Campaign Return of the Jedi: SJC Campaign to TSE held Voss (Jabiim; Nespis VIII; Chandaar; Ossus, and Voss Hexes)

[Kaia Starchaser]

Rearguard was not the spot she preferred to be, during a convoy, sure, but on the ground? Well, with Drifter, she felt infinitely better, if her droid would leave Emily alone for a second. The spider was stuck on the ground and Drifter could float on his repulsors, the spiderbot seemed to understand it, and wasn’t caring for it. Kaia just shook her head as she had her saber’s hilt in her hand. Her whip was probably not going to be a good thing to use here, but she also knew that the mission was calling more for finesse than actual brute force. She was fine with that.

Maybe she’d be able to use her training from Master Kortun. She had to not let the Force light her up yet, but one could, albeit slower, use martial arts without the Force. “Try to not get… melted…” Kaia muttered over the comms. She was a Starchaser but she preferred the clean combat of space, being on the ground, and encountering Sith, and not just the stray super-charged darksider here or there? Well, perhaps t was better that way. But she couldn’t let her people down.

The Levantines had taken her and her sibling and father in once upon a time. It was long overdue she started working with the greater Jedi collective. As her half-step-sister stepped into he vent and turned, Kaia’s eyes met the Zeltron’s and took what was handed to her. “Oh… Oh!” She said, recognizing what they were. “I will. Will Emily be safe?”

In case she used them wrong after all.

As she stepped into the vents behind everyone else, Drifter over her shoulder, she looked around and let the droid walk her through what she was seeing. Her armor did have an old Storm Commando HUD and she turned it on to thermal. The helmet was always the first thing to get thrown off but she could still use it for now. Following the path, she heard a sound and was trying to not reach out to the Force. “Which way are we going?”

Alana Sunrider Kaia Vullen Yula Perl
Darth Carnifex

 

[Risen]

Objective: Infiltrate and disable security and protect Centin and protect Cato
Dramatis Personae: Cato Harth Centin Tillo @Knightwatch, the Sith​

Risen cast measured eyes on the fallen enemy, sweeping hair from his face. Between the three of them, he’d hardly broken a sweat. He set to work discharging any blasters that lay unbroken and disabling comms, with one ear tuned to the conversation. Cato’s praise wouldn’t move him to tears any time soon, but Risen gave a grunt nonetheless. It was a nice maneuver.

“I’m 22,” he said, half-distracted. “Around there.”

On one thing, he and Cato agreed: it’s not about how old you are, it’s about how good you are.

Things broke bad at the monitor. “What do you mean two?” Risen approached, alarm in his step — as though he understood what was happening at the console. Cato raced to explain their situation. Was this the trap he’d been waiting for? Objection died on his lips as Cato shoved them towards the hallway.

Risen braced himself, just for a moment, a wall of muscle in petulant disregard of Cato’s urgency. But he conceded. If they had to split, then they had to split.

All Risen had to do was be in two places at once.

They moved in the direction indicated, submerged once again in the shadow of the corridor. Once out of earshot, Risen turned to Centin. “You get any of that?”

Then, panic. Risen shoved Centin aside and raised his wan-shen. The haft blocked a red saber falling out of ambush — the blade blocked another. He drove both feet into the black-robed torso of one assailant, launching himself backwards into the other before they could reset their defenses. Both enemies flew back on uneven footing.

“Sith,” Risen said. He grabbed Centin by the back of the shirt and dragged him to his feet. “GO!”

He raced down the hallway. The Sith gave chase. They just kept pace around a sharp corner, the security room door in sight. Risen peeled ahead of Centin and slammed the door open with his shoulder. His wan-shen like a javelin took one guard out of combat, a corkscrew kick dropping the other. The force of it shattered two of the wall of monitors, but this was no time to pull punches. He retrieved his spear.

Risen blinked past Centin, closing the distance between him and the Sith in a single breath. Each scarlet strike came within inches of Risen before the wan-shen appeared to deflect it. One raised his hand in manipulation of the Force, but Risen twisted the wrist with a painful crunch before sending him to the ground with an elbow. He spun the spear, grabbed his cortosis ore dagger, and deactivated the other Sith saber at the last moment. With a shout, Risen drove a palm into his chest that carried the force of a stormwind with it. The enemy slid away in a crumpled heap.

So the trap was sprung — divide and conquer. That could only mean…
Cato.

Risen turned to Centin and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Hide, boy. Link up with Naria when the coast is clear.” And he bounded away on gusts of pale blue.

He would protect them both. He would protect them both.

 

[Cadere]

​

Objective: Buy the Rangers time
Enemies: Darth Insatious
Gear: Lightsaber, 3x Stimpacks, FF-CAR1, Standard Attire

"Kriff!" Cas whispered to himself as he saw.... whatever the hell they were, scurry after the Rangers. The creatures were grotesque in appearance but what caught the Jedi's attention most of all was their signatures in the Force - it was nowhere near natural and unlike Insatious', theirs was abominable as if it went against the Force itself. What were they? And what had the Sith done to them?

Every muscle in Cas' body twitched, he so desperately wanted to pursue the red-armored creatures and aid the squad but he knew his place was against Insatious. His vision deemed it so, and so Cas would have to have faith in the Silver Rangers.

