Invasion Great Balls of Fire | Agents of Chaos invasion of CIS-held Rodia and Talay

[Salem Norongachi]

Objective/Location: Fight - Talay System
Fighter: Phase I “Ballerina” Star Interceptor - Aurora Eight
Onboard Equipment:
Allies: AoC ( Willam Forlon n Bella Dimitri Lindzinsky )
Enemies: CIS ( Kiff Brayde John Locke Visanj T'shkali )

Fight was a strong word, Norongachi thought while the enemy fire intensified as the AoC formation pushed into their battle line. If there were sounds in space the hull of the Justice would have rung like a gong under assault by a drummer on glitter stim, with the firepower it was repelling.

Going home might never have been an option but fatalism wouldn't have added a layer of resolve over Bellas fear, which couldn’t have come a moment too soon. The flak fields of the enemy capital ships were what some would call ‘danger-close’ but that was far too sedate a description for the exploding wave of shrapnel and death filling the space between ship hulls, brown trouser time would have been a more apt descriptor if you asked Norongachi. Although none of that would really matter if they stayed still a moment longer, one sure fire way to snuff it in this maelstrom was to become a stationary target.

“Never doubted it.” Sal responded with a half smile behind his helm before he looked at his scanners again and gave a quiet sigh. It probably wasn’t the best time to tell the Togruta that unless the mess of metal in the sky was causing interference, they were the last two members of Aurora Squadron still in the fight. It didn’t change the path before them but a little part of him wished he’d gotten to know them better before this headlong plunge into the warmachine.

Would it have really mattered? Came that insidious voice again somewhere at the lowest recesses of his consciousness. He had to concede the point; It wouldn’t have, knowing their names wouldn’t have prevented their fate unfolding but at least he’d have had names to remember them by, stories to attach to their memories.

The pair darted through the battlefield, the hull of the justice looming to their left like an immoveable object meeting an unstoppable force in the CIS fleets, and did their jobs.
Shrapnel blossomed at every angle and enemy fighters swarmed but they didn’t stop; evade, sight, chase, fire and watch the others six.

At Ryloth he’d had the audacity to call it a hobby day, like he’d stepped out to buy more stamps for his collection. He chastised himself for the thought, it made everything that had and was happening seem cheap, mundane, it discarded all the lives lost on both sides. It made light of the resolve and commitment of friend and foe alike and he knew that in the quiet of the night, sleeping above the nights ruin of the Kark Off, he’d feel the creeping guilt and shame for thinking like that.

He was committed now, no one foot in, one foot out. He was up to his chest in the blood and guts and he didn’t know how long before the monster that roared in his gut would sleep again and he could have delusions of a quiet life once again.

A PD laser cut across Norongachi’s path and sent him into a hectic evasion but to no avail, a second punched his shields out of existence. “This is it,” he thought as alarms screamed at him. “do or di-WHAT THE FRAK IS TH-” the wave of a battlecruiser appearing from hyperspace right in front of them caught his fighter and tossed it like an angry god.

“So thats it then, killed by turbulence…” he muttered before the world went black.

 

[Madalena Antares]

Location: Iskaayuma
Wearing: Armor (tinted deep red)
Wielding: Meymad | Elemental Grenades | Glitter Grenades | Generic breathing mask
Allies: Agents of Chaos + Allies | Nerium Eldoc Quasat Zaldros Sabolte Gabriel Volturi + Open
Enemies: Confederacy +Their allies | Ishmael Verd Théodoro Shuklaar Kyrdol Draconis Sederius Wolf Luna Terrik

Théodoro wanted better. Théodoro was going to get better.

This time, when the man came for her, she did not yield her position, she did not duck, she did not try to avoid it in any sort of way.

Her left arm hung on the side of her body, numb as it had been a moment ago. She could get the fingers to sometimes twitch ever so slightly, but anyone with two brain cells knew the arm was out of commission for a good few hours at least, perhaps more. She was really going to have to learn how to stop losing the functionality of some body parts every time she came to battle Confederates. Last time, it had been her face that had fallen off. Now, her left arm. Next time? If she ran out of luck, it might as well as be her butt. And what was Madalena, without a thick butt, without her junk in the trunk?

The invisible threads were still all around her, still something she knew that only she could sense. If she'd focused, she would've seen a small trail left by the, from where she had opened all those portals earlier and all the way down to here. The power was still there, still hungry.

