The Battle of Naboo: The Emperor's Retreat (DEATH ENABLED)

[LaPurple]

The jedi heaved three, slow, in and out breaths. As the third drew to a close, he regained himself. Both women were now seen dueling up in front of him. He shook himself and the dust and strode forward. He planned on jumping to a wall to work his way behind the Sith, but that thought vanished in a flash.

Growing closer,he watched as Aluae was thrown into the wall by the shield. In Aluae's most likely weakened state for the moment, it was well possible that he was the next line of defense. She would be vulnerable in that moment and Saviin could not waste precious time just trying to get behind her for a sneak attack. He moved in as the Sith disengaged her target.

He reached out his right hand full of the Force. With all of the strength that the Force would allow him, he attempted to twist the shield in her arm hoping to break something or cause her to drop. Clearly, it was a major part of her strategy.

While reaching out with his right hand, he jumped forward with his left arm swinging the double-sided blade at her low right side. As these swift movements fell into place, he was ready to twist his hand left to bring the other side up in defense if necessary. So when he moved, he jumped with his body to the right of his saber so that he would not hit himself in any deflection attempt.

 

[Richie B.]

Norin was waiting for a reply when the build started to explode he didn't have much time, his instincts made him move as fast as he could in his is condition. Yet already the building was started to fall on top of him, while the chucks of flying stone hit him but he didn't allow himself to stop. He jumped out of the building just in time before it finally collapsed, that was when the shock of what just happen dawned on Norin. He had just left a good warrior, a burc'ya die on him, though he didn't know the man well he still thought the two could have been close, he slammed his fist against what was left of the building causing pain to explode in his hand but he didn't care, he had let to many people die because of his lack of quick thinking or his lack of abilities. He sat on his knees looking down on his hands, he knew the warrior was dead nothing could change that now.

His hands though covered by his armor was bloody and full of dirt, he know the right hand the one he used to vent his anger at the wall was going to be looked at after the battle. As he looked down he notice a small pool of blood forming below him, he notice a shard of stone had broken though his armor and sticking out a little bit, it wasn't too deep but enough to make any man scream in pain. An Norin let out a loud roar, and slowly lay down on his back and tried to slow down his breathing, it did work a little bit, he took a deep breath than pulled with all his might the shard out from within him. It came right out with the one pull but now there was blood coming out more, he roared again, his throat was raw now and was going to need a long time to heal back to full health. He moved to the wall and leaned on it, he took off his helmet, placing it next to him and tried grabbing his medic kit but couldn't find it, it had been knocked off him during his escape of the collapsing building.

Norin signed and realized it wasn't the only thing he lost his carbine was missing and took off his beskad, he closed his eyes after feeling suddenly tired, knowing this was because of the blood lose tried fighting it. Then he hear something that caused him to pause.

"Hey look I think he is still alive." With his head down and hair covering his eyes he was lucky he didn't move, Norin was hearing two imperials that were investigating his screams, and he tried desperately to slowly reach for his TASKMASTER MK-II pistol.

"I doubt that he looks like he bleed out." Norin than in a fit of rage grabbed his pistol with his right hand from its holster and fired three shots at the Imperial closet to him, two in the chest one in the shoulder.

He aimed at the other one and fired the next five at him but the Imperial dove out of the way only getting hit in the shoulder. Norin tired to get up but failed at first, grunting in pain he saw the Imperial holding onto his shoulder but was reaching for his rifle which he dropped after he was hit. Norin again tried to get up yet this time it was successful and jumped onto the imperial, after pinning him down he hammered his fists into the imperials helmet after a while he took out the combat knife from his boot, and stabbed the imperial in the head several times before he felt the anger leaving his body. Pain exploded in his body once more and he fell down, after taking a few moment to slow down his breathing and letting the pain to slowly become more bearable.

Norin slowly searched the imperial finding a bacta-patch he used it on himself and slowly felt its affect but it wasn't going to be enough. He slowly got up after a few moments of catching his breath, and saw first hand his work, the first imperial wasn't that bad just three burn marks but the second imperial was a different story. His shoulder was burned but his helmet was oozing blood from several cracks and had several knife puncturing in it. He began to limp slowly towards where he thought the Emperor's retreat through back alleys trying his best to stay clear of the main roads. Knowing he couldn't do any good for anyone or fight any imperials in his condition.

 

[Sierrien]

Her attack went sideways pretty much right away as the woman didn't bring the shield in block her thrust. Instead the lightsaber ignited - and she was dimly aware that it was some kind of cross-guard saber - and came across to parry her attack out and wide. That was fine with her, though - she had already planned to spin around the shield, and while it may not get her in behind it now it should at least get her out behind the Sith. Or at least, that was what her secondary plan had been until she quickly learned that shields were not solely used for defense. All of a sudden, a shield that was just about as big as she was - and was being wielded by a titan much larger than she - had slammed out. And not only did it hit her back as she starting to spin around it as she had intended to with enough force to likely bruise her rear and her back, as well as hitting the back of her head, it wasn't aimed to stop there. It slammed her forward and squished her in to the wall with a sickening crunch.

It also blasted the air from her lungs and quite possibly did some damage to some internal organs. It was a good thing Saviin was there, as that would have been the end of the fight had he not pressed forward to attack. Adrasteia likely knew it was coming and had preemptively hopped back from Aluae, gaining a bit of space before Saviin rushed to attack her. Aluae meanwhile pretty well collapsed down to her knees, her lightsaber still held in her right hand but her left was holding at her lower ribs. She was pretty sure she had felt a few crack or break from the impact, not to mention the large number of other bruises she was going to have from it, as well as some scrapes here and there. Right now, she needed to focus on being able to breath - being winded would pass, but if her ribs were broken she wouldn't be able to breath well enough to be part of a prolonged fight.

