Skirmish &nbsp; The Black Nest Crisis: Mission to Draemidus Prime

Zaavik Perl |

Kelda bit down hard on her lip as her own report was hijacked, edited. But before she could take issue with the Overseer about it, new reports were coming in of battle above. Just as she had grown even the slightest bit complacent, that was when they chose to strike. She hid her frustration, watching as she placed her hand on an open mind stone - the whole room was abuzz with Artificers working to remedy the situation.

"Officer, you have command of this outpost." She spoke, taking up her Carbine from where it sat on the command console in the centre of the room.

No doubt this had been a diversion, perhaps the enemy had already made their way planet-side. It could've been the source of the disturbance in the Draeyde Tunnels. It would make sense given Ostak's priority increase on her report. Before she could make it out of the door, a apparition of the Titan powered by the stones appeared in the centre of the room, floating above the command console.

He knew. She hoped perhaps he did not blame her, but she wouldn't know till much later. Kelda moved to the Outposts deployment bay as Tathra spoke, taking with her a squad of Juggernauts to a Gunboat. She had an objective, cut the enemy off from escape.

"Tathra, we will not fail you." She bowed, she could not fail again.

Kaska Arden · Feb 5, 2021

T H EㅤB E L L YㅤO FㅤT H EㅤB E A S T
B U T C H E RㅤA T T A C KㅤC R U I S E R
O B J E C T I V EㅤI I

Lightsaber | Belmont's Resolve | JSTP Armour | Pendant

Dagon Kaze |

Loske Treicolt |

Lady Rowan Vale | Samatharis

Krarolk T'manu

As the rhythm of the battle continued to descend upon her, Kaska's lightsaber seemed to shift seamlessly from one attack to the next, ebbing and flowing like the sea her blade color resembled. Her world a constant and ever changing pattern of attack, deflect and riposte. Each movement smoother and sharper than the last. Cutting a steady swath into the ranks of the grunts as they continued to charge recklessly forward, unperturbed by the corpses of their brethren they had to clamber over in the process, their attacks increasingly rabid and wild.

A trooper fell with a scream, felled by claws and brute force malice, vanishing into the maelstrom before she could even react. They were gradually pushing them back, but the cost wasn't cheap. They didn't have quite the same luxury of throwing numbers around recklessly like the Bryn.

"We need to move," She called between strikes. "Only a matter of time before the---"

The left side of her faceplate become awash with dark shade arterial red before she could even finish the sentence. The head of the trooper that had leapt to fill the gap of his fallen comrade simply vanishing in a bloody mist, the glaive arresting in the chest of another behind him. Both their presences in the Force simply there one moment, gone the next. The void left in their wake rocking her balance. Those were avoidable deaths if she only she had been more attentive. If only she didn't hold back.

Sardun was right. Half measures were no measures.

Her jaw knotted at the errant thought. Her knuckles painful white orbs beneath her gauntlet as they tightened around her saber. The glaive rattled in the chest of the man it had skewered as she took a purposeful step backwards, the power she had exhibited breaking through the hull rearing its head once more with abandon. With a gesture it ripped free and landed in her hand. The size and bulk of the Draelvasier weapon normally beyond her smaller frame, yet she barely even registered the weight as the Force converged around her.

"Dagon, get ready to fall back." Her voice was distant in her own ears as she turned the glaive over, the air itself around the weapon appearing to shimmer as she applied the broken basics what they had both learnt on Manaan. The sight of the blood smeared down the length of the weapon intensifying the embers of guilt that simmered beneath the surface. "Find another way around."

She didn't wait for him to reply. Her focus once more directed ahead, shifting past the rank and file of the grunts that remained. Past the grenadiers that were rallying from change in tides. Settling on the larger, uglier members of the species lurking in the back. If she wanted to break them, then she would have to start at the top.

She took another step back, and then another, dropping back a full five paces before suddenly jolting forwards. Inadvertently mimicking the stance of the owner of the weapon as she sought to return it in kind, the full weight and force of her Telekinetic ability detonating behind it with a rush like explosive delivery as it left her grasp.

"I will buy some time."

