The Stand [Galactic Alliance]

[Relit Vandal]

Location: Temple East

To kill, that was the prerogative of soldiers against the rushing tempo of war. But to do so in such a manner, to hasten the call of death, Relit was struck with an odd surrealistic view. He would help with this cause but he struggled towards such intensity, such determination of the value of life - and finding it negligible. For the cause, for the protection of the world they had sequestered, and the temple that they had built, for the people, the friends he had made and those he hadn't even met yet - For them, he wouldn't kill, he wouldn't end these lives so easily. But for the promise of what the Galactic Alliance could do for the universe, the goals of the group above reproach yet far more esoteric then they should be, for that he would end this First Order.

With the movement of Voidstalker, Relit followed quickly behind and jumped beyond another boulder. In the trials faced here, his lightsaber and his connection to the force and what life remained in this planet would guide him. Footsteps taken along a path already decided, hand movements fated since the beginning of time, he placed all of his trust in the connection. Branches outstretched in growth to reach the light, he swiveled across the battlefield like an electron on a destined path. Purple saber ignited and dancing, he mimicked those Jedi preceding him, deflecting red bolts towards the sky and ground. One gone forever, the others impact left upon black glass. And as he cleared the large stone, he descended upon four waiting commandos, firing upon the GDAF soldiers who provided the cover and distraction needed for this assault. And that wouldn't do.

Purple lightsaber flicked downward towards the aimed rifle, hand severed to the ground as Relit bounced back towards the soldier behind him. Crushing him against the stone, he elbowed hard with the extinguishing of the blade, wrapped his hands over the head and flung the stormtrooper forward. With the power of the force, the black polished body flew into another soldier, knocking him down. One left, Relit charged forward just as the blaster was fired. Striking upwards with his free hand, the blaster fire traced off into the sky as the amethyst beam ignited, striking deep into the abdomen between plates of armor. Relit stared into the visor and even then, behind the reflection of himself, he could feel that departure. And he mourned in it in that instant but knew that the danger these men posed was greater then the value of saving their life, with the brevity of time mixed in as a factor. There was much more at risk now, requirement for action greater than ever.

Scowling half heartedly, the man fell to the ground in a clank as Relit looked towards the sky. The sounds of explosions ricocheting from the Galactic Alliance forces and those like [member="Kurayami Bloodborn"] was nearly deafening. He found hope in the future days, tending to the garden between missions to help those in need. But as soon as the thought occurred, another expression of certainty was needed. More troopers moved upon him and he held the beam skyward in a high guard, prepared to move against them as he had done moments before.

[member="Jacen Voidstalker"] | [member="Samantha Roberts"] | [member="Taheera Sollo"] | [member="Samantha Roberts"] | [member="Kurayami Bloodborn"] | [member="Rayliav'enci"] | [member="Braith Achlys"] | [member="Aela Talith"]​

 

[Taheera Sollo]

TEMPLE EAST


[member="Relit Vandal"]

The empath-healer felt a flicker of a kindred spirit. Myrtle-ellipses spared a glance, from her position at a fallen Galactic Alliance member's side, and honed in on an older man wielding a purple lightsaber. Was there another way? A gurgle of pain pulled her attention back down. The flickering force-bubble that held a green-tint remained around her and the injured as she gingerly but firmly applied a bacta patch to a fresh wound of smoldering flesh on the man's shoulder.

The shield dropped for a moment. Chestnut-brows drew together in concentration as she reached forward with the force, specifically toward the immediate troopers surrounding Relit. She pushed one thought into their mind over and over again: surrender.

 

[Kurayami Bloodborn]

Spoiler

If anyone wants to chat, I'm free quite often, just send me a PM and let me know you are from here, you don't have to include character name if you don't want to.

 

[Adele Adonai]

At the Temple
Objective: Battle Meditation

TO ALL AT THE TEMPLE: You are steady. You are firm. You have a most powerful ally at your side. The Force.



Lub dub. Lub dub. Lub dub.

Her heartbeat was the tempo, it set the pace. It set the mental cogs in motion. That steady thump is what gave her the focus; what made her center herself. Breathe in. Breath out.

Hovering like humming birds, she could feel them all as her mind would fall open. A growing sphere of awareness of the Galactic Alliance forces, some familiar others not. She felt [member="Minna"], [member="Aela Talith"], [member="Kurayami Bloodborn"], [member="Julius Sedaire"], [member="Audren Sykes"],[member="Samantha Roberts"], [member="Ella Nova"]. Like a rush they all would bloom in her mind. Auras of life within that sea of the Force.

Focus, she told herself. And like a spider spinning a web, she would latch a mental silken thread upon each person. Searing them into memory. One by one. Counting them all. Wider still, she told herself, pushing herself beyond until she felt the others. A strum of familiarity hit her; [member="Jacen Voidstalker"].

A slight mar of her brow creased.

He sailed as if from another world, sinking into her sea. Ah. She took a deep breath, gave the slightest of trembles. Her concentration peaked, tension drawn taunt as if at the cusp of something more. Energy rose, hovering.

Then A'dele mentally shoved out.

You are steady. You are firm. You have a most powerful ally at your side. The Force.

 

[Ellie Mors]

Temple, East
It was a hopeless paradox - was the superior force better than the dwarfing numbers, or was it the other way around? With every stormtrooper that died, with every armorplast suit melted down by the fires, the lava plumes, and the searing flashes of lightning, four more stepped in to replace him. And by now she had personally eradicated hundreds from afar. It was not a hopeless fight, not while she could still see, could still breathe, and most certainly not while their fledgling alliance still lived in the sulfuric pit known as Sullust. The men and women that came out from the temple and the underground did not come for surrender, they did not lay down their arms in fear, she was among allies that would fight back until there was either nothing left to fight or nothing left to fight for. But even with all of that bravery and courage they were outnumbered ten to one, or something close to those numbers based on the sea of white that slowly approached the rag-tag group that was the front lines. Whoever led these troops had them organized, each of them grouping closer together and forming tight ranks despite the disadvantage of doing so. Whoever led these men and women into battle didn't care about their lives, didn't care about their deaths - whoever led these people knew that every death bought them time and more ground.

