The Battle of Coruscant -- Galactic Alliance Defense Force Command Center

[Gaja]

~ Say Goodbye, as we dance with the Devil tonight ~​

He smirked as he sat in his chair, leaning forward, his eyes on a computer screen. It was not a joyous smile however, as the Jedi Master felt despair creep up on him. Despite their defenses, despite their best efforts, despite all the sacrifices... they lost... The Alliance lost the war...

For a moment he would forsake his own life as he sat there in the Command Center, the center of the war effort against the Empire... At that last moment he knew a Sith Warship was coming his way and that in a matter of minutes he too would be no more. At that moment he thought of his training as an Initiate with Mira Albion. Curiously how he thought about his mindset back then, all he ever wanted back then was to be strong, was to attain perfection in the art of the blade yet what he got instead landed him here...

He thought about his sister and the Jedi she saved by getting them of Coruscant and their own little goodbye.... Teynara and Narrah, his two only real interests.... His parents Ethan and Layla and how he'd meet them soon enough... or would he? Was he truly meant to die here, like this? Certainly if some mediocre writer was asked he'd agree that a General should go down with his ship but as he saw an item that belonged to him Guhoo pushed his chair away... Grabbing the year old black bandanna Guhoo remembered how Teynara would tease him that he looked like a thug when wearing that thing...

He wanted to smile but as his arms felt heavy the man wrapped it around his forehead one more time. He'd made up his mind, he wouldn't go down without one last fight... He still had minutes to try and survive... And so the doors leading outside the command center, or Bridge if you preferred, the Jedi started running outside, towards his ship... Only to find out that it had been bombed and blown up. No doubt would a Sith pilot claim the credit for that one but he didn't have time to waste. Running down a long hall the man sought an alternative to escape the Command Center... And even though it mattered very little right now he knew that as he ran he was simply Guhoo Armstrong... He was no longer the Supreme Commander, nor was he really a Jedi anymore...

The Alliance was broken, the Jedi Order was broken as well... The Empire and the Sith have won...

 

[Kaeb]

Arriving from Level 1313

Level 1
The crumbling surface of the world...​

Hope - however fleeting - still remained, inside the halls of an ancient ship, long abandoned by time and recorded memory. It flew through towers of black smoke and smoldering flame, hovering over the surface of the world as it struggled to survive the inevitability of it's own demise, under the onslaught of a cold and mendacious empire. The ship itself bared a stark resemblance to an insect, buzzing and flying over a scope of destruction seemingly beyond it's own ability to comprehend, but this insect was not alone, nor was it weak. It had just fled the most wretched hive of scum and villainy this galaxy has ever known, the hallowed halls of the Coruscanti Underworld, in the desecrated streets that riddled the guts of the planet. It's engines rumbled as it darted across the burning landscape, leaving countless ruins and hollowed out structures in it's wake, but it's path was erratic, resembling an insect all the more, it was searching for something. And as it's direction changed once more, it appeared to have found that which it desired as the engines fully ignited and it bolted forth towards a vast structure, one still recognizable despite it's decimated appearance, it was that of the Galactic Alliance Defense Command Center, or at least it used to be. What was once a formidable force in the galaxy, was now nothing more than bent metal, charred stone and shattered glass. To look upon it, was to see the state of the Alliance, for it had now truly fallen. Although, some semblance of it's foundations still remained, perhaps all was not lost, as the vessel decreased it's speed and began to descend further down into the chaos of war.

Blaster shards careened off the hull of the vessel as it landed upon the heavily damaged rooftop of the collapsing command center, although the battle had clearly been won by Imperial forces, it still raged on throughout the area. Much of the vicinity was covered in smoke, dust and the fog of war. Occasional lights flickered through the smog, almost every one of them piercing the armour of unknown soldiers as they fell to the ground, shadows in the smoke of the carnage. As the vessel finally landed, the structure almost seemed to wail and wain under it's weight, but the roof managed to maintain it's architecture despite the damage inflicted upon it. Light emanated from the rear of the vessel as it's docking ramp extended, a silhouette descended from it with quickened steps, until it was suddenly illuminated by the raging fires that licked the reinforced Command Center. Whisper gasped as she witnessed the destruction, it paled in comparison to all that she had just witnessed in the Underworld, but it was no less horrifying. She turned to see other silhouettes on the ramp becoming slowly illuminated by the fires, these ones smaller and slower in their movements. She urged the children back into the ship as she searched for a method of signalling those on the ground that a ship capable of ferrying them off world had arrived, and after scanning the environment quickly, she found it. The burning corpse of an Alliance soldier lay, with it's hand extended towards a military issue flare gun, it had clearly been his assignment to signal the retreat to the roof, for a rescue that had never arrived, until now. Deep below, Whisper, with the help of other mercenaries previously unknown to her, had managed to discover a fleet of old sewage treatment vessels, long abandoned by a previous government of the planet, deep in the world's core. After discovering countless children seeking shelter within those forgotten halls, she betrayed the mercenaries and decided it was time to change her fate. She would no longer be another hired gun, another contracted blade, she refused to live the life of a criminal any longer, she decided to craft a new life and to secure and save the lives of whoever she could. After losing so much, it was time she helped the world regain what it had lost. She loaded the gun with a single flare, aimed high and immediately fired a single shot.

