Skirmish Into The Mouth Of The Leviathan [TSO x Mandalorian Protectors]

[Taeli Raaf]

Lernaean Base, Ruins of Sundari
Allies: Darth Carnifex​

---

Allyson Locke
​

The arrow remained where it was, perfectly aligned for a kill shot to her neck. Purple eyes continued to regard the Shadow with a calmness that belied the situation around the region and what was rising to deal with the interlopers in its lair. Staring at the arrow glowing with the light of the Force was just another reminder of what had occurred here once before... and what that light had burned away in its brilliance, although wielded by one that had been justly punished for his crimes.

The kill shot was there... and Allyson couldn't take it. Amethyst would move from the arrow to the hazel green of its wielder, a slight head tilt and the beginnings of a quirk of her lips. The struggle within her still remained. Taeli had never made it easy for Allyson to view her in that detached manner a Jedi Shadow needed to look at Sith. It wasn't hard to justify wanting to see someone like Kaine Zambrano dead for he had forged a reputation of cunning brutality and monstrous choices. It wasn't hard to justify wanting to see someone like the Emperor destroyed as he had become a living corpse, an example for the galaxy to look at and see the unnatural powers of the dark side. They were the monsters in the dark.

But Taeli, even after what she had done to the first Alliance and its iteration of the New Jedi Order, even with the experiments she performed or authorized, she had always kept a firm hold over her humanity, retained her ability to feel and experience all emotions even if one might call her dispassionate. She loved her sisters, gone though they were. She loved her daughters and her son, even if she didn't see two of them. She had once loved a woman, even if only pain remained from. She knew hatred, pure and unending, towards the culture birthed on this world.

And it was that spectrum that gave her the empathy that would form on her face as Allyson spoke. The Shadow could never find peace, never find that connection she had been searching for, even if she didn't quite know what that might be. It was why she had proven to be such an effective field agent for the Jedi and the Alliance. She had resigned herself to a death in obscurity, dying on a mission that would be filed away. The Jedi taught that selflessness was important, but how many people that she cared for had been tossed aside? How many of Allyson's old friends and comrades even cared about the Shadow beyond what she could do for the Jedi and the galaxy?

What was one woman's fate compared to the galaxy? She knew the lie for what it was when she spoke it because Taeli had seen and lived it herself. Seen the pure devotion Corvus had thrown into the Republic, into the Jedi, only to see her forgotten once her usefulness to the Order had run its course and she disappeared. Who even remembered her sister? Was she even included in the Archives as a former Grandmaster of their Order? It was that callousness, the casual disregard for those who fought and bled and died for them, that had incensed Taeli against the Jedi Order and their ways long ago. And it pained her to see Allyson still trying to live that lie even when she could see that Allyson was coming to her own realizations.

"Your story never has to end that way," she quietly replied, her voice gentle. "We both know that."

She saw the fingers tighten.

"And we both know you're better than the Jedi. Better than the Alliance. You always have been."

The arrow would shift ever so slightly, away from the kill shot as the monster she had birthed to punish the Mandalorians emerged and began its ascent. She saw the Shadow blank out, and the arrow was fired. She could have blocked it or dodged it... but she didn't. The arrow struck her shoulder, piercing into the muscle with a sharp pain and faint splatter of blood. The kyberite within the arrowhead released its stored light, surging through Taeli in a rush to weaken her connection to the dark side.

The force of the arrow pushed her back towards the glass of the observation deck, pain evident in her eyes as her head bowed for a moment. Allyson would feel her connection to the dark side flicker and weaken. The light was flowing across her form... and slowly traveling down the proverbial current that was her arm. Her head would slowly raise to look at the Shadow, pain mixed with something else. Something almost akin to...

Admonishment.

"You forgot something," she would say, her voice strained as she tamped down on the pain, suppressing it and harnessing it. The light was gathered in her hand now, turning a vibrant emerald color. "I'm not like other Sith. My education isn't just in darkness even if that is the most effective tool to strike down Mandalorians."

From her fingers, the emerald lightning of Electric Judgment would arc towards the Shadow.

---

OOC: Wanted to get a reply to personal interaction first, will do monsters tomorrow.

 

[Darth Malum of House Marr]

"Qui- Lady Varanin... I..." He immediately subtly turned the commlink off, as red eyes widened, turning to a voice all too familiar. How could he be so possibly stupid, how could he forget that the heir of the Varanins, the Empresses' goddaughter was here, was so close, was so near, how could he... lose control of himself, betray himself, like this?

He had little time to truly wonder the answer, the only thing that mattered.

The only thing that ever mattered, was that Elsie was safe.

Which meant, extricating himself from the attention of one, who amongst many, could not under any circumstances know who Elise Ahana-Gwyneira was.

Which meant, he would have to do what he dearly did not wish to, as his eyes began to glimmer a fiery orange.

He took the offered hand, giving it a gentle squeeze, as the performance began, it was bold, it was improper, but etiquette had long ago fallen by the wayside, and attempting to perform the pomp and circumstance of nobility while they stood upon a great hulking Despoiler, that was in the process of destroying the planet they stood on. To go through the song and dance instilled in them since birth.

Well, it would be too ironic, even for him.

"Elise is an operative, one of the Tsis'kaar agents I have stationed on Moridinae, I... am fond of her..." More than fond, yet did not the greatest of deceptions contain fragments of the truth? He took all of what Lily Rhodes had taught, and exploited it, forcing his mind to empty, feeling, emotion, quelled. He had once fragmented his mind to make certain that... that... that they would not know of his apprentice, to protect Elsie... this was nothing. Quinn could feel, she could read what was not visible, she could not know.

Elsie would be most safe if none knew.

"We... seem to have lost contact with her..." His eyes were tinged, his lips the barest quiver, what was real, and what was the act, it became harder and harder to say, as the yellow hue began to engulf his orbs, as he squeezed again the offered hand, "Help me find her."

"Please." The desperation was real, not for aid, he at this moment could not care less what she did.

But he needed to find her.

He needed to know she was safe.

Quinn Varanin Mia Monroe Ordo Elise Ahana-Gwyneira Darth Carnifex

 

[Elise Ahana-Gwyneira]

Equipment
Armor	Beskar'gam.
Melee Weapons	Copad'kal, "Ambition", personal Mandalorian Kal.
	Tar'Nau, Bes'manda Beskad.
	The Royal Dragon, lightsaber.
	Kada'yr, Mandalorian Kal.
	Iviin'cer, beskar spear.
Pistols	DXN-57 Breachlight blaster pistol.
	BH Durin Charric Blaster Pistol.
	AP-25i 'SIMP' Particle Beam Blaster.
	Mandalorian Ripper Pistol MK.II.
Other
	Auriel Combined Energy Bow.
	Mother's Root seeds [In secured bottle stored in belt.]
	Ground Mother's Root toxin [In secured bottle stored in belt.]