She focused on the Force, pouring healing as quickly as she could in to her ribs. She couldn't heal broken ribs in a short time, but if they were cracked she could possibly get them good enough to get her back in to the fight. For now, she would have to watch Saviin and hope he could hold his own and buy her a bit of time to heal up her ribs. As well as hoping she was now escaping the Sith's attention or that she was focused enough on Saviin not to come after Aluae. She wasn't beat yet, but she needed a bit of time to make sure she stayed that way.

 

[blstrgmr]

Prospero observed the smoke quickly filling his sight after he pulled the trigger. The sniper could only hope that his round would make a difference. He decided to quickly retreating from his perch, heeding the warning on his comms. Working his way through the window of the museum, he'd gather his equipment and sling it across his back. The first wave had been dealt with rather...well...terribly. But, they had bought invaluable time. The sniper positioned himself in the museum, ushering wounded, civilians, and other rebels to take cover in the tunnels. Sewer tunnels, apparently. Though he heard some rebels whisper that they would lead to mineshafts or other cavities within Naboo. Maybe they'd be able to get out into the swamps somewhere.

Letting them all come through, Tyler Prospero checked his blaster rifle. It would be the go-to in this tight and confined space. He doubted they would meet Imperial resistance in there at once, but it was worth having ready. He clicked its setting to semi-automatic. No point in blasting away ammunition he didn't quite have. Supplies were running low. "Once more into the breach...", the sniper would sigh. How he hated the tight spaces and non-open air. He followed the next group into the tunnels, hitting his comms before they might be cut off. "Time to evac everybody. Do what you have to do and get moving. Find a way into the tunnels, there'll be hope to save some lives still before the full might of their forces hit this place."

 

[The Kyzer]

It seemed that no matter how much she beat these Jedi, they just kept coming. Oh well. If it was death that they sought, then Adrasteia would help them find it. Of course, the sudden torque being applied to her shield was a bit of a surprise. She could possibly fight it, but that would leave the warrior open to attack from the side. So the Sith did the opposite. Springing sideways with her legs to her left, Adrasteia cartwheeled in mid-air with her twisting shield. Her feet made solid contact with the wall on her left, and the momentum of her spring brought her to a coiled position on the wall.

Suddenly the tall woman sprung off of the wall as Saviin approached with her shield in front of her. She would pin the man's lightsaber to either his chest or his left side while the rest of the shield, with the full force of her flying body behind it, slammed into his body. The angle would also press him against the other wall, which hadn't fully crumbled this far into the alley. An avalanche of bricks would feel like a summer rain shower compared to this slam. And if anyone thought things couldn't get worse for the man, a sudden violent blast of telekinetic power erupted from the angered titaness. His body would break through the partially-destroyed wall and fall into the building itself. Adrasteia herself used the telekinetic strike in unison with the shield slam to halt her forward movement before hopping a few more meters deeper into the alley. Under normal circumstances, the Sith would ensure her opponent's death, but the fact that there were two of them made her a bit more cautious.

 

[LaPurple]

His enemy had been underestimated. She had proved too quick for him. In his attempt to defeat the Sith and ensure the safety of his friend, he had failed. Deactivating his lightsaber, this all became clear to him as he watched the shield crush him. There were no words to be said. Everything was moving too fast. Saviin felt bones break and organs rupture.

Upon this realization, he was then greeted with the bitter contact with the wall. The jedi's head flew back with a rattling crack. A wetness could be felt on the back of his head. If his arm could move, he would've reached to see what it was. Instead, he was forced to look at his enemy who had retracted after her blow. She was much to unpleasant to be anyone's final moments in life. Rather, he slowly turned his head to the sky.

His homeworld; that was where he would meet his fate. Was there a better place? Travel the galaxy only to meet the bitter end on the world you started from...how ironic. As the jedi looked up into the Naboo sky, the clouds were dark though he didn't mind. He focused on the Force attempting to bring back happy memories. There were a few he held dear and he tried to stick with them. They offered him comfort in his hour.

Then, he began to think about his life. To come so far only to be cut down by some woman of darkness? He could survive the Purge of Jedi, but not this? Saviin was glad for a moment that he never became a knight. The title wouldn't have suited him well. Padawan Junar also realized that his name would soon be forgotten in history. What had he left the galaxy with.

All he could do now was speak. Could he speak? Yes. He had to. He had to offer his last moment of defiance to death. Weak and injured, the jedi summoned all of the strength he could to slide his right arm over to his shattered left. He hoped that his wrist comm was still functioning. It hissed and spattered as his twitching finger pressed the button. "Continue the fight..." he started weakly through the static of the damaged comm. "Stay strong...in this war of darkness...for soon, there will be a dawn."

As the last words were uttered from his lips, Saviin Junar faded from this universe and into the Force with his eyes still fixed on the Naboo sky above.

 

[Sierrien]

All she could do was watch as the Sith made a surprisingly agile twist of her body - though she felt through the Zforce that most of the spin was Savion's doing. And then her feet planted and she exploded outwards, slamming Saviin hard in to the wall and then through it with a burst of telekinetic power. She shifted to her feet, but the sith had already hopped backwards away from him. She shifted forward herself, to stand next to the fallen man.

Just fallen, though. She could protect him as he had protected her, until he was ready to get back in to the fight. "You are powerful, Sith. You would make a good Jedi. You have the strength to protect many." She wasn't sure if her words would have any effect; she herself was distracted from them quickly as she heard Saviin speaking in to his comm, echoing in her ear. She looked towards him then as he exhaled - and didn't inhale again. Wait, no. He couldn't die. "Saviin?" she called, his name meant to shock him back in to breathing again. He didn't. And she couldn't stop to try and resuscitate him, not with a Sith watching.

