Rebellion Return to Stygian | GA Rebellion of TSE's Krayiss and Jelucan

[Teica Giraan]

[Location: Krayiss II's Orbit - Iblis-class Missile Frigate Epilogue - Internalized C.I.C]
[Being Boarded by N Nyxeris ]
​

Nineteen meters.

She felt a chill running up her spine, another trance of terror forcing her to heed its sounds, its sights. In that moment, the room darkened, and illuminated once more, this time not as the bridge she knew. Now, Teica saw death, and nothing but death. She saw freshly-slaughtered corpses, draped haphazardly over the consoles, if not lying cold on the floor. Shadows came and went, at first eclipsing the gruesome silhouettes, then retreating while the consoles and dimmed lighting flickered in and out.

The sights faded from her conscious mind, left to lurk amidst her subconscious and to haunt her a later day. And steadily, the real world crept back into view.

"Ma'am..." The Bothan security officer began to stammer, "They just...passed through the blast doors- the sith, they-"

It was enough, enough to deliver the coming terror, before the carnage were to arrive in full force. Resigned, accepting, bravely-- the records could detail those specifics when she delivered her report-- if she delivered her report; Teica stood, clutched the grip of her cane, and turned around. Fighting had since become a lost pursuit, and she made that clear with the calm, collected expression masking her inner thoughts-- presented to the coming tempest. A hand raised, and she delivered her next, and likely final commands to the bridge crew.

"Marines, lower your weapons," The commander stifled her terror, and dread for as long as she needed; but the illusion grew more and more strenuous to maintain, while she continued to hide from her own demons, "Start evacuating non-essential personnel to the lifeboats. And give Main Engineering full shipboard control, Clearance Code Corellia-Teica-Coruscant-Nine-Two-Two-Five-Resolute."

"X.O, your clearance code, please."

Ten meters.

"Corellia-Adris-Chandrilla-Seven-Two-Huntress-Three," Her first officer responded within seconds of the question, hesitation all but absent from view, "It's been a pleasure, Commander Giraan."

"Don't make me cry on my own bridge, captain," Teica took a final collected deep breath soon afterward, before-

Five meters.

It was then that their intruder crossed through the door's opening, the marine guards forced to simply watch as she strolled into the C.I.C. Once again, Teica felt her spine recoiling from another abrupt stream of chilled air. But the Sith, as she saw, showed no malice, no craving for terror. Curiosity, perhaps? So many questions rushed through the chaos of her mind, while the commander began to doubt if she would even live to see those questions answered.

This is a fine vessel you have here.

She swallowed a lump, simultaneously trying for all the strength she could manage in that very moment while letting out her own insecurities. No more running, Teica told herself, searching for reassurance, for justification, anything.

"What do you want?" Her tone stern, but unnerved, The commander stared into her enemy's eyes.

The rest of the bridge crew listened in silence, unsettled eyes staring at the sith as if they'd each seen a ghost, all but helpless while the Epilogue was forced to cut its weapons fire, all but helpless as the interceptors were whittled down to a mere two fighters.

Control from the bridge almost entirely locked out by the earlier procedures, the engineering staff were bound to be rushing to reconfigure their own consoles to take on new duties.

Hopeless only began to describe it.

 

[Laertia Io]

Xiphos's blades slashed through another Jedi after a brief exchange.

FOOLS! Xiphos snarled mentally as she cut down another. She didn't understand this obsession with the Sith. How could they still stubbornly believe the Sith were still the greatest threat even after Kashyyyk had nearly gone on the chopping block?

Xiphos began to wonder if maybe she had overplayed her hand in helping them save Sev Tok. Maybe she should not have done anything. Maybe...maybe they needed to lose Kashyyyk as a wake-up call. A final wake-up call. Maybe once their beloved Silver Rest burned, and the Wookiees slaughtered, only then would they be ready to listen. But if you bail them out at the last second, they get to cling to the delusion that they can still have their cake and eat it.

She stuck close to the library proper itself, her blade rapidly cutting down two Pathfinderswho tried to duel her at once. Her use of Makashi frustrating then slaying both after tricking them into beheading each other with a brilliant use of footwork, manuevering and parrying. She hoped Cameron was taking mental notes on all this.

Coren Starchaser didn't seem to have the stomach for facing the results of his decision. Fine. Gut the morons then. She hoped he felt it. She wanted to cause him pain. The same pain and slaughter he had put the whole Galaxy through by sabotaging The Elder Compact. Months and months of wasting lives and resources against the wrong enemy, forcing her to scramble to figure out how to keep them from gaining total victory, to frustrate their efforts and force them to choose between the Sith or the Bryn'adul. Yet no matter how much she personally sacrificed, her family and friends trust and approval, her pets, they still chose to let The Bryn'adul basically run amok to destroy The Sith.

Xiphos found herself genuinely hating them as time passes. She didn't let that emotion dominate her--she ultimately didn't want to destroy The Order, just force it to acknowledge the greater threat the Bryn'adul represent and act accordingly. But it was getting very difficult not to listen to that Hatred, to resist it's constant urges to not just kill Jedi, but torture them in their final moments. Stupid Puritans, ruled by the conceit that they would be the generation to do what all others have failed at and destroy The Sith. Laertia had learned long ago you could never get rid of all of them. They could kill all the Sith tomorrow, and in one or two years there would be another Sith Empire springing up somewhere. A pointless crusade, ultimately.

Xiphos butchered squads of marines firing at her desperately, teleporting around them, a black shadow with a strange lightsaber, slicing through armor and weapons as she got close to the position Aaran Tafo was at. Her strange, twisted Light aura an icy and terrible thing to feel, quaking with raw power in The Force, uncompromising, unwavering as she slaughtered alongside Cameron Crownwraithe ....

Model 1's in the Temple, proven killers since Generis, began to surround single Marines with Electrostaves, striking at their limbs rapidly but in random patterns, breathing flames on them to keep them on a constant Defensive until they were inevitably slain, either by getting cut down by the staff, or being set on fire. Model 1's were cut down themselves but it was exceedingly difficult, as they had learned much from those early encounters, sniping at them when possible, or using shotguns with solid ammunition. Model 1's also kept close to where the new Emperor was, drawing aggro from him to them as he did his deadly work.

The Model 2's in Templestone meanwhile, began to March columns of twenty-five into the thickest combat, their advance covered by mortar fire as they began firing relentlessly with their Laser Cannons, saturating the air with a rainstorm of laser fire on advancing Rebels, singing to taunt their opponents, taking joy in this day of war against worthy foes, encouraging them to try and get closer, drawing aggro to give Sith Legionnaires and Stormtroopers more chances to shoot...



