The Taste of Blood

War is a cruel mistress. She brings out the best and the worst in men. Great innovation, exceptional bravery and astounding leadership comes with the unfathomable cruelty and loss. Your House goes to war, seeking individual glory and the pride of victory.


OOC
This runon event is a cooperative, forum-based fiction event. Fictional cues will be given to each House and Clan at the start of the week. “Cues”, along with plot details released that week, will form the basis of the Run-On.

Rules
* The run-on will be conducted in specially designated forums, already set up for each House/Clan. Passwords may be obtained from Consuls and Quaestors
* No one but the author of the post is permitted to make changes to it. The Author may freely edit his post up until another person posts on the run-on.
* 2 posts of 250 words each is required to be counted as a participant.
* Each run-on must have at least 20 posts containing a minimum of 250 words in each post.
* Runon posts may be posted until 22 October 2359 (11:59 EST).


Week 1 Orders: War has been called on the Jedi of Odan-Urr and their home planet of New Tython. You have just received word to prepare and meet the rest of the Dark Council fleet before making your way to New Tython and attacking.

Week 2 Orders: Detail the invasion of New Tython, as Plagueis works with DB-allied forces both in space and on the ground. Detail also the sudden arrival of the Mandalorians. Plagueis has been partnered with Scholae Palatinae in these efforts

Week 3 Orders: The battle rages on as the Mandalorians and light jedi managing to hold their own against the combined forces of the Brotherhood. The Dark Council has joined into the fray. As more of the Brotherhood fleet arrives, Taigikori has appeared within your zone of battle. Along with Scholae Palatinae you are to ensure his survival as he battles his nemesis.

Week 4 Orders: Arcona, Tarentum, Naga Sadow, Taldryan, Scholae Palatinae and Plagueis have all begun to converge on the same point as they make the final thrust at Odan-Urr and their allies. The blending of Houses and Clans causes chaos between the "allied" forces, and old tensions rising in the midst of battle

Antei System
Antei
Dark Hall
35 ABY

Palpable, discernable darkness. That was the description any would give to the air of the Dark Hall; at its nexus point, the epicenter of the black aura that enveloped the place, stood the Dark Lord of the Sith. His ebon gaze turned aside those of his Dark Councillors, none of them willing to meet the cold fury therein; his lightsabers, protruding from the iconic warcoat, shifted faintly in their belt clips as he paced back and forth. Looking to Halcyon, he raised an eyebrow, waiting for his Shadow Hand to offer an opinion on the matter before them. On the matter of War.

Halcyon's green eyes held the gaze for but a moment; he nodded. "It must happen."

Muz gave him a resigned glance before nodding; his step activated the holotransmitter nearby. "For thousands of years, the Jedi have committed outright genocide on our people..."

Kapsina
Dark Tower
Quaestor's Chamber

Tra'an shot upward, lightsaber hilt flying to his hand by reflex and flashing to life as the loud screech of the holoreceiver went off. The figure beside him started, waking up with a muffled question. Aside from her, the room was empty. Rolling his eyes, he deactivated the blade, the disappearance of light immediately throwing his night vision off; with a faint ache in his left cheekbone, he concentrated and utilized his shape-shifting muscles, his vision blurring to near-blindness before sharpening significantly as his eyes twisted and changed into the red-hued orbs of a Chiss.

Standing, his vision immediately enhanced, he glanced at the mirror near his bed for a moment only before proceeding to the table. It was still enough to make him run a hand across his face, noting the scabbed cuts and fading bruises; the memory of the recent assassination attempt was still too clear to his memory. He could still remember the searing heat of the flames as they rolled across his face, could still feel the sheer concussive wave that had hit him like a wall of solid stone. Many had faced the Ascendant Quaestor in combat, most of whom had perished or had been maimed, and he had survived countless near-death experiences; even so, having been so exhausted, so helpless against a threat as well-planned as the shuttle attack...

It had been a glimpse into Hell.

As he strode toward the receiver, the sound of the sheets moving caused him to turn his head; even after all of these years, Libra Tzo provided him with more comfort than any weapon could. Her dark hair and slender features matched her low height, barely three inches above five feet tall, but Tra'an knew too well how useful she was as a companion and advisor. She blinked at the crimson hue of his eyes, but he quickly turned to the holoreciever, his eyes widening. He recognized the encryption signal; it was the emergency channel from Antei, broadcasted via mirrors all across the galaxy to get beyond the Shroud. Without hesitation, he hit the activation button; only the Dark Lord of the Sith could use this particular frequency, unless he'd fallen aside or had been killed.

The tiny, blue figure of Darth Ashen appeared; even at three inches tall, those eyes sent a chill up the shapeshifter's spine. "...On any who believe as we do."

The rhetoric went on for seconds only before Libra's expression fell; worry crept into her face as she eyed Reith. "You go to war."

Tra'an looked to her, closing his eyes and reverting them to their human form; wordless, he nodded.

She nodded in kind, looking away; he thought he saw the hint of tears in her eyes. "As is your duty."

Shintera
Demodia Fortress, Haktand
Officer's Lounge

"Everybody out." Unus' words were sharp, the Weequay's leathery face tense as he turned his bald head to Officers and Dark Jedi alike. "Now!"

Their forms scurried, several of them tripping over each other and the furniture to evacuate the room; Domus seldom raised his voice, and even then, rudeness was an extreme rarity. The Rollmaster's long, black cloak whipped as he rushed to the holotable, the trill of the Quaestor's frequency drawing his immediate attention. Since the attack on Tra'an's shuttle, everyone had been on high alert; the Weequay himself had been taking over many of the Quaestor's duties, alongside his saviors in Primus Pilus.

And their Commander, of course. Unus was no longer surprised to see his hand in things; it was like expecting corpses on a battlefield. "What is it?" Unus asked, the two-foot image of Tra'an bursting to blue life.

"Relax, Rollmaster." The Quaestor said, his robes looking hastily done-up. It was evening at the Dark Tower; Unus had forgotten. "You need to see this."

The image quickly switched from Tra'an to that of Lord Ashen; the image nearly compelled Unus to drop to one knee; even in the warm hues of Demodia, alongside decorative fern and sturdy furniture, the man seemed to suck the life out of the air. "...The nerve of the few who sought to even the score." The Weequay continued watching the recording, his face getting a stern cast. No fear, no worry; it was only grim readiness that accepted the founder of the Blade of Plagueis.

"Your orders, Quaestor?" Unus asked as Tra'an reappeared. He touched his lightsaber, going through the motions to prepare himself.

"Muster our forces and meet me on the Ascendancy," He said. "I shall meet you there. Pilus will, of course, escort me."

"As you wish. And Tra'an..." Unus' expression changed faintly as he spoke, "Shall I contact my Master?"

"There's no need, friend." Reith said, a knowing look crossing his face. "He probably knew before I did."

Sigil 2, Planetary Quarantine
Vongformed Jungle
Fort Ash, HQ Building


"...Brethren, the time has come." Furios watched the Dark Lord's speech, a bittersweet omen. He'd been trained for this extensively, ever since the Commander's return to Jusadih space. The sounds of alien croaks and howls from outside failed to irritate him, for once; the sound of soldiers marching to formation outside actually calmed his nerves a bit. Taking this alien jungle had been a challenge; what came next would make it seem like R&R.

Looking back to the assembled Dark Jedi of Pilus, all of them either standing or sitting and apparently at ease, he had to suppress a proud smile. A casual observer would think their position relaxed; Furios had personally witnessed each and every one of them launch a full attack from their current positions. The Blade of Plagueis was keen, as it should be; they went now to their first War as a unit. The Epicanthix felt a hint of anxiety at the thought; the Taking of Si-Tilk had left its scars on him, had nearly ended his life, and yet that dispute was but a match struck next to the bonfire of Wartime. They'd be able to trust none of the Houses, nor the Clans; the Jedi would be a new challenge entirely. It was one thing to call yourself ready for war.

It was another thing entirely to wage it.

"Pilus, we are called to action. Quaestor Reith is bound for the flagship; we journey to the Dark Tower to meet him, and will accompany and protect him from then on, as is our duty." He saw the zealous nod from several of them; most had been a part of Pilus when it had first been gathered, when the Jusadih System

As one, they stood smoothly, their motion practiced and sharp. Again he felt a swell of pride; with the Commander's absences, more frequent of late, he'd been left in charge as Flight Leader Superior. It was time for his first real test in that capacity; he suspected that the Quaestor's butcher would have his own duties, should Lord Ashen decide not to call on the man first. Looking to them all, he brought a fist over his heart, their customary salute.

"To War, Leader Superior?" Koga asked, his trooper-esque armor a polished white, glasses scratch-free and clean. The man's face was calm, but his eyes showed conflict; Furios knew that he was thinking of his Jedi wife, his Jedi brother. Estranged, now.

The Flight Leader nodded solemnly, his face grim; Orders had been given. There could be no compromise."Adapt, Ascend, Avail." He said, hearing it echoed by all. "Move out."

Morroth, Penal Colony
Undisclosed Location, Coordinates Scrambled
Residence, Converted Shipping Container

Kal's face as he gazed on his current Master was one of cold acceptance; hard lines of middle-age framed eyes much harder, with an edge as cold as the wind. Sitting upright, his scarred torso bent forward, the Battlelord watched Lord Ashen's speech in absolute silence. The black metal digits of his left hand gripped the edge of his bed, its Synthennet sensations and artificial feelings as natural to him now as his own hand had been, before its loss. Before the last War against Jedi.

"Don the colors of your rage." Lord Ashen's words seemed to reforge the ice in Vorrac's heart, leaving durasteel in its place. He watched, nodding as if the recording could see his movements. "Let the blood of our foes taste-" Kal switched the recording off, needing to hear no more. He knew what his orders would be.

Standing, the silence in the container so absolute that he could faintly hear the servos and pistons in his false legs, the Sith reached for his lightsaber as it slowly floated off of the bed toward him. He waved his right hand at his locker a few times, telekinetically disarming the traps within; minor uses of the Dark Side were so familiar to him now that he seldom used his hands for such things anymore. Pulling the doors open with a tug of Force energy, he quickly found his customary robes, donning them without flourish or enjoyment. He clipped the saber firmly to his belt, pulling on his boots and gloves before concealing hold-out pistols in them; as a last touch, he attached the whip he'd become known for. The whip that, more than the Mantle, proclaimed him Taskmaster.

A beep of his comlink drew his attention; tapping it, he heard Tra'an's voice over the comm. "You've heard?"

"Indeed." He replied. "I'll be about shortly."

Nebula-Class Star Destroyer Ascendancy
Flagship of the Ascendant Fleet
Tactical Salon
In Orbit over Kapsina

"What good will your 'Council' do?" A Naval Officer snarled, eyes fixed on Unus. "We are more than sufficient here; we don't need more mysticism and rabble in our way."

"Oh, and you'll take the Jedi on yourself?" A Corporal of the Army snapped back. "I expected as much from the Navy; you've never had your boots in the mud. I, for one, will feel better with a few more sabers beside me."

"Do not be too hasty." Unus' voice was met with a moment of silence among the squabbling. "We cannot fully trust the other Houses, nor the Clans; we must always be vigilant."

"If we cannot trust them, then all the better." A Marshal of the Fighter Corps interjected, looking over them all. "Let us go there first, and take what bounty is to be had!"

Their discussion ceased as soon as the turbolift door to the Salon slid open; Tra'an Reith's entourage, Primus Pilus, seemed to drip lethality as they eyed every soul in the room. It was not a look of enmity that met them, nor of fear; many of these men had been bested and had surrendered willingly against Pilus in the near past, while others had even aided them. No, their gaze was focused only for threats to the Quaestor. The recent assault had been too precise to be the work of rebels alone; there had been help, either from within or from another House. No one was going to take any chances.

Tra'an looked over them all, his eyes narrowing as Pilus knelt beside him. The display was enough to silence the room. "Some today will debate that we cannot trust our allies in the Brotherhood. Others will argue that we do not need the Houses, or the Clans."

Looking to the Force-deaf Officers in the room, his gaze hardened. "All of you were trained on the surface of Sigil 2; you have all been educated in loyalty, and you all know of our Sith roots."

Shifting his gaze to the Dark Jedi, he raised an eyebrow. "All of us feel the Dark Side of the Force; the Jedi are our perennial foes, and have committed atrocities against us for far too long. To dispute our duty, no, our privilege to destroy them is an act of idiocy and a lie!" A few nodded in time with his words; the fervor was building. "We stand now at a golden opportunity; the Dark Lord of the Sith has called, and none may disobey the Lion of Tarthos. Beyond this," he said, "We will rise alongside the mighty Clans and the rugged Houses and we will show them who we are." A few cheers met his words. "We will show them that we are powerful!" He slammed a fist down on the holotable; the cheer rose futher. "We will Ascend!" Shouting the last word, he elicited cries and cheers from all about, roars of assent for war.

