Invasion The Ossus Massacre │ SE Invasion of SJC held Jomark & Nespis VIII

[Coren Starchaser]

A Jedi master was prepared, even when access to the Force, or the stress of the wars before them were harsh, there were ways to keep one’s mind calm. Coren Starchaser was skilled in this manner. He knew what he was getting himself into, he was a warhorse of the Jedi Order. Not what he cared to do any longer, but with the attacks coming onto the Silver Jedi worlds, he had to step up.

Had to stand.

He had felt the call coming from Romi Jade , a call for the Jedi. With his own location secure, and so many Jedi on the field, it was time to turn his combat powers into aid. Moving to knock the rancor aside, the Master of Light pushed out in his own mind, expanding his Force bubble to touch the minds of as many Jedi as he could, including that of Romi. She was the key to all of this.

The lightsaber in his hand glowed and he was weaving danger sense into the push of inspiration and valor that he was sending to all of the Jedi. Linking together was important, the Light would cast shadows, that was true, it would create crevices of darkness no matter where it was. Deflection of the darkness from his body, of blaster bolts coming his way, all weaved into his Force form.

Together we can push back!

 

[Aeric Kaze]

OSSUS
ALLIES: THE SITH EMPIRE
ENEMIES: THE NEW JEDI ORDER
NOTICE: Dagon Kaze , Suri Vullen , Ayana Vullen

​

Through the tethers of the Force, he sensed Dagon's recognition when the connection had been made. He had no need to hide his presence, and as a Jedi, his brother had a duty to face him, didn't he? In his overflowing cloak that hid his arms, his fists tightened. Clenching and unclenching, his hand craving the touch of his hilt, yet, he remained restrained.

The ship they came on landed, and out they came out.

In turn, Aeric approached.

And the closer he came, the stronger the connection became, to the point that he could sense something more. Other Jedi? His dimly glowing orbs scanned the occupants that were disembarking. They bore the appearance more akin to soldiers than the traditional Jedi. Well, in accordance with the appearance of the typical New Jedi.

It was then that he saw the connection between Dagon and another - a woman. His hidden features brightened when he saw the joined hands break. Both of his hands raised then, tugging down his black hood and exposing the similar features. Save for the difference in marred features, scarring patterns and the difference in culminated exhaustion, they were the same.

The sapphire blade of his twins sparked to life, and he reached down to one of the hilts, the Jedi's and held his thumb over the ignition button. You remember what happened last time, don't you? The words echoed in Dagon's mind. "It's not Ruusan -- But it's a good start to making things right, don't you think?" His golden orbs stuck on his brother, but in his peripheries, and through the Force he tracked Ayana Vullen .

He had tasted and basked in the pain and suffering he had inflicted on his younger brother on Ziost. And the temptation to draw forth more of it was... Exciting.

"The Silver Jedi destroyed our home. So I crush theirs. Balanced. You Jedi appreciate that, don't you?"

His right hand flew up in the blink of an eye, extended out to grasp onto his very being. The benthic weight wrapping around his entire frame before his hand tugged backwards behind him. And in its wake, the azure beam of the stolen Jedi's saber leapt to life with the similar SNAP-HISS. And across the grounds he lurched, a flurry of slashes flew at him as if destined to steal the lifesblood from him that they shared.

"You've learned, haven't you? Learned of the power the Dark Side truly holds?"

 

[Tiland Kortun]

Objective II
Romi Jade Sakadi Marathi Sinvala Coren Starchaser Jend-Ro Quill Nylea Apollodor Kuxirra Tano-Bonteri Saint Lauren
Darth Empyrean Aspect of Passion

​

On a planet far, far away...

The Circle and the Tree-Dreamers had met to discuss and meditate upon the dreams that plagued them lately. Not of events that any record in the Jedi archive matched, but of things to come. A great disturbance, a catastrophe unlike any seen in a long time, a great wave through the Force.

Tiland sat in a circle with the Dreamers, eyes closed, and hands resting lightly upon the staff that lay across his knees. They were all melded as their memories sifted together through the vision as they put details together. A great red wyrm like the krayts bearing a staff and a pillar, a burning flame, and a world with desperate, specks of light.

"Everyone...these are the moments we strive for, when the hope of victory becomes real. I'll cover you with my life, but I'm asking you now to lend me your strength in return. Don't give them anything to feed off of...acknowledgment is power for them. Focus on me... my voice. Your feelings of dread are no more. Listen to me, these next few minutes are important...and I'll need all of you. There's a ship heading right for us...and guess what? We're gonna stop it. Together. Direct whatever you've got up, I'll guide you. Lets move this thing.

This came not from the meld of the monks, but from far, far away. A familiar voice- Jedi Master Romi Jade. Tiland opened his eyes as the others did and across the circles, eyes met and then reclosed. That had come from those who had studied under the Golden Sun. Not simply a meld, but a unity. Many minds, one essence- a harmony both rich and powerful.

Tiland rested one hand on the branch upon which they sat, feeling the ancient age and strength of the Heart-Tree, and with the other clutched the pendant of the Circle and Pilgrims. It linked his mind to the others in their combined order. Far away, he caught the glimpse of an Elfin woman stopping and shifting into the visage of a great tree, her roots diving deep into the soil of whatever distant world she was on. Other images flashed through his mind as they received Romi's message through him, and that of the Worm Emperor. He felt their presence tie into his as well, linking with the Tree-Dreamers who sat around him.

Their minds became his, and his theirs, one by one, as they re-established their meditation. It was more than to just each other. For those who dwelled on Qi-Ko found themselves tied deeply to the world's very essence, its very being as a nexus of the Light.

And that entire Nexus was centered here- at the Heart-Tree. A tree whose roots were mountains and whose breadth dwarfed even the largest super-star destroyers and whose top limbs poked the very edge of the world's atmosphere. Inconceivably vast and inconceivably ancient, the tree had seen its world wracked with tragedy, nurtured and rebuilt, and then lost again. Its cells were testaments to the history of this world. In this spot, there was no distinction between the Living Force and the Cosmic Force. They were one and the same.

Perfect harmony. A microcosm of the infinitudes of the Force. As all the energy of the nexus over thousands of years flowed through the tree, now it flowed through the Dreamers- those who had become intrinsically tied to the Tree itself, and from them through Tiland.

It hit him like a great sea of energy flowing up from the roots of the world and down from the misted peaks that trailed away across the world below where they sat.

It had been said that the lightsaber was the symbol of the Jedi. The Force flowed through them and they channeled it, acting as its visible instruments, but the bulk of the power came from behind the scenes, invisible and undetectable. As did the strength of the Jedi. And in this instance, Qi-Ko itself had become a lightsaber.

The Force flowed in waves and waves through him- from every living creature from the smallest single-celled bacterium breaking down the dead leaves and grass from the woods, or the fish that lived in its streams, the predators that preyed upon the weak and sick herd animals, the prey animals themselves, the Heart-Tree itself, and the thirteen that sat upon its boughs, buffeted by the high winds.

Without realizing it, Tiland found himself at the center of the circle as the Dreamers rearranged themselves. His eyes were closed and his forehead shone with effort. Qi-Ko was, to use a metaphor, a lightsaber of pure Force-energy. A world whose ecosystems were tended and nurtured to be in perfect harmony with itself, centered around the Tree, which itself tied the Cosmic and Living Force together into an inseparable experience for those who slept beneath its branches.

Things that were, things that are, things that could yet be, things that might come to pass. All passed through and stored in the ancient rings of the tree, perhaps since the universe was young. A great repository.

All it needed was someone to push the button.

Tiland moved both hands to the staff to ground himself physically as he let his mind sink deep, deeper into the Force than he had ever dared. For there was no physical threat here for him to ward against, as had been in the past when he and Coren had raised a Force barrier over the presidential palace on Skor II to hold off an orbital bombardment. Deeper still than when he had dueled Carnifex on the decks of his own superweapon.

This was not a physical conflict. It was a spiritual conflict, a battle of energy and emotions and will and the power to reshape reality. The gloves were off. This so-called Sith'ari was fully unveiled as a being of great and horrific power.

But that was the rub, wasn't it? Jedi, as a word, was neither singular nor plural. It was both at once. Individuals acting in concert for the greatest good. Individuals they were, but also one.

That was the great weakness of the Sith and the great strength of the Jedi. Balance. Harmony. Mirrored reflections of each other. Could Tiland face this great worm emperor himself? Perhaps. But such was not the strength of the Jedi.

Harmony. Wholeness. Many for the benefit of the whole. The strength of the Jedi was the strength of the collective, not the strength of one.

Deep beneath him, he felt the mountains shake and the tree shift. The others cried out for a moment, but resumed their concentration as the roots of the Heart-Tree began to unwind, slowly and inexorably, to dig deeper into the very crust of the planet.

In his spirit, words spoke through him and through the meld. The Dreamers heard. The Pilgrims heard it. Romi and the others had heard it. Words ancient and incomprehensible, in the language not of words, but of the anomalies in stellar radiation and the background noise of space. It was both one voice and many, neither old nor young, but more and more distinct with each syllable until it coalesced into something more concrete.

Qi-Ko stands with you, Jedi.

There was something unfamiliar in the way the word was communicated as if the speakers had not heard of the word before. The planet itself rumbled and the sensation of the Force nexus shifted in nature so that it concentrated on the small circle. Tiland's mine raced through what that meant as the ground continued to shake and shift before it finally shifted. The Voice(s) resumed slowly, almost mournfully.

Harmony. Balance. The sacrifice of the self for the betterment of the whole. Yes... we see now that you are what we had hoped would find us someday. We, who fled the Celestials and hid, and hid further still when a great plague ravaged our people to become spirits bound by crystal, we grieve that we lacked the courage shown by the Jedi. We shall lend you our aid though it means our passing at last into the great Dream of the Universe, and we had hoped to walk once more upon our fair gardens. Tend them well, young Jedi, for they are the last memory of who we once were and what we once dreamed of, a thousand thousand generations ago.

In his mind, Tiland could see them now- luminous beings, they were, who slept behind the unopenable door in beds of kyber, untouched by the years or the many events that had wracked the galaxy. Tiland's body trembled as they rose now from their tomb. Figures of light so bright even his mind was blinded. Fair they were, but etched with grief. A healthy grief, for they knew what was to happen and what it would cost them. They were beautiful.

Unknown, Tiland wept at what the galaxy would lose.

But that was the cycle, wasn't it? Life, death, sacrifice for the whole. No being was separate from the whole and the whole could not thrive when individuals suffered.

