[TSE vs The Dominion] Operation Dominion's Fall: TSE Invasion of Krayiss II Hex

[Sinya]

Location: Inside the Courthouse Clocktower
Objective: Be in a world of hurt
Allies nearby: [member="Darth Saarai"], [member="Darth Caecus"], [member="Darth Carnifex"], The Sith Empire
Enemies nearby: The Cult of the Light, [member="Aela Talith"], [member="Jacen Voidstalker"], [member="Kainan Wolfe"]

Everything was going all so well until it wasn’t. Sinya had done her part, taking out the two cultists that Lord Saarai had instructed to do, and she did so with satisfaction and impunity. In the brief moment that followed, she even began to drag their lifeless bodies, one at a time into a dimly-lit secluded corner where little light fell, their presence clouded by darkness, and totally unseen unless you were actively searching for their bodies. Fully satisfied that she had done everything she had been asked to do, the acolyte now began to take several glances looking at the other two Sith Lords as they took action on their targets. Her gaze first fell upon the sight of Darth Caecus, but as soon as the masked Sith Lord fell, she knew that something wasn’t quite right. She had this gut-feeling in her that somehow things weren’t going accordingly as planned.

Her suspicion was confirmed when she saw the Sith land with a telekinetic force, but the magnitude of the power that was generated wasn’t quite up to-par and the cultists were left prone and shocked by the assault, more than anything else. Lord Saarai had taken care of his bodies with enough ease, but had it been enough? Another body soon fell somewhere close by, as blood splattered across the ground, signifying the completion of the ritual that cultists had been so intent on completing. Sinya had barely enough time to react before an explosion rocked the room, ethereal gusts of wind raging around the interior of the room that sent the acolyte hurtling through the room.

Her intended target? The hard, cold stone and duracrete wall rapidly zooming up towards her. As the impact struck, the wind was promptly knocked out of her. She was in for a world of hurt, but pain wasn’t something she wasn’t used to, and it was just more of the same for poor ol’ Sinya.

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

Location: The Courthouse Clock, Templestone, Krayiss II
Allies: The Dominion | [member="Aela Talith"] [member="Kainan Wolfe"]
Enemies: The Sith Empire | [member="Darth Saarai"] | [member="Darth Caecus"] [member="Darth Carnifex"]
Objective: Survive

Inside his own mind Jacen was organised like a military. His conscious mind was the command unit. It couldn't make decisions in real time so he simply dictated strategy. It was the Force, muscle memory, training and instinct that kept him from being cut down by the Sith. Yet he could still feel that staff gnawing at the edge of his mind and knew that if given enough time that alone could force a mistake. It would only take one.

The sith jumped to avoid being trapped between the two Jedi. A risky maneuver in such close confines. Jacen briefly considered attempting to use the Force or the Grav-glov to try and undermine the leap. He decided against it. The Sith was powerful and above all heavy. That was a game of attrition he didn't want to join.

Jacen turned and stepped back towards Aela as the armoured figure reached the apex of his jump. He reached out to the mind of the Talith to try and share some understanding. Two seconds was a lot of time. He drew, fired and dropped his sonic carbine. The air shimmered as the wave spread out to meet the charging sith. The DS-12 was the sonic equivalent of a sawn off. Useless at range, but the shock was deadly at close range. They were very close.

As the charge came on Jacen backed a few steps and moved away from Aela. The mountain could rage at them, plant its feet and try to keep them on one side, but they were the ocean. With some space between them there was only one place for him to go and they would surround him once more. His saber came up to Larry the first strike as gold met scarlet once more.

 

[Aela Talith]

Location: The Courthouse Clock, Templestone, Krayiss II
Allies: The Dominion | [member="Jacen Voidstalker"] | [member="Kainan Wolfe"]
Enemies: The Sith Empire | [member="Darth Saarai"] | [member="Darth Caecus"] | [member="Darth Carnifex"] | [member="Sinya"]
Objective: Greet Guest

The Sith Lord charged, and once again Jacen took the brunt of the strike.

Aela grimaced slightly, knowing that her friend could only handle so much before he faltered, but she was no fool. Every strike that Jacen took, every attack that he rebuffed and every bit of attention he took Aela could use to her advantage. She caught the brief pulse of the force, the odd flashes of insight that Jacen sent her way. She knew what to do, and as the titan of a Sith Lord approached all she could do was spring into action.

