Junction Murakami Initiative | SO & GA Junction of Bith & Colla IV

[Alina Tremiru]

The blade came down, but Alicio had turned to let his armor take the hit. A memory flashed in her mind, one from too long ago. Bastion. Even now the pain of when she'd lost her arms blared bright in her mind. Anima flashed in her eyes as the Force suddenly rushed back in. It wasn't Cortosis this time. She still had her saber. And this time she wasn't going to let it end the same way as it had.

The Force swelled with danger as she planted a foot and turned as Alicio thrusted out, bringing the heavy blade around for an adjusted slash with the same speed from the last time she'd let her Anima burn through. Without seeming regard for her own safety. Anima could heal her wounds if she sustained them. A stab to the gut would be worth cleaving him in half.

"I am. More than you could ever understand."

Alicio Organa

 

[Starlin Rand]

Objective 2
Location: Drear’s Academy
Tags: Gospivost Avgustor​

Starlin pretended to clutch at his wounded ego. “I’m Starlin fething Rand,” he said. “Who the hell are you?”

The Sith dude threw off his cloak, taking what turned out to be an illusory appearance with it. Starlin made a shrugging gesture in appraisal of the form beneath the mask. “You don't look much better like this, dude.”

The Sith struck first. His jab was clearly meant to be a test. Starlin responded in full force, lunging forward to catch the Sith’s blade in a bind while he used the shortened distance to slash at his free hand with the shoto.

 

[Alicio Organa]

Odacer-Faustin
Drear's Academy
- Alina Tremiru -​

Alicio felt the blow of Alina's lightsaber through the plates of his songsteel armor. The musical clang of the metal was harmonized by a cry of pain from the Count, as the shoulder beneath the plates felt the impact. But suddenly, he could See again.

And the Future tasted of danger. He couldn't plan ahead, didn't have the time. So he let his body take over, abandoning his stabbing cadence.

As Alina solidified her stance, Alicio's own took a stuttered step forward, continuing to invade the vampire's space. His blade met Alina's before the full arc could complete, cutting her strength enough that Introspect didn't go flying from his hand. Trying to keep momentum, he attempted to jab her ankle with his heel, a precise flash of blue and black aimed for whatever part of her guard he could open.

He didn't continue the conversation. He knew how immovable someone could be when they were sure they were right.

 

[Darth Amarok]

Something about the entire situation kept nagging at the back of Darth Amarok's mind, like an itch that refused to go away, no matter how hard it was scratched. Then it hit him....

"Venge, if a Lord of the Sith truly found a means to cheat death nearly 5,000 years before the Battle Of Yavin, then why would this place be abandoned?"

Venge mulled for a brief moment over Darth Amarok's words. As much as she hated to admit it, Lord Amarok was right. Rarely did anything ever escape his razor sharp analytical abilities.

"It didn't work the way it was intended to. Unforeseen consequences," Venge said at last. "Still, there may be something to be salvaged from within these walls, in order to learn from their mistakes."

She was about to say more, when Darth Amarok motioned for her to remain silent. There was something else lurking in these tunnels besides the gurgling voices with their unsettling utterances.

"Jedi," Venge whispered, when she at last sensed the presence cloaked in the Light Side. "Do you know him, Dearest? From before you returned to me?"

"No, my Love," Darth Amarok answered. "This one feels...unfamiliar."

"Should we ambush them," Venge asked, bloodlust lighting up her eyes menacingly.

Amarok, Sith though he was, still maintained a code which dictated that warriors were to meet one another on the field of combat honorably.

"No," Amarok replied. "He is a warrior. He deserves to be faced with honor."

"As you wish."

TAG- Ulic Indominus Roma

 

[Alina Tremiru]

He seemed to understand. Good.

Alina bared her fangs as he stepped into her guard. There was a thud as she felt him try to attack her heel. But she didn't seem to react. Rather, she continued forward to meet him. Her body was pumped full of Anima now, her speed, durability, all of it was heightened to the limit. A very inhuman limit. She didn't bother with her lightsaber either. There was a burn as his blade passed into her side.

