Faction Pt. 1 - Abaddon's Gate | Chaos Rising

[Seo Linn]

As Seo approached, the teen turned to speak to her. While he spoke, she took the time to notice details around them. Where they were strongest and weakest. He suggested she pick whatever position she wanted and kill anything that came her way that wasn't an ally. Giving him the smallest of nods, if the situation had was better, she would have held her hand out to shake his.

Before that could happen though, one of the large invaders crashed through a wall nearby. Jumping deftly away from the flying debris. Noticing the boy was close to the creature when it blew up, she would attempt to place a barrier around him. That lasted for a few moments but when he attacked one of the now tiny critters, the small explosion negated it and he ended up with some gore on his leg.

Watching as it ate through his clothing, she drew in a breath. A new plan of action was going to be needed. Ryv suggested the troops open fire. Shaking her head, the idea that popped into her mind was quite different. However, the sudden arrival of another person practically eliminated what it was going to be. Taking another breath, the air now had both a tangy, metallic smell and that of acid.

Knowing timing was important, she did not take a battle position but instead started attempting to move the refugees into an evac location. At their current location, it was not an ideal place. Here they were cramped, crowded and a perfect target. If the enemy were aiming to strike, this was a wonderful spot.

The man and the boy and the troops could take care of the enemies, she would take care of the people. Turning her head just slightly to look at Ryv, she suddenly felt more confident of success. Lifting her arm into the air, she ignited her lightsaber. The azure blade hummed and she hoped it would be like a beacon to the population here.

Seo was a woman of few words. Actions spoke far more to her. Seeing an area free of blood and enemies, she pointed and motioned for them to follow her. What felt like thousands of eyes turned to her and looked for guidance. For once, this was something the Knight could offer. This didn't last as long as she had hoped for though.

Just a few simple words. Orbital bombardment...and while there was a time established for it. The civilians weren't positive all of them would get out in time. This could happen anywhere and these people did not know if their area would be a target or not. What had been a rather calm grouping started to surge forward in almost panic. The almost ever calm Jedi was now faced with a different form of chaos.

Cursing under her breath, the clawing hands tried to reach her. Maybe to cling to her for support or to kill her. Not knowing entirely what they were thinking, she gathered the Force and made a leap up to the top of the wall they were huddling by. Her view was entirely different than what she had before and what she saw was almost worse. Instead of one large creature, there were many.

Looking down at the people, some of them were trying to climb up to her. Others were sitting in shock and would need help to safety. The sight from the wall would have been demoralizing if Ryv hadn't been performing the Battle Meditation. For some reason, not all of the people below were calmed by it.

Using the Force to propel herself, she ran to a clear area. Here is where a ship could land and take these people away. Hoping to give them a sense of hope, she waved her lightsaber again. If they hadn't watched her movement, they would see it now. Getting down on her knees, she indicated they would be safe here. Provided they would calm down and not trample anybody.

Taking a few deep breaths, she centered herself and waited for the refugees to make their way to her. Wanting nothing more than to get them out of there, she prayed the transport would find them before the 30 minutes expired.

Ryv Kazuhira Cassius Callaesar

 

[Gala Geert]

Location: Vuultin City // Leon's Building - 4th floor --> I.S.V. Ashaton
Working with: Dak // Amaris Tanenat // Leon Gallo
Will soon be nearby: Ryv // Seo Linn
F.W.T.B

​

The madness that gushed out from the skies was an unprecedented addition to the slew of animated corpses that hissed, screamed and howled as they claw and struck and tackled down soldiers. Biomass of textures she’d never seen before stretched over rippling muscle as they escalated up the buildings, discarding some of the brick and rubble as they ran. Large quadruped creatures swarmed the roof, closing in on the doorways and threatening the ramp of the ship

By now, she was becoming desensitized the cacophonous orchestra of machines groaning, armour tinking, and creatures wailing. Her hyperfocus was on her immediate vicinity, and acceptance of anything beyond that was out of her control and above her pay grade. Her head was starting to pound from the constant reverberation of her gunfire as it burst target after target, and missed just as many when the smaller buggers started showing up. Things that were not human in their lifetime. Most of the fight had been against bipeds, things that had hopes and dreams at one point -- these new creatures were straight from hell itself.

A large creature emerged from below. She’d felt the thunderous steps up to the point where it evidenced itself, but hadn’t concerned herself until it became a problem in her 2-meter rule. Now it was all up in her business. A large, tentacle-like limb snapping out and coiling around her midriff, another reaching out for another lingering soldier. Both agents fired desperately at the creature, bits of epidermis exploding from the discharge and splattering over her face and armour. No time to be grossed out though! It looked as if it were fixing to straight up eat her. Guns were doing a measely job. With concentrated effort and wiggling in the face of desperation, Gala managed to relieve one of her vibroswords and activated the blade, using her free arms to saw through the creature’s tentacle. With a burst of adrenaline at her own freedom, she dropped to the ground and raced to free her fellow soldier who was still painting the creature’s skin with sear-marks from the true aim of his plasma. Guns, swords and strength eventually relieved the agent, with much tugging and aggressive hacking on Gala’s part.

The creature barely reeled away, feeling little more than a tickle on it’s skin.

An intensely focused sound caught her attention, and she looked up in time to see a plume of swirling smoke heading in their direction. “Get inside!” She all but booted the soldier ahead of her to jump into the stairwell and descend through the mass of clawing corpses inside. Most of them had been taken care of by the front liners that had entered first. Gala was the last in, just in time, as an X-Wing from above collided with the roof, knocking and streaking through the duracrete. Taking soldiers and the legs of that netherspawn with it. It wailed in protest, before crashing noisily to the city ground in a splatter of concrete, bodies, and bones.

