Log:Alderaan: Contested Land
A reconnaissance mission to the Panteer estate.
OOC Date: February 6, 2021
Location: Panteer Estate on the planet of Delaya
Participants: Anessa Panteer, Aryn Cole, Ban Iskender, Bors Thul, Chani Tahn, Hadrix Kora, Lahni, Nerys Greystorm, Nubri, Tharyn Corlas, Wahl, Bizz Bliptettjupp
Prologue
A mere two weeks prior, Lady Anessa Panteer, daughter of Count Navar and Countess Siona of Delaya, had appeared suddenly in Hanna City. Only a day after the rescue of the young Duchess Avlin Teraan, she had come seeking answers, hope, and the wellbeing of the child. In meeting Princess Aryn again for the first time since their childhood, Lady Anessa explained that she had been away on an archaeological expedition to the outer rim world of Pamarthe when she'd gotten word of Duchess Avlin's distress call. Requesting more information from her parents and receiving no reply, Anessa had ventured home only to find it ravaged-- art and heirlooms destroyed, furniture overturned, security droids deactivated, and the entire estate vacant.
Scared and looking for answers, she turned to a close friend, who told her of Princess Aryn's team rescuing the Duchess and suggested she begin looking for her parents there. Though Anessa was relieved beyond measure to find Avlin safe, there was no word of her parents. Aryn explained the situation on Delaya in more detail-- that Princess Lana Panteer, retrieved from hyperspace cryostasis only a cycle ago, had rallied support from both House Panteer and House Rist to make an attempt to wrest control of Delaya from House Teraan by assassinating the entire Teraan line.
Outraged, with her parents missing and her House fully involved with the insurrection of a usurper princess, Lady Anessa vowed to do whatever was necessary to bring her House back in line, find her parents, and keep Duchess Avlin Teraan safe. Anessa's father, Count Navar, had pledged fealty to House Teraan, and she intended to see her father's promise through, no matter the cost. Therefore, the decision to return to the Panteer Estate was two fold-- one, to secure the grounds completely and scour for clues about what happened to the Count and Countess, and two, to uncover any evidence that would help discredit Princess Lana in the eyes of the public-- to help Lady Anessa win back the loyalty of her House so that they can fight against the insurrection.
Lady Anessa provided sketches of her family estate and childhood home. The mansion was large, but not overly complicated.
The main floor consisted of the foyer, kitchen, breakfast room, dining room, conservatory, and parlor room.
The grounds were similarly large but ultimately easy to navigate. The mansion was situated on the edge of a forest that surrounded a large lake. Mountain ranges loomed far in the distance. Foliage surrounded the property on three sides, the west, south, and north, and several trees had been left intact inside the grounds of the estate.
A three-meter tall, solid stone wall surrounded the property on all four sides. Two gates at the front allowed speeder access up to the main entry. A raised landing platform off to the side provided ample room for up to three small transports, a stairway for pedestrian traffic, and a ramp for speeder and droid access to unload cargo and ferry passengers. At the south side of the property was another gate with a mulch trail that led to a dock out onto a vast lake.
Behind the main house was the pool and patio area. Behind that was a maintenance shed the groundskeepers worked out of. There was a gazebo on the east side of the property, near a small pond. Just for completeness, she even drew on the map where she had seen the family's droids disabled on the grounds.
The last time Anessa had been there, she had landed on the family's empty pad out front. She described the scene as apocalyptic. The droids that patrol the grounds were offline. Her family and all of the staff were gone. The house had been completely wrecked. That had been two weeks ago, word had reached her that her old home was no longer abandoned. Though there was no word of who had occupied it or in what numbers, the landing pad was no longer vacant and the lights of the grounds were no longer extinguished, at night. Someone had moved in.
Darkness. Almost complete darkness. Only a few, distant stars peek out from the dense clouds that loom overhead, providing the faintest, starlit glow onto Lake Whisperpine. All around, in the far distance, only the outline of the tall trees at the edge of the vast lake could be seen, contrasting against the otherwise inky black of the sky. Farther the south, beyond the trees, mountain ranges loomed tall and ominous. In the day time, their snowcapped peaks would almost glow, though on nights like tonight, they formed an intimidating, jagged edge that cut the horizon like a row of sharp teeth.
The placid, glass-like surface of the lake is cut smoothly by the bow of the boat as it glides effortlessly, almost silently, to the north. On the shore ahead, a more intense glow can be seen just inside the tree line. A long, dark shape stretches out into water-- a dock, itself with a smaller boat already tied to one side.
It isn't long before that dock is reached, the oars stowed, and the team unloaded quietly onto the surface of that dock. Within a thin row of trees, tall and bushy with foliage, a wide trail can be made out that leads to a heavy, keypad secured, wrought iron double gate backlit by the faint glow of a lighted estate. The manicured grass of the grounds can be seen just inside the gate.
On either side of the metal gate, a three-meter tall stone wall stretches deep into the darkness of the forest.
Settled on the boat in relative quiet, Aryn turns her gaze back toward the peaceful mountains and angles higher up, wondering what it must have been like to see Alderaan and her moon so near and dear. When they arrived on shore, Aryn mantles over the gunwale at the starboard and plants both booted feet to the shore, her cape fluttering down to her heels a moment later. "Best be about it then," She ushers, casting her cape back just enough to pluck the safety strap restraining her blaster in its fine leather holster. "All of Lana's enemies in one places proves an ideal counter strike."
There's something serene about the mountain ranges in the distance reflecting off the subtly rippling surface of the lake's water. The stars glitter in it like a mirror. Chani steps off the boat with grace. She's used to water and its fluctuations. She knows how to read its waxing and waning currents. There's sloshing as the lake itself laps at the dock posts, and a subtle thunk as the edge of the boat grazes and bumps against the wooden platform. She's dressed in a jumpsuit covered in armored plates to protect critical human anatomy areas, but she carries no blaster, pistol or otherwise. Instead, a cylindrical object sits near her left hip, and sways with any motion that she makes. From the boat, a blue and white BB unit uses its cables to exorcise itself onto the dock, but there are no questionable warbles or nosies from it. It's well aware that the necessity for silence is important.
Nubri looks down towards the spiker on her wrist "Doctor Panteer, I pressume you have a code?" she offers "Or do you wish for me to attempt my luck?" she continues, before patting down to her pistol, giving her weapons one last check
"Trav'ling in a chipped up carriage, on the Queen's Road; I shan't disparage. I met a woman odd, she laid me nervous; she gave me shelter and aided breaking fast." singing to himself, old battered carbine held low and his eyes on the docks ahead. Bors's head bobbing fractionally as the words come more akin to something unconscious than actual singing.
