Graves

[Nikola Ticon]

His head inclined slightly as [member="Chevu Visz"] waved him down, and with some effort Nikola managed to catch up with the group, remaining behind and slightly to the side of his Master. It was about time something was done about this, and he wanted to be in the front when it happened. This was about more than the mass grave they had left behind, regardless of what the others might think. It was about what other atrocities had been committed, about what would continue if this threat was allowed to continue roaming the galaxy wherever they pleased unchecked. And the Galactic Alliance, along with others like them, were here to make sure none of that happened.

Most would have been at least somewhat daunted by the prospect of heading into battle against such odds, but he was oddly at peace with things. After all, he was a Jedi, and this was what he had signed up for in the beginning, to put his life on the line so no one else had to. And now that the moment had come to put that to the test he was similarly content with the choices he'd made. This was how things had to be, for the betterment of the galaxy as a whole. Even if he didn't make it out alive one day, someone else would, and so the legacy would continue. Perhaps a noble cause for a former criminal, but he didn't much care about that. Quite frankly, the others could shove off if they didn't like it.

Almost lazily he palmed the hilt of his saber, not quite igniting the weapon just yet as they came to the edge of the treeline. Much like the others he ducked behind a nearby tree, scrutinizing the wall that loomed in front of them, noting what defenses were put in place. In theory this would be a simple assault, but nothing was ever as it seemed. These men and those turrets wouldn't have been placed here if they weren't effective at their jobs. Similarly, those in the forest wouldn't be present if they weren't just as talented. And he intended to demonstrate for his own part just what it meant to cross the Galactic Alliance and all those affiliated with the group. One way or another, this mess would end.

 

[Roth Tillian]

"Launch torpedoes and head for the South wall of that fortress," Roth said over the comms, hitting the trigger to release two torpedoes locked onto the corvette's bridge. He rolled the craft to the side as the rest followed his attack plan, launching a barrage of torpedoes to pound against its hull and shield. Now on to clear the way for the assault force. He pushed to full acceleration, letting the Force guide him as the planet flew by in a blur.

"First objective is to disable defenses on the wall and eliminate ground fortifications. Second is me and the ground team will secure a beachhead. Flight team, keep their heavy weapons off us. Clear?" He got a series of responses as the fortress came into view beyond the forest. He smiled. A tight, cold smile. Open ground. He could do nothing for those in the forest. It was too tightly covered by foliage to aim, let alone fly, unless he was going for a carpet bombing maneuver. That was too dangerous with friendlies on the ground though. He could knock over a tree and land it on people.

"Wild Knights to assault team, stay clear of the fire zone," He paused to send them his planned attack run, straight across the open ground in two flights. One to split and circle back over to provide support while the other headed straight for the breach and dumped their pilots. "We'll drop to the breach and take their fire while you move up." He paused for a moment to listen to M1. "But move forward very quickly. Don't have the firepower for a sustained assault." Or the armor, if he was going to be accurate. His stuff wouldn't last that long.


[member="Relit Vandal"] [member="Aela Talith"] [member="Jacen Voidstalker"]

 

[Kaili Talith]

[member="Karen Roberts"]

The work went underway with surprising ease. Perhaps the kid was just blanking it all out or maybe she felt some sort of determination to document the bodies for the greater good. There was a time when Kaili feared death, but after having caused enough of it in a misfortunate ship crash the mere concept had dulled her to the point of apathy. At least so she told herself to make it all the more easier. To witness these corpses was like a cruel reminder of her own mistakes, yet even more so a testament to the inevitable end to the Final Order. With Aela in a spot of authority there was no doubt about it.

< “Remember to talk.” > Henry broke Kaili out of her solemn stare.

“Huh, what?” She set her eyes on the droid. “Yeah, sure. Whatever.”

< “Your stress levels are off the charts, Kaili.” >

“I am fine, Henry. We just need to get this over with.”

< “... Okay.” >

The droid set his sights on the body while Kaili approached Roberts.

“I’ve never done this before.” She said and stared at the woman’s nose bridge for an illusion of eye contact. “I’ve sent my friend to document the bodies. Images and notes mostly if we’d need to show the world what has happened today.”

