Ask Prison Break

[Darmus Onn]

The droid was much faster than the veteran ranger had expected, but before he could adjust and take the shot that would end any functionality in the piece of lifeless technology a sudden dread came over him..

..first thing to start shaking was the barrel of his pistol and once he realized he couldn't even aim properly at point-blank range a coldness wrapped around his heart and lungs, expelling all oxygen from them despite him not actually releasing his breath. What was this feeling? Was this like the Eclipse at Coruscant? No it was someting..the strength in his dominant arm failed him and the pistol dropped down on the first syllable that menacingly drowned out all other thoughts...this was something worse. Darmus couldn't see ranger Coulter nor the two Sith, but he instinctively knew what was happening regardless. He looked up, at Corran, just as the younger ranger dropped his weapons in complete obedience and surrender. He didn't realize it at the time, but Darmus, too, had already let his pistol slip out of his shaking hand and fall to the cold durasteel floor.

It took a moment of stunned silence. Darmus staring blankly at Corran as the old man was overwhelmed by the coldness inside. How similar it was to the guilt he felt over the deaths of Echo Squad on Outpost Blue. How similar it was to his memories of the eager rookie who he approved to go active, only for her to die the next day. Kolto baths, injuries, pain, loss and regrets. The coldness that Darth Raze cast into the old ranger's heart was truly and utterly allconsuming. He didn't even notice the Sith lords, with Ranger Coulter as hostage, arriving at the junction.

Darmus gasped for air despite his lungs being full of it. Hyper-ventilating. Panic attack. He crawled along the wall to at least attempt to comply with the Sith Lord's demands and somehow he even managed to pull himself up against the wall. Back on two feet, but barely. He would follow Corran and get out of the Sith's way for two reasons: One, to save ranger Coulter. Two, to save himself.

 

[Emryc Thorne]

Theme
​

Raze started walking again, heavy boots echoing against the cold, smooth floor. The klaxons blurred in the background and the air was icy. The Rangers would feel that chill pierce through armor and skin. It would weave into their blood, course through their heart and pump throughout their entire body. It would extend out to their extremities and twist within their minds. The echoes of his voice resonated from the corners of their psyche, the frost traveling down their spine.

The Sith Lord, flanked by the other Sith, pressed forward, his haunting helmet facing the Rangers as he stepped over strewn bodies and past puddles of blood and viscera. Every step was purposeful, just as the steps that took him to Tiamat’s cell at the very beginning. The female Ranger hovered slightly off the ground as he easily dragged her along by her hair.

The Sith Lord paused when they arrived at a T junction, one path leading to a set of stairs that would allow him to exit the building through the roof. Raze regarded the unarmed Rangers, their weapons abandoned far away, for a moment before he began to walk backwards toward a set of open doors that would lead him to the stairs. Time was of the essence.

As he walked, he sensed the despair. He could smell the fear. But he could also feel that errant little flame of hope. It existed in the hearts of the two men. It existed in defiance in the female Ranger that began to return to consciousness and move and shift a bit in his grasp as he arrived at the set of doors.

The helmet stared ahead as the female Ranger awoke to see Corran and Darmus down the hall from her. The fear was intoxicating and he saw at least one crumbling man before him. Raze wanted them to shatter and break. The Sith Lord wanted them to burn in the fires of their own creation. He wanted them to burn in the very inferno ignited from that single flame of hope they so foolishly sought to cling to.

The Sith Lord was vaguely aware that the female started talking and addressing the other Rangers. The action both irked him and caused a sinister grin to begin forming beneath the faceless helmet. Just as she finished speaking, the Rangers before her would see the point of a red saber pierce through her heart from behind her. It was quick, deliberate and without a single word uttered from the Sith Lord behind her.

The woman was unceremoniously tossed down the length of the hallway, landing in a heap at the feet of her would be saviors. Between the prisoner and the droid, the two men would simply see the haunting mask illuminated by the flashing red lights, the ignited red saber and the tall frame before the doors slid to close and lock from the command center.

Darth Raze had returned. And the galaxy would know it.


