Invasion The Republic Shall Fall [One Sith Invasion of Coruscant]

[Darth Carnifex]

Location: Jedi Temple Entrance
Objective: Turn down the sexy, you're attracting unwanted attention
Allies: [member="Darth Shara"] | [member="Daella Apparine"] | [member="Ven'Rain Sekairo"] | [member="Sopher Jakobs"] | [member="Lucianus Adair"] | @Darth Odium
Enemies: [member="Kiskla Grayson"] | [member="Ben Watts"] | [member="Marcello Matteo"] | [member="Darron Wraith"] | [member="Elayne Hawk"] | @Aeden Miles
Battal Musik: "Hammer Smashed Face" - Cannibal Corpse

The tide was falling in his advantage, he trumped her on pure strength, and she was beginning to wear down. The damage and exertion he had forced her to endure was taking it's toll on the Jedi Master, and it would only be a matter of time before she succumbed to her weakness. Then, suddenly; a disturbance in the Force from behind, but before Vornskr could act upon this new threat, pain bright and intense as the sun exploded through his back. His muscles reacted violently, cramping up and going into a spasm, but Vornskr would not let such pain overcome him. He drew upon the pain, empowering him like an emotion would, but his state of surprised shock would leave himself vulnerable. Kiskla took advantage of his momentary fault in defense, and deftly stabbed him with her lightsaber, leaving a smoldering wound on his torso.

Luckily enough, Vornskr reacted as soon as the blade began to cut through his flesh, and flung himself back before Kiskla could do it. He leaped backwards up the stairs, landing in a kneeling position as he quickly assessed the damage done to his body, and frowned again. This would not be the first or last time he had been impaled by a Jedi, but this one was trivial compared to what Daella had done to him on Ossus. Rising to his feet, Vornskr watched as Kiskla, tenacious as ever, continued to charge forward at Vornskr to reignite the fight. However; Vornskr sensed another tremor in the Force, one much more powerful and more threatening, coming directly from behind him. A vicious idea popped instantly into his head, and without missing a beat he leaped high into the air, up and over the charging Kiskla.

Behind him, Darron Wraith had arrived to aid his Jedi comrade, but in doing so had endangered her life even more. The debris he had thrown at Vornskr's back now was heading directly for the charging Kiskla, and Vornskr himself even decided to lend Wraith an extra hand and increase the velocity of the debris with the Force. Vornskr then landed on the ground at the bottom of the steps, and called out to Wraith, "But how could I not come? Who else is so lucky to get a front row seat to the annihilation of the temple built to Jedi ignorance?" The inclusion of another Jedi Master made Vornskr's mission all the more difficult, but luckily he had plenty of tricks up his sleeves to deal with them.

Vornskr's body began to shimmer, as if it was fading in and out of existence, and then suddenly it began to divide off into various doppelgängers of the original Vornskr. As one, the original Vornskr and his clones all began to take out an amulet from their persons and place it gently around their necks. Suddenly the real Vornskr's presence in the Force would be completely concealed, making it all the more difficult to figure out which Sith was the real one.

 

[Darth Armyss]

Location: Jedi Temple - Archives
Objective: Defeat Yusan Fenn, then return to his prior objective

While Albrecht was able to cut through the piece of metal before impact, the two halves nevertheless grazed him, the searing hot, sharp edges digging into his flight suit and tearing at his flesh on his shoulders. While excruciating for a moment, the injuries were minor, and only phased him for long enough that his opponent could begin to close the gap. Once he regained his focus, he started making use of both lightsabers to parry, in rapid, almost spinning motions meant to swat away Yusan's attacks, continuing to back away, deliberately giving ground so that he could obtain a more tactically advantageous position, in the event that he was unable to simply tire his opponent out.

"Your arrogance is only fueling your descent to the dark side - strike me down, and you'll merely be taking my place as part of the One Sith" he taunted, slowly retreating up the staircase to the second story.

 

[Serah Oricion]

"As long as you all are dead." Instead of following him he sent a wave of force energy, feeding solely off his anger and hate, and sent it directly at the man's chest before laughing and then moving slowly up the stairs, grabbing a single elegant saber (The one in my Sig) and activating it before speaking. "What better to end a Sith's life, than with a saber from a woman who was taken from me by a Sith..." His entire stance changed, taking Makashi up instead like his foe was doing too and moving slowly up the stairs, making sure the Sith didn't surprise him. [member="Albrecht Tagge"]

 

[Darth Armyss]

Location: Jedi Temple - Archives
Objective: Defeat Yusan Fenn, then return to his prior objective

The force blast launched Albrecht up to the second story, at the very least saving him the trouble of walking up there. As quickly as he could, he staggered up onto his feet, noting the sudden change in his foe's demeanor. Well, to say the least, Albrecht would probably be sympathetic to this if this man wasn't trying to kill him.

