to her left hip, with the intent on severing the outstretched hand and prevent Roth from being dragged away by – whatever Soeht truly was.

 

[Soeht]

The pull on [member="Roth Tillian"] faded away. Soeht attempted to yank his arm further away and behind his back. The sound of a plasma blade scrapping metal rang out. Then, a loud hiss tore through the air as a crimson blade met [member="Mira Rekali"]’s violet.

“Ỳ̡͘ơ̶͝ừ̶̶͢’̷̴͞ŕ̨̀͡e̷̸̢̛͜ ̧̀͟͠ģ̴̨̕͢o̕̕͟͟͞ǫ̢̢͘d̴̵̀!̶͡҉͜͢” hissed Soeht.

A few drops of molten metal dripped onto the duracrete ground. Mira successfully made contact with her lightsaber on Soeht’s left forearm. His arm now hung limp at his side. The red hot, molten metal quickly cooled and revealed just a black scrape.

Soeht had to move his lightsaber - held in his right hand - all the way across his body in order to lock down Mira’s blade. His body seemed to be in a strange position. Yet, Soeht had enough strength to bring things to a standstill.

“Ý́o̧̡ų’҉r̛͞è̴ ̴͝sp҉̀͘e̕c͜͜i͞a̛͘l͡,̧́” continued Soeht, “T̴o̷uc͏h̵̨e҉d̷̷͢ ̢͠b̨͢y ̷̛͢th̸e̶̢͘ ̶̡l̶i̛g͞ht ́a͢n͜͟ḑ͟͠ da̴̢r̢k.͝”

Then, Soeht began to push against Mira’s blade in attempt to slowly move his toward her.

“You̴ can bèat ͟m̢e,̨” claimed Soeht, “But not like this.”

 

[The End Narrator]

Mira grimaced against the shift in weight as [member="Soeht"] began to push in against her, her right foot would go behind her being while her left maintained a steady forward position – pointed towards her opponent. Her left hand would soon join the right, gripping the pommel of the hilt as she brought her own weight up against the opposing blade. The sound of crackling energy echoed through the audio sensors of her visor, as she stared through the cracked screen at the face of what was undoubtedly something evil. She could feel the darkness surrounding him – she could feel it surround her, penetrating her core and threatening to touch the very chains that bound the dark emotions within her.

She fought back against them – focusing on the Light within. It spoke to her, soothed her uneasy hand as she pressed herself against the might of Soeht. She did not fear; she did not feel anger – she felt at peace. Her garnet orbs stared intently through the visor and into the darkness that shrouded the figure before her. Force only knows what was behind that mask, what abomination that Chaos had spit out into a human form – or atleast a near human form. With their blades locked, Mira would make the first move and shift her weight downwards in an attempt to drive his lightsaber into the ground – as the momentum would shift, her right hand would momentarily disengage and bring a beskar-clad, crushgaunt backhand towards the armored face of Soeht.

It was simple enough considering the balance of things, as well as the momentum. However, it would leave her without her dominant hand upon her lightsaber – thus prone to being thrown out of the saber lock upon contact with his face.

 

[Soeht]

In one instance, Soeht’s lightsaber was guided downward and a crush gaunt clad backhand smacked his mask. The Sith jerked back. His lightsaber and [member="Mira Rekali"]’s separated. Soeht took several more steps back than necessary. He looked up to the sky. A brief hiss of air soon followed with a puff of reddish mist spewing forth from Soeht’s mask. A deep, couple second laugh echoed within the valley.

Lowering his gaze back to Mira, Soeht told her, “A̷ g͟o͏o͠d w͢arm-ùp. I ͟haven̵’t ̡r͝ȩal̸ly ͞fought f͞or͝ ҉y͠ear͞s.”

The front of Soeht’s helmet was dented. His left hand twitched. Soeht jerked his shoulder - yet no movement of his arm followed. He was slightly crouched with his lightsaber still crackling.

“Time t͘o e̴nd ́t̶hi͢ş,” Soeht said.