For a moment she paused, allowing the great expanse of the battlefield to be washed over her senses. The Alliance had many powerful masters of the force, many skilled soldiers, but it appeared that this Final Order had too many pawns to yet field their better pieces. It was a disappointment, really, to know that she could change the state of battle by coming in now, by trying to actively be a part of the vanguard, to reach out directly in rage so that she could obliterate the enemy - to know also that to do so would leave the eastern temple entirely defenseless, that the absent Sith would descend like hungry, vicious, terentatek hordes on both her and the rest of them the moment she was gone from the rear. It was an excruciatingly difficult weight on her shoulders to sit back and watch these people die when she could save them while knowing that she has to wait for the bigger threat. She had been asleep for a long time and as much as it pained her, today was not the day to stretch her legs and find out if she could still do the things she could prior to her entombment. An eon ago she razed a planet with storms - today? She didn't know, she didn't quite want to know.

If she could embrace that strength again, if she could paint these white armored men red, what would Corvus say when she found out that she slept with a monster?

 

[Placeholder 04]

Temple East

People were charging, and Cyril could not be any less concerned. He had his glories of the past; leading hundreds men into battle to halt the dark tide. It was time for someone else to do such. There were more important matters at hand; people were dying, and he might have considered them his own. He could not march off into war knowing that he had the ability to keep these young men breathing.

For his sake, the charge had broken some of the hostile line. It kept him from getting shot in the head while doing his duties, at the very least. The young man at his feet lay still, struggling to draw air from his rebreather. His lungs were saved, but his ribs were not. Cyril could do many thing, but mending a shattered ribcage in the middle of a battle was not one of them. The boy would live, and the combat medics would take him to whatever field hospital they might have erected. With any luck the lad would find himself in one of the legitimate hospitals below the planet's upper crust. It was out of the Jedi Master's hands now.

He stood up, and the sudden vertigo was intense. His cloak was drenched in his own blood and that of his patient. The gash along his side was crudely mended -- flesh forcibly stretched over muscle and bone. The pain was tremendous, but he was no longer bleeding a quart of blood every minute. The blaster burn he could now add to his list of scars was flaring up. It was not too serious, his breastplate had weakened the blow, but some of the residual energy had bled through the phrik plate. Tomorrow morning was not going to be fun.

Well, if he made it to tomorrow.

A single soldier popped up from behind one of the outcroppings. Cyril could sense his fear, his rage. The Jedi and their allies had just killed many of his friends, and he would likely meet a similar fate if captured. For this young man, there were no options. He could not run; where would he go? Sullust was a giant active volcano. He could not surrender, for a timely execution surely awaited him, or so he believed. His only ticket off this world might be to kill a Jedi. Then, perhaps, his commanders would see him worthy of an evac. He had no desire to stay in this hell.

The man raised his rifle. Cyril reached for his lightsaber, but the sudden spike of pain on his torso slowed him down. Rather than drawing his blade, the Jedi Master stumbled forward. He'd drained himself healing the boy. The panicked Stormtrooper vaulted over the outcropping he'd used for cover, and marched up to the wounded Cyril.

"There's no surrender in this battle is there?"

"Not for me...no. You, perhaps."

"Your people will have my head."

"The soldiers, yes. Many of the Jedi, yes. Some of us, no. It's better than dying out here, don't you think?" Cyril looked up at the soldier. "Why do this?"

"I don't need to justify myself to you, Jedi. You people don't understand how the outer rim is. These folks? They feed our families. You can't dissuade me."

"Then-?"

"Your head is going to get me off this rock. Sorry."

Cyril fell silent as the soldier pulled the trigger.

 

[Kahne Porte]

Temple West-Any Allies In The Area

Just when things couldn't get any worse. Another battle had come, with the Final Order. As it were this was the Jedi's first true test and engagement with these foes, and he wasn't quite sure what to expect, but just the first few skirmishes were enough to let him know that they were a true threat. The memory from past battle before his memory loss was vivid with each strike and hit that was taken from either side. A millisecond of time that was shown of past threats, true threats it seemed. The Jedi was getting overwhelmed Kahne saber was knocked away as additional member of the Final order had charged forward, looking to impale the Jedi in the chest as two others held his arm at either side. The blade came forward as the Jedi raised his foot and kicked hard right at the arm of the enemy. The blade diverted course enough and Kahne wrestled his right arm from them and gave a hard jab right to his face.

Kahne moved forward using his moment and pulling with him the individual that had a hold of his left arm and in doing so threw him to the ground. The Jedi held out his hand as saber rose slowly and then quickly moved back into his hand.The man moved forward in a horizontal slash taking out one and his left hand moved up off his saber in a force push directed to the other that he punched. The Jedi took a deep breath as he turned towards others that were advancing towards him. The Jedi leveled his lightsaber parallel to his body as he took one step back preparing himself, just before he charged forward.

Kahne just returned, he had not plans on leaving again. The force was with them, as it always would be.

[member="Audren Sykes"] [member="Julius Sedaire"] [member="Minna"]

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

[member="Jacen Voidstalker"]
[member="Samantha Roberts"]
[member="Taheera Sollo"]
[member="Samantha Roberts"]
[member="Kurayami Bloodborn"]
[member="Rayliav'enci"]
[member="Braith Achlys"]
[member="Aela Talith"]
[member="Relit Vandal"]
[member="Adele Adonai"]

Wheezing and coughing, Jacen took a knee and waves the others forward. They had held, the storm commandos in their black armour were falling back. His saber blade dissipated and he brought his left hand to his gut. Neither his armour or Force barrier had taken all of the sting out of the powerful round that had struck him moments ago.

Exhausted, winding and in pain, Jacen stayed in one place. In his ear his comm unit chirped up again. They'd stopped this break through, and the right had held firm but the outer left flank was being rolled by armour. In the centre ground the defenses were slowly being whittled away by superior forces. Most of the heavy weapons had been targeted by precision fire. Voidstalker could sense something even worse coming: the dark side.

