Open Invasion Sith Invasion Of Denon

[Darth Malicia]

There was taste in the air. Short, fleeting bursts of flavour that faded away, enough to distract her until Malicia's head tipped towards a sound. A murmuring? Muttering? No. Her advance down the long, winding halls of the capital building came to an abrupt stop and she turned towards a door.

There was the sounds again.

Malicia crept closer, allowing the door to hiss open only to reveal a small, huddled group of women and one of them clinging to a dying man. The crying she had heard earlier grew louder when the Sith councillor entered the room. Her deep, humming red blade took up more of the doorway than her own figure and she tipped her head slightly at the whimpering women.

There was something she wanted to say, now that she had the chance. "I understand why you fear me, but truly all your fear is misplaced," Malicia explained, there was no condescension in her voice. She was giving them a gift. She lifted her free hand in front of her, finishing her explanation, "You'll become part of me soon, and then you'll see. You'll understand."

Screams erupted from the room until all the life was ripped and drained from the small group of survivors. Malicia left after, satisfied but disturbed that she hadn't gotten a call about the leaders. She clicked the comm on her helmet, "Why has no one found their leaders yet? I want them found NOW," she growled.

She had a growing sense of irritation, and her eyes settled on a dead DDF members body. Right then she decided something. Malicia brought her hand up, bringing his comm to her hand. It was time to visit the roof.

 

[Darth Tiamat]

Her teeth gritted as she held steady, waiting and listening as the last of the rubble trickled overhead. She could hear the faint trickling of dust and pebbles through the spaces created by the uneven overlay of debris, her ears ringing as her senses took charge. Though she were relieved she was still breathing, her satisfaction to ending the light within Knight Ryker (@Darasuum) seared with endless fury. Her lungs burned with each breath as she inhaled deeply, the pain fueled her rage and the Force contorted in the darkness she commanded.

Metal bent under the weight of the dark side as she begun to snake her way from niche that had protected her. Much of it reminded her of games played during her childhood with moving just the right blocks to ensure the rest did not collapse. It wouldn't be before long did she come to an impasse and Tiamat would find use for the pain that coursed through her. With unnatural strength, rubble and metal blasted forward revealing not daylight or haze from the smoke of blaster fire, but instead she was inside another building and the woman let out a yell, clearly irritated with her given circumstance. On top of it, she could no longer feel the Jedi and the thought of something else taking her kill left her irate.

A voice crackled in her ear from the comm in her helmet; the voice distinct dissatisfaction from Malicia (@Dread) demanding her dues. Tiamat tore off the helmet, screaming as she slammed it repeatedly into a durasteel pillar until it was unrecognizable and she felt some relief, but not enough to leave her in peace. With one final yell, she shot the deformed helmet across the room with enough force to put a divot into the adjacent wall. The woman inhaled deeply, holding her breath for a moment of counts before letting it escape from her lips. She could have used Emryc's tranquility about now, but now she needed to get to the surface, whichever that way was.

 

[ElavAlroon]

Elav’Alaroon began his final approach to the Capitol which had surprisingly few guardians on it’s steps. Perhaps this wasn’t the area of a last stand, did they have somewhere else to run after this? He paused his advance to look up to the sky where another battle raged on, would they try to get some transports through all that cross fire? No, the Jedi wouldn’t risk the lives of the Senators and civilians with such rash actions. He dropped his gaze back to the building before him, so underground then? Bunkers to hide in until the battle is over and it’s safe to flee? It did make sense for the Capitol to have underground security in place.

The Sith raised his right arm, wrapping the Force around a nearby piece of rubble and flinging it at and subsequently through the door in front of him before walking forward again and entering the building. It was obvious that another Sith had beaten him here by the sheer amount of corpses just strewn across the floor. As he stepped over the bodies looking for any that may have been senators he spotted an open medkit near a pool of blood, though none of the other bodies had any injuries that would bleed, except those that his entrance had rolled over of course. Someone was still alive and had been treated with the medkit, which was probably a good idea for him to follow. He reached down and took one of the stim injectors from the kit and used it on himself. It took a few seconds for the painkiller to kick in but when it did he felt his shoulder loosen up a bit. The injury was still there, but at least the pain wouldn’t hinder him any more.

Elav’Alaroon let out a sigh of relief before looking around for any more clues as to where the injured person went. Not a drop of blood anywhere. Then his blood ran cold as a voice hissed over the comms demanding the senators. He looked at a wall, in the direction of the abyss of hunger he could feel emanating from elsewhere in the building, the feeling he’d desperately been trying to ignore. It was clearly one of the Darths he met when he first landed, but he couldn’t tell which, and currently, he didn’t want to find out. Time to find those stairs down.

The stairs downward went all the way to the bottom of the building and into what seemed like a storage room. It didn't take long to locate the hatch to the ‘secret’ areas he had assumed were there. In their hurry, none of the defenders had thought to close and hide the hatch behind them. Though the Twi’lek couldn’t really blame them, not with that monster roaming the halls upstairs.

Elav’Alaroon climbed down the ladder into the darkness below. Reaching the floor he turn to look down the tunnel and could see nothing but darkness. Unclipping his saber, it hissed to life in his right hand, illuminating the area around him and a bright red light. It only reached a few metres, but it was enough to see anything he came close to. He tapped his comms to the other Sith and troops, “There are tunnels under the Capitol. The one I’m in seems to head…” He paused as he got his bearing after entering the building, “North. The hatch was open, so it has been used, but I don’t know by who or how many yet. Will be in touch when I find out more.” He tapped his comm line closed, and with a frustrated sigh began his long walk into the darkness ahead.

