Event Galaxy in Crisis!

[Maxims Tionson]

Dathomir​

Thunder and lightning flashing and exploding through the world in perfect harmony - it was almost beautiful and it would have been had it not been on such a bleak and pitiless planet such as Dathomir. Even the weather felt like it held an evil spirit all it's own and, for all he knew, it might actually do. It would be something he could research at some point actually, whether or not the planet's entire atmosphere was possessed by the angry, restless, dead.

Questions for later.

The sensation of the Sith being close-at-hand was getting closer as he reached the base of the cliff alongside Indy. They were further along from the base than the Sith but already he thought he could see them. It was a confrontation waiting to happen but that didn't mean he wanted it to happen right now.

"Keep moving further away from them along the cliff-base." he instructed Indy quietly, not taking his eyes off the Sith as he moved further away himself, "I don't trust them not to just try and throw us from the cliff."

It was what he would do if he was feeling vengeful. He had to convince himself that he wasn't for a few seconds as well before reaching the base of the cliff.

"You first Indy, I'll keep an eye out and follow you."

Finding a path would be useful but it could potentially end up being a waste of time, especially with how this whole scenario screamed of being a test... and in a test you didn't just get to make your way up a gentle slope. Once she had made a start he would follow her but he would be watching and ready to react to any nonsense.

@The Forgotten @Killa Ree @Darasuum @christhebarker @GABA @Six @AutoFox

 

[Malleus]

Dathomir
​

The pair of Sith found themselves out of the forest and at the base of the cliff that they were walking towards however it had seemed that almost half of the way they should have passed was somehow 'skipped' or cut through in a way. ''Something strange is going on here.'' Malleus thought to himself, the sky blackening and lightning flashing across it only furthering the sense of uneasiness and mystery. Thinking that looking around the forest for a possible answer to this happening would get them nowhere he directed his attention towards the end goal, the structure atop of the hill, if there were any answers or a source of all this then that's where he'd find them and not in the forests bellow. He looked up the cliff noticing that he could be able to possibly scale it without any additional equipment, he'd try at least and if that didn't work he would simply go back to his ship and use it to get atop the said hill even forcefully landing it if he had to.

The large imposing Sith held up the wrist of his left hand with the fingers of his right, rotating it as if to stretch it and at the same time checking if his gloves were properly fixated, his eyes looking up and down the cliff assessing it. ''I don't know about you but I suggest we scale it right now. It doesn't seem impossible honestly.'' he said with a dry tone that was as usual further mechanized by the breathing mask on his face. Malleus was pretty much in a peak physical shape. Large and muscular yet surprisingly agile and dexterous the Zabrak had spent most of his life in physical training and/or in battle, excruciating rounds of pull ups, push up and other exercises being a natural part of most of his life. He grabbed onto a rock above him with his right hand and placed his right leg on another rock protrusion bellow the first one. Springing himself up and down a few times in place he finally propelled his body upwards, his left arm grabbing onto a ledge above first before he swiftly followed it with his right arm. For a split second the Sith was dangling from the said ledge as he held it with both his arms before his right leg landed on the rock his right hand was previously. He then posed his left leg against the wall of the cliff and pulled himself up on the ledge.

It was then that he'd felt it. ''Jedi'' he hissed quietly with his usual disgust and even a dash of amusement this time perhaps amused by the fact that he was so absorbed into something else that he didn't even bother to pay any attention to the Jedi as he would usually do. He felt them in the forest nearby, along side the cliff they scurried and sneaked like rodents.

@Maxims Tionson @Indy Sati @Maeve Byrne

 

[The Eclipse]

Coruscant​

Deep underground in the backup records vault, someone (@Vera Coulter) was trying to be clever. The middle aged Nemoidian who had stepped through the burned-through doorway had little warning of the incoming danger, but the Force served him well. Even before the mere click of a blaster, the violent intent of the old Ranger gave the Sith the warning he needed. Crimson met cobalt twice as he stepped into the room, his blade meeting the stun shots with loud crackling sounds each time, while the third impacted the detached door that had risen at his will in front of him. The Dark Side heeded his call, rushing to fill his body with with power. Even at a distance, other Force users would easily be able to tell this particular Sith was not on the same level as the others. The Nemoidian's wrinkled features twisted into a vicious, mocking sneer at the Ranger's attempt to stop him with a mere blaster. Such arrogance from a lesser being.

It was a good thing Vera had rolled away, as the spot she had previously been occupying had become the new home to the edge of half a metal door embedded in the duracrete floor with an earsplitting crack, the melted edges still yellow-hot and smoking. The other half flew with shocking speed on a curved trajectory from the entrance to get behind the Ranger's cover and crush her a moment later; the Sith didn't need his eyes to see his target, and cover would not save Vera from his ire. He needed to get this done and over with quickly and so went on the offensive. After all, what could a being that was no more than a talking animal do to a Sith?

Back on the second floor, the situation was a mess. The soldier had successfully collided with @Weiss Zano , though the Jedi had prevented the hidden blade from reaching him, the blade's locking mechanism breaking on impact with the wall. The soldier's helmet protected his head just fine from the impact with the wall, though he was still pushed back by the Jedi's efforts. As the soldier moved back he mostly kept his balance, both hands reaching to his belt. The soldier's arms moved at the same time as the Jedi's, both of them trying to gain the advantage at the same time. As the Jedi's telekinetic grip closed around the soldier's neck, the soldier chucked a pair of grenades, one concussion and one frag, set to detonate on impact. Both grenades were directed at the ground in front of the Jedi and, at their very close range, would go off around the same time the soldier's windpipe was in the middle of being crushed.

As the Jedi began to try and drag him off the grenades would explode against the ground directly in front of him, subjecting him to their full force from less than a meter away. Unless the Jedi could keep his focus through a face-full of sheer kinetic force, blinding light, and shrapnel, the soldier would be moved far less than he had intended. Not that the soldier was himself was all that much better off. The two close range detonations, not to mentioned his damaged windpipe, would result in him dropping to the floor thoroughly concussed from the experience, and quite effectively out of the fight.

With the soldier not flying into the path of the IG droid's incoming fire, @Elikar Bridhec would find the first shot would impact the duffelbag he was holding in front of him, shattering the tip off the vibrosword within, while the second would hit the cover he had chosen to hide behind afterwards. Luckily, when he went to check his weapons the vibrosword was still functional despite the damage.

The Sith on the second floor in the meantime was taking quite a lot of fire. Literally. Apparently @Dr Ilana Morata was also a user of the Dark Side. How very interesting. The Sith gritted his teeth in irritation at the compounding threat. He would apparently need to get serious about this fight. With a use of the Force he sped himself away from the doctor and across the room closer to the IG-89, causing both the flame and her initial shot to hit empty air, though the sheer heat of the flame scorched his back as he moved away. There was also another problem; in the chaos of the fight, a distant ranger (@Lorcan ) had taken a single shot. In the face of Ilana's surge of Dark Side energy, the Sith hadn't noticed until the last moment. As he dissipated Ilana's second shot, still moving toward the IG-89, a stun bolt flew beneath his guard. It wasn't even all that accurate, but the Sith's evasive maneuver had run him right into it. The Sith curled himself and brought his left arm him, the shot impacting the limb and sending pain and convulsions through it all the way to his shoulder. The Sith grit his teeth and skidded to a stop by the droid, left arm numb and twitching. It was definitely out of working order for a good while.

He managed to intercept Ilana's last two shots despite the pain, his attention broadening to the others in the room now that he was out of the fire's range. As @Elikar Bridhec chucked an object toward the IG-89 the Sith gritted his teeth in concentration and flicked his lightsaber toward it with a spark of telekinetic power, sending it careening off course in Ilana's general direction. The overloading power pack wouldn't reach her, the Sith's efforts stymied by his stun-disrupted focus and lack of a free hand, but at least it wouldn't explode near him. Perhaps it would be distracting. The Sith treated Elikar's two blaster shots in a similar manner, the first deflected in Ilana's direction and the second back toward Elikar himself. The pain and frustration gave him strength, but it also prevented proper focus. As he attempted to gather the Dark Side he found his left arm broke his concentration, so he instead settled on a defensive stance with his saber before him. In this situation, a change of tactics was warranted.

