BLACKOUT (Galactic Alliance Invasion of the One Sith held Coruscant.)

[Ugohr Poof]

With [member="Keld Fett"]'s company being deployed in another area of the financial district, as witnessed by the wreckage of the gunship carrying elements from the 1st Alliance Infantry battalion (the remainder of the 1st company was engaged near the main thoroughfare but not quite on it), Ugohr knew that the remaining three companies of the 1st Alliance Infantry had to stay behind the tank squadron so that they can blast as many One Sith soldiers from the windows of the skyscrapers as their range could allow for. Which means that they can at most blast enemy soldiers from 70 stories above street level, and even then it may not be very accurate. For aiming at targets higher above Ugohr had about six hundred men left as the enemy fired from windows but the grenadiers, mostly Grans and Gungans, lobbed grenades into the windows where the improvised enemy nests were, causing hot shards of transparisteel to fall to the ground, like the sidewalks, which, unlike the main street, was not mined.

"General, it is as we suspected: the One Sith transformed this area into a minefield!" the Jawa tank commander next to his tank told Ugohr on comm.

"All-n-youse, fire at will!"

After the tank squadron enters the minefield, the entire stock of rotating flails of the Alliance extended almost in unison. Because the main boulevard was a minefield, any evasive action would be restricted to infantry units: tanks couldn't do any evasive maneuvers without first retracting the flails. The flail may prove to be a straitjacket for the elevation along the forward arc. The drum was so big that they even when said drum is as close to the ground as is safely possible to put it, he could hear the clanking of the chains on both barrels, which means that barrel maintenance would be required if their tanks survived. And also no depression was really possible either, only elevation.

"Wesa mainly here to contain da enemy before other elements could join oursa position"

"Enemy grenadiers at point oh-seven: they're aiming at our anti-aircraft units"

"Anti-aircraft units, evasive maneuvers! All other Infantry units, stay on da sidewalks: blast da enemy through da windows!"

But because the anti-aircraft units were rather close to the center, splitting into two groups that could make it to each sidewalk proved slower with portable anti-air missile launchers than with even grenadiers. A grenade lobbed by the One Sith from the fourth floor lands close behind the tank, punching a hole in the street but narrowly missed his tank. Ugohr had his pick of targets, and, even with the flail being active, he was constrained by the elevation of his neighbors: he had to aim higher than his neighbors to fire. Which, to him, meant firing at maximum elevation. But, at maximum elevation, he couldn't hit fourth-floor targets from the middle of the street: he'd be looking at aiming targets three or four floors higher, or perhaps more if they were further away. Soon he began to fire the main guns of his tank indiscriminately in quick succession.

[member="Clovis Torcularis"] [member="Abyss"] [member="Keld Fett"] [member="Lisette Kuhn"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

The Works
Coruscant Industrial Sector

Gear: In signature

A plan was only as good as the details that went into it. The Alliance had been preparing to strike at Coruscant ever since their victory at Dulvoyinn, sensing the shift in momentum that might finally allow them to push the Sith off the capital of the galaxy. It had been a long time since she had been on Coruscant... but she had been different then. She had been... a Sith, and a rather loyal one at that. That was, until family brought her back out of the depths of darkness and into a new light. Today, she planned to play her part in bringing Coruscant out of the darkness it had been lashed under for almost a decade now.

While many of the Sith and their forces would be concentrated on protecting the Valley of the Lords, inexcusably built over an ancient piece of knowledge, and the government district... Taeli had a different target in mind for helping the cause. The Works, an abandoned and somewhat admittedly slummy part of the world that had once housed Coruscant's massive industrial might was where she and the Directorate marines under her had slowly been filtering into for the past few days. Using captured uniforms from Dulvoyinn, they had slipped into the security details of the Sith forces stationed there that were to fight against the degenerates and Cthons that were in this sector.

All they were waiting for was the signal, the sign that the invasion... no the liberation was in full swing and they would spring into action. After all, the Works held more than just the planet's former industrial sector. They held some of the planet's most important infrastructure, and that was a target that the Alliance needed to liberate.

 

[Shaddi]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8faH18iOJg​

​

Location: The Imperial palace​

Mission: To end this, once and for all.​

​

​

The figure stood there draped in shadow, in the former chambers of the dark lord of the sith, The one the council had replaced. Placing a hand upon the transparisteel, the figure stood clothed in simple robes around it's lower half as it's scarred body was bare for all to see. The pitch black orbs in its skull seemingly staring through the planet bellow, observing the secrets of it's core. After being recovered from floating in the void from the battle of Dulvoyinn it had retreated to it's chambers to rest and recover. "No rest shall be had it seems." The figure spoke, a raspy voice, tired and exhausted. It's long slender fingers clutched against the transparisteel and a sudden thunderous crack echoed through the chamber as the steel was cracked like a broken window, the fissures in it reaching out from the circular pattern bellow the palm.​

​

"So the one sith shall die like this? A silent sigh, it's final hymn?" The figure said to itself as it turned it's eyes up towards the sky and saw the falling escape pods rain down from the skies. A slight smirk came upon the figures lips as it chuckled slightly and it walked away from the cracked transparisteel window. With an extended hand it clad itself into it's second skin, the skin the figure was known by Darth Erebos. It's long white hair folded inside the armored robes and hidden from sight as the mask was donned. "Then they shall die too." The voice that emanated from the mask wasn't tired, raspy or exhausted rather it was deep, dark and almost demonic in it's inhuman distortion.​

