Event Galaxy in Crisis!

The Forgotten · Oct 6, 2020

For a moment the Forgotten stood in silence. What went on inside of her mind was a mystery to even the most perceptive wielder of the Force, but the wheels were clearly turning. Perhaps she weighed the pros and cons of answering their questions or perhaps she formulated some plan that would see them all killed.

See our guests out if they won't leave willingly. Dathomir does not appreciate tresspassers, she said before turning and walking away.

If they turned to leave of their own volition, then they would see no trouble from the monks or their ichor-addled fellow explorers. If, however, they opted to remain, the compulsion upon those who had drunk to defend Dathomir would be absolute, no matter what it took.

Likewise, the monks were moving closer to the door, the path behind the newcomers was nearly blocked, though the crowd would part if they made to leave.

They would only have perhaps a minute before the crowd would surge forward and attack like the immune system attacking an infection, prepared to purge the planet of invaders.

For her part, the Forgotten made her way to the other side of the fountain room and passed through the door. Literally. The door never opened, but she passed casually through the solid stone without difficulty. Benefits of being incorporeal.

@AutoFox @Mr. Teatime @Killa Ree @GABA @Six @Lavi @Darasuum @christhebarker @Nefieslab

Cyrus Anvari · Oct 6, 2020

Nar Shaddaa

As the Jedi began to speak again, Wolfgang's left hand was already moving to do something about the grenade. The Force bowed to his will in the form of a sharp telekinetic push against the grenade as the the Jedi launched it. The end result would be, simply put, an impact. As far as the simple sensors in a grenade were concerned, a sudden stop or change of direction in midair from launching speed was indistinguishable from hitting the floor. This meant instead of the Jedi's bluff detonating on the floor amongst the Sith, it would instead go off barely a foot from the Jedi's own face.

Expecting a thermal detonator, even if not one as powerful as the Jedi proclaimed, Wolfgang's nictitating membranes covered his eyes in anticipation of a bright flash of light. He was mildly disappointed to find out his was only a concussion grenade. The light was certainly bright, but since the Sith was well outside its effective range and it filtered through both his visor and protective membranes, it was more annoying than harmful. The sound in the enclosed space was more of a problem, resulting in a loud ringing in his ears, but Wolfgang wasn't close enough to be properly disoriented.

Assuming the grenade properly stunned the Jedi, Wolfgang would begin to walk forward and reach out again with the Force toward the Jedi's lightsaber to pull and twist it from his grasp, seeking to disarm him of his other weapon while he was disoriented. Since the Jedi seemed unwilling to use it, it only seemed right it should go to someone more worthy.

@Versok @JorusC @Logan

Mara Kensei · Oct 6, 2020

The Eclipse said:
Coruscant

@Darmus Onn and @Nykoria Tallis made their way outside, their escape well timed. The sharpshooters seemed otherwise occupied and Darmus was able to lug Kori through the panicked line of officers to one of the emergency response vehicle. A medic moved up to assist the Ranger with his Jedi companion and move her onto a stretcher beneath the cover of the vehicle.

"Be careful, they have snipers!" he shouted to Darmus over the background yelling, blaster fire, and the occasional small explosion. The medic began to work on first aid for Kori to treat her injuries and stop the bleeding. She'd be transported to a hospital with the others as soon as the remaining vehicles could get away safely, but with that gunship in the air it was too much of a risk.

@Dr Ilana Morata and @Falynn Tikarsis had their work cut out for them. Corran aside, the other wounded were gathering and piling up around them on the first floor. It was a scene of chaos and brutality, wounded and dying Rangers and medics both crowding the space. Not to mention the more immediate threat.

The gunship closed in, weapons primed. Laser cannon fire blasted through the ruined station's walls into the ground floor, not accurate enough to be aimed at any particular person but deadly nonetheless. The right arm of an unlucky medic was vaporized and they hit the floor in shock. Crimson bolts flew amongst the crowd, inflicting incidental injuries left and right and worsening the property damage and burning fires. Two concussion missiles fired- but not at the ground floor.

The remains of the second floor were hit by the twin rockets, the detonation shaking what was left of the battered building. Even a skeleton of a Ranger station was built sturdy and it stayed standing, defiant, but a section of the ceiling cracked and collapsed, crushing a couple more and bathing the rest in duracrete dust and fractured rubble.

For the moment, @Vera Coulter and @Crix Aran seemed safe. The sound of blasts from above rumbled through to the basement but would do them no harm. The Sith was dead, the two soldiers were stunned, and the two of them seemed to be entirely alone in the records area.

Then the helmets of the two stunned soldiers detonated, killing the both of them and damaging the E-web. The Eclipse would allow for no prisoners.

@Lorcan attacked preemptively, which was wise. The old man smiled madly, the wrinkled fingers of his left hand uncurling. Both stun shots impacted air, discharging against a barrier before they reached the Sith. He cackled, the sound echoing down the duracrete wall. His fingers twisted and pulled, telekinetically yanking at the Ranger's blaster to fling it from his grasp and toward the old Sith's feet.

"Wrong choice," the old man said darkly, shrugging out of the top layer of his voluminous robes. The crackle and pop of stretching muscle and ligaments resounded as the old man uncurled from his bent posture, standing up to nearly two meters. Beneath the robes he was impressively muscled and covered in a wealth of faded tattoos, and his lightsaber had found its way into his right hand. His blade ignited, the red light colouring the walls like blood.

"Try again," he taunted, motioning Lorcan forward with his left hand.

Back outside in an alley @Mara Kensei was engaging a pair of soldiers. As she reached out, pulling at their weapons, the two men simply let them go. They were no ordinary soldiers and had been trained on how to react to Force users. As Mara ran forward they drew their DC-17 sidearms for close quarters gunwork. The soldier Mara threw a punch up at raised his free left arm in a solid forearm block to deflect the blow to his left while stepping right to avoid it. At the same time he fired a shot at Mara's midsection from point blank range, his firing stance close to his body and left foot forward. The second soldier to Mara's right stepped in when Mara did, aiming a sharp forward kick to the side of Mara's right knee and firing a shot toward her ribcage, both hands on her weapon for accuracy and weapon pulled back close for close use.

For a moment after @Talak Rand crushed the transmitter the sense of a Dark presence remained in the lift, despite the image having immediately vanished. "No need, pretender," the black-eyed man's voice said dismissively from nowhere before the presence vanished. Talak's assassin's techniques went uncontested, and as he concentrated on his senses in the lift he had chosen he would find the Dark presence again quite easily. It wasn't hiding in the least, blatantly allowing itself to be found, even calling to him.

Talak would find the Dark presence had settled itself on the top inside floor. Waiting.

@Catbert @TerranSteel @Killa Ree @Nefieslab @Ecclessey @Frannykins87 @AutoFox @Kestrel @MasterTyvokka @Dmitri @Phoenix @FireSong @Phantom

Mara was surprised at the soldiers letting their weapons go and drawing pistols, though after that, she wasn't surprised when her blow was knocked out of the way, so she decided to roll with it, literally. She continued her forward momentum and ducked into a roll, causing the shot fired by the soldier she tried to punch, to graze her side. The kick from the other soldier landed on her back, propelling her further than anticipated. Thus, the the second shot hit it's mark, but instead of the ribcage, the bolt left a scroch mark just below her left shoulder blade.

