First Reply UNDER THE SILVER SKY - Threat Inside the Domed City!

[Dice Thorne]

[#] Now Playing... [Midnight Demons]

---

Trouble stirred within the domed city, a blanketing expanse of infrastructure surrounding a planet among the Outer Rim Territories.

[#]"The impact occurred at exactly 0100 this morning, so an hour ago. There are reports of a rampage in the area-"
[^]"No, no, no. You did NOT just say that in military time. Noooo way - I need to check my fingers every time you do that!"
[#]"Yeah, I know. Every time you need to stretch a pinky finger in those gloves I can hear the suspension kick in."
[^]"Okay, right, so first of all, these ARE NOT GLOVES--"

A boy was bickering at his earpiece while he leisurely walked through colorful streets. Everyone that passed by gawked at the heavy gauntlets swinging at his sides like a pair of flails. Everyone gave him just the right amount of space to avoid being punted into a building on accident. Dice Thorne couldn't take the hint.

[^]"Yes, I know, hello, charming hero walking by. Take pictures - maybe if I walk slow enough, someone can paint me a caricature!"

In reality Dice was anxious over all the unnecessary attention he was getting. It wasn't the GOOD attention, like the kind he got when he did the whole hero thing. His conclusion was that he needed to get to the source of the impact as soon as possible, so people would stop paying attention to his "difference" and start paying attention to his courageous actions.

-But he was also running because he knew the potential for further harm to innocent civilians. Even if he was an egotistical teenager, his priority was absolute.

---

A few blocks ahead, people were screaming in panic, desperately banging on doors for sanctuary or sprinting down alleys and streets. A large Gen'dai male with a small army of battle droids was reducing city blocks into rubble with plasma fire. The aesthetics of the battle droids were different from usual models. Their faces were replaced with a flat metal mask with distending mandibles, and their colors were black with white vertical stripes. The Gen'dai warrior had a similar color palette - walking around in heavy plated armor with a flag attached to his back. The symbol on the flag was the same as the mask the battle droids wore - was he some kind of warlord? Did he belong to any clan, military or organization?

Whatever the case, Dice Thorne was closing in on the destination. The panic had spread further across the city, as more people ran in the opposite direction of Dice as he got closer to the Gen'dai threat. As people passed Dice by, he gave them small consoling words as he went along.

[^]"Everything's going to be okay."
[^]"Ma'am, don't look back, I'll get your husband out of there..."
[^]"I don't know what's happening sir, just keep following the others."

[^]"Don't worry."​

 

[Laphisto]

Laphisto was in the outer rim on business, trying to secure trade routes and supply lanes for The Lilaste Order. It had been far too long since the EOTL requested the assistance of the militarized faction, and contact with the Dusate pirates, who had grown sparse and few between, left an itch under the Kiev'arian's scales. He was quite frankly bored and looking for any excuse to leave Aurora Station and stretch his legs. And so when he had overheard that a Dh'ivo Corvette was heading to a new potential trade route, he gave the captain a surprise 'performance review' telling them they showed potential to captain a larger ship. Still, he needed to see their command skills in person.

The captain seemed honored and even a bit excited at the news. When this was over and done with—and if they genuinely showed great potential—he would have to consider recommending the young captain to Ali Kare . Once the ship made ground fall, Laphisto made some excuse to disembark and explore the townscape. Towering over the natural inhabitants, he stood out more than a rancor in a bantha pin, which had people gawking and clearing a path in front of him.

This suited him fine. After all, he was more or less blind; years of carbonite freezing and thawing had irreparably damaged his eyesight. He still had the force to rely on if things came to it. While lost in his thoughts, Laphistos's mind went blank for a split second. He froze in his spot and looked up; a wiring sound rang in his lone ear, a large metallic object smashing into a family, crushing them instantly before an ear-splitting explosion rang in his ear. Followed by several battle droids stomping forward and firing into the crowd.