"Yes," she agreed with him, her voice sounding almost detached. She could do better. She could undo him entirely.

She looked at the Thrysian as he charged at her, but if he were to look back at her, he would not see the glowing green eyes that were a mark among her family. No. Glow there still would be, but here earlier it had been green, now it was white, her eye color draining away until there was nothing left of it.

And those eyes, they moved to look at him, her right hand stopping the lightning only to move quickly in a circular motion, opening another rift, exactly where his pike was meant to land, a mere split of a moment before it actually touched her a second time.

 

[Vytal Noctura]

S P I R I T S . A N D . G O D S . P R O T E C T . U S

Equipment: The Blood of Dathomir Armor | Nightmother's Ward | Water of Life Potions |
Raxus Relief Gas | Rings X X X X | Circlet | Jam Buster
Stored: Seed, Conduit of Souls, Nesmite Tree Seed Pods, Cryo Grenades,
Grapple, Rope, Survival Gear, Knives
Commanding: Army of Skeletons with Falyood Tree Enhancement, Three Zombie

Location: Iskaayuma, Rodia
Allied: Confederacy of Independent Systems
Hostile: Agents of Chaos
​

Telepathy. It was something Vytal knew well, and responded to Scherezade deWinter gladly. If you seek blood, do not waste your time haunting the steps of those I care for. You and yours continue to assail the Witches of the realm, but not once have you come for me directly. Perhaps, like a poor marksman, you simply keep missing the target.​

​

On Ryloth they had side-stepped the capital in favor of an altar of historical worth -- not power. The Nightmother had to come to them, and then she found them had senselessly slain twelve Witches because they simply lived and breathed. Even since that day not a single Agent of Chaos had approached her or the Castle. No, indeed, they kept their distance. Perhaps they would not like to see the wrath of a Nightsister of Dathomir visited upon them. After all, from all Vytal had heard on the comlink, they had done little more than scurry about in the shadows this day.​

​

It was not as though Vytal's movements were shrouded in mystery, like the power her and hers studied. Even the bakers of Ryloth would have known where the Nightmother was when she visited their city to speak of spirits and mystical powers. Unlike most Jedi (and certainly Sith) the Solanaceae sought to elevate the understanding of the people rather than spend their time policing the galaxy. Perhaps that was something the Agents of Chaos could learn from -- to engage the trillions in the galaxy by word instead of spending their time finding new ways to kill their 'enemies' of convenience.​

​

As for the Witches reaching out to the Agents themselves... Perhaps they just might. Provided, of course, they didn't refuse as being 'Imperial dogs' or whatever fanciful language they used to describe them behind closed doors.​

​

"Gerwald and Redd are... safe," Vytal announced to those with her. Sister, a Lupine is in need of you and yours swiftly. I will have the skeletons in the street point the way. A spiritual relay directing Nimue toward the pair [ Gerwald Lechner and Redd ], if it was necessary. Prayerfully, they would not be too late. The Nightmother could feel Redd's lifeforce dimming from where she stood. Yet she didn't have the strength to conjure portals to cross the distance; the Dead required considerable focus and energy to keep in this plane.​

​

"I know where they are. If you ladies could converge on that location, you will likely find Scherezade deWinter nearby." The pale woman narrowed her eyes across the distance toward the rooftop where Scherezade and Larentia stood. "I will come with you, for the hunt is not yet over."​

​

Tag: Shalita Verd | Shamira Karuto | Solana Arasne | Redd | Gerwald Lechner | Scherezade deWinter | Larentia​

Template By: Darth Metus (Guy)​

 

[Nyx N1X3]

Location: Iskaayuma, Rodia
Allied Command: Confederacy of Independent Systems
Enemy Command: Agents of Chaos

Equipment: Jackal Sniper Rifle | TDW L-7 Pistol | Cyberwarfare Defense Platform | Jam Buster Comlink | Thermal Detonators | Smoke Canisters
In Control of: NulCom Mini-Satellites
Ship: LNK Scythe Fighter


The Scythe was ascending and lining up with one of the vehicle airlocks when the sensors registered a bloom of heat above. A large bloom with multiple points of origin arrayed in a circle. Immediately Nyx's internal clock started ticking, and by that she went into compute mode where time would stretch into an infinity from an organic's perspective. Every second was akin to sixteen to a Human. On-board systems helped bear the load while the laxidaisical alignment with the dome wall hardly required any resources at all.