With that, Soeht deactivated his lightsaber. He still held onto it, though.

“S̶̡̢͠h҉̸̡̛͠è̵́͜͡,” spat Soeht, as if cursing the person he was referencing, “M̢i̧gh̛t ͠fin̶d̢ ̨i̧n͟t͡eres͡t́ ͏in͢ yo̷ų.”

Glancing toward [member="Roth Tillian"], Soeht added, “Y̶ou͞ ̧a͡s ̨w̕el̴l͝.”

Then, Soeht assumed and more straight, upright stance. There was a noticeable surge of the dark side of the Force being beckoned by his will. To make it worse, a number of stormtroopers were now on the Valley’s grounds and making their way to the scene. If either Roth or Mira were to escape capture or death, it would have to be now or never.

Yet, Soeht was not going to just let them walk.

“T̛r͢y͏ n͘ot̷ t͡o d̵i̛͡é͟,” warned Soeht.

Instantly, Soeht took a single sidestep so that both Mira and Roth were in a relative line in front of him. His hand, still grasping his lightsaber, lifted itself toward Mira - the closest. His fingers extended while still holding the lightsaber.

Soeht then demonstrated that he possessed knowledge and skill of the dark side beyond a typical Sith.

Lightning erupted from Soeht’s fingers. Red arcs of electricity shot toward Mira. The volume of Force Lightning would also threaten Roth, who was nearby and in the line of fire. The danger of the Force Lightning was very real and a threat if ignored.

 

[Roth Tillian]

@Soeht @Mira Rekali

Roth gave a lopsided, bloody smile as Mira reappeared and offered him a hand, even with a cracked visor. Now that was something one didn't often see. But then the Sith reappeared, pungent with the aura of the Dark Side, and he tried to frown, but winced at how badly it hurt. Then the pull came and he staggered forward, until Mira's lightsaber caught the other in the arm. Roth fell to the ground and rolled away from the duel. It was strange how silent it was. Not that there were duels when people didn't speak, Lightsabers were never silent though. Yet these clashed and flared with absolutely no sound.

It was bizarre and he dearly wanted his own at the moment. He scrabbled through the rubble, searching for a gleam of the silver metal. Nothing. He couldn't feel the pain in his hands at this point, it was just so ever present his mind was going into shock. There it was! He reached and grabbed for it, oblivious to any of the conversation going on. Then the lightning hit, sending him hurtling backwards again and slamming against more rubble, convulsing. He couldn't really feel anything at this point though. Numbness was basically all he was processing.

Wracked with the energy, and smelling singed skin, he forced his thumb upwards. The lightsaber crackled to life like some cerulean flame, catching the lightning and grounding it. Roth lay limp for several moments, grimacing at the stench of burnt skin and clothes. His mind drifted free while he tried to force it back into his head. What a strange feeling. He even gave a small smile. This was why he stayed in space.

Lightning contained by the blade, Roth staggered to one knee and tried to reach the Force. His brain was far too drowsy for that though. He settled for second best, almost watching his body act from its own volition. He grabbed a chunk of rubble, muttering incomprehensible oaths as it grated against the abused skin, and hefted it. It was strangely heavy for its size, but then he chucked it at the Sith, aiming to catch the figure in that smug helmet.

 

[The End Narrator]

There was chaos, she had to admit – the area would soon become an incomprehensible battlefield with numbers that vastly outweighed both her and [member="Roth Tillian"] beyond their imaginations. Mira would slide back, a simple maneuver in order to allow herself more room in a fight that suddenly became one about the Force – as the lightning was projected – she brought her saber up in a mid-guard position and concentrated. Now, deflecting and absorbing lightning with a Lightsaber was different than with tutaminis, it would also cause the lightsaber to grow increasingly hot but not overload – thankfully. She just had to focus on the energy that wasn’t exactly patterned in one particular form or another. Mira concentrated, allowing the Force to push and pull the energy into her blade as she rotated it back and forth – catching what she could and wincing when one or two bolts would escape and course through her armor.