@Stick @Forsythe Crowholde

 

[Rishe Vakren]

"Then Force be willing that you're the last one, Senator. When we get there, we will have time to look everyone over as we embark, I'm sure." Rishe said, looking over to the man again. He was... doing very poorly. She'd never been injured as severely as that, but the man had an unmistakable military grit, clutching his wounds close to his chest and continuing forward regardless. That was definitely admirable and Rishe was thankful for it given the extreme circumstances. A lesser person would have fallen.

"Yeah. We'll get to the port, and this will all be over soon." She reassured. The statement was loaded, whether she realized it or not. She likely only had a sliver of this senator's age and experience, what reassurance could she offer? Was she just saying it for herself?

She missed the familiar thrum of her saber. It was dark and quiet, save for their conversation in low, hushed tones. The gravity of everything was starting to settle upon her shoulders as numbers became faces, her mind settling on remembering the events now that it isn't preoccupied with matters of life and death. She was actually happy she was overburdened - carrying the saber in one hand, the launcher in the other, it kept her hands from twitching.

Then, a sudden sensation ripping through her mind, tugging at her with barbed spikes. She looked back towards the entrance of the tunnel. She couldn't tell where that Dark side presence ever was - just that she was within its reach, and that whenever it killed, she could feel the echo. Her features fall, and she hesitates in her step. What if we left someone behind? Of course she knew that was a ridiculous thought. They already were leaving people behind. The DDF. Staff. Citizens. All to evacuate the disorganized Jedi and political leadership.

It didn't feel right, but she knew that preserving the lives of these men and women took a priority. Their deaths would affect millions or more. But normal people? They'd leave behind shattered families, not planets. Somehow that felt simultaneously like how both the Sith and the Jedi would think, if only for different reasons.

And regarding the Sith? No matter how effective the stim was in getting Avon to move, he was heavily injured. Rishe was slowed to ensure he didn't collapse. They wouldn't be able to outrun anything that followed them.

And she might be insane, but she swore she heard the thrum of a saber in the distance. Saw a flicker of light. "Senator... we need to move faster. Much faster." Rishe whispered urgently. That Sith Lord could be following.

@Xian @Forsythe Crowholde

 

[Maxims Tionson]

The counter to his parry was a thrust at his torso but in order to make the thrust, the Sith's blade had to leave his own. Leaving Max free to rotated his right wrist to bring the blade back around, sweeping the point of Stolas' blade to the right before disengaging again. Then the stasis and his attack started up and Max gritted his teeth as something went wrong.

Force damned lightning - Max should have expected the Sith to use it. It was something of a favourite amongst the Sith after all and Max had been subjected to it, at varying levels of power, in the past.

Thankfully his pivot was a fast motion, fast enough that even with the lightning leaping toward him he was able to present his left saber. Not fully though, not enough as the pivot wasn't fully completed by the time the lightning leapt from the Sith's fingertips. The stasis didn't last even as long as Max had intended because of the sudden change. The tip of his left saber was brought up in time to guard his left arm and left half of his torso but it only diverted some of the lightning and none of the force.

Max rocketed backward from the Sith with the strength of the blast, sending him away from Stolas by a dozen feet at least before he finally stopped. Stopped when he slammed back-first into the speeder he had torn the door from. Grunting in pain, Max remained standing, arms hanging low at his sides. Lightning had burned at his torso armor, melting it in places and leaving him with yet more electrical burns across his torso.

His electrical parts he had managed to save, helped that the blast had hit him centrally and not directly in any of his mechanical places. Still, Stolas didn't need to know that he could still use his arms, hence why he left them limp at his sides, his sabers still active. His back was killing him, heavily bruised, and he could still feel the sparks running through his nerves.

Eyes wide, Max forced himself to move, taking a step away from the speeder with a grin. Ever since his less than graceful landing, he started to build the Force within himself, focusing on his hands.

"... You might actually be half as good as you think you are." he complimented the Sith with the wide grin he used before, "Might even kill me - might even live through it too. I'm ready for that. You got more in you, kid?"

More Sith were coming, he could vaguely feel them. The Jedi presences he had felt before were retreating, though the anger he could sense from Malicia told him they might have tweaked her nose a bit. So long as they lived? He was fine with this.

Yeah... this was fine.

@Mr. Teatime @Dread

 

[Darth Malicia]

The winding stairs took her some time to travel, but her steps were quick and her form small and slender. A tiny creature, she was.

Another hiss revealed the rooftop to the young Council member. At that point she turned off her saber, tucking her hilt back onto her belt. Her steps slowed and she strode closer to the south edge but not too close. All the sounds from the battle above and below mixed together and at the same time they were muffled from the wind.

She brought the DDF comm to her helmet, tipping her head and clicking a button to send a message, "You will not want to interrupt me. Leaders of Denon, surrender yourself to the Sith." Malicia's eyes settled on a building in the distance. "I will kill hundreds of your people at a time until my demand is complied with. People of Denon, if your leaders leave the planet, I will not stop until a debt is paid. They will be choosing their lives over their own peoples."

Malicia dropped the comm, it clinked on the ground near her and rolled to a stop. Both her hands raised towards the building they'd settled on earlier, and she wrapped the Force around part of it. Malicia pulled, ripping part of the buildings foundation. A whining groan echoed in the distance as the building fell down, and Malicia screamed.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" she let out, allowing her irritation to fester. She turned around, reaching out to another building, wrapping the Force around part of it and ripping it down. Then she turned to another building.