Ostak Cl'mana · Feb 6, 2021

POST: III
ALLIES: Bryn |

Primarch Drek'ma
ENEMIES: SJC | Engaging

Aaran Tafo /

Ala Quin /

Jend-Ro Quill /

Romi Jade / Tom Kovack /

Vexander Graves /

Zaavik Perl | Open to ground engagement within the caves
EQUIPMENT: Ceremonial Shaman robes | Spitter Utility Bow (10x explosive arrows, 1x grappling hook)
COMPLEMENT: 2x Rhivaks, 50 350x Draeyde Bats acquired in the cave system

Tathra Khaeus said:
"I believe the Jedi have averted our eyes to the sky with purpose. Ostak, the distrubance you reported - I know they are here. Find them! General, make for the nearest access points surrounding the location of the disturbance. Find their craft, and secure it. Overseer - I am on my way."

"Understood, Chieftain. Until you arrive, I will be sure to put these rats in their place."

Ostak's face betrayed none of his shock, surprised that such formidable foes could penetrate so deep into Draelvasier territory. Nonetheless, he would remain true to his word. Without any Draelvasier witnesses uninformed of his Tachael-Vemnak training in the vicinity to compromise the organization's secret identity, Ostak could freely use the full, true extent of his power to decimate the Jedi heathen. A sense of wicked excitement flowed through the Shaman as he realized that he would be able to use his spiritual strength unhindered for the first time in months.

Ostak and his Rhivaks bounded up a rough-hewn stone staircase, finally arriving at the coordinates of the bats. The trio entered a vast and dimly lit series of underground chambers that extended out for kilometers, with massive stone pillars supporting a roof that loomed nearly a hundred meters above. A small group of Jedi awaited him, talking amongst themselves. The Shaman made his presence known, his Rhivaks growling in anticipation.

Ostak raised his hand up to the stony roof obscured by the shadows above, invisible waves of spiritual power flowing up to the glowing bats above. In an instant, a segment of the roof three hundred meters in diameter lit up in the same purple glow as the initial group of bats, revealing several hundred more of their dormant kin. Ostak clenched his hand in a fist, and the bats above suddenly stirred from their slumber. He then performed a third gesture, bringing his arm down to a limp position at the side of his leg, directing the bats.

The bats identified their prey, Ostak painting the image of the Jedi into each of their brains. They unfurled their wings and shot downwards, condensing into a vast funnel of teeth and glowing flesh. The Shaman-Overseer observed calmly and motionlessly, saving his energy for direct combat as his Rhivaks began to charge their beams of red plasma within their horns.

Vexander Graves · Feb 7, 2021

Romi Jade | Tom Kovack |

Primarch Drek'ma

There was a disturbance in the Force... a weird sensation of someone using it... but not within his group... something was amiss. The source were this emmanation was coming from eluded the bearded corellian... however, he squinted his eyes a bit and glanced in the dark... but not with his eyes but with all his senses, including his perception in the Force.

After a couple of seconds he could sense a spike of movement, but not from deep within the caves... but above! Inmediately, Vexander ignited his lightsaber and called out to everyone "Heads up!"

The bats came swarming down in an instant, and their intent was clear based on the movements they had... someone stirred them in their direction and manipulated them into attacking them.

Vexander knew that the light in his weapon would prevent some of the attacks from perhaps the lesser bats, but some of them would dare to make a run. Knowing that was the case, he placed himself in Form I and began to cover himself. In an instant, one of the bats actually did what he expected to do: lunge at him from above in a dive motion.

The bat came hurling himself with its wings thrown backwards to reduce the resistance in the air, catching up speed and hoping to catch the man by surprise, but he was ready for something like that... he swept his lightsaber from a downward-up motion, cutting the bat in half in the process just a meter from his head. Then with his right hand, he just left the lightsaber up for a bit to look clearly and repel some of the beings who would try different angles most likely to avoid the light.

"The surprise element is busted! We need to move quick!" Said the man in the rear waiting for the Jedi in front to start running while he covered the rear as intended from the start.

Romi Jade · Feb 7, 2021

She rotate and popped her neck; the weight of the Crown bared down on her since being magnified. Concentrated attention helped her move through it all. She was situated in the center of the Jedi formation, mostly going back and forth with Master Baatu -- making sure they were on schedule.

She'd been suppressing her signature, precisely controlling her output despite being amplified via the artifact on her head.

It was only a matter of time befo--

Vexander said:
"The surprise element is busted! We need to move quick!"

She whipped around on cue with his outcry, eyes shooting above into the abyss looking down on them. She could feel deep within the stirring of the creature variety. Then, came the vibrational cadence of wings cutting the air. She was initially going to seek out her lightsaber, but with the weight of this world slowing them, and the sheer number of these bats she went the other route.