The IG-89 had not moved from its half-covered position, though @Lorcan diving out of the doorway he was in did an excellent job of avoiding the droid's shots. Its programming told it to focus on the remaining visible targets instead, and so the rifle that had been aimed at Lorcan switched to firing toward Ilana instead. The two times Elikar broke cover a rifle shot went his way, directed with all the mechanical speed and accuracy the IG-89 droids were known for. The second of the droid's shots would impact Elikar shortly after the first of his two shots toward the Sith if he didn't find a way to avoid it. Since Lorcan had ceased to be a valid target, the droid rotated his suddenly available rifle, locked it on @Dr Ilana Morata midway through her assault on Sith, and fired two shots toward her uncovered torso. The droid kept a close watch with its sensors on the many combatants, prepared to switch targets as needed in order to suppress and destroy.

Down in the basement halls, @Nykoria Tallis and @Darmus Onn engaged a Viper droid. Or more accurately, Nykoria thoroughly dismantled a Viper droid while Darmus watched. Her plans went mostly as planned, the initial deflected shots disrupting the droid and opening it up to telekinetic control and subsequent bisecting by lightsaber. The thrown bits of droid loudly impacted the far wall as Darmus moved up to the corner and announced himself and took a look to see what was coming for them. Halfway down the hall he spotted a masked young man with an array of vibroknives on his belt wielding a lightsaber, an armoured soldier, and what was quite clearly a rolling destroyer droid. As Darmus announced himself and the Viper's remains struck the wall, several things happened. The droideka stopped rolling and began to unfold itself while the young man ignited his weapon and stepped in front of the droid, golden eyes narrowing and a laugh escaping his lips as he casually intercepted the Ranger's single shot and ready to deflect more in defense of his mobile weapons emplacement. The soldier stopped and move left to get behind the unfolding droideka, dropping to one knee and setting his rifle against his right shoulder. He returned fire with two stun shots of his own from his E-11D, though the degree to which Darmus was in cover meant it was more suppressing fire unless the Ranger decided to pop directly out of cover.

Once the Droideka had fully stood up and deployed its shield, taking something like two seconds or so, the Sith would step to the right out of the way of its guns, the side of the shield protecting covering the soldier with his weapon's barrel outside it in the front. The Sith knew full well the hallway they had just set up in was the only way from this direction to get to the records room, and he was a man who was nothing if not prepared. "Why hello there!"he shouted in reply to the Ranger's declaration, though it was also directed at the Jedi somewhere behind the corner. "My name is Sirius, in case you're wondering who is about to kill you. Would you mind introducing yourselves? I'll be writing in my journal later, and I much prefer actual names rather than 'those two corpses'. You understand, right?" The man laughed again, clearly amused, though throughout his focus was sharp and. The Dark Side swirled around him, less like a storm and more like a snake coiled and ready to strike. His intent to kill was clear through the Force. He had been taught by Darth Occidius himself, and if there's one thing they were both good at, it was murder. That, and refusing to fight fair.

On the other side of the basement lay another problem. @Corran Velt and @Trini Halrixien were face to face with a blood and knife clad young woman wielding an ignited lightsaber in her right hand. Another acolyte of Occidius, she wielded a foot-long and wickedly curved vibroblade in her left hand. She had been personally responsible for the drawn out and painful deaths of several Rangers and other workers in the building prior to the explosion, their blood painting her face and clothing along with her many knives. She sneered in response to Corran's declaration and raised her weapons up in a guard position, ready for him. The first shot was intercepted by her lightsaber, switching to her vibroblade for several of them when she noted the Ranger was firing stun bolts, which did no harm to her off-hand weapon. She mostly ignored the scurrying little rat-thing that made its way into the ducts, deeming it little threat while it was hiding away. But those two weren't the only hostile in the area.

Down the adjacent hallway the woman had come down, @Bast Emblai was taking careful aim. Unfortunately, she was taking her time to aim, and time was not something one wanted to give a Force user in a fight. The Sith's senses drew her attention toward the prone woman for a fraction of a moment and she grinned a wicked grin. As Bast fired in the middle Corran's endless trigger pulls she twisted her hips left toward the hallway and stepped to her right, her lightsaber crossing her body and faced the corner wall. Bast's heavy blaster bolt impacted the lightsaber and deflected off down the hallway toward Corran as the Sith intercepted yet another stun bolt, this one toward her face. She then took a full step into the hallway toward Corran, breaking Bast's line of sight with the hall corner and preventing follow up shots while continuing to stop Corran's stun bolts.

As the Sith took the step into the hall she switched back to stopping stun bolts with her lightsaber and, with the aid of the Force, threw her vibroblade toward @Corran Velt point first, telekinetically launching it in an expert example of ballistakinesis. The thrown weapon was accelerated to a speed more akin to a projectile fired from a crossbow rather than a thrown knife, more than capable of burying the blade partway in duracrete - or impaling a foot of phrik-coated, vibro-generator augmented metal through a Ranger's torso.

@Bast Emblai firing her weapon along with Corran had also drawn further attention. Over by the evidence room, @Preef Callo and @Marissa Hesse were confronted by an armed guard. Marissa was very luckily on the mission report as an expected non-hostile, and the Rodian was clearly Crimson Dawn. As a result, they were mostly treated with indifference. "Don't touch the data cores or lightsabers. We don't care about the rest," was the reply through the door guard's helmet, followed by "and don't piss off the red blades." Then the continuing blaster fire from down the hall drew his attention. He sighed and jogged off toward the section containing @Corran Velt ,@Trini Halrixien , and @Bast Emblai , leaving only the one inside the room.

The man inside, not obviously armoured but clearly armed with both a blaster pistol and a lightsaber clipped to his belt, was searching through evidence drawers and pulling out small boxes. He turned to @Marissa Hesse and offered her a soft smile, the many wrinkles on his aged face crinkling into the image of a kindly grandfather. At least it would, if it weren't for the sheer malice present behind his bloodshot, bright yellow eyes. "I'm afraid our reasons for being here are not your concern, dear. Need to know, and all that. Take what you want and go. Just don't touch any lightsabers or data cores" he warned with a wag of his finger, his voice dropping into a mildly threatening baritone for a moment. Then he returned to his work of sorting through drawers. He made no threatening moves at all, entirely unconcerned by the others in the room, and would remain so right up until the hypothetical moment one would tried to pocket something containing a kyber crystal or remove something from the small shelf containing sorted data containment devices. Under such circumstances, there would quickly be hell to pay.

Outside what used to be a Ranger station, fifty local police had moved to form a perimeter around the building, a grizzled old captain organizing the lot into a proper foot blockade. As they did, a message was sent over an encrypted comm line to those inside in order to warn them. Quietly, hidden on the rooftop of a taller building some 200-odd meters from the Ranger station, a lightly armoured individual watched the situation unfold through the scope of an e-11s sniper rifle. She was one of the several agents assigned to overwatch, keeping an eye on things from a relatively safe distance. She would not expose herself or her spotter, a man next to her with electrobinoculars, without due cause and careful planning. But even so, they were ready to take down a priority target or sow chaos should it be needed to facilitate an escape by the agents inside the building. The spotter noted over the comm line two more, @Falynn Tikarsis and @Elara Salis , entering the building through the main entrance. Their appearance would not be a surprise to the agents fighting inside.

@Killa Ree @Six @Nefieslab @Ecclessey @Nightfall @Catbert @MasterTyvokka @FireSong @Frannykins87 @TerranSteel @Kestrel @AutoFox

EDIT: Added in a missed hit from @Lorcan .

