The Reckoning

[Keira Priest]

Spoiler

As a note, I do have permission from the necessary individuals to start this thread. Timeline-wise it takes place after Gen's coup but before the attack on Chazwa by the Sith and Techno Union. It's open to any members of the Galactic Republic with logical reason to be present. Let's keep this fun, guys.

Obligatory theme

"What I remember about the rise of the Empire is…is how quiet it was. During the waning hours of the Clone Wars, the 501st Legion was discreetly transferred back to Coruscant. It was a silent trip. We all knew what was about to happen, what we were about to do. Did we have any doubts? Any private traitorous thoughts? Perhaps, but no one said a word. Not on the flight to Coruscant, not when Order 66 came down, and not when we marched into the Jedi Temple. Not a word."

Chazwa​

Nearing the Jedi Enclave​

1900 Local Time​

​

It was the waiting that was the worst part, Keira had decided. In her life she had taken part in a number of conflicts, fighting on a countless number of fronts for an innumerable amount of causes, and no matter what, it was always the waiting. That time spent in silence, no matter how long its duration - hours, minutes, seconds - gave one time to think and reflect on what they were about to do and all the possible mishaps that could occur along the way. Self-doubt was something not even the best trained soldier was fully prepared to deal with, and being left with all of those second guesses was bound to be detrimental in time. She would have much rather got on with things.

But of course, this time 'getting on with things' wasn't as simple as it sounded. Because this time 'getting on with things' equated felling an Order sworn to protect the Republic from day one from threats much like herself and the clone army that accompanied her in the transports available. What troops were able had been recalled, which wasn't as many as any standard commander would have welcomed when it came to taking on Jedi, but Keira was more than confident in the abilities of the men and women that followed her. Their training had been overseen by the Mandalorian elite, a sentiment that meant more than most seemed to think. Upwards of two to three thousand men weren't odds she liked against the Jedi Order, but they were odds she had to work with.

From the second the order had been given she wondered if this was right, if this was what protecting a Galactic Republic really should have looked like. It certainly didn't feel correct, but nothing about war really ever did. It was all about picking the lesser of the two evils and following through with what was being ordered. Or at least, that was what it had all been reduced to within the past few days. Besides, she was already en-route to their destination, and there was to be no turning back. What was to transpire would now do so, regardless of any private wishes or thoughts she or any of the men may have harbored. This was it, it was time, they were soldiers on a mission. It was about time every one of them started acting like it.

She was on her feet seconds before the announcement came that they would be touching down in mere minutes. Here would have been the time where some sort of rousing speech would have been given, an address meant to rouse the spirits of those serving underneath her. But she remained silent, as did they, not a word spoken through the commlinks within each of their helmets that connected them not only to each other, but their commander as well. It was a grim sort of silence, one produced only by the simple knowing that few would survive this. In fact, she wasn't expecting to walk away herself. But she would fight to the end. They all would. "Ol'val, min dul'skal, ahn guld domina." Good luck. With that, they landed, and their silent march began.

[member="Corvus Raaf"], [member="Mantic Dorn"], [member="Dish"], @Galactic Republic and Jedi Order

 

[Fen]

He didn't need the early warning system ringing on his data pad to know of the menace which approached. Korr donned his armor and took up his sabers. A sanguine string of palace coups and nigh extinctions had left him more paranoid of a repeat event, especially given the recent memory of Daella Apparine's betrayal. The mere thought of that day was like touching an unhealed burn and he recoiled from it.

Time. They needed more time.

Ryan ran for the hangars.

[member="Keira Ticon"]

 

[Commander Lusk]

Lusk was prepared for this moment, he was prepared to do what had to be done in order to protect the Republic, to do what he was created for. He was told that the Jedi were enemies of the state and traitors to the Republic, and Lusk tried his best not to question that. Unlike other clones he could actually do that, he was an alpha wave trooper and born without the added chips in his brain. So his loyalties were his own, and his actions were his own as well. But there was so little information Lusk was given on these so called peace keepers, what with only being eight years old it would be hard to fully understand the complexities of the light and dark sides of the force.

But none of that mattered at the moment. Light, dark, grey, it was all superfluous in this moment. Because when the ship's landed and the clones assembled into drill lines not a single word then what their commander gave was uttered, no small talk between brothers and sisters, no orders being barked down from squad leaders, despite the loyalty chips in place for each clone trooper present, there was a sinking feeling that this was still wrong. And although no one wanted to vocalize it, it could be felt as a thick tension in the air.

The lines all formed in two formations that stretched back by over a hundred meters, each clone trooper perfectly aligned with their rifle pointed upwards locked and loaded ready for the slaughter of Jedi if were to come to that. Lusk took point and fell in slightly behind Keira's right so she would be placed out in front leading the men between both formations. The silence between the men was soon broken by one sound that could be mistaken as nothing else.

Booted heels all striking the ground the ground at once, a wall of discipline, unity, and death all marching forward towards the steps of the enclave to bring order to the republic and see the traitors within brought to justice.

The wall of clone troopers kept coming closer and closer to the enclave until they reached the entrance where Lusk raised a single fist in the air, and like clockwork each clone stopped in a singular motion and shifted their rifles so they were held at parade rest. The sounds of metal and feet moving echoed off the walls of the enclave and soon the Jedi would be given their unconditional terms of surrender. Which boiled down to join and swear your loyalty to the republic by having biochips placed in your brains, spend the rest of your lives in a gulag far far away on a cold planet, or resist and be killed here and now. Let it never be said that Genevieve didn't give people options.