 

[Darth Raze]

“Kaggath is the way of the Sith,” He growled in between each blow he handed on Talak’s face, “The Eternal will know when its time comes. There is more honor in that than what you have done,” He said as he landed a particularly nasty punch on the broken nose.

Raze may have been focused on damaging the Jedi, but he wasn’t foolish enough to forget that this was a Force user. He felt the right arm shift beneath him as the Force tugged at the already damaged wall. The Jedi may have been powerful, but he was still attempting a maneuver while being railed on. The Sith Lord paused what he was doing, but he didn’t move a muscle to get off.

The wall began to crumble down towards them both, but Raze sat up straighter and brought his left hand up. His legs and his other arm still kept Talak pinned. The chunks of wall that came down abruptly stopped in suspended animation above them. The metal visor stared down calmly at the Jedi as the Sith Lord’s left hand began to curl into a fist.

“No,” He said simply.

As soon as the fist closed, cracks formed throughout all the floating debris that had been suspended in air. The cracks led to fractures and all of the debris shattered into tiny bits of rock that fell like rain above both men. Raze didn’t budge the entire time, the pebbles bouncing off his armor and helmet as he stared down at Talak. The entire maneuver happened in an instant.

That same hand came down to clutch Talak around his neck, fingers taking a vice grip as the visor gazed down, “I want to watch the light leave your eyes, Jedi. Don’t disappoint me.”

@Phoenix

 

[Vahn Berand]

Vahn was the first to ascend the ladder up to the street level above. There was no way to tell if the street level was safe. He cautiously poked his head out of the iris-hatch of the door, and found himself in a narrow alleyway that lead out onto the skyway to the south, and into a tangle of gaps and alleys in the Trade block. Thankfully, he didn’t see anyone, but the distant sound of blaster fire was still disturbing.

“We’re in luck,” Vahn said down to his huddled dependents in the tunnel below. “There isn’t anyone here, climb out, but quietly.”

He hefted himself out of the concrete hole and started helping the politicians out one by one. It wasn’t long before Vahn’s senses tingled, and he turned in time to watch the line of armored speeders he had last seen at the Redoubt pull in at a gaudy, antiquated cobblegilded clearing just north of the tunnel’s exit.

“Vahn.” Parrix spoke first as a handful of the survivors of the platoon stepped out of their vehicles. Exhaustion wearied their faces almost as much as it had their spirits.

“You’ll want to hear this. We checked the communications logs of the speeders and they indicate there was a distress call, two of your own it says, not too far from here,” Vahn nodded grimly to the sergeant's words.

He set a gloved hand against his chin as he thought. He had a lot of officials and politicians in tow. More than he could move in one trip. Two, at least. He also had two Jedi who needed help. Vahn couldn’t leave his position; he couldn’t leave the officials and politicians he had in tow defenseless.

“Narn. Could you take a speeder to the location of those two padawans?” Vahn said after a moment.

The gruff Nautolan frowned, and looked around at the moment of silence around them.

“Alright. I’m coming right back here to pick up more of these lost pups of ours.”

“Fair enough. Just try and get them, and keep your heads on a swivel, you don’t know what’s out there. Return here as quick as you can and we can get everyone to safety.” Vahn said as the Nautolan turned away to get back in his speeder. It sped off, heading towards the location of the two wounded Padawans. Vahn turned back to his charges.

“Okay, everyone. We’re almost home free, but we need to split you in two. The ones with the most medals, seniority, money, what have you, go there,” Vahn pointed to a wall to the left. “The newbies and lower ranking officials go there,” Vahn pointed to the right.

He then set about mixing the groups as he loaded them into the speeders, alternating between new officials and more well entrenched to diversity the crews he selected for the first trip. More than once he had to threaten a high level politician to get them back in line. It was far safer to mix the crews.

Eventually Vahn managed to cram about half of the remaining officials into the remaining speeders, and he rapped his hand on the hood of the lead car. He leaned over so he could look the driver, Sergeant Parrix straight in the eye.

“I’m staying here. Take them straight to Bastra Skydock and then come right back here. Tell them to get any transports they can find ready for evacuation. I can offer some escort in my starfighter when it arrives there.”

The exhausted soldier gave a simple nod, and then began to accelerate his speeder out of the clearing, through the alleyway and back out into the streets. Vahn watched from around the edge of one of the haughty cloudscrapers towering in the sky above as the small convoy of speeders sped off into the distance northwards.

His attention was pulled away when his comm link chirped. He tapped his comm and listened as Pascal explained the situation.

“Excellent, that will make everything work more easily. We’re still just outside of the tunnel’s exit waiting for our rides to return. We’ve got one load out heading north right now,” Vahn replied.

“Don’t wait for the rest of us, and just get the boarding operation started. You can requisition some of the men that I’m sending to you to speed the process along. Tell them I recommend this action. There's....There's a kid among them named Jogen. Make sure he gets on a ship. Tie him up if you have to. I made him a promise, and...” Vahn trailed off. "The Force is with us, always."

He let the conversation die, and set his hands on his hips as he stood just to the side of the tunnel’s exit, waiting for the remaining Jedi and Senator to arrive.

Then his comm chirped once more, and his chest ran cold as the Sith’s voice coiled in his ears. Malevolence dripped from every word and Vahn’s expression soured in instinct. He quickly dialed back into the Jedi line to communicate with the speeders as they tore northwards.

