Invasion System Shock: BYOO | TSC Invasion of GE-held Coruscant Superhex Objective Three

[Kirie]

- Loser Girl Page Claim ♡ -​

Tag: Madrona A’Mia | Anet Raine | Makko Dres | Lina Ovmar | Nilira Vornix | OPEN

"Stay," she whispered. A pathetic, broken plea rendered hoarse by a tight throat. "You have a gift..."

Kirie felt Anet's plea more than she heard it. Her fellow Acolyte's emotions crashed against her mind like a wave, and Kirie was flooded with an intense feeling of guilt. That she was choosing to run away, that she had failed to acknowledge the depth of Anet's feelings, that she was squandering her potential.

Then, Anet grabbed her wrist and held up her shackle. Kirie shrank away from it in fear. Her empathy gave way to betrayal, and she looked at Anet open-mouthed. What had she just done? Exposed her plan? At the very least Anet had managed to gain the attention of the group. Kirie's hurt and anger joined the miasma of feeling roiling around her, seeping out of her every pore as the Dark vergence welled around them.

'Anet- Let me go!' Kirie was signing with her hands now. Great sweeping gestures that could be read and understood by those around them. She tried to shake her hand free, to get any distance from the person she had trusted with her gravest of secrets and who had immediately turned around and betrayed her in front of the people who could take it all away. Anet held fast and Kirie's face twisted into a snarl. She raised her free hand to sign or to strike- she wasn't sure- but before she could do anything more another iron grip closed around her arm, this one with more surety and strength than Anet's desperate clinging.

"So, if you ladies value your lives and your sanity, I suggest that you park whatever this is and move."

Kirie's shoulders sagged, and she accepted the shove from the instructor, Lina, without so much of a backwards glance. It all seemed hopeless now. There was too much attention on them. Maybe the last window of opportunity had already closed, and she had missed it. Maybe she would complete this mission as instructed, and return to the watchful care of the Academy, to the circling Triumvirs who seemed to want her for her own circumstances, to Anet.

'Understood, apologies my Lady.' Kirie replied robotically.

Anet. She refused to even spare her a glance. How could she do that? If she failed to get away from the Covenant today, she would at least make Anet pay for the choice she had made. Even that thought was no comfort to her, in the face of her hopelessness.

Don't linger. Don't play hero. Just survive… find me if you get separated.​

Kirie stiffened as if electrocuted. That familiar channel that formed her mental connection to Quinn had opened so easily, having never truly closed over. Kirie's heart filled with longing and gladness. It was just like Quinn to know exactly what to say at a time like this.

Kirie turned the words around in her head. Don't linger. Don't play hero. They steeled her, convinced her of what she had always known: that the others couldn't be trusted, couldn't be relied-upon, and couldn't be saved without the expense of herself. She had to do this alone, and soon. Surely, her remaining ipp

She screwed her eyes shut and concentrated on where she had felt the connection with Quinn, doing her best to clumsily send back a reply.

'I will.'

There was a note in her pocket, one she had written in advance for Neriah knowing the girl would not be able to understand touch-sign like Anet.

Neriah, I'm getting out of here like we said. You in?

In her pocket, Kirie crumpled the note into a ball, before throwing it onto the ground when she thought nobody was watching. On Weik, she would have been disciplined for littering. Neriah would have to wait.

As the Force storm brewed above them, munitions rained down on the Palace and ships crashed into the stones, Kirie paid them no mind. She stayed with the group, ignoring Makko Dres 's glance and Lina Ovmar 's watchful eyes, following closely as they navigated the disintegrating grounds. Kirie's eyes darted around as they moved, searching with singleminded determination to find a chance to slip away.

 

[Anet Raine]

TREE HEIST
(Ft. Anet's Mental Breakdown)
Madrona A’Mia | Kirie | Nilira Vornix | Lina Ovmar | Makko Dres

Kirie asked her to let go, but did she? No... Anet's grip only tightened and tugged against the shackle, as if she were ready to rip it off her.

But... she stumbled backward as Lina pulled her and Kirie apart.

Dark crimson clouds rolled in the skies above - from them erupted lightning that snapped with deafening thunder; each bolt struck erratically, some near, others far, but always with power that exceeded anything nature governed. The pitiful dramatist within Anet likened that chaos to the battle in her own heart.

The half-pantoran shrank into Lina's shoulder. The woman was right, they did have a greater focus to attend, but any rational thought was gone.

"Kirie why?!" Anet said with her eyes.

She sensed the acolyte's own betrayal and anger directed towards her. It felt unfair, what right did a traitor have to judge her?!

The storm. The battle. The vergence. It all bled inside of her. She who could only hold so much power. The Dark Side ate her because she was not trained to control it, and she was not capable of withstanding it. Anet wasn't even aware of it, but her internal monologue was now being projected to Kirie, whom she held responsible for everything she now felt, and thus focused singularly on as she unraveled.

Idiot idiot, I'm an idiot. Why did you have to Why now? Why didn't you tell me sooner? Chaos, I can fix this I need to fix this You made a mistake, I HATE YOU, You're My Friend, Chaos what have I done?

Her attention snapped back to the others. It was so easy to feel judged in this state.

"I need to get away..."

"I need to be away..."

"Anywhere but here..."

Anet shrank further, bending at the knees, with hands searching along her head for something to rip out. Hair, of course, was the only candidate, but before any of them saw the woman's meltdown - she disappeared.

And... Reappeared on the other side of the wall, inside the Palace, with pieces of a dead stormtrooper scattered around her... And someone's blood all over her. Oh. Oh Chaos.

 

[Nilira Vornix]

Tag: Madrona A’Mia Anet Raine Makko Dres Lina Ovmar Kirie

It was difficult not to have her attention dragged over towards the little "relationship dispute" between Anet and Kirie. Stopping herself mid step to watch the pairing, a small frown slowly starting to come across her face. Why was Kirie drawing attention to herself? Neriah knew that the other Acolyte wanted to escape. Of course, she didn't know Kirie planned on doing it today. What was going on with the pair? Her eyes firmly kept on Kirie, whilst Anet seemed to have her...whatever it was. How inconsiderate. If she was going to have a break down, she should do it when there wasn't other people around, like Neriah had done. That also meant that Neriah saw the piece of paper that had been discarded...so even with the storm above them, the pieces of rubble and debris slowly starting to scatter out...Neriah headed over to the paper, pulling it into her hand using the Force.

Neriah, I'm getting out of here like we said. You in?

...So. Kirie had planned on escaping. Today. Of all times. From the looks of it, she now planned on leaving Neriah behind. Evident by the fact that the piece of paper had been discarded. Of course she was going to leave Neriah around. The Thief. Theft of her master's lightsaber. Theft of Neriah's hope. She had finally given the Acolyte some form of Light at the end of the tunnel...and had ripped it away. If it wasn't for Neriah's nature, she wouldn't have even noticed the piece of paper. She should report it. She should tell A'Mia. Or Lina. Get the approval she so desperately sought. And so Neriah opened her mouth, ready to speak up.

Maybe you deserve to be left behind.
...What?
Maybe you deserve it. You have no life. No-one without the Sith. She does. You'd just hold her back.
I'd...hold her back?
Look at you. You follow orders. You aren't even living anymore. You're like a droid.
...
You know I'm right. Because I'm you. The part you stopped listening to.

Those damned thoughts. Neriah thought she had managed to put them to rest. When she stopped feeling angry. Or sad. Or depressed. But with those thoughts, came emotions. Anger. Frustration. All coming to a front. She was angry, because the voice was right. She would hold Kirie behind. All Neriah did was hold people back. Her master died trying to protect her. It had all been her fault.

No. No. It wasn't Neriah's fault. It was Anet. All hers. Kirie had been willing to try and bring Neriah along, until that blue disgrace had brought attention to Kirie. Where was she? If Neriah focused on the Force intently enough, she could feel the presence of the people around her. Kirie. Lina. A'Mia. Makko...and then on the other side of the wall, she could sense another.

