The Shadow of Unity (TSE Dominion of Malachor V)

[H3xle]

OBJECTIVE: 2, Destroy the Silver Jedi Temple
ALLIES: | [member="Darth Carnifex"] | [member="Scipio Alta"] | [member="Darth Morbian"] | [member="Greta Kohler"] | [member="Syss Rembala"] |

"Launch assault craft and maintain air superiority. Their suffering will be legendary."

CA-THUNK

The assault landing craft Anora rode in detached from the Dark Lord's flagship on the same entity's word, and angled down for a hot landing. They were assaulting a temple devoted to the Silver Jedi Shadows. Their pre mission briefing told them to be on the look out for traps and hidden weapon emplacements as they pushed closer.

Apparently the pilot of their landing craft took that to heart, as Anora could almost feel the craft hit a near vertical dive for the ground. They stayed that way for only a moment as the engines rammed the craft at the ground, then reversed in a sudden, stomach dropping maneuver that ended abruptly.

THUNK

Anora was up from her seat before the vertigo settled, and hit the release for the ramp. Woe to anything that had been beneath the ramp, as it hit the ground with almost as much force as the lander had. Anora practically rode it down, and was the first boot on the ground from her craft.

This mission had been given to her as a detached detail. She hadn't exactly been censured for losing so much of her squad of operators when the Silver Jedi invaded Mirial, but both her superiors and she knew she needed to get back to something familiar before putting her in command again. She'd tried for a frigate command again, but had been denied, as her skills with a rifle were too much in need.

Other troopers deployed around the landing craft, the last boot left the ramp only a heartbeat before the pilot lifted off. The anti-personnel guns on the craft spat out fire to help until the troopers had deployed in attack formation. The Antarian Ranger detachment was quick to respond, and before too long, Anora was watching an active fire fight.

She knelt behind the lines of Sith Troopers, bringing her sniper rifle up to her shoulder. She found a Ranger who was yelling a bit more than the others, and removed his head with a hot, red bolt of plasma. Her rifle hit her belly as she stood in a crouch and ran for a piece of cover. Ahead of them was an observation tower, from which many of the Rangers opposing them had come from.

As she hit a rocky outcropping, a blue bolt of energy seared the ground behind her. Her HUD traced the angle, and marked the tower itself as the point of origin.

"Sniper in the tower, taking him out." She said over the main Sith Legion frequency.

Anora peeked her head up over the rocky outcropping, getting a quick view, then ducked again. A blue bolt shattered part of the rock above her head, but Anora grinned anyway. She readied her rifle and took a deep breath in. At the peak of her inhale she paused, then began her exhale as she dove out of cover. She rolled to her knee, rifle up to her shoulder at the mid point of her exhale. The reticle paused over where the sniper still lay, not having much room to maneuver in the tower. Her exhale ended, and she caressed the trigger only after a moments pause. She caressed the trigger again before inhaling and diving back for cover.

She'd been trained to do one shot one kill, but something had tugged at her, something she couldn't explain and wouldn't try for some time. Her first bolt hit a blue bolt that had been fired at the same moment, their forces canceling each other out in a far less exciting way than is seen on the vids. Her second bolt took the Ranger Sniper through the optic, lancing through his eye, and burning through his skull.

Anora saw none of this, she peeked again to see if she drew fire, then her mind was on to the next task.

"Sniper clear."

 

[Zef Halo]

SILVER JEDI TEMPLE FRONTLINE
STILETTO TWO-ONE

And off they went. The ramp of the MAAC dropship opened to reveal the chaos outside.

Quickly, the Airborne troops disembarked moving to cover as the AT-PAT heavy walkers from a distance hammered the energy shield of the temple and the Rangers' positions.

The platoon moved into their designated formation with Alta's own squad spearheading their assault. As he moved to cover, his vision fell upon a Blacktrooper ([member="Anora Demici"]).

An intel attache perhaps?

What intrigued him was not that but the duel he witnessed between her and a sniper on a position he managed to see the moment she'd hit the Ranger's own bolt with hers.

Crazy.

:: We gotta advance, LT but resistance's heavy. :: Dev mentioned over the platoon's inner channel.

:: I got us sorted, soldier. :: Scipio replied as he moved from one cover to another bringing himself closer to the Blacktrooper.

He activated his annunciator so she could hear him. " 'ey! Ya think ya can keep us covered from sniper nests for us to move forward? " His thick, peasant accent akin to a man born and bred on an agriworld quite obvious even through the distortion of a helmet's annunciator.

The way forward was flat, lacking cover and a good shot could easily dispatch too many of his troops for his liking.

"If I can get close to any of their fortified positions..." He unpacked a satchel from the back of his waist. An explosive.

"...I can bury 'em in, a'ight?"

[member="Darth Carnifex"] | [member="Syss Rembala"] | [member="Greta Kohler"] | [member="Darth Morbian"]​

 

[Darth Ophidia]

Objective 4: The Mass Shadow Generator

It was clear that Darth Ophidia’s entrance had not gone unnoticed by the Mass Shadow Generator’s squatters. Admittedly, Zhelen had been over-eager in his approach. Even now, she could sense him through their connection, circling the top of the pyramid with vicious intent bent on its inhabitants. Ahead, she sensed alertness and waiting malice.

She welcomed their wrath.

The heavy portal shut behind her like the maw of some gargantuan. Her pace slowed and weight shifted as she thought she heard something ahead. She turned pivoted her hip so her left shoulder faced forward. The sabre shifted in her right hand as tension spread up through her legs in preparation.

Step-step-step turned into padpadpadpad – A tooka came through the darkness, rushing past her. She almost relaxed when the Force screamed to her.

Her head weaved left as the bolt of green whizzed past, barely clipping he side of her hood, leaving a trail of cinders in the shell-spider silk. She darted forward. A second shot aimed for her foot, she withdrew it just in time as she jumped to the side and dove into a forward roll. She could see the silhouette and the long barrel of the blaster now. It was within reach.

Wait.

There were more silhouettes behind it, rank and file. They were waiting.

Anger swelled up through her chest as she brought both hands forward. A wave of Force energy followed, spawned by her hate, her anger, and the sheer insult of their presence in this sacred place of the Sith. As she rolled up to her knees, the hands burst forth. The foremost rank were blown off their feet and knocked back those behind them.

But the one in front? He still stood, having only covered himself with his arm and spread his legs to take his weight. He drew a sidearm with quickened reflexes – Darth Ophidia’s sabre ignited with a screech of fury.

The Empire would find that the cultists were not so easily slaughtered.

