Open It's Real

[Sylphrena]

With Raze gone, Syl's shots fired through air, green tinted air but air nonetheless. So she started looking around to try and spot the Sith Lord, finally spotting him near the temple, near Oren.

She followed suit as Kais, minus the extra steps of having to deal with a Mandalorian, and began running towards Oren and Raze. Blaster at the ready, blade temporarily switched off as she moved, she tapped onto the Force to get to the former Councilor as soon as she could.

@Sreeya @Phoenix @TWD26 @Darasuum @Valen Pelora @Altaris @Mr. Teatime @Logan

 

[Reinhart Grimm]

There was a delay as Grimm abandoned his attack, head whipping around. He was familiar with teleportation magic from dark priests on his homeworld, although he hadn't seen it in years and hadn't expected to see it from this evil stranger. The sudden disappearance caused him to abandon his attack and seek out where the man had gone to.

Grimm caught sight of Raze again near Oren, although his transposition delayed a counterattack. As Raze attacked Oren near one of the temple's newly-broken columns, Reinhart ran toward the two figures and began gathering a huge amount of the Force in preparation. The Paladin trusted Oren to defend himself, and there was little he could do for Caris just then. Given Raze was burning stamina on multiple high-energy Force powers, they could only hope he'd tire facing this many Jedi at once. He kept his senses alert from any more tricks or attacks from any direction while he advanced.

Grimm noticed the Mandalorian from earlier had fired toward Kaisa and assumed they were one of those raiding mercenaries he'd heard about. Mandalorians were known to ravage and despoil worlds, fighting against Jedi in the past. Any who aided such a being as Raze would receive no sympathy from a Paladin of the Adamite Tower. He kept the Mandalorian in mind, but focused primarily on Raze as he ran toward close combat range with Raze, saber on guard.

@Sreeya @Phoenix @Darasuum @Logan @TWD26 @Wit @Valen Pelora

Spoiler: TLDR

Grimm recognizes teleportation but takes a moment to track where Raze went. He runs toward him and Oren, gathering a lot of Force energy and keeping his saber guard up.

 

[Oren Zapan]

The battle had raged on, escalating within moments of starting. Green mist surrounded the battlefield, as the Witch of Dathomir had begun to spread her influence upon them, shrouding Raze from the group as the wall had come down. Oren had indeed stepped backwards moments prior, positioned with his back to the steps. As the wall crashed down, the parting of the mist would reveal to his allies that the Dark Lord had already vanished from his original position.

There was a dark presence that hung from the back of the aged Jedi, even with the presence of his fellow Jedi turning from their position and heading towards them, Oren would still have to bring his hands down and turn his back. His eyes opened and he saw Kaisa and Sylphreana directly approaching towards his direction. That was when the surge came and sharp heavy lighting struck against his back, burning the sleeve off his right arm off completely, and causing the flesh to ripple and burn beneath the weight.

Oren used the reserves of his strength to shift his body as his back scorched and arm steamed with black smoke. His body had quickly felt like it was going to crumple, but he still had some energy left in him. As he turned to see the man directly, he would see that Caris was charging towards the Dark Lord, but there was nothing he could do, the Jedi had completely fallen to the darkness that surged from Raze. Oren's right hand reached upwards reaching out as the streaks of lightning came in. The hand coiled as the sharp energy came forward and his feet pushed back as the former councilor tried to collect as much of the energy as he could for one last blast. The skin on his right arm began to twist and split as he felt his muscles contracting at just how much force energy he was collecting. His left hand would reach out and he would attempt to throw a force barrier behind him directly, blocking off the Jedi Masters and Councilor from approaching.

With the mental manipulation on a planetary scale, the barrier wall, the teleportation, and now the lightning. Oren had to assume that even the most powerful force user he had ever encountered would begin to feel some sort of tiredness. It was a calculation on his part, but it could potentially work. "Go, warn Alex of this...she needs to know." That was all he said to his fellow Jedi compatriots.