"So that's why you fight?" he asked, deactivating his blue lightsaber to have a greater degree of control over the single red one he kept active. At last, he found the weakness he was searching for, the perfect weakness to exploit. The pain of lost love was one of the greatest that could be felt, and if done properly, he could take full advantage of that. If he couldn't beat Yusan in the physical sense, then he would indulge in some psychological warfare instead.

At this point, he did something his opponent most likely didn't expect: he deactivated his other lightsaber as well and retreated into the shadows behind some of the bookcases, where he could remain hidden from his foe. True, this wasn't his favored tactic, but if it could work, then why not use it? If he could not defeat his foe, then why not make them defeat themselves?

"Even with all of your strength, you still don't hold a candle to me" he said in a mildly amused tone, using the force to project his voice, creating a slight echo effect that would give the impression of his voice coming from all directions at once, and thus not giving away his position. "You cling to the past, you fight against the future, and refuse to unleash your hatred fully...but I wonder...who was this woman, and do you know for sure who killed this woman?"

 

[Serah Oricion]

Yusan moved among the aisles, his eyes and body staring among them as he moved slowly and carefully as he waited for his own opponent to trip up and reveal where he ran off to. "I know because i made sure to get it from the killer's dying breaths who had sent him to do this, who had made themselves my enemies and you are no different than the one who had sent the Killer. I may not know a name, and i may never find out, but if i exterminate every last one of you there is no chance that he escaped and lived to kill another. And now you Sith have taken m family from me too, so first my mother and then only other family..." He still held anger in his voice, but now he was remembering why he fought and the teachings he had received, he had to keep a level head, revenge can come after the enemy has been dealt with and can breath no more. [member="Albrecht Tagge"]

 

[Darth Armyss]

Location: Jedi Temple - Archives
Objective: Defeat Yusan Fenn, then return to his prior objective

Revealing this information was yet another mistake by Yusan, as it gave Albrecht even more 'ammunition', so to speak, to use against him, particularly for the one reason that he was no longer considering simply turning his opponent, the only reason why he would be a failure as a Sith: a Sith is a master of their emotions, unlike Yusan, who was a slave to his. His lust for blood had driven him long past the point of no return, long past the point where even the Sith would have use for him. A pity, the fallen noble thought to himself - with his aggression he would have made an excellent assassin, but an assassin that could not be controlled was a time bomb waiting to blow up in his master's face.

"How unfortunate...the boy is a slave to his emotions..." he lamented, his voice still echoing around the room to hide his actual location, "A Sith is the master of his emotions, not the other way around...you are unworthy of basking in the glory of the One Sith..."

At this point, a snap-hiss would alert Yusan to the sound of a reactivated lightsaber, barely a few feet behind him, the low humming of the crimson blade getting louder as it descended on his upper torso from above behind. Albrecht had spent this whole time walking in a circle in order to get behind him. It was entirely possible for Yusan to escape getting killed, but unless he did something drastic, he was probably not going to get away in one piece.

 

[The End Narrator]

[SIZE=10pt]Location:[/SIZE][SIZE=10pt] Manarai District (Drop-Pod Insertion)[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]Objective: [/SIZE][SIZE=10pt]Reinforce the Jedi Order, Recapture the Manarai District[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]Allies: N/A on PCs, Plethora of NPCs.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]Enemies:[/SIZE][member="Tsavong Kraal"], Lots of Yuuzhan Vong
Introduction Music: "Untouchable" - Nick Murray and Mark Moore
[SIZE=10pt]Battle [/SIZE]Music:[SIZE=10pt] [/SIZE][SIZE=10pt]"Decimate" - [/SIZE][SIZE=10pt]Brand X Music[/SIZE]


The air suddenly filled with the sound of a thousand Valkyrie screams as a dozen drop-pods of various sizes entered the atmosphere above Monument Plaza. As they screeched through the sky, the TIE/Ds attacked the vessels in a vain attempt to stop the reinforcements from arriving at Monument Plaza, some drop-pods were destroyed while others continued on their downward journey towards the surface.

The pods impacted the surface in a hail of searing metal debris and concrete, most were slowed down by their dampeners as they impacted while some skidded across the surface, wiping out a small column of Yuuzhan Vong troop lined up near the Galactic Museum. Out of the thirty-four pods that dropped, twenty-nine of them had landed and out of those twenty-nine, four had malfunctions during their landing sequences.

No doubt the Yuuzhan Vong Warrior castes would be stunned, but only for a moment and that is all it would take for the pods to explode open, sending ejection doors in different directions. Republic Troopers began pouring from the insides and blaster fire began erupting all around. Explosions rang out in the Plaza causing the focal point of attention to the newly arrived reinforcements.

As soon as the waves of Vong Warriors began clashing with the Republic troops, there was a snap hiss through the debris smoke, a violet-white blade came to life and Aaralyn sprang into action. She lept through the air and into the middle of the fray, her slender frame impacting the ground with a harsh thud, sending a brief ripple around her and causing the warriors to separate from their soon to be victims.


