Mission Shatterpoint | Resolution

[FN-999]

Objective: Adapt
Directly interacting with Alicio Organa | In proximity of Amani Serys | Inanna Harth | Iris Arani | Open to Interaction

N I N E S
Cloak

Working alone was a fascinating experience for the sociable commander.
​

Ever since the last two years of his time in the First Order, Nines had been an officer, commanding others but also working alongside them. Up until his most recent promotions gave him command of a battalion, then a regiment, and then a legion, he had been in the front lines himself fighting alongside his comrades as they went into battle. As he transitioned from being a junior to a senior officer, his social interactions had changed, interacting with lieutenants and middlemen rather than the privates directly, excluding major speeches and broad orders. However, he had adjusted quickly and was close with many of his senior subordinates, many of whom had risen up the ranks right behind him.

Yet this was a far more unique situation, as he was truly alone.

If he got too friendly with any of the refugees or officials and his disguise accidentally slipped, they would remember him. He had removed his legion commander's pauldron prior to landing on Tython, but a covert Imperial stormtrooper would nonetheless be treated as a threat, and he knew firsthand that fighting a skilled Jedi alone was practically suicide. Even he could at best hope to kill one or two Jedi before being overpowered with frightening ease by the sheer strength of their mystical powers.

Consequently, it was best to help superficially.

Still, his attention couldn't help but be drawn to notable figures nearby. A four-armed humanoid Jedi created a wall out of scraps of metal, and he was briefly shocked at the anomaly before realizing it was probably a projection of the Force. Closer to Nines, a young woman seemed to calm refugees with the palms of her hands, likely a close-range Jedi mind trick.

Standing among these Force-users and their potent abilities, it took considerable restraint not shoot them dead.

Intelligence gathering. Nines reminded himself. This is all intelligence gathering. Plus, as I said earlier, killing one or two would only make me a bigger target in a camp already on high alert.

Still, such restraint was easier said than done. He instinctively palmed the butt of his rifle under his cloak as he recalled over a decade of brutal warfare against the Alliance and their Jedi counterparts, as well as the role that the oh-so-peaceful Jedi had played in slaughtering dozens of his comrades. His fists grew white under his armor as he clenched them tightly, not daring to move them an inch towards his still-concealed rifle.

It's okay. I can't hand in a report to the ISB if I'm dead. As hard as it is to believe, we have a mutual foe and a mutual goal. For the sake of the innocent refugees, restrain yourself.

Finally, his fists relaxed and withdrew from his rifle. His attention returned to his surroundings and he realized that another person was attempting to direct the crowd, though their voice struggled to carry over the crowd.

"Listen! Enter the ships calmly! Wounded, sick, and children first!" He continued to direct the crowd, trying his best to be a commanding presence, with mixed results. He channeled his cousin Faith as best he could, speaking clearly and poised, the very picture of Alderaanian royalty, but controlling a quickly-expanding group of scared refugees was proving difficult.

Nines turned and walked over to the man, happy for the distraction. Weaving through the crowd with little effort, he strode until he was directly in the man's line of sight and relatively closeby before speaking.

"I have a mic under here." stated Nines, gesturing to the hood of his cloak. "Let me know what you want people to know and I'll deliver it."

 

[Bernard of Arca]

BYOO, Ishida Ashina​

The cockpit's window was split between the blues, greens, and reds of the planet below and the endless black of space. Canyons split Tython's surface while remains of a drowned moon settled in craters. The world had been permanently scarred by the disciples of the New Sith.

Bernard breathed out silently. He'd begun to dwell on these matters more than he should.

Seeing this horizon before him should bring him more pain than it did, yet all he could muster was a hazy weariness. The death of Tython had come and passed, averted by the Alliance, and yet he felt empty. Even after he'd been to Coruscant, taken a few days to settle his mind and recover, the blue-lined edge of the planet still brought with it a sense of nothing.

"You've hardly said a word since we left Coruscant."

Bernard adjusted the ship's heading, tilting his head to the passenger seat's occupant.

"Neither have you."

 

[Phylis Alince]

Caltin Vanagor

"Hmm, a pleasure. Yes, I heard of your exploits in the battle. Including moving the Forge?" she asked as he finished. "Hmmph, you managed to move the shrine at the top of the mountain with all the machinery during a battle? Impressive. I would be curious of your method since it could come in handy for me."