Sol Stazi

Aaran Tafo

Auteme

Okkeus Dainlei

Captain Raith

Arctus Silmar

 

[Ingrid L'lerim]

Lady Ingrid L’lerim Ragal Terassi Vandiir
Eternal Empress of the Eternal Empire, Lord Commander of the Wardens of the Shroud, Leader of the Dawn of Hope
The Red Witch, The Night Queen, Lady Stuztala, Head of the House L’lerim, CEO of the HPI Consortium, Archon of the Primyn Group​

Objective: BYOO, negotiations about the Bryn’adûl.
Location: VIP room, Cantina, Krayiss
Equipment: The Soulsabers (hidden) | Brynja coat | Hersir Imperial Uniform | Viper Mk. I Skinsuit | G1 OmniLink | The Last Gift || Empyrean gland
Writing With: Kahne Porte

[ See me Fight ] ​

Luckily, the man gave his hand so Ingrid was able to show the memories. She was still able to do that, she may not be able to do anything else in the Force after these, at today because the red-haired woman was very tired of the trying, but at least she was beyond that. She had so much strength that her fatigue would not be visible and she could hide it. Rather, Ingrid waited in silence for the man to reflect on what he had seen. Knowing the Jedi, this might take a long time. However, now she received a response soon enough.

A smile appeared on her lips for a moment which disappeared as quickly as it appeared.

"I think the Sovereign Imperator not like anyone, not just me."

No matter how many times she saw him, he always behaved in that way. Ingrid nodded to the disturbing part, unable to argue in this question. She thought in the same way, and she felt the same. But there was nothing she could do about it.

"Not a problem, really. I actually hoped to be able to say these things in front of a large public and not just in front of such a small piece of advice, but it turned out that way. I am not one of those people who would give up what they believe in. I’ll continue my fight against the Bryn’adûl."

She nodded at the drink, the droid came out of its place again and brought the requested drinks. She just asked for a cup of hot chocolate. Once the drinks were received, she then had the next question in the direction of the man.

"As a Jedi, what do you think about this? I am very far from your point of view, but as a soldier, I do not see this to the right thing that leaders of a state to be blinded by hatred and revenge and not interested in other issues and they let this feelings lead them, not the rationality."

 

[DarrVack]

​

Allies: The Sith Empire - Valen Arenais - Mazrim Caide/Taim - Felix Aquila
Enemies: The Galactic Alliance - Zark San Tekka
Objective: 2
Location: TempleStone - Counts Tower

Spoiler: Equipment, Units and Ships

Equipment
2x Red Lightsaber
Battle Armour (Holding 75 Gallons of Dioxis)
Large Power Chair
Mindstone
EWR-52 'Purge' Flamethrower

Units
15x XF-72a
15x Sith-Imperial Probot
2x Akguza Guard
200x OMYN-series Battle Droid

Vehicles
4 Squadron WG-211 Self-propelled Howitzer

Ships
1 Squadron Ajunta-class StarFortress

Bit by bit communication lines of the Conquest Corps began reporting rebel insurgencies and the mayhem that was being caused.

So far so good

His attention returned to the group of floating holopads before him, absorbed in the work, he was for example very interested in searching for infrastructure contractors in the system. On a second screen, he analysed the growth patterns of key drivers in the civil engineering scene. And yet on another, he was scrolling through logs of recently confiscated arms in the sector. The Juggernaut sat brewing inside his armour as he studied.
-----

On the other side of the town barely in sight of the skyscraping Counts Tower, one of his trusted Akuza Guard coordinated the operational set up of a dozen Howtizers. Some of Lord DarrVacks favourite units of warfare. Exceptional at long range fire they were going to attempt to cover targets on the entirely other side of the metropolis. While this was actually a shorter distance than what one of these walkers would deem “optimal” they were not firing high calibre rounds.

No, instead the canons were loaded with canisters of Dioxis, a toxic compound meant to suffocated and disperse the rebels groups starting to form as they crept out of their holes.

The Standard Empire trooper not only knew this weaponry very well but was also equipped with the necessary breather technology to contour their attack in the cover of this supportive fire.

Yet the droid had been informed that there were also hired guns and mercenaries among the men currently on the battlefield who might not be aware of how to behave under these circumstances.

Those who could be bought to kill always enjoyed a high standing in the Ugors books.

As the preparations were coming to a close and the group or armoured walkers were stationed and ready to fire the Akugza Guard would use an open Sith channel and announce their intent.

“In the name of Overseer DarrVack of the Sith-Imperial Conquest Consolidation Crops, we will begin to open fire on reported insurgence activities utilising chemical agents”

And they were eager to follow up, the iron canisters would hurl through the air and come down impacting with a sudden flash of metal as it erupted into a misty green-white gas that would spread through the streets and alleys filling them with the squeals of those choking and aching.

Those warring combatants on the street would find no mercy from the Empire. While their own people would be in the process of or already evacuated as the battles begun.
-----

The second of the two Akuza droids was currently high above the cities skyline commanding the squadron of StarFortresses meant to take out bigger targets or assist their stationary counterparts in delivering toxic salvos. The aerial tanks were purposefully flying very low hovering in the sky meant to intimidate the much poorer armored rebels who would do nothing but fall victim to their relentless attacks.

Ready to sweep down on their prey they would be all closely listening in on Empire communication to support where they could.

 

[Adrian L'lerim-Vandiir]

Adrian L’lerim Terassi Vandiir
Prince of the Eternal Empire, Disciple/Acolyte, assassin, sorcerer and alchemist
Uncrowned King of the Pocket Sand, Heir of the House L’lerim, Member of the Primyn Group​

Location: Sith Library Temple
Objective I.: Trial of Spirit
Equipment: Mnami Mirsûra, The Crow Cane | Deck of the Pocket Sand | Estran Attire | G1 OmniLink || Empyrean gland
Writing with: Kirie

[ Fog after me ] ​

Adrian was out of luck, the very tall and very skinny boy just out of the rift when he met the woman. His blue eyes flashed a little startled. Especially when the lightsaber flew into her hand and Kirie activated it. The boy had no weapons, just a crow-decorated cane, nothing more, a backpack that was full with some heavy things.

The young man looked very much like the late Darth Prospero, his dark brown, almost black hair gleaming in a reddish hue to the lights filtering in from outside. He wore an elegant and probably very expensive suit, with a long coat, and his shoes are such in a sane person would not go out with them to the sand unless his life depended on it. The boy really didn’t look like an average acolyte, much more like some rich kid.

Seeing the lightsaber, he raised his hands and stepped back, so now he “collided” with the bag against the wall and had nowhere to go next. He quickly tried to assess the situation; forward the woman with the lightsaber, and backward the corridors where there were already fights. So he either tries to get through the woman or goes back and hopes the Sith and soldiers will defeat the incoming armies. Or the Emperor.

"You don't want to kill an unarmed man, do you? Oh, and the red blade will not fit to your eyes.." grinned at the end.

 

[Aaran Tafo]

Laertia Io Auteme Ishida Ashina Cameron Crownwraithe
​

He could feel clearly enough. The benefit of lacking one of the five major mundane senses did mean that he relied on his esoteric one far more than before. And Laertia Io was never one for subtlety. Her every action, her every movement simply screamed for attention. Demanding that someone notice her and regard what she had to say as highly as she did.

