Skirmish THE BANNERLESS | Jedi Raid of TSC Held Tython

[Lysander von Ascania]

Jalen Kai'el​

Between Varin Mortifer and himself, there was an understanding, a bond that existed between men who had bled in the same dirt and walked away from the same pyres. From their days upon Korriban to the siege of Coruscant, their journey had been unforgiving, brothers in the truest sense of the word.

Positioned near the bulkhead, one hand hooked around a rail as he stared out of the viewport. Mayhaps the summoning arrived when a mind was already straying toward a particular individual, tangled in his own folly, forever the fool. The sight of the man’s rosary read like an omen. Prayers were not always gentle things; and in truth, he had suspected for some time that his former co-apprentice prayed with fire. Or summoned flames that devoured hope. That thought unlocked one of the many questions shadowing his mind.

So, a battle was to come..

In the quiet that gathered, a melody rose in his own throat, a tune that sounded older than he was, a song meant for no one. For a time, the notes wove themselves in the space between. A ritual that fit him. That was, until a hand came to rest on his shoulder, and he scanned over the figure’s armor that was born of darkness.

“Whatever vermin thought to make trouble here..” The green in his gaze drained away, leaving only a molten hue. “We’ll defile them the moment they step into view.”

A slower pull of awareness settled on the cold helm against his palms, before sealing it like a tomb. The world narrowed into something much crueler. Whatever softness clung to him in quieter hours slipped away.

As he spoke through the vocoder, all warmth in his breath was removed, as it always was. “I’ll take only what is necessary and bless them with the violence they’ve been waiting for.”

Lysander exuded quietness, uncharacteristic to those who knew him better; the teen once abundant with words now had.. little to offer. A recurring pattern lately. What remained was a machine of singular focus, bound to outcomes, a blade the Covenant demanded.

______​

He stepped across the threshold with a squad of Nagai warriors. From the Threads which weaved in the currents he could feel their anticipation.

“Left flank, push to the corner,” he ordered.

Six of them advanced. They were waiting for permission to kill. And he would give them more than that soon. Even his own hand was begging for the curved hilt clipped to his belt.

“Right flank, lock down the rear corridor. Nothing follows us in.”

Boots struck the deck in an unhurried manner. At the next intersection, two fingers lifted to signal a halt. The station registered like an entity yearning for their arrival.

"There are hostiles ahead.. they are uncoordinated and weak."

His head swiveled in a warning; his standards were nothing if not severe.

“Advance. Leave nothing standing.”

 

[Warpriest Prime]

​

O B J E C T I V E | Holocron Heist
L O C A T I O N | Tython Jedi Temple Vault
W A R G E A R | Glyphscript Anvil | Crownsplitter | Dawnshield | Crown of Blades

Braze | Jonyna Si

O P E N​

Tython burned beautifully.

Above the world, the void was fractured by war. Starships tore at one another in orbit, the space station a blazing crown of artillery and ruptured hulls. Fire fell like artificial meteors toward the surface, streaking past the clouds as the ancient world prepared, once again, to remember what it was built for.

Within a commandeered Jedi temple, deep in its sanctified marrow, Prime stood watch.

The vault doors had been forced open days ago. Now its contents were being catalogued, crated, prepared for transport deeper into Sith dominion. Holocrons rested in reinforced containers, their crystalline geometry catching the low temple light in fractured rainbows. They hummed faintly. Whispered. Reached.

Dima plucked one up between her claws. She turned it this way. Then that. Five eyes narrowing as blue light flickered across her scaled features, The Force licked at her senses like curious flame.

She felt it...yet she deliberately ignored it.

"Shiny little baubles," she mused flatly, and dropped it back into the crate with a dull clack.

Knowledge. Secrets. Generations of preserved wisdom. The galaxy clawed itself bloody over such things.

Dima did not care.

If it did not bleed when struck or scream when broken, it rarely held her attention long. Let scholars and sorcerers squabble over whispers in boxes. She preferred clarity. Still, the tremor of bombardment overhead told her the temple would not remain quiet for long. The objective was obvious. These relics were bait dressed as treasure. If the Jedi were reclaiming Tython, they would claw toward the heart.

Which meant she did not need to hunt.

They would come to her.

That thought brought a slow smile to her face.

She barked orders to the Iron Clergy as they secured the crates, loading them into a specialized transport vehicle waiting beyond the vaulted corridor. Gold armor gleamed against ancient marble as they moved with reverent efficiency. For a fleeting moment, she considered requesting one of the holocrons as compensation. A decorative piece, perhaps. Something to sit on a shelf and glow ominously.