Identify points of origin. Snapshots of bloom spread. Estimate probable yield based on observed characteristics including color of the explosion, and soon even the percussive nature exhibited against a transparisteel dome of Iskaayuma's size. A painfully rough approximation of the dome was modeled within her systems lacking all the proper detail or color; more of a lattice really with all the appropriate structural and material overlays stitched on top of it. There wasn't time for artistic accuracy.

Command, Nyx, be advised an explosion has occurred at the top of the dome. The fighter pivoted aside and further out from the center of the dome to avoid debris.

At the same time (delayed for those back at command, having two things to say) tapped into the encrypted frequency directly to broadcast to allied units in the area [ Luna Terrik , Haastal Haran , The Monster , Draconis Sederius Wolf , Shuklaar Kyrdol , etc. ], Forces in the dome should seek shelter from above immediately. Perhaps they'd have time to respond if anyone was there. Perhaps they wouldn't. There was little she could do about it. Flying into a column of debris was hardly 'helpful,' nor fighting blasters at it in any way wise -- it was transparisteel, after all.

A pair of lupines and their hunt, for example, might not get the message in time -- or at all if they hadn't a comlink in their furry form.

So far the damage was within acceptable tolerances to the simulation that Nyx had created given the probable yield and use of secondary explosive devices -- thermal detonators, it seemed. It would be considerable damage along the top of the dome, which would let in the elements and the humid air of the swampy and jungle-based world once the sun rose. The four moons of Rodia would be all the clearer when in view of the night sky, however. Without the slight hue of their dome. The inhabitants of the city might have enjoyed that... if they would have been allowed to return home.

Every bit of data had been collected and stored in the ship's systems. It was a momentous occasion. One where the confusion and questioning of the Confederate forces tearing up streets could be replaced by that felt by all below -- those that dove for cover in the short time gravity afforded them -- and by the people of Rodia.

'Why?' Yes, that question organics found themselves preoccupied with more often than not. Why had the Agents of Chaos destroyed the top of Iskaayuma?

Was it a last ditch effort to shut down a factory? The Confederacy had many factories.

Was it an effort to forcibly displace an entire city's population? That hardly seemed liberating in the sense the Agents of Chaos claimed to cherish; in fact it seemed the opposite in driving people from their homes. Considerable study of the dome's structural integrity would need to be performed even before reconstruction could begin. While the dome still stood it posed a clear and present danger should micro-fractures worsen due to the elements resulting in further collapse long after the fighting was over. The Confederacy would never risk their people's lives by sending them in heedless of the danger and without proper reinforcement or shelters.

Was it retribution for the 'millions' they claimed died due to @Maud Dib's actions? To punish a people that weren't involved out of malice and spite hardly seemed the actions of the Just or Good. Not that Nyx understood how the Agents of Chaos came off claiming righteousness when they hadn't even tried to demand the Confederacy turn Maud Dib over to them, or to engage in any sort of criminal investigation. Had the Agents even conducted their own investigation? No evidence had been provided to date to prove his involvement in these 'millions' of deaths. Perhaps, if they had, the Confederacy would have weighed their claim and pursued action. Now, that seemed quite unlikely without some form of diplomatic understanding between the governments.

Was it to send yet another 'message' given Nyx refused to let them transmit video or text messages to the wider galaxy crowing about liberating a world that was not enslaved? That would be even more short sighted and wasteful. Surely they could do so off planet, and they had to know the Confederacy would show this as another instance of the terrorists doing nothing more than terrorizing the people. To say nothing of Nighthaunter's actions prior to the revealing of those that lurked within. Killing, ripping the faces off their victim, and displaying them to the public hardly generated sympathy.

So, what had the Agents of Chaos accomplished? They'd spent so many resources and made such a showing of this being in retaliation, but in the end all they did was prevent the people of Rodia's capital from being allowed to return home. The bulk of the damage had been contained to the Factory District until transparisteel spread out from the city's center. Now the Confederacy could not return the people home -- at least to this dome. They'd need to set up temporary housing, organize the collection of personal affects, ensure family members weren't lost in the chaos as a familiar destination -- one's home -- could no longer be counted upon as a guarantee. This last act of 'defiance' smacked more of an Empire or Sith than anything the Confederacy had done this day. Any government stamped out insurgents; the Confederacy had even gone to great length to remove needless casualties as a result. Which of them seemed to be the villain? Which of them needed to be stopped?