There was wasn’t enough time to escape, the window had closed – and Roth was injured. As the lightning ceased, Mira took a heavy breath and looked back at Roth and mouthed. “I’m sorry.” Her body shifted towards a massive statue beside him and in between the two of them and her saber would deactivate. Both hands would extend outwards towards it, palms upwards as she began to clench the air as if she were grabbing something, her fingers would curl inwards and muscles would tense. The sound of rumbling earth and shattering stone filled the ears of the Stormtroopers, of [member="Soeht"] and of Roth as the statue began to crumble at its base. Mira focused on the already weakened points of the enormous figure, pulling her arms backwards towards her being. She could feel the tension in her biceps, her forearms and her hands as the statue began to topple over. She would guide it with the Force, pulling it in the direction she desired. It would collapse with a thunderous crash and a groaning creaking noise that filled the air. it would fall between herself and Roth - in a plume of debris and smoke that shielded him from the advancing troops and Soeht. This would allow him the time he needed to escape, to flee into the Eastern section of the Valley.

She was armored and more agile than he was, she could escape in due time - regardless of the overwhelming presence that was bearing down upon her position. As the Stormtroopers ceased their advance for the moment and watched the plumes of smoke and debris filled the air, her hands fell down infront of her, allowing her a moment to breath. Her gaze would shift to her left at the creature who remained near her and then back to the pile of debris where Roth lay behind it - safe from any further advances by the enemy.

She took a moment to inhale sharply, her body shifting to face the creature once more. With a thumb of the activation switch, she’d re-engage her lightsaber – hoping she made the right decision.

 

[Mara D'Lessio Merrill]

[member="Roth Tillian"] [member="Mira Rekali"] [member="Soeht"]

To fly unnoticed on Coruscant took a good bit of concentration on Mara's part. Avoiding those who'd be suspicious of the battered old Rendili microcorvette-- that was a far cry from dodging asteroids or blaster shots. Instinctive astrogation had its virtues, but it had its limitations too. She applied that skill as best she could, which was pretty well, and thus far she'd made it fairly close to the Valley of the Dark Lords without attracting attention. On the other hand, that might just have something to do with her long-honed ability to do jack all convincingly -- Tradecraft 101.

All she could sense ahead was pain, grim determination, and a growing darkness beyond the norm. She'd kept her Force signature muted on approach, a necessity for a Warden. Between that and the instinctive navigation, she didn't have much power or attention left to get a better bearing on what she was up against. In a way, it was like being on autopilot. So when her instincts said to go for the Valley, she did, regardless of what might be there. Ahead, a statue was falling, a cloud of dust was rising, and her gut told her to hover just before the pile of rubble, in the shelter of the dust.

This close, she could switch focus to her empathic senses and get a half-decent picture of the situation. On the other side of the pile of rubble, that swelling darkness was facing down a Jedi in sacrifice mode.

And underneath her ship, being buffeted by the repulsorlifts, was an injured Jensaarai.

She snapped an order, and Styr -- one of her regular irregulars -- scrambled back to the hatch. Styr was a big man, half-Valkyri. As he opened the hatch, he leaned out, then flinched back as stray stormtrooper fire glanced off the hull. There'd need to be a hot extraction, then, probably within seconds. But Styr leaned out regardless, reaching for Roth Tillian.

Mara had no illusions about her survivability in territory like this, should she join the fight. But smash-and-grab wasn't her job, nor was the ill-advised ad hoc raid. Her job was medevac.

 

[Roth Tillian]

[member="Mara D'Lessio Merrill"] [member="Mira Rekali"] [member="Soeht"]

Roth staggered back in surprise as the statue crashed to the ground, cutting him off from everything going on. Confounded Jedi. What was a little traumatic burn and concussive damage? He'd fought brawls with worse. Now granted, this was much more dangerous than a brawl, but the concept remained the same. He frowned at it and started heading up towards it again, but stopped.