As durable as she was, fire and heat easily blackened and cracked her flesh like paper. Her blade dropped from her grip as she instead went to grab his wrist with one hand and snatch him by the throat with the other. Quick, precise movements. Unarmed, grappling, they were her forte. And now it just made it easier when she had to deal with someone struggling during her feedings. Which, she didn't hesitate to try and take a bite of the count.

His body flowed with Anima like any other.

Alicio Organa

 

[Lossa Aureus]

Objective: 3 - Post 5
Equipment: Skinsuit, Full Gear
Accessories: Bracelet, Echo Stone
Weapons: Lossa's Lightsaber, Turmoil - Lightsaber, Concealed Blaster, Nasty-Stabby
Tags: Marcus Dinn

She was surprised at his being knocked over. Moreso by his sound of pain. Enough that when he tossed the saber at her head, she only had enough time to jab at the blade to deflect it instead of a proper slash. The sudden shift from an elongated pose to defensive an awkward feeling as the white blade dipped forward when the two blades met.

Sending his blade skittering across the surface of hers, catching the back of her armored glove and the left portion of her hood and helmet.

Even behind the protective visor, she flinched as the systems inside flickered. Arms drawing sideways as her legs propelled her backwards and away from her goal. Switching from right to left as the heat along the back of her dominant hand sang its warning. The same hand tempting fate as it touched the helmet.

A small chunk marred as she pulled the hood back. The radar in her HUD flickered, dots jumping between near and far.

"Good throw." It felt strange acknowledging the enemy, or someone that presented themselves as such.

 

[Ulic Indominus Kun]

Objective 2
Tunnels

TAG: Lady Venge
Darth Amarok

The Jedi Knight continued in this unsettling tunnel, he felt as if he was inside the throat of some beast, and was traveling down its intestines when at last he saw two figures approaching. They were shrouded in shadow, and carried that air of sulfur that the Sith often smelled of. This was the dark side, and Ulic was relieved it was familiar after what he had seen on the surface. The Jedi did not brandish his saber in an offensive way, he held it as lantern.

“Greetings..”

The words traveled down the tunnel in a echo. Bouncing off the rib rock and ice till it came back.

The Jedi waited without taking another step, his golden blade a torch that made the way forward visible for six feet or so. The warm glow became an oasis in those shadows, as Ulic contemplated facing two Sith of whom he knew not what strength and rank. Most would have fled, considered a tactical retreat. He was not that sort of Jedi. He had questions of his own, why The GA and Sith had disturbed this Necroplanet? When the chances of contamination were so high. The legends of immortality no doubt would attract disciples of the Dark, he had found many a black robe, with gnarled bone, visitors seeking the Fountain of Youth. Ulic did not despise them, rather he pitied them. The desire to achieve life everlasting was a natural compulsion, life wanted to cling, this was its nature to the last breath, to fight for survival. The Jedi had been more occupied with death, longing for it even. So many opportunities to enter that Undiscovered Country, perhaps another chance with the Two that he sensed approaching. Only Ulic was not going to throw life away wantonly, he as a Jedi believed Life and The Force were intertwined, as was Death which carried One to the Source, to Life itself. Or so the Jedi taught. The Sith in contrast felt such trust could be foolish, what if there was bo afterlife? What if all that awaited was oblivion? Then would not trying to cheat death be the noblest aim? The Jedi held out for something taken on faith, The Sith clung to what was a certainty, this existence and for this reason He could not fault Darth Scaberous, Darth Sidious, and others who attempted to forestall the Shadow of Death.

 

[Evor]

ARMOR: [x]
WEAPON: [x] [x]
TAG: Resh | Open

The surge of power, however pitiful, was enough to draw Evors attention. A jedi, how quaint. It had been many years since he had squared off with any Jedi, even longer since he had done so by himself. His body kicked it up a notch, the adrenaline flowing freely at the thoughts of glory through murder. It must have been the thumping in his ears that caused him to miss the initial groaning of the catwalk behind him as it started to cave. By the time he realized it was coming down he was just a hair too slow.

His body groaned as it sprung into action, his hand raised to prevent himself from being crushed like a bug. Power of his own surged forth now, catching the metal catwalk only several feet above his head. He strained for a moment, watching as Resh took off in a dead sprint.