It didn’t take the Vong but a millisecond to recognize a Jedi and Aaralyn recognized almost immediately the void in the Force that was the Yuuzhan Vong. She had heard of ways to be able to mentally detect them but never had trained in those ways. This fight was going to be not only exhausting but painful…

 

[Serah Oricion]

Yusan's entire body moved and instead he brought his left hand right in the path of the blade, there would be a surprise though as [member="Albrecht Tagge"] would find his saber shorting out suddenly and Yusan's hand completely fine. "Pure Cortosis, you wont be needing that blade for a few seconds." He smiled, that one thing was something that he loved about his armor, people are always so cocky when they have a blade, but what about when their blade is gone. Bringing his hand out in the second after he send a point blank blast of force energy at the man's chest with his blade held in reserve, smiling as the anger began to pulsate about him. His body was tired from the Juyo strikes, but he had recovered in the break the Sith had given him and this fight was far from over. [member="Albrecht Tagge"]

 

[Aika Kawakami]

Objective: Evacuate Republic Citizens From Manarai Heights
Others: Sokrai Ronaro [member="RC-1025"] Tsavong Kraal Sochi Ru

A response... Talk about being able to breath easy. Truthfully, she had no back up plan. If no one responded to her call, how was she to help anyone escape? Simple answer; she couldn't. Her lips slowly curled into a sight grin as she radioed back. "Thank you. We'll be awaiting at these coordinates. Be safe, but hurry. There's no telling what could happen if they become anymore aggressive." Glancing back toward the wall, a small sigh escaped her lips as the wait began. However, the smile she had just dawned fell apart nearly twice as fast. A voice came form behind, a voice filled with discontent.

"Screw this! I'm not waiting around here to die! At least if we give in to them, we don't get slaughtered!" The man began to stride in her direction, arms swinging as she began to head in the same direction they had just escaped from.

"We're barely safe here as it is. He goes out there, it's going to draw attention. We won't save anyone. So, what to do?..."

"Sleep.." The single word uttered just as the man reached her, the sound sliding into her ears and with no resistance. Immediately, he dropped to the ground, an audible thud heard as his body made contact. Aika simply gazed at the man as he now lay unconscious. Was it bad that her first reaction was to put this man into this state without any warning? Or was it worse that she didn't believe she'd done anything wrong? Either way, what was done was done. Her gaze turned to the others behind her, silent as their eyes all fell upon her once more.

"There's a lot of them. If they choose to rise up, we may have to...."

I know...

She could only hope that it wouldn't come to that...

 

[Darth Armyss]

Location: Jedi Temple - Archives
Objective: Defeat Yusan Fenn, then return to his prior objective

Caught unawares again, Albrecht yelled out as he was launched backwards and slammed into the wall behind him. As he staggered back up, he reached for the second, blue-bladed lightsaber that he had placed back on his belt before, when Yusan ceased the use of his saberstaff, but he realized that it was unlikely that this would work either. he growled angrily under his breath, recalling that if only he had found somebody competent at slicing to take part in his planned raid on Bespin some time ago, he would have had cortosis of his own.

However, he did have another weapon at his disposal, not quite as elegant or civilized as a vibrorapier or a lightsaber, but it got the job done in a pinch, and it wasn't a weapon that a typical Jedi could deflect with their bare hands, even with cortosis-weave gloves and hyper-fast reflexes. That weapon was an SE-14C Blaster Pistol, a bit antiquated, perhaps, but powerful, and with its select fire option effectively made it a miniature blaster carbine. In a flash, he drew the pistol and pulled the trigger, the blaster firing a three shot burst in Yusan's direction, although with the relative inaccuracy that came with its power, he was depending more on the shots' spread than precision, knowing that if Yusan attempted to evade, he would get hit by at least one shot, probably not fatally, but enough to at least momentarily cripple his adversary.

 

[Kiskla Grayson-Matteo]

Location: Jedi Temple Entrance | Down the first flight of stairs
Objective: Dodge Rocks & Rock worlds
Allies: [member="Ben Watts"] | [member="Aedan Miles"] | [member="Darron Wraith"] | [member="Marcello Matteo"] | @Xander Carrik
Nemeses: [member="Darth Vornskr"] | [member="Darth Shara"] | [member="Daella Apparine"] | [member="Sopher Jakobs"] | [member="Ven'Rain Sekairo"]

Kiskla slammed on her heel, while her blades sliced through the initial torrent of debris, then changed to twist her lithe body between the matter of the oncoming attack. It was a lot of footwork, before she flattened against the ground to avoid the rest. She was still tingling from that Force Light and the agitation it had caused her companion. In flattening, it creased her shot elbow and she winced at the pain, sucking in a breath of hot air and dust through her teeth.
A few bits of debris crumbled and skimmed near the ground where she was, and she swept her good arm in front of her face to avoid the rocks. Some smaller bits skipped against the fabric and past, knocking her cheeks and inspiring little surface cuts.

