The Stand [Galactic Alliance]

[Jacen Voidstalker]

A battle didn't turn quickly. All Jacen had done was avoid his own death. He was still facing a more skillful opponent, and every shift pulled at the painful cauterised wound that ran down his back. However, the frustration was clear on the face of the rodian.

As he struck again and again, Jacen was simply in the best position to turn the blade aside. He snarled and swore as Jacen out maneuvered him and forced him back. This was Soresu in its most pure form. Even though Voidstalker was now on the offense, he was working three moves ahead of the Sith. He kept the rodian boxed in, yet his own saber work was tight and controlled. As no opening came, the Sith became increasingly desperate to resolve the battle.

The sith came at Jacen with a flurry of strikes that nearly overwhelmed him, the tip of the scarlet blade hissing through the air inches from his chest. Jacen pack pedalled a few steps, but then dropped his weight and held his ground. He struck straight ahead, and there was a crackle as blades met. It was parried, but the strike had been intended to open up some space between them, not hit home.

Jacen stepped forwards, swinging low for the shin, then high and down. The sith gracefully blocked both, but his expression made it clear that the sudden change in pace irked him. Then came the final piece of the puzzle. This level of meld between his consciousness and the Force was something Jacen had never reached before. It guided his actions, but at the same time he chose the course.

The next strike was sloppy. Something a tired and wounded man would throw as he strength started to fail him. The opening was clear. Too clear. But the Sith had been frustrated too many times and took the bait. Jacen's back leg came around and he twisted his upper body to the left, reversing the momentum of his strike and putting his body out of the way if the scarlet blade.

His blade came down fast, like a golden wall between them. There was horror plastered across the rodian's features as he watched both his hands fall to the ground.

Voidstalker would have allowed the wretched creature to crawl away. Instead he sensed the Force swirl around the rodian as it prepared to lash out in hatred. A single strike and that build of power was halted. Jacen deactivated his blade and looked around.

All of the forces he had made this stand with were gone. Not a soul alive. The sun was starting to set, highlighting all the ridges in the obsidian surface of Sullust. The Force danced with the presence of hundreds more stormtroopers headed towards him. With the flat ground behind him there could be no retreat. All he could do was buy more time.

There was a whistling sound. That was familiar. Jacen dropped to his knees and drew on the Force to solidify a barrier of shimmering energy around him. Only a few chunks of debris and dust crackled against the barrier. Great plumes of dust were thrown up around him as the artillery fire exploded.

“All forces, fall back to the second echelon. Fire support is active. All non combat personnel move back below the surface of the temple. The Final Order will soon have the temple within the range of their guns,” came a call over the whole defence channel from the commanding officer.

Jacen needed no further instruction. His repeat covered by the artillery shells he ran as hard as he could.



OOC/ All harass the approaching Final Order forces or fall back to second echelon. The sun is now falling and another Final Order assault will come at nightfall.

[member="Audren Sykes"]
[member="Braith Achlys"]
[member="Samantha Roberts"]
[member="Rayliav'enci"]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]
[member="Vaet"]
Braith Achlys
[member="Aela Talith"]
[member="Relit Vandal"]

 

[Kurayami Bloodborn]

Kurayami had exhausted the clip in his sniper rifle long ago, unsure if he had made any impact whatsoever with those last five rounds. He could feel that the bandages were soaked. He had bled out a bit more than he had accounted for thanks to the adrenaline rush of battle, those were the breaks though. He shrugged, cursing his own stupidity at the motion mere moments after he did so, he was just finishing another swapping of barrels when he heard some crazy chick yelling at the gathered Sith forces. Talk about confidence, the woman must have had it in spades. Granted he wasn't familiar with many people here, but even he knew better than to taunt Sith forces like she was. Maybe she would have to find out the hard way? Either way it wasn't really his problem to deal with but he certainly hoped that she knew what she was doing, otherwise it would be a very short battle for her.

A couple minutes after hearing that display of...well he wasn't sure how to describe it, a message came through from the CO of this whole thing on the comms channel. Fall back to the second echelon. While that was something he could indeed do, he was more than a bit forward of them he scanned the area looking for the speeder he rode to get to the frontlines. Surprisingly it was still behind the small ridge where he had left it, and looked to be in one piece so it was time to make his way back apparently. He made his way over to the speeder bike as fast as he could, hopping up into the seat an gunning the throttle to head back towards the second echelon. He could only hope that he would be conscious when he got there, mostly because he still wanted to shoot Sith.