The grip on her lightsaber tightened, the blade twitching back for just a second as Jacen moved to the side and clashed against the Sith.

She reacted accordingly, bounding to the side and moving once more. This time however she didn't attempt to encircle the Sith, instead she bounced back and to the side before suddenly bounding forward with a burst of speed. She dashed directly towards the Sith Lord's side, her lightsaber flicking low just as Jacen caught the man's blades with his own saber. She moved quickly, knowing that any action the Sith took to counter her would only open an advantage for her companion.

Aela ducked low once more, the lightsaber in her left hand striking forward and up towards the mans back. At the same time she drew the sword from her back.

The blade freed itself from her back in one smooth motion, slicing low with enough force to sever the SIth's leg just below his knee.

 

[Connor Harrison]

LOCATION: Templestone, Krayiss II
OBJECTIVE: Take the Obelisk of Ancients
ALLIES: The Sith Empire...somewhere out there | TBC
ENEMIES: [member="Setzi Lunelle"] | [member="Darren Torran"] | [member="Arisa Yune"] | The Dominion
GEAR: Sasori Armour | Hidden Blade | Lightsaber

--

The fact Setzi called him “Master” was infuriating, but then the voice and interaction of the downed Jedi was more-so. Ignoring the girl, he stepped across to see the body within the rubble, and with a twist of the hand, pushed the rocks down gently to add pressure to he battered body.

”I have no care for who you are, or what you knew about Connor, but please don’t talk to me as if I value your opinion at all."

His teeth clenched and he pushed a little harder and then stopped, to make it feel like a ton weight slab of rock crushing him for a few seconds. Then, he looked to Setzi and walked closer.

”There is NOTHING you need to say. Your actions explain your failure and I will enjoy this very much, Jedi."

Without hesitation, he lunged forward with a clenched fist for her gut, and the impact should double her over enough for a tight catch of her hair and to throw her sideways crashing into the hard rubble.

”Tell me where the Dominion forces are holding up and I’ll make it quick."

 

[Darth Carnifex]

Location: The Courthouse Clock, Templestone, Krayiss II
Objective: Dash them against the stones
Allies: The Sith Empire - In proximity: [member="Darth Saarai"] | [member="Darth Caecus"] | [member="Sinya"]
Enemies: The Dominion - In proximity: [member="Aela Talith"] | [member="Jacen Voidstalker"] | [member="Kainan Wolfe"]
Equipment:

• The Tyrant's Shroud
• Sith Shuk'orok
• Sith Lightsabers
• The Scepter of Iniquity

The air shimmered and shook with sonic vibrations, forcing the Sith Lord to momentarily cross his arms protectively in front of him to weather the aural attack. The blast tore at the fabric of his cloak, ripping its edges to ribbons and causing the monolithic Sith to slide back on his feet before it finally washed over him and passed beyond. His clothes were the only thing affected by the burst of sonic energy, there was now an intense ringing in his ears that overpowered everything else around him, and his bones seemed to vibrate as the residual energy worked its way out through him.

If he was bleeding from his ears or any other location on his body he wouldn't know until after the battle, the price of immortality had robbed him of his somesthetic senses, specifically the ability to physically feel anything. Still, despite the lack of touch and the temporary impairment of hearing all of the Sith Lord's other senses were working at peak efficiency.

His initial charge may have been hindered, but it did not permanently stop his advance as he thundered towards the male Jedi. Twin blades of sunfire lashed out against a meter and a half long beam of brilliant gold, sparks erupting from their violent union. On his own, the Dark Lord had no doubt that he could sufficiently overwhelm the Jedi Master with his twin blades through sheer aggression and relentless assault, but the presence of the other forced him to split his attention. He also possessed no doubts that he could weather their conjoined storm, he had fought many multiples of Jedi in the past and had emerged victorious, and while these were seasoned veterans he still held a sense of superiority over both of them.

The Dark Lord prepared for another assault, but there was the female Master trying again to carve him up. He flung a telekinetic cone of energy towards the male Master and swung down with one of his blades to parry and deflect the blade of songsteel from severing his leg cleanly in two. Yet he could not do much to stymie the trajectory of the blade aimed towards his back, and with a hiss of plasma on metal it connected squarely with the rear armor of his breastplate. The metal quickly assumed the consistency of liquid upon contact with the blazing hot blade, and proceeding to eat through the protective leather jerkin underneath and burn the Sith Lord's skin to the point that flesh became inseparable from molten metal.

