Take Me Down

[Marina Giulestei]

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The voices in her head screamed at her. Whispered at her. Fought with her for control. Against them she could not hope to hold out long, and so, she ran from them.

Quite literally it would seem. Even as the Tython Temple came under attack from Sith strike teams, burning their way through the temple and its guards, intent on some purpose she could no longer divine, she fled down it's halls, uncertain of where she was going or where she might end.

What remained of her tried to reassert itself where it could, edging her away from fights, to safety. But the Warmaster's magics had done something to her she could not so easily shrug aside. No, whatever it was would take time to heal, and at that moment there wasn't any, only the sound of blaster fire echoing down the halls that reminded her of her impotence.

Enough, she thought she had seen, of battles like this. That joining the Jedi would be a chance for a new track, a new path. The Sith had put an end to any chance of that life it seemed. And would soon put an end to her if she could not find safety soon.

@Vosrik

 

[Austin Wolfe]

The attack was underway. Austin had merely returned to the Academy on Tython to report on his and Galahad's investigation that led them from Coronet City on Corellia to the system of Ojom. Though he had expected this for some time, especially after the Conclave a few months earlier, adrenaline rushed through Austin nonetheless. He knew that despite being their home planet, the Jedi were in no true position to fight. The Sith had sent multiple strike forces to different parts of the Academy, and the doctor knew it was time for him to leave after he had help as many evacuate as he could. Stepping out into the halls, a Knight quite literally ran into him and nearly knocked him over.

"Oh, pardon me, I did not see you there —" Austin began before taking a closer look at the woman's eyes. Realizing something was very wrong, he reached out with his senses and found that her mind was in utter turmoil. Placing two hands on her shoulders, the doctor held her firmly and lowered his voice. "Knight, you need to calm down and speak to me. Tell me your name — and whatever it was you saw." Peering intently into her eyes, he had switched from Master to Doctor Wolfe. Regardless of the attack nor whatever should come to pass, this Knight was now his patient and should be in an infirmary. Or better yet, getting off world like he was about to do. This part of the Academy had not yet been approached by the Sith Forces, and Austin knew they would have at least a few moments of relative peace before needing to leave.

@Nightfall096​

 

[Marina Giulestei]

Marina’s eyes darted up at the figure she knocked into. She’d barely seen where she was going, barely seen the man, not consciously, her mind wouldn’t let her. But now he was there, and she couldn’t look away. It was the first point of contact she’d had since suffering the attack of the Warmaster, it was enough to give her mind clarity, even if for a moment,

“Marina, Giulestei, Knight. What’s left of her, if I can hold on” it was the first clear sentence she’d managed as she’d ran through the halls, as if the darkness had receded from the shores of her mind and left the clear waters remaining. If only for a moment,

“What did I see?” the thought triggered a memory that triggered a flash, a poison that coursed again into her mind, lapping at its lands once again,

“I saw a fire, a fire on the land, spreading, a dark figure bringing it upon us, light burned away” the words shot from her mouth, staccato, the images in her mind again tearing away, biting at her clarity that had seemed to return. Instead the violence of her thoughts was back, the war in there fought itself out as the war without did alongside. She’d already failed in one, she couldn’t afford to here,

“I... I’m sorry” she said, with her last shred of thought,

“I need to go” she said, stepping back from him slightly. The dark side poison pulled at her again, wanted to send her away into danger. The part of her that was still her knew she needed to be away too, but not where her mind was taking her. Perhaps the Master could sense that.

@Vosrik

 

[Austin Wolfe]

The doctor's intent gaze was met with listless eyes, as though she saw her surroundings but did not comprehend them. Austin could sense a great shadow over her mind as she answered his questions. Though she spoke of terrible things, the Master realized that her thoughts had been twisted by some dark and powerful being — likely one of the Sith invading the Academy. She sought to step back and move away, but Austin knew she needed more than to just leave.