“Tell the officials to not to make any contact. Make no reply at all. Confiscate their comm links if you have to. Remind them that the other person on that line is a Sith. She’s as liable to do what she says whether we give her what she wants or not,” Vahn had no way to tell whether this was true or not, but he had to remain focused. He couldn’t be distracted from his mission. There were already far too many moving pieces.

Vahn approached both groups of remaining politicians. “I’m sure you all heard that, so I’m going to have to ask for your comm links for the time being. Can’t have anyone making any hasty calls.”

@christhebetrayer @Rhogar @Forsythe Crowholde

 

[Talak Rand]

The assault on his face came to a stop, but as it did, the wall came to a stop above and floated in the air. The power of the Force caused it to begin to crack and crumble. Talak's arm was still pinned under the Sith's leg and he felt a grip tighten around his throat.

It was irony that the Sith wanted to look into his eyes as he died because the Jedi's eyes closed just before the grip on his throat latched on. Despite the dire situation he was in, on the brink of death, he felt peace. It was a peace he had been searching his entire life for and only now felt its touch.

And in that peace, the Force reached out to him. He saw the cycles of the galaxy that he had been obsessed with in his youth, and he finally understood. No matter if the Jedi fell or the Sith rose, the galaxy always corrected itself. He'd spent all his days as a Jedi fighting out of fear of what the Sith would do, but now he understood. He saw a flash of the world around him. The Jedi and Sith fighting above, the platform he was on, and the hatred that consumed the Sith atop him.

And in that flash, he saw his salvation. Or perhaps it was simply delaying the inevitable. He was barely aware of what he did next, the Force acting fully through him now as it slammed into the ground beneath him.

The result was spectacular. Pressure applied to just the right spot, revealed in the Force, and the stone beneath them both cracked and splintered outward from a central point like stepping on a thin sheet of ice. And then it gave way. The floor dropped away and both men were falling, surrounded by stones on ever side.

With a deep breath in and a flash of his arm - now no longer pinned - Talak gripped hard onto the chest plate of the other man as they fell, hurling him partially with his arm and mostly with the Force into the ground below them, amplifying the acceleration of the fall itself.

So maybe he should have been a bit more careful with himself. He barely left himself enough time to cushion his own impact as he hit the ground, pushing himself back to his feet with a great deal of effort. His hand came up to his mouth as he coughed and came away bright red with blood, but he knew the maneuver would have had a terrible impact on the Sith as well.

 

[Darth Raze]

Theme​

Raze’s fingers pressed firmly around the man’s neck. His jaw tightened as he watched Talak’s eyes close, “Look at me,” He growled as he leaned in closer, fingers leaving bruises around the man’s skin. Talak’s face began to turn different shades as life began to leave him. Raze watched the serenity that remained on Talak’s face even as he firmly squeezed. There was a crack as the hyoid bone supported by tendons and muscles fractured under the force of Raze’s choke.

No further damage was done as the ground beneath them gave way again. Raze lost his grip on Talak as the Jedi firmly grasped him by his armor and flung him. The Sith Lord had no chance to orient himself, sent hurtling down by the exceptionally powerful Jedi that wielded the strength of a councilor.

Raze slammed into the ground a level below, the force of his landing sending cracks and fissures throughout his surroundings on the ground. There was a crater where he laid from the impact and after he had attempted to cushion his fall with the Force. The force of the impact dispersed around him, but it wasn’t enough to spare him from damage.

The Sith Lord took a shuddering breath as he slowly rose to sit up. He stared directly ahead towards Talak's direction, his right arm hanging weakly at his side. There was a grotesque break in the arm, the bone piercing out through skin close to where the radius met the humerus at his elbow. The white bone was clearly visible at an unnatural angle amidst the blood that oozed from the wound.

Raze slowly moved to stand, knowing he couldn’t allow Talak a chance to leverage this against him. His left arm reached over and first grasped his right arm around the wrist to it yank forward with a sick crunch and pivot it on its axis. This was followed by his left hand shakily reaching over to shove the jagged edge of the bone back in to temporarily reset the arm.

Popping and crunching resounded throughout the process and hot tears welled up in his eyes, but there was nothing but the cold visage of the helmet staring back at Talak as he did this. The only clue to his immeasurable agony was the way his hands trembled and the way the Force rapidly began to pool to him in his rage.

Raze unleashed that fury at once, letting out a cry as he blasted the Force in an attempt to throw Talak back and through a support column behind him as soon as the Jedi stumbled to his feet.

The Sith Lord took shaky breaths as he slowly began to half walk and half limp towards the Jedi’s direction.



@Phoenix

 

[Darth Stolas]

THEME​

The Jedi took the parry to prevent a quick thrust, doubtless an ingrained instinct in a practiced swordsman, but his maneuvering couldn't quite deal with the sudden burst of lightning.

Max flew back and Morgan's Force-wielding hand moved forward with him, saber rotating back into his 45-degree tip up vertical guard and boots carrying him on to continue his march. He kept up the flow of power until the Jedi struck the speeder, at which point his right hand relaxed and lowered back to his waist. Stolas was on guard the whole way forward, just in case.

Smells of burnt flesh and armour intensified around the two swordsmen, carried on wind already burdened by screams, explosions, and hails of traded weapons fire. Max's flight path left a trail of acrid smoke in his wake, dispersed by the passing of Stolas in pursuit of his target. The Jedi still stepped forward and gathered the Force so he was obviously not yet beaten.

