Ask Event Bacta 'Gainst the Wall

The Gatekeeper · Aug 23, 2022

Outside the Building

Every great group of allies has an equally great nickname. The Fantastic Five, Fumbledore’s Army, The Real Housewives of New Alderaan - just to name a few.

If some otherworldly narrator had been watching the trio outside of the Cadir’s building - Clove, Veer and Alia - they probably would have earned themselves a nickname by now too. The Mostly Teen Titans. Weapons of Sass Destruction. The Flex-Men.

Regardless of their hypothetical team name, the combined efforts of Clove, Alia and Veer was more than enough to take out the flying monster trying to attack the former Jedi.

Veer’s grapple line snagged the beast by its wing just as Alia yanked on it with the force, essentially opening up its entire body spread eagle for Clove to firmly land her blaster shot.

The monster would erupt in a burst of very badly smelling guts and other things, splashing all over Clove except where her long ass sleeve protected her. Luckily, this blood wasn’t acidic or otherwise harmful. It just smelled really, really, really bad.

On the bright side, D³: The Mighty Quadducks were now free to decide where the would go next. Inside with the Scooby Gang, or would they join up with those taking the fight to Nirn?

Beneath the surface, Roman would find himself in quite the predicament. Fortunately for him, his arms still worked and the pain radiating from his leg was fuel for a Sith like him. The tendrils of the force snaked out and wrapped themselves around the killik in front of him, ensaring it - at least for now. What the Sith planned to do now that he’d captured it, though, was anybody’s guess. Hopefully, for everyone’s sake, his previously whispered expletive wasn’t an invitation to the killikipede.

Elsewhere on the battlefield titans had begun to swing fists in earnest. The invisibility granted by Arla to her allies was a type of mysticism that Nirn was unfamiliar with, which was enough to give her the slightest moment of pause.

As Zak and Draugr began their charge towards her, Nirn would begin to channel the force into herself, ready to react to their pitiful attempts to engage her in swordplay. They were entirely out of their depth and they didn’t even know it.

Of course, this was before Emryc launched his own assault, one more akin to a surgeon’s scalpel compared to the dull hammers wielded by Draugr and Zak

The mind shard pierced her barriers with deceptive ease. The pain she felt sunk down all the way into her subconscious, so much so that even the killik forces around her screamed out in phantom pain . Nirn’s concentration and ability to wield her own powers were interrupted to the fullest degree, at least for the next few moments. As such, Zak and Draugr’s attacks would find their purchase.

The Sith’s lightsaber pierced her midsection while the Jedi’s sliced through her legs, removing them. Under normal circumstances, this would have been enough to kill most things. But Nirn was not most things, and these circumstances were far from normal.

With primal energy that even a mindshard couldn’t disrupt, Nirn would unleash a force wave all around her with enough strength to send anything - friend or foe - within a dozen meters flying backwards as if they’d been hit by a ten ton speeder. This included Zak, Emryc and Draugr.

At the same time, wings would erupt from her back as her now legless body was lifted into the air a few meters. Like any bug, removing parts of Nirn wasn’t the smartest or most efficient way to kill her. They’d only accelerated the killik general to her final form.

Peering down at the three men who were trying to kill her, Nirn only grimaced as a sphere of crimson energy began to encapsulate her. The after effects of the mind shard affecting her abilities, Nirn - despite her transformation - knew she could no longer wield her full strength.

It seemed that in her hubris, Nirn had underestimated the defenders of Thyferra. It was time to fast forward their plans and go for the nuclear option.If the Killik Hive couldn’t control the bacta with both Canir, they would destroy it instead. And they only needed one Canir for that.

You should have gone for the head, was all she would say out loud, giving the silent commands to her horde of what they needed to do.

Inside the Building

In the most unlikely of scenarios, the bravest of Mandalorians was about to be saved by a weird old man. As Hauron let loose his shots onto the killiks in front of him, the bugs would manage to dodge just enough to start advancing on him. They were wounded, but that might have made them more vicious.

Though, just as the beasts began to move, they’d be struck again by a couple lucky, slightly errant shots from Claudias. Hauron would also notice one of the shots zoomed just a little too close to his head for comfort, the Mandalorian almost able to feel the heat of the blaster bolt as it whizzed by and hit a nearby wall.

With no enemies left around them, Hauron, Claudias, and Smoe would have a moment to catch a breath and decide what to do next.

Down several flights of stairs, the Scooby gang had started trepidatiously making their way down the stairs. As Ruz cautiously moved his way down with Thayd right behind him, they would find that with caution there was a path they could descend without popping any of the pods. X3R would be able to scan their path and make his own adjustments with the knowledge, so he too could safely make it down.

As Thayd pushed the door open and peered inside he would see a relatively normal scene, at least considering everything else going on around them. The generator room was unoccupied but the machines were clearly damaged by teeth and claws. The same pods that had covered the stairs were also rife inside the room, covering the walls and some of the machinery.

It would also be evident that the trail of pods lead straight into the generator room, almost as if they originated from further inside. If they listened closely, the Scooby gang would hear what almost sounded like low, rattled breathing. The pods themselves contracted and expanded in rhythm, strangely. There were also none on the stairs leading down to sublevel B.

If anyone had the ability, it was possible the generators could be repaired, but barring that there would be little more they could do there unless someone wanted to investigate the dark depths of the room.

Of course, fixing the generators could mean reactivating some of the point defense systems of the Cadir building that had been taken offline with auxiliary power. On the other hand, the Cadir was so close and needed their help. What would the Scooby gang do?

Since Arctus had seemingly decided to stay on the main level, he would suddenly hear the cacophonous sounds of war behind him where none had been before. The ISC droid force that Emryc had sent to reinforce the building had been met by an equal number of killik bugs.

The droids were currently holding their own but eventually it was likely they would be overrun. The smaller killiks were looking to carve a path for the massive ones to come in and bring the entire building down. Time was even more of the essence than ever before.