Internally she had deep concerns about damage to the ancient facility by such a hurried relocation. Phylis was used to painstaking rennovations and excavations taking hours to remove a single item. Picking up a building was both impressive...and fraught with danger.

The droid beeped innocently, commenting that Master Vanagor was very big indeed.

Phylis glared at the droid. "Enough, Six-Nine. I don't want our new acquaintance having your snark. Anyway, do you intend to return the Forge now things have settled a little?

 

[Caltin Vanagor]

“All the adversity I’ve had in my life, all my troubles and obstacles, have strengthened me… You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you.”- Walt Disney​

She was concerned about the Forge itself. Vanagor was not worried about her concern as it was natural, she was probably here to study it, if not ensure its safety, after all this was history. Living history in a manner of speaking.

Of course, the big man was no slouch.

Patience, a large loading ramp and a larger cargo bay,

He chuckled at his answer, not to be disrespectful, but there really was no other way to explain. If he could put her mind at ease, but short of producing the machine itself right at this moment there was no way of doing that. Alliance was just going to have to take him for his word. The droid was funny, and didn’t bother him but she wanted to keep it professional, that’s fine.

Though her last query was a little insulting.

As soon as I see everything is secure and safe to bring it back, certainly. Right now it is on a planet that will show it the respect we do as Jedi. You are welcome to go see it if you like. It’s not like it’s in hiding.

Location: On the walk to The Forge

Allies: Phylis Alince Valiens Nantaris

Anyone that wants to converse!/ TEAM LIGHTSIDE!

Spoiler: Personal effects

"Vanguard" (Secondary - Long Handle)

"CONSERVATOR" (Primary - Long Handle)
HK-88 Robes, Battle Armor,Toraynor-Henkan(mind crystal added) Advanced Jedi Utility Belt
Starship: Spectre, (Jedi Interceptor in the hangar, Dilorian, and Bike both in the cargo bay, the late Karki Eusith's Armor, Shield, Temple Guard Lightsaber mounted on the wall)
Sanctuary Island

 

[Rianna Organa]

Location: Surface of Tython
Objective: Heal hearts and minds

Tython ravaged by war and disease begged for help, through the force the very soul of the planet reached across the galaxy to the mind and heart of the healer. She had long lingered on Alderaan and away from such calls but something this time pulled at her with a strength she could not deny.

Rianna quietly joined the compliment of medical crews and went to Tython.

A RMSU had been set up and Rianna had begun to take in patients of all ages and species. She smiled softly to each one and worked with the efficiency of a skilled hand with each one. Currently before her a young zabrak female whose name Rianna was trying to find out.

The poor girl had burns on her hands that looked to be caused by a chemical slowly Rianna turned her hand over, dabbing gently with a bacta pad, "Do you like to play games?"

The young girl nodded her eyes still filled with fear from what she had seen could only nod yes to Rianna's question. "Me too. I like board games and word games. Will you play a word game with me?" Rianna continued to tend to the girls hands.

"ok" she whispered. Rianna felt distraction was the best course of action, "Do you play I"m going on a picnic?"

The girls brow furrowed, "No, what's that game?"

Rianna smiled, "we go through the basic alphabet name a food that we would to take, but you must remember them and say in order and then add your own word...like I say A Apple, you say B"

"Bantha." The girl chirped, "Ahh..then say Apple Bantha...I say Apple Bantha Candy.."

"oh I get it...Apple Bantha Candy Drapsha"

Drapsha...Rianna smiled, "Very well" The two continued with the game as Rianna worked.

She understood that somewhere on Tython supervising everyone was her cousin Alicio Organa

 

[Vesta]

Day I Die​

The trek to the hypergate that the Maw had taken advantage of in their rush to swarm Tython would have been a long one, if indeed she had followed through with the initial plan to use the ancient relic to jump her way back to a place which could ferry her to Exegol. She instead found herself meandering into quite the impressive sight sprawled out before her. For entire kilometers the ruin left in the wake of a fallen super star destroyer stretched out, far as the eye could see, with small flames and black smoke billowing up from the three sections it had been strewn into. 'Fatalis,' She thought, recalling the ship that had struck fear into planets as an all-too-late warning of a sudden Mawite invasion. At the start of the incursion onto Tython it had careened into the world's surface, torn in three, and left for dead by the very scavengers that had built it - but not she.