​

Turning towards the window once more Erebos raised his arm towards it. Outside the window began to become malformed and twist it's reflections before it burst into a torrent of flame where Erebos came out, thrust out by the hard depressurization of the room he had occupied. The harsh winds ripped and clawed at his form as he free fell down the large spires, guided by his power in the force as he aimed towards the valley of lords. Cutting through the cityscape as he was in a guided fall but before he aimed himself to land at the valley and landed like a jack hammer onto the ground. Cracks and fissures came from the small inwards dent he had made into the duracrete but he stood unarmed. Breathing out a hot enough breath to be seen as something akin to steam emanating from his mask as he stood. Before him were a few alliance soldiers who had managed to get there despite the heavy security around the valley of lords.​

​

"Out of my way." He said simply as he drew his blade and ignited it before the startled soldiers who all aimed their weapons at him and began to fire. With speed and precision Erebos deflected most but those that got through his defenses were simply dissipated by his robes as he then raised his hand to made force lightning erupt from the ground and hit the soldiers weapons. "I warned you." He said as he came at them, those that tired to run had their legs cut out from under them as Erebos moved through them like a shade. Those that put up a fight died well and painlessly, the others weren't so lucky. One was slowly burned and eaten by a beast of fire conjured by Erebos. Another was slowly roasted alive by force lightning and so on it went until the last one was left, having wet himself in fear as the personification of terror approached him. "You ghosts all annoy me." It said as it placed a gentle hand on the man's forehead but the sharp pain that he felt was so very real. "Do you feel that? that is the force disconnecting your muscles from your skeleton." He said almost in a gentle manner as he then gripped tightly around the mans forehead and ripped the mans very skeleton out from his body, echoed by the loud final scream of utter agony from the man. "So frail they all are.." Erebos then said as he held the bloody skull in his hand and tossed it to the side.​

​

His hunt had just begun.​

 

[Kahne Porte]

Location-Reroute to Coruscant Military District
Allies:[member="Keld Fett"]
Enemies:One Sith
Objective:Assist!

"General...." The Alliance Captain spoke just above a whisper, obviously nerves had gotten to the soldier. There was a limited number on the small transport vessel that was escorting them towards their destination, the Temple District. A long time had passed since Kahne had step foot inside the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, now transformed into a pillar of darkness, that in his wildest dreams did he ever thing was going to happen. Darkness however overcome the barriers of light that day, Kahne wasn't there that day and in his mind curse himself for it. Not that he could have turned the tide of the battle but it was where he belonged, fighting and or dying alongside his fellow Jedi. Kahne had given much to the Jedi Order and now he was back fighting for the Alliance to rid the darkness from this planet.

"General...." The Alliance Captain spoke again his voice a little raised this time around, however it hadn't breached The Jedi's mind just yet. The Jedi stood with a hand against the inner hull of the drop ship that was in low orbit flying among the clouds of Coruscant. The landing field just below them, luckily provided with enough cover for the moment. Soon the battle would commence, if it hadn't already. Kahne's first thought during his own planning process was to hit the Temple directly, and that didn't change much as the days dwindled to strike. The Jedi Master took a deep breath, while battles were not a strange thing to him.

This one was in particular due to a certain event that happened a few years after the sacking of Coruscant near the Silver Sanctum borders while fighting the Sith. Several Jedi had been lost under his command and while he wasn't in full survivors guilt, it did mark him and he did doubt his own leadership capabilities. Was it the force's will for those Jedi to die, but not him. Kahne had pondered this for the longest time. And while he opted to strike out on his own during this venture he was placed with a medium sized group of alliance soldiers with the numbers in the twenties. Variety listed within the group among communications,heavy weapons and such. So along with this, he was leading again and that was a hindrance on his mind and he knew full fething well that it couldn't be. The Jedi Master eyes closed centered himself with the force, as he knew that it was with him as with his fellow Jedi,soldiers,pilots fighting today.

"General!" The Alliance Captain said a little more loudly as he placed on hand the Kahne's shoulder. The Jedi's eyes opened as he glanced towards him. "I'm not a General my friend."

"Yes, and I'm not a captain. You may or may not be a General in your mind but we are with you and you have a job to do just like we do."

Kahne took a small breath in and exhaled slowly as he slowly nodded his head. "You are correct, captain. What's the status."

"General [member="Ugohr Poof"] 's army is attempting to clear the minefield that the Sith have laid, members of the 1st Alliance Infantry have gone down and need assistance. Do we proceed to the temple district?" The captain spoke swiftly and quickly.

