Open Behind Enemy Lines

[Zathria]

The Sith was desperate. Zathria could sense it even amidst the chaos of the battle, and a wounded animal could be even more dangerous than a healthy one. The woman tried to open up more room for herself with the Force, and Zathria was forced momentarily onto the back foot.

The Force came up in front of the Jedi, the blast and her own barrier slamming against one another and creating a wave of outward energy. Her feet scraped backwards along the ground even as she leaned forward to keep from being thrown from her feet.

And Zathria leapt at an opportunity. Though her belly still burned and shots of pain lanced through her each time her shirt brushed against the lightning marks, she used her left hand to conjure the Force.

With the Sith literally on the back foot, Zathria grabbed at her with the Force, hoping to drive her bodily backward off her foot and directly into the ground hard enough to knock the wind out of her. Hopefully it may also interrupt her attack against Drow as well.

@Nefieslab @Fantasy Liver

 

[Isen Ramm]

Isen's first spinning lefthanded slash whiffed completely as did his right, and the Twi'lek Sith used his lightsaber to not only block the second lightsaber attack, but to further push lower Isen's righthanded blade toward the ground. Isen's body still had momentum of movement, and the Grentan's counter was to quickly thrust upward toward where Isen's right eye would be.

Isen, however, was still in Form IV mode, and upon planting on his right after foot, he used it like a pole vaulter uses the pole to immediately vault back upward and forward over Grentan's right shoulder, torquing his body so that he opened his own shoulders to the right, evading Grentan's red blade which was pathed for where Isen would have been if he had not changed course. The spinning also allowed Isen to land with Grentan in front of him as opposed to behind him. As Isen would descend behind the Twi'lek, the Jedi's left lightsaber would slash down with the intent to slice the Sith with a path from the base of his neck on the left side to his right hip.

Isen's right lightsaber would set itself in a defensive position in front of him in case Grentan should get creative with his own lightsaber. Even if the Twi'lek should successfully defend the attack, Isen would likely have won the early position battle, giving him an edge in the next stage of the duel.

@Nefieslab

 

[Drow Venn]

This girl was good. But certainly not good enough to take on both he and Zathria.She was rapidly losing this battle and it seemed like she knew it too. But a cornered beast can inflict a lot of damage so Drow resolved to be extra cautious as Vermill'a lashed out wildly, opting to priortize dodging and dancing around versus a strike. Wearing out an opponent like this would be easy if he kept his footwork tight and didn't make any foolish mistakes.

So when she batted away his saber and prepared to stab him, Drow was ready to quickly sidestep instead of going for another attack, meaning her stab would go far wide hitting the air to the right of him where his lung had been a moment ago. Since his lightsaber had been hit upward, he was in the perfect position to turn slightly and bring his blade down to slice at Vermill'a's extended arm. Her stabbing air meant her wrist would be exposed, if only for a moment, and a moment was all Drow needed to execute cho mai.

If, however, Zathria was able to knock down Vermill'a before she was able to stab, Drow would still attempt at a slash of her weapon hand when on the ground if there was an opening but would priortize defending against her bladework first and foremost.

@Nefieslab @Phoenix

 

[Hannibal Grayza]

Their blades clashed and burned against once another, impacting with unnatural force from Vyrassu's Force enhancement. The power of it pushed Hannibal's blocking saber further toward him than he'd anticipated. He sank down with bent knees, right foot stepping back to form a solid stance and fix the distance, boots digging into the ground.

The three-bladed shoto in his right hand moved from its static guard position to slightly further out as Vyrassu twisted to deal with Sevrin's attack, left blade giving a little during so her saber pushed their locked blades slightly closer to himself. Vyrassu fell to her knee and Hannibal's right boot toe dug further into the ground and kicked sharply up to send an entirely ordinary spray of ash, sand, and dust directly into the Darth's face before coming right back down.

When she forced himself to her feet and her saber further toward Hannibal his left foot slid back to maintain his distance, blade giving somewhat once more. His arm would certainly end up in the way of strikes if that was its purpose, but the way he used his off hand weapon was slightly unorthodox.

As Vyrassu pressed forward the shoto's three blades, arranged like a burning fan with the flat sides toward Vyrassu and Hannibal, rose upwards. His green lightsaber suddenly went out entirely and the cybernetic wielding it dropped down, allowing the Sith's crimson blade to carry through and instead meet and catch on the shoto as it came forward to replace it, serving as a shield against her weapon. It pressed in and twisted to bind both weapons in place between the yellow blades. The Force ran through him, enhancing his strength to ensure it held firm.

Hannibal's left arm meanwhile whipped forward and twisted around to the side of the lock, blade reigniting a moment after it'd gone out. It's emerald end flicked sharply in a left-to-right semicircular arc aiming to take Vyrassu's arm off from below by burning through somewhere near her elbow. If it succeeded his swing would terminate with his weapon in front of the Sith's torso under where her arm used to be.

