Private In the Pines, Where the Sun Don't Ever Shine

[Starlin Rand]

Outside the ancient Fortress of Darth Themis, Kerest
Minutes after “The Tragedy of Darth Xiphos”...

Complete chaos.

Starlin staggered through the snow-covered battlefield, cutting down anyone who got in his way. The ground was littered with the mangled bodies of the fallen, metallic husks of droids and the bloody remains of organics, both humanoid and alien.

Dizzy and weak, Starlin nearly tripped over the corpse of a Twi’lek Jedi Shadow. The smell of death was so overpowering, he had been forced to put on his helmet to filter it out, lest he vomit. Despite the carnage, the battle still raged on around him, filling the air with the sounds of blaster fire, the clash of lightsabers, and the choked cries of the dying.

He wasn’t sure what exactly had happened after he released his new spell in the hangar. The buildup and expulsion of energy was so great, it had caused him to collapse, blacking out on the floor while the dueling continued around him. The next thing he knew, he was outside, with no memory of how he had gotten there.

Did his spell work? Did it stop Darth Xiphos? He felt fairly certain that the blast had hit somebody, but he was less sure it was Xiphos who had been struck. Part of him wanted to go back and keep fighting with the other Jedi, but something told him the game had changed. When he tried to located the others, he could no longer sense them. Had they fled, just as he had? Were they dead…?

Someone was calling Starlin’s name. He looked up and saw Jaina Grayson, katana in hand, heading toward him.

“Starlin! Are you all right?” she asked. No sooner had she spoken, she was intercepted by a witch. The two dueled fiercely for nearly a full minute before Jaina decapitated her, splattering white blood and yellowish gore across the snow. Before the headless body had hit the ground, she had already turned her attention back to the Jedi Padawan, concern wrinkling her lovely features. “Starlin?”

“I have to get out of here,” Starlin mumbled. He felt guilty admitting it, but in his current state he was of little use.

“Are you hurt?”

“I…” He was wounded, with a cracked rib and broken collarbone, but the pain of these injuries felt distant. Exhaustion permeated him, a weariness he felt down to the marrow of his bones. “I can’t do this,” he whispered.

Jaina frowned. “All right…” Looking around, she gestured for him to follow her. “I can get you safely outside the bubble. Can you make it back to your ship from there?”

He nodded, and the pair started moving.

A nameless dread gripped him as he stumbled toward the shield bubble that surrounded the fortress, a barrier keeping the blizzards at bay. Something was wrong. Something was about to happen. He could feel it in his gut, but he didn’t dare speak of it out loud. All he could think of was escape...

Laertia Io​

 

[Laertia Io]

Wearing: Black Knight Chitin (Heavily Damaged)

Armed with: Darth Phyre's Lightsaber

Objective: Freak the feth out.

Xiphos wasn't sure what happened after the spell except two things:

One, The Amalgam had dived right in front of it, and had been Instagibbed, the magic of the spell too much for even her flesh to take. Xiphos didn't know if she had transferred to a new body in time.

Two...

Syd had been Darth Phyre.

The very idea of it, the inalienable truth of it, seeing the vision in her mind of Phyre, wearing Syd's face, the face she had given her heart to, giving into the Battalion's advances partly for tactical manipulation of an asset, but mostly out of despair over Syd.

Seeing that face cackle as it drained life from her Mother's body, impaling her father, dismembering them both...

The cry of horror from Xiphos had torn apart the hangar, and most of the facility. She couldn't remember teleporting, only that in the next few moments she was outside, beyond the blizzard, shrieking her lungs out from heartbreak. Her screams of despair were so loud they carried even the length of the battlefield, even over the fighting itself. Starlin Rand would likely hear it.

She had lain in the snow in a catatonic state, and had nearly decided to let the snow bury her in yet one more attempt at suicide before remembering she would leave her children behind.

So she stood up...and she was still screaming. She couldn't stop screaming as she walked, not knowing how to deal with the pain of having lost her virginity to the creature who had murdered her biological parents, holding the very weapon that had done it.

She now knew its purpose in her hands...

...she was gonna bury it in Syd's face.

Xiphos kept screaming in spiritual agony as she wandered aimlessly in the snow, most of her armor mangled and damaged.

Meanwhile...

Wearing: Darth Phyre's Armor

Armed with: Wind and Fire Wheels


Syd Celsius crash landed on Kerest in the Scorched Earth, the ship getting absolutely wrecked as it skidded across the snow, the pilot within only sustained minor injuries.

The power of the impact though, knocked her from her elderly guise back to her true, red headed and Atrisian appearance as she phased through the wreck.

She was clad in her white armor out of sheer, rotten coincidence. The same armor Phyre had worn when murdering Laertia's parents. Syd had chosen if for its protective quality against cryo conditions as well as the stealth attacks it enabled.

She winced. So much pain and death. Laertia's pain seemed to choke the very air and Syd wept in horror, not understanding what was wrong with Laertia to cause her this kind of agony, or the hand she had played in it.

She also sensed Starlin.

She was about to fly to him, when she sensed the one who had shot her down fly overhead before setting down quickly and landing.

Syd tensed, fiery, pulsing orange blades activating at both ends as her opponent stepped off the craft.

She had never seen him without his mask before. It stunned her to see him without it.

The Man in White , wearing a white Nehru Suit of armorweave, strode off the ramp to his vessel, pointing twin Sonic Blasters at her.

"Hello, Phyre..." He said flatly. "Still in the old colors, I see. I guess you probably figured out why I went the whole imprisoning route with you."

"I had nothing but an amber void for three centuries...and the name is Syd." Syd snapped.

"After all the chit you pulled? An amber void was the tamest punishment you could be afforded." He replied coldly.

As she stared at the man she had held a grudge against for years, something else started filtering in about him.

"You...you look like him..." Syd said. "An older version, anyway."

"Like who?"

"Like Starlin. You look like him."

Zabka Bisclavret blinked.

"You know my son? How do you know my son?!" He demanded angrily.

"Up until recently I was training him as a Jedi. He's here by the way."

The Man in White blinked, and then the chuckle started. Then it became dry heaves of laughter.

"You gotta be kidding me. Seriously?!" He asked, having not even managed to sense Starlin due to all the death in the very air.

"Seriously."

"Oh, that's just fething rich..." he said through spasms of despair-laughter.

"Y'know, it's actually kind of a relief the universe has a sense of humor, letting you be my Son's teacher." he laughed bitterly again, lowering his weapons. He couldn't shoot her and be done with it after all. Especially when he sensed the truth she spoke.

"I guess we get to delay your asskicking a little while longer. Does he know?"

"That I was Darth Phyre? Yes."

"I'm going to kick your ass even harder than I originally planned..." He growled, no longer laughing as he turned from her. "Did you know he was my son?"

"No. Not until just now."

"I am going to Mega-Kick your ass..." he snapped going towards the ancient fortress. He spotted a stray witch and shot her in the head, along with a Model 1 that took aim at him.

Syd, utterly flabbergasted at their exchange, could only follow as she began encountering stray witches herself. But she was torn about where to go. On the one hand she wanted to rescue her surrogate son more than anything. On the other, the love of her life was in absolute pain.

She shuddered, hearing Laertia's wailing carry on the wind.

