Waking the Bear. [Mando/Sith]

[Ryori Holloway]

@B'Arin Graad @[member="Kaia Za'tire"] @[member="Teferi Efreet"]
Taking the gunship to the space station

Ryori watched her daughter struggle to discern where to go. It was odd, really... Kaia took so much from Ryori in her personality and her skills, and yet seemed to be so uncertain of herself. She had forgotten how, at Kaia's age, Ryori had already been taking care of herself for fifteen years. It was just strange to see her daughter, one who was usually so fiercely independant and fearless, seem to almost be begging for guidance.

Luckily for Kaia, it had been a test. Unluckily for her, sitting back was not an option.

She only nodded. There was no expression on her face, no disappointment, just acceptance. "Come with me, then. You're a sure fire with that blaster, and I know you'll be an asset." Ryori gave Kaia a small smile, with a hint of pride showing through. She had a lot of faith in her daughter, and if direction was what she needed right now, then that is what Ryori would give her.

Turning back toward Teferi, Ryori bowed her head to him. "Interesting your stratagem is, Warrior Master, but trap the spaceport is, I fear." It was true. Ryori knew it herself. She nodded soberly to him, clearly taking his words to mind. "We are in agreement there. It's always a trap when the Sith are involved... but that is all the more reason for us to go. I will not leave them stranded. The Mandalorians are going whether or not it is a trap, and whether or not we follow... better that we do follow, and give them a better chance to emerge triumphant." She didn't know if the Grandmaster would agree with that opinion, but that wasn't really important. To Ryori, that was what it meant to be a Jedi: to do what was right, and fight to protect the lives of others, even if the battle may seem hopeless and comes at the cost of your own life. It was a lesson she hoped Kaia would one day grasp.

"Safe journeys, Jedi Master Ryori Za'tire. May the Force be with you."

"And also with you, Grandmaster. I will have a comm on me, should you need me at the capitol."

Beckoning for Kaia to follow, Ryori made her way toward the gunship that the Mandalore had directed her toward, the same one that B'Arin had boarded. She took a seat semi-near to B'Arin, making sure there was an empty one next to her for Kaia, and strapped herself in. Making herself comfortable as the ship lifted and made its way toward the station, Ryori turned to B'Arin to start a small conference between him, Kaia, and herself. "As we fly, would you mind filling us in about the station? Plans of attack and infiltration, how you suspect the Sith may retaliate or what they may have prepared for us, that kind of thing. I would like to determine where we would be most useful to you and your comrades."

 

[Ca'traFiraxan]

Soris was thrown violently off his feet by a mortar blast and landed hard on his back. He scrambled away from the main battle ground, clutching his verpine shatter rifle. Soris found an abandoned factory and hid in a rusted piece of bent metal. His HUD was down and he needed to fix it before nightfall or he would be blind as a... Well... Hapan. He tinkered around with his buy'ce until it flickered on and the HUD was working again. Soris decided to do some sniper work.

Soris got up on top of a building and aimed at a sith's head. He fired and the sith exploded into pieces as Soris typed another kill on his gauntlet datapad record sheet. He was in a little friendly competition with some other soldiers. Whoever got the most kills won and got major bragging rights.

Soris picked off a few more sith until he was feeling ready for dirty work again. His back nerves started working again so Soris headed down to the ground. He took cover and was soon in miniature firefight.

 

[Verz Horak]

Junction, Relay station drop zone

Verz and his troops were dropped off by the gunship, whoch had been assigned to take out fortifications between them and the station. He waited for the rest of the assault force takping the relay station. Shouldn't be too much longer. He even heard Jedi were going to be helping him. This would be an interesting battle.

 

[Jorn Mair]

Gunship,

Jorn heard the calling to board the shuttles off. He was getting o them and saw that Kal and Kote were in the same ship. He came ot theirs and sat on the out side. He would be partly dangling out of the ship with his rifle at the ready. He heard Kal was still talking to Kote. Jorn shook his head at the thought that these men could still talk. but he gave them some slack from having the jitters. through his com system he told the pilot. "Drop us off near the capitol. make sure to give us some covering fire." He heard some static and then an answer "Yes Sir, Rally master" Jorn shook his head. he would have to get used to being called a higher rank orther than "boy". Jorn turned to Kote and said "I want to keep you close to me. DOnt want you running into anything that you cant handle. just make sure you stay away from Daxton and the Hydra forces. They are spec opps." Jorn then said to Kal "You can join if you want. You still need to get used to that new arm. Dont go waling into any 'nades."