Her eyes darted quickly back to the sith, a dark and angry look crossing over her features. "You killed him!" she let out angrily, her tone conveying a mixture of pain, anger and disbelief. It was almost as if she hadn't thought that death was a possible outcome of this fight. Shaking with that anger, her left hand shifted out. The Force pulled Saviin's Lightsaber in to that hand, which closed firmly upon it.

"Prepare yourself." was all she said then, her right hand coming up and heing her pearlescent white blade vertically in front of her face, before flourishing it down and to the side in a fencer's salute. Even angry, she was a duelist and this was how she fought, when she was serious. And she was entirely serious now. More serious than she had ever been in her life. With her curved hilt ignited in her right hand and Saviin's blade currently deactivated in her left she advanced once more, ignoring the pain in her ribs that she was reminded of with each breath.

It was a dull ache at least; her healing would ensure that she would be able to keep breathing unless she took another hit that hard. She certainly wasn't planning on it, but the universe didn't always go how you planned it in your head. This woman liked attacking with her shield. Surely there was a way she could use that. An idea formulated in her head as she fell back in to the Art of Movement, closing the distance between them swiftly. There wasn't enough room to maneuver in this alley; if she could drive the woman out of it she would be able to press her mobility advantage. No more fancy movements; she would use her speed. She shifted in to attack, a straightforward hard thrust with her right hand blade towards the woman's torso. Her left hand blade was held in a ready position, waiting to be activated - a silent threat that if the woman parried with her saber this time, it was ready to take advantage.

 

[Dargeth The Hunter.]

He leaned heavily on the man dragging a leg that was broken and he coughed harshly feeling blood splatter against his lips, as they entered the building he growled in pain as he was placed on the table and breathed sharply and hearing the question about removing his armour he nodded. Suddenly the building seemed to shake and it felt like the world was ending, as the young man who'd saved him ran for saftey he held no regret's for self preservation was what made this war possible. His mind suddenly began to race and the world seemed to slow as he allowed himself to do a self assessment of his injuries, blood meant possible internal bleeding due to the broken rib's that screamed like fire. Broken leg that had been shattered in the force throw and also a possible fractured arm as the screaming pain had reduced to a dull ache, as he looked up through the mask's H.U.D he saw the roof suddenly ripple with cracks then began to fall towards him and he rolled off the table an instant before it was slammed into by part of the roofing.

The impact of falling caused his rib's to flare in pain and he rolled back towards the fallen roof and hoped to god that he had luck on his side, as he hit it another piece of the roof slammed into the piece he had been rolled against he felt his arm explode in pain as a chunk of concrete slammed into it then the roof slammed ontop of it. The roof had saved his life as it created a small nitche as the second half of the roof landed on an angle and he waited as he heard the sound of the building collapsing around him, as it finally dimmed he gently tried to move and gasped in pain as his arm flared and he wiggled up his other arm up to grasp at the pinned arm and bracing himself he pushed the chunk of concrete from it.

Pain screamed for a few seconds then faded as he freed it and knew instantly that it was broken in several places and his helmet fell against the ground and he closed his eyes, he could feel himself wanting to simply give up the fight and suddenly music seemed to fill his mind as violin's began to form. As it grew louder his eyes snapped open and adrenaline formed as he looked about. Seeing a speck of light above his head he gritted through the pain and wriggled around onto his stomach, coughing sharply he began to wiggle his way towards it until he came to the end of the small niche. Breathing heavily and sweat running down his body in rivlet's he used his good arm to push away small bit's of rubble until suddenly daylight flooded the niche.

Pulling himself up and out of the rubble he collapsed onto it laying there trying to fight through the pain and his vision swam as he struggled to piece together what was happening, suddenly two men appeared and his good hand struggled to find his weapon when suddenly they whispered " friend " and knelt beside him. He felt his helmet and armour being removed and coughed sharply feeling blood well from his lips, as they lifted him up onto their shoulder's he barley growled in pain before he slumped into unconciousness. The two rebel's had heard the call for the retreat and began to make their way there with their cargo and he found himself drifting in and out of conciousness, as the sounds of music continued to play in his head he smiled weakly before falling into unconciousness completley.

 

[Count Sam]

Thomas was told to get back, but that was not an option he had. There was a mad Sith on loose and that Sith had to be brought down before she could do more damage. The Sith were the mastermind of the who Empire, and to bring down the Empire it only meant bringing down the Sith. Gladly Thomas was well armed and he was ready to take down that Sith no matter what the consequence was. As he noticed the Sith retreating as she tried to lure down the Jedi into her trap Thomas quickly knew that something bad was going to happen.

"Pull the injured towards the back alley, there is a tunnel there that leads back to the retreat, my Gungans friends will help you around!!" Thomas said as he activated his jetpack and repulsors as they lifted him up from the ground. He landed on one of the building that was flanking the alley that the Sith used, and it seemed that his bad feelings were right in place. As Thomas had a clear look on the situation he noticed that one of the Jedi were already dead, and it seemed that he was killed by this wretched Sith.

Without hesitation Thomas locked target on the Sith as he was getting a good aim up from the building, and his HUD system has set target on the Sith. He then used both his Charrac and his blaster rifle to rain a mixture of kinetic energy and bolts upon the Sith. Gladly, lightsabers did not deflect Charracs, and even if they did the Sith did not have the chance to deflect that amount of fire. Also to make things worse for the Sith Thomas launched two guided missiles from his shoulders as they flew towards the Sith. As an ex general in the Chiss ranks, Thomas had access to the latest of the Chiss technology, and gladly the Chiss were the best when it came to technology.

 

[Phoenix]

Corto unslung his A560 battle rifle that he had taken from a wounded soldier and began firing at the advancing Imperials. It appeared the main assault force had arrived. And they weren't playing around. With trooper upon trooper charging the retreat this was going to be it. Retreat or die. "All rebels in the Retreat. Pull back to the tunnels in the rear of the building. Repeat, fall back! It pained him to give the order but the end result of the battle never could have really been in question.