A humble droid could only hope the ground forces would contain and eradicate the remaining Agents of Chaos. The continued destruction and disruption to the lives of innocent people with no involvement in a purely diplomatic spat was a terrible inefficiency, which Nyx felt compelled to resolve. Not today -- because life's problems, even for electronic intelligences, were not solved so easily -- but soon.

"It will only take a little more time," Nyx announced over the ship's intercom to Daiya. "Unfortunately the airlock will not function with the integrity of the dome at risk. We will be forced for the edges of the damage to settle before safe passage through the dome will be possible." After all, there was no need to risk having transparisteel sucked into one's engines. Nyx wanted the slicer to live. She was confident they'd be quite beneficial to one another going forward.

Tag: Luna Terrik | Haastal Haran | Daiya | The Monster | Shuklaar Kyrdol | Draconis Sederius Wolf | Domino | Sasmay Cull

 

[Millu Lee]

Location: The Hope/Near the Domes
Objective: Stop the AoC
Allies: Kyyrk , Acantha Malvern , Eenia Vahn , Valeria de la Vallée , Isalor Grathan , Rann Thress , The Monster , Sabine Delacroix
Enemies: AoC, Open
Weapons: Vaela Layne's Lightsaber, KO sidearms
Attire: Voph's Apprentice Armor


As the pod descended to the ground, Millu tried to get comfortable inside its walls. It was cramped, but she was still determined to arrange herself in a way that made the way down as comfortable as possible. Eventually she found a way to sit that made the armor feel a little better on her skin.

The worst thing in wearing this metal contraption that was supposed to protect the girl's body was the helmet. Millu was sure that it wasn't supposed to feel that way, but she was getting quite anxious inside that thing. Her breath felt hot and she felt cramped inside the helmet, and even though her lungs had already gotten used to taking more shallow, quick breaths, It still felt kind of disorienting. It was somehow way too closed of a space. She felt like her air was ending, even though that was silly, since she knew there was plenty of air all around her.

Feeling the almost unbearable need to breath fresh outside air, Millu took of her helmet. Calm the kriff down... You were not going to die. It was not the first time something like this had happened. She had always had a problem with small spaces and things around her head, but it hadn't happened in a while, and Millu had thought it wouldn't happen again.

Soon she felt the pod hit the ground, and the impact threw her around a little, as much as one can get thrown around while wearing a seatbelt, at least. After unclipping her seatbelt, the girl decided to not put the helmet on again, and after placing it on the seat she just vacated, Millu opened the door
.

The girl stumbled out to ground, frantically looking around for something to do, someone she could help. Her gun in hands, Millu walked foward, her eyes on the dome, where she was headed. It would probably be the place where the confederate forces would need the most help. There were people setting up a tent of some kind near the dome, so the girl decided to have a look at what it was and if it was CIS-friendly.

As she moved, Millu noticed that the armor made it harder for her to move fast, and that the best way to do so to the best of her ability was to take high and short steps- like one does while going down a steep slope.

She was getting closer and closer the the tents with each step, when suddenly, huge booms echoed around her. A ship was firing on the tents, and it probably wouldn't spare her if she was in the way. Shoot! I don't think I can get out of here in time. Millu thought as she turned around and tried to run towards where she had come from. The ground was muddy, and it was hard to see the way, and much harder to pull herself up once she slipped and fell. Her ankle hurt. The girl guessed she had probably sprained it when she fell. It wasn't supposed to be like this. I was supposed to be helpful. She had to get out of there before one of those shots obliterated her.


BOOM!


Too close. The impact of the blast a few meters away from her sent Millu back down, but this time she didn't get up. The girl's head hit a rock and I'm sorry, master was the last thing she thought before the world went black.