Jorn had to make sure that his platoon would be able body enough to fight. he called out only to them "Platoon count, number off, Rally Master Jorn Mair." He heard some static over the com system and some people responding "Chance call" more static "Ev Dirst" And it would continue down the Line. he had all of his troops inorder and then contacted Hk "I was telling Kote to run from Daxton," he then laughed "hes never fought a Sith like you and I have."

All of a sudden the gunship was hit with morders and anti-air misiles. Jorn was hanging on my a rope wraped around his hand. Jorn got a sudden jolt and was almost thrown from the Ship. yelling over his come he said "Hang on! Its going to be bumby!"

 

[Darth Hauntruss]

The words of the other apprentice rang throughout the dark scenery of the cabin, catching Talos's attention. He starred at the girl as she recited some orognial poetry. Once she had finished the cabin had gone quiet once again, so Talos took the initiative.
A slow clapping broke the eerie silence as talos slapped his goved palms together "very poetic." Talos said as he eyed the girl through his mask "perhapes you can recite that to the jedi and make them see the errors of their ways." The sarcasm in the apprentices voice was so thick it was almost suffocating.

[Hyperspace-Daxton Bane's Ship]
@[member="Darth Talos"]
Val'Ryss eyed the figure that clapped and remarked on her words. No tone did she give, no attitude did she emit, she responded with the same cold and reptilian voice she had been using before.

"The Jedi busy themselves finding errors in others, so that they can continue their "stewardship" of the Rrepublic. No words will save them now. Only in death will they find the time to lament for their errors." Finishing, Val'Ryss rose from her meditative seat. The Apprentices stood up to attention and quietly watched her position. "Perhaps the words of the boy will cut Jedi deeper than his blade? But words in this age have lost their meaning."

Val'Ryss having finished her little banter with Talos turned to the apprentices in her unit and with a more dark and powerful voice addressed them, "We are close. No doubt the Jedi and Mandalorians will feel the consuming darkness that will come. Use this darkness, drive fear into their hearts and do as the force guides. Ignore the Mandalorians, they are just soldiers, the real prizes are the Jedi. Hunt them down, act in packs. Use the chaos, hide in the shadows. Strike them in the dark. Eat the light...devour it and leave no one alive." The apprentices moved to attention and in unison bowed responding "Yes, Commander".

 

[Daxton Bane]

[Hyperspace - Daxton Bane's Ship]
@[member="Darth Talos"]
@ Val'Ryss Zankarr

"That is enough." Daxton spoke with a cold, emotionless voice that brooked no argument from either of his apprentices. "Save the vitriol and the venom for the Mandolorians and the Jedi. I will not tolerate either one of you making this an opportunity for friendly fire. The Emperor demands we teach foes a lesson and I intend to feed them bitter ashes of defeat, I will personally take the head of any among you who tries to weed out the competition while the battle is ongoing, is that understood?"

When his subcommanders all agreed he had them gather before a tactical map of the star port. "Pay attention to what I am about to say, my apprentices. The Mandalorians will attempt to seize the space port in order to land their troop ships and deploy for land operations. Our goal is to deny that asset. The space port itself is a massive booby trap, rigged to blow once the main mandalorian force lands and engages our automatic defense towers and droid defenses. If they are not as incompetent as I expect them to be the defenses should not pose a serious threat to the Mandalorian advance, however that is the time when we spring the trap. There are enough EMP ordinance stored in the hangars to turn every electronic device within a 1 km radius of the space port inert, that includes any vibro and lightsabers the Jedi possess. With their ships disabled, their guns unable to fire and their mando suits worthless pieces of metal, we would launch our glorious counter attack, here, here and here. A circling pincer to entrap and destroy them once and for all. The mandos will be forced to engage us in hand to hand and we will naturally decline and shoot them from afar. The only real threat would be from the Jedi, but then we have the numbers and the firepower and they would be unarmed and helpless. Between your squads, you should prove to be more than capable of handling any threat they pose. Questions?"

