Candle in the Dark: GA Invasion of Lujo (Objective 3: Temple)

[Xevek Nekonis]

Location: Library
Allies: N/A
Enemies: [member="Spencer Varanin"]
Equipment:

Spoiler

Assassin Armour [Appearance] | Variety of Force-Imbued Weapons (see Bio) | Cybernetic Arm

The ease at which the woman managed to stop his needles caused a single thought to reverberate around his mind with self directed condemnation, he had been arrogant, not the woman. He had been over confident, not her. He had miscalculated and started the fight with the disadvantage. He had assumed (something he had swore to never to as assuming information about a situation was almost as bad as corrupted information) that his target would be distracted, that she wouldn't pay attention to him while examining the Library for items to take. He had been too overconfident in the stealth generator also. He knew that, for all his skill with utilising it, the speed at which he moved would have weakened the field. Further more, with his overconfident in the stealth generator, he had lessened his focus on his suppression of his Force Presence. It would have been easy for the woman to track to track him.

Fighting back the urge to growl in annoyance with his own idiocy in breaking his standard procedure and allowing arrogance and lust for blood to overwhelm his logical mind, there was no point in letting the woman know his position even more easily after all, Xavka focused inwards on his Force Presence, clamping down on it, burrowing it even deeper beneath the ambient flow of the Force. Focusing further, he chose to do something that he should have done previous and lock his own mind from outward intrusion. He had no idea as to what skills the woman possessed in the Force and, going by the depth of the connection to the Force she held, it was more than likely that she was considered a Master, leaving him to only guess at what knowledge she may hold that he had never thought of. In this situation, it would be better for him to overestimate her than underestimate.

He was so focused on this task, of trying to reduce his obviousness through the Force, that he almost didn't feel the weak warning that flared through his mind. Jolting back to awareness, Xavka leaped from the top of the case where he was perched, ensuring that his form stayed obscured within the shadows that congregate near the ceiling. Landing in a crouch with nary a sound atop another case, Xavka watched as the thick thorns surged through the air. His two hearts almost skipped a beat when one thorn cut through the air right next to his face on his blind side, his right side. It was only through experience that Xavka managed to control himself.

Turning his attention back to the fight at hand, Xavka ran through as many possible next moves as he could trying to decide which would give him the most positive outcome. He couldn't keep running and dodging, eventually the woman would be able to find him and, from having already expanded energy in evasion, it would be easy for her to beat him. Nor could he attack her directly, not yet at least. He had no knowledge as to what her skills were, as such he could in no way produce a tactic for fighting her and he was loath to just jump into the fight and make assumptions to her skill, assumptions were what destroyed what should of been his surprise attack. In the end, he was force to concede that the only logical avenue open to him that he could see at that time would be to continue with what he had already done, keep probing her defenses and try and glean any information as to her defensive and offensive capabilities as possible.

Now that he had his decision on what avenue of assault he was going to pursue, Xavka just had to decide how to travel down that path. Normally, he would probe a target's defense with his poison coated throwing needles as if even one got through it would tip the fight towards his side. But due to a lack of foresight (something else he was disgusted with himself about), the amount of needles he was carrying on his person was nowhere close to enough for that plan. And since he was going to be attacking at range, that limited the amount of different plans that he had to choose from. His needles were out of the equation and his Emeici were more valuable when used at close range, leaving him with the only remaining option, his Chakrams. But even with his options reduced to one, he still had to figure out how to use the Chakrams, a complication caused by the thorns. He had no idea as to how easy it would be to cur through them, leaving him with the options of hoping that just regular Chakrams would cut through the plants or risking exposing his location for a moment to imbue the Chakrams with the Force.

The time it took for Xavka decide on the best course of action, from debating his next move to debating how to go about using his Chakrams, only took a few seconds as Xavka's mind was running as fast as possible due to the adrenaline surging throughout his system. Reaching into his his robes, Xavka withdrew two Chakrams, one in each hand, that were currently folded in half. Snapping them into the locked position of a ring, Xavka channeled the Force into them, leaving the edges of the weapons glowing a feint blue.

As soon as he had finished imbuing the Chakrams, Xavka leaped to another bookcase, launching the first Chakram directly towards the woman through a gap in the thorns mid jump. Bending his legs as soon as his feet touched the top of the bookcase, his muscles coiling, Xavka leaped again to a forth bookcase, now closer but also further to the right of the woman. Again, while in mid jump, Xavka through the Chakram he held. However, this one was aimed away from the woman, just in her general direction. Over years and years of practice, starting back on Iridonia when he had been a young child, a kep, Xavka had trained in the weapons of his ancestors and, due to the exorbitant amount of time spent devoted to the Chakrams, he had learnt how to angle his throws so that the Chakrams would ricochet towards his target, following an indirect path. Without the Force to help him guide the weapons, they would only be able to ricochet off of a surface twice before dropping to the ground, he could only hope that that would be enough.

From where he now stood, Xavka focused his attention onto the woman, hoping that his attacks would reveal some chink in her armour and defenses that he could exploit. Almost as an afterthought after deciding that there was no reason not to due to the low cost of during so, Xavka flung a further weapon towards the woman, another of his poison tipped throwing needles, this time aiming for the head. The fact that it was only one needle he was throwing was all that caused him to throw it, accepting the fact that if the absentminded attack failed he would not of lost much but hoping that the Chakrams would, at the least, cause enough of a distraction for the needle to get though.


Actions: (Thought that I should add this as a list of exactly what Xavka did just in case I didn't explain something well enough.)

Spoiler

1) Suppressed Xavka's presence within the Force a bit more (thought that such an action would match his personality).
2) Jumped to a different bookcase, 'dodging' the thorns that he thought were a targeted attack and not a "warning shot" as you have wrote.
3) Imbued two Chakrams with the Force (see Force Weapon).
4) Jumped to a third bookcase, throwing one Chakram at Spencer directly while in the air.
5) Jumped to a forth bookcase, throwing the second Chakram indirectly at Spencer, hoping to have it ricochet towards her head.
6) Threw another Throwing Needle, but just to one, targeting the side of her head (cheek).

 

[Darth Ophidia]

Location: Proximity of the Training Grounds.
Enemies: Intruder Scum!
Allies: [member="Rookie"]
Engaging: [member="Sochi Ru"], [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]
Gear: 2x Curved-hilt lightsabres, Rudis, Armour, Tsaisibola, Nagajj.

At first, she thought the Togruta would be able to slip away, but then she heard the thud of her body hitting the concrete. The Togruta’s original opponent appeared, prepared to teach the Dark Jedi a class in Vong-induced pain. Ophidia’s attention turned to the appearance of another combatant.

It was a curious instance for Darth Ophidia to find these opponents. While she had duelled with many Sith and Jedi, she had never before faced a Dark Jedi nor a Witch. Not of this magnitude in any case. Now, she and an unknown opponent were battling one of each. This was indeed a strange day, a strange and beautiful day.