Now it was time for the commander to give these terms over to the Jedi so they could be expressly informed about what was going to happen.

[member="Mantic Dorn"] [member="Corvus Raaf"] [member="Karen Roberts"] [member="Ryan Korr"] [member="Orphen"] [member="Keira Ticon"]

 

[Dish]

It was always going to come to this. Striding besides [member="Keira Ticon"], no words came from the towering soldier who stood out from the other clones who marched in formation for the Jedi Enclave. From behind the visor he looked over to his leader his eyes somber as he pondered what was about to occur. He remembered training for this, years ago, surrounded by his own brothers instead of the new blood who surrounded him now, still they all were prepared to do what was best for the Republic, even if that meant exterminating its oldest allies. It had to be done.

Every step his armor's boots thudded against the ground, perfectly in sync with the march of those around him tingling with what he could only guess was anticipation. No, it was worse than that, far worse, perhaps it was dread. A naive part of Dish wanted things to end peacefully, the Jedi to stand down and join them in saving the Republic from the Sith and itself, but Dish knew the Jedi, they were a defiant lot, and the Dread Guard soldier was equipped to deal with that. He'd been armed with weapons designed with the same purpose in mind that was used to make him, kill force users, kill Jedi. There was no peace to be found here, only death.

At [member="Commander Lusk"]'s signal the once-ARC Trooper halted and unlike his comrades who stood in formation, left his shotgun cradled in his arms as he stood beside Ticon, staring into the enclave. Before the Jedi's home lay a wall of armor and death. Lusk, Ticon, and himself, they were the only ones not perfectly uniform with the rest of the troops sticking out among the massive formation. He remembered the holovids, of what happened hundreds of years before, KNIGHTFALL. If the moment hadn't been so grim perhaps the Jorin clone would've chuckled at the irony, he who despised Sith so much, was about to carry out the second coming of their greatest success.

How funny.

[member="Mantic Dorn"] [member="Ryan Korr"] [member="Corvus Raaf"]

 

[Fen]

"Where further do you march? ​

Where do you take my standards, warriors? ​

If lawfully you come, if only as citizens, this far only is allowed."​

-J.L.Chamberlain​

The high whine of roaring engines emanated from the Jedi Enclave. A matte-black shape leapt into the skies, s-foils locking into attack position. The blue skies of Chazwa welcomed the X-wing into their embrace, but at the controls, Ryan Korr glared at his radar. The ground below was not so amicable. A legion of clone troopers continued to offload from troop shuttles.

Korr grit his teeth. The Jedi Order could mount an impressive defense, but he needed to give them time enough to ready themselves for the coming storm.

He opened a comm channel to those below.

"Attention unidentified force, this is Jedi Master Ryan Korr. Cease your march on the Jedi Enclave immediately or you will be fired on."

[member="Dish"] | [member="Commander Lusk"] | [member="Keira Ticon"]

 

[Krenis Skirata]

Krenis stared at the reports now flooding into his office. His liaison with the Jedi had just sent him a live transmission of what was going on outside the Jedi enclave. It was Order 66, all over again. Exactly the same. Fallen Jedi. Clones incapable of saying no, even though they knew it was wrong. Oh, they would know it was wrong. They all did. Everyone forgot clones weren't droids. They had emotions, hearts, minds. Morals. They weren't expendable machines, but living beings. While he had his beef with the Jedi, they at least had been the only ones to recognize that. They had stood up for him and his brothers when others viewed them as expendable. In this, he would honor this loyalty from the long-ago past.

He stood and strode from the room, talking into his comm to rally the ARCs and prepare his armor. This was wrong. All wrong and he would become dar'manda before he let such a thing occur. He was met by his executive officer, already armored up and ready to go, with Krenis' own armor in a chest.

"All troops are deploying, sir. En route to the enclave in attack speeders."

Krenis nodded as he began pulling on his armor, listening and calculating. They were outnumbered, although there were Jedi, and they were capable of handling a great deal. Well, theoretically. He had still seen them get slaughtered and it could easily happen again.

They stepped out of the non-descript building, headquarters for RSFU and the ARC program, and into a speeder. Krenis pulled on his helmet and patched into the ARC communications network, listening to the first intel reports from the commandos that had surrounded the enclave a kilometer out to observe.

"I will confront them myself," Krenis said, "And engage on my order if they refuse to stand down. I wish no more blood spilled than necessary, but..." His voice trailed off. "Arm the rocket launchers just in case."

They knew what he meant. They knew who he was. Alpha-class Fett clone created for the Clone Wars. Survivor of the original Order 66. He saw all of it again, as vividly as he had when it had occurred. The sickening horror.

It was silent on the rest of the ride, as silent as the march had probably been. They stopped at the kilometer perimeter and Krenis strode out and activating his jetpack, bouncing from building to building until he reached the roof of the enclave, staring down at the lines of clones. One last jet to descend in front of the door, Westar slung across his back.