Negligently waving a hand, a well place and time burst redirected a dipping beast. They've been stirred up by something else.

Reaching into the empyrean, she could feel the underlying currents stirring behind the attack. Intently focused on the energy of those around her, She throw her hand up, fingers launching in all directions. With great effort, Romi pieced together the image of the bats turning, and swarming one another instead. Permeating energy somewhere deep within she forced it up, and the images in her mind grew brighter and brighter. As her Battle Meditation began to take hold --

The creatures began to tear each other apart instead. "We need another route out. Baatu!" she called out with only peripheral vision helping her guestimate where he was in conjunction to her. The Crown helped keep her focus but allowed for her to multitask at the same time. "Can you get us on another route--for example through one of these walls or something. I remember seeing alternate tunnels thinly separated from another. Are we near one?"

-----

Zaavik Perl

Vexander Graves

Aaran Tafo

Jend-Ro Quill
Tom Kovack

Tathra Khaeus

Primarch Drek'ma
Ostak Cl'mana

Ala Quin

Keldothera

Ala Quin · Feb 8, 2021

The bats began to swarm, and Ala disengaged to her lightsaber to create a less clear target for her attackers. She was instantly plummeted into the darkness of the cave, and although the main squad of Jedi were not more than 20 metres from where she stood, Ala felt suddenly very, very alone. She witnessed Vexander's heroic feats, and his declaration that they had been made.

Yup. They know we are here...but...

She turned her back to the glowing, flashing blades of the main party of Jedi, and looked into the narrowing cave ahead. Her eyes took a time to adjust, but she thought she could see outcroppings, pieces of stone jutting from every concievable angle along the route ahead. And ahead...a light. Faint. Extremely faint.

Light at the end of the tunnel?

Perahaps if she just made a run for it? One Jedi apart from the main group might be able to make it? She turned back to see as the bats began to tear themselves apart. Clearly there was some power on their side that she had not been privy too. To be fair, she knew no one on this mission. That's right. She was alone. Just as she had been on Kintan the day she met, and outpaced a Draelvasier...barely...

But hey...I did it...

Ala could feel her breathing deepening, and her heart begin to pound. Was she really going to do this? Leave the party behind on a fools errand to make for a dim light at the end of a narrow tunnel? The bats had left her alone when it came to strike. She was small. Maybe that was it? She was not with the group. Maybe that was it?

She could hear Caltin's voice in her head. He worried too much, and the voice in her head was doing a lot of worrying. She was a Jedi Knight. Not the greatest with the blade, but resourceful. She could do this. She could.

She holstered her saber. Turned back towards the narrowing tunnel that she had discovered. With intent she ground her feet into the ground as if setting herself a launching pad, but the net result was more bat droppings smeered up the sides of her boots. She winced. This could go very badly.

You shouldn't do this.

She didn't listen. Instead she set off running, into the inky blackness of the narrowing tunnel. The jagged edges proved no problem to start with, but soon the glowing blades of her compatriots faded into the darkness behind her, and the dark engulfed her every step. Without the Force to guide her, Ala stumbled, slipped and even tumbled her way further towards the distant light. Soon she found herself half way to the distant light, and all the way separated from her party...running in 1.5G was not a great idea.

Then walk if you can't run, and crawl if you can't walk...

|

Dagon Kaze |

Jend-Ro Quill |
|

Vexander Graves | Viers Connory | Tom Kovack |
|

Kaska Arden |

Tathra Khaeus | Ostak Cl'mana |

Primarch Drek'ma |

Tom Kovack · Feb 8, 2021

Tom's danger sense warned him of the bats even before Vexander cried out that they had been spotted. He groped for his lightsaber, activating the viridian blade. He was no great fighter, but these creatures were fairly mindless as far as he could tell. In particular he noticed how they shunned any source of light, be it natural or the glow of their sabers.

He lashed out, his blade slicing through tenderized flesh. His companions had begun to fight as well, taking off much of the pressure. Well, most of them. One girl had made a break for the end of the tunnel, tripping as she struggled to run with the added gravity bearing down on her. Tom could sense her in the darkness; she'd deactivated her saber in a misguided attempt to avoid being seen by the nocturnal bats. A tendril of them were following her, since she'd made herself an easy target.

Against his better judgement, Tom broke away from the rest of the group, holding his saber aloft as he quickly closed the distance between himself and Ala. "What the hell are you doing?" he hissed, breathless from running in the high gravity. He reached out to haul her to her feet with his free hand, only to feel claws at his back. He whirled around, swinging his saber wildly, trying to fend off the Draeyde Bats bearing down on them. "At least turn your saber back on. These things hate light!"