"No, alter course towards the Military District we help them." Kahne's voice carried up towards the front as the pilot turned and gave a nod as the dropship took a small dive then turned course towards that particular district. It's only a matter of time now; Kahne thought to himself as they would soon come under fire and it held true as their was a s small shake in the craft. "We're under fire." The pilot yelled back. "Brace yourselves for next impact." Kahne glanced out the window as the fire was immense. "There!" Kahne shouted "Northwest, get us near that street now!" He seemed to know exactly where Kahne was talking about as the ship lowered as they came closer, he could see soldiers down and up fighting for their lives.
***********
(Theme)
***********

"I want infantry in front, heavy weapons behind them. As soon as he was hit ground I wan't those snipers taken out, use your mis-" A blast caught the drop ship in the back as the red alarm was triggered. Twenty feet of the ground and they were out of control. "I can't stabilize it, prepare for crash landing." Several soldiers had taken a hit from the blast towards the back of the ship and were struggling as the ship crashed down around twenty feet from where Keld Fett's forces where fighting. "if you are able, we must help, now!." Kahne said with a small grunt as he rose from a kneeling position luckily suffering only a bump or two. "I want those snipers taken out, use your launchers, what is remaining try and take out the artillery fire." Kahne declared as he ignited his lightsaber the green blade coming to life and moving out and around the wreckage as part of the group remained near the wreckage itself taking cover and taking their shots as they were available. Kahne's blade moving swiftly as he deflected the blaster bolts coming his way while moving towards [member="Keld Fett"] and several other alliance soldiers.

Among' the doubt of his own leadership abilities the Jedi Master however; didn't think this a fools task. Those lives lost would be avenged this day. Coruscant would be liberated and freed from the Sith's claws and tendrils of darkness, the lightside of the force beckoned such a thing.

 

[Alesia Rivas]

CORUSCANT
Exact Location Unknown
w/ [member="Lukas Krieger"]
no enemies yet

---

"I think the plan is simple. We get rid of those stupid propaganda posters, speakers, flags and everything," Alesia spoke to the boy she had come to the planet with. The boy was named Lukas and he was one of the New Jedi Order. The girl didn't know anything else about him, though, but that didn't even matter. What truly mattered was that they would be fighting for the good of the galaxy that day. And what else could simple Padawans do than cause some mischief?

The One Sith Empire heavily relied on propaganda. They needed it to keep people under their control, to brainwash them into thinking Sith are the supreme, to make these innocent people think of lies as if they were the truth. That was definitely not something Alesia wanted to happen any longer. She believed neither did Lukas.

The two were in a darker shadowy street in kind of the lower parts of the city, although not quite in the undercity, plotting their little plans of mischief. Alesia believed they would cause the most damage and help the Alliance to the fullest if they just went for it and grabbed everything down they could. That included huge posters, flags, speakers, recruitment posters and everything else.

Of course they would get into trouble. That was a part of the plan, Alesia had considered it when coming up with the plan. If they could fight against the security forces, they could show the people that the Empire is not the only way. They could show the security that times have changed.

They could be rebels.

That is, if Lukas wanted to go with the plan.

 

[Elaine Thul]

Location: Approaching the Black Pyramid
Enemies: [member="Count Morcus"] and anyone else, but this is an npc battle.
Allies: anyone, but this is an npc fight mainly.
Forces: 10 Thul Infantry Companies 1500
5 Scout Platoons 180
5 Artillery Batteries 180 (12 Howlers, 8 Surface to Air missiles launchers)
2 Pioneers Platoons 72
1 Housecarl Bodyguards 100
Total forces 2,032 Soldiers
Elaine forces had arrived on Coruscant with her army, it was time to liberate this world from the one sith. The Galactic Alliance dropships, had taken significant casualties on the way to the planet, and she lost quarter of total forces. The One Sith Knew how to defend a planet, from drop ships. None the less they caught them off guard, and she had enough troops planet side to make fight of it. Her troops landed swiftly began to spread out, into the different areas of Coruscant. Elaine however took a regiment of her own troops, to take down the Black Pyramid. A symbol of The One Sith, and she planned to wipe it off the face of the planet.

As her force organised themselves, the scout troops began to move forward. There job was to report, and give coordinates to artillery units. As they moved on foot towards the pyramid, they used cover to protect themselves from enemy units. As soon as they found one they would not engage them, except for sniping shots. They had there orders, and got on with it.

Her Pioneers began to set up a fortified area, so the artillery unit had protection, from any direct assault. Also getting munitions piles set up, as well as med tent, so the medics have somewhere to work. They had lot to do, but they where use to it.

The Artillery units began setting up, the howlers set up and where programmed with old maps of city, and as much updates as they could. So when the scouts began to give the information to them, they pound the enemy into dust. The Howlers also had missile defence systems to protect them from any air strike, they had a ring around the howlers, so no side was unprotected, as for the rest of them, they set up on outer side of that to stop anyone from coming into area.

The bulk of her forces, as well as her and her housecarls, began to form up ready to march on the Black Pyramid. They where slower than the scouts, but they had more firepower. It would take awhile before they caught the scouts up though, who where trying to find the safest route to final destination.

She herself marched in sink, with her housecarls, who where situated in the middle of formation.

Today will be day long remembered, no matter who wins.

 

[Sal Katarn]

Coruscant, Atmosphere

Falling…

The drop pod shuddered violently upon entering atmosphere. An inexperienced occupant might think that the whole craft was going to shake apart into nothing, but Sal weren’t inexperienced. He grit his teeth and rode out turbulence.

The SpaceOps moonlighter glanced out the viewport, but only saw the blinding flames of atmospheric entry licking around the craft. Maybe it was better that way, with the vision obscured and the whole pod rattling he couldn’t make out the anti-aircraft emplacements lighting up the skies, or hear the deadly hum of near-misses.

Katarn closed his eyes.

The landing jarred him to the bones. The smell of electrical smoke mixed with that of piss. Sal glanced sidelong at the other marines in the pod.

