Public [THP | TDC] Operation Reckoning

[Kyber]

Objective 3
Equipment: Cloaking Device, 3 lightsabers
Engaging Zaiya Ceti and Aris Noble

With the breaking of the barrier Kyber saw his chance as he kept continuing his martial assault on the young jedi he would have one of the sabers poised to strike. One major problem of using the power of the darkside is that its rage makes ones view narrow as they focus too much on one thing completely ignoring other threats. Just before the potential killing strike could be landed he found himself looking down at the ground as an immense pressure slammed him down. If Kyber was an organic he would have been coughing up blood at this moment.

Kyber quickly used the force to push himself away from the two jedi to gain some distance as he recalibrated his tactics. It seemed the mercenaries had failed to distract the knight long enough and the few remaining ones were being gunned down by the many slaves that had now found themselves access to blasters. Kyber needed to reposition properly without being attacked so he attempted to activate his cloak only for sparks to fly from his chest as his cloaking device failed to activate.

Two jedis one who seemed to be a master of offense while the other skilled at making defensive barriers was a dangerous combo. Kyber didn't doubt he could take either of them on by themselves but combined and without his cloaking working this fight had gone from him moments away from killing a jedi to an extremely low chance of winning. It seemed Kyber would have to pull out his trump card.

Kyber lifted his hands up "This One Surrenders" he had already ensured his main task had succeeded and there was no way he was going to risk his life in the hopes of winning what seemed like a unwinnable duel "If Those Ones let This One live then This One will give Those Ones the access code to the cells" Higher chance of surviving if he offered a reason to let him live "Or Those Ones can risk reinforcements coming before freeing the Others."

 

[Zaiya Ceti]

Outfit: x x x x x | Equipment: x x x x x x | Weapons: x x x | Companion: Domxite
Interacting with: Kyber Aris Noble


Zaiya's chest loosened with relief the moment Aris slammed down beside her, the familiar aura of his presence grounding her. She shifted immediately, slipping out of his path so he could take the lead, her own role sliding from martial defense into support.

A soft turn carried her behind him, bracelets chiming as she spun lightly, letting the Force flow through her. She reached for that Force and then channeled it between them, amplifying it, lending her strength to his, guiding their rhythm until they could move as one.

But before they could strike, their opponent stilled. The droid lifted its hands in surrender.

Zaiya froze, breath caught in her throat, unsure if the gesture was a trick. The bioluminescence over her mottled spots slowed into a thoughtful, calm but cautious shimmer even as her stance remained loose and ready

They had to know if the droid meant it. So the Lovalla Padwan opened herself to the Force, letting its currents sweep over the figure before her, searching for intent, truth, and any lies.

"Will you truly provide the access codes to the cells to release the prisoners?" she asked quietly as she studied Kyber's every movement.

 

[Everest Vale]

Outfit: Personal Armour
Equipment: Lightsaber, Bracelet, Earrings, Seer Stone, Wayfinder's Flare, Atrisian Dancer, Engagement Ring
Tag: Jane Qyssiyana

The world fractured. Eve stumbled, her boot scuffing against metal grating as the shadows seemed to twist and double. Her breath caught sharp in her throat. For a moment she swore the droids were still standing, red eyes glowing, weapons raised, but then their bodies were already broken on the ground. She blinked hard. Had she destroyed them? Had she even drawn her saber? The sequence unraveled the more she tried to grasp it, memory folding in on itself until all she had was the sour taste of wrongness in her mouth.

Her hand shot out to steady herself against a pitted wall. The refinery loomed above, but its angles warped and shifted as if she were looking at it through rippling water. Heat pressed at her temples, an ache blooming behind her eye.

Something had been done to her. She knew it.

Her heart lurched as she turned, searching for Jane, and found her collapsed on the ground.

"J-Jane?" Her voice cracked. She dropped frantically to her knees beside her Padawan, fingers brushing her shoulder, her cheek. The girl's chest rose and fell in shallow rhythm, but her limbs lay slack, her eyes staring at the sky as if carved from porcelain.

"No, no, no—Jane, it's okay. It'll be okay. You're okay." She said it again, then again, until the words blurred together, her throat tight, breath quick. Panic clawed at her ribs. She should never have let her come. She should never—

Her jaw set. She forced a breath down her chest and pushed the storm out of her mind. The guilt didn't vanish, but she drove past it, extending her awareness outward with a sudden flare. The Force rushed wide, spilling like a wave through grit and steel.

