Legacy of Tython: Battle in the Gnarls

[GABA]

Legacy of Tython

As the Mandalorian warriors and the Imperial armies press into the Alliance core, the Sith take their focus to the Jedi and their home world of Tython. There was no additional protection for Tython by the Alliance as any reinforcements were drawn back to Alsakan and Coruscant, breaking through defenses were easier than has previously planned. The Sith allowed themselves to set foot on the planet once again after several millennia, their Lords and warriors basked in the destruction they brought to crumbling Jedi Order.

Tythonian Gnarls

Picture credit goes to Artist Noah Bradley

The delicate balance of the planet was thrown once more into chaos as the Forces of Light and Dark would come together in battle. Force storms ripped through the skies as the youngest and most eager of the Sith Order made their way to the Tython Gnarls. With them they carried a potent and deadly virus made by the best the Sith Alchemists as order of their Empress. Upon the marshy surface of the Gnarls the Sith Acolytes are encountered by the youngest and eager padawans of the Jedi.

In the battle of light and dark, padawans and acolytes have come together, testing their strength and their wills. The Jedi must see the Sith do not release the virus into Tython’s main springs, though if the Acolytes succeed in doing so, the damage will be devastating and the dark side will reign prevalent on the planet.

Participants

Jedi Padawans Von Raythe & Alistair

Sith Acolyetes, Vixur Kolvaar & Noster Eden

Note: Even though these battles are meant to be losses for the Jedi, it is also meant for the chance to hold an epic battle of Light vs Dark. Work together, have fun, and lets make these stories worth reading again and again!​

 

[Rom]

Like a black tidal wave of death and despair, the Dark Side had burned through the lines of the Light as it passed deeper into the Core; bolstered by the unrelenting Sith Armada, the Sith had finally reached one of their main targets -- Tython, the Jedi Homeworld. In space, high above the peaceful planet with it's rolling hills and streams, a massive battle raged; the Sith Navy pounding the defensive Alliance fleet that was doing it's best to screen the planet from invaders, to give the Jedi and GA Soldiers on the ground more time to prepare... but inevitably, they began to lose and many dropships came through, the atmosphere burning as their unfeeling hulls plunged like a knife towards the planets surface.

On the ground, alarms blared and cries rang out as the Defenders moved, evacuating the children and setting up defensive positions. Researchers abandoned their ruins and caves, fleeing towards the departing carriers, hoping to make orbit and hit hyperspace alongside the children and those too old to fight before they were shot from the sky. Yet, despite the fear that pervaded the air, a gathering was occurring in the central rotunda of the Jedi Temple. Padawans who were old enough to fight were being given command of experienced GA Veterans, ordered to report to likely landing areas to combat the Sith. Knights embraced their Learners and Family before joining the throng of warriors leaving to attack the Sith landing forces before they could fully assemble. The Masters remained, overseeing the evacuation of the Temple and preparing for the arrival of the Sith Lords that were surely coming to oversee this strike on their ancient foe.

In the middle of it all stood a young Kushiban, his bright yellow fur prickling and standing on end as he glared towards the sky, the thunder-creating flashes of turbolaser fire burning bright beyond the clouds. It was a beautiful day on Tython, despite the impending doom that everyone could sense. The Jedi would need a miracle. Alistair sighed and began to do a check of his equipment, ensuring that he had everything he would need in it's proper place on his utility belt and bandolier; his lightsaber and a small blaster hung securely in specialized holsters on his sides, while his commlink, two grappler launchers, food rations, water capsules, and other standard Jedi gear rested in their cases on his utility belt. Across his chest and back were several backup power packs for his pistol, though the Padawan doubted he would even get to use it.

He was being sent, along with a twelve man squad of Alliance Special Forces soldiers and another Padawan, to defend a probable landing site in the Gnarls; Far away from the main battles that were expected to crop up, but an important line of defense for the Temple none the less. Dropping to all fours as he received his assignment, Alistair seemed to blur as he sped off to the Landing Deck outside the Temple, not bothering to use the Force to boost his speed; he was fast enough already to make it in just a few moments anyway. As he ran, using his long experience free-running to bounce off the walls and dart under and over any obstacles, mostly people, in his path, Alistair crushed the small amount of anxiety growing in the pit of his stomach.

He was not ready for this; he had been trainingi hard under Masters Armstrong and Piell, but he was still only a Padawan. Stars only knew how many Sith they would be facing... but he had been ordered to defend the Gnarls and alert the order to the presence of any Sith, and he would do so. Exhaling slowly, Alistair reached out for the Force and fell into it's warm embrace, feeling it thrum and roil through his body like the rapids that snaked around the Temple. Many Jedi paused and looked up as the power surged off of him, surprised to find such a strong presence in one so small and young. Ignoring their incredulity, Alistair screeched to a stop before he careened into the leg of one of the soldiers and politely knocked on their boot.

"Padawan Alistair, reporting for duty. I have been placed in command of your unit to defend the Gnarls."

The reaction was immediate; some soldiers hid their smiles behind closed fists, while others hung their heads and muttered, "Great, we're all going to die and we're being led to Hell by a stuffed animal." Sighing in annoyance, Alistair simply reached out with his mind and unforgivingly grasped a large boulder that was resting alongside their dropship. Reaching out a hand, feeling his will ripple across the entire surface of the stone, Alistair slowly lifted it into the air and with a grunt pushed forward with his will and hand, sending the boulder hurtling into the mountain face where it crumbled on contact.

The laughter and muttering stopped, most of the men staring in shock before turning to face the pipsqueak standing satisfied just below their knees. "Size matters not... and just because I'm fluffy doesnt mean I'm here to hug the Sith to oblivion; now if you're done giggling, we have a battle to win."

Alistair immediately climbed into the dropship, counseling with the squad commander about the troopers orders. Four were marksman, and they would be sent towards the back to climb trees and ridges to offer supporting fire. The other eight were infantry, and would be helping to ambush the Sith forces should they land in their quadrant. Nodding his head in agreement, the soldiers and Jedi Padawan synced their communicators to the correct frequency and waited for the thrumming of the hull to indicate lift off; they would be meeting the second padawan and her squadron at the LZ.