When the rocky barrage as over, she pressed her palms against the ground with a hefty huff of frustration and erected to stand; "Son of a Murglak " the kiffar cussed, light eyes moving now to observe the scene.
She’d felt a familiar presence slam into this arena, but she hand’t really anticipated it would be that presence in particular. She faltered in surprise. It was now a trend, it seemed, to have former Grandmasters start resurfacing at very convenient times when their skill sets were demanded. Kiskla had imagined he’d been swallowed by the stars, doing good somewhere in the outer rim and being content with that life. Even if he had come back, she didn’t exactly imagine a meeting like this; it had been different in her head.

She needed to calm down, she was getting mad at the intrusion which had meant to help, rather than harm. Her breath was hot, and she could feel the uncomfortable squirm of her metaphysical companion, but she ignored the sensation and instead sought where she could insert herself once more. [member="Darron Wraith"] had now successfully attracted the attention of Vornskr’s mirror images. A technique she had seen him use on Dac. She knew they were solid enough to fight, because they had kept Daella busy back then — but if the origin was harmed, then they would falter significantly.

But the origin was nowhere to be found. She had seen them all place the amulets around their neck, but she’d been too preoccupied to see which one shimmered and initiated the separation. This was going to be time consuming.

Shavit.

With a groan, Kiskla lifted her frame to the top of the fallen statue of some great ancestor within The Order. Light eyes focused on where Vornskr had darted to, at the bottom of the stairs. She also glanced back over her shoulder, to where Ben was dealing with Daella still. He’d just taken a hit, and something in her stomach pitted — to her, he was what Jedi were supposed to be looking up to. He couldn’t fall today. Marcello too, was in quite the predicament. The Maleibus looked quite intent on having him for dinner. Also not a good thing.

Still, Vornskr was still a threat that she’d been preoccupied with and now Darron had plunged into those depths. She might as well keep working alongside — after all, it’s not like they were unfamiliar to each other’s machinations (although when fighting opponents Kiskla had never been good at ‘teamwork’ and ‘sharing’).

Her slender body jumped from the skirt, and down some stairs as she skidded to a slant. She didn’t say anything, there was no thanks (mostly because his attack had almost crushed her bones) instead she released one of her blades in a horizontal toss once more into the fray to see how the dopplegangers would react.

 

[Marcello Matteo]

Jedi Temple Steps
[member="Darth Shara"]

There was little time to worry about the effectiveness of his attack in weakening the massive Sith Lord before him. While the Jedi Master could certainly sense the effects of his efforts tearing through Shara's very soul, he did not allow his mind to linger. The Gaurdian's focus was concentrated, but it was not constricted. Ever aware of his battles pace surroundings, Marcello did what was necessary to dodge the actions of some and the movements of others. Still - the greater goal was preserving as much energy as humanly possible. Shara was much larger and much physically stronger than Marcello. The Jedi Master was painfully aware that he may well yet not survive the confrontation, so he fought like an individual with nothing to lose. Fear of failure was gradually replaced with acceptance, giving Marcello's emotions a cool, precise edge.

As Shara rushed forward at him through the onslaught of light-side energy, Marcello ceased his attack and ran towards the Sith Lord. It was a smile tactic, but their com and closur rate would alter the reality of their tactical positions relative to one another much quicker than attempting to flee the massive beast. Shara was moving with incredible speed, and it was difficult to predict his trajectory. As the beast's claw reached out to grasp him, Marcello acted on instinct. He was either going to be grabbed, stabbed, or eaten. Lovely options.

Allowing Shara to seize his leg, Marcello braced himself for the pain while drawing his lightsaber with his right hand and activated the dark blue blade to block the Sith Lord's strike...just enough to live a few more seconds. As it was a one-handed motion, pain rocketed through his body, feeling every ounce of Shara's impressive strength. Just before the Sith's maw removed his head and the lightsaber overpowered what Marcello offered in resistance, green tendrils of energy erupted around his knuckles and quickly encased his left arm before being shot up at Shara's already heavily burned face.

 

[J3C0]

Jedi Temple Steps
[member="Marcello Matteo"]
His fingers tightened around the mans legs, and a grin spread across his face. It was not a grin that stayed for long however, as out of the corner of his eye he saw the Jedi throw a punch of light towards his face.

He reeled, closing his fist entirely and crushing the Jedi's leg without a seconds hesitation. Bone snapped, muscles were torn, ligaments were crushed and blood vessels popped beneath Shara immense grip. The leg would likely be entirely useless after this, but then again Shara was about to pay in equal measure for the accomplishment of destroying the mans mobility.

Just as his fist was about to strike, Shara raise his head ever so slightly, turning his body in preparation to throw the man.

It was then that the fist struck him directly in the jaw. His already marred face broke and bent, bone shattering and ligaments being torn. The follow through on the mans punch tore Shara's jaw asunder, breaking it and ripping it from his face in one fell swoop. The Sith lord roared loudly, his tongue flapping from his jaw-less mouth. He raged, looking down at the Jedi and lifting him by his crushed leg and moving to slam him against the ground over and over again.

One thing was for sure, Shara would not be singing any time soon.

Illustration of my last action:​

 

[Marcello Matteo]

Jedi Temple Steps

Ouch.