The aged Jedi would turn his head back to faze Raze directly, looking into those Red menacing eyes. The skin on his right arm had completely melted away at this point, and he wouldn't be able to hold the Tutaminis for much longer. He felt the force energy within him slowly begin to waiver. If he released the charge, it would kill him.

Hopefully, the others had listened. His hand curled outwards and extended the energy back towards Raze who had been standing extremely close to him as he released the lightning. Would the burst of energy back to the Dark Lord kill him, no, but that wasn't the point. It had always been to save others. The force barrier behind the Jedi Councilor would only amplify the white energy, practically blinding the group on the outside from the action. As the white hot light vanished, the position where Oren stood would be only scored ground and threads of robes. Oren Zapan had sacrificed himself, Raze had killed him.

In his final moments he thought of the gentle waves of Rishi, and the warm embrace of Nashyr. His watch was over now, he had found peace. Around the battlefield a subtle sea breeze would be felt and the taste of sea-salt clung to the air.

Spoiler

Oren got banged up by that strong ass force lightning. He used Force Tutaminis to build up the energy and buy time, while throwing up a temporary barrier behind them. Due to his old age and the sheer power, Oren would die when releasing the lighting back to Raze. But, it would be the Jedi way to go, buying time for others.

 

[Darth Raze]

Since Caris was not some omniscient being, he did not, in fact, have a clue where the dark entity would materialize. Not even the Councilors and Masters had that ability. Therefore, it wasn’t till the lightning was unleashed that the fallen Jedi rushed at Raze. This all worked out in the Sith’s favor as the lightning charged through the former Jedi Councilor. There was a sense of satisfaction as the searing lightning scorched through the man from the back. As the old man turned and began to absorb the energy, a Force practitioner like Raze could identify exactly what would come next.

Fortunately, the foolish Jedi that was falling to the Dark Side rushed at him with saber waving. The Sith’s left hand was already free, and he simply coiled the Force around the young Jedi and tossed him directly in the path of Oren. The powerful blast of tutaminis being unleashed surged towards Raze, but Caris was delightfully caught in the middle. He took the full brunt of the attack, one that would kill him instantly and negate his laughable attack attempt. Yanking people in front of their ally’s attacks was a Raze specialty, after all.

However, the Sith was not unscathed. At the end of the day, Oren Zapan was an extremely powerful Jedi. The blast was enough to send Raze tumbling back inside the temple, crashing into a wall. Caris’ charred corpse would also go flying and crumble in a corner somewhere. The Sith’s right arm was badly burned, but he wouldn’t go down so easily.

He knew he didn’t have endless reserves of the Force, but being surrounded by the dead and agony inside the temple fueled him further. There was a wound here, a tear in the fabric of the Force left from the sudden and unexpected deaths of all the younglings and Padawans that fell in terror. He relished in it.

The Sith thrust his uninjured hand out and sent one of the support pillars hurtling at the group of Jedi. He didn’t have line of sight on them, so it was simply meant to roll through them instead of targeting a particular person. Since they were still blinded from Oren’s sacrifice, they would have to abruptly react.

Meanwhile, the Sith disappeared deeper into the temple. If the Jedi were stupid enough to try and collapse the entire temple on him, he would be able to teleport in time. They would have to try other strategies.

 

[Arla]

Arla could tell in short order that her initial tactic was not going to work and settled on an alternative almost immediately. She let herself melt into the Shadow in a flash of green and reappeared at her ship's docking bay moments later before making her way out and deeper into the city-ship.

She would move quickly, taking advantage of the same training that got her onto the temple to move almost-unseen by all but the most astute onlookers as she made her way toward the engines and repulsors in person.

Several guards crossed her path, but they weren't prepared for much more than the rare armed thug, and she broke them swiftly and without remorse.