The Ex-Padawan focused her breathing, trying to direct her anger. She needed to think clearly. There were three routes she could go with. Report Kirie to the higher ups. Be quiet about it and let things go how they're meant to...Or be a distraction. Be left behind. Like always. It was what she deserved.

And so Neriah took her frustrations, her slowly growing anger and slammed her fist against the wall, letting the Force rush out to cause the wall to shatter, sending fragments and debris hurtling into the corridor of the palace on the other side...before she pointed at the hole the Acolyte had just made.

"...I made us a way in."

The entire time, she didn't so much as grace another look in the direction of Kirie.

​

 

[Vara Rasha]

CORUSCANT | IMPERIAL CENTER
ALLIES: Fellow Vod | GE | IMPAF | Yuri Maji | Severus Barran | Raymond J. Senée
ENEMIES: Covies | Anyone Who Stands Before Me | TBD

DARK HORIZON​

Their target building lay ahead.

Long gone was the clear skies above, the sunlight replaced with the swirls of this new, strange and dark aether. It had blotted out the sun. But lucky for the harpy, the woman’s natural predatory gaze remained unobstructed by the special, unaccounted-for circumstance.

Her tightly secured gear clattered like a whisper in the wind as she pressed her back against a piece of cover, right beside her newfound comrade. Severus. The woman’s perceptive eyes scanned the perimeter of the rather posh compound. Great white marble walls, expertly trimmed waist level hedgerows, a water fountain, a pair of black, unmarked, and unoccupied landspeeders parked by the grand entrance…

It all screamed out luxury.

<"Alright, we're ready.">
'Keep an eye on his tac-signals, lots can be said with the hands.... OPSIL until we're in.'​

The young Foundling’s response came in the form of a sharp nod of her head. All her sharp ears caught now was the reigned excitement in her exhales inside her helmet, and the pounding of her heart, threatening to burst through her breastplate. The woman’s focused, wide-eyed glare snapped at Serval as he began to communicate to her and the rest of the small squad in rapid, incisive gestures of the hand.

WAIT
WAIT
STAND BY
FRAGS FIRST
THROW - HARD
ON THREE
​

​

The girl would take a brief moment of pause as the cogs in her head turned behind the see-through slit on her helmet’s faceshield. Although she was still very much a rookie operator, she only needed a brief moment to decipher the message; her response came in the form of a curt nod, and went onto reach and produce a pair of thermal detonators. Her multiple grenade launcher hung over her breastplate from its two-point sling.

She had been itching to use these for a while.

ONE
TWO
THREE​

'Alright....'

She began a countdown of herself to keep in mind how much time she had for the five second fuse to run out. At four, the harpy leaped out of cover, and burst into a sprint as her squad followed. Three; everything around her began to seem slower, as if she stepped into an invisible sphere of time dilation. Or was she just faster?

Two. With a sharp wind up and throw, she threw the pair of thermal detonators at an accurate arch, one trailing after the other. The shatter of glass sharply punctuated the deathly silence of the street.

One.​

One bright orange flash accompanied the other, cutting through the air at an earsplitting BOOM. Shards of glass blew outwards from the windows on both the ground level and first floor, clattering on the pavements, blanketing the neatly mowed lawn like brilliant stars on a starry night. Haste in her motion, she quickly drew on her MGL and brought it to bear, as Raymond seized the moment to take the point.

The young woman slammed her backplate against the wall by the double door, stacking up as the rest filed behind her. “Mad karker,” The harpy shook her head with a chuckle, as she took a second to watch as the ancient, mastercrafted saber wielding maniac broke his way in through the door with a well placed stomp.

A smirk split wide across her face at the sight of him. She took one moment of pause from joining Raymond inside, looking over her shoulder at Severus in response to his words.

[B-BOOM]
[THUD]
[SPLINTER]​

'Good luck, comrade.'
'HRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-'
'Let the games begin.'

“Try to keep up,” Her mouth pulled back into a wide, toothy smile under the faceshield as she quipped with him, before bringing her gaze back out front, and moved in with her MGL brought to bear at a point-fire. Haste in her step, she moved to cover Raymond’s flank, and joined to revel in the chaos erupting inside.

CONTACT-'
'..-AAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!!!!'
'HOLD HIM BACK!!!!'

The harpy’s sharp glare was quick to pick out a silhouette amidst the smoke and dust, lining up a shot to take down the madman.

They were not of their own.

And at the squeeze of a trigger, they became nothing; the gun rapport was nothing short of deafening, as the harpy fired off a forty millimeter low velocity canister round, letting loose dozens of flechettes the length of a single digit. Like a swarm of angry hornets, the flechettes pierced the air and tore everything in their path; the ornate decorations and vases smashed and shattered, couches and furniture remorselessly torn asunder in their wake.

The silhouette stood no chance. Taking the brunt of the fire into his core, the man was swept off the ground in the same breath of the trigger pull. With a meaty thud he landed on his back. A final wet gurgle poured from his lips, along with fresh streaks of crimson. Without sparing the body a second glance, the woman pushed inside, taking a wall to her flank and proceeding to clear the hostile gunmen in her path.

'WE GOT MORE INBOUND!!!! FIND SOME COVER!!!!'

The hungry maw of her launcher followed her gaze in an instant, as they both snapped at the source of the shout. The man had made himself known where he was, taking shelter behind a flipped over table, and swiftly met with another thunderous boom; chunks of marble tore free from the walls as the flechettes loudly found purchase with flesh. The breathy, wet gurgle and gasp for air was killed in his core at the squeeze of another trigger.

The ground floor plunged into an eerie silence in the wake of one final ear-splitting shot. Bodies, none of their own, lay torn and mutilated through merciless strikes of a bloodthirsty sabre, and torn asunder into shreds by flechettes, the woman wasted not a precious moment to appreciate the sight of her handiwork as the dust began to settle, as the woman’s footfalls trailed across the room with purpose.

The woman slung away her favorite toy in one swift motion, and shouldered her blaster rifle in the same breath. There was no time to lose with a lengthy reload while they had to retain the element of surprise. Shock and awe their emphasis, the young foundling broke into a sprint, running head first into the breach. “I'LL TAKE POINT!” Vara barked as she moved towards the stairs. Another silhouette was quick to emerge and face her from an open doorway from the first floor upon hearing her shout and fast footsteps.

Almost at the mouth of the stairs to the first floor, she fired from the hip at the man just inches away! The blaster bolts found purchase with his flesh in a series of sickening thuds. The man lunged forward onto her from the momentum of the man’s swing around the corner. Suddenly caught on the backfoot, she quickly found herself off balance, and fell down backwards on the stairs with the man atop her!

A sharp gasp escaped her lips as her backplate met the steps. With her rifle pinned between her chestplate and the man, with no room to leverage the barrel to bear at him, she instinctively reached for her holster amidst the struggle. The wounded operator atop her summoned the last of his strength in a futile struggle as the girl drew her pistol. The barrel bit into his flank as she glared at the face inches from her faceshield. The life in his eyes drained in the same breath as she pulled the trigger back to back, hearing each bolt audibly carve into his flesh.

The woman struggled to get up, trapped under the weight of the man’s body. She had no leverage to slip under him. The bastard was too heavy! “AAH! GET THIS OFF ME!” A sharp, frustrated snarl bellowed in the staircase as she leveled her pistol at the doorway from where she lay, and let loose in an attempt to pin down the gunmen from taking this opportunity to counter attack! “QUICK!”

