Open Invasion Sith Invasion Of Denon

[Vahn Berand]

The wave of Force-borne lightning swept through the outer yard of the DDF Redoubt, plumes of fire erupting as fuel sources ignited. One armored transport took flight, sailing several stories high into the sky before the cold grip of gravity seized it once more. The transport smashed into the ferrocrete road and crumpled like a can under its own weight, sending rending shards of shrapnel careening through the assembled force. Many were slain outright by just this collision, while others were caught by the wave of lightning itself or the resulting explosions.

The yard was reduced to a debris-strewn field, wrecks littering the ground where the beginnings of counter-offensive had just been staged, and as the smoke cleared death and silence reigned. Inside the Redoubt, Vahn stood slowly. He held his side, wincing from the biting pain from several impacts as he was thrown about by the raw concussive force of the eruptions outside. A trail of sticky warmth scrawled down the side of his face. He was shaken, but still functional. He'd taken cover inside the building, and it had held but he could see the cracks forming in the structure around him. Time to leave.

Then the air sang once more with crimson blaster bolts. The exchange was thick; blaster fire raining down from windows in the squat ferrocrete structure, from the few remaining men out in the yard, and popping from the darkness within the open maw of the garage. There were even a few lances of blood-red light emitting from a nearby alley where a soldier had sought cover. The storm of fire raked across the Sith positions, a suppressing enfilade with surprising volume. There were still many DDF present that had some fight in them.

A single object emerged; more a dark, matte-blue blur than anything else, screaming through the air out of the redoubt’s garage. Vahn clutched the handles of the speeder bike hard enough to make his knuckles whine in protest as the vehicle roared over the skyway inches below past the position of the Sith Troopers and his new friend Elav. He made sure to angle strongly away from the Sith just to make it more difficult to track him..

The advantage to having a military force that doubled as a police force, is that sometimes you apprehend street racers, and sometimes you “acquisition” illegally modified speeder bikes. There really is no such thing as luck.

In moments, Vahn was joined, as in his wake a half dozen other speeders, some refitted version of the age old Arrow-23s ripped out of the garage after him, smashing through debris and wreckage on their way out of the yard. These were slower, but more well armored, and each armed with a mounted blaster cannon that could make mincemeat of almost any civilian vehicle that needed to be stopped. They quickly formed up into a convoy behind him, following Vahn’s trail even as he screamed ahead as fast as he could push the engine and repulsors of the bike.

“Go! Go! We’ll hold them here!” the voice coiled in his memory, drawing tension in his heart. He had made promises…. And just as easily he had to break them. He would make peace with this later.

For now he had one destination. The ominous horror, that devouring presence that had tormented the boundaries of his senses was inside the capitol. The capitol shields were down. Who knows how many of the defenders were still alive.

The fight was still going on. That was a cold relief. He could see Master Tionson still dueling, the DDF were still rallied in places, still fighting for their lives against the Sith invaders. There was still hope. There’s always hope. He pivoted, banking hard so that his speeder bike screeched into a hard turn that saw him shooting straight towards the capitol building and the sense of overwhelming dread that had been clouding him all this time. The small convoy of armored speeders followed moments behind.

Vahn didn’t even wait for the bike to slow before he leapt free onto the steps leading into the building. He landed firmly onto his feet, and instantly broke into a run, long loping strides taking him through the path of carnage that lead into the building.

He pressed his comm link, and soon his voice crackled across any Jedi or DDF comms in the area. Along the way he had seen bodies, drained of life, and now a great many soldiers had been dispatched all at once. His jaw tensed as he followed his senses, the ever present hunger leading him down the halls.

“This is Jedi Knight Vahn Berand. This is an urgent call for aid. Help is needed at the capitol. A Sith Lord has penetrated the inner defenses. The capitol is increasingly untenable. Evacuation recommended,” Vahn said, his voice tight. He changed the frequency of the comm link to speak just to his newly acquired comrades in arms.

"How would your leaders get out? Where would they go?"

"There are tunnels under our feet. We can get out of the capitol into any direction. They're probably already heading down. From there, well...." Parrix trailed off.

"We'll deal with that problem when, if, the time comes, now get somewhere safe, we might be needing those speeders," Vahn replied.

Parrix walked Vahn through the capitol over his comm link. Guiding him along corridors, down dusty steps until he came to a secured door; not unlike what you would find on a starship. Vahn turned the hatch, and the pressurized seals slowly popped open. He was instantly confronted with a number of terrified faces from many different worlds. Odd how universal the expression of fear is amongst disparate species.

"Yes, I'm the one you heard on the comms. Alright, we're getting out of here," he announced, already moving to activate the aperture of a sealed entryway that lead into the tunnels below. "In you go, important dignitaries first,"

 

[Aadya Rasheer]

Aadya watched with amusement as her attack struck true and the Jedi went flying backwards. She could almost hear the thud as she hit the ground, rolling along the duracrete like a stray huttball. Aadya left her defensive stance and began walking towards Rishe, keen on ending the fight just as it started.

And then the Jedi spoke, and slipped back into the shadows of the alleyways.