It was too quiet. So uncomfortably quiet. But nobody liked this situation. Things were super uncomfortable. He cleared his throat and removed his helmet. For anyone who knew the history of either the Republic or the Dreadguard, they would recognize his face, minus the x-shaped scar across his face. Jango Fett. Krenis had known Jango, trained under him, even. He had been an honorable man and it was unfortunate he had died facing the army he created. His children, to say.

He studied the ranks on the leaders. Commander and whomever the woman was. Probably not Sith.

"Stand down, commander," He said softly, placing emphasis on the rank, and gesturing to his own bars of colonel. "This is wrong and you know it." He raised his voice this time to speak to all of them. "We all know it! And I know it more painfully than you. I am Krenis Skirata, formerly Alpha-93, Grand Army of the Republic created for the Clone Wars. I was once given this very same order. Order 66!"

Krenis paused, remembering the crushing feeling of dread that had fallen during that command.

"That order destroyed the Republic, brothers. Everything we had sacrificed for and died for. All destroyed by a traitor to the Republic. Which is the decision you now face. Don't be droids or machines, bound by programming! You are flesh and blood!" His voice echoed across square as a fighter shot towards the sky from the enclave. Kark it, Krenis though. That will destroy everything he was trying to. He messaged his executive officer with a simple message. Get the pilot to stand down. There was a chance this could resolve peacefully.

"I know your struggle!" His voice cracked, remembering having to fight his brothers against their unjust orders. "The Republic is not the Prime Minister! Nor was it the Supreme Chancellor in my day! It is the Senate and the people. Do not kill what you seek to defend. Please."

[member="Ryan Korr"] who beat me to the post button [member="Dish"] [member="Commander Lusk"] [member="Keira Ticon"] [member="Corvus Raaf"] [member="Mantic Dorn"]

 

[Orphen]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCoqdCjzFV8&index=2&list=RDdx6tXLq27hQ​

​

[Time: 19:05]
[Location: Chazwa Jedi Dormitory]

Orphen was in the enclave when he heard the commotion, not long after Kitty had left... looking to the skies he could feel the presence of the force closing in around him like a dark and anxious pressure, he could feel something coming, something big... something bad. Looking out the window was when Orphen for the first time physically saw what was going on, it was in that instant that Orphen took to the fleet, gripping his coat and helmet rather than his visor before scrambling to collect the new charrik Pyraemon drones he had been working on, all eighteen of the new drones to bring his total cap up to par with the machines he had made. The next step to outfit was collecting his four hand-guns, holstering them in their usual places, his particle pistols at his hips while the heavy pistols at his thighs. Pyraemon drones slotted nicely into the pockets on the interior of his cloak lining either side of his spine as well as along the interior of the Erebus platform he would be using for mobility. Finally, scooping up his gauntlet and DCD and slotting them on the same arm just as he jumped onto his platform, he looked across the room to his light-sabers... holding out a hand for the two of them, the force would coil around the two solitary hilts moments before they would rush to his open grip, tightening around them as the wide window would open, allowing him on his floating forum to rocket out of a ten story window at speed. Spiraling downward around the Jedi building as he was able to take in everything that was happening.

One hundred meters and enclosing...

Orphen, with his helmet could hear comms chatter on the airways, it seemed the clones were trying to be reasoned with. But Orphen knew there would be no use, Order 66 was what was coming to every-bodies' minds, the clones were under the control of a grand architect which was no doubt not here. So, Orphen would bring in the cavalry, unlike other Jedi, Orphen didn't intend to fight this fairly. Opening coms to Alpha, he ordered a drop-off right on the gates of the Jedi building. Orphen wanted the ARCHON here, and he wanted it now, as well as the Laevetein if he could at all help it...

Take off preparations began and were over in moments as Orphen prepared for battle.

Swooping in like a hawk Orphen would land at the front gates of the Jedi Building two dozen meters before [member="Commander Lusk"], looking on at the marching forces of the clones, drawing one of his hip mounted pistols and activating his personal particle shield readying for the combat of a lifetime. As, moments later, there was a heavy swooping sound overhead, as a corvette sized drone rocketed past, manned by Orphen's A.I... The Corvette dropped a single solitary pod which would crash into the earth diagonally behind the Jedi, opening to reveal the A.R.C.H.O.N. The all region combat holding and observation node. A droid standing six meters tall, shimmering with its ultrachrome alloy coat as it took a single threatening step forward, freeing itself from the drop-pod. Orphen's Erebus platform freed itself from under Orphen's feet as he jumped, dismounting it, the platform taking to the wing and floating to the top of the colossal droid and integrating with the weapons point at its shoulders, becoming a glorified turret as the ARCHON's particle shields activated with a shimmering hexagonal pattern around the behemoth, before fading out of the visual spectrum.

Eighteen Pyraemon drones, filling the respective AI reserves of the Erebus, Laevetein's and the ARCHON's independent DCD's, activated, consolidating and floating in a stationary halo at around the ARCHON's head like a dharma wheel of floating charriks primed and ready for fire. While Orphen would control his own Seven Pyraemon drones personally, gripping tightly one of his particle pistols and waiting for all hell to break loose... It was the calm before the storm, he didn't want to fight, but he would if he had to, and in the least friendly manner possible to protect the lives of the children and innocents inside.