A gust of wind blew towards her, pulled towards her, despite the currents of the air going in very much the opposite direction just moments before.

'We're so alike, you and I; dead already but forced to stay behind to save these wretches.'

Her thoughts were approaching pity, assigning humanity to what was little more than an object, a tool, as she changed where she had set her focus on to the fallen ship instead. A sweeping gesture of her hand smothered the wall of fire that burned in front of her, the result of so much organic matter lit ablaze rendered harmless by the abrupt vacuum of oxygen in the space that surrounded it just long enough for the fire to die out. Her black-gloved hand reached out and ran along the surface of the searing hot steel, the sizzle reaching her ears and tufts of smoke curled up from her fingertips as she slowly withdrew her hand from the source of the heat, and she turned her head towards the valley proper that housed the carcass of the great ship.

'This won't do.'

In days past she would have done something that, though impressive, would have hid the extent of which she had grown over the last decade. She'd inherited the ingenuity to use the environment, the atmosphere, to manipulate the elements without exhausting herself - it would have been so simple to deprive the hungry tongues of fire their meal in oxygen. She had been so hungry for so long, so starving, so feeble, that doing so would have been all she, honestly, could have done - that had changed when Allyson Locke had delayed the timing of her part in the ritual, forced her to take its power within herself or watch all that effort slip away like the sands of time. At long last she felt as powerful, as capable, as she had before Rhand - no, even more so than before.

Hunger.

It was like nothing anyone living had experienced in the galaxy before now, the constant urge to consume everything and everyone along with herself. It was through this all-consuming sense of starvation that she managed to devour the large portion of the power gathered by the dark ritual initially executed by the late Sith'ari, and, though the urge to consume was temporarily sated until she grew used to her newfound well of power, a shadow of that hunger materialized suddenly now. With her spear acting as the focal point the flames were abruptly drawn towards her, stretched out over the long distance, as all of the energy that kept them alive was drained into her like light into a tear in the fabric of space itself. For the briefest of moments she illuminated the space around her brighter than her own lightsaber could, and the ground beneath her was scorched by a heat nearly as hot, before the light faded and revealed to her that not a single flame remained. All of that energy being released freely into the air was now condensed into a single being.

Herself.

Stepping towards the part of the wreckage closest to her, being its ruined bridge, Mori felt herself smile as she envisioned just what it was she intended to do next.

 

[Ishida Ashina]

BYOO | TYTHON | EN ROUTE TO HALL OF THE SUN
Bernard of Arca | CLOSED

​

That was the problem with finding comfort in silence. It took a long time until it created some discomfort. And it could carry on forever until words got involved.

Bernard only pointed out the obvious, but she hadn’t realized it until he said so.

And it wasn’t as though neither had anything to say.

Ishida met him with an expression that pulled her mouth into a tight line. Her eyes levelled into something unimpressed before they rolled and she shook her head.

She’d been so livid with him for almost a whole minute (maybe longer, rage and love could be blind) after his re-emergence from being lost on Tython, so blinded by grief and relief that she hadn’t said anything, but crumbled into a mess of gratitude and fury seeking something to blame. At the time, she’d blamed his silence. His approach to making a plan. It was something, anything she could grasp at to fling unprocessed, raw emotion at. The split decision they’d made on Tython to separate to be more efficient. A result of not talking. Their isolation had, in her mind, been their respective undoings.

Being in her own mind, unchallenged, unprocessed, had been wrong.

“Mm.”

That couldn’t happen again. The war wasn’t going away, the battles would continue, but the soldiers could change. The strategy could evolve.

“You're right,” she admitted and looked back down at the cube in her lap. A gifted ring that gave her responsibility— equal measures to the one that hung around her neck.

She forced a smile until it felt natural. And it did, once she became aware.

After so long apart, she’d been content to simply watch him travel through his mindscape uninterrupted. Witness the mysteries of his mind and only try to interpret and solve them through the subtleties that came from intimate observation. Tiny twitches, far-away looks, or the way the lines of his face tightened or creased. But that respected distance.