The Lord Thul's right hand raises, the visor on his helmet sliding up, so that he can adjust the monocle pinched there before his eye. Smiling, as ever, though he's taken this opportunity away from regular service time to allow his cheeks and chin to be roughed with appropriately stylish and fashionable stubble.
Doth thou come from the galaxy yonder? Where Tuskens rove and Rodians plunder? Hast thou harkened to the thunder? Get thee hence! Thou best take to cover..."
He'd claim it an old Alderaanian song of the days well and before the age of Katana fleet. Most likely. Standing and sweeping along when the craft grazes the docks, quickly tying off and gripping the wood to keep the craft close for others to disembark.
Nerys had been entirely silent as the team made their journey across the lake, her attention focused first on the water and then on the approaching view itself. It was hard to gauge her thought, in any case, as she had her armor on, and was not currently accessing the group communications. Bitty, smol droid that she was, leaned over Nerys' shoulder, the pair mostly ignoring the rest of the team, as they were likely speaking amongst themselves on the way. Finally, her voice came across the group comms, "I would advise against an immediate direct assault. Not only could it potentially risk the lives of any hostages, if we can secure the estate without armed conflict, or at least if we weaken their automated defense systems, suppression will be that much easier." Nerys, though, shrugged, as she fell silent again, settling in to wait for her orders.
Ban Iskender steps off the watercraft and walks with a regal, unhurried gait along the length of the landing, toward the deserted estate. "Any with mechanoid companions may wish to request a scan of the premises. Remain in close contact, if we are separated, and ever be wary of ambush." He draws a bladeless sword from it's rest at his side and steps toward the house.
Lahni is silent as the boat approaches the shore - feeling strangely anonymous in her new armor, with the helmet in place. It was a strange feeling - and her heart was beating fiercely in her chest. What was she //doing// here? Would she be a help, or a hinderance? Was her presence entirely foolish?
She trains her gaze on Bors as the man sings - torn somewhere between amusement, and alarm that //any// noise might give their presence away. It doesn't seem to, though, as the boat bumps against the shore - and she climbs onto solid land alongside the others.
A tired sigh hisses from Wahl's mouth as she disembarks. Her stress from the boat ride has come to a head. Nobody ever taught her to swim and a living a life of concrete and skyscrapers certainly didn't help either. Even the soft give of the shore was a strange sensation. She should really get out more.
The agent seems to be ignoring everyone else as she trudges forward. Judging by her facial expression, it's clear that she has something else on her mind. Brown eyes anxiously check her oddly shaped weapon. The gun looks something of a cross between a pipe bomb and a blaster carbine.
She stops into a turn at her rear. With a furrowed brow, she inspects the raiding party behind her...searching for her metallic friend.
Where Lahni feels anonymous, Tharyn is well in his element. Clad in the sandy plates of his close-combat armor with its elongated, studded gauntlets, Tharyn steps easily off the boat with the rest. Pistol on his hip, carbine mag-clamped close against the lift pack jutting from his back, he has all the swagger of a fighting man that his body does not support. Thin men make poor fighters in many situations, after all - but he proceeds, unhurried, his expression largely lost beneath the visor of his helmet. But he is determined.
"She's right," he says over comms of Nerys's comment. "We'll want to make it a fast assault if we do it at all. They'll kill anyone inside if they have to."
It hadn't been happenstance that the team had found a boat large enough to convey them silently across the lake. A long-time friend of Anessa's family that lived across the like had agreed to loan it for this purpose, along with the oars to be used once they were so close that the engine sounds would give them away. There wasn't a lot of extra room, given the size of the team, but it was easy for the slow-going second half of the trip to lead to anxiety about the upcoming infiltration. At least, it was for Lady Anessa.
The Alderaanian Lady had picked up one of the oars to help with rowing, but the two-and-a-half meter tall, lanky droid beside her was better suited. After a couple of her well-intentioned strokes, she quietly relinquished control of the paddle to the BA-HD, who seemed much more proficient at it.
Once the boat had been pulled quietly into dock, she waited her turn to climb out onto the wood and looking around, her expression graver at the mention of 'hostages'. Her eyes shift to Nubri when the question is asked, and she shakes her head. "It /was/ 2187," she says quietly. "I don't know if it still is or not. I.. don't know if anything happens if you get it wrong. No one has ever said anything to me."
"H-D?" Anessa asks quietly when her gaze lifts to the droid. "Is that something you can do?"
Aryn pauses and looks up at Ban. "I believe this your domain of expertise, my Lord. I follow your lead. Direct as you may, sir." Aryn draws the sleek silver Westar-34 from its holster and angles it skyward, the ornate glint masked partially by her gloved grip which fixes itself about the custom handle with a single digit stretched over the trigger well.
Aryn believed the plan was to assault the gateway, or draw the attention of the main protective force to them. Leaving those finer details to the soldiers like Lord Bors or Lord Ban, Aryn fell in step beside her close friend, Chani, awarding the Naboo native with a side-long glance and slight reassuring smile.
Seeing Ban draw his lightsaber off his hip encourages Chani to do the same. Not because she's in a rush to use the stunsaber, but because if the noble Green Knight has drawn his weapon into his hand, Chani suspects that she's going to need to defend herself sooner, rather than later. She follows in the wake of his cape, not trailing so close behind him that she looks as if she's tagging along, but in that slightly off to the side manner that indicates she's there to help defend him should anything happen. After their time on Codru, Chani feels subconsciously safer around the tall noble. Sky, the astromech, rolls behind her, and Chani herself is doing more than just looking at the perimeter wall they approach. She's reaching out with her senses and using that great energy known as the Force to extend her bubble of perception beyond what it normally might be. She's listening to its whispers. Waiting for that brief little flash that reveals to her a moment of danger. She approaches the estate as if at any second, they will be fighting for their lives. Her guard is up.
Nubri closes her eyes, to listen in. Guard. Somewhere. Crunches... she can't see them, but it isn't what she is there to do. Instead, she heads towards the gate, punching in the code. No reaction. So, Lana has some intelligence, at least. She glances down at her spiker.... would it be worth it to fry the gate? Depending on the state of security, it could either default to locked, open, or just even stay in the locked position it is in, upon losing power. But... she reaches for her knife, trying to get the panel open... maybe she can achieve something inside and.... the gate slides open.