Okay, so these soldiers knew how to handle themselves against a Force User. They probably trained with Sith who used the Force externally, so it would be safe to assume that they don't have experience with the Matukai form of Force use. Mara exhaled, letting the Force flow through her as she stood and turned to face the assailants, a small smirk on her face as she felt the Force infuse itself with her body, enhancing her speed. Then, without any hesitation, Mara surged forward, using the enhanced speed to her advantage as she threw a jab with her left hand, aiming for the female guard's neck. Whether that hit made contact or not, Mara continued the motion as she lowered herself to the ground, extending a rigid right arm to impact with the male guard's left knee. Then she rolled away, springing back to her feet and keeping a distance of about five feet between her and the soldiers.

Jerex Dorn · Oct 7, 2020

NAR SHADDAA

Well, this was just getting worse and worse for the poor jedi, wasn't it? Alone against three sith with a grenade that didn't really do much but stun them a little bit, a grenade that, of course, was forcefully detonated in his face, courtesy of the younger sith, the poor jedi would also find the grenade would probably affect him more than it affected Jerex, after all, the detonated grenade didn't get as close to him as the jedi liked to, and since he was calling to the force to protect himself in case the grenade went off, he could create a small force barrier around him and enchance his endurance a bit, turns out it wasn't even one that could do damage, so the force barrier was a bit wasted, but the enchancement helped against the light and sound.

So, Jerex let out a small chuckle, amused by the current situation "Brave, but foolish or unlucky, probably both" The old legionnaire said as his ears started ringing less and he could see a little better. Jerex started calling upon the force as soon as he could once again and lightning came from his hands, directed towards the jedi's center of mass, not a short burst, but prolonging lightning that, while not to the point of being lethal yet, would be very painful and probably stun the jedi quite a bit, his best bet would be blocking it with his lightsaber, but it looked like it was being taken by the other sith.

@Mr. Teatime @JorusC @Logan

Malleus · Oct 7, 2020

Dathomir

The apparition's words crawled through Malleus's skull. ''Witch..'' he thought to himself, eyes narrowing in disapproval. Every cell of his being fought the urge to obey the words of the spectre, his reason telling him that doing so was more than a bad idea. It took the large Zabrak some time to overcome the urges of the ghostly woman but he finally pushed through mentally. He felt an ache, a spreading tension around his spiked head as he tried to remain calm and clear his thoughts of the woman's manipulations. As the others advanced further he stayed back and waited for their backs to be turned before pressing the fingers of one of his hands on his forehead. All of this now seemed like a bad idea...

The others seemed to either be reeled in by the spectre or their curiosity simply prevailed and have advanced forward. ''No...'' the Sith said quietly but with determination. He would not be some pawn in some game in a backend planet. Malleus turned on his heel, his cape flapping behind him as he did so. Deciding to go back and leave this place behind, if the Jedi's curiosity kills them then good, if not he'll try to finish the job after they come out. As for Maeve.. if she indeed dies inside with the Jedi than she certainly deserved death for her foolishness Malleus thought. Making his way back towards the door that led outside his step was not hasty and he cautiously eyed the hooded monk figures on either side, his hand kept close to the hilt of his weapon clinging to his belt.

@Killa Ree @Nefieslab @The Forgotten @Mr. Teatime @GABA @Darasuum

Resisting the manipulation

Helen Holcomb · Oct 8, 2020

DATHOMIR

Helen gritted her teeth, thumbing the E-11 to stun mode as she continued to hold it level at her hip. The thralls might be a problem, but they didn't deserve to die; the Lepi was mildly relieved that her weapon gave her the option not to kill, in situations where force was necessary.

Hannibal, meanwhile, was trying to negotiate with the shade. Helen wished him well, but she had seen this particular movie; incorporeal beings with a desire to control the living tended not to budge their positions too easily. Perhaps they would let them leave, but then again, perhaps not.

She leaned in to mutter to the Jedi, never taking her eyes off the thralls.

"What's the play here, Hannibal..."

@Mr. Teatime @christhebarker @Lavi @Killa Ree @Darasuum @GABA @Six @Phoenix

Roland Rook · Oct 8, 2020

DATHOMIR

The Mandalorian's eyes narrowed at the Forgotten's departing words as he stared down the young jedi (@Lavi ). It was not clear if the ghost meant they would be able to get through the storm or the wildlife outside they had dealt with before. Watching and seeing her disappear through a door made his eyes squint. They lingered on the door, wondering what was beyond it for a moment before becoming aware of the ever approaching monks.

Turning his head towards the direction the exit the Lieutenant tried to see if any of them had visible weapons. Did they once get called here too? Is that what is in store for everyone who just drank? He wondered and backed up with a flattened left hand facing Indy and the door. The people around the fountain had either fallen to the some sort of spell or had made their choice. That much was clear. Roland's instincts told them they needed to leave now unless they wanted a fight on their hand. It looked like anybody that fell to this places influence were willing to resort to violence.

The Zabrak stranger was already making his way past the monks. "Leaving. Now." He said simply to the Lepi's question even though it had been directed towards Hannibal. Doing his best to usher the un-turned individuals towards the door, Roland was conscious of his sidearm's weight on his hip as well as the inert lightsaber Altina held. "We can come back for them. But we need to go." The armored figure would turn to face the monks fully, he would be the first through the crowd monks to make sure they gave the others space too.

@Phoenix @Killa Ree @Nefieslab @GABA @The Forgotten @Lavi

Indy Sati · Oct 8, 2020

Dathomir

Indyana stared down the man she once considered a brother at arms, a true friend. He stood there spouting the nonsense that he claimed he hadn't lost his mind, and yet... and yet she felt a measure of grief at the stance he took already. Forgetting his vows as a Jedi, falling under the influence of the ghost... she stared at Max instead of anyone else. Her voice deceptively soft.

"A man once told me that if you're having doubts about doing the right thing, then it means that you're still a decent person."

Roland was trying to usher her out, but she had to ask one last thing before they would leave.

She had the feeling it would be the last time she would see Max... and it hurt.

"This all seems right to you? Do you have any doubts?"

If there was any hints of a change, she wouldn't see it. But there was one last stone to throw, that may snap him from the Witch's effect. One last try to pry him from the pool's influence.

"Would Nashyr have been proud of the choice you've just made? I don't... I don't think she would have." Her features were grim, but her golden eyes showed what grief the words couldn't convey.

"I'll wait for you. And if anything happens, anything goes amiss or awry and I feel anything in the Force, I'll be coming for you. Trust in that, Maxims. I'm coming back."

She had to be pulled away, but the entire time she would be, she wouldn't break eye contact. She wouldn't leave him behind for long. Even outside the Temple doors, she would fight back however ways she could.

Whatever the witch had planned, she wasn't going to make it easy. Even if she had to break down the doors herself and fight off every last monk, she would protect the galaxy.

And not at the words of some ghost.

