Skirmish THE BANNERLESS | Jedi Raid of TSC Held Tython

[Arris Windrun]

Equipment: Revolvers | Jacket
Tags: Acier Moonbound | Connel Vanagor | Dynamis "Dynas" Ultra

Arris followed his eyes towards the hangar.

She didn't have a chance to glance back before Acier was already on the move. The cyborg ran to catch up.

"Jedi," She matched his suspicions. "That a problem?"

It was bound to come up sooner or later. After their little 'chat' on Coruscant, following the invasion, Arris wondered if his heart was really in this.

Her eyes searched the battlefield. The road up to the hangar would suffer the heaviest fighting. It was a big open space, which meant lots of open eyes and moving feet. She shot a cold glance at the cliffs instead. They would be impossible to scale from below without special equipment or training. That didn't mean there weren't Jedi waiting for them along the path, but she suspected it would prove an easier (and thus quicker) route to the hangar.

"This way, kid!" Arris pivoted along the wet and narrow path.

Heavy fire from the anti-air cannons shook the stone, sending loose rocks and soil tumbling towards the rocky shore. The same might happen to them if they weren't too careful.

When Arris turned the corner, she saw a figure clad in dark body armor move inward, away from one of the defense towers. Maybe a few dozen meters ahead. Sensing things in the Force was never her strong suit. So as far as she was aware, it was one individual, not two. How the hell was she supposed to conceive of a conscious rock being anyway?

She grinned at Ace. "Well, don't be shy - go introduce yourself!" Teased with a pat on the back.

 

[Lohī]

Tython, Objective II
Tags: Lestra Thairk

Paperfolk​

"...I'm sure he won't bleed out from that, right? I ain't a doctor."

"Good question," Lohī remarked, crouching down to inspect the fallen trooper. She rubbed her chin as the thought to herself, her tail flicking inquisitively. "How did human biology work again..? Well, just to be safe..."

The Jedi cleared out the area of the wound then tore off a strip of the man's clothes underneath, binding the wound up with the cloth in a makeshift bandage that she tied off with a little bow. Then she promptly cleared her mind of the matter and stood back up, her smile returning.

"Right, no time to linger," she reasoned. "We will just have to have faith in organic resilience. We have some place to be, no?"

He would probably be fine.

 

[Madrona A’Mia]

Deep Core
Tython
Overseeing Acolyte Anet Raine
Engaging: Ko Vuto & Valor the Forsaken
Gear (Armor acting autonomously)​

Cautiously, quietly within the Force, A'Mia spread her awareness out into the surrounding forest. Her senses were fine tuned and particularly well suited to creep unnoticed in such an environment. Silent approval mildly registered within her as she noted Anet dutifully following as A'Mia assessed the surrounding woods.

All at once a pair of unwelcome visitors became clear to her. Their presence not particularly remarkable from the perspective of the environment around them but noticed with pique through the lens of the neti. She was quite fed up with interlopers of every stripe, having just defended her own home from the TIC meant that A'Mia was perhaps bringing more vitriol than otherwise necessary to this encounter.

"Ready yourself for engagement. There are two Jedi, not far from here," A'Mia curtly notified the student.

Her uncanny, almost airy ambulation sped up and the woman directed them to a game trail. Slowing only when it seemed they drew near to their targets. A'Mia held up a hand, her strange sight peering far ahead into the forest, contemplative. Then many things occurred all at once.

A ghostly, black and gold robed figure appeared as if from thin air beside Anet. Receiving the psychic order to "guard the girl without taking undue damage upon yourself", the enchanted and rather haunted item stood to attention. Simultaneously, the neti's voice drifted into the acolyte's mind like a breeze.

About one hundred yards ahead, with a slight eastward bend. I'll appear before them and you will flank them.
Begin moving the moment I disappear.
​

Then a few heartbeats later, she was gone. Anet might catch the tail end of her robe flitting away into a nearby tree, might feel the way the Force bent subtly to the arboreal professor's will, but that was it.

A'Mia stepped out seamlessly from one of the behemoth trees ahead of the pair of strangers. Her bearing was mild, friendly even with empty hands opened out before her as she raised her voice to hail them, given the slight distance that yet remained.

"Are you lost? It seems you must be… I'd be happy to set you on the correct path."

Her pupil-less blue-green eyes appraised them with feigned concern, her voice carried all the correct inflection of care.