In Space

The near complete losses of the CDF did little to deter what forces did remain. The heavy group pushed further into the Hapans. As Charlotte deployed her suicide forces, the CDF would do the same.

Two of the frigates engaged with the Hapan Battle Group would send word to their engineers to overload their hyperdrives, effectively turning each ship into a massive warhead. The explosions would begin to go off, one after another. The maneuver would decimate what was left of the CDF heavy forces, but it would likely do much of the same to the larger Hapan ships.

The CDF command force would engage with the ISC heavies that were preoccupied with the CDF light forces they hadn’t managed to eviscerate. Their mission as the ultimate distraction nearly complete, the CDF forces would continue to fight until the very last ship. Which, all things considered, wasn’t entirely too far off.

Another grouping of Killik Shardships would force itself into the ISC light groupings, firing off chrysalis pods and it rammed its way in. The Dartships, on the other hand, started to change their tactics.

As the bombers moved in to start their rains of death, the Dartships would begin utilizing their hidden weapon: the blast charge. Instead of trying to dogfight with the ISC bombers, the dartships would simply start ramming into them and exploding. They would manage to take out some of the bombers, but not all, as the Shardships in the center started taking heavy damages.

The Hapan suicide force would also begin taking its toll, taking out several of the Shardships in the center most attacking position.

Having recieved word of the changed plans from the surface, the Killik forces knew that things had started to become dire. Their shift to suicide tactics above anything else was now just a matter of numbers. Diminishing the ISC fleets above Thyferra would weaken the region as a whole, and this sort of victory was still a success for the Killiks.

The tides may have been turning in the ISC's favor, but the fight wasn't entirely over yet.

28 Shardships
2750 Dartships

2x TE-4 Command Carrier
2x Acquitans-Class Command Frigates
2x TL-2 Battlecruisers
2x Bothan Assault Cruisers
3x TE-1 Destroyers
3x TE-2 Carrier/Destroyers
2x Sphyrna-Class Corvettes
2x CR-90 Corvettes
400x TE-34 Wing Fighters
100x BTL C1-Y-Wing Starbombers

@Altaris @Apollyon @AutoFox @Darasuum @Evan @Faded
@Forsythe Crowholde @LilyNion @Phoenix @Scoobert
@SlagathorTheUnknown @Sreeya @Tom @Valen Pelora @Wit

Arla · Aug 23, 2022

Arla saw the strikes from the pair she cloaked find their mark, but it still didn't kill... whatever that thing was. It was the source of everything, there could be no doubt, but what exactly that meant and what it would take to kill her, Arla had no idea.

Oh and then it got worse. Then the thing sprouted wings and started flitting about like the monstrous Dark Side abomination Astel. Once again, Arla felt that she was more than a little out of her league, but at least what she had done for the pair of attackers... might have helped? At least it turned things from a direct attack on them into a more general area of effect.

It occurred to her, that the ISC president probably needed to be extracted as that was of the greatest important to both the ISC and the Empire, but she also wasn't even sure the ISC droids would have let her close. Besides, she was pretty sure with his size she couldn't drag him away anyway.

Instead, she started trying to weigh her next actions.

As the bug-woman started being absorbed in a ball of energy, Arla once again reached out to magic, but this time not of her people. Of the Sith. She grabbed her hunting knife and ran it along her wrist, only a few drops of blood, but that was all it took.

She pulled the energy from that blood, projecting and redirecting it so that suddenly there would appear to be another dozen Jedi and Sith all of whom looked like Zak or Draugr. Though there wouldn't be any associated damage, it would create chaos through which the bug woman would have to see in order to target the real threat.

Arla used her own blood to cast something like this on @Scoobert and @Apollyon: basically to make it hard to determine who is or isn't a real enemy.

Ruzaan Kai · Aug 23, 2022

Although the plan had been to hold his breath if any of the pods had been broken, Ruzaan found that he'd been holding back a sigh of relief when X3R made it to Sublevel A, as well. He hadn't expected the ancient-looking droid to be very maneuverable, but now they had just one flight of stairs to get to Sublevel B. He'd noticed the odd behavior of the pods around the room marked "Generator", but the Cadir was most important at the moment and he had a plan for leaving that didn't involve the stairs if push came to shove. "We need to secure the Cadir" he said, continuing down the stairs towards Sublevel B. A humorous thought occurred to him on the spot. "B-team, let's go."

He just had to hope that the situation outside the Cadir's panic room was the same it had been just moments ago when he'd made contact with the man. The Togruta gathered the Force inside him as he descended. Having been warned to the presence of a Vratix trying to hack the system, Jyt would be the target of his Force pull, the Togruta attempting to yank the Vratix away from the security console and into the far corner before charging into the kiliks with his double-bladed lightsaber swinging.

The Force pull, if it connected, would also serve the purpose of potentially drawing focus away from the stairwell for just a moment; and that moment might be enough for Ruzaan to capitalize. He even would have the high ground, initially. Besides, Ruzaan knew what the Cadir looked like from his briefing, so there was no chance he would accidentally harm the man.

Ruz continues descending to Sublevel B
Ruz attempts to yeet Jyt the Vratix away from the security console with the Force
Ruz then charges in, double-bladed lightsaber swinging, trying to slice his way to the door

The Storyteller · Aug 23, 2022

Altronis received the communication from the Queen Mother, and nodded, though she couldn't actually see that.

Understood, we'll shift our focus to the main fleet, he said. He had no idea if he was signing the death warrant of the Hapans, but it was their decision. They signed it themselves, and it seemed they were giving as good as they got. In this situation, that was about all you could hope.

Not to mention, Altronis felt a level of relief not only for his men but for himself as well that they would no longer be fighting directly against formerly-friendly forces. Now was the opportunity to cut the head off the snake.

At least that was the plan until the CDF command force engaged. There was simply no pulling Heavy Alpha back from the engagement, and once again they found themselves tearing through the smaller ships. Though, the command force was slightly better equipped to fight Heavy Alpha than the Light Force.