Eh, it happens.

Sal slammed the chest release on his crash webbing and pulled himself free of the restraints. The whole pod filled with the sound of clicking, a few groans, and rustling as the soldiers struggled to get free. Katarn pushed his way past the others and undid the latches on a gravcage. The moment the door swung open an enormous shrike sprung forth in a spray of brown feathers and flew out the hatch of the pod and into open air.

“Hm.”

The half-breed shrugged a shoulder, then reached over and pulled his SI-74 particle beam rifle from the mag clamps that held it to the wall. Holding the weapon at the ready, he filed out with the rest of the team.

Blaster bolts whined through the air as a squad of distant hostiles made an approach.

The marines put up some light covering fire as they spread out from the drop pod, making the hostiles duck behind cover. Buying time.

Above, Sal could feel Ka circling.

“Let’s secure the LZ and meet up with the captain.”

If she’s even still alive.

[member="Astarii Saren"]

 

[Yula Perl]

Coruscant
Allies: [member="Alesia Rivas"]
Enemies: N/A

Lukas grunted a he hefted the medical bag over his shoulder. It was a non-descript satchel, looking like something that could belong to a school kid rather than a doctor. But he preferred things this way, not one to attract attention to his cache of supplies. Bacta treatments, sutures, and various other tools that he’d checked and rechecked—sterility was important!

Really, the man wanted to be out on the fringes of battle, treating the wounded. But his inexperience in combat zones is what held him back…he was more accustomed to working in nice, clean environments. He would likely just get in the way of the more battle worn healers. The invasion of Coruscant was the young doctor’s introduction to the life of a Jedi, healer or not, which is why he elected to accompany another Padawan on their mission to rid the city of its propaganda. And seeing as how this was the long held One Sith capital, there was a lot of it.

“And try not to get our asses kicked in the process.” Lukas added on to her statement, tearing down another bold-lettered poster proclaiming that the One Sith stood to protect Coruscant. He grimaced at the thought, tearing the paper cleanly in half. There was more to winning a war than just swinging your saber around. Which was something he had very minimal training in. Force abilities too, besides healing. Hopefully they didn’t end up meeting with one of those vicious, crazy-eyed Sith who would rip them to shreds without a second thought. Lukas almost shuddered at the thought. Monsters. All of them.

 

[Fen]

“There’s a grief that can’t be spoken.​

There’s a pain goes on and on.”​

​

Coruscant Low Atmosphere,
Enroute to Valley of the Dark Lord


The X-wing tore through the skies.

No civilians dared to go to work amidst a worldwide incursion. The entire daily life on the planet had ground to a shuddering halt. Now snub fighters, flak, glowing lancets of superheated plasma and the contrails of missiles took the place of normal air traffic.

Ryan Korr did not approve of the new look.

A sweaty palm held the yoke, pushing it every which was as Ryan jinked to avoid enemy anti-aircraft rounds. The anxiety building in his chest had nothing to do with the incoming fire. He had not anticipated the crushing wave of melancholia upon return to his onetime home. It continued to build the closer he drew to the Temple: throat constricting, chest hollow.

Whispers haunted his mind, accusing voices asking how it was fair that he live while they had died.

Korr ground his teeth.

How many of his padawan class still lived? He could count them on his fingers, and of those most had fallen.

Did the Force have a destiny for him? Was that why he had been spared? Or was it all just happenstance and consequence, their deaths no more meaningful than any animal?

Brows slashed down in a scowl as Korr wove through a hailstorm of enemy fire.

Nearly there, he picked up a tail. Reaction speed nearly identical to his own. A Sith. Korr pushed his craft to the maximum, juking left and right, but he was not about to get tied up in a battle in the air. The true objective lay on the ground: prisoners kept in the dungeons of the Sith Temple for who knew how long.

Ryan pointed the nose down and skimmed across the the surface of Coruscant, threading through spires until he neared the Temple. Reaching down, Ryan pulled the ejection bar.

The canopy blew off and Ryan’s seat jetted into the sky, propelled on rockets. The X-wing spiraled on, nose-diving straight into the face of the Sith Temple.

The parachute flew out, snapping his shoulders and slowing his fall. Korr didn’t have the time to float down the rest of the way and the Sith fighter was circling back around.

A bar of azure flame came to life in his right hand and he cut away his restraints before leaping out of the seat to fall the rest of the way to the steps of the Sith Temple.
[member="Darth Pyrrhus"] | [member="Darth Ophidia"]

 

[Gir Quee]

Location: Eidolon-class Transport Nighttide Three on the Skyroute D25D, Coruscant
Allies: [member="Astarii Saren"] | [member="Sal Katarn"]
Enemies: None

Gir's eyes wandered across the towering buildings that rose up around the skyroute. As an officer, evaluating the environment was a matter of habit, but the blonde man was unsure if he could ever really proper evaluate it. The sheer scope of the civilian infrastructure was daunting enough, nevermind the constant traffic and the spreading warzone. His eyes turned upward to see the plunging wreckage of some lost ship scatter across the sky in a fiery demise. And for once, I'm not up there with them, rolling the hard die...