The Sith's voice echoed in Cas' head, forcing old memories and fears to surface within the Kiffar. He feared everything would play out the same way it did on Dorin. No, he couldn't think like that - there was no time, the Jedi Knight had a job to protect the Silver Rangers and buy them time, he just needed to focus on delaying the Sith Lord for as long as possible. Despite the fear and contempt he felt form within him at the sight of the Lord of Hunger, a fake, confident smile grew on Cas' lips but it would be enough to deceive the Sith Lord that he wasn't afraid despite the contrary.

In a burst of speed, the Sith Lord was now on him. Observing his first attack, the Jedi Knight through his own natural speed threw his body backward, performing a chain of three backward high speed handsprings before finally coming to a halt with a small backflip onto his feet. Keeping up with the momentum, Cas didn't stop there as he rushed toward the Darth Insatious with a burst of Force speed before throwing his right arm out and creating a small blast of telekentic energy to shove the Sith Lord. Following that attack, whether it worked or not, the Jedi Knight would leap over opponent's head with the goal to strike at his neck, ready to block or parry should the Sith Lord be ready to defend himself.

"Hey, freakazoid - it's been a while, how you been? Got that thing with your throat checked out yet?" he quipped, not only to get under Insatious' skin but also to keep himself calm, and distracted from his own fear and urge to kill the Sith Lord out of hatred and anger.

 

[Arden Durane]

Voss
Allies: Thurion Heavenshield Coci Heavenshield Valae Heavenshield
Enemies:Sith

The call had been made, and it he didn't even need to be asked if he was going. That was as evident as the sun rising every morning. Arden hadn't returned to Midvinter for long and had declared his loyalty and fealty to the newly crown King and Queen and thus the move that had surprised him as Thurion had appointed him Command of his royal guard. A move that surprised and made him quite proud. His parents were there to see it through and that made him even more proud than ever before. It was of the highest regard that he though of Thurion and even more so when he promoted him. He always thought of Thurion as a father and had close ties with his family, and he would give his life for them if necessary.

Arden was donned in a lighter version of the suits that the rest of the Valkri wore as he wanted more freedom for movement and something less so to weigh him down. It wasn't a full mechanized suit but something of a standard armor to be worn. Nothing he had scoped out to a strong degree but enough to protect him from the basic and simplest of attacks and such. The hybrid took a deep breath and stood proud as he held attention to Thurion's speech and readied the Valkri as they made their landing. While ensuring they were ready, it was also his duty to protect the royal family, that was his most important charge. While he took the time to examine those in the royal guard he gave specific instruction to a pair each to keep a strong eye on the Queen and Valae. While Arden would take guarding and protecting the King, he also instructed another pair to ensure guard on the King. This was war and anything could happen.

The charged began and Arden brandished his lightsaber and right alongside the King, charged into the enemy line.

 

[Amani Serys]

OBJECTIVE: Rethink life choices
LOCATION: Voss-Ka
FRIENDS: Sith
FOES: Caden Evesa | Jedi
EQUIPMENT: Lightsaber Pike (Now in red!) | Healer's Hand

As the conflict drew nearer, Amani finally made her move, sneaking out of the Tower along towards the edge of the city. Muddled thoughts raced through her mind, her reasons for slinking away unclear to even her. The more she allowed herself to dip into the Dark Side, it felt as though her senses were turned up to eleven. Difficult to interpret, but they pulled her along anyway.

Through city streets Amani crept, towards what she began to wonder. Were there people here she knew? Old friends and allies? A faint familiar feeling tugged at her mind, but was quickly lost among the blizzard of sensations. Was she walking to it or away from it? She wanted to leave. The idea of being confronted by one of her friends now was almost too much to bear.

So Amani continued, directionless, hoping to find a path that would tell her where to go.

 

[Ingrid L'lerim]

Lady Ingrid L’lerim-Ragal
Empress Regent of the Eternal Empire, Overlord of the Eternal Empire, the Emperor's hand
The Red Witch; Director of Blackwatch; Baroness of Vengard, Head of the House L’lerim, CEO of the HPI Consortium​

Location: Tower of Prophecy, Voss-Ka, Voss
Equipment: 2x Sigra vibroblade | 2x Striith vibrosword | 2x red blade lightsaber shoto | Heilagr MK. I Assassin Armour| Shield talisman | G1 OmniLink | BCR-X10 Sniper Rifle | Empyrean gland | Taozin amulet
Allies: AMCO
Enemies: Mathieu Brion | Beltran Rarr

Background music:
Sabaton – Rise of Evil​

Ingrid was already outside, waiting for the SCJ people to arrive when she felt Adrian conscious as he reached out to her, then heard the Sith Lord’s voice in her head. She sighed softly and rolled her eyes.

~ You know, it hurts my ego to be in a room with my lover without clothes and he doesn’t even realize I’m there. When this is over, you have to compensate me for this unbearable pain. I warn you in advance, my vanity is hard to reconcile! ~

She played the whole thing playfully. Moments later, she had a pleasant and unexpected surprise. And that was that Karza’arana had given her feedback Adrian was already in the most sheltered place. Meanwhile, the two men arrived with the other soldiers. This didn’t bother her to telepathically continue to respond to Adrian, not flirting at all, but in a more serious “voice”.

