Speak Softly

[Niish Chichel]

Niish's sight went white and a sharp ringing was all he heard. Similar tinnitus, and a piercing headache wrought havoc on Niish's senses, and genuinely just pissed him off more and more as time passed. Since Harren had taken the time and effort to disrupt the shots aimed at Niish, he had a moment to find cover, going off of the scent of the Deucalian, and finding cover near him, which also put him in a defensive position. After faintly hearing Zarya's demand for surrender, and Arianna and Harren's response, letting out a satisfied growl, and holding up his lightsaber, one single blade still the only one ignited, and the design of his lightsaber keeping the second emitter hidden from plain sight. As his vision began to return, he honed in on the Zeltron, who threw the grenade seconds earlier, more or less just focusing what sight he had on the red target, as there was little else he could do.
@christhebarker @vamp

 

[Wes Thul Drast]

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The Deucalian's shove had hit him, though not in time. His first hit the Crusader's pauldron, ruining it. The other three went wide, luckily for the Sith. Nevertheless, Wes pressed on, seeing an opening.

The Crusader had made a mistake. She'd, more or less, sat down, her eyes closed. Sure, she was gathering the Force to herself, but she was, after all, just sitting there with her eyes close, basically begging to be attacked. The Drast gathered the Force around his legs. If anyone tried to Force push him again, he would dodge it with incredible agility. Wes, his blaster still in his hand and once again leveled at the Sith, fired two shots on the stationary Crusader, whose eyes were closed, and who would be in no position to dodge, especially considering her injury. Should she somehow move, he would simply track her movements, aiming for the lower corner of her center mass. "Bold of you to monologue about strength as you lose a duel where you outnumber your opponent," he jabbed, surprisingly passive aggressively, considering the situation.

@christhebarker @Faded Truth @Gian Greydragon @Denzein

 

[Zarya]

The Deucalian made it more than clear he wasn't going surrender and the sorcerer speech Zarya knew it was about her but the sorcerer was wrong, she wasn't confused. she knew what she stood for and how she got here. Maybe it was the sorcerer that was confused, maybe Zarya was an enigma to her but those questions didn't matter right now, they wouldn't surrender so now she had to make them or kill them trying.

she looked at The Deucalian and tighten the grip on the saberstaff the force still around her, she charged him using the force to augment her speed, she would arrive in front of him in just over a second, using the moment of her speed her attack was a downward slash aim across his chest, it would cut him from his left shoulder to his right hip.

@vamp @Gian Greydragon @Faded Truth @Denzein

 

[Harren Skaalvarg]

Here they came. Harren snarled and flashed his teeth, standing before his vulnerable friends a bastion of courage and strength - even the force around him emanating stability and resilience. Harren made his play.

The male fired two shots at Arianna and the Zeltron charged, using the force she'd gathered to speed her limbs as she raised her blade for a downward slash intended to carve him apart from left shoulder to right hip. His course of action then was an obvious one, something he'd have expected his opponents to factor in when they attacked. No matter, it made his fight easier. His rage would remain in check. Again, Harren was in the right place at the right time to make a pivotal move.

Sliding his right foot outwards, he carefully and precisely blocked both blaster bolts aimed at the kneeling Arianna behind him, using a touch of the force to help him redirect them right into the already ruined and useless chest armour of the oncoming Zeltron, centre mass, point blank. Her weapon was in the act of raising to strike, going up not down, and was a clumsy long hilted saber staff not designed for blocking oncoming fire mid charge (that even utilised a natural - instead of bled - Kyber crystal she clearly wasn't attuned to, making it even harder to react with) - even if she did only have one blade activated. Blocking with her blade would prove impossible therefore. In addition to this she was charging Harren using force speed - which meant that though she was coming at him quickly, she had no time at all to dodge the shots she had no idea were coming. By the time the bolts had left Wes' pistol, travelled to Harren's blade and fired back at the Zeltron's chest she was a fraction of a moment from him, given her speed. There simply was no way to dodge.

Finally taking his full sidestep right as her momentum would continue even after the bolts hit and he wasn't fond of the idea of getting bowled over by a dying Zeltron, Harren moved to finish her off. Letting go of his blade with his left hand, he brought it up in the opposite trajectory to the one the Zeltron's was committed to - aiming to bisect her from left hip to right shoulder as he stepped past her own swing. Her arms were raised and committed to her swing, meaning her blade was totally in the wrong position to defend against the carving crimson blade, and her momentum would run her right into his attack.

This, added to the fact the Zeltron had almost certainly taken two shots to the chest and was probably stumbling and off balance, made his strike a deathblow... Unless by the intervention of some miracle.

