Private No Extraction

[Aurelian Veruna]

From: Spilled Bacta
Tags: Sibylla Abrantes

Aurelian's hand never loosened its grip on the rifle sling, his index finger resting light and dangerous against the guard. They were even, or so the Sith Princess claimed. The realization sat bitterly in his chest. A clear shot had been right there, a fleeting chance to end Quinn Varanin once and for all. He doubted he would ever get such an opening again, however improbable landing it would've been. Sacrificing his own life for that kill was a trade he might have made, but he could never risk Sibylla in the crossfire.

Listening in silence, he watched the quiet exchange between the two women with growing intrigue. The Echani spoke of wanting to be good, of wishing to stand in the light. It sounded absurd coming from a dark lord, yet if anyone possessed the strange, magnetic grace required to break through a monster's armor, it was Sibylla.

The warbeast turned, melting into the dense haze of the burning plaza. The second the droids cleared, Sibylla bolted across the cracked pavement and collided directly into his chest.

An overwhelming surge of relief slammed through him. Aurelian wrapped his arms tight around her, burying his face against her hair and anchoring himself to the simple reality that she was warm, breathing, and safe. The scorched armor between them felt like nothing. He would have stayed locked in that embrace forever, entirely indifferent to the dying world around them, had she not pulled back and taken his hand.

House Abrantes troops surged forward to form a tight, defensive pocket around their Voice, blending seamlessly with the remaining Kingsguard. Aurelian keyed his comm, calling up to the sky.

"Elian, we have her!" he shouted over the ambient roar of artillery. "Bring the ship down for extraction!"

Static rattled through his earpiece unclear where Elian could be.

A sudden whine echoed through the smog as a different vessel descended several hundred yards away, settling hard into the ruins of an adjacent courtyard. Republic drop-shuttles were still making desperate runs to pull survivors off the surface.

"Movement ahead!" Aurelian ordered, gesturing toward the landing site. "Secure that shuttle!"

The Kingsguard broke into a sprint, clearing a path through the rubble while Aurelian slacked his pace, keeping himself firmly between Sibylla and the surrounding alleyways. They were fifty paces from the ship's lowered ramp when a flash of crimson cut through the haze.

A heavy artillery shell slammed straight into the shuttle's fuel tanks. The world detonated in a blinding flash of orange fire and twisted metal. Red lightsaber blades ignited through the smoke beyond the wreckage, moving fast.

The shockwave hit them like a physical wall, throwing Aurelian off his feet and slamming him hard onto the cracked durasteel deck.

Vision swimming, a deafening ring echoed in his ears as he pushed himself up from the dirt. Ash rained down around them. Through the haze, he spotted Sibylla stirring a few feet away. Scrambling over, he grabbed her by the arm, hauling her to her feet and shoving her toward the dark entryway of a shattered multi-story building.

"In here! Go!" he yelled, drawing his sidearm as their remaining guards turned to face the advancing red blades head-on, buying them every second they had left.

​

 

[Sibylla Abrantes]

LOCATION Thyferra ⟡ OBJECTIVE Get out Alive!​

The shuttle exploded before Sibylla had the chance to believe they might actually reach it. One moment salvation sat barely fifty paces away. The next, crimson artillery struck the fuel tanks and the world became fire.

The shockwave hurled her backward. Sibylla hit the ground hard enough to drive the air from her lungs, pain erupting through her body as a piercing whine swallowed every other sound. Warm blood trickled from one ear. Orange light blurred across her vision, copper filling her mouth where she had bitten her tongue. She barely registered Aurelian scrambling toward her before his hand closed around her arm, hauled her upright, and shoved her forward.

In here! Go!

"I'm going!" Sibylla shot back as she stumbled through the shattered entrance, boots skidding across ash and broken duracrete before instinct sent her hand reaching back for his.

She was not leaving him behind.

Her vision cleared enough to catch flashes of crimson and emerald blasterfire tearing through the ruins. Abrantes security and Kingsguard surged into position behind them, closing ranks around their King and Voice as they poured covering fire into the smoke.

"Incoming!"

Sibylla barely had time to turn.

A bolt struck the wall beside them, molten sparks washing across her shield as she seized Aurelian's hand and dragged him through the doorway. The explosion followed a heartbeat later, thundering through the ruins hard enough to make the floor buck beneath their feet.

"Keep moving!" She cried out, but her voice sounded far away and muffled beneath the ringing in her ears. Sibylla wiped the blood from the side of her face and raised her blaster, searching the darkness ahead while their guards disappeared behind them into smoke and savage volleys of fire.

"My diplomatic shuttle should be ahead," she called to Aurelian and the guards, already pushing deeper into the ruined facility. "We were heading toward it earlier."

Unfortunately for them, it would be a charred, flaming skeleton of what it used to be.

INTERACTING WITH | Aurelian Veruna |
ITEMS AND GEAR​

 

[Aurelian Veruna]

LOCATION Thyferra ⟡ OBJECTIVE Run!​

Heavy air rasped in Aurelian's throat as he crossed the threshold into the dark interior of the ruined complex. Flashlights clicked on from the forward gear of the remaining Kingsguard, cutting narrow shafts of light through the drifting dust. Only three guards were left with them now. Two pushed ahead to clear the corridor while one swept the rear, their boots crunching on wet duracrete over the distant, sickening shrieks of their comrades being slaughtered in the courtyard outside.

"Wait, hold up," Aurelian demanded, waving a hand to halt the vanguard.

Sweeping his flashlight beam low, he holstered his sidearm and stepped directly into Sibylla's path, catching her gently by the shoulders. He cupped her face in his gloves, his thumbs softly wiping away the trail of blood smearing her cheek and ear to check for deep wounds.

"Are you okay?" he asked, his voice low and tight.

She offered a silent nod, her eyes locked onto his through the shadow. A dark weight pressed against his chest. He couldn't bring himself to tell her that the shuttle exploding in the courtyard might have been Elian's, not while they were still trapped in a kill zone. She needed to focus on surviving the next five minutes. But if a red blade caught him in the dark, she had to know her brother was on this planet.

"Elian is airborne," he murmured, his thumb brushing her temple. "If we get separated... find him. Make sure he's okay."

Before she could process his words, a strangled shriek echoed behind them.

The rearguard Kingsguard was yanked backward into the gloom by an invisible grip. A crimson lightsaber ignited, impaling the guard straight through the spine before he even hit the deck. The light went out in his eyes instantly, leaving only two guards left alive.

"Run!" shouted Trate, the senior Kingsguard who had stood at Aurelian's side since his election as King.

Trate grabbed Sibylla's hand, hauling her down the pitch-black passageway toward the unknown depths of the facility, while the second guard turned back, raising his blaster to buy them a few fleeting seconds. Aurelian was no fool; he knew his sidearm meant nothing against a Sith lord in close quarters. Sprinting after Trate and Sibylla, he plunged deeper into the dark, the snapping hum of the lightsaber echoing violently right behind them.

INTERACTING WITH | Sibylla Abrantes |
ITEMS AND GEAR: X | X | X | X | X​