Ask Event A Joining of Minds

[Trini Halrixien]

Trini gritted her small teeth, hesitating for a moment, her mind racing. She had glimpsed the devastation on the platform below, and flames and heavy fighting still occurring as some gigantic, fire-spewing insectoid horror battled what looked to be a Rancor, the remains of the local defense forces trying to keep out of the way as they in turn fought the Joiners and Killiks. Around her, Dusty and Kyle gathered seemingly random equipment.

I don't belong on a rescue shuttle!

Much as she tried to deny it, Trini was a being of action. While it had been gratifying to finally receive her professorship, the life of a university academic had been weighing on her. She was used to being in the field, as action-packed and terrifying as that had often been for her, and she could fight. She could make a difference.

"Kark it, wait for me!!"

As Dusty and Kyle piled into the escape pod, Trini dashed after them, her tail clearing the hatch just before it irised shut. There was a lurch, and the pod fell away from the ship, engines burning as it rocketed toward the landing pad below.

"So! What's the-"

Escape pods, by necessity, had some of the most powerful inertial compensators in aerospace, but even they could not completely absorb the impact as the little craft slammed into the Tanker Killik, knocking it off the elevated walkway and plunging with it down to the ground. The Amaran was barely able to keep herself from being thrown around the tiny compartment as they plummeted and then impacted.

Sensing - for all it new - a standard atmosphere, the pod's main hatch popped open automatically, as it was designed to do. Trini, who had been leaning against said hatch, yelped as she tumbled out backward, scrambling to her feet automatically. She narrowly dodged splattering ichor as she did, squeaking in alarm as she looked up to see the Tanker; it was injured, but evidently not dead.

Trini did not bother to shoot up at the monster as she ran.

Heat from the Tanker Killik's inferno stream gusted at the Amaran's back as she sprinted toward the relative safety of a tangle of parked starships, most of which looked to have been crushed, blasted or otherwise damaged. Ducking behind a landing strut on a partially collapsed shuttle, she caught her breath, and looked around. She needed a vehicle, a ship; she could fight on foot, but she would be much more effective with-

"Ugh, really??"

The SX-18A Salamander - or was it an '18U someone had retrofitted? - stood incongruously in the shelter of a badly mauled corvette, the larger ship seeming to have sheltered the much smaller one from the ruination that had visited much of the landing pad. It looked to be someone's personal sport flyer, painted in a glossy, decidedly non-military red-and-white color scheme, but the barrels of laser cannons peaked out from inside the scoop-like air intake, and Trini could see the seam of an internal missile bay door along the belly. The little 2-seater would not have been her first choice, but it was something, and the Amaran doubted she would find anything better on short notice.

She gritted her teeth and sprinted for the little ship.

TL;DR

Trini jumps in the pod with Dusty and Kyle, falls out after landing, sprints over to the cover of some wrecked starships, and finds an intact starfighter which she intends to use.

@Fantasy Liver @Wit

 

[Null]

A crack splintered across the dark transparisteel visor. The armorweave coat split apart at the front from the close proximity of the blast to reveal the black and red facade of Null's purified armor. His body fell helplessly, hit something, spun out of control, and then the upper side of his head wracked against the inside of his skull and his mind skipped a beat. The image of a blonde woman, her hair draped over one side of her face and her beautiful smile all blinked away. He wondered who she was. Why he was here, falling through the sky and watching the pinnacle of all his hard work spinning around and braking apart above him. The remains of the headless Lancer continued to fall further away as he watched, and then after another few moments the rest of the ship would finally erupt. The shockwave hit the airborne young man in seconds. He pulled his arms up tight infront of himself in an attempt to mitigate some of the blast and to shield himself from as much of the fallout as he could, but it ended up blasting him further and faster away nonetheless.

Then he crashed into the first building, his body colliding at enough of an angle and speed to bounce and skip across the roof. He let out a loud cry as he felt his shoulder nearly break under the crushing pressure of his armor's shoulder pad taking the brunt of the impact and sending it right into the rest of him. The helmet smacked the roof, and his head was thrown to the side, smacking across the other side of the visor. Another web shattered in the sturdy glass, another image flashed through his mind, this time an emerald Nautolan with a big cheeky grin full of sharpened teeth. 'Padawan...?' The word echoed through his mind, and then his thoughts were cut away. (@Asena Zeev)

The young man's body hit something else, bouncing and skipping once again as the dangerous momentum tossed him from one rooftop to the next. Pain ravaged his body with each bounce, he tensed his muscles to endure it is as best possible. Crimson splattered on the inside of the visor along with yet another crack as Null tried to brace himself as best he could, but could hardly control his fall. And then another face entered his mind. A lavender Twi'lek, ever alone in her nest in the forest. 'Se--?' (@Seela)

And then he hit something again, and his vision became filled with countless stars as he would finally come skidding to a stop. His motionless body lay dazed. His straightedge vibroblade katana thrown from his side and skittering across the rooftop until it also came to a stop not far from him. The left shoulder pad had been completely dislodged in the crash and was nowhere to be seen, while his helm suffered multiple impacts and was on the verge of shattering. Everything else faded to a dull murmur as Null teetered on the brink of collapse...

