Ask [Ord Cantrell] In The Thick Of It

[Darth Tempest]

.

Vahliri had barely boarded the shuttle, departing from her last assignment, before being redirected to Ord Cantrell.

Situated between the borders of FWA-Sith territory, the NYEHH world had been the site of small-scale skirmishes for years at this point - unwilling to see it fall into enemy hands while also being a low priority for Imperial command. With both factions deeply entrenched, a tense status-quo had settled over Ird Cantrell. It was only in the chaos of the Kilik invasions across the planet that both sides attempted to take advantage, bringing the planet into a new phase of active conflict. And while Vahliri was hardly a military tactician, the half-Annfyn’s experience leading planetary invasions meant she was top-of-the-list to be brought onto the planet.

The main theater of conflict raged on several miles outside the capital of De-Purteen - nestled amongst the rocky, alpine landscape of the planet. A combination of blaster and artillery fire streaked across the mountainous terrain as each side battled for every inch of ground.

Or so they had, right up until the Kilik Swarm had arrived.

There had been absolutely zero warning before the Insectoids descended upon Ord Cantrell - blanketing the battlefield beneath a shadow of chitin and membranous wings. Shardships deposited pods onto the surface like asteroids, opening to spew forth ravenous Assassin droids. Not even a mile from where the fighting as thickest, a gargantuan worm had bored right through the mountainside - opening its maw to allow a legion to pour free. They fell upon the planet like a plague, and they swept through resistance regardless of what banner they carried.

Attention had naturally diverted to the approaching Kilik force, and Imperial troops had gradually begun to fall back and into the better fortified, entrenched bases they had carved into the mountainside. A hail of blaster fire streaked through the sky, and Vahliri found herself nestled amongst the chaos.

The half-Annfyn was adorned in her signature red-and-black robes, black hair tied back and braided away from her face. The curved hilt of her crimson saber was clasped tightly within her grasp - blade carving with elegant, practiced strokes to cleave through the Kilik closest to her. For one reason or another, Vahliri had found herself fighting knee-deep in the insectoids - positioned along a ridge and easily visible to all those nearby.

For the moment, she was entirely isolated from her own troopers - amber eyes locked onto her own engagement with the Kilik invaders.

@Sreeya

 

[Tazlen Axil]

The Killik invasion had rattled the galaxy and the ripple effects were felt across many planets. While those that operated under specific governments had immediate responses, NYEHH territories such as Ord Cantrell were left to fend for themselves. It didn’t take him long to land with a regiment of Resistance fighters. His forces were made up of volunteers and some local militiamen. The Jedi were always short on trained warriors, but the men and women fought with passion for a cause they believed in.

“Sith spotted!!” One of the officers on the field called out and Tazlen whipped around to look.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Tazlen growled as he used the Force to send back the husk of the dead Killik he had been fighting, “Give me the location now!” He barked as he disengaged from the skirmish he was caught in, “Provide cover here, I’ll go after the Sith!” He called out to his officers as they began to fill in.

It took him only a few moments to reach the ridge where he could spot a red blade. Anger coursed through him as he approached from the side. Without warning, he channeled the Force and sent a harsh and powerful concussive blast directly towards the Sith’s side. He wanted to aim for bruised ribs before he closed the distance to engage fully in combat.

He didn’t care that there was a Killik looming just at the bottom of the hill. He knew nothing good could come from a Sith being present and he expected them to ultimately attempt taking over the planet in the aftermath of tragedy like the vultures they were.

@Altaris

 

[Darth Tempest]

Vahliri was entirely focused on the threat of the Kilik’s, and thus paid little mind to the Resistance forces in the background further down the ridge. She trusted that the majority of them - those who weren’t picked off by Insectoids or forcibly turned - would simply fall back to safer ground as any sane individual would. She didn’t expect any would attempt to single her out in the middle of the crisis, least of all the approaching Jedi.

Crimson plasma carved through the air - cleanly moving in a horizontal slash to cut right through the torso of a regular Kilik. The top half of its body separated from the lower, and the bladed staff it carried fell with it. Vahliri wastes no time in driving the heel of her boot into what remained - pushing it the hell out of her way and slowly tumbling down the ridge. She flourished her blade, beads of sweat dripping down her face as her eyes scanned for the next target. The half-Annfyn spotted the Kilik at the base of the hill - and it spotted her.

And then she heard something else entirely.

Fluted ears flicked ever-so-slightly at the sound of moving coming up her flank, but even that could not prepare the half-Annfyn for Tazlen coming out of seemingly nowhere as the aggressor. She barely had time to catch a glimpse of the Jedi through her peripheral before the concussive wave of the Force slammed into her ribs - striking her left arm and no doubt bruising the left side of her chest. Moreover, the half-Annfyn was sent tumbling further along the ridge - backwards from where the Jedi had aimed his blast.

Her body tumbled a few times before Vahliri stopped herself, her boots sliding into the earth. She instinctively forced herself back into her feet - immediately feeling a surge of pain in her ribs from where the Force blast had struck. The first inhale of breath ached worst of all - though she could tell immediately that she hadn’t broken anything quite yet. A mercy, given the man coming at her full tilt.

