Invasion The Second Coming | TIC Invasion of TSO-Held Thandon Super Hex | Objective Two

[Skadi Lightbane]

Objective Two

Location: Shoengen​

Gear: Armor, Lightsaber, Skeggox (Axe)
SO Allies: Aerik Lechner // Irina Jesart // Torvald
TIC Enemy: Seraphina Pryde ​

Aerik’s quiet ‘Yes’ was all she needed to hear to know that he was as ready as she was for the coming battle. Beyond them, interceptors roared to life and lifted to the skies, eager to meet the enemy that had begun to breach through Brosi’s atmosphere elsewhere. She remained quiet beside him, observant, and idly slid her thumb over the cool steel of her skeggox in its strap at her hip. On the other side was a lightsaber hilt - a standard issue one, until she could successfully claim her own. She wished she had her trust sword - but perhaps one day she could make herself another one, suited to her and this new life she was leading.

Briefly, her mind wandered back to Toola, to her family and her Clan. She wondered how they were faring, especially her Mother, before she brushed those memories and thoughts aside. She needed to focus on the here and now, and not on what she had left behind for the time being.

Golden eyes traced to the same sensors that Aerik was watching, noticing that Imperial signatures had moved within range. They still had some distance to cover, but they were coming. Skadi felt a tug deep in her belly, the same sort of feeling she had just before a hunt commenced, or the bowstring was drawn back to loose an arrow.

Together, the two apprentices of Darth Prazutis moved along the reinforced platform towards the forward batteries. Skadi remained close - but not too close, to Aerik. She didn’t want to intrude into his personal space, not without invitation. She was near enough to speak to and to render aid should it be needed, but no more than that. Their steps were almost in tandem with each other, and she silently liked the way their footfalls sounded together.

A unit, a pack.

Blaster fire began to rip arcs into the air overhead, the echoing sounds reaching Skadi’s ears, a sign to her that the battle was truly engaged now. Lives were being lost, with others moving forward to the next fight, or perhaps their own death. The Valkyri observed everything, learning as she went. So far, it seemed as though the fighting was more to gain positions, rather than to push a heavier assault. But that was coming, there was no doubt about that. The Imperials would seek to take the spaceport, and control this sector completely. That was why she and Aerik, and others, were here.

To hold the line.

“We hold here. If this line breaks, it won’t stop with us.”

Skadi dipped her chin in recognition of his words, but otherwise remained quiet, her eyes shifting…peering…seeking…

The large guns, now rotated into position and alignment, began to fire. The platform beneath their feet shuddered with each recoil, and Skadi felt a thrill race through her veins as she felt the pressure in the Force rising around her. She inhaled a breath, golden gaze piercing through the foliage. She felt a little bit exposed on the platform, and the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. It was a subtle warning, one she took note of. Her posture tensed, and if Aerik was aware of her…he would sense it.

Beyond them, a figure shimmered into view. Skadi saw it from the corner of her eye and her attention snapped towards the figure draped in deep crimson hued armor. Next, her eyes flickered to the strange glowing white objects in her hands.

Were those…lightsabers of some sort?

Skadi registered the female figure and instantly knew that this was no Sith ally.

“Aerik, we have company.”

 

[Xander Blackmoore]

WEARING: xxx | WEAPONS: Lightsaber
TAG: Velda Nar-Donna​

Xander stayed close to the wall as they moved through Shoengen. The streets were tighter here, shaped by age and Psilofyr’s spread, and that worked in his favor. The city did not resist those who understood it. It redirected them.

He stopped at a maintenance junction and opened the panel without hurry. The slicer worked quietly as he narrowed the range of a nearby sensor beacon. The blind pocket it created was small and deliberate. Anyone watching the system would see interference and move on.

Once the panel sealed again, he guided their route into narrower lanes. At a service lift farther along, he altered the hololock’s response so it would hesitate when activated. It would still function well enough to be trusted until it mattered most.

They stepped into cover as an Imperial patrol crossed the intersection ahead. There were more of them than before, moving in two staggered elements rather than a single file. White armor passed beneath the canopy in steady rhythm, alert and methodical, confident in their numbers.

As the last trooper of the forward element cleared the turn, Xander shifted just enough to brush against Velda and rested his hand briefly at her waist. He leaned in and stole a quick kiss before easing back into position. There was no attempt to hide it, only the quiet certainty of habit.

Then he moved.

Xander ignited his lightsaber low and close, the blade flaring to life for a heartbeat before it struck. The rear guard of the lead element fell as the saber cut through armor and power pack in a single controlled motion. Another trooper turned, blaster rising, and Xander stepped inside the movement and brought him down just as quickly.

Shouts broke the silence as the rest of the patrol reacted. Troopers further back scrambled for cover, weapons coming up as orders were shouted over the comms. The blind pocket swallowed part of the signal, leaving confusion where coordination should have been.

Xander disengaged and shifted position, keeping the blade active as he drew attention away from the rest of the street. The fight was not finished, but the patrol was already broken apart and off balance.

Shoengen closed in around the sound of it, narrow lanes and heavy growth turning lines of fire into obstacles. Whatever followed would not favor the Imperials.

 

[Rohlan Basra]

Treptel Spaceport, Brosi
Christmas Truce
TAGS: OPEN! | Saltare Dothon ​

"Colonel," Desyk said, "C Company reports half its strength gone."

Rohlan heard it and did not answer at once. Half gone meant men he had eaten with, marched with, men whose faces he knew in the dark. It was always said so cleanly. Half gone. As though they had been misplaced.

Why did they fight? He had asked it before, in quieter places. Was it to die on foreign ground and return home in an empty box? Perhaps the soul went home, too. If that were true, there was some comfort in it. Or did they die for a thing that could not feel them -- a symbol, a banner, a strip of color laid over wood?

"But they've covered B Company's advance into the spaceport building," Desyk said.

That was good, Rohlan thought. Good in the way a hard thing could still be good. Men fell so others could live. Was that the highest thing a man could do? To give his life for another? For a stranger he had never known? He thought there was comfort in that also.

"Sir, we've breached their positions. Go. Go. Go!"

They pushed him forward. He ran. And as he ran, he thought: Is it cowardice to want to live while better men fall behind you? Men falling for you? Is it selfish to want to go home, to see a woman and a child whose faces waited only in memory?

The noise of the battle fell away from him. Time slowed. He saw his men fall one by one, covering his run, struck down by cruel bolts. He stopped suddenly and threw himself behind cover next to the body of a trooper who had fallen seconds before.

The body was still warm.