Feeling the crackling tension of Force-made electricity, the assassin knew the newer combatant was occupied, even if only for a few seconds. She turned her full focus on Siobhan and gathered the Force around the firemane in an attempt to crush her form into the floor and then throw her into the opposite wall.

In this moment, Ophidia’s Force Camouflage would be weakened as her attention was diverted, but her physical form was still masked by the stealth field generator in her armour. It was a chance she was willing to take.

 

[Sage Bane]

Location: Library
Allies: [member="Darth Vulkan"] [member="Kevros Kovani"]
Enemies: [member="Ajira Cardei"]
Sage's Gear: Dark Armor, Lightsaber, Sessile Trio-staff, The Blade of the Satvas

While Sage Bane would look back upon this pivotal moment, and even with hindsight, consider it one of his greatest triumphs, the illusionist was well-aware that he made one essential mistake as his dagger sank into the throat of Ashin Varanin. It was a foolish misstep that would change his life in one irreversible instant.

He was lingering inside of Varanin's mind.

The attack itself was almost sensual, the young man's amphistaves locking on like a lover’s embrace, winding around the woman’s sword with precious grace, his other arm thrusting upwards towards the slender flesh exposed by the absence of armor where the pieces met. One moment the Sith Lord felt a flush of pleasure at the two violent acts, committed in tandem, the Apprentice’s plasma blade sizzling into her body, and his own anathema, the cruel slitting of her throat. He felt his heart beat wildly as the life drained out of her body. When the purest form of the Dark Side poured into his mind upon her spirit's release, something snapped.

​

Spoiler

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​

Sage was swimming in a vast ocean of madness. His mind was a book whose passage begged to be read, yet the words did not make sense. An endless spiral of Escheresque tessellations that lead to both nowhere and everywhere all at once.

The blast of the explosion threw Sage across the room, the wet crunch of broken bones sounding as he landed. Pale ribbons of bloody flesh flapped from the holes in his tattered clothing. The Sith Lord lay still, his limbs motionless, stricken eyes staring at an unknown point beyond the temple roof, perhaps the outline of a dying god that only he could see.

And it was laughing.

 

[Allyson Locke]

Location: Library
Allies: None
Enemies: The Galaxy, [member="Sage Bane"]
Targets: [member="Xavka Duquo"] ; @Everyone (Force Insanity)
Gear: Armor, Lightsaber, Bag of Candies (peanut butter & Chocolate), Bag of Kewafi Flower seeds

Spencer felt him shrink his existence in the Force. He was aware of her sensing him and now with his presence smaller she would have to focus to keep herself aware of him. Her mind blocked out other distractions and focused on the small vibration of the Force he still had, with her training with the Vong she learned to read voids in the Force - even as a vong it would be hard to hide from her. The flowers at her feet were capable of sensing physical dangers so because they were surrounding her, they shot at the different directions as he moved still they missed.

Primitive weapons they were and she knew she needed to work on obtaining some more of the dangerous fauna. It was probably a time to visit Sirella after all of these years.

Items that were imbued with the Force moved through the air. One more she raised her barriers completely around her blocking the attacks. She kept the barriers up long enough to deflect the dart that followed the weapons.

Music​

Before she could make her attack though, something rippled through the force - forcing its way through her mental barriers. A pain surged through her chest as she suddenly couldn’t catch her breath. Her hands moved over her breastplate as she knew exactly what this feeling was, she heard the scream through the Force and at that very moment she knew her worst fear had come true.

I’d like to keep you, you want to keep me?​

In her mind the first smile she had seen after completely giving herself to how she felt and to the woman beside her. That night on Nar Shaddaa marked the beginning to the rest of Spencer’s life. Everything had finally fallen into place for the wayward padawan. Someone had noticed her, someone had given her the tools and the desire to live. Ashin had given her love for the first time in her life Memories upon memories of the life they shared together continued to flow. Her entire life involved Ashin, everything that she remembered involved Ashin in some shape or form.. Tears began to fall from her eyes as she looked towards the direction in which her wife had roared through the Force. She was so close and yet Spencer wasn’t aware of it, she had focused her mind so much on the Sith she was fighting that she knew Ashin was close, but how close she was - how she could have possibly saved her tore through Spencer. Ashin had a knack for showing up at the right time and when Spencer was needed, she couldn’t do the same.

I’m never letting go of you​

You promised, you promised, Spencer touched the corner of her lips. Her armored finger pressed against the brown dot, the blood trail Ashin had given her, their first kiss. Spencer remembered when she had lost her the first time, the woman returned someone new - Ashin always came back. Ashin was always there, in Spencer’s life there was never a void where Ashin couldn't be felt, where the woman didn’t appear - her world was Ashin and now that world was gone. They had created a life together, a child and a home for the most part. After her mind swirled with the feeling of her mate being ripped from the world - she caught a consciousness - she knew Ashin hadn’t complete perished - but what she was doing wasn’t always safe and wasn’t always successful. Until there was proof that she had completed the journey - Spencer would take matters into her own hands. Pain and Sorrow filled her heart, anger drove her. Lujo it would forever be changed.

Music​

​

Unchaining her mind from the defense mechanisms she had locked away for so many years, she shattered the barriers that she had put up to protect herself and those around her. The mentalist, who had suppressed her own abilities to make her capable of living a normal life suddenly made herself aware in the Force - to those around her. Through the Force a cry of immense pain and sorrow echoed as she did so calling out to the heavens above her. Force bonds, they would act like direct connections to those Spencer knew who were not in the vicinity. A cold chill would spiral down their spines as the grieving woman cried out to them announcing what had happened on Lujo.

The battle didn’t matter neither did the allies or enemies she had near her. The only thing that had ever mattered to Spencer was gone. Her breath shortened as she felt her mind quickly connect to those around her, it was easy now that her full potential was unhindered. The strands she saw within the force was quickly blended with her own presence and once everything was connected in the area around her, the cry once more echoed through the Force.

Her mind remembered the horrors filled in the Phobis Device that she had fought against during the Dark Harvest event. The horrors of the Dread Lords locked away in her subconscious was summoned to the surface. The horrors filled her mind drowning out the pain she felt from the loss of her lover, the bubbled and slithered through the connections of the minds she had gathered in the Library and the surrounding areas. The horrors would soon manifest clinging to whatever mind it poured into, filling it with personalized terrors for those around her. Spencer felt her body releasing its desire for balance, crawling towards the darkness seeking its comfort. The light had abandoned her on several occasions, this time was no different. The galaxy would burn, till she was satisfied.