 

[Coren Starchaser]

The next few moments of Coren Starchaser’s life went by fairly quickly. Firing solutions on incoming TIEs were processed and he fell into the Force and the trust he had in the Liberation module that was implanted in him, to connect him to his ship. Fingers caressed the controls and he accessed lasers, two-and-two firing and started to blast. The lasers would find their way around the TIE, missing with the first two shots, three and four hitting the solar panel and the fifth shot slicing through the cockpit support, splitting the fighter into two.

Finding another fighter, it came to about the same, but Coren was getting the hang of flanking these frakkers from below, and avoiding his blasts coming to the close to the ground teams. But the reports were coming in, the fleet was moving. A call had gone out for falling back.

They needed to get organized.

“Voidstalker, its Starchaser. Meet you at the rally point. I think I have an idea to get a bit of an idea.” He pushed the fighter into a low circle, looking around and seeing the formations change. Anti-Aircraft was being set up. That was not a good sign.

[member="Jacen Voidstalker"]

 

[Tiland Kortun]

Inside the Temple

The day had been long and full terrors. Tiland's hands and clothes were stained with blood, even through the sterile gloves he changed between each injured soldier. His knees and back ached from being hunched over stretchers all day long while field teams pulled them in. There was a short reprieve now as things settled in for the night. The assault would come quickly and brutally, however. He sensed the darkness lingering on the horizon, and a vision passed before his eyes. Blood and thunder, duracrete falling from the ceiling, and a dark cloaked figure standing before him.

"Jedi Kortun, your help!" A voice cut through the vision, shattering it and sending it drifting away. Tiland shook his head to clear it and stood, hurrying over to where a knight lay, gasping for breath from a lightsaber wound to the chest. This would be difficult. He ruffled through his bag, pulling out some dreamul'er leaves and rolling them in a ball, releasing a faint, calming scent. He held it in front of the man's mouth, wafting the fumes into his nose and mouth before crushing the leaves and laying them against the gash. Those would help. But now came the hard part.

He placed his hands on the man's chest and sank deeply into the Force, feeling its revitalization flow through his limbs into the man on the stretcher. He nudged at the tissue, urging it to knit itself back together and stabilizing his life to his body. The breathing eased into a calmer rhythm and the medics carried him away.

Tiland sank to his knees, limbs a million tons of weight to carry. He was too old for this. Perhaps it was time to return to his wandering along the edge of the galaxy. No, they needed him here. He would go on, even if it would likely kill him. He stretched his neck out and hurried over to the next stretcher.

 

[Adele Adonai]

At the Temple
Objective: Battle Meditation

The call had come to fallback.

At least, all of those who had heard the call that is.

A'dele herself was still meditating in the Temple, blocking all from her mind while she focused outward. It took the entirety of her concentration, not just to keep herself shielded, but to project and protect those around the Jedi Temple. There was a physical strain to it. She wasn't sure just how perilous her own position was, and that self sacrifice might very well place her in a very dangerous situation.

Every second would drain her more, and it was getting more difficult to concentrate. He was out there. She could feel him, crawling through the fringes of her mind. Whispering temptations. Prodding at the chinks in her armor. A flare of panic came to her, and she drew back within herself. A crack within her armor, one she quickly mentally went to reinforce.

Just a little bit more.

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

[member="Audren Sykes"]
[member="Braith Achlys"]
[member="Samantha Roberts"]
[member="Rayliav'enci"]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]
[member="Vaet"]
[member="Aela Talith"]
[member="Relit Vandal"]
[member="Coren Starchaser"]
[member="Adele Adonai"]

“Please, give me a moment,” Jacen said quietly. The medic behind him lifted their hands away from his bare back. There aid was welcome, but Jacen needed a moment to find his centre, and turn his focus inwards. Several workshops at the Jedi Academy on healing had given him a good grounding on the techniques, but already he was taxed. He was all too aware that if he wasn’t patched up properly, his influence on the rest of proceedings would be minimal. That gouge had to be sealed for him to swing a saber again.

Little by little he poured his energy into encouraging his own body’s healing cycle. Pushing it beyond its natural limits. After a short while his eyes snapped open. There was no longer a need to consciously continue, the healing would carry on its own now. It would also continue to drain him. The field medic resumed his work. Some kind of spray was passed across the long wound from hip to shoulder blade, numbing the pain whilst also holding it together.