 

[Lestra Thairk]

Tags: Lohī
Objective: 2

"I dunno how human biology works. I don't hunt humans."

Well, he didn't hunt them in the traditional sense. It wasn't very Jedi-like to hunt sentient beings...and in some cases, non-sentients, but people had to eat somehow. People might have expected Lestra to be some kind of vegetarian or vegan with how at home he felt amidst animals, but that was exactly why he wasn't one. To him, it was only natural to eat meat. Wait. Where was he getting with his thoughts again?...Oh yeah.

"I'm sure he'll be fine, yeah. I didn't hit him where there'd be too much haemorrhaging."

Why didn't he just say bleeding? Well, simple really. Lohi seemed to think Lestra was smart, and hell if he wasn't going to try and prove her right instead of being some kind of country boy. With that being said, he turned to head back down towards the armoury, rummaging around in his robes for a moment, frowning to himself in thought.

"Sapphire...No...Emerald...Could help...Come on...There we go. Ruby."

The Padawan took out the two jewels from his pocket, the light sparkling against them...alongside a small glow within in the jewels, as he held them between his fingers, slowly starting to infuse them with the Force as they moved. It was better to prepare early, he supposed.

​

 

[Quinn Varanin]

//: Abandoned Jedi Archives //:
//: Bastila Sal-Soren //:
//: Attire //:

Tython was the birthplace of it all.

Both Jedi and Sith began as one, following a code that praised balance. It was the only way to maintain the planet's calm. If too many resided too far one way, the storms of Tython would purge — it too sought to be in harmony.

Though eons had passed, Tython lay mostly dormant. Easily accepting any which way its rulers had chosen to lean. Ashla and Bogan, Light and Dark — all of it hung Tython in the middle.

Folk tales, she took them as. Why would a planet care to be within the balanced harmony of the living Force? Why did it matter that the origins of both the Jedi Code and the Sith Code came from the Jedi Code? All of it was useless. Quinn buried her face in her hands, groaning over the open tomes, all of them offering advice and other methods. History and tales of what the Phobis Core was and is spilled from the pages.

Yet none of it offered any help. She could feel and hear the clawing desire from the core — it almost enjoyed her suffering as she read how helpless she was. The sound of a slamming stone cover echoed through the quiet halls of the abandoned Jedi Archive.

"Pointless, useless…" She groaned, standing and leaving the books where she had placed them. Quinn needed to accept that they weren't going to help her, no matter what.

The constant feeling of being trapped and used by everyone around her continued to burn her skin. She was a tool, a weapon, a means to an end for someone in this galaxy.

But never the reason.

A hand quickly brushed against her eye as she caught the tear that threatened to fall. Not right now, she couldn't do that.

"I am the Queen of Eshan… I am an Heir… I am a Dark Councilor…"

She repeated under her breath, she had the means for power, the thread to enact change. But why did she feel so powerless at this moment? It was easy, though, to wonder what it would be like to hand everything over — to cease to exist.

To just be what she was created to be.

Quinn shook her head, drawing in a shuddered breath. While wanting people near her, she also pushed them away. Why was she here alone? Why didn't she bring CT-312 or Reina? Both had her life carefully placed in their hands.

No, this was something she needed to figure out on her own.

She turned to the discarded tomes and began to place them away. Suddenly, something crackled through the Force, a shift — danger.

Something wasn't right, and there was a presence near… one that was too familiar for her to ignore.

Emerald eyes flickered towards the nearest entryway. Quinn could see movement, feel it…

"Why are you here…?" she called out, almost fearful of the reasoning.

 

[Dynamis "Dynas" Ultra]

TYTHON: OBJECTIVE II​

---

"Thank you for the smooth passage. Allow me." A small auditory glitch filled the communication channel as the shard master patched into another system. Within the confines of the security systems of the hangar, Dynas brought what machines he could to heel. Camera feeds, communication devices, whatever was tied directly to the temple, and the hangar was injected with his presence. Before they fell into Sith hands, these were Jedi systems. Systems of similar make that he developed and manipulated during multiple lifetimes.

Still they were old, patches and blackspots could not be avoided. He took what he could, allowing a clear and precise picture of the temple, it's network's influence and the physical roadmap he drew from the flow of data.

With his grasp now both in the temple and his allies systems, he comingled the two. A synthesis, two lattices twining into a web of influence and observation.

"I've relayed what data I could extract and have granted a personal viewing of the live visual and auditory feeds of the temple. The first stage is completed. The second stage, disruption, will commence shortly..."

