The Return [TRE/SJO Invasion of Dromund Kaas]

[Darth Osano]

Objective: Secure outposts, swoon
Location: Jungles
Enemies: Successfully avoided
Allies: [member="Veritas"] | [member="Athena Heron"]

Two shots rang out in rapid succession, almost at the same time. It coincidentally came at about the same time a gunship streaked by overhead, muting the sound. Not enough. The soldier in the watchtower turned away to look in the other direction, the direction of the two men he knew were patrolling around the exterior of the outpost. He did not see any bodies. Not that he would have been given the opportunity to anyway. Another shot rang out, and a Czerka VENOM slug passed through his neck. Maleagant imagined there would be a lot of gurgling mixed with the smell of acid burning through skin. He was silently pleased to be this far away. With the lackluster perimeter guard neutralized, Maleagant and his Specialists slinked out of the undergrowth and towards the outpost.

They passed by the two patrolmen. Maleagant used the Force to call one's keycard to his hand, yanking it from his pocket, failing to stop his stride as he did so. You had to move quickly for these sorts of things, otherwise some other mook would turn up outside and raise the alarm. They circled around the complex towards the front entrance. Perhaps it would have been tactically prudent to find a back door or secondary entrance. It was more tactically prudent to minimize his time outside. As much as Maleagant would have preferred entering from somewhere less... Obvious, the idea of wasting time doing laps around an outpost to find a different point of entry did not appeal to him.

Again, speed was important. If only there had been some reconnaissance effort before hand. Then Maleagant could've had a nice map, a nice layout. Now they were pretty much winging it. Once they arrived at the front, the Specialists set themselves up on either side of the door. Very carefully, Maleagant ran the keycard through the reader.

 

[Jessica Med-Beq]

Location: Dromund Kaas orbit, forward reactor room, SSV Tenchu
Objective: Dealing with an enemy boarding party
Allies: SJ
Enemies: RE [member="Velok the Younger"]
Music: Scrap Brain Zone
Gear: [SIZE=9.9px] [/SIZE]Lightsaber | Armor | Beskad | Verpine shatter gun (7 rounds left)

"All hands, abandon ship" she ordered.

The problem is that ordering a general evacuation, especially since inadequate radiation medical supplies were, unfortunately, the order of the day and that other ships capable of taking in that many people would be very tricky to maneuver in such fashion that they would risk aggravating the situation, causing potentially more damage than they already had sustained. These sets of trouble were also compounded by the labyrinthine layout (albeit with its doors open). Plus it wouldn't be much faster than what she previously ordered given the labyrinthine layout, which is also a curse for evacuation. She also stopped creating knockout gas out of the fumes, realizing that Velok's Force-batteries are still rather fresh, and she'd rather let her own Force-batteries recharge for other purposes. Also, shortly after the order of abandon ship was given, there were two separate teams of marines entering the engine room in search of someone who defied orders to abandon ship, and this time around these groups weren't in each other's line of fire, due to one of the squads being on the same floor level as Jessica and the snipers being on the gantries above Jessica. At the same time as Jessica fired the Verpine shatter gun at the Whiphid's lightsaber-holding hand, the snipers had not-that-clear shots at the Whiphid but nevertheless attempted to avoid hitting conduits while firing their own SJ-issued QuietSnipes at various parts of the Whiphid's body. Meanwhile, some of the "lower-level" marines fired Famos rifles in stun mode mostly from a quarter-circle from point-blank range since the stun mode was only effective at blaster-pistol ranges. While others were covering the exit doors in case the Whiphid wiped the advance team out.

 

[Caid Centurion]

Objective: Secure Outposts
Location: Jungles
Enemies: [member="The Librarian"] | [member="Mishka Larraq"]
Allies: [member="Maleagant"] | [member="Athena Heron"] | [member="Aeterno"]

Caid wasn't exactly sure what prompted most people to act as they did. For instance, what was the purpose behind extended conversation in a combat situation? Did it provide anyone some level of increased insight or awareness?

The simple answer was...it didn't really matter. The only thoughts presently coursing through Caid's mind related to what needed to be done to accomplish his objectives, the objectives of the Resurgent Empire. If Caid had even been within earshot of anything Solan or Aeterno were saying, he would have ignored any comments on account of being largely irrelevant to the present situation.

