The Return [TRE/SJO Invasion of Dromund Kaas]

[Kaden]

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

The charge was resolute. The bridge grew shorter by the second and the corpses adorning its wet duracrete faded into a blur as Kaden sprinted. Rain bounced off his robes and armour - the ancient armour of a Sith Warrior, repainted in Jedi colours - and the wind threatened to strip him of his cloak.

Rage steadily manifested itself within his mind, tugging at his perceptions and allegiances. Kaas was calling; the dark side its messenger. Defend the Citadel fought reclaim the Citadel in his subconscious mind as the Sith struggled with his inner self and the taint of the Sorceress' temptations. This inner turmoil only fed his frustrations further and, more specifically, his disdain for the individual causing him this internal strife.

He would kill her.

The bridge was short now. Death lingered here, but another scent peppered Kaden's nostrils. Weakness. He could see the staggered stance of his opponent; the slim and wiry frame beneath her clothing. The conflict within his mind was now focused by the darker side of his pure blood, which called for him to eliminate the weak.

The air hummed and buzzed as Kaden readied his lightsaber in a smart flurry. His teeth glinted in the glow of his saber, a twisted snarl evident on his angular face. "You are weak!" He shouted as he plunged one end of his double-bladed saber into the heart of a Massassi guardian who had made the mistake of blocking his path. "A blight on the strength of our species!" Continued the enraged Sith as he spun and decapitated another guard.

Seemingly glowing amber eyes met Yidhra's own.

"Millennia ago, you wouldn't have survived the academy, runt. The Sith today are weak, a mockery of the ancients."

Kaden's words dripped with disgust and anger. He spat on the ground and gave his opponent a look of pure contempt.

"I will destroy you all."

 

[Velok the Younger]

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


For Bengal tanks to come at the Skocha from all sides, the Skocha needed to be in a four-way intersection. It fired back, and its shields snapped to life again - but only a waning life, ten percent at most. The repulsors failed. Sixty-five tons of tank settled into the compromised​ deck plate.


Without compunction or regret, Velok set about carving a hole in the tank's belly. Particle shots battered the Skocha and tore its shields apart, then chewed into its hull. The proton cannon fired again and was silent.


A double ovoid of durasteel and ferrocarbon fell away and crashed into the next deck down. “Gentlemen,” said Velok, and the two surviving tank crewers hopped down. He followed.


Damaged antipersonnel emplacements obstructed them; his two mercenaries returned fire. Velok eyed the warping deck above and made a few quick slashes. The Skocha settled by about a meter; the Bengals’ particle cannon fire slashed past above its turret and superstructure. A four-way attack always carried the risk of friendly fire. During a few critical seconds, all that cataclysmic Bengal firepower was pointed at other Bengals.


In the next few heartbeats, the Skocha's fusion bottle and proton round hopper detonated. The labyrinthine corridors had forced close quarters engagement to one degree or another, amplifying and focusing the blast.


On the next deck down, the explosion consumed the two tank crewers, who hadn't had the benefit of Velok's Force-enhanced speed. The Whiphid hunter was now well and truly alone.

 

[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"]

That was it. The one thing. The only thing.

Her tendrils trembled, teeth grit in helpless fury.

The Massassi lay in a ring of blood and scorch wounds, some dead, some dying. Screams still tore through the air, through the cacophony of blaster fire and the colored streaks of lightsabers. In the back of her mind, she noted that there was more red than the last time she’d looked.

But Yidhra didn’t see any of that. Her burning amber gaze was boring a hole through the taller Pureblood. Her lips were a white line cut across her crimson flesh.

She released a shaky breath, throat tight with rage.

“You will bow, or you will die.”

In the blink of an eye, the sorceress pulled all her awareness back inside her. There was a soft pop, imperceptible through the din of battle; she’d just curled a hundred souls’ worth of Force into a tiny, pulsing orb. The world around her went dim, her remaining guards stumbling and gasping as she drained them. Ruthless. She couldn’t feel anything but pure, unadulterated hatred peeling the very flesh from her fingers.

Unbridled, unchained – Yidhra Dottash hurled it forth, straight at the blasphemer before her.

Her mouth, unbidden, split apart in a cry. It sounded a lot like ‘Sutta Chwituskakhttp://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Sutta_Chwituskak’.