[member="Kor Vexen"]

 

[Darth Bellum]

Location | Inside the Mass Shadow Generator
Objective | Exterminate unwelcomed guests
Company | Squad of Sith soldiers

---

---

---

The crimson glow of Vexen's lightsaber would illuminate the dark hallways that were just wide enough to allow for one person to stand on either side of Vexen comfortably. His saber was held in his right hand, and a corporal with his rifle raised on his right, his second in command, Lieutenant Saryn on his left. The hallway was littered with empty crates that made the area a bit of a hazard to walk through, but also provided cover for both sides within the Mass Shadow Generator. Vexen could feel the enemy throughout the complex, the death cultists being led by a much more sinister presence than a mere follower. There was a dark presence that was guiding these blind cultists, and one that was not under the control of the Sith Empire. A problem that would be rooted out forcefully. This would be no battle...

...It was to be...

...an execution.

The silence engulfed the squad of troopers with Vexen, having to rely on night vision and the illumination cast by the Sith Knight's lightsaber. The silence would not last long as the wailing of blaster bolts could be heard. The corporal to his right would immediately take a blaster bolt to the chest, being thrown off his feet and back into the rest of the squad, already dead before hitting the floor. The Lieutenant would have met a similar fate had Vexen not reached out with his left hand and covered her, a bolt meant to strike her in the head instead striking the phrik plated palm of his left hand that caused the metal to briefly heat up and cool down, having been dispersed. Vexen would step forward as he swung his lightsaber, deflecting blaster bolts in large, sweeping strokes characterized by the form of Shien as he slowly advanced forward.

These trespassers were to be exterminated. None would be spared, and it would be a slaughter. The hulking knight would advance, what blaster shots having slipped through his defense harmlessly impacting against his armor, the force and lethality of the shots being dispersed and nullified. As he approached the cultists who had set up a defensive line he would raise his saber up, completely disregarding his own defense as he brutally brought it down and bisected a cultist; body and weapon. A quick reuse of his swing's momentum would bring his saber back up, swiping from left to right as he slashed through another, and another, leaving behind him a trail of smoldering corpses in pieces.

The sheer ferocity of Vexen's approach in dealing with the enemy had left a great deal of the squad he commanded in shock. They were by no means rookies to the sight of death; but the Sith's sheer animalistic and primal fury, his rage being channeled into swings left them dumbfounded and unable to do anything but watch. It was truly a sight to behold as this massive armored Anzati Sith with his majestic magenta cape was capable of such vicious power. Perhaps it was the essence of a darksider that was not his ally that was in possession of the Mass Shadow Generator that had led to his shift in behavior. A cultist would be roughly pulled from his position towards Vexen who simply gave an upward slash and cut the man in half at the waist as his two pieces flew back to the squad on the ground. There were screams, blaster fire, and the heavy sound of a lightsaber being swung...

...Then silence...

Vexen would be standing at the end of the hallway, in front of a locked door. Behind him was a trail of carnage as was indicated by the lightsaber slashes along the walls that still glowed with heat, the smoldering corpses, and the body parts that were strewn about the floor like broken doll parts. Vexen stood like a statue with his feet just a shoulder length apart, both his arms slightly hovering from his sides and lightsaber still ignited. After a few moments, he would slowly turn his head to the side as his vocoded voice spoke in a raspy, guttural tone.

" Open... This...Door... "

The slicer of the squad, a small female human, would jump at the command. The tone of voice that Vexen had was not his usual calm and collected one. But rather one that sounded he was ready to murder his own troops to the same degree he had the cultists. The slicer would move up as they began work on breaching the sealed door as the rest of the squad had moved up to take up positions. They would continue to move with Vexen as they made their way further into the Mass Shadow Generator, though Vexen instead seemed to be homing in on one individual hidden in the complex as opposed to the control room.

[member="Darth Ophidia"]

 

[Juliet Varos]

Malachor V Surface
Objective I

After the one incident with the mouthy man, the rest of the loyalists were rather compliant with her demands. Now she had them all lined up at the front of the hall, every one of them, inspecting them. Her hands rubbed at her chin as she inspected them thoughtfully, memorizing their details. She was not pleased.

"Why are you all slouching? Cease such an action at once! If you wish to project confidence to your opponents, you must act like you have some! Stand up straight!"
She watched them all strand straight as rods, gradually. They did not act fast. This was going to take awhile, she could already tell.
"What's wrong with you people?! You want to join the Empire, but you are unwilling to listen to it's envoy to your little club? Are you children, or future citizens of the Empire?"
They muttered the latter under their breath, not wishing to draw her ire, and failing miserably. "No muttering! If you are going to say something, say it loud, say it proud! Let the opposition know that you have opinions, and those opinions are fact, because you have said them!"
"I dunno if that's how that works-"
"I did not ask you a question, plebeian! See? Do not let them question you. You will march into that meeting hall, and announce that Malachor V is now under the control of the Sith Empire, and if they have a problem with it, they can keep their imbecilic mouths shut!"
They nodded, gaining some confidence.
"Do not let them stay behind, in the past. Independence is the past, the Empire is the future, the road to prosperity, and after my guidance, you will lead the world of Malachor V into that future, and embrace your Sith overlords!"
They cheered, and Juliet knew she had them, especially as her mind poked into theirs, planting seeds of whispers. Whispers of loyalty, not to the Empire, but to her. Luckily, those were one and the same, in this instance. It would be good to have agents on this world to keep her informed and act on her behalf. Her plan was beginning to take form, and it would be beautiful if she was capable of admiring anything but herself and her own genius.

 

[Arage Bao]

Objective: 2
Location: At the Silver Jedi Temple. Shadows.
Scene: [member="Scipio Alta"] | [member="Darth Morbian"] | [member="Greta Kohler"] | [member="Syss Rembala"] | [member="Darth Carnifex"]

Ardeth Zun was a silent observer in this venture.

Agent to the Saaraishash he had been assigned by the Lord Inquisitor himself to bare witness to the slaughter of the Jedi and ensure that any of their heresy was either pacified, cataloged for further research or completely destroyed if it was his opinion that its existence was to dangerous to continue. He detached himself from the viewport and followed the Dark Lord into his personal transport, but where the others clustered together the Muun remained strictly separate from it all. It was important to stay detached to any of the faces Zun met over the years, after all, who knew if they would be deemed traitors to the Empire at one point or another? It might even be his own hand purging them from the greater fabric.

Best not to grow too fond of these humans.

