Storms Over Jedha

[Vollen Shai]

Vollen has been by the Temple gates as the volley had begun from the sky. Even as he’d waited for Andraste to reply he’d begun to move outside, heading out of the city and to his ship parked far away from the holy city. He didn’t expect the Sith to uphold their bargain or show mercy. And so it seems they wouldn’t, as turbolaser fire began to crash into the temple and its surrounds, engulfing the Jedi Temple in flames.

He wanted to let out, he wanted to scream and shout for the destruction, the loss of life that now cried out from the city. He couldn’t though, that wasn’t his role, and instead he channeled the force into his limbs even as he ran, speeding away from the detonations that rained around him. The temple had been evacuated, he knew that much, they’d been working for a long time to get everyone out of the temple. He had to hope the people of the city had taken some precautions as well, or else this day would only get worse. He’d told everyone he could as he had made his way through the city earlier to scatter, evacuate. Some would escape. Surely.

But for now he had his own hands full, focusing on simply escaping was enough with the barrage falling behind him, keeping clear of rubble and flame. He’d escape the city, if only just. He hadn’t been able to buy any more time. The Sith knew what they wanted, and they’d taken it. He doubted they really would have let the temple go if they’d handed her over. Somehow it felt like they wouldn’t. Every offer of diplomacy hed tried to make had been dismissed or gone unreplied. They had no interest in such it seemed.

For now all he could do was make his way through the desert, meeting up with the fleeing Order members, and making his way back to his ship at Selen Mah to help with further evacuation. Assuming they didn’t occupy there would be much to be redone, rebuilding, resettling. All of which now he turned his mind to. It was another dark day for the Order, in a list of far too many.

/ExitThread

 

[Spencer Ward]

What needed to be done was done, the 'great' Jedha Temple was being blown to bits. The Jedha temple used to be the the Sith Master's home, and it didn't phase Spencer to see it being blown up at all. This is on the Jedi's hands, the negotiator failed to appease the Empress and as a result the destruction of the Jedi temple is on their hands as well as any collateral damage that might fall into the city. Any Jedi deaths, or civilian, the Jedi let this happened.

It's not enough to destroy the Jedi Temple either, in the great scheme of things, despite it being a Jedi base as well as being of great religious significance to the Jedi as well as a training ground; it's merely a building. In order to end the war, you have to kill Jedi directly and with the evacuation this is a perfect opportunity to go after hapless targets. Maybe going after the younglings might be going too far, they would probably be escorted somewhere safe or to be evacuated in a vessel and probably not even hesitate either. But the ones who can take care of themselves would probably be the last out and won't have a ship avaliable, given the Order's poor resources at this point.

Spencer would have his starfighter circling the outside of the Holy City plateau as the Sith fleet are laying waste to the Jedi Temple. He was looking for targets on the ground fleeing on foot. The Holy City is in the middle of nowhere with nothing but bare desert for miles. Spencer, with his fighter five-hundred meters in the air would then see someone at his sights making his way through the desert (@NightFall) already a considerable distance from the plateau. At Vollen's right and starting five hundred meters away, Spencer would turn to intercept trajectory, and would begin firing his laser cannons at maximum range with rapid continuous stream of laser cannon fire. He would be initially aiming at the ground below him so the explosions from the laser cannons will catch the target. Spencer doesn't know who he is aiming at, but he doesn't care.

 

[Vollen Shai]

It was a day that was not quite over it seems. Even as he fled into the desert aiming to meet up with the rest of his people, the evacuating townsfolk, still the Sith seemed to continue their barrage. But with fighters coming in low across the mesa there was little place for the people to hide as they made their way to remote landing bays, or other towns and hideouts across the desert.

But now he had another problem. As the sounds of fighters swarmed overhead one grew suddenly louder, the shriek of cannon bolts shooting through the sky toward him. He managed to turn just in time to see the lasers raining toward his rear. There was little time to react, but he did so in a snap, leaping to his left as he pulled up a rapid force barrier to block the worst of the impact explosions, while moving out of the way of upwards line of fire the ship laid down.

'Not good, not good, not good' he thought to himself as he rapidly looked about as the fighter moved. There was little place to hide out here, and for now he was alone. He went for the first idea that came to mind. He didn't have a whole lot more time to think than that anyway.

Hands outstretched he whipped up the force around him in an application of aerokinesis, feeling his way into the rapid winds that often ran low on the desert ground. With that he would harness them, toss them around him, whipping up sand and dust into an enormous gale that would surround him, spreading out many meters from his person into what would act as a large smoke screen meaning the fighter would be unable to locate his target and, hopefully, give up his attempt.

