Ask Invasion Yavin IV Yavin Some Ya Lose Some

[Darth Tempest]

Vahliri’s eyes immediately narrowed when Tazlen spoke. Seriously - of all the people she would’ve found on Yavin, it just had to be him. “I hate you.” She grumbled with an equally grumpy expression, the words serving as a repetition of the sentiment she’d expressed quite literally a dozen times prior to their current fight.

The half-Annfyn fully committed to the dual-phase attack, and was thus entirely thrown off by Tazlen’s decision not to follow through with the swing. Instead, saber remained layered over the top of his own - her guard open while his right hand whirled in from the left. Out of instinct, Vahliri attempted to use her left arm to block the arm - only to promptly re-discover that it wasn’t there. Instead, Tazlen would merely see her arm-stump wiggle a bit in protest to the incoming bitchslap.

Unable to block, Vahliri couldn’t help but gasp out a breath as Tazlen backhanded her across the face - the force of his gauntlet-covered hand enough to crack her nose. Pain stung across her face, followed by a steady trickle of blood beginning to drip from her nose. “THE HELL!?” She exclaimed, quite literally offended by the maneuver. Why couldn’t he just stab her?

Gritting her teeth, Vahliri stepped further into Tazlen’s guard - capitalizing upon the fact that their sabers were pinned to the right, and Tazlen’s own arm had swung upwards to execute upon the bitchslap. Her right left lifted off the ground - driving upwards in an attempt to slam her knee directly into the Jedi Knight’s groin. It was far from a lethal attack - but would be painful if successful, and ideally cause the Jedi to reel back from their bladelock.

Regardless of the outcome, Vahliri began to pick up on an incoming transmission from the other side of the temple - shouting into the comm-piece in her ear. News of the Imperial victory rang through her head, followed by orders to allow the Jedi to evacuate. Vahliri blinked a few times, her jaw setting into a firm line at that particular piece of information. She had no doubt that Tazlen would be receiving similar information himself.

 

[Celeste Stythani]

With the both attacks of two Jedi having hit her, Celeste was admittedly pissed. There was a fire in her eyes while she feistily stared at the Jedi, waiting for her to make her next move, and the Jedi wasted no time before she rotated her free hand. Celeste had no idea what Tahiri was planning to do, but she immediately moved her blade back in front of her body to defend herself if necessary, but the first thing she Jedi did was to cast a light flash that shone right in her face.

Growling frustratedly once the light blinded her, Celeste sent a furious Force Push that was supposed to immediately swipe the Jedi off her feet in response. She was trying to push the Jedi further away to buy her time, while she focused on the Force to track her movement. Despite being dazed, she still had a rough idea about where her opponent was standing and might attack from.

There had already been quite a distance between them and she was now intending to increase it. The push was intending to interrupt any possible follow up attacks as she could sense now the woman was getting dangerously closer. If Celeste realized that her push had not interrupted the saber attack as intended, she would take several steps backwards to avoid being struck, as her vision started to restore and Vahliri's voice loudly echoed through the halls.

@Wit @Altaris @Sreeya

 

[Tazlen Axil]

Tazlen drew back his hand with a smug grin after the backhand, pleased with himself. However, he was soon distracted when Vahliri went for a crotchshot. Fortunately, even civilian men had reflexive means of dodging knees to the ‘nads. A trained Jedi like Tazlen was even better trained for it because it was such an obvious target. As the knee came up, the Jedi’s leg came up so the knee collided with his thigh instead.

"How rude," He said with a grin.

The Jedi stumbled back a bit, ready to engage again. However, that was when he received the transmission about the battle. For the first time, his face betrayed despair and genuine sadness. He exhaled as he stepped back, launching a massive push to send Vahliri flying backwards and away from him. She would see the pain in his eyes right before she was launched, not a shred of his sarcasm or playful cockiness present.

“Fall back, padawan, the planet's lost!” Tazlen called out to the girl as he backpedaled away. He used the Force to call the gauntleted arm to himself, keen on taking that armor. He wasn’t afraid to fight both Sith if it came down to it, but for now the Jedi needed to retreat. Tazlen needed to make sure the padawan got off safely.

Besides, he had a feeling Vahliri would be more furious about their unfinished battle than if they had completed it. There was a slight satisfaction in knowing Tazlen all but defeated her, but the fight remained inconclusive so she would be tormented for ages till they next met.

