Invasion Welcome to the Jungle! [OS - Republic Invasion of Kashyyyk]

[Thane Drexel]

Location: Air Above Kachirho
Objective A: Defend the City
Allies: [member="Graxin Rade"] and his NPC's and any other Pubs who need me.
Enemies: [member="Darth Arcanix"] and [member="Darth Nephthys"] and NPC's

Hearing the comm chatter come in, Thane located the enemy units the Soldier spoke of. The Vong Forms were lumbering towards the city, Thane and his Three wingmen moved in for an attack run. The quartet lined up their shots and sped towards their targets, coming East to West, they lit up the dirt, spraying their quad laser cannons at the Vong Forms and their surrounding allies, dirt and body parts flew through the air as direct hits were struck on the Forms.

"Roger Ground, coming back for more. Keep your heads down and pop smoke on allied lines. Watch for enemy craft for me will Ya?"

The X-wings arced away to bring themselves about. Having air superiority was a good thing to have when facing an enemy, the Vong especially.

 

[Keira Priest]

Location: Northeastern Branch
Objective: B
Allies: [member="Reverance"], [member="Matsu Xiangu"], [member="Xenia Nastassia"], [member="Darth Vornskr"], [member="Mordecai Zambrano"], [member="Darth Adekos"], [member="Vrag"], [member="Cryax Bane"], [member="Kezeroth the Malevolent"]
Enemies: [member="Shule Windspeaker"], [member="Kana Truden"], [member="Ayden Quell"], [member="Aaralyn Rekali"], [member="Marakai Al'Orren"], [member="Sochi Ru"], [member="Meeristali Peradun"], [member="Dak Canton"], [member="Seraphina Shel'tah"], [member="Varus Shatterstar"]
Primary opponent: Varus Shatterstar

Karking Jedi. That was the salient thought running through her mind as the man flew past her, forcing her to either dodge the blade or intercept him. Had his movements not been augmented with the Force it may have been possible to do both at once, but as it was she chose to avoid the spinning weapon of light energy as it cut through the air, simultaneously admiring the skill required to divide his attention between two fronts while becoming somewhat irritated with his persistence that so mirrored her own. Perhaps Keira had finally met her match, but one could place any amount of credits on her being the last to admit that any boundary had been hit.

This wasn't the typical sparring match she was used to, and this man wasn't the average Jedi. Where most she'd encountered seemed hesitant to kill even if it was necessary, viewing it as something morally bereft, to be avoided at all costs. This time it was different, a factor she was grudgingly thankful for. There was a slim chance she would show him any kindness had she been the more skilled of the two, so the fact that he seemed to view her as some kind of threat was amusing in its own morbid way. Young she was, and naive to some, but that didn't undermine her skill, at least when the lives of those she considered friends were at risk.

The crack of Cryax's slugthrower resounded once more through the air. Despite having his leg severed, whether cybernetic or not, he still fought on, something she could appreciate. At the same time it would, of course, make her job a bit more difficult, something the Jedi was already doing an exponential job of. Her allies and those of the Ravens might have been slowly gaining ground in the conflict, but her own personal battle wasn't going quite as well.

If there was one thing the Jedi was right about in his own thoughts about her, it was that she was stubborn and brave both. Oftentimes the former led to the latter, with more than a small connection between the two. That was exhibited yet again when, after a momentary assessment of what her best next move would be, she darted towards the man, releasing a burst of concentrated Force energy towards the back of his legs, counting on it being a weaker area while inherently knowing that the chances of it succeeding were slim. Instead of waiting to see whether that tactic succeeded or not she leapt overhead, keeping her arms and legs close so as to prevent a disarming, her orange saber flashing out towards the man's face.

One way or another, she would keep trying.

 

[Tydeus of Tion]

(about two days since my post and no reply from OOC bugging, moving the battle forward)

Location: Attacking the enemy carrier
Objective: C, Space
Allies: [member="Talon Vosra"] | [member="Jack Rand"] | [member="Thane Drexel"] | @Sressechka
Enemies: [member="Darth Arcis"] | [member="Colrenn"] | [member="Yurzhoc Shai"]
Forces: 12 Stealth X Starfighters

Twelve shadow bombs connected with the Sith carrier's bridge in multiple direct hits. Flame engulfed the Vong analog and it shuddered under the repeat impacts before at last it split apart, sundered near the bridge so that an entire section of it simply split open, like an overripe melon, spilling atmosphere, equipment and personnel into the vacuum of space, where they would die horribly. The rest of the carrier listed, an empty, soon lifeless husk. Just more wreckage above Kashyyyk.

Ryan Korr didn't feel the wound in the Force as so many hundreds died. They were Vong. He wondered if the gnawing in his stomach would be worse had he felt them wink out of existence.

Perhaps.

Vosra crackled across the comms and Korr replied with a terse, "Acknowledged," before he directed his squadron to fly escort over the carrier.