The door slid open once more; immediately, the room fell as silent as a tomb. Kal di Plagia Vorrac's footfalls echoed loudly as he slowly sauntered in, eyeing all about him; some met the gaze with hate, some with respect, others with fear, but many not at all. Only one met his eye as an equal; Tra'an Reith met his gaze and held it, the fire of Ascendant glory visible in the Shi'ido's eye and matched with the frozen steel of the Last Son of Plagueis' gaze. Kal offered a nod, to which Tra'an replied in kind.

Acknowledgment made, Tra'an opened up a channel to the Bridge. "Set coordinates for the Council Rendezvous Point; I want us ready to depart as soon as we arrive."

"Yes, Supreme Commander. Charting a course." The Navigation Officer replied through the comm. Walking to the viewport, Tra'an eyed the stars of Jusadih one last time before they stretched and blurred, the blue tunnel of hyperspace forming around the ship. Despite his veteran status from prior Vendettas, he felt the unavoidable doubt creep into his mind about the coming conflict; we wondered how many of his forces would be returning home.

Worse, he wondered momentarily if he'd be among them.

NSD Ascendancy
Bunk Section A-9
Koga's Quarters

Just dismissed from the meeting by Furios, Koga found himself back in his personal quarters, reflecting on the upcoming assault and invasion of New Tython.
Seated on his bunk, he inspected his gear and tightened the wrist straps on his Sun Guard armor. Checking the modified belt, made to hold his dual blaster pistols and saber hilt, he nodded in satisfaction at its state. Donning the robe he'd had made to go over it to help with whatever elements he might encounter on the planet, Koga, now fully equipped, was ready for whatever was waiting for him when they arrived.

Koga leaned back in his bunk, holding his helmet, staring at it in deep concentration. Kaira, his wife, flashed through his mind. Despite everything that had happened, he feared for her and their daughter Kystal's life, wondered what had happened since the Dark Side had returned and taken his mind. She had filed for a divorce, which was finalized just before the Brotherhood caught wind of the possible Jedi uprising. Koga, for the most part, had lost all of his feelings for her, but he knew he had to get a hold of his daughter. With training, and protection from the Jedi nonsense her mother was feeding her, he knew she could grow into a powerful Dark Jedi. With it came the deep-seated worry; that Kaira would do anything to not let that happen. Closing his eyes, he steeled himself; if he came across her on the battlefield, he would do his duty. He would show no mercy for the weak Light Sider.

Kaira and Kystal's whereabouts were not his only concern. Kogas brother, Habib, would also be there. Habib was suffering from amnesia, last Kage had seen him, and was unaware that Koga was his brother. After the attack and murder of their parents, they'd been separated by the commotion. Koga had grown up with the Dark Side and full of hatred and revenge in his heart, while Habib had grown up a Sith but got reckless and got himself captured. While in captivity, he was severely tortured and left to die in a desert on Tatooine. Due to his near demise and the torture, he had forgotten all about his past and his knowledge of the Force and had ended up becoming a Light Jedi and living on New Tython.

Feeling the crushing weight of utter solitude, Koga knew the truth; regardless of his allies and enemies, of all of the soldiers and Force users aboard all of the ships in the Brotherhood, he was alone. The brother he'd known was dead, gone now in mind, body, and philosophy. What he would face was not his brother, not anymore; he was a weak shadow of what had once been, and the Templar wouldn't let any sentimentality get in the way of his duty. The same would apply to Kaira, too; the only one safe from his wrath was Kystal. "Soon, New Tython will burn." He mumbled to himself. "It will burn as black as my heart." But not before I find her, he added silently, his child's face flashing through his memory like a floral scent, a long-since faded reminder of peace. He had to get her back. She was all that he had left.

His only hope.

NSD Ascendancy
Hangar
Near Rendez-vous point

Surrounded by his guards, Tra'an Reith pierced the threshold that led to the hangar. Buzzing servos of various droids quietly sang as the group embarked towards the craft that would lead them to the meeting place of the Dark Council. One by one, they entered The Calm Sea and took their seats, the lust for blood staying their tongues as they sat in quiet contemplation of their next move.

"Ready when you are, sir." said the pilot, avoiding the gaze of his superior.

Tra'an looked at the pilot and nodded his head, sending the pilots hands into a fury as the craft lifted off and headed towards the meeting among the Dark Council. The silence, a welcome veil up until then, was broken by none other than Tra'an.

"War has come, and we must rise to the top. Pain, death, and damnation will come to them because they dare to oppose us as we rise above. As we Ascend, they will fall. As we adapt, they will fail because they cannot. As we Avail, they will be destroyed."

As soon as Tra'an had finished his speech, cheers and approval inundated the hull of the The Calm Sea. War was Hell, but Tra'an and his elite would make sure they would be the Princes of it.

New Tython
Two clicks from Menat Ombo
Initial Assault
Dark Council Meeting Over

The pristine blue sky had become filled with invading ships and deadly swarms of hate-filled Warriors ready to rip and shred anything in their path. Like locusts, the Dark Brotherhood pierced the peaceful atmosphere of New Tython and were prepared to scorch the innocence from its face. When the ships finally touched down and the doors opened, a wave of hatred engulfed the ill prepared Jedi. Crimson saber met with viridian and cobalt as the members of Plagueis and Scholae Palatinae met their enemy face to face. Troopers stood at a safe distance, firing at isolated targets and weakening Warriors of the Light, the smell of ozone stinging the fresh air with its presence.

Among the attackers were Koga Kage and Sarak Shai, proud members of Plagueis and among the many fierce fighters that dwelled within the Ascendant House. A hail of fire and smoke sprayed over their heads, wildly dancing into the air as the bolts missed their intended targets. Sarak roared with passion as his saber drove itself into the flesh of a Jedi, his fanged teeth baring themselves at his fallen enemy as his skin became cauterized. The slaughter didn't last long, the roars of engines blasting through the atmosphere and silencing the screams of the dying. The Jedi had played a card utilized many times by the Sith. A group manipulated for centuries by the Dark Side had now found themselves aiding the Jedi in their struggle for survival, turning the tides of the slaughter. Ships poured out of the Dreadnaught's orbiting the planet, fast transports infected with Mandalorian mercenaries.

The Mandalorians acted as antibiotics to the virus that was the Dark Brotherhood to the system of New Tython, killing and maiming any Dark Sider they could without hesitation. Sarak snarled as he saw the armored mercenaries, their faces hidden from their enemies and bodies shrouded with artificial casing. The very sight of them made him gag with his anger, his yammosk tissue oozing extra black goo as he ran towards a small group of them, his tentacles sloshing and slorping quietly as he caught them off guard. His crimson saber cut into them quickly, attracting the attention of the others.

Blasters fired and slugs were thrown at the mercenaries, blades ripping into the various colored armors that their clan wore. But with each Mandalorian dead, the thought of victory didn't come any closer. Sarak snarled, hoping his Gods would protect him in his hour of need, the various burns and cuts from his recent encounters fueling his pain and power, offering both to his Gods. Koga as well snarled, fighting off the recent addition of Mandalorians with the other members of Plagueis and scholae Palatinae, the ferocious Mandalorians giving no one quarter.

War could be hell, and no one denied that. The Mandalorians and the Jedi, united after centuries of fighting against each other. Divided, the two factions were easily manipulated and outmatched, but together they were proving to be anything but.

New Tython
Embattled Plagueis Beachhead
Five Minutes after Mandalorian Arrival

The Firespray screamed to the surface in a controlled descent that would have had most people grasping for anything to hold on to, and yet did not disturb Primus Pilus at all. With Zuser whuloc at the controls, they knew that they would survive if only because the Force seemed to guide the Protector into crazy flying that always had them at their destination on time and in one piece. “Cleared Entry, landing in sixty seconds!”, he called back over his shoulder, teeth gritted firmly when his tongue wasn’t edging out of the corner of his mouth.

The rest of the elite battleteam of Plagueis grinned at the anticipation, their desire for conflict the shining spots around the seasoned calm and cold of their leader Kal di Plagia Vorrac and their Quaestor. The two seasoned veterans were focused on the initial plans to repel the threat represented by Clan Ordo, a trick not entirely unexpected by those who had seen it done before. As Zuser dodged a particularly well aimed anti-aircraft missile, there was a shaking thunder as two TIE Interceptors of Templar squadron screamed in eliminate the threat. As the missile battery was reduced unto ashes, Vessicant and Octavia waggled their wings in salute before returning to their dominion of the skies. At the ten second mark to surface, the rear entry opened and the cramped boat heeled perfectly, coming to a null acceleration just long enough to disgorge its cargo.

It was not the stately arrival that would have benefitted their status, but it served equally well, as Zuser slammed the throttle home and left them standing with a cloud of dust rising behind him. As he lifted for the sky, Octavia and Vessicant appeared around him to ensure his safe return to the NSD Ascendancy where he could serve better in the skies.

The group of Dark Jedi spread out, Mograine, Kal, Tra’an, and Voden meshed into an immediate melding of minds courtesy of the Force. The multi-headed beast that was the Equites of Primus served to be a furious force of reckoning for the Mandalorians as the ever shifting flow of lightsabers and other weapons proved a rallying point for the forces of House Plagueis. Koga Kage appeared from amidst a group of young Mandos who seemed not to have learned to fear him and his yellow blade, the sunflower saber having successfully vaporized their blood many times. He reached out and was accepted into the meld, further augmenting the ability of Primus Pilus.

As Sarak Shai found himself embattled by these well trained foes, their experience fighting his kind without relying on the Force yielding much in the way of practice, they discovered how unprepared they were for a Force Sensitive among the notoriously Force Deaf Yuuzhan Vong. As they moved to encircle him, his Amphistaff and lightsaber set a safe engagement range at far and farther, reflecting blaster bolts and scoring armor with deep slices. With four foes constantly picking away at him, his control was slipping, and it showed as his left arm lost a bit of flesh from the bite of a blaster bolt he missed. The howl of his rage was unmistakable, and lost not moments later in the howl of slugthrower pistols at close range.

Backlit by a multitude of shining adegan blades, Tra’an was calmly dual wielding his .44 caliber slug-thrower pistols and firing them in perfect rhythm with superb accuracy, the hollow-tipped bullets piercing the armor of each Mandalorian in turn, the tiny hole immediately filled with the light of blaster fire from Mograine, each shot fitting precisely in the gap and killing each of the foes by incinerating their hearts. As the last and wisest of them activated a thermal detonator, tossing it forward, he was surprised to find it shoved back into his body by the powers of The Last Son of Plagueis, and to survive that and feel himself incinerated as it slowly ate him alive, the explosion compressed for effect by the Sith, who let it go once he was sure that the maximum agony had been inflicted.

The whole battlefield paused for a moment as the reunited Elite of Plagueis re-formed and Sarak was added to their link. The grouping of Equites served to always be in the fight at its thickest, never less than two, always a source of destruction. The initial combat had only lasted a half an hour, and the beachhead had been established, as the best and brightest of Plagueis moved forward, pushing their enemy, seeking to break the lines drawn by the foes. The Mandalorians relished the challenge, and charged for them with slug-throwers at the ready, howls of rage and vengeance filling the air as they re-broadcast them from their helmet speakers.

Koga Kage stepped forward, his roar in return almost deafening as the Forces of the House of Ascendancy rushed into battle behind his shining citron lightsaber. their call of defiance setting the hills to echo louder than the cacophony of battle.

Embattled Plagueis Beachhead
Mandalorian Engagement Ongoing

"Come on!" The Templar's echoing howl of blood lust seemed to energize the tide of black-armored men and women behind him.

Every race, gender, and species represented among the loyal troops of Plagueis charged forth, united in the cause of the Ascendant House. The Dark Jedi nearest them joined the charge, taking to battle with blades springing to life.

"Oya Manda!" Were the primary words picked out of the Mandalorian cry, alongside broadcast howls and screams, all meant to demoralize the foe.

To the Obelisk, they meant nothing; he needed only to visualize the screams as Kystal's and his resolve became harder than beskar. Mandalore in multicolored armor, every imaginable weapon or armor attachment and variant visible among them, made a tide to rival and even equal the blackness before them.

Jetpack met with Force-assisted leap in mid-air as torrents of blaster fire crossed the distance between the two forces, rockets and grenades lobbing and spiraling into the mass as lightsaber met beskad again and again. Kage dove beneath a blow from a Mandalorian, following it up with a cross-slash that carved a six-inch-deep line into the gray hued warrior's chest. His next strikes bounced off of small, glowing, ray-shielded bracers, even as a sharp kick smashed into his gut. He grunted with the impact, but rolled out of it as trained, following the strike with a leaping slash that took off the man's arm before cutting his throat open. Kage's left cheek exploded in pain; he felt the parting of flesh before he heard the crunch of helmet as a wrist-mounted vibroblade nearly took his ear, even as he blasted its user backward with the Force to see the man recover and take off via jetpack. Turning to face his next foe, Kage snarled.

