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The boltgun - the heavy bolter, to be precise - used by Yarrow was a very special weapon. It was designed to kill Force-users, for the explosive bolts negated their standard defence against projectiles. You see, the aforementioned rounds exploded on impact. Any impact. Including Force attacks meant to deflect them. Try to push them away, and they'd blow up in your face. In short, when Kyrel tried to send them towards Siobhan, they'd trigger and explode immediately, instead of flying towards her. These rounds hit very hard.
The Dark Side was powerful, but far from limitless. If it was, the newly christened Vader would not have lost most of his limbs and been burnt to a crisp on Mustafar. His master, Emperor Palpatine, would have not fallen down a reactor shaft, after being betrayed by his aforementioned apprentice, and so on and so forth. She felt the surge of power as the disguised Draco, though Siobhan would not know it was him in the barbarian armour, launched a Force Suppression attack on the Ren.
In the middle of all this, Siobhan got a call from HK, right after hearing a massive explosion that made the earth tremble. It seemed to come from beneath Outpost Veers. "Nah, wasn't us. Maybe FO blew themselves up? Catch you later," she responded.
The Vader Ren spoke once more. He seemed to be getting awfully worked up. Siobhan looked slightly bored and wondered how her nails looked. Channelling the Force, she once again unleashed telekinesis. This time it was no shockwave. Instead, she manifested a gigantic invisible hand and sought to wrap it around the Knight. It would be like being hugged by a massive python. Seeking to impose her telekinetic willpower with a powerful Force Grip, as tight as beskar chains, she attempted to raise him into the air and hurl him across the snow land with tremendous velocity and force. The intended trajectory was in the direction of a certain Captain Vrygg, alias Aver Brand.
Raziel did not trust. He analysed risks and built plans within plans. He put in place contingency plans to account for the greatest uncertainties. A risk could be taken if the reward was great enough. The young man was being honest. That or he was exceptionally powerful.
However, he couldn't just let the man go. His hands, on the matter, were was tied as Bryce's. Raziel ignored him as they marched across the snow towards the base. He could hear one of his men talking on the comms to the First Order guards.
When they reached the south entrance he turned to the man with a hand on Bryce's shoulder.
"Leave him hear, we'll pick him up on the way out."
No one questioned him. These men never would. Raziel assumed the young man wouldn't be here when they returned with their mark.
[SIZE=11pt]Her instinct was to dart out of the way of the shotgun blast. It took her a moment to register that it had blasted apparently harmlessly on the ground and then another half a second to recognise the blue mist hovering upwards.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Clever boy[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]She’d worked with chemical weaponry before, used them herself, she was trained to deal with it as best as one could. Sam took a deep gulp of air before the mist rose to her level, Breath Control. It would keep her conscious for now but it wouldn’t last forever, she needed to act swiftly and break away from the shield.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]One thing the Bounty Hunter would likely not expect was the strike up close. She’d take the high ground to escape the gas and he was the high ground. Deactivating her Lightsaber, she flipped upwards, over the Herlic’s head, landing on top of her foe. She clawed her way up there, seizing a firm grasp on the beast. Then came the Lightning.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Holding tight onto the Shark, she let waves of violent blue Lightning blast from both hands. It would shake through both their bodies, crackling with intense pain. Sam relished it. The pain, it fuelled her further with the Dark Side. “Get. Out. Of. My. Home,” she snarled close to the Shark’s ear.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]There was a method to the Ren’s madness. She was tired of the Shark’s gadgets and the shield restraining her. As Force Lightning hissed and snapped, flickering around the enclosed space the pair were stuck in, Sam hoped it would short out electronics, including the shield, and give her space to breathe. Literally.[/SIZE]
Objective: Pew Pew Pew
Location: Thunder, riding second
Allies: [member="Asmus Janes"] [member="Adder"] [member="Loske Matson"] [member="Abel"]
Enemies: First Order Karkers
"What gave you that idea?" she shot back, giving the view nary a glance, nice as it was, "I like your head where it is."
Coming out of inversion was only a tiny bit jarring, but she'd spent more time out of the cockpit than in as of late. She gave her head a quick shake, rattling it around, and refocused on the present situation, curling and loosing her fingers before retaking the controls. "Alright," she grimaced, glancing out, then at the display, "here's hoping..."
With the weapon pointed just at the edge of the space the TIE occupied, Tela gave the firing control a quick tap, just one second of output, to prod the enemy vessel to where it needed to go, "...that's right, move, you little schutta," and move it did.
Location: Bespin Space Objective: Somethin Somethin Allies: [member="Aran Piett"], [member="Sara Lee Jones"] Enemies: [member="Raze Lyter"], [member="Vilin"]
Captain Thailus could only watch as a volley of fire from the opposing side tore through its barely recharged shields, below even a quarter of maximum power they were shredded within moments, but the fire they had dished out had been vile - large amounts in such a small time frame, but due to being one person it had required the Captain to reroute all weapon systems to the helm, which required him to perform further micro managing. That, hadn't been easy, due to the aforementioned reason of being alone.
The starboard forward shields had collapsed first, the unseen commander on the opposing side faster to react as the shields collapsed under the assault.
Regardless, when the ship, directly in front of the Devastator had reacted in kind, it wouldn't be doing itself any favours - for the ship continued on its trajectory, straight for the ship. With its own momentum continuing forwards after reverting to real space, the tractor beams that had locked onto the much bigger ship did little to actually effect the ship. As tractor beams relied on the inertia and size of the ship it was attached to, and the ship that it was targeting, both ships that were pushing and pulled would've likely felt their own ships being pulled along for the ride to the Temperance. Their movement earlier had barely been perceptible, and when they had began to move in front of the Trimaran ship, there was a chance they were also brought into the path of the oncoming doom that was the Devastator.
