Open Invasion Sith Invasion Of Denon

[Darth Raze]

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OOC: Death disabled, but death enabled for Raze and anyone else that wants to up the stakes. 48 hour posting rule in effect.
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Corvettes, frigates and starfighters were engaged in a vicious battle above the atmosphere. Despite the thick pollution on an ecumenopolis world like Denon, the sparks of blaster cannonfire were clearly visible. Denon’s defenses had been weakened just enough for shuttles to break into orbit and deliver a payload of ground troops.

Denon sat on both the Correlian Run and Hydian Way near the edge of Free World Alliance territory. As a result, it served as the perfect location for the Sith to invade. If a complete takeover were to happen, the Sith would be allowed strategic means of accessing the deeper core or delivering a drastic blow to trade and economy for the core planets.

This particular initiative was led by Darth Raze. He had arrived with a Sith fleet to engage the planet’s defenses, the forces standing up against those of Denon. Neighboring planet Spirana was also under attack, the outcome of Denon determining its fate.

Raze’s focus was to land on the upper levels of the city planet, specifically near the capital district. He intended to subjugate the planet’s leaders after a hostile takeover. A shuttle, flanked by starfighters that peppered anyone on the ground, landed on a strip by the capital.

The cargo hold door hissed opened and Darth Raze stood at the top of the ramp. He was surrounded by a platoon of Imperial troops armed with standard issued medium armor and BM-548 Blasters that charged forth at once. More ships landed forcefully, all deploying troops and speeders to combat any ground resistance on the planet.

Raze strode slowly down the ramp, the sounds of chaos surrounding him on all sides. He could feel the agony and the despair through the Force. This was exactly where he wanted to be. This would be where he would strike a decisive blow against the Free Worlds Alliance.

A single saber ignited in his left hand as he stepped off the ramp.

 

[Talak Rand]

Late edit but death enabled for Talak obviously​

Cannon fire ripped through the upper atmosphere and slammed into the ground not seventy yards away from where Talak was standing. The flash was blinding and he could feel the heat on his face as he threw up his arm, using the Force to deflect the shrapnel that would have pelted he and the civilians standing near him. When he looked again, there was smoking crater where moments ago there had been a bus full of people. The street around it tore away and fell down, likely crushing anyone on the levels below.

Go! Out of the streets, get to the lower levels! he shouted over the distant sounds of blaster fire, half shoving a group of civilians toward one of the nearby buildings. The upper levels of the city offered little by way of protection from the attacks, and he wasn't even sure the areas below would either, but it couldn't be worse than being exposed on the surface. If they went deep enough perhaps they would find salvation.

As they vanished inside the building and its turbolift, Talak turned his attention back to the skies above. Past the smoke and dust he could see specs against the clouds, and he knew immediately what they were: transports.

He was less than a mile from the capital, and he could take a good guess about where those were headed as well. With one more glance back he saw the lift descending within the building, carrying the civilians inside to safety... he hoped. He turned to the capital.

By the time he made it within range of the capital, he could see the fighting had already begun. Sith troops had begun exchanging fire with capital security and Talak could sense the darkness among them. The entire area was like a canvas painted with the red of anger and fear, mixed with a hideous brown of despair, but at the center was black. It was the pure black of malice, a type of blank void in the Force that Talak had only really felt in the presence of the Eternal itself. It wasn't a sensation he enjoyed, and it told him that a Sith was at the head of the Force. A real Sith.

He could see things were already going poorly at the gate of the capital. The troopers outnumbered the defenders and were prepared for a full invasion. Even with the locals having mobilized the Denon Defense Force, he couldn't imagine they were prepared for this.

Talak made his way toward the shuttle, moving behind pillars of smoke, hiding behind the carcasses of speeders, and letting the Force obscure him from sight the rest. Many people could avoid being seen if they wished, but to disappear entirely: that was a rare gift.

Before the troopers would know it, Talak was among the men watching the flank of the parked dropships. The white blade of his saber flashed as he cleaved through the first and then second. A flick of his wrist sent the blaster bolt of a third back into his chest, driving him back and off his feet, clattering onto the ground. The scents of battle filled his nostrils, and he knew that if the DDF had any chance of defeating this invasion, he would need to either find and defeat the Sith or at least slow him down.

 

[Maxims Tionson]

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Death-Enabled​

Denon was at war.

The FWA had war declared on it by the Sith months ago, years ago even at this point. Warnings from Jedi and Sector Rangers alike had been ignored and the war against the Sith continued to be a distant priority for the rest of the Galaxy. And while the rest of the Galaxy focused on their own problems, the Sith had mustered their strength, taking independent worlds, planet at a time. Still, the rest of the Galaxy had slept on the threat that the Sith posed.