"Come on!" He roared. "Stand and fight me!"

Instantly, he regretted his words as he saw the huge, red-armored frame of a Mandalorian approach, his beskad dripping blood and his armor darkened by several black burn-lines, yet no actual cuts.

Beskar, Koga thought, readying himself to meet the foe's attack.

Looking at the dripping blood. Images of his slain parents flashed threw his mind. Instantly Koga was in a rage. He lunged at the Giant Mandalorian but was met with a swift punch in the face. Koga fell back to the ground, but bounced back to his feet as if he landed on a spring. Kage's helmet-contained optics finally gave out, his visor cracked as he tore the helm off and used it to smash a nearby foe backward. Blood slowly streamed from the cut on his cheek as sweat poured from his face. The huge crimson-garbed Mandalorian stood there, taunting Koga to make another move.

The two men traded blows, saber blade hitting hard beskar but doing little aside from scorching it. Koga could hear the cocky laughter of the giant Mandalorian bursting through his blood-splattered crimson helmet, its T-visor seeming to mock the Dark Jedi. Koga grew more angry, unleashing a fury of lightsaber attacks, but was met with a series of beskad blocks and counterattacks. Sarak could see that Koga was having trouble, so he went over to help him out. Jumping up into the trees, he made his way to where Kage was battling. As Sarak got to Koga, the huge Mandalorian had knocked the Templar to the ground yet again. The Gods are not with that Obelisk this day, Sarak thought to himself. Just as he was about to leap off the limb, the Mandalorian must have sensed him because he shot the limb out from under Sarak with his wrist-mounted blaster cannon. In surprise, he fell to the ground getting pinned by the limb.The Mandalorian shot off the ground in a jetpack burst and immediately returned to the ground, Beskad aimed for a new pray.
"Easy kill" the Mandalorian shouted as he was about to bear down on the pinned Sarak. Koga looked over with no time to think, throwing his body over Sarak. A loud sound of metal being ripped and then flesh being cut echoed across the battlefield. Koga got impaled through his back, on his left side shoulder. Trying to control his pain, Koga took his saber in hand while facing down and swung backward, adrenaline blocking out the agony that tore through him. Catching the Mandalore in the neck, the topaz blade removed his head from his body. The crimson giant of a Mandalorian fell to the ground.

Kage, Weakened and wounded, helped Sarak remove the limb with a howl of pain and helped him up. The two men didn't have time to chit-chat for they both saw yet another relatively large Mando making his way behind their Quaestor.

"Even with all the blessings imaginable, we couldn't make it to save the infidel in time." Sarak said.

Koga, yet again, didn't hesitate to think as he saw a small opening between armor plates on the Mandalore's back. Like a spear, Koga threw his saber, the weapon stabbing through the sneaking giant. He fell to the ground just as Tra'an Reith turned around. Koga smiled and then laughed a little just as he fell and passed out from the loss of blood.

Embattled Plagueis Beachhead
Owyhyee
Approx. 2km from Menat Ombo
Mandalorian Onslaught Ongoing

"Get him over here!" The Quaestor roared, swatting aside a pair of stray blaster bolts. Voden was quick to comply, a pair of Plagueian troopers assisting him as they dragged the unconscious Templar to their leader.

One of the troopers went down, a blaster bolt smashing through his obsidian helmet to flash-cook his brains. "Cover the Quaestor!" Vorrac roared, his blade coming up to defend Tra'an as Voden joined him. From his peripherals, he saw the mutilated Sarak rush to assist, alongside a ring of troopers.

Reith wasted no time; dragging his blade along the fastenings to Koga's armor, he pulled the breastplate off and hurled it aside before tearing away the body glove. Inspecting the wound, he growled before pressing his saber to it; turning the Obelisk over, he repeated the process. Bringing a comlink to his lips, he shouted into it. "Ballista, this is Supreme Commander Reith. I need MAAT med-evac to my present coordinants." A loud explosion went off thirty feet away as a Mando fired a wrist rocket into the crowd. "Come with an escort."

"Roger that. It's on the way." The voice replied. With that, Tra'an rose, his lightsaber joining that of the defenders.

The Mandalorians quickly switched tactics to deal with the massed group of Dark Jedi; blaster barrages became replaced by flash cannons and missiles. Deftly, arms shaking from the deflection of huge blasts and minds engaged in the reversal of projectiles through the Force, the group held off the assault by virtue of the meld alone. At last, the screeching whine of twin ion engines was heard over the din, a sign that relief had come.

"Get down!" Kal roared, as he saw the TIE Avengers above angle for attack.

The blaster cannons of the Avengers ripped into the Mandalorian line, scattering several. Even so, the highly-trained warriors evaded it as best they could; some simply leapt aside, while others took to jetpacks to get clear of the assault. Their enemies scattered, the Plagueians quickly formed a defensive ring around the troops as they lifted Kage, carrying him to the assault transport that hovered near on repulsorlifts. Two of them climbed in as the side doors slid open, helping their allies get him in along with other survivors of the Mandalorian fight before taking off. A Dunelizard attempted to pursue as it lifted off, but the Dark Jedi below each took a telekinetic hold of it as the Avengers closed, ripping the fighter to pieces.

"That was close." Reith said, as they regrouped.

"Too close. He almost didn't..." Kal's words trailed off as he felt it, the overwhelming sense of danger; an image of fire and death erupted in his mind, death of the Quaestor.

Vorrac did the only thing he could do; his right hand lashed out, propelling the Shi'ido backward with a blast of telekinetic power before the round of a Mandalorian bomber hit the ground where he'd been standing. The blast turned the air around them to flame and pressure; all of their senses were overwhelmed as the wave of fire and death hurled men intact and destroyed alike. Body parts, organs, and weaponry flew wildly across the battlefield; all who survived landed injured, disarmed, or otherwise hindered. Kal had no way to track any of the others as he landed in a flaming heap. Pain exploded along his already-warped left arm, culminating in an unbearable artificial agony before the impact of hitting the ground killed half of its sensors, sending dead spots up the artificial nerves that were linked into Kal's actual system. Rolling to disperse the fire along his robes, he roughly stood and flexed the damaged machinery before shaking his head in displeasure. Bearing the inadequacy, he stood, slipping his hand into his pocket to check his comlink; the device was in pieces. He sought his weapon, but it was nowhere to be found; pulling the hook-tipped scourge from his belt, he cursed and rushed at the nearest Mandalorian.

"Hey, di'kut!" He roared, causing the gray-armored man to turn and face him, blaster rifle turning to face the Sith; Kal dropped to a crouch, the leather thongs of the scourge in his hand lashing around the Mando's right kneeplate and sinking its cruel durasteel hooks deep into the flesh of his hamstrings.

With a roar of battle lust, the Sith pulled the weapon free, Dark Side-empowered fury adding strength to his movements as the weapon tore through the tendons and ligaments that held the embedded hooks. Blood splattered the ground, eliciting a howl of agony from the Mandalorian as he fell to his knees, caught off-guard by the unpredictable weapon. Even there, though, he got an arm up to deal with the Sith's follow-up kick, catching the Praetor's foot and twisting it viciously; the di Plagia span uncontrollably to the side, landing by virtue of extensive training on his hands in a prone position before springing back up. The Force gave him the means to dodge the barrage from his enemy's wrist-mounted blaster, and he brought a metallic knee into the man's face, shattering his T-visor but exposing the Sith's side. The highly-trained Ordo reacted with his other hand, bringing a knuckle-plate vibroblade to bear; the weapon sank an inch into Kal, metal screeching against metal as the thrumming weapon pierced the protective plate over his false kidney. With a growl, the Sith brought the handle of his scourge against the Mandalorian's helmet again and again, before finally delivering a knife-strike to the man's trachea with his right hand's knuckles. As the warrior fell backward, choking, Kal assessed the damage to his cybernetic organ, tearing the section of robe above it back to pop the plate open. Aside from some scraped metal, only one cluster of wiring was damaged; minimal repair would save his life.

Not hesitating, he grabbed the fallen Mando's rifle, checking its condition before awkwardly taking a hold of it; his damaged left arm made it difficult to fight. The sight of white armor interspersed with that of black and vibrant color as a dropship nearby took off; the form of a familiar face drew a shout from Kal. "Ocassus!"

Hesitating for only a moment, the Palatinaean Warlord spotted Kal, quickly darting in his direction. Scholae's stormtroopers clashed with the Mandalorians, their fate much the same as that of the Plagueian troopers that were dying all around them; for every Mando that fell, five conscripts joined him in death. "What kicked the hell out of you?" The other Sith asked, his lightsaber battering back a pair of shots.

"A combination of bombers and a stubborn Mandalorian." The Plagueian replied, ducking beneath a blast before retaliating with a burst of fire. Glancing at his ammo gauge, Vorrac cursed. "This thing's damn near empty. Give me a rifle."

"Don't have one to spare, but- oh, wait," Thran replied, watching a stormtrooper go down before blasting back his commando opponent; pointing to the trooper, Ocassus grinned. "They carry spare clips. Other than that, you're on your own." Looking to the mando'ade all around them with hunger in his eyes, the Warlord's chiseled features took on a cruel heat. "I work alone."

Kal didn't protest, quickly discarding the heavy equipment of the mercenary before picking up the dead man's E-19; aside from the dirt implicit from hitting the ground, it appeared to be brand-new. Rifling through his armor components, the Sith found three extra clips before stuffing them into his belt; after that, a spinning blade narrowly buzzed past his head, prompting a return burst of fire. The series of blasts did little but anger the man, whose beskar-laced plating aided him as he rushed forward; in response, Kal bent at the knees, hurling himself upward and over with the Force. As he soared over the Mandalorian, whose wrist flamethrower blasted after him and caught his robes, the Sith fired another burst at the Mando, this time undefended as the blasts tore through his much less-impregnable durasteel helmet. Landing, Kal quickly tore off his flaming tunic before darting toward another group of soldiers. Plagueian troops and stormtroopers both, they fired at the Mandalore between them, dropping the cluster of mercenaries from both sides. Then, as victory seemed assured, a tan-and-brown figure leapt into their midst.

Vorrac hissed with displeasure. "Jeedai," He hissed in his native Huttese, spitting it out like a curse.

The Light Sider, a Rodian male, landed smoothly in the midst of the stormtroopers before his attack began.. His green blade flashed to life, making short work of the stormtroopers before swatting aside the Plagueian rounds. As the soldiers moved to swap their clips, the Jedi advanced, rushing forward and slicing them apart with ease. Turning, he spotted Vorrac; a look of resolute determination took the humanoid's face as he came at the bladeless Sith, whose blaster shots could only hold him at bay for so long. As he neared, a vicious telekinetic blast hurled him backward, a dark shape leaping overtop of Vorrac; stormtrooper-styled armor flashed beneath black robes as the Obelisk engaged his Jedi foe, duelling against him with ferocity. The Jedi's skill began to show through as he circled his enemy, smacking the armored Plagueian back again and again; seizing opportunity, Kal lifted the rifle, firing at the Jedi's back. A shot clipped him between the shoulder blades, splaying his arms out wide; the Obelisk was quick to capitalize, impaling him with a roar before drawing his blade out. As the Jedi fell, he looked to Kal, whose face broke out in a grin.

Arcadian. "Sorry I took so long," The younger of the pair said. He looked well; bounty hunting must have been lucrative for him.

"Better late than never," Vorrac replied, tossing his weapon aside and using the Force to summon the Jedi's lightsaber to his hand. Activating it, he tested the green blade's heft and balance; clearly built for defense, but it would do. "Give me your comlink."

Arc knew better than to argue with Kal; the two had quite the history. Handing over the machine, he was forced to snap in reaction as blaster bolts whizzed past his head. "Stang!" He shouted, as he and the Sith assumed a back-to-back position to defend against enemies.

Using his right hand to deflect bolts, Kal quickly attuned the comlink to Tra'an's frequency. "Tra'an! Status report?"

"You're alive! Thank the Force," The Quaestor replied. "I'm fine, thanks to you. Voden has my back, his armor took most of the hit. Any word on Sarak or the others?"

"I don't know, we've been separated." The Last Son replied, shouting. "We need to retreat. This battle's lost."

"Retreat?" Tra'an replied, his voice carrying a grave note. It took a few precious seconds for him to reply. "If we pull back, Lord Ashen might be displeased. He could retaliate."

A blaster bolt smacked into Kal's left arm, freezing it in position; its nerves finally went dead. Arc reached back, snatching the comlink from his hands and shouting into it. "If we don't retreat, he won't have a chance to! We're losing too many men, if we keep taking fire like this our fight is over!"