The idea amused her.

Static crackled across her comm.

"Lady Prime, it's as you anticipated. They've breached the temple. Making quite the entrance."

Dima rolled her shoulders, plates shifting with a low grind as she leaned casually against a marble pillar etched with Jedi scripture.

"What do they look like?" she asked.

A pause.

"...Young. Green eyes. White hair. Blue fire around him. Thought it was you at first, but no. He looks like he wants a challenge."

Her head tilted slowly from side to side.

"Oh really."

She scratched idly at the scales along her neck, considering.

"Ehhhh. Aight. It'll do," she decided. "Bring him to me. Unscathed, please. I want him at his best."

A beat.

"If he has friends, bring them too."

The channel clicked silent.

Deeper in the temple, flames licked along shattered stone as the Iron Clergy advanced. They did not strike. They did not intercept. Instead, two of them sank to a knee before the approaching figure Braze , golden helms bowed in deliberate respect.

When they rose, their spears angled not in threat, but in invitation, pointing down the long corridor toward the vault's heart.

"Prime awaits, champion," they intoned.

Behind them, Sith forces hissed in frustration, eager for blood, restrained only by doctrine and fear of denying the Warpriest her chosen spectacle.

At the corridor's end, within the vault chamber itself, Dima waited.

She had dismissed the last of the transport team, remaining behind like a sentinel carved from blasphemy and patience. Her massive tail was folded just so, coiled into a living throne upon which she lounged with unsettling ease. One leg crossed over her knee. A military cap adjusted neatly atop her head.

Five eyes fixed on the entrance.

Eager.

Let the boy with blue fire come.

Much better when the prey walks itself into the jaws.

 

[Mercy]

Allies: Srina Talon
Enemies: Lily Decoria Jasper Kai'el

Mercy was giving Srina a tour of the station hanging in orbit over Tython.

The itinerary contained a full list, which would end by touring Tython itself, showcasing to her fellow Empress the progress being made to convert the Jedi Temples into Sith structures. As they passed by a viewport, Mercy could clearly see the way the world had shifted in its nature in the aftermath of them conquering the planet from the Empire.

While the Empire had been run by an Emperor who also proclaimed himself Sith'ari, the nation at large had been primarily Imperial. Now the Covenant ruled and Tython had fully swung towards the Dark Side.

As a consequence it once again began to experience the kind of Force Storms it did every time that the Jedi lost control over it.

Almost like Tython itself cried out in agony... or as if it was screaming in fury. Tough to say.

"This is one of the many stations we are setting up." Mercy said to Srina as they walked. "It will allow us to penetrate deeper into enemy territory. Worlds like Balmorra and Commenor are waiting for us, without these stations it will be much more difficult to set-up operations."

She was about to say more but then-

The power went out.

Mercy blinked as the lights went out right afterwards.

"Hm, that is not supposed to happen..." Mercy said with a touch of confusion as her gaze began to bleed into amber. Annoyance turned to anger, there would be heads that rolled for this interference. It made her look bad in front of Srina, which was the last thing Mercy desired. "Let's return to the bridge, darling sister. See what this ruckus is about."

She had virtually no investment in Force Sense. So she had no idea that turning a few corners, they'd be cut off from the bridge by the appearance of Lily and Jasper.

"If you wish, you can hold on to me, the dark holds no secrets from me." Offering her elbow to Srina, if she so desired. Her physical instincts and senses began to rise as she channeled the Force.

Now she began to hear the bounding of footsteps, approaching fast.

"Odd, why would they run that fast..."

 

[Sethran Solivar]

Along with the many present, he listened to what was said of their mission. It seemed simple, but every mission that seemed such ended up being vastly more difficult than anticipated. For him, he anticipated a heavy Sith presence. It was doubtful that they would leave Tython, essentially the birthplace of the many orders, unattended. He figured that they would wind up fighting.

For this mission he was paired up with another Jedi, a Corazona von Ascania. He did not know her, but she was the one who gave the briefing so he was certain that she would prove quite competent.

The two of them made their way down a dimly lit corridor. The air was cool, cold even. A sense of impending doom washed over him and he shivered as he glanced back behind them. Was someone following them? No, he didn't feel anything. No one was immediately after them, so perhaps it was something coming for them soon? He didn't like not knowing when they would strike. It put him on edge, but he calmed himself, focusing on the task they were assigned rather than fretting over the inevitable.

"We knew they would come for us eventually."