“COWARD!”​

His words echoed off the empty walls, reverberating and amplifying his words. His intrigue turned to rage, and he sent the now-suspended catwalk flying after Resh. The catwalk slammed into the wall above Resh, sending small chunks of stone and debris tumbling down. If a piece caught him square on the head, it might knock the boy out. But barring incredible luck hopefully it would slow him down just a hair.

“Jedi in the area, high alert. Kill or Capture,” he spoke calmly into his commlink. If a single Jedi was running from him, perhaps they could slow him down enough. Without a further thought he bound after Resh, hurling insults into the dark abyss that consumed them both.

 

[Marcus Dinn]

Objective 3
Location: Inside the Bio-Spire
Tags: Lossa Aureus​

He was back on his feet by the time the blade came roaring toward him again, able to catch the hilt in his gloved hand. Holding his lightsaber horizontally in front of him, he stood poised to defend against a counterattack that never came. The Jedi’s helmet was sparking where his blade had burned through the circuitry.

"Good throw."

Marcus grinned at the comment, his left cheek dimpling. Then he was in motion, hacking and slashing at her as he went on the offensive, hoping to overwhelm her guard and find a weak point he could exploit.

 

[Valery Noble]

Odacer Faustin

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsabers
Tag: Makani Kandor Todblaz Graker

As soon as Valery came to a stop, her unnatural momentum caused snow and ice to be ripped up from the ground beneath her. She wasn't holding back at all anymore, not with so many of the undead charging at them. And these weren't the slow types either — they were sprinting nearly as fast as normal people, save for those with severed or broken legs. Todblaz was quick to start opening fire, and she knew the soldiers would reposition themselves for a 2-front battle as well.

But she feared they'd still get overrun.

In an attempt to thin the herd, Valery drew her second lightsaber and threw it horizontally down the hallway. It spun along the way, and acted like a huge blade that swept across the lines of undead coming at them. Most were cut down around the waist, which wouldn't actually take them down for good, but without their legs, they at least weren't going to be able to overrun their position. Once a decent buffer of space was created, Valery drew her lightsaber back into her hand, and watched as Todblaz opened fire again.

This time, there was something different about the impact of his shots — they ignited, allowing them to see much better in the dark tunnel. But Valery had an idea, and raised her hand to manipulate the flames. In an instant, the fire expanded and engulfed the entire hallway filled with undead, resulting in the end of many.

But even now, they weren't in the clear.

As Makani charged down the hallway, he'd hear the cracking of ice and snow all around him, but most worrying of all, he'd hear it up above. The ceiling split wide open, and from a tunnel that ran parallel above their own, even more undead had clawed their way down, and were now falling in the middle of their position.

 

[Lady Venge]

Venge may have said 'As you wish' in response to Darth Amarok's request that the Jedi approaching them be met honorably as one warrior to another, but secretly, she was seething at the thought. Was Lord Amarok getting soft on her?

"Greetings, Jedi," she called out. " I feel your presence. I smell you. You reek of the Light."

"Venge. Enough," Darth Amarok admonished her. "In case its escaped your attention, the entrance to the tunnel is blocked behind us. We have nowhere to go except forward. And I'd like to do it with as little inconvenience as possible."

"Even if it means cooperating with a Jedi?"

"If that's what it takes to escape here alive, so be it," Darth Amarok answered.

"Fine, you talk to him," Venge snarled, her eyes narrowing to slits.

TAG- Ulic Indominus Roma

 

[Ulic Indominus Kun]

Objective 2:
The Tunnel

TAG: Lady Venge
Darth Amarok

The Jedi smirked, the tone of the Dark Lady was to be expected. He chuckled at the Light smelling, he had been told by a Seerer, “to Darksiders you will have the stench of death, to other Jedi the smell of a sweet aroma.” Seems the Seer was right.

He listen as the Dark Lord tried to sway The Dark Lady towards an amiable disposition, his words surprised Ulic, that a Aith Lord was amenable to cooperation and did not seek his head as many Darksiders did.

As a gesture of nonviolence, The Jedi levitated his lightsaber and the pieces of the hilt came apart, the emitter ring, the handle and pummel, the golden yellow jasper crystal now floated outside its shell, giving more light. Ulic approached, and gave a bow as he held the crystal, and hilt assembly in mid air.