One by one Independent worlds fell and the people of the FWA and New Republic slept soundly because it was a far off, distant, horror that was happening to others. But now? Now war had come to the FWA, come to Denon, and found it unprepared. The Alliance had done nothing to strengthen it's border worlds and the people of Denon paid the price in blood and fire.

Max stood at the stop of the stairs to the capital building of Denon's capital city, his armored robes in place and his saber in hand already in it's saberstaff set up. A shield covered the building to protect it from orbital bombardment but it would do less then nothing to the troopers marching toward it. Members of the Denon Defense Force looked at him as he descended the stairs in silence, watching him as they mustered their courage to defend heart and home.

Touching the Light as he did, Max radiated a sense of calm and resolute conviction to those around him with barely an effort as he eyed the approaching troopers and the battlefield that the main promenade toward the capital building had become. Reaching the edge of the forcefield, he looked over his shoulder at the collection of soldiers and volunteer civilians who gripped blasters tightly and prepared themselves for what was to come.

"Citizens of Denon!" he called out to them, his voice louder than it had any right to be over the din of battle ahead of them, "I ask of you, what can we do? What can sentients like us do in the face of such hatred and fear?"

He ignited one end of his saberstaff, the top blade, and thrust it up high for the DDF members and Empire troopers alike to see it's vibrant blue.

"We fight!" he declared, eyeing many of the men and women closest to him, "We fight knowing that we must, not just for ourselves but for our people. For untold generations to look upon us this day and know that we gave everything we had to ensure their lives were bright and peaceful. For Peace we make war! For Peace we turn away their strike! For Peace we say No More! For Denon and the Future!"

Max didn't much care if they took up his chant or not - he charged forward. Splitting his saberstaff into a blade in each hand, he ignited his second blade and began his charge. Down the promenade, toward the landed shuttles and the emerging Sith troopers and the Sith who's blade stood out even on the battlefield with its deep, hateful, red. Men and women of all species ran alongside him, charging forward to reinforce the beleaguered defenders who sought cover within the ruins of buildings and speeders alike.

Batting aside stray blaster bolts that approached him, Max steeled his heart for what was to come.

For the death he would deal out to sentients who would seek to end him, part of him died inside. Would that he would never have to raise his blade and end a single life. Would that war would allow him that slither of himself to remain undisturbed. But making a frontal charge, to draw attention away from others or not, the fighting would be fierce and he could not allow himself the luxury of being the man who stayed his blade when enemies amassed.

 

[Orenth]

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Death enabled for Byron​

Explosions wracked the air on either side meant to hamper the modified U wing as Byron tried his best to evade cannon fire. His ship was one of the few non-Denon Defense Force craft not immediatly trying to flee. The Capital building was under nearby threat and it was clear the offensive front was focused on securing that area of the surface.

Narrowly missing a swerving airspeeder, the knight rolled and dove between the skyscrappers that formed natural canyons on the planet covered city. Cliffs of metal and glass reflected the color scheme of the ship briefly as it narrowly avoided several crashes. One TIE fighter impacted against an advertisement boards. The other starfighter that had been chasing him had been smarter and gone over.

Several more dicey maneuvers later and the Jedi found his ship once again angling back towards the capital building with only a small bit of its shields remaining and it's fusial afterburner out of alignment. There were other starfighters in the area that would surely shoot him down unless he could get out of range of the capital ships.

The low altitude brought him in the same level as the traffic lanes but more starfighters were incoming. Pushing the ship as hard as he could without tearing it apart the vehicle grew nearer to the capital building. One zap finished the shields. The second took out one of the engines. Byron hit the ejection seat, sending the chair rocketing away from the careening vehicle just short of the landing platform. It's wings crunched sadly before parts of it burst with internal explosions. Thankfully nobody had been onboard with him.

Byron would have lamented his ship longer if not for the spine tingling that returned to chill him with every moment he drew closer to the capital building. Jedi maneuvered the flying chair towards the nearest platform in an effort to touch down safely.

Briefly looking back towards the city Byron took in the conquest taking place. The screaming wail of TIE fighters moving across the city. He would have thought to never see the day of this kind. There was fear of failure that still resided within Byron. The sensation of overwhelming evil was not something he was looking forward to. Both of the Knights hands balled into fists and the gaze shifted towards the shape of the shuttles that had landed closest to the capital building.

It would be only be a short jaunt ahead of the Jedi unless he found another way inside. Anybody at the kappa shuttle would have seen the Jedi get shot down and likely the ejection of his seat in the distance. However the sound of yelling made it seem like perhaps there was more resistance being put up than Byron would have thought.