Coward! Aadya screamed, easily loud enough for the Jedi to still hear it while they fled.

Knowing that her quarry was gone, rage crested and fell inside of Aadya's chest. Her breathing was shallow and erratic, a mixture of excess adrenaline and absolute frustration. She felt absolutely robbed of her opportunity, but after a few moments reason started its return to her mind.

Turning on her heel, Aadya decided to not give chase to the Jedi. There were more important objectives to claim than a single irrelevant life. Using the force, Aadya sped off in the direction of Darth Stolas. It would not take her long to reach him, assuming the ugly bearded Jedi hadn't already killed him.

Aadya almost cackled at the thought. What a ridiculous idea.

 

[Darth Raze]

Raze used the Force to draw his fallen saber back to his grasp as he backed up from the roll. He didn’t care to see if the hand landed, his focus on his profusely bleeding leg. The distance between the combatants allowed a small moment of reprieve. The terrible pun from the Jedi was met with a blank stare from the helmet with an equally blank stare beneath it. Saber ignited and moved towards the side of his leg where it burned into the open wound. Raze grunted again in pain, fingers of his free hand curling into a fist and trembling as he cauterized the wound.

He was allowed time for little else as the explosion shook the foundations of the ground they stood on. Raze quickly switched off the saber as he lost his footing and was sent tumbling to the lower levels. He fell with the debris, having only time to duck and roll as he crashed below. He worked through the pain, orienting himself swiftly back to his feet.

Raze could barely make out Talak’s outline and rushed directly towards him after firing off a Force push. He used his full body weight in an attempt to slam his shoulder into the other man and check him into the wall behind him as harshly as possible. He was completely covered in dust and debris, but the fight was far from over. He was in a defensive position and still wary of any sudden weapons the Jedi would produce.

@Phoenix

 

[Darth Stolas]

THEME​

The damaged derived from the minute shards was equally minor rather than the ideal embedment, but the purpose of the attack was fulfilled. Morgan seemed to have the Jedi's attention more completely as he closed into dueling range. This left the Magpie's guns to reset and retarget, settling into a cover fire position behind the front lines. The closer to Max the Sith Lord was the more dangerous it would be for him to split his attention elsewhere.

"No need, I already have a collection of Jedi tombstones on Ajan Kloss," the young Lord intoned as he began to close the distance, guard up in a forward-tilted vertical position. "And while I'm sure you're well used to being handled with tweezers," the helmet dipped a little and then back up as if giving the Jedi an appraising look. "You waste both my time and your breath, and the former has value." Stolas' words ended with something like a baritone growl, the fury of his presence spiking. He felt a vague and distant sense of pain that frustrated him and spurred him forward with a focused intensity.

Approaching proper dueling range, side face and left foot forward, his saber's tip flicked and quickly cut forward aimed at the fingers of Max's right hand. Morgan's own right hand remained ominously near his belt, palm down and fingers facing forward as the Force stormed within and around him in melodious chorus with his movement and will.

Aadya breaking off from her own brief engagement was barely noticed, although through no fault of her own. Stolas had work to do and a soldier to return to and the mulish Maxims Tionson was standing directly in his way.

@Nefieslab @Logan

 

[Rishe Vakren]

Some things still marked Rishe as a padawan. The satisfying spite of driving the Sith to that moment of sheer frustration felt like a jolt of energy, even if it wasn't the Jedi way to think.

But just as her foe realized, Rishe had more important matters. She was starting to feel fatigued from spending the majority of the war sprinting around, but she wasted no speed in rushing towards the center of the city.

"Help is needed at the capitol. A Sith Lord has penetrated the inner defenses."

A gaping maw. An open wound, through which nothing could be seen or felt. Rishe had felt it before she saw the results and had walked amongst it. The main hall entrance was eerily quiet. Blaster marks didn't line the walls, but the DDF lay dead regardless. The area was much too clean. And somewhere deeper inside, a creature was spreading that foul influence further, searching for victims. Hopefully they'd be too occupied to notice a Jedi's approach.

It may already be too late for the evacuation.

As she broached an intersection, she could see five figures slumped. Two seemed to be moving, three were not. Four wore the uniforms of the DDF. And one wore... that didn't look like a DDF officer at all, was that a senator? Rishe came to a crouch near the crumpled group, checking their status to the best of her ability. She was no healer of course, but neither were any of the soldiers, and they still carried some stims, delightfully simple little things.

It took her a minute to frantically loot the casualties for some of the little ampoules, occasionally checking over her shoulder to make sure the Sith troopers hadn't yet won their skirmishes to follow her in. The stims hissed as she pressed them through the shoulder of the two surviving men one by one. She kept a final one in a pocket just in case.

"Senator? Senator." Rishe hissed in a low, urgent tone, tapping a grimy hand against the man's cheek. "Wake up. The Sith are about to overrun the capital, we need to get you and the rest out now."

@Forsythe Crowholde @Dread

 

[Orenth]

The blade of energy sliced through Byron's leg. Or rather, they intersected during Byron's kick. The lost lower leg flew and flopped onto the ground with the cut flesh sending the smell of burnt flesh into the air. The Jedi's body twisted awkwardly, off balance and instinctually surprised by the injury. Byron let out a yell and tumbled to the ground.

