The Eighth Battle - Coalition Invasion of Triumvirate Ruusan

[Joza Perl]

Location: Valley of the Jedi
Engaging: [member="Haytham Kaze"], [member="Solan Charr"]
Gear: 2x blue lightsabers, Sasori Armor, Ranger Shotgun, AI Wrist Blaster, 1x standard Vibroblade

A thin red brow raised as Vanitas deactivated the bottom of his saber staff. An odd move indeed, but she figured he would try and take her by surprise with it later. And perhaps he would, but this was not her first time facing a dual wielder. She would have to be cautious and track the movements of the extra- long saber hilt. Subconsciously, Joza brushed her free hand against the second hilt at her waist as if to take note of its placement. He may have been at this for longer, but for all she’d been though, the Zeltron was no pushover when it came to dueling. He’s got more energy than me, clearly. I’ll have to be conservative.

Watching as he sheathed the Gun of Command, Joza’s brows knit in sudden confusion. Why hadn’t he shot at her? She recalled him raising the gun, but no plasma beam or bullet struck her or her saber. That’s odd, what sort of gun—wait. A sudden memory, painful like a shotgun blast to the face hit her. The day their relationship had soured, Haytham revealed what had turned him to the dark side. The Gun of Command. The very same weapon he had pulled off of Orcus just before her fall. No… She didn’t want to believe that he’d done the same to her, and so she denied it to herself.

Observing approached with lidded eyes, drawing her blade back in preparation to intercept with his own. Her saber was already moving forward when Vanitas was knocked back by an abrupt blast of Force energy, and suddenly she found herself facing a very different opponent.

“Solan!” His name left her mouth in a low hiss, accompanied by a harsh glare as her blade clashed with the Master’s own. His words seemed to fall onto deaf ears, though her eyes did flare at the mention of Jericho and her father finding out that she’d been in a long term relationship(?) with a Sith. Joza could already feel Jericho’s fist breaking her nose.

But in seeing him push Vanitas away, something inside of her snapped. A roar of anger ripped from her throat, and she unleashed her second saber, aiming to jab it up and through Solan’s gut with a sudden burst of energy. Still, the Zeltron was weakening and wouldn’t have the strength to keep herself from being sucked into the beyond much longer.

 

[Haytham Kaze]

Location: Valley of the Jedi.
Engaging: [member="Solan Charr"], [member="Joza Perl"].
Nearby: [member="Darth Orcus"], [member="Connor Harrison"], @Loray Trayes, [member="Alkor Centaris"]

Darth Vanitas's form moved quickly, moreso amplified by the fact that they were so close to one another, he and the Zeltron. His lightsabre threatened to batter the blue beam that was coming to intercept his strike. He had already played it out in his mind. Whether it had been a sudden foresight through the Force that granted him a vision of how he was going to finish it if their lightsabres connected, or if it was simply himself imagining it all. It made no difference, for the moment that his lightsabre was going to clash into hers, the Force came hurtling from the depths of his senses and knocked him off of his feet.

It was unexpected of course, but he still took it instead of bracing, skidding across the floor, rolling head over heels as he finally came to a stop from the push of the Force.

There was something tugging at him too, off in the distance to where he sensed Orcus... Or had.

His scorching gaze twisted back in the direction of Solan and Joza, and when he saw the second lightsabre lifting up towards the intruder's gut, he immediately summoned the Force. He sought out Solan's presence, in less than a heartbeat, his left hand snaking out to the apparent Master and releasing the Force that would otherwise slow him, and potentially freeze him in place while he was distracted with the impending saber into his midsection. It certainly hadn't been pleasant when it had been casted on him, and he certainly didn't mean for it to be a nice experience for the would be invader. But he was certain that he had practiced quite a bit, well enough to set a dangerous stasis field aimed to deaden his senses and push him into a catatonic state.

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

Location: Inside Olmondo.
Enemies: [member="Dak Canton"], [member="Cameron Centurion"]. None directly engaged yet.
Allies: [member="Arisa Yune"], [member="Tempest"], [member="Charlyra Araano"], [member="Audren Sykes"], [member="Boo Chiyo"]
Gear: 1x MKI bolter, 1x sonic blaster, 1x sonic shotgun, wrist-worn flamethrower, vibroknife, grenades, lightsabre, beskar'gam.


By the time Siobhan could respond, Tempest was already down. Tanks and walkers levelled the houses from which they believed the shot had come from, though unbeknownst to them the shapeshifting assassin had already vanished.


Sheer rage surged through Siobhan, though it was ineffective for the time being. Nonetheless, she kept her cool. Tempest had not been lethally hit, ergo she would fine. "You better be fine and get back on your arse soon," Siobhan broadcast to Tempest via the Force. Her voice would sound like an animalistic growl in the Dahomian amazon's mind.


At this moment she received a transmission via her comm. Yes, they were actually working! "Lady, Republic aerial forces have destroyed the jammers. Communications are up again!"


Now that was good news, but alas the uplifting moment did not last long, for she soon received a message reporting that the Sith Triumvirate had landed mechanised forces in their rear and were assaulting Second Brigade. A foul Eldarai curse escaped from Siobhan's lips as she absorbed the news.


The troops inside and close to the city would not be able to shift their position quickly enough to help. Based on her information, the artillery was probably lost. Still, it might be possible for them to regain the initiative. "They'll have to hold. I want all of our units stationed directly outside the city to dig in and form defensive positions, in case we get besieged. I'm taking the rest and moving further inside." The walls had come down and this impeded the Coalition advance, but this worked both ways since all the rubble in the ruins gave their soldiers plenty of cover.


She quickly walked over to Charlyra. "Come on, time to move. Tempest'll be back soon." Feeling that the girl must be feeling a bit drained after blowing up so many drones since she was an acolyte, she touched the young woman's cheek. For a change, there was nothing sensual about the move. Instead, the Acolyte would suddenly feel a surge of the Force as its energies flowed through her, using Siobhan as a conduit.


This was not something Siobhan did often, so she felt herself feeling a throbbing in the back of her head that felt like a minor headache, but she could deal. For a moment or two her eyes glowed beneath her helmet's T-shaped visor, then she pulled her hand away and took a breath. "There, that's better. Don't exhaust yourself and remember to duck."


Then she was off onto the field of battle. The Republic's aerial forces had delivered a powerful strike, but also awoken a hornet's nest as formidable Sith anti-air came to life. Coalition forces had pushed ahead into the city, but the Sith had set up barricades in an attempt to channel them into bottlenecks and kill zones. Thus fierce fighting erupted as soldiers were taken out by snipers, sought cover and returned fire.


Mag'ladroth walkers were atrociously slow, but bloody tough and powerfully armed. Shattercannons and flamethrowers proved instrumental when it came to attempting to flush out Sith soldiers, along with Mobile Weapons Platforms and Iron Legionnaire droids. Blaster bolts whizzed past Siobhan and above her head, the earth seemed to shake amidst explosions. A Coalition soldier close to her was struck in the abdomen and cried out in pain. One of his comrades dragged the trooper behind some rubble while he cried out for whatever deity might hear his prayer.


Coalition soldiers pulled back to cover in order to be safe when the Force Mistress made her move. A blaster bolt grazed Siobhan's cheek, but fortunately a helmet covered it. Her ears rang as explosions erupted close by her. A missile exploded and while she managed to shield herself through the Force, she crashed into the wreck of a Coalition Gunship. Ouch. Pain flooded her, but also gave her fuel. Taking cover in some rubble, she pulled at the tangled web of power that was the Force and focused, directing her power towards the barricaded Sith troops and AA emplacements ahead of her.