Might I suggest bringing your other contingent into the fight, Queen Mother, he said (@Valen Pelora). As of now, only approximately half of the Hapan force had engaged. Unless there was a purpose to holding them back that he wasn't seeing, this seemed like an excellent time to engage.

Altronis was stuck by the brutality of the enemy tactics. For the first time he really watched the way they just through themselves to their deaths without any thought. It was horrifying in a way that just surpassed anything you saw in the galaxy today.

Still, the ISC's guns stood firm. As heavy casualtiy numbers from the Light forces in particular began to flow in, Altronis found his breath catching just a bit more. Even as Heavy Beta and the Command fleet including the gargantuan ship he now stood on continued firing, he knew that things would continue to be as they were now: attrition.

ISC bombers and fighters engaged the smaller, lighter Killik ships with brutal efficiency, but even so many of the bombers detonated long before finding their targets. It was a slaughter for both sides, and his only consolation was that they gave better than they got, and Thyferra might actually survive this. The planet would not fall on his watch.

Continuing to engage CDF light and command forces. ISC Command and Heavy Beta continue firing on the Killik ships. Bombers and fighters continue attacking Killik ships. Light Beta and Gamma in particular have taken heavy casualties (~60%). Not all fighter/bomber casualties are accurately reflected

ISC Navy Write-up

Zakrym La · Aug 24, 2022

As Zak came in for the attack, he felt a massive shift in the Force. Countless wills grasped and drew upon it's power and pulled it within the Queen, they wrapped the creature in a cloak of malicious intent. It was then that a spike of heat washed through the Living Force, boiling the current with hate and anger. As Zak's blades passed through legs of the Queen, his mind wondered if Draugr had hidden the true depths of his power from him and if he had, how? A question that would go unanswered.

The Queen should be dead, between the joint attack he and Draugr had presented, she should have been struck down. However, Zak felt that well of energy unreleased, his eyes widened in shock a moment before reservoir broke. Out of pure instinct, Zak slung one of his hands towards the President of the ISC, Emryc Thorne, he reached out through the Force and erected a barrier around the man as quickly as he could. He poured as much of his stamina as he could in that short span of time as he attempted to protect the President from the devastating blow that was sure to come.

As he did this, Zak closed his eyes, ready for the storm to engulf him. When the bubble of roiling wrath broke, it did so in a primal undirected manner. Zak felt the crushing weight of the Force crash into his exposed left flank and drive the wind from his body. Zak felt his ribs buckle, crack, and then fracture before his left leg and arm suffered similar fates. Zak's vision blurred as he was sent careening through the air, his body slammed and bounced along the soggy battlefield causing countless more breaks and fractures before he came to a rolling stop in the mud.

Concussed and barely conscious Zak had a brief moment of doubt, wondering if his efforts to protect President Thorne had meant anything. Had he accomplished the Will of the Force? Had he protected the man as it decreed? Pain caused his vision to waver and his mind to mercifully slip into unconsciousness, Zak knew he had to rely on the Force to protect him now.

And then there was only darkness.

Zak senses spoopy Nirn Queen, senses "Draugr's" power spike, realizes some bad shit about to happen. Utilizing what little time he has, Zak throws up a barrier around Em, dumps stamina to compensate for time when erecting it. Gets absolutely shrekt by the Repulse, takes an ouch-y nap. fin. ps someone save Zak's broken body.

@Logan @Sreeya @Scoobert

Darth Draugr · Aug 24, 2022

Coming in Draugr thrusted his crimson blade into the center of the Nirn Queen's torso. His blade piercing through and emitting light from behind her as he was now face to face with the flayed killik. She was clearly more powerful than himself and yet here he stood ready to send her to hell. A spike in the force was emitted, powerful and done to the Queen as she lost control for a moment. This was odd, he hadn't done this and he knew for sure the Knight wasn't powerful enough. There was something off, but it was in his favor.. so he didn't ask questions.

She was at his mercy, and he was ready to strike her down once and for all. Ripping his blade from her body, he could feel the force gathering within her. She was aiming to counter attack. He had to be quick. He had to get this one last strike in before she fought him off.

Swinging his blade back at her neck he felt the blast hit him with all of it's might, intercepting him from making contact with his blade. The force hitting his body matching the force a ten ton speeder hitting his body. He could feel his ribs crack within his body, as well as his muscles instantly shriek in pain. The Sith Master flew back a solid twenty feet as he hit the ground and bounced off, then again and again until he had finally stalled on the bloody battlefields' wet ground. For moment it was almost as if he were paralyzed. The pain so immense he wasn't able to move. After a moment of lying on the ground and looking up to see the Nirn flying with newly sprouted wings, he could feel his nerves begin to come back though he wouldn't be ready to fight like he was.

The Zabrak was prideful, and stubborn. He wasn't going down just yet.. Gathering the strength within himself he began to try to stand, his body shaking. Pain like spears hitting him over and over covering his body. After a few seconds he made it to his side lifting his upper body with his right arm at the elbow. Taking a look over he could see Zak lying on the ground unconscious. He couldn't let himself fall at the same time as him. He was stronger, and had to show for it..

Finally coming to all fours he began to realize how discombobulated he was. Dizziness hit him strikingly.. There was nothing that would stop him from fighting.. Once he got to his knees he would look to stand. But as he did his legs shook, as they were not yet ready told the weight of his body again just yet. For a moment the Nirn would see him stand as he looked at her with a tired but fearless glare. She would see him lift his blade to point at her and for moment it looked as if he would take a step, until his leg just couldn't support him any longer and he fell back to the ground and his crimson blade disengaged.

Lying on the ground, he was hurt. Maybe he only needed a moment to rest.. Maybe he would return to the fight, but for now he lied on the wet bloodsoaked ground as the man who almost killed the Nirn.

The Red Horned Phenom got hit with blast after believing he was about to kill bug bitch and took significant damage with the biggest being broken ribs. He fights to stand up just to point his saber at her and then collapses. Pretty much out.