Spoiler: Stuff

Null falls and skips across some rooftops like a rock on water and is laying dazed on another rooftop near the area of the Tanker battle. His mind has been jostled and memories have become scrambled. He no longer seems to remember Celeste.

Kyosuke's long dormant Force Bonds with his former Padawan, Asena, and his unofficial Trainee Seela have potentially begun to reconnect, possibly giving either of them a chance to catch a glimpse of the event through him.

@Nefieslab @HoneyMagpie @Ahryia

 

[Aezzairrfhowrrhudrrl]

Like so many situations over the past several years, the outcome was out of Aezzairrfhowrrhudrrl's hands. Hopefully the Sith and ISC shuttles would have as easy of a time leaving the chambers as they had arriving; from the scattered reports he was getting, the FWA fleet had had a hell of a time even trying to make it down to the planet. Even now, there were questions as to the status of Senator Rrodossk of Dosh (@Issachar), whose ship had been reported going down not far from the landing pad during an extraction attempt.

The Wookiee shook his head, hoping that the Trandoshan was still alive. FWA senators did not have a good track record of surviving conflicts these past few years, and only his lifelong knowledge that Trandoshans were difficult to kill gave Aezzairrfhowrrhudrrl any hope that he might still see Rrodossk on the other side of this.

Regardless, the aged Wookiee was already planning for the next steps he would take when he returned to Kashyyyk. The emergence of the Killik threat was basis for an emergency meeting of the FWA, which would need to happen ASAP. There, he would have to lay the groundwork for an actual cease-fire with the Sith in order to ensure that they could respond accordingly, a proposition that he guessed the Sith Empire might also support given that the capacities of the Killiks made for an unconventional and unpredictable foe. The ISC might be more approachable, too; a step Aezzairrfhowrrhudrrl hadn't thought possible in the last several years. Possibilities whirled in his mind as he watched over the semiconscious form of Celeste (@LadyRen), knowing that at any moment their ship could be blasted out of the sky.

At least, one way or another, this would all soon be over.

Spoiler: Don't bother

Aezz thinks about stuff

 

[Rrodossk]

The army of mercenaries lit the massive behemoth up with blasterfire, spreading out to try and move out of its range. Rrodossk moved from the cone and immidiently began to move towards the landing pad. Many began to climb whatever they could, some even threw grenades or fired other explosives at the beast to try and dent the chittinous hide. Rrodossk himself was one of the first climbers, his form almost hunched on all fours as his claws dug into the ground. He needed to get to that landing pad...

The dropships moved to recover any stragglers as they exited the shattered dome, many mercenaries moving in onto the pad and helping those injured in. Rrodossk himself stayed back, moving others inside and ripping away with his repeater until it ran out. As it emptied, he simply threw it at the closest joined and pulled out the scatter blaster and began to unload in any who were not fleeing the carnage. Many mercenaries valiantly gave their lives and stayed back, the two drop craft were filled and lifted off. They weren't allowing themselves, those who stayed behind, and they fought to the last man.

The final craft in the fleet pulled back towards the other fleets, one final shot trying to break the craft before it left firing range. Instead the vessel let out a message for any shuttle to enter that needs space. The Bulk Cruiser tried to move more evasively now, it's weapons mostly trying to fend everything off. It just needed to stay back in order to save lives.

 

[Darth Tiamat]

"Ma'am, the shuttles are breaking atmosphere." a commander relayed to the sith woman as she read the readouts of their shielding with the technicians.

"Ensure the hanger is cleared, their landing may be rough given the amount of firepower we are taking up here." she said, her gaze never leaving the numbers and abbreviated codes that came through. The cruiser was hanging on, the ion weapons were more effective than she had given them credit for as the joined fleet took a beating from their weapons. They were in the heart of the defense fleet, a battle now of strength as heavy weapons continued to shower upon their enemy ships. "Focus ion weapons on that interdictor!" The interdictor was in direct range of their weapons, ion cannons straining their shields until it would not be able to withstand the attack any longer.

"Send the order, everyone must be ready to jump as soon as the interdictor is no longer operational." she ordered and several communications officers patched orders to the adjacent sith fleet, "As soon as we have our shuttles, we will also jump." she said watching the sensors read energy levels from the interdictor. The woman was still grasping the rail tightly, jaw clenched as she frequently reminded herself to take a breath. Time seemed to slow, their freedom from this surprise hellscape just within sight. "Fire the proton torpedoes as soon as their shields fail."

With the heavy damage the interdictor has already taken, it wouldn't be much more before the shields and engines would fail on the craft. Once and if they did, the sith would direct their fire to the interdictor, the carriers and frigates would use their proton torpedos to render the ship useless as the Eternal's Wrath fire also. The remaining carriers still did their best to ward off fighters and the swarms that threatened the sith fleet and protecting their flagship. If successful and the interdictor fails, once the shuttles with the delegates were in the hanger, the sith fleet would attempt to make their exit.