If the Dark Side was like a fountain of tremendous and corrupting power, then she was drinking greedily from it. Hatred and rage surged through her being, giving her fuel. Her gauntleted fingers curled into a tight fist as she concentrated. Then a pure, massive wave of telekinetic energy rippled from her in a surge of dark might.


The air twisted in strange shapes, small cracks appeared in the road here and there, then there was an epic crash and ruined buildings were levelled, crashing down upon Sith troops in an attempt to bury them. Some anti-air missiles were caught in the telekinetic wave and deflected or exploded prematurely, adding to the mayhem. Siobhan breathed in deeply, greedily sucking in air while sweat coated her face and back. Her head kind of hurt now. An epic amount of smoke billowed up into the sky.

 

[Aithne Charr]

Obj: Hope you kids packed well, you are about to go for a Trip.
Location: The Netherworld, The Field of Blades
Allies: [member="Joza Perl"]
Enemies: [member="Haytham Kaze"]
Nearby: , [member="Darth Orcus"], [member="Jericho"] [member="Connor Harrison"], [member="Loray Tares"]
Equipment: 2x Lightsabers, 15x Vibrodaggers, Jung-jii Fiber Armor, belt with number of pouches for seeds


Apparently run meant that you are supposed to stab the person that is attempting to help you when it came to Joza's mind. To be honest, though he had been the one to finally break up their fight to try and get them to realize they were all going to be sucked up in the winds that were speeding up. The problem was that just as Haytham had seen the saber, so did Solan, but even with that all three of them didn't ground themselves and because all of them were now without any effort to get their footing in place gainst the hurricane force winds.... well Solan did not have to worry about stopping her blade or even countering Haytham's reaching of the force. By the time any of that mattered, all three of them would be sucked up like water through a straw because of this fact.

Flashes of unearthly lightning would strike as he tried to keep the other two in sight. It was a lot to take in as the winds tore at him but at the same time still kept him intact and unscarred. It was a simple and sudden blast of energy that had sucked them into this place between worlds and his eyes could not but stare as he waited for them all to be disposited on the ground of the other world that they were so privy to visit. The World that he was far too familiar with and his day were just getting better and better by the damned second.

Just as [member="Darth Orcus"] hit the ground after dropping from the Rift, so too would Solan Charr, and soon to follow [member="Joza Perl"] and [member="Haytham Kaze"]. All of them would soon find themselves in a world with a far different surrounding. They would find the world around them a desert, with nothing but miles of arid land going in all directions. High above was the shining green sun of a place that Solan knew all too well thanks to the meddlings of Akala two years ago. Something that he had tried to say he would never see again until he was dead, a corpse in the ground rotting away. The thoughts of the damned and desolate souls, dark siders and sith condemned to fight for all eternity as their shadowed and tattered forms moved ever looking for new threats and new challenges.

All while this happened, the newly deposited individuals would feel the force around them, but at the same time not like they would normally expect it to be. Not that was normal. This wasn't like a Nexus or power cell that was simply endless, in fact it felt like the force would have physical form as the landscape and as the beings themselves. That was something Solan was more than familiar with as well as his hand touched the ground under him with a smile.

Oh how he hated this place, and there was another reason as to why.

They stood in a field of death, pain, and anger. millions of minds over the millennia were here and with that came the millions of emotions that made up the souls of the damned. They closed in on everyone around him, but his mind accurately took in the feeling of them pressing against his head. His mind devoured it and him smiled as his visage further changed back into the normal Human male that people had known and that he created an illusion these days. He smiled as his hand reached over to his gut, touching a wound that was light. It seemed her saber had scratched him before the whole change in location, but that only made him smile as he pressed a hand to it and smiled wider as pain shot through his body. His hands twitched as his body stood slowly and he looked at the other two with a stare that was not befitting of the Blue eyes that had returned to his face.

"Welcome to the Netherworld... hope you like the surroundings... this is quite literally our hell. And thanks to the efforts of our friends behind us, we won't be leaving the way we came in."

He was lying, he was trying to shock the two who had likely never seen this place. He knew that it would be like an entire world that had never been conceived of in their minds. Solan knew this place well though and it had taken one look at the green sun above, and the desert around them to know where they were. He also where they were, relatively that is. The portal out of this place would lead them to Csilla and the sooner that he dealt with Joza and Haytham, the sooner he could get the two of them out of this place and back to the world they belonged in.

"Joza, listen to me..." His voice returned to normal now as he quieted down his lust for the emotions around him and his face was the same smiling one she had met on Nar'Shadaa. "You said you were not a child anymore, so focus on what is important. Killing him won't help anyone here right now, and you will regret his death for the rest of your life. You cannot ignore that you feel something for him, even after using that monstrosity of a weapon on you. So wake up Red, else ill have to give you a new flower to get you to."

Once the words were said to the probably still coping girl, knowing that the feeling this place gave off could tear even veteran masters apart at first if they didn't take their time to adjust. His eyes focused on Haytham, knowing that he would need to get the kid to come to his senses too. There was probably no salvaging any peace between Joza and Haytham... he had used a weapon to force her to do something rather than let her choose to join him. That was complete control of a person's free will and Joza had every right to want to hurt him back like what he had just done to her. But that was not the best course of action right now.

Not that it would matter.

No, he knew that Haytham would attack, his hands drawing in the force around himself to guard against any instant onslaught that the kid might throw once he's recovered enough to fight from the shock. Solan had a few advantages right now. The first was the fact he was still fresh as far as energy went. These two had been in a heated battle and even he could tell they were slowing and that their grip on the force was waning. In comparison, Solan had been in minimal combat and reserving himself for when it was needed. He was still a bit sore from the last strike made towards Loray but that was quickly wearing off now that he had a chance to breathe again. The second advantage was the fact of their experience. While Solan was not the best duelist by far in the galaxy, he was still proficient against one opponent and could hold his own against two. He still had plenty of tricks too that he could use a number of daggers, his seeds, and the force itself which was his main asset. Solan had always put his trust in the force over any blade, and in turn, it had granted him far more control than he would need against one opponent.

He was not sure that this would be won without injury, though. The kid had caught him with the stasis and if it hadn't been for the actions of Alkor and Orcus, there was no doubt he would have had a new hole in him that would have felt like he had been turned into a kebab. Luckily, though... and partially unluckily considering where they were, Solan had been pulled from danger by the storm of energy that had deposited all those who had been in the area to this place.

Which brought him to his third and most important advantage. He knew how this place worked, and he was familiar with it. Joza and Haytham were not.

 

[Ria Misrani]

Location: Inside Olmondo's City Walls, Ruusan / [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]'s side (ish)
Enemies: [member="Cameron Centurion"], [member="Dak Canton"] / None Nearby
Allies: [member="Tempest"], [member="Arisa Yune"], [member="Audren Sykes"], [member="Boo Chiyo"]
Objective: Eliminate All Hostiles

Charlyra should have seen it coming, she should have heard it - with her cognition of electromagnetic pulses. "MASTER!" She shouted, and it seemed in that moment everything had stood still. Her hands cupped at Tempest's face pulling down to examine the wound. Medics forced her away, and she blocked everything out, trying to decipher the combat around her. This was beyond terrifying for her, where she was normally in her element with the sounds of war raging. Her force abilities were suffering and she was in a flux. It was as if she were seeing through the grains of a broken camera feed. She's swept along as they marched through the city, taking cover once more as the makeshift walls fell around the already ruined city.

She remained at Tempest's side until she felt a familiar presence. Master Kerrigan had arrived and tugged at her arm pulling her away. Charlyra would be needed in battle, and before she could say anything. Kerrigan's hand caressed her cheek, and what normally might've been taken as suggestive was instead a refresher. She felt a surge of power flow through her body, and her vision cleared up. With a nod of acknowledgment, "yes Master, of course."