Not sticking around to view the bright blue fireworks, she darted back towards the ship and quickly vaulted up the docking ramp, navigating through the vessels halls until she reached the cockpit. The ship may have appeared small against the landscape of Coruscant's destruction, but it was capable of housing hundreds of occupants if required, a fact she intended to put to the test. Reaching for the communications console, she signaled to one of the sewage ships other in the fleet, quickly establishing contact with the droid custodian with whom she had become acquainted, C7, a monitoring platform who had overseen the maintenance of this ancient fleet for thousands of years. He referred to it as 'the Orchestra'.

''Custodian, I need to broadcast on all available frequencies in the area.
NOW.''

''Mercenary, you must have patience, these things take t-''

'It's now, or never C7.
Assemble the Orchestra as well,
it's time.''

''One moment....yes...you are now broadcast capable.
The Orchestra is minutes from your location, do be quick.
The connection is somewhat unstable.''

''Attention all Alliance forces, this is your f ucking guardian angel speaking.
If you miserable bastards have any hope left burning inside that shiny armour of yours, then you will not let this defeat come to pass.
You will retreat, so that you may return.
You will flee, so that you might fight again.
If you so-called soldiers don't get your asses onto this rooftop in 5, then the Imps won't have a chance to kill you,
because I'll come down there and ring your necks myself.
Rescues on it's way boys and girls, don't be late.''

''I think that may just get their attention.''

''I'll see you on the ground tinhead,
hopefully I'll have some friends with me.''​

Whisper urged what children she had onboard to the side, she was fortunate that the ship she was on was one of the few that did not take fleeing civilians with it from beneath the surface of Coruscant, some of them likely criminals themselves, given their location during the Imperial assault. Other empty vessels would soon arrive, controlled via remote signals from the main ship of the old sewage fleet. A legacy from a time long forgotten, a legacy that just might end up saving the Alliance's battered and bruised behind. She stepped back out onto the roof of the Defense Headquarters, lit up a deathstick cigarra and leaned against the side of her newly acquired vessel, marveling at the battle below as she awaited any remaining survivors who sought to escape a battle that they had surely lost, perhaps seeking to undo that defeat at a later time when such a thing might be possible. Part of her, despite her disbelief, hoped they did. She was tired of her world, the hiding, the lying, the stealing and killing. She longed for a new world, devoid of the horrors she had been unfortunate enough to witness in her life time. She was weary of war, perhaps this, her final act of retribution, could contribute to an ending of it for a time. Perhaps together, the remnants of this defeat, could achieve peace. She took a pull from her cigarra as her lips fell into a contemplative stare. Time would tell.

 

[Gaja]

Explosions, fires, smoke and gunshots. War was the disease that infested Coruscant this day, and it had taken over the entire planet faster than any other disease ever could and painted the planet red and black. As he ran through a hall where he just hours ago walked in the presence of Alliance Army Generals and went over the final battle plans Guhoo saw bodies of both Imperial and Alliance soldiers on the ground and he felt his heart sink a bit. So many lost lives, for what....

Why did so many men and women have to die? What was the cause of all of this. Was there even a reason for all of this. Could someones greed and lust for power truly be that big to create all of this? With the smoke and explosions going of behind him the man couldn't really dedicate the necessary time and effort to such thoughts, to everything happening right now, as the force warned him about an incoming danger, and as he made a spectacular jump forward another explosion caused further damage to the structure he was currently in.

Protected by his battle armor the blond haired jedi with the shoulder length blond hair heard something. A rescue... Looking around he realized that this was probably the last ship off Coruscant, if they even made it out of the area. Surviving was quite the long shot at this moment but there was always hope, even now... So without any alternative it was towards the old ship on the rood, no time to waste as there was pretty much no living soul around him at this time.

About a minute after the flair gun had went of the image of an armored figure could be seen by Whisper. Almost shoulder length blond hair was held in place, for the most part, by a black bandanna. Charred dark gray metal plates covered the body of the man who just days ago carried the title of Jedi Battle Master as well as the title of Supreme Commander of the Alliance Armed Forces. The man was Guhoo Armstrong, though his name mattered fairly little right now, right now he was no different from all the other lost souls that Whisper was trying to help. He was simply trying to escape this hell...

It would seem his best efforts weren't enough as in the distance the massive Sith Warship approached and for a second Guhoo looked at it. His lightsabers could be spotted briefly as the modified brown jedi robe covered them partially. Then again the man made no attempts to hide his identity and he figured that whether or not he was a Jedi mattered fairly little. Picking which people she'd save was probably a luxury Whisper could not afford right now.

"How many have made it?" Looking at the dark haired woman Guhoo wasn't sure what impresion he gave of but certainly he held the woman in high regard, she was after all trying to save as many people as she could... And as there were still Alliance soldiers fighting the Corellian Jedi could only respect and admire her for that.

 

[TAC]

The fight was not over, however.

And more rescue was on the way.

Several levels beneath where the once renowned Guhoo Armstong walked, a few dozen Alliance Special Force Troopers and Jedi made a slow retreat backwards. Several minutes ago a Special Forces Captain had called the retreat over the Alliance radio, and these few brave men and women had rallied on the man known as Larik Novan. Many more had turned and run, retreating to places under much less scrutiny to the Sith and their Imperial lackies.