One palm hit the ground as Jacen slumped forwards. There was a tingling sensation at the back of his mind as he felt another consciousness brush his own. There was a tremor, a waver, some reaction he couldn't understand. A moment later a wash of calm eroded the tension. He knew where that must have been coming from.

He grunted as he forced himself to his feet. "I am steady," he said to himself. Thank you, he relayed back down that mental thread with all sincerity.

"We need to move!" he called into his comm. "We need to buy the centre ground more time."

The implication was clear. They might have to but that time with their lives. That was what it meant to follow the light, to understand that sacrifice was necessary for the greater good, but to accept it may have to be one's own.


OOC/ Those who want move to the centre of the eastern front to buy the GADF soldiers time. Overwhelming forces of stormtroopers and many dark side adepts will be present.

 

[Coren Starchaser]

Coren nodded. The fight had come. Rolling the fighter, he banked, and flipped, pulling the fighting into an intense maneuver in the low-gravity environment. Nose went up towards space, and came falling back down as he rolled the fighter, so the cockpit was spaceward of the planet. Shuttles were still making their way down to the world. And he needed to put an end to that. “Keep them busy, [member="Rook"], we’ve got more incoming.” Coren reached out to the Force, concentrating as he felt the other ship.

He was a Warden of the Sky, a student of the Aing-Tii, and a Starchaser. His home was between the worlds, his home was in a seat behind the controls of a vessel. His home was his element. He made a muttered order to tighten up and to watch his six as he reached into the shuttle. With the Force, he could feel the controls of the shuttle, he knew the lay out of engines and computer systems. And he could move them.

His Force essence expanded into the shuttle, a blast of lasers flying past his viewport. But then the Corellian jerked the Force, and the shuttle that was carrying some more soldiers, and at least one dark side adept juked, smoke coming from one of her engines. Coren gave a shot at another engine as he pulled the Force back to him.

Folding space wasn’t only for him and his own. It could be for valuable parts of a vessel.

Checking the systems, he could see TIEs making runs. “Ground team, we’ve got TIEs making runs at your positions. Tibs, knock ‘em down before they get firing solutions.” He switched his comms flawlessly again. He really needed to put his implant receiver in this fighter. “[member="Roth Tillian"]. TIEs are breaking through, pull down, start making short work of ‘em!”

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[SIZE=10.6667px]Location[/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px]: Temple East[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]With great power came great responsibility.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]It was a statement, a creed as old as the Force itself, but Vaet had not felt the truth of this statement as keenly as he did right now. When his eyes had first been opened to the atrocity and sheer [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px]wrongness[/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px] of the Final Order he had refused to take the lives of their footsoldiers anyway, together with Relit they had fought and spared as many as they could.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]Because it had been the [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px]right[/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px] thing to do, but… situations changed, didn’t they? Now the Final Order was assaulting his home, his [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px]people[/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px] - people that had welcomed him when no one else had. The Force ran strong within him and he had been taught that this meant he had the responsibility to use its power wisely, to never strike in anger or fear, to never attack for the search of vengeance.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]But here he was, his silver lightsaber dancing around as he sought to protect, to [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px]serve[/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px]. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]The situation had changed. They were defending those that would not- could not protect themselves and in this pursuit it would have been impossible to fight while holding back, because this time around it would not mean their own deaths, something that Vaet was not afraid of.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]No, it meant the deaths of those around them. The brave soldiers that were putting their lives on the line. The younglings, artisans and others back in the sanctum of the temple… to fail here, meant one less torch standing vigil against the darkness.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]This was something that Vaet could not allow. Not even to preserve his own ‘purity’, not even to keep his hands clean from the blood that it would carry. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]And so the young Jedi nodded to himself when Voidstalker’s call came.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]“Put pressure on the center, I will.” the Vaetling responded over the comm. “Buying the GADF more time?”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]“Critical.”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]With that he started running, pushing against the tide of darkness, his silver saber a beacon.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px][member="Jacen Voidstalker"] | [member="Samantha Roberts"] | [member="Taheera Sollo"] | [member="Samantha Roberts"] | [member="Kurayami Bloodborn"] | [member="Rayliav'enci"] | [member="Braith Achlys"] | [member="Aela Talith"] | [member="Relit Vandal"][/SIZE]​

 

[Kurayami Bloodborn]

[member="Vaet"]
[member="Jacen Voidstalker"]
[member="Braith Achlys"]
[member="Taheera Sollo"]
[member="Relit Vandal"]
[member="Samantha Roberts"]
[member="Rayliav'enci"]
[member="Aela Talith"]

Kurayami had been holding out at his position now as well as he could. The feeling that all that was being done was simply staving off the inevitable conclusion, that today would be the end of this base for the Jedi and him along with it was getting to be overwhelming. He was running low on his second clip, using the rifle in semi-auto had helped him conserve his ammo and keep the enemy soldiers distracted enough to put a bit of a dent in their advance. 20 shots left before he had to reload, shield was down to 40 percent. He had made them work for every bit of damage they had done to him, two soldiers killed or incapacitated for each percent of shielding taken down. Mentally he was wearing down, but his Corellian blood made him one of the most stubborn bastards on Sullust right now whether on ground or in the air, but even he had his breaking point and was close to reaching it...dangerously close.

Not long after he had reached this point he started to feel strange. [member="Adele Adonai"] was using Battle Meditation, though to Kurayami's untrained mind it was just him hearing things again. This time though the voice was calm, serene, and had an undertone of strong determination. It was the words that struck him as being the most odd part of what he heard. " You are steady. You are firm. You have a most powerful ally at your side. The Force." These were things he had heard from Jedi before, but he had no idea why the words would echo in his mind right now as they did. The feeling of hopelessness, of this all being inconsequential, began to dissipate as the voice kept repeating. It was replaced with a bright flame of determination, that today was not the end, merely a rough start for the fledgling Galactic Alliance.