OOC: As per the conversation on discord, I'm treating this as her making more progress in this round than would be typical based on losing the entire previous round

 

[Hauron Solus]

Hauron was not fully aware of the truth and it would benefit the Jedi thankfully. However, at this moment, the Mandalorian was not glad when the stun gas grenade did not function like the smoke grenade he had imagined he had. While it had some properties, these were enough to make the Mikkian miss a step. The gas dispersed all at once making his plan impossible after it triggered. While it provided some mist like cover temporarily, this was a relatively clear solution and did not provide anything but the briefest of obfuscations on the Solus's form.

The Mandalorian did not first make this realizations, nor would he until perhaps the end of this battle because he focused his body on leaning more to his right and out of the way as he saw a "Sith" try and grab for him. On Onderon a Sith had tried electrocuting him with lightening and that was what he thought was happening here. The wrist rocket was thrown back by the force user towards the position the Solus had been hovering and even with his evasive maneuvering was unable to avoid the projectile being returned. Perhaps his only saving grace was the Jedi's intuition, perhaps the Manda still had hope for Hauron, whatever factor affected the situation allowed the Jedi to hurl the warhead back into the Mandalorian so quickly it had yet to arm its payload. As a result the airborne warrior was clipped in his left shoulder with enough force to send him listing uncontrollably.

The "Sith" were not done with him yet. The Mikkian managed to keep his foes in sight long enough to see him succumb to the Zygerrian queen he was hallucination. Hauron as a foundling did not like to keep his helmet on at first and was hesitant to wear one constantly. His head tendrils felt better without a buy'ce on but he always kept it on. Now it felt exceptionally painful as the helmet tightened around his head. He screamed in both pain and rage as he tried to power through this thing stopping him from the only thing he could do. He was alone without comrades or family, outnumbered and outclassed. The T visor cracked and his H.U.D. flickered but his eyes were shut.

The Mandalorian's helmet was compromised. Ane arm of the T visor completely shattered, but even before this, stun gas had begun to leak into Hauron's helmet. He reflexively veered even more drastically in a counter clockwise direction from the center of the courtyard but remaining outside its walls. He continued to lose altitude and move quickly outside of the cloud, trying to stifle coughs and rick breathing in more gas.

Doing his best to land with grace, he only managed to make a stumbling landing onto a produce stand with his jetpack stuttering until quiet. His bulk was enough to topple and break the merchant's stall. But Hauron coughed in a reflexive effort to expel the gas. But it was too late. He could already feel its affects. The merchant Ithorian began warbbling and speaking but did not have a translator and neither did Hauron, not that he saw them in his berserker illusion, not yet. Using the numbness to his advantage the badger focused on the ground, or rather loosening his helmet so it did kill him or drive him insane. His rifle was let go from his grip and onto the ground beside him. First, he manually disable the filter and the seal in the helmet, slightly loosening the pressure.

His body was releasing adrenaline and working overtime to compensate for his state of distress already but the badger used every ounce of training to focus his strength into just widening the opening of his helmet. Pulling out his combat fusion cutter he found the seams and weakpoints of his helmet with his free hand and guided the fusion cutter to those points to loosen the helmet. It was rough and quick but would do the trick. Grasping his helmet by the side and continuing to ignore the merchant, the badger pulled at the side of his helmet's chin and pushed his head, neck and shoulders in the opposite direction.

"AAAAAAAAAHHH!"

The Ithorian turned and ran away as they witnessed a Mandorian screaming at the top of their lungs, sparks shooting from the side of his damaged helmet that could very well be his head for all they knew. With a brief creak the yelling ended and Hauron gasped for air. The buy'ce felt loose enough but he was not lucky enough to have been lifted from the delirium. His hands were still shaky but had a level of fatigue now that they did not have before. Grasping the sonic rifle from the floor he stood up and looked towards the rooftops and skyline, listening for any sound of enemies, ready to jump to the sky ant take off at the first sign of a hostile.