Inside was only marginally better. It was just plain ‘ol zombies to contend with, and she eagerly tore those up with her blade - cutting a path to the Jedi Guardian in the midst of it.

Observing the situation, Gala barked into her commlink: “Dak, they’ve got a hole. Move your position to the fourth floor and get us out of here. And can you fire on that hellspawn. Too big for us to make a dent.”

Seems someone from The Imperium obliged, as Leon protected several civilians into the welcoming refuge of a ship. “Get on. Let’s get the feth out of here!” she ushered, sheathing her blade and pointing her barrel at the doorway once more to provide cover for the soldiers and Leon boarding the ramp of I.S.V Ashaton.

While they did so, a muted announcement tried to break through the outrageous noise of the general chaos outside.

“God left a long time ago.” Gala murmured to the sentiment from the handsome admiral. Usually, she’d agree with anything the regal man said, up to that sign off.

 

[Tristan Evore]

.
O B J E C T I V E

Location: I.S.V Armistice, Entering System
Objective: Reinforce High Admiral Cassius Callaesar

Tristan's iron cold gripped remained on the armrests of his chair as the Armistice, and the rest of his fleet, exited hyperspace and joined formation with the Anaxsi Imperial Fleet. "Hail the Radiance" he ordered. He pursed his lips as soon as the words came of out of his mouth as he had no intention of disturbing the Admiral who was, no doubt attempting to find a viable solution to the problem.

"Admiral Callaesar, this is Marshal Evore from the Princeps Class Heavy Battlecruiser Armistice. Do forgive me, but i am currently unaware of the current situation as I have been ill informed by High Admiral Taxis who himself doesn't fully understand the situation.' he began. At this point he stood, his black and white cape flowing behind him. The ship's bridge was utterly silent. .​

 

[Leon Gallo]

The zombies burst into the room with the same brutal speed they surely had elsewhere. It seemed that they felt no pain as blaster fire and the Jedi's saber tore through them. The mindless beasts the former citizens of Vuultin had turned into replaced themselves just as quickly as they fell. Suporting fire from inside the hangar helped, but they were slowly pushing Leon back.


From within the building, more fire and another blade cut a swath through the beasts. Gala Geert and her unit fought through the horde. They loaded onto the corvette before providing the fire support necessary for Leon to finally retreat to safety. The Jedi leapt aboard to follow his saviors.


"Thanks. Not sure we could've gotten out without your support."


Leon leaned against a wall as the corvette pulled away. His saber fell put of his sweat-soaked hands. His chest heaved with each breath. He'd never been in a ture combat situation before. A few street fights did not give hime the experience needed to know what awaited him. The addrenaline was quickly leavingthe Jedi's bloodstream and he slid to a sitting position. He hadn't thought during the fight, but each swing of his blade was seared into his mind now. For just a moment, he forgot where he was.

He blinked for several moments, then pulled himself to his feet. A hangar full of refugees and exauhsted soldiers met his gaze. He needed to stay strong now, so they would see they still had hope. He stood tall, and left the room. He'd asked one of the crew members to direct him to the bridge, and began moving that way.

Dak

 

[Loske Treicolt]

Location: Vuultin City // sf-58 Thunderbird Starfighter// Airborne
Flying with: Maynard Treicolt
En Route to Support: Ryv // Seo Linn // Kazuhira
Wishing it was make-believe, oh​

An overabundance of information was exactly what the young pilot needed right now. Between the chatter across the comms, the intensive vibrations from the haptic pads within her flight suit, and ongoing flashes from her targeting radar, Loske had little time to focus on her emotions. She was glad Maynard was sharing the sentiment of levity, and while comms weren’t meant for idle chatter and just battle talk, it was likely a reminder they all needed. Protect humanity.

Part of her wanted to default back to instinct and habitual programming and not rely on The Force to persist her actions and interactions. Reverting back to the known would be to ignore the gravity of that now-clouded bond. The bolster she usually found from the Jedi Master innately connected was pained and insular, not the permeating light she was used to.

"Blue. I hope you've brought company to this afterparty because- shit there isn't much we're able to do 'cept buy time."

“We’ve got Anaxi reinforcements on my tail.” She responded, twisting to the right to spiral tightly away from an organic tail thing that threatened to snap her wing in two. She depressed the safety on her ion cannons, unleashing a salvo into the creature that flew without an engine. The skies were a blend of machines versus voidspawn. Squadrons belched from the hangar of the Anaxi flagship, each with their routes to contest the horrific creatures that spilled from the skies.

"Outrider, Blue, I'm going to need assistance," he paused and did a quick headcount of the beasts, stopping once he hit somewhere in the thirties. "I've got anywhere from fifty to five hundred of these freaks on the northern flank of Site-A. We're barely holding our own here and will high-key shatter if they and their mother-thing manage to reach the wall."

“Copy that. We're coming.” She comm’d back, looking to her navdisplay. Seemed Saber Squadron was already locked in for Site-A to aid the extractions. The urgency in their friend’s voice moved her to jump her throttle full forward and shunt laser energy to her engines. That pushed the speed up toward maximum. Maneuverability would be key now to survive from current location to the extraction point. Adjusting the stick and tapping the pedals, she made her ship jump, cut and dive.

Devilish creatures came at her, and two started loops to come after her. Their turns were more fluid and natural than any starfighter she’d tussled with in the past, and she felt her chest tighten with the panicked realization that the maneuverability of these creatures was on par with, if not better than, the Skywalker X-Wings. They were similar to the the starfighter she was on loan from the Anaxi fleet. It still looked like the creatures had to yield to space-physics though, and their speed meant their turns had to widen to compensate.