Super ouch.

The pain that ripped through Marcello's body as [member="Darth Shara"] crushed his leg was unspeakable. It was, however, perfectly yell able, which Marcello proceeded to do at the top of his lungs. Yes, the Jedi Master had offered himself up fully understanding this was to be the likely outcome. In war you sometimes had to give a little to get something in return. As the pain of losing his leg mixed with the already volatile emotions the Jedi Master had recently suppressed, Marcello's emotional spectrum exploded. Attempting to shove his pain into the same emotional box as everything else was like compressing a planet's entire atmospheric composition into an air-tight closet.

The Force reacted in kind around Marcello even as the Sith's jaw was ripped apart. The instant he felt his body jerk towards the air and back towards the ground again, Marcello made the mental decision to survive. This was it...the last stand...all he had left to give in the defense of the Jedi Temple and those within. Unfortunately, this time it was going to effect everyone near the Temple entrance. The Jedi Master did not account for the location of allies, and he didn't temper his efforts to focus them on any one person. The only thought in his mind was to get everyone and everything as far away from his as humanly possible.

The strength of the Force surged through Marcello's body like a nuclear reaction and then erupted from the core of his being. The intense, concussive wave of the Force was visible as it rippled through the air, and Marcello knew he would have to endure yet another severe raking of Shara's claws against his skin. Unless the Sith Lord chose to maintain his grasp...in which case his hand would most likely be blown apart entirely. There was such an effort to the massive use of nearly all of his considerable strength in the Force, that the Jedi Master was unconscious before the show even ended.

[member="Kiskla Grayson"]
[member="Ben Watts"]
[member="Daella Apparine"]
[member="Darron Wraith"]
[member="Darth Vornskr"]

((And...anyone else within 200 meters of the entrance.))

 

[J3C0]

Jedi Temple
[member="Marcello Matteo"]
Shara sensed the build up of energy of course, he was no fool when it came to the use of the force and he could feel it growing inside the Jedi. At first he considered trying to kill him before the energy could be unleashed, but having already lost his jaw, he considered this the more unsafe option.

So, as Marcello unleashed the wave of utter and completely kinetic destruction Shara let go, not only did he let go but he threw the man, albeit a very short distance.

Before Marcello flew even a meter away from Shara the kinetic wave rushed from him. It surged through the courtyard for a moment, pressing dust, debris, rubble. The Massive Maelibus watched it move towards him, a visible shock wave that pushed forward and threatened him. Had he a jaw he would have been scowling.

The wave struck Shara.

It sent him flying almost immediately pressing him against the stairs of the Jedi temple and pushing him upwards. Limestone step after limestone step was torn up and out of the smooth architecture as the wave battered the Maelibus against it, pressing him into it. The cracking of armored skin could be heard and an audible yell escaped Shara's broken throat as he was finally tossed against the Jedi Temple wall into a heap, the wave reaching its limits as he was pushed into the side of the wall.

An instant later with a heavy thud Shara landed against the top of the Jedi temples steps, crushing a Jedi Pawan. Pieces of his natural armor peeled from his skin, his lightsaber was lost, and one of his horns was broken.

For a moment, the Sith Lord simply lay there in a heap, the blood of the Jedi Padawan pooling beneath him.

Then slowly the Sith rose. His bulk thudded as he pressed himself off the ground, the darkside rushing around him as pain flowed through him. Darth Shara stood to his full ten foot height, his bulk rippling. Blood poured from his wounds, his natural armor was cracked and peeling, his jaw bled fiercely, and his tongue seemed to waggle about.

Leaning back the Sith let out a massive roar, a call of violence, of death yet to come.

He was broken, but not yet beaten.

Spoiler

@Kiskla Grayson
@Ben Watts
@Daella Apparine
@Darron Wraith
@Darth Vornskr

 

[Cale Gunderson]

Location: Sith flank
Objective: Enact Plot Twists Galore
Allies: Alen Na'Varro, Darth Veles
Enemies: Tallia Farn, Popo, any other Jedi/Republic

His blades shot up as Tallia's lightning shot towards him, forcing him back, making him dig in his heels as his home fell apart around him. She spoke in a voice not her own, talking of the code he'd grown up following, words that had once meant everything, now meant absolutely nothing. As the fish let out his war cry, Cale remained silent and placid, forcing his way forwards, back towards his former friend.

"Tee..." He began in a voice very much his own, yet not at the same time, calling her by the nickname he'd used since they met on Illum. "It's over." He finished, tilting his blades forward as to redirect the lightning back at Tallia. Somewhere inside, there should've at least been the slightest conflict in him, but there was none, it had to end.

She'd been deceived, he'd been deceived, they'd all been damn deceived, but now the deception was over. The time of the Sith was now, the time for order, for peace, it all began with the death of the Jedi. It was worth the deception.