@Nefieslab

Spoiler: tl;dr

1. With heavy damage on the interdictor, the sith fleet does not let up on their attack. Ion weapons are now focused on the interdictor as the sith have a clear path of attack.
2. Once the shields fail on the interdictor, proton torpedos are launched from the frigates, carriers, and the cruiser that are in range and clear of a path against the interdictor. Those not in direct range continue to engage with the surrounding defense joined fleet.
3. Hyperdrives should be ready and if successful in neutralizing the interdictor, the Liberty class cruiser will jump once the shuttle of delegates is on board. The Liberty class is also equipped with the path engine, making it possible to jump into hyperspace immediately. Additional craft should have class 1 hyperdrives, but will take evasive maneuvers surely to get on a clear jump path.

 

[Dusty Daytonus]

"Whoa he's still kicking this one!"

Dusty shouted as the Tanker Killik began to right itself and attack. Fortunately, this old pod might not be much but it still has its thrusters. Using the best of his piloting skills, Dusty activated the pod's thrusters and blasted off towards the nearest transport ship, telling Trini (if she was there) or Kyle to signal to the ships that they needed a lift.

 

[Alexandria Voran]

Alex watched as Representatives were slowly loaded into waiting transports. Wounded and unscathed alike packed into every available space. She hardly had time to consider the irony of willingly loading civilians to safety on Imperial shuttles. As the process neared completion, she cast her gaze around the dome. The work appeared done. As best as Alex could tell, all the wounded were loaded, and the last dregs of the fighters were loading aboard. She waited a few more moments to make sure there were no further surprise before slinging the spear over her back.

The Morellian Jedi spotted an open ISC shuttle and burst from the ground. She landed softly in the shuttle. “Taking stragglers?” She smiled softly. The wound on her side was open again. Blood continually seeping down her side. Alex wanted desperately to slide down on the shuttle floor. The ramp was closing, and the shuttle moved off but one feeling still vibrated in her body.

It's not over. The evacuation from the dome was finished. The battle raged on. Across the planet she could still feel fighting and dying. Above them, the Force hummed with struggle. No…this was far from over. Alex took a deep breath and moved towards the cockpit. “I need a com to the Consortium fleet Commander…please.” She had to remind herself this was not her shuttle. “If I can be of further use, I must try, I owe it to all of you.” The Grandmaster was on the brink of collapse. She wasn’t there yet. Be good Alex. She had to do what she could to ensure they all escaped this mess.

Spoiler: Alex's Actions

Alex jumps on an ISC shuttle as the last of the folks are boarded. She asked the ISC to ring whoever is the fleet commander.

@Nefieslab

 

[Carrick]

Things weren't looking good.

They were taking on damage at such a rate that he wasn't even sure if the Killiks needed to even bother coming up from behind to finish them off. And they were moving in to do just that, he could see them on the sensors because they were making no moves to attempt to hide it either. No, they were planning on making the allied fleets sweat before they were destroyed.

Or maybe it was to make the prospect of 'Joining' somewhat more palatable?

He didn't know.

"Sir! Fighter numbers dwindling!"

"Steady the course, helmsmen."

The ship shook as it began to take hits, actual blasts hitting its actual structure rather than the shield. At this point, the shield was being battered down faster than it could possibly refresh itself. Already the same reports were coming in from the other ships of the Consortium but none of them were going to break.

"Sir - we have communications from the surface! A gunship reports the delegates are split between a Sith shuttle and the ISC Gunship... they're on their way up."

He eyed the coms officer.

"Get me every, single, fighter in atmosphere running protective screening."

"Aye sir. One of them, the Jedi Grandmaster, is requesting to speak to you."

Carrick eyed the headset that was held out to him. Rather than announcing it to the bridge as a whole, he would be able to speak in private with Voran. Snatching the headset up, he gestured at the screens.

"All fire on the southern-most ISD and its victory escort - give the shuttles room to come up as the Sith destroy the Interdictor." he commanded before accepting the call, "Grandmaster, Carrick here. Tell me the damage done to my people."

@Valen Pelora @GABA @Sicadorito

Spoiler: TLDR

All firepower on the southern most ISD and Victory's to provide a clear path up from the planet
Leaves the Interdictor to the Sith
Accepts Alex's call

 

[The Gatekeeper]

--SPACE--​

The space above Ruusan blurred with the blues and reds of turbolaser, ion cannon and torpedo fire as the allied fleets desperately clashed with the Joined fleet in their quest to hit the interdictor hard enough that it wouldn't be able to recover.

To the north of the region, the Hutt fleet elements pounced upon the already weakened northern flank, slamming fire into one of the remaining ISDs and splitting entire sections off from it through concentrated fire, leaving it to shatter in silence as they pushed on. Laying down fire from an odd angle, at the same time as the Sith were hammering it from the front, was exactly what was needed.