But they weren’t apart anymore. They had been by choice, and then by horrible, horrible circumstance.

She’d promised once she’d do anything in her power not to let those feelings from that year in lonesome — but her power was roiling in her gut right. Tight, and pulling at her throat.

“Then let me be the first to ask..” Her thumb smoothed along the box’s edges and rotated her shoulders to face him, angling to sit on her hip and cross her ankles.

“..What is it you're thinking about?”

 

[Iris Arani]

Calm. That's all Iris focused on. What she needed to focus on. The panic of the camp wasn't going to help anyone. And there was a Jedi, or something, out there standing against Carnifex. She could see it, though. The dark haze pushed down like a fog around the colors she was trying to put out. But she wasn't alone here. The other Jedi, even the people who still felt brave enough to stand against the darkness. Domxite.

She settled down in a meditative stance. Eyes closed. Where the dark would consume color she would just add another layer. Fighting back against the darkness was the only thing she could do to help right now.

Darth Carnifex | Alicio Organa | Inanna Harth | Arlo Renard | Jasper Kai'el | Amani Serys | FN-999 | Aaran Tafo

 

[Alicio Organa]

TYTHON
TEMPORARY REFUGEE CAMP
INTERACTING WITH: Inanna Harth - Amani Serys - FN-999
TAGS: Arlo Renard - Jasper Kai'el - Iris Arani - Darth Carnifex - Aaran Tafo - Rianna Organa
​

Despite the terrible situation, something felt right about it to Alicio

Yes, he was terrified. Yes, he was infuriated by the danger caused to the citizenry. Yes, he felt guilty that his camp had been attacked. But in that moment, as he barked out orders, watching as the Jedi shared her calm, and Inanna created barrier walls out of stray scraps, he was struck by emotion.

In the midst of a crisis, warriors were those who could rise above.

As Alicio continued to yell over the crowd's panic, the first transport was filled beyond capacity. People still pushed and jostled each other, trying to enter the full starship, creating a block in the flow of refugees. Alicio's voice wasn't strong enough.

Thankfully, someone else's was.

A cloaked stranger in armor appeared before Alicio, offering to help. Alicio took in the man, not noticing, or perhaps not caring, what denomination the armor was from, and nodded. "This one's full," he shouted, thumbing at the nearest vessel. "Have them move on to the next!"

Alicio turned away, producing a small communicator. "Pilots, fly low when you take off, head directly away. Do not climb, there's someone out there that can pull you down."

Somewhere else on Tython, Rianna Organa 's communicator would begin to buzz. An Alderaanian distress call, from a refugee camp.

 

[Jasper Kai'el]

Tython Refugee Camp
Tags: Iris Arani , Arlo Renard , Amani Serys , Alicio Organa , Aaran Tafo , Darth Carnifex , Inanna Harth , FN-999​

Jasper had tried to make himself useful by escorting civilians to the various transports. To his surprise, however, this seemed to be taken care of rather effectively, in no short part due to the quick thinking of an on-sight politician, a cloaked figure, and the on going battle meditation. Jasper made his way back to the camp, making the rounds for stragglers. Empty. They were making incredible progress.

As Jasper made his way back towards the crowd, he noticed Iris Arani , still maintaining a meditative position. After all the leg work she was putting in, the exile figured he better make sure that nobody broke her focus. Jasper made his way up to the meditating padawan.

"Hope you don't mind," Jasper began, "But your friend sounded pretty serious about you coming back alive. I'll make sure no one breaks your focus."

Jasper could tell quite easily that she was incredibly strong in the force. Battle meditation was no easy feat, after all. The galaxy would need someone like her. If he was gonna do anything today, the least he could do was make sure that this girl leaves in one piece.

 

[FN-999]

Objective: Adapt
In proximity of Alicio Organa | Amani Serys | Inanna Harth | Iris Arani | Jasper Kai'el | Open to Interaction

N I N E S
Cloak
​

A cloaked stranger in armor appeared before Alicio, offering to help. Alicio took in the man, not noticing, or perhaps not caring, what denomination the armor was from, and nodded. "This one's full," he shouted, thumbing at the nearest vessel. "Have them move on to the next!"