 

[Nykoria Tallis]

Spoiler: DM Post

Coruscant​

Down in the basement halls, @Nykoria Tallis and @Darmus Onn engaged a Viper droid. Or more accurately, Nykoria thoroughly dismantled a Viper droid while Darmus watched. Her plans went mostly as planned, the initial deflected shots disrupting the droid and opening it up to telekinetic control and subsequent bisecting by lightsaber. The thrown bits of droid loudly impacted the far wall as Darmus moved up to the corner and announced himself and took a look to see what was coming for them. Halfway down the hall he spotted a masked young man with an array of vibroknives on his belt wielding a lightsaber, an armoured soldier, and what was quite clearly a rolling destroyer droid. As Darmus announced himself and the Viper's remains struck the wall, several things happened. The droideka stopped rolling and began to unfold itself while the young man ignited his weapon and stepped in front of the droid, golden eyes narrowing and a laugh escaping his lips as he casually intercepted the Ranger's single shot and ready to deflect more in defense of his mobile weapons emplacement. The soldier stopped and move left to get behind the unfolding droideka, dropping to one knee and setting his rifle against his right shoulder. He returned fire with two stun shots of his own from his E-11D, though the degree to which Darmus was in cover meant it was more suppressing fire unless the Ranger decided to pop directly out of cover.

Once the Droideka had fully stood up and deployed its shield, taking something like two seconds or so, the Sith would step to the right out of the way of its guns, the side of the shield protecting covering the soldier with his weapon's barrel outside it in the front. The Sith knew full well the hallway they had just set up in was the only way from this direction to get to the records room, and he was a man who was nothing if not prepared. "Why hello there!"he shouted in reply to the Ranger's declaration, though it was also directed at the Jedi somewhere behind the corner."My name is Sirius, in case you're wondering who is about to kill you. Would you mind introducing yourselves? I'll be writing in my journal later, and I much prefer actual names rather than 'those two corpses'. You understand, right?" The man laughed again, clearly amused, though throughout his focus was sharp and. The Dark Side swirled around him, less like a storm and more like a snake coiled and ready to strike. His intent to kill was clear through the Force. He had been taught by Darth Occidius himself, and if there's one thing they were both good at, it was murder. That, and refusing to fight fair.

CORUSCANT​

Sith. In the last few months, Kori had encountered a lot of them. Mostly in remote places, away from innocent civilians. She had gotten used to sensing murderous intent towards her from most of them. But that Sirius was different. You didn't need to be a Zeltron to sense it; his laughter gave a clear indication how he reveled in the death and suffering he had caused. Revolting. In the spur of the moment, Kori forgot about "redemption" and "turning the other cheek". Sirius might not be the man behind the attack; but he had to be stopped.

The Knight didn't even need to peek from around the corner or use the Force to figure out the situation. Sirius made his presence known; someone shot at the Ranger, and there was a sound of metal and a deploying shield. That hallway is a death trap. And a good death trap at that. The Sith could use the Force to deflect blaster bolts and even throw back the grenades (not that Kori had any). The droid and the gunner would overwhelm anyone, except for a Soresu master; and Kori definitely wasn't there with her technique yet. No, she needed a different approach; the Jedi weren't trained to deal with such situations. But law enforcement were. One of the lessons from a decade ago crystallized in the Zeltron's mind. If only there was a way to get the drop on that Sith. Now wait a second...

A plan was already shaping in Kori's head. She just needed to buy herself some time. Luckily, the Sith seemed talkative, so Nykoria had to be too. Her name? She had been in a similar spot already. Giving her real name to a Sith was an invitation to get her loved ones in danger. Lying outright could probably be sensed. So she settled on the middle ground.

"The name is Kori!" she shouted from around the corner. "Sirius, huh? Why don't you come over here? You'll meet me and my friends, and we'll see who kills whom?" The purple alien was positive that the Sith would refuse. After all, he had set up defenses in the hallway for a reason. Still, he'd be playing into Kori's hands that way. The Zeltron lowered her voice to address her Ranger companion. Even with her voice hushed, she knew that Sirius would hear her; in fact, she was counting on it: "I'm going to prepare and go in. Once I do, give me some covering fire. If they start coming after you, run." Hopefully, this would keep Sirius in place and give him something to look forward to. And going in was totally Kori's intention... From a certain point of view.

Her azure plasma blade was already ignited, so its hum wouldn't draw attention. The Zeltron reached towards the back of her belt to get the second hilt of her split-saber. By interlocking them together, she got a longer grip. The dual-phase mode gave her a longer blade. Now all she needed to do was to keep Sirius distracted for a while. "It's a nice party you've set up here!" Nykoria shouted, plunging the prolonged blade into the ceiling above her. Her position wasn't visible from the hallway, so she hopefully retained some element of surprise.

"Looks like you're having a blast." The pun was terrible, given the prior explosion. But hopefully, it would keep the Sith amused and talking. "Unfortunately, I'll have to cut it short!" Meanwhile, the azure blade already circled halfway through the duracrete. If Sirius actually intended to leave his corridor of safety, Nykoria was prepared to stop her work and face him. However, the Sith were arrogant. And she knew just the way to keep Sirius where he was. "You've got one chance and two minutes to surrender!" the Zeltron shouted rather cheekily. She was actually feeling some sort of weird thrill now; almost eager to test herself and face that Sith. No, not face him; beat him. "If you're still standing in that hallway by that time, I'm dropping the hammer!" Now, after she dared the Sith, she was almost certain that he'd stay put. If not, he'd at least leave the narrow hallway of death. Meanwhile, the Zeltron levitated the chunk of duracrete cut out of the ceiling to the ground, to land it softly.

The next part of Kori's plan relied on a lot of "if"s. If there was a room above her, Kori would jump up into it, concealing her presence in the Force. If the room was empty, she'd just split the hilts again and look for the position above the trap that Sirius had set. But if she found it, the Sith ambush would be in for a surprise...

First, two blades would pierce the ceiling of the hallway from above; their tips just a few inches through and angled downwards. They'd quickly spread towards the corridor's walls, now shorter and angled at 45 degrees towards them. Then the tips of the blades would run through the ceiling by the walls and down the corridor. With every meter, the cracks would spread through the ceiling; the strain of duracrete clearly audible.

Upstairs, Kori would be putting in all her strength—both physical and in the Force—to drag the two saber hilts behind her. She'd run, using her lightsabers like a plough cutting through the floor behind her. Duracrete would prove harder than she anticipated, forcing the Zeltron to grunt and groan as she hurried to carry out her plan before the Sith had a chance to escape "the hallway of death"... Except that now it would be their death they'd need to be concerned about.

After covering enough ground, the Zeltron would jump out of the dangerous area and finish her plan by putting the blades together again; essentially cutting out the ceiling from above Sirius, his destroyer droid and gun-wielding associate. At that point, some large chunks of duracrete would be already pretty close to falling off. All the Zeltron would have to do is put in a little bit more effort and give the floor a little nudge downwards with the Force. Breathing heavily, she'd extinguish her blades and hide one of the hilts on the belt behind her back, as she normally did.

For Sirius and his cronies, it would mean that the ceiling was about to collapse on their heads. The destroyer droid probably wouldn't be able to disengage its shields, assume it's ball-like form and drive away in time. The shooter would need to run for his life, either towards Darmus or way from him. It would make him an easy target. As for the Sith, the Force might offer him more options.

He could probably hold the ceiling above the heads of his associates with the Force and give them some time to escape. Though it would leave him defenseless; an easy target for Darmus. His cronies would still need to make escape their priority. Of course, Sirius could turn his back on his associates, cut or blast through the ceiling above him, and bring the fight to Nykoria. Then again, there were probably other options, which Kori was unaware of...​

@Ecclessey, @The Eclipse

Spoiler: OOC

@Mr. Teatime, I'll leave it up to you if Kori's plan works. There're many actions, but they keep the story going. Feel free to interrupt me at any time or tell me if I need to adjust anything.