No one was safe from anything, her target was allies and enemies alike. Laughter echoed from one mind going insane - she recognized it from before. She remembered it and memorized how it felt. Something told Spencer this was Ashin’s murderer, this was the being that she would crucify and erase from the Galaxies knowledge. As the Force Insanity filled the area a burst of uncontrolled force energy shot out leveling the bookcases. There was no reason to hold back now, her revenge was the only thing that she clung to.
[member="Sage Bane"] would cease to exist, a promise she vowed to keep.

 

[Darth Voracitos]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-jUcd1pm5U&channel=park0urfreak1​

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"Far away... so far away. But my reach is long... the reach is good."​

- Darth Voracitos prior to the Massacre of Rodia...​

​

A ripple through the force cascaded over Him as He slumbered, as a wave cascades over His many-folded skin to atrocious vibrations. He sat not in any Throne, owned no lands, held to His name no slaves, and felt no hunger... He slept. Nothing occupied His mind but the great sleep, and in true unconsciousness, not unlike His death, time flew Him by.

Yet that ripple.

He felt it. Felt it as only one who had been waiting, listening, for that final ripple to sound for years, could. It was that final ripple that He had been searching for... longing for. It was the only thing that had held Him anchored to this galaxy in any form... even if His gluttony slumbered in the Garden of Thorns. His Jealousy remained in the galaxy, anchored to that ripple that never came... awaiting its call so that it could finally be laid to rest.

Voracitos never killed her... yet with a godly patience He waited... however many years it took, it did not matter... He waited.

No cage constructed by [member="Darth Vornskr"], could keep Him from the vow He had made, to witness the death of Ashin Varanin in any form He could. This was not His return, no, but He would stand to remind the galaxy of the Shadow, He once cast. A shade appeared in the armour that once contained the woman... a disfigured silhouette that practically devoured the very air it inhabited, the caricature of decay and ephemeral power.

It grunted inaudibly, and nodded to all that remained of the Conqueror of Ten Thousand Worlds... Empress Desmius.

Then those socketless eyes... obscured by facelessness... but pinpointed by burning realized passion... turned ever so much to look upon the murderer. Then as madness fell...

... they began to judge [member="Sage Bane"].

 

[Rookie]

[TRAINING GROUNDS]
[ALLIES] [ [member="Darth Ophidia"] ]
[ENEMIES] [ [member="Sochi Ru"] ] [ [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] ]

Entering the room, Yun was met first with the sight of his enemy's body lifting from the ground, propelling itself towards the far wall with a loud thud. Whoever the mysterious third party was, it seemed they were on Yun's side. Unsurprising, the Sith were fighting on home soil after all. Yun's closing on the Togruta was swift and precise, but again he was met with tenacious blocks. Blow after blow deflected from the side of the woman's makeshift aegis before the left limb attacking found itself able to pierce the metal, digging in deep and pushing hard. Sochi would find her efforts to simply snap the limb fruitless but her disengage would serve its purpose, slamming the limb into the wall and sliding back across the stone. The wayward limb rose high and flicked behind the Vong, tossing the shield away towards the door they had both entered from. Watching, transfixed on her hands, Yun's armor lowered his body to the floor and the bottom limbs roused themselves, the right limb sweeping low for the Togruta's legs as she pulled the torch from the wall, while the left limb would swat at the flaring weapon itself, aiming to simply bat away the offending instrument.

Even the Force Dead could feel the weight of power radiate from the library. At once, a thickness permeated the temple. Unfamiliar as he was with the Force and its machinations, the Vong could almost taste palpable waves of energy roll off his shoulders and back. Whatever was happening, Yun felt relieved his opponent drew him away from its source.

In the shroud, the lightning cracked the world. Vicious strands of light sprung into being to the right of the Shaper, illuminating his half of the training grounds. Careening through the air, each bolt lashing at the blackness towards Yun's body. If he had seen it coming, there may have been a chance to avoid the onslaught, but as it stood, the element of surprise caught Yun off guard. At once, the torrent of electricity collided exquisitely with the Shaper, coiling around the extremities of his armor and burning the carapace with savage light. Taken from his feet by the force of the tirade, Yun's body crashed into the wall to his left, the lightning holding true and forcing him to the floor where he struggled against the power. Body burning with pain, the armor's nervous system connected to his synapses served to enhance the misery. Yun peered forwards through the abstract limbs of energy to its source. Vision blurring, Yun pulled his Shaper hand behind his back, contending with the oppressive bombardment he beckoned to the hive beneath the folds of chitin. At once, six Blast Bugs would emerge, weaving their way through the thin coils of lightning and scattering from his body in different directions. In the shadows still dancing from the open door to the library's fires, and amidst her own barrage of cackling light, the bugs ought to be nearly invisible when evacuating Yun's form.

By stroke of serendipity, four bugs spun outwards and headed straight for his assailant, threatening to converge on the woman's torso in time with Ophidia's own telekinetic display. Two approached from the front and would aim to hit her first, the other two flew high before looping down to approach from behind her. Of the six, that left only four accounted for, the remaining ordinance would fly high, hugging the ceiling, not ready to detonate just yet, waiting for orders far more sinister. Even though slightly resisted by the thick chitin, the electrical attack threatened to cause severe harm to the Shaper and his armor if it wasn't stopped soon. Yun hoped the bugs would either cause her concentration to lapse long enough for him to break free, or simply blow her to a fine red paste. Either way.

 

[Xevek Nekonis]

Location: Library
Allies: N/A
Enemies: [member="Spencer Varanin"]
Equipment:

Spoiler

Assassin Armour [Appearance] | Variety of Force-Imbued Weapons (see Bio) | Cybernetic Arm

Once again suppressing a growl of frustration, watching with dismay as his thrown attacks were rendered null and void. The two Chakrams and one throwing needles were stopped in midair just as his initially thrown needles have, halted in their progress as they met an invisible wall that surrounded the woman he was targeting. He had seen no effort or strain within her body language, nor had he witnessed her make any move to raise the barrier or felt such and effort through the Force. The evidence left only one conclusion for Xavka to draw. The barrier had been held in effect since it had been summoned against his initial attack, and the woman had shown no sign of any effort needed to maintain it, meaning that the woman could more than likely continue to hold the barrier for a much more extended period of time.

With the barrier blocking any attempt of a ranged attack and the vines most likely able to be used as a close range defensive mechanism, Xavka was forced to watch as many of his usual plans crumbled to dust before his very thoughts, cast away into the wind as nothing more than an after thought. Indeed, the only route of attack that was open to Xavka was for him to attack through usage of the Force. However, every time he utilised the Force, his location would be revealed and the female had most likely studied enough to easily counter any effort her might make.

Xavka had just began to spin a line of thought as to what his next action was to be, when he felt a wave of Force erupt from the woman, just as he felt a spirit of one of the invaders leave their body. The wave impacted him with an intangible force, and exerted no pressure upon his body. However, the impact he felt drive upon his mind toppled him from his perch upon a bookcase as his eyes lids were screwed shut against the searing pain. The withering shapes that were taking shape within his mind sent spikes of ice through his brain, causing enough pain that he almost didn't feel it as his body impacted the side of a bookcase, sending him into a spin and dislocating his right shoulder from the socket. Less than a few seconds, the over six foot frame of Xavka Duquo slammed into the ground of the Library causing cracks to ring out as the bones within his legs shattered.

Calling upon every last drop of willpower he possessed, Xavka slammed the doors of his mind shut, sealing it away with chain born from pure emotion in its varying forms, calling upon every feeling of hatred, happiness, passion and caring that Xavka had ever felt, and many more emotions beside them. The ease at which Xavka conducted the sealing of his mind from the nightmares that were stirring within his subconscious came not from luck but from experience. Ever since a young age, Xavka had almost felt as if there was another side of him, a side that was quick to anger and that was consumed by feral instinct and bloodlust. The Shamans of his Clans had lead him through a ritualistic meditation to seal away those urges and it was that technique that Xavka use now.

However, the barrage of fear that washed through him was unrelenting, unending in its pursuit to twist Xavka's mind, to drive him to insanity by showing him his deepest fears and nightmares born from his subconscious. What defense the Zabrak had managed to form against the onrush of insanity held for only the briefest of moments, long enough for his two hearts to beat only once, before they fell. The chains that held back the nightmare of smoke failed, becoming twisted remains of what the intangible and mentally formed barriers once were.

The internal fire within the burnt orange pupil of Xavka's one eye began to fade as soft growls and whimpers of a pain not physical dropped from his parted lips. Nightmares wove themselves into his mind, consuming him, twisting him towards insanity. It took every visage of Xavka's willpower to resist the temptation of release that insanity now offered him, tempting him with open arms that promised to end the mental and emotional pain that tore him.

In the end, Xavka's mind retreated, attempting to find shelter away from the terror, diving deep and leaving behind a husk of a body. In the end, Xavka lay as a broken figure lost within the shadows of the Library, his legs brocken, his right arm dislocated and blood dripping from a gash on his left temple as well as from his nose and eye. His robe settled across his body like a morbid burial shroud that had been wrapped around the body too early but made no difference in the end.

 

[Laira Darkhold]

Location: Southwestern Corner, Library
Allies: [member="Sage Bane"]
Enemies: [member="Spencer Varanin"] | [member="Kevros Kovani"]
Gear: Signature

Disoriented, carrying the sword of the fallen, the Sith Lord sought his friend, he was off in the corner, hurt badly from the blast of the death of the Fallen Dark Master. Vulkan rolled his shoulders feeling them pop and the tendons stretch, and the muscles ache. He snarled and began making his way over to the Sith on the ground, intent on healing his Mystic Brohan and being his Super Broku and getting them both the feth out of here, his contracts fulfilled and his willingness to fight overshadowed by his desire to assist his ally.

Then it happened, the screams in his mind, as though every nightmare, every painful last breath he had ever caused reared up from the depths of his memories and tore at his will. Vulkan was taken aback, swinging his mace from side to side at phantoms at first, then he blinked. Draco had done most of these, Vulkan felt no remorse, no fear, why was it these memories haunted him now. The Force roiled with madness and hopelessness and Vulkan's defenses failed, attacked from without by visions and halluciations, and from within by the beast caged behind thin mental barriers he held up.

The combination of the explosion of the Dark Master's death, the insanity brought on by the visions, and the constant gnawing at his will from the Dreadlord was too much for Vulkan. He roared out, he's turning black and the Force crackling as he screamed, the sound echoing through the Force like and animal in pain roaring out defiantly with his last breath. The area around the Sith Lord's body became imbued with fear and horror as it poured out from the Sith's cackling, psychotic laughter, no longer Vulkan.

Laughing, it turned its attention to the only living being it could see. An acolyte near by, the other Sith lying almost dead anyway, and it's presence reached out to him. Laughing, the Sith being sent red lightning at the acolyte, arcing between the pair of warriors, seeking to tear at the acolyte's very soul and life essence. To drain him into a withered husk in preparation for something far more devastating down the road.

 

[Aela Talith]

Location: Library East Wall
Allies: [member="Maleah Talith"]
Enemies: [member="Greta Kohler"] | [member="Dak Canton"]

It was a good thing that Aela had specialized in the creation of force bubbles since the age of eight. The force of the impacting plasma and the crashing bookshelves that wrecked against the translucent sphere caused her to wince slightly. She frowned, her eyes shifting to the two assailants. Rubble quickly built up against the bubble itself, broken wood and ancient books piled on top of her, stressing the sphere even as another plasma shot impacted from the side.

The bubble began to crack.

Her eyes narrowed, then suddenly she reached out to her sister, or rather, Toofless. Aela had never been a great sensory Jedi, nor was she grand at tricks of the mind. She was however capable of controlling beasts, everything from Drexl to Gizka. So she would use Toofless as a go between, utilizing the Nexu to signal Maleah to attack The Sith Lady, Greta. The nexu would roll and whip its tail, pointing towards the woman.

At the same time Aela would release the bubble.

It took her only half a second, building up a wave of the force. She reached and lashed out at the built wooden rubble, grasping it and throwing it at Dak before quickly dashing away from where she had been standing and igniting her lightsaber.

 

[Louise]

Location: Library East Wall
Allies: [member="Aela Talith"]
Enemies: [member="Greta Kohler"] [member="Dak Canton"]

Her presence didn't go unnoticed.

Not that such a thing perturbed the young woman, but this wasn't sparring with her sister at home or hunting the wild beasts that roamed upon Onderon. This was a setting that was out of her comfort zone, sentient beings with deadly weapons and intent to kill. Aela was here though, and Micah and Vexen nearby, so any sense of total danger was dampened somewhat by their reassuring presence.

The man turned, quickly shooting directly at her and it was only through instinct and the Force that she was able to dive out of the way behind one of the bookshelves within the library. The blaster bolts both whizzed by the space she had been standing in, neither of them missing where she had only been standing but a mere moment ago.

A damned good shot, shame the man opted to hunt people instead of animals.

Picking herself off the floor (as one often has to do when they dive out of the way) Maleah noted the low rumble from her nexu companion, who was no longer shredding library property but instead signalling towards another with his long tail, a woman who was ranting about being forgotten. Tell me about it, sister. She stepped out from behind her cover of the bookshelf and waggled her eyebrows, looking to her new target.

Nodding to her feline companion, the beast barrelled forward at the Sith, his large form and many teeth sprinting before moving to pounce upon her. At the same time Maleah herself would play the rubble game, using the Force to pick up and throw a sizeable amount of stone and debris from the hole that they had blown in the wall prior at the woman's head.

“Only if you don't forget about me!”

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

Location: East Hallway, near Training Grounds
Allies: GA, Team Dark Jedi, [member="Sochi Ru"]
Enemies: Sith. [member="Darth Ophidia"], [member="Rookie"]
Gear: 1x MKI bolter, 1x sonic blaster, 1x sonic shotgun, wrist-worn flamethrower, vibroknife, grenades, lightsabre, beskar'gam.


A torrent of brilliant blue-white lightning swept across the corridor to strike at at the Vong, ideally with the aim of frying him. It was accompanied by the smell of ozone in the air and provided some illumination in the dark hallway.


She saw him go down through the force of the electrical onslaught, and he was evidently struggling against the pain she was putting him through, though Siobhan could not assess precisely how much damage he had taken. He was far from out of the game though. She knew from her experiences on Alderaan that Vong were tough buggers. The memory of that horrible day made her angry, heightening her rage and she used this to fuel the lightning assault, desiring to completely fry him.


Alas, this left Siobhan unaware of the danger posed by the sneaky Sith Assassin. Abruptly she was gripped by an invisible power and slammed into the cold, hard floor. Ouch. Truth be told, someone else using telekinesis against 'The Kerrigan' almost felt like a copyright infringement to her. However, her distraction had meant she could not avoid this or block the blow.


The floor dented slightly from the impact of her beskar-clad form crashing into it, pain flooded her body and some bolts of her own lightning struck her before she dissipated the assault, freeing the Vong. However, instincts kicked in and she rallied, feeling the same invisible grip try to lift her into the air and presumably toss her somewhere hard.


The Dark Mistress called upon her own telekinetic willpower and brought it crashing down upon the Force Grip, nullifying it. In the same moment, out of the corner of her eye, she saw...something approaching.


She could not directly make out all of the bugs or even identify them, but on instinct and to defend herself against a further Force attack, Siobhan pulled upon the tangled web of the Force and threw up a Protection Bubble, as the protective energies of the Force encased her. Not a moment too soon for the bugs collided with the barrier a moment after.


Boom. Three bugs detonated upon impacting with the bubble. The shimmering Force-based barrier flickered badly as the shockwaves crashed into it. The pressure generated by the combined explosion ended up breaking the barrier, but it did its job by keeping her from getting blown up or having her innards get destroyed.


However, the barrier was not infinitely powerful and so one bug detonated up closer as it weakened. The shockwave slammed into her and she was thrust across the hall by the sheer force of it, before crashing into the ground with a loud, sickening thud. Ouch. That hurt a lot. Beskar armour had shielded her from the worst, but it could not prevent blunt trauma. A broken rib was very likely.


Drawing upon the Force to blot out the pain as far was possible, she got to her feet. Pain shot through her back and her right shoulder felt terribly dislocated. There was a loud, sickening crunch when she righted it and forced it back into position. Beneath her beskar helmet, droplets of blood dripped down her face. Her cold eyes narrowed and she was about to go on the assault again, when the massive psychic wave of Force Insanity conjured up by [member="Spencer Varanin"] spread across the library and the adjacent temple grounds.


Pain, horrible agony, flooded her mind. Siobhan had become a lot better at protecting her mind from mental onslaughts, but nonetheless she could not just blot this out. Loud screams arose inside her mind, like the cries of a thousand enraged banshees. Hastily she tried to shore up her defences and retreat into her mental fortress, seeking to quite literally slam down the door upon the legion of horrors. A mental door made out of beskar. However, some of the tendrils of madness managed to slither through before she could deny them access, and gripped her tight.


The sins of the past, Roche, Gehenna and many others, came to life, as if phantoms were striking at her. Those she could deal with, for she felt little to no remorse. However, the madness-induced visions that predicted a horrible future for her family were something else. One phantom tapped into her inmost fear as she saw [member="Galina Kerrigan-Alcori"] get brutally struck down by Rahl assassins while she was gone. Mental shears felt like they were slicing through her mind, aiming to cut through it.


Sweat baked her face and back as she tried to concentrate and push the phantoms from her mind. Her own mental power crushed down upon the daemons as she sought to exorcise them, but there werre always more and she was losing control.


Finally Siobhan stopped resisting the massive psychic assault and the dams holding back her rage were broken. Beneath the helmet, her eyes were wells of nothingness. Rage washed over her like a rainfall. Power and rage filled her, a miasma of the energies of the Dark Side. Her mind was presently only focused on destruction and on unleashing the pain she was feeling, regardless of the consequences.


And so the Titan of Telekinesis brutally lashed out. A massive wave of pure telekinetic power shrieked from her. When she unleashed the Force, it could be felt. The ground warped, the air twisted in strange shapes. Her power was like a tsunami and it begged to be unleashed. It was also just as indiscriminate, volatile and uncontrolled. The temple grounds shuddered and quaked as if hit by powerful tremors. Her power was directed towards the ceiling, as she devoted her telekinetic strength towards turning this place into a tomb. There was a devastating noise, an epic crash like the end of times.


However, her massive telekinetic power was not just directed against the roof above the eastern hallway. So many presences had been felt inside the library. She did not know who was there or who was winning, but she did not care. In the eastern hallway, the library and part of the training ground, the ceiling shook and heaved as if some unnatural power was pulling at it. Cracks spread across the roofs, then they were torn asunder and came crashing down. Carnage and chaos would ensue.

 

[Orion Darkstar]

Location: Library / Hallway
Allies: [member="Sage Bane"] | Fear, Insanity, The Force.
Enemies: [member="Darth Vulkan"] [member="Spencer Varanin"]
Objective: Stay Alive, Escape.

Kevros Kovani it had a nice ring to it, at least he always thought. His badly injured body was slowed, but capable. The Temple had seen its better days, trash and scattered the sheer sight of the library reminded him of several, once great, ruins that remained on distant worlds from here. Walking toward the exit he felt it, fear. The coldness of it soaked him, his saber hum slowly becoming hard to hear. The commotion of the battle evaporating, like a sudden ocean filling his ears. He was lost in an abyss of water. Gasping for air his eyes widened, stunned, unable to move as the images played in his mind. The force had been manipulated, he was no longer in the library. Instead the incredible blast of emotion from an unknown place warped his mind. The vast images of his one true fear filling his mind.

Water

Kevros was pulled under, the crashing of the waves overhead forcing him to panic. His legs kicked vying for some sort of control of his own fate. The water refused to allow him above, not until he was tossed and turned for a few more minutes. His mask drifting in the chilling waters below as he was yanked upward. Coughing he spit the salty sea out of his mouth. His lungs tightening, bracing for another tidal wave curling to the sky. Kevros couldn't understand what was happening. Screaming, the tidal waved crashed down onto him. Pulled from the lucid nightmare he snapped back into reality only for a moment. Beams of laser bolts zipping past him, his mask secured. Coughing, gasping, and reaching for his throat he swiped his saber sideways in panic. The inner veins of his pupils slowly beginning to pop. The pressure from the illusory water making him fight for survival.

The force refused to allow him to go blind however, the moment he looped back into reality the swipe of his saber was guided by the force. His right arm tensing as the arcs of red lightning met his crimson blade. The images of water slowly slipping back into focus and then back out again. The fear slowly turned to anger. He let out a war cry from underneath his mask as the zapping tendrils of lightning sizzled along his saber's plasma. Like a conduit it slowly moved towards Kevros' hilt. The force calling out to him with one simple hint.

-Let go-

What was once fear snapped into a voracious madness, his lips curling to a menacing smile. The lightning wrapped around the saber entirely now, just before reach his hand Kevros let go. His arms rose to his head, pulling his long black hair from behind. A deafening scream escaping his lips as the arcs of threatening lighting finally flung his saber to the ground. Unaware of who attacked him, Kevros saw a hazy red, images of those he once loved repeatedly dying. Agonizingly he cried out in a ruthless manner. His neck stretched as his head arched upward, the force rippling through him like a raging volcano. Kevros was no longer the suffering acolyte of fear. He was now the raging embodiment of the dark side. Passion, regret, loss, and rage perfect ingredients for what came next.

Leaving his saber behind, he cared not. Running for the exit as the ceiling started to buckle, another event taking place among the eviscerated temple room. His shoulder slammed through the doorway, the frame ripped from the foundation, his left shoulder dislocating as he ran. Kevros' nails scratched through his gloves as he found himself clawing at the hallway walls. Smashing his boots into the ground, he planted his heel firmly. Twisting on his heel he laughed hysterically, both of his arms stretching to the air, pulses of the force escaping his hands toppling anything remaining in the hallways. Continuing to exercise his insanity he made his way to the labs, where everything started.

It was a mad world and only the mad were sane....

 

[Caulder Dune]

Objective: Have a Bad Time
Location: The Library
Enemies: [member="Aela Talith"] | [member="Micah Talith"] | [member="Vexen"]
Allies: [member="Dak Canton"] | [member="Greta Kohler"]

The first two books were zapped with impunity, further provoking Darth Adekos' growing annoyance. He had no idea if those books had copies, if they were original manuscripts, something serviceable... No idea! And he just unwittingly incinerated them! These Galactic Alliance mongrels certainly had the ability to improvise, he'd give them that. If only anything they had accomplished with the destruction of a portion of this temple's contents actually mattered in the long run. Whatever. Movement caught Adekos' eyes as the man sprinted towards him with an ignited lightsaber. Not a very clever individual, this one. Clearly someone hadn't been paying attention. The Umbaran made no effort to move out of the way as Micah inelegantly barreled towards him. Not even when the saber was about to slice his chest open. Instead a writhing web of blood red energy shot out from the gauntlet.

Upon connection with the web, it would move no closer to the Sithling. It had been stopped. Of course, those same tendrils would also electrocute poor Micah as would any other manifestation of Sith Lightning. A few more books were destroyed against the web as Micah suffered. Nothing to be done about that. It would only last a few moments before Adekos subjected the Talith child to a Force Blast at point blank range. At this proximity, it would likely propel him into the far recesses of the library. Maybe he could find the stun baton while he was back there.

Too busy admiring his handiwork, Adekos didn't notice the next two books arc towards him. "You nitwits really don't learn, do y-" Thwunk. "Ow." Thwap. "Ow!" Having just taken first edition copies of On the Origins of Sithspawn and Will to Power to the face, Adekos refocused his attentions on Vexen. Those were going to leave bruises in the morning. Before he could say anything, of course, the roof started to rumble. Large chunks of ceiling clattered to the ground even as the next book was once again zapped by the gauntlet. There was barely a minute before it caved in.

"That roof is coming down and it'll crush us all beneath it. I dare say I'm very well protected. How about you?"

 

[Marcus Tritum]

Location: Library East Wall
Allies: [member="Darth Adekos"] | [member="Greta Kohler"]
Enemies: [member="Maleah Talith"] | [member="Aela Talith"]

Sudden screams of agony pierced the air, drowning out the sounds of whining blasters and clashing sabers. Dak felt a pressure against his skull, a throbbing growing in intensity. One of the soldiers not far off who had escaped the Drexl's maw clutched at his head and loosed a wailing cry of pure terror.

Wearing a taozin amulet and genetically immune to the plying mental touch of space magicians, Dak felt nothing but a headache. Had the mercenary not been so born, he would have suffered a mental anguish that would break even the strongest of wills.

The beast master gestured at him and Dak had much larger problems to worry about than acute onset migraines. Problems like flying wood. Half of a shelf slammed into his gut. Dak grunted at the impact, form folding slightly. Just in time to receive a matchwood hurricane. Splinters shattered into further smithereens across his stormtrooper armor, but found purchase at the joints. Little shards jammed their way into crevices and joints, doing their best to make him a passable impression of a porcupine. Pinpricks of pain flashed where they dug through the body glove and into the flesh beneath, at the left shoulder, between cauldron and chest plate, and in the gap of an elbow.

Another plank whipped out and smacked him high on the chest, sending him sprawling backward. He grunted and struggled to one knee, unsheathing a big friggin' dagger with one hand, blaster pistol clutched tight in the other.

The ceiling rumbled.

Dak frowned and looked up, saw the web of cracks spreading.

"You've got to be friggin' k-"

The roof caved in, courtesy of [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]'s sweet, sweet ministrations.

 

[Sage Bane]

During his rise to power in the One Sith, Sage had shattered many minds. During the Battle of Ord Mirit, the Sith Lord forced Republic stormtroopers to exit their walkers, and calmly walk into the river that tore asunder One Sith and Galactic Republic forces, a march of death that ended in the soldiers’ inevitable collective drowning. During the Rebel Alliance attack on Coruscant, Sage, using painful mind shards, reduced acolyte Trystis Ray to a gibbering child, broken beyond repair. From slaves to soldiers, the mentalist cracked open their heads like a brittle egg and poured in the delirium of the dark side.

Today, his former victims would be dancing in hell to the music of their own schadenfreude.

His teacher? Matsu Xiangu, a student of a student of a student of his most recent victim. Did he get that right? There was a circle metaphor in there somewhere, but Sage was too far gone to visualize it.

The Voice’s mind reeled with paroxysms of psychosis, partly the lucid after-effects of Ashin Varanin’s death, and partly the result of her wife’s vengeful torrent. His barely-seeing eyes searched the sky, and among the spray of stars over Lujo met the tiny buttons that swam in the fleshly jowls of the face of [member="Darth Voracitos"]. Sage reached up a hand for the spectral Sith Lord, a repentant gesture of a man who has too much to pray for to ever receive enough mercy. Then felt a rumble in his spine as the ground began to shake. He called to the Force to give him one last burst of energy, like a shot of whiskey for the cirrhotic liver. It was possibly his last gasp, but it allowed him to haul his bent and fractured body, on hands and knees, towards the hole in the library wall, the one that allowed the intruders entrance to it.