"Knight Marina Giulestei," Master Wolfe spoke with an authoritative voice, stretching out a hand and drawing upon the Force. He summoned the power of the Light itself, releasing its rejuvenating effects upon Marina's mind. Though she would not be fully cleansed of the nightmarish visions wrought by the Sith Warmaster, hope and peace would begin to return to her. "This Darkness shall have no power over you. Come back to the Light," he commanded, his own visage turning bright with the energies that coursed through him.

As her thoughts would be relinquished from the grip of terror, Austin drew closer to grip her forearm. The sounds of fighting were drawing closer — they could not stay here. "Follow me, Marina. I have a medical bay on my ship and a competent companion on board." Looking around at the entrance to the hall where Marina came from, he saw smoke begin billowing out of the doorway. "To the hangar — quickly," he stated firmly, walking at a brisk pace in the direction they needed to go. It seemed already his medical-class triage would come in handy.

@Nightfall096​

 

[Marina Giulestei]

A stream. A wall. Cool ice holding back the fires within. If Marina could have described the feeling of the healing energies Master Wolfe proffered she would have said something like that. For a moment at least, till they made it to the hangar, her mind was clearer than she might have thought possible in spite of it all. A true wave of relief was all she could muster, all she felt now, but Austin quickly reminded her of the desperate situation they found themselves in now,

“Of course, the hangar. Before anything else might happen” she was glad to have run into someone capable, as befit his position of course. For though, he was right. The hangar and away, tython could not stand for long. Even if it held, they couldn’t stay. Too compromised. A new home. And she herself was barely in a state to get there, despite the assistance of Austin. That said, she still knew the layout of the temple, she could only pray the wookie could not see her thoughts, and quickly began making her way to the hangars on her companions instructions. Hopefully they would make it there with time enough to spare her mind the worst fate.

For now there was only the hangar, the light at the end of the tunnel for her now. Small goals. One at a time, that’s how she’d get through.

But it was never so straightforward.

As they passed through the halls, alarms blaring across the the temple, they wouldn’t find themselves alone for so long. Another strike team, a Sith, flanked by a fire team of four. Images flashed in her mind, the wookie, the moment before, all too near now, though Austin’s healing held her through the worst of it,

“They’re... they’re here” she whispered, holding herself back around the corner. Whether they could take them she could only hope.


@Vosrik

 

[Galahad Vult]

Galahad had returned to Tython from their escapade on Ojom, expecting to find it just as they had left it — serene and uneventful. Little did they know the Sith had already struck, the vanguard infiltrating various parts of the Temple in preparation for their main attack. The war for their very existence had begun.

Having gathered the supplies he needed and brought them aboard the Azarael, the Jedi Master had expected to meet Austin there as well. Finding the doctor absent, Galahad immediately knew something was wrong, and sensing that his friend needed help, he set out in search of him.

Austin and Marina’s path was blocked by the Sith and his squad, their weapons drawn and ready to slay the Master and troubled Knight. Suddenly from seemingly out of nowhere came what the attackers expected least: a Jedi Master ex-temple guard T-bone. Galahad, having barrelled down the hallway at full speed, shoulder-charged into the squad with the full force of his muscular frame bolstered by the strength of the Force. His collision knocked all five of them to the ground, his strike creating a domino effect and throwing the furthest trooper into the wall with a sickeningly meaty crunch. Whipping about his staff, he cracked it firmly against the heads of the others that remained conscious.* Galahad was a man of simple talents. He may not be the best at deception or creating cunning tactics. But if you wanted something knocked out of the way, Vult would make it so.

The squad decisively removed from the equation, the bearded Jedi looked to Austin and Marina, offering a brisk nod in greeting. ”Come; the hangar is not far.”

@Vosrik @Nightfall096​

 

[Austin Wolfe]

The darkness and terror that was forced upon the Knight must have been powerful indeed — even Austin's best efforts to fill her with the Light were only enough to simply clear her mind momentarily. She needed more than the medical attention that the Jedi Master could give; Marina needed the help of one of the Councillors. Last he had heard, Councillor Guleya had made the journey to Brighthome — and that was where they needed to go now. Nodding his head in agreement with the Knight, the two began walking briskly through the halls.

