Open Invasion Battle of Felucia

[Darth Caelestis]

Artorigas was moving quickly along the floor towards the scene of the battle, however he was not able to come into close range with his Sith brethren. A fungal tree was being pulled down in front of him, probably by the same Jedi that had yanked the idiotic Zabrak into the forest in the first place. Someone with this much power within the Force was more than a mere Padawan, his only other meeting with a member of the opposite order.

Though the Jedi was strong within The Force, the tree itself was large and Artorigas was moving quickly towards him. The Jedi only had a breath to move the tree and the sinews within the trunk gave some resistance to the Jedi. This moment in time was enough for the charging Sith to slide underneath the lowering tree, though he was not able to get low enough for him to get completely under, his helmet catching a small glancing blow.

The blow dazed him for a second though Artorigas was just able to spot the moving saber, to his right. The Force still charged within him he sent a wave of power out in the direction of the weapon sending it careening off into the distance away from the pair. His ears ringing slightly he rose to his feet as the Jedi appeared before him, Artorigas raised his saber.

@The Steel Stag

 

[Jaikus Thorne]

Jaikus gripped the hilt of his lightsaber tightly, squeezing the cold metal between his gloved fingers. “I do hope so.” He finally spoke with a long drawl, breaking his stoic demeanor to flash Deva a devilish grin. “I’ve grown a touch bored, what with the others stealing all the attention for themselves.”

There was a part of him that had grown impatient with the pace of things thus far – eager to escape the bird’s cage that the base had become and deal with the approaching enemy with his own two hands. The last real fight he had was back on Telos IV, and that particular engagement had ended in disappointment.

For a moment, he wondered if that same Dathomirian witch could possibly be on Felucia as well.

While tempting, he knew better than to act in such a reckless manner. This was what they were trying to defend after all, in addition to still being the location where they best maintained their advantage over the Jedi and Sector Rangers. Let them come to us, he thought. Let them walk into their demises.

Once more, his attention was drawn to the holographic table in front of him, a live view of the battlefield playing out before his very eyes. His brow furrowed, staring with some degree of disbelief at what he was witnessing - Ackley rushing past the treeline, Jedi clinging to their backs like flies to a corpse. Since when did the Jedi utilize the local fauna as beasts of war? It would have been moderately impressive had the bloody monsters not been advancing upon his own position with alarming speed. “But that,” He gestured to the holo-station. “..is going to be a problem.”

@Killa Ree @Isen @Sreeya

 

[Ruzaan Kai]

In the span of mere seconds, the Sith had managed to get three attacks off at Ruzaan; the initial ambush, a downswing less than a second later as he threw himself to his left, and then a weird glob of green Force energy speeding at him as he completed his roll. The first attack had caught him off guard, and he was fortunate to have evaded it. The second attack had caught him on the right forearm, a wound that ran along the length of his forearm to the base of his fingers, leaving burnt skin and a smoldering robe in its wake. He had been lucky- no, skilled enough- to avoid losing the limb as it trailed behind him during his leap; his superb Togrutan sense of spatial awareness, augmented by his connection to the Force, had aided him in avoiding further damage by helping him contour his limb with the path of the lightsaber as he threw himself to the side. But despite the glancing angle and the light armor covering his forearms, the Sith had struck an important blow; Ruzaan was holding his lightsaber in his right hand, and it was jarred out of his failing grip as he hit the ground and rolled. Now his senses told him that an incoming projectile was danger close, but Ruzaan had no way of deflecting it.

Oh ka-!

Ruzaan didn't even have time to curse before the green ichor hit him square in the chest, blasting him backwards across the jungle floor some 5 meters. He finally came to a stop- facedown- just a couple feet away from one of the giant mushrooms that populated Felucia, barely clinging to consciousness. His skin chafed beneath his robes where the ichor had impacted, and his breathing was ragged and choppy. He knew what broken ribs felt like thanks to a speeder accident on Tatooine- yep, several of those. His right forearm was a mangled mess of charred skin, and his double-bladed lightsaber was nowhere to be seen.

Get up! urged his heart.

Don't you dare! screamed his body.

"Yield" said the Sith. Was she monologuing at him?

"Use the Force" said Atris Tharen, his good friend and mentor, the memory of the Jedi Knight springing into his mind.

As the Sith's poisoned words washed across his consciousness, urging him to forsake his community for the sake of greater power, Ruzaan blocked them out. He managed to lift his head and haul himself up until he was propped up on his right arm; oddly enough, his right forearm didn't hurt; he would later learn that was because of the third-degree burns. His left hand was closed, almost in a fist, as he prepared his final stand.

The Sith's body language oozed overconfidence; she had chosen the weakest target to attack and had dispatched him easily, and her guard relaxed slightly as she focused her efforts on using the Force to lace her words with a suggestion. It was a momentary lapse, but it was enough for Ruzaan to take advantage of. Thrusting out his left hand he sent out a Force Push, the blast rippling across the grass as it barreled towards the Sith. Telekinesis wasn't his strongest suit, but the Sith's small stature would work against her in resisting his push.

@Taz

Edit: Took more damage from lightsaber swing and thus wasn't able to avoid the green ichor attack. Heavily edited the second half of the post to reflect this, but kept the Force Push aimed at Zara

 

[Jaesa Valerin]

It seemed that her opponent was as troubled about her as she was about him. There was a frustration in the way he spoke. But while she too wished to know who the hell he was, there were standing on a battlefield. He would kill her as soon as he got the chance, she assumed. His words and accusations got under her skin, though. It was not her fault she had not been raised among her people. It was not her fault that she was given to the Jedi by an orphanage. She was glad for it all, but it hadn't been her choice to make.

"My name should be of no importance to you." Jaesa began to back up, moving seven-some meters deeper into the forest. She debated on what to do--attack or distract--for a moment, then realized something. Where the hell was Ruzaan? Had he not followed her and Vahn up? The dathomirian "traitor" would then pull down two large stalks between them, separating her and Xeno so that she could run back to find the stowaway padawan with him being able to immediately follow. Her ears remained alert to any sound of footsteps following behind her.

She found Ruzaan quickly, not more than seven or so meters behind her. He was engaged with a masked woman, his one arm outstretched and his other smoldering from what she could assume was from the Sith. Jaesa too extended her arm, joining in on Ruzaan's push of Force to send Zara flying back. She would curl her fingers in the Force around Zara, jerking her to the left and slamming her into the nearest tree.

"Ruzaan! Are you alright?" Jaesa would assume a defensive position near the padawan, ready to protect the padawan if necessary.

@Taz @Scoobert @SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Dusty Daytonus]

Death was around every corner on this battlefield. From the cries of vicious jungle creatures to the laser turrets on the base to the very angry Wookiee pursuing him, this planet was as inhospitable to a light freighter as one could expect. Dusty couldn't have been happier. The stunt-craving, death-defying, adrenaline junkie fought the urge to laugh out loud as he nimbly flew the Faraway Fancy across the sky.

Having avoided taking damage from the turrets from the base thus far, his greater concern was the Blastboat. Relishing the challenge and knowing that an unengaged Blastboat could cause some real damage on the ground, Dusty aborted his lap around the perimeter of the base once he saw that the Blastboat changed course. The Blastboat may have been faster but Shorkattatha turning left still took time, even if it was only for a moment. As such, Dusty was able to squeeze off a shot from both his cannons at the heavily damaged turret before yanking on the stick as hard as it would go. With how heavily damaged the turret already was, even one more shot would probably be catastrophic.

Yanking the stick up meant his freighter was now facing directly up towards the sky and space and would begin ascending. To add to the speed of ascent, Dusty would engage the Fancy's fusial afterburner to really send the thing flying. Because Dusty was no longer where Shorkattatha thought he was going to be, the shots fired from the Blastboat wouldn't impact against the freighter.

He had a plan and he hoped the Wook would take the bait.

@Mr. Teatime

 

[Sevrin Valtiere]

A volley of blasterfire rained on the forests themselves, damaging trees, plants and creatures alike. The forest cried out in protest, several giant trees set ablaze and beginning to tilt. The smoke was thick and it certainly began to spook the Acklays. Sevrin looked towards Isen - he would have to navigate the great beasts carefully around the damaged forest.

However, the introduction of the fires offered opportunity. Riding on an acklay meant the Sephi covered large grounds easily. He was much closer to his fellow Jedi and the walls of the base. As the fire and smoke erupted above him, he channeled the Force to call upon aerokinesis to send the burning heat right back at the wall. This would threaten to scorch anyone standing on the edge of the wall, including those that manned the remaining turret on Bir's side. Sevrin kept closing the distance, stopping the aerokinesis after one brush back with it.

Meanwhile, the AT he had been commanding took a hit to one side. It took out the two cannons on that side and damaged the front leg severely. Men would need to get out to attempt repair if they wanted the AT to move again. However, the central gun took aim once more and fired again at the remaining turret that was controlled by Deva. If it didn’t take the turret out, it would certainly hit anyone operating it.

The Sephi’s sharp eyes could see a skirmish ahead of himself, spotting a male Dathomirian chasing after Jaesa. Sevrin was coming in from Xeno’s right side as he was focused on the chase. The Force would coil around Xeno and lurch him in an attempt to make him slam harshly head first into the hard obstacles Jaesa had erected.

@Scoobert @Isen @Killa Ree @Tulos @lizziie

 

[Isen Ramm]

Bounding through the Felucia wilderness, Isen took the opportunity, however brief, to solidify the bond with the large brown acklay he rode, the same acklay that had fought and won dominance as the alpha among the other two males in the pack. Through the bond, Isen could control the large, green free ranging beast that remained unridden. Isen would trust that Sevrin could handle his own mount.

Surveying the battle field, Isen saw it much the same as the Sephi that he rode alongside. Isen, however, decided to use the various obstructions and distractions to go for a crippling blow to the black and red Dathomirian. Isen gave his instructions to the large brown mount, and in turn, the large beast screeched commands to the free ranger acklay. Using the Force, Isen leapt from the back of his mount, bounding from branch to branch gracefully and silently through the trees and large mushroom-shaped plants.

The brown acklay circled around Sevrin's position to attack the Dathomorian from the rear while the green one would circle toward the opposite direction, using the wall of plant debris as a means to hide it's incoming arrival. As Sevrin was trying to slam the Sith into that wall provided by Jaesa, the large, brown, alpha acklay would be charging at Xeno, hell bent on making him part of his diet plan. Xeno's concentration would be torn in multiple directions as one Jedi Knight (Sevrin) was attempting to manipulate him through the Force as an apex predator was charging at him with ill intent.

Using those separate threats to his well-being, Isen would slip down from the trees just to Xeno's left with a significant chance of not being noticed based on the threat to his immediate right and the acklay charging and screaming at him from the rear. And, if Xeno should catch wind of Isen dropping in on him, going to the side would help negate the lightsaber in his right hand to some degree.

As Isen descended back toward the forest floor, both lightsabers would ignite. The blade in his left hand would be purely dedicated to defense against Xeno's lightsaber blades should the Dathomirian catch wind of Isen in time and recover from Sevrin's Force attack to mount a bladed defense. The blade in Isen's right hand would have much more ill intent, aiming to slice right through the Sith's left shoulder to take an arm. This cautious attack would allow Isen to instantly switch from offense to defense on his drop should it become necessary.

The alpha acklay would be charging fast, and moments after Isen's drop, he would be upon the Dathomirian as well. A large, spear-like extension would be aiming to shoot right through the Sith's torso, center mass. As Isen saw all this unfolding, he could only see two choices for the Sith as he was dropping from the trees- lose a limb or be run through.

@Scoobert @Sreeya @Killa Ree @lizziie @Tulos

 

[Vahn Berand]

Vahn released his grip on the fungal stalk as soon as Artorigas struck the woody trunk before he continued to press his attack. His yellow lightsaber was sent scattering off to the side from Artorigas’ use of the Force. It hadn’t given the Sith the grievous wounds he had been wanting, but the attack did do one thing for him. Artorigas was still shaken from the impact against the stalk, and now this moment of distraction to defend against the spinning saber gave him a moment to attack; he could sense the unguarded moment forming in potential before his eyes.

As Artorigas turned to blast away the lightsaber, Vahn spent a moment of focus as he maintained his advance. He reached out with his senses, feeling the movements of life around him. He guided the Force, channeling the energy into the flora around the momentarily distracted Sith. Artorigas would feel vines quickly wrapping around his lead foot, tangling into an unsightly greenish knot. It was a quick display, just enough to immobilize the leg from just above the ankle and arrest the Marauder’s footwork. The vines wouldn’t be a great obstruction to a Sith of Artorigas’ calibre; but it would take a moment of effort.

Vahn gambled on this not being a moment that Artorigas could ill afford to spend as his saber flashed in a two handed cut with his right hand dominant. The Jedi simultaneously stepped wide around towards Artorigas’ off-hand, keeping distance from that dull purple saber.. His cut came from his left shoulder, following the line of his motion so that it would be able to burn clear through the Sith’s shoulder joint as he moved to start passing around him. He wouldn’t be behind him yet, but already this angle would be difficult to defend against with an immobilized foot.

@Braden Drake

 

[Kanan Marek]

The walker's fire pummeled into the side of the Sith battlement, sending stone and metal flying in every direction. One turret crumbled under the fire, slowly falling from the walls of the base and disappearing into the Felucian jungle below. One turret was down, but one still remained intact and operable. Hopefully the AT-TE would hold up until it could be destroyed.

The sounds of another AT-TE was audible in the distance, the massive metal creation approaching the opposite side of the base and opening fire on two other turrets. Through the sound of the large artillery on all sides, Kanan thought he heard the familiar shrieks of a monster he knew all to well. He couldn't worry about that right now. He had his own problems.

The AT-TE's location was exposed now, even more so than before. The cover of the jungle was still in their favor, but not for long. The Sith turrets opened fire on the jungle surrounding them, one large blast after another rocking the Felucian jungle. Smoke began to fill the air as plants caught on fire and fell to the jungle floor below, blocking the walker. Other trees fell against the walker, scraping against the sides of the metal with a screech until resting against the machine.

The walker shook from the force of the turret's blasts and the dying jungle around it. On the battlement, the shrouded form of a man emerged from cover, a crimson blade ignited in his hand. He was nothing like the soldiers that lie dead or that scrambled for cover atop the wall-walk. Boldly, this man walked toward the last remaining turret, blocking Kanan's blaster fire with one or two well-timed swings of his lightsaber.

The crimson blade deflected each blaster bolt, sending them back the way they had come: back toward Kanan. If it was not for the distance between the two men, Kanan likely wouldn't have been able to dodge most of the blaster bolts. The Sector Ranger ducked down into the hatch to avoid the sudden onslaught of blaster fire, but he was not quick enough to avoid all of them. A single red bolt tore through fabric, scraping and singing the skin of his left arm. Instinctually, his hand shot to the wound, holding it as if that would help. He'd been shot before, but experience made the burning sensation no less painful.

The enemy turret's had been precise, striking the base of the jungle trees and blocking the walker's view. From this position, they would be firing blindly, their shots striking nothing more than jungle debris.

"We need to move to the right, but don't get any closer to the base," Kanan told the driver. "We can't get a clear shot with all of those trees in our way." Turning to the gunners, he added, "Be ready to open fire again as soon as we're in position."

Settling into his former position halfway out of the top hatch, Kanan checked on the cycler gunner behind him. He was still alive, for now. If luck was on their side, he would stay that way. Kanan aimed his rifle again, not able to see anything through the smoke but readying himself for the moment he could.

The massive machine began to move slowly, its large feet crushing the earth beneath it. Now they waited until they were in position.

@Tulos

 

[Shorkattatha]

As was becoming a theme, it seemed, the madclaw and his gunship were treated lightly. So much for the other pilot's friendly challenge, Shor thought, as the freighter broke off it's attack to fly straight upward. It even used some kind of booster to increase its speed, but Shor had no intention of following.

The Maw continued its leftward bank as sharply as the ship could muster. Turret fire had reduced the amount of cover protecting the invading forces and if the freighter was going to ignore him, flee, and leave the blastboat unengaged, then the murderous madclaw would find a new target. The blastboat roared through the air overhead in a curving path to sweep over the treeline, scanners finding the most notable and power-heavy hostiles. There were three air-to-ground targets of worth, even if the vessel could only strike slow-moving vehicles with much accuracy.

A pack of blade-clawed beasts ridden by tiny figures wielding lightsabers charged through the forest and were targeted by both laser cannons and dual anti-infantry repeater weapons, the hail of bolts buzzing across their position as the blastboat quickly flew overhead. The riders were less likely to be hit than the Acklay themselves especially given how not-subtle the ship's approach was, but it was meant to disrupt their advance more than anything. Firing against unpowered quick-moving ground targets with any accuracy wasn't viable since he was just passing overhead, but bursts of cannon fire often proved discouraging. (@Isen Ramm @Sevrin Valtiere )

The primary target of Shor's attack run was the walker firing on Bir's side of the wall. While it was repositioning the Maw fired its a full burst of all cannons toward it as well as another torpedo targeting its wide side plating. (@Kanan Marek ) Against an unshielded target, a confirmed hit was meant to devastate the vehicle and its crew.

@Fantasy Liver @Isen @Sreeya @llamallove

 

[Bir Vuul]

Bir watched with beaming delight as the collapsed jungle cut the advancing AT-TE from view, making a forward approach impossible. He could hear the walker repositioning, preparing to move to the east, but his attention was soon diverted as the shriek of the local fauna rang out to the west of the mechanical threat. There Bir could see three Acklay tearing through the jungle at such a speed that could only come from natives of this world, two of which bore riders.

”Jedi…” Bir whispered hoarsely as he locked his eyes on the pair, one of which seeming to take notice of not only Bir on the palisade but the numerous troops that had begun to fire on their position as well. Bir could feel the Force called upon by the rather large man and as he dispatched the wave of superheated air in his direction, still standing directly before the woman who had the gun emplacement in her control, the Kel Dor reacted.

Calling upon his own training, Bir produced a Force Barrier that would protect not only him but the woman as well as he took a step back to ensure she was under guard. Bracing himself, he felt the impact. While the troops surrounding him were blasted off the wall, some suffering what he could only suspect were severe burns, both Bir and the gunner remained relatively protected. Relatively in the fact that despite his barrier as well as the distance between the fires Sevrin had utilized and himself, he immediately recognized that this was no Padawan attacking him. The heat still radiated around him, burning his biceps even with his leather-like skin.

As the attack came to an end, Bir allowed the barrier to fall in time to watch their aerial ally lay down a strafing attack across both the Jedi riders as well as the AT-TE as it altered it’s course. Looking back to the gunner, Bir caught his breath for a moment.

”And how be you, my lady?” he requested, catching the woman taking off her helmet to allow herself to breathe.

“Hot, sir, but I’ll pull through. Thank you,” she replied, unaware of the burning marks across her forehead.

”Very good! Very good!” Bir chuckled, unwilling to inform her of her injury lest it interfere with her performance. ”Turn your attention to any foot traffic coming from the jungle and lay some cover fire! I am needed below!” He would state excitedly before dropping from the wall to the jungle floor, saber ignited and at the ready.

​

 

[Deva Gendrel]

With the total destruction of one turret, one remained, barely operable. Deva grit her teeth from indoors, wheeling around to look at Jaikus' table for a moment.

Eyes narrowed in thought.

Acklays and Walkers. This was proving problematic. She would hate to leave the base unguarded.

Two turrets remained, both of which were now under her command with Bir's evacuation, and they were extremely damaged at best. Still, there were soldiers there that could man them. But with the fire focused on one of the turrets, the operator screamed once as suddenly their body spattered into red mist at the walker's return fire. The controls themselves were essentially fried for her own turret; fixed in place and unable to move too quickly. But that wouldn't convince her to abandon post just yet. She could hear screams and panic at the return fire, and she gritted her teeth in frustration. They could find another crew, possibly make it operational, but it would take time. She just had to ensure that they would get there alive before she would have to man control. For now, the turret was dead on its' post.

Oh, she hoped those Jedi would dare to scale the walls. She was itching to burn them all to pieces. However, unless the tide of the battle would turn, she would have to go down there and address the problem herself. A shame, for she liked when they thought they would win and she would crush their disappointments. For now, though, she waited, peering through the camera feed for any indication of the ground battle turning any which way.

The fire from Shor brought a faint smile to her lips, and she shifted her hips slightly in anticipation.

@Sreeya

 

[Darth Caelestis]

As Artorigas turned back from the lightsaber he felt The Force flow through the ground below him, instinctively he pulled The Force within himself again, increasing the strength and speed of his body. As soon as the first vine touched his leg he snapped it back and away shifting his leading left leg back behind him, allowing him to turn on the ball of his right foot. Artorigas' body and blade following the Jedi as he moved to his left and attempted to strike.

The blade strike was now coming across Artorigas from his right dominant side, this allowed him to raise his saber hand to block the strike coming down across his body, catching the blade with his own he pulled his left arm back and released an armoured punch into the midsection of the Jedi. The attack was not meant to do much damage to the man, mostly it was there to stun him.

The combat had come to strung out, the Sith needed to retreat towards there comrades within the fort, there the numbers game would even out and the Jedi would be at a disadvantage. As the blow connected Artorigas would push back away from the Jedi and began to retreat back up the hill, keeping his eye on the man as he did so.

If only the fool Xeno had not leapt out so stupidly.

@The Steel Stag

 

[Darth Draugr]

Another plant wall. How original, Xeno was sure to attack the fleeing Jedi, but he was greeted by others.

Feeling the coil of the force wrap around him once more, he knew it was another Jedi. They dared attack Xeno from the side as a coward once more. Could nobody fight him face to face? Made sense, the Jedi hide and whine about everything. They never take action like true warriors as they claim to be. They only wait until you are not looking to fight. So please do remind the Sith.. who are the cowardly bad guys?

Back to the fight itself, the coward had pulled Xeno through the force like the last pull Xeno felt. Xeno flew and would flip himself in the air to keep from hitting his head against the tree. Instead, it was his body landing against the wall as pain coursed all over, though it would be bearable enough to defend himself in the time being, he would look back to see Acklay riding cowards. Of course they rode Acklay. Recovering from the hit on the wall as he got up from the ground he would shout,

"Cowards! Face me like the Jedi of old would have! Or are your cowardly ways how you fight now?"

Xeno ignited both blades to prepare for a fight. Before the coward had made his way to the trees to attack Xeno, the Acklay he rode was attacked by the blaster fire from the above onslaught provided by the Madclaw. This was good. The Acklay on the other side was closely targeted by the heavy blaster rounds, and focused on the ship in the sky rather than the smaller target on the ground, this gave Xeno time to recover from the wall. The plant walls leading to the base were blown to pieces as it opened a route for escape. Thank you flying Wookiee.

The coward hopped off the Acklay and to the treetops. Finally hopping down to fight he was swinging to take Xeno's arm, rookie move. Xeno side stepped with an attack to the defending saber, keeping it stationary. This allowed Xeno to move out of the way of the swing to the arm and gave a counter attack to him. Once the coward had swung his blade he was open, and Xeno sent an anger induced force push to the coward, sending him back towards a tree to the side.

After the push Xeno grabbed at his ribs as he was feeling the throb of pain from the tree. The troops waiting for him on the other side had been firing at the Acklay and Jedi to suppress any movement towards Xeno. The area he was in was unsafe for exit, but he needed to get out. Through his comms he would call out,

"Got a couple Jedi scum over here riding beasts, help would be appreciated."

Xeno then took a deep breath as he looked at the other coward on the beast. Then back to the coward he pushed away. Readying himself for a hard fight he would ignite both sabers and prepare.

@Sreeya @Isen @Tulos @Mr. Teatime @lizziie

 

[Jaikus Thorne]

Jaikus’ eyes narrowed upon the display in front of him, launching citrine daggers at the holographic images that flashed across the surface. Even if he relished the idea of allowing the Jedi and their allies to come to him – to engage on his own terms - the current state of the battlefield was enough to cause Jaikus to grit his teeth in frustration. Outnumbered and without cover from the turrets, the Axxilan knew his colleagues on the ground would be soon overwhelmed without assistance. A change in strategy was in order.

“It seems we’re not going to be bored for much longer, my lady.” He called back to Deva, a tinge of frustration boiling over into his words, a break from his usual demeanor. The Marauder ignited the crimson blade of his saber, keeping it pointed downward and close to his body. “Don’t wait too long – I wouldn’t want you to miss out on the festivities.” With that, he turned on his heel and began to make his way towards the front, leaving Deva to guard the interior of the base for as long as she chose to do so.

Jaikus made it up to the wall not far from where Bir had been standing previously, arriving just in time to see Shorkattatha dip low and unleash a barrage of return fire upon the Walker’s and Acklay. It was a sight that filled him with delight. He knew the Wookiee's efforts would not be enough to put the enemy out of commission, but the Axxilan hoped it would give Deva enough of an opening to bring the remaining turret operational.

Rather than maintaining his vantage point above the fray, Jaikus leaped from the walls with a running start, enveloping his body with the Force to carry him much further than would be conventionally possible. The Marauder landed several meters out from the wall, immediately sprinting past the tree line and moving in Artorigas' direction. Jaikus had no desire to fight amongst the dense brush, but he was determined to give the Serennian the cover he needed as he began to retreat back towards their defenses.

@Braden Drake @Mr. Teatime @Killa Ree @The Steel Stag

 

[Vahn Berand]

The moment Artorigas’ saber crossed with his own Vahn drew deep on the Force. He had always been physically strong, even for a Jedi but the force added an exponential increase to his physical strength and durability as he Enhanced his physique. In this moment he felt he could probably arm wrestle a wookiee, but for now he contented himself with stepping in towards the Sith, closing the distance while his saber bound and controlled Artorigas’, blue and purple blades sizzling and snapping in defiance of one another as he did. Suddenly he thrust his off hand forward, seizing the Sith’s wrist to hold it in place in his steadily crushing grasp.

Vahn had always been trained that combat often winds up being a game of trades and trade offs. What are you willing to leave exposed in order to attack? What are you willing to lose? What posture or position is less valuable than other tactical considerations. The moment he saw Artorigas’ shoulder shift he knew a strike was coming, and he acted instinctively. His body knew the proper trade in this moment before his mind did. Artorigas would notice as his strike landed first, that his hand hit the hard carapace of the duraplast plating on his torso. Second, he would notice the sheer resilience of his Enhanced body. It was like punching directly into a solid wall, and both layers of defense reduced the damage from the already restrained punch. Instead of being stunned or recoiling to allow Artorigas’ escape, he simply grunted, wincing briefly as he felt a spike of pain through his armor. He acted in the same tempo, accepting the strike while he twisted his hips into a low kick, further allowing him to pivot away from the impact to further dampen the blow. His leg struck out in a low arc, aiming for Artorigas’ knee. With the Sith otherwise occupied by trying to strike him in his armored torso, Vahn was certain he could land a decisive blow. This wasn’t a normal kick however; with the Force flowing through his muscles his impact force would be many times that of a normal human. It would tear muscles, shatter bones, rip tendons and mangle limbs. This was a trade worth making.

After the impact, Vahn would then move to use his grip to turn the Sith, putting his body between the base where the other Siths resided and himself. Even though the close quarters would mean fire from gun emplacements (@Tulos @Killa Ree ) would also fry the Sith currently engaged in combat, he knew there were still other threats at hand. At the same time, he would push forward and down inexorably, intent on pushing both the purple and blue sabers back into Artorigas’ body. If the Sith were properly stunned, it would be difficult to resist his Enhanced strength.

@Braden Drake

 

[Jaesa Valerin]

It seemed her and Ruzaan's combined efforts had put Zara out of commission. Without wasting a moment, Jaesa turned to the injured padawan and told him, "Stay behind me and out of direct combat." Channeling the Force into her body, she would then make a dash back for where she'd come from. Jaesa used the momentum of her speed to leap up onto the two stalks she'd pulled down earlier. Her yellow eyes would settle quickly on Xeno, now only seven meters away, whose attention seemed to be solely on Isen and Vahn.

Once again reaching into the Force, Jaesa propelled herself forward and into the air. With both hands she raised her lightsaber above her head, swinging down upon Xeno has she fell towards him, hoping to overwhelm him with the force of her descent.

@Scoobert

 

[Ruzaan Kai]

Whoah. It worked! Ruzaan watched in awe as his Force Push sent his attacker flying backwards through the air. Then, as if grabbed by a giant invisible hand, the Sith changed trajectory so that her head slammed into a solid branch. Ruzaan winced in sympathy; helmeted or not that had to hurt, and the way the Sith's body suddenly ragdolled implied that the impact had been enough to knock her out. Her body helicoptered and fell with a whump behind some bushes, her lightsaber somewhere nearby after being jarred loose from her hands.

"Ruzaan? Are you all right?" Ruzaan looked over to his left and saw Jaesa, her hand still outstretched. He had been so focused on his own Force Push that he hadn't noticed her arrival.

Ruzaan did a brief assessment of his current situation and decided that he was not all right. His breathing was labored and difficult, his right forearm looked- nope, it was best not to look... and where was his lightsaber?

Jaesa seemed to have come to the same conclusion. "Stay behind me and out of direct combat" she ordered.

That was the plan all along! Ruzaan opened his mouth to protest. And look where it got me! But Jaesa didn't wait around to argue with him, instead turning and dashing away back in the direction of the Sith base with her lightsaber ignited.

With some difficulty Ruzaan got up on his feet and staggered forwards in search of his lightsaber, holding his injured right arm to his torso as he did so. Fortunately, his lightsaber hadn't gone too far, and soon its comforting weight was held in his left hand. With one last nervous glance towards the bushes where the unconscious Sith had disappeared to, he turned and headed East, his path taking him behind the burning wreck of the second AT-TE. He could make out a few troopers gathering together over there- friendlies, he decided, as their armor was not an edgy black- and figured that there would be safety in numbers. As he stumbled along he would keep his senses alert as best he could; he'd already been ambushed once and he couldn't afford to be surprised again.

@Taz @llamallove

 

[Sevrin Valtiere]

As the blastboat strafed along where the acklay were, it caused quite a bit of chaos. The one Sevrin had been hanging onto was hit, shrieking out in rage as bolts peppered near it and several shots impacted. The Sephi leapt off the beast shortly after the yanking maneuver on Xeno, speaking into his comms. The beast rampaged and temporarily stalled, not making progress towards the walls as it had lost limbs in the strafing.

“Hit that ship!”

His leap and landing was timed with the Sith slamming into the plant, followed by recovering and engaging Isen. Sevrin focused all his energies to grip Xeno into a stasis as he prepared to fire off a push. Even if it didn’t keep him still for longer than a second, it would be enough for multiple attacks to go off on him without him being able to actively defend. He was surrounded on all sides and with no real way out.

The fires raged all around them, Jedi and Sith all gathering within one another’s vicinity. If any remaining turrets strafed in this direction, it was just as likely to endanger the Sith in the area, especially the ones that newly barged into the forest. Sevrin kept his focus, sweat and soot lining his face and robes, the chaos and heat of battle encompassing them all.

Meanwhile, the main gun of AT1 swiveled and aimed for the blast boat as it moved to shoot at AT2. The thunderous shot would be aimed at the ship, less able to focus on a particular section of the ship and more intended to hit it anywhere it could. Two last aux cannons on the functioning side of the AT aimed and fired shots at the intact turret under Deva’s command and towards anyone that would attempt to man it.

@Mr. Teatime @Scoobert @Killa Ree

 

[Isen Ramm]

The strafing run from the fighter above would have some success, particularly against the acklays. Despite the cover from the trees and trying to hit very fast moving targets, one of the blaster bolts would find not necessarily paydirt, but dirt nonetheless- dirt right in front of the largest acklay, the brown alpha of alphas that Isen had ridden into the chaos before jumping into the trees.

The explosion in front of the reptilian-crustacean hybrid would take off the beast's front left claw and send dirt and debris upward, peppering the beast's hard shell and blinding the apex predator's left eye as well. Luckily for Xeno, it was enough to daze the animal, but still he screeched in anger and spun around absenting running deeper into the forest. He would soon his get his bearings and start navigating back toward Isen. Acklays weren't "spooked." They were angered.

Xeno also caught a break with the green acklay that circled around and was attempting to climb the wall. The flying fighter bullseyed the plant wall moments after Xeno was forced smashed into it, bringing the heap of green and fungi and vines crashing to the ground in a smoldering heap. This was a bad break for the acklay who had climbed to the top. While he avoided be struck directly by the canons, the huge beast would take a nasty fall to the ground and get covered with some burning plants as a result. He screeched and howled, working to unbury himself from the fiery pile. He would be burned and concussed, but when he got cleared, he would be one pissed off acklay.

Where Xeno would run out of luck, however, was too quickly coming to the conclusion that Isen was a "rookie." A veteran of two battles on Sullust, the revolution of Byblos, a Jedi Knight who had survived battles where the Eternal himself made a presence and engaging in combat with the Sith Dathomirian Nightsister Queen, among other battles against the Sith, it would be well out of character for the Kiffar to make a rookie mistake. And, as it turns out, he did not.

Noticing that Xeno was sidestepping as Isen slipped down from the treetops, Isen turned his body as he fell so that his completely un-engaged right-handed blade would be well within striking distance. Isen welcomed the Zabrak's move for him to intercept his left lightsaber. With Isen coming from the top, he could keep it pinned and and engaged away from his body.

But for Xeno, there would be no Force push. There would be no retreat into the woods. His outcome was all but decided. As Xeno would move to extend his arm for a Force Push, Isen would simply flick the blade in his right upward, a lightning quick, small-motion movement that was aimed to take of Xeno's arm behind the elbow. Even if he realized what Isen was doing, and pulled back, it was all but certain that he would not get his hand out of the kill zone before Isen's blade cut it off at the wrist.

And to make matters worse, the Sevrin was acting to hold the poor fool in place so that he was immobilized.

Spoiler: OOC Acklay Notes

Brown Acklay will not attack this turn. He is blind in one eye and a front claw is blown off. Green acklay is going to be burned and concussed as well as harder to control.