Past, present, future, Jedi, Sith, there was no distinction between them. All were energy made corporeal and above them all was the Force itself, simultaneously its own essence and yet the sum of all things that had been, were, or could be. There was no reality outside the Force itself. Even the Yuzhon Vong and Force-Dead played a role in the infinite tapestry that surrounded them all.

Tiland's very body shimmered with light and his muscles contorted at the energy that surged through him. Ancient he was, and considered by many to be powerful, but even he was infinitesimal compared to an entire planet, let alone the galaxy-as-it-was and even less compared to the-galaxy-as-it-would-ever-be.

A simple question echoed in his head- May we? Tiland could only nod and opened his mind fully. As the records once spoke of the ancient Jedi saying, I am all the Jedi, now Tiland felt himself not as all the Jedi, but all the Qi-Ko. For untold years they had created a garden for the galaxy (One of four, three yet unfound, the voices whispered) and they would give the galaxy one last gift.

Themselves. Their presence clouded fully into Tiland's mind, and he let himself shrink, as they flowed through him to Romi, to buttress her and strengthen her, and the rest of them. An entire world's worth of the Force flowing like a mighty river through the stars. Countless presences, ready to be guided and redirected.

One would live and one would die.

Harmony. Balance.

Such things necessitated sacrifice. There was no other way. And it was at its most potent when done willingly, for if history had shown anything, it was that the Force had a sense of narrative drama. And for much to be won, much had to be given. Endless circles of life and death and suffering and joy, all taken into the Force and accepted.

The world shook more violently now, but Tiland didn't notice, as his forehead was pale with the effort and sweat soaked his robes. So many minds, so many places, all connected and channeling through to each other. His mind faltered under the strain and his consciousness was swept outward in the inexorable tide

​

 

[Kyra Perl]

Communication Blackout
Halls
Yula Perl | Soloman Priest Jorii Vizsla

Spoiler: The Story

Communication Blackout
Halls
Yula Perl | Open for opposition



A jitter ran up Kyra's spine as she crept through the dark hall. The spices left her senses dull, but she didn't need em to know something was off.

So the dreams had been right after all... Force be damned.

She told herself she wouldn't come, but clearly she had the self-control of a bowless bowl of jello- all jiggling everywhere whether or not it wanted to. ... Alright, weird comparison, but it was what she felt like as she stumbled through the dark halls. She wasn't too far gone that she couldn't summon a ball of light to assist her, she just didn't think it was wise. Whoever did this to the station probably had planned; turning herself into a beacon while they lurked about was a dumb idea even to her.

That was, if people were the cause at all. A pang of self-doubt crept forward-- shots went off around the corner.

Kyra cursed and threw herself backwards. She crab crawled back the way she came, not wasting time to flip over and find her feet as she found her way around the corner.

Oh, she was so right! She forced herself to concentrate and reach for the distant hum of the force. A dim ball of light appeared at her side, illuminating her cybernetic arm as she pulled up the controls. She frowned, her good hand bumbling about for the life form scanner. Which was... where again? Metal parted at her wrist. A sharp whistle filled the air.

A flair shot out of the cybernetic.

LOCATION | Ossus Communications Hub | Vent to Hall
ALLIES | Kyra Perl
ENEMIES | Soloman Priest | Jorii Vizsla

Slicing her way through the door—either electronically or literally—wasn’t her best option. Too risky while under attack, you’d never know who might catch a wink of the plasma blade burning through durasteel, or be plugged into the same network.

Yet again, Yula found herself crawling through the ventilation shaft. Emily was ahead of her, the little spider droid skittering a path through the ducts. “Wait!” Yula hissed, grabbing Emily by the leg and pulling her back suddenly. Just ahead of them, a few rays of dim light filtered through the grate. “Someone’s there.”

Squeezing her way past the indignant droid, Yula peered over the edge of the grill. Her dark brows scrunched together tightly, pupils restricting with the sudden onset of light. Then she saw who it was.

She kicked through the grate, dropping from the ceiling at the same time a sharp whistle nearly pierced her eardrums. Hanging by the pads of her fingers, she swung her body to the side and narrowly dodged the flare. The projectile spiraled down the hall, screaming its big fat presence to this half of the communication hub before fizzling out.

With the beacon unfortunately lit, there was little time to act. “Kyra!” She snapped, eschewing introductions and grabbing her sister’s wrist. She dragged the younger Perl down the hall and around the corner, stopping only to push her against the cold durasteel wall. Yula’s hand went to Kyra’s chin, gripping it tightly while she turned her sister’s face this way and that—noting the lidded glaze of her eyes.

A shocked pause. “Feth, you’re high!” She snapped in disbelief. Nida’s disappearance had been especially hard on Kyra, and Yula felt a pang of guilt that she hadn’t intervened sooner. It had never crossed her mind that Kyra—the baby of the family—would turn to this sort of vice to dull her pain.

Yula huffed, blowing a strand of hair from her face in the process. They’d get to that later. Now…

“Kyra—Kyra, listen to me. We’re under attack. Someone took out the power.” They were quite literally in the dark, not knowing who their assailants were or how many had swarmed the facility. “I don’t know who it is, but I doubt that the bulk of their forces are here.” Ossus had more valuable targets, and hindering communication was likely only a piece of the plan. “Listen. Listen.” She motioned Emily forward, and the droid projected a map of the facility. “There’s a backup generator somewhere around here, underground.” She pointed a finger at the far end of the holo projection. “I don’t know if they’ve gotten to it yet, but judging that the explosions came from here,” Her hand shifted, this time to another end of the map. “There’s a decent chance it’s untouched. For now. We don’t know who they are or what they’re packing, so our better bet is to get to the backup. It won’t restore the entire hub, but it should be enough to get most critical systems running again if the infrastructure damage isn’t too bad.”

She paused, suddenly wondering if all that sank in. “You up to it? Lights go out, we fix them, yeah?” Another pause. “Seriously, if you’re not, you need to tell me now.”

The hairs at the back of her neck prickled in warning. Something was coming, moving in their direction.

“We need to go. Now.”

Communication Blackout
Halls
Yula Perl | Open for opposition


"Whooaaaa~"

Kyra abruptly found herself yanked down a hall, her ball of light dissipating as her attention was snatched.

“Kyra!”

"Yula?" She replied dumbly back, her resistance melting away as the elder Perl started checking out the state of her makeup.

"Feth, you're high."

Or was that her eyes.

She jerked her chin back, wordless noises of sibling grumbles falling from her as she tried to regain her orientation. "And you smell like noodles." She huffed as the dreaded spider driod named Emily came forward with a map. They were still mortal enemies, though perhaps now was a bad time to try and crush her again. "Just what is going on he-"

Yula's explanation left her wide-eyed, dread creeping through her stomach.

"An invasion?" she echoed, not responding to Yula's final, probing question. Did the sith never let it rest? Stress crept through her shoulders, her scalp tingling.

Was she up to it?

No. Absolutely not. She wanted to skip right out on out. Her palms itched for the feel of a drink. Her skin craved the deafening vibrations of a club. Anything to drown out the chilling silence of these halls. Goosebumps rose over her skin.

“Seriously, if you’re not, you need to tell me now.”

And what? Leave her sister to it all? Her jaw set, her legs growing a little steadier on the ground.

"Don't be a doofus, I came didn't I?"

She pushed herself to her feet, mentally cursing the trippy dreams that had predicted this event. Either the spices were that good, or she was growing stronger.

She grimaced into the darkness, feeling along the wall with a sweaty palm.

"I'm all out of flairs tho'."

Objective I: Blackout
Allies: Jorii Vizsla
Enemies: Yula Perl │ Kyra Perl

"Don't have any friends on Ossus.", he said flatly, synthesized by the vocoder

Soloman wasn't actually sure of that statement, but he somehow doubted it. Doubled down by the flaming corpses in front of him, he stepped over them without a second glance as he looked around - hoping that if he did have any friends on this planet, they weren't nearby. He'd hate to have to put one down by surprise, but it was often the way things went when all your friends were killers for hire.

Soloman's boots were muddled by a slight dampening material on the soles - but it wasn't enough to truly mask his imposing figure or the sound of his approach. At least when he wasn't trying - so as they rounded the corner and saw the two Zeltron's moving away from them, he shot a round off between their heads hoping to force them to a halt.

"Freeze, aruetii.", he said with the gruffness of his people's tongue.

"Where's girlies like you running off to at this fine hour?", he mused as he moved to close the distance.

As he followed them, approached them, he offered through his internal comms where they couldn't hear him to Jorri -

"We're going to need hostages if things turn ugly. Get at least one of them, see if they know the easiest route out, then move."

LOCATION | Ossus Communications Hub | Vent to Hall
ALLIES | Kyra Perl
ENEMIES | Soloman Priest | Jorii Vizsla

Yula felt a brief measure of relief when Kyra seemed to absorb the explanation. Maybe she wasn’t completely lost in the sauce after all. She studied her sister with scrutinizing eyes while she appeared to mull it over. The clench of her jaw told Yula everything, and the corner of her mouth peeled into a tense smile.

“Enough flairs for one day. Let’s get moving.”

The pair of Zeltrons stumbled into a jog down the hall, but their pursuers shored up the distance quickly.

A shot rang out overhead, pinging against the wall and Yula ducked on instinct, squeezing Kyra's hand. A glance to the side and the fact that her sister hadn't dropped to dead weight kept her heart from thudding out of her chest.

“Freeze, aruetii.”

“Mandalorians??” She hissed to Kyra with an incredulous tone. The Mandos and Jedi had a tenuous relationship at best, but lately, they’d been keeping to themselves. Still, war was their religion. She hadn’t expected this.

“Bathroom emergency!” Yula called back, sending them into a zigzag pattern as they rounded another corner. “My sister’s got the runs real bad!” Which wasn’t far from the truth, considering what spice did to your gastrointestinal track.

Objective: 1
Location: Ossus, underground bunker
Equipment:

• Beskar'gam
• Beskad
• Tomahawk
• Mandalorian ripper (pistol variant)
• Blaster rifle

Allies: Soloman Priest
Enemies: Yula Perl | Kyra Perl

Taking hostages wasn't a bad plan, in theory. Guaranteed them a way out and kept combat to a minimum. But even someone like her was wary of going toe-to-toe with a Jedi with the express intent of not killing them. She'd rather have taken their chances finding a way out on their own, but in the end their odds of ending up facing another Jedi were about the same. Better to have collateral.