And then, in an instant, he was back. He recognized his force precognition and immediately let the force flow over his eyes, peering into his surroundings. He heard the whirring and whistling of the wind, and then he saw the family. Reaching out forcefully, he grabbed them and forcefully pulled them towards himself. His hand quickly grabbed his Broad Saber off the maglock waist of his LO-56A MKII armor. The moment the pod, or ship, or whatever had happened sounded off, he was more than ready. The luminous blue blade ignited and he began to deflect blaster bolts away from civilians, though the shape of his blade didn't give him a lot of flexibility to deflect them back at the attackers.

Dice Thorne

 

[Dice Thorne]

Dice finally arrived on the scene, noticing the blue hue of Laphisto's weapon.
He witnessed the complete decimation of a family, and a faint whimper escaped his lips.

He had to steel his resolve - he saw frightened faces around him, but now two guiding lights had appeared to repel the dark.
At least, that's the dialogue Dice came up with. The towering Kiev'arian was a perfect example of a hero, and Dice felt overshadowed.

[^]"Whoa, you're huge! When did rancor start becoming Jedi? Look, I know that family looks tasty, but force pulling them onto your plate is overkill..."

Completely unprofessional, with inklings of attitude in his tone. Dice might have felt he had something to prove in the face of this noble stranger, but he needed to keep his quips going strong to maintain the morale of the people. The young boy that hid between the parents shielded behind Laphisto cracked a small smile, alleviating at least a small bit of the stress he was experiencing.

[^]"Kidding aside... I'll give you some cover to get those people out of here... I'll run the distance behind that shop over there, and you shepherd those people with you behind me. Don't worry, these gauntlets are big enough to shield you if you all stick together..."

The people were the main priority. Dice generally resorted to trashing the bots before they can even lay a hand on one person, but since he arrived on such late notice, he had to save anybody he could as quickly as he could.

The Gen'dai juggernaut also wielded his own lightsaber, which burned a crimson red. He was ceaselessly cutting down civilians before laying his eyes on the two invading heroes.

"SCUM! ALL OF YOU! SCUM!"

Something was off. His eyes were surrounded with bulging dark veins extending down to his neck. His teeth gnashed and his arms flailed around, carving through anything near his swinging distance.

This wasn't an individual to be reasoned with. It was simply...

RAGE incarnate.

 

[Laphisto]

Laphisto wasn't expecting company. His focus was primarily on fighting the droids, after all, and keeping the civilians safe. He could call for reinforcements from the corvette that brought him here. But it had been far too long since he had gotten some real action, so he opted to handle this alone. Moving to deflect a blaster bolt, Laphisto was caught off guard by what Dice Thorne had said, his attention being pulled away just enough that he missed the blaster bolt, causing it to smash into his shoulder, the armor doing its job and keeping him safe, with the bolt spiraling away from him due to the Siegeriums reflective nature.

Granted, his armor kept him safe, but that didn't mean he didn't feel the blow. With his shoulder rearing to the side slightly, he left ample opening for another to smash into his chest, causing a small grunt to escape the Kievarian's throat before regaining his composure. His eyes glanced down at his body at the mention of a rancor. Did he look like one? Or at least to these people, did he?

"I'm not here to eat anyone, merely on a stroll. Right place, right time." At Dice's plan, he gave a slight nod, reaching out with force and aiming to pull several chunks of debris up to try and provide a little more cover. "All alright, kid, I'll follow your lead. This is your home after all, and you will know mo-" laphistos words stopped in his throat as he looked over, the tell-tell signs of a lightsaber being ignited. Another force user here? Perhaps a Jedi had been nearby and heard the commotion.

