Open Invasion Yavin IV And So It Ends

[Alexandria Voran]

OOC Note: cPvP evacuation

What great power she had…the Grandmaster of the Jedi Order. A flick of her wrist could bend reality to her will. She spoke and the galaxy listened. Her words iron commands to Jedi and Resistance fighters alike. What great power she had…Alexandria Voran…yet here she stood...powerless.

They came in the night. A failure that had stirred her nightmares for years. A soul lost to them come home to twist the knife. There was no warning when the power of the Empire arrived. The Temples defenses hopelessly opened. The only warning a restless Alex pacing her office. The cold wash of the Darkside racing up her spine. Her hand slamming onto her datapad. That was all the preparation they had. A moment or two.

The Sith had come for Yavin before. They had stood ready then. Alex on the Temple steps with Sevrin by her side…but he was not here…and stakes felt higher. Thankfully, the bulk of the Jedi fleet remained stationed above Yavin. More than enough to evacuate the Temple. A choice lay at her feet. A choice she struggled with for some time. Yavin was their home after Ajan Kloss. Would she really abandon that home to be defiled by the Sith?

The Defense began in earnest while she wondered. What was one planet? One Temple? The Order would survive. She would see to it. Alex flicked on her coms. “Evacuate the Temple, end distress signals to our allies…all defenses are to buy us time and.” She breathed in deeply. A torrent of Light bursting in the Force. Her presence would be undeniable. Felt across the jungle moon. Alex was home. “When the fleet is ready, we will make for Sempidal.” Alex took a deep breath.

She would be the Grandmaster who left Yavin behind. Just as Oota had lost Ajan Kloss. There she would ensure their similarities ended. The Order had nearly fractured when Oota fell. They would only grow stronger from this trial. She took a deep breath and strode towards the bottom of the Temple. “I’m coming down.” Her aura pulsed calmy in the Force. Strength…serenity…and peace flowed out from the Grandmaster. The message was simple. If you waver, if you worry, look to her and she would see youthrough.

 

[Hera "The Joyful" Albion]

The End Had Already Begun​

Yavin IV was a beautiful world. The lush forests held biodiversity within them both alike and unlike anything else in the galaxy. A woman could spend her entire life lost amongst the creatures that skittered and crawled. What a simple life that would be, to only worry about the investigation and categorization of the smallest of the galaxy's animals...

Hera could not have that life, of course. To even dream of it now would be- futile. She could barely keep herself grounded in reality as the essence of evil swirled and coalesced once more in the halls of the temple. Again, death came for Yavin IV, this time it would have its due. Shouting to keep herself grounded in reality, Hera made her presence and voice known to the scurrying young padawans around her,

"To the hanger bay! You will live to fight another day! The Order possesses enough heroes risking their lives outside our walls, your job is to keep breathing! Come now!"

Quivering in her hand, the hilt of her blade resonated with the death of yet another Jedi somewhere close. It could feel the Sith draw closer. It desired violence. It desired blood. It would be denied. Hera quietly counted the heads of those around her once more -children, of whom the oldest couldn't be more than fifteen- "Thirteen fourteen fifteen, sixteen, oh that's too many-" The XS-800 freighter she knew of in the hangar bay didn't have enough escape pods for everyone, and cramming this many would be a tight fit as well.

Even if she made it to the hangar, there would be no room for error once she took off. Taking up the rear, she chased the padawans down their evacuation route.

​

 

[Brynjolf Baan]

Gorr had relished for the day he would be allowed to rip and tear. The white wolf never enjoyed being too far away from his King, but today was different. Already, the Lieutenant had bashed a lowly Jedi apart with his electrohammer. There was something about the iron-like smell of blood that really made the wolf feral, wanting more of it to spill than what might have been necessary. Gorr was no Sith, but he liked to think that he was more Sith than most of the Empire.

"They're heading for the main hangar! Cut them off and leave none standing- Any child you leave alive today will kill you tomorrow." Gorr barked to the platoon of men he had been leading. "But sir... They're children." Whimpered another trooper. Gorr reeled on the other man, snarling and gnashing his teeth. "They will grow up to become the Jedi we've been picking off today. They will grow up into the very people that have ended your brothers' lives. Spare none. Death comes to them all this day." For now, the white wolf prowled through the temple halls, slaughtering any who dared oppose him.