 

[Théodoro]

// THEO // THYRSIAN SUN GUARD // GREAT BALL OF FIRE
// OBJECTIVE // BATTLE ON RODIA // CRUSH MADALENA ANTARES
// FOCUS // Madalena Antares // Nerium Eldoc Quasat Zaldros Sabolte // Shuklaar Kyrdol Luna Terrik
// REGALIA // IN BIO // 1x Wrist Rocket

Finally. The glow in his opponent's eyes told him that she was finally getting serious. How would she display her power? Would she destroy his armor in a single strike? Knock him back? Invade his mind? Display power that not even his shields could withstand? He was not disappointed per se, but when the rift in space opened he had initially expected more. Still, the display warranted caution. The Force was still a mystery to him. Madalena had already displayed some incredible powers, but for whatever reason she had yet to truly use them against him. The lightning had been a sight to behold, yet he was sure she was still holding back.

The portal was the more pressing matter as Theo soon realized it was different than some deflection technique. The chill of death seemed to creep up his pike and arm. Into the rift he could see a place of fire, for a moment, but all he could feel was the numbness of a place without a sun, where things withered and died until they disappeared without a trace. He would not allow his fire to be doused in such a way.

The Sun Guard began to pull on his weapon to remove it from the portal, only to feel something on the other side pulling back. With a little more force he tore his pike from the rift -- only to find a ghastly arm still reaching from it, holding on with a death grip to his weapon. The limb was as deathly white as an Echani. Against Theo's sweat and fire it seemed to cool the air around it. He roared and once more yanked his weapon, the grasping hand of the arm falling limp out of the portal.

That was something unholy. Not of this world. He did not fear any enemy but he distrusted the magics of witches and warlocks. This was something not meant to be there, and something he would never comprehend.

But there was an opponent in front of him, and he was not foolish enough to ignore her.

With a new energy Theo threw his shield, though not directly at Madalena. He aimed the Aspis at the wall to his right, knowing that the repulsor generator of the shield would guide it towards his opponent's torso after bouncing off the wall. The plasmatic edge soon sprung to life; it was surely enough to cut through Madalena's armor. He sidestepped left of the rift and the limp limb, taking his pike in both hands and slashing towards Madalena's unarmored neck, timing it such that the tip of the force pike and the shield would strike in the same moment.

When so close to death, so close to the Netherworld, a warrior had no choice but to fight on.

 

[Madalena Antares]

Location: Iskaayuma
Wearing: Armor (tinted deep red)
Wielding: Meymad | Elemental Grenades | Glitter Grenades | Generic breathing mask
Tag: Théodoro

Her eyes continued to glow white.

This was different than earlier. Earlier, above ground, Madalena had also called the portals, creating a large number of them to keep the entire group safe. Her eyes had remained green during that process, the invisible tendrils quivering with anticipation as they finally got to latch on to what they wanted above all - the links to other dimensions, through the portals that they were so willing to help open. Often, they came without control. Today though…

Her eyes were glowing white. Her lips did not move, did not smirk in response to the Thrysian's wonder, his disgust with the unholy. The arm that Theo had pulled from the portal, wherever that portal led to, lay limp on the ground. Madalena used the Force to pick it up, and smacked Theo on the back of the head with it before letting it drop again.

But the display of power had not been enough to make him realize it was wiser to stop. Despite the claims of the Confederacy, Madalena had never threatened anyone's family or innocents. She had threatened their combatants - more than once. But she was more than willing to let the man in front of her walk away. The problem was, he could not allow himself to do so. And that… Signed his own death warrant.

Her right arm worked much faster now, not merely drawing another circle in the air, but the fingers also moved as though she was playing an air piano, the invisible tendrils giggling inside her head. They wanted to have fun, and she would provide that fun to them.

It was… To her, terrifying. It was not a power that she fully understood, and since it had come, it felt more often as though it was using her instead of the other way around. No one else could see the tendrils that came from her skin, the little giant hairs or tiny tentacles, however you wanted to call them. Even when she tried to burn her memories into someone else's mind, they couldn't see it. Sometimes, Madalena thought she was simply going mad.

But madness did not take care of those who wanted to fight her. Even if she was mad, that arm had come from somewhere. It wasn't her left arm. And it had spooked Theodore, who was now coming for er with his pike again after having tossed his shield.

Madalena quickly jumped backwards, using her numb arm for protection, twisting her body so that when the shield didn't quite miss her, it was the arm it cut through, opening armor and ripping flesh down until the bone could be seen, though thankfully didn't saw through that.

Her right arm never stopped working though.

A new portal opened now between them, another rip in the Force. There was no way this could be healthy for the fabric of existence, but that was something Madalena wasn't ready to understand or know just yet. The portal grew instantly, big enough to swallow up the man who was coming for her with his pike, trying to aim for her neck.