He sensed two significant presences draw closer. From referencing the presences within the temple and checking through the entities marked through temple and allied systems, it was clear they were not friendly. Immediately he folded his own presence into the force, reducing it further so as to not reveal himself.

"I would prefer we make them stand down. But I have prepped my suit to be received, in case."

ALLIES: Connel Vanagor
FOES: Arris Windrun Acier Moonbound
​

 

[Romi Jade]

OBJ: 1 - MILITARY FUELING STATION
TYTHON
Allies: Lily Rhodes

---​

The corridor ahead sloped gently toward what she believed to be the station's central spine. Somewhere beyond it, heavier systems would more than likely be found -- she wanted registry cores, traffic routing, command relays, or anything she felt could provide decent intel.

That was where the real value lived; the long game.

Another tremor rippled through the base plating, a deeper one this time; the fighting had progressed. The emergency strips flickered twice, dimmed, then steadied again in dully. She just waited it through.

Her focus shifted to her ears; boots would have followed a disturbance like that -- at least she assumed.

She moved after awhile when none came.

Quiet steps carried her to the bend where the corridor intersected with another. The lighting here was worse than before, one strip was completely dead, leaving just half the junction in shadow. Then, subsequently, coolant vapor shot out and then fell lazily through the air from a ruptured pipe somewhere further down.

A beat -- something moved. Her body lurched back, then fell still.

It wasn't a heavy stride. It was far too light for that. Through the dim corridor ahead she caught the brief silhouette of what looked like someone crouching, and what she thought was the faint glow of a holoprojection flickering against the wall before disappearing again.

No one on the opposing side would move like that in their own station. This was someone else.

Romi didn't ignite her saber. She didn't announce herself either. Instead she shifted just enough to let the dim emergency strip catch the edge of her silhouette as she stepped partially into the junction, and through the coolant haze.

Just visible enough that whoever it was would know they weren't the only one here.

Her voice carried through the corridor, "Who's there?" Sharply.

A beat.

The station groaned again around them as the raid continued elsewhere.

---​

 

[Anet Raine]

Madrona A’Mia | Ko Vuto | Valor the Forsaken
Equipment: Acolyte Robes (no helmet) | Mask | Lightsaber

"Ready yourself for engagement. There are two Jedi, not far from here," A'Mia curtly notified the student.

Anet turned her gaze ahead, towards the game trail. She tried - best as she could - to reach out through the Force and sense these Jedi for herself.

However, her concentration was broken by the startling arrival of a robed figure floating beside her. Then the woman's voice entered her mind, devising a plan. The half-pantoran searched every which way for the Sith seer who seemed to have just disappeared.

Was that meant to be her cue? She glanced again at the floating robes that seemed to follow her. She already suspected this was A'Mia's doing, but still grumbled under her breath about it. Not wanting to disappoint her, Anet moved through the forest, intent on 'flanking' these Jedi as the neti had planned.

She arrived at the forest's edge behind the pair, whom A'Mia greeted like a mystical creature straight out of a folk tale. Her hand slowly reached for the lightsaber at her hip, the blade she bled on Coruscant. The moment her fingers touched the worn metal, she felt a flash of those memories - the pain, the betrayal; most of all, her dedication to the woman who drove her.

With a shaky grip, she turned the tip up and towards her healer... her executioner...

Honing those emotions, Anet stepped out into the clearing and hurled a telekinetic blast towards their backs.

 

[Varin Mortifer]

VARIN MORTIFER

THEME

OBJ: 1

Equipment: Durum Mantle | Black Blade of Chandrila | Eye of The Dragon | Heavy Sith Mace​

Varin’s flames engulfed the space where his assailant was prior. If he had not moved he likely would have been a pile of ash within the middle of the floor. The air that sliced through the air bisected the first illusion as the table sailed towards Varin. His eyes flicked towards the furniture that sailed his way and his hand flexed, shattering the furniture to pieces. The bits condensed inwards as if crushed from an unseen force.

For a moment his gaze followed the darting figure before his eye caught the wisp of a force signature moving towards the door. Varin reverse gripped his blade, swinging wide towards the darting figures neck, the blade carving into the wall, bisecting the durasteel as the sharp wind followed just behind the strike.

“Where are you going, Jedi.”

As his blade swung towards the Jedi’s neck, his other hand swung low tucked to his body, palm out. A blast of force energy shot forth towards the Jedi, a hard impact heading his direction as well.