"Sure, why not. We haven't tempted fate enough yet," Jorii shot back over that same private line. Whether it was another jab was hard to tell, but it was obvious she wasn't entirely on board with the strategy, nor expressly against. What was done was done, and it was a matter of rolling with the punches now.

Begrudgingly she switched her rifle to stun, watching as their quarry took off around the next corner. At least they were smart. She took off after them, stopping near the beginning of the next hallway and sighting through the scope of her rifle, lining up her next shot as best she could with the zigzag they were running in. She let off two shots in quick succession, pressing forward regardless of their success. Either they would get backed into a corner, or be inadvertently led to the exit. There were worse odds out there.

"I hope you don't expect me not to kill them if they stand their ground." She left it at that. It wasn't a matter of fear, but common sense. Her clan had raised her to treat Force-users with absolute prejudice, and some things just didn't change.

Communication Blackout
Halls
Yula Perl | Open for opposition


A shot whizzed by Kyra's head, the wind in her hair sending a chill down her spine.

That close, huh?

She blinked hard, trying to will her head into clearing. A small voice in the back of her mind screamed at her to smarten up, but she couldn't. The haze clung to her, fueled by the shocking events that she walked into.

She had come here suspecting something would go down, and yet she stared through the dim darkness with a look stupidity plastered across her parted lips.

Mandos.

Guns.

Right.

She felt herself be yanked away. Her sister's urgency drove her forward, their connected hands giving Kyra an all too unwelcomed line into Yula's emotions. Her legs obeyed where her head couldn't. She jogged erratically, her pestering inner voice morphing into her master's. Be aware of your surroundings.

Yeah, okay! Sorry! She fecked that up!

Pew pew.

Her attention sharpened. She tried to jerk herself to the si- heat exploded over her shoulder. Her body seized up, the stun bolt sizzling its way through her muscle sheaths. For a flickering moment, the pain parted the fog...

And then she hit the ground. Her hand locked up and froze up inside her sister's grip, no doubt holding Yula back.

Objective I: Blackout
Allies: Jorii Vizsla
Enemies: Yula Perl │ Kyra Perl

"Doesn't work if we kill the hostages.", he said as his heavy foot falls carried him past her - with a surprising speed considering how heavy the armor seemed to look. For his sake, it was due to the exoskeleton understructure that made his Beskar'gam nearly weightless to him - but for others, it was a nice intimidation factor to see the massive man charging them.

As he closed the distance to the fallen Kyra, and Yula desperately trying to pick her up and carry her, his foot would shoot out to hopefully land directly in Yula's ribs. He would have gone for the head, even activated the repulsor lift in his heel, but he wasn't exactly looking to take her head off - or discombobulated her too much. Just a sharp kick as revenge for making him run.

As soon as his foot would likely land, he pulled the other pistol from its holster and aimed one at each of them. The beskar'gam's helmet digitized his voice slightly as he began to speak;

"You have about ten seconds to tell me the emergency routines in this facility, where the exit is, and how many people I'll meet on the way.", he said with a harsh gruffness.

"And I'm not good at counting, so don't test my patience."

That sounded tougher in his head.

LOCATION | Ossus Communications Hub | Hall
ALLIES | Kyra Perl
ENEMIES | Soloman Priest | Jorii Vizsla

Like any well-planned attack, the assailants on Ossus had come as a total surprise. In the span of a few minutes, they had managed to cut the power to the communication hub and invade the facility. Yula didn’t know how many of them there were, if the Mandalorians were the sole invaders, or if they’d contracted their services to another power. Both were possible, but it didn’t matter. It didn’t matter why they were there, and it didn’t matter whatever the bigger picture was.

“No!”

Kyra’s dead weight was what Yula had dreaded the most. Taking care of her sister wasn’t a burden, but when she felt her arm stretch with the heaviness of Kyra’s stillness, her heart thudded wildly in her throat. Suddenly, she was acutely aware of the tightness of Kyra’s grip. “Damnit!” She hissed with raw irritation, concern lining her tone. Yula’s worry for her sister, amplified by their physical connection, would be palpable to the young empath. She shook her sister by the good shoulder, urging her to get up without words. Emily skittered her way to Kyra's slumped form, alternatively chirping in concern and trying to hide in fear among the fallen Zeltron.

Nida had been hanging by a hair’s breadth over the point of no return for the longest time. Yula refused to come close to losing another sister today. A good marksman, an unfortunate stumble, a chance—it didn’t matter what had brought her sister down. Their chance for a clean escape was rapidly dwindling, but the Perl family never went quietly into the night. Her hand left Kyra’s shoulder, reaching to the side of her hip and retrieving a cylindrical hilt.

Their initial pursuer had closed the gap in a matter of seconds. Yula tensed, the adrenaline of being hunted and the baser urge to protect her family fueling her hypervigilance. In an instant, she had disconnected from Kyra and turned sharply on both feet, whirling around while activating her sister’s lightsaber. Cerulean streaks burned a brilliant path through the dead air, angling downward slightly to catch the Mandalorian’s foot before it could make contact with her ribs. She doubted the blade would be able to sear its way through his beskar’gam, but the pressure she put behind the plasma blade was enough to keep her lungs from being punctured.

She could see her hard-eyed gaze reflected in the gloss of Soloman's helmet, determined to protect her injured sibling.

“Ooh, what’s the matter—didn’t plan your exit strategy, big guy? I don’t work for free, give me your info and I’ll send you my consulting fee.” Yula chortled in derision, pressing back against the foot and pushing away from the Mandalorian, one hand splayed back towards her sister in both a gesture of protection and to aid her balance. She was acutely aware that there was at least another one in the vicinity, which would make this tricky. At least they were after information, not lives.

“They never taught you how to count in Mando school? That’s saaad.”

Objective: 1
Location: Ossus, underground bunker
Equipment:

• Beskar'gam
• Beskad
• Tomahawk
• Mandalorian ripper (pistol variant)
• Blaster rifle

Allies: Soloman Priest
Enemies: Yula Perl | Kyra Perl

As soon as one of them dropped she knew the next few moments were either going to go very well or end with at least one of the three of them dead. Still, Jorii didn't stop Soloman from pressing the advantage, coming up behind him as he charged the one still standing. It was better to keep their kind backpedaling and not give them a chance to recoup and counter. She'd experienced firsthand what happened in that instance, and been raised on tales of worse.

All of that came to the forefront of her mind once the lightsaber ignited. In a split second the rules of engagement had changed. Her rifle was slung across her back in favor of the ripper she drew with her off hand, bringing it to bear on the other woman and aiming for center mass. If there was one thing they couldn't block, it was slugs, and she felt better knowing that if the attempt was made the only reward was melted lead in her face.

There was no need to communicate her change of strategy to Soloman, as he knew full well what that lightsaber meant. Mandalorians were raised to kill Jedi, and here was the chance to prove just that.

"Think carefully about how you want this to end. All you need to do is tell us where the exit is and what our odds are of running into any of your friends. Everyone can walk away." That was becoming less and less likely the longer this confrontation dragged on, and as good as their odds were she wasn't keen on testing them. Damn Jedi.

Objective I: Blackout
Allies: Jorii Vizsla
Enemies: Yula Perl │ Kyra Perl

Where Jorii had seen it fit to shoot at the standing zeltron, Soloman knew that fighting a Jedi was rarely about going directly at them. Unlike his Mandalorian brethren who chose to overwhelm Jedi with bigger and bigger guns, Soloman had some strategy in mind - but it was what had garnered him the marred reputation for being less than honorable.

All was fair in love and war, he imagined. So he took advantage of both in a single move. His two handguns twisted to point directly at the Zeltron still on the ground, hammers cocked, fingers already through the first stage of his trigger - even slightly more pressure releasing two verpine rounds directly into the drugged up Perl. His vocoder came through slower this time - darker than it was a moment before.

"These pistols have targetting assistance. Push me with the Force, move in a way I don't like, and your friend gets two to the head. Don't make me slip, Jedi - they didn't teach me how to clean in Mando school either, and I'm about to make a mess."

He motioned with his head towards Jorii without taking his eyes off Yula -

"Listen to my friend. Put the saber down, and you both might live."

Communication Blackout
Halls
Yula Perl | Soloman Priest Jorii Vizsla


No.

Nonononono.

Yula's fear was sobering. Flickers of her thoughts reached Kyra through the contact-- Not another sister. The words rattled her to her core. She hadn't paused to consider how Yula was handling the near loss of their other siblings. Kyra had simply assumed that she had been the only one affected. It was shallow of her, she realized. The intensity of Yula's fear shot through her like electricity.

Yanno maybe she had made a mistake.

Her face laid smushed into the ground, her breath fogging up the dirty tile. She should have thought this through more. She had been chasing a half-hazy dream and ended right back in the brutal reality of their work.

Her master's face bubbled up inside her mind, a phantom look saying it all.

Oh shut up. She groaned wordlessly, protesting the threats occurring over her head. No matter how much she screamed at her limbs to move and help, they laid unmoving. She tried to will her mind to clear, but will power alone couldn't clear her senses.

The spices she had taken to drown out the world drowned out the very skill that could save their lives. She could feel it pulsing in the cloudy distance.

The Force.

She had been shying back from it for months. She had witnessed the genocide of Myrkr. Tapped in, the empath had felt the death and heard the anguish of the billions the sith had eradicated in an instant. Every day it echoed in her psyche, reminding her of what might happen again if she reached out.

Her sister's fear pulsed through the air.

Not another sister. She steeled herself and reached out a quivering mental hand for the power.

The warmth of the force crept over her. ​

LOCATION | Ossus Communications Hub | Hall
ALLIES | Kyra Perl
ENEMIES | Soloman Priest | Jorii Vizsla

Might live?

Yula was surprised by the measure of patience displayed by the Mandalorians. Maybe they taught negotiation in Mando school.

Her expression never withdrew, sharp features hardened with concentration. She might have been nimble enough to slip away and disappear into a vent, or disrupt the mechanical systems of their armor or weapons if she could get in closer. On her own, she might have been able to get away.

But she wasn’t on her own.

And she didn’t need to glance over her shoulder to know that her sister, ill and injured, had the muzzle of more than enough blasters pointed at her. Yula operated on taking risks—some measured, some not—and reveled in the thrill of her success and failure alike. Even if they were bluffing, and she was fairly certain they weren’t, she refused to play roulette with Kyra’s life.