A low slow outward breath and he pushed back at the fatigue that was constantly gnawing on his concentration. He allowed his senses to shift outside again, feeling the Force as it flowed through him. Dark presences had their attention firmly on what remained of the defences. There was another minor tremor as that constant influence waned for a fraction. Feeling that presence brush against his own was becoming all too familiar.

Hold firm Ad’…Knight A'donnai,. You are firm, he echoed. The test will be over soon.

He kept his own mind closed off, lest she sense that he believed it would be over soon because the Final Order inevitably overran their position. Jacen clipped his armour back into place, stretching his arms and feeling the tightness across his back. He needed energy, the Force could only provide so much. He grabbed some high energy rations and drinks and headed for the forward command post.

“Whoever commanded the right flank deserves thanks,” he said as he stepped inside. “If they hadn’t pressed forwards we would have lost everything.” It was true, the left flank had eventually crumbled, if they hadn’t had the foresight to advance and counter the enemy could have performed a full break through manoeuvre and prevented the deliberate retreat.

“Coren!” he called, as he saw the Commander. Jacen’s expression was grim. At his words there was another round of thunderous booms as the enemy artillery continued its assault. “It won’t be long before they press again,” he said. “I can sense the anticipation of the Sith commanding their forces. The influence of the Dark Side has not left him a patient man. At least we have the Temple to fall back to,” he added. It would soon be time to put the computers and orders down, drop all holocrons into the magma and fight to the last man.

They could not hold this ridge indefinitely. Whilst there were no signs of reinforcements from other GA taskforces to dislodge the ImpStars in orbit, or any allies, the chance of victory was negligible. However, the Temple had deep roots in the crust of Sullust. Build of incredibly think reinforced structures, it would hold against any bombardment. The enemy would have to be forced through narrow corridors to dig them out level by level. Jacen had already come to accept that he would not see next week, but the Final Order would be made to pay for every inch.



Jacen's estimation was correct. Master Qorbin Fal's hands trembled with anticipation. So many good adepts and huge numbers of stormtroopers had been lost in the first assault. He should have held back, softened up the rest of the enemy forces behind those ridges for a while longer. Other GA forces had been drawn out or tied up on this world and across the other systems under the Alliance's space in a meticulously planned operation, but he was still concerned that the appearance of allies could rob him of his victory.

Whilst he kept his cybernetic creations and most powerful adepts in reserve, everything else was thrown forwards. The casualties would be high. Once they were falling back, he would enter the field himself. They were aware that there were bunker-like structures beneath the temple and preventing them from locking themselves up was key. They had to act fast. Soon he would satiate his desires and cut down many Jedi himself.

 

[Jsc]

Temple East
Nightfall
00:36:00 +

Logistics. Sam stayed with Recon as they moved through the Jedi Temple. The Captains were meeting in one of the classrooms and discussing strategy for the Army. The Jedi were busy elsewhere.

The topics were grim. Evacuation, last stand, or surrender. It didn't look good. Sam and Recon entered the room and did their best to listen in. Surrender was off the table because they had Darksiders. Evacuation was off the table because they didn't have the air power nor a clean escape vector into allied space. Making a defensive stand seemed the best bet to buy time. Buy time for the civilians and engineers to escape down the tunnels and into the Sullust subterranean.

The Captains nodded their heads in agreement. Merge the surviving Echelons and fortify the Temple against a siege. Buy time. Slow the FO. That was the money. Sam and Recon got the easy job too. Scout the tunnels that lead down into the subterranean and ward for enemy sappers. When the time came? They'd close the doors and throw away the key. Bring down the house.

___

Deep Tunnels
Metro Last Light

Dark, hazardous, and smelly. With temperatures that varied somewhere between magma and freezing. They used rail carts and the old mining system to get around. Cutting power to outlying systems and closing bulkheads against the invaders. Sam and Recon fought no skirmishes down here. Encountered no enemy troops. Just miles and miles of washed out tunnels made for people who were much, much smaller.

"Okay teams. Two man squads from here on out. Lets finish our routes and close all outlying doors. Cut the power to the outbound stations and make it back here alive. We've got... Let's see. One hour. Blast. ...Let's go people. Let's go."