 

[Darth Malicia]

The capital was plunged into chaos. Panic, death, cascaded through the Force as her shuttle touched down by the Darth's ship leading the assault (@Sreeya). Her ship had hung closely to the Lord's, combining a duplicate of his protection with her own.

The shuttles doors opened. The Queen of Korriban, Empress of Dromund Kaas and Ziost, Mother of the Children of Alkis and Devourer of Souls, walked down her ships ramp. Her Black Rose was once again on her belt. Her Cadre armour's hood was pulled back off her helmet for a better view. Malicia was not the type to accept and not return favours, and she happened to enjoy the Lords company, so her tiny frame strode near him.

The battle was too much for her to be able to ignore. Air filled her lungs while she walked. They nearly filled to their brims before she let out a long, satisfied sigh. Looking off into the distance, she muttered to herself, "I can sense so much..." she trailed off, stopping to breath in again."Life."

While she had no men with her, twenty of her cultists landed in four separate ships around the capital. North, west, south, east. Per command, they wore civilian outfits and were strapped with detonit bombs beneath their clothing. Smaller ones, but the detonit still packed enough punch to sew chaos. By her command, it was these cultists time to sacrifice themselves to her. All of them disembarked their ships and began to disburse. The first cultist to walk into a panicked crowd was from the north ship. As he walked, he muttered his love for his Mother and hovered his thumb over his bombs trigger.

 

[Darth Stolas]

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Death Enabled​

A storm had come to Denon, flashing lights and booming thunder disturbing the peaceful complacency of the city world on the edge of Free Worlds territory. Ships in orbit battled and blasted back and forth to achieve orbital superiority while ground assault forces moved in to blitz the capital district and decapitate resistance. Rain fell from the clouds above, but not the typical drops of polluted water that were the norm on such a planet.

This storm rained monsters from on high in a reaping whirlwind to sweep the defenders aside.

Raze and his forces dropped down escorted by the new Tau-7 Arrowhead fighters of Storm squadron. Ground resistance to the landing was met with vicious precision by the Sith pilots and Stolas in particular, nimble knives dancing through the smoke of disabled weapons platforms and vehicles. A man with an anti-vehicle projectile launcher set up on the side of a building and the Magpie flew past, the soldier seeming to be dragged along with it and off the side of the building to fall to his inevitable death in the city depths.

The Sith had purchased new fighters for Stolas' squadron at his recommendation, the Sith Lord's word carrying the weight of his victories behind the controls of assault craft and starfighters. Their presence here was proof of concept to equip more ace fighters with more Arrowheads, and so far they did their job as advertised. Morgan himself was in his modified U-wing, the Magpie, with an assault team and fellow Sith aboard.

Wearing the armour of Darth Stolas with his lightsabers stored on his belt he banked closer to the transports as Arrowheads fired at incoming fighters. Bolts cut across their path to the transports and then through the fighters as Storm squadron arced around a building and back into position, s-foils and maneuvering plates adjusting hither and thither to straighten out.

Dropships landed and the attack forces departed with Raze to lead them, at which point Storm squadron broke off and circled wide around the attacking forces like a murder of crows, scanners active. Raze's helmet comm would click thrice as the Magpie roared by overhead, ground sweeper and laser cannons firing at the defending forces as it turned left and landed itself on the front lines, touching down on the left side of the path leading up the capitol building. The port door facing the defenders opened and automatic fire poured out while the starboard door let out a group of black-armoured soldiers firing BM-548 rifles and using the ship as cover. A backup pilot took control of the cockpit and kept the groundsweeper firing in fanned bursts.

As bolts flew into the charging defense forces Stolas stepped around the wing of the ship with his most iconic lightsaber ignited in his left hand, batting a vaguely aimed shot back toward where it came from and joining the attack directly. Storm three informed him of a ship crashing farther back with an ejected pilot and that information was also passed to other individuals in command.

From behind the visor Stolas' eyes and sensitive Sight locked onto the still fairly distant lights of the Jedi lightsabers. Of course the insects were here.
"Aadya. Follow close," he told the young acolyte who was with him. Raze had his work to do as the primary head of this attack. Stolas would support him in the way he and his aggressive combat doctrine did best.

"We are going hunting."