For those that rallied to Captain Novan's call, however, the battle was far from over. They had gathered at the door, attempting to set up a defensive position at that choke point, but it was apparent to all of them that this was a death wish. As more Imperial troopers, Stormtroopers, and Sith descended on their position, even from the hallways that they were defending, the call was again made for a slow retreat. The seeming endless waves and tides of Imperials, however, gave the lost pocket of defenders no quarter.

Slowly, with determined steps, the party of 60 or so assembled Alliance soldiers and Jedi moved their way back through the halls. Sith and Imperial soldiers continued their push, using the small hall to their own advantage as they funneled firepower down upon the Alliance supporters. Their leader attempted to move them backward, and upwards through the remains of the Galactic Alliance Defense Force Command Center, quickly. Changing the few Jedi he had with him in and out as much as possible, and igniting his own lightsaber himself, Master Novan preserved as many lives as he could.

It was, however, futile against the crushing numbers of their enemies.

''Attention all Alliance forces, this is your ****ing guardian angel speaking.
If you miserable bastards have any hope left burning inside that shiny armour of yours, then you will not let this defeat come to pass.
You will retreat, so that you may return.
You will flee, so that you might fight again.
If you so-called soldiers don't get your asses onto this rooftop in 5, then the Imps won't have a chance to kill you,
because I'll come down there and ring your necks myself.
Rescues on it's way boys and girls, don't be late.''

Larik made an odd face as a voice chirped at him over the channel. "Next Jedi," the man called over his shoulder, "you're up!" The man continued their slow retreat in the line of defending Jedi, blocking bolts back as they came, until a substitution took his spot. He then moved quickly to the front of their slow moving column, filling the halls of the Command Center. The voice had come from a comms from the top of the building, and his own device was able to lock on it's signal so he could respond.

"Hello, Guardian Angel," Larik replied, no hint of enthusiasm or joking in his voice, "This is Special Forces Captain Larik Novan. I have a few short of 60 soldiers and Jedi, moving through the halls to your location. Another ship, the Sundance Maiden, will also be arriving to pick some of us. I'd appreciate if you could give a lift to the majority of the folks we have with us, though." The man awaited no reply, as a Sith appeared ahead of the party he was now again at the front of. The Jedi Master's lightsaber flung up, catching the first attack of the man. A barrage from his non-committed forces threw the Sith, probably an acolyte, off and away from the Corellian. Dead.

The party continued to move as quickly as they could, which wasn't very, considering the number of soldiers and Jedi they had with them. The Corellian kept them moving, however, until they finally arrived on the final incline to the roof of the door. It was a long incline, no stairs, about 100 feet, which ended with blast doors. part of the wall next to the doors were collapsed, and the doors were wide open. "Move!" the man yelled, as they neared the defense position, "Set up a defensive position on the rubble!"

The long incline upward was a hallway, true, but one that was far wider than the other they had been in. All of the Alliance Soldiers and Jedi were exhausted, and would be sitting ducks as they made the charge up to the last defendable position. Larik dropped back, signaling for a few of the more advanced Jedi to do as well. Turning his lightsaber off, Larik hooked it to his belt, closing his eyes and callin upon the Force. Utilizing a skill he had not used in quite some time, dating back to his training with Master Vashee, the air in front of the Jedi appeared to start to shimmer.

Moving slowly backward, with the Jedi flanking him, Larik ignored the first imperial that came around the corners. They began to open fire, but their bolts instead slammed into the barrier. Behind the few Jedi left on the defense, the Alliance guards and younger Jedi started pouring out the door and onto the destroyed roof. The Sundance Maiden, piloted by Jedi Knight Loogo Vsil, would shortly be arriving. For now, however, Larik stood by Jedi Knight Minion Hophlee and Kendra Dan-Dover, as well as several other accomplished Jedi, slowly buying those behind them as much time as they could.

 

[Just Matt Now]

The struggle to move the Sundance Maiden in the thick and heat of battle was more than trying, even for the experienced Sluissi. Plcing himself in the line of fire so that Larik and the others could have notable time to retreat back into the Command Center had garnished the ship with small arms fire bolts, however nothing that would tamper with it's mobility. Loogo would keep his promise, yes the ship would appear bruised, but that was a small price to pay for successfully getting them out of there alive. Now the hard part.

Though the Sith were adaptable. As the Jedi retreated safely, the Sith brought in heavier weaponry, E-WEBs and rocket launchers that would surely hit the Sundance Maiden hard. Loogo pulled the throttle and took off before they could have a chance to lock on, evasive maneuvers to help prevent it. Although the Imperials still managed. As Loogo veered away from the fight, a rocket was headed straight for his underbelly. Loogo saw it if he were in slow motion, tilting the ship to almost 90 degrees to avoid the missile by mere inches, it exploding into the Command Center instead. Loogo hit the throttle and increased his acceleration, getting out nearly unscathed.

As he left he peered over to the entrance of the Command Center and saw his Master enter as the last Jedi to do so, covering the rest of the retreat. His next step would be to meet them on the roof no doubt, and Loogo had to buy them some time. Now at a distance exceeding any laugher or rifle, the Sluissi pulled a turn and headed back towards the Sith and Imperials who hurried to go after the fleeting Jedi.

"Masster get your ass to the rooftop now!! Once they sstart sending fighters we will not esscape."