What Laphisto didn't expect to find when he looked over, however, was the Gen'dai, which caused him to frown and shake his head—a sith. Or at least a dark-sided force user. No matter if he had dealt with dark siders plenty of times, what could make this one different. " another dark sider attempting to gain power through chaos and fear? How typical of your kind. " laphisto seemed to speak with more disappointment than anything. Almost like a disappointed father scolding a child for making a wrong choice

Turning to dice, he gave a small nod. "Get these people out of here, and if you need to. Head for the port, look for landing pad V-19, seek out Captain Gurali of the Lilaste order, and tell her the High commander has permitted you to use the ship's medical bay. access code HJU883, I'll deal with the force user"

Laphisto was effectively blind, both literally and figuratively, so he was far from aware of the Gen'dais physical appearance. after all he only saw another dark sider, or at least he believed it to be one. as his eyes took on that familiar teal hue he peered through the force starring at the Gen'dai and pulling at their alignment just to make sure his accusations were correct.

 

[Dice Thorne]

Dice Thorne couldn't react in time to the two bolts that suddenly crashed into Laphisto's shoulder and chest. His lips peeled back in a wince, but he could tell the warrior had been faced with something more harmful than plasma in his days.

The Gen'dai male's full attention laid squarely on Laphisto now. The peppy robot kid didn't inspire any fear, but the gauntlets were... Interesting, to say the least. And also, familiar.

"Heh... What are you talking about? The Outer Rim Territories are free game for The Collective. I came to... Cleanse the area. Need a good landing point for The Hoard, you know?"

The Hoard? The Collective? Dice's expression remained ignorant, while Laphisto wouldn't have recorded any instance of "The Collective".

Despite the brief exchange, Dice used the diversion to ready himself behind the floating shield of rubble and lifted his gauntlets into a... Boxer's block. Two forearms vertical covering the chest and head. He pivoted his body to face the Gen'dai and began to sidestep slowly with the family behind him.

[^]"G...Gurali? Lilaste order? W-"
[#]"I've been recording the dialogue between you two... Don't worry - I've got the details. Access code HJU883, right, right... Just move north Dice- face your right and go straight ahead. Not the direction the big guy is in, but--"
[^]"I KNOW MY LEFTS AND RIGHTS! Stop elaborating!"
[#]"Sometimes I can't tell."

While Dice wanted nothing more than to charge the enemy head on, he had a responsibility for the living bystanders in the area first. Before he could assist Laphisto in combat, he had to make the distance towards Landing Pad V-19 - which due to security concerns began preparations to temporarily shut down, beginning to close the small dome hole the extraction took place through and sealing more people in the area inside. Perhaps he could take some of the incapacitated civilians he picked up along the way to the medical bay as well, and at least get as many people quick and safe transport out as he can in one trip. The citizens that remained would have to rely on the strength of Laphisto and Dice Thorne to live.

A few desperately followed Dice down the street, leaving Laphisto and the Gen'dai force wielder alone to start things off.

---

[#] Now Playing - Gladiator


"I'm not some creep who dedicates their life to the dark side... It should be wielded as the expendable weapon it is. Something that is subjugated so easily deserves no further praise or inspection. It deserves to be dismantled... Sapped of its natural resource and expended just as quickly. Jedi scum... You live for such a meaningless purpose... I... WILL..."

The Gen'dai tore a small silver "puffer" from his waistbelt. He jammed it between his teeth and inhaled a dark, inky substance. As it exhaled through his teeth and nose and the smoke rose into the air, the veins around his eyes wriggled and pumped full of tar. His foot suddenly stomped into the dirt, radiating an encircling wave of gravity that launched any debris or rubble around him at high speeds.

"MY NAME IS GENERAL SHA'DRAIG! PREPARE TO BE SUBJUGATED." ​

 

[Laphisto]

Laphistos's blade hummed, the plasma sizzling in the air as he slowly pushed himself to the left, aiming to circle the large creature. While he stood well over seven feet tall, this creature was well enough to match his height. Albeit they were of a bigger build. The collective, the hoard? These were two organizations he did not know of, though perhaps he could obtain more answers from the Gen'dai.

Laphisto listened to every word the Gen'dai spoke, his lone ear perking in the air and twitching. Much of it was the usual dark sider bable. So, for the most part, he glossed over it until he was called a Jedi. The title made him frown and caused him to shake his head with a slow chuckle. If this General Sha'draig thought him a Jedi. then that would be his undoing.