Darth Carnifex Mia Monroe Ordo Darth Malum of House Marr

Cyan colored text indicates an illusion.

In an instant, the ancient Sith Lord was upon her. The attack of the plants did nothing, and all his decades of experience and skill came crashing down like an anvil.

Elise's vital organs were protected by her buy'ce, but she somehow felt the strength of the blows even from weightless blades. The plasma scorched her white and red armor, leaving black stains of smoldering tribulation. The beskar'gam was a lighter model, meant to allow for more speedy and dexterous movement. Elise tried her best to weave away, but the mighty tower that was Carnifex was simply faster than her. Elise tried to block with her plasma shield and beskad, but she constantly was outmaneuvered and outclassed. The strikes hit her softer armorweave, and the great heat of lightsaber blades against flesh settled in. In rapid succession. Beneath her buy'ce, tears started to fall from her eyes.

Why?

A long slash ebbed into her side, burning and stinging her deeply.

I was supposed to finish it...

Multiple, small slashes were rapidly branded on her arm, between her beskar plating.

He's better than me...

Her legs, her waist, her arms. A multitude of cuts and gashes slid across her. It hurt, so much, that she gasped and cried out in pain.

But I should have been able to.

A heavy strike against her shin plating caused her to fall off balance.

I was a prodigy!

Elise lowered her rifle, standing in the center of the savannah field. All around her, multiple targets had been set up, from a variety of distances, and all moving. The six year old girl looked around, at all the targets she had shot. Every single one was a bullseye. And she had done this with Force Suppressors in her system.

Her mother surveyed the scene a couple feet behind her. Her arms were crossed as she looked around. She looked at Elise, giving her a nod and smiling.

"Good job. You're a natural shot, Elise."

The girl beamed proudly, holding the large rifle in her little arms as if she was a trained soldier. The targets were all scorched with blaster bolt bullseyes, but the machinery continued to whirl them around. Elise lowered her rifle properly and approached her mother.

"If I'm so good at this, then why are we still training? Shouldn't we start doing something else I haven't learned yet? I know there's a lot!"

The girl's eyes dazzled in excitement. She wanted to become the best Mandalorian she could possibly be! She wanted to learn it all, and make her parents proud. The her surprise, however, Gwyn's smile dropped as she shook her head.

"Not yet. You need to pace yourself, Elise."

Elise felt a trickle of annoyance in her, as her eyes burned with fire. "But why! I'm so good at this, I can do the next thing good to, right?"

Gwyneira lowered her arms, closing her eyes and sighing. "So impatient."

The young woman chuckled, opening her cybernetic eyes and taking a couple steps forward, towards her daughter. "Elise, you're a lot like me, y'know. I was so good at everything I set myself to. Schooling, learning to fix machines, my college courses, learning to fight, learning the Force, my Mandalorian training... I graduated highschool when I was nine years old, and attended college afterwards for about eight more years. When I became Mandalorian, it only took a short amount of time training for me to catch up with other Mandalorians, who spent their entire lives learning to fight."

Elise looked up to Gwyneira, in awe. So talented! She had always known her mother was a brilliant engineer and warrior, but this? She was brilliant!

Gwyneira chuckled, shrugging as she casually stated, "Yup. I was a prodigy for sure! That Arkanian brain of mine certainly helped!"

She approached Elise, extending her hand and flicking her forehead. She leaned down, smiling warmly. "Same with you. You're good at everything you set yourself to. I hadn't expected you to quite take to training the way you're already advanced in schooling, but you've got the same brain I do! And, you're in a far better environment than I was. As far as I'm sure, you're going to grow up to be better than me."

Elise blushed, unsure of how to take all these compliments. Her mother was showing her with praises, telling her that she could be even stronger than her! What an amazing line of thought! But Gwyneira stood back up, her face growing more serious, as she lifted her finger and shook it.

"But you can only do well if you work hard, Elise. There are no shortcuts to success, even talent. You must continue to hone your craft, and practice your art. Metal is only shaped through the heat of a forge and the pounding of a hammer. Regardless of how brilliant that metal is, it is useless if simply left as an ingot."

Elise tilted her head to the side, still frequently lost in Gwyneira's tendency to use similes and metaphors regarding her many crafting vocations. And yet, she also was beginning to catch on.

"So, I need to keep training what I do know, so I continue to improve?"

"And so you don't grow sloppy." Her mother smiled as she witnessed her catching on, "You can't become complacent, adi'ka."

She lifted her arm, placing it warmly on Elise's head. "You are naturally gifted and talented, Jac'Eli'Serum. Take advantage of that! Continue to hone your skill, train with integrity, and resist the temptation of taking shortcuts. In time, you will be a most impressive Mando'ade."

Gwyneira dropped to her knees, adjusting Elise's grip on her rifle. The child had forgotten that she was holding it, and had been holding it in a loose and improper position. As Elise's hold was fixed, she gripped the rifle. Gwyneira gave Elise a firm but kind smile, a fire alight in her own amber eyes.

"Make me proud, Elise!"

Elise fell to one knee, gasping as her heart pounded. She had been pushed near the edge of the platform, covered in lightsaber strikes. Another one slammed into her head, and the blinding sparks against her visor made her wince as she fell over.

What went wrong?

Another strike against the plating on her waist, before another slash joined the others across her stomach. She was close to simply curling up and huddling in the fetal position.

Was I complacent after all?

Another strike slammed against her shoulder plate, red light blinding her in the close contact for a mere second.

"I don't get it!"

The young teen looked over the textbook in front of her, drawing a blank. She had always been so good at studying! She graduated highschool courses at age eleven, and had since then only worked harder than ever to become a Mandalorian warrior! But, it had not been enough for her. After her father went MIA during a mission, she had become determined. She was going to save the galaxy. She was going to become the strongest hero, and save people like her sister and father from their own sorts of fates. Instead of taking her verd'goten, Elise chose a different path. Now, she was training to become a Novanian Shaman.

But being a shaman... was so much harder than being Mandalorian.

She was struggling. Naturally, she aced most texts on history, theology, and sciences. She dominated the training yard, where Shamans trained in self defense techniques. She was already a skilled healer, with both the Force and traditional medical practices. But... there were other struggles. This particular textbook covered the Dreamseer's tenacity to interpret visions and dreams. It was one thing to memorize hard facts, work with tangible numbers, and learn all the details needed in most courses. But having to learn to interpret things has had no solid answer? Having to be flexible, and work around roadblocks in her path?

The fourteen year old set down the book, sighing heavily. Even worse than this, she was hardly capable of using Mother's Root - after all, as an Ajayid, she struggled so much more to even build a tolerance to that stuff!

For the first time in her life, she was not good at everything she did. She was not indisputably talented, and she not the prodigy she once was. She grimaced, wondering once again if this Novanian Shaman thing was a good idea.

"I... can't."

"Oh, so she has a ceiling after all.... About time, Elise!"