There were more Inquisitors elsewhere in the strike force. Some hidden, some very visible, all of them working to push the vision of Saarai. Truth. Loyal to the Empire and its Dark Lord, loyal to the design set out from the beginning days.

Nothing would stand in the way of the Saaraishash.

It did not take long for the Dark Lord's transport to break through the atmosphere. The shuddering of the hull, the internal mechanics whining at the sudden shift in pressure, the groan of metal, they all spoke of it and Zun closed his eye. Head inclined to allow shadows to wrap around the expression that remained. He meditated, then, letting the external influence lose its hold over him as he channeled the Darkside. It was a great beast, the Darkside of the Force, and it had to be broken... to control it.

Tame it, lest it tames you.

The shuttle landed amidst explosions, the LT occupied by fighting forces, the hisssss of the ramp opening let them know it was time.

Eye opened, fire burning within.

 

[Enyo Typhos]

Objective 3: Operation Roundup
[member="Taeli Raaf"]


To say that Enyo's cabin aboard the Quasar was Spartan would be an understatement. While her template Siobhan Kerrigan was a decadent aristo, Enyo lived in a monastic way the old Jedi might have approved of. If she had not been an amoral nihilist.


Archangel had raised her in such a manner and she saw little reason to abandon this life style and surround herself with creature comforts. Being a machine, she could not appreciate frivolous luxuries anyway. Thus her room did not even have a bed, for she did not sleep. While it had a working desk with state-of-the art communications equipment, there was no chair.


Instead, she had a shelf full of guns and other implements of death. It was a moderately absurd number, but a girl needed a hobby. One of hers was collecting grenade launchers, blasters, rifles firing high-velocity bullets, shotguns and so on. It was these weapons that presently occupied her attention, for she was going through the process of loading up on guns, ammo and melee weapons. Her body was already encased in phrik armour.


Naturally her ritual could not go uninterrupted. That's what happened when you took little ones along. Enyo had decided to have Young Thalia, clone of [member="Phylis Alince"], accompany her so that the woman could get some field experience. Speak of the annoying sibling...


"Oh, so this is the lock and load montage, right? But where's the music? You need some to make it complete." And she shall appear.


"We're making landfall in three. Are you ready?" Enyo grunted.


"Yes, oh my pugnacious Metal Lady, ready as ever. Especially for some action," she placed her hands on her hips. "So this is Malachor. Does not look like much from the window. Why do Sith always pick dead rocks to build their lairs on?"


"Immaterial. Did you read the info I sent you?"


Thalia looked a bit sheepish. "I, uh, skimmed them...a bit. I got...occupied. It's all four thousand years info. Dull. Don't tell me you actually read all that." Wandering around the room a bit, her eyes fell upon the three HRD skulls Enyo kept on her shelf. One was the head of Maelion Liates. "So that's...Metal Mother. Creepy."


"I did read it all. And I expect you to thoroughly study the reading materiel I give you. It is for your education and survival," Enyo said frostily. If Thalia were a minion, she would shot or brainwashed and cyborgised her. However, she was family, so she could not do any of that. "Don't touch that," she added sternly. "And put your damn helmet on."


Thalia sighed, but obeyed. "It makes me feel claustophobic. How do you see anything in it?"


"Stop sulking. You'll adjust." At least her sibling did not have impractical long hair like Amara.


"Yes, Metal Queen. By your command. Now off we go to smite cultists and raid treasures."


"It is unlikely that there will be any treasures. Now shut up and get a move on. Stay close to me, follow my orders and don't charge off, if you want to come back in one piece." She felt a jolt inside her skull, a message from her Corellian pilot informing her that they were about to land. So she made her way out of the cabin. The Trayus Academy awaited. It was infested by cultists and unhygienic Sithspawn. Pest control was incoming. She'd brought a strike force of ruthless cyborgs.

 

[H3xle]

OBJECTIVE: 2, Destroy the Silver Jedi Temple
ALLIES: | [member="Darth Carnifex"] | [member="Scipio Alta"] | [member="Darth Morbian"] | [member="Greta Kohler"] | [member="Syss Rembala"] |

"Sniper clear."

Anora advanced slightly, while moving laterally a good ways to get a new angle. Her movements brought her closer to the front, and more troopers. She paused in the bottom of a shallow depression, head swiveling to see what her next target should be.

" 'ey! Ya think ya can keep us covered from sniper nests for us to move forward? "

An icon on Anora's heads up display identified the speaker. Her swivel paused on the trooper for a moment before moving on. As if to emphasize his point, a blue bolt of energy discharged itself into a trooper on the other side of Anora. Her rifle snapped up to her shoulder as she scanned for the sniper.

"I've got you covered." She replied on a direct link to him. Her reticle slid with her eyes over the watchtower. She was about to move to the building behind it when a shadow moved, just barely. The reticle slid back and steadied on the shadow, and she sent a red blast of energy searing up and through the shadow as it approached the edge of the watchtower again. That watchtower was a veritable spawning pit for Rangers, and it was keeping her attention...

Anora turned to the left, taking in the building as she did. She saw a few shadows moving on the roof of the temple, but nothing she could hit just yet. She marked the estimated positions with blinks into her HUD, and continued. At the far end of the building she could see from this facing, she saw a pair of steady blue lights weaving almost lazily as they neared the line of troopers that had advanced to cover that side of the temple. She was about to pull the trigger, as she had a shot between the beams, but a feeling like the pit dropping open in her stomach stopped her. Her nostrils flared as she watched the young Jedi move into the troopers. Somehow, Anora knew she was being watched by that Jedi, as if the woman was waiting for her bolt to sear down on her.

Her hesitation made the opening pass, but she felt instantly better about it. It was as if she had just crossed paths with her own death, and continued to walk after. She marked the position on her HUD, and gave the warning over the all hands frequency. "Jedi cutting through our line at position Besh-One-One-Aleph!" Then she turned back to the positions she had marked before, and continued overwatch for Scipio Alta and his soldiers.

 

[Darth Carnifex]

"Jedi cutting through our line at position Besh-One-One-Aleph!"

The female voice garbled in the Crestfallen's command hold, her position and that of the Jedi's mapped out on holographic projector table that was currently detailing the entire layout of the ongoing battle. The Dark Lord stood near the table, his hands gripping its edge as his molten eyes took in the ever shifting battle as it unfolded in real time.

"Pilots, redirect our course to point Besh-One-One-Aleph and maintain a hovering altitude of thirty meters."