Sam broke off from Recon and followed Commander Sera down one of the westward tunnels towards Gilspeed Settlement. Even if Sam and Recon would be out of touch for the next few hours? Yeah. You could count on it. They'd keep the back door open for the good guys.

The Force would be with them. Always.


/exit

 

[Roth Tillian]

Roth slumped down against his seat as he he pushed the throttle forward to full speed. He'd lost a few people, and the ache tore at him. He should have been better, he should have been able to keep them alive. He shook his head to clear it as the remainder of the squadron screamed away from a horde of TIEs. They were almost of torpedoes and all ships had some sort of damage.

"Ground control, WIld Knights in need of supplies and repairs. What's the course to the hangar?" A surge flashed through the Force and he yanked the joystick to the right as a barrage of blaster bolts arced down from above. Time to roll and dive, the metal groaning as the strain increased. Roth winced. Last thing he wanted was to breach his hull up here. That would be the end of the line for him.

"Negative, Roth," The reply came back, crackled and weak. "We've lost airspace control. Rejoin the main fleet, ground forces preparing to overrun the base."

Rejoin the main fleet? Abandon his post above the planet, letting the stormtroopers overrun the base? He straightened and settled his helmet more firmly. Never.

"Repeat that, ground control? You're breaking up." An idea glimmered in his brain and he gave his old smile, that old devil may care, death is my best friend smile. Something drastic needed to occur. Something more than drastic. Something insane and he knew just what to do.

The reply came back even more garbled than before. Perfect. Last thing he heard was something about the fleet. That left a great deal to interpretation. Now to tell his squadron that same idea. Wouldn't that be a great conversation? Especially if it was their last conversation. He switched off the comms to base and used the squadron only channel.

"Alright, friends. We've lost airspace control down below. The temple and base are being overrun. Orders are to abandon the system and rejoin the fleet." Roth paused to let that sink into the stunned silence. "I'm not abandoning the planet. I'm going to steal a Star Destroyer."

The proclamation was followed by a chorus of surprised shouts and war whoops. Roth waited until they ended. "No orders from me on this one. Volunteers only."

There was more silence. Then a slow trickle of assent, one by one, until they had twelve. Roth gave a curt nod and took a deep breath.

"Full reverse course, shields to double front, weapons free and punch through the fighters. Shields to the rear until enough space is gained. Then again to double front as we approach the destroyers. Aim for the closest one. Going in straight through the hangar before deployment." That was madness to consider attempting. Who assaulted an enemy capital ship with twelve people? The Wild Knights. That's who. "May the Force be with us."

He cut the thrusters and spun his craft around, before punching them forward again, moving the shields to the nose as the rest of his troops did the same, huddling close together to overlap shields. Blaster fire rocked through their formation, deflecting off shields and streaking by. The Knights pushed the throttle forward, speeding straight towards the formation, squeezing the triggers to unleash their own red hail of laser fire. A half dozen TIEs disintegrated, shattering the enemy formation long enough for the fighters to punch through and reverse their shields. Then they were off, pushing the tired craft to the max. The fighters began to fall behind as the ImpStars drew closer. They were big. They were really big.

Roth nudged the nose of his fighter down as turbolaser fire started pounding their way. They had to get below to enter the hangar. He gave a sigh of relief as he ducked beneath the firing horizon where most of the guns were located. Now came the smaller defense guns.

"Weapons free. Get us an opening."

He stretched out with the Force, trying to get a better glimpse of things along it. There was a target. He fired one of his two remaining torpedoes, and gave it a few course adjustments until it impacted a battery, tearing the durasteel apart. Other streaks of laser fire blazed past and a few remaining torpedoes detonated along the hull. Now came the hard part.

He cut the thrusters and glided towards the hangar, making some adjustments to enter at the proper angle, slamming into a departing TIE at he did so. It sheared off his starboard wing but sliced the TIE in half. The fighter shuddered as it lost stability and sped into the hangar. Roth's blood raced through his body as he wrestled with the crashing fighter. Then it slammed into the hangar floor and he popped the hatch, pulling out the Occluder and bolter before jumping out on the port wing.

Blaster fire impacted against the hull and cockpit and he ducked as the others came in for their own landings. He brought the bolter up to his shoulder and squeezed a shot off towards a stormtrooper. It detonated against his armor, tearing him apart and punching his comrades with shrapnel. The shooting paused and Roth jumped down, using the Force to slow his impact. Time to get a move on.