Elise gasped, turning her head to see her Novanian mentor, Siyarr Ahan-Mitharran , enter the room. As he stood behind her, the Arkanian gave her a determined nod. A fire burned in his eyes, similar to the one Gwyneira had in her own eyes so many times. Elise's eyes widened as she realized... he was cheering her on.

"Now break through it, as you've watched others break through theirs in turn."

Elise saw, in her memories, the image of her little sister, Mevia Vizsla, panting as she once again glared in disapproval at her own beskad cuts on a training dummy. Then, she saw her again, once more cutting the dummies with far better precision. Elise looked up to Siyarr as he clenched his fists, the mysterious dreamscape glowing in his eyes.

"Show me the more I've seen in our dreams! And if I've seen it, we both know the Gods have seen it in turn!"

Elise's eyes brightened as she clenched the tome in her hands. Siyarr commanded her, strengthened her, as he roared, "NOW SHATTER YOUR CEILING TO DUST!!!!"

Elise grimaced. Tears streaked down her face, as she flinched from yet another strike against her arm. And yet, she felt a sense of determination. She had come so far! Why... should it end here?

She was not about to give up because it was hard.

She reached for her belt, pulling out her mother's lightsaber.

The purple blade screamed as it was emitted. The amethyst blade blocked his scarlet's as she gritted her teeth, pushing through the pain.

"I trained! I sweat! I bled!"

She pushed herself to her knees, shoving the lightsaber back in a block.

"To stop bullies like you!"

Using the Force, she leapt up, jumping over her opponent and landing on shivering feet. Her knees buckled, and she nearly collapsed again. Panting, she realized that even the bacta and stimulants her beskar'gam was pumping into her could not account for her plethora of wounds. She didn't have much time left. But she had to try.

"Even if I die!" She clenched her lightsaber, pulling her Charric pistol from its holster, "My purpose is to stop people like you!"

Flickers of memories danced in her eyes. Her secret meetings with Malum Marr. Discussions of duties and dreams, even as they made love together in secret places. How they hated to see each other sacrifice themselves for their duty, but did so anyways with hope for a better future.

Elise lowered herself, unleashing a missile from her jetpack directly towards Darth Carnifex. But she was not done. She extended her vambrace, firing her rocket towards him as well.

She saw her sister in her mind. How Elise had been driven, watching the slave girl rise to a powerful Mando'ade. And how she had failed her little sister, by focusing so much on her duty that she left her behind to grow more powerful.

She aimed with her Charric blaster, firing towards her enemy even as the explosives rang. From her Jump Boots, she emptied her remaining Whistling Birds upon him.

She saw her father, who went missing on a mission long ago. Presumed dead. She saw her mother, the one always left behind for her family's duty. She saw her auntie, her older cousin, her father figure Siyarr, her mentor Mia Monroe.

"You can't save everyone." Mia's voice rang in her ears

But Elise darted forward, despite the pain, with her lightsaber in hand as she continued to fire her pistol. But I have to try!

What was she doing, leaving them all behind for this duty? What was she doing, forsaking her love and her family for war once more? What was she doing, risking everything, for a fight she could not win?

It was her purpose. To vanquish the evil that made this galaxy a cruel one.

Because she loved them.

And there was no greater love than to lay down one's life for their loved ones.

Whatever remained of Darth Carnifex in the smoke, she desperately lunged with the lightsaber she only knew the basics of using.

 

[Mia Monroe]

Mia should have let her fall, all her words did was anger her. She didn't have time for this, she didn't have time to fight a vengeful witch. She could feel the danger surrounding Elise, ice cold dread running down her spine. Protectors around them, began to react to the creatures spilling out of the rift she'd torn open, blaster and slugs hammering into them.

"ENOUGH!" she bellowed. A swipe of her hand and the tornado moved away from Iuuna, crashing into the monsters before dissipating. "You will take the blood of my people and we will respond to take that of yours, around and around we go until there is nothing left but the endless battle on the Blood Wastes. There will be no peace for us, Daughter of Talon, not until one of us concedes."

She stepped forward, drawing darkness into her.

"Today is not the day. Time for you to leave."

Force Destruction rolled out at her command, fuelled by her anger and her fear for Elise Ahana-Gwyneira it rolled up the ice tower she'd perched herself on.

Iuuna Talon

 

[Iuuna Talon]

Iuuna raised a brow, "we will meet again, Mia Monroe, and you will pay your penance, you are no more alive than the skeletons I have summoned. Consider that you are on borrowed time. The Netherworld and I will have blood." With a snap of her fingers, she stepped into the shadows leaving behind Force Destruction to destroy the tower of ice behind her. A realm within realms, she'd continue to manipulate the undead into Keldabe's streets. She did however notice that Monroe seemed quite attached to Elise Ahana-Gwyneira which for Iuuna told her exactly what she needed to know. The Netherworld told no lies... and so the Echani only smirked. Revenge after all was a dish best served cold.

Mia Monroe ​

 

[Mia Monroe]

Mia swore as she vanished, leaving undead in her wake.

"Jhi?"

"I've got it!" Jhi yelled back, barking commands at protectors heading into the fray on Keldabe's streets. "Go! Find your apprentice!"

Mia didn't need telling twice, leaving the fight for Keldabe in capable hands she bolted for the waiting bes'uliik. It wasn't Atin, the droid she'd fought so well with in the civil war, but it was good enough, kicking off before she was fully in the seat at her command. She opened comms to her brother, streaming north, following her instinct.

" Ordo I need you. Elise is in danger. Her last location was at the despoilers. I'm on route."

She was oblivious to the two other riders that had flew with her, no doubt sent by Jhi to watch her flanks as she screamed towards the main fight.

Iuuna Talon Elise Ahana-Gwyneira Darth Malum of House Marr Darth Carnifex

 

[Darth Carnifex]

His assault had been ferocious, unyielding. She buckled beneath His blows, which struck with the intention to maim and to cause as much pain as possible; another hallmark of cruelty from the Dark Lord. Who was this animal that thought herself so brazen as to stand against Him? She was young, many decades His junior, and she'd barely begun to grasp the universe around her. There was resolve buried there, a desire to do good, but where has it gotten her?

Here, it had gotten her here, beaten down by a monster of unimaginable proportions.

The blade fell for another blow, but found itself stopped dead in it's tracks by another. Scarlet snapped and sparked against amethyst, cerulean embers shedding off where the two met. She even managed to push His blade back a fraction, but before He could swing His other blade in she leapt up and over the Butcher King. He spun around to strike her as she came down, His blade catching only a segment of her beskar armor with sparks showering down around them.

He spun both blades in a lackadaisical fashion, watching the young Mandalorian like a predator would watch prey. She unholstered her charric, crouching down as a rocket spun smoke from her jetpack. It soared cleanly through the air, striking the Dark Lord's breastplate, bouncing off, and then detonating with blinding light and flame. The other missiles struck as well, exploding one after the other in rapid succession, and spewing black, acrid smoke all across the moored platform. The whistling birds likewise disappeared into the smog, as did her earlier charric volley.