"Oh feth, it's turning," he muttered as he hopped to the neighbouring chair and entered in the commands to begin bringing the ship around to match the Temperance. He pulled back on the controls, which barely allowed the full throttle Destroyer to turn. "Kark it," he muttered as he allowed his ship to continue on its current path towards the trio of ships.
Hogrum's escape pod was hovering next to a docking tube, and one moment he had been hovering in space, and moments later he was in the airlock after collapsing from his pod.
"Get me to the bridge," he grunted. He recognized the faces of some of the Bridge Crew, though many of them looked haggard, worried, surprised, relieved, a mixture of all of it at once. It was... Weird. An unused expression. Hogrum's jaw clenched. He didn't need to explain where Thailus was, they had likely figured it out, or had seen like he had.
"Lieutenat Ve-"
"It's Commander now." Hogrum said, having regained his composure as he traveled onto the bridge. "What's the situation?"
"Alliance Fighters broke formation as we deployed escape pods. They've... uh... Hunted down and destroyed many of our escape pods."
Commander Veed's jawline clenched. "The databanks... They have this information recorded?" There was a pause as he looked side long at the commander of the ship.
"Um... Yes, Sir."
"Then we'll stay as far away from the combat as is necessary. This information is paramount to be delivered to High Command - Though we cannot afford to forfeit the system. Half throttle forwards, that's our flagship up there, it's not getting sacrificed for nothing."
Regardless as to whether or not it was mentioned, with the majority of the escape pods having been jettisoned from the flanks of the Devastator it would've put many of them in range, or close to being so of the Mukhitiar Corvettes, which were anti-starfighter ships. To have any of the pods, it would've put the Alliance fighters in a dangerous area regardless with criss-crossing point defense weaponry firing upon them.
Regardless as to the Stormhawk's targeting, it was still forced to blind fire at an extreme range its hypervelocity cannons, and despite their speed, with it being nigh impossible to actually aim with the naked eye at such a range, the hypervelocity rounds that were heading for the Know Death went wide, very much so as it continued its slow approach and its steady fire, though even that had come to a stop as the Devastator drew closer to its target.
Starfighters and a volley of fire was heading in the direction of the ships that had just arrived on the scene above the Viperous. Taking up combat maneuvers, the four ships hadn't remained in position long enough as they aimed to remain in the rear of the Viperous though they were forced to activate descending thrusters which brought them closer to a high orbit of Bespin.
As the four squadrons of fighters came in, they would've been met by defense cannons and even anti-missile cannons. Fast track mountings allowed the ships to trace and fire upon the oncoming targets quickly and effectively, but even so, as the four ships descended with each other, there had been warnings as the hypervelocity rounds lurched out from the planet and towards them as if Bespin itself were attacking its defenders, and alerts had been cried out over the comm lines of the ships, but even so, the Duchess, had been too slow to turn and was struck.
Straight through the ships and one of the rounds broke through the centre point of the ship, while the second pierced its engines which gave off a catastrophic explosion as they entered high orbit over the planet. Even so, the Katar itself continued its own downwards trajectory, though it had activated its flank thrusters to keep itself away from the oncoming slugs that sped past it on either side.
If there was anything to be noted, it was that the wreckage that continuously grew in the area wasn't going to come to a stop soon. With pieces from the Devastator continuing to fly off of it as it was shot to pieces and the Duchess' destroyed pieces, soon the people of Cloud City, or whoever was left on it were going to find another form of death raining down on them.
Objective: Save more than Wampa... Target FO shuttle
Allies:GA Officially [member="John Shepherd"] | [member="Nawago"] | [member="Joza Perl"] | [member="Leo Vandermolen"] | [member="Sanya Val Swift"] (Others with GA characters)
Enemies: [member="Raziel"]
Theme X <--- Ok, maybe a little more fun, then we get serious...
Bryce could ask for anything better. The commander had hear his best pitch and had given Bryce the opening he had needed. Not a single shot fired, not a life lost. Only him, shackled to a parked shuttle and no one around to interfere. Within moments of the final trooper disappearing into the outpost Bryce pulled Alaunus from his bag and quickly unlocked the binders that secured him to the First Order shuttle.
Having only weeks back in real time, (years for him after the crucible) he now understood everything the First Order BB-10 unit had down loaded into his mind. While most of it was memories and images he had promised to give back to the family of those lost on the FisherKing there was also a few tricks he learned, one namely how to hack into older First Order Birds like the one he was trying to. Within minutes he was at the helm, and skipping most of the normal pre-flight checks he wasted little time lifting off from Hoth and setting course to Bespin...
Some time later...
Theme
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=maprNsfMS3s
Bryce has set down on platform near the refinery and headed straight in. Looking like a battered, unarmed, street performer those batting around the complex had not tried to stop him. When he finally arrived at Ara's side he worst fears were realized. Those battling over her were gone, no doubt making war in another part of the complex. Alone with the motionless Knight of Ren he began to go to work. Her vitals were weak, and faltering. Her body was fighting but her spirit was... slipping away. Using every skill of the force he knew his hand moved over her would doing everything he could to save her. It was not working... she was fading from him.
Fear of loss turned to anger, as Bryce began to loss his grip over his passions. He force healing faded as well as it would not obey his commands in such a state. He was failing her...