Vahliri couldn’t help but grit her teeth with raw frustration. Of course there was a Jedi. Too absorbed with their own self-righteous nonsense to address the actual threat all around them. The half-Annfyn’s fingers curled a bit tighter around the hilt of her curved saber, her right foot shifting toward and blade tipping in front of her body. Even as she prepares to engage the Jedi, Vahliri couldn’t help the way her eyes immediately narrowed upon seeing who was charging at her.

Tazlen.

“Are you fucking kidding me..” She growled under her breath. The half-Annfyn stepped forward to meet Tazlen’s charge, teeth barred as she attempted go carve her crimson blade in a diagonal, upward slash from right to left across the man’s chest. “One hell of a time to come looking for a fight,” She hissed.

@Sreeya

 

[Tazlen Axil]

Tazlen crested over the hill and saw the Sith, recognizing her immediately from the festival. There was a quick look of recognition, but it didn’t slow him down. His saber was ignited in his hand as he quickly closed the distance. He heard her speak but he cut her off mid-sentence, “You’re not going to bring this planet to heel, Sith,” He spat at her before intercepting her swing by holding his right-handed blade vertically and pushing it back towards her own right. Tazlen abruptly shifted the trajectory of his blade at a 45 degree angle and jammed it towards her left shoulder and collarbone area in a quick riposte.

He pivoted himself to square up against her right flank as he did so, wary of any kicks or attacks she may attempt to send through under her saberlocked blade.

Meanwhile, the Killik at the bottom of the hill rapidly began to advance towards the duo, a staff poised for attack. Several more began to scurry behind it to move up the hill.

@Altaris

 

[Darth Tempest]

Vahliri could hardly believe the odds as Tazlen crested the hill to greet her, saber in hand. The half-Annfyn had largely put the Jedi out of her mind after that festival - though she immediately recognized him at that moment. Nevertheless, there was none of the warmth or dimpled smiles to be found from her now. He was her enemy above all else - and Tazlen would see nothing but the predatory glint behind her yellow-tinted eyes. Her teeth barred aggressively as her saber was intercepted along its trajectory - dueling blade of azure and crimson hissing and crackling against one another. “They said the same thing on Eriadu,” She hissed back venomously.

Just as Tazlen altered the angle of his azure saber for the riposte, Vahliri pulled the weight off her left foot - sweeping it behind and stepping backwards in the same motion. Her posture shifted with her right foot forward and left shoulder positioned back - aiming to both avoid the tip of his saber and prevent him from adequately moving onto her flank. At the same time, Vahliri rotated her saber in a quick clockwise motion - bringing the blade back up into a forward-facing guard. She had no desire to maintain a prolonged bladelock or keep her center open to any follow-up from the Jedi.

“And New Alderaan,” She added, yellow-tinted eyes remaining firmly locked onto the Jedi. With her right foot forward, Vahliri turned ever-so-slightly northeast to face Tazlen directly. With her saber pointed in front of her body, the half-Annfyn attempted to drive the blade forward and thrust into his left pectoral.

Regardless of the effectiveness of her attack, the pair wouldn’t be left alone in their duel for a moment longer. Just then, the Kilik crested over the ridge and came into view - a screech echoing through its mandibles. Taking advantage of their occupied state, the blade-wielding Insectoid charged forward and directly into Vahliri. The impact was enough to lift the diminutive half-Annyn and bodily toss her a few feet across the grass, knocking off her feet for the second time. It didn’t stop there - tilting its bladed staff downward as it continued to charge - aiming to impale her into the ground.

While granted a momentary reprieve, Tazlen wouldn’t have long to admire his opponent getting assailed or take advantage. His sensitive hearing would clearly pick up the sound of scurrying up the side of the ridge, and a quick glance would reveal a trio of lesser, roach-like Kilik’s lunging forth to attack him.

@Sreeya

 

[Tazlen Axil]

“You didn’t face me at either of those,” He growled in response.

Tazlen reacted as soon as the riposte failed, sailing just slightly past where he targeted. However, he quickly adapted accordingly. Based on the upward clockwise swing from Vahliri, it was clear she would go for a hit on his upper body. The half Firrerreo moved lightning fast, ducking down abruptly into a crouch to swing his saber across her legs as she went for the pectoral strike. As he began ducking as soon as she did her clockwise shift, she would have almost no chance to come out of the lower body attack entirely unscathed.

Of course, their fight was abruptly cut short when a Killik seemingly came out of nowhere and bodily tossed her aside. Tazlen, having been in close range, was also trucked by one of the legs and tumbled into the ground. He groaned before jumping back to his feet, glancing over to grasp the true horror of the situation. A quick look around revealed not only more Killik but Imperials and Resistance fighters having joined their hivemind. They mindlessly began to march side by side to destroy anyone that stood in their way.

The half Firrerreo chased after the Killik that had attacked the Sith, wanting to take advantage while it was distracted. He came up from behind it, swinging his saber to cut through the legs and make it collapse and make it even more vulnerable.