"Trading wares with a Gran on Manaan. A giant of two meters in plated armor. I pleaded, doth thou speaketh basic?" voice still barely above a whisper, even with all this water for sound to carry on, blaster moved to a ready position while the visor slips a little lower before his tone changes,
"A lightning strike ere feels the method, My Princess." Bors looks towards the gates, "Thine and Ban's blades to make a quick thing of the gates and our ingress at speed - shots spared for security drones and haste for main house." nodding to himself, before he opines again,
"If others prefer the dainty approach, then we vault the walls - a difficulty feat I expect for myself trained not in stealth but striking method, skirt the grounds and enter swift through windows. There shan't be a lack of blood spilled - it never can be truth in circumstances hence we face. The Mother shall grant them comfort as they pass and The Father shepherd them to rest." brows knitting, looking to Ban for confirmation of his ideas... "Or we steal within gates the Green Lady hath thoroughly tricked open..." then picking up right where he left off...
"He just beamed and kolto offered. Then spake; I come from the Galaxy yonder, where conflicts flow and warrior plunder. Hast thou harkened to thunder? Thous best take flight, take to cover..." It's in his head. Most thoroughly.
Once Nerys was free of the boat and the docks, she proceeded onto the grounds, Bitty sticking close, allowing herself to be carried on Nerys' shoulder, rather than activating her repulsors, making use of the maglock attachment that had been installed onto Nerys's armor for her use. As the pair moved, slowly, they both scanned the surround, and then, again on the group's comms, "I am picking up two heat signatures. Humanoid, male, approximately 250-300 meters along the southwest quadrant of the exterior of the estate. They appear to be unaware of our arrival, but are positioned outside of the estate walls." A beat, "I will head that way and subdue them. They may have useful security codes or communication devices on them." After all, they did get outside of the gate, which would necessitate being able to communicate with the parties inside.
Ban Iskender gives a short bow of the head and shoulders to Aryn as the princess gives her brief vote of confidence. "Indeed, Highness," he returns in a steady, even voice. Choosing the most direct approach, and thinking to lend the more subtle among their number the benefit of a clear distraction, Ban walks through the opened gates, with a short nod to Nubri, then plainly past the long ornamental pool toward the waiting estate house. His green sword glows to life with an audible screech and hum.
As Nerys starts to head towards the two guards outside the perimeter, Lahni hesitates. Should they just let her go alone? Was anyone else going to accompany her? She glances at her companions, uncertainly, before deciding that her wisest course was to simply stick with the main group until someone advises her otherwise.
She starts to approach the gate that Nubri has so skillfully opened - quietly drawing her blaster but pointing it down towards the ground as she moves. The green glow of the lightsaber catches her eyes, however, and she takes a moment to stare. She's... only heard stories. And- well. There is it. A genuine //lightsaber//.
"That's right." Wahl's resigned statement barely escapes her lips as she spots her companion alongside Anessa. Her head swivels, watching as everyone passes by her. She spins back around to catch up with the front, clutching her weapon with white knuckles. The woman slides to a stop as the gate opens. "State of the art." Her joke is directed at Nubri. "Defeated by blade."
The redhead scoots through the entrance behind Ban. Her gaze stays locked on the glow of his green blade. Lightsabers. Jedi. She furrows her brow with irritation. Bad memories.
And so they come, walking through the gates, welcome as a bad omen. And tharyn is among their number, keeping a weather eye upon the house through the polarized faceshield of his helmet - while Ban and the nobles prepare for a direct assault, Tharyn draws the pistol at his hip and keeps an eye upon the house ahead, specifically its upper floors. Calculating distance, degree, burn time. Another layer of distraction to let the searchers do their work.
"I'll enter through the third floor," he instructs the group as they go. "Once the shooting starts."
Brother Bizz Bliptettjupp is a good rower and row-row-rows the boat across the lake with soft swooshing sounds. Nearly silent. He's from a swamp world, so bayou boats are not unfamiliar to him. He had been studying the floor plans earlier and thought to make a stop at the wine cellar to try those Delayan zinfandel. Or maybe a Coruscanti beaujolais? Once the boat is stopped, he ties it up with a maritime knot and starts off at the rear of the group with his unetiwood walking stick at the ready. Lord Ban is given a grimace as the Jedi walks off with a glowing sword. "Uh oh. I hope they do not call for reinforcements!"
"Oh, that's.." Anessa's voice is a quiet whisper as she watches Nubri go off towards the gate, brazenly entering the code that she had provided and wincing when it rejects it. What was she expecting? Fireworks?
Well, to be fair, there was a 'pop' once Nubri was scraping at the thing with her knife that made her flinch a little, but nothing seemed to happen, except for the slackening of the gate.
A soft sigh passes Anessa's lips. She seemed to observe the whole group with uncertainty through the visor of her scout armor. And so it was starting. Nerys gets the bulk of her attention when she announces having spotted someone.. someones? Slipping the Theed-Arms S5 out of its holster, she moved in that direction, rather than towards the gate. BA-HD comes with her automatically, unslinging the stun rifle from his shoulder and bringing it to bear.
"Do you want us to come with you?" she asks, offering a quick glance back to those that were already charging/walking up to the main house.
The area around the main house is extremely well lit, making it obvious that just south of the steps to the main house and just to the east of the house, the black-metal of two large DT Patrol droids glint against the flood lights. The droids seem to be walking a standard patrol around the house.
Closer, however, to Ban's position and coming almost from the edge of the pond is a surprised beeping and chirping sound. On closer inspection, a floating probe-looking droid with a flashing red light is looking directly at the intruders, and soon it's ringing it's head off.
The DT Patrol droids both turn at once to face the south gate, leveling their blasters, and marching on the group.
In the southwest corner of the fence, just outside the gate, where Nerys had spotted them, are two men that had been chatting. Their comlinks crackle to life. "There's been a perimeter breach!" a woman's voice exclaims, loud enough to carry through the trees to where Nerys, Anessa, and BA-HD remain.
Around the maintenance shed, tucked into the trees to the west, a large man with a bald head comes running suddenly around the corner to investigate, but stays close to the front of the shed and draws a pistol.
"They mean to use ranged combat. Close quickly!" Aryn calls out, jiggy-jogging forward with the distinct footfalls of her boots, her cape clapping behind her a bit. After closing some of the distance, she presented her blaster in a duelist fashion, discharging a trio of loud blaster shots.
PYOOM--PYOOMPYOOM
The blaster noise rang out loud, and Aryn sweeps forward bravely to draw the attention to their group and allow the less conspicuous to slip into the shadows to reach their alleged objective.