It wouldn't take too much to sustains it, though for the foreseeable future he would, he had no interest in being blown away from above as he evacuated from the destruction behind him. If he met up with other fleeing he would cover them inside this too, hoping to give them cover as they all fled from the city. There was no point in staying behind now.


/ExitThread?

@Faster Than Light

 

[Jon Atreides]

Jon ignored the Sith as she tried goading him from the bowels of the ship, his focus instead on the sight in front of him. He had heard whispers of the new toy the Sith had acquired, a ship to put almost everything seen during the Hundred Year War to shame. But seeing it with his own eyes, watching it growing larger to occupy a steadily growing fraction of the viewport really put it into perspective. To build something like that, it was almost unfathomable.

But what really mattered right now was that the Empress had stayed true to her word, and even now her ship was raining down crimson death upon the Holy City. Did she not know there were more than Jedi down there? Women, children, elderly, scores upon scores of innocents. For all their propaganda and so called humanitarianism, this here was proof of their true nature, this abhorrent and utter disregard for life.

Ignoring the droid as he offered to lobotomize the Sith to shut her up, Jon reached for the comm controls and opened up on all hailing channels. "This is the Jedi vessel Blue Bantha, hailing all Sith vessels. I have your Sith, if you want her back stop your bombardment immediately. I repeat, I have your Sith, stop the bombardment."

He hadn't really figured out how to deliver the captive to the Sith, he wasn't really excited by the prospect of boarding the ship full of crazed Dark Side fanatics, but in the absence of escape pods he didn't really have many options. Maybe he should have flown the Sith's ship that he had captured at the same that as her, but he had left it on Kashyyyk and had opted for the more nondescript, and bare bones, Bantha. Smart choice that.

@Sreeya @Phoenix

 

[Jinlo Halan]

This was the last thing that the raven haired Master needed, the building around her shuddered and shook from the impact of an orbital bombardment crashing into the temple. Having just got off of a holo conversation with Master Imani Sage, as she was seeking assistance with another endeavor, to say things could have ended better might have been an understatement, and perhaps a more rational conversation could of been had. Though given the situation taking place around the Jedi healer, with the rushed evacuation of the injured and Sick that were charged under her care, it was difficult for the young master to maintain a rational train of thought whilst she felt like she was being pulled in countless directions at once.

To top it all off the Orbiting Sith appeared to have grown bored of waiting, and opted to lay down their own fiery judgment upon the Jedi temple and surrounding city. The reaction and show of force by the Sith fleet in the Master's eyes seemed to be somewhat an unjustified response for the supposed capture of one of their numbers. Jinlo had to muse on the somewhat disproportionate response in comparison. Despite the common outcome of a detained Sith being stripped of the Force and submitted to the Republic to stand trail for their Crimes, being somewhat of a indignation. There still was an air of mercy behind the Jedi's methods, where on the other hand, the captured Jedi were often subjected to torture and brutal executions widely broad cast for the galaxy to witness. The more the raven haired Jedi mused on it, the harder she found herself grinding on her teeth.

Taking a deep breath Jinlo dismissed the thoughts running through her head, and concentrated on what was unfolding around her. Channeling the Force through her body she swiftly made her way back into the halls of healing to ensure that all the patients had been safely evacuated, using the channeled energies to increase her speed beyond her natural limitations. As soon as she arrived within the entrance to the large medial wing of the temple, the raven haired Jedi braced herself against the door frame as another turbo laser round impact shook the building around her. Reaching out with the Force she felt out for any lingering life signs within the empty halls, making sure that she was the last one still to leave.

Satisfied that the patients had been safely evacuated the Jedi master turned on her heel and made her way through the hallway towards the closest exit to the temple's exterior. Once again using the Force to enhance her speed and agility, enabling her to weave her way through the debris that was scattering around her as the orbital barrage continued to rain down on the temple. Time seemed to run as nothing more than a blur of rapid motion as with each beat of her heart and breath passing through her lips the light from beyond the collapsed wall ahead. Closing her eyes she channeled all the energy she could, pushing herself beyond her physcial limits to make her escape. A wash of cool air crossed her skin as she dived to the exterior of the temple.

Pushing herself back onto her feet with a groan, she took a quick cursory glance around her to get her bearings before hurriedly making her way through the surrounding gardens she had landed in, and out towards the mustering point where the patients had been evacuated to.

