Phrikin' Hell

[Ashin Varanin]

Delay too long, she knew, and the different temporal versions of the ship would technobabble themselves together into one objective and commonly accepted reality. What mattered here was speed. Enough ambiguity existed in the ship's fate -- two destructions past, innumerable destruction future, at least one destruction ongoing -- that she had some room to work. And in her favor, the anomaly was growing: the fleet around it had been evaporated -- no, blown apart -- no, redirected -- no, ignored and left intact -- no, evacuated. Debris might be crashing, hypermatter might be fountaining over the capital or just nearby-

The hypermatter. That was part of the issue, no question about it. Hyperspace and time interacted in unpredictable ways. In at least two of the simultaneous uncertain realities over Sekalus, a number of hypermatter-fed solar ionization reactors had detonated at the same time.

Ganker Limpets slipped from the Garden of Unending Delights' ventral hatch -- no, not the bow hatch; that would be too much. In some subset of ongoing and overlapping realities, they latched onto the half-real ship. Some observers, depending on what reality they were already seeing, might spot the modified caravel nestled up against the infinitely larger command ship. Some of those observers might be hostile. Alec's hypothesis was that 'verse overlap might either mitigate or spread damage from one pocket reality to others. Alec didn't feel like testing her hypothesis. Hence, speed mattered. At least the Gankers were latching properly, though she couldn't pretend to get anything like uniform coverage. In some realities, this ship was gas and hypermatter shrapnel; in others, it was undergoing atmospheric turbulence or breaking apart or drifting inert. Maneuvering around the quasi-real command ship thus required certain unique instincts and not a little hard-edged intent. Assuming she got enough Gankers in play -- which wasn't hard compared to the old SMC heist -- there was still no telling what portion of the ship might come along for the ride, or if its reality would resolve exclusively or non-exclusively.

 

[Aedan Miles]

Aedan Miles looked around seeing the destruction being dealt and snarled calling out to Alkor. "We are leaving soon tell Romeo to be ready to cut and go. Also someone go and grab Nikias I just sensed his presence here. We are going to use the Libita to get civilians to safety. Have our dropships start taking them there. I am going up to it now to take command of the ship. We leave in less than 2 hours we should have a fairly large portion of the populace on the Libita then. The Shinigami shall remain and pick up more. Alkor I want you and Romeo to share command of those ships focus on saving civilians." Turning Aedan leapt from roof top to roof top towards where the dropships were landing and picking up civilians. Landing on the ground he rolled forward and onto the ship walking forward calmly looking at the pilot. "Change target destination to the Libita-class I need to take command of that ship already." As the man nodded and the overfilled drop ship took off flying straight up and towards the Libita with the rest of its wing following it. Within moments they were landed and his men were ushering the Civilians off of the ship. Stepping off Aedan looked at the Republic forces standing around confused snarling he started to bark orders as he moved towards the bridge. "YOU MEN BY THOSE DROPSHIPS GET THEM READY TO LAUNCH AND ASSIST WITH SAVING CIVILIANS! Call back all fighters that were launched from this ship and tell them we are going to be taking the largest batch of civilians from this planet to Republic space. Also get me a holocomm directly to the republic on the bridge I want to inform them that we are bringing refugees to their space. Prepare coordinates to go to hyperspace once we are at capacity with civilians. if we need to put them in the side halls and such we will take on as many as possible." The last series of orders came as he made his way onto the bridge looking at the captain who sat in the chair and gestured for him to move. Hesitantly the man moved and Aedan strode forward taking a seat. Looking at the holoboard he hissed darkly seeing what the Star Defenders were doing. He quickly ordered a comm line be set up with them. "Disengage your tractor beams now and pull back. it is not worth sacrificing yoru ships or your men the shield should protect a portion of the populace and we need those ships to help refugees. I repeat pull out of that maneuver now." He watched as one of the Salvation-class and the Avenger managed to reverse course and release the Immortal from their tractor beams in time to save themselves. Sadly his orders came to late for the last one which merely added to the destruction from the impact of the Immortal. Shaking his head with a sigh Aedan leaned back tiredly as the holo comm finally came online to reveal Suravi Teigra nodding to her Aedan spoke finally. "I am taking command of the Libita-class that was here and using it to get Refugees to safety. I regret to inform you that one of the Salvation-class that was here has crashed on the planet alongside the Sith's Immortal class. The Libita will be leaving in.." He trailed off for a moment as he glanced to the side seeing the captain of the ship gesture that they were at 80% capacity and would be full in a few more trips of the drop ships. "Roughly 20 minutes. Our destination is Republic space I hope that at least a single republic ship will be at our destination to guide us to someplace to put these Refugees so they can gain assistance." He waited for the woman's response as his violet eyes looked out over space seeing the smaller ships from all 3 forces engaged in a small but bloody affair as fighters danced among them. Luckily it seemed the Sith were ignoring the dropships for now but a large portion of his fighters were set aside flying escort around the area where the dropships flew.

