Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!
It didn't seem particularly upsetting, and that in and of itself was tickling at her mind with red flags and 'pay attention to this!' She watched her friend petting the snow and giggling, chuckling herself. She knew they were still in danger- the euphoria didn't make her forget that. It just didn't make it seem all that pressing either.
Of course, it was, in truth, deadly serious.
Maybe it was luck. Maybe some subconscious thing bubbling up. It certainly wasn't the Force, which Kira was just now noticing that reaching out for it felt like flying through a viscous liquid. But for whatever reason, the S'kytri turned at just the right moment as the armored figure bore down on her. Her working wing swept up, knocking Arcana over in the snow and blocking the way to the other Ren while also removing her from harm's way.
It wasn't done deliberately- no one would do that on purpose. Especially since it meant that not only the first strike found its home, but that also the second, aimed at Arcana, did as well.
Even the euphoria from the drug in the air couldn't cut out the agony as Aver buried the serrated blade to the hilt in her abdomen (turned, just enough to miss her kidney, but only just as the blade scrapped in along the rib). Kira's eyes widened, a small sound, somewhere between a grunt and a gasp escaping her lips as she stared at the visor of her masked assailant. The second strike buried itself in her wing- most of the momentum there absorbed by the thick feathers, but still shredding the delicate membrane beneath.
They hadn't been ready.
The pain cleared her head in a roar. Instinctively, she reached up, grabbing her attacker by the wrists before gasping out over her shoulder-
Mishel had just gotten the information from the agent, when something in the force hit her. It hit her harder than anything she felt before, she gasped for breath and then put her hand against the wall. "No," she whispered and squeezed her eyes tight, "no." She shook her head and breathed through her mouth Sister Ara was gone and Mishel didn't know what to do. What to say, she stepped away from the wall. "Ther- there is no death, only the force." The brunette said and repeated it, "there is no death, only the force." And then turned her attention down the corridor and in the direction where the control room was. "May the force be with you sister, and may we meet again. In this life or the next, you have served our father well..." the teenager looked away from her mission path for the moment. She took the death of her sibling and channeled the emotion that went with it, all of the emotions. "With me, NOW!"
The young woman charged through the aging incineration plant with the squad of stormtroopers behind her. The command center wouldn't be too far now, and the only thing that was on her mind were those stupid, stupid nights in Avalonia with Ara. Or the days they snuck away to do something that most likely got them into trouble. On her heart and mind now were one of few people she considered family. All Mishel wanted to do was to scream and instead she could only remember Ara's style of Makashi and the days they spent fighting against brother Kyrel with sister Kaalia at their side. Change was happening so fast, and it was perhaps too much for one young girl to tolerate. Such a child, "no more, no more, no more." She repeated to herself as she looked at the next corridor and finally saw the sign. CONTROL CENTER with an arrow pointing in the direction she needed to go. To the lone agent, she would tell on the communications.
:: I have the command center in sight! Zanteres out ::
When they arrived at the command center, Mishel ordered the squad of stormtroopers to secure it. She then raised her lightsaber and moved into position just enough to counter whoever would come through the doors. Reminding herself that family was more than just the blood that ran through your veins, it was about the people you cared about the people who cared about you. The ones who would do anything to help you, and the ones who would do anything to protect you. No matter the cost, and in the moment that she closed her eyes she thought back to the men and women she called brothers and sisters. The ones who were there when she emerged from the tank and the ones who taught her all the things she knew. When she opened her eyes she knew now that these were values that these Jedi did not understand or did not care to understand. Bethany Kismet was perhaps the only true Jedi in this galaxy and the men and women who bore the New Jedi Order on their sleeves. They were not like her and did not care about those things - not from what Mishel had seen at Skor and not from what she felt here at Bespin.
Father was right. The Jedi needed to be purged, and she would obey this order, with pleasure.
Sieb Tevv's message routed to Alderaan, mostly since the Mandalorian's on Hoth weren't identified as friend or foe by the Alliance and with the amount of Mandalorian Allies on the First Order's side, no one would think to assume random feral warriors in beskar were Alliance Forces. On Alderaan, the message was taken by Knight Commander Garro, one of the Coalition's veteran Peacekeepers and one of Alderaan's more prolific Knights. "Admiral Tevv, the Royal Family is on holiday and the Prince-Defender is unavailable at the moment. Your request is... being considered." Considered since Commander Garro could see Clan Vereen's flagship in the distance from his post.
Placing the Alliance Admiral on mute the Knight Commander turned to the schematics in question. A full technical readout of the class could be transmitted to their allies, but along with it went state secrets and ArmaTech, the Prince's corporation was one of the few with manufacturing rights to the vessel with Mandal Hypernautics in disarray. "Highlight vulnerabilities on the outline. We will transmit a small package detailing its ammunition stores, combat capabilities, and stress areas. We will not be sending them full technical readouts at this time. Once the package is ready to send alert me."
"Admiral, you will be receiving some combat data on the vessel in question, which I expect to be handled with the utmost confidentiality." The science officer waved his hand, "Data incoming." What the Alliance would receive was highlights on the outline of the Alor-class of its known and more obvious weaknesses, such as its fore ammunition bays which were required to remain heavily stocked, information on weaknesses with its tri-layered shields considering that maintaining all three types made focusing on one reduce their overall effectiveness, and that they had zero long range capabilities even with all its mass-drivers.
Location: Hoth Enemies: House of the Dying Sun [member="Linna Beorht"]
The Cannibals and the Cultists fell about one another in a vicious melee, small spurts of lightning and chanting of incantations rippled across the Force as did Dark Side fueled wookiees and yuzzem madly swinging power axes and Sith War Blades about. The Cultists of the House of the Dying Sun were horrendously outnumbered by the Eaters of the Dead, almost five to one, but they gave as good as they got. Even as enraged mandalorian armored beasts set upon them, their Lightsabers were able to find gaps and openings in some of their armor as power axes punted body parts across several meters. Blood and screams erupted from both sides in the cacophony of slaughter with human berserkers hurling themselves upon lightsabers with reckless abandon and fearless, murderous intent.
The Mandalorians slaughter was quick and horrific in appearance, but the torment of their victims was a far longer ordeal for them to endure. As the fight became increasingly one sides, some of the House of the Dying Sun began to fall, dragged back behind the shield wall and berserkers of the Eaters of the Dead, much to the horror of those that could look upon them. Wounded cultists saw the horrific ritually scarred faces of their opponents as helms were thrown off in order to feast and the bodies of the Cultists were torn apart. Blood smeared those few shamans in the back that were able to begin their feast so quickly, devouring them just as soon as they had fallen. The snow and ice became tinted red around them as the Eater's taste buds prickled at the touch of the Force imbued blood. Eyes glazed over, burning with raw power that bleed off into their brethren. Even mortally wounded Eaters found new strength and desire, powering through their wounds for a moment longer for one last attack, one last attempt to slay their foes. Some might escape, but not many.
Rathgar, the second-in-command of the Cult squared off with the Lightwhip wielding High Priestess, War Blade and Lightsaber against Whip. The High Priestess's control of the Force was clearly superior to her opponent, but far less ferocious. Rathgar, a hulking Yuzzem, roared with hellish delight. His heart raged with power and fury born of his brothers feasts, thunderous beats, the sound of blood rushing through his every vein. The Manda touched his soul and his bellow echoed across the ice. The beast's muscles surged as the warblade hacked down at the agile High Priestess, shattering ice and permafrosted tundra when she side stepped the raging monstrosity. With a flick of her wrist her Light Whip lashed across the creature's back, failing to find purchase within his flesh but the tendrils coiling around the beskar-plated legs of the warrior.
Rathgar's fist swiped at the air with a bonecrushing backhad, but found nothing. The High Priestess was careful and intelligent. She recognized that a Yuzzem was already one of the strongest beings on the field physically, further enhanced by a raging torrent of Darkside Energy and the chanting of his fellows. At a guess, anything less than a tank was only going to last seconds against the monster's crushgaunts, and so even if she had to sacrifice clean decisive strikes for evasive action, that would be her most likely chance of attaining victory. All she needed to do was keep this monster and its followers busy long enough for her master to slay them all anyway.
