Divergence in Destiny (Star Wars RP)

Alderaan


@shadowstrikr25 @HK Fifty @Constantin @folclor @TommyGun15


Delrick had the ship ready to fly by the time Zerek ended the call. Removing the mask, letting it hang on his neck, Delrick smiled and shook his head; both at how harried and tired his student sounded and at T7's level of sarcasm. 'I'm gonna need to check that bit of programming out one of these days.' Then speaking to himself. "I doubt he'll let us leave, but if the local authorities escort us somewhere...." With a few taps the Gray Jedi had a comline open to both of the hovering patrol units. "You will escort us away from this landing pad, out of the city limits, then return to support Peacekeeper Rin." The power of the Force flowing through his words. The four law enforcement officers looked at each other and nodded. It seemed like a reasonable thing to do, the Jedi on the pad did like to keep things tidy and to explore all avenues.


The lead officer responded to both ships. "We're going to escort you to away. Follow us."


With that both squad units turned to take up escort positions. "[COLOR= rgb(75, 0, 130)]Now just don't shoot anyone...[/COLOR]" Delrick muttered to himself as he eased the Tythian Shadow off the pad, leading the way for Zerek to follow. "[COLOR= rgb(75, 0, 130)]Zerek, follow my lead. Leave Nah to the Peacekeeper, we're being escorted out of here" [/COLOR]Making sure to keep the renegade on a separate secure channel. Once both ships were in the air, one patrol craft in the lead the other thing up the flank, they moved away at a steady pace. 


Once clear of the landing pads and out of the city the patrol craft broke off and sped back help the Peacekeeper. 


"Zerek, get into hyperspace and then make your jumps. We'll meet up at the rendezvous." The Shadow arched towards space and away from the fragments of the battle that had ended not long ago, and made the first just into hyperspace. 

 
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ALDERAAN/HYPERSPACE


@HK Fifty @Grim Wraithe Stjerna @Constantin @TommyGun15 @folclor


Zerek was just waiting, waiting for a dispersal that never came. He didn't want to get the Jedi on his ass for killing what was unquestionably one of their own. "Damnit." He disengaged the minigun, the weapon sliding back up into the ship. At this point, he decided to explain the painfully obvious to his metallic friend. "09, you were about to kill everyone on the pad, including the Jedi. Y'see... those two nice, big, thick police cruisers... on us right now? They would open fire and vaporize us... before we had a chance to explain ourselves." It was becoming increasingly obvious that Zerek's exhaustion was catching up to him despite his best efforts. Still, this presented a fairly obvious problem. There were a pair of police cruisers blocking the way out. "Two police crusiers can kill us, but they can't stop us from leaving. Remember Cui? Musta been like... fifty of the things trying to stop us and we still got through, even in my... rust bucket." He had no doubt that 09 would chime in with some piece of information that he forgot about which glorified the silver metallic god sitting at the gunnery station, but made sure everything was ready to go. "Hey, Delrick? You ever... run a blockade before?"


Delrick's solution to the problem was, in fact, significantly better than his idea. He flew his ship behind the Shadow, inputting his first jump point as they flew away from the pad. "Yeah, I couldn't... get a clear shot anyways." Zerek's stolen Defender broke the atmosphere, flying away from the planet. "Will do. See ya there." Zerek jumped to hyperspace, the stars around him seeming to surge forward as his ship made the jump. His exhaustion once again tried to take him, but the was one more thing he needed to do.


Zerek walked to the medbay, opening the door and finding medical supplies swirling about the place like there was a tornado in the room. He also saw Why'nn, struggling in the tank, screaming. He really hoped that didn't make her condition worse. He navigated the room, finding a syringe of sedative flying around and grabbing it, but not before being slashed a few times by stray scalpels. The cuts stung, but it was far from the worst he'd had. He quickly emptied the tank, cleaned off the injection site, injected Why'nn with the sedative, and put her back in, watching the tank fill up with kolto. The various medical supplies were scattered along the floor as they stopped moving of their own accord. He exhaled and began to walk out of the room, when he passed out, falling to the floor.
 
Hyperspace


@folclor


'Hopefully'. By now, Master Itak should know better than to expect Avutka to do anything the way that dogma said she should. Of all her age-mates in the Bergruufta Clan, Avutka was the most insatiably curious and that itchy nose was always leading her places. Places she wasn't exactly forbidden from visiting - but mostly because no one in their right mind would find themselves there in the first place. Just around the corner from the vessel's main area, a service hatch to the ship's ventilation system in the ceiling slid open and the young Mirialan appeared; head and shoulders leaning down to peer left and right. The coast was clear, and she pulled back before dropping down into the corridor. A wave of her hand slid the hatch closed, and she half-trotted around the corner to join her Master from the direction of her quarters, saber hilt at her side and only the telltale dusty smut on the bridge of her nose to belie her innocent expression. 