They flew invisibly, closing in on Dranok's clearly visible star fighters, when they'd drawn in range all twelve Stealth Xs opened fire simultaneously on the unsuspecting Sith star fighters. Korr held down the trigger, targeting reticle locked on Dranok's craft. Red, angry lasers screamed from his guns.

The bloodbath amid the stars continued.


One Sith Carrier Destroyed

 

[Leora]

Location: Kachiro
Objective: A
Allies: Jedi/Pubs
Enemies: [member="Alicia Drey"]

He felt his ability to reach within her cut off before he'd killed her. She'd risen a protective bubble around herself or something to cut off his ability to reach her with Force abilities. Clever, and really a good move. At the same time, he saw her lightsaber start to move in his direction and knew that he was about to have his own lightning thrown back at him. It was a good move, but Meric was still locked into the throws of Force Rage, as it hadn't quite worn off yet, and was more than ready to destroy her at this point.

Force Rage heightened the users speed, strength and ferocity. As her blade came around, he grabbed a sword with the Force and threw it into the path before anchoring it into the ground, sending the lightning to channel harmlessly into the ground around them. His eyes, robotic and lifeless, watched her coldly and his teeth ground as the emotions swam through him.

Instead of directly attacking her, his arms went out to his sides as he started to draw in power from his surroundings to add to the pent up energy that he felt within himself. She would get another chance to attack him, but when she did so, he was going to be more than ready for her. He continued to scream, blood curdling but without any Force influence behind it, just a pure, animalistic rage that washed through him as he absorbed all the power of the fighting around him, of the darkside energy around him, from the life around him, and prepared to make one last strike.

 

[Spark Finn]

Location: Base of Ze Tree!
Objective: Learn how to climb and take it bby
Allies: [member="Qun Vell"] [member="Darth Carach"] [member="Darth Nephthys"]
Enemies: [member="Caleb Brolen"] [member="Armand Temi"] [member="Slate Estrada"] [member="Maria Natalja"] (I think I got everyone?)



The smallest part of her, the part that was buried deep beneath the effects of the technovirus heard what Caleb was saying as a jedi. But the way he said it and his actions still rubbed her the wrong way. That voice spoke in the back of her head.

The jedi leave their own to die. They let children fight their wars.

The massive, warm hand on her shoulder refocused her thoughts. That deep baritone voice of her master and his wash of approval like hot-chocolate to her soul. If Spark knew what was going on in Qun's head about pebbles, her non-technovirus side would probably try to reason with him that her....fine their (because she was learning how to share) master would have each pebble assume they were the most shiniest and valuable one. Duh.

But of course, none of these thoughts entered her head or were capable of entering her head.

Two of the massive droids still positioned themselves to the two, outside corners of their small group, weapons raised and ready to shoot any jedi or wookies that got too close. Three of the battle droids closest and in a semi-circle in front of Spark, Qun, and Carach re-positioned massive arms to line-up their grenade launchers at the bubble of the two jedi (Caleb and Armand).

Sandy-brows scrunched together in concentration.

She felt their shield waning. Small-palms clenched at her sides as the technometry moved through the force, causing all three battle droids to fire a grenade at their forms. They were aimed low, meant to explode just at the base of their shield to encourage their movement further from the tree, further from the sith, further from the battle droids, and further from Carach's royal guard.

 

[Reverance]

-NPC Portion- Legion Yun'Do - stronghold destroyed​

Location: Stronghold
Objective: Objective B.
Allies: [member="Darth Praelior"], [member="Darth Vornskr"], [member="Vrag"], [member="Matsu Xiangu"], [member="Cryax Bane"], [member="Keira Ticon"], [member="Darth Adekos"]
Enemies: [member="Kian Karr"], [member="Sochi Ru"], [member="Shule Windspeaker"], [member="Dux Kotass"], [member="Marakai Al'Orren"], [member="Gherron Vael"], [member="Ayden Quell"], [member="Rael sul B'an"], [member="Layna Akhora"], [member="Seamus Valik"]
Forces:

Spoiler

16,927 Vong total (with all the goodies, including awaiting draxus)
--13,000- 1000 = 12,000 Crab Armor - Marching and completely regrouped. They at the door now, which really should be pretty rough at this point considering...ya know...blast bugs.
--500 Crab Armor - Loading up and heading towards a different part of the world, Kachirho
--4,000 - 700 = 3,300 Crab Armor - Firing down from the top of the canopy, within the stronghold
--1,000 Vondun skerr draxus - Are dropping towards the great tree city, Kachirho, far from this fight.
--327 - 200 = 127 Ooglish Noxokk - on the remaining bridges, clinging to stumps, and giving it their all as they fire against droids and wookies and pubs.
--210 - 210 = 0 Vaghrokka and Vong (still 150 vaghrokka crawling around) -
-4 Grokata -
-17Thrall Herders -
-19 Sliviliths - Still swimming
-11,500 Blackblades - *harbinger voice* Assuming direct control. (Kaine doesn't wan't to NPC so I'm running his dudes, pm if this is an issue).