"Ready my gunship," Gorr growled into his coms. "Yes, sir." The wolf's attempts to catch the retreating Jedi was proving to be futile. For every distraction who dared defend themselves from the Empire's wrath, a handful of cowards slipped passed Gorr's jaws of doom. This fight was going to have to be fought in the sky. However, there was a group of younglings traveling with a lone Knight that sparked the wolf's curiosity. He began to prowl after them, hoping he could snag at least one of them before having to join his men in the air. We will bring these fools the peace they desire...

@Black Noise

 

[Kieran Nomar]

Kieran was tired of losing homes to the Sith. Almost a decade has passed since he lost his home and was separated from his family on Taris. Now, it seemed Yavin would be taken from him too. Yavin IV was not his favorite place in the galaxy. The temple had at times felt like a prison; but now that it was on the cusp of being lost, he felt fiercely protective of it, and especially the people in it — many of them displaced children as he once was.

As a Padawan, Kieran was charged with escorting the Younglings to the hanger, which was where he was when he first saw the big beast of a wolf prowling after a second group — this one led by a Knight — who were following Kieran's pack towards the hangar.

"Hey!" he cried out to the Knight (@Black Noise) leading the second group of kids. "Behind you!"

He was already tearing his lightsaber from his belt and igniting its blue-white plasma blade. The Younglings under his charge startled at its ignition and cowered behind him. They were standing in the mouth of the hangar, the ship that would carry them out so close at hand. "Quick kids," he said to them in a hushed, more soothing tone. "See the loading ramp? Head up into it and tell the pilot there are more coming. Tell him to get the engines hot. We may need to make a quick getaway."

The words he spoke were the ones expected of him. Calm, collected, soothing for the children. But his heart was anything but. Revenge roiled there. Revenge for his burned out home, for his missing family, for all the Jedi who had died on Yavin today. A Jedi was not supposed to want blood; but he was standing here in defense of life, wasn't he? Surely that meant this Sith who stood to threaten it was fair game.

@Charles

 

[Hera "The Joyful" Albion]

Hera moved like the wind, her body pulsing with energy as she ushered the Padawans into the hangar. Behind her, a young man called her attention to an enemy, but she did not bother to glance back yet. Her goggles hung loosely around her neck, allowing her eyes to see beyond the visual spectrum available to most sentient life. Though it pained her to do so, she could see the troopers beyond the walls moving into the hangar. Their blasters, warm from firing. Their breath, hot inside under their helmets. Their hearts, pumping warm blood faster and faster with adrenaline.

All these things Hera could see, and all these things Hera focused on. Calling back, she gave an order to the younger Jedi, "Distract him and make your way to the hangar! I will get these ships off the ground! Younglings, quickly, to me!" She gestured to those following Kieran as she entered the hangar proper. The Padawans and younglings, both groups from Hera and Kieran, made their way toward the evacuation vessels. More than she had expected, multiple ships were already warming up to take off. However, the troopers also began entering from a side door to try to cut off the Jedi's escape.

Hera was between them and the others in a flash of light and fire. With her body imbued with speed and her blades ignited in defense, Hera put her skills on full display. Not a single bolt from the troopers would reach the younglings or padawans. The troopers that chose to fire would see their bolts redirected back at them, aimed at their weapons or their shoulders for non-lethal takedowns.

Despite the quivering of her blade, Hera could not bring herself to hate these men. After all, did they really even have a choice? Reaching out to their minds, she attempted to communicate a message to the rank and file soldiers, 'To put down your blasters may mean death from your own compatriots, but perhaps you could withhold pulling the trigger? See the fear in these children, don't let it turn to hate. It's not your fault that you're here now.'

If even a single man hesitated, it would mean one less blaster bolt for Hera to block.

@Charles @Malon

 

[Brynjolf Baan]

It was disheartening, to say the least, to see how disloyal these soldiers were. At Hera’s words, all the soldiers froze and some even seemed relieved to stop firing. However, Gorr was going to make these cowards useful, regardless of where their morals stood. A low growl sounded from the white wolf, and it soon dissolved into a frightful chuckle.

“If you cannot stomach my tactics, Sergeant, pick on someone your own size.” To this, the others nodded and trained their sights on the Jedi Knight instead. Now they seemed eager to draw blood, and they didn’t hesitate to open fire. Almost as eager as the Padawan who stood before Gorr with eyes blazing a fury that the wolf found familiar. He could hear the young man’s heartbeat race, and it only added to Gorr’s adrenaline.