@Sreeya @Phoenix @Logan @Valen Pelora @TWD26 @Mr. Teatime @Wit

Spoiler: Summary

Clarified/retconned difference(s) in stun gas functionality per discord chat via storytelling. Hauron swerves to avoid the missile being pushed back at him but it hits him however it hasn't armed its payload and so only does light damage as a solid projetile. His helmet then caught in Kaisa's grip and crushed somewhat. His helmet is compromised and other helmet functions are likely to stop working if taking further damage or even just a matter of time to power down. Hauron reevaluates, maneuvers to cover but has breathed in some stun gas and suffered significant distress so has to collect himself before reengaging momentarily?

 

[Kaisa Vanloa]

As Kaisa raced back towards Oren and the others, the bright light of his ultimate sacrifice caused her to squint her eyes so heavily they were nearly closed. She had no idea what exactly was occurring, but she know what she felt echo through the force. Oren Zapan had given himself in the effort to stall Darth Raze.

In the back of her mind Kaisa thought that Oren had to have known his death would not spell the end for Raze, merely delay the beast from achieving whatever goals he was here to achieve. Even still, it was a noble choice and one Kaisa was also prepared to make if that is what it came down to.

As she finally arrived back at the front of the temple, Kaisa saw the pillar launched by Raze and made sure to be out of its rolling death wake. She saw the Darth flee further into the temple, though she was not aware of any injuries he may have sustained.

Looking around, Kaisa's mind was turning over at a thousand miles a minute. Things were devolving extremely fast and they were clearly running out of time and resources. Darth Raze was the strongest being she had ever encountered, and despite being resolute with her own strength, she was unsure if she alone would be able to defeat him.

There seemed to be little recourse left for Kaisa. She knew what she needed to do, and unlike others in the past, she was more than sure that she had the strength to do it. The nuclear option.

Pulling up her commlink, Kaisa utilized the encrypted channel to speak with the fleets above Ithor, the ones that had been displaced from Yavin when the planet had been lost. The Jedi still alive would be able to hear these orders as well.

This is Councilor Vanloa, She spoke, her voice even and steady despite her rising heart rate. It is my command that you surround and lock down this position. The temple, the entire station has been compromised. Tow us away from Ithor. She paused for a moment, eyes staring at the temple in front of her, thoughts drifting to the monster that now lay inside. Position the Onager and begin to lock on its main gun. Do not let anything leave this station. Given the very likely event of my own death, elevate Master Grimm and Master Sylphrena to emergency powers. Once the Onager is in position, you have my permission to begin bombardment.

Kaisa knew that this choice was one that not every Jedi would have been able to make. For her entire life, she had never truly been a typical Jedi. She was willing and able to make decisions that were not popular, but needed to be made. She wondered if Alex would agree with her decision, but in the end, it didn't really matter.

The death of Darth Raze was worth whatever the cost might be. She remembered learning about the trolley problem during her Jedi Ethics courses and never understood how it could be considered a problem in the first place. When it came to defeating the most evil, vile, monstrous creature to ever walk the galaxy, sacrifices needed to be made.

There had been time enough for the majority to evacuate this place. Whoever remained, well, that was the price to be paid. Darth Raze would not be killed with simple recourse. It was a price to be paid in blood, even if it meant sacrificing her own life to do it.

Kaisa woul begin her retreat, unsure if she would ever make it back in time.

Spoiler: tldr

kaisa instructs the fleet around ithor to surround their position and begin towing it away from the main herdship, as well as instructing the onager star destroy to begin prepping its main guns for orbital bombardment with the intent of leveling the entire thing.

she begins to head towards retreat, unsure if she will even make it before her orders are followed.

 

[The Storyteller]

Captain Kirren was proud to serve with the Jedi - he was proud to be able to give back, to be able to do his best to support the Order that had done everything they could to save his people. His people, the Anselmi, had been assured a slow and ignoble demise under the boots of their Nautolan neighbors. The Sith and the Jedi had both come to the planet and the Sith Empire, as it had been then, had supported the Nautolans.

His people were put into camps.

They were starved and worked and they died.