“Saber-three, need you to paint one with a target lock.”

"Copy - I've got them."

Punching the throttle full forward, Loske shot her ship back along the vector that had carried her to meet the squadron. One of the creatures peeled to follow her, and the other maintained it’s course to intercept the rest of the Saber formation. Loske concentrated on the one that was fascinated with her. She centred the spawn in her aiming reticle and waited until she got a lock. When the reticle turned red, she hit the trigger and send a proton torpedo speeding out toward the creature.

The beast juked upward and starboard, pulling out of the immediate trajectory of Loske’s attempt. The maneuver saved the creature a few precious seconds, but Loske’s missile had to make little more than a minor course correction before it hit. The torpedo cored through the creature’s face (what she thought was a face) and exploded, spitting blood, bone, and innards in an incandescent cloud.

With a heavy exhale, Loske rolled her fighter over and dove back to formation. With a flick of her thumb, she keyed her weapons back to lasers and sent out a burst to deter additional incoming creatures that were keen on swallowing the ships of The Imperium as they descended to the planet’s atmosphere and out of space.

She imagined they’d scream on connection, their flesh burning from the plasma and recoiling away - only temporarily dissuaded from their course.

Saber Squadron was coming in hot to support the evacuation, and Loske flipped her weapons over to torpedoes, and tried to prepare to get a lock on the biggest target on the ground.

 

[Spasa]

LOCATION: Planet Surface


A strange tug came from Ashla. It is never really a good sign when your goddess says directly into your mind, "Go and do not fear," mostly because as a reformed Nightsister, Spasa does not fear much, period. In fact, technically, she may be inspired to react to threats rashly at times, but it is never fear which pushes her into action. Occurrences a Nightsister has seen and lived through, even initiated by her own hands, what exactly could there be left to fear exactly? She wondered about the meaning behind what she could already sense happening around her, from this strange phenomenon tugging at her for attention. Something unusual is going on, and she cannot determine what, from here. She must go as beckoned.

Spasa immediately stood, abandoning her newly poured cup of herbal tea, and gathered her artifacts strewn about her private residence, nestled in Ashla's magickal manifestation on Coruscant's actual surface. Time for one thing, amidst this particular place, seems absent. It is after all Ashla's gifted design. Things had recently transpired in the Grayson Imperium which had not reached her ears, perhaps because she had removed herself from the presence of a certain male, to allow his preferred course of action develop without her interference. And yet, she has evolved beyond the things she had preferred before, including needing him, the moment all evil was torn out of her soul and Spasa's doppelgänger walked into the Netherrealm, taking with her the name of Pom Stych Tivé for herself. Spasa was so then named by the Force which formed her.

'Somone is calling for assistance with my Amulet.' Now that does make this venture serious.

Standing within the center of her room, she held out a crystal wand and twirled her arm in the air as a light began to produce out of nothingness, an orb suspended before her. The light bent her eyes' perception of images of articles cast about her room. She cocked her head to the side for just a moment, attempting to see beyond here and into where she might be going. Ashla never seems to take such a desire of foreknowledge into account. Every destination Spasa is asked to venture to, is always a secret until the last second. The Jedi stepped into the swirling light of the porthole and vanished from her private home, into the Empyrean.

A tear in space would appear as a flash of light before she materialized upon the surface of Brentaal. Stepping out of the Empyrean, Apparating out of thin air to stand before Ryv and Seo Linn , Spasa would instinctively she casts a protection barrier around her body as she immediately cast her eyes to the sky above the planet to witness a looming presence. Her eyes narrowed as she assessed the feel of the phenomenon.

Psychic echoes of the screams of children in an apartment hit her ears, where Leon Gallo heroically rushed to the rescue. She perceived a call for evacuation from the android, Dak . An airstrike is going on overhead. Nearby explosions cause her to start at the thunderous sound.

The Master Kazuhira stopped haughty creatures from pouring down upon the inhabitants. The overreach from the Nether Realm caught the full attention of the redeemed Nightsister and matters to her far more than anything else at the moment!

The beast that presented itself before them and poured out smaller revolting creatures from its mouth, which this Jedi knew to be an average show intending to garner a particular reaction and incite fear.

All peace seemed to be challenged by the presence of the Nether Realm. While the planet seems void of all peace, Ashla's people certainly do not.

Spasa sighed, "Crap," she cursed.

Believing she has a good grip on why she is here, Spasa dropped her force barrier and extended her arms at her sides. Force Light emanated forth from her being and the creatures which fought to infiltrate the land directly in her wake dispelled with cries of horror and pain, granting the Jedi present, a moment of time to concoct a plan revolving around a unified defensive action.

 

[Dak]

Vuultin City // I.S.V. Ashaton // En Route to Evac Site A
Interacting With: Leon Gallo Gala Geert
Tags: Ryv Seo Linn Maynard Treicolt Tristan Evore Kazuhira Spasa

Dak looks away from the sensor readouts as the Nox-class corvette pulls itself back into the air, breaking above the shattered skyline and pulling sharply to align with the direction of the evacuation site. The bridge was overcome with silence.

"What about the rest of them?" the comms officer asks timidly, "There could still be so many people held up inside these buildings. The gunships and transports can't get them all in... in 30..." his voice trails off as he's met with the cold, expressionless face of the DAC droid. He knew the answer to his question anyway. A terrible feeling of guilt mixed with a profound sensation of inevitability well up inside the young officer, but he does his best to swallow it and tough through, his breath shaking in his silent grief.

"God damnit!" Vod shouts out in frustration, slamming a fist down on the ledge of the viewport. His voice quiets to only a mutter to himself, "30 minutes."