Rohlan rose from cover and fired until his finger ached and his rifle bucked like a wild tauntaun. "Move, move!" he shouted. "Move, damn you, I'm covering!"

Fire hammered the position, and he ducked down and switched his comm. "All Imperial callsigns, this is Colonel Basra, First Battalion, Iron Will. We have landed at the spaceport. We require support. Now!"

"Sir, get insi—" Harkas began, sliding down beside him.

"Shut it, Hugo!"

He keyed the comm again. "Repeat. All Imperial callsigns. Immediate support at the spaceport!" And beneath the fire and the shouting and the dying, another question came to him, persistent as pain:

Was it selfish, too, to want the honor of dying a soldier's death?

 

[Aerik Lechner]

Wearing: Roka Varg | Weapons: Lightsaber | Knife
Allies: Skadi Lightbane | Irina Jesart | Torvald
Enemies: Seraphina Pryde​

Blaster fire had settled into a steady rhythm overhead, not the wild exchange of first contact but the measured cadence of positions being tested and answered. Interceptors cut across the sky in controlled passes, their engines leaving brief scars of heat in the humid air before vanishing back into the cloud cover. The Rainmaker cannon continued to fire on rotation, each discharge sending a deep vibration through the platform that traveled up through boots and bone alike. Crew members moved with practiced efficiency, voices raised just enough to be heard over the recoil, hands steady as they fed data and corrections into systems already running hot.

The jungle pressed close around the reinforced structures, growth brushing against durasteel where elevation and clearing had not fully driven it back. Broad leaves shuddered with each concussive wave, shedding moisture and ash in equal measure. The platform itself felt exposed in a way Aerik had learned to recognize, not because of enemy fire, but because of how much space lay open between firing arcs and cover. The defenses were holding, but they were holding in the open, and the sense that something had slipped past the outer edge of the fight hung in the air without shape or sound.

Aerik moved the moment Skadi spoke.

He did not look for confirmation or ask her to repeat herself. His attention shifted from the sky to the edge of the platform, to the shimmer resolving into crimson armor just beyond the firing arc of the Rainmaker cannon. The distance between them was already too short, and the gun crews were too exposed for hesitation to be an option.

As he stepped forward, the gauntlet at his wrist responded to the change. Nanites surged outward in a controlled rush, flowing up his arm and across his torso in a familiar pattern. The Roka Varg armor locked into place as he moved, settling against him without resistance or weight and following his motion rather than dictating it. Once deployed, it did not withdraw.

The lightsaber came to his hand as he closed the distance. The ignition was immediate, and the blue blade snapped to life with a sharp hum that cut through the thunder of the cannon behind him. The weapon felt old, its balance worn smooth by hands that were not his own. He had taken it from a Jedi who had tried to kill him, and he had not changed it since. The crystal answered him, but not eagerly.

Aerik angled his path to place himself between the infiltrator and the gun crews, drawing her attention away from the cannon housing. The platform shook beneath his boots as the Rainmaker fired again, and the recoil shuddered through durasteel and bone alike. He struck without ceremony, delivering a fast opening cut meant to force space and draw her focus.

“Skadi,” he said as he moved, his voice low and even, “cover the crews and do not let her past the housing.”

He did not wait for an answer, because she was already moving.

The Force pressed close as blades came near enough to bite, and heat and motion crowded the narrow space between them. Another presence brushed the edge of his awareness, familiar and insistent. Irina was close enough to feel, engaged elsewhere but not far removed from this part of the fight.

Aerik resisted the pull and held his attention where it was needed. The connection remained, stretched but intact.

The armor moved with him as he pressed forward, absorbing vibration and redirecting force as he adjusted his footing on the live platform. The cannon roared again behind him, filling the air with heat and pressure as interceptors cut across the sky overhead.

This was not a duel carved out of the battle. It was a fight taking place inside it, with consequences measured in seconds and meters rather than intention.

The blade in his hand resisted him slightly as he drove forward. It did not fail him, but it did not yield easily either. Aerik tightened his grip and kept moving, forcing his focus into the space directly in front of him.

The platform shook again as the Rainmaker fired, and heat rolled through the air. The armor shifted with him as he closed the remaining distance, nanites flexing to absorb the vibration underfoot. There was no pause to assess her stance or weapons beyond what the moment required.

Aerik stepped in and struck, blue light cutting forward in a clean, committed arc meant to drive the infiltrator back from the cannon and hold her attention there.

 

[Seraphina Pryde]

Location: Outside Treptel Spaceport - Brosi
Thread Objective: Off With Their Head
Mission Objective: Destroy the Rainmaker cannon battery.
Allies: TIC
Enemies: Aerik Lechner Irina Jesart Skadi Lightbane Torvald

Knowing that she had only seconds before combat would begin in earnest, Seraphina snapped her right hand forward in a quick underhand throw, sending one of her two lightsaber chakrams streaking up towards the barrel of the nearest Rainmaker cannon. With the two Sith in the immediate proximity, she was under no impression that it would actually succeed in damaging the cannon's barrel. Rather, her aim was to occupy one of the Sith with the task of stopping or redirecting her lightsaber chakram, dividing their attention so that she could engage them singly.

However, the male Sith closed the distance much faster than expected. His azure-hued blade carved through the air in a vicious arc. Seraphina raised her left arm defensively, bracing as the lightsaber struck the zillonite armor plating on her right forearm. A high-pitched cry tore out from her lips as pain washed over her senses. Searing heat turned her skin beneath the armor a blistering red. However, the zillionite’s advertised lightsaber resistance held true. Beyond the shock and a throbbing burn, her right arm remained intact and functional.

Seraphina growled, and slashed back at Aerik with the lightsaber chakram in her left hand, a diagonal sweep starting from her right shoulder and terminating at her left hip. She drew her vibroblade with her right hand in the same motion, the weapon whining to life as the ultrasonic vibration generator surged and the energized plasma cord ignited along the blade’s monomolecular edge.

Just as the Sith had started their dance, Seraphina sought to ensure that she would end it!

Spoiler: Loadout

• Seraphina Pryde’s Battle Suit
• Seraphina Pryde’s Lightsabers
• FAE/M-01 “Scherezade” Energized Vibroblade Mk. II
• G-2 Imperial Standard Blaster
  
  • Attachments
    
    • 1-5x FAE/S-08 Electro-Sight
  • Ammunition
    
    • Power Cell (4)
• NZ All-Purpose Viral Suppressant Type II
• Supernal Infusion Vials
• Infrared Smoke Grenade (2)
• FAE/MDE-01-S1 Semiautonomous Seeker Thermal Explosive (4)

 

[Saltare Dothon]

Vast numbers of Imperial troops moved towards the spaceport and the surrounding cities in an attempt to take control of them. Saltare's Rancors stayed near the large Imperial detachment, which was heading toward the spaceport, but they were outside of the main advance so as not to be targeted by direct or indirect fire.