/exit attempt

@GABA @Eccles @TerranSteel @Killa Ree @Phoenix @Exhilian @Scoobert @The Steel Stag @The Good Doctor @Arclight

 

[Vera Coulter]

-Vera's Theme-​

Stirring out of her twilight, she could feel the dread threaten to creep up into her heart and mind, even as she clawed to consciousness. She knew it in her bones. In the eyes of the Darth that held her hair in his hands, she was expendable. Nothing. But she knew differently. She didn't regret carrying the badge now, and she didn't regret the death she would leave.

What she would die regretting was failing her Lieutenant and the man that stood beside him.

She wasn't afraid, and both the Rangers there would see it. Blue eyes burned intensely, and she cracked them a smirking grin, which hardened into resolve. Her hand shook into a limp salute, but even from a distance, they would hear her words before her death, which rang with conviction and belief.

"Defend and Protect."

It wasn't a message of hope. It was a message of defiance, a calling to what they were. She gasped through her teeth but held firm, the heat agonizing, unbearable. No, even in death, they wouldn't see her break.

I defy you.

As her body was unceremoniously tossed towards the two she sought to protect, she felt peace. Through the agony, there was a growing coldness, and eyes glazed to nothing, body limp with the rest of her fallen brethren. She was gone before she even hit the floor.

@Eccles @TerranSteel

 

[Klepti Uutkik]

Pain seeping into the leg of the little ranger was agonizing. He aimed down range tur to see his target, though once she was in sight a ranger lifted in the air. Would Klepti take the risk of killing one of his own? Should he lower his weapons and let her leave? He couldn't though. He had to keep fighting otherwise it would have been a what could have been moment. Draco would surely be able to take out some Sith troops, but maybe not her. Not even Klepti had a good aiming point on her.

So Klepti did the next best thing. As she would exit, he fixed his carbine and raised it to find that dirty LT down where she was. After scanning for a few moments, he finally found them. Klepti once again took a deep breath. Sights set on the face of the target. Klepti let his breath out and then with his firing finger, he pulled. THis time the bolt fired out, and it was a pretty sight to behold. That scumbag of an LT had a hole in their head they could never recover from. It was night night in the forever sleep for that kriffer.

The Jawa watched as the rest of the troops were taken out by the remaining rangers. Eventually there would be no Sith forces in the hangar with them. Including the Sith they were up against. She had fled. Coward.

Klepti looked to Draco before falling back on the ground. Lying on his side awaiting help from any sort of medical team. The pain increasing with every passing second. This was definitely something he would have to get used to. The life a Rnage rleads is a dangerous one for sure. Though with his failure he had learned something quite valuable. DON'T THROW NADES AT FORCE USERS!!

@Wit @Exhilian

 

[Draco Salem Virtus]

Draco Virtus would try the push to the far left only after he was knocked by the grenade on the ground. Realizing he was open in that moment he would roll himself on the ground to the left right into the nearest piece of cover. The timing was a bit off as when he rolled two blaster bolts back to back scimmed the backside of his duraplast armor on his back and impacting the wall behind him. Growling as it seemed to close to comfort. Peaking through the slits in the barricade he would notice the left flank being heavily surpressed and a individual Sith focusing on his position.

Just as Draco was going to send bolts back the Sith Lieutenants way he had his head carved in from Klepti's unexpected and unavoidable shot that came from the otherside. Draco smirked as it was a clean shot and the Sith Lieutenant toppled over lifeless at the foot of the ramp. They were in the open and easy pickings as Draco raised his lethal oath bringer and set a few rounds on the Sith looking to the right as the two bolts he sent out impacted the Sith next to their leader.

It seemed she had grabbed a hostage in her retreat. Typical cowardly act of the Sith. Seeing this only enraged Draco more as there was nothing he hated more than bullshit coward tactics. Draco's area was still recieving fire from whatever Sith were remaining but they were getting cut down heavily from being in the open and trying to walk backwards. Their decrease in numbers mean't they weren't laying down the heavy amount of fire they use to.

Draco decided to make an unexpected last shot effort or he was going to run up that ramp and shove his foot up that siths ass. Pushing himself to the right slightly out of cover only his lethal oathbringer raised and his helmet he would slide on his shoulder and close one eye as this all happened quickly. Holding his breath he would slightly press the hairline trigger and send a bolt low nearly touching the floor and towards the ramp. Growling as he fired the round. "Suck it you Sith eatin' shit bantha."