"The collective? The hoard? Now, these are names I have never heard of, and I have been around for quite some time. Then again, they must not be very important for a 'Jedi' like myself to have never heard of them. Perhaps you're just not that important."

Laphisto taunted the man; he wanted to get under their skin and blind them with rage for a better advantage. He saw the motion of them bringing something to their mouth, but he still had no idea what they were doing, let alone what the drug they had in their system was capable of. Keeping their distance from the 'general,' laphisto wanted them to talk as much as possible, so he opted to toy with them, pulling back on the defensive and aiming to avoid any attacks they might swing his way.

---

At the landing bay, Captain Gurali stood on the outside of their ship, the Abednedo, accompanied by two Lilaste soldiers. They seemed to be arguing with the dock supervisor, trying to get some information as to what was going on and why things were being put on lockdown." What do you mean the city is on lockdown? My commander is in the city. I need to get them out. We have appointments, and we don't have time for this!"

Dice Thorne

 

[Dice Thorne]

[#] Now Playing - Judgement

---

Sha'draig's body vibrated in frustration, his hand shaking the rattling can of RAGE in what could only be interpreted as a violent bodily convulsion. His legs gave way to his body, and his hands scrambled to maintain balance by drunkenly spinning in the opposite way he was falling. He tipped and wobbled for another moment, before his posture tightened into a Form IV lightsaber combat stance. "Perhaps the value of your own existence is equally as moot. You clearly haven't been enough of a problem for us to recognize... Jedi."

Maybe this opponent wasn't as brutish as anticipated. He deflected Laphisto's wit with his own, and instead of attacking in a violent outburst, he let the RAGE and his conniptions fester to produce an evil aura of anticipation. The sight of Sha'draig's blade extending forward to gauge the distance between the two provoked terror in those who hid away, further feeding the growing tension.

He began to slowly tread forward, each step shaving the seconds before the impact of plasma. It felt as if time sat still, making each step feel like an eternity. This was not the burning fury of a passionate warrior, or a whirlwind of rage, but simply the gaping maw of a hungry predator. It was pure malice, fed by the adrenaline of the hunt. Laphisto was no longer a man in the eyes of the Gen'dai warrior, but a frail prey animal.

The feeling of eternity suddenly stopped, as the precious seconds Laphisto once had time to cherish divided into micro-seconds, as Sha'draig lunged forward, swinging down towards his head.

---

The dock supervisor and the two soldiers began to hear the growing panicked yells of civilians. The V-19 landing pad sat at the end of a long runway connected to the city's outer rim. The city actually descended into three infrastructural layers inside the dome, in which the pad was installed at the top layer for incoming ship's ease of access. This dock was the primary extraction zone in which people and cargo would enter and exit the city, and a large hoard of stumbling innocents were heading right across to it.

Dice lead the hoard of people like a commander leading an army into war. [^]"HEY! YOU... Huff... YOU NEED TO GET THESE PEOPLE OUT OF HERE!"

The group of panicking people finally arrived in front of the supervisor with Dice, all standing still with pleading expressions on their faces.

[^]"I... I need a Captain Gurali... With a side of fries - kidding, I mean... I need the what's it... Medical Bay? Phew, I'm so worn out... Too much running... Uh, high command gave us permission... Access code HJU883... Please, I'll say whatever I need to say to get you to take these people out of here... Numbers, names... Someone really dangerous is killing innocent people..."

 

[Laphisto]

Laphisto watched, and he waited. His eyes flashed a teal blue as he began to see through the force. He saw the action, and he somewhat felt the flux in the Gen'dai's movements. from the drug coursing through their veins. And how it reacted with the force within them. Quite peculiar. With heir form taking shape in their chosen lightsaber form. Ataru, with a slight chuckle,

"Perhaps the value of your own existence is equally as moot. You clearly haven't been enough of a problem for us to recognize... Jedi."