“Media, propaganda, things like that.”

 

[Connor Harrison]

Taking a dead woman’s wrist in his hand, Fixx looked up as he heard the call for the team to move. Stragglers were still busying themselves in the graves to do what they had to do in the most humane way, but Fixx wasn’t here to clean up, he was here to put a spanner in the operation of those responsible.

With his free hand he turned over a small vial and pierced the rubbery flesh of the woman, taking a sample of her blood before it totally clotted in her system. Luckily, it was manageable and enough for him to get what he needed. Maybe something in the bloodstream would tell him what was at play here and if there was anything being used the Alliance had to be wary of.

The hand fell onto the lifeless body as Fixx stood, and moved away, clawing the side of the grave to crest the top, looking over to see where the others had moved to. A Fortress in the distance, which obviously had to be their target. With a slow walk ahead, the agent tightened up the tube of dark blood and secured it inside his belt pocket, where it would be safe.

He was new to the Alliance, unsure of where to stand and who was always in charge, so for now he was simply a member of a force to serve the good of the galaxy but in time he would make a difference enough to be a notable face and one who could inject experience from his time with the fragile Republic.

He pulled his Czerka from the holster, checking the sight as he walked and glanced up to the others in the distance. Blue eyes took in the skies above, watching for enemy raft. All, at the moment, seemed calm. Crouching down, Fixx moved a little faster and with purpose to get where he was needed.


[member="Kaili Talith"] | [member="Doctor Azure"] | [member="Relit Vandal"] | [member="Aela Talith"] | [member="Vaet"] | [member="Roth Tillian"] | [member="Jacen Voidstalker"] | [member="Rook"] | [member="Chevu Visz"] | [member="Nikola Ticon"] | [member="Peyton Steele"] | [member="Castor Sammick"]

 

[Jsc]

[member="Kaili Talith"]

Roberts stood back up and looked the Jedi Marshell up and down with a frown. Gauging the woman's strength from her posture and her tone of voice. She didn't mind the pause that it took either to pass her judgement. Karen wasn't afraid of a little silence between warriors. Let the words hang in the air. It only added to the wonderful mood of grave digging anyway.

"Do whatever you feel you have to. When the probes arrive we'll take the scans and run them back through the medical deck of one of the GA Capital Ships. Intel can then use the data to compare with local planetary records. For, whatever purpose Intel demands. Naturally. Whatever happens, happens."

She eyed the droid named Henry and shrugged. Interesting unit. Never seen that type before. Huh. Must be a NJO thing. Anyway, Karen did not notice the family resemblance in the Talith sister's either. That just wasn't something she was programmed to notice in a warzone.

"Ya know. The way I see it? You've got two options."

She smiled,,

"You can either stay here for two hours and admire the dead, or? You can ask your fellow Marshalls to investigate the surrounding area for more graves, tire tracks, or FO footprints. You might even try pulling up a topographical map of the area and deciding why the FO wanted to use this area for a dumping ground, and if similar convenient low-lands exist nearby. After all, mad scientists have a thing for picking the closest, and the lowest priority, landscapes for their dumping sites."

She shrugged and continued,

"I should probably also note that pits like this aren't dug by hand. They use heavy equipment. And heavy diggers don't use repulsar mounts. They use tracked vehicles with mounted struts. So? ...If you've feeling really adventurous? The NJO might want to figure out where those heavy diggers came from. And where they were going to next?"

Karen didn't play CSI often, but when she did? She could be pretty good at it. Of course. Kaili was free to choose which angle to pursue. She was always welcome to just stick around this grave site for the next few hours. Mm. Doesn't that sound like fun.

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

Near Temple Walls, West Side

Jacen should have been the rock that held firm in the storm. The din of battle rolled across the fields. Whilst the turrets on the west had been destroyed in their first advance, those emplacements on the other walls were firing. X-Wings streaked through the sky, the screech of their engines downed out as their ordnance impacted on their targets. The IFV just to the north of them continued to fire its main cannon at the walls, keeping the defenders on the west side from rallying.