"Understood." replied Nines.
​

The pair turned away from each other almost simultaneously, and he took a step forward to avoid damaging the man's eardrums. Then, he relayed the order, his voice blaring through the helmet's microphone.

{The ship closest to you is full. Please make your way to any other ship nearby. I repeat, the ship closest to you is full.}

Nines repeated the order several times before he was satisfied the crowd understood where they needed to go. Soon, the increasingly efficient crowd began to thin, and his eyes wandered to his surroundings. The supervisors, Jedi and otherwise, did not appear to have moved much, and wherever the conflict was occurring, it was not near where he stood.

Seeing that he had some free time on his hands, he slunk away to an abandoned tent, ducking inside and doing a quick once-over to ensure he was alone. Satisfied that he was, he activated his helmet comms and began to quietly contact his escorts high above.

[Foureye, this is Nines. I've stumbled upon an Alliance-run refugee camp and have successfully infiltrated it. There seems to be several Jedi present, I haven't seen any of significant value. There's also a scuffle on the far side of camp between the Jedi and some hostile force. For the sake of my identity, I haven't gotten involved yet. I'm currently safe and undetected. I'll keep you updated with intel briefs.]

[Nines, this is Foureye. Be careful out there, for real.]

[Understood. Emperor Fel's soul will guide me. Nines, out.]

 

[Phylis Alince]

Caltin Vanagor

"Hmm, good, good," Phylis said with a nod when he mentioned his methods. At least it had been more than ripping it out with a tractor beam or similar.

"Hmm, which planet is it on? I might do so. I believe you of course, Master Vanagor, but I am something of an expert when it comes to restoration, so when we move it back I would like to assist."

She looked at the truncated mount. "Fancy a walk up there? We can still get a good view of things. Anywhere else which might need my, hmm, assistance?"

Fires still smouldered in places, smoke rising into the sky. All about was ruined and blighted. Yet there was signs of aid.
"Hmmph, I do not understand what the Maw want. Death and destruction for no purpose. At least the Sith usually want control and dominion over the galaxy. These Mawites would burn everything and be masters of just ashes...."

 

[Caltin Vanagor]

“Integrity is doing the right thing, even when no one is watching.”- C.S. Lewis ​

Let’s go.

He didn’t answer her right away, not out of disrespect, but because he was looking for the “Forge Guardian.” The latest in a long line of larger than normal Jurgorans that inhabit the ridge. This one he had already come across and knew that he would not attack, but still they were very protective, as if the steps were imprinted on them.

There you are.

He pointed, quite subtly towards the beast. Once they reached the top, he slowly dropped into a squat and pulled a couple of pieces of packaged Nerf Jerky out and tossed it towards the Guardian who seemed to be satisfied with his prize but still stood guard.

Don’t show aggression and he won’t. As for the Forge, it is on Midvinter, with King Heavenshield. I did not want to take a chance on it being destroyed.

He shook his head almost in defeat as he looked around, clearly wondering what exactly they “won” here.

… like much of the rest of the planet.

Location: On the walk to The Forge

Allies: Phylis Alince Valiens Nantaris

Anyone that wants to converse!/ TEAM LIGHTSIDE!

Spoiler: Personal effects

"Vanguard" (Secondary - Long Handle)

"CONSERVATOR" (Primary - Long Handle)
HK-88 Robes, Battle Armor,Toraynor-Henkan(mind crystal added) Advanced Jedi Utility Belt
Starship: Spectre, (Jedi Interceptor in the hangar, Dilorian, and Bike both in the cargo bay, the late Karki Eusith's Armor, Shield, Temple Guard Lightsaber mounted on the wall)
Sanctuary Island

 

[Darth Carnifex]

The darkness yet swarmed, for it was no mere atmospheric manipulation conjured by the power of the Force. It was a manifestation of pure negative emotion, that of not only the Dark Lord of the Sith, but also those who carried such burdens. The pain of all those injured in the battle, their cries echoing out through the Force like a clarion's call, gave strength to the fetid waves which rippled through the camp. Likewise, the fears of every living creature lent itself to the darkness, as did their doubts and their regrets.