“I understand that I am last person you would prefer to meet on your journey. The history of our Orders is rife with bloodshed, and it grieves me to no end what my people did to the Legions of Lettow who only sought to explore the Dark not harm others with it. I am heartened that at times Jedi and Sith have worked together, my mind recalls Master Satale Shan and Dark Lord Marr, and when Master Luke Skywalker and Gavar Khai joined their Jedi and Sith forces to face The Queen of Stars herself, Abeloth.”

Ulic was often called a heretic by the more dogmatic Masters, for he saw that the Jedi need the Sith, just as the Sith need the Jedi. The Sith helped the Jedi keep from becoming decadent and conceited, the Jedi helped the Sith perfect their schemes in patience, and have a real conflict to sharpen their strengths against. They were as two elements, fire and water, both can take life and give it. That was the heresy, that Ulic believed Sith not only destroyed, but like fire cleansed the galaxy as a burnt forest, making soil rich for planting. Suffice to say, The Jedi Knight kept these thoughts private, for when he spoke them, he risked expulsion and the label of Gray Heretic. It wasn’t that he believed in a cessation of hostilities between the two sides, it was that he saw merit, purpose to both sides, and rejoiced in those rare moments in their shared history when both had to work together against a common threat. A glimpse perhaps of the heaven, the afterlife Ulic hoped for.

 

[Gerwald Lechner]

WEARING: xxx
WEAPONS: Wolfsbane | Ferrum Solus | Blodmåne | Strømafbryder
COMPANION: xxx
TAG: Connel Vanagor

The presence was still advancing. Something had tried to brush against his mind, a voice in the force, but Gerwald’s mental barriers would not be easily broken. They were virtually impregnable thanks to training he had received from Naedira Darcrath . She had been stronger than him in those days, better than what she currently remembered perhaps. The wolf had mastered much because of her. Her life and death had motivated him to become the best he could possibly be.

Some would have said it worked.

Gerwald moved back toward the presence when a glint of light he had noticed before peered through the tiniest of cracks. A grin pulled at his lips. There was something through the wall and the lupine would find it.

A red blade snapped to life as Gerwald pushed the plasma through the duracrete wall. It would not take much pressure to cut through, but it was also not going to be a quick process. Gerwald pressed enough to weaken the structure enough that his use of shatterpoint would be more effective. As he reached to place his hand on the wall the presence was getting closer.

“I told you to turn back,” he barked.

Pulling the blade from the wall as it collapsed, Gerwald stepped over the rubble down a new corridor. It was not as derelict as the rest of the facility. The wolf seemed to have found what he had been looking for. He could not let the one following him find it, so he waited, his red lightsaber pointed in the direction of the light side pollution moving toward him.

 

[Connel Vanagor]

I learned from my mother and father, but I am not them!​

Spoiler: PERSONAL EFFECTS

Jedi Defender Light Corvette

Headset Microphone Comm-link

Vambraces

Custom Robes/Armor

Long handle Lightsaber "Alpha"

Short saber "Omega"

Astromech Droid "D1-N3"

[Any text in brackets signifies comm-link usage and not face to face conversation]
SECTOR: Odacer - Faustin
MISSION: Mortis Bio - Spire (Ob 3)
TAGS: Gerwald Lechner

"I told you to turn back."

He was close, not only able to tell from the echo through the halls, but the darkness was overpowering. It almost made Connell want to charge in and destroy the foe for… no… no… keep control. He would keep in control of his thoughts and heart. This would not happen, he would not fall to the darkness. The destruction was loud, something was going to go down, did whoever he was following find something?

I will not back down! There is a reason whatever has been laid up in this place has remained here. It needs to stay that way.

He spoke back audibly this time, with authority, a conviction Connell did not know he had. So this is what it meant to truly be a "Jedi", to have this level of a belief. He was not here because of a "Light versus Dark" or "Jedi versus Sith" thing, this was a potential apocalyptic event, then again it may just be hogwash. Either way, he would not be able to look at himself in the mirror if he did not stand between whatever was hidden here, and those who may seek it out to use to their own dark perversion of enjoyment.