But when she rushed with her blade to strike, she would find that it cut through nothing but that same smoke. A gust of wind revealed that the Dark Lord had disappeared completely, as though He'd been perfectly vaporized on the spot. It would have been a confusing sight, there wasn't any trace of the man left standing where He'd been just a breath before. That all changed as a voice spoke out from the smoke, not in front of her, but from behind her.

"Your view of right and wrong is infantile." Whipping around, she'd find Darth Carnifex sitting upon His throne yet again with one leg resting upon the other's knee. "What is right and good for the scorpion is not so for the frog, is it not? What is justice for the Sith is not justice for the Mandalorian, yes?" The Dark Lord's lightsabers were resting on the throne's armrests, His hands clasped together with fingers interlaced. He was watching her, His glowing molten eyes studying her every move.

"But a child cannot comprehend such things, especially not an animal pup like yourself. So let's cut to the chase then, and I will show you exactly where all this futility will bring you." Without even raising His hands, Elise would find her gun-arm seized by a tight, constrictive force. It sought to draw her weapon up and around towards her helmet, and would press tightly against her t-visor if not resisted strongly enough. The end-goal of it all would see Elise shoot herself in the face with her own pistol, if the Dark Lord was to have His way.

Elise Ahana-Gwyneira | Mia Monroe | Ordo
Darth Malum of House Marr ​

 

[Elise Ahana-Gwyneira]

Equipment
Armor	Beskar'gam.
Melee Weapons	Copad'kal, "Ambition", personal Mandalorian Kal.
	Tar'Nau, Bes'manda Beskad.
	The Royal Dragon, lightsaber.
	Kada'yr, Mandalorian Kal.
	Iviin'cer, beskar spear.
Pistols	DXN-57 Breachlight blaster pistol.
	BH Durin Charric Blaster Pistol.
	AP-25i 'SIMP' Particle Beam Blaster.
	Mandalorian Ripper Pistol MK.II.
Other
	Auriel Combined Energy Bow.
	Mother's Root seeds [In secured bottle stored in belt.]
	Ground Mother's Root toxin [In secured bottle stored in belt.]

Darth Carnifex Mia Monroe Ordo Darth Malum of House Marr

Cyan colored text indicates an illusion.

All of her training, all of her skill and talent, all of her resolve... was worth nothing, as her lightsaber swung through clouds of empty smoke. Her knees shook, threatening to buckle, as she looked around panting. Her H.U.D. and natural infrared vision picked up nothing. What-

"Your view of right and wrong is infantile."​

Elise whirled around, seeing the mocking image of Darth Carnifex sitting upon his throne. His legs were casually crossed, his lightsabers were set aside, and he had not a scratch to show for all of Elise's efforts. The girl shivered in pain, watching the Sith Lord as her grip on her weapons grew weak.

"What is right and good for the scorpion is not so for the frog, is it not? What is justice for the Sith is not justice for the Mandalorian, yes? But a child cannot comprehend such things, especially not an animal pup like yourself."​

Elise gritted her teeth, eyes burning with rage. Demoting anyone "below" him to mere animals, speaking of concepts such as kindness and cruelty as if they were subjective. Dehumanizing her as well. Anger caused her to grip her weapons tighter. She deactivated her lightsaber, putting it away and pulling her other old New Imperial Order pistol out. She aimed both at the Sith Lord, seething.

"So let's cut to the chase then, and I will show you exactly where all this futility will bring you."​

"WHY YOU-"

Her dominant hand froze. As if gripped by some invisible entity, she felt her own muscles and nerves fire without her consent. Her eyes widened as the her hand started to move, lifting the pistol upwards.

She gasped. The Butcher King was moving her arm. She fought hard, using what muscular strength she had left in attempts to move her arm down. But it was useless, as she saw her own hand aim her own pistol towards her own head. Her finger lifted, curling around the trigger, as the barrel pointed to the weak spot of her neck. Elise heard every beat of her own heart, and realized that any could be her last. Tears flooded her eyes as the trigger started to pull. She gasped, doing everything she could to fight it. But she could not.

The sound of blaster fire rang across the platform.

The barrel of her other pistol smoked as Elise's hand loosened. The remains of her Charric pistol crumbled in her hand, falling to the ground. Weakness took her body as she began to pant. She dropped her other pistol, shouting out.

Her entire body, head to toe, was covered in Carnifex's wrath. The lightsaber wounds were cauterized, but the punctures from the Darkshear spears were taking their toll. Her body screamed in the agony of it all, as her tear flooded eyes gazed at the image of the untouched, undefeatable Darth Carnifex.

She fell to her knees, eyes wide in horror. She... she was truly going to...

Mom!

Her mother grinned at her, holding up a newly fixed piece of Mandalorian equipment. Love and joy, but sadness and depression, were in her cybernetic eyes.

Mevia!

Her sister looked down to her, unable to deliver the killing blow in their duel on a stormy planet. Her buy'ce hid her expression, and Elise was left to wonder why she let her live.

Malum!

Elise finished changing the bandages of his wounds. The exposed young man looked down at her with flushed cheeks, as her gloved hands remained on his chest. Her heart pounded as they spoke tenderly to each other, becoming more and more aware of their feelings for each other under the Archais sun.

Siyarr!

Her mentor placed his hand on her shoulder, holding her as she panted. The panicked high of Mother's Root coursed through her veins as she once more struggled in her resistance training. But he held onto her shoulders as she leaned against him. The teenager looked up at him, through blurred and distorted vision, as she saw in him the father that her biological sire was not with her to be.

Yuri!

Elise's cousin grinned as he held up an illegal weapon he should not had been holding. Elise lectured him, despite being younger than him, on how much of a fool he was for his life of crime. As she lectured him, his cocky grin only grew into a full on smirk.

Mia!

Mia nodded to Elise as they lowered their beskads. She was a rough and blunt teacher, but there was approval in her tone as she commended Elise's improved skill with Force Augmentation. Elise grinned, proclaiming that she was one step closer to saving the galaxy, only to feel Mia's crushgaunt bonk her head as she lectured her on her unachievable goals.

I'm sorry!

She saw the ghosts of her aunt and father looking down on her, extending their hands.

Ni ceta! I won't see you again!

Looking at the Sith Lord before her, Elise realized the truth - that everything she was, everything she tried, had all been a waste. Mia was right, she could not save everybody. In fact, Elise could save nobody. All she had done had only brought pain. When she joined the Novanian Shamans, she left her sister behind to grieve her father's loss alone. When she left the Enclave, she betrayed her family and hurt her kin. When she tried to save that sithspawn, she worried Mia with the prospect of her death. Everywhere she walked, every step she tread. She hurt the people around her. The blood of fellow vode were on her hands.

What damage was she doing now? In her death? What grief was she leaving her loved ones in? Would she have abandoned them too? She had asked Malum before never to leave her... what a rotten hypocrite she was.