@Logan

Arctus Friers · Aug 25, 2022

Arctus busied himself with digging up what he could find in the reception desk, unaware that the rest of the intrepid Scooby Gang had proceeded downstairs without him. And what did he stay up here for on the first floor, now alone with the crushed and mangled bodies of the Vratix and killik?

A laminated piece of paper with the building's map and computers beyond repair.

The Padawan reached for the map, threw the computers a distasteful look, then turned to face his companions who weren't there anymore.

"Hey, I found a map. No indication where the Cadir is, but," he said, gaze flicking from the laminated paper to try and memorize the map as much as he could, then to no one, "there are detailed exit points and– okay. I'm talking to..." Arctus stepped over a disfigured bug corpse and shoved the map in his blast vest. "...nobody. Great!"

At least he lingered long enough to find something – the map and the building's exit points – useful.

Explosions and dying screeches soon caught the Padawan's attention, and Arctus turned to look beyond the windows to bear witness to a battle between an organic and non-living armies. The fight between ISC droid forces against the killik would have been entertaining to watch had the threat of the bugs overwhelming the reinforcements simply didn't exist. Re-arming himself with both blaster pistols, the former smuggler watched the ongoing chaos before him, looking for anyone – Jedi, mercenary, or Sith –approaching the building. Worry furrowed his brows when he found none (yet), and when his shifted his focus back at the battling droid and bug army he noticed odd movements from the smaller killiks. They were fighting as hard as their larger counterparts, but something about them that earned his ever growing concern, just as the Force whispered an unintelligible warning at him.

He knew he couldn't call the attention of the fighting killiks to himself – no, he wasn't suicidal. There were just so many bugs and seemingly not enough ISC droids, though the latter group engaging the former should be enough to make a clearer path to the building for any allies looking to help secure the Cadir's safety—

It is Dark outside and maybe Darker down below. Fancy being a watchman?

But I gotta go down. Ruz–

It's always Ruzaan this, Clove that, Indy right here, me Mum an' brothers to you! Bah! Lilac and azure's still there, being useful and all. What about you?

Holstering one of his blasters, Arctus reached for the comm he took from one of the dead Vratix guard earlier and hailed Ruzaan, hoping that his dear friend also kept the radio he found with him.

"We're getting reinforcements, guys, but they're waylaid by the adorable bug invaders," he would inform the group, eyes trained on the battle outside while maintaining awareness towards any surprise killik attack or two towards his person through the Force. "Any chance at finding the Cadir yet?"

He would've added "no pressure" but pressure was here to stay as long as whatever was controlling these legions of killiks remained alive.

• Arctus keeps the map he found on the reception desk and tries to memorize the lay of the land as much as he could.
• Arctus watches the ISC droids vs Killiks' battle royale and notices that the smaller killiks seem to be up to something. Up to what, Arctus hasn't figured out yet.
• He decides to stay on the main level, keeping tabs on the battle and looking for any other allies who plan to either help the ISC droids reinforcing the building or secure the Cadir.

Charlotte Le'Anna · Aug 25, 2022

“Good luck, Admiral.” Charlotte paused. “I hope we both survive.” The thought sent a chill up her spine. Rarely in her life had she contemplated her own morality. She was the Queen Mother…the woman who had survived a childhood of abuse…survived being raised as a Sith…and survived her ascent to the throne. She would not die. But, confronted with a force that sacrificed their own at will, she had to admit uncertainty crept up her spine. “Send in the reserve. Have them bolster the ISC force. We will finish the clean-up.” Cries of yes Queen Mother rang on the deck. “Have the fighters focus on taking out those Dartship and protecting our bombers.” She eyed the cracking CDF fleet. Her own forces were stretching thin. They could not hold much longer. The selfish play would have been to bring her reserve in to aid her section of the fleet. Charlotte was trying to be a team player. Let the ISC see their sacrifice.

“Shields at full, start backing us away. Novas in front. We can’t afford any more suicide runs from the Joined.” Death continued to crackle against her senses. They were in the fight of their lives. The remaining vessels of her contingent would begin to hopefully break the CDF fleet as her reserve sped towards the ISC engaging the Killik main fleet. She prayed…yes prayed…they would be enough to turn the tide. “Vice Admiral, make sure the galaxy knows who is fighting for them.” Well, this was no time to give up on publicity.

Charlotte sends the Hapan Reserves to bolster the ISC agianst the main fleet. Standard fighter and bombing groups staying intact. She begin to pull her section of the fleet back to avoid further ramming attempts by the CDF as she aims to finally break CDF apart.

@Logan @Phoenix

Clove Vanhoop · Aug 25, 2022

The day somehow managed to get worse and worse.

What should have been a proud moment turned into one of utter disgust as a rain of blood, guts and flesh showered down on Clove. Every muscle in her body froze as she felt the warm goop slowly slide down her frame, gravity more than happy to help. While her sleeve kept most of her face covered, it didn't take long for the blood to run down her once-blonde hair, staining her skin in disgusting deep red streaks. The scent then followed, forcing her shoulders to hunch in reflex as the first gag hit her body. The half-Annfyn took a few deep breaths, attempting to refocus herself, but each new breath brought another wave of rottenness.

But she survived Pootalina and her unholy scent from the nether realms, projectile vomit hitting her cheek and hair, and a bag of minced human meat and blood spilling right next to her feet. She could, and would, get through this. Just... picture cheerful lavender flowers swaying in a field of grass and consider how delightful it must smell. Yes. Happy smells.

But why was it always her hair?! Did they know how long it took to remove dried blood from hair?!

Clove spit out whatever grim had found its way into her mouth, making sure not to swallow any of it—because dear Force, what if the filthy blood was infectious?!—before raising her head and looking at both Alia and Veer. "I owe you two a lot, thank you." She attempted to wipe some of the blood from her cheek with her hand but ultimately only managed to smear it all the way down to her ear. Then she shook her arm, allowing the long sleeve to flutter in the wind and shed some of the organs that had become entangled in the fabric. "Alia an' I are going to sneak into the buildin', care to join us, sniper man?"