The pilots complied and altered the flightpath of the Crestfallen to link up with the besieged troopers on the front lines, the shuttle's mighty cannons letting loose a volley of destructive rounds that tore up the ground near the Silver Jedi positions and sent debris flying in all directions. The ramp lowered and the Dark Lord, followed by his entourage of Sith, jumped down to the battlefield with their lightsabers in hand and the Dark Side of the Force as their ally.

Carnifex landed near one of the attacking Jedi, a Pantoran female, who brandished a green-bladed lightsaber against one of the Imperial Legionnaires. She sliced the end of his blaster cleanly in twain before Force pushing him away, obviously taking a non-violent approach despite the eagerness of her brethren to kill indiscriminately.

A rare sight among the Silver Jedi.

The Dark Lord lunged towards her and swung his blade towards her head, which she parried quite expertly. They traded several blows back and forth, each one blocked by the other in quick succession before they ultimately clashed together in a saberlock. Sparks flew from the opposing blades, a wondrous collision of crimson and emerald, of darkness and light. Then, suddenly and without warning, the Dark Lord deactivated his weapon and sidestepped the Jedi who tumbled forward as the resistance was suddenly yanked out from in front of her. Carnifex angled his lightsaber around until the emitter was pointing downward and reactivated the blade, spearing the confused Jedi through the back before she could turn around to face him again.

She let out a groan of pain, convulsed, and then collapsed to the ground dead. Her lightsaber tumbled from her weakened grasp and deactivated before it was retrieved by the Sith Lord and stashed somewhere in the confines of his robe, just another trophy.

[member="Scipio Alta"] | [member="Darth Morbian"] | [member="Greta Kohler"] | [member="Syss Rembala"] | [member="Anora Demici"] | [member="Ardeth Zun"]​

 

[Komo]

Objective 2 - Destroy the Silver Jedi Temple

The Dark Lord’s entourage of Sith and other officers that had been gathered around his holographic projector table had all heard the transmission coming in that Jedi were encroaching on the battlefront. Like-minds thought alike, and just like what she would do in the situation, Lord Carnifex rerouted the shuttle to the target location with the intention of taking care of the situation. Taking care of Jedi was always a more enjoyable and important task after all. The Crestfallen did mighty work as it proceed to its destination, its cannons making short much of unprotected defenders and soldiers alike. In hardly any time at all, it was time to land and Greta followed the Dark Lord of out the craft, her lightsaber ignited and ready for battle.

While the Sith Lord immediately began engaging a Pantoran Jedi, the Sith Knight took on her approaching comrade, a male Kel Dor wielding a blue blade. The battle began as the two began to exchange blows, their blades connecting with each other in a whirl of ruby and sapphire.

With the Jedi taking on a more defensive stance, it was up to her to push the attack, and push she did. Waves after waves of strikes and blows came with such relentless fervour that the Kel Dor moves were mostly limited to fending her her attacks in saber locks and parries. Greta was known for being able to fight with tactical precision or just simply letting it loose like a overzealous warrior. The trick was knowing when to switch and the versatility was one of her best assets in battle.

After getting into a comfortable enough cycle to lure her opponent into a false sense of safety, the Sith knight chose this particular moment to force jump over the Jedi landing behind him followed by a swift backward thrust impaling the Kel Dor in a bout of surprise. As he fell to his knees, he uttered his last words before collapsing. “You may have won the battle, but you won’t win the war.” The only reply the Sith knight gave to his corpse was “We shall soon see about that.”

[member="Darth Carnifex"] | [member="Darth Morbian"] | [member="Syss Rembala"] | [member="Anora Demici"] | [member="Scipio Alta"]

 

[Zef Halo]

TEMPLE FRONTLINE
STILETTO TWO-ONE

:: Lieutenant, we are getting fething pummeled by the karking watchtower here. :: Sgt. Nava's voice came through intensely.

:: I said am on it, soldier. ::

:: Could you- ::

:: On it. :: He cut the transmission. A glance towards his platoon's general position gave him the picture Nava was a moment ago describing. He turned back to...

"Where'd she g- chit." Scipio found her a few feet ahead returning fire to the watchtower. He was able to hear her to say what he needed her to say before he dashed off from cover and ran towards the watchtower.

Finding cover as soon as someone got him on his scopes and grinding teeth the moment he felt the damage his armor absorbed.

This was going to be far closer than he thought.

Jedi cutting through our line at position Besh-One-One-Aleph!

:: Jedi!!! :: Sgt. Dev's words came simultaneously with the blacktrooper's warning.

And there they were. Right ahead of him. The Jedi.

He fired a few shots but took to cover. They were in the way. He couldn't reach the fething tower if they remained alive.

As if the Dark Lord himself heard his plea, a dropship boldly landed in the middle of it all. Ramp opening and-

The Dark Lord.

The soldier watched as red and blue/green lightsabers clashed before him. A moment of fascination stunned him before he realized this was the perfect opening.

Scipio dashed right besides the melee of Sith and Jedi. His whole stamina focused on making sure he reached the watchtower as soon as it was humanly possible.

With the Blacktrooper's exceptional marksmanship to keep him alive, Lt. Alta finally reached the wall of the watchtower. Taking a deep breath, he unraveled the rather large satchel and glued it to the wall.

A seismic charge made to chop buildings down like an axe chopping a tree. Timer was set and off he went again.

He could feel his breath shorten, result of cigarette smoking and the fact he sprinted a chit ton of distance. A timer on his HUD went red and flashing.

5

4

3

2

1

What followed next was a strong explosion in the foundation of the watchtower. The dreadful noise of seismic charges filled the air. As the tower began crumbling down the wave of the seismic charge washed over the frontline. Scipio being too close was sent flying into a pile of rubble two dozen feet away from the blacktrooper.

He blacked out from the rough landing.

[member="Greta Kohler"] | [member="Darth Morbian"] | [member="Anora Demici"] | [member="Darth Carnifex"] | [member="Syss Rembala"]​

 

[Enyo Typhos]

Objective 3


The Trayus Academy loomed before them. It had probably been an impressive structure back in the days of Traya, Nihilus and Sion - the unholy and bizarre triumvirate that caused such a ruckus way back. However, now it was in a state of decay. Nonetheless, the Iron Fist operatives were on their guard as they approached the entrance.


Enyo, clad in her phrik armour, confidently strode down the ramp, ordering troops to take up covering positions to guard the LZ and watch for danger. The Dark Side was strong on this accursed planet, but that was obviously no issue for her. She felt like she heard whispers amidst the wind, but she ignored them. She'd gotten enough of that nonsense during the Incursion event.


