Open Sullust Springing Lieutenant Aran

[Crix Aran]

He passed Talak and the Sith woman in the corridor but he barely really paid them any attention - he was busy trying to make sure that his mom wouldn't fall off of him. She was still able to support her own weight but she didn't seem to be able to move as fluidly as she should. It gave him the disconcerting feeling that he wasn't helping his mom to walk so much as he was dragging a large doll along with him.

The thought alone made bile rise up in his throat as a shiver ran down his spine.

His grip on her tightened around the waist and he pushed himself to go faster, lifting her with every halting step she took so they could move even just that little bit faster. All he kept focusing on was the elevator, open and waiting for them at the end of the corridor. He didn't have a karking clue as to what he was going to do when he got to the ground level. He didn't know if the Jedi had won or if the Sith had chased them and left the base upstairs empty.

He didn't know!

He didn't know what to do!

He didn't know what to do and he was scared. Scared for himself, sure, but more scared for his mom. Scared that what had been done to her was permanent or, worse, that it wasn't actually permanent but that if he didn't get her to the Jedi or the Hospital or SOMETHING soon then it was going to become permanent and it was going to be all his fault.

It was that desperation and panic that gave him the extra strength he needed to almost carry his mother down the corridor, leaning heavily against the interior of the elevator. There was no relief to be had though even as he tried to keep his breathing from accelerating to the panicked gasps he wanted to be doing.

"T-Talak!"

He wasn't going to be enough to get his mom out - he needed the man to help him.

"Talak help me!" he called out down the corridor, "W-we... we gotta get her out, I've got her to the... to the elevator but I need your help to get out!"

@Phoenix @Sreeya @Painus

 

[Isen Ramm]

Max was...well, he was rude. Isen was not hurt, but a bit confused at this. All of his interactions with Master Tionson had been nothing but...genteel. This was an interesting shift. Maybe it was his Kiffar nature. Maybe it was the coldness of the way he had been treated for years on Jedha, but he was able to brush it off. Isen wasn't so sure that Max could in fact see to himself, but his droid's arrival put some of those concerns at bay.

"Ok then. Good luck." Isen sprinted back toward the ship, albeit a little slower than normal with some bruised and battered ribs, looking over his shoulder now and again to check the enemy. The lightning struck all around him, a few close calls along the way. As he approached the ship, he was happy to see that Master Thral was already boarding the ship, if not worse for wear. Isen boarded shortly thereafter, but didn't speak. He had encountered the Sith for the first time, and it did not go well. It seemed an abject failure.

The Padawan looked at Izel Thral briefly and then looked back down at the floor. She was hurting in nearly every well. He had built a bond with her like noone else. She was hurting physically, that was obvious. But also emotionally and spiritually. He couldn't place it, but perhaps a tinge of disappointment in her padawan. He was sure that after she recovered, a long conversation was coming.

// exit thread attempt

 

[Ana DAmico]

Ana dropped to the ground with a grunt and gasped for air, but the assault was not over yet. Talak quickly followed up his attack with another slash, and, though she braced her lightsaber to block it, the telekinetic blast accompanying it sent her back. She moved with the attack and came to a slow halt some ways away, taking the opportunity to rub her neck. She took a few steady breaths, then raised her lightsaber and pointed it at Talak. She could feel the primal emotions he was experiencing again; it was like the Dark Side radiated off of him, but he tried his best to keep it suppressed.

Were the imminent danger of death not occupying her thoughts, she might have laughed at it all. Talak had done so well at keeping the monster at bay, and yet, in the end, the taint of the Dark Side was one he couldn’t fully erase. For all his talk on not becoming a monster, he still felt the siren’s call of the darkness. It was strength, and he knew that. He chose to give in to it to punish her where a proper Jedi might have continued steadfastly along their path in spite of the trauma endured.

Ana kept her lightsaber pointed at Talak, but neither of them advanced on the other. Instead, she matched his lethal stare. ”The Jedi aren’t who you belong with,” she said, ”You know that. She can’t help you forget who you really are.”

There was no point in continuing their duel. Talak was stronger than her, and the only thing she’d accomplish by re-engaging is getting sliced in half for little gain. Causing Talak to relapse was enough of a victory for her. Those above would interfere with their little escape, she figured. She slowly lowered her lightsaber, taking the opportunity afforded to her to not pursue. Talak had tasted the power the Dark Side offered again, and now it was up to him to decide whether the Jedi could truly help him realize his vision.

Her eyes panned over to Crix as he cried out for help, but she remained in place. ”You should go help the boy,” she said, offering a wistful smile. With that, she slowly began to backpedal, offering Talak the space he demanded. This wasn’t her fight to continue, not anymore.