Instead Jacen’s hands kept tightening on his saber. That mental image of the graves that he had absorbed as he tried to calm the anguished solider kept flashing across his mind. He had not the mental fortitude to do what he had done, it seemed. Whilst the youth now sat calmly with his comrades, Jacen struggled to find that place of serenity where he could immerse himself in the Force.

“Lots of them still crawling around the walls,” the squad leader grunted. Their assault on the west had started earlier in the day, and so whilst the turrets were down, there were plenty of soldiers left to deal with. “We’ve got the order, get ready.”

The IFV fired a series of smoke grenades with a series of loud pops. As soon as the path was obscured, the order came. Jacen leapt out from cover, still keeping his saber deacticated. Only as he emerged from the smoke, leaving it billowing in his wake, did the golden blade come to life. What they had done, could not go unpunished. How could they be allowed to walk away from this after the horrors they had wrought on the defenceless. If this act went unpunished, it would happen again and again. He ground his teeth together as he gathered the Force around him. Despite his lack of clarity, it came to him with surprising ease. He yelled out in defiance as he leapt, he saber snapping quickly up and down to deflect two bolts as he soared through the air. Stones cracked beneath him as he landed against the Temple walls, above the defences. He skidded down as a Stormtrooper with a repeater tried to bring his weapon around. Too slow, he was carved from shoulder to hip in a single swing.

The soldiers cried out in fear as Jacen charged down the narrow walkway behind the walls. There was no way for the soldiers to surround him, to get a clear shot at his exposed torso. Anger stirred deep within as he cut down the first Stormtrooper and continued his charge towards the south. In his periphery, he could see his squad still advancing below, but his mind barely noticed.

 

[Aela Talith]

"Lets go." Those were the last words she said before she stood.

There was no more waiting, there was only action. On the other side of the compound she could hear blaster fire erupting, explosions, they had to strike now, had to get into the fortress before reinforcements could shift about the walls. Aela pulled her lightsaer free of her belt, drawing the weapon into her palm and feeling a surge of strength flow into her.

She stretched upright, her back stiffening as she grasped onto one of the Jedi that had been squatting besides her. She pulled him up, then gave him a nod. A quick whisper was passed along the others, the plan quickly disseminating among the ranks as Aela began her march through the thicket of trees.

Her steps increased in frequency as they neared the clearing.

Then, she broke out into a sprint. A burst of the force flowed through her, a powerful push that saw her blur in motion. She was the first to burst from the tree-line, followed by a dozen more Jedi. Blaster fire began to rain from within the bushes, quickly answered by red bolts from the fortress wall.

 

[Roth Tillian]

"And we are go," Roth mused, as muffled blaster fire and explosions tore through the areas surrounding the fortress. "Wild Knights, execute attack plan." He stared straight ahead as half the squadron split and flew parallel to the fortress, strafing all across the clearing between the trees and the wall. They swerved and dodged, targeting where they could see, sense, or detect hostile blaster fire. Chunks of dirt and bodies flew up into the air, vaporized by the lasers designed to punch through meters of solid durasteel. Bushes burned in their wake.

The rest of the squadron fell in behind Roth as he narrowed in on the breach in the wall. M1-C3 sent a few beeps and whistles his way, which Roth acknowledged with a grunt in reply as the shields shifted to double front. Small arms fire ricocheted off the nose of his fighter as they approached the wall. He linked all four laser cannons and target the center of the breach, sending a quick hail of laser fire into the walls on either side before shifting his targeting to the top of the walls on either side. The others followed close behind him.

Now this would be the tough part. X-Wings were not designed to drop off ground personnel. It was in fact, shockingly difficult. He almost wanted to see if he could some sort of fighter built exactly for this purpose. He was not entirely sure how to pull that off though.

"M1, you fly now," Roth said, unbuckling his harnesses and grabbing his ground gear, making sure the bolter was ready to go. The walls drew closer and closer as the ship shuddered under incoming blasters. Oh this was not fun at all. The last few fighters with him shot ahead over the fortress, lasers singing out to the ground inside and around the walls.