 

[Coren Starchaser]

Stepping from the fighter, Coren made his way over to where Jacen was dealing with some assembled soldiers and Jedi. The artillery strikes in the distance were making things a bit trickier. He wasn’t sure if the fighters would be refueled and rearmed in time, but if he could get a few up and running, he had an idea. It’d require a little bit of fancy flying, but hopefully the fleet could hold out.

“That’s what I’m assuming. I’ve got my fighter getting refueled and re-armed. Thinking I might be able to do something about that artillery… Unless you’ve got a need of some ranged support?” The Commander looked to Voidstalker. He was wondering when, if at all, the man would accept a Marshal spot with the Jedi Order, or if he’d be more suited to follow the military and take a Commander position.

“We’ll hold this place. We can’t let the Order get through.” Not this time.

Not ever.

The Alliance was going to stand against any enemy that was looking to cause distress in this galaxy.

[member="Jacen Voidstalker"]

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

[member="Coren Starchaser"]

“No, no we can’t,” Jacen affirmed. “You can try and take a run at it, but I fear it might be late for that,” Jacen said. The batteries had fallen silent. Eager for their victory the white-clad Stormtroopers were coming.

With no further words to share, Voidstalker ran to fill his place in the line. There were no words to share now, no clever plan Jacen could put together himself. There would only be fighting until the very last one of them stopped drawing breath. The non-combat personell had be taken back inside, hopefully to escape through the subterranean passageways. Jacen knew he would be fighting here ‘til the last.

Red, amber and blue bolts left the air between the two sides a patchwork pattern of colours. Great plumes of dust rose as the main defensive installations were hammered by heavy weapons. And all through this, as Jacen kept firing at any target that presented it, he could feel those dark forces approaching.

Dark side adepts joined the fray. Some using the Force to sneak deep into their territory. Several even made it right through and threatened the civilians. [member="Adele Adonai"] would be at great risk if she hadn’t retreated underground.

Jacen waited until a Sith closed on the fire team around him before drawing his own blade. He locked blades with the sith and held him still such that one of the corporals nearby could finish the fool off with a simple pistol shot under the ribs. Crappy way to go, Jacen supposed as he used to throw the body back down the slope towards the approaching troopers.

 

[Coren Starchaser]

Great. Batteries were down… Still, Coren was listening to Jacen. He looked back at his fighter then at the fighting here. He looked down at himself, armored up and armed. He could do some serious good here. Fighting alongside the Jedi? He knew that was bound to happen sooner or later. Sure, he didn’t always appreciate them, but they were sworn enemies of the Sith, that was good enough for Coren, so long as they kept fighting. He had no time to get to his fighter.

Looking over at the crew, he shouted for them to get inside, get the birds away, and gave the order to his astromech to take the fighter and bug out. No use it getting hit by a stray blast.

“Tillian, its Starchaser, keep your folks away from the planet. We’ve got to handle it on the ground at this point.” He nodded as he ran forward, grabbing a rifle from one of the soldiers, he joined up to where Voidstalker was. “Nothing like a last stand.” He muttered, lining up and taking shots.

It’d come down to a point where he needed to engage in close quarters combat, but not yet. He’d handle the ones at ranged that he could take down, until it came to it.

So much for the order of events, smiles and lies first, gunfire last.

[member="Jacen Voidstalker"]
[member="Adele Adonai"]
[member="Roth Tillian"]

Though gunfire was always Coren’s favorite.

 

[Roth Tillian]

“Tillian, its Starchaser, keep your folks away from the planet. We’ve got to handle it on the ground at this point.” Roth ducked down behind a crate of spare parts as blaster bolts scorched its sides, frazzling his flightsuit. Good thing that armor from ABregado-Rae was beneath it. That should keep him from getting cooked to much. He popped up again, sending a spray of bolters into the disoriented stormtroopers. Miniature explosions tore through the hangar. He jumped up and dashed ahead, throwing himself down behind a TIE. He couldn't catch that last part.