Brandyn Sal-Soren​

 

[Acier Moonbound]

Location: Tython

Equipment:
Acolyte Attire | Lightsaber | Shoto | Cybernetic Arm

Ships burned across the sky and the Temple grounds had shifted into chaos in seconds. Arris asked him if this was going to be a problem, he didn't take his eyes off the hangars.

"No, it isn't."

His answer was immediate. Jedi were inevitable, this was Tython, it was only a matter of when. At least they finally stopped sitting on their hands, if only the Republic did so.

Ace watched as Arris' gaze shifted toward the cliffs instead. When she pivoted down the wet, narrow path, choosing stone over open ground, he followed. When they rounded a bend, Arris slowed sharply. Ace matched her movement, stepping in behind her shoulder as she peered around the corner.

He leaned just enough to see past the rock and recognized the figure ahead immediately. The armor, the posture, the stillness that didn't belong to a trooper. The name slipped from him under his breath before he could stop it.

"Vanagor." He muttered.

Dammit. Of all the people. Not because Connel wasn't a threat, he was, Ace had seen him dismantle worse odds. But there had been a time when they stood on the same side of a corridor, blades angled outward instead of inward. Back in the Hidden Path's heyday. Not only that, this was Michael's cousin. His friend's family.

Arris's clap to his back snapped him back into focus and Ace's face went cold. His thumb pressed the ignition and blue light burst with a sharp hiss. He stepped out from cover and closed the distance fast. The anti-air cannons roared again overhead as he moved, the cliff vibrating under sustained fire.

His opening strike came hard and direct, angled toward Connel's right side: a clean, aggressive entry meant to force a guard and test response. But there was control in it, the arc of the blade carried force, the speed carried intent. And yet, it was fractionally slower than it could have been.

Hopefully not enough for Arris to notice, and enough for Connel to survive it. To any observer, it was decisive engagement. To Connel, if he was paying attention, it was measured.

Arris Windrun | Connel Vanagor | Dynamis "Dynas" Ultra​

 

[Jonyna Si]

TAGS: Braze Warpriest Prime​

Jasper was an old friend. Her predecessor that had gifted her many of her opportunities she had afforded in the NJO.

Braze was another old friend. Someone she saw herself in, in more ways that one. More ways than she'd like to admit, and more ways than she'd probably was comfortable with.

The truth was, the raid on the temple was never the plan for her.

Out of the Reaper she leapt, and into history she fell. Anything she'd have wanted out of the temple she had already evacuated to Wild Space.

With a thud, she landed.

"Dima, it's been so long..." She chuckled, before charging forward. Braze had a mission.

Her mission was Dima.

 

[Lohī]

Tython, Objective II
Tags: Lestra Thairk

Paperfolk​

"I'm sure he'll be fine, yeah. I didn't hit him where there'd be too much haemorrhaging."

Lohī let out an airy giggle at the young man's large words. Apparently her compliments had gotten wormed into his head. She continued to follow along as Lestra led the way to the armory, her radiant eyes watching with interest as he began to fiddle with a collection of gemstones he had procured for some task.

"Might I inquire what those are for?" Lohī requested. "You seem to be very intently focused on their hues."

Before long the armory was in sight, flanked by guards who seemed to be listening in to communications chatter. They were too distant to make out, so it was only audible as muffled sounds emanating from their helmets.

"I will follow when you are ready," the Knight told her companion. "We took out the last pair quite comfortably. Let's make this just as quick as before, yes?"

The sooner they could take care of the armory the better.

 

[Sethran Solivar]

Tython Space Station • Corazona von Ascania and Tamsin Starfall ​

---

When she shivered, he reached out a hand to touch her shoulder gently. A gesture meant to comfort, though he did not know how it would be received.

"Take stock in the Force and trust it will guide you and all will go as it should," he said.

The Force was the one thing that he had always trusted. He couldn't count on his family, as they had given him away with little care. He didn't blame the Jedi for that, as they had only sought to help him, but there were a few who had likely wanted to bring him to the Jedi for the sole purpose of increasing their numbers. Those were the ones he did not get along well with. Taking children to grow an army of Jedi didn't sit well with him. If he had been asked as a child, he would have remained home with his family. He probably would have approached the Jedi later. But the Force was still there and always trustworthy.