"Damn it girl, I heard you! Flew through the fires of war, and this is how it ends! You're stronger than this, I know it. I have seen your heart in battle, sensed it as you searched for answers. I'm here, you called to me, and now you're leaving?"
Tears now fell from his eyes, and like drops of rain onto the ground beside him.
"Why damn it, answer me why. You deserve more than just a soldiers death. You want more, I know it. Fight damn it!"
His hands grasped her shoulders as he reached for her. Picking her from the deck her began to shake her, trying to raise her from the death's slumber she was falling into.
"You have never given on anything in your life now fight damn you, Fiiiiiiiiggghht!"
In a final fit of rage his hand flew on its' own and slapped her in the face. It was no use she would not answer him. He had failed her...
Location: Bespin, Cloud City - Heading into the Mining Quarters Allies: [member="Chloe Blake"] | [member="Makai Dashiell"] | [member="Kaili Talith"] Enemies | First Order - [member="DT-317"] [member="Ignatius Rausgeber"] Gear: - Thunderclap | Woebringer | Taozin Amulet |
Ok now that everyone knew everyone's name it seemed prudent to head inside. She walked cautiously to the door she had used this a few times but not once had she gone inside. It wasn't fear that kept her from doing that it was more don't need to know what goes on in there. Rekha pulled her magic key from the chain around her neck slid it through the reader she counted slowly in her mind 1, 2, 3 the click and hiss followed as the door opened.
She looked at the little group, "Ok, let's go in" She didn't pull her weapon these were miners and she didn't expect them to be ready to shoot. She slid between the bulkhead and the door. Inside it was dimly lit. It reminded her of a cavern she had been in years ago. The corridor was tight, what kind of conditions did these miners live in.
It was dark everywhere except for the yellow glow from the floor lights. She tilted her head slightly listening, that voice was still talking. They needed to find out what it was saying. She felt her nerves jumping waiting for someone to jump out of the doors at them. Nothing so far. This was unnerving.
Rekha took a few more steps then looked behind herself to see if the group was with her. So far...so good. She hoped the kid wasn't scared. Kids got scared sometimes..right..kinda like adults.
She smiled shaking her head and shaking out the cobwebs.
As she took another step the door behind her opened up revealing the weather worn look of an old miner, "What are you doing sneaking around the halls!" he yelled and quickly shut the door.
Rekha's heart jumped into her throat as she yanked the blaster but before she could even say a word or show her weapon the door was shut. She stopped right where she was gathering her wits.
"I'm glad I didn't shoot him" She laughed really glad she didn't shoot him. "There should be a junction up ahead that takes us to the main corridor" From there they could choose their direction.
Sadness rolled across the emptiness, tugging at a heart that no longer beat.
Darkness.
Tears. Cold and damp. Falling from eyes that no longer saw.
Darkness.
Anger. Regret. A tidal wave of emotions drowning out the darkness, fire flooding through a nervous system that no longer felt.
Darkness.
A scream. Soul piercing, shattering the darkness. Echoing through ears that no longer hear.
Darkness.
The sound of lungs that fought to breathe, even though air no longer existed. The sound and sensation far away, lost in the calm, cooling black that surrounded and enveloped.
Darkness.
Everything came rushing back as emerald eyes ringed in crimson and gold snapped open, the world flooding with light.
"Get clear!" Mishel ordered on instinct seeing the droid get through the door. She had certainly experienced enough today, channeling the loss of Sister Ara. The young disciple of Ren recalled the words of her master [member="Samka Derith]. Embrace the darkness . Her eyes shifted into the haunting orange and red hue that most of the Ren had become familiar with as the rage, and the pain of the loss struck deep within her. Sheathing her lightsaber the Tygaran focused outwardly her hands extended, palms facing the direction of the droid she let loose a fifteen-foot cone of fire and took one step forward as she shifted her weight. The intensity of the fire grew as she continued to channel her emotions, she held the cone of fire here for thirty seconds before recalling the flames back and moving five-feet back to her right and then unleashing two fireballs each roughly seven and a half feet in diameter.
"Ready blasters!" Were her next orders as she called her lightsaber back to her hands, "on my command fire." The darkness that had been placed by Seiger worked its way through her veins, should the droid, drones whatever else survive the fire she'd have to rely on her skills and the skills of the stormtroopers. For the first time, since she had emerged from her bacta tank. Mishel had a clear understanding of the galaxy and how it worked, how it should work. The Jedi should end as they made the galaxy unstable, and the First Order - and its Knights of Ren should give it the order it needs. And that she was Seiger's child, the example made by Sister Ara would be one to follow. Serve until death, to do otherwise would be heretical and those that betrayed this command should be put to the sword. And yet, and yet as the darkness worked to choke the light, the essence refused to move. It served to remind the teenager that for every action there was a reaction, a consequence and that she needed to be ready to face them. Reminded her of the woman who gave her a second chance at life, reminded her that she could be better than she was. And as Mishel spotted movement through the doors, she began her actions to challenge the entity.
"Captain we are still not getting any reply from the forces in orbit."
"Blast, well send orders to the rest of the Task Force have them hold position and we will deal with this personally."
"Aye captain sending the orders."
"Helm put us on the roof. Full speed."
"Aye sir bringing us into orbit."
"Commander Ferguson, get the Squadrons back, minus Sabre Squadron, we may need them once in orbit."
"Aye sir, Accuser Control to all remaining fighters report back to the hangers."