“Do you wish for peace, dear boy?” He snarled before stowing his blaster rifle, arming himself with his electrohammer. “Those eyes do not seek peace. They hunger for blood- a feeling I understand. Come now, little one, and find the peace you fight for. Only in rest will you acquire it… And death is rest eternal.” Hopefully that would’ve sparked something in the Padawan. Gorr wanted him to strike first anyway, so he could deliver a counter attack.

With the Knight occupied with blaster fire and the Padawan staring down the Bringer of Peace, Gorr thought this was all going quite well. With his gunship on the way to the hangar, hopefully Gorr could prove to be a big enough distraction to buy a little more time. Perhaps if the children did not perish and were captured, Gorr could present a better present for the Sith. Imagine being killed by one of your own that you promised to protect. Now that sounded far more appealing than a slaughter fest…

@Black Noise @Malon

 

[Brienna Lanaamer]

A temple-wide communication to all Jedi.

"Evacuate the Temple, end distress signals to our allies…all defenses are to buy us time and when the fleet is ready, we will make for Sempidal.”

The anguish that the Grandmaster must be feeling. Yet her voice was calm. Forceful. Determined. The emotions were overwhelming. Their home being destroyed. Friends taken from them. As Bri rushed down the hallways of the Temple, the memories of Ajan Kloss were too fresh in her mind. Part of her wanted to curl up into a ball on the floor and disappear. Blocking out the noise and overwhelming sadness that was starting to grow inside.

How? How could this happen again? Our home.

There would be time in the future to reflect and mourn. But now was not that time. The Jedi needed to remain efficient and quick in facilitating their escape from Yavin. And they especially needed everyone's help. Bri's boots echoed with quick pace as she ran down the stone hallway of the temple. The mechanical whirring of her droid followed quick behind.

"You get the ship ready for takeoff! I'll bring aboard as many as I can." Bri called to NL.

The two turned a few corners, and emerged in the hanger. It was verging on chaos. Everything was happening at once. The sounds of screams were matched with ship's engines firing. Blaster bolts whizzed by Bri's head, and she thought she spotted a few red sabers in the distance. Padawans were scattered, with a group nearby seemingly targeted by an angry-looking shistavanen. Two Jedi were keeping guard.

Bri spotted another group of Padawans who were taking cover behind the landing gear of a nearby ship. She immediately grasped the copper hilt on her waist and ignited the bright blue saber, reflectively blocking a few stray blaster bolts.

"Come on guys, this way! I've got you!" Bri called, sounding as calm as she could. She stepped in front of the group, and guided them towards her ship. Nervous faces looked up toward her. NL was quickly rolling around, dodging bursts of vapor.

"NL, if the ship is full and ready to go, get them out of here. Don't wait for me"

The droid stopped moving and 'stared' at his human partner, as if offering a droidspeak but

"I'll be fine. All of them are more important than just me," she tried to sound reassuring, but didn't really feel it.

NL lowered its head slightly, but 'nodded', quickly returning to the pre-flight checks. Bri turned back away and rushed off to escort more aboard her ship.

 

[Kieran Nomar]

Well, Kieran thought. Orders are orders.

He did his diligence, making sure his charges were up the ramp. It helped when another Knight appeared from within the belly of the ship to see them in (@ModernMarvel). Then he turned to his new directive. Distract the enemy. Which meant engage them, as far as the hot-blooded Padawan was concerned. He stepped out of the mouth of the hangar and into the courtyard, lightsaber raised defensively.

"I'll buy you some time," he said to the other Knight (@Black Noise), twirling his blade. "Get the kids to the hangar. I'll be right behind you."

Kieran had no desire to to fight fairly. The hulking electrohammer his enemy had chosen for his weapon was dangerous but bulky. Even the wolf-like alien couldn't fling it around as easily as the Padawan could his lightsaber. The distance between them was not meager, either. The Sith alien had chosen to remain at a distance to force the Padawan to close it for him. Kieran would not be so easily baited.

There were other ways to cause his foe pain.