" I'm new in town. haven't made my way towards this side of the galaxy in centuries"


laphisto pushed himself back slightly. Centering his balance and holding his broad saber firm before him. Taking Form I . when the Gendai swung, Laphisto was prepared for it, bringing his blade up quickly, catching the red saber against his deep blue blade. The moment the two blades connected, he threw his weight and used the momentum of his opponent's attack to push their blade to the right, hitting his Handguard against the saber. The beskar metal sang at the impact, and he quickly followed by pulling his left hand off the handle and backhanding the General in the face before pulling back and creating some distance again. [ realized link for saber is brokie, here is an image of what it looks like ]

" I'm not an expert in Ataru, but I think your foot works sloppy." he shot the man slightly snickered before holding his blade outwards before him at waist height again. The point tilted forward as he awaited another attack. he needed more information. And he had a feeling he wouldn't get answers by simply asking.

---

The captain seemed to freeze slightly at seeing such a large gathering of people." what? who is this rab-" the captain seemed to pause when the access code was given a small frown stretching over their face. He was warned about the Commander's looseness with his access code. this in fact was the seventh one this weekly rotation " I don't see why the commander would give you his access code. what are we suppo-" the captain was cut off as one of the soldiers stepped forward. The crimson-orange marking on his armor. the man wore a standard set of LO-56A MKII armor save for the paint job. at first glance, the man didn't look to special. save for the strange sense that any force sensitive near him would feel suddenly cold, with a sense of darkness hovering and flowing off their person. Almost like an empty space in an otherwise vivid and colorful world.

the man approached Dice Thorne a LO-18D in his hand " how dangerous are we talking? I'm sure the commander can handle themselves. but I would much prefer getting my hands dirty than standing around. " the soldier spoke through the integrated intercom through his helmet as he looked down at dice

at this the captain spoke up again, "Commander Tarian, what do you think you're doing? we cant help these peo-"

the commander raised a closed fist as he looked to Gurali "Kid has the commander's code, so his word is as viable as the High commanders. and if the kid says we take the people on board and help with evacuation protocols, then that's what we do." Turning back to dice the man rolled his shoulders. the right one empty, but the left holding a metallic sword " lead the way, Kid"

 

[Dice Thorne]

"Primary... I've got a competent one here. What shall I do?"
The Gen'dai warrior spoke into his collar, grimacing at Laphisto. A drip of blood stained the edge of Sha'draig's lips, but he simply licked it off and silently chuckled. He was listening intently to something... A whisper, some sort of voice that didn't echo in the meat of reality, but invaded the mind, and courted the soul with an almost comforting rasp. Laphisto could only make out words, like "kill", "seize". It was a collection of voices sounding almost argumentative about their decision. One broke through the veil of voices, instilling its dominance over the others, and commanded:

|; SILENCE.
​

It didn't take long for Sha'draig to recollect his footing. Something had manifested in his mind that triumphed over his self-control. The rusted armor that plated his body began to emit a dark glow across the suit, veins of energy circulating power like the palpitations of a heart throughout a body. There was no longer a Sha'draig, only the entity known as Primary.

|; I sense age in you. A curse we both share - centuries of suffering within this flawed existence. I can feel you pulling on the forces of light and dark, desperately holding on in a war of attrition. You wish to find an answer in the union of opposite energies, but you fail to realize both operate within the realm of chaos. Neither can truly connect with the other, and any attempt to do so results in... Heart break. Destruction. Pain.

|; I wish to create an Eden unburdened by the war of light and dark. While the universe deteriorates in its war over creation, I will make a world hidden away from reality, one which is safe. One which is guided under my shielding wings.

The entity known as primary neglected his lightsaber, favoring the use of a simple gesture to rupture the concrete street beneath them both with the force. Sha'draig's body floated idly above the rubble for a moment, inspecting its surroundings carefully for Laphisto. Whether Laphisto sustained damage or escaped without effort was unknown to Primary. He could barely manipulate Sha'draig's body from his throne planets away, let alone use Sha'draigs eyes to see reliably. It was like floating through a blurry void, with only sound cues and the flow of force energy to direct attention. Laphisto could have easily hidden his presence from Primary's clairvoyance as well.