The young Lord's hand shot forward again to unleash a telekinetic push to slam the potentially stunned Jedi back into the speeder as he stepped forward from it, seeking to worsen his blunt force injuries and break his concentration.

"An abundance," Stolas intoned as he approached, "And you are unusually determined. Is this not the part where Jedi usually flee to safety?"

@Nefieslab @Logan

 

[Morndell Avon]

It was getting progressively harder to breathe, and he could taste blood when he let out a muffled cough. The thought of a broken rib possibly puncturing a lung was something he kept in the back of his mind, but he knew he couldn't stop walking. Not now, nor could he tell Rishe to leave him behind when he could still move. She seemed intent on getting him to safety, and who was he to stop her?

Morndell wished he could have met the young Jedi under different circumstances. She seemed like a good kid, and while the niece he had lost was older than Rishe by a few years, he wondered if she would've been like the Padawan ahead of him.

A small smile she couldn't see was his only response to her words as he mustered putting one foot ahead of the other. Left, right, repeat. Mindful of his bleeding arm, intent on not leaving a drop of red in their wake. Taking a deep breath was painful, so he settled for shallow ones just to keep putting air in his lungs – and having one already compromised was honestly quite a drag. It was both sheer force of will and the duty to protect the young woman guiding him through the tunnel that fueled Morndell, and he was intent on keeping that fire raging until they reached their destination. Only then would he allow himself to collapse from exhaustion and pain or succumb to his injuries and perish.

He'd decide once they're on the evac point.

Through the dim lighting within the tunnel, the senator could make out a peculiar expression on Rishe's face as she looked whete they came from. Morndell wouldn't assume what she might be thinking, but he had an inkling that the possibility of leaving people behind bothered her. He'd be a fool for denying ever having the same thoughts and feelings, but sacrifices and difficult choices were always a staple in battles like the one Denon was in at the moment.

The urgency in her voice had Morndell squaring his shoulders and gathering every bit of strength he still had left. He was acutely aware that he was already slowing Rishe down, and for the first time in a long while he felt unsure. Should he tell her, command her, to leave him behind and save herself?

One foot ahead of the other. Left, right, repeat. He was thankful that his legs weren't damaged by that Sith's assault. Morndell would press a palm on the Padawan's back to give her a slight push forward and to encourage her to refrain from looking back every now and again.

"Forward, Jedi. Keep walking," he would gently remind her. "And you never gave me your name."

Much like most of her colleagues who fought above, save for one Jedi Master. He could envision Ramone rolling his eyes in exasperation at that, and Morndell would've chuckled if silence wasn't needed. Another muffled, wet cough, the taste of copper on his tongue, and the senator had finally come to a decision from his previous musings.

"Continue forward even if I collapse."

—

Ramone did not have to wait long to get a response from the Jedi Knight.

"Understood."

He was quick to relay the information with the DDF in the area, and taking the lead he made contact with one of the transport ships' pilots and told them to prepare for takeoff. He deployed three defenders to the Skydock's entrance to wait for the incoming speeder and ordered them to quickly usher the politicians to the ship that was already prepared to evacuate them.

It would take the speeder a couple of minutes to reach the Skydock, but Ramone counted on the urgency with which they all needed to get the politicians offworld. Travel time would be whittled to a few minutes if the speeder's driver gunned the engine. The senatorial aide busied himself with his appointed tasks, and he could already imagine his superior doing the same so Ramone expected that he would see Senator Avon much later and once all dignitaries were secured offworld.

Minuted ticked by, and the three DDF posted by the entrance finally caught sight of the approaching speeder. The troopers quickly ushered the politicians out of the vehicle and straight into the port regardless of their concerns. Ramone hurried along to help, looking for the kid Knight Berand mentioned. At the sight of the child, the aide pulled one of the troopers who were with the politicians.

"Make sure the kid stays in the ship," he told the trooper who acquiesced with a nod. The two really didn't give Jogen the chance to struggle and he was ushered into the ship, and while it concerned Ramone how the former fought to stay he really couldn't hold a candle to the aide's determination to uphold his duties.

One of Berand's troopers handed Ramone the confiscated commlinks and relayed the reason to the aide. With a stern nod, he kept to mind the threats the Sith continued to pose.

They really weren't going to make things easy for these politicians.

Faced with the combined might of Ramone and the DDF troopers – and the ongoing battle and threats really weren't difficult to miss – the politicians were quickly loaded into one of the transport ships. The aide stepped back to watch as the craft lifted off until it was a dot in the sky and, finally, gone offworld.

"That's one down! Wait for the next of the politicians! Tell the next ship to prepare for takeoff!"

@Stick @The Steel Stag @Xian

 

[Darth Tiamat]

It took several flights of stairs for Tiamat found a way out, the debris from the neighboring buildings piled in the streets and leveling off around the fourth or fifth floors. She still couldn't sense the Jedi; their fight, which was not much of a fight at all, was rather short and left her unmarked and rather unsatiated. However, her body ached terribly as though she were in a brawl while still getting the lights knocked from her. As much as it did not make sense, she knew through instinct from whom it was coming from and she only could hope wherever he was in this Force-forsaken city that this agony he shared would be worth it.

As she reached a window, she blasted herself an exit and climbed onto the pile of duracrete. Her stomach turned terribly as though she were suddenly falling as she looked out over where she had last seen the Jedi. The woman frowned, there was nothing...not a limb or a stirring, and the Force wasn't as kind to give her any indication if he had survived.