"Squad one, dex charges. Lyshk, get on it. Squad two, covering positions. Chazzak, prepare for breach. Squad three, guard our exit," she ordered blandly. Normally Enyo would have simply transmitted the command via electronic communication, but Thalia did not have implants, so she voicing it verbally for her benefit. The girl needed to understand how operations like this worked.


Lyshk, a Trandoshan who specialised in demolitions and enjoyed his job, set to work to make an entry point. Working quickly, he set the charges. Then the lizardman pulled enough ignition wire far enough to not get hit.


Having reached a safe distance, he gave a signal to his superior and pressed the detonator. Boom. The by now rather decrepit doors into the equally decrepit academy were blown off their hinges, blasting a hole into the ancient structure. Quickly, the cyborgs advanced into the building.


Thalia was alongside them. She felt a mixture of anxiety and excitement roll off her. This would be her first mission and despite all her talk she wanted to do it right. The warriors accompanying her and Enyo were a mixture of cyborgs and HRDs.


Two of them were former Jedi Padawans with visible ocular implants. They'd said very little during the trip, to the point of being standoffish. But they moved with an inhumane precision that seemed disconcerting. Inside the hall was dimly light, dust coated the floor and here and there you found dead bodies, which were apparently quite recent. The aura of the Dark Side was potent here.


"Clear," Neda Chazzak, a Zabrak cyborg and former NCO in the OS's army. Like everyone else she wore sealed armour. "Watch your six. Search every room. Two-man teams." Moving surreptitiously the Iron Fist warriors moved ahead.


Here it was quiet, but gunfire and screams could be heard in the far distance. Furthermore, there was the roiling presence of the Dark Side. Dead bodies littered the stone ground. Many looked like they'd been horribly mutilated.


Thalia winced when she came across a dead cultist who'd apparently gotten his guts torn out. It looked like something had ripped through his stomach. His legs were gone. "Ew, it looks worse than the gruel Enny makes us eat," she muttered to herself, looking a bit sickened. Shadows curled in the hall.


"Multiple contacts. Form firing line. Lock and load," Neda suddenly ordered. The cyborgs carried life-form sensors and could rely on enhanced vision and such from their implants to give them a headsup.


Thalia was just a bit slow too react. Then suddenly the Force screamed a warning and she looked up to the ceiling. Just one moment before a hideous creature pounced at her from above. As if moving on automatism, she ignited her lightsabre and the blue blade cut through the monster's legs.


Even in its mutilated state, the beast came at her, striking at her with its clawed hands and spitting acid until she thrust her sabre through its mouth and pierced its brain. She breathed in. She'd killed...something. It felt weird. There was no time to process this. Instincts took over as she was forced to defend herself. A surge of excitement overcame her as she gave herself to the fight.


For more and more beasts were storming towards them. They moved on four legs and were remarkably nimble, coming from the ground or crawling along the walls. Their mouths were full of sharp teeth, their hands clawed and they spat acidic bile.


The air was filled with their shrieks and the staccato of gunfire as the Iron Fist warriors formed a firing line like soldiers of old, tearing into the beasts and thinning their ranks. "Thalia, get in formation," Enyo grunted. Stepping forward, she unleashed a powerful blast of telekinetic energy into the creatures, seeing that huge slugs were joining them. Her blazing lightsabre clove through mutant and wurm alike, coating the floor in their ichor.

 

[Darth Morbian]

Disembarking from the landing craft, the young knight landed with a satisfying crunch upon one of the unprepared fighters working alongside the Jedi. A third, violet-blade bearing Jedi was to be engaged by his person, as his father dealt with an adept opponent of his own. [member="Greta Kohler"] was in a clash herself, a whirlwind of crimson and sapphire.

Confident that the others needed him not, his corrupted glare fell upon the young Twi-lek Jedi before him. A cruel grin cut across his face as his gaze traced along her lekku. "I don't believe I have records yet of your kinds responses...." he started tauntingly. The grin he bore, and the sickening way he uttered the phrase, one could only imagine the horrors running through the azure-skinned woman's mind.

"Surrender now, and I may yet be able to guarantee your survival. Resist, and survival becomes dramatically reduced. But know this, Jedi, you will be leaving here with us." he declared, igniting his own crimson saber. His sheer presence was palpable, tribute to his mighty heritage, as he bore forth towards his quarry. As her allies fell to his, the pain caused to her by their sudden fading was almost heart wrenching... if he was a compassionate soul, that is.

Her face scrunched up in agony, as she cried out in desperation and rage. Seth could work with this. It seemed that this one was quite close, possible pupil to one of the two fallen. It matters not, honestly, as he felt sidestepped her first strike, then her second. He raised a hand as her third strike came, the Force focused through his being and concentrating just before his outstretched palm. The saber came in contact with this concentrated barrier of Force, and an expression of sheer horror at the display of the chasm that was their difference in strength was placed before her replaced her grin determination.

"Are we done?" he asked, an air of almost indignation in his voice, as he gave a sudden flick of his opposing wrist, the crimson blade arching suddenly through the air. Her hand, still clutching the now deactivated saber hilt, hit the ground moments before the blood curdling scream left her lips. Thankfully, the stump was cauterized the moment the wound was made, so there was one less medical issue to deal with. Now there was the matter of his prize.

A gloved hand grasped her throat, as the other, after deactivating his own blade, was buried suddenly in her stomach. The wind was knocked clean our of her, while fresh air was unable to be drawn in because of his strangling grasp.

Calmly, deliberately, he stared into her eyes as consciousness left her, softly speaking the whole time as she faded. "Shhhh.... sleep now.... the worst is yet to come....." he whispered, an impressive, almost clinical expression word upon his face.

Moments after she went limp, he dragged her body to some of the medical crew. "Keep her sedated, but unharmed. I have plans for this one." he ordered, before turning to see a line soldier making a mad-dash towards the watch tower. Something was deposited near it's base....

Seismic charge....

Sethaius knew what was to come, and made a dash towards where the Force told him this soldier would soon find himself landing. The explosion occurred long before he got in position, causing the Knight to stagger, barely managing to erect a Wall of Force to negate most of the shock waves effect on him.

After the explosion, he trained trekking towards the fallen soldier. Valor like that was valuable. Value is to be preserved. Sethaius was determined that this soldier would live past this day. Courage like that would need to be called upon again.

"I need medical extraction at my location." he called into his com, before igniting his saber, sweeping, circular motions of the defensive Third Form began, creating a literal wall to keep the unconscious troop safe, until help arrived for him....

