Junction Shadows Fall | Junction of Enclave-Roon, Maw-Schesa

[Tu'teggacha]

Location: Roon, Jungles of Daba'r
Tags: DECEASED Aron Gowrie | Shakka Bralor

Spoiler: TL;DR

• Tu'teggacha flees the battle in his shuttle
  • He abandons the remaining Drudges and Moon Children to cover his escape
  • He brings with him the Sith artifacts that the Maw was able to excavate

Tu'teggacha's part in this battle was over. His forces were crushed.

Turning back on the shuttle's boarding ramp to behold the battlefield behind him, the Ebruchi surveyed the grim scene. The enemy tanks and their Mandalorian support had just about mopped up the delaying tactics he'd thrown at them; the last of the Drudges and Moon Children alike were falling to shells, blaster bolts, and the explosions of the mining charges in their midst. Sometimes they managed to take some of the enemy with them. All too often, it seemed, they were nothing before the power of even one Mandalorian warrior, taken down in their dozens without apparent effort. The Taskmaster had no answer to such champions.

No Sith, no warlords, no Mawite Mandalorians, only his fragile minions.

But in the end it did not matter. With the lives of countless mad clones and strand-cast abominations, he had bought his own escape. If they could have stayed on Roon longer, they could have accomplished more; dug up more artifacts, enslaved more colonists, ravaged more outlying towns for supplies. But in the short time before the expected Mandalorians and unexpected Imperials had arrived, they had managed to unearth a few crates of dark relics, and that would have to be enough. He would not risk his own rubbery hide to continue to dig for trinkets on this distant planet. It was time to go back to the safety of Mawite space.

Hopefully some of the artifacts would be worth the blood they'd paid.

His withdrawal, of course, would leave The Mongrel's forces - engaged with Clan Krayt to the north - exposed to southern attack. The warlord, though fearsome, could not withstand three encircling armies any more than Tu'teggacha could withstand two. He would be forced to withdraw as well if he did not want to be crushed. But it would take time, at least some, for the enemies of the Maw to reach and surround his forces... and they were quite literally dug in, using the power of their tunneling machines to escape the pounding of enemy air support. With any luck, they would be able to endure long enough for a fighting withdrawal.

As the shuttle ramp closed up behind him, leaving him in the darkened hold beside the crates of Sith artifacts, Tu'teggacha reflected on the monumental nature of the task that the Brotherhood had set for itself. The choice to wage war against the entire galaxy led to situations like this - enemies at every turn, always outnumbering the Mawites by a considerable margin. Their faith, and a healthy dose of surprise, had managed to carry them to early victories like the destruction of Csilla. Their cunning and dark knowledge had led them to other great successes, like the raids on Coruscant and (more or less) Nirauan.

But this war had gone on for ten long years now, a decade of fire and blood.

With the galaxy united against them, surprise gone, knowledge spent...

... how much longer could they keep up this fight?

It was a question that was well above Tu'teggacha's pay grade. No doubt the Dark Voice was concocting wicked sorcerous schemes and clever hyperspace maneuvers even now, strategies that would bring them further glory and carnage. But as the Ebruchi looked out the viewports of the shuttle, watching the ground forces he had abandoned being cut down by the encroaching Wildcats, he wondered if he should ponder the question anyway - not for the Maw as a whole, but for himself. He was no true believer, expecting a reward from the Avatars. He had joined the Maw for a chance at power, and nothing else. But now he had to ask...

... was there a right time to cut and run, not just from the battle...

... but from the war as a whole?

 

[The Mongrel]

Location: Roon, Continent of Daba'r
Tags: Keilara Kala'myr | Shai Maji

Spoiler: TL;DR

• The Mongrel grapples with the idea of love
• The Scar Hounds attack Clan Krayt's FOB, trying to secure it as a landing / evac zone
• The Mongrel arrives on the Mandalorian lines, ready to challenge Shai

The southern flank had collapsed.