 

[Zef Halo]

Vitor heeded Lord Fa's call and thoroughly inspected through the Force the wicked presence of the temple before them. The Thirriken was correct. This was recent. Were the Jedi even aware of it? He seemed to feel none of their light sided presence nearby.

"Indeed." He confirmed before taking a few steps forward boldly. "There's one way to find out what's going on inside there."

The Sith unclipped his lightsaber hilt and with a tap of the buttons on his wrist control panel, the HUD of the helmet lit up in details.

For whatever Catalys was worth, the man was right. Their advantage currently laid in their numbers.

It would be best if they kept it that way.

[member="Tai Fa"] | [member="Catalys Maijora"]​

 

[Jairus Starvald]

LOCATION: Breaching the atmosphere
OBJECTIVE: Dark Temple
ALLIES: [member="Catalys Maijora"] & [member="Vitor Avendahl"]
ENEMIES: Silver Jedi Order & Sith Spirit

Tai considered their situation.

The Force twisted and contorted around them, it was almost a physical gesture within the air and the currents swirling around them, it took only the lightest tap of mentality. Then his eyes closed and the mind detached itself from the corporeal. It rose up and above them, it saw the entirety of the complex, it saw the entirety of the world and yet it saw nothing, because all of it was covered in pitch-black darkness.

It was the hunger, it was a... vision? Maybe it was a possibility that could unfold, if they didn't act soon enough.

"You are right." Lord Fa replied after a moment of thought. "The early maps suggested a courtyard nearby, it would be a prudent course of action to clear it out first."

He brought up soon after.

"It will allow us to bring in more people."

Something told him that whatever was gathering itself in the darkness of the Temple wasn't alone. It had called things to it, beasts of burden and easily twisted sentients, all of it to serve some nebulous purpose. They were strong, but the Thirriken doubted they would be able to overcome an army of mind-controlled cretins.

If they agreed, the journey was set. Instead of entering the temple complex itself, they would circle around. The jungle was thicker here as it crept up against the foundations of the structure, but it was eerily quiet.

No jungle life echoing throughout the treeline.

Almost as if they had been either scared away or pulled further into the complex.

 

[Soeht]

((sorry for the late post))

The Imperial Citadel​

As Yenaleda backed up, [member=Joon] lashed out against the Jedi once more. The strike aimed for her head. In response, Yenaleda quickly ducked. Joon’s blade began to pass overhead.

Yenaleda released her left hand from her lightsaber – holding it with just her right hand. She then pointed her left palm at Joon.

Her pupils dilated.

A voice.

Then, Yenaleda attempted a telekinetic strike into Joon’s stomach – with the potential to throw the Sith back several feet.

 

[Thurion Heavenshield]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kw4bGBDKrPs​

Location: The Citadel
Objective: Hold the Line
Allies: [member="Coci Heavenshield"] | [member="Jericho"] | SJO
Enemies: [member="Darth Pyrrhus"] | [member="Vrak Nashar"] | TRE
Directly Enging: [member="Vraukt"] | [member="Neesa"]

With regained strength in spite of his wounds the Old Lion fought, his otherwise golden mane of hair marred by grime and drenched in sweat. The cauterized lightsaber wound in his side remained a weak spot of his, yet it troubled him little at the moment. No-one returns home from a battlefield without scars; a lesson learned a long time ago, for his scars were too many to count. Such is the way of the Guardian, to take on the pain and suffering in the place of those around them, and to weather them for the rest of their lives. With so many Sith warriors focused on taking him down, the remaining Jedi were open to dispatch the weaker forces of darkness.

Down came his mighty blow crashing down on Vraukt who was now on the defense, for Thurion had allowed his ancestor blood to fill him with zeal and vigour unmatched by races non-native to Midvinter. No Valkyri warrior fears death, for death is inevitable; how one faces death in glorious battle is paramount to one's honour. You stare Death down with steel and fire in your eyes and lighting from your arse, feet planted firmly in the ground, and you tell the bastard: No, you move! Wise words from his father Thrand, who always spoke truth and from the heart.