Seeking to force the wolf's hand, and still gripping his lightsaber tightly in his right hand, Kieran reached out with his left and swiped it in a ripping motion. The Force would coil around the wolf's legs and Kieran would attempt to rip his balance out from under him and drag him across the distance that separated them. He wanted the Sith to eat a little dirt before their weapons met. @Charles

 

[Hera "The Joyful" Albion]

Hesitation was a beautiful thing to see in an enemy. For a moment after her mental message, every soldier before her seemed to stop and consider their actions. Their commander spoke up to empower them, a new order or command growled from the wolfman's lips, but Hera was not listening. Instead, the redheaded Knight utilized her moment where the soldiers shot at neither her nor the children, redirecting the energy she previously would have used for defense into the structure around them.

Slabs of rock, torn from the ceiling and nearby walls, began to fall in the hangar. Any soldier that did not immediately run would surely be crushed or knocked aside as Hera brought the roof down around them. Human and speeder-sized rocks slamming into the ground would soon drown out even the sounds of the engines of the ships taking off. Unfortunately for Hera, not every soldier noticed the falling stones before it was too late. A blaster bolt slammed into her shoulder, ripping off the medium armor pad and singeing her flesh. Another bolt, quick as the first, powered into her left side. Again, Hera was thankful for her armor, though it was rendered useless now.

Thankfully, many of the evacuation vessels were loaded and already taking off. The hangar would begin to collapse around all of them, staying any more than a few minutes longer would likely result in all of them being buried alive. After all, Hera didn't pull just any loose stones from the ceiling, she had specifically aimed for structural supports. The Sith would not be taking this place intact, that would be for sure.

Shouting as she started to run towards the nearest fighter, a single ARC-170 starfighter, Hera commanded her compatriots. "We leave NOW!"

@Malon @ModernMarvel @Charles

 

[Brynjolf Baan]

Damn these Jedi and their party tricks! Gorr was not some lowlife thug wielding a big stick- he was a trained militia man who knew how to throw down with Force users. When Kieran tried pulling the Shistavanen off his feet, Gorr leaned forward and jabbed his hammer into the ground to keep him upright. He was only pulled a few feet closer to the boy, but after he listened to the hangar collapse behind them, Gorr swore under his breath.

"Pity that..." Gorr sighed. "How do you suppose you'll be getting off this rock?" Gorr didn't wait for a reply and flicked a switch on the handle of his electrohammer, charging up the larger end of the hammer. Then, the wolf began circling the Padawan, slowly and carefully, watching the little Jedi like predator does it's prey. Any movement the boy made would be easier to react to, allowing for Gorr to make a counter attack with his shockwave.

"Sir, your gunship is ready-" "Don't let the transports escape, hone in on my position." Gorr snarled. If his men in the hanger were smart, they would've retreated, but only two of the ten had survived the collapse and were running to Gorr's position. Though two more men wasn't much, the Padawan was still outnumbered. Gorr wouldn't leave this planet without a prize, whether that be a prisoner of war or the boy's head. "The Jedi defense fleet is proving to be troublesome, it may take time, Lieutenant." Time was all Gorr needed to beat this troublesome child.

@Malon @Black Noise

 

[Kieran Nomar]

A smirk tugged the corner of Kieran's mouth. His senses were open to the Force, his awareness encompassing both the Shistavanen and his two surviving men. Cockiness roiled off of the Sith, so confident was he that he could defeat a mere Padawan. But Padawans had felled Lords before, and Kieran liked his odds.

"Does the big bad wolf need his sheep to help him win against one little Jedi Padawan?" Kieran teased.

His lightsaber remained up and in defensive posture, poised to twirl and redirect blaster fire if needs be. There was still some distance between him and the Shistavanen, and that electrohammer would be useless against redirected blaster bolts. The big wolf had to know that.

But Kieran wanted to be certain of his odds. While the the two remaining men ran towards their commander, Kieran motioned back towards them with a flick of his free left hand, aiming to send them flying back in the direction they had come with a wall of Force energy. In the midst of their sprint, he doubted they would even see the subtle gesture or the weight carried behind it. All the while, he kept his gaze fixed on his ever reluctant foe.

"Surely you're wolf enough to handle me on your own," the Padawan added. @Charles @Black Noise

 

[Brienna Lanaamer]

Shit!

Bri dove forward on her left shoulder, just dodging a falling rock from the hangar ceiling. The Knight with the red hair in front of her had targeted the stone structural supports with the Force, causing the whole building to now slowly collapse. It may not have been the same course of action that Bri would've taken, but it was effective in crushing a few of the Imperials and hastening their escape. The younger Padawan facing up against the Shistavanen had exited the front of the hanger and now stood in the courtyard.