From behind the portal, she could see him, as though looking through a darkened mirror.

And just before the tip of pike touched the portal, Madalena's green color returned, and she opened her eyes in shock, having just enough time to scream "NO!" before it was too damned late.

 

[Rann Thress]

F O R A N E W D A Y ​

​

​

LOCATION: Rodia, Capital City. Command Post
OBJECTIVE: ?????
WEAPONS: Lightsaber / Robotic Right Arm
ARMOR: Apprentice Armor​

TAGS: Voph l Sergei "Jack" Jachovich l Valeria Sempronia l Felurian Malvern l Eenia Vahn l Isalor Grathan I Typhan Berrezz I Prennis Keeoli I Nimue I Jason Farkas​

ENEMIES: Agents of Chaos and their Allies, Open​

​

​

Earlier…​

“Damsy? Damsy Callat ? But she’s dead. Right? Some… Virus on Atrisia?” He asked Typhan.​

​

Rann had learned about his half-sibling just recently, and at the same time learned of her demise. He wondered, why would this person still refer to her as his C.O.? Simple loyalty? Love? It hit Rann, because since learning of his parental relationship with Darth Metus , he desired more familial connections, and Damsy was one of those he would have liked to have one with.​

​

Something he thought he’d missed out on. Until Typhan informed him of her survival, and that she was currently on Talay fighting against the AoC there. ​

​

Rann was taken aback. Suddenly, there was hope again. For what, he didn’t know. Chances are a meeting between them would go poorly, but it was something that had to happen, he had to try.​

​

Just had to wait until this whole mess was over.​

​

Now…​

​

Rann moved his hands to cover his eyes. The rage and pain had taken a turn and now he felt as if he were burning, engulfed in flame. Suddenly, Rann felt yet another presence enter his mind. ( Nimue ) Stronger, older, and much more direct than the one he felt previous. A challenge. Threatening to stop Rann if he became a danger.​

​

“I’m only a danger to myself, I think.” He responded, struggling to remain stable amidst such emotional chaos. In an effort to remove himself from this situation, and the chance that this woman would have to put him down if he lost control, Rann rose to his feet and stumbled outside of the Hospital. Dawn was beginning to break over the planet, and Rann could see clearly the city’s skyline, and the dome. ​

A beautiful, tranquil picture, now that the fighting had stopped in most places… And then the Dome exploded and began collapsing in on itself. ​

​

Rann stared at the event, bewildered. Shock, confusion, and of course, yet more unyielding rage covered his face in an amalgamation of emotions.​

​

“But… Why? They’ll… blow up the dome but… but… why?” He asked as shards of glass and pieces of beams began to fall, expanding outward from the explosion at the top center of the dome.​

As he watched, he couldn’t help but remark in his mind how breathtaking the event was. Oddly satisfying. ​

​

A sobering thing, to be sure. Rann raised his arms and commanded the Force to obey, stopping any substantial pieces of debris before they reached him, or the hospital, and casting them aside. It felt… Good. To do something. Even something so small as to redirect shards of glass and pieces of support beam. It wasn’t the wholesale, wanton slaughter and carnage he sought when he was shot out of a ship cannon earlier that day, but it was something.​

​

Enough to reconcile his feelings of ineptitude and embarrassment? No. But...coupled with the new revelation that his half-sister was not only alive but only a sector away, it served as a new anchor point for Rann; trying to keep him sane.​

​

​

As the collapse concluded, and the momentum of the explosion dissipated, Rann stared at the Rodian sky for the first time with his own pale yellow eyes. It felt like hours of him staring. Just taking it in. Then, tiny specks started to appear and steadily grow larger. Confederate Transports. They entered into the new hole in the ceiling and began spreading out towards several positions throughout the city. Rann noticed one heading towards the location he called out earlier.



“Oops.” He said to himself, remembering that he called this Evac and then was not present at the location he called it…



Neither were the casualties he reported.



“Oops…” He said again, chuckling.



A majority of the ships were headed towards the hospital for the purpose of evaccing the casualties and forces stationed here, and as they landed Rann turned to spy a bench nearby. He walked towards it and sat down. Watching the medics and personnel go about their business, removing the wounded and KIA and loading them up for transport back up to the Fleet waiting above and medical attention in a more sterile environment if not a more peaceful one.