Sensing both the incoming counterstrike from the opponent in front of him, as well as the backstabbing tactics of the one behind him, Thurion - rather than standing there and taking it - held out his hand, palm flat against the ground, and launched himself into the air with a powerful burst of telekinetic energy, kicking up a cloud of dust in his wake. As he shot up like a rocket into the air, however, his mind was overwhelmed by his darkest, most distressful thoughts.

These thoughts were not naturally occurring, and likely the work of some malicious Lord of the Sith taking pleasure in playing twisted games with his prey. Thurion closed his eyes shut as he reached the zenith of his ascent, while his own mind battled with itself. Heartbreaking memories of friends and family he'd lost over the years resurfaced, mistakes were replayed on repeat with names popping up left and right, telling him how he failed to save them. It was enough to drive any man insane.

But when it came down to his family, the voice of his lifelong love pierced through the dark thoughts clouding his mind. The demons brought to life by unnatural means were suddenly quelled as memories of family and love came flooding back: Asha and Thrand, Thyrian and Kära, Nina and Théodred, and... "Coci," he whispered as a smile found his weary lips. "I banish thee, Spawn of Darkness! I cast you out, never to return," came his curse, directed into the mind of his assailant. Whoever it was who had wormed his way into his mind would find it no easy task attempting it a second time, for now his mind had become like a fortress of steel.

His eyes opened, and for the briefest moment it was as if time stood still. Down below and around him the war raged on, yet on the horizon far in the distance he spotted the faintest glimmer of sunlight breaking through the otherwise dreary-grey clouds of Dromund Kaas. "I see you, old man." Then came the descent, the laws of gravity along with the aid of the Force turning Thurion into a human cannonball. His body surged with the power of Light, and as he crashed down upon the foes who had sought to destroy him a massive shockwave of tremendous force swept across the battlefield, and where Thurion had landed there was now a large crater, and out of the dust strode the Heavenshield - bane of all evil.

"I am one with the Force, and the Force is with me."

 

[Kaden]

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

Rage permeated Kaden's body and seeped out of every pore. Yet, despite its hold on him, it disappeared as quickly as it was conjured. In an instant, it retreated within his depths and was replaced with cold fear. His tendrils shuddered in anticipation of what was to come, his eyes widened in turn. Amber irises danced from being to being as those around him crumpled to the ground, shriveled and decrepit. Instinctively, the young Sith took a step back.

But it was too late.

Yidhra's scream came after the searing pain had pierced Kaden's side; the wound was inflicted that quickly. His breastplate did little to stop the damage, which had gone clean through his front and out his back. Blood began to darken his robes in a sticky maroon colour and he wheezed, dropping to one knee out of necessity.

Wincing, the Sith shook his head and looked to his adversary. Pain was evident in the folds and creases of his face, though shock was the underlying emotion.

"Appearances..." He coughed, then winced. "Can be deceiving."

Breaking eye contact, he pushed himself to his feet and assessed his wound with his free right hand.

"I... Have much to learn, it seems."

 

[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"]

Gasping herself, Yidhra took a balancing step forward as the energy left her body. The veil of darkness that had descended upon her vision lifted – she could see everything again.

But the Sith had eyes only for the heretic. Her amber orbs glowed like embers in the deep pits of her skull, wide. Frenetic. Her breath was short, her ribs a cage for lungs that just wouldn’t expand enough. What she had done was taxing. Too taxing, perhaps, but she would never stand for the slight he had done her.

“I am not weak,” she spat through crimson-tinted teeth. Copper blossomed on her tongue, but she swallowed the taste. Swallowed the shudder.

“We are not weak,” Yidhra spoke. Her gaze was sharp, but level – ire mollified for the moment. “Learn with us, and you might still have a future. You might still achieve the greatness of your blood.”

“Or… don’t.”

The sorceress didn’t know if she could stop him if he attacked again. That thought alone was— terrifying. She could not deny that, but she could use it. So she channeled that fear, poured it into every tight syllable that left her mouth. Every word, a knife; every sound, a threat barely leashed.

She lifted her chin just a fraction, issuing the oldest challenge the Sith had ever known.

