The Wrong Side of Heaven - Republic Invasion of Alderaan (Knights, Padawans, NFUs only)

[Di Mancini]

OOC: This is Popo's writer. Popo isn't showing in this invasion, but I do have alts that are. Consider Popo doing.... Iunno, he's off skirt chasing [member="Danger Arceneau"] or something

Location: Training Temple
Objective: Take the Temple
Allies: The Galactic Republic
Enemies: The One Sith, [member="Darth Mierin"], [member="Darth Junra"], [member="Darth Isolda"] (Figured you three will go to the other thread, but tagged you so y'all know it's up)
Music:

Spoiler

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbveY6Q9hao

The temple was intact, mostly. It was beaten up, run down, and generally pillaged-looking, but it was still up. A lone figure gazed at the temple through a pair of beaten up magnoculars, his old leather jacket just as worn as the magnoculars he held. He lowered his hands and gave a thumbs up to everyone behind him, including the crew of his tank as they poked their heads out of the hatches.

"Still up!" he exclaimed. Happy calls and cheers replied.

Around him, the attacking force mobilized as he scratched his beard and glanced back at the temple. He looked around it, noticing the Sith forces nearby and within the complex, and grunted to himself. He glanced down at the large, fuzzy head poking itself from the driver's hatch.

"Yahraar!" he called to the Wookiee. "Hnn-rowr yrroonn nng rarrr!"

He mangled the shyriiwook, but the message was clear to Yahraar: Move out! The Wookiee ducked back inside the Reliant tank and a massive, fuzzy paw reached up to pull the hatch shut. The tank lurched once and trundled down the hill towards the temple. Di poked his head back inside the tank and looked at the rest of the crew.

"Wiittah," he called over the tank's engine. "Try and aim for their side this time, okay? I know you prefer Republic scrap - Sorry, raw materials, but command ain't gonna buy that misfire story no more, man. Okay? Ozz, Ozzy, I need you to load high explosives and try to keep up the pace. Bucket-line it if you have to, just don't fight over who gets to close the breach, okay? And for the love o' mike, don't drop another shell! I had to change my pants and Yahraar had to hose out the driver's seat last time."

With that, he got a medley of responses in various languages and sat back up with his head sticking out of the tank. All in all, it was a nice day for a drive through the country side. If you ignored the incoming fire, that is.

 

[Kamon Vondiranach]

Location: Space above Alderaan
Allies: Wraith Squadron/Republic
Enemies: One Sith
Objective: Air Superiority Before Ground Superiority

A squadron of StealthX's slipped out of hyperspace. The flight suits hadn't been done in time, but that was the nature of things. It took time for the order to be shipped, and it hadn't reached them before they'd left for the mission. Such was luck. Fortunately, she had her Champion Jedi Armor that was gifted to her by her Master. Not exactly flight ready, but she was confident enough that she wasn't going to be going on a space walk anytime soon.

Wraith Squadron, form up. Do not engage the enemy until right on top of them. Air superiority first. Once we've secured it, we'll go down to the ground and show them how Wraith Squadron commando's roll.

She pushed the engines ahead full, moving towards the planetary defense lines. She was going to give them hell, along with her squadron. It was going to be fun and she was thoroughly looking forward to it. She continued to speak telepathically.

Form up with your wing. Always teams of two. Keep each other covered. I don't want any losses. That's not acceptable. All Jedi report in to me your position and status. I will relay commands as necessary.

[member="Harkin Kane"] [member="Tugoro Taidarious"] [member="Kyla Verss"] [member="Oka Osaa"] (The other Wraiths would be in the other thread)

 

[Oka Osaa]

Oka smiled as they flew through space near Alderaan. He heard the orders being given.
"On it, right behind ya." Oka said with enthusiasm.
It is time to take back Alderaan, or what evers left. Awaiting replies from other squad members, Oka sat back until action came upon them.

 

[Camellia Swift]

Location: Hyperspace Enroute to Alderaan
Allies: Wraith Squadron/Republic [member="Niamh Raste"]
Enemies: One Sith
Objective: Reach Alderaan

In truth Camellia was rather disappointed in missing out on the combat when Alderaan had fallen under attack previously. Now that a new operation had been put together to retake the conquered world, the young Rendili woman had every intention of involving the Rendilie Home Defense Force in some way. Even if it would end up only being a minor contribution. Considering the RHDF's primary concern was the safety of Rendili and its shipyards, sending out their forces with several of their ships to help liberate Alderaan from the Sith wasn't exactly a task that Rendili's government and defense council officials were interested in.