 

[Marcello Matteo]

Dream Land ((aka in his head))

Marcello's eyes blinked open as he felt searing pain rip through his entire body. Gasping in shock, his body convulsed as a fit of coughing threatened to kill him all over again. Wait. Was he dead? Glacier-blue eyes stared straight up at the vibrant sky above. Weird. Coruscant's mostly artificial atmosphere never looked so...colorful. Slowly, the Jedi Master attempted to sit up, but he immediately thought better of it. Exhaling heavily, Marcello contented himself in being a pathetic wreck.

A soft, almost ethereal voice drifted from behind Marcello. "Still as careless as ever, my young apprentice."

Marcello blinked slightly, recognizing the voice but not choosing to believe his ears. Closing his eyes tight, Marcello attempted to force the voice from his head. Unfortunately...he was in his head.

A bemused laughter echoed throughout the murky area. "I have good and bad news. The bad news...you're hallucinating and very near to death. The good news...you contain the strength to, at best, survive."

Marcello groaned. He hated this mental shit. "Just let me die in peace. It's better this way."

Abruptly, the form of Jedi Master Kalin appeared over Marcello and smiled thinly. "Oh really? You know best now? Do you think my death granted you some amount of strength or wisdom? Did you actually think you could go up against that thing and prevail? You failed Marcello. You failed yourself, the Order, your apprentice, your...interest. Did you think you could bring them anything other than disappointment? Everyone that has ever put faith in you, has perished. It would be fitting for you to die here today, but you don't even have the decency to give them that very simple benefit in life."

Marcello's anger surged and immediately vaulted to his feet. He head swam, but he didn't care, empowering his emotions to let him push through. "I tried old man. YOU weren't there. I went to the Jedi, seeking stability and a place to learn the balance you had always spoke of. You know what happened? Do you know what I found? A stinking cesspool of squabbling, in-fighting, power grabbing, and self-obsessed children. That was your great guidance. Your parting lesson. I should have known it was hopeless when even you wouldn't return."

Kalin's visage was impassive. "You know nothing, child. I was there. I saw the devastation brought upon the Jedi by the Gulag. I was in the camps. I witnessed and committed terrible atrocities to save the larger society. My exile was self-imposed. I shouldered the many mistakes of my life and others unnecessarily...just as you are doing now. As you have done your entire life."

Marcello's anger did not ebb as he listened to his former Master. "Leave. I'm done with you, the Jedi, the Force. I never wanted any part of any of this, you here me? Never."

Kalin actually smiled broadly. "I know, and that is why you succeed. Why you must go on, learn to push past the mistakes you have made and will make in the future. You must cease to shoulder the circumstances and destinies of others as your own internal inability to perform. It's quite an egotistical point of view if you think about it. You are no God. The Force is all-powerful. You are but a vanguard, a servant, a warrior designed to ensure it's continued existence. The Living Force connects us all, Marcello. You can redirect it's flow, modify it's intensity, or even change what you perceive to be it's ultimate destination. As you change and breathe, so too does the Force."

Exhaling heavily, Marcello felt the weight of reality crushing him like a thousand boulders. When he spoke, his voice was much softer. "I cannot do this, Kalin. A single voice in a raging storm only goes hoarse before being silenced completely."

"If you perceive yourself to be alone, you are more foolish than any I have ever met."

"I do destroy everything I touch."

Kalin smirked. "Incorrect. That massive Sith Lord is quite not-destroyed right now. You really need to work on your combat."

Glacier-blue eyes stared angrily at Kalin. "Don't start."

Kalin continued smirking as he raised his hands. "Whoa. Don't try to destroy a figment of your imagination. I think you might find yourself in an even worse state of health. So who have you destroyed? My fate was sealed long before you met me. Your apprentice [member="Ryan Korr"] lives and fights for the Jedi. [member="Kiskla Grayson"], the woman you actively suppress your true emotions for, is also seemingly fine. Perhaps a touch tired. Your only job, Marcello, is to do all that you can; to give every ounce of your being to protecting the lives of those that would otherwise perish in the wake of darkness. Be the light when all others have gone out. When you are no longer capable, the Force will take you. Until then...be the warrior I know you to be, trained you to be."

Marcello was silent for several moments. Though he had legs in his head, he distinctly remembered losing one. Looking down, the Jedi Master pondered his master's words. Allowing the words to take hold of his subconscious, the Jedi Master closed his eyes. Tears welled in the corners but seemed to dry before they could ever fall. When Marcello opened his eyes once more, his left leg was gone and blood was profusely pouring out of his body. Collapsing to the ground with a scream, Marcello eventually steadied himself as tired eyes gazed up at his master.

The figure of Kalin merely nodded.

Summoning the sparse reserves of his strength, Marcello moved his hands over the exposed ligaments and tendons where so leg had been torn off. Allowing the aura of the Force to flow freely through him, the Jedi Master interacted gingerly with the many midi chlorians to repair damaged cells and tissue. He could not re-grow a leg, but he could stem the tide of his impending death. As Marcello worked, the figure of Master Kalin disappeared.