With the combined threat of a Corvette class missile gunship, and a six meter tall walker, each capable of deploying horrifying weapons of mass devastation, Orphen felt like alone he was capable of holding the line. No-one was getting through this entrance, the bottleneck was blocked by insurmountable odds which small arms and heavy armour simply would not be good enough to get through. the jedi inventor had made his walker as a mobile fortress and ground superiority unit. Republic tanks were simply too slow, and infantry too weak to bring this monster down... at least, that was the theory. Strafing runs would be a problem, but loyal pilots, allies and others were gearing up to take to the defensive, not to mention the Laevetein.

Orphen would speak a simple phrase to the Captain, his red coat billowing in the winds as no doubt the droid now blocking the path to the doorway would have drawn some attention.

"Back off soldier... I don't need to tell you how little tactical advantage you have in this wide open shooting gallery..."

There would be a click followed by a humming sound as Orphen's gauntlet began to light up, followed by a similar, much louder sound from the ARCHON.

 

[Commander Lusk]

Maybe the Prime Minister was right, maybe the Jedi needed to be exterminated or forced to serve. Lusk had never known any force users besides their commander and she wasn't a Jedi in the slightest bit. Hell she was more like them than anything, wanting to fight and be one with battle. But the Jedi by the looks of them were already going to do battle, what with the overhead looming of a small corvette, the six meter droid pointing guns at them, and the drone reports that enemy insurgents were performing recon and possibly ready to snipe a few of his men out.

All while not a single gun, weapon, or dirty look was being pointed towards the Jedi or what was left of the original republic army. But now that they had decided to show hostility it was time to return the favor. With his left arm, Lusk lifted it into the air and held up four fingers. There was a shifting of movement and every other line of troopers faced left and opened up in perfect sync having two troopers step out into the isle to drop down to their knees to hear a heavy metallic smack as it grew louder from front to back one by one like a chain of dominos falling in time. But the smack they heard wasn't that of little ceramic table games, no it was the heavy clang of a scrap maker guided missile system that each two man crew within every formation pointed towards the Jedi temple, the six meter droid, the Jedi @Orphan, and the the star ship above piloted by the Jedi master [member="Ryan Korr"] all of it said that they meant business.

But what the Jedi nor [member="Krenis Skirata"] didn't seem to understand was what they faced weren't just three thousand trained clones, what they faced was half a drop in an ocean of warriors. The Spaarti cloned army dwarfed that of the galactic republic during the clone wars, and the current damaged army that they were created to replace or supplement. They didn't grasp that what they were seeing was not a battle that could be won, it was a flee or die situation and while Lusk didn't want this, while the clones didn't want this, it was what they were ordered to do. And while Lusk could understand Krenis, while he could see his pain across their aged face, his loyalty was to his family and younger siblings. His loyalty was to their safety and survival. And right now the person threatening that was [member="Orphen"] with the ship he had above them.

With the corvette being tagged to FleetCom above in orbit lay the Republic fleet where the majority had been given clone naval personnel and was now in control of the capital. The ship would be marked by multiple heavy cruisers or vessels that would blow the tiny ship out of the air in a flash of destruction. That was of course if they decided to open fire. What this was really, with the clones showing up with their commander was a formality. It was something the old Jedi order was never given. A chance to either swear their loyalty, surrender, or be killed effective immediately. Lusk just prayed that they make the right choice and that the Jedi masters would soon come out to calm the situation.

[member="Dish"] [member="Keira Ticon"] [member="Mantic Dorn"] [member="Corvus Raaf"]

 

[Orphen]

[Time: 19:09]
[Location: Chazwa Jedi Temple, Out-Doors]

Orphen hadn't aimed or visially primed any weapons, but looking at the sheer amount of rockets at the disposal of the troops, it seemed a different tactic needed to be taken, Alpha alerted the boy to a lock-on from orbit, as well as a transmission which seemed to have gone through to them moments before, heavy ordinance was ready to rain hell down on their position. Orphen was surprised, it seemed that these people meant business. Though, they were foolish, no matter how targeted their volley, from the range they had intended to open fire on, the Laevetein would be more than capable of beginning to take evasive action. The firing web they would need to emit solely to destroy Orphen's ship would annihilate their own three thousand troops within the blink of an eye. Not to mention everything else within the direct vicinity. Everyone would die, in a collossal double suicide which seemed pointless and ludicrous. If it was the suicide game they wanted to play, Orphen could simply have the Laevetein enter hyperspace from standstill in the atmosphere. The pressure change alone as his ship would speed a short distance only to crash into a nearby building at light speed would rip everything to pieces within miles if the protections were overridden properly.

What would ensue in that case would be fallout far greater than any plasma bomb or warhead.

Orphen shook his head from side to side, he didn't know what to make of all of this. But, he did know the weapons of the republic, so, pooling on his power in the force he began to look over those immediate rocket launchers one by one, the invisible tendrils of Mechu deru weaving through the launchers spaced between the squads, sabotaging the ammunition they had loaded in such a manner that they would detonate if the triggers were pulled, by loosening the impact trigger on the warhead so the force of launch would trigger its payload as if it had hit a target. The Jedi didn't need to target them all, only enough so that the blast radii of each missile would encompass those other launchers around it by the heat-wave alone. With his helmet covering his face which would give away nothing, and the sabotage not effecting the standard issue weapons themselves, there'd be no alerts to the tactic what-so-ever. Though it would tire the boy considerably, it would only take a minute to stack the front-lines as a devastating trap waiting to happen. There was no way Orphen would be able to get them all, likely there were hundreds of launchers, but, the front twenty five or so were well within his power to alter.