She felt every breath her lungs painfully drew. She inhaled and exhaled, as she looked up at the Butcher King on his royal throne. All her self pity, was she about to bow in her final moments? She clenched her fists.

Never.

"Kill me if you wish," She challenged him, "But I will resist every step."

The knuckleblade vibroknife retracted, shining in Mandalore's sun. On her other vambrace, her charric wrist blaster was ready at a moment's notice. Even if she despaired, even if she loathed herself for being the worst girl in the galaxy, she would not give her enemy the satisfaction of breaking her fighting spirit. Even if it was only out of spite, she clung on. She lifted her vambrace and fired a charric round, even as she panted in pain on the floor. Today, she was going to die. And for all the things she wanted to change in her life, for all the choices she wanted to take back, she threw all her self loathing at the monster in front of her... no matter how futile it was.

 

[Ordo]

I violent shove and the despoiler he was holding crashed into its nearest compatriot. The space around the ships filling with venting oxygen and debris before the internal explosions began. It was beautiful. He could hear a voice, familiar somehow, a voice that vibrated in his memories like long held note on an old weathered guitar, and for a moment, He remembered who He was.

"Mia." He said calmly as Graug clawed and gouged at his armor, "Moving."

The black bladed plasma saber in his hand lit again and power exploded from him shaking the air and ground like silent thunder and the graug in his proximity turned to black mist. The beskar from their weapons liquefied and pulled toward him to patch the cracks and missing parts of his ravaged armor before he took a step toward Elise Ahana-Gwyneira and left eddies in the still settling black mist. He leapt a the end of his dash and came to rest near the massive throne platform upon which Darth Carnifex commanded his legions and tormented a young Mandalorian.

They would have to deal with that later.

Mia Monroe Arla Rodarch Quintessa Taeli Raaf Daesyn Rodarch Ijaat Mereel Valery Noble Liorra @I forgot who else.

 

[Darth Carnifex]

His expression didn't change when she managed to blow the gun away, her other pistol clattering to the ground as her legs gave out. It was the same look one would give an insect scuttling about in the dirt, a look of passive inconsideration; a total disregard for its life. Without a thought they could be crushed beneath the heel of a boot, snuffed out and as forgotten just as easily as they had been killed. Still, this particular creature had managed to be minutely entertaining at the very least.

"Resist all you please, it's more entertaining that way. I've killed so many of your kind that I've seen every end wrung out to the last drop. Some die with a curse on their lips, some beg for their kin in their final moments, and even some offer to give up their brethren if they're spared. But out of them all, the most striking are those whose eyes go grey as death nears and let it take them. Those are my favorite, all things considered. To give so fully to despair that they can do nothing else but stare into the nothingness that awaits them."

His eyes beckoned her, hateful orange pearls radiating with malice, threatening to drown her in their hate. "In the end, what will your death be like?" Such answers would have to be answered later, as His gaze suddenly swept to the side as a hulking figure leapt up from the ground and landed with a thunderous boom upon the platform. Recognition came quickly, and the Dark Lord allowed Himself to laugh. Of all the warriors who counted themselves among the Mandalorians, animals though they were, there was one who perhaps could be counted among those in possession of true consciousness.

"An inauspicious reunion, Ordo. From one butcher to another, I still don't see why you debase yourself with these animals. Your destiny could be so much greater." Several other Mandalorians came, following in Ordo's wake. They raised their weapons and aimed them at the Dark Lord, whose smile only broadened. "You may grace my presence without dismissal, Ordo, but these dogs that've followed you may not. But, it gives me an opportunity to show you and the pup what I've been working on." He raised one hand up, aiming the tips of His fingers in their direction.

Lightning, bright as blood, lanced out from each fingertip. The arcs snaked through the air, coiling and winding around each other, completely avoiding both Ordo and Elise. They struck the other Mandalorians in the chest, the electricity spreading out over their bodies. For a half-a-breath, nothing happened. But then, their beskar armor began to glow brighter and brighter as the metal became superheated. In an agonizing squeal of hot metal, the other Mandalorians fell to their knees as their own armor flash-cooked them. Smoke rolled off of their corpses in fat clouds, the stench of vaporized flesh filling the air.

The lightning harmlessly dissipated into the air after that, the Dark Lord lowering His hand. "A bit of fine-tuning can be quite dangerous, can it not?"

Elise Ahana-Gwyneira | Ordo | Mia Monroe ​

 

[Mia Monroe]

There was no need for Ordo to tell her he'd found her, she could feel both of them in the force, honing in on them. She reached for her brother in the force, opening their bond drawing them into one mind ahead of the fight.

It had been so long.

Under any other circumstances, she would have been eager for it. She saw the red arcs of energy in her minds eyes and as a distant glow.

"Break off, keep reinforcments off us." She called back to her escort. She pushed the speed of the basilisk to its limits, screaming towards the figure that was Carnifex.

"Fine tune this, you piece of shit."

The basilisk opened fire, cutting a red hot line across the despoiler, towards Carnifex. As Mia stood in the seat, stepping smoothly from it to drop beside her brother as the droid went for a collision course with the Dark Lord.

Darth Carnifex Elise Ahana-Gwyneira Ordo

 

[Taeli Raaf]

Hydra Post
Forces Augmenting the Graug Horde: Kasina Satwas and Drakes
Awakened: The Emperor of Serpents

Ordo Sula Skirata Arla Rodarch Mia Monroe Ijaat Mereel Valery Noble Keratel Rekali Vaux Gred Minerva Fhirdiad Valerian Calore
​

The dust cloud formed from the colliding World Despoilers had hidden from view, temporarily, what was emerging from the crater... until the first head rose above it. A second and then a third joined the first, each far larger than the other hydras unleashed by the Sith forces that day. Armored scales covered every inch of the heads and neck as the body drew itself up, claws gouging large chunks from the ground as the frigate sized monster surveilled the battlefield. If the Mandalorians knew how it had been created, they would no doubt consider it blasphemy for fossilized DNA from their famed mythosaurs, found within the depths of the mines of Sundari, had helped birth the Emperor of Serpents.

From each of the maws, a terrible orange glow would form accompanied by the sound almost akin to a composite beam cannon charging. The Emperor did not care about the lives around it. Its only directive was to consume, to destroy, and it would do so. Massive beams of pure plasma would erupt from their mouths, carving vast swaths across the warring parties of Graug and Mandalorians and their allies. Two of the heads would stop their plasma breaths to start devouring whole squads whole, swiping through and crushing the lucky ones. The unlucky would find consumption by the beast would lead inevitably hidden blister traps within. The center head would continue to unleash plasma beams to blast furrows through the battle as the beast stomped its way through the battle.

The smaller hydras would follow the example of their progenitor, renewed with a base predatory rage and need to feast.