However, they were quite interested in improving Rendili's standing within the Republic, and by focusing on supplying support in the manner Camellia had approached them with to convince them of the necessity of their participation, they could do just that. So now here she was in hyperspace, closing in on the world, hoping to enter the system and approach the planet once a path and all clear was given by Wraith Squadron and any Republic forces that arrived before the RHDF arrived. They still had some ways to go though, but the plan was that when the two Hammerhead Cruisers and Shield Medical Frigate returned to real space they would quickly enter Alderaan's atmosphere and settle into a low orbit to deploy ground forces and secure a staging area.

From there Camellia intended to leave the Hammerheads, along with their starfighter escorts, defending the Medical Frigate from AA fire and any enemy ships while she led a ground operation with Rendili Defense Force soldiers clad in their RCA gear and armed with their P-7 Carbines as they moved to both support the main Republic Force, and work to both combat the Sith and also evacuate wounded troops from the battlefield by returning them to the staging area or another acquired LZ where dropships could take them backing to the Medical Frigate. Oversight Recon Droids and scouts on SkyArch Speeders would move ahead of most of the squads to give them forewarning of Sith soldiers to either get the jump on them or avoid them altogether. Likely it would be best to leave any of their Rendili Battle Tanks at the staging area and any secured LZs.

Of course this would all take place once they arrived and got into position. Which they hadn't yet, being still in hyperspace and all.

Force Composition to make sense:

Spoiler

Hammerhead Cruisers x 2 (Will just use cannons to clear a LZ away from the main fighting if pressed, will alternate landing to deploy their troops)
Shield Class Medical Frigate x 1 (Will hang above staging area and act as evac zone and medical facility when I arrive)
F-18 Pillar Starfighters x 24
Rendili Starfighters x 24
RAETs x 4
Driver Class Dropships x 4
Soldiers with RCE and P-7s x 600 (likely most committed to initial landing site to keep it safe as an evac zone for wounded along with various LZs)
Rendili Battle Tanks x 24 (Again mostly defending staging area and LZs for fluff)
SkyArch Speeders x 36
Oversight Reconnaissance Droids x 18

Disclaimer: Will be busy for the next few hours ooc hence my remarks IC they won't arrive out of hyperspace for a bit.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

A Silk-6 swoop bike lanced out from the advance guard, through trees that overlooked a scenic park adjacent to the temple. The park offered a decent view of the complex but also more than a little cover, should significant weaponry or the power of the Force be brought to bear from the temple. Pale eyes scanned the grounds, looking for a moderately non-suicidal place to get into the main temple.

She'd opted for no armor this time around, none of her phrik plate nor her Tenloss death's-head helmet. No Jedi robes, either, just the spacer vest and trousers and boots that she'd worn, in one form or another, since her Vagrant Fleet days. Beneath the vest and over the trousers she wore a tight tikulini-leather shirt that covered neck, shoulders and hips. A heavy blaster pistol, sleek and uncompromising, was strapped to her thigh, and her lightsabre dangled from her belt beside it. A handful of minor talismans dangled from her neck, nothing that offered any serious advantage.

It was, all things considered, a bare-bones loadout for full battle. Part of that was for mobility, part of that was for awareness -- anyone who feels safe in a battle is about to get dead -- and part of that was for the same reason she'd worn workout pants and a lightsabre belt to claim the throne of the Empire, in days of Mastery long past. The same reason she suspected she'd never be able to shake the hubris of the Dark Lord of the Sith, not totally.

She meant to win comprehensively, without giving her enemies an excuse for their loss.

 

[The Upright Man]

Location: Temple Accommodation
Allies: One Sith
Enemies: Republic; [member="Di Mancini"]
Objective: Anti-armor


Lily Rose may be a freelancer for the One Sith, but her extensive history led to a good reputation among command. Especially after the Hapes Incident. It had been broadcasted live all over the holonet, when a Jedi Master, and Council Member of the Silver Order had been assassinated. As proof, Lily had scalped the corpse of the Exotic Weapons Master on live holovision, peeling off his Nautolan headtresses. They were still on her person, dangling from her weapons belt at her waist as a trophy and warning to those who may oppose her; she was a Jedi Hunter and she was not afraid.