Loogo sounded in over the comm. Although his words seemed to play as an eery foreshadow, as two Imperial TIE fighters came zooming into play. Loogo noticed them immediately on his radar and took more evasive maneuvers. Their presence undoubtedly aimed to taking care of this infiltrating ship.

Loogo gunned his engines, knowing that he would have less maneuverability then these small fighters, though more engine power on the straight away. Green traces hurled over the canopy, though Loogo kept his ship parallel to them. It would be over if they shot him down, and the Jedi would be captured. Loogo would not let that happen. instead he gunned it for the sun, the sun that was quickly falling on the horizon. Loogo was piloting with the Force, he had hoped that the glare would blind the TIE's, or at least for an instance.

His assumption was correct as he cut the engine and pulled on the control rod heading back for the surface and on a collision path with the two fighters. This was risky, had they been a little closer and they would have exploded in a fiery crash that would kill them both. Though Loogo was lucky, there was room to move. Loogo lit the fighters up unawares, red tracers directly usurping the hull of the small fighters ending both of them in a green explosion. They were so close together that the explosion combined as one.

The Sluissi's heart nearly sank and relief washed over him. Though he was not out of trouble yet. It was a constant struggle, that once he got out of one situation, he was immediately propelled in another. A catch 22 that led the Sluissi to nearly succumb to the pressure, his heart flowing with a rush of blood, his chest feeling like it was about to explode. Though the thought of his mission, and the thought of the others forced him to shake it, it forced him to fight on.

The scene below became larger and larger as he descended. The Command Center was in view, as well as the insurgent Sith that made camp outside while their comrades flushed the Jedi out. Though Loogo could not see anyone on the roof top. There were soldiers, though not the ones he was expecting.

Landing on the roof with little direction from the landing pad's crew, Loogo hoped that the others were there soon. He was sure that more fighters were on their way. Opening up the landing pad, Loogo kept the Sundance Maiden ready to take off.

 

[Brandon Rhea]

Life itself was dying. Coruscant, in this moment, was the closest any mortal would ever come to understanding what it would be like if Death reached out its cold hands and reaped the Force, or God, or nature, or whatever it was that made the universe spin. On the surface, and even in orbit, every living thing felt the destructive power of what the two tiny figures atop the hull of a Star Destroyer were doing. Life was being drained, sucked into the blackened and decrepit soul of a curse called Skywalker.

Those adept in history might have drawn a comparison to the ancient Dark Lord of the Sith called Darth Nihilus, a devourer of worlds, and life, and all the energy around him. Like that Dark Lord of old, Andraste was a wound in the Force, craving all of its energy and devastating everything in her path. No being escaped feeling its impacts; they felt drained, weak, like even the simplest of tasks required strength of herculean proportions. Escaping Coruscant, or even hiding, would feel like an eternity.

The planet itself was breaking. As the Empress drained the life and energy from all around her, the Dark Lord Vereor was ravaging the surface. A storm of pure Force energy was growing; lightning, real lightning and not artificially created from satellites, struck down from the clouds from all directions, in all streets and crevasses in the city, tearing swaths through buildings and dirt. The energies even reached into space, tearing apart ships and disrupting systems on so many others. The wind howled all through the sky, and tornadoes formed to destroy the artificial world that they were touching down on.

The temperature was dropping. At once it felt sickeningly hot but also colder than the snowy wastes of Hoth. The rain falling from the sky froze, turning into shards of ice as it fell, stabbing through the heads and bodies of countless thousands, if not more. The carefully constructed weather of the once-great capital of the Republic and the Alliance was torn asunder. The planet itself was now just as much the enemy of the Alliance as the Sith.

Yet at the center of all this madness was something beautiful. At the Jedi Temple, above which the Imperial Star Destroyer sat, a beautiful aurora was forming. Dark and dangerous energy collided into a green display of dancing lights, one that could have been a calming sight were it not for the life being drained from everything below it. At the core of this beauty, though, was something rotten, for the light was not a mere byproduct of the attack. It was the attack itself. The dark energies and lightning being displayed was the eldritch energy sucked into the very heart of this labyrinth by the Dark Lord himself, a reflection of the souls being sacrificed for more power.

Anyone with any sort of psychic awareness, be they Jedi or anyone even remotely attuned to the Force, could feel as those souls were taken and twisted into a dark purpose for which the Force should never have been used. It was a warning, a reminder of what the Chief of State said across the HoloNet.

Leave or die.

 

[ShadowWalker]

John ducked as another shot came flying over. The Sith had returned to their position in force. And it was getting out of hand. He yelled out to the rest of his men.

"Keep to cover and pick your shots, no heroics,"

That's when the broadcast played, and John looked up, and saw the warship. By the force. They had lost. He roared in anger as he redoubled his firing, and pressed his comms on an emergency channel.

"This John Sarton, my squad is pinned down and need extraction, does anybody copy?"

Static returned, and then, a voice, male, was loud and clear.

"This is Victor 419 I'm en route to your position, let's get you boys out of there,"

John cackled loudly, and yelled out to the rest of his squad.

"You hear that? We're getting out of here,"

"Hoo-****ing-rah to that!"

John immediately went back to holding the position that was precariously being placed now. The artillery pieces were in no position to return fire, but the scream of missiles overhead forced him to duck. Then a gunship flew overhead, spraying the area with repeating laser fire. A door opened, and the man on the ramp that was extending yelled out to them.