They'd known before they even set foot on the station. There were too many practitioners of the dark in the galaxy. Their numbers always seemed to be swelling. Given they were attacking a station owned by a dark entity, they were destined for trouble.

"Just keep leading the way. I'll watch our back."

Corazona von Ascania and Tamsin Starfall

 

[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

Connel cleared the coastal ridge fast. Smoke drifting. Inland alarms building. If they were not sending reinforcements, the Sith knew that someone was coming. Mid-run he reached to swap a spent Spear of Ashla and—a pulse.

Not dark.
Not hostile.
Just… there.

He paused mid-stride, fingers brushing something cool and faceted in a side pocket. He blinked once behind the mask. …You’ve got to be kidding me.

He drew it out. A deep blue crystalline shard no larger than his thumb segment glowed faintly in the moonlight. The Force around it is calm. Old. Centered. Ancient. Connel exhaled slowly, it was Master Dynas, they had never met, but he knew via reputation. Oh yeah, he muttered under his breath. Forgot about you. Sorry.

Dynas hums softly. In response? Not words. Not exactly. Agreement? Approval? Or possibly amusement? Connel slid the shard into a more secure inner pouch. Then— He pulled inward. Ariel mode shifted.

He narrowed his presence in the Force, not vanishing, but compressing. A technique Caltin drilled into him for years. Instead of dimming his Light, he focused it. A needle instead of a lantern.

The aura around Dynas folded into that compression. To Sith senses(hopefully)? There is only one presence. Controlled. Focused. Singular. Dynas would disappear from their perception like a note folded into harmony. And if Dynas noticed? He hopefully would not resist. He’d hopefully align.

Back on track, he went to move, but stopped suddenly. The “obvious” path is the hangar. Which means the Sith are waiting for it. Sith Covenant defenders are paranoid, not foolish. They will assume the objective is the holocron shuttle. They will reinforce the hangar, lock blast doors, position Force-sensitives, maybe even booby trap the craft.

So if Connel just walked into that funnel? He’s playing their board. Ariel doesn’t play their board. He flips it. So, time for his idea. the inland AA site sits higher than the coastal pair. Carved into stone. Reinforced durasteel plating. It overlooks the valley leading to the Master’s Retreat hangars.

Perfect kill corridor.

Which means it’s also the perfect lever.

Connel approached from below the ridgeline, moving through scrub and shattered temple masonry. The Ariel armor dampens sound so this would work. The UAD drone floated ahead at low altitude, feeding him terrain overlays through Seraphim.

Three troopers on exterior rotation. Two inside the control housing. One heavy repeater covering the eastern slope. Six.

Manageable.

He didn’t ignite a blade. The first trooper died confused. A lightknife whispered across the gap and punched through the seam below the helmet. The body fell forward without ceremony. Connel caught it before it hit stone and lowered it gently.

The second got a gloved hand across the mouth and a short indigo flash through the rib seam. Night extinguished before the body finished collapsing.

The third heard something. He turned. The lightblaster coughed once. Precision. Inside the housing, the tech crew never heard the exterior shift. Connel slipped through the side maintenance hatch instead of the main entry. Shadow doctrine.

One tech looked up from the targeting console. Connel’s gauntlet edge smashes into his jaw. The second reached for an alarm.

Force pull.

The man stumbled forward into Connel’s waiting elbow. Silence. Breathing slowed. The AA battery remained online. Still tracking. Still reporting. Still “operational.” That’s the point. He knelt at the console. Dynas, he murmured quietly, not looking down. You feel this?

A faint harmonic pulse hummed from his inner pocket. Was that Dynas? Hopefully. The machine is tense. Rigid. Built to destroy. Connel slotted the slicer spike into a maintenance port. Seraphim flickered in his HUD. Hopefully Dynas was able to do something.

Uplink established.
Awaiting command override.

He doesn’t blank the screen. He doesn’t scramble the IFF codes wildly. He edited. Surgically. Launch vector recognition adjusted. Targeting priority table modified. Delayed authentication handshake inserted into outgoing fire commands. If a specific transponder launches from the hangar… If a specific altitude is reached… If a specific approach angle is used…

The AA battery will fire.

Not immediately.

Not suspiciously.

Clean. Automatic. Inevitable. And until that moment? The system reports green across the board. Connel wiped the console with a cloth patch, removing any trace of intrusion. The spike remained buried deep in firmware, disguised as a routine patch.

He stood. The dead techs were repositioned in their chairs like they simply slumped from fatigue. He stepped outside. The repeater still scanned the horizon. The cannon still rotated lazily. Nothing looked wrong. Everything was wrong.