"Two powerful Adepts and you only managed to ruin one of their lives with your presence..." He said dryly, gunning down a Model 2 that turned a chaingun on him. "I'd call that an improvement but you're too much of a nerfherder to give that sort of credit to..."

Syd said nothing, knowing he was right on a level even she couldn't deny. It made her angrier at him, even though he was absolutely correct as they fought their way to Starlin...

 

[Starlin Rand]

Jaina led him to the edge of the bubble. “I can’t leave the battle,” she said. “Not yet. Not until we’ve killed them all, or as many as we can.”

Starlin nodded his head. “Alright. I’ll see you soon.” Taking a deep breath, he stepped through the shield barrier.

A scream somewhere in the distance assailed his ears no sooner had his feet touched the ground outside. Kerest was in the middle of a blizzard; all around him the world was white. Snowblind, he retrieved his weapons from his belt, breathed in the Force for strength, and proceeded forth with caution…

Opening himself to the Force, however, revealed much.

Syd?

She was here on Kerest, not far from the fortress. There was someone else with her, a stranger who seemed somehow familiar. Starlin had not known he was Force sensitive when his father left him and his mother behind, and so failed to recognize Zabka’s Force signature.

Xiphos was somewhere out there, too. She lay somewhere along the way between Starlin and Syd. Feth.

Starlin suspected Xiphos was the one he heard screaming like a dying animal over the howling winds. It made sense, given what he had done. He could only hope that the spell had weakened her as well as driven her mad with pain and grief.

Taking another deep breath, Starlin started walking, heading in the direction of the inhuman screaming. As he moved, he called to Syd in the Force.

I don’t know why you’re here. I hope you’ve come to help us stop Xiphos. You're a little late, but there's still a chance to end this. Probably the best chance we'll ever have.

And Syd… I’m sorry.

Laertia Io​

 

[Cameron Crownwraithe]

Location: Hideout Base - Kerest
Tags: Laertia Io Starlin Rand

She had been too slow.

Evidently, the Jedi had produced some manner of powerful spell, one which had slowed time so much according to his perception that even Cameron would have appeared as if she were moving within molasses. His eyes had borne into her own during that brief moment in time, during which it had dawned on the speedster that through such a raw manifestation of power, the Jedi had accomplished something Cameron had thought impossible.

He had broken her mother.

Xiphos’ terrible, preternatural screams in response to the revelation had immediately injured Cameron’s ears, penetrating the protection afforded by the sonic nullifiers built into her helmet and causing the speedster to collapse, unable to do anything to protect herself against such a powerful exertion of the Force. In the moment, she had thought she was dead, that some cruel Jedi would take advantage of her weakness to lop her head from her shoulders. Fortunately, yet perhaps undeservedly, Cameron was still alive.

As she pulled herself out of unconsciousness, within the armory of the base, the speedster immediately realized that she had failed.

Even without a true sensitivity to the Force, Cameron could feel her mother’s pain echoing across the psychic ecosystem surrounding the base. The speedster wondered if this was how it had felt in the wake of Csilla’s destruction, a sensation of pure, overwhelming dread emanating through the currents of the Force, so potent as to make anyone lose all sense of hope and optimism.

Nevertheless, while Cameron was undoubtedly defeated, her will was not yet broken.

The speedster pushed herself up from the ground, her footing initially unbalanced, given the damage to her ears. All the while, the scent of blood filled her nostrils, running down the side of her features, stemming from both of her ears.

However, that was among the least of her concerns.

She had to find Mom.

Her lightsabers had been misplaced somewhere in the aftermath, but Cameron quickly armed herself with a different weapon, yet one which was also somewhat familiar to her. Placing the double-brand on her back, Cameron took out an autoinjector from her belt, which was loaded with a few doses of the energy-restoring cocktail, then she punched it into her neck, grunting as she did. Before long, the speedster was on the move, not wasting any time as she made her way through the base, which was littered with the bodies of the dead, both Witch, Clone, Nuetralizer, and Jedi.

And yet still, there was blood to be shed.

A powerful, crack-boom heralded the speedster’s arrival as she came up on a pair of Jedi Guardians, her form a blink of light to the unaugmented eye. She sliced through the first in a split-second, separating the Jedi’s torso from their legs in a flash of rapid motion. Fortunately, the second Guardian was more ready, managing to catch Cameron’s second strike with his lightsaber, though the strain across his features laid bare the fact that he was unaccustomed to fighting at such speeds. Howling with rage, Cameron moved in a supersonic dance as she bashed down the Guardian’s defenses, blade clashing against blade until the Jedi slipped, falling for a feint which saw Cameron seize an opening to punch her double-brand into his heart.

She was outside before the Guardian’s body hit the ground, moving with a single-minded focus towards finding her mother, slaying any unfortunate souls who sought to obstruct her mission. A Zabrak Padawan met an ungraceful end as Cameron delivered a flying, supersonic kick into his back, the impact landing with enough kinetic force to shatter the bones in his body with a grotesque, audible crunch, sending him flying off into the distance in an almost comical fashion.

Before long, the tiny speedster closed in on the area of the powerful, psychic screaming, set only on finding her mother and defending her from harm...

Spoiler: Loadout

• FAE/A-09 “Hayai” Energized Bodysuit
  • Left Gauntlet
    • Universal Gas Launcher
      • Pink Vapor
    • Vac Attack Mk-127 Disc Launcher
  • Right Gauntlet
    • Wide Beam Sonic Stunner
  • Energy Shield
    • Phase III “Force Avenger” Energy Shield
  • Alchemical Talisman(s)
    • Spirit Anchor
  • Neon Overdrive Heels
  • Utility
    • Supernal Infusion
• Jasmine Lightsaber (2)
  • Pink Kyber Crystal
• Force-Imbued Echani Double-Brand
• Hekler'Kok SMG-01

 

[Laertia Io]

Xiphos continued screaming and screaming. The screams growing only more powerful, more full of heartbreak and despair.

The Cult of The Brain Demon had haunted Laertia all her life. Darth Phyre had haunted her all her life. No matter where she went she could ultimately never escape them.

Every moment of Syd's wonderful touch was like cigarette burns on her skin now as she screamed louder and louder. It wasn't a Force scream. Not anymore. It couldn't do anything except chill your blood utterly if you hear it...

Every kiss a cut, every act of running fingers through hair of flames a brush with razorblades. Her howling of pain drowned out all other sound as the snow hit her.

Only her children kept her from wishing someone would cut her down and get it over with. They would be easy pickings.

She couldn't stop screaming, even as her throat was in agony, even as sharp piercing cries gradually became more gutteral as her vocal chords were ruined. Her scarred face was covered in tears...

She sensed Cameron Crownwraithe speeding towards her direction and felt a stab of shame. She had wanted to be strong. Tried to be strong for them.

She couldn't summon any real strength now. Her mind hurt. Her soul hurt.

Cameron would reach her first. And when Cameron found her she would find a shattered woman in equally shattered armor, on her knees in the Blizzard, on the verge of wishing for death...

Starlin Rand

 

[Cameron Crownwraithe]

Location: Hideout Base - Kerest
Theme: Look What You’ve Done
Tags: Laertia Io Starlin Rand

Cleaving her double-brand through a quartet of hapless Rangers, Cameron slashed heads from shoulders and torsos from legs in a visceral, supersonic display of violence which was fed all the more by her mother’s psychic torment. Their crimson life’s essence sloughed off of the double-brand’s blades as the speedster continued on towards the source of the screaming, punching through the now-raging blizzard with untempered focus and will.