@Nefieslab @Darasuum @Mr. Teatime @The Forgotten @christhebarker @Lavi @GABA

Salek Fallanai · Oct 8, 2020

Nar Shadda

The flashbang grenade exploded a bare meter from Salek's face, having been launched from his outstretched hand. Fortunately for him, it didn't create a concussive blast, only a loud noise with an ultra-bright flash. Given that he had been congenitally blind from birth, he was oblivious to the damage that the light did to his non-functional retinal tissue.

What had stunned him more was the complete and utter shock of continuing to live when he had been prepared to die, then realizing that his Master had fragging tricked him again (!), and then that he was in a fight with three fragging Sith. He felt a tug at his lightsaber, but the stress of the situation had created a white-knuckled grip on the handle, and he held it against the pull.

And then the kriffing lightning hit. Salek's body spasmed, and his hand opened against his will as his muscles contracted wildly. His mind reeled, trying to keep up with everything that was going on and formulate plans, but it was useless. He felt his balance teetering as the pain wracked him, and he knew that if he fell he would stay down.

And then his training took over.

Jerex's day was about to be complicated by two main problems.

Problem one: Though the young Jedi's blindness had handicapped him in many ways, and though his later-developed Force sight was horrible at noticing inorganic objects or making out fine details, there was one thing it was excellent at: seeing living things. And it didn't stop at the surface of the skin like normal sight. He saw through living things, embracing the whole of them at once. This led to an immense level of precision and control with his Force use.

Problem two: Salek had spent his first months with Master Lentus being forced to complete strenuous and complex tasks under torturous pain. Trying to slow him down with pain was frankly a losing option. Of course, the lightning was powering up, and soon it would begin truly hurting him. But for now it was only pain, and pain was near the bottom of Salek's priority list these days.

This combination of factors caused the lightning to be a potentially lethal mistake on Jerex's part. A bare second after Salek lost control of his lightsaber, he reached out through the Force and gave Jerex a sharp telekinetic flick. Salek knew that the Sith's force of will - even while heavily distracted by the strain of pouring out lightning - would whittle down even the strongest of Force pushes a bare whisper, that he could swing like he was knocking down a wall and barely dent it instead. That was why he made it a sudden, intense strike in one tiny area, focusing all of the pressure in an instant that would be difficult to counter - so that even if Jerex had been forewarned and wasn't being distracted by his lightning, a tiny pinprick of that energy would bleed through into a poke, like flicking a rubber band hard against its target.

And he did it right on the base of Jerex's brain stem.

Then - assuming that suddenly being temporarily paralyzed/knocked unconscious would disrupt a constant lightning attack - Salek bolted with all the speed the Force could give him, back out of the room and through the sewers.

@Versok @Mr. Teatime @Logan

Flood · Oct 9, 2020

Izel Thral said:
Nar Shaddaa

Izel cringed visibly as dark energy began to pour out of the terentatek, infesting the air around them. With her well attuned senses the Vratix almost felt drowned in it. From all her research on the terentatek she had never recalled anything like this. "What in the galaxy...?" She began to ask before there was a sudden shift in the Force. And then all that dark energy began to rush back towards the beast as it hunched over, shuddering. Izel gasped with realization, there was no time.

"Isen get down!" She shouted urgently, and leapt over the dying monster to where her apprentice stood, so she landed between him and the creature. Turning around, she unleased a Force wave of her own just as the terentatek destroyed itself with a mighty blast. The two opposing waves struck each other with tremendous power, releasing a deafening crack like thunder that echoed all around the small chamber. Izel had succeeded in countering the worst of the explosion, but was still thrown backwards with great force and showered with the terentatek's blood.

The Vratix slammed into her Padawan before falling to the ground, crying out in pain as she desperately tore at her burning cloak, trying to get it off. The garment fell to the floor nearly completely eaten through, and the insectoid's skin smoked from the caustic fluids. Izel struggled to get up before collapsing again. She'd live, but she doubted she'd be doing any more fighting anytime soon. Slowly she turned her head towards her apprentice to see if he had faired any better. "Padawan?" She asked worriedly, her voice weak. Without her cloak a gruesome old scar was revealed creeping along the length of her right arm.

@Isen @Flood

Isen Ramm said:
Nar Shaddaa

"Isen get down!" he heard his master say, and Isen, if nothing else, was obedient to Izel Thral's commands. Isen hunkered down, and tried his meager best to extend the force shield outward for further protection. Unfortunately, the beast's power won the day, and both master and Padawan were thrown back. Thral landed on Isen, shielding him from the brunt of the toxic, acidic goo that exploded out of the terentatek. Isen could tell, however, that the sacrifice of his master took a most serious toll on on her. She was hurt badly. An acidic smoke was rising from the Vratix's body. She tried to stand, and Isen was moving to help her up, but she collapsed before the young Kiffar could help her get upright. Isen saw the scar, but his immediate concern was the current state of his Master. Stoic by nature, one to hide his emotions, bottle them up, Isen Ramm would show worry and concern plainly on his face and in his eyes. The worry was not for himself and his safety moving forward, but rather the prospect of loss of the only true friend he had.

"Padawan?" Izel Thrall asked. She sounded so weak.

Isen knelt beside her and took hold of one her tarsus, refusing to grimace as the acidic blood of the beast started to burn the inside of his hands. . "I'm fine, Master. Don't worry about me." He looked her over. He was not a healer. He didn't know what to do. He could fight. He could negotiate. He could manipulate the Force to move things via telekinesis and run fast and jump high. But he never had a talent for healing. Isen, a Padawan known for his decisiveness did not know what to do or how to act. A Padawan who had often been scolded for acting prematurely and without thought now sat frozen, unsure. "Master, tell me what to do."

@Reyn @Flood

Salek Fallanai said:
Hey Flood, sorry I didn't link it earlier. I just wanted to assure you that the detonator isn't a deus ex machina, I set it up back on page 5. Here's the link.

Oh no my Jedi friend, I'm sure neither of us could ever slip anything past you. Flood said, his tone mocking and amused. A cackle shot from his mouth shortly after, its echo cracking off the walls like arced lightning.

Nar Shadda

Flood made no moves to retrieve the lightsaber that hung loosely on his hip, he felt no obligation at the moment to relinquish or brandish it. The threats of imminent demise coming from the Jedi seemed unlikely and fell on blind eyes.. er, deaf ears.

The radius of a thermal detonator is five meters, young Jedi. You may incinerate my friend here, but that is of no consequence to me. In this place, I am the darkside. You have no power here. Flood paused for a moment, his vile, venomous sneer returning. So go ahead. Press the button.

Throughout his talking, Flood would remain vigilant. Should the Jedi attempt to make any sudden movements, he would be ready to stop and do what was necessary to react.

Salek's mouth worked silently for a moment. He had always expected that the Sith's arrogance would be their downfall, but if Salek himself got killed because their hubris caused them to make a silly mistake, that would just be...sad.

"Five meters? Maybe for the tiny little balls the Sector Rangers like to dangle around," he replied to the Sith, "but my master doesn't really enjoy half measures. This is a Merr-Sonn VX-20 Class A detonator. Since I doubt you take the time to actually learn anything useful, I'll simplify it. You're used to little booms for people who are afraid to make a mess. This is a big, big boom for when messes are all you want. Now put your lightsaber on the floor before I do something drastic."