Primary relied on his mastery over the force to pose a threat to Laphisto through Sha'draig's body and could only wait in anticipation for the next clash.

---

[^]"Uhm, how dangerous? To be honest, he looks like your average Sith battle junkie. He didn't look too impressive when I was there, but I wanted to make sure these people were okay first."

[^]"But if you're asking to kick some bad guy behind with me, I'm not gonna just turn you away..!"

Gurali was left with a panicking group of people to ferry them all onto a ship, while Dice escorted Tarian through the increasingly ruined streets before them. As he arrived with Gurali to the scene of action, he caught the tail end of Primary's villainous speech. Dice scoffed, flexing the fingers of his gauntlets and curling them into two giant fists. He couldn't see Laphisto yet in the smokescreen blanketing the area, but he could see Sha'draig's ascending body hover over the streets, exhausting a thick black smoke from its armor.

[^]"I might have underestimated the situation... YO BIG GUY! YOU THERE?!"​

 

[Laphisto]

Laphisto was caught off guard by the sudden crackling and breaking of the concrete under his feet. He was caught up in his own pride at landing a blow on the dark side so easily. He had assumed this would be nothing more than a cake walk.

Shaking himself back to a steady position laphisto listened to the creatures words and took them into account. Though he made no effort to hide his force signature, wither it be because he didn't know how or chose not to was hard to tell

"The forces of light and dark need each other to survive" flapping his wings Laphisto pushed any smoke that had gathered away from him and cleared the air. The blue glow of his saber glowing in the settling dust. "Without darkness light cannot be seen and yet without light there would be no dark. Balance is the goal, and balance I shall bring to this galaxy. For to long have the forces of dark and light been at war, bringing the galaxy into countless altercations and war. If they cannot be united then they shall be eradicated for the greater good."

---

Tarian held his rifle in his hand, rushing behind Dice Thorne till they got closer and closer to the battle scene. The commander fired his rifle at any stray battle droids that might have been stomping their way through the city. The rifle ringing out with a loud crack as the 30-06 slug ripped through the air and armor alike. When they arrived on scene the commander didn't hesitate pushing his rifle up and firing a three round burst at sha'draig - now primary - there was a reason Laphisto chose tarian as his personal commander. The man was completely cut off from the force making him an asset against force users " no matter kid, with the three of us I'm sure we can take him down."

 

[Dice Thorne]

|; There was an inkling of wisdom in your words for a moment... Eradication... If it cannot be united, it must be destroyed... And destroyed it will be. I'll simply laugh as you desperately beg for the universe to figure itself out, as I evaporate my kingdom from this very dimension. Fade into the entropy this flawed reality was destined for.

Primary's arrogance depicted a fatal weakness. Despite his self-perception of great power, one thing truly stopped him from being a perfect leader.

His ego.

---

[#] Now Playing - Impatience

Primary couldn't anticipate the bullets punching through the body of his proxy. One slug deeply scraping through the armor and flesh across his shoulder, while the other two pumped through his chest. The body he had inherited was now a cadaver, and he could only reliably control the arms to focus the flow of his force abilities.

The body now began to flop around while floating in the sky, performing uncanny stretches and awkward poses to exert a powerful force push in the direction of its enemies to start. The body's hand then swiped horizontally in the direction of a nearby building, which produced a cleaving blow of force energy through the glass and concrete framing. Shards of glass and debris began to bury the streets below, with Laphisto, Dice Thorne and Tarian being forced to react at a second's notice.

Dice took his moment to react by pummeling the large shards of concrete raining directly on top of him, reducing it all to dust with a quick flurry of punches. This gave him a small opportunity to leap out of the now hazardous terrain.

Primary's failing body began to twitch and shake, being unable to sustain the powerful energy conducted through it. In this small window of respite where the body held still, Dice picked up a large chunk of debris and pitched it at Primary with impeccable form.