@Sreeya @Nefieslab

 

[Sevrin Valtiere]

Sevrin had been banking on the Sith Lord focusing on Hans. He was the more powerful threat by far, but it meant her focus was skewed. The Sephi had been pivoting around her and saw her blade come in to awkwardly defend against him. The Sith dropped to a knee and Sevrin acted in concert with Hans and his quick efforts to trap and guard her.

Vyrassu appeared to believe that Sevrin would be held entirely off at bay by the simple saber clash. The Sephi instantly capitalized on this and continued the trajectory he had been moving in, which was now putting him closer behind Vyrassu. With Hans keeping her right side engaged and trapped, it was virtually impossible for her to spin to block him.

Sevrin moved in perfect concert with the other man, switching his blade off. Unlike for Hans, her blade wouldn’t move in any direction as she was caught facing towards the Councilor. His free left hand grasped onto her left arm with the Force to prevent her from moving it in any useful fashion for a split second.

With his blade free, Sevrin moved his saber in one clean stroke to cut right through Vyrassu’s neck from behind. If successful, the saber would slide through her like a hot knife through butter all the way through to meet Hans’ shoto trap.

If this worked and their blades met, Hans would earn a rare smile from the Sephi.

@Mr. Teatime @Nefieslab

 

[Vahn Berand]

Vahn’s pace was slow for some time as he jogged towards the conflict. This slower pace as he recovered, adjusting and beating down the ache of his back and chest where the shots impacted. He funneled a small flow of the Force into himself, giving him the mental distance needed to shake off the ache of his body.

These moments allowed him to examine. Before him, he could see Sevrin and Vyrassu They were dueling with the Sith woman, tides of mind rending force radiating off of her even as she seemed to limp away from the two Jedi. Vahn paused in his tracks. She was on her last legs; he could sense the exhaustion and pain through the eddies in the Force around him. The fight was already finished, she just didn’t realize it.

Vahn turned then, looking back towards the ridge and the growing storm of blaster fire between the Sullustans and the Sith forces. He could sense his friends just beyond, wrapped up in their own combats and Vahn grinned to himself. Vahn moved quickly, The Force quickening his step and moving through what little cover from available, his saber swatting stray fire away. He shut his saber off when he came in close, and moved up towards where the line of Sullustans waited. A few turned to him, determined eyes muddled by confusion and lack of direction.

“Lay down a heavy fire, keep their heads down and I’ll move in. Then, when they’re focused on me, blast them and then charge the bastards. Start on the far flank over there," Vahn said, and thrust his hand down the far line of Sullustans. "They charge first after I move in, the rest of you keep firing until it's time to charge in. Move in on them like your line is a great lever and sweep them out of their positions. I’ll take care of that turret. Send it down the line.”

Vahn waited then, hefting his lightsaber impatiently. There was a good chance this would end badly. But also a good chance he could help sweep the field right here. He took a breath, focused on a thought, and then exhaled. I believed in her, and she believed in me. The brief meditation stiffened his resolve and he looked up to see the line of Sullustans ready. He grinned. He was here. Horrible things only happened when he wasn’t around. Horrible things only happened when he wasn’t there to stop them.

“Ready to save the Galaxy?” Vahn asked, before his saber’s blade snapped into existence with a metallic ring, casting a blue glow against his robes. “Remember, always choose life when the alternative is death. Go! Open up!” he shouted, lifting his saber up high.

With this signal, the Sullustans opened up as one, laying a thick suppressive fire down on the Sith positions. Vahn had noticed the E-web turret laying down fire on the Sullustan positions and keeping them pinned. So he stood, and palmed a trio of heavy durasteel darts. They’d need the weight and velocity to punch through armor, and for a moment he cocked his hand back, he would have been an easy target if not for the sudden return fire.

Vahn threw his hand forward, and then three darts flew into the air before him down the slope of the ridge. He used the force to exaggerate the acceleration of the darts, and they screamed down range while he used subtle pressures from The Force to nudge and direct their trajectory towards the crew of the e-web. The darts, with their speed and weight, would have enough power to punch clean through the weak points in armor and at least drop the crew long enough for the Sullustan’s fire to pour down on them.

This is when Vahn would act, he would charge out of cover, using the Force to make a long jump that saw him land amidst the remaining Sith line with his saber raised to catch any incoming fire. He tucked, dropping into a roll when he hit the ground to exhaust the remaining kinetic force. He sprang up onto his feet at the end of the roll, his saber tucked into a Form III stance, one hand extended, his saber tucked in near his ear. If fire started pouring in on him, he would stand firm, his blade whirling endlessly to defend himself as the Sullustans could focus fire on the distracted Sith troops.