He watched as the still mobile soldiers dragged their wounded friends and comrades to the tunnel. It would take time and he would buy them as much of it as possible. Spinning back to the window, he fully depressed the two phase trigger releasing a half dozen high powered, and high recoil, rounds downrange striking one trooper and causing the rest to take cover. Slow 'em down.

Suddenly the door to his left erupted in a fiery explosion peppering him with shrapnel. The Stormtroopers had made it to the Retreat. His ears still rang from the sound and he stumbled to his knee as he tried to recover his equilibrium. It was a strange thing, What came to mind in combat. As he knelt there he noticed just how much of a mess the museum had become. Most of the doors were barricaded and now the one to his left was a smoking hole that had showered debris and shrapnel all over the room. Three Imperials lay dead and a third on the ground missing a leg but still very much alive. And the blood. It covered the floor of the retreat and he felt a pang of grief that most of it belonged to his comrades.

But there was no time for such thoughts now. Spinning the corner, one of the troopers fired and the impact to Corto's abdomen knocked him square on his butt with his back against the wall. Luckily his chest piece absorbed the majority of the blow but the heat had melted and warped the armor leaving burns on his stomach. With his back against the wall, he emptied the remainder of his magazine toward the door. With no time to reload, he drew his pistol and continued firing at the incoming soldiers. That at least bought him enough time to hoist himself to his feet and, still firing his pistol at the opening, make his way to the opening to the tunnel entrance at the rear of the retreat.

Reaching the secret door, he looked to his wrist datapad and began triggering the remaining booby traps. The building shook with explosion after explosion as the doors were eviscerated. Finally he came to the last detonator. The emperor's retreat had been rigged with enough thermal charged to level the whole building but before he triggered it he wanted to be sure everyone was clear. "If there are ANY rebels still in the retreat you had better let me know now or you're going to be blown sky high with all the Imps."

 

[Wit]

Jade was saved yet again by a combination of luck and her attunement to the Force. Seeing the man use a staff to dampen the impact of her attack, she had started moving towards him she felt another warning pulse from the Force. Already on alert for the sniper because of his earlier attack, she reacted without wasting time. Already in motion, she put on a sudden burst of Force enhanced speed and ran straight for the Jedi, jumping off from the impromptu wall he had erected and continued running to put some distance between herself and the sniper.

Things happened quickly after that, she ran into a squad of rebels and had take care of them before returning her attention to her prey. The Jedi she had lost track of, but the other two she had been able to keep up with while she dealt with the squad.

Seeing Damien emerge from the crumbled ruins of the building she had assumed would be his tomb, a wide grin split her face as she locked her shoto in its ignited state and threw it at the rebel, who was now being supported by two others. While her other lightsaber was still clutched in her hand, her senses on alert, she guided the shoto through the Force and sent it flying with unnatural speed in a wide arc that would bring it in towards the rebels from the side. Unless they pulled off something spectacular, burdened by an unconscious man as they were, the shoto would be neigh impossible for them to dodge as she guided it through them one by one, passing through one rebel skull after another for a multi-stage head-shot-o.

 

[BLADE]

"I know your mind's made up
You're gonna cause more misery
In Char, we're fit to stoop
And complain in litany!"
- The Ballad of Char (1)

A charming city
For a charming people

[Pan to a multispecies FAMILY (note: near-human only please) having DINNER in a gleaming house. Chrome coruscates clearly (note: bad copy; too much alliteration). A satisfied WOMAN one DOCTOR RENNA VHAX in a cozy jumper (note: we took a look at the bantha-sweater mockups and we need something... softer) sighs happily, having a CUPPA. We briefly zoom through her home, telescoping in on various achievements. She's a physician for our partner companies, a successful professional, a mother. But more importantly... She's home. She's in...

[Ascending CLARINET swell; (note: our research indicates saxophones are 24% more likely to sell)]

TOPSOIL​

Topsoil...

It's the Tops!

- The Future Starts on Now!Boo™ (2)
This has been a paid advert of the Naboo Real Estate Council (NREC) in partnership with the Theed Interstellar Pharmacological Syndicate (TIPS). (3) NREC! Because your home is our future!

The place smelled off-putting. They were deep enough that the turbolaser bombardment and Gods knew whatever else the damnable Empire was subjecting Char to barely shook the tunnels.

So Balthazar smelled. And remembered. In point of fact, he was reminded of his grand old nana's dying days at some decadent wreck of a --what was the euphemism?-- ah yes. A halfway home. Halfway towards what, he couldn't say. Neither as a boy when he'd held his breath and puffed his cheek to make the papery old wisp of a woman laugh, and neither know as a man nearly the old woman's age.

She'd smelled of cloves and good days and bad days. The undersoil of Topsoil smelled much the same. He wrinkled his nose and said nothing.

Rhynde had no such compunctions. She led with an irritated step, clutching a blaster pistol the size of her head with admirable poise.

"This place always gave me the bloody creeps."

Silence. Yes. This place didn't quite smell of cloves and sparse lucidity but it smelled of that awful rose perfume the orderlies used. Something to mask death when one of his nana's "friends" had "passed." By the Force, he hated that word.

"Does it always smell so..."

"Frou-frou? They were trying to attack Theedites, old man. By his smell ye shall know a man or some shite.”

"Were?"

"One of Mum and the old Marechal's (4) triumphs. That's where we're going, savvy?"

"I had been meaning to go see her."

"Mum or the Marechal?"

"Both."

"Should have gone during Smelting Day (5) old man."

Balthazar shrugged and they hustled on. They were going down, at a slight tangent to the city's water tables and pipes. Already, they were several hundred meters underground and even here the tunnels were quick big, nearly five meters tall and broad enough to accommodate Balthazar and Rhynde walking at arm's length at least twice over. They were smooth-bored too, and if not for the old coppery-leavings of long-since scoured industrial rubbish the former Pendragon would have been surprised to hear of its original purpose. Of course, some of it made sense, given what the old Topsoil project entailed.