With the energy that had been steadily building in his limbs, the Sith Warrior twisted his torso slightly to the right as he placed the tips of his fingers together. A visible ball of purple-white energy began to crackle to life between the palms of his hands. As Caid pulled gradually pulled his palms apart, the ball of energy grew.

Once the ball of Kinetite was roughly the size of a beach ball, Caid snapped his torso back to its previous position and hurled the ball of destructive, kinetic energy towards the 'shroud of vegetation' put in place by Solan. The energy itself would have easily collapsed through a ferocrete bunker. The attack had been timed such that the large Sith crashed through the large void created by the attack.

Caid did not believe in the concept of a 'fair fight'. In the end of the day, there were only winners and losers. Athena could certainly handle herself, but together they could handle it quicker and move on.

 

[Velok the Younger]

Mission: Sink the Tenchu
[member="Jessica Med-Beq"]


Velok's ears twitched as he glanced past the Jedi. In and among the departing patter of little human feet, some grew louder as one. From several directions, he caught hints of grim determination spiking through the communal fear.


A really cutting retort or three lingered on his tongue. Instead, as the semicircle of troopers burst into view at point-blank range, Velok triggered the lightsaber. The handle jolted as the long orange blade punched through things not meant to be punched through. He swung with a roar, one long arm scything around, and his saber inscribed a blurring semicircle at neck height.


A heartbeat later, three things happened more or less simultaneously. A pair of mag pellets slashed through him at angles he didn't want to think about. Several hard, heavy objects hit the floor - ideally the heads of the squad who'd ambushed him at close range.


And a shattergun round slipped past his moving hand to punch through molten metal at two thousand metres per second.


Velok tumbled back as a sheet of brilliant flame blotted out his sight. Some kind of plasmatic discharge, maybe, or isotope-five or hypermatter or some such. What mattered was its ability to obscure lines of fire and delay pursuit. Crouching behind a conduit, he touched the bullet holes. One mag pellets had carved a bloody furrow along his skull and ripped off a chunk of scalp. The other had gone through his gut.


Pain came out as a groan. He looked down at the comlink and the lightsaber; they seemed fairly useless weapons just now. What else did he have to work with, in the seconds before the enemy found another way to attack? A radiation deflection badge, much-taxed but still humming along. A set of punctured armorweave robes. A decent amount of power in the Force, still largely untaxed, though pain was a real obstacle. A standard Jedi Order utility belt: rations, aquata breather...grappling cord.


Hands shaking, he pushed a sequence of buttons and put the comlink back in his belt. Rhythmic shudders through the deckplates told of emergency escape pod launches en masse. Instead of the comlink, he took out the fibercord and tossed it on the floor. Quick telekinesis wound it between conduits. If the Jedi jumped over the sheet of flame, she'd miss the impromptu tripwire; instead, with a wave of his hand, he tightened the line at angle height near where he expected soldiers to make themselves known. That play left him open if she did jump over the fire, so he kept an eye on that angle from behind cover.

 

[Samara Galloway]

LOCATION: Kaas City
OBJECTIVE: Dark Temple
ENEMIES: [member="Catalys Maijora"] | [member="Vitor Avendahl"] | [member="Tai Fa"]
ALLIES: SJO & Allies

Samara ran her fingers across the marble tiling of the kitchen in awe. She was surprised that her former residence was so immaculate. The last time she'd been here had been a decade ago right before her trial. The troopers that had come to arrest her hadn't been to kind to the details she'd put into the small apartment. When she'd learned that in her seclusion the Jedi had driven the Sith from the world this apartment was the first thing she wanted to see. In ten years it had been kept as she left it, not a single change. But who would do that. She ran her hand along the smooth basin of the custom Mon Cal coral sink. The force presence that lingered in the material was both sweetly familiar and revolting at the same time. The Jedi jerked her hand away from the sensation. Of course it was him. This was some sort of sick game. He knew Dromund Kaas would fall to the Jedi, and eventually Samara would return to this apartment. It made her wonder what else he knew, what twisted plans had he laid. Suddenly she realized that this was all a mistake. The apartment, the Jedi, Dromund Kaas. Something was about to happen and their would be no stopping it.