The brilliant blue blade disappeared in an instant, its hilt clattering to the floor as Yula raised both hands, palms up to the Mandalorian in front of her.

“Fine. Don’t hurt her.”

​

Objective I: Blackout
Allies: Jorii Vizsla
Enemies: Yula Perl │ Kyra Perl

"Good girl.", Soloman said slowly, watching her through the built in HUD of his helmet.​

​

Priest put one of the pistols away, but kept the other trained on Kyra; letting the other slip back into its magnetic lock on his hip. With the same hand he reached into his belt and tossed a Datapad to her - pointing to it as she caught it;​

​

"I need you to point out the fastest way out of here, where we're likely to find your friends, and anything we might've missed. Can't have Ossus making any outbound calls now, can we?", he said once more.​

​

"And for good measure - when you're done pointing them out, you'll be taking a walk with us out of this place. If you want to save some lives, your pink friend here's included, best you get some good information. And quick."​

Objective: 1
Location: Underground bunker, halls
Equipment:

• Beskar'gam
• Beskad
• Tomahawk
• Mandalorian ripper (pistol variant)
• Blaster rifle

Allies: Soloman Priest
Enemies: Yula Perl | Kyra Perl

In the span of just a few minutes the lightsaber was extinguished and fell to the floor. It didn’t exactly fill her with all the hope in the galaxy, but it put them in a slightly better position than they had been. The odds of retaliation now were slim to none, but everything she’d been taught growing up told her to ignore that comfort. Still, she had to hand it to Soloman. Maybe he knew what he was doing after all, despite the chain of events that had led them to this point in the first place.

While he dealt with the threat directly in front of them, she kept track of those that could emerge from their surroundings at any given moment. It seemed that the majority of the fighting had quickly left the bunker, most of the personnel assuming that those responsible for the blackout had completed their objective and left before the storm descended from on high. That had been wishful thinking on her part, apparently. She’d have to have a talk with him about what getting out quickly meant before they worked together next. If they did.

“Let’s wrap it up, ‘lek? We’ve spent enough time here as it is.” Again she spoke just to Soloman, remaining a silent, faceless figure to anyone else. Still that ever-present bite to her words, one that was becoming more obvious to be part of her personality than anything really personal. Where other Mandalorians were fire, she was ice, but even that had its limits. This day had lasted too long already.

She’d need to talk with Maliphant about the rest of this Frumentarii business, once they made it out.

Communication Blackout
Halls
Yula Perl | Soloman Priest Jorii Vizsla


'No,' she tried to say. It only formed into a wheeze. She could count the passing of the time with each slam of her heart against her rib cage. She tried to will herself to focus on the warmth of the force at her finger tips. It was hard to hold onto-- hard to control. That had been the point when she had injected the spice into her veins. She slogged through that, urging the force to seep through her.

Detoxification was not a skill she had ever mastered. Classroom lessons usually weren't. She hadn't paid attention like she should have that day, but she was pretty sure the concept remained the same.

Use the force to pull the toxins out of you. Or push. Or purify. Or whatever! She wasn't looking for an A here, she only wanted-- a small gasp of relief hit her lips as clarity hit her.

It was slow. Clumsy. But the task got easier with each wave of detoxification she pumped through her core. Nida would be so p-...

Her fingers twitched as she clamped down on that thought, the only part of her to betray her recovery. 'Ugh. I can taste your stress from here.' Came the unrefined mental intrusion into Yula's mind.

'Calm down. Lie. I'm the jedi. Say you don't know.'

Yula would get the vaguest sensation that Kyra was recovering, the girl's half cooked attention shifting down to toes that she could feel with growing clarity.

One unspoken concept flittered clearly between the two.

Surprise would be their friend.

'You know any trashchutes?'

LOCATION | Ossus Communications Hub | Hall
ALLIES | Kyra Perl
ENEMIES | Soloman Priest | Jorii Vizsla

“Ew.” Yula wrinkled her nose at Soloman's reply. “Don’t say that; we’re not in bed.” A brief thought at just what the Mando looked like underneath the bucket flitted through her mind. As quickly as it came, it was pushed out by a familiar, incessant presence. Kyra.

“No, YOU calm down!” She snapped without turning around, unaware that her sister’s communication was through their shared bond, not…spoken aloud.

A few beats passed as Yula absorbed their situation. The relief of knowing that Kyra was okay put her mind at ease, but her posture continued to remain rigid, yielding to their captors.

Something rang in her mind about trash.

Oh my god, shut up, Kyra.

“Uhh…waitaminute.” Her brows arched suddenly. “You guy got in, but you can’t find your way out? Even with your fancy Mando…” One hand, still raised, waggled up and down “…bucket?” She sucked her teeth and winced. “Listen, the power’s out. A lot of these doors won’t open. And since our comms are conveniently down, I wouldn’t know about troop positions. Given what’s going on out there-“ She pointed to the ceiling as the whistle of a projectile screamed through the air, before the rumble of an explosion rocked the hall. “-who knows which parts of this building are still intact.”

A moment passed as she let her words sink in, not just for everyone else, but for herself as well.

“So take this droid, and get out.”

She pointed to Emily who was currently cowering behind her boots. “Oh, can it.” Yula grumbled as the droid squealed and bleeped in protest, no doubt unhappy at the prospect of leaving her mechanic and accompanying a pair of mechanized strangers through a war zone. “You’ll be fine.” Emily had been “accidentally” destroyed by Zak Amroth enough times for there to be backup copies. Her consciousness, should it suffer, had been reproduced a dozen times onto a dozen chips, which could be inserted into a dozen shell bodies.

“Go on-“ She nudged the droid with her foot purposefully. “She’s got the map that led us here. I literally spent most of my time locked in a closet, then crawling through a vent. I’m not exactly your best bet for a navigator.”

​

Objective I: Blackout
Allies: Jorii Vizsla
Enemies: Yula Perl │ Kyra Perl

For a moment, Soloman's beskar'gam visor simply watched her. Unmoving, emotionless, the Mandalorian offered her nothing - even through the Force. As she spoke, he'd remain still, gun pointed at her sister - but he would listen until she was done. Words on words, until finally he broke the silence - but not with his own words.​

​

A gunshot rang out as he adjusted the handgun in his hand to the thigh of Kyra - letting the bullet fire just above and the outside of the kneecap; avoiding anything critical, and nothing a good doctor couldn't bring back up to snuff, but it would reinforce the point he had already tried to make - using more compassionate means.​

​

"You don't get what's going on.", he said simply as he readjusted the gun to point dead center on Kyra once more.​

​

"Information, Jedi, that's all I wanted. I don't want your droid, and I don't want your excuses. I'm not your friend, and I'm not playing games.", he repeated as he pulled the hammer of his pistol back once more.​

​

"I don't care what you need to do - use your magic karking Force for all I care - but figure out where your friends are, and lead us out here without meeting one of their patrols. Use the damn droid, it doesn't matter, but if you give me another excuse, the next one won't be in the leg."​

Objective: 1
Location: Underground bunker, halls
Equipment:

• Beskar'gam
• Beskad
• Tomahawk
• Mandalorian ripper (pistol variant)
• Blaster rifle

Allies: Soloman Priest
Enemies: Yula Perl | Kyra Perl

This was taking too long.

The gunshot echoed down the halls, setting her instantly more on edge. There went any semblance of stealth they had left, and she was almost certain she saw the downed one move. Wonderful.

Sighing loudly enough that he could hear, she reconsidered their options. It made sense to have hostages, he had that right, but bickering back and forth with a Jedi for all of twenty minutes about the finer points of it all wasn't how that worked. Someone needed to take charge of the situation, and if he didn't have the stones to do it then she would. If anything was exemplary of the centuries long rift that had always divided their people, this was it. Some things never changed.

The aim of her ripper shifted and in the same motion she pulled the trigger, her target the droid as opposed to the Jedi before them. It removed one less unknown variable for the equation, and she didn't trust the thing to lead them out of a trash heap, let alone a base with enemy combatants. It was just as likely to lead them into a trap as it was an exit, and she wasn't a believer in taking unnecessary risks, contrary to what others might be inclined to believe.

Jorii holstered her pistol, reaching back for her blaster and dialing down the stun setting - if he wanted the Jedi to talk them out of here, that was his prerogative, but she wanted to keep them moving. With the same fluidity she'd demonstrated in shooting the droid, she sent two more stun rounds into the pair of Zeltrons before them.

Looking to Soloman, he would be able to feel the sharp coldness of her glare from beneath her T-visor. "You talk too much."

Communication Blackout
Halls
Yula Perl | Soloman Priest Jorii Vizsla


A bullet entered her upper knee, driving clarity through her in spikes of sharp pain. All her attention had been focused on detoxing the spices out of her system, she hadn't felt the force's warning.

She should have felt it.

She curled on herself, gasping in shock. This was bad, her mind echoed. She forced herself to breathe, her sweaty palms gripping at the tile. Her muscles coiled at the second shot. Heart burn and panic tore apart her chest as she looked up.

Emily smoked dead at the mando's feet. Her relief was palpable as she stumbled to her knees, her hand rising. "Stop, we'll-"

The woman's gun rose to her face. The world slowed. The force rippled in the air around her--a shimmer of energy in her mind's eye. She could see it now, as clear as she saw the weapon turn on Yula. Acid raced up her throat.

Bang.

Bang.

The shots never reached them, the force turning visible to all as it rippled like oil in water over the two sisters. Force shield. It was simple. Effective. Life saving. Her features contorted in anger, the younger Perl pulling in every ounce of strength she had as she bared down her sister's attackers.

"Eat chit." A force pulse crashed into them. Kyra didn't wait to see what it did to the metal paperweights. She grabbed her saber, grabbed Yula, and ran.

The pain could eat her up later. She stumbled around the corner and shoved the elder at the aforementioned trash chute. Her red-rimmed gaze met Yula's, sober and present. "Get in." She turned, heels swiveling into the tile. Her saber hissed to life, the warm blue light illuminating the dark hall in anticipation.

The sooner Yula jumped, the sooner she'd follow.

She wouldn't be losing another sister. Not if she could help it.

LOCATION | Ossus Communications Hub | Hall
ALLIES | Kyra Perl
ENEMIES | Soloman Priest | Jorii Vizsla

Mandalorians were not the most talkative people. Direct and to the point, there wasn’t much room for a lengthy conversation. Yula counted herself and Kyra lucky that this pair seemed to have a measure of patience, but that had rapidly come to an end.