The Galactic Alliance had plenty of capable officers and ships, leading Gir to take charge of a group of Directorate marines for what was supposed to be a quick orbital insertion. It certainly wasn't for his experience in ground fighting, but rather his understanding of space travel. Rather than fight their way through Coruscant's impressive defenses, the marines had boarded some of Lucerne Lab's own Eidolon-class Transports which had then hitched rides on an unaware Baleen-class heavy freighter as it made its journey to deliver a cargo of nerf fillets to the local dockyard. Attached to freighter with magnetic landing pads and with their optical shields activated, the stealth shuttles blended in almost seamlessly with the large ship's dilapidated hull and among its numerous cargo pods. It had been a relatively dull journey so far, but Gir knew that would likely change soon.

The ship's co-pilot cleared his voice and looked up at Gir.

"We're nearing our destination."

Gir turned his eyes from a passing airspeeder down to the shuttle's navigational display. He quickly read the navigational map with its tactical overlay before turning his attention back to the co-pilot.

"We'll launch immediately; signal all other craft to do the same."

"Yes sir."

The two crewmembers chattered for a few seconds before Nighttide Three retracted its landing gear, causing the ship to briefly enter freefall before its auxiliary turbofan engines kicked in. The craft's descent came to abrupt halt before it glided forward towards their target. Gir looked around the viewport, but he couldn't see any of the other shuttles, but he knew they were there, hidden like his own by a plethora of advanced stealth technology. That thought brought a mixture of pleasure and dread to his mind. Even the finest technology can be defeated, and we are far too reliant on that right now for our own survival...As the unseen craft sped forward towards their target, leading Gir and his Directorate marines to their fate.

 

[Alesia Rivas]

CORUSCANT
Exact Location Unknown
w/ [member="Lukas Krieger"]
no enemies yet

---

"Yes. Not get out arses kicked in the process," the girl repeated. She had been kneeling for the whole time they'd conspired, but she rose to her feet now. "Let's cause trouble. I can fight, you can heal. That's good."

She had noticed the man wearing a pack of medicine and first aid stuff with him, so it was safe to assume he was a healer or at least a healer aspirant. She herself had her most valuable item - her lightsaber - on her belt, ready to be used when the situation demanded it. It looked like the two could handle any troubles that would face them as long as there wasn't a Sith Lord jumping out right behind the corner.

She marched out to the streets and looked ahead. The amount of posters and billboards flashing with red colour made her eyes hurt and her heart ache. She wanted to destroy all of that and free these people. They'd been fooled with and that should have been brought to an end a long time ago.

Alesia grabbed a One Sith banner hanging from the building to her right with both of her hands and pulling with as much force as she could. Of course she couldn't stand against the connections which attached on top of the building. She had a different idea in mind.

The flag soon ripped in half, Alesia falling down to her bottom with the lower half of the banner in her hands.

"Oh well," she muttered as she got up again. "Let's set that thing on fire." Alesia had always wanted to be a true rebel. Of course she wouldn't stand against the Galactic Alliance -- that's where her loyalties lied. But she had always dreamt of burning a flag of an enemy. And finally she could do that.

"Do you have a lighter or anything?"

 

[Aver Brand]

Cream and the Crop Casino
Coruscant Underworld
0500 hours

In the lands of CRC, party and debauchery were not limited to night. While other, inferior clubs and bars only opened in the evening and lasted ‘till the morning light, the Cream and the Crop never closed its doors.

Provided you had the creds, of course.

And they did. Quality mercenary work paid quality money. Besides, they had plenty of leftover funds from their previous occupation. Bottom line, cash wasn’t an issue. It was the key.

“Listen, Nergal,” Aver spoke, playing with her empty tumbler. It used to be filled with a delicious amber liquid, but that was all gone down the gullet. “The local economy’s in the chitter, and you lot need a new market. Ever since the old regime went down the drain, the business has suffered.”

The enforcer frowned into his own glass, mumbling a grudging agreement. “So? What of it?”

“We’ve got that.” ‘We’ being her and [member="Loray Tares"], naturally. Who else travelled with her these days?

“A new market?”

“Yeah.”

His frown deepened. “Okay. Where?”

“Outer Rim, thereabouts. Think bigger, though.” She grinned, waiting a breath to deliver the punchline. “It’s a shadowport.”

This took him by surprise. Nergal forgot all about his alcohol – a rare thing indeed – and leaned forward. “A shadowport? You had my curiosity… now you have my attention. Which one?”

Her smile widened, showing off rows of sharp teeth. “Not telling, Nergal. Not until we have a deal.”

“Hrm. Fine. Let’s say I believe you two. What conditions are we talking?”

She’d known they were getting desperate to expand off Coruscant, but the man’s eagerness was still a shock. Aver swallowed it along with a hearty mouthful of spiced rum, buying herself a second.

“The usual. Percentage cuts in exchange for top security and connections. You know how shadowports work.”

And he did. She could almost see the twinkling credit signs in his eyes.

Cat’s in the bag.

Then the planetary alarm went off.

Everyone and their mother jumped to their feet, turning a semi-civil palace of raucous excess into a stampede simulator.

“Frak!”

Nergal shot her an apologetic glance, shrugged, and got the hell outta dodge. Aver, on the other hand, rose to her feet very, very calmly. Planetary alarms were of little concern to folk like them. In fact, they were second only to the sweet kaching of creds being wired to an account.

Planetary alarms meant war. War meant business. Business… well, you get the point.

“Come, Loray. Let’s see who’s stupid enough to launch an attack on Coruscant.”