(OOC: Aedan has taken command of the following ships with permission of current Republic Staff approval The Libita-class, the Salvation-class and the Avenger-class.)

[member="Romeo Sin"] [member="Alkor Centaris"] [member="Jorus Merrill"] [member="Sanya Val Swift"] [member="Suravi Teigra"]

 

[Eugen Aker]

((Since there's no OOC thread for this, I'm posting here to request a pause in posting from the following people I tagged, and those directly involved with them. I'd like to clear some things up with these folks to stem any drama.))

[member="Konrad von Grimmelshausen"] [member="Aedan Miles"] [member="Sanya Val Swift"]

 

[Aedan Miles]

((Why are you doing this I have permission to do what I am doing quit tripping me up on this. Sanya had no permission to use those ships as i Have heard from the FO of the Republic. They shouldn't even have been her at all.))

 

[Jorus Merrill]

[member="Darth Vornskr"]

Jorus ducked under the sabre, but instinct told him something Forceified was on its way, point-blank. The duck that he'd chosen, almost a squat, precluded an effective evasion. His next best option, and not a good one, was to pulse his aura. Every Forcer had an aura that made it difficult for other Forcers to, say, rip the sabre from his hand or the heart from his chest. Though Jorus had very little in the way of overt Force-related abilities, he had as strong an aura as your average Master. He'd long since learned the trick of strengthening it for a short time, to erode things like Force chokes and vital organ manipulation. It took the edge off Kaine's blast; otherwise, that sucker would have shattered bone. As it was, Jorus ragdolled fairly hard.

After twenty-five years of getting ragdolled by Sith Lords, he knew his business. He curled tight, deactivating his lightsabre, and protected his head. He crashed feet-first through a blaster-pocked hut wall; the impact jarred up to his hips, but his boots were a lot tougher than the rest of what he wore. As quickly as he could manage, he got to his feet inside the hut. He made for the door, stungun first, in case Kaine had planned to come after him; right now, Kaine was outside the wide-angle weapon's range. More likely, though, Kaine would send a few spells through the hut or collapse it, and both possibilities required that Jorus get close to the only door.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

In a very substantial sense, every one of these subjective realities was equally valid. The Immortal was blowing up, and had already blown up, and would yet blow up; moreover, it had been and still would be slowed, immobilized, torn apart, and half a dozen other things. Perhaps the ship she was about to steal didn't exist for any of those people. Perhaps the reality she was about to create was just as subjective as theirs. Perhaps this crux point was creating half a dozen different Immortals, or an infinity of them.

Certain things, though, she could trust far beyond the level of a perhaps. The comm-echo clang of a Ganker Limpet's electromagnets sealing against a hull. The comm channels choked by triumph and tragedy and temporal-nonsense madness. Such things had happened in the Cularin system once upon a time, ghosts of alternate timelines -- timeshadows, the records called them. If Alec remembered her physics classes, such things made about as much sense as punching someone until they turned into rubber ducks or the smell of yellow. The same went for the Mortis monolith where she'd been a trail guide. Unquestionably, the same again went for the Immortal's current condition(s), all of them equally valid, most of them perceptible only to a few but all of them perceptible to her. At the controls of the Garden of Unending Delights, she unwrapped a celery-stalk of glitterstim, cracked it into blue-sparking life, and tucked it under her tongue. Her mind expanded and contracted at once.