A shame that instead of having an intelligent discourse, she would rather have a shouting match. But such was the way with narcissists.

It was only somewhat distressing that this particular one had access to a lightsaber and a seemingly endless number of battle droids despite having no backing from a greater power.

Maybe the rumours were correct, and the Confederacy were backing her. It would certainly make sense. Perhaps he'd pester M to investigate those rumours. Or pester her to see what she already knew. Not that he expected the Chiss woman to say anything. In fact, he had the faint impression that for some reason the Spymaster took some umbrage to the precognisant, mind-reading, superpowered Monk attempting to stick his nose into her affairs.

"I should go deal with that. Best she does not interfere with this." He said, leaning to the side to stage whisper to both Auteme and Ishida. Hands folding behind his back as he began to walk to the side, towards the oncoming presence. "I'll leave it up to you two. But do call if you require assistance. This should not take long." He mused, breezing past the spirits with a polite "Excuse me."

Making his way through the halls he would intercept the so called 'Light Side Sith' before she could reach the others. "Miss Io." He greeted; his tone civil, polite. A less perceptive individual might even consider it friendly. "So glad you could take your time from your fight against the Bryn'adûl to stick your nose in here again." His smile did not quite reach his eyes as he gave a polite bow in greeting. Hands still folded behind his back.

"I don’t suppose I can convince you to simply turn away and to practice what you preach about not seeking a senseless conflict?"

 

[Sion Dallo]

SON OF KRAYISS
STRIKE TEAM REX | MILITIA
00:18:02
6/8 BARADIUM CHARGES | 1/1 CLASS A-DETONATORS
DRAWN OUT LIKE AN ACHE

​

That was it then. Mara was ready to go. I nodded tightly, my jaw set on edge and leading the way to the tower that we’d designated as our target.

Under the cover of nightfall, we stalked through the streets; careful to remain unseen. It was clear for a long while –– how long exactly? It felt something like hours, but when I looked down at my chrono it had only been seven minutes. Seven minutes and just under a kilometer covered from our origin point. We were still two klicks out from the target.

I was about to round another corner, when something startled me. My fist lifted to eye-level, as a signal to Mara and the others to stop. Up ahead there were flashes of lights, green and red, and shouts. It might have been beautiful if it didn’t mean death.

Crouching, I scurried forward and peered over a hip-height mound to the direction of the conflict. Silhouettes fell against the earth. Suddenly, my throat went dry and ears felt strangely heavy. Even in the poor lighting I could tell what that was. A jedi.

It was incredible. They were outmanned but not outmatched! With expert precision, their green blade cut through soldiers –– felling them easily. That feeling earlier, anxious hope, rose into my throat and swelled at the base of my mouth. I’d never seen a Jedi before. Captain Raith had told us about them, how they’d show up to help, but they were still little more than a myth to me.

And now, seeing one with my own eyes –– I was mesmerized. Fascinated with the morbid talent of the warrior. He seemed immortal, he seemed ––

A shot blasted through their skull and the body snapped back against Krayiss’ crust. It was inglorious and I heard myself gasp.

Scrambling back to the others, I felt hollower. Like all that hope had been overcome with just anxiety and made room for more of my rage and fury. I didn’t even know the Jedi, but…..to see him go down like that felt so…

<We have an enemy squad up ahead. We can try and go around, but..” I glanced to my chrono. “We don’t have time to go through the perimeter. We'll miss our coordinated strike but..

There’s six of us, four of them.>

I’d never been good at math. That was always my brother’s strong suit. Numbers. People...everything that was good and useful, that was his repertoire.

With him gone, I didn’t really know how to make any decisions. The plan had been clear. We cut through the city, to the tower.

Cut through the city.

I’m a simple man, I know that. Repetition is the only way I’m gonna learn.

<We’re gonna have to go through ‘em.>

I looked to Mara, the words didn’t feel like they were mine. Someone else’s voice –– someone braver, more confident –– had taken over my speech. She'd only be able to see my eyes above my mask, and I hoped they looked confident.

And someone with better words took over my ears. The commlinks The Alliance had supplied us with came alive with hushed chatter. There was someone dropping in chemicals targeted at the insurgency, targeting at other locations throughout the city. Squadrons, not unlike our own, had already detonated some distracting eruptions.

Two targets had been mild inconveniences. A grocer and a bar.

Another report came in, mentioning the use of gas targeting the insurgents.

Insurgents. That was us.

We were rebels on our own home.

The thought of the label was more than ironic, it was infuriating.

But the gas...that was...not good.

My lungs had been crushed during the purge on Krayiss, half our house and fallen on me –– the creeping clouds of gas that were rolling through the city would be devastating to me whether it was poisonous or not.

<Now.>

We had to engage them –– but direct blaster fire would give away more of our position. We had to disorient them.

Keeping my sights fixed on the cluster of Sith Soldiers, I reached into the pack slung around my hips and chest and removed another charge. It had been meant for the generator, but I'd use it now instead. A small reworking of the plan, and much more aggressive. Like a true guerilla attack.

With a grunt, I thumbed the detonation on the baradium charge and lofted it as high as I could into the area in the direction of the Sith mercs. It's countdown to eruption was already on as it sailed through the air.

​

ALLIES | GA | NJO | NIO | Captain Raith | Suri Vullen | Zark San Tekka | Mara Harik [WE R FAMILY]
ENEMIES | TSE | Mazrim Caide/Taim

 

[Suri Vullen]

「Do you want to ride the rocket's red glare?」
Strike Team Hunter: Zark San Tekka
Strike Team Rex: Captain Raith
Enemies: TSE | DarrVack | Valen Arenais | OPEN

16:34​

A hardened gaze fell on the armory. Half the men stood behind Suri on one side of the street, the other half behind Cam, who was peaking out from behind a building across the way. The two turned their eyes to each other gave a knowing nod. Suri spun on her heels, her soldiers following suit. Creeping through the alleyway, they turned at the next corner. As they made their way up the side, a familiar tension took her shoulders. She peeked around the new corner, seeing the trooper looking the other way, and shot across the street like a shadow, Wyrick following her footsteps. As they found the side of the armory, he removed a rope. Tying it like a lasso, it took a couple of throws, but he finally landed on one of the vent stacks above. The pair ascended to the roof with ease.

Her heart thudded with each step across the top. Silently, they climbed onto the awning, knowing enemies were standing just beneath them. She looked to the left, where Cam peeked out once more, and waved him on. With a sly smile she could see even in the distance, he threw a canister through the air.

"Huh?" Suri heard a trooper's voice echo from below.

There was no more time for reaction as smoke began to fill the area. Warwick took the cue, dropping over the ledge with her. Blaster fire sprayed widely as they tried to down the guards. Footsteps rang from both sides of the walls as her men and the troopers scrambled to provide support for one another. Suri placed Warwick's grunts from within the chaos. She wanted him to be okay, but there was no vision, no way to help. Her rifle held a steady stream, supporting him the best way she could.