Harren had made the strike one handed deliberately - he didn't need all the strength of both his arms, the Zeltron wasn't positioned to defend. His left arm remained free and able to defend in any way he saw fit - especially in the astonishingly unlikely scenario that his opponent managed to continue her attack. @Faded Truth @Gian Greydragon @vamp @christhebarker

 

[Darth Victress]

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A sadistic smirk soon erupted into chuckles followed by a dark and maniacal laughter. It seemed as if the crusader was not bothered by the danger that loomed over her even as the Republica Sith opened fire. Her crouched position did not falter and did not move, fully confident that her two acolytes would easily disrupt the two bolts fired at her without any effort on her part as Harren demonstrated that he did.

As the commotion began with Wes' firing, her eyes suddenly sprang open as the force drawn around her rippled with a surge of activation as if a sleeping giant had been awoken from its slumber. Pulsating with the essence of cruel and wicked brutality, it radiated outwards and swept through the room in a necromantic chill. Slowing time in its wake, lights flickered and momentarily dimmed as the wails of undead souls echoed through their shared chamber. Snapping quickly onto her feet, she rose to her full height and dashed several steps to her left. While there was still considerable distance between her and the Drast, the Crusader's position was now to the left of Harren and directly facing in front of Wes. Force dripped around her, sundering from the edges of her crimson saber as it remained on guard in her right fist.

Her presence was a reminder that if Wes dared intervene to save Zarya from her fate, he would likely have to challenge Arianna first. For now, she merely stood while senses on full alert and eyes scanned between her two opponents. What occurred next would likely dictate the outcome of their confrontation.

@vamp @Denzein @Gian Greydragon @christhebarker

 

[Niish Chichel]

As Arianna rose, the dazed Barabel moved in closer, to the opposite side of her, nearer to Harren, and between Arianna and Wes, as he poised himself, when he deemed himself close enough to back to normal to fight. His fiery orange-red blade still held up, across his chest, as Harren deftly deflected the bolts fired by Wes back at Zarya, the lightsaber of whom Niish currently possessed in his left hand. Choking up about two thirds of the hilt, Niish ignited the corrupted red blade of the False Sith's personal weapon. Niish turned his attention toward the male, Wes, who continued to fire on who Niish's Barabel mind figured to be the matriarchal figure of their group, despite being human. Niish knew a shaman when he saw one; and she carried that vibe.

His extrastrapes, still rang, but he'd regained much of the color in his vision, and could now see, through what felt visually like light fog. The Force could be felt swimming through his veins again, pumping into his muscles, as they coiled, ready to spring the moment his brain gave the order. Any thing he got ahold of would be torn to shreds, and he planned on savoring every morsel.

@christhebarker @vamp

 

[Zarya]

The Deucalian tried to deflect the blaster bolts at her through his accuracy wouldn't be what he wanted, the first bolt went behind her, aimed at her previous position at the time it was deflected, the second shot grazed her, it caused her some intense discomfort but not enough to stop her attack, at this point she had closed in, The Deucalian had no defence prepared for her slash, he was confident that his deflections would hit true and take her out of the fight. her blade would bite into his shoulder and into his chest then to his hip it might not cut him completely in half but the would be deep and kill him Instantly.

with him dead, she would turn her right to face the witch and the lizard, ready for whatever may come next.

@vamp @Gian Greydragon @Faded Truth @Denzein

 

[Wes Thul Drast]

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Kriffin hell. That Zeltron chick was crazy, but it seemed there was a method to her madness, because she somehow managed to kill the Deucalian. Wes followed, holstering his pistol and charging into the room, lightsaber in his right hand. He arrived after Zarya bisected the warrior, but his dash took as little as hers had, and he slashed his blade at the lizard in a left-right swipe aimed for its lower chest as soon as he was in range. His movements aided by the Force, Wes would be hard to react to, especially considering the distracting events that had taken place meters away.

Ariana was a few meters behind the Barabel, so the Drast didn't worry about her too much, though he was ready to react to attacks from her, should she somehow manage to squeeze her way around her ally.

@christhebarker @Faded Truth @Gian Greydragon @Denzein

 

[Niish Chichel]

Niish's vision came back to him in time to see his comrade Harren be cut down just meters away. This was the moment he was waiting for, when the fight devolved into a melee scrap.

Seeing as his sight was focused primarily on Zarya as she charged forward, Niish was able to see Wes holster his pistol and surge forward, and was ready for him to come into melee. With the captured Saberstaff in his left hand, he stepped back, seating himself firmly in his stance, lifted the blade and parried the initial strike down and away from him, as he followed through with a straight jab from his primary lightsaber, aimed into his gut, from his weapon's leveled position at his side.