~
Draco's mind pressed against that of his winged, multi-limbed opponent a sensation unlike any he had felt before. He felt as though his bastion of will was being repeatedly battered by a tsunami during a continent breaking hurricane. He could dampen the being, but not fully and not for long. That was a revelation about the being that placed it in a category any he had felt since the Dark Lord of the One Sith had ruled the galaxy. Forked lightning lanced through the air, cascading upon Draco's axe, arcing from blade to body during the Mandalorian's charge. Some of the energy was suppressed, some of it was absorbed by the Force Imbued blade, but some of it seared the armor and skin of the Dragon.
Both beings closed upon one another in a vicious series of blows where for the first time in a long time Draco felt as though he was on the losing side. Normally either raw confidence in his abilities, arrogance in his own invincibility, or actual competence saw Draco through to at least matching his enemy. Vemnock was as confident as ever though, having found a surprisingly powerful enemy was always a pleasure but this one was not beyond his capabilities, even if its followers were beyond that of his own. Eventually the deity would overwhelm his opponent, for now it was palatable, even enjoyable to flex his old muscles again and play with the would be monster.
The bladed extension from the being's arms slashed across Draco's chest, carving a deep furrow through the beskar plate, enough to slice his skin and draw blood. The warrior grimaced and redoubled his efforts, ducking the follow up blow from the other arm, swinging his axe in an upward arc for the being's hip. Ice shards tore from the ground, driving into the Mandalorian to cover the Force Being's opening before he could exploit it, sending a wounded Mandalorian sprawling across the ice.
His concentration broken, the being's full power could be brought to bear without having to worry about battering down Draco's suppression, however Vemnock closed slowly even as the members of the House of the Dying Sun were slain around him. Red energy started to build in the being's chest, pulsing out a deadly energy Draco knew well. Red lightning arced around the being's hands and arms, silhouetting him in devilish red aura in a sea of red stained snow. Draco reached for his axe but it was too far away, out of reach for a man who could not draw on the Force and manifest any form of Telekinesis. With a solemn grunt, as though relenting, Draco pulled the blade from its scabbard on his back and brandished it defensively as the god towered over him.
A valet took the speeder. Despite the bitter cold, Linna stayed outside the resort's front door. South across the ridges, maybe forty klicks away, smoke rose from the battlefront around Outpost Veers. TIEs and other small craft swirled in the fog. Dread faded: her pursuers were occupied or dead. She wrapped herself more tightly in her parka and gave the white approach another visual scan, then headed in.
The lobby’s fireplace popped and sparked in the stillness. She took a deep breath of the smoke from imported firewood. Hooking her fur-trimmed parka by the door, she went over to a soft chair by the mantle. Wariness and fear radiated from the staff, who watched her in silence. Heat drifted into her bones, not quickly enough. A word to a serving droid got her a pint of hot chocolate smothered in whipped bluecream.
“Ah, Doctor Beorht, may I…?”
She glanced up at the Zabrak concierge and offered a smile. “Please.”
The concierge sat daintily on the edge of another soft armchair. Hands on his knees, he watched the fire. “Networks are down. All subspace channels have been commandeered - properly, of course. The Supreme Leader is welcome to whatever resources he needs.”
Linna sipped her chocolate. “Naturally.”
“But it does make it difficult to know the broader situation.”
“Of course.” She thought back to the old Undergrounder sensor whose orbital scans she'd accessed, and the violence she'd seen. “I can tell you there's a significant battle in orbit, and a major engagement around Outpost Veers. Drop troopers, walkers, infantry, Jedi, Mandalorians. Nothing for thirty klicks around us, though, and I don't believe I was followed. And why would they? Any side that jeopardizes wealthy civilians becomes vulnerable to propaganda.”
She saw the question grow in his eyes: where she'd been. She smiled again and took a long draft from her mug.
“Believe me,” she said after a long moment. “This resort might be the safest place on the planet.”
Isar slowed his Tauntaun to an abrupt halt at Aeron's words. Ordinarily, he would have responded with an immediate quip about saving physical interactions for later, but he rarely wasted time with such matters when he was this close to combat. As had been the case when he was asking a couple of strategic questions of Aeron underneath the surface, the steel-edge to his deep voice had returned. "Standby." Withdrawing a datapad from inside the folds of his heavy cloak, Isar tapped in an authorization sequence before pulling the lay-down information pushed to him by Aeron. He also had the ability to overlay feeds corresponding to deployment of Alliance resources, but that would have rather intensely cluttered the display. As a result, he merely opted for those elements he needed to know.
"The situation is getting real crappy up here blondie." Isar paused only for a moment, considering her new orders and the reality of any real effect it may or may not have. "We can give it a go if that's what you want, but I gotta tell ya... I don't really see that being effective at this juncture. We'd have to coordinate any of their above-ground advances with my ability to dig through solid ice below ground. Even if you update their locations constantly, I'll always be a step behind. Air strike is your most effective option for a moving target, blondie."
Another pause.
"Again just my recommendation." At precisely that moment, Isar's glacier-blue gaze lifted and caught sight of the detonation and subsequent actions of three women no more than a couple hundred yards from him. The flurry of activity only drew him in with how quickly it started to turn. After all, Isar couldn't sense any force activity within Aver. "poodoo." Stowing the datapad back in his pocket, Isar kicked the fire out of his Tauntaun to start the nimble beast galloping towards the fray. "Blondie I'll have to get back to you!" He had to scream over the din of battle and the environment of Hoth.
No sooner had the words left his mouth, than Isar vaulted from the back of the Tauntaun much to the beast's displeasure, faltering underneath the force of Isar's weight against its back. The large Zeison Sha utilized his extensive training and knowledge of telekinesis to aid the trajectory of his body skyward before he came plummeting back towards the earth, landing mere feet from the other three force users. The impact of his landing caused snow and ice to fly up in all directions, the sound followed only by the familiar snap-hiss of a lightsaber, dark blue blade bathing the immediate area in subtle glow.
The pontite crystal contained within the weapon's hilt immediately cooled Isar's emotions. Didn't do much else though because it was already so fething cold. A wave of his free hand motioned in direct effort to grip Arcana's body firmly with the Force and pull her to Isar's grasp.
StrtCrypt; StrtTrans; RecTrans = [member="Chloe Blake"]; Kaida Taldir; Shamira Karuto; Loske Matson; Taeli Raaf; Gabriel Sionoma; ContTrans: { “Sending you a decrypted file with classified black ops data.”; “Sheriff found it in Hilikan.;” “Looks like they use it to dispose of incriminating evidence.”; “Should help you find it.”; } EndTrans; EndCrypt;
With a long-suffering sigh, Adder sent off the last message over their encrypted comlinks and leaned back. Her work here was done. The tractor beams had finished redirecting the tibanna to the ugnaught surface. Vyrn had come through, keeping the cop in the loop with regular updates – redistribution down below was proceeding smoothly. As icy as the blonde looked, she had solid contacts still.
Then there was Bob. While the SIS were decoding the ledger, they’d chatted a bit, venting about their respective employers. As it turned out, there was a lot more to love about the Alliance than his current job. The tech was a keystroke away from handing in his resignation. (The dental was what had truly swayed him in the end, though.)
“I’ll catch you around on Sullust, yeah?” He smiled, tired wrinkles around his eyes. “Once this mess cools down, certainly.”
Adder nodded, grinning, and tipped her head in goodbye.
She’d cleaned out the First Order, did her part in supporting the Hilikan team – but space was still uncertain. Chatter in her left ear fluctuated constantly, warnings and alerts filling the air. Ground was all well and good, but it was time to return to her home turf.
Navigating her way back was a much quicker affair, now that she actually possessed the floor plans. It was with no small amount of relief that the cop found her ship right where she’d left her, poised and intact.
In one smooth motion, Adder vaulted herself into the cockpit, started the engines, and darted off into the clouds.