It barreled through the air and knocked the body out of the sky, bringing Primary down to the ground where both Dice and Laphisto waited.

Primary fumbled around on the floor for a moment, attempting to operate Sha'draig's body as well as a shopping cart. This was until Dice said something regretfully brash.

[^]"Sorry guy! I personally think the whole 'possession' thing is overdone."
[^]"And look... I think both you and the big guy over here need to think about your ideals a little longer..."
[^]"All this anger over things that we can't control... You know what I think?"

[^]"You, weird zombie guy, are shallow. And cynical - 'duh, everything sucks so I'm gonna make a world that doesn't suck'. There's always some kriff-head who thinks they know what's best for everyone... Maybe it's more complicated than that... Maybe the universe is more than two halves of a whole."

Whether Dice's words hit a mark or not for anybody around him, he still stared straight in contemplation over his own words. Was it profound, or was he just trying to get under Primary's skin? Regardless, the entity who had previously keeled over on the ground pounded his fist into the floor. Strikes of red thunder surged from his body and flowed through his fingers, creating a small tornado of debris behind him. The wind carrying all the hazardous material thundered with crackles of lightning, while Primary finally managed to inhabit Sha'draig's corpse to its fullest ability.

|; I don't have long before my connection expires... I'll destroy you all in one fatal blow. Prepare yourself.

As usual for arrogant idealists, he neglected Dice's perspective and decided to end this encounter with a fatal declaration of war.
It was obvious in the body's eyes - Primary wouldn't let this go, and he would attempt to kill at least one opponent before his "connection" severed.

He aimed to envelop the entire city in a large "force storm" while scattering the debris across the city even further. The tornado slowly began to accumulate in size. The only chance they had at disabling this attack was to eliminate Primary's connection quicker than he could expire himself.

[^]"BIG GUY!"

Dice Thorne quickly turned to Laphisto, and with a look of absolute seriousness shouted:

[^]"THROW ME AT HIM!"​

 

[Laphisto]

Laphisto Listened, and when he heard the familiar shots of Tarians rifle, his saber pushed into an offensive position. A slight grumble escaped his throat as he moved to avoid the now-falling debris. Pushing out with the force or by simply jumping out of the way. He could not truly perceive the chunks as they fell, so he relied on his Precognition to give him an advantage. With his eyes closed - not that he could see very well with them open anyway. -, he stopped and listened to the force, letting it guide his movements to keep him safe.

When Primary fell to the ground, his eyes shot open, and he tried to rush forward to deliver a final blow. But was fought off guard as he tripped over a large piece of falling debris, sending him tumbling forward and rolling for a few feet before he got to his feet. His saber launched out of his grasp and slid across the ground.

As he dusted himself off, he looked over and heard the words Dice Thorne spoke, his brow raising softly. His mission had been to create a true balance in the galaxy since he woke up from his carbonite prison. That's been the one thing that drove him forward—his true purpose. Then again, he was a weapon without orders when he woke up, given his freedom by the then grand master of the silver Jedi concordant. And this was the first thing he had considered the best case for the galaxy.

He had seen so much bloodshed, so much war, and its sole cause was because of the force. Be it light and dark fighting each other or forces influenced by one side or the other. He knew galactic peace was an impossible task. But the force needed to be kept in check to prevent it from causing more damage to the broader galaxy, as it had done for millennia. To a degree, he could see where the dice were coming from, and part of him hoped he was right.

When Primary seemed to get back onto their feet and begin to float again, he growled before his ear perked up at Dice's words with a raised brow. The kid wanted to be thrown? Surely, that was insane. Perhaps the kid had something up his sleeve, "All alright, kid, give 'em hell." Reaching out with the force, Laphisto moved to pick Dice up before launching them towards Primary with great force. It was a better plan than nothing, and something told him to trust him.

 

[Dice Thorne]

Now Playing - Remember

Dice felt the grasp of the force lifting him off the ground. It was almost overwhelming - a vice grip he couldn't anticipate, but he knew this was the intensity of a well learned force wielder. He felt gravity pull him back for a moment, like a sling ready to release.