​

 

[Raymond J. Senée]

TAGS
Yuri Maji Vara Rasha Albrecht F. Herlock Lilianna L'lerim

SYSTEM SHOCK
(BYOO)
IV

​

CONDOMINIUM BLACKSITE, IMPERIAL CENTER,
CORUSCANT, DEEP CORE TERRITORIES (904 ABY)

'QUICK!!!'
[Rustle - Rustle]
[THUD]
'BARRAN, GET IN THERE AN' SENSE OUT THE COMPLEX!!!!'
​

After removing the heavy cadaver from his sprawled place obstructing Vara, tossing the agent aside as if he were little more than a sack of potatoes, Raymond would turn to Severus to take his turn on point, bearing witness to the Dantooinan's true running pace. Barran's own method for breaching doors, however, differed entirely to those of Senée's making, dropping his posture, silently pushing his bodyweight forward as he bounced on the front heels of his boot-covered feet, and all before the flash-quick blitz with shoulder forward for the purpose. All the others would hear as the young Lion's verbal confirmation was his growling grunt of exertion as he launched himself toward the stairwell entrance doors, providing an impact of a weaponized, lethal sort.

However, nobody was on the other side to take the sting of splinter projectiles, completely vacant from top to bottom.

It made no sense in the Dantooinan's mind, and when he finally used the Force to scan the building around and above him, the Tuath would be shown, and in real-time motion, all those little gears turning within the young Lion's mind. Yet it was not until Severus raised his eyebrows, looking upward with a very unsettling look across his face, when Raymond decided it was wise to utilise his own Force abilities, trying to see exactly what it was that his battle-brother was seeing. Although he sensed nothing at first, Serval would soon comprehend it's meaning, confirmed by the sudden cacophony of firefights between contingents, and all transpiring just a few floors above.

<"Um.... Guys? You're not alone, by the way.">
<"Just figured that out, Mikey. What's the script?">
<"Tangoes clearing out the agents on the second floor. Lots of dead on the fourth floor paddock.">
​

A troubling sign, to say the least, as this was a variable for which they had not accounted, and in understanding of the implications, Raymond would curse under his breath when he realised he should have considered this sort of contingency. The Protectorate's presence on Coruscant, after all, was that of an eternally-driven third party, for that day and every day before it, and all the way back to 858 ABY. Regardless of Epicanthine or Sith'ari leanings, Tavlar's very-own Will of Defiance decreed a lasting hatred of the Sith, and it would endure long enough to know better; thus there would be nothing else for it but to bite the bullet, and to embrace the chance of having his own operations third-partied in turn, especially in a Galaxy that still believed in,"Eye for an Eye", as a doctrinal requirement.

<"Thats probably their DZ.... How 'bout the top floor?">
<"Just two guards, mostly clear - for now.">
<"Aw'right then, looks like we've got work t'do.">​

'Fethin' hell.... Lead the way, Sev!'

 

[Severus Barran]

TAGS
Yuri Maji Vara Rasha Lilianna L'lerim Albrecht F. Herlock

SYSTEM SHOCK
{BYOO)
IV

Y O U N G - L I O N

S H A M A N

​

LENNA TOWERS, IMPERIAL CENTER,
CORUSCANT, DEEP CORE TERRITORIES (904 ABY)

'Haugh!'
​

Sprinting up the winding stairwell beyond, it was Barran's turn to take point, and with distance to cover, he would ascend these stairs three at a time. Severus was seeking to gain the drop on their unidentified foes, especially with the sounds of violence dying down with every dropping barrel above, and with their window of opportunity under renewed threat of closing, every upward leap was vital. After all, these unknown entities were apparently of elite quality, though this was also likely due to the fact they possibly outnumbered their targets on every floor they entered, making mop-up efforts all the easier with the right, hard-hitting weaponry.

<"Sev, you're not gonna believe this.">
<"Shoot.">
<"The Commodore is with us, Herlock just showed up - approaching orbit.">
<"I think the old man sent him, and that means he really is watching after all.">
​

The Imperial Navy had arrived, heralding their last chance to get off the planet, fully aware that the Commodore would not be doubling back for anything in the impending departure, as no further risks could be taken beyond those involved in the exfiltration of the Protectorate's clandestine assets. It would be a one-and-done until the Lord Imperator ventured back out in that direction, as that would need to be endeavoured en masse, and with a contingent much larger than that which Herlock had brought for the task. Yet the young Lion was unimpressed, thinking the response too loud and overt for an extraction of the sort, even grumbling,'Kaaaark, man! Not now... I mean, surely it isn't time yet.', in impatient disapproval of this perceived hint to hurry up.

The trio had seemingly been embedded for long enough to warrant such a grand response, making it probable that the Tattered Regent pulled the plug almost as soon as he found out about the invasion, and in the process of imagining his father acting upon hearing,"Coruscant", he soon started to believe that it really could be the case. An operation doomed to early cut-off, and fated to be hurried though the last phase was, Severus soon realised that his father's strategic approach always differed from his own, forcing him to accept their differences for as long as the old Woad persisted. On one hand, the father was an instinct strategist, relying on signs of great change in the Galaxy for his sign to act, but on the other, the prodigal son's preference for the thinker's approach was often marred by his propensity for overthinking.

~=Ray, we need to hurry. Take Vara to the top floor, then get Lilianna to the roof.=~
~=Copy that. Now, go an' get busy.... Slay them to the last man.=~
~=Copy that, Ray.... Copy that.=~
​

By then, the young Lion had made it to the door he intended to breach, leaning on the opposite doorframe as his sprinting launchpad by the time Serval and the Harpy made it onto his landing; and when they started walking by, Severus would hold a hushing index-finger over the front of his lips, even nodding with approval when they rushed a little quicker to the next flight of stairs. Then as soon as his comrades were out of sight, Barran could feel more comfortable to fight without his peers getting caught in the crossfire, and with little more than another drop of his posture, the Dantooinan utilised the same method as before, weaponizing the splinters of the door (and it's frame) against the adversaries on the other side, though he had not considered what was actually waiting beyond the threshold.

[THUD]
[CRASH]
[BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM]​

Sent careening through the door behind, the young Lion would learn something on that day of days, and the most valuable of soldiering lessons at that; and though he had been warned of such security-measures on recent battlefronts, it seemed Severus would be taught about mines the hard way. Yet to the Dantooinan's credit, it would not even so much as keep him down for longer than a few moments of ceiling-staring incredulity, rising back to his feet almost as quickly as he fell, almost as if Severus had received little more than a solid dropkick to the chest. To anyone else, seeing a soot-covered man with, smoke rising from his body, such things would have strained an incredulity of another, uncanny sort, but for Barran - it was just another thing from which he was trained to recover.

​

'Ohohoho.... You're going to pay for that, you cretinous little-'

 

[Madrona A’Mia]

Objective Three
Coruscant
Near the Former Jedi Temple
Approaching The Imperial Palace
Tags: Anet Raine | Kirie | Lina Ovmar | Nilira Vornix | Makko Dres | OPEN

"Tree Heist"
Objective: Steal This Tree
Gear​

Miniature drama unfolded amongst them as buildings fell, brutal conflict waged, and Corsuscant's fate was being being decided in the backdrop. A'Mia's attention was rather split between that and focusing on guiding them nearer the telltale botanical thrum somewhere within the Palace grounds. So thanks to the timely manner in which Lina stepped in to bring a few students to heel, she was instead rather quietly addressing the diligent Sithspawn at her side.

"Provided that you handle this outing well, Makko, I'll see to it that you're given more liberties."

A'Mia was about to add more, perhaps to outline her expectations or enlighten him on exactly what privileges he might yet earn, when a multitude of things happened at once.

In her pocket, Kirie crumpled the note into a ball, before throwing it onto the ground when she thought nobody was watching.

Timing was a forte of the neti, clairvoyance another. One of the uncanny flowers she was currently wearing in her hair blinked. Observance cataloged away for later As they drew level with one of the palace walls.

A’Mia could feel tensions continuing to rise behind her, and though she trusted Lina to handle it, she was about to turn back in annoyance when the death knell of this particular Empire’s hold on the techno-electrical grid slipped entirely.

Sudden darkness reigned and the only lights that tore through the night were caused by the storm or tools of war: sabers, blaster bolts, fell Force energies screaming through the sky, and so on. The opposition had failed to find the rat in their machine and now she, along with her helpers, were enforcing a horror motif upon them all. All systems were down, save for those entirely unconnected to the grid.