Venus turned to Lily, "Scanners are picking up activity." Her identical sister was indistinguishable from Lily, but that of their preference for warfare. Venus was one for fully automatic weapons and launchers with big explosions, Lily was the gunslinger type. Precision shots, long-range. They complemented one another. Together they sat alone in a shared accommodation. Blinds were closed, lights out. On the outside, no one was home. A habit from countless assassinations had led them to live this like on a daily occurrence. It helped them conceal their tracks.

Lily stood from her chair, leaning down to retrieve the Hekler'Kok AMR-1 Anti-Materiel Rifle. This rifle was responsible for the blood letting and death of a respected Jedi. The Keshiri brushed aside the curtains by a bare inch, and peered out; Republic. She could see them moving in the brush, it wasn't hard. She was heavily cybernetically enhanced, her eyes alone could peer with infrared vision, zoom and see with a higher resolution than organic eyes. "They're coming," Lily said to Venus, "Get the AT-RL1, they've got tanks."

Lily fell to a crouch as Venus left the room. She brought the stock of the rifle to her shoulder and brought down the bipod. She rested the rifle, leaning forward to clip one-sixth of the curtain aside. Enough that she could see out, but enough most couldn't see in. She sat back, glancing down the scope of the rifle. Her hands fervently slotted in a magazine; explosive, 2.7mmx108mm Slugs. The gun could pierce the hull of a tank at one-thousand yards, and leave a fist-sized hole. She waited.

 

[Veino Garn]

Location: Approaching Temple
Allies: [member="Ashin Varanin"] [member="Di Mancini"], flying Wraiths, [member="Kian Karr"] [member="Anarya Drast"]
Enemies: [member="Lily Rose"]
Music: TSfH Freedom Fighters
-----------------

Veino sat crouched on his speeder bike behind the tanks, trying to get used to the new Explorer's bodysuit. He'd never fought in armor before, and while this was fairly light and flexible, it still felt very wierd. Kind of sticky, almost, bu it was something he would have to adjust to. The bikes were still moving slowly to use the tanks as cover, but they'd break out soon. They just needed to wait for the air support and armor to create an opening. Then the strike force would speed forward through the gap into the temple itself and spearhead the infantry assault. That was the plan anyways. He, the Kel Dor Knight, and the padawans. Others would go ahead and distract. He swallowed nervously. He had a responsibility for these padawans. Yes, they were all capable, but they were still padawans, hardened in combat as they were. The future was with them. He could not allow them to come to harm.

He tapped his lightsaber hilt on the side of the speeder, nerves twisting. This was the first time he had ever really been part of a battle where he knew he would be part of a battle. Every other time had been fairly unexpected. This was different though. Much different. There had been planning, pre-mission briefings, and then a nerve-wracking flight to the system. Fortunately, he didn't need to fly himself. That was the only positive part of this whole thing.

He could feel Alderaan and its emotions now, like it was holding its breath. Fear swirled around, and nervous excitement buzzed, setting his teeth on edge. The Dark Side was here as well, writing and curling in on itself, seemingly focused in the direction of Aldera. He was glad not to be there. It would be brutal building to building combat, and he remembered some of the training he had received with the Fel Imperium. That type of warfare was horrible, even compared to the other kinds. He let himself sink into the bottomless pool that was the Force, and his anxiety drifted away into its cooling depths, and even the emotions of those around him flowed into it as well. He had no idea what effect that had on others, but he sometimes suspected it might lessen them.

 

[Cobalt]

Location: Thul Palace, Alderaan
Allies: One Sith
Enemies: ??
Objective: I sensed a disturbance in the Force... As if millions of voices cried out... And then were pretty much knocked unconscious... And then kept crying.


I woke up in a cold sweat. I was no great shakes at Force Premonition at long distances. But there was something wrong. Very wrong. Something in me made my hackles raise, and I decided that somebody had to know about it. My sister? No. She'd laugh... Maybe another real Sith...

Maybe [member='Nickolas Imura']... He was right next door. Maybe he'd felt it, too.

I put a top on and walked next door. I rang. Hopefully he'd answer.

 

[Sheff Zee]

Location: Temple.
Objective: Protect the Temple.
Allies: [member="Metus De'cal"], [member="Mala Kulan"].
Enemies: Anyone with bad intents.

Acarus stood on a balcony in the Sith Temple, looking into the sky with his electrobinoculars. There were ships coming to the Temple. He sensed the light side coming closer to the Temple and he cringed. The Sith were being repeatedly attacked it seemed. First by the Omega Protectorate on Coruscant, and now what seemed like the Galactic Republic returning to Alderaan.

Could they win this battle?

Without a doubt.