Tra'an's response took longer this time. "Full retreat." He said calmly, broadcasting it across all of the comlinks. "All Ascendant Forces, pull back! Regroup at my coordinates and prepare for aerial extraction!" Another series of code-words followed it. "Winter, Blight, we're pulling back. Draw the line."

Knowing they had only seconds to move, Kal and Arcadian rushed their enemies to disperse them before running away; their lightsabers swung behind them as they swatted pursuing strikes, but few Mandalorians moved to attack. Troopers deployed smoke grenades or stock strikes to quickly push their enemies back, while Dark Siders blasted those they had to backward. The sound of twin ion engines on the air yet again echoed through the air; TIE Interceptors perforated the ground to disperse the Mandalorians as many of the Plagueian soldiers rushed backward, forming a defensive cluster and firing at their foes. Palatinaean soldiers were quick to follow suit; they too were no match for Clan Ordo's finest. Next came the sound they all knew; the slightly-slower Scimitar Assault Bombers, twenty-four in all, loaded to the teeth with proton bombs. A few straggling soldiers, alongside those Mandalorians too eager or too injured to back off, were doomed; the blast radius would easily destroy them. A leap carried Kal and Arcadian just to the group's edge, the latter grabbing a straggling soldier and carrying him with them. Camaraderie was Arcadian's deal; Vorrac cared too little for the troopers to even try and save them. They could slow him down.

"Brace yourselves!" Tra'an called out, as twenty-four payloads deployed in a specific crescent around the Plagueian forces.

The ground around them erupted in a wall of fire and explosive force, shards of shattered soil and bits of partially-vaporized soldier scattering everywhere. The force of the shockwave was enough to stagger both sides, but the tactic did its job; six MAAT gunships came to a hovering halt around them, loading quickly with troops as still more dropships followed. Above, Kal spotted the Perdition as it neared, spitting out enough fighters to overwhelm any that dared approach the dropships; climbing into his own, the Sith grabbed a handrail and took a deep breath. Suppressing the shame of defeat, he held on as the craft took off, its doors sliding closed. A lucky Dunelizard zipped past the Interceptors outside, letting loose a concussion missile.

"Rocket incoming!" A soldier shouted; Kal simply thrust a hand out, catching it with the Force. Its trailing Mando pilot, unable to react to the suddenly-stationary projectile, crashed into it with a concussive blast. The cheers from the soldiers were hardly any consolation to the Sith; he could hear the sound from below, echoing upward on the Harakoan wind.

It was the sound of cheering, of victory.

VSD Ballista
Holding Orbit over Owyhyee
Medical bay

Kal's form was just as stoic as ever as he gazed forth on Koga, the Templar's wounds cleaned as he floated, unconscious, in the bacta tank. The fluid worked wonders; a few hours of bacta therapy, along with some Force-assisted healing and some medical attention, and the man would be ready for combat duty once again. No doubt he'd want to be back in the field as soon as possible; Kal barely had to probe at the edges of his mind to feel the pain that haunted his drugged dreams, or see the young girl that starred in all of them. Another figure haunted them; Kaira Rohana. Undoubtedly, the mother; he'd felt the sort of bond with his own children, many years prior. When they'd still been alive.

"The daughter." Vorrac said to himself, flexing his left hand's digits absent-mindedly. Repair had been a simple matter, swapping out a few parts, but he still had to test it out. "Interesting. She could become useful."

Kal remembered Kaira, and his own little liaisons once - back before Koga had come into the picture, and before the woman had learned that he was only seeking position with the then-Rollmaster - and remembered her fears of Kal knowing if she ever conceived a child. She feared the man would use a Force sensitive child, especially a powerful one, as a perfect Apprentice. A being to shape to his will, someone who would obey him without complaint or hesitation, no one else having tainted their beliefs. She feared that her beloved offspring would become an instrument of the Dark Side, a merciless killer.

She was right. "Tra'an," Kal said, sensing the Quaestor as he quietly entered the room. Turning, the Last Son eyed the Shi'ido, whose cuts and scrapes remained visible. Not far behind, his aide, Tzo, could be seen. Another fool with a weakness. "What is your command?"

"Always to the point." The shapeshifter replied. "Our defeat today was... unfortunate, but it was unavoidable. None of us saw the Mandalorians coming." Looking at Koga with appraising eyes, Tra'an continued. "It's like they were called in-"

"-At the last moment." Vorrac finished the sentence. "I suspect that they were; the Jedi seldom resort to such measures, and reports are coming in that tell of Brotherhood forces eliminating several Jedi before their arrival. Odan-Urr wasn't ready for us - the mando'ade were a reaction, not a preparation."

"Indeed." Tra'an's eyes flashed as he looked at New Tython's landscape from above; the area of the past day's battle was barely visible from this altitude, but zooming in showed several bodies, all of them stormtroopers or Plagueian soldiers. The Mandalorians had collected their dead; the rest were beyond their care. "We need a staging area. A point of attack." Pointing to a thick patch of forest, Reith's voice grew commanding. "There. We wait for night, and then I want Primus Pilus on the ground. Find a suitable clearing, a village or meadow, and call in air support; we'll launch bombers and fighters to distract the enemy while our landing craft deploy reinforcements for your use. No deforestation," The Shi'ido said, raising a finger. "We need those trees intact if we are to maintain surprise."

"As you wish, Quaestor." Pausing, the Sith looked at his leader once again. "If I may, why just Pilus? Why not a detachment to go with us?"

"Because a detachment can't fall off of a starfighter and survive." Looking at Koga, Tra'an frowned. "He'll be ready for combat?"

"Combat detail, yes; unorthodox deployment, no." The Sith's voice took on a cold, calculating tone; it always did when he discussed force deployment. "I recommend sending him with the additional reinforcements. Arcadian can fill his post, he proved able today."

"You know him?" Reith asked, raising an eyebrow.

"He's a professional," Kal said, looking to the woods. Already, he was planning and calculating. "He'll do nicely."

Owyhyee; Unidentified Forest
Torment Squadron, Mid-Flight
Operation: Basilisk Nest

The roar of ion engines kept cerulean-skinned Harakoans gazing upward as the Interceptors made a scouting run, ready to dart out of formation and head back to Perdition should any threats approach. All below could hear the engines, see their flares and the dark shapes of the circular craft; what they couldn't see were the dark forms clinging to the bottom of each fighter, their hands and feet hooked into welded rails. Each had been added on at the last moment, an emergency measure; they would do the trick here. At a mental nudge from Kal, each of the team released their hold, plummeting toward the forests of New Tython.

"Brace for drop." Vorrac's voice came across the helmet comlinks of each, all of them clad in simple uniforms - black fatigues, weaponry, and helmets for low-light vision - and listening intently.

Using the Force to slow and cushion their descents, each braced for impact and rolled out, combat-ready upon arrival. Nothing but animals and birds reacted to their presence. "Stay sharp. We're looking for a clearing, a meadow, a village, anywhere we can land troops." Pointing to Arcadian, he nodded. "Arc, you've got point. We head east-southeast, comm silence unless absolutely necessary. Move out."

Owyhyee; Unidentified Forest
Battle Team Primus Pilus
Operation: Basilisk Nest
Approximately 1 km from local village

Arcadian moved quickly through the tree's, ahead of the rest of the group the young Templar maintained the point position he had been assigned. The rest of the group remained back while he scouted ahead, feeling into the darkness with the Force for anyone who could slow their progress.

The Obelisk warrior continued his movement through the tree's, slowly his pace slightly as he noticed something flickering off in the distance. He moved closer, at a slower pace, noting that it was indeed a light of some sort.

The Templar covered the remaining distance slowly, keeping his mind open for any type of life signs. The closer he got the more obvious it became, the light was coming from a village. The young warrior scaled a tree in order to get a better look at the settlement. It wasn't a huge village, containing perhaps a couple dozen buildings built on the cusp of a river. The village was colorful, with many of the buildings painted in unique combinations, and the lights posted outside alternating every so often, giving the appearance of a rainbow. The villagers moved calmly, going about their evening routine not suspecting what was to come.

Arcadian noticed several guards stationed around and inside the village, although from the distance he couldn't tell if they were Mandalorian or perhaps just the planet's local militia. Dropping carefully from the tree Arcadian made his way quietly back towards the rest of the group, taking care as he moved through the forest so as to not make much noise.

It didn't take long before he rejoined the group and preferring to not speak aloud the Templar spoke directly into the Commander's mind.

"I found a small village, close to here, not densely populated but still guarded, I presume Mandalorian but I can't be sure."

Kal nodded and motioned to the rest of the Battleteam to move out while requesting more information from his fellow Plagueian.

"How many?" ­ The question came into Arcadian's mind with a hardness that assured no matter the number, they would all perish.

"Probably fifty, however only 15 or so looked to be armed." Arcadian fell in beside the Commander as Primus proceeded to move out.

Kal nodded again as the group picked up the pace, closing the distance to the village as quickly as the Force would allow them to. The group paused close to the village and Kal gave the instructions with hand signals. The plan was simple, the squad was to surround the village in a half circle, the intention being that the only place fleeing civilians could run would be the river.

"No survivors." Kal spoke this to everyone in the group this time and emotional edge added to it that told the members that failure would not be tolerated. As the group spread out the Commander motioned to Arcadian to follow him.

"Your with me Templar." The thought came into Arcadian's mind and he smiled.

The Last Son of Plagueis opened his comlink then speaking both to Tra'an as well as the rest of the group. "Now."


VSD Ballista
Holding Orbit over Owyhyee
Bridge

"Lock that position!" Tra'an yelled at no one in particular and yet still at everyone on the bridge.

"Position locked Quaestor!" Came the quick reply

Tra'an smiled "Excellent. I want Koga and the reinforcements ready in the next half hour. Prepare the air support and send it out as soon as possible."

Suddenly the bridge was abuzz, soldiers running every which way desperate to carry out their leader's orders as quickly as possible.
Tra'an looked out the window and his smile grew, they would not lose this battle.

Owyhyee; Unidentified Local Village
Battle Team Primus Pilus
Operation: Basilisk Nest

It was chaos. People ran in every direction as the group of Dark Jedi cut down their friends and family around them. The guards had indeed been a small squad of Mandalorian's assigned to protect the village. Several had fallen already, however about 9 of the elite soldier's remained.

The one thing the members of Primus Pilus had not been expecting however was the Jedi. Only a single warrior, but a small wrench in the plans nonetheless. Kal was currently engaged with the Jedi, who was showing that he was not a pushover. The two warriors moved with extreme fluidity, almost as one despite their natural hatred for one another. Where Kal would swing, the Jedi would match him, and where the Jedi would swing, he would find Kal's blade waiting.

Arcadian struck down a Mandalorian warrior, and span around as another moved in behind him. The Templar hadn't expected to find a gun flying towards his face, and the rifle connected solidly, taking the warrior off his feet and sending him rolling in the dirt. The Mandalorian aimed squarely at the downed warrior and prepared to fire. But suddenly all the soldier felt was fire in his gut and he looked down to see a blue saber protruding through his abdomen. Gasping as the blade was pulled out, the warrior barely had the time to drop his gun before his head was taken clean off.

Arcadian did not recognize his fellow soldier, but thanked the man as he helped him up. Arcadian grimaced as the other man ran off to cut down a woman running for her life. That shot from the rifle had hurt, but the Templar didn't have time to worry about that.

Looking around he spotted Kal still engaged with the Jedi and rushed off to help his old friend.

VSD Ballista
Holding Orbit over Owyhyee
Hangar Bay 1

"Your ready for this Koga?" Tra'an's voice held some concern, but he still trusted the Templar more than most.

"Of course I'm ready" came the heated reply as he climbed into the back of a landing craft. "Never felt better."

"Good" came the reply, "good luck to you my friend."

Koga just smiled as and turned away as the door to the shuttle closed behind him.

Tra'an nodded at the back of the craft as it took off, before turning to make his way back to the bridge

Unidentified Owyhyee Village
Battle Team Primus Pilus
Operation: Basilisk Nest

Three warriors moved gracefully, their saber's spinning both to attack and to defend. The Jedi was good, but was having trouble keeping up with both Arcadian and Kal. Parrying a blow from Kal left the Jedi open and Arcadian swung for the kill. The Jedi moved swiftly, far to swiftly to be a normal reaction and just managed to parry the blow from the Templar as well.

The three warriors continued to spin and the first squad of Tie Interceptor's screamed overhead, concentrating their fire onto the small village below. Arcadian deftly parried a high swing from his Jedi opponent which allowed Kal the opportunity he needed. The Battlelord stabbed his blade into the Jedi's leg causing him to drop to one knee where the Templar swiftly cut off the warrior's head before he could react. The Last di Plagia clapped his old friend on the back as the two warrior's took a breath for a moment. The battle was won, and the younger member's of Primus raced into the forest, determined to chase down the few who had escaped.