"The survivors are secure," Dak advises.

"That's fantastic," the Captain responds with a venomous tone. He lets out a heavy sigh when the droid fails to react, realizing he needs to gather himself, "Thirty god-damned minutes."

"Yes," Dak affirms "I know this is difficult to imagine, Captain, but the projected number of survivors based on the Imperium's response is much higher than it could have been."

Captain Vod closes his eyes tightly, this time allowing the wave of frustration to wash over him, "Yeah. Thanks, Dak."

The door to the bridge hisses open, revealing the Jedi they had just rescued. Dak breaks away from his conversation with the Captain, moving across the command deck to approach Leon Gallo back at the sensory and communication panels.

"Excellent work, Jedi," the droid places a hand on his shoulder, attempting to replicate a natural gesture of comradery "Many would consider you a hero for your actions. Because of you those children will have a chance at life." His receptors scan over the Jedi, looking for any signs of debilitating wounds. "Unfortunately, it is not over. This vessel is heading to Evac Site A to reinforce the planetary evacuation efforts. Are you able to keep fighting?"

 

[Cassius Callaesar]

Brentaal system // ISV Radiance // Bridge
Interacting With: Tristan Evore
Tags: Ryv Gala Geert Maynard Treicolt Leon Gallo Kazuhira Seo Linn Kazuhira Spasa

"Marshal?" the Steward mouths to Cassius from off screen as the Admiral's message comes through, confused at the use of the Army rank. Cassius dismisses the question with a wave of his hand, finding himself more concerned with the fact that some semblance of help had arrived rather than the technicalities of proper Naval ranks.

<<Admiral Evore,>> the High Admiral greets him over their holo-communication <<the assistance of the Armistice is welcomed. The situation is grim. This star system is experiencing some form of dimensional anomaly; voidbeasts are flooding in from a central vortex. Our forces are attempting to slow the emergence of a Leviathan while we prepare our best attempt at a planetary evacuation.>>

Cassius snaps his finger and points to the 2nd Lieutenant steward, "Prepare our sensor data for tight-beam transmission to the Armistice." The Steward salutes as a silent acknowledgement, then urgently breaks away to approach the communications officers.

<<The anomaly has rendered standard communications impossible. We're fully dependent on slower, tight-beam transmissions. Needless to say, it's made organizing the full-scale retreat difficult for the forces on the ground. Dispatch your fighters to engage the voidlings and focus any long-range weaponry on the big one. We simply need to delay the inevitable and get as many people off this planet as we can before we fall back and regroup at Anaxes.>>

Spoiler: Anaxsi-Imperial Response Fleet (from Overture)

1 x Dictator-class Battlecruiser, I.S.V. Radiance​

4 x SF-58 Starfighter Squadron​

10 x REC/NCM02 Starfighter Squadron​

6 x Maia-class Interceptor Squadron​

8 x MP-TTG1 Support Ship Squadron​

2 x Tyrant II-class Heavy Cruisers​

2 x SF-58 Starfighter Squadron​

2 x GS-90 Gunship Squadron​

1 x REC/NCM02 Majestic II-class Heavy Cruiser​

2 x Maia-class Interceptor Squadron​

1 x SF-58 Starfighter Squadron​

1 x GS-90 Gunship Squadron​

2 x REC/NCM02 Shieldship II-class Escort Cruiser​

2 x MP-TTG1 Support Ship Squadron​

2 x REC/NCM02 Defender II-class Assault Carrier​

8 x REC/NCM02 Starfighter Squadron​

6 x Maia-class Interceptor Squadron​

2 x SF-58 Starfighter Squadron​

2 x GS-90 Gunship Squadron​

2 x Tyrant I-class Missile Cruiser​

2 x Maia-class Interceptor Squadron​

2 x REC/CC-01 Nagata-class Heavy Corvette​

2 x REC/NCM02 Sacheen II-class Light Escort Frigate​

4 x REC/NCM02 Starfighter Squadron​

2 x Maia-class Interceptor Squadron​

2 x GS-90 Gunship Squadron​

3 x REC/CC-01 Avalon-class Corvette​

 

[Maynard Treicolt]

//ON-BOARD// X-01 'Skywalker' X-Wing
//FOCUS// Ryv | Loske Treicolt | Cassius Callaesar
//THEMATIC// Anthem Of No State III

---

"Good to hear." Maynard remarked in response to Loske's words of reassurance and short after arrival before soon enough his focus was wholly diverted to the action infront and around him, rolling his fighter harshly to the right to veer from the direction of a descending voidspawn carcuss only to find another in his sights - letting loose a volley of red streaking bolts into the haunch of another of the chaotic creatures - eventually veering on his course once more when he heard the comms between Ryv and Saber Squadron sound out.

"Shit-..." Maynard let out - jostled by the less than reassuring message from his fellow padawan comrade. His focus breaking for a moment if only to see Loske's evasive actions to peel away and elimate one of the chaos spawn pursuing her. The astromech nestled in the back of his X-Wing letting off a few excited beeps in admiration of the maneuver ; the visceral force addled sensory envelopment of the eldritch creatures bent on swarming the squadron.

"Sabers lets drop all we got on those damn vermin moving up on Ryv until we gotta winchester outta there, alright?" Maynard said - all but ordering them to drop their payload before peeling back up to wrestle the swarming chaos beasts for air superiority.

"Lets hit 'em with shadows and helix - if you can paint a lock on somethin' fierce kiss it with a torpedo- alright we're droppin' switch to your payload lets make it all count now!" Maynard barked out as Saber leveled themselves out before coursing down on a sharp descent toward the chaos-spawn swarming their way toward Ryv's position. As soon as their sights were on target - Maynard sounded out again over the comms.