Hopefully it was enough... Preach peace, but expect hostility.

"I don't understand you commander, you march three thousand troops to the gates of a peace-keeping temple, and react when its defenses engage. If you want everyone here to die, that's easy, we can all be vaporized here instantly if you call down your airstrike or if we just begin shooting at each other. I'm sure your life, and the lives of your men are important to you, just as the lives of our friends and our teachers are important to us. As is our freedom as citizens of the Republic. So, how about you lower your weapons, I lower mine, and we talk about this like adults? Hmmm? The Jedi have had nothing to do with a private corperation hijacking clone soldiers and striking at the Prime Minister.

Peace? Allow the Jedi council to speak with Genevieve and her representatives, and we can spare bloodshed today."

Orphen spoke lightly, though sweat beaded at his brow. Hopefully all this can be avoided. Orphen's ship banked to a side and lowered more, loosing he high ground as a sign of cooling down, while in the mean-time Jedi by the dozens if not the hundreds within the temple were being evacuated into the lower levels with systems in place that had been there since the clone wars, through paths known only to Jedi and requiring the force to open. By the fledgling Padawans' calculations the blast radius of the missiles in the front-lines would probably not kill him, but the heat wave would be more than enough to throw him backwards and into one of the plasteel windows of the Jedi temple at their current angle... which would also likely shatter by the time he got there as the heat-wave reached its destination before he would slam into it. The experiment's mind raced at a thousand thoughts per second, time slowing to a crawl as he attempted to sense and discern events as they began to unfold, and an attempt to predict others before they happened.

Such was the power of a Jedi.

"For the Republic?"

[member="Commander Lusk"]

 

[Dish]

“You can't win this any way you spin it Jedi.”

The commando broke his silent vigil, unphased by the Jedi’s towering droid and vessel looming overhead. Dish, like [member="Krenis Skirata"] was an old clone from a different army, bred to fight a different enemy, but they like the Spartaii's at his back had all fought under the same banner but they had found themselves on different sides. Maybe it was that they were different breeds, but the words resonated with the clone either way, and yet he remained beside Ticon and Lusk.

“We are your one chance to walk away alive, we are the hand of peace, the Prime Minister has sent us in her stay and you are to stand down. If you don’t, well…” He paused, looking over his shoulder at the thousands of soldiers standing behind him, who were but a miniscule fraction of the whole army.

“Then we’ll just be the tip of the spear that runs your order through.” The words were harsh, threatening almost, but the words were a simple fact. If the Jedi managed to somehow kill three thousand of them, including the Dreadguard commando, clone commander, and most of all the armor clad Dark Jedi Master in command of the whole operation, millions more would come and burn their enclave to the ground.

Was he exactly in a position to speak up? Not entirely, the soldier had held the rank of lieutenant once as was customary with ARCs, but that was years ago, when he'd joined the Dreadguard he'd been absolved of any rank, he simply did as ordered. However, like [member="Commander Lusk"] the clone didn't wish to see the blood of his new comrades spilled, as unlikely as it was, peace was the resolution he wanted. With that he returned to silence, eyes locked on [member="Orphen"], and awaiting orders from either Lusk or [member="Keira Ticon"].

[member="Ryan Korr"] [member="Mantic Dorn"]

 

[Keira Priest]

If in-helmet commlinks were useful for one thing, it was conversing right in front of the enemy while at the same time behind their back. A twinge in the Force had bottomed out her stomach in the way that meant some kind of disaster was on the horizon, and Keira knew enough to be aware of the malfunction that had caused it. And so she warned [member="Commander Lusk"], speaking directly to him and no other, "Have the men with the launchers stand down." Each of them had learned to trust the judgement of the other, whether the order was coming up or down the ranks. He would do as she said. Fething Jedi. Well, he was smart, she'd credit him there. Unfortunately he'd need more than that to save him.

For a moment she considered the opposition that had been gathered, knowing it wasn't in the best interests of herself or her men to underestimate those before her. While the amount of soldiers available within the clone army was within the near-infinite millions they did have the Jedi to contend with, and however passive the Order was, they certainly held their own talents in battle. When they chose to exploit them, that was. "This is a fight you can't win, you know this just as well as we do. Regardless of whether we happen to fall here, there will be more in our stead." They were just the beginning, and this brief discussion, if it could be classified as such, was nothing more than a formality.

"We are the one chance to prevent a massacre, and the terms are rather simple: surrender or die. I hope you're aware this is a chance your predecessors were never granted. It would be wise of you to take it into consideration." Of course, she wasn't exactly expecting them to willingly join the Minister and allow themselves to be absolved into those politics, but it couldn't be said that they hadn't been offered a choice. It was more than she had ever granted anyone, let alone an enemy like the Jedi. "Where are the Masters of your Order to discuss this, then, Jedi? I don't see anyone other than yourself and the one in his ship overhead. You've not made yourselves out to be much of an Order."

The lives of her men were what mattered the most to her, and she would do what she was able in order to ensure their survival. There was always the requirement of following orders as well, but she had never been the most obedient of soldiers. One hand strayed to the saber at her hip, muscles taughtening as she drew the Force into her core in preparation for the fight ahead. There would be no laying down of weapons on this day, every single one of them knew that. And it seemed to be up to this single Padawan when and how the legacy of the Jedi would continue from this moment onward. Time was running out, however, as she wouldn't wait forever.