Primarch Drek'ma

Jend-Ro Quill · Feb 8, 2021

Primarch Drek'ma

Hundreds of Bryn'adul bats swarmed down from above, backed by an ugly purple glow. Not that Quill dislike purple by any means, but still.

At first, he defaulted to his lightsaber like others, and avoided getting scratched and bitten - for the most part. As it became clear that the bats disliked the light, however, he took the Consular route and summoned Force Light in an aura around himself. The clear, crisp radiance pressed them back, scorched them even. Wiping blood off his forehead, he let out a shaking breath and hoped his heart would stop hammering. 1.5G wasn't helping with that. It felt like he'd put on nearly a hundred pounds.

The aura swelled, casting hard-edged shadows through the gigantic cavern. He hoped to drive back the swarm and keep the Jedi strike team safe.

Bleeding from half a dozen places on his scalp and arms, Quill kept the light up.

Primarch Drek'ma · Feb 9, 2021

DRAEMIDUS PRIME
ALLIES:

Tathra Khaeus | Krarolk T'manu | Ostak Cl'mana |

Keldothera |
ENEMIES:

Jend-Ro Quill | Tom Kovack |

Aaran Tafo |
INTENT TO ENGAGE:

Ala Quin

It made the Drael swell with pride knowing he was acknowledged, no opinion meant more to him than their creators. The moment of respite did not last long however, disturbances continued to plague the progress of the readying of their invasion force. Tathra's suspicions were right, he could feel it. He sensed familiar signatures through the force, Jedi who had sought to kill Tathra before.

If that were their intent, how unwise they had been. Thousands of Drones could've been on top of them within the hour, swarmed and butchered by many blades. There was no winning this fight, they must have known this. He wondered perhaps why they had come, he would take one for answers.

The Primarch used a portal to deliver himself and the Titan deeper into Xaeldrask, from their they could use the railway to reach the far end of the tunnels, trap them between Ostak and them.

Drek'ma could feel the cool air, rushing through the cabinet of the rail system as the Dredge began to move along the tunnelscape.

"Tathra, sire - Jedi on our homeworld? They have gone too far. An insult, it must be remedied." The Primarch clutched to his staff with both hands, his mind scouring the faint presence of the Jedi.

Lady Rowan Vale · Feb 9, 2021

Location: Bridge of Bane of Lorell
Objective: I and possible II if the strike team needs reinforcements
Commanding: Bane of Lorell, 2 x Nova Cruisers, 19/24 x Torn'ikiir space superiority fighters, 42/48 x Miy'til Interceptors, approximately 90 Royal Hapan Marines standing by in dropships aboard the Bane

Utterly humiliated, Shipmaster Meldera watched as the torpedoes struck starboard, dealing only moderate damage to the reinforced hull but knocking the ship eight degrees off course. Just then, the Sentinel Battery opened fire, a vast yellow beam of energy propelling forwards at tremendous speed. It barely missed the bottom of the target ship's hull, instead decimating several large asteroids about two kilometers behind it.

"They're firing!"

It took all of Rowan's discipline and resolve to keep her posture relaxed as she watched the larger ship's main battery let loose it's massive energy assault.

"Evasive maneuvers," Rowan ordered her helmswoman.

"Aye!"

The Bane of Lorell rocked hard on it's axis, it's thrusters and engines struggling to turn half a kilometer of metal on a dime. At the same time that the BUTCHER ATTACK CRUISER fired, her first salvo of proton torpedoes detonated at the massive ship's starboard center. The force of the resulting explosion, added to their maneuvers already in process caused the incoming shot to go wide, barely missing the bottom portion of their hull.

"Analysis,"

"Power levels off the chart, Ma'am." Her sensor officer responded. "If that had hit us full on, we wouldn't be here anymore."

"Helm, get us in close. I don't want them to have a chance to hit us again and keep that thing between us and their reinforcements. If they want to get at us, they're going to need to shoot through their own ship to do it."

Outside, Rowan could see that the formations of her fighters had degenerated into a full on dogfight with the opposing screen. As she watched, the Torn'ikiir squadron that was making a run on the enemy's engines came under fire from the defending Phedraks. The Torn'ikiirs were sturdy fighters indeed, and their Miy'Til escorts did their best to keep the enemy off of them, but even so three succumbed to the enemy fire, exploding in fireballs as the squadron closed in on the enemy's propulsion drive. The remaining five each launched four concussion missiles each before pulling up hard and breaking off.