Location: Hilikan Incineration Plant Vessel: No longer in U-Wing Objective: Infiltrate Allies: Galactic Alliance, [member="Asmus Janes"], [member="Shamira Karuto"], [member="Gabriel Sionoma"], [member="Adder"] Enemies: First Order, [member="Val Kordova"], [member="Mishel Ren"], [member="Brennan Cabrol"]. Pursuing Brennan. Gear: Light Paddle, stealth blaster, another blaster, armour (in sig), melee shield (in sig), vibroknife, lightsabre, no-show (no longer functional).
Taeli Raaf said:
"This is Master Raaf, one Knight of Ren is dead and the other is heading your way," she said into her comlink, calling to her allies Kaida and Shamira. "I'm in pursuit, and he seems to be on his way to the control center." She winced again as she took a deep breath, blasted girl just had to get in one last attack.
Kaida and Shamira no longer had to figure out what to do, since they got a message from Master Raaf. True to the lady's word, one of the two Ren she'd been fighting earlier was dashing past them towards the control centre. "Running away. Predictable," she muttered.
Quickly, Kaida followed him. Her leg and the injury she'd sustained gave her some grief, but she was still fast. Eldorai agility came in handy. However, the Ren tossed two incendiary grenades, using these combined with the Force to bathe the increasingly unstable catwalk in flame and push it towards his assailants.
On the way, her comm beeped, signalling that Adder's transmission had arrived. That was something Kaida would hopefully be able to process soon. For now, she had to deal with the stream of blazing flames sweeping towards her. "Keep your distance," she grunted to Shamira, assuming she'd followed her. Kaida cared! Kinda, sorta. Intense heat rushed over her, flames enveloped her and her body temperature spiked. There was pain - a good deal of it, but she stretched out her hand, as if she was seizing the fire to pull it into her grasp.
Her suit of phrik armour was fully sealed and designed to shield her against environmental hazards, for the most common opponents she faced were other elementalists. This did its part to keep her from being consumed, but blazing heat still surged through her body, and touched the skin beneath her suit, causing her pain as she was surrounded by flames. Her hand was badly scorched as fire seemed to swallow it. In defiance of the blazing flames, she willed her own body temperature to lower rapidly as she absorbed the heat.
And turned it into energy. Said energy required an outlet, lest she burst. She channelled it into an onslaught upon the Ren, as she attempted to envelope his throat with a tight telekinetic grip and hurl him down into the fiery pit below. After all, if he was so determined to get away, it was only proper for her to oblige...and make sure he got there very, very fast and was thoroughly cooked in the process.
Location:Anoat Orbit Objective:Hijack or destroy the Itsukusk and Arkuhn Allies:First Order and Mando Friends ([member="Fiolette Yvarro"], [member="Nils Brenner"], [member="Aleksander Miles"]) Opposition: Galactic Alliance, soon to be Vanir Technologies ([member="Sieb Tevv"] [member="Kamon Vondiranach"], [member="Lucien Studley"])
There was a series of brilliant explosions as one by one, the mines laid behind the supercarrier were destroyed until there was just clear space between the Coinchenn and Itsukusk.
Coming within effective range to use its weapons, the dreadnought joined in on the attack with its sister Alor and began to fire directly upon the rear of the Itsukusk.The cannons spewed streams of high-caliber vibro-flechettes, designed especially with shielding busting in mind with their tough carbon composition and ablative coating. Their fine points, enhanced by ultra high-frequency vibrations made them exceedingly effective at armor piercing, and subsequent disruption of electrical systems.
Prowmounted Vulcans were also fired at the rear of the Itsukusk.They wouldn't do much damage to hull(outside perhaps firepower kills) of a ship that size, but they could help run down the shields of the supercarrier to increase the chances of the outgoing vibro-flechettes penetrating its defense. They also had the added benefit of mucking up sensors to a degree to degrade their performance.
The first phase of her attack was coming along quite nicely, with both Alor now pounding upon the supercarrier. As she had hoped, the Itsukuskseemed to be focusing its attacks upon the Chimera.
"New contact, at mark 9," A sensor operator announced. "It looks to be Mateus-class*."
"Escorts?"
"None"
She found this strange, yet another big carrier dropped into an increasingly crowded airspace without an escort. She and her Mandalorian counterpart must have caught the GA with their pants down, they scrambling to throw anything at Anoat to save their precious supercarrier. Much too late to be of aid, as she was about to show them.
The new ship was outside the engagement range of the Coinchenn. While mass drivers technically had an infinite absolute range within the vacuum of space, their effective range was limited by their traveling velocity. If the projectiles moved too slow, then targeted vessels would have a greater chance of evasion, especially at range.
She wasn't willing to throw any squadrons at it either, as they were a necessary component for the next phase of her plan.
With her and Miles now taking care of the Itsukusk, that should have finally freed up the previously beleaguered FO to finally go on the attack.
"Deploy countermeasures, I'll contact Yvarroabout dealing with this nuisance."
If this was indeed a Metaus, then it would be easy pickings for the FO, the carrier designed with glaring flaws that had plagued classic destroyer designs, like an exposed bridge and shield emitters. The whole ship could be downed just by focusing that relatively small area.
She sent a Yvarroa brief message requesting support against the new contact:
"You should have breathing space to operate now that myself and Miles are on the scene. You're probably the best equipped to take on the new ship that just reverted into the battlespace. Should be an easy kill against that dated design."
She didn't care exactly how Yvarrogot it done hitting that ship, only that she did something.
Steady salvos of anti-beam canisters would be launched in the path of the ship's projected firing lines, dispersing several layers of clouds comprised of anti-beam aerosols and sleg.
About this time, the ship had begun opening fire. The beams of its turbolaserswould collide with the clouds to energize them and convert them into energy screens that would subsequently block or disperse particle bolts destined for the Coinchenn.
The turbolaserbolts that hit the dreadnought were very weak, some of their remaining energy being deflected back by the retribution ray shields, only to be absorbed by the energy screen being continuously generated.
The explosive shells fired by the enemy vessel's mass drivers would also be eaten up by the energy screens as they were either outright vaporized or triggered into premature detonation.
Sensor operators reported a sudden increase in interference, which had the tall tell signs of jamming. Indeed, energy receptors (including those of the LSR) would pick up on the raw energy emissions of said jammers. To compensate, the output of active sensors and affected comm systems was boosted. Standard procedure across all navies called for said systems operate at only a fraction of their power to start, in order to help avoid detection of their emissions. But in the current environment, power could be safely increased to compensate for the increased background noise. Frequency hopping was also engaged, shifting to clear channels to avoid the jamming effect.
With each vessel under her command was equipped with Hydra, the mesh network created between them would do much to combat the jamming as well.
In the initial exchange between the two warships, the Coinchenn came out pretty much unscathed. Unless the enemy carrier switched up their tactics, then it would probably remain that way.
Not that they would probably get the chance, as Yvarroresponded to her latest message by then, and had already begun moving to engage the ship.
Now she could focus on the Itsukuskagain, or so she thought. Right after the appearance of the Mateus/Sionoma, sensor operators would report yet another contact (Arkuhn) at long range, targeting sensors detected being trained on the Coinchenn. Anti-beam canisters would be immediately deployed to soak up the inevitable attack.
The ship opened fire on them from afar like the Mateus, with the fate of its turbolaserfire also being the same as the bolts smacked into cascades of clouds that quickly turned into large shrouds of energy, leaving her ship to be pelted with only greatly weakened fire. The space all around the Coinchenn was now lit with radiant curtains of light produced by the two large GA vessels now assaulting her. At this pointall either ship was good for was making fancy lightshowswhile Face continued to hammer away at the Itsukuskfrom the back.
"We're getting quite popular with the Alliance goons, eh?" Shockley commented.
"I'm already getting flashbacks from Kaeshana," Face replied, twisting a lock of her dark hair as she studied the sensor readouts from her console. She could fondly recall air groups suddenly materializing as she made planetfall to crush the GA and Tygaranson the ground.
This new ship was coming up as unidentified in databases, but she recognized its profile as being similar to the infamous Darkblades of the now defunct One Sith. There was also the detection of peculiar energy readings she wasn't familiar with. Most interesting.
Another commander in her shoes may have started panicking amid all these wonder weapons being deployed by the Galactic Alliance, but Face remained calm, excitement actually growing with each new development. She had come here with thoughts on acquiring the Itsukusk,but now she wanted that other toy, too.