"Yes, Master Itak!" Saber practice wasn't her favourite, but it was an important part of being a Jedi and so she was going to keep practicing until she found her focus. She took up her place opposite Eryal and gave her a smile. "Where did you want to start?" And when were they going to get to Alderaan? It felt like they'd been in Hyperspace forever.
 
Alderaan


@folclor @Greenbriar @HK Fifty @Grim Wraithe Stjerna @Constantin @ArisenMoon @shadowstrikr25


Nah-Iblen folded his hands behind his back as the Jedi issued his ultimatum.  However, he wasn't going to simply surrender.  No... he didn't have his lightwhip, but he had something much more powerful.  He reached out with the Force, taking hold of the minds of a few of the Republic soldiers.  He didn't try to influence all of them of course, but once a few of them did something, the rest would follow like sheep.


He didn't really have to push them that much.  They were already thinking that this had gone too far, that Rin should've let the Sith go.  It wasn't much of a stretch to think that maybe, just maybe, they might have a rogue  Jedi on their hands.  One that, if left unchecked, could bring war and death down on the peaceful planet of Alderaan.  Clearly the only way to avoid war, if it hadn't already started, was to remove the problem before it could begin.


From various spots in the crowd, about half a dozen Republic soldiers suddenly opened fire on Rin, and Nah-Iblen dove for cover.
 
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Hyperspace


@Greenbriar


Eryal raised an eyebrow as her Padawan entered.  That slight bit of dirt tipped the Master off.  "Where did you come from just now?"  She found pleasure in being the girl's master, even if Avutka tended to be more adventurous than she'd like.  She wouldn't continue until this first matter was cleared up and she wouldn't take redirection.  There was a sternness to her stance that spoke to that, a kind of attitude that came from her years of training and time in the Order.


---


Alderaan


@Constantin @TommyGun15 @shadowstrikr25 @Grim Wraithe Stjerna


As the sedative was administered, Why'nn slumped forward.  Her muscles relaxed, her mind was quiet.  She knew nothing, she felt nothing, the dreams were gone.  Kolto surrounded her once more, warm or cold didn't matter.  Suspended, the girl would finally get the healing she needed.


---


Atali let out a noise of surprise as the soldiers opened fire, pulling her saber from her belt and igniting it, she attempted to deflect the shots.  However, she was yet a Padawan and had not had a great amount of training so she found herself hit with blaster bolt after blaster bolt.  More soldiers began firing, trusting their fellows saw something they missed.  It wasn't long  before the captains of the squads were screaming out orders for a ceasefire.


When the soldiers were, finally, back under control and Atali could not hold her saber anymore (the blue blade hissed and extinguished as the hilt dropped to the ground) the Sith Lord could not be seen.  The young Padawan, arms and face scorched, was breathing heavily, looking at the soldiers with distrust.  She'd suffered less considering she wasn't the target of their aggression, but she was wounded.  Anger and fear began to grow within her and, were she not with her Master, she would likely strike out.
 
Alderaan


Rin could feel what was about to happen before he could do anything about it. His saber moved in a blur, deflecting shots down into the tarmac around him. His padawan hadn't fared so well, when he saw what had happened to her, his first thought was, 'This is why I don't take you on missions, Atali, the stakes are high out here, there are no training courses.' Even a person as calculating as him new better than to mention that now, though. He roared when she fell to the ground, "Shoot at the SITH, not the JEDI." He yelled, the soldiers who started firing were confused, guilty and embarrassed. Now that they had been influenced by mind games, they wouldn't be so easy to sway again. The soldiers advanced under direction of their officers, taking cover behind ships and attempting to close a perimeter around Nah-Iblen.


Rin knelt beside his Padawan, "Atali... are you okay? I didn't expect them to be swayed so easily by mind tricks. You shouldn't be here, I'll have you taken to the hospital where you can stay until I have finished with Nah-Iblen." He motioned for an officer to come over, he ordered him to contact EMS personnel and have them fly her to the hospital. 'No soldiers.' He told the man, who looked extremely afraid of the potential consequences of his subordinates' actions. Police cruisers hovered above Nah-Iblen and shouted commands via external speakers.


"You have ten seconds to lie on the ground with your hands behind your head, or we will turn you into smoldering dust. Ten..."


@folclor @TommyGun15
 
Alderaan


@Constantin @TommyGun15


"I'm not going to the hospital," she stated, stubborn as she forced her arms to work, picking her saber up off the ground, clipping it to her belt.  "Don't pretend you actually care about me, Master.  If I'm not out here with you how will I learn how to be a Peacekeeper?"  Atali, a bit unsteady, stood.  "Besides, I'm not giving you an opportunity to leave me behind again."  There was no reason for her to stay as she wouldn't be anything more, now, than a deterrent to the soldiers.  Regardless, her words proved there was no trust between Master and padawan.