 

[Corran Velt]

Blue light illuminated the male Ranger's face with each pull of the trigger. It flashed practically like a strobe as he sent one stun round down range after another. The sadistic force-user dissipated them with her light-saber or blocked them with a more conventional vibro-sword. She was adorned in blades of various kinds, many coated in blood. As long as Corran maintained a stand-off distance, he had a chance. Just one blast had to get through. The vile woman down the hall noticeably shifted her body. Corran readied himself for a projectile, as only at this distance could something be thrown. In less than a second and in a graceful stroke, a red laser bounced off the equally-red lightsaber and was sent hurtling towards him. The shot almost seemed to appear out of nowhere. The Ranger dodged to one side from a crouch as the deadly bolt slammed harmlessly into the security door at the back of the hallway.

Just as the young man's boot touched the floor, the Sith force-user hurled her long blade with impossible speed. He didn't even know they could do that. The impressive show of force-power, and primal fear, caused Corran to lose his footing. He tumbled backwards, with almost no way to control his descent. All he could do was lean into the collapse and flatten himself out. The hurled vibro-sword sailed over over its intended targets torso, barely by a hair, and nearly didn't slice at all. Nearly. While the penetrating tip of the blade didn't strike true, the curved edge sliced through the air. Corran's head, while titled back, could not avoid its bite. Only the finest and lowest curve of the weapon sliced his upper cheek, diagonally across the bridge of the nose, and up between the eyes, before the man's fall and the blade's trajectory separated one from the other. With loud thud, the Ranger's body hit the ground.

Instantaneously, blue stun rounds erupted from the ground. Ignoring the life blood dribbling from between his eyes and down his cheek, Corran already lifted his Power 5 blaster and started pulling the trigger with gritted teeth. Rapid fire was the only thing keeping the murderous Sith back and any slackening meant certain death. Fear had been replaced with raw adrenaline. In the fall, the stun baton in the young man's off-hand had clattered to the ground and powered down. Providing his own blue-hued covering fire, the Ranger would crawl backwards with his free hand while firing repeatedly towards the Sith. If she was forced into blocking fire again, he would push onto one knee and back on his feet. He would walk back faster, keeping his shoulder near the wall. If the bloody force-user attempted another projectile throw or deflected laser, he would have the wall to shove off of and not just his own reflexes. More importantly, his quickened backward pace was not only to increase the distance between him and his assailant, but to also retrieve her thrown vibro-sword. It was a sight better than a stun baton, which he had clumsily discarded, but he'd rather have it in hand than have it come harpooning him in the back.

All the while, and with another hand now free for the time being, Corran would brace both hands on the pistol as he usually does. This increased his steady aim and felt more comfortable. Another squeeze of the trigger, then another, then another. As many rapidly-aimed shots he could muster would be hurled at the advancing enemy. If even a glancing blow from a stun blast could limit freeze one of her limbs, the fight could shift into his favor.

@Killa Ree @Kestrel @The Eclipse @AutoFox

 

[Trini Halrixien]

CORUSCANT

As the battle raged below her, Trini crawled as quickly as she could along the air duct, moving toward the light that shone up through a ceiling grate not far in front of her. As she moved, she could see blue flashes from below, Corran's stun blasts trying to stop or at least slow down his deadly opponent.

The little Amaran cursed, holding up her blaster to check the charge. She hit a button on it, and with a whine, it switched to stun mode. Trini took in a deep breath, let it out...

...and then hammered down on the already loose vent cover.

The little archaeologist came out behind the advancing Sith, Trini dangling her torso upside down from the overhead vent. With one hand clutching her weapon, and the other gripping the edge of the vent ready to draw herself rapidly back up inside, she aimed as squarely as she could at the back of the murderous Sith, her finger tensing on the trigger.

There were three pulses of blue light, accompanied by the blaster's report.

@TerranSteel

 

[Lorcan]

Coruscant​

Droid was his closest issue as far as he could see and an issue it was - IG droids were no walk in the park. Flicking the heavy blaster pistol from stun rounds to the traditional laser rounds, he also drew his vibroknife with his left hand.

Was it going to help?

Maybe.

If he could close the distance then having a bladed weapon would actually would out quite well. Despite beside a droid, the IG units were quite spindly and didn't have the stability that shorter droids had by default. Raising his blaster pistol, he would rush back up the stairs he had gone down to take cover.

Once he caught sight of the IG unit he would fire two blaster shots at it's centre mass before moving to the side, taking cover behind the doorway. If the IG unit pushed through the doorway he would dive at it's lower body to keep himself out of the way of it's long-barrelled guns so he could stab his vibroknife into it's right knee before unloading another two shots to it's chest.

If it didn't move into the doorway he would be ready to react differently, though he hoped it would be a case of stabbing and blasting.

@Mr. Teatime @The Eclipse

 

[Darmus Onn]

Spoiler: DM Post

Coruscant​

Down in the basement halls, @Nykoria Tallis and @Darmus Onn engaged a Viper droid. Or more accurately, Nykoria thoroughly dismantled a Viper droid while Darmus watched. Her plans went mostly as planned, the initial deflected shots disrupting the droid and opening it up to telekinetic control and subsequent bisecting by lightsaber. The thrown bits of droid loudly impacted the far wall as Darmus moved up to the corner and announced himself and took a look to see what was coming for them. Halfway down the hall he spotted a masked young man with an array of vibroknives on his belt wielding a lightsaber, an armoured soldier, and what was quite clearly a rolling destroyer droid. As Darmus announced himself and the Viper's remains struck the wall, several things happened. The droideka stopped rolling and began to unfold itself while the young man ignited his weapon and stepped in front of the droid, golden eyes narrowing and a laugh escaping his lips as he casually intercepted the Ranger's single shot and ready to deflect more in defense of his mobile weapons emplacement. The soldier stopped and move left to get behind the unfolding droideka, dropping to one knee and setting his rifle against his right shoulder. He returned fire with two stun shots of his own from his E-11D, though the degree to which Darmus was in cover meant it was more suppressing fire unless the Ranger decided to pop directly out of cover.

Once the Droideka had fully stood up and deployed its shield, taking something like two seconds or so, the Sith would step to the right out of the way of its guns, the side of the shield protecting covering the soldier with his weapon's barrel outside it in the front. The Sith knew full well the hallway they had just set up in was the only way from this direction to get to the records room, and he was a man who was nothing if not prepared. "Why hello there!"he shouted in reply to the Ranger's declaration, though it was also directed at the Jedi somewhere behind the corner."My name is Sirius, in case you're wondering who is about to kill you. Would you mind introducing yourselves? I'll be writing in my journal later, and I much prefer actual names rather than 'those two corpses'. You understand, right?" The man laughed again, clearly amused, though throughout his focus was sharp and. The Dark Side swirled around him, less like a storm and more like a snake coiled and ready to strike. His intent to kill was clear through the Force. He had been taught by Darth Occidius himself, and if there's one thing they were both good at, it was murder. That, and refusing to fight fair.

Coruscant

The two suppressing stun shots did they job, for Darmus didn't move from cover. The Jedi suddenly got talkative and was all over the place, chatting and announcing an attack as if she was Nabooan fencer prowling the streets searching for other fencers to duel. Unlike her, Darmus didn't give his name.. he didn't want to intrude on the conversation between the Jedi and the Sith. He didn't want anything to do with Sith, to be fair, but then they decided to attack a ranger station instead of a Jedi temple. Kriffing cowards, the lot of them, only wanting to use the Force to fight those who don't have it.

When the Jedi made her move, Darmus fired three potshots between the Sith's ankles and knees in an effort to not only grab his attention but also to keep his attention focused downwards. With the Sith in front, the shielded droid behind him and the gunman behind the droid, forming a straight line, there really was no use focusing on anyone else than the Sith.

@Catbert

 

[Preef Callo]

Spoiler: DM post

Coruscant​

@Bast Emblai firing her weapon along with Corran had also drawn further attention. Over by the evidence room, @Preef Callo and @Marissa Hesse were confronted by an armed guard. Marissa was very luckily on the mission report as an expected non-hostile, and the Rodian was clearly Crimson Dawn. As a result, they were mostly treated with indifference. [/COLOR] "Don't touch the data cores or lightsabers. We don't care about the rest," was the reply through the door guard's helmet, followed by "and don't piss off the red blades." Then the continuing blaster fire from down the hall drew his attention. He sighed and jogged off toward the section containing @Corran Velt ,@Trini Halrixien , and @Bast Emblai , leaving only the one inside the room.