Running after her master, Charlyra ducked down away from falling debris using her passive force abilities of force disarm, and force stun to make things go a little faster. She spun around narrowly avoiding blaster bolts. Using her lightsabre to deflect the ones coming from either side of her. She slid to a stop just behind her master as Siobhan let go a massive jolt of force energy which resulted in a massive amount of damage that not even Charlyra was sure how these Sith would escape it, alive.

She felt the trickle of light within the force she turned to try and find the owner of this aura, her eyes fell the Jedi she had seen before. Had she not already been dealing with her own Dark Lord issues, she might have diverted to accompany him. As it stood, she was safer within the range of Master Kerrigan. Unfortunately, Sio had been tossed away from her, and Charlyra was left opposite of her having taken some cover for herself. Crouched on the ground, she tried to see through the debris to see if anyone was still alive, but even if they were they'd be dead soon enough anyway.

Taking a moment to examine the battle at hand, she took stock of Coalition forces were standing their ground but could certainly use a hand. Dust had begun to settle and there were still some anti-air defense batteries up and standing, just as there were still defensive armaments still in play. Machinery still taking their soldiers out. Hearing the infantrymen cry out in pain, watching them get hit she had to get focused. She had to play this like she had in previous battles when she did not have an active force power.

Your fury can be a tool to empower you.

Master Kerrigan's words echoed in her mind, as her hand went to her lightsabre. The sounds of two lightsabres hissed, she flexed them blocking blaster shots with ease as she started with a walk, and then picked up her pace until she was in a full on sprint heading for the closes anti-air battery that she could see in range.

You are a most magnificent duelist, my child.

Master Ra'alon's words also flooded into her thoughts, combining with the voice of Master Kerrigan drove her.

It is for you to manage that passion.

Master Tempest's was the last to add, joining in a chorus of thought and words as her fury began to build, stacking as she honed in on it. Focusing deep within herself, focusing on the teachings from both Kerrigan and Tempest. Fury. Passion. Battle. Rage. Control. Embrace your strength, remember how the Sith made you feel. Your desire to fight them. Power is never inherently evil. You are in full control of your destiny. The darkness isn't a demon. You are one of us. You have two sisters now. Destiny. Fate. Darkness. Fear. Power. Charlyra's eyes glowed as they had before, during the first training session she had experienced with both Masters Kerrigan and Tempest.

​

​

And what had been unleashed before, was now simmering. A radiant dark aura surrounded her, snuffing out the remains of the light that may have once been within her. Taking the resurgence of power that Master Kerrigan had granted her she began to channel her own inner turmoils, she channeled everything she had felt from external forces and then combined it with internal and the fury she had been stacking, and converted it, into battle strike buffs for herself. A blur of lavender turning into magenta could be seen as Charlyra ran, she ran sweat dripping from her brow, her blood began to race through her veins. Propelling herself along magnetic forces that she was becoming more in tune with. Her lightsabres were out, she employed shoto Ataru'Kai meaning a form in which she used Ataru in conjunction with Jar'Kai.

Dodging, spinning and leaping to avoid remaining pockets of soldiers, her lightsabres make short work of the electrical components in one of the already damaged anti-air batteries. Dropping the heavier robe, she breathes easier knowing that without it that she could have more maneuverability. Taking the moment to catch her breath she looked toward a second anti-air battery, that still stood, although not nearly as damaged as this one stood at a distance that meant she'd have to sprint and leap. She then brought to the surface all that had led her here, her self-imposed exile, the fateful battle against Saprus the pain she had felt that day. The way her heart burns for her Master. All of it fueled her in the way that a piece of wood fueled a fire. Emboldened by Siobhan's execution of the force, she did something she hadn't thought possible in years.

A battle cry unfurled itself from within her, as she blocked one blaster bolt, while piercing another crewman. Feels good to be back. Charlyra was regaining her battle confidence, the arrogance she once possessed came into play. As she allowed herself to feed into the natural strength of her cybernetics. Her sabres struck two more crewmembers before taking both sabres and driving them right through the control panel. Charlyra still cultivated her own fury. She still converted it into her force reserves, saving herself for one more massive strike.

A slug shot to her arm brought her back to focus, her eyes go to the woman who fired the shot and she leaps over bringing both sabres to strike through her but the woman moves out of the way, and then Charlyra uses her force disarm, stun and runs the blades home. The padawan then peered over to see Siobhan in full-on battle fury, and to be quite honest? Charlyra sort of enjoyed the view, she cocks a smile toward her master. One that she hadn't quite meant to cock, but - well, it, it was a sight to behold. Oop! Another shot, a growl emits from within Charlyra's cybernetic throat, as she dodges another blaster shot and moves in to make short work of more Triumvirate ground forces.

[media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y77A9-hQAp0[/media]​

 

[Kei Amadis]

Location: Olomondo Inside the Ruined City facing [member="Kiran Vess"]
Allies: SSC in the City
Enemies: ST in the City
Specific Opponent: [member="Kiran Vess"]

Kei’s sermon’ing had failed to reach another wanting to get themselves killed, no surprise there. He’d almost delayed him long enough to arrest him, from sheer number of guns that would eventually overwhelm the city. Sadly Kiran had realised the ploy, fortunate because Amadis was running out of words to recycle, and his throat was dry.

Finally got tired of hearing me talk?


Feeling the grip around his saber, apparently his opponent was using some kind of simulated force tech to stay out of range, his own hand dug into the hilt twice as hard. Kei had no grace, but he had a fair amount of grit. Leaving the saber there as a pivot point in his left hand, he moved his body to the side of it, putting the beam in front of him to obscure the shots, making them all the harder. One hit came either side of it, bruising him behind the Tempest Armor once more, leaving smoking imprints along the chest, but the head shot he was clear for, sailing past his cheek. Amadis gritted his teeth feeling the burning bruises mounting.

Kei’s reaction was to try and pull the opponent’s blaster downward and forward, so effectively the pair were in a tug of war. Though his armor wasn't vulnerable Kiran's weapon was. He dug his feet in hard to the ruined ground, and physically tried to yank both his saber, and his opponent forward in the force with the strength of a Jedi Master. Not targeting Kiran’s armor but his hold on both his weapon and his saber, he could try and cling on of course, but it might not do his now yanked wrist any favors.


Gear
Tempest Jedi Armor | Power Blade Mii Knife (Hip) | Lightsaber (Hands) | MCR Rifle Ion Ammo Only (Shoulder) | 2x Stun Grenades | Basic Field Medical Kit (Pouch) | Grappling Hook/Tie/Field Rations (Belt)

 

[Rasu Gan]

Location: Valley of the Jedi
Objective: Teatime I guess
Allies: [member="Matsu Ike"] [member="Sorel Crieff"] [member="Setzi Lunelle"]
Enemies: [member="Sinistra"]

"I suppose you're right." Rasu replied, relaxing slightly but refusing to partake in the pleasantries of the Jedi and Sith. Eyeing up the Sith Lord, the Shi'ido attempted to delve into the mind of the dark sider, hoping to gain an idea of her enemies intentions. However before this could be done, the Jedi Master turned to face the newcomers, lightsabers snapping back into life with a vicious hiss. Seemingly oblivious to her position, the two beings continued their approach to Sinistra, offering what appeared to be some from of thermos. Rasu was again plagued with confusion and was taken aback by the ludicrous nature of the entire situation. The Jedi was conflicted with a range of emotions, however she could not decide whether to remain confused or rise to anger as the pair ignored the sheer amount of violence that continued to ravage Ruusan. Lives could be saved on both sides rather than sitting drinking whatever caffeinated beverage pleased the pair.

As the Sith's mask was removed, Rasu's exterior hid her interest, analysing the features of this obviously aged Sith Lord. While not truly deformed from the use of the dark side, the face suited a woman of her nature. It pleased the Jedi to be able to put a face to the Sith, feeling slightly less cautious as the woman appeared human and not some empty machination of the dark side incarnate.