But so too did anger flow from them, coaxed out by the siren's song of the Dark Side. Some found themselves unable to resist the impulses that flooded their minds, succumbing to depravity that was entirely of their own creation. The darkness that flooded the camp did not place these dark thoughts into their minds, it only brought to the surface what already lurked beneath. It was the dark voice that whispered in the back of their minds that it was okay, it gave them permission.

The tinder to a bonfire of hatred and fear.

Even the bright shining rays that sliced through the clouds were not enough to dispel this unnatural shadow, for the Dark Lord gave it life and so long as He persisted, so too would the shadow. The weight of the sky was but a triviality in the face of such horror, the Dark Lord's mangled skeletal body visibly buckling for a moment before it rose again. The fiery energy which had coalesced inside His body burst free, flowing out and spread wildly in all directions. At the epicenter of it all remained the Dark Lord, the veneer of nobility which He had worn as a cloak to most of the galaxy had finally peeled back to reveal the ugly truth beneath the glamour.

Carnifex was a monster.

Only now, the outside finally matched what existed within.

The maelstrom would consume as much as it could, a voracious sea of azure scintillating flame. Though given animation by the Dark Lord's will, it now operated independently of it. Yet, all the same, it carried a spark of that dark power within it, a putrid corruption born from the vilest depths of the Force. Such corruption would taint not only the fire, but everything it passed over. There would always remain an echo of the Dark Lord, His mark forever stamped upon the galaxy in a way only rivaled by the likes of Moridin and Solipsis.

Carnifex, however, would allow the conflagration to run rampant as it so desired. The Jedi only served as a meager obstacle in His path, one that He had toyed with only to satisfy an innate curiosity of Jedi talents and skills. But the man often spoke and said little, there was no reason to entertain the gridlock. So, through the powers of His obtenebration, the Dark Lord's body melted into shadow as it crept forward under the cover of blue flame and flickering light. The moment that His own shadow touched the shadows interweaving through the camp, it would be a triviality to materialize anywhere in the camp at will.

Such as behind Padawan Arani.

And the shadows at her back grew frightfully long indeed...

Iris Arani | Aaran Tafo | Arlo Renard
Amani Serys | Alicio Organa | Inanna Harth
Jasper Kai'el | FN-999 ​

 

[Bernard of Arca]

BYOO, Ishida Ashina​

"It's all so empty," Bernard said.

Through the viewport, the outline of Tython shifted, disappearing as the shuttle changed its course to avoid colliding with one of the storms still ravaging the surface.

"The life here used to be so verdant, full of energy, but it's all muted now. Whispers where a song once played. It's unsettling." He turned to Ishida.

"We didn't lose Tython like the Chiss did Csilla, but we came dangerously close, and all I feel is emptiness. I didn't have any time to think about it until now."

Bernard adjusted the shuttle's course again and shifted to lean back into the cushioning of his chair. Tython came back into view and with it the scars.

"It's unsettling."

 

[Rianna Organa]

As Rianna worked she suddenly became very aware of a draw on the force her dark eyes scanned around her was someone near for a moment she hesitated.

The youngling before her was staring at her, "you, ok?" she whispered as if she knew she had to be quiet. Rianna gently nodded, "yes..it is now time for you to go. Aron, would you please take my friend here to the ship." Anxiety that is what it felt like in short waves through her senses it came, something wasn't right.

"Aron, take everyone with you. The Medical Frigate Caduceus is standing by to take the ship on." Aron a member of Rianna's first responder team could only nod he had learned long ago that the Jedi Healer often had these moments of clarity where she knew something he did not. "We'll see you on board Ri?"

Rianna shook her head no, "I'll be taking another ship, safety of our patients first Aron."

"yes till I see you on Alderaan"

Rianna said nothing other than to put her hand to the young girls cheek, "You will be safe with Aron I'll see you soon" Rianna stood up she reached for the communications device which had suddenly chimed to life. A Distress signal. An Alderaani distress signal.

Rianna moved towards a speeder before mounting the vehicle she looked to the direction she would head for a moment she reached out to see if over such distance she could touch the mind of Alicio Organa I'm coming to you

She reached over and touched the weapon hung at her hip all her years as a Jedi and the tenants of her Order remained fresh in her mind, do not draw your weapon unless you are prepared to use it. A healer walked a fine line of when to use a weapon.