@Phoenix @Nefieslab

 

[SenatorRosannaSnowel]

The Senator gasped at surprise, the push she was given from Tycho combined with the feelings off loss, defeat and fear made Rossana run with all of her might towards her ship. The feeling of peace from earlier was gone. The Senator searched herself as she retreated, and only felt... darkness. She made her way to her ship, boarding she was silent. The red headed woman reached down and felt at her lightsabers. Now she only could feel the call of the red bladed one. The cries of the Kyber Crystal made her smile. She may have nearly died but she did not intend to have that happen again. As she and her ship sped off to Coruscant, she sat in silence for a while before she let out a laugh. A cold, maniac induced laugh. She laughed so hard she was crying, she eventually calmed down and whipped her eyes, glancing in the reflection of the window she smiled at herself. Her reflection did as reflections do and smiled back, matching her smile, disarrayed hair, dirtied robes and yellow eyes.

 

[Preef Callo]

Preef was astonished. He hadn't missed a shot in ages and yet that grenade-looking-thing came at him with incredible speed, so much so in fact that he had to dive to his right and into the ashy ground to avoid getting hit with it. It fell in the ash a few feet behind him and skidded slowly to a stop.. seems it was a dud. Meanwhile five bolts shrieked overhead, each shot higher than the other as if an untrained shot fired while on the run. Preef couldn't help but smile, "Still hit it."

He turned his head to watch the two humans run off towards a couple of ships in the distance, but didn't feel like getting up just yet. "So that were Jedi, hm?" This had been his first encounter with the religious cult and he had no reason not to see them as a bunch of very stupid terrorists. The Sith were terrorists, too, but at least they usually succeeded in their acts of terror. "Guess they don't have a Marissa.."

By the sheer coincidence of him taking his time to get back up on his feet, he'd eventually come across Talak, Crix and Trys again, assuming they would try to return to Talak's ship as their getaway. It's not like they'd find a 578-R Transport ship in the hangar with the clearance codes for a safe passage through Sith space... a ship whose owner would soon depart anyway.. one that could be manipulated with the Force, or simply held at gunpoint.

@darkrei9n @LeonDrandell @Phoenix @Nefieslab @Sreeya

 

[Talak Rand]

Ana backed off to allow him to help Trys, but he knew that she'd gotten what she wanted. She just didn't know how bad that would be. Her words were true, though. He'd known it for a long time and tried to avoid tackling the issue directly. Now, he wasn't sure he could put it off any longer.

He stepped back toward Crix and Trys, putting away one of his sabers to use his free hand to help Crix get her out of this building. He had no idea what they'd still face on the way out, but he knew that without the Jedi drawing attention any longer, their window to escape was rapidly closing.

They made it to the turbolift and he punched the control for the hangar. Few alarms had been raised to the presence inside the base, and he knew they could capitalize on that now but not for long.

Perhaps the Force hadn't abandoned them yet, though, because inside the hangar was a ship already on the verge of takeoff.

Get her in, hide in the back, he said, climbing aboard the ship and helping Crix get her to the back.

Stay here and both of you keep out of sight, he instructed, gripping the lightsaber hilt tighter in his hand as he sensed someone else boarding the ship.

@Eccles @Nefieslab @Sreeya @Painus

 

[Crix Aran]

Crix couldn't help the way his gut twisted at the look Talak was giving... well everything. The man was a towering figure of rage and other emotions he couldn't pick up due to lack of experience. Even to Crix's inexperienced mind, Talak was about ready to rip through anyone and everything that stood in his way. For the life of him though, Crix still trusted that Trys Aran was not on the list of obstacles.

There was no elevator music, which he was grateful for even as he had to further prop his mom up to keep her from sliding down the wall to the ground.

He didn't know what he had been expecting but them arriving at the hanger was slightly concerning for a moment before he realized it was probably better to try and leave in a 'Sith' ship than Talak's own. If the Jedi had lost then the Sith were still in control of the area, with AA guns and all that. Despite how grim a picture it was, he found that focusing on their immediate situation felt less like defeat than focusing on his mother's condition.

Of course she immediately made it much harder to focus on that by sliding down the wall again while his mind was trying to focus on other things. He snapped back to her, deciding that he was going to go further because his mother was so devoid of control anymore. Sweeping her up, he held her with an arm under her knees and one around her shoulders, carrying her out across the hanger with her cradled in his arms.

She felt so light...

As he carried her into the ship, he moved toward the back of the cargo hold. There were usually places you could hide closer to the engine if you knew what to look for. Still before he could go any further he needed to ask the question burning in his mind, turning to Talak before he could duck round a corner to hide.

"We can fix her... we can get her help, right?"

Kark it if he sounded like a child - he needed even just a slither of hope that they could fix his mom.