[member="Scipio Alta"] | [member="Darth Carnifex"]​

 

[Ras'kala'han]

"Am I late to the party, hm? Is there anyone left to slaughter, or am I just not that lucky today?" Antherion's voice echoed down eerily from above, carried by chill winds. For a while, he had been content to observe from afar, as was his manner, but no longer. Now, the watchtower was brought down and he could approach from the air without fear of drawing undue attention to himself, at least the sort of undue attention that results in one getting shot. No, that was far from ideal. The decrepit Knight wanted to strike at a moment of certainty, and he saw a whisper of certainty in the shadows of the future as the only obstacle to his entry fell away. It was ideal for an entrance.

He didn't intend on entering alone, however. "Devil Squadron, this is your Lord speaking. Move out. Assist all Imperial troops, eliminate all hostiles. Show now mercy. Leave no survivors!"

At his word, a few other shuttles, and some infantry squadrons dismounted from speeders began to enter into view. They were not many, but they were his, the sleeper Resurgent Imperials on Malachor V who he had commandeered to be his special forces on the planet. In the chaos and ruination, there was scarce a chance to use them, and the civil wars with Darth Abyss decimated their initial numbers, but it would be rude of him not to bring a gift. The commanders reported to the -sliced- comm channels, follo hwing orders with utmost discipline, falling into formation with their allies as naturally as anything falls when pulled by the inexorable wight of gravity.

He had no doubt this natural progression to obedience was simply part of the nature of the Sith leading the charge. This was an empire's Empire through and through, and its philosophy was unbridled tyranny. He had seen Dark Lords come and go - a sorcerer, then a soldier, then a scholar. This one was a killer and a tyrant, and his ilk and those that rose highest were the most proficient killers, the most tyrannical oppressors. Far more the closed fist to the silk glove, but there was a refreshing honesty to it that made him willing to accept their leadership, even if it would constitute a breach of his usual egotism. Follow it, at least, for now. Empires never last.

Antherion followed his men, latching on to the first signal that he heard: "I need medical extraction at my location." When the Broken Knight leapt from his own ship, it was with lightness uncharacteristic of a cripple, and he came to rest next to the saber-whirling Sith from the high fall as though he were a feather or leaf coming to rest on the ground. He was a ghastly visage, a porcelain mask covering a face that seemed to be more skull and tatter than flesh and blood, bone-thin, and slick with black fluid.

"Medical extraction has arrived, my friend. That, and then some. Lieutenant, take this brave man for treatment and make sure he gets out of the battlefield safely." As he spoke, the weaponless, yet not unarmed sorcerer raised his hands, each one crackling with electric potential. "Now... shall we join the others? I'd hate to miss out on the massacre."

"I have a Dark Lord that I'm rather late in swearing loyalty to, I need to move up my timetables."

| [member="Darth Carnifex"] | [member="Darth Morbian"] | [member="Enyo Typhos"] | [member="Greta Kohler"] | [member="Scipio Alta"] |​

 

[Enyo Typhos]

Objective 3


Thalia was starting to enjoy the fight. The slaughter stirred something wild, primal and passionate inside her. This was what she was meant to do. Thus she gave herself over to battle. Primal aggression overcame her as she charged.


Her lightsabre cut through mutants like a hot knife through butter, amputating libs, chopping off heads. One coming from behind her she sensed, and then stepped aside rapidly so it actually leapt through where she had been and smacked into another beast to her front. Both perished with twin slashes of her blade.


A beast pounced her and bit into her gauntlet-covered hand with its sharp teeth, but she gave it a furious kick and clove through its skull. Letting out a war cry as brain matter splattered across the floor, she spotted one of the giant slugs move towards her.


Leaping upwards, she flipped backwards over the creature. Landing with grace upon its back, she quickly buried her lightsabre into it without mercy. The beast's hide was tough and it tried to shake her off, roaring in anger. But the burning blade of plasma ended its life and it collapsed to the ground. Not wasting time, she quickly leapt from its body.


But as soon as she hit the ground, the girl was caught off-guard when a mutant suddenly roared loudly, unleashing a potent Force Scream. The noise caused her ears to bleed and made her feel like they were about to burst. The shockwave knocked her off her feet and slammed her into the ground.


She groaned as she got up. Feeling a surge of anger, she wrapped her power around the creature's throat, choking it. Then she tossed her lightsabre and cut it down. Her success was short-lived, for a slug slithered towards her. Its tail caught her and then she was seized by its massive maw.


Having lost her sabre, she struggled, trying to escape its grip. Her armour protected her, but the powerful teeth would cause bruises. Managing to seize her vibroknife, she stabbed at the beast. Then there was a bright flash of light and the wurm's head and chest were struck. Ichor, innards and brain matter spilled out.


In pain and covered in gore, Thalia tumbled to the ground. Enyo stood above her. Her mini ion disruptor was visible in her right palm. "Hey, I almost had him. You just had to steal my kill," Thalia protested. It did not sound plausible.


Enyo looked...impassive. "Keep an eye on your surroundings. Always," suddenly she spun and drove her fist into a mutant with such force that the creature's head burst like an overripe melon. Grabbing another, she broke its arm and tossed it into a wall. "Don't just rely on attack." Beasts came at her, and she fell into a defensive stance, relying on Soresu. They swarmed her, but any time a mutant or wurm pounced, the glowing violet blade sliced or stabbed precisely into tainted, vile smelling flesh. Where needed, she pulled back, trading space for time before striking.


Bodies piled up. Especially when Neda brought forth a flamethrower and roasted creatures with cleansing, scorching heat. It smelt a bit like a bad barbecue. Or when Siobhan Kerrigan attempted to cook things. As beasts were cooked, the cyborgs charged. The Eisenkrieger fired their guns or struck with vibroswords, the Blade Winds stabbed and hewed mutants with their lightsabres. Soon the corridor was clear of Sithspawn, allowing the team to move on.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

Objective 3
[member="Enyo Typhos"]

Behind her mask, she smirked as she sensed the cyborg Enyo again. She seemed to be working more closely with the Sith, perhaps she had been right about her all along. She was certainly taking the fight to cultists and experiments that had taken up residence in the Trayus Academy. While most of the forces she had brought with her were landing and supporting Enyo's advance, Taeli and her mount along with one more transport were moving... elsewhere.

The core of the academy, the aptly named Trayus Core, opened up into open air. A wellspring of the dark side lay within, focused by decades and centuries of meditations in the dark side. She had hopes she would be able to use this font of power to glimpse one of the key pieces of information she was missing. The tales said that a Sith Master could use the Trayus Core to peer into the future. Elidibus gave another screech, a whoosh of air, and the mighty beast had landed within the core.