Rianna headed towards the Refugee Camp

Tags: Inanna Harth | FN-999 | Iris Arani | Arlo Renard | Amani Serys | Aaran Tafo | Darth Carnifex |

 

[Inanna Harth]

It looked like the combined efforts of Inanna, Amani, Alicio and that stormtrooper guy (where had he come from, anyhow?) were working. Good. Moreover, the monstrous entity attacking the camp seemed to be concentrating their efforts on the Jedi, leaving the fleeing refugees alone for the most part. Also good.

At least, until the monster unleashed a great and terrible power upon those who remained.

Waves of despair crashed suddenly into Inanna, threatening to wash her away. Her grasp on the wall she had built wavered. The Force felt distant and cold.

Her mind had always been weak. Some torture victims are able to grow accustomed to pain, turning their scars into armor, but she had never been able to get used to the feeling of some creep worming their way inside her head, messing with her emotions and twisting her thoughts. Right now the invader was insisting that she needed to run and hide. Forget everyone else, save herself.

It was no use thinking about the refugees—they were an abstraction, a statistic, complete strangers to her. Even the silent little boy clinging to her waist seemed a symbol more than a person.

She dropped to her knees. One pair of arms remained outstretched, fighting to keep the barriers up. The wall of scrap and debris was teetering, portions of it falling away.

Amani Serys Darth Carnifex Alicio Organa Rianna Organa FN-999​

 

[Arlo Renard]

In the midst of all the panic and pandemonium, Iris was somehow able to mediate. Kai couldn’t help but smile a little. It was so… Iris.

The smile was wiped off his face as he felt darkness swirl around them. He continued to add his strength to the battle meditation, but just when he thought they were driving Carnifex back, the former Sith Emperor abruptly changed tactics.

Kai’s danger sense went haywire. As the presence drew near and Carnifex began to manifest along a lengthening shadow, however, the Bamarri’s read on him suddenly sharpened to pinpoint accuracy. His teeth pulled back in a snarl.

<Get away from her!>

A bolt of white-hot lightning struck the growing shadow behind Iris, scorching the earth. Arcs of electricity slithered along any metal surface nearby and flammable objects combusted. Iris herself remained mysteriously unaffected, the lightning dancing away from her.

Gasping for breath, Kai was left staggering from the sheer outpouring of his power. His skin steamed, perspiration wicked away by the heat of the blast. He hoped Carnifex had gotten the message, but he activated his lightsaber and held it at the ready, just in case…

Iris Arani Jasper Kai'el Darth Carnifex Aaran Tafo​

 

[Aaran Tafo]

By the Force this thing in front of him was irritating. Most beings had the common decency to die when crushed under several thousand tons of gas.

Carnifex however, possessed no such social graces, they stopped pretending quite some time ago.

And so, as the inferno burst outwards, an attempt to leave a lasting mark on Tython, a last desperate gasp of a sore loser, the Jedi also gave up on simply stalling.

Shockingly, Kaine was not the only one testing limits and satisfyingly their curiosity of the being that stood against them.

Raising his hand, his palm flexed, and like pressing pause on a holotape, the flames stopped, the anger, hate and other base emotions that attempted to stain the planet, would attempt to find purchase, a monument to the Dark Lord's power.

But they would find nothing to grasp hold of, for Tython was a truly ancient world. One that has been powerful in the Force for nearly all of it's existence.

Kaine's mark was potent, but for all of the Lich's power, they were not truly omnipotent, they only tried to project that illusion to others.

Their power was a drop in am ocean that had existed for billions of years, everything that Kaine was, everything he built, the entire monument of their existence would fade, because nothing truly lasted forever.

And such a process was something that Aaran was speeding up. The natural progression of the universe and the march of entropy. Suffering was temporary after all. So all he needed to do was speed up the process.

The conflagration grew, peaking for a moment before fading utterly, unable to advance any further, hemmed in entirely by the Jedi's will. Forced to consume itself. The stains of the Dark side left behind were barely a shadow of what the failed Emperor intended. Already fading, struggling to exist in the background of Tython's own natural energies.