The man's eyes stared at the smoking stump. The angle it was at didn't allow him to see the cauterized end but the burnt leg that sat with the toes pointed towards the sky was enough of an indicator. The pain surged to the surface of his mind and along every nerve of his body. It was more than what came from his own body. Lyra's toxified passion was not fully understood by the Knight.

A shaking forearm pushed against the ground to get the man more upright. Trying his best to come to terms with the loss of his left leg, the man took a breath of ozone hinted air. His other unclip his lightsaber from his belt, igniting the blade once it was in his grip. "Lyra...you don't have to do this."

@GABA

 

[Morndell Avon]

The four DDF soldiers did not stand a chance against Malicia's might, and Morndell was no exception.

The Darksider's assault was a guaranteed hit, and for the second time that day the Chalactan senator found himself getting swept off his feet by an invisible force. Morndell was sent flying along with the DDF soldiers, and pain lanced across the senator's body. He could feel something crack somewhere along his torso, and his back hit the ground with much weight than the explosion from earlier. At least the senator still maintained enough common sense to protect his head as he rolled across the floor like a ragdoll, only coming to a stop as his side hit a wall. Receiving the full weight of the crash and the hard wall beside him, Morndell let out a surprised and pained gasp as his his right arm let out a sickening snap, a hint of bone jutting out of his lower arm that nearly pierce his side.

With the five defenders down, the Sith Lord was free to traverse the halls unchecked. Morndell struggled to remain awake, but the blinding pain was too much for him, the cold embrace of unconsciousness rushing forth to meet him.

—

Ramone had already been out of the Capitol building, on his way to the closest hangar along with as many civilians he could lead, before the explosions wracked the building. Dark eyes wide with surprise and a hint of fear for his superior, the senatorial aide could do nothing but watch from a distance as the Capitol building's shields went down.

With the help of five DDF troops, the aide ushered the civilians to board any transport craft that were available to aid in evacuation. One Peacemaker in hand, Ramone surveyed the area for any hostiles before tapping his comm to try to contact his superior.

"Senator Avon? Senator Avon, can you hear me?"

The lack of response had Ramone steeling himself for the worse. He gestured for one trooper to approach, instructing the latter to send out a long-range broadcast for key defenders – mainly the Jedi. Together the two approached the Chalactan senator's own transporg ship, a GX-1 Lantillan Transport. The crew of the River Dweller began preparing for lift off at Ramone's behest, and the aide shifted his attention to the trooper he had summoned.

"Message for Jedi defenders. Chalactan Senator Morndell Avon's ship is ready to receive evacuees. If you can evacuate political heads and dignitaries, the River Dweller is ready to receive them and evacuate them offworld. I repeat: Jedi defenders, the River Dweller is ready to receive political heads and dognitaries for evacuation offworld."

To the trooper, Ramone said, "Keep broadcasting to the Jedi defenders only. Other ground troops' comms are liable to be taken by the Sith. We can't have them knowing that there's an option for the political heads' escape other than the tunnels."

"Yes, sir!"

Climbing aboard the transport craft, Ramone began barking orders for the crew to get to their positions, all the while silently praying for Morndell's safety. He knew he wouldn't be able to forgive himself if something terrible happened to the superior he and Edmund have come to call their father.

—

Morndell had no idea how long he had been out and bleeding until he felt something tapping against his cheek.

Dark eyes opened as soon as awareness hit him along with the pain, and the sight of a young woman greeted him. It was only his past experience as a Marine that had the senator fighting and succeeding in orienting himself back to wakefulness, and quickly – but carefully so as not to further aggravate his injured arm and possibly cracked or broken ribs – pulled himself up in a sitting position.

A frown darkened his face at the Padawan's report. Any offer of help in standing up would be gladly but quietly received.

"I know, I had the misfortune of running into one, hence..." Morndell replied sternly but not unkindly as he gestured at his broken arm, his frown turning into a grimace at the sight of bone poking out of his lower arm. Turning his attention back to Rishe, he'd tell her, "We need to evacuate the politicians. If the Sith gets to them, then this battle is over."

His comm crackled, and, answering, Morndell heaved a sigh of relief upon hearing Ramone's voice.

"General, please, answer you damn comm!"

Raising a brow at the aide's frantic voice, Morndell would gesture for Rishe to take the lead as they moved forward.

"I am answering."

"Thank the stars... Senator, I'm sending a broadcast for the Jedi defenders that the River Dweller's available for evacuating political heads offworld. I didn't have thr time to consult you because I assumed the worst that the explosions in the Capitol might have already killed you."

"Very good, Ramone," he'd tell the aide but wouldn't begrudge thr younger Chalactan for stating the latter statement. As former Marines they were expected to anticipate the worst in any and all situations, and Morndell's death was one of them. "Keep broadcasting, but for the Jedi defenders only. Other ground troops'–"

"–comms are liable to be taken by the Sith, yes Senator. Waiting for their arrival. And yours."

"Yes, I'll see you."