~Snap-Hiss~

Taking "Alpha" into both hands, Connell slowed his pace, he could see the burning red light. Whoever he would face was just around the corner. The dead air was choking, creating a constant taste in the back of his mouth. Then he turned the corner. It was a large man… was it a "man"? Those eyes, those feral eyes.

I don't want to fight you, but whatever is there… it needs to stay there…

Spoiler: SUMMARY OF ACTIONS

Engaging in pre-FIGHT chatter

 

[Alicio Organa]

Odacer-Faustin
Drear's Academy
- Alina Tremiru -​

Alina was too fast.

Even though he saw her hands clutch him in the Future, and tried to reposition, he couldn't move in time. That small victory, singing the flesh of her side, rang hollow as she grasped his arm, his neck, and drank.

For one moment, Alicio's free hand grasped her wrist panickily, and a fleck of frost touched her skin. She was stealing his life force- his first impulse was to steal hers right back. But he stopped himself, thinking of Val. Thinking of Amani.

There had to be another way. All he had to do was find it. Though, he had to admit, it was a little hard to think whilst in the middle of being throttled.

Then, inspiration.

Alina had dropped her blade, hadn't she?

Fueled by the desire to do his family proud, the desperate need to live, Alicio pulled Alina's greatsaber to his free hand with the Force. He couldn't swing it well, he didn't have the strength, but he could certainly ignite it her direction, then flourish with his own, still-ignited blade, to try and catch the hand that held his wrist.

 

[Alina Tremiru]

Her grip tightened as she felt the chill. Further, crushing. It mattered little if he lived or died here, but he was in her way. And replenishing the Anima she'd spent would be ideal. Especially with the burn on her side now. She'd gotten the lightsaber angled away, but the pain still flashed in her mind was only a reminder of the further cost it would be to heal the wound. So she drank deep. But she wasn't unaware of what was happening.

The Force was pulled. She disengaged almost immediately, her hand falling from her throat to instead reach and take up her lightsaber for herself. Just as his wrist twisted and the blue saber claimed her hand. Pain surged as she leapt away, glancing only briefly to the now blackened stump where her hand had been. She kept her saber in the remaining hand, tightening her grip for a brief moment.

But smiled. Red stained her lips. Anima flushed through her system. The hand would return, in time. She raised the stump, letting loose a volley of lightning from it. Wild, chaotic, fueled by the Anima she'd just taken. For him, but not specifically targeting. The room had already started to catch fire, but the burst would ensure it's fate. The whole fate of the library if someone didn't stop the now heightened flames.

"I don't even know your name, you know. What was your purpose here?"

Alicio Organa

 

[Darth Empyrean]

Eight Jedi left. It was Empyrean's only thought as Elias pushed Kami back. The room was full of disastrous emotion - exactly as he hoped. Between the guilt of Kami as she watched her arms deny her control and cut down her oldest friends, to the anger and betrayal that exuded from those still living - the air was ripe to build even more strength in his vessel. As the Jedi lost themselves in the vengeance of the moment, the Emperor only grew more likely to win.​

​

His first step shuttered him, however, as he moved to close the distance between them. Kami had found some semblance of her will - she had forced him to stop, even as his will consumed her entire mind. It would be only a few minutes before she succumbed to the strength he forced through her muscles and mind - but her spirit seemed all the more willing to fight him. It was 'Please' that had triggered her hope to fight, a pleading request and not the demands of the others that had forced her to fight.​

​

Useless.​

​

"I'm sorry!", she cried out as he voice came back to her, her face built emotion and humanity. Where there was only fury and death, now there was an eye of the storm - Kami struggling against the precipice of the Void that moved to consume her. The lightsaber became weaker in her grip, nearly dropping, yet just as it would have -​

​

Slice.​

​

With a pointed shove of his will, Kami gripped her blade tightly and cut her free hand off. Her expression tore into pain for only a brief second before it faded back to the placid darkness of whoever had decided to dominate her mind. Kami looked at her now cut wrist and sighed, looking back to the Jedi;​