Theme:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqJJwv_Caaw​

Map for reference:
Inside the Stronghold:
The center of the stronghold, what really gave it it's defining purpose, split and cracked as if a fault line had carved out it's own mark. Along the perimeter, the line of branches shifted against the weight of what Noxokk were left as well as the platform itself before snapping in a booming bust of reverberating echoes. Everything seemed to happen at once as the centerfold of the stronghold shifted and toppled through the now gaping chasm, everything atop it careening towards the ground below. Supplies, forces, structures - all suddenly became victim to the overwhelming power of gravity. Even those Vong, unfortunate enough to remain in the center, found themselves tumbling down 2km's to their gloomy death. Singularity mines popped and fizzled before it all disappeared in the darkness. What remained of the structure, just the trees and branches, all shook in tempest and recoil as the sudden weight was lifted from their withholding.

From the top branches, Vong emerged from the upper canopy to fire upon those that would still cling to life against the trunks of the great trees. Bandoleers of thud bugs emptied as they were fed through the carbines, raining down pestilence upon those still remaining and not fleeing the overwhelming Vong forces.

Northern Highway Branch:

The Vong forces finally crashed against the exterior of the stronghold in full, not without significant loss and destruction. Their tactic remained, as always, the same as they sought to blot out what life was left through the barrage of bugs, behind the shields of kraetos and the deflection of the thrall herders. Thud bugs, blast bugs, razor bugs, and magma pebbles lashed out in pulsating waves of destruction as Vong sought honor and pride and death, should the need arise. Several thrall herders and Grokata slipped upon branch and tumbled to the depths of the shadowland below. Across the back end, feeling the tremors of the structure and the true purpose coming to fruition, Vong began to enter back into the Yorik-Et, to ascend into the sky. They would slowly remove forces towards Kachirho.

Southwestern Branch:
Blackblades slowly trickled into the structure, losing men upon the way, as they cut a path through the top to enter in and rain fire down upon what enemies would remain after such catastrophic events within the stronghold.

In the skies:
Shock troopers flew through the sky, from high orbit, to ascend upon a different location, to provide support where it was actually needed (Kachirho). Upon their backs, Kraetos shields rested upon high, giving them the appearance of flying turtles soaring through the heavens

PC Portion - Reverance - For Kana Truden and Flint Dexen​

​

Location: Umm, Kashyyyk?
Objective: Beat up this Jedi for real
Allies: One Sith
Enemies: [member="Kana Truden"], [member="Flint Dexen"]
Equipment: War-Torn Armor

The slap of the force push smacked hard against his chest as he instinctively placed his weight in the left planted foot, drawing a sliding gesture. The wind was ripped from his kick and despite the impact, it was but a fraction of what could have been delivered. Fortunate for all, especially the Sith Lord who so eagerly thrived on the thrills of combat.

Kana pushed forward as the Sith once again prepared for her to attack. It was odd, he felt, reeling from the notion that she was pushing the attacks instead of the opposite, where he was normally the aggressor. The initial attack he met straight on, essentially extending his left arm out and tilting the wrist outward, to deflect the first dash. The second swing went low and took on an almost Makashi sort of appeal in it's bounciness. This was where most people differed in the defense of low attacks. It was tempting for many to drop their guard, leaving them effectively open for a swing back on the top. However, he took a different approach to this. Lifting his right leg up and pushing the thigh forward, he ensured that the strike would not only hit the greave, but would also find difficulty in moving anywhere. He ensured this by stepping forward before the leg block. And simultaneously, he called the force to him in an almost unexpected manner.

Telekinetic saber combat came to the fore front as he loosed the left saber towards Flint in lightning quick speed. Aiming the spinning thing towards the Jedi Knight's chest. With the speed of this combat, it would have come at a bit of surprise, that he would so readily abandon his weapon. However, he retained grip upon it telekinetically, prepared to pull it back should it strike true or be deflected. With his right hand and the shift of his weight in the right foot stomping down, once lifted, he merely batted the plunge towards his stomach away and to his left as he brought the saber back up, attempting to strike at Kana's right shoulder with a flick of the wrist. While his mind remained gripped upon the flung blade, his body instinctively shifted to the true power of Makashi and away from the powerful thrusts and commitment of the fifth form. The force fed him, as it was commanded, but the presence of armor truly allowed a more than cunning form of combat - measured sacrifices taken to gain advantage.

 

[Taheera Sollo]

Location: Near the Easter Bridge of Destiny and Pain
Objective: Defend and stall the blue man - get heated
Allies: Jedi and quick movements
Enemies: [member="Randial"] and those snowy roads

She saw the finest shift in his hands as he prepared to strike. Swift-feet carried her back as she abandoned her staff with right hand - the higher hand. Left-hand gripped it solidly as she pressed the bottom end into the ground, just catching his blade before it could connect with her body and tipping it away. The side of her own staff jarred into her elbow. What she gained with maneuverability she lost in strength. Single arm and earlier wounds burned as she felt the brunt of his strike connect with the staff.