He paused at the ridge and looked toward the distant hangars of the Master’s Retreat. The Sith believe they control the air. They believe they control the exits. They do not realize one of their own guns now answers to a different future. He tapped his comm, voice low.

[Battery three remains operational.] A beat. [Operational,] he repeats.

Somewhere in the Force, he felt something. Approval. Not of sabotage.Of restraint. Connel doesn’t burn the world. He tilts it. Then he moved downslope toward the next phase, having left behind a fully functional anti-air platform…

With a Vanagor’s fingerprint hidden in its bones. And he moved inland before the response force even realized the cliff line had already fallen.

@Arris Windrum • Acier Moonbound • Dynamis "Dynas" Ultra
Personal Effects - Omega Squad Loadouts​

 

[Brandyn Sal-Soren]

Brandyn long ago had begun to trust his instincts when it came to knowing if his cover had been blown. Even as the Sith looked past him, he could feel the recognition subtly tugging at the strands of the Force that connected even Sith and Jedi. But he did not move. He did not reveal himself.

Instead, Brandyn waited for the Sith to turn. Then his soundless, practiced movement was barely a gentle breath's worth of disturbance to the environment. He fell into a crouch behind the desk just a half-beat before the Sith turned and fire erupted through Brandyn's old locale, washing over the furniture. Brandyn felt the heat nip at his shoulders, but he did not flinch. Instead, he held the shadow of an illusion in the middle of the room where he had just been.

Then, the shroud dropped. The illusory shadow evaporated as the enemy's weapon struck through it, and Brandyn stood, using the Force to hurl the severed half of the table towards the Sith.

In the moment of distraction, he stepped into shadow once more, his presence splitting in two. A subtle figment darted left, while Brandyn—hunched within the light-bending secrecy of his illusion — moved right, taking the long way toward the door behind the Sith.

| TAG: Varin Mortifer |

​

 

[Teev]

| Location | Tython​

| Objective | Dawdle​

​

The man was partly startled by the sudden feeling of a blade against his throat, snapping him out of his confused daze as they tried to get a glimpse of the person holding a knife to their throat out of the corner of their eyes, stammering as they tried to speak, "I-it was a J-J-Jawa, I think...I don't know. It went that way. That's all I know I swear!" He pointed with the hand holding the holocron, aiming their index finger down the corridor that Teev disappeared through.​

​

Teev continued to wander off in the remains of the desecrated Tython temple, walking as if they belonged there and humbling those who decided that today was the day to trifle with a Jawa. A trail of their victims writhing on the ground in agony, clutching their shins, crying for their mothers, was left in the wake of the all-powerful Jawa.​

​

Teev didn't have a particular destination in mind, just casually strolling through the ancient halls as their gaze wandered all over, taking in the architecture and sightseeing. They were out of place, but at the same time walked as if they belonged there all along.​

​

[ 0-7 ]

 

[Lily Rhodes]

Romi Jade
​

The station shuddered underfoot, the raid already well underway as Lily moved on silent feet, keeping close to the walls, the weight of the quarterstaff in her hands a comfort for the nerves that had twisted her stomach till she was sick. She had been on Coruscant, she had seen what the Covenant could do. Any sane person would have turned the other way and found somewhere other than here to be.

But she was tired of running from Sith, from the war. Darkness pressed in from all corners of the Galaxy, try as she might to ignore it, soon, there would be nowhere left to run. So she’d answered the call and now she was sneaking through a fuelling station with two objectives.

Cripple everything she could get her hands on.

And steal even more.

She paused, crouching as movement shifted across the corridor ahead of her. It was too dark to see if it was friend or foe before it was gone. Lily let out a breath, this would have been a whole lot easier with Vess Sadragen watching her back. She made a mental note to call her if she was smart enough to survive this ridiculous quest.

Lily checked the holoprojector on her wrist, the map flicking back to life. The mainframe for the control centre a blinking target as she checked her route for the tenth time before turning it off and rising with a quiet breath along the corridor.

 

[Jalen Kai'el]

Tython, Objective I
Tags: Lysander von Ascania

Delta-7, Lothal Jedi Temple​

Jalen could feel the coming opposition ahead of him. The patter of each footstep a vibration that echoed out in the Force. They were just around the hall, six ahead lead by... a familiar feeling. He knew it from back on that gods-forsaken casino wheel. Fate was a rather cruel beast. The blind Jedi knew that he had no time to fight it. If he was outnumbered, then he had to strike first. Courtesy was not something he could allow an enemy in a place like this...