 

[Ordo]

He watched the lightning strike. He could feel their lives give way. He raised a hand in their direction, His heavy hand, with gauntlet covered fingers splayed. Soft cloudy light drifted from the burned corpses and flowed to Him to disappear through His chest plate which rippled like disturbed water as it accepted their spirits back to The Manda.

An inauspicious reunion, Ordo. From one butcher to another, I still don't see why you debase yourself with these animals. Your destiny could be so much greater."

"I've lingered long in Death's hands and learned at the feet of existences that I could but grasp a mere fingers breadth of their vastness." He spoke to the Sith who had at various times been enemy, friend, servant, and master. Their history dated back to before many of those now living's parents parents were living, "I'll speak plainly before We're interrupted. Those existences We aspire to become, gave Me this task, I am War, and these are My children who've lost their way. But enough for now, My sister comes. Target me, Darth Carnifex and bear Me witness before you withdraw."

He removed his buy'ce to reveal His grey-green eyes as they became pools of glowing Obsidian and ignited His unstable blade. War winked at the Sith Lord.

"Break off, keep reinforcments off us." She called back to her escort. She pushed the speed of the basilisk to its limits, screaming towards the figure that was Carnifex.

"Fine tune this, you piece of shit."

Ordo moved between Elise Ahana-Gwyneira and Carnifex, to stand beside Mia Monroe on her left and switched His blade to His left hand.

"I'll go left." He said simply.

He moved with speed only a Master of body control could muster as He closed the gap on the Sith Lord's right and engaged with the blade of projected energy.

 

[Elise Ahana-Gwyneira]

Equipment
Armor	Beskar'gam.
Melee Weapons	Copad'kal, "Ambition", personal Mandalorian Kal.
	Tar'Nau, Bes'manda Beskad.
	The Royal Dragon, lightsaber.
	Kada'yr, Mandalorian Kal.
	Iviin'cer, beskar spear.
Pistols	DXN-57 Breachlight blaster pistol.
	BH Durin Charric Blaster Pistol.
	AP-25i 'SIMP' Particle Beam Blaster.
	Mandalorian Ripper Pistol MK.II.
Other
	Auriel Combined Energy Bow.
	Mother's Root seeds [In secured bottle stored in belt.]
	Ground Mother's Root toxin [In secured bottle stored in belt.]

Darth Carnifex Mia Monroe Ordo Darth Malum of House Marr

Cyan colored text indicates an illusion.

"Resist all you please, it's more entertaining that way. I've killed so many of your kind that I've seen every end wrung out to the last drop. Some die with a curse on their lips, some beg for their kin in their final moments, and even some offer to give up their brethren if they're spared. But out of them all, the most striking are those whose eyes go grey as death nears and let it take them. Those are my favorite, all things considered. To give so fully to despair that they can do nothing else but stare into the nothingness that awaits them."

Elise's eyes were wide beneath her buy'ce, terror and rage gripping her as this monster proudly talked of her people's deaths. Why? Enraged, sorrowful, naive confusion swirled in her mind. How? How could anyone take such pleasure from the suffering of others? And why was this galaxy so cruel? She could not comprehend it, but here it stood, lording over her and bringing about her own end. She was not the hero saving everyone from this demon; she was only another one of his victims. She was not a breaker of the galaxy's chains; she was only another cog in its eternal machine of agony. She stared up at him, as he glared at her with such malice; a malice she could not understand.

"In the end, what will your death be like?"

Shaking from pain, rage, fear, and sorrow, she awaited her fate; unaware that she had gone limp and was not even fighting him. But her pitiful exit was halted, for today, when she did not deserve it. A humongous Mandalorian, rivaling Elise's grandfather in height and stature, landed on the platform and challenged the Dark Lord. With innocent, childlike eyes, Elise gazed at him through her buy'ce. Why was he saving her? Didn't he realize it was all fickle and pointless? Or was he foolishly determined that he could fight this darkness, like she had been only several ago?

The appearance of more Mandalorians flooded the platform. They all drew their weapons, proud and raging, against the cause of their people's woe. The words between Darth Carnifex and the Mandalorian Muscle showed an obvious history, but that did not concern her as much as she looked around, at her vode.

She breathed, pleading, "Wait..."

The Dark Side pulsated from Carnifex's fingertips, and Elise saw the images of her new squadron flash before her eyes. She turned to the Mandalorians, crying out desperately, "No! Run!"

But it was too late.

It was an agonizing sight. Burnt alive from within their armor. Smoked out, screaming and wailing in terrible pain. She reached for the nearest one, extending her hand, as she hopelessly activated Force Healing but failed to even ease his suffering before he melted away.

"No!"

The armor fell to the ground, ashes flying from the empty air within. The stench of charred flesh flooded her nostrils as a vacant buy'ce rolled before her. Why?...

And then, a basilisk crashed into the throne.

Elise gasped softly, looking over to see her mentor, Mia Monroe, land alongside the hulking Mandalorian and shout her challenges at the Butcher King. As tears streamed down her face, as lightsaber gashes and Darkshear piercings riddled her body, as despair and childlike bewilderment ravaged her being, Elise stared hopelessly as the duo engaged in combat with the Dark Lord.

No... please.... you can't beat him...

Her blurred vision was cast upon the scattered beskar across the platform. Don't risk it all... not for me... please...

As the battle raged on before her, she caught sight of her scattered Kal and beskad. She limply pulled them towards her with the Force. She looked at Copad'kal, the Chiss inspired dirk her mother had crafted for her. Was it all just vanity? When darkness was always at her door? She sheathed the knife, holding Tar'Nau sideways and looking down at her pathetic reflection through the blade. The red and white buy'ce mocked her, taunted her, telling her that she was a hopeless romantic with no place to heal such a wicked galaxy. A galaxy where people such as the Butcher King took great joy in harming others. And won. Her weakened hands shook, holding the sword. She did not turn it to the fight, to aid her master and ally in fighting the monster. No, she sheathed the weapon in finality. And she closed her eyes.

The pain in her body begged for an end, and her soul cried alongside it.

Why hadn't Carnifex killed her too, alongside the rest of them?

It was the only thing that awaited her, in this cruel galaxy.

 

[Arla Rodarch]

Mandalore
Sundari Battlezone

​

Friendlies : Daesyn Rodarch Vaux Gred Elise Ahana-Gwyneira Mia Monroe Ijaat Mereel Ordo Keratel Rekali Minerva Fhirdiad Drego Ruus Valery Noble Treoff Kellak Valerian Calore
Enemies : Darth Carnifex Quintessa Taeli Raaf Iuuna Talon Darth Malum of House Marr

The battle seemed to be more even to Arla, as the Mandalorians engaged the Sith, their Graug and their Sithspawn, at least it seemed so because of the devastating volleys of heavy sniper fire her position was raining down into Graug and Sithspawn alike, be they on the ground or in the air.

Vaux, in particular impressed the Journeyman Protector, despite her youth, she was fighting hard and fighting well, and was helping to give Arla's battered and bloodied survivors some much needed success.