But it seemed the Empire's forces had caught up with them. Their path was blocked by a Sith with an Imperial strike team in tow. Placing a hand gently on Marina's shoulder, Austin stepped out to face them. "Come to die, Jedi?" the Sith spat menacingly, with the guards readying their weapons to strike. Suddenly, the doctor sensed a familiar presence approaching. Rapidly. A smile broke out upon the Jedi Master's face in spite of the insurmountable odds before him, something the Sith saw and scowled in confusion.

Galahad presented himself in an explosive manner, having apparently utilized the Force to turn himself into a physical battering ram. The effects of his entrance were nothing short of magnificent, his impact sending all five of them sprawling across the hall and even smacking one against the farthest wall. A chuckle escaped Austin's lips as he approached the pile of dazed men, reaching out with the Force to command the Sith's weapon to his hand. As it sailed through the air, the Jedi Master ignited his own azure blade and carved the lightsaber in half. Extinguishing his weapon, he turned and gestured to the Knight behind cover, beckoning her forward.

"Knight Marina, this is my friend Master Galahad Vult. I have yet to see an obstacle that he cannot brush aside as if it were grass. Let us push onward." Moving forward, they would find the rest of their path free from resistance from the Empire's forces.* "Perhaps now would be the time to say our farewells to Tython," Austin commented serenely as they neared the hangar. "It is likely we shall never return, and if we do, this place will not be the same."

@Nightfall096 @Shalken​

 

[Marina Giulestei]

Her two companions were lights in the darkness that threatened her, only further confirmation that would help her see out this cruel illness that had been affected upon her. There was still hope, whatever the Wookie's work had done to her mind. It was that belief that she would hold within herself from now until such time as the shadow was lifted, the thing that was would see he through,

"Master Vult, I... know your name. If only it were better circumstances under which we might meet. Know that I'm honoured" she offered to the newest entrant after their spectacular display. For all she knew of the force, the Master's held their rank for a reason. Despite the pain, and the fear, the assistance she was being shown now was a humbling experience, one for her to remember in future, if the visions did not take her. With such assistance at her side though, a hope burned in her heart.

She would not fall today. The Jedi would not fall. Not yet.

With such an image in mind she joined the Masters as they escorted her to the hangar. Soon they would be safe. If she got her chance she would fight the warmaster again, on her own terms. No surprises.

The good doctors ship was ready to fly, though it seemed that the temples intruders had other plans. Another squad, guns at the ready, passed through the door to the hangar, calling out to the trio,

"Weapons down or we fire! Or both!" they cried in a cackle, clearly beyond salvation. If Marina could have done anything to stop it, none would ever know. As she reached out with her hand a flash of images spread across her mind. Death. Destruction. An all consuming fire. Any connection to the light she meant to draw upon was suddenly squandered, and turned back upon her with a scream, a pain rushing up her arm as she fell onto the boarding ramp, clutching her arm.

It seemed she wasn't yet safe, not at all.


@Shalken @Vosrik

 

[Galahad Vult]

Though Galahad smiled at the doctor's description of him, it quickly disappeared as Marina spoke up. "Indeed. Let us be off, and we can be properly introduced later." Though the Master could sense this Knight had great strength in the Force, he also sensed her resolve had been broken somehow. Though he was sure Austin had done all he could to help the girl, perhaps this was something beyond his skill to mend. They needed to get to Brighthome — the Council would know what to do.