When the smoke dissipated, bodies laid at her feet. Four troopers, Warwick gasping. Suri knelt next to him, assessing.

"I'm okay. Just a flesh wound."

She nodded, removing a bacta patch from the satchel that hung at her side, and handing it to him. Her eyes fell over the dead troopers once more. Something wasn't right. There should have been more. They knew.

Almost as if the universe heard her thoughts, bangs in the distance drew her attention. More rifle fire followed. As she looked to the source, she could see a grey mist wafting amongst the city streets, reflecting in the starlight. Time was not on their side.

<<The enemies are going on the rebels!>> Suri exclaimed over her comm unit. <<We need a distraction, and quick- Only need to hold them off a little longer! Team Hunter, can you deploy?!>>​

 

[Dagon Kaze]

THE NEW JEDI ORDER
OBJECTIVE I | LIBRARY TEMPLE | THE STYGIAN CAMPAIGN
A WATCHFUL PROTECTOR

RETURN OF THE JEDI

Of course, Yula wouldn't heed his warnings. There was no way for her to acknowledge, no, accept the reality that was unfolding before her. Zaavik - her cousin, her blood - consumed by the dark side standing before her with his blade leveled at her and sulfur dancing in his wild glare. Family was all to Yula Perl; she had never explicitly admitted it but Dagon noticed it - in the little quivers of her chest every time she uttered a name of her kin, in the bright glint in her eyes and teeny pull of her lips every time she reminisced an old memory related to the Perls.

Once, family had also meant all to Dagon Kaze, but now his service to the galaxy as a Jedi came first.

And much later on it would become the unforeseen dagger that would open a rift in their relationship.

Now, what only remained of his family was the afterimage of his twin brother manifesting in Zaavik's scowl and the corruptive presence of Dagon's father within himself.

The Jedi warily stepped up next to Yula, moving just an inch ahead of her with the cerulean blade in his hand ready to deflect a blow. He felt his heart racing, the memories of Ossus resurfacing as a deja-vu in the form of cold sweat running down his back. Zaavik was stronger than him, Dagon knew that. The Zeltron Knight was a well-trained Shadow who had been part of the New Jedi's Council before his disappearance. Even worse, whereas Dagon had adopted the dark in his crimefighting calling, Zaavik had been molded by it. Truly, Dagon couldn't stop his own twin brother - his literal other half - so what chance did he have against a man borne of the shadows. An enigma.

He only possessed hope.

Careful, Yula, the raven-haired Jedi whispered through the Force.

Hope not as much in himself but rather in Yula to do to Zaavik what Dagon could not to his brother.

Bring him back to the Light.

​

ALLIES | GA | Yula Perl | Bernard of Arca | Viers Connory
ENEMIES | Zaavik Perl [ENGAGING] | TSE

 

[Zark San Tekka]

342ND STAR CORPS
TEMPLESTONE
STYGIAN CALDERA
Suri Vullen Captain Raith Skye Pearce Sion Dallo Mara Harik
DarrVack (engaging!) Valen Arenais Felix Aquila

<<We need a distraction, and quick- Only need to hold them off a little longer! Team Hunter, can you deploy?!>>

"General!"

"I heard it, Hal."

Zark didn't need a comlink to understand. He could feel the death and suffering emanating from Templestone like a ghastly aura. Through his macrobinoculars the Jedi General spied more explosions and smoke. Fires began to burn, small from their remote vantage yet at ground zero they must surely be infernos raging with the same passion Krayiss' Sith overlords had too successfully instilled in their populace. This war could only be won by using the Empire's own rage against them.

"Time?" he checked his own chrono.

"Still fifteen minutes to smashball," Colonel Varik confirmed.

"It will have to be enough. Mount up! Slow advance into the city. Get the 628th Airborne on comms."

Walker engines roared with new life as Strike Team Hunter's armored cavalry assault began to approach Templestone in force. First beyond the city limits was an advance crew of Gladius recon pilots. Scouting the ramparts for sign of weakness they moved at combat speed avoiding any emplacements powerful enough to range them. Alliance tactical enforcers followed in an arrowhead formation trundling through the desolate night. Teams of outriders in combat speeders weaved along their flanks. In the rearguard were Zark's super heavies, massive behemoths which carried the bulk of Star Corps infantry under his direct command.

"Rex, this is Hunter. Rebellions are built on hope. Activate your beacon and the Force will guide us to you."

General San Tekka leaned out of the HAAT gunship he'd called in for pickup to glimpse growing devastation below. Buildings ablaze, Sith legionnaires and insurgents blasting each other in the streets. Another gunship joined his advance wave along with a pair of TT-48s until one was struck by laser cannon fire when they passed over Templestone's ramparts. Marines engulfed in flame spilled overboard and plummeted out of sight below followed by a burning wreck turned impact crater.

"Weapons free."

Still well outside the fortress walls, Gorgon artillery crews each sighted a target and opened fire on the Sith bombers claiming air superiority over Templestone's city limits. Zark glimpsed their aftershocks even though the electrothermal railgun shells moved too fast for even a Jedi's eye to see. He ignored the myriad distractions of a developing war zone and focused instead on searching for where his marines could do the most good.

"Signal the Sergeant Major to break off and make for that distress beacon!" he shouted to be heard over the cacophony of battle, "We advance to the Count's Tower!"

Sergeant Major Mars Gek was a bardottan veteran aboard the surviving TT-48. Zark asked the Force to watch over them as they abandoned formation and spiraled down towards a homing signal on the surface. His more heavily armored marine dropships pressed on through anti-air flak. Their first pass at the city's heart cleared a landing zone with heavy composite beam lasers delivered from the HAATs' bubble turrets. Both ships circled low until they cut speed in a brief hover, just enough time for the forty GADF marines on board to leap the last few meters down onto solid ground.

By the light of his crossguard saber Master San Tekka saw both transports rise up and out of sight only for one to come crashing back down to earth about thirty meters away. Its tail section was still smoking from laser impacts and the rest was a crumpled smoking ruin. They were deep behind enemy lines and heavily outgunned, but if Strike Team Rex needed a distraction to light the final spark he intended to deliver on his word.

"Lieutenant Jade! Take two squads and clear those buildings! Everyone else follow me to the gunship, we'll check for survivors then pull back to Jade's position!"

His voice sounded almost robotic through the Jedi rebreather. From what had above seemed like oddly discolored smoke now made its grim presence known. Bodies were scattered throughout the streets, their faces horrifyingly contorted in paroxysms of agony. Many still clutched in death at their blasters but Zark could not tell if they were all insurgents or simply more collateral damage in a war that only grew more bloody. At least his marines' body armor would spare them from this twisted fate. With each deflection of his lightsaber San Tekka covered their advanced on the downed transport.

"I can sense something. Anyone alive in there?!"