Climbing up onto the bulkhead ledge where a soldier would usually set up their heavy weaponry, Alistair glanced around at the men that were put under his command. He had been training for this moment, his first battle; his chance to enter the war. And while he didn't feel ready to face this monumental task, these men needed him to be confident.

"Gentlemen... I cannot promise what will happen in the coming hours. The Force sometimes gives us visions of the future, but these are only possibilities and I pay them no mind. We live in the moment; the here and now is the only place any of us need to be. I will do all I can to ensure we get home... but we have to stop the Sith Army here. Species, creed, age.. nothing matters. We have to hold the line, to ensure the civilians can get to safety. The Gnarls is where we draw the line; this far, no further! They will feel the bite of our blades and the heat of our blasters, and they will know that the Alliance and Jedi will not fade quietly into the night!"

He looked into the eyes of his soldiers, knowing that while some of them were dismissing his words as posturing, the vast majority of them were looking at the Jedi before them hopefully; he presented an aura of hope, his yellow fur turning a brilliant gold as he poured more positive feeling into the bonds binding these men as comrades, and strengthening his bond with them.

"A single spark can drive back the darkness and ignite the stars. We will not let the Sith snuff out the spark we all have sacrificed so much to protect..."

The soldiers and Jedi bowed their heads as one, each thinking of friends and family left behind, of battles won and lost. Alistair jumped off of his perch and landed on a Lieutenants shoulder, standing up so he would be even alongside the men he would be fighting with.

"I can't promise that we'll all go home... but I swear on my own life that I will fight my hardest to make sure you do."

The men nodded their heads and silently checked their weapons and gear; this wasn't a time for cheering, but preparation. The light inside the shuttle glowed a cool green and the bay doors opened, spilling the men out onto the Gnarls of Tython. They were situated on a large island near the tributary leading into the gnarls, flat except for a tall jutting outcropping of stone and surrounding trees and bushes. Alistair and the Lieutenant quickly began directing the soldiers around to their positions, watching as they camoflauged themselves and disappeared from sight, waiting to begin raining fire down on anyone who landed. This clearing was the only solid land large enough for dropships to land; the Sith would have to disembark here on this island, or slog through the swamp and rapids to reach this nexus amongst the rivers.

Alistair nodded once at the Lieutenant and leaped off his shoulder, using the Force to lift himself to the top of the outcropping to keep an eye out for approaching shuttles while waiting for his fellow Padawan and her forces to arrive with his own eyes as well as his senses in the Force, stretching his mind out over their quadrant to monitor for any activity. His lightsaber was clenched in his right hand, unlit but ready to be used at a moments notice. This was it... the Battle for Tython was about to begin.

And now all he could do was wait.

 

[The Kyzer]

Von tapped on her lightsaber impatiently as the dropship carried her across Tython to the Gnarls, a lush, if rather wet, area that was home to thousands of creatures, and was one of the major sources of Tython's fresh water supply. Along for the ride was a squad of GA soldiers, Special Forces actually, led by a rather grizzled-looking Devaronian sergeant named Kessar Terkon. Normally, SpecForces worked in groups of five or six, but several men from other squads that had been...reduced...by fighting the enemy had been thrown together into one twelve-man squad.

"Well Jedi," the sergeant said, his gravelly voice rattling her bones, "You ready to fight, or are you just going to meditate with the Sith?"

Von declined to reply, her blood pressure jumping up slightly, but then returned back down to normal. She was aware than many still did not understand the Jedi. This sergeant apparently had not spent much time in the company of Jedi.

"Well sergeant," one of the other troopers added, "this one looks like a Zeltron, so maybe she's here to throw a party for the Sith...among other things."

Several of the other troopers laughed at this, and their Devaronian commander would have joined in, but he read the signs on Von's face. He could feel the blood leave his face as the woman turned to look at them all, her eyes blazing with intensity.

"Sergeant Terkon," Von began, "I have no intentions of doing anything with the Sith other than demonstrate to them the folly of invading this world. I also have no intention of allowing anyone to question my motives, or my heritage. Is that clear?"

"Yes, ma'am," the sergeant replied, his confidence a little shaken, "It's just that I've yet to see a Jedi who willingly enter combat."

"That is because the Jedi have tried their best to refrain from taking lives unnecessarily," Von answered cooly, "But we will not hesitate to destroy these Sith. As long as the lives of the galaxy are threatened, the Jedi will stand to defeat it, even if we must do it alone. It is up to you to decide if you will stand with us."

"Yes, ma'am," the sergeant stated, snapping to attention, then he turned to his men, "Stow the chatter. This is our leader for this operation. You will all show her the proper respect. Now weapons check. Get ready to drop."

The other eleven men nodded, and began checking their equipment. Von turned back toward the outer doors, lost in thought. Only two Jedi, Padawans at that, with twenty-four men to defend an area larger than several districts on Coruscant. She began going through her calming exercises again. At least the other Jedi was known to her. She'd seen Alistair's inner strength before during a training session.

The dropship made its way, the pilots using terrain-follow-flying to keep off the Sith's sensors as best they could. Von sensed Alistair's presence through the Force before they actually came into visual range. As the dropship decended to the rendezvous-site, Von unclipped her lightsaber and nodded to the sergeant. The doors opened, and the bright light of day entered the gloomy interior of the vessel. She sensed the hidden GA soldiers around them, eying them suspiciously, and secretly applauded their tactical sense.

Von stepped out calmly as the squad exited in their usual gruff but speedy way, forming a defensive perimeter. Despite Von's reservations regarding their discipline, these men were proving that they were the best the GA could offer. As the sergeant made his way to rendezvous with the other squad's commander, Von sensed out Alistair, and made her way to him up on the outcropping.

"Nice to see you again, Alistair," Von said, her tone carrying the growing cheer that she felt from seeing the other Padawan, "Will you be using your 'Furry-Ferocity' against the Sith today?"