Some part of him hoped that the others had made it through whatever was waiting for them, but he couldn't check. They were too far away, and nobody had taken the time to set up commlinks. He couldn't count on hope; he had no idea what the others' capabilities were, or what they were up against. They could be fist-fighting a rancor, or they could be tied up in a broom closet somewhere. He had to handle this situation on his own, and the indolent self-assuredness of the Sith made it pretty clear how low his odds of survival were. They were so lost to the Dark Side that they didn't believe they could die, even facing down a fusion bomb. The fear began creeping up in him, but he swallowed it down.

You're dead either way, he thought to himself. Don't let them get ahold of you. You know what they'll do. If you're going to go out, make it quick and drag them with. And hey, maybe stalling wasn't such a bad tactic after all. Maybe his brief allies were capable and on their way. It would be nice to get a pleasant surprise for once.

@Flood @Jerex Dorn @Cyrus Anvari

Izel Thral said:
Nar Shaddaa

Izel shook her head, still disoriented from the blast. She could still hear a faint ringing as Isen's words came to her. "I'm fine, Master. Don't worry about me." The Vratix sighed with relief and raised her other hand to grip Isen's arm as she remained on the ground, still shifting back and forth as she struggled to maintain her balance. Her apprentice was still alive, that was what mattered most. But they still had a mission to carry out, and she wasn't sure if she was in any condition to do so.

Isen was asking her what to do. Izel looked at the Kiffar with a faint sense of bemusement. It was unusual to see him so shaken up. But then these were rather extreme circumstances. Izel struggled to collect her thoughts and speak up. "The... M-mission..." She muttered, shaking her head again to shake the stars from her vision. "Need to reach the center... Stop this..." Her eyes scanned over the room. From what she could see there was still no obvious exit. But there was the orb. She pointed to it.

"There... It must... Have something to do with that..." She looked back at her apprentice, holding his arm tightly. She hesitated, trying desperately to clear her mind. "Leave me here." She said firmly. "I'll be alright. I can heal myself I just need time. We must stop this at any cost. These... Sith..." She spoke the word with an uncharacteristic venom, her fingers digging into Isen's arm. "They won't stop. They'll kill this entire world just to make a point. We must stop them." She released him and laid back, struggling to catch her breath. Just speaking those few words felt exhausting. "Go. Now." She ordered.

@Isen @Flood

Isen Ramm said:
Nar Shaddaa

The realities of battle and conflict made themselves quite plain, and the emotional toil would be something Isen was not yet accustomed to. Izel Thral, Isen's master and mentor, struggled mightily. She had taken the brunt of the beast's attack, and was suffering greatly. Isen was worried. Rarely did he show emotion outwardly, but this was one of those rare moments.

"Leave me here." Master Thral told him. "I'll be alright. I can heal myself I just need time. We must stop this at any cost."

From a pragmatic standpoint, Isen wished that she would be the one that would be able to continue the mission and that he was the Jedi laid out and immobile. He believed that Master Thral would be able to mend herself over time, but he also knew that she was the wisest and most experienced of the two. The mission had a much better chance of succeeding should she be the one that carried on. Still, as hard as it would be, he knew that he must answer this call.

These... Sith...They won't stop," Izel told him. Isen could feel her angst and fury as she dug into his arm. "They'll kill this entire world just to make a point. We must stop them. Go. Now."

Isen nodded and helped her get comfortable one more time before standing. He grabbed the orb, roughly the size of his fist and stashed it away in a hanging pocket from his belt. He approached the door that the beast apparently had been charged protect. Isen looked for controls to open the door, but found none. He felt as if there should be some way to open the door from the inside. If there wasn't, there would be no need for the beast to protect it from this side.

The Padawan looked over his shoulder to see if there was any guidance from his Master, but she was still shivering, trying to muster up energy to begin her healing process. "Time is of the essence, I suppose," Isen said to himself. He ignited both lightsabers and drove them side by side into the top of the door. He would try to cut a circle out of the door and simply walk through it. If he couldn't open the door with buttons, he would try a more...brash...alternative.

@Reyn @Flood

Minerva Fhirdiad said:
Nar Shaddaa

The ground rumbled with each step the giant took. Alarmed Minerva looked up and saw the bull rancor raised its fists and brought down them. She rolled out of the way seconds to spare as the rancor’s fists slammed to the ground, crushing bones and rocks alike. However, the monster had left his guard down with that strike and Minerva immediately took advantage of it.

Swifty she drew her pistol and fired three bolts toward its right eye. While it’s hide can withstand lasers, it’s eyes should be more weak in comparison. “Piss off freak!” The mercenary shouted in defiance.

@Charndley @Flood

Nara Allam said:
Nar Shaddaa

The rancor's fingers sliced clean off, leaving it reeling with... pain? Pain? For a half-second, Nara's mind couldn't make sense of what she was seeing. She'd always assumed that the AMS made the creatures immune to pain. Maybe it was different for the ones like this, the more intelligent ones? Or it was some property of the sabers?

Act now, wonder later.

The stump slammed down, shaking the duracrete below them. Chips and cracks scattered over her boots as Nara moved quickly, launching herself onto the stump-hand as it smashed into the floor. She'd cling to the stump as the creature raged, getting lifted up as the rancor raised it's hand.

Now.

If the rancor raised it's hand, Nara would kick off from the stump, using the momentum and energy from the raging Rancor to leap towards the creature's protruding, gore-smeared face. Gritting her teeth, Nara would drive her saber into the first part of the face she might reach, hoping to use her combined strength and momentum to drive the plasma as deep as she could into it's face and head. Even if she didn't kill it, she hoped it'd cause enough discomfort and pain to severely inhibit the rancor's attacks.

@Minuteman75 @Flood

Cyrus Anvari said:
Nar Shaddaa

It had taken a good moment, but at last the door was ready to open. Wolfgang stood, resealed his helmet, and once again retrieved the folding chair. He stepped over to the door controls, placed his empty teacup atop the console, holstered his blaster, and pressed the button. Nearly as quickly as the door closed it flew open again, revealing him in an instant. He didn't bother burying his presence at this point, hidden eyes sweeping over the situation in a moment. Certainly it was... Something.

The masked man and the pale gentleman were being accosted by a talkative-sounding Jedi with a telekinetic grip on a grenade. Wolfgang seemed to have shown up in the middle of the Jedi's explanation about his grenade, followed by a demand of disarmament. Did he think a lightsaber was the most dangerous thing a Sith possessed? How naive. Regardless, Wolfgang was disinclined to comply simply on principle. Besides, his threats of a twenty meter detonation seemed off. Sure, he seemed to believe it well enough, but his explosive didn't look large enough to contain the baradium that would require. The Sith suspected it was a forgery of some kind and the Jedi had been scammed, bless his heart.

"Please, do something drastic. I have neither the time nor the inclination to indulge your delusional martyrdom," Wolfgang informed the Jedi through his helmet's vocabulator, left hand waving casually through the air as if to brush aside the Jedi's threats. The Dark Side rushed through him, quick to come to his aid when there was blood to be shed and ready to take action. Certainly if the Jedi was going to continue his stalling, Wolfgang intended to move things along, seeing as he still had questions for whichever of the two others had put together the macabre laboratory.