Before long, she saw her.

The Zanshi was in front of her in an instant, the snow and wind shifting with her passage as she took in the sight of her mother’s broken form, her ears ringing as the Black Knight’s screams carried through the air. And yet, Cameron couldn’t begin to place what was wrong. All she knew was that the Jedi had cast some sort of powerful spell, which seemed to have conjured some painful memories in her mother or even rendered her completely insane.

“M-mom?” Cameron began, her voice shaking in the powerful breeze, dissipating on the wind like a crystal of snow in a storm. “Mom? Mom! Mom, l-look at me.” She continued, lowering herself onto her knees in order to more clearly see her scarred features. “Look at me, I’m here! P-please tell me you’re okay. Please. Talk to me!”

More screaming.

Cameron’s mind began to race, contemplating how she could get her mother away from here. It was feasible that she could carry her while running, perhaps to a safer place, far from the fortress. However, Cameron knew that she would only be able to take her so far, perhaps to a cave or a village, if there was one nearby. Tapping her OmniLink, Cameron looked through the map of the local area and the planet itself. Alternatively, she could find a ship to get her mother off-world, but it was just as likely that the Jedi had brought a fleet to secure the system.

Ultimately, the speedster decided to stay put, reasoning that her energy would be put to better use fighting, rather than running, knowing that the Jedi were likely closing in on her mother.

“Mason, James, I-I found Mom. She’s…” A pause. “She’s injured. Not physically, but...something else. I-I don’t know what’s wrong, but I need you guys to get here, fast, with as many brothers as you can spare! Now!” Cameron comm’d in to the Nuetralizers, before turning back to her mother, placing her arms protectively over her armored shoulders and taking off her own helmet.

“Mom, listen to me...if you’re still in there. I’m right here. I’m not leaving you. Help is coming. Just...survive, okay?”

A tear rolled off of Cameron’s cheek, freezing just as it hit the snow.

Spoiler: Loadout

• FAE/A-09 “Hayai” Energized Bodysuit
  • Left Gauntlet
    • Universal Gas Launcher
      • Pink Vapor
    • Vac Attack Mk-127 Disc Launcher
  • Right Gauntlet
    • Wide Beam Sonic Stunner
  • Energy Shield
    • Phase III “Force Avenger” Energy Shield
  • Alchemical Talisman(s)
    • Spirit Anchor
  • Neon Overdrive Heels
  • Utility
    • Supernal Infusion
• Jasmine Lightsaber (2)
  • Pink Kyber Crystal
• Force-Imbued Echani Double-Brand
• Hekler'Kok SMG-01

 

[Syd Celsius]

Wearing: The worst thing she could have possibly picked, hands down.

Armed with: Wind and Fire Wheels.

Objective: Help Starlin, defeat Xiphos, try not to freak out. (Already failing that last bit.)

Syd Celsius and The Man in White fought brutally through the snow, destroying both Witch and Nuetralizer alike. Syd was shocked at how deadly Laertia's droids had gotten. She had always been very impressed with the design, but the ferocity and cunning they displayed here... flanking, ambushes, never using the same tactic twice, and being difficult to kill on top of all of that...no wonder they were so dreaded.

These were no longer mere droids. They were warriors. Courageous and Vicious and Unrelenting. Syd and the Man in White were actually drastically slowed by the fierce vicious assault from all manner of weapons. Many of the Rangers and Jedi were dead, but at no small cost to defending forces. But the attackers were close to being routed. An enraged Nuetralizer defending it's Mother is never a foe to underestimate. They had fought like Demons. Too late had the attackers had understood the same thing Syd just had about them, and paid the price for it.

It was brutal and vicious, her old Master's pistols, her Split-Saber, all ripping through tough metal. Her master seemed to face the more aggressive assault, and Syd realized they were only defending themselves against her attacks, and all of it so far had been mainly trying to kill Zabka (Which spoke volumes to his lethality.).

Heartbreakingly, Syd realized they must still have her designated as 'friendly' in their database. And that their sudden fierce redoubled attacks had likely been trying to delay her reaching Laertia, push her back. Push her master back. It worked, somewhat. A testament to their design. Zabka himself seemed horrified when he realized he was shooting something sapient.

Suddenly feeling an immense guilt as she cut down another of Laertia's Sons, she finally felt the mental message Starlin Rand had sent to her.

I'm here to help...I swear it. Syd replied back, spotting him finally in the distance. Xiphos's shrieks horrified her but Starlin came first.

She flew to him at high speed, finally reaching him. Xiphos could still be heard screaming. She was maybe a kilometer from them.

"Hello Starlin..." she said sorrowfully. "I'm sorry I wasn't here sooner. The Cult of The Brain Demon ambushed me on the world I was on."

The Man in White, unmasked, finally finished catching up to her and Starlin.

Even though literally every action film shoot out ever conceived was occuring, he still froze at the sight of his son. He didn't know what to say. The words 'Hi' didn't seem to fit the occasion.

He went dumbstruck silent, unable to say a word as he stared nervously at his son, yet keeping alert.

"Starlin..." Syd said slowly, wincing as she heard the pain filled screaming of the only other person she loved besides Starlin.

"Starlin...you need to tell me exactly what happened. Why is Laertia screaming like that?"

It was telling of how much Syd absolutely loved Julia Crownwraithe that she still called her Laertia instead of what Laertia had chosen to become.

Meanwhile...

Xiphos's shrieking didn't abate even when Cameron Crownwraithe found her. She was that heartbroken.

Only Cameron hugging her illicited a response other than screaming. Xiphos clutched at her daughter, crying into her shoulder, her screams turning to pained sobs of agony due to having severely damaged her vocal chords, trying desperately to keep her mind from splintering.

Mason and James, both Model 1 Nuetralizers, both having killed a couple of dozen squads to reach her ran up to Xiphos and Cameron with a med-kit and a flash light.

"Mom? Mom, look at me..." Mason said, gently pulling the traumatized woman out of Cameron's grasp.

They shined the light in her eyes. Xiphos stared unblinkingly into it. James waved a hand in front of her face.

"She's fried..." Mason said worriedly. "Some sort of severe emotional shock. Jedi Mind Attack?" He asked James.

"Likely." James agreed. "But what kind of Mental Attack could do that to Mother?"

"Every Organic has a breaking point. Mother, it seems, has reached hers." Mason concluded. "She's medically incapacitated. Prep for immediate evac. Mother's in no condition to fight anyone."

"What if her old squeeze gets to us before the evac shuttle? We still have her listed as a friendly. We can't fight her." James pointed out.

"Syd Celsius will not reach Mother..." Mason replied angrily, flip cocking his lever action shotgun. "I won't let her."

"Syd..." Xiphos whispered.

("Authorization: Olivia Pierce" by Mick Gordon Plays)

The ground rumbled. Both Nuetralizers heard the rage in her whisper, and immediately backed the hell away, gesturing for Cameron to get by their side silently.

"She's here?" Xiphos hissed, voice too injured to get above a whisper, rising up, tears still falling down her face.

"Uhhh, yeah..."

"Where?" Xiphos whispered, both mismatched eyes narrowing to pinpoints.

Mason pointed in the direction Syd was.