[member="Dish"], [member="Orphen"], [member="Ryan Korr"], [member="Mantic Dorn"], [member="Corvus Raaf"]

 

[Commander Lusk]

[member="Orphen"] [member="Ryan Korr"] [member="Krenis Skirata"] [member="Dish"] [member="Keira Ticon"]

Lusk nodded and quickly gave the order for his men to start checking their rocket launchers. With the two man crews popping out their missiles and combat engineers giving them scans they began to find the ones that had been tampered with via the force, and while they weren't about to start firing them off now that they had left their launchers it was safe to say the Jedi weren't about to go quietly. That was an act of hostility to the republic and to the lives of his men, so if it wasn't for the Commander's presence Lusk would of ordered the troops to open fire and start destroying the Jedi to the last man.

But for now Lusk would remain quiet, and if anyone knew why that was it was the old ARC trooper [member="Krenis Skirata"] he was living testament to what Lusk and his men were feeling despite the inhibitor chips placed in their heads. Mixed emotions and doubt that this was the right call, feelings of dread that they might have to purge an entire building of people including children who resisted. Not that Lusk hadn't already killed children, Yuuzhan Vong though they may have been. It wasn't exactly something Lusk wanted to do again in his lifetime.

"Commander, if no council member comes forward within five minutes we have orders to begin the attack." Lusk said quietly and in the confines of his helmet's comm link to Keira.

Desperately Lusk hoped that this could have a happy ending, but deep down the clone knew that this was only going to end in a lot of blood. So giving another hand sign, Lusk had his men pick their rifles up from parade rest and carry them in their arms so that when trouble started, they were ready to respond with deadly force.

 

[Orphen]

[Time: 19:12]
[Location: Chazwa Jedi Temple, Out-Doors]

It seemed to the Jedi Orphen that this was going nowhere, they wanted a council member, but there wasn't one out here to take the reigns of this situation, Orphen at this point may only be a Padawan, but he was the closest thing they had to a negotiator at the present moment, though, evacuation of the building would be going rather well, the units with scanners would look through all of the rocket launchers and each of the warheads, each of them would find minute faults in each of the missiles, but they would have no clue to determine whether it was Orphen who could have caused it, as, the Dark Jedi before them did not mention as such. Orphen could sense the tense and accusatory nature of Commander Lusk, Which, he felt, was something that needed to be addressed Immediately.

Silent as he may be.

"Commander, The only thing I can promise you, is that we want peace and for the lives of our friends and YOU to be safe. You HAVE to understand when you march three thousand men to the gates of a Jedi Temple, that people are going to move to defend themselves. To think otherwise, is sheer idiocy. WE are not making the threats here... you are... we're reacting to YOU, so lets end this now, like you said, it is obvious that there can be no fight here that Either side can win, allow us to leave peacefully, and we can stand down. There is nothing more sacred than the sanctity of life and innocence. The people in these walls, have committed no crime against you or the republic. If our presence here is unwanted, simply allow us to go, and we will... we will cause you no trouble. On this, i give you my word.

No blood needs to be shed from anyone here... And to stand against these words... would mean to say that your intention, IS harm, without question.

So commander... do you want to kill us?"

Every second spent talking would be a boon, Orphen's intent was to stall them, but Master of the Force or no, there was absolutely no means for Keira to read Orphen's intentions other than sheerly guessing. From the time they would have arrived at the door-step Jedi within the building would have been clearing out, leaving almost nothing behind. Whether these soldiers knew it or not, Orphen was winning this bout, securing the escape of his Fellow Jedi, even in two minutes dozens and dozens of Jedi would have made their escape through hidden means in the Temple like a work of art. It had almost been fifteen minutes now, allowing everyone more than enough time, the brave Padawan standing before an insurmountable force.

Orphen could sense the activation of communications devices within Lusk's helmet, he was talking to someone and not wanting anyone here to know the details of the conversation. Which was never a good sign, he had trained with republic military commanders so the boy had some insight into galactic republic protocols. Though, as much as they were acting within the same frame, their standard operating practices, by sheer virtue of this parade of force rather than a diplomatic emissary being sent alone... This was a mess, everything was a mess, Orphen knew that they weren't just going to allow them all to leave, it was a fools thought, the presence of the dark side seething off the force user with them was enough, to seal that fact within the Jedi's mind. So, quickly and quietly, Orphen speaking to his ship for a moment would link up with the Surrounding Jedi on their channels, using a closed short-wave network which would exclude channels available to the clones.

"Orphen to anyone, how's the evacuation, discussions are kinda falling apart out here and I'm in the hot-zone... I have an out... but... it's not guaranteed... as for your escape, whether you go to ground or fly out, is up to you, but should you fly, i am patching through encrypted codes with some old exchange hyperspace routes which me and my buddies use. Don't ask how i know them... but they won't be in the republics nav computers."