Y̬͙͕̥͎͓ͫö̷̺̞́̌ͭ͗͛uͧ͌͑̄̂̾̈́ ͔͉̣̮͚̊̔̇͑̚w̛͎̺̗̫̥̳̫í̓̊ͫl̸̠͈̯̺̀͂ͅl͐̐̍̾͏͈͇͇̼̮ ̸̠̟ͭͮb̻̰̘ͯ̅ͨ̓ǫ͈̬̭̖͍̇̈́̋̃ͩ̇̐ẘ̡͑̊̆,̩̜͚͋ͪͧ̍͊ͤ ̗̲̝̘̮̒͊ͦ̉̅́ͅo̖̟̚r ̲͗̿͛̅͒ͭẏ̞̳̳̺̙͎̃ͦ͟o̝͙̬̠̳ͫ̕u̩̳̳̝̠̥̣̍ͥͣ̀̉͞ ̱̮̲̻̭͎͢w̙̗̲̰̩̳̠̌͑̍ͣ̃̂͂i̼͂͊ͭ̔͗̽l̬͔͈̠̒l̻̱̜͉̳̲̈̒ ̜̠͙̱͔ͥ̊͊̃ḑ̭͎͍i̻̝͇e͖̙̠̜̯̓͐̌̒͒͞.̱̮͕̦̬̅̆͑̈ͣ̅͘​

 

[Catalys Maijora]

Dark Temple

"Then it's settled," Catalys wasted no time to move towards where the supposed courtyard sat.

Early maps were probably accurate. It's a temple after all, who in Sargon's name would decide to move a courtyard? Well, Catalys now imagined the scene playing out in his head. Two ancient Sith arguing about how the current courtyard was slightly off-center, and if they wanted to fix the problem they'd have to move it across the western side where there had been enough room to place a brand new courtyard.

The old one of course converted into a fighting pit, which any Sith spirit would undoubtedly waste no time fortifying. Fighting pits were always dangerous. Have none of them ever seen a holofilm? Catalys snapped back into reality when the clap and roar of engine fire above rattled his helmet. A large wing of gunships overheard flew by, being pursued by speedy interceptors.

One of them took a direct shot, its engine exploding and now debris rained down like hellfire upon them. "Feth!" The agent rolled out of the way of a sizable chunk of metal which skewers the ground to his left, barely missing the armourclad Umbaran.

[member="Tai Fa"] | [member="Vitor Avendahl"]

 

[Jessica Med-Beq]

Location: Dromund Kaas orbit, CIC, SSV Tenchu
Objective: Dealing with an enemy boarding party
Allies: SJ
Enemies: RE [member="Velok the Younger"]
Music: Butter Building (Super Smash Bros Brawl)

"Finally, the tank has been destroyed! There is but one Sith remaining of the enemy boarding party" the chief security officer reported.

"That trick may have worked on the other two Sith but we have to try it against that one: magnetize the blast doors, then fire glop, then fire the Famos upper barrels in alternate mode. After that, fire flechette rounds in the lower barrels"

With the enemy tank destroyed in a glorious explosion, caused by a blaze of particle fire hitting it, some of which hit friendlies and causing damage, even rendering the barrel of one of those unworkable, with other tanks having dents in their armor in various locations. Meanwhile, with the enemy fighters having engaged other elements down to the surface, while being whittled down by anti-aircraft and other aircraft under the command of other officers actually stationed on the surface, Jessica could rest easy, or at least as easy when one's flagship is being boarded away from the main enemy battlefleet (or its tattered remains), and be able to fully focus on the situation at hand onboard the Tenchu. By now Velok fell a few decks below, and he was the only one who survived the assault. Here the blast doors closest to the Whipid enemy began to close under magnetic locks, and because that particular corridor was pretty narrow, it doesn't take long. However, she had standby targeting solutions in neighboring areas established with the same firing sequence of weapons.

"Glop targeting solutions established, sighting is good" the remaining gunners in that section that didn't evacuate that section just yet acknowledged.

"Fire!"

Of course, doesn't mean that glopping would work here as it had on the other two Sith that died in a now-condemned sickbay, but she still had the glop dispensers' targeting solutions established on the Whipid hunter and fired based on those, and possible movement vectors based on the blast doors being magnetically locked, and later firing what Famos emplacements were still in the vicinity, and the alternate mode was used much as it has been on the first two Sith. If the glop managed to hit Velok, what to do next would be quite different and she knew it. Also, while the lower barrels of the Famos emplacements were not used against the first two Sith, flechette rounds might prove necessary to pin him down this time around, and, as such, were fired, too. If he survives this, but nevertheless gets hit in any significant fashion, perhaps I should consider doing something else, interrupting her thoughts while suspecting that the remaining Sith could potentially read her thoughts at that stage.