As if to answer her thoughts the first turbo blast created a sonic boom through the atmosphere, followed by several others. The Sith had returned, as they always do. The fall of the Jedi defense was very probable. But maybe Samara could do something to limit the impact of this day. Her mind flashed to the many ancient records and holocrons housed in the Dark Temple. She may not know if the Jedi had found all of it, but Samara knew where they kept their most powerful secrets. It would be easy, bring down one wall and the teachings would forever be lost. The building rocked as she took the stairs down at a mad dash. Thankfully she had procured a landing pad only a few floors down. The speeder that awaited her wasn't the most held together model, but it was fast. She jumped in the pilots seat and flipped the ignition switch a couple of times before the engine fired to life. The Master took off at full throttle, moving low through the buildings avoid the detection of the fighters that were already descending through the atmosphere.

After only a couple of minutes Samara landed the speeder down hard, skidding a little to a stop in front of the dark temple. A few sith troopers were already there at the top of the steps. Blasters swiveled in the Jedi's direction as she jumped from the still sliding speeder and ran head long up the stairs. If the sith had already made it as far as the Temple then that meant that even now the holocrons could be in Sith hands. An icy blade sprang to life at the exact moment the troopers began to open fire. Samara spun the blade in several interconnected ring guards, sending each shot back into the limbs of the troopers, crippling them without killing. Inside the temple was vast, but with assurance Samara veered towards the west wing where her goal lay. Several other troopers were in her path, but no Sith. Good, maybe that meant that this was only an advanced party to secure the location and nothing more. Following her memory to navigate the maze of halls Sam came to a crypt like room. There were the tools to preserve bodies from centuries past. Many Sarcophagi lined the walls. It was clear that Jedi archaeology teams had begun work here, but had yet to began to try and open the sarcophagi. One in particular required a specific ritual to open correctly, but Sam had no time for that.

Stabbing downward with her saber Samara carved the top off, before lifting it away with the force. Inside laid five glowing holocrons, the greatest sources of Sith Knowledge. These could potentially make these Sith unstoppable. Lifting her lightsaber over head, the Master moved to strike down to shatter the objects when the room began to shift. All at once the room began to collapse around her. With some agitation Sam remembered the purpose of the ritual. It was a trap was the last thing that went through her mind before the lights went out.


Some Time Later....

Rubble shifted, and then pushed to the side as Samara finally broke through to an open tunnel. Sparks flew as some of the rubble smashed into a power box that had been situated against the wall. It the light of her lightsaber Sam looked around the area, realizing that the tunnel had been used as some sort of junction for power lines. No doubt the box she'd accidentally destroyed powered something important, though she couldn't imagine it being important for the defense. Finding what looked to be a mine line running along the ceiling Samara turned down the tunnel and followed it at what she hoped was the outside.

 

[Aithne Charr]

LOCATION: Jungle
MISSION: Help a Mandalorian finish her mission.
ALLIES: SJO, [member="Mishka Larraq"]
ENEMIES: Sithies, and company. [member="Athena Heron"], [member="Veritas"] [member="Aeterno"]
Equipment: The Gardener's Heart


Solan smiled at the words spoken in return by the first of the visitors to his created arena. Now granted, it would be easy to cut through, seeing as there was only a wall of vines between them and the ones fighting, and even then you could simply jump up and over thanks to the trees. He still welcomed the conversation over simply getting straight to combat and he was happy to entertain this man who would actually stand and talk with him.

"Call it a fools errand. I understand that things must be done in order to secure a stable and orderly galaxy but I find conflict to still be a bit... annoying. Plus, it is rare to find those of our persuasion who would enjoy beauty and conversation over the need to show force and superiority. So while I do side with the Jedi in this conflict, it is as an old friend to tell the truth and not as one of their own. Though, my particular appearance at this time is to oversee a small competition in the growth of your and my own ally." He pointed with his head towards the small ring, preparing to bring himself to a place where he could watch the conflict with his eyes and only waiting long enough for Aeterno to decide if he wishes to spectate too.

Once they were both watching, from a vantage point where the vines could not restrict their vision and with a decent bit of distance between the two to keep things civil, Solan would speak once more.

"I only know the Mandalorian, and even then just barely. I assume the second is one of yours, a beautiful woman no doubt, though someone who is just as I expect from your people when it comes to her mind. I cant read it mind you, nor does my empathy tell me as much as it would your soldiers who cannot guard themselves as well... but she is one of you. That much is certain." He said, eyes tracing the fight between the two and only stopping when he sensed a new annoyance. Unlike other areas, a gathering of the darkside might be lost with the battle but Solan had careful hold of his surroundings with one Sith already here, the dying of wildlife and generation of the darkside was like a beacon to him.