And then…

Anet shrank further, bending at the knees, with hands searching along her head for something to rip out. Hair, of course, was the only candidate, but before any of them saw the woman's meltdown - she disappeared.

And... Reappeared on the other side of the wall, inside the Palace, with pieces of a dead stormtrooper scattered around her... And someone's blood all over her. Oh. Oh Chaos.

Professor Madrona froze stock still for a moment, unblinking and adjusting to numerous happenings at once. Just when she might have retaken control of the group, a student took matters into her own hands. Literally.

And so Neriah took her frustrations, her slowly growing anger and slammed her fist against the wall, letting the Force rush out to cause the wall to shatter, sending fragments and debris hurtling into the corridor of the palace on the other side...before she pointed at the hole the Acolyte had just made.

"...I made us a way in."

A’Mia slowly turned to gaze down upon the girl, the gesture was rather bird like and ominous. Then the neti turned to Lina with a mischievous little smile.

"Oh, thank the Weave," she didn't bother to say at all quietly, "I was just begging to worry I'd brought along a bunch of duds!"

Without further delay she pushed through any remaining detritus around the creative new door and leaned to gaze in the direction of the rather shocked looking Anet. A’Mia’s eyes gleamed like a predatory animal’s in the darkness, before she made room for the others to press into the palace behind her.

“Go fetch her,” A’Mia pointed to Kirie and then gestured to the blood soaked student.

The sound of alarmed troopers rang through the other end of the hallway and it was soon clear they’d momentarily have company. A’Mia unleashed three of her shambling vine Sithspawn: psychically directing one to follow Kirie, another to begin making its way toward the oncoming opposition, and the last to backtrack, in search of that crumpled piece of paper.

”You’d better be sure you don’t let your new peers outdo you, hm?” A’Mia murmured to Makko.

That done, the woman moved in an wholly unsettling manner and began to climb the wall so that soon she was creeping along the ceiling toward the oncoming sounds of troopers and undoubtedly in the direction of that prized tree.

​

​

 

[Albrecht F. Herlock]

Objective three : BYOO/support of IMP troops

Allies : Imperial troops

Foes : Any hostile people/ship

Equipment : Uniform; custom-made blaster; cerermonial sword; telescope

Force X composition : AIV Nouvelle-Anaxes (Legate-class battlecruiser, flagship); AIV Napoléon Bonaparte (Pellaeon IV-class star destroyer); AIV Maréchal Davout (Pellaeon IV-class star destroyer); AIV Maréchal Lannes (Pellaeon IV-class star destroyer); AIV Robert Surcouf (New Imperial-I class star destroyer); AIV Jean Bart (New Imperial-I class star destroyer); AIV Dixmude (Onager II-class star destroyer); AIV Montfaucon (Onager II-class heavy cruiser); AIV Passchendaele (Onager II-class heavy cruiser); AIV L'Effroyable (Harrier-class heavy cruiser); AIV Le Téméraire (Harrier-class haevy cruiser); AIV L'Indomptable (Harrier-class heavy cruiser); AIV Le Malin (Harrier-class heavy cruiser); AIV Forbin (Cuirassier-class cruiser); AIV Cassard (Cuirassier-class cruiser); AIV Camerone (Cuirassier-class cruiser); AIV Koufra (Valiant-class star destroyer); AIV Bir Hakeim (Valiant-class star destroyer); AIV Athos (Katana-class heavy cruiser); AIV Portos (Katana-class heavy cruiser); AIV Aramis (Katana-class heavy cruiser); AIV Silencieux (stealth corvette)


Legate-class battleceruiser AIV Nouvelle-Anaxes
Commanding officer : Commodore Albrecht Herlock

Legend : comm in; comm out; ship's intercom; crew

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As the fleet came out of hyperspace, they took a defensive formation around their flagship, the mighty AIV Nouvelle-Anaxes. On board, the commodore Herlock was on the bridge, giving orders.

"General quarters, general quarters, all hands man your battlestations !"

Upon hearing this, the whole crew of the ship began rushing towards their positions, ready for the fight. On the bridge, Herlock opened a comm channel to the Imperial Protectorate troops.

"Imperial Protectorate command, this is commodore Herlock on board of the Nouvelle-Anaxes. Our Lord-Regent didn't forget you and sent my fleet to support you. Tell me your needs and you'll have it."

At the same time, multiple starfighters were launched from the ships, forming a defensive shield around the fleet and ready to cover and escort any bomber or shuttle that would be sent towards the surface.

 

[Tamsin Starfall]

​

Theme: Ode to Joy
Equipment: Twin Omens | Black Robes | D-10 | Multi-Tool | Stars Enchained | Mind Crown
Location: Lowest Levels of Coruscant
TAGS: OPEN

In the deepest pits of a megalithic city planet lived people who for generation lived through near endless waves of Empires and Republics. The position of power changed more then any of them got to see the real sun of the world they lived on. Who was in power only really mattered to them in the form of how much they were taxed.

They all had sad little dreams of moving up in the world, dreams that only came true for the rare few. Dreaming of someday being up in a high rise seeing the spaceships rising to the stars above. Yet just like most of their ancestors they would live out their days toiling for a world that had long forgotten their existence so deep below.

Those that ran machines so outdated people forgot what they were even for, but they did something important to keep Coruscant going or so they believed. These were the dregs, lands of outcasts, where the deep dwellers lived. Guant in look, most of them. often just barely scraping by for their next credit to buy a meal.

In a hovel barely what one would call livable accommodations, sat a family of three at a table. Mother held the infant trying to keep the wee babe from crying as worried eyes darted across the table. Father was sweating heavily as his eyes were also staring wide across the table.

Across from them was a figure in a dark cloak but not an imposing figure, yet one with malicious intent in those strange eyes. At the center of the table sat a claymore, aiming in the direction of the family the father clutching a Deadman's switch in his right hand with the wrist tied to the chair he was sitting in.

"There are old legends of lots of ancient and dangerous artifacts buried beneath the surface of Coruscant. Yet they are so hard to get too, so impossibly deep. I have been here so many times, or at least a memory of me has."

This diminutive figure that sat before them was not the girl known as Tamsin nor was it the demon. It was something else entirely a melding of both into one being. It saw both the innocents across the table from it and the corruption of reality that these things were. It saw the family of three and the nothing they were a perversion of the will. The figure in robes saw both through its strange glowing orange eyes. It both felt compassion and disdain for who they were.

"Yet I haven't ever found a single one of these fabled artifacts." Her hand then slipped on the table and long black fingernails sharpened to a point tapped on the table almost contemplatively.

"I….i don't know how we can help?" The father said nervously shaking as he looked at the switch in his and then back at the figure in dark robes.

"Oh, you can't. You are useless to me for the most part…..but I heard you work in the sewage department and have access to the areas I need to go." A wicked little grin crossed the dark figures' lips.

 

[Hasuras Na-Gerra]

Utu-Gar

The Blazing Chain Fleet "Wrath of Vahl"
Combined Vahlan and Hapan Armada

High Atmosphere Above Coruscant's Surface

Ready to Engage: Albrecht F. Herlock​

Whilst the battle dragons kept alert for the return of the enemy ships, other cruisers and destroyers and wings of bombers turned their attentions upon the cityscape below. And though they took fire from below, they returned it tenfold.

Lo.

Watch as they saturate the surface with turbolaser fire.

Indiscriminate.
​

Merciless.​

No pretense of morality in their actions. No righteousness save that of the cleansing flame. A sacrifice they wrought unto Vahl, goddess of destruction.

Skyscrapers melted and toppled. Thousands of tons of permacrete and durasteel collapsed upon hardened positions, burying the enemy in flaming rubble rather than rooting them out. Smoke rose in mighty plumes across the cityscape.

The Maw fleet seen off, the Vahlan and Hapan pirates continued the merciless bombardment of the defenses on the surface.

Above them, between them and orbit, sat the blue glow of the planetary shield - the enemy's shield stolen for their own. Below them, closer to the surface, the black clouds of a Force Storm roiled, threaded with crimson lightning.