She begun her ascension down, listening to the invasion continue throughout the capital while taking focus to the capital building. Though as she reached the level surface, her mid-step was violently interrupted as her stomach tightened, her right arm felt numb and she let out another scream as waves of pain coursed even more harshly than before. It was enough to draw attention of DDF soldiers who were trying to fall back to regroup. They aimed their rifles as the Sith woman fell, her right arm weakly catching her as they demanded for her to stay down and surrender her weapons. This of course was some pretty wishful thinking on their part and Tiamat was absolutely not in a sympathetic mood for their protocol.

The Force twisted as she dug her fingers into the dust and ash, unleashing a yell as the dark side curled around several of the soldier's causing immediate panic as their own armor begun to tighten, crushing them between the plates that were meant to protect them. The others raised their rifles and started to fire, but their brethren were thrown in the path, protecting Tiamat while forcing them to give their lives to her in the process. She stood up releasing the men in her grasp, the pain was not stopping, it only fueled her own agony and torture and these men would feel it also. They raised their weapons again, but exhausted minds were vulnerable and Tiamat found her way inside, scratching and pulling every connection she could find and eliciting every fear they ever faced. Their yells and screams for death would eventually stop, a plead of mercy would fall from the lips of one as she ignited her blade through his chest. The others would lay paralyzed until the hemorrhaging became fatal. It was a taste, but still not as satisfying as killing a Jedi.

Tiamat felt something warm drip form her nose as she reached up to wipe away the blood with the back of her palm, the pain she shared was not subsiding, a throbbing ache ran from head to toe and fingers felt numb. At least she could for now, share the pain in others, giving her some relief that seemed to be thwarted from her reach.

 

[Maxims Tionson]

Max barked out a laugh both at the Sith's words and the Push sent his way. Rather than tank it or let himself be sent back into the speeder, he used some of the power he had been gathering and nodded his head, using the motion to use a Push of his own. It wasn't with much power, just enough to blunt the strength of Stolas' own attack so that Max was able to weather the remains of it without needing to do much more than brace himself.

He still skidded back slightly but it wasn't an uncontrolled motion and it didn't slam him into anything again. Using the bare minimum amount of power to blunt Stolas' attack rather than outright overpower it meant that he still kept drawing on the Light even as he countered.

He missed a few steps but what did that matter?

This was all fine.

"Name's Max, kid." he told the Sith with a wide grin, "And I don't do things half-assed. So this ends when either you surrender... or one of us doesn't get up again."

The Jedi's grin merely widened as the gap between them lessened, his target getting closer with every step.

"Now enough ego masturbation - get back to trying to kill me, kid."

@Mr. Teatime

 

[Talak Rand]

Talak's breath barely came to him, a soft wheezing sound escaping his throat with each labored breath he took. Broken ribs, broken hyoid, lungs full of dirt... it was all he could do to push himself back to his knees. He was unstable and everything hurt. From head to toe there was nothing but pain.

It took him back to his younger days in the worst possible way, trying to stay on his feet after beatings or training for endless hours. That had been serious, but this had a certain air of finality to it that Talak could feel.

He pushed himself onto all threes as he gasped for breath. He could just make out the image of the Sith limping toward him through his swollen eyes, and he could see the blood dripping behind him from the cracked, mangled arm.

Just die, he said "to" the other man, though they were more or less imperceptible and gasped in frustration.

He could feel the Force swelling up around the Sith, but he could barely do anything about it at this point. His body was broken even if his spirit would keep on fighting. There was simply only so much trauma a body could take and keep fighting.

And yet, he reached within himself, pulling the Force to himself just enough to keep his body from outright shattering with the impact as he flew back and slammed into a support beam.

He cried out in pain as one of his already fractured ribs slammed forward, piercing his lung in the back and letting the space begin to fill with blood and air. As if breathing weren't hard enough already.

And he laughed. It came out as more of a wheeze than a laugh, and he looked up at the Sith Lord in front of him as he limped closer.

Talak had been on borrowed time since he'd left the Sith. This was always how it was going to end for him, and he didn't regret it. In his relatively short life, the former Sith Lord had accumulated many regrets: corrupting his friends and students, failing to help Trys, failing to protect Crix, and a whole slew of other choices made as a Sith, but leaving it behind for the Jedi? Giving up an opportunity to build an Empire or overthrow the Eternal so that he could become a no one, a Jedi whose name few knew and even fewer would remember? No, he didn't regret that at all.

Perhaps in death, he would have finally repaid his debt to the galaxy.

All this... just to make it... back to even... he said. The Sith way:... instability and betrayal... he said, a sense of satisfaction in the thought. This entire fight shouldn't have ever happened. Talak should have been a Sith. He should have been fighting side by side with the man in front of him. He shouldn't have ever helped kill Sol Puara. Everything he'd done as a Jedi was simply a bonus. In Talak's death... the Sith still lost.

But I'm sure... you're too good... for that to catch you... he said, and even choking, the sense of acidic sarcasm in his tone was absolutely unmistakable. Maybe not today, maybe not a year from now, but someday, it would catch up with him. He would die and then all he had done to build his Empire - or someone else's - would come to an end.

I get peace... how about you?