A nearby engine caught the attention of the two warriors, and they watched as a dark shuttle moved closer on the horizon. The shuttle stopped over the village and as it prepared to land the back hatch opened and none other than Koga Kage proceeded to drop out.

"Good timing Koga" Kal shouted over the roar of the engine's "We've already won!"

Koga grinned as he jogged towards the two warrior's. "Plenty of fight left my friend."

"Indeed there is" came Kal's reply as a dark grin crossed his face. "Indeed there is."

Tu'Kama Village, Conquered
Unidentified Owyhyee Forest
Joint Staging Area

Still angry and disappointed with himself, Koga tried not to show it as he moved from hut to hut, feeling the need to be strong for the rest of the team. The Templar's armor bore scars and dents, but had been cleaned; the body glove had been swapped out, while the breastplate had been replaced with the black armor of a Plagueian trooper. The black robe he wore belted over the armor shifted as he scouted around the village for any stragglers. While walking around, he couldn't help but think of Kaira and Kystal. He needed to get Kystal under his wing, to train her properly and make her strong. He shook the thought off, needing to concentrate on the mission at hand. Signalling the scouts, he made it back to Kal, eyeing the trenches dug by Plagueian troops and the E-Web flash cannons in place around its strategic points.

"Kage. What's the report?" Kal asked.

Koga looked at Kal, but before he could answer, the image of his brother Habib replaced the Sith. Instant rage flooded Koga's veins as he touched his lightsaber.

"I can see that you're still conflicted." Kal mentioned in a cold tone, eyeing the battle-ready Templar.

Koga hesitated for a moment but instantly returned to reality "Oh... um... yeah, sorry." He shook his head in a confused manner. "I'm... I'm ok. Yeah, the, uh... the village is... secure."

Kal nodded. "Alright, then." His eyes held questions, but he said no more. "Let's finish setting up here." Kal ordered. Silently, the Sith's thoughts evaluated the Obelisk. He's powerful, strong enough to be a great ally. Or a great threat, if he loses his grip.

The huts of the village - called Tu'Kama by a Harakoan child before Kage had dispatched him - had been left intact by Pilus, and thus were now used for bunks and equipment. MAATs and Sentinel-class landing craft had dropped various supplies and vehicles once the staging area had been secured, and now continued their runs. Several AT-STs and 1-L tanks sat ready to do battle, manned and under routine inspection. The airspace overhead was filled with constant fly-overs by squadrons sent from Perdition and Ballista. Interspersed between Plagueian establishments, stormtroopers and Palatinaean Dark Jedi established their own defenses, T1-B tanks at the ready. The once "humble" little village had been transformed into a forward military base, a staging area for allied Houses as they awaited their next orders.

A flash in the sky brought their attention, followed by another and another; cheers erupted from all as the Navy of the Iron Throne entered New Tythonian airspace, fighters and picket ships moving to engage those of the Mandalorian mercenaries as the Brotherhood's fleets regrouped. A blaster bolt smacking into the helmet of a Plagueian trooper changed the tone, everyone dropping into combat positions. "Weapons up!" Koga roared, drawing his topaz blade.

Eager to redeem himself, the Templar raced forward as the Mandalorians came from the trees, reflecting blaster bolts before getting in close with his lightsaber. Fire erupted all around the village as armored Mandos and cerulean-skinned natives raced forward. Their weapons were an odd contrast, one armed with the most advanced tech credits could buy while the other bore sharp spears, bows, and primitive blades. If we can't have it, no one can, Koga thought to himself.

Cutting his way through the crowd, the Templar found himself face-to-face with 3 Harakoans. "So, you're the natives we heard about." Koga said in a cocky manner.

He launched himself at the blue natives, bringing the first one down with ease as the other two teamed up on him. Their swords resisted his blade, crude as they were; they must have been made with beskar scraps. Their blades sliced through the air, just missing Koga's armor. Koga and the two natives continued to trade attacks and blocks when the Obelisk saw the collapsed wall of a nearby building. Calling upon the Force, he pulled a chunk of wall loose and threw it at one of the blue locals of New Tython. It smashed into one of them, disabling him for long enough for the Dark Jedi to behead him.

"One on one, my big blue friend," Koga said, a menacing tone taking his words, "I'm going to end you more slowly."

The Guardsman leaped into the air, flipping over the Harakoan with a burst of speed and agility. Cutting downwards, he gashed him across his shoulder. Koga landed behind him, a sweep-kick knocking the blue native down. Koga then blasted the Harakoan with Force-empowered pushes again and again, crushing him into the ground.

"I'll squash you!" Koga yelled, bloodthirst empowering his roar. Twenty blasts escaped his hand before he ceased, the native reduced to nothing but a mangled pile of skin and blood, splattered across the bottom of a person sized crator. "Who's next?!" Koga's blood lust raged on as he clashed with a Mandalore, Canderous-class assault tanks firing their mass driver cannons as they were met with blasts from 1-L's and T1-B's.

AT-ST fire perforated the trees as Mandalore leapt up on their jetpacks, ripping open cockpits and plugging missile launchers. Atop several of the walkers, Dark Jedi and Ordo, or even Jedi, clashed with precarious balance; sometimes, the one to fall with a scream would wear beskar'gam or tan garments. Other times, it was a dark-robed figure. Soon, heavy troops brought rockets to bear on their own stolen equipment. E-Web cannons tore Harakoan lines apart, even as the fighters showed surprising ability, sharp-tipped arrows piercing body gloves and robes alike. Suddenly, the sound of engines above tore through the maelstrom; a Lambda-class shuttle blasted aside lines of enemy troops as it landed, the prosthetic-jawed Headmaster cutting his way through the fray.

Kage eyed the Headmaster as a Jedi found his way through the crowd. "Aybara," the disciple of the Light said; he eyed him with deadly familiarity.

"Liu." Taig replied, flourishing his blade and leaping at the Jedi.

A narrow miss from a slugthrower brought the Plagueian Obelisk back to the present, sending him leaping at a Harakoan who had lifted his fallen ally's gun; a Dark Councilor had landed. He had to be preserved.

Tu'Kama Village, Conquered
Unidentified Owyhyee Forest
Surrounding Area

The cold, blue blade cut through the weak area between Beskar plates. The Mandalorian's sacrifice of full cover for the addition of maneuverability made it easier for Furios to kill his opponent. He had yet to face the kind of Ordo that had nearly killed Koga and continued to skim through lesser opponents. The Epicanthix quickly spun around, searching for more Mandalorians or maybe even Light Side Jedi to kill. As if to answer his hopes, a pure green blade of light pierced through a Palatinaean trooper. Furios leapt at the chance.

Reaching the young Jedi, Furios leapt forward with a spinning defensive maneuver. Although it was really meant to block blades while in the air, the Plagueian found that it worked just as well at removing heads from their shoulders. The smaller human Jedi responded in kind with an equally defensive strafing parry. Furios landed, turned on his heel and lunged at his tan robed opponent. Yet another block met his strike and but this one stuck. The saber lock shot blue-green sparks off the clashing blades. With a Force-induced burst of strength, Furios knocked the green blade of light away from his blue one and thrust his head into the face of the Light Jedi. With a crack that could only signal a broken nose, the younger of the two fell back, holding his face. Before he could even recover, Furios swept the head off the shoulders and severed the cradling hand from the rest of the body. The dead Jedi, who Furios guessed was no stronger than a Protector, dropped into a cauterized, tan heap while the head fell away from the body.

Furios leaned over and plucked the lightsaber where it had fallen, on one of the very few patches of grass that was still green. Suddenly, a large blunt object smashed into the Knight's back. It only took him a moment to realize that it was really a person, another Brotherhood soldier conscripted through Scholae Palatinae. The Obelisk rolled the corpse, thoroughly burnt from blaster fire, off him and looked up to see one of the same beings that had impaled Koga Kage, a giant Mandalorian, fully clad in the Beskar armor that had been causing trouble for both Plagueis and Scholae. Grinning from ear to ear below his Plagueian helmet, Furios charged the taller Mandalorian.

This poor display of strength was almost immediately dropped when all Furios received was a kick to the chest after only one failed blow. The strength of the Beskar was too much in the front. All the earlier Ordo warriors had gaps in their armor and due to the nature of Beskar any poor strike would slide into a weaker material and make the kill. This was different. This armor was smooth and had no weak points, at least not in the obvious areas. Furios charged again, this time dodging a flurry of blaster fire from his larger opponent. On a quick turn, the Obelisk sliced through the blaster. Immediately after, a highly trained grab wrenched his lightsaber from his hand and crushed it with a shower of blue sparks signaling the shattering of the crystals within.

With both weapons gone, each warrior fell into the defensive stances of their respective martial arts. Furios laughed through his helmet as the Mandalorian activated his shock boxing gloves. The Epicanthix often watched a shock boxing fight whenever he was bored and new all the moves his opponent could use just as readily as the Mandalorian knew them. This was perfect.

The first attack was a series of jabs aimed at the black helmet. They were dodged all too easily. Next was the right hook that Furios expected. The Plagueian stepped aside from the blow and with the commonly practiced retaliation, struck through the overextended arm with his own armored elbow. The short screech of metal clashing against metal was quickly overcome with the sound of the forearm snapping out of the elbow joint and the scream that accompanied it.

Moaning, the giant Mandalorian fell to a knee and cradled his broken arm. Not hesitating for a moment, Furios grabbed the common durasteel helmet and brought it into a devastating knee strike that smashed apart the T-visor. Shards of the black material fell out of the helmet as his opponent fell back. Furios could see the face of his opponent and the trouble its eyes had focusing on him. The last the concussed Ordo saw was the black boot heel of the Obelisk smash through the helmet and crush the fragile head beneath it.

It took the sound of a nearby thermal detonator exploding to wake Furios from his fight. Realizing that he no longer had his familiar blue lightsaber, Furios drew the green one he had taken from the dead Jedi. The sight of Kal and Arcadian took hold of Furios’ attention and he raced to meet up with his allies. Arcadian quickly greeted Furios before killing a nearby Harakoan warrior. Furios nodded to the man he had saved earlier that day. Kal, always more observant than others, questioned the Flight Leader’s new lightsaber.

“Joining the other side are we?” Kal joked.

“I lost my lightsaber so I’m using one of my trophies for now,” Furios replied, smiling under his black helmet.

New Tython Space
Templar Squadron
Escort Mission


Red-orange flame trailed from the assassin’s portside undercarriage for a few seconds before being snuffed by the thinning vent of atmosphere. The Warlord squeezed off another controlled burst from his cannons, pausing to readjust their harmonization as he closed for the kill. The able but outmatched Dunelizard swayed across his targeting display yet again, freezing in memento mori fashion as the crosshairs lit and chimed. Another short salvo relieved the beleaguered craft of a wingtip before a single bolt pierced something substantially more important if no more spectacular to view. Vessicant held on his target for a moment or two, silently confirming that the light within had indeed winked out of the Force. He pulled back sharply, leaving the fighter and its shattered cockpit to soar on for eternity.

The Headmaster’s presence in the troop convoy had been unexpected, but the Sith was happy to know that he was being put to better use than patrolling empty space for the Plagueian formation. Most of the Mando fighters had been tied up trying to destroy the other surface reinforcements when the Councillor’s shuttle suddenly broke away under a full squadron’s protection. It was an unfortunate but necessary loss of secrecy, as the first attackers to break through the umbrella had gone after the Lambda by happenstance. Now they were dead, and their friends had seen the scope of the reaction and skill of the killers. There could be no finer lure.

Templar’s charge was nearly to the atmosphere when the embattled rearguard reported contacts bypassing the troopships on an intercept course. Vessicant breathed deeply, and Obrie seconded his instincts. “Templar, Lead. Expect stiffer opposition with this next batch, and keep them out of the atmosphere. Even a Kimogila can keep pace with our VIP. We do not want to lose him on our watch.” The Warlord signaled his Flight’s confirmation of the disposition orders that followed, turning his head to catch a final glimpse of the shuttle and the three Interceptors still guiding it planetward.

His brow furrowed as the digital image of the nearest newcomer solidified, its x-foils folding out in anticipation of the first pass. So they did have some of those, did they? Hopefully not too many. Even without the pre-flight briefing on potential threats he recalled their specs from Plagueis’ prior dealings with MandalMotors. And well he should since he’d had a prominent hand in strategic affairs back then. StarVipers. He mentally highlighted their advantages over his own machine while he reminisced. They weren’t an unbeatable obstacle, but having an Avenger under him would have been very welcome right about now.