Ending the call, Morndell would shift his focus back at Rishe once more. "Do you know other escape routes we might use? From what I've learned before this battle broke out, there are a series of tunnels underneath the Capitol building."

@Stick @The Steel Stag

 

[Talak Rand]

It took Talak only a moment to grab his own arm with the Force and wrench it hard, the sickening pop of the ball dropping back into its socket causing him to once again groan in pain before coughing as dust threatened to enter his lungs.

Perhaps it was that noise that allowed his enemy to find him, or perhaps the dust had cleared enough to see, but the man came hurtling out of the dust a moment later. The Force warned the Jedi of the impending blast and he conjured energy to himself that batted the blast aside. It arced around the Jedi and slammed into the wall behind him, sending more rocks flying in every direction as another piece of architecture was brutalized.

Talak may have been an arm down, but you could say that he had a... leg up on the competition. The Sith was by no means slow, but the injury to his leg bought Talak the extra split second he needed to avoid taking the full brunt of the body slam.

He stepped to his left and pivoted, the shoulder grazing off his chest and still sending a blunt pain through him. His left knee came up hopefully before his opponent could stop his advance and slammed up, hoping to meet the knife wound in his opponent's leg and cause the leg to buckle out from under him.

The Jedi knew that being an arm down meant going to ground was almost certainly a death sentence, and so he fought to remain on his feet for now, using his speed to his advantage.

And yet, the reality was, he could feel himself tiring. Injuries wore on the body much more quickly than simply combat, and the Jedi had already accumulated several of them. He could feel his movements beginning to slow and his breath - half strangled by dust - was almost more coughing than breathing.

 

[Vahn Berand]

Vahn hurried the politicians and leaders of Denon into the tunnels below the capitol. Some of the politicians were older, so he had to help them through the low arch of the tunnel opening but he made sure to keep up the rate of egress. As soon as one was through Vahn was practically pushing the next one in.

As he ushered the last of Denon’s political brass into the tunnel, Vahn’s comm link chirped a tone that he had set up with the remaining DDF under his watch.

“What’s your situation?” Sergeant Parrix said, his voice tinny and distorted through the comms.

“I have the VIPs. I’m leading them out of the capitol… roughly Northbound. I’ve been told that this tunnel has an escape point in a Trade block; near a few old Clan Banks. We don’t exactly have a plan after we get out of here though,” Vahn said.

“Old Clan Banks….got it, I know the place. Evac sites are being set up all over the planet. Here, I’ll send over the coordinates to a site some remaining DDF are securing in Little Corellia. It’s a plaza outside of a small private star port north of your position. Look for The Bastra Skydocks. There are other ports but I wouldn’t trust them. Everyone is trying to get out; stay away from the big sites near the capitol. They’ll either be swamped or hit by Sith attackers imminently.” The voice of Sergeant Parrix was labored, but clear. Today had clearly stretched him nearly to breaking.

“How are your men?” Vahn asked.

“The ones we were able to get out are okay. There aren’t many of us left after what happened at the Redoubt. But we were able to get out,” he said bitterly. Vahn frowned. He would deal with this later.

“Focus on the current problem; we have immediate conflicts that we need to resolve,” Vahn said. Work the problem. Focus on what you can achieve in the moment. Master Vetan had always told him this.

“Save as many as we can, we can lick our wounds afterwards.”

There was silence from the other end of the comm before; “Right. Do what we can.”

“One more thing. Be careful with your transmissions from here on out. Do not announce our evac point on any public channels; even to other DDF. Only use the Jedi channels to communicate with me, and to talk about the evac point, we don’t know if DDF lines have been compromised yet,” Vahn said.

“Recognized. Only Jedi lines. We’ll meet you at the exit from the tunnels.” The line went silent.

Vahn bent low to slip into the tunnel, and then paused. He adjusted the frequency of his comm back onto the Jedi line.

“This is Knight Berand. Capitol is confirmed untenable. I’m bringing the VIPs up through the northern tunnels; meet us at The Bastra Skydock in Little Corellia, we’re trying to get ships ready to evac off-world.”

He ducked under the aperture, which scissored closed behind him as he jogged to catch up with the panicking politicians. For a moment, he had the notion to use The Force to calm them, but he quickly bit back this urge. Any chance of being identified had to be resisted. He had to use as few of his abilities as possible.

The underground passage snaked roughly northwest for some time, and Vahn adjusted his pace to slowly get to the head of the pack by the time they came to a fork in the road. The tunnel split off in two directions; one towards an underground shelter, and the other towards a small exit point several hundred meters off. Vahn turned to several of the remaining capitol guards with the crowd.

“Alright, I want you all to go down that way,” Vahn suggested, pointing down towards the path to the shelter. “Spread out, and make sure you disturb as much dust as you can and make it look like we split off in two directions. That might peel some pursuers off. We’ll wait for you to get topside, but hurry. Time is short.” Vahn said. The capitol guards exchanged a worried look, but then hurried off down the decoy path.

“Alright, let’s go, let’s move!”