"I guess the same could be asked of you?" the Jedi Master responded. "We are not here for our personal reasons but at the urging of our Council. They alone know our true goal and reasons for invading the planet. Whether for a just or vengeful goal, I will follow them so to ensure the survival of the Order that I set in place. I will follow them so to ensure that my friends and fellow Jedi survive the time of war." While she knew that the Padawans and Matsu would have their own reasons for attending the invasion, Rasu had made hers known. The Coalition and those within it kept her sane, and hopeful of her own tenets and code. They were her reasons for living.

 

[Ameli Trahir]

Location: 2 Olmondo
Buddies: [member="Lassiter"], [member="Dak Canton"], [member="Cameron Centurion"]
Enemy: [member="Audren Sykes"]

Keep your mind on what lies ahead. Focus on the bloodshed and your duty to the goddess.

Right. The goddess. She almost forgot she believed in that. As long as she was a goddess of bloodshed, Ameli reckoned they'd get along mighty fine. Hopefully Vahl would be pleased. She wasn't exactly excellent and sticking to things such as duties. Sena would have to be her religious compass. Maybe with time it would get installed into her mind nice and easy. A moment of curiosity struck her, and she asked through the telepathic link:

'Do we have any pre-battle rituals? Or do we like... Just go in and do our thing?'

While she wasn't the most pious of creatures, she did want to learn about the culture of the Vahla. Her culture. She had been chosen. The priestess had seen her. It wouldn't hurt to experiment. An alliance with a god was not something to be scoffed at. She'd sacrifice if she felt like she got something in return.

Ameli nodded to Sena's little strategy talk, then finished with a sigh and an eye-roll. With neither of them being military strategists or leaders, Ameli could sense that whatever came next would involve a lot of effort on her part.

This time she decided to reply out loud, to not completely exclude their companion [member="Dak Canton"], aka Soldierboy. "Yes. Let's not pile up with the common rabble" she glanced momentarily over to Dak "No offence" she said as casually as she could. "Any nice spots to stage an ambush around here?" she asked him. He was more than likely the only one out the three with any kind of awareness of the city and any tactical advantages they could draw out of their position. "Anything with strategical thing-stuff of note?" she repeated Sena's line. It helped being specific.

As if on cue, Centuion Centurion's voice rang within their minds. Ameli almost jumped in surprise. The intrusion was unexpected. But it came with something positive. Finally, something to do! Ameli's eyes closed and she focused, reaching out with the Force. It was a mess. A battlefield of Chaos between Dark and Light. Where was she supposed to look again? Thankfully for her, [member="Audren Sykes"] wasn't exactly trying to be subtle. It was clear he made no effort to hide, quite the opposite. It almost felt like he wanted his presence to be known. Ameli's own presence was well hidden. Thanks to the Ring of Concealment it was an effortless task.

Her eyes opened. "There's a Jedi dismantling ambush positions. We're going to deal with it." she relayed the orders of Centurion Centurion, trying to maintain the same tone of authority and determination. She did not. Even so, the message was clear. Keeping in mind her request for any strategic benefits from Soldierboy, she said "We have our target. He's uh... That way!" the blonde pointed in the general direction of the Force signature. Whether or not Dak had any information about the area, she did not know, but she gave him the chance to speak. "In any case, let's get moving." Ameli started moving towards the source of the Light Side presence. Challenge accepted.

 

[Jericho]

Location: The Valley of Jedi/Citadel -> Netherworld
Nearby Allies: [member="Connor Harrison"] / [member="Solan Charr"] / [member="Joza Perl"] / SSC/Lotus Members
Nearby Enemies: [member="Darth Orcus"] / [member="Haytham Kaze"] / [member="Loray Tares"] / [member="Dagorn"] / ST/OS Members
Objective: Find a way out of the Realm.

With another inhale of the heated air, Jericho once more could feel the excitement of battle within his being. He could feel the berserker clad in armor surround and infuse himself with the force augmenting himself immensely. Finally, this would the be a chance to test just how strong this body was; to test the limits and release himself from his own limits for a time. If Jericho could unleash himself and really see what his new limits were he could develop new tactics and the way he battles as well as enact new ways to fight with others and limit collateral damage when fighting in ally territory or maximize damage that would be caused by his own hands to his enemies and their allies.

The warrior disengaged his yellow saber to fight on even ground with Loray and clipped it back to his belt with a slight grin under his black mask. With a quick pound of his own fist the warrior charged at the berserker, augmenting his own strength and speed to ridiculous levels as well to his own already augmented by ready to take down the beast with hopefully great force equal to if not more than the power made by Loray. But the warrior had to stop his charge as he saw the large portal open with a flurry of wind and lightning, the warrior had almost no time to react whatsoever. Out of natural instinct, earth encased his legs trying to hold him down, he raised his hands and unleashed his flurry of wind going the opposite direction of the tornado-like portal. He tried to look around as saw the giant orca, solan and the rest getting pulled in, their bodies likes ragdolls.

Jericho continued to try and resist so he could make the report back to the allies but the pull of the portal grew stronger and the earth he created crumbled and pulled him in. Using the air to shape himself through the air he followed the flow of the force going where ever it led him keeping his eyes open wide to see what was going on and learning how to adapt to the situation. As if being spat out of the mouth of a great beast Jericho flew with great speed slamming down into the desert-like ground in-between Kaze, Joza, and Solan making a small crater where the warrior had landed. While the Orca, Connor and the other dark jedi were not too far off in the distance. Jericho looked around taking in his new environment and clicked on his mask to change to breathing regiment to adjust to the not atmosphere. The aura around Jericho calmer for the moment.

The warrior cracked his knuckles and let out a sigh his thirst for battle calmed when he didn't see Loray, the thrill of battle was passing; did he find a way to escape the portals pull or his arrival delayed like his own? Jericho took a few steps out of the crater that he had made dusting the sand off of himself. He saw the seemingly endless field of blades and the stream and sand. He let out another soft sigh hoping another presence would make an appearance not that Jericho was underestimating the sith that stood before him from observing how he fought, he was more than a capable fighter even able to hold his own against his padawan, Joza but as it stood it was three to one. Despite the change in the scenery, the place they were at now remained the same a battlefield brimming with Jedi and sith. Jericho took in a deep breath of the new but familiar air and once again took one of his saber, with a hiss the purple light pierced the waves emitting its energy. "Time to run Red, ill grab your boyfriend."

Jericho overheard Solan speaking to Joza confirming what Jericho had thought before when she asked him so intense to stay back from her fight.The warrior looked to Joza and Solan with a stone cold look in his eye then to Kaze with a deadlier look in his eye. The thought did cross his mind, a thought that made him angry, Joza was indeed a grown woman that was more than capable to make her own choice when it came to the matter of love and affect. To the assumption that the two were indeed in love or in lust, whatever the matter, Kaze hurt his padawan. Jericho gave her a chance already and in turn, her aura was darkened and could not land a winning blow. Without words made he took a few steps over to him and readied his blade his aura radiating with is power oozed from his being ready for a fight.

Spoiler

blah post, most likely left alot out again, if I need to change anything let me know.