A bloodied hand clawed its way out of the debris and waved weakly just within sight of Zark's glowing blade.

Spoiler: Equipment and Assets

STRIKE TEAM HUNTER
(main assault wave from orbit)
212th Expeditionary Corps
222nd Nova Corps
342nd Star Corps
(elements of each)
Freelance Operatives
GENERAL ZARK SAN TEKKA
(that's me!)
Jedi Commander Armor
Utility Belt
Crusader Pendant
Star Compass
Crossguard Lightsaber
OPERATIONAL COMMAND
(non-background NPCs)
Bacta Company
628th Airborne Company (air crews)
81st Scout Battalion (armor crews)
MECHANIZED ASSETS
(tonk stuff)
10x NSTL-62a Landspeeders
8x Halberd Tactical Enforcers
12x Gladius Recon Transports
4x Pernach Turbo Tanks
2x Gorgon Artillery Platforms
AIR SUPPORT ASSETS
(x-wing stuff)
5x TT-48 Troop Carriers
3x HAAT Assault Transports
LOSSES
1x TT-48
1x HAAT
SUMMARY OF ACTIONS
Armored column begins slow advance on Templestone's outer ramparts.
Gorgon artillery platforms open fire on any Ajunta StarFortresses still over the city.
General San Tekka leads a distraction force of 2 TT-48s and 2 HAATs into the main area of operations.
Surviving TT-48 under Sergeant Major Gek routed to reinforce Suri Vullen while remaining HAATs advance to the Count's Tower and deploy 40 GADF marines including the General within a kilometer of Sith fortifications.

​

 

[Pom Stych Tivé]

Aerarii Tithe | DARKCOM | Seto Du Couteau | Jak Ross | Julius Haskler | Otto Shule | Darth Carnifex | Taeli Raaf
​

I N S A N I T Y​

It surely would have been beneficial had the Empire'S Lords not been so independent in their decision to infiltrate the Senate meeting. The Sith are so advanced in their art of Force Concealment that even the Nightsister did not receive an intuitive whisper from her spirits regarding this fact. Had Pom known her deepest adoration to be present with his own personal agenda, she would have left the ordeal entirely in his capable hands and not interfered.

The discussion going around the table about the GA developing their own Superweapon, and another proposal to meet the Sith backed by all their military power, led Pom to imagine the tactical positives for the Sith in any of these potential decisions, to waste all provisions and then the Sith shall swoop down with their weapons and strike the final glorious blow.

The potential for rational beings as they call themselves to be, to become ensnared by the Darkside in these such decisions, now that is treading dangerous grounds. For it is far worse for the immoral to find themselves fighting against an equally immoral foe. The Sith witness this truth in Wars waged by the NIO. The GA stands at the cusp to lose its moral compass with decisions made today, and because of it she will surely see star grid after star grid withdraw from under her reign. This Ashla would demand it so!

Bioweapons can be strategically loosed on the populace and send an entire planet into quarantine. Oh the havoc the Sith could unleash with these! It would seem like an accidental release! The Nightsister listened attentively to every issue raised, the true Senator's data-pad manually typing minuta scriptura on the discussion.

The talk of a Superweapon killer, now that is true cause for alarm. Malsheem is her home, and her children mean everything to her!

Senator Preylith T'dishon stood and countered the insanity, not for the Empire, but for the sake of enduring safety of her own children. Malsheem has the upper-hand, and so she shall retain it! "Do you think that the constructing any massive weaponry is going to remain a secret from the rest of the Galaxy? You would sentence so many innocent lives to death from retaliation of the Empire? You all talk of the people under rule of the Empire like they are all captive. If you notice, there is not always a mass exodus when the Sith take-control. I've seen planets with little government interference, where people cannot walk the streets in safety. Maybe we shouldn't want control over the rest of the galaxy, and just stay snug in the Core and take care of our own. We can protect them by not being egregiously aggressive."

'This too is an advantage in favor of the Sith,' she thought, before she sat again, and read physical pain behind the Vice Chancellor's eyes.
​

 

[Viers Connory]

//: Objective //: Face the Nightmares //:
//: Target //: Eva Betrik //: Cameron Crownwraithe //: Darth Strosius //:
//: Allies //: Dagon Kaze //: Yula Perl //: Bernard of Arca //:

Viers didn’t look back; she didn’t want to watch anymore. Silly teenage emotions, hopes, and dreams of what could be - were wasted efforts. She tiptoed, continuing forward, trying to ignore the anxiety and self-doubt that lingered. The small voice reminded her that there was something obviously wrong with her and why no one would ever look at her that way.

Slapping her cheek a few times, she mentally scolded herself. She didn’t have time to waste on her emotions. As she wandered down, she felt the disturbance in the Force - one that the small Corellian had felt before, and it was coming from where she had left the team. Viers stopped and looked back, wondering if she should return to help them, but her attention was quickly grabbed by the sound of several footsteps coming to her position.

Viers pressed herself against the nearest wall while being invisible to the naked eye; scanners were able to pick up on her. She wasn’t as proficient as other Jedi, but typically it was enough. She watched and waited, hoping they would turn around and head back to where they had come from, but it seemed they were going to continue. Viers drew the quarterstaff and walked to the center of the room, and dropped the Force Cloak.

Their mission was to distract and to prevent others from interfering. Spinning the quarterstaff, Viers tucked it under her arm and held out her free hand toward the squadron that had found its way into her path. The white hood hung over her head as she smiled and prepared for combat.

“Hello, sadly I must inform you that this corridor is closed for the likes of you. If you wish, you must do so through me.” Her voice was almost mocking the squadron. She wasn’t worried about taking on multiple opponents. It wouldn’t be the first time she would be doing so. Still, as she glanced at their weapons and armors, she knew it wasn’t going to be a walk in the park for her.​

 

[Quinn Varanin]

//: Objective //: Protect Innocence //:
//: Felix Aquila //:

Unlike typical Sith, Quinn valued her time with helping and aiding. She was a noble, and much like her mother, she had a bleeding heart. Kneeling by one of the nearby beds that held a dying civilian soldier. She spoke quietly with him, using her empathy to help ease any fear he had of dying. As gentle as her voice was, the man slipped into the release of death, and she stood after closing his eyes for him. This was what she hated; there was no reason for him to die - yet the wars continued, and his name would be lost to history.

"I wasn't able to get a name." She gently shook her head, blonde hair brushing against her shoulders. "Ms. Varanin!" A voice called out, breaking the stillness of the mood. Another had come up to her holding a comm device. The transmission shouted again, and Quinn recognized the voice and the name.

She responded as she removed herself from the makeshift medical tent. <Felix?> Her voice crackled over the comm, < It's Quinn, I'm not in charge, but it's nice to hear a friendly voice.> Pausing, she nodded her head to one of the civilians, and he quickly understood what she was wanting. A speeder would arrive moments later. < What's your position? I'll meet you there.> She didn't wait too long as she swung her leg over the speeder and clipped the comm to her hip. Fingers fumbled with a wireless bud as she stuck the device into her ear and made sure they were connected.