Yet the Dark Lord felt none of it, but he could smell the conflagration.

He let out a roar that was born not from pain, but from pure hatred and indignation. He flung himself into a great fury, one blade still holding the songsteel sword in its place while the other thrust forward to skewer the smaller female through the upper torso. He kept his senses out to probe for the male Jedi, his body tense and ready to maneuver himself into a position where he could defend against whatever the Master had to throw at him.

 

[Setzi Lunelle]

LOCATION: Templestone, Krayiss II
OBJECTIVE: Try to reason with an old friend, protect Darren Torran
ALLIES: [member="Darren Torran"]
ENEMIES: [member="Connor Harrison"]
GEAR: Blade of the Satvas, Lightsaber, Mandalorian Power Shield, Armorweave

Setzi took no pleasure in angering Connor Harrison. The emotions running through her were a jumbled mix of regret, fear and even relief that he’d found her, and there was a chance to explain why she’d left. Reconciliation? No. He was too far gone for that.

“Don’t hurt him!” she shouted as he Force-pressured the rubble down onto the already-injured Zabrak. Knowing Darren was on the Jedi path made her worry less about him, though he was still vulnerable around such a powerful darkside presence. Setzi could feel Connor's black aura, luring her in, calling to her like a siren song. She was far from a Jedi herself, but instead of igniting her blade, her hands rose, moving in the Zabrak's direction, and with telekinesis she pulled the slabs of stone off of him so he could be free to run or fight.

Of course, this left her open to the Sith’s attack. Doubled over in pain at the blow and then flung by her hair into Darren’s location, Setzi winced upon landing, but realized that she barely felt the pain. Oh it was there, but perhaps she’d used so much darkside healing that agony was more of an old familiar friend than an unwanted foe.

“Can you still evacuate the civilians?” she hurriedly asked Darren. “I’ll take care of Connor Harrison.” Unsteadily, the Rogue Jedi rose to her feet and ignited her saber, the blue casting a cerulean light upon her rosy cheeks.

“I couldn’t be what you wanted me to be,” she said softly to her amber-eyed former Master. "So yes, I have failed you."

"Thank the Force for that."

 

[Darren Torran]

Location: Templestone - Outside the Spacedock > The Spacedock > The Streets of Templestone > The Providence
Objective: Evacuate Civillians
Allies: [member="Setzi Lunelle"]
Enemies: [member="Connor Harrison"]

Darren cried out in pain the debris which he had just gotten off him was pushed down onto him once more - with extra pressure than there had been previously. Suddenly, the weight was lifted once again - this time by Setzi - but before he had time to even thank her, she was thrown towards him. He attempted to push himself to his feet, gripping his ribs as he did so.

He listened to her closely, taking a nod once she was finished and leaning in to whisper in her ear - "Don't. Die." he brought his hand from her shoulder, using the pile of debris to propel him forward as the woman preoccupied Connor.

The Zabrak limped up the gradual incline towards the spacedock, pushing himself through the building's doors and it's lobby, towards the dock at which his ship - the Providence - was docked. They were being attacked by Sithspawn - a small group - and were holding them off relatively well. Upon seeing Darren encroach upon the dock - his right hand man, Cody, stopped shooting at the spawn to see him approaching.

"The Boss is here! Jared, Gareth, with me! The rest of you, cover me!" the three men ran through the fray, clad in heavy armour lined with Ysalmir, towards the Zabrak, as his limped towards them. They supported him, carrying him towards the ship. They sat him down on a crate. "We're out of here, let's go!"

"No!" Darren interrupted him, "We've gotta save the Civilians."

"But sir..."

"But sir - what, Cody? We're saving those Civilians, whether you like it or not. Grab the vehicles and move out. We split into three groups, cover more ground - and we keep in touch via comm. You lead one, Jared leads one and I lead the third, got it? Get me a fletchette gun and move out - now!" the man had a very bossy tone about him - clearly he had experience leading before.