"Get to it. We don't have all day."

@Versok @JorusC @Logan

Salek Fallanai said:
Nar Shadda

So be it, Salek thought with deep sorrow. He hadn't expected to go out so young. But if took these monsters out, and saved the lives of beings throughout the galaxy for years to come, then it was a worthy price. He was at peace.

But his training had been thorough, and he knew not to give any of that away. No final words, because those would warn the Sith what was about to happen. Instead he began saying, "You're pretty confident for s-" and then the detonator shot out, landing on the floor between all the Sith, right at Jerex Dorn's feet. Salek stood tall as the grenade went off. At least he could end things with some dignity.

Upon impact, the grenade burst into an obscenely bright light, intense enough to blind a human even through their eyelids. At the same time an enormous sound rocked through the facility. The combination of sensory input was sure to disorient anyone within the room.

Salek blinked into the silence that followed, his ears ringing. Wh-what?

"Oh, that mother fragging son of a sith!" he snarled.

@Versok @Mr. Teatime @Logan

Cyrus Anvari said:
As the Jedi began to speak again, Wolfgang's left hand was already moving to do something about the grenade. The Force bowed to his will in the form of a sharp telekinetic push against the grenade as the the Jedi launched it. The end result would be, simply put, an impact. As far as the simple sensors in a grenade were concerned, a sudden stop or change of direction in midair from launching speed was indistinguishable from hitting the floor. This meant instead of the Jedi's bluff detonating on the floor amongst the Sith, it would instead go off barely a foot from the Jedi's own face.

Expecting a thermal detonator, even if not one as powerful as the Jedi proclaimed, Wolfgang's nictitating membranes covered his eyes in anticipation of a bright flash of light. He was mildly disappointed to find out his was only a concussion grenade. The light was certainly bright, but since the Sith was well outside its effective range and it filtered through both his visor and protective membranes, it was more annoying than harmful. The sound in the enclosed space was more of a problem, resulting in a loud ringing in his ears, but Wolfgang wasn't close enough to be properly disoriented.

Assuming the grenade properly stunned the Jedi, Wolfgang would begin to walk forward and reach out again with the Force toward the Jedi's lightsaber to pull and twist it from his grasp, seeking to disarm him of his other weapon while he was disoriented. Since the Jedi seemed unwilling to use it, it only seemed right it should go to someone more worthy.

@Versok @JorusC @Logan

Jerex Dorn said:
NAR SHADDAA

Well, this was just getting worse and worse for the poor jedi, wasn't it? Alone against three sith with a grenade that didn't really do much but stun them a little bit, a grenade that, of course, was forcefully detonated in his face, courtesy of the younger sith, the poor jedi would also find the grenade would probably affect him more than it affected Jerex, after all, the detonated grenade didn't get as close to him as the jedi liked to, and since he was calling to the force to protect himself in case the grenade went off, he could create a small force barrier around him and enchance his endurance a bit, turns out it wasn't even one that could do damage, so the force barrier was a bit wasted, but the enchancement helped against the light and sound.

So, Jerex let out a small chuckle, amused by the current situation "Brave, but foolish or unlucky, probably both" The old legionnaire said as his ears started ringing less and he could see a little better. Jerex started calling upon the force as soon as he could once again and lightning came from his hands, directed towards the jedi's center of mass, not a short burst, but prolonging lightning that, while not to the point of being lethal yet, would be very painful and probably stun the jedi quite a bit, his best bet would be blocking it with his lightsaber, but it looked like it was being taken by the other sith.

@Mr. Teatime @JorusC @Logan

Salek Fallanai said:
Nar Shadda

The flashbang grenade exploded a bare meter from Salek's face, having been launched from his outstretched hand. Fortunately for him, it didn't create a concussive blast, only a loud noise with an ultra-bright flash. Given that he had been congenitally blind from birth, he was oblivious to the damage that the light did to his non-functional retinal tissue.

What had stunned him more was the complete and utter shock of continuing to live when he had been prepared to die, then realizing that his Master had fragging tricked him again (!), and then that he was in a fight with three fragging Sith. He felt a tug at his lightsaber, but the stress of the situation had created a white-knuckled grip on the handle, and he held it against the pull.

And then the kriffing lightning hit. Salek's body spasmed, and his hand opened against his will as his muscles contracted wildly. His mind reeled, trying to keep up with everything that was going on and formulate plans, but it was useless. He felt his balance teetering as the pain wracked him, and he knew that if he fell he would stay down.

And then his training took over.

Jerex's day was about to be complicated by two main problems.

Problem one: Though the young Jedi's blindness had handicapped him in many ways, and though his later-developed Force sight was horrible at noticing inorganic objects or making out fine details, there was one thing it was excellent at: seeing living things. And it didn't stop at the surface of the skin like normal sight. He saw through living things, embracing the whole of them at once. This led to an immense level of precision and control with his Force use.

Problem two: Salek had spent his first months with Master Lentus being forced to complete strenuous and complex tasks under torturous pain. Trying to slow him down with pain was frankly a losing option. Of course, the lightning was powering up, and soon it would begin truly hurting him. But for now it was only pain, and pain was near the bottom of Salek's priority list these days.

This combination of factors caused the lightning to be a potentially lethal mistake on Jerex's part. A bare second after Salek lost control of his lightsaber, he reached out through the Force and gave Jerex a sharp telekinetic flick. Salek knew that the Sith's force of will - even while heavily distracted by the strain of pouring out lightning - would whittle down even the strongest of Force pushes a bare whisper, that he could swing like he was knocking down a wall and barely dent it instead. That was why he made it a sudden, intense strike in one tiny area, focusing all of the pressure in an instant that would be difficult to counter - so that even if Jerex had been forewarned and wasn't being distracted by his lightning, a tiny pinprick of that energy would bleed through into a poke, like flicking a rubber band hard against its target.

And he did it right on the base of Jerex's brain stem.

Then - assuming that suddenly being temporarily paralyzed/knocked unconscious would disrupt a constant lightning attack - Salek bolted with all the speed the Force could give him, back out of the room and through the sewers.

@Versok @Mr. Teatime @Logan

@Isen Ramm's methodology in going through the door may have been.. uncivilized, but it would work all the same. As the Padawan used his lightsabers to carve a hole into the door and step through, he would be greeted by a rather simple room, almost underwhelming all things considered.

In the center of the otherwise empty room was a being strapped inside of a medical bed. There were various pieces of machinery beeping and blinking little lights, each one hooked up to the being and clearly monitoring its vitals and keeping it alive. As far as Isen would be able to tell, the being was some kind of humanoid, but whatever its original species was would be mostly indecipherable given the extensive amount of injury, sickness and just sheer evidence of torture that covered it.

Should the young Padawan approach the being in the bed, he would see that it was breathing, but each breath was shallow and labored. Its eyes were closed, but that didn't mean he wouldn't be able to wake it up..

--

As @Minerva Fhirdiad deftly dodged her imminent smashing and fired off her blaster, she would find that her aim would be true as the bolts found their mark. Each one pushed its damage further into the bull rancor's eye, melting the organ completely and causing an immense amount of damage to the creature.