The next few second played out in slow motion. The crack of the Mandalorian’s blaster, the breath leaving Kyra. Yula’s lips parted in a shocked gape, turning in time to face the muzzle of the second Mandalorian’s weapon. Another shot turned Emily into a fried heap, her dying beeps rattling an eerie tone though the hall. Maybe she was screaming, grasping for her sister, but her nerves weren’t synching up to her brain.

Then, the strangest thing happened—comfort. Something rippled overhead, around them. Something familiar and reassuring. A barrier, a shield wrought from the Force itself.

Confusion crinkled her brow. Mom?

The barrier exploded outwards, and the next thing she knew, they’d dashed around the corner. “What are you-“ Yula held fast against Kyra’s shove, meeting her sister’s gaze of wild clarity. The crimson mane, the pink skin, the look of severity in her eyes. From the part of her hair to the point of her chin, Kyra undoubtedly resembled their mother. And today, with the perseverance she’d displayed, mom would be proud.

She had caught Yula off guard. Even if she’d always be Yula’s bratty little sister, today she had proven to be something more. Someone more.

Yula pushed through her stunned revelation and grabbed Kyra by her free wrist. “Not without you.” As she spoke, she fished into her pocket and slapped a small plastoid rectangle against the outside of the trash cute. Then she fell in, dragging her sister with her. The device attached to the wall began a series of blinks and beeps, gradually increasing in a warning tone.

A decoy bomb.

​

Objective I: Blackout
Allies: Jorii Vizsla
Enemies: Yula Perl │ Kyra Perl

"Kark.", he said to himself - making sure it didn't go through the vocoder as his mag boots activated. They maintained his balance, and the push spread without much of a effect; at least nothing he hadn't experienced before. Still, he could feel the burning stare of Jorii through her vizor - even if she hadn't said anything, but that was done and over with.​

​

Seems he wasn't getting his bonus for having jedi with.​

​

Still, he followed - if they wanted to escape, he'd make good on at least one of his promises; only one of them would live. Leaving without Jorii, or at least checking if she was following, he let the combat boots and exoskeleton of his armor speed his sprint in chasing them; checking just barely close enough to watch them disappear around the next corner - but the last he almost hesitated on as he saw and heard the beeping.​

​

But he wasn't one for wasting time - raising his hand gun, he pointed it at it as his compensation books locked him to the floor and he fired. His muscles had tenses, bracing themselves for what he thought would occur - an explosion to threatened to launch him against the opposite wall; but what happened was nothing. The beeping stopped, the wall was unharmed besides the dent from his shot, and he was left simply standing.​

​

Well, better than expected he imagined.​

​

Quickly, he closed the distance between him and the trashchute and lifted its latch. Undoing his grenade belt, he armed them with a single suicide bomb button saved for emergencies, and tossed it down. If they wanted to run, he'd leave them with something extra. From pink skin to a charred and bubbling black - a good reward for their courage. As he slammed the cover back down, he let a laser on his arm weld it shut before clicking the nearby button to inform the facility trash was collected.​

​

If power was still operational, it would likely lock the doors and begin the crushing procedure - just in time for his present to arrive. If the power was off - then the door was likely sealed shut anyway.​

​

With a glance back to Jorii, he simply shrugged -​

​

"Didn't hurt to try. Let's get outside.", he offered her.​

Kyra felt herself free fall, the air dragging by her as Yula pulled her down like an ancor. She landed hard, the wind knocked out of her as trash and her sister alike cushioned the impact. Her relief caught in her chest as she weezed. Her head still spun with spice. For a moment, the air grew cold as silence descended upon them.

Had the mandos not caught on?

The door above wooshed open. Her muscles coiled, her arms going to wrap around Yula as--

Plink plunk- clunk.

A grenade landed besides them, its red light blinking against the grimy walls. Horror sank its way into Kyra's core. Training would say to get up. To move-- to do something about it. But they were trapped in a dead trash chute. There was no where to go. Kyra's addled brain stuttered. She reached for Yula, putting herself between her sister and the blast. The force shield their mother taught her rippling over their skins like makeshift armor.

Her heart lumped in her throat, three painful words slipping from her lips.

"I love you."

 

[Saint Lauren]

​

Objective II: Regicide
Romi Jade Sakadi Marathi Sinvala Coren Starchaser Jend-Ro Quill Nylea Apollodor Kuxirra Tano-Bonteri Darth Empyrean Aspect of Passion

Through the power of their shared experience, another voice joined the heavenly chorus. Together, they would be as one.

"I am Saint Lauren of Coruscant. And now, in your hour of need o' Jedi. My power is melded with yours."

Her figure arose in spirit form. Black as night. Mysterious as the storm. With a glowing aura of power to push back the darkness. And to banish the night into day.

Life and fire. Fire and light. There is no end to a Season Unending. There is only The Light of the Force.


.

 

[Other Space Kaiden]

The Inferno
Warrior's Skin
Objective: III
(The Shadow Realm Jimbo)

Vulcanus was silent as The Jedi-thing spoke of freedom and chains, the immovable and the old ghost who had prattled on for so long. The darkness of the mindscape oozed and trickled as Auteme spoke with all her heart to convince the Seventh Day Emperor as the beast stood stoic, sulfuric eyes burning holes into her. When the Jedi-thing's speech drew to a close, Darth Vulcanus turned his gaze downward and raised a single claw into his view as he considered the words carefully.

The consideration did not last long before Sanem's smile grew darker behind the beast of a Sith. "This Jedi is all so close to the truth..." the old specter whispered in the beast's ear, "...you still have so much to do...this world is of your making...all that is left is to make them, all of them..." Sanem's glowing eyes turned to Autume,

"...see."

Vulcanus' fist clenched. The darkness shifted - the confusion fueling it slowly melting away. The Jedi had been right. He did not need to best tested, not any longer. He did not need the teachings of Sanem, he had served his only purpose. What she was wrong about, however, could be narrowed down to the simple fact that life was not absolute freedom. Vulcanus' eyes slowly rose to Autume's once more and the darkness around them turned cold and focused. The rage that fueled this place becoming a condensed ball of burning fire...and slowly it would be as if the world had begun to collapse in on them.

"Is that so?" Vulcanus' thunderous voiced echoed as the darkness closed in, the light of the painted glass beneath them fading until there was no light to be had...except for the fiery stare of Vulcanus, whose gaze illuminated Autume like a searchlight, "But I see you Jedi...I see the truth of your world and it disgusts me."

The darkness began to strangle out the touch of the Force from Autume just as it had been strangled out from him by Sanem, "you Jedi do nothing but cling to prophecy and the will of a Force you do not understand. You see only what The Force wants you to see, you are a slave to its will and justify it with blind faith."

The darkness around them peeled away as a scorching fire began to arise - the flickering light revealing the illusion of melting cobbles and the burning husk of the Ossus Jedi temple, "The Jedi claimed once before that their prophecy to destroy The Sith would be final...it was so pathetically inaccurate that your own grandmaster threw himself into hiding and dedicated himself to ending your failing order." as Vulcanus' form was revealed again by the fire, it was no longer his old body - but the horned beast that the galaxy was now familiar with and there was no longer a Darth Sanem beside him, "Peace is a lie, Jedi. This galaxy is at constant war of wills and I will make you see"

The mental bombardment would come quickly and without mercy, the Dark Lord sending a wave of intense memories into Autume's mind. Images of Kalee and its slaveyards where the young were slaughtered and the old were worked to death beneath The Graug. Flashes of the countless civilian populations slaughtered at his hand. Ryv and his arm being torn body and Allyson Locke as her form was engulfed in a flame hotter than any mere mortal could withstand. All of these horrors and more would flash across the The Jedi's mind.

"Your order kills and murders and bombards planets - yet you damn the name of my people. You damn the name of my order. You damn them because you cannot accept the truth" the darkness swirling around the beast was no longer just his own...his power had changed, his presence becoming so much more refined and focused as if it had conjoined with that of another, "Nothing separates your actions from those of a Sith - you simply murder when the Force commands it and show mercy when it thinks it will benefit it. You are a dog on a leash...but I...

"..I have been born anew and I have decided what I must do. The weakling races of this galaxy will either live because I have allowed it, or will die because I have demanded it. Fire will cleanse these worlds so that they can be remade as I have. Remade without the taint of this omnipotent mind that controls The Force."

As the nightmares continued to flash before Autume's eyes, the families fused together by fire and the endless ocean of slaves, Vulcanus reached out to her with a simple offer, "you will be the first to bare witness to my new resolve. Bow, live and be freed as my apprentice - or deny me and suffer a pain far worse than you can possibly imagine.

 

[Caedyn Arenais]

​

Objective II: Defend the Ossus Jedi Temple
Inventory: Staff Lightsaber | Jedi robes
Interacting With: Mathieu Brion

"Hey, It is good to see a friendly face".
​

Caedyn had been leaning back against the temple wall, looking out upon the room whilst one of the healers was seeing to his shoulder when the voice of Mathieu Brion found him, the Jedi Padawan encouraging a smile about the Jedi Knight, "A friendly face indeed" Caedyn replied with a slight chuckle, glancing back to the healer as they told him to remain still.

For the time being, it seemed those who had made it back inside of the Ossus Jedi Temple had some few precious moments to recuperate and reorganize their defense efforts, yet for Caedyn the void stone slug that had passed through him was still taking it's time to wear off and return his connection to the Force to full strength. A reckless moment, a mistake where Caedyn had prioritized his foe over his own defense and subsequently suffered for it now, stood there with his right arm and shoulder outside of his tunic so that the healer could rightly patch him up, feeling ever the fool.

The burden of war. He had been lucky, all things considered.

"What's that?" Padawan Brion asked aloud, causing Caedyn to frown and glance to the rest of the room, his studious gaze noting a change in the various Jedi around him, yet his connection remained too weak to ascertain the source of Mathieu's curiosity; At least not without straining his focus.

Closing his eyes, Caedyn fell back into the pool of natural energies that was the Force flowing throughout every living presence around them. Despite his weakened state, it seemed that the Force was still ever so vibrant and tangible, the Jedi Knight able to reach out to commune with its presence despite his difficulties.

"Master Jade..." He spoke, eyes remaining closed as he realized. He hadn't heard her call to unity, yet now that her battle-meld had reached him and he being graced with the foresight of understanding, opened his eyes and turned to look to Mathieu; "Listen to her voice, it is that of Romi Jade, a gifted Master in the Force and a skilled Jedi. She is using a technique similar to battle-meditation...-Close your eyes, focus on the force and notice the connection between everyone nearby. Reach out to them and you too will understand" Caedyn guided him.

