Skirmish Revolution | Open to All Jedi and TSC

[Arris Windrun]

(forgot to roll above)

 

[Mercy]

Tag: Tansu Treicolt
Objective: Enjoy the spectacle Figure out who the feth this is

After ripping the head off of the arena champion with Madrona A’Mia and Lina Ovmar , Mercy had organized the efforts to clean up the arena. This in an effort to open it to the public. Quite literally too. Most of the prisoners they got from the Wheel heist were vacationers, rich, lazy, the type that you'd find blowing their savings away in a gaudy space station.

Mercy took personal responsibility in rectifying this.

The way she did it was simple.

Everyone was given the opportunity to better themselves. If they were better, they'd be free to leave. After all, they were hardly worth some sort of ransom.

Instead they were thrown into the renovated gladiator pit. Given one weapon and then told to figure it out. It was slow progress, because most civilians didn't have the heart to pick up a sword and start killing. It ramped up once Mercy began to personal supervise it. The influence of her arm, seeping into the cracks of their psyche.

This is where Tansu found her when she unceremoniously dropped into Mercy's lap.

"Close your mouth, sweetpea, you look like a Calamari begging for breath." And she reached out to assist her, if allowed to push her mouth closed again by her chin. If the corruption of the Dark Side was overwhelming just by being in Mercy's vicinity, then the direct skin touch was like being slammed in the face by lightning.

In that brief moment Tansu would feel the full extent of Mercy's strength in the Force. The moment their skin-to-skin contact ceased, so did that impression. Mercy always kept her presence in the Force coiled tight into her flesh.

"Hey, Arris, I thought you said I wasn't allowed a chute that dropped presents in my lap. What is this then?" Mercy commed over to Arris Windrun before realizing she didn't have a video feed, so she would have no idea what she was talking about. "Nevermind, I will catch you later." Then back to Tansu.

"Now, who the fuck are you and what are you doing here?"

 

[Talsin Lota]

Direct ally: Jalen Kai'el
Future enemies: Lysander von Ascania | Tamsin Starfall | Naniti
Tag: Tansu Treicolt

Talsin's eyes widened in shock as one moment Tansu was there and the next she was not.

"Tan!" He launched to grab for her hand, but missed her by a hair. It all happened so fast, so quick, he had to get after her- then first Jalen confirmed she was okay and a moment after that Tansu herself reached out in the Force and reassured him. It wasn't a very big reassurance, but it was enough to steady Talsin and keep him from spiralling.

I... careful, Tan. Please. But Jalen was correct, they couldn't follow down without breaking their necks and then they wouldn't be able to help Tansu anyway.

And they still had a job to do.

He swallowed there and then nodded to Jalen. "Alright, Knight Kai'el, we still got a mission to do." Then he gestured with his commlink, and a route was painted on all their HUDs. It was deep telemtry from the Lota scouts that had gone ahead.

Talsin took the lead as the young Knight requested. All they could do was push forward. But in the back of his mind he couldn't help but be worried anyway. Jalen said she wasn't alone and he had felt... something there. But he had to trust Tansu, had to believe she'd be fine, because otherwise why do these missions at all?

If he couldn't trust her to hold her own?

"The crossroads up ahead connects the food court with the arena. It should also have an emergency junction, maintenance corridor access, that will lead to the bridge according to this map."

Coincidentally... that path would lead them right to Lysander, Tamsin and Naniti.

 

[Jalen Kai'el]

The Wheel
Allies: Talsin Lota
Enemies: Tamsin Starfall , Lysander von Ascania , Naniti

Delta-7, Lothal Jedi Temple​

"The crossroads up ahead connects the food court with the arena. It should also have an emergency junction, maintenance corridor access, that will lead to the bridge according to this map."

"Alright," Jalen nodded.

Jalen followed along, not sprinting out ahead. No hud would really help a blind man, but he could feel the corridors that Talsin described to the degree that he could keep pace with ease. It was often that people forgot he was blind, which Jalen didn't mind. In many ways, he 'saw' more than others.

A blessing and a curse.

Of course, it wasn't long before the were in the path of three individuals. Sith. One, though, was a familiar presence. He didn't know Lysander von Ascania personally, but Corazona von Ascania was an individual he had been very close with as a boy. In many was she was an older sister to him. He would recognize the aura of one of her kin merely by being in their presence. This was surely the one that had killed King Horace. That wasn't really the issue. If given the chance Jalen may have killed the man himself, in another life.

Throwing his lot in with the people that released that fear-inducing toxin on Ukatis, though... It was hard to not think of that. Darth Nefaron had released a horrific evil onto his people that day, and he chose to walk with the Sith anyways.