Unidentified Owyhyee Forest
Joint Staging Area
Approximatley 45 Minutes After Arrival of Dark Council

Arcadian ducked under a swing from a Harakoan warrior, the club sailing over his head and he moved under his opponents arm and came up behind him. A wordless howl of fury escaped the Plagueian's lips as he ran his lightsaber through his opponent's chest. The blue warrior fell to ground and Arcadian whipped around quickly, looking for the next opponent to fall to his blade. Having found himself temporarily seperated from Kal and Furios, the Templar had taken to battle alongside several of Scholae Palatinae's soldiers. Blaster fire lit up the air and warriors on both sides of the battlefield fell. A second Harakoan picked up a blaster that had been dropped by an ally and aimed towards the Templar. Arcadian was already on him however, the Force pushing past his normal ability. His crimson blade arched through the air, taking off the blue soldier's arm, a second swing followed closely behind and the now headless body crumpled to the ground in front of the Obelisk warrior.

Losing himself in his thoughts for a moment Arcadian grimaced as a loud shout brought him back to reality.

"Arc!" The shout came from behind the Templar who turned to face his old friend Kal. "Get over here right now dammit!"

Arcadian rushed over to the Battlelord, nodding at Furios who stood beside him. The Templar hadn't yet found the time to thank the warrior for saving his life, battle keeping them both quite occupied.

"Alright" said Kal, the smallest hint of fatigue grating his voice "Taigikori has landed and is currently engaged with a Jedi known as Liu." Arcadian didn't recognize the name but Furios' eyes narrowed at the mention.

"We are to protect him at all costs." Arcadian nodded as Kal spoke, understanding that the Dark Council member was their top priority. "Come on, lets go."

The three warriors moved swiftly through forest, covering the short distance to reach the Headmaster very quickly. Reaching a small clearing in the forest they found Taigikori engaged with the Jedi warrior and Koga not far off battling three Harakoan warriors. Koga weaved in between the three soldiers dodging their blows with relative ease. A swift swing from his blade and one of the blue soldiers fell, the Templar moved as one with his saber, his focus deep into battle and a hard angry look on his face.

Arcadian rushed forward, determined to protect the Brotherhood's Headmaster. Kal and Furios took off, moving to engage opponent's that could potentially be a threat to the Warlord. Arcadian neared the two warriors as Taigikori hacked and slashed as his opponent with a fury beyond anything the Templar had ever seen. Placing himself behind the Jedi Arcadian prepared to strike. He had, however underestimated the Headmaster's furry at his opponent. Taigikori raised his hand and with a wordless howl of fury, sent both Liu and Arcadian off their feet. Liu took the attack well, managing to land, if somewhat clumsily, several feet away. Arcadian however had not been expecting the Force attack and was sent careening into a nearby tree.

The Templar slammed into the tree, instantly all breath was force from his lungs, and the young warrior heard a loud crack as a bone he couldn't name at that very moment broke. The Plagueian slumped to the ground, as darkness overtook him.

Furios turned from the now charred corpse of a Harakoan warrior just in time to see Arcadian collapse and fall unconscious by the tree. He immediately picked up the dead Harakoan at his feet using the Force and hurled it at Liu. The Jedi easily knocked his fallen ally away, but it was just enough of a distraction to allow Taigikori to attack with a fresh barrage of saber strikes that Liu had no choice but to defend. Furios ran to the fallen Obelisk. The indent between Arcadian’s shoulder and neck indicated a broken collar bone. A bleeding wound on his head indicated a concussion as well that was rendering him unconscious.

Furios lifted the Human and flung him over his shoulder. Deflecting the occasional blaster bolt and killing the occasional Harakoan, the younger Obelisk carried Arcadian away from the battle itself to the forest surrounding the clearing the battle took place in. Furios set his ally down next to a tree and began examining the broken bone. Carefully using his telekinetic powers in the Force, Furios pushed the broken ends of the bone back in place. It wasn’t healed, just in place. Furios reached into his belt and protruded a small first aid kit. He picked up a small syringe with a cool blue liquid in it and injected it into Arcadian’s good arm. The older Plagueian woke suddenly with a violent jerk, almost knocking the collar bone back out of place.

As Arcadian’s vision refocused, the multiple Epicanthix solidified into one humanoid. “That’s two you owe me,” Furios joked.

Arcadian simply nodded, focusing more on the pain that his shoulder and head were causing him. As Furios ran back to aid Kal and the Headmaster, the injured Plagueian began using the power of the Force to sooth and heal his wounds. The Flight Leader dodged blaster fire, charging through the battle surrounding him to continue aiding Kal and Taigikori. A few cerulean-skinned warriors were cleaved in two by the saber that formerly belonged to one of their allies. Even one of the weaker Mandalorians made the mistake of getting in his way. The selectively placed Beskar plates did next to nothing as the green saber slid between them, cutting and cauterizing the soft tissues beneath them.

It had not even been ten minutes before another several Harakoans were killed by the freshly healed Plagueian. Arcadian ran through the blue pawns all around him, striking them down as he followed the steps of the Epicanthix. He arrived to find that another Light Jedi had joined the fight between Dark and Light masters. This young Jedi was currently engaged with Furios while Liu was defending against Taigikori and Kal with masterful proficiency. Before he could decide which group to get involved with, a burning hot sensation overtook him, starting in the shoulder. The weight of the blaster bolt caused him to spin, allowing Arcadian to see the large Mandalorian whose rifle had fired. His decision was chosen for him as he began the work of fighting the lumbering giant of a Mandalorian.

Unidentified Owyhyee Forest
Approximately 15 Minuets Outside of the Joint Staging Area



Just shortly after Kage's last confrontation, which resulted in a Harakoan being smashed into the ground, Koga found himself, yet again, surrounded by several of the Blue Natives and a few Mandalorians. Fighting off the Natives and reflecting a barrage of blaster bolts, Koga seemed to get farther and farther away from then Joint Staging area and deeper into the forest. With the Templar's anger enraged, the few Mandos and Harakoans, did not pose a threat to him and he took them all down with ease.

Koga found himself separated from the rest of the group and while the Guardsman was exploring the surrounding wooded area, Explosions and blaster fire could be heard in background, smoke and fire making its way through. The Obelisk had a strange feeling.

".....Kaira?" Koga thought to himself.

Kage looked around. Sensing his Ex-wife's presence, he took to the trees tops and awaited her arrival.

"Stick together, Were close to where the brotherhood arranged a staging area.” Kaira mentioned to a small group of militiamen, made up of Colonists and Harakoans.

Koga watched his Ex-wife and her little squad as they got close to where Kage was perched.

"Hold up...I feel...." Kaira halted her group and looked around the vicinity; Koga looked down with a smile. Kaira ignited her saber, still looking around. "Alright..." Koga thought to himself.

The Obelisk ignited his saber and dropped down out of the tree. This startled his ex-wife and she was frozen in shock and fear and couldn't do anything but watch her monstrous ex-husband murder her whole squad with no remorse.

Koga had fire in his eyes, blood splattered over his Obelisk armour and dark cloak. Looking at Kaira with a ominous grin, He started to walk over to her.

"Stop don’t...don’t come any....any closer!" She said in a nervous tone. Kage just laughed, still walking slowly towards her with arms gently gliding to the side, head tilted down and grinning.

"I may spare you if you give me Kystal" The Templar said in a deep eerie tone.

"Shes safe, Koga hunny, it’s me, remember all the nice times we had together? Please don’t do this" She tried to plea with the New Kage.

"Kystal will be safe with me, for you and this planet will soon perish, now give me my daughter!" Koga demanded with a growl. Igniting his saber and digging his feet into the ground.

"Cage...dear...." using a nick name she gave him after watching him in a training dual "it was like he was stuck in a cage, he couldn't get out of your reach, you were always on him" he remembered that time "please....." she tried to plea with him once more but was interrupted by Kages attack.

The once lovers, now enemy's traded attacks with each other. Kaira may of out outranked Koga, but he was highly skilled and talented, His agile moves confused her as he was able to slip in behind her. Kicking her in the back and knocking her down to the ground. he then hammered hard over head saber attacks down on her causing her to concentrate her attention on blocking his hard swings. With Kaira on her back, looking up at Koga, blocking his hard blows, Koga began kicking her in the side while still unleashing his devastating blows.

The Templar's anger and strength seemed to increase after every passing second. The moment Kaira saw a opening in the "Cage" she went for it. Sweeping Koga off his feet for a moment allowed Kaira to get up and recover. Holding her ribs from the fury of kicks from the Obelisk, She started to back away.

"Nice move "hunny" “Koga said in a mocking tone "were both alone here. I can end you now and no one will be the wiser" Koga snarled wile slowly walking towards Kaira.

After a few exchanges of words, Kaira trying to plea with Koga but to no avail, the two started to trade attacks again. From strafing swings and over head swing to Blocks and defends. They both clearly were fighting for two different causes. Koga seemed to be enjoying himself till Kaira snuck in a right hook, right into his gut. Koga dropped his saber and fell to the ground holding his gut.

"Cage, I’m sorry, we don’t have to go on this way, please....see the light" Kaira crouched down to where Koga was kneeling but her words fell on deaf ears for that last blow set the already ticking time bomb, off.

"heh....heh...heh" laughing wile short of breath "I’m...going.....I’m going to......" Koga jumping up, griping a handful of dirt he threw it into Kaira face, he then head butted her, breaking her nose, she dropped to the ground, this time not getting up.

"..KILL YOU!!" Koga roared

Jumping on her, straddling her stomach and then unleashed a series of punches to her face, left right left right over and over again, screaming and yelling while he did it. After at least 3 solid minuets of pounding on her face, he looked down at the bloodied and disfigured face. Realizing what he just did, images of his bloodied mother flashed threw his mind.

"No...STOP IT!....RAAAAHHHHH!" Koga held his head and fell off to the side. Kaira still conscious, rolled over on her hands and knees, she crawled away, listening to Koga screaming and yelling in the distance. "He is truly not the man I once knew anymore" she thought to herself and she was picked up and carried away by a nearby squad of Jedi and Harakoans.

Koga, full of mixed and conflicting feeling finally snapped shooting off random bursts of force, blowing chunks out of threes, tears pouring out of his eyes, still yelling and crying incoherently. He made his way back to the staging area. His crys and roars of pain could be heard from miles. Using his saber, he cut his way through Colonists and Natives. He then grabbed a nearby Mandalorian and threw him to the ground, a stray shot from his Slug thrower ripped through Koga’s armour on his arm and went through his arm, but this did not faze the mad Obelisk. Koga again unleashed a series of crazed punches on the helpless Mando. Pounding on his chest, Koga punched his way through and continued to pound away till it was like tenderizing meat. Blood splattering everywhere, Loga showed no sign of stopping, turning the Mandos chest into mashed meat and bone.

"Oh my god....." a random dark Jedi saw Koga in his crazed state, he rushed over and tried to pull him off of the mashed Mando. Koga looked at the young dark Jedi and used Push to throw the youngster several feet away crashing into a burning hut. The Blood covered Templar went back and continued to pound away on the pile of blood, crushed armour and bone, still yelling and crying out in pain.

"WHY!!......WHY DID YOU MAKE ME DO IT!!!......NOOO!!" Koga screamed out.

Kal was not too far away when he heard and saw what his powerful ally was doing and he sent a young knight flying into a building. "My fear has be realized, he lost it..." Kal rushed over to his troubled friend and with force and pulled the blood soaked templar up off of the puddle that once was a Mandalorian.

"LET ME GO OR ILL..." Koga cryed out but was cut short to a swift slap in the blood drenched face.

"Snap out of it Kage. We are in the middle of a war...OUR war...” Kal shook the Obelisk Captain "...there is no time for personal vendetta. I can only guess that you found Kaira and it....well dident go to good" Kal said with concern

"Stay with us, we need you here" Kal, still holding on to the trembling Templar, and pointing over to their Headmaster who was currently fighting with a powerful Jedi named Liu.

"I’m...I’m sorry...." Koga wiped away his tears and instantly remembered his mission.

Wiping away some of the blood from his face but leaving enough as war paint, he yelled out. "REGROUP TEAM! We need to get inward!"

Koga Rushed back into the main staging area, Saber in one hand, blaster in the other, fending off the random native, Koga met up with Furious, Seeing Arcadian going at it with a Huge Mandalorian. Kage sees Tra'an and runs over to him.

"Sir, we need to get inward, we are behind the other Houses. We need to get more air support to clear a path." Koga's Blood soaked appearance concerned the Quaestor but knew that his "war paint" could be used as a physiological advantage over the enemy.