Imperial air support had arrived.

The Brotherhood was surrounded.

A battle that had begun so simply was swiftly going awry.

The rapidly worsening situation amongst the thick jungles of Roon required The Mongrel's immediate attention... but he found that he could not focus on it. ~ I love you too. ~ It echoed in his mind, louder than the artillery strikes and the falling bombs and the screams of dying warriors. He had not told Mercy that he loved her, not exactly. He had told her she could not be replaced. Was that what love was? For someone to be irreplaceable to you? He thought he remembered it was supposed to be more than that... but those memories were distant.

And no one else was irreplaceable to him. Was it love?

He could have found another telepath, someone else to stimulate the dying nerves of his ravaged brain... but he would never trust anyone else the way he trusted Mercy. He was responsible for what she had become, for he was the one who had chosen to take her alive on Carlac, when she had nearly killed him in an NIO attack on his camp. All the torture she had been put through, all the blood that was now on her hands because she had been turned to the Maw's side, all of it was because of him. And now she told him that she loved him.

Could she really love him, with what he'd done to her?

Could he really love her, or did he just love what she did for him?

He couldn't reconcile it in his mind - love and hate, violence and tenderness, trust and suspicion, all of these things were tied up in this thing, this twisted relationship, that had grown between them in the years since Carlac. The little pieces of the person he had been, still jangling around in his mind like shards of glass grinding together, screamed out that this was wrong, it was sick, it was nothing more than his power and influence and cruelty shaping Mercy into what he subconsciously wanted.... but knew that he did not remotely deserve.

He did not know what to say, or how to feel.

Then the distance between them was too great, and Mercy's voice fell silent in The Mongrel's mind. All at once the realities of the battlefield sprang back into sharp focus, explosions and screams and the whine of blasterfire. If he survived this day, this second encounter with the greatest warrior of Clan Krayt, he would have to ponder what this latest twist in his fate meant. But none of it would matter if Shai struck him down amid Roon's jungles. He had to forget everything except the warrior in himself. He had to prepare to fight, and to win.

Shai had been speaking to him, he dimly realized, spewing more taunts he had not even registered while his mind was in turmoil. No matter. Between his auditory sensors and his tactical feed, he knew that the Enclave artillery was pounding away at the Mawite landing zone... but they would discover too late that the forces that had survived the initial basilisk attack were already gone from that place. They marched even now through the tunnels, walking in the wake of the titanic drills that would deliver them right into the heart of the foe.

They would not take Roon, but they could bloody the enemy.

The digging machines burst through the ground in an eruption of ravaged earth and shredded roots, emerging just beyond the burning forest like the figurative worms of the apocalypse. Black smoke and red flame filled the air as the Scar Hounds came howling out of the tunnels, firing away with mismatched but highly deadly weapons at any foe they crossed paths with. Among them ran their infamous Firefang Wardogs, lashing out with cybernetic jaws, augmented claws, and flaming breath that only added to the blazing destruction.

This was now a do-or-die battle. The southern battle zone had collapsed, and the Scar Hound landing zone was being pulverized. The tribe was throwing their full strength at this Mandalorian FOB, howling marauders bursting up from tunnels all around it to attack from all sides - and within. If they failed to take it, if they failed to secure it as an evacuation zone, they would be scattered into the jungles and tunnels with no hope of a cohesive withdrawal. This moment would decide the battle - pyrrhic enemy victory, or total Mawite rout?

It fell to The Mongrel to make the enemy victory pyrrhic.

"Here I am, cur of Clan Krayt," the warlord rumbled, stepping out of the tunnels. The fires of the jungle reflected oddly across his rust-colored armor, as though his form somehow contained the shifting flames. In his durasteel hand was a naked sword. He stood fearlessly among his warriors even as blaster bolts flew around him, even as men killed and died at his side. He remembered Shai's tricks and tactics, the edge she'd used against him on Csaus. He was ready. "Come. Let us make an end to this, while the world burns."