Cody nodded, motioning for the three groups to form - yet leaving a group behind to defend the ship. The three groups - dubbed Torr One, Torr Two and Torr Three - each took a 'Rhino' Armoured Cargo Truck and two AB-RTs. The AB-RTs would escort the trucks through the streets of Templestone, protecting them from the dangers that now lurked around most corners.

The vehicles departed from the ship, splitting up in different directions. Torr One - with Darren at it's head - went straight, Torr Two - headed by Cody - went left while Torr Three - with Jared at it's head - went right. They travelled through the streets - looking for any civilians that needed to be evacuated.

==============================================================================================================

Darren​

I sat in the AB-RT, heading down the narrow streets towards the centre of the carnage. The scenes... They were of indescribable pain. Bodies were scattered, the streets ran red with blood. The darkness had taken over here, I could feel it. It was corrupting the light, getting stronger and stronger. I had to get the remaining survivors out of there. No more deaths today... Please...

I entered into a square, it seemed the citizens were running into this one enclosed space. The beasts were chasing them through an alley. We had to block it off. I've made some hard decisions in my lifetime but this... This had to be the hardest. If we blocked it off - it'd block some of them outside with those... Things... But we had to save those that were already there.

I'm not proud of what happened next... We shot a building, the debris falling to block the alleyway. "Everyone in the truck, now!" some watched in fear of what we did, but they all loaded into the truck regardless. We then continued on our way, eventually ending up circling around to the spacedock again.
==============================================================================================================

Cody​

The boss said load up the civilians - and there was no way I was gonna disobey his orders. I didn't necessarily agree with it - but I understand why he wanted to. He has a good heart - a hell of a lot better than mine. Perhaps somethin' will rub off on me - though I very much doubt it.

Nothing too eventful happened during our route - though we must've collected a hell of a lot more than anyone else. Our side of the city had not yet been overcome by the sithspawn - so we had a much easier time. Just a few houses to evacuate, that's all. Nothin' much else.
==============================================================================================================

The groups gathered back at the Providence, herding the 200(ish) civilians into the ship, ready to take off.

"Well done, lads. Is Setzi here?"

"Who, Sir?"

"Setzi Lunelle. Brown hair, maple eyes, Caucasian skin. She's a human."

"There's many women here, sir. There's no way to- "

"Setzi! Setzi!" there was no answer. "Grr... I'm not leaving without her. Power up the engines, I'll be right back." Cody nodded - he knew not to question his boss' reasoning nowadays.

Darren threw his legs over a 'Hornett' Speeder Bike, speeding off to find Setzi once again. He wasn't going to leave without her - no way in hell.

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

Location: The Courthouse Clock, Templestone, Krayiss II
Allies: The Dominion | [member="Aela Talith"] [member="Kainan Wolfe"]
Enemies: The Sith Empire | [member="Darth Saarai"] | [member="Darth Caecus"] [member="Darth Carnifex"]
Objective: Survive

Twin blades struck his own hard. Jacen kept a wide grip on the hilt of his saber to give him leverage to resist. His body was not tense. Not until the moment of impact. He kept his weight low, but his body relaxed and agile until his stance had to shift to absorb the blow. A saber carried far less angular momentum into the collision than the skull mace. It would take speed and precision to overcome Jacen's right defenses rather than raw aggression, even if the wound he'd already suffered burned painfully upon impact.

The sith recoiled from the strike and brought his blades about to foil Aela's plans. With his mind so attuned to the Force, Jacen felt the energy build before it was expelled in his direction. The Force was just like every other potential danger in a duel. They didn't train without using the Force when the duelled with lightsabers back on Sullust. The alliance Jedi did not see it as a purist artform to be preserved. Jacen adjusted his footwork as he would to counter any form of attack. Rather than meet the telekinetic wave head on, he called upon the Force to anchor himself down.

The wave attenuated a great deal as it struck the alchemists terentatek lining of his armour. It was still akin to being drop kicked in the chest by a fully grown man. Jacen stumbled, but surged forwards once more. Pride had brought the Dark Lord into this battle, but he had come alone and put the backs of two of the Alliance's most adept Jedi to the wall. They fought because they had to, not because they wanted to. But there was no spirit transfer or escape mechanism for the pair. They fought with more than the sum of their parts because there could be nothing left out of this battle. Pride had brought him and could see the Sith Empire shorn of yet another Dark Lord. A revolving door of leadership.