​

"Is this the torture you would have her suffer? It would be more righteous, more moral to lay down and die. Let her come to terms with what she's done whole and unbroken - the more you fight, the more I remove from her by the second.", she said, her voice once more mixed with death.​

​

One of the Jedi nearest Elias Edo seemed to break under the display, charging with a roar as he moved to implement his Djem So. His first strike was strike, fast, yet it reeked of a power he wasn't used to using. It was the Dark Side pressing through his muscles that grew his power, but made him unsteady - and openly thrust him into the depths of the Emperor's domain.​

​

The blade narrowly missed her neck as he leaned back, then shot forward to rip the man's head down by his collar into Kami's knee. Blood exploded from his nose as his blade lost its ignition and fell away into the darkness. With inhuman strength, Kami lifted him back up by his collar and launched him towards the transparisteel window across the lounge. The Jedi hit it, cracking it a hundred times over as he hit, only to fall limp at its base - flailing as turbulence and gravity threw him about the cabin.​

​

Seven to go.​

​

"Come now, the ship is getting close to the surface. Surely you'd prefer to die by my blade than the cold winds outside.", Kami mused.​

 

[Darth Amarok]

"I am Darth Amarok, and my companion is Lady Venge," Lord Amarok said, announcing himself to the Jedi. "Sith though I be, and in spite of Venge's reluctance to do so, I ask for a truce. The tunnel behind us has been blocked by an avalanche, and we are seeking another way out."

"My. Aren't we the diplomat," Venge groused, rolling her eyes.

"That's rich, coming from the woman who wants Lord Nwul to grant us a title of nobility," Amarok countered.

"Fine, let's get this over with."


Ulic Indominus Roma

 

[Alicio Organa]

Odacer-Faustin
Drear's Academy
- Alina Tremiru -​

His gambit worked, at least partially.

The Sith's attention was divided enough for her to release her grip on his neck, giving him the strength to flex his wrist, chopping off her hand, and freeing him from her embrace. They escaped each other at the same time, blood flowing freely from the side of Alicio's neck. The wound went deeper than that- he could feel the loss of his life's essence. It was, unfortunately, not a new sensation to him.

Alicio was used to depleting his life force until he was close to passing out. This was, comparatively, easier. Not to say that it felt good.

It still sucked.

The Future warned him of danger once more. A Soresu spin brought his blade close to his form, as a lightning storm erputed from Alina. The bolts collected along Introspect's surface, scorching the area around him, playing along his armor with buzzing music. A lick of electricity torched his earlobe, but he paid it no mind, his steely stare never leaving the eye of the storm.

"Good. Let's keep it that way." Alicio didn't elaborate more, though it seemed he didn't care the slightest about the conflagration around them. Truly, his mission was to upset the Sith Order's hold on the Academy. If the entire area burnt to the ground, leaving it indefensible, he considered that a win, too.

After weathering the Sith's Lightning, Alicio's blade slashed out... to the side, connecting with a smoldering bookcase. The tall shelf tipped, raining burning books down on Alina's head. A downward claw from the Count ensured they would be traveling at an appropriately blazing speed.

But the Count didn't pursue the advantage, because after the books fell... so too would the heavy shelf.

 

[Lucia Naberrie]

Location: Outside Mortis Bio-Sphere - Odacer-Faustin
Dialogue Legend: <<Technopathy Link>> │ “Verbal”
Objective: Mortis Bio-Spire - Secure Ancient Research
Direct Engagement: Cord Starfall Cordelia 'Cori' Eldoris

Cori hoped her attempt at humour would help the green cloaked woman warm up to her. Holding up her hand, Cori attempted to force pull the synthetic woman closer to her, so as to get her in melee range.

Lucia registered a light, yet noticeable pressure surrounding her body. In that regard, from deducing the Jedi’s gesture, she immediately knew what it was: an attempt to control her through the Force. Fortunately, while the minute concentration of synthetic Void Stone inside the gynoid’s headband served to severely dampen the Force in a small radius surrounding her, it didn’t entirely negate it. Accordingly, it was quite possible for the Jedi to break through the impairment, should she decide to dedicate more focus and energy to the act.

However, Lucia didn’t intend to make it easy.