If Felix responded, she would be able to answer. The speeder fired up, and the Princess exhaled, feeling through the Force for the familiar vibrations that she had gleaned off of Felix when they had met. A unique trait that she inherited from her mother. Quickly kicking off, the speeder launched itself into the fray of the chaotic riots that were rising. It wouldn't take long to find Felix, but hopefully, he was on his way to meet with her.​

 

[Felix Aquila]

​

Allies: TSE / Quinn Varanin Quinn Varanin ?
Enemies: Suri Vullen
Equipment:

• - Light-saber
• - Personal Shield
• - Armourweave Clothing

​

Felix had been cutting a swathe through the rebel forces, his lightsaber set to the lowest setting as he would storm through the back of an impromptu bunker. The eyes of the rebels lighting up with confusion and horror as the first one would gasp, dropping to the ground and informing the others. Felix would move to a side, the hail of blaster rounds showering the opening where he'd been as he would sweep in behind the remaining three. It took three simple swings to leave them down, allowing Sith forces to retake this part of the city. It was time to move onto the next, he had received no reply with his message on the open channel. 'So they're all cowards then... alright.'

He would move to plunge deeper into the enemy forces, where their army was, if he could eliminate some higher profile targets, hit their leadership, disrupt their chain of command then their attack would become uncoordinated and sloppy, an easy mop up for the Sith warmachine. The clean up would take a couple of weeks most likely, but it would keep this place safe for the most part, the breathing heart of the people would likely be placed under whatever iron curtain they were under before, but they would have their lives... if not their total freedom. Then a familiar voice came through his comms, answering his own.

"Quinn? It's nice to hear you, Corner of Q285 and A9 heading towards the attackers. Looking to cut some heads off snakes..." His voice was hard, he was pissed. But he'd appreciate the backup. "Are the men back there using my weapons? They should have been shared out by now." He couldn't help but think of the civilians, and the sith demolishing them. But he would soon be interrupted.

An enemy formation! A squad of soldiers on an open street as Felix would take his war to them. Taking off at a run, he would meet the first and second, their tight formation at the side of the street made them easy targets. Felix would dial the power of his weapon back up to moderate, as the thrumming blade of light would still pulse in the void of nothing, enough to wound through their armour, but not kill. Light bent around his form, leaving him as little more than a shimmer when he moved at speed. The first of the soldiers he would hit a blow that at full power would leave the soldier rent in twain at the waist. Flitting his saber left and right as he ran slalom through the enemy forces. four, five, six he claimed until they broke apart.

'Switch to sensors!' They would cry, Felix would ensure his camouflage was absolute, their rangefinders would find nothing as the laser guided sensors would bend around his form, tracking back the data as if he wasn't there at all. Visual sensors... night vision, infra red all used a visible spectrum of light that were useless against the techniques of the Disciples. Antiquated that they may be. When the soldiers would find nothing Felix would hunt another of them down, slashing one through the knees and again at the shoulders before her upper body would hit the ground.

'We can't see him!' , 'We're getting slaughtered!' Shots would fire wildly, slamming into the corpse of the fallen soldier as piece by piece they would drop until they were forced to retreat, calling to their superiors for reinforcements, that there was an invisible combatant tearing through them. Felix would have to hew through them also if they arrived, but for now he had scattered the remnants until... There was a dull thud of a bass tone, Felix would twist, seeing nothing more than a blooming flower of fire rushing closer and closer. Launcher! he would cry out internally, bringing his claw around to face the impact as the energy shield would spark to life. 'These people are alive!' Did they really not care for their own soldiers!?

Felix would step into the oncoming missile, if he moved, the soldiers in his path behind him would take more than some of the hit, pinning him in place he would raise the Thunderbird talon, and brace as he would disappear among the blast of the rocket detonating around him. The shield would let out a repulse from its reactive armour, breaking the detonation apart and parting it like the red sea. Heat, fire, force buffeted at his form, but little graced his skin.

The shock would cause his stealth to drop, he'd broken focus, but when everything came into view a single obsidian knight would be standing in the middle of the shrapnel. Sick of the nonsense, devastated at the ineffectiveness of the blast, they would pull back before he could retaliate. Scanning the horizon, he'd see a couple of people breaking out from a nearby ally. Felix would begin stalking towards them, his lightsaber retracting, but the golden energy kite shield on his gauntleted arm blazing brightly.

"You there, who's your commander!? Take me to them, now!"

He'd demand, a level of anger flushed into his crimson red eyes which would reflect the lingering embers around him.​

 

[DARKCOM]

Tags: Aerarii Tithe | Seto Du Couteau | Julius Haskler | Jak Ross | Taeli Raaf | Pom Stych Tivé | Otto Shule | Darth Carnifex​

Kaigann took his seat and lounged back as the committee proceedings moved forward, his eyes immediately drawn to the Arkanian delegate as she addressed the honored body with a slight lean into her microphone. The Elder's right hand cupped his chin and by proxy his white beard as he listened intently to her words. He acknowledged the professional gesture with a nod and a warm smile back in response to the one given, her words were truth and held great merit. Subtly always went a long way, there was a great deal of controversy with the idea of a planet killer from a humanitarian, political, and economic aspect. Perhaps she was onto something here.

The Senator of Epoch clasped his hands together and clapped as his senatorial colleague adjacent finished speaking. “Well met.”

“A show of strength will go a long way to rebuilding the public’s faith,”

The Vice-Chancellor’s words rang out in musing over the Elder’s words. A show of strength would indeed provide some measure of security for the public, rebuilding their faith after the disastrous Stygian Campaign.

His ideals and strategy seemed to gain traction with others as well, Senator Fasoyor from Metellos being one of them.

“Before we requisition such a weapon, surely we must pontifficate the, ah, ethics of such a move?”

All eyes soon fell upon the Senator of Metellos as he gave a passioned speech that retold past trauma from his childhood at the hands of the Sith. Forced to relive those dark moments once more, the Senator laid out the practical reasoning behind the Elder’s very own proposal and why it was morally justified in the end, nearly calling into question a consciousness from the assembled body of honorable delegates.

Well played.

The Senator of Epoch once more clasped his hands together in approval. This tread would continue as the conversation around the table rotated between officials. Opposition to the proposal and an effective counter were laid out by Seto Du Couteau of Empress Teta. He was supported in this by a growing bloc of senators including Otto Shule of Coruscant who laid out potential dealings with the Trade Federation and called into question several delegates and the very idea of the Sith Empire’s survival.

Tithe replied to Senator Ross of Had Abbadon, who had thrown his support behind the idea of building a superweapon-killer. He called into question the Sith’s ability to manufacture such a device as a planet-killer.

“Furthermore, there's no economical evidence of such, a, ah, undertaking,” Tithe added, “We threaten our own economic collapse chasing little more than shadows.”