Would it be long and tiring? Most definitely. He certainly wasn't planning to be killed on that day, but if he was forced to die on the steps of the Sith Temple, then it'd be for the vision of the Dark Lord of the Sith, and would be deemed necessary.

He pulled the electrobinoculars away from his face and then he placed them back onto his utility belt. They were connected to one of the dozen of rings on his belt to attach things, and he chuckled to himself as he glanced behind him and walked back into the Sith Temple. The defense of Alderaan began at that moment.

Malphas meant to lead them to victory, whether he was the leader or not, he would spear head the counter-attack whether it was necessary or not.

Acarus pulled his commlink out of his robes and spoke into it. There was no hesitation, simply short and sweet.

"Entrance of the Sith Temple. Arm yourself."

Then he placed it back in it's spot in his robes, and headed towards the wall that was near the door, and he pulled off the two bandoliers that were there. Within a few moments they were strapped to his body, concealed by his black cloak. From there, the Sith Knight looked once more around the room and then leapt out of the room, through the open balcony doors and to the entrance below.

It was faster than going by inside, wasn't it?

Then he landed, quite heavily.

He barely used the Force to slow his descent. Only enough to prevent himself from dying of course. He hoped Metus De'cal, Mala Kulan, and [member="Ferian Adair"] got his commlink message to come to the Entrance.

He stood at the top of the Temple, he stood in the centre of it. If anyone wanted to pass him, they would have to cut him down.

 

[Nas Vua]

Location: Temple
Objective: KILL KILL KILL
Allies: [member="Darth Acarus"] at the moment
Enemies: Republic weaklings

The Yuuzhan Vong was on Alderaan, a beautiful place by most peoples' standards. To him, it stank. He was only here to do his part for the One Sith. He was part of the Hrosha-Gul, and that meant that he'd have to be a part of the one sith. Today, he would make sure that the Republic would bleed, if not for glory, then for honor. He was at the entrance of the temple and a figure jumped from a balcony above, landing near him. He only grunted in acknowledgement.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

TEMPLE ENTRANCE

Allies: Whoever
Enemies: [member="Darth Acarus"] [member="Nas Vua"]

The swoop bike's repeating blaster cannons chewed through obstacles -- shrubbery, fence, general whatnot -- as it zigzagged through the trees toward the entrance. The little vehicle skidded to a halt twenty yards from the front steps, and Ashin slipped off. Pale eyes tracked up as Acarus descended from a balcony in a flutter of black robes, his skin striped with the ancient marks of the One Sith. She wasn't close enough to really interfere with his fall, nor did she see it soon enough, but as the Sith Knight rose from a heavy landing he would see a dark-skinned woman climbing the steps toward him. Her lightsabre flared to life, a bar of yellow starfire in her right hand.

"There's nothing I can say to make you leave, is there." She took in the hulking Yuuzhan Vong and the tattooed Sith, and her sabre rose to a precise and expert guard.

 

[Sheff Zee]

Temple Entrance.

[member="Ashin Varanin"].

There was a woman there, someone who he hadn't expected. In fact it surprised him for but a moment but he regained himself just as [member="Nas Vua"] grunted at his presence, but he drew no weapon when the Jedi Knight came up the steps.

"No. There isn't."

His lightsaber was soon in his hand and the crimson beam extended from his long sleeve, and he turned to the side to provide a smaller target for the Jedi Knight. This one seemed regretful, no want to fight. Neither did Acarus, but he did what he had to for the Order of the One Sith.

He sent the force push from his right hand, his off-hand. He may as well initiate the fight anyway, and then he started to move forwards.

 

[Nas Vua]

Temple Entrance

Nas saw a swoop approaching. Instinctively, he let his finger spears slide out and forearm talons extend. Also, his fire spitters readied themselves. He stared the woman down as she got off of the bike and then spoke.

"There's nothing I can say to make you leave, is there."

"You could say please" He growled before signaling his two amphistaves to coil around his calves. He charged as [member="Darth Acarus"] delivered a force push, ready to attack at the same time that it would connect with the jedi.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

TEMPLE ENTRANCE
[member="Darth Acarus"] [member="Nas Vua"]

She threw up a quick Force shield to blunt the sharp impact of Acarus' push and went with the shove, letting Acarus toss her back down the steps and away from Nas Vua's charge. Her bootheels dug into the dirt near the base of the stairs. With a wrench of her back, she leaned forward, found her feet, and channelled the memory of what she'd been a few months ago-

Indestructible.