 

[ElavAlroon]

Elav’Alaroon continued his steady march northward along the escape tunnels. The dim light ahead made it hard to see very far and the red light of his saber meant he wouldn’t be able to see any blood of any injured who fled this way. It was quite possible that those that did use these tunnels did so at the start of the attack, all he had to go on was that the entrance was open meaning someone had used it but there was no indication of who, how many or even how long ago it was.

A noise reached his ears. It was barely audible and distorted. The cause was possibly an attempt to mask it, or maybe it was just so far down the tunnel it distorted as it travelled. The Sith quickened his pace to try and find the source of the noise. He was only hoping it was made by one of the Senators attempting to run, but for all he knew it was the exit closing or just a local rodent scurrying around further on. There was only one way to find out.

The entire structure of the tunnel shook as a building above was brought down, Elav’Alaroon glanced upward to the roof and glared momentarily as if commanding it to remain intact, he did not wish to be buried today. Lowering his gaze into the darkness ahead he shouted forward, “I know you’re there. I suggest you save us all some time and surrender. If you come quietly, I will bring you to your comrades we have unharmed.”

@Stick @Forsythe Crowholde

 

[Rishe Vakren]

Shame was not an uncommon feeling for her, and the Senator clearly urging her forward brought that old acquaintance back. Just as she'd said for him to move forward, she was unable to heed her own advice, looking only at threats and things she could not control like how Master Ryker had once said. But the touch and the soft words brought the padawan to ground, as wrapped up in duty and fear as she had been.

"Oh - of course, Senator. I'm Rishe." She replied after a moment's confusion, and noting his flagging strength with a concern that... didn't feel like it belonged in the unusually casual moment. He had a kindly, fatherly air, lightening the situation, disregarding his pain as parents often do. As some parents do. "I apologize that the meet and greet was so rudely interrupted."

Despite the fact she could tell he was struggling, that they both risked death or worse, it was a brief, soft moment. It was hard to not smile at the absurdity of an introduction right now, of all times. Maybe she would have been someone to roll her eyes as well, but at the moment, the entire conflict had left her shaken to the point she was glad for the emotional reprieve. Even if it was brief.

"Wherever you fall is where I will stay, until a better Jedi or doctor can come to you." She said firmly. "We both know I'm not the one that can prepare an entire planet against the Sith."

She wouldn't be running away a second time. She could rationalize the first retreat, but leaving the Senator behind? She'd be worse than just a poor Jedi. And her resolve would be tested as above, the city rumbled and down the curve of the tunnel, she could hear a voice. The proximity of it caused that same trepidation and fear to pierce through her - but she was a Jedi. Emotion, yet peace.

Her hand went to the small headset in her ear. "Master Berand? This is Padawan Rishe, Senator Avon is in the tunnel with me, and Sith are getting close. I don't know how many, and the Senator is heavily injured." She said quietly. Even if it was the Jedi channel, she had wanted to keep quiet on the razor's chance one of them had already fallen. She'd have no way to tell who was listening. It didn't matter now, though.

But now, the game was up. She pulled the second stim from her pocket to hand to Avon. She was certain he'd try to reject it, but whatever her weariness, it was minor in comparison to his injuries. And she had a choice. Stay with Avon, and risk fighting against unknown Sith while also having to protect him? Or confront the Sith, and risk him falling in the tunnel without anyone to aid him until Berand arrived. If he'd arrive.

"Walk as long as you can. I'll not be far behind." She said, trying to conjure the authority and bearing she often used as a shield. To stand tall as a Jedi. Even taking some of that stubborn, invulnerable resolve that Morndell himself had displayed. She'd felt the death in the capital building, she was certain the Sith weren't taking prisoners, so fear and doubt would only poison her now.

A better Jedi might have confronted the Sith, talked back and forth about the Light and the Dark, about self-sacrifice and buying time, like what the Acolyte expected earlier. But Rishe wasn't a better Jedi, so she shouldered the launcher, took a vague aim, and after a moment's fiddling, launched the rocket down the tunnel. With a little help from the Force to knock it ever so slightly to the side and around the curves, it would hopefully deliver the clear, booming message directly to the unseen Sith. "No."

@Xian @Morndell Avon @The Steel Stag

 

[Vahn Berand]

Vahn’s brow tensed as he received the information from Rishe.

“Alright, keep moving, I’m going to come down to assist. Oh, and please hurry.” He nudged one of the remaining capitol guards with the pack.

“Could you watch these people for a minute? Seems I have some business to attend to,” Vahn said.

“Excuse me for a moment,” Vahn said, and he tapped the activator button on the hatch door at his feet. He hopped down back into the tunnel, landing deftly on his feet while adjusting the rolling out a spread of durasteel darts he’d kept in a pouch at his side.

Vahn broke into a run, making a fair distance down the tunnel towards the Jedi and the Senator before he turned his heel, skidding to a stop. He needed to do something more immediate, something to at least put a second thought into the Sith’s head. If they knew there was more than one Jedi waiting for them….

He spent a few moments in silence with his eyes shut, head bowed. He reached out with his senses through The Force. The tunnel was far more alive than a superficial observation would allow. Small insects, event rodent-lizards scurrying along the paths in order to escape the chaos above. Sensible move, really.

Then, his senses graced the Jedi and the Senator as they slowly ambled towards rescue. Two life forms burning bright against his senses. Rishe would sense his presence; determined, and cool like water. He pushed further, probing down the tunnel until he caught something.

“Hello there,” Vahn said. A flicker of life with an intensity beyond the scurrying vermin of the tunnel. Was there something… familiar about this being?