Suddenly, the sensor systems chirped, drawing Utu-Gar's attention.

As the fleet came out of hyperspace, they took a defensive formation around their flagship, the mighty AIV Nouvelle-Anaxes. On board, the commodore Herlock was on the bridge, giving orders.

"Irtul," he called out to the fellow Vahlan, "What news?"

"Imperial relief fleet dropping out of hyperspace at the edge of the planet's gravity well. They're on approach, First Captain."

"We are safe behind the planetary shield. They will need to cross it should they wish to bring the fight to us in atmosphere."

Which many of the larger vessels of the Empire simply could not do, the strain of gravity far too much for their superstructures.

Utu-Gar squinted at the readout listing the names of the approaching ships from their transponders. "Napoleon Bonaparte?"

The other Vahlan looked at the First Captain and shrugged wordlessly.

Utu-Gar grunted. "Never heard of him."

ENEMY GROUND FORCES ARE NOW SUBJECT TO ATMOSPHERIC BOMBARDMENT ACROSS ALL FRONTS​

 

[Tamsin Starfall]

​

Theme: Ode to Joy
Equipment: Twin Omens | Black Robes | D-10 | Multi-Tool | Stars Enchained | Mind Crown
Location: Lowest Levels of Coruscant
TAGS: OPEN

A blood-curdling scream rang out from the hovel and echoed down streets of this lower level to Coruscant. Yet it was nothing out of the norm for the people who lived and few heads turned. The father's body went limp and his hand trembled for a few seconds longer. In his last gasps of heavy air before passing out to the pain that shook through his body he tried so hard not to let go of the one thing that would take his whole family to oblivion.

He tried so hard to hold on but it was too much and his body gave out, the switch released falling from his once clinched hand. The mother closed her eyes and held her infant title to her chest as it to cried out even louder to the father's last screams. As Deadman's switch tumbled to the ground and nothing happened the claymore did not go off no crescendo of explosive fury.

The woman who had terrorized them stood beside the father's limp body looking at the cybernetic eye she had pluck from him. Her head turning slightly over her shoulder to the mother who was holding the crying infant tightly, noting the tears running down the woman's face.

She wanted to say something comforting, but what could she say as the terrorizer of this family. She was the one that had caused this pain, this infliction of suffering on the undeserving. She just grasped the cybernetic eye, the device that would help her bypass the security to the area in the sewers she needed to go. Then proceeded to the door without a word.

As she reached the door she heard whimpered words from the mother.

"W….Wh….why?"

That was the question that never had the right answer. Was it all just for the hope of finding some ancient technology or power. Technology and power that would ultimately bring more pain and suffering to this reality.

"Your husband will live if you get him medical attention quickly. He had the key I needed to get to where I need to go. I never intended to kill any of you, but sometimes one must endure fear and suffering for something greater."

The figure in Tamsin's skin hit the button to open the door and started to walk out but stopped halfway through the archway. She did not look over her shoulder back at the family in shambles but spoke one more time.

"You may not believe me, but in time you will thank me for what I'm going to do. You only had to sacrifice an eye for it."

With that she walked out the door, it hissing shut behind her to leave the family to their suffering. She pulled the hood of her robes up over her head and proceeded down the street to her next destination, the sewer entrance. The Cybernetic eye held in her right fist.

 

[Vara Rasha]

CORUSCANT | IMPERIAL CENTER
ALLIES: Fellow Vod | GE | IMPAF | Yuri Maji | Severus Barran | Raymond J. Senée
ENEMIES: Covies | Anyone Who Stands Before Me | TBD

COUNTDOWN​

The Harpy’s annoyance was palpable.

'QUICK!!!'
[Rustle - Rustle]
[THUD]
'BARRAN, GET IN THERE AN' SENSE OUT THE COMPLEX!!!!'​

Her features under her face-shield sharpened at a deep snarl. Pinned and half-smothered under the corpse, the Foundling fought on regardless. One arm trapped, the blaster pistol shrieked in her grip of the other, each squeeze of the trigger sent another bolt up the stairs. The Harpy kept the fire tight and relentless, daring anything behind the doorway to move.

Thankfully, her comrades were not too far from her. Raymond’s shadow cast over her, as the man smoothly leaned down and lifted the body off her. In her periphery the woman saw the cadaver thrown over the rails in the same breath. A sickening squelch accompanied the meaty thud but a moment after.

Pinned to the stairs no more, the broad brought herself up to her feet in one smooth motion. The men could hear the young shistavanen hurl a series of colorful curses enough to make a seasoned spacer blush, as they pressed on up the stairs. Raymond would feel the Foundling’s presence join him amidst the chaos.

With a casual thumb press, she flung the empty power cell with a flick of her wrist. The leather magazine pouch at her warbelt rasped sharply as the woman grabbed a fresh magazine in the same breath, slamming it home by feel. The heavy blaster pistol slid back into her thigh holster with a soft leather creak afterwards.

The Foundling switched to her primary after the reload. Her assault rifle shouldered, Vara swiftly moved past Raymond and locked down the fresh set of stairs leading to the upper floors. Her sharp ears could pick up the cacophony from the fourth floor. Incoherent shouting, the chatter of automatic blasters, a rolling shudder down the whole building, in the wake of an explosion.

In the same breath as Vara pulled security, Raymond chose the old-fashioned, direct approach with the ornate white door before him. With a loud protest of its hinges, the foundling heard the door behind her give way under the Madman’s rage. They tore from the frame, splinters of wood scattered all across the floor.

In their brief moment of reprieve, the Harpy looked at the scene over her shoulder. Her maw clenched in the same breath, expecting Raymond to be met with a hail of blaster fire, but to her surprise, not a single bark of a blaster came from the room. Sensing not a threat from behind her, The Harpy shifted her glare back upon the stairs. Her eyes trailed the aim of her rifle barrel as she held position.

<"Um.... Guys? You're not alone, by the way.">
<"Just figured that out, Mikey. What's the script?">
<"Tangoes clearing out the agents on the second floor. Lots of dead on the fourth floor paddock.">

<"Thats probably their DZ.... How 'bout the top floor?">
<"Just two guards, mostly clear - for now.">
<"Aw'right then, looks like we've got work t'do.">​

'Fethin' hell.... Lead the way, Sev!'​

​

The familiar footfalls of her comrades reached her ears from behind as the comms chatter came to an end. Severus moved to advance past her. Without pause, she brought her hand off her rifle’s handguard, and gave Sev a singular pat on the shoulder in one smooth motion. The tactical hand gesture informed him Vara swiftly followed suit, and had his back. In the same breath, the woman pied the threshold with her rifle, clearing previously hidden and unaddressed sectors of attack with him.

~=Ray, we need to hurry. Take Vara to the top floor, then get Lilianna to the roof.=~
~=Copy that. Now, go an' get busy.... Slay them to the last man.=~
~=Copy that, Ray.... Copy that.=~
​

Before long they reached the floor, where the unknown third party chose for their insertion. Knowing their target was up top, The Harpy’s advance took her past the entrance to the fourth floor. Her acknowledgement of Sev’s gesture for stealth came in the form of immediate action. Her step controlled and silent, as she stalked past him, and moved to take on another flight of stairs.

The broad’s wide eyed glare unblinkingly shifted from one corner to the other as she moved, her rifle swept and addressed threat vectors in the same breath. The woman felt her core tighten as she stalked towards the closed doors to their target floor, standing before them. With a sharp hand gesture, the Harpy ordered a double stack.

Her backplate gently scraped at the marble walls as she leaned her posture against it. Her rifle brought to a high ready, she locked his gaze with Raymond’s. Before she could assess his readiness with a glance and move in, a bellowing explosion from beneath her feet shook her core. Her surroundings blurred for a moment, seeing double as she looked around. Her grimace sharpened at the ringing in her ears.

Her eyes widened in realization.

She was about to shout for Severus, before the man beat her to the punch with a general retort.