 

[Keilara Kala'myr]

Ziare Dyarron | Keilara Kala'myr (Mercy)
COMPNOR (ISB) Junior Agent, Nite agent | Marauder and Agent of the Maw​

Objective I.: Doing her job and follow the warlord's commands.
Location: Surface, Roon
Equipment: FS-18-UP2 Assault Rifle | 2x Sunfury Pistol | Light Armour | Viper Mk. I Skinsuit | 2x Vibrodagger | 2x Sliverslash Whipblade || Cloaking Device | 5x ASBF Probe Droid || OPBC-01m
Allies: The Mongrel
Enemies: Shai Maji

[ New Order ]
"Galactic Basic" | ~ Telepathic communication ~ | << comm. channel >> ​

Spoiler: tl;dr

• Mercy struggling with her feeling while try to secure the evac/landing zone-

The news kept coming and I was watching the communication line as well. Only bad news came; the west flank collapsed, and the NIO arrived as well. How the hell did they get here? There was no sign of the NIO's presence during the reconnaissance! I was starting to feel like someone at Maw wanted us dead and they were deliberately sent here to die. Based on the data, they surrounded us. That’s what I should have been concentrating on and making the landing and evacuation zone safe. After all, I had to stay behind.

Soon, being left behind will be the first line on the front, when the circles closing entirely around us, especially when the enemy arrives. On the surface, too, conditions were very bad and getting worse. I should have paid attention to that, but in my mind only he was, he occupied all of my thoughts. He was no longer nearby, I could no longer feel his mind. I should have been there with him, helping him out of the shadows, as I did at home, taking care of him and his position. It was in my mind that I couldn’t be replaced, to him; no one can replace me. But he can't defend me. I have proven countless times that I am worthy and strong. But yet, part of me wanted that he protect me.

I didn’t try to be his second-in-command or be too close to him in the chain-in-command; I will not go or want any of these positions after this, because that would put him in danger, which I didn’t want to risk. I was his shadow. The ghost who shares death from the shadows, to or without his command, if I judge the situation in such a way. To take care of him to protect him. As I should now. Do not let anyone attack him.

What I felt about him was still unknown to me… Ziare was never in love with anyone. All I knew and felt was that it was more than just a desire, or a longing or a simple lust. When I only felt the longing and the desire, everything was easier. But now that’s the feeling that is squeezing my chest and my heart when I think they can kill him. Feth! It was an uplifting feeling at the same time that I knew we were going to be together and consumed me that I was worried about him.

"Increase the range of the shields to the surface and I want some soldier to go out and place some shield generators out to the surface and place them there in the extended shield's cover. We need to protect this place from flames and attack so we can leave the place when the time comes!" I ordered.

My place was on his side, I should have gone after him. Feth! I should have gone after him; no, I wanted to go after him! To cover him, to take care of him, to protect him. But his order was to stay. If I break the order, I will also break his trust. I never disobeyed any of his orders, never, I always carried out, I was loyal. But now the squeezing in my chest is the roar of my mind to take care of him, my own heart and soul wanting to make me betray.

After all, I was a woman too... not just a soldier.

For the first time since my freedom, I didn't know what to do. What was stronger? My loyalty to him or my feelings? Damn you, Mongrel! Why did you put you in this situation?

I wanted to move to go after him, like the way my heart and soul wanted it, but my brain, the most rational half of me, at this moment, chose fidelity and did not instruct my body to move.

Damn it! Feth! How long can we continue this, like this way?!

There was another explosion nearby. It dragged me back to reality for a moment.

"Work faster!" I ordered angrily.

 

[Yenna]

KESTRI | TOR VALUM FIGHTING PITS
ALLIES: Enclave | Open
ENEMIES: Maw | Open
ENGAGING: Darth Ptolemis
GEAR: In bio​

LET’S GROOVE​

Both Yenna and Ptolemis were likely equally shocked by the sudden torrent of flames. She could understand his surprise, but what shocked her was the fact that she actually managed to surprise him with the ability. She hoped that the news would reach Dimitri. He couldn’t be the only one with a dragon theme going for him.