"Let 'em have it!" He yelled out through the comms before his teeth came together in a tight clench, holding in a deep breath -- shutting his eyes for a brief moment as he tightly pressed his thumb against the button on the back of the joystick - letting loose a burst of three shadow bombs, his guiding hand from the force all but heaving them admist a group of the hellish beasts in a powerful explosion shredding a score or two of the smaller creatures before his eyes peered open, letting off his heavy breath before squeezing the button beneath the main trigger of his blaster cannons to send two proton torpedos down squarely into one of the larger beasts as soon as he saw the crimson lock encircle the figure -- clinging dangerously close to the groudn he veered up and away from the action with Saber in tow.

 

[Kazuhira]

LOCATION: Brentaal System, Surface of Brentaal IV
TAGS: Ryv | Seo Linn | Maynard Treicolt | Loske Treicolt

[Theme]

---

​

Viridescent light streaked across the battlefield, dispatching chaos spawn by the droves. One after another, the abhorrent creatures were cut down beneath his guiltless and unfeeling blade. The two-handed wide arced swings melded together with his footwork to create a ballet of carnage. Kazuhira's mind remained clear as he cut a swath through the monsters than accosted him. He was reactive, never proactive, his blade preserving his life as he used himself as bait to pull the creatures towards their droning, emerald doom. In the unfiltered chaos of this battle, there was an odd order to the old master's movements. The repetition of his dance of death became almost hypnotizing, like a droid on the factory line.​

Kazuhira never once called out an order to any of those around him. Though there was little doubt that soldiers wouldn't follow orders from a Jedi in such a tense situation. His place in this conflict was on behalf of the will of the force, and that was all. He continued his oddly serene, yet vitriolic dance through the hordes of repugnant creatures. The acidic ichor that burst from their forms was caught by Kazuhira's focus, held in the air telekinetically before dropping harmlessly to the ground.​

Another group of writing beasts swarmed his position in disgusting unison, flanking him opposite of his movement. One hand released it's grip from his lightsaber as his momentum stopped and he pivoted to face the oncoming horde. With a wave of his hand in the direction of the horde, he called upon the force and brought forth a swath of flame from his hand. The sudden conflagration enveloped the creatures, their jarring screeches filled the hot air around the old master, causing his focus to waver.​

There was a sudden moment rest from the constant carnage as the creatures before him met their fiery demise. He finally noticed the pain in his knees, the pounding in his head, and the sharp pain in his back. His body wasn't as fit for this kind of thing as it used to be, but he couldn't let himself quit. He began to give himself back to the force as he felt the oncoming assault once more. The dance continued once again, the emerald justice of the force's will cutting down one abomination after another.​

 

[Ryv]

ᗪ 乇 丂 匚 乇 几 ㄒ
​

A nasty looking beast, humanoid in shape, bearing a trifecta of horns bursting from its skull lowered it's head and charged towards Ryv. Caught out after cutting down another of the horrors, he pivoted and threw himself to the ground to avoid a swift goring. Others followed after the beast, swarming towards the fallen kiffar in his moment of weakness. One threw itself onto him, gnashing teeth aiming to tear the smaller Jedi's throat out. Ryv reached up with a free hand and pressed upward against the creature's jaw before unceremoniously driving his lightsaber through the side of the creature's head. He pushed himself back up, his chest heaving as the pain set in all over his body. The spike of adrenaline from earlier waned away, reminding him of his growing exhaustion and mounting wounds. His arms grew heavier with each swing, making it harder to contest the growing horde. With a momentary lapse in battle, he peered out as Saber-Squadron raced over the battlefield, delivering a sizeable payload over the encroaching swarm. It might've been the most beautiful sight he'd ever seen in that instant.

Other voidlings swarmed closer before he could make much of the reprieve. "This sucks," he groaned out as he took hold of his saber hilt once more, preparing for the crashing wave of flesh. A sudden flash of light surged past him, rolling over the creatures. Those nearest to the kiffar eradicated on impact, their bodies no more than a smoking husk on the bloodied floor. The creatures further back remained standing, though most turned and fled as their flesh blackened and sizzled. Ryv turned back and grinned at the sight of Spasa. While he had zero idea who the woman was, the unmistakable touch of the light side assured him of her position in the battle. "Right on time, I gotta say," he then looked past her to spot both Master Kazuhira's evisceration of the many beasts and Seo Linn's guidance of the refugees, nodding once. "Okay, that's good, we're looking like we might be able to get this in li-" he stopped speaking as the ground began shaking beneath their feet.

The towering, mutant rancor barreled towards the outpost, each step leaving a crater where it stepped. The very walls shook upon the horror's approach, momentary halting the soldiers in their dogged defense. Ryv's eyes widened, and he just shook his head, beginning to push his way through the rubble towards the attacker. He knew there wasn't a damn thing he or anyone else could do in response to this monolithic entity. Likely ten stories high in height with a weight to reflect it's robust build, it would almost certainly roll over the encampment and everyone in it within the next moment.

"Alright, you big sonuvabitch, you want some? Yeah, come get some," Ryv muttered as he shakily pushed himself forward. His charge would assuredly lead him to the towering horror and the hordes crawling from its body, but in that instant, Ryv could not stop himself. He knew what Cedric would do. The thundering footsteps of the titan and it's following drowned out all noise across the plains, promising only a painful death to those who opposed them.

And suddenly, nothing.