Of course, I'm not entirely sure the underground would have been attractive... Underground sensibilities or not.

The tunnels were narrower now, and poorly lit, the few light fixtures grimy and mournfully flickering in the gloom. (6)

The heat as they approached the near kilometre in depth was sweltering now and Balthazar fiddled with his gorget as it if were a cravat; Rhynde's own hair was matte-red and frizzy from the humidity. She looked thoroughly ridiculous; Balthazar’s lips twitched in at least that much relief.

Through the darkness she stared at him with a gimlet-eye.

"What are you smirking at, old man?"

Balthazar sobered.

"A jest. Not the time, I know."

Rhynde sighed, "'s no worry. Could use a laugh right about now."

"Well if you could see yourself..."

"Didn't say we were mates. But fair enough. Fancy a break?"

"Shouldn't we--"

Rhynde shook her head and tightened her grip on pistol, "No. We're already scurrying like rats, not up there where we should be--"

"--Fighting I know. But we're doing what's necessary."

His Yelena's young woman stared at him frankly.

"We're not mates..." she said slowly, "But well said."

Balthazar stared at her and then shrugged. He reached for his boot and fiddled with that right too.

A moment later, he drew out a canteen.

"Spirits? You're up in my estimation."

"Not quite."

Rhynde frowned at him. Balthazar grinned.

"Tea?"

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Some anodized piping made up their "chairs." The loopy-de-loop design seemed very nonsensical, but all the same, Balthazar admired the "T.I.P.S" silver font. The spidery script wrapped around the cylinders and seemed to go on and on (and of course Balthazar Gallo had a fond and rather secretly shameful penchant-cum-hobby for decorative calligraphy.)

Not all were quite so easily impressed; Rhynde carelessly straddled some piping sipped sullenly at her tea, her mug read out “I love to get down… with a good book.” Yelena’s gift; she’d always wanted (somewhat in vain) a bookish type of daughter.

"At least we're close," she muttered.

"You said we wouldn't be late," he reminded serenely.

She scowled at the reminder of her own words and then decided to change topic.

"This tea is shite Gallo."

Balthazar shrugged, "Tea is tea."

"You're like mum," Rhynde said with a lazy half-shrug of a shoulder, "Doesn't quite grasp how important a cuppa is, that woman does."

"Oh no, young lady," he reposted loftily, "There's nothing like a good cup of tea."

"Operative word being "good" innit?"

Balthazar wrapped his hands around his hot cuppa and held it up to his face both to ward off the dank and the smile playing on his lips.

"You always carry around tea with you then?"

"It used to be broth. Knight habit."

"What like some badass survival thing?"

"Some carried alcohol."

"Squiffy?"

"Sometimes."

"Why'd you change?"

"My... constitution is not what it used to be," Balthazar returned dryly. He patted his belly. Rhynde stared at his midsection for a moment and then snorted.

"Mum's got you on toast and tea then?"

"Yes, she packed it for me. Would you like some?"

"No thank you. Mummy packed me lunch this morning."

Balthazar had the distinct feeling this trip would be even thicker with irony and barely-veiled sarcasm than it would be with unbearable humidity and inescapable itchiness (he truly had forgotten how much the armor could... well... especially in certain areas).

He was not sure which was worse.

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As a Imperial Knight, Balthazar had tried (tried being a rather important word) to live up to a certain code. Chivalry. Abstemiousness. Forthrightness tempered with a certain unwillingness to... coarsen.

Rhynde had no such compunctions.

"Motherfoooker! Son of a cunt-legged, arse-faced, fanny-licking, cullionly--"

"Cullionly?" Balthazar was fairly red (though he supposed he'd have been a more tomato shade if not for the Fighting Pits (7) and the… colorful fighters he’d met there) by that point.

"Mum had me read at Public School in Theed for a year."

"A year?"

"I stabbed the school inspector."

"Charming."

"Fuck. You."

Balthazar held up his hands.

"Now where was I?” She muttered under her breath, digging at the panel in front of her; no good it seemed.

“Bloody buggering shite!”

She stalked off, pacing a few steps and then turned to Balthazar.

“That! Couldn't you..."

Rhynde pointed theatrically at the caved in tunnel subsection, her fingers wiggling as though she were working an old-fashioned power loom.

It was Balthazar's turn to snort.

"It doesn't quite work like that... well actually it does. But..." he pointed to the cracks in the circle-basin, and the softness of some of the rivet-shells holding up the tunnel.

"I rather like my bones not crushed. Any other way out?"

Rhynde bit on her bottom lip and frowned.

"A half hour... we can take the old pipe-jacking hoists tunnel... cut through the utility tunnels."

"Time's wasting then, isn't it?""

"Yes it bloody well is... wanker."

Balthazar had the feeling former was winning out.

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"TIPS, TIPS, TIPS. Any idea why that is, old man?"

"You're the expert, young lady."

"Touche. But if only..." she trailed off.

"What is it?"

"Just thinking of a friend."

"Bloke or lass?"

"Mum asked me the same thing. And none of your bloody business."

"Lass then."

"F--”

SKHIIIIIIIIIIISSSSSSSSSSSSS-EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

And then they heard it. It sounded like someone had punctured a very big balloon, and then forgot to tell the balloon about it. Punctured by the kind of whining Balthazar had last heard when men were dying in the heat and christening the sand with their blood.

He shuddered involuntarily at the smell. Not clovers nor allspice nor even his grandmother's favorite cookies, half-hobbled by his father's heavy baking hands.

Oh but sweet. Sweet like mottled flesh, peeling with rot off gleaming white bone. He shut his eyes and when he opened them.

"Old man... can you see?"

"It's dark," he replied flatly.

"Oh well spotted!"