 

[Butler]

[youtube]SckbPOFF5_c[/youtube]​

Flames licked across the metal bearings. Heat burned a path through the sky. A fireball of justice and retribution was aimed straight for the island that led into the Gnarls. It curved across the inner atmosphere and straight into their line of sight below. Out of range, it openly claimed its trajectory right where the Jedi and their soldiers awaited conflict. But this shuttle's landing gear would not extend, its rate of acceleration roaring boldly without end. Down it came from the battle in the sky, like a piece of one of the ships from above. But as it came nearer, it called claim to their lives; its purpose, expedience. It opened fire, unleashing everything it had to burn and blast the landscape and its beauty into nothingness. Emptying its rockets, its triple-beating lasers, and its side cannons, the shuttle would smash a belly slide right into the ground and through the Alliance-made lines. Without knowledge of the bodies below, it would blast and smash right through their corpses.

Crossing from the island's flank, a second drop ship was already sneaking up on the island for a quick sweep before the distracting meteor landing that was the first ship occurred. It would scan the area for a defending presence just before the other ship made the clearing a dead open space.

The golden claw gripped onto the strap, tugging at the inner roof of the shuttle. Underneath the draping black hair, underneath the hanging black hood, his eyes lie shut. Seeing out beyond, sensing what others could not, his mind watched as if viewing from the cockpit windshield. In the dark, they readied themselves for survival. The six soldiers were merely protocol. The pilot faced a forty five percent chance of death. There would be no time wasted. This was the singular most important task of the Sith, as he was led to believe. So his black gloved hand hovered open, preparing to aid in his landing within this pod. It had been fortified for this specific mission, its frame like an egg. His boots clung to its floors, knees bending slightly in anticipation. All the walls were padded, netting lining a gap front and back. Their lives were forfeit, his life was forfeit, in the name of the Imperium and her Empress.

Silence was what defined him and his team. Dire was their situation, whether there were enemies to greet them or not. Two men were the toxins, one backup. Another was the heavy weapons. The others were multipurpose. This was Noster Eden's team.

Six more were aboard the flanking ship, eight including the Acolyte and the pilot. Two men were the toxins, one backup. This was the other team.

Hell descended from the heavens. And birthing from her womb would be its bane. Down they came, scorching the Jedi planet as their first act of retribution. Marking her face with the scars she had given them, they would etch their grand moment in time upon her precious age. Noster understood. The Sith and the Jedi were 'one'. He was connected to them as he was with the Sith. And this day, this moment, marked the day of destiny when their split rounded full circle to their return. He would not rest until every Jedi was destroyed. It was the will of the Mountain, the will of the Dark side. It was justice. It was absolution...

 

[Just Matt Now]

Behind the initial pair of drop ships that were sent by orders of the Imperium, a second pair had swiftly followed. The Sith were faced with victory after victory, and the thought of this being any different was an illusion. The air was thick, and the sounds outside of the ships was already beginning t sound like war. The two sides to this fight would share tales of their stories, tales of their victory, and tales of their valor. Though that would only be if the Sith showed mercy, which it would be known that the two Acolytes leading this front, had no mercy to spare.

Inside the drop ships open loft, the Anzat hung on. His hair blowing from the hot air that buffeted all those on board. Knowing little of the opposing Jedi's unity, the two Sith had shared experience with each other before. They had a connection with one another that would make the difference in this fight. Noster was an acclaimed warrior, one bound to excel Crusader at any moment, perhaps with the victory of the Gnarls. The connection they shared was one no Jedi could match, and it would propel them to claim their objective.

The buzzing and zooming would let their enemies know that it was soon time for war. That the inevitability of the Sith overcoming yet another Jedi owned planet would eventually lead to the end of their order as they knew. Vixur was prepared, mentally and physically. Adorned on his armor was his new lightsaber that he was eager to use in battle. His robe blowing in the wind just as his hair had, made the Anzat look like he was bred for war. His stone cold face giving no way or reaction to the heat that pounded against his skin. He embraced it, let the heat warm his blood before the fight that would eventually take place on the ground. He was being counted on, not only by the soldiers he would command, but by his partner in crime. Though he knew there was a mutual trust between him and Noster, and the communication they had would aid them in combat. Combined, their forces would not be stopped by any Jedi resistance. In their minds, they needed to be an unstoppable force, and together hey would be. He only hoped that the Jedi would throw at them everything they had, the more pride lost on the Jedi's side the better a victory it would be.

Needless to say, the Anzat was confident. Accomplished by his earlier victory against the Jedi. Yet he would not let this consume his mind. He wanted to fight and show that he was worthy of the Sith. And that they chose him to fight the Jedi for a reason. That reason would soon he shown to whoever the Jedi decided was best fit to defend the Gnarls.

 

[Rom]

Alistair nodded his head in greeting towards his fellow Padawan, his black eyes locked on the horizon. "I just had to speak to my men about my fuzziness, Von. Don't make me give another rousing pre-battle speech, I don't think my little heart could take it." His voice was laden with sarcasm, though he seemed remarkably calm. To the Zeltron's senses, he would be glowing with the power of the Living Force, the energy cycling into him through the lush swampy riverland they were standing in and back out into the world. His anxieties and worries were all gone; he trusted the Force to guide him, and that was all that he would need.

"So, how did you get roped into this job? I once dumped a bucket of water on the Commanders' head, I swear this is his idea of reve...."

His head suddenly snapped around towards the North, where a line of jagged fire cut across the sky. As it closed, several smaller fireballs branched off of it and it was only then that he realized that it was a dropship firing a missile payload at the island. Cursing, the young Padawan yelled into his comm, "Scramble, spread out and stay low! Snipers, hang close to the other ridge out of sight, the cliffs will protect you!" He only had a short time to prepare before the missiles would over take them.... but he also had the Force, and it was a mighty ally.