 

[Darth Talos]

Hyperspace
@[member="Daxton Bane"]

@[member="Val'Ryss Zankarr"]


"Yes." Talos said in his egotistic way "do we stack the corpses, or leave them where they fall?" It was no secret that Talos thought very highly of himself, whether he deserved it or no had yet to be showcased. He took a look back to the squad he would be leading, walking to them once he had gotten an answer to his remark.


Eying them over he looked at each ones face. Weakness seemed to plauge them, but he would watch them, for if there were any strong among them he would be sure to become their comrade. If he was to ever build his new empire, Talos needed only the strong, the weak would be dealt with harshly. Daxton would be a strong ally when the time came, but Talos did not trust him. He was set in his ways and would not fall in line when the time came. If he was to gain support he needed to appeal to the students, for they could be easily molded to his way of thinking. They also far outnumber the knights and masters, and by the time he was ready to act most of them will have ascended the ranks. It would be glorious, but it would take time.


"Stay alert, stay alive. If you are weak...you will die and we will not mourn you. But for those of you who are strong, you will have proven the might of the Sith and earned my attention. Do not flee the enemy, or i will kill you myself. The Sith will be strong my brothers and sisters." Talos glanced back at bane "and it has no room for the weak, who must all die."

 

[Darth Hauntruss]

[ @[member="Daxton Bane"]
@[member="Darth Talos"] ]

Val'Ryss nodded to Knight Bane and replied, "All is understood Knight Bane. This one shall despatch the obstacles once the time is set. We shall be quiet as the shadows and sudden as death itself." She then looked down upon the tactical map and nodded some more. Th eplan was a fascinating one. A sharp surprise after a concussive arrival. Val'Ryss raised her hands and pulled up her hood. Once again her facial features were obscured by the darkness of the hood, only her golden eyes glowed onwards.


[ @[member="Darth Moridin"] ]
A darkness was coming, and in the future it may come from within their own ranks. Val'Ryss suddenly thought of the Emperor, her master. She closed her eyes and through force focused a message to him, she hoped he would receive it in spite of her still developing talents.

"Dark forces lurk within our ranks, my master. Keep safe. For now we are united."

 

[Mirta Kar]

She waited, she was waiting for initial reports, she wasn't going to ride her droid down until she knew where she and the other mandolorians behind her were. It was funny how somehow she had gotten promoted, she hadn't even tried, just done her job and her duty. She waited, as she was going to kill the sith, She was going to rain down on them with her squadron of basilisk war droids and strike fear into the hearts of the sith as the penetrated their defenses. She would not let the Sith keep control of their planet. They would take back Junction!

Mirta laughed a bit as she saw all the ships flood down, The mandolorians were for once taking the fight to sith and this was going to be fun. They would show who was who! and of course she had a bone to pick with a certain force user.

 

[Jaxton Ravos]

Mandalore's Gunship
@Tef @Emb

Jaxton felt the Force suddenly just cease to exist as the Crew Chief brought Mandalore a nutrient frame. How something could just nullify the Force around him confused him to no end. Jaxton wondered why Mandalore would call for aid from the Republic, hence the Jedi, and then bring something like that with him. He knew he could still fight with his Saber and rely on his speed and strength, but he didn't think the Grandmaster could do the same. Mandalore said something to the Grandmaster to say he could hear him, which made Jaxton just feel all the better. He had the feeling he would be made some example of by Mandalore for Teferi implying Mandalore needed his protection.

"I imagine their Emperor will be there to meet us, and if he's not there now he will be soon." Jaxton heard Mandalore say. The Emperor . . . If Jaxton could help kill him, a crippling blow would be dealt to the Sith Empire. Jaxton could also lose his life by the Emperour simply outclassing him in the Force. Jaxton would have to stay close to the Jedi Master.