If they were both going to end this in one shot, Dice had to make a decision. He brooded in the air over Laphisto's perspective of the force and concluded that he would need to reach into a realm of energy that clashed with his good nature.

As Laphisto aimed to hurl his body through the air, the green essence that flowed through Dice's gauntlets crackled with green energy, which slowly diluted into a deep red. He felt rage in that moment, for the innocents that had to die, because of his tardiness. For the fear he witnessed on well-meaning people.

The green kyber energy had finally bled into a deep rage localized in the gauntlet of Dice Thorne's right fist.
His arms vibrated in pain and total concentration - the force clutching his body keeping him rigid in the air, until he was finally tossed through the air like a spear, or more like a ballistic projectile.

As Dice quickly closed the distance between him and Primary, his eyes and lips peeled back from the sheer speed. He could only mutter a sentence through his teeth, deafened by the sound of the wind being split in half-

[^]"THESE PEOPLE... ARE UNDER OUR PROTECTION!!!"​

---

Only the keen eyed could witness the impact before the fall. As Dice's fist collided with Primary's torso, a deep dent instantly formed in the center of the proxy, in the shape of a set of knuckles.

Another split second passed, and the mangled body began to fly in the opposite direction, the remains leaving a dusty crater on the surface of a nearby apartment complex.

Dice Thorne was quick to succumb to his injuries as his body tumbled in the other direction and scraped over the concrete street. He finally lay still near Laphisto and Tarian - his gauntlets tarred with red energy, and his smug grin shivering in pain. He knew he couldn't hide his injuries, but as was his nature, he made another quip to lighten the mood, and put attention on their victory.

[^]"GGhh--hhah... Hehe... Nice pitch... Did you... Get the throwing arm... From the rancor side of your family..?"

He coughed up a little blood, but despite it all, he was relieved. The only thing left to clean up was the remaining battle droids, but Dice slowly let the concussion overwhelm him - falling unconscious on the floor. His only parting words being:

[^]"Don't eat me... I'm just... Nap-...-ping..."

 

[Laphisto]

Laphisto watched the impending impact and saw the body of Primary go flying. Most importantly, he felt the shift of Dice Thorne as his force signature changed on a dime. Then he heard the impact seconds after it had happened. His heightened senses being a great advantage to him, when he saw Dice get thrown back towards him and tarian he quickly reached out with the force, wrapping it around the boy and trying to help decline his fall and bring him down smother than he would have otherwise.

Setting him down, Laphisto kneeled over the man, his eyes flashing a teal blue as he spoke. Several shots could be heard and if he were still able to see, he would notice several soldiers of the Lilaste order moving in to help finish off the droids. And Laphistos voice was heard almost as if in the distance, though his mouth spoke different words. Within dice's mind, Laphistos voice rang out and almost echoed" Your fight is not over yet Dice Thorn, Guardian of Plazir-15."

On the outside tarian spoke first, kneeling on the other side of dice opposite of Laphisto" shame, kid would have made a fine member of my battalion. It's a shame to see him go so soon."

Laphisto looked over at tarian a small chuckle rolling from his throat as two soldiers rushed over, pulling out a few medical supplies and getting to work on trying to stabalize Dice " he is far from dead. the force is strong with this one. we will take him back to Aurora Station. the medical facilities are much more suited for his injures"

Tarian grabbed at his helmet and took it off looking at the commander with a raised brow" and what of the refugees?"

"Recruit anyone who wishes to join us. Those that wish to stay can do so. i believe our actions here today may have just added a new pool of able bodies to our cause, let's get him to the ship and back to the station. We can discuss further back at HQ"

And with that, the soldiers began to continue clean up operations, and tending to the wounded in the area. it was only a matter of time before the Lilaste order Warships arrived, delivering medical supplies and recruiting from the local populace, promising them revenge, and the ability to become a hero like the ones they had seen battle Primary.