"The Buidhewill continue its assault on the Itsukusk," she instructed as she directed her attention to the captains of her escorts. "However, I'm redirecting the Dearg to target this new mystery ship. Bring them both to me."
"Aye, ma'am," her Rally Masters responded in near unison.
"Nomad Leader," she started, now addressing the element leader of the active LSR unit on ISR duty. "Are you able to track all enemy attack craft at this time?"
"Affirmative, we have them all on passive, ready to strike at any time."
"Then I release you. Keep hitting those swarms until there's nothing left but their wreckage."
"Yes ma'am!" the pilot replied, elation clear in the Mandalorian's voice as she could finally act.
Moments later, all the Missile Boats still orbiting around the Coinchenn would begin to fire their payloads of diamond-boron missiles, guided by the LSR element in flight. With each Missile Boat packing 40 of the missiles a piece, they could single handily destroy all the attack craft currently deployed by the Itsukuskseveral times over. That wasn't even factoring in what the Chimera brought to the table either.
Of course, she didn't expect all of the fighters to be destroyed in the massive simultaneous missile strike, but no doubt it would sew chaos within their ranks. Chaos was exactly what she needed right now for her plan to go off without a hitch.
"Buidhe, Dearg, launch!"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzchUEiiW4Y
A pair of Meteor assault frigates would immediately revert inside the system, practically on top of each target ship by precise micro jumps calculated by their banks of powerful bio-computers.
The latest and greatest in Tekkadan'sarsenal would immediately accelerate from a slight angle on direct paths with rearof each vessel, automated weapon system sprimed to spew fire in all directions at any attack craft that may come their way to rumble.
Their mass driver cannons were currently loaded with hollow shots filled with reflective particles and nagnol gas, meant to confuse the targeting sensors of tractor beams. For added measure, ECM drones were launched, mimicking the appearance of the Meteors, and distortion projectors and gravitic modulators had been activated right from the get-go to mess with the enemy vessels' tracking/targeting abilities.
Not that the enemy warships would probably get the chance to deploy such countermeasures, the frigates coming in so fast from such a close start, they would on the enemy vessels in a matter of seconds. Then they would be in the position to promptly cut through all those layers of shielding with their field disruptors. From there, they would each be able to deposit about a brigade's worth of battle hardened Mandalorians and battle droids, along with support from 48 Basilisk war droids that could bust through those hullslike they were nothing but wet carboard. The Meteors had been designed with serious boarding operations in mind, to take on big ships just like the Itsukusk.
As they rocketed forward, pulse mass mines would be deployed in their wake from their cargo bays, in case any of the Alliance captains became skittish and decided to retreat to hyperspace. There would be no escape for what was coming.
*IC, Face's crew mistakenly believes the Sionomaship to be of the Mateus-class dueits similar profile.
------------
"I adhere to the Resol'nare. The core of what it means to be Mandalorian. A sacred law giving us direction and purpose. Education and armor, self-defense, our tribe, our language, our leader—all help us survive. We must educate our children as Mandalorians, obey the commands of Mandalore, speak Mando'a and defend our clans." ~Akaavi Spar
Comm operators between Face's capital ships and the LSR carried out their ELINT mission, siphoning signals from incoming and outgoing transmissions by the Alliance warships for later decryption. Among transmissions where their eavesdropping attempts were successful, they would collect information from a series of heavily encrypted streams directed at the Ituskusk, originatingall the way from Alderan. The content of the encrypted data would remain a mystery to the operators for the time being, but it would only be a matter of time before they were encrypted.
When they were, there would be little doubt that this information would rock the Mandalorian world to its core.
A wing smacked her straight in the face and send her sprawling into the snow.
If there was one thing that could bite through a mild psychedelic high it was getting assaulted by muscles bound with feathers and a face-full of frigid snow. She sputtered against the ice and suddenly everything crystallized into a form of understanding - where they were, why they were here and what was exactly happening, but even as she grasped for the Force... it didn't want to come. Unyielding, forceful, it was like trying to stick your hand into oil to get at something at the very depths of it, but that same black tar made it all too slippery.
Instead the Arkanian pushed herself up and wanted to do something, but the angle of the grapple made it impossible to do anything without hurting her friend either. Which wasn't to say that she was going to just freaking run away- she wouldn't leave her friend behind, not even if it meant-
The primal scream radiating from her friend pushed her towards activity.
With one swift movement she jumped towards them- nope, she was flying the exact opposite direction that she was supposed to be going. Before Arcana could realize what had just happened, strong arms grasped her and held her in an iron-lock, making it impossible for her to move. All that Arcana could do was watch as her friend was being tortured by that... thing in black armor.
"Let me go!" She shouted, trying to get out of the grasp, trying to find any wiggle room to save her. "She is hurting my friend!"
The Ren didn't even realize that she was probably in a similar situation. Brand and Kira overrode any instinct of survival that she might have had, but at this point Arcana didn't care anymore.
The encryption on Alliance channels were nothing new to Kaili. Once she had let herself seep into the pad of what had apparently turned out to belong to an SIS agent, and upon prodding him about information was told to “not ever do that again or I will have to arrest you.” Same went for Chloe, only this time Kaili would not bother asking about encryption as much as frown at the idea that Chloe had turned into a middle man more than the one with the plan. The Alliance had been a big part of the girl’s life. Her sister had helped form it, she herself had been there to see it happen. Now her girlfriend worked for them, spied for them even, and meanwhile Kaili just wanted to put distance between herself, her company and any potential ties that could be made. She didn’t want to risk Andromeda ending up a ‘Alliance name’, yet in the end she always, always, always ended up in situation such as the one she was in right now.
It made her lips thin out, even if just for a second.
The blonde stretched out her hand, Chloe. Mara had talked about Kaili a lot.
Mara-
MARA.
This was her? Chloe had been a very common topic when both Mara and Kaili were younger on what it meant to be an ‘actual warden of the sky.’ So that meant her contact had not set her up with another SIS agent as much as a fellow Warden then. It would explain why this was someone she’d want to know then.
Okay. Wow.
“Y-yeah, you too.” Kaili offered back as she shook the blonde’s hand. “Mara talked about you too.”
Then head turned to look at Rekha — the bartender that had come to their aid — and then Makai.
“Well, I believe that’s everyone then.” Kaili nodded. “It’s good to meet you folks.”
“We should find something, or someone, to get a better idea of what is going on.” Eyes set on Chloe’s pad and then the corridor ahead. “Also keep an eye out for surveillance, I guess.”
“Probably get armored too.”
“And armed as well, come to think of it.”
“I had not planned on causing trouble today, but… Well, I rarely do.”
Rexus eyed the screen with malicious glee, they had stumbled into his trap, and he was going to single handedly probably kill more people than the rest of the karking army combined here on Hoth. Rexus didn't spring the trap when they were at the perimeter, no, no. He was too sadistic for that. No, he waited until the Omega Pyre forces were more than half way through to maximise casualties. Rexus' grin grew wider and wider, and he began to cackle manically. "Come, come on you smelly fat bastards, come on!" He goaded to the screen.
He double checked their progress, they were about to come to checkpoint four, about a kilometre from Outpost Veers. Rexus dramatically raised his trigger finger, and slowly eased it into the detonator. Rexus couldn't imagine the devastation he was about to cause. The chaos or destruction he was going to throw out. No, instead, his thoughts fluttered back to Avalonia, and returning, in his stormtrooper armour, returned to the corps. All the poodoo he'd gone through, forgotten, as he was hailed a hero. Rexus Wenck pressed the button, and there was....
Nothing!
3...
2...
1..
Boom!
After three seconds of latency, the detonators blew up. It was a chain reaction, as one set of detonators received the signal, others did as well. And then the set next to that. This caved in the tunnels, and the like, but was nothing compared to what lay at the point the Omega Pyre front line had experienced. Through a mix of either incompetence, or laziness, the auxiliary troopers had set up a concentration of detonators towards the middle. This nucleus of highly volatile material would prove to be clinical.