The bolt would sail unknowingly as the hostage was in the view of the Sith. Going right under any Sith soldiers legs in the way from them being spread and trying to walk/run backwards up the ramp. Impacting the ramp it would richochet off the ramp and sail towards the Sith leaders legs. It was quick and sneaky but it would catch her in the leg if not entirely dead center it would be a good a hit worth enough for her to remember him as once it left his barrel he would tuck into cover and assuming a better fighting position.

Draco shifted his gaze left and right "Push! Fire into those Burners and get that engine to go down!" He yelled with his southern voice angered as the other Rangers began to close in the distance and would take up shots to fire at the Ships engines to start disabling it. IF given a chance, Draco is going to take it and so help him god he will somehow in his crazy ass mind climb that ship and rip her out of it if they managed to disable it. The Sith needed to get out now or they were a minute or two from being stuck there.

If they managed to close the ramp and escape, Draco would watch them vanish in high speed from the hangar as he stood up once knowing its clear. His body ached from the small metal fragments in it but he would ignore her. Removing his helmet and slowly slide a cigarra out of his mouth. Plopping it in the corner he would light it before a medic ran up to him. "I'm good, I'm good." he pushed him away as he limped his way over to Ranger Klepti and spoke to him in his native tongue. "Well you little bastard, you lived..Good job today." with that he would pick him up and carry him to the Northern doors to set up a aid station. The other rangers gathered the wounded and dead and moved with them. The trail of Draco's smoke slowly burning in the air as they left.

*Exit*

@Wit @Scoobert

 

[Darth Tiamat]

Tiamat remained silent by Raze's side as they moved forward. Her golden eyes flickered to the Rangers who watched them pass; she could sense their fear and despair, her own inner shadows drinking the sensations that reverberated from their enemies greedily. There was a satisfaction to see the hope and inflated sense of worth shrivel under the weight of true power as it strolled through their prison hallway. The redhead welcomed the change: their mocking and gloating made her want to gut every Ranger that dared to even look at her.

Her knuckles turned white from her grasping the saber in her thoughts, and she paused when Raze did, the female Ranger was waking with an annoying attitude.

There seemed to be no end to their unabating defiance to the Sith and it was as though the Ranger woman did not care what her fate would be as she started to regain consciousness. Tiamat's face remained stoic even through her unwell state and now in her annoyance at the Ranger who would not stop. At least there was some good that came from the Ranger's unrelenting squawks as Raze ignited his saber through the woman's heart. Tiamat watched with satisfaction, a small smile pulled on the corner of her lip as she watched Raze toss the body down the hall like a hunter throwing meat to his beasts. The doors in the corridor started to close when they walked through and the dark smile she carried was still apparent as the doors sealed shut. It was time to return where she belonged.

/Exit Attempt

 

[Pedee]

What a good show, a lightsaber in the heart. Pedee didn't care for what the Ranger woman said, but Darth Raze did put the fear into the other two Rangers. He definitely still isn't someone to cross. Pedee did wish they would have killed the other two rangers while they had no weapons on them, that would be two less rangers down the road, but then again Pedee suspects there is a good chance that these Rangers will have mental trauma and would be useless in the future once they get a psych evaluation. Plus they will spread word that Darth Raze was here and he did this

But still, Pedee would preferred just killing them where they stood or while they flee. Much simpler. Oh well. Pedee would then proceed to exit the place along with Tiamat and Raze.

Once they are safe on the otherside of the locked doors, Pedee would then speak to Tiamat (@GABA) "Nice to see you again Lady Tiamat." Pedee would take the lightsaber she had on her person and give it to here "I believe this is yours". It is. And thus Tiamat would be reunited with her lightsaber Manat. Sith and Jedi have some sort of attachment to the lightsabers they create, Pedee gathered.

After they exit this prison successfully successfully, Pedee would have to return to her dad for repairs. Ugh.


/exit attempt

 

[Corran Velt]

Each footfall felt heavier than the last. Marching alongside the Sith as they made their way through the base. Scores of mutilated dead lined the path where the helmeted Sith had advanced and now withdrew. Terror etched on their faces as their last fleeting expression before the lifeforce left their bodies. Corran had seen it before. Outpost Blue. Sector Ranger headquarters. Iron discipline protected him then as it did now. Rigidity provided spine where instinct wished to flee. Fear was within him, as all sentient beings feared death, but that deep, deep well of resolve buttressed the weakness. He could only proceed with this grim entourage, his stare locked on Vera.