Even if he wasn't going to kill them.

The Knight crouched down and procured two seeds, placing them on the floor. He touched his hands to them and let his own energy surge into the plant matter. He had used plant surge on occasions before. If he wanted to have an advantage on superior numbers, his solution was to make more hands.

Vines would violently burst forth from the seeds and snake their way down the hallway and around the corner. They were quick and relentless, snaking their way around the legs of several Nagai warriors. Whoever the vines managed to grab would just as suddenly dragged away into the darkness, the imagery evoking the tentacled beasts that often inhabited trash compactors for means of assistance with the process of filtration. They would vanish into the darkness around the corner.

A clear indicator of where to go.

 

[Lohī]

Tython, Objective II
Tags: Lestra Thairk

Paperfolk​

"We're going for the hanger right?"

"Indeed we are," Lohī affirmed. "Sharp memory on this one as well."

The Paperfolk took mental note of the armory. Say, now that wasn't so bad of an idea. If they could cause a little collateral damage while they had the element of surprise, perhaps that could go a long way in assisting the operation. The smile was quick to return to her face.

"Even so, I propose a detour," she suggested. "You said there was an armory, no? Perhaps it may benefit our allies in the long-term if those new instillation were removed? You seem a rather adept tracker. I would leave that final decision up to your willingness, padawan."

The hangar might become chaotic with so many on a mad dash to get there. An alternate longer route may not be so bad.

 

[0-7]

Tython, Objective II
Tags: Teev

NK-Witell-class Freighter, 0A-155, Songbird (lightsaber), Vibrosword
​

"I-it was a J-J-Jawa, I think...I don't know. It went that way. That's all I know I swear!" He pointed with the hand holding the holocron, aiming their index finger down the corridor that Teev disappeared through.

Seven let out a huff before her sword fell away from the man's neck. He wouldn't get a glance at her before she had slipped back into her illusionary shroud. Cowardly as they were, at least they were useful. Though she struggled to envision a Jawa wielding such power, she nevertheless took the threat seriously. She needed to inquire on what it was that the scavenger had with him.

Whatever had induced so much pain and fear in those soldiers.

It hardly took that long to find said Jawa. He was dressed in strange garb and meandered about like he owned the place, not walking with particular haste. The Evereni saw no need to use the same tactics as she had on the Sith troopers. Instead she let her illusion drop and called out to the creature. Her eyes glanced around at the carnage left in his wake before she finally rose her voice.

"Hey," Seven began, projecting her tone to get their attention. "Jawa. I have matters to discuss with you. If you would be so inclined to pause your rampage."

This was about the most ridiculous scenario she had ever been in.

Even so, the safety of the public demanded it that she take it 1000% serious. Power could come in all packages... even bizarre ones.

 

[Mykel Dawson]

___________________________________________________________________

Objective: Sabotage Military Fuel Station
Allies: Jedi
Opposition: Sith
With: Akela Ru
Direct Opposition: OPEN

[70 meters...45 meters...15 meters...]

Hecate tracked with inertial guidance as Mykel made his steady descent. Outside the shaft, he could feel violence welling to a crescendo as Sith security frantically fought to repel the Jedi saboteurs. But here in the abyss of the shaft, there was quiet.

Well, until there wasn't.

He snapped his head up to the sensation of murderous focus trained upon his charge above.

Damn. He hadn't felt them until the last moment, but then he had no monopoly on stealth after all. "I'm coming!" He was about to ricochet against the wall to quickly reach Akela's level and dispatch the Sith, but instead he found himself flattening against side in preternatural instinct as a screaming Sith Acolyte plummeted to his death.

Moments later, Akela and her minions came flying down on the back of a second Acolyte, landing upon the interior ledge of the target level with a bone shattering crunch, the Sith's cuirass also caved in by the impact.

"Looks like he joined us.... for crunch time." She said it and turned away as The two padawans looked down and spoke to each other. "What is she doing?" Jey said it as Zev looked. "I... am just waiting for the explosions behind her."

Mykel noted the Padawan's cavalier response to the killing with a muted expression. He would certainly shed no tears over the monsters, but he took no pleasure in their death either. The vermin deserved no such bliss from him.

"You adapt to surprises well," he complimented as he completed the final meters with Akela and slowly wriggled open the doors with TK. "Just try to keep your passions in check. The Sith can hone in on that like a beacon, and turn it against you in the heat of battle."

The turbolift doors slid opened to smoke and the roar of battle in the distance. Corpses of both stripes lined the floor. He hadn't been the only one to think of navigating the downed tramlines, but such conflict was expected at the hubs of the vital arteries of the installation.