Resolve played in the girl's eyes and, even as the medical personnel arrived, she refused to go with them.  They offered kolto spray or injections to mitigate the damage until everything was done, but she turned them away.  The two looked, a bit helpless, at the Nautolan.  Atali walked toward the group of soldiers taking cover, surrounding the Sith.  Her expression held a glare.  This man, whether or not he'd hurt someone else, had hurt her.  Her arms stung, burning as she took hold of her lightsaber again and ignited it, approaching Nah-Iblen.  The anger burning within her was a dangerous flame.
 
Alderaan


@folclor @Greenbriar @HK Fifty @Grim Wraithe Stjerna @Constantin @ArisenMoon @shadowstrikr25


Nah-Iblen slowly stood up, with his hands raised.  Only two cruisers?  It was like they were insulting him.  After all, they should know that all it takes for any flying vehicle to fall is a little change of balance...


Nah-Iblen made a sudden clapping motion with his hands, and the two cruisers were struck with hard blasts of kinetic force that sent the two listing into each other, where they exploded in midair and landed in a burning heap on the ground.  Then Nah-Iblen heard the hum of a lightsaber behind him, and he turned.  It was the padawan, still injured from the blasters and looking to get even.  He grinned at her, that sly maniacal grin he always got right before he tortured someone.


"Why hello there Little Light.  Are you here to kill me?  Or have you come for a lesson?  I've been told that I'm a very good teacher."


Nah-Iblen reached into his robes and pulled out two Cortosis-fibre knives, part of his set of ten identical to the one he'd given to Sanguina.
 
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Alderaan


@folclor @TommyGun15


Rin looked confused at Atali. This was the first time she had ever openly been insubordinate with him, it signaled a change. For a moment he felt genuinely worried about what this might mean for her mentality, but this feeling was soon flooded with the thought of how burdensome her behavior was. "I care about Justice, and right now I'm in the middle of an important case, I need you to stay out of harm's way while I handle this, we can discuss these apparent issues afterwards." He felt no pain at the sting of her words, her frustration was understandable, but she took no steps to understand him. He never asked for a Padawan, one was simply assigned to him. He was a young Peacekeeper, trying to do right, trying to make a name for himself, and she was in the way of that. This exact situation was proof of what he imagined would happen if a Padawan was introduced to the delicate and dangerous work of a Peacekeeper. Rin never had the time to adjust to her, to care about her, whenever he was off duty for any period of time, he would get another call, find another lead, his work was never finished.


Again Atali was thrust back into his life without a time to adjust, and so he was forced to take care of her in the middle of a potential battle with a Sith Lord. He followed after her as she made her way toward the soldiers, "Atali, no, you are fueled by your emotion, not by rational thought, you cannot beat a Sith at their own game. Let me handle this."


Rin leapt into the air, saber ignited, and landed between Iblen and Atali. His free hand moved behind him, fingers splayed to signal to his Padawan to stop. If she didn't, he would have to use the Force to make her. Disobedience was the worst thing for a Padawan to show to their Master, it displayed disrespect to the entire Jedi Code, it undermined the necessary system of trust that a Knight and a Padawan must have to succeed.


"Not her, me. you've caused enough pain exploiting those weaker than you. Now it is time you face what you are due." Rin eyed the Cortosis knives. He would need to be careful. Their small size made them less effective at being able to actually short his light saber, but they would be able to deflect his strikes. Locking blades with him for an extended time could mean the temporary loss of his saber. He had no doubt that he could move more quickly than Iblen in close combat, it would just take the right combination of attacks to deliver a meaningful and wounding blow. He held the hilt of his sabre low, with the tip angled up and pointed at Iblen. He assumed the Juyo style, from here on out it would be a wild and emotional fight. The difference between a Jedi using emotion to fight and a Sith using emotion to fight was fundamentally idfferent and he knew that. His emotion would serve as a tool, not a fuel. It wasn't his motivation, it was merely something he could utilize to randomize and enhance his attacks.


If his Padawan still insisted on disobeying him, he would be sure to pull her back with the Force. It wouldn't be a very gentle tug, either. If she wouldn't listen to his reason, then she would respect his power.
 
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Alderaan


@TommyGun15 @Constantin


Atali's eyes narrowed as the Sith mocked her.  Oh, she would make him pay.  "As if I'd learn anything from a monster like you!"  And then her master jumped in the way.  His responses to her only angered her more and she let out a cry of frustration.  How was she going to learn anything if he kept jumping in the way?!  No, there was no trust in her master.  How could there be?  But she did extinguish her blade.  Stepping out from behind her master, she shot forward, attempting to wrench one of the knives free of the Sith's grasp and slam it into his chest.