"Anything?" Saltare prodded Logan.

"Nothing, Salt," Logan said, shaking his armored head. "I'll let you know when I have something."

"Aye, just-"

EMERGENCY TRANSMISSION //
IMPERIAL BATTLEFIELD ENCRYPTION-ALPHA-09099
AUTHENTICATION
...AUTHENTICATED​

"Repeat. All Imperial callsigns. Immediate support at the spaceport!"

Saltare walked to the front of the Rancor and, with his fist, hit the driver twice on the shoulder. "We're switching directions, head here," he said as he sent coordinates via his armor's communication systems.

"Roger, sir," the driver said.

"Rohlan, this is Inferno squad. Stay alive, we're coming. The main advance is pushing on the spaceport now."

Saltare used his status as Inferno's leader to requisition several TIE/ss and HAAT gunships towards Rohlan's position. They were several minutes out, but those reinforcements might keep Rohlan alive until Saltare and Inferno reached them.

The thick jungle slowed the Rancor; the wheeled vehicle did its best to crawl across the terrain, but the going was difficult. The main portion of the army crawling toward the spaceport was having similar difficulties. The heavily wooded areas made navigation hard for tracked and wheeled vehicles. The repulsor craft were doing well, however, and Infantry were only slightly slowed. The large AT platforms weren't impeded much, though they had limited areas to navigate, which made Sith artillery fire more dangerous. The shield generator of the AT-STs did their job, shielding large portions of the army.

Saltare watched out the viewscreen as the Rancor chewed up the distance to the spaceport, tapping his foot with impatience. His mind was reeling with tactics and strategies once they got there, where they might position, the size of the enemy force, and how well entrenched they were.

A datapad came into his peripheral vision as a hand brought it into his field of view.

"Another burst, closer this time," Logan said, "Someone knows what they're doing."

Saltare took the datapad from Logan and looked at the coordinates. Somewhere within 50 kilometers of their position, an old encrypted Imperial communication had just connected to Inferno's personal channels.

"It's her," Saltare said as he faced Logan, waiting for his subordinate to tell him he was having a fool's hope and drag him back to the present.

"I'm not sure-"

Saltare stabbed the datapad with his finger, "Look at it Logan. That's our personal channel. Inferno's. No one else has those channels or encryption codes. It's her."

"Salt, I agree with you, I think it is an Inferno member. But, she wasn't the only one we left behind."

Saltare's head snapped back slightly at the implication. He had been so focused on Beth and leaving her behind that he had neglected the other members who went with her. That thought drove a knife into his guts before twisting it. What kind of leader was he that he forgot his other men and women? He hadn't even thought of them.

A hand was laid on his shoulder, and Saltare looked up into the helmeted face of Logan. "It's not your fault, boss," Logan said softly on their personal channel before hardening his voice and punching Saltare in his chest plate with a modest amount of force. "Let's make it right."

Saltare began to nod his head slightly before becoming more lively and giving a few good nods with force, gripping Logan by the shoulder. "Aye, let's make it right. First, however," Saltare said as he looked out the viewscreen towards the spaceport, which loomed in the distance, "There's another Imperial who needs us."

Spoiler: Army

FOR ROLEPLAYERS(SITH OR IMPERIAL ALIKE) - FEEL FREE TO KILL/DESTROY/FIGHT/USE THE ARMY HOWEVER YOU WISH. WE'RE INVADING A WORLD SO WE BROUGHT LOTS OF TROOPS. HOWEVER, IT'S JUST A SET-PIECE FOR MY ROLEPLAY. I'M NOT TRYING TO PLAY EXCEL SPREADSHEET UNLESS YOU WANT TO, THEN LET ME KNOW AND WE CAN!

75TH ARMORED REGIMENT
AT-AAT	40
AT-ST	20
IAAT	100
Repulsor-Tanks	300
AT-Turbolaser	20

324TH INFANTRY BATTALION
IMPERIAL TROOPERS w/ Ironstorm Armor	10000
IMPERIAL SUPPORT TROOPERS	2000
TIE/ss	100
HAAT	300
Stork	100

ALLIES: Rohlan Basra Mal Crus
ENEMIES: SITH
TAGS: OPEN

 

[Irina Jesart]

Armour
NPC Unit
Location: Shoengen
Allies: Torvald Skadi Lightbane Aerik Lechner
Enemies: Seraphina Pryde

​

Fire bloomed and burned, direct and controlled enveloping the retreating imperials until they were shattered by ice and cold. The two elements clashed in urban jungle, devouring with blade and blaster till there was nothing left but corpses and for a breath quiet fell. Irina’s eyes scanned her men, light wounds, no dead. Good.

Dark eyes ringed by fire settled on Torvald. “You took your time.” she poked, her face unreadable. That this man had once been Gerwald’s mentor made absolutely no sense. He was loud, jovial and almost always drunk. Gerwald was none of those things, he measured every word, his emotions were guarded and controlled.

Still, she’d be lying if she said she didn’t enjoy the white wolf’s company.

Comms chattered in her ears, her head titled as if to hear them better, a frown creasing her forehead. Enemy starfighters streaked above screaming towards the spaceport drawing her eye upward as reports filed in. Droids in vast numbers were being deployed and Irina felt the battle shift into a full onslaught. If they were caught outside the front lines, they’d be picked off.

Irina felt a shift in Aerik, one that told her he’d moved into direct combat. She withdrew, enough for him to know she was there but she would not distract him. His focus was where it needed to be and that was all that mattered.

“We should regroup with the rest of the Legion, they’ll need us.”

The command was not hers to give, but that had never stopped her making suggestions.

​

 

[Torvald]

OBJ:2​

A flurry of senses bound themselves into the chaotic winds as fire and ice met, the screams of those who would attack or resist their fate rung out around the Legion and Torvalds men. They used rudimentary weapons capable of dealing death and excruciating pain.

War was not only about killing, it was about getting in your enemies head, showing them the horrors that could be inflicted upon them.

These Imperials troopers saw just that as Torvald barreled towards them in his humanoid form on all fours. Claws digging in the ground, eye bloodshot, teeth bared and snarling. Foam seemed to curdle from his mouth as he tore into each man with his bare hands and teeth. Ripping at them through the weak points of their armor.