Concentrated fire was one thing that the Sith fleet had but unlike the other allied fleets, the Sith fleet had alternatives. Their ion cannon barrages wore down the shields and the electronic systems of the targeted ships, all the while the fire from the other allies kept slamming into the armoured hulls. With the shields on the interdictor down, and the results of several ion cannon barrages meaning it was not in any fit state to keep the interdiction field operational, it began to crumble.

As the withering fire began to break down the interdictor star destroyer into chunks, the bulk of the ISC fleet elements targeted the flank of the Joined fleet closest to the planet. With the destruction of the Joined fleet elements on that specific flank, the delegates would have a clearer shot up into either the Sith or ISC vessels.

To the rear of the allied fleets, the ISC and Sith starfighter squadrons were pushed back again and again as the lack of support from capital ships meant they were trying to contend with greater numbers and greater firepower alone. This was made worse when the FWA's final Quasar Light Carrier was destroyed through a brief combined fire from three of the Shardships. It was entirely expected as any light carrier was going to be thorough pummelled if left to contend with several capital ships several weight classes higher.

In orbit and within the atmosphere, ships on both sides doubled down as everyone tried to establish some kind of aerial or space superiority. Dropships and gunships were gunned down by the Joined corvettes in low orbit, even though they were immediately punished for taking their eyes off of the starfighters in the same airspace. At this point, it was everything that the hundreds of allied starfighters and other escort ships could do to try and ensure that the Sith shuttle, the ISC gunship and the Hutt yacht would be in a position to leave the atmosphere safely.

Above, allied ships yelled at their astronavigation crewmates and droids as hyperdrive solutions were demanded, quickly, as the battered Joined fleet continued to slug it out in close quarters and the Killik battlecruisers grew ever closer from behind.

Spoiler: Allied Fleets - Casualties and Important Updates in Red

ISC

• 1x TL-2 Battlecruiser, Rose of Tatooine (Medium Damage), Heart of the Rim (Destroyed)
• 1x TE-2 Carrier/Destroyer, Rodian Pilgrim (Destroyed), Neimoidia's Revenant (Destroyed), Masquerade (Medium Damage), The Defiance of Fate (Destroyed)
• 2x CR-90 Corvette, Impulse (Destroyed), Signature (Destroyed), Requiem (Destroyed), Nova (Destroyed), Royal Fury (Destroyed), Rodia's Guidance (Destroyed), Dexterity (Medium Damage), Bastion (Destroyed), Fluke (Light Damage), Vessel (Destroyed)
• 156x TE-34 Wing Fighter (371 Fighters lost, 156 remaining)

Hutt

• 1x Cal Class Battleship - The Despoiler (Medium Damage)
• 1x Strike Class Cruisier - The Bountious Reaping (Medium Damage)
• 0x Praetorian Class Frigates - The Subjugator, Glory of Carkoon (Destroyed). (All Lost)
• 1x Interceptor Class Bulk Cruisers - Jiliac (Destroyed), Jabba (Light Damage), Doruuga (Destroyed), Garatha (Destroyed).
• 6x Z-95 Headhunter Starfighters (49 Fighters lost, 6 Remaining)

FWA

• 0x Quasar Fire-class Bulk Cruiser/Light Carriers (Total Recall (Destroyed), Judgement Day (Destroyed)) (All Lost)
• 0x Vigil-class Frigates (Fifth Element (Destroyed), Face Off (Destroyed), A New Hope (Destroyed)) (All Lost)
• 1x VCX-820 Escort Freighters (Tombstone (Destroyed), Pointbreak (Destroyed), Commando (Light Damage))
• 0x GAT-12 Skipspray Blastboats (Cobra, Top Gun (Destroyed), Salvation, Armageddon (Destroyed)) (All Lost)
• 1x Blastfin-class Blastboats (The Terminator (Destroyed), Die Hard (Destroyed), Big Trouble (Medium Damage))
• 0x ILH-KK Citadel-class Civilain Cruiser (Eternal Huntress) (Destroyed)
• 0x Preybird-class Starfighters (8 Fighters lost, 0 Remaining) (All Lost)
• 0x Cloakshape Starfighters (8 Fighters lost, 0 Remaining) (All Lost)
• 0x Razor-class Starfighters (12 Fighters lost, 0 Remaining) (All Lost)
• 2x Tau-7 "Arrowhead" Starfighters (10 Fighters lost, 2 Remaining)
• 3x SS-54 Light Assault Ships (13 Lost, 3 Remaining)
• 0x AA-110 "Warpig" Gunships (Intraplanetary Variant) (All Lost)
• 1x HKD-600 "Assailant" Dropships (23 Lost, 1 Remaining)
• 6x Z-95 Headhunters (30 Fighters lost, 6 Remaining)