With orders sent out, it would be time to start up towards orbit and hopefully make there in time to assist the remaining allied forces. With the fighters back and docked, though low in numbers they would help in the coming fight. Aran looked from the bridge as Cloud City got smaller and smaller as the Accuser pulled up towards orbit. The ship rumbled as it started to push through the atmosphere of the planet, Aran braced himself against a console so not to be dislodged from his position. Finally breaking though into orbit, the site was much more dire than he originally thought. Aran thought to himself, if only he responded sooner maybe the line could have been held a bit better, though now it is time to fix the breach, and drive the invaders back from the planet.
"Helm bring us into range of the Alliance fleet, I want to start engaging them ASAP."
"Aye sir moving into position."
"Good. Commander Ferguson launch the fighters as soon as the squadrons are ready."
"Aye sir."
"Weps target one of the smaller ships and prepare the ventral hanger's heavy turbolaser."
"Aye sir charging the weapon, and when in range will target the smallest ship they have with it."
"Good, Weps as we get in range you may engage when ready."
"Aye sir, engaging with torpedoes now, and will engage when in range of other weapons. Dropping gravmetric mines behind us Captain to stop micro jumps."
"Good work Lt. West."
The Accuser pushed closer and closer towards the Alliance fleet, though the one Resurgent wouldn't be enough to scare them off out right, Aran hoped that once he fired his modification he installed on the Accuser, they would call no joy and retreat. Alas this would be what Aran hoped but he could think what the enemy commander would do once posed with this change of firepower.
"Captain in range of the Corvette, permission to fire."
"Fire!"
A beam of green energy shot out of the Accuser's ventral hanger, and slammed into the Strike class corvette severing the ship in two. Though Aran couldn't see the hit, the Accuser shook from the explosion, and he knew that it wouldn't be surviving this combat action.
Location: Ison Corridor
Objective: If His Chest Had Been a Cannon, He Would Have Shot His Heart Upon It
Allies: GA, [member="Alexandra Morrow"], [member="Vilin"], [member="Raze Lyter"], [member="Cathul Thuku"], [member="Rick Kaloo"], [member="Sieb Tevv"] et al.
Enemies: FO, [member="Achim Veers"] (engaging), [member="Carlyle Rausgeber"] (engaging), [member="T'yr Dellos"], [member="Ashin Varanin"], et al.
Gear: In Sig (except for uniform)
Control Room, Sullustan Monitor ANS Nautilus Ison Corridor, Flanking First Order Battleline Outer Rim
"Good effect on target!" the monitor tactical officer reported, triggering a muted display of revelry among the bridge crew. All save one.
"Not good enough," Zark muttered grimly.
True to the word of her crew, the Commodore was forced to marvel at how such a small craft had delivered such a destructive blow to a ship the size of the Nolantia with such minimal risk to compromising their position. Of course, every shot they took risked the First Order working it out eventually, but that wasn't the concern. The concern was that they would not be able to bring the command ship down fast enough, even if after sustaining continued rear strikes the Imperials still chose to concentrate on the main Alliance battleline, and that was a big if.
Though their opening moves had been a little too stunted to envelop the Alliance completely in their web, likely the result of jockeying among their command officers Zark speculated, the Imperials had quickly begun to rally and were now punishing the command ship of Phoenix Fleet, and Admiral Morrow's flag with focused broadsides. With his ship totally severed from even the encrypted Alliance battlecomms while they were still evading detection, he had no way of knowing that other theaters throughout the sector had demanded that High Command reroute reinforcements away from the Corridor just as they needed them the most. And so, faced with a choice, Commodore Zark Pulsar did what he hoped that any ship captain or leader of men who bore the Alliance firebird would do in a similar situation.
He weighed cost against value, and asked for sacrifice commensurate with the gravity of the moment.
"I will not give this order," he said loudly, far too loud according to unspoken protocols for speaking aboard a monitor. He spoke as if he was giving orders aboard a star defender, "It has to be unanimous."
All eyes on the cramped little 'bridge' snapped towards him at once, including those of his executive officer, now rapt with attention.
"We need to give Phoenix Fleet a fighting chance, and I don't think we're going to do it with concussion missiles," he spoke clearly and slowly, being sure to enunciate so they would understood through the adrenaline, "But if we pick up enough velocity, I think we might be able to force our way through some of the breaches in that command destroyer's flank. Now I know none of you are soldiers, and chances are even if we survive impact, we won't be able to keep them occupied for very long, with so few of us. But every second their command crew is occupied with something other than the Dawn is a better chance for Phoenix Fleet.
We don't know when relief is coming, and we can't risk giving away our position, and this opportunity, by trying to find out. I know that what I am proposing may very well be tantamount to asking the ultimate sacrifice of all of you, but we all knew that was a possibility when we sealed ourselves inside this thing, and I can't think of a better way to help our friends and brothers. But if any of you object, we'll find another way. Aye or nay?"
And it was unanimous.
"Helm, bring us up to ramming speed," Zark ordered, his tone uncharacteristically solemn, "Go for the largest breach on her side, and try and put us as close to her reactor as you can manage. Maximum effect."
The shift in momentum was almost imperceptible, but the fog lights giving way for the ship's primary lighting systems as the reactor power levels rose beyond silent running status. Before much longer they would be close enough to the Nolantia's sensors that they'd detect her no matter how many stealth systems were crammed inside the frigate, and every second of additional power meant they could increase sublight velocity. It was fitting, in a way, Zark considered as he stopped paying attention to sensor screens or running tactical analyses through his head for the first time it what seemed like a very long time. They had been shrouded in gloom as they had skulked through the nebula, it only made sense that they would meet such a glorious end in the light.