They continued onward, making their way through the station with little opposition. He knew that would change. They would be upon them soon. She might have sensed it first, but the hair on the back of his neck was starting to stand up and he could feel the skin of his arms prickling even as they stopped outside of what looked like a reinforced door. Sometimes he wished he had the skills of a slicer so that he could break through obstacles like this without brute force. Maybe in another life.

She informed him that the lock wasn't just electronic, but physical. Whoever designed the station really wanted nobody getting through the door without the proper credentials. Problem was, this particular lock couldn't be manipulated by the Force. He knew because even as she drew her saber, he tried to make it move. It didn't budge at all and he frowned, but accepted the reality that she was probably right: the only way they were getting past the door was to cut their way in.

"You cut. I'll keep watch. I've got a feeling we aren't going to be alone much longer."

The hilt of his saber found its way into his hand, but he didn't ignite it just yet. Better to wait for the moment it was necessary. He kept his attention focused on the corridor around them, allowing his senses to extend out as well. He didn't want someone sneaking up on them if he could avoid allowing it. But there were plenty of skills he didn't know about out there. He just hoped he could handle it.

---

​

 

[Lestra Thairk]

Tags: Lohī
Objective: 2

"...You'll get to see in a minute."

He had an extra ruby he could spare to show off a little, swapping the emerald out for an onyx. The hit and run method from earlier would be a bit more of a struggle to enact this time, with the troopers being a slight distance away from them...but that's where the gems came in as Lestra chucked the force-infused onyx down the hallway, following by the ruby in quick succession.

First came a rather large plume of dense blinding smoke as the onyx made contact with the ground, followed by a sudden BANG accompanied by a sudden rush of heat and bright light.

"Shock and awe."

Another toothy grin spread across Lestra's face as he broke out into a sprint down the hallway...Of course one thing he didn't take into account is that whilst blinding and deafening the troopers meant they couldn't shoot accurately...That didn't mean they couldn't shoot whatsoever, as stray blaster bolts erupted from the smoke, causing the Padawan to scramble in an attempt to dodge them.

"Kriff...Kriff...A lightsaber...would be real...handy right about now..."

He mumbled to himself, before wincing in pain as a surge of heat and pain erupted against the side of his leg before Lestra stumbled into the smoke, the acrid stench destroying his sense of smell for the moment, before colliding with a trooper who he took down to the ground with him before the pair just started wrestling on the ground, unable to make heads nor tails of what was going on.

​

 

[Tamsin Starfall]

Theme: Back From The Dead
OBJ: Station Sabotage
Equipment: Twin Omens | Multi-Tool | Stars Enchained | Mind Crown | Wrist Lanvarok
Tags: Corazona von Ascania | Sethran Solivar

​

The diminutive figure made her way methodically through the corridors of the station as personnel passed by her giving her as wide of berth as they could. Scattering like little worker ants to whatever mundane task they had been given to figure out how to remedy the blackout. Some of them meant to hunt Jedi and others simply maintenance, all of them were probably going to die no matter what.

Their lives didn't matter, just fuel for fates machine. As she made pace for the fuel lines, as the scurrying figments of fates delusions thinned out the little demon stopped for a moment. She then knelt down to the durasteel flooring. A small hand slipped from the robes she was wearing. With a finger She began tracing a spiderweb pattern onto the ground with her finger.

As traced the spiderweb violet ichor began infusing into the shape burning the symbol into the durasteel plating. Since she couldn't tap into the security systems to survey the battlefield she would have to use her Magick. As she finished drawing the spiderweb it slowly began to spread out with invisible silken strings. It was a lesser version of control web that allowed her to sense life.

It spread down the corridors, and into all the hidden cracks in the stations design. She could feel one by one all those on the station as it spread out. From the untapped to the dots of light and dark spread throughout. In time she would be able to taste their anxieties, fears, trepidations, and most of all their destructive inner nature. That she could feed off like a vampire feed off the life force of the living.

As the web spread outwards, she felt it, not too far from her. The darkest heart of them all, the cruel malignant heart of one of those that had imprisoned her once in the deepest part of the nether. A wicked little grin crossed the face of the girl's skin she wore. She began at new pace with a skip in her step.

She made no attempt to hide her arrival as her dark aura grew just as her web did. Meters down the corridor Sethran Solivar would see a small figure draped in a black robe with the hood now pulled over her head. From the shadow figure that was coming down the corridor eyes of burning sulfuric orange, like fireballs in the center of the face, was coming for them.