The whole earth began to shake, as nearly one and a half tonnes of baradium detonators blew up. The multi-layered tunnel system, which had been sabotaged through all its multi-faceted layers, expelled their contents. What was once considered solid ice and rock, flew up from beneath any individuals occupying the ground. Debris, was flung high into the air. The sheer amount of it, blotting out the sun. Outpost Veers, and the surrounding areas began to shake, as if the ground had become drunk, and was stumbling around. That was nothing, compared to what was to meet them next.
A near two hundred tonnes of now charred ice, rock and presumably Omega Pyre equipment, now fell back to the ground, into the gargantuan crater which had been created by the blast. Tunnels which had once been forty meters below the surface, stood exposed as a crater, nearly two hundred meters deep opened up away from the outpost, where the detonators had been laid. Rexus was flung out of his chair by the blast, and the terminal fell to the ground, shattering his only major source of light. Around Outpost Veers, ceilings cracked, sending chunks of ice and rock tumbling down to the floor, and blocking access to some areas of it. Wiring was severed, and portions of the base collapsed from the shock wave, and earthquake which had followed. Those immediately outside, would have felt the wrath of another wave of snow fall, not as tremendous as the previous avalanche, but bad enough to make the terrain difficult to traverse. The soldier waited for the tremors to end, before reaching for his commlink, "Major," He began, "I think I got them."
Allies: [member="Adder"] [member="Loske Matson"] [member="Abel"] [member="Tela Uolmi"]
Enemies: [member="Irajah Ven"] [member="Samka Derith"] and others in vicinity
Location: Upper Cloud City, near plaza
Objective: Clear space around Cloud City. Escort U-Wings
Janes turned away from the group as his comm buzzed. He turned his palm towards the group of medics and brought his forearm mounted screen closer to his face. It was an SIS encrypted channel which meant it wasn't necessarily for GADF eyes. He furrowed his brow at the message. Why was Adder sending him text messages whilst flying? He was still tied into the Squadron’s virtual voice net.
Before he could open that channel a voice spoke in his left ear, that was the Flight Command channel. “Wraith One, we've got enemy fighters heading directly for our shuttles. We need you to take a flight and escort some gunships to drive them away.”
“Understood. I've found the crashed shuttle. I've put a marker down and they're seeking shelter. Wraith Two and Three are providing air support over the upper city.”
“Acknowledged.”
Virtual flares would now appear on the GADF tactical map to show the position of the downed shuttle and Abel's group as long as they didn't go into radio silence. Asmus switched over to his squadron net, routed through his fighter.
“Seven, this is One. Had to find a downed shuttle. I'm topside, Cloud City. Get two wingmen and bring Blue Fury to the coordinates marked.”
Blue Fury was the squadron of U-Wing gunships launched from one of the stealth carriers. Far from prime targets they would have a similar signature to the transports and the First Order hadn't encountered the model. However, they were heavily armed with turrets and missiles for engaging fighter squadrons.
Asmus drew his blaster again. “Tela, I have a two-seater ready to fly near here unless you have other plans.” He winked at her from behind his visor. “You'll like her. Unless…” he looked her up and down, “...you have other plans.”
Captain Artemis Margs watched the firey destruction of the corvettes with some satisfaction, the First Order had won this engagement, tearing apart several troop transports headed to reinforce opposing invasion forces. The officer watched as fellow First Imperial vessels cleared away the survivors, picking up escape pods. The young officer turned to the Vanquisher-class' crew pits, "Get me a telemetry of our fellow fleets, I want to find somewhere we can reinforce." The officer demanded. Already, the other frigates, and destroyers in the task force were breaking away, off to back up fellow skirmishes, and engagements.
"Captain, we do have a situation, some time away." The Signals Officer reported, "Some mass engagement involving the Mandolorians, and Alliance forces at FIS Kurigan sir."
Artemis looked at the the Helmsman, "Set course for Anoat." Artemis barked, "And send word that help is coming." He continued, motioning to the Signals Officer. The captain returned to looking out the viewport, and listened to the noise of his fellow officers preparing the jump to lightspeed. Mandolorians, on Anoat? Aretmis' heart skipped a beat, there was fear there, but there was also a determined need to help his fellow imperials. And it was this determination, that would steel them against the Alliance.
Location: Hoth: Outpost Veers, at a mountain slope. Objective: Purgify Allies: Team S: [member="Aver Brand"], [member="siobhan kerrigan"], [member="rusty"] Other allied folks: [member="Draco Vereen"], [member="Aeron Kreelan"], [member="HK-36"], [member="Sol Stazi"] Engaging: [member="kyrel ren"]
Gear: Link in Sig
Tomas hit the ground, but did not stop moving. Even in power armor, a marine's life often relied upon mobility. This was doubly true when taking on a force user, as their powers tended to extend beyond the reach of a marine's weapons. So, as his armor's feet touched snow covered ice and rock as he recovered from his hammer blow being blocked, Tomas dove to his right, executing what likely looked like an awkward combat roll. The roll was automatically aided by specific jump jets to attain the momentum needed to complete the maneuver.
It was as he was starting to push forward, moving at Kyrel Ren's side, that the edge of the force shout clipped him. His shield took the brunt of the offense, then was sheered away and flipped to land behind him in the snow, landing heavily amid a pack of snow troopers to the sound of screams of pain and surprise.
Then Kyrel went after his employer again, and the ground shook.
"Kerrigan, watch out!" Tomas shouted over the comms as he ignored the shaking and roaring of the explosions behind him, he lined up his hammer on the back of Kyrel as he attempted to assault Siobhan Kerrigan. He reached back, then let the hammer fly forward. Like any ranged weapon, his HUD had provided assistance in targeting and timing, and the immensely heavy hammer turned slowly in the air, aiming to hit Kyrel in the middle of his back with the head of the hammer.
Then, after his hammer was on it's way, Tomas lit off his jump jets and grabbed up his main weapon and began to fire explosive shells at the Knight of Ren's back. His jump jets, angled as his body was, thrust him forward as he ran, then took over all of his forward momentum as he aimed his massive bulk at the back of the Knight of Ren as well.
First, the hammer.
Second, the explosive shells.
Third, his own massive, armored body.
The Ren would soon learn that it wasn't a good idea to attack his employer while she had a Marine with her.
It is funny how things come together. How Fate builds steps to go a specific way. Some call it the Force. Other's destiny.
Aeron simply thought it was a pain in her karking ass.
It all began back with the Gundark Gunners. Or perhaps even before then, back on Skor, that had the poor thrall deep beneath Outpost Veers to begin with, setting those thermal detonators under 1.8 kilometers of tunnel. He might have thought it an excellent plan. Yet even the best laid plans can have the most terrible consequences.
Isar Kislo said:
"The situation is getting real crappy up here blondie...We can give it a go if that's what you want, but I gotta tell ya... I don't really see that being effective at this juncture. We'd have to coordinate any of their above-ground advances with my ability to dig through solid ice below ground. Even if you update their locations constantly, I'll always be a step behind. Air strike is your most effective option for a moving target, blondie."
Zeison Sha, coming from Yannibar, a frigid world where only the most rugged of sapients survive had little time for bullshitting. If someone was right, even the youngest of them that made common sense, it was heard. So it would be to no surprise that Aeron would say so to Kislo.
[ No, you're right. ] Aeron began. [ We found empty tunnels here. I think it might be a trap --] the sudden breaking off of Isar's comm startled her.
[Kislo? what is going --] Aeron broke off, one Ortolan behind her setting in place a Browncoat 1900 portable shield. The tiny hairs at the nape of her neck stood on end. Dread filled her.
Rexus Wenck said:
He double checked their progress, they were about to come to checkpoint four, about a kilometre from Outpost Veers.
However, they were not a kilometer from Outpost Veers.
Flashback~
Aeron Kreelan said:
[ Captain Sunwell, we are 500 meters out. Found what could be an underground entrance. Will be scouting up ahead to see if it is viable. If you need us to bore towards you, keep giving us geocoordinates. We will be there. ]
Every precaution that had been put in place. **Flash
Aeron Kreelan said:
A quick pull of of a holomap from deployed scanners and feedback came up. On one side there were the tunnels that the Alliance and the Talz had been digging. Every few meters they’d utilized the Browncoat portable shields, allowing a measure of reinforcement just in case.