Reaching up to its own face in a vain attempt to claw out the smoking flesh to relieve the pain, the rancor would flail around wildly. Its feat would stomp onto the ground repeatedly, and should Minerva find herself suddenly paralyzed or otherwise unable to move, she would likely get stepped on.. but that seemed unlikely.

It would take the bull rancor a few moments before it would die. The blaster bolts had been able to reach the rancor's brain matter after the third shot, melting the only thing keeping the monster alive.

@Nara Allam's swift thinking would fully win her the day, at least against the female rancor. Her lightsaber plunged deep into the beast's skull, searing what little brain matter it had left in a matter of seconds. It would keel over almost immediately, the hole Nara had made with her weapon still smoking as the Jedi pulled out her weapon.

With her own rancor now quite dead, Nara would be able to see Minerva injured, but alive, staring at her own dead rancor. If the two looked around the rancor pit they would notice little. They had chosen the poorest option of them all, a pathway that ended only in death and nightmares. This area was where Flood discarded pieces of people he no longer needed, or guards that had annoyed him.

Using Minerva's jetpack, the two could traverse their way back up the slippery slope they'd fallen down, but it would take them a few minutes before they'd be able to reach the top and join back up with their friends.

--

The events that unfolded before @Flood left him more... amused than irritated, which was rare. The grenade's explosion was a far cry from the incineration that had been promised. As it went off - noticeably closer to the @Salek Fallanai's face than Flood had expected, a welcome and humorous gift from the sith occupying his lab without permission - Flood shielded his own senses with the force.

Unfortunately, the concentration required to protect his senses from the harshness of the grenade caused Flood to be unable to intervene in the events that followed. What he did witness, though, did give him the smallest amount of respect for the Jedi. The way he handled the pain of the lightning, almost using it to fuel his resolve, was very reminiscent of the way Flood had been trained to harness the darkside. The irony was rather humorous.

Unconcerned if either of his compatriots were injured, Flood would chuckle slightly as Salek fled from the trio of Sith.

Go back into the lab and retrieve the vials. They are the key to the continuation of my work. I won't let these insipid fools ruin what I have created here He said simply, motioning at @Cyrus Anvari. Do not take long, the blind Jedi will be retrieving his allies if they aren't already dead. They will come back to finish what they started. Flood laughed again as he reached down for his lightsaber, igniting its crimson blade dramatically. Assuming they aren't pitiful cowards.

Maxims Tionson · Oct 10, 2020

Dathomir

See them out?

Max didn't want to hurt his friends, his allies, but he wanted them to leave regardless. The Forgotten wanted them gone and he wanted to get to his purpose, to get to protecting the Galaxy as he had sworn to do even before he took a drink. He had always wanted to protect and serve and this was no different. He felt the need to do this deep inside of his bones and he knew it was right.

The Sith with the jaw problem (and hadn't he been quiet recently) stepped away, leaving the masked woman Sith with him. Seemed a bit of a dick move but he was a Sith so he supposed it was expected.

The Mando, Roland, seemed to get it. Just because they were being asked to leave, didn't mean that they weren't going to be able to help in the long run. He nodded to the Mando simply with a small smile before he froze up hearing Indy speak.

Did he have any doubts?

Of course.

"I have doubts." he admitted with a small smile, "But not enough to pull me from this course. I chose to be a protector of this Galaxy long before I took a drink. This is a strange new direction for me but the goal is always the same - all I can do is trust my instincts and believe in my cause."

There were doubts but the resolve was just as strong as it had ever been. When she threw out that name, when she dragged the woman he had seen as a daughter into it? He closed his eye for a moment and just breathed. The sensation of The Forgotten's control was still there but so was the Light, the Force.

He took solace in it against the spike of pain and guilt that settled in the pit of his stomach.

"If you'd ever met Nash you'd know she'd be even more stubborn than I'm being right now." he replied with a small shake of his head, "Nashyr died to protect the Galaxy - how could I ever claim to have loved and respected her if I could not be willing to do the same?"

Max opened his eye and smiled at Indy but he did not move from his position in front of the doors The Forgotten had phased through, did not move from his position barring them entry.

"I'll see you when the mission is done Indy. Don't you worry, this isn't goodbye just..." he tilted his head to the side slightly, "Just... 'see you later'. Take care of Hans until I come back or he'll just get himself in trouble again."

@Killa Ree @Darasuum @Phoenix @Mr. Teatime

The Eclipse · Oct 11, 2020

Coruscant

@Nykoria Tallis would go more or less unbothered as she was given first aid treatment, the snipers having gone silent.

@Darmus Onn received a mixed answer from the CorSec captain he spoke to. "Not much. We lost contact with Chief Douglas and some others shortly before the station went up," she replied, "But it sounds like there are survivors on the ground-" The captain was interrupted by a clicking signal from the reinforced comms unit next to him, followed by a message coming through.

"Be advised, blue dash two is tally to bandit," came in through both the general Ranger and emergency response channels, equal parts smug and relaxed. Even those inside the station with the correct comms access would get the message. The captain frowned at the box.

"The hell does that mean?" she asked no one in particular as Darmus walked back off to Kori and acquired a CorSec officer's DC-17 sidearm. The same officer pointed out the same building Talak had run into. "Some Jedi or somethin' ran in there after gettin' shot at. Probably related. Good luck, Ranger." The man saluted and positioned himself by the wounded Jedi, using the emergency vehicle as cover.

Inside the ruined station, the medics snapped to at orders from @Dr Ilana Morata and began to move the wounded and dying toward the back as fast as they could manage. Certainly there were many wounded, but that also meant there were survivors if they lived through their injuries.

A moment after Doctor Morata sent out her comm message to her droid, she, @Bast Emblai, and @Falynn Tikarsis would all receive the advisory message through their comms.

Inside the medkit handed over by @Vera Coulter, @Crix Aran would find the supplies he needed. Bandages, bacta spray, and similar items. Vera was severely wounded and would need proper treatment in a hospital, but Crix would at least be able to prevent her from bleeding to death in the immediate future.

Should the pair decide to search the dead Nemoidian Sith, they would find his comms unit buried in his robes, a datapad connected to a slicing attachment, and that the corpse's previously red eyes were entirely pitch black. The dead Sith's head turned, ever so slowly, to look toward Crix and Vera, mouth stretching to its utmost width in a grin, a macabre mockery of life. Then the black in its eyes was gone and the head flopped back to the floor, as dead as a corpse ought to be.

Directly afterwards, the advisory message came through on Vera's comms. Help was on the way.

Outside the armoury, @Lorcan would find his whipcord abruptly diverted from its intended target to strike impotently against the wall at a small flick from the Sith's left hand. As Lorcan disconnected the whipcord and retrieved his vibroknife the Sith settled into a two-handed grip, blade forward at 45 degrees centered on the midline. Then he stepped forward, swinging his lightsaber in a sharp, diagonal right-to-left toward Lorcan's left shoulder, a mad grin on his aged face.