After finishing off the last man he stood up and buried his axe into his chest cavity with a wet squelch and a crunch.

He flashed Irina a bloody toothed grin.

“Ay, lass. Apologies. But the hunt takes patience.”

He chuckled as he pulled his axe out of the cadaver.

“Regrouping with our pack is probably the best idea, a hunting party must always return.”

He looked over the flames and back at her.

“Gerwald chose well for an apprentice. Simply brilliant kills.”

He looked at her armor almost inspecting it.

“But yet, no trophies? You can't go home without at least a claim to your kills to show the world.”

He placed the axe into his back holster as his men silently regrouped from the forest, bloodied spears and minor wounds. The flank was a success, unsurprisingly. These men fought like soldiers and not like predators. That is why they became prey.

He plucked a loose hand from one of the dead Imperials.

“That should do, lass. Now, let's get back to that dunce”

He walked past her with a hearty laugh.

Allies: Irina Jesart | Aerik Lechner | Skadi Lightbane | Darth Strosius | Xander Blackmoore



Foes:

Seraphina Pryde​

 

[Irina Jesart]

Armour
NPC Unit
Location: Shoengen
Allies: Torvald Skadi Lightbane Aerik Lechner
Enemies: Seraphina Pryde

Her lightsabre deactivated, coming to rest at her hip as she flexed her fingers, a smile curving her lips as he praised her skills, giving a small incline of her head in recognition of the compliment. The smile faltered when he mentioned trophies after studying her armour.

"That isn't necessary." She said groaning with displeasure as he plucked a hand from one of the bodies. "You really are a complete savage."

She shook her head as he laughed, raising a hand to signal to the Emberborne it was time to move. There was no hesitation as they moved into a loose formation with Torvald's men. The jungle that pressed through the urban sprawl did not allow for clean lines of sight or ease of movement as a unit. So they adapted and compromised tidiness for efficiency, keeping overlapping lines of sight to ensure that no one could get the drop on them.

Irina fell into step with Torvald as the others followed and she took a moment to appreciate their surroundings. Jutrand lacked and true greenery and her home had been a desert. The jungle was alive in a way the sand could never be, it sung with force energy, dark and twisted to the Sith's need.

​

 

[Skadi Lightbane]

Objective Two
Location: Protecting the Guns
Gear: Armor, Lightsaber, Skeggox (Axe)
SO Allies: Aerik Lechner // Irina Jesart // Torvald
TIC Enemy: Seraphina Pryde ​

Aerik didn’t second guess her statement; his armor was activated a moment later, flowing over his body even as he looked to see where the enemy was and moved to engage her. Skadi didn’t hesitate either, the moment she saw the crimson armored, strange lightsaber wielding woman appeared, she assumed that other enemy forces wouldn’t be far behind and so she activated her own nanite armor from the gauntlet upon her arm. Once it secured itself over her, there would be no way to de-activate mid-fight - not that she would want to. The armor was on until the fight was over.

As Aerik moved to engage, he passed down an order for her: she was to protect the crews of the guns and not let their enemy pass the housings. She didn’t respond to him, only shifted her position that would put her in the best place possible in order to defend the men manning the big Guns.

Everything happened fast after that moment.

Aerik’s blue saber blade ignited to live as he made his first lunge towards their opponent. In the same moment, or near to it, the crimson armored Imperial flung one of her circular shaped lightsabers straight towards Skadi and the position of the guns. The Valkyri didn’t wait to see where that saber was headed - she reacted on pure instinct, and the Force reacted as she demanded it obey her. Crystalline like ice formed in her hand in the shape of a hammer, in likeness to one of the weapons her gods wielded, and hurled it to intercept the spinning arc of the thrown circular saber with a short cry of exertion, hoping to knock it off its current trajectory.

The action served to successfully split Skadi’s attention away from the fight that Aerik was engaging in, and keep her focus on defending the men and the Guns themselves.

 

[Mal Crus]

​

[]

Dead Guy - Ministry

​

Location: The City of Rann
Objective: II - Capture City / Secure Any Possible Intel
Tag: Saltare Dothon / Open

The Dread Wolves slipped into the eastern districts as the horizon bloomed white-hot, the opening thunder of Imperial Confederation turbo-laser barrages rolling over the city like an advancing storm front. Towers shuddered, ferrocrete spalled, and whole avenues vanished beneath collapsing fire as armored vehicles purpose-built for annihilation chewed their way inward.

He led from the front, helmet lenses flickering with tactical overlays while the Wolves used the chaos as concealment, moving in tight files through alleys choked with dust and falling ash.

"Move it," Captain Crus snapped over squad comms, his voice flat and absolute. "Side streets and backs only. Watch your fire, civilians are fleeing. We push fast and clean until we hit Objective One: the power generators." The order rippled through the pack without debate; rifles lowered a fraction, safeties feathered, arcs of fire disciplined and narrow as they flowed between panicked crowds, toppled kiosks, and burning buildings.

Contact came quick and ugly. A pair of enemy scouts rounded a junction too late, and the Wolves dropped them with suppressed bursts before the echoes could carry, bodies dragged into shadow as the team surged past. Further in, a fireteam tried to set up behind a wrecked speeder; he split his element, one claw fixing them with precision fire while the other flanked through a collapsed small building, ending the skirmish in seconds.

As the bombardment intensified, power flickered across the district, streetlamps dying one by one like extinguished candles, only to quickly return back to full force as the city's power generators breathed life into them. The Wolves pressed on, boots splashing through broken coolant lines and other liquid obstacles, slipping through smoke and sirens as more resistance bled out in brief, violent flashes.

Ahead, the generator quarter loomed behind blast walls and tangled conduits, and Captain Crus tightened his grip on his rifle, already calculating angles, entry points, and the cost of the next push. The real test was ahead.

 

[Aerik Lechner]

Wearing: Roka Varg | Weapons: Lightsaber | Knife
Allies: Skadi Lightbane | Irina Jesart | Torvald
Enemies: Seraphina Pryde​

Aerik barely had time to register the movement before it was on him. The exchange came in tight and fast, leaving no space to think. He felt the impact travel through his frame. It was sharp and immediate. The deck shuddered beneath him, and for a heartbeat everything blurred.

The Rainmaker cannon fired again.

The sound was felt more than heard. It rolled through the platform and into his bones and remained steady and relentless. Heat bled off the metal around them, and the air carried the bitter tang of ion burn. Somewhere beyond the platform, the jungle answered the bombardment with a sound like something tearing loose.