As the sith sought to strike Aela with his second blade he would feel it drawn off course. Not through any manipulation of the Force, but the Grav-glov built into Jacen's armour. Equal and opposite forces were applied. As the Sith's wrist was pulled towards Jacen, Jacen was pulled towards it. Like throwing something away tied to an electric band Jacen came back at him rapidly. His golden blade fell inexorably towards that wrist.

 

[Aela Talith]

Location: The Courthouse Clock, Templestone, Krayiss II
Allies: The Dominion | [member="Jacen Voidstalker"]
Enemies: The Sith Empire | [member="Darth Carnifex"]
Objective: Greet Guest


Trust.

It wasn't something that had always come easily to her, it wasn't something that she intrinsically understood or even liked. There were few people in the galaxy that she counted on, even fewer that she had learned to rely on. Jacen was one of those people. He was smart, capable, and though early in their acquaintance he had nearly strayed from the light, Aela trusted him.

Perhaps more than most within the Alliance.

As the Sith Lord's blade stabbed to her Aela screamed out in the force, her flight or fight instinct screeching at her to run, push back, dodge the blade, but she knew. She knew that Jacen would save her and allow her the final push that she needed. As the blade stabbed down towards her Aela watched it, she witnessed the slightest nudge, the powerful pull from the VT-Grave Glove. She watched it, and she knew that her friend had come through for her.

Her resolve strengthened, the force bloomed through her.

Aela's right hand pushed down with her sword, pressing The Sith Lord's remaining lightsaber and holding it in place as he left hand tightened.

She drove the blade that had been digging into the Dark Lord's armor forward, through melted metal and singed fleshed she carved, seeking to bisect the Sith and end their fight.

 

[Darth Carnifex]

Location: The Courthouse Clock, Templestone, Krayiss II
Objective: Dash them against the stones
Allies: The Sith Empire - In proximity: [member="Darth Saarai"] | [member="Darth Caecus"] | [member="Sinya"]
Enemies: The Dominion - In proximity: [member="Aela Talith"] | [member="Jacen Voidstalker"] | [member="Kainan Wolfe"]
Equipment:

• The Tyrant's Shroud
• Sith Shuk'orok
• Sith Lightsabers
• The Scepter of Iniquity

Impressive.

The Dark Lord found his arm explicitly pulled towards the male Master, the powerful gravitational technology tugging at the metals of his crushgaunt and lightsaber. The male's lightsaber flashed out to sever the Dark Lord's hand at the wrist, but a good portion of the wrist and lower forearm was protected by the beskar plates. That didn't stop it from skipping along the metal to shear through the durasteel vambrace and linen tunic hidden beneath the armorweave robe, burning flesh and nearly severing the whole arm below the elbow in one misguided swoop. As the Sith Lord yanked his hand back, the ruins of his arm hung there by several thick cords of flesh, sinew, and unsundered bone.

Most impressive.

Then from his midsection emerged a blade of lilac, spearing through his gut and carving diagonally on a path to bisect him in two. His reaction was mostly pure instinct than it was strategy, he reached out with his invisible power to grab hold of the blade with telekinesis and hold it where it was embedded in his torso. Again, he felt no pain from the horrific heat that had skewered him like a fish on a hook. He knew that the wound was grievous, and his face contorted with equal measures concern and loathing. He was pinned between the Jedi Masters, and if he remained so he would meet his end at their hands.

Truthfully death rarely concerned him anymore, but it was still not something he wanted to make a habit out of.

He deactivated the lightsaber that was held still by the woman's songsteel blade, and with Force-enhanced speed he sought to pirouette and leap backwards away from the pair to give himself some room. He paused for a moment after, not bothering to re-engage as he deactivated one saber and reached out to cradle the chunk of his arm that was dangling by a thread from the rest that was attached to his shoulder. The augmented cells sought to mend his torn flesh, but at the angle his arm hung they couldn't properly do so without his aid. So gingerly he straightened his arm and pressed both cauterized ends against one another and held firmly.

The cauterized material gradually disappeared as living tissue bubbled up to replace it, bone mending and flesh reknitting back together in a grotesquely fascination fashion. Within a minute or two his arm would be back to full functioning capacity, half a lifetime in the theater of battle. He could stall, the Dark Lord was always good at that, and he sensed that the battle around them was beginning to shift fully in the Empire's favor.