Turns out it was the Galactic Alliance. How unfortunate. The merc pinched the bridge of her nose as she cradled her helmet. Much like the CRC, the One Sith were in the chitter. If there was one group of zealots and judgemental fanatics that stood a chance of trampling the Empire, it was those lava-happy glowstick cops from down under.

For the second time in as many minutes, Aver cursed. There was nothing special about it, except for the emotion poured into that one, short word. She sure liked that syllable.

“Might as well turn a profit while millions get slaughtered, no?” Sounding suspiciously remorseless about the impending doom of the planet, the woman donned her helmet and set up a link with the OS Command.

Her contact for the assault on Togoria picked up after three pings, breathless. There were yelling and panic in the background. She ignored it.

“Hello, Janus. Yes, it’s Brand. Yes, I understand you’re busy being invaded. You’ll be happy to know that’s exactly why I’m calling.”

“Yes, I noticed. Quite loud, those sirens, but—…. We’re both here, actually.”

“Standard price? Please tell me you’re joking, Janus. This is your capital planet under siege. I’m sure we can do a little better, can’t we?”

“No, I— Janus. Listen to me.”

Finally, Aver stopped, scowling at the inside of her visor. Damned officials.

“Do you really think this is the time for paperwork? The Jedi are on your karking doorstep, Janus. Give us the permissions and we’ll help you take out the trash. Don’t, and you can have fun cleaning up on your own. They’ll appreciate your bureaucratic flair no doubt.”

A long silence followed on the other side, except for the background noise of mobilizing defenses.

“Eeeexcellent. I knew you’d come through for me, Janus. Half now half later, as usual. Yes, Janus. Next lunch is on me.”

By the looks of things, there wouldn’t be a next lunch for Janus. Well, maybe in Netherworld. Then again, there’s a special hell of lawyers and bureaucrats. The odds of them meeting down there were about as good as that of the One Sith prevailing.

Good thing Aver had always been a gambler.

 

[Adder]

Senate District
Republica 500

[member="Aela Talith"]


“Yeah. Here we go.” Adder echoed, her heart heavy with conflicting emotions. Pent-up rage. Thirst for vengeance. Immense, bone-deep sadness. Excitement. Fear. Primordial bloodlust.

“Holy chit, [SIZE=14.6667px]Aela[/SIZE].” Her voice was rough. Rougher than it should’ve been. What the hell?

“We could die out there.”

Police work on [SIZE=14.6667px]Coruscanti[/SIZE] streets – or any streets, really – was no joke. War was a whole ‘nother animal, though. She’d only ever seen it wreak havoc from afar, but now the beast was breathing down her neck, and Adder liked it none. Fixing the tightening collar of her jacket, the woman drew up next to the Jedi. The view was pristine, just like advertised on the starship-sized adverts all across Republica 500. None of the famous skyscrapers marred the skyline here, allowing one to see all the way to the Rotunda.

“It’s going to be heavily guarded, you know,” she said. It was redundant, but she needed to say it nonetheless. Of course [SIZE=14.6667px]Aela[/SIZE] would know that. The woman had seen entirely too much warfare for her age. One of these days, Adder would get off her ass and have a stern talking-to with her parents.

Not today, though. Not when they were about to end a decade of Sith tyranny over the Galaxy.

Adder closed her eyes and bit her lip. The anger swelling in her chest was almost too much to bear, and the redhead shot a hand out to seek support in the window glass.

“Chit.”

Barely more than a whisper. Ten years, she’d waited. Ten years to see if her parents were still alive. Ten years to see those maniacs driven away. Ten years…

“Let’s go.”

Her jaw was set now. Her eyes, dead. Westar strapped, along with backup ammo and an unhealthy amount of knives.

“I’m flying.”

Ten years. These streets would be hers once more.

 

[Lord Ghoul]

Crop n' Cream n' Cream n' Crop Casino

Janus? Janus, Janus, Janus. Now where had he heard that before? Oh right, duh.

The short, hooded figure chuckled to himself. He'd thought he might pick up a few high rollers at the Plant Shop, but seemed like he might've just hit the jackpot. The eavesdropper stepped away, shadowed features hidden by the cowl except for a smirk - too clever by half.

He pulled out a commlink, double-triple quintillion encrypted, or whatever, and activated the thing. "Red Leader checking in. Got a possible set of Big Fish."

Lucien Shorn, part-time firefighter, all-time troublemaker and occasional sleuth didn't think of Coruscant as all that different from Nar Shaddaa. Streets were cleaner on the upper levels, sure, but that's not where most people lived. When it got right down to it, a city-planet was a city-planet and Luce knew how to navigate the slums with the best of them.

Been waiting in the shop for a possible customer to come in at just the right time. All across Coruscant, Alliance agents were doing similar things, rallying smugglers and other people on the wrong side of the law to the cause.

Nobody liked the Sith. Guess that's what happened when you let a bunch of saber waving maniacs control a chunk of the galaxy. They ended up killing a bunch of people for no reason. Too unpredictable. Too ruthless. Too controlling. For criminals, that was a big no-no.

"Uh huh.... yeah.... no I'm pretty sure, armor matches with the report photos. I have authorization? Yeah I'm sure it's them. Ok Kahuna, you got it."
Click.