Roth sat up in his seat and the ship came to hover. He shoved the cockpit open and scrambled out opposite the fortress, bolter clattering against his leg. He looked down. About ten feet. He took a deep breath, and let himself drop, hitting the ground with a grunt. Sharp pain raced through his ankle and his eyes bulged. Needed to work on that landing. His teammates dropped in beside him as the astromechs led the fighters out of danger.

Now it was time to work. He pulled the bolter up, sensing the presence of the Masters approaching the fortress behind, and squeezed the trigger towards an enemy soldier that popped out of cover. He shuffled forward, bent low and took cover behind some debris.

"Batten down!" He yelled. "Keep them busy!"

 

[Jairus Starvald]

“I climbed before I walked.” the Vaetling replied with no humor made apparent. Only the green eyes revealed a little bit of amusement at the prospect of jumping around and crawling onto a wall while dodging plasma fire - it was less intensive for him than to run though, what with the way his physical body restricted him.

With as much grace as he could muster Vaet jumped off Vandal’s back, landing silently next to him and immediately took to surveying the fortress that was sprawled in front of them.

Quite the scenery. It was apparent that the enemy they were facing was entrenched, well defended and above all ready for any imminent attack, but that would not stop them from assaulting the fortress regardless. Because that was what the Jedi did when it came down to it - they fought when nobody else would. They sacrificed their lives, put them down on the line, when nobody else would.

He watched as the young Jedi Marshal took off at a sprint and then nodded solemnly.

“Decided for us it has been, Master Vandal. Go, we must.”

[member="Jacen Voidstalker"] | [member="Relit Vandal"] | [member="Aela Talith"]​

 

[Relit Vandal]

He held out his partially gloved hand, a downtrodden leaf finding platform in his palm. As the samara seed from the branch, we follow the wind. Turning his hand over, the leaf continued it's path down to the forest floor as he smiled. "Yes."

In the wake of the Jedi Marshall, Relit unhinged himself from the forest line and merged into the wave of moving Jedi. He hadn't heard the plan but he knew the direction, it was simple enough. He paid no heed to Vaet, he knew the figure would find his way in the group. And if push came to shove, Relit had a unique enough aura and appearance among the group for him to know he had an ally among allies. Behind him, the hail of blue blasters upwards were met with the sound of return. Red and blue, the clink clank return of the turrets as they carved holes in the earth. Holy thing, desecrated.

Relit wasn't a young sapling, not as limber as he once was. The force was his guiding light in times of physical exertion and as the Jedi Marshall turned to force speed, Relit followed in her stead. With the gale of it's influence, his movement blurred as he approached the wall. And so would begin the climb, if it could be called that. But not so much in control as under control, guided by the force. There was an aura there, a definitive answer to the question of who was right and wrong.

In his right hand, the electrum hilt remained at the ready and extinguished. The time was approaching for it's utilization.

[member="Vaet"] | [member="Jacen Voidstalker"] | [member="Aela Talith"]
​

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

High left, low and central, horizontal across his core. Jacen kept his defensive posture tight as he continued his inexorable advance. Rather than falling back, three stormtroopers had crammed together on the walkway to try and overwhelm him with fire.

Going on an impulse from the Force, Jacen stepped wide and left his saber hang out to the left. One bolt headed straight for his chest, but the shimmering barrier had already formed around him. The exchange was simple, his position allowed him to deflect two more bolts which went wide back at his attackers.

One stormtroopers dropped, a smoking cavity in his chest. The other took a bolt to the knee and fell across the third, who tried to entangle himself and flee.

Jacen cut them down. He was almost at the corner between the southern and western walls.

 

[Chevu Visz]

Chevu's lightsaber snapped into her hand, the blue plasma blade humming to life, the Jedi code playing in her head like a familiar and calming melody. These were the times when Chev needed to be especially vigilant for the poisoning influence of the Dark Side. Caught up in the throes of battle, it was all too easy to slip into aggression and vengeance, and forget about the Jedi way. All life must be respected, even that of the enemy. Disarm, disable, but try to avoid death at all costs. As the assault began, it seemed like an impossible task. Killing their enemy was necessarily for the galaxy's survival, but it still made the Force cry out, like an animal in pain.