He stayed planted.

There was more strength in him than he was showing. He was aware of it in the same way one is aware of breath under strain. It was there if he needed it. For now he kept it contained. The space behind him mattered too much to risk losing control of it.

He did not look back for Skadi. He felt her move instead, a shift in the space as she took position over the crews and the housing. That knowledge settled him. He trusted her to hold her ground the same way she trusted him to hold this one.

The cannon fired again. The platform continued to tremble beneath his boots.

Something flashed past his side, close enough that he felt the air move. One of the circular blades had been thrown toward the guns. Skadi turned and moved to intercept it. Aerik did not turn. He adjusted his position by a fraction and kept his attention forward, keeping the infiltrator in front of him and the line intact.

He raised his lightsaber and struck once, stepping into the cut and letting his weight carry it through.

The Force pressed close around him and remained heavy but contained. Beneath it the familiar pull eased. Irina drew back just enough for him to feel the difference. The quiet that followed sharpened his focus.

For a brief stretch of time, the world narrowed. Distance held and his breathing steadied. The steady hum of the cannon and the vibration of the platform stayed beneath his feet.

Aerik held his ground, his blade ready, and his body remained set between the infiltrator and the cannon while the battle closed in around them.

 

[Haro Aven]

LOCATION: OUTER RIM TERRITORIES > SITH HOLY WORLDS > BROSI > ATMOSPHERE ABOVE SHOENGEN​

EQUIPMENT: FLIGHT SUIT | BODIE | SHIP​

OBJECTIVE: DEFEND SHOENGEN FROM IMPERIAL INVADERS WITH GHOUL SQUADRON​

TAGS: Naamino Zuukamano | Rieva "Killshot" Alonn ​

Haro could tell from their formation alone that the approaching enemy squadron was good, but he had no idea just how good until, all at once, they peeled off in three groups of two. The lead ship and their shadow dropped low, while the others attempted to pincer on more direct vectors in an effort pin them down and force them into evasive maneuvers.

"Climb!" Haro called, thinking fast. He angled his interceptor upward and activated SLAM in an attempt to lead the squad out of the enemy's trap, but they weren't fast enough. Not all of them.

"They're locked on me!" Viper cried out over the comms before her fighter was hammered with two cannons in quick succession.

"Chit! Shields down!" Her voice crackled, distorted by the damage to her ship, but her terror was clear.

Haro cursed and killed his speed, whipping around to help but the limitations of his fighter and the fact that they were in atmosphere delayed the maneuver just long enough for the enemy's ion missiles to find their target. Haro watched in horror as Viper's fighter succumbed to gravity and plummeted to the city below, dead in the air, her screams silenced by her blacked out commlink.

"No..." He murmured, then locked onto the lead ship—the one that had taken out Viper. There was nothing subtle about it as it tore through the sky, dangerous and predatory, like a drexl on the hunt.

"Moof, Ghost, Snap Shot on the lead, then set up for Hammer and Anvil," he commanded his two teammates, using their shorthand code words for maneuvers they'd practiced a hundred times.

His fellow pilots sounded off and moved into position without hesitation. They pulled in front and synchronized fire on the lead ship while Haro lurked behind them, like a pack of scavengers harrowing larger pray, prodding until a weakness was revealed. His interceptor dancing through the chaos of the battlefield with an expertise that rivaled this enemy fighter but, just as he found a lock with his Flechétte Missiles, his sensor readout began to flair, warning him of... what exactly? For a moment the readout didn't make sense. Then he got eyes on the incoming swarm and blanched.

"Pull back!"
​

 

[Naamino Zuukamano]

Outfit:
Belt of Strength, Field Com-Scan Link,
Oucoa Enaki Breastplate, Weal & Woe,
Kor'ethyr Flight Suit
Piloting: Ragnos-class Interceptor

Squad: Haro Aven | NPC pilots
Foe: Rieva "Killshot" Alonn | NPC pilots

Stygian Caldera
Brosi
Atmosphere Above New Shoengen
​

Things happened fast. They always did in the air, but this was even faster than usual. Someone had gotten the drop on them, but Haro's lightning reflexes meant disaster was averted. Though he'd not caught wind of their opponent as quickly Naami's reflexes and training had him piloting at the speed of thought and engaging SLAM as if of one mind with Haro.

"SPLIT ROLL!"

He barked, indicating they engage in evasive maneuvers after the climb. Their squad split roughly in two, though they were down a member. Naami's half was now two and Haro's remained intact with three. There wasn't time to mourn Viper and there wouldn't be if they didn't gain an advantage.

Enemy cannons streamed toward them, return fire was swift to follow, and Naami swore under his breath. Thankfully their speed and maneuvering was such that, even in atmosphere, they remained agile enough to avoid any more losses for the time being.

"Bix, with Aven! NOW," Naami ordered as he tracked what was presumably the enemy squadron leader taunting him with an open shot.

The surly zabrak punched his interceptor into a vicious diagonal drop, thumbing over armaments till his Fletchétte missiles were primed. What he was doing, singling himself out like this, was dangerous. He didn't care. The big zabrak was strong enough in the Force to probably survive a direct hit. His non-force sensitive squadron though? Definitely not.

"Engage from a safe distance — watch my six, no theatrics."

Naami let fly four Flechéttes at the periphery of the enemy squadron. Refusing to fully take the bait out of pride and instead spitefully aiming for two pilots on the edge of the formation out of spite.

So focused on retribution, Naami didn't immediately notice the disruptions and disturbances flickering across his readout. Only when he was pulling out of that furious dive did the danger sense rippling through his center ridge of horns alert him to the fact that something was fast clouding the skies on the horizon.

 

[The Lord of Hunger]

LOCATION: on site
OBJECTIVE: Act as a support to TIC main army
IMPORTANT LINKS: The Enforcer - Mr Pollux
TAG: Madrona A’Mia | Darth Carnifex | Ronhar Tane | Gerwald Lechner | Darth Prazutis | Srina Talon | Revna Marr | Mercy | Naamino Zuukamano | Seraphina Pryde | Torvald | Aerik Lechner | Irina Jesart | Karl Von Strauss | Rieva "Killshot" Alonn | Darth Strosius | Haro Aven | Reina Daival | Rorsch | Spencer Varanin | Taeli Raaf | Eira Dyn | T'zarna Khab | Sophia of House Marr | Nerralyn Raaf | Lirka Ka | Ella Nova | FN-999 (restored) | Joseph Torson | Lysander von Ascania | Amni Kazda | "Templar" | and any others in obj 1 and 2 that may be impacted by this post

FIRE IN THE HOLE!!!