"Children..." Xiphos whispered, quaking with murderous rage. "Get to safety. Mother has to go douse a flame."

Xiphos knew the next scream would permanently damage her vocal chords. But she had to.

"CELSIUUUUUSSSSSSSSSS!!!"

 

[Starlin Rand]

Starlin’s comlink started ringing, his cheerful ringtone incredibly out of place amid the chaos and tragedy. His helmet’s display revealed it was Nimdok calling.

“Hello?”

“Starlin? Are you okay?” Nimdok asked. He sounded breathless and worried.

“Yeah.”

“I’ve been getting some pretty strange reports from down there. Xiphos is missing, and something about screaming…?”

“I’m leaving,” Starlin lied. “Trying to get back to my ship. There’s a storm coming.”

“All right. There are Silver Jedi ships standing by in orbit. We’ve secured the system, nobody should be getting by without our noticing, at least.” Nimdok paused. “Is there anything I can do to help you?”

“Nah. I think I’m good.” Starlin hoped the weakness he felt didn’t show in his voice. “I’ll see you soon.”

“Roger that.”

He turned off his comlink. In what seemed like just seconds later, Starlin stumbled upon Syd and her companion.

Seeing Zabka up close brought instant recognition. He hadn’t aged a day, it seemed, since he went out to “get some death sticks” and never returned.

Starlin simply stood and stared at him. There was a clear panel at the front of Starlin’s helmet, allowing him full visibility. The expression on his face was apparent as well, along with the almost profound resemblance between father and son. Starlin had his mother’s eyes—well, one eye, since the other was gone—but the rest of his face had the same handsome, clean-cut features.

To say he felt a lot of things in that moment was an understatement. There was no describing his emotions. Shock. Confusion. Anger. Sadness. Old longings he had buried deep inside ever since his father’s departure from his life.

Eventually he felt only a numbness that bit deeper into him than the cold of Kerest. The unfeeling blankness of lost years.

Syd’s voice was what ultimately snapped him out of it, brought him back to the present. He exhaled a breath he hadn’t known he’d been holding.

“Okay,” he said, just to acknowledge her words. They were here to help. He had no clue what Zabka was doing here, but it was safe to assume that he was with Syd, and therefore on Starlin’s side.

“I tried a new spell on Xiphos,” he started to answer her question, then hesitated. “I used a terrible revelation against her, weaponized the truth. Something the Amalgam told me—”

He fought down the urge to get defensive or squirrely. He knew what he had done was fethed up in a lot of ways. But he hadn’t thought he would be explaining it to Syd so soon, and he hadn’t counted on things going bottoms-up afterwards.

“I told Xiphos that Darth Phyre was the one who killed her parents. But I did it as a spell. I hoped it would incapacitate her, but I think it killed the Amalgam instead.” He gestured vaguely in the direction of the screaming. “Now Xiphos has gone nuts. But we still have a chance at arresting her.”

He was looking for silver linings. It wasn’t really working.

After hearing Xiphos scream "Celsius!" louder than ever, he quietly repeated his apology.

“I’m sorry, Syd.”

Laertia Io Cameron Crownwraithe​

 

[Cameron Crownwraithe]

Location: Hideout Base - Kerest
Tags: Laertia Io Starlin Rand

“I-it’s okay, Mom. I’m right here.” Cameron said as her mother broke into sobs. Having depended on Laertia for emotional support since the day she emerged from her vat, the speedster felt the weight of responsibility burdening her soul. The Red Eye, the curse of her bloodline, had caused her a huge amount of anxiety, to the point where Cameron leaned on her mother as a bedrock of emotional stability. Now, the Black Knight had screamed herself out to the point of destroying her voice, her mother’s psychic torment far beyond anything that Cameron had ever reckoned with in her short life.

“We’ll be fine, as long as we stay together.” The Zanshi said softly as she embraced her mother amidst the blizzard’s freezing air.

Before long, Cameron spotted the mechanical forms of her brothers through the haze of snow, sprinting towards her with athletic grace. She gave a sigh of relief as they began to work, with Mason gently pushing her aside to examine the Black Knight.

“Fried? What does that-” Cameron’s words were cut off as Mason and James continued to examine Laertia, her expression laced with worry as the two Nuetralizers assessed her injuries.

"She's medically incapacitated. Prep for immediate evac. Mother's in no condition to fight anyone."

“A shuttle isn't a good idea right now. If we can get her on a speeder we can run her out of here. We’ll use the other speeders to misdirect. The Silvers will need millions of soldiers to search the entire planet and they’ll have to leave eventually.” Cameron suggested in response to the Nuetralizer. “We get her to a settlement, they'll have to go house-to-house and the locals won’t take kindly to that.” She added, her expression shifting in consternation as her mother stared unblinkingly into the light.

Then, the ground rumbled, the earth itself shaking at her arrival.

"Children..." Xiphos whispered, quaking with murderous rage. "Get to safety. Mother has to go douse a flame."

“No, Mom. I’m coming with you.” It was neither a request nor an appeal, delivered with the typical poise of a Force-sensitive warrior who could run at supersonic velocities, a confidence which was yet uncharacteristic for Cameron.

If she couldn’t kill the Flame, then she could at least get revenge on a self-righteous frakboy.

Spoiler: Loadout

• FAE/A-09 “Hayai” Energized Bodysuit
  • Left Gauntlet
    • Universal Gas Launcher
      • Pink Vapor
    • Vac Attack Mk-127 Disc Launcher
  • Right Gauntlet
    • Wide Beam Sonic Stunner
  • Energy Shield
    • Phase III “Force Avenger” Energy Shield
  • Alchemical Talisman(s)
    • Spirit Anchor
  • Neon Overdrive Heels
  • Utility
    • Supernal Infusion
• Jasmine Lightsaber (2)
  • Pink Kyber Crystal
• Force-Imbued Echani Double-Brand
• Hekler'Kok SMG-01

 

[Syd Celsius]

When Starlin Rand gave his answer, Syd felt the rug get pulled out from her. She felt sick at the sheer perverseness of it.

Her? Hurt Laertia like that? Never. Never...

"That... that's not possible... Syd whispered. "I didn't even know Laertia's parents! I was not even in a position to kill them. Beyond relatively recently, I was trapped in Nullification Resin, by this guy!* Syd said angrily, gesturing to Zabka.

"Guilty." was all Zabka said, spinning a blaster.

"The only position I would have been in to kill anyone's parents was three centuries prior. And Laertia is not three centuries old!" Syd exclaimed.

"Maybe not...biologically three centuries old. But maybe she is three centuries old by technicality..." Zabka spoke up again...

Syd turned to him.

"You really don't remember, do you? Convenient." Zabka said to her in clear disgust. "The Crownwraithes. You were hunting them back then. For their child. You killed both of them but Moya De Lifte sent the child into the future, using magic on a vessel to force a slow hyperspace jump."

Syd's mouth went slack with horror.

Zabka spat on the ground.

"How fething sad..." he said grimly. "De Lifte had to literally perform an act of technical Time Travel to get someone away from your sorry ass and it still didn't work."

Syd staggered back, trying not to hyperventilate as the pieces clicked...

All that time Laertia had talked about a Sith murdering her parents...she had never discussed said Sith in great detail...and Syd had never thought to press for details...

There was so much they had never shared with one another about their pasts, both too focused on the present.