[THUD]
[CRASH]
[BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM]​

...
...​

​

'Ohohoho.... You're going to pay for that, you cretinous little-'

The girl shook her head in silent response. This was all very much sketchy to her. She entrusted her rear security to someone she had met a few hours ago. And she had no other choice but to place her trust in their ability to watch over her back, just as she watched over theirs.

But no matter… That was for a near-future Vara to consider, if chit hit the fan in a spectacular fashion.

Her glare snapped back at Raymond in the same breath she reached the silent conclusion. The Harpy’s crimson gaze burned with fire, eager for the upcoming fight. “Let’s do this,” There was no longer a point to keep up the stealth. Whoever was in that room knew they were coming, if they were any smarter than bantha fodder.

She reached for the door handle. The girl pushed it open in the same breath of the knob’s twist. Right on cue, they came under a hailstorm of blaster bolts from somewhere deep in the room. The girl was quick to count two gun reports, one supporting the other as they retained an impenetrable wall of fire.

The Harpy subconsciously lowered her posture to a crouch, and leaned closer to the wall and peaked out the barrel of her rifle around the corner, as bright streaks of bolts tore chunks of marble and tiles all around them. With a squeeze of the trigger, the rifle in her hands spat a lengthy salvo in her blind-fire. Almost immediately, their opponents focused her back behind cover, moving her posture behind the wall just in time as several bolts snapped past her.

This was no use. They would be cut down like wheat under a scythe if they pushed in right now.

And they needed to retain their speed and aggression.

She let go of her rifle; it hung over her chest tightly from its three-point sling. She passed on her ideas sharply as best she could use her vocabulary of tactical hand gestures.

WAIT
SMOKE
PUSH​

The girl produced a smoke grenade from a pouch amidst the hailstorm of blaster bolts. The pin came free with a faint click; the applied pressure around the spoon in her firm grasp held back the short fuze. With a quick nod thrown at the Madman’s way, she tossed the grenade into the room.

The effect was immediate. Their suppression slackened, as the doorway vanished behind rolling smoke. She rose and surged forward in the same heartbeat. Her snout flared as she tasted blood and panic on the air. Muscles coiled tight as the smoke closed around the Harpy, and she plunged into it like a blade, starting her hunt by scent and sound alone.

Her mettle would truly be put to the test now.​

​

 

[Lina Ovmar]

Objective Three
Coruscant
The Imperial Palace
Tags: Anet Raine Kirie Makko Dres Nilira Vornix Madrona A’Mia OPEN

Tree Heist
Objective: Steal This Tree​

Kirie’s emotions hardened the interruption Lina had thrust upon them seemed to be enough to drive her to focus. Good, that was one at least. The force storm brewed above them, lightning splitting the air and shattering everything it touched as Lina made to move forward, to herd them after A’Mia, Anet bent crumpling on herself before she vanished.

“Oh for goodness sake.” she muttered, throwing up her arms in exasperation. At least Neriah proved herself capable, focusing whatever had triggered a rise of rage within her to shatter the palace wall. Lina met the neti's mischievous grin with a smile. “Let’s see if they can’t get their chit together and focus.”

Darkness welcomed them within the palace as Lina stepped neatly over the rubble of the wall, her smile widening as she reached into the shadows around her. Her gaze found a blood soaked Anet. Perhaps she was not entirely useless. Time would tell.

Her focus shifted, no longer caring if the students kept up or not. Where A’Mia unleashed sithspawn built from vines and life, Lina pulled those borne from shadow and death. They peeled themselves from the darkest corners, splaying long fingers on the floor as they heaved themselves out of the shadows that stretched beneath her feet.

“Tarsasi” she commanded, and they surged forward, guttural growls rippling through the air as they lurched forward. Lina followed, twirling an unlit lightsaber in her hand as she hummed softly, the sound unsettling against the screams of troopers and blaster fire erupted ahead of them.

 

[Hall Mannarra]

THE GALACTIC EMPIRE
LOCATION: Coruscant | Several Klicks Out The Imperial Center
DATE: -DATA CORRUPTED-
PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: Detect & Overrun Enemy Landing Sites | QRF
SECONDARY OBJECTIVE: N/A
ALLIES: THE GALACTIC EMPIRE | Artam Macek [SUPPORTING]
HOSTILES: COVIES | Tyrant 1 | Tyrant 4 [INDIRRECTLY ENGAGING]
UNKNOWNS: Yuri Maji | Severus Barran | Raymond J. Senée | Vara Rasha | Open For More
GEAR: In Bio

An Ace Reborn​

The young commandant closed his hatch just in time.

<”Reverse! Backwards!”> Hall shouted for the order they had all been anxiously waiting for.

The smoke launchers spat the canisters within their tubes in a series of rapid pops. The smokescreen shells, each the size of an adult’s palm-length, detonated at a uniform semi-circle in front of the tank amidst a sharp clatter. Impenetrable smoke rolled through the street in an instant.

In the same breath, the hunk of steel lurched backwards at Hall’s sharp command. The powerful motor belched a winding up roar as its wide tracks left their deep imprints in their maneuver. The sharp purple streak of the incoming ordnance shone through their periscopes and viewports alike.

The young men within the fighting compartment tossed about in their fighting positions as the shockwave of the ordnance rolled through the hull. The Lieutenant’s surroundings of the interior turned into featureless blur as he felt his stomach rise, toss around and fall in the same breath. Periscopes cracked and viewports blinded by the steep rise of dust. The tank ace’s growing urgency and anxiety shone from his light blue eyes as his dazed gaze looked to those under his command.

The ringing in his ears began to fade with every drawn breath, at the same moment a new quake rattled them at their fighting positions, jolting through the steel of their armor. But unlike the choking embrace of the explosion, this rattle swept them from the rear.

Attuned with his machine, the tank ace could easily feel their tracks scrape and grind against lopsided terrain, sending tactile wobbles and vibrations through the hull as their engine whined in protest.

<”Wolfgang! Motor halt!”>

The tank driver carried out the order without much in the way of hesitation. Aware of his experience, the Lieutenant entertained an educated guess that the young man too had felt what he had. Their steel tomb shuddered a final time, as the powerful engine’s roar melted into the silence that befell the fighting compartment.

Hall’s eyes found focus, as he first took a look out of the vision slits of his commander’s hatch. The dust around them began to slowly settle. Outlines of a ceiling and the jagged, broken walls filled his vision when he looked onwards. Rubble and shards of glass in various shapes and sizes laid strewn on the ground before them, blanketed the wide imprints of their tracks.

Outside, the street laid in a similar fashion of ruin.

They had backed up into a building.

The tank ace’s slowed, deliberate breathing echoed in the interior like a hammer brought to bear against a sheet of metal. The three crewmen awaited his orders in silence.

<”Crew, headcount.”> The commandant’s voice filled their ears through the intercom. The young men began to pipe up. Their voices shook with the after effects of adrenaline. They were rattled. But they were alive and healthy, save for an unserious bruise and scrape.

<”Systems control,”> The commander’s hatch clattered as the man pushed it open. The stone debris settled upon it fell on the armor with a clatter. The tank ace peered outside with caution, listening, as the crew took a moment to check the operational capacity of their systems.

The whine of a TIE was unmistakable amidst the rattle of their anti-air. The fight for air supremacy waged on.

<”Motor operational, commandant,”> Wolfgang reported back. <”Fuel tanks. External and regular.”> The tank ace proceeded with the checklist in his mind. A leak in such circumstances could be fatal. <”Operational and at nominal levels, sir.”>

Schultz hiss cut sharp in Hall’s ear in the same breath of Wolfgang’s conclusion of his brief report. <”Turret ring’s jammed,”> That would not do. The Lieutenant’s hand went to his throat microphone. <”Aldrich, Schultz. Field repairs. Wolfgang, check the tracks and drive wheels,”> The tank ace’s hand shot forth for his radio station.