The demon did not reach for a weapon as she slowed her approach. Her hand instead reached out towards a durasteel pipe that moved along the corridor. Her long polished black nails filed to points began to scrap along the pipe as she kept moving forward. As she would get closer that wicked grin on her face would be more than evident, but she did not say a word, not yet. Just letting that sound of her nails on steel be her words.

 

[Valor the Forsaken]

Madrona A’Mia Anet Raine Ko Vuto

Valor’s focus had been fixed on the trail ahead, eyes following the faint disturbances in the underbrush where his master passed. Each step demanded care and attention. The cane sank into damp soil, lifted again, planted once more… a fragile rhythm that kept him moving. His ribs ached with every breath.

He kept the pain buried as best he could, shoulders drawn tight, jaw set while he struggled to keep pace through the forest. The undergrowth tugged at his robes, branches brushed his hair, and more than once the cane slipped against loose roots before he caught himself.

He never saw the attack coming. The sudden surge of telekinetic force struck like an invisible hammer. Valor’s slight frame lifted and hurled aside, his back colliding against the rough trunk of a tree with a dull, sickening thud.

A tsharp, thin cry escaped him.

He slid down the bark and crumpled to the forest floor, breath stolen from his lungs. For a moment there was only the sharp ringing in his ears and the suffocating pressure in his chest. His fingers trembled as they clawed through fallen leaves until they found the cane.

He dragged it close… clutched it like a lifeline. Air returned in ragged, shallow pulls that shuddered through him. Each inhale stung. His arms shook as he tried to push himself upright. The cane planted into the soil, wavering beneath his weight while he forced himself to stand.

It was an awkward, fragile rise, and his legs trembled beneath him, barely steady. One shoulder sagged lower than the other, breath hitching between tight gasps as he turned his head toward the unseen attacker.

Leaning heavily upon the cane he stood still. For an opponent, he looked less like a threat, and more like a boy who had wandered somewhere he did not belong.
“You know, most people start conversations with ‘hello.’...Throwing people into trees feels a bit excessive.”

 

[Lily Decoria]

​

Location: Tython
Outfit: Jedi Attire
Equipment: Arwr Da, Hydrangea Moonblade (concealed)
Ally: Jasper Kai'el
Opponents: Mercy | Srina Talon

Lily still desired to do as much as she could within the Jedi Order, it was home to many Jedi and while that meant she couldn't go off travelling with the so-called outcasts permanently. It wasn't preventing her from helping them in their fight, in their desires to push against the Sith. Lily's goal was to always be the bright light at the front that fought against the darkness. Watching as Jasper used his tools to hack into the systems, Lily nodded her head to him. "I'm ready for any action that comes our way. Let's remind them that their actions have consequences."

And she would forever be a deadly reminder of that fact to the Sith.

Igniting her Lightsaber, the two crystals boosted both herself and Jasper. It was an aura that encircled Lily, one that stemmed in Light Side energy and only boosted those that she was fighting along with. Breathing in deeply, Lily could feel the enhanced physical and mental abilities that the Lightsaber aided her in. As Lily prepared herself for any Sith that might cross their paths, two came around the corner and Lily moved into a defensive position. Her eyes narrowed as one she recognised right away. Srina Talon. Empress to the Sith Order but also a very renowned Echani with close ties to the Queen and her house.

"Be aware of Empress Talon," Lily warned Jasper in a whisper. It was likely a detriment to many Jedi in the past that they did not realise how skilled the empress was, Lily was all too aware of what they could be facing in this fight. Lily had heard many tales and spent hours training as an Echani warrior throughout her childhood that she knew no house was recognised without substantial fighting merit.

Holding her cyan Lightsaber defensively, Lily was not going to launch into attack yet. Curious to see what the Sith would do with defiant Jedi at their door. There was also the fact that she did not how Srina's companion would fight. Were they someone focused in the Force or someone more used to fighting with a weapon? Lily knew better than to launch an attack on opponents that she had not fought before.