"I didn't know...I DIDN'T KNOW!" Syd screamed in despair...

Meanwhile...

The Silver Jedi Ships got a very nasty surprise.

(House Io Theme Plays)

It came out of hyperspace, not caring if it set off alarms.

Most of its cannons were not yet active. But the main weapon was, as were most of its frontal Energy Torpedo Launchers. It's Dovin Basal protections were not yet online, having not been fully tested, leaving it only with it's Powerful Laminanium Hull.

It looked like a stylized squid, imposing in height, of a dark color with faint blue running lights.

It was the ship that would eventually pass sentence at Rhand...

It sent out a wide band transmission. It's very design seeming to draw out inner terror from multiple bridge crews on multiple ships

"ATTENTION, SJO SHIPS..." it's voice would blare on the comms of multiple SJO ships, voice synthetic, yet masculine and sinister.

"I AM THE MIGHTY CASTLE OF THE BLACK KNIGHT. I AM THE LEVIATHAN OF SEV TOK. YOU WILL WITHDRAW FROM KERESTIAN SPACE OR BE SCOURED FROM ITS ORBIT WITH ENTHUSIASM. IF YOU TEST ME..."

Over 21 Sarka Class Frigates jumped out of hyperspace, flanking it.

"YOU WILL LOSE."


Cameron Crownwraithe

 

[Starlin Rand]

Starlin stood by awkwardly while his master and his father figured things out amongst themselves. So, Laertia was technically three centuries old? Starlin was pretty sure Nimdok hadn’t mentioned that in his biography of her. Someone named Moya De Lifte was mentioned as having sent baby Laertia through time for her safety—using the Force to slow a hyperspace jump?...

For Starlin, the biggest revelation was that his father was supposed to have imprisoned Syd in nullification resin. He had thought the Man in White was the one who did that.

Was Zabka the Man in White?

Oh Force. Don’t tell me Nimdok knew about that, too. Why didn’t anyone tell me?

Starlin’s head was spinning. All of this, this whole convoluted drama—it was like something out of a ridiculous holo soap opera. The longer he thought about it, the worse it got. Like the implications of Syd, or another incarnation of Syd, or whatever, having wanted Laertia even as an infant—or that the two of them had been lovers—or the weird improbability of it all, like fate or the Force or whatever had destined for their lives to intersect in the most twisted of ways—

He almost wanted to laugh. But he knew once he started laughing, he wouldn’t be able to stop. Getting hysterical wouldn’t help matters.

Speaking of which, it looked like Syd was on the verge of breaking. Starlin stepped toward her, his boots crunching the snow, and grabbed her hands in his.

“Syd,” he began, hoping he could still reach her. “I know you’re not Darth Phyre. Not anymore.”

He gave her hands a squeeze, as though the pressure could drive his words home. “I didn’t lie to her when I said Darth Phyre killed her parents. The problem isn’t you or me or what happened—it’s Laertia herself. She won’t listen to reason. If we can’t reach her, we have to stop her.” He opened himself in the Force to his master, offering her his strength and resolve. “Focus on that.”

Glancing back at his father, he swallowed. “We need a plan. Laertia is over there, surrounded by her droids and allies. They’re probably going to extract her the soonest chance they get. Once she’s off this planet, we won’t be able to catch her so easily again. She’ll learn from her mistakes here.”

***​

The Leviathan of Sev Tok received a short message in response from one of the Silver ships in orbit around Kerest.

“Acknowledged, Leviathan. Request one half-hour to evacuate our remaining troops from the planet’s surface before we depart.”

They were ill-equipped to deal with Laertia’s fleet. The best they could hope for was buying a little more time for those on the ground, to either escape or finish the job they had come to this frozen wasteland for in the first place: capture or kill Laertia Io and her allies.

Judging by the reports they were getting on the ground, Laertia was likely a lost cause. But one group, led by the mercenary Bithia Grayson, claimed to have seized one of her high-ranking allies. The captured woman had been knocked unconscious, and was currently being loaded onto Bithia’s private yacht, the Moving Castle...

Laertia Io Cameron Crownwraithe​

 

[Syd Celsius]

"DENIED. YOU HAVE 007 MINUTES. DO NOT TRY MY PATIENCE..." The Leviathan of Sev Tok replied sternly. It was well aware they were trying to buy time to capture or kill its creator. This would not be tolerated.

The Leviathan moved closer to the fleet with the powerful Sarka Frigates, each having a weapons lock on the single largest ship the SJC had sent...

Meanwhile, The Nuetralizers kept shooting at anything that wasn't them, a Witch or a Light Sith.

Isacc the Nuetralizer, and his girlfriend, a Brain Demon Cultist called The Arena faced off against four soldiers and two Jedi. Isacc was armed with an Electrostaff, The Arena, who resembled a shapely orange Twi'lek in skintight white catsuit, armed with a double bladed Lightsaber from which erupted blades of purest black fought for their lives, side by side. Isacc had sustained multiple regular blaster and ion bolts, along with armor piercing rounds, but his design was infamous for sustaining far worse and remaining in fighting condition. His built in burst concussion rifle came out in between deflecting a lightsaber strike with his staff. He blasted apart a soldier with it, but got Force Pushed away before he could kill another. He skidded violently across the snow, the cold already starting to affect his joints, as he rose, slightly sluggish as the Jedi leapt for him...only to get caught by a Force Choke mid air by The Arena and slammed violently into the ground, breaking his neck.

"Good one, Sherbet!" Isacc congratulated as he rose, firing the sonic Disruptor of his arm at another Jedi's face.

The Arena had just finished cutting the head off a soldier. "Any time, Dreamboat!" she called back sweetly.

"Ooooo, a shotgun!." Isacc exclaimed, picking up an Expy of the SPAS 12 off a corpse. He gunned down another Jedi as he dueled a different Model 1 who had tricked him into getting too close to Isacc's line of fire.

The Arena savagely dueled an attacking Jedi with her staff, screaming in pain as he manifested Force Light, her flesh bubbling everywhere hidiously but she kept fighting.

Until she got hit by a spike of petrified Nullification Resin.

Isacc's run times slowed as he watched his girlfriend crumple in the snow, starting to burn and melt...

Organic like rage flowed through Isacc's processors as he emptied the shotgun into the Jedi, forcing him to turn his attention from the wounded Arena and charge.

Isacc fired both the built in concussion rifle and his Sonic Disruptor weapons, the Jedi threw out a shield of Force energy in front but Isacc kept firing, screaming in rage as he finally broke the shield and blasted the Jedi to pieces...

Meanwhile, The Model 3's finally rose from the snow outside the perimeter. An unexpected surprise. They were finally out of testing phase.

They were armed with automatic shotguns, Sonic Disruptors and Particle Beam Blaster Rifles. They opened fire without hesitation at both the Jedi and anyone else there.

"IIIIII'D SACRIFICE-ANYTHING, COME-WHAT-MIGHT, FOR-THE-SAKE-OF, HAVIN'-YOU-NEAAAARRRR. IN-SPITE-OF-A-WARRRRNING-VOICE, THAT-COMES-IN-THE-NIGHT, AND REPEATS, HOW IT YELLS IN-MY-EAAAARRRR: DON'T YOU KNOW, LITTLE FOOOOOOOLL, YOU-NEVER-CAN-WIN..." The Model 3 units sang as they gunned down those trying to escape, trying to make sure hardly any of the dozens of Jedi that had come to Kerest escaped.