"Commodore, sir, its been an honor," Commander Bashir saluted him smartly from across their modest little tactical podium.
"Likewise, Bashir," he replied, returning the salute and then reaching out to shake the Mon Cal's hand.
Then there was a noise like a world's ending, and they were all falling, falling, too fast, then suddenly black.
But it was not the end.
"Status!" Zark groaned out.
"I'm here, sir!" Bashir called out weakly, "I...I think I'm hit, sir."
With his torch apparently lost in the crash, he flicked his wrist as he activated the correct subroutines in his prosthetic through the simplistic neural connection, and the lightsaber stored within its secret compartment appeared suddenly in his hand. Flicking the switch that opened the ventral plating that would expose the blade's unstable core, the Jedi officer held the hilt aloft as a beacon, the burning of the core casting a spooky orange glow over what had once been a monitor control room. It was now filled with upending machinery and bodies, very few of which were still moving.
When he finally found the Mon Cal, it was a grim sight. Thankfully his executive officer had not been crushed, but a piece of shrapnel had embedded itself in his left eye, and the Commodore took one look before he knew that even a cybernetic replacement would be a tricky given the extent of the damage to the socket. And that was assuming either of them survived past the next few seconds. At any time, the section of what was left of their ship could suddenly vent to space, although the impervium hull had certainly done its job well in not only penetrating the thick First Order destroyer hull to at least some degree. To what extent that had damaged the Nolantia, they had no way of knowing until they found a way to board her. If they found a way to board her. For all they were aware, it could have been a glancing blow that sent them even now hurtling to their deaths in the endless void.
"Alright, its not so bad," he managed at last, treating the Mon Cal's wounds as best as he was able before saying, "Alright, you stand here and uh, asses the situation. I am going to go round up the rest of the survivors. We'll try to find an airlock that hasn't completely caved in, and worse comes to worse I'll cut my way out with this."
He held up the saber before remembering Bashir couldn't really see.
"Alright," he said, not really knowing what else to say, "Alright."
As he moved to leave, Bashir called out, "Sir? What do we do now?"
"Now?" Zark echoed over his shoulder, after stopping and taking a second to think, "Now, we fight them until we can't."
Summary of Actions
ANS Nautilus rams the FIV Nolantia, attempting to penetrate her hull as far as possible through the breaches in the destroyer's shielding.
ANS Ghostwall fires two more concussion missiles at the FIV Malice.
FLEET
ANS Nautilus- Hull | Shields Ramming: FIV Nolantia [member="Achim Veers"]
ANS Argo- Hull | Shields (still temporarily disabled)
ANS Ghostwall- Hull | Shields Firing at: FIV Malice [member="Carlyle Rausgeber"]
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"], [member="Taeli Raaf"] Enemies: First Order, [member="Val Kordova"], [member="Mishel Ren"], [member="Caehl Ren"]. Gear: Light Paddle, stealth blaster, another blaster, armour (in sig), melee shield (in sig), vibroknife, lightsabre, no-show (no longer functional).
When you thought about it, Caehl's situation was rather unfair. However, Kaida did not believe in fair play in combat. Especially not when it came to the First Order, after what they'd inflicted upon her people and Kaeshana. He'd made his choice to pull off a last stand and paid the price.
Having sustained grisly wounds, he pulled off one last attack by tossing his last two incendiary grenades at their feet. Boom. Kaida was reminded of the practice of certain Ashiran fanatics amongst the Eldorai. She really hated those ignorant reactionaries.
The explosion rocked catwalk, exploding it, and a wall of flame engulfed the area. Drawing upon the Force, Kaida gave Shamira a shove to push her away from the blast radius. The landing would probably be unpleasant, but the girl would not be burnt or fall into the pit. The girl's armour was less potent and her Sciia was weaker, so Kaida kind of had a responsibility in that regard.
Wait, why is Frost Elf being unusually nice in this thread? Clearly this one needs to give her another thread that's solely about being mean to [member="Elincia Alanis"]...err, being a dour drill sergeant straight out of Full Metal Jacket.
Regardless, an intense wall of fire washed over Kaida. Her phrik armour was designed to resist environmental hazards, but though by and large it did its job it heated up, making her feel inside as if she was being cooked. White-hot pain surged through her when fire managed to get into a joint, burning her flesh. It smelt like a barbeque. As for the explosion's shockwave, it knocked her back hard as the catwalk went the way of the Dodo.
Sliding across the ground, she almost fell into the fiery pit beneath, but just about managed to hold on to a railing, abandoning her shield in the process. The railing crumbled, then fell down entirely, but in this moment her jets kicked in and she shot back upward, landing upon the ground. "I see they've graduated from running away to being suicidal," she muttered, a wheezing sound escaping her throat. Breathing was a bit more difficult since one of her ribs kind of hated her at the moment.
Bespin
Objective...defend the airspace
Sabre squadron....tie interceptors
Aliies-[member="Aran Piett"] first order
Enemies-galatic alliance
All seemed quiet, which made her unswttled, nothing had entered their area at all...sara flipped a few switches listening to the comms, seened the cruiser was pulling yo orbit to engage the enemy fleet
we gonna join them maam?
Sara considered the options, they could head up but then that would leave this sector open to being taken, she made the ultimate decision as she got to her comms again
no, sabre is to hold here by my orders, I want everyone to have a wing man this airspace will remain under first order control! We are the special forces this is our job victory...or death!