The 'verse vibrated. Subjective realities were dying off in fear of some objective truth being imposed -- and possibly nullification. Every instinct in her possession told her to leave now, leave without further preparation. She probably had enough Ganker Limpets in play. They would have to do.

Hyperspace warped in one little reality, one sliver of truth, and the Garden of Unending Delights found itself caught in a hamburger-shaped hyperspace bubble with a one-point-five-klick major radius. Inside, still flickering, was one aspect of the Immortal, trapped in a moment of potential. Blue-white Cerenkov radiation dit-dah'd against Alec's eyelids. Elsewhere, in the Sekalus system, other subjective realities would prevail, other timelines; thus, in a triumph of twisted causality, maybe this event hadn't even registered. In many realities, nothing had changed at all: to them, to many others, the ship was still being destroyed over Sekalus. Everything from here on out was a gamble.

Exeunt.

 

[The Red of Sinner]

Enemies: [member="Annaliese Zambrano"] [member="Izevel Zambrano"] [member="Darth Vornskr"] [member="Isley Verd"]

Allies: [member="Aedan Miles"] [member="Alkor Centaris"]

Blackheart


The darkness that surrounded him made him just a giant ball of blackness, so when she through this dagger, Romeo used the force to stop it in mid flight, wondering why the other was busy with her make up. It was an insult to his demeanor. The blackness that was Romeo slowly moved towards the attacker that was Izevel, expanding his presence through the force with the help of the crystal in the saber. Now Romeo was everywhere and yet no where. Was he actually in the blackness now or was this a illusion (of course it wasnt). "You can't beat me child, you might as well surrender now...I can promise no harm will come to you." He echoed his voice out with the force, using the telekinesis to expand it as he drew a bubble between him, and the woman Izevel.

"You have my word Zambrano woman."

Romeo was now ignoring the make up fancy Zambrano his own bubble protecting him and Izevel from outside danger while his fire was now gone.

 

[Izevel Zambrano]

Enemies:[member="Romeo Sin"]

"Rule one. Insults are pathetic if you can't speak in a respectful manner than I ignore any words from your mouth.."

She was used to those stronger flashing those power like a peacock flashing its feathers. So when he spoke once more she actually scoffed.
"I have a name. You may use it. It is Izevel. I'd rather not be referred to as 'Zambrano woman.' " She would give a soft sigh of annoyance, her arms moving to cross over her chest whilst her foot tapped against the ground softly.

"I'm going to be blunt with you.. I cannot leave with you. Should my father get word it is I that will suffer. If anything he would kill those of the family that are deemed weak. If I let you take me. I am perceived as weak. I can't not afford to let that happen. The only way you're leaving here with myself is if I am dead or in capacitated.."


That said, her hand would shoot out and call forth her sword with the use of telekinesis. Stepping backwards, she would keep her distance from him, her form switching to that of the offensive. She would do well to keep her distance from him. If anything her instincts were taking over and she would do well to keep him away from her.

 

[Alkor Centaris]

[member="Suravi Teigra"] [member="Aedan Miles"]

Alkor signaled for the last dropships to head for the Libita class, which had an excess of room for catering to the sheer size of the mass exodus. He glanced in the distance, toward where a massive explosion rocked the planet surface. "This is going well," he muttered as he grabbed the comm once more. "Alright, I want everyone to head for the next objective. We can't afford to waste time on one or two Sith now that everyone alive is safe. There are plenty of others to board, so move out!"

He turned his gaze toward the darkness that swallowed [member="Romeo Sin"] and snorted. "We don't have a dropship to commit to this folly, Sin. If you're staying, I'm going to have to wait for you here, and there will be consequences for that." He glanced at the Zambrano women ([member="Annaliese Zambrano"] and [member="Izevel Zambrano"]), then sighed. "You have five minutes. Put them in the ground, or I'll put you in the Infirmary."