Vahn gestured for the VIPs to follow, and he made his way through the second path with his crowd of politicians in tow at a jogging pace until they came to the end, where the tunnel terminated. All that remained was a rusted ladder, and the waiting aperture in the ferrocrete roof above. Vahn pinged Ralta in his far off X-wing to come meet at the evac point.

 

[Maxims Tionson]

The Sith had achieved one thing beyond a shadow of a reasonable doubt; before, he had had Max's idle curiosity but now? Now he had his attention. He might not be glad that he did considering Malicia's rampage was still somewhere in the back of his mind and the only thing stopping him from correcting that right now? Was some Sith he'd never heard of before, being enough of a threat to be something he couldn't, in good conscience, ignore or brush off.

He advanced with a vertical guard - makashi? Nice.

The banter? Childish at best but the man seemed... off. If Max was pulled in the direction of the Capital building because of Malicia, was it possible the Sith was pulled elsewhere? Something to mull over in his mind later.

"Such an inflated sense of worth..." he teased back as he pulled his right arm back, bending the elbow, to catch the tip of the Sith's blade against the middle of his right blade as he pulled his blade back, it's tip now angled down toward the Sith's feet, rotating the tip of the Sith's blade away up and to Max's right with the flick of his blade, "Always in the shadow of a Greater Sith. Malicia. Raze. The fake who calls themselves the Eternal."

Max wasn't going to be precious about the secrets he had learned on Mandalore when in search of the true Mask of the Eternal. Especially when it might provide even a second of confusion, surprise or doubt.

Focusing on his opponent, feeling him molding the Force in his free hand, Max focused his might and skill with the Force to lock in a Force Stasis on Stolas. With his Force connection focused elsewhere, his hand momentarily unable to move, the 'secret' being outed and (maybe) Max's own words as a distraction, he would lash out to restrain the Sith. He was strong but Max was not weak, and his plan only needed the stasis to work for a second.

As he was speaking, moving the blade to his right as he did so, the stasis would lock on as Max would pivot on his right foot, swinging his left side in towards Stolas without ever presenting his back to the Sith. His left saber would swing up from it's tip at waist level up and to Max's upper right with the aim to sever Stolas' left hand at the wrist, while keeping his left blade between himself and the Sith should he break free of the stasis attempt with the time it would take for Max to attack.

Stasis in a saber duel was considered a dirty move - but it was a move to disarm the Sith and Max still stubbornly clung to his desire to not kill anyone if he could help it.

@Mr. Teatime

 

[Darth Raze]

Raze barely grazed against the Jedi as he charged in, slamming into the wall hard enough to make a dent. He didn’t linger there, however, whirling around to prepare for attack. The close proximity between the two men and Raze turning at the same time would render the knee less effective than intended. However, that didn’t stop the kick from driving into his thigh. Raze growled in pain again as the knee slammed against the recently cauterized wound, sending that same excruciating jolt of agony through him.

The Sith Lord buckled slightly, but didn’t collapse entirely. His right arm came around swiftly before Talak’s leg could withdraw, hooking around the thigh to trap the leg and the man attached to it. Talak may have been agile, but he was dealing with the equivalent of a 6’4 linebacker. Raze’s left hand came in swinging for a sharp feint hook into the right side of Talak’s face. He knew both of Talak’s arms were likely to come up in defense on account of one being a useless stump.

The jab towards the face would force a block and open up the man’s torso. Raze would use that opening and Talak’s lifted leg to lower his shoulder and barrel directly into him with his full body weight. The result would be a body slam directly into the ground hard enough to bruise or crack the sternum and knock the wind from him.

@Phoenix

 

[ElavAlroon]

Elav’Alaroon’s grin shrank away slightly after halting the lightning and the troopers stopped firing as he realised the Jedi had managed to dive into the building for cover from the onslaught. Pesky cockroach, were all Jedi this hard to kill? He began to walk forward lifting his saber in front of him, expecting his opponent to jump out for a surprise attack. However the surprise in store for the Sith was not an attack, but a speeder racing out of the garage and straight at him causing him to dive to the side out of the way to avoid being hit. Stumbling back up straight he reached out with the Force but was too slow to grab any of the fleeing soldiers.

The Twi’lek let his saber light retract back into the hilt and attached back to his belt before looking over the defenders laying around them. Leaning down he picked up one of their comm devices and held it to his ear to see if what the defenders plans were. No such luck, all he could hear was crackling, the device had been damaged beyond use.

Letting out an aggravated sigh he tossed the electronics back on the floor and turned to walk down the street the way the defenders had fled, passing through the troopers, “Make sure they’re all dead, they are of no use to me. Then head to the capitol. The Jedi will probably make their last stand there.” Still annoyed his prey had escaped him this time, Elav’Alaroon began his march to the Capitol. He didn’t want to expend too much more of his stamina to enhance his travel as he had no idea how aggressive the welcome party would be. That, and he was concentrating on dulling the injury on his shoulder.

 

[Rishe Vakren]

"The battle may already be over. Getting you and the others off world is damage control, Senator." Rishe said. Of course she'd help the man to a sitting position, but it was clear he was in a very poor state. Even with the painkilling effect of the stimulants, he didn't seem as soft a man as he looked. Assessing his injuries, moving carefully, and replying evenly into a commlink that Rishe couldn't hear from.