Arcadian took a deep breath as he faced the large Mandalorian warrior before him, the Templar reached for the Force, feeling a wave of calm wash over him and a cooling sensation flow through his shoulder as he directed the power. He jumped then, the Force pushing him up and towards his opponent a cry escaping his lips as he crashed into the larger warrior taking him off balance and sending both of them to the forest floor. The Templar was on his feet in a moment, his lightsaber raised above his head as he prepared to strike the Mandalorian down. The fist that shot out then and wrapped around the Templar’s ankle surprised him and it was only a moment before he found himself dangling upside down. The Plagueian swore as the blood rushed to his head, causing his vision to spin for a moment. He swung his lightsaber, aiming for the hand that held him firmly, a silent shout of triumph echoed through the Templar as the blade connected, cutting two fingers from the Mandalorian and causing him to shout in pain as he dropped Arcadian.

Arcadian flipped as he fell, landing on his feet his lightsaber still in hand as the large Mandalorian stumbled backwards clutching his hand. The Templar moved quickly, his blade slicing through the knee of his opponent cutting the lower part of his leg clean off and dropping the Mandalorian where he stood. Arcadian ran jumping over the Mandalorian’s downed body, his lightsaber impaling in the skull of the warrior.

He stopped then and took a breath for a moment, looking up and surveying the battlefield the Plagueian saw his warriors engaged in battle. Furios was still engaged with the Jedi who had joined the battle, and Taigikori was still battling Liu although he appeared to have the upper hand. Kal stood slightly out of the way speaking into his comlink and Koga was engaged with a pair of Mandalorian soldiers. Arcadian moved quickly rushing to help Furios as he battled his Jedi opponent. He watched as a swing from the Jedi caught Furios off guard taking the Knight off balance, a ripple of Force energy followed and Furios was taken off his feet, sent sprawling in the grass a few feet away. The Templar picked up his pace, the Force pushing him to save the life of the Epicanthix who had already twice saved his.

His blade caught the Jedi’s only a moment before it would have cut into Furios, and with that the real battle began. Arcadian swung, his blade moving through the air towards the Jedi’s head and was surprised as the Jedi’s own blade flicked upwards to stop the blow. A quick series of blows, parries, and ripostes followed with neither warrior gaining a clear advantage. Arcadian, in spite of himself, was impressed; this Jedi was one of the most well rounded opponent’s he had fought in a long time. Furios jumped up then, rage crossing his face boiled with a raw determination to kill the man who had almost taken his life. The Knight rushed forwards and suddenly the Jedi found himself outmatched as the blades of two opponent’s now rushed towards him. The Jedi blocked a blow from Furios and then Arcadian stuck out his hand a ripple of his own Force energy echoed outward taking the warrior off his feet. The Templar and the Knight rushed forward to finish their foe and suddenly both found themselves blinded by a flash of light.

The warriors stopped, searching accenting their sight with the Force but were unable to see anything. The light began to subside after a few moments and Arcadian glanced around locating the Dark Council member who still resided in the middle of the clearing, alone now.

“What’s happening master” asked the Templar as he ran towards Taigikori.

Taigikori glanced towards the Plagueian the look in his eyes showing that he cared little for who the young warrior was, but he dignified him with a response anyways.

“They are in a full retreat” the Headmaster spoke with a light fury in his voice, angry at himself for missing his prey. “Gather everyone, we move to Menat Ombo...Now.”

VSD Ballista
Holding Orbit over Unidentified Owyhyee Forest
Bridge


Tra’an kept his eye on the progress of the troops, awaiting news of their victory, or of defeat. The DC channel was buzzing with news of a major Ordo withdraw back to Menat Ombo. About the time that confirmations were coming in, his comlink buzzed. “Arcadian, I hope you have news.” After abrief pop of static, the voice that came back was clear and perfect.

“They are withdrawing back to Menat Ombo. The Headmaster is here and is requiring us to pursue in full haste.” Taigikori gave Arcadian the evil eye for phrasing it that way, but let the issue remain at rest for now. “We request permission to pursue at haste with air support up to the limit of the city’s defenses. Anything you can offer to limit what they can bring to bear while we chew the shit out of them sir.” The speech was a long one for the professional mercenary, and more that what Tra’an had heard from in some time. It took a moment to process before the reply came back, the bridge coming to a standstill as they awaited the orders.

“Roger that. I’m having six of the T4’s that we held back, and twelve of the 1-L’s, with some walkers arranged for drop in support positions near your location. That’s all I can give you besides the SAB’s harassing them and clearing the way. Make them pay Arcadian. Give Them hell. My respects to the DC and headmaster Taigikori. He’s now in control until he relinquishes it.” With a double click, Arcadian signed off and whistled to the nearby storm troopers, even as the all call for an assault went out over all the comm channels. Pacing the bridge, Tra’an was still not happy with the way things were going. It was too easy that they should suddenly retreat so quickly, even after the beating they had taken.

Making a decision, he vaulted over the rail and down to the lower deck, walking over to his communication officer. “Contact the Deep Ice using these protocols. While they’re old, it should be enough. Ask them to look for pattern over consistency in the communication of our enemies. I want to know if it’s too even.” The officer nodded, even as that feeling at the back of his neck got worse. Something wasn’t right, and Tra’an should be able to see it coming. For the first time in this campaign, real fear for his men on the ground began to manifest. They would be too deep in, and if the capitol ships had to pull out, they would be stranded.

He didn’t like it one bit.

Tu'Kama Village, Conquered
Unidentified Owyhyee Forest
Village Proper

Arcadian looked over at his Master and nodded. Without a further word, they moved to the head of the troops and began the hard march to Menat Ombo, trusting in the Force to warn them of traps and other things the Mandalorians were fond of leaving behind. They just loved their gadgets. Once they cleared the outskirts of the village, they halted, the Force warning them of not one, but multiple traps. Scouts sent to both sides reported that there were traps in the foliage, and that it seemed to have been well prepared ahead of time.

Arcadian unlimbered his com unit once again and paged up to the Sab’s overhead, even as the troops drew back. “Tavi, this is Arcadian. I need you to plow a road for me.” A chuckle could be heard coming back over the comlink as the human’s sultry voice came back deep and clear.

“You know love, one of these days I’m going to make you pay up for all this plowing I’m always doing for you whenever you’re around. You make me feel like a damned farming instrument. One road coming up. Set direction and starting coordinates if you would and we’ll drop direction pulsers. First drop in sixty seconds.” One of the nearby support squads sent her the information over a secure channel, the double click over the communication channel indicating receipt as the difficult part required her focus.

A minute later, a line of SAB’s laid down perfectly precise blasts from Pulse Bombs, each one clearing a good wide crater that destroyed what traps were in the way, and triggered the rest from the concussion that knocked down the forest for fifty meters either way beyond the blast radius. Gouts of plasma, thermite, and other nefarious energy and fire units rose in towering blazes, or set alight the foliage. The traps of trip wire, garrotes, and spinning blades flung uselessly, if they worked at all. What had been a nightmare was just so much cooling slag. With a waggle of her wings, Octavia Kuga and her squadron lit for the skies to rearm, leaving the way clear below.

Hangar Bay
Templar Squadron
45 minutes after HM landing


The refreshments tray was unburdened of a second drink before the protocol droid had even finished handing out the first, eliciting a brief double-take from the automaton before it turned to the third seated pilot. The Karanan watched the silver plated server and Knight both from the corner of his eye as he dealt with his parched throat. Octavia wisely didn’t react outwardly to the many challenges he made to her standing, but he felt the familiar stab of annoyance. It had grown weaker with time, to the point that this was essentially their personal ritual and nothing more, but it was still good to dig at a deserving individual once in awhile. It was a sad day in the universe when he’d been subordinated to this less than charismatic slip of a girl. Not that he was pushing for Lead himself, his sights were set much much higher than that. At least she’d been able to improve her skills to his liking. She might even make herself worthy of commanding the squadron someday.

He chuckled at the talkative Protector Zuser's latest joke, mostly heard despite his darker musings, then turned his attention to the brief shower of sparks in the background. Plasma cutters. Their little encounter with the elites flying StarVipers had gone as well as could be expected. Three dead for Templar, five dead and two damaged for the enemy. The timely return of Three Flight had helped clear them off, and – though the Sith was begrudged to admit it to himself – saved his bacon. He’d been trying to shake two pursuers for an uncomfortable amount of time before they’d disrupted one and allowed him to break free. After that there'd been a nice bit of contribution to the ground war. He took another draught. The techs set to work as soon as the metal cooled, unbolting the ruined panel to check on the elevator’s mechanisms. A long channel was melted through the armour, and the flared lip at its end had pinned the hatch shut. It was a one in a million shot, or maybe ten million. The sort that struck one of these tinfoil coffins without spreading the pilot across the cosmos or even doing any significant damage. Two of the non-Force User Templars, one being the pilot of said machine, bumped fists. He smirked, throwing back another mouthful before setting his drink on the crate beside him.

The smile evaporated as he lifted his eyes from the cup and stared off into nothing for a moment. No rest for the weary. The two Journeymen caught the look, and the unspoken question was answered by the Warlord’s hurried rising and the first cries of the alert klaxon. Helmets were donned, repulsorcarts hastily filled with flung tools and pushed clear, and everywhere training took over. A voice on the loudspeaker reported enemy bombers even as Templar Squadron scrambled across the pristine bay.

The destroyer rocked under the disjointed torpedo salvo, its port shields holding but for one small section near a bank of medium flak guns. The spillover from the detonation put an unsightly dent in the hull riddled with angry vents of escaping gas, quickly frozen molten durasteel, and the odd crewman turned morbid New Tythonian satellite. The lights blinked on after a fitful start, gunners picking themselves off the floor to check and re-aim their hardware. One’s finger twitched on the trigger as a sighted bomber suddenly became a fireball with two Interceptors corkscrewing past.

New Tython
Just Outside Menat Ombo
Secondary Assault

A sudden flurry of blaster fire awoke the Epicanthix from his thoughts as the tanks finally came in range of the low walls of Menat Ombo. The party had spent almost twenty minutes traveling over the entropic craters that continually tried to tip over the few T4-B tanks Quaestor Reith had given them. One tank would have landed on its back had Kal not pushed it back to an upright position using his own power of the Force. The 1-L tanks passed by on their repulsor lifts easily.

Another series of shots hit a group of conscripts that had been guarding the front. The next one would have scorched the front of a 1-L had Furios not intervened. The bolts flew back to its source and struck the automatic turret. The resulting explosion caused a swarm of Mandalorians to fly above the forces, firing perpetual bursts at their opponents. The Dark Jedi that stood in the front ignited their sabers in response. As blades of blue, green, and red came to life, the rain of hot bolts was mostly deflected back, causing a secondary rain of dead and dying Mandalorians to fall at the same time.

It was not long before thermal detonators began falling as well. Some were pushed into the surrounding undergrowth by more aware Dark Jedi while others caused tanks to flip and conscripted soldiers to die. Taigikori could be seen killing many of the airborne enemies with swarms of Force power while Arcadian commanded the tanks to begin focusing fire on the city walls. Chunks of durasteel fell to the ground and a few pieces even knocked into forward troops. Turrets fell and exploded upon contact with the ground. Smoke and dust billowed from the wall, choking throats and stinging eyes. However, the damage done to the wall was still not enough.

As more Mandalorians and Plagueian troops fell, the battle gradually became quiet aside from the steady bombardment of Menat Ombo. Suddenly, the large gates of Menat Ombo opened and several of speeders raced to meet the Plagueian forces followed by a flood of colonists and Harakoans alike. Arcadian turned the focus of the tanks at the new threat. Soon, the speeders were weaving in and out of tanks, dropping deadly mines in the most key points. As with the previous explosive assault, some were pushed into the surrounding jungle while others were too late, destroying a number of 1-L tanks along with a few T4-B tanks as well.

Furios turned from his resulting attack to pull a colonist off his speeder. With a sharp turn on his heel, the Epicanthix redirected the speeder back to the city, jumping on and riding. It was time to become the catalyst of this siege. The dropped mines landed on either side of the city gate. The resulting explosion caused a collapse in the wall. The falling slabs of duracrete killed numerous Tythonian militiamen and opened up a huge gap in the only obstacle between the Jedi and the rest of the Brotherhood.

New Tython
Beginning of Entrance Into Menat Ombo
Approximately 3 Hours After Arrival of Dark Council

The battlefield was alive and Arcadian relished in it, yelling into his comlink directing the roughly two dozen Plagueis vehicles that Tra’an had provided while still piloting his own T4-B. The Templar moved his tank easily, years of piloting giving him the ability to move across the uneven ground without much trouble. A grin lit up his face as his gunner fired the laser cannons that protruded from the front of the tank, annihilating a speeder as it raced by and sending its rider flipping into the air. Furios was already in the city by this point and Arcadian was pushing the Plagueian forces hard to join him. “I want us in that city five minutes ago!” The Templar yelled into the comlink fury tinting his voice. Plagueis was already behind, the majority of Brotherhood forces having already entered the city, and Arcadian wanted them caught up right away.