Time seemed to slow around the Kushiban as he blurred into movement, dropping into a wide leg stance, his forepaws curled infront of him in a widespread gesture. His eyes were hard chunks of obsidian as he stared out to meet the approaching shuttle, his durasteel hard will flying out ahead of him. The shuttle was shaking at the force of it's entry and the shots weren't the most accurate. Laser fire burned into the surrounding rock and swamps, a single scream cutting off along with the light of one of his infantry men. The Padawan growled once and released his anger into the Force before moving. "I'm going to need your help here, Von... Grab on, and when I give the signal, push!" his voice was strained; the great power that was within him flooding out from the living world around them and shooting through his extended paws off towards the approaching dropship.

His left arm raised up and stopped, shaking as his paw slowly clenched; in the distance where the missiles flew just ahead of the shuttle, one missile slowly started to change it's angle as he turned his own arm, sweat beading on his forehead as he turned the missile and with a cry of "Now!", Alistiar shoved his and the other Padawans combined telekinetic hold on the missile forward and released it in a new direction, the fuel sputtering and kicking it into it's newest target; the side of the shuttle. The explosion was massive, engulfing one of the other missiles and the side cannon, igniting the tibanna gas and sending shrapnel and debris flying as the shuttle rocked dangerously off course, slamming into the ground at the shores of the island halfway in the rapids rather than a long slide onto the surface of the island.

Alistair immediately grabbed his fellow Padawan by the hand and threw himself down the incline, using the Force to pull her legs out from under her to roll with him down the ridge as the last pair of missiles slammed into their previous position, sending rocks flying everywhere. The maneuver would never have worked without her help, but they had managed to survive this first seemingly suicidal attack. Panting as he stood up on his hind legs, casually brushing stone and dust out of his fur, the Padawan looked up to regard the Zeltronian, sure that she had felt the exertion just as he did.

"Well... I didn't actually think that would work. That was kriffing awesome!" The words were said with childish exuberance before the seriousness of the situation took hold again as his soldiers reported in. One dead in the initial salvo, and a sniper had taken a gash across the head from flying stone. All in all, they had come up much luckier than he had hoped. Alistair took a moment to breath, murmuring under his breath as he slowly sent the Force' soothing warmth through his body, lessening the strain from the at-distance tandem telekinetic hold and preparing himself; two powerful dark presences still spit and thrashed on this island, and the danger was far from over.

 

[The Kyzer]

"And I missed it," Von replied dryly with a smirk, "Oh Sithspit."

Then she turned to actually look at the Kushiban.

"I have a habit of annoying the Weapons Master," Von answered with a shrug, "It's a..."

She too was cut off by the sudden intense feeling from the Force. Not just a feeling. A fully-fledged warning. Von sensed the attack before she saw it. She could feel the troops below scurrying for cover as the first barrage hit, and she consciously thought to herself that they had the right idea. However, she felt Alistair draw heavily on the Force, a powerful aura coalescing around the little creature.

Von felt the other Padawan's intent and joined him in immersing themselves into the Force. Her draw was a bit different, however, as she drew a bit from the Unifying Force as well. Von quieted her fears and allowed the immense power to flow through her. She heard Alistair's request, and nodded slightly. She joined her power with his, and allowed him to guide it. She felt the Kushiban grip the missile with their joined might, and pushed it.

Von smiled slightly and added a slight twist to his efforts. While he pushed and changed the missile's trajectory through brute force, Von worked to forge a connection with the shuttle's pilot, and his control yoke. As their combined strength turned the powerful missile from enemy-fire to friendly-fire, Von fought with the controls to make the shuttle fly relatively level and straight as the pilot struggled to evade the incoming missile. Her and Alistair's efforts were rewarded by the massive explosion from the missile's impact, and the shuttle's following crash.

When Alistair grabbed Von's hand, she nodded in acknowledgement but was unprepared for the sudden sweep of her legs and the resulting rolling-fall off the edge. The explosions overhead from the remaining missiles impacting their previous location caused her ears to pop from the sudden change in air pressure. She managed to recover the roll into a rather steep slide to slow their descent. Once safely at the bottom, Von stood up and brushed herself off.

"Next time," Von said with a slight sigh, as she brushed more dirt off of her legs and arms, "Warn me before you throw us off a cliff."

Then she smirked a little. It was pretty cool. Her body ached a little, mostly because of the fall, and her energy was a bit spent from the missile-trick. She tapped into the Force again to replenish her strength. As she did, Von felt another warning from the Force, this one more drawn out, symbolizing a much more dangerous, but a less sudden, threat. She could make out two dark shadows in the Force.

"They'll be coming soon," Von stated flatly, "We should move. Can't let them get a good read on our position."

She looked around at all the troopers. The squad under her command had successfully made it out without any casualties, owing to their sudden arrival and lack of an entrenched position, but many had cuts and bruises. One apparently had broken his rifle during the fall, so was wielding two pistols instead.

"We have three options," Von continued while drawing a quick tactical map in the dirt with her finger, "We can fall-back, and give some ground. We could move to flanking positions and hope to trap them in a cross-fire..."

Then she looked at Alistair, a grim smile forming on her face as she drew an arrow pointing directly from their spot all the way to the projected Sith landing zone.

"Or we advance on their position, and make them wish they'd never come to Tython."

 

[Butler]

His senses shrieked to the shift of danger, an instinctual action immediately taking over his body as Noster turned to slam his palm into the door controls which slid open and he leapt from its bowels as the impact of its own arsenal bashed into the other side of the ship and sent a whole spray of shrapnel all around. Noster would be completely concealed by the scatter of some various parts as he dove for the water before the ship had been taken off course. Even as he pointed his arms out for the water with which he was to collide, he focused his already adrenaline-pumped mind into a practiced and condensed presence that others would not be able to detect as he disappeared from the game board.

The water split to his descent, rolling bubbles rippling over him as he sank and eventually touched down upon the jagged water bed blindly before his head cracked upon its dangers. It was then that the ship crashed with a magnificent explosion upon the shore of the island by the Jedi's rewritten symphony.