@Altaris

 

[Darth Tempest]

“Pity,” Vahliri hissed right back at Tazlen - her voice filled with malice that laced every syllable and ting of her accent.

As the half-Annfyn went for the thrust of her saber, she hadn’t anticipated that Tazlen would attempt to capitalize with a lower attack. Her eyes widened at once, and Vahliri immediately attempted to draw her lead leg backwards in response - though it was hardly enough to come out unscathed, by virtue of already being committed to her upward thrust.

Molten agony surged through the half-Annfyn’s right leg as azure plasma carved through her extremity - burning her armor, muscle and flesh in a horizontal slash. It was only by virtue of her previous step backwards and the reactionary movement of her leg that the half-Annfyn wasn’t bereft of the limb. Instead, the blade carved through the first few inches of flesh of her mid thigh and cauterized the wound along its wake.

The half-Annfyn cried out in raw agony - and she immediately felt her weight buckle forward on the lead leg. At once, Vahliri flicked her wrist and arm downward to follow the crouching Jedi - attempting to bring her saber down through his shoulder and punish him for the injury. Of course, it was at that precise moment that the half-Annfyn was trucked by the Kilik to interrupt her attack.

Her body sailed and rolled a few times through the grass-covered field - only coming to a halt as the half-Annfyn planted her boot firmly into the ground. The pain in her right leg radiated out with unyielding intensity, and yet Vahliri forced herself back into her feet - saber tilting forward as the Kilik charged her.

Before it came into direct contact, however, Vahliri watched as Tazlen leapt to her aid—Or, likely more accurately, capitalized on the Insectoid being distracted. While he carved through the Kilik’s leg and caused it to tumble forward, Vahliri wasted no time in following-up - carving her saber in a swift, horizontal swipe to remove the Insectoid’s head from its shoulders.

The exoskeleton of the Kilik slumped into the grass, and not a moment later Vahliri flicked her gaze back onto Tazlen. Her saber was tilted vertical and defensive, prepared in the likely event that the Jedi attempted to continue their engagement. Only moments later, however, the rest of the Insectoids began to scramble up the hill - roach-like insectoids marching towards the pair.

“Unless you want to be swarmed by those fuckers,” She hissed, “Point your saber elsewhere.”

 

[Tazlen Axil]

Tazlen rolled off the dead Killik, whipping around to use the Force to yank a blaster to his hand from an Imperial. He wasted no time in blasting the soldier in the chest, turning to glare at Vahliri when she spoke. He had hoped that she was crushed under the Killik. She barely got half a sentence out before he pointed the blaster at her square between the eyes, “Shut the fuck up,” Tazlen said icily as he moved to pull the trigger and execute her right there. However, that was when he took a bolt to his other arm. He cried out in pain, whirling around to spot one of his own Resistance soldiers with the offending weapon.

The Jedi hesitated for a moment but he fired the blaster in return, killing the Resistance soldier. The action would haunt him. He was reminded of what the diplomats had said - this was not like AMS. These were regular people and often people you knew that had Joined. They were physically the same but their minds were gone. Each bolt and each swing of the saber against his own men would tear at him.

Tazlen ignored the Sith for now, though he wasn’t stupid enough to keep his guard down. Within moments they were surrounded by Imperials and Resistance alike, the soldiers flanking the two Killik that quickly made their way towards the Force users. Right away Tazlen could see engaging them head on was going to get him killed.

Ditching the Sith where she was, he bolted further up the hill to get a better vantage point. One of his arms hung uselessly at his side, but he was determined to keep fighting. Every now and then he turned and fired his blaster to take out another soldier.

@Altaris

 

[Darth Tempest]

The half-Annfyn wasn’t able to even finish her sentence, and her teeth immediately barred in response. Her eyes snapped to the blaster that was leveled upon her eyes and her crimson saber immediately began to move in response - prepared to deflect the blaster bolt right back into Tazlen. To her own determinant, Vahliri had made the mistake of believe the self-righteous fanatic capable of cooperating in the face of the Kilik threat. She wouldn’t make that mistake again.

Before Tazlen could pull the trigger, however, Vahliri’s attention was drawn in the direction of another shot going off - immediately locking onto the Joined soldier taking shots at the Jedi out of the blue. At once, Vahliri was tempted to use the opportunity to attack Tazlen once more while he was injured and distracted. It was only the emergence of an Imperial Soldier above the ridge that caused her to lash out elsewhere.

Without a moment of hesitation, Vahliri reached out with the Force - coiling her grasp around the bladed staff of the fallen Kilik. Her wrist flicked outward, sending the weapon like a javelin through the air and right through the chest of her own soldier. Unlike the Jedi, Vahliri didn’t think twice about executing what had once been a loyal Imperial trooper. She knew he was Joined. She knew he was consumed by the hive - and as far as Vahliri was concerned, the man was already dead. Putting the javelin through the center of his chest was mercy.