//Exit thread//

 

[Abigail Nimbus]

Serie Fond had become one of Abigail's closest friends in recent months. They hadn't actually had much in the way of heart to hearts, but at the same time, the two had also fought together and learned from each other a fair amount. She had gotten to know the woman through these battles, and she had revealed herself as a polite, funny, kind individual to her friends, who would still not hesitate to stab them in the back if the opportunity gave her more power. In other words, she was a lot like Abigail herself, so she saw her as something of a kindred spirit, if she was honest with herself. If she continued to be honest, she would also admit that she may have developed a certain attraction for the woman, though that would require a lot more time together, it was a purely physical thing right now. Bottom line, she liked the woman, so when she had learned that the Jedi had captured her on Mandalore, she was...displeased, to say the least.

She stood on the bridge of one of the larger vessels near the edge of the fleet clad in her Armor, not in command but simply standing back and observing. She wanted to help out in Serie's rescue, but unfortunately she couldn't get a posting on the Empress' ship, so for now it was simply looking around and giving support where it was needed. She looked around at all the Lieutenants and Officers carrying out their duties, performing efficiently and with gusto. A few years ago, the Jedi Exiles would have scoffed at the idea of a fleet like this, but they were no longer Exiles, now they were the Sith, and they were here to show their enemies who they were. Sheturned back toward the window and folded her arms, looking out of the window and gazing toward the orange hue of Jedha. Normally, she had nothing against the Jedi, they were simply people whom needed to be killed because that was what her family asked of her, a necessity for their own survival. Though they might not have known it, they had made this personal, so now Abigail could look down with a smile as turbolasers rained down death and destruction upon the world.

Her attention was pulled away from the parade as a soft beeping from the main Comm unit drew in her ears. The comm officer put it on speakers and, to her surprise and elation, the voice of a Jedi filled the room, demanding a ceasefire if they wanted to see Serie alive.
"Officer, can we locate that ship on sensors?" She inquired, gazing into the void to try and spot the very same freighter that the Jedi had talked from. The officer nodded in response and had the Ship's sensors trace the signal, eventually narrowing it down to a rough area about 250km off their starboard. Abigail turned on her heel and strolled out of the bridge, making her way to the starboard observation room. When she reached it, she immediately headed toward the window, and from that perch, she could see the ship in the distance, waiting silently like a fish trying not to attract the predators. Abigail put a hand to the window and closed her eyes, reaching out with the tendrils of the Force and searching for the life of her friend, her mind calling out.

Serie...Serie...

@anzat17

Spoiler: OOC

If anyone has a problem with any of the content of this post, please let me know :)

 

[Andraste]

Andraste continued to sip from her wine, calmly watching the bombardments begin. Despite being a former Jedi, she felt nothing at seeing her old homes being destroyed. She hummed to herself, watching as a ship abruptly popped into the atmosphere. The comms opened up and a Jedi spoke to them, asking for a stop to the bombardment immediately. Andraste couldn’t help but chuckle, “I don’t think you’re in any position to be making demands.”

She finally set the wine glass down, glancing over and nodding at Kal to pause at least for a moment, “Make your way aboard the Will with Serie now,” She commanded the Jedi. The destroyer was massive, and Jon would be the first and perhaps only Jedi to truly experience the breadth of it if he were brave enough.

Andraste knew the evacuations had begun, and it felt surreal to possess such a level of power. To think that only a few years past she had been a nobody down amidst those very walls seemed eons away. Today, she was a titan that commanded fear and awe among the galaxy, across entire species and planets. She was everything the Jedi feared, and a large part of her relished that thought.

She only hoped the Jedi she addressed would be brave enough to board the ship. It had been far too long since she had stood in the presence of one without immediately resorting to violence.

@Wit @Phoenix @anzat17

 

[Jon Atreides]

Jon paused for a moment at hearing Andraste's voice emerge from the comms, bringing with it an invitation aboard her ship. Looks like she wanted him to come and personally return the prisoner, guess he wasn't really missing out by brining a ship without an escape pod. Turning to the droid, he nodded once and gestured towards the Sith flagship as he got out of his eat.

"Take us in, let's go meet an Empress."

Not waiting for whatever complaints the droid was surely prepared to offer, Jon made his way into the depths of the ship where the Sith was held in her restraints. He felt the ship jerk as he was unhooking her restraints from the piping it was looped around, probably the Star Destroyer's tractor beam catching them and guiding them into the ship's hangar.