At least, that's what she would've done had her master not pushed her back.  As she pushed off, intending to speed forward, she was sent flying back by her master.  This caused her to glare up at the nautolan.  "Fine.  Fine!  Have it your way."  Anger still raging in her chest, she stalked off, finally allowing the medical personnel to attend to her.  They applied kolto in a spray form to try to mitigate the damage before starting to pack her up to take her to the hospital.
 
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Hyperspace


@folclor


Avutka huffed then sighed, and her shoulders dropped. One of the first things she'd learnt to respect - and be wary of - in her apprenticeship was her master's unnerving attention to detail. The second thing she'd learnt was that there was no point even trying to deceive her once she was on the trail of her Padawan's latest antics.


"I was up in the vent-shaft, Master - how do you always know?" she complained, then lit up with sudden enthusiasm. "I heard a strange silence when we came onboard, so I went up to take a look and they've got the new T-7a quad links! You can barely hear them even when you're up there, and that made me wonder if that hum you always hear with the T-6 is really the sterilizing unit like they say, or if it's just for effect. You know, so you know what you've paid for?" After all, who in their right mind would go up there if they didn't have to? Oh, right.
 
Hyperspace


@Greenbriar


Eryal shook her head as her padawan spoke, chuckling lightly.  "You're a smart girl.  You'll figure it out eventually."  She rubbed her nose, grinning as she signaled to the girl the incriminating evidence.  "I have not bothered with looking into any of that.  You know well that, if I had my way, we'd travel on normal Republic transport.  Just because we're Jedi doesn't mean we're any better than anyone else.  Now... we'll be on Alderaan in a few minutes, but it's time for you to go through the basic saber forms.  You'll do it until we land.  Remember: we're there to help the injured and aid Master Chicri however he needs."
 
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Hyperspace


@folclor


And that was the third thing. Provided she didn't try to lie to her, Master Itak was remarkably accepting of her padawan's little quirks and adventures. If it was likely to put her in danger she'd get a stern lecture (and Master Itak had a remarkable look of disappointment that Avutka would just as soon never see again) but otherwise she seemed happy to tolerate it as just part of growing up.


Avutka smiled back at her Master, mirroring the gesture with a rub of her nose and removing the dust without ever realizing it was there. She'd figure it out one day. It was probably a force trick they only taught Masters so they could keep tabs on their students. "I know that Master, and we usually travel that way don't we? But this thing with Master Chicri, it's going on now so we couldn't just take the passenger liners. We had to go direct." Truthfully Avutka loved travelling the way her Master preferred; it was so much more exciting to immerse themselves in the throng of sentient life. But that was for another time - for now the girl nodded her obedience, unhooked the brown-silver hilt from her waist and lifted it into a high one-handed guard before igniting its viridian blade. As her master watched, she moved fluidly through the six standard moves of the Form I velocity, again and again. While Eryal hadn't yet been able to help her find her specialty (or specialties), she had learned the foundational moves of all seven forms and continued to train at them until her master saw her path open up before her.
 
Hyperspace


@shadowstrikr25


HK-50-09 both heard and saw his last possible chance to terminate someone with actual importance slip back into it's compartment , which proved to be the deciding factor in his descision relating to Delrick's continued status - not that he wasn't already one of the Assassin Droid's 'targets'. 'Oh , and now NEITHER of us get to even try to terminate the fripping Sith? I'm going to kill that blasted Jedi fool as soon as I'm able , and then he'll regret ever trying to claim superiority over ME!' When Zerek - very accurately - stated the Droid's murderous intent , all he could muster in response was to go through a handful of stuttered prefixes - turning his cranial unit away each time he decided against the particular prefix - and to raise his now-free dominant hand (for he had sheathed the sword) in a pointed finger. Along with a slight trembling , it could almost appear as if he were having a malfunction - and he wouldn't be the first of even his specific series to lethally explode out of sheer displeasure. 


But the next comment seemed to bring Oh-Nine back into his typical state of righteous superiority , if it didn't lessen the blood-red of his photoreceptors. "Informational : and the only reason your blasted , inferior Jedi-ship didn't blow apart then is because I had manned one of those turrets on the Harrower and destroyed half of them! Really , the only reason I didn't destroy more is because the Jedi that built this blasted rust-bucket included what had to be the weakest cannons they could find on it.. and that doesn't go to mention forcing the Sith interceptors into combat with them , either!" The silver Assassin -  self-styled Lord of All Droids - very clearly scoffed at the inferior 'persuasion' applied by the Gray Jedi who was only hours away from his own death , but didn't directly state anything. Instead , the moment his 'Brother' left , he hastily took a seat at the pilot's chair and tried to decipher their Hyperspace Jump Coordinates.