A flurry of responses echoed over the comlink as the various pilots of the other tanks returned the affirmative that they would be inside the city momentarily. Arcadian’s grin grew and he knew this to be true as he watched the first of Plagueis’ 1-L Imperial Class Tanks enter through the hole in Menat Ombo’s wall where the gate had been minutes before. Clapping his co-pilot on the back Arcadian moved to open the tank’s hatch only stopping when his co-pilot mumbled something about being left alone, the Templar laughed assuring the soldier that he would be fine. Popping the hatch he climbed out pausing for a moment atop the tank. He glanced around looking for the one thing he needed in that moment and he found it. A soldier from Menat Ombo riding a speeder was racing by the tank and Arcadian jumped just as he was about to pass by, the Force pushing him to land squarely behind the soldier on his speeder.

The soldier freaked out for a moment as the weight of the Dark Jedi hit the bike lowering it close to the ground for a moment before it snapped back up. Arcadian’s lightsaber flashed crimson, cutting through the soldier and sending him to the ground the echoes of the Templar’s arrogant thanks flashing through his ears as his body hit the ground. The Plagueian turned the speeder around and gunned it, racing towards the city as adrenalin coursed through his veins. An explosion echoed beside the Templar as he neared the gates of Menat Ombo and he glanced upwards for a moment and proceeded to watch a piece of the wall fall to the ground a short ways to his left crushing a pair of Mandalorians as is landed. The Plagueian pushed the speeder to its limit as he finally entered the city, rushing to catch the Dark Jedi Knight who already had a sizeable lead on him.

Menat Ombo
It’Kla Resident District

Furios’ lightsaber slashed through the air cutting through a citizen of Menat Ombo who had attempted to fight back against the Dark Jedi. He was surrounded by soldiers, he suspected they were from Scholae Palatinae but he couldn’t be sure, regardless they fought with him, enjoying the uplifting presence the Dark Jedi brought.An explosion rocked a nearby home sending Furios diving to the side. Out of the rubble a blur of blue light and robes flashed and a trio of Scholae soldiers fell. Furios stumbled quickly to his feet, his own blue saber held aloft as the Jedi turned to face him. The Jedi moved quickly, closing the gap between himself and Furios and it wasn’t long before the Plagueian found himself on the defensive. The Jedi moved more quickly than Furios, and the Knight struggled to keep up, only the Force keeping him from losing a limb or perhaps more.

A ripple of Force energy caught the Plagueian off guard and he suddenly he found himself off his feet, landing hard on the stone ground several feet away. The Jedi moved forward to finish the Knight, but had to dive to the side as an empty speeder whizzed past, crashing into a nearby house and exploding in flames.

Arcadian ran forward, a grin wide on his face as he helped Furios to his feet.

“I think that makes us even” the Templar said with a laugh.

A grin crossed the Knight’s face for a moment as the pair turned to face the Jedi who was returning to his feet.

VSD Ballista
Holding Orbit over Menat Ombo
Bridge

Still standing behind his Senior Com Officer, Tra’an’s unease was palpable. The entire bridge knew that he felt this to be nothing more than a trap, and were ready to issue the evacuation orders; if they came. “Sir,” the Lieutenant spoke up, “I’m receiving something about shipping manifests. I don’t know where from and I can’t pinpoint the transmission.” The Quaestor gestured for the officer to move, and sat down to apply the cipher for the message, his eyes rising quickly. He erased the communication immediately after finishing it, having committed it to memory, his fears confirmed.

As he stood, the bridge stopped again, all eyes on him. “Sound retreat. Get our troops out of there. Send a message to Emperoro Vismorsus, My compliments and respects, I think it’s time to have a drink. That is all. Get Vessicant on the line, I want him to pick up the second squadron of SAB’s and for him to lead them in a sortie to cover our troops as they evac.” The bridge resumed its communications, the code words flying over the coms. Taigikori was not going to be happy, if he was still even with the Plagueian troops.

Returning to his seat, the head of the Jusadih Military Regime brooded over the course of the war and feared the worst, as his limited fleet did not give ensured capacity for full engagement.

Menat Ombo
Approximately Three Hours after arrival of the Dark Council
It’kla Residental District

Together, they were nearly unstoppable. Red and Blue in finest style, the Jedi was simply out matched. No matter how quickly he moved, Arcadian was there to stand in his way, forcing him backwards, into the slower and yet stronger hands of Furios. Pinned between the two, escape always cut off, the Jedi attempted to use the Force against them, only to find that pausing for a moment wasn’t possible. Every attempt to bring the Force into play was met with lightsaber slashes that forced retreat or engagement.

With the outcome all but certain, it came in a moment of pure perfection, Red and blue becoming purple in the middle of a Jedi, his body falling apart from the twin strikes that sliced him in half. Arcadian used the Force to bring the lightsaber of his foe to his belt, clipping it on for a spare. With a grin, they looked to move forward, only to receive a coded signal that seemed out of place. “Remember, Remember, the fifth of November.” The phrase repeated twice and shut off. With a startled look, they bolted for the exits as fast as they could, collecting allied troops as they went.

As the tanks congregated near the wall, protecting speeders and wagons with some basic loot including weapons, lightsabers, and one interesting box, the two slowed and split up. as they moved to leave, Arcadian activated his com unit. “Tra’an are you sure about this?” The double click and silence told the Templar all he needed to know. One of the Scholae soldiers nearby jerked his head when something innocuous spouted from his own com link. It seemed that House Palatinae was also withdrawing. It was too quick to be a coincidence.

Outside Menat Ombo Walls
Rear Guard for Retreat
Approximately Three Hours and Fifteen Minutes after arrival of the Dark Council

Koga was having a rough time with the withdrawal. He hadn’t accomplished his primary objective, and it seemed that they were running away right after being so close to where he needed to be. Standing on the back of one of the hover tanks, his eyes scanning the horizon, he noticed that there seemed to be something happening at the gates of the city.

Within moments, the scream of speeder bikes reached him as they poured out of the gates, Mando’s in full armor on their backs, and tanks not too much further behind. The sky erupted like an Ant Hive with the ants being ejected. It had indeed been a trap, and a contingent of the mercenaries were in full pursuit. The Obelisk raised the alarm over the comm units, thankful that they weren’t trapped in the city, in what would have been a hellish situation. It was time to exact his fury upon them, even as he protected his clan’s assets.

Outside Menat Ombo Wall


A group of Mandalorian speeder bikes, followed closely by various older forms of hover tanks came flooding out of the hole in the wall which had been created by a well place tank shot belonging to a house Koga couldn’t identify.

"What...?" Koga was surprised to see so many still left, at least until he heard the words ambush and trap echoing out from the fleeing warriors in front of the tanks and Mandalorians. The Templar leaned into the entrance of the tank he was riding on and told the driver to be prepared for anything as he radioed Tra'an over his com-link asking for an air strike to help level some of the fast approaching speeders.

"Sir, we need air support! As soon as you could we need concentrated fire on my location” It was a few moments before Tra’an’s reply echoed through the com-link


"The closest squadron is about 20 minutes out Kage you’ll have to hold them off till they arrive"

The Obelisk Templar swore lightly to himself, and his fingers flashed in a quick complex series of movements, motioning to Plagueis’ troops to return to battle."Speeder bikes are easier to take down then the tanks" Kage thought to himself. Koga moved swiftly jumping from the tank as a speeder came close to him. His lightsaber flashed, slicing off the front fin and sending the mount spinning into a nearby tree where it proceeded to explode. The Templar moved forwards, saber in hand looking for the next opponent to fall to his blade.

The battlefield was alive, lightsabers flashed through the air, colors flashed as blaster bolts whizzed through the air. Explosions were abound as tank and speeders erupted into fire and every direction you looked it was either a Mandalorian of a Plagueian soldier falling, never to rise again. The tide of the battle turned slightly as at least two dozen Jedi appeared at the fallen gate, lightsabers drawn more than ready to defend their home, ready to die for it. Koga was shocked, he hadn’t expected such a number of Jedi and as the light side soldiers engaged the soldiers of Plagueis, the battle became much more even.

Plagueis still outnumbered the light siders, and with a number of Scholae Palatinae soldiers mixed into their ranks the dark jedi were confident. But the light siders fought with a will that the Brotherhood didn’t possess, the warriors of the light were fighting to protect, the Brotherhood soldiers were just fighting to take.



"Why won’t they just give up?" Koga roared “It’s useless to fight us can’t they see that?” Anger pulsed through the Dark Jedi’s mind.


“Don’t hold back! Unleash your fury and Honour The Brotherhood!" Koga yelled out as he engaged a Jedi Knight, their sabers meeting in a flash of blue as the tempo of the battle picked up around them. The cheers and roars of the soldiers of Plagueis were equally met by their Mandalorian opponents and it wasn’t long before the battle descended into utter chaos. Explosions echoed throughout the battlefield, large chunks of the walls of Menat Ombo falling and crushing friend and foe alike.


Arcadian and Furios arrived then followed closely by a second squadron of Palatinae soldiers and engaged the Mandalorians and Jedi from behind. An old Jedi tank took aim at the new group of soldiers and a half dozen of the warriors found themselves flying through the air as the tank fired into their midst. The battle raged, both sides fighting valiantly, Plagueis and Scholae Palatinae pushed from both sides, attempting to bottleneck their opponents, but the Jedi would have none of it. Their will to defend their city was astounding and despite the best efforts of the Dark Jedi, they couldn’t stop their opponents from pushing them back

"The air strike will be here soon" Koga thought to himself “all we have to do is hold them off long enough and this battle will surely be ours,” a smile crossed the Templar’s face, and with a roar of anger, he threw himself headlong into the battle.

New Tython
Approximately 3 House and 45 Minutes after arrival of Dark Council
Battle for Menat Ombo

Arcadian’s lightsaber flashed, cutting down a Mandalorian soldier and the blade of Furios cut down a second just beside him. The battle had now descended into utter chaos with the arrival of a second squad of Mandalorians behind the Templar and the squad of Scholae troops he had brought with him. He was attempting to push his way out of the city to reunite with Kal and Koga, but the Mandalorians, along with their Jedi allies, were fighting like devils out of hell itself. Furios spun, deflecting a blade from a Jedi Knight that surely would have cut him down and moved into the flow of the duel, his blade arcing through the air to stop his opponents, and sending his own blows inward hoping to strike down his opponent. The two were a rather perfect match for each other, something Furios had time to think of as strange even in the heat of battle.

A voice cut across Arcadian’s com-link, something that he heard but couldn’t find the time to reply to.

“Arcadian!” Tra’an’s voice was loud and angry and Arcadian could tell that his Quaestor was not pleased. “Why the hell aren’t you out of that city yet, there’s an airstrike marked for you location within the next five minutes!”

The Templar’s eyes widened and he whipped around, searching for his ally who was lost in the battle. The Palatinae soldiers were of no concern to him, but getting Furios out of the city with him certainly was. He moved quickly cutting down a pair of militiamen and found the Knight still engaged with his Jedi opponent. A ripple of Force energy echoed out from the Templar, catching the Jedi off guard and knocking him down, but even as Furios moved for the kill Arcadian grabbed him dragging him away from the downed Jedi who was of no concern at that moment.

“Furios” the Templar yelled even as he pushed his way through the battle “we need to be out of this city five minutes ago, now come on!”

The Knight didn’t question his fellow Plagueian, each having saved the life of the other twice that day. They pushed their way through the battle, lightsaber and their own abilities in the Force being the only things that prevented their death. They cut their way through a pair of Mandalorian’s and found themselves only feet away from the destroyed gate that would let them out of the city. The pushed farther forward, still engrossed in the battle as it had moved far beyond the gates of the city now, and it was in that moment that the pair heard the screams of the Tie as they raced overhead.

VSD Bastilla
Holding Orbit over Menat Ombo
Approximately Five Minutes Previously
Bridge

“Why the hell aren’t you out of that city yet, there’s an airstrike marked for you location in the next five minutes!” Tra’an swore violently as he received no reply from the Templar. The Quaestor whipped around momentarily contemplating his next course of action. “Alright” he said his voice calming slightly “alright, delay the airstrike, have them do one sweep over and then bomb on their second pass.”

There were numerous shouts of yes Commander as the communications experts on the bridge worked to relay the Quaestor’s request. Tra’an’s mind raced for a moment, and he hoped silently that Arcadian would make it out of the city and for several minutes the bridge was near silent. Suddenly a explosion of static came from the com-link and Arcadian spoke.“Quaestor, we’re out of the city. Give them hell.”

A smile crossed the Prelate’s face as he turned to speak to his central communications officer. “Well, you heard the man.” The officer rushed to give the order to the bombers still out over the skies of Menat Ombo as Tra’an turned to look out the windows of the Star Destroyer.