Noster wriggled up for air, breaking the line as his mouth ripped open out from the water. Inhaling, he pressed his black hair from his face and treaded for a moment while looked around. There he found one trooper already paddling, having no helmet on anymore and biting a pistol in his mouth above the water. Lastly, one other trooper surfaced with a gasp, knocking off his helmet to bob in the water next to him before his colors were recognized. This was the only trooper left with the toxins, at least in this landing party. There were still the ones in the other ships. Here the idea sprang that Noster might see fit to carry some of the toxins himself. But first, he'd have to make it to shore. So they swam discretely, keeping to the secret that they even existed. The soldiers might be detected, which was Noster's next thought to abandoning them to their own mission, but he would not be. And when they made it to sand, rock, and green, he immediately pressed his palm down through the air to silently order them keep low and quiet. They obeyed, the only survivors of a lost ship. These were the ghosts who would herald the end of these Jedi. He would see these two troopers to the redemption and retribution for their brother's deaths.

As they moved, Noster having studied the route of their on foot approach-to-be before this day, he took them off route and thought to circle the landing point where they had incidentally collided with the Jedi; without realizing they had already fallen off track themselves. His first consideration was to complete the mission, and then enact vengeance upon the Jedi. But there it was, once again, hindering his better judgment and execution. He didn't have communication with the other Sith, Vixur. And if he attempted to breach the gap of their minds, he might alert the Jedi to his existence. And that was something he simply would not risk at this point. Death was his advantage here.

---

Back past the crash site, where the Sith intended on landing and where the Jedi had originally hid, the second ship which had flanked the landing position for patrol was immediately inspired into alert on witnessing the explosion and the crash. They veered into action, but found nothing, the Jedi having fallen and slid away safely; for now. Yet they released two missiles into the earth on reaction regardless, blasting the fauna into splattered muck for their landing out of anger for their loss.

"Requesting sweep of immediate landing zone and mapped scouting of 'Green Route'. Switch to red. We've made contact. The Jedi know we're here." The pilot's voice hailed over the comms, informing both other ships. They were under Vixur's orders now. Though the brush was too thick, the canyons too deep to truly make use of aerial advantage, they could still use one ship to cooperate with two grounded teams that might light up a target from below and create otherwise blocked attacks. But they were always to advance on foot regardless. Hopefully the loss of Noster would spur on even greater feats by the remaining Sith presence here.

 

[Just Matt Now]

((Had a great post...got deleted...this is what I'm gunna post.))

Vixur was fortunate enough to have some of the toxins on his and with osme of his troops. Knowing that Noster had been on the dropship that went down was not assuring, though he was determined to finish the misison while commanding the remaining troops. While the ships had cleared the LZ, Vixur moved up to the pilots seat..."teams Bravo and Charlie are ordered to follow me on the ground, while Alpha gives us aid form the air." His order went out to the other dropships.

As the ship dropped down, the Sith and two teams of solders also followed. Team Alpha remained in their dropship as it roared above them. Making their way to the water supply, there was no sign of Jedi just yet. Though the soldiers had all been prepared and focused to defend themselves.

 

[Rom]

Alistair did little to hide his face of dissatisfaction as he rolled around in the mud, coating his fur in the wet dirt to help hide his presence on any thermal radar the ship above them may have. His men were already split up and set on their respective paths, the snipers into the trees and the infantry slowly moving into position around the area the Sith seemed to be moving towards. Alistair glanced up at Von and offered up a reassuring grin that didnt quite reach his eyes. "Well... this is the best hope we have for stopping whatever they're doing. I'll run in and draw their fire, and you hit their flank with the soldiers.. just like we planned." Bowing and murmuring something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like, "Eight years is enough time to live a full life, right?" before clamping his leather wrapped lightsaber hilt in his fangs and dropped down to all fours, blitzing across the ground towards the dark aura and the lifeforms surrounding it, his mud camouflage keeping the thermals from sensing him as he changed his fur rapidly to suit the environment; browns and greens molting across his fur to keep him invisible from the air, appearing as a piece of earth to anyone looking down.

As he approached the group of Sith on their right flank, the young Padawan put on an extra burst of speed and with a muted snap-hiss activated his lightsaber's second phase, extending the 1.9m golden hued blade out as he veered along their side, not giving the three soldiers enough time to react as the blade passed through their ankles and sent them to the floor, howling in pain at the sudden removal of their feet. Flipping forward, with his blade turning to it's regular length and glowing a cold blue, Alistair stood in a guard position in front of the Sith and his men as they turned to react to the threat at their rear. "You will go no further, Sith. Leave this planet in peace, and I will let you take your wounded and live."

His words were hard and firm, not betraying the fear he held tightly behind his shields. He only came up to their knees when standing at his full height; it wasn't exactly as if he was physically imposing enough for them to believe his empty threat. But he could only hope to draw their fire enough to let Von investigate and bring the troops around to ambush them; it had to work. Tython depended on it.

 

[The Kyzer]

Nodding in agreement with the plan, Von smirked a little at Alistair's parting murmur before turning back to check on her own squad. They were already moving toward where the other squad had gone. That was good. Then she checked herself. Alistair's little roll in the mud had peaked her interest. Quickly, she threw herself into the mud, and began to roll around. Her own heat-signature could very well give them away. She also began to run through the stealth techniques Master Novan had taught her a few days before, shrinking her own Force-presence. While Alistair's own luminosity in the Force should distract them enough, there was no point in taking chances.

Then, now fully covered, Von ran, using the Force to amplify her speed a bit, to catch up to the soldiers before sliding into place, increasing her stealth by moving only when other natural sounds covered her. Then they waited in a small ravine to in front of the advancing Sith troops. She held her left hand up, palm outstretched, and the troops around her began to take aim.

As Alistair leaped into motion and attacked the Sith lines, Von smirked slightly, but did not move her hand. She watched as the little brown and green blur ripped through the enemy's formation, his golden blade wounding soldiers left and right. When he turned and made his declaration, gaining all of the enemies' full attention, Von closed her hand into a fist, and made a slight pumping action as she used the Force to leap out toward the Sith, igniting her icy-blue blade as she did. The GA soldiers all opened fire, with the majority of her own squad leaping out of their position to follow their leader, Von. Her heart warmed slightly at this display of camaraderie, but felt a bit of worry for the troops. They were now relatively unprotected, but there was no time to worry about that now.

