Dominion The Truth in Pain | SE Dominion of Ossus

[Syala Daivik]

Objective III
Jedi safe house
Cato Demora

Her entrance into the safe house was preceded by a gentle knock to let those inside know she wasn’t an intruder, and she entered quickly before she could be spotted by any of the numerous patrols. The sight that met her eyes filled her with a deep sadness. Most of the faces that stared back at her were children, the oldest among them young Knights that appeared to be in their early twenties. These were the dissidents the Sith hunted so fervently: those too young to truly have a grasp on the philosophy they’d been brought into, and young adults that should have had anything else to worry about other than whether they would survive to see the next sunrise. It broke her heart while also cementing her resolve to help them escape by any means necessary.

Syala offered a reassuring smile to the youngest among them, completing a silent headcount of everyone she could see. Counting herself among them they fell just short of ten individuals, too large in number to move through the streets quietly and comprised of too many who were too young to split up in order to divert attention as needed. The others that had come with her were likely busy with similar scenarios across the planet, meaning that she would have to find a way to make this work herself.

One-by-one she met the eyes of the eldest among them, motioning gently for them to step aside with her so as not to alarm the rest. “The transports are on the outskirts of the city. It isn’t a long walk from here, but it’s dangerous for the younglings. There are enough of us here to split them up and make quicker progress that way, or we can travel together and keep the children between us. If we--” She was cut off by a sensation of dread that rippled through the Force, and by the looks on their faces they’d felt it as well.

Her lightsaber was produced from a deep pocket, the tension visible on her face. What had once been naive idealism had quickly transformed into a more realistic optimism, and it was that she leaned heavily on in times like these. “Two of you take the children to the back of the house. Follow the map I sent you to the transports and you’ll be safe.” That would leave her with one of the Knights to stand with against the imminent attack. “May the Force be with you all.”

 

[Cato Demora]

The ship touched down some distance away from the target - not so much for alerting them, Sith transports were cutting across the sky every few minutes - but because the size of the vessel restricted them in the urban environment. Ossus, unlike Voss or Korriban, didn't have the same infrastructure everywhere it could - so the outskirts would have to suffice for the time being. A transport waited for them at the end of the landing dock, but Cato couldn't help but glance up to see all the disabled freighters only a few spots over.

Their hulls were damaged, scorched from both Bryn'adul fire and pirate blasts - each looking like they could use the tender loving hand of a good engineer, but Cato knew that they weren't likely to be smuggler vessels. At least, he hoped as much. Either way, it wasn't his job - nor did he have the current operational authority to demand they be searched; more in the realm of the local legionairy garrison than the First Legion's deployment.

As the group loaded onto the transport, Cato stood - his mag lock boots and reactions keeping him steady as the repulsort lifts whirred, letting them glide over the environment with mostly a smooth ride. A few rain filled divets made b the tracks were too sharp for the lifts, and forced him to wobble - but he remained standing as he spoke;

"Operation report says the hold out is anywhere from seven to ten. Expect heavy resistance, at least one knight was spotted among them. Neighbors say they have been home bound for at least a week; one of the knights and the local home owner ferrying supplies to them. Younglings are among them, but how many is unknown - minimum of three.", he said as he used his other finger to scroll through the pda - across a number of faces.

"When we deploy, we hit hard. Breaching charge from the side and back door - local garrison will park in front, and await anyone trying to flee into the street. Weapons are on stun, orders say we take them alive.", he declared.

Everyone nodded, and Cato could see their resolve even behind the green glow of the helmets. With his own nod, he dawned the helmet once more and waited - and when the transport came to a stop, the six legion members rushed through the alley and split - six and six between the doors. It was Cato who spoke over the internal comms first -

"Breaching, in 3... 2...", and the internal cybernetics made sure they were in sync. Nervous impulses aligned at once as the breach charges went off - just before the Jedi could escape through the back. The shockwave sent the knight toppling backwards, throwing a child from behind him down to the ground as dust and screams began to fill the air.

The heavily modulated voice of the death trooper armor rang out before Cato spoke without it -

"Down, on the ground!", he commanded - but another had already fired a shot into the injured knight. It was too high tension for the moment, Cato would get the rationale later - but for now, he needed this situation under control.

And quickly.