Spoiler: Outsider Command

Capital ships:

SSV Tenchu (Tenchu-class dreadnought) Shields: 100% | Hull: 88%
SSV Midvinter (Mateus-class elite carrier) Shields: 100% | Hull: 100%
SSV Dellalt (Sionoma-class elite destroyer) Shields: 100% | Hull: 100%
SSV Kenobi (Tector-X-class Star Destroyer) Shields: 100% | Hull: 100%
SSV Gallia (Tector-X-class Star Destroyer) Shields: 100% | Hull: 100%
SSV Tano (Munificent-X-class heavy cruiser) Shields: 100% | Hull: 100%
SSV Jarrus (Munificent-X-class heavy cruiser) Shields: 100% | Hull: 100%
SSV Wren (Munificent-X-class heavy cruiser) Shields: 100% | Hull: 100%
SSV Hardcase (Lothal-class artillery cruiser) Shields: 100% | Hull: 100%
SSV Tup (Lothal-class artillery cruiser) Shields: 100% | Hull: 100%
SSV Rex (Lothal-class artillery cruiser) Shields: 100% | Hull: 100%
SSV Reath (C-9980-class assault frigate) Shields: 100% | Hull: 100%
SSV Chasin (C-9980-class assault frigate) Shields: 100% | Hull: 100%
SSV Chopper (C-9980-class assault frigate) Shields: 100% | Hull: 100%
SSV Baker (C-9980-class assault frigate) Shields: 100% | Hull: 100%
SSV Rail (C-9980-class assault frigate) Shields: 100% | Hull: 100%
SSV Honoghr (Hardcell-X-class anti-starfighter frigate) Shields: 100% | Hull: 100%
SSV Husavik (Hardcell-X-class anti-starfighter frigate) Shields: 100% | Hull: 100%

Attack craft:

302 T-70 X-Wings (62 over the Citadel and 240 in orbit)
144 TIE Reavers

 

[Kaden]

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

Lifeblood dripped passively onto the cracked duracrete; it pooled and mingled with the rainwater, corrupting the purest of liquids with swirling red patterns. The pureblood sighed softly and looked to the black heavens above. The foreboding clouds continued to clap and roar; showering the two enemies in rain as the sorceress spoke. Kaden closed his eyes and listened, basking in the calming droplets that peppered his face.

"Bow?" He asked softly, flicking his eyes open. His amber gaze narrowed and returned to Yidhra. "The arrogance of our species knows no bounds," he declared harshly. The exertion of loud speech made the Sith wince slightly and grip his wound tighter. "I was Sith once; when our pure blood was abundant... Now how many of us are left? We refused to adapt to the changing tides of the force; now all we have left is our arrogance and nothing, not even a future, to show for it... I chose to adapt."

He paused and studied the woman before him for a moment, memorising the gauntness of her face and her piercing amber eyes. There was beauty in there somewhere.

"You are not weak," he declared, knowingly. "But your empire is... And still, you choose to represent it."

Kaden drew a long breath and rolled his shoulders in preparation; focusing mind and body for a possible second engagement. He drew strength from pain - it tuned his instincts sharply - and spoke once more. His words were direct and resolute, shattering the tension like a hammer and basking the two in a self confidence that was almost palpable.

"My name is Kaden, and I shall not bow to you or your empire. I have chosen a different path, one that requires more inner strength than you can possibly imagine."

 

[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"]

She stood a meagre three paces away from the blood traitor, gnashing her teeth. Anger and exertion were a potent and deadly cocktail – just like every drug was a medicine, right until it became death. The sorceress favored her right leg, feeling the impact from before bleed through the steady flow of adrenaline in her veins.

“You might be strong,” she said, straightening just a fraction. One of her hands clutching at the railing behind her back released its grip, fingers moving in arcane patterns.