~ More seriously, the enemy has already broken through the outer wall, here I stand against them. Leave your protection to me, handsome. It goes better for me. And I’m not worried that Karza’arana can’t protect you from the Jedi or their people, but about what Prazutis can do with the place. We know what he's capable of, most of the things he can do, neither will your bodyguards protect you from it.” ~

Meanwhile, the two people also arrived and the soldiers raised their guns to the woman. Ingrid still didn't move, not bothered in the least. This was not the first time she had been in a similar situation. Unlike Adrian, however, she had no illusions that her opponent would be able to use dirty methods if necessary. In a war, it doesn’t always matter who is on which side. She nodded at the man's words when she said he couldn't afford to retreat.

”I can't do that either. Nor can I allow you to reach the building. Take it that the Eternal Empire is not here because you will not find any other unity here from my people, just me. It will be personal from the moment you want to go further. As for the odds. I’ve been in a worse situation before, and I’d be worried about the lives of your own people in your place, instead of mine. I can handle the situation.”

She really wasn't worried, not the slightest emotion could be felt from her through the Force, as she always controlled them perfectly.

”So if you want to go further at all costs, you will be forced to attack me. And you not to feel so unbalanced in the fight…”

She reached back over her shoulders and pulled out the two red-and-black vibroswords and took up the defensive position with the blades in her hand.

​

 

[Darth Insatious]

Theme​

Objective: Devour and consume of Cas Tynen's life essence
Enemies: Cadere (planned)
Gear: 2x red lightsabers and his Sith outfit

Insatious rose from his twirling his blade a rotating, before bringing it up in front of his face. The crimson lit up the white bone-like mask in red as he repositions into a Form II Makashi stance, as he watched Cas go in for an attack. The Sith Lord reached his hand at the ground and tore up a large chuck, using it as a shield against the small blast of telekinetic energy.

Insatious blocked Cas's strike overhead, keeping his neck intact and turned around as he released an annoying snarl, which seemed to echo as whispers. Despite Cas's attempt to rile up the Sith Lord and keep himself calm, Insatious did not waiver, he was not going to let the Jedi get away this time. Raising his hand, the Sith Lord pointed the open hand at Cas and without any indication or signs, blue and wait crackling lightning shot out.

It was a widespread lightning burst attack and came at the Jedi Knight with insane speed, giving him near no time to react, Insatious went immediately in for another attack, placing both hands on the hilt. Whether Cas dodge or didn't he would have the Lord of Hunger dashing in for multiple quick follow up attacks, intend to keep the Jedi on the defensive.

The last swing was with the intention of locking their sabres together, putting Cas in a difficult position. Had the attacks worked, Insatious would with his free hand, raised it up and latch on with the force. The next thing Cas felt was a cold, icy feeling of something invisible invading his mind. Small imagining black spiders eating their way to his centre, his very soul and essence in the force.

However, because he hadn't really been weakened yet, it would also feel his own mind and soul would fight still a strong, but desperate battle to keep him from being completely consumed. But one thing was certain, it was a losing battle and the longer he would stay in the sabre lock with the Lord of Hunger, the faster his strength would ebb away and just be another soul for the Sith Lord's endless hunger.

 

[Centin Tillo]

Location: Voss-ka
Objective: Break into security 2.0
Friends: Risen Cato Harth
Enemies: Sith

The pair left Cato to do his work and headed off in search of the second security panel. They had just turned a corner before Risen took the boy aside and asked him if he understood Cato’s instructions.

“Yea, yea I got it. It’s nothing too fancy, just a two-verification system. As long as we get there soon, we can prevent the alarms from being tripped.” He looked in his master’s eyes for some sort of confirmation of the plan, though he couldn’t be sure Risen understood. Centin nodded to himself and accepted that his description had probably gone right over the knight’s head. “Right then, once we get there just let me handle the console.”

“By the way, did I hear you correctly earlier? Did you say you’re 22? I know old people don’t like being asked their age but you don’t have to lie,” the padawan said dismissively.

They ran headlong into a pair of Sith but before Centin had a chance to engage the enemies he was shoved out of danger. Combat ensued briefly before the pair reached the interior of the control room. Risen instructed Centin to stay put after the knight had dealt with the Sith, seemingly heading off back in the direction they had come.

The padawan began working to gain control of the panel, though he was growing increasingly frustrated. Not with the security console, no the boy was making quick work of that. He was upset that, once again, the others felt he had to be protected, like he wasn’t capable of fighting. He shook his head and tried to clear his thoughts.

Now isn’t the time for getting emotional. I need to finish this so everyone else can do their jobs.

The process didn’t take long, he had paid close attention to Cato’s work in the other room. Centin looked around for the security room impatiently and wondered how long it would take for his master to return. His head cocked with surprise as one of the Sith crumpled in the hallway began to rise, saber in hand. The hallway filled with a red glow as the weapon ignited.

Oh.

 

[Kaia Vullen]

Objective: Infiltrate library
Enemies: Darth Carnifex
Allies: Alana Sunrider Kaia Starchaser Yula Perl
Kit: Lightsaber, force-imbued stick, a spare dataspike, a nice straw hat.

Kaia would have been impressed by the foresight in bringing an illusory disguise in the way Alana had if Kaia was able to see light and illusions in the first place. She could see the apparent leader of their troupe activate her belt, and she could sense the currents changing within it, but to her, Alana remained exactly the same.