"Too late for that, Coren." He peeked around the corner and then ducked back inside as the Force issued him a warning. "Trying to steal a Star Destroyer here." A larger explosion burst through the comm and Roth looked over in surprise. One of his Wild Knights had jury-rigged a grenade and broke a gap in the line. Who used grenades in a starship? That was insanity. But, hey, it worked. He sprinted forward again, staying low and slamming the butt of the rifle into a trooper's helmet, snapping his head back. "Things are going great." Another explosion sounded from the blast-doors that had been attempting to seal. "Nobody's up here."

That was an advantage of hijacking a capital ship after most of its troops had been deployed. Just crew and some anti-boarders left. Nothing they couldn't handle. Roth caught a glimpse of a heavy repeating blaster getting set up just within the blast doors and flung himself down beside a shuttle.

"Down! Down!" He waved a hand at them and most of the Knights took cover. One wasn't fast enough and took the opening salvo full to the chest, toppling straight over. Roth clenched his fist as a void was ripped in the Force, tearing straight down his chest. He shook his head. So be it. He peeked around the corner and drew back again, thinking. No way to rush it. He wouldn't even risk trying to deflect it with a lightsaber. Time to think their way through.

A distraction. That's what they needed. One that didn't involve another grenade, as they were making Roth very uncomfortable. Perhaps he could try an illusion? He took a deep breath and felt the ache slip into the Force. Not totally, but enough not to distract him or make him angry. The Force strengthened him and he built a picture in his mind. Himself, in the same outfit, and he stared down at himself to create. It was tricky, getting the details right. He shrugged after a moment. Close enough. Then he sent the mental representative of himself darting from cover off to the right. He rehearsed it several times.

Then he pushed it out towards the mind of the gunners. He felt it go through and they shifted away, opening fire towards the fake Roth. The real Roth darted forward and fired several shots from the bolter, which exploded around them. Not close enough though, as they spun it back around, bolts tearing into the shuttle hull. He staggered backwards, throwing his arm up to block the sparks from his face.

Going great indeed.

[member="Coren Starchaser"]

 

[Kyrana Gould]

[member="Jacen Voidstalker"] [member="Roth Tillian"] [member="Coren Starchaser"]
(Here at the request of Jacen.)

The situation on Sullust was bad. The Galactic Alliance was threatened before it could ever arise fully in strength. However, in this darkest hour the Alliance was not entirely without friends.
Before the siege had begun a message had gotten out, eventually reaching the Coalition fleet admiral Kyrana Gould who had decided to accept. New friends were always good, and the Final Order were Sith after all.

And so, arriving into action with the flagship Destiny, two other Destroyers and numerous escorts, the Coalition fleet appeared behind the Sith ships just as they were waiting to administer a heavy blow.

"Alliance Command, can anyone hear me? This is Coalition Fleet Silver One. We're providing the backup."
As they came into range their guns opened up against the rear of the Sith ships....

 

[Kurayami Bloodborn]

When he had jumped on the speeder to fall back to the second echelon, Kurayami had no thought of staying hidden. It may even behoove the Jedi who were engaged if he didn't stay low on this one, it would give the troops something small, fast, and maneuverable to shoot at. Moving targets were hard enough to hit to begin with and when that target is someone who is of questionable sanity on the back of a speeder bike...well that is a far harder target to hit. During the times he had spent racing backon Corellia he had learned a few tricks to goad a bit more power from the repulsors and how to quickly divert power for sharper turns without bleeding off too much speed. Granted it wasn't something he could keep up for too long due to the heat it would generate, but he had already been shot twice so what was a few more burns? He pushed the bike to its limits never staying on a straight path for too long.

The gamble paid off exactly as he had thought it would. They focused fire on him and there were a few glancing hits to the plating on the bike, missing critical engine components by centimeters. Though that didn't mean that they didn't manage to do damage to the cooling system. He was going to have to dump the bike and soon. He had a few seconds to slow to a reasonable speed, but was now only about 50 yards from the second echelon. Sliding to a stop he jumped off and attached his remaining grenades to the bike quickly setting the fuses for impact and locking the controls to full forward. It was now an unguided missile headed directly towards a confidently approaching Adept and his squad of troops. Off went the speeder, straight as could be into the middle of the group. Sadly, he was unable to watch the pretty fireball that he turned the group into as he was too busy sprinting from on boulder to the next. It was cover that did not last long but gave him time to cover the needed ground.