Several dropships landed behind Arla, and disgorged a multitude of sword wielding Echani. Hundreds of them. The rest of the Moonguard, it seemed to Arla's eye, and without orders. One of them came up to her, not masked like all the others. Only the Captain went unmasked, and Arla knew this one, who had been Aria Talen's second for decades. "Firma, you can't..." Arla stopped when she saw the other woman's cheeks streaked with tears, and her eyes reddened, and hard. She understood deep in her soul. Aria Talen had led the Moon Guard through the Imperial succession crisis. She had led them through all the battles of the Civil War on Alula, and she had led them following Arla then Susni into exile.

The Moonguard Captain's death here had wounded all of her kin. There had to be vengeance. That trumped everything to these honour-bound and dedicated warrior women. Arla choked back a sob. She felt the loss keenly. There had to be vengeance. The Rodarch Mandalorian then holstered her phazor, and took out her beskad and her dagger, her claw already in place. Firma Talen drew her sword. Behind the two of them, sniper rifles still boomed out, and five hundred warriors drew their swords.

"Vaux. You're in command here. Do what you can."

Arla had managed to get the orders out, which was a herculean effort, considering her mind was afire with grief, rage, and the need to make the enemy pay, personally, for their crime.

"Burn, you bastards." She growled. Then she charged, leaping off the small outcrop and to the desert floor, charging into the dust and fog and smoke in the direction of the Graug horde. Behind her, five hundred samurai charged with her, ready to sell their lives as expensively as possible in the name of revenge.

The suicidal charge of the sword wielding Echani warriors was met by Graug, who came at the Moon Guard without fear. Arla and her fellows fought savagely, almost heedless of their own safety. This bought them success, initially, as they carved a bloody path into the horde. Arla herself was brutal and efficient, even by Moon Guard standards, fighting with a grim savagery she hadn't known in a long time.

A Graug armed with a huge sword came at her. She was outmatched in size and strength. That didn't matter. Arla's dagger deftly deflected the wild strike, she moved in under it, and slammed the tip of her beskad into the thing's face, hard enough to send the tip spearing out the back of the thing's head. Her momentum took her into its dying body, and she knocked the big dead bastard flying. The beskad came free, spilling yet more enemy blood.

Arla then went looking for more, and there was more to come. Another two came at her. Arla whirled, driving her boot into the midsection of one. That bought her a moment to duck a strike from the second Graug, move inside its guard, and disembowel it with both blades, flensing its torso open from groin to neck. This bought her time to turn back and take the sword arm off the first attacker before a dagger strike upward through its neck pierced its brain and ended it. Three down. A death beam from the massive hydra cut a swathe through the Graug and Moonguard alike as it played across the field, scorching the earth beneath.

So far the Moon Guard's fury and aggression had kept them alive. Soon enough though, numbers began to tell, and they began to take losses. Arla didn't notice, so far gone in battle rage was she. Her own reinforcements were now about to arrive, but she might be well gone before they did.

 

[Daesyn Rodarch]

Location: Mandalore Grasslands
Objective: Stop the tide
Tags: Arla Rodarch Mia Monroe Ordo Taeli Raaf Vaux Gred @cammy rodarch Valery Noble
Gear: In bio

The three manda'kyrja, Daesyn and the two Myrmidons that had joined her continued to swoop and slash at the gigantic Emperor of serpents as it continued to rise up to show its full height. Daesyn fired her shoulder mounted plasma missiles the moment their cooling cycle finished on every cycle, to the point her suit was registering instability in the power flow. She raked it with her solar ionisation pistols on her arms. There was no doubt that the creature was injured, but it was a thousand cuts against a gigantic monstrosity.

As the plasma beams charged, Daesyn shouted an alert to the furthest Myrmidon who fought valiantly against one of the outer heads. It had several large lacerations along tits snout from the axe that he swung. Only too late did he hear Daesyn's call and as he tried to reposition, he was caught full on by one of the plasma beams, incinerating him and his armour and returning him to the oversoul one last time. Daesyn screamed in anger as she felt the death of her brother, he did not deserve such a death. She blasted a bolt of force light into the face of one of the Hydra's heads, it should cause agony and weaken the Sith spawn but the power of her next attack was intended to shatter at least one of the skulls.

The woman engaged her SLAM motor and in a split second accelerated beyond the speed of sound with her repulsor assisted hammer in hand. Even with the Estrian in the haft the shock to Daesyn would be painful but the fast moving head would strike like thunder into the skull of the monstrosity. Whether the strike was enough to destroy a head or even kill the beast entirely remained to be seen, but Daesyn spun in the air behind it and unleashed another volley of ten energy torpedos from her shoulders and a full volley of her remaining whistling birds. She hoped that if she didn't kill it, she could draw its attention away from the front lines of the mandalorians.

 

[Quinn Varanin]

//: Darth Malum of House Marr //:

His voice cracked as realization washed over him. Eyes locked onto hers as she saw a man amid his mental break. Whoever this woman was, she was far more important than just being fond of. Quinn knew this feeling; she knew the emotions that bubbled up from his core. Her hand felt his touch and squeeze as he tried to add the unnecessary emphasis. "Malum." she started, the weight of his crisis weighing down on her, pushing her defenses down. Quinn wanted to pull away from him, but she couldn't. Something kept her listening to his tortured soul.

"It's okay, I'll help you - I won't leave you alone." she covered the hand that grasped hers and returned the reassuring squeeze. Something screamed at the young Echani Princess; the state of his mind shattered in the Force, and it worried her. More was at play, and Quinn was unsure of exactly what, but she couldn't abandon him. "We'll find her, I promise." Quinn smiled in a way Malum had never seen. There was reassurance and trust behind her eyes. Malum had no reason to lie to her or for him to drag her into any mess he had created, and Quinn offered her help freely. It was an offer that so few got the chance to experience.

"Where was her last location? We will find her, especially with the two of us." She pulled her hand back away from him and patted his shoulder. If Quinn could focus on him, they would have a better chance of finding this operative. The Princess didn't want to consider why she was entertaining this request. She would have rather seen him suffer and crumble under the weight of his affections being taken from under his feet. A proper Sith would use this as an opportunity to rise above their competition. If Malum was broken and led astray, it meant one less person she had to worry about and one less skeleton she had to climb over in her goals.

But something in his desperation made her remember how she felt not so long ago. Her heart pounded against her chest as her mind drifted to Vesta and Alina, pulling hard at the Princess's heart. She couldn't plague her mind with memories; their goal was set, and Quinn needed to support Malum.

Maybe she would find out what Srina had initially seen in the man. "Let's go; we won't do much on this machine." The woman moved quickly, headed towards a pathway they could take to get off.