Von landed in a dead-run, charging the enemy's lines. The lone dark warrior before them was clearly a Sith, but of unknown power. That did not matter to her. What did matter was that there were many enemies between her and Alistair, her friend, ally, and Jedi brother. She would not fail him. Gathering the Force within herself, Von allowed her full lethal potential to come out. She focused her energy into her left hand, holding her saber in her right, as she called up the power she needed. A glowing sphere of energy formed in her palm amid the chaos of the firestorm from the GA soldiers. She looked at the male Sith, and hurled the energy without hesitation. The Force Ray's beam cut through the air at the Sith in an instant.

 

[Butler]

A sour mixture, twisted green twirling through the black sap within the vial in his palm. He tucked it securely into his belt where it would not be seen, as his legs continued on. He was alone now, unknown. His secret weapon, the two troopers who were bolting towards the water's source flow. They had, by his devious command, prepared something complex to deal with potential complications. But they were the only two souls sprinting for the source, the only flickers of life on their path, the only ones who could be felt and seen through the Force.

Noster looked up ahead, the slant of the slope up his right where he felt a swarm of conflict brewing. It was there that he saw a glimpse of the distant ship hovering above through the covering canopy of trees and slanted saplings and thick shrubbery that lined the entire hillside. He had left the troopers to their mission. Now he needed to check on the landing area and ensure that there survived more toxins. The entire planet would not escape their wrath. He would see to it personally.

So he crept up the side behind the plateau, and kept out of sight and mind. He'd reach a safe perimeter and discover the fate of Vixur's toxins from the shadows. He'd keep opposite and distant to the hovering ship, behind the wind so that his scent did not carry towards those he stalked as the trained hunter he was, and opposite Vixur as well if he could. This was a skill he had practiced all his life in the wild. Few were as skilled as he in this regard, especially with the advantage of a Buried Presence.

The two soldiers did as planned, dropping down underneath a naturally grown earth and root shelter that was waist high along the riverbank and nearly impossible to spot. They hid a full tank of their toxins before running off up river with enough to sell their trickery and stall. If the Jedi had felt their presences, then they would be tracked to their next position where they would be found dumping what toxins they had into the water source. But the full stock of the toxins would still be hidden and awaiting the rest of the supply for a full flush of life that would begin the chain reaction and the end of this world's ecosystem. But their haste would fool any Jedi, let alone Padawans. If the Padawans stayed to fight the one Acolyte and risk a frantic two's rush, then the soldiers would remain for further orders. But if the Jedi felt the disturbance, then the decoy had worked its charm. And Noster, the non-existent dead, awaited the Jedi's move.

 

[Just Matt Now]

As the Anzat trekked through the beaten path down the side of the landing platform, he could only figure and hope that Noster was alive. They had been through some thick times together and at the end of that, Noster did come through. Vixur could only hope it would be something akin to that mission, where they were truly tested for the first time as a team.

Though the Anzat was a capable leader in his own right, one able to still carry out the mission at hand. His soldiers were always ready, not knowing where the Jedi would show up, they were prepared for an ambush. It was what the Sith would have done in any case. Vixur could hear the reports from the dropship, their view much better than those on the ground. The reports of their scanners picking up some movement, though not ahead of them.

Then the small muddy creature appeared in front of them. The Jedi, masking his presence, was creative. Covering himself in mud to throw off the thermal scanners. Vixur wondered if this was what the report had shown, then thought against it as there was no way it would pick up such a small being.

"You will go no further, Sith. Leave this planet in peace, and I will let you take your wounded and live."

Vixur listened to the small creature, not making judgement on his stature. He had seen many beings in his lifetime, those small enough to take down a Trandoshan. No, he would not judge a man on his height. Vixur then realized his words. The dirty Jedi making some sense. Maybe he was right, maybe it wasnt their time to attack the Jedi here, after what had happened to Noster and their ship of course. Maybe it would have been better off if they planned this attack on a better occasion. Vixur grabbed his lightsaber, the hilt gripped tightly in his hand, though not activated.

"Hmm, maybe you are right little Jedi...Peace may just be the right......" His words cut off...

The rumblings of another report update then came in over the comlink in his ear. And then Vixur felt it, the faint presence in the force, he could tell there was another trying to hide their presence, though it was not just strong enough to go completely undetected by the awareness of the Anzati Sith. A smile came over him.

Soon the dropship opened fire on the incoming GA soldiers that it had picked up on it's radars. Vixur could only imagine that the other Jedi was leading them. And turning around to face the new intrusion, Vixur with a burst of energy aided by the force, jumped high in the air to avoid the padawan's force attack.

Imperial blaster fire was ringing out, the ground soldiers firing at the immediate threat of the small muddy padawan that stood in front of their Sith leader. Vixur could feel the presence of both Jedi now as clear as day. The Anzat, while airborne, let out a torrent of sith lightning on the unsuspecting Jedi. Reversing her attack and letting out an attack while she was most vulnerable. When he would land, the lightning would not stop, though increase in potency through his concentration. Streaks leapt through the air, his training and focus paying off as it avoided his own soldier, who dispersed in an evasive action.

 

[Rom]

Alistair could scarely believe his eyes, that the Sith actually seemed to be considering retreating. Perhaps the loss of his fellow Sith in the crash had caused him to see sen.. there, at the edge of his senses. A dark flicker that sought to extinguish all the life surrounding it. And then the Anzati smirked. "Oh sith spit..."