And then she felt it. A presence, alien and jagged, brushing against her senses with cold static. Her silver eye snapped toward it. Through the storm she glimpsed a shape where none should be, a shimmer caught between shadows.

The snap-hiss of her lightsaber split the air, white fire spilling across rusted metal. Her breath came heavy, sharp with fury. She coiled her stance, muscles tight, cloak whipping in the wind, breathing hard through her teeth.

Then she leapt.

The Force surged through her legs, catapulting her forward. The refinery walls seemed to bend with the motion, girders bowing as if pressed by invisible hands. Dust lifted from the ground in spirals, the storm itself shivering around her arc. The world strained against the momentum of her strike as she cut across the shadow, blade raised for the one who had dared touch her Padawan.

 

[Noodles]

Outfit: bomber jacket, layered skirt + leggings, boots
Equipment: portable slicer rig, satchel of wires & snacks, HUD goggles, headphones
Tag: Vakhari Lutris Acier Moonbound Reina Daival Viscountess Pandora Valaine Valentine

Her screen warped, the little thumbs up she'd sent stuttering, breaking apart into a smear of noise. Then the world caved in.

Nothing but black.

The hum of the tower, the clash of sabers, even the static in her ears — gone. All that was left was the pad of keys under her fingers, glowing faint in the dark.

Then came the whispers. Not one, not two — hundreds, crowding in. Some laughed sharp in her ear, others rasped like old wires dragged across stone. The black swelled like a throat breathing around her, wet and alive. Shapes coiled out of it — hands, too many, slick and cold, curling around her arms and legs, snaring her throat. She kicked, jerked, but they squeezed tighter. Her lungs burned. Every breath came out a broken squeal.

The voices rose together, alien syllables spitting like static until they split into words she knew. Noodles' chest convulsed, panic eating every thought. Then the next voice came, lower, hungrier.

Her scream tore out, high and cracked. Her skin lit with pain as her implants overloaded, raw heat searing down her arms. Angry red welts carved themselves along her flesh like something scratching her from the inside. Her skull felt like it was boiling, brain swelling, dripping molten through her ears.

She knew — deep down — she couldn't just rip the ports out. Every slicer learned it: breaking a live connection this way could fry her synapses completely, leave her half-dead, her brain scrambled. But fear tore through her reason. The pain, the cold, sharp fear that possessed her, was just too much.

Tears streaking down her face, Noodles clawed at her temple, nails scraping plastic ports, the terror shoving everything else aside. One last jerk, and the cables ripped free, sparks spitting.

The black shattered.

Reality hit like a hammer. Smoke stung her nose, the console rattled under her arms. She collapsed face-first onto her rig, eyes wide but seeing nothing, breath ragged and useless. Then nothing at all.

Her body sagged limp against the machine, jack cords trailing like veins torn loose, skin still burning with the marks.

 

[Calyx Sundrift]

Outfit: PGEM Combat Gear
Equipment: Gravetail Vibroblade, Amulet of Many, M.I. 6M Pistol, M. I. Electrostaff, Glitter bomb.
Tag: Drystan Creed Ines Pen-Ar-Lan

O B J E C T I V E -2

Calyx stood tall, the storm tugging at his cloak as he stared into the cloud of dust and twisted wreckage. Both ends of his electrostaff crackled with violet voltage. The explosives had done significant damage to the refinery, and he hoped that it'd cost the Dark Court more than they could afford to restore it.
His heart skipped a beat when a dark shape stirred in the distance. Calyx cursed under his breath. The Sith was just walking it off. As if it were nothing.

"Hope you did!" He threw back. "'Cause we've got a lot more where that came from." He clipped the explosive Verse had handed him to his belt, drawing it into his Force shield. No way he’d give the Sith a chance to detonate it remotely.

The Sith continued to talk. Whether he offered threat or promise was vague to Calyx. Either worked, because it sent him in the highest state of alertness.

Instinctively, Calyx spun his staff into a guard stance, recalling the cadences of Niman. He barely registered the blur of motion as the Sith ignited his saber and threw, the glowing red lightsaber hurled at them with such power that it streaked like a red lightningbolt.

Fear crystallized in his stomach and became strength. His mind screamed, and the Dark side obeyed. Dormant senses and raw power forced his body into motion. In matching speed, Calyx threw himself in the saber's path. Swung his staff, and slammed the red saber aside.