It made him groan before pushing himself into a kneeling position and turning his head towards the growing and approaching sphere of energy.

"It seems, our conversation will have to be continued later." His body fell from its perch and waited, watching that direction and careful to keep his second set of eyes on Aeterno. Soon enough Veritas' attack would appear and Solan would move to the side, annoyed and letting his illusion drop. His skin would become deathly pale once more, veins ebony black and eyes a very clear gold with red flecks dancing in them. He didn't bother drawing either of his sabers quite yet, letting them reside in his sleeves still, and his gem would remain in its pocket, waiting to be used.

"Come out and face me with a bit more honor, if you are so interested in interrupting a rather stimulating conversation. Or I will be forced to bring you to me, and I would rather not exert myself." He said, his voice raised so that Veritas would hear him.

 

[Jessica Med-Beq]

Location: Dromund Kaas orbit, forward reactor room, SSV Tenchu
Objective: Dealing with an enemy boarding party
Allies: SJ
Enemies: RE [member="Velok the Younger"]
Music: Scrap Brain Zone
Gear: [SIZE=9.9px] [/SIZE]Lightsaber | Armor | Beskad | Verpine shatter gun (6 rounds left)

The first squad was killed off with one wide lightsaber swing; that was not good, but there was another team positioned near the door of the reactor room from whence the quarter-circle marines came. This time around, since they knew the upper barrel was in stun mode, Jessica realizes the last volley accomplished one thing: creating a wall of fire that was made risky for people on either side to cross, but also that the Sith was hiding behind the wall of flame, so that the backup squad fired flechette rounds using the bottom barrel of their weapons in various possible directions where Velok could hide from behind the wall of flame. So there would be a deluge of flaming flechettes fired at the Whiphid, made flaming because of the wall of flame they crossed. Also, due to her sensing a trap inside the wall of flame, but lacking the distance, or even speed, to provide the necessary impulse to make that jump without recourse to the Force, she had no choice but to make one Force-jump to make it to the other side of the wall of flames, and even then she only managed to clear the tripwire by a few centimeters. In a vertical sense, that is; even so the tripwire was the horizontal midpoint of the jump, and she landed two meters away from it, with the laminanium armor sustaining only a limited amount of heat. And then she drew her Verpine shatter gun with her off-hand and fired it at Velok's radiation deflection badge a few seconds after the flaming flechettes were fired.

"Poodoo has burst into flames" she told Velok after firing the shattergun at the radiation deflection badge.

However the escape pods that were launched weren't nearly enough to get everyone out, and were mostly used by non-essential personnel, so any party making repairs that had to be made on the Tenchu would also need to get its escape pods replenished. In the meantime, LAAT/is (about half of the total LAAT complement were LAAT/is) were used by other non-essential crewmembers to continue evacuating the contaminated forward section. Yet, because they were started cold, it would be a while until they could actually be used to evacuate the remaining crewmen: the hangars were the location of several of those vehicles.

 

[Athena Heron]

JUNGLES

[member="Mishka Larraq"] [member="Maleagant"]

If the force net remained around the girl, it would eventually sever her connection to the force and continue to sap her strength. Dark orbs flecked with oranges and yellows danced with a manic-glee. One hand still wrapped around the hilt of her red lightsaber. She looked down on the trapped woman and tsk'd against her front set of teeth.

Free hand extended slightly, the force attempting to wrap around the woman's vocal cords with the intent to start cutting off her air-supply. She couldn't kill her just yet. She wanted to have some fun. Attention wavered for a moment as [member="Veritas"] broke through the cage, quickly followed by the curious other, [member="The Librarian"].

But she was having too much fun to let her pet go.

"You are a young thing to be in battle," she cooed softly, fingers tigthtening.

 

[Soeht]

The Imperial Citadel​

A moment of silence. The being before [member="Joon"] stared blankly. It relaxed its outstretched hand. The invisible force grasping Joon’s neck disappeared. Then, the being brought a closed fist to its chest.

“T̷hi͞s͞ iś ̵youŗ ͏j̴ob͢, ̨n͝ot͞ mi̛ne̢,” the being informed Joon.

 

[Kaden]

LOCATION: Citadel
OBJECTIVE: Defend the Citadel
ALLIES: SJO in Vicinity
ENEMIES: TRE in Vicinity
CURRENTLY ENGAGED: [member="Yidhra"]

Three things happened.