In the chaos of the mad scramble to get the heck out, Luce slipped forward until he stood at the elbow of the tall woman and her even taller companion. He pulled his hood down, exposing a youthful face that couldn't have been over twenty, and long locks of dark brown hair. Mischievous dark eyes glanced between them.

"Hey there, what's up. Heard you needed a ride off planet. Bet I can beat that guy's price."

[member="Aver Brand"] | [member="Loray Tares"]

 

[Laguz Vald]

Shadowing Sith Lords sounded way more exciting than it actually was. Halfway through xir second week, Laguz had considered giving up. Professional pride wouldn’t have it, and so the shifter persevered into the third week, and then the fourth.

By then, xe’d jumped a few skins and faces. Shaking off any suspicion was paramount when you were surrounded by people as paranoid as Sith. And surrounded, xe was. 24/7, living in the midst of those crazies. It wasn’t doing any wonders for xir disposition, that was for sure.

The promise of a huge payout just over the horizon kept xem going through the thick and the thin, the lows and… lower lows, but eventually, the unimaginable happened.

Progress.

Kids, don’t become assassins. It’s not nearly glamorous as it’s made out to be. In actual fact, most of your time will be spent holed up in some dark hole with malfunctioning piping, a clogged toilet, and permanently absent hot water. Long story short, the job requires a lot of patience.

Like, two centuries’ reserve of patience, thereabouts.

Laguz was presently very patiently assembling xir weapon. She was a nice weapon. The beskar rounds she fired could easily outrun a starfighter in [SIZE=14.6667px]atmo[/SIZE], and they caused a similar amount of damage when they found a target. To top it all off, she could do all of this soundlessly and invisibly.

Tessie was a very nice weapon.

Planetary alarms had been blaring for the past fifteen minutes, but it bothered xem none. Xir job remained the same come hell or high water, and an invasion was hardly a deterrent. To be honest, it improved xir working conditions, as well as xir chances of scoring the kill. [member="Darth Erebos"] was now 1000% more likely to show his helmeted face outside the Council building, eager to deal with the insolent attackers. Sticking out his neck like that would of course offer the sniper a brilliant opportunity to pick him off in some random melée, wrap up xir business, and disappear off the planet before anyone realized who’d dropped the Sith.

With a soft click, Tessie came together, and xe rose to xir feet.

Xir hunt had just begun.

 

[Aster Jen'allé]

In the space above coruscant, Jareth had been called to serve as a pilot in the defense of coruscant. He would be tasked to engage enemy fighters in combat where possible.

 

[Aver Brand]

Cream and the Crop Casino
Coruscant Underworld
0515 hours
[member="Loray Tares"] | [member="Lucien Shorn"]


“And just who are ‘you’ supposed to be, kid?”

Aver whipped around a lot faster than anyone would expect with all the armor she was wearing. That was kind of the point.

He was young. Too young. And that chit-gobbling grin… Her eyes narrowed to razor-like slits. Something smelled fishy here. And it sure was a big fish.

With her arms crossed, the woman leaned over the teen. Keen eyes scanned his chin for any prenatal signs of stubble, and found it lacking. Beside her, Loray towered even more ominously, his crimson visor glowing with barely restrained violence.

“Spit it out quick, boy. There’s a war out there, and we don’t like being late.”

 

[Armand Temi]

Location: In the skies above Coruscant
Allies: None so far
Enemies:One Sith, [member="Jareth Johnathon Holst"]
Objective: Dogfight

In a blur of orange and white, Rogue Fifteen shot out of the hangar of Alliance SX Troop Transport, her destination the Galactic City of Coruscant. Ironically she’d attended the Coruscani Pilot Institute and could not help feeling like after her bombing run, she would go wander the campus, reunite with a couple of old friends and have a drink or two, maybe even go dancing.

If anything was left of the prestigious Institute after the Galactic Alliance Operation to free Coruscant from the One Sith, a noble undertaking, but one that promised hundreds of thousands of deaths, and afterwards, a significant rebuilding effort. It would take much more than a few galaxy-wide “Dave” concerts to raise enough credits for reconstruction.

Cardinal, Sylvia's mech, interrupted her thoughts with a series of urgent beeps. She glimpsed the droid translator in the cockpit. How did one learn how to speak droid anyway? True, at times she could detect the mechanical’s emotions, but the tones and whistles were far too complex for a simple pilot to understand.

“Fine, activate the deflector shield,” she acquiesced. They were close enough to the surface now that it wasn’t a bad idea. Red Devil felt with the shield up, the X-wing had less juice, but she was told by her squad Lieutenants that it was only a myth. Banking left, her destination was a bombing run on the Black Pyramid, but to her shock and surprise, the citadel had already been nearly demolished. A heap of smoking rubble remained. The redheaded pilot knew the Alliance wouldn’t have been able to destroy it, but she couldn’t wrap her head around a government that would preemptively demolish a building to spite the freedom forces.

 

[Dredge]

Location: Coruscant Undercity
Allies: One Sith
Enemies: Galactic Alliance
Gear: In signature

"Who am I? Who am I really to you?"

"You're me, You're him, You're Dredge, We are the darkness."

"I didn't choose to be Dredge, I was promised revenge and yet here I am picking up his mantle leading people I loathe."