By the time he reached the second echelon he took up a position in one of the bunkers to catch his breath. His breathing was shallow from the pain and exertion he had put himself through. Shaking his head, he knew he had but a couple of minutes at most. The commando stood, still breathing heavily as he grabbed the DC-17 from his back, reattached the blaster barrel, slapped in a new clip and provided what suppressive fire he could manage from his new position.

"Command. This is Bloodborn, I sent an adept and his squad to meet whoever the kriff runs the afterlife. We may or may not have lost a speeder and incendiary charge or seven in the attack. Let us not forget the sacrifice of our brave ordinance and speeder bike. Also, I may be the reason that we lost those things...so yea guess I owe y'all a new speeder at the end of this whole mess? At least it was a fiery death for the enemy, that's a plus right?"

Chances were that his dark attempts at humor would be less than appreciated at the current time, but that was how the man was wired, try and bring a bit of humor into any situation. Especially a battle that was this intense.

 

[Audren Sykes]

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

“All forces, fall back to the second echelon. Fire support is active. All non combat personnel move back below the surface of the temple. The Final Order will soon have the temple within the range of their guns.”

Welcome news and unwelcome. Pulling back was always the plan, but after such a situation it was almost like a kick in the pants. An order was an order though, so the surviving members headed back. It was a controlled retreat, with squads rotating to provide cover against any potential assailants. None showed, thankfully.

Back at the second support echelon, Audren found an unoccupied corner and fell asleep. They all knew the fighting would return sooner or later, and he meant to regain as much energy as he could before that happened. Before falling asleep however, he'd grabbed some high-energy rations and reloaded his weapons to capacity. He'd also snagged a rifle from one of the soldiers too wounded to keep fighting, that way he could help at range as well as close up. Even if he got sleep but couldn't fight afterwards, he'd be deadweight. It was a dreamless sleep.

Whatever amount of time later, the Sephi was woken with a rough shake. He couldn't say he was instantly awake, but it was quick enough, especially once the sound of blasterfire and explosions reached him. The Padawan rose to his feet and made his way to a place in line, wolfing down one of the ration bars as he did. He didn't need the energy just yet - the shock of being woken into a lightfight was enough for the short term - but understood that he would need it as the situation progressed.

The Padawan joined a fire team targeting the oncoming stormtroopers. Though the rifle was capable of it, he didn't shoot at full automatic or even in bursts, instead prefering to pick his shots and down a soldier with each one. He quickly learned that the rifle shot high and to the right, and that ammo packs ejected at a scalding temperature. Well, the guy to his right had learned that one first, prompting the two to switch places so he was on the right edge of the fire team.

Since Audren was firing less than the others on the team, he was racking up a higher kill and assist per shot rate than the others. Not that it was a competition or anyone was keeping track, he just didn't have a whole lot of ammunition packs for the gun and wanted to use what he did have wisely. He even managed to take out a few of the Adepts with the gun: a round to the side when said Adept was focused on another fire team, or one to the knee as another was deflecting shots from his fire team. That was the key with them, hitting from too many angles to defend against. Something else he'd need to remember for the future. For now though, he just kept on shooting. The announcement of backup from Coalition Silver One - heard on SSC comm channels - made him grin fiercely, but he didn't respond (he wasn't a part of Alliance command) or leave the fire group. Right now he was a grunt, and he was needed here.

 

[Tiland Kortun]

Tiland froze as a sense of danger washed over him. Something close and something nearby. He peeled off the blood-stained rubber gloves and stretched upright, grabbing his staff from where it leaned against the wall. How had a threat entered the bowels of the temple, the triage area, even? He gestured for the rest of the medical team to evacuate the area.

"Danger approaches," He hissed, and the nodded, carrying their patients further away into the tunnels, fire-teams providing cover as they progressed. Tiland was left alone in the blood-stained triage room as the danger grew closer. He waited, leaning on his staff, and seeking out through the Force for whatever presences might approach. There was something. He could hear thoughts approaching. Dark thoughts, ones of violence, rage, and hatred. Not many or particiularly powerful ones, but they were there. He sensed about three.

So he stood and waited, letting the stillness of the Force flow through him, stilling his fear and concern. Three adepts emerged from the shadows and fanned out across the room to face him. Dark fires burned in their eyes. Definitely the Dark Side. Tiland inclined his head in greeting and gave them a small welcoming smile. No response, but he hardly expected one. They pulled their weapons, all red bladed lighsabers. Synthetic crystals then and unstable. He could use that somehow.