His saber swipe missed. The sharp bit of rebar glanced off his durasteel boot.

And the shard was ripped out of his flesh.

With it went the corrupted amalgamation of 1,000 Sith Lords, returning Kaden to his senses. His own senses. However, this also had the effect of entirely draining the young pureblood. It was as if his very soul had nearly been sucked out too, such was their grip on his spirit. Any longer and his individual conscious might have been consumed, becoming one with the legion of the betrayed.

He collapsed to his knees with a heavy groan, wincing as the fresh pain of his wounds returned and the cracks on his skin restitched themselves together.

The Sith was spent. Drenched in his own blood and choking in the aftermath of mental subjugation, he could only muster the strength to stare at Yidhra with an amber gaze so full of hatred that it may as well have been an attack in itself.

Trying to kill him? That was war. Subjecting him to the control of corrupted Sith spirits?

That was unforgivable.

His saber hummed softly in the wind and rain; buzzed over the distant cries and screams. In the moments he stared, his hatred fueled his recovery; strengthening the darkness that lingered within him. His crimson hand gripped the saber tightly as adrenaline and the dark side kickstarted his motor functions. He was ready should another life or death situation occur. First, though, he wanted to know the name of the woman who'd ruined him.

"Tell me your name," He demanded through gritted teeth and deep breaths.

 

[Velok the Younger]

[member="Vrak Nashar"]

The quick comm signal which Velok had sent moments ago drew command attention to SSV Tenchu. Massive damage marked its prow, its weapons had long since ceased to fire, strange readings came from one of its two reactors, and escape pods and transports fountained from its three-kilometre hull.


Mission: Sink the Tenchu
[member="Jessica Med-Beq"]

Velok twitched as flechettes whined through the reactor passages, punching further holes in things that didn't like getting holed. Several embedded themselves in the broad conduit behind which he'd taken cover.

The trap, however, hadn't been the real trap. The real trap had been luring the Jedi to jump over that wall of flame. This right here was the moment for which he'd saved his strength. He knew it in his tusks.

A step out from behind cover, a deep breath-

-another hastily fired mag pellet winged him and punched through skin-

-and he roared out all his agony. All his fear of failure. All his hate for the necessary games within games that had brought him here. All his fury, every ounce of it. All his determination to win this fight and take this ship for the future of his marginalized, forgotten people. A Force Bellow, some called it: a sonic shockwave that ripped up deck plates, wrecked circuits, shredded conduits, accumulated a storm of debris and fallen flechettes and radioactive smoke-

-and had a reasonable chance of breaking the Jedi's bones and/or throwing her into the massive sheet of plasmatic flame directly behind her.

 

[Connor Harrison]

LOCATION: The Citadel, Dromund Kaas
OBJECTIVE: Take the Citadel; Destroy the Jedi Knights
ALLIES: [member="Vrak Nashar"] | [member="Vilaz Munin"] | [member=Vraukt] | [member=Yidhra]
ENEMIES: [member="Thurion Heavenshield"] | [member="Coci Heavenshield"] | [member=Kaden]
ENGAGING: [member="Soeht"] (Yenaleda)

--

The grip vanished from Joon's throat.

A Sith warrior and a Jedi engaged in a vicious battle yards from where she stood, but she paid them no due. This...Jedi...or whatever she was inches from her garnered her attention.

With the crimson blade activated in her hand, the Sith Knight stepped forward, as if it was just the two of them in the battlefield and their dark aura's protected them.

”Get me in. Show me where, and I will take them all down. And you will have a place with us. With me.”

Joon stared into the Jedi's eyes, and turned her body, pointing to the Citadel.

”How do I get in, sister.”

 

[Yidhra]

Citadel
Objective: Reclaim the Citadel, also convert wayward Purebloods
Enemies: [member="Thurion Heavenshield"] | [member="Coci Heavenshield"]
Allies: [member="Vrak Nashar"] | [member="Vraukt"] | [member="Joon"] | [member="Soeht"]
Engaging: [member="Kaden"]

Almost made her laugh, the way he collapsed down beside her. If she were anything but a Pureblood, Yidhra might’ve thought them equal, then.

But she was a Sith, a Dottash; of unrivalled stature, status, and respect. Even kneeling in a pool of blood, she held her chin high and her back straight. Her bright eyes blazed like fires in the dark, too bright against the pale of her skin. Her hands shook. Her side ached, wound cauterized but burning like a sun encased in flesh. Rain and body fluids and sweat all ran cold and wet down her spine.