The other two were offered no words. Enemies were entitled only to the blade. He walked slowly to the lone Dropship designated to he and Romeo and gave instruction, then the ship lifted off and headed for the next area to evacuate whoever was left. Alkor turned and sneered. "That means no prisoners," he added to drive the point home. Nikias was not running a daycare, and neither were Alkor or the others.

Alkor now turned his attention to [member="Jorus Merrill"] and [member="Darth Vornskr"], eyes intent on the Sith who seemed far more powerful than his veiled aura let on. He switched to a private channel with Aedan. "I'm going to wait for the Jedi and Sith to finish and scrape whatever is left of the lightsider off the pavement so he won't die." Alkor folded his arms, hair and cloak blown about by the raging wind. "He hasn't done anything other than fight with this Jedi, so I'm inclined to let this one go. It's good for us to let one crawl away with their tail between their legs. They get angry and they spread the word. Let him tell the rest of the Sith. The galaxy is finished with letting them do as they please."

He smirked. "And if he decides to take advantage of my kindness, I'll put him down like the dog he is."

 

[The Red of Sinner]

Enemies: [member="Izevel Zambrano"]

Allies: [member="Aedan Miles"] and [member="Alkor Centaris"]

As Aedan's battle mind began fully touch Romeo, he could feel a new rise of strength from within and a new found sense of duty. "So be it...Izevel." The telekinetic bubble Romeo had made shrunk from him, to just Izevel as it got smaller and smaller. It would begin to cut out the oxygen she could have access to in hopes to knock her out without harming her. The sword was still no concern to Romeo, the bubble was there, his darkness was still active, if she attacked him, she would have to figure out where exactly he was in the darkness. "Surrender...please."

 

[Akhilleus]

[SIZE=10pt]Allies: [member="Alkor Centaris"] [member="Aedan Miles"] [member="Romeo Sin"] [/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]Was Dueling: [member="Darth Ax'no"] (Ax'no went on LOA)[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]Goal: Evacuate Citizens and get some phrik[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]Standing across from Ax'no Nikias began drawing on the force[/SIZE][SIZE=10pt],[/SIZE][SIZE=10pt] the miasma of energy inside himself ready to be summoned and more so being fed by the force storms above. Eyes closed Nikias drank in the force ready to combat Ax'no. She had made her decision and as such Nikias had made his. Preparing to release a wave of kinetic energy Nikias stopped the sharp chirp of Aedan Miles' voice over the com. Yep they know I'm here." Nikias thought[/SIZE][SIZE=10pt],[/SIZE][SIZE=10pt] shuttles were coming in to not only evacuate civilians but them as well. Turned out that the Brotherhood would be drawing out pretty early. The civilians of course came first before the phrik or even a personal battle. "We will have to put this on hold." Nikias said to Ax'no. Both arms rising Nikias brought them in using the ambient energy from the force storms above with his own to destroy the foundation of a nearby home. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]It had been one of the ones evacuated earlier. Stone and would fell into the street piling between Nikias and Ax'no a large cloud of dust rising up to blind the Caprine. It was time for Nikias to make his escape. Whatever civies were left needed to be gotten out now. Running through the mining village Nikias began herding them as though they were cattle. Better to be herded than slaughtered at the hands of the One Sith. What the Kark is going on? Nikias thought. The amount of chaos on Sekulas had went up by at least ten times not to mention an entire city had been destroyed by kamikazing Sith. Everyone was going mad on this planet. Over Phrik![/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]Making his way through the village Nikias heard muffled shouts. They sounded strained and as though they were running out of breath. Not one to leave one to die in such a way Nikias followed the screams to what appeared to have once been a mine. Debris and stone now clogged the entrance locking the miners in. "Step back." Nikias warned. Left palm facing up Nikias released a push at the base of the rubble causing the rest to collapse in a cloud of dust following the way out. "There are shuttles in bound!" Giving them the coordinates Nikias prepared to guide them yet a silver glint caught his attention. Not just one but dozens. There were three cartfulls of phrik waiting for one to take them. It is my duty to make sure the Sith doesn't get these. [/SIZE]

 

[Darth Carnifex]

Jorus sure did know a lot about being thrown around all willy nilly, but then again Vornskr reckoned that such knowledge came in handy when one found himself up against an individual of superior strength and size. And while Jorus did possess a great cunning and dexterity that made him a wily match for Vornskr's brute strength and abstract destructiveness, the Sith Lord was not a brainless brute like many would believe him to be. Vornskr did nothing to dissuade such thinking by his enemies for it gave him an advantage over them, however he suspected that Jorus could easily see through his ruse to the savage cunning that laid below the surface.