@Wit @LadyRen @Altaris

 

[Tahiri]

The Sith switched to defense, and Tahiri braced against the push, her stab still executed but not reaching her because of the distance she managed to open up. But in that moment all she would have had to do was simply send her blade flying straight at her. But then Tazlen called out to her and she stopped. As the Sith was stepping back she stepped back from her stabbing position and started stepped back. She kept her eye on the Sith in case she tried anything, but with her being blinded she hoped to get away fuss free.

"So you did need a hand after all," she muttered with a smirk to Tazlen if she was allowed to catch up to him and noticed the arm he carried, "just not from me. And they say Jedi and Sith can't walk hand in hand."

@Sreeya @Altaris @LadyRen

 

[Darth Tempest]

Vahliri only glared in response to Tazlen’s quip and grin - her jaw setting into a firm line. The Jedi had a way of eroding her patience at record speed, and the orders she’d received from Imperial Command only served to exacerbate her irritation. Despite her own desires, the half-Annfyn was forced to let them evacuate without pursuit. Her lightsaber tipped towards Tazlen in anticipation, but she knew that he wouldn’t engage again. Vahliri knew that the Jedi would be receiving the same information that she was - and would likely turn to retreat in the opposite direction. What she wasn’t expecting, however, was the expression of genuine sadness and despair.

It was an expression devoid of any cockiness or humor - entirely alien from the normally quippy Jedi. And for reasons she couldn’t explain, it cut right down to Vahliri’s core. It stung her in ways that nothing else on that battlefield could, and suddenly made her wish for the insufferable cockiness she was used to. She hated the sight of his anguish - and the half-Annfyn hated that it bothered her at all. She shouldn’t have cared, but she did.

Her eyes narrowed harshly as Tazlen unleashed the powerful, concussive blast. She only had a split second to raise her own hand in response - meeting the wave of Force energy with an opposing blast of her own. The impact was enough to send the half-Annfyn skidding several feet backwards, but meant that she was still standing on her feet - heels digging into the dirt.

She watched as Tazlen began to make his retreat - feeling a spike of rage course through her. The inconclusive nature of their fight infuriated her, and the half-Annfyn knew that Tazlen would revel in it. Amber eyes briefly glancing over, unamused, to whatever Celeste had been doing the entire time. It was only then that the half-Annfyn caught a glimpse of the Jedi making off with her vambrace. More than a simple piece of tech, it was a reminder of her days as an Acolyte. A token of her first mission with Altair, Cairo and Ashla - and Tazlen made off with it like some kind of cheap bandit. It was sentimental in ways that Tazlen would never realize.

Whether it was their orders to allow the Jedi to retreat, or the look of genuine despair that haunted her mind, Vahliri could do nothing as the Jedi scurried off - evacuating to whatever backwater planet they’d call home next. Her teeth clenched so tightly it was a wonder they didn’t crack, the Darkness swirling around her with enough intensity to create small, hairline fissures at her feet.

“The Jedi are in full retreat. Allow them to evacuate the planet.” She barked into her commlink, spoken to the soldiers that had been assigned to her directly. “Move to secure the Temple itself.”

 

[Celeste Stythani]

The blade missed her by a few inches - that was a realization she had due to the sound of the humming blade close by rather than by the distorted visual input - and the Jedi was pushed backwards. While still being slightly disoriented from the bright flash, she only partly saw how the blonde woman started retreating, not engaging her another time as the other Jedi had yelled something in her direction.

Furious as she was, she would have wanted to end this properly...but well, they had their orders and Celeste needed a few momemts to regain her vision. They had to let them retreat and evacuate and so she refrained from firing something after her, regardless of how tempting it was. She caught her breath and didn't leave them out of sight for now before they disappeared in the distance. Only then she rubbed her eyes with the backside of her hand before her gaze flicked towards Vahliri who was busy ordering the soldiers to move forward.

Celeste quickly stepped in her direction while she was forced to blink a couple of times. Her arm was still hurting, but the pain was bearable and it partly fueled her too, anyway. The adrenaline of the fight still ran in her veins and she would wait for a nod or whatever from Vahliri before she would move forward as well. Even if the Jedi were evacuating, she was assuming there would still be any kind of resistance and maybe some would have to be driven out more forcefully. Only now did Celeste fully realize that Vahliri's arm was indeed missing and while she knew of her cybernetic substitute, the sight was still slightly unsettling. Had this damn Jedi taken the damn arm with him?!

@Altaris @Sreeya @Wit