None of it mattered.

None of it was there.

Yidhra was running through the halls of memory. Kaden’s memory. Left ravaged and open in the wake of a thousand Sith spirits, his mind presented an unique opportunity. She could hear him shuffle in the distance, rearrange his beaten limbs and crumpled body on the ground before her own husk. Would he know? she wondered. Could he?

The surface was familiar by now – the sorceress would dive into the deep. Black. Satin blue. Pinpricks of stars piercing through the vast canopy of darkness, then— a̜̠͕ͧ͋͌͐h̖̭̩̦͈̯ͨ̋.͈͙̼̽̒́ͭ͆̔͑.

Couldn’t be sure, of course. Sith sorcery was a treacherous discipline, its creations oft turning on their very creator. Then his question echoed around her skull. Her lips never parted in answer.

She would speak instead from the depths of his own mind, pouring the last of her power into a singular goal: convince the blasphemer that his battle on Kaas, his induction into the Silver Jedi, his brutal awakening from cryosleep— that it had all been a dream.

That Yidhra was, in fact, not his enemy. She was the Pureblood tasked with caring for the broken Sith whom they had found drifting in an escape pod through the void of space.

That he had attacked her in his manic state upon plummeting out of his icy bedding. That he was home, but had been too frantic to realize it before.

That he was safe now. In good hands.

Time to rest, my child.

And if Yidhra’s voice adopted the soft, loving timbre of Kaden’s mother… well.

Sith sorcery was treacherous, but it was powerful too.

 

[Kaden]

LOCATION: Citadel
OBJECTIVE: Defend the Citadel
ALLIES: SJO in Vicinity
ENEMIES: TRE in Vicinity
CURRENTLY ENGAGED: [member="Yidhra"]

Fingertips brushed his mind; his memory. They pried open his deepest thoughts in his moment of weakness. The pureblood could feel the prying, the searching. Then came the implanting - the devious trickery never ended.

He questioned his sanity briefly, a quizzical look gracing his features for but a moment.

Half of him knew this was deception, the other half wished it to be true. His mind, usually stronger than steel and as resolute as a planet's orbit, was open. Yidhra slithered her way inside and their subconscious beings melded. Vaguely aware of what was going on, Kaden fought through the lie of the illusion - mustering the reserves of his mental stamina to utter a defiant;

"No."

It was a response to the voice in his head and an outcry from realising the deception was untrue.

The Sith were arrogant; warriors until the bitter end. Kaden was no exception. His newfound hatred for this woman, the pain of his fresh wounds, his anger and frustration at being manipulated, they all poured through the pureblood and spurred his tired body to action. He had to remove her from his thoughts, lest he perish. Survival instinct guided his next action, though it was fueled by the dark emotions cascading through his battered body. The lightness within him withdrew in a moment of pure rage as he swung his saber towards Yidhra's midrift brutally. Quickly. Without remorse.

He sought to tear her body asunder, to render her legless and immobile.

Kaden sought to rescue his mind by destroying her.

 

[Yidhra]

Citadel
Objective: Reclaim the Citadel, also convert wayward Purebloods
Enemies: [member="Thurion Heavenshield"] | [member="Coci Heavenshield"]
Allies: [member="Vrak Nashar"] | [member="Vraukt"] | [member="Joon"] | [member="Soeht"]
Engaging: [member="Kaden"]

Treachery won over power.