”Sorry! Afterward, I’ll heal you!” She assured Ptolemis with an apologetic smile before the fight continued. The flames did a number on him as she got close enough to see the extent of the damage, adding to her guilt as she jumped around and swung at him with sporadic attacks.

The swing to his leg was expertly blocked and her blade flew from her grasp before his boot came up to send her flying, but she used the attack to catapult herself up and over him with the Force, sending a push at him as she continued to glide overhead. ”Oh my!” She cried out happily as she landed, picking up another plastic cup still filled with its drink. ”Like one, would you?” She asked with a bright grin as she gestured to another one beside the seat she stood on.

Her other hand called her hilt back and ignited once it snapped into her small palm. The blade leveled with him in a classic Makashi stance as her other hand still gripped the cup close to her lips. A loud and obnoxious slurp was immediately followed by another attack as she leapt forward with quick and fluid motions, practically floating along the ground as she clashed with her opponent once more.

The attacks were aimed at his legs and her range made it difficult, but with the drink in her hand, jumps and somersaults were out of the question. The tihaar was far too precious to spill.

 

[Shakka Bralor]

O B J E C T I V E: 1 No sith No Exceptions Part 5

Location:Roon, South Daba'r Coast
Allies: DECEASED Aron Gowrie Shai Maji Vulcan Krayt Soloman Priest Jiriad Galaar Baxter Weyland Archer Fallon
Enemies: The Mongrel Keilara Kala'myr Darth Mori Tu'teggacha Jin X Firrerreo
Equipment:Equipment In Bio
Song:

Spoiler: TL:DR

• Shakka Watches the pretty explosions
• Fires a couple missiles Tu’teggacha's way
• Goes to hunt for some intel

<"Copy that, Hawkbat 1-2! Issuing halt-orders through the BattleNet now, but be advised - we can only stop for a little while before we need to start dodging Mawite barrages again.... Oh, and thanks for the coordinates by the way. Wildcat 2 out!">

She smiled under her helmet. These men were a pleasure to work with. Would definitely have to sit down and share a meal with them once the battle had ended.

<”Affirm Wildcat 2 good hunting gentlemen.”>

She watched as the shell rained down into the massed beast men as the shells struck around the lumbering creatures. The night lit orange with the explosions of their burden, a huge blast of energy killing them all that surrounded them. What little of the jungle that wasn't on fire before then had lit in the ensuing chaos.

As much as she liked to keep watching the fireworks, the battle was far from over yet. She began scanning the area looking for signs of the sith encampment when something pinged her radar. Shuttle was shooting up into IFF read as a mawite shuttle she didn’t hesitate she leveled her missile launcher on it, locked, and fired, The proton warhead shrieked across the night sky heading towards the fleeing shuttle she didn’t track it to see if it hit. She quickly reloaded the launcher, locked, and fired a second missile to chase the first. She set her radar to ping if the missiles found their target.

That done she resumed her scanning for the Sith encampment she found an interesting ion signature that seemed to match the shuttle. She flew in that direction hoping to find some intel that might have been left behind.

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[Dimitri Voltura]

ALLIES: Maw
ENEMIES: Enclave | NIO
ENGAGING: Vulcan Krayt
GEAR: In bio

i AM MACHINE​

It worked better than he expected.

Mandalorians scattered before some turned to face the Tuk'ata. Yet some were too isolated to turn and fight.

One unfortunately bolted right in the Dragon's direction. There was a part of Dimitri that hesitated for a second. That did not want to lash out at an old ally. But then the Sith Lord was back on the observation deck of the Prophet while seeing the very allies shooting down the slaves they so self-righteously wanted to save. The double standards of the supposed good-guys is why he was standing on the opposite side right now.