Each creature stopped its rampaging charge and shifted their attention elsewhere. All manner of heads turned to look heavenward, their focus now on the massive wormhole that had opened. Color burst around in the tear in reality, lightning flashing as if a storm had taken hold of the space surrounding it. For several minutes, nothing came. The monstrosities did not even fight back as the Imperium's forces ruthlessly gunned them down, remaining inert to the threat around them. One by one, they threw themselves to the floor as a massive force signature erupted into real space. The power seemed to suck the very warmth from the air. Its baleful essence cascaded around the planet, momentarily stealing the breath from those unprepared for such a sudden power. A power greater than even the fiercest of Sith and Jedi alike threatened to consume the planet, yet, nothing outright appeared to the people on the planet's surface.

At least not yet.

Spirit of Unity | Loske Treicolt | Maynard Treicolt | Leon Gallo | Spasa | Seo Linn
Kazuhira | Tristan Evore | Gala Geert ​

 

[Gala Geert]

Vuultin City // I.S.V. Ashaton // En Route to Evac Site A
Leon Gallo // Dak​

Panting like a well-exercised dog, Gala dragged herself up the ramp as it sealed and flopped to her back while the airlock tightened to secure the people inside.

"Let's get the feth out of here." She spoke out on a heavy exhale, but was quickly silenced by the DAC unit's suggestion that there was more to do. In protest, she groaned and rolled to her stomach before drawing herself to her knees and finally standing. Giving a faux appraisal of herself, she picked at a particularly stubbourn blot of blood or guts on her elbow until it fell away to the floor.

The ship seemed to angle beneath their feet, obviously changing course to maintain their route on planet side. The sentiment of exhaustion was palpable, and while the knight they'd just pulled from the grip of the damned may have The Force to draw on, the other soldiers were weary. The point of diminishing return was quickly approaching.

Gala wasn't ambitious enough to be in a position to make the call or give the orders. She was as obedient as the rest of the tired, who were collapsed in random heaps while the more medically minded tended to their ailments.

"Is this our final evac run? How many citizens are remaining?"

 

[Aeris]

Behold, the day of the Lord comes,
cruel, with wrath and fierce anger,
to make the land a desolation
and to destroy its sinners from it…​

The memory of a promise lingers - a faded understanding that things hadn’t always been this way. That there was a purpose to this madness. An identity beyond this vessel of searing hatred. A boy who longed for those he loved; those who were taken from him. A promise that they may see eachother again - that his unrelenting fury would reunite them. The only cost was to be blood, and there was plenty to give.

Centuries in the blink of an eye. Lifetimes of preparation, torment and resurrection. Each birth and death a chain broken, until slowly that weak boy who had cowered in the presence of the Beyond... was forgotten. Now, the Gods bent their knees and the very fabrics of reality tore before him and his retribution. There would be no hope for mercy.

Hope...

A second, thunderous tremor shakes the ground beneath the battlefield on the outskirts of Vuultin. Drowned out by the cracking and shifting of the earth, the vile invaders cry out in hideous laughter and cheer, even as they're put to the slaughter for their pause. Without regard for their survival, they eagerly focus skyward, seemingly aware of something to come. High above, a monolithic spire abruptly breaks through the clouds, hurling toward the center of the amassed forces below. With a heavy and resounding impact, what appears to be a colossal, jagged fang crashes down and embeds itself deep into the ground, unleashing a violent shockwave that launches nearby chaospawn and troopers alike backwards.

When the dust finally begins to settle, the outline of a hulking entity can be seen standing in observation from atop of the decaying root of the Leviathan's tooth. From behind it's jagged mask a fiery, verdant glow pierces the particles that still lingered and obstructed view. The titan angles it's hand, revealing an old and battered lightsaber gripped firmly within it.

Without a word the weapon's cyan blade ejects, overlayed with crackling surges of unstable, emerald energy.

Ryv | Loske Treicolt | Maynard Treicolt | Leon Gallo | Spasa
Seo Linn | Kazuhira | Tristan Evore ​

 

[Leon Gallo]

Leon was still breathing heavily when he reached the bridge. He'd calmed down, but a feeling of dread still hung over him. He felt wrong. Like something dark was pulling at his senses through the force. IT wasn't a strong feeling, so Leon chalked it up to the massive loss of life and the anguish of the survivors. He composed himself again before entering the bridge.

It was clear he'd just walked in on the end of a tough conversation, judging by the captain's face and the crew's sheepish expressions. Dak, A droid he'd seen a couple of times accompanying the Imperator addressed him. It awkwardly attempted to congratulate him on his efforts, with a hand on his shoulder. It continued to speak to him, but Leon's exhausted mind barely registered what it was saying. He perked up when it mentioned more needing to be done.

"Yeah. I-- I can still fight."

The exhaustion was clear in his voice, but Leon knew he'd have a moment to rest before they reached the evac site. The dark feling stayed with hiim, seeming to suddenly get stronger. Leon cleared his throat and addressed the droid.

"What happened here?"



Gala Geert
A Aeris
Dak

 

[Loske Treicolt]

Vuultin City // sf-58 Thunderbird Starfighter // Site-A Evactuation Support
Maynard Treicolt // Ryv // Seo Linn // Kazuhira // Spasa ​

Activated, Saber Squadron was a sight to behold. On Maynard's command, the ground became alight with the fire tearing up the devilish oppression. It was almost blinding. Vuultin City's warrant had been signed, the command: Burn it to the ground.

Operating a different system, Loske unleaded four of her missiles in sequence. The rounds made were arc-driven things, with each dive, a new payload was dropped before she was forced to snap back upward again to evade the flames she and the other pilots were stoking.

From her viewport on the dives, she could see the efforts of the Jedi. Brilliant light from Spasa, fire from the palms of someone she didn't know, support from another she didn't know, and general lightsaber activity from Ryv. The coordination across air and ground was impressive.