"I underestimated you two, neither of you are unseasoned pups. But neither of you are Dominion either, so tell me why you've come to this world, Jedi."

 

[Connor Harrison]

LOCATION: Templestone, Krayiss II
OBJECTIVE: Defeat Setzi Lunelle
ALLIES: The Sith Empire...somewhere out there | TBC
ENEMIES: [member="Setzi Lunelle"] | [member="Darren Torran"] | The Dominion
GEAR: Sasori Armour | Hidden Blade | Lightsaber

--
Connor watched the foolish bravery of the Lunelle sister, freeing her wounded friend to fight on and save the day. One man would not make the difference in this battle.

”Shadow Three, they are trying to help the citizens of the city. Do what you can to hamper their efforts and take down any and all you see."

The com crackled into life on his wrist, held up to his side as he watched Setzi.

"It will be done, Shadow Leader."

With a satisfied, near smug smile, Connor lowered his hand as her blue blade sparked to life. Connor looked around as the sound of battles echoed near and far around the city walls and the cry of ships above. He raised a finger.

”Those engines are Sith destroyers. I have soldiers dotted around the city as we have forces arriving by the second. Your friend will not be of use to these people now." He pointed at her. ”You can’t even stand straight and you pull your blade on me? Are you sure you want to do that? To end it all here amidst a ruin?"

He didn’t move forward to her, just kept her talking and wasting away.

”If you want to make a difference, then you should have sided with me. As it is, you are doomed. Face your destiny here, now, with me, or run away and try to save a city. It’s your choice. Jedi."

 

[NightSister]

LOCATION: Eol Sha, the mining colony
ALLIES: [member="Taeli Raaf"] | [member="Tyrian"] | [member="Krest"] | The Sith Empire and friends
ENEMIES: Adron Malvern | [member="Anya Loma"] | [member=Ra'a'mah] | The Dominion
ODDITY: [member="Travis Caalgen"]

For a few moments, Eol Sha hung in suspense.

Aria watched with a sense of foreboding as an ephemeral stillness set across the land. She knew it was finite, the calm before the storm. Seconds of fake peace before the storm that loomed, moments away from unleashing on the planet and wiping out everything the Dominion had created in a perfectly crafted catastrophe.

But first, calm.
Then the fireworm's corpse dripped blackened blood, staining as it hit the ground, seeped through the cracks in the land.
And then the storm came.

The land was flooded with sound all the sudden as though a dam had burst, and the dead lava dragon thrashed as it tore itself apart and each moment spread fear through the land, spread darkness into Eol Sha - and then the volcanoes.

Every volcano that the miners had been certain would sleep for years to come, that the workers had prayed before they went to bed each night would never awaken, was overloaded suddenly with energy; every buried crater and frozen lake of lava that locals could swear had ceased to be dangerous to them stirred suddenly to life. Cracks spidered across the earth and lava bubbled and hissed as it emerged from every opening, glowing hot and deadly.

Aria had to smile at the sight, grim satisfaction.
It was awful, and it was beautiful.

But she wasn't fool enough to miss the danger as its sight transfixed her. She followed the latter Sith Lord to the ship, light on her feet as she boarded the craft alongside the masked woman opposite.

"It'll all be gone soon," she murmured approvingly, watching the eruptions with cool amber eyes as the ship lifted slowly into the air.

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

Location: The Courthouse Clock, Templestone, Krayiss II
Allies: The Dominion | [member="Aela Talith"] [member="Kainan Wolfe"]
Enemies: The Sith Empire | [member="Darth Saarai"] | [member="Darth Caecus"] [member="Darth Carnifex"]
Objective: Survive

A shame. Jacen had - for all the battles he had been in - quite enjoyed the freedom of being underestimated. The Sith were typically overconfident creatures and faced with an unknown they intrinsically saw as beneath them they overextended themselves and left openings he could exploit. If he was a marked man after this day then that advantage might be lost forever. Still, like the Dark Lord he felt the changing tide and knew they couldn't risk staying to prevent that eventuality. He allowed himself to breath for a moment. Jacen felt great relief that he'd acted quickly enough to stop Aela from being run through. The Force was his guide but it didn't guarantee success.