The squadron that had been detached to attack the enemy cannon faired a little better, only loosing a pair of Torn'ikiirs as they made their run. It was the Miy'Til escort that bore the brunt of that attack, loosing all six fighters in the operation. Yet as the remaining six Torn'ikiirs also deployed their concussion missiles, Rowan hoped that spending those lives had been worth it.

"Status on enemy reinforcements?" She asked.

"Getting closer, Ma'am. Approximately five minutes out."

As the Battle Dragon got in closer to the Butcher, the ship began to shake as they took fire. The Bane's turbolasers continued to pepper the enemy's hull, but it's powerful hide seemed not to take much in the form of damage. Rowan decided to hold off on the other volley of torpedoes she'd ordered, choosing instead to hold them in reserve for when the larger ships arrived.

"Status on MAC's?"

"MAC's at 83% charge ma'am."

Good. With any luck, they would be at full charge when the enemy's much larger reinforcements arrived. Then they would truly see what this Hapan Duch'a and her stalwart followers brought to the battlefield.

Krarolk T'manu · Feb 10, 2021

POST: IV
ALLIES: Byrn | In vicinity: TBD
ENEMIES: SJC | Engaging boarders:

Dagon Kaze /

Kaska Arden /

Loske Treicolt / Samatharis | Engaging fleeters:

Lady Rowan Vale
EQUIPMENT (Krarolk): In Signature
COMPLEMENT: Zealot Elite Squad (Krarolk, Abvor, & Zealot Commander)

BUTCHER ATTACK CRUISER - Glorious Zeal
Armor = 71%, Sentinel Battery Charge = 0 53 ~~100%~~ 0%, pointed at Bane Of Lorell
Phedrak Complement: 6 366/40 (engaging all hostile naval units)

Shipmaster Meldera was running out of time.

While the anti-capital weaponry currently deployed by the hostile cruisers and the assaults of their starfighters were largely absorbed by the thick hide of the Butcher without serious internal damage, Glorious Zeal was also a sitting duck that could no longer risk firing its main and only armament or firing up its engines lest a torpedo land on one of them as they charge and cause catastrophic internal failure. Additionally, heavier weapons could be seen on the flagship as it moved closer to the vessel, all likely preparing to unleash lethal point-blank fire. Any semblance of air parity had been lost as the superior manned hostile fighters began to bring down the last of the Phedraks, which now fired erratically at any vessel that came near without any sense of prioritization. At the same time, shockwaves from the boarding party's battle with the garrison continued to flow subtly over to his command chair. If the boarders could hold out for such an extended period of time against a Zealot Elite Squad, then they would not go down easily.

Just then, Shipmaster Meldera received two transmissions.

[Shipmaster, this is Grenadier Kaltos. We've identified the boarders as Jedi, this might be a force of Alliance or Silver Concord heathen we're facing in space.]

Jedi? The thought of such warriors who used corrupted forms of the spiritual energies that the Shamen and Seers invading his ship brought about him a new sense of urgency.

[Grenadier, you and your unit should retreat immediately. Get to the barracks, engine room, and data storage rooms and warn the others about the Jedi incursion. For now, leave them to the Elite Squad. They're likely the most qualified individuals on the ship to fight such mongrels.]

At the same time, a much more welcome transmission arrived from a fellow Shipmaster.

[Shipmaster Meldera, this is Shipmaster Pelkos, also representing fellow Shipmasters Qor'ill and Tafrit. Our Conquestors should arrive to reinforce your cruiser within the next five minutes. In the meantime, the vanguard of our combined fighter unit is likely seconds away from combat range. Where should we have them target?]

[Shipmasters, have your fighters target the small craft of the hostiles, direct and any fighters with larger payloads towards the cruiser force.]

[Understood.]

Just as Shipmaster Pelkos had predicted, the vanguard of the fighter unit arrived not ten seconds after Shipmaster Meldera cut off his transmissions. A vast swarm of hide and steel consumed the cruiser's radar and bridge windows, half of a seven hundred and twenty Phedrak unit rushing towards the cruiser in one great funnel. As they entered firing range, the funnnel split into six groups of sixty, four diving straight at the hostile fighters in all areas of the Butcher with cannons blazing while the other two barrelled towards the three cruisers supporting them.