Though she didn’t entirely take her eyes off Tazlen, Vahliri’s gaze cautiously swept across the ridge - watching the swarm of Kilik’s and Joined as they surrounded her and the irritating Jedi. It didn’t take more than a moment of observation to realize she wasn’t going to win this engagement - and she promptly began advancing up the hill behind Tazlen. The injury to her leg meant that she was moving a bit closer than normal - but she continued to press on all the same, occasionally whipping around to send a blast of the Force into the closest Joined.

As they crawled towards the top of the hill, Vahliri’s gaze fixed onto the stone-carved mouth of a cave - plunging deep into the side of the mountain and providing a clear route of escape from the Kilik and Joined. Her gaze promptly flicked over to Tazlen, watching as the man moved a few paces ahead of her. In that moment, the previous sequence of events replayed in the half-Annfyn’s mind - and it brought her to a singular conclusion without an ounce of hesitation.

While Tazlen sprinted up the hill, Vahliri abruptly reached out with the Force - tendrils of energy snaking outward to coil around the Jedi’s limp arm. With a violent flick of her wrist, the half-Annfyn violently yanked the Jedi's arm behind his body and into an unnatural angle - attempting to yank him off his feet and send him rolling down the hill. Right into the waiting grasp of the Joined and Kiliks.

Her saber immediately moved into a defensive guard - prepared in the event that Tazlen attempted to fire his blaster at her. And she continued right along to the cave.

@Sreeya

 

[Tazlen Axil]

Tazlen rushed up the hill and spotted the cave at once. He could see Imperials and Resistance fighters alike rounding in on all sides. His momentary split focus cost him dearly as the Sith abruptly attacked him from behind. As he continued to move, he felt his arm abruptly grasped and yanked back unnaturally. As a result, he felt it completely dislocate with a sick pop and he was almost certain it broke as well. Tazlen gritted his teeth to stifle crying out in pain, his eyes watering. He shuddered a gasp but was in too much pain to resist as he was bodily thrown back towards the others. Vahliri would see him sail like a rag doll and land with a thud on the ground.

A brief glance towards his arm revealed the bone was protruding through skin. Tazlen’s nostrils flared as he briefly gazed up at the sky. He gave a low, hollow laugh, “Clever bitch,” He muttered under his breath before he weakly rolled onto his belly and crawled along the ground. Before the soldiers and Killik could catch up entirely, Vahliri would simply see him roll over the side of the hill and tumble out of sight. If she looked closely, she'd catch him flipping her off with his free hand as one last 'fuck you'.

On the plus side, it appeared as if the Jedi was injured beyond recovery. On the down side, now all of the forces focused solely on her, exactly as Tazlen had hoped with his roll. The soldiers all leveled their weapons and began to pepper towards her with blasterfire. One of the Killik raised its spear and hurled it at her torso while they all continued to advance towards her while she was slow from her injuries.

Meanwhile, Tazlen landed with a thud on the ground below the hill. He army crawled himself into a groove under the hill, his entire body caked with mud and dirt. Tazlen slowly rose to sit up, breathing heavily as he took a look at his wrecked arm. He could hear the war zone all around him and he knew staying out of sight and playing dead was his only real chance at survival.

@Altaris

 

[Darth Tempest]

Sinister satisfaction spread across Vahliri’s features, watching as Tazlen sailed like a ragdoll down the hill. Her sensitive hearing picked up the sound of bone snapping and the muffled cries he attempted to silence, and the half-Annfyn didn’t feel even the slightest hint of sympathy at the agony he endured. Even as an Acolyte, she has never been above retorting to cruel applications of the Force - least of all now and against someone who had pointed a blaster at her face. Her satisfaction, however, was shortlived.

Despite hopes that Tazlen would break his neck during the fall or be jumped by Kilik, Vahliri watched as the Jedi tumbled over the side of the hill - that final middle finger easily seen. It was all the confirmation she needed to know he was very much alive. And the sudden hail of blaster fire revealed that his last act of spite had been to send the Kilik and Joiners solely upon her. Despite the agony in her leg, Vahliri attempted to sprint up the hill with all of her strength - stifling every groan and whimper of pain as she did so. The half-Annfyn refused to become one of the Joined. She refused to allow herself to become some mindless zombie, regardless if they reached her or not. Her fingers curled around the hilt of her lightsaber. A subtle promise of how she would end things first, if it came down to it.

Bolts of blue and crimson plasma sailed past her head, missing by only hairline inches as the half-Annfyn attempted to weave and run in anything but a straight line. As she ran, Vahliri reached backwards, sending a concussive wave of the Force that tore through a trio of her pursuers. It was at least partially effective - most of all as the Kilik’s spear sailed just a few inches east of her rib cage.

But it wasn’t enough.

A cry of agony escaped from the half-Annfyn’s lips as a single bolt of blue plasma tore through her shoulderblade - burning right through her armor and exiting through space between her chest and shoulder. Her steps immediately staggered forward, her gait slowing significantly as the half-Annfyn attempted to continue up the hill. Just a bit farther. Just a bit closer to the cave.