A cheer went through her comms as bolt two pulled up beside her, she took a breath as she kept eyes on her radar...she was ready for this...she survived omega...then on that planey she crashed...she survived hell
Location: Bespin, Nightclub Objective: Get out Allies: [member="Jorg"], [member="Canal"] Oh Dear: [member="Irajah Ven"] Enemies: Time.
Just before pulling out Locke decided to leave one more surprise for the First Order, if they tried to salvage anything from the auxiliary systems.
It was a virus of a sort that he had acquired a few weeks back after a low-key bust of a cyber-crime ring on 'Shaddaa. What it would do was stay nestled in the subframe, until people started to poke around. Then it would move quickly, using the established connection to piggy-bank off of it and start wrecking havoc with their own equipment and the system it was in. Once the jump was complete it would burn out the remains of the older host system and then leave it basically inoperable. Not that Locke expected it would cause too much harm.
But Locke wasn't gonna make it easy for these guys either.
They left through the backroom door and into the alley.
While Jorg stayed between them Elliot took point and let Canal take the rear - better to have the asset (already he was distancing himself mentally and emotionally from his friend) secured and between them than anything else. The sign showed the way and after a few minutes they were close to the hangar bays. Even here the streets seemed deserted as the First Order and the Alliance were fighting over the very fabric of control across this region of space. The hologram of Omai Rhen was still speaking, but the billboard had been damaged from stray explosions.
It flickered in and out of existence every few minutes.
Pretty funny, if they weren't neck-deep in a shet situation.
"Duck." He immediately crouched behind a piece of cover - a couple of loose containers that should have been loaded on a freighter next to it. "Ahead, you see what I am seeing?"
Beautiful ship: all lines and smooth and agile, Locke already felt the mid-life crisis running up to him as he saw that ship. But the reason why they were ducking was the fidgety but haughty man surrounded by about four security guards, two of which were being hurried along to pack the ship full with...? Well, the containers were sealed, so they couldn't actually see what was being loaded in.
"Think that's our ride, eh?"
It was clearly the fastest ship here right now. They just needed to overcome those bastards first.
Probably a noble trying to scurry away, before the status quo changed.
Pierce led the first half of Tauntaun Flight against [member="Naomi Carolina"]. "Tauntaun Flight, use plasma cannons on those shields. We don't have time to screw around with a dance -- we don't have to make it pretty. Go hard, go fast, and hit 'em!" The Imperials streaked across the sky, opening fire with their plasma cannons on the Alliance vessels, seeking to destroy their shields. They went hard at the oncoming Alliance fleet, coming from above and out of the sun, seeking the advantage in terms of visibility. The plasma, if it hit, would work to overwhelm the shields of the Alliance attackers much more quickly than standard laserfire. What wouldn't likely have worked against [member="Aver Brand"]'s miracle shield should prove highly effective against the variety of deflectors on Alliance starfighers.
As the first half of Tauntaun Flight came directly at Carolina's squadron, the second half hung back until the primary attack began, then came across from the starboard, hoping to take the Alliance fighters by surprise, again screaming with plasma.
The hysterical radio messages of [member="Ishana Pavanos"] screamed in Pierce's ears; he felt for her -- though he had to shake his head internally at the massive break in protocol -- but there was nothing he could do for her then. He had enough on his plate to deal with, and no doubt this [member="Kaalia Voldaren"] would be planning some sweeping rescue attempt anyway. No, Pierce would focus on the task at hand, particularly since [member="Kyrel Ren"] seemed to be struggling a bit. If he could shake off these fighters, he would resume his attempts to wreck Brand's shields and get the Sith Lord some relief.
He kept one eye on the rebels they were attacking and the other on his instrument panel, and pulled his half of the Tauntaun Flight up and away from the Alliance, setting up for another run. "Shields double-rear, don't let them wreck your engines as we fly away!"
Just like the inner thoughts of the Eldorai, Taeli was also not caring about the level of fairness their opponent was facing. He had brought this upon herself, and she took some hidden measure of pleasure as he fell to the catwalk, his arm and legs having met the grating before the rest of his body. That pleasure turned into a swift sense of danger racing down her spine as the irritating fanatic pulled one last trick. He dropped the last two of those bloody incendiary grenades, using his remaining limb to draw them to his mouth and activate them.
Kaida was already pushing Shamira away, getting her to a relative safe distance. Taeli began to erect a barrier against the flames that were coming when the grenades detonated, throwing out a wave of heat and pure force. She was thrown backwards, flames licking at her robes and hair, her barrier protecting her face at least. That broken rib from earlier certainly did not appreciate getting hit with another blast and being thrown back into the corridor that led to the control center.
Groaning, she got to her feet, using the Force to snuff the flames that lingered in her hair and robes out. Blackened soot clung to her, and she could feel some first degree burns at least on her hands even though her gauntlets had protected her hands from the worst of it. Their opponent's body wasn't visible, but it was likely burnt to a crisp on the floor below, the wreckage of the catwalk likely giving the Ren an undignified grave.
"I really dislike fanatics," she groaned, audibly gasping in pain from her damaged rib. Felt like another had joined its fellow in being broken. A cough and some blood came up, but a quick check in the Force told her it was nothing life-threatening. "Well, I think our distraction was enough for the rest of our operatives to get to the Ugnauhts and the tibanna gas. Remind me for next time... don't sign up for Sionoma's missions."