"COME ON, WE GOTTA MOVE!"

Then another missile went screaming through the air and slammed right into the side of the ship. John reached out to try and catch the man if he was going to jump. The soldier in the gunship was rocked to the side, and then, as the ship began to sway, sprinted down the ramp, and leaped to try get to the roof. He was about to fall short when John caught his arm. He grunted with exertion, and pulled the man into cover. The pilot's screams could be heard over the comms.

"THIS IS VICTOR 419, WE'VE BEEN HIT, GOING DOWN, MAYDAY MAYDAY MA-" An explosion blotted out the rest, as the gunship went up into flames. Then another voice went over comms.

"John, this is Lieutenant Daniels, 5th battalion, that was our last free gunship. I'm, I'm sorry son, we cannot pull you out,"

"Understood," he cut the comms to field command as he spoke to the rest of his squad, "ALRIGHT YOU DEVIL DOGS, IT SEEMS TODAY WE SHOW THESE SITH WHAT REAL ALLIANCE SOLDIERS CAN DO! HOLD THE LINE, KILL 'EM ALL!"

"HOORAH!" Was their answer.

John immediately began to fire into the oncoming Sith, picking his shots as he made them pay dearly for every, single, step forward they took. The gunship trooper was still frantically trying to get comms, and started broadcasting on an emergency channel.

"This is First Sergeant Micheal Collins, I am with a fireteam of Alliance soldiers, and are about to be overrun. We need extraction now!"

The Sith began their advance, and tanks began to surround the building, firing their Anti-Infantry weapons at the walls to try and kill the infantry on top of it. The situation was hopeless, and the squad, was surely doomed.

 

[Fantasy Liver]

Darren swore as Larik Novan escaped him. As he attempted to pursue, a swarm of Alliance soldiers converged on the Lepi. He sliced one in half before retreating, desperately blocking the blaster bolts converged on the Sith. Fortunately, an artillery blast from a Sith cannon obliterated most of his attackers. The ones it didn't, Darren ran at them, brandishing his lightsaber like a berserker and using his anger at losing his target to scream in rage. The Alliance soldiers who did not fall to his blade or the cannon fled for their lives.

 

[ShadowWalker]

*outside of the battle*

Destro pulled the stick bringing his freighter through several tight turns as he sought to try and lose his tails. The G-force's acting on him and Blake slammed them into their seats as he rolled again, dodging laser canon fire from the Mandalorian interceptors. He slammed back on the stick, and the throttle was at full as he grabbed sky. The Mandos followed in right behind and prepared to target the light frieghter. Then the bottom turret turned suddenly, and opened fire. The quad laser battery tore through one, and caused the second to break off. Destro seeing the other break off, leveled out his ship, as he noticed that the skies were beginning to darken. He called through the comms.

"How you doing down there?"

Phiro's response was gruff, and a little dizzy as he was down in the turret.

"Fine for now, but if you take anymore turns like that through buildings, you're gonna have to clean out this turret station, thoroughly,"

Destro cackled at the crack at his piloting, deemed crazy by most. Well, there was more than one reason for that, thought the second half. Then the comms buzzed to life.

"This is First Sergeant Micheal Collins, I am with a fireteam of Alliance soldiers and are about to be overrun. We need extraction now!"

Destro looked back at Blake, and Blake just nodded at Destro, signalling his approval. Destro spoke back through the shipboard comms at Phiro.

"Jedi, better get ready, cause we're pulling out another group of Alliance soldiers,"

With that, he spoke into the comms to the squad.

"First Sergeant, this is Destro Vulcanis, I've got a light freighter moving into your position, keep this channel open so we can track your location,"

"Understood Mr. Vulcanis,"

"Just say Destro or Shade dammit, none of the Mr. crap,"

"Solid copy,"

Destro chuckled at the soldier's blunder. He then pulled the ship into a tight turn heading straight for the fireteam.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

John was running low on ammo for his rifle, and the Sith were nearly on top of their position. He cursed as several of them rushed the building, and made it. One of the soldiers with him was firing, when suddenly, a laser cannon shot took off his head. His body collapsed onto the ground with a thud, and the man next to him roared out in anger, and redoubled his firing into the enemy, only to run out of ammo. John pointed at the headless corpse.

"Use his, he doesn't need it anymore!" John roared.

The soldier wordlessly followed the order, chucking his empty magazine over the edge like a grenade, and then slamming the used magazine into it's place. He then turned back into the oncoming soldiers, and resumed firing. That's when the First Sergeant, the one on the radio looked up and shouted with hope.

"Hey I got us extraction! WE'RE GETTING OUT OF HERE! WE JUST GOTTA -"

He slumped over onto the ground as the sniper round entered through the back of his head, and exited through his forehead. John cursed as he took cover and shouted over the roaring din.

"SNIPER GET DOWN!"