Fortunately for Operational Security (and Unfortunately for Oh-Nine) , he both wasn't familiar with how a Defender-class ship operated , or with the steams of data he did bring up - at least not enough to know beyond a general , large sector of space , which could mean any number of planets. Naturally , this displeased him in the extreme (and might've actually hurt him emotionally , though he would deny it into oblivion if anyone suggested it) , so his heavy , clanking footfalls could be heard throughout the ship as he marched off to find Zerek - a Zerek he either didn't know or didn't care was asleep. "Indignation/Informational : First you completely ignore me , then you don't let me terminate ANYONE , and now you keep the blasted coordinates a secret! What are you saying , I'm too inferior to be able to know where I'm even going? I'm the Nightmare in Silver , the Lord of the Droids , the Last of the Rakata and the most superior being to ever LIVE! If anyone has a right to that , it's me! How dare you conspire with that.. that pacifistic moron you train underneath to even try to make me inferior! The only reason I'm not terminating you now is because I know you normally aren't this much of an idiot , and that it's clearly the Jedi getting back into your Fleshsack brain! But if you ever , ever dare try this again , I'll make sure you join the Nautolan and Delrick and those two Sith in the pile of corpses they'll make when I find them again!" Feeling that his purpose was fully detailed , he stormed back off into the main lounge to locate more arms and wait until they exited hyperspace , leaving Zerek collapsed on the floor. 


––—––—––—––—––—––—––—––


Hyperspace


@Grim Wraithe Stjerna


HK-50-01 had been practically cowering in the Tythian Shadow's halls for much of the battle. It wasn't so much that the actual combat frightened him as much as a direct order - as he saw it - from his Mistress instructing him to stay hidden during conflict. Every explosion that rocked the deck , every report of blasted fire and thrum of swinging lightsaber only had the effect of increasing a steady shaking , every now and then eliciting a moan. Truth be told , he was more afraid for Why'nn's safety than his own - even if she wasn't his Mistress , she would still be of the most supreme importance to him , eclipsing his own in every way. 


When the trembling Class-Four droid felt the ship underneath him rise into space , he slowly rose to his feet and began looking for the small figure of his Mistress. He didn't locate her , or indeed anyone else of the large party that had once populated the ship , save for the small astromech droid plugged into it's console and apparently monitoring something. 'Wh-where is she? Is.. is she alright? D-did.. I.. f-fail her? Sh-she can't be d-dead , I-I..' When he at last reached the bridge , he halted for a moment when he saw only Delrick. Oh-One almost turned back and returned to his place in the Hallway but shakily (enough to be clearly heard) walked forward nonetheless , very clearly nervous by his hunched body stature. "Query : S-sir , please f-forgive my interruption , I-I was-wasn't planning on.. on doing so , bu-but I n-need to know.. Wh-where's Mis- I-I mean , Friend Why'nn? I-is.. is.. she in.. no-nominal cond-dition?" If he wasn't so frightened of the possibilty of losing Why'nn , he would've likely asked about the others , but as it was only his Mistress' well being occupied his processing core. 
 
Alderaan


@folclor @Greenbriar @HK Fifty @Grim Wraithe Stjerna @Constantin @ArisenMoon @shadowstrikr25


Nah-Iblen shrugged as he placed the knives back in their sheaths, giving Rin a dry look.


"Really?  That's It?  Fine then, just kill all the fun.  Feed the fun to Rancors why don't you?"


He reached out through the Force again, striking Atali's mind hard and fast with a illusion.  The medical workers weren't spraying her with kolto, it was acid, burning her skin and eating into her flesh as the EMTs laughed and sneered at her suffering.


Nah-Iblen followed up that illusion by balling up his force power, and hurling it as a wave of kinetic force towards the ground at Rin's feet.  The ground shook for a moment as Nah-Iblen let the Force of launching that energy send him flying away, over the police blockade, past which he tumbled as he landed before using the Force to quicken his pace and make a break for the city.
 
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Alderaan


@Constantin @TommyGun15


Atali was already a bit uncomfortable. No matter how true it was that kolto was a healing agent that contained a bit of a painkiller, the act of something hitting the blaster burns still hurt. However, the EMTs actually turned out to be fairly kind. After they began healing her the anger died down and she apologized for being so rude, they began talking to her like normal and the cheerful nature of the Padawan returned.


And then the illusion hit. The first thing she noticed was a change in the color of the spray, then came the burning sear of flesh being stripped away. All of a sudden it was like the EMTs' faces became distorted as she perceived them laughing and sneering. Initially she let out a cry. "STOP!" In reality the medics did as she asked, confused as they began to attempt checking her over. The illusion had them still spraying the acid. Her desperation spiked, which would be a signal to her master that something was very wrong. However, Atali took a deep breath and thought through her emotions to come to a logical conclusion.


Just a moment ago nothing was wrong. The spray had been kolto and she had been smiling, laughing, along with the medics. That meant this was an illusion. She'd watched the Sith Lord mess with the soldiers, that meant he could do it to her, too. That didn't stop the pain or the illusion. She was still stuck. Atali closed her eyes and attempted to meditate and send the visions and feelings away, but she didn't know how. Thus, instead of succeeding, she tried to calm herself, hoping her master would figure this all out.