“But your strength is wasted. So go – throw away your fething birthright!” She barked a laugh, lips curling at the corners. “I’ll be there when you take a knee, Kedan.”

“I’ll be there.”

Her words would still linger in the pregnant air as the Sith would push off the wall in a sudden surge of speed. The sorceress would attempt to dash to the side, over the sprawled corpse of Arigharr, and out of the melee range where she, quite frankly, sucked ass. The way ahead of her was empty, just a long stretch of bridge littered with bodies. The forces of the Empire had pushed the battle farther to the mouth of the Citadel, leaving Yidhra with a clear escape route.

Or, well, that’s what Kedan would see, presumably. Before, when she’d sunk her claws into his mind, Yidhra had taken a good look at the lay of the land – easier to do it again. Quietly this time, while the other Pureblood was distracted, both by his wound and her words.

Perhaps… it would be enough.

And if he followed this illusion, fierce in his resolve to find an early death on the wrong path – then she would help him, gladly.

Yidhra would lead him, blind, right into the waiting blades of her fellow Sith.

 

[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]
ENEMY GOING FOR: [member=Soeht] (Yenaleda)
--
The Jedi pushed outwards, and Joon used the blast to get a fresh space between them.

She rode the blast of Force energy, letting it carry her and turn in mid-air to land on her foot and knee across from the girl, who was oozing some strong passion and desire to avenge the fallen.

From her position, Joon pushed up, as if in a sprint, and charged again.

Nearing the target, she performed a forward cartwheel and butterfly twist with her blade ignited, a deft acrobatic movement, and the second she landed she brought the blade vertically down for a strike, fuelled on and feeling a strong desire for more.

 

[Velok the Younger]

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


Before they died, the two Padawans had served another purpose: their headlong charge had given Velok a pretty decent idea of the internal defenses. Glop aerosol projectors, particle cannons, flechettes, osmotic fields, paralysis beams.


As he ran through the corridors, using the bridge's two Jedi Masters as his north star, a cold wind rose around him. Telekinetic force caught the glop aerosol and pressed it back against the bulkheads, trapping Famos emplacements and all the rest. Velok stopped. For a little while, he had a region where the enemy couldn't bring the internal defenses to bear.


The unusual death he'd sensed, and the unusual circuitry exposed by ongoing damage back toward the bow, revealed the interlinked biological components that formed the backbone of the ship's systems. A quick triple slash laid open the nearest bulkhead, and a gloppy paralysis beam emitter clanged on the deck. One gigantic three-clawed hand closed around the biocircuit bundle that linked the emitter to the united, centralized, omniscient targeting and fire control network.


Thus far he'd used little to nothing of his strength in the Force. A touch of instinct, a hint of speed. A rush of gleeful joy accompanied the hunger of Force Drain. That oldest of Sith techniques responded very well to links and bonds and sameness and connection, as everyone from Nihilus to Palpatine had learned. And this simple, bite-sized life was deeply interconnected, almost a single organism.


In a spiritual sense, Velok began to eat. In a perfect world, he'd shut down primary circuitry for the entire ship, but he'd have settled for killing the coordination, targeting, and power supplies of the anti-intruder emplacements.


As he consumed life, he realized that the vessel was far more centralized than he'd anticipated. Because of the ship’s major functions being automated under a centralized control system, it would have been possible for a small group of boarders to gain control of virtually all of the ship's systems from a single point just about anywhere. He did that, except instead of slicing he drained the life from the systems, and instead of control he aimed for destruction.

 

[Zef Halo]

DARK TEMPLE

The three seemed to stroll down the path to the Dark Temple as if they were on a sightseeing tour. One could argue they were until the roaring engines of a gunship passing too close for comfort blared in the sky above them. Interceptors made quick work of it and for the three tourists remained only large chunks of molten metal raining as the weather's forecast.

Catalys' curse was well heard by the Sith as the man rolled away from a steel hull plating that aimed to hammer the captain of the frigate into ground meat.

The Force saved Vitor's life for yet another time as it alerted him of the danger. He jumped via supernatural means further away from the hail of deadly particles raining from the sky. A red blade materialized in his hand and sliced through a large chunk of metal splitting it in half and keeping Avendahl alive.