The men took cover as another shot went just where John's head had been a moment before. Then the door to the roof burst open from an explosive, and several Sith troopers stormed up the stairs onto the roof. They didn't get three steps onto the roof, before John shot them. He just pulled the trigger, and with his rifle on full auto, unloaded the rest of his magazine into the oncoming troopers, and then threw his last frag grenade down the stairs to prove a point. He reflexively took out the magazine and reached for another, when there wasn't another one there. He was out of ammo for his rifle. He threw his rifle down angrily, and drew his pistol. Then a light freighter went screaming overhead, quad laser cannon in the underbelly, a chattering away. The ship made one pass, and then came back around, the laser cannons firing away rapidly. A ramp extended from the underside, and a human walked down it a bit, heavily armored, huge, and wielding a heavy repeater. He yelled a war cry as the heavy repeater spun up, and then rapidly sent out shots, almost looking like a beam of light was slamming into whatever got in its way. The men quickly got up and ran for the ship, the first, being shot as soon as he got up. John yelled in rage as he turned and fired his pistol in anger at the sniper's position. The heavily armored man seemed to oblige, and turned his gun over to that area, suppressing whomever decided to pick that as his location. John made a run for the ship, noticing that out of the starting four, only two plus him were still alive. He stormed up the ramp as two troopers tried to rush the rooftop, and proceeded to be sawed in half the man's repeater. He then walked back into the ship, as the ramp began to close. Taking off his helmet the huge wampa of a man spoke.

"My name's Blake, and welcome to the Wolf Fang,"

The pilot roared from the cockpit.

"ONE OF YOU, GET ON THAT FORCE FORSAKEN GUN UP TOP AND THE REST STRAP YOURSELVES IN, WE GOTTA GET OUT OF HERE, RIGHT NOW!"

John immediately sprinted for the hallway for the ladder leading to the upper and lower guns. He scrambled up it quickly, and strapped himself into the gunner's seat. Blake ran back to the copilot's seat, and the other two soldiers strapped themselves to more seats in the main hold, right next to the younglings that Destro and Blake had picked up from the temple. Destro cackled as Blake strapped himself in, and a flight of Sith fighters was incoming. His voice belied his and the second half's thoughts.

"COME AND GET IT YOU SITH FOOLS!"

With that he slammed his throttle into full, heading straight for them. Blake thumbed up the forward laser cannons, and began firing, the dual laser cannons on the front of the ship, and the cannons on the top and underside of the ship began to fire into the oncoming formation. They got two fighters before they broke formation, and scrambled to get attack vectors on the freighter. Destro took a tight turn around a building, and then went straight up to grab sky, and get himself distance between the planet, and his ship. The fighters by then had reformed, and were right behind them, and began firing. The shields absorbed whatever hit, the rest flying past harmlessly into space, and Destro gunned the engines. The batteries returned fire, and managed to down another two fighters as they exited the atmosphere, right into the midst of the Imperial Fleet cleaning house against the remnants of the Alliance fleet on planet. A Victory class cruiser was right in front of them, and Destro cursed audibly as he yanked the stick to get him out of the way of the ship's hull. They skimmed across the top of the ship's hull, and laser cannon batteries scrambled to get them into their sights, and began to fire hap hazardly into the the space around the ship, but they were too close to get a real good bead onto the ship. Destro began charging the hyperdrive, and cackled as the flew right past one of the turbo laser batteries. As the passed the end of the ship, and over the engines, when the hyperdrive came back green across the board. Destro cackled as he pushed the lever forward to activate it, and spoke madly onto the open comms, taunting the Sith around him.

"Better luck next time pale skins!"

With that, his ship jumped into hyperspace, and out of the system.

 

[TAC]

More and more Imperials filled the hall, their Sith counterparts filing in behind them, waiting in a crack in the Jedi's shield. Larik grimaced, struggling to upkeep the impenetrable barrier. Only a dozen meters away from the hole, the Jedi Master groaned to him companions. "Both of you, go!" It was supposed to be a yell, but there was pain and struggle in the man's voice. The two Knights hesitated only a moment before following the orders.

The man stopped, then, taking a deep breath and giving himself to the Force. Loogo... The man spoke to his ex-Padawan through the Force. He couldn't use his comm, as he could do nothing with his body but feel the pain of the Force weakening him. Take off... get the others to evacuate... lower the ramp, and do a loop around... make sure the others are gone...

Before the Jedi Master could say more, his body suddenly had a spasme. Carefully, although quickly and with the last of his effort, he removed himself from Loogo's mind. A quick departure could cause damage, but the man had not had a two-way interaction, instead simply telling the Jedi Knight what to do. Mentally, they would be fine. But Larik had a lot more problems to deal with. So deeply seeded in the Force, the effects of the Sith Lords meddling struck him horribly. His body felt crushed, defeated, and he removed his connection to the Force as much as he could. His body shivered, although he was able to unclip his lightsaber and snap it on.

The Corellian realized he was on the floor, one arm sticking out and holding his body halfway in the air. Although the Imperials were also weakened, they recovered much quicker, and two stormtroopers sent shots flying at the Jedi. He blocked them, stumbling to his feet and backpeddling. After their own recovery, the Sith charged forward down the hall. Turning now without fear of blasters, the Jedi Master traversed the distance to the doors as quickly as he could. He jumped through it, hitting the panel on the other side and they snapped closed except for a few inches, sparking as the circuits blew.

Wheeling in front of the hole in the wall, the man's lightsaber swung forward, knocking the first Sith back into the hole in the wall. Behind him the sound of the ships taking off did little to distract him, only hoping that they were moving quickly. He couldn't hold the Sith back forever. A crusader cut down the Sith in front of him, trying to get to Larik, and the man was amazed at the bloodthirst. The Sith were evil, but they weren't stupid. Regardless, the Jedi didn't mind as he met this man sluggishly, but with still more skill than the Sith could manage.