Crimson eyes burnt bright as the Dragon stepped out of the shadows and foliage and into the path of the oncoming Mandalorian. The bridge of friendliness with the Confederacy and its Mandalorians had been burnt along with the Gehennom and the slaves aboard it that fateful day over Rhand. In the wake of that burnt bridge stood an apex and ancient predator and practitioner of the Dark Side.
"Lost, are we?" Dimitri asked calmly as his hand loosely rested on the hilt clipped to his belt.

The predator's senses were heightened beyond the Force itself. The smell drifting towards him told him much more than the Force ever could.
"So they send children off to war now?" he then asked, head cocked to the side as he regarded the Mando'ade in front of him. "A pity that you should be here this day, Young One."

As a rule, the Sith Lord was no child killer. But he also knew that Mandalorians started training at a very young age to be formidable warriors. Young though this one may still be in the eyes of a millennium-old Energy Vampire, the Dragon knew not to underestimate him. If anyone was able to take on Force Users, it was Mandalorians.

Unclipping his hilt from his belt with a sigh, Dimtir ignited the crimson blade. He spread his arms wide for a spell in open invitation.

"Shall we, then?"

 

[Gwyneira Vizsla]

G U T S Y​

Remaining in stealth, Gwyn and Cabur'tomad remained in hiding as they watched the show unfold. Thus far, the battle seemed to be going in the Enclave's favor. Even with Omen's ship compromised, the enemy was on the retreat while Shai Krayt, the mad woman she was, launched an explosive attack straight outta hyperspace. When Shai's order rang out, Gwyn clenched the controls. Now was the time to act, during the chaos!

Wait, did she include Alora in that order?!

This was no time to say hello to a friend, however. She turned on the power and jetted forth as fast as she could, still in stealth. Her target was a daring one, but she recalled how vulnerable the bridge of a ship could actually be. If she could get close enough to the bridge...

Of course, getting to the nearest enemy ship was easy. Even the most advanced scanners in the galaxy would prove unable to detect Can. Of course they couldn't, when Gwyneira herself developed the device. Yet, the difficult part was now in front of her. She did not need to use Cab's drill for the particle canon. All she needed was a well placed blow. If the shields were compromised like she believed they were...

Directly flying in front of a bridge, she gritted her teeth and decloaked. Aware of just how risky this was, she shouted as her finger remained inches away from the cloaking device activation button. "Cab! The particle canon!"

Cabur'tomad aimed a shot at the bridge, at the people and droids through the glass, before Gwyn slammed the button hoping to cloak and bail.

"Kark!"

TLDR

Spoiler

• Gwyn turns her power back on and follows Shai's order of attack. Shai Maji Sergeant Omen

• Gwyn remains stealthed and flies up to the bridge of one of the enemy's ships. CETCOM

• Gwyn decloaks, fires a particle cannon shot aimed at the bridge itself, and tries to decloak and get away. CETCOM

• Gwyn wishes she had time to say hi to her punk rock hair dye engineering buddy. Alora Vizsla

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[Darth Ptolemis]

K E S T R I
Tor Valum Fighting Pits

Tag: Yenna | Open!

Equipment in bio.

​

The heavy, two-handed clash blasted Yenna's saber afar, yet his follow-up kick only served to launch her into the air. He should have known. However the fact that now she was deprived of a saber reassured him, as he believed the only logical action would be to create space between the two now; and indeed she reached out with the Force and directed a dense shockwave at the Sith Lord mid-flight.

Instead of producing a barrier to combat the impact, Ptolemis dashed lightning-fast away from Yenna, allowing the blunt force of the push to crack the stone beneath their feet. Coarse particulate matter washed over both, rippling their robes and, in the case of Ptolemis, remaining garments.

”Oh my!” She cried out happily as she landed, picking up another plastic cup still filled with its drink. ”Like one, would you?” She asked with a bright grin as she gestured to another one beside the seat she stood on.