Regardless of the man's response, Clove turned onto her heels and began to take large strides to the building now that there was still a safe path for them to walk. The closer she got to the building, the more chaos she noticed. A big tall bug-lady flying somewhere in the sky, droids fighting a bug army, and the corpse of what she thought was a dragon.

Sugar. What mess has she gotten herself into?

Thankfully, there were so many distractions that getting to the building was quick and easy. When they reached one of the outside walls she stopped, her big brown eyes searching the walls for any entrance that wasn't about to be overtaken by droids and bugs. And she knew exactly what she was looking for: a vent, which every building, particularly important buildings, needed. Then she noticed it. "There!" Clove pointed at the wall, speaking to whoever followed her. "I'll help you get up!"

The half-Annfyn turned and leaned against the back of the wall, cupping her hands in front of her chest and allowing Veer or Alia, if they were following, to climb up onto her hands and shoulders and from there into the vent. Clove could only hope that if everything went well and they hopped into the vent they'd extend a hand to pull her up into the vent as well. If they did she would jump up against the wall, grasping onto whatever hand or edge she could find before lifting herself into the vent with their help. If not, well, she'd have to find a different way into the vent system.

tag @Logan + @Wit @Altaris

- Clove tries her best not to throw up and ignore the blood.
- Clove thanks the people and asks if Veer wants to join.
- Clove makes her way over to the building, trying to look for a vent.
- Clove finds a vent and helps people to get up in them if they so choose, hoping that they don't leave her behind.

Roman Antilles · Aug 25, 2022

.

Roman had successfully captured the creature with his force tendrils, the gesture of his left hand tightening the claw as the invisible barricade began to crumble and squeeze at the Killik. WIth a sudden jerk, he snapped his left wrist and forearm inward towards his own chest, manifesting a force pull to bring the beast into melee range. Simultaneously with remaining strength he still had, the armored sith leapt forwards himself, propelled off his remaining good leg while also pressing the button to extend his dual phase lightsaber to its full 6 meter length.

The end result, Roman intended to impale the monster through its heart as he brought it close to him with guidance of the force.

Roman uses the force grip he has on the beast already and pulls its towards him while also extending out with his dual phase lightsaber to attempt and impale it.

@Logan

X3R · Aug 25, 2022

X3R emerged into the generator room alongside the other members of the group, cranial turret scanning around to take in the damage, and the unnatural growths that had rooted themselves on various surfaces. He approached one curiously, keeping a cautious meter away and being careful not to touch, but studying the pod carefully.

"This growth does not exist in my database of known life-forms associated with the Killik species." He intoned, straightening and turning back to the others. "Admittedly, said database is incomplete. My builders had only a passing familiarity with the species."

The huge droid panned his sensors around the room once more.

"As an organic might say, I have a bad feeling about this."

The droid continued on toward sublevel B, emerging beside Ruzaan. Immediately, he spotted Killiks, and a native Vratix meddling with a control pad beside a heavy-looking door. The droid immediately brought up his blasters as the Jedi sprinted forward, aiming them at the Killiks and beginning to fire.

"HOSTILES."

@Evan @Forsythe Crowholde @SlagathorTheUnknown @Tom

Veer Altaris · Aug 25, 2022

Veer exhaled a sharp breath through his nostrils, feeling the sudden resistance of his grapple-line coiling around the Kilik’s wing. The Axxilan instinctively brought his right hand over to stabilize the wrist, shoulder rolling back to keep the line taut and himself from being pulled off-balance by the stronger, airborne Insectoid. Just as quickly as he felt pulling against the grapple-line, Veer watched as his foe was brutally ripped into three pieces by the combined efforts of himself, Clove and Alia.

Without a second thought, the Axxilan clicked the button on his vambrace for a second time - detaching the spool of synth-rope from its compartment and letting it fall limp to the ground. Without an auto-winching mechanic, he was only going to get a single use out of the wrist-function.

Smearing any residual debris from his visor and hands, Veer glanced across the field - mahogany eyes fixating onto Clove. “Lead the way,” He jutted his chin towards the Cadir building, fingers curling tightly around the handle of his pistols as he began to follow after the half-Annfyn and Tiefling. Of course, the Axxilan didn’t neglect to turn his attention towards Nirn on the way - watching as the ugly bitch sprouted wings and rose up above the fray. His eyes narrowed upon the sphere of crimson energy that began to encapsulate her, and the Axxilan didn’t hesitate to level the barrel of his pistol upon the KIlik General - pulling the trigger back twice. Two bolts of plasma would streak through the air, attempting to pierce the Kilik general at best or test the integrity of her shield at worst.

He kept himself moving - deliberately not standing around in the event that Nirn decided to throw the blaster bolts back in his face. The Axxilan sprinted his way towards the main building - moving just behind Clove as she spotted the vent. Before Veer could do it himself, he watched as the half-Annfyn positioned herself with her back to the wall - hands knitted together at her chest to boost him to the vent above.

Veer couldn’t help but squint ever-so-slightly, immediately skeptical. All the same, he didn’t argue with the half-Annfyn - his sprint coming to a halt as the Axxilan stepped one boot into her hands to boost himself to the vent. He could feel the half-Annfyn’s arms jerk down with his weight, and Veer wasted no time in latching onto the edge of the vent and alleviating her having to hold onto him. Once there, the Axxilan reached across - pressing a button to activate the magnetic function of his boots.

With his feet firmly secured to the metallic surface of the vent, Veer leaned back down over the edge - extending a hand towards both Alia and then Clove. By virtue of the Axxilan’s size alone, he had no issues with pulling both of them up into the vent. Only then did he give a nod towards Clove, “Thanks,” His voice was mechanized and scrambled by the filter in his helmet, but she would immediately be able to tell he was entirely genuine.