Random and excited hoots relayed across the squadron's shared comm channel, the pilots calling out to one another to remind each other to check portside, etcetera. Between the sounds of chatter and explosions, the sudden stillness of the monsters was shocking. Loske was pumping the pedals to make her ship skip when the pause from the ground happened.

"What's going on?" She asked into the channel. "Uh oh, my sensors are picking up something really...really big from above." It could have been distorted due to the electromagnetic fields these biological creatures were permeating - it was different than the easily vectorized readings from other starships. Nothing so large as what was being depicted on her radar evidenced itself. Curious...that could really only mean the portal had more hell to unleash.

Adjusting her repulsors to support a temporary hover, she angled in her seat to use her eyes and look out her viewport. Discordant sounds of disbelief flooded the speakers while something arrow-shaped plummeted through the aerial formations. "What is that!"

 

[Seo Linn]

There wasn't a way for Seo to know everything that was happening all over the world, she could only assume these beasts were on the entire planet. What help was being given on the other side of the globe would remain unknown, but help was arriving near her location.

Shuttles, both civilian and military were landing and a tense form of calm came over the refugees as they noticed there. Some rioting was still going on, but those around Seo had calmed down enough to start taking directions from her again.

Those in the rear and not able to see the ships landing were still freaking out, but the calm traveled down the line. Within the space of just a few minutes, her people had returned to waiting. They would be rescued before the 30 minutes were up and that was all that mattered.

Raising her lightsaber once again, this time she used it to help guide the nearest transport to them. When it landed and the door opened, troops came out as the civilians could board. This might be a one-way ticket for the men, but support and back up had arrived.

With the last of her group on board, she watched as the ship raced away. Turning again to face the monsters, the sudden appearance of Spasa surprised the Knight. A curse came from the new woman who then knelt down and started emanating Light. She had to give her credit as this was not something she had thought of performing herself, then again she didn't know how. That wasn't the issue here, her focus had been on evacuating the people. Her mission had been accomplished and now her attention could be given to the fight around them.

The young Jedi and old were seeing more action than the Knight, but they had taken to distracting the creatures while she had gotten the people out safely. It was a trade and now she could join them in the battle. Looking up as a different animal came barreling in, she turned her lightsaber off and returned it to her side. At the moment, it wouldn't do the proper job.

Then almost everything suddenly stopped. All the attacking creatures turned their attention upwards and ended up falling under the continuing attacks of troops. Drawing in a breath, it was almost stolen away from the Jedi. There was something up there, out of her sight. Not seen, but certainly felt.

"Something is headed this way..."

No sooner than finishing speaking, that something emerged and crashed to the ground. Once the dust settled, a figure came out of the haze with a lightsaber. Even though it was of a similar color to hers, Seo sensed this man was far from the Jedi she and those around her were.

 

[Ryv]

尺 丨 丂 乇
​

A cold fear gripped tight on Ryv's heart, threatening to squeeze out what little fight he had left. He had felt power before, a power he considered true and without equal. It felt cold and desolate, all the same as the energy pulsating from the wormhole and threatening to envelop the planet. Unlike whatever descended towards the surface, Braith Achlys still felt real. The people who answered her call and fought in the battle weren't horrific beasts like the chaos-spawn that cheered for the falling titan. Her body bore flesh and blood, drawn-out all the same as himself or another. Ryv feared the forces she held within her, knowing neither of his two masters could contest the primal witch. She was a force of nature, a storm threatening to tear away at civilization without fail. This creature above Brentaal IV felt far different.

Even on its perch, miles above the surface, Ryv could feel its baleful gaze peering into his very soul. His knees buckled and fell to a knee, a mix of exhaustion and raw fear tearing roaring through his being. He closed his eyes, willing everything to go away. He wanted Cedric back. They all needed him more than anything else, but he wasn't coming back. The medical droids ran the numbers twelve times at the kiffar's request. The likelihood of a recovery was sub-one percent. To Ryv, it just meant he lost another father in the war on the darkness. Another good man, broken over the knee of corruption and evil. He hated it all. He hated every disgusting, malformed monster besmirching the planet with their filthy bodies. He hated the sight of good men and women dying under the fury of primal chaos. Unsure of what to even say or do, he tightened his grip on the lightsaber hilt and pushed himself up.

"Not this time," Ryv muttered softly, limping towards the growing cloud of dust and smoke. Everything hurt, his clothing felt like ten-ton weights, and he could barely see from the swollen mess that once was his left eye, but he strode on nonetheless. He did not falter when the cyan light burst through the smog; instead, he stepped into the mess and called out.

"I don't know who you are, and I don't know why you're here, but you went and messed up real bad, chief," Ryv dashed forward and leaped atop the decaying tooth beside the armored figure. His blade arced up from its downward angle, whirring through the air as the kiffar mercilessly moved to slice up the armored figure's torso. Without missing a beat, the entity batted Ryv's weapon away and swiped back at the kiffar. Unable to bring his saber up in time, Ryv dropped to his butt and scrambled back. The mysterious attacker followed up with an overhead swing, carving a swathe through the massive tooth beneath them.

I'm not strong enough.

Ryv pressed forward, launching into a string of quick strikes, trying to overcome the warrior's impressive defense and put him on the backfoot. The cyan blade flashed back and forth, effortlessly warding off each blow with overwhelming strength. Ryv growled out, taking hold of his saber in both hands before moving to drive it into the armored chest of his target, but he stopped midway as pain flared across the entirety of his left arm.

"Gah!" Ryv stumbled forward into a backhanded strike of the entity's free hand, before staggering back. His verdant blade rose in time to keep him from meeting an early death at the hands of the icy-blue saber, but the kiffar couldn't withstand the telekinetic wave that sent him flying through the air and slamming into the ground a dozen feet away. He rolled over onto his side, throwing up a mix of bile and his blood. He crawled back, shakily pushing himself to his feet.