@Logan

 

[Darth Tiamat]

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It felt as though she were walking through the stars, the light around her stretched for eons, swirling and cascading across the tunnel, never touching her. It was something perhaps one would see while traveling through hyperspace, but there was no ship, just herself, adorned in her armor and her saber at hand, walking across a tunnel that probably was not even a tunnel, but something her mind was concocting as to make sense of the crisscross of quantum physical theories taking place in real-time. It was a phenomenon that has not been seen in thousands of millennia and there was a sense of pride in the young Sith after years of non-stop research, studying, developing, and decoding, and she couldn't think of a better way to demonstrate it to the galaxy. The age of hypergates would return.

Denon.

A flashes of sheering white light blinked throughout the capital city until it seemed to become localized. It grew in concentration, by-standers and Denon troops took off for cover, uncertain of what was happening. The polar fields would bend until they were folded, opening a hole revealing that the very existence of reality could melt into a single dimensional disk.

Tiamat would exit first, grinning beneath her helmet as she was washed with the darkness that was engulfing Denon. With a flick of her wrist she ignited her blade. The red clashed against the midnight blue of her armor, the darkness trickled and veined through her body, the shadow inside anticipated the feast it would have. Her troops poured out from the portal, following command as they took surrounding enemies by surprise. The Sith warrior paused and turned to watch the portal behind them blink from existence before focusing on the battle ahead of them.

 

[Drastus Drahr]

Of all the days in the world, he just had to choose today to be kind of late. The cab of his egg was bumping music from his favorite Corellian musician, Yeezy East. Clad in his armor, with his usual kit and weaponry, he had been stationed in the northern part of the Capital and had heard the call from Max, so now, he was mobile.

The benefit of his speeder, was he could ride low when necessary, a helpful little tidbit when fighters were cutting through the airspace tearing each other to shreds. One of the comms started to spike and he'd lower the music to hear Max's voice, some sort of speech. "I don't know about you, Fe, but I feel inspired to kick some Sith ass. Time to get some liberation up in this osik."

The Force often spoke in whispers and he felt the need to turn left. Cranking the wheel hard, he hit that left turn at near max speed, gods above he hoped he didn't puke in his helm. He was moving so fast, he didn't even have time to avoid the person standing there. A humanoid, now a quarter splatted on his windshield, looked as surprised as Drast was. And that's when he saw it: a detonator. He slammed hard on the brakes and cranked the wheel to the right, sending the he didn't know what directly into the side of empty speeder where it exploded. "Holy kriff..." He'd activate his comm. "All forces, be advised.. enemies within the walls dressed as civvies and armed with explosive vests. Just tallied one."

He looked back to the group of civilians who were now seemingly departing in an orderly fashion, or so he hoped. "So uhh.. Felix.." he'd say looking back to the possibly cramped storage area his co-Padawan was in. "We are not telling Master Sati about that, deal?"

He'd then floor it again back towards Master Tionson's location, activating the comm once more. "Master Tionson, two more candles are enroute to help hold the darkness at bay."

@christhebetrayer @Nefieslab

 

[Aadya Rasheer]

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From the passenger seat of the Magpie Aadya watched with unblinking eyes the carnage that the Sith fighter squadrons were unleashing on the denizens of Denon. She had never been a part of a battle like this before, nothing even close. Just beneath the plates of her blast vest Aadya's heart thumped heavily, adrenaline coursing through her veins despite her outward demeanor.

In years past, in her Jedi times, events like this would have brought fear into her heart - but from this position she felt none, only anticipation. The presence of Darth Stolas was likely playing a large part in that, but Aadya felt better not admitting that to herself and instead pretending that it was her own confidence that was keeping weakness away.

As Magpie cut its final swathes through the Denon defenses and made its landing, Aadya followed Stolas. Behind her armor she felt strong, and upon her feet hitting the surface of the planet that feeling only intensified. The darkside coursed around them, fueled by the chaos and death of battle.

Aadya ignited her lightsaber without pretense, its crimson blade exploding into existence like a bolt of lightning. Through the gloam of death she could see the distant, colorful light of Jedi lightsabers and a venomous smirk creased Aadya's lips beneath the face covering of her armor.

Yes, my Lord. She responded quietly, staggering herself slightly behind the Darth as he walked.

Age before beauty and all that.

@Mr. Teatime

 

[Rishe Vakren]

"Get inside! The streets aren't safe!" Rishe shouted, her voice amplified by the Force as she rushed out of the protective dome. She could barely hear it over the din.

The cacophony of war hammered through the city-planet. Each blow rang in Rishe's ears, quaked through her bones, scrambled her thoughts. So sensitive to thoughts and emotion, the pain and struggle and despair clung to her, a pollution of her Force senses as bitter and choking as the smog that covered the city. Every so often, someone's frantic emotion would spike through her. She had quickly learned that those were the last, panicked sensations of the dying before the Force finally claimed them.