They still had comms. The young man spoke sharply into the handset. First, a general headcount and status report of his platoon. The Lieutenant’s features relaxed upon hearing responses from his men. Minimal casualties to equipment, zero crew fatalities.

His gambit had worked.

Amidst the crackle of tools and creative slurs thrown at the hunk of steel, the young Lieutenant got busy cross-referencing his position with his platoon. Tactical updates received and exchanged, and his situational awareness refreshed, the Lieutenant re-affirmed orders. Regroup, advance, locate and overrun dropzones.

They were scattered. Several elements were forced to take longer detours to avoid destruction.

A single bogey had managed to effectively delay them from swiftly reaching their RV. ”We were promised air cover..!” Hall’s features sharpened in anger. While the ace appreciated the efforts of the friendly air overhead right now, running interception as they took a moment to recuperate and repair, he had doubts if it was going to prove to be sufficient. But he knew. This was but one small theatre on a planetary scale defense.

The Navy spared what they could.

His handset still in hand, the young man raised his retinue of air-deterrence in a sharp bark of callsigns and orders; their confirmation of his command came instant. Before long, streams of green tracers split the air, and SACLOS missiles arched to the skies in pursuit of the mastermind of the Lieutenant’s headaches.

All they could do was provide support for the TIE, and pray that he won the battle in the air.

The young man set aside the handset, as he saw his driver climb to his hatch. Tools were set aside, as the cursing in the interior reached a finality a few moments later. Schultz’ words all but confirmed their operational status. <”Turret rotation mechanism fixed!”>

<”Motor start.”> The tank ace held onto the circular rim of his hatch with a vice-like grip. The powerful engine sputtered to life, with a small whine at first, before the turbines turned to an idle howl. <”Wolfgang. Get us out of here. March march.”>”

<”Confirmed!”> The warmachine surged forward with life once more. Thin streaks of dust peppered the Lieutenant’s visor cap and fatigues, as more rubble began to cake down from the ceiling by the sheer power of the engine alone. Then, the whole building began to rumble as the tracks rolled forward.

A cloud of dust trailed them like a shadow as the tank took to the streets once more. The tank ace’s head snapped to the skies, his piercing blue gaze trailing after the green tracers of the Mantellska’s and the jets of the arching anti-air missiles, following the duel in the air. <”Pick up speed.”> A hint of worry rang in the intercom.

Wolfgang’s acknowledgement came in the form of immediate action. Thrown up into another gear, the squeal of the tracks and drivewheels sharpened. <”Motor at five hundred PS,”> The man reported a moment after.

A sharp hydraulic whine tore free from the turret ring as Schultz faced the imposing smoothbore to the front. His eyes grew larger in private dread at the sight. A small prayer left his lips amidst a dreary pull of breath. Their orders took them to the front, the type of which none but the tank ace had seen before. Their tracks brought them closer and closer to the cauldron of fire before them. The whole sector erupted into flames under the focus of orbital bombardment.

By the throne…

<”Trust in our armor. Trust in our people’s engineering,”> The tank ace stifled his own apprehension behind sincere words of courage. He could not leave them left embroiled in dark thoughts. It turned into hesitation, or worse, defeatism.

He’d seen what that led to.

<”Trust in the skill and courage of your comrade beside you,”>

Out of the frying pan, into the fire. <”First rounds will be on me when we return.”> The crewmen reported in after a heartbeat, confirming their readiness one after the other, like the renewal of a life-long oath. And Emperor willing, they needn't give their lives for their homeland today.​

 

[Kirie]

Tag: Madrona A’Mia | Anet Raine | Makko Dres | Lina Ovmar | Nilira Vornix

There was rather a lot happening.

First, Anet freaking out. Kirie's gut twisted with icky-feeling guilt until in an instant that feeling was overturned by shock as Anet disappeared into thin air. Then, there was Neriah, picking up Kirie's note. She was always so observant.

Kirie supposed she would have to say goodbye to their fragile peace now, not that it would matter much longer. She had resolved in her mind that she would get away from these monsters now, or she would be cut down in the process. Either way, they would be beyond her soon. She'd given Neriah a push, she just had to hope the girl would find her own way.

Neriah, for her part, remained as stony-faced as ever, but Kirie could feel the rage building inside her, something she seemed more sensitive to now that they were inside the palace. She wasn't surprised when she saw Neriah's anger building to burst, but she was surprised at the damage it did when the girl struck, shattering the wall and revealing Anet, herself covered in blood from whatever unfortunate soul had been standing when she'd teleported.

Kirie felt sick. Anet's internal thoughts reverberated through her head and she was unable to shake them from her mind. Another relationship lost. Maybe that would make it easier to leave, but Kirie doubted it. Whatever. If she ever saw Anet or Neriah again she would apologise and try to make things right.

In the meantime, the pair of them had created a better distraction than Kirie could ever conjure.

“Go fetch her,”

Kirie nodded grimly and strode towards Anet, hoping nobody was paying any more attention to her. She saw Lina out of the corner of her eye busied with conjuring Sithspawn, and A'mia doing the same thing with plant life. This was her chance then. Kirie hopped through the hole in the wall, her boots crunching on the crushed masonry that littered the fine tiled floor. She stole a glance left and right, and leaned forward to brush a bloodsoaked lock off of Anet's face. Kirie gave the girl a small wave and a satisfied smile.

'Bye.'

Then Kirie was running, running faster than she ever had before deeper into the palace maybe even towards the enemy- she didn't care. She just had to get away from the Sith. Kirie kept up the pace, lungs burning, but she didn't dare allow herself to slow down. In her mind she was keenly aware of the instructors, and their Sithspawn, and of her fellow acolytes. She was convinced none of them would be afraid to try and stop her, but maybe she wouldn't be worth the effort. Maybe they just really needed that tree.

 

[Anet Raine]

TREE HEIST
Madrona A’Mia | Kirie | Nilira Vornix | Lina Ovmar | Makko Dres

Anet was still adjusting to what she had done when the wall beside her came crumbling down. She jolted up like being stirred awake by a loud bang, only to see Neriah of all people standing there. Of all the acolytes at the academy, she was considered the weakest. To see such raw strength from her now was surprising, yes, but she also felt butterflies. She approved, was ready to smile, until...

Kirie hopped through the hole in the wall, her boots crunching on the crushed masonry that littered the fine tiled floor. She stole a glance left and right, and leaned forward to brush a bloodsoaked lock off of Anet's face. Kirie gave the girl a small wave and a satisfied smile.

The scholar's mind was still pulled apart by the raw power of the Force she had just tapped into. However, seeing Kirie brought a small calm, as did the quiet attention to a few disheveled hairs bound together by blood on her face.

She noticed the smile, but not the wave, and smiled in turn.

Then, Kirie turned and ran.

Anger flooded Anet now. The acolyte burst into a sprint behind her. Kirie was fast, faster than she expected, and Anet quickly fell behind. A hit of panic and desperation.

"Wait!" Anet called out. The passion in her command summoned the Dark Side, and she waved her hand outward, telekinetically reaching out to trip Kirie's feet. An impulsive decision.

When she saw Kirie fall forward, Anet managed to push herself a little harder and caught up before the Acolyte could leave the floor.

By the time she did, the half-pantoran was panting and wheezing terribly, out of breath. Kirie might have expected more anger or punishment from Anet, but that was not it. Stretched before Kirie now was a pale blue hand.

"Come on," she insisted. "Take my hand - feel the Force... you'll feel better, I promise."

It was unclear to what extent Anet spoke with clear thoughts, or if it was the Dark Side working through her; each syllable was soft and confident, albeit interrupted by heavy breathing.

Footsteps began to surround them. Not only the others they were with, but stormtroopers with their rifles. Meliant had ordered the Palace purged - Kirie and Anet were certainly not spared from that, no matter who they were with.

However, the soldiers were highly unaware of the Sithspawn shambling towards the scene, after Kirie, and perhaps... not a creature to think twice about killing enemy troopers in its path. As it began to carve its way through from that side, Anet pulled Kirie to her feet, then turned to face the rest.