Sith

• 1x 'Liberty' Class Star Cruiser, Eternal's Wrath (Light Damage)
• 3x Yuso Class Corvettes (6 Yuso Corvettes lost, 4 Remaining)
• 5x Nesuto Class Combat Carrier ( 5 Combat Carriers lost, 5 Remaining)
• 5x Pugio Class Frigates (7 Pugio Frigate lost, 5 Remaining
• 302x Fighters (248 Fighters lost, 302 Remaining)

Spoiler: Killik Fleets - Casualties and Important Updates in Red

Joined Fleet

• 0x Interdictor-Class Star Destroyer (Destroyed)
• 2x Imperial II-Class Star Destroyer (6x ISD-II Lost, 2 Remaining, 1 Heavy Damage)
• 3x Victory-Class Star Destroyer (12x Victory-Class Star Destroyers lost, 3 Remaining)
• 5x Raider-Class Corvette (26 Destroyed, 5 Remaining, 3 Engaging Escort Starfighters)
• 315x TIE Starfighter (685 Fighters lost, 315 Remaining)
• 0x TIE Interceptor (104 Interceptors lost, 0 Remaining) All Fighters Lost

Killik Fleet

• 6x Killik Shardship (Roughly 5km in length, Battlecruiser-scale Conventional Weaponry, Located behind Sith, Hutt and FWA main fleets) (1x Medium Damage)
• 1,547x Killik Dartships (Roughly 8m in length, Swarming at Sith, Hutt and FWA Command Ships) (1,452 Lost, 1,842 Remaining)

--Not Space--
​

One of the dropships, weighed down with survivors, seemed to waiver in mid-air before the pilot screamed and the controls were suddenly not being operated, sending the dropship spiralling to the ground where it exploded upon impact with the side of a storefront. The second dropship lifted off shortly after but with no passengers and, actually few members of crew as the misguided mercenaries tried their best to try and 'rescue' people who had long since become Joined. Several mercenaries were pulled from their dropship and forced to absorb the Joining fluids even as the sole remaining dropship was forced to lift back off to avoid a total loss of crew.

The Sith shuttle and the ISC gunship flew off from the area around the dome with the Hutt's yacht in close proximity. As the Joined fleet's fighters came streaming in for an attack run on the transports, they would shudder as light laser fire raked across their shields and hulls for several, terrifying, seconds before they were run off by allied starfighters rushing to provide an effective escort as the transports ascended above the landing pad toward space, heading for the Sith and ISC flagships respectively.

Below, in the immediate area of the landing pad and the chaos in the streets, the Tanker Killik screeched in rage and ever expanding pain as several mercenaries decided to take the risk to throw explosives at it or open fire at it rather than seeking cover. Some of them were able to move out of range but a good quarter of their number died agonizing deaths in their zeal to deal damage to their behemoth of an enemy.

Within the debris of the landing pad's partial destruction, smaller civilian ships could still be found in varying conditions and states - such as the ship that Trini was able to identify. There were, however, very few of them that looked like they could still fly - less than half a dozen single to two-seater craft. As the escape pod skidded away from the Tanker Killik, partially spinning in place as it did due to the thrusters not being designed for it, Dusty would be within sprinting distance of the same ship that Trini was making her break for.

As the mercenaries attacked the Tanker Killik with small arms fire and personal explosives, they would begin to understand that this was a creature that needed a different calibre of weapon to actually cause it harm. This point was hammered home as one of the assault ships in the area performed a strafing run with its weapons, blasting small to medium sized holes clean into the creature's chitin and taking up all of its attention for now as it started gusting out more and more fire in an attempt to shoot down the gunship.

This distracted Tanker Killik was combined with the Joined and smaller Killiks alike seeming to freeze up for a few seconds, taking massive casualties for doing so, before they began fighting again as though they were injured by some unknown force. A chance, perhaps, for those on the ground to remedy their current position before the squadron of Joined TIE fighters on approach was able to perform their attack run.

@The Good Doctor @GABA @Sreeya @Mr. Teatime
@llamallove @lizziie @LadyRen
@Phoenix @Altaris @Wit @AutoFox @Fantasy Liver
@Nor'baal @Issachar @Valen Pelora @AdventCore
@Xorism @Braden @SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Rrodossk]

Rrodossk knew he was in a loosing battle, his scales rattled in such a way for him to know. Instead of staying in the fray he ran, his large frame being quite fast. He moved away from the battle and opened a comm channel to the dropship. His speech was of his native tounge, telling the Dosh pilot to swoop by and pick him up along with any survivors.

The mercenaries who followed the Senator were also running, no more than a handful at this point. The dropship averted it's path for a moment to swing right above the Senator. The ramp powered as it swung by in mid air, only the Senator managing to jump up and grab on. He was held there by his claws for a moment before gravity pulled him back, yet just in the nick of time he pulled his massive frame up towards the crew bay as the door began to close behind him.