If that wasn't enough for the three tourists, their trespassing triggered automated defences into motion and a heavy machine gun spitting plasma encased rounds at immense speed began tearing at their position. Kark. A few of the rounds were blocked, another few grazed his armor before Avendahl realized the power behind the rounds made his lightsaber deflecting abilities obsolete.

He quickly hid behind cover like the little b*tch he is.

"Bigger problems!" Vitor voiced his concerns over the intercom.

[member="Tai Fa"] | [member="Catalys Maijora"]​

 

[Athena Heron]

Location:Jungles
Objective: secure outposts, preen
Allies: [member="Veritas"] [member="Maleagant"] [member="Aeterno"]
Enemies: Jedi [member="Mishka Larraq"] [member="The Librarian"]

Drops of scarlet spattered blue skin, hidden among the black fabric of her dress. There was a singing burn on her side from a blaster bolt nick. The Sith scholar inhaled sharply, using and converting the pain.

Dark, beady orbs snapped to the side as her maidens and the beasts moved forward in their slaughter to continue their charge to secure the outposts. A cruel and twisted smile wormed it's way on her pink lips.

"More company has joined us. Perfect."

Mind reached forward searching to break through the defenses of Mishka with the darkside, like sharp little probed fingers.

"Come play, my darling, and tell me your biggest fears."

There was a man too. But her attentions remained on the girl for now. She knew Veritas would have her back and perhaps even Maleagant.

 

[Darth Osano]

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

While Athena and Veritas were clawing their way through enemy lines, fighting violinists and children, Maleagant had been cutting a different path through the jungle. A longer one. Most of the Silver Jedi's forces had been moved in the direction of the Sith assault. Maleagant had moved down from the fighting and then forward again, circling around through the jungle until they came to the rear of the outpost. It was not an elaborate structure or necessarily well-defended, but if blindly charged at from the wrong angle... Well, there would be needless casualties. Fortunately, Maleagant would be approaching from the rear. The garrison would be too busy worrying about the assault and contributing to the front-lines to consider a small force of insurgents from the rear.

Crouching among the undergrowth, Maleagant surveyed the outpost through a pair of macrobinoculars. One of his men had been carrying them the whole time even though they were just mentioned now, yes.

"No one on the roof," Maleagant said, panning elsewhere. There was a small watchtower, but its sole occupant was busy gawking at the battle raging elsewhere. "No problem there..."

He directed his vision back to the ground level. A couple of infantrymen were patrolling, slowly and nervously, around the outside. "Mediocre." He muttered, lowering the binoculars away from his face and handing them back off. There was no electric perimeter fence to separate them from the jungle. Maleagant suspected the defenses would be more robust inside. For now, gaining initial entrance would be of no issue. He turned to the accompanying Specialists, ordering them to find higher ground. It was time for some strategic sniping. Or in Maleagant's case, more waiting in the jungle. By himself.

He thought about Athena.

 

[Jessica Med-Beq]

Location: Dromund Kaas orbit, CIC, SSV Tenchu
Objective: Dealing with an enemy boarding party
Allies: SJ
Enemies: RE [member="Velok the Younger"]
Music: On to Victory (Starfleet Academy)

While the Sith back in the bow could deflect the glop thrown his way, some of the Famos emplacements were clogged with glop, yet still continued to fire. One of those emplacements began to overheat because of a feedback loop that caused molten glop to overwhelm the emplacement's cooling system, later causing that emplacement, the one closest to Velok. That is, before the anti-boarding systems began losing power, which made the other emplacements avoid that grisly fate. As Velok began draining the bio-computer circuits, the anti-boarding emplacements went silent because they lacked control. And they were also cut off from their power sources, as a result of said Sith draining the life of the bio-circuitry away, and clawing into the power conduits as the Force-drain took place while doing so. I have to do something: what worked on these acolytes didn't work on the remaining Sith: he's more powerful than these acolytes, she thought, while thinking up of a plan to defeat the Whiphid intruder, or at least while the blast doors are still magnetized: he only managed to shut off the power to the anti-boarding emplacements.

"We lost control over the anti-boarding fire control system!" the chief security officer complained, with a little annoyance in its voice.

"Time for the enemy to get a taste of my mechu-deru!"