There's no subtlety to this at all. Ban Iskender strolls into the estate once the door opens and Chani follows. At the appearance of the droids, her right thumb depresses the activation stud on the stunsaber, and with nowhere near the noise that Ban's lightsaber had produced, her own performs a quiet-snap hiss as the white beam coalesces into life. The droids are too far away to engage in melee combat, but Chani's left hand lifts and her mind attempts to focus on the energy that surrounds them all. She also attempts to exert her influence on that energy, expressing her will and picturing, in her mind, something not visible but forceful, to influence the world around one of those droids with a push that comes not from anything physical, but her own mental projection. She can see it. And then it's reality. To the naked eye, absolutely nothing comes into contact with that droid, but it is nonetheless flung from it's feet, and the only indication that it should be is the fact the tiny girl with the white stunsaber has lifted her left hand towards it.
Nubri blinks, reaching for her carbine behind her back "Well, kriff.... we were noticed." she mutters "Think we will all need to fight?" she wonders aloud, before turning "I am afraid we now need to stay together, they are well aware of us." an then, she fires her carbine, not even ready as she sees the droid, managing to at least hit with one shot.
Following aim, dropping to a kneel and fire in a pair of rapid shots at the oncoming sentry machine, Bors's expression ranging between incredulous and furious while he watches one sing between legs to burn grass and the other smash into torso - sending up sparks and smoke.
"My Princess - House Cortes should invest in s legion of these, the war should be over thus!"
<"No, we're fine, go ahead with the team,">, was Nerys' comment into one of her private channels, before she turned her helmeted head slightly, as Anessa came up with her, "These are your lands. You can identify them, if they wear colours of an opposing house, which might be useful in your case. Bitty and I will engage them. Self-defense is your priority. Your House has already lost enough." And then Nerys was off, keeping a good pace, though she moved to remain as silent as possible, staying close enough that she could cover Anessa and her droid if it was required. They did not proceed all the way to the waiting guards, but moved to ranged, neither her bolt or Bitty's weapons made contact, but, it at least drew the attention of the goards away from the commotion inside.
Ban Iskender's green eye notes the alarm being raised and turns toward the revealed occupants, and the pair of hulking security droids. To the former, he declares aloud, "We are present at the behest of Lady Panteer. You would be wise to lay down arms." To the latter, he looks with distaste marring his solemnity. "Imperial model combat droids. I do so *detest* Imperial models." Radiant green sword raised vertically before him in salute, he continues his purposeful advance toward the house, placing himself between the party and the most heavily armed of the present threats in the process. Anessa is answered, "You will be safest behind us, Lady." Chani's telekinetic efforts are commended, "Well placed, mistress Tahn."
And suddenly - everything is happening quickly, with droids closing on them, Aryn opening fire and- why did that one suddenly fly back...? With one droid still up and advancing, the inexperienced Omwati aims at it, squeezing off a pair of shots that accomplish nothing at such a long range. Even with the noise of the blasterfire, and the lightsaber humming nearby, her heart sounds unusually loud as it thuds in her chest. Lahni continues to remain with the main group, trailing just behind them as they advance.
Engaging droids in a frontal assault sounds like a good way to be killed. That's not Wahl's style, getting deaded. The woman abandons the group as soon as the shooting starts. Despite the hinderance of her armour, she seems to float through the westward treeline, gliding near the bald man with featherweight steps. She should have taken ballet as a child. It may have been a better career choice.
The agent snuggles up against a bush on her arrival, hoping that it provides enough concealment from anyone that looks in her direction. Unfortunately, the bright white glint from her pauldrons is escaping through a clearing in the branches. "Aim low...aim low..." She reminds herself. Her body shifts to the left, peeking out from behind the shoddy concealment, waiting for a shot on the houndsman.
Right, then. "On the second," Tharyn calls over comms as the second droid goes down from...well, sorcery. With a running start, he leaps skyward as the jets on his back engage - and, sailing in a tall arc, cast aloft on alcohol-blue flames, he realizes he's miscalculated the distance; cutting power he comes down hard, harder too than he meant to, and lands some ten feet from the fallen droid rather than right next to it for a coup de grace. Instead he turns and fires three times into the fallen machine, bright red lances that glow line minor suns punching baleful holes into its torso as well as a third that throws up a small crater in the earth next to him. Not the best maneuver, Corlas, but a good result besides.
Bizz Bliptettjupp is just hoofing it toward the house, trying to stay low. It isn't hard because he is short. "I thought we were going to be sneaking! All that quiet rowing, for NOTHING. We gotta get to the house, they'll call in reinforcements!" There's a landing pad off to the right - the perfect place for more Panteer soldiers to land. He has a little beer belly so he jiggles as he runs.
Lady Panteer, blaster pistol in hand, nodded to Nerys's instructions and ran.. maybe against her better judgement.. towards the men outside the fence. She glanced at the pistol in her hand. Too far to reach them with the little thing-- she had no chance, at this range. BA-HD, almost as tall as the wall they run beside, is plodding along after her. "Stand down!" she's yelling through the helmet mic on her suit. "My name is Lady Anessa Panteer! This is my home!"
Blaster bolts were flying across the property, catching the sentry droids in their large top sections, and one even flew backwards and landed on its back. The droid that was left standing stumbled backwards under the barrage of fire.. one, two, three, four hits.. it smoked from its wounds, but it raised its arm and fired a shot at Aryn, the first one to run at it and the first one to hit it.
Meanwhile, instead of firing, the Houndsman reached back behind him and hit the controls on the front of the maintenance shed. He seemed oblivious to the woman that was making her way through the woods towards him, focused too intently on the group-- and specifically the glowing lightsaber of Lord Ban.
"HAVE YOU BROUGHT HER?!" the man shouts back angrily. "WE WERE HOPING SHE WOULD COME CRAWLING HOME."
When the door slid open, five Sibian Hounds ran out, crawling and biting, towards the group.
"ATTACK!" the Houndsman shouts, raising his pistol at last and moving towards the group.
Out of the back door of the house, emerging onto the patio, are two more mercenaries, their rifles drawn, looking around and moving to join the fight-- right where Bizz was running.
Aryn stays out in the center, raising her blaster back to orient the muzzle skyward for moment, then adjusted her body sidelong to be a harder target. This is done as if aware ahead of time, she would be shot at, because a bolt intended for her harmlessly passes by her shoulder a second after she moved it. Presenting her other, empty, gloved hand, Aryn made a 'Come here' gesture. The motion of pulling her hand back manipulated the droid attacking her by seizing it from moving, and yanking it from its position by some unseen ability to bring it closer to the Jedi.