The craft who could go to hyperspace did so, with the dropship being one of the first to do so, as they were escaping the situation while they still could. The rest defended the larger ships until they were about to make their jumps, before boarding for the flight home. The forces took an absolute beating, but those who survived atleast would go home with those big bonuses they were promised.

 

[Crux]

Cheers erupted all over the bridge of The Despoiler as the ISD was smashed before them. Moments later, even better news made it into the ship as a crew member suddenly threw her headset down, leapt out of her seat, and jubilantly announced: “The Interdictor is destroyed! Repeat: the Interdictor is destroyed!” It was one of the rare moments that Crux actually allowed himself to get caught up in the moment.

“HELL YEAH!!” His body filled with sudden, explosive energy, Crux pumped his fist into the air. “Those karkin’ bastards are going down!” A wide grin spread across his face as he watched the beautiful scene unfold. This was finally going to be over. He managed to regain some of his composure when he heard another message come in.

“Sensors detect seven incoming craft, sir. It’s Lord Nor’baal’s yacht and the starfighter escorts.” Finally!

“Good. Get ready to jump to hyperspace, open up the hangar and let them in. We’re out of here as soon as they’re aboard.”

“Already done, sir. The remaining ships are ready to depart.” With a nod of approval from Crux, the Hutt fleet would turn around and attempt their escape from the Ruusan system. They would have a lot of reckoning and rebuilding to do afterwards, but this was the price of victory, and it was a price that he was willing to pay.

Spoiler: TL;DR

Hutts attempt their escape

 

[Dusty Daytonus]

Dusty did indeed sprint for the same ship that Tirni was making her way towards. Between beating down a guard, almost getting killed by bugs, racing said bugs in a stolen train tramcar and now knocking a rancor off a platform with an escape pod, Dusty had met his prodigious need for adrenaline and, instead of focusing on getting his rush on, now focused on blasting away anything within his path

OOC: Apologies for not editing post prior. My phone got stolen RIP

 

[Arcturus Alkaios]

And so Arcturus would be seating calmly in the ISC shuttle even as the battle still continued around. Before too long they would exit the atmosphere into space. Arcturus on his commlink would then a communication to the helm of the Eternal's Wrath. @GABA "Thank you Master Tiamat, I'm in your debt." he said, grateful that she is here with a Sith fleet in tow. "Amira is badly injured, she's coming to you in the Sith shuttle. I had to take the ISC shuttle, we're heading towards their command ship" As much as preferred that the Governor of New Alderaan be taken to the Eternal's Wrath, this was fine. "Great work" he said smiling.

Arcturus would then look upon the Eternal's Wrath. Such a magnificent and powerful ship. It spearheaded the attack on the Joiner fleet and weathered firepower from the Joiners and the strange asteroids. The 'Liberty' class Star Cruiser is a successful project on all counts, a worthy warship for the Empire's arsenal. From a distance, he will have the pleasure of seeing the Path Engine in action. Arcturus would smile smugly, after looking on the ruins of what was an Interdictor cruiser. After looking at the layout of the space battlefield, it's clear who did the most work here.

While waiting while the shuttle is heading to it's next destination, he noticed the Jedi Grandmaster head towards the shuttle's cockpit and overheard that she requested the ear of the ISC commander here. Asking of be of further use because she 'owes it to them'. The Sith Governor would roll his eyes.

Spoiler: abridged

dialogue and sitting on the isc shuttle ride, overhearing the grandmaster

[

 

[Aezzairrfhowrrhudrrl]

The Sith Shuttle​

Aezzairrfhowrrhudrrl didn't like being taken toward the Eternal's Wrath, but he quite literally did not have a say in the matter. T-8R had been damaged in the falling debris and he'd had to power off the droid in order to stop the low whistling sound constantly emanating from it, which left the Wookiee with very few options for communicating with others aboard the Sith shuttle. He was, however, determined to make an attempt.

Glancing away from Celeste just long enough to say the two most difficult words he'd ever uttered, the Senator of Kashyyyk nonetheless knew what he had to do. One didn't need to be fluent in Shyriiwook to understand the sentiment, even if the intonation was stiff by Wookiee standards.

"Thank you."

@Sreeya @others

 

[Celeste Stythani]

Celeste was not fully unconscious, but also not at all able to interact with her environment at all. She sometimes tried to blink to catch a glimpse of outlines, but she was only mildly successful. She had noticed that they had somehow made it into a ship, but had no idea what the hell was going on around her.

It was even hard to recall what had happened a few minutes earlier. Her thoughts were racing and at the same time too muddled and convoluted to follow. Her head was buzzing immensely and at the same time there was an immense numbness. It was as if her nerves were simply overwrought and this impenetrable tiredness was just threatening to overwhelm her again as she suddenly heard a voice. Aezzairrfhowrrhudrrl's, to be more specific.

He was thanking someone...And suddenly Celeste did notice that she was sensing another familiar presence. @Altair Din. Was that it? Were they possible aboard a Sith rescue shuttle? Because if they were, it seemed like she had just noticed something very beautiful. The old Senator of Kashyyyk had potentially just thanked the Sith and Celeste could have never wished for more. So in the end, it seemed like those diplomatic discussions had not been in vain...