@Eccles @Phoenix @Sreeya @Painus

 

[Preef Callo]

Preef could only lay in the ash for so long until it dawned on him that ash is actually kinda hot. His tunic felt so warm to the touch that he was getting worried the skin underneath would develop first-degree burns, so the rodian got back up on his feet and with a satisfying whistle holstered his pistol. That grenade was still on his mind and looking at it he did spot the dark streak across one side, "Yup, didn't miss a shot." Satisfaction. What would they say about the Fastest Draw on the Outer Rim now? Probably nothing extra.. the Eternal's arrival did claim everyone attention.

Seconds later his holo-comm started beeping and when he answered a young human appeared in a pristine Sullustan Defense Force uniform. It was the secretary from before.. "Mr. Callo," she was a bit surprised to see the Rodian covered party in ash. Where did he try to get his coffee from? "Regrettably I have to inform you that your appointment with the late magistrate Phoeya has been cancelled." It took Preef longer than it should have to fully register what she said, "She's late? I thought she was here on Sullust, I-" wouldn't have come all the way to Sullust if the person he had an appointment with wasn't even on planet, but the secretary interrupted him, "No, Mr. Callo. The magistrate is dead. A missile struck the fortress right next to her office." Wow, speaking about bad luck. Was that the Jedi's target all along? Preef was impressed that something that looked so much like a complete failure of a terrorist attack would actually be a precision strike against an administrator. "I'll contact you when a new magistrate has been found."

Well, kriff. Preef turned to look at the Eternal in the distance, but even he knew that the Dark Lord of the Sith probably wouldn't be involved in removing Zaa Fenn parking tickets from the records of the Eriadu security forces. The rodian's shoulders dropped in defeat when the secretary abruptly ended the call, "What am I gonna tell Marissa?"

It took him a few minutes to get back inside the fortress and find the right elevator to bring him back to the hangar where he parked his ship, but everyone he encountered knew who he was and was very helpful to point him in the right direction. Even that one guy that he encountered four times and eventually simply escorted Preef to the right elevator. Eventually, though, he got there and feeling disappointed, tired and in dire need of a fresh set of clothes he stepped foot on his ship and closed the ramp behind him.

Was he crazy or did he hear a child's voice (@Nefieslab)?



@Phoenix @Nefieslab @Sreeya

 

[Talak Rand]

He was about to tell Crix that they would reverse it when he instead put a finger up to his helmet where his lips would have been. He turned, saber hilt in hand, as he pressed back toward the front of the ship.

He was nearly as surprised as the Rodian probably was when he rounded the corner to see someone standing right there. For some reason he felt like he should have... known this one, but he couldn't quite place him.

Nor did he spend much time thinking about it. He pressed the deactivated hilt up against the Rodian's gut.

Take off and get us out of here, he said. He had half a mind to impale him and take his ship, but that was the half of his mind he was desperately trying to ignore.

He radioed Artee to take the Nomad away as the ship began to lurch off. He knew he wouldn't feel "safe" any time soon, but this was considerably better than being stuck on world with the Eternal. They still needed to get Trys medical attention and his own head was spinning.

One step at a time.

//Exit

@Eccles @Nefieslab

 

[Tycho Berand]

Tycho let out a sigh of relief as he came up to where the Jedi had parked their ships. His own X-Wing sat at the edge of the group and he moved quickly to board and get out of there before anyone tried to follow up with who he was. He unslung the damaged rifle he had and stowed in one of the compartments before grabbing the boarding ladder and hauling himself up. As much as he would prefer to fly out of Sullust in a proper flight suit rather then bulky armor he wouldn't assume the risk of removing the helmet until he was far far away from this place.

As he strapped in and began performing system checks the senator spoke to his astromech droid, inquiring about their mission. "How much footage did we get BA-10?" The droid let out a series of beeps and whistles and Tycho couldn't help but smile. With the footage they had from the battle they could hopefully leak something damning onto the holonet and convince the Republic to actually take action in the fight against the Sith. As the ship hovered gently and the landing gear retracted Tycho gently applied forward thrust before checking his navigation charts. It would be at least a three day trip before arriving back home. He would need to dump his gear back on Ord Tindell at his own home before heading to the senate. As much sway as he had as a senator he doubted he could get some of his equipment past customs.

The ship shook as it began to exit the atmosphere, something seemed to have been knocked loose during his descent onto Sullust, or during the storm the Eternal had formed. He had been rather impressed. He had done his homework on the Jedi, and tried to find out more about the Sith but he had found almost nothing. They kept their secrets well. His astromech droid flashed a message on his main screen telling him the hyperspace calculation was complete and Tycho reached for the lever that would activate the drive, accelerating the ship to faster then light, and pushed forward.

/Exit Thread