She side-stepped quickly so she would be shoulder to shoulder with the sith, maintaining a healthy amount of space between if she was a fast as she thought she was. She swung the staff low and around, right hand coming back to curl around the metal as she swung the staff like a smashball bat to the back of his knees for a sweep.

It was a risky move but one she was willing to take. The earlier burns were starting to gnaw at her strength.

 

[Vrag]

NPC Portion​

LOCATION: Northeastern branch - retreating
CONTROLLER: Vrag
FORCES: 14,400 - 400 = 14,000
ENEMIES:[member="Kian Karr"] | [member="Ayden Quell"] | [member="Varus Shatterstar"] | [member="Marakai Al'Orren"] | [member="Meeristali Peradun"] | [member="Dak Canton"] | [member="Seamus Valik"] | [member="Rain"] | [member="Sanya Val Lerium"] | [member="T-Eya Carn"]
OBJECTIVE: B

_________________________________________​

Kian Karr: One moment, their seemingly unstoppable onslaught was decimating the Republic forces, and in the next crazed droids were rushing into the thick of the Sith, exploding in shrapnel and blast waves. For each unit that went out in a blaze of glory, the Sith lost easily ten times as many, having nowhere to go but further into the fray as more and more droids broke off from the enemy mass and charged at the soldiers. The confusion and fear only sank their claws into them for so long, however, and the Sith refused to fall victim to their own tactics, regrouping as their whole force started moving back along the branch. At first glance, the withdrawal would seem like a foolish idea after having invested so much in the push, but the death of mighty wroshyr trees is a loud affair, and the Sith could see the stronghold crumbling in the background with their own eyes. There was no need to continue their assault anymore, or to throw away more lives in a now pointless battle, and so the commanders sounded a retreat. Many died in the process, downed by bolts and self-destructing droids alike, but the frontlines kept up their cover as the gap between them and the defenders kept widening. The open field allowed the troopers to shoot down many of the YVH-1 before they could explode in their vicinity, but it was by no means a perfect strategy as the pieces of machinery were hurled at the backpedaling forces.
The first dropships were landing on the far back of the branch, removed from the bulk of the fighting as the distant platoons funneled onto the vessels that would carry them towards the next place of interest to the Sith (Kachirho).

Rain: Whatever misconceptions the Galaxy at large harbored about Sith troops or the training thereof was of little interest to the soldiers themselves, many of whom were already veterans of many a war effort and, all in all, quite capable of handling desperate beasts lacking adequate protection. What the wookiees thought they could accomplish by their uncoordinated last stand wasn't exactly clear, but it didn't matter all that much in the grand scheme of things anyway. As some correctly surmise, all the men and women lost to furry paws that day were just numbers, in the end, and the Empire could always recruit more. How long would it take the tribes to recover after such significant losses was another thing completely, however, and the troopers did their very best to make their visit to the jungle world as memorable as possible. Many of them would be bringing home new doormats, or perhaps warmer slippers for their lovely spouses. Who knew? The people underneath those armors were diverse, after all, with their own stories and lives beyond the massacre on the northeastern branch of a stronghold with an unpronounceable name.

Rifles were fired, in any case, blood was spilled, flesh was marred; all that mess was still going on, of course. Does it ever stop, really?

PC Part​

​

LOCATION: Northeastern branch - retreating
OBJECTIVE: B (completed, retreating)
ALLIES: [member="Reverance"] | [member="Matsu Xiangu"] | [member="Xenia Nastassia"] | [member="Cryax Bane"] | [member="Darth Hauntruss"] | [member="Keira Ticon"] | [member="Kezeroth the Malevolent"]
ENEMIES: [member="Marakai Al'Orren"] (disengaging) | [member="Dak Canton"] (disengaging)

_________________________________________​

​

She should've known better than to pick a fight with a Jedi in the middle of an open battlefield.

When explosions started going off far too close for her taste, Vrag wasted no time pulling back into the crowd, as she always did when it was time to get the hell out of dodge. With the piles of bodies lying around, both wookiee and Sith, it would be harder to avoid an abandoned rifle as opposed to finding it, and the Knight picked up one of the many as she fell back in unison with her troops. Staying true to her tried method, the firrerreo turned off her lightsaber as she melted into the throng of troops, just another soldier among many to all the world. It was a practical thing, when so many eagle-eyed individuals were trying to zero in on your insignificant self amid a sea of similarly dangerous combatants. The turrets, still under their control, continued firing at enemies that tried to pursue, and the retreating forces would take with them those who could still walk and keep pace with the rest of the Sith.