 

[The Gatekeeper]

Vermill’a was not in a position to quickly react and change herself on the fly and the trouble was that both Vermill’a and the Jedi she was trying to fight knew it. They could tell that she wasn’t in a position to keep up with both of them and they took advantage of it with a ruthless efficiency that wouldn’t have been out of place in a Sith – though they were conducting it all with the relatively placid nature of the Jedi.

Her thrust was deftly avoided by Drow while her Push slammed against a barrier erected by Zathria with a resounding gong. The sound, the sensation of having her Force blocked, distracted her slightly. For just an instant her attention split as her eyes darted over to Zathria. Realizing her mistake, she pulled her wrist back as quickly as she could but it was not enough.

Drow’s blade would slice through the front half of her right hand, cutting cleanly through all four fingers at the knuckles. She had saved her ‘hand’ but she was too drained both physically and with the Force to react fast enough. Her fingers were just separating from her hand, her eyes widening as the pain started to hit, when Zathria’s own Force impacted her.

Unbalanced at best and now in tremendous pain, Vermill’a slammed onto her back on the ashen ground of Sullust and glared hatefully up at the Jedi even as she cradled her injured hand to her chest instinctively. Half of her face burned, her right hand cut through cleanly, Vermill’a could do nothing but lay there on the ground and glaring at the two Jedi with burning hatred.

“Do it then Jedi… do it!”

--

Grentan's thrust toward Isen's face was accounted for by the Jedi but he did not make an attempt to counter the Force Pull that the Sith had been preparing for the last few seconds. The Jedi would still be able to leap clear of the thrust but the added momentum that was not his own would Pull him further in the direction he had been heading in. Without an attempt to right himself using the Force, Isen would land further back than he had been expecting, perhaps even with a rougher landing as well, meaning his initial slash would be too far from Grentan to actually land a hit.

As Isen had been twisting and tumbling through the air, Grentan kept his guard up, following the Jedi around with a right-spin on the spot to keep his saber up in his right hand, the tip never leaving Isen's direction. As the Jedi landed further away due to the Pull, the Sith would have a second or two to take stock.

He did something the Jedi did not expect, he was sure, because he could feel it. The pain and the deadly fear his twin sister was feeling - it struck him deeply. As twins they had always been connected, the Force making said connection far stronger and he was firmly aware that it was a weakness. His love for his sister was a weakness that had held him back in the Sith Order but it was an emotion he had never wanted to release.

"I yield." he called out to Isen, extinguishing his lightsaber as he cast a quick glance across the lava to his downed sister, "Please - let my sister live. On your honor, swear that my sister will live... and you will find no more conflict from me."

The battle was lost, Vyrassu's wrath was no longer to be feared. Even if she lived, given the damage she had suffered, she would be weak enough to be killed by droids, let alone by Grentan himself. The liklihood of her survival was not odds he would bet on so the battle was lost - but he did not have to lose his sister today as well.

She would hate him for it, hate him for surrendering to a Jedi over her, but he couldn't bring himself not to... she was his little sister and if he could yield and save her, he would do it.

--

As Grentan had assumed, Vyrassu was not in a good place and she knew it - though she still had the strength of will to refuse to even consider surrender as an option. When Hannibal's blade faltered slightly she roared in presumed triumph, only for her eyes to screw shut when he literally kicked sand into them. Blinking rapidly, she felt the resistance against her right hand blade immediately disappear and she opened her eyes wide despite the pain, turning her head fully to stare at Hannibal.

The false hope that the Councillor had lost the battle of strength against her blade was dashed when she saw her blade instead locked up amidst the strange blades of his shoto in his off-hand. Before she could think to recover and counter, a strong hand gripped her left arm, a consequence of her total distraction. Sparks began to build up along her left arm as she instinctively reacted to the hold with an attempt to shock her assailant with Sith Lightning.

An attempt that never moved beyond those first few weak sparks as two blades spun in almost perfect union with one another, clear intent mingling between the two users. For a moment there was silence as Vyrassu ceased her growling and other noises but otherwise appeared unmoved... before her head lolled forward, as if in defeat, before it tumbled forward off of her neck from the decapitating strike.

Her body followed shortly after, falling forward to the ground with her right arm up to the elbow remaining firmly where it was, the still-ignited blade held in the right hand's death-grip keeping it trapped with the spokes of Hannibal's shoto. The twisted blades enough to hold the Sith's right forearm aloft like some kind of ghastly trophy.

At the feet of the two Jedi, Vyrassu's body lay slightly alight with residual sparks of lightning that ran along the burnt, scarred, skin of her left arm.

--

Vahn's joining with the Sullustians would be the turning point that was needed for the conventional forces in their side of the combat, with the Jedi providing the opening that the Sullustians required. The durasteel darts would fly swift and true, shattering the armor and breaking bones beneath with enough strength that the gunner for the e-web turret was killed by his ribs puncturing his own lungs rather than the sheer blunt force.