The gesture, and resulting motion of claiming the droid and moving it, looked so flawless that Aryn didn't even seem tasked by the challenge of relocating it. "One droid, coming right up!"
"Thank you, Lord Ban." Her arm lowered, she joins the Alderaan Lord in his advance forward, back and to the left of his position like some battlefield subordinate. The tip of her blade is pointed forward and towards the well-maintained grass of the Panteer estate, but hovers above it, with every adjustment of its position provoking a subtle whum of humming energy. It's a quiet thing, though. As eerie as the pale glow it paints on the ground around her in a muted cloud of color. Chani's dark hair brushes and twists about her shoulders, and some of it trails behind thanks to the breeze coming down from the mountains and across the tree tops. It's a crisp kind of air, but Chani doesn't feel it. She's concentrated on the task at hand.
She doesn't know who does it, but one of the droids ahead of them comes jerking at them, pulled by some unseen hand. Her grip adjusts, with her left hand taking up placement on the lower half of the thrumming stunsaber hilt. It helps her better control its micro-gyroscopic contortions, caused by the internal feedback of power focused through the crystal. She steps aside, farther to the left, and simply brings the stunsaber up, horizontal, shoulder level, with her elbows tucked and her wrists locked, so that when the beam smashes into the droid's chest, it's like running into a tightened wire. It's feet move forward, but it's chest doesn't, leading to it smashing its central housing into the ground. The electrical current from her blade wreacks havoc through its metal structure, and somewhere, thanks to all the other damage its suffered, a wire shorts, leading to a cascading failure in its systems and taking the hardware within completely offline.
Nubri takes the cowards way as hounds come running and droids come flying.... off towards the bushes and to the house! Is she setting up an ambush? Wanting to get help? Try to get past security? Who knows! EIther way, the green person is gone for now.
"Zounds, these mechanical marauders are a problem unto themselves." Bors allows himself as he continues his advance, watching the Princess and the younger with her go to work. But pale beasts and commanding ruffian thoroughly claim his attention among the cries for family issues thrust upon them.
An attempt to clear the man directing beasts that goes poorly as the first blast slips near, charring grounds and the next sailing past with similar flare but wider distance to set a small guttering fire.
Nerys, who, as a general rule, had little consideration for her own personal safety, though she did not, it should be pointed out, gave either of her usual 'Nerys is down, drag her body back to the ship' crew in place, should have given her some pause, but it did not. She and Bitty were on a mission, and whatever noise was coming from inside the walls, that was a problem for another day. For now, there was the business of closing to a better range and eliminating the threat being posed to Anessa, if not herself and her droid. Nerys, who had long practice with finding and moving, thank you Clan Kora, fired another bolt, the energy charged bolt slamming into the upper chest of one of the mercs, while Bitty fired in true d-roid rage fashion. One of her shots went wide, but the other hit the merc center mass. Nerys did not slow down, "We need to strip them of anything useful and then get into the grounds."
Ban Iskender inclines his head sharply to acknowledge Chani's decisive cut on the damaged droid, but his eye and word are turned toward the brash shout of the Houndmaster. A terse sniff precedes the word, "Unwise." As the remaining DT combat droid that Chani had thrown prone previously begins to climb up, only to be greeted by a deft cut of Ban's lightsabe, sending the armored beheamoth back down to the ground in more pieces than it had risen.
Battle is quickly becoming a hectic overload to Lahni's senses as a droid flies towards the Jedi - and goes down in a shower of sparks, and the other is cleaved neatly in half. The obvious threat then... was the barking, growling creatures charging towards the group. She moves towards them, raising her blaster and squeezing off another pair of ineffectual shots. Maybe it was the slight tremor to her hands - or maybe the thought her own pups back at home that threw off her aim.
Or maybe she just wasn't that good of a shot.
"A little... help?" she suggests as she's now closest to the very angry, very threatening canid creatures.
"What are they doing..." A nasty look is shot over towards the gate as blaster bolts impact near the Houndsman. "They're going to kill him." Her attention is kicked back to the animal master. Fear strikes Wahl's bloody cold. She thinks with her feet rather than her head, jumping out from the bush and into the open.
Crunch - Crunch - The agent's boots push dried leaves into the ground.
A loud 'POP!' shatters the air as the snare gun is fired. Two projectiles fly from the pipe, impacting against the shed as a rubbery mass. The woman drops to a knee in shock. "They'll kill you if you don't surrender?...!" She tries to play it off as if the miss was intentional, to get the man's attention.
With the target dropped, and dogs running across the field to be doubtless intercepted and cut to pieces by the group at large, Tharyn thinks of what Nerys said not that long ago - there could be prisoners inside, and they're likely to be killed should the battle outside tarry overlong. "Entering the house," he proclaims, and then...up, up, another jet-powered leap, this time propelling him forward into a bay window, easily smashed to pieces by the foreward power of his leap and armored bulk. At least the has the good sense to lift his arm up to shield his face as he hurtles through, and is in!
Brother Bizz pauses near the patio after a sprint, panting, out of breath. Ugnaughts are natural sprinters you see. But out of the back door of the palatial estate come two mercenaries with blaster rifles! Bizz raises his unetiwood stick, pressing a button that causes two riot baton electro-vanes to pop out of the top and energize. "You are squatting on private land! By the FORCE, you're under arrest!" Then the short holy monk bashes them mercilessly in the knees, toppling them with a satisfying BZZZZZ ZZZZZZ ZZZZZT.
Ban Iskander, Aryn Cole - Alderaanians of long association. Nerys Greystorm, a woman whom has been referred to as in the wrong family and Amaza Wahl. Frenemy? Student? Friend.
A call had gone out for assistance and somewhere in high orbit a blocky mobile fortress for the Al'Verde'Kora had entered atmosphere deep enough for bay doors to open, to avoid re-entry friction, before Hadrix dropped through open bay doors. Had been falling for several minutes, head down, blaster drawn. Altimeter within his helmet counting down in a blur while his grav-belt indicators imminent activation.
<<"Princess Cole, Lord Iskender. Inbound.">> No jets, just a form of midnight purples with iridescent rippling across the surface that meteors until meters above, anti-grav belt arresting the fall until he is only so far that when he slams into the ground there is a high pitched yelp from one of the Sibian hounds, crushed beneath the Massive Mandalorian's weight - E-11 raised and firing before Hadrix is even standing straight again.