Moments later, Alpha would send through the data, two of the five minutes would have passed before a council member would have arrived by this time, with three minutes to spare... Orphen in the next moment would give an order to the Alpha units, simply put that should he die here, they were ordered to open up on everyone within range, with the Laeventein specifically ordered to enter hyperdrive at point blank range. A minute later Orphen would get a shaky reply from afar, informing him that the evacuation of the temple was almost complete, the young-lings and padawans were all safe, all that were left were the few lore-keepers collecting key holocrons in the Library who were now making preparation to exit... Orphen breathed a sigh of relief... Even if the clones all stormed the building right now, with the location of the library towards the back of the establishment, unless the lore-keepers were hutts, there would be no way for the clones to catch up in time.

"Thank god, god-speed, and may the force be with you."

Orphen would listen to the response of the others, but, his next course of action was pretty much set in stone...

[member="Commander Lusk"] || [member="Keira Ticon"]

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus was, as ever, on a mission. But suddenly her com link was buzzing with message after message. Leaving the ship in the hands of her astrodroid, she moved to the main room of her Jedi Corvette and checked what all the chatter was about.

Information was sketchy, little accurate data could be gleaned. So she read and re-read the communications.

What she knew for a fact was that an unconfirmed number of clone troopers were marching on the Jedi Enclave on Chazwa. Their purpose? Unknown. They could be coming to defend the place from attack for all she knew. But then, no information was invariably negative in these situations.

She gleaned from the service records that Master Korr was the senior Jedi on the ground. She sent him a quick message:

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

Ryan

Sit-rep appreciated. What the feth is going on?

Corvus

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

And then she activated the holo-projector in the room and patched through to the Enclave and with a bit of technical assistance, was able to project her image in front of the building, for all to see. And in return she had a visual. 3,000 troopers as one report had indicated? Possibly an overstatement, but she was in no mood to count them just now.

"This is Grand Master Corvus Raaf of the Jedi Order. Servants of the Galactic Republic. Servants of democracy. Servants of civilisation. Please state your purpose." Her voice projected across the area, echoing off the surrounding buildings.

[member="Orphen"] - [member="Commander Lusk"] - [member="Keira Ticon"] - [member="Dish"] - [member="Krenis Skirata"] - [member="Ryan Korr"]

 

[One-Eyed Jack Varren]

Chazwa
19:00 hrs


As the alarms started blaring he was torn from his sleep and instantly out of his bunk. He'd grabbed his flight jacket and was strapping on his gunbelt as he bolted out of his quarters on a beeline path to the hangers.

Fethin no good alarms He thought as he reached the hangers and quickly prepped his X-Wing for take off. While doing so he watched as Jedi Master [member="Ryan Korr"] 's X-Wing lifted off and fly from the hanger..... He hoped this would not be his last time flying as he finally climbed into the cockpit and carefully flew out of the hanger behind the Jedi.

Once in the air outside it became quickly apparent what was about to happen. He'd heard tales of the old days and of Order 66 but had never known just how terrible it looked... Until now.

Thousands of clone troopers covered the ground below him as the image of Grandmaster [member="Corvus Raaf"] hung brightly in the air....Her message clear. He didn't want to have to kill these brave men but if they gave him no choice he would gladly wreak havoc upon them from above.

[member="Commander Lusk"] [member="Dish"] [member="Orphen"] [member="Keira Ticon"] [member="Mantic Dorn"] [member="Krenis Skirata"] @

 

[Rexus Drath]

Well now seemed like a good time to quit not quitting on smoking. With a strike of a match and a small woosh of a flame the stick of fire pressed against the mix of chemical laced tobacco and a small sizzle was heard along with lungs inhaling grey smoke. The Jedi Master Rexus Drath was always looking for a reason to smoke a cigarette ever since his wife had made him quit after the baby was born, and while he certainly knew the risks of smoking and the dangers that accompanied it, it was a lot safer than having thousands of loaded blasters and rockets pointed at you. So this seemed like as good a time as any to get a smoke going, his wife may beat him and make him sleep on the couch for a day or two but it was pretty worth it.

So taking a journey out onto the steps of enclave the man was dressed pretty informally formal, as he liked to put it. He wore a white button up pollo shirt with a dark navy blue silk jacket atop that but in place of a tie that would go around his neck there was a bandana or some sort of orangish ascot. His pants matched the jacket and atop his braided hair was a straw hat with a band around it and his whole style was odd to say the least for a Jedi.

"Well this sucks." He said as he took another hit from his cigarette.

The Jedi Master shortly after exhaled smoke from his lungs and looked over to [member="Orphen"] and his droid along with the corvette he had floating around up in the sky. The man shook his head a bit at the kid and while he wanted to say he looked like he was supposed to be DJing a party with a bunch of college kids but he decided that it was best to keep those comments to himself for the tint being. It was strange how Jedi had evolved in eight hundred years but despite all that there was still crap to address, like all the guns pointed at them.

Thankfully [member="Corvus Raaf"] was on the horn talking to the leader and asking what was going on. Hopefully they could get some answers and see what was going down in Jedi Town.

[member="Commander Lusk"] [member="Keira Ticon"] [member="Dish"] [member="Krenis Skirata"] [member="Ryan Korr"]

 

[Commander Lusk]

Finally, the big fish who was in charge had showed up. Lusk was tired of dealing with her minions and wanted someone with real authority to show their face so he could try to reason with them, he didn't want to do this but as a family of clones they had to stand together unified under one banner or more of them would die. The man looked up at the holo image of Corvus and took a deep sigh before speaking out loud.