As blaster fire criss-crossed toward them, Chevu raised her blade vertically, swinging down with a powerful Soresu blow, batting away the bolts. The Light Side was alive around her, flowing through her, branching out to touch her apprentice, Nikolai to make sure he was safe.

A glance towards Peyton and Rook, both hardened soldiers themselves, gave the Mirialan a boost of intrepidity. Lips pulled tight in a determined grimace, she pressed on.

[member="Peyton Steele"] [member="Nikola Ticon"] [member="Rook"]

 

[Peyton Steele]

Peyton could handle this. She could fight, once she cleared her mind of that pit. The bodies, the cybernetics, she had one idea of what had caused this, but she didn’t want to think about it. And that was half the reason she was talking to [member="Rook"] about just… anything. She would be speaking to him regardless, they were teammates, but the fact that she was changing to such an asinine subject? That was just a defense mechanism to keep her mind from slipping into a dark space and causing her body to respond in kind.

“Bathrobe brigade?” Her blue eyes lit up and for the first time today she smiled.

She was kind of going with the flow here. She could understand where [member="Fixx Kearney"]’s mind was. The Alliance was not very structured, militarily speaking, but for a lot of people, it was a consensus instead of top down order, and that was good. Anyone that was a Commander or Marshal naturally held a little more weight to their orders, but they wouldn’t go beyond a plan set up by the group. Investigating could wait until the threat was extinguished and the Final Order was fought back, this world being claimed.

Little Green had an unexpected blue blade. Peyton still was never sure how the crystals were chosen, but the blonde didn’t mind blue. She readied her pistol as the blaster fire came in. She was on the distraction team, clearly, and was looking around to see what she could use to bash in heads if the enemy got close enough.

Metal piping, that would do the trick.

One shot, two shot, three shot under the table. Four.

[member="Rook"]
[member="Chevu Visz"]

 

[Aela Talith]

She moved.

It was faster than she had ever run before. Aela wasn't sure if the others were following, she wasn't sure if they had taken to her mad dash, all she knew was that she had to close the ground, all she knew was that she had to make it. Her feet dug into the mud, her legs flexed, and her entire body forced itself to it's very limit. She sprinted across the field, blaster fire raining down on her until she reached two meters away from the wall.

The muscles of her legs flexed, and suddenly she bounded into the air.

The young Jedi Master jumped into the air, her feet coming first as she crashed into the wall halfway up the stone face. Her crushgaunt dug into the stone, smashing rock and debris down below her as she gripped onto the wall. Half a second passed, then she did it again, bounding a second time up the face of the massive barrier.

She landed with a thud on the top of the wall, her lightsaber igniting in her other hand just as an opaque bubble formed around her.

Stormtroopers turned to face her, blaster fire erupting against the bubble.

 

[Placeholder 0133]

There were times when overwhelming firepower was needed.

Now was not one of those times.

Rook was keen on using it anyway.

He heaved the Ravager up over his shoulder. Sure it was big, heavy, loud, and incredibly violent, but for a distraction? Nothing better. Besides, what better way to deliver divine retribution than a laser cannon that could level a whole row of houses? Karking nothing.

"Jedi like their bathrobes. Sith like their bathrobes too. Chaste bathrobes, and emotional bathrobes. Two sides of the same sauna." He snickered at his own joke. Now really wasn't the time for humor -- genocide wasn't funny -- but Rook had a knack for making himself laugh. So long as he was in a good mood, he could be positive about whatever was thrown at them. It was easier to press on when you were having a giggle mate in good spirits rather than lamenting. "Chevu's alright though. Nice gal." He added quietly as he took aim at the Stormtrooper legions.

Lightsabers really were for chumps.

The weapon charged, and then it didn't. The cannon roared as it unleashed a line of blue plasma into one of the rifle nests. The nest went up in flames, blown hundreds of feet in every direction. Every man in that rifle nest? Dust. The Ravager was loud, mean, and Rook was very, very proud.

"I'll let you two shoot her if you want. She's a whole lotta fun. Heh, heh, heh."