The man inside, not obviously armoured but clearly armed with both a blaster pistol and a lightsaber clipped to his belt, was searching through evidence drawers and pulling out small boxes. He turned to @Marissa Hesse and offered her a soft smile, the many wrinkles on his aged face crinkling into the image of a kindly grandfather. At least it would, if it weren't for the sheer malice present behind his bloodshot, bright yellow eyes. "I'm afraid our reasons for being here are not your concern, dear. Need to know, and all that. Take what you want and go. Just don't touch any lightsabers or data cores" he warned with a wag of his finger, his voice dropping into a mildly threatening baritone for a moment. Then he returned to his work of sorting through drawers. He made no threatening moves at all, entirely unconcerned by the others in the room, and would remain so right up until the hypothetical moment one would tried to pocket something containing a kyber crystal or remove something from the small shelf containing sorted data containment devices. Under such circumstances, there would quickly be hell to pay.

Coruscant

Rodian was a bit surprised when the armed guard started jogging off, but happy he did. "Don't touch lightsabers and data cores, got it!" he said after him with a clear hint of cheer in his voice. Kriff, this was going to be a big payday. Not really wanting to wait outside anymore, the rodian now entered the evidence room and watched how his little crew filled bags with valuables. What caught his attention, however, was the other unknown individual and more precisely, his eyes. Those weren't natural for humans and.... well, kriff. He wasn't going to test his luck against a Sith over some kyber crystals.

"Let's hurry it up," Preef suggested in a commanding tone before subtly shaking his head at Marissa to show he did not want to double-cross the Sith. "Kel's waiting and it sounds like the Sector Rangers are trying to take back their headquarters, so time's running out." He looked at the presumed Sith, hoping perhaps that he'd run off just like the armed guard did.

Then Preef just grabbed a bag and started looting as well. Credits, illegal tech and spice. The holy trinity of the underworld exchange. Those rangers sure did confiscate a lot of stuff and then decided to pile it up down here. Anything from a rich heiress' necklace, stained with blood from when she killed her father, to a cybernetic arm with an illegal blaster modification in the forearm. It all fit in their bags.. somehow.

About thirty seconds into looting, Preef's little corner was empty of everything that wasn't a lightsaber or a data core and he looked over at Marissa (@Nightfall). "Ready to get the kriff off this planet?"

@Nightfall @Catbert

 

[Marissa Hesse]

Coruscant

"No, they're not" she replied to the Sith in the room with them as the guard got up to leave, leaving just she and Preef left in the room with the Sith, along with the little entourage that was with them. Marissa nodded her head knowingly as Preef shook his, she was in full agreement: no need to complicate matters with a nasty sucker like that. And with the echo of blaster shots in the distance, she wasn't about to question him on anything else,

"No need to stick around the kriffing core, let's go!" slinging her bags packed with goods and credits, she was more than ready to get out of this place. Signing a wave to the group that was with them, she began to make her way out of the room and back down the structure to the sewers, their meeting point with Kel and their way out of this place.

She'd never been on a world in the middle of a crisis like this, well, not one she wasn't a part of anyway. The Core always was a target, but watching part of it burn down was quite the sight. Her parents were presumably still back on Commenor, prosperous but not always targeted like the capital world was. She'd not been back in a very long time, and she had no plans to. Though, if she could find a way to securely, perhaps she would drop them a line.

Or, perhaps they would call the Rangers on her if she did, the two had very different relationships with authority.

Either way, tearing through the HQ on the way down to the sewers Marissa found herself refilled with enthusiasm once she saw Kel's transport waiting there for them. Despite her imprisonment, today was a good day.

@Ecclessey @Catbert

 

[Kel Dryden]

CORUSCANT​

As the sirens roared throughout the district, and police speeders converged at the Sector Ranger HQ, Kel just stayed back and watched. A black-and-orange T-80 speeder bike and a "requisitioned" CC3 Avian airspeeder were parked near the entrance to the sweres, far away enough from where all the action was taking place. The scoundrel chuckled to himself. Being a part of the crew that cleaned out Sector Ranger Coruscant HQ had a nice ring to it. Even if Kel was only a getaway driver.

Outside the sewers, all the remained was a formality. Meet up with Preef's crew. Get him, the prize, and the bike aboard the Swift. Leave the airspeeder at Valorum Drive (otherwise its theft would draw unwanted attention). Hit the first hyperspace lane. Then boom, easy rep and money!

Kel was already on his bike, ready for Preef's arrival. Unless they were in hot pursuit, Kel would just toss the keys to the Avian to his Rodian employer: "Leave the car at Valorum Drive, no fingerprints. That'll cover our tracks. The Swift isn't far from there. I'll take another route and meet you there."

@Nightfall, @Ecclessey

 

[Dr Ilana Morata]

Coruscant​

So he fled.

Her reaction was interrupted by the sound of two shots headed her way; she twisted away, and they hit harmlessly into duracrete, as well as the explosion of the power pack and deflected shot. She would have kept running upstairs, looking for Ranger Velt, but...

Lorcan was back there.

So she began pacing back. Making her way towards the second set of stairs to get upstairs or down, but seeing the Sith's arm twitch and spasm as he fled inspired. So instead she lashed out with the Force as she moved back, twisting and pulling his arm back to negate his defense, aiming four more medium stuns towards his torso and head. But she wouldn't stand around waiting to see if they would hit or not; her duty first was as a physician.

She would keep moving and aiming at the Sith until she would reach the doorway to the stairwell, and then there was the decision.

Upstairs... or down?

@The Eclipse

 

[Indy Sati]

Dathomir​

So there were acid-spitting crabs, lurking dark figures, the sensations of Darkness in the air... was she in a horror holovid? And if so, why with Max? That never ended well. The Temple, Kashyyyk, all other experiences... Hearing him light his saberstaff made her nod once in agreement, and she looked up at the cliff face.

No rain yet... but plenty of storm clouds rolling around. She frowned, then sighed.

"I was afraid of that," she grumbled. It wouldn't be a difficult climb, but she felt suspiciously like they were becoming rats for the maze, climbing for the cheese. And if this was the way up... then the way up it was.

She gripped at the first stone for stability, and continued the slow climb, Max at her back.

@Nefieslab @The Forgotten

 

[Altina Tiramara]

DATHOMIR

It beckoned her. Altina was cautious, but she had no idea where she was going anyways. If she was to ignore the lure, where would she go instead? Ever since waking up on this planet, she had not seen a single person so far. That was the only reason why she stood in front of this tunnel. The voices fading in her head eased the pain she felt, making it easier to thinking about her circumstances.

Altina could clearly see the glint of light that radiated from within the dark tunnel, as though it was the source of whoever, or whatever, wanted her to come here. But she knew better than to blindly trust these voices. She may still be a young padawan, but Altina had had plenty of experience with visions that evoked some kind of response. None of them were relevant visions of herself, but they were supernatural experiences all the same.

But again: what other options did she have? The nearby storm was descending on her location and there was no clear alternatives for shelter.

Drawing and igniting her lightsaber, freshly crafted with the crystal she found on Tattooine, Altina used its purple glow for illumination as she walked deeper into the tunnel. Her lightsaber is not typical of Jedi: featuring a longer than average blade with a long hilt to go along with it. It is unwieldy as a sword, but suitable if used like a polearm. The combined blade and hilt length meant that she had to hold her saber in front of her like a pointer to keep it from causing unnecessary cuts as she ventured deeper in.

As that unusually lit object, whatever it is, came closer, the single dominating voice became clearer in the sea of whispers in her mind. She hesitated to get any closer, especially keeping her hands to herself as she eyed the artifact that the Voice had led her to. Even so, for some reason, she felt compelled to reach out to it.

No, she had to tell herself. There is too many things that are unknown right now. Taking a deep breath, Altina lowered herself to her knees, lightsaber still in hand, and made every effort to clear her mind. She had never been able to completely extinguish the voices she hears, but her training has been sufficient to stifle the worst of what she hears. Now, more than ever, she needed that training to sustain her.