The Knight roared the change in tactics and objective into her mouthpiece once more, her one last effort to bring back as many as she could. Needless casualties that could be avoided, men and women that could still be of much use as they concentrated their efforts on the Kachirho tree. There was a tiredness in her limbs, but also an immense surge of pride at their small victory. The planet was not theirs, however, not yet. She would need all her focus to help bring the war to completion, and having valuable allies at her side was always a good thing with such a goal.

 

[Darth Ayra]

Location: Epicenter of the Battle of Kachirho
Objective: Objective I
Allies: | [member="Darth Carach"] | [member="Faye Terrik"] | [member="Darth Arcanix"] | [member="Darth Vitium"] | [member="Qun Vell"] | @Spark Fin | [member="James Mathison"] | [member="Darth Venefica"] | @Alicia Drey | [member="Midas Âzanroil"] | [member="Hera Naroix"] | [member="Darth Vidar"] | [member="Anja Aj'Rou"] | [member="Keira Ticon"]| [member="Darth Nephthys"] | [member="Khan Ra"] |
Enemies: | [member="Rusken Shaxx"] | [member="Armand Temi"] | [member="Joshua DragonsFlame"] | [member="Meric Nadun"] | [member="Graxin Rade"] |

The Protection Bubble that Darth Ayra had submerged herself in had, indeed, severed Meric Nadun's ability to crush her organs. He would have felt it through the Force, that he had successfully broken her spleen. It told him that the ability the Sith Lord was now using to stay in the battle and maintain this duel was a desperation move. A last ditch effort to gain victory.

Her physical vessel failing to defeat Meric Nadun, Ayra now turned to the dark side of the Force and what her Sith Master had taught her.

During the days of her chancellorship over the New Order, the Graug Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Vulcanus, sought to retake the former capital of the Sith Empire, Dromund Kaas. The Mandalorians had stood as her opponents that day as they sought to defend what was left of the planet, now a husk after the Base Delta Zero the Mandalorian had instigated following their victory over the Sith.

The New Order lost the war. Dromund Kaas was never retaken. What was important was the ability Darth Ayra now intended to use on Kashyyyk, in the heart of Kachirho, as she had done one year ago on the outskirts of Kaas City against her Mandalorian foes. She was no Darth Malgus. Not a Darth Sidious. But her ability to utilize the Force Maelstrom was unrivaled in the modern era. It was the defacto weapon in her own personal arsenal. The last maneuver.

The one that would tell who would win the duel between Meric Nadun and Darth Ayra.

It began with the Force Bubble, the invisible protection fueled by the dark side of the Force. Her physical duel with Meric had left her weak. Her concentration was on maintain the bubble around her. Nothing that would destroy the city or end the battle once and for all. The Sith Lord closed her eyes, feeling the power within and around Meric Nadun.

Deception was the key to the Sith Lord. It was something that had been honed by the Sith Order for centuries. Darth Ayra was no different. With all her injuries, it was believable to think she would succumb to them now at the pinnacle of their duel. At the mercy of Meric Nadun, on her knees and blood seeping out from her, the Sith Lord lowered a hand to stop her from falling. Her Lightsaber fell out of the other. All tell tale signs that, when Meric was ready, he would have all the power he needed to strike her down and end this once and for all.

Alas, Darth Ayra was open for the kill. Would he take his shot, as she had done to him?

 

[Marcus Tritum]

Location: Northeastern Branch
Objective: B
Allies: [member="Rain"]
Enemies: [member="Vrag"]
NPC Forces: 48 Dragon troopers

I heard the explosions behind me, but I didn't look back. Too pissed to confirm with my eyes what I already knew. We were losing. Nothing gets the dander up like watching all your efforts circle the drain. Some of this wroshyr bark was soaked with my blood and I'd be damned before I saw it lost.

As the scent of burning wood and wookiee filled the air it mingled with the screams of the dying. A rage built up inside me. A need to see Sith die. Surrender? Bull. I hadn't even begun to fight.

I stuffed another grenade inside the launcher and fired. Sith troopers exploded before us as I disrupted the formation, clearing the path for the onslaught of Katarn-mounted Wookiees. We charged, mounts thundering beneath us, and the rest was all horns, claws and dying Sith. They were trying to withdraw, but infantry doesn't do so well when chased down by ravenous man-eating lizards, with limb-ripping carpets riding on top.

The withdrawal of their front steadily became a rout. The Wookiee sitting in front of me, hadn't learned his name, chucked his heart-lance through the sky. It landed with a solid thunk, standing straight up amidst a knot of Sith. The Wookiee drew out an X1 carbine, a disruptor of Wookiee-craft, and began vaporizing Sith left and right.

 

[Rain]

Location: Objective B
Allies: Grrrod (OOC: [member="Dak Canton"])
Forces: Irrelevant
Objective: In flux
Opponents: Sith

Rain had not realized he was singing. Not like how you don’t realize you’re biting your nails, or pulling that stupid face, but more like how don’t realize you’re breathing. It was hard-wired, ingrained. It required no-mind to be in melody with the rhythm of life and death all around.