They both exchanged glares in the dark but knew better than to keep bickering. They heard something. And then they felt it. Smelled it. The air tasted wrong.

“Aaaaaaaarrrgghhhh.”

“I really hope that’s you moaning.”

Balthazar Gallo had spent well over a decade in the farthest reaches of space. He had seen a man go to sleep with sight unseeing. Had seen a woman give birth to devil-child in the rituals of the old far-Taung.

He was not prepared for a thing of sickly imploded flesh. It looked (for what else could one call it but “it”) like a mottled mass of flesh-papier, of candied meat, melted over itself, sinews pulsing red and blue and black outside of where muscle was, tendon embedded like a sliver inside bone, skin inside and upside and downside. It wore a thick coat of black, oily and slick --like, like-- a crust or a membrane over its simulacra of arms and torso. This membrane, this demi-rind bunched up on its shoulders, black as night and globs of the stuff thick like starship fuel fell into the water. Sometimes they burbled as they fell. Sometimes they hissed; the water itself seemed to find the Black anathema.

He lit his saber.

“Behind me.”

Rhynde nodded and raised her own blaster; they were in close quarters and the thing…

Balthazar did not hesitate.

With a single clean cut --ZOOOMSH-- he bisected the thing.

The bits of black jello flesh lay there writhing, giving lie to its necrotic appearance and then bunched together… raised together raised together, its parody-form as barely cognizant of pain as it was of function and purpose, not whole, but unharmed. Like flesh zippering together...

SQUEEEEELLLLLCH!

It stood, euryptid form and blinking groaning eyes staring dimly at them; It did not groan this time.

No. It roared the --GRAAAKKKKRKKKKGGHH-- assaulting the ear and echoing all through the tunnel.

The elder knight heard answering calls behind him, around him. Felt their presence, leaden and wrong in the giving Force.

Rhynde was already firing. Balthazar raised his saber into guard position.

He would see into just how small of a piece these abominations could reconstitute themselves.

Notes
​

1 From Mayn Olde City-Faire: A Hymnal for Char

2 The long running slogan of Naboo Real Estate

3 The largest medicinal concern in Naboo and one of the largest pharmaceutical interests in the galaxy

4 The highest elected official of Char --not recognized by the Capital-- part Alderman part Sheriff and part executive, the Marechal in particular presides over the hustings and town halls in which the policy of Char is really decided.

5 A play on words; the day commemorating the first big durasteel smelt (Char in particular had long ties to Kuat) for ships as well as the harvest of the popular smelt-fish

6 Balthazar and Rhynde are down in the old access tunnels, below even the Char Metro. This old section runs down flush and parallel to the old city lines, getting deeper as it approaches the working-class section of South Char; even Rhynde and those like her who have made their bones exploring the city scarce know even a tenth of the full extent of the tunnels

7 The fighting pits of Nal Hutta; Balthazar Gallo spent nearly a decade there in forced fights. He also apparently heard quite a bit of profanity; go figure.

 

[Richie B.]

Norin was tired, injured and didn't have any means to put up a good fight, he has 8 shots left in one of his guns, his brothers TASKMASTER MK-II pistol. He had lost his SI C-44 carbine when the building collapsed, thankfully he still has his beskad and combat knife so if he gets close to any imperials he isn't completely helpless. He had began walking slowly towards the emperors retreat than the images of all those he let die, flashed before his eyes. Norin sighed knowing that if he runs away while there are those that need him than he can never forgive himself. He grabbed his beskad and once more stared into the blade knowing that this is could be the last time he can see it.

He held the beskad in his right hand while he grabbed his brothers TASKMASTER MK-II pistol with his left hand since it's the only one with any ammo a full 8 shots but he was having a hard time keeping it steady. Norin's injures will cause his accuracy to diminish and he will be weaker and slower when it comes to his beskad. He limped towards where he came from hoping that he can at least save the jedi that he left behind to face that hut'uunla Sith.

As he walked back he was thinking of a way, with his condition, that he could help the jedi survive this battle and hopefully kill the Sith. He limped back into the alley which he jumped out of the building, before it collapsed the warrior still under the rubble which made Norin flinch thinking about that. But what got his attention was the three storm troopers investigating the dead bodies. The bodies that were there because of Norin, he didn't feel guilt because of it and was glad to add to the bodies.

"It's been a while since my Beskad tasted blood, and it's thirsty." The imperials turned around aiming there rifles at the sound of Norin's voice.

But the storm trooper closest to Norin wasn't quick enough he attempted to cut the imperials head off with one swing, but found that he didn't have the strength. But he did cut deep enough in the neck for the man to be dead in a few seconds. He used his left arm to move the soon to be dead imperial in front of him while the other two started to open fire. After three shots Norin pushed the now dead imperial towards his friends, which were both hovering over the bodies. The two caught their dead friend while Norin was able to move just fast enough to stab his beskad into one of the storm troopers throats. Though he barely went through, he was starting to pant from the strain he was in. The last imperial had finally pushed ha friend out of the way while Norin was taking out his beskad from the now dead imperial.

The last imperial was able to fire off one shot before his throat was slashed open, but it was a poor attempt as Norin moved enough out of the way to not get hit. With the last of the imperials dead he looked to survey his work. He notice one of the imperials seemed to be carrying a belt of grenades, this made Norin happy as he could use grenades if he was going to help his jedi comrade against the dreaded Sith. He grabbed the grenade belt and rapped it around his hip ready to use it when the time was right. Norin peaked his head towards the Jedi and Sith while still trying to stay hidden, waiting for his chance to give support to his jedi ally.

 

[vamp]

Matt noticed the man. He immediately knew he was a friend, however, and flashed a few quick signs indicating his plans. As the man left his line of view, Matt concentrated and summoned every bit of energy he had. He closed his eyes, and took a few short breaths. Matt stuck out his hands towards the barricade he'd made out of the rubble. Lifting most of it, Matt grunted and slowly Force lifted it toward the unsuspecting Sith. As the debris floated over her, Matt lifted it a bit more, then smashed it toward her at full force.