---


Hyperspace/Alderaan Orbit


@Greenbriar


Eryal watched her student, occasionally giving instruction or praise, until the computer beeped to let her know they were approaching their needed exit. She turned, walking away from Avutka, and brought them out of hyperspace, into orbit. Immediately she saw the one landing pad the authorities were keeping everyone from. That was where she'd need to be.


"Avutka, extinguish your blade and get to your seat. We're going in for a landing."
 
Alderaan


Rin saw through his attempt to flee and prepared to leap through the force wave, he would make his body narrow and dive through the attack, using the Force like an arrowhead while he spun through his trajectory and landed right behind Iblen. He did not do this, however, as he felt the Sith manipulate the Force near him somewhere, another trick on the soldiers, that wouldn't work again surely? Suddenly he heard his Padawan cry out and he knew in an instant what happened. It was some sort of illusion, Nah Iblen was an illusionist. It wasn't something that would work well against a seasoned Jedi, but to unprotected minds like hers it wouldn't be possible to force the illusion out. Rin stared down Iblen with hushed rage.


"Captain, alert the city police! Get some cruisers out here and track him, you have permission to fire. Let's get a blockade up before he gets there." Republic troopers crossed the edge of the space port and hoofed it after the Sith Lord, obviously much slower, but swarming behind him nonetheless. Additional cruisers were inbound, but most of them were scattered throughout the area to assist with eliminating the monstrosities that Trakus had deposited onto the surface. Rin ran over to Atali and saw her distress. She was trying to fight it, in fact she seemed quite calm. There was a twinge of acknowledgement inside of him that she wasn't just panicking like a normal person would. Rin knelt beside her, "Atali, I am here. I have the ability to remove the illusion, but I think you can do it yourself without the use of the Force. Think, child, think about what was before the sudden change, and now think about what is different, and how it must be impossible. Center yourself, don't think the illusions are false, know the illusions are false." He almost placed a hand on her shoulder, but decided against him. Being personable just wasn't his style.


@folclor @TommyGun15
 
Alderaan


@Constantin @TommyGun15


Atali heard her master's voice over the imagined laughs and jeers.  Strange.  Was that part of the illusion, too?  He was actually being... supportive.  For once in the two years they'd been paired he gave her instruction as opposed to reprimanding her.  Well, that was what she wanted and she was getting it.  She'd know that was the illusion if he started hugging her.  Putting that aside for now, she listened to his instruction.  He was right.  Just a moment ago the medics were very kind people, caring for her.  Now she felt acid burning her skin (she was sure her arms were bone now) and them laughing at her pain.  But why would they do so with a Jedi Peacekeeper beside them?


Knowing better than to open her eyes, she slowly felt her arms and face.  The first thing she realized was that her arms wouldn't move without muscle, but if they were bone they wouldn't move.  She felt flesh, skin, when she checked her arms and face.  Sure, there were burns, but they weren't as bad as before.  Next, she could still feel the acid being sprayed on the parts of her arms that would, now, be hidden.  It would be impossible for them to spray the skin covered by her hands.  She listened to her master's words, played them over in her mind.  Don't think, know.  With that last bit of evidence she knew and, though it was still difficult to shake the feelings, sounds, and visions off, when she opened her eyes she saw the truth.


"Thank you, Master," she murmured, embarrassed that she'd drawn him away.  At least now she knew how to counter an illusion.  Well, sort of.
 
Alderaan


Rin nodded and stood to his feet, looking in the direction Nah-Iblen retreated to before looking back to his padawan.


"Do you see now the level of strength my opponents have? This is why I have left you in the care of others in the past. This is what I deal with regularly in my profession. Perhaps now you are ready to accompany me, but perhaps not. We will discuss this at length when I return. For now, stay here with the medical staff. They will take you back to the Customs Headquarters, you will be safe there. I have a Holo-Transmitter on my person, it has a direct link to that headquarters, contact me if you need me." Rin was back to his usual impersonal self. It was always difficult to tell whether he was doing something because he felt obligated to, or because he actually cared about people. Both motives manifested themselves in almost identical ways. The Padawan would see her blurry outline in his glossy eyes. His blue, moist skin was scuffed and raw in certain places. It had been a long, long day for him and he was ready to put an end to it.


@folclor @TommyGun15
 
Alderaan


@folclor @Constantin


Once Nah-Iblen made it to the denser part of the city, he took cover in an alley behind a building, masking his force prescence as he hid from the soldiers that steeped the city for him, waiting for the perfect opportunity.  


Eventually, this came in the form of a particularly undisciplined soldier who decided that ducking into an alley with a crazed Sith Lord on the loose was a good idea.  He also happened to be about Nah-Iblen's build...