Along with the new found determination his confidence in his own skills was boosted. Not that such a thing was needed, as a natural born Corellian he had plenty of confidence to go around when it came to his training...not to mention how proud he was to still be wearing armor and using weapons that many considered outdated with great effectiveness against this Final Order. There was a downside to his though as he got a bit too focused on what was happening in front of him, he had left his sides exposed. There were still scouts scattered in locations around the field, but they were a bit far out for the blaster to hit unfortunately. With the exception of the one that was coming up on his left side, and while he didn't see the scout trooper he did start to have another bad feeling. It wasn't an immediate worry to him as he chalked it up to the fact that his adrenaline had been pumping for quite awhile now.

The first time he realized the bad feeling was something he should maybe have paid a bit more attention to was when he was looking for his next target. That was when he noticed a bit of a distortion not far from his position, to the left. The Storm Commando was still quite sure he hadn't been spotted and dropped his shroud when Kurayami began turning back towards the right. Kurayami was out of ammo for that clip and was getting ready to reload when he caught sight of the trooper in his periphery. The man was only about 60 meters away, and was picked up by the HUD as a hostile. Quickly holstering the DC-17m Kurayami quickly drew the T-6 on his right hip. He took aim as soon as the trooper was within range. Being as this was his off hand however, the shot went a bit wide of the intended target. He would have to work on that at the range a bit more. A few blaster bolts came far to close to his helm for comfort as the trooper took cover and reactivated his shroud. There was only a couple of crevices large enough to hide in down towards the last position of the trooper that had gotten way too close now. One was about 30 meters out, the other about 15. Two could play this game though.

Kurayami activated the stealth on his armor and moved as silently as possible into the crevice nearest him. Here he quickly holstered the pistol and took up a position on the wall closest to where the commando was. He would wait here, Once the Storm Commando was confident enough he would come out of hiding to finish his job. It was a good few minutes until that happened, every second seeming to last days. Kurayami tried to listen for the approach of the other man, but little could be heard over the din of the battle outside. That took away his chance of hearing the trooper a few seconds before he got to where Kurayami was hiding, but it also gave him an advantage in that the other man couldn't hear as well either. He continued to wait the electro binoculars zoomed in as far as they could on the opposite rock face outside. No matter how good the stealth unit there was always a slight distortion and it was this that Kurayami would use to his advantage. The darkness afforded by his position would help hide such a distortion, but the fact that it was still light out where the trooper would have to approach from gave just enough of an edge. Soon after this thought crossed his mind, a blaster bolt scorched the wall in front of him. He had seen it lance across his field of view, though he hadn't heard the actual shot, still he remained silent, awaiting his prey.

It was but a few moments later the he saw the rockface in front of him change ever so slightly. dropping the zoom on his HUD back to normal he waited anther couple of seconds before moving quickly out of his position the trooper was still on his left since he had passed while Kurayami's back was literally against a wall. Coming up behind his opponent, his right hand struck out, greeting the enemy with a blade to th shoulder, right beneath where the armor covered. He dropped the stealth on his suit allowing just enough time for the Storm Commando to turn and face him before a left jab sunk the retractable blade within his neck. All that was left was the enemy dropping to the ground.

Kurayami checked over the suit and himself quickly. He had felt a slight burning sensation a couple of times during the encounter. Upon looking down he took note of why. The bolts that had gone past his helm were to distract him from other shots that had been taken. His shields were gone. That burning? Blaster hits to the leg and shoulder. This was going to slow him down quite a bit. If they wanted him to stop fighting they were going to have to kill him. Their best chance to do so was currently bleeding out. For now though he needed to try and catch his breath get the wounds bandaged, and then get back to it. Having been forced to change his plan of attack was not making him happy, but he set to work doing what he had to. He always kept a bit of gauze in his pack just for this reason.

"Before this I didn't really care for Sith...now I kriffing hate them. Making me bandage myself in an active war zone AND giving me less time to set them on fire, man this blows."

 

[Julius Sedaire]

Location: Temple West
Allies: [member="Audren Sykes"] | [member="Minna"]

Whirlwind. Tempest. Julius had become a speeding dervish, a reaper harvesting souls with his lightsaber as a farmer would scythe wheat with his sickle. Truth be told, he flirted with the Dark Side when he danced along this line in combat and war. Troopers screamed, arms falling, and Adepts caused momentary pause. The renewed vigor of the efforts of their forces, and whoevers voice that was using Battle Meditation had spurred him on to further heights. His feet left the ground as he rolled over the falling corpse of an Adept, a burnt hole piercing his neck where Julius' saber had speared, almost like a fencer striking a pell target. Back to back he locked elbows with the corpse and heaved, the roll turning into a flip, flinging the corpse at another Adept charging him, and smiling as the bolter at his thigh rose into his hand and roared thrice, the bullets punching through the corpse and impacting the disoriented foe behind it, killing him as the gun dropped easily to his holster, and the Jedi suddenly pulled up and stopped, lightsaber in low guard. A new foe had appeared.

This one held his red-bladed saber differently, with less recklessness and brash confidence and arrogance. There was a sinister, deadly intent in his stride as his feet strode forward, clacking in black armored sabatons onto the earth. Whoever this was, he was robed almost like a traditional Jedi of the republic, but all in black, and covered in armor on the forearms, shins, feet, hands and face, with pauldrons etched in the heraldry of the First Order. The oncoming foe moved with the natural grace of a born warrior, and suddenly Julius' saber snapper up into a high guard, humming and hissing as he rocked on the balls of his feet, ready. Somehow, the space around them had cleared, and in the moments he knew he had before his opponent struck, he closed his eyes and tried to focus further on his connection to the Force, but it was scant seconds before the figure raised a gloved hand and splayed fingers at him.