There was nothing to be gained by fighting to the death for a mostly empty temple. It would be his pride that was his undoing if he stayed just to prove they could defeat the latest Dark Lord. Jacen had been stung by that before in his life. His was a path of mistakes, but with each he grew.

A brief brush against Aela's mind was the equivalent of a knowing look, only kept hidden from the enemy. If there were dominion forces dug in to protect civilians then perhaps they could provide aid elsewhere. Otherwise the most important thing they could do beyond that was inform the Alliance that the Sith had rallied around a new figurehead and were moving in numbers again.

“I came...” he said with a wave of his hand, “for the sparkling conversation.” His hand closed into a first and the ground shook as foundations and pillars were crushed. As the ground beneath them gave way his sonic carbine leapt back from the ground. The trigger was squeezed with the Force, accelerating it towards his grasp and firing another wave of sonic energy towards the Dark Lord to try and put him the idea of a hasty pursuit.

Hopefully Aela was about to project a bubble of protection around them or Jacen was about to murder himself with masonry on their descent into the catacombs. That would have been an ignominious death. The mighty Voidstalker. He stood up for the Light against all the odds and then brained himself with a common brick.

 

[Aela Talith]

Location: The Courthouse Clock, Templestone, Krayiss II
Allies: The Dominion | [member="Jacen Voidstalker"]
Enemies: The Sith Empire | [member="Darth Carnifex"]
Objective: Greet Guest

In truth, Aela would have looked forward to some conversation with the Sith Lord, mostly to get an understanding of who he was and how he'd come to this, but she doubted such things would ever actually happen. She could feel the tide of battle around them, the Dominion soldiers dying, the Sith Soldiers throwing themselves into what was essentially a grinder of sentient life.

There was no point to staying.

She and Jacen couldn't fight the Sith on their own, and though they had been faring well so far there were still more than a dozen Star Destroyers in Orbit who could extinguish them in no short order. Her ego wasn't so large that she had to stay and continue this fight, and the brief pang from Jacen told that he felt the same. A grimace flew over her features. The idea of leaving behind so large a threat was...concerning, but she silently reminded herself that it was her duty no more.

The blade in her right hand was quickly sheathed, finding it's place on her back just as Jacen reached out with the force and sundered the nearby Pillar. Her lightsaber stayed within her grasp, deactivating as the force pulsed through her an a bubble of protection sprang up around them. She watched with bright orange eyes between the falling debris as they were cut off from the barrier, the massive stone column collapsing and the two Jedi falling into the catacombs beneath.

A massive wave of dust, dirt, and stones flew up in the air, folding out like an opposing fog and dispersing within the area.

 

[Darth Ophidia]

Location: Mirial – Not the Mines of Moria
Allies: [member="Cerbera"] [member="Leliana"] [member="Enyo Typhos"] (The Sith Empire & Friends)
Enemies: (The Dominion and those other guys)

“Ahahah! You will all fall!”

The green jowls quivered furiously as he barked his deranged guffaw, the winds beating down upon the intruders.

His eyes turned to Leliana, then the shard tossed in her direction. There was a twitch in his eye, a familiar sensation rushing through his nervous system and computing in his cerebral faculties. He did not know exactly what that shard was, but he wanted it – He needed the darkness within it.

“That! Give that to me, now!”

The song turned to a cacophonous howl as the choir fanned out with their lightning fence and moved forward in their flailing glory. Tendrils of blue electricity shot out from the group in prodding strikes, while the master veritably drooled from his wanting of the shard.

“Hahahah, yes! Oh yes!”

The gales did not stop, but subsided enough that one could move within it and the acolytes’ robes flapped wildly in the periphery of the gales. It was quite distracting.

---

With an irritated grunt, Ophidia accepted the helping hand. Any other would have been rejected outright, but Cerbera held the Pale’s respect in many ways. Ophidia grumbled and didn’t bother dusting herself off, but ucnlipped her second lightsabre and thumped the ignitions to summon both the bloodshine blades. She felt the dark enhancement flowing through her system already as she darted past Cerbera and back into the fray.

Boosted by the Force, her speed went beyond the limits of humans and their kin. She slipped under the doorway as Enyo caught it with her cybernetic power-lifting, and overtook Leliana. Ophidia rushed past and came to a halt and thrusted the two blades out in front of her; into the lightning fence.