"Ah feth..." Jalen muttered.

Hopefully this Talsin guy was good in a fight, cause they were two against three. It seemed all but certain that they'd be coming to blows. Jalen stood back and quietly prepared.

He was here to play support, after all.

And he wasn't exactly eager to fight his close friend's kin.

 

[Tansu Treicolt]

​

Tansu dared not flinch when the mountain's knuckle pushed her chin up. How quickly could those hands make more damage if she made a move to call her sabre? Would she be the quicker draw?

Her position was mighty inconvenient, no matter how comfortable she might have looked. The aches of impact hadn't pushed past adrenaline yet, and she didn't feel them when she rolled to her side, off the woman's lap, and into a cat-like, ready crouch, hand hovering above her holster.

"Why, I'm just a wrangler respondin' the distress call from the fine folks aboard this ship who wanna get off it."

Said fine folks were gathered around the arena, some with weapons in hand, looking wide-eyed at the sudden turn of events. Not only with the facedown in the gravitational rotator, but the sudden drop of a challenger to the woman who had initiated the requirement they duel for survival.

Tansu's thumb jabbed over her shoulder, but she didn't look at them directly. She didn't need a glance to confirm the wrong she felt gathered about the area — like everything was all linked up somehow to the woman.

"Any chance you're inclined to be real nice and lemme get these folks back to where they wanted to go? Or… you gonna be problematic?"

She looked problematic.

____________________________________________________________
ATTN: Mercy
____________________________________________________________
​

 

[Lysander von Ascania]

Naniti Jalen Kai'el Talsin Lota
Armor: Helm of the Twin Suns | Desevro-Type Sith Armor
​

The corridors of the Wheel unspooled ahead of them in a long stretch. Lysander’s free hand flexed once at his side. The other still held his helm, fingers hooked through its edge.. until the space ahead of them began to open.

The Force threaded through his awareness before settling. His steps dwindled, tapering into a halt. He knew Naniti would have sensed the change too, and no glance was required to confirm she had been matching his pace.

And then they were there. Two figures stood ahead, framed by the light of the junction. Two Jedi.

One note in the air drew his brows together; a familiar tug that wouldn't let go. Ukatis rose unbidden, and with that came the echoes of impressions and voices. Whatever thread bound them would end here. Their energy said as much. The Light confirmed it.. wrong side, wrong path.

His voice carried through the junction. “I assumed you’d push for the arena. That’s where people like to pretend this sort of thing is simple. But this works too.” Something like restrained curiosity surfaced as he looked back to one of them. “If you’re here for answers, I promise you won’t like the shape they take."

A humorless undertone marked Lysander’s words. “If you think you’re here to stop something.. then you’re already late.”

Breath unwound from his chest in a slow release. "I won't pretend this is a chance encounter. So do me the courtesy of telling me who you are. If I'm going to remember anything about this moment.."

The helm was brought up and over his head, the seal engaging with a soft hiss, his visage vanishing.

 

[Naniti]

"This is about to get serious," Naniti breathed as the two groups were on a collision course. "If it goes off the rails, you can direct my sword, but otherwise... well, you'll think of something." There wasn't time to get into it. To explain. Lysander would know if the Togruta's limit had been exceeded and then so long as there was someone to fight things would be fine -- well, not The Wheel, but it was already a mess. And if there no longer were enemies, yeah, he'd figure it out. One way or another.

And just like that, Jedi manifested themselves. Lysander greeted them as the senior Acolyte present.

"It isn't too late for you to go back where you came from," Naniti added. Not that she wanted to avoid a fight. Korriban knew a good fight was hard to come by. But she'd given the Jedi their choice -- what followed next was entirely on their heads for the choices in life they'd made.

Lysander von Ascania | Jalen Kai'el | Talsin Lota

 

[Mercy]

Tansu Treicolt

When Tansu rolled off of her lap she didn't move to interrupt. In fact, she did little besides shifting slightly, making herself more comfortable as she leaned her chin on the back of her hand.

The Sith looked down at her with some measure of interest.

"Tell me, dear, why is it that whenever we try to break the chains of the sheep... it is people like you running along. Trying to herd the animals back into their little pens?" Her own gaze flicked towards the crowd. Wide-eyed, terrified, weapons awkward in their hands as they paused in their fights... perhaps hoping that Tansu would save them.

"Anyone who isn't fighting, I will personally rip the head off of, after I am done with this Jedi. She might win against me, of course, in which case you are gonna have some blood on your hands you didn't have to spill." Mercy smiled warmly, shrugging softly. "-but do you really want to take that chance with your own head?"

Then a gaze back to Tansu.