Moving up ahead and getting into her own ice boreer, Aeron swung her gaze to the second lieuteneant, [ Keep securing these tunnels. Use the tunnel reinforcers. We only want to collapse the ice where we need to.] [ Understood Prex.]
Behind them, more of the portable shields were placed alongside the wall and activated. Moving ahead to meet up with the advanced party that had tunneled into the starting point where the tunnels under Outpost Veers began, Aeron felt that nagging sensation in the back of her neck. Isar's warning came back. It didn't feel right. Approaching the party, Aeron slowed her iceborer. Ahead of her were the Talz and Ortolan scouting group.
[ Yeah well, if they did... maybe we did just get lucky. ] turning to the Talz and scouting group. [ Secure the tunnels we came in with the shield generators. I want us to have something to back into in case I am right.]
The wariness, the hesitation that had come at [member="Isar Kislo"]'s apprehension and how they'd only sent a Talz scouting party up ahead to check the mouth of the tunnel's entrance. An entrance that lead to the tunnels deep beneath Outpost Veers.
Rexus Wenck said:
The Gundark Gunners, or more reasonably, what remained of them now scrambled deep beneath Outpost Veers, setting up thermal detonators, and booby traps.
All 1.8 Kilometers worth of tunnel deep beneath Outpost Veers that had been set with thermal detonators and booby traps by [member="Rexus Wenck"]'s own Gundark Gunners.
Rexus Wenck said:
The thermal detonators the thralls now placed had inbuilt sensor beacons. As soon as someone tried to pull a fast one on the Outpost Veers garrison, the detonators would go off, burying tonnes of ice and snow upon the plucky infiltrators. So far, Rexus and the Gundark Gunners remnant had rigged about one point eight kilometres worth of tunnel with the detonators. It may cause some tremors, but . Wenck carefully applied some ice to the detonator, covering it up. Anyone who stumbled through those tunnels wouldn't see the detonators until it was too late.
There was no time to react. Just the sheer cry of warning from the Force. Cobalt eyes went wide as Rexus Wenck played his card and set off the thermal detonators he and the Gundark Gunners had set in place deep underneath Outpost Veers.
Dropping to her knees, the Icarii immediately braced herself and slung her elbows back. The powerful telekinetic summoned the Force with jackhammer like reflexes, producing a massive bubble of protection at her back in an attempt to save as many as she could from the advanced scouting party with her.
However, she could not save them all.
Behind her as the fiery inferno blazed, the bodies of a few Talz, Omega Pyre soliders, and Ortolan from the advance scouting party immediately were turned to ash, their bodies dissipating under the blinding flash of thermal detonators exploding. Aeron's mouth fell open, body shaking under the tremendous concentration required to maintain the Force bubble up. Her body ached, warmth trickling down her nose and over her mouth, metallic copper staining red her clenched teeth.
"Arrraaaggggggaaahhhhhhhhhh!" came her guttural scream. Pain lanced through her body, the sheer amount of energy and willpower hammered out into maintaining that shield up. In front of her, the surviving scouting party stood in trepedation, the resulting blast flickering throughout the activated tunnel reinforcements. The very same Browncoat 1900 portable shields they had installed as a last line of protection.
The BC-RT 1900 to provide a method of ensuring the protection of civilians and assets in underground facilities much like those in the subway stations on Skor. It was found out that due to orbital strikes, many of these subway systems became unstable and had tunnels collapse. As such, a portable shield upgraded technology would allow the reinforcement and security of personnel in such subway systems or similar to ensure that such large casualties never would happen again.
Enhancements and combined with shield technology created a new enhanced model. While entirely situational its usefulness, the shield is capable of taking a massive amount of damage, comparable to the shields found on most smaller starships. This is achieved through the BC-RT 1900's massive power source and the fact that it is entirely stationary. It allows the shield to functionally become a bulwark against all around it. Of course the shield and structure reinforcements can still be penetrated by sufficient force, but to do so would take quite a bit of doing.
At least thermal detonators had a set radius to deploy. Unlike other grenades, a thermal detonator's blast would only go as far as its blast radius. After that, the blast field would collapse, and anything even slightly beyond the blast radius would be left unharmed.
Didn't mean that the end result of ice and debris in the fall back wasn't dangerous. No, those at Outpost Veers and near it would realize that quickly.
The whole earth shook, as nearly one and a half tonnes of baradium detonators blew up. The multi-layered tunnel system, which had been sabotaged through all its multi-faceted layers, expelled their contents. What was once considered solid ice and rock, flew up from beneath any individuals occupying the ground. Debris, was flung high into the air. The sheer amount of it, blotting out the sun. Outpost Veers, and the surrounding areas began to shake, as if the ground had become drunk, and was stumbling around. That was nothing, compared to what was to meet them next.
A near two hundred tonnes of now charred ice, rock and presumably a portion of Outpost Veers itself, the area above that had been rigged by 1.8 kilometers of detonators, now fell back to the ground, into the gargantuan crater which had been created by the blast. Tunnels which had once been forty meters below the surface, stood exposed as a crater, nearly two hundred meters deep opened up.
However, back in the ground, the Omega Pyre, Talz, and Ortolan forces underground would shake in trepidation, watching the debris come flying back. Would it hold? Would it stay? Or would it collapse and bury them all in an icy grave.
Would. It. Hold?
Aching seconds went by, that shield flickering overhead.
It held.
Cheers errupted, those that had managed to survive. However, back at the maw of the tunnels where Aeron had used her energy to bring up that bubble of protection through the Force, the lone umber and blonde woman shook in place. Tears had managed to crack the corners of her eyes, trickling down to blend with the blood that now poured over her nose and mouth and into the inside of her Helm.
THose lives that she could not save she felt pass like mere eyeblinks into the Force.
She was not able to save them.
However, the tremendous backlash onto Outpost Veers from the Gundark Gunner's placement of his thermal detonators would be felt by the First Order and those fighting near it as flying debris, and the ground opened up around them.
ENEMIES IN AREA: [member="Samka Derith"], [member="Alkor Centaris"], FO
As Ghorua rolled, he was dimly aware that the strong stranger had pursued him. He went up into a crouched position, but before he could fire off his tensor, the being sliced down with their saber at his wrist.
The most heavily-defended portion of his armor.
Alkor's blade struck his phrik-plated wrists with some force, but not enough to do any damage to the leviathan that was Ghorua. The Shark smiled, revealing rows of serrated teeth, before surging forward at the man.
The attack he did was simple, no need for anything too fancy just yet, as the sheer power and unpredictability of his strikes would be enough. Instead of pulling his saber pike, he closed the already-short distance between them, fists up.
Ghorua's first swing was aimed at the man's lightsaber, hopefully to send it either flying away, or off to the side of his body. The second swing was also aimed at the blade, trying to throw it away. Finally, his charric erupted from his wrist once again, and fired a bolt of surging blue energy at Alkor, aimed at a shoulder.
Three consecutive powerhouse attack. It was then Ghorua noticed a certain small Ren was missing.
He had just enough sense to look up before it happened. The flash of red, aimed right at his shoulder. He tried to sidestep the attack, but the downward momentum of Samka was a little too much to dodge cleanly. Ghorua stumbled back before any major damage could be done, but Ms. Derith's lightsaber did cut down across a portion of his shoulder, leaving a thin yellow line in his white armor, and singed flesh below it.
Ghorua grunted as he recoiled from them, using his long stride to once again find some distance. It seemed pain would accompany him the rest of the battle.
He couldn't continue fighting the two of them this way. He had to think of something, some way to even the odds.
Ghorua began to formulate a plan as he stared down the two Dark-Siders, almost daring them to attack. He could taste his own burnt flesh in the air, and he didn't like it.
Isar opened his mouth to respond, but his danger senses flared immediately. Images flashed before his eyes in a flurry. The Zeison Sha still wasn't the best at controlling his precognitive senses, so it came at him like an overbearing flood of information. As the couple of seconds it took passed, Isar gave simple instruction to the woman grasped firmly in his grip. "Open your mouth!" An odd demand? Yeah...particularly in the middle of a combat situation. However, Isar had seen what was coming, and keeping her mouth open would help to prevent over-pressurization from assaulting her body to the point of being knocked unconscious.