"We leave NOW!"

The command didn't need to be repeated. Bri just hoped that NL had finished the pre-flight preparations in the 3Z. The Knight held her hand up to stop another falling chunk from crushing her head, depositing it with the Force to her side. She grabbed a few last left behind Jedi and herded them aboard the ship. Jamming her thumb in the intercom panel right next to the lowered ramp, she called to her droid.

"NL, we gotta go now! Get the ship out of the hangar!"

A low, metallic sounding thud reverberated around the ship, obviously a piece of the ceiling falling down on top of it. Bri glanced around the entry space at the young, scared looking faces staring back at her. She tried to give them a reassuring smile. A slow lurch, and the ship carefully lifted off the ground. The Knight held on tight to the support of the landing ramp, getting a good look at the temple beginning its final stages of collapsing. Thankfully, somehow, Bri didn't see anyone left behind. Wait!

"NL! Fly low!"

The teenaged Padawan was still fighting the wolf-creature. He needed to escape or would be left overwhelmed.

"PADAWAN!" Bri yelled loudly, hoarsing her voice to be heard over the sound of the other ships, and the 3Z's engines.

"YOU NEED TO GET OUT OF THERE! JUMP ABOARD!"

She had no idea if the young man could hear her. Regardless, she held her hand out in hopes that he would at least see her.

@Malon @Charles @Black Noise

 

[Hera "The Joyful" Albion]

Hopping into the ARC fighter, Hera quickly started punching every button she knew, or thought she knew, to start the vessel up. The pain in her side was growing and she wasn't much of a pilot. Though she was positive she could at least make this heap of metal move and fire if needed. Suddenly, a noise from behind her caused her to momentarily jump in surprise,

"Dweep! Bwap Bwap Bwap!"

An R6 astromech, already locked in the back seat, was yelling something at her. Hera looked back with a face of utter confusion and worry, shouting, "I don't speak droid! I'm sorry!" In an instant, the fighter leaped to life as the R6 initiated an override of the controls. Some kind of mechanism had prevented the fighter from starting up for Hera, and this wonderful little machine fixed the issue for her.

Smiling, Hera hovered the fighter for a moment before turning it around in the hangar. The other Jedi seemed to be bringing her vessel around to try and acquire the young padawan, and Hera decided she would also assist. Pulling the trigger, she open fired with the starfighter's turbolasers on the shistaven and his two remaining troopers. She wasn't aiming directly at them, but rather at their feet. Hera's intention was for the explosion to knock them back and away from the padawan. From her position, she had a clear shot at the sith from the right side of the hangar and was in no danger of any accidental friendly fire.

That said, hopefully, the explosion would also encourage the padawan to disengage as well.

@Charles @Malon @ModernMarvel

 

[Brynjolf Baan]

The two troopers that were knocked back by the Padawan quickly perished under the fire of the ARC starfighter that decided to join the brawl. However, it made a mistake not aiming directly for Gorr in the first place. Without hesitating, Gorr lunged at the Padawan, using the explosions and the freighter's distraction of escape to close in the short distance. The Padawan would soon find that the bulk of the electrohammer did little to hinder Gorr's speed and efficiency. Gorr swung violently in a downward arc aiming for the smaller Jedi with the charged end of the hammer. Even if Gorr missed the boy's head or shoulders, the shockwave would do it's part and open the Padawan for another attack

A chuckle sounded from the 'Big Bad Wolf' as he was alerted that the Tooth N' Claw I had finally arrived, it's shadow dwarfing the freighter as it hovered above the field of battle. The Lieutenant was now too close to the boy for the starfighter to continue it's fire without risking the Padawan's life as well. The Malleus Heavy Gunship was now another obstacle for the Jedi, and Gorr wasn't planning on letting anyone leave unscathed.

"Target the freighter's hyperdrive. If the starfighter continues to engage, take it down! You have enough guns to spare." Maybe Gorr would get lucky and take three birds with two stones. The Shistavanen knew the fight wasn't over, however, and readied himself for another attack from either of the three Jedi. Four of the quad laser turrets would hone in on the halted freighter and begin to open fire on it's thrusters in attempt to ground it. The remaining two turrets locked on the ARC-170 but awaited a reaction from the starfighter.

"This is your final chance to surrender, dear boy. Your world is lost."

"You have lost."