 

[Connel Vanagor]

Get the Frell off our home!
Tython
Undisclosed Location

Omega Squad Every Day Gear Locations

• Michael, Gabriel, Azrael, Sariel, Raphael, Jeremiel, Connel, Raguel
  [Any text in brackets signifies comm-link usage and not face to face conversation]
• 
  Rides
  "Enterprise" Station Ship
  Null Vector
  Speederbike
  Iron Psalm
  Gear/Armor
  Gear(“Bodycam” Datapad, UAD Drone, link to Seraphim AI and Nanotech included)
  Lightblaster
  Shortsabers (“Night” and “Day”)
  Throwing Lightknives
  Force Blinding Flashbangs
  RI-17 Rifle-w-MS-0412 Grenade Launcher
  Spears of Ashla
  SURGICAL - CRYBERNETIC IMPLANTS
  Repli Implants that would be for the limbs
  Bonemer enhancements to strengthen structure of the body
  Muscle enhancements.
  Hemo enhancements for blood flow
  Hawkeye implants for eyes
  Advanced Medical Implant
  Scentzy
  Injected Nanotech upgrades
  
  
  
• Shadow Sanctuary - Enterprise

The cliff path narrowed into a wet throat of stone.

Spray slicked the rock. Somewhere above, anti-air cannons kept roaring, not as defense now, but as theater. Connel felt the vibration through his boots, through the cliff, through the bones of the world.

The AA site behind him remained alive. His ace stayed buried. He kept moving. UAD drone passed a silent ping in his peripheral HUD. SERAPHIM overlayed the path ahead, highlighting angles, blind corners, possible sightlines into the hangar approach.

He heard the hangar before he saw it. Shouting. Boots. A distant metallic whine of shield systems cycling under stress. He touched the inner pouch instinctively. The crystal shard was warm, faintly humming. Dynas stayed folded into Connel’s compressed aura, invisible to Sith senses. A stowaway with the manners of a temple archivist.

Connel whispered without moving his lips. Stay quiet. A pulse of agreement answers like a calm heartbeat, right? Whose to say for sure.

He rounded the bend, and the Force… shifted. Not the broad oppressive stink of the Covenant. Something sharper. Younger.

A blade drawn not out of hatred, but out of decision. He saw him. Dark hair. Locs. The build of a fighter who learned survival before doctrine. Cybernetic arm gleaming under stormlight. Blue blade snapping to life.

Acier Moonbound.

Connel’s stomach dropped like a stone into deep water. Not because the kid is terrifying. Because the kid is wrong here. This isn’t an unknown acolyte. This is one of Michael Angellus’ few friends. Which means the betrayal has a face. The blade comes in hard.

Form V entry. Direct. Aggressive.

A clean line meant to force Connel into defense. Connel reacted on instinct. The rifle drops into the sling in one controlled motion, his body turning off-line as “Night” ignited in a jagged electric indigo burst. Metallic hiss. Sparks would fly. The clash would be close enough that Connel could hear Acier’s breathing through the rain.

Close enough to smell ozone and wet stone.

And close enough to feel it: The strike was fractionally slower than it should have been. A hesitation so small only a predator noticed it. Connel’s eyes narrowed behind the mask. His first emotion is immediate and ugly.

Traitor.

The word wants to become an action. He could punish the choice. He could break the kid’s guard, shatter the cyber-arm at the elbow, put him down fast and move on. He wanted to. Ariel mode does not debate. Ariel mode ends problems. But then another memory hits him like a second impact.

Michael’s laugh.

Michael’s rare, stubborn loyalty to the few people he lets close. Connel’s jaw tightened. He locked blades again, forcing the kid’s saber down and away from his torso with a twist of his wrist and a half-step that feels like a Special Forces Operator clearing a hallway: tight angles, no wasted motion, never giving space.

SERAPHIM flickered a note across his HUD.

COMBAT TELEMETRY: OPPONENT
ENTRY SPEED 7% BELOW BASELINE (EST.)
 LIKELY INTENT: CONTROLLED
ENGAGEMENT / NOT FULL COMMIT
 RECOMMENDATION: VERBAL TEST

Connel doesn’t like needing confirmation. But he likes guessing wrong even less.

He goes to shove Acier back with a shieldless shoulder check and a short Force pulse that would look like a stumble instead of a blast. Intending to force the kid to skid a step, boots scraping wet stone.
Connel would keep Night up but angled low.
Not a duelist’s pose.
A killer’s economy.
You’re out of place, Connel growled, voice flat through the mask vocoder. ]Explain.
Connel was looking for something, anything, that would lend credence to his weird attack. Would Acier’s eyes flash? Would his posture not fully close? He looks ready, but not hungry.

That matters.