 

[Felix]

Dathomir

Felix turned towards the direction, searching for the voice that spoke to him, his hand rest on his lightsaber "Hello? is someone there" he asked out into the forest, his voice breaking slightly with the question. He felt another pull, a different pull, away from the mountain. He looked up at the mountain and back towards the direction he felt pulling from, he sighed 2Nothing ventured, nothing gained" and started walking in the direction of whatever he felt.

He found the little cave which seemed to be the source of whatever he was being drawn to, looking down it he saw the light at the bottom, he brought his lightsaber to hand and activated, it's orange hue lighting him and his surrounding and began to walk down the inline towards the light at the bottom.

He didn't expect to see what appear to be another padawan at the end of the tunnel, she seemed to be meditating, was she the source of the voice? he had heard of stories force vergences, where the force could project apparitions and illusions, was she one? he he quietly walked up to and went grab her shoulder to see if she was real.

"Hello?"

@Lavi

 

[Flood]

Spoiler: Nar Shaddaa

Nar Shaddaa​

Nara continued to advance through the sewer, lifting her boots gingerly out from the awful-smelling sludge. One arm curled around the bottom half of her face, trying (and failing) to keep the stench from her nose. She kept moving forwards, until she met that hard bend in the tunnels. Being wary, she approached the side of the tunnel and peeked around, just in case there was anything. Oh. There was something. Firstly, she felt something drift through the Force. An impression. Izel! She could sense her, further back where she'd come from. Izel and some other presences she wasn't sure about.

Secondly? A patrol of Gamorreans. Instantly, Nara reached back to cover her droid's flashlight. "Off!" she hissed to him, hoping she hadn't been heard. She'd known Gamorreans from her time on Nar Shaddaa, where they were usually the scumbag criminal's bodyguard of choice. They were big, they didn't not to be very bright and they had absolutely awful eyesight. Also, these ones in particular looked... strange. Obviously infected, judging by the state of them, the decay, the wounds on their skin... but they seemed less feral than the others. They were moving in some kind of formation. This was weird.

So, is there a weirder variant to this thing where you keep some kind of brain? Or are they being controlled? Maybe one day I can find out if they don't beat me to a pulp. Her hand lingered on her saber just in case. The 'floor' was too thick with crap for her to be quick. One of her few advantages already gone.

She was busy thinking when the durasteel gate came down. All Nara could do was look over her shoulder in horror as her escape route was cut off. She could cut through it, but that'd take time. A lot of time, judging by that thickness... and she wasn't sure she had any. Thinking quickly, drawing on what she knew about Gamorreans, she reached into her pack. She pulled out her datapad, looking down at it. Tapping a few keys. I better get a brand new one given to me if... when I get back to Ajan Kloss. She set a short, twenty second delay to an alarm. Leaning around the corner as carefully as she could, she tried to throw it as far as possible down the tunnel, hoping it'd get some spin and lodge into the sludge just by, or behind, the first pair. Or just distract them. Dark tunnel, poor eyesight, loud noise and light... that'll pull their attention, right? Unless their eyesight is different now they're infected, or if this weird thing they have going on doesn't stop that... oh damn.

Waiting for those seconds to count down, Nara stood nervously round the corner, holding her saber with both hands. Not activated, but ready to flick it on at a second's notice. Her nerves and fear almost oozed through the Force around her as she tried to control her breathing. If it worked, the second that one of them turned or looked aside, she'd go for it. One. Maybe two, if they're slow. Maybe. Hoping beyond hope that Izel wasn't too far away.

@Reyn @Isen @Minuteman75 @Flood

Nar Shadda​

Salek’s arms shook with a mixture of fear and weakness, and the lightsaber would have slipped from his hands if he wasn’t wearing sure-grip dueling gloves. Through his Force vision, he could see life fading all around him. It was a horrifying, sick feeling, like the stars winking out. Some of them had near holes blasted through their heads, while others were lying in scattered pieces – the handiwork of his half-panicked flailing.

The mob that had been drawn to the sound of their landing shuttle had been large. Lentus had held his fire until he was sure that they were infected, not refugees – and then he met the horde with a thermal detonator and a volley of automatic blaster fire. Salek had stepped forward to block the main alley, and his armor was covered in gore and scratches. He wanted to go sit down for a while, to be numb. But he knew that Lentus would not allow it. Not now, while there was still a mission to complete.

Pay attention. Focus. You’re drifting.

He cast his Force vision out further, skipping lightly over the miasma of death around him. Ignore the death. Death wasn’t his concern; life was. He felt out through the buildings around him, his face drifting slowly from side to side. Finally he pointed to a stairwell that led down to a basement-level entrance to a nearby apartment building.

“Assessment?” Lentus asked.

“Two life forms,” Salek replied. “Small. Fear.”

Master Lentus nodded and gestured Salek forward. Right. No escape, complete the mission. Salek took a swallow of water, stalked warily to the stairwell, and started down it. The door at the bottom was locked. As Lentus covered the stairwell from his position on the shuttle’s wing, Salek plunged his lightsaber into the door and began cutting a steady circle, ignoring the spike of terror that stabbed at his brain from the room inside. The door was thin, and he cut quickly. As the door fell inside, he disengaged his saber and held his hand inside.

“Hello,” he called in a gentle, friendly voice. “I’m not going to hurt you. We’re here to get you somewhere safe.”

After a tense minute of waiting, Salek felt a tiny glimmer of hope rise up through the fear, and the two children stepped forward. A young toddler, barely old enough to walk, clung to the side of an older Twi’lek girl. They stared up at Salek in awe and fear, and he knelt down with a smile.

“I’m Salek,” he said. “My friend Lentus is upstairs. He has a ship to take you out of here. Will you come with me?”

He held out his hand, and the girl’s tiny, trembling fingers clasped his with a desperate grip. Salek nodded with another smile and began leading the children back up the stairwell, hopefully to safety.

Izel found the Mandalorian's behavior more than a little strange. She seemed to have little love for the Jedi, so why was she so interested in helping them? What interest did she have in the virus? But these were questions for later. Their new companion was right on one count at least, they were wasting time. The longer they took catching up with Nara the greater danger she was in. So Izel wasted no time with questions as she followed the humanoids into the sewers.

The smell hit her like a brick wall, causing the Vratix to immediately cringe in disgust, her antennae twitching in displeasure. The insectoid quickly pulled her hood up over the sensory appendages, pulling it down just above her eyes in a vain attempt to shield herself from the stench. Wading through stagnant sewage didn't seem particularly appealing either, so Izel would crawl up onto the tunnel wall and keep pace with the others while clinging to it. "Uh, my name is Izel Thral by the way, Jedi Knight." She introduced herself to the Mandalorian to try and distract herself from the nearly unbearable stench. "And this is my apprentice Isen Ramm. Who are you? And what is it that brings you down here?" She doubted the Mandalorian would be forthcoming, she seemed quite taciturn. But it couldn't hurt to ask.

However the Mandalorian answered Izel wouldn't have time to reply before her Force sense flared up. Nara had just picked up on her, and the Vratix could now pinpoint the human's position as well. Not only that, she could sense another larger presence near her, and a welling up of fear and anxiety. She was in danger. "Excuse me." The Vratix said absently as she hastened her pace, pushing on ahead of Minerva and Isen. "She's this way!" She called back over her shoulder as she scurried along the wall. Nara was still a few minutes ahead of them, but knowing where she was would make catching up easier. Hopefully her humanoid companions would be able to keep up with her despite the gunk filling the sewer.

@Charndley @Isen @Minuteman75 @Flood

Nar Shaddaa​

The fact the apprentice went inside ahead of her in defiance gave Minerva some amusement. Not bad, not bad at all. Of course she wasn’t going to say that outloud. Jumping in the hole she landed on both feet. The mercenary quickly turned on her helmet’s night vision and pressed forward alongside the Jedi.