[It's Strike Team Senth! (ᵔ.ᵔ) ] Hecate informed them helpfully over the team channel, reading their IFF signatures. [I just radioed them to tell them we're coming up on their rear. They're trying to take the station, but they're being held back by a mixed squad of gunners and Sith Knights.]

"Good, thank you." He unholstered his shatter pistol after retracting his grapple.

He spied the vents above as they jogged toward the sound of blaster fire. "Think you can fit in there and drop some ordinance on the heads of that Sith squad defending in the station?" She had shared access to the deckplans and could see exactly the way that the vent pathing would lead her right above the station, presumably where the Sith held their ground against Team Senth.

While Akela and co provided distraction, the still stealthed Mykel could quickly pick off the worst offenders.

 

[Srina Talon]

ALLY: Mercy
ENEMY: Lily Decoria | Jasper Kai'el
GEAR: Armour [Inert] | Saber [Hidden Near Spine] | Ring | Ring | Holding Aces [Ring] |
LOCATION: Tython Station

____________________________________________________

Shell spider-silk whispered when she moved.

Shades of black and gold were layered in deliberate contrast in severe, clean lines. Faint showings of auric embroidery caught in the light and gave the impression of darkness, ethereal, shimmering, without any sort of sparkle or glow. The formal gown did not cling to her form, nor did it bear more than the sweep of her collarbone or the pale curve of her throat. As usual, alchemical runes were pressed into the inner lining, invisible to the eye, but capable of muting the cadence of her presence in the Force until she felt almost…Absent.

She preferred it when traveling far from Jutrand.

Her bracelet was small and delicate, easily mistaken for something ornamental that rest against her wrist beneath a fall of sheer cloth. Within it, her armor slept. "The Covenant is clearly not wasting any time…"

It was a bold move—But intelligent. To move swiftly before the High Republic noticed that another Sith-aligned nation was quickly gobbling up all the territory that the Galactic Alliance had abandoned. It would give them all the fodder they needed to claim self-righteous liberation, while simultaneously starting the war they always wanted. It was a move straight from the Jedi playbook…

She had fought them enough to know.

Then the lights went out.

Srina wasn't startled when the blackout hit, nor would there be any indication that it bothered her at all. When it came to the shadows, often, she was the scariest thing within it.

What was there left to be afraid of?

"Technical difficulties…?"

Had they turned the station off and then back on?

She tilted her head slightly, and lengths of white-gold hair slipped over her shoulder. Lavender eyelids fell over metallic orbs while feathered, black lashes dusted against skin the color of bone. She was listening for something, not with her ears, but with a frequency in the Force that would have been silent to Mercy. When her eyes opened…Her expression cooled by degrees.

"Jedi."

Their presence threaded through the corridors ahead. They were bright and disciplined…Not blundering. Searching. Hunting? Her steps did not quicken, but she did let her fingers thread languidly through Mercy's arm…Pressing power into her in a new way. It was nothing that the Titan hadn't felt before, but she would feel certain senses sharpen. Her eyes in the dark. The sensation of warm bodies, glimmering, while they trudged down the hallway as if their lives depended on it. "See what I see…"

"Feel what I feel."

The runes stitched into the silk of her clothing began to warm against her skin while her mood shifted. She had been quite content to tour the new space station, to witness what Mercy was so proud of…But it was supposed to be a quiet trip. Strategic. She hadn't counted on little thorns popping up to interrupt her vacation and proverbially dig into her side. Hadn't losing Coruscant been enough? Did they really want to die that badly? She inhaled while they walked, and the alchemical stitching began to fracture in silence, one by one, their suppression unraveling as her power stirred from beneath them. The concealment peeled away like snow melting under the hottest sun, and what lay beneath it all was not subtle. It was a tide that belonged to a deeper well. An ocean—With the pull of a black hole.

There was no use in keeping her Force Signature clouded now.

So much for an uneventful outing.

Eyes of gold lifted toward the corridor ahead. Serene, but luminous in the darkness. She couldn't see as well as she might have liked, but she could feel and that was more than enough.

"Would you like to welcome them?"

They would arrive momentarily…But the air pressure changed when the last of her runes cracked and dissolved into nothing. What she was, what she had always been, flowed into the space without warning and seemed to bring everything into focus. The shadows looked darker, and the air felt colder. Through it all threaded the scent of jasmine and rain, ozone, while pure malevolent authority exuded from her pores. Just a touch of warning, a touch of nightmare… "Or…"

"Shall we let them wonder what they've found?"