Still, such knowledge would not save him, and immediately after tossing Jorus through the wall of a nearby building with his retaliatory Force Push he wound his arm back up and proceeded to fling his still active lightsaber through the air like a reaping scythe. The blade tumbled end over end in a horizontal streak through the air to slice through the broken door frame that Jorus was making his way for. But the aim was too far off, too much of a broad aimless strike to even come close to actually hitting the man, yet it served another purpose. Vornskr detached the other lightsaber, [member="Gabriel Sionoma"]'s, from the clip on his belt and activated its blood-red blade and then took to leaping high into the air to come down on the mining hut's flimsy roof, which gave way under his weight like tissue paper.

And then he was in there with Jorus, lightsaber twirling with a great buzzing in the flurry of jabs, cross-cuts, and overhanded strikes meant to slice-&-dice Jorus into a dozen little bits.

[member="Jorus Merrill"]​

 

[Izevel Zambrano]

The Sin was like a beacon in the Force: a roaring fire, suddenly empowered even more. Despite the darkness, Izevel could feel as much. And, she could feel something distressing: it was getting harder to breathe. Surrender? This was her opponent's doing. Izevel needed to work fast, lest she incur the wrath of the Tyrant himself. She beckoned the Force to her limbs, feeding them with strength so that she might put as much distance between them as possible. A mighty leap back was made, more than enough to breach the rapidly-shrinking shell.

As she moved, a sweeping motion was made by her freehand. She grasped for one of the more "noisy" tools upon her utility belt. As one who preferred working in the shadows, it took being pushed against the wall to make noise. This was one such time. Before her feet touched down upon the ground, a sonic grenade was hurled in the Sin's general direction. The throw primed the weapon, and by the time she touched down it went off. A terrifying screech of concussive forces exploded from the grenade: enough so that Izevel hoped her aggressor temporarily disabled.

And with that opening in mind, it was time to fall back. Quickly. With the Force as her ally, Izevel "leeroyjenkins"-ed in the opposite direction, moving at a pace that well surpassed the average adult. She was headed for what had brought her to this Phrikin Hell in the first place: her ship.

[member="Romeo Sin"]

 

[Jorus Merrill]

[member="Darth Vornskr"]

The lightsabre came through the door just as Jorus got up, even before he'd stabilized. He blocked as best he could -- he'd gotten quite decent at Niman -- but the hilt bounced back and struck him on right bicep with distracting force. Every instinct told him to get out of the hut as quickly as possible -- and, oddly, to turn around. He hadn't mapped extragalactic trade routes by second-guessing his gut. He swiveled just as Vornskr came down through the ceiling in a screech of twisting sheet metal. A rapid, aggressive assault hammered at Jorus' admittedly sub-par sabre defenses. He dodged back as much as he blocked, giving ground, letting Vornskr drive him back out of the hut. He was careful to avoid the fallen sabre, instincts leading him around the potential threat in a quickstep that avoided possibilities.

One cut -- he'd thought he'd redirected it -- caught the edge of his stungun and melted the barrel away. He tossed it aside and took the sabre in a two-handed grip that gave him a better shot at blocking Vornskr's brute strength. Niman had its limitations -- oh, so many -- but it was a flexible style in its way. He used its hints of Ataru for better distance; its Makashi elements let him regain and keep his balance when compromised by cataclysmic strikes. Though Jorus launched his own attacks when the moment permitted, Vornskr batted them aside with ease. In the end, Jorus was a pilot and a navigator and an archivist and a rebel. And over and above the reach and weight differentials, Vornskr was a man who'd built his entire skillset toward moments like these, for half a century.