Veer wasted no time after that - maneuvering through the ventilation system just slightly ahead of the two Force Sensitives. He kept the Vision HUD of his helmet active, pistols raised to fire upon any threat that popped around the corner to ambush them.

Veer followed after Alia and Clove towards the Cadir building - though not before firing two pistol shots off at Nirn. He keeps running, using Clove to boost himself into the ventilation system before turning to pull them both up after him. He continues on at the head of the group - using his vision HUD to keep tabs on any nearby Kiliks.

@Logan

@LilyNion @Wit (Tagging those addressed in my post.)

Emryc Thorne · Aug 25, 2022

Emryc was launched into the air and grimaced, quickly grasping at his sunglasses to keep them from flying off. A Force wielder as powerful as himself didn’t have their concentration break so easily and his shard meant he still had his hooks in the mind of the Killik general. The half Sephi felt a barrier around himself as he landed with a thud on the ground, the gesture protecting him from further harm. Emryc quickly rose to his feet, keeping his focus on Nirn.

“Fire a round at the Killik queen’s head!” Emryc called out to three artillery droids as they aimed their missiles once more and fired at the target now in the sky. At the same time, Emryc doubled down on his attack, reinforcing the shard in an attempt to twist and carve through her mind in an effort to completely disorient her.

The ISC General on the field ordered all the droids to actively pursue Killik attempting to reach the bacta. Meanwhile, he ordered another platoon of droids to assist in the building in an attempt to engage the Killik there. The goal was to clear a path for the defenders that were searching for the Cadir.

@Logan

Hauron Solus · Aug 25, 2022

The sound of multiple blaster discharging was heard a split second before the zipping red light of several high speed bolts of plasma barely missed the Mandalorian. Instead they wizzed past him and Smoe Jith to find their target along with Hauron’s own placed shots. The combined yellow and red blaster bolts managed to burn parts of the insectoid exoskeleton and find their mark on the joints. The more vulnerable parts of the Killik’s anatomy received enough damage to finally put the two assassin killiks down for good.

Hauron turned to look at who had joined Smoe and him only to see it was one of the politicians carrying a DL-44 blaster pistol. The man did not look like he was the type to be using such a weapon but Hauron could tell from looking at the ambassador that he had the resolve to use the pistol all the same. A short nod from the Solus to the man would give the Brentaalan an unceremonious thank you for the assistance.

Briefly looking around, trying to listen for the clicking of mandibles or other insectoid body parts, the Mandalorian would quickly holster his two Westar-35s. The pistols were reliable and could drop a normal target, especially with multiple bolts put down range. But the stopping power did not seem like it was enough. The Mandalorian drew the Galaar-15 blaster carbine from his back. The short blaster rifle could pack a significantly greater punch than the twin pistols. It was a trade off for less shots placed down range but Hauron would definitely be more accurate than with trying to dual wield the pistols, even if they had less recoil than the blaster carbine.

As he brandished his swapped weapons, the badger looked at the older gentleman and spoke. “Do you…ah..have any idea where Cadir Gyxik is?” His once immaculate armor was clearly damaged in places. A flash scorched chest plate riddled with wrents, tears and scrapes was just the tip of the iceberg. He favored his right side and was clearly injured to some degree. But he wasn't worried about himself in that moment. The Mikkian's focus was still on the objective. Hopefully Claudius could provide some enlightening information. He hoped the politician would follow him and even perhaps talk as they walked unless there was some immediate updates because Hauron would begin to head towards where he thought the stairwell was.

@Logan @Tom

Hauron swaps out his two blaster pistols for his blaster carbine and is trying to chat up Claudius before heading towards the stairwell.

Thayd Karkoza · Aug 25, 2022

Thayd’s eyes narrowed and a jolt of alarm shot through him as he made out the sound of labored breath rasping from somewhere in the darkness of the generator room. He wasn’t sure if the others had heard it or not, but to Thayd it was unmistakable. Before he could advance farther into the room to find the source of this breathing, X3R and Ruzaan hurried past him to get to the Cadir. Even by the faint light of the stairwell spilling in up against the hard solid blackness of the depths of sub-level A, Thayd could tell that the hideous growths and tumors lining the stairwell originated from this area. He wanted to plunge into these depths and pull up this filth by the root, but his better judgment told him that sticking together was the right choice for the time being.

Backing out of the generator room, into the stairwell again, Thayd continued down, this time at the end of the trio, behind both Ruuzan and X3R. They could make much better time now, as the carpet of flesh pods or whatever it was didn’t extend this far down. As they neared the bottom of the stairs, Thayd watched as Ruuzan charged ahead down the corridor leading to the Cadir’s panic room, with X3R following. The Anzat would hang back, choosing to stay at a position on the stairs where he could target the killiks and Jyt from a higher vantage point than Ruuzan or X3R. He raised his blaster and prepared to fire. From the spot where he stood, he would hopefully be able to take aim and safely fire over the heads of his comrades. He aimed four shots, one at Jyt the Vratix, and the other three at any killiks surrounding him, hopefully softening them up just before Ruzaan would come charging in with his lightsaber.

@Logan @SlagathorTheUnknown @AutoFox

Thayd shoots four shots, one at Jyt, the others at killiks, from a position a few steps up on the stairwell, so that he is able to safely fire over the heads Ruzaan and X3R.

The Gatekeeper · Aug 27, 2022

Outside the Building

Roman would find his attack successful, though he would have come a little closer to the killik than he'd intended. Should the Sith have read the manual that comes with his dual phase lightsaber, he would have known that the maximum length of the blade was a mere two meters, compared to the six he was expecting.

Of course, no one should have been surprised by this mix-up, since men always tended to overexaggerate the size of their lightsaber blades. Regardless, though, the Sith would find himself alone but unaccosted in the tunnels beneath Thyferra. Hopefully, given his injuries, he'd be found by rescuers.