As the conflict between the Death's Hand and the Enclave rocked the very foundations of Tor Valum, the two Force users stood face-to-face, a bone-chilling breeze swirling around them. Yenna's hilt whizzed by him as she regained possession of it, and eventually blew alight in her hand. Her stance changed, and so did the Sith Lord's. He felt he needed to undermine her confidence. To find a weakpoint in her greatest strength. 'She wasn't afraid.' The Sith glanced at his own feet, stepped back and assumed a more defensive posture that shall serve as a foundation for his real offense.

The battle of Force mastery.

She quickly propelled her body into bafflingly fast movements and attacks while still holding onto her drink. As with her initial attack, it took serious focus to be able to parry her swings. Sparks from a sliding saber lock still flew between the two when her next attack arrived at his feet; and the next, and then another quick, clever follow-up. Each thrust a tell of great talent. Her barrage of attacks a dance of death; an infuriating circumstance. Ptolemis kept backpedaling, or temporarily levitating above her horizontal swings, or performing various forms of evasive slides; but her lightsaber form prevented him from disarming her again. She still had the upper hand.

In the briefest moments of respite, the corrupted Fondorian grinded to a halt, snapped his finger toward the sky, exhaled and exclaimed. – What trauma … are you trying to bury under the drink, Yenna?

Then, in a flash, his hand formed a fist, and the weakened ground fracture from before widened under their feet, running along the age-old stone pavement. Regardless of the answer, he motions upward with his strained fist, and should he manage to scramble her footing, he shall produce two more vengeful shockwaves at her, fueled by the power of the Dark Side.

 

[Vulcan Krayt]

Location: Roon
Objective1: Get separated from fellow Vod in the Jungle.
Equipment: Sword, M.I. Beskar'gam Mk.1 M.I. 'Sunstroke' jetpack M.I. Model 6 hybrid pistol, M.I. Model 12 shatter rifle x2, Thermal Detonators, Magnetic Detonators, Perun's Call
Tag: Shai Maji | Soloman Priest | Jiriad Galaar | DECEASED Aron Gowrie
Engaging: Dimitri Voltura

He had listened hard for the footfalls of the Wolf Droids, so far they haven't been heard for a few minutes, Vulcan felt weak with relief. But not too much as to not remain alert. His comms were hissing noisily in his ear, the foilage is interfering. He kept trying, even if he used the pseudo morse code he sometimes uses to get attention from his fellow Vode. It was something none could ignore for long. Still, it hissed unhelpfully.

He loved being in nature as well as fighting but not when he feels like a baby mouse in a large and unfamiliar place he felt very small compared to the trees. He had to find a way back, to alert his Alor and defend the main forces, do anything but become food for the local wildlife.

Then his hair fluffed, it was not staticy out here, it was a sudden instinctive dread that he was not alone now, someone else is here and with no way of getting back up Vulcan steeled himself for a fight, he loved to fight, he was good at it. He shouldn't fear things, everyone else didn't.

The youngster whirled around to face Dimitry. He's now fully aware that he was funnelled deliberately by the Wolf Droids into this spot and away from other Mandos. Vulcan mentally kicked himself, but then calmed down. This is not new he was in difficult places before, including a Mine and a near-death scenario. This should be easy.

Vulcan scowled deeply at the snap-hiss of a crimson Lightsaber. He's facing a Sith. The Enclave's manifesto was clear, no exceptions and here he was fulfilling what his fellow Vod was doing, ridding the sector of Sith, well those that weren't on the exception list.

But his mind narrowed in on the Sith Lord's comments, he was a child, well teenager. However, that was beside the point, Vulcan was not going to worry about his age, not yet anyway. He has to deal with Dimitry first.

<"No exceptions.">

The Ubese unholstered one of his weapons at the invitation for a fight and fired, making sure to keep out of the death sword's line of impact. He'll be able to think of something if this fails.