Photoreceptors narrowed in disbelief, then anger, compelling the gynoid to react in instant and violent fashion. Suddenly, her blaster rifle snapped back towards the Jedi with unerring precision and machine speed, at which point a pair of searing bolts exploded out of its barrel 10 meters away from their intended target. Both bolts were delivered in a rapid burst that was fired within the span of a fifth of a second, each of which were aimed to strike the Jedi in the lower and upper torso respectively. Unfortunately, with her other opponent rapidly closing the distance, Lucia could not commit any more than two shots.

A few moments after Lucia’s counterattack, the orange-eyed witch had interposed herself between the synthetic assassin and the Jedi, at which point she fired a salvo of darts from the launcher on her left arm. Lucia reacted immediately. Her right arm shot up and unleashed a shockwave of repulsive force that knocked the incoming darts off-course.

However, that left one more dart, which was fired only just after the discharged shockwave had passed.

The third dart crossed the distance separating the gynoid from the witch in a split of a second before detonating against Lucia’s energy shield—projected only nanoseconds before the projectile’s arrival. However even with the protection afforded by her energized barrier, much of the explosion’s force carried through and sent the gynoid reeling to the ground. On cue, a litany of status reports streamed into her awareness. The explosion had drained her shield to 50% of its original strength, but she was otherwise unharmed. Accordingly, Lucia swiftly floated up from the ground and back into an upright position, but by then, the witch had drawn her sword and with it came an attack that the gynoid could not have anticipated from a weapon of its nature.

Light.

The reason Cord had stepped between the girl and Lucia was to shield the young Jedi's eyes as she pulled Solar from its sheath and a blind flash of force light sprang forth into the air between them. She wasn't sure it would blind a droid but the light itself would make her at least have to blind fire for a few seconds due to the brightness of the blinding flash if the young Jedi couldn't pull the droid closer, it might give Cord enough time to close the gap using force speed.

Lucia’s photoreceptors swiftly darkened to protect her sight. Unfortunately, due to the fact that the incandescent blast had come from a sword, rather than a grenade, a light generator, or an explosion, the gynoid’s systems had failed to anticipate it. Accordingly, it would take moments for her photoreceptors to reboot themselves—a period which would leave her instantly vulnerable.

Nevertheless, it was the perfect moment for the gynoid to seize the initiative—when her opponents might least expect it.

On cue, Lucia committed extra processing power to her other sensors—motion sensors, sonic sensors, DNA tracers, and even her molecular backtrack sniffer. It was enough to give the gynoid a relatively acute non-visual representation of her surroundings, allowing her to swiftly triangulate the positions of her two opponents. Accordingly, Lucia placed her rifle over her back, before suddenly closing in on her rivals in a burst of repulsor-propelled acceleration that effectively erased 8 out of the 10 meters between the gynoid and her targets in the span of an eye blink. Simultaneously, twin lashes of hot magenta fire sprang out from the palms of her hands—both eerie, synthetic reflections of the Jedi’s lightwhips. Then, while maintaining some of her momentum, Lucia struck out in a low slash with the lightwhip projected from her right palm, swung from her left to right side in a diagonal strike thrown from two meters away that was aimed to sever the witch’s legs.

Spoiler: Loadout

• Bloodflower Sapphire
  
  • Energy Shield
    
    • Phase III “Force Avenger” Energy Shield
  • Utility
    
    • Synthspray
    • Lucia Naberrie’s Headband - ¹⁄₁₅ Concentration
  • Droid
    
    • IBIS Drone
• DDS-77 Silverhand (2)
  
  • Ammunition
    
    • 10 Round Magazine - Incendiary (4)
    • 10 Round Magazine - Standard Slug (4)
  • Attachments
    
    • 1-5x FAE/S-08 Electro-Sight
• ETL-36 Assault Rifle
  
  • Ammunition
    
    • Power Cell (2)
  • Attachments
    
    • 1-5x FAE/S-08 Electro-Sight
    • Rifle Silencer
    • UPC-06 Underbarrel Plasma Caster
      
      • Ammunition
        
        • Medium Plasma Gas Canister (2)
• AI-Gx02 Si-Plasma Grenade (2)
• Flash Grenade (2)