With the Sith defeated, the small number of troopers remaining made moves to surrender but as the Jedi commanding the Sullustians gave no orders for capturing surrendering troops, the Sullustians would continue to lay down fire even as the troopers threw down their weapons and attempted to surrender. The people of Sullust had lived under the yolk of the Sith long enough that they had learned well from their 'overlords' that mercy was not a virtue. If the Jedi wished to stop them before they completed the decimation of the Sith troopers there would be a chance but the locals were not in the mood to forgive and let live.

Not after how they had suffered.

Spoiler: OOC Note

This will be the last DM post unless you guys need someone to play the twins beyond this last post - whatever attacks or actions you take against them will not be resisted, Vermill'a because she can't and Grentan because he has genuinely surrendered.
I'll add it to the Discord chat as well but I'll say it here too - fantastic work by each and every one of you! Usually big battles like this run the risk of becoming a slog to DM just due to sheer amount of moving parts but you've all been an absolute pleasure to work with during this thread, thanks for letting me a part of the last stretch guys!

@Phoenix @Fantasy Liver
@Isen
@Sreeya @Mr. Teatime
@The Steel Stag
@Morse

 

[Drow Venn]

Not wanting to take any chances with the Sith woman, Drow quickly Force pulled Vermill'a's lightsaber to his free hand, dropping his E-11 on the ground as he did so. He then spun around to hold both of the saber in a threatening position, willing to go for the kill if the Sith was still making moves to attack. But she wasn't. Instead, she lay there, burned maimed, and defeated. Granted, a Sith was dangerous no matter how many fingers they possessed and Drow wasn't quite prepared to take the chance of leaving her alive and conscious while the battle was still being mopped up. But, he had once been like her, on a dark path and he had redeemed himself. Plus, she could be a powerful source of information to the Jedi Order.

What to do...?

The Ishi Tib Jedi decided on a simple approach by kicking her in the head to knock the Twi'lek out. It wouldn't kill her but it should put her out of the fight long enough for him and Zathria to help mop up and for the Sullustans to restrain her.

"Nice fighting, Zath. Couldn't have done it without you." Drow said, clipping Vermill'a's saber to his belt and Force pulling his E-11 back to him. "Want to guard her or you want to go help clean up the rest?"

@Phoenix

 

[Zathria]

Just like that, the fight wound down. The Sith lost her hand and was driven into the ground, all but begging for death when Drow knocked her unconscious. She cast her gaze around to see the rest of the battle winding down as well, and the Councilor - psycho-killer of the Sith - was slain. It further emphasized the victory the Jedi had achieved.

I'll take her and start tending to the wounded, she said. Truly despite her skills in combat, it wasn't where she preferred to be. She would stabilize the Sith and start helping with the others where she could.

Well fought, she said with a nod toward Drow and started hoisting the woman back into some form of cover.

The Sith would no doubt be handed over to the Sullustians and suffer some unpleasant punishment, but that was for another day. For now she and the rest of the Jedi still had their work cut out for them.

@Fantasy Liver

 

[Isen Ramm]

Isen was jerked with a Force pull past where he wanted his landing point to be, and it was a life-saving maneuver by the Sith. If Grentan had not done so, Isen would have had an easy finishing blow at his disposal. Isen was about to fly in with another attack when Grentan, distraught and wrought with distress said, "I yield," as his lightsaber extinguished.

Isen's attack stopped with the blue blade his lightsaber buzzing just inches from the left side of Grentan's neck. The Kiffar narrowed his eyes. He could sense the flurry of emotions in the Sith, so he didn't believe it to be a trick. He also couldn't count it as a personal win. It was a concession due to outside influences. "Please - let my sister live. On your honor, swear that my sister will live... and you will find no more conflict from me."

Isen's left lightsaber blade retreated and he hooked it back on his belt, the right blade still threatening the Twi'lek's neck. Isen extended a hand and the Sith's lightsaber flew into his own hand. Grentan visibly deflated. Isen responded, "I can't swear it. It is not my battle to give." He looked over his shoulder and surveyed the other battles. The Sith Councilor had lost her head quite literally and the Twi'lek's twin sister was unconscious and missing at least one hand. He looked back at Grentan. Isen's face would not relay any emotion, no hint of happiness or contentment with the result. "Get on your knees and put your hands on your head. You'll be taken into custody by the Sullustans who are taking their home back. I will personally be escorting you to your cell."

Isen was watching the rebels, now revolutionaries, continue to shoot and kill the soldiers of the Sith tyrants. He clicked on his comms so that his team could hear. He couldn't leave Grentan to his own devices, and he was too far away from the rebel forces to be much influence on them. "The battle is won. If we have someone in a position to get the Sullustans to cease killing the Sith troopers that are surrendering, we should probably do so."