The Empress tilted her head to let her temple rest on Mercy's upper arm…

And smiled.

 

[Eurydice]

Opps: Diogo

Eurydice's next inhale paused - not because she sensed an interloper hiding among the crates, not yet, but for the way her datapad's screen suddenly flashed with a series of emergency pings.

…fueling station is experiencing power interruptions…

…foul play suspected…

…armed insurgents…under assault…

Under assault?!

The hoversled and adjacent machinery were brought to a halt. Eurydice stood still as stone, indecisive, teeth worrying her lower lip. Tython was under attack? Remnants of the Empire? TIC lashing out after facing a second defeat in the Holy worlds? Or…

From one end of the corridor, heavy footsteps jogged closer. It was only then when the girl finally moved, flinching so hard that she nearly dropped the device.

A pair of troopers came to a harsh stop in front of her, silent. The acolyte stared, flummoxed for a few long moments before realizing that they were waiting for orders.

"G-Guard these crates," she stuttered. "They contain Jed…Jedi artifacts."

Was it safer to continue onward? Was the hangar under attack? Should they head back towards the temple?

Eurydice didn't know.

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

Allies: Sethran Solivar
Opps: Tamsin Starfall

Something shivered in the Force. Something personal.

Cora swallowed down her nerves before they could rise too high in her throat. They'd had a decent showing for this mission - the message gathered more Jedi than she'd hoped for. She wouldn't begrudge those who didn't answer the call; going on the offensive in brutalist enemy territory was a lot to ask, and the galaxy had more problems that demanded Jedi attention than just the Sith.

She didn't know Knight Solivar well, but the Force moved around him in a steady current. Unhurried, unbothered. Focused.

"Right," she nodded. “Best to keep them guessing, I suppose.”

The pair would carry onward, following the blinking lights of the holomap until it carried them to their destination: the boiler room.

The heavy doors wouldn't open easily, sturdy behind a manual locking mechanism as a failsafe during power outages. Perhaps only a few select individuals on the maintenance team had physical keys, and none of them were lightsaber-toting Jedi.

Charges might work, but they would draw attention in a situation where going unnoticed for a few precious seconds could mean the difference between life and death.

Cora palmed her saber. The plasma blade snapped into existence with a low hum, casting her features in cool blue shadows.

"There's a physical lock," she murmured with her hand pressed flat to the door. "Let's cut our way through."

The lightsaber hissed and sparked as it fought through several inches of durasteel in a slow arc.

 

[Akela Ru]

Mykel Dawson

Akela listened to Mykel as he arrived to her and spoke of passions and keeping them in check she looked at him and spoke. "Ha, I don't even have hair." Jey looked at her and shook his head. "Passions are not lice." Akela looked at him. "I don't even know what that word means then." She said it and was walking as Jey looked at Mykel and spoke. "It isn't going to end well is it?" He said it and looked. "For them." Akela was listening to Mykel about the going through and dropping things on the sith as she nodded his head. "Oh right, I can drop the glitter bombs on them." She said it while she was moving to go through the small thing he had opened up but she turned back to look.

She got up to the vent to start crawling while Zev was there looking at Mykel. "What do you need us to do, the enemies of peace and freedom stand against us and we shall repel their invasion. Their sabotage will not be allowed." The zabrak said it and Jey looked at him. "Dude we're invading them and sabotaging their equipment." He looked at the large zabrak. "But invasion and sabotage doesn't that make us the bad guys... if we are that why did you agree to come?" Jey looked at him. "Cause Akela paid me in bags of candi she got from the kitchen." He said it but was moving to join Mykel as Zev was there and spoke. "You got paid?"

Meanwhile Akela was moving through the vents to find the position... the sith were attacking this team seth but she hadn't been told which one was which... best to glitterbomb them all and let the gods sort them out. She was moving through as she crouched in the vent and looked down.. someone was attacking aand she nodded her head. "It is time." Herr hands went to her pouch as she took out two glitter bombs with one hand... a handful of gummi tactical worms with the other... black like licorice and just as bitter... like the humor and soul of these sith. She put it in her mouth as the bitter taste was there but she held two glitter bombs now one with each hand.

THen she lept down from the vent and landed on a siths head.... her hands throwing the glitter bombs into the face of another sith. The recovering man looked at her with her glazed look from the bitter taste... her puffy cheeks. "What are you?" Akela looked at him with a narrowing pair of eyes and her free hands came up slamming against... her cheeks. The spray of spittle covered candy coming out as it impacted his face and clung to him like leeches... one going in his mouth and he was keeling over in surprise as she looked down at him. "I'm a zit." The taste was still there but she was moving down and finding the jedi who had stopped to look at her. "Come with me if you want to live."