After all, the Killiks had used the discussions as an excuse to gather as many important people from each and every faction as possible to make them join, but in the end the factions had fought as allies, side by side alongside each other. So there was at least something positive about this madness.

With that in mind she simply drifted off again, at least all worries forgotten as the darkness swallowed her again.

@Nefieslab

Spoiler: TLDR

Celeste just struggles with staying conscious, but in the end, she fails

 

[Null]

Pain was all he could feel as the fallen savior lay still, his failure a foggy memory. Then he coughed and the body moved. The left hand slowly went to the chin of the helm, though it took an incredible amount of effort to do even that. Then a low growl began to emanate from the voice scrambler until his finger tapped the switch to disconnect the environmental seal. A soft hiss escaped the suit before he struggled to pull the helm back over his head, where it would rest at his upper back against the hood of his tattered coat.

Crimson spilled from his lips. His chest barely rising from the ground as he tried to push himself up. His muscles trembled from the immense damage. He was lucky he was even still alive, let alone able to move at all. But his left arm was barely functioning and he couldn't get his knees up. The young fool tried, whimpering through grit teeth, but all he was met by was even more pain. His dim blues shot over to the vibroblade a few feet away from him, and he held himself up with his right arm as best he could as his left painfully reached for the blade. A moment passed, his concentration strained, blood dripped from his shaky fingertips, and nothing happened. His hand dropped and his head hung, and then the battlefield began to fade in from the haze.

He finally realized there had been a dull ring in his ears, suddenly increasing in volume with the sound of distant blasts and some massive sounding flamethrower as his senses began to clear. Then the young man's eyes went wide. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. The reality of the situation quickly sank in, especially the fact that the forces engaged nearby meant he had a brief opening to get to the landing pad not much further away before it was too late. With his mind racing like a maelstrom he tried to ignore the blurry bombardment of memories that were fighting for his attention, and pushed on.

Adrenaline was pumping hard, his focus hell bent on survival as he desperately crawled for his sword, his left foot twisted and dragging behind him. He tried to restrain his whimpers as best he could, finally grasping his vibroblade and slamming the end of the scabbard onto the roof while trying to use the weapon like a crutch to pull himself onto his feet. Or rather, his one good foot. The other would remain on its side, pointed outward and unable to return forward as the young man would be forced to drag it behind him the rest of the way. He tried to hold himself up more with the right side of his body while he barely managed to hobble his way toward a nearby pair of stairs, intending to lean against the rail for support as he'd struggle to make his way to the ground and away from the battle.

He just hoped the forces would all be engaged and distracted with each other long enough for him to slip by unnoticed -- if he'd even be able to make it that far...

Spoiler: Sum

Null fails to Pull his sword, crawls to it instead, and uses it like a crutch as he barely manages to hobble toward/down some stairs. The damage to him is certaintly much worse than it seems, and he is having great difficulty moving. He's not able to get very far.

@Nefieslab

 

[Trini Halrixien]

Trini was part-way up the boarding ladder of the SX-18 when she heard running footsteps. Turning, she saw Dusty and Kyle sprinting toward her. Glancing into the cockpit of the little almost-starfighter, she gritted her teeth.

"I though you two wanted to fight on the ground!" She said, then shook her head. "Look, I can only take one of you in this thing! Um..."

The Amaran looked around, then spotted something. The damage done to the landing pad was severe, but the shear number of parked ships which had carried attendees to the supposed peace conference ensured that at least a few of them, like Trini's, had escaped major damage. Off to one side, a Stalwart-class light freighter sat on its gear. Despite the workaday reputation of the type, this particular example looked - like almost everything on the pad - like some diplomat's personal cruiser, repainted with a fetching black-and-gold pin-striping along its sides, durasteel hull buffed to a shine.

Around the freighter was a crowd of people, dirty and scared-looking; they looked like detritus from the conference, minor diplomats, aids, even what looked like a few disheveled venue staff. They had gotten the freighter open, but were milling around uncertainly; abruptly, one of them spotted the trio and jogged toward them, waving.

"E-Excuse me!" Called the human, who wore what looked like a secretarial uniform. "Can any of you fly a ship?? We were left behind by the last shuttle! That ship over there doesn't seem damaged, but none of us are pilots!"

Trini was getting herself situated in the pilot seat of the little SX-18 as the human spoke. She nodded toward Dusty as she considered a flight helmet that had been left in the foot-well, but which didn't have cutouts for her ears; she tossed it aside.

"That one can fly! I'll clear a path for you!" She called, then turned to Kyle. "You, hop up in here! We're going for a ride!"

Once the likely bewildered Kyle was situated, Trini keyed the cockpit canopy closed on her fighter. With a whine of turbines, it lifted off on repulsor power, moving up just above the starship wreckage around it. Trini took in the scene; nearby, the monster Killik still raged, and above, a formation of Dartships prowled, looking for targets. Hovering, she reached down to flip a switch on her control panel, and a targeting computer scope swung into place.