A few minutes later, the rats had something to snack on, and a soldier had stepped out of the alley with a few small cuts on his face as if he'd cut himself while trying to shave in a hurry.
 
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Alderaan


@Constantin @TommyGun15


Atali, gaze trained on the ground, nodded.  "Yes.  Yes, I do.  I'm sorry for being so impatient and selfish, Master.  I'll stay with the medics."  She wouldn't disobey him again.  At least, not for now.  She let the medics take her away, to the Customs Headquarters.  It wasn't a very long journey and they set about, quickly, to fixing her injuries properly.  At the end of it, she was bandaged up and laying on a medical cot, waiting for the crisis to end.  She'd done terribly today.
 
Alderaan Orbit


@folclor


Avutka was moving through a steady series of strong two-handed blocks and ripostes against imagined blaster fire when the Jedi transport emerged into Alderaan space, but she completed her stroke smoothly and extinguished her blade at her Eryal's words. "Yes, Master!" Returning the hilt to her belt, the robed padawan followed the older woman into the cockpit, took the co-pilot's seat and strapped in for landing. Only then did she fully take in the view ahead of them and she gasped at the sooty red glow from half a hundred major cities and towns. The smoke rising from the spaceport as they circled in, the gunships swooping overhead like bhar jays. She gasped, one hand to her mouth. "M-master, what happened here?"


Maybe Master Chicri did need their help.
 
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Alderaan


Rin immediately took the next police cruiser into the city after he met with his Padawan. He had much to think about in her, but that was shelved to the side for now. The police barricade reported that they never picked up Iblen, which meant that he was somewhere in the city now. It would be nearly impossible to find him there, but Rin had a feeling there would be a trail of bodies somewhere to follow.


"What's the situation?" Rin asked the chief of police.


"We've got the whole city locked down, civilians are heading back to their homes, nothing is flying in or out unless it's boarded and searched."


"Good, that's what we need to do. Have squad leaders do a roll call on their squads, we need to know if someone goes dark, and investigate it."


"Will do. For now we're searching public buildings, we've got boots on nearly every street too."


"Keep me updated, I'm going down there as well, I need to be on the front lines of this. What is the status of the orbital blockade?"


"The Republic fleet has frigates all over the place in upper atmosphere, nothing should be getting through that either, it's a total shut down."


"Very good, I'll let you know if I find anything, Chicri out."


Rin hopped down out of the cruiser and it resumed its patrol route. The fall was a good forty feet, but of course the Peacekeeper landed as softly as a feather. He was searching through the Force for any kind of feedback, but there was nothing. 'He's hiding his presence, I'm sure of it. There is no way for him to leave the city by conventional means. He'll know that, so his only option is to disguise himself, with the Force or by more conventional means. I have to focus, every Republic soldier could be Iblen in disguise, don't trust anyone for the moment.' Rin stalked the alleys of the city like a viper, the streets were totally locked down, martial law was being fully enforced.


@TommyGun15
 
Alderaan Orbit - Alderaan


@Greenbriar


Eryal's expression grew grim.  "We'll figure it out once we land.  For now, keep yourself calm."


Once she cleared everything with the Republic and Alderaanian forces, she came in to land.  Immediately she noticed the signs of conflict.  Dead Republic and Imperial soldiers laid upon the ground, pieces of ...some form of gundark lay scattered with the human remains.  Scorch marks indicative of lightsaber combat marked the floors and blaster fire had blackened the walls.  As soon as she landed she instructed Avutka to follow her.  She was met on the pad by an officer.


"Master Itak!  The city has been attacked by monsters set out by a Darth and Master Chicri is hunting a rogue Sith Lord in the city."


The Mirialan's eyes were uncharacteristically troubled.  "Can anyone put me in contact with him?"


The officer nodded.  "His padawan is at the Customs Headquarters.  She has a direct line to him."


"Lead me to her.  Avutka, follow me."
 
Alderaan


@folclor


Calm. Remain calm. Avutka spread her hands, stretched out fingers and feelings alike and felt the currents of pain and anger from all directions as they landed. There wasn't much she could do to actually fix their situation - she wasn't one of the great Jedi Masters of old - but she reached out and gently soothed the raw emotional edges on as many minds as she could. Not to take away their memories or change their minds, just to help them think more clearly about what was going on without letting their anger sway them into rash decisions. Feeling force flow through her helped reinforce her own serenity, and it was a poised padawan who descended the ramp at her Master's heel scant moments later.


"Yes, Master." She followed Eryal out across the pad towards the building across the way. It seemed to have fared better than a lot of the ships around there, as though some lunatic in a gunship had actually been making strafing runs across the spaceport. Doubtless his was one of the smoking wrecks across the way, and Avutka politely averted her eyes out of respect. Here and now her duties were mostly to keep her mouth closed and her eyes and ears open; to learn, while standing as an exemplar of the Jedi Order's good name.