And there was a lot of both.

He was Dreaming again.

The battlehorns sounded, calling for a wookiee retreat as the objective had been lost. Rain’s song became aggressive, cursing inwardly the cowardice, the inherent weakness of the Republic that would allow them to lose a fight so easily winnable as this one, but…perhaps it wasn’t the Fanged God’s intervention, but the Goddess’. Maybe the institution needed to be wiped away until it earned the right to exist again.

After all, Nature did not take sides.

Still, he fought. Rain was what he was. Ravenous, bloodthirsty, Padawan. He would fight for his own until he was killed. For Dathomir. For Kashyyyk. For the idea that Good Neighbors are a much better thing than Bad Ones.

The blood of the cosmos adorned his face, painted his crooked spear -- a universal tour of many species’ evolution just to die on this planet under the monocultural banner of the Fanged God. One of the guerrilla wookiees grabbed his waist, pulling him from the battle even as he continued to thrash Vrag’s bizarrely placed hoard. A heat-lanced soared through the air in a purely phallic display of Will and the never diminishing desire of the Fanged God to assert itself upon the designs of the Always. Whatever. Rain agreed, at least in this instance, just as he had in every instance he used his spear to carve out the throat of a Vong. They would have been winning, if only this were a few hours ago.

“Fri demnaib, fri armaib, fri áraib…,” he reached for the lance, calling the lightning to it.

It split the ozone of the local area, tearing through the remainder of the withdrawing forces, arcing back and forth through their armor until it had baked them alive. Was this petty vengeance? Was it the longview? Or was it just the grassroots democracy intrinsic to evolution?

Amidst the dead, he stood there panting, but still singing. Always singing. The color returned to his eyes.

He saw the wookiees. He saw Grrrod. He saw Dak.

He saw the katarns. He saw the can-cells. He saw the ornithopters.

Grrrod howled in protest, indecipherable, but it was clear what he meant.

“Get to the choppa.”

And so they did, boarding to take the fight to somewhere that may still yet matter.

 

[Garik Reed]

Location: Republic Stronghold
Objective: Defend Stronghold - Objective 2
Allies: [member="Gherron Vael"] [member="Sochi Ru"] [member="Kian Karr"] The republic
Enemies: One Sith

Rael ran across the tree, and would hit back any blaster fire, and cut down any enemies that came his way. The Padawan was out of his league, and overwhelmed. He threw out a message to his Master, [member="Gherron Vael"]. Master, it's Rael. Where are you, I can help. Some how in the fray of things, the two had gotten disconnected. Rael ran to a part of the Stronghold where he thought there wouldn't be much fighting. He wasn't too wrong. He stopped and turned off his sabers.

The Kaleesh bent over, hands resting on his knees. He lowered his head, and took a few deep breaths. He calmed himself, and Rael felt the Force rush through him, invigorating him. He straightened himself, and stretched. Rael looked around at the chaos around him. It looked like there forces were about to be overrun, and they would lose the stronghold. Not to mention, it looked like it was practically ready to fall apart. He took another deep breath of air, and turned his sabers back on. In an instant, he was gone, off to find Gherron.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

LOCATION: Ruins of Yugwaaargh, Stump of the Southwest Branch
OBJECTIVE: B
Allies: [member="Sochi Ru"], [member="Aaralyn Rekali"]
Enemies: [member="Reverance"], [member="Darth Vornskr"]

Shule's eyes tightened in evaluation as his body flickered through each borderline-sloppy motion of Vaapad. In his day -- seven centuries back -- he'd dabbled in enough alchemy to intuit the gauntlets as the most crucial part of Vornskr's assault. He felt them as a shatterpoint, too, a linchpin of the Last Emperor's assault. He didn't try to find the shatterpoint of the gauntlets themselves; that would require more focus than he could reasonably give as he and Vornskr battled back and forth along the last long splinter of heartwood.

There was a solution, and he had it. The old hunger of Force Drain, an addiction he'd kept down for centuries, could turn that superconducting loop into a smorgasbord in moments. As ever, when confronted by this choice -- and it came up more often than not -- he turned it down, and that took a moment. And in that moment he knew he couldn't beat Vornskr.

Je'gan could have. He wasn't that man.

He knelt; Vornskr's blade slashed above his head. Shule's lightsabre sank into the long strip of heartwood that held both their weight. Wood superheated with a thunderclap as a crack shivered its way down the wood, beneath the Dark Lord's feet.

And struck the wood's shatterpoint.

The entire X-wing-sized splinter detonated in an almighty fashion, blasting Shule -- and, with any luck, his opponent -- away from the ruins of Yugwaaargh and down toward the Shadowlands. He might not be able to beat Vornskr, but removing the Last Emperor from battlefield relevance was within the bounds of rationality.