"Under Orders of Prime Minister Genevieve the organization known as The Jedi Order has been deemed untrustworthy and traitorous to the Republic. Prime Minister Genevieve who now has taken supreme rule has declared that the order is teeming with One Sith spies and collaborators, and has ordered the unwavering loyalty of all Jedi within the Order by way of surgical biological inhibitor chips placed within each member's head!" Lusk said as he read from the decree streaming from his helmet.

"Failure to comply will be considered a confession to your active aid towards the One Sith and you will be sentenced to life in prison with no parole. If met with resistance the Jedi are to be executed at once by any means necessary. You will have three minutes to comply!!" Lusk finished reading and soon felt a frog in his throat due to what he had just stated.

"I urge you to please surrender! We do not wish to hurt you but if you resist you will leave us no choice!" Lusk then gripped at his pulse rifle and shook his head a bit in sadness.

[member="Keira Ticon"] [member="Ryan Korr"] [member="Dish"] [member="Krenis Skirata"] [member="Orphen"] [member="Corvus Raaf"] [member="One-Eyed Jack Varren"]

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus listened. Some times it was a challenge to be a Jedi. Not that the decisions were difficult. The Code was very clear in most matters. But being a Jedi was restricting because of it.

A Jedi’s first concern was to preserve life. The Force dictated as such. It wasn’t always the popular course of action, but Corvus was a Jedi and she followed the spirit of the Code at all times. It was the only way to keep the truth between her heart and the Force.

Three minutes? It wasn’t enough time to do anything. Her best bet was to talk. Perhaps the demands would be relaxed? If not, she knew what she had to do. What the Force and the Code told her to do. She would not have blood on her hands. Any death, if unavoidable, was to to move inexorably towards the Dark-side.

“The former Prime Minister is mistaken. We are loyal to the Republic. And always shall be. It is part of our ethos. You know this to be the truth, surely. I am a Jedi. And Jedi do not lie. Again, search your heart. You know this to be true.”

“And we are servants of the Republic through choice. We are not part of the military, and given we receive no income whatsoever, we can hardly be considered on the payroll either.”

“I cannot condone any surgery on any of the Jedi. Nor can I allow it. And I, and every Jedi alive would take life imprisonment over such an act. And rest assured we will not fight you. We are sworn to protect life, not take it. So I will gladly give the order to surrender and be incarcerated until sense prevails.”

“But search your soul. Look into your heart. You know what I say to be true. If we were traitors, we would oppose you, not surrender.”

[member="Commander Lusk"] - [member="Rexus Drath"] - [member="One-Eyed Jack Varren"] - [member="Orphen"] - [member="Keira Ticon"] - [member="Dish"] - [member="Krenis Skirata"] - [member="Ryan Korr"]

 

[Sheyh Kehl]

"That will be hardly necessary..." A voice was heard. While Sheyh had little to no control in his connection with the force, he also happened to have no confidence in it as well. His hand was outstretched and ready to blast, but his mind was not prepared for any of it, and was frankly about to melt in anxiety at any moment. He waited for the eyes of everyone in the situation to lock onto him before he spoke any further, "I am Sheyh Kehl, a Padawan of the Jedi Order, and what the mistress says happens to be correct, there is no need for fighting, and we are prepared to lay down any arms, as soon as you lay down yours..." Sheyh's mind recounted multiple times before it finally clued in that he may just be making things worse, and he may have contradicted the whole point of non-violence by raising his "fully capable" palms in offence. Never the less he waited for a response. If any shots were to be fired, it would be at him, and no harm would come to the Jedi Master attempting negotiations. He wasn't sure what was weighing on him more... The Chancellor betraying the Jedi Order, or his stress about whether or not he was prepared to disarm anyone. If anything were to come out of his hand (and he knew this from experience), it would probably be sweat (and it normally was), or a huge uncontrolled blast of immense energy not intended to be harmful but doing so anyway. He had absolutely every reason to believe there was no in between.

[member="Corvus Raaf"] [member="Commander Lusk"] [member="One-Eyed Jack Varren"] [member="Rexus Drath"] [member="Orphen"]

 

[One-Eyed Jack Varren]

[member="Commander Lusk"] [member="Rexus Drath"] [member="Corvus Raaf"] [member="Orphen"] [member="Keira Ticon"] [member="Dish"] [member="Krenis Skirata"]


He was no Jedi for sure, But he'd always been loyal to the republic....Well since they allowed him to join up instead of serving a lengthy prison sentence at least.

He'd admit that the thought of laying down his arms just so some crazy broad could put a chip in his head sure as hell didn't fly with him...Mater of fact it kinda pissed him off. So as the Clone reffered to as Lusk spoke, Jack kicked his engines up as he activated his external comms and in a very impressive feat of aerial acrobatics pulled back on the stick causing his X-Wing to kick itself into a back flip. And as the nose pointed now dead at the clone commander Jack hit the throttle and hollered.....

"I ain't no Jedi and you sure as hell ain't chippin me you Vat Brat!!"

His message loud and clear to the clones and their Sith master as the X-Wing screamed through the air less than a meter over [member="Commander Lusk"] 's helmet, So close in fact that the clone would be able to easily feel the heat radiating from the X-Wing's twin engines as it past over them and then quickly cut back violently through the sky to retake it's place beside Master [member="Ryan Korr"] .

Spoiler

Don't feth with me.....I got a screw loose!!!! Muahahahahaha