And worse...now the Traitor had her own fleet...

How had the Traitor managed to put together a fleet?

(Cutaways of Laertia and the Nuetralizers stealing treasure and salvage during Multiple conflicts)

(Cutaway of Arianna cackling as she signs checks)

(Cutaway of Nine cackling as she signs checks)

(Cutaway of The Amalgam cackling as she signs checks)

(Cutaway of Laertia, Maple, The Amalgam, The Battalion, Arianna, and the Nuetralizers all cackling like Doctor Evil in a single room)

Some barely made it on one evac, most heavily injured, ALL of them freaked the feth out by the intelligence and savagery of Laertia's children.

"Awww, where ya' going? I WANTED TO PLAY SOME MORE!" A Model 1 taunted as he hefted a Rocket Launcher, shooting down one transport.

A Model 3, armed with a golf club and a Thermal Detonator, balanced the device on a Jedi Corpse, armed it, wiggled it's silvery Droid butt, and swung, hitting the Detonator and sending it sailing into an evac shuttle with two seconds left on the timer, just as the hatch closed.

The explosion was tremendous. The Model 3 did the Robot Dance in triumph while nearby Model 1's politely gave metallic sounding clapping of their hands.

"Brother, I think you'll do just fine in this here army." One of them said to the Model 3.

Xiphos, in the meantime had found her will to fight again, unable to head the extreme humiliation of having been seduced by the murderer of her parents. She cut into fleeing Jedi and soldiers ruthlessly with Cameron Crownwraithe and Mason and James aiding them. She was bent on reaching Celsius and killing her. If Xiphos had her way, Celsius would be torn to pieces...

Syd, on the verge of cracking, only managed to pull back from it when Starlin Rand put his hands on her shoulders and told her to her face she was no longer Darth Phyre. She had needed that. Desperately.

"No Starlin...I may no longer be Darth Phyre...but that doesn't absolve me. Not in the slightest..." Syd breathed, standing, still crying. "I caused all this. I set Laertia on this path. The...other me took away her parents. I took away her speech impediment. I removed the one thing that kept her humble. All of this is as much my fault as it is hers. I ruined her life...and she knows it. She won't flee. Her obligation to avenge her mother and father won't allow it. I'll... I'll hold her off..."

Syd clutched his shoulders now.

"You've been the best apprentice...the best friend anyone could ask for. I'm sorry I wasn't a better master. I'm sorry I couldn't live up to your expectations, your trust. But you are a far better Jedi than I could ever hope to be as of now. But I must face her alone. She's my sin. Mine alone to bear. Get as many as you can to safety..." Syd asked of him, before turning to Zabka, whose gaze hardened as they looked at one another.

"Master...I understand why you locked me away. I forgive you..." Syd said softly. "Make sure our son escapes here with his life..."

Zabka gave only a short, curt nod, though it was obvious her forgiving him for imprisoning her in a chunk of nullification resin had affected him, made him flinch a bit.

Syd, with a final, wet gaze at Starlin, flew upward, raining destructive fireballs on Model 3 units that had been about to swarm their position, and flew down, sabers active as she began slicing and cutting into the droids, trying to draw Xiphos's attention.

Syd felt terrible as she cut down the Model 3's, knowing they were sapient. One because it wasn't really their fault...they were doing only as they were made for. But also because, in order to draw Xiphos's attention, she was essentially killing more of her family...

Zabka glanced at Starlin...

"We have to rally survivors to our position. They're getting slaughtered out here..." Zabka said, summoning a bright powerful ball of Force Light that would be a beacon to surviving Jedi... hopefully strengthening them as they got closer.

"Starlin, if she taught you as much as I suspect, now would be a very good time to whip out the more esoteric stuff!" he exclaimed.

 

[Cameron Crownwraithe]

Location: Hideout Base - Kerest
Objective: Revenge
Tags: Laertia Io Syd Celsius Starlin Rand
Theme: Bangarang

A fleet.

So hot was her rage, so fiery was her passion, and so simmering were her emotions, that Cameron almost wanted to fight the Jedi and their Rangers without the additional support. Of course, the presence of her brothers and sisters was always a boon. Cameron found kinship with them in the fact that she was bred for combat, crafted like the Nuetralizers, Sirens, and others to inflict violence on a terrifying scale, against any enemy. As such, seeing the might of her family, House Io, brought to bear as their Matriarch was threatened filled Cameron with pride to go along with her rage, driving her forward with unflinching resolve.

Her mother, as always, emanated perpetual, unshakeable confidence even in the wake of her own humiliation. Had someone told Cameron what Xiphos was like before, she would not have believed it, even after seeing her mother brought so low by the Jedi Casanova.

That sight was immediately forgotten as Cameron plunged her double-brand through the chest of a Padawan, the kinetic force shattering his ribs on impact, before the speedster pulled the blade out, slick with crimson. The ten-soldier squad of Rangers accompanying him were dispatched with similarly violent, supersonic slashes and thrusts, separating heads from necks and legs from torsos, along with the occasional flying kick that crushed through bones and armor. Where Cameron was a flashbang of nigh-imperceptible motion, Xiphos popped in and out of existence like a wraith, inflicting a slaughter even more destructive than that of her supersonic daughter.

As she ran her blade through the neck of the last Ranger in the squad, Cameron perceived the Light in the distance. Its very manifestation was enough to unsettle the Sithspawn, her body warning her not to go anywhere near it, for fear of being singed by its dispelling energy.

Nevertheless, Cameron sensed that was exactly where she needed to be.

With a sharp, savage howl, the speedster moved after Xiphos as she made her way to the beacon, decapitating a Knight in her path with equal measure discipline and ferocity. Just as she did, a Jedi came at her with Speed rivaling Cameron’s own, her Force-imbued katanas moving to take off the Zanshi’s head in turn. Cameron perceived the Jedi at the very last millisecond, twisting out of the way of the blades with as much speed as she could manage, before settling into a low, feline stance, a feral hiss on her lips.

Not a split-second later, she charged.

The two speedsters moved in a transonic race of blades and kinetic force, parrying, slashing, and thrusting, with each strike intended to maim or kill. Cameron was faster by far, but she had less experience wielding the double-brand, making her clumsy where otherwise she might have been able to land a fatal blow. In contrast, the Jedi speedster was disciplined and elegant in motion, driven by a purifying Light that saw her last far longer than she had any right to against a faster opponent. Cameron howled as one of the katanas slashed through the visor of her helmet, spraying translucent phrik in all directions and partially blinding her. Nevertheless, Cameron didn’t stop moving, harnessing her greater speed to create separation from her opponent, buying time to restore her vision as the katana-wielding speedster moved to chase after her, the two women tearing across the snow in a two flashbangs of movement, Cameron the prey and the Jedi the predator.

Then, the Zanshi’s vision cleared.

Executing the equivalent of slamming the emergency brakes, Cameron leveraged her greater power to arrest her momentum, before turning around as the Jedi collided with her, the two speedsters tumbling through the snow over 200 meters before coming to a stop near an icy cave, far from the hideout base and the beacon of Light.

As the Jedi pulled herself up from the snow, eyes scanning for her opponent, Cameron plunged her double-brand into her back with a heavy grunt, breathing hard as she did.