̧͖̗̜̗̥͇͇̥̞̊̔̇̅͂͆̈́ͪ͐̈͐ͨ͜ͅ ̶̞̮̱͔̲̳̫̥͙̥̼̼̙̲͎̥̖͇ͥ̈ͣ̉ͧ͑̋ͫͨ͐͑͞͝ ̵̛̹̗͎̟̲͚̪̹͚̞̲̫͙̞̖̣̠͔ͧ͑̅̍̿ͨ ̦̦̲̯͕̙͓̫͇̦̩̭̏̅́̓̄̎͢͝ ̡ͮ͆͊̄̓̔̋̾̍̀͌̏̈͐ͨͭ̕҉̯̯̳͍̩̖̹̭̺̻̥̫ ̴̛̳͉̭̠̼͕̯̥̥̰͕̖̬͈͖̝͛̌ͭ̑̏̃̐͛̇͘ͅN̓̓̐ͮͮ̍ͭ͏̡̖̹͕̺̪ͅƠͫ͐̉̍͐ͣ͏̕҉̴̠͉̟̳͚͚̤͙̘̙͕̻͚͎̻ ̝̘̹̺̝̩̾ͬͮ̓ͥͩ̌́̚͟ ̷̨̢̣͍͇͚̖͎̪̤͖̘͙̞̓̓̏̽͒ͪ́̊̇̒̿͆̍̔̉̔ ̨̥͈̘̩̬͓͖̯̙̥̫̗̲̌ͧ̍̇̿̀͌͆̽̌́ͫ̊̇ͮ͛̀̆͘͝͝͞ ̝̲̖̜̗͉̜͕̦̫̿́̓͗̌̔ͤ̿ͨͦ̄͢͝ͅ ̫̞̰͖̘̬̼̟̮̗̗̰̙̱ͩ̇̇̋̇̅̈́̍ͩ̿̉ͩ̄͆͠ ̧̦̫̰͍̟̓͗͋̐̄̓ͣ̃͛͟ ̸̄́̑ͫ͋̍͊̎ͫ͗̑ͬ̎ͪͭ̚͡͏̵͈̼̟̙̱̫̙̠̳͈̖̥͎͇̙̖̖̱͡ͅ





Yidhra thrashed, scrambling away away away— too frakking late.

White-hot pain lit up behind her eyes, spreading through her right leg like liquid fire. Stars danced in the void stretching between their minds, entangled in agony.

A vicious rictus twisted her features. Couldn’t even scream – it was like a punch to the gut. She chased her breath, tendons standing out of a thin hand as she clawed at everything and nothing at all.

No idea where she was, if she was even still on the bridge, if she was dead, dreaming (stop) but she could feel him. The loathing fueling Kaden was like a beacon for the sorceress tumbling through the pitch black of her split perception. Drowning, desperate, Yidhra latched onto that bright flame – a lighthouse in the storm.

Vengeance, then.

Like the man who had maimed her, Yidhra, too, was a Pureblood through and through. More, perhaps, in following the Dark side as she did. And it was this that she drew upon, in that last flicker of consciousness – Kaas’ vast, thrumming hatred for everything Light.

And Kaden was a traitor.

Yidhra would sink tooth, nail, and mind into her foe as she fell ever deeper. Latching onto every wound, every laceration, every stumbling thought—

I go down, you go down with me, frakker.

 

[Jairus Starvald]

Spoiler

LOCATION: Dark Temple
OBJECTIVE: Dark Temple
ALLIES: [member="Catalys Maijora"] & [member="Vitor Avendahl"]
ENEMIES: Silver Jedi Order & Sith Spirit -- [member="Samara Galloway"]

Three figures stumbled into the Dark Temple proper.

Behind them - in the metaphorical sense if not the literal one - the ghost of the landing platforms were still carrying. They had fought hard, but eventually managed to break the hold of the spirit's minions. It gave them a reasonable point of entrance for reinforcements from the air, if they managed to get through the heavy anti-air defenses anyway. Three squads of Sith troopers had already landed, two of which were staying behind near the landing zone.

One squad following them inside.

The Captain, a scarred Twi'lek named Dwenan, had been pushing relatively hard to protect them. As if the Lords of the Sith needed assistance with that, but in the end the Thirriken had accepted.

As long as they stayed behind them and didn't get in the way.

A rumble farther down the temple complex caught Tai's attention. It took a few more moments and then the lights went out, before being reengaged again another moment later. The emergency generators had kicked in, but the drain of power was clearly more than the generator could reasonably handle.

"I wonder who did that." Would not have been the spirit. "I can sense the spirit's minions further down the hall, they are holding the main hall there."

Already his blade had revealed itself and was gliding softly through the air.

 

[Samara Galloway]

Location: Dark Temple
Objective: Dark Temple
Allies: Silver Jedi & Allies
Enemies: [member="Tai Fa"] | [member="Catalys Maijora"] | [member="Vitor Avendahl"]

The small tunnel let out into a bigger main passage. Elsewhere Samara could sense the spirits of Sith that haunted this place, but they themselves seemed to have been distracted by the cave in. She knew that these would not be the last spirits to be added to these halls. No matter the results today, the Sith would one day reclaim this world. Now the best she could do was to escape the temple and help evacuate the injured, before the sith got their hands on them.