The second blaster bolt - through the lower part of her mid back and out her lower abdomen. Tears openly poured from the half-Annfyn’s eyes and a wail escaped from her lips, accompanied by her body tripping forward into the mud. Her crimson robes, face and braided hair were caked with mud as she landed into the earth - and were only further tarnished as Vahliri attempted to crawl her way forward with one hand. It was a far cry from the well-kept and dignified way the half-Annfyn carried herself even on the battlefield. A storm of footsteps echoed behind her, and Vahliri only needed to briefly glanced backwards to catch a glimpse of the Kilik and Joined that stormed to capture her. They knew she was alive and incapacitated - and it meant that they briefly hesitated to kill the half-Annfyn.

Their desire was purely to grow the hive, and to acquire a skilled Force User was a boon unto the entire collective.

Panic surged through the half-Annfyn, and her very limited options suddenly flitted through her mind. The curved hilt of her saber was still held between her fingers - a final measure if necessary. But Vahliri hoped with every fiber of her being it would be unnecessary. Instead, her gaze flicked far to the left - glancing towards where the hill sloped extremely steep and down into a ravine below. Roughly where Tazlen had went, albeit with some distance between them. There was no choice in the matter. A single breath passed through the half-Annfyn’s nostrils as she planted the palm of her good hand to the ground. The Force billowed forth at her command - waves of darkness gathering within her hand and filling the space between the ground. Just as the waves of Kilik and Joiners closed in behind her, blasters leveled upon her, Vahliri allowed the Force to explode forth in a condensed, concussive wave. Her body tilted to the left as the Force ripped forth, angling herself for what was to come.

The ground didn’t budge, but Vahliri did. Without warning, the half-Annfyn was send flying backwards and to the left - sailing towards the edge of the hill and towards the steep decline waiting for her. Her body rolled, and began the rough journey to the bottom - unceremoniously striking against rocks, saplings and thorny bushes along the way. She had no idea if the hive would follow her down into the ravine, though it was difficult to tell if she was conscious, crippled or living at all by that point.

@Sreeya

 

[Tazlen Axil]

Tazlen reached for his comlink awkwardly with his free hand. He was about to speak into the shared channel when he listened to the chatter.

“-For the queen is the highest power. For she is our mother. We do her bidding-”

He clicked it off, tilting his head back against the wall behind him. To make matters even worse, he felt droplets of rain that turned into a storm. While this helped in terms of obscuring some visibility, it didn’t help him get his arm fixed any quicker. After a moment, there was a loud thud and Tazlen prepared to attack with the Force. He squinted his eyes and could make out Vahliri. She wasn’t moving and had landed into a puddle of mud.

“Oh fuck me..” He grumbled, in complete disbelief of his luck at the insufferable Sith landing right by him of all places. Tazlen made no move towards her and reveled in the satisfaction of watching her lying there in the disgusting mud while getting rained on. The Jedi sat in silence, watching the storm get worse. He simply closed his eyes and rested his head against the wall again. As moments ticked by, the rain would no doubt wake her up and she would see the only means of shelter was right by him under the hill overhang.

The half Firrerreo glared at her, but he made no move to attack. His ears were almost flattened at the sight of her, but he said nothing for a moment.

“You couldn’t find any other place to drop your sorry ass?” Tazlen finally asked, venom dripping from his tone. He had no energy to fight her and it didn’t appear she did either. For now, he begrudgingly kept to himself.

@Altaris

 

[Darth Tempest]

Vahliri wasn’t entirely sure when she had lost consciousness, or when her body had reached the base of the steep, rock-littered slope. A particularly harsh collision with a boulder had knocked the half-Annfyn out cold by the time Tazlen spotted her, and she didn’t move for several minutes after that. She was face down in the muck, and entirely vulnerable for the Jedi to execute or strip of her armaments, even if he had chosen not to do so.

It took a while, but Vahliri finally began to stir - the pouring rain and crack of thunder above finally doing the trick. Her head lifted out of the mud, and it wasn’t until she wiped the gunk from her eyes that she was able to look around. The first attempt had ended in a pained groan as she instinctively tried to lift her injured arm, promptly shifting to use the other. She was alive. She’d reached the bottom of the hill, and the Swarm had presumably abandoned the chase. Things could’ve been worse.

Vahliri rolled over in the muck, reaching with her free hand to retrieve the saberhilt that had fallen nearby. Her raven black hair - famously scented and styled into intricate braids - was matted to her face and covered in a variety of mud, leaves and whatever else. Her amber eyes flicked around, slowly but finally settling onto Tazlen sitting his sorry ass underneath the only shelter.

And thus, things officially got worse.

Vahliri’s fluted ears immediately flattened against the sides of her skull, and she considered sitting in the storm out of pure spite alone. After a long moment, however, the half-Annfyn began to half-crawl her way over to where he was, safely out of the rain.

“You couldn’t have broken your neck on the way down?” She snapped right back, yellow-tinted eyes narrowing into daggers on him. All the same, Vahliri didn’t have the energy for anything but a duel of snark, and the fact Tazlen hadn’t tried to pop her revealed the same was true for him. The half-Annfyn slumped against the overhang, tilting her head back against it. After a moment, Vahliri lifted her good arm - tapping the commlink that was secured into her vambrace to listen to the main Imperial channel.