Those foreign sensations hurt to listen to, but she allowed the Force to guide her. The Sith brought chaos, death, and fear. And everywhere that despair spread, she could feel their advance. She would know where the lines were being drawn as the battle grew out of its infancy. And if she knew that, she knew the routes they'd take once they grouped up.

"The third story windows, up there... and there. Get inside, you can't hold the streets directly. There are others up there, they'll have extra battery packs." She hastily ordered. She was giving orders? Granted, most of the DDF she was able to get her hands on were those who had retreated from the advancing Imperials, often only stopped by her amplified voice or her physically keeping them in place. And despite the Jedi's own hammering heart, the clamminess in her hands, she had to display strength and confidence. These men and women were already at their wit's end, and it took a combination of her soothing them through the Force and projecting everything she currently wasn't to get them back into line.

She was not made for war, she didn't have an eye for tactics, but if there was one thing she could do, she could take chaos and restrtucture it. The sensations of death pressing against her mind, the despair and flight and her very own fear would not - could not - cripple her now. And she refused to let it cripple the Denonians, either.

She was making the eastern streets as painful as physically possible for the Sith to cross. Her saber felt heavy as she pulled it from her sleeve, slipping into the alleyways. When the Imperial forces discovered the streets were covered as they were, they'd find refuge in the alleys.

Rishe would be waiting.

 

[Miris Ve Monterre]

Although she wasn't made or fond of battle, a large scale invasion like this was something Miris could not turn her back to. Her role was different from the others, and it was to help the wounded. At the same time, she was to help prepare for an evacuation, if the opportunity came. Behind the capital shields, Miris, some civilians, politicians, and wounded soldiers would be safe. For however long, she did not know.

Miris had never witnessed such a state of panic before; even the events of Ajan Kloss did not feel as chaotic as this. In the main capital building was where most people were taking shelter, as it could occupy the most people. Miris went around treating as many as she could. She was still a novice at force healing, and had to rely on the few medical supplies and her own personal herbal medicines to treat the wounded. Every moment she stood up to walk, a civilian would try to cling onto her frantically asking if everything would be alright. Miris desperately wanted to say yes, but she didn't want to give them false hope. So her response was: "We shall see."

She could hear the crackling boom of explosions getting ever so louder, the DDF were hardly a match for the Imperial troops. It seemed that more wounded were arriving, but the numbers were still small. Since most of them were slain before getting the chance to receive treatment. Miris could only wait patiently and keep her commlink on to be notified about any sort of evacuation opportunity.

 

[ElavAlroon]

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Elav’Alaroon looked out of one of the viewports in the shuttle as it landed next to the others. Their ship had taken a few hits and had to take a more evasive route to land safely. As the rear door hissed open he took the lead of the pack and stepped up behind the other Sith already there before turning to an acolyte, “Take what you can carry. If any escape you will replace them.” The Twi’lek waved his hand to send them off into the city.

He turned back towards the two Darth’s in front of him before bowing his head, though he was behind them so they couldn’t see him, he was taught to show respect anyway. Just in case. “My Lord, My Lady.” He straightened up to his full height, once more towering over almost everyone nearby. Everyone except Darth Raze who matched his height. “Do we have a special plan for this operation? Or is it the usual ‘Contain and Conquer’?”

Elav’Alaroon rolled his shoulders and re-adjusted his robes, it had been a little while since he had gone into a proper battle. He usually preferred to sit them out in favour of staying in his lab, but the fear and despair he could sense through the Force was intoxicating. Perhaps he should venture out more often. At the very least it would allow him to collect more research materials for his works.

@Sreeya @Dread

 

[Vahn Berand]

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“Lieutenant Yllan’s dead. Derio just confirmed it,” a tall, but wisp of a man spoke in the ruins of what had once been a data collection center in the world-city of Denon. Several paces behind him a feeble attempt at a sterile medical station had been set up. A motionless form now laid there, draped over with an issued self-heating blanket.

Sergeant Parrix sighed and leaned against the corner of a wall with one arm. He had done his best after the sudden attack. Lieutenant Yllan had gotten hit almost immediately, and he’d tried to muster the men to order. Fire had seemingly come from every angle, and not even fourty of his company had managed to survive to make it to whatever shelter he could call this.

“Comms are shot to shit. We barely got anything out before they got blasted. Those hell born jedi out there are razing everything they can see. It’s only a matter of time....” another voice, this time tech-specialist Taggen Yureet spoke as he hunched over the charred remains of what once had been a communications suite.