The ground felt more sticky than she believed was possible and despite the helmet’s filter, some of the foul stench leaked in. Minerva scowled in annoyance but otherwise said nothing. Meanwhile the Bug Jedi was climbing on the wall and introduced herself and padawan. I don’t care. The gun for hire thought to herself.

Subsequently Izel asked for her name and reason for being here. Underneath the helmet Minerva rolled her eyes. Do all Jedi like to play forty questions? Next thing the bug is going to ask is for my life story. She was about to tell the Knight where she can shove that question when the latter exclaimed the other Jedi was close.

Despite the gunk stained floor Minerva sprinted forward though with some difficulty. Soon she felt and spotted the next large entrance collapsing. Without hesitation the Mandalorian activated her jetpack and flew at great speed. With seconds to spare she landed several feet away behind Nara just as the Gamorrans approached the corner.

@Isen @Reyn @Charndley

Nar Shadda​

Salek gave one final, hard shove, and the door finally snapped closed. The shuttle was full to the absolute brim with refugees, and there were three more waiting to get in. It had been a frenetic hour of cat-and-mouse, trying to dodge roving bands of nightmares while digging terrified civilians from their hiding places. But they were almost all loaded, and the young Jedi breathed a sigh of relief as he walked towards the cockpit door.

"Stop," Master Lentus said. Despite his weariness, Salek stopped in place without putting his foot down. "Last three ride in front. It's a short trip, they can stack up."

Salek wiped a mix of sweat and...something, off his face and turned to his master.

"So am I riding on your lap, Master?" he asked. "I thought the Jedi frowned on that."

"Play time is over," Lentus said without a hint of humor. "Get some salt and water in you, and keep your tracker on. I'm going to run these kids up and try to find a transport that isn't full of slavers. Meanwhile, you look around, see if you can't find something useful. Comm chatter sounds like they're coming out of the sewers, so maybe check there."

Salek realized that his mouth was hanging open, and he snapped it shut. He almost asked the older Jedi if he was insane, but he'd gotten tired of repeating himself and hearing the same answer.

"Give me a grenade," he said instead.

Lentus grunted, his laconic sign of approval, and slapped a heavy detonator into Salek's palm. "Twenty meter vape radius," he said. "Be outside of that."

"Bigger in tunnels," Salek noted, adjusting the timer by feel. Another approving grunt, and then Lentus was climbing into the cockpit, ushering the last few refugees. The shuttle rose up, and the ventral cannon fired a stream of shots into the buildings around it. The duracrete crumbled, forming rough hills to block off all the paths that led to their square. It wasn't perfect, but it would be enough to redirect most people that didn't have a specific reason to go there.

"Right...so this is happening." An entire planet worth of territory to search, and he just got sent into a random hole. What were the odds that he was even within a thousand miles of anything useful? Then again, Master Lentus had depths that were belied by his gruff soldier's demeanor, and Salek had learned not to assume that things happening around him were the result of random chance or carelessness. He wiped his gloves on his pants, tightened a loose strap on his forearm guard, and headed towards the nearest sewer grate.

Nar Shaddaa​

A blaster shot startled Iko as he examined the pathogen. "Doctor, you'll have all the time to examine that stuff in your laboratory, the infected have found us!" one of the guards said while shooting once again, and indeed, a small group of infected of various species were shuffling towards the small camp they had set up. The Tiss'Shar Sith begun to quickly pack the instruments, carefully storing the samples he had gathered in a few vials and putting them in a refrigerated container, while the other guard went in help of his colleague as the infected were growing in numbers, even though that single guard had still managed to kill a few zombies.
@Flood

Nar Shaddaa​

Izel had gotten a good head start on getting to Nara's position, only for the Mandalorian to fly past her with the assistance of a jetpack. The Vratix got a glimpse of her fellow Jedi Knight right before the metal grate came crashing down, separating her from the other two humans. "No!" She shouted in frustration, and slammed her fist against the metal barrier. Wasting no time she would stab her lightsaber into the grate and begin to slowly cut her way through. Looking over her shoulder as Isen picked up the rear she shouted to her apprentice urgently.

"Padawan! Use your saber to start a cut opposite me, we'll meet in the middle!" She ordered him promptly. Working in tandem they would be able to make a hole large enough to pass through quicker. Izel knew time was of the essence. She could sense a large number of hostile beings beyond the grate, and a greater darkness beyond that. While she didn't doubt Nara's ability, or the Mandalorian's, it was likely that they would soon find themselves overwhelmed by superior numbers. The master and apprentice needed to move quickly to offer support.

@Charndley @Isen @Minuteman75 @Flood

Nar Shaddaa​

The young Padawan found that he was faster if he ran up the incline of the hexagonal wall for a while and then leap to the other end, ping-ponging back and forth to stay out of the sludge. Either way, he was not as nearly fast as the jet pack-wearing Mando nor Izel Thral whose insectoid legs gave a distinct advantage in this environment by avoiding the syrupy, sludgy floor completely. The Mandolorian passed him quickly and Thral was continually creating distance. As athletic and agile as Isen was, he couldn't compete with the technology of one and the anatomy of the other.

Isen was approaching when he heard the metal gate crash and echo throughout the tunnels. "Padawan! Use your saber to start a cut opposite me, we'll meet in the middle!" he heard his master say. Things were happening fast for the young Padawan, but for Isen, that was a blessing. On Jedha, he was often chided for acting too swiftly without appropriate thought or having enough patience in a given situation. Here was a situation where acting swiftly and definitively was a blessing, and patience may actually be more closely akin to deadly hesitation.

With both lightsabers ignited, he stuck them both into the grate and worked them in a circular motion in opposite directions- one towards Izel Thral's beginning point, and one to where they would meet. Together, the two Jedi created an entry through the gate. Once the circle was complete, Isen withdrew his lightsabers and with a motion of an open palm, Force pushed the circle to the floor. As Isen passed through the hole in the grate, he said to Izel Thral, "Thank you for your patience, Master." There was no time for a response. An alarm, the one set and thrown by Nara Allam, started to sound and echo throughout the tunnels.

@Reyn @Charndley @Minuteman75 @Flood

Nar Shaddaa​

As soon as Darro had readied his pistol the infected being simply stopped...and walked away. In it's place a pale white haired humanoid took it's place and looked directly at he and @Birsk FanQeete's direction. He could see the coy smile on the beings face and Darro didn't need to be a genius to put the pieces together. Who ever this person was...they had a part in this nightmare if they weren't directly responsible. He aimed his pistols again and stood from cover, no questions were going to be asked, he was just going to blast the bastard.

He paused however as the man spoke...seemingly right next to him...despite being several feet away still. Karking force user, figured. The being mentioned something about fear, Darro didn't much care. He cared even less when the being waved a hand and suddenly 2 infected came sprinting down the alley past the being and 2 more screams could be heard behind; 2 more infected Darro assumed.

He gritted his teeth and pulled the triggers of his still aimed blasters. Hot plasma lept from the barrels, 4 shots down range. All four would find a mark, all kill shots...normally. The 2 infected would stagger back from the impacts, but simply scream and keep coming, a bit slower now. Darro would spin and see the other 2 infected almost ontop of Birsk and the girl. He loosed more bolts from his pistols shouting, "Get down and frakin do some shootin!"

@Nara Allam's instincts about the preclivities of Gammoreans, even nearly brain-dead zombified ones, ended up being quite correct. The blaring alarm from the datapad she had deftfully tossed seemed to draw the creatures to that area like moths to a flame, sparing her a rather grisly death at least for the time being.

Unfortunately, as her compatriots arrived with the intent to save her, their choice to slice through the gate would prove to be an even greater siren's song for the patrolling Gammoreans than the datapad. By their nature, lightsabers give off a rather copious amount of light - something quite uncommon down here in the sewers. It was the sound, though, of their blades slicing through the metal, pieces of white-hot slag falling into the sewer muck and sizzling, that really drew their attention.

A newfound bloodlust befalling them, the Gammoreans charged down the sewer path towards @Nara Allam, @Izel Thral, @Isen Ramm and @Minerva Fhirdiad, flailing their clubs and squealing their piggish warcries with all of the effort their dead lungs could muster.