The Kushiban immediately dove forward, using the Force to augment his speed as he spiraled through the air and landed on his back between the feet of one of the soldiers, his saber swinging up to slice through his thigh. The trooper fell with a cry, his leg cut off and Alistair took advantage of the falling body, using it as cover from the fire of the other soldiers. Centering himself within the Force, his fur quickly shifted to a brilliant gold color as he fell into the Living Forces embrace, his eyes a shifting pool of color. He sent the power coursing through his body down his arm and gathered it in his hand before pulling his arm back and shoving it forward with a cry, a wall of telekinetic energy flying out to strike the chest of the downed soldier and sending him flying into the rest of the squad.

The padawan than did a one handed cartwheel and threw himself back into the brush, his saber coming up defensively ready to block any shots or strikes that scoured the bushes aiming to hit him, trying not to heave from the feeling of life around him fading into the cold embrace of death. He really wasn't cut out for this.

 

[The Kyzer]

Von felt a bit of disappointment that her attack missed, but it was easily outweighed by the surprise she felt in it working. Force Ray had never done THAT before for her, and she wasn't entirely sure how she did it. She just knew that was what the Force had willed her to do. But there was no time to think about that now.

Now there was a torrent of lightning arcing toward her. Raising her lightsaber up to defend, Von braced herself for the power of the attack, but was thrown off a bit by the raw hate that came with it. It was enough to break her concentration, and the saber was thrown aside, though still in her hands. Electricity coursed through her body as thousands of volts struck her. As the Sith landed, the bolts became more intense, and Von could feel her life giving way. Blackness began to creep into her thoughts and vision, and she fell to her knees.

And so I die...

Then a sudden brilliance cascaded from the Force. The powerful, immense ocean of the Unifying Force was breaking through. No, it was not her time.

With the power of the Force flowing through her, Von centered herself while the Sith lightning still struck her, a feat that she doubted that she could repeat later, but that didn't matter. Changing the electricity into raw Force energy, Von engaged her skills in Tutaminis, raising her left arm between her and the Sith. As the energy raced down her arm, it changed, and, as Von raised her right arm at the dropship as it flew over, it returned as a greenish lightning.

"Taste Electric Judgement, Sith!" she yelled as the positive energy flowed from her. She allowed a few errant bolts to strike Sith troops.

There was a problem though, eventually the Sith would stop blasting energy at her. When he did, Von felt the weakness once again. She called out to Alistair in the Force, but he was much to busy with his own problems. So, instead, Von delved back into the Unifying Force, restoring her energy nearly back to where it was before. She stood back up and re-ignited her saber, prepared to defend herself and her troops from the Sith.

 

[Butler]

Noster watched his comrade with pride. It was a precise measurement of what they were dealing with. And it gave them the advantage they were seeking. Noster did not recognize the little animal's species as it flipped into the brush to his right. It did not matter. He did, however, recognize the other Jedi's newfound ability and needed to act.

The bush, the roots, the leaves, the trees - all sank and bent out away from the Kushiban as a blue hue suddenly encapsulated the Padawan with an imprisoning weight. The Force Bubble violently lifted the little creature from its hiding place with a jolt, and then hurled it towards the other Padawan's legs; the Bubble bursting just before contact so that the Kuchiban would feel its body crash into the other Padawan's legs.

Vixur wouldn't have to worry about his own attack turning back on itself any longer.

Noster stood from his place of hiding and emerged from the brush into the clearing. A single red spark erupted the beam of plasma from his right hand. Glaring at the Jedi, he made exception for a moment of respect to pass between Vixur and he with a nod. His golden left claw lifted out the thick capsule of toxins that sagged from his waist and tossed it towards the Anzati Acolyte.

A sudden flash of two troopers rushing ahead in the lower brush penetrated and informed Vixur of a certain plan Noster had already put in motion, without telling where they had gone. It was already known what general objective they had. Noster expected Vixur to understand. This was not the first time he had conversed with Vixur in this manner. They shared a bond of the war-blood.

Noster whipped back his clawed hand through his cloak's tail, lashing the ripple of its midnight terror back away from his encroaching steps and signaling Vixur to depart. Noster had a plan, that they would separate once more; leading the Jedi on a merry chase and distracting them from the Sith's true objective here still.

Slowly stepping towards the two, he kept a short distance between them. Now was his next test. He had killed a Jedi Knight as the culmination of three other Jedi deaths in his last battle on Alsakan. Now he would face two Padawans.

He waited for them to recover, waited to see the decision in their eyes. Would they believe themselves capable of handling him alone, split apart to discover what Vixur was up to? Or would they recognize that he would not allow them to leave his sight...

He gritted his white teeth with a subtly primal growl, washed with the saliva of an insatiable hunger.

 

[Just Matt Now]

"Crafty Jedi..." Vixur said aloud as lightning seemed to have taken it's toll, then redirected back towards him. The moment that Vixur realized this was her plan was the moment he relinquished the lightning from his grasp. This moment also came with another surprise. The presence of Noster had returned and was stronger than ever. Vixur had had the situation under control, though now that Noster was back in the picture he knew they were unstoppable. A plan was immediately made clear when he saw that Noster had come back without his compliments. the two soldiers that had been with him were no longer. While it was easy to assume that they could not survive the same crash that a Sith could, the Anzat knew what Noster had put forth in motion. The plan would not have been seen by the Jedi, as it was not even made clear to the Sith yet.

Vixur gestured a slight nod to his brethren, securing the notion of their next plan of action. Commanding the troops to stay on the ground, and the drop ship to decrease it's altitude by about 20 meters. The Anzat used the force to propel him the rest of the way to the ship.

The dropship had succumb to damages due to the redirected force lightning, though it was not without it's main capabilities. Vying not to go back for another ship, the Anzat ordered the pilot to accelerate it's throttle to full and chart off in another direction.

With the loud buzzing and humming of the ship veering off, Noster was left alone with the two Jedi, along with a couple of squads of men. Vixur was sure that he would be fine, his presence was felt, and with that any conceived emotions of panic or any that would indicate his harm.

 

[Rom]

Alistair rode the sudden motion with all the grace and nimbleness one would expect of a kushiban; angling his tumble, the small Padawan pushed off of Von's boots and landed in front of her with a flip, his lightsaber active and held defensively to cover himself and his companion. "I'm sorry Von... I got a little overwhelmed. It won't happen again, my friend...." He let his words hang off for a minute before sending telepathically, "Follow my lead..."