But if I stay close I could get in his way. The Emperor could attack me to get to him." Jaxton thought to himself. He would have to hang back and use his Battle Meditation to help Teferi, while lowering the efficiency of the Emperor. Jaxton had begun to study how to use his Battle Meditation and mask it, but he was far from mastering the technique. Still, it could be the difference between life and death. Jaxton argued with himself on whether or not to ask the Grandmaster to help him practice the technique while they were riding down to the surface, but decided against it. The Mandalorians could lose faith in him and Teferi if he displayed such a lack of knowledge. Jaxton began tapping his finger on his leg as he sat down, getting anxious for the coming fight and waited. If the Grandmaster had more precise orders to give Jaxton, he would give them in his own time, perhaps when not in the finely tuned ears of Mandalore.

 

[Nisha Decrilla]

Anaya left the children on the roof top of the command centre with an apprentice, to guard them. She could taste the fear of the soldiers as they watched the transports descending from orbit as she marched to the wall barking orders for barricades to be set up to allow for easy cover, through ensuring each blockade was rigged with explosives in case the men behind it failed to keep the mandalorians at bay.

A Hydra agent fell in step next to her and handed her a datapad, "I checked our supply of explosives as you requested. Even with those used on the barricade we have enough to flatten the city, should it come to that." Anaya flicked quickly through the list before handing it back to him. "Prepare the explosives, take four of your best and rig the city. If the Command Centre falls, the city will fall with it." The sounds of battle had already begun beyond the walls, that was exactly where Anaya intended for it to remain.

@[member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""][member=""] Jorn & co.
Not long after dismissing him Anaya reached the wall and force leapt a top it. Great gaping holes from the sith's own attack had been hastily repaired, or lined with assault droids, they posed a weakness but so long as Anaya could keep the mandalorian scum out of the city until the Emperor arrived they stood a chance. She watched as another gunship came under heavy fire as it descended close to the city her lips curled back into a smile. Closing her eyes she reach out in the force touching the minds of every Mandalore aboard, filling them with fear, before she found one she recognised.

"Should have bent the knee mando'ade." her voice would be like nails down a blackboard in Jorn's mind "I look forward to killing you this time." Drawing away she opened her eyes and merely observed the battle.

She itched to be in the midst of it but it was her job to ensure the city did not fall. Pulling a holoprojecter from her belt she turned it between her fingers, expecting it to beep the moment the sith fleet jumped into orbit so she could give her report. A stray blaster shot headed towards her and she batted it back it the fray with her saber, and deactivated it again.

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

Hyperspace
Val
Moridin stood upon the bridge of his Palleon still, he watched the lines of hyperspace. The fading stars moved past the ship faster than one could even perceive. It was said that one would go mad if they stared into hyperspace, that looking into it was like looking into the abyss. The Dreadlord did not seem to care though, or perhaps he had already reached a certain level of madness. He stared into the abyss, waiting for time to go by. Throughout his fleet his soldiers were preparing and his Sith were getting ready. The Mandalorians would have a massive head start on Junction.

By the time the Emperor and his forces arrived the enemy would likely have captured a good portion of the planet. Truthfully Moridin expected only the capital to remain standing, that was where the highest concentration of remaining Sith were, and he assumed thats where the Mandalore would be.

As they began to approach Junction something began to trouble him. The force poked and prodded him, it tore and bit at his scalp and gave him goosebumps. It was trying to tell him something. This annoyed the Emperor. Slowly he closed his eyes, extending his senses outwards in a massive array of the darkside. He crawled forth, sensing the make-up of Junction the Decimation that had taken place there over the past week made it easy to find. He could sense the remaining Sith, those that still stood tall.

Yet among the darkness...he found light. Immediately the Emperor began to scowl. There were force users on or near junction, and they were of the light. He had no idea who, he had no idea how many, but he could feel them there.

The Emperor clenched his fist. So the Mandalore had called the Jedi for aid, how very....pathetic. Moridin turned on his heel, and called one of his officers to him. In his head he could feel the nudging of the force, his apprentice calling to him. When one of the officers spoke to him Moridin replied “I want every able trooper and Sith on the ground five minutes after we arrive. The fleet is to engage the Mandalorian fleet and lock it into place."

The Man simply nodded in confirmation. Today would be harder than Moridin had expected.