“The Brotherhood of the Maw gave no warning, no economic trail of evidence as they constructed their technological terror. I hate to admit it but I’ll be frank, we are in uncharted waters, blindly swimming into a storm. We can’t predict when a danger like this will happen again, I can assure you however that it WILL. The Alliance cannot afford to be caught off-guard.”

The Epochian touched upon the empyrean wind, manipulating the strands with a faint touch. He encroached upon the mind, the mental sphere of influence as he crept forth from the dark outside recesses with an urge, a desire that would bubble to the surface.

The Elder subtly nudged at the Vice-Chancellor through the Force with a simple mind trick.

 

[Auteme]

Aaran Tafo Ishida Ashina Okkeus Dainlei ​

Whether it was his words or his conviction, something must have convinced the Court to allow Aaran to leave without trouble. The rumbling of the ground abated, and the head judge's sharp gaze turned to Auteme. A single glance sent shivers down her spine. She couldn't keep eye contact -- Aaran, of course, hadn't needed to.

With Ishida and Okkeus preoccupied, Auteme focused her efforts ahead, stepping forward in front of the ethereal Sith.

"We proceed with our trial," said the judge, his voice like scraping metal. "Come forth, girl, and speak: why are you worthy to enter the great library? Our hoard has grown great, even in death -- we, the Guardian Court, do not grant access to merely anyone." The three who had appeared at first floated away, soon to occupy three of the thirteen chairs on the dais above the door of the far end of the chamber. The rest came to be filled by more spirits, each wearier than the last, their backs hunched by the invisible weight of their jewelry and robes. Their dead eyes bore into her, their gaunt faces tightening at the scent of the Light.

She missed her blind friend already. Auteme didn't have the stomach to threaten or berate in the same way, but she knew her own skills. She had her wit, and her voice, and her will. Taking a deep breath she focused herself, placing each word as carefully as she'd learned on the Senate floor. "I am a scholar," she said. "Though we may follow- ah, different philosophies, I can assure you that the knowledge hidden within will not be carelessly discarded."

"Jedi," one growled, "Have never been allowed here. You do not have the look of one beginning to turn..."

"Jedi disgust me," chimed another.

Probably should've expected as much. She wasn't exactly winning over the Court just by her presence.

"Jedi or not, knowledge is knowledge -- I would say, in fact, that I know as much about the Sith as any alive who have passed into your library." She found a spark of boldness. For a moment the judges stared, and she was able to meet their gaze. Their voices became low, devolving into whispers.

"Pride is not a Jedi trait," the leader began, but she cut him off.

"Is fear a Sith trait?"

The whispers became silent, before morphing to angered growls.

"You have sat here for a long time -- do you know what happens to this Empire? It is beset on every side; in truth, the Jedi are the least of your concerns. Had the New Imperial Order arrived here, or perhaps the Ashlan Crusade, they would have seen fit to destroy this place from orbit rather than even speak to you. I come here with an offer of salvation. If knowledge is not used, simply destroyed, your work will have been for nothing. Grant my passage, and there may still be some worth left in you."

"Insolent Jedi!" "Our secrets will not be plundered!" "How dare you!" "Our knowledge is eternal-"

"SILENCE." The air seemed to still, becoming frigid with a single word. The judge raised his hand; his lips moved but she heard no words, and she found she could not move.

 

[Mazrim Caide/Taim]

Objective 1- I rebel
Allies: TSE
Enemies: Sion Dallo Mara Harik

“In the name of Overseer DarrVack of the Sith-Imperial Conquest Consolidation Crops, we will begin to open fire on reported insurgence activities utilising chemical agents”

Caide curses as the announcement crackles over his comms. Great, more good news. Checking his holo quickly, its apparent they are directly inside the blast zone of one of the strikes.

"Aldo, Gawol, I'm sending you a holo of the next blast zone, we're inside it. Go around the insurgents and secure a rendezvous point outside the danger zone for the next gas strike. Don't engage if you don't have to, the idea is to get out of the way not create more problems."

"Yes sir"

"Copy that sir."

Caide watches their silhouettes move through the shadows. Looks like everything was going according to plan, for once. Relatively speaking, things were going well.

Then a baradium detonator landed at his feet.

"Chit, Caide get DOWN!" Ajax Tackles him to the ground just as the bomb goes off and the world goes white.

Caide awakes to a ringing in his ears seconds later, Ajax's heavy weight on him behind a large piece of debris. Shifting his hips, he rolls the heavier man off him and barely has time to roll behind cover himself before blaster fire scorches the earth he had been laying on. He touches his comms link, only to find it had been destroyed from the pressure of the explosion. Fantastic, no backup from Aldo and Gawol then. Ajax starts stirring with a groan. His left leg is shredded with a piece of shrapnel embedded just below the knee, a nasty wound that bled a lot. Fishing in his pack he pulls out the standard medical gear provided to each legionnaire, quickly bandages the wound and stops the bleeding. Still, its little more than a stopgap.

"Ajax. AJAX! Can you move?"

The big man groans but nods with gritted teeth and pained breathing. Caide flinches as blaster shots impact the piece of duracrete they're hiding behind.

"Good. Stay down. I'm going to clear a path."

Caide glances at his rifle sitting enticingly in the middle of the street, and shakes his head. too exposed. His pistol and combat knife would have to do. Caide takes a deep breath as he hears the insurgents drawing near.

Rolling out to the side, he levels his pistol and immediately shoots one twice in the chest, dropping him before running up to flying knee the other approaching assailant, driving his knife into his throat as the soldier fell with his bodyweight and using the momentum to roll forward and stand...coming face to face with Sion Dallo and Mara Harik , ready to fight. Caide's own gun is pointing at Sion's head. If he fires, the other one would kill him. If one of them attack, he will shoot Sion. His one green eye flicks between the two, waiting on one of them to make a move.

 

[Vesta]

PEACHY​

Location: Yun'o-tu Tchilat - Knotte Al'Yun-Ne'Shel | Outer Krayiss II Orbit
Objective: Feed The Flames | Resurrect Braith Achlys
Allies: The Sith Empire
Enemies: New Imperial Order & Galactic Alliance | Kolson Vrask , Djorn Bline
Equipment: Lightsaber, Amphistaff

The greatest tactic in any strategy where losing is unacceptable is perhaps the most controversial of them as well. Leadership was often a consolidation of egos, of ambition and of success, and such a tactic was often times in opposition to these sorts of people, the generals and the admirals of the day. Soldiers, however, and the average soul? When avoiding loss without striving for victory was the goal then the strategy became not to press for victory but simply to deny it to the enemy. What was once a clear cut shot to victory slowly, then, morphed into a war of attrition where ground simply could not be gained, as these New Imperial soldiers were about to discover.