Only the Jedi managed to smuggle thousands of them off planet and it was only thanks to them alerting the galactic aid agencies that there was still an Anselmi people to belong to. His crew was multi-specied and he served alongside Jedi Knights and rebels against Sith and Imperial tyranny alike.

He was proud to work with the Jedi Order.

But when the order came through, Captain Kirren stared blankly at the screen for a second aboard the bridge of the Onager-Class Star Destroyer that he captained. The bridge crew nearby the communications array all froze before turning to him, wanting to see his reaction but not only that... but the reaction of the Jedi Master stood beside him. Jedi Master Sidari was a Zeltron woman nearing her middle age, a member of the Order for almost her entire life.

She had been grimacing throughout the assault on the temple and the city, her connection to the Force unfortunately letting the crew know how 'well' the battle must have been going. But when the order came through from the Councilor, the colour seemed to drain from the woman's face.

"... repeat last, Councilor Vanloa." he responded at length, his voice gaining strength as he spoke, "Repeat last, Councilor, this vessel cannot open fire on the Temple without damaging the city to an unacceptable level."

Raze was a name he had heard of - it was a name he could fear openly because he wasn't a Jedi. Glancing at the Jedi Master standing on the bridge beside him, he watched as the Jedi Master slowly shook her head.

Raze was a name he had heard of, it was a person akin to a black hole who destroyed everything he came into contact with. Killing Raze could be considered "worth the cost" by so many but not, he didn't think, by any in the Jedi fleet. A motley collection of sentients brought together to resist the tyranny of the Empire could not sanction something based on the idea that an evil act was "worth the cost" - the same logic as their enemies.

The slow genocide of the Anselmi had been "worth the cost" to the Sith and their Empire to gain the Nautolans as firm allies.

Raze was the name of a monster who deserved to die a thousand times.

But Captain Kirren was not about to sacrifice ten thousand lives to ensure he suffered one such deserved death.

It was not worth the cost when the cost was the souls of ten thousand innocents - and the damnation of every sentient in the fleet.

"Fleet wide communications, Officer Frenika."

The coms officer nodded, made the call and gestured for the Captain to speak.

"This is Captain Kirren speaking... Councilor Vanloa is considered temporarily unfit for command. All ships are to hold positions and take shots ONLY at ships that engage in hostile action against the fleet or display as Sith/Imperial on scanners." he paused for a second, "Prepare docking bays to receive refugees from the city and Temple. Prep medbays. Captain Kirren, out."

@Logan @Mr. Teatime @Darasuum @Wit @Sreeya @Phoenix @Valen Pelora @TWD26

 

[Darth Raze]

He was alone in the temple, and he was reeling from the damage to his arm. Rage pulsed through him. Emryc was calm. Raze struggled with it. He saw red. He wanted to devastate everything in his path, but a lifetime of existing with Emryc had taught him patience. It taught him that he had to strategize and divide his opponents. The temple had multiple entrances and corridors that served well to send the Jedi in various directions to find him.

The wraith delved deeper into the temple, coming to a pause when he heard someone running in behind him. The Anzat didn’t have Sephi hearing, but it was eerily quiet in here. It was nothing but dead padawans and younglings in these halls. The Dark Prince turned to regard Reinhart (@Mr. Teatime ), the lone Master that followed him into the depths of Hell.

There was no Light here. There was nothing but pain. One by one they would feel it.

Music​

Reinhart fought, oh he fought. There was fire behind each swing of his saber, fierce resistance and a commitment to his principles. He was a single rose in a field of ashes. He was a small drop of water in an endless desert. He was that tiny light of a candle against the pitch darkness. The two whirled around, both light on their feet as if performing a dance amidst a ballroom haunted by the echoes of death. Slowly that candlelight flickered. It flickered even if Reinhart’s heart did not. That light flickered until it finally blew out. Only darkness remained.

Slowly steps took the monster towards the exit of the temple again. He had his first meal, and he would have others. He carried with him the mark Reinhart left on his face.