Screaming, Julius charged, trying to leap, but the Lord in front of him, for that was what he faced he figured, a full fledged Sith Lord, merely raised his hand as pure bright light burned out from his fingertips like blazes of pure energy. In this case, the duelist was outmatched by a superior and more versed opponent. The leap died a few feet from the ground as the saber dropped from his grip and Julius slammed to the earth, rolling and coming to rest on his knees, a shakey hand, dripping blood, rose and the saber flew to it, igniting with a hiss as it landed, verdant green buzzing with life as he stood, only to barely block the red blade of his opponent in time. His eyes narrowed sternly and he tried to let go of his conscious mind, to let the Force guide his movements and strikes as he fought this new threat. Thankfully, his rag-tag squad of soldiers were doing a fairly good job of keeping anyone from thinking of joining the fight.

 

[Rayliav'enci]

[member="Jacen Voidstalker"]
[member="Samantha Roberts"]
[member="Taheera Sollo"]
[member="Vaet"]
[member="Kurayami Bloodborn"]
[member="Braith Achlys"]
[member="Aela Talith"]
[member="Relit Vandal"]

The chaos had begun in earnest, the rain of plasma bolts and the whine of engines deafening those summoned from their daily routines to meet fate on the field of battle. The ground at Raylia's feet awash in blue, she looked to the heavens and counted to the rhythm of the blasters, the various ships and warriors each playing their parts in the symphony of destruction. Each blaster, ion canon and projectile had a set rate of fire, a tempo of their own and while each instrument may not be held by a skilled player, the notes were there to follow nonetheless.

The enemy advanced, and Raylia was only too eager to meet her partners as the vibrant cerulean blade traced a wall around her , batting the angry red bolts away. Her movements flowed from one to the next, graceful and focused, cutting down the Final Order fanatics who sought to put an end to their precious light. The minions of the darkness so twisted by their own despair that they raged out against those who so reminded them of what they had lost or what they had been denied. Spite ruled their senses now and in their rage, they would make no distinction between innocent and enemy. They would not stop until all had perished and their misery had claimed the galaxy.

The pain of burns and fatigue of movement threatened to slow her but as she locked blades with a masked adept, her features only a firm declaration of her determination. A strong ally the Force was indeed. The violet aura of their blades flashes across her skin, but there was peace within her green eyes as she used that moment to aim a hard push at his chest plate, sending him backwards enough that she could make a quick end to him.

Across the way, she saw Kurayami on the ground, digging for bandages. Jacen seemed to be directing those he could to move to cut off another incoming wave and give defense forces more time. Weight on the balls of her feet, she sped in the direction he motioned, worry for her friend left in her wake. Kurayami was a tough one, he would fight until his dying breath but the onslaught would need to be thinned or it would be all their deaths. If they made it out of this, she would tend to his wounds personally. After all, they came to this together, both of them tired of the trite lines of their stagnant orders.

Another pair of troopers went down, her blue saber answering the call to arms again and again, as she fought towards a Sith wielding a saber staff, spinning it in a circle to taunt the rushing Jedi. His intimidation would not work on the Rutian Twi'lek, her blade raising to meet his. The cackling thrum screamed around them as he tried to control the flow of the fight, but failing as Raylia would dart around him, his staff now more of a hindrance, limiting him as he could not rotate it as quickly as she could meet his strikes and counter with her own. He spun the staff around, to swipe at her side but it was too late her blade sank into a point along his side and quieted the darkness within him with the silence of eternity.

Sweat beaded across her brow, but she would not take rest, as she deflected more blasters away and force pushed another pair of troopers off the edge of the ravine.

 

[Kurayami Bloodborn]

[member="Rayliav'enci"]
[member="Jacen Voidstalker"]
[member="Samantha Roberts"]
[member="Taheera Sollo"]
[member="Vaet"]
[member="Braith Achlys"]
[member="Aela Talith"]
[member="Relit Vandal"]

Blaster shots peppered the wall in front of him, obviously not aimed to hit that exact point but close nonetheless. Still he reamined as calm as he could while cursing and searching for the gauze. The wounds had been mostly cauterized by the heat of the blaster bolts, though he knew that as soon as he started moving again they would reopen and that was not going to be a good time. He removed the damaged plates and wrapped the gauze as tightly as he could to provide pressure on the scorched areas. It wouldn't completely stop the bleeding but it would slow it enough that he could wait for a healer to address the problem after this was all said and done.

As he was finishing bandaging his leg, he heard the sound of another saber entering the fray and looked up for a moment. The blade could have belonged to any number of Jedi, but he was able to make out Raylia's lithe form as she gracefully attacked, parried, and countered both Sith Adepts and blaster fire alike. That and the feeling of calm was stronger than it had been before and he knew that hers was a presence that did help keep his sometimes short fuse in check. He reattached the plates, damaged though they were, it was at least some protection.

He flinched as he went to draw his rifle again, they had hit his left shoulder, taking a deep breath he did all that he could to push the pain from his mind as he swapped to the sniper attachment again. This time He would focus on adepts who were otherwise engaged. Even if he didn't get the kill shot on them it would give just enough of an opening to his allies. That made him chuckle a bit as he loaded his second 5 round clip and began scanning for the next target.

 

[Audren Sykes]

Objective: Temple West
Allies: GA | NJO | [member="Ella Nova"] | [member="Tiland Kortun"] | [member="Ebony Blackheart"] | [member="Turin Val Kur"] | [member="Spark Finn"] | [member=Minna] | [member="Julius Sedaire"] | [member="Kahne Porte"] | [member="Adele Adonai"]
Gear: Lightsaber | QQ-151-3 Excon Suit | Carbine | QQ-83n | Vibroblade

The stormtroopers seemed to go on and on and on, no end in sight. Had he not been able to sense the Adept growing closer, he might have thought his efforts ineffective. Well, that and the trail of blaster parts and white armor behind him. Even with the support of the Force, Audren could feel his energy flagging; the closest he'd come to a battle of this magnitude was Midvinter and the ratios of friendlies to not were a bit more skewed here.