Mira had extended a lot of energy to bring that crumbling down and to go back in would be to waste that. Something tore at his gut and he scowled, pivoting back away, looking for a clear route to the nearest vehicle. It didn't matter what it was. If it could fly, he would fly it back and get Mira, shooting down the entire One Sith fleet in the process if he had to.

He frowned suddenly and stopped. A ship was approaching and then getting very low, until a figure leaned out and held out a hand.

Well, thank the Force. He grabbed the man's hand and felt himself hauled up into the ship. Now he wouldn't even need to fly.

 

[Soeht]

A chunk of rubble struck Soeht in the head. The lightning ceased just as [member="Mira Rekali"] deactivated her lightsaber. Soeht stumbled back - face pointing up to the sky momentarily. The torn front of Soeht’s helmet landed on the ground in front of Mira.

Then, Mira performed a selfless act by blocking Soeht and the trooper’s path from [member="Roth Tillian"]. Dust flew up into the air after the statue slammed onto the ground. Some troopers attempted to stop Roth from reaching [member="Mara D'Lessio Merrill"]’s ship - yet the man still managed to get to one of her comrades.

As for Mira, Soeht’s head turned back toward the woman. The Sith’s face was visible. Blood dripped from a wound on the Sith’s face. Every detail was in plain view to Mira.

“Enough,” Soeht said.

It grew cold.

Without further hesitation, Soeht threw an arm forward - the one still holding a deactivated lightsaber. The Force was willed to act once more. This time instead of lightning, a compelling telekinetic power would attempt to strike Mira in the abdomen. The brute strength behind it would have been enough to slam an unaware, inattentive Mira into the statue she placed behind herself.

 

[The End Narrator]

The sound of an incoming ship caught the attention of Mira – allowing her a brief moment of distraction as she spotted the vessel piloted by Mara hovering close enough to the ground to retrieve the wounded [member="Roth Tillian"]. She’d breathe a sigh, one mostly of relief that he was able to be retrieved – now, she would just have to make it out. The air would grow chilly as the words of Soeht rang clear through her ears, she turned her attention back to him – almost forgetting for the moment that he was there. That is when she noticed the details of his face, the bleeding and the obvious annoyance with the attempts to stall.

He might have felt her fall was inevitable, Mira on the other hand had different plans. The distraction or rather, extraction by Mara was probably enough he needed as Mira wasn’t fully prepared for the onslaught unleashed by the Sith before her. For a split second, she thought she had something but it faded as soon as the potent telekinetic punch slammed into her gut. The gasping sound she made was a mixture between a cry and a desperate reflexive attempt at recovering, her lungs exhaling air so fast that stars burst before her eyes and darkness came in pulses. A tingling sensation rippled through her body as the full impact overcame one of the exposed areas of her body. It was an unfortunate side-effect of her armor being as light as it was, fortunately for her – the impact wouldn’t add to the damage save jarring and potential bruising later.

No, the telekinetic power had done what it was meant to.

The few meters she was sent back, hurled her into the statue debris and shot up a small plume of smoke and remains in its own right. Mira’s body slumping against a large chunk as she wheezed and gasped – each breath burning her lungs as an aching sensation from her lower left rib-cage began to pulse up her side. ‘Broken…’ She had to assume he had broken a rib or two in her left rib-cage as any attempt to move her left arm and prop herself up was met with muscle tension and spasms of resistance from her body. Despite that, she’d fight it – she had to, there wasn’t any way she could be taken into custody.

Mira allowed her body to slump a bit further, trying to take the pressure off her aching form, propping her knee up to provide some leverage should he opt to attack again. Tears of pain were free flowing at this point, nausea was beginning to settle in – she was a wreck, and it was all because of one punch to an exposed area of her body. There was no way she could focus, her mind was ablaze with pain and fury – the Force felt so far out of reach for her.

‘Feth, worse than I thought.’ She cursed to herself.

[member="Soeht"] | [member="Mara D'Lessio Merrill"]