The two soldiers @Mara Kensei was fighting turned toward her as she rolled past them, the male soldier drawing his pistol up into a proper close stance in front of his face now that his other hand was unoccupied. Mara's jab was quick, but she had made an incorrect assumption about the soldiers' training. The female soldier faded back slightly and took a half step back to avoid the jab, her pistol firing downwards toward Mara's midsection as the punch came in.

When Mara dropped low and went for the male soldier's knee, he turned into the attack, the same leg flicked up in a sharp shin kick toward her elbow, changing her attack into one of his own that could well break the joint. Assuming Mara still rolled away, both soldiers would fire once each mid-roll at her back while Mara was completely undefended, couldn't maneuver, and wasn't looking at them. If Mara made it back to her feet they'd track her with their pistols, aiming it at her but not yet firing.

@Talak Rand would find himself entirely unobstructed in his stealthy endeavors, not a single enemy in sight all the way up. The floor he tracked the Dark presence to was essentially an open foyer leading into a top floor suite, the door to which was wide open. As Talak snuck into the suite the presence would be easy to track, open as it was about its location, and he would eventually find what he was looking for.

Talak would be able to feel the proximity of the Dark presence before he saw it, on the other side of an open doorway. Within there was the form of a young man, facing a broad window out of which he could view broadly the situation at the Ranger station. His hands were empty and he appeared completely unarmed, the desk clear of any visible item or object. Despite the fact he was looking opposite the doorway and Talak had buried his presence, Talak would immediately feel something akin to the sensation of being watched and hunted as his eyes brought the young man into view.

Somewhere behind, or perhaps beneath, the Dark presence Talak felt was the sensation of life. The figure standing before the window was not a hologram this time, this was certain. But if Talak was paying close attention, he may feel the Dark presence and the life in the young man were not entirely the same.

As @Naxa rose above the Coruscant skyways, he certainly drew the gunship's attention. As the CorSec gunship began banking for another pass at the station it broke off sharply at the appearance of a nearby non-civilian craft, redirecting away from the blastboat- a costly mistake.

Two more ship signatures appeared on Naxa's sensors moving at very high speed to intercept the gunship. Out from between two skyscrapers screamed a pair of A-wing interceptors painted in the deep blues of the Coruscant Home Defense Fleet, rotating laser cannons locked onto the CorSec gunship. Each A-wing fired a spray of rapid shots into the rear of the gunship, thoroughly ventilating the thrusters and causing it to drop out of the sky. It fell, clipping the edge of the station and crashed heavily onto one of the rear landing pads, skidding and rolling almost to the edge before stopping. It was smoking heavily and the cockpit was crushed by the impact, and there were no immediate signs of life.

"Splash one bandit. I'm just curious, why am I so good? Heh," came the relaxed, smug voice over the comms again, scattered cheers rising up from the lines of CorSec officers as the A-wings did a half-loop around the station and broke off up and away to begin circling the area. "Blue dash two eyes up, cap on. Angel in the pipe, confirm?"

"Roger that. I'm in the pipe, five by five," came the reply, the angel in question revealing itself to be a LAAT/I gunship in the same colours and insignia of the two A-wings. It began maneuvering to touch down on one of the rear landing pads of the Ranger station, the side door sliding open to reveal several CHDF marines standing inside in full combat gear.

"Approaching evac point at rear entrance to secure," it informed over the Ranger and emergency response channels. Soon, the hard-fighting defenders and survivors would have a way out of the fire, so long as nothing happened to the dropship.

@Catbert @TerranSteel @Killa Ree @Nefieslab @Ecclessey @Frannykins87 @AutoFox @Kestrel @MasterTyvokka @Dmitri @Phoenix @FireSong @Phantom @Darasuum

Jerex Dorn · Oct 11, 2020

Nar Shaddaa

Well, Jerex plan didn't seem to work, the blind jedi's resistance to pain was noted and, well, Jerex couldn't help but respect that a little, pain resistance was something the old legionnaire also had built during his training as a sith and he knew just how tough it was to not fall to the ground after being hit with such lightning. However, the force was also his dominion, and even if the blind jedi was good at seeing things, using the force to attack a precise, small part of another force sensitive required effort, and effort could be picked up on, specially by another one that considered himself an expert at using the force. So, once he started noticing what he was going for, Jerex quickly stopped using the lightning and redirecting his focus and his call on the force towards defense, using a combination of telekinesis and force endurance to protect himself against the telekinetic attack.

Of course, that meant the jedi was free from the lightning and could use the force to retreat, Jerex let out a small chuckle as he retreated, even if the grenade attempt was quite foolish, the blind jedi did have some fighting spirit in him and went for a move that could've killed the old sith without a second thought, quite merciless for a jedi. "That was quite interesting, but you should listen to mister..." Jerex looked at Flood, who didn't even have the decency to tell them his name yet "Well, he hasn't really told me his name, but his work here is quite interesting so keeping it safe is a priority, I'll stand watch"

@Mr. Teatime @Logan @JorusC

Talak Rand · Oct 11, 2020

Coruscant

Talak had achieved his objective... from a certain point of view. He'd made it to the top of the building without being killed, and it wasn't quite what he expected of the top. While he wasn't being looked at by his mark, he couldn't shake the feeling that he was known anyway. There didn't seem to be anyone else on the floor, so he didn't bother concealing himself anymore.

His saber lit in his hand as he practically glared a hole into the back of the man's head. A stealth strike wouldn't be an option, he decided, so he might as well be ready. The transit to the top of the building had allowed him a few moments to reflect on the reality of the situation and he recognized the streaks of dun moch that were etched into the man. Speaking of the man, he seemed vaguely familiar in his presence, though Talak couldn't place him. If they had met, it hadn't been a particularly memorable interaction at least.

But there was something else. Something besides just the man's presence in the Force. Possession? That was what it gave the impression of. A chill ran down Talak's spine as the memories of Tund returned and for a moment he though he could even feel the knife marks down his forearms ache again for a moment. He knew it was simply a trick of the mind, but that knowledge still didn't flush the memories from his mind.

The Sith have gotten sloppy since I left, he said, critically. He approached slowly, saber in hand, watching for the man's move. Why the man was allowing himself to be found, Talak couldn't be sure, but he had guesses. None of them were good.

What could you hope to gain from this? he asked, waving his free hand around the building to indicate the attack, regardless of whether the man had turned to face him or not.

Juniper · Oct 11, 2020

Nar Shaddaa

Nara was filled with triumph as she felt the rancor keel over, leaving a sizzling hole in it's head. She withdrew her saber and took a deep breath, shivering. Followed by a good, hard kick to see if the thing was actually dead.

"Hoooooooly crap I did it," she muttered in disbelief, before her eyes scanned around the room. Nothing but bones and corpses. A complete dead end. Waste of time. Trust her luck to have chosen the worst path to go down. Anger flared up inside her, but she quashed it as best she could. It was useless when there was still something to stop. She closed her eyes and reached out with the Force, trying to feel anything within the ridiculous warrens of the sewers and this strange complex. She felt familiar presences deeper in... and darkness too. Whoever was responsible could still be close by.