Behind her? She'd start to hear the sounds of battle resume. Not as loud as it was before, some people refusing to follow along, staying to the edges of the room and hoping the Jedi would save them. But enough... enough that felt forced to follow Mercy's commandments, lest they find their head ripped off of their torso if she wins.

"I am trying to make them strong, darling. While you try to keep them weak, soft, easily led by your ilk." Mercy began to rise, the weight of her causing ripples in the air.

As if she moved in more layer than one.

"Try and stop me then. Show me what you got."

 

[Tansu Treicolt]

​

All the flinching she'd withstood before made its way to the creases of her lips when the Sith barked orders to the hijacked vacationers. She spoke so casually of death and brutality, encouraging slaughter and violence.

"I reckon they appreciate bein' called sheep as much as they enjoy bein' forced to butcher one another." She harumph-ed through the monologue, unsure how to feel when the woman spoke of victors and spoils. It was hard to imagine this woman holding a lightsabre. It probably looked like a toothpick in her grip.

And then she realized she need not imagine much — she'd seen Mercy, that was her name, before. Death grappling her cousin in the netherworld.

It was then she understood the gravitas of the challenge laid bare. This Sith dealt in absolutes. This Sith thrived in bloodshed.

"No, don't!" Tansu forced her shout over the instruction of the she-beast. Did it sound desperate? That was embarrassing. She should sound more confident. More Jedi-like.

To her tippy-toes: "Hey!" And a wave for attention. Unorthodox, but it awarded her a few swivelled heads.

As she spoke, she navigated tension through The Force. Small cracks at first, finagling with the foundation. Soundless.

"Obviously I'm here as a well-planned distraction for y'all to slip away while handlin' the big bad. Use that to your advantage. There are teams that'll help you get off this spinning deathmobile." One hand made a shooing gesture while the other palm spread open, calling her blade to her grip.

She heard them begin to murmur, but she lingered not to see the results of her argument.

The invisible efforts she'd gone to manifested once Mercy fully rose from her makeshift throne. The weight of the thing separated from its fusion to the ground and thrust forward, catapulting at the back of her — the base aimed to line up with the back of her knees and the mass of the backrest meant to meet the muscled brawn of her back.

"It's okay, you don't have to get up."

____________________________________________________________
Mercy
____________________________________________________________
​

 

[Tydeus Shorn]

Angry, threatened, and spurred on, Arris reached out through the Force and seized a small legion of cells, pushing them each past their limits. As sparks flew, the flow of gravity became erratic - creating something akin to currents that tangled throughout the arena. Effectively, causing them (and the bearings) to fall forever without hitting the surface.

It was like being ripped away by an invisible hand, or at least that's how Arris would later liken the feeling. The cyborg fell into the same path as two of the bearings and drew her revolver. She flicked the magnetic accelerator on and fired another slug at the Jedi; it flew faster than before, wrapped in an energy sheath.

"Tch."

The same attack multiple times in a row without altering her tactics. Predictable.

Again, precognition warned Tydeus of the danger before it arrived. This time he was far more prepared than the previous attacks. He raised a hand to stop the slug mid-air and it ground to a halt mere inches from his chest.

He hadn't accounted for the energy sheath.

The plasma burned on, unimpeded, and slammed into the front of his armorweave vest, charring the impact site and sending Tydeus reeling backward. He lost balance for a second and nearly floated off, before grabbing hold of the inertia again and sticking himself back to the floor. The acrid stench of melted plastics rose into the air to fill his nostrils and wisps of smoke curled from the site of impact.

Tydeus grit his teeth and narrowed his eyes.

That's how she wanted to play this? Fine.

Reaching out in the Force, he wrapped his telekinetic will around her like the docking clamp of a Star Destroyer. Then he yanked her toward the ground, trying to slam her into the deck in front of him hard enough to snap human ankles.

Arris Windrun

 

[Mercy]

Tansu Treicolt

The rumbling noise coming from deep within Mercy's chest was laughter. Mirth. That didn't bode well.

"Gwen Azzezi. Tycho Alvares. Lexia Armistage." The names seemed random, but they immediately froze several figures that were about to flee, listening to the words of the Jedi. "Good, I am glad to have your attention." Mercy said with a smile while her attention was fixated by Tansu. The young Jedi was planning something, she had the airs of a schemer and Mercy was double as cautious around them.

"Yes, that is right. We know your names. We know where you live. We know where your families are. Where your money is stashed. Where your job is located."

The makeshift throne smashed through Mercy from behind. It barely fazed her, all that it did was fix an even more pointed glance at Tansu. She didn't even stumble. Even as duracrete shards embedded themselves in her flesh, causing blood to trickle down. Deeper amber bleeding into her eyes as the exquisite pain flared through the mountain.