These Phedraks were fighter-bombers, each of the one hundred and twenty ships carrying four small hydrogen-fueled steel high-explosive rockets. While slow and unguided, each rocket was strong enough to destroy most standard-issue starfighters. Combined, it was hoped that serious damage could be done to the larger capital ships. The thirty closest Phedraks began firing their rockets at a range of half a kilometer, dozens of them flying at each bulbous cruiser, prioritizing heavy weapon emplacements, engines, and vulnerable hull outcroppings towards the front superstructure of each vessel.

Shipmaster Meldera's resilience was beginning to pay off.

BOARDING PARTY
ZEALOT ELITE SQUAD: 3/3
ALL OTHER UNITS IN FULL RETREAT

As expected, the Commander's imbued glaive burst the bubble of their foes.

However, a more unexepected development came in the form of the glaive returning to the Commander at a similar speed to which she had thrown it. Even with her years of well-refined reflexes, she barely sidestepped the blade in time, its tip scraping off a thin layer of her chest armor. The Jedi were a crafty bunch, and it seemed as if they would not go down without a serious fight.

"Elite Abvor, lay down some suppressive fire." ordered the Commander. "Let's see if we can bring them to us. With our weapons imbued with our pure energy, we should not have to fear their blades of light at close range as our inferiors do."

"Yes, my Commander." was Abvor's prompt reply.

The Baedurin Elite, bulky and muscular even by Zealot standards, approached the corpses of the two fallen Grenadiers and ripped their Byrn Shots out of their limp hands. Dual wielding the bulky grenade launchers without much trouble, Abvor fired off the remaining six grenades in the direction of the Jedi before reaching down for the ammunition belts on the waists of the dead Grenadiers.

"Elite Krarolk, keep your glaive ready in case they try to erect another bubble." continued the Commander. "The moment they flee or try to fortify themselves, throw it. I will provide you with some of my own strength, just as you contributed to mine. If they survive Abvor's barrage and your glaive, I will handle them."

As she said this, the Zealot Commander paid no regard to retrieving the glaive that was now likely hundreds of meters behind her. However, her armament was far greater than one blade. A skilled martial artist and infamous markswoman, she had killed hundreds without ever inflicting a stab wound.

As a representative of her Chieftain on the battlefield, she would deliver nothing less than annihilation.

Tathra Khaeus · Feb 10, 2021

Planet Interior
- Transport System

He had little to say on the journey to the Dredge railways, his mind solely fixated on who exactly was on his planet. He imagined it was the same, bar one or two. He had already slain one of their number before. Perhaps they knew, perhaps not. He would be sure to let them know if not. The Dregde underneath the railcar began to pull the car forward, dozens of legs carrying it through the tunnel at a great speed. Habitually, he tightened his left gauntlet - turning away from the Primarch as he paced back and forth. It had been some time since he'd seen his friend like this.

"Drek." Tathra chastised, turning to him slightly, both paws balled into fists.

He tried his best to remain calm, collected. But the next words to come from the Primarch's mouth were not incorrect. The Humans had grown bold, even enough so to challenge them in some capacity on their own turf. His mind raced to wonder what their plan might've been, but there was little time for speculation.

"Primarch, enough." He kept his tongue in check, but now wasn't the time for dissent. He of all people needed to keep his calm, the Jedi would be crushed along with the rest of the Galaxy. This was only a temporary set back. The Titan raised the gauntlet to his lips, with a thought directly linking in to the security lines of communications.

"Keldothera, update." No further explanation was required, the General would find the Jedi's ship or there would be dire consequences.

The railcar came to a slow stop, deeper within the super-city. He was already fantasising about it, crushing bone underfoot. They had sought him again, and now they would have him. Bold, golden eyes shifted between the slowly opening doorway and the Primarch. A wordless discussion, Tathra nodded to his compatriot as he walked out from within the railway. Another, larger door ahead. His dominant hand reaching up behind his back, taking the Axe into his left hand in the other - he the other, the battered helmet of Weyland Castril. His glare shifted to the Drone guard at the door. A glimmer of pure crimson grew from the hem of the Axe, shimmering through the air.

They would not have forgotten the taste of his Axe.

"Open the door!"

Tags:

Ala Quin | Tom Kovack |

Primarch Drek'ma | Ostak Cl'mana |

Dagon Kaze · Feb 10, 2021

Kaska took over through her own, far more refined efforts and he stumbled back falling on his backside; where she excelled in precision, he relied more on the raw power behind the use of telekinesis. She could divert and bend the currents of the ethereal to her will, where he would splash and bask into it. Their learning experience on Manaan had helped him slightly shape better his skills; alas, now of all times Dagon felt the need to lean back unto what he grasped best. Sheer force.