The force, for all its boons, was a crutch - and a crutch implied weakness. By its core principle this was unacceptable for a Sith, or any Sith that truly believed in their central philosophy, and for eons the shadowy religion had taught its followers not to rely on the force for all things, as the Jedi chose instead to do. To fight the Mandalorians with their force-depriving lizards meant learning to fight even in the intense moments where the force seemed to leave their grip, losing the control and the security that so many dark siders felt with its presence under their command, and even in the modern era there were grenades that used the active ingredients of death sticks to hinder a force wielder's very connection to it.

The wonders of the Yuuzhan Vong? They did not rely on the force, nor could they touch it under most circumstances. Slayers, the name for those trained to kill and hunt warriors across the stars, were in the ritual's retinue - not to protect the Sith Lord that moved to prepare to engage the new arrivals, but the ritual itself and the woman that it would be bringing back in the brief period of vulnerability that they all assumed would take place just after her revival. When grenades erupted and their master, Darth Mori, did not respond with the force, as she had assured them that she would when she insisted on lacking a need for their presence, the two warriors sprung into action.

While one raised a chitinous rifle and fired off blast bugs in the direction the trespassers, the other lifted a hand and released a stream of flaming, explosive, bio-matter from their wrist at the cloud of smoke that the void grenade unleashed into the wide room - combusting the cloud even as it spread, a consequence of the reality of smoke being a byproduct of partial combustion and inherently flammable, quickly helping to neutralize the masking effect of the grenade, as well as dealing with the flashbang as its second flash illuminated the cloud, with varying results to the dust of voidstone it had dispersed throughout. Control over the force, however, was not something that voidstone severed, and control with the sort of precision, or even accuracy, was not something that the Sith lord needed to deal with the grenades - not once she realized that gripping the void grenade with the force and literally moving it with any level of efficiency was out of the question.

A wide-angled telekinetic thrust in the force, a large force push with little focus beyond an attempt at keeping its diameter more contained than not, was hurled at the direction of the grenades, flash and otherwise, in order to both help disperse the source of her hampering in the force as well as spread the disorienting nature of such a tactic to her enemies - she'd morphed away her eyes at the initial flash and shifted her physiology to favor her other senses in its place to help mitigate the confusion such a weapon would've caused for her. It was unfortunate then, that the soldiers has taken the logical route to victory when they had arrived, as the Sith Lord regained proper control over the force with the dispersed void stone now sufficiently far enough for her to turn her wrath on them.

Fire, especially in space, was a potentially fatal and an always volatile chemical reaction - since time immemorial its use and imagery had been the stuff of legends and controlling its unpredictable nature was forever sought after. The force, likewise, presented an avenue for this power through the ability to alter and manipulate the very world around oneself, all the way down to controlling the friction in the air. With fire already present in the space between Task Unit Alpha and the Sith and Yuuzhan Vong, what was there to stop Vesta from controlling and focusing its spread like a spotlight on the new arrivals?

With little more than a sweeping gesture of her hand and the ignition of her lightsaber she answered that unspoken question, the pillar of red only briefly preceded a jet of fire that sprung from the fire sprayed from the wrist of her Slayer towards soldiers firing into the bridge of the living ship.

Who lived and died here didn't matter to her, only that they did not succeed in their goal of cutting things short.

There was no witty dialogue from the Sith, nor was there posturing and boasting - only cold, methodical, steps towards keeping her enemy confined where they were and away from what would soon be her mother.

 

[Eva Betrik]

Objective I - Defend the Temple
​

Location: Krayiss II, Temple-Library
Allies: TSE | Cameron Crownwraithe | Darth Strosius
Foes: GA | Viers Connory

For a long while, all that greeted them was more dark stone corridors, their oddly-angled surfaces meeting and diverging in no pattern that Eva could discern. The Temple-Library was a maze, seemingly laid out with the incomprehensible logic of a madman. The SICA squad passed dozens of rooms, some filled with shelf after shelf of texts and odd, pyramidal structures about a foot tall, others clearly designed with ritual - and perhaps even sacrifice - in mind. They had not been provided with any kind of map. Some said that it was to avoid having schematics fall into enemy hands, while others claimed that viewing the floorplan would drive you to insanity.

Whatever the truth, their only guide was the faint directional beeping of the life form scanner.

The sounds of shooting echoed up to them from nearer the entrance, along with the burnt carbon stink of blaster bolt impacts and the all too recognizable hum of lightsabers. Men and women yelled commands or warnings, grunted with exertion, screamed with pain... and all these echoes bounced through the corridors, oddly distorted, as if coming from underwater. The strange thought hit Eva that music played in this temple would be hauntingly beautiful. On the other hand, she thought with a shudder, the screaming of sacrificial victims or unwilling alchemical experiments would be even more disturbing, if that was possible.

Military service, the young corporal had found, was a funny thing. There were long stretches of downtime, then long stretches of tension, and then brief, frantic snatches of action. A retired soldier back on Soullex had described it as "months of boredom spiced up with hours of terror". The thing was, you never knew when you were transitioning from one stage to another. One moment Eva and her squad were moving quickly through the Temple-Library's halls, checking their corners and watching their backs. The next, a young woman was stepping around the corner, a quarterstaff in her hands and mockery on her lips.

She wore a hood, but from what Eva could see, the intruder probably wasn't much older than her.

"Very funny," Sergeant Zenik replied, using hand signals to direct the rest of the squad to fan out. Four blaster rifles had instantly swung up to draw a bead on the woman, but no one had opened fire, not yet. Instead they did as Zenik ordered, each of them getting a different angle on the infiltrator. She carried a quarterstaff, not a lightsaber, so deflection might be less of a concern... but they still followed their anti-Jedi drills to the letter, just in case. "The game is up," Zenik continued, his voice firm but level. "You're outnumbered and outflanked, so don't try anything stupid. Drop your weapon and we'll take you in alive."

Eva's finger tensed on the trigger. She had no idea what to expect here.

 

[Laertia Io]

Xiphos had just killed Another Marine when she heard the voice of Aaran Tafo call out to her.

"It is you who have sought this unnecessary battle." Xiphos said, angling The SynthBreaker at him. "You and the rest of the GA, riling up the locals to die for nothing. The Bryn'adul come within a hair's breadth of striking Kashyyyk, and still you decide the Sith are your biggest problem. It's why I won't obey the Jedi anymore. You're addicted to fighting Sith. Me? I don't care what your justification is for targeting The Sith. I will stand in your way at every turn, as I have since Dantooine, and make you pay for every micron of territory you seize with the blood of a hundred of your allies at a time if that's what it takes to sabotage your war effort." She said, getting closer, ready for any trick he might pull.

"You and your wretched Triumvirate couldn't even defeat an opponent you should theoretically want more than anything to defeat over Csilla! I helped sabotage that Station's Main Reactor. You idiots? A bunch of barely disciplined savages aligned with the Sith handed you your ass, when you should theoretically have attacked them with the same zeal you attack The Sith Empire with! Savages. Sent. You. Running. Yet The Bryn'adul have been doing what they did to Csilla without even needing a weapon like The Mercy, yet you don't all unite against them."