<<"Alderaan calls. I answer.">> stones grinding voice made more mechanical, while the hound master is forced back, blaster wound in his arm. Red pinlight in the branch of his visor focusing on the target of his current ire and a growl distorting over external speakers.
Nerys and Anessa remain outside the border fence at the southwest corner of the property, searching the two guards. They find comlinks, a few credits, blasters, and some identification. "There's not much here," Anessa had said. "We should get in there." And she was already starting back towards the gate the others had disappeared into.
Tharyn has just jet-packed himself through a second-story window with a loud crash of glass.
Bizz stands on the back patio of the house, viciously murdering two mercenaries on his own with his donking stick.
No one knows where Nubri is, but she knows she's hiding in the bushes around the patio.
Wahl is over next to the Maintenance Shed, talking to what is now a /VERY/ unhappy Houndsman, who is shot and blown backwards by the blast from..
Hadrix, who has IRON MAN'd in from NOWHERE into the middle of the throng of 5 very innocent looking snarling, growling, and snapping Corellian puppies, kills one by LANDING ON IT and shoots the poor dog's master out of spite.
"LET THEM TRY!" the Houndsman yells at Wahl, raising his blaster pistol to shoot at her.
Meanwhile, Aryn, Chani, Ban, and Lahni are in the middle of the estate's back yard, just south of the patio. The four remaining Sibian Hounds had scattered for a moment when Hadrix landed, but they were quickly reorganizing. One moved back to run at him, the other three ran towards the group in the middle, angrier than ever, but still too far away to bite.
"Well struck, Chani!" Aryn commends before peeking around Ban to engage the canine at a distance. "Pardon me," Aryn intones to Ban, before leveling her weapon and blasting.
PYOOM! PYOOM! PYOOM!
The Westar-34 made a distinct noise with each discharge. The results saw two dogs dead, their bodies sliding to a halt from dead weight. An errant shot pocked up dirt, showering the clods into the nearby pool.
"Whoops!" Aryn holds her spot, nodding to Ban, before looking toward the landing Mando'ade. "Commander Hadrix. What luck! I trust you know best where your talents are, sir. Put them to use and help us clear this silly courtyard!"
Aryn moves forward in the chaos of the conflict, walking briskly but acutely aware of her surroundings.
"Thank you, Your Highness! I'm going to get to the house." She recalls that time back on Chandrila, in the fountain at the park. She recalls the will she exerted over herself, and the aid she asked for through the Force. When Chani moves, it is not a human sort of speed. She's with Lord Iskender and Princess Aryn one moment, and then across the yard in the next, a blur of a white beam and humanoid shape that makes it to the eastern door of the estate. It whisks open at her presence, but only after a moment, and exposes to her the interior of the home. Chani does not stride in, but moves herself up against the frame of the door, ensuring that she's not standing in the fatal funnel through which blaster fire might pour through should she be spotted.
Nubri was about to try to unlock the door... when a human whirlwind passes her. Still, she follows her out of her hiding place among the bushes and gets to work on the door, after she finds it locked. A fairly difficult lock for her, but... she hears a satisfying click eventually, moving a bit to the side staying motionless for now
Ban Iskender murmurs, "Of course, Highness," as Aryn excuses herself to fire past him with her pistol. His eye turns up to note the dramatically descending Hadrix, whom he greets with a reserved near-smile, "Well met once more, master Kora. An adept display of rocketry, sir." Then Chani flashes across the field, and he observes quietly to Aryn, "I daresay she has grown rather good at this." That said, the armored soldier with his half-cape and green sword approaches the now-unlocked door directly (a brief salute given aside to Lahni as the last of the hounds is brought down, close by), prepared to hazard whatever foes await within the occupied estate.
The gentleman promptly faces a pair of dark, shadowy assassins out of Alderaanian fable, distinctive blades of House Rist in their hands. A thrust into one cutting free into a slash that takes the second, and the first two are dispatched. Over comms, he warns, "The Rist await us within. Be wary of their foul blades, as even minor hurts may lay the strong low."
You know, some things are more unexpected than others. Mandalorian's falling from the sky was one of them. "...Hadrix?" the armored, and helmeted Omwati woman remarks with some surprise.
No time for that, however, as she spots one of the canid creatures leaping towards the Jedi. She shifts her aim, firing off a shot that misses - but somehow manages to steady the second shot, and she watches the creature collapse with a pained yelp shy of its target. The Omwati woman's wince goes unseen, however, as she trots past the dying creature - moving towards the house.
She shouldn't have dropped onto her right knee. Sure, it's the good leg, but it makes the left one easier to hit. And, if something could go wrong, it will go wrong. That's why there is a fresh hole in her thigh. Worse than the one she sustained a couple of weeks ago. Getting shot in the same spot so many times is a good way to catch some sort of degenerative nerve disease.
Wahl is too surprised to bother with the effects of shock just yet. The woman fires the snare gun again. *Pop!* the weapon rings out. The liquid net, again, slams into the side of the shed. Time slows as she begins to rethink her life decisions.
House Rist, creatures of horrible myth - Tharyn has met them before on Teraan land, and here he meets them again. He departs the lounge and enters the main hallway, hearing the sounds of battle taking place below; pistol held ahead of him in a two-handed grip, he winds down the corridor, kicking in the door to the office - and seeing nobody, moves to do the same to the door to the master bedroom.
Which is when it swings open, revealing said bogeyman in noble livery, vibrosword in hand.
Three times Tharyn fires. It's instinct. He means to fire center mass, but the assassin manages to leap backward as the first two sunlike blasts whistle past, blasting holes in the bed beyond - foam or feathers go fountaining skyward, some on fire, only to be joined by a spray of carbonized meat and blood as the third shot connects nearly dead center, boring a hole the size of a baby's fist squarely through his chest and an adult's out the back. The assassin, gender yet unknown, drops like a doll with its strings cut, a hair's breadth from death from trauma and thermal shock; Tharyn steps in and kicks the vibroblade away, moving on to sweep the room before moving on to the hallway should nothing else be visible.
"<<There is a door! We are going in it!>>" Bizz nods to Nubri and slips inside, his robes rustling over the stiffer fabric of his specialist armor worn underneath it. He keeps his wooden walking stick up as a weapon - just in case - but he's sneaking down the stairs on the east side. Where is that wine cellar?
<"Copy."> one of the hounds is on his leg, teeth clattering and grinding against formed plates even as his hand drops and blaster bolts are fired, one ricocheting off of the collar of the creature attacking him and the next cores through the head and explodes out the chest with ichor flash vaporized to crimson steam that balloons out flesh even as the beast falls.