“—Is Sergeant Atlov of the 769th battalion, all Units are ordered to retre—“ The channel cut out briefly, static filling the empty air between Vahliri and Tazlen. “—Outpost has been overrun. I repeat, all Units retreat to departing transports at coordinates—“ The sound of screams dominated the channel and silenced the Imperial officer. The Insectoid buzz of Kilik and chants of the Joined followed.

If Vahliri had any reaction to it all, none of it played out on her face. Instead, her eyes closed and she merely leaned back against the hill.

@Sreeya

 

[Tazlen Axil]

Tazlen watched Vahliri crawl over and sighed to himself. He focused on his arm and attempted to think about how to get the bone back inside and attempt healing himself. That was when Vahliri spoke. To the surprise of them both, the half Firrerreo had no witty remark back just then. His sensitive ears instead picked up on some of the chatter he overheard coming from her comms. So her people were blatantly ditching her in this warzone.

The Jedi blinked a few times and then burst out laughing. He started to chuckle and his chest rose moved with full body laughter at the poetic fate Vahliri faced. His was no different, but it was entertaining to him nonetheless. Tazlen coughed a few times from laughing as pain rattled his entire body.

“You wouldn’t happen to have a medpack on you, would you?” He ventured to ask. A quick scan suggested his injury was far worse than hers. She didn’t appear to have any visible bones sticking out from anywhere at least. He expected her to attack him in response to the question, but he had little to lose right now.

@Altaris

 

[Darth Tempest]

For a few moments, Vahliri said nothing at all. The channel on her commlink reverted to a mixture of static and screams of Imperial Troopers engaged in combat, and it didn’t take long for the half-Annfyn to merely run her thumb across the device to turn it off. She exhaled through her nostrils, allowing the frustration to boil up within her and flow outward with her every breath. Her own troops were abandoning her within the warzone - a casualty of the Kilik swarm. There would be no rescue attempts. They wouldn’t wait to see if she would arrive after all. And for all the frustration that boiled within her - palpable within the Force - the half-Annfyn didn’t blame them for it.

It was the protocol. It was the reality of a warzone. And she would have abandoned any one of her men to save the unit without losing a single wink of sleep.

Amber eyes finally flicked over to Tazlen, immediately narrowing onto the Jedi when he started laughing at the grim situation. She huffed in annoyance, once again feeling the urge to yeet him further down the ravine swelling at once - though it was promptly eclipsed by the mixture of pain and exhaustion she was feeling. “Oh fuck off,” Vahliri said with a huff, rolling her shoulders a bit as they grew stiff. “I don’t see your ‘noble’ Resistance sending search parties either.” Somehow, that fact brought a clear grin to the half-Annfyn’s face. He started this entire mess by attacking her in the first place - and the knowledge that he was probably going to die along with her was incredibly satisfying. "'Course, you're a Jedi. So I'm sure you're used to being abandoned by the Galaxy at this point." She flashed him a smirk.

Vahliri blinked a few times - her head snapping in Tazlen’s direction when the Jedi asked if she had a medkit. She hardly believed the words at first, and the Jedi wasn’t wrong in his assessment that her first urge was to hit him for it - even if she ultimately didn’t. A few moments passed, her gaze still locked onto his. “Why?” She asked dryly, tilting her head a bit. “Don’t you Firrerreo heal in like an hour or some shit?" Likely to Tazlen’s surprise, however, Vahliri eventually reached for her utility belt - pulling out one of the standard medpacks that more troopers carried. It was small enough to fit in his hand and nothing fantastic, but it contained the basics - alongside a stimpack that Vahliri promptly snagged for herself. The rest was casually tossed over to Tazlen.

“You'll need to set that bone into place.” She muttered, proceeding to pop the cap off her stim and jam the steroid into her upper thigh.

With that, Vahliri took a better look of her surroundings - amber eyes sweeping across the ravine. Climbing back up the hill was incredibly steep, and the rain had already rendered the ground muddy and slick to the point it was unfeasible - especially in their condition. To the west, the rainwater flowed and canyon grew narrow - and the mouth of a cave could vaguely be seen in that direction. The path to the east clearly rose in elevation as the rainwater traveled from that direction - but the vegetation was far too thick to gauge what was waiting for them there.

@Sreeya

 

[Tazlen Axil]

Tazlen tilted his head to look at Vahliri after she made her quips, “You really get off on being a royal bitch, don’t you?” He asked bluntly as he fiddled with a pack of cigarra with one hand. It took him a few moments as he fumbled one of them. He reached for a second and put it between his lips before igniting it with a lighter. Tazlen closed his eyes and exhaled a cloud of smoke, the gesture calming his nerves a bit.

“I’m a Jedi,” He repeated, “It means I don’t endanger other people to save my own skin,” Tazlen blew out another puff of smoke before looking at Vahliri again, “I told my men to retreat and said I’d catch up,” He knew that was a lie. She knew that was a lie. His men wouldn’t have left if they knew how injured he truly was, but he said what was necessary to get them to safety.