It is what the Bryn'adul understood best.

"Dagon, get ready to fall back. Find another way around."

The padawan, panting as more blood rolled down from his nostrils, clenched his jaw at her request. Exasperation and confusion running side by side across all fibers of his mind.

"I will buy some time."

"Wha-" he started but the momentary distraction cost him dearly. Unobstructed grenades rained down upon the soldiers nearby massacring the boarders; the shrapnels latched unto his own flesh, he clenched his teeth to near-breaking point at the searing pain. Clutching his ribs where the shrapnel struck, the warm caress of his own blood flooding his hands. Dagon looked up to see the grunts retreating back, their softening blows complete, leaving the finishing blow to their zealot overlords. The zealot dual-wielding two of the grenade launchers reaching for the ammo belt on the ground, while the other standing ready.

"No..." Dagon muttered barely, whether Kaska up ahead heard him was debatable. Korriban seized his mind in an unbreakable hold. The helplessness, the despair...the friends who ventured down on the cursed world never to return as he remained in the safety of the ship - only offering his mind to Asmundr's battle meld. It was not enough. He was not there for them. In their final moments, in their last stands. At the hour of reckoning, his friends shed the blood in his stead. Exasperation, fueled by the pain, turned to wrath.

The Jedi's nostrils flared, his eyes narrowing a vindictive glare at the zealots beyond Kaska.

"The only way is--" Dagon grumbled as he slowly staggered back up, the sensation of pain ceding to the adrenaline rush in his veins. The Force came to his summons relatively easily, not a call but an order. He walked the line. Shimmering currents of the ethereal stirred like a tempest anchored to his hands eager to be released.

"FORWARD!!" the Jedi snapped his hands forward and released the brewing tempest. It pulverized the ammunition belts of the grenadiers triggering a chain of explosions and carried forward to pick what it could in its way.

The destructive distraction opening an opportunity for Kaska to move in and strike.

Kaska Arden |

Loske Treicolt | Samatharis |

Lady Rowan Vale
Krarolk T'manu

Samatharis · Feb 11, 2021

Obj: 1 P4

Lady Rowan Vale | Krarolk T'manu |

Loske Treicolt |

Starlin Rand

It had been ten minutes of heaven.

Uncontested, unbothered. Easy as pie. Those were the words Sam would have used to describe fighting the screen of Phedrak fighters assigned to guard the Crab cruiser. Like shooting fish in a barrel.

Then, her screen picked up almost 400 more incoming.

Not one additional squadron of twenty. Not two. But almost eighteen additional squadrons of Phedrak fighters.

"Sweet mother of..."

ok I die.

...

Sam broke off from the cruiser early and rushed the fighter swarm at extreme speed. Alone, if she had too. She dumped shields and pushed it to the red line to get as close to the swarm as she could. A game of chicken really. Her vs 360.

Just outside of gun range she began a wide spiral. Using the Force to make her ship's electronic and targetable signature appear to be just a fraction of a second behind her real position in time.

At gun range, she fired a volley and they fired a volley. The swarm's guns missed by just a fraction of a second and her guns missed because the swarm adapted to her vector instantly. They made a hole and her blaster bolts just passed right on through. Meanwhile, they didn't even seem to comprehend how their guns could have missed her with such an accurate readout. They were literally right-on target. Yet, their volleys seemed just a fraction of a second behind. How? It didn't make mathematical sense?

Meanwhile, Sam's spiral took her right down the middle of the swarm. So close and so fast that nobodies guns could be effective. She was behind them before the last bolt from their volley could even blitz right over her canopy. Naturally, her volley was just as useless. Her volley whiffed open vacuum.

One vs 360. A cascade and unthinkable amount of bullets. Zero kills. Either side.

Then Sam punched it sideways and spun her Interceptor around in one clean burn. A mean 180'. Still without shields, all power to engines, she gunned it back into the fight.

The swarm was now in front of her. Uncompelled, only one squadron began tallying their numbers to decide how many fighters should break away to engage her lone craft. Twenty was far too many. That would be a tactical error. They decided on four. So four fighters broke formation and went wide to eventually get behind her.

Sam cut away with them. Her speed exceeded theirs. She fired again, and again, and again, and popped all of them in one long clean arc. Then she got back on the stick and pursued the swarm right into the melee. Right on their tail as they moved to engage the rest of the Hapans.