"Chew on this, won't you!"

The Amaran's finger jammed the firing stud, and abruptly, the missile bay of the Salamander dropped open. A concussion missile streaked away from the tiny craft, lancing straight for the Tanker Killik. Trini, meanwhile, punched the throttle forward and hauled on the controls, putting her ship into a steep climb.

"Alright now! Go go go!!"

TL;DR

Trini gets Dusty on another ship, taking Kyle with her in the SX-18's passenger seat. She primes a concussion missile and fires at the Tanker Killik as a parting shot, then hauls tail for space.

@Fantasy Liver

 

[Darth Tiamat]

Tiamat watched at their weapons targeted the interdictor, landing with critical success as the gravity generators exploded in rapid succession. Fire and debris billowed from the ship as it was crippled, but they were not in the clear, they had only just given themselves a window to seek safety.

"Ma'am, we are ready to jump." reported the lieutenant and the woman watched the holomap for a moment longer, watching the shardships approach from behind.

"Order all fighters back, I don't care if the carrier is their assigned, just get them on board, what about the shuttle?" she asked.

"We have visual."

The woman nodded and turned her attention back to the bridge crew, "All ships are to make the jump to lightspeed, no exceptions!" she ordered and quickly the bridge communications sent their orders, the remained ships moved to break from the natural gravity well of the system. Still on the defense from the enemy fleets, they would travel quickly, hyperdrives set as some begun to blink away from the battle nearly immediately. With the path engine, it would give the liberty-class the advantage to jump from nearly anywhere. The command begun to angle the ship and the count down to lightspeed begun as Tiamat watched and waited; it had been tested many times over, to make the jump in similar coordinate positions, but never in battle.

As soon as the Sith shuttle entered the hanger, the hyperdrive engines would be activated and within a blink, the Enteral's Wrath would be many lightyears away and in temporary safety.

Spoiler: tl;dr

Moving into defensive positions, support ships are moving for a better angle to jump to lightspeed. As soon as the sith shuttle lands in the Eternal's Wrath, the sith take off to lightspeed using the path engine in an /EXIT ATTEMPT

 

[Dusty Daytonus]

"Alright fine! But Kyle, you still have work tomorrow - don't be absconding from duty, now! I still have another yacht you know!" Dusty said, making sure his long-suffering pilot knew what the priority here was. As soon as Kyle began to depart for Trini's ship, Dusty strode forward confidently, full of the exaggerated swagger of a former swoop racer, former mercenary pilot, and current Governor.

"Not to worry, Dusty Daytonus is here to help. All that I ask is that you consider spending your next vacation on the idyllic world of Ploo II." Dusty said, making sure to get some money flowing into Ploo's economy before hopping into the craft and starting the takeoff procedure. Truthfully, whoever previously owned this ship was probably lucky they got killed or Joined because, for a Senator, this thing was a piece of shit. The paint job was, admitttedly nice, but Dusty would rather walk than be caught dead flying to such an event in this trash heap. Still, a ship was a ship and this would go a long way towards helping him recoup the financial damage that losing his yacht had.

"Strap in!" Dusty shouted to the random assortment of hangers-on as he blasted off, doing his best to fly his way around and past the Killiks to dock on the VCX-820 Escort Freighter that remained in the FWA fleet - The Commando. There, he'd usher everyone out and tell the captain to make a jump. Jeez, was this all that was left of the fleet?

TLDR: Dusty flies the Stalwart ship up towards the FWA ship the Commando and attempts to dock and tell the Commando to jump to lightspeed.

 

[Carrick]

The Interdictor exploding in the distance was a brilliant sight... but it wasn't worth it.

Even as the remaining ISC ships began their calculations to jump into hyperspace to escape, now that the enemy holding them in place was destroyed, he eyed the reports on the ships that he had remaining. They were far too few in number compared to what he had brought into the system with him. The Killiks and their Joined had, without a doubt, suffered the worst of the fighting but it wasn't due to the tactics of the Allied fleets - it was because they fought wrong, badly.

Namely, they treated ships as their treated their drones - like they were all expendable. The Joined fleet had the firepower to destroy them all but through a combination of mismanagement and apathy the Killiks had managed to allow the Allies to punch through and punch harder than they expected.

"Grandmaster - you've not got a Super Star Destroyer hidden under your robes do you? No?" he eyed the com link, "Then you can't help me blast away more of these creatures... so your only use to me is keeping my delegates alive while you dock. Get that pilot to hurry up."

He pointed to the navigation officer.

"The second that gunship lands, jump. All ships, jump."

As soon as the gunship carrying the ISC delegates (and others) landed within one of the hangers on the flagship, the ISC fleet would begin launching into hyperspace. Some of the starfighters landed within hangers and some would make the jump with their own drives.

/Exit Attempt

@Valen Pelora