Syala Daivik

 

[Syala Daivik]

Objective III
Jedi safe house
Cato Demora

Her lightsaber ignited in a flourish of brilliant indigo that batted away incoming stun rounds, her ears still ringing from the simultaneous explosion of the breach charges that had punched holes into the side and back of the building, effectively boxing them in and leaving them with one viable exit. The Force told her what awaited outside, and it was no less bleak a fate than the one transpiring before her. It was just as she had feared: the Sith had anticipated a plan like this long before it had come to fruition, and now they were acting accordingly.

Without hesitation Syala did what she could to put herself between the troopers and the younglings, herding them behind her and keeping a wide stance that allowed her to maintain a semi-circle of reach with her lightsaber to discourage any attempts to move in closer. Her movements were purely defensive, focused on keeping a healthy distance between the soldiers and the frightened children behind her while doing her best to make sure no one could get behind them.

Whatever attempt at masking her signature in the Force she had applied was gone now, stealth long since forgotten in favor of protecting those around her. Her presence in the ethereal burned bright like the sun, and just like that any Force-user in the vicinity would know of their presence. Not that it mattered now. There were more important things at stake.

“Please,” she raised her voice over the chaos that had now quelled only just, due to nothing more than the fact that she stood between them and the rest of their prize, “You don’t have to do this. I don’t want to hurt any of you.” And she meant it, not as a threat, but as a genuine and heartfelt statement. Despite her long tenure as one that stood against the Sith and all their ilk, she had scarcely taken a life, and never found anything in it other than profound sorrow when she had. To kill them would be no different, but if it meant saving the younglings then she could bring herself to it.

“Let the children go. They deserve a life away from all this, I think we all believe that. Forget about whatever orders you were given before you came here and listen to your heart. They don’t belong fighting anyone’s war. Let them leave, please.” She didn’t say it, but it was implicit in the words spoken: she would stay, even go with them if that was what it took - but only if the younglings were allowed to leave peacefully.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

An eyebrow arched as Maliphant tried to justify, to her and maybe even to himself, that Vulcanus and his Graug hordes taking over the entire sector was beneficial. That challenging him after the canonization ritual would be a foolhardy exercise, but she had to wonder... was a certain amount of fear slipping into her fellow Sith's thoughts on the matter.

"Some of us haven't wasted our power bases in pyrrhic victories," she replied, gesturing around in general. It was no secret that the Sith Eternal's troops and ships had taken a hammering they would take time to recover from. Taeli had not participated in the fight, busy with the defense of Ziost, a defense that had held and hadn't cost the Lady of Secrets much in her own personal forces. They had had time to recover from other campaigns, replenish and reequip. Not to mention her Adepts and the Sithspawn that could match the Graug hordes, certainly in more capabilities.

"As for Vulcanus and what he is after the canonization ritual, we don't really know what capabilities he might have gained," she continued. "He certainly doesn't know mine, and there are more ways than one, to assert a challenge."

She looked Darth Empyrean dead in the eye, amber leaking in to replace the purple.

"If Vulcanus tries to take Voss, I will oppose him for control of it."

 

[Cato Demora]

The Jedi had brought out her lightsaber with a lightning like quickness, forcing those closest to her to take a step back - ceasing their shooting as soon as they realized they couldn't break her defense so easily. At least not with their stun rounds - so instead Cato lifted a hand, closed a fist, and the others stopped the aggression; leaving Cato to fill in the 'silence', intermixed with the sounds of scuffling elsewhere in the small home. Likely the knight trying to hold to his convictions, but the sound of an armored heel repeatedly slamming into something fleshy would soon see that too silenced.

"We let them go, they still don't get a choice. Jedi will raise them to fight against us, just like they already were.", he said, the soldiers nearest him slowly moving around the room to point their weapons at her from multiple angles around the room. The greater the radius of them were around her, the greater the chance their stun rounds would make it through.

"Come on, Jedi. Put the weapon down, we don't have orders to kill you - but you can't stay here."

Another of the others slung the stun rifle on his shoulder, small as it was, and slowly undid the maglock on his energy rifle. It's rounds were instant, or nearly so at 20% the speed of light - they'd stop the Jedi, one way or another, and she would know it as the fighting began to cease; all except the distant lamination of the children.

Syala Daivik

 

[Darth Empyrean]

"Some of us don't want to waste our power base on fighting a Warlord who doesn't care about anything he can't eat or burn.", Maliphant said with a furrow of his brow, and a dark dissapointment in his conversational partner.