The heavy rock fell and the Sith disappeared. Matt knew she probably wasn't dead, and he waited for the man, whom had just shown up. Giving a quick nod and point at the Sith, Matt motioned to the man to throw the belt on the rubble where the Sith woman was, then to run for the tunnels, and took cover in a small trench. Matt fought to stay conscious and watched the man hurl the belt from a safe distance. Matt looked down as it hit the rubble and heard an explosion, which shook the ground.

 

[The Kyzer]

OOC Note: This post has been made under the assumption that Count Sam has kept his post but utilized canon tech similar to what he was using since blaster rifles, charric weapons, and missile-launchers are a thing.

---

"Your protection is a lie," Adrasteia answered flatly, her tone more akin to a droid than a living creature.

The Sith woman then felt the male Jedi's life force pass on, and smirked. Another had felt the true bite of True Justice. And naturally the female was angered by her loss. The taller female found the smaller woman's impotent fury laughable until the Force began to churn inside the Jedi. It seemed that the girl in the whimsical dress was actually ready to fight.

Prepare yourself.

Adrasteia was about to make a snappy remark about that as well until she understood the Jedi's meaning. It wasn't an honorable salute before battle. No, this woman meant to kill the Sith. She had merely told Adrasteia to prepare herself for death.

"You first."

The woman's charge would be stopped almost immediately by a sledgehammer of telekinetic power to her chest, and already damaged rib cage. She would also be tossed backward a few meters. Of course, Adrasteia didn't realize that she'd saved the Jedi as the Chiss soldier from before appeared on one of the rooftops above her. The armored foe immediately opened fire but his choices in such an action were a tad lackluster. It was simply physics. Firing a sub-machine gun-sized charric weapon with one hand and a fully-sized blaster rifle in the other didn't exactly aid one in being accurate. The storm of energy fell all around Adrasteia and what part would have hit her were deflected by the Aegis' now-active energy shield. The torrent stopped for a moment while the man then hefted a pair of missile launchers.

The Sith's eyes widened as the foolish soldier fired two guided missiles at her from a seriously short distance for such a weapon.

What is this? Parade of the Idiots?

Still, the missiles were a serious threat to her. They lingered in their launchers for a half-second as their rockets ignited before drooping slightly as they left the tubes. Of course, missiles are notorious for being surprisingly fragile. Adrasteia merely utilized that to her advantage by punching the ordinance with the Force as they exited their launchers, which would naturally cause the armed weapons to explode violently in close proximity to the armored warrior above her. Of course that didn't matter much to her right now. What did matter was that she was outnumbered. Again. Time for another tactical retreat.

The Sith woman quickly dashed into a side alley and sprinted with the Force as her ally through the winding alleys of Char's Old Quarter. As she left, though, a platoon of Stormtroopers entered the alleys and pushed onward while jet troopers landed on the rooftops of the buildings around them. The Imperials immediately opened fire on the Jedi and Chiss insurgents as a VAAT/i gunship swooped into view. Its cannons roared with deadly intent as Adrasteia dove into an underground tramway access a few blocks south of her previous location. Imperial troops were flooding the area and a few saluted her as she passed them. Inside the tramway, an improvised forward base had been established.

Adrasteia approached one of the quarterasters and made a single demand after feeling an almost-sickly tremor through the Force.

"Armor. Give it to me."

 

[Sierrien]

The Sith prepared herself just a little too well for Aluae's liking. As she came in to attack, instead of trying to defend herself - she sent a telekinetic blow out towards Aluae that felt something similar to how she imagined it felt to get hit by a train. Most of that was her already cracked ribs, but she was pretty sure she felt a few break as she was thrown backwards hard by the impact, landing on her back. The impact literally stole the breath from her, and instead of fighting back she shifted on to her side and actually curled up in to a ball, as if that would somehow protect her. It was instinctual, as was her drawing as heavily as she could on the Force and once more trying to knit her ribs back together just so that she could breath. She was dimly aware of the sounds of someone shooting at the Sith, and then there was an explosion somewhere up above. Then there was nothing for a short while.

She knew she should get up, should get away from here - they were close enough to the retreat that this area could be crawling with Imperial troopers at any time. She was distracted then, by the feeling of something far underground. She couldn't place it, but there was.. simply something wrong down there, in the tunnels. And the rebels were retreating in to it. She slowly brought her hand up, intent on communicating that - and was again interrupted. This time it was by a mess of Stormtroopers rushing in to the alley. She still couldn't breath, and as they came up to her and figured out she was a Jedi - well, the Lightsabers kind of gave her away on that point - she knew she couldn't fight. Not until she could breath somewhat normally, at least. They took the lightsabers and none-too-gentle hands cuffed her hands tightly in behind her back. When she was too weak to walk, two of them grabbed her arms and dragged her along. She spent the time being dragged still pouring the force in to herself, trying to get her ribs back to a place where they could breath still. It was slowly working, at least to the point where it wasn't agony to breath. Now it just hurt like hell. Progress.

They stopped at the command center, and a quick bout of questions were sent her way. Rebel troop movements, what their plan was. Her bewildered expression apparently got the point across that she knew nothing. Or maybe it was just that she looked half dead that they simply waved her on, towards the back of the impromptu command center. She wondered where they were taking her now. The troopers dragged her along again, then dropped her off in the last place she wanted to be at the moment. She was dropped on to her knees in front of the Sith she had just been fighting, who had killed her friend and then beaten her rather handily as well. She was sporting some new armor, but hadn't put her helmet on yet so Aluae at least recognized her. She wasn't sure if it was a good thing or not that she recognized her, come to think of it. Both lightsabers were handed to Adrasteia as Aluae stared up at her, barely able to stay on her knees without falling over and clearly beaten. "Nevermind, I don't want to know where they're taking me..." she thought to herself.