She started at the back of their funnel and moved her way up. Like Pac-Man eating his way through their perfectly symmetrical formation. She ate them enemy fighters in front of her them like your dad ate a Reese's peanut butter cup. Slowly. Meticulously. Starting from the outside and working your way in to the chocolate buttery center. Sam even had to slow down to keep up the killing spree! She ran power back to shields just so she could slow down enough to keep to the back of their attack formation and not overtake them. It was the only way she could blast them fast enough and not fly right into them.

So that's what she did. And she burned it up their tail pipe like a bat out of hell right until the moment the swarm adapted.

And adapt they did. A whole squadron of twenty Phedraks broke away from the swarm and began to cut wide behind her.

~ Doop! Doop! ~ Her Astromech warned!

"Yeah, yeah! I see them!"

Too dangerous. Sam had to bail.

She so jumped off the back of the enemy funnel, cut left, and ran a pipeline straight down the back of the Hapan Battledragon. Dragging the whole enemy squadron clamoring and firing and cussing behind her.

Yes. It had been ten minutes of heaven only moments before.

Now? Frak.

It was gonna be a lifetime of living hell...

Ostak Cl'mana · Feb 12, 2021

POST: IV
ALLIES: Bryn |

Primarch Drek'ma
ENEMIES: SJC | Directly engaging

Ala Quin / Tom Kovack | Open to ground engagement within the caves
EQUIPMENT: Ceremonial Shaman robes | Spitter Utility Bow (10x explosive arrows, 1x grappling hook)
COMPLEMENT: 1/2 Rhivaks, 50 0/350 Draeyde Bats acquired in the cave system

Ostak watched with morbid curiosity as the Jedi used their powers to have the bats consume each other.

Before all of his minions could annihilate themselves, Ostak reached out towards the core and lifeblood of every remaining frenzied bat and snuffed the life out of them, causing piles of flesh to plummet to the ground. The Shaman-Overseer absorbed the energy of hundreds of bats as if he were a vampire, his entire body glowing the signature purple of their energy. He concentrated it into his arms and then his hands, forming blinding purple orbs that lit up the caverns in a hundred meter radius. With his newfound light, he could see that two Jedi (

Ala Quin and Tom Kovack) had broken off from the main group and were attempting to escape the cave system. Cowards even among their wretched kind, the two fleeing Jedi be the ones who felt the full brunt of his newly acquired firepower.

Ostak propelled both orbs forwards at once and burst their seams, the orbs instantly turning into two blinding beams of purple light that merged into one large wave. The Shaman-Overseer aimed his immense blast several meters above the pair rather than at directly them, striking the nearby pillars holding up the particular section of the cave. The purple energy wave sliced through several pillars like a knife through butter, causing a massive pile of rock and stone to collapse in front of the Jedi pair. If they wanted to escape, they would have to ascend dozens of meters up and down the debris.

Sensing that the beams of his Rhivaks were fully charged, Ostak turned his energy back to the larger formation, firing red lasers from their horns that were aimed directly at the center of the formation. With the expending of the beams of Ostak and his Rhivaks, the cave that was momentarily as brightly lit as the sky far above dimmed once more. With his vision limited, the Shaman-Overseer searched for a target to prioritize.

Tathra Khaeus said:
"Open the door!"

Ostak suddenly felt a great and familiar mass of spiritual energy, centered on the Primarch of the Shamans. It was likely that the Chieftain was along with him, the two arrived to back up the multitasking Shaman in his pursuit. He expected that the Titan would want to seek the glory of fighting the greatest number of foes, both to improve his combat prowess and as a political statement. Consequently, Ostak's decision became far easier.

Pointing behind him, Ostak directed one of his Rhivaks to meet the Primarch as a guide, gauging out where his spiritual superior's energy could be felt. The beast leapt back with remarkable speed, swiftly rushing out of the main combat zone. In the meantime, Ostak kept his second Rhivak with him and turned it to face the isolated pair. It charged another beam within its horns, which it pointed at the center of the space between the pair. In the meantime, Ostak approached the pair at an easy walking pace, a faint purple afterglow still smearing his body.

The Shaman-Overseer would greatly enjoy playing with the cowards among weaklings.

Keldothera · Feb 13, 2021

Location: Topside security outpost one-two-four
Allies:

Primarch Drek'ma | Ostak Cl'mana
Enemies: