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The beginning of what could, would even, become a drastically different, new, life for the Jedi unraveled within the Sith Lord's mind. She saw every perceived step, every last breath, tear, and groan. There would be pain and joy, hate and love, but it would all stem from the moments in this war that the two would stand by each other, not as enemies nor as allies, but as Silara and Corvus. There was an inexplicable link between the two, perhaps it was the polarity of the two but it was clear there was something magnetizing, something pulling the other towards the other no matter which side of the conflict the two were on. But was it fate? No. She refused to believe that, refused to let that be true. Standing in front of her, rather the two of them standing beside the other, was a willing, needing, wanting woman. This was no duel of fates, no war of hate, no murder of free wills, this was a choice. She could read the conflict clearly from the expression on the Jedi's face and the warmth of her cheek against her cold touch. And those words, that cry for help that she had heard so many times over, they called out to her like the flute to a snake. It was a common misconception that evil, true evil, sought to destroy everything that stood by and rebelled, that it enslaved its worshipers with parlor tricks and lies or threats of immediate demise, and that it was a force of all-consuming rage. The truth was far, far more sinister than a gluttonous, single-minded, temper-tantrum. Evil sought to build up, and then slowly take all of that which it gave until there only remained a memory of its brief, warm, existence. An embrace of want, to trick the very souls of its victims into believing they were needed, that they had purpose, and that there was meaning in the lives that they wore on in the name of its "good". But as it receded, rightfully so, you began to want more of it, desire its lingering touch, cry out for its grace and scream for its love. But it never wanted you, it never needed you, only ever feeding off of that pain, that loss.
Such is life. Crude, evil, demeaning. Everyone lives to die, but are dying to live, lit up with a passion to strive for longevity in a life of torture and pain, misgivings, and hate. There was no fulfillment in its parting grace, in its abandonment. To live is to wallow in misery, and to die is to cease being. A cruel mistress this galaxy is, and always has been. In its reach to work the minds of those who had once wizened to this knowledge it created the dual-sided ethereal entity known as the force, and it acted on its namesake and forced it on the living, the dead, and everything else. It acted as fate, drawing together lovers only to tear them apart, granting childbirth that turned into stillbirth, parents who resented their surviving blood only to cast them out, to repeat the vicious cycle. Wars that were fought in the name of a lie called peace, chaos that masqueraded as order, people that sought ideals in a realist's world. There was no second chances, there were no winners, in this galaxy there was no freedom, no choice, there was only rage, hatred, sadness, and it was not a matter of if but of when. Marriages ended in bitterness, young love spoiled by the untimely arrival of a new life only to be aborted or abandoned at the realization that love simply did not exist. It was this galaxy that bred the festering demon that was she, that was Silara, Atrophia, Vitium, the Sith Lord that walked the sands of time not with destruction in mind, but to act as the harbinger of awareness - awareness that all was futile, that life could not be won, that even in oneness with the force there was disparity and despair. So tainted, so horrible, was she that when this woman - a child at heart - opened up to her, gave her the innocence of her naive heart, the Sith Lord did what came to her as almost preternatural, instinctual, knowledge.
She took it.
The hand that touched Corvus' cheek slid down, as though the strength in the Sith Lord's arm was failing, and traced the frame of the girl's face, eyes fixated on her alabaster skin. A light sigh exhaled, one timed with the cupping of the woman's chin. Her lips pursed, features softened, and lifted up on the Jedi's chin, directing her gaze toward her own. There was no sharp intrusion, there was no forced entry, no ravaging pain. She was better than that, she knew more than the others, the power in caution, in weakness. There was an otherworldly look in the Sith's eyes, lent not from the lifeless robotics that studded her face but by the force that flowed from her and gave that feeling, the temperature of warmth, of wanting. Her lips slowly parted, she leaned, the flames died down and the air began to chill - as though she pulled the strings behind the very atmosphere again. A subtle chill floated in and the cold grasp of her small fingers became warm, piercing red eyes became blue, distant. There was a significant aura of comfort, of desire, but the light in her eyes showed only a wall of study. Looking into the Jedi as she neared, her face inches from her own, Silara let the muscles that set her jaw in place relax.
"Let me.. show.. you..."
She never came closer than the absolute boundary, she would not force the Jedi Master's hand, the choice would be hers - to damn herself or to continue a drab life of solitude.
Objective: B
Location: Sector 6
Allies: The Republic
Enemies: [member="Keira Ticon"]
Gear:
Robes of the Warrior; Blaster Pistol Father's Silver Bladed Lightsaber - Tertiary Ceremonial Battle Master Green, Single Bladed Dual-Phase Waterproof Lightsaber - Primary x2 Semi-Permanent Magnetized Waterproof Blue Lightsabers - Secondary
Of course the Dark Jedi jumped into the fray. He couldn't say that the help wasn't welcome, but the part of him that was attached to the Keira he knew still caused him to worry more for her sake than his own. With Turin and the Dark Jedi on the assault the battle seemed to shift in their favor, granted the Force Feedback was beginning to become unbearable. Despite how he loathed the idea of working with Sith, he needed the support both mentally and physically. Flourishing the saberstaff over his back, deflecting a blow from the monster's Sith Sword. Despite the ferocity of combat Keira seemed to still have a mouth on her. The one he knew was far more reserved in combat...But he was beginning to enjoy her overconfidence, even if it did seem to allude to other inadequacies.
"You could say that..."
With his saberstaff safely in his right hand he blew forward with a powerful Force Push to push the beast away and disengage from the battle. "Will you lend me your mind for this fight?" He wasn't sure if she would understand that he meant a Battle Meld. Normally such a task required at least some familiarity with the person, but he felt that his connection to the Keira of his Galaxy would suffice in the eyes of the Force.
Objective: B
Location: Sector 6
Allies: Sons and Daughters of Vahl [member="Keira Ticon"] (?)
Enemies: [member="Turin Val Kur"]
Gear:
Sith Sword - Vanilla
Red Lightsaber
The Dark Jedi's assault was unexpected and caused the Sithspawn's assault to slow. The white saber thrown did in fact loosen his grip on his sith sword, sending it across the room. Quickly he drew his own lightsaber, which may have seemed to disadvantage the brute, but the weightlessness of his new weapon in fact only increased his speed, though now he was forced to move on the defense. The blades clashed one after another, the strain of such relentless combat giving the monster a quizzical look, as if it had never felt these range of emotions before.
The Force push caught him by surprise and tossed him back onto his rear and sending him tumbling away. He caught himself with his claws and growled angrily at the pair, saliva spraying all over the floor. He hissed and stood, calling his original weapon back to his hand with a tug of the Force. This Dark Jedi should have been fighting the Jedi, Dark always sought to conquer light. She would need to be exterminated. She could not be trusted.
The Sith Lord’s eyes widened in surprise for a moment, mouth gaping open at the sheer display of power – though this state did not last long as he collected his thoughts and wits, closing his large mouth and frowning. This has been an… unexpected turn of events, yet he still had all the good cards in his webbed hands. The Jedi Master’s abilities were beyond unnatural, even to the Sith such as him. There had to be an explanation, possibly some artifact or cybernetic augmentations that allowed her to assess all situations at lightning speed and act accordingly. Veles decided to find out and strip the Jedi of the source of her strength in hopes of bringing this duel to an end.
The telekinetic grip on her body might have been broken by the woman’s unexplainable surge of power, but the Mon Calamari still stood in place, focused, free hand still raised as he had never let it fall down after being hit by the wave of telekinetic energy. This gave him a head-start when it came to using the Force, as he did not even have to adjust his position.
Such thing resulted in the Sith Lord being ready the moment his female opponent freed herself; as she turned around to face him and called upon the power of the Force to assist her with whatever she wanted to do, Avreet released a telekinetic push. And another. And one more! All focused on his opponent’s body, unwilling to give her a chance to strike back. One telekinetic attack after another came at her, focusing on her torso, her legs, her hands, her head, her lightsaber; all attacks buying him more time to plan for his next attack accordingly.
To put more pressure on the woman, the Sith strode towards her, lightsaber still pointed at her chest as if hoping to slice her over the distance. A roguish smirk curled his lips as he began closing the distance between them, too fast for Malacia to be effective.
OOC/ In short, check out the map. Stealth X run has devastating effect, leaving few counter options. Champion class that came in early is going to suffer badly. Massive swarm of fighters building ahead of main republic warships ready to pounce. This post took a loooooong time. Gimme likes!
Objective: A Location: TUS Objects in the Rear View Mirror Tambor-class Star Destroyer
Republic: [member="Gir Quee"] [member="Ryan Korr"] [member=Sressechka] [member="Torin Varik"] [member="Jamie El-Eison"] [member="Taeli Raaf"] [member="Tålamod Shapochka"]
One Sith: [member="Irys Arist'lar"] [member="Nulgath Zardai"] [member="Thanith Gumara"] Space:
Note: Gunships in 6’s [gunships near scythe in 10] Bombers in 12’s Fighters in 48’s Interceptors in 48’s
One Sith Fighters: 96 One Sith Bombers: 12 One Sith Elite Fighters: 12
Bolo-class Gunships: 18 Arcturus gunships 10
[member=Sressechka]
Summary: 12 interceptors lost. Escort frigate, gunboats, remaining interceptors move to trap and destroy. Authentication protocols activated for IFF.
“Ma’am, interceptor screen at point zero eight has come under attack. Enemy has used IFF mimic capabilities to confuse the droids!” called one of the tactical officers. There wasn’t even a pause before Irys responded.
“Intrusion protocol seven. I want all IFF responses to be on a challenge, response basis with full cryptographic keying. Keep our droid swarms away from the One Sith fighters as it might cause an issue with the programming!” she shouted. Now the simple IFF tags would be on a challenge and authorise response, with full cryptographic security, including timestamp hashing to prevent replay attacks. Nothing particularly fancy, but it would take an enemy team of cryptographic experts a few weeks to unpick the keys used for the battle.
“They’ve peeled off and they’re heading towards us!”
Irys watched the display with a cold, calculating stare. Rather than vocalise her command, she keyed in several commands to different ships in the vicinity. The second Sev’rance class escort carrier turned to cross their approach path. The Sev’rance class fulfilled two roles in battle: first of all each carried a glut of swarm fighters, but they also had a fearsome array of anti-fighter weaponry.
The escort came around and fired its ten heavy flak guns in an arc designed to force the X-wings to deviate from their course or pass through a deadly barrage of expanding spheres of flak. Then her quad laser emplacements fired, targeted shots that could carve through a fighter’s shields with ease.
That wasn’t all. In her wake six bolo-class gunboats followed in her wake. The gunships were designed to be a terrifying prospect to enemy fighters. They opened up with a round of homing concussion missiles, four from each gunship – twenty four in total. As they closed they would use their turret mass driver turrets to engage the fighters, as well as use their tractor beams to hold the enemy ships in place.
And finally, whilst a whole squadron had been lost from the interceptor swarm, the other vessels came around. Lightly armed, however, each of them was far quicker and manoeuvrable than their enemy and each carried a deadly payload – a single discord missile. Those missiles had extreme homing abilities and carried a number of buzz droids. The jaws of the trap closed around the brave squadron that made the attack run with little support.
[member="Ryan Korr"]
The Stealth-X had to reveal themselves by firing their shadow bombs, as the Jedi pilots had to then manually guide them in with the Force. The Sev’rance class immediately trained its significant anti-fighter weaponry on their arc, firing heavy flak cannons that could well do some damage without a direct lock. However, the guns were soon silence. The first few bombs took down the vessels shields, and the next two hide the midsection in close proximity. Tortured metal groaned as the superstructure started to buckle under the load. Vacuum seals started to fail and organic personnel started to evacuate. Most of the point defences were manned by droids, and they kept firing as long as they could, the weapons on the far side would try to cut off the stealthed vessels escape route with more heavy flak fire.
For the first time in the battle, Irys’ ice demeanour started to crack. A single ripple ran across her fur in annoyance as she saw the explosion visually from the bridge.
“Move seven through eleven to try and intercept, gunboats too!” she shouted. Forty eight droid fighters, and several more bolo-class gunboats moved between the Tambor class and the attacking fighters. The Object’s port heavy flak guns fired blindly, trying to narrow the stealthed vessels approach vector into tight proximity with the fighter screen, hoping to at least bring them close enough for the droid’s sensors to try and visually pick out the fighters against the background using their advanced analytical processing.
In the meantime, different areas of the fighter screen moved to deal with the encroaching squadrons of bombers and interceptors. As one, four squadrons of droid interceptors and four squadrons of droid fighters moved to engage the group. Their base ship was in no way worthy of a hyperspace voyage should retreat become necessary now, survival was already at risk. Using their greater numbers – doubling their enemy – and their precise formations, they aimed to swarm and overwhelm their opponents.
[member="Tålamod Shapochka"] [member="Gir Quee"]
“We’re detecting gravitational field shifts ma’am!” came a call across the bridge.
“Well, well, they’re not as suicidal as they seem,” Irys mused. That explained the lightweight force that had come to assault them. She had in fact worked on a similar tactic with the Fringe Confederation when they had been planning a joint operation against the Protectorate. Using microjumps and pulling vessels out with a well generator could be a fantastically useful tactic. However, it was also fraught with difficulties. The slightest mistake could send a vessel right past the battlefield, hours of travel at sublight speed away, or even coming in too late or too early.
“Cronau radiation!”
In this case it seemed that latter was true. Irys watched as sensor picked out the vessel, appearing off the starboard side of the field from her perspective. A clear mistake on the part of the enemy’s coordination* She was now ahead of the enemy fleet, right in the path of the flanking group she had sent out.
Now a Scythe class vessel tended to attract a certain kind of Captain. They were specialist ships, with less powerful shields than a contention and no long range weapons or point defences. They had a very particular role: use their advanced engines to rapidly close and outmanevure large enemy vessels, and destroy them at close ranges. As such, they tended to attract Captains with a particularly aggressive mentality. Captain Far’lay was one such bothan. Before Irys could even issue the command, the engines of the Scythe class flared as she went in for the assault. He didn’t know that the Champion class, whilst well-armed, use particularly heavy weapons such as hypervelocity cannons that were better suited to massive, slow targets. His ship was vulnerable, but well placed to mount an assault. The Scythe accelerated to starboard, as it launched its complement of Arcturus class gunboats, and came around in an arc to flank the rear-port arc of the Champion. A full barrage of its heavy prow armaments started. A hundred and forty heavy turbolasers, mounted in quad groups for maximum penetrative potential opened up. Ten assault concussion missiles, monstrous ordnance the size of fighters crossed the gap between the vessels.
As soon as any of the Ackbar’s complement of fighters launcher, they would find themselves with a mountain to climb. The supporting swarm of vessels that had accompanied the Scythe closed in fast. A wing of droid fighters, and a wing of droid interceptors swarmed around her hull. A squadron of droid bombers, and a group of gunboats then started to deploy their proton and ion bombs, leaving a trail of brilliant explosions in their wake. The Dirk-class escort stayed close, its huge array of anti-fighter weaponry ready to engage the Ackbar’s bombers should they make a beeline for the scythe.
Irys watched all this and mumbled something about Captain Far’lay’s lack of respect for the chain of command, making a mental note to put him on a shorter leash next time. At least he’d been given a mistake to capitalise. Over Naboo he had led a squadron of Scythe-class vessels on a suicide run against enemy space stations and been the only surviving ship.
“Signal the Reaper!” she called. “Tell them to move and engage.
The Maladi class moved away from the main formation. The little ship was a technological marvel of the One Sith, with long range weaponry more suited to a star destroyer. Brilliant bolts of energy lanced across the vast distance to the Champion-class. Forty heavy long range turbolasers and forty heavy long range ion cannons splashed a colourful patter across the canvas of space.
The Star Destroyer’s early drop into realspace was going to be turned into a costly mistake for the enemy.
[member="Taeli Raaf"] [member="Gir Quee"]
“Move those swarms up and around in formation kresh seven. Get several One Sith formations to fall into line behind us. Let the droid swarms prepare to open the gateway, and then let the Sith follow through and bring the hammer down!” Irys called. The Techno Union had brought a terrifying swarm of small vessels, that eclipsed what the Republic had brought to the field. Such was the difference in doctrine between the Union and the Sith. The Techno Union used heavily armoured capital ships that stayed at a distance, whilst smaller cruisers followed in the wake of overwhelming swarms of fighters. In contrast the Sith tended to focus on their heavy long range bombardments, and Yuuzhan Vong weapons for close range destructions. The Republic would likely have brought a different make-up had they known the Union was engaging. Their fault for sponsoring politically extreme terrorists on the Techno Union’s doorstep.
“Strange readings ma’am. Those destroyers have launched a pair of corvettes each!”
Irys turned to the display. Not unreasonable for such large ships to carry such a complement. Several Protectorate vessels were known to do the same. The Utopia class were known to be excellent anti fighter vessels. If the enemy had deployed four more, it would give their fight swarm reason for pause.
“Slow the assault,” she called. “Get a good look at those things up close!” a wing of interceptors moved ahead of the other vessels, but the assault slowed.
As for the interceptors, jamming a signal was a highly complex process. Scanners tended to focus their energy down a cone once they had locked onto an enemy ship. Focussing their energy down a narrow gaze. To jam the signal required power into that frequency band at a similar order of magnitude, to present a shadow or overwhelm the sensor. That meant pumping power across a broad spectrum, or out at all angles to throw all sensors off, already put the jammer at a disadvantage. The scanners on the capital ships of the Techno Union and One Sith fleets were overwhelmingly more powerful that those interceptors. They also had complex algorithms that could frequency hop, or change waveforms to copy with enemy subversion.
In short, the capital grade ships were completely unaffected by the interceptor’s jammers. They would, however, be well served by using what power they had and focussing it on the sensors of droid snub fighters to confuse them at close proximity.
*Fair play to Gir for accepting this rather than making edits!
Objective: B (Bleed just to know I'm alive) Location: Section 1 Allies: [member="Darth Atrophia"] Enemies: [member="Darth Atrophia"] Gear: Hope and faith Theme: When everything’s made to be broken, I just want you to know who I am
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngNrocw7SAU
‘And I'd give up forever to touch you 'Cause I know that you feel me somehow You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be And I don't wanna go home right now
And all I can taste is this moment And all I can breathe is your life When sooner or later it's over I just don't wanna miss you tonight
And I don't want the world to see me 'Cause I don't think that they'd understand When everything's made to be broken I just want you to know who I am
And you can't fight the tears that ain't coming Or the moment of truth in your lies When everything feels like the movies Yeah, you bleed just to know you're alive
And I don't want the world to see me 'Cause I don't think that they'd understand When everything's made to be broken I just want you to know who I am
And I don't want the world to see me 'Cause I don't think that they'd understand When everything's made to be broken I just want you to know who I am
And I don't want the world to see me 'Cause I don't think that they'd understand When everything's made to be broken I just want you to know who I am
I just want you to know who I am I just want you to know who I am I just want you to know who I am.’
Knowledge is power. Knowledge is king. Knowledge is a ruler and wealth is its subject. Yet knowledge is born of wisdom, or at the very least learning.
Corvus had been gifted a veritable library but with no means to access the books. And it was tearing her apart. Was the Sith toying with her, or was she simply so naïve that she didn’t understand what was going on in her companion’s mind? A few minutes ago she would have firmly said the former, but in her current state she had to believe in the latter.
So many messages were being received by her brain. The neocortex given free reign to fire emotions and corresponding reactions to the cognitive areas to act and respond to. Except…except she didn’t know what they were saying or what she was supposed to do with them.
She was like a little girl invited to a wonderful birthday party but the language and customs were of a different planet. She knew she should be joining in, but she didn’t know what to do.
What did the woman want of her? There were mixed messages as far as she could tell. Was she a friend or a parent? Or something else? And if something else, then what?
Her lack of reference was consuming her sanity. A scholar by trade, she was used to linearity in information. The ability to cross-reference and decipher clear clues. Inference was beyond her and she was – just like that little girl in her best party frock – frightened to say or do the wrong thing – in case she offended or was banished from the revelry.
The touch was welcoming to the point of uncomfortable. She’d been hugged by fewer than half a dozen people in the past twenty years – but none had touched her face or wiped away a tear. Her only reference was her mother and those memories were both distant and now painful – given her role in her parent’s death.
And then the temperature dropped and Corvus’ arms were covered in little bumps. She shivered involuntarily, seeking solace and warmth in equal measures. The woman’s eyes were blue now. Like her father’s – like Melori’s.
"Let me…show…you..."
Corvus stood there, transfixed. A rabbit in the headlights and her lips parted slowly. “Show me…teach me…” There was pleading in her voice. A pitiful sound, like the mewing of a kitten that had lost her mother. It was so clearly evident and so at odds with what was happening outside of the circle of flames that surrounded them.
Objective: B
Location: 1/Norrin's Mind
Allies:
Enemies: See First Line
Disciple raised a metallic brow, then gave an approving nod. "Fair." He says, then throws his saber to the other hand and attempted to sever the dagger before it became something else. Mentally, he wasn't in his own mind. Then again, was he ever? He knew this song and dance, and as Norrin had found out... this wasn't necessarily the Force. Disciple had, more or less, simply leveled the playing field a bit. A mental projection of a shield between grenade-he-wanted-to-stop-before-exploding and MY BODY and he was half successful.
Arm locked in place.
By... whatever this was. Annoyed, he shook the arm out, shoulder actuator still mostly unaffected.
Strength: 300
Objective: Secure Positions on East Bank
Personal
Objective: Route Sith Military Forces on Ord Mirit
Location: Ord Mirit [M-14]
Allies: Galactic Republic, Imperial Remnant
Enemies: One Sith, Primeval
Gear: Mottled Rust-colored Beskar'gam, Verpine Assault Carbine, Various grenades (labeled above with infantry gear), beskar push blade, Verpine Shatter Pistol, Jetpack, wrist rocket, tripwire, wristcomp.
Major Garrot Bader: Big Bear "Send another family of rockets at Kay-Twenty," Bader ordered, "Set them on independently infrared-guided tracks to converge on their target." He added. The Gunnery Chief nodded and saw to it, quickly designating eight different paths of attack for the Strike Missiles to follow before all turning on a single target area. This would help to avoid counter-measure as it required each missile be isolated by enemy fire. Once the missiles reached 50 meters above ground, they would converge on their target, which was to be one of [member=Darth Pyrrhus]'s proton cannons at K-20. By using IR communication, the missiles would avoid the affects of the current jamming activities propagated by both sides of the battle.
As Big Bear stomped along the Northeast edge of the cliff, its cannons bore down on the AT-AW located at D-19. They were getting closer to the small walker now, and the 420mm mass driver cannon was gearing up for another set of rounds, which Bader quickly coordinated with Captain Lug'lik Havier, Little Bear's commander. Once they had aimed down on their target, the cannon began to whine with energy and the ten-second countdown ended with DOOM-DOOM, DOOM-DOOM!!! The four rounds lanced out toward the defiant walker, and would reach their target just before the four unleashed by Little Bear. Major Bader did not wait to see what happened, turning his attention toward the formation of soldiers now trapped under the gaze of the massive metal walker.
The Sith forces had not broken, and would likely not rout. They were too devoted to victory for that, Bader knew. As such, they were not rushing about within the canyon like womp rats with their head's cut off. [member=Sage Bane]'s forces were more disciplined than that, something Bader respected. Even so, the Mythosaur's ACS-203 Hellfire Autocannons unleashed themselves on the enemy forces below, slug rounds tearing through the air at a fire rate of 300 rounds per minute. Joining them were the two Quad Laser Cannons, which pumped bursts of fire into the area. One of them focused on Sage Bane's dismounted forces, the other Cryax Bane's.
The canyon was small, but large enough, and rocks and debris provided ample coverage for the enemy to take hiding behind, requiring Big Bear's gunners maintain a swift hand on their shift sticks. One of the Quad gunners targeted a pair of Vong rushing for cover and began blasting the ground before them, then swiveled back toward his target. The other Quad gunner focused on pairs of shots, well controlled and aimed for anything, or anyone, that was slow moving and could be more easily hit with direct fire.
The Missile Crew targeted one of Sage Bane's Rakamat, then launched a Ball-Bearing Missile ahead of a Calmant Missile at the massive artillery beast. The Ball-Bearing Missile would trigger ahead of the Rakamat, firing a spray of superheated metal balls the size of human heads at the enemy, the number and composition of them intended to confuse the dovin basals protecting the beast. The Calmant Missile would hopefully strike somewhere in between all the mess to inject its sedation agent into the monster and disrupt its digestive activities and thus limit the activity of its Yoret-Kor. Big Bear suffered a greater amount of shield damage this time around due to its focus on offensive fire. Out of a short series of proton cannon shells, two struck its shields, glancing off and into the far distance with a BRRANG!! Another pair of seismic charges were marked and destroyed by the anti-missile octets, though Bader's forces were not fortunate enough to detonate them in the air. Instead they struck the ground and blew craters into the soil with their primary charges.
Yaret-Kor rounds exploded against the Mythosaur's shields, splashing the area in fire and bathing the vehicle in an angry red light. The shields flickered more than once under direct impacts, though they held, for now. Incoming missiles were defeated with the Anti-Missile Octet turrets, though several collided with the Mythosaur's shields, glancing strikes that splashed the ground around the walker more than the walker itself.
Captain Ali Hadrix: Goldilocks "Gods dammit!" Ali growled, smacking her helmet as her commlink returned only static. "They've either finally got decent jammers working or it's the rock, because I can't hear osik." She reported to her gunner and pilot. "We'll be out of this tunnel soon enough, Captain." Hollows assured her. Ali frowned, not entirely convinced. As if to prove her wrong, the tunneler that was digging out the ground ahead of them finally broke through to daylight, rising up out of the dirt and slamming down onto the open earth, dust coiling and enveloping the area. "Alright," Ali began, hoping her comms were free of the rock. Static greeted her in return. "OSIK!" She screamed, punching her commander's display with a gauntleted hand. The glass cracked, though the screen continued functioning. "Switch to Eye-Are transmission, Encryption One, just like the contingency plan said." She ordered her radio operator, who obliged her. "All Republic forces, this is Captain Ali Hadrix. If you're reading this, switch comms to infrared transmission, encrypted modulation number one." She turned her attention to the rest of her MAT-TE's, "This is what's going to happen. The digger is going to continue forward, cutting us a channel in the ground to provide us with covered positions. We're going to line up along the cliff's edge and fire down into the canyons. Keep spread out, no more than one vehicle every seventy-five meters." Ali shut off her commlink and watched the digger on the combat display. It moved slowly, a rate of about fifty meters a minute, digging a channel two-meters deep into the dirt, providing her tank's underbellies with protection from explosives. "Goldilocks, it's Baby Bear. We've got enemy infantry on the clifftops with blast bug launchers and other small arms. They range from the sixteen to nineteen. I can only see them on thermal, they must be cloaked." Ali thanked Baby Bear then turned her attention to the combat display before responding. "Get light laser cannon on them if you're able. Just let them know we know they're there, hopefully it will distract them from their duty to report on our forces."Baby Bear confirmed the order and Ali switched over to the rest of the force. "Start moving out and getting into position, we've got a minute to set up. Weiss, you get your infantry out and dismounted as soon as your in position. We have enemy dismounts in the area. Start setting up firing positions within the trench dug by the tunneler. Es-Cee-Four-Four-Eight-Six, I need you to press your attack, follow the Vong so closely they'll think twice about launching artillery for fear of hitting their own!" Goldilock's continued lurking forward, resting in the middle of the formation which had become a long line of MAT-TE walkers heading East along the cliff top, just out of direct line of sight of ground forces. Ali had her vehicle halt within Grid Location M-17, while the forward half of the column continued Eastward, to spread out between locations M-18 and M-20. From there they would have the greatest vantage points over the entire battlefield, and their cannons would be free to tear down any enemy formations still hidden within the canyons' cul-de-sacs. "Alright, turn the cannon, get an angle down on the Seventeen and Eighteen sections," Ali told Hollows, who obeyed, tilting the mass driver cannon Northward. It dipped down, and Ali watched as [member=Reverance]'s forces came into view on her Day/Night sight. "Alright, switch to thermal," she ordered, and watched the view switch from color optic to white-hot. The Rakamat located in G-17/18 and H-17 lit up like floats at a Republic Day parade, their dovin basal singularities showing black emptiness as they appeared and vanished to soak up laser fire and projectiles. "Let's get 'em, folks," Ali smiled, giving out the orders for a handful of her vehicles. Sister Bear, Mama Bear, and Goldilocks targeted the exposed behemoth artillery beasts with anti-personnel cannon fire, the heavy guns loosing streams of crimson bolts to be soaked up by the enemy's dovin basals. Each vehicle's accompanying bow heavy blaster rifles targeted the cloaked Vong soldiers on the cliff tops, hoping to harass them with fire.
The MD-turrets began to adjust for fire as well, all three taking on a single Rakamat at a time. First they aimed for the closest one, located at Grid Square H-17. Two of the MAT-TE's launched Precision-Guided Munitions that would be able to alter their course mid-flight in order to avoid dovin basal singularities that formed to intercept them. The third MAT-TE loosed a White Phosphorous round that would detonate over the monster and shower chemical death into a 2,200 square meter area. The chemicals were capable of burning through flesh of a being to the bone, and woulds could be reignited days later by actions as simple as changing bandages.
In support of the fire, the two-tubed rocket pods mounted on each MD-turret system began to adjust for fire and launched pairs of high-explosive anti-tank warheads, all aimed at the Yuuzhan Vong support personnel surrounding the beast's flanks. The rockets were intended to disrupt the Rakamat's food supply and limit it's available ammunition.
As the three MAT-TE's ahead of Ali continued heading East, the three behind her took up positions along M-15 and M-16, then coordinated rocket fire with the surveillance data provided by the dropship's above. Their first target was [member=Yurzhoc Shai] himself, diving downward through the air above K-17. The three tanks angled their rocket pods upward and locked onto the target's heat signature, then each released a single surface-to-air missile before turning their launchers downward. The missiles were set for proximity detonation, and would explode once they came with 10-15 meters distance away from their target. Now, the launchers locked in telemetry data for the dismounted forces Yurzhoc Shai had located at Grid Square L-16. There were roughly two dozen dismounted Yuuzhan Vong Mern Kane, and some of them would end up being victims to the three missiles that now dropped out from their tubes and jettisoned toward the ground below. These were set to collision detonation, to better impact the dismounts they sought to destroy.
Captain Lik'gul Havier: Little Bear Little Bear was just pulling itself up to the fair cliff at Grid Location G-16 when the enemy artillery began to strike all around the massive walker. Large molten balls of rock exploded against the vehicle's shields, smearing red flame and smoke across the invisible space between them and their target as the Mythosaur continued moving upward. The small singularity mines carried by the incoming Grutchinya were intercepted by debris falling on all sides of the Mythosaur, lessening their direct impact on the vehicle's shields, though it did not go unnoticed by the Defense Officer, who was forced to further reduce energy shield strength in order to boost the particle shields.
Seismic charges struck the cliff top at H-14, rending a large, 100 meter long crevasse into the earth. Rock and debris were flown into the air as the shockwave expanded, far enough behind the Mythosaurs' positions to do more than toss rocks at their deflector shields. Others came, however, that were not so wildly thrown. Some of these impacted the ground deep within the canyon at G-15, one detonating before the rest and destroying them before their charges were set. The shockwave rippled throughout the canyon to the North and South, and would be felt by both massive metal beasts as the ground shook beneath them. Little Bear nearly lost its grip climbing the far ledge, tearing at a hydraulic line in the strain of the movement, like a torn ligament. The appendage recovered with the help of its remaining hydraulic lines, though the leg was slowed in its movement and would increase time needed to turn to the left.
An enemy artillery missile struck the ground and exploded near the edge of the cliff, tearing a large chunk of rock away to fall into the canyon below. The vehicle's middle foot slipped on this empty space and for a moment the vehicle lurched backward before stabilizing itself. Eventually it began moving again, climbing ever forward before mounting the top of the cliff and pulling itself onto even ground once more. The earth below its massive feet was pock-marked with blackened craters from artillery weapons. Fire grew as grass along its surface and chunks of molten rock rolled this way and that as the Yaret-Kor projectiles smashed into the ground. Here and there an artillery round would be shot down, to careen against the canyon floor or detonate in mid-air, though enough made their way through to the vehicle's shields to cause its commander an amount of discomfort and concern. "Bantha Flight, this is Little Bear, requesting a second ordnance drop on Grid Location El-Nineteen." Captain Havier switched his commlink to channel in with Big Bear's Major Bader. Their communications were being scrambled somewhat by the jamming frequencies produced by both sides of the conflict, a subliminal electronic war that was getting on Havier's nerves. In the meantime, anti-missile octets were firing off against incoming missiles and rockets, and the shorter range laser cannons were being used to cut down swaths of the Grutchinya that were gathering outside the deflector shield, attempting to break through it. None would at first, though they would start to force their way through in pairs throughout the next minute or so. Bader calmed the lekku hanging over his shoulder with a gentle touch and attempted to make contact with Bader on the infrared transmitter. "Big Bear, this is Little, hoping to coordinate fires with you on those remaining Attack Walkers, do you copy?" Havier didn't have to wait long. "Little Bear, this is Big, we would absolutely love to coordinate with you, do you have the grid location?" Havier smiled, "Yes we do, sir, transmitting now." "Then fire on Ten." Major Bader replied as another proton cannon round assaulted their shields. The vehicle shook, but absorbed the kinetic force, dissipating it along a series of reddish-blue tendrils of stress that fractured the shield for a mere second before healing. Elsewhere in the cabin, the vehicle crew were organizing a handful of men to stand by outside the vehicle, secured to its hull, to help handle any of the Vong insects that managed to make it through the deflector shields. They used primarily short-ranged weapons to blast the bugs out of the air of off of the Mythosaur's legs. The insects might be armored to withstand Hyperspace, but then again so were starfighters, and cannon fire shredded them to pieces with ease. With a greater power reservoir for the particle shields, they would be able to last longer against the flood of Vong spawn that were attempting to force their way through in a horde.
Havier signaled his Gunnery Chief. "You heard the man, have you located the target?" The Gunnery Chief nodded. "Target identified, three-hundred-twenty meters sir!" "Four rounds heavy gun, fire on my mark, four, three, two, one, mark!" "On the way!" DOOM-DOOM, DOOM-DOOM!!! The Mythosaur shook as its main cannon fired once more, sending rounds out toward its enemy, the diminutive walker that had eluded death thus far. Lighter laser cannons continued strafing the sky back and forth, cutting into the encroaching insects even as the vehicle's shields flickered under the impact of another Yaret-Kor munition. The Mythosaur would outlast them, though Havier's confidence was waning in how swiftly they would manage to dispatch their foes..
*Secure positions for 9 x MAT-TE's atop Southern Cliffs:
2 x [M-14]
1 x [M-15]
2 x [M-16]
1 x [M-17]
3 x [M-18]
*Secured positioning for 1 x Mythosaur atop North-East Plateau at [B-17].
*Secured positioning for 1 x Mythosaur atop East Plateau at [F-17].
**Target Identified: [member=Reverance] at [G-17/18, H-17].
**Target Identified: [member=Yurzhoc Shai] at [K-17].
**Target Identified: [member=Sage Bane] at [C-18].
**Target Identified: [member=Cryax Bane]'s AT-AW at [D-19].
***Target Attacked (x2): [member=Cryax Bane]'s at [D-19].
AT-AW @ [D-19]
Little Bear: 4 x 420mm Capital Ship Grade 800 kg Mass Driven Rounds
Big Bear: 4 x 420mm Capital Ship Grade 800 kg Mass Driven Rounds
***Target Attacked: [member=Sage Bane] at [C-18].
1 x Rakamat with:
1 x Ball-Bearing Missile
1 x Calmant Missile
***Target Attacked: [member=Reverance] at [H-17].
1 x Ramakat @ [H-17]:
6 x Heavy Anti-Personnel Repeating Cannons (streaming fire, strafing back and forth)
2 x Precision-Guided Munitions (can dodge dovin basal formation to detonate against or nearby target
1 x White Phosphorous Munition to detonate some twenty meters over Rakamat's form and shower 2,200 square meter area
3 x Heavy Blaster Rifle fire strafing areas of identified Cloaked Yuuzhan Vong soldiers on clifftops (intended to be more suppressive fire than direct killing power)
***Target Attacked: [member=Yurzhoc Shai] at [K-17].
3 x Surface-to-Air rockets at Yurzhoc Shai and his Nulhrokka @ [K-17]
Proximity detonation: 10-15 meters from target
3 x Surface-to-Ground rockets at Yurzhoc Shai's 20 Mern Kane @ [L-16]
Collision detonation
***Target Attacked: [member=Anja Aj'Rou] at [L-19].
Called in Bombing Run on [L-19].
***Target Attacked: [member=Darth Pyrrhus] at [K-20].
8 x Strike Missiles launched in a specific pattern to split up to avoid counter-fire and converge over target just 50 meters before striking the ground
****Damage Taken:
ACS-503 Mythosaur Little Bear @ [F-17]
20% shield damage (63%)
1 x Traversing Hydraulic Strut Power Supply Severed
Objective: B Location: Sector 1/Norrin's Mind Allies: None Enemies: [member="Disciple"]
The outcome of the glop grenade was acceptable. The Sith was now down an arm, the glopped one essentially useless. That was enough for him to be happy with considering outside of his mind he'd be struggling to hold his own against the Sith's Force abilities. He really needed to practice fighting Force users in the future. Studying them was a great start, but books and holo's really didn't give you the same experience as fighting one did. Out there he was useless at the moment. In his mind, well, he was king of the castle.
Norrin didn't gloat. Gloating was what the loser of every fight did. Instead, he raised the blaster and started firing. In his mind he could do anything, be anything. Essentially, he had the Force, but better, minus the fact that he couldn't directly affect his opponent. Leveling the playing field had actually expanded it.
So, while he was firing, he made the ground beneath them shift. Now they were standing on a lava world. Both of them were riding on the heads of droids that were harvesting the molten slag that drifted down the lava river. It could have been Mustafar or one of a dozen or so known others of its kind, it really didn't matter. The aim? Well, really this kind of combat was mental warfare. He was trying to expel the droid from his brain, not actually destroy him. And the more control he took, the better his chances.
Even after settling into cover it seemed that things were not safe, well at the very least they were not earning themselves a repreive from the enemy attack. For the most part though, even as [member="Darth"] Phyrrus launched their attack on the Imperial position, it would be a mostly futile effort considering how the Empire's forces were arrayed in that area. Hugging the wall of the canyon, the heavy walkers with their Stormtroopers taking shelter within their transport bays were perfectly safe from the main barrage of the Sith's attack. For the rounds of the enemy's artillery to even hit the AT-FATs they would have to arc so perfectly in the air that when they fell they would have to fall square on the Imperial vehicles backs, something so unlikely compared to the alternative, that they would overshoot the target or impact the top edge of the canyon above.
In fact Alva herself could see some of the explosions in the river and the bank nearby, the proton cannons shells exploding where they struck, kicking up water and dirt alike as they unleashed their devastation on the landscape itself. Of course the missiles had more luck, though they too would also find obstruction in the terrain that the Imperial troops had decided to make their resting position . . . .and a little more help from the wind wouldn't help them either, as Alva concentrated a small effort to sweep the missiles off course slightly as she had before, exerting herslef again with the effort. The sounds of explosions from up above was disconcerting to say the least, but not as much as the concussions missiles that detonated around the ground near the walkers feet, rocking the vehicles slightly with the blast waves. The seismic charges were the last to fall, and the ones to finally deal damage to the Imperial walkers. Hitting the top of the cliff, the edge of the canyon wall would collapse, debris and rubble falling down the cliff face until it battered against the AT-FATs durasteel plated hull.
The trembling Imperial heavy vehicles shook for several minutes as the rockslide nearly toppled them, the larger rocks slamming into the main body and soon after those rolling all the way to the ground rolling into their legs. Whether anything was dented or not, no one inside the AT-FATs could say as they held on while the onslaught continued to its conclusion. Once it passed the Imperial forces were no worse for wear all in all, aside from a great deal of scuffing, dust, and pockmarks from small dents caused by the canyon top's collapse. However, what was most definitely evident was the rubble now surrounding the walkers which was now an obstacle to avoid. One Alva did not appreciate. "Get us moving. . . .bring us back around as much as you can. Get a crew member on any damage they can while we're at it."
Nodding back to their commander, the drivers of the Imperial vehicles would begin to shuffle the AT-FATs forward, working to navigate the debris they could see and that which had showed up on their display from the mass of readings caused by the rockslide. While it would take them time, the lumbering walkers would slowly take their first steps through the field of rubble, working to turn around so they could move to possibly rejoin and aid their fellows once more. However, they were not the only ones on the move, as the AT-FATs having moved along the northern pass for the longest time finally took action.
In an area barren for so long for most of the battle, it was strange for the crews of the AT-FATs making their way through the canyon pass along the D grid line to spot something abnormal running along. In battle against the Sith and Vong though, what certainly was there that any beast they ran into wasn't a Sithspawn or Vong Horror. The Imperial Gunners would track the wolf like beast that [member="Sage Bane"] had sent along, coordinating their attack on the only thing to have passed their line of fire since the battle started, and then as the creature moved into the pass, laser fire would lance out, the AT-FATs gunners with a direct fire view firing bolt after bolt towards the creature as the walkers trundled on. They were on the move on, having much ground to cover to keep up with the battle that had gone on with them so long out of the spot light.
The pair of walkers would continue their forward motion through the pass, the digger tailing them slowing behind to keep out of direct view should they stumble across the enemy. Which didn't take long at all, as the pilots at the controls of the AT-FATs looked out the cockpit of the heavy vehicle as they rounded the corner of the canyon, their helmets array of equipment picking up on the motion on the rising level up ahead, revealing more the creatures from before milling about. Their rangefinders picking up on the distance and elevation, the Imperial forces would once again bring their weapons to bear against the pets [member="Sage Bane"] had summoned, only this time with greater fury as the AT-FATs heads rose up, allowing the rotary gyro cannons to begin to turn, and then unleash their flurry of laser cannon blasts towards the pack of wolf like creatures once more, the gatling laser cannons sending a near unending stream of energized death upon the region as the walkers moved forward, perhaps too much as the pilots began to see more and more of the rising levels of the canyon side as their units moved deeper in, just reaching the edge of D16.
The Sith had setup quite the position, perfect for a holding matter. Were it the front of a base it would be an imposing location to take, as the Sith could stack infantry along the rising hills, with trenches dug in and burrowed so the soldiers could take cover. It was a shame though they had not prepared the region for such, or brought the equipment to do so mid battle. It was still imposing nonetheless though, one the Imperials would not try charging. Instead they would move closer to the canyon wall on the edge of D16, hugging it but allowing themselves a view of the forces from the furthest edges of C19 and D18 to C17. With so many targets to choose from, though unknown to them @Cyrax Bane and his forces were just out of sight due to the canyon wall making it quite difficult for either of them to attempt to attack each other, it was hard. After all, the firing of the Rakamats was a concern, but the vong's infantry of [member="Sage Bane"] , and whatever survivors among the wolves they believed to be vong horrors, were also enemies worth firing upon.
In the end the fire of the Imperial weaponry would split, after all the AT-FATs had the array of firepower to do so. The gunners of the turbolaser cannons would track their targets, the Vong Rakamat artillery firing on allies somewhere else on the battlefield, the soldiers crewing them adjusting their instruments and displays as they leveled the cannons at the vong monstrosities, and the first salvo was fired. Eight turbolaser blasts would burst through the air until they reached their destination where the Rakamats sat, staggered in accordance with history's recordings and training for anti-dovin basal fire to overwhelm the artillery defenses. Meanwhile the pilots of the Imperial vehicles would level the AT-FATs heads to bring the rotary gyro laser cannons to bear, stitching laser cannon bolts across the canyon side picking out any surviving wolves and the vong infantry sitting on C18.
Summary of Actions:
Imperial Forces at G13 survive Darth Phyrrus barrage due to smart positioning so the cliff blocked most fire due to the unlikelihood of a perfect shot falling directly on their backs.
Alva uses the force to cause a slight gust of wind to redirect the missile fire slightly.
Concussion missiles and Seismic charges cause the canyon wall to collapse at G13, damaging the walkers slightly and creating a rubble hazard that slows the Imperial's movements
AT-FATs at the edge of D14 finally do something in the battle and attack the wolf [member="Sage Bane"] had nearby with laser cannons
AT-FATs at the edge of D14 move deeper into the canyon at D15 and begin to open fire on the wolves at C17 with the rotary gyro laser cannons
AT-FATs finally moving deeper in reach the edge of D16 and unleash turbolaser fire on the Rakamats at D18, spreading linked laser cannon and rotary gyro laser cannon fire on the surviving wolves and vong infantry at C18.
Objective: A; Naval Battle of Ord Mirit Location: Ord Mirit Space Allies: The Galactic Republic | [member="Gir Quee"] | [member="Ryan Korr"] | [member="Sressechka"] | [member="Jamie El-Eison"] | [member="Taeli Raaf"] | [member="Tålamod Shapochka"] Enemies: The One Sith | [member="Irys Arist'lar"] | [member="Nulgath Zardai"] | [member="Thanith Gumara"] Gear: Weapons:Lightsaber, Blaster Pistol Ship:Jedi-Class Stealth Starfighter Target:Sev'rance Carrier A
Torin lead his half of the Sable Squadron up and over the carrier, skillfully aligning his trajectory with the upcoming bridge. He watched with anticipation as the other half of the squadron, lead by Ryan Korr, let loose their stealth bombs on the enemy carrier. The craft lurched as it took significant damage. The padawan's spirits ignited and his determined resolve grew stronger. However, he was quickly reminded of how powerful his enemy was. A barrage of counter fire erupted from the carrier. Droid interceptors and droid fighters flooded from its hulls and engaged Master Korr's squad. They needed to move quickly. In a familiar dance, the pilot's hands flew across the control panel as he prepped the weapons for release. A bead of sweat trickled from his hairline and down his temple. His shot had to be perfect.
Intuition, empowered by the Force, caused his hands to grip the yoke once more and pull to one side. He narrowly avoided the ranged blast from the flak cannon. However, one of the other ships closest to the blast was not so lucky and bobbed dangerously as a few pieces of debris intercepted their starboard wing. The Stealth ship adjusted shakily but still appeared to be flying. Torin's heart skipped a beat and he scowled, furrowing his brow in frustration. He couldn't call in and check to see if they were alright as they were all still dark. His only choice was to press forward. And so he did. Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to focus on his mission and readjusted his flight path. Waiting for the most opportune moment, Torin locked on target and slammed his thumb down onto the activation button, dropping the stealth bomb onto the bridge of the carrier. The padawan's following did the same, dropping their stealth bombs onto the same location.
Summary of Actions:
Torin and the 5 other Stealth X pilots dropped their stealth bombs on the bridge of Sev'rance Carrier A.
Her palm flattened almost immediately as the Sith struck out with his palm.
A thing veil formed in front of her, a haze that distorted the air for half a second. An impact occurred half a second later, a press against the barrier, and a push of dust and rock that flew up into the air, spreading in all directions and raising a cloud of dust. Aela stared straight ahead, her grip on her lightsaber tightening, the lines on her face etching deep as the last force push crashed against the barrier.
She didn't move from where she stood.
In the back of her head she began to think, to plan, focusing on the small lull of the Sith walking towards her to utilize her bracers. She thanked Micah in the back of her mind, reminding herself that she would need to give him a present to thank him for these.
Her lips turned up in a small smile as the Sith wandered closer.
Objective:B (Brevity In Life) Location:Section 1 Allies:[member="Corvus Raaf"] Enemies: [member="Corvus Raaf"] Gear:Words as Weapons Theme:You by The Pretty Reckless
Choices defined the paths in this unfair galaxy, in a reality where life was ruled by consequence and ignorance reigned supreme. Simply giving one's greatest foe complete dominion over the mind of an innocent was, perhaps, the absolute worst of them. There had been no foresight, no thoughts put behind it, only desperation. Where faces were mere centimeters apart, so close that the warmth of the Sith Lord's skin could be almost felt, that even in this darkness, surrounded by shrinking flames, her face was visible. But those words, the naivety of it all, did more than give the Sith entry without resistance, it dissipated the dark waves like the rising sun as Atrophia no longer saw need for its cursory effects. It would be simply Corvus and Silara, and no amount of pleading from an outsider would grant them their Grand Master. No, she would live, perhaps even return as she had came, but there would be a fundamental change here - a break from fate. Towards the Jedi she drifted, the silence having been broken by Corvus' request, and her soft lips and warm skin slid against the Jedi's left cheek, stopping so that her mouth was just beside the woman's ear and parted them to speak.
"Tell me, Corvus, have you ever fallen in love?"
The question hadn't been intended to reveal something behind the actions she'd taken and choices she'd made, but if it hinted towards a broader picture then far be it from her to withhold its link. The inquiry had been honest, if intruding, but the Jedi's request had been clear, obvious, and voiced. "I do not ask if you have lost your first kiss.." She said quietly, still standing remarkably close to the other woman. Clearly the two were completely exposed to sudden movements, but she trusted that the Jedi would do as she did and so long as she was calm the Jedi would remain so, as well. "That feeling of emptiness, when you stare into the eyes of that person. When you feel every ounce of pity you have to give, grieve over their mistakes, and seek them out believing to be doing what is best only for them; not a children's tale." Silara continued, the hand that had continued to cup the woman's chin sliding back against the line of her jaw towards the base of the nape of her neck. The touch that followed was not a grip of control, of austerity, there was no authority in the way her fingers gently touched the vertebrae that separated her shoulders. A short sigh was exhaled and the Sith pulled the Jedi into her. It was a weak embrace, almost as though it had been an apologetic tug, that followed before she spoke again. "Your every choice hinges on their every word, your actions depend on where they might be, and every waking or sleeping moment is occupied by the image of their face." She explained, her left hand moving to awkwardly touch the center of Corvus' back. A slight wavering in her breathing and the Sith shivered. "When the very warmth of your heart leaves you for them, providing them the protection you so desperately crave." A brief moment of silence followed the words.
Admiral Quee watched the Admiral Ackbar jump onto the battlefield, surging towards (to his perspective) the left wing of the allied One Sith – Techno Union fleet. While the micro-jump wasn't quite as accurate or covered quite the distance he would have liked, given the limitations and the rushed training schedule, the crew of the Scipio had performed well. Besides, it was not as if the star destroyer was in the worse position: the Champion-class has been specifically made to function as a close-quarters combat warship. It was in an ideal position to deal out damage, aside from being swarmed with droid fighters. Even as the star destroyer entered the battlefield, it began to exchange fire with their Techno Union counterparts. With his long-range EPRs on the Agincourt, the man could see its formidable point defense weaponry already lashing out at the approaching droid fighters as its main weaponry began to fire upon the Techno Union warships. Gir quickly shook his head as he turned his own attention to running the Agincourt and several of its accompanying vessels as the vessels surged towards their opponents to reinforce the newly arrived Admiral Ackbar.
“Go ahead and fire half of our hypervelocity cannons at the nearest Sev'rance,” decided the admiral, “we'll keep the other half charged to alternate fire while the others recharge. All missile launchers may fire at will.”
“Aye sir.”
The admiral rapidly typed in several commands. It's a little risky to be firing at this long of a range at a distant ship, but the Noble-class does have some very advanced targetting sensors, which should help with that...but what a poor target to gut. It's too bad that their cruiser isn't in range yet...The admiral rapidly punched in several more commands, bringing in data from the nearby star destroyer. He narrowed his eyes. But with the Ackbar holding their ships there with tractor beams, we should be upon them soon enough. They're not likely to be going anywhere fast now...The admiral thought that he felt the deck shudder underneath his feet as the massive hypervelocity cannons began to volley out bursts of the slugs at the carrier frigate. Bright blobs of energy began to fly out of the ship's sides as Republic gunners launched salvos of light and heavy energy torpedoes towards the carrier frigate. Sixty plasma-based projectiles surged at the carrier at speeds approaching faster than light travel. Off to his portside, the admiral observed flashes of the light as the assault cruiser Exeter and the assault corvette Watchdog added their own firepower to lash out at the carrier frigate.
He noticed a notification flash on his console, prompting the man to realize that they were rapidly approaching several of the droid fighter swarms. Despite their large numbers, he found himself more curious than afraid, though he knew not why. He did not doubt that they could kill him or destroy his ship if given the right conditions. But he wondered if this really was the right condition for their employment. The Agincourt herself was bristling with point defense weaponry, sporting over a hundred and forty flak cannons and quad laser cannons. That was more than most warships of her size, and generally an amount given to support light support star destroyers. The Agincourt's main companion, the Scipio, also had point defenses in abundance as a support star destroyer. The blonde man would be curious to see how the droid fighters would fair against such massed point defensive fire, especially when combined with the fire of their escorts and the starfighter screen accompanying them. He glanced at his screen, noting that the fleet's point defense weapons were already tracking the droid fighters, even if they weren't in range yet.
He typed in several more commands, noting that his Utopia decoys were about to run out of steam. He shrugged. They served their purpose...besides, their droid fighters will be able to enter range quickly to figure out that ruse, though it may take them and their commanders a quick moment to figure their true nature out...
Another icon began to flash on his screen as the Maladi began to fire on the Admiral Ackbar. She's a skillful enough commander to handle that, but we have another trick up our sleeves...why not use it? The man tapped several more buttons. Not too far away, the Watchdog, still accompanying the Scipio, but positioned above most of the formation, turned her Erebus Jamming Array to focus on the Maladi-class Strike Frigate. The warship began to stream out additional sensor signals to warp the strike frigate's own understanding of the battlefield and the positions of the ship's at hand. Even a few degrees off could send the strike frigates fire off to surged through the emptiness of space without hitting anything, or worse, hit its nearby Techno Union allies. He quickly punched in several commands to get a better view of the assault corvette and the Scipio, noting that the larger ship was screening the smaller vessel by eclipsing much of the corvette with its massive hull. They'll have to punch through most of the Scipio right now to land any solid shots on the corvette...
Summary of actions:
-fleet advances towards the Admiral Ackbar
-half of the Agincourt's hypervelocity cannons and all of its energy torpedoes fire on the Sev'rance at 1512
-Exeter begins to fire on the Sev'rance at 1512 with its heavy long-range turbolasers -Watchdog fires its mass driver cannons and plasma energy torpedoes at the Sev'rance at 1512
-Watchdog begins warping the Maladi's sensor/targetting feed with its Erebus Jamming Array (the Maladi at 13.17 firing on the Ackbar)
-Group 1 prepares to smash through any incoming droid fighter swarms
-Decoys acting as Utopia-class Corvettes are about to go dark
Pain was a very real thing as Micah went crashing against the wall. There was a distinct cracking crunching sound when he hit, and it felt as if ice cold shards of agony went driving up his head. Oh yeah, that was a broken nose. The pain on his side also told him he had bruised ribs, likely a couple of broken ones too.
But with that pain came a realization. He was alive, and could breathe! No way he was going to be able to speak anytime soon, not with the bright red slash across his neck that was a mottled bruised color of purple blooms. His vision was hazy, and he struggled to breathe. But he would fight as long as he had breath in him.
Pain was good. Pain meant he was alive. Pain meant a focus, something for him to latch onto in terms of reality -- and instinct with that scream of warning through the Force. The Sith Lord Cameron Centurion was not a forgiving individual, nor was he a lax one. Training under his uncle was harsh, but with purpose. The same could be said for his father, Soliael Talith. Both were fierce fighters of the Force, and his uncle a combatant of the highest caliber. Instinct on defenses would lurch forward as the violent arcs of lightning came zooming straight at him.
Rushing with the second wind the Bracers of Salee would give him, Micah did one action, and one action only. Both of his wrists went slamming together, crossing in an x pattern violently as they made contact. The after effect was immediate. A shimmering orange sphere went ripping around the Talith, forming instantly as the teenager struggled for breath, grimacing in the pain. The Bracers of Salee were of his own creation, imbued and alchemized under his hand as an tribute to the old Moross Goddess, Salee the Shield; the battle maiden that protects, guides, and keeps safe the soldiers of Moross.
The lightning hit with the strength of a full blown tempest, driving a grunt from his mouth as he braced himself against the bulkhead. Both arms however, would maintain that contact at the wrists. A glare of determination lanced out at the Sith, twin suns of his eyes blazing through the dark forelocks hanging over his eyes, lancing out a fiery orange glow. Sweat and blood trickled down the the determined clenched of his jaw, blood a metallic coppery tang in his mouth.