 

[A 'den]

Junction, Relay Station Drop Zone
A 'den swung his pack over his back as the dropship dropped of him, and Verz's troops. He was more excited than afraid, for the first major battle he would participate in. A 'den grasped his Mandalorian Assault Rifle tightly.

 

[Tefka]

Atmosphere of Junction//Duraniir Landing Shuttle
@Emberli Garret, @[member="Jaxton Ravos"]

"I heard that, Grandmaster."

The Jedi Master winked in return. "Of course you did." The chop was getting a little heavier in the cabin, and without the telekinetic powers of the Force, Teferi could not steady them. Wise, it would have been, to inform the Jedi traveling with the Mandalore that he would be using a method of Force repellent. There was no use in quarreling over such a matter now, the deed had been done. Instead, the Grandmaster focused inward, meditating. One could not sever his connection to it - the living Force was in all things. It surrounded them, bound them together as one. Even a ysalamiri was a part of the unified Force.

However, as guardians of the Lord Mandalore, this would make it harder to protect him. The Grandmaster would have to rethink his strategy once on the battlefield. Accepting though he might be of this particular item in the Lord Mandalore's inventory, Teferi was ultimately disgusted by it's use here on the shuttle.

"I imagine their Emperor will be there to meet us, and if he's not there now he will be soon."

A flashback to the battle of Coruscant. Teferi clenched his left leg, a chill rippling up his spine and making the hairs on his neck stand on end.

I just want my vengeance - to repay them for the... 'kindnesses' they've visited upon my people."

"One with the Force your people are, Lord Mandalore." It was Teferi's duty as Grandmaster to try and help others understand the philosophy of the unified, living Force. A better understanding of the introverted vision of the Galaxy could help bring Lord Mandalore and his people towards peace and prosperity with the Galactic Republic, their bordering neighbor. "Bring them peace, this vengeance will, hm?"

 

[Kote Tal]

Gunship
@[member="Kal A'den-Shuk'la"], @[member="Jorn Mair"]
"Well, I use my personal Verpi-" Kote was cut off as the ship took off. Beginning filghts always rattled him a little, and it was hard to concentrate.
Soon tohugh, Kote's helmet was filled with the war chatter of the nearby Mando. One of the voices was Jorn's yelling commands to him and the others. It seemed like he was to be released at the capitol with Jorn, where alot of the fighting was to take place. He placed a hand on a thermal det. to reassure himself it was still there. These were probably unnecessary, but it was always nice to have extras. The other Mando in the ship swayed and the ship itself shook as mortars and other forms of fire attacked the ship.
"I'll stay right beside you Rally Master!" Kote yelled above the battle chatter to Jorn.

 

[Soris Nexu]

When the firefight ended, the sith lay on ground, dead. Soris and the other men in his squad were the 'recon team.' What they REALLY did was start the battle off. Soris commed the cruiser, "The battle has begun. Send in the other men, now."

 

[Carbon]

Mandalore's Gunship
@[member="Teferi Efreet"] @[member="Jaxton Ravos"]

"The only thing that will bring anyone peace is the destruction of the Sith.", he responds blandly as they pass into the atmosphere, the ride suddenly becoming high speed on a bumpy road as they make a violent combat insertion instead of the usual careful parabola that civilian shuttles used.

A few minutes more and they'd be dropped off into the capital. He couldn't see outside the ship so he didn't know if any fighters were coming to meet them or not, but so far it seemed calm. "I also apologize for the nutrient cage. It's a young one, though, so the bubble is small enough to mostly just protect myself. I mostly have it in case we get separated. The Sith don't fight like we do, so I want to be prepared."

Sighing slowly, the lighting of the gunship shifted to a ruddy red as they fully entered the atmosphere and the ride smoothed out considerably.

 

[Kaia Za'tire]

@[member="Ryori Za'tire"], @B'Arin Graad

Things were made just a little bit more simple when Ryori suggested she go with her. It was a good idea, at least, in terms of strategy. On the other hand, she didn't want to follow in her footsteps directly. Shaking her head, she knew she should just do what she was told, at least for now. Once again, while they were on the Gunship, she looked at her weapons to make sure they were secure. Her Dad always taught her to make sure you were prepared, and even when you were prepared, make sure again--so she did just that.