"Good. Use that hatred, let it charge through your veins. It makes you stronge-"

"Spare me the cliché. I've accepted who he was, and I've done as you've asked. I don't want revenge anymore. I just want to go home, I'm tired of all these politics, of all the screaming, of all the death. When can I go hom-"

"YOU WILL LEAVE WHEN I PERMIT IT!!! YOU WILL RETURN ME TO MY RIGHTFUL POSITION!! I WAS THE DARK LORD!! I WAS THE RULER OF SITH IN A CRUMBLING EMPIRE!! AND I WILL BE WHOLE ONCE MORE!!"

"Fine. Just... fine. What do we do then?"

"They come, the light. But they will fade, the dark side always prevails. You will kill them, and you will put on a show. Pageantry is important after all, and you must admit part of you enjoys it. Deep down inside."

"I enjoy nothing. Not since they took my life, my identity."

"The part of me that was he was locked up and died long ago."

"You can't lock up the darkness, Dredge. You can't. Lock up. The darkness."

Deep within the Coruscant undercity the yellow glowing eyes of dozens of creatures opened up and began to surge forward through the thick and enveloping darkness, the swarmed around a singular focal point. The eyes formed into large hulking shadows of monstrous creatures and they seemed to be dancing to what softly came into ear shot as a loud deep boom.

As the percussion grew louder and louder the center of the focal point went silent as a pair of pure bloodshot red eyes opened to the galaxy and he arose to greet it. For the members of the light in the undercity they would not be greeted with bullets and blades just yet. Only the sound of drums echoing in the distance growing louder and louder with each passing moment.

There was no long winded speech, no act of motivation, yet the howls of blood lust soon began to ring out among the percussion. The time was near and battle was to ensue.

There was a thump, followed by another, and another, and soon stepping from the shadows the monster Sith Lord that was Dredge looked up at the city that was coruscant and smiled. It was time to fight, and time to kill.

 

[Asmus Janes]

[member="Kelon Amadis"]


Lubdub lubdub lubdub

His world was pain, heat and darkness. The roar filled his ears against a staccato beat of warning alarms. Asmus coughed, but when he breathed in it seemed as if he'd drawn in fire. He couldn't see anything. His heart started to drown out the noises around him as his pulse quickened in panic.

Lubdublubdublubdub

The back if his head throbbed to the bear of his heart as he pulled forwards. Something kept him fixed in place. He reached around around himself frantically, his right hand catching on something solid. Solid, but it had give. His flight stick. His mind was slow, groggy, but he realised he was in his cockpit. Asmus held his breath against the thick smoke and reached for the control that would jettison the screen. How the hell had he ended up here?

---

“I see him! I see him!” Asmus called. He banked to his right and fired a stream at the oncoming TIEs, scattering them. The Rogues were escorting a group of corvettes and gunships down into the Coruscant skyline. Sith fighters kept emerging from the urban jungle, trying to hit them from all angles.

“Missiles at seventy two point three, twenty down.”

“I can't intercept!” Asmus called. He turned in towards the black streaks and did his best but only cut across one of the missiles. One more was caught by the corvette's point defences, but the final slammed into its shields. They held.

“Getting a reading, big power surge.”

“Confirmed.”

“Trying to lock onto it,” Asmus replied. He needn't have bother. A bright blue beam lanced through the air. It stayed there, focused on the corvette. There was a shimmer as the shields went and a second later the corvette started to fall from the sky.

“Some kind of ion beam!” Asmus called, but his comm crackled in return. Warning alarms started to sound and the lights flickered in and out across his consoles. The ion beam swung across to the second corvette, cutting through her shields in turn.

Asmus’ repulsors failed. Through his cockpit he could see another Rogue who had been even closer to the beam fall from the sky.

“R7, give me backup power! R7?” No reply. The gleaming knives of the coruscant skyline started to rise up to meet him.

---

With a crack the viewscreen launched from its position, smoke billowing out behind him. Asmus desperately gulped in some clean air. His hands reached for his restraints. Freed from his seat he dragged himself up onto shaky feet.

It was dark. Was it night? No, he realised as he looked up. He was just deep down in the lower levels. Only a few patches of sky were visible.

“R7 purge the ship. R7?” Asmus clambered up and looked towards the engines. The astromech was in place, but no lights were on. He swore. Pulling open an emergency panel, he yanked down on a lever. Hopefully that would transmit his final position and then wipe the systems so they couldn't be used to access the Alliance network, or retrieve any data.

Asmus slid down the nose and onto the duracrete road. The landing struts were smashed across the ground. At least, it seemed, he had enough wits to try and get them down even if they'd been of no use. A compartment under the ship held a rifle, sidearm and a medium range comm. He had to lie on his back and slide under the ship to get at it, constantly worrying that it might shift position on broken struts and crush him. Nothing on the comm, probably too low down and too many buildings in the way. He kept it in his ear regardless.

The streets seemed remarkably empty, so he took the opportunity to throw off his orange flightsuit. Just a white vest and loose brown shorts underneath. Which way to go now? He could hear sirens now in the distance. Probably a fire speeder, but perhaps police too. Military wouldn't be far behind. Making a split second decision, he made for the nearest building.

“Need to get higher,” he mumbled to himself. The light down here seemed lethargic. As if the journey down from the spires had drained it's lustre. Everything seemed the colour of Moss, that dull, grayish green. And yet there was nothing living down here. Asmus ran through puddles for the nearest door.