Rounding the corner the Jedi Master first saw a moving light, which turned into a creature she'd never seen before coming into view. Whatever it was, it held a lightsaber and seemed to be in charge. At this point there was no way not to be seen by the birdlike being. She tried to run the mental layout of the temple through her head to find an escape route. But much of her knowledge was at least ten years old, and no telling which halls were still accessible.

No, the only way out was through the sith. She would not charge, nor attack though. Everything was telling her to stand her ground, to be reactive instead the aggressor. She stood in the middle of the hall, allowing her breath to come slow and rhythmic.

 

[Zef Halo]

DARK TEMPLE
DROMUN KAAS
[member="Tai Fa"] | [member="Catalys Maijora"]
[member="Samara Galloway"]

The odds were just a tad bit better than before as the trio made their way into the depths of the Temple. This time with a squad of troopers roaming somewhere behind them. Hardly was their presence necessary but Maijora's earlier point regarding numbers still stood.

A rumble shook the ground, followed by the triggering of the emergency lights. The group kept on going further down, a foreign presence, not of the minions could be felt through the Force. Lord Fa seemed already on it as his blade materialized in his hand.

Vitor, in turn, grasped his lightsaber handle tighter and prepared for an encounter. Ahead of the group, a mysterious figure stood immobile.

He did not need to mutter to the rest, only someone blind would not see the figure.

Another obstacle needing elimination?

 

[Coci Heavenshield]

Location: The Citadel
Allies: Silver Jedi and Allies
Enemies: The Resurgent Empire and Allies

Armour - Saber

[member="Thurion Heavenshield"] | [member="Jericho"] | [member="Audren Sykes"] | [member="Kaden"]
[member="Vrak Nashar"] | [member="Joon"]


---------------------------------


The grip through the force took her legs out from under her, and the pressure hurled her to the ground. The Valkyri armour saved her body once more, but the sickening sound of bone breaking echoed in her ears and he had not been alone in sustaining cracked ribs. The fall had seen her slabbed on her side, and the piece of metal that was still embedded in her arm pushed deeper still on impact. The pain was overwhelming, and she allow herself to vent it through a cry which released the pain somewhat and her frustration of further injury.

Her head flickered between consciousness and she knew that she could not allow the darkness to overtake her and with her strength of will and mastery of the mind she pulled herself back from the brink. She had to get to her feet, and slowly pulled herself off the ground and turned to face her foe once more. Her right arm incapacitated now, the metal cause damage to render it useless, but she still had her left and fortitude of purpose. That is enough for any Jedi.

Pulling in deep laboured breath she glared at him, noting his hand also now disabled but she knew well enough, like he would her, that there was more in the armoury then a saber for a force user. And so she set her, pulled the lightside to her once more to strengthen her body, gathered in her core swirling in a ball of energy ready and waiting for him.

 

[Vrak Nashar]

Dromund Kaas - Citadel
Objective: Reclaim the Citadel
Directly Engaging: [member="Coci Heavenshield"]
Allies: TRE

Vrak slowly stood, his lips thin, pain spiking through his arm. His left hand grasped the lightsaber hilt, his right palm curling involuntarily as the weapon was removed.

His fingers seemed to twitch slightly, lingering nerves still firing and causing the appendage to move even when he had no control of it. The pain was immense, almost enough to drive him into shock. Yet with every throbbing ache came a wave of anger and power. The darkside flooded into him, Kaas called to him, and the strength that found him drove him to take a single step forward. His scowl deepened, the bright Crimson of his lightsaber jumped into life with a loud snap-hiss.

The Pureblood took another step. "Leave."

His demand was a simple one, and by all rights just.

"You've lost this world." Vrak didn't know if that was true. The fighting was still raging all around them. The Legions had landed, the Massassi were clamoring and raging, but for all he knew the Silver Jedi were still pushing back. Yet he could feel the ebb and flow of the darkside, the planet itself calling to them. Kaas had not been cleansed or redeemed. This world was as Dark as Korriban, it's core a swirling remnant of an Empire that once brought fear to even Coruscant. "Can you not feel it?"

Another step.

"The darkside stirs. The planet sings our song. It knows it's children have come home." Power welled within him.

He could feel her own strength, the flow and spark of light that brewed within the deepest pits of her core. His eyes locked on her, his gnarled hand shifting slightly in front of him as he moved. "It welcomes us."