And then the Adept was abruptly in front of the Sephi, swinging his lightsaber in a decapitation wave. One moment he'd been ten meters away, the next he was very much closer. Audren had been pushing hard to reach the man, so the quick strike put him off balance. He had to drop to his knees to avoid the attack, his momentum sending him skidding through the volcanic dust. That same slide gave him time to recover, and within a second he was back on his feet with lightsaber arcing in a viscious strike at the man's shoulder. It was blocked, though at the last second. All of the sudden, the Padawan had a mental image of three blaster bolts converging on his heart and turning it to so much greasy ash. Very much not wanting to die, Audren broke contact and spun to one side, allowing the three blaster bolts to miss him and instead hit other stormtroopers nearby. That same spin was the basis for another strike, this one blocked as well.

"Break off!"

The words were spoken to the stormtroopers, not to Audren, and they obeyed without hesitation or audible question. Curiously, the Adept held a deep regret related to the fighting; it had grown stronger when the bolts had hit other stormtroopers. The man cared for the soldiers like family and didn't like to see them used as targets.

"You don't have to do this. The Alliance won't kill those leaving the fight."

"Master Fal will. The quicker this is over, the better."

Saying the words seemed to solidify something within the man, and he broke the saber lock just to reply with a strike of his own, fast and hard. And another, and another. Even with two blades, Audren was hard-pressed to keep up. Either the first fighter had seriously underestimated Audren, had been massively under-trained, or he'd been extremely lucky. Maybe all three. The Adept claimed first contact, a scoring singe across the left ribcage when the Sephi was a tad too slow on the avoiding step and block. A few strikes later and it was the Padawan's turn to contact, taking a chunk of skin and muscle out of his opponent's right forearm. Throughout the fight, the stormtroopers didn't interfere and actually kept others from butting in.

Then a lucky hit knocked the training blade from Audren's left hand. The blue blade caught the Adept's attention for a split second - there was a whipcrack in the Force as he kept it from one of the stormtroopers - which turned out to be fatal. The Padawan's hand didn't stop moving, it drew the pistol holstered with the armor, pulled, and fired it twice in quick succession. The twin particle beams burned deep into the man's chest and the splash of energy was enough that even the Sephi felt it. There was a sense of shock through the Force as the beams hit, then of sorrow as the man died.

All of the sudden, the Jedi realized just where he was: in the middle of a swarm of stormtroopers who had cared for the Adept like family. The Adept that had just died by the Sephi's hand. Not the greatest place to be. A Force-assisted leap took him out of the line of fire that erupted and to his fallen hilt, the blaster holstered as he twisted through the air. He managed to snag the inactive hilt as he landed in a roll, then high-tailed it for the Alliance lines. His energy was flagging, the fight with that Adept had taken a lot out of him. With both lightsabers inactive, the Jedi's off-white armor seemed to spur the stormtroopers to greater speeds; maybe they thought he was on their side based on the color. Just short of the leading GADF soldiers, he spun into action again, dropping many of those that had rushed to keep up with him. Eventually he would have to take a breather, but for now a simple mantra kept the Force flowing through him, one that seemed almost foreign.

 

[Jsc]

Temple East
Right Flank - GA First Echelon - vs FO Infantry - p3 - Taking Ground and Flanking the FO Center Push
(00:14:00 -> +00:25:00 )

The left flank had hit armor and the center was being contested. As such, the Captains of the east side - right flank, made the call to advance up the parameter and threaten the enemies flank on the center divide.

Sam charged across the wet marshy fields with her battle brothers. It was an empty plain now. The bodies of their fallen enemies had been reclaimed by the lava surge and melted into mush. Thank goodness for rebreathers too. The smoke was getting messy. Braith had done good work.

The GA Recon, Scout, and Field Infantry took the high ground. Heavy and Rocket boys were still packing up to move down field. Minutes past and Sam moved up further with the Recon boys out into the deep right of the enemies now, landing zone - left flank. Sam and Recon were well inside enemy traffic. So they took good footing and deployed snipers. Sam would help scan the enemy and call out priority targets. As the eyes, Sam and Recon would call ahead to warn of new targets or changes in enemy traffic.

Nearby, Heavy and Rocket setup with eyes on the GA vs FO center column. Quiet thus far, the Captains nodded and ordered the command. They opened fire. The FO center push was now well flanked as they attempted the push. Blindsided and rocked from a new direction. Sam and Recon remained eyes forward towards the FO landing zone. Warding against another push into the GA right side with snipers and a radio.

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

As he approached the area, he already knew the ground was lost. The GADF forces were pulling back in the face of overwhelming odds. The chat across the local battle network was frantic as they tried to retreat quickly enough to reform the second echelon, whilst still laying down enough fire to hold the tide back. Jacen picked a spot to make his stand. The open ground was no friend to the Jedi; he would hold behind a ridge with the rest of one of the mobile squads.

Each of the veterans had understood perfectly what was being asked of them. Stand firm and fight til the last man or power pack. Their stoic bravery reinforced his own.

On the comm one of the commanders was repeating what had happened on the far left flank. Whilst the armour had threatened to break out and tear them apart, some enterprising special forces had worked out the deals ground path they were heading down and found some serious explosives. The trap had been set and the crust had detonated beneath the armoured platoon sinking most of them in magma. Time the GADF needed.

The right flank had moved up to harass the advancing FO forces. An exceptional move, Jacen knew a good defence was only as good as it's potential to be turned into an offensive manoeuvre, but there was still no sign of an opportunity to break the back of this attack. They would soon come under pressure from a new threat, their approach heralded by the speech of ion engines. TIE gunships would engage from extreme range, as a reserve group of main battle tanks and armoured infantry swung around.

Jacen and his squad held that ridge for as long as they could. He acted as a form of living radar, calling out the movements of the enemy squads moving in out of sight routes to try and break through. The occasional ‘wump’ of his underslung grenade launcher punctuated the din of blaster fire as he allowed the Force to guide his fire. Others held on desperately. Off to one side he thought he saw the blue Twilek cut down an adept.

Soon they were held through. Two while squads of stormtroopers managed to get a foothold and put down enough fire to keep them pinned.

“Two fire teams moving up on our left,” Jacen confirmed as he opened his eyes. The squad leader gave him a grim look, but pointed for two of his soldiers to crawl along to ridge to try and put some fire down to stop them getting an even closer position locked down.