 

[Kaeb]

Whisper cursed violently as she dragged a severely wounded and bloody Jedi through the muck, only for a stray blaster shard to cleave his head in two before she could get him any further, she dropped his corpse and reached for another casualty without hesitation. She could not afford any more to die, not as long as she had taken them under her care, when she took a job she finished it, no exceptions. Although, this particular job would be the first one she'd taken without eventual payment, so it was more of an undertaking than a job really. Suddenly she was shaken out of her reverie by a precipitous orbital strike near her location, she was nearly thrown off her feet by the shear force of the blast, but managed to keep her footing long enough to tackle a soldier out of the path of a duo of Mandalorian Crusaders. Unholstering her blasters as she stood, she fired a volley of bright blue, searing shards, every single one of them flying true and hurtling both corpses to the ground before their fingers hit their triggers. The soldier didn't have time to give her thanks, as she immediately pressed forward, retreating back towards what remained of the Command Center roof as she had finally cleared a path for others to reach the ships she had brought for their evacuation. The Jedi whom had asked her how many had made it previously, had taken up a defensive stance to cover those retreating, hoping to seek refuge away from the carnage. Through gritted teeth, she cursed to herself. She had saved thousands of lives, from Westport, from the Jedi Temple, from Monument Plaza and even the Underworld, but so many would not make it. So many would die, despite her having the means to save them. She caught tears forming in her eyes as she ran, mouth wide with gritted teeth. She had never been as angry as she was now. A girl she had taken under her protection years ago, likely died in the opening bombardments. Even though she had now saved so many her, her death still clung to her like a shadow. She felt like she was lost in space, with no stars to guide her. Then she found it. She hovered over the corpse of a Jedi, two lightsabers clasped in a hand over their chest. Taking both, she ignited one and sliced off the tip of the other. Casting the intact one to the side, she ignited the other. Sparks flew erratically in all directions. She had her star.

''TOO MEE!!!! TOOO MEEEE!!!!
RETREAT TO THE ROOOFF!!!!
CASST THESE SCUM ASSIDE!!!
WE'LL SOOON RETURN FOR THEIR HEADS!!!!
RETREAAATT!!!!''​

Makeshift flare in hand, she bolted towards the roof with every ounce of fuel left in her veins, filled with tenacity and renewed purpose. Focused on a cause. Focused. She noticed a Jedi girl with black and purple hair running along side of her, speaking with other Jedi and helping the wounded as they made their final retreat. Once they reached the roof, a line of fire was established to cut down the enemies pursuing them, a volley of blaster shards rained down, quickly followed by another. Then another. Then another. The noise of war was enveloping them, invading their senses as they fought for their lives and the lives of their brethren. One final push was all it took, as the last of the men, women and children finally reached the extended docking ramps of every single ship she had brought. Thirty three ships capable of housing hundreds if not thousands of men, each of them capable of extended travel. Once they were responsible for sewage maintenance, now they would shelter the last remnants of a fallen kingdom. Whisper carried a little boy on board, leaving him with other children being cared for in the cargo bay, next to massive containers filled with Coruscanti sewage. Running back into the fray outside the ship, she observed the field of battle. Everything before her was in enemy hands. Nothing of the Alliance remained. They had saved all possible, and still many were lost. She nodded to the Jedi who had spoken to her before, he nodded in return. They were the last to step back on board as the ramps reclined inside. Suddenly, she bolted towards the main cockpit, signaled the other ships and began their retreat. They had one last stop to make, and then they would finally be free of the conflict. It was a somber relief that settled inside of her, as she throttled the ship forward, heading directly for the place were the entire conflict had arguably begun. To the center of the galaxy. The Senate.

And then, to freedom.

 

[TAC]

As the Jedi Master slayed the first, second, and third Sith that attempted to pour through the small hole, the final ship took off behind him. For a few dozen seconds, Larik Novan felt alone in the world. Behind him was only the bare, empty roof of the Galactic Alliance Defense Center- it was crippled, destroyed, and void of all life. Thrashing to come through the hole, with a single intention of killing this last Jedi Master, at least a dozen Sith pushed.

It was bleak, a final microcosm of the Galactic Alliance and Jedi Order's fall. With no support, with no aid, and with the Sith jumping down their throats, these great institutions of galaxy wide peace were falling.

Everything slowed down for the Jedi Master. Behind him, from between the mixed emotion of the now empty roof to the world screaming in pain, he felt a beacon of light. A rather bold Crusader spiraled towards the Jedi Master from the hole, and for the first time in this particular fight, he took a step back. The Sith let loose a roar of pride as he charged forward again. Quite to his surprise, however, the Jedi Master flipped the right, two flicks cutting the arms from the Sith.

As the Sith's pride turned to pain, the Jedi Master- for the second time in his life- turned to run. His lightsaber was pointed down and to the side as he used the force to propel himself forward. The Jedi had fallen, the Alliance had fallen, and it was time for the defenders of Coruscant to accept that they had lost.

It was time to go.