But Jessica realized that he was rather aggressive and that, in his attempt to feed off the bio-circuitry's life energy, he accidentally triggered a response from another circuit that he did not specifically target - while it would be somewhat easy for a skilled boarding party with a skilled slicer to take control of the ship in that fashion, Force-draining the circuitry can come with side effects, especially with Jessica now being in tune with the ship's remaining equipment in the Force, using mechu-deru as well as her own computational power to counteract any enemy effect (she previously used mechu-deru for a variety of ends, like slicing-related stuff) of Force-drain. And also the air around him became much more radioactive with the explosion of the proton cannon hopper that occurred when his tank was destroyed. The radioactivity also continued fething up the ship's bio-circuitry; he will find that, while he fed on it, in a sense, he was "eating" tainted food. With that in mind, Velok will soon realize that a light-sided mechu-deru user can render the bio-circuitry much more delicate to affect by Force-powered means, due to the heightened risks of side effects. Without wanting it, the Whiphid caused nearby power conduits to arc on the Whiphid's claws in a power overload caused by energy still being fed into the power conduit he just broke. And, from there, ammunition reserves of the emplacements whose power have been cut off; once the electrical arc has set off inside the emplacements, explosions ensue when the ultracapacitors are hit by the electrical arc, causing particle whiplash-based poodoo to burst, alongside shrapnel left behind the explosion of the emplacements, within the confines of the compartment sealed by two magnetically locked doors.

Spoiler: Outsider Command

Capital ships:

SSV Tenchu (Tenchu-class dreadnought) Shields: 100% | Hull: 88%
SSV Midvinter (Mateus-class elite carrier) Shields: 100% | Hull: 100%
SSV Dellalt (Sionoma-class elite destroyer) Shields: 100% | Hull: 100%
SSV Kenobi (Tector-X-class Star Destroyer) Shields: 100% | Hull: 100%
SSV Gallia (Tector-X-class Star Destroyer) Shields: 100% | Hull: 100%
SSV Tano (Munificent-X-class heavy cruiser) Shields: 100% | Hull: 100%
SSV Jarrus (Munificent-X-class heavy cruiser) Shields: 100% | Hull: 100%
SSV Wren (Munificent-X-class heavy cruiser) Shields: 100% | Hull: 100%
SSV Hardcase (Lothal-class artillery cruiser) Shields: 100% | Hull: 100%
SSV Tup (Lothal-class artillery cruiser) Shields: 100% | Hull: 100%
SSV Rex (Lothal-class artillery cruiser) Shields: 100% | Hull: 100%
SSV Reath (C-9980-class assault frigate) Shields: 100% | Hull: 100%
SSV Chasin (C-9980-class assault frigate) Shields: 100% | Hull: 100%
SSV Chopper (C-9980-class assault frigate) Shields: 100% | Hull: 100%
SSV Baker (C-9980-class assault frigate) Shields: 100% | Hull: 100%
SSV Rail (C-9980-class assault frigate) Shields: 100% | Hull: 100%
SSV Honoghr (Hardcell-X-class anti-starfighter frigate) Shields: 100% | Hull: 100%
SSV Husavik (Hardcell-X-class anti-starfighter frigate) Shields: 100% | Hull: 100%

Attack craft:

302 T-70 X-Wings (62 over the Citadel and 240 in orbit)
144 TIE Reavers

 

[Velok the Younger]

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


And those would have been great moves, if not for the details.


The Force Drain, which didn't irradiate Velok just because he was draining irradiated biocircuitry.


The ultra-tough ferrocarbon bulkheads that protected the magazine and power supplies from Velok...and vice versa.


The mechu-deru, which would be a fantastic countermeasure if Velok’s Force Drain had anything to do with the information or electricity being carried by the biocircuitry, or their physical form, or really anything that mechu-deru could improve.


The size and durability of an adult male Whiphid Sith, who took stray shrapnel and convenient electrical overload without undue complaint.


The comprehensive radiation deflection badge he'd been wearing for quite a while now.


With the internal fire control systems consumed, he branched out intently but without direction. Life support, reactor control, shields, weapons, engines… he couldn't select which systems he was chewing. Maybe he'd get lucky, and the enemy commander would keep giving him the time to cripple vital systems.


If she wanted to stop him, she'd have to rely on something more courageous than serendipity.