"Even if I fall today. My associates will hunt you down and feed your family to you before forcing a dirty knife back in your hand." She gestured lazily toward Tansu. "Do not listen to the words of false prophets and would-be heroes. She will get you and your family killed, friends!" The smile that blossomed on her face became something to behold.

Cruel, maniacal as she felt the panic swell and gorged herself on it.

Still, some decided to follow Tansu's guidance, and began to flee irrespective of Mercy's warnings.

She tut-tut'ed there. "Mm, that's several names you just got killed, Jedi and we have barely started. Are you sure you don't want to go after them and bring them back to me?" Eyebrows raised in curiosity.

 

[Talsin Lota]

Tags: Jalen Kai'el Lysander von Ascania Naniti

Eyes sharp settled on the face of Lysander.

They had never been close in their youth. But all those years ago when Talsin was engaged to Corazona von Ascania , her younger brother was around too, a kind soul. Mischievous as younger children could be. But then they were all children back then. The lives of nobility was strange that way. All that was to say that even if they had never been as close, Talsin recognized him.

"Does your sister know what you are doing in these corroded halls, Lysander von Ascania?" Talsin asked calmly, unclipping his lightsaber even as they spoke.

"Surrounded by the Dark Side. Butchers and kidnappers and monsters." His eyes flicked to Naniti for a moment. She offered them a way out, that made the young Lord shake his head sadly. "No, miss. I am afraid we are not made to flee." A soft smile there. "But if you put your blades down, we will spare you. I refuse to believe that a Von Ascania has been brought so low he is letting civilians butcher each other in the name of gruesome entertainment."

His attention flicked back towards said Ascania.

"Say it is not so, Lysander. Say I don't have to tell your older sister that you are lost to the Dark Side. She has been put through so much, don't make her suffer in this way too."

He stood stalwart and waited. He might have finally accepted that to help people, he had to take lives without hesitation, but this freedom Talsin allowed himself. To give those that were lost one chance, one alone, to find their way back.

 

[Tansu Treicolt]

​

Well that wasn't fair. Tansu only just got here. She didn't have time to read the manifest of guests, let alone associate faces to names. Maybe this woman was bolloxing — saying names at random and it happened to be good fortune on her part that three stopped dead and hesitated.

All of this was deeply unsettling. From the way Mercy smiled through what should have hurt, to the way she threatened the brutal massacre of loved ones unseen.

What had Kyric done against this woman? She could scarcely recall. She only remembered chewing her knuckles anxiously and wondering why why why he'd throw himself into a spectacle made for violence. And the final grapple. The one that made the whole galaxy bate their breath.

"They ain't dead. You wanted to make 'em strong." Tansu cheeked. "Part of strength is knowin' which risks to take." She was of course, referring to the runners. The track stars.

The more the woman spoke, the further those who were meant to enter the anti-grav arena slipped from hope. She spared a glance to the arena where she saw familiar faces— Tydeus Shorn . And.. Arris Windrun . Brutal.

With a wave of her hand, and the gesture of a kick, the rubble and debris that hadn't lodged itself into Mercy's flesh revived and flew up once more at hyper speed, night ballistic, as a curtain of rubble and rock that Tansu rushed behind, activating her sabre at the last moment to cut up and into the mountain's defences.

____________________________________________________________
Mercy
____________________________________________________________
​

 

[Jalen Kai'el]

The Wheel
Allies: Talsin Lota
Enemies: Lysander von Ascania , Naniti

Delta-7, Lothal Jedi Temple​

"Say it is not so, Lysander. Say I don't have to tell your older sister that you are lost to the Dark Side. She has been put through so much, don't make her suffer in this way too."

"Don't bother asking," Jalen stated, "He stood with the Sith on Ukatis and let his people suffer. I doubt Corazona is unaware."

Corazona von Ascania was a smart woman who had more experience with the Sith than most. There was no way that the actions of her brother wouldn't be lost on her. Of course, he wasn't happy about that, but this mission wasn't about his friend's delinquent little brother. It was about saving lives. Jalen let out an exhale, rubbing the back of his neck before he loosened up a little.

He wasn't getting comfortable, though. The blind Jedi was getting ready to get to work.

"I won't pretend this is a chance encounter. So do me the courtesy of telling me who you are. If I'm going to remember anything about this moment.."

"It isn't too late for you to go back where you came from,"

"Jalen Kai'el," he answered, being notably courteous to the request. "And no, it is too late to go back. Civilian lives are at stake. This song and dance has happened before a thousand times over."