She didn't like leaving his arm the way it was, but making anything beyond a sling was shamefully beyond her. What she did do was carefully pull at the seams of her sleeves to try and knot them together. At the very least - if the man allowed her - she'd try to immobilize the broken arm in a very limited sling. It left her looking like some sort of Jedi actor she'd see in a pulpy holovid. Messy, bloody, torn sleeves. Hopefully the haunted look wasn't there.

To his credit, the Senator stood up, walking despite his injuries. Rishe dutifully took the lead as they went deeper into the capital, her nerves taut to the point of snapping. She didn't like being so close to that presence. "And we'll take the tunnels. If that creature has beaten us there, I can lead you to the north through the alleys, but it will be a longer and riskier route."

The ragged young woman would be checking often over her shoulder for the senator's status as they descended stairs... and passed bodies. No signs of battle, just death. And below, the tunnel system waited. An open secret, it wasn't easy to find, but knowing it was there helped.

Confronted with the underground passages ahead of them, Rishe looked back at her charge. "Senator Avon, Is there any chance you know who's on Denon right now? Both offworld and local politicians?" She said, tapping the commlink behind her ear. They both seemed to have access to Jedi channels, so the Senator would have heard the broadcast as well. And if Senator Avon was here, there may be other offworlders. "If Master Berand's made it through the tunnels, it should be safe for us. Though he doesn't specify how many of the politicians he has. Or who he has."

The concern would be clear. With the Sith Lord rampaging above them... anyone who was left behind was in danger. But then again, Rishe couldn't face that alone. She probably couldn't face it even with help, and if she mistakenly assumed the tunnels were safe and abandoned Avon? It might turn out to be another failure like when she left the east side behind. She had to stick with it. So she motioned him to follow her into the tunnels, keeping her saber extinguished. The darkness was safer for them than being a beacon right now.

All she had to do was get one man to the evacuation point. Which - "Your ship, the River Dweller, is it at the Bastra Skydock? Or can it move there?"

@Forsythe Crowholde

 

[Talak Rand]

Talak felt the Sith's arm wrap up around his leg, and it didn't take a genius to figure out what came next. Although his arm blocked the punch, there wasn't much he could do to avoid the slam.

He did his best to brace for it, but the impact still shot through his whole body, his head only narrowly avoiding slamming into the ground. His breath came even more difficult now, uncertain whether one of his ribs had broken with the impact. He... thought it was a distinct possibility.

But he didn't know when to quit. He'd scrapped his way through training as a Sith, been nearly killed the day he'd left them, and wasn't about to throw in the towel now. If this was to be his end, then he would make such an end as to be worthy of remembrance.

His left hand snagged one of the stones that had fallen all around them, slightly larger than his fist, and brought it around to slam it into the side of his opponent’s head. With armor over all of his important bits, Talak knew that simply punching him wouldn’t cut it, and while the rock wouldn’t fracture a skull like it would if the man were unarmored, it was likely to do a fair bit of damage.

 

[Darth Raze]

Raze quickly shoved Talak’s leg back down, shifting his weight so he straddled the other man and pinned him down with his heavier weight. This quick move cost him as the Jedi promptly grabbed something to slam towards his head. He had no chance to get out of the way, but he sought to avoid a hit to the temple and instead tilted his head slightly down and forward. The blow landed on the front upper portion of his head. The hit rattled him and dazed him, but it wasn’t as severe as a blow to the temple.

His right hand moved as he reeled, grasping at Talak’s wrist and pinning it to the ground to his side. Raze moved up slightly and began to quickly rain blow after blow into Talak’s face while pinning the man down. He knew Talak was powerless to do anything with his right hand being a harmless stump and left being firmly caught. He also had Raze sitting on him and keeping his legs unable to do much either.

“Let me help you find your peace, you worthless snake,” The mechanized voice growled as he kept slamming down repeatedly with his fist, aiming to beat Talak’s face till it was unrecognizable.

@Phoenix

 

[Darth Tiamat]

There was no resistance as her blade fell through Byron's leg; the severed limb flew behind her and the Jedi Knight's trajectory was thrown off balance by the sudden surprise and weightlessness he would feel...or lack of feeling. Tiamat bathed in the darkness that had engulfed her as she turned to face the Jedi Knight as he pushed himself up; his shock reverberated through the Force, but even more so was his regret for the girl as he pleaded for her to question what she was doing.

He called her by her old name, one tied to the pain of her past, the abandonment, the shame, and betrayal that had torn her life apart. Perhaps that individual would have taken another thought to what she was doing, but that girl did not have the power or control like she did now. Tiamat was strength and power built from the pain she had felt and continued to endured.

Fighters screamed overhead, their blaster fire ringing as the battle continued, and Byron in his pathetic attempt to continue to defend himself, ignited his saber. The Sith felt annoyance from his perseverance and another wave of pain washed over again as she closed in on the Knight. Her saber rotated back, preparing to strike, but she paused just outside his reach as something else pulled her attention. She stepped backward, seeing the explosion from overhead as debris from a downed fighter made impact with a side of the skyscraper. The building and pieces of the ship would come hurling down to their location.