“They’re not Jedi… they’re..S-,” replied a small voice, before growing silent as if speaking the very word itself would summon the invaders. Jogen Vupalul, a young human, as fresh a recruit as possible in the Denon defense force sat limply atop a data processor that had been shaken loose during the initial blasting of the city. His blaster rifle, a cheap, but durable affair hung limply from his fingertips.

“What’s the difference? A Jedi with a red laser sword will kill you as happily as a Jedi with a blue one,” another soldier spoke, a sour faced Nautolan snapped from his post across the room, leaning on a crumbling duracrete wall. Narn Huito was seen as gruff, and fatalistic, but still disciplined and a good soldier who would do what needed to be done. Somehow the sudden attack had collapsed his courage, and he struggled to so much as keep his growing panic at bay.

“The way I see it, we’ve got two choices. We could surrender, and we’ve all heard the stories…” Narn spoke grimly.

“Or what?”

“Or we could...well,” Narn sighed, and brushed one ash caked tendril back over his shoulder. “We could handle it ourselves. It’d be quick,” he gestured to the thermal detonator at his hip.

“That’s no good, friend,” a steady, confident voice came from the back room, flanked by a pair of other guards who had found him on the floor above after his rooftop landing and agreed to bring him down. He had set Ralta, his BG unit currently fixed in his starfighter to speed away from the zone of combat and only return when he gave an all clear notice.

“Never choose death, when you could choose life instead,” he said, and settled into the center of the room. He made no attempts to hide who he was. He was silver-grey robed still, very much the stereotypical image of a Jedi, but armored plates were secured into place in key places; his forearms were armored, sheathed in mobile, yet protective bracers, all emblazoned with the sigil of the Jedi Order. He wasn't here in Peace; he was obviously a Jedi who recognized that a line had to be drawn.

“What choice is there? We’re completely cut off, the...S-...they’ve isolated us, we’re completely alone out here.” Jogen spoke, his eyes wide as he looked up at the Jedi.

“Sith. Say their name. They are strong only when we fail to face them, and their truth,” Vahn sighed, and lowered onto one knee before the soldier; no, he was a boy. He grasped the lad by one hand, his grip through the armored gloves secure, but relaxed in his own, balanced way.

“And you’re never alone. Not really; no one is. The Force is with all of us, so we’re always together as one, and we live on through each other every day."

“I’ll get you out of this, or I’ll die on my feet trying. There’s always a way out,” he smiled. All around him, for as far as his senses could extend, he could feel spikes of pain, fear, and the rising void of death as one being or another passed from this crude existence, the surging storm of battle. It was enough to cause his chest to grow tight, and his heart to thunder. It was all too familiar to another scene, so long ago. He still missed her. Even still, he smiled. He made sure the boy could see him smile, and he ruffled the kid’s hair as he stood up.

“To hell with your mystical ramblings. There are hundreds, maybe thousands of Sith out there between us and the nearest secure zone of the DDF.” Narn snapped.

“Well that just clarifies everything, doesn’t? We just have to rejoin the rest of the Denon defenses,” Vahn responded. A murmurring ran among the three dozen men or so in the room.

“Impossible, we’d need a company, or even more. With heavy armor to boot.”

Vahn smiled and canted his head slightly.

“A company or more, or a single Jedi Knight,” Vahn mused before turning towards the durasteel door on the far wall. He strode past the makeshift barricades, the feeble firing ports in the gaps between filing cabinets and overturned tables.

“Now where is that secure zone you were talking about?” Vahn said, while thumbing the door panel. “We have a break-through to achieve,” the door slid open with a hiss, and for a moment he stood silhouetted, lightsaber in hand against the burning light of war erupting around the city, all that separated these men newly in his charge from the chaos outside. He could sense them lining up behind him, with weapons charged, prayers uttered. It wasn't through the Force he knew they would follow him in this moment, they were desperate. Desperate to live, and now they were bolstered by some idea of hope, some small chance of survival. He would make a difference here, on this day.

 

[Darth Raze]

Raze felt the presence of other Force users around him, the entire scene coming to life. He felt Malicia’s daunting presence near him, and the comms in his helmet chirped three times. His gaze was trained ahead, the cold plate of his helmet taking in sight of the death and despair. And the foolish resistance that followed.

A group of DDF soldiers standing before him were abruptly lifted into the air. They all clutched at their throats, weapons dropping as their legs flailed helplessly. Guttural and choking noises erupted as they hung in mid air for a while. Raze watched them for a moment, moving and shifting them into the air into an arrangement.

He strode forth to keep walking, casually passing under the men that were still struggling mid air. As soon as he passed, his troops peppered the DDF soldiers with bolts, putting them out of their misery. They all fell into that same particular arrangement on the ground, visible clearly by a ship banking above that knew to read it.