Reports were flooding into the command center Pollux had set up, while his slimmed down cohorts were reinforcing the flanks, rushing to the aid of FN-999 (restored) , Ronhar Tane , Seraphina Pryde , Karl Von Strauss ' subordinates, the view of the air being torn asunder and lashing out with might streaks of lightning upon the battlefield had drawn the lord of Hunger's personal enforcer's attention. He could see how many a great warmachine was ravaged and torn apart by the overcharged lightning, machine and metal being ripped and shattered by flame and fire, lightning and vine. The assault on the tree was still continuing strong, but like they had been before, the Imperial army was quickly being beset on all fronts by arrivals of beings whose limits were unknown, whose powers were complex and strange. However, so far they seemed to spare him and his legions of their attention, a boon Pollux was quite happy to exploit.

"Load the MAW's with Warpstars," The command was simple and elegant, no fuss needed in times of war after all. If the tree did not bend nor burn, than it would simply need to be demolished by pure, unadultered strength. though while he gave the order to the lined up MAWs, Pollux could see massive roots, like a cephalopod's tentacles emerging from the soil, another of these ridiculous means to stop an army of men and women. While he himself served a being beyond human understanding, he was well aware of the danger these sith posed, even to himself and his master. "Sith sorcery....such a pain to deal with."

The Maws braced themselves, their legs lowering and positioning themselves to absorb the impact, with the gunners awaiting the coordinate set up to be completed. The target was simple: the heart of the damn forest, the biggest and most mature looking of the sea of death and despair covered in foliage was to be targeted with brutal efficiency and a nigh unstoppable barrage of ordinance the likes of which the sith might have never seen before. Fire would not burn, lightning would not strike, this was the kind of weapon which relied of pure and utter power, as shown when finally the MAW's unleashed the warpstars, with dozens of these warheads being launched towards the forest, and as the chemical reaction within the warheads would activate upon landing or being prevented by any hard object, like terrible shockwaves of space-distorting proportion, sections of the forest would not be burned or ravaged, but would simply be ripped out root and stem, like a god weeding the garden.

"If the Sith like to act from behind the safety of their sorcery...we will act with the terrifying vengeance of superior technology," Pollux moved calmly from the edge of the perimeter he had set up, waving his hand in the air to relay the order to repeat the process, if Brosi resisted, the Imperial Confederation would simply need to break the planet.

"Move one of our legions forward, kill everything that moves, everything that can burn, everything which is NOT ours," Metal limbs shuddered, rifles were being lifted as the heavy, loud, rhythmic sound of heavy metal feet slamming upon the soil in unison. Thousands of heavily armed droids began to march, the second wave of the imperial attack had begun, while the warp stars would be showering the forest with a display of the imperial confederation's technological brutality, the first of the droid legions would begin its march upon the army brought forth by Darth Carnifex with the clear intention of diverting the dark lord's attention and making him focus on the wave of metal, machine and might which was coming his way.

​

Spoiler: Army Comp & actions

• Droid Legions x4 roughly 200,000 droids and equipment​
• Urban Enforcement Cohort x20 Roughly 10,000 droid and equipment
• Gluttoneria Troopers divisions x4 Roughly 4,000 human Troopers and equipment.

• 10 out of the 20 available NZ MAW-1, Mobile Artillery Walker are firing off NZ Warp Star - Type RED Warhead towards the forest, mainly focusing on the newly errupted tentacles and the military presence within said forest.​
• One of the Droid Legions bolstered and swelled in numbers [50,000+ roughly 5000 droids] by the ZMDIII- GPD type C 'Ceres' General Purpose Droid from the slimmed down Urban Enforcement Cohorts is marching towards the legions brought by Darth Carnifex in order to divert his attention.​

​

 

[Seraphina Pryde]

Location: Outside Treptel Spaceport - Brosi
Thread Objective: Off With Their Head
Mission Objective: Destroy the Rainmaker cannon battery.
Allies: TIC
Enemies: Aerik Lechner Irina Jesart Skadi Lightbane Torvald

The ground shook as the Rainmaker cannon fired. Heat rolled off of the massive weapon in waves. All the while, the shouts of its crew sounded out over the industrial clamor of moving machinery. However, it was the air itself that answered the noise, the wind rushing into the void left by the departing hypervelocity slug.

Amidst the cacophony, Seraphina’s diagonal slash struck against the Sith’s protective armor, unleashing a shower of sparks and the sudden malodour of hot metal. Nevertheless, the impact forced him back, and Seraphina capitalized by snapping off the lightsaber chakram in her left hand in a quick underhand throw from less than five meters away. The weapon flew while angled roughly perpendicular to the ground, delivered in such a way so that the blade might align with his shoulder joint and potentially, sever his left arm at that precise point!

From there, her vibroblade came up to meet the Sith’s incoming cut. Their weapons collided with the sharp whine of disrupted field harmonics and screeching metal. It was then that Seraphina surged forward as Aerik rose to position himself between her and the cannon. Drawing on the Force, she phased through him, her form dissolving into incorporeality for a split-second before snapping back into alignment with realspace as she continued her sprint towards the platform.

And suddenly, she was right within striking distance of the female Sith.

Extending her free left hand, Seraphina gave a sharp cry of exertion as her two lightsaber chakrams came rushing towards Skadi one after the other through telekinetic impulse. The first, deflected from its initial trajectory by the woman’s ice-forged hammer, arced down from above in a lethal plunge aimed for her head. The other shot in low and blindingly fast, appearing as little more than a circular silver-white blur as it raced towards her left knee!

---

It did not take long for the fight to come back to Irina Jesart , Torvald , and the Emberborne under their command. Having repelled the initial waves of organic Imperials, a fresh wave of reinforcements came in the form of mechanized Imperials. The droids of Seraphina’s personal squad had been bolstered by Arbalesk enforcer droids loaned from the Urban Enforcement Cohort. These enforcer droids advanced on the Emberborne with mechanical precision, engaging from afar with their twin blaster pistols and heavy revolvers. They made use of the overgrown jungle terrain as concealment, whilst hurling smoke bombs at Emberborne positions in an effort to sow further chaos.

All the while, Seraphina’s core retinue struck for the head.

The Dark Troopers attacked from the air, their integrated jetpacks and foot-mounted rockets roaring as they flew. One targeted Irina Jesart from just over twenty meters away, its wrist-mounted submachine railgun spitting a tight burst of ten slugs aimed squarely at her chest. The other Dark Trooper went for Torvald , its blaster repeater unleashing two six-shot bursts of searing tibanna plasma bolts from ten meters away at the older Sith’s left flank.