As he emerged from the wreckage, out of the corner of his eye, the broken Sith Lord saw the great vaulted ceiling of the library crumbling into dust, punctuating the fall of his last shred of sanity.

[member="Darth Vulkan"] [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] [member="Kevros Kovani"] [member="Spencer Varanin"] [member="Ajira Cardei"]

 

[Sinistra]

Location: Southern Temple wall
Allies: [member=Iziz]
Enemies: [member="Coren Starchaser"] [member="Chevu Visz"]
Gear: Sin's armor

There was something terribly wrong. This fight was not going poorly but she could feel something pushed into her mind like one of Carach's brushes across her psyche. It threatened to erode her to nothing, as she started to believe there was no getting around the tenacious onslaught of the rogue in front of her.

She rolled back from the fight, her eyes pulled back towards the hallway and the deeper parts of the temple. Kevros. She could feel sanity stripped from him, his voice screaming in terror and pain as it echoed through her mind, pushing the fear deeper.

She ran.

Away from her opponent and into the hall that would lead her back to the alchemy labs but as she turned a corner, the sensation of overwhelming dread grew stronger. She could not fight this power, she was no mentalist. All she could do was retreat from the dread and fight to keep her mind whole on the periphery of tremendous grief and anguish.

Retreating back towards where she had been fighting south of the temple, she began to feel the effects lessen but the maddening screams of Kevros only grew worse. And on top of it, the temple began to tremble. There wasn't much time.

The sorceress skidded to a stop in the hall south of the war room, and started to cast her spell, weaving her magicks with words, power and intent until she had summoned two dopplegangers of herself. The magical copies of the Sith Lord nodded to her as she relayed her instructions and took off down the halls to find Kevros.

Sinistra could not take the chance of getting any closer to the source of the mental attacks, but she kept her saber at the ready for any Alliance soldiers who thought to follow the rogue and the green girl's flank.

Whoever or whatever was causing this sense of horror had to be powerful indeed. She prayed it was working in the Sith's favor, but with the sound of the roof collapsing in, she couldn't be sure.

Spoiler

TL;DR

Sin is feeling some of the effects and knows Kevros is in agony. The feelings of dread grow stronger as she heads north from the southern temple wall so she hangs back and casts doppleganger to find Kevros and bring him to her. She is feeling dread and fear, and cannot fight it so she stays by the southern wall where the effects of the insanity are lessened.

 

[Vexen]

[member="Darth Adekos"] [member="Micah Talith"]

An echo of that pain Micah suffered flashed through Vexen's mind. Behind dark goggles a pair of bright white eyes narrowed. The shadow darted to the size as a chunk of masonry came down where she had been standing. She had sensed the abrupt surge of dark energy as that gauntlet had once again flared to life.

Damn, but this one talked a lot. Were they all like this? So confident in their power?

“Let's find out!” she called back. This library seemed to contain information in three forms: in books; in holocrons and artefacts; and in databanks. Vexen had already destroyed on whole stack of servers, but there were plenty still standing. The Wraith wasn't the most technically minded creature, but she was aware that a whole stack of databanks required power, lots of it. She just didn't know quite how many kilowatts each sucked up.

She dropped low, legs splayed and one paw to the ground as she drew her dart gun and fired some more. One had got through that gauntlet before, perhaps it would again. Yet behind adekos two thick cables snaked out, the plastic coverings peeling back to reveal the tightly wound power cables within. They would shoot out and attempt to ensnare him - and as a side benefit delivering enough of a jolt to stun a small bantha.

 

[Cortana Jade]

Location: East Hallway, near training grounds.
Allies: [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]
Enemies: [member="Rookie"] | [member="Darth Ophidia"]
Gear: Voice of the Force , lightsaber

She noticed the presence of Siobhan, with a surge of lightning flying directly past the Togruta. In the heat of the moment her Vong adversary turned his attention towards her, and she felt a disturbence in the immediate area. She naturally detected the cloaked one seeing as her attack weakened her camouflage. Through detection of her montrals she picked up on and acted on the opportunity. The entire time she had been building up Force energy, an ability she had active since the beginning of the battle.

She had mastered the meditative battle stances long ago, and used them all in tandem with one another. Now she was employing the second of the stances, switching out for the first; Force Potency. Through which her offensive use was enhanced to great levels. Swiftly she turned around in the general direction in which Ophidia would be. From her mouth came a powerful, and forceful screech aimed in the general direction. It was enough powerful to knock someone off their feet, and loud enough to damage hearing.

Of course this enormous belt only added to the destructive power that was Siobhan. The roof cracked, and the walls shook. The walls blocking them from the training grounds directly cracked from the ceiling and down. Her belt was powerful enough to knock the rest of the wall down before the ceiling collapsed in other places. If her sonic attack affected their hidden enemy like she thought then she would likely be tossed through the wall and inti the training grounds directly.

 

[Veino Garn]

Wandering Around Dark Hallways
@Vexen @Sochi Ru [member="Sinistra"] [member="Sage Bane"] [member="Darth Adekos"] [member="Kevros Kovani"] [member="Maleah Talith"] [member="Aela Talith"] [member="Darth Vulkan"] [member="Xavka Duquo"] [member="Darth Ophidia"] [member="Coren Starchaser"] [member="Chevu Visz"] [member="Micah Talith"]

Veino dropped the hand-cannon as a crimson saber arced through the shadows, sizzling against his armor before fizzing out against the cortosis. Veino bit his lip as the heat radiated through the duraplast and into his arm. That would hurt later on once the adrenaline kicked off, but it wasn't worth expending energy to heal it. He grabbed his own lightsaber, flipping the switch, sending the yellow plasma scorching to life as the red one re-ignited in the shadows, casting an ominous glow against the wall before attacking with an overhead lunge.

Veino waited and then stepped aside, snapping his blade upwards beneath the arc, slicing through the other's lightsaber. An acolyte, Veino guessed. Nobody else would have been that overzealous in their attacks. He struck out again, this time with the hilt and catching the young man on the side of the skull, which sent him sinking to his knees, out for good.

Then something else struck Veino. Not physical. No, this was emotion. Pure emotion, which unbeknownst to him, was wreaking havoc through the temple. Veino, however, was an empath. He did not only sense other's emotions. He felt them as deeply as the person feeling it. So this was a tempest of pain and anger, tinged with sorrow. A hurricane and it hurled itself against his mental walls, momentarily stunning him. He dropped to his knees, lightsaber clattering from his hands and rolling away into the dark corridors.