"Especially over planets with so little worth. Voss is surely above other nearby worlds, but what is your obsession with such?", he inquired.

As Taeli would speak, a young girl in an officers red uniform would reach her head into the tent. Apologizing for the interruption, she quickly asked her question;

"Lord Maliphant - Transports have arrived for the still waiting Jedi captives. Where would you like them moved?"

"Send half to Kyros. Ensure that the logs of their departure is on the automated vessels, I don't want them tracked. The others, send to the Worm on Korriban. He deserves his cut."

Maliphant offered a knowing grin to Taeli as he offered a slight wink - and the Officer nodded before departing.

"We all need a share in the plunder, afterall."

Taeli Raaf

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

It was cold, wasn't it?​

​

Even the occasional snowflake which drifted through a break in the roof didn't seem to let his brain focus on that fact. He was cold of course, his fingers felt tingly and his cheeks were flushed, but there was so much else to focus on, so much else to think about, that he barely even cared until he realized that she was cold too. And feeling it more than he was.​

​

"I understand," he reassured her when she spoke about her more neutral leanings. "It doesn't matter to me, Ish, I like you for you not for some mystical alignment. I just... Be careful, promise me that much okay?" ​

​

There was something she wasn't telling him, and the more time passed the more it seemed to nag in the corner of his mind. She didn't owe him any sort of explanation, certainly he wasn't going to force her to come out with it, but it did make him curious.​

​

Still there was plenty he wasn't telling her, wasn't there?​

​

"They do, yeah; we could look for a way down... Good idea, Ish." The only question was, where would it be if it existed? He stepped closer to her, wrapped an arm around her shoulder, and held her close for a moment as they walked. "Are you alright?" he whispered, as though afraid they were being watched or listened in on. "You seem on edge, love..."​

​

Perhaps they could try the archives, maybe there was a way down through there? Almost like a restricted section... That might work, right?​

​

Ishani Dinn ​

 

[Ishani Dinn]

He likes me for me? Her brain squeaked in hopeful delight. Maybe then he won’t care if I—

Of course he wouldn’t care. This was Arcturus Thesh they were talking about. The problems would arise from the people around them taking issue, and her very allegiance to the faction and what it meant to be a Sith itself. To that, she had no solution as yet.

Ishani was therefore glad the cold made her nose and cheeks pink, even if she was sniffling a little. It kept her from going pale as Arcturus asked if something was up. Even if he did call her “love” while he did it.

“Who, me? On edge? Nah. I’m fine. Since you’re here, I’m better than fine.” She leaned into his embrace, although it kind of looked like she was hiding from him beneath his arm as they walked. “Just so you know, you’re not getting away from me anytime soon. Only place I’m not following you into is the ‘fresher.”

Arcturus Dinn​

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

She was lying, of course, but for now he would let the matter rest. Though he hadn't expected to find her here, though he had been putting off their reunion for some reason he couldn't quite place his finger on, the bandaid had been pulled clean off. It was odd that he should find some small measure of inner peace here of all places, on the world which had unwittingly caused him so much strife. As though he had come full circle.​

​

"We found something of note," he said, lightly squeezing her shoulder as they walked; he did not lead her in the direction of anything new, in fact quite the contrary he seemed to be headed back the way they had come, "What say we get out of the cold for a few hours? My ship's nearby. I don't think you've seen her yet, have you? Come on, we can get back to scouring for artifacts later."​

​

Ishani seemed like all she needed right now was to be out of the cold. Something to eat might do them good, help take their minds off everything. Help to return them to a sense of normalcy. Whatever that was. Work here on Ossus likely wouldn't finish for a little while longer, they could be afforded a few hours to catch up all things considered. Surely.​

​

Ishani Dinn ​

 

[Ishani Dinn]

“Oh, so now you want to go someplace warm and screw around? All cause I have the sniffles? Kinky. All right, let’s blow this popsicle stand, before I turn into a popsicle.”

Arcturus Dinn​

 

[Syala Daivik]

Objective III
Jedi safe house
Cato Demora

There was no use correcting semantics, and so Syala didn't bother. Still, she wanted to explain to him that she wasn't a Jedi, not really, and neither were the rest of those she allied with. But they opposed the Sith, and so for all intents and purposes that was what she would always be in his eyes. Distinctions didn't matter when you were standing on the wrong end of a blaster rifle, set to stun or otherwise.