Three cultists had been meditating there, likely some of their leaders... but they were no match for Sith and beast. One was swept away by its tail, to fall screaming into the dark side nexus below. Another was felled as her mount's breath and aura of fear overloaded their mind, poisoning them and driving them into a slowly dying huddle on the floor. The last cultist raised their hands, likely to launch some Force Lightning, but Taeli had dropped from the back of her winged beast, lightsaber igniting.

Lightning caught on it, the purple against red glow throwing her mask and yellow eyes to sharp relief. With a snarl, her free hand reached out and a red energy stream flowed from her hand, draining the life of the cultist away to empower her even further.

The deaths here would likely alert other cultists or powerful Sithspawn to converge on her. The transport above opened and her trained Beastmaster and Adepts rappelled down. They would secure the entrances to the Core while she started harnessing the intoxicating power of the place, cleansing it of Circe and allowing to be used by true Sith again.

 

[Darth Bellum]

Location | Approaching Mass Shadow Generator Core
Objective | Ṣ̙͇̟̳̬̯͒͐ĺ̋̀͆ͥ͌͠͏͓͕̙̯̝͉̬̰a͖̹̘̪͔͓̗͎ͬ̔̒̿̇͆ͫ̈u͖̦̍͛͆͌̄͌ͬ́g̣̖̓͒̅̔ͣͤ͂̚h̥̲ͥ̐̇̂ͩt̷̨̟̦̺̬͛̂́͒̏̓̕ë́͂ͨ̒̉̒͊̓͏̨̗̦̥ṙ̢͍̣̘̳̊̔̊̇̚ ̯͎̗̜̠͕ͪͫ̑͂̉̽͠ţ̣̠̦̪̬̩͂̃́̔͋h͍̻̰̭̹̘ͯ͗̀e̥̖̹͖̯̟̥̫̍̈́͝m̨͍̜̳̫̲͈̱̙̪ͨ́ ̴̩̫̒̀̋͌̉͂̈ͣ̿̕à̵͈͕͙͍̦͇̼̟̊̎̀͡l̶̀̉ͭ̅͜҉͓̭͉͔̖̘l̫͇̽̄ͮͦ͐̉̀͘
Company | None

---

---

---

Vexen would stand before the door, his saber to his side as its end was sparking and heating up the floor. The slicer of the squad would be busy attempting to cut through the door controls, though she seemed to be having little success. Vexen made his displeasure known as he let out an audible snarl, raising a hand up as he lifted the slicer from a kneeling position before tossing her back into her peers with a Force Pull, stepping forward as he raised his saber and immediately thrust it through the door. The door would spark and sputter as it glowed and heated up from the heat given off by Vexen's saber. He tired of waiting, especially with the Mass Shadow Generator being in possession of one that was not their own.

Vexen's wrists would twist as he continued to skewer the heavy door's locks. The squad with him would recompose themselves as they readied their weapons and got into position. Vexen's saber would begin to move and slowly cut through the thick door like a cold knife through hard butter. He would slowly carve out a large enough opening before wrenching his saber free. On the other side a few blasters were aimed squarely at the door from which Vexen was attempting to break through. The armored Anzati would turn to the squad as he spoke in a harsh, grating tone, " If you value your lives..Y͈͓͎͎̳̫̫o̬̘̮͕u̯̞͇̤͢ ̴͍͍̞̟̙̥̻w̱͕͖͇̺i̩̰̤͇͜l̙ḻ͢ ͞s̹̮̘̖̺͖̤t̷̪a̺͙̻͖͔y̳̠̯ ̱̜͠a̪͚̙̖w̙ąy̢͈... Hold this position and make sure none disturb me... " Vexen would raise a hand before thrusting it forward, sending a powerful push forward with the Force sending the block of metal flying.

A poor unfortunate soul standing directly in the path was caught off guard by the sudden flying chunk of meta, the top half of his head being shattered and taken off as a fountain of blood sprayed directly up as the body dropped to its knees and fell forwards. The sudden death of one of their comrades would catch them by surprise as they all turned to see the sputtering fountain of blood that stained the floors red. The dull hum of a saber would be heard echoing as they all turned back to see Vexen had entered the larger area. He would let out a deafening vocoded roar of rage that sent shivers down the spines of all who heard it, slowly hulking towards the group of cultists armed with blasters as they opened fire on Vexen.

The cultists may as well have been armed with peashooters, the blaster bolts impacting against his armor, the blaster bolts being dispersed along the surface as they briefly heat up the metal before being dissipated entirely, doing little more than slowing him down by an insignificant manner. Vexen would raise a hand up as if he were about to raise something from the ground, an invisible wave moving out. The blaster fire would cease as the wave passed through all in its path, freezing the cultists in a comatose-like state of stasis. As he walked past each cultists, a brutal slash through them would be all he would perform, their bodies staying intact until Vexen had passed them all and released them from stasis. All at once bodies would fall apart and drop to the ground in pieces as he let out a bellowing roar.



R̷̼͇̜̻̰̼̈́̂ͣ̃͋̄ͥ̽̿̓ͯ̾́ͣ͑́͢ eͮ̒̔ͣ̐̃̊̒̑̀̔̓ͥ͌̒͏͞͏̷͖͎̤͍̯̦̰͙̩̦͡ vͯ͌ͥ̾͐ͮ͏̸̨̨̡͔̻̪̺͖̳̹͎̪͎͉̬̼̲͎ e͒̇ͤ͆́̔̍̓ͯ͌̚͏̡͔̞̳̝̜̖̼̺͇̝͚̼̳̬͘͠ͅ a͛͊͂ͯͨͫ̀҉͏̴͕̬̼̞͎̞̼̬̦͎̯͞ l̷̛͈̠͓̩̩̘̹̳̩̼̲͔͉̝͕͚̝ͬ̉̋̄ͤ̑͌́̚̕ͅ ͫ͋̅̄̓ͩ̆̀̂͊͆ͦ͗ͨ̓̆̄ͣ́͜҉̟͍͕͓̥͉̪̯̗̖̞̙ͅy̵̶̢͚̰̻̬̜̻̣͕̫̯͈̞͉̰͓̹͌̏̌̀͂͗͆ͦͥͬ̕ o̡̨̭͓̻̫̝̣̜̪̱̖̬͔̠̝͎̩̞̠̊ͣ̆́̕͢͞ u͑̓̄͌ͨͮ̈́ͭͥͧ͋͛̐̚҉͞͏̳͔̩̦́ r̨̢̼̘̥̬͍̯͉͑͒̎̌̔̉͡ s̶̭̜̘̼̼͚̦̗̜̤̳̙͚̩͕̼̙͐̽͆̑ e̷̡̛̘͕̱͍̦̱̝̓̄ͪͯͪ̈́ͮ̏ͤ ļ̓͐̅ͣ̽ͧͪͩ́̎ͪ̀̾̓̍͒̆ͭ͘҉̴̨͇̯͇̦̝̜̮ͅ f͖̙̖̰̅̾̆͜.̽͐͋̈ͯ̂͌̔̑̓͆̎̒̀͏̥̳̩̭̘̫̫̗̠̮̙͍̼̤