@Black Noise @ModernMarvel @Malon

 

[Kieran Nomar]

The Shistavanen might have capitalized on the chaos now ensuing, but Kieran had only ever had eyes for one target this whole battle: the wolf-Sith officer. Charging was exactly the wrong thing to do, because without the Force, the big bad wolf simply didn't have the speed to close the distance between them in time.

With his outstretched free hand, Kieran sent a much stronger Force push rippling towards the enemy. This time, the wolf would not be able to slam his hammer into the ground to hold him still. Doing so would release the energy his hammer had built up and tear his arm right out of its socket, flinging the rest of him backwards, anyways. Of course, the same was likely to happen should the blast push him back as Kieran intended and the hammer struck the ground in the fall.

The Padawan didn't care either way. The wolf was drunk on his own self-worth and too dependent on his allies to grant him an advantage he didn't really have. And in one split decision, Kieran decided the rest of the fight. He hurled his lightsaber in a spinning disc-like arc towards the newly arrived Sith gunship—right at its cockpit. Now the pilots would have to make a choice: move the gunship out of its path, avoiding death but preventing them from firing on either the gunship or the ARC starfighter; or obey orders and die, and the gunship would crash into their ego-fueled master below them.

What was the loss of one lightsaber to save the lives of dozens of Jedi?

Kieran didn't wait to find out; because, in the next instant, he used what remained of his stamina to leap up and catch the hand of the Knight (@ModernMarvel) in the transport above him, allowing her to haul him up onto the loading ramp. "Get us out of here!" he barked up to the pilot, knowing they would only have seconds of an opening to make their getaway.

@Black Noise @Charles

 

[Brienna Lanaamer]

A darkened shadow slowly appeared over Bri's freighter. She looked up to see Malleaus Gunship hovering overhead, and blocking their escape path.

Shit. She cursed again.

A rumble, and the ship shook. A tell-tale sign that it was taking fire. The 3Z had a deflector shield, but no guns to return any sort of attack. Likewise, the gunship was too close to perform any sort of evasive maneuvers. It would only be at matter of time before the guns tore it to pieces.

The other Jedi was in an ARC starfighter, providing cover fire to the Padawan on the ground. It didn't seem to be doing too much good as the Shistavanen used the resulting explosions on the ground to close the distance. Instead, the younger Jedi sent him flying backwards with a burst of the Force, and then threw his lightsaber, a swirling blue arc, right towards the cockpit of the gunship. The pilots of the Imperial craft had one of two choices, move their ship out of the way, or get sliced by the saber.

Bri didn't need to be prompted for the opportunity of escape. The young Padawan jumped aboard, grasping Bri's arm.

"Get us out of here!"

"You heard him NL!" Bri echoed into the intercom. She closed the landing ramp, and dashed off down the corridors of the ship. The Padawan could follow if he would like. Arriving in the cockpit, Bri took her seat, and looped the headset that was resting on the upper part of the chair over her left ear. NL was plugged into the console in the middle of the two seats. The Knight flipped a few switches and complimented her partner.

"Nice job, buddy"

@Malon @Charles @Black Noise

 

[Hera "The Joyful" Albion]

Hera spun her ARC fighter around shortly after firing. She could see the blue blade arcing past her and towards the enemy gunship as she did so. Gunning it, she flew out of the hangar and towards the gunship, chasing the blue blade and open firing on the undersides of the vessel. She aimed to disable any weapons that might train their sights down on the escaping evacuation shuttles as they took off toward the upper atmosphere.

All in all, it felt almost like a completely clean getaway. Hera allowed a smile to grace her features for but a moment. Looking back at the R6 droid, she remarked joyously, "We did it! We're all going to make-" Instantly, the smile that grew upon her face disappeared. Looking back and seeing her comrade's vessels pass her, Hera noticed one more thing. In the back of the collapsing hangar bay, standing in the doorway to the entrance, three small figures stood behind the Sith.

Three child-sized figures, rapidly disappeared as the ARC fighter took Hera away and toward orbit, stood silently watching the others escape. She could barely see them, but she could sense them, sense their panic. They appeared just as the last Jedi vessel pulled out of the collapsing hangar. Were they padawans? Children left by their parents? Lost younglings? There could be no way to tell, and with Hera having personally collapsed that hangar bay, the Jedi ships could not return even if they wanted to. For any of them to turn around would be suicide.