She was, however, sure that Alana had done something clever as she climbed down into the room. Kaia kept to the com as she took spot-duty.

“Well, there is that ominous swelling of dark energies which is definitely concerning.” “In your vicinity, there is one person below us, they seem occupied with someth-”

There was a distinct noise of sliding and a highly pink aura disappearing down a shaft before colliding with the disgruntled presence.

“Yula just went ahead. They should be sufficiently distracted.”

Kaia shifted her position and looked up.

“There are two persons guarding the outside of the lift. Not Sith. I guess soldiers. They seem anxious, so be on your toes.”

As Starchaser shifted down the vent, Vullen shifted over to the vent Alana had slipped out and looked to other paths. There was a small off-shoot that she could barely squeeze into. The petite Miraluka clutched her stick tightly, then dropped down through the vent, smooth as corellian whisky, quiet as a cat. There were many rooms around them, many had droids or organics in them. Most, but not all.

This one, she presumed to be some kind of vibro-broom closet.

She got a little bit stuck as she moved through. She also had to stop a fan with her foot, but managed just to slip down once she got her belt buckle around the corner. As Kaia dropped down among the cleaning utensils and frantically kept them from rattling too much, the miraluka stared through the walls and door.

“Similar guard postings on the exits across the floors.” Kaia felt the inside of her head itch in a familiar way “There is also something, I can’t really pin it. It’s not near, but it’s…” “Dark.”

The sensation gave her shivers, bad shivers.

 

[Caden Evesa]

Objective: Find Amani Serys
Tag: Amani Serys

​

Caden walked slowly.

He could feel a presence, one that he vaguely recognized. It was a presence he recognized, yet a presence he only recognized in passing. It was almost like a presence that he had felt walking past someone even though he had never spoken to the person giving off said presence.

It was a presence he remembered, yet a presence that felt darker than what his memory recalled. It was always a possibility that his memory was failing him, yet Caden doubted that. It was a presence he needed to chase up, figure out what was going on.

Through city streets, Caden crept. His goal was still to find a familiar face, get some direction and goals. His secondary goal was to figure out where the presence that he could feel was coming from, figure out who it belonged to and figure out if he could get answers.

Close, that's the only way he could describe the presence. Height is what Caden sought and height is what Caden got, scaling a drain pipe to the roof tops above. His training along Kaine was proving fairly useful, extremely useful in battle.

The young man crouched on the edge of a building top as he watching a figure walk below him. Said figure was certainly the producer of the presence. Whoever it was felt as lost as he once had, and still did to an extent. Whoever it was felt just as lost between light and dark.

Slowly, Caden watched the figure as it moved through the streets, always keeping the height advantage. He moved from cover to cover, using walls and edges to keep himself hidden even though he was keeping his eyes on the figure in question.

He was torn. On one hand, he really wanted to help the figure in question find it's place. On the other, there was no saying the figure wasn't already too far gone. There was no telling how lost to the darkness the figure truly was.

In hindsight, Caden wished what happened next hadn't happened.

In hindsight, he wished he hadn't jumped down from the rooftop. In hindsight he wished that the figure in front of him hadn't turned around. He wished it wasn't a face he recognized, even though he only recognized it from other people's descriptions.

The shock in his voice surprised even him.

"Are you... Amani?"

 

[Jonu Zihtil]

OBJECTIVE | Meditate near the Library
ENEMIES | Alana Sunrider | Kaia Starchaser | Kaia Vullen | Yula Perl (planned)
ALLIES | Sith Friends
EQUIPMENT | Pair of sabers and standard robes

The vent in front of her rang with sound, the woman giving a deep sigh as deep amber eyes regarded the vent with a glare before trying to focus once more. The sounds came closer, her brow knitting together in confusion as her eyes remained closed before snapping open as something ping-ponged into the room.

And then landed in her lap.

Her arms were still open as she looked down to the being in her lap. Her eyes scoured them for a long moment, unsure of what someone would be doing in the vents. The spider droid after them, which made a comical whining sound. There was a mixed reaction from the pureblood. Her gold eyes giving the being an up down before the confused look continued. Her eyes drifted up to the vent and down to the spider droid.

"There are easier ways of cleaning the vents. Far less suspicious ways." Her voice rumbled like thunder, irritated that the perimeter of the room had done little to keep someone out of the room. Then again, it wasn't everyday that someone came catapulting out of the vents. The maintenance droid must have malfunctioned, thus pushing the engineer do retrieve them. Jonu had no idea about how they cleaned the vents or what else they did.

"Are you injured in any way?" Jonu locked her eyes on the woman's, believing she had discerned the reason for their meeting. Going after a favorite droid was obviously the reason behind this...introduction. Her arms moved and closed around the being, likely a Zeltron by the coloring, and kept her from making a move in case of unseen injury. Wouldn't do to have a soft landing only to put something out because you scrambled to stand up.

 

[Senari Gravis]

Objective: Infiltrate
People: Knight Pack Group
​

Senari closed his eyes as Naria began her countdown, breathing lightly. "You always bring me to the nicest places," he muttered at Naria, right before she blew open the door and threw in her burst of light. Immediately Senari stepped forwards, blade materializing to catch the first wild salvo of blaster fire that came his way. One of the bolts screamed back towards where it originally came, the man who fired it dropping lifelessly as it seared through his chest. Farrina and Matvec quickly spread out along his sides, each taking on another one of the soldiers; with a quick adjustment of his blade angle, Senari took out the fourth and last, returning another blaster bolt to its sender.