The Sith and Imperials sprinted after the Master Jedi. Several shots were fired at the retreating Corellian, but his lightsaber either flicked to deflect them, or he simply sidestepped them as he ran. A concentrated fire would have been more of a problem, but the Imperials were too focused on their chase to stop and think. They slowed their dead run as they neared the end, as there were no buildings for the man to jump to, but Larik did not stop. He ran and ran, and when he reached the edge of the building, he summoned the Force and jumped into the air. Suddenly, a ship appeared from the next building over. It swooped over, and as Larik jumped, he reached an arm out. From the ship's descended ramp an arm stuck out, snagging the Jedi Master as he passed the now slow moving ship.

Screams of rage rang out, and a few blaster bolts sprung towards the ship. They hit the ship harmlessly, and Larik only had to deflect one. He turned up towards the ramp, as he hit the switch to close it, as they sped away. Something caught his eyes, though, and he stopped the ramp. A blue lightsaber, several blocks away from the Command Center, caught his attention. "Loogo," he said over his comlink, "Take us towards the Galactic Hall. I see another Jedi on a roof."

The ship responded almost immediately to the Jedi Master's request, and it barreled towards the building. Larik recognized the presence in the Force, it was someone he knew. The Jedi jumped from one roof, as two concussion missiles followed her, launched from an Imperial ship near by. Loogo let his own missiles go, aimed right for the distracted ship. The Imperial's missiles exploded, and a few seconds later the Imperial ship was knocked back by the Sundance Maiden's own weaponry. The Imperial ship didn't explode, instead being thrown back. It's pilot struggled to regain control, but ultimately failed to, with an explosion a few seconds later as it crashed into the next building.

A humanoid Jedi- now recognizable as a female as she fell- plummeted from the skyscraper. Knowing what he had to do, Loogo tipped the ship and dove at an angle for the woman. Larik attached his own lightsaber, off, to his belt and leaned off the ramp. He calmed himself, regardless of the ridiculous situation he was in, and focused on the falling woman. He called upon the Force, pulling her ever so slowly towards him. Too hard, and he'd rip her in half, too little and he wouldn't be able to save her. In quick enough time, though, Loogo made it above her and hovered the ship, allowing for Larik to bring the Jedi up.

She landed solidly on the ramp, after having fallen 50 stories and then reascending them with the thanks of the Jedi Master- quite a ride. Larik recognized the woman as the Jedi Knight Von Raythe- a woman who had been promoted shortly before the Battle. "Knight Raythe," the Jedi said, helping the woman to her feet, "Welcome aboard the Sundance Maiden." The Jedi started walking her up the ramp, towards the innards of the ship, as he introduced himself.

"I am Jedi Master Larik Novan. We're glad to have you."

 

[The Kyzer]

"Glad to be aboard, Master," Von replied, stretching out her limbs, "I'd ask where we're going, but I couldn't give a nerf's rear right now."

The newly-annointed Knight murmured some quick words of gratitude before she felt an echo through the Force...an echo of warning.

"We should probably get out of here," Von declared as she began running to another area of the ship. During her fall, Von had noticed the defensive turrets along the Maiden's hull. One in particular called to her.

Von slid behind the controls to the turret and engaged manual control. The targeting viewscreen lit up and massive targeting brackets appeared over the image of a ruined skyline. Coruscant's ruined skyline. However, there was no time to think about that now. Six TIE Strikers, the Imperium's mainline space superiority fighters, swung as a unit into place behind the DPx Yacht. They opened fire at maximum range just as Loogo put the ship into a climbing roll. Many of the bolts missed wildly, and those that did make contact glanced off the yacht's shields.

"Loogo," Von heard over the ship's comm channel, "Get us out of here."

A hissing affirmatory grunt was accompanied by an increase in the angle of ascent while the flight leveled out. This did allow the TIEs to eat up the distance between their laser cannons and the Sundance Maiden while also being presented an easier shot. That being said, it also gave Von the same advantages.

Von opened fire on the TIEs with nearly unerring accuracy. Within a few seconds, the six TIEs were reduced by half. The remaining fighters peeled off at random vectors, preferring to live rather than face the defenses of the Maiden anymore.

The yacht broke through the atmosphere of Coruscant a few seconds later only to stare down two squadrons of TIEs racing toward them.

"Looks like they called their friends to play too," Von muttered to herself.

"Too bad we don't have time to play," another voice replied, causing Von to jump. She hadn't realized that another gunner, a middle-aged GA soldier, had joined her.

Von then chuckled slightly and swung her turret around to fire in a forward arc. She pulled the triggers on her targeting controls, aiming for the center of the enemy fighters' formation. These pilots weren't as green as the previous ones and easily avoided the relatively erratic fire. Loogo saw the opening and goosed the Maiden's engines as much as he could.

The yacht shot forward while Von and the other turret's gunner expanded their fields of fire to cause further chaos in the Imperial strategy. The craft rocketed through the cloud of Imperial fighters and exited Coruscant's gravity well a few moments later. Two massive Imperial warships moved to intercept but were clearly too late when the yacht suddenly leapt into hyperspace.

Von turned to look at the battle still raging around Coruscant, but the ship had already made the leap to hyperspace. The other gunner's voice broke the silence.

"It really bites mynock having to retreat like this," the man said softly.

"We are not retreating," Von Raythe replied, her voice loud enough to be caught by the comm system, "We are advancing in another direction."

A chorus of laughter and groans filled the ship as it tunneled along quietly through hyperspace.