The taller Sith Lord stopped at a split in the hallway. Lieutenant Velt's own feet halted a distance back. Vera was coming to and she faced her fellow rangers. Rebellion flared in her eyes and grit shown from her jaw. A physically weak but spiritually strong salute was followed by Ranger Coulter's final oath. Defend and Protect. Corran's helmet tilted down slightly in an nearly imperceptible nod of respect. He knew what came next.

Red hatred seared through her chest. Two emotions on her features were her final dirge. A moment of pain. Then calm. No tears. No squeal of death. Only determined resolution. Her soul remained unconquered even at the very end. Vera's faceless murderer then flung her body like a discarded, used up toy. It landed mere inches from Corran's boots but he did not flinch. Out of fear that any sudden movement could lead to his own execution and refusal to kneel before such monstrous killers both.

Even when they departed, the door sealing secure behind them, Lieutenant Velt stood sentinel over Vera's corpse for lingering moments. His lungs burned. He didn't realize he had been holding his breath. One leg buckled first. The blond ranger caught himself from collapsing, coming down gradually on one knee before Ranger Coulter's body. Shaking armored gloves reached up in unison and grasped either side of Corran's helm. He removed it slowly and tucked it under one arm. A massive ruby welt colored the right side of his cheek yet he did not feel it. Young, sky-blue eyes gazed at the woman's body. Empty eyes stared upward. She was already gone. Gently and with dignity, he brushed them closed to send Ranger Coulter to final rest.

Emergency lights shining their dark red upon the rangers darkened Corran's face. Shadows covered the young ranger's eyes from his brow. Features unmoving as mountain granite. This edifice lingered for a few silent moments. A volcano erupted with spontaneous ferocity, spewing debris of fury, loss, and pain. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!" Corran shouted to the void, suffering rending the very air. Eyelids sealed shut, fighting against torment. He tore his helmet from under his arm and slammed it against the wall. The helm remained pinned there, his arm quivering, squeezing the life out of the duraplast ridge where his fingers clenched. No tears ran down his cheeks or water gathered in the corner of his eyes.

Finally, without fanfare, Corran's arm went limp. His shoulders rising and falling in even breaths. The helmet slid silently as the grave over a darkened face. With a reverential grace, the lieutenant lifted Vera's body in a casualty carry, supporting the upper back and legs. Empty transparisteel slits turned to Ranger Onn. "Come on, Darmus. We need to get to safety and evacuate the survivors. We'll collect our equipment later," the modulated voice ordered with monotoned resolve. Expecting the veteran ranger to follow the command, Lieutenant Velt took the lead down the opposite path the Sith took. Through Vera Coulter's sacrifice they had been granted a chance to live and fight another day. A fight Corran himself had not yet lost the will for.

/exit attempt

 

[Darmus Onn]

- Vera's Theme - ​

Continued gasping for air, his shaking hands finding support against the wall as Darmus moved away from the Sith lords until they finally reached a nearby T-junction. Then the footsteps stopped and just like Corran, so did Darmus halt and turn to look at the reason. He stared right into ranger Coulter's defiant blue eyes and he stopped gasping. There was a strange sort of peace in her defiance and her words.. Defend and Protect.. a creed rangers like them had fought and died for. They were both old, but they would retire so they could-

The lightsaber pierced her heart and Darmus' eyes widened in shock. No, he seemed unable to grasp the reality of it. Not even when her body was tossed unceremoniously towards them did the now most senior ranger in the service understand it. The time that had lapsed? One minute? Ranger Coulter, no.. Vera.. was so strong in her orders when the alarms first rang. Her presence had rallied those rangers and members of the Byblos security force. Had rallied Darmus. There was no way she could be..

The door closed, the Sith Lords and the droid were gone, leaving the trio of rangers behind. It wasn't until Corran suddenly screamed in agony that Darmus startled back to reality. He slumped against the wall, eyes only half open as all the excess air in his lungs departed with a heavy sigh. Realization struck him as a crushing weight. There was no energy for him to move, to think or to react. Again they had followed the Chief's orders, made him proud to be defiant towards the Sith Order and again they had been mercilessly crushed as a direct result.