Given the Wes' charge was anticipated to some degree, Niish needed little more than to watch the wind up of his body, as it swung toward him, then position the blade with a quick flick of his wrist, and a simultaneous thrust forward. Niish needed no grand and fantastical shows of skill, because, given Wes' forward momentum, he would inevitably collide with his blade in half the time it would have taken for the already swift thrust. To counter this, Wes would have to free his only lightsaber blade in a fraction of a second and cross his body to defend against the blow, as the parry and thrust moved in tandem.

@christhebarker @vamp @Faded Truth

 

[Darth Victress]

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It happened all too fast. It was never meant to be Harren; her comrade and friend who had represented a bastion of courage, even more so sacrificing himself for her benefit. There was sudden darkness that flooded the room, carrying with it the harsh reality of evil and a swirling stench of death. Her anger exploded as she felt Harren's life force slip away, severing a bond beyond what any others in the room could understand. However, this rage also provided her with focus and an absolute conviction from which she drew her strength. She would utilize this, to unleash hell and fury.

The sorceress issued no warning and wasted no time. She intended to take full advantage of a distracted Zarya and thus simultaneously released an agonizing stream of flame towards Zarya's vulnerable right side that would engulf the Zeltron in entirety and incinerate flesh asunder. Zarya had cut Harren on his left to right meaning that Zaryas own blade was on her left and therefore had kept the right hemibody defenseless to sustain the bulk of fiery damage. @christhebarker

The flames would strike as Zarya completed her slash on Harren and considering that there were only approximately 2 meters separating the two women at this time, it would grab her well before any attempt at escape. The Zeltron had utilized her force reserves the minute before to augment her speed, she had sustained injuries, was in a pained/debilitated state, and her focus had momentarily just been on slaying Harren. Further add the power difference between the two due to Arianna's superior connection to the dark side, and the crusader was confident that defending against this attack would be beyond the novice acolyte's scope of abilities.

Arianna continued in her path, her figure would be behind Niish and therefore out of Wes' direct line of sight. However, she could likely see the Drast out the corner of her eye if he were to get around her reptilian comrade and thus would be mentally prepared for any surprise intervention. Her lightsaber remained ignited in her right fist and ready to defend as she pressed with her force fire, anticipating resistance from her prey but also as the apex predator she was, prepared to overpower the lesser Sith.

@vamp @Gian Greydragon

 

[Wes Thul Drast]

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Wes was a skilled duelist, or as skilled as one could get when growing up waving swords around. He certainly possessed more skill and flourish than a bipedal lizard, even if he wasn't as strong. As he swiped at the Barabel, it used its left saber to try to block, while also jabbing its right blade at him. The sequence of actions was a bit peculiar, since Wes' swipe was going from the lizard's right to its left, meaning that the jabbing blade would be in his saber's trajectory. Whether intentional or not, the Sith succeeded in blocking the swipe, for now.

Wes was mindful of his steps as his saber clashed with the Barabel's left saber, the lizard flicking its blade in a semi-circle. He succeeded in getting Wes to disengage, but the jab went past his right side, the Drast using his momentum to pivot on his left foot around the Barabel. His saber free, he struck while his enemy was still recovering from the jab, slashing his red blade from his lower right to his upper left, aiming to cut into its chest, then carve out from its upper back.

@christhebarker @Faded Truth @Gian Greydragon

 

[Zarya]

as she slew The Deucalian and his body went limp, she felt the heat long before she saw it, her lightsaber was in no position to defend againest it but her left hand was free, she summoned a force barrier. she didn't manage to get the barrier up before some flames reached her, it moderately burned the upper arm, burning through her robes exposing injury. as the flames hit the barrier, she began to see it buckle almost like growing cracks in a Pane of glass. this attack was powerful, beyond her skill in the force. she felt a call from within her, promising the power need to sustain the barrier, that she need only stop resisting her emotions for it to give to her. she saw let go, her irises turn yellow and she began to feed off the pain letting it turn to anger to fuel her and the barrier.

The barrier held againest the jet of flames, she dropped the barrier as flames receded back to the sorceresses fingers, she turned to face the sorceress with gritted teeth and heavy breathing, she was tired. she looked briefly looking down at Harren's lightsaber while turning, she pulled it to her in a reverse grip, activating it and pulling the blade across her body defensively while the blue saber lay pointed off to her right somewhat limp. she may not ready for what may come next but she we try to face it.