The shield surface would ripple, shuddering under the onslaught of the Force lightning, but it held. That was the purpose of the bracers, to protect the Talith's in situations such as these.
It was campy and cheesy, so it was hella amusing to Micah. So much he gave a bloody half grin.
The attacks positively revealed yet another shield of the Force energy protecting their intended target. That brought an end to the Sith’s telekinetic onslaught, webbed hand still raised and ready to repeat it however.
A hint of anger flashed through the Mon Cal’s vibrant orange eyes, immediately replaced by serenity and warm calmness that still held their own against any possible attack of passion. This sterile state of mind allowed for easier focus, better assessment of the situation and also the invaluable advantage of fighting cool-headed. Right now, no battle was going on though; elegantly striding even closer to the Jedi and getting her shield within reach of his weapon, lightsaber still pointed her way, the Sith Lord used this short moment of peace to partially restore his energy, remaining vigilant to the possibility of the Jedi’s shield breaking again to allow the one it protected a way. Now that he knew of the Jedi’s bubble, Avreet remained subconsciously aware of its state, the Force keeping an eye on it for him.
The tip of his lightsaber touched the invisible barrier with a hiss and Avreet’s advance completely stopped in tracks. With his blade slightly pushing against the barrier and draining its energy, the Sith Lord’s large eyes locked gaze with those orange orbs of the Jedi. The relaxed state was just a facade though, as it worked on something different. While the barrier presented an impenetrable obstacle when it came to physical attacks, one could still get through with the Force.
Lady Zarrah once taught her teenage apprentice Combustion. The Sith Witch showed no hesitation when it came to applying the power to living targets, making their blood boil until the bodies exploded in a violent display of red gore. Her apprentice believed it to be unethical however and utilized the technique only when faced with something his lightsabers or other Force powers could not solve. Such as this barrier.
Instead of using the technique's power directly on the Jedi Master's body, Avreet’s focus turned to her lightsaber. If he actually managed to make the weapon explode, it’d eliminate the Jedi by either killing her outright or grievously harming her. Either way, it gave him an effective way of disarming her.
The most effective way of destroying a lightsaber was breaking its heart. Soon enough, the Jedi's Angraal crystal found itself under attack by the power of Flamusfracta.
Jacen Centred himself, allowing some of his higher faculties to hibernate, whilst he immersed himself in the Force and focused. Whilst still plagued by self doubt, the veteran soldier did trust his defensive abilities. It was less about his solid grounding in defensive lightsaber forms, and far more about remaining alert to his surroundings. He was particularly skilled in predicting an opponent's next move by observing their footwork carefully.
He sensed the faint tremor in the Force that heralded the telekinetic attack. Unfortunately he prepared himself for the sudden downwards pressure, matching its strength, but did nothing to counter the sudden sideways smash. It took him clean from his feet, breaking the concentration he needed to counter the force from above that slammed him into the ground.
Fortunately he had the sense to click off his saber as he went into an awkward roll. His left shoulder hit the ground painfully, bruising the muscle and pulling something painfully, even through the armour. His left leg shot out to halt his roll, leaving him on one knee. With one sudden exertion, he broke the telekinetic hold.
He carefully got back to his feet, reignited his golden blade with the characteristic snap-hiss. Holding the blade before him in a typical defensive stance, blade angled forwards to put the tip just below eye level, he advanced. The blade of light inexorable closing with his opponent's chest, such that she would have to deal with it before striking at him directly. His feet never left the floor by more than a few inches, his balance always in complete control.
Well then, let's get to this, he silently narrated to himself.
Objective: A for Attack Location: Stern of target (Objects in Mirror) Enemies: One Sith, [member="Irys Arist'lar"], [member="Nulgath Zardai"] Allies: [member="Gir Quee"], [member="Ryan Korr"], [member="Taeli Raaf"], [member="Torin Varik"] Gear: x12 x9 X/A-66 "Seraph" X-Wing starfighters
The flak ships loomed ahead, separating the Angels from a simple victory.
And from behind--suddenly, things were not so clear as before. Wheezer chirped belligerently as a handful of interceptor squadrons and two dozen seeker missiles closed from behind while a barrage of flak fire erupted from the fore. "Break silence! Repeat, breaking radio silence! All comms online! Please please please!" Sneaking in was out of the question now. It was all about savvy and force.
And tractor beams were threatening to ensnare the snubfighters now. "Lead, we've got a tractor net!" While it was impossible for the few projectors to catch all or even most of the tiny, speedy fighter craft without their pilots' own volition, perhaps consent was exactly what was needed.
She waited until the interceptors were short of a kilometer out. "Angels, all full-stop! Chaff, pitch down and stall out." They would avoid the incoming flak burst this way, but the gunships and enemy fighters were still going to pose a problem. Sressechka toggled the chaff ejection before rolling her craft one-eighty, then cut her aft engines, using her maneuvering thrusters to turn until her X-Wing's nose was facing the incriminating gunship. The interceptors would catch up with their abruptly halted prey and pass them by.
Meanwhile, the squadron's submission to the tractor beams actually would save them. Chaff erupted as some of the homing missiles slammed into the debris, and some of the enemy fighters collided with friendly rockets. Though one could not be too sure if it there were only enemy casualties... "How many Angels do we have?"Angel Leader asked, breath heavy with anxiety. Had she just killed her wingmates? Answer me, please. Please...
"Lead, I'm in."
"Still here, Blue."
"Standing by."
Actually, she really did not have time for this. "Launch ion torps now. The tractors will guide them in. Full assault." She triggered her secondary armaments in rapid succession, sending three total into the gunship that had snagged her fighter. It mattered little whether they would not be able to use them against the Tambor-class ship. All that mattered at this point was staying alive.
A flurry of blue streaks homed in on the gunships' tractor beam projectors, guided by the projectors themselves. They would be freed in time to take on the interceptors making their return run. "All go. All wings go!" She flicked back on her aft burners and clenched teeth, knowing this was not over and they would momentarily be clashing with the droid fighters.
"Lead..."
"What, Ax?"
"Lead, we lost Bronco..."
Death. Leave it for now. But she would revisit her friend later, and with much lost to her heart.
Location: Bridge of the Scipio
Objective A: Prep the shooting gallery
Allies: [member="Gir Quee"] [member="Sressechka"] [member="Ryan Korr"] [member="Torin Varik"]
Enemies: [member="Irys Arist'lar"] [member="Nulgath Zardai"]
"Master Raaf, enemy droid fighters are starting to close in," Captain Stirin said from his station. She had already given the orders for the Centurion-class and its escorts to begin advancing to the Admiral Ackbar's position, so as the Republic fleet began moving to assist their fellow ship, she could feel a bit hopeful even with that announcement.
"Have all defensive batteries prepped and ready for when they reach us," she ordered. All at once, the point defense lasers began priming and as soon as the droid fighters reached the outer cordon, they would open fire in a blaze of energy.
"Also, make sure our fighter screens are sufficiently deployed to hold them up, divert one squadron to help cover the Ackbar as well," she said, looking over the tactical display. Their main weapons were just out of range, but in just a few more moments, the Scipio would be able to bring its full compliment of heavy weaponry to bear on the enemy fleet forces.
"Our escorts are all ready as well ma'am, and the Watchdog is now protected by us," Captain Stirin said. "That should sufficiently distract that Maladi's fire enough for us to make a difference."
"I certainly hope so," she said, watching out the bridge's main viewport as the leading edge of their fighter screen began to encounter lead elements of the enemy fighters. "Here we go."
Summary of actions:
Moved with the rest of the fleet towards the Admiral Ackbar, moving one squadron of fighters to support it
Prepped all defensive batteries and the fighter screen to open fire as soon as the droid fighters are in range
[member="Norrin Fulk"]
Objective: B
Location: 1
Allies:
Enemies: First Line
Blaster fire? Blaster fire he could deal with. Impacts hit - he put up a weak, flimsy shield in front of him to take the brunt of it. The Laminanium took the rest. Before long, he was on his back, smoking, sharp edges protruding from his chest as though something were nestled at the center. The droid didn't move, and instead simply lay there, but it was clear whatever was in the chest wasn't going to be easy to crack. Nor was it something that would likely break from a distance, at least not with the metal already cooling.
Disciple wasn't too perturbed by the control exerted.
He'd exert it when he needed to, and now was not one of those times.