It had been a long time since Caedyn had met Romi, a very long time indeed, yet her skill and reputation was widely known and admired among their numerous orders and branches of the Jedi, her ability to bring everyone together, to strengthen their resolve would be a blessing sorely needed in this time, and Caedyn hoped that it would be enough to rid him of his weakened state.

Team Lightside: Vexander Graves | Mathieu Brion | Vulpesen | Taiia Locke | Romi Jade | Starlin Rand | Maja Fiore | Nathaniel Wellchoestor | Thirdas Heavenshield | Yula Perl | Kyra Perl | Sakadi Marathi Sinvala | Auteme | Atlas Drake
Team Sith: Darth Empyrean | Cato Demora | Alina Tremiru | Arcturus Dinn | Darth Ananta | Melydia Gold | Carnifex

 

[Alina Tremiru]

Location: Outside the Temple
Allies: Sith Eternal
Enemies: Silver Jedi
Tags: Mathieu Brion | Caedyn Arenais

"Yes, close your eyes and focus." The mocking, modulated tone of the Sith who had been hunting the Padawan sounded off close by. Far too close. Alina's fist slammed through the nearby wall, ripping it down. She wasn't alone, not this time. Other Sith joined her, flooding through the entrance she had made. Her masked gaze focused on Brion and the Knight he was speaking to. "Focus and feel those connections be cut."

She wasn't just taunting this time. She was angry. Mathieu had run. Left a simple villager to shoot at her. Then fired himself. Cutting her off from continuing her hunt. Making her have to wait, find a new way in. Why was she this angry to begin with? He was an easily manipulated Jedi who's kindness she easily preyed upon.

Why did she feel so disgusted?

Those thoughts were forced aside as she let that hate out. Like before, the Force died around her. Suppressed and cut off. A walking void in the Force, usually. But unlike before she localized it around the Padawan.

"You're mine, Mathieu. By my blade you will fall."

 

[Thurion Heavenshield]

​

From his home on Midvinter, halfway across the known galaxy, Thurion sat on the floor in a trance. He was following the events transpiring on Ossus through the ripples in the Force, sensing the call for aid from those brave souls fighting the tide of darkness. His own son stood among them, for his presence stood out like a beacon wherever he went to the aged master and father.

All across the galaxy Jedi answered the call Romi Jade made, joining their brothers and sisters in spirit and sharing with them their strength of mind and body. Thurion was no different, melding with his fellow Jedi, empowering and enhancing their abilities.

"Rise up, Sons and Daughters of Light. Stand as one against the Followers of Darkness. Hope resides in each of you. Now rise; rise, all of you. Embrace hope, and fight for it."

These words would join countless others, reaching the minds of those brave defenders of Ossus. The Force was with them this day, and they would prevail.

 

[Aspect of Passion]

​

Objective III: Corruption
Allies: Darth Carnifex // Quintus Varro
Enemies: Jedi Scum

A thousand voices across the galaxy surged, melded, and cried out in unison - a call for unity, protection, the hope of the Light now facing the Darkness in its purest form once more. From the Core to outside the Galactic Rim; Jedi of every facet, belief, and nature merged into Romi Jade in her attempts to stop the ship; and the efforts bore fruit. Despite the ten left hands of the Worm Emperor, the ship once more slowed to a crawl in the atmosphere - giving more time for the bridge to clear, and the life support pods to deploy.​

​

Only those confident they could survive the impact remained - Darth Apedemak, the Praetorian, each watching, resisting the urge to assist the Worm. Rather they knew this was more than a simple test of the Worm's abilities - but the grand expression of a fight only one of them could truly understand. The many voices of the Worm whispered in their ears - but the secrets they told were undecipherable, unknown to their mortal ears, speaking of realms and plains yet to be understood by the eyes of the uniniated. Only Vulcanus, in his state of canonization, would even begin to understand the depths that the battle they fought took place - how far its shockwaves reached, what this very moment meant for the fight of the Galaxy's will.​

​

It was the first test in thousands of years to put the Light at odds. The Worm spoke in his regality, words coming without a hint of moross disgust, or even mocking condemntation;​

​

"Fight, fight against the dying of the light...", the abomination mused to himself.​

​

His words would reach out through the battle they fought - to every Jedi who had melded with Romi, feeling as each of them would sense the weight of his words, the near infinite depth of his power;​

​

"Jedi. Knights of the Force. I witness you - acknowledge your efforts.", the Emperor offered them.​

​

"You do today what a thousand before you have tried - even if you fail to realize the implications of your actions. Feel my strength for what it is - the coming of darkness, and know that you face not a Sith, but the God of the Bogan. Feel my strength, and despair - for I come to burn your beliefs. Feel my resolve, and rejoice - for I shall be the breaker of your chains."​

​

And they would feel it. Through the connection Romi had - sudden infinite darkess that strained their connection. The power they held felt like it had hit a wall - but the forces worked upon eachother in equal measure, where one would gain ground, the other would gain it in another area; until it was a fight of tides, back and forth in the infinite darkness that was. The Worm would speak to them again, even as his fingers strained ever closer from the exertion.​

​

"And you...", he said to a force none of them could see.​

​

"We meet once more. The One who controls fate - disillusioned the Jedi of their purpose, you who fails to relieve yourself of a throne you can no longer hold. That which lost his mind in the power, the One who split himself into three; you bear witness to the fruit you bore when you could not kill me before. Not under the names we have gone by for thousands of years, and not for a thousand more."​

​

"You will fall, Throne Taker. Know your heresy comes to an end."​

​

"Peace is a lie. This is the beginning of the end."​

 

[Arthos Vynea]

Objective: Protect the Red Dragon and holonet relay
Status: Failed
New Objective: Investigate intelligence failure
Location: Aboard the Asha
Allies: Tithon Antilles Other Space Kaiden Darth Carnifex Errix Feh'room
Enemies: Atlas Drake Liram Angellus Gir Quee Ura Iolar

There was no time for trials on the other sides, at least not at the hands of the Consul, but they would still find justice of a sorts at the Adjudicators' hands. For the Asha though he had three who knelt before him now and while all stunk of fear one in particular quaked in it, but then it was to be expected. Standing he walked among then letting his mind trail along their thoughts as he stood first before the calmest of them. "Adjudicator Seren, you have brought these prisoners before me as their innocence is in doubt, as such I will now sit in judgement in search of the one or group who has betrayed the Empire to the Silver Concord. Now, what is your evidence or reason of doubt for their innocence, Adjudicator"

Stepping behind the first of the knelt prisoner the Adjudicator a small twi'lek with a vibrant green coloring spoke quietly as he continually scanned his prisoner's thoughts. "Lord Consul, I bring before you a crew member from the Asha's communication team. His memory shows he used his access to send a message towards Ossus just hours before the invasion began. The crewman has shown us the message and it warned his 'sister' to leave the system. The crewman willingly let us search his mind for the truth and it appears it he does indeed have a sister who arrived as a merchant on Ossus just days ago. While it is doubtful that was enough information to create such a trap it may have aided the Silver Concord in their timing."

Nodding the Sith Lord considered the man for a moment before nodding to him. "Crewman Adhri, you have denied nothing, and so I offer you a chance to explain yourself before judgement is passed."

Taking a dry swallow the man began to shake his head before he stopped and looked up towards Arthos. "Betrayal was not my end, Lord Consul. Yes I broke the rules, but not to betray the Emperor, just, just to warn her. I couldn't live with myself if she was hurt in the fighting. I had to do something, so I did."

Nodding without comment he moved to the second man, this one stunk less like fear and more like anger, defiance. If there was one in the group this would be it, he tasted like hate. He didn't ask any questions but reached into his mind himself feeling through the resistance as he heard his mind continually counting something. Reaching down he introduced pain into the man to throw off his mental defenses as slipped through a sudden gasp into the man's mind. There was another layer though much to his surprise, the man had been trained in mental defenses at least. Most excellent and most likely the spy as well, but he needed something more. "Well done, Adjudicator Booll, imprison and guard him well ray shielding in fact would be best until we return. We will find all he knows."

Turning to the third he felt the stink of fear just wafting from the man as he blatantly ignored him and raised an eyebrow to the Adjudicator who had brought him here. "Adjudicator Valon, this pile of rancid meat you've brought before me, what is the evidence against him."

Lifting up a hand the Adjudicator produced a datapad, and as Arthos took it he spoke announcing various small crimes before finally getting to the core of it. "Lord Consul, in the end that datapad was found with incoming credits from an unknown account, but the deposits were traced to somewhere inside the Silver Concord. Perhaps once the planet has been conquered we can utilize the system to find more, but it appears the lieutenant was selling secrets. The spy claims he was not selling them to the Silver Concord however but rather a nameless buyer, which of course could very easily have been the Jedi."

Nodding Arthos placed a hand on the man's head as he slowly began to leach the very life out of him. "I find you guilty of high crimes, your name will be erased from record, and so will your soul." An agonized scream echoed through the room as the man's essence was very slowly siphoned from him into the Lord Consul, the eyes of the other prisoners riveted as their level of fear truly rose. Strength rolled into him as the man began to die, his body withering even as it drew it's last breaths and collapsed like a husk. Arthos felt like he'd slept for a week, a very good week. Walking back to the third man Arthos considered him again as the man stared in horror at the Lord Consul's hand, but he did not lay it down in judgement this time. "Admiral Antilles, we have found at least one verified seller of information and quite likely the true spy. There is one more guilty party, but more the part of a lack of discipline, however that is a navy issue and not an issue for this court. I would recommend a loss in rank and sixty days without pay for his honesty if nothing else but that is your jurisdiction. Crewman Adhri is yours to judge, this court is complete. For the moment at least."

 

[Quintus Varro]

​

Objective: Corruption
Location: The Red Dragon
Mission: Time to get out!

The sweet music of suffering was no more on the bridge, those who feared death had either already run from it, and while he could feel it moving throughout the entire ship as they ran to find escape pods and shuttle the Acolyte knew it was too late even as there was one right at his back. The captain lie dead by his feet as he'd run to use his own personal method of escape, and his spirit had already joined the others in powering the obelisk below. Still as the planet grew bigger in the viewscreen he knew there was no escape, the burning ship was already on reentry and pieces were burning away into the void. Then it stopped, or rather slowed at least. It was impossible to see why at least for him. The few working screens on the bridge showed error messages and even though it had structurally held together so far without the AI or at least the solid bridge crew which had already fled or died they had all simply failed.