 

[Darth Carnifex]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LeL5uJxmHA​

Location: Somewhere down on the battlefield stretching out before the Triumvirate Citadel
Allies:

• The Sith Triumvirate
• My boi [member="Darth Adekos"], even if he doesn't like me hanging around

Enemies:

• The Smelly Plebeian Coalition
• [member="Thurion Heavenshield"]
• And his soon to be widowed deceased wife, [member="Coci Heavenshield"]

Gear:

• Laid-back Sith Armor
• Muh Lightsabresaber

Scarlet and violet beams of energy struck out against each other again and again in a repeating succession of thunderous strikes and parries, but it was becoming quite obvious that the Sith Lord's brute strength gave him the advantage in such close-quarters. His muscles strained beneath his armor with each strike delivered with both hands firmly grasping the blade, the curved design allotting more power with each catastrophic downward swing that each time clattered against Coci's, and would have ripped it from her grasp if it wasn't for the Force that flowed through her body to give strength to her arms against his own despicable power. But in this contest of physical strength, Vornskr would always hold superiority over Lady Heavenshield no matter how much of the Force shew drew upon to strengthen her limbs, he was the Dark Side's avatar of war, and a harbinger of the conflicting natures of the Force upon the physical plane.

But of course Coci knew this, and shattered the continuous skirmish they were holding by thrusting out her hand to telekinetically punch Vornskr squarely in the chest. The impact shuddered through him, and while he did not fall flat on his back he was still pushed back a good couple of meters as his boots dug through the soft earth that had been riled up by the battle. Coincidentally at that same time a bomb detonated from beyond the Sith Lord's peripherals, and the chaos of the battlefield forced him to divert his attention away from the woman so that he could casually raise a bubble-like shield of Force energy to protect himself from the blowback and debris manifested by the eruption.

Meanwhile the black Kral'ın Montaj that had served as Vornskr's war mount had engaged in confrontation with the Silver Grandmaster, circling around him before instinctively pouncing on Thurion to try and rip out his throat with his fangs, or gore him with the pair of horns that sprouted from his brow, or rake open his belly with his claws to spill the Valkyri's innards. However, despite the Grandmaster's unwillingness to slaughter the feline with his blade, he was still able to keep it at bay with his own considerable strength by pulling on its massive jaws before they could latch onto his head or neck. Then, with a roar to match the beast's own, he lifted up the great cat and tossed it into a nearby pile of debris and corpses. The beast let out a pained yelp as its body collided with some particularly sharp bits hidden within the pile, but the armor plating that covered his body protected him from most of it and he would soon be up again and ready to attack Thurion with renewed vigor and ferocity.

And in the momentary lack of sight and confusion wrought by the bomb's proximity detonation, Vornskr was shrouded from Coci's view by debris and a thick cloud of dust kicked up by the explosion. In that span of a couple of moments several troopers attempted to get the jump on the Sith Lord as he defended himself from the last remnants of the blast, but in their hubris they found themselves subject to Vornskr's mental domination as he simply extended a hand and infected them with his debauched will, breaking their feeble minds with but a whisper of eldritch power. But they were now pitiful shells, a shadow of their former selves that thought themselves mighty enough to even dream of inflicting some minute harm against a being of Vornskr's stature. Now with their minds shattered and their consciousness slaved to the darkness, he set them loose upon Coci Heavenshield.

 

[Cathbodua]

Location: Olomondo
Allies: [member="Arisa Yune"] [member="Thelma"]
Enemies: N/A

She could see it, one of the republic ships coming in while moving to join going through the side door as she looked over some of the things. Checking her equipment before looking out upon the battlefield and there was a lot more then she had expected or brought supplies for. For a moment she wondered what Boolon would do but there was no time. She had limited Sakura healers who could work around in things as combat medics and there didn't seem to be any healers from the flaunted silver cross even here. So it fell to her to at least make the effort as she spoke into the comlink. "Move into position and secure a clean zone. Start working on critical cases where you can retrieve them but do not put yourself into to much danger. We don't have a second unit of healers and medics in the field is that understood?" Her voice came out a little louder but she was turning all of her attention towards the rows of soldiers that were there coming in at the coalition forces instead. Prep work would need to be done but she'd let the soldiers handle it before closing the door and speaking. "We need to start heading into the cities ruins. There may be some injured there."

 

[Zak Dymo]

Location: Approaching Olmondo
Allies: [member=Tempest] | [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] | [member="Charlyra Araano"] | [member="Audren Sykes"] | [member=Cathbodua] | [member="Arisa Yune"] | @SSC
Down With The Sithness: [member="Laguz Vald"] | @ST
Arms & Equipment: Robes (Mask), XJ9 (left forearm), Sniper Rifle (Scope) (Ammo 1) (Ammo 2), Amphistaff, Hold-Out Blaster
NPCs for Story Fluff: Coalition Infantry (1 Company or x150 NPCs, 5 platoons divided into 30 squads of 10)

To be honest, this seemed a little boring.

A slow march into the ruins of a city. Walls were collapsing before them. Parts of buildings caving at the ground shifted and foundations came apart. Aircraft moved overhead, and he could hear the sounds of battle from the front line... but this was nothing like Wayland. Nothing like a forced march through a mine field, with suicide bombers beside you and snipers causing the sky to rain fire down in an effort to stop you from ramming the walls of the fortress with what could be affectionately referred to as an artillery shell with tank treads on it.

The Jedi might wage war in a more civilized manner, but there was something to be said for being so thick in the midst of the fog of war as to not know if you were going to live or die. That moment or the next.

The white robes, with the red accent cloth, flared and shifted about the boy's small form as he moved in time with the soldiers around him. He actually wasn't thinking about much of anything. The HUD supplied by the mask was providing him the environmental data. Nothing of consequence appeared to be on the horizon. He'd deliver the troops to this Kerrigan and then see what else the Coalition had on the horizon.

As he moved, the amphistaff's head came up. Through their connection, the boy could sense a certain unease in the animal. The tail vibrated as though the biot were some kind of rattlesnake. It was a nervous reaction.

For himself, however, the young Pantoran felt nothing. Of course, it was hard to be able to discern much. The presence of [member="Cameron Centurion"] and another powerful being were creating neigh palpable maelstroms within the Force. The power of the Dark Side permeated everything around them, obfuscating the child's senses within layer upon layer of shadow.

Reaching up a hand, the boy moved the dragon-like head of the serpentine animal from over his shoulder to the center of his chest. "What's the matter, girl?" the youngling asked, peeking down at the creature for a moment. "Smell something?"

 

[Matsu Ike]

Location: Valley
Allies: [member="Sorel Crieff"] [member="Rasu Gan"] [member="Setzi Lunelle"]
Opponents: [member="Sinistra"] & Allies

Something massive was happening as she stood there, with Rasu and the two padawans but also the sith turning her attention towards the Valley from their point near the statue. SHe could feel the intense energies coming from the area below and in the sky while she was losing the sense of Joza and Connor in all of it. Speaking for them as she motioned Rasu, Setzi and Sorel back here with her while she focused and shaped the ground into a barrier shifting them hardening the sand to give them a wall. "Well that is so uncivilized." Turning with some of her attention towards the sith lord and not worrying about but also not ignoring her entourage that had arrived. "Well this is unexpected and... " She held her tea cup watching all of it as she offered a cup to Sinistra taking in her looks and she seemed familiar like someone she had seen in a meeting but wasn't certain. Something passing by in her mind before she offered cups to Setzi, Sorel and Rasu as well as the other two. "I think thinga are really going to start to pick up."

 

[Joza Perl]

Location: Netherworld
Objective: Hanging with the besties [member="Haytham Kaze"] [member="Solan Charr"] [member="Jericho"] [member="Darth Orcus"]
Gear: Sasori Armor, Ranger Shotgun, AI Wrist Blaster, 1x standard Vibroblade


Swept up into the vortex, a piece of debris made solid contact with Joza’s head, and she slipped into unconsciousness for the remainder of their journey to the netherworld. When she awoke, it was as if she’d been dreaming this entire time. Stirring against the cold ground where she’d landed face down, the Zeltron groaned vaguely in pain before finding the strength to flip over. Her face was battered from the impact of slamming into the ground, blood seeping from her broken nose and the beginnings of a black eye starting to show. Still woozy, she sat up as Solan’s words reached her ears.