Connel circled half a step, putting his body between Acier and the hangar approach, controlling line-of-sight without exposing the inner pouch. Dynas remaining a quiet ember in his presence. If the Sith are watching through cameras, they see one Shadow and one opponent. If they are sensing, they feel one Light signature.

Dynas stays myth.

Connel raises hid off-hand slightly, palm open. Not surrender.

A warning.

One chance, he says. Stand down. Walk away. Right now.

The air between them trembles with the unsaid things.

Tython.
Holocrons.
Michael.
What did you do?

Even without seeing her, Connel can taste the cyber-darkness like copper on the tongue. The blonde was pulling the strings. Was it some… “personal” manipulation? Some techopathy?

Great. Overthinking.

Now it’s not just betrayal. It’s a trap with a personality. Connel didn’t move his head. He kept his eyes on Acier, and he lowered his voice a single degree. You didn’t hit me full bore, he says. Why.

SERAPHIM flashed again.

MICRO-PAUSE DETECTED AT CONTACT POINT
 SUPPRESSED FOLLOW-THROUGH
 PROBABILITY: CONSCIOUS RESTRAINT

Connel felt his own rage flare, then he caged it. Not because he’s afraid of it. Because he refused to be led by it. His father’s voice, old and steady in the back of his mind:

Guard what matters.

Connel stepped in, fast, forcing the kid to defend again. Not with brutality, but with pressure. Tight strikes. Short arcs. Blade testing blade. Every move asking the same question: Are you trying to kill me? Or are you trying to stop something else?

You’re Michael’s friend, Connel says. That’s the only reason you’re still standing.” A violet warning line in the storm.

Tell me you’re here willingly, Connel says. Tell me you chose them. And for the first time, Connel let the smallest piece of it show. Not sadness. Disappointment. Because that’s what traitors actually earn from him. Not hatred. Not drama.

Just the cold reality that they had a choice and made the wrong one.
One depleting chance, he repeats. Stand down.

@Arris Windrum • Acier Moonbound • Dynamis "Dynas" Ultra

Personal Effects - Omega Squad Loadouts​

 

[Eurydice]

Opps: Diogo

It happened too fast, as these things often did. One moment, the troopers were standing before her. The next, they were down.

The scent of burning plastoid alloy was a perfectly grim punctuation to the situation Eurydice now found herself in.

The dim recessed lighting of the service corridor had her casting a long shadow. Him, too. She didn't need to see the lightsaber; the heat of it could be felt pulsing along her back. It clung to her clothes, sinking into her spine, rooting her to her spot.

There was a clatter as the datapad slipped from her grasp. Eurydice's hands felt like duracrete, but she found the strength to raise them in surrender.

"W-we?"

She squeaked, throat tight and mouth dry. She didn't sense more than one, but perhaps little signatures of light were melding with those of the Jedi holocrons. The thought turned her stomach.

"Pl…please don't hurt me," she rasped. Sweat gathered at her brow, and Eurydice swore that the feeling of it somehow magnified her rapidly beating pulse.

The Covenant would certainly be displeased if the holocrons went missing under her nose, moreso if she didn't even try to prevent their theft.

Still, Eurydice was a coward. Fear ruled her, and with a blade to her back, her only goal was self-preservation.

"I-If I give you one, will you leave peacefully…?"

 

[Jasper Kai'el]

Tython
Allies: Lily Decoria
Opps: Mercy , Srina Talon

Lightsaber, Refuge, Respite, Jedi Outcasts, Grafted into Stone
​

Jasper let out an exhale as he saw who stood before him. He had trained for years ever since his fateful encounter with Carnifex to face threats in the same league as him. He was standing the closest to death he had been since that day. Lily's warnings were in earnest, but he knew better then to underestimate such a foe. By association, the one she walked with was to be considered an equal and comparable threat. With a steady hand he withdrew his Neural Charm and put it around his neck. It flooded his mind with knowledge, momentarily making him recoil as though under the effects of a migraine. The strain on his mind, however, was a cost worth the clarity.

The Jedi Master moved his hand to the scabbard on his waste, drawing his lightsaber. It shown brighter than most, crackling with wild and untamed energy. The power output was so extreme that the blade could not be turned off, lest it be destroyed by it's own energy. The blade was radiant and light, made to cut through darkness.

For a moment, he made a silent unspoken oath to himself. His family. His Outcasts. There would be no falling in battle. He was going home today.

"Alright..." Jasper muttered, mostly to himself. "Here we go."

It was time to swing in a new weight class.