Looking back at the door to the escape pod he decided this was his chance, and perhaps his only one. Severing the captain's hand he used it to gain access to the spacious captain's escape pod, and strapped himself in all too aware he had yet to fight a single Jedi. He'd been promised one to fight, and he should have listened. Of course he wouldn't die here, it had been foretold by the Emperor himself he would live to fight on. Strapping himself in he stared out the closing doors as they began to seal, and not one eye of the Emperor's own guard turned back to join him even for a moment. Perhaps he would protect them all as he'd protected Quintus?

Red light flooded the pod as he both heard and felt a giant clank as the pod was released into a shoot and sent careening through the tube and out into space. For one moment it was all so clear as he looked out into the field of debris that ships of all sizes were knocking off the Red Dragon even as their tractor beams continually failed to keep a lock on the larger ship as they were forced to work though the debris and move pieces one by one to attempt to regain their lock. He only had a moment to watch the show before the pod began to shake as it entered Ossus atmosphere and as communications opened back up for him since the first time since the Red Dragon began to fail he got a glimpse of what was going on. The pod was automatically pulled towards the Sith command point along with hundred of others as Quintus found himself no longer in the war for corruption, but now a member of the ground team itself.

As the pod touched down the seal automatically opened with a sudden rush of cold air that sucked the breath away from the Acolyte for a moment. Still he stood as he sucked the warmth from his environment to warm himself his stolen lightsaber pike in hand and exited the vehicle as he looked over the snowy field which had long now been stained red with blood. So it seems he would be fighting Jedi after all. Taking up the charge he joined other units headed towards the temple and the front. A dark song in his heart as he drank in the glory of the oncoming obelisk. Perhaps he could still find Arcturus Dinn on the battlefield and join him in glorious combat against their enemies.

​

Objective: Attack the Temple
Focus: None, but looking for one!
Allies: Darth Empyrean Alina Tremiru Tegan Starfall Melydia Gold Cato Demora
Enemies: Romi Jade Caltin Vanagor Syd Celsius Caedyn Arenais Mathieu Brion Vexander Graves Taiia Locke Nathaniel Wellchoestor

 

[Auteme]

Other Space Kaiden ​

"Your view of the Jedi -- and the Force -- is limited," she said. In a moment of clarity she began to understand the philosophy of these Sith. The Force was somehow the enemy; an impossibly powerful being of sinister intentions, yet equally the route to salvation. The Jedi, the enemy, were misguided because of some iron-clad belief that the Force was always correct.

The images that flashed in her mind were painful. Unlike the heartless passion and fury of Vulcanus, Auteme wept at those sights. Pain and suffering were terrible things; life, possibility, freedom cut short in the Sith's quest for power. She couldn't imagine a galaxy where she did not oppose those things. At his offer she shook her head.

The Light crept back in, slowly at first. The love and warmth found when Ryv was finally able to leave his hospital bed, the quiet moments of friendship with Allyson, and every little good that came in spite of horror and tragedy. "If I were cut from the Force, it wouldn't matter. I'd still oppose you in whatever way I could. Making it about the Force, preaching some unseen enemy -- it doesn't change evil. You cannot blind me. You cannot distract me with talk of others. Judge me for what I am -- I am a Jedi. I am a person. I am free. And it seems that I am far more free than you."

She breathed deep. Her mind pried deeper, raising barriers to keep out Vulcanus's assault. The air she inhaled was fresh and cool, smelling of spring and life and hope. Through the weave she took hold of the thread linking their minds -- and took hold of it, pulling hard to bring them out of his mindscape.

 

[Grundark]

Objective: Renew assault on the temple
Allies: Darth Empyrean Alina Tremiru Tegan Starfall Melydia Gold Cato Demora
Enemies: Romi Jade Caltin Vanagor Syd Celsius Caedyn Arenais Mathieu Brion Vexander Graves Taiia Locke Nathaniel Wellchoestor

It could have been eternity or just a minute, it all became blended as the chant played over and over again in the Cragmoloids ears. So close to that one that that Velok Brokentusk had shown him among his own fighting off Starwierds as he found his foot beating in timing with the drum beating in his ears, the impact leaving a small force impact with every pound of growing passions. Inside he fought for control, control of himself and over the madness that beat at his every pore. He was not just a crazed bull anymore, he was not! Yet the madness called, made his muscles ache for their power as the wound on his head continually mingled blood with those covering his body. Relief for all that pain, a balm for his strengths to show the Jedi at the temple what he was truly made of. There was a true test of his strength, not one but all the Jedi fighting the Worm to keep the obelisk from corrupting their planet.

That paused him again though even as his leg muscles seemed to take the first step of their own volition, the end goal was taking this planet, but corrupting it? What grew on Korriban? What lived in that hellish landscape? Still the chant beckoned him onwards as his feet began to run ahead of him as the core of Grundark struggled with the ideal goal being corruption? He had heard the religious jumbo, but he hadn't come in zealot, and nor had anything he'd seen here made him more of one. He was here because he liked the people and they gave him something to stand on, so he in turned stood with them. Still though there was no way back though if what he was hearing in reports was right. They were surrounded in the skies by what seemed to be continually large reinforcements, and the Jedi were forming up at the temple for a more concentrated defense. If the obelisk didn't win them the day nothing else would, the odds were just moving against them by the second. Those Silver Concord warships in space would be filled to the brim with more soldiers and once they finished the fleets up they'd land and the ground forces would be quickly surrounded, and most of those were his.

So did he ever really have a choice at all?

"Herd, fire on the temple with heavy weaponry, do what you can to distract the Jedi within. The obelisk must fall or victory becomes all but impossible. There is no escape here, and you know that by just looking above. Push onwards and overwhelm that temple or we all die in a frozen grave. Personally I hate the cold, so embrace the darkness and let us live."

Now as he ran he continued the chant with his own lips as darkness suffused in him and he filled himself with the force and a fierce joy lit inside him. The glory of combat was everything, and yet somewhere deep inside a sadness was born. He was still unready to return, he had not mastered himself. Another year perhaps, mother, another year. Charging into some front line defenders of the Jedi he pulled at the Rancors to do the same. There was no retreat anymore, and to stand still was to die. So today he would fight until the last breath.

 

[Atlas Drake]

There is no light in earth or heaven
But the cold light of stars​

---

// RED DRAGON
// OSSUS ATMOSPHERE
// ADEGA SYSTEM, OUTER RIM TERRITORIES
​

"Constellation to Drake! Respond! We've lost your signal beacon! Constellation to Drake-"

"zzrt-still here. Sheltering in an airlock. Prepare for emergency docking procedures."

Captain Drake was still breathing heavily from both the adrenaline as well as physical exertion of climbing across the wrecked holonet relay, over his own survey ship's upper hull, and into what remained of a crashing Sith flagship before the heat of atmospheric reentry cooked him alive. He leaned against the airlock waiting until more could be seen through its small viewport than inferno. Slowly enough flames receded that Atlas could make out Ossan blues skies beyond.

"Extend gantry on my mark," he waited for the survey ship to drift into alignment, "Mark."

Ignoring squeals of protest from the airlock controls as he bypassed several safety protocols, Atlas struggled against the wind to prise it open even while a transparisteel gantry extended from the Constellation and secured itself against the burning remnants of outer hull. Comlink chatter gave him a few seconds warning to take cover before a grappling spike embedded itself against the inner airlock.

"Drake to Constellation. I'm coming home."

He took hold of the liquid cable and secured his mag boots against the gantry. One hand after the other Drake strained against gravitational forces as he pulled himself out of the Red Dragon's scorched airlock. Each trembling step seemed as if it would be his last but slowly the explorer began to make progress. Soon enough he was nearly halfway across.

"Brace for impact!"

Before he could react the gantry around him disintegrated under turbolaser fire. Two shots also struck the Constellation, the first overloading civilian grade deflector shields and the second scorching her hull. Atlas was falling until the liquid cable line secured to his EVA suit's safety harness pulled taught and his momentum was violently reoriented along the survey ship's trajectory.

"...enemy...frigate...never saw it...orders..."

"Drop mines and break off!"

Darkness slowly claimed his vision as he was delivered into his crew's waiting arms.

---

Equipment: EVA Suit, Tool Kit, Glie-44 Navy, Tehk'la Blade
Allies: Gir Quee Ura Iolar Okkeus Dainlei
Enemies: Tithon Antilles Arthos Vynea Errix Feh'room
Manifest:

• Trident-class Surveyor Ship​

Actions:

• Dock with crashing Sith flagship and commence daring escape. Take hull damage from chasing Sith frigate. Shields down.​
• Deploy three seismic charges along the Sith frigate's intercept course with fleeing ships.​

 

[Thirdas Heavenshield]

​

Feeling the Force
Ossus Jedi Temple
​

He found himself back inside the temple, now filled with similarly bloodied defenders, Jedi and otherwise. There was confusion among those who yet lived, whether all hope was lost and it was better to consign themselves to oblivion. Thirdas wanted to stay strong for those would could not, but even he felt overwhelmed by the impending doom that awaited in the form of a Sith ship heading straight for them, capable of obliterating the entire area.

Looking around, he noticed a few familiar faces among the survivors. He recognised Caedyn Arenais from the botched rescue attempt on Yavin, the day he lost Nida... Caedyn also happened to be the master of Kyra Perl . They'd never spoken outside of that one mission together. He wasn't sure who the other guy was though.

Thirdas was not a Jedi. He'd rejected his mother and father's attempts at teaching him as a young boy, the way they had his older siblings. All his life a part of him had wanted to distance himself from their line of work, fearing he would fail and succumb to his darker desires and ultimately have to face his own family. He'd always been prone to violent solutions to matters, even as a child; who's to say he would not end up a Sith were he to take the pledge of a servant of the Force?

And yet, he still could not dismiss that gnawing feeling that perhaps he was meant for more than simply being a blunt instrument. His mother, his father, his brothers and sisters, Nida, Kyra... all of them seemed to believe this was the case.

His head was filled with such doubts as he slumped over near a pillar, sitting down with his back to it. If this was to be his end, then what had he accomplished in life? What of the things he could have accomplished, had he followed the words of his father all those years ago?