Then he sank to the floor as the waves of emotions poured into his brain, smashing through the walls he had so carefully constructed over the years since his empathy had begun developing. His breath caught in his throat as he tried to hold on to his self. Not his consciousness, but his identity. He was being overwhelmed.

He was [member="Spencer Varanin"], awash in pain and rage, swearing her revenge and shattering the mental walls around her power.

He was [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"], raging against the pain that spiraled and sheared through her mind.

He was, even more a moment, Ashin Varanin, before her essence fled to find a new host. That was the worst, as the Dark Side permeated his mind and being, taunting him and pulling him to unleash.

He was Xavqua Duquo, frustrated and then in pain after being flung by the assault.

He was Sage Bane, sanity ripped from his mind by the presence of Ashin.

Veino ceased to be, save for a small starlit crystal, surrounded by the darkest hurricane in his memory, and probably in the memory of those around them.

But even the smallest light would pierce the heaviest night. Veino pulled his essence back together, reaching deep, as images played through his mind. Shattered memories, some good, some bad, so many others all mixed in. Some were battles he recognized from the past. Others he had only heard of. He even caught a glimpse of himself in one memory, albeit much younger. Then a teenage boy appeared before him, skin far too pale to be healthy with blue lips and a shattered arm bone. Veino curled up in a ball, arm raised to ward it off.

Veino....The apparition spoke, voice cutting through the darkness. Help them. You have always cared. It's why you hurt so much. Give that to them.

"I can't," Veino whispered, from beneath the helmet. He ripped it off to breathe better, face ashen and hair sticking to his forehead. "Thyria took it all."

He was so tired, so exhausted. He had criss-crossed the galaxy without sleep, without rest, and without hope looking for her. Perhaps she was truly gone. Everything that made him Veino had been drained away as he posed as a criminal and let things slide. He had compromised, perhaps too often, and he had lost his way.

The apparition stretched out his good arm and touched Veino's forehead, planting a single image there. A small underground pool, water still as night sky, and deeper than a black hole, radiating serenity.

Trust the Light.

Then the vision was gone and the little crystal that was Veino made a decision. He dropped what remained of his walls, letting everyone in, a deluge of emotions and stories. So much pain, so much agony. Veino's grasp on himself weakened, but he called up that image and the night he spent meditating by that same pool, drenching himself with the Light and he called that forth again. The crystal of his mind blazed forth outwards, working through the same channels that he received their feelings. Sinking deep into that pool, Veino became stillness and the Force flowed through him, reviving his self that had been worn away in the recent months.

His heart broke for the pain and fear that surged through the temple, making it stronger in the Dark Side while simultaneously destroying it. That was perhaps, the greatest irony of the Dark Side. It would always consume itself the more it grew, devouring its tail as it strove dominate.

Veino gathered all his compassion, all his Light and sent it outwards, with each individual in the temple receiving a different message.

To some, it would be you are not alone in your pain. For others, it would be a presence beside them as the fear tore through their mind, one that stood beside them to guard them from their fear, although it would be up to the individuals on how they responded, as each message felt would be unmistakably Light. It would strengthen those of the Light, but for others, he did not know.

Then Veino collapsed fully to the ground, tapping the distress signal on his comm. His last recollection was of booted footsteps and green lightsabers rushing to his aid as other Jensaarai came to retrieve him.

 

[Rookie]

[WESTERN(?) CORRIDOR]
[ENEMIES] [ [member="Sochi Ru"] ] [ [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] ]
[ALLIES] [ [member="Darth Ophidia"] ]

Partial success after partial success. Explosions bloomed wide around the figure assailing him with lightning, Blast Bugs igniting one at a time against the powerful force barrier. The final assault met the woman as successfully as he could expect, sending her body across the room, the combined attacks of Ophidia and himself breaking the woman's concentration long enough to cut her lightning short and allow Yun the freedom to escape. Standing, the smoldering form of the Shaper stumbled backwards towards the wall, leaning against it, body still shaking and reeling with pain. The armor heaved, limp and heavy behind him, mustering the strength to drag itself away from Siobhan's line of sight. Thoughts raced through Yun's head, visions of this temple becoming his tomb consuming his mind. Again, rattles in the back of his head told him to persist.

As close to getting a diagnostic as he could, Yun examined the armor. Limbs hung limp at his back, twitching and steaming. The terrifying storm of light damaged the creature beyond his expectations, causing it to become near useless to him now. The prototype held up enough to keep him alive, but the creature was slowly dying. Unable to salvage the worsening situation on his own, his eyes snapped back to the witch who attacked him moments before. In the dark, power stirred, twisting the space around the woman in abstract shapes, calling deeply on the Force. The wave she unleashed plowed through the room, catching Yun's body and pushing it hard against the wall he leaned against before exploding in pyres of invisible force. Hairline fractures opening before rapidly expanding, opening the ceiling to the sky and causing it to fall around them. With no way of knowing how widespread the destruction would be, the Shaper gritted his teeth and prepared to withstand it where he stood.

The two bugs which remained closest to the ceiling routed backwards, looping to hover above the Vong and detonating the first piece of rubble dislodging from the temple, the explosion blasting away at the stone, scattering debris in every direction except on top of Yun. With the walls trembling and the roof collapsing, and unable to call upon the strength of his armor to aid him further, Yun fell to his knees. The remaining hive of explosive insects hummed to life, evacuating their stronghold and spreading above the Shaper. With the wreath of fireflies in place, Yun braced himself, muttering under his breath to the creature encasing his body. Something close to a eulogy for the comrade he prepared to sacrifice. At once, the ordinance detonated, erupting into a violent plume of flame which caused the wall behind him to buckle, creating a path for his body to be thrown through against the far wall of the western corridor adjacent to the training grounds, which led to the laboratories. The bulk of the training grounds' ceiling buried where he last stood and his body slid feebly down the length of the wall.

Having lost track of any individual he was concerned with, Yun placed his Shaper hand firmly against the ground and pulled himself upright, the cracked carapace of the armor falling away from his body into a mangled heap of chitin and blood, tendons snapping away from his back as he vacated the creature, feeling comparatively weightless to seconds ago. With the crumbled sections of wall and ceiling crumbling still, Yun's thoughts turned to the cataclysm on Vullain and his descent into the ice caverns. The sight of wreckage and destruction was, at least, familiar territory for the Vong, who aimed to endure even this. A film of faux silver streamed through the discarded rooftop, pillars illuminating the surroundings. In the distance, chaos still stirred but beyond the ringing in his ears, Yun could barely hear it. With much of the temple aflame and in ruins, could a victory here be called a victory at all? Yun wondered what became of the three others left behind in the training grounds, and of those in the library. If they chose to hunt him further, so be it. For now, Yun's body turned and he set his gait towards the labs. The Wingtip, he hoped, would still be nestled in the forests to the south. There was nothing left for him here.