Tiamat stumbled backwards, trying to clear from the falling pieces of duracrete and steel, leaving Byron to face a fate of his choosing. She pulled the Force around her, shielding herself from falling pieces as she pushed herself to dive for cover; Tiamat would wedge herself under an overturned barricade until there was only dust, darkness, and the pain of another that continued to pulse through her body with no outlet to alleviate it.

@Darasuum

 

[Darth Stolas]

It was perhaps for the best Maxims Tionson had no idea who Stolas actually was behind the mask. There were many within the Sith Eternal who would have been more than incensed at his words but the Jedi really just didn't know Morgan very well.

His self-confidence was solid. Malicia was on the Council and held a measure of Stolas' professional respect. Raze was a man he was very close to and had a great deal of respect and admiration for on top of that. Most of Max's taunts thus rang hollow in Morgan's ears, reflective of his ignorance more than being properly insulting. As for the Eternal, whether they were a fake or not changed nothing.

Comparing the three Sith Lords to their masked leader garnered a sense of disapproval and disdain and another spike in fury. It didn't distract him from his immediate goal however, instead seeming to blend in with the rest. If Morgan was hidden in the shadows of other Sith that merely meant his enemies wouldn't see him coming when he went for their throat.

Whether or not someone knew who Morgan was didn't matter when they were dead.

Morgan's cut was blocked but rather than being dragged off the blade was flicked up again to deny a proper bind, leaving Max parrying empty air. His wrist twisted with his arm and their weapons would make contact again as Stolas' saber dropped and moved left. It would push the blue blade further toward the Jedi's right, the Sith's point directed toward Max's torso to take advantage of the opening to make a thrust while remaining in guard.

But then there was the Jedi's influence on the Force to contend with, and while Max's right blade was checked the left was merely inconveniently arranged and out of guard. Max's will began to close in around the Sith Lord, focused on keeping him still, but Morgan's will was focused on an attack of his own.

"I think not!"

At the same time as the stasis closed in around Morgan but before Max had properly turned himself or moved his left lightsaber into position to swing or guard, the Sith made an attack of his own. A crackling stream of eldritch power erupted from Morgan's right hand toward the Jedi's torso, the end result of the power he'd gathered flashing into the unguarded opening in an instant. Force lightning cracked out from gloved fingers that had already been in position for the strike.

It was concentrated and full power, holding enough charge to send a man flying through the air and leave severe electrical burns. A direct hit would easily break Max's concentration on the Force as well as prevent the follow up swing toward Morgan's wrist. It was also focused enough that drawing it away from its direct and short range path would be difficult even if Max had a ground nearby and wasn't otherwise occupied with keeping Morgan still.

@Nefieslab @Logan

 

[Talak Rand]

Talak felt the rock find purchase against the man's head, but unfortunately he'd been correct: it wasn't enough to kill him. In fact, it barely bought him any time at all before the other man was atop him again.

Talak's arm struggled against the Sith's fighting against being pinned down.

A snake? Ironic coming from someone who wants to stab his own in the back, he said. Talak wanted to end the Eternal because he was a Jedi, and the Sith wanted to do the same. Except he wanted to do it for his own power. It was the same path Talak had once walked, and he was glad to be rid of it.

As for finding peace? If you'd asked him even a few months ago, he would have denied it, but now? He wasn't sure. That was a long path and probably one he'd never fully complete in life, but what he did know was that he'd taken the first steps. After years as a "Jedi" he'd finally found what it actually meant to be a Jedi. Despite everything that had happened, his temporary or permanent separation from Trys, his apprentices he'd watched fall and die, and the people he'd seen the Sith kill, he'd finally come to terms with the fact that to be a Jedi was to be more than that. It was to be more than the sum of his personal experiences for good or ill. And it was about sacrifice.

Talak felt his arm get pinned to the ground and the impact of fist against his face. And again. And again. Blood flowed from all over his face, bruises beginning, to form, and his head was spinning.

His right arm shot out, not to strike the Sith, but to grasp the Force. The wall to his right, Raze's left had already been badly damaged by the blast from the Sith Lord that Talak had redirected into it, and a tug from someone with Talak's attunement to the Force, brought it tumbling down only moments later. Perhaps it would bury them both. Perhaps this was going to be it for him, but if it killed Talak, that meant it killed the Sith too. The man was on top of him, after all, and would take the brunt of the falling debris, hopefully breaking some of his posterior ribs or perhaps impaling him on the way down.

 

[Orenth]

Byron had brought his lightsaber out knowing in his condition he needed it to defend himself. The Jedi Knight was not going to give up from a simple flesh wound. But that didn't mean he had much in the way of options. Before him he felt the darkness embrace the presence of Lyra in the force. It felt akin to looking at an eclipse or a star dying out. "Lyra..." He repeated her name knowing she wouldn't answer to it.

Byron looked up in time to see the blooming explosions from one of the starfighters in pieces before dropping back down to the Sith. His lightsaber blade almost went out immediately seeing as it would do him now good. Letting go of the weapon it would travel the short distance to the Capital Building floor and clatter beside him.