Then the room was quiet again, aside from the small echo of the explosion that still reverberated through the halls. "That was too easy," he whispered to himself, looking around. No signs of anybody hidden with a stealth generator, or just bending light around themselves through the Force; he closed his eyes and reached out further, only for the problems that the other three had run into to quickly register. "Of course. I knew I had a bad feeling about this." Even a simple communications building and minor command center was too valuable to leave with the little defense they'd seen so far; it might well have been a trap for an enterprising group of Jedi trying to make a difference in the battle.

Deactivating his weapon, he stepped back out into the hallway, letting the others deal with things in the command center. They'd have to move quickly no matter what, as that explosive was sure to alert any other forces nearby to their position—but it seemed the time they had to work had just grown shorter still.

Senari closed his eyes again, breathing out slowly as he walked forward in the dark hallway. One step forward, feeling the air circulating through the building. Two steps. Three. A slight disturbance in the airflow, an eddy, a slight dead space that nobody would feel who wasn't attuned to the Force; and then the slightest whisper of a boot scuffing against durasteel. He whirled to his right, blue blade shimmering into existence again as it knocked aside a red, Senari narrowly avoiding his own untimely death. He stepped in closer, grasping the Sith's dominant wrist with his free hand, before throwing them down with a quick turn, bringing his blade down in the same movement to sever the hand that held their weapon, the Sith loosing a scream of pain.

"Keep to the edges of the hallway," he grumbled dismissively, as the Sith rose back up, eyes blazing with pain as they took their weapon in their off-hand. "Standing in the center like that makes you far too noticeable to be an effective assassin, no matter how well you can bend light. Didn't they teach you about air currents and fluid dynamics?"

 

[Cato Harth]

LOCATION: Voss-Ka
OBJECTIVE: Don’t die
FRIENDS: Risen | Centin Tillo | Naria Harth | Senari Gravis | Farrina | Matvec Triddol | Acaadi
FOES: Sith

Cato tapped incessantly across the console, having a fight of his own with the system. The metal of the door behind him screeched as a burning red saber pierced through it, beginning to cut a makeshift entry into the room, “Occupied!”

A chunk of the door exploded into the room with a Force push, the two culprits, one male and one female humanoid, stepping inside and facing down the lone Knight. “Haven’t you guys ever heard of knocking?” They sprang forward, giving him little more time to react as he sidestepped their strikes, the red blades searing into walls and floors with reckless abandon. Cato attempted to steer them away from the console, not wanting to chance destroying their progress. He breathed deeply, ducking and dodging their flurry of strikes, one blade running dangerously close to his face, the angry hum of the weapon vibrating in his ear. He activated his commlink, reaching out to his partners as well as Naria Harth and her team,

<Alright folks! We had a bit of a setback but-- we’re right on track! Please be sure to keep your hands and feet inside the ride at-- would you stop interrupting me?!>

The swinging blades could be overheard through his comm, Breaking the flow of his quippage.

<Nobody panic! Just some sith goons. Should be-- no problem!>

He leapt across the room, nearly tricking one of the warriors to strike his own teammate, but to no success. The two charged forward again to resume their onslaught. Cato put on a jokingly dramatic voice,

<If I die-- bury me on Zeltros! I wanna make a party out of it. Risen’s not invited. Oh and make sure to tell Yula-- I went out like a badass! Also->

His last thought was cut off, as one of the Sith’s blades swung just near enough to sear through Cato's jacket. “Dude! Not the merchandise! Have some class.”

The Knight finally ignited his own weapon, bright white illuminating the walls and battling the crimson glow for dominance. His crossguards ignited in tandem, each one successfully blocking a strike from each of the Sith, locking Cato and the two figures in a bind. He strained against their combined strengths, each blade hovering on either side of his head. It only just now occurred to him that it would be rather unfortunate if he did actually die here, as the man would prefer to not be buried on Zeltros in truth. Damned be his sense of humor. He looked to the female Sith, smirking even under his visible struggle, “So… come here often?”

With that, Cato ducked, slipping out of the bind and gaining distance as his opponents tangled together. He glanced back at the console, waiting desperately for the call to come through to hit the deactivation. Alas, no rest for the weary, blurs of red were quickly upon him once again, the distinct clashing of lightsabers echoing out of the room and into the halls.

 

[Jerek Zenduu]

Objective: Trust, but verify
Location: The Great Sith Library (Chamber of Antiquities)
Equipment: Gravity Hurts, Lightsaber, Vi'Dreya Crystal, Ianua Dagger, Chase Spymaster
Allies: Jaeson Starchaser
Enemies: AMCO
Elsewhere on Ossus: Alana Sunrider, Kaia Starchaser , Yula Perl , Kaia Vullen , Jonu Zihtil , Darth Carnifex

(Post Soundtrack: Chosen by Generdyn (feat. Svrcina)​

There was little confusion in the response Jaeson gave him, and Jerek found himself idle as he watched the other youth prepare to descend into the Sith Library's —well— cistern aperture. Being idle was a poor option for him, the visceral flood of memory and despair became more acute as the Jedi stood with nothing better to do. Jerek shut his eyes against the torrent of darkside, standing still and sinking into a meditative connection with the Force.