“Rishe, Senator, would you kindly keep your heads down?”

Vahn adjusted his stance; straight as an arrow from heel to spine. He pulled a dart from the roll, palming the smooth durasteel surface. This set was hardened and shaped precisely for light weight, distance throwing and would fragment upon impact with enough resistance; exactly what you want when you don’t want a rival force user turning your own weapons against you.

Vahn gently raised his right hand back to behind his ear, breathed, and then used his whole body to torque into a powerful pitch down the tunnel. In those few moments of manual acceleration he channeled a small amount of the Force, strongly exaggerating the acceleration of the dart.

Rishe and Senator Avon would be first to hear it; the brief, sharp bird-like whistling of darts cutting through the air around them. First one, and then a few seconds later another, before a pattern emerged with a full five flights. In the shadows of the tunnel, it would be difficult to see these darts in flight as they gently curved down the tunnel, subtly guided by a nudging presence in the force towards the additional life form’s location. There was no way to be precise; Vahn could hit a bloodfly at ten paces, but blind throwing down a tunnel at a feeling? That was something else entirely.

The first of the darts would impact seconds after launch; fast and still heavy enough to shear through bone and flesh as they screamed down the tunnel towards Elav. If he was lucky, he could wound the Sith that was bearing down on his fellow Jedi, but now was a game of time, the need to buy seconds and minutes had never been higher to him. Slowing the Sith warrior down was as good as any other option.

“Vahn, we’re en route back to the tunnel exit. We’re ready to pick up the remaining VIPs,” Perrix’s voice rumbled in his ear afterwards, tinny and heavy with static.

“Excellent. Start immediately on arrival, hopefully I’ll be topside by that point.”

“Topside?”

“It’s a long story. Well, actually it isn’t, but…”

"Pressing matters?"

"Pressing matters."

Vahn broke into a run towards where he knew Rishe and Senator Avon waited.

@Xian @Stick @Forsythe Crowholde

 

[ElavAlroon]

Elav’Alaroon was growing more concerned by the repeated rumbling and shaking of tunnel, caused by the falling infrastructure above. He powered down his saber and hooked it back on his belt before gathering the Force to him and accelerating down forward, he needed to catch up to whoever was in front of him before the tunnels collapsed crushing them all. Or at least trapping them down there.

It took only seconds for his prey to come into view causing him to practically skid to a halt when he saw that one of them was pointing a rocket launcher his way. With only a moment to act he raised a barrier of Force in front of him, the explosive detonated on it creating a wall of fire and shrapnel which, unable to progress forward, ricocheted back towards the sender. The Twi’lek paused as he waited to see if the tunnel collapsed. Nothing yet, but it was very damaged and it’s not like it had infinite integrity. This would have to be as quick as possible, just in case.

As the wall of fire dimmed, the Sith heard a whistling and then something hit his barrier. Then another and another. He waited until the impacts stopped and released the barrier before refocusing the Force into his left hand and with a thrust forward released a torrent of lightning along the tunnel. He figured this person wasn’t alone and casting the lightning across the whole tunnel was sure to catch everyone nearby. Elav’Alaroon hoped this combined with the explosion was enough to incapacitate them, if this dragged out these tunnels really would become their tomb.

@Stick @Forsythe Crowholde @The Steel Stag

 

[Darth Raze]

Theme
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Raze limped towards the fallen Jedi after he slammed back into the pillar. Both men were beyond exhaustion at this point, and both sported horrific injuries. He could sense pain from the Jedi now that the man had little control of his resolve. He knew the Jedi could sense Raze’s pain as well.

He heard Talak speak, but there was no external indication of how the words impacted him. Raze continued moving towards him until he was slightly out of saber range of the man. For a moment, the Sith Lord stood there in silence after the Jedi posed his question. There was a spike of anger as Raze was abruptly reminded of Oota. The Jedi Grandmaster had embraced death so easily and had reminded him that the Force would never truly be his ally. For a moment he simply saw red, his fingers curling into a fist as rage pumped through his veins. However, he exhaled slowly to center himself.

Raze stared ahead for a few seconds longer, considering his surroundings and considering the question. They were far from any cameras, any witnesses and any life around them. It was just the two men down here.

Raze reached up and slowly lifted the helmet off his head and stared at the Jedi. His face was bruised, blood dribbled from his lips, but there was a smile on his face. The eyes were yellow, but there was enough silver there for Talak to recognize the face.

This was the man that had the galaxy supporting his cause. This was the man that stood up for Crix Aran and had Talak question the Jedi. This was the man that Talak supported when he spoke on Holo. This was the man that had the galaxy’s trillions of citizens on his side. This was the man that was moving mountains far beyond anything the Eternal had done and could ever hope to do.

“I get the satisfaction of seeing your face as you realize what awaits the galaxy without you being there to stop it,” He said simply, switching to the famously diplomatic and polite voice of Emryc Thorne from Holonet. It was the voice of someone that intended to leave behind a legacy that would endure for generations long past his death. This was the voice of someone that knew how to operate like the Sith Lords of old.

Raze let Talak take a good look at his face before the helmet slipped back on.

“Enjoy peace, Jedi,” The mechanized voice said as Raze’s spare saber was ignited. Summoning whatever little strength he had, he rushed forth and used the Force to pin Talak back against the column. His saber moved in for a direct thrust directly towards his heart to finish the job once and for all. He was prepared to pivot or react accordingly, but he doubted Talak could reach for a weapon in time.

@Phoenix