 

[Dargeth The Hunter.]

As the rubble started to rise the two men turned to look at it and suddenly noticed the oncoming weapon and the larger of the two released Damien to turn towards it, the dead weight of Damien pulled the smaller one down suddenly and he cursed until he found himself covered in blood as the large man was literally decapitated. Suddenly the rubble came crashing down and he looked stunned before grabbing Damien's vest and pulling him away from it grunting with the effort, Damien was by far no light weight and suddenly he saw the belt of explosive's thrown and dove over Damien to protect him. The explosion was massive and he grunted with the effort and even Damien stirred and the man cursed that the Sith had snuck upon them, he'd witnessed Damien's stand first hand and knew such a soldier could not be allowed to die and he jumped upwards.

Grasping the vest again he began to pull Damien until they were in an alley and he saw the Emporer's retreat at the end and across a courtyard, pulling out a small flare gun he lifted it and fired, the flare would hopefully bring Re-inforcment's and he watched as Damien came around and his face turned chalk white from the sheer pain going through his body. As he looked around he noticed the alley then the smoke and falling Debris and coughed sharply, pulling himself up into a sitting position he gasped " thanks ", the soldier nodded and simply handed him a blaster " Taint over yet "

 

[Wit]

Jade, her senses still on full alert, sensed the padawan draw on the Force and turned towards him in time to see the piece of rock he had raised to deal with her. She smiled then, just as much as the padawan's perseverance as at the unending game of cat and mouse they seemed to be interested in. He had been her initial target, it made sense to take out the Jedi first, the rest were canon fodder. But then her attention had been caught by Damien and seeing him survive where no one would have just infuriated her. The way she was right now, her blood lust overpowering her so, this kill now too priority over the Jedi.

As the rock fell, she sidestepped, moving just enough to dodge the rock and pushed back at the padawan, sending him flying away, ironically towards the very tunnels he sought to escape into. But in the moment it took her to avoid the rock, Damien had somehow survived once more, this time due to the intervention of some more rebels. A deep frown marring her features, she dashed off towards him, in her anger avoiding the explosives that had been sent flying her way. As they exploded behind her, and the surviving rebel dropped on top of Damien to protect him. Jade, ignoring the grenades exploding behind her, reached the duo a moment later. Reaching out with the Force and pushing down on them with enough force to incapacitate the two, she ignited her lightsaber and stabbed down, through the rebels heart to Damien's and down into the ground.

At that very moment, a squadron of Imperial soldiers, now swarming the area, arrived and seeing her lightsaber stopped near her. A simple order was issued and entire squadron opened up on the fallen duo, she was getting bored of this game and the time had come to end it.

 

[The Kyzer]

OOC: Since I forgot to really address the Imperial advance in my previous post, I will do so here.

---

The battle was winding down. Imperial victory, it seemed, was inevitable. The citizens of Char watched in horror as the Imperial flag was raised over city hall while an AT-AT stomped through the Char City Courthouse. Most of the city was still standing though many building burned; a testament to the skill of their architects. Of course, the outer ring was decimated but few cared about that area anyway. It was new and ugly to the people of Naboo, who felt that the Naboo-aesthetics were as much of their culture as their religion.

Meanwhile, the confrontation that history books would remember as the Battle for the Old Quarter continued to rage. Most of the insurgents had retreated into the Emperor's Retreat (and the irony of which seemed lost on rebel and Imperial alike) though some had erected some improvised defenses in the basement of some of the sturdier buildings. One of these buildings was the Second Bank of Char and the insurgents had transformed the underground vault into a fortress. Stormtroopers tried relentlessly to break the stalemate but only succeeded in beginning a slow but steady war of attrition.

Elsewhere, Imperial troops had begun sweeping the underground tramways in order to ensure that the city was cleansed of dissidents. AT-ST's corralled what few rebels had remained into the Retreat while the AT-ST's established an unbreakable blockade around the area.

 

[Phoenix]

Corto made his way down to the bottom of the stairway leading to the hidden entrance at the back of the Emperor’s Retreat. He was now in the sewers below the city and it certainly smelled exactly how you would expect. It was sickeningly difficult to breath with the smell of feces in the air but it beat being dead. Barely. He had set off all of the booby traps within the Retreat except for the final trap. The Retreat had been set with enough thermal charges to blow it twice and now it was time to leave with a bang.

Thinking about it, Corto wasn’t sure what motivated him to blow it up more, the fact that there were Imperials inside and it would cause a great deal of casualties, or the fact that the Imperials had worked so hard to keep it in tact out of respect for Palpatine that now blowing it up would be his final “piss off” to the Imperials. He suspected it was a little of both, but whatever the reason it was time.

He flipped his wrist over and with a final “eat this Palps” he pressed the button on the detonator. Corto had years of experience with explosives but the blast was even bigger than what he expected. Dirt fell from the ceiling of the sewer as it was shaken free by what felt like an earthquake. The sound enveloped him and his ears rang as he sat there against the wall. Had he been able to see outside, he would have seen a pillar of fire shoot into the sky followed by a black pillar of smoke that burned darker and rose higher than any of those around it. The charred husk of the building collapsed on itself as the shockwave from the blast traveled throughout the building. The blast had to have killed dozens of Imperials and, although it was a minor number of casualties, it would hopefully demoralize the enemy just a little bit more.

Smoke poured into the sewers and that meant it was time for him to move, but there was no outrunning it. It poured into the tunnels and blacked out everything. It burned his eyes and filled his lungs. He coughed as he tried to get a breath of clean air but was unwilling to stop moving forward. He wasn’t going to die here. He closed the door to the sewers which helped cut down on the smoke, and made his way deeper into the sewers hoping to find some other Rebels.