As they neared the Customs building, Avutka did her best to look a little taller.


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​





Dromund Kaas


Thunder cracked high overhead, and another wave of rain swept over the storm-tossed jungles of Dromund Kaas. 


Down on the ground, Sergeant Harmon Vohl was a worried, frightened man. He'd seen a few things as an Imperial Trooper, even though the galaxy was nominally at peace once more. There was always some rabble-rousing insurgent trying to stir up trouble and when it came time to bring the strong boot of Imperial might down to crush their skulls it wasn't a vast surprise when they fought back. Even a kath hound would grow savage in defense of its pups. Before today the most afraid he'd been was when a younger Corporal Vohl was part of the Imperial occupation force on Balmorra and trying to protect the manufactories night after night from lunatic rebels armed with improvised explosives and hand weapons - all the while knowing that those same rebels were among the workers grudgingly working in those same factories during the day. How to separate the sheep from the goats? And how to feel at all secure knowing that any one of the locals around you could suddenly turn and open fire - or worse, explode? It had been a constant tension, and he'd blessed his stars when he was extracted from the planet to take charge of young master Kar'akan's detachment of troopers. 


Only, now he was wondering if he'd been so lucky. The Sith apprentice they'd been assigned to had been sent on a mission by his master - Harmon knew better than to ask too many questions - that took him into the wild-lands, where they visited a number of semi-abandoned supply bases and shrines. They were on their way to an ancient mausoleum he'd been assured was their last stop with night rapidly approaching when his men started dying. The first had been jumped by a vinecat, which the Sergeant was tempted to label as misfortune except that another two had vanished while they'd all been shooting at the monstrosity tearing at poor Dorjan's guts. Kar'akan hadn't seen anything either, and though he maintained his poise of Sith arrogance, Harmon was an old enough salt to know a scared young officer when he saw one. The fourth had been skewered on an improvised spear-trap that he'd swear had waited until half their number had passed. This time they had all faced outwards and for a moment had felt safe - at least until that witch had dropped into their midst from the branches above. In a frozen moment two more troopers had fallen; one head skipping away into the bushes while the other woman crumpled over the seared-open line half through her chest.


They'd all panicked, Harmon would own to that if they got out of this alive. They'd scattered firing wildly, and Kar'akan at their head. Over the past ten minutes the blaster fire broken by the lightning had dwindled, and though Vohl told himself that this was just because his boys had run out of targets to fire at - they'd gotten her, surely they'd gotten her - in his heart he also knew he was lying to himself. In the past few minutes he'd heard the sound of clashing lightsabers drawing nearer, then that had cut off with brutal suddenness and a choked cut-off cry. He just wished he could have done something. Anything. Instead he'd fled just like the rest, a helpless gizka, until tripping over a tree root with a sickening crunch that told him better than the medics what he'd done to his knee. In a proper medical facility he'd have been fine. In a proper medical facility they'd have had him in a kolto brace and on his feet inside of an hour. In a proper medical facility he wouldn't be stuck lying on his chest with his blaster rifle in his hand, terrified of moving and giving away his position while at the same time knowing that if he was wrong, if the bitch was dead then his men were likely searching these same woods for him now. Or the vine cats were. He'd just about make up his mind to call out - for the fourth time - when he heard it; a soft footfall on the leaf litter. Behind him of course; he spun with a pain-filled grunt to bring his rifle to bear, and saw her skipping across the forest floor toward him, for all the world like a little girl in one of those children's vids. He shook his head to clear the delirium, but there she still was. She didn't even have her lightsaber out. This was her? This was the bitch who'd killed his unit? After one more stunned moment he fired directly for her head, and without changing expression her crimson blade came to life in her hand and she flicked the bolt away into the soaking earth. 


The rain hissed off her blade as she came closer, and he toggled his weapon across to full auto and hosed down her entire body as he held the trigger back - but all that happened was she brought a second crimson blade to life and crossed them, sending the stream ricocheting away in all directions. He recognized the jeweled hilt as belonging to master Kar'akan - dead now, he supposed. He held down the trigger as she approached, until at last his pack ran dry. He scrabbled at his belt for a replacement pack, but she waved her hand and the rifle was torn away. He drew his knife, only to scream as she slammed down her heel onto his hand, grinding the fine bones in his palm against the earth and then kicking the blade off among the trees. "Naughty, naughty..." she murmured, then crouched down in front of him. His stomach coiled as he saw the blood specks across her cheeks, then twisted again as he saw her eyes; wide, with pupils dilated. "Aren't you a beautiful boy," she crooned, drawing him into her arms. "My beautiful, brave boy..." 


When the screaming started, there was no one left to hear.


Only the vine cats, who didn't care.
 
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