[member="Chevu Visz"], [member="Peyton Steele"]

 

[Relit Vandal]

Relit was several paces back from the Jedi Marshall, though he could keep pace with her movement well enough. She was fast, there was no doubt about that, but he had reserved energy to scale the wall and left the blasters to spray against ground and wind alone. Rattan, help us. He quietly muttered as he moved forward, approaching the wall of the fortress. But where he and Aela differed was that at this point, the Zelosian had all but abandoned force speed for the concentration needed for Consitor Sato. Beneath every step, he felt the runners of the vine, as his left hand dropped and scraped at the grass. Pulling up a clod, he flung the dirt freely into his path, anointing himself in the earth beneath him.

Rattan, help us. As he jumped up, nearing the wall, the ground broke from beneath as the surge of woody vines sprung upwards. Makeshift and whirling, the monstrous plants predicted his foot hold as he would have met air, he instead felt the bouncy growth beneath him. He had already convinced this plant, barring the need for resources, that this act of altruism would benefit it. And it would, this train long leaving the station as he jumped upward again, flinging himself up the rungs of the ladder as the vine swirled over and caught his foot. Runner and needle like tendrils traced the fractures of the duracrete, piercing inward to give leverage for the Jedi that would follow the Master.

Bouncing one last time, he cleared the distance of the parapet before placing foot upon this strongholds surface. The amethyst beam ignited with a tension, spiraling white energy cascading down towards the edge of this placement. The blasts of energy pistols from the storm troopers caught the beam in blurred motion as he sent the energy towards atmosphere. The Rattan continued to grow behind him, an ally for the coming fight. He silently thanked it, taking in this moment of peace as the Stormtroopers paused for the briefest moment, nearly taken back by the sheer vertical speed of this Jedi Order. He looked stoically towards these enemies, and lifted his saber above his head with a double handed placement. La poste di falcone, preparing to implement the circle of shelter.

[member="Vaet"] | [member="Aela Talith"] | [member="Jacen Voidstalker"]​

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

A spray of chippings were thrown up as Jacen planted his heel to turn the corner. A team of stormtroopers had gathered around a repeater nest. Jacen was vaguely aware of other light presences assaulting the walls, but his focus was on the white clad obstacles before him. Their tyranny had to be brought to an end.

When his unit had pushed through a Yuuzhan Vong unit, a Sith Knight had appeared. The warrior had cut down his Force with his scarlet blade, leaving Jacen cut from sternum to waist. Jacen had been powerless to stop him. He wasn't powerless now.

His left hand was extended as a fist, and the ground underneath the troopers shook. Power came to him more easily than in a long time. He honed his focus into a point, vaguely aware of a sharp pain in his side. As his hand flicked open, the wall erupted. Everything within several metres: soldiers, weapons, masonry was thrown in all directions. Several white bodies went tumbling down back to the ground.

Jacen was already moving. His pulse raced as he leapt across the gap in the wall he had created. The image of those twisted bodied flashes across his mind. A single trooper blocked his path, barely worth his time.

Every last one of them has to be stopped.

He ground his teeth together, calling on that reserve of energy that flowed freely. The blaster went flying and the trooper slowly rose a few inches. His toes scrabbled across the paving stones as he clawed at his neck.

Jacen's outstretched hand swung out to the side and the Stormtrooper was dragged over the wall, left to look over the precipice at his doom.

 

[Jairus Starvald]

As swift as the wind.

Such was the lesson that you were taught in the Academy, picture yourself as free and fast as the wind, each step bouncing off the ground and propelling you further to your destination. In a lot of ways Vaet was still just a little novice - older than most humanoid padawans were, but to his own people?

Still little more than a child.

It generally meant that he wasn’t as strong as Vandal, as fast as Aela or as durable as Jacen, but he made all that up with simple persistence. The inability to just lay down and give it up.

Just wasn’t in him. Call it the will of the Force, call it stubbornness, call it simple idiocy, but Vaet would continue on until the last fiber in his legs gave out.

Because that is what he owed to them. To everyone who wasn’t able to protect themselves, to people like those that had died in the pit at the hands of the Final Order: he hadn’t been able to save them, but at least he would be able to try and give them justice, by taking down their murderers and making sure that they faced that justice.