Having made their way into the hangar without immediate interruption, it seemed the Sith incursion was far more widespread than Galahad had initially realized as another squad apprehended the trio right as they reached the Azarael. It seemed that this group really didn't think their obligatory dark, brooding monologue through very well. If they were just going to shoot anyway, they probably could have just not said anything at all and simply opened fire. In any case, Galahad called his saber to his hand, bathing the hangar with its brilliant golden yellow blade. Despite what one might think from his last encounter only moments earlier, Master Vult was entirely dedicated to the survival and protection of his allies. Where before that required the destruction of the Sith and his squad, this time the encroaching troopers were doing absolutely nothing to prevent their escape. Standing in front of Marina to protect her from blasterfire, Galahad utilized his excellent understanding of Soresu to deflect the bolts harmlessly away. "Get her inside!" he directed Austin. "I will be right behind you!"

@Vosrik @Nightfall096​

 

[Austin Wolfe]

Wordlessly, the trio continued down the hallways until they finally reached the Azarael, waiting to take them far away from Tython and into the temporary safe haven of Brighthome. However, there the forces of the Empire awaited them. It seemed as though regardless of whether the Jedi relinquished their weapons or not, the strike team had been instructed to leave no survivors. They were simply toying with the Jedi — their supposed "prey". Galahad valiantly drew his saber, defending Austin and Marina from the shots that came their way. Despite his fellow Jedi Master's warnings, the doctor would not leave his friend on his own.

Gathering the Force within himself, he coalesced a telekinetic blast between his outstretched hands and released it powerfully towards the men. It collided with them, launching six of the eight* onto their backs and their rifles out of their hands.* The other two, staggered but still standing, shouldered their guns again and continued firing towards the escaping Jedi. Now was their chance.

"Come with me, Knight Giulestei," Austin instructed gently, helping Marina to her feet and leading her on board and to the medical bay of the Azarael. Passing the 7-foot frame of 10-NT, the doctor called out to him now that they were all on board. "Take off, Tennant!" He raised his thin arms in surprise, this being the first time since Austin had acquired the ship that he had willingly given the helm to the droid. "Why certainly, companion! Though my sensors tell me that our newest addition is suffering from immense mental trauma. I suggest she should be given counseling immediately." The doctor pursed his lips and sighed. They were well on their way to doing just that.

@Nightfall096 @Shalken​

 

[Marina Giulestei]

As she fled within the medical vessel at Austin's guidance, and with Galahad's defence, Marina managed to breath a sigh of relief, despite the droids repitition of her symptoms at least she could assume the blasted thing knew what it was doing, and with the trip to Brighthome still ahead, she had to say that any care was better than none. Even with the pairs help, fighting it off was taking its toll, and she was more than ready to shelter herself away, focus her energies into doing just that.

With the ship pulling up and away, she could feel a worrying dizziness preparing to overtake her, a tiredness she did not doubt was from the dark side pressing against her mind, and the strain it caused doing so,

"Austin, Galahad" she looked at the pair after they had made themselves more ready and the ship moved safely away,

"No matter what happens to me, thank you both. I'm sorry to draw you both away from Tython's defense on my behalf..." her voice drifted away into nothing, her thoughts falling back on themselves as she clutched her hands, weary already. A weak, shaking smile lingered on her face as she simultaneously lingered on theirs,

"I wish I only might have done more myself"

For a moment, as the ship broke atmosphere, there was peace, a silence in the void that her mind could share in.

It would not last. But a moments peace was like a lifetimes joy for her now.

@Vosrik @Shalken

 

[Galahad Vult]

Though Galahad stood his ground defending his comrades, he should have known better than assume he would have to fend off the attack on his own. Before Austin disappeared into the ship with Marina, he launched a powerful telekinetic wave at the Imperial squad, knocking most off their feet and giving the bearded Jedi a chance to escape into the Azarael as it took off.

Despite their relative safety after breaching Tython's atmosphere, Galahad could still sense a great deal of mental stress emanating from Knight Giulestei. Whoever had afflicted her with this ailment must have been incredibly powerful, especially if Austin were unable to completely treat it with his knowledge of healing and the Light Side. "You are most welcome, Knight Giulestei. Do not feel burdened so — Tython's defense is in good hands." This fact he did not doubt, but it was true that their enemy was strong and vastly outnumbered them. But Galahad did not wish to dwell on the troublesome state of the Order and its war against the Empire, not while the girl was in her current mental state.