Voidstalker realised they were the only other two soldiers battle ready. The 2ic was out of power packs and was attempting to both man the radio and give medical care to the last survivor. The others were all dead. Jacen was down to one power pack and a single grenade. He could see the wounded man was hanging on by a thread, perhaps he could provide some comfort through the Force.

As he slid over the 2ic looked up at the squad leader and shook his head. That was it, no hence of an extraction through air or armour. As Jacen started to reach for the wounded soldier, the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. Without warning he leapt to his feet and called his saber to his hand.

The pile of dark robes fluttered as they soared over the ridge, the scarlet blade snapping to life. Jacen cursed himself as he moved too slowly to stop the Sith cutting down the squad commander. This one must have been shrouding his presence in the Force.

A quick thrust was turned aside, but Jacen followed up with a low swing for the nearest leg. The Sith cowl fell back, revealing the green skin of a rodian. Jacen tried to press further, moving through a quick routine of probing thrusts and powerful strikes. Every time his attempts were thwarted, and finally the Sith countered with a quick slash that put him off balance, before skipping away.

Immediately Jacen dropped his weight a few inches and went into a defensive stance. He already knew he was out matched. There was nothing stunning about the adepts form, no exceptional skill to speak of. He was simply slightly better than Jacen in every aspect. And he was fresh to the field, where Jacen was flagging.

The sith leered as he held his saber straight out towards Jacen's chest and circled, always keeping his eyes on the Jedi's. Two quick steps and he bounced off his left and closed the gap. The first stab came with such speed that Jacen barely turned it aside. The rodian pressed in close and kept the pressure up. Jacen tried to hold his ground, but found himself back pedalling. He tried to hold one block and his his advantage in weight to press the rodian, but the Sith saw the maneuver coming. His scarlet blade skipped off Jacen's and twirled about to very nearly take his head off.

Stepping back, Jacen planted his back foot before reversing his momentum and thrusting forwards. For a moment the Rodian looked shocked, and struggled to make the parry. Always agile and fluid, the Sith managed to step around the blade. With his light flowing robes, he seemed almost an ethereal creature that flowed around every one of Jacen's attempts to pin him down.

The next slash was a feint, aimed at drawing Jacen into a strong block. He realised his error as the rodian's blade skipped off the tip of his own and came down the other side. With a deft flick Jacen was unarmed and turned aside. Before he could react the rodian stepped again and slashed down. Searing pain cut through Jacen's concentration as it burned from shoulder blade to hip.

He was falling, the smooth black terrain coming up to meet him. He found himself on his knees, both palms planted on the ground. Time seemed to slow to a crawl. His breath was ragged and shallow. Blaster fire filled the air, but the saber behind him hummed as it was brought up to deliver the killing blow. Jacen looked up to see the two soldiers sent to return fire falling back from the right, smouldering holes in their armour. Perhaps this was why the stormtroopers wore their helmets. No one had to look at their faces as they died. They had done exceptional work, he decided. Just a few good men had held this ridge and allowed many, many more to fall back to the narrower front of the second echelon. It would be a good death.

That realisation seemed to bring a new level of focus. In his mind he saw a wall of diamond bricks holding firm. His breathing slowed, his eyes narrowed.

I am steady he told himself. His left knee pumped up and he placed that foot on the ground. His right hand came up and called his saber to him. In one smooth motion he brought the hilt up with two hands and pointed it behind his head. The golden blade snapped into life just as the killing blow came down from behind him.

On his knee, he had the foundation to block the strike. Their blades locked and a myriad of coloured sparks were sent cascading down across Jacen. He ignored them and held firm. He heard the rodian grunt as he tried to press down. There was no way a static press down could overcome to force Jacen could lift from this posture, as the Rodian was limited to his own body weight.

Gathering the Force around him, Jacen exploded upwards, sending the rodian reeling. He turned about as he came up and pressed forwards with a telekinetic strike, sending the Sith tumbling.

Jacen held his ground, dropping into a defensive posture as the Sith found his footing again. This time there was frustration behind that leer.

“Another round?” Jacen asked serenely. The rodian spat at the ground. Whilst he was still outmatched, there was a glimmer of hope that he could goad the Sith into making a fatal mistake.

 

[Jsc]

Temple East
Right Flank - GA First Echelon - vs FO Infantry - p4 - Swatting Flies and Flanking the FO Armored Right Push
(00:24:00 -> +00:36:00 )

Gunships, Tanks, and Armored Infantry. That was what Sam and Recon noticed from their advantageous position. It was exactly what they radioed back to the Second Echelon too.

Roberts and the Sniper Teams pulled back to the flank as the preparations were made. Air Support would handle the skies while speeder bikes from the Jedi Temple would handle the resupply. Sam and Recon were resupplied with Det-charges that could be used as Anti-Tank mines. They made marked used of these devices amid the flat high grounds and open vehicle pathways leading up the rocky terrain. The GA Infantry using the jagged and impossible terrain of Sullust to their complete advantage. Hiding their troop movements amongst the ravines and sharp cutaways from the approaching horde.

When the FO tanks finally arrived upon the high ground? Their froward vehicles were decimated. Trips, traps, and ion surges led the enemy vehicles to a firm and bludgeoning halt. Without even a single target in view for them to engage against. They were sitting ducks upon the mountain. With a complete lack of mobility along all sides. To the left, ravines they could not jump. To the right, magma surges they could not hover over. To the front, friendly tanks they could not move. To the back, tank commanders wondering why the front had stalled it's push. The forward columns were still blocking the rear and when the GA forces re-sprouted along their far far right flank? ...Ouch. The FO Armor were nothing but targets lined up for a slaughter. A whole wagon train of bad planning and awful preparation. With no chance but to turtle up and squat it out. Well... Until the GA strafe runs appeared, that is. Then they were doomed.