As he stared, Rann couldn’t help but think how lucky he was that he wasn’t one of those wounded being loaded up. He’d had enough of that on Ryloth.



No, for all these considered Rann made it out okay. He would be leaving Rodia with all the pieces of himself that he arrived with, at least physically. He didn’t get the fight he yearned for. The chance to prove himself. But, as he looked up to the sky, and pale yellow slowly shifted back to blue, he promised himself he’d get his chance. He’d get his time in the sun.



There were more things to worry about for the future, anyway. His sister, one of them anyway, was alive. One he’d written off as dead. And she was close, and he had the chance to meet with her for the first time. He looked back towards the casualties being loaded up, and spied members of Omega. Dead and alive, entering one of the shuttles. He stood up and moved to join them in the Shuttle, spying Typhan Berrezz tending to one of his men. Rann walked over to join him, waiting for the proper moment to ask him more for information about his sister.



And as the shuttle doors closed and the shuttle began to take off, Rann despite everything was hopeful for the future. A darkness, a pain lurked within him and he was now more aware of it than ever. And chances are, this thing would kill him eventually. But as he thought more about the prospect of family, of this chance for a bond with someone who he’d feel as if he could call upon in the darkest night, he felt that the darkness could wait. That he’d cross that bridge when it came. Now, he had to survive the ride into orbit, and the jump to Talay to link up with Damsy.



This idea was scarier than the invasion had been, by far. And Rann had no idea how it’d end. But he knew he had to try, come what may. Nothing could be worse than the depths Rann had just sank to, the despair he’d felt and the progress he allowed the dark inside his mind. He had to stem the tide. It was a losing battle, one he was sure now more than ever that it was only a matter of time. Ryloth had left too much of an impact. But, even knowing that. Even knowing in the end it might all be useless, that the sun would set on the light, the man that was Rann Thress, Rann was determined to try, to carry on. Rann was determined to hold back the dark, to keep the sun in the sky a little longer or, failing that, weather the storm enough that he might survive the night and see the sun return. A sense of calm entered into his mind as he thought this, perhaps selfishly while surrounded by the dead and dying. A sense of sadness, too, but this was for them. For many, their time in the sun was over. And it wasn’t as much of a metaphor for them. The sun was setting on their lives, while he survived. While he was fortunate enough, at least to them, to avoid combat throughout the Invasion even if it wasn’t Rann’s intention.



And while he pondered this, as moans and groans of agony filled his ears, a certain type of fear did return. The fear of the dark, of the fall. The fear of apathy that he had felt and how close he came to absolute certainty that his life held little meaning and today should be his last day. He realized, if only for a brief moment, that as long as there was life there was endless possibilities for the untold number of days left in his life. And he realized, much as he wished he’d died on Ryloth he knew:



He’d give anything for the promise of a new day.





END

 

[Cypher Rage]

Location // Cockpit, Talay //
Objective // War! //
Tags // Kiff Brayde John Locke Visanj T'shkali Dimitri Lindzinsky
//

"Exarch, this is Red Actual. Redeploying to begin bombing run on enemy flagship. Requesting authorization to blow that piece of junk out of our sky"

Fate always snuck up behind people. It was always cold and cruel. Yet, it always gave answers and always produced results. Perhaps it was fate when Cypher looked outside of his cockpit, into the darkness of space and watched as escape pods began leaving the Vicator, and then as the ship pushed itself into hyperspace only to come out a few minutes later and ram the enemy flagship. How peculiar?

"Red Actual to Exarch, request retracted. Maneuvering to provide cover fire for those pods"

 

[Muad Dib]

The fires of hell consumed the forest that slowly evolved into jungle as the trees neared the many small lakes and streams within the foliage. The Madman swept through the smoke that rose from the brush and drifted across his path. The HUD couldn’t quite find the trace of the woman he swore vengeance on. Irritation filled him as he pulled the buy’ce free and slipped it once more into the netting on his kama. Somewhere below was the woman fleeing from the path of the Demon of Thyferra. Between the Demon and the Madman, he wasn’t sure which was worse. His teeth pressed together as a growl of frustration slipped out.