-----
Jedi Temple Steps
[member="Ben Watts"] [member="Darth Vornskr"] [member="Daella Apparine"] [member="Darron Wraith"] [member="Darth Shara"]

The limp, unconscious form of Marcello Matteo had landed somewhere near the base of the steps. Time slipped by as the battle raged on all around him. Eventually, the sensation of the light side flooded the area once more, but it seemed to emanate from no one person in particular. A bright white light washed over Marcello's body for nearly thirty seconds before fading once more.

When Marcello's eyelids fluttered open, his glacier-blue eyes rapidly darted around...attempting to take in his surroundings. Hs ears were ringing loudly, and his entire body felt like it had literally been crushed several times over. Despite the lack of life-threatening bleeding, he could feel the immense pain of his leg having been ripped off. Controlling his breathing, Marcello reached for his wrist communicator with severe effort. "R9. Extract."

The battle was by no means won, but Marcello could scarcely do anything further on the ground. His primary mission now was to recover and return...ready to do it all over again. That was the depth of his commitment and reality of his life. As his personal N-1T piloted by his astromech had not gone far, it was several hundred feet overhead in less than a minute.

After stealing a brief look skyward, Marcello's swept the scene before him one more time. He caught sight of Kiskla for but a fleeting moment as a pained smile etched its way into his features. Pressing down on the rubble firmly with both palms, Marcello allowed the Force to fuel his actions as he got his one good leg underneath him. In the next instant, he rocketed his body skyward and landed on the nose of his fighter without..any grace. In his defense, he was all jacked up.

Once R9 had opened the canopy, Marcello crawled into the pilot seat and depressed a default emergency button. The canopy sealed around him before the nibble starfighter rocketed off into the distance. Marcello held onto consciousness long enough to fight his way out of the atmosphere, clear of the planet's gravitational influence, and slip into hyperspace before he passed out once more.

His life was in R9's hands. ...semi-comforting...

 

[The End Narrator]

Aaralyn brought her right hand above her left on the hilt of her violet blade, she adjusted her stance by bringing her left leg infront of her right. She felt the Force present regardless of the hundreds of voids within it where the Yuuzhan Vong were present, the ever flowing lifeblood of the Force was there. It connected the plants, the water flowing in the diluted fountain and even those who were mortally wounded or dying from the onslaught of the One Sith or the Yuuzhan Vong. It didn’t matter, it was all brought together by the Force. As she came to against the Warrior of the Vong, her saber came upwards at a forty-five degree angle in an arc-slash as his amphistaff came down hard to meet her blow. Her teeth gnashed together as he pressed his full weight down upon her, but the Force was there to guide her. The invisible energies of the living Force came to her aid, supporting her as he continued to press down, the sound of her blade crackling against the amphistaff filled her ears, but only for a brief moment until she shoved upwards.


The physical momentum that was reversed threw the warrior off his balance and Aaralyn took advantage of that. She rushed forward with saber in her right hand and jumped into the air, her saber coming down harshly in a downwards slash meant to cleave his head in two…but he was ready for her.


The warrior only stumbled a moment before he caught a glimpse of the leaping Jedi, he brought his staff up quickly and used her own momentum and her inability to pierce through the amphistaff to launch her over his head. With a rough push upwards and behind him as she made contact, she went flying off and hit the ground hard, sliding a few meters away from him. He turned to face where the Jedi lay on the ground, making a few subtle strokes on his staff to cause it to go into a whip form. As soon as he saw the Jedi jump up, he lashed the whip out to wrap it about her neck. As soon as the amphistaff made contact it coiled about the neck of Aaralyn, enough to cause her to suddenly gasp and yelp. Her saber dropped lifelessly to the ground, disengaging as soon as it hit the hardened surface.


Aaralyn’s face began to flush a different shade of red and purple as she struggled to get air to her lungs, for a moment darkness tempted to overcome her as she was held in place by the coiled serpent around her neck. Her right hand extended out towards the fallen lightsaber, focusing on the Force despite the many voids that distracted her. She could see the darkened holes that filled the square, dead, dying or alive they were like a black stain against a white canvas. She saw the ley-lines of Force energy that connected the living beings together, but the Vong were something else.


Her hand shook violently as she strained to reach out through the Force towards her saber, drawing upon what she could muster. As the Warrior came upon her small frame, pulling a dagger from his chest plate, the lightsaber flew through the air and into her hand.


The sound of the lightsaber engaging filled her ears…


*SNAP-HISS*


A spray of black liquid hit the side of her face causing her to cringe despite her inability to really breathe and then a roar of anger as the whip was jerked back off her neck and she was shoved forward. She inhaled deeply with a rather loud, raspy gasp.


“Hhwuuuh” Was all she could muster, she continued the raspy breaths, gloved hands clamoring around as she regained her focus to stumble upright. As soon as she did, the Force called out to her and within a split second she turned to see the warrior charging at her again. His right arm which had been holding the knife was bleeding profusely at the shoulder join where the armor met at the socket. She quickly brought her saber up and took a second to shake her head as he was ontop of her swiftly. She brought the saber down with blazing speed, aided by the Force and in a spray of black blood the limb was severed clean from the body. The amphistaff and arm went flying through the air, still carried by the momentum of the warrior’s movement to her. Aaralyn merely disengaged her lightsaber and calmly placed it upon her belt as she stared at the massive statue near the Vong as he lay on the ground.