Here, the darkside crashed into him repeatedly, like waves against a rocky shore. Jerek had little hope of forcing them back, it would be like holding back the tide alone. Even if the entirety of the Jedi orders were here could he have hope to enter the library unassailed by the insidious corruption, but alone the young Jedi was out of his depths. Still, Jerek need not change the course of the tide altogether. If he could minimize his own footprint, shrink it down to the size of a stone or pebble, the darkside might just flow around him unimpeded.

An effervescent sweetness filled his terrestrial mouth as Jerek worked the shape of his ethereal self. The echo of fizzyglug offered the boy a sentimental encouragement, with a touch of pleasure at its edges. The Jedi pulled back his senses, retreating into the core of himself instead. He would have no opportunity to rely on the Force for knowledge or power now. Only its whispers reached him still, tickling at his mind, as if eddies sitting behind the small rock of his presence in the Force.

Withdrawing from his meditation, Jerek found himself standing alone beside the hole. A rope was fastened to near its opening, descending down into the blackened depths where he supposed Jaeson had gone. Giving the rope a cursory glance, he placed a hand at his waist instead, activating the repulsor belt which sat there. Then the boy stepped off the edge of the precipice, dropping like a stone to be swallowed up in the darkness below.

Down he fell, musty-odored air rushing past him. As his eyes adjusted to the dim light, the Jedi youth could see a small catwalk in the middle of the chasm. Jerek aimed for it, the repulsors in his boots and belt slowing him down as its grated floor quickly approached. Putting the Force at arm's reach today forced the boy to rely more on his suit's controls, something he wasn't as familiar with in a gravity well. A second too late, he made the final correction, and his foot slipped out under him as he landed.

Jerek came down hard on one foot, putting out a hand to steady himself as he crashed down onto the stable leg and the knee of his other leg. The shock rippled through him, though mitigated somewhat by the suit, causing a sharp pain in his impacted limbs. The boy bit his lip to stifle any noise, coming far too close to drawing blood, while he stood shakily to his feet.

Glancing at the rope tied up next to him on the catwalk, the youth shook his head and moved to join his companion at the brick wall. Jaeson was manipulating something at the wall, before the stones gave way to reveal an opening behind them.

“See, I told you that you could trust me.”

"Trust isn't the issue exactly," Jerek offered cooly, peering into the opening to spot a maintenance shaft beyond. This had to be their entrance into the library proper. "It's more about safety and reliability. Which, I'll admit, you are...so far."

Jerek stepped through the opening, leading them up through the maintenance shaft. It deposited the pair into a hallway, built low and cramped like catacombs. A note of disappointment washed over him, he had clearly misjudged the length of the drop into the cistern. He glanced down this way and that, seeing nothing to indicate the direction in which they should travel.

"Want to poke around together or should we split the difference? I can take this wing, and you take the other." Jerek suggested to his companion as he gestured to illustrate their choices, then turned to face Jaeson. A sordid eagerness seemed etched on the other boy's face, drawing the Jedi's lips into a thin line. "You remember we're looking for Jedi artifacts, right? The Sith ones are dangerous."

He couldn't tell if his words were reaching Jaeson or not, but Jerek felt like it was prudent to mention. He needed the help today. Though they had yet to meet any resistance to their intrusion, Jerek wasn't going to trust they would remain undetected for long. Even his minimal presence in the Force still felt the darkside pressing in all around him, especially here inside the building. Whoever, or whatever, was in here with them gave him a very bad feeling.

Retrieving a ring from his suit pocket, set with a curious gemstone, Jerek handed it to the other boy. "Here, take this and keep it on you." The important part was safety, not trust. Distrusting Jaeson wasn't going to help them accomplish their task, but trusting an errant Starchaser had rarely proven reliable for Jerek. Better safe than sorry. The faster they could rescue the artifacts and get out, the better.

Then he could stop suppressing the quivering tremor he felt in his very bones.

 

[Cadere]

​

Objective: Buy the Rangers time
Enemies: Darth Insatious
Gear: Lightsaber, 3x Stimpacks, FF-CAR1, Standard Attire

Insatious managed to block Cas' strike, following pulling his lightsaber away from Insatious' neck the Jedi Knigt twisted his body round mid-air before landing into a three-point crouch, facing the Dark Lord. However, he was surprised by a blast of Force lightening unable to block with his lightsaber in time Cas took the brunt of the lightening as he howled in pain and discomfort.

Feeling as if his muscles were on fire and not having enough time to outmanoeuvre the Lord of Hunger, Cas raised his lightsaber in defence and blocked the flurry of Insatious' attacks, feeling tremors in his arms with every strike before finally coming to a halt with a blade lock. What he felt next was an uncomfortable sensation that devolved into pain the longer he felt it, feeling as if his very life force was being drained away from him. Was this what it felt for the numerous Jedi he killed on Dorin? Or today for that matter?

Feeling himself grow weaker and weaker the longer he felt it, Cas let out a weak and tired grown - however a glimmer in the corner of his eye caught his attention. Glancing over to his left cybernetic arm, Cas saw a flicker of electricity light up in his arm and that's when he remembered - the new arm Mat had built for him had the ability to conduct electricity and store it, as well as using what it stored as an output. A genuine sly smirk grew on the Jedi's face as he glanced into the Sith Lord's cold, dead eyes and slowly released his cybernetic arm from the grip of his lightsaber.