Hadrix is up then, cast to the sky on wings of fire and towards the man who had commanded the beasts. No longer constrained by terrain and becoming a mobile gun platform, carbine brought around... though one hand almost reaches for the wookiee 'artillery' piece slung on his back, to let the e-11 hang. Not yet though.
Anessa had paused only for a second when Nerys scurried over the wall, choosing to continue her run around into the open gate. The yard she found was.. nothing she recognized. There were destroyed droids littering the path. Corpses of dead hounds. Corpses of more people. There were flashes of light from inside the house. A shattered window on the second floor. It was a nightmare come to life. And yet, she continues to run, heading for the back door, BA-HD trailing along beside her. She didn't notice the Houndsman or the people advancing on him. She didn't see Wahl. She had single focus and purpose.. to get inside and find her parents before it was too late.
The first floor of the mansion is extremely well decorated and /large/. The high ceilings made even the first floor feel spacious. The hardwood floors made sounds echo, though the tapestries and the long, luxurious rugs help muffle some of it. The same long, luxurious rugs that now had lain atop them two halves of two different assassins.
Nubri is at the east end of the main hallway, just having unlocked yet another door-- the one they all know leads to the basement stairs, because Anessa drew the map.
Chani is there, close by Nubri, peeking in the hallway from the patio door.
Ban made his way inside, lightsaber in hand, and ruined Anessa's rug and Lahni followed him while Hadrix jetpacks himself towards the Houndmaster.
Lahni's hurt, shot by the Houndmaster that Hadrix now attacks, and Nerys has scaled the wall right by the maintenance shed to get there faster, her ID-10 droid already shooting as they make their approach.
Tharyn, meanwhile, is up Dirty Harrying people on the second floor with his hand cannon, and Bizz is super sekriting his way past Nubri's recently open door.
Suddenly, both doors of the Parlor Room, just between Bors and Nubri, fling themselves open. Two DT Sentry Droids emerge, stepping out ominously and swiveling their blaster to bear on Ban and his group-- not, for the moment, seeming to notice Nubri or Chani peeking in the doorway.
"KILL THEM!" a man can be heard yelling from inside the Parlor Room. "KILL THEM ALL!"
With the fighting out at the courtyard brought to close, Aryn remains standing outside a moment listening. Content that there were no further threats there, she sank her pistol back into its holster and turned with a casual brush of her cape to take the stairs and follow the others inside. Aryn relegated herself to non-lethal means, making use of just the gloves that protected her hands, and the hardened shell shaped to the contour of her knuckles. Aryn did not seem to have a sense of urgency, or even look as if she might be distressed; it was just a calm, neutral look with a hint of determination.
Climbing the stairs, she stepped into the first floor and looked around for signs of a threat, or signs of the others.
Bizz enters first, and Chani tries to hiss at him as he goes by. "Bizz, wait!" The Jedha monk continues his waddling way in. Only when a chorus of blaster fire doesn't answer does Chani step in herself. Past the door that Bizz steps through, Chani sees two of the droids just like the ones on the back lawn step out and begin to target Lord Iskender and his group. Rather than follow the Ugnaught down, she goes instead for the droids, and not just because they're about to open fire on her friends. A shout had come from the doors the droids are stepping through, calling for the murder of the team venturing into the estate, and if the droids are listening to that individual, Chani reasons it might be prudent to get them to stop ordering death.
She's got to go through the droid first, though. Running into it from behind, Chani directs the white beam of her stunsaber through it's legs, and promptly uses the medial space as a barrier to careen one strike off into the next.
Watch the creaky ste- too late. And then, there is a stabby and slashy guy running towards Nu and Bizz, causing the Mirialan to let out two shots by reflex, dropping the assassin before she starts running down, training her sights on one of the guards still up, not firing yet.
While Bitty took care of giving her either cover or at least plausible deniability as to her location, Nerys made it to the top of the wall. She did not bother to try to climb down. Instead, she simply stepped off of the wall, allowing her grav belt to lower her gently to the ground whole she brought her bowcaster to fire on the enemy she could now see was trying to send the law-woman to the good place. Or possibly the bad place. I mean, it //was// Wahl. But something, or someone did catch Nerys's eye, and her shout came out from the vocorder on her helmet. "Al'Verde!" Now...strictly speaking, Hadrix was not actually //her// Al'Verde, what with Nerys not being, you know, either a Mandalorian, nor a member of Clan Kora, but there were no other Koras around to remind Nerys of this fact, so they could get stuffed. Between herself and Bitty, they fired three shots towards the Houndsman, perhaps hoping this time would have more effect than the last. The bolt hit home, and one of Bitty's, but it was just enough. Better down eventually than never.
Ban Iskender turns square toward the newly deployed combat droids, sword raised into guard with an audible hum as he sprints toward the two in support of Chani. Hearing the ominous words of death from within the parlor, he seeks to force the entrance as swiftly as possible. As Chani strikes one, Ban is upon the other, cutting it down with a swift pair of fore and backhanded slashes, before adding a thrust at the second to complete the younger Jedi's work upon it.
Lahni enters the first floor of the house just in time to watch the droids cut down by Ban and his lightsaber. It's... well, it's rather impressive. But rather than take the time to really admire the spectacle, it seems best to try to deal with the matters at hand - which remain rather pressing.
"I think there's been enough death here today," the Omwati woman calls from the hallway, where she waits with her blaster drawn. "I think it would be wise to order everyone to stand down. It would go better for you," she points out in a surprisingly reasonable and even tone - given the thudding of her heart.
The burning sensation starts to radiate from Wahl's left leg. Nerve endings fire without a response. Now that the houndsman has flopped onto the ground, it's safe for her to bask in her misery. She removes her helmet as she falls back into the grass, tossing the head piece to the side. Her only solace is the flood of pain relieving endorphins. The woman's eyelids close after resigning to her fate.
And of course, the sound of Lahni's entreaties are punctuated by the thunderclap of Tharyn's blaster, which roars throughout the house as he opens fire on a pair of mercenaries who have just emerged from another bedroom. Force knows what they were up to, but now they're being showered by wood and plastoid shards as his pistol's bolts land all around them.
"STAND DOWN," he roars over the blaster's crashing wine. "OR YOU WILL BE ATOMIZED!"