The Kushiban looked on suspiciously as the pair of Sith seemed to have a silent conversation, their soldiers standing motionless with blasters raised towards the Jedi padawans. Above the dropship hung ponderously, smoke streaming from it's damaged exterior due to the powerful blast of lightning that helped to fry part of it's internal systems. As he turned his head slightly to look at the dropship, he noticed the ridge overlooking their area of the little island and felt his bond with his soldiers. It gave him an idea... he quickly whispered into the communicator, barely moving his mouth to relay the order. The anzat he had initially faced was preparing to jump into the waiting bay when Alistair interrupted him, his high pitched voice sounding a little cocky as he "Gentlemen... and I use the term in the loosest sense of the word, don't tell me you were leaving alrea...NOW"

The whine of blasterfire filled the air as the snipers Alistair had ordered to take place on the ridge facing their alcove opened fire, four shots from each of the four snipers along with the combined overwhelming of the dropships shields from Von's electric judgement sent the high powered rifle blasts burning through the transparisteel and pounding into the pilot and controls of the dropship as it held in position to allow it's Sith to get on board before they could fly off with their mysterious cargo.

The dropship whined ponderously as it began to go down, the combined death of it's pilot and the burning cockpit controls sending it into a tailspin to land not far from the group in the middle of the clearing. Smirking at the Sith, Alistair quirked a single eyebrow before saying in his most cheerfully bright voice, "I hope that wasn't too important, Goldclaw. Now, perhaps we can sit down and discuss this like civilized people? No? Alright then....."

The padawan blitzed forward in a blur of motion, his saber held perpendicular to his body off to the right as he launched himself into the air, using his momentum to send the blue blade swinging forward at the human Sith's head before pushing off of the chestplate of a surprised stormtrooper to pivot around and strike at his lower back and continue moving in the style of Ataru, never staying in one spot for more than a moment. The kushiban was among their ranks; too small and too close to their compatriots to accurately hit with lightsaber and too quick to get a lock on his location with blasters.

 

[The Kyzer]

The Force practically screamed out a warning for Von's attention to shift to her comrade. It dimmed when Alistair gained a semblance of control to his sudden flight, and the Zeltron-hybrid merely braced her leg for impact. The little Kushiban's grace, however, made this unnecessary, though.

Acknowledging Alistair's telepathic message with a quick concentrated burst of her Zeltron-telempathy (Telepathy+Empathetic Feeling) of good feelings, her sign for "OK". She heard Alistair's orders in her own comm-unit, and successfully stifled a smirk. Relaying her own orders via copy/pasting Alistair's message to the remnants of her own troops with a slight twist of her own, Von simply waited for the other Padawan's signal.

All at once, while the snipers opened up on the dropship's viewports, Von's troopers opened fire as well, aiming for the gunship's engines. Had to make sure the crash ensured the dropship's inability to be used again. The troopers then sprinted back to gain cover, leaving the pair of Jedi relatively alone in the clearing.

Von smirked as she listened to the Kushiban's wry humor before he drove forward, attacking like a crazed animal with a lightsaber. While he moved to sow chaos in the ranks, Von moved forward determinedly, gathering the Force around her as she did. Raising her saber in a Djem So-guard, Von became a unstoppable juggernaut, slowly advancing while reflecting blaster shots back at their original wielders. At about ten meters away, Von leaned forward heavily, recalling Master Ashara's teachings, and burst forward, saber sweeping as she did, right into the center of the Sith lines. Once there, she released a massive wave of telekinetic energy in a small wave around her, about three meters in wideth, then dashed viciously to her right, cutting as she went, to exit the Sith ranks. She made quick eye-contact with the erratic Alistair as she did, nodding slightly, before sending the telepathic-empathy order to her troops to open fire.

"Got to keep up, Sith," Von announced with a small smile, turning back to ready herself for the enemy's counterattack.

 

[Butler]

Noster, of Eden clan -of the Sith brethren- gritted his hatred of Jedi folly through his gnashing white teeth. Glaring, silent, he awaited the Jedi's decision to endure his sentence; to welcome their deaths. He, their judge, pleaded through withheld anger and an iron fist hung ready to pound the anvil of their inevitable destiny. But deep inside, he wished and hoped that they would not give in. That he might show them what comes of those like his kind, how powerful his are and why they are the heralds of the end; of the beginning.

Yet as he held his tongue back behind sharp teeth, the little furry one began to grasp at controlling the situation. Truly, they were misguided fools; he thought.

Suddenly, Noster winced to the cry of blaster fire and its subsequent reactions; the explosion pushing once with an expanding weight onto everyone here. And he looked up to see the ship falling.

Blaster fire broke out on both sides in a crossfire of colors.

Then the little one called him a name, referring to his Lanvarok gauntlet, so Noster raised his golden claw as he returned to the little creature and looked at his curling clawed fingers; the lightsaber wielding animal in the blur behind those fingers. Noster looked up, and the creature darted forth; nearly disappearing.

Noster twisted down over his right shoulder, barely ducking the attack as the blue beam slashed through silky ebony's ends, and the furry creature bounced off of his head; or perhaps tripped. He could not tell. But his eyes flicked right to see the blurred animal rebound off of a trooper's armor, making a split second decision based off of the trooper's staggering surprise, and flexing his right arm - swatting away the airborne creature with his own lightsaber.

"Go!" he snarled at Vixur.

Pivoting around to see both Padawans still, Noster then bolted back into the shrubbery. Like a blur, he became the jungle. It's life fed his resistance of human limitations, the Force pumping through his legs and concentrating his core with primal circulation and precise synchronization - breaking his chains and freeing him through long and mighty strides. The soldiers, the troopers, they would all of them be left behind. Dare the Padawans allow them escape? If so, they lose their chance of stopping whatever plot the Sith had already decided. If they stayed, as a group, they would miss the small window to act. Time was against them.