 

[Allyson Locke]

//: Lernaean Base //:
//: Taeli Raaf //:

Allyson's feet slid back as the bow's Force launched the notched arrow. The power of the weapon was something she would soon get used to. It was a clean shot, one that would quickly end any target. Allyson found herself in a curious state. Her eyes focused and watched while praying for the weapon to miss its desired target, a feeling the Corellian was unused to. Any other Sith, the Shadow could easily dissociate the Sith from being a living, breathing individual. In her career, she couldn't fathom the number of Sith operatives she had murdered in the name of the Alliance, the good guys. Taeli was too much like herself, and she hated it.

The Corellian's inward dive was cut short as she watched the tendrils of emerald electricity crack through the air between them. The smell of smoke filled her senses as she quickly drew another nanite kybrite-laced arrow and fired it into the ground between her and the lightning. Hopefully, it would ground the attack, letting the Shadow have a sense of reprieve. A hand reached to her face and ripped the leather eyepatch from her face. The cybernetic eye flashed red as she took in the layout of the dueling space between her and Taeli.

"My story?! It doesn't matter!" Allyson could feel the frustration gathering in her chest. Allyson knew no matter what she did going forward, she'd never be good enough. Her life was disposable, and Allyson sometimes wondered why she kept going. Constantly, she filled her emptiness with vices that only hurt others around her. There was an emptiness in the Corellian's heart, and continuously, she returned to something that felt familiar. The Jedi enabled her to let her feel like she was doing something good in this galaxy, but was she really? Rolling her shoulders back, Allyson drew one of the explosive arrows.

"I'm not better than any Jedi, not even a Sith. I've killed, I've stolen, I've lied - so many times." She once more took aim, but with the quick calculations the cybernetic eye did and relayed to the bow, she fired the explosive arrow toward the space between her and Taeli. Its target is far enough from both of them but enough to create a distraction.

"All I can do," she started as the bow was quickly stowed away, her feet digging into the ground below her as it shook with the explosion. "Is what I do best…" The Force burned through her core and she felt her legs light, strong as she sprinted forward. Her lightsaber blade, burning in a brilliant sapphire, cut through the smoke. Both hands, gripping the hilt as she swung upward from the ground as she closed in with enhanced speed and the cover of smoke. In her eyes, her worth resided in her efficiency and effectiveness in doing what the Jedi refused to do: the covert assassinations, the infiltration of enemy strongholds, and the extraction of high-value targets. The secrets and the hellish missions they didn't want to risk actual proper Jedi on. Allyson continued because this was all she knew.

She welcomed death whenever it decided to come for her.

"Keep fighting because once I can't do that anymore - I outlive my purpose."

 

[Shev Skirata]

"Shev, this is flight control..." A voice came over the Command channel on the ancient Y-wing, "We need you to focus on the big one, support is almost to you."

He checked visually on his port side, and began sweating inspite of his armor's cooling systems. It wasn't a big one, it wasn't a huge one, it was the most gigantic mass of terrible flesh he had ever seen....and it started spewing beam cannons...from its mouths, plural. He didn't know what to say. What could anyone say when faced with a world destroying monster and then be asked to go fight it with a flying pop can?

"Copy." Was all he could muster.

The sky was painted rust orange from the clouds of blood and dust and smoke mixing high into the atmosphere. Half the world would be covered by that haze for weeks. The whine of the Y-wing's engines and the shuddering vibrations shook him so steadily his hands were beginning to go numb. His shoulders and back were stiff from the constant strain of holding on tight as beast of every nightmare he could fathom roamed and tore and flew around him. They were lost in a hurricane of death. They would all be killed.


The beast dipped a head and claimed mouths full of ground combatants. Its indiscriminate hunger and rage content to devour anything before it. Shev turned the fighter from its course and looped back toward the abomination as Daesyn Rodarch engaged it. He, for the first time that he could remember, prayed Sula Skirata wouldn't jump into a fight. She was an annoying woman, but they had been through a lot together in a short time and he found himself wanting her to get as far from that thing as possible, Galaxies away.

He was going to have to just...crash into it. He wouldn't be saving anyone by just keeping a head busy. He couldn't shoot it to death his ion cannons wouldn't do more than annoy it, he would have to arm all of his remaining ordinance in their tubes and just crash into something vital. He was going to miss, so much.

The Y-wing swooped high as he spiraled into the sky, dodging the drakes and debris clouds as he gained altitude before he leveled off and marked the Emperor of serpents on his targeting computer. His MT-1 astromech whined and beeped at him that the bombs were all armed and he should avoid heavy jarring while he pointed the nose of his fighter back down at the beast.

"Thanks, Emp-tee." He said with an odd calm that settled over him.

"Command, This is Skirata." He said as he began pushing his engines to bombing attack speed. "Engaging."

Taeli Raaf Arla Rodarch Vaux Gred

 

[Darth Carnifex]

"You're gonna get put down one of these days, old war-dog. I'll shed a tear for you."

Engines screamed from above, laserfire peppering the platform and the throne. Those that dared near the Dark Lord found their trajectories shifted, the bolts of plasma slamming into the stonework around Him. His smile never wavered even as the basilisk continued onward, and He could still be seen sitting the moment the machine-beast slammed into the throne. Dust flew up in every direction as the throne visibly cracked and shattered, a wave of air speeding out from the point of impact.

When the dust cleared, the basilisk was still there; perched over the ruined throne. The Dark Lord was beneath it, hands tightly holding onto the metal chassis just beneath the thick neck. The iron-beast's claws were spread aside, held there by the Force, so that they could not reach for the Dark Lord. Pushing the beast back, the Dark Lord leapt up into the air and landed on the basilisk's back. He pulled back His right hand, coiled it into a fist, and then slammed it down onto the basilisk's beskar plating.

The metal bent inward like foil, the Dark Lord's fist meeting gears and wires as it penetrated deep. With a warbling cry, the basilisk teetered to the right and then fell on its side. Carnifex was already moving by then, leaping down from the machine-mount just as Ordo and Mia moved in simultaneously. Both sabers slipped deftly into His open palms, blades igniting one after the other. The Dark Lord moved like a beast possessed, every action augmented through the Dark Side of the Force; an avatar of darkness.

Long had the Dark Lord studied the forms of the Jedi and the Sith, learning each in turn so that He could simultaneously master and overcome them. His greatest achievement, however, was what He learned from studying Vaapad. Long held as the Jedi's greatest and darkest weapon against the Sith, enabling a masterful Jedi to skirt the edges of the Dark Side and use their adversary's own darkness against them; using and redirecting their own fury. Carnifex took this concept, this state of mind, and transformed it.

As the Dark Lord opened Himself up to the Dark Side and slipped into the mindset foundational to Vaapad, He turned Himself into a superconductive loop for the Dark Side. His own fury, and the fury of those around Him, was collected and redirected within Himself; becoming stronger, more acutely, and more deadly with every passing second. He could fight entirely autonomously, His body moving and acting independently from thought. The more He was hated and the harder His enemies fought, the stronger, faster, and more precise He grew.

He was the whirlwind.

And they were caught in the tempest.

Mia Monroe | Elise Ahana-Gwyneira | Ordo ​