She drew her lightsaber and ignited the blade, a brilliant blue quickly swallowed by hissing crimson as her raw emotion bled the kyber.

"Fuck.. Off."

 

[Tyrant 1]

OST: Shattered Skies - Aquila

[[ CORUSCANT: FORCE STORM]]
[[ MISSION UPDATE ]]​

TIME 00:05:45
PTS 0003265
TGT ???

Cypher
« Tyrant 1, you done mopping up that AA? »

AWACS Marchion
« Radar shows no more AA active in the area. Good work, Tyrant 1. Rendezvous with the rest of Tyrant and wait for new orders. »​

Emperor's acknowledgement was a silent change in his trajectory. He aimed his crosshairs for the heading where the others from Tyrant Squadron had gotten tied up and shifted the throttle to full. This deep into atmosphere his fighter didn't accelerate as fast as he'd preferred. It felt sluggish, slow. Like moving in water.

Suddenly, the sky began to pool black, a storm coming out of nowhere. And it was full of red lightning.

Emperor's fighter tore into the dark sky like a knife cutting into oil. The last of his fighter's engine trails disappeared into that Force Storm, leaving no trace of him outside. He was going to be there for his Squadron.

All manner of systems began to go haywire immediately. He flipped the reactor switch, powering off the main engines and allowing the fighter to cruise along on the backup-reactor. A quick manual restart was dangerous in the field, but the minimal electronics in his fighter would be given a chance to realign themselves and get back into working order.

The energy came back up. Most systems came back green, but automatic targeting was down. Emperor thumbed the release on his missile pods experimentally. The buttons clicked, but no missiles fired.

Ronin
« Missiles are down! »

Wiseman
« Targeting as well. What's going on? Marchion? »

AWACS Marchion
« F#rc# Stor## in###fer### #### sy###ms. #an't rea## ####. »

Consul
« Local comms frequencies only. At least we can hear each other. »​

It would be visual confirmation and manual aim from this point onward. Emperor's fighter cut through the night with an almost gleeful ease, flying past and around his comrades.

Nemo
« There! Regroup around Emperor! »
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Tyrant 4 Artam Macek

 

[Artam Macek]

ROLL, DIVE, DO IT AGAIN.​

Objective: Shoot Down Enemy Fighters
Location: Fighter Formation Protecting Coruscant l Assisting
Engaging: Tyrant 1 l Tyrant 4

Like moving in water.

And then came the shark.

In the skies above, darkened, lightning back-lit his TIE fighter. Each pass of lightning brought the winged beast closer to its prey. Each flash of light brought him closer, darkness enveloping his onyx-colored TIE fighter. An interceptor model! The Empire had responded in kind- not with anti-air, not with showers of rockets and machine gun fire any longer. And with each flash of cruel lightning and vile thunder, the Empire's best came ever closer to his prey.

For a moment, his sensors locked onto the B-wing. Then it all went haywire.

The automatic electronic warfare package treated it like a jammer- engines went onto manual override, disregarding safeties and thrust protocols. He was going to be pushing his fighter hard, but he had atmospheres to cool it. He wasn't worried so much as that- the targeting solution he had on the stranded fighter was gone. He couldn't score a direct kill that easily. He'd have to use the old ways.

And out of the blackened sun, came the predator, sweeping low and across the front of the mercenary's ship. He was moving into position behind his foe- turning. He was fast, he was very fast. But he pulled the throttle back. To turn his head. And in that glass canopy- that cockpit, circular and proud, mighty and strong-

He looked at his opponent for just a moment. His helmet was expressionless. Without form, shape, it was inhuman, robotic. Cold and calculating, vile and without mercy.

 

[Tamsin Starfall]

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Theme: Ode to Joy
Equipment: Twin Omens | Black Robes | D-10 | Multi-Tool | Stars Enchained | Mind Crown
Location: Lowest Levels of Coruscant
TAGS: OPEN

She walked calmly through the streets towards her destination, miles above war was ripping through the layers of this City Planet. Like the rotting onion that it was, memories of who she was in some many lives before passed through her thoughts. All the times she had been to this corpse of a world that had died millions of years ago. It's soul long dead crushed and destroyed by all those who claimed this once jewel of the galaxy as their own.

As she walked those in the streets gave her a wide berth, they could feel the cold darkness emanating from her. It was like they knew, they knew the last time a memory of her stepped on this planet she had come to end it. The memory of her had come here once upon time fully intent on ending three trillion lives. In truth that number was small compared to the number of lives she had taken before that point.

In a way she regretted that she never got to end this world. She regretted not out of malice though, it was because in a way the memory of her was responsible for what was happening now. Had she been able to end the world then, then none of this would be happening now. These people would not have to feel the pain of another war, of another possible regime change.

She had failed them, put the burden of this current empire on them. More than anyone would know a part of her built this Empire. She had caused the cycle to repeat itself once more. It was interesting in a way what the remnants of the Maw had become. This body, this skin may not have been there but a memory of her was. Wild untamed warbands raging across the Galaxy, in a way the covenant had similar spark.

As she reached her destination before a large door that led to the sewage facility she stopped and looked up towards where the sky should be, but it wasn't. She had to wonder for a moment, would it become just like the maw. Would it fall to same trappings and become exactly what it fought against. Would it fall to the same worship of false idols and give up on everything it stood for.

Her orange sulfuric burning eyes then turned to the eye scanner then as she held up the cybernetic eye to it. A beam of blue light scanned the eye for a moment as she held it out in front of her. A low huff left her lips as she thought on what would come of the covenant and if this version of her was just helping to build the next Empire just like her memory had with the Maw. Part of her wanted to say it would be different this time around, but she knew better. Part of her wanted to say this time she would be at the top if it happened, but she also knew that was lie. Then part of her wanted to watch it all burn and in time she knew that would be the truth. She would be here again on this world.

Warning lights came on above the large door as they slowly opened, and she walked forward through the crack in the door that formed. The next time she came to Coruscant though to topple the regime she would leave nothing untouched for she would control the foundation of this world.

 

[Nilira Vornix]

Tag: Madrona A’Mia Anet Raine Makko Dres Lina Ovmar Kirie

The Sithspawn. Neriah's gaze firmly settled on the plant and shadow-like creatures being formed. In a way, it was how she saw herself now. No will of her own. Just designed to do what the Sith had asked for her from now on. It was a fate she didn't think she'd be able to escape. Especially as Kirie had seemed content to leave the ex-Padawan alone.

Her gaze didn't even budge as Kirie ran off. Whilst the others might not have been expecting it, Neriah knew it would have happened eventually. So instead, she lifted her head away from the sight of the creatures to watch Kirie and then Anet run off into the distance. Her eyes flickered over towards Madrona A’Mia and Lina Ovmar as if waiting for permission, before she was given it. And then like a blur, the Acolyte ran off down the hall, using the Force to enhance her speed, as the cloak of her robes billowed behind her.

Running amidst the Sithspawn, as her thoughts continued to fight with each other. Trying to come to a decision. Come to some kind of choice. Did she help Kirie, and presumably Anet? Help the thief and her precious little "girlfriend"? Bring them back to the instructors? Attempt to kill them? So many thoughts were spiralling in her mind, whilst she moved forward. They should have been getting the tree. Not trying to escape. Why can't they just do what they're told? It was simpler that way. Less painful...So why couldn't they listen?!

Even as she saw a Lightasber ignited, Neriah didn't slow down her approach, igniting her own blade as the beam of purple filled the dark Hallways...before she leapt up into the air, up and over Anet and Kirie, and instead landed atop of a stormtrooper, the purple blade plunging into their neck before she lifted the trooper up, as if using them as a shield.

"Go. Back."

Two simple words. An order. Neriah had made her choice. She wasn't going to let Kirie or Anet escape. But she also wasn't going to attempt to attack them. Call it naive, or foolishness, but she truly wanted to believe that Kirie wouldn't force her into a situation that would involve Neriah getting hurt.

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