It was always the same, and over and over again it was the bystander that suffered the most. The Sith would not change their ways, and the Jedi would always be drawn in to save lives. It seemed like a cycle of torment that would go on until the heat-death of the universe. There were ways in which that was frustrating. Jalen also knew there was little breaking that cycle. The moment they stopped was the moment they gave up and let people die for nothing.

And Jalen took a hippocratic oath.

"We all know how this is going to go. Let's not kid ourselves denying it."

It had all played out before.

 

[Lysander von Ascania]

Naniti Talsin Lota Jalen Kai'el
Armor: Helm of the Twin Suns | Desevro-Type Sith Armor
​

The HUD finished booting as the seal engaged. Amber lines traced the edges. Threat indicators flared as the system calibrated. Two life signs ahead. There were also structural warnings scrolled along Lysander’s periphery. Yellow was edging close to red near the arena. Not really a surprise. The vocoder modulated his breathing, turning it into something distant. The helm would take the warmth out of his voice whether he wanted it to or not

Accusations were common. Of course, they came easily to those who believed the galaxy sorted itself neatly into causes and villains..

So often, the same galaxy was full of people who remembered Corazona fondly. Who used her name like a compass.. like invoking her name should still point him toward something.. simpler.

“Talsin,” he said at last.

He wasn’t extending an olive branch.

“It has been a long time, hasn’t it? She knows what it cost to become.. this. This is the inheritance nobody wanted to claim. I am the lowest of the Ascanias, that much is true, so the rest don’t have to stand there,” Lysander allowed. “Once I'm declared.. lost, your conscience is free, right?"

Someone always had to stand closest to the fire. He accepted that it would be him during his time on Korriban.

The Mid Rim had no shortage of sob stories; at least this one was true.

“I left so the consequences would follow me instead of Cora. But use her name that way again, and I will remove your tongue first.”

His attention settled on the other Jedi that chose to listen. A Kai’el. He recalled Jasper well, back on Coruscant. Of all the memories that surfaced, there was nothing unkind to grasp at. As he understood it; like a brother, perhaps the one she deserved.

“I would let them suffer again, if it meant killing King Horance once more.”

It wasn’t until he recalled the truth of it, Prince Horace III’s abuse, the scars left on Cora’s body, that coils of anger tightened within. Gloved fingers burned with branding around the curved hilt.

“His death brought me more joy than you can possibly fathom. Don’t worry. I’m not going to ask you to understand.” The maroon helm tilted a fraction, daring to stare through their facades. “Because if you did, you might be forced to admit he deserved it.”

No one planned on retreating, that much was clear.

Then, to twist the knife a little further, he addressed the Togruta. "This is why they always arrive late. They like to wait for permission."

A shared understanding.

"We don't."

 

[Naniti]

Naniti knew of Lysander's Sister and Ukatis, but not a great deal. They talked, but neither of them talked a lot about where they came from. For Lysander there was a lot of sacrifice -- as Talsin and Lysander went on to explain. For Naniti it was just pain, suffering, and rage. No point dwelling on the past and things you couldn't change, right? Still, it was interesting to hear them go on. One of the few times the prerequisite monologue before battle was useful.

An unignited lightsaber hilt flipped out in her hand and was brought across her center at Jalen's remark. Lysander, however, had more to say, which had the Togruta hold off on the ignition. It would have been convenient if the Jedi left, but if they wanted to stay and fight who was Naniti to decline?

"Permission?" the violet Togruta sneered. "So worried about what might happen they let people go unpunished. Life isn't that simple. Maybe the Jedi should try teaching how to make the best choice under the circumstances and how to live with the consequences afterward." Sounded like that was what Lysander had done. Had he really killed a King? His King? That must have taken considerable mental fortitude to go through with something like that. Also, horrific security, but Ukatis wasn't an 'advanced' world as Lysander had once put it.

Lysander von Ascania | Talsin Lota | Jalen Kai'el

 

[Fallon Draellix-Kobitana]

Location: Casino floor
Objective: Represent Ashla
Loadout: here
Tags: Ghruna

The casino machine sailed through the air towards Fallon. She had a second to think, but as a jedi, a second was all she needed. Ghruna would lose sight of Fallon for a moment as the machine obscured her view. Fallon did not cut the machine, she did not deflect it, nor did she dodge, the machine sailed through her harmlessly and smashed into the wall with a horrendous noise. With a mental impulse Fallon deactivated her phase device and tightened the grip on her cross guarded saber. Ghruna might just see the smallest shimmer cross the skin of the lightsider as the device deactivated, or she might be more distracted by the advancing jedi who strode purposefully forward and swung her blade in her opening strike.