Summarily, Isar threw the woman's body to the ground before instinctively covering it with his own, much larger frame. Now, despite what any onlookers might think, Isar would have done the same had it been a man. Genetically coded to be a guardian, a champion for the helpless, it extended even to this unknown woman in the face of...
BOOM
Pieces of ice, jagged rock, and man-made structures erupted towards the sky in a cacophony of flashing red and orange. The otherwise inhospitably cold planet was suddenly swept with an almost unbearable heat as countless thermal detonators erupted beneath the surface. The heat was rather quickly squelched given the depth of the point of origin, but it was enough to flash-melt entire sections of ice and snow.
"Hold on!" An invisible layer of energy erected around Isar's presence, relying on his training as a Zeison Sha to rebuff the strength. Fortunately for him, it didn't need to be as strong as the layer being maintained deep beneath him by Aeron. It was in that thought that the pain and suffering of so many washed over him as countless lives were extinguished. Isar managed to push through that mentally, but what he saw at the end didn't make him feel much better. Whether it was through their very recent interactions or their shared experience on the harsh world of Yanibar...he could practically feel what Aeron felt. That wasn't what bothered him...what bothered him was seeing her in his minds eye, struggling to shoulder the burden of the blast on her own, abandoned by Isar mostly out of concern for himself.
It was her scream that set him off. For someone with such strength, he knew for her to actually yell out with that much strength could only be because she was experiencing pain on a level that couldn't be described. "AERON!" She was nowhere near him...at best, he was just yelling into Arcana's ear.
Once the debris had finished raining down on the area, Isar abandoned the protective shielding and vaulted to his feet.
AERON!
It wasn't spoken aloud, but directed across the void directly to Aeron's mind as Isar did all that he could to rebuff her strength with his own presence. To say that Isar took off at a sprint was only mildly accurate. From somewhere among the debris of ice particles and cement, the hilt of Isar's lightsaber that had been lost among the exploding ice came flying to his hand. The first fault in the surface was...well...definitely not far. One flying leap and Isar disappeared beneath the surface, pain radiating off him in waves.
Just...not a pain due to injuries. Family wasn't just with whom you shared blood.
Location: Hoth Enemies: House of the Dying Sun [member="Linna Beorht"]
Tailith, the High Priestess of Vemnock continued dancing around the mountain of fur and muscle, her lightwhip licking at his beskar plate and slicing open small wounds in Rathgar's flesh as she kept backing further and further away from the melee. Her compatriots had fallen or fled from the onslaught of warriors on the ground, taking their number with them to the grave but gone nonetheless. For now it was just her and Vemnock in the battle. The massive beast growled with rage, unleashing a torrent of his own lightning at the woman who did likewise, combating the Force with her own power. While she was certainly more skilled and had a greater control over the Force, the raw power that her opponent held was amplified by his feasting brethren. They were evenly matched, struggling against one another in the red stained snow.
Arcs of red lightning lashed out at Draco, strafing across the barrier of Force energy he erected and the blackened blade of the Ravening as the winged being unleashed a salvo of power, tearing life from all the bacteria and microorganisms between Draco and the monster he was engaged with.
Vemnock noticed that the being he fought was durable, not quite so easily eradicated. He also noticed the group of cannibals now surrounded the melee between the two leaders, chanting in an old language with harsh words as blood dripped down their chests smeared into symbols the ancient deity could sparsely remember. The flow of the Force was askew, swirling around the Eaters of the Dead and encasing the twin combatants into their own little realm.
Vemnock waved a hand in boredom, unleashing a wave of unrestrained ice bolts at the lone warrior. Meter long sickles of razor edged ice scythed through the air, breaking upon the barrier and melting upon plasma shields on the Warrior's forearms, but some tore gouges into the beskar he wore, slicing open small wounds in the beings skin. The unrelenting wave of shards continued causing small injuries, tearing and cutting metal. Eventually his endless tide of ice would carve the Mandalorian to a fine mist of beskar and blood with nothing to do but wait.
A massive explosion rocked the mountain side, sending the Eaters of the Dead sprawling, Draco to his knees, and Vemnock off his balance and concentration. Smoke, ice, and dust rose from the direction of Outpost Veers after the First Order Stormtroopers detonated their own base of operations in what was probably a last ditch effort to hold the Alliance off, the scent of death echoing across the Force. The Force god turned his head at the annoyance with a scowl, distracted from the Mandalorian warrior he had been battling, confident he was no threat to peer at the destruction and what was likely a crater of rubble where the Outpost had been.
With a grunt, Draco rose back from his knee, injuries beginning to add up upon his flesh and wear him down. Even for all his skill, he was not as powerful as many other Sith Lords or Jedi Masters, even if someone thought he could create Terentatek from thin air and nothingness, this was not the case. With the being not paying him much mind, the warrior was open to attack, turning the handle of the Ravening over so that its hilt faced the Force being, the aura of wrongness it projected had gone unnoticed, having been obscured by the barrage of ice. The warrior grunted again, reluctant to unleash the weapon he feared, but understanding he and the Eaters were in over their heads with Vemnock. The pulse of energy caused nary a stir in the planet, not a single flake of snow, not a single spec of dust moved because of it. But the Force ached, writhing in pain as the blast struck Vemnock fully in the side.
Vemnock screamed, his voice echoing down the ice shelves and vibrating in the minds of the Cult that surrounded him. The High Priestess fell to her knees, her eyes watering as something in her stomach felt as though it was torn from her. She looked up and could see the creature she worshiped in agony, writhing and flailing within a fairly large bubble being projected by almost forty members of the Cult she had combated. The only one not standing in the circle was the monster she was squaring off with. Eyes tried to focus but lacked clarity, the High Priestess's mind rocked as she was struck for the first time by the beast while distracted, sent sprawling to the ground with a severe ache in her human ribs as they snapped by the Force of the blow. Lightwhip tensed and with a yank she removed the entangled left arm from the beast.
Vemnock roared, glaring at the now advancing Mandalorian with coal black eyes ablaze with rage and disbelief. The warrior's blade was a haze, almost painful for the being to look upon. Vemnock hissed and unleashed a weakened torrent of red lightning once again as the warrior closed to blade range. Draco gritted his teeth against the sudden pain that exploded through his senses, struggling to keep standing against the wave of energy. Blade plunged deep into the being, arcs of lightning tingling off the blackened steel and into the creature. For a moment the two found themselves in a loop, both attempting to drain one another into nothing but a charred black husk. As the blade bit deeper and deeper into the Force god's essence the loop began to fade and then was torn as the Force began to abandon him. Vemnock howled once again, weaker than before, his form flickering before them all.
The Cult that stood around him roared in unison, their bubble disappearing as all thirty or so members unleashed forks of red lightning at the Demon of varying degrees of power and energy, tearing at his form and essence alike. Vemnock mewled in pain, an almost unrecognizable plea for mercy, or for help, or for destiny to step forth and save him.
Before Tailith's eyes she say her god reduced, defeated by some unknowable, unbelievable means. Had she not been able to see it, she would not have believed it. The priestess rolled out of the way of yet another ground shaking blow from the Yuzzem she struggled with and turned back towards the speeders. And She ran, heart pounding, lungs aching with guilt and sorrow self preservation became first and foremost in her mind.
Vemnock's body flickered and writhed, his power being ripped from him as the Eaters of the Dead, the Dragon of Alderaan, and the Ravening stuck deep in his body all tore at him, draining him. With a shriek, just before the last vestiges of Vemnock were devoured or severed forever, he vanished, mind shattered and broken, power a shadow of what it once was, but not dead.
The Eaters of the Dead however burned bright, like a beacon of power and darkness to all who could feel it, swelled by the blood of the House of the Dying Sun and the Force of their god.