They would all have to leave them, and anyone else who didn't make it to the hangar in time, to die. To die or be captured by the Sith, whichever was worse. Because Hera destroyed that hangar bay. Because Hera made sure those with her escaped. Because Hera only thought about those around her. Because Hera only thought about those with her. Because Hera only thought about herself.

Screaming, Hera fled Yavin.

@Charles @Malon @ModernMarvel

 

[Drow Venn]

The space around Yavin IV, already far more crowded than usual, became even more crowded when a series of starfighters, transports, tankers, ramships, and all manner of hodgepodge pirate craft came out of hyperspace. These were the last of Red Rodrik's pirate fleet - the fleet that Drow Venn had successfully commandeered and turned into a privateer force who served the Jedi Shadows.

They'd spent much of the last few years hampering Imperial shipping lines, looting Sith ships, and just in general being a nuisance to those who swore allegience to the Dark Side. And of course, they were well-compensated with whatever spoils were left.

But today, they were here not as marauders but as saviors.

Hearing the distress call sent out to the Order's allies, First Shadow, Drow Venn, had hurriedly called together what privateers he could and made the trip to Yavin IV. Right now, he was exiled and he was barely certain if Alex would let him be a Jedi Shadow or even a Jedi tomorrow but that didn't matter. Because today was about the Order, not him.

"Any tranports or gunships with extra room, head to the surface and see if you can pick up stragglers. Check Wetyin's Colony and Skygazer Hill! All fighters with me!" Drow ordered his men. Any Jedi still looking for a ride out or fire support would soon see a few privateer gunships and transports fly down to the surface to provide just that. In the meantime, Drow in his Y-Wing would start hampering the Sith fleet with the remaining fighters.

 

[Brynjolf Baan]

Gorr snarled as the boy the used the Force on him again, but he was only expecting as much and was ready for the backlash. Using his electrohammer, he would anchor himself back to the ground, absorbing the Force push. The Malleus Heavy Gunship got enough hits on the freighter that it wouldn't be able to go far. Even if it's hyperdrive was still functional, they would have to be careful.

"We're coming to you, Sir." A voice said over Gorr's coms as the gunship began to lower itself to land and pick the Shistavanen up from the courtyard. However, as Gorr put away his hammer, he heard the panicked yelp from a youngling behind him. Gorr smiled and slowly turned around to find three little Jedi that had just made there way out of the collapsing hangar. They had nowhere to go- but with Gorr's help, he would make them useful again. Useful for the Empire.

"Come now, little ones... I don't bite." He crouched low and offered out his hand. The children all looked to one another reluctantly, then looked back to their fallen temple. Finally, one of the children took his hand with the other two right behind them. "You will be safe with me. The Jedi abandoned you...but I will never forsake any of you. The Empire will never leave you behind." He said to the little Bothan boy who held his hand.

And I'll make sure you never forget it...

@Black Noise
/Exit Thread

 

[Alexandria Voran]

She was a maelstrom in the Force. A power nearly unmatched in the galaxy. A strength the Grandmaster rarely released. Her mind was gently swaying breeze as she worked. Worked with a single goal in mind. Make safe the Temple for evacuation. Alex’s lightsaber barely moved. The Force ripping forth from her powerful blasts. The elements bending to her call. A terror for any Sith who came upon her.

Alex had wielded that same power when the Eternal came to Yavin. This time was different. She feared they would not drive them back…no…she fought to buy them time. The sweat beading down her forehead. There were no Sith saved from Alexandria Voran today. There was no redemption. If they aimed to kill her, they were sent quietly into the Force.

Her com sounded in her ear. “Grandmaster, the evauation is nearly complete. The fleet holds steady above Yavin. We are ready upon your command.” She flicked her mic open. “I am staying until the last are free. Jump as soon as you can. I’ll find my own way.” And she would. Alex would continue to draw invaders to her. Draw them to the Grandmaster in hopes of keeping them away from the others. In time, she would make her way to her shuttle. Stored deep in the jungles of Yavin for this very purpose…but not until her work was done. Alex would not flee while Jedi remained. This was their home…she was not Oota…and this was not Ajan Kloss. There would be no fracture of the Order to find today.

And so, Alex’s work continued. Contiuned until she could go no more. Until her legs felt like lead, her arms wobbled, and her robes were colored with sweat. She fought until she could fight no more. Until she felt the last leaving. Only then did she turn for the exit.

OOC: Alex Wrap Up Post.