@vamp @Gian Greydragon @Faded Truth

 

[Niish Chichel]

Niish had successfully parried Wes to his left, immediately pivoting on the ball of his right foot, toward the Drast, as he passed him by, igniting the second blade of his lightsaber and angling it down and to his right, blocking, Wes' strike in it's tracks, and thrusting his lightsaber toward the Drast's stomach, carrying out the thrust, before disengaging his lightsaber, and swiping upward, at the human's chin.


@vamp @Faded Truth @Denzein @christhebarker

 

[Wes Thul Drast]

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Wes kept his head (and upper half) low, capitalizing off the lizard's massive size. As it tried to thrust out at him, he quickly shifted his body to the left, disengaging from the lock and avoiding the tip of his opponent's blade by a small margin, the heat emanating off of it only inches away, before it quickly faded away as he got away. The Drast jumped a few steps away, his left hand pointed at the Barabel. A blast of Force energy erupted from it, the Sith throwing all he had into the attack. It would hit the lizard and send his upper half flying for a few meters, feet dragging over the floor.

In the distraction that ensued, he'd shoot his blaster 3 times at the governor, who was cowering behind his desk. The bolts would strike his unarmored figure, killing him instantly and deeming the mission a fail, which made it a Republica victory. After that, he'd pick up his Zeltron companion and run off, carrying her over his shoulder. Leave no man behind.

The Drast exited through a side door.

@Gian Greydragon

EXIT THREAD​

 

[Darth Victress]

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There he stood, Shawn. He was 19, born and raised off Serenno, and recently enlisted into the Imperial Army. He was commissioned as a heavy trooper and assigned to protection detail within the Sith Crusader's platoon. He was a good lad, responsible, young, and even had a girlfriend to whom he had been relatively faithful. Sure, there were a few drunken liaisons, but who could blame him? He was 6'3", blue eyed, and blonde haired: Ladies loved him.

He was one of the three remaining soldiers alive in the chamber, guarding over Arianna's unconscious body after her bout with the Zeltron. However, his eyes remained on the ensuing combat between the Drast and the Barabel. As Niish was force pushed and Wes darted towards the Governor, Shawn immediately recognized the threat. Without hesitation, he sprinted towards his right and jumped into the trajectory of the three bolts aimed at the Ghostling. Three bolts struck true, two of them striking Shawn's torso while the other on his groin. The governor, while petrified and urinating on himself, was relatively safe.

The other two troopers towered in front of the Governor to provide protection as Wes left through the door with Zarya in tow; one of them kneeling besides the man who had sacrificed his life for this mission. "Why'd you do that?! Why'd you leap like that?!"

Shawn, in his dying breaths, looked at his comrade and simply said: "Because...good soldiers follow orders.."

@vamp @Gian Greydragon @christhebarker @Denzein

 

[Niish Chichel]

Niish flew into a rage after the Sith got away from the tip of his weapon, and by extension his maw. Skidding across the floor, he kept his balance, and regained a measure of composure, his mind went off of the subject of food, and back on the subject of the mission. Quickly pulling the feather-weight governor toward him, causing him to further soil himself, but he managed to keep the man who'd inspired Niish to make a mango chutney with his glowing Ghostling meat, should he acquire some in the near future. It was not often, nor ever intentional that he play hero, but it was necessary today. What mattered was that he'd starved the broken false Empire of a win, as they starved him from his lunch, when they thought they could so easily rob them of one.

As the Ghostling neared his hand, he gripped his robe with a talon'd fist, and lifted him up to his nose. "You agree to Lady Crusssader, yes?!" he shouted, mere inches from the frail Ghostling's face. His guards behind him trembled, with weapons raised, the barrels visibly shaking. They feared they'd have to fire on the Sith, and as just evidenced by the bout between the two Sith factions, they knew it wouldn't end well if that were the case. They simply prayed the Governor would agree just to get the Sith to leave.

@Faded Truth

 

[Darth Victress]

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The Governor was shocked to see that a soldier had sacrificed his life for his own well being; additionally, he was forced pulled closer to the giant reptile. Ghostlings were naturally frail and thus easily frightened as his robe was snatched and his body lifted into the air to match Niish at eye level. The governor gulped lightly, musing a light smile. "But of course...I would be dead had it not been for the courage and bravery of the Old Empire. Please, tell Emperor Vrael that the realm of Datar will provide whatever resources and support he needs in this endeavor. Rule to the strong.."

He stated, hoping that the Barabel wouldn't eat him or better yet, make him a desert with Mango Chutney. For now, Old Empire had prevailed victorious, though the cost many would argue, had been too great.

Such, was the casualties of war.

// end thread

@christhebarker @Denzein @vamp @Gian Greydragon