A fight wasn't what she had wanted, and this was evident nowhere more than the tension in her face and the frown that tightened the corners of her mouth. Although the choice had been made for her she wouldn't strike with the intent to kill, merely disable and disarm. They would be given another choice then, assuming she was able to best enough of them in the process. If not, she wouldn't lament for sacrificing her life in an attempt to save the younglings. It was as just a cause as any, and they deserved every chance in the galaxy.

The sound of a maglock being released reinforced that sense of dread she'd felt just before all this, but she didn't waver. Any fear she may have felt was allowed to pass over and through her like water. Despite her best efforts, her next exhale was shaky. Briefly she glanced back to the children huddled behind her, giving them a soft smile before turning again to face their assailants.

"I can't let you take them." That was the last thing she would say before sending out a wave of the Force, one whose epicenter was intended to impact the trooper that had already readied his rifle. Hopefully it would give her enough time to deal with the others in turn, or at least create enough of a distraction so that the younglings might slip past the other troopers and find one of the others she had come with.

 

[Cato Demora]

Objective III

We weren't asking, is what he had wanted to say - a final quip before the barrage would begin, but her force wave came first. Lightning ran through his superconductor woven nerve endings, through the cybernetics attaching him to his suit, and forced the mag locks on his boots to stick. His strength would keep him upright, and he knew the same would occur with the others in the room - they were, after all, highly trained specifically to kill Jedi and today would be no different.​

​

With half the jedi already under lock and key, Cato knew that a few more deaths wouldn't get them court martialed. They'd done most of their duty already, what's a few bits of blood spilled? So as the rifles were brought up once more, and trigger fingers would begin to get depressed in her direction - something set his instinct on edge. The sound of a window shattering, fabric being thrown into the air - and the pull that overwhelmed his super human strength.​

 

[Wyatt Morga]

Objective III

One of the knights who had managed to escape came directly for Wyatt - warning him of the situation. While he could not save them across the planet, the closest safehouse would have to suffice - so he allowed the force to augment his speed to super human levels, leaping over buildings before it came within sight. Using his cloak before him, he leaped through the window, rolled with the cloak out to protect him from the glass, and rose to full height.​

​

A hand raised high, an unlit lightsaber in the other, he closed his fist and the First Legion within the room snapped backwards at the knee - slamming them into the ground with the raw strength of the Grandmaster. Wyatt's eyes were cold then, and he seemed almost as much a threat as a Sith as he glanced in Syala Daivik 's direction.​

​

"We need to leave, now.", he said - though he doubted she would need the guidance. The First Legion already began to stir, and his lightsaber snapped alive as it began to toss bolts harmlessly into other directions. Another use of the force with his free hand, and the door behind him ripped off its hinges into a nearby ally.​

​

"There's a ship half a mile west - three blocks south. Go!", he commanded as another rose to begin firing, forcing him to take a step back towards the door.​

 

[Darth Veradun]

DARTH VERADUN

{ { { Objective: II. Retrieve knowledge } } }
{ { { Location: Ossus, Great Library} } }
{ { { Gear & Assets: Armor, Lightsaber, Com-link, Holotransmitter} } }
{ { { Tag(s): Open} } }

{ { { THEME } } }​

The Valor was just one of many ships around the planet and it did not stand out as a heavy warship. The formerly planet was directly below it, the ancient Jedi world of Ossus. It was known as one of the earliest Jedi Temples as well as a holdout during the times of war and said to have a library which was only surpassed by the great knowledge collected in the old Coruscant Jedi Temple archives. Of course this was a long time ago, but still, to regain the treasures hidden inside will be as much a triumph as burning the heresy left in it.

Darth Veradun used his personal dropship to descend to the surface, taking a small retinue of soldiers and Warriors with him. There was not much war left and he did not intend waste too much time on the ground. Th ship set down close to the ancient library complex, at the shore of the nearby lake. The waters trembling by the push of the engines units when the ship slowly turned and softly landed on the red sand.

With his follower in tow, the tall Sith would climb the dark steps and enter the ancient building, delving into the depths of history which were caught inside. Even though early raids had stripped it of most valuables, there was evidence that there were hidden vaults and chambers which would contain more knowledge, artifacts and secrets. One must just find them. So with the Force as his aid, expanding his senses from the power he draw from deep within, from the whip lashes in the mines, the killing of his masters ... Veradun's senses expanded greatly, through air, rock, steel and flesh. ​