It meant that he wouldn’t go for the killing blow, as long as he wasn’t forced. In front of him the vines gave him solid purchase onto the wall and Vaet used it, silently thanking Relit’s assistance. His climbings skills might have been a little bit overestimated when it comes to a solid surface with big distances between purchase.

Only seconds after Relit climbed over the walls and stood his ground against the Final Order’s combatants, did Vaet himself jump over the balustrade. He silently took in the scene - saw the hesitation in the guards, their determination balancing on that thin line between retreat and suicidal frenzy… and the young Jedi knew he had to at least try, it was the least he could do.

His shoto had been ignited along the way, silvery brilliance shining through, and his voice sounded calm - it snapped through the background explosions and shouts - and it said one simple thing.

“Lay down your weapons. Get on the ground. Do not get in the way. Spared your lives will be.”

In this command he tried to radiate peace, a tranquility that was filled with light, with the determination of the Lightside.

Now it was on them.

[member="Aela Talith"] | [member="Jacen Voidstalker"] | [member="Relit Vandal"]​

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Jacen Voidstalker"]

The bubble dropped away, and Aela prepared to fight.

Then suddenly her head turned. Out of the corner of her eye she saw something. Perhaps it was luck, perhaps it was the force, either way she caught a glimpse. A man, a Jedi, his hand outstretched, the force wrapping chains around a white floating figure before him. Her eyes opened wide, her mouth set into a gape, shock transforming across all of her features.

"Jacen!" She screamed the name, half to get his attention, half to confirm to herself thats who it really was. A stray blaster bolt caught her in the shoulder, half knocking her down as it seared into her flesh. She let out a yelp, but determination had already fallen over her. Her jaw set, the pain flowing through her, her hands clamping down on her lightsaber hilt.

She wrenched back her arm and threw the blade, low, slicing through three of the stormtroopers that stood before her, cutting their arms off and severing their blasters from them.

Before her lightsaber returned to her she bounded from the wall in one great leap. "Keep going!"

Aela yelled to those that had joined her upon the wall, her focus shifting as she crashed into the courtyard floor with a hard thud. She rolled, standing in one liquid movement just in time to call the lightsaber back to her palm. The hilt fell onto her belt, and quickly Aela dashed forward. She moved through the courtyard like water flowing over rocks, pushing aside friend and foe alike.

She passed through the sea of blaster fire, lightsabers, and white armor, reaching Jacen in record time.

Her eyes set hard, and Aela bound towards the Jedi Knight, aiming to tackle him to the ground and end his fall.

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

His attention swung to Aela as she called his name. As she was knocked off balance by a bolt his grimace widened, his grip on the Stormtrooper's neck tightened.

Confusion crossed his features as he saw the bright haired Talith girl coming for him. Stupid petulant youth, what was she thinking? She didn't slow up and he only had a moment to brace himself as she barrelled into him. She weighed far less than him, but struck him with surprising power. The stormtrooper fell from his grip, slumping across the wall before scrambling back behind it.

Strength came so easily to him now and his balance came from endless practise and years of playing amateur grav-ball. His left hand grabbed Aela's back and yanked hard to try and roll her away.

Skidding to a halt in a crouch, one hand on the ground and one hand still on his saber hilt. Their eyes met across the short distance and time slowed. Jacen's chest heaved from the extortion, his pulse raced. The stormtrooper was curled in a foetal position and coughing hard. There was something in her eyes that caught his attention, stopped the trail of thought that was telling him to strike. It wasn't the shock, or her usual determination. It looked like disappointment.

The sneer melted away and his eyes turned to the floor. The ease with which he had tapped the Force, the image that had seemed like fuel to his mad charge, the pieces fell into place in his mind.

Voidstalker's saber arm came up, but the hilt was held out with the emitter posting back towards him. He couldn't trust himself to make the correct decisions at this moment, but this was an obvious start. Pain blossomed out from his side as the anger subsided. A small smouldering hole was visible just under his ribs. He swore quietly to himself and dropped to a knee.


[member="Aela Talith"]