Ryv met the spiteful gaze of their unknown adversary, mustering what resistance he could in his glare.

A Aeris ​

 

[Dak]

Vuultin City // I.S.V. Ashaton // Arriving at Evac Site A
Interacting With: Leon Gallo Gala Geert
Tags: Ryv Seo Linn Maynard Treicolt Tristan Evore Kazuhira Spasa

"Good," the droid responds with a flat tone, removing his hand.

Looking off toward the front of the bridge, not much can be seen of the pandemonium below from their distance and angle. Only the dark clouds on the horizon and flashes of vibrant, alien colours across the sky. An unnatural storm was setting in. "I am not sure what exactly is happening, but it appears to be linked to a vortex that has opened in this system," he begins to explain, taking a few steps to the sensor holodisplay and keying at the panel.

A small map projects upward, casting Dak and the Jedi in a gentle blue glow. "As stated; communication is limited. We've gathered that a section of the Anaxsi navy has arrived and are attempting to engage some sort of hostile force that is emerging from the anomaly and landing planetside. Their gunships and transports, along with some unexpected civilian vessels, have been attempting to clear out Vuultin and the surrounding area," his receptors shift look over the tired Knight "given the recent localized broadcasts for a full-scale evacuation, it would appear that whatever has arrived has won."

The map collapses back into the computer, returning them to usual dim lighting of the command room. "For now, at least," Dak adds, turning away from the keypad "we're moving to Evac Site A to concentrate our efforts on what we can control. We will load as many survivors as pos-"

"Massive signature breaching atmosphere!" the Sensors Officer's cry silences the droid. Before he can react, a massive impact can be heard in the distance.

There's a moment of stun across the bridge for most; even Cpt. Vod. Dak, however, immediately presses forward across the command walk to the viewports at the head of the bridge. Next to the Duros, the two stare idly at the sight of the behemoth's tooth lodged firmly into the earth, surrounded by a struggle between men and chaotic beasts.

"This feels like the end times," Jaang mutters to the droid, knowing the sentiment would be lost on him.

Dak shakes his head while his vision enhances the blurred image of the armoured figure standing stoically atop of the fang. "Worse, I'm afraid, Captain. I believe it is only the beginning."

 

[Aeris]

Baleful eyes glare down upon the young Jedi Knight as the silent juggernaut begins to close their distance. The surrounding chaos-spawn give the duel a wide berth, refusing to come within ten meters of their apparent champion and his challenger. When he finally stops, the Kiffar's defiance is met without any expression at all.

A booming reverberance surrounds the two and the armoured entity's left hand rises to clench into a fist, gripping Ryv's body within a choking, telekinetic hold. The being's unholy manipulation of the Force sends a rippling disturbance from him as if the cosmic power itself were crying out in pain, assaulting the senses of those nearby who may be sensitive to it.

Abaddon allows a moment for his adversary to suffer in the hold before finally casting his hand outward, launching the Jedi backward into the towering fang the wretched warrior had arrived on. The enamel fractures and splinters from the impact site, and compacts inward around the boy, embedding him into its surface. Still, he holds the invisible grasp firm.

The pressure enveloping the Kiffar grows stronger after brief pause, and the resonance of the Force grows to be deafening. Soon, the fang begins to strain and crack further, until finally it gives way completely, causing the Knight to be blown through the entirety of the structure and cast several meters beyond.

Ryv | Loske Treicolt | Maynard Treicolt | Leon Gallo | Spasa
Seo Linn | Kazuhira | Tristan Evore ​

 

[Spasa]

OOC: #MemberTagConvenientClickityButtonsWouldBeGreatlyAppreciatedMeThinksIMissThatFunctionVeryMuch

Planet Surface with Ryv | Seo Linn | Maynard Treicolt | Tristan Evore | Kazuhira | Dak | A Aeris





Spasa is a natural born Sorceress, trained in the culture of the Nightsisters. She could feel the concerns emanate from her fellow Jedi and understood the legitimacy. But Spasa spoke daily with entities whom mortals declared to be gods, —although she suspected her awareness to only consist of demigods serving under an even greater creator, which likely none are deemed worthy to approach. She bent these beings to satisfy her intentions. Size makes no difference. Energy makes no difference. She had clashed with the will of the Fanged God for force-sakes, and he is said to actually be the living Darkside of the Force! Spasa can still see Ashla all around them, and this tear in the realm is simply a minor intrusion amidst to her vast and resilient domain. Ashla is on their side!

The Jedi's reactions perplexed her, fighting the ethereal with physical forces? She tried to call out to Ryv as she watched him ascend to confront the newly presented beast, knowing nothing at all about it. She wondered how much prosperous might result from confrontation between blades.

The witch Apparated into thin air and remained dematerialized as she approached the beast and attempted to look into it's thoughts. There would be no manner of atrociously she would see that she had not previously been aligned to herself.

Standing in the realm between time and existence, Spasa became concerned for Ryv she felt the beast reach out to him through the Force and he was eventually thrusted down towards the base of the pillar, towards the ground. Spasa reached out to aid Ryv in his descent, that he would not meet the ground too harshly.

Would the creature be open to communication? Spasa had no clue if it were willing.

"Creepy being, meet Ashla," she said as she reappeared before the beast. Spasa drew upon the raw energy of the Light of Ashla directly, and she let it build between her two hands. It compiled before her enough to shroud her being like a fiery shield of armour… She reinforced her state with words of an ancient spell of the White Witches of Dathomir.