Back and forth she went with her gaze until she made her decision, both hands came up swiftly, hands curling outwards as if she were gripping the statue herself. The Force energy that swirled around the statue caused it to crack and crumble away at the base. She could see herself lifting it with her mind, the Force guiding her as she ripped it free from the confines of the duracrete foundation. She could feel the strain upon her hands and arms through the Force as she was wore from being tossed about but then without hesitation she dropped the massive statue from a few meters onto the Vong warrior.


She couldn’t describe the disgusting noise that followed when the thousands of pounds met the flesh and bone of the creature. The black oozing liquid that crept out from beneath the rubble of the statue just made it worse. She sighed heavily and turned away from the scene, it appeared Republic Forces were continuing to fight the Vong and actually making decent ground.


A heavy explosion caught her attention and shook the ground beneath her feet, causing her to stumble slightly, her attention quickly turned to the Jedi Temple where new plumes of smoke rose up into the already darkening sky.


That is where she should be…these Vong were nothing more than clean up duty.

[member="Darth Shara"]
[member="Kiskla Grayson"]

 

[Aran Finn]

LOCATION: SITH FLANK
OBJECTIVE: NOT SO FAST, SLUG BOY
ALLIES: [member="Dak Canton"]
ENEMIES: [member="Popo"]

Yeah ... tired or not, Alen wasn't about to kneel there as the Shell Hutt pumped his body full of blaster bolts. He was still in tune with the Force, though his ability to throw around telekinetic energy had diminished. It still touched his mind, amplifying his reflexes and his co-ordination. He was one with the Force, completely attuned to its frequency, still part of the universe, still able to make use of his limited battle precognition ... he was so in tune with the Force, that he was able to surpass the usual limits of his body's endurance. Force Body, what a skill. Physically, Alen was in great shape. It was just his mind that was drained of energy. It would be a while before he would be able to throw the Hutt around or twist and contort his body with the Force, but he could survive without that. He was a Master of the Force, and not only that he was a survivor. All of the powers he had learned, all of those he had mastered, were geared towards survival. That was why he persevered where others didn't. He was a blade warrior, a tank, and an instinctual fighter. A two tonne Beskar-clad Hutt, and a skilled one at that, would be enough to give anyone pause. However, the Sith Lord did not plan on losing. Losing meant death, and death was at odds with survival.

One foot between the Hutt's wrist blaster and Alen's chest ... and the Sith Lord could feel it coming before it even got there. He rolled to the side, taking two blaster bolts to the right thigh as he did so. As he rolled he unclipped his secondary blade from his belt seamlessly and brought it up in a Shien grip as Popo's blaster bolts followed him. His blade worked furiously, rejecting the blaster bolts as they came at his new kneeling position. Due to his reduced mental state, a couple more bolts got through. One hit his left shoulder, another his left hand. Crucitorn, a passive power that Alen had trained to flow in the background of his most difficult duels, worked in overdrive. Alen had been shot four times. His range of motion in his left arm was reduced, as was his mobility on his right leg.

Also, the Hutt had been shot in the back of the head by Canton. Pity the lad had missed the first time.

Now the Sith Lord stood. Battered, but unbroken. Wounded lions are always the most dangerous. Darth Strider waved his dangerous foe on, knowing that either one could die at any moment. He aimed for it to be the Hutt, and he knew how to make it so.

 

[Darth Odium]

LOCATION: STEPS OF TEMPLE THAT ODIUM BROKE
OBJECTIVE: PARKING MAH TRUCK ON SOME JEDI (hopefully missing the sith cuz dey would be po'ed)
ALLIES: [member="Darth Shara"] [member="Daella Apparine"] [member="Ven'Rain Sekairo"] [member="Sopher Jakobs"] [member="Lucianus Adair"] [member="Darth Vornskr"]
ENEMIES: [member="Kiskla Grayson"] [member="Ben Watts"] [member="Marcello Matteo"] [member="Darron Wraith"] [member="Elayne Hawk"] [member="Aedan Miles"]



The Cargo Speeder streaked down from the speeder lane with the malicious intent to crashing into the temple steps. His left arm rested on the open speeder window as he neared 200km/hr. The deafening wind did little other than whip his head tresses about slightly and broaden his wicked and likely slightly less than sane smile. The sudden longing for a cap tugged at him but it would have to wait for another time. He honked the loud speeder horn several times as he made his way to the steps. He aimed his speeder at the Jedi line and pulled out the hilt of his saber staff. He waited as long as he could and finally popped the door open and jumped from the speeder truck. He cartwheeled in mid air and used the force to help him land and roll across the deck and reach his feet. One end of the saber staff ignited as he rushed to join the battle royal that was ensuing. The green mute had arrived at the battle of the masters.