Her jaw clenched down hard, knowing the backlash was likely going to hurt, but her thrusts collected the electric strands in her section. A few tails of shock lashed around her blades, sending jolts of electricity through her, but she bit down and put her faith in her teammates’ abilities to observe and make the best of a situation: She limited the fence in one section.

 

[Miles Varden]

Location: Krayiss 2/Obelisk
Allies: [member="Formorta"] [member="Adron Malvern"]
Enemies: [member="Alkor Centaris"] [member="Asharad Graush"]
Objective: Survive

Spoiler

Gear:
Lazy Eye
Ambassador
Knife
AXT5
Duster
Bandolier/Belt
The Butcher
x2 M42

Miles breathed deeply as his wrist was given reprieve as he successfully dislodged the Sith's hold. The M42 was damaged from the struggled and Miles tossed it away. Looking to his opponent, he seemed to recover quickly and it was up to a final blow it would seem.

As the sith launched high into the air, Miles gripped the Butcher and steadied himself, spreading his feet for maximum support.

All this time, Miles had spent fighting for one cause or another, each with their own values and vices. But the most important cause Miles fought for was, freedom. With the Sith coming at him at every turn, he'd been fighting since his teens. He'd made it this far in life, put everything on the line time and time again. He was never going to let someone dictate how he lived, but, it would seem he'd met his match. This sith had pushed him to his limits from the beginning. blood dripped down his chin, he choked back a cough of blood, he'd been riddled from the inside out, bones strained, organs bruised, body aching, but he stood before this man, every breath defiant to stave off death...


As the Sith came close, Miles swung, every ounce of strength he had left went into his last chance attack. From within his gut, a roar flew from his soul, challenging Death to take him...Miles, the Valkyrie, Varden gave everything he had left to defeat or at least survive this battle. His steel blue eyes focused on his prey, no fear behind them, but rage and defiance. It was to be a glorious victory or death, only the Gods knew...

 

[Leliana]

Location: Mirial
Allies: The Sith Empire & Friends - [member="Darth Ophidia"] | [member="Cerbera"] | [member="Enyo Typhos"]
Enemies: Some unsanitary residents/cultists & The Dominion
Equipment: Hidden Blade, Sith Assassin Armour, Lightsaber, Daggers.

With her focus primarily on the congregation, Leliana watched from the corner of her eye as Enyo rushed towards the door in time to intercept its descent and push it back up, finishing what Ophidia had attempted before and locked it in place.

"Lia, catch-"

Leliana's attention snapped over towards Cerbera, just as the woman threw the shard towards her. The advice about the lightning reached the assassin's ears, but she was too focused on the item that was currently airborne. Leliana quickly clipped her lightsaber to her belt, freeing her left hand to catch the shard once it was within reach.

Her fingers immediately wrapped around it the moment she caught it.

Fire. Burning.

Leliana screamed as she crumpled to her knees. It felt like she had shoved her hand into a forge's fire. As though the heat was melting through everything; skin, muscle and bone. Until she felt a strange itching sensation on the back of her hand, unaware that something had been burned into her skin. Though that was nothing compared to the damage it was doing to her palm.

The assassin gritted her teeth, biting back any further screaming as she tried to push against the pain. She felt something from the shard, pulsing back towards her as she tried to fight it. But that wall was swiftly broken down, and Leliana felt it flood her. A corrupting influence weaved its way through her, dark brown eyes shifting violently into a sickly amber colour.

Her eyes snapped towards the group's leader as he yelled, demanding to hand over the shard. Leliana glared, slowly standing up on shaky legs. The gales that blew past were nothing in the assassin's mind, all she saw was an enemy.

"I'll give you a taste of it."

She raised her left hand up, holding the shard as though she was about to throw it. Instead Leliana focused, coalescing the Force and mind into the shard. The air around crackled as energy began to build up, swirling from the object in both directions. Forming a dark translucent construct around it, taking the shape of a spear. As the congregation moved closer, Leliana angled back, before throwing herself forwards and tossing the spear towards the barrier. It happened at the same time as Ophidia's blades pierced through it too, creating an opening.

However the moment the attack was unleashed, Leliana collapsed to her knees again. She was now severely drained, but her left hand was still firmly holding the shard.