Arla’s best attempts at making her allies look like the latest Mr. Weird, DDS movie was impressive, it did little to help them. The blast from Nirn rocketed Draugr and Zak backwards with the same kind of ragdoll physics you saw in Methespa games.

Emryc, unsurprisingly, was far less affected. As the ISC President continued to twist his mindshard in Nirn’s brain, she was finding it harder and harder to summon the power necessary to effectively combat everything coming at her.

The blaster shots from Veer slammed into the barrier Nirn had erected around herself, causing it to splinter. Being unable to focus herself in any meaningful capacity, the artillery strikes from the ISC droids would be a very, very compromising follow up.

Just like the killik-dragon before her, Nirn was bombarded on all sides by the missile fire. Her barrier shattered completely, Nirn unable to bring together the focus required to maintain it. The first few missiles would have been mitigated, but there were many more that followed. Each one slammed into her body and exploded violently, sending parts and pieces of Nirn in every conceivable direction.

The Killik General had been bested by the teamwork displayed by those gathered on Thyferra. Despite their ideological differences, they’d managed to forge a solid enough alliance to defeat her. It was a testament to what could be accomplished by those that under normal circumstances would call themselves mortal enemies.

Of course, the display of Killik power on Thyferra was but a taste of what the Hivemind was truly capable of. Those that bore witness to Thyferra only saw what a toe dipped in the water looked like. The full might of the Hive would be far more devastating, and much, much harder to kill.

The killik forces that remained on the surface would still fight, but the ISC would find them much less unified and easier to roll over than before. Their Hivemind scrambling for leadership, it would be like none of the bugs could truly focus through all of the voices vying for dominance.

The surface of Thyferra, at least for today, appeared to have been won.

Inside the Building

As Veer, Clove and Alia made their way into the vents of the building, they wouldn’t find much resistance. Traversing the vents was easy enough, though with no real sense of direction, it was hard for the trio to know exactly which way they were going.

Eventually, they’d manage to wriggle over the dust and corpses of long dead rats and find themselves over a large air grate in the ceiling, just over top of where Arctus stood watching the mayhem unfolding just outside as the killiks tried forcing their way inside but were still stymied by ever increasing ISC droid forces.

Through the vents, Veer, Clove and Alia would suddenly see several large killik burst through the floor of the building, perhaps on a last ditch effort to circumvent the ISC droids. Though, with the loss of their General, the killikipedes were much less focused and almost entirely feral.

The beasts would rear up with otherworldly screeching in front of Arctus, seeing the Jedi Padawan as the only threat and leaving the trio able to take them by surprise if they so wished.

As luck would have it. Hauron would hear the sound of the ground floor killiks screeching as he made it to the stairwell, giving him a good indication that heading downward would be the best bet.

Elsewhere, further down, X3R, Ruz and Thayd continued their descent to sublevel b. The group’s sudden attack would take Jyt and his small force of killik by heavy surprise, as they seemed to be completely ensconced with trying to get the door open and not much else.

The shouting from the droids pulled their attention with just enough time for the killiks and Jyt to turn around and get a face full of blaster fire. With the targets softened, Ruz was able to carve through them all with ease, his lightsaber slicing clean through his enemies until he was face to face with Jyt.

The Joined Vratix didn’t even attempt to defend himself, so all Ruz would see when he removed the man’s head from his shoulders was a blank, unblinking stare - one that wouldn’t leave the Vratix’s face as his head rolled along the ground.

With his would-be abductors finally dealt with, Gyxik would start banging on the door of the panic room in triumph before activating the intercom.

The code is 0-9-1-5-3-9-6-3-8-1-3-7-3-6-A-Z-Q-L-O-K-T-9-2-7-4-2-0!! He shouted as clearly as possible. Please get me out of here!

In Space

The death of Nirn echoed even with the killik forces that weren’t on the surface. With their main plains seemingly foiled, the space battle too seemed to be won for the ISC and Hapans.

Through their viewports, Altronis and Charlotte would suddenly see the killik ships turning away from them in retreat. While they would still somewhat attempt to stave off continued losses, it would be clear that fighting was no longer their primary objective.

Sustained losses would continue to mount against the retreating force should they be pursued. Unfortunately, the CDF forces would at this point have been completely obliterated, not a single ship left standing.

The two Admirals would be able to claim a victory here in the inky blackness above Thyferra, though the true cost of that victory would only be known in the coming days. Thousands of lives had been lost and hundreds of ships, both of which were not easily replaced overnight.

One thing that both of them could take away, though, was the glimpse they had received into Killikian tactics. Information that would likely prove invaluable in the inevitable battles that would come.

For now, though, as the hulls of ships burned as bright as the stars that were their backlight, Altronis and Charlotte could take a breath. They had survived when so many others had not.

A gift, all things considered.

20 Shardships
2000 Dartships

CDF forces completely destroyed

@Altaris @Apollyon @AutoFox @Darasuum @Evan @Faded
@Forsythe Crowholde @LilyNion @Phoenix @Scoobert
@SlagathorTheUnknown @Sreeya @Tom @Valen Pelora @Wit

Arla · Aug 28, 2022

Arla's illusion didn't do... a whole lot. How could she have anticipated such an explosive AoE attack? Nevertheless, she saw the creature go down in a hail of detonations and fiery death, and as soon as it did, something seemed to lift from around her. The oppressive weight of solitary purpose and power in the Force seemed to subside, and it was a welcome relief.

For a moment, Arla was simply rooted in place. Unwilling or unable to move forward to investigate for fear that it was all fake, but that didn't seem to be the case. She could see the Killiks retreating and she dropped down from her ledge to make her way over.

With the enemy dead, she turned her attention to allies instead. Particularly, her interests fell on those she knew were from Dathomir. While Alia seemed to have headed in another direction during the fight, she could see Draugr - badly wounded - on the ground, and only paused in a moment's hesitation before making her way over. She pulled the medpack from her gear and got to work immediately.