 

[Lestra Thairk]

Tags: Lohī
Objective: 2

Sharp memory? Huh. Lestra had never been told that before. Most of the time he had been told he was thick. It didn't bother him though, it was like water off a duck's back when it came ot insults for him. Why would he waste time thinkin' on words that don't matter when there were things that did matter, like the proposal Lohi was making.

"We can deal with a few of their weapons, for sure. Not sure if it'll make an impact for anyone in the moment, but they'll have lower supplies in the future. Lower supplies potentially means more shipments. More shipments means of a chance to track the shipments to their source. No point in hunting the individual vermin when you can follow them to their nest..."

Lestra gave a few nods to himself, almost as if he had came to the decision that would be for the best. Whilst he might have enjoyed the idea of hunting down some of Sith and Sith-adjacent troops who had taken this place as their home, this was a better task for him.

"Just...be careful. It doesn't exactly...look the most welcoming in here anymore."

​

 

[Lohī]

Tython
Tags: Lestra Thairk

Paperfolk
​

"Just...be careful. It doesn't exactly...look the most welcoming in here anymore."

"Then I suppose we will have to make ourselves welcome," Lohī decided.

She would follow along with a gentle diligence about her, taking in the sights of the Temple. Ransacked as though it were a common ruin. It truly was a shame, considering the rich history of this place. By this point it was unclear what damage was left by the Galactic Empire and what was the handiwork of the Sith Covenant. All of that thinking ended, of course, when a pair of Sith troopers rounded the corner.

"What the-"

One began to react, moving to draw their weapon, but they hardly had a chance to. A vortex of air dragged them down the hallway towards Lohī. With calm, measured motions, the Jedi Knight closed her umbrella with care and filled it with Force energy to turn it into a weapon. When the man was in range she simply struck him over the head and sent him to bed.

The other, she left, just to get a gauge on Lestra's instincts.

 

[Lestra Thairk]

Tags: Lohī
Objective: 2

Lestra tensed for a moment, before the Sith troopers had even rounded the corner, his nose flaring for a moment, before he hefted his spear up into the palm of his hand. Then as soon as the troopers turned the corner, the sharp piece of metal was tossed through the air, beaming itself straight into the trooper, pinning their shoulder into the wall, incapacitating him for the moment

It would have been easier if he was fighting to kill, but unfortunately for Lestra, it was more than likely that the troopers were just doing their job. So whilst he rushed forward, and Lohi pulled her trooper past him so that she could send the trooper for a quick nap, Lestra was doing the same as he brought his elbow smashing against the trooper's head, whilst pulling the spear out in one fluid motion...before Lestra shook the blood off the tip of his weapon.

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

Maybe a lightsaber would have been a better weapon for him, but it felt far too clean for Lestra's liking. Now that he thought of it though...Maybe he could make a saberstaff with one end being a spear and the other being lightsaber...Eh. That was neither here nor there as he prepared to head off. They might as well leave the troopers knocked out here.
​

 

[Diogo]

Eurydice​

Emergency pings, the abrupt halt of the assembly line, the sudden thunderous boots of arriving troopers, the feeling deep in his gut...

The station assault was underway. Good. Very good. But security was tightening. The element of surprise almost gone. Almost.

Diogo emerged in a blur from between crates. His blade lit in a flash, casting harsh blue light that devoured shadows. Wise masters taught that the lightsaber was a tool. Aye, it was a tool alright. A tool of war, and a harbinger of justice.

He made short work of the unsuspecting troopers. They fell like discarded toy soldiers, one marked with cauterized saber wounds, the other with scorched holes of deflected blaster fire.

Somehow, Diogo now stood behind the young woman, little more than a blade's reach away. His lightsaber was angled between them, practically parallel with her spine. From his viewpoint, she looked as though she was being sliced in two. Perhaps she would be, in due time.

But something troubled him. The girl's hesitation earlier hadn't gone unnoticed. The way she flinched and stuttered. It awoke an... unexpected sympathy in him. Perhaps that's why he didn't try to cut her in two.

He shook his head like it could harden his heart. Remember Tapani. Focus on the mission.

"Speaking of those Jedi artifacts," Diogo said finally, the Spear of Ashla snug in his off-hand, thrumming against his palm. "We'll be taking those back now."