Then, in his moment of doubt and hopelessness, whispers began to enter his mind. Words he knew not to whom they belonged, yet he'd heard them all the same. He looked around in confusion at first, finding others who looked just as bewildered. A woman's voice. It was soon followed by others, some of whom where not even on the same planet as it would turn out. Each new voice added to the chorus of hope bestowed upon these last defenders, including he who had shunned the Force all his life.

What finally reached into his soul was the voice of his father, echoing stronger than the others due to their close bond. It bid him to rise up and continue the fight, and not relent until the battle was won. It was overwhelming, the sheer power of all these Jedi combined lending their strength to him and all the others; so much so that he was compelled to shed a tear.

"I understand now, Papa," he uttered softly before getting back on his feet, his body and spirit restored, his hope renewed.

Wiping the tear from his cheek, he brandished his Valkyri-made axe once more and readied himself for whatever end.

"I am one with the Force, and the Force is with me..."

 

[Other Space Kaiden]

The Inferno
Warrior's Skin
Objective: III
(The Shadow Realm Jimbo)

"Then" Vulcanus growled as the Jedi-thing rose it's barrier against him, her aura tainting the air with the musk of pine and wild grass, "you will die"

Flames roared to life, their orange glow fading to a phantom green that burned hotter than any natural flame. Like a storm of fire the flames shot forward, slamming against the woman's mental barrier and sending a cloud of steam hissing into the darkness as if blocked by a wall of water. The aroma of spring was overpowered by the greasy stink of cinder and melted fat, the chemical odor of duracrete and the metallic tang of a forge - of destruction and change.

"You are far too weak to stop me, child!" Vulcanus roared as he felt the link Jedi reach into his mind, "if you are so eager to suffer, then let us grant your wish!"

With the ritual complete, Vulcanus' mind was clearer than it had ever been. Stronger than it had ever been. He grabbed ahold of the connection Autume formed and pulled with all his might. The shadow realm of his mind spun into non-existence, he felt himself slip away...then there was a flashing red light...

*****
​

Vulcanus eyes fluttered open and were immediately blinded by the flash of red emergency lights. Blaring of sirens deafened him and the pull of gravity sank his stomach deep into his gut. Slowly he lifted his head. He was on the floor? How had he gotten here? The obelisk pulsed beside him, it's surface glowing with a purple hue that beat against the emergency lights.

The events of his mind were clear...Sanem, the revelations...the Jedi. The beast moved to stand up, but as he reached for the floor he found himself unable to feel it...or able to feel anything. He looked down to his arms and his eyes went wide.

Both arms were missing, replaced by smoking numbs and his left leg was much the same. Sanem had not been lying when he said his body was tearing itself apart.

With a grunt he turned around the room. Boxes and crates were scattered about haphazardly and not far from him the unconscious form of Autume twitched with a returning life.

So she was real then. He did not have time to sit around and discover his situation. He had to act and the answer was almost instinctual. Calling upon the immense darkside energy emanating from the obelisk, Vulcanus summoned his own rage and felt it work inside him.

Wet tears resounded throughout the obelisk quarters as tendons reached out from smoking wounds, slapping the floor before slithering upward like a tentacle to begin forming an outline of an arm.

It was all real then. The worm's ritual had unlocked something deep in him, showed him a new way. He did not understand fully the secret to Hord's healing ability - it was as if something else inside of him knew what to do...and it was obvious he had not perfected.

Hord healed nigh instantly - but the nerves and bone and muscle slithering from Vulcanus' wounds were much slower. He groaned in pain as the darkside worked its wonders and he rested his sulfuric gaze on the awaking @Autume.

 

[Mathieu Brion]

​

Tags: Alina Tremiru Caedyn Arenais
Other tags: Vexander Graves Vulpesen Taiia Locke Romi Jade Caltin Vanagor Nathaniel Wellchoestor Starlin Rand Thirdas Heavenshield Sakadi Marathi Sinvala Jend-Ro Quill Syd Celsius Coren Starchaser
Location: Ossus, Jedi Temple
Equipment: What is detailed in the character sheet.

It was good to speak to Caedyn Arenais. He was a familiar face among all the invaders. A person whom Mathieu had met before and knew as a kind soul. He had a strange sense of trust towards the man. Together, they sat there, wounded and tended to by healers in a moment of peace and serenity. The Sith were attacking, breaching through some of the weaker parts and flooding into the temple like a tidal wave. But at this very moment, Mathieu felt like peace - together with Caedyn, he was at the eye of the storm.

The Temple was far from soft inside - the structure grew in strength as massive walls and pillars which held it up started to become a more common sight. Even when Alina had broken through the outer wall, she would find that it was harder to get through the deeper into the building she got. And each doorway she stepped towards would soon be closed off, slowing her advance further. The light was emanating from the centre where multiple Jedi had joined in on the force meld. Mathieu looked to the Knight he was with as a nimble-handed healer worked to mend his wound - or at least make the pain more sufferable and reducing the risk of making it worse. Caedyn, despite his own difficulties, found it within himself to help guide Mathieu towards the united effort of Jedi across the galaxy.

Mathieu brushed away Alina's words as he followed Caedyn's instructions. For now, she was still at a safe distance - although, speaking of safe distances near Alina Tremiru was always a fool's game. Perhaps Mathieu was a fool. Peeling away surface emotions and layers of pain and suffering from the world around him, the Padawan allowed himself to hear Romi Jade , Sakadi Marathi Sinvala and so many other Jedi, all working as one to keep the world of Ossus safe. It was one of the most awe-inspiring phenomenons which Mathieu had ever experienced.

It was an experience which was destined to be short-lived, however. Dust and rubble were falling down from the high ceilings as the attackers started to target the structure - undoubtedly making it worse for their own forces as they tried to make their way in than for the Jedi who could be found at the core of the building. A lonesome Jedi was actively working with her telekinetic skills to ensure that nobody got hurt from the large pieces as many joined in on the force Meld. But as they did, Mathieu drew away from the collective activity. The few defenders who were outside were slowly but surely being pushed aside. Mathieu had never been able to pride himself on a strong connection to the force and was far less skilled in its use than so many of his peers. "Stay safe" he whispered, looking to Caedyn who already seemed to have disappeared into the meld before standing up and moving towards the exit.

A few moments after Mathieu stepped outside, the heavy gates closed behind him. Ensuring that the Sith wouldn't get past. Soon, the Padawan begun moving through the corridors of the temple - Alina had not been very discrete about her location and so, he knew rather well in what direction he should go in to find her. Eventually, he arrived at the same section as the Sith who had been hunting him and saw her at the end of a long but somewhat narrow hallway.

Once more, he experienced her dark techniques as she tried to supress the force around him. Unlike the last time they had fought, Mathieu tried to resist the attack this time, drawing from the strength and inspiration he had found whilst connected to the other Jedi in the force meld. If she kept the pressure up, it seemed like it was only a matter of time before he would succumb to her assault - but this time, he would instead apply pressure to her. With a burst of energy, he charged forth with his blue lightsabre in one hand and her pike in the other. It would take but a moment for him to arrive by her location. With speed and momentum, the large Padawan launched a flurry of attacks consisting almost exclusively of slashes with the sabre and bashes with her unignited pike.

 

[Jend-Ro Quill]

​

Weep, Quill - He'd hear in his mind - that all those who have faded did not do so lightly; but fought until it was your 'Force' that took them. Hid them in the Tartarus of the Nether for breaching yet too close to the reality we face.​

​

Weep, Jedi, for your very actions make you culpable to nature's atrocities.​

​

Far away, Quill flinched at the sociopathic shallowness of Maliphant's thoughts. He'd known far too many people who'd go to any length for what they saw as the truth. Maliphant reminded him of - well, his father, back in the Raskava Order. Both were men who'd utterly failed to achieve a sense of proportion. If Quill's father had owned a battlecruiser and a fortune, he'd probably have scourged worlds just like Maliphant's people were trying to do. For no real end. No sensible purpose but evil for evil's sake. Convoluted plans with justifications tacked on after the fact.

Son, what you teach is a conspiracy theory, a superstition. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence, and what's asserted without evidence takes no evidence to refute. But let's say your truth is truth. Let's say you're entirely correct. Let's say the will of the Force is just the Celestials' merciless plan and so forth, and the Sith are the noble champions of free will.

If so, I'll still take the path that leads me to be kind, to help, to heal and teach and respect - not to make, become, and follow bloodthirsty monsters. There's no greater critic of Jedi flaws than me, but on the whole, there's no equivalency to your darkness. Not at any sane ethical level.

My path hasn't made me a perfect man, but I'm not the man I was. Back when I was a darksider like you, I tasted your kind of free will. I found a better one. Come and see, son. There might not be hope for your redemption, but there's hope that you could learn to stop. And that's the only real hope you can rely on. All your other hopes are denial. You strike me as a man who prides himself on his mind. Have some intellectual honesty and stop believing things just because you want to believe.

Feth, son, I'm weeping over here at your lost potential. You're every cognitive bias known to man - and the kicker is, you want to be.

 

[Darth Empyrean]

​

Objective II: Regicide
Allies: Alina Tremiru │ Grundark │ Irina Volkov │ Arcturus Dinn │ Melydia Gold
Enemies: Vexander Graves │ Mathieu Brion │ Vulpesen │ Taiia Locke │ Caedyn Arenais │ Romi Jade │ Starlin Rand │ Maja Fiore │ Nathaniel Wellchoestor

Is it?​

​

You doubt with such conviction - speak as though the truth has already been laid before you. Yet is it the truth, or a truth that simply fills your need for comfort? A man on the brink of death, a decade or two at most from his end - and his life wasted on all the wrong pursuits. Now when faced with knowledge he could not attain, his response is to retreat from it, deny it - for your sake, or mine?​

​

Consider what you know, consider how you've failed yourself - there is no shame in mediocrity, but there is in denial. ​

​

Maliphant could feel his mind wash over dozens more - more than he assumed there would be when he iniated his infiltration. What kept him grounded now was the staff he created alone - filled with his spirit, anchoring him to Ossus as he created another clone of himself to protect him. His mind refocused, and his grip turned white on the staff as it pressed deeper.​

​

Know that morality is subjective, and a righteous fist can save more men than an open hand when properly used. Do not fear conviction, Jedi - for it is conviction that will save us all; and whether you believe me evil or not, that I follow sycophants with no morale compass - Know it doesn't matter. The ends justify the means, and I still haven't killed as many as your masters. ​

​

Free yourself of its bonds, search its depths as you once attempted - and you may yet know the truth to which I speak.​

​

Jend-Ro Quill ​