“Enough.” Grumbling, Joza shook her head, quickly finding it painful to do so. She was still captured in the heat of the darkside, looking for an outlet for her anger and confusion. Thankfully the fatigue was beginning to catch up with her, dulling her lust for blood. That, and the overbearing sense of dread she got from this place was enough to make her think twice about attacking anyone right now. She may have been under the influence of the dark side, but she wasn’t that foolish. And she was tired. Tired of the fighting between her and Vanitas, tired of struggling against her own ideals.

“Don’t speak as if you know what’s going on between us.” She managed to bite out a reply, pushing herself to her feet with great effort. A further irritant, she noted that both saber hilts were missing, likely slipped from her hands as she blacked out.

Even as she heard Orcus’ rage, she didn’t process it. Subconsciously though, her mind recognized that the Herglic was acting very out of character, and it gave rise to a slight panic in her chest. Instinctively, her eyes darted to Vanitas to make sure that he’d survived the fall—but she quickly looked away once she realized what she was doing. The concern in her gaze hardened rapidly as the form of Jericho drew closer. She could feel the fury rolling off of his presence and held out her arm, palm flat as she signified for him to stop. “No. We need to focus on getting out of here.” Turning back towards Solan, she addressed him. “How did we get here, and what do we have to do to get out?”

 

[Laguz Vald]

Olmondo
Inside [member="Boo Chiyo"]’s army
Allies: [member="Kiran Vess"] | [member="Cameron Centurion"] | [member="Lassiter"] | [member="Dak Canton"] | [member="Ameli Trahir"]
Enemies: [member="Kei Amadis"] | [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] | [member="Tempest"] | [member="Charlyra Araano"]

As expected, the impact of a hundred marching boots and the metallic clinking or armor soon grew louder in his ears. Within a few moments, the army was in sight, and then the soldiers were passing xem by, row after neat row. The ferrocrete-textured shifter grinned as some of them walked less than a metre away from him, none the wiser about the watchful eyes taking stock of every detail on their uniform.

Due to the uneven terrain and a wealth of obstacles scattered across the road due to the demolition efforts of the SSC, the company were forced to break formation in order to proceed deeper into Olmondo. It was this moment that Laguz chose to slip into their ranks, peeling off the wall and deforming xir body into a picture-perfect clone of their soldiers, complete with the fine gray dust and some dents in the armor.

As the men and women climbed and pushed their way across the ruins, the sniper slithered ever closer to their leader, whom xe picked out easily by the daring white-red combination against the backdrop of gray and… more gray. War wasn’t a particularly colorful place.

Xe must’ve missed it in xir initial shock, but now that xe was drawing near, Laguz could make out a sinuous form draped about the boy-warrior’s neck. How did that even work with the Coalition, anyway? The Primeval were a decentralized faction of religious zealots, and child soldiers were something you almost expected with those groups. But a civilized government based on the Jedi code? Xe made a mental note to include that juicy tidbit along with the holovid of the SSC firing at the hostages.

Then xe began to enact xir plan.

Laguz moved next to the robed leader of the reinforcements, cleared xir throat, and began to pray. Xir voice was just loud enough for Boo Chiyo to hear while the rest of the troops remained oblivious. The words leaving xir lips were as ancient as the Primeval itself. More importantly, they were ingrained into the depths of the boy’s body and mind; repeated a thousand times and more; in peace, in war, during the Host, at the gleam of dawn and at the whisper of dusk; they would call to something primal and primordial inside the child. An urge, a lust, subdued and led astray by the wayward ideals of the Coalition.

But the faith could not be chained. The Truth of the Lost would ring eternal between the stars, never silenced.

“I know the Primeval burns in your heart. Heed its call.” Xe spoke again at the tail of the sermon, echoed after the High Priest of Balagoth. “This tame groveling is not our Way, Chiyo. The Three into One. One into Nothing. But never… never do we kneel.”

Finally, Laguz turned xir helmet to stare at the masked face of the assassin. For the briefest of moments, the dark visor flashed with the symbols of the Host and the Three, blazing like the faith of their people.

Once a Primeval, always a Primeval.

 

[Subject 37]

Olmondo: Inner City
Allies: ST and Saeva
Enemies: [member="Kei Amadis"]

He didn't bother trying to hold onto the gun. Playing tug of war would create a nightmare situation that he didn't really want to play with. Ultimately the Grav-glove only had a set amount of time that he could actually use it before it needed to recharge, and he was more then willing to bet that time would run out faster then the Jedi would tire of using the force.

That of course didn't mean that Kiran would take all this laying down.

The Stealth blaster would slip from his fingers, his hand releasing the weapon just as he made a dash to the side. The Mercenary was well trained in fighting against Jedi, force users of all sorts actually. On Wayland he had beaten, quite literally, a Mandalorain woman who had worn both beskar and used the force. The fight had been a brutal one, with both he and the woman walking away with multiple scars and cuts, he still had the knife that he'd taken from her as well, though that hung at the small of his back.

Instead of reaching for it however Kiran grasped the rifle that he had slung over his shoulder. He tore the rifle from his back just as the blaster reached the halfway point between himself and Kei, the Jedi's hand still outstretched towards the weapon. Kiran pulled the Needle Disruptor up, and then squeezed the trigger. He fired the weapon twice, but this time didn't aim at the Jedi's chest or head. Instead he fired the powerful beam towards the man's leg and hip, hopefully injuring him and cutting him down.

 

[Haytham Kaze]

Location: Netherworld, Valley of Blades (Valley of the Jedi )
Currently Engaging: [member="Solan Charr"], [member="Joza Perl"]

All the Sith Knight could do was watch as they were tugged through the slowly closing portal that would cast them into a world that he had never before seen. He didn’t have enough time to process what was going on around him. Flashes of lightning that didn’t seem real. They caused him to flinch, they weren’t akin to the dangerous purple tendrils that came from Sith Lightning, and although they flashed far enough away from him that he knew he was safe, he flinched all the same… That is, until he made contact with the ground and landed on his side.

He had been pulled through the supposed tunnel before he had been able to straighten himself out and get back to his feet. He had bene of the mind at least to deactivate his lightsabre, simply so that when he landed, and he had expected to land on something, he wouldn’t impale himself on his own saberstaff.

Between him, Joza and her newest bestfriend, there were a dozen blades protruding from the ground. Reaching with his left hand to the Tsaisi Magus on his belt, he made sure it was still there before he leapt up to his feet, the sudden change in temperature coming suddenly as he looked up at the burning sky. A frown came to his features, his golden orbs floating over his two opponents, spotting [member="Darth Orcus"] and his opponents a short distance away.

Something certainly did feel off about this place, and his golden eyes squinted, not to look for anything as he slowly came back around, but to try and figure out how they had come to be there. About what had happened, and how they had been brought there. Soon enough, the forgotten rage within him was rekindled when he had set his gaze on Solan Charr. Rolling his shoulders back, the cut up and singed black robe was cast off of his shoulders, the hood catching on some pommel behind him as he strode back and forth, pacing, as if hunting the both of them at the same time as he hears the man’s words.

“Shut up.” He snapped, his words evidence of his exhaustion. Not from the battle, no, he could go for longer. He was most certainly a star athlete. He had yet to ever reach the bottom of his stamina. When he had been a Padawan? He was always running, always pushing himself, running the perimeter and interior of the Jedi Temples he visited every morning and night. But, anyway, his exhaustion came from the fact that there was yet another person that couldn’t mind their own business.