Tazlen was surprised Vahliri offered the medpack, but he paused with his brows furrowing a bit, “How do you know about Firrerreo? Not like there’s many of us out there,” He said as the cigarra hung from the corner of his lips. Tazlen used the medkit to clean around the break, grunting in pain. It was the most he could do right then, “Can’t set the bone back. Need a medbay,” He exhaled before leaning his head back to continue smoking. If he didn’t get medical attention soon, he would have to lose the arm and he accepted that possibility. The only medical bay would be on one of the civilian buildings a decent distance away or, he scoffed at the thought, the Imperial base camp a bit closer than that. Tazlen’s orders had been to attack that camp and drive the Sith from the planet. The Killik were an unfortunate and unexpected surprise.

“You can stop eyeballing that cave,” Tazlen said without even following Vahliri’s gaze. He drew deeply from the cigarra, “You were leading the Joined right to it. They’d have laid a trap for anyone going there.”

@Altaris

 

[Darth Tempest]

Vahliri stared blankly at Tazlen, merely shrugging her shoulders when the Jedi bluntly called her a bitch. “Right now? Sure do.” The half-Annfyn wasn’t the least bit fazed by his words. Making her quips and low blows was significantly more entertaining than wallowing in a literal ditch and feeling sorry for herself. “‘Least I own what I am.” The half-Annfyn said while casually inspecting her own wounds - wincing a bit as she poked around the blaster wound in her shoulder and lower abdomen. The latter had come dangerously close to her spine, and Vahliri knew just how lucky she was.

The half-Annfyn’s eyes almost started glazing over when Tazlen started his ‘I’m a Jedi’ segment. She’d heard enough of their altruism to know it was largely all bullshit or foolishly naive - often in moments where it mattered most. All the same, her head tilted towards Tazlen when he revealed he had told his men he would catch up later. She blinked a few times, and the half-Annfyn couldn’t help but exhale amusement through her nostrils - a few giggles echoing through the ravine.

“Yeah? Congratulations, Tazlen.” She said, awkwardly lifting her injured arm to clap. “Take a good, hard look at where your altruism and sacrifice has gotten you. Half-dead, in a ditch. And the vast majority of your men are likely going to die anyway, if the comm channels are anything to go off of.” She shook her head a bit. The half-Annfyn had always risked her life right alongside her men on the battlefield, but she simply valued her life more than men she hardly knew. Tazlen’s sacrifice? It was a reminder of why she subscribed to her ideals and only reaffirmed them in her mind. “My men left because that is what is necessary to survive. No one is going to come look for me,” She shrugged. “And I wouldn’t either.”

Vahliri glanced over when Tazlen questioned her knowledge about Firrerreo. “Because I know a Firrerreo.” She said casually. Whatever feelings the Jedi might’ve had about one of his own serving within the Sith - after everything that had happened to their planet - didn’t cross her mind. Instead, her gaze flicked over to the pack of Cigarras he had. “Trade for one or two?” She jutted her chin towards the medpack and then the smokes. The half-Anfynn wasn’t a big smoker by habit - but she certainly could use one right about now.

“Be nice if that was the case.” She said, allowing her gaze to linger on the cave Tazlen spoke of. “Means less of the fuckers out in the open looking for me.” Her gaze promptly flicked over to the east route - watching as it gradually sloped upwards while shrouded in vegetation. “Might be able to get a better look from there.” After a long moment, the half-Annfyn finally pushed up onto her feet - exhaling through her nostrils. Pain ached through her stiff body, but the stim-pack had certainly started to numb some of it. “They’re be supplies and communications relays at the Imperial camp.” She said, starting to slowly step away from Tazlen and towards the path.

“If you can keep your panties out of a wad, come. Or don’t.” She really didn’t care either way. Regardless of his answer, Vahliri wasn’t going to sit in the muck any longer.

@Sreeya

 

[Tazlen Axil]

Tazlen’s brows rose when she began talking, “Look at your salty self remembering my name. Unfortunately I forgot yours.. Va..something,” He gave a noncommittal shrug. He wasn’t the best with names, though he certainly remembered her by face. As Vahliri went onto describe how his altruism left him in a ditch and how she didn’t expect anyone to save her, Tazlen simply shook his head as he puffed on his cigarra.

“Damn, you may as well slice your wrists open and get it over with thinking like that,” He said with an amused scoff. Tazlen hesitated for a moment, but he ultimately tossed her a cigarra. Tazlen vacantly eyed her as she rose up to walk along the path, “While I appreciate the concern about the state of my undergarments, I think I’m good here,” Imperial camp. Was she insane? He would rather throw himself in front of a Killik than walk into a capture.

Vahliri would find herself alone for a while as she walked along the path. Thankfully the assessment was correct - the Killik and Joined were surveying the area around the cave and not watching the path leading back towards the camp. The storm didn’t ease off, thunder and lightning roiling above to where it could be felt reverberating through the earth.