The push had given her a couple of seconds to halfway put together a response to the Vong. Her specialty was Force shielding; she set her feet, tossed out her free hand, and met Nas Vua's charge with a half-dome of hardened air and warped reality. Force shields worked just fine against Vong if you did them right, though precious little else did. Ideally, the momentum of the hulking Vong would put him into a brick-wall kind of situation. "Do-nom Jeedai pratte," she hissed, language she hadn't used in years, skipping right in an attempt to get up the stairs again, close to melee range with Acarus. With luck, Nas Vua would see it as an opportunity to go back up the steps after the more mobile woman and pin her between himself and Acarus, right in the entryway. It was the sort of situation that could be good for either of them, or very, very bad.

 

[Matreya]

(Let me know if I am unwanted. I can find something else to do.)

TEMPLE ENTRANCE
Allies: [member="Ashin Varanin"]
Enemies: [member="Darth Acarus"] [member="Nas Vua"]

Arriving not long after a speeder flew nearby, Asher watched a woman get attacked by dual opponents. Trained by his Master, Sith and Jedi both, to never abuse women wrongly, he viewed two on one as just the same. Leaping forward, his saber activating mid flight, Asher placed himself in the way of the charging brute.

The cyan blue of his saber reflected against the piercing crystalline blue of his eyes, while he held the form of a large Caucasian with no hair and robust muscles, "Two on one? Against a woman? So unsure of your allies victory?" His voice matched his form, deeply baritone and calm.

Electricity crackled for a moment down his arm before vanishing. A side effect of his ever present battle to fight the dark side within himself.

 

[Anarya Drast]

Alderaan.

She had never been here before, but she did know one thing about it. The Sith had invaded it, killing Jedi, and all in all being Sith. When given the chance to help, she had jumped on it. Her lightsaber hung on her belt, as she sat on the back of a speeder. "Ma'am?" a voice asked. She turned to see another padawan looking at her. "You got a plan?"

It took her a moment to understand what he meant. She was known by her peers now, seen as a leader by them. She was expected to know how to act, what would be the best course of action. Closing her eyes for a moment, she let herself focus on the world around her, her Miraluka heritage helping her look far around them while her eyes remained hidden in her eyelids. Sure, she wasn't an expert at it, or even as good as most of those on her homeworld. But she could still study those around her. She had a small group of padawans, nothing more. All she could work with. Speeder bikes, the like. Nothing she knew how to use. But perhaps... "Nothing yet." she replied, her mind turning over the few possibilities. She hadn't seen anything in the force for weeks. the pain medications she was on from her injuries seemed to be preventing her from seeing beyond herself. An interesting side effect. Not one she particularly liked. She was going into this blind.

 

[Nas Vua]

Temple Entrance

As he was charging, Nas was met with what felt like a brick wall. He stepped back, shocked and angered more than he had previously been. Then, a human stepped in the way. As this happened, [member="Ashin Varanin"] ran up the steps. This effectively split up the duel into Acarus vs Varanin and Nas vs Asher. He clawed at Asher's lightsaber, hitting it with such force that few humans would be able to stop the blow. He then roared fiercely, loud enough that it actually brought pain to his ears. Good, pain was good...

[member="Asher"]

 

[Tugoro Taidarious]

Pushing off against a sturdy tree branch, Tugoro would jump into the air, gliding briefly before landing once more. It was a rather menial task for the Padawan, given that he had lived on Kashyyyk, where he swung from vines on the daily. With the power of the force on his side, the boy found that leaping from branch to branch was a effective method of transportation. Having arrived on Alderaan much earlier that day, Tugoro had been startled when hearing the thunderous booms in the distance. Alderaan was currently occupied by the One Sith, resulting in the Republic's soon to begin Invasion. Hell, battles were already raging on different parts of the forest filled planet. Having stowed his Aleph super-fighter in a hidden area, the young Padawan could not help but feel nervous, seeing as he would not be using it during the battle. Or so he figured. The thick leaves that blotted out the sun would begin to part as the forest met it's end, revealing a large Republic camp that had settled in the opening. Armored vehicles and soldiers alike were moving here and there, preparing to move out and aid those already fighting.