Then she noticed Minerva was injured and rushed over to her, feeling neglectful. Kneeling down, she looked over the Mandalorian and saw... well, nothing, aside from scraped armour. There was still a lot of pain there, though. "Hold still," she ordered, taking her hand. It was the easiest way through all that Beskar... and even then, Nara didn't know if it could work. But she focused, closed her eyes and breathed deep, as she drew some of that pain into herself, pushing a little of her energy into Minerva to help her continue.

She winced as she took on that pain, feeling it shudder and reverb through her body. The Mando had obviously had a rough time of it. When she released her hand, Nara stared at her.

"Can you use your jetpack still? I need to get back up there," she asked firmly.

@Minuteman75 @Logan

Lorcan · Oct 11, 2020

Coruscant

The whipcord trick didn't work but Lorcan didn't care all that much - he'd never actually had the bloody thing work for him. Literally every time he'd used it, something had caused it to go awry. Which was why he hadn't been holding out much hope, grabbing his knife instead of focusing on it.

Moving in, Lorcan brought his vibrosword across his own body. Bringing it across, he would rest the non-bladed edge against his left shoulder to catch the lightsaber against the cutting side of the vibrosword. A two-handed strike was strong so he didn't rely on just the strength of his right hand to hold it back but also braced it against his left shoulder.

Leaning to the right with his head, he would push forward, down the length of the lightsaber. His left hand would lash out with the vibroknife to slash at the left hand of the Sith that held onto the saber's hilt.

He would push the lightsaber blade up and away from his shoulder with a shove from his vibrosword at the same time to put the Sith even slightly off balance. If he moved to evade the slash with the knife he would weaken his lightsaber's hold and, potentially, be pushed back by Lorcan shoving hard.

@Mr. Teatime

Altina Tiramara · Oct 11, 2020

DATHOMIR

The Mandalorian was quick to size her up. Let him. Even if he were strong enough to defeat her, there was far more in play than just the two of them. One was quick to choose to exit: his menacing posture diminished by his retreat from the room. The rest eventually followed.

Altina, or rather the being who is in control, shrugged as she turned away. Her eyes seemed to water despite her disappointment. She wiped her eyes on her sleeve before walking towards where the Forgotten had disappeared to. Something made her look back to where those who refused her offer had left as the passage was barred by the faceless monks. Once the last of them left, the held lightsaber hilt was returned to its belt.

A thought intruded the possessed padawan's thoughts. What was the threat they were protecting the galaxy from, again? Clearly these thoughts were the host's, pushing back against the spirit's presence. But those attempts will remain feeble and a waste of time. There is no escape.

Isen Ramm · Oct 11, 2020

NAR SHADDAA

The Padawan kicked the circle he had made in the door and the result was a hole that he could walk through. Before doing so, Isen looked over his shoulder and gave a nod to Izel Thral, his mentor and teacher. He looked into a simple room as he stepped through the hole he had carved and immediately was drawn to the person on the bed. Isen's eyes circled the room and reached out with the Force to sense if he might be alone with whoever this was before approaching.

The beeps and wires that connected this individual to medical machines and the slow, labored breathing, allowed Isen to discern that they were in dire straits. Further, as Isen approached he noticed that this humanoid was badly beaten and disfigured. Whether by battle, torture, or something else, Isen couldn't tell. Futher inspection and he saw the straps. Isen assumed it was a prisoner, tortured.

The young Kiffar approached, carefully inspecting the specimen, currently asleep or comatose. He tried to read the machines, obviously showing vitals, but he wasn't versed enough to know what all they meant. Things looked bleak, but steady. Phlegm or blood caught in the throat of the body strapped to the bed. The beeping sped up, but the gurgling ended quickly and the machines seem to stabilize again. "You must be important. I assume that beast outside was meant to protect someone like me from getting to you." The Padawan would do his best to reach out with the force, speaking aloud as well as to the mind should that work. Asking basic questions, simply trying to get a response. "Who are you...How can I help you...What is your name..."

The Padawan was young, untested. He had always had Izel Thral for guidance. This was uncharted for him. As he asked these basic questions, he could only hope for a response.

@Flood @Reyn

Darmus Onn · Oct 12, 2020

The two soldiers @Mara Kensei was fighting turned toward her as she rolled past them, the male soldier drawing his pistol up into a proper close stance in front of his face now that his other hand was unoccupied. Mara's jab was quick, but she had made an incorrect assumption about the soldiers' training. The female soldier faded back slightly and took a half step back to avoid the jab, her pistol firing downwards toward Mara's midsection as the punch came in.

When Mara dropped low and went for the male soldier's knee, he turned into the attack, the same leg flicked up in a sharp shin kick toward her elbow, changing her attack into one of his own that could well break the joint. Assuming Mara still rolled away, both soldiers would fire once each mid-roll at her back while Mara was completely undefended, couldn't maneuver, and wasn't looking at them. If Mara made it back to her feet they'd track her with their pistols, aiming it at her but not yet firing.

Coruscant

Darmus nodded in reply and headed out towards the building they had seen a Jedi enter, but as he made his approach going from cover to cover and carefully looking around his attention was immediately stolen by a scuffle to his right. Two soldiers fired near point-black shots at an unarmed woman. "Hey!" the aged ranger shouted just as the defenseless woman tried to roll away from the soldiers. "Sector Ranger!" Instinctively he stayed near cover at about twenty feet away, aiming his own pistol at the pair. "Drop your weapons!"

If they tried to continue their attack on the woman (@Phantom), Darmus would fire quick shots towards their torso's, the man first and then the woman, but he remained within a sidestep distance from cover. Due to the woman rolling away from Darmus he was standing behind the pair, forcing them to choose between him and their intended victim. As usual he had decided to announce himself instead of planting stun bolts in their backs at the get go, something that might turn come to hurt him later.

@Phantom

The Forgotten · Oct 12, 2020

Dathomir

As the drinkless chose to depart, the door closed behind them. As soon as it closed, the door the Forgotten had vanished through opened. Those who had drunk would be able to enter, and inside they would find more carvings, but the most notable thing was a large sarcophagus in the center of the room. There were no other doors or openings inside and it would become immediately evident that together the Tomb and Well were the core reason for the existence of the temple.

Come. You must have many questions, the Forgotten said. She was "sitting" atop the sarcophagus and motioned them over toward where she was.

For generations, Dathomir has served as the buffer against an evil beyond our galaxy. This temple, my power, is the only thing that has kept the galaxy free from the Entity's power, she explained.

Those who drink, add their power to this place and maintain the shield around the galaxy, she said. Although there were many terrible implications behind what she said, there was no explanation yet, though neither did she prevent them from asking her questions. They were now her guardians. Her children. They would give their lives to protect Dathomir.

---

As the door closed behind those who had drunk, they would find their exit was not impeded by the monks. The massive doors to the temple would close behind them and they would be back out in the stretch of hovels at the top of the cliff.

The storm still raged all around the cliff and there didn't appear to be a safe path. Those who were sensitive to the Force would sense a feeling of danger nearby, though what its source was was unclear. What was clear to everyone standing there was that it would be as dangerous - or perhaps more so - to leave as it had been to come here.

@AutoFox @Mr. Teatime @Killa Ree @GABA @Six @Lavi @Darasuum @christhebarker @Nefieslab

Event Galaxy in Crisis!

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