There were few things as keen on telling all as a locking mechanism. The subtle shifts within the mechanism itself didn’t say much to the naked eye, but when observed through the force it spoke heaps. Kaili looked upon the lock with great fascination for what it would bring her, and she was not disappointed. The mechanism seemed to respond to a particular pattern and she would let herself see it just this once. Under most circumstances the girl didn’t bother with it however. Locking mechanisms were too different from one another to be worth it. That was why droids and guns were her favored targets and always would be. They never changed, they couldn’t, mass-production didn’t allow it. It made it easier to memorize them too, and for what it was worth Kaili would not share it with anyone.
There was observing and then there was property theft. She was not a thief.
They stepped into the dark and Kaili let her eyes close to help acclimatize to the new environment. They opened once more and set upon the… cobwebs. It seemed the tunnel had remained widely unused for a long time. A sigh burst through the blonde’s nose. Yet something didn’t feel right. Her heart felt heavy as if burdened by grief, by fear. Eyes began to water as they panickingly scoured the area. Her left hand placed itself across her chest. Something was wrong but she couldn’t tell what. A burning sensation spread across her hand and arm, up her shoulder and waist as if someone set her on fire. It caused her entire body to shiver. The hand on her chest latched onto her arm and dragged itself across her skin until it found her shoulder. It was agonizing, but she couldn’t scream, not now. A mute grunt parted her lips as she fell to her knees.
It was over as fast as it had come but left a terrified Kaili heaving for air on the ground. While the pain was gone, the feeling in her heart was not. She didn’t know what it was and perhaps that was for the best. It was very likely that she wouldn’t be able to know what had happened until this was all over and with the mission at hand it was most likely for the better.
Had she known what it was, had she known what had happened to her brother...
The mission would be in jeopardy. But she didn’t know. And she wouldn’t know.
She had to push on. This was no place to fall asunder.
“I’m fine.” The girl let out a clearly agitated whisper at her companions. “There is a room up ahead, looks like a meeting place. Might be a-...” She heaved for more air. “Might be a good place for us to meet the locals.”
When she heard Ishana's familiar voice answering her comm message, Kaalia felt comfort in hearing it. As she navigated through the snowy paths she realized that she had used the wrong channel, but deep down she was kind of glad she did. Restraint was what was needed to not answer with something that wasn't very fitting of the situation, struggling to suppress her wish to tell her how she felt. When she had decided on thanking her for rerouting her request when she heard the pilot again.
:: Baby, I love you. I love you - and I am so glad that you kept trying to find me because I have someone to live for, it's you. It's you Kaalia Voldaren ::
The Force told her she was in danger. It screamed at her like it did when she felt Ara fade, but now she wasn't going to let it happen. Through the comms she heard the ship being hit, making the redhead's eyes go wide as she swerved her speeder around a chuck of rock. No. I'm not losing her too. There was no desperation, no sadness, no panic. There was pure determination, it wasn't happening.
:: Kaalia, I will always find you, okay? I will find you, in this lifetime or the next baby I promise. I love you ::
:: It will be this lifetime, miala. You're not going anywhere ::
Whether Ishana got the message or not, she didn't know. When she came to a split in the road a decision had to be made, but she had decided the moment it was served to her. Going to the left would continue the path towards cutting Jamie off, going to the right was the path the Force led her to. To her loved one. With a yank on the controls she turned right, almost hitting the wall before blasting off again. I'm sorry. Perhaps I wasn't meant to be Ren. The will of Sieger paled to her own, something they would never accept. In the moment she couldn't care any less however, the woman already lost too much today. She wasn't going to lose any more.
Outpost Veers, in its broken and ruined state, started coming into sight as she felt Ishana coming closer and closer. The Balmorran was alive and Kaalia would do anything to keep it that way. When she came the wreckage of a ship she let the speeder come to a grinding halt and jumped off before it had fully stopped, tossing her helmet somewhere in the snow near the bike. She sprinted as the Force guided her steps, going as fast as she could. She felt her close, making her heart pound faster and faster. Her hair and face were blasted by snow, feeling the cold hit her hard, but she didn't care. It mattered none now, all that mattered was Ishana.
Soon she would see the Brunette laying in the snow, causing her to run even faster. "Miala!" Kaalia screamed at the top of her lungs as she double timed towards her. Dropping to her knees, sinking into the layer of white when she came to her she looked over Ishana, smiling as she saw she was alive. "I'm here. You're going to be fine." She reached out her arms and picked her up out of the cold snow, carrying her in her arms. "Can you sit on a speeder, you think miala?" The redhead turned her back to the wind, shielding the woman in her arms from the snowstorm. Her head arched down as she quickly kissed her on the forehead. "As I said, you're not going anywhere. I made a promise to Hazel, I promised to never let you go. I don't break promises."
Remains of Outpost Veers – Lip of the crater Allies:
Team S: [member="Tomas Yarrow"] | [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] | [member="Rusty"] | [member="Draco Vereen"]
Team U: [member="Aeron Kreelan"] | [member="Isar Kislo"] | [member="Tsuki Aihara"] [member="HK-36"] | [member="Sol Stazi"] Enemies: [member="Chron Terix"] | [member="TK-4261 Strain"] | [member="Shaydae Desmaris"] | [member="Torian Pierce"] | [member="Rexus Wenck"] | [member="Hatori Ikari"] | [member="Pharazon Draken"] | [member="Kira Solvani"] | [member="Arcana Altana"] | [member="Bamuf"] | Outpost Veers Directly Engaging: [member="Kyrel Ren"] Gear: Main in bio + stripped-down Power Armor with jetpack for atmo drop + SDC 13 Note for the Lazy: The Force Disperser makes Aver seem like a NFU The spikes did their job, which more than she’d ever expected. In the initial screams and confusion, Aver moved further aside, out of the line of assault. She was standing almost at the lip of the crater Veers now, pineal sensors keeping her from accidentally backstepping into the gaping hole. The talz that weren’t routed or gutted by the Cult would be engaged by the remaining SpecOps and Firemane marines. All of them tough karkers, all of them well-versed in the horrors of the battlefield.