Raze looked towards the capitol building where he knew there was a lockdown. He tilted his head to look at Malicia, “Feast to your heart’s content,” The deep, modulated voice rang out before a Marauder approached them. The tall Sith Lord turned to regard the Sith before he spoke, “I want the planetary leaders captured,” He said, tilting his head towards the building ahead of them.

He looked up briefly to catch the portal that came to life, confirming that Tiamat had found ways to make the gates work. A grin spread beneath the helmet before he heard more commotion ahead. He recognized Max Tionsom at once, the very man that sat across him in the Galactic Senate chambers. The gaze lingered only for a moment before he felt another power presence in the Force.

Raze slowly turned to regard another Jedi that was making his way through the Imperial ranks. He recognized that face from various Holographic displays distributed to the upper echelon of the Sith. Raze didn’t hesitate to pinpoint the man and address him through the Force, the warped voice enough to send a cold chill down his spine, “Come make your atonement, traitor.”

@Phoenix @Xian @Dread @Mr. Teatime

 

[Felix]

Felix didn’t know what he was more nervous about the battle or Drastus’ own driving. As he was thrown about the tight storage area, not able to see where they were going from the position didn’t help either, but he was ready to jump out at the soonest possibility the thing felt like ma moving death track.

“First let’s worry about getting out of here alive because I think she’d be madder about that first” his voiced mixed with announce and slight bewilderment “and maybe next we should get something with two seats and maybe I should drive?”

@Rhogar

 

[Talak Rand]

Talak paused at the rear of the shuttle, letting his mind flow over the battlefield. Amidst the death, there were more presences that began to solidify. More black. More malice. Another well of darkness stood out above the rest and the fact that it was coming from a rather petite woman seemed ironic. And yet, Talak knew better than to underestimate someone based on their size.

But beyond the Sith and the darkness, he could sense others as well. Jedi. When he'd been a Sith, it was a life of isolation, but the Jedi weren't like that. He had allies and others he could rely on. They fought for the same principles he did, not the selfishness of the Sith.

He couldn't allow his mind to linger long on any of those gathered, however. The battle was continuing to unfold, and every moment he wasted, people might die.

His saber swept up and he stepped around the shuttles, darting forward before hacking down on more of the rear guard and leaving a trail of bodies in his wake as he worked toward the Sith.

It drew the attention of the first one he had noted. The man's garbled voice and the mask that concealed his identity reminded him of his own past. It was as if he fought a dark reflection of himself: the arcanist. Come back in the flesh with a mind of its own and goals of its own. Of course, he knew this wasn't the case, but without any knowledge of who the man behind the mask actually was it seemed as fitting as any story to tell himself. The one thing he knew that wasn't fiction was that the man was powerful and was at the heart of this whole slaughter.

He drew to a stop in front of the man. The battle around them somehow managed to fade into the distance, sounds of blasterfire becoming inconsequential. While he knew the Force would warn him if other dangers arose, the greatest threat was the one right in front of him.

I do. Every day, he said. He'd sought atonement for all the years since he'd left the Sith and wasn't sure that there was ever really a way to overcome the sins of his past. But after all those years, he had finally managed to find a way to become a Jedi, and perhaps that was enough.

He wasted no more time as he darted toward the Sith. His saber slashed down from his own top left to bottom right, looking to cleave the man from his shoulder to his hip. @Sreeya

 

[Darth Malicia]

Malicia's mind was tugged away from the battle for a moment, towards Lord Raze's voice. She smiled slightly at it, though her attention was not all there and if he could've seen her eyes he would've known. Her mind wandered to all the life. She could sense a small gathering of life approaching and turned to see a blue lightsaber within it.

The small councillor kept moving, stopping near Stolas and the random acolyte with him. Her eyes turned into voids, the air around her became icy and both her hands outstretched towards the crowd and Jedi. Writhing, dark tendrils poured out from her hands and rushed forward. The wispy tendrils slithered towards and around all the life they could in their path, to drain and consume it.

Back north, her cultist that had wandered into a crowd watched as a speeder barrelled towards him. His thumb was already above the bombs trigger. He pressed the trigger a second before impact between himself and the speeder of two padawans. A brilliant detonite explosion swallowed everything near the cultist. As the speeder had impacted the cultist head on, the two padawans would be caught in the very epicentre of the explosion. It would swallow them whole.

A cultist from each ship made their way towards the centre of the capital. Each weaving in and out of the panicked crowds.