[SIZE=11pt]Post (Included For Ease of Reference): 4[/SIZE]
(Just to clarify, my NPC Private's transmitter is indeed broken, and in my mind is not reaching anyone but Pharazon given their proximity)
[SIZE=11pt]
[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]There was only ice, snow, and rock, and the [/SIZE][SIZE=14.6667px]titanic[/SIZE][SIZE=11pt] sound of the rushing frozen tide as it surged forward into the north eastern trench sections formerly occupied by Captain Draken and the 13th Company. The once steadfast Imperial Stormtroopers were swept away and consumed by the surge no matter where they were or how they ran. Men were buried in trenches like tombs, women had their armoured legs ripped out from underneath them as they attempted to outrun the white wall across the ice outside the trenches, and Pharazon was swept along. Buffeted from all sides, assaulted with the horrific noise of this unnatural exercise of natural power, he lost control of his entire body as he was pushed along. The white armoured forms of the 13th became one with the snow, swallowed whole.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]When Pharazon finally came to a stop, he could not say how long he was within the tide, where he was now, how deep he was buried, or even if he was facing up or down. His body lay still, completely covered and surrounded by massive amounts of ice, snow, and debris. He could not move at all except minor movements of his head within his armour. Even his fingers had been immobilized, the snow and ice packed in so densely it was as if he was encased in stone as in some legends of old. Opening his eyes, Pharazon inhaled sharply, his armour allowing him at least that amount of flexibility given its hard outer shell allowing some contraction of his body without worsening any potential suffocation. His brilliant green eyes darted all over his helmet’s heads up display, trying in vain to gain any insight he could into his own situation and that of his troopers. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]His mind was still racing in circles, muddled and unfocused as a result of the savaging he had experienced within the flow of the mighty avalanche. What had happened still was not clear, it was not until Pharazon saw the consuming darkness and absence of light behind his HUD, the darkness separated from his face by mere centimetres of visor and armour.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]I am alive… somehow.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]He tried to move, nothing happened, the snow continued to surround him, straining his muscles he attempted to reach above his head, hoping subconsciously that he had not been buried. He remained still, motionless, as a frozen corpse were anyone to casually observe him.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]It is so dark… oh no… please… I’ve been buried, I cannot move… I cannot move![/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]His heart began racing as his emotions momentarily took control, furiously thrashing his body within his armour in a futile attempt to move. His breathing hastened as a cold sweat began to form on his forehead and down his spine.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]I cannot get out… cannot get out...[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]No… Not now, not now, not now.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]The fear took over and the a set of memories he dreaded above most others returned to assail him as all logical thought fled from his mind. The darkness remained, but the smells and sounds of his childhood returned to him, no longer buried in snow, his mind returned to his childhood on Hapes. Totally restrained and condemned in a small box, locked within an abandoned room within an abandoned citadel, deep underground, screaming and crying for aid that would not come. The memories were so clear to him, the feelings real and visceral. A small boy now thrashed futilely against his bonds within his mind, no longer the great and imposing man that lay beneath the snow of the distant and mythical ice world of Hoth. Hot tears stung flowed from small and bloodshot eyes as a pitiful boyish voice grew hoarse from constant pleas for mercy.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]The mind of Pharazon, consumed by memories flowed with waves of grief, guilt, and [/SIZE][SIZE=14.6667px]nausea[/SIZE][SIZE=11pt] and the cold sweat flowed in great waves across his body. His massive frame shook, nearly convulsing in the tiny amounts of space it possessed for movement within his hard armour, his chest contracted concurrently as if within an unstoppable vice. He vomited within his helmet, partially covering the front of his HUD and burning his throat and mouth. Fear consumed his very being.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Mother please! I’m so sorry, I will never do it again, never ever I promise! Just let me out! Please![/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]He screamed as the memories shattered, returning him to the present, buried alive under tons of ice on a hostile world.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]“Get me out! By the mists, get me out! Please!” Pharazon screamed in terror, within the void, once again aware of his physical body and predicament, acid and bile burning his mouth and nostrils. The realisation dominating all other though, every desperate attempt to regain control and reign in his long suppressed emotions and regain control from them now that they had robbed his obsessively maintained self-control.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Total darkness devoured Pharazon’s vision as he passed out, armour bodily readings surging towards and peaking at dangerous levels on almost every metric. Muscles went slack, ceasing their disturbing shaking, and his great heart and lungs began to ever so slowly slow down from their exacerbated and dangerously high rates. He grew still, and lay in the snow, entombed.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]You must be strong, Pharazon. Echoed the voice of his beloved uncle throughout his mind, in a dream he somehow just [/SIZE][SIZE=11pt]knew [/SIZE][SIZE=11pt]was like the others, prophetic, a gift, a curse, from the force.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]I will not always be able to protect you from her… though I know she only does this on… her… advice. She loves you, I love you, Pharazon, remember that. Pharazon could feel himself angering, the dreamlike state returning to something resembling consciousness little by little. His mind was once again awakening, his iron will reasserting itself and his ravenous will to survive coiling around his emotions, subjugating them to the cause of life.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]You must become more than me, more than your sisters, more than your mother, you must cultivate the will to survive or you will be destroyed. The voice warned.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Remember you are a Draken, not one of the Xienar. And you must fight for everything you want within the Consortium because of it.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Use your fear, use your anger, use your hate. Use anything and anyone to achieve your ambitions my boy…[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Make them fear the name Draken.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Fight![/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]“...tain Draken this is Private Lazarus confirm copy... Lieutenant Cain... Any members of the 13th, this is Lazarus, please confirm copy... Any First Imperial Forces this is TK-6060, requesting immediate assistance, the 13th Company requires immediate aid, entire company taken by the avalanche, situation and status of unit at large unknown.” came a crackling and weak voice over Pharazon’s helmet communicator straight into his ears, dispersing the last remnants of unconsciousness.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]His eyes peeled open, feeling as if he had been unconscious for hours even though it was more accurately minutes. He was back, here, buried in the void. But he was alive, and he would not lay down and die, or wait for aid as he had when he was a boy only to be left waiting for long.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]“Feth, anyone, please respond, We need help! Damn you fething, blasted, poodoo filled, force blighted, broken to all abyss transmitter[/SIZE][SIZE=11pt]!”[/SIZE][SIZE=11pt] the voice came again, angry and desperate this time.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Coughing and wrinkling his face as the vivid memory, smell, and close to his face physical evidence of his vomiting again forced themselves into focus. The stench was still acrid, still fresh, but air continued to flow through his suit’s oxygen supply and ensure he had a steady supply of fresh enough air. His body ached, the pain of the avalanche impact finally coming to the fore, but, luckily enough, Pharazon did not believe he had been seriously wounded, extensive bruising and potentially a few broken bones to be sure, but still combat effective. Good enough…[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Steeling his expression and reasserting a grim air despite being buried, he cleared his voice and dominated his thoughts and emotions as much as he could before opening a com channel to the Private.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]“Private Lazarus…” he coughed again, before he finally managed to clear his throat and assert some kind of dominant and commanding tone. He recognised the name, he knew all his subordinates names.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]“Lazarus, this is Draken, receiving you weakly but clear enough, confirm copy.” remembering more about the man he continued. “What is the status of 4th platoon and Cain? Do you know anything about the rest of the company’s status? I am picking up nothing but your transmission.”[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Pharazon feared the worst, but tried to stay disciplined and professional.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]“This is Lazarus, transmission received clear enough Sir. By the force, balance, mists and the Emperor’s roasted corpse it is good to hear from you Sir… if I may speak freely Sir.” the Private was still haggard but now more ecstatic than desperate, speaking quickly and excitedly before remembering who he was speaking to.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Pharazon chuckled slightly, more from the relief of actually hearing another living being again than any humour from the Private. He was still angry, but now he had someone to be angry with. Rather than feed the hatred he felt towards himself for his descent into weakness from his effective entombment.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]“But I don’t know anything about the rest of the platoon or the Lieutenant, sir. I’ve been trying to raise anyone but you are the first one I have gotten a hold of, I think my transmitter is busted or something…” the Private trailed off. Pharazon suspected a similar problem with his own, his suit’s red flashing displays informing him of substantial damage to many systems including communication.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]“What is it Lazarus?” Pharazon demanded quickly before considering what else he was going to say to the young man, knowing from the man’s tone that something was wrong.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]“Sir… I think my arms and legs are broke, I’m running on stims from the suit…. And, my oxygen supply has been damaged, I’m running out of air sir”.[/SIZE]