--

Flood watched with feigned interest as his infected were pelted with blaster fire from the armored one. @Darro Tane was fighting as if his enemy was human, as if something as simple as body shots from a blaster would be able to impede them. It would have been mildly humorous if it wasn't so predictable.

Reaching out with the force, Flood would revitalize the two infected Darro had shot first, infusing them with dark side energies and making them even more ravenous than they had been before. They would close the distance and attack wildly a few moments after Darro had let loose his couple shots at the creatures attacking his friend.

@Birsk FanQeete's inaction would prove to have disastrous results for his charge, the young girl. Darro's shots managed to hit one of the infected closing in on Birsk, the bolt catching it on the left side of its face which caused its entire head to explode violently. The other though remained unharmed and was able to grip the young girl around the throat, lifting her into the air. The monster, undeterred by the fact that he held a mere child, would quickly go for a harsh bite on her neck, should Birsk not manage in these short moments to save her.

--

The infected descending upon @Iko Gark Lokan Jistos were different than the ones the others had encountered so far. These ones appeared to be more dog-like and acted as if they still retained a semblance of pack tactics. They took down some of the guards in groups, ripping and tearing at whatever flesh they managed to sink their fangs into.

Three of them would notice the Tiss'shar and growl at him menacingly before slowly starting to close in on him, fanning out so they could attack from several angles.

--

It seemed the force was on @Salek Fallanai's side today. Shortly after entering the sewer, the blind Jedi would find himself not-to-far away from the others frolicking down in the muck. It was likely he would be able to feel their auras given the situation the others found themselves in, it would only be a matter of traversing the sewer tunnels with enough speed to aid them.

Unfortunately as Salek made his way towards the others he would meet an obstacle in his path. A pair of infected sat in the center of the tunnel ten meters in front of him, ripping and tearing into a corpse and shoveling handfuls of flesh into their mouths. For now, they seemed content and distracted with their meal, but that wouldn't last forever.

Salek would have the element of surprise should he choose to take it. Would he use this opportunity to flee, or to prove he was the Jedi he claimed to be?

 

[Hannibal Grayza]

The young Jedi's grin widened in response to Helen's apparent bewilderment, brilliantly green eyes glittering with mischievous energy in defiance of their dreary surroundings. "Why, magic, of course." He laughed good-naturedly, sure the members of the Council would be proud of his vague non-answer. His usage of the Force hadn't exactly been flashy, but the ninety-degree trajectory change of the acid projectile wasn't subtle either, so of course the little Lepi had noticed. He was getting to his next point when his commlink beeped the beginnings of a weather warning from Ego before it cut off into static, flashes of lightning streaking across the dark sky. Hannibal clicked his tongue in irritation. He was never going to get that droid back, was he?

He turned back to look at Helen as they walked on toward the ship in order to address an earlier comment. "The ship aside, the other folks farther ahead are people I will probably need to confront, especially considering how weird this planet is. Whether you go with me or not is up to you, of course." Hannibal wasn't going to drag Helen along with him to fight Sith, but nor was he going to leave them to their own devices. In his experience that tended to end up with trouble. For now however he returned his attention to the crashed ship.

It was old, definitely old. As he stepped up the down ramp his fingers brushed against the doorway, distant echoes made themselves known, though it felt like the background 'noise' in the Force was dampening them. He continued on his way through toward the bridge, whereupon he quickly found his way to flipping switches to see what turned on. Based on the limited light and the variety of error messages that popped up on the console screen, the ship was severely lacking in power. Just the consoles themselves worked, really. That and the lights, which flickered to life throughout. A gloved hand pressed itself to the pilot seat and Hannibal focused on it to see if trying harder would get him any useful - or at least interesting - psychometric impressions.

@AutoFox @Phoenix

 

[Roland Rook]

DATHOMIR​

Roland continued to gain altitude for a time but the low ceiling of the sky continued to lower. Whenever it seemed to get close, he remained below it mostly because he knew that a cloud of cold water would mess with any infrared. A lightening bolt could blind him if it was close and the Mandalorian knew that his armor and altitude was risking enough as it was.

Thankfully he made it to a portion of the cliff face albiet a bit below where he has seen the buildings before. The Lieutenant kept a hand on the craggy surface. The man activated his magboots and pulled his westar-55. The sidearm had an ascension mod attached to it and Roland wanted to have it handy.

The man had no idea that below him were the two Jedi as well as two Sith towards the base of the cliff. Instead his hooded helm turned upwards as he began to ascend though was pulled from focusing on the path as a ship came veering into view before landing towards the base of the cliff. Testing the communications with his droids, both Grim and Grem, told him there was too much interference. The same happened when he tried to reach any of his cohorts in orbit. Judging by the way the light courier landed, it was in the best interest of anybody else to probably not risk flying through the storm that raged around the area just as mysterious as it was dangerous. The warning signs were not taken lightly.

 

[The Forgotten]

@Maxims Tionson, @Indy Sati, @Malleus, and @Maeve Byrne if she opted to climb would find themselves emerge onto the ledge that @Roland had occupied just moments before. In fact, they would even be able to see him begin to disappear into the mist as he ascended up the cliff.

But now, the Jedi and Sith were face to face, forced to decide how they would deal with one another. As temporary allies, enemies, or neutral parties uninterested in interacting with one another.

For the Sector Ranger's part, his ascension cable would take him up the remainder of the cliff where he would manage to obtain the summit. The air up here was somehow deathly still. The mist still lingered, but the wind had died down instantly as if he had entered some form of protective sphere. He would feel as if there was someone here with him, but as of yet there was no evidence of anyone currently present. He would be able to see small hovels not much bigger than a tent littering the top of the cliff. They looked as if they were made from some sort of baked clay or stones and served as little more than a small sleeping area. They stretched on for perhaps a hundred yards before a large doorway. It was reminiscent of an ancient temple. The door was tall and when opened, appeared like a gaping maw in the face that surrounded it.

In the ship that @Helen Holcomb and @Hannibal Grayza investigated, Hannibal would reach out his hands to the Force, but the message was garbled. Like a radio transmission coming through as little more than static. He would get a glimpse of two beings. Reptilian in nature, though their exact species was unclear. He would catch a glimpse of the crash as it happened, but instead of the panic and fear that would normally accompany such an event, he would catch a feeling of calm. As if they wanted to crash or were at least fine with it.

@Felix and @Altina Tiramara would find the source of the light a moment later. It was a green glow that they would now both be able to see took the form of a young woman. She was attractive with tattoos on her face and even in the green glow, they could tell that she had pale skin. This was, of course, a projection of some sort almost as if she were a ghost, but she made no attempt to hide or flee from them. In fact, she extended a hand in their direction.

Come children. You've nothing to fear from me. Keep your weapon, of course, but I won't harm you, she said, and her voice was unnaturally soothing. It gave the impression of being wrapped in a warm blanket on a chilly day.

The newcomer, @Takai Wren's ship would come down at the base of the cliff with such a loud crash that even those who were on the ascent would hear it. She would be faced with the same cliff face that the others were, and more than that, she would feel the same presence that Roland felt. As if something or someone were nearby and might prompt her to begin searching for its source.

 

[Vera Coulter]

Coruscant​

She didn't stop moving.

As soon as the second door piece swung her way she grunted, twisting and rolling away again. She could feel the heat of the door impact a split second where she had landed. He hadn't moved in the room yet, but was still in the doorway.

So there was only one reason that red-blade would want in here. And though she considered herself pretty damn important, this was the records room.

Since the frag was prepped already, she aimed it over to the access terminal across the room, using the other hand to still aim three more shots at the Sith to keep his focus on her, aiming for his lower limbs and lower torso. The frag would detonate the moment it was close, spearing sharp shards into the terminal interface and access ports and rendering it useless for a data pull. But even then she still wouldn't keep still, but ducked and rolled again after the shots were fired.

No point making her an easier target than she had to.

@The Eclipse