By the time he had led the Sith to the ship's main boarding ramp they were touching down inside the Star Destroyer, Jon having mostly ignored whatever the Sith had to say. Probably more of what he had already heard. As the ramp began lowering, the droid had come clanking from the cockpit and joined them as well, and Jon handed over the Sith restraints to it. If things went south he wants his hands to be free.

It was an impressive looking ship, he couldn't deny that as they descended down the ramp and stepped onto the ship's hangar. He let his gaze linger, trying to measure up whatever welcome party was waiting for them.

@Sreeya @Phoenix @anzat17

 

[Serie Fond]

Serie hated being ignored. She was going to twist the knife further if she could, but it seemed the Jedi was just going to keep to himself the entire time and not offer a response to her goading. Just as well she supposed, hed be going to a ruined planet and dead friends and family. Probably wasn't much in the mood for conversation at the moment. She glared at him behind narrowed eyes as she awaited him to undo her bindings before they felt the ship lurch slightly. The tell tale sign of a ship landing. Which could only mean that she was finally going home.

She heard a soft voice in the back of her head, and immediately recognized it as Abigails. Quite a few people it seemed like really cared about her, having gone through this much trouble all for her was just a little flattering in the end.

Abi.. we've just landed. I think we're on the empress herself ship?

She sent telepathically to her friend even while they went down the ramp and stood and awaited, the only person Serie imagined they would be waiting for. The Empress. She stood there with a slight smirk on her face as she studied the Jedi carefully looking around. She had a feeling that he must feel like a bleeding fish in the water with numerous sharks at the moment she mused to herself.

 

[Andraste]

The bombardments had stopped by the time Jon had boarded the destroyer. Andraste stepped forth to meet him, a new wine glass in hand. She even floated one over to him, another over to Serie who stood behind him. She didn’t look at the Sith yet, her gaze on the Jedi as the hint of a grin tugged at her lips, “So nice of you to join our little party here. I stopped the bombardments as requested but..” She looked back towards the windows, “I don’t think there’s much left. You are quite late to the party, after all.”

Andraste took a sip from her wine, her yellow eyes finally setting on Serie, “Are you harmed?” She asked casually, though there was a hint of intimidation there that suggested Jon would swiftly meet his end if Andraste didn’t find her answer satisfactory. Andraste was quite possibly the tiniest person in the area, and yet she commanded within her a darkness that was palpable at this point. Her presence was suffocating to someone that was aligned with the Light Side of the Force, and it would be almost painful for Jon.

“You are quite brave for coming up here,” She turned to face him again, “Will you kindly tell your friend Vollen down there that he is responsible for the destruction of Jedha's temple? I do not take kindly to Jedi that are rude to me. I hope he will enjoy living with the knowledge that he accelerated my efforts to eradicate the temple,” Andraste smiled now, drinking more from her wine, “I originally intended simply to toy with the Jedi and not actually finish bombarding even if you were late. He rubbed me the wrong way, however.”

@Wit @anzat17

 

[Darth Kravos]

Darth Kravos watched the canons continue to pound the ground on the surface below. It was a sobering sight, and one that also reminded him of the incredible responsibility he bore within the Empire. This was the ability to wipe out entire populations in the blink of an eye, and a glimpse of it had been unleashed. But then there was the voice in the back of his mind that whispered about how far they had come. They had started from nothing, built an Empire, and now saw their enemies being crushed into the ground. He couldn't deny that it felt good.

That was when the ship slipped into view, bearing a Jedi and claiming to carry their missing Sith Master. The Dark Lord took a deep breath and turned back toward the display that showed the ship approaching. It was quickly captured by the tractor beam and dragged inward toward the hangar.

The lift carried him quickly to the hangar and the doors split open as he saw the guards finish sweeping their new guests for explosives. With a hundred Imperial soldiers, the Empress, and the Dark Lord of the Sith in the hangar, it would have been suicide for the Jedi to pull a saber, so the Imperials didn't bother stripping him of his other weapons.

He stopped next to Andraste as she spoke. There wasn't a great need for him to speak up himself, but he watched Jon's reactions, knowing the comments about Vollen would ultimately be a fun message for the Jedi to deliver. As for Jon... well, Kravos had a half a mind to gun him down here and now, but something about that didn't feel right. Perhaps they would meet another day on the battlefield and things would turn out differently, but for now, it appeared the Jedi would walk away unharmed; ready to tell the tale of the Empress and her Will.