It took only six minutes for the GA First Echelon and their Air Support to turn the forward FO Armored Column into nothing more than smoking slag heap of burned out and wanton steel. A solid line of fire, smoke, metal, and Imperial disappointment. The second surge against the GA right flank was now contained. Leaving Sam and Recon to smile and nod with satisfaction. Then, the GA First Echelon began their retreat back to the firing lines of the Temple East - Right Flank. Empty on heavy ammo and smiling all the way.

The sky remained contested.

 

[Ellie Mors]

[media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIMo1WoHcfE[/media]​

The time that Braith had taken to stand back and observe the destruction was time enough for her.

The clank of armor being stripped from her smaller frame could be heard, echoing for meters near her as it collided heavily with the ground. Out from the shining steel stood a shoe-less, armor-less, sword-less, woman that looked a tad more enraged that pleased. The only clothes she wore were the simmersilk pants and shirt that clung loosely to her sweat-ridden body, chest heaving up and down while her pale face flushed red with anger and discomfort, the heat beneath her feet hardly felt as it seemed to be channeled into her very being. A force of nature they had called, her, a woman of vengeance, of rage. Before her she saw not only the death of the people she called allies, she saw the death of her enemies, the death of hundreds upon thousands - death.

She had learned in the past that death was a necessary fact of war that could not be won without overwhelming strength - and she had learned that real cruelty was to stand back and watch the world crumble, to seethe in disgust rather than take action. Inaction was the solvent of all things, and she would not stand back and do nothing any longer. Her body wasn't overwhelmingly athletic, in fact her physique betrayed that notion, but she knew herself to be capable of physically contesting even the men famed for their prowess on the field, she'd wielded a hammer on an anvil for a decade and a half before she was allowed to step into the field of battle, to weave the world to her own design, to play the wars of the tribes to her own tune. But that was an eon long since past, what was a relic from a bygone era to the people of the future - the present?

"Disgusting."

One would have thought, coming from a society that ended wars with larger wars, that a galactic war and a plague that had ripped apart men and women, hutts, trandoshians, humans, and the rest without mercy or prejudice - one would have thought it all would have ended. Yet here she was, inhaling the fumes of the men and women that gave up their lives for ideals that conflicted, for rulers that did not dare to step into the fray themselves - cowards, liars, politicians. She hated every last one of those snakes, and with silent footsteps, highlighted by flames that seared the ground beneath each of her footsteps, eyes set into a glare that would have pierced the soul like the Gae Bolg, an expression so cold that it would have frozen the lake of fire, there was no mercy that would be given to these fiends, these friends of demons, whisperers of fear and whores of murderers.

She abandoned her equipment behind, not even a thought given to what could have happened to the gear if she didn't return, and lifted two hands to set the ground beside her alight - flames licking up against her, illuminating her presence and drawing the attention of anyone who looked into her general direction. Did they wish to snuff out the Alliance by ridding them of their heavy hitters with a single brutal strike with all of the Final Order's weight thrown against them? Did they expect the Alliance to crumple and collapse under the tension? "Sith, the Final Order, if you want someone to kill, someone to strike out against, bring your blasters, your guns, and all of your hate to me!" Braith shouted, her voice bolstered through a telepathic wave, shoving its way into the minds of the weak with a mental punch.

Braith was not going to watch these people die any longer - if anyone was going to die, it would be her, either to bide time or to rally the wounded and the scared, or it would be the enemy, and she was bringing the flames of her own hell right to them.

[member="Jacen Voidstalker"]

 

[Audren Sykes]

Objective: Temple West
Allies: GA | NJO | [member=Minna] | [member="Julius Sedaire"]
Gear: Lightsaber | QQ-151-3 Excon Suit | Carbine | QQ-83n | Vibroblade

It was working. They were holding the swarms of stormtroopers back and ending the occasional Adept that tried to bull through. The stormies were even pulling back, though they kept up a hail of blaster fire all the more intense for it. It couldn't last, and it didn't.

"INCOMI..."

WHOOMPH. Blackness.

The next thing Audren knew, he was being dragged across the ground, pure deadweight. His blaster carbine had come unhooked from the magnet and now dragged from its sling, and he was missing both lightsabers. And there was this odd ringing in his ears that couldn't quite drown out the sound of yelling. Abruptly he felt himself cross a ridgeline and start sliding downhill, then all of the sudden there was nobody pulling him. Unaided, he slid another meter or so down the hill. Once he slid to a stop he tried to sit up and figure out what was going on, only to be hit with sharp pain all over. He fell back with a groan and someone else slid to a stop next to him.

"Whoa, whoa, hold on a second. Let me take a look at you."

"What happened?"

"You flew a few meters after almost eating a tank round, bud. Now hold still."

The human - he had to be a medic of some kind - gave Audren a once-over with some sort of scanning device, then watched the diagnostics roll up a screen.

"Well, you're going to be real sore for a while and you might have a minor concussion, but you're one of the lucky ones. Off with you."

"My lightsabers."

"By your head. Back to the fight, Jedi."

The few moments he'd had would have to be enough. With another groan he levered himself up, pulled in his carbine, and clipped the lightsabers to his belt. Then he stumbled up to the ridgeline. The situation was worse than he'd thought: enemy tanks were on the advance supported by stormtroopers, constantly bombarding the ridge. To top it off, starfighters made the occasional strafing run. Air support was needed, but even if he had the right comm frequency he didn't have the authority to order it.

Air support came anyways, chasing the strafing fighters. Only the odd laser bolts even blew past the fighters to the ground, and maybe one in ten of those hit enemy hardware. With no heavy weapons left to speak of, the West defensive line had no real way to hit the tanks. While Audren knew he wasn't strong enough to affect a powered starfighter with the Force - not yet anyways - he could nudge a falling one here and there. Distance made things more difficult by an order of magnitude, but three starfighters and one heck of a bloody nose later, the tanks were scattering. They still shot at the ridge, but the shots were few and for between. Snipers and soldiers with longer-range rifles had time to take out targets of their own, and the rest of them had a breather. Once the Order figured out not to send their fighters flying by anymore, the next wave would hit.