 

[Mother Askani]

LOCATION: Republic Stronghold
OBJECTIVE: B
ALLIES: [member="Shule Windspeaker"] [member="Kian Karr"] [member="Gherron Vael"] [member="Rael sul B'an"] [member="Varus Shatterstar"]
ENEMIES: [member="Reverance"] [member="Darth Praelior"] [member="Darth Vornskr"]

She lifted her lightsaber in order to defend herself, but the ground began to tremble beneath her feet. The wood had a subtle splintering sound to it, that seemed to only increase as she examined it. Her balance was thrown off, and while she quickly fell over to the right, the beam from Praelior weapon skimmed her left shoulder. She caught herself, but the small part of her arm quickly became numb. She could feel her shoulder at all.

She pushed herself up, with annoyance slowly breaking the tranquil expression she usually had. "EVERYONE GO!! RETREAT WHILE YOU CAN!" she screamed as loud as she could so that those around her could hear. There was no time, the stronghold had been overrun, but she knew....she knew the Republic would live to fight another day. She stood up firmly with her lightsaber drawn.

She let out a wave of force energy to knock those in front of her back, no enough to knock them off their feet. While they recovered, she launched her assault against the Sith Lord. She was willing to sacrifice herself, in order to see that the others lived, in order to see that praelior could cause no more terror. With speed, and agility she launched herself into the air, closing in the distance with the Sith Lord. She wanted to get the woman to really fight her. No more guns and tricks. An old fashioned duel the Togruta was use to.

Landing just a few feet in front of the Sith Lord, by time she recovered from the Force wave, Ru would have been close. She spun around bringing her lightsaber around with her in a extremely fast sweeping motion at the woman's upper body. When the atogruta came back around she launched a kick, with her left leg, towards the Darksiders rifle in an attempt to Knock it out of her hand. Knowing Balaya she had more weapons on her person, so it wouldn't be unusual for her to just drop that rifle without a care in the world. Her left arm just sitting there as if she was losing control of it while it went completely numb.

 

[Darth Carnifex]

Location: Stump of the Southwest Branch
Objective: Objective B switching to Objective A

• Capture / Destroy the Republic Stronghold
• Stop my rapid descent
• Hopefully move on to Objective A

Allies: The One Sith

• [member="Reverance"]
• [member="Mordecai Zambrano"]
• [member="Darth Praelior"]
• [member="Dredge"]
• [member="Cryax Bane"]
• [member="Darth Adekos"]

Enemies: The Republic

• [member="Shule Windspeaker"]
• [member="Aaralyn Rekali"]
• [member="Sochi Ru"]

Music: Falling by GWAR

Their battle raged, and he could feel Shule's defense weathering against Vornskr's ferocious assault, like stone being eroded over time by the unforgiving waves, and his excitement soared. He renewed his efforts, doubled his speed, and began to hammer down on the Jedi Master's blade like a hydrojack cracking into permacrete. He swung wide, and the Jedi ducked under his arcing blade, and while he did Vornskr brought the weapon back and spun it around in a reverse grip with the blade pointed down at the crouching Jedi. However; before Vornskr even had the chance to attempt to plunge his crimson sword through the Jedi's back, the branch shook with tremendous force that not only was caused by the sudden destruction of the Stronghold's floor, but also because Shule just jammed his lightsaber into the heartwood splinter's shatterpoint. And thus, with a crack and a surprised grunt from the Sith Lord, the splinter shattered and both Jedi and Sith began to fall.

Vornskr's sudden lack of balance manifested in him tumbling backwards rather than forwards, and he flipped end over end for some time before he was able to right himself in a free fall position. Luckily, two kilometers was a long drop, and that gave him time to analyze his current predicament and formulate a way to survive this lethal fall. First, he began by swimming near the trunk of the tree he was fallen beside, and unsheathed one of his climbing hooks, and with a mighty heave he slammed it's hooked blade into the bark of the tree.

Unsurprisingly, it shattered on impact and wrenched Vornskr's arm free of it's socket.

The Sith Lord hissed in agony as he realized the stupidity of his actions after the haste of sudden action had cleared, and with another heave he relocated his arm back into his shoulder with a painful crack. His mind cleared by the sharp pain, he reactivated his lightsaber and instead used it as a tool to plunge into the side of the tree. The sudden stop was horrific, but Vornskr's grip was strong and he held onto the hilt of his blade as it embedded itself into the bark and continued downwards for a couple dozen meters before it eventually stopped. Bracing both of his feet into natural grooves in the bark, Vornskr unsheathed his last remaining climbing hook, and began to use it in conjunction with his lightsaber to scale down the tree. However; he was still too far away from the ground, and it would take some time before he even reached it, if he did at all.

"Bollocks."