Nearby he felt the Demon’s words strike a chord in his very being, a blood oath of vengeance that would see neither man rest until their hands were stained with the life blood of Alwine. The grit of his teeth turned into a grin of acceptance. So shall it be. So shall it be. Yet even as the thought flickered in his mind a pattern in the force changed from the maddened insanity of the flame he released upon the land below.

Muad leaned forward and drove the creature down and ahead, into the burning trees, even as the creature shook with fear. His hand gripped the hilt of his beskad and pulled the sword free of its sheath even as the terror grew too much for the poor flying beast. Allowing his temporary mount to rear and fly straight for the heavens, he fell from his seat and dropped through the trees to kick from branch to branch that burned from the inferno of his madness.
And then his boots hit the ground, his legs flexing to absorb the impact. Quickly he scanned the area in frustration. She was here, he would swear to it. Then his glowing eyes lit on a bundle that just caught flame and, using the repulsors in his gauntlets, pulled it free to roll across the ground separating. Armor that rapidly burned and deformed, the flame spreading faster than nature allowed. Witchery and force power became his assumption as the wall of unnatural flame spread.

The armor was a ruined state, yet there were items not cast into the flame, expectation that the fire would take them allowing mistakes to be made. And though the bewitched flame spread, the shaman made sure to take what was needed.

Turning from the armor he knelt at the robes cast aside which included the clothing, garments, and smaller items that did not yet taste the ruination of the flames. Roughly he gathered the items, some simple appearing stones, a ruby stone, some form of aerosol spray, and candles. These he wrapped and slipped into the netting before retreating from the hellacious heat of the fires. The remnants of the armor left behind to be consumed in totality.

His eyes hastily searched the dirt, newly illuminated by the fires burning savagely beside. Impressions in the dirt caused by a great many retreating animals littered the trails, creating a hopeless amalgamation of tracks nearly indecipherable from one another. In frustration he leapt to the trees above, kicked from branch to branch as he steadily rose from the lower echelon of the forest. Hands pulled him ever upwards until he neared the top of the snapped tree, leaving him with a bird’s eye view of the forest and the raging inferno spreading from several points.

He released an unsatisfied grunt, an expulsion of frustrated sentiment at the constant and consistent fleeing of Alwine. While he couldn’t fault her reasons, he would be loath to fight either Daegon or himself under normal circumstances. But together, united by grief and rage? The woman proved she at least possessed a few brain cells designated for self survival. He shook his head and fished a death stick out to join in the smoke already rising to the horizons.
He felt the pressure in the force and allowed the sensation to trickle into his consciousness with the relaxed drag of the deathstick. Daegon raged and waxed even more unconsolable with their failure to attain vengeance. Truly, Muad felt a kinship at the empty place within his soul that demanded the iron price of blood stained blade and salted earth. Though they were denied on this particular day, there were many more that unfolded into eternity until the time that satisfaction was attained. Another plume of blue smoke exited his lungs with a particularly violent exhale.

His free hand pulled the curved kal from his belt, the perfectly balanced blade a gift from an old comrade accredited with one of the times destruction fell upon Manda’yaim. A different story for a different day, he mused with a wry grin. The blade bit into the flesh of his palm, fire sprinkling down from his lofty heights to rain upon the blazing fire below.

“With Blood I swear this oath, that Alwine shall pay for what she has done to my brother. That she will taste the ashes of loss. That she will see the end hovering unavoidably near and know that life and death is balanced upon a blade held firmly in another’s hand. That until such a day that this vow has been completed I, Muad Dib, swear upon the old gods and the new gods that my path shall be entwined with Daegon Corvinus until we have gained our vengeance.”

A last shake of his hand dropped another wall of blood that fell to the fires raging below. Glowing blue eyes turned to the horizon where the sun finally began to climb from its slumber.

Daegon Corvinus
OOC:

Spoiler

Alwine's post, #282
Her hands moved quickly, and within seconds she had disrobed, removing her armor and tossing it into the fire. Her weapon she carefully set by herself, so that she could carry it with her. Everything else would burn.

And a few heart beats later, where a petite woman stood, now was a tiny wolf - her fur was gray, and she was only a little above the size of a cub, through all her proportions were that of an adult wolf.

Alwine grabbed her weapon in her mouth, and turned to run again, this time as a different shape, a smaller shape, a shape that would be so much harder to spot, especially if one wasn't looking for it.

(I may never use it, bit may in a future thread. Otherwise it's interesting fluff.