Yet another person that had to interfere with affairs that did not require their filthy selves getting involved in. Tightening his hold on the saberstaff, he seemed to forget about where they were as he paced back and forth. “You’re just another person who can’t mind their own business,” he said, his words equally sharp as they had been moments ago. [member="Nikias"] had been the first, and now it was [member="Solan Charr"]. He expected a certain answer from Solan though, the same one that the Dark Jedi Knight had given him at the time. “It doesn’t matter if she’s your friend. It is not your business, filth.” With every word he spoke, his rage grew. They were in a place of death and lament? Good. Had it not been for his first Master, Kiskla Grayson who had taught him how to feel all the deaths, all the pain and suffering and to accept it as a way of the Galaxy, he wouldn’t be able to do what he was able.

And that is, use it to his advantage.

“You think you have the right to do so?” His thumb closed on the ignition button that would trigger the famous sound of the Jedi and Sith’s plasma swords coming to life.

Snap-Hiss.

“You’re not righteous. You’re not a hero. You’re not a good person. You’re more transparent than transparisteel,” he spat. “You speak to her as if passing on your ‘wisdom’ is the thing that’ll forgive the wrongs you’ve committed in the past.”

[member="Jericho"] dropped down between all of them, and he paused in his tirade as he looked him up and down, taking a moment to process his words. He frowned slightly, before his words dripped with the loathing that he held for the Silver Jedi and their allies.

“You’re not touching me, Filth.”

 

[Aithne Charr]

Obj: Hope you kids packed well, you are about to go for a Trip.
Location: The Netherworld, The Field of Blades
Allies: [member="Joza Perl"]
Enemies: [member="Haytham Kaze"]
Nearby: , [member="Darth Orcus"], [member="Jericho"] [member="Connor Harrison"], [member="Loray Tares"]
Equipment: 2x Lightsabers, 15x Vibrodaggers, Jung-jii Fiber Armor, belt with number of pouches for seeds


One person after another telling him to shut up or that he didn't understand. And to be fair, he actually didn't understand how their minds were coping at the second. Hell Mister Angst had shot the Red Fireball to his right with a Gun of Command after saying he still loved her or whatever had been going on... that black knight had been distracting him at the time and his memory was a little fuzzy. The memory wasn't important though as he categorized all their words in order of their importance.

First, came the kiddo off in the distance. "Ok first, quiet down Kiddo. The adults are talking right now. When you are done throwing that temper tantrum, we can talk about who is filth and who isn't minding their own business. Because you shooting my friend here with that piece of your leg, ya that's my business. You don't feth with the minds of my friends, and you certainly don't control my friend's very minds. Understood, or will you continue this tantrum?" He wasn't necessarily stupid enough to not pay attention to the kid's highly aggressive stance, but instead of meeting it he simply focused on the saber and the battery cell inside, heating it up ever slowly, pushing the force from himself toward Haytham and wrapping the saber in the force itself. It was a technique called Pyrokinesis and further developed into Combustion... hopefully, the kid would drop his saber when it started to get hotter.

"Oh and one more thing, you are absolutely correct. I'm a murdering psychopath. I spend my free time killing people because it gives me the rush to feel their souls and their minds die. But you know why I do it... well partially because what I already said, but it's because that is who I am. Nothing can change what I've did in the past, nothing will ever change that. But rather than dwell and hate myself, rather than twist who I am into something like you. I accept what I've was done and who I have killed. I have the name of every person I've every killed up here..." His hand tapped his skull. "And I did that on purpose. So I would never forget. Knowledge is Power, and Emotions are the key to that power. Cruelty and greed are not, though."

With that, his head nodded to Joza. "As for you, I don't know what's going on in your head, I don't know how you feel. But that does not matter right now. Where we are is a very dangerous place, and the longer we fight, the worse our situation will be. So please, excuse me for moving into this confrontation when I had told Jericho to remove himself. You will have your chance to finish this another time, I promise you Red. So trust me till we are out of here."

His eyes only then moved from Haytham, though a new set of eyes appeared next to his head, the form of a dark colored wolf appearing on his shoulder and out from his cloak. Having stayed hidden until now and looking at the Kid while Solan would look at Jericho. "Stop it... You are a Master and far older than myself. Control yourself Jericho because right now you look no less a Child than the actual kid over there."

 

[Zak Dymo]

Location: Approaching Olmondo
Allies: [member=Tempest] | [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] | [member="Charlyra Araano"] | [member="Audren Sykes"] | [member=Cathbodua] | [member="Arisa Yune"] | @SSC
Down With The Sithness: [member="Laguz Vald"] | @ST
Arms & Equipment: Robes (Mask), XJ9 (left forearm), Sniper Rifle (Scope) (Ammo 1) (Ammo 2), Amphistaff, Hold-Out Blaster
NPCs for Story Fluff: Coalition Infantry (1 Company or x150 NPCs, 5 platoons divided into 30 squads of 10)

A whisper on the wind.

A voice so strong and clear. Before he'd realized it, the boy was saying the words in unison. It had been some time since he'd prayed. He used to be quite religious about it, but his adorations had become less and less frequent. Replaced, as it were, by a renewed interest in the ways of the Sith. Still, the voice had his attention before he'd even caught what it was that he was doing. Turning his head, the boy followed the call to prayer as a shadow passed from behind his right shoulder to his left.

He paused his step, stopping there in the road. Soldiers mulled around them, but the boy hoped that it would appear that the two were merely engaged in some tactical discussion. A strategy debate as it were.
For his side of the conversation, the words she spoke were all words he'd heard before. It was a common prayer to Balagoth, the Dead One. Many things had been said or done in the name of the gods, but it was Balagoth who was the most polarizing figure in their ancient of religions. To some, a god of change. To others, the High King of death and the afterlife -- who ruled in hell because he would not serve the light. The distinction between the two groups was what sparked the division among those who were referred to among the Primeval as Seekers of the Rift.

The mysterious Riftwalkers. The charitable Riftsingers. And the blood-thirsty Riftborne.

He could hear the echoes of a Riftborne sermon as the voice behind him spoke and said, "But never… never... do we kneel.”

Perhaps surprisingly, the Pantoran was a Riftsinger. He built schools within the ravaged worlds affected by the Jedi-Sith War. Brought food to refugee camps. He'd journeyed to all the places where Darksiders were forbidden. The Republic. The Galactic Alliance. He'd aided the Jedi Order and even helped the Jedi to claim the Sith world of Korriban. In doing so, he didn't make enemies, he built relationships. That was how religion was spread. That was how the Primeval would be a lasting legacy upon the universe, through the hearts and minds of the people. All the people.

The worthless.

The rejected.

And even the Jedi.

"The First Order asked me to kneel," the boy recalled, thinking back to the last time he had been in the presence of Ciarda Ren ([member="Cameron Centurion"]) and suddenly ashamed of the fact that he'd bent knee and prostrated himself before the Supreme Leader.

Oh, it hadn't been the first time. He'd learned to bend knee and kiss ass while in the employ of the Host Lord. As an agent of the Bleeding Sun, the boy had infiltrated a number of organizations, including establishing relations with the Hutt Cartel. And [member="Sempra the Hutt"] had not readily welcomed a Primeval ambassador to his court, let alone a child.

So the words stung. Because he'd done it before. For the right reasons. For the wrong reasons. For whatever the reasons. But was he doing it now? Was he kneeling before the sanctum of the Jedi?

The answer to that was, no.

"The Sith asked me to die," the youngling recalled aloud, conjuring up the memories of the last time he was in the presence of his former master. "And the Jedi..?"

[member="Thurion Heavenshield"] could have easily killed him. And, not only would Boo not have blamed them, he'd gone to Voss with the very idea that the price he would pay for rescuing [member="Théodred Heavenshield"] would be his own life in return. But that hadn't happened. The Jedi had accepted him. The Jedi had embraced him. And not once had they asked for apology or explanation, or tried to change who or what he was.