The Sith spotted the other two Jedi then, the Councilor and Master ushering away scared and terrified civilians that didn’t know what to do. That looked to the Jedi for guidance. He gazed upon the backs of the Jedi, and even then he could see a little girl peeking out from behind Sylphrena (@Wit )as the Master carried her away. He could smell the girl’s fear as she gasped at the sight of him - this demon emerging from the destruction behind him.

Two sabers ignited in the beast’s hands. One belonged to Oren Zapan, the other to Reinhart Grimm. The sabers rejected him. They protested him gripping them. And he relished in it. He willed them to obey. Within moments, one of them flew at the Jedi Master’s back, piercing through it and into the child she carried. He barely heard the screams.

Kaisa (@Logan )had her foot on the ramp of a ship prepared for departure. She saw the beast start to coil the Force against the ship, and she sprang off the ramp and put her energy to shove the transport away. Kaisa would see the civilians screaming at her to get on. She would know her fate was sealed, but she would know that she directly had a hand in saving at least those few that would forever remember what Jedi stood for. They would see her standing tall and proud even with the shadow advancing behind her.

—​

The Sith had fought them all, and he collapsed on the grass. He was physically drained and weak. He carried his scars and his burns. He couldn’t move. He fancied himself a god, but he was, after all, just a man. Raze exhaled softly as he gazed up into the sky. He was lying in a field of death and destruction.

He needed her then. He needed his daughter.

@Phoenix

 

[Arla]

Arla ordered her droids to ready the ship for takeoff over the comms and moved to the lower levels of the station without delay, carving through anyone who stood in her way. The bodies of no less than two dozen workers and guards lay strewn in her wake when she finally arrived at the engines.

She let the power of the Shadow flow through her, drawing on the death that she and her father had wrought in their wake. It was a dark melody in her ears, drawing her in not unlike the Siren's Song on this very world that had once nearly been her undoing. This time, she gave into it willingly, letting it perfuse every fiber of her being.

And then it poured outward.

Green lightning leapt from her fingers into the circuits and gears, unleashed in a full flow of power that overloaded systems never supposed to be touched by it. One of the engines burst into flames as the energy stopped flowing from her fingers, and she tore another apart with the strength of the Force. There was no holding back and no reason to do so. One by one, she tore through the engines that kept the station through the air, and it began to descend as the engines began to fail.

She leapt to the top of her ship even as the massive city-ship began to fall. Death would soon come in full to the citizens of the city and to countless of the living trees below, and Arla simply didn't care. The cycle required balance and for life to flourish, death sometimes needed to reign.

Her ship flew in on the trail of her father even as the city-ship continued its fall. Her heart was pounding, and she knew that time was not on her side. Not anymore.

She leapt from the ramp before the ship had even landed, the wind whipping by all around her. So many of those who had been here had moved to try to find whatever evacuation they could, but there was little hope and even less time.

For her part, they were nothing. She paid those who fled or pled no mind as she grabbed the unconscious body of her father and dragged him into the ship, the yacht beginning to lift off again the moment they were on board.

The ship ascended, leaving behind the city even as it struck the ground. The Explorer tore through the skies even as a massive ball of flame and dust rose from below. The Sith looked to the viewport even as the ship tore upwards through the atmosphere. The destruction left behind was difficult to grasp, and through the Force she could hear and feel the screams of the tree spirits as fire engulfed them and dirt choked out their connection to the sun.

And she reveled in it. She let it feed that primal desire and she knew in that moment that she would become the heir to her legacy. For a moment, her eyes fell to the floor and the man who lay there. A man who, for her entire life, had never been there. Who, though he may have been her father, she knew she would never receive affection from. She knew he could teach her so much, but she also knew in that moment that she held the power of his life in her hands.

That was power. That was what she would gain for herself with or without him. She had to.

And in time, perhaps, she would face him as Zannah had done to Bane, but for now, she would learn and tend to his injuries. In time, she would become the Avatar of the Hunt, and then she would see where the Dark Side took her.

--End Thread--​