On the plus side, he was successfully occupying Vornskr, and the evacuation was going swimmingly as a result. He had to count that as an acceptable outcome. Though he had yet to employ any overt combat Force abilities -- not like he had any in the first place -- he'd rarely felt more in tune with the Force. The potential for self-sacrifice, maybe, and he found he was at peace with his potential death today.

On the other hand, for being what he was and facing who he faced, he wasn't doing too badly. He might have lost his gun and been slammed through a wall, but he was still intact.

 

[Zeradias Mant]

Mining Refinery
Sekalus System

With the sniveling cat person out of the way, Daeron was free to investigate the refinery further. There was a large covered mining cart next to the foreman's office that needed checking. If there was Phrik in there, Daeron could be in and out before the One Sith or other fighting factions would even reach the remote refinery. Holstering his blaster pistol on his thigh, jumped up to readjust his ruck on his back. Stepping out of the office, Daeron rounded the wall that separated it from the rest of the refinery. The cart was right there. Daeron breathed in before he'd pull the tarp off. If there was Phrik, there'd be a hysterical laugh. If there wasn't any, it'd be a sigh of disappointment.

With a tug of the tarp on the cart, it's contents - or lack thereof - were revealed. Stacked just under the brim were dozens of solid rocks of pure unrefined Phrik. Dae had struck gold.
With an excited shudder, he took off his rucksack and began piling the rocks in there. Suddenly, the refinery shook and dust fell from the cracks in the roof. Blaster fire became increasingly audible in the distance. The fighting was coming to him. And he wanted to get out before it came.

After filling his large backpack with the Phrik, he hobbled outside, only to find a few curious Croa surrounding his shuttle. There couldn't have been more than six or seven, but nonetheless, they were all in his way. Warning shots were risky - they might aggravate them, they might not be receptive to them, and they might even start attacking the shuttle. Daeron couldn't have any of that. Removing his blaster pistol from it's holster, he took aim.

Crack. One body struck the ground. Crack. Another. Crack, crack, crack. One tried to run, but with another shot from the pistol, all the Croa that once surrounded the shuttle now lay dead. The weight of all the Phrik started taking it's toll. Daeron shuffled over to the shuttle and the door whooshed open for him. The first thing he did upon entry was dump that rucksack. Some of the Phrik spilled out of the pack, but Daeron didn't care. He had everything he needed. With a gaping grin under his helmet, the shuttle doors closed and Daeron went off to Echoy'la. He'd put this Phrik to good use for sure.

 

[The Red of Sinner]

[member="Alkor Centaris"]
[member="Izevel Zambrano"]

What the woman was doing made Romeo flinch, and for good reason. When the grenade went off, it felt as if Romeo had entered a new world of sounds too loud. He covered his ears, and dropped to his knees, still very much encased in darkness. When it was over, he looked up, barely able to hear.

The woman had darted away.

He scoffed as he wasn't into cat and mouse anymore. "Alkor...let us haul some of this Phrik with us...I'm letting the Zambrano show her own cowardice ways by letting her...flee. By the way...I can't hear...sonic grenade got me." What Romeo didn't realize...he was yelling into the com.

 

[Neivon]

Neivon encountered a couple of factory workers, those who were too fixated on the profit of Phrik to abandon it all. Blasted hoarders. They weren't much trouble for Neivon. A couple of lightsaber maneuvers and blaster bolts and they were all on the ground. But that was only the first two of the refineries, the majority of them were vacant save one with an anthropod. Neivon was taking a different approach unlike the mines with blowing up these refineries all at once. The fact that there were still people inside the refineries proved that it required a great amount of time for any future hoarders to take all the Phrik in these refineries. So exploding them all at once would certainly lay a devastating blow to the enemy.

Neivon placed detonite, something that would create a much more potent explosion versus his detonation charges. He thanked that the Sith kept the majority of the battle in that one town. It allowed the majority of the forces to be focused there instead of more key points. There wasn't as many refineries as there were mines, obviously. But that at least meant his job wouldn't be met with as much hassle as said blowing up the hundreds of mining towns on this blasted planet. What did concern him as how there were some refineries with some or no Phrik at all. Even if it was some the enemy was certainly thinking ahead. He only hoped no one would be allowed out of orbit.