It worked just barely.

The weapon veered off by a hair, striking the wall beside Verse and the control panel she was working on.

Calyx silently prayed she'd move. One flick of the Force could still decapitate her. "Sorry," he called out. "This isn’t a two-for-one deal. She’s off-limits- even if she is single." Into the comms, he whispered "I can buy you two minutes at most. If you can’t get that door open, run."

 

[Ines Pen-Ar-Lan]

Operation Reckoning
Calyx Sundrift Drystan Creed ​

A shiver ran through her core as the masked figure spoke up, his voice disturbingly unaffected by the explosion. Her brows rose as she let out a long and stressed breath. Still, she kept working - Agent Pen-Ar-Lan was more than capable of maintaining concentration in high pressure environments. Although Verse might have risked cracking, this was hardly the time for that sort of thing. Instead, the young rebel would manage to keep her composure whilst breaching through the shell of the security system. It was always harder the first time.

For some time, she'd let Calyx exchange quips with their foe while continuing her work. When the lightsaber ignited, however, her body went into high alert. The left arm was ready to push her off to the right whilst her legs tensed to accelerate the move even further. But then, Cal intercepted the attack, causing the lightsaber to veer off to her side.

A panicked yelp, high pitched enough to be heard over the intense winds, left her lungs as the crimson blade dug into the panel by her side. Although clearly struck by fear, the girl seemed to overcome it quickly. Instead fleeing the scene, she quickled reached for the hilt to grab hold of it when it's blade was still searing into the metallic wall.

Excerting just a little too much force pulling it out - as if she was handling a vibroblade - the girl quickly spun to face the threat with the saber held high in a two-handed defensive stance. Her pose was well practiced, her feet were planted into the ground with a readiness to move at a moment's notice. Strands of blonde hair hung loose together with the large shawl that fluttered dramatically in the wind. For a moment, it may have looked like she knew exactly what she was doing as the red light shimmered against her features.

Of course, Verse had never handled a lightsaber and she wouldn't attempt to do so now either. Instead, she rushed over to Cal and carefully transferred it to him personally, not taking the risk of throwing it.

Whether it was a success or not, she'd immediately return to her previous position and finish up her work on the console. The door would soon swoosh open. While it seemed unlikely that they'd manage to fully escape their attacker, they could at least hope to flee inside. "C'mon, let's go!"

 

[Aris Noble]

Surrender? Aris stared at the Sith, hand idly resting on the hilt of his lightsaber again. Unlike Zaiya, he couldn't feel the Force from them. They were a droid through and through. Was it programed for self preservation above all, then? Perhaps. His gaze drifted, just a quick glance to Zaiya. To her arm. It was good she spoke up, he needed to let there be some kind of reason and logic in his mind.

"Once we confirm they work, you will be free to go. Fighting you will take too much focus from getting them out."

Kyber | Zaiya Ceti

 

[Vera Noble]

​

Tag: Lyrrin

​

Vera accepted the security spike with a quick nod, tucking it into her belt with a smirk. "Don't worry," she said, "Unlike Mom, I can actually handle tech. Spikes, ports, little mech things that like to buzz at you... bring it on." It was no secret that her Mother was terrible at handling tech, so she had a feeling Lyrrin knew all about it, too.

He had probably been irritated by it during their missions plenty of times.

She then fell into step beside him, eyes scanning the wall panels until she found the seam he described. A narrow flap sat about thigh height, exactly where he said it would be. Vera crouched, brushing aside a ribbon of grime from the panel before looking back up at him.

"You ready?" she asked, holding the spike steady at the opening, then she waited for his nod before easing it in.

​

 

[Lyrrin]

Tag: Vera Noble

---

Lyrrin grinned at the little jab at Valery, he'd never turn down a chance to talk smack about that particular Jedi "Ugh! Tell me about it kid. She couldn't change the jingle on her own holocomm without a protocol droid!" he whispered loudly though he was still trying to keep mostly quiet. As Vera went down the corridor with him he kept turning his head slightly side-to-side, alert for security personnel if they had decided to make an untimely maneuver. So far there had been nothing to worry about.

"Ready." Lyrrin nodded as he watched Vera insert the spike into the port. Soon the boxy device tethered to the end of the spike began to hum with computational effort "No telling if anything has been triggered yet, Vera, so go onto the third floor down." he pointed down the hall "Be quick and don't get shot." he warned as he knelt down by the spike, his blaster pistol drawn in one hand while the left offered the device.