It seemed like an eternity before Corran lifted Vera's body into his arms and spoke words that only registered faintly. "You go ahead," Darmus said softly. Equipment be damned. He never cared about blasters anyway. The only thing that mattered was the person whose soul they couldn't return to retrieve.

Ranger Coulter. 94 ABY - 143 ABY.

He waited until Corran was gone and then his gaze shifted towards the locked door. Following them was certain death. Following Corran and helping evacuate would better fit with Vera's last defiant words. Kriff. Least he could do...

 

[Asminys]

Asminys crawled through the air duct for what seemed like forever to the exhausted Sith Lord. His body sought to betray him with every bit of ground he gained. His arms begged for rest and his stomach quivered and tightened every time he dragged himself forwards. Sweat lined his head and soaked his prison garments. He cared for none of this. He did not listen to his aching muscles or the shadow of pain in his legs. He drove them out of his mind, focusing on the only thing that mattered.

Moving forward.

And then the tunnel came to a stop. A solid wall obstructed his passing, the only way being up. Up towards freedom. His body begged for release from this torment and his mind sought the comfort of despair. The human inside him wanted only to curl up in this dark shaft, to close its eyes and give up, to lay down and die there.

But that human was already dead. Only Asminys remained.

Asminys opened his eyes and looked up. Not the eyes of a man but the eyes of a beast. The eyes of a monster that only saw another obstacle to be surmounted. Another obstacle in its way to be overcome, or to die. Asminys would overcome. Asminys would not linger here to wither away and die in a cell or a vent. Asminys would be free.

Dragging himself into position, Asminys pushed what remained of his legs against one side of the vent. Pain both real and imagined spiked through his mind but that too was pushed away. For now. Another arm was planted against the far wall, and one underneath where he pressed his back against the vent. The arduous ascent was long and slow as he pressed his weight against the walls and pushed himself slowly upwards, inch by inch, with his hands and core. The man who emerged from the vent at the top was not the same one who who had began the climb at the bottom.

Laying on the rooftop there, breathing heavily and covered in grime and blood, Asminys eyes turned to the heavens. The polluted Byblos air over the prison buzzed with activity as starfighters carried out their mechanical dance of death. He watched them with a detached disinterest. His body rested now, exhausted and broken. He could barely move a muscle. He wondered idly if this was where he would die. If everything before this, every fight, every kill, every bit of torment and suffering he had lived led to this moment. To die on a rooftop after clawing his way towards freedom. To taste the fresh air of liberation only to expire, not by the blade like he had always imagined it, but simply because he had pushed this weak mortal coil too far until it gave out beneath him.

Darkness began to descend upon his eyes as he slowly began to lose consciousness, and he was barely aware of the shining light of a ship landing and the grasp of someone hoisting what remained of his body up and carrying him away.

/exit attempt

 

[Vizim]

Vizim was in control, and he liked it. He lifted security systems from various portions of the building - security gates, ventilation security, and more - to allow inmates free rein of anything that wasn't a direct threat to the Sith.

Downloading the security footage to a small datachip, he stood from his position. The other Sith were on their way out, and Vizim dropped the comm jam to send out his own transmission to the pickup ship before reenabling it.

Sixty seconds, he thought to himself. The evac ship would come and he needed to get out of here. Another Ranger died at Raze's hand, and the hunter knew that was probably his cue. His pistol drew free from his holster and with barely a glance he placed a single blaster bolt through Jenkins' head, leaving a nasty smear of burned blood across the floor. You chose the wrong side.

With that, he turned to leave. The path back to the roof was one he remembered well, and he made it just as the evac ship was arriving. He was about to climb aboard with the remnant of the strike force when he noted the torso (@Arclight) on the ground. It struck him as odd, he'd left no casualties up here and there was no evidence of recent fighting. It was only on a closer inspection with pistol raised that the hunter realized it was their second Sith Lord.

So he was here after all, he thought to himself. Half-alive and half a body. Was it even worth the effort? A shot to the head would have secured any undisclosed Sith secrets and eliminate a rival, but then, having a Sith Lord in your debt wasn't such a bad idea, and Vizim was nothing if not practical.

Hoisting the man onto the ship, he gave a final look back to the prison before take off. Death hung in the air and power. Pure, cold darkness pervaded the facility, and the hunter drank it in. Someday power like that would be his, and no one would stop him.

//Exit