@Sreeya @Rhogar @christhebetrayer @Nefieslab

 

[Maxims Tionson]

Calling Malicia Out Theme
Death Enabled for Max​

Well nobody ever said charging at the enemy was a particularly easy thing to do and the Sith made sure that they were firmly entrenched. As he advanced, he grabbed hold of one of the defense force troopers who had gotten to cover. From the little antenna at the side of his armor, Max was fairly certain he had grabbed hold of a com-link user.

"Tell all Jedi to focus on the south side of the capital." he commanded the trooper even as he batted away more blaster fire, "We have concentrated troops and Sith Lord presence. Repeat; Sith Lord presence."

He would recognize the feeling of Malicia at work anywhere, the cold gnawing hunger that only came when she was doing her best to drain every speck of life out of you. Max had had time to become familiar with the sensation, enough to recognize it even as his innate connection to the Force rebuffed her attempts to drain him.

Perhaps slightly more dangerous than Malicia herself was the ground-sweeper cannon of the ship. It wasn't focusing on him but it was keeping the defense forces pinned down effectively. Reaching out with the Force, Max picked up the discarded door of a speeder car and began to spin it. As he approached, he batted more stray shots away as his voice boomed across the battlefield.

"MALICIA!"

He launched the speeder car door as he roared out her name, to draw the attention of the assembled Sith and to suggest that he was aiming the debris at her. It was spinning horizontally, presenting an incredibly small profile for it's speed, and it crossed the distance at a pace. Thankfully for Malicia it would miss both her and her fellow Sith rather widely - as it would travel onward toward the ground-sweeper cannon to take it out of commission.

Max would keep himself ready to react even as his hands gripped his sabers tighter. He was getting closer to the enemy and their numbers were bigger than his - more sabers and more blasters. Even with only a block between them, he could see that much and part of him wanted to despair.

Another, greater, part of him had him smiling.

Just had to hold out until help arrived... totally no big deal. Talak was at the other end of the street from what he could sense of his friend but it was less like he knew where he was - and more like he was aware that there was a sea of the Dark Side between them.

No big deal.

@Mr. Teatime @Logan @Dread @Sreeya

 

[Darth Raze]

Raze heard the man’s words, displeasure beneath his helmet. He had seen the Jedi's face several times before, though the weariness was gone.

“So you use the Jedi for your selfish reasons,” He said casually as he saw the man quickly advancing on him. Raze didn’t move a muscle, standing still as a sentry as the battle raged around him. A loud explosion resonated in the distance, and he heard Max cry out Malicia’s name. All of those sounds blurred into an abstract, his focus strictly on the man before him.

As the man came in with his swing, Raze met it with the saber in his left hand. The blade was slanted vertical towards the man’s left, keeping his incoming swing stuck where it began. This would leave his arm crossed over his chest.

While the man may have expected a shift or a pivot, Raze held fast where he stood. He was prepared to move at a moment’s notice, but he played on the defense, prepared to adapt to whatever the man followed up with.

@Phoenix

 

[Darth Stolas]

Morgan certainly didn't miss the collection of choked and blast-ventilated dead arranged by Raze. It was a display of power and precision, certainly, but it was also just a little more meaningful than that. Stolas would remember that sweet gesture for later, but for the moment it was time to work.

"Forward!" he commanded, authority and fury sung through the Force carried on that single word. It would steel the soldiers near him for a time.

With Aadya behind him Stolas walked forward at a quick pace, lightsaber up and deflecting shots that came his way while the Magpie's guns thundered downrange. He paid little mind to Malicia as she was coming up behind where he was to engage the Jedi and the enemy forces. The Jedi began to spin a piece of metal, a door from some speeder.

@Maxims Tionson called out to Malicia and launched his projectile in their general direction. Stolas' gloved right hand rose up and with it the Force lifted a civilian speeder abandoned on the street. The flung door strongly clipped the speeder and was deflected off course, spinning out of control and taking the legs off a common soldier. It skidded and sparked along the ground before stopping on a building with a solid thud.

As such the Magpie's groundsweeper continued it's assault of the defense force's position unimpeded and in fact began to slowly hover forward on repulsorlift power to advance just behind the front lines on the left side of the street.

Stolas kept on walking forward and deflecting shots back into those who fired them. The Firrerreo had already sighted his prey, and just because it had focused on another Sith wasn't going to stop him. Fury burned beneath the armour, flashing storm clouds in the Force that stood in stark contrast to the black void of the Dark Councilor. His presence called out to the Jedi and his Sight centered on him, giving him the impression he was being closely watched.

"Step forward or flee," boomed the voice of the mask toward Max and the defenders, "I do not care which."

@Nefieslab @Dread