A painfully slow clap was heard followed by bootsteps as it grew closer and louder, a dark robed figure emerging from the shadows. " Impressive. An excellent display of power indeed. " The figure would state as he paused a few meters away from Vexen, ceasing their slow applause before speaking in a sarcastic and degrading tone. " But you make far too much noise for me to work in peace. Leave now while I am feeling generous so that I may return to creating my finest masterpiece..." The figure would dismissively wave Vexen away as he turned away. Vexen who was not one for being talked down by a usurper would begin to slowly move forward, building up speed as he began to sprint at the figure with saber raised. As he drew closer the figure would whip around and raise a hand out, Force Lightning arcing from his fingertips. Though the lightning would have little impact to Vexen's insulated armor, the kinetic force of the darkside energies lifted him off the ground and flung him backwards across the room until he impacted against the wall with and creating a crater as he grunted. He would fall to the floor as he let out a growl, slowly getting to his knees as he rose up.

 

[Enyo Typhos]

Objective 3
[member="Taeli Raaf"]


As she pressed onward into the depths of the academy, Enyo perceived a familiar presence. She remembered it well from past encounters. As for Trayus itself, the corridors of the academy were a slaughterhouse. Clearly there had not been a housecleaning for a long time. Corpses of cultists and beasts littered the floors, there were bloodstains and plenty of dust. A few wild beasts had also marked their territory in the way animals tend to do unless properly housebroken. The place would have to undergo some renovation if the Sith sought to claim it. At least there was no annoying old crone prattling about wanting to end the Force.


As they approached a large hall, they came across a battle between two parties warring for control over the installation. On the one side, there were various monsters that looked like they had been spawned by a mad scientist who'd watched too many B movies: Ghouls, lizards that resembled raptors and a bunch of big spiders. They looked savage and primal and attacked the other party with unrelenting aggression. Said party consisted of dark robed cultists wielding lightsabres, blasters and alchemised weapons. Their auras radiated darkness and excessive edginess.


Enyo's eyes fell upon their apparent leader, who wore black robes, a mask that resembled a human skull and wielded an unstable looking crossguard sabre. "Kill the beasts, brothers! Soon Trayus will be ours....and tomorrow the Galaxy!" he declared melodramatically while hewing down a savage creature. Lightning shrieked from his fingertips and his yellow eyes blazed with hatred. "We will drown Malachor in the blood of our enemies."


Thalia snuck towards her sister. "I can almost hear a voice blathering about how choices matter - and see a red, green and blue button," she whispered. "So...what's the plan, oh Metal Lady?" Enyo hated it when the clone called her that.


"Wait. Then kill the survivors. Reduce your Force Signature," the Metal Lady replied blandly, using her power to reduce her Force Signature to near microscopic levels to avoid premature detection, while transmitting her commands to her cyborg posse. The hybrid did not want grovelling, unreliable minions and disapproved of Chaotic Evil. So they waited in the shadows, and watched the carnage. Eventually, only a few combatants were left standing on both sides. Then they struck.

 

[Arage Bao]

Objective: 2
Location: At the Silver Jedi Temple. Shadows.
Scene: [member="Scipio Alta"] | [member="Darth Morbian"] | [member="Greta Kohler"] | [member="Syss Rembala"] | [member="Darth Carnifex"]

The approach was silent.

Whilst all around him chaos ruled and Jedi battled fiercely against Sith Ardeth slipped past unnoticed. His stride was that of a ghost, wandering, picking his way through without any true hurry. Until something changed. He looked towards the gate that paved entry to the temple, when he felt something staring at him. Eye shifted back and forth, until it localized the burning sensation.

A young humanoid female. A river of gold flushed from scalp and blue eyes set in determination, her jaw firm and rigid, staring him down. "You... can see me?" That was not supposed to happen.

His cloak was difficult to pierce, especially in the heat of the battle.

Yet, the Jedi seemed disinterested in discussing anything with him. Instead she roared a battle cry (how delightfully Sith of her) and descended upon him, screaming that he would never get inside. That it would be over her dead body, but the Muun was not interested in her body. Dead or otherwise. Instead the Knight of the Sith wondered just how this was possible.

Where first there was only a lightsaber of blue it suddenly clashed with one of crimson.

Easily parried, riposte, she skidded back to avoid it before starting to circle him more cautiously now.

Smart too, apparently.

 

[Darth Ophidia]

Objective 4: The Mass Shadow Generator

The blaster fired, spitting green plasma. Ophidia barely managed to get her blade in the way to deflect it off to the side. She aligned the tip and went for the thrust, but the figure swayed to the left and re-aligned their blaster for a second shot. She could see the trajectory, aimed jus below her clavicle: Disarm if not a clean lung-shot.

Reflexively, her left hand darted up and covered the blaster’s muzzle. She pulled it to the side while pulling her shoulders the opposite way. The muzzle flashed in her palm, bursting out between her middle and ring-finger. She could feel the burn as flesh seared and bone shattered; the pain roared up her arm. But she was not finished; Her shoulders seized their rotation as her feet slid into position. The blade now re-aligned, she thrust it through the figure’s visor: The only light in their dark armour.

The bloodshine blade burned through the visor and burrowed deeper until it burst out of the helmet’s back. She pushed the blade sideways as the body fell, thus letting gravity draw it from the skull.

The Rattataki closed her eyes for a moment as persons got to their feet all around her. The pain that surged through her arm and the dark draw of power from the person she had killed now surged through her flesh like a building storm. Eyes opened again, glowing faintly like embers kindled back to life by the bellows of the dark side.

This would have been a good time for a one-liner, but all she wanted was to see them hurt.

The energy that surged through her chest travelled into her limbs, empowering them with strength and speed. She heard the sound of guns aligned, but before they could aim, she was gone. What had been a figure was now reduced to a swirling after-image of the scarlet sabre as it carved a bloody swath through the unready.