"Are you sure this is a good plan?" Sure, she had a little bit more confidence now since she had a direction, and it gave her the want to question her own Mother's decisions. "I mean, are the other places secure?" Might as well question her, while she waits for the shuttle to land, it also may have come from a slight bit of nervousness, as she had absolutely no idea what was awaiting them below. Everything could simply fall to pieces before it even began.

"And I know you're getting a bit slow in your older age, Mom. So, if you want to sit back and let me handle this, I might have to charge you." A hint of playfulness was evident in her tone; she figured that it was all her own way of trying to lighten the mood, since everything had seemed so drab.

 

[Jorn Mair]

Jorn heard the Sith apprentice calling in his mind. Her words rang in his ears. Smiling he knew who he was going to clashing blades with the sith. He nodded at Kote when he said that he would follow even though he may be facing a Sith that was cold hearted. He would have some fun with his new blade. Jorn jumpped out of the Gunship when it was about 4 feet from the ground. He landed and rolled to the side to get out of the way. He brought his rifle up and looked around the area for any Sith troopers or force users. Seeing 4 troopers firing at them he fired each of them in turn hittin ghtem on the head or the chest. Most of the other troops or the gunship took care of the other Sith. Jorn then motion his hand foward to get into the battle.

 

[Lord Ghoul]

An assault shuttle sped toward the surface of Junction, one out of hundreds. Inside sat half a platoon of Imperial troopers. Helmets hid their faces, but even armor could not hide the nervousness of pre-battle. Foot-tapping, knees shaking up and down. Some diverted the nervous energy into productivity: cleaning their weapons and running through checklists. A few sat completely silent. Asleep? No. No one slept before battle. Not unless sanity's grip had slipped. Just, quiet.

A trooper nudged his companion and nodded at one of the silent individuals. "Who's the Sabe?"

His companion glanced in the direction of the nod. A man sat apart from the rest, clad in grays and blacks. A pistol hung from a holster at his hip, as did a thin, curving cylinder... instantly recognizable, for those who knew. The trooper scowled beneath her helmet. Unlike the rest of his kind, the man wore no hood to guise his features. A tangle of black hair fell over pale features made up of wickedly sharp lines. Eyes the color of a frozen sea stared piercingly from beneath dark, arching brows as he glared at the wall, brooding. Suddenly, as if sensing the stares of the troopers, the man's gaze snapped across them. Those eyes, at once blue-grey with hints of shifting green, seemed devoid of warmth; like piercing chips of ice that cut to the soul. The man smiled, his lips curving back over a flash of white teeth. No joy or love lay within that smile. It was the kind of maniacal grin one would expect a madman might give as he was carted of to a room full of white, or the sneer of the predator as its prey stared helplessly in shock. Repulsive? No. This was the smile of a snake: mesmerizing, intriguing, captivating. The trooper turned away from the twisted smirk with a shudder.

"No idea," she muttered in response.

Mikhail Shorn turned away from the staring troopers. He did not know, truly, how he could tell they were staring. It was a certain sense, a feel. The Sith called it the Force. Though only an Apprentice within their ranks, Mikhail learned quickly. Already he had constructed the weapon he wore upon his belt. A lightsaber. It was a weapon designed to be deadly and, in his case, deceptive. However, facing the Mandalorians with it would be difficult. They wore thick armor, not easily cut, even by a lightsaber. In his days as an officer the Republic's Army Mikhail had his fair share of dealings with Mandos. He had never really cared for their kind. They were ruthless and efficient, but their number was full of metal-heads who thought that because they wore armor and called themselves Mandalorians that they were the biggest badasses in the galaxy. The armor made them hard to kill, but it didn't give them any added intelligence. Too bad.

He felt a prickling sensation across his neck. The troopers were still staring. Mikhail rolled his eyes. Rumors went with being Sith like a giant hat. Sometimes it looked good on him, but usually he felt like he was wearing a party hat to a funeral. His mouth twitched. No, wrong metaphor. They were more afraid than anything else. As if someone had dumped a new fish into the tank and the occupants did not know whether to keep swimming or hide. He sighed, his patience growing thin. When would they land already? Stars, he just wanted to kill something.