"I preach the light of Nogras and spread the word of our Primeval on Voss," the boy said, offering an example as a better explanation. He went out among the poor and destitute in Voss-Ka, providing them little more than a sympathetic ear and a word of encouragement. But those words of encouragement planted seeds. Tiny, invisible seeds of faith that may one day blossom. "We destroyed our own temples on Mirialan. And the people of the Coalition have shown our brethren there a kindness."

Indeed, among the Primeval there were certain races held to be blessed among Halrormalenth's broken creation. Among them were the Mirialans. And, yet, the mad Riftborne hordes had still turned their butchery upon the believers among them. "The Jedi ask for nothing," the boy offered finally.

"Can you say the same for the Sith?"

 

[Alkor Centaris]

Location: Netherworld, the Field of Blades.
Allies: Nowhere to be seen.
Enemies: Something wicked this way comes...
Objective: Survive.

When at last he woke, [member="Connor Harrison"] and [member="Darth Orcus"] were nowhere to be seen. [member="Joza Perl"], [member="Jericho"], [member="Solan Charr"] and [member="Haytham Kaze"] had faded from his reality and in their place he saw desolation. The world glowed an opaque gray color as flashes of corporeal lightning dyed green by wicked energies lanced across the sky overhead. He felt every bone in his body grind against one another in protest to his efforts to rise. His wrist folded beneath his attempt to push off the dirt and his face collapsed against the field that seemed to stretch out forever. He dimly noticed the blades that jutted out from the dusty plane as his head swirled and an unbidden groan escaped his lips. He heard the sky overhead wail a thunderous fit of laughter that mocked his peril. Alkor had seen a glimpse of this reality once, but he never anticipated that he would actually visit.

Had he caused this? The effort to break the Sith with a powerful denial of his Force attacks seemed to have caused something much greater, and the Jen'jidai could tell by virtue of his pain that the price had been paid. Perhaps it had been paid by all the others, because he could not see them in that place.

Or had he sent himself to hell alone? His lips curled into a humored smirk as the prospect fleeted across his thoughts and Alkor managed to get to his knees. "Tch..."

His body sagged and reeled forward in abject defiance of his efforts. Every fiber of his being begged for him to stay down, yet still his spirit drove forward. One foot rose and he unsteadily stood. "How strange," a deep and intoxicating voice reverberated through chaos, "that my wayward student would find a way to traverse the gap between worlds."

He barely managed to turn his body, but the slight motion of his head was enough. The form he saw did not loom over him like the Master he remembered, but the familiarity was too real. A man, once mortal, not immense but still seeped in inner power watched him with a mocking smile. "You never saw the form I discarded, did you? I often recall describing to you the frailties of a human form. Is it so strange that I am cursed to this form in death?"

Alkor narrowed his eyes and clutched his limp right arm, several bones broken. It swayed from one side to the other as he rounded on the Dark Jedi Master. "You betrayed all of us," the Corellian spat venom at his one time master, "nothing you say carries anything but treachery. You deserved your lot, like all the rest."

"Indeed?" the man replied with a chuckle. "Is that the truth you choose to see? Ever were you lacking in vision, Centaris. Ever did you deny power that was yours by right. I see that nothing has changed in eight hundred years." Alkor glared at the man who watched his expression and smiled even more broadly. "I see," the fallen Jen'jidai murmured cryptically.

"What do you see now?" Alkor hissed, "another opportunity to finish the betrayal left undone? The wound is still fresh, even after all this time. I would hear you beg for mercy, only so that I can deny it to you."

"Ah, but they would enjoy that," the Dark Jedi lilted in velvet tone, "to have a soul plucked from the other side engage in their eternal war, to rob its existence of meaning and slave it to their torment. But no, I shant allow that, Alkor. As witless as you are, you are still my student. I owe to you freedom from your own foolishness."

"You owe me nothing," the younger man seethed in a cold voice. "My only regret was not having killed you myself."

"It seems that you are not aware," his Master replied, seemingly oblivious to the other half of the conversation, "of just exactly what happened. The convergence of power on Muunilinst that day, the day all of us perished-"

"The day the Order ate itself," Alkor corrected sourly.

"-yes, that. On that day, our power coalesced and we were torn from our living forms. The power of our combined deaths laid waste to Harnaidan, and the destruction that resulted remained for nearly one hundred years." He watched as Alkor's expression grew skeptical, then hardened. "You have seen Muunilnist recently, I take it? Am I wrong to believe that nothing seems amiss? Nothing, at least, to anyone other than you?"

Alkor paused and ripped his gaze away from the man to watch as several broken forms materialized and the sound of blades as they clashed reverberated through the air. "Isn't it so tempting, Alkor?" he asked suddenly, and the Dark Jedi's head twisted quickly to glance at the man once more. "This is chaos, my apprentice. This is the wages of everything we are. This is what compels your soul, ultimately. We are all drawn here, in the end. This is where our souls go to fade."

"Liar."

Alkor stared hatefully at the man who took him out of certain death and bred him as a killing machine. He felt the chill down his spine as the darkness cackled and swirled around him. There was a familiarity he could not deny, yet his mind reeled against it. "Everything you ever told me is a lie," Alkor shivered as his head drooped. His shoulders sagged in defeat. "There is more than this."

"There is no more than this," another familiar voice crooned. The specter who spoke stood between four others, ancient Sith Lords armed with vicious blades. He waylaid their strikes and sent them jostling to the dirt, where bits of their soul severed from their bodies and rose as wisps that quickly scattered to the immaterial. Chaos greedily consumed them as it breathed unlife anew into their lungs, and they rose again. "This is the glorious combat we strove toward with all of our being in life. This is the only battlefield worthy of us."

Lahash de Fortia smiled wickedly at Alkor as his foes advanced once more, and he gasped eagerly as one after the other impaled him with their blades. His soul bled from his body, but the expression on his face was euphoric. "Do you not see, Alkor Centaris? This is our lot," the once named Jeddak bellowed, "in this world, we are gods. We can never be undone, and our enemies flock to us for eternity."

"There is more than this," Alkor hissed again. His mind rejected this reality, he rejected that his Brothers would allow themselves to be consumed by such a fate. "You are all more than this. What happened to the Jen'jidai, men who writ their own destiny and burned all that stood in their path to ash?"

"We died, Alkor," the serene, yet unfeeling expression of Eversio spoke from beside him. "We all died. In our quest to see something greater than ourselves, we were blind to the weakness that festered right at the heart of our order." It was everything Alkor knew, but hated. It was what he had sought to deny for so long by continuing the task of felling their enemies, and it was what he gradually accepted when there was nothing and no one more to give him purpose. "Your battle is ended in that place," the Lord Governor spoke with a sincere smile, something so unnatural than Alkor recoiled from it. "Join us," the other Corellian spoke eagerly, "infuse this place with your essence and accept your birthright."

"No." Alkor took a step backward, only to stop when he collided with something. "I will not-"

"This is more than you, Centaris," the voice of his Master crooned. "We fought ourselves because the recognition came that there was no enemy in life worthy of our blades. We fought because we had become the only enemy worth facing. And our deaths sent you into a future devoid of hope. Do you understand? The world where you have been living is not the world you knew. No one remains that sings the songs of our deeds. None remain who remember the fury and might of the Dark Jedi Order. We undid ourselves, and we left nothing to the pages of history. You are a man with nothing. You are a Dead Man, like your Master before you."

Alkor took another step, this time away from his Master. Three sets of hands reached out toward him, and the Jen'jidai felt something he had not felt in many years.

Fear.

"No," he whispered as his body shook uncontrollably. Their touch was wrong. Their will was powerful and all consuming. "I won't give into this. If that is why it all happened, what was the point?"

No response.

"Answer me, damn you," he choked. "I did not sell my soul to you for this."