Spoiler: Loadout

• FAE/A-09 “Hayai” Energized Bodysuit
  • Left Gauntlet
    • Universal Gas Launcher
      • Pink Vapor
    • Vac Attack Mk-127 Disc Launcher
  • Right Gauntlet
    • Wide Beam Sonic Stunner
  • Energy Shield
    • Phase III “Force Avenger” Energy Shield
  • Alchemical Talisman(s)
    • Spirit Anchor
  • Neon Overdrive Heels
  • Utility
    • Supernal Infusion
• Jasmine Lightsaber (2)
  • Pink Kyber Crystal
• Force-Imbued Echani Double-Brand
• Hekler'Kok SMG-01

 

[Starlin Rand]

Aboard a vessel in the Silver Jedi fleet, all eyes were on Nimdok, the overseer of this entire operation. With a sigh, he asked, “Any suggestions?”

“Nuke the site from orbit,” an officer replied half-seriously.

Nimdok snorted. “That is perhaps what we should have done from the outset, rather than try to infiltrate the Black Knight’s castle. It’s no longer an option now—this surprise fleet she’s pulled out of her ass would turn us to space dust for it.”

Was this entire affair just one long embarrassment for everyone involved? Not at all—terrorists more fearsome than Xiphos had taken decades to catch or kill. While it stung that they had come this close to ending her destructive reign of terror, Nimdok sensed Xiphos was overreaching, even now. Her day would come eventually. “Well, what are you waiting for?” he ordered his men. “Retreat.”

A transmission reached all comms. “We have seven minutes. Whatever you have left to do, you better do it fast.”

The ground transports’ energy shields absorbed or deflected enemy fire, while jerryrigged sonic weaponry kept the bulk of the Neutralizers back long enough for the evac to finish. They lost one or two transports under especially heavy attack, but the rest successfully retreated despite the viciousness of their foes.

After locking Maple Harte in a universal energy cage, Bithia initiated the takeoff sequence on her vessel. Ayreon and Jaina remained on the loading ramp, blasting any Neutralizers trying to board them, until they were high in the skies of Kerest.

“Jaina,” Bithia spoke to her sister biot. “Keep watch over the prisoner.”

As a captive of the Silver Jedi, Maple would be treated humanely, but it wouldn’t be so easy for her to escape. The information she might be able to offer them about Xiphos’ hideouts and assets would prove invaluable.

***​

Starlin watched woefully as Syd flew off to fight Xiphos, craning his neck to follow her departure with his eyes.

“I guess that’s it, then.” He sniffed, letting his helmet dry his tears, and turned to Zabka. “I'll rally the others."

Retrieving his lightsabers, he activated them, the blades burning falling snow. “Her speech impediment was the only thing keeping her humble?” he muttered as he walked, his lip curling. “And I thought I was full of myself.”

He was hardening against the pain, toughening up in order to survive this dire hour. Making fun of his enemies had long been a coping mechanism of his, trading jabs during combat serving to lighten the mood and make him forget, if only for a moment, that he was fighting a war without end. The Force burned within him, fierce as a winter soldier’s loyalty, and he felt strength begin to suffuse his limbs again.

Starlin walked toward a group of Neutralizers, muttering the words of a spell as he walked. “Molten metal and cold iron mark where darkness fears to tread… Ashla, repurpose this as a receptacle for the wretched."

The Neutralizers were violently torn asunder, Starlin’s Metallokinesis converting their metal parts to a mercurial liquid state. The metal was then reshaped into barriers—walls to shelter them from Xiphos and her forces’ gunfire. “Take cover!” he shouted to the Jedi that remained.

Starlin came to a halt at the crest of a snow-covered hill. Looking down, he saw what looked like the blue-haired girl he had dueled against earlier, emerging from an ice cave far below. He didn’t relish the thought of fighting the whip-quick thicc chick again, but seeing as she had just killed a Jedi, he couldn’t ignore the threat she posed.

He could make himself faster, or he could try to slow her down. Increasing his speed would prove too taxing, he decided. Killing another Neutralizer, he cannibalized its body to create a sheet of thick metal and used it as a sled, sliding down the slope toward the ice cave. Upon reaching the bottom, he leaped to his feet, arrested Cameron’s movements with the Force, and swung his lightsaber at her head.

Laertia Io Cameron Crownwraithe ok we round 2?​

 

[Cameron Crownwraithe]

Location: Hideout Base - Kerest
Objective: Revenge
Tags: Laertia Io Syd Celsius Starlin Rand

Mother had always warned her that she wasn’t the only one who could run fast.

Cameron collapsed onto a knee after pulling her double-brand free from the Jedi’s back, her now-ruined helmet coming off with a soft pop-hiss as she pushed air back into her lungs, strained from the exertion of fighting another speedster. The soreness flared in her legs as she suddenly became conscious of just how tired she was. Punching another shot of the energy-restoring cocktail into her neck, Cameron was confident that it would get her through the battle, but a crash might come later, which she couldn’t afford if the Jedi continued to linger on Kerest.

With a grunt, the speedster pushed herself up from the ground and began to walk out of the cave, the throbbing, aching sensation in her legs growing ever more insistent with each step.

However, the Jedi didn’t rest, and neither could she.

With a deep intake of air, Cameron kicked her legs off the ground, expecting to find her body propelled forward at a far faster rate than a slow jog. Instead, the now-familiar sensation of being immersed in molasses registered in her senses, her nostrils flaring with realization as her eyes caught sight of the same Jedi from before, rising in a leap before slashing his lightsaber towards her head. Cameron grunted, as she moved her double-brand to intercept the strike, groaning in frustration at the crippling slowness of the movement, relative to the speeds that were normal for her. Fortunately, she wasn’t completely frozen in place like she had been before. Now, her Speed was harnessed to mitigate the manifestations of the spell via brute force, but it couldn’t completely nullify its slowing effects. Where before, she could easily break the sound barrier, now she was only slightly faster than an unaugmented, non-Force-sensitive human Olympic sprinter.

Unfortunately, that meant that any Jedi worth their salt could easily keep up with her.

Used to almost always being faster than her opponent, the speedster was caught off-guard seeing the Jedi move with such alacrity, feeling her reflexes slow down in turn as his lightsaber collided with her double-brand. She tried pushing herself harder, in an attempt to coax more Speed from her mind and body, stepping back as she leveraged the double-brand to push the lightsaber away. Nevertheless, they simply refused to give her the pace she was looking for, her thoughts coming so slowly relative to her normal processing speed, that it felt as if they were mired in quicksand.

Before long, all she could feel was rage.

Spoiler: Loadout

• FAE/A-09 “Hayai” Energized Bodysuit
  • Left Gauntlet
    • Universal Gas Launcher
      • Pink Vapor
    • Vac Attack Mk-127 Disc Launcher
  • Right Gauntlet
    • Wide Beam Sonic Stunner
  • Energy Shield
    • Phase III “Force Avenger” Energy Shield
  • Alchemical Talisman(s)
    • Spirit Anchor
  • Neon Overdrive Heels
  • Utility
    • Supernal Infusion
• Jasmine Lightsaber (2)
  • Pink Kyber Crystal
• Force-Imbued Echani Double-Brand
• Hekler'Kok SMG-01

 

[Starlin Rand]

The voluptuous vixen managed to barely catch the blow with her own blade. Starlin’s Slow seemed much more effective on her now compared to the first time. Perhaps the stress and exhaustion of battle was taking its toll.