Rusty said:
::I recognize that gun. It's the prototype that the LCR-series is based off. If I recall, I sold it to some crazy Sith lady some time ago. Not sure how you came by it, don't really care. If you get some free time, feel free to swing by RCFC and we'll discuss any upgrades you might have in mind. RCFC values customer feedback, and all our weapons come with a lifetime warranty. The lifetime of the weapon, that is, since guns have a way of outliving the customer.::
“Sounds like a date, Mr. Roboto. Catch you later,” she responded to the short comm, eyes focusing on the unholy melee a few paces away. Oh, Aver would gladly see Siobhan Kerrigan dead. But if the queen died today, it would be by her hand alone. No snotty Ren would take that kill away from the Ternion. That death was theirs. Willingly, Aver let the dam of her self-control crumble beneath their threefold ire. It was a rare thing, to see the woman give into her passion, but if anyone could coax it out, it was her two lovers. That, and revenge. She’d never be pulling starfighters out of the sky, nor sending shockwaves that made earthquakes seem tame – the mercenary was exact in her violence. First, she would seek to coil the Force around Kyrel’s neck as Kerriganwould send him flying towards her. She'd follow with three ssi-ruuvi stunbolts into his back as he flew through the air , aiming to finish the job she'd started with the EMP grenade. Finally, Aver would pull all her strength into the pivot of her hips, drawing the noose tight. She would fling him forth overhead as she twisted, looking to throw the Ren into the eviscerated bowels of Veers. Everything was against Kyrel: he’d already expended vast reserves of the Force stopping tank-grade projectiles and explosions; three shield- and armor-bypassing stunbolts were enough to paralyze even the best of fighters; Veeren was choking out his Force with complete, unbroken focus; Kerrigan had harnessed her imposing command over telekinesis to hurl him through the air; Brand was exploiting his forward momentum and his utter lack of purchase to send him plummeting into the crater. And the fact that the merc could even use the Force? That should come as surprise enough to Vader Ren to give her that window of opportunity.
The crunch of metal and sparks of cut electric lines was near deafening, the Kaga almost groaning with the violent sheer of the impervium wedge shaped prow went slamming with impressive velocity upon the Destroyer. Within Eriadu's Fist, the Alliance crew felt the jarring impact as well, their bodies flung and cushioned violently within their seats, bruises and likely a few cracked bones for the unlucky few who had not had the chance to buckle themselves down.
"Reverse thrusters and prepare for a secondary impact!" Maira yelled out, her hair flung over her face in a jarring display, only the twin slanted orange cat like eyes peering through with unnatural determination at the ongoing battle between the cruiser and the massive giant.
The scream of metal gave way as the impact sped up the turn of the massive ship, increasing it's speed. Cause and effect. However, the spin would bring along with it the Eriadu's fist until it managed to lodge it's way out of the massive crunch of metal it had subjected to with its ramming. To a degree, the Vekker class followed along with the Kaga as it spun, and when it began to pull back, an officer shouted out towards the Commander, "Ma'am, the Kaga is increasing its spin!"
"Ready the tractor beams!" the Vekker class was made to be able to quickly come in to ram a second time, but it also had powerful tractor beams to latch onto another vessel. It was laughable, to think that a ship a third of the size of the Kaga could even imagine at stalling the ongoing spin the behemoth had --- but that wasn't the intention.
No, the intention was to go along for the ride.
As the first volleys of the Kaga finally began to make their mark and strike at the cruiser, so did the latch of the tractor beams from Eriadu's Fist. It allowed the cruiser to savage jolt and shot forward, the weight and strength of the Kaga literally tugging the smaller vessel in a groan of metal, almost tagging along much like a parasitic mynock sucking with its energy siphons at the Kaga's shields to try and reinforce it's own.
"Shields are dropping!" came the roar, warning signs and the internal lights flashing from white to red in warning. Each of the crew braced themselves as the massive ship and the cruiser rotated in tandem, the weapons of the Kaga affecting the Alliance vessels shields.
"We are down to seventy-nine percent!" that was a massive drop in shields, but with the energy siphoning, Maira could only hope that whatever sixty percent of transfer would continue to give them the additional omph required to see this through.
"READY FOR A SECOND CHARGE!" Maira spat out, her hair flying away from her face in a dark veil. There was only so much energy that they would be able to utilize.
"Drop the tractor beams and resume full speed to ram again in three... two.... one."
"GO!"
The drop of the tractor beams gave a savage jolt to the Vekker class, the momentum transferred by the Kaga to the Eriadu's fist allowing the smaller cruiser to almost slingshot a little bit faster. It came back with impressive velocity, not as great as before, but powerful in its own right. The Kaga's weapons that were able to attack at the smaller cruiser went blasting against the Vekker's class deflector shields, that impervium hull almost glowing an ominous red as the wedge shaped prow attempted to ram the Kaga near the rest of the surviving engines, every intention of hopefully damaging it enough for it to be dead in space.