In the distance, the young Jedi saw a familiar face, [member="Anarya Drast"]. He had not seen her since Ossus, and wondered how she was holding up. If he recalled correctly, she was one of those prophets, those that could delve into visions of the future. Tugoro had always thought that such abilities were no good, seeing as they did not always come true in the way the user expected them to. Sometimes they did not come true at all. Stepping forward, Tugoro would begin to descend, his leather booted feet slamming into the soft grass below. Approaching the large group of Padawans, the boy would look around the site, before giving the Luka Sene a brief glance. "Karr's not here," He would state, while rotating his body on the heel of his boots. [member="Kian Karr"] was someone he had not seen in a long time, not since his shenanigans on Ossus. Oh right, Anarya had been one of the individuals who wanted to stop him from facing the Sith too.

Trying not to dwell on the past, Tugoro would continue to look around the site, trying to spot any orbital shuttles. Anything to keep his mind off the pride he felt, after having swayed his enemy [member="Maleus"] to the light side of the force. The brown haired lad was surprised that he had not ran into the Zabrak yet. Looking at his arm, the boy would begin to press many buttons on his wrist computer, allowing him to view transmissions and updates from his squadron. The Wraiths were due in the air by now, and yet here he was on land. That would have to change sooner or later. Spotting the orbital shuttle he had been looking for, Tugoro would begin to walk backwards, before giving the Miraluka a nod and speaking, "Good luck." Dashing through the crowds of soldiers and equipment, the Padawan would make it just in time, jumping up the boarding ramp before it closed completely.

 

[Grrwunhoooll Agaburry]

Location: Temple Entrance
Allies: [member="Nas Vua"] [member="Darth Acarus"] currently
Enemies: [member="Ashin Varanin"] [member="Asher"]
Objective: Try to get some action

Kezeroth had been in a nearby chamber by the Temple entry and heard everything, Speeders and all. Previously The massive Gen'Dai was playing with some artifacts or ermm.. dropping them on the floor. Once Kezeroth heard some action he ran out to the entrance and ignited his Light-Pike. Kezeroth was 8'5ft in height and weighed quite abit. Kezeroth's Darkside eyes searched the area for the combatant, Upon sight Kezeroth let out a Roar and sped his way to the steps not knowing he would intercept [member="Ashin Varanin"].

[member="Ashin Varanin"]

 

[Isar]

Location: Temple Entrance
Enemies: [member="Ashin Varanin"] [member="Asher"]
Allies: [member="Nas Vua"] [member="Darth Acarus"] [member="Ferian Adair"]

Idruin emerged from the Temple's interior in a rush. His black hair was a tangled, unkempt mess and teal eyes glared about with an unabated fury. He wore black and red robes, tight at the chest and loose around the legs and arms. The sleeves fell just short of his wrists, so as to not entangle his hands during combat. He carried an unlit saberstaff in one hand and seemed anxious to use it.

Jedi.

Their resurgence would be met with the same message the Sith had sent them during the initial invasion: remorseless slaughter. The young warrior from Kro Var carried no sympathy for the Jedi in his furnace of a heart. Rage burned in him like bubbling magma waiting to be unleashed. The One Sith had given him pause of late. He did not approve of all their methods. Nor did he have any love for their general, his father, Kaine Zambrano, or so he claimed.

How could he love the man who'd so often rejected him? The same man who regarded him as nothing more than the impudent spawn of a lust forced upon the lad's mother. How could he wish for respect from a man like that? Yet, he did.

The Iron Tyrant was the only family he had left.

Matsu Ike had killed the rest.

Inside, twin hates roared with undying flames. The sight of attacking Jedi made one spring taller than the other, recalling the memory of the day when he'd watched Matsu collapse a Republic prison, killing all imprisoned Sith inside... including his uncles. He'd yearned to make them pay. All of them. Hasjo Hallu was the first. Aleksandr wondered who would be his second.

No, it doesn't matter. They're all the same, with their lies about peace.

Aleksandr's eyes fell on a female Jedi as she fought valiantly against two Sith, with another of her putrid brood arriving to assist. Could it be? His eyes flashed with recognition.

"Betrayer," he muttered. If he killed her the King of Panatha would be forced to take heed of Aleksandr Idruin, Slayer of the Empress of a Thousand Worlds.

A roar of aphotic power surged through him and the teal of his eyes shifted to a molten gold as his body was suffused with Dark Side energy.

The young Sith, features not marking him older than 19 at the most, charged out of the Temple and activated a single blade on his saberstaff. He leaped with alacrity high over the heads of both Sith and Jedi, coming to land several steps below Varanin and to her right. He spun around, filled with a wild tenacity for the fight, and sought to come at Varanin from behind with a simple slash at the back of her knees, leaving Acarus to deal with her front.