It certainly exacted a heavy price on Starlin. He struggled to maintain the sluggish strain on her muscles, knowing it was his only hope of survival against the bootylicious speedster.

He continued to slash at her with his lightsaber, aiming blows at her arms mainly, or a few at her legs. Despite everything, he didn’t actually want to kill her if he could help it…

Laertia Io Cameron Crownwraithe​

 

[Cameron Crownwraithe]

Location: Hideout Base - Kerest
Objective: Revenge
Tags: Laertia Io Syd Celsius Starlin Rand

Her next play was rage itself.

The double-brand was far too long and unwieldy to keep up with the Jedi’s comparatively agile lightsaber for long. In addition, finding herself unable to create the boon of space due to a frustrating lack of Speed, her opponent’s weapon eventually slashed its way past her defense, biting into her right gauntlet in the process and forcing the Zanshi back as the Jedi continued to capitalize on his momentum. Cameron grunted as he did, her gauntlet sparkling as the sonic stunner on it was suddenly rendered dead weight, even though the blade itself had failed to penetrate the norris root-enhanced phrik armorweave that protected her from being maimed outright.

It would continue to be her lifeline.

Groaning in a feral mixture of pain, frustration, and rage, at the Jedi’s next strike directed towards her arm, Cameron’s throat unleashed a fiery, bloodthirsty melody as she moved to attempt catching the blade of the Jedi’s lightsaber in her right hand. The fiery-hot blade burned and singed her flesh, even with the protection of the flexible, lightsaber-resistant material in her gloves, enough that the smell of her own burning flesh filled the Zanshi’s nostrils. Nevertheless, swiftly capitalizing on what she hoped would create a break in the Jedi’s assault, Cameron willed one of the gas charges on her left gauntlet to fire, unleashing a cloud of pink, energy weapon-choking gas into the air that was likely to render the Jedi’s lightsaber as little more than a stun blade, relieving the strain on her bodysuit.

Then, she made her play.

Where Starlin was tall and lanky, yet lean of muscle, Cameron was short and stacked, albeit with the bulk of her power concentrated in her legs. Intending to leverage that strength against the Jedi, Cameron howled as she tugged and pulled on the lightsaber in an attempt to control the Jedi’s position by ideally, pushing him to slightly askew relative to her position, before suddenly charging, delivering a flying kick aimed to strike him in the side of the head.

If successful? She’d immediately move to wrap her legs around his neck or head and snap it like a twig or perhaps more gruesomely, implode it like a watermelon between her thighs.

Spoiler: Loadout

• FAE/A-09 “Hayai” Energized Bodysuit
  
  • Left Gauntlet
    
    • Universal Gas Launcher
      
      • Pink Vapor
  • Right Gauntlet
    
    • Wide Beam Sonic Stunner
  • Energy Shield
    
    • Phase III “Force Avenger” Energy Shield
  • Alchemical Talisman(s)
    
    • Spirit Anchor
  • Neon Overdrive Heels
  • Utility
    
    • Supernal Infusion
• Jasmine Lightsaber (2)
  
  • Pink Kyber Crystal
• Force-Imbued Echani Double-Brand
• Hekler'Kok SMG-01

 

[Starlin Rand]

He managed to smash one of the devices on her wrist, then struck her hand. The girl howled in pain and rage. Starlin nonetheless pressed his blade into her palm, trying to wear down her armor and hopefully cleave off a few fingers.

A cloud of pink gas impeded the intensity of his lightsaber. Starlin realized this too late as her foot connected with his head. The snowy world spun as he was knocked to the ground.

He did, however, manage to evade the crushing vice of the Thunder Thighs of Doom™ by rolling away from her. Having his head squished to a bloody pulp between a cute girl's thighs was not one of his fantasies, thanks. Above all else, he knew he had to keep up the Slow effect. Once she got her speed back, he was absolutely screwed. She’d snap his neck or punch his head off his shoulders at supersonic speeds, or something similarly gruesome and undignified. Actually attempting to meet her at her own speed didn’t even cross his mind. His body wasn't used to that kind of thing, and in his current weakened state it would only put strain on his body.

With his lightsaber apparently useless thanks to the pink vapor (why’d it have to be pink?) he resorted to hand-to-hand, trying to kick her legs out from under her. Once he had her down, he'd pin her to the ground and stun her into unconsciousness—one more prisoner for the Jedi to interrogate. At least, that was the plan. In his experience, though, nothing ever went according to plan…

Laertia Io Cameron Crownwraithe​

 

[Cameron Crownwraithe]

Location: Hideout Base - Kerest
Objective: Survive
Tags: Laertia Io Syd Celsius Starlin Rand

Pain was the fuel of the dark side. Indeed, there were those Sith and Sithspawn who could sustain themselves on a diet of its harsh, intoxicating energies, growing stronger with each wound they sustained or feeding off the pain of others. Unfortunately, pain was not the Zanshi’s demesne. Her strength in Body and Rage was not equivalent to her Speed, especially now, with the beacon of Light so close and grotesquely incandescent, further dampening her unconscious connection to the dark side.

With her speed gone, it had only been a matter of time.

The Zanshi gave a defiant growl, moving to strike again, only to find her legs swept out from under her body. Under any other circumstances, her low center of gravity and strength would have made such a feat extremely difficult. Unfortunately, exhaustion had taken its hold over her body, the pain proving too much for her to overcome.

Landing in the snow, breath knocked from her lungs in the process, Cameron willed her muscles to give their last. Nevertheless, the speedster was quickly overpowered as the Jedi pinned her to the ground, continuing to struggle until her body could give her no more.

Then, blackness.

Spoiler: Loadout

• FAE/A-09 “Hayai” Energized Bodysuit
  
  • Left Gauntlet
    
    • Universal Gas Launcher
      
      • Pink Vapor
  • Right Gauntlet
    
    • Wide Beam Sonic Stunner
  • Energy Shield
    
    • Phase III “Force Avenger” Energy Shield
  • Alchemical Talisman(s)
    
    • Spirit Anchor
  • Neon Overdrive Heels
  • Utility
    
    • Supernal Infusion
• Jasmine Lightsaber (2)
  
  • Pink Kyber Crystal
• Force-Imbued Echani Double-Brand
• Hekler'Kok SMG-01

 

[Starlin Rand]

It took a moment for Starlin to even register that his move had been successful. The blue-haired girl was stunned, her eyes closed beneath her helmet. A quick survey of her body with the Force revealed reduced brain activity and a general slowing of all processes. She was unconscious.

He produced a pair of modified stun cuffs that functioned similarly to a universal energy cage, disrupting the wearer’s ability to use the Force, and snapped them onto her wrists. Then, despite being very winded, he slung her body over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry and started back up the slope from which he had come.

His progress was exceedingly slow. Starlin was burning the candle at both ends now, but his minor victory in this case was enough to sustain him until he reached the top of the hill. He staggered toward the last remaining transport, barely able to stay on his feet, until he began to stumble, falling to his knees in the snow.

“Syd,” he rasped into his comlink. “D-Dad… I… I got somebody, prisoner—”

He broke into a coughing fit, tasting blood.

Laertia Io Cameron Crownwraithe​