"In about five seconds, tell me how this feels..." Cas said coldly before thrusting his arm into Insatious' chest and blasting the Sith Lord with his own Force lightening that was stored in the FF-CAR1, with what little time that may have granted the Jedi Knight, Cas swiftly gripped his lightsaber with both hands again before breaking out of the blade lock with a forceful thrust of his lightsaber and hopefully staggering Darth Insatious. Now free, Cas rolled sideways quickly before getting back up to his feet and aggressively striking at the Sith Lord's side with his lightsaber in a horizontal movement. Whether the Sith Lord avoided the attack or not, Cas had already side-stepped behind his opponent ready to deal out another attack in an overhead strike.

 

[Beltran Rarr]

Beltran Rarr

Location: City of Voss-Ka, Tower of Prophecy courtyard
Objective: Engage in posturing with Ingrid L'lerim prior to damaging her ;-)
Allies: SJC and allied personnel, Mathieu Brion
Enemies: The Sith and allied personnel, eventually engaging Ingrid L'lerim
Loadout:

• Armor: Katarn Mk. II Combat Armor
• Clothing: Katarn Undersuit, Bantha Load-bearing system
• Primary Weapons: 10mm Pulse Rifle
• Secondary Weapons: Death-Dealer Handcannon (drop holster, right hip - loaded with Sith-Killer Ammunition), Pulse Pistol (chest holster) Lightsaber (clipped to waist), Lightsaber Pike (strapped to back), Wrist Mounted Blaster (right wrist), Tactical Vibroblade (right boot)

Commanding: Paladin Company (150 Rangers)

Beltran allowed the barrel of his rifle to drop to the 'low-ready' position as the woman spoke. He watched her quietly, taking in the small almost imperceptible giveaways in her body language. Lorrdians had long been known for their uncanny ability to read the body language of others, and Beltran was even better than most.

At the very moment that Ingrid L'lerim spoke the words: "It will be personal from the moment you want to go further." Beltran detected the slight widening of her pupils and a slightly increase rate of respiration along with an increase in pulse-as evidenced by the slight pumping visible in her carotid artery.

There is something in there that she cares deeply for, Beltran concluded. Or, more likely, someone.

He resisted the urge to let out a sigh. As he had expected, this conversation had gone nowhere. One day, he hoped, the Jedi would learn that some beings cannot be reasoned with. Still, as he glanced to Mathieu Brion , he had tried.

What happened next would be no fault of his.

He deactivated this vox modulator and opened a private channel to the rest of his squad. "Fan out," He ordered. "Anti-Sith pattern alpha-one."

Immediately, the twelve soldiers with him split off into four three-man fire-teams and moved rapidly forward and to either side of where the woman stood, making sure to keep at least ten or so meters away from her at any given time. As each fire-team advanced, the troopers would in turn distance themselves from one another, making it difficult for her to engage more than one soldier at a time.

Beltran also advanced, rifle once more up at the ready. He moved quickly right down the middle of the formation, essentially walking directly toward her. As he moved, his finger moved to the trigger and he squeezed all the slack he could from it, stopping just short of opening fire.

"Just remember one thing," He would tell her, engaging his vox modulator to speak verbally once more. "What happens now is your choice."

And with that, he and his Rangers opened fire.

 

[Alana Sunrider]

LIBRARY INFILTRATION TEAM
FEATURING: Yula Perl Kaia Starchaser Kaia Vullen
DEBUTING: Jerek Zenduu Jaeson Starchaser
AND ALSO FEATURING: Jonu Zihtil Darth Carnifex AMCO

Spoiler: Gear

Lightsabers Pistol Utility Belt Outfit Crossbow Dart & Dart Datacard/Dataspikes

Alana paused as something echoed down the lengths of the vent and Alana paused, looking behind her. There only a glimpse and a flash of movement as Yula fell through the vent towards the lower levels. She wanted to reach out in the Force, rush to the vent and see what was happening. But they had a mission to accomplish. Yula was a competent Jedi and could handle herself. Besides, they'd almost certainly all be going downwards to exit anyway. It would work well enough. The three of them were still enough to locate the library, insert the virus, and make their way to the labyrinth.

She paused and listened as Vullen listed off the people around them what she was detecting with her Force vision. If she had opened her Force sensations, she'd have detected them. Still, the presence of the Dark Side was palpable around her. That was the key element to their infiltration. Jedi could be felt, just as the Sith could. It's what she remembered from growing up on Ambria, haunted by the ancient Sith spirits held captive within the lake. But when the presence of one side was so strong, it was harder to notice the other.

Here, in this library, it felt like the very core of the stonework was encased in the Dark Side itself. And that would be enough to hide them from most Sith, unless they were specifically being sought out. Hopefully nobody would be looking for them. Behind her, Starchaser stepped out of the vent to join them. Alana's mind raced. Two guards on the lift, anxious. That meant they'd be jumpy, most likely.

They needed a plan. One reliable enough and sound enough to get them inside. Guards on the lifts? She ran a hand through her hair as she tried to consider options.