 

[Leora]

Location: Kachiro
Objective: A
Allies: Pubs/Jedi
Enemies: [member="Alicia Drey"]

She was gearing up too. It was all coming to a head and he was just about at his last gasp before he lost the energy to do anything more. As it was, it was going to be very hard for him not to die, even when he did manage to make it back to the ship and the clean room on it. Vina was going to have to be called. Medical attention of the most urgent kind was going to be necessary for his survival after all of this. No, he didn't look as bad as Alicia did, but he most certainly wasn't any better off than her.

But he would hold it back no longer.

"FEEL DEATH!"

As she called on the power of maelstrom, he again called on the power of destruction. Where here affront called on a force to attack everything around her, his was destructive and concentrated. The two powers would meat and class and unleashed unbridled fury the likes of which Kashyyyk had probably never seen before. Though his attack was a devastating one, it did not save him from the effects of hers. He only had enough time to release the blast before he was thrown backwards and into the trees.

Lightning coursed through him, short circuiting his mechanical eyes. The life support systems of his suit were already worthless to him, but they went out as well. He could no longer see physically and was relegated to his feelings in the Force, but even those were hard to control, he was drained, not unconscious, but he didn't have much left in him at the moment. All he could do was lay there and hope that his last attack against Ayra had been enough to end the fight once and for all. If nothing else, she should have to retire from the battlefield due to injuries. He'd count that as a win. One less Sith to press on Kashyyyk.

He'd just lie there for a while. Nothing else to do.

 

[Marcus Tritum]

Location: flying in an ornithopter
Objective: transitioning from B to A
Allies: [member="Rain"]
Enemies: No PC as of yet.

Explosions. Screams. A rain of blood and body parts. Pieces of fragmented Katarn. Dying Wookiees. Dead troopers. A head-spinning tide of smells. Noxious fumes of burnt fur and skin. The coppery tang of blood. The distinct odor of combusted ordnance. Would've puked if my helmet hadn't had a filter on it. Still made me dizzy.

Somehow, I found myself on one of the fancy flying crafts of the Wookiees, manning the rear E-web mount as we sped toward Kachiro.

 

[Beowoof]

Location: Skies over Kashyyyk
Objective: Transition to Objective A
Allies: [member="Keanu Shan"], [member="Aedan Miles"], [member="Aqulia Audax"], [member="Talon Vosra"], [member="Thane Drexel"], [member="Jack Rand"], [member="Ryan Korr"]
Enemies: Whoever ends up in my crosshairs next

The battle in the skies was won, the Republic sweeping the contest with their concentrated fighter squadron efforts. A few stragglers may have remained for the One Sith, but they could not last long.

"Angel Five is disengaging the dogfight," she announced over the Blazing Angels Squadron's comm frequency, pitching her XJ-9 fighter downwards for a high-speed descent beneath the clouds and above the canopy of trees, the spacecraft shrieking through the air as it buckled from the friction. Fairweather Friend would be incoming in a few moments, ready to engage the enemy hordes of egregiously murderous troops. The wookiees would have a difficult time rebuilding after this battle was over.

Sressi switched over to a radio frequency that served the ground command, listening in on what was needed and where. Another starfighter, Echo One, had apparently made it here before her and was already beginning a strafing run of the attackers. "Echo One, this is Angel Five. I'm coming in on your six. Divide and conquer?"

 

[Marcus Tritum]

Location: Flying in an Ornithopter. Moving to objective A
Objective: A
Allies: [member="Rain"], [member="Sressechka"]

I didn't feel anything, but as we got closer to Kachiro I thought I heard Grrod whimper. Oh, and my leg was steadily bleeding out. Whatever.

I heard Angel Five over the Republic's ground command and replied back.

"Angel Five this is Corporal Canton, intel report from HQ is that the beachhead is being overrun. Local air support would be welcome. Canton over."

 

[Khan Ra]

Location: Inside Kachiro City
Objective: Objective A, Searching for chip
Allies: Faye Terrik, [member="Darth Venefica"] Shuduc Macar, Darth Valtryx
Enemies: Corvus Raaf, Kira Liadain, Soliael Devin Talith, Meric Nadun, Anastasia Rade

Khan growled as he entered the building just in time to see Venefica slicing apart a wooden safe. She'd found the chip. The Felactian snarled under his breth as he stepped over the still writhing republic trooper. While he was busy clearing the last of the troopers she'd stolen his chance to prove himself! His chance for recognition! The Felactian clenched his fingers tight around his blade, noticing the pain from his stab wound as his muscles clenched. By now the other Sith in the city would be securing the other control points.... This may very well have been his only chance for glory... However- there still may be a chance... Prehaps the other Sith had not yet suceeded... Khan turned quickly before stepping further into the building. He would have to move quickly, before others could, before others could steal his chance... The acolyte stepped back over the writhing trooper, an quickly out of the building. he couldn't afford to waste much more time. So, waving for his snipers to follow, the Felactian moved on into the city.

(Sorry for the short post, 'tis late for me.)
(And woo for the Sith, an objective completed. )