Tiland angled the staff across his body and leaned more against it. No words. Just silent waiting. Stillness and patience was on his side. It strengthened him the way the silent earth strengthened the plants growing from it. Like them, he drew strength from such nourishment. Those adepts did not. They thrived on chaos and pain and violence. This standstill, so unthreatening at the moment nagged at them.

The lightsabers hummed in the still room, crackling and snapping at the leashes that kept them immobile. Tiland made no move. He was in no hurry here. This allowed him to control the flow of the dance, by responding and counter responding, redirecting the movement in the way he desired.

The one in the center strode forward, lightsaber held high above his head. Tiland smiled again, but refused to move. Let the duel begin.

The first one struck a hard downwards blow, which Tiland dodged by pivoting out of the way, flicking his staff upward and catching the Sith in the back of the knees. The adept staggered as his balance was pushed away from him and swung wide with his blade. It buzzed well over Tiland's head (Being short had some advantages), and Tiland struck out with his arm, knocking the man to the floor. A yank with the Force sent the lightsaber skidding away through a pool of blood and into the distant corner.

The other two converged on the fight and Tiland danced aside, letting his poncho flutter around him, disrupting their view of his movements and location.

 

[Connor Harrison]

Location: Sullust Sector

Dax was returning to Sullust to finish something he had started, and on meeting [member="Tionne Thanewulf"], his interest was growing with this Galactic Alliance. However he hadn’t expected coming in the sector and towards the planet to find it under siege it seemed from Imperial forces – was that a Star Destroyer.

He craned forward in his seat of the T-70 cutting the speed as his radar lit up and the flashes erupted far had. Opening his com channel he spoke out.

”This is Dax Ragnar, Republic pilot in the T-70 due South of what looks like a Star Destroyer. Is everything alright – anyone receiving this?”

Dumb question, but this didn’t look good. Maybe his meeting with the Alliance was going to start sooner than expected.

 

[Roth Tillian]

Roth ducked down beneath an ammo crate as more blaster fire tore into the shuttle he was using for cover. What was even in this crate? Something that would explode on him? He popped the lid and peeked in. Oh, yes. He reached up and pulled the crate towards him, pulling on the Force to get him a little more leverage. It tipped over onto its side and a light repeating blaster toppled out on the ground in front of him, with a requisite power pack. Perfect. He grinned and beckoned one of the WIild Knights over. The Wookie ran, jumped, and slid from her position in cover to land next to him. Roth nodded and started assembling the thing, while she set up the power generator.

Roth took another peek over the cover and ducked back down again, pausing as he got a strange message.

”This is Dax Ragnar, Republic pilot in the T-65 due South of what looks like a Star Destroyer. Is everything alright – anyone receiving this?”

Roth activated his comm, "Dax Ragnar, this is Roth Tillian of the Galactic Alliance. Ah, negative. Planet under heavy assault from First Order forces. Overrun on the ground. And that is very much a Star Destroyer you're seeing." He fired another salvo of bolters over the edge of cover, driving the stormtroopers back into cover. "Trying to hijack it at the moment. You're a Pub flyboy, want to join?"

His companion nodded and Roth flung himself upward, dragging the mounted repeater with him and squeezing the trigger. Blaster bolts lanced forward, punching through the other mounted gun and reducing it to a mangled heap.

"Go! Go! Go!" Roth yelled, keeping up the fire as the rest of the Wild Knights rushed forward to storm the door. More stormtroopers appeared but were either cut down or driven back by the repeater. Much better now.

 

[Connor Harrison]

Nodding at the message, he smiled a little.

”Republic, yes, but as of now, one of you. I’ll help where I can Tillian.”

Pushing the yolk forward to move faster towards the forces in orbit, he looked left to see what appeared to be another array of ships behind these First Order forces.

”Coalition Fleet Silver One this is Dax Ragnar of the Galactic Republic…sort of…I’m coming up behind in the T-70. Request permission to fly with you and push these Sith slugs back.”

Dax flicked the switch to the side of his cockpit to open the s-foils in attack position. The ships were getting closer, ones that he had never seen before. Suddenly the life of a smuggler-cum-salvager seemed a million miles away when the ripping blaster bolts could be seen bouncing to and fro between the mighty flagships and tiny fighters wove in-between.

[member="Roth Tillian"] | [member="Friedrich Stahlmann"]