It was a race against time. Very few slicing attempts in the current century went completely unnoticed.

 

[Drystan Creed]

Eviscerant Yards

"Yeah, keep them coming. I'd prefer this to be an enjoyable experience." Drystan raised a hand, casual in tone despite the situation. He stepped past the debris, closing the distance until his quarry was plainly in view, and took a slow, analytical survey. His expression stayed unreadable behind the visor.

He sighed at what he read as bravado from Calyx Sundrift and tilted his head.

"You're going to need to work together to survive. And I'm not saying that to scare you. I mean it." He wanted something from this—enjoyment first, a proper challenge second. Taking on the bombs in their entirety earlier had been deliberate; it made the moment more interesting.

"Regardless, I'm going to attack you for real now. Don't hold out on me if you plan to survive." Instead of drawing his blade, Drystan gripped the scabbard where the guard met its mouth. His offhand held the sheathed weapon; his main hand slipped into his coat pocket.

There was an extreme calm about him, a façade that barely contained the simmering battle-lust beneath. He savored the moment rather than devouring it all at once. He let his lips part, just enough to bare his teeth in a small, predatory grin, then made a prodding strike—bringing the tip of the scabbard in a violent swing that sliced the air. The phrik edge sang.

He aimed at Calyx's torso: a center-mass strike optimized for maximum effect. If it connected, it would be bone-crushing; if deflected, rattling and bruising. All of it came with deceptive speed and without telegraph—deadly in its simplicity.

If Calyx was worthy, he'd survive it.

As the scabbard cut through the air, Drystan's attention slid to Ines Pen-Ar-Lan and the door she was about to open. A sliver of a smile crossed his face. His right hand left his pocket; fingers curled in a subtle command. The doors rattled and stalled, held by an unseen force—only a narrow gap opened, giving him a tight glimpse of whatever lay behind it.

Ines Pen-Ar-Lan Calyx Sundrift

 

[Ines Pen-Ar-Lan]

Operation Reckoning
Calyx Sundrift Drystan Creed ​

The doors were going to swoosh open. In fact, it was a process that had already begun. First, a satisfying click of metalic lock mechanisms disengaging, then the beginnings of a smooth sound as the doors started to slide open. Until they grinded to a halt with an unnatural humming sound. The way they vibrated and how there were no mechanical indicators as to what had caused the abrupt malfunction could only lead to one conclusion.

Verse turned to see the source of her problems. The Sith. Her eyes quickly traced his form up to the extended right arm and the hand which seemed to be holding the doors tight through the Force. For an extremely brief moment, her glance snapped over to Cal to see if he was alright before returning to the threat. There was little she could do about the doors from her end and her friend likely needed some degree of assistance in the fight. One smooth - but clearly telegraphed - motion had the young Rebel pull her blaster pistol out of its holster. While Agent Pen-Ar-Lan could hide her dangerous intent and pull a weapon with great subtleness, Verse had never fought a force user like this before.

She had set it to stun by default - and that was not a setting she was going to change now. The girl had never shown herself to be willing to kill - something which seemed to remain true despite facing a Sith - but there were tactical considerations to the choice as well. Unlike the more concentrated nature of a normal blaster bolt, the stun blasts couldn't be reflected or deflected by a lightsaber.

With a single pull of the trigger, she fired off a blast against the foe. The shot was precisely aimed for his center mass. What followed were a few nimble steps to the side - she repositioned herself to avoid the risk of hitting Cal in the back as she kept the weapon pointed at the Sith. From there, she would slide in behind a crate and take aim. There would be no flurry of attacks, instead, she would only fire shots as Cal attacked their foe in order to make it harder for the Sith to defend against both attacks at the same time. And if a counter attack was sent Cal's way, she'd be quick to fire off another shot in an attempt to interrupt the attack.

Verse's position - away from the immediate danger where Cal seemed to live - gave her the chance to think, to reflect, and to speak. She hollered over the sharp winds that caused her large shawl to flutter and the exploded pathways to sway violently "If you truly wanna challenge yourself, you shouldn't lean so much on your crutch!" Verse had always preferred words and she had a sharp tongue. The Agent knew that the Force was a powerful tool - one which many a Sith tended to overuse and abuse. If lucky, her words would increase her chances of survival - if not, she might have drawn his wrath in a very unfortunate way.