Minutes passed before she would hear the sound of footsteps amidst the noises of the storm. If she looked, she would see Tazlen dragging himself along the path to slowly catch up. His arm hung uselessly and was in a makeshift sling. He said nothing as he finally caught up, keeping his gaze fixed ahead.

“Go on, get it out,” He said tersely, “Say something bitchy and snarky. Let it all out. I’m here for it.”

@Altaris

 

[Darth Tempest]

Vahliri said nothing when Tazlen claimed to have forgotten her name - amber eyes remaining fixed ahead onto the steep, rocky slope of the hill they had both tumbled down. It wasn’t until the Jedi casually suggested for her to open her wrists that Vahliri glanced back in his direction - her eyes narrowing into harsh slits upon him for a long moment. He had an ability to get under her skin far more than the half-Annfyn would ever admit - and the urge to bash him against the rocks was growing ever stronger.

The half-Annfyn plucked the cigarra from Tazlen’s fingers and promptly brought it to her lips. The faintest movement of her fingertips allowed the Force to flow through her - manifesting as a flicker of pyrokinesis to light the tip of her cigarra. She drew deeply from it - exhaling a cloud of smoke through her nostrils as she got up to leave. She glanced down at Tazlen when he declined to go with her, and promptly shrugged her shoulders in response. “Suit yourself,” Vahliri said casually, strolling right past Tazlen to make her ascent up the hill. The half-Annfyn was happy enough to leave him rotting in that ditch with his gumby arm - and she didn’t even glance over her shoulder as she passed. “Tell the Kilik Swarm I said hello,”

Countless minutes passed as Vahliri climbed the steep path, and the storm only grew more intense around her. Each clap of thunder reverberated into the earth and caused her fluted ears to flatten against the sides of her skull, while the rain fell in sheets that completely drenched her and turned the path to mud. It was grueling and bitterly cold, but the half-Annfyn was a woman on a mission - and was at least thankful that not a single Kilik had made an appearance so far. It wasn’t until the sound of footsteps that Vahliri stopped in her tracks - the sound immediately causing her fluted ears to shift. Her hand instinctively slipped down to her belt, prepared to draw her saber in defense. As she spun around to face the source of the sound, however, the half-Annfyn’s expression only rose into a disgusting smug, satisfied expression. Her hands folded against the small of her back, pausing in the path to allow Tazlen to catch up fully - starting to walk once they were shoulder to shoulder.

“I’m so glad you decided to join me,” She mused, her voice utterly dripping with smug satisfaction. Her lips tugged up into a smile that was oh-so-warm, her tilting a bit as she stared back at Tazlen. The half-Annfyn promptly turned on her heel after that - continuing her ascent up the hill through the dense brush. It took them several minutes of walking, but the pair finally reached the very top of the trail - punching through the vegetation to enter into one of Ord Cantrell’s alpine, sloped valleys. Pristine streams of water flowed from crags and grooves in the mountainous terrain, while short grasses and evergreen trees dominated the hillsides. The storm had yet to relent - causing waterways to swell and the horizon to be shrouded in the combination of fog and falling rain. To their benefit, it meant they were far less exposed to the Kilik Swarm.

Vahliri glanced down at the compass attached to her commlink, squinting down at the device for a long moment. The simple reality was that the half-Annfyn was often worthless in these situations - but she certainly wasn’t about to reveal any of that information to Tazlen. Instead, she glanced back up to the terrain and gave him a solid nod. “Imperial Camp a few miles north of here. If we’re lucky, Kilik will have already moved on and left the majority of infrastructure abandoned. Communication relays to signal for evac, a medbay to fix your fucked up arm.” She glanced back at him, squinting a bit at the Jedi’s significantly worse injuries.

“If you pass out, I’m leaving your ass.”

As she spoke, the half-Annfyn was entirely unaware that she was being watched. Along a ridge several meters away, a blaster rifle was leveled on the Sith Champion - attempting to track her silhouette through the intense storm. While the insignia on his breast clearly signified the Resistance, it was unclear whether he was Joined or not. In any case, his barrel continued to track the half-Annfyn - waiting for an opportune moment.

 

[Tazlen Axil]

Tazlen was pleasantly surprised when she didn’t make a big show of him showing up next to her in the end, "Is that a lame Killik joke?" He quipped at her opening remark. The Jedi followed her up the incline, watching the terrain shift and the way the water began to collect. The storm would flood entire regions of the city and it showed no signs of easing off. He heard only half of what she said, his head suddenly feeling lightheaded. She barely got done telling him she would leave him when there was an audible thud.

The Jedi landed face down abruptly right in the mud with a thwack. The blood loss from his injury and the shock finally caught up to him. He laid there right in the mud, no snarky remark, no witty comment, nothing. Just dead to the world with his fate in question.

Meanwhile, the sudden dropping ensured that the shot fired from the rifle missed and whizzed right past Vahliri’s ear. The shooter growled in frustration and ran to find new cover, deciding that they needed to aim and fire from a new trajectory. It still remained unclear whether the shooter was Joined or not.

@Altaris