[member="Romeo Sin"] [member="Jorus Merrill"] [member="Darth Vornskr"] @Nikias @Alkor Centaris [member="Alec Rekali"]

 

[Darth Carnifex]

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

​

It was obvious from the beginning that Vornskr held the advantage in terms of strength and combat prowess, he had controlled much of the battle's flow ever since he first ignited his lightsaber. Jorus may have retreated out of the hut, forcing Vornskr to follow him, but the navigator could do nothing else except let Vornskr push him further and further back. By now they had gone well beyond the confines of the hut and its immediate surroundings, their scuffle kicking up dirt and dust that clung to their respective clothing like glue and caked the Sith Lord's otherwise black and silver armor. In truth Vornskr could've probably cranked up his efforts to kill Jorus, but like a feline he found himself enamored to bat his prey around before going for the lethal strike. But he didn't want to afford his opponent too many liberties, and with great deftness and precision he redirected his recently parried blade back around to slice through the barrel of Jorus' stun gun.

Now it was a true duel, both combatants wielding over their sabers as they traded blow after blow, parrying attacks and launching their own thrusts. Vornskr had honed the fifth form of lightsaber combat for many years until he had become a nearly unrivaled master of it, easily following up his own defensive parries and blocks with swift counters that forced Jorus to fight to his absolute limit with form six. Things would only get worse for Jorus as Vornskr reached back with his left hand and summoned his fallen lightsaber to it and activated its crimson blade to deliver a terrifying simultaneous strike in conjunction with his other lightsaber to Jorus' midsection.

[member="Jorus Merrill"]​

 

[Jorus Merrill]

[member="Darth Vornskr"]

It was all Jorus could do to keep those blades at bay. He gave ground again and again, arms buzzing with the stress of blocking Force-empowered strikes. Kaine's reach advantage was significant, and he massed more than twice what Jorus did, and more important than all that, he was a far, far better duellist. And that just wasn't going to change.

Then again, the evacuation was done, the other Sith thrown off like the dross they were, the survivors safeguarded and removed from harm's way. In the back of Jorus' mind, he could take comfort in that: he'd occupied possibly the deadliest, strongest, most senior Sith Lord alive. More than that, with the innocents out of the way he had a chance, a real one, to take Kaine Zambrano down.

After all, some variant of air strike had been the plan all along.

Wish me luck, Alna.

"Beyyr. My position. Now."

His earpiece comm buzzed once in assent, and from over the nearby hills came the D'Lessio. The attack ship opened fire, he threw himself sideways, and the world exploded.

***​

​

He woke up drowning. Not literally, of course -- the bacta tank covered his mouth and nose -- but the fluid disoriented him. His legs were lashed together, his arms lashed to his body. He'd once been in the bacta business, and he knew how rough things had to get before medical restraints were necessary. His body burned; it felt violated, as if pieces were missing here and there. And still, a wave of satisfaction rushed through him. The plasma strike had targeted his position accurately. Maybe, just maybe, he'd ruined Kaine Zambrano's day.

 

[Alkor Centaris]

Alkor had taken cover only seconds before explosive death rained down. Firepower from an attack ship was definitely not on his daily list of things to eat. He watched as the plasma blasts came close to both combatants, and [member="Jorus Merrill"] was nearly devastated by his own gambit. After hailing the Dropship back and fending off attackers for several minutes, Alkor loaded [member="Romeo Sin"] and the Jedi Master on board.

He would not allow anything to befall them. The Phrik and his two allies safely aboard, they went winging away to the stars. Alkor got Romeo and the precious metal to one of the Shinigami classes where he could recuperate after sonic damage, and he personally delivered Master Merrill to his own allies, where he could be treated for severe wounds via bacta tank.

"I will never understand," Alkor muttered as they took the man to ICU, "the stubbornness of Jedi."

After several hours, they were well away from the shattered Sekalus system.