Because for all of Kaine's power, it was nothing compared to the will of a planet. And entire world that carried an existence of billions of years. Trying to leave a mark like this was like an attempt to stain the ocean with a drop of blood.

The scorched grass and trees were still an eyesore, but it would heal eventually, instead Aaran had to focus on other things. Noting the slithering shadow trying to slink away as the Jedi put out the forest fire, Carnifex was many things, subtle was not one of them.

Using Force based movement to sneak by a man who perceived through the Force was not the most optimal strategy. The former Emperor would have a better chance of sneaking by him if they simply walked.

But clearly someone thought they were too good to use their dangly meat tubes to wobble around on.

His brow furrowed slightly as he turned his attention back to the camp. So they were going after the Padawan setting up the Battle Meditation? Despite all their posturing, Carnifex saw the girl as a threat, someone openly defying them was not something a creature like them could tolerate.

Because when you stopped being scared of a monster, it just became nothing more than an animal. Dangerous certainly, but men could outwit animals.

And monsters could be slain.

Making his way back to the camp with all haste, form a blur surpassing mortal limits, he reached out with his mind, brushing against the meld.

Iris would feel an unfamiliar mind brushing her own, unfamiliar but friendly, speaking to her not in words, but images and intent.

The Dark Lord was afraid of her, she was a threat to him. Help was on the way.​

And no sooner than the message was sent, Kai appeared, blasting at the looming shadow. A slight smile appearing on Aaran's face, proud of the Padawan's first instinct being to protect instead of flee.

Through the Meld, he began to feed his strength into the those present around Iris as well as the Battle Meditation the Padawan was forming around them.

He ran from me because I was not afraid. He's nothing more than a bully. Stand together.
​

Through the Meld they could feel his emotions, his. perspective his lack of fear amid the chaos acting as a bedrock for those beginning to panic to latch onto. Simple faith that everything would be alright so long as one stood tall in the face of adversity.

Because what was Carnifex doing after a loss? Not grabbing power from the Maw who had lost their leader, because then he'd have to contest beings who were his equal. Instead he's here, taking out his frustration for not being invited to the clubhouse of the other Sith by kicking small animals.

See the dark lord as I see him. Know him to be a hollow, petty child.​

His will a bulwark of solid faith as he continued to feed strength into the Jedi present, empowering the Battle Meditation to counteract the despair that Carnifex sought to sow.

Iris Arani Jasper Kai'el Darth Carnifex Arlo Renard

 

[Jasper Kai'el]

Tython Refugee Camp
Tags: Iris Arani , Arlo Renard , Aaran Tafo , Darth Carnifex ​

Just as soon as he had assured the Padawan he'd keep anyone from breaking her meditation, a dark aura fell over the camp, crashing over those nearby like a wave in a turbulent sea. Doubts flooded his mind. His weakness in the force, his failure to find a master, his loneliness as a young boy... Jasper quickly brushed this aside. This was darkness and nothing more. Jasper wasn't afraid of the dark.

In a move that even he didn't see coming, the exile surrendered himself to the force in that moment. He wasn't sure why. Jasper had always had a weak connection to it all things considered. To his surprise, something did indeed happen. Perhaps it was due to the lingering effects of the battle meditation, or maybe it was something that had been dormant in him all this time, but a faint aura had begun to surround the exile. Jasper didn't know what exactly this entailed, but he was prepared to find out.

Lightning crashed down around Iris Arani , focused generally on a shadow behind her. Her previously drunk friend had been the source, seeming to quickly take notice of the Sith emerging from her shadow. Jasper turned, stepping forward and drawing his own lightsaber and igniting it's blue blade. He assumed a standard Makashi stance, though he held the blade in a reverse Shien grip. This opening was meant to be a warning more than anything. To the untrained eye, the exile appeared to be unskilled. To those more understanding of the art of dueling, however, this was a sign that Jasper's fighting style was incredibly unorthodox.

<Get away from her!>

"I suggest you listen to him," Jasper told the Sith. "Frankly, I don't like your style. I don't take kindly to cowards."

Sith were cowards. They lived in fear of the inevitability of death, finding selfish and depraved ways of extending their own life while snuffing out the lives of others...

Jasper wasn't exactly afraid of death.