Thankfully a distraction came in the wonderful timing of a unique friend. A small, white-scaled winged creature suddenly leaped onto Galahad's back from behind, its claws catching on his grey coat as it slowly scaled up onto the Jedi's shoulder — its current favourite perch, as Master Vult had quickly found out. Sitting happily next to his head, the young Arkanian Dragon let out a tiny screech to welcome the return of its 'father', gently nuzzling his cheek. Catching sight of the newcomer aboard the ship, the hatchling extended its neck to its full length, nostrils flaring inquisitively. Chuckling lightly, Galahad kept an eye on the creature just in case it did anything...bizarre. "Marina, allow me to introduce you to Felwinter, my bonded Arkanian Dragon. Do not worry, he means you no harm." Though there may be little the two Jedi Masters could do to fully restore Knight Giulestei's mind to what it once was, perhaps the hatchling's presence would help restore her spirits. Baby animals had a tendency to do that.

@Vosrik @Nightfall096​

 

[Austin Wolfe]

Although Tython was not far from the Jedi Order’s space station, it would still be some time before they would arrive at Brighthome. Thankfully, the Sith Empire’s blockade was not so powerful that the small craft was unable to slip through their grasp and onward to their destination. ”Calculations complete for the jump to hyperspace,” Tennant stated from the cockpit down the corridor from the three Jedi. ”Warping now.” The occupants of the Azarael would feel a slight lurch as the starry pinpoints of light became elongated and stretched as they winked out of Tython orbit. Their escape from the invasion was successful and they were safe for now.

Austin listened as Mariana gave her
thanks to both Galahad and the doctor as well as an apology. He shook his head gently even as his fellow Master replied. ”The home of the Order is not in its temples and knowledge, but in its people. Though Tython may be lost and all that we hold dear, we still have one advantage.” Austin paused, a warm smile still on his face despite the dire situation that the Jedi now faced. ”The Sith cannot destroy an idea, and there will always be a Jedi Order.”

The sudden appearance of Felwinter caught the doctor by surprise — he nearly forgot the Arkanian Dragon was also on board. The medical droid currently flying the medical craft had been immensely helpful in providing the two Jedi information on how to care for the creature they had come across on Ojom. Though they had both been warned of the fiercely territorial nature of the Dragons, Felwinter did not seem to possess such hostility towards newcomers yet — perhaps because he was barely a week old. Everything the white-scaled reptile encountered was a new experience.

@Nightfall096 @Shalken​

 

[Marina Giulestei]

“Too right Masters. They’ll never snuff out the light”
she replied to the pair, as Felwinter jumped up to view her. A beautiful creature, more innocent than those who raised her. Though hopefully it could grow to be as noble. Such we’re her last thoughts before she fell into a deep and quiteted daze for much of the ensuing trip. But Galahad has been right, her last thoughts had been some of clarity, purity, defiance. As well as a cheeky grin she gained from the sight of the dragon babe.

Such would be enough to let her rest through their trip to Brighthome, herself left in a stunning trance that held sufficiently with the assistance of the Jedi Masters at her side, to suffice her till she made it to the station. There she might find full treatment, force these images from her mind. For now they simply floated underneath, bubbling away, ready to burst forth again if the fight against them let up.

But they were safe. That’s all that counted for now, a trio of refugees it felt it her, away from the destruction of their home world. Their heart world. They, and the Order could not be the same after this, and unbeknownst to her many wheels turned in the leaders of the galaxy now that would make that more true than she could know.

For now though all she could focus on was holding back the infection that took her, and remembering the debt she owed Masters Wolfe and Vult, ready to be repaid if the moment ever called for it.

Her life on Tyhton was over. Her life in the shadows would soon begin.


@Vosrik @Shalken

/EndThread

Spoiler: OOC

And I think we can leave it there. Thank you both so much! Really enjoyed the thread we put together :D