Master Draugr, are you okay? What's injured the worst? she asked (@Scoobert), setting to work with the bacta sprays and patches to get him back together and - eventually - out of the line of further fire and to safety.

Tends to Draugr's injuries and makes sure he gets to safety.

The Storyteller · Aug 28, 2022

Altronis watched as the fleets pounded against one another and flashes of light marked out the hulls that cracked in two. Killik ships, ISC, Hapan, all died in droves, and there was no joy in this victory. In fact, there was a growing disdain for these bug-like creatures that had just wasted so many lives, and forced him to kill so many of his own people.

Despite the lack of joy in the victory as the Killik forces began to retreat, there was a sense of relief he experienced. Along with a sense of surprise. Surely the combined ISC and FWA forces had been winning, but enough to call a full retreat? Altornis wasn't convinced. At the moment, he had no way of knowing what had happened on the surface or the death of the Killik general.

Yet even as a portion of the ISC ships turned to pursuing and harassing the Killik ships, their retreat seemed to be true. They left he system, and the two leaders of their respective peoples were left to look out at nothing but the floating chunks of metal that had once been star cruisers.

He pressed a button and opened comms first to ISC command.

This is Admiral Altronis. Killik forces have made a full retreat. Our losses were severe and the entire Core Defense Force for this sector was lost to the enemy's manipulations. No survivors from the CDF. Space above Thyferra is secure, he said. After a exchange to pass on other brief but necessary information, he closed the comm channel and opened another once again to the Hapans.

We pulled out a victory, Queen Mother. The ISC offers its sincerest thanks to you and your crew, he said (@Valen Pelora). He didn't even care at this point if it wasn't done out of the kindness of their hearts, it had been done.

He'd have offered directly for them to refit, resupply, and refuel on the planet's surface, but frankly he had no idea if that was even possible right now. Instead, he turned his attention back to the reports from the surface and then relayed the good news.

It appears the battle on the surface is turning into a victory as well, he said, finally taking a breath of relief for the first time since this had all begun. There was still much to do, but for the moment, he let himself catch his breath.

Charlotte Le'Anna · Aug 29, 2022

Charlotte felt something. A change she could not quite understand. If the Force was not so far out of reach…she may have known better. As it was, the feeling was just that. A feeling. That sense coincided with the Killik fleet suddenly retreating. Her eyes swept across the holomap. The CDF forces were decimated. Nothing remained of the Core Fleet. Her own forces had taken heavy casualties during the fray. Charlotte slowly shook her head. “Recall our fighters and bombers.” The bridge was oddly silent. The voices of her loyal officer muted. “Run casualty reports.” Her orders were silently carried out. The voice of Admiral Altronis suddenly coming through. She should have smiled but for some reason did not seem to have it in her.

“Thank you, Admiral. This is but the beginning. Should you need us again, we will answer the call.” The com clicked off. The casualty reports began streamlining in. It was worse than she expected. “Com the surface. Let them know we will evacuate any who request it. Whatever support we have left is free to Thyferra.” Charlotte clicked her tongue. “How far away are our reserves?” The Vice Admiral stepped up. “A few hours, your highness.” She nodded slowly. “Good, we will make them available as well.” The Queen Mother straightened her uniform. “Call home. Put the entire Consortium on high alert. Lock down Commenor and tell the governor we will need his men.” Again, her orders were rapidly carried across the bridge. Charlotte breathed a shuddering breath.

“I will be in my quarters.” The bridge bowed in unison, and she took the door to her private quarter beside the bridge. She waived the Chume’doro from the room. What was wrong with her? She took another shuddering breath. She was Queen Mother. She did not care. She was alive…that was all that mattered. The Queen Mother sunk to her knees. Tears streamed down her face. Damn.

@Phoenix @Logan

Ruzaan Kai · Aug 29, 2022

One. Ruzaan's lightsaber sliced through a kilik, taking it down.

Two. Another strike, another kill. Nothing left in the room besides him and Jyt.

Three. The Cadir's safety- if only for the moment- was secured.

No sooner had the Joined Vratix's head been unjoined from its shoulders than the Cadir was spouting off the security code, distracting the Togruta from the fact that he'd just killed someone who wasn't fighting back. There was no doubt in his mind that Jyt had been threatening the Cadir just moments before, but it was an unsettling feeling nonetheless.

Briefly, Ruzaan wondered what kind of security room locked its door from the outside. Wouldn't it make more sense for the controls and code to only be accessible from the inside? The current design was asking for this exact scenario to be played out, with the Cadir panicking and begging to be released from a room that only outsiders could open. "Did they install the door backwards?" Ruzaan asked the Cadir, after finally managing to release the man from his prison. However, he just as soon realized that this was not a conversation that needed to be had at the moment and held up a hand to forestall the Cadir's answer. He, X3R, and Thayd had made it down to Sublevel B... now they had to get back up, and he didn't trust the Cadir not to step on the orbs lining the walls and the staircase.

Unfortunately, it was that or go rappelling up the elevator shaft, which seemed even more dangerous given the Cadir's current emotional state. The Togruta resorted to attempting a modified Jedi Mind Trick on the man in order to calm him down, although he wasn't sure if the subsequent relaxation he was in the Cadir's eyes was due to its success or the adrenaline draining out of his system now that the imminent danger had passed.

Either way, it was time to get out of here.

Ruzaan would lead the Cadir carefully up the stairs, footsteps and lightsaber leading and lighting the way for the man. It sounded as if the battle was going in the rescuer's favor; with any luck, they were nearly to safety.

@Logan @Evan @AutoFox

Ruz works with the Cadir to open the door
Ruz attempts to calm the man down with some mental manipulation
He then tries to lead the Cadir carefully up the stairs

Ask Event Bacta 'Gainst the Wall

Dungeon Master

Character

Character

Dungeon Master

Character

Character

Character

Character

Character

Character

Character

Character

Faction Leader

Character

Character

Dungeon Master

Character

Dungeon Master

Character

Character