Adding to the ranged Dark Trooper assault, BT-7 fired a quartet of wrist rocket-sized baradium missiles from far afield, which dipped and dived through the foliage with predatory intelligence. Two broke off to angle towards Irina Jesart , while the other two stayed on course to strike Torvald . All the while, two of the sentry droids started their advance, taking advantage of the covering fire offered by the Dark Troopers and the Blastromech’s missiles to close the distance.

And if left unattended, it would not be long before the sentry droids too, would be upon the Sith!

Spoiler: Loadout

• Seraphina Pryde’s Battle Suit
• Seraphina Pryde’s Lightsabers
• FAE/M-01 “Scherezade” Energized Vibroblade Mk. II
• G-2 Imperial Standard Blaster
  
  • Attachments
    
    • 1-5x FAE/S-08 Electro-Sight
  • Ammunition
    
    • Power Cell (4)
• NZ All-Purpose Viral Suppressant Type II
• Supernal Infusion Vials
• Infrared Smoke Grenade (2)
• FAE/MDE-01-S1 Semiautonomous Seeker Thermal Explosive (4)

Spoiler: NPC Information

• Glory-III Class Dark Trooper
  
  • Status
    
    • Shielding: 87%
    • Armor: 100%
    • Structure: 100%
  • Armament
    
    • ND40 Kase Blaster Repeater - Hands
    • Flamethrower - Wrist
    • Rail Submachine Gun - Wrist
    • Retractable Kamikiri Blades (2)
    • Crushgaunts
    • Electric Defense Grid
    • Electrical Filaments
    • Droid Neural Pacifiers
• Glory-III Class Dark Trooper
  
  • Status
    
    • Shielding: 78%
    • Armor: 100%
    • Structure: 100%
  • Armament
    
    • ND40 Kase Blaster Repeater - Hands
    • Flamethrower - Wrist
    • Rail Submachine Gun - Wrist
    • Retractable Kamikiri Blades (2)
    • Crushgaunts
    • Electric Defense Grid
    • Electrical Filaments
    • Droid Neural Pacifiers
• DT-series Sentry Droid
  
  • Status
    
    • Armor: 100%
    • Structure: 100%
  • Armament
    
    • Electrohammer - Left Hand
    • AAF-8 Scattergun - Right Hand
• DT-series Sentry Droid
  
  • Status
    
    • Armor: 97%
    • Structure: 100%
  • Armament
    
    • AAF-8 Scattergun - Left Hand
    • AAF-8 Scattergun - Right Hand
• DT-series Sentry Droid
  
  • Status
    
    • Armor: 89%
    • Structure: 97%
  • Armament
    
    • Electrohammer - Left Hand
    • AAF-8 Scattergun - Right Hand
• DT-series Sentry Droid
  
  • Status
    
    • Armor: 91%
    • Structure: 99%
  • Armament
    
    • G-41 Imperial Heavy Rotary Blaster - Left Hand
    • G-41 Imperial Heavy Rotary Blaster - Right Hand
• DT-series Sentry Droid
  
  • Status
    
    • Armor: 82%
    • Structure: 98%
  • Armament
    
    • FAE/M-01 “Scherezade” Energized Vibroblade Mk. II - Left Hand
    • AAF-8 Scattergun - Right Hand
• Advanced Blastromech Droid
  
  • Status
    
    • Armor: 78%
    • Structure: 100%
  • Armament
    
    • Heavy Rotary Blaster - Head
    • Micro-Missile Launcher - Head
      
      • FAE/WH-04-S2 Universal Missile - Plasma Warhead (7)
      • FAE/WH-04-S2 Universal Missile - Baradium Warhead (7)
    • Flamethrower - Body

 

[Rieva "Killshot" Alonn]

Ship: Raptor 1
Weapons: Blaster, dagger
Enemies: Haro Aven Naamino Zuukamano
Allies: 5 NPC Dagger Squadron Raptors

Killshot didn’t chase the fleeing ship. She didn’t even watch him go. Her sensors were screaming. “Contacts. Mass contacts,” she snapped, eyes flicking across her readouts as the horizon ahead of them began to shimmer and darken, not with cloud, but movement. Too fast. Too many. Too erratic to be ships. Her stomach tightened. “Bug swarm. Big one,” she said flatly. “Whole damn sky’s about to light up.”

The formation shattered ahead as the first glints of chitin and ion-spark flicker rippled through the upper atmosphere, a living storm boiling toward them. Individually, the creatures barely registered as threats. Together? They were a moving wall of interference, EMP pulses, and razor-edged bodies capable of shredding a starfighter in seconds.

“Dagger Squadron, tighten it up!” she ordered, snapping her interceptor into a brutal climb as electromagnetic distortion began to claw across her shields. “Defensive sphere, now!”

Her wingmates collapsed inward, spiraling around her as disciplined cannon bursts carved narrow corridors through the incoming mass. The sky fractured into fire, static, and tumbling bodies.

Then the swarm hit. The impact rippled through her frame like a physical blow. Systems flickered. Stabilizers stuttered. Warning tones stacked atop one another in frantic succession.

“Short bursts!” Killshot barked. “Don’t chase - just clear!” Her interceptor bucked violently as ion arcs crawled across her hull, tearing through shielding and crawling into her control surfaces. She fought the stick, forcing her ship to stay in the spiral as the corridor ahead collapsed faster than she could open it.

They weren’t punching through. They were drowning.

“Abort!” she snapped. “Dive! Dive! Dive! Get under the cloud!” She rolled inverted and slammed her thrusters, gravity seizing her ship and hurling it earthward as the sky dissolved into chaos behind them. The city exploded into view below; towers, rooftops, and narrow urban canyons rushing up far too fast. Her controls went sluggish. Then worse; they went erratic. “Pick your landing zones!” Killshot shouted. “Controlled crashes! I don’t care how, just get down!” Her interceptor shuddered as something slammed into her starboard wing, sending her spiraling into a savage corkscrew. She killed lateral thrusters, dumping speed and fighting the spin as atmosphere screamed across her hull. Buildings blurred past. Alarms shrieked. “Come on, come on...” she hissed, wrestling her craft back into something resembling a glide. She caught a sliver of open space between towering structures and dove for it, skimming low over rooftops, sparks tearing from her stabilizers as she forced the interceptor into a brutal, bone-rattling descent. “Killshot out. See you on the ground,” she snapped into the comms, the transmission dissolving into static as her ship vanished into the urban maze below.