Bizz and Nubri are sneaking down the basement steps - using Chani Tahn and Ban Iskender as distractions - and pause to see a Rist assassin and some security contractors in the underground security office. They are noticed and the assassin attacks but is gunned down by Nubri. Two of the contractors try to shut the doors, but the old monk moves with surprising speed, barreling into the double doors and bouncing one of them open with his beer gut. His stun stick whirls, crackling with electrical energy as it sends one contractor flying back into a datacomputer. Then he spins it and chops the other down at the knees, enveloping him in crackling blue energy. Of course there are still two contractors at the computers, pushing buttons. One screen blinks DISTRESS Y/N? but hasn't been activated yet. "Don't push that button, you scallywags! This is a citizen's arrest!"
Target eliminated by the work of Nerys and her compatriot, Hadrix nods to her exclamation and work. Two fingers ticking off the crown of his helmet as the side hangar for his carbine is filled with the antiquated weapon... only to be replaced by something far more ludicrous is swung over his shoulder and the charging sphere is engaged.
<"Courtyard clear. Heading in."> rocketing across the grounds for one of the nearest entries, following the path he saw Ban taking - intent to provide further support - as if the Jedi really needed it.
"I'm not giving in to you simpering fools and your pointless rebellion!" the elder man in the parlor yells back out after Lahni's plea. "Princess Lana is the true heir!"
Anessa is in the back door of the house just in time to hear the shouted words from the parlor and watch Ban's lightsaber slice through the second droid. Far behind her in the distance, the sounds of blaster fire drops the Houndsman, who slumps to the ground in front of the maintenance shed.
The Lady Panteer practically tripped over the dismembered bodies of the Rist Assassins as she rounded the corner, and she skidded to a halt beside Lahni, moving forward so that she could see into the open doorway. Whether or not it was advisable, in that moment, she pulled her helmet off and threw it aside.
"UNCLE?!" Anessa shouted. Her hair was matted to her face from the sweat inside the mask, but his eyes widened when he saw her, his blaster still held at the ready.
"YOU!" Lochlan Panteer scowls. "I should have found you and killed you, like I killed my miserable brother. Your whole, weak, pacifist branch should be pruned from our family tree!"
And then he raises his blaster, and fires, even as the percussive sounds of Tharyn's handcannon can be heard in the rooms above.
Chani's gone low. Lord Ban cuts through one droid and then goes high, meaning the young Naboo native is in no danger at all from the destructive cutting power of the lightsaber he wields. The droid collapses into a heap and Chani advances into the parlor, well aware of the blaster shot that discharged inside. "Get back, Lady Anessa!" She's not just content with telling the noble woman to get back, but actually steps into the path directly between the man she calls uncle and herself, stunsaber blade raised so that it's in line with her vision and stance ready to fend off an attack, even though he isn't holding a melee weapon at all. "Your forces have been diminished. Please stand down and come peacefully. There is no need for this to escalate further."
Nubri rolls her eyes "I would like to remind you any citizen's arrest would be null and void, considering we are the intruders here." she begins, before firing towards the first guard, hitting him in the head, to twirl around to fire at the second, missing him and... hitting the screen behind him. Sorry, Anessa!
With the immediate threats eliminated in the courtyard, Nerys and Bitty went to check on the downed lawwoman. Nerys, of course, had no medical ability, nor did Bitty. But they could do was remain with her, providing cover for her unconscious self, while they radioed for pickup from the ship they had come in on.
At the man's words - Lahni's eyes widen unseen within her helmet, but the quiet gasp she lets out just might be overheard by the observant. "Oh... Anessa." Her voice is filled with sympathy and grief as she reaches out - trying to draw the woman away from the door. To try to comfort her? To draw her away from danger? To keep her from seeing what might be happening next to a family member?
Maybe all of those things.
SHOOOONK
The first blast came as the Mandalorian crashed into view, seeing the source of the shouting being faced by Chani within the home. The jetii can give him a chance to surrender. No such mercy from Hadrix Kora. Jets cutting out moments before he would be slamming into the far wall - instead skidding on boots while the last gouts the jetpack nozzles flash-burn paint and masonry. Leaving a small shoulder shaped imprint in the wall when the kick of what equates to an artillery piece goes off.
Loud. <"Inside, engaging."> That's the word for it. Hadrix is shoved backwards by the rifle even as he throws his weight into bracing. There's a muffled sound coming from within his helmet, a hard barking crafted with gravel being pushed into a quartz bed. Laughter. He guides the barrel by eye with the growing whine of the overpressure chamber and the hard -CLACK- of the bolt chambering before,
SHOOOONK
Hope everyone likes tinnitus. Because that's how you give everyone else tinnitus.
It's also how one removes a threat to the house of Panteer, in a most permanent fashion. If not an extremely messy one - as Lochlan is plastered across a wall and those within spitting distance.
And as this all goes down, Tharyn leaps forward as the mercenaries open fire upon him - and miss. One shot left in the pistol, he still has the Penetrator in his hand as he executes a solid snap-kick into one man's chest, followed by a ridgehand strike that snaps his collarbone and sears his neck and shoulder with the boiling blue-white nimbus of electricity pouring from his gloves. The striking studs that clad the overgauntlets only carry through the trauma. The other man lets out a shout as Tharyn aims to punch the other, but the mercenary manages to jerk away from the armored man just in time to get utterly smashed into the floor. "Anaah," Tharyn mutters, blinking at the mess that his second target's been reduced to, then has the presence of mind to call down. "Second floor, clear!"
It's too late. By the time Lahni is grabbing her arm, insisting they go together, Anessa is already instinctively shoving at her away. The blaster bolt from Lachlan's pistol passed inches between them. Anessa wheeled on her uncle, hate filling her eyes, and raised her blaster.
SHOONK
The sound beside her ear was enough to make Anessa almost double over. It blurred her vision.
SHOONK
She closed her eyes for a moment, her head splitting all of a sudden. When she opened them again, her uncle was falling backwards, his blood splattering the wall behind him. She stared, for a moment, as if it was all happening in slow motion. The way he seemed to almost float towards the ground. The way the room around her seemed to lose focus. The sudden ringing in her ear.
Anessa turned, catching sight of Hadrix, but she was already turning green in the gills. She'd never seen anyone.. explode.. before. She really had no other word for it. And she ran for the back door, over the fallen corpses of House Rist, and lost whatever she'd had for dinner onto the back porch.
Lahni takes a deep, shakey breath to steady herself and - a bit clumsily - reaches up to remove her helmet. She drops it, before moving to follow Anessa, sadness on her features as she joins the woman on the porch - her wary gaze looking for signs of danger before they focus back on Anessa again. "I'll stay here with you - if that's alright," she offers quietly.