Reaching forward towards the sky above and the falling pieces of debris, Byron closed his eyes and flattened his back against the hard groundd. There was no time to think. He felt a maelstrom of emotions and there was chaos all around. The knight would create a cycle on his own with spiraling up to meet the falling rocks and metal.

I am one with The Force and The Force is with me.

Gritting his teeth, the Knight tried to rapidly widen the rotating gale winds so as to put him at the eye of the storm and push the lethal materials to the side where they could fall away from Byron. Everything would still come crashing down with smoke and clouds rising from impacts and fires.

A lightheaded sensation quickly came over Byron as reverberations were soon the only sensation Byron felt. Even sound seemed to fade out like someone was turning down the volume on everything. His body began to fall into unconsciousness aside from something... off-black. Even with all of his effort, Byron would not be able to avoid everything crashing down. Ultimately he would still become partially buried underneath the rubble, clinging to life.

@GABA

 

[Morndell Avon]

The Padawan's aid did not go unacknowledged, and Morndell's uninjured hand found Rishe's shoulder in a grateful and oddly paternal pat. He stayed as still as he could as she tried the best she could to immobilize his broken arm. It wasn't much, but right now the Chalactan senator was thankful both for the young woman's improvisation and responses to his question.

She did not attempt to sugarcoat her words in a way to appease a politician, and Morndell had taken an instant liking to the young Padawan.

With every dead body the two passed by, the senator's hatred for the Sith grew. It reminded him of the massacre of his own troops back in Morak, and how little he could do to fight off the dark hand that brought nothing but death and destruction. And while he might have helped save lives today, Morndell still felt terribly unequipped and incapable of stopping even one Sith from taking innocent lives. It was a bitter pill he was prepared to swallow, knowing his own limitiations, but Max's words rang loud and clear in the senator's mind.

Call and we will answer.

And his friend was still up there, facing the dangers the Sith posed. Morndell wanted to go back up and offer his aid, but he knew that he would only be a tool that could possibly be used as a leverage against Max or any other Jedi defender. He would only be a burden to the man he called friend (and brother), and so Morndell stayed the thoughts, the need to go and help. He could only hope and pray that Max and his fellow Jedi make it out alive.

Besides, they could save and protect more innocent lives than Morndell could ever hope to do.

Walk out alive, my friend. May the Force be with you.

He was not sure if the thought would reach Max, but it was the thought that counted, right?

Mindful of his own injuries and still unsure of the damage to his torso (more so his ribs), the senator followed Rishe's lead as they descended to the tunnels below. The stim's painkilling effects proved their efficacy, and while it dulled the pain it did nothing for his still bleeding injuries, more so his broken arm. Morndell tucked his arm close, his fingers pressed on his clothing so the blood wouldn't drip onto the ground. The blood seeeped to his clothes but at least it wouldn't leave a potential trail for the enemies to follow.

His comm pinged a new message from one Jedi Knight Berand, and the former Marine couldn't help but allow a small smile to grace his face. It would seem that the Chalactan was the only dignitary left in the Capitol which he considered a victory in and of itself. Getting the majority to safety was close to getting achieved – all that was left was to take them offworld and bring them to safety.

"Yes," he replied to Rishe's question. "A couple dozen of both offworld and local politicians." He wouldn't bore her with political talks and his reason for being here – although the latter might actually be interesting, given that a Force-sensitive had directed him and Ramone to the planet itself. "Though it does sound worrying that Knight Berand wasn't able to give numbers and names. Perhaps a visual on their numbers and faces would do once we get to the evac point – but then again he wasn't alerting us that he was missing a politician or two. We can only assume that he has them all, even if it's an assumption still."

They took the path to the northern tunnel, and Morndell had to suppress a triumphant chuckle when Rishe inquired about the River Dweller's location. It seemed that luck was in their favor today.

"Ah, I'm glad I followed Ramone's advice," he muttered to himself with a smile despite the sudden shortness in his breath. He replied, "My ship is indeed at the Bastra Skydock. Small mercies..."

He pinged his aide, saying, "Ramone, expect a Jedi Knight coming your way with a couple dozen of both local and offworld politicians. I know our ship's passenger capacity isn't much, but fit as many as you can in the River Dweller. Get also as many transport ships as you can to help with the evacuation."

"Yes, sir!"

—

At the Skydock, Ramone once more descended from the River Dweller to follow his superior's command. The five DDF defenders who was with him had long since grown in number, with most of them securing the area. Fortunately there were still no enemy presence detected in the surrounding area, leaving the evacuation point a safe space to allow the political figures to escape.

Granted access to the Jedi's comms like the senator, Ramone would begin to contact Knight Berand.

"Knight Berand, this is Pascal Ramone, senatorial aide of Chalactan Senator Morndell Avon. The Bastra Skydock is secure for the time being. Ships are ready to receive for evac."

The Chalactan did not know if it was appropriate for him to say this, but he went on anyway – if only to keep his fellow senatorial aide, Edmund, present in spirit.

"May the Force be with you."

@Stick @The Steel Stag