 

[Torvald]

Torvald

Torvald’s laughter cut short when she mentioned him being a savage and a primal look in his eye caught her, his voice dropping but still not losing its amusement. His troop slowly walked ahead of him as he looked back at Irina.

“Aye lass, we are all savages.”

He stepped a bit closer.

“Some hide it well, or rather hide from it. They feel being civilized strengthens them, gives them resolve.”

A sinister grin crept on his face as a sharpened claw ran down the metallic handle of his axe, sparks flew from his finger tip as a scraping noise pierced the quiet.

“I find it is the opposite, we dig deep into our animalistic nature, build from it. We find each other in the pack, nature places its true order on our heads, the divine force as old as the force itself. And she demands strength. Civilized behavior only tells me one thing.”

He stood up straight, his hands folding behind his back.

“They find strength in comfort and warmth. They isolate themselves and forget what it means to be in a pack. They become like prey bedding down in the meadows while we while I wait for them to fall asleep. Ready for the kill.”

He started to continue but paused as his ear twitched, his body shivered at the change in the air as if the forest itself whispered to him.

DANGER

A deep growl left his throat as he drew his light-axe.

“GET DOWN LASS!”

He barked at her as he thrust his hand towards her, hurling her back from incoming fire, not far from him to his left he felt the presence of a second enemy unleashing its plasma rounds towards him, he quickly rotated his axe as it activated deflecting bolts around him. Ahead he could hear the violence escalate high on the Emberborne and his men. Some of his men armed with circular phrik shields created a small phalanx wall to absorb some of the ambushing attacks, though some were not lucky enough to react quick enough. It happened quickly and hard. It was a surprise for sure that his men were caught off guard with the Emberborne.

He didn’t have time to bark his orders to his men before two smaller rockets roared towards his direction, a yell erupted from his chest as he held out his hands and a sheet of ice formed from the very moisture the frostfall his squad generated, left behind.

It was not very thick unfortunately, just enough to detonate the rockets into it instead of him, the kinetic blast knocking him to his back, using the inertia of the force he rolled with it in a kneeling position as his boots dug into the ground. He could feel an aggressive advancement on them and with another yell he hurled his light axe into the trees, severing the smaller trunks to slow their advancement, at least it was his hope that it would.

Allies: Irina Jesart | Aerik Lechner | Skadi Lightbane | Darth Strosius | Xander Blackmoore

Foes:

Seraphina Pryde​

 

[Irina Jesart]

Armour
NPC Unit
Location: Shoengen
Allies: Torvald Skadi Lightbane Aerik Lechner
Enemies: Seraphina Pryde

​

Irina hooked the hand he’d given her to her belt. It was vile, but it was a gift and she wasn’t going to throw it away. Certainly not while he was here. She knew how sensitive the sense of the Lupo’s were, there was no hiding anything from them. Not physically at least. She made a noise of disgust as he drew closer to her, that sadistic grin splitting his face from ear to ear.

There was truth in what he said, to a point. Being civilized allowed them to blend in, to hide their true nature. But she was definitely isolated. Then again, she was not a wolf, nor an animal. She was a force of nature, waiting to be unleashed.

Irina opened her mouth to respond, when he yelled, force slamming into her, casting her backwards into the dirt as slugs slammed into the tree where she’d been moments before. She let the momentum carry her rolling back to her feet as chaos erupted around them.

“AMBUSH!”

Her eyes snapped upwards locating the Dark Trooper, a snarl erupting from her as her lightsaber ignited, its crimson glow steady among the dark underbrush, she threw it, sending it spinning in a wide arc aiming to slice the jet pack on his back. Her other hand lifted towards the incoming missiles from sentry droids pressing their advantage in the chaos, snapping down to bring the force down upon them slamming them into the ground before they could reach her.

She dropped to a knee, bracing against the shockwave, anger feeding the inferno that burned within.

The overgrown jungle worked both ways and the Emberborne were far from untrained. The shadows became aglow with red as blaster fire erupted, forcing them into cover, but the Emberborne excelled at one thing.

Chaos.

Fires erupted around them, allowing them to recover from the initial shock, regroup and press their counter assault, blaster fire streaking back towards the incoming droids. Where Torvald sundered trees with his axe, Irina set them ablaze, her rage twisting into an inferno within.

​

 

[Aerik Lechner]

Wearing: Roka Varg | Weapons: Lightsaber | Knife
Allies: Skadi Lightbane | Irina Jesart | Torvald
Enemies: Seraphina Pryde​

The chakram came in close, its path tight toward his shoulder, close enough that Aerik felt the change in the air before he saw the blade itself. He turned into it rather than away and lifted his arm, shifting his stance just enough to deny the angle it sought. Heat flared along the plating while the armor took the brunt of the contact.

He stayed where he was.

The Rainmaker never stopped firing. Each discharge sent a rolling concussion through the platform and into his legs. Heat bled off the cannon housing in steady waves. The smell of scorched metal and propellant hung thick in the air. There was no clean rhythm to settle into here.

Seraphina slipped past him in the midst of it. Her presence thinned and then snapped back into place beyond his reach. Aerik felt the loss of contact before he registered the movement itself. He turned with it and reset his footing as the platform shuddered again beneath another firing.

The wolf-pup did not pursue her, because her focus had shifted.

He watched as both chakrams were sent by telekinetic command, committed forward toward Skadi and the gun crews beyond her. Aerik registered the choice immediately. Her attention was on what was front of her, not the wolf she had left behind her.

Aerik moved. His mind pressed to Skadi’s thoughts. A mental image of what he intended would flash in her mind.

The shield came free in his hand. Its weight was familiar and grounding as he drew it back. He hurled it with a force-assisted throw that cut through smoke and heat along the line she had opened. The strike was aimed at her back where she would not be able to see or reach.

Aerik did not follow the throw, instead, he watched to make sure Skadi Lightbane had followed through.

The Rainmaker thundered again. The ground trembled hard enough to rattle debris across the platform. Heat continued to roll through the space in a shimmering haze. Aerik stepped back into the ground she had tried to skip past and closed the gap between them again. He set himself there, between the cannon and whatever came next.

In the end, the line had not moved.

Around him, the battle continued in bursts of light and sound, but Aerik remained where he was. He was anchored by purpose. They would not give up ground, nor allow the weapon to fail. Whatever followed would have to account for the resolve he held and the fact that this ground was not given freely.

Aerik’s defiance made a simple declaration. If the intruder wanted to reach the canon, she was going to have to go through him to get it.