And send my regards to Master Wyck as well, he said. Even if the little frog wasn't on the planet's surface, he'd quickly feel the impact of the deaths in the Force, and Kravos wanted him to remember what had happened at the trial. Before he was "Master of the Order" he had helped create some of the most terrifying monsters the galaxy had ever seen. And now they had killed his family. @Malon @Wit @Sreeya

 

[Jon Atreides]

Jon accepted the glass the Empress floated to him, what else was he supposed to do? Act like a child and refuse while the glass floating in front of him? No, he had grown beyond that. Besides there was nothing to be gained by refusing the glass. So he nodded as he plucked the glass out of the air, and tried his best to not show the fear that had shot through him on hearing her offhand claim about the state of the temple.

A Jedi must not give in to fear. Fear leads to anger, anger to hate, hate to suffering. And this day had seen more than enough suffering. But he did feel fear, fear for all the innocents on the planet below. He did feel anger, not just at the Empress and her Dark Lord, but at himself for not being able to stop this. And he could sense the suffering of an city suffering because he had failed. He knew he had done the best he could, but he still lacked the wisdom of someone like Wyck, and could not find it within himself to forgive himself just yet. It would take some time for him to come to terms with what had happened here today. So for now, he pushed down the fear, anger, and suffering that gnawed at him, and focused instead on the two former Jedi in front of him. On making sure he got out of this with his life.

There were things he wanted to say, things he wanted to do, but the more sensible part of his brain stopped him from doing either. He was no fool, he could sense the disparity in power between himself and the two Sith, either of them could swat him away like a fly, speaking nothing of both of them acting together. He could not fight them, but he could still accomplish something here. He could learn about them, gain whatever little insight he could that might someday work in the Jedi's favor.

"You have my thanks for stopping the bombardment." He opened his mouth as if to say more, but clamped it shut and let the silence linger as he thought better of it. But when the Dark Lord mentioned Wyck something broke within him, some curiosity finally got the better of him. They had been Jedi once, it confounded him how they had changed so much. "I will deliver your message, both your messages. But I would ask this question of you, of both of you."

He stared from Andraste to Kravos, and back to Andraste, the anguish he could sense radiating from the city below visible as a deep sadness within his eyes. "Why? Why them? This price was mine to pay, they.." His free hand waved in the direction of the planet and the Holy City, visible through the open hangar. "They were innocents." His voice trailed off into a whisper, as he couldn't say all he wanted to. The pain, it was too fresh for him.

@Sreeya @Phoenix

 

[Serie Fond]

Serie could feel how heavy the air had become as she accepted the glass from the empress. It was almost like the other two Sith were increasing the level of gravity in the room just with their presence and their words. She bowed her head respectively to the empress as she addressed her.

Unharmed, your majesty. The Jedi has been a.. generous host.

She said first respectfully, then almost a bit of disdain in her voice. She almost wished she had been mistreated now just so she could watch him squirm under the two Sith lords power. Unfortanetly though, she was unharmed, and so the Jedi would be too it would appear.

Finally shaking the handcuffs off she stretched her back and shoulders, excited to finally be free of the durasteel uncomfortably binding her wrists together. She watched the interaction between them, but she had a feeling they might not answer the Jedis question. She hoped she wasn't speaking out of line, but she decided to interject after the Jedi was finished with his pained question.

There's no such thing as innocent among the Jedi.

And she had meant it too. She smiled thinly at him before standing behind the Empress and the dark lord, feeling about as safe as a being could feel now. Aboard the Will of the Empress, standing behind the two strongest Sith lords in the Empire, she felt like shed never feel any safer than she was right now.

[Exit/end? Thread]

 

[Andraste]

Andraste said nothing for a moment, drinking her wine and with an amused grin on her face, “Because your brethren saw fit to insult me first thing instead of actually trying for a diplomatic resolution,” She turned away from him and strode towards a window, gazing out at the planet beneath her, “Besides, I purposely waited till evacuation procedures were done before I began bombardment. Now, if any fools chose to remain behind, that’s not my problem is it?” She turned to look at him again, “Jedha used to be my home, you know. I was born in that very temple. It once represented a sanctuary for me – and it had the only family I ever knew.”

“The price wasn’t yours to pay,” She finally admitted, “This is simply the price of war. In case you haven’t figured it out, we are at war. War has casualties. War has destruction. War brings chaos. This is just an example of that,” She took another drink from her wine, “Do not be naïve into thinking there are any innocents here. The only innocents were the younglings and they were well evacuated before I ever began my attack.”

@Wit