"I can get into the lift," she finally mused after a few moments. "I can get in and send it downwards. Either of you have ways of getting into the turbolifft shaft? If we send the lift down, we can go up the rest of the ways to the top of the pyramid, with everyone else thinking we're going down."​

 

[Mathieu Brion]

Location: Outside the Tower of Prophecy, Voss-Ka, Voss
Equipment: Ashlas wristguard | Blaster pistol with a stun setting | Stun baton | Two Lightsabres | Brion Substance Regulator | Electromagnetic pulse emitter | Jedi Robes | One-time-use Jump Jet
Allied tag: Beltran Rarr
Hostile tag: Ingrid L'lerim AMCO

He would have done things differently. He would have tried to talk her down another time. Maybe approached more carefully for an arrest. Or perhaps just walked around her - who knows, maybe she was the type to do more talking than actual fighting. But it was too late for that now. Beltran had given the command and his soldiers were spreading out across the courtyard.

In the end, it was hard to blame the Captain. Sith were dangerous and with her dark armour and swords - this one certainly had the look. Being more careful was warranted, especially considering how well armed she was. Besides, she had already been given the possibility of surrender and had seemingly refused to do so. What more could he reasonably expect?

The tension was rising quickly and he knew it would soon be time to act. Igniting his lightsabre, the Padawan was soon covered in the blue light which it produced, holding it close in a defensive stance. The troops had not received Beltran's final order yet and so he let out a careful "You should surrender" The likelihood of that happening now was low - but at least she knew what his mind going into the fight was - hopefully, it would make it easier for her to surrender later down the line.

Mathieu moved forth along with Beltran, ready to protect his ally if needed. But he would not rush towards the woman to attack her - not yet. Instead, he would stay by the Captain's side, ready to use a force enhanced leap to intercept her if she launched an attack against any of the rangers with the full intents of locking blades with her before she would reach them. If she instead stayed where she were to use the force against them or fire her weapon at them, he would instead leap toward her with a thrust against her main hand. It was either or - but for now, he watched.

 

[Risen]

Objective: Save Cato. Save Everyone.
Dramatis Personae: Cato Harth Centin Tillo @Knightwatch, the Sith​

Risen ran. Cato’s voice buzzed over the comms. He was alive for now but — night take him, that man would have the last word with a rail through his chest. The distance he and Centin had covered running from the Sith seemed to magnify, the hallway lengthening before Risen in his frantic chase.

I have to save him. I will save him. These weren’t orders that shook Risen’s mind: for once, the letter of Naria’s word became secondary to the responsibility he felt.

Risen recognized this long corridor. He was getting close.

Two shots of red illuminated the darkness.

Two Sith, waiting to clean up whatever was left after the trap sprung. Risen glowed like a spirit rushing towards them. Both leveled their lightsabers towards him like pikemen setting for a charge.

There wasn’t any time to slow down. I have to save him. I have to save him. He ran at them, dared them to move. They didn’t. Distance closing. Risen shouted as he ran directly into the sabers.

Inches. That was the margin of error. Risen turned sideways and dropped his shoulder forward. A moment of shattering impact as Risen stopped dead and his momentum carried through with ramming force. One Sith screamed as she launched ten, fifty feet or more into the shadow. A dull crack sounded after. Risen instantly turned to grab her companion by the collar and tie of their robe, throwing them like a windmill after the other.

Cato’s voice cut out over the comms. Risen breathed heavy. What if he’d failed? Allya’s name, but he’d already failed. He leapt down the hall after the Sith, gliding trailing blue. The one he’d thrown was teetering on unsteady feet. The other lay still.

Risen began his onslaught. Momentum. Faster. He had no idea how many strikes he made. He had no idea how many struck true. A red saber spiralled away, its owner bouncing once as Risen slammed them down over his shoulder.

He kept running.

The security room door came into view, still molten, jammed shut by peels of cooling metal. Risen grabbed one side and strained before tearing it from its hinges.

Wet strands of hair hung in his face as he panted in the doorway. Inside, he found Cato…

 

[Cato Harth]

LOCATION: Voss-Ka
OBJECTIVE: Don’t die
FRIENDS: Risen | Centin Tillo | Naria Harth | Senari Gravis | Farrina | Matvec Triddol | Acaadi
FOES: Sith

Risen slid into the doorway, where he would see inside a still standing Cato. He panted for air, finally deactivating his weapon after recognizing the new arrival as friendly. The two intruders laid beaten on the floor beside him, dealt with after what seemed to have been quite the scrap. With such little space to fight, the walls had been practically torn to shreds, burned and melted by the plasma of their lightsabers.

The young man himself was alive, at least. And more or less fine physically, no apparent permanent damage to speak of. A few small burns and scrapes here, a few bumps and bruises there, and a single large welt sprouting from his forehead. An exasperated smile crept across his face, “Told ya I had it covered. No problem.” Cato sheathed his hilt, stumbling back over to the console and regaining control of the system. “Are you seriously 22, man? That’s the biggest pile of bantha shi-” He swung around suddenly,the smirk on his face shifting to a frown, “Where’s Centin?” Cato turned on his commlink once again,

<Hey! Nice work, Centin... You all good over there?>

He turned back to Risen, “Dammit, why’d you leave him?! He’s just a padawan! Your padawan! I can handle myself!” Cato dragged his hand through his already messied hair, pacing back and forth as he waited for a response from Centin. His eyes met Risen’s, “Go!” He would follow suit, racing down the corridor towards the padawan with as much speed as his current state would allow.