Open Invasion Battle of Felucia

[Ruzaan Kai]

His Force Pull had not been effective, having failed to imbalance the Marauder. The Sith’s defense was impressive, and Ruzaan had to marvel at the ease with which she wielded her blood-red lightsaber to withstand the barrage of incoming stun bolts; her movements were fluid, almost like a dancer. One bolt appeared to get through and strike her shoulder, but otherwise the Sith’s defense never wavered.

Her defense would’ve been oddly beautiful if she hadn’t followed it up by brutally murdering the crewman standing next to the rifle-wielding Ranger. With a violent jerk of her hand the Sith crushed the man’s torso with the Force and shook his lifeless body first at the Ranger, and then towards Ruzaan. The padawan stared in shock as the corpse ragdolled against the downed mushroom stalk before falling to the jungle floor, its neck bent at an unnatural angle and its glassy eyes forever fixated in surprise and agony.

Ruzaan felt like he’d been punched in the gut. He wanted to run, he wanted to cry, he wanted to forget the sight of the flaming, very naked Sith that had just waltzed by… but some things couldn’t be unseen.

The Sith on the wall gestured again; not an attack this time, but a challenge; this might’ve been Ruzaan’s first rodeo, but it was clear that the challenge was meant for him. He weighed his options; none of them looked promising. A frontal assault was out of the question, and evidently the distance between them wasn’t enough to keep the Sith from striking. Still, she’d sent a message, and he needed to respond.

Ruzaan continued to stand behind the fallen mushroom stalk, knees slightly bent and his senses on high alert for incoming attacks. Bringing his left hand up so it was level with his sternum, he held it straight up and down and ignited one side of his double-bladed lightsaber - a big, blue middle finger springing into existence and shining across the battlefield at the Sith. The lightsaber was then quickly moved to a more practical defensive position, with his hand level with his ribs and the blade slightly tilted to cover his right shoulder.

One Sith had already made the mistake of picking on him today, and her unconscious body was somewhere behind him in the jungle. Perhaps this one was wise enough to see that she was fighting a losing battle; her position on the wall (instead of in combat alongside her fellow Sith) indicated a strong sense of self-preservation, and would also give her a clear view of a battlefield that was decidedly in favor of the Jedi and their allies.

“Soon, you’ll be fighting alone” he called out to the Marauder. “You should surrender.”

@Killa Ree @llamallove

 

[Sevrin Valtiere]

If Jaikus thought he was done with the thrown saber, he was gravely mistaken. The weapon blazed past him, cutting through his arm. However, that didn’t mean the Sephi was done controlling it quite just yet. The still ignited saber arced around the Marauder and hovered a short distance before him to intercept the lightning.

By then the Sephi caught up and casually grabbed the floating hilt from mid air in his right hand. He pivoted around the Sith’s right side, slicing his own left handed saber across the man’s upper torso coming in from the Marauder’s right flank. Sevrin’s saber cut horizontally from his own left to right, purposely closing his guard with his swing to avoid leaving his torso open to attacks. With his saber held low to the ground and injured arm, Jaikus would be hard pressed to raise the blade to a block.The half Sephi relied on reach, keeping himself squared to prevent any low sweeps from the Sith.

The Sephi’s right blade, the one he grabbed from mid-air, was positioned defensively for any potential attacks coming from the man’s left arm.

Through all this, the Marauder would find the Sephi’s eyes to be suspiciously familiar. The Sephi even had an eerily detached and calm visage despite being in the heat of battle. There was no anger or distress, just cool, collected focus that was almost unsettling to behold.

While Turret C fired towards, its bolts would largely drill into the abundance of plants in the way. However, a lucky shot made it through to strike the gunner that had been manning the AT’s central cannon. The man took a hit square to the chest, dropping from his position and rendering the AT’s main gun essentially useless until someone could move to replace him.

Meanwhile, the auxiliary guns launched another barrage of blasts to Turret B, aiming to destroy the gun entirely.

@Altaris @Killa Ree

 

[Jaesa Valerin]

Jaesa, though her concentration on the stasis seemed to have lasted long enough for her to watch the saber cut into Jaikus' arm, was unceremoniously flicked from her perch upon the shroom-tree by the leaf of a pitcher plant. The leaf struck her at her midsection, though she was able to get her bearings quick enough to twist midair to roll safely onto her feet once she hit the ground.

Her yellow eyes quickly found the mad acolyte who had caught Isen's attention. The Dathomirian, sure that Sevrin would be alright with the injured Jaikus, made her way towards Bir and Isen. She leapt back into the trees, keeping out of sight until she was close enough to hear the Kel Dor's maniacal voice.

"Welcome to Felucia, my Jedi-" Just as he would finish his taunt, Jaesa reached out and tapped into the Force around the flora near to him. Roots would erupt from the ground, climbing the walls behind the Sith to create a wall between him and the troops behind him. They combined partially with the wall she had previously created to seperate Xeno from his troops earlier in the battle, allowing her to avoid spending as much energy as she might have had to if the partial wall had not already existed. The Jedi would quickly put a hand to her side and wince, feeling the onset of bruising before she stepped off and fell to the ground. She was still several meters behind Isen, but she readied herself for an attack as she slowly made her way up to join him.

@Isen @Tulos

 

[Isen Ramm]

”Welcome to Felucia, my Jedi friend!” the Sith said with a bow. As he did, Isen noticed the vines and trees and foliage behind begin to form a wall. If he planned a retreat by going in reverse, he was going to need a plan B. The Kiffar Jedi held a hand out to the acklay behind him to hold him off, and the beast complied right behind Isen. There was something in this Sith's voice...something about him that seemed so familiar...

Ah, Isen placed it. He was the accident-prone Sith from the Huttball game. Isen deftly twirled the blades in his hands, evidence of the long hours of martial training. "I saw you fight on the holonet." There was a bit a pause before Isen followed that up with, "It was impressively bad. I genuinely do hope you have improved."

Isen gave no emotion in his voice, but stated it all matter-of-factly. He was trying to buy some time for the wall to grow to a sufficient height so that it would prevent the gunners behind the Sith from firing upon the acklay. When the wall presumably reached such a height he tutted his mouth and charged at the Kel Dor. The acklay took the cue as well springing ahead of Isen, landing directly in front of Vuul and between the Jedi and the Sith. Isen wasn't right behind, using the massive predator to shield his position from the Sith. When the acklay posted up on hind legs with full intention of bringing the spear-like forelegs through Vuul's body, Isen slid between the animal's legs, his left blade leading the way in a horizontal position to block and meet Buur's red lightsaber with full intent of posting it to give the lightsaber in the Jedi's right hand to slash right through both knees with full intent to cut the Sith down in one strike.

@Tulos @lizziie

 

[Vahn Berand]

Vahn felt the brief satisfaction of his attack finding purchase on the Sith Noble’s body before him even with the sudden nimble deflection. He rarely admitted it, but there was a thrill, a contentment he felt when he had a saber in his hand and his foes before him. It was simpler, it was easier than the tasks Alex and the Council had to deal with back at the temple. There was an even simpler feeling of a technique well practiced and executed, and Vahn allowed himself to grin briefly.

A grin that would be swept away as he felt the sudden redoubling of power before him. He had expected the attack to be snuffed out, not to grow. But this was the nature of the Dark Side, fury and pain could build into sudden strength. He knew he was wrapped around a live explosive in this moment, and he really only had one chance; to back away, and get clear of whatever act of desperation the Sith had in store. Vahn quickly unwound his legs and pushed away, rolling in the dirt to smother the flames burning across his robes. Then, he twisted in place, springing back onto his feet in a whirling motion that allowed him to continually back off just in time to avoid the sudden conflagration before him. He had to raise his arms to shield himself once more, just his eyes exposed over the top of one arm as was warded off from the inferno. Even from this distance he could feel the pain of the heat, low grade burns blossoming across his skin where-ever it was exposed. He swore, and continued to back off to a safer distance.

In the wake of this pyrokinetic display Vahn saw that the Marauder had become nude; so great was the heat of his flames that he had seared his clothing and armor clear off! Not bad. He’d seen better. But not bad. There was this one Nautolan man he’d met in a cantina some years back.... He shook his head, bringing himself back to the present. There was no room for such thoughts in this moment!

“I’ll be waiting!” he called back as Artorigas retreated from the battlefield.

The distraction was brief, and Vahn quickly turned back towards the Sith base. Vahn was, if nothing else, dogged in pursuit of his objectives so he tore his way past the growing melee. He allowed the Force to ebb in his veins, if only temporarily. It wasn’t wise to bear down on a target while raging with the force like a beacon. He would appear as one of the many different faceless force sensitives fighting across the forest on his approach. He tucked in beside a tree that allowed him a good vantage point where he could catch sight of the exchange of blaster fire up on the walls of the Sith base. There was a Sith woman there, defending her position and directing men. Commendable.

Vahn immediately raised his hands, his saber held before him to protect himself and he drew hard on the force. He was a beacon once more, burning hot, hotter than any other entity down on the forest floor. Deva (@Killa Ree) would feel the sudden grip of the Force as his telekinetic might whirled up around her and he moved to rip her crudely off of her feet, twisting her in the air until she was suspended in the air in front of Turret C. And there he would hold her in place. Where-ever the turrets aimed, he would move her, intent on making it so that if they tried to fire they would make a *very* costly sacrifice indeed.

@Braden Drake @Killa Ree

 

[Kanan Marek]

Kanan beheld with horror the demise of his comrade, the soldier bravely kneeling to his left. With a single jerk of her hand, the Sith wrenched the soldier into the air. Terror flared in the man's eyes, his arms and legs struggling against the power of the Sith, but the struggle was futile. He looked over at Kanan, his eyes begging—pleading for help, but there was nothing Kanan could do. Helpless and utterly powerless, the Sector Ranger was forced to stand by, nothing more than a spectator in this horrible nightmare as the the dark side coiled around the soldier and consumed him completely.

For a brief moment, realization flashed across the soldier's pale face. He knew this was the end. He knew that he was going to die, and he began to scream. The blood-curdling sound sent shivers down Kanan's spine, horrified but unable to tear his dark eyes away. The soldier continued to scream, howling in pain as bones began to break and shatter to pieces. Blood spilled from every aperture of his body, even trickling from his nose and mouth. With one final, unnerving crack, the man was dead.

With an outstretched hand, the Sith guided the mangled, lifeless corpse toward Kanan, flinging it first at him and then the Togrutan Jedi behind him. The young Jedi's face betrayed the horror he felt, just as Kanan's did. The soldier's corpse was then dropped to the jungle floor below, deposited as if he was nothing more than a dead animal carcass. Left to rot in the dirt, covered in his own blood and sweat.

The unmoving, mutilated face of the soldier and the malevolent amber eyes responsible would haunt Kanan's nightmares for some time to come.

It was unlike anything he had ever witnessed before. It was brutal. Cruel. Barbaric. Something not even a wild animal would do.

Slowly, the Sector Ranger turned back toward the base, his dark eyes settling on the Sith responsible. Muscles and veins strained against his skin, the desire to barrel forward toward the Sith regardless of the consequences almost too overwhelming to resist. It was as if rage itself was the life giving fluid that flowed through his veins, pumping into his beating heart and urging him forward.

One shot had already torn through the witch's shoulder, searing skin. The blaster bolt had elicited a scream of pain from the Sith, but it was not enough to satisfy the ranger. On some level, she needed to experience the pain she had inflicted on the soldier she had brutally murdered. It was unlikely that she would ever experience remorse for her actions. So be it. Let her experience pain instead.

Hurling himself once more behind the cover of large roots that forked out from nearby overgrown trees, Kanan steadied his muscles that had shook with rage only seconds earlier, intent to not miss a single shot. Despite the deadly intent that motivated his every move, Kanan realized that caution needed to take precedence and switched his rifle to stun. Aiming, the ranger lined up his shot. With the Sith in his sights, he opened fire, his finger squeezing the trigger of his rifle over and over with no intention of letting up. One bolt after another shot toward the Sith.

Kanan would not rest until he’d shot that heartless harpy down off her pedestal.

@Killa Ree @SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Dusty Daytonus]

Dusty saw the "pizza cutter" technique coming a split second before it happened and so was able to dive out of his chair to hit the deck to avoid getting decapitated. He never wore a seatbelt because he loved the thrill and found himself grateful for it because it allowed him to act quickly.

Apartrt from disabling a whole heck of a lot of his ship's components, it did have the effect of also switching off the afterburner but whether that was from severing the fuel line or the force of the impact was anyone's guess. Already going down, Dusty got to his feet and yanked the stick up to avoid hitting the ground nose first. The ship creaked and it did not react anywhere as fast as the Fancy normally did but it was still able to not hit the ground and instead slid on the ground a long while, uprooting fungi and scaring away creatures until it came to a rest. Now shook and a bit battered, Dusty clutched his head and headed towards the cargo hold of the ship where he hurriedly took out his swoop bike and prepared to disembark.

 

[Bir Vuul]

Bir took note of the sounds of vines and foliage climbing the wall behind him at an unimpeded rate. The Dathomirian Jedi had closed the distance between herself and the two combatants at the edge of the facility Bir protected but she could not have done so immediately. Bir would use this time it took her to close in to focus, to pool the energies of the Force around him as Isen made his taunt. If the intention of the Jedi’s words were to try and push Bir over some sort of ‘edge’... Well, he was a bit late to that party. The Kel Dor had descended off the edge of sanity long ago. Besides, he was growing accustomed to his failure in the Huttball game by now and the endless taunts that had come with it. It was time to let the past die.

The Acklay sprung into action but Bir was ready. Seeing the snapping jaw of the beast at the back of the Jedi told him that he wasn’t facing off against a Jedi alone, after all. As the Acklay reared up on it’s hind appendages, Bir would allow the Force energies he had collected to move him five meters to his left with a push off his right leg to maneuver himself away from the creature but as it would turn out, from the sliding Jedi underneath the Acklay as well. Isen’s left-most blade was held high to defend himself against a saber attack but Bir’s own weapon would instead angle downward as he moved, catching the tip of Isen’s right-handed attack and keeping it away from the intended target of his own legs.

Isen on the ground, the Acklay standing above him with intent to send it’s razor sharp claws crashing down to where Bir once stood, and Jaesa on the opposite side with the beast between her and the mad acolyte. Bir was in position to utilize the same beast that had meant to harm him. He would come to a stop and, with his free left hand, wrap the Force around the Acklay’s forward portion of it’s torso and push it downward. With the Knight already on the ground, the Jedi’s ally would be used against him as it’s forelegs would now be forced downward on the area that now only contained the sliding Isen. It would happen fast, Bir moving with force-assisted speed to avoid the beast, leaving Isen very little time to react before the razor-sharp forelegs would find his own torso rather than that of the Kel Dor.

As this occurred, the Sith troopers along the edge of the wall would not remain stationary as the foliage climbed to impede their view. Instead, the troops would run along the wall to the west to find another vantage point; one where they eventually would come to see the Dathomirian Knight as she fell to the ground in pain. To add to it, a short distance away was the smoldering form of the Jedi Master that had successfully forced Artorigas' retreat. The Lieutenant in charge of the squad would raise his hand before rapidly pulling it back down, signifying it was time for his men to open fire on both Jedi whilst Jaesa recovered and Vahn extended his arm to grasp the Sith still on the wall, and open fire they did.

@Isen @lizziie @The Steel Stag​

 

[Deva Gendrel]

Oh, how she loved their blatant hatred. Their petty defiance. She fed on it, savoring the fear from the Ranger and the little Padawan boy. It sang in her blood, burned in her brain even as she was brutally yanked off her feet. Oh, they were adorable. Their hatred fueled the Force, regardless of what happened to her here there were so many more like her. So many more who would take her place, defy them and crush the Jedi with nary more thought than bugs would be.

She didn't hate any of them; she felt absolutely nothing for them. Their lives were nothing more than fodder for the Darkness, and she would feed.

The Padawan would hide, smug from his safe distance. Of course he would. Such a child would have no spine to fight on his own, sniveling behind the skirts of other, greater Jedi. The Ranger was focused solely on her. She delighted in his fear and rage, and even as he moved closer to fire up at her, she laughed.

She laughed, and laughed, and laughed, the sound a defiant mockery of his own fury.

The gunner, unable to fire now with the presence of her body in the way, called for backup. Two of them would open fire on the Jedi Master as he entirely focused on the Sith, one aiming for his head and the other, for his lower limbs simultaneously to break his concentration and force him to the defensive. Another would fire towards the Padawan, and though the distance was great, the meaning was clear; he could posture all he wanted, but he would have to do better than flash a laser sword from his distance. The last would give warning shots to the singularly focused Ranger, to distract him from shooting at the Sith and force him to take cover.

Darth Raze was right. She would be herself, regardless of the situation at hand.

Her focus was on the Ranger. Even from here, she could smell his fear, like a fine wine teasing the senses. As he fired, she still drew to defend herself from the stun assault. With all his focus, all his rage pouring into her, she continued to defend against the stun shots, blade crackling with the barrage.

There was one last thing she could do to torment the man who wanted her down from her perch. And even if she fell unconscious from it, she would savor his torment for all the years to come.

She lashed out to him through the Force, pouring all of her focus into the assault against his unprotected mind. Within that assault, would replay the screams of the dead and dying soldiers with him. The terror and pain from his broken comrade, razing against his brain and tearing into his psyche, filling him with their dying moments that tremored through the Force. It would break his focus, it would break his resolve, but more importantly, it would break him. It would play, over and over again, a mind spike that would rip through his mind with little further intent than to torture him with his own hubris.

A stun shot impacted into her stomach, and it made her shudder once, amber blaze all the brighter in her eyes with seething defiance. Her hands shook, her body tremored and vision blackened, but she would still cling to consciousness, if only to see her tormentor writhe under the pain his own men suffered following his leadership. She would see him suffer from his failures.

As for Turret B, they would be unable to pull it back online from the persistent barrage from the lingering walker, but soldiers began to return fire instead, intent to pick off the gunners one by one if need be. It wouldn't be much, but the base would make it clear to the Jedi, and all others present; they were not welcome liberators here, but invaders, the very type of people they claimed to be different from. And claiming this planet would not be so simple. Surrender was never an option.

@Sreeya @llamallove @SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Shorkattatha]

Shor finished removing himself from the cockpit's restraints and checked to make sure his lightsaber and E-11D were still securely in place, drawing both. The madclaw's translator had fallen and broken in the hard landing and he didn't bother finding a new one. Speaking to his enemies had never been high on the priority list. He retrieved stomped out of his downed Blackfin and made his way east with long-legged strides, leaving the rest of the ship to smoke and burn. If his sense of direction served him well that was the direction for battle.

Unfortunately he wasn't going to be doing any sprinting right after a crash so it took him a few seconds to get close enough to see the fighting through the foliage. Several combatants already in melee proved unreliable targets. Shor didn't fuss about the lives of other Sith but shooting one in the back of the head wasn't productive.

Settling underneath and behind the cover of a grouping of shroom-trees he spotted a welcome target. A Jedi (@Vahn Berand ) was distanced from the duels and facing away from Shor toward the wall and Turret C. This human was even being fired on by soldiers on the wall, hopefully keeping his attention focused in that direction.

It wasn't flashy or impressive but a blaster had its place. The hunter sighted the Jedi's armoured left side and fired a single medium bolt from beneath the trees around 25 meters away toward his ribs. Shor grimaced as his injured left bicep protested the weight and recoil of his blaster and he dropped it back down toward his waist. At a distance that single shot was the best he could do for the moment with his injuries, unable to charge into close combat from a long range.

@The Steel Stag

 

[Jaikus Thorne]

When the sparks of blue-and-violet lightning sprang outward and towards the incoming Sephi, Jaikus had expected that to be the end their brief confrontation. He did not expect the floating saber to arc in front of his blast, absorbing the raw flow of electricity against the glow of blue plasma, entirely nullifying his attack. It was a possibility he simply hadn’t accounted for, which made it even more infuriating to behold.

Citrine eyes widened slightly as the Sephi closed the remaining distance at alarming speed, only to then narrow with determination. Jaikus was wounded and forced onto the defensive, but that didn’t mean he was out for the count quite yet.

When Sevrin pivoted to his right, Jaikus realized immediately he would not be able to block the incoming swing with his injured arm. Instead, the Marauder spun his body one-hundred-and-eighty degree, twisting so that his left side was now turned to face Sevrin’s swing. As he spun, the lightsaber which had been held in his right hand momentarily switched off and flew from his right hand to his left with a subtle tug of telekinesis. Jaikus raised his left arm now, reigniting his crimson blade just in time to catch against Sevrin’s horizontal swing. Crimson and blue plasma snapped and hissed violently against one another, only for Jaikus to abruptly break the contact with a step backwards.

Up close and personal, it was at this moment that Jaikus took notice of those familiar silver eyes. More than just the similar color, Jaikus recognized the markedly blank expression painted across the Jedi’s face. It was an icy chill that stood in sharp contrast to the raw, unabated emotions that radiated off the Marauder, citrine’s practically luminescing with fury. It was a contrast that was startlingly familiar. He snapped back to reality after a half-a-second, not wishing to give his opponent time to capitalize upon his momentary pause. The sight would be something something that would linger with the Marauder, but for the moment he returned all of his focus to the fight happening all around him.

With his saber now gripped firmly in his left hand, Jaikus was the one to press the offensive now, lunging forward and carving his blade in a downward arc from Sevrin’s left shoulder to his right hip, attempting to carve a molten channel through the Sephi’s center mass.

@Sreeya

 

[Sevrin Valtiere]

Sevrin was impressed with the speed with which the Sith rapidly shifted and adjusted himself to meet the strike. There was a familiar hum as the two blades met, the man springing back. It was during this moment that Sevrin could make out the movements on the walls. He focused back on the man ahead of him right as he prepared to lunge forward with an attack.

Instead of mounting a bladed counter, the Sephi focused his energies on a powerful blast with the Force. This would coil around Jaikus and fling him bodily backwards across a distance in front of where Vahn was standing. As Jaikus was focused on launching an offense, he would have little ability to maneuver himself. This would put him directly in the crossfires of the blaster bolts from the wall gunners under Bir’s command, Shor’s single shot and perhaps also Turret C gunners. Because for some reason everyone thought it was a bright idea to pepper a clustered gathering that included their own allies with blasterfire. If Jaikus wasn’t made into swiss cheese by the end of this toss by some miracle, his blaster deflection attempt would ward off most of the incoming bolts and leave Vahn unharmed.

Sevrin turned towards the source of the shot from the side, his sharp eyes picking up movement of a larger form in the distance. He didn’t hesitate before mimicking what Bir had done earlier, discreetly pulling back against a plant before releasing it. The goal was to thwack the wookiee upside the head from the side while he was pretending to be slick and hidden out of sight.

Sevrin moved to hide behind trees, making himself scarce as a target from the wall or the Wookiee. A more tactical and patient combatant, the Sephi waited for an opportune moment to strike again. If he wasn't engaged, he would do a sweeping push with the Force to knock off the row of soldiers firing behind Bir before they could do a second volley.

Meanwhile, one of the men caught the return fire and dropped dead in the AT. This left just three behind. One of them managed to climb into the central gun after it was inactive from the last death. He aimed and fired the massive cannon blast at turret B to wipe out that entire row of defense personnel once and for all.

The AT knew turret C was still online, and it began to maneuver with its remaining legs to pivot and prepare for a broadside assault.

@Mr. Teatime @Altaris @The Steel Stag

 

[Kanan Marek]

As luck would have it, Kanan was not the only person with that particular Sith in his sights. The Sector Ranger watched as the Sith was drug toward the edge of the wall by an invisible force. Her shoes scraped against the stone of the battlement, her amber eyes as defiant as ever. Kanan would expect nothing less from a Sith, but in the end the Jedi working from the cover of the jungle was able to pull her from her pedestal and thrust her directly into Turret C's line of fire.

It would serve her right to be shot to pieces by her own men, her own equipment. It was a brilliant tactical maneuver, and he was more thankful than ever to be fighting alongside the Jedi today.

However deserved, turret C had the good sense not to open fire on their own commander, especially when that commander happened to be a Sith Marauder. Suspended in mid-air, the Sith continued to deflect one blaster bolt after another, her red blade crackling with energy. It would have been an impressive show of willpower and expert use of the force if she wasn't also a homicidal maniac.

Turret C's gunner ordered more soldiers to the wall, and they opened fire. Blaster fire peppered the dirt around Kanan, forcing him to take cover behind the nearby tree. Peering around, he focused on the Sith once more.

All he needed was for one stun bolt to slip past her defenses, and so he continued to press his finger to the trigger, just as unwilling to give up a she was. In the end, the ranger's determination was seemingly rewarded by a single stun bolt that struck the Sith's stomach. She shuddered from the impact, and a satisfied smile spread across Kanan's face.

He had no idea just how short-lived that smile would be.

Something—someone had reached out to him through the force and invaded his mind. This was nothing like the mind tricks often employed by the Jedi and Sith on the weak minded, and Kanan was defenseless to keep the darkness at bay. It would require every fiber of his being to keep the darkness from consuming him entirely.

The Sector Ranger sunk to his knees, no longer able to stand on his own two feet. The blaster rifle fell to the dirt below him, discarded without a second thought.

As if it had a life and a will of its own, the Sith's assault crept into the corners of his mind, enveloping his psyche and tearing at the very fabric of his intellect, intent on destroying his mind—intent on destroying him.

A malevolent laughter sounded like an alarm in his brain, the Sith's cackle piercing his ears and nearly driving him mad. Both hands shot to his head, covering his ears as if that would drive the witch from his mind.

The darkness began to take shape. Figures sprung up. Memories.

First, his own as he stood there and watched his comrade die at the brutal, thoughtless hands of the Sith. Every emotion he had felt then came crashing over him again, drowning him like a tidal wave.

Helplessness. Horror. Guilt. Fear. Anger—all amplified to an unbearable degree.

Sill intent on destruction, the darkness took on another shape. Not his memory, but his comrade's.

The soldier crushed beneath a mushroom stalk, and the soldier crushed from the inside out. Staring out through their eyes, he relived their memories—their last moments, and the same dread and fear and expectation of death that had filled them filled Kanan.

But he didn't die, and he wasn't allowed to move on. The same memory would play over and over again in his mind. A living nightmare on repeat. She had made their memories his own, their dying moments his, all the while highlighting his own failures.

Struggling to pull himself out of this endless loop, the Sector Ranger tried to focus on his surroundings, the sounds and senses of reality that he could still register. He tried to shift his focus to good memories, to hopeful thoughts—to Song and the sound of her voice. Anything to escape this torture, but none of it lasted.

Kanan collapsed to the ground, holding his head and desperately clinging to his sanity.

@Killa Ree

 

[Jaesa Valerin]

Considering Jaesa had recovered well before she brought the plants to life up the wall, the knight had no trouble spotting the troops appearing from the West of its growth. She was making her way towards Isen, still several meters behind him, when they showed and she thus had plenty of time to react. As the squad leader raised his hand, Jaesa would pull a thick vine from the wall and lash it out against the back of the knees of the soldiers with enough force to send them tumbling off the edge of the wall. It would be hard to shoot while flailing and falling through the air.

This occurred simultaneously to the mess Bir, Isen, and the acklay were in. She was too far off to make a lightsaber attack, but Jaesa took advantage of Bir's focus on Isen to push him away. The Kel Dor would feel the Force weigh down around him and yank him backwards, sending the acolyte flying towards a section of the wall that wasn't padded by vines.

Jaesa would then quickly survey the area around her, lightsaber at ready. Her yellow eyes spotted a familiar figure in a familiar predicament. 'Being tossed about suits him, it seems.' Sevrin was over in that direction, was he not? She'd have to commemorate him later for his excellent choice in men to toss about. It was too bad she wasn't over engaging with the Sith. The knight wanted to ask him what he was stair-ing at earlier.

tags: @Tulos @Isen @Altaris @Sreeya

 

[Ruzaan Kai]

Ruzaan’s offer of surrender, along with the Sith, was left hanging as she was dangled in front of the turret. With the turret effectively silenced, blaster fire from the base began to pick up and Ruzaan found himself on the defensive. He was fortunate to have the cover of the fallen mushroom stalk to aid in his defense, and his lightsaber intercepted the few bolts that were on target; no given thing considering he was fighting with his non-dominant hand. So focused was Ruzaan that he was late to recognize that the Sith, slumping limply after taking a stun bolt, made another vicious gesture in his direction. Ruzaan braced himself for a crushing, painful death, but instead the Ranger to his left dropped to his knees, the rifle falling out of limp hands.

Ruzaan turned towards the Ranger, expecting carnage, but instead of death he saw disorientation. The Ranger's eyes were squeezed shut and he was clutching at his head as if trying to forget the image of the naked flaming Sith from earlier. Ruzaan quickly surmised that this assault was not physical, but mental; and just as dangerous.

Ruzaan ducked down behind the fallen mushroom stalk, extinguishing his lightsaber and clipping it to his belt so his good hand was free. "What's his name?" he asked the crewman standing next to him.

"Ranger Kanan, sir" came the reply.

"Kanan, can you hear me?" Ruzaan asked, kneeling next to him. No reply. The Ranger was visibly shaking now, rivulets of tears scoring through the grime of the battlefield on his cheeks.

"Kanan, you aren't alone" Ruzaan said, trying hard not to let his voice tremble. He needed to be calm and confident in this moment. "I'm going to touch your forehead. This will help." I hope. Taking a deep breath, Ruzaan gently placed his palm on Kanan's forehead. Across the battlefield, the Force was being wielded as a weapon; used for destruction and bloodshed. Here, it would be harnessed to Heal and restore.

Ruzaan nearly fainted as his consciousness connected with Kanan's. The power of the dark side crackled across the Ranger's mind, tearing at his sanity. A lesser man would've already gone mad, but Ruzaan could sense a small part of the Ranger still fighting back; a cocoon buried underneath a maelstrom of dark energy. Ruzaan focused, pouring his energy and his concentration into the task ahead; he imagined his presence in Kanan's mind as a bright light, burning through the thick fog that clouded the Ranger's thoughts. The effort was incredibly taxing, and the longer Ruzaan channeled his focus the faster his stamina faded. He could faintly feel his own body shaking from the exertion, but still he forged ahead, channeling the last of his strength in an attempt to drive out the darkness inside Kanan's mind.

"Sir? Sir! Are you ok?" Ruzaan was startled back to the battlefield by the voice of the crewman next to him. Concern was written across the woman's face. Ruzaan's vision was fuzzy, his legs were like rubber, and his head felt light, but he tried to put on a brave face.

"I'm fine. Why do you ask?" he said. Then he bravely passed out.

@llamallove @Killa Ree

 

[Isen Ramm]

The Sith (@Tulos ) that Isen was targeting had shuffled hard to his own left, Isen's right. Isen was sliding in hard and fast, and nearly whiffed it weren't for the Kel Dor using his blade to faintly tip Isen's. The lack of resistance meant that Isen slid about four feet past where he intended to make more contact. As such, the acklay's attack fell in behind Isen and found nothing but fungal-infused soil. Furious, the acklay screeched and his massive, front-right spear-like appendage immediately lashed out in a swiping blow.

Between Jaesa's (@lizziie ) Force attack to push the Kel Dor into the hardened and thorny portion of the plant wall and the acklay taking a massive swipe at neck level, the Sith would find himself in a rough with virtually nowhere to retreat. In fact, Jaesa's attack to pin the Sith to the wall of vegetation might actually save him from the alpha predator in these jungles knocking his head clean off his shoulders.

Unfortunately for the Sith marauder, he still had a Jedi Knight to deal with. Isen planted his lead foot after his slide and bounded toward the Sith, some eight feet or so between them. This time, Isen led with the right lightsaber in front, slashing with a hard downward swipe, slightly diagonal from his upper right toward the ground at his right side. This attack was designed to force the marauder to block the attack with his own lightsaber or else be cut right down the middle of his body. And, if the Sith was falling and was more horizontal to the ground, Isen might well just cut him in two right at the waist.

Isen used his this attack and his forward momentum to rotate as he struck with the right, swinging with a hard, powerful left-handed strike that would originate more from the height of Isen's hip rather than above his head. This would allow this strike to go downward on its right trajectory if the Sith had fallen, stay more horizontal if the Sith had managed to stay on his feet, or in a worse case scenario, intercept the Sith's blade if he pulled a miracle out of the hat. But, between the acklay's swipe and Isen's right-handed attack, the Kel Dor's blade would almost assuredly be forced to block one of the two, leaving the blade in Isen's left hand clear for finding flesh.

 

[Dusty Daytonus]

Dusty withdrew his swoop from the cargo hold and looked at it admiringly. He was bruised up and beaten down, no mistake but the very sight of his old bike rejuvenated him. He tightened his holster and hopped on his bike, ordering his astro droid to do what it could to get the FancFanc flying again.

Having been a professional swoop racer and a stunt flyer, flying one handed wasn't too difficult so Dusty had his pistol in one hand as he raced across Felucias lush landscape. Hearing the sounds of combat near him @Sreeya @Altaris @Mr. Teatime , Dusty made his swoop hover about fifty feet off the ground and headed over to them. There, he saw Sevrin and Jaikus engaged in combat. Still hovering in the air, he aimed three stun shots at Jaikus' back and fired. Even if the shots didn't impact, hopefully, it'd keep the Sith imbalanced enough for Sevrin to make his move. As Jaikus was engaged with Sevrin and not looking up at the sky and with the roar of the battlefield, it'd be hard to observe the swoop bike overhead until it was too late.

 

[Vahn Berand]

Vahn’s grip on the Sith woman intensified even as a stun bolt impacted her body and blaster fire raged along the wall of the base. He had options. There was a wall he could smash the dazed Sith warrior against. He could use his telekinetic grip to crush her bones into splintered shards. He could assault her mind to render her insensate for capture. But then the sight of rifles along the wall made the decision for him. He took a steadying breath, and boldly Pulled on her through the grip he held on her body through the Force.

Uninterrupted, Deva (@Killa Ree ) would then quickly sail through the air away from the wall. Much like Xeno before her, she would be pulled like a tether into the trees around the base in a direction that would obstruct blaster fire from her position on the wall, before she would terminate her journey the midst of the crossfire between the Sith firing lines beside him.

In the same breath, he took a diagonal forward passing step to his right, taking him off of the previous line. He kept his saber in front of him, carefully at the ready in case it was needed for his defense. If the twin Sith warriors being cast into the lines of fire didn’t block the shots from hitting him, this extra movement ought to have been enough to allow him to dodge the blaster bolts careening through the jungle (@Mr. Teatime ) and from the battlements above towards his position. The movement was subtle, but sufficient for his task and not exaggerated enough for him to be strongly distracted from his application of the Force.

 

[Bir Vuul]

Bir would feel the Force coil around him, unsure of the point of origin and thus making him incapable of retaliation or reaction. At the whim of his foe, he was thrown back towards the wall of the base and slammed into the durasteel, knocking the wind from his lungs. Here he stood for a moment as he tried to regain his composure but a moment was all he had. It did not take the Knight long to redirect himself away from the acklay he had called upon and close the distance between himself and the mad Kel Dor, lightsabers poised to strike.

Bringing his right hand up, hilt in his grip with the blade pointed downward to the jungle floor at a slight angle, the two beams of energy met. Bir pushed back against the attack with every ounce of strength his prosthetic could give, allowing the tip of his blade to move into the path of Isen’s second blade coming for his waistline. With both of his foe’s lightsabers forcing themselves against his own, the end of his blade began to falter and push back, the end of Isen’s left handed blade finding flesh and burning into the Acolyte’s flesh just above his hip.

His pain fueling him, Bir pushed harder against their locked blades until he had enough of an opening between their shoulders to deliver a headbutt aimed for the Jedi’s own forehead. It was at this moment that a shift in the Force foretold what was to come; a sinking feeling in Bir’s stomach was soon confirmed as the sounds of screaming engines could be heard cutting through the sounds of battle.

Proton bombs began to carpet the jungle at the west side of the base, continuing towards the east. This would impact every confrontation along the base’s exterior as well as whatever was occurring inside the walls. This also meant that everyone, both Jedi and Sith, would need to disengage and find cover or risk being vaporized by the bombs being dropped by the FWA bomber squadron, a clear indication that the battle overhead had been all but a defeat for the defending forces.

Using the moment of reprieve his headbutt had allowed, Bir placed his right foot flat against the wall at his back and pushed off it, assisted by the Force and propelling himself deeper into the jungle. The glowing orbs that fell from the sky soon began to blanket the base as a whole, the explosions further throwing the Kel Dor into the foliage. As he impacted the ground, debris and dirt raining around him whilst he shielded his head, only allowing himself to get to his feet and look back once things had grown quiet again. The base was engulfed in flames, the dying screams of his allied forces racing across the tops of the fungal forest. The battle was over and Felucia was lost. His brow furrowing, Bir turned and began to retreat back into the jungle. In time, he would be able to find one of the outlying Sith command posts before they too fell to the enemy and find his way off world. For now, however, he would seeth in his anger as he tended to his wound. There would be revenge for what had transpired here, of that there was no doubt.

[/EXIT THREAD]

Spoiler

Never got clarification on your attack @Isen but figured since this was an exit post it didn't much matter. GG, guys!

 

[Deva Gendrel]

She didn't get the full satisfaction of seeing the Ranger crumple to the ground before she was being yanked again by the Jedi. She screamed as plasma bolts flared up her back, snarling at the male in raw fury as pain ravaged through her spine. In return, she lashed another mind spike towards the Jedi Master who dared to allow her to be shot, at least enough for her to use the distraction to limp away. She would have to escape, and plan.

Snarling at the invaders, she darted off into the underbrush to heal her wounds and begin planning for the next step. These invaders